Free Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles 1: Wizard Defiant by Rodney Hartman Page A

for you.
    “My name is Richard Shepard. I was also born on Terra in what used to be called the United States. I have no idea who my parents are. I was raised in an orphanage. I hit the streets when I was fifteen. When I was eighteen, I watched a video on marine recon. I liked what I saw. I found a military recruiting station. They liked what they saw. And here I am.” Richard paused for a second and then added, “Oh, I spent a year and a half with the 43rd marine recon detachment. I made sergeant just a couple of months before I was ordered to attend Academy training. Oh, yeah. And no offense, Jerad, but I don’t especially like officers.”
    “Wow,” said Jerad with a grin at the others. “Once you get Rick talking, you can’t shut him up. And, there’s no offense taken by the way. I don’t especially like officers either.”
    “My name’s, Richard, not Rick,” Richard said a little affronted that Jerad had incorrectly said his name.
    “Nonsense,” said Jerad still grinning. “Richard’s too formal. Rick’s a good name for your friends. My actual name is Jeradalinianpa. Now isn’t Jerad a much better name for my friends?”
    Richard was speechless. His brain wasn’t very good at picking up on subtle nuances. Is he making fun of me? Richard wondered. After a moment, Richard decided Jerad was sincere. He was just being friendly.
    “Yes,” Richard said. “Jerad is a lot better. I guess Rick is a good name for my friends to call me.”
    “Well,” said 422. “I don’t think we have much time, so before we all get too maudlin, I’ll share a little. My name is Tamica Traverde Thrangorsa. My friends just call me, Tam. I was born right here on Velos. I’m twenty-four, and I spent four years in the mercenaries putting out hotspots in the Tegaos system before being selected for pre-Academy training. We didn’t have ranks in my unit, so I hate both officers and enlisted people equally.”
    “The mercs, huh?” said Jerad. “I thought I recognized –“
    “What are you all lollygagging around for up there?” shouted one of the TAC officers. “You better get moving, or I’ll make you wish you had been D.F.R.’d during the simulation with those other bozos.”
    With the bonding moment over, they wasted no time getting to the bottom of the ladder. Even 303 fairly flew down the ladder. But they weren’t fast enough for the TAC officer, and he ordered them into the ditch . Richard had a feeling it was an unwritten rule in the military that every obstacle course have a ditch. In civilian language, a ditch was a water and slime-filled obstacle for soldiers to crawl through in order to appease the sadistic pleasures of various forms of drill instructors throughout the galaxy. By the time Richard and his team had finished navigating the ditch , they looked more like mud-covered salamanders than they did human beings.

Chapter 8 – Academy Training
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    The initial week of Academy training went by quickly. Unfortunately, the following weekend dragged by. Without academic classes, they were once again under the full control of TAC Officer Myers. He ran them relentlessly from one fiendish torture to another. Regardless, things seemed better than they had been before. Richard doubted the TAC officers had slacked off just because they were officially Academy cadets. Rather, Richard figured it was because having Telsa, Jerad, and Tam to joke around with made the TAC officers’ tortures easier to take. Whatever the reason, they survived the weekend, and Richard found himself looking forward to another week of Academy classes. The previous week had been indoctrinations. The real training started now.
    Once they were marched through the Academy gates, their platoon sergeants guided them into a large auditorium for a common-core class. Chief Instructor Winslow stood at the podium waiting patiently for all the cadets to take their seats. She was a civilian, but Richard liked her