Xandrian Stone Book 1: Beginning of a Legend by Christian Alex Breitenstein Read Free Book Online Page A

shamelessly use my superior rank and order you all over the place?" I grinned. "Sir, the future is never really set. We know what is now, the rest will come one way or another." He nodded. "Good point. Now go, make the medical rounds." He sat again, starting to lie down. "Um, rounds, sir?" He smiled at me. "Exactly that. The medical officers go around the ship from time to time, to check if any healing is needed. Breaks the boredom we have otherwise and you'll get to know the ship and her crew." On an afterthought he added: "And they you. Now go, I do not expect you back until just before supper." Looks like I was just given the rest of the day off, basically. "Aye, sir. Thanks." With that, I walked out of the infirmary.
    Not two steps into my first round, right at the door to the infirmary, I felt the urge to stop and wait for commander Praotoan who was closing to me from behind. I had chosen to walk left, towards the ship's back and the large training area. "Doing the rounds, cadet?" "Yes, sir." "Do not fear, everyone knows that medical officers usually have a very easy job aboard a ship. That is until some healing is needed, and everyone knows as well that healing is one of the painful disciplines. That you are ready to help even in the most painful cases has become common knowledge here. How the crew learned of your addition or your already impressive deeds I do not know - but nothing stays secret for very long aboard a ship." 'Your third healing pip does for the moment' He added telepathically. "Aye, sir." 'To both' I answered.
    Smiling, the Commander led me back towards the front of the ship, away from the training area. "The captain feels that it is best if you get acquainted with the nerve center of a Brick. So, I'll walk with you on your rounds and show you around at the same time. Usually, a medical round starts at the bridge as all information gets bundled there." We reached the T-intersection and he turned us left. He padded the left wall. "That's the back wall of the captain's quarters, the only two-room quarter on the ship. Only the captain may enter, and whomever he invites. Today, that does not include you. He meets with the crew one at a time, to discuss if they have any ailments. Being the latest addition, you take the last place on the list as it stands today." He grinned. "Just after me, I was in there yesterday."
    We continued a couple of steps and stood before a wide door that said "Game room". "What the label says. In there we spend the part of our off-time that is not used for training. Many consider training to be more fun than playing - except the passengers of course. Their quarter is on the other side of the game room. The three other cadets we picked up with you bunk in there." Looking right, I saw that the Drill-lieutenant was still marching Johnson and Akiku. "If they get their marching skills up to speed." The commander chuckled. "Yeah. You looked very militaristic, along with that other kid." I felt some concern from him. "Yeah, the Drill-lieutenant was my first official contact with the navy on Classification Day. I learned there that he likes precision."
    Pointing, the Commander said "To the left is the epitome of any naval career - the bridge." He pointed through the door to our left at yet another wall. "That wall is there in case we get boarded - the enemy cannot shoot into the bridge directly. If that wall was not there, we'd be looking right at the captain's chair across the bridge."Which we entered.
    The captain and I nodded, as there was no-one else in the bridge. Otherwise I'd have saluted. To my right, on the inside of the anti-shooting-while-being-boarded wall (which proved to work just fine later, but at the time I could not imagine that ever happening) there was a large floor-to-ceiling screen, black and inactive at the moment. The rest of the bridge was dominated by 3 pedestals, about one and a half meter high, with ball-shaped tops. I had read a lot about the control rods, but