Lieutenant (The United Federation Marine Corps Book 3) Read Online Free

Midshipman Cox was court martialed for dereliction of duty for taking his commanding officer, Captain James Lawrence, of the “Don’t Give Up the Ship” fame, below decks when the captain was wounded.  As a midshipman, though, he had then been technically in command of a ship in battle and had left his post, so he was convicted of the charges and dismissed from the Navy in disgrace.
    The lesson had been meant to instill a sense of being an officer into the mids, most of whom had just come up from the enlisted ranks.  No mid, though, was stupid enough to think that a simple appointment gave him any degree of authority or respect.  The chiefs and Marine SNCOs held all the cards and could make or break any one of them.  They may call them “mister” or even interject a “sir” into their speech every now and then, but that didn’t fool anybody.
    Ryck just stared at the gunny.  He knew he’d failed the task—just as he had failed every other RCET assignment so far.  He didn’t need the gunny to remind him.
    He was a freaking combat Marine!  He’d succeeded in real life battles.  Why the hell couldn’t he get through a simple simulation?
    “Give your slug to Mr. Uttley, sir, and report back to the master guns,” Gunny Meader told him.
    The “slug” was the simulated M99 which was used for RCET training.  As per the Charter, sailors and Marines were not allowed on earth’s surface while armed, so for the training at NSA Annapolis, they used a basic game wand that looked nothing like a real M99.  Ryck walked back to the prep area and gave it to Hank Uttley before marching through the hatch and up the stairs to the observation room. 
    Prince Jellico caught his eye as Ryck came in and gave a sympathetic shrug.  The midshipmen who had already finished had all been watching Ryck’s feeds and knew what had happened.  This session had been particularly brutal.  Only Jorge Simone had managed to accomplish the mission so far.  Jorge, a no-neck heavy worlder might look dull, but he had managed to succeed in all six RCET missions they had been assigned.  Ryck, on the other hand, for all his reputation as being a fighter, had failed each and every one. 
    After the last session, the only other mid to have failed every task, Pietr Hartman, had been called into the Captain’s office.  He never returned, and his stateroom was emptied by the BOQ [7] staff.  Ryck didn’t know if Pietr had opted to revert back to his previous rank of corporal or if he merely resigned from the service.
    Ryck straightened his back as he marched up to the small hatch leading into the control booth.  Inside, Master Gunnery Sergeant Kofi Ghanaba was watching the screen as Hank Uttley began his simulation.  He didn’t even glance up as Ryck entered.
    “Mr. Lysander, please go to the company office.  I will meet you there after the final two ranks go through today’s training.  We have a meeting with Captain Klein,” he said as he watched over the RCET training staff. 
    “One-Six, we have lost air support.  Your requested mission has been denied,” a rat-faced civilian kid, barely out of his teens, spoke into a headset from where he was sitting on the other side of the master guns. 
    So this kid was my so-called company commander? Ryck wondered. 
    Ryck knew they worked off a script and had canned responses for most contingencies, but this kid had probably never even gotten into a school-yard fight.  Now, he was having an input into whether Ryck would make it through training.  It didn’t seem right.
    The master guns said nothing else, so Ryck turned and left.  He felt the eyes of the other mids on him as he made his way down the steps and out the hatch.  When he got outside, the muggy August afternoon breeze carried more than a hint of the Chesapeake in it.  The planet was the birthplace of humanity, but to Ryck, it was a foreign world.
    He stood for a moment, knowing these few hours were probably his last as a