Read Online Compete by Norilana Books - Free Book Online

Two, decelerate, and come to a hover stop at a platform deep inside the tunnel. From the shuttle window, I note that everything here is the same as the other ark-ship—a brightly lit open space, with neutral off-white walls and fine gold etchings. Shuttles line the platform on both sides and occasional Atlantean officers and crew move through the bay.
    “Unbuckle, and get your belongings,” Pilot Ruo tells us, rising from his seat. “Cadet Vetrova, you follow me to Cadet Deck Two. Lark, Hansen, and Tulls—you report to the information and dispatch desk here and they will give you instructions. Welcome, and now, dismissed!”
    In moments, we are outside the shuttle. I carry my two bags and stop before the dispatch area. Pilot Ruo and Alla Vetrova head to the nearest exit and disappear.
    Lars Hansen and Jennica Tulls remain with me. We are scanned and then we wait.
    About ten minutes later three young Atlantean guides approach, consult with the desk, and are assigned to each of us.
    “Gwen Lark?” A metallic-haired teenage boy barely older than Gordie approaches me. His expression is serious, somewhat superior, and perfectly controlled. He’s wearing a yellow armband. “Follow me.”
    “Okay,” I say, shifting my heavy bags from one hand to the other. “Where are we going?”
    “Yellow Quadrant, Command Deck Two,” the Atlantean tells me curtly without even looking at me, as we start to walk from the shuttle bay and into a long hallway. “I will show you your living quarters. You will leave your things there and then report immediately to your commanding officer.”
    I nod and follow him. We move past occasional Atlantean crew members through a maze of sudden contrasts—long corridors illuminated with soothing light then wide brightly lit decks that make me blink from the unexpected radiance—though at this point I am beginning to get some kind of basic grasp of the ark-ship standard layout.
    In a nutshell—each great saucer ark-ship is a flattened sphere. The circle is split into four sections from the center, a cross-cut forming four large “pie slices,” and each “pie slice” or wedge is allocated to a Quadrant. Yes, that’s where that whole “Four Quadrant” notion comes from—four major divisions of function and labor on each of their ships! And, apparently this tradition has been in place for thousands of years, stemming from the time of their original colonization.
    There are four shuttle bays in each ship, and they run lengthwise, almost the entire radius length of the ship, effectively making those four cross-cut “lines” that separate each Quadrant wedge.
    In the circular heart of the ship, in the very center, is a great spherical chamber called the Resonance Chamber, which is very important for various systems functionality including actual propulsion and flight—but more on this later.
    Each Quadrant wedge is cut across horizontally into three sections. The first and innermost smallest section of the wedge, adjacent to the central Resonance Chamber, is the Command Deck, the section where the Atlantean Officers Quarters are located, and where much of the ship control takes place.
    The second, middle portion of the wedge, larger and closer to the outside, is the Cadet Deck. This is where the Cadets living quarters and training area is located.
    Finally, the outermost largest section, number three, is the Residential Deck. This is where all the Civilians are housed, and it is adjacent to the storage, hydroponics, and other large-scale general life support systems areas closest to the outside hull.
    That’s the basic breakdown. There are many sub-levels and many corridors connecting the whole thing, but for now, all I need to know is that I am heading toward the heart of the ship—the control and central operations center called the Command Deck.
    That’s where the Officers Quarters are located, and where supposedly I will be staying.
    It is also where he is supposed to be—my