Vanguard (Ark Royal Book 7) by Christopher Nuttall Read Free Book Online Page A

temporary ranks.  “We’ll be middies for at least a year.”
     
    They turned into the commandant’s office and paused outside the hatch.  It was rare for a cadet to visit the commandant and, when it happened, it was almost always the final interview before a cadet was expelled.  The office was in Officer Country, to all intents and purposes; cadets were not supposed to enter without special permission.  But they’d been recalled to the academy, just to receive their new assignments ...
     
    She took a step forward and pressed her hand against the scanner.  It hissed open, revealing the commandant’s secretary, the formidable Mrs Kale.  The cadets whispered that she’d been around since the days of Nelson, quietly steering the Royal Navy as it changed from a seafaring to a spacefaring force.  Even if she was much younger, and logic suggested she couldn't be much older than fifty, she was still respected and feared.  She’d been in her post for years and knew where all the bodies were buried.
     
    “Cadet ... Midshipwoman Fitzwilliam, reporting as ordered,” George said.
     
    “Take a seat,” Mrs Kale ordered, once Nathan had identified himself.  “The commandant will call you shortly.”
     
    George nodded and sat down.  The seats were uncomfortable - she had a nasty feeling that that was deliberate, to remind troublemakers that they were in trouble - and she found it hard to speak, knowing that Mrs Kale was sitting there, listening to every word.  She waited for the commandant to tell her where she was going, feeling her heartbeat starting to race.  If she got a poor assignment, right out of the academy, her career might never get off the ground.
     
    Unless you ask for help , her thoughts reminded her.  But you wanted to see what you could do on your own .
     
    She scowled, inwardly.  Her uncle was the First Space Lord!  It would be easy to ask him to make sure she got a dream assignment - or, for that matter, for a senior officer to assume the First Space Lord would intervene in her favour.  But she’d know, even if no one else did, that she’d done nothing to deserve it.  She wanted to earn her place in the Royal Navy.  Her pride would admit of nothing less.
     
    The hatch hissed open.  “You may go through,” Mrs Kale told them.  “Leave your holdalls on the chairs.”
     
    Her expression softened, just slightly.  “Good luck.”
     
    George nodded as she rose, then walked through the hatch.  Commandant McWilliams was seated behind his desk, his cold stare sending shivers down her spine as he studied her for a long chilling moment before turning his attention to Nathan.  She came to attention and saluted, only relaxing - slightly - when he returned the salute.  They might be officers now, but they had a long way to go before they reached his exalted rank.
     
    “You may be seated,” the Commandant said.  “Congratulations on your graduation.”
     
    “Thank you, sir,” George said. 
     
    She sat down and waited, resting her hands in her lap.  Whatever she got, be it an assignment to a mining scow or a survey ship, she would take it and be glad.  A survey ship wouldn't be bad, even if she might wind up stuck in survey for the rest of her career.  There was always the prospect of being the first person to meet a third alien race.
     
    “You both graduated with high marks, both theoretical and practical,” the Commandant said, shortly.  “Your practical experience is limited, but there are ... problems creating truly realistic training scenarios.  Accordingly, you are both being assigned to HMS Vanguard as junior middies.  I trust you both find this acceptable?”
     
    “Yes, sir,” Nathan said.
     
    George echoed him a second later.  There was little prospect of becoming first middy on Vanguard - if she recalled correctly, there were at least six or seven midshipmen assigned to a battleship - but it had its compensations.  As long as she didn't screw up, she’d