Vanguard (Ark Royal Book 7) by Christopher Nuttall

as the hatch banged closed and the shuttle took off, accessing the other files on the datachip.  There was surprisingly little about Vanguard herself, save for a handful of deck plans that looked to be intentionally vague and a great deal of buzzwords that seemed designed for public consumption.  She’d been told, back at the academy, that much of the information freely available online was inaccurate in many ways, but it didn't look as though the academy wanted her to be any more informed.  But then, she was only a midshipwoman en route to her first posting.  No doubt she’d be filled in when she arrived.
     
    “There’s very little on the command crew,” Nathan observed.  “And the XO slot is completely empty.”
     
    George frowned as she checked her own reader, then nodded.  “It’s missing completely,” she said.  Were they meant to look it up for themselves, while they were at the academy?  Had they just failed a test?  Or had something else happened?  “Maybe they want to surprise us.”
     
    “Seems a bit of a petty surprise,” Nathan observed.  “Is that normal?”
     
    “I don’t know,” George admitted.  She’d tried asking her naval relatives for details of their first duty postings, but none of them had been particularly specific.  Perhaps midshipmen didn't do anything spectacular; her uncle, at least, hadn't been particularly successful until the First Interstellar War.  “It could be a bureaucratic mix-up.”
     
    “Or it could be a test to see how we react,” Nathan speculated.  “Prince Henry might have come back from Tadpole Prime to serve as XO.  Or maybe it’s Stellar Star herself!”
     
    “I very much doubt it,” George said, primly.  The thought was amusing, but it was the kind of thing that only happened in bad movies, the ones written and produced by hacks who thought they could substitute nudity for storytelling.  Given how much nudity was available on the datanet, she had a feeling they were wasting their time.  “Every time you hear uncontrolled laughter rippling out of the officers’ wardroom you just know they’re watching Stellar Star.”
     
    She glanced through the rest of her reader, but found nothing else beyond basic facts she could have downloaded from the public database, if she’d wished.  Shaking her head, she opened one of the latest novels from her favourite writer and settled down to read.  Her uncle had been the one to introduce her to wet-navy stories and, after she'd gotten used to the tropes, she’d found she rather enjoyed them.  It seemed odd to think that sailing on water could be as dangerous as travelling through interstellar space, but it could be ...
     
    There are no storms in space , she thought, wryly.  And fewer enemies.
     
    The intercom bleeped.  “If I could have your attention please,” the shuttle pilot said, “we are currently approaching HMS Vanguard .  Passengers are reminded that we are landing in Shuttlebay Four; all passengers are to walk through the hatch and then remain within the reception bay until collected by greeting parties.  Please make sure you take all personal possessions with you upon disembarking this craft, as we will be proceeding to HMS Rubicon shortly.”
     
    “As if we brought much,” Nathan muttered.
     
    “Good thing my sister didn't come,” George muttered back.  “Anne has more clothes in her room than everyone in our class, put together.”
     
    “That’s a lot of clothes,” Nathan said.  “How much money did she waste on them?”
     
    George shrugged.  It was impossible to say just how rich her family actually was, not when half of their wealth was invested in everything from land to asteroids and industries.  Her father and grandfather had steered the family through the chaos caused by the bombardment, although they’d taken quite considerable losses after the floodwaters had ravaged Earth.  And, as long as some of her more idle cousins didn't get their hands