Katie Kincaid Space Cadet by Andrew van Aardvark

Author:Andrew van Aardvark [van Aardvark, Andrew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction Novel
Publisher: NapoleonSims Publishing
Published: 2021-01-25T22:00:00+00:00

6: Are You Ready, Kincaid?

The Coach contemplated the snowy Scandinavian woods. It was an idyllic scene, but not that different from a similar one in northern North America at the same time of year. It was the middle of January.

What made these woods special was that the World Biathlon Championships were being held in them. The Academy's biathlon team had made it to the World's and the Coach couldn't help enjoying that fact.

It worried the Coach that their success rested so heavily upon two first year female cadets, Fritzsen, and Kincaid. Susan Fritzsen wasn't his concern. Kincaid was.

The two worked well together. With Fritzsen's help, Kincaid had gone from having immense potential to being the team's star.

Fritzsen, who was very good herself, didn't seem to mind being left in Kincaid's shade.

The Coach suspected she had the same worry he did. Kincaid was a star on the biathlon circuit. As an Academy cadet, she was floundering to a degree she didn't appear to appreciate.

Coach Svenson wasn't a man given to wasting time in regrets. You acted. You hoped it worked out. If it didn't, you assessed and corrected. You did not waste time in self-flagellation.

All the same, sometimes mid-course corrections were necessary. Sometimes minimizing the downside of a decision was as important as maximizing the upside.

Kincaid had proved she had a tremendous upside as a biathlon competitor. The team stood to lose her if she could not make it as a cadet. Above all, she had to succeed at the upcoming Basic Officer Training Course she'd be taking. Taking along with her classmates whose co-operation and goodwill she was going to need. The classmates the Coach's biathlon team had taken her away from.

The young woman in question ought to be arriving soon. Wasn't going to be much opportunity to say anything useful to her. Not here and now, but maybe he ought to think of something to say on the return trip. A sort of "well done" talk now you need to address this thing talk.

It was mere tens of seconds before he saw her emerging from the edge of the trees. Obviously tired, but focused, happy, and determined too.

"Right on time," he said as she glided past and up to her firing station. "Keep this up and you're going to place well."

Kincaid spared him a quick grin before snapping off a measured set of shots.

This range had mechanical targets that clearly indicated a binary miss or hit result. Kincaid had managed ten hits out of ten shots. Excellent.

There was no time to waste all the same, and the Coach didn't want to detain Kincaid or dampen her spirits. He also didn't want to hit her out of the blue with a downer talk when they were done.

The Coach acted as he believed a decisive man of principle should.

"Good shooting," he said to the happy, if red faced, young woman as she rose from her firing position. "However we place, you're going to do well. No time now, but I'm going to have to have a talk with you about what's next afterwards, so don't get carried away celebrating.

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