Indentured Read Online Free Page A
Author: Scott McElhaney
us?” one of the females asked.
“ That’s a good question, but we’re jumping ahead of schedule. I promise you that all these answers will be forthcoming,” Ensign Rowe replied, aware of the fog of distress that still seemed to be engulfing the class, “But to put your minds at ease, your housing will be built on your first day and you will be completely taken care of. Now please, let’s take this one day at a time and return to today’s venue which includes getting you settled in here, dressed obviously, and introduced to all the facilities at your disposal.”
. . .
Whatever that room was where the Indentures had been first introduced to the 24 th century; it was apparently not their bedroom. As the Ensign led the group down the lifeless passageways of the ship, she deposited groups of three or four at doors marked with seemingly random letters. When they arrived at the door marked JLS, the ensign segregated the three women from the group and welcomed them to their quarters.
“ What does JLS mean?” one of the ladies asked.
The ensign pointed to the 2-inch letters printed on the front of each of their boxer shorts. Declan looked down at his own boxers and saw an “F,” while the three women indeed sported a J, an L, and an S on theirs.
“ During any term of Indenture, people forfeit their names and are identified by letters of the phonetic alphabet. The three of you are therefore Juliet, Lima, and Sierra. You’ll also discover that all of your personal items and clothing will be labeled with these identifying letters,” the ensign stated.
“ But my name is-”
“ Your name is Sierra until you finish your Indenture, at which time you can take whatever name you want,” Ensign Rowe interrupted, opening the door and gesturing the three women inside, “You’ll find a uniform spread out on each of your beds. Please get dressed, then come find us in the yellow room.”
“ The yellow room?” Juliet asked.
“ You’ll understand in a bit,” she replied, ending the conversation with an abrupt twist toward the remaining Indentures, “Now, let’s get you guys to your rooms.”
“ Foxtrot,” Declan muttered, “That’s the name Alpha had been using to refer to me. But wait a minute, isn’t ‘Alpha’ also a letter of the phonetic alphabet?”
“ Yes,” the Ensign stated as she led them to another door marked EKMN, “He’s indentured also, but his term of indenture is almost over. He was part of a ten-year program.”
The remaining Indentures paused before the door to examine the letters on their boxers, seeking to identify whom the room belonged to.
“ Please tell me that ‘E’ stands for Excellent,” one of them stated as he shuffled into the room.
“ E stands for ‘Echo’ in the phonetic alphabet,” she replied, “Your names are from this day forward; Echo, Kilo, Mike, and November.”
“ Mike? Why does he get to have a normal name?” Echo complained, pointing toward the man with the “M” tattooed on his underwear.
“ If I remember correctly, you said that your name was Jackrabbit before,” she replied with a smirk, “If you ask me, Echo is a much better name for a drummer.”
She shut down that conversation quickly by closing the door after Kilo slithered into the room. She stared at the door for a moment, then turned back to the remaining Indentures. Wasting not a single moment, she started down the hall, gesturing for the last three guys to follow her. The final doorway at the end of the hall was marked CDF. She opened the door and led the way into their quarters.
“ Charlie, Delta, and Foxtrot,” she said, allowing the door to close behind her, “Welcome to your shipboard home for the remainder of the voyage.”
She picked up the tan one-piece uniform from the “F” bed and tossed it to Declan.
“ This is going to be your daily uniform. You will find four
“ That’s a good question, but we’re jumping ahead of schedule. I promise you that all these answers will be forthcoming,” Ensign Rowe replied, aware of the fog of distress that still seemed to be engulfing the class, “But to put your minds at ease, your housing will be built on your first day and you will be completely taken care of. Now please, let’s take this one day at a time and return to today’s venue which includes getting you settled in here, dressed obviously, and introduced to all the facilities at your disposal.”
. . .
Whatever that room was where the Indentures had been first introduced to the 24 th century; it was apparently not their bedroom. As the Ensign led the group down the lifeless passageways of the ship, she deposited groups of three or four at doors marked with seemingly random letters. When they arrived at the door marked JLS, the ensign segregated the three women from the group and welcomed them to their quarters.
“ What does JLS mean?” one of the ladies asked.
The ensign pointed to the 2-inch letters printed on the front of each of their boxer shorts. Declan looked down at his own boxers and saw an “F,” while the three women indeed sported a J, an L, and an S on theirs.
“ During any term of Indenture, people forfeit their names and are identified by letters of the phonetic alphabet. The three of you are therefore Juliet, Lima, and Sierra. You’ll also discover that all of your personal items and clothing will be labeled with these identifying letters,” the ensign stated.
“ But my name is-”
“ Your name is Sierra until you finish your Indenture, at which time you can take whatever name you want,” Ensign Rowe interrupted, opening the door and gesturing the three women inside, “You’ll find a uniform spread out on each of your beds. Please get dressed, then come find us in the yellow room.”
“ The yellow room?” Juliet asked.
“ You’ll understand in a bit,” she replied, ending the conversation with an abrupt twist toward the remaining Indentures, “Now, let’s get you guys to your rooms.”
“ Foxtrot,” Declan muttered, “That’s the name Alpha had been using to refer to me. But wait a minute, isn’t ‘Alpha’ also a letter of the phonetic alphabet?”
“ Yes,” the Ensign stated as she led them to another door marked EKMN, “He’s indentured also, but his term of indenture is almost over. He was part of a ten-year program.”
The remaining Indentures paused before the door to examine the letters on their boxers, seeking to identify whom the room belonged to.
“ Please tell me that ‘E’ stands for Excellent,” one of them stated as he shuffled into the room.
“ E stands for ‘Echo’ in the phonetic alphabet,” she replied, “Your names are from this day forward; Echo, Kilo, Mike, and November.”
“ Mike? Why does he get to have a normal name?” Echo complained, pointing toward the man with the “M” tattooed on his underwear.
“ If I remember correctly, you said that your name was Jackrabbit before,” she replied with a smirk, “If you ask me, Echo is a much better name for a drummer.”
She shut down that conversation quickly by closing the door after Kilo slithered into the room. She stared at the door for a moment, then turned back to the remaining Indentures. Wasting not a single moment, she started down the hall, gesturing for the last three guys to follow her. The final doorway at the end of the hall was marked CDF. She opened the door and led the way into their quarters.
“ Charlie, Delta, and Foxtrot,” she said, allowing the door to close behind her, “Welcome to your shipboard home for the remainder of the voyage.”
She picked up the tan one-piece uniform from the “F” bed and tossed it to Declan.
“ This is going to be your daily uniform. You will find four
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