Read Online Never Surrender (The Empire's Corps Book 10) by Christopher Nuttall - Free Book Online
Authors: Christopher Nuttall
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surprisingly resistant to all kinds of treatment. “What do you eat normally, when you’re at home?”
“I try not to think about it,” Kailee said. “How do you cope?”
Jasmine shrugged. She’d grown up on a farm. Her family had learned, quickly, never to get attached to any of the animals, if only because they were eventually slaughtered and turned into dinner. They’d been allowed to keep dogs, but they’d been regarded as part of the family. It hadn't been until she’d gone to Boot Camp that she’d tasted algae-based foods and she’d considered them rather bland. The Marines had practically drowned them in spicy sauce.
“Tell me about Earth,” she said, instead. Talking would keep Kailee’s mind off their predicament. “What happened towards the end?”
“I didn't see anything special,” Kailee said. “All we really know is that Earth ... Earth fell shortly after we left. And that was the end. My family ...”
She shook her head slowly. Jasmine understood. Kailee was clearly lower-class, at best; it was highly unlikely that any of her family had made it out before the end. Just what had happened on Earth was something of a mystery, although the Commonwealth had collected hundreds of thousands of rumours, most of which were contradictory. The only thing known for certain was that Earth had died roughly six months after Stalker’s Stalkers had been exiled from the planet.
The Grand Senate did us a favour , she thought, recalling their last nightmarish battle on Earth, against the Nihilists. We could have been there when the shit hit the fan .
“My aunt ... I used to think my aunt hated me,” Kailee confessed. “She was always telling me off for every little thing, while her husband was a freaking peeping tom. But she gave me credits before I left and told me to enjoy myself. I don’t understand her at all.”
“She wanted the best for you,” Jasmine said. “You should have heard what the Drill Instructors had to say about me, when I started. And everyone else.”
“Yeah,” Watson said. “My first day at Boot Camp, I managed to run out of the barracks without any trousers on. The Drill Instructor was very sarcastic.”
Kailee glanced at Jasmine. “Is that true?”
“Probably,” Jasmine said. God knew that she’d forgotten pieces of clothing when she’d been awoken and forced to dress at breakneck speed. She still recalled one particularly unlucky recruit being lectured for forgetting to wear her bra. “The first day of Boot Camp is always hectic.”
“Oh,” Kailee said. “How did you handle it?”
“You get used to it,” Jasmine said. “You learn to sort out your uniform before you go to bed, then you can just get dressed very quickly when the whistle blows in the morning. And then you learn to get your weapon ready for use, and then ...”
She shrugged. “By the time you leave Boot Camp,” she added, “all of these little things are second nature to you.”
“Or you get your head torn off until they are,” Stewart said. “Do you know how long it took me to learn to field-strip my rifle?”
“I read your file,” Jasmine said. “You won the shooting award for your class.”
“But I still took days to learn how to strip and clean it properly,” Stewart said. “The Drill Instructor practically stood over me and glared until I had it down pat.”
“They treated you like that?” Kailee asked. “Is that allowed?”
“We all signed up for it,” Jasmine said. Part of the reason Earth had so many problems was that no one was actually permitted to discipline children, who rapidly grew into unruly and unemployable teens. She wondered, absently, just how many Marines had come from Earth, before it fell into chaos. Colonel Stalker had been born on Earth, she knew, but she couldn't think of any others.
“I try not to think about it,” Kailee said. “How do you cope?”
Jasmine shrugged. She’d grown up on a farm. Her family had learned, quickly, never to get attached to any of the animals, if only because they were eventually slaughtered and turned into dinner. They’d been allowed to keep dogs, but they’d been regarded as part of the family. It hadn't been until she’d gone to Boot Camp that she’d tasted algae-based foods and she’d considered them rather bland. The Marines had practically drowned them in spicy sauce.
“Tell me about Earth,” she said, instead. Talking would keep Kailee’s mind off their predicament. “What happened towards the end?”
“I didn't see anything special,” Kailee said. “All we really know is that Earth ... Earth fell shortly after we left. And that was the end. My family ...”
She shook her head slowly. Jasmine understood. Kailee was clearly lower-class, at best; it was highly unlikely that any of her family had made it out before the end. Just what had happened on Earth was something of a mystery, although the Commonwealth had collected hundreds of thousands of rumours, most of which were contradictory. The only thing known for certain was that Earth had died roughly six months after Stalker’s Stalkers had been exiled from the planet.
The Grand Senate did us a favour , she thought, recalling their last nightmarish battle on Earth, against the Nihilists. We could have been there when the shit hit the fan .
“My aunt ... I used to think my aunt hated me,” Kailee confessed. “She was always telling me off for every little thing, while her husband was a freaking peeping tom. But she gave me credits before I left and told me to enjoy myself. I don’t understand her at all.”
“She wanted the best for you,” Jasmine said. “You should have heard what the Drill Instructors had to say about me, when I started. And everyone else.”
“Yeah,” Watson said. “My first day at Boot Camp, I managed to run out of the barracks without any trousers on. The Drill Instructor was very sarcastic.”
Kailee glanced at Jasmine. “Is that true?”
“Probably,” Jasmine said. God knew that she’d forgotten pieces of clothing when she’d been awoken and forced to dress at breakneck speed. She still recalled one particularly unlucky recruit being lectured for forgetting to wear her bra. “The first day of Boot Camp is always hectic.”
“Oh,” Kailee said. “How did you handle it?”
“You get used to it,” Jasmine said. “You learn to sort out your uniform before you go to bed, then you can just get dressed very quickly when the whistle blows in the morning. And then you learn to get your weapon ready for use, and then ...”
She shrugged. “By the time you leave Boot Camp,” she added, “all of these little things are second nature to you.”
“Or you get your head torn off until they are,” Stewart said. “Do you know how long it took me to learn to field-strip my rifle?”
“I read your file,” Jasmine said. “You won the shooting award for your class.”
“But I still took days to learn how to strip and clean it properly,” Stewart said. “The Drill Instructor practically stood over me and glared until I had it down pat.”
“They treated you like that?” Kailee asked. “Is that allowed?”
“We all signed up for it,” Jasmine said. Part of the reason Earth had so many problems was that no one was actually permitted to discipline children, who rapidly grew into unruly and unemployable teens. She wondered, absently, just how many Marines had come from Earth, before it fell into chaos. Colonel Stalker had been born on Earth, she knew, but she couldn't think of any others.
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