Read Online Flight of the Outcast by Brad Strickland - Free Book Online

fountain stood a golden statue, somewhat larger than life-sized, of two men.
       "Read the plaque," the vice admiral said, nodding toward the base.
       But first Asteria stared at the two men. A heroic figure, all chiseled features and determination, supported a clearly wounded young man. The younger man's features seemed vaguely familiar. Asteria looked down at the inscribed plaque and read:
       THE HONORABLE ENSIGN SANSON KALIDES
       HERO
       "That's supposed to be my father he's supporting," Asteria said dryly.
       "Sanson Kalides—Lord Kalides now—saved the Adastra and brought her safely into port with the surviving crew aboard," said the vice admiral. In a quieter tone, she added, "Despite the fact that he wasn't actually aboard the ship at the time of the Tetra attack. The ship's captain, Princeps Makath Kyseros, is revered as the officer who gave his life to allow the ship to escape from the attackers. A Commoner Chief Warrant Officer is remembered as someone who was badly wounded and whose life was saved by Lord Kalides, and that is all. That is the official version. It is very important to the prestige of the Kyseros family that these are the accepted facts. You understand?"
       "Yes, Commandant."
       "Do you? I would advise you not to discuss your family with anyone here. Most of the cadets around you will be Aristocrats," the vice admiral warned. "Be aware of that. Be careful about what you say. Watch your temper. Do you have an advocate on Theron to watch over your affairs?"
       Absently, Asteria shook her head, but then remembered her place as a lowly candidate cadet. "No, Commandant. The Bourse are looking after the farm. I'm supposed to inherit it, but I don't know—"
       "It's a matter of Empyrean law," the vice admiral said. "Too important to you to allow the Bourse to take care of your interest without someone supervising them. I'll have an advocate appointed. Kamedes will listen to me. Dismissed, Cadet. The Bronze Barracks are that way, beyond the Language and Communications building. On the double."
       Asteria saluted, the unsmiling Vice Admiral Chen returned the salute, and then the new cadet did an about-face—not as clean as Dai's had been—and trotted away, feeling uncertain. She wondered if the library was open yet. She had a lot to learn about Empyrean law, about the Academy, about…well, everything.

    * * *
    One advantage of having turned up early for the term was that Asteria had her choice of rooms. Barracks at the Academy were like dormitories—at least the cadets did not all sleep in one vast bedroom. Still, their quarters seemed made to accustom them to the cramped living areas on starships. Asteria's compartment—she chose it because it was nearest one of the outside doors—was no larger than the little cubby that she had occupied on the flight to Corona. The bunk swung down from the wall. When it was in the upright position, she had access to two wide drawers beneath it, which held everything she owned: civilian clothing, pulsebook reader, textbooks.
       She had so few possessions that half of one drawer gave more than enough room. At the foot of the bunk, a recess served as a closet. She hung the five gray first-year uniforms there, along with her gym clothing. A shelf above the hangers held her boots, dress shoes, and athletic shoes. With the bed folded up, she could sit in a chair that folded out from one wall and open up a desk that folded from the adjoining wall: there was her computer and AI unit.
       Very stark. She had a few pangs of claustrophobia, but she thought she could get used to it. Hoped she could. If she got antsy in her tiny room, she had lots of space to roam—at least until the other cadets arrived and settled in. The Bronze Barracks were huge, tawny cubical structures made of the same fossil-bearing stone that paved the floors in the Admin Building. The first-year mess hall was on the north side of the small park in the