Starship: Rogue

Chapter Three

Colonial Network Army Headquarters, Earth

After enlisting, Adlai was given until the next morning to tie up any loose ends and to pack up, not that she had much to do for either. There wasn't anyone she wanted to say goodbye to, and anything she owned of value fit neatly into her battered rucksack. Aside from the clothes on her back, she didn't really own much.

The army shuttle that would carry the new recruits from Lares to Earth was sturdy, rather than flashy, and could carry up to two hundred people. So, when Adlai boarded it, she noticed that it seemed rather woefully underfilled. Only around half of the available space was filled, with the other recruits clustered close together at the center of the passenger hold.

Adlai wasn't late, but she wasn't early, either. As she took in her surroundings, she felt strangely alone. It looked like everyone else already knew someone on the launch, except her. She eased into a seat at the edge of the group, beside a guy her age and a girl who seemed slightly younger.

"Hey!" the girl said, her voice far too bubbly for Adlai's taste. "Are you a recruit, too?"

Adlai glanced down at herself, wondering if the girl was serious. She, like the rest of the recruits, wore civilian clothes, and she was definitely too young to be a soldier travelling alone. Only senior command members got that privilege. "Yeah," she said.

"Oh, cool!" the girl said. "So are we. I'm Darcy," she added. "And this is Walker." The boy gave her a slight wave.

"Adlai," Adlai said, smiling reservedly at her new acquaintances. "So, if you don't mind my asking, why'd you enlist?"

Darcy practically bounced in her seat. "Well, I was sick and tired of working the facs–" she used the slang for factory "–and my dad served during the Second War, so I guess it's in my family. How 'bout you?"

Adlai shrugged, settling back in her seat. "Nothing for me on Lares. Guess I just wanted to do something useful. I worked in the facs too, and..." She grimaced and didn't continue. From the looks on Walker's and Darcy's faces, they got it. "Walker?"

Walker squirmed in his seat, tugging at his collar. "My big brother served during the Battle of Hosk, and he took down a dozen bots before they got him. I think he'd be proud of me."

Adlai didn't know what to say to that, so, when a man in his late twenties boarded the shuttle, she allowed herself to be relieved that she'd avoided an awkward conversation.

"Morning, cadets!" the man called, his hands clasped behind his back. His army uniform was starched and pressed to perfection, and he studied the recruits with the kind of look Adlai associated for minor annoyances that she didn't want to deal with.

The cadets all dutifully–if unenthusiastically–replied with, "Morning, sir."

The man leaned against the metal wall of the shuttle, crossing his arms and squinting down at the clipboard he carried. "Okay, here's how this is going to work. I'm going to call your name; you'll respond with 'Yes, sir.' Got it?" The recruits murmured their agreement. The man glared at them over the top of the clipboard. "I said, 'Got it?'" he bellowed.

"Yes, sir!" the cadets shouted back.

"Good," he said, pulling a pen out of his pocket. Adlai tuned him out as he read through the first few names in alphabetical order by last name. After a few minutes and around a dozen names, the man called, "Darcy Coleman." Next to Adlai, Darcy raised her hand and called, "Yes sir."

The man went on, and Adlai was ready to start the journey and go back to sleep when the man called, "Adlai Fletcher!" She jerked upright and managed to croak out, "Yes, sir." The man jotted something on his clipboard and she leaned back in her seat, waiting for him to finish up.