The cadets stand in formation in the courtyard as Captain Fitzgibbons reads from the ‘death roll’, which is a list of fallen cadets.
The protagonist, Violet, describes the uniforms of the riders and her living conditions in the first-year barracks of the dormitory building.
The Captain concludes the roll call with Simone Casteneda’s name and the squadron leaders start routing their squads to their daily activities.
Violet interacts with her friends Rhiannon and Dain who tease her about adjusting
