Starship: Rogue

Chapter Five

"Do we just eat?" Darcy asked.

Adlai looked around. A soldier was just sitting down, so she watched as he began to eat without any preamble. "I guess so," she said.

"Great," Darcy said. "Let's do it."

The other cadets in their training group joined them soon enough, and the meal passed without much ado. It seemed like they were one of only two training groups eating at that particular time, although the mess hall was full of regular soldiers.

After half an hour, Major Kramer, who had been sitting at a table with a handful of other officers, rose. Adlai set aside her cutlery as everyone around her did the same. "All right, everyone," Major Kramer bellowed. "We have some new recruits among us. Aquamarine and violet cadets please rise."

Adlai got to her feet, along with her fellow cadets. Major Kramer went on, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the newest members of the Colonial Network Army!"

The soldiers in the room began to stamp their feet in unison, gradually speeding up until the sound swelled to fill the room. Adlai was awed, and, for a minute, she forgot to breathe. People always talked about the military being like a really big extended family, but she'd never imagined this.

Finally, the cacophony died down, and Major Kramer spoke again. "Welcome, cadets! Now, make sure you're back at your dorms by ten. Training starts tomorrow!"

The soldiers roared with laughter at that, and a couple yelled, "Brace yourselves," which, of course, spawned more laughter. Adlai and the others finished eating and cleared their trays, then went back to their dorm.

Adlai settled on the edge of her bed, wondering what she was supposed to do until lights out at ten. Darcy plopped down next to her. "So, apparently we're allowed to use the training arena for sports games if we'd like, and the guys are organizing a netball game against violet cadets. They want two teams of ten so we can have a starting seven and two rotating games."

Adlai smiled. Netball was something she knew, something she was good at. It was the most popular sport in the Network, so it was a good choice for a game for everyone to play. "Count me in," she said. "What are the teams?"

"All guys," Darcy said. "And girls and guys. All the girls are playing, so dump your jacket and come on."

Adlai shucked the uniform jacket, leaving her in just the tank top and cargo pants, just like everyone around her. She tied her bandana around her arm, like the others were doing, and, once everyone was ready, they set off for the training center. The guys had produced two balls and were passing them back and forth. Adlai hung back with Ilse, who, she'd noticed, didn't seem entirely comfortable around the guys.

Once they reached the training center, they set up two courts by regulations standards, each with nets at both ends, then split into two teams without much fuss. At the other end of the arena, the violet group cadets were doing the same thing. The Earth boy, Wren Solberg, nominated himself captain of the all guys team, and they went off to their court, cheering loudly.

Meanwhile, no one in her team, which included, along with all the girls, Walker and five other guys, had stepped forward and volunteered to be captain, so Adlai asked hesitantly, "Would you guys mind if I captained?"

"Go ahead," one of the guys, Adam, said, tossing her the ball.

"Okay," Adlai said. "Um, let's say the starting seven are, uh, Ilse, Walker, Harper, Darcy, Adam, Luke and Sutter," she decided. She knew they would want to start, so she could hang back and wait.

Harper stepped forward. "Actually, would you mind starting instead of me? I... haven't played in awhile."

"Um," Adlai said. "Is that okay with everyone?" Nobody said anything, so she assumed it was. "Who's most comfortable playing Center?" she asked.