The Infinity Brigade #1 Stone Cold Read Online Free PDF Page A

suppose it is not,” he said. “Dismissed Recruit Stone.”
    On the last day of week one we got another surprise. One of the other Drills, a woman by the name of Staff Sergeant Baldwin came into our Billets. I was tired of running laps in 2G around the exercise track so I made it my business to encourage my fellow trainees to square their stuff away the second they were done using it. That way we were always inspection-ready. It turned out to be a good move on my training platoon.
    “Recruit Stone, front and center POST!”
    I quickly raced to her position and assumed the ‘At Attention’ stance:  chin up, chest out, shoulders back, stomach in.
    “Recruit Stone. By order of the Marine Training Commandant, effective this date, you are promoted to acting Ensign. You are authorized to promote one soldier to acting sergeant and one soldier to acting corporal. Everyone else remains a private. You have ten minutes to get acquainted with your command before you will run them to the mess hall were you will all enjoy a steak dinner.” With this she saluted me.
    I was dumbfounded. She continued to hold her salute until another recruit named JJ coughed slightly and wiggled his right hand. Catching on, I crisply saluted her back. If Drill Sergeant Baldwin was pissed that I had not immediately returned her salute, she gave no indication of it. She handed me three arm bands and then executed a perfect about face and marched out of our billets.
    The room exploded in a rush of excited voices. I’d like to think it was for me but I knew it was the prospect of real meal and not the retextured soy that they had been feeding us for the last week.
    “Time?” I shouted.
    “16:51”
    I was excited by the promotion but I was also well aware that I had just been handed a huge target and asked to paste it on my back. With great responsibility came great reward and great risk. My first task was to promote a couple of my bunk mates. I tried to be objective based on knowing these guys and gals for only a week.
    “Recruit Jeremy James Hammond, front and center POST!” I yelled.
    JJ responded by lumbering over like the great ape he was and stood at something that only vaguely resembled attention.
    “Recruit Hammond, by the power vested in me by Drill Sergeant Baldwin, and because I don’t have the common sense God granted a fly, I now promote you to the rank of Acting Sergeant. Ramirez that makes you the corporal.”

Chapter 4: Boot Camp – Week Two
    The steak dinner was delicious. It included Texas toast, a massive baked potato complete with both butter and, if you wanted it, sour crème. The steak was a lab grown ribeye with just the right amount of synthetic marbling. Much to my surprise we were given a full thirty minutes to enjoy this feast. It seemed too good to be true and as was often the case, it was. Five minutes before we were to have our plates policed up, the Senior Drill stood up and announced we needed to hurry up and finish because he was going to introduce us to some new safety equipment after dinner. 
    Now I had only been a recruit for seven days but even I knew that a Drill Sergeant suggesting anything was tantamount to an order. I wolfed down the last of my steak and potatoes… and hurried my tray to the automated recycler.
    Once outside, the Drills took us on a leisurely five kilometer run. Acting Sergeant Hammond took the questionable opportunity to point out that his ‘mum’ always said you should never do strenuous physical activity after eating a big meal. The end result was a lengthy discussion involving a concern on the Senior Drills part that Jeremy James Hammond might accidently confuse Senior Drill Sergeant Harris with his mum… and in point of fact, since he was obviously a momma’s boy that said recruit might indeed attempt to suckle at the Senior Drill’s breast… a state of affairs that the Senior Drill would find deeply disturbing… so disturbing in fact that the Drills had us all drop and give