Corpsman Read Online Free Page A

but I must warn you that you will not be allotted any more time.  So if you think you’re going to need it, I suggest you use it now.”
    Liege started to say no, she didn’t need it, but she wondered if this was some sort of test as well, to see if she was the type to prepare herself.  Even if it weren’t some sort of convoluted test, it would be a pretty good idea, so she said she would.
    As soon as Liege returned, the woman continued as if she had never been interrupted, “If there is an emergency, the right light will flash and you may leave the cubicle.  Leaving for any other reason will terminate your test and count as a failure.
    “If you have a PA, please leave it with me.  We do have block-checks in the cubicles, so if you take a PA inside, it will be fried.”
    Liege quickly took her PA out of her side pocket and handed it over.  The woman put it in simple open drawer with T-003 printed on it.
    “The test itself is self-explanatory.  So with that said, do you have any questions for me?”
    “No, ma’am.”
    “OK, then, follow me, please.”
    The woman led Liege to the back of the room where doors to cubicles lined the wall. She stopped at one with T-003 printed over the door.
    “This is your cubicle.   Your test will begin one minute after I close the door.”
    She held one hand out, indicating that Liege should enter.
    “Good luck, Miss Neves,” she said as Liege brushed past her to enter her cubicle.
    “Thank you,” she said, looking up to catch the proctor’s eye.
    The woman had a smile on her face, and Liege realized that the woman had never given her the evil eye or the look of disdain that drudges and suits gave her kind.  Either she was so inured to the thousands and thousands of applicants wanting government jobs who must have passed through her testing center or she really didn’t care about Liege’s background.  Liege hoped it was the latter.
    She took a seat in the small space as the door closed behind her.  She took a deep breath as the display in front of her started counting down her minute.  As it reached zero, the display switched to a new screen with the heading “Primary Skills Level Test.”
    Come on, Liege!  Get it done!
     
    ***************
     
    Two hours later, the display died, and after another minute, the door whooshed open.
    “You’re all done, Miss Neves,” the proctor said as she looked at some sort of readout screen.
    Liege was drained.  The four tests were much more difficult than she’d expected.  She’d been a good student, but she also realized that the schools in the favelas did not have the same resources as those in suitland or even drudgeland.  She’d been so confident that the testing would be a breeze; now, she was not so sure.
    “Uh, can I ask how I did?”
    “Petty Officer Russell will do that.  I’m just a proctor here.”
    Liege knew she had to be looking at her scores, so if the proctor didn’t want to tell her, they must be bad, she reasoned.  If they were good, then Liege thought the woman would be more than happy to tell her that.
    If she wasn’t accepted, she didn’t know what she and Leticia would do.  Possibly the FCDC would still take a look at her, but as far as she knew, the test was the same as for all government jobs.
    The third module, titled “Cognizant Awareness,” had really kicked her butt.  She didn’t even know what the title meant.  She knew each word, but used together like that almost seemed redundant, and even after finishing the module, she still didn’t know just what was being tested.
    The woman gave her a small follow-me, telling her to go to the waiting room where her uniform would pick her up.  Liege thanked her and walked out of the testing center, past where she knew the recruiter offices were, and into a mid-sized waiting room.  All the faces of the others in the room looked up as she came in.  Liege recognized some of them from the first anteroom, and Evangeline brightened when she