Free Vanguard (Ark Royal Book 7) by Christopher Nuttall

She’d have enough time to dress, freshen up and eat something before making her way to the bridge and officially assuming her post as XO.  And then ...
     
    This is a career boost , she told herself.  Serving as Vanguard’s XO should be a great step forward, opening up the prospect of commanding a fleet carrier or one of the newer battleships, when they came online.  Either one would be regarded as the quickest way to become an admiral, although she knew her connections were too weak to guarantee it.  I should make the most of it .
     
    She scowled at the thought.  There was something wrong with the captain, the former first officer had vanished under mysterious circumstances ... she had the nasty feeling she'd been dropped in a cesspit.  Perhaps she had been assigned to Vanguard purely so someone without serious connections could take the fall, when the situation - whatever it was - finally exploded.  Captain Blake had to have some connections in very high places, while no one would give a damn about her .
     
    Even paranoids have enemies , she thought, gloomily.  Paul might be my only ally on the ship and he’s nothing more than a lieutenant-commander.
     
    She climbed into bed, turned out the light and closed her eyes.  The situation might look better tomorrow, when she assumed her post ... and, even if it didn't, she’d have the advantage of a few hours of sleep.  Who knew?  Maybe Captain Blake had just been having a very bad day.  It couldn't be easy to lose a trusted XO, certainly not to desertion ... hell, it would make Captain Blake look very bad, even if he hadn’t driven Commander Bothell to flee the service.  His trust had been betrayed ...
     
    Sure , she thought, as sleep dragged her down into the darkness.  And I’m the Queen of England .

Chapter Six
     
    “So,” the first middy - Charles Fraser - said, addressing Nathan.  “You two have never served on a starship before?”
     
    “No,” Nathan said.  “Not unless you count Rustbucket ...”
     
    “That’s no, sir ,” the first middy corrected.  “And no, no one counts Rustbucket as a real starship.”
     
    George swallowed.  Fraser was huge, intimidatingly huge ... there was an air of barely-restrained violence around him that terrified her, even though she’d met no shortage of extremely dangerous men when they visited her family.  His hair was cropped short; his face was battered and ugly, twisted into a perpetual scowl, as if he were smelling something disgusting under his nose.  The tutors at the academy had been tough, particularly the unarmed combat instructors, but Fraser chilled her to the bone. 
     
    She followed him down the corridor, trying hard to keep from glancing around as they passed through a series of airlocks.  Rustbucket had been fantastic - a decommissioned spacecraft turned into a training zone for cadets - but Vanguard was a true starship, humming with light and power.  A dull thrumming echoed through the hull, reminding her that they were on an active starship about to power up its drives and head out into the great unknown.  Dozens of crewmen walked past the midshipmen, some pushing trolleys loaded with sealed packing crates.  George stared at them in silent fascination, wondering what they were doing.  Shipping spare parts to the engineering decks, perhaps, or transporting ration bars to the galley?  There was no way to know.
     
    “This is middy country,” Fraser said, as they stepped through yet another airlock hatch.  “No one is supposed to enter, save us.  Don’t be surprised, however, when the XO makes an inspection every so often.  We got in deep shit when Commander Bothell made an inspection and this new XO may be just as nit-picking.”
     
    “Yes, sir,” Nathan said.
     
    “Gym through there,” Fraser said.  He jabbed a finger at a green hatch.  “Shared with some of the senior crew, but we have priority.  You’re meant to spend at least an hour a day in there,