Starship: Rogue

Chapter Five

 After the tour of the base, Adlai returned to the dorm with her training group and unpacked the canvas pack she'd been issued. Inside were two sets of uniforms, each made up of a pair of cargo pants made from durable canvas, a jacket of the same material, a white tank top and a cyan bandana; a pair of brown combat boots; a stun gun, used for simulation combat; a standard issue knife; and a tablet for note-taking.

The guys were already stripping to change, so Adlai helped the other girls hang a sheet between their bunks so they'd have some privacy, then changed into the uniform. To her surprise, and that of the other cadets, the clothes fit perfectly.

Once again, the girls were ready first, and it seemed like, instead of getting changed, the guys had begun some sort of game that involved throwing balled up socks at each other.

"God," Darcy said with a shudder. "I sincerely hope those socks are clean."

Ilse laughed, and even Harper cracked a smile. Together, the four of them sauntered out of the room, ignoring the guys, and headed for the mess hall. Darcy linked her arm through Adlai's, something Adlai was quickly realizing was one of her new friend's little quirks.

When they reached the mess hall doors, they found Major Kramer waiting for them. When he saw them, he laughed. "I guess this is the beginning of a pattern," he said. "Y'all are on top of your game, and the guys are taking their time, huh?"

Just then, Walker raced up to them. "Hey," he said, panting. "Sorry, I didn't want to be late."

Darcy giggled. "Dude," she said, glancing pointedly at her watch. "You've still got thirty seconds, so chill."

They all laughed at that, even Major Kramer. "Okay," he said, looking the three of them over. "There's one more thing you've gotta do before dinner. There's a photo station just inside these doors. You all need to pick up your ID cards before you eat, so go in, get your pictures taken, then scan your new IDs and go get food. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," the five of them said.

"Good," Major Kramer said. "When you've got your trays, come find our table. It's where you'll all sit until you're done with training. Now, go."

Adlai led the way into the mess hall and up to the photography set up. The technician took her photo, did something with a computer, and handed her a freshly printed ID card straight off the printer. "Clip this onto your pocket and wear it everywhere you go. Got it?"

Adlai nodded and stepped aside so the tech could do the same for Ilse. When the others had gone through, they scanned their new IDs against the machine at the front of the line to the counters where food was handed out, each receiving a tray with a chicken breast, some vegetables, a bottle of water, some rice and a slice of carrot cake. It was a better meal than anything Adlai had eaten on Lares, and, from the look on her friends' faces, they felt the same way.

Walker was the first to pull himself together. "Come on," he said. "We should go sit down."

Adlai glanced around, noticing that the rest of their training group had reached the photo station, as Darcy said, "I can't believe they give us all this food."

Harper smiled. "They probably want us to be stronger so we can fight."

But Ilse shrugged. "I'd heard they had more resources on Earth, but I never imagined it. Maybe this is normal."

Adlai shrugged. "Maybe," she said. "Come on. Let's go sit. I'm hungry."

They found the aquamarine table without too much trouble and sat down at one end, Adlai wedged between Darcy and Ilse, with Walker and Harper sitting opposite them.