short story

Ryan rolled over in his bed and picked up his smart tablet. The clock on it showed 0600 hours. Ryan tapped the glass screen on his viewer, activating the sunlamps embedded in his ceiling. The training video he watched before he left for this space station talked about many things, but emphasized the importance of cadets from Earth getting at least a few hours of artificial sunlight a day while in space.  Ryan looked around the room, still getting use to waking up in a new place. Every United Partnership of Planets standard issue living space was identical. A 9-by-9-foot cube with grey walls and a door on one side. Each was also provided with one standard issue living space desk and chair, and a standard issue living space bed. It was the responsibility of every cadet to decorate the room as he saw fit. This was encouraged, to promote good morale.  Ryan had dressed his bed with soft cotton sheets he had brought from his home back down on Earth. They were adorned with colorful dinosaurs. He knew the dinosaurs were not scientifically accurate, but it was something he had had since his youth. The sheets brought with it a sense of home and security.  A large comforter that matched the sheets was also placed on the bed, along with a large pillow. A (scientifically inaccurate) stegosaurus adorned the pillow, purple in color with a big cartoonish smile on its face. On the far wall from his bed, a poster hung, featuring the crew of the starship Defiant, the stars of the fictional smart tablet viewing program Star Quest. Ryan sat up from his bed, thinking about the day ahead. “We’ll be meeting our training partners today” Ryan thought “I’ll have to get something to eat, then find our training room. But first…” Ryan smiled, plugging his smart tablet into the dock on his desk. There was time enough, he thought, to watch an episode of Star Quest.  A smile grew on Ryan’s face, as the familiar theme song began to play.

When the episode ended, Ryan put on his standard issue United Partnership of Planets Space Exploration Division cadet’s uniform, heading down to the cafeteria.  The space station they lived in was designed to mimic life on an exploration vessel. The light hum of the life-support systems was ever-present, becoming the background noise of any quiet areas. Most cadets got used to this noise within a few days.  He watched as other cadets made their way around the space station. Most were humans, but he saw a few unfamiliar races as well. He saw two cadets with green, leafy skin sunning themselves under some artificial sunlamps as he passed ate breakfast in the commons area. “Oh wow!” Ryan thought to himself “I think they are Filosians, their species photosynthesize, so they don’t need to eat...” As he made his way to the training rooms, Ryan’s eyes were drawn to the exercising arena where, he saw to reptilian-looking girls in a wrestling match. “And they must be Rathgarians.” He thought. “I’ve heard they are the toughest race in the galaxy.” Ryan tended to get lost in thought when he encountered something he found interesting, sometimes to the point he lost sight of what he was doing at the time. He knew he would have to look up more information on his smart tablet about everything and everyone he was seeing when he was done with classes.

“Ryan!” A voice came from seemingly nowhere. “We’re already in space, my man. Don’t drift out of orbit!” Ryan turned toward the voice to see an old friend of his. “Peabo!” Ryan said, slapping both his friend’s outstretched palms down and them bumping fists together. “I’m so glad to see you! Are you on your way to training?” Peabo smiled back, laughing “Yep, Training Room 26-B!” Ryan’s eyes lit up “That’s where I’m going! That means we will be crew-mates!” Ryan said excitedly. “I know right?” Peabo said “We’re going to be just like Captain Starwind and Commander Zettabyte from Star Quest!” Ryan knew Peabo had joined the Space Exploration Division at the same time he had, but he had not counted on having someone he knew on his crew. Ryan knew things were going to be a lot better with Peabo there. The two friends, ventured down the hall, reminiscing about their favorite show together.

As the two of them got to room 26-B, All the cadets stood outside the training room, conversing amongst themselves and awaiting the arrival of their instructor, who would also serve as their commanding officer. As they stood, their instructor stepped into view. “Attention!” she shouted, getting all the cadets to stand in a line, shoulder to shoulder. “I am commander L’Kara. I will be your instructor.”  She stepped in front of everyone, her long tail dragging behind her. “Over the course of this semester, you will be subjected to several simulations…”  Ryan looked on, his mind starting to wander as usual. “Our instructor is Rathgarian as well.” He thought.  L’kara was a large, imposing woman, who looked more like a humanoid dragon than a teacher. Her face ended in a short snout not unlike an alligator, with several ridges running down the middle of her head and presumably down her back. She wore the standard issue U.P.P. commander’s uniform, but modified for her species, with space for her tail to come through in the back of her pants, and three-toed boots in lieu of the normal human ones. She continued to give instruction, but Ryan’s mind was already gone, his eyes wandering. As she crossed her arms in front of her, Ryan noticed her chest had large breasts like a human woman. “That’s strange…” Ryan thought to himself. “I thought Rathgarians were reptilian.” He found himself lost in thought, his eyes still fixated on her chest. “Come to think of it, the other girls had them too. Maybe Rathgarians are like Earth’s platypus, who lays eggs and then feeds the offspring milk. Or maybe they are like the slokars on the planet…”  “Excuse me!” L’kara shouted, frowning at Ryan. She pressed the first of her four clawed fingers against his chin, forcing him to look at her face. “Pay attention...” She growled at him. “Yes ma’am…” Ryan said, a little embarrassed.  Peabo stood beside Ryan, chuckling to himself at Ryan’s tendency to daydream.  “What’s your name, cadet?” L’kara said, removing the claw from Ryan’s chin. “Ryan Rodriguez.” Ryan stammered. “Rodriguez, I heard about you.” She said. “You scored the highest possible score on all the written entrance exams.” She said, sniffing the air around him. “But you’ll find that filling out a form isn’t going to prepare you for the realities of space travel.” She said, turning to address the whole class. “Space is a dark, cold blanket wrapped around disease and death! It is a place where you must kill or be killed! Where only the strongest survive!” She shouted. “Every one of you here has the lives of not just yourselves, but everyone else on your crew in their hands.” She said, crossing her arms in front of her. “Computer! Run simulation 1219-F!” As she said this, the training room behind her let out a loud, electronic noise as it reconfigured itself, the doors sliding open to show a recreation of an Exploration-Class Star Vessel bridge. “These rooms are programmed to be a perfectly simulation of situations you may encounter out in space, based on everything we know in our database. In this exam, you’re going to get a chance to experience everything you didn’t learn from those stupid written tests.” She turned to Ryan. “Alright, schoolboy. You’re the captain.”  She said with a smirk. “I…what…” Ryan exclaimed in shock as L’kara started down the line of cadets, checking her smart tablet and assigning each a rank and station based on what they excelled at in the written tests. Just as she left, she turned to Ryan. “Don’t get your crew killed…” L’Kara said, leaving down a hall near the training room.

Ryan nervously approached the captain’s chair. “Ok, I can do this…” He thought to himself, pushing a button on the chair. “I’ve studied this bridge, it’s an Explorer Class, an older model from the Helium-3 Wars…” He thought. Un the center of the bridge sat the Captain’s chair, and seated next to him was the second in command’s chair. Set around the room were several control panels and chairs, all designated to different functions of the ship; communication, navigation, weapons and so on. Ryan looked around the room, getting acquainted not only with what stations were where, but also which classmates were manning them. This would be the “crew” he would be working with during his training. Ryan breathed a sigh of relief as he turned to see Peabo had been assigned as his second in command. “Oh good…” He thought. Peabo took his station next to Ryan, turning to face him. “Dude, we really are just like Captain Starwind and Commander Zettabyte.” He said. “Yeah, but I get to be Captain Starwind.” Ryan said with a smirk.

Watching them on a viewing screen from another room, L’kara looked on. Next to her stood another officer, Admiral Johnson.  “Why are you so hard on them? They’re just kids.” Johnson said. “Rathgarians don’t believe in kid gloves.” She said. “Someone’s got to prepare them for what’s really out there. Not that crap they watch on their smart tablets.” L’Kara said, her tail wagging behind her. “That boy looks promising.” Johnson said, watching as the cadets all familiarize themselves with the lay out and controls of the bridge. “Rodriguez?” She asked. “I don’t think so. He’s part Timorian.” Johnson looked shocked “Really? How can you tell?” He asked. L’Kara smiled, tapping the end of her snout. “I can smell it on him.  He’s half Timorian, half human. No doubt.” She said. “I see…” Johnson said. “Timorians are weak. Their species evolved from prey animals. They are more likely to run and hide than to fight. They don’t belong in space.” L’kara snorted, a look of annoyance on her face. “Maybe so, but you know the rules. We technically can’t bar entry to anyone on the basis of race. The council would have our asses.  Besides, he’s still half human.” Johnson said. L’Kara leaned to face him, smiling again, “Yeah, like that’s much better.”  Johnson smiled back, having spent enough time with her, he could tell when she was joking. “Simulation 1219-F is one of the tougher simulations. We’ll see what he does when he’s forced into a hostile situation.” L’kara said, turning back to watch the class.

A loud noise erupted in the simulation room, the sound of a red alert malfunction. Ryan looked worried, turning to his engineer. “Zzzerak?” He said, struggling with the difficult to pronounce Filosian name. “My name is Zzzrtaaak”, Zzzrtaaak interrupted. “Sorry. What just happened?” Zzzrtaaak pulled up a screen on his engineering console. “We’ve had a malfunction in the port side engine. It looks like we’ve been thrown way off course.” Ryan sat forward in the Captain’s chair, turning to the young girl in the navigator’s seat. “Hoshi, what’s our current location?” Hoshi tapped her console, a worried look coming over her face. “Uh-oh.” She said. Ryan turned to her. “What? Where are we?” He asked. She turned to him. “This is territory claimed by the Troctite…” She said. Ryan’s heart sank. Troctites were known for their territorial nature. He turned to his engineer. “Zarfrak…” Ryan said, again struggling with pronunciation. “It’s Zzzrtaaak!” Zzzrtaaak corrected. “Whatever! Reroute all power to the remaining engines! Get us out of here before…” Ryan shouted. But it was already too late. The simulation room shook causing everyone to stumble. “Captain, we are being hailed.” Hoshi said. Ryan again worried, turning to the captain’s viewing screen. “Put them through.” He said nervously. As Ryan spoke, a simulated image of a Troctite came on screen. He was dressed in combat attire, his military medals draped over his hulking shoulders. Each scale of his rock-like skin shifting as his facial expression quickly changed from a frown to a scowl. “This is Captain Rynock! What are you doing here?” the simulated captain exclaimed. “Ryan stammered, even in a simulation, the sight of a Troctite was intimidating. “I... I deeply apologize. My crew and I were…” Ryan started before he was interrupted by the simulation. “Shut up! You are trespassing in Troctite space! A violation of treaty!” The simulation shouted. Ryan again began to apologize. “Sir… again, I am deeply sorry for…” before being interrupted again. “Don’t give me that! Prepare to be destroyed!” The simulation said before cutting its communication. Ryan’s face sank, trying to think of what to do. His body nearly froze. “What should we do? Should we try to run? This vessel could never outrun a Toctite war ship. Should we fight?” Ryan thought before being interrupted by the sound of a loud explosion. BOOM! The training room shook, simulating the effects of heavy fire on a ship’s hull. “We are sustaining heavy damage!” One of Ryan’s classmates shouted. “Ryan, what’s wrong?” Peabo whispered to his friend. Ryan clutched the edge of his captain’s chair, still stuck in indecisiveness. BOOM! Another explosion sound rocked the training room, knocking Ryan and the rest of the crew to the floor and causing all the lights and power to go out.  After a few moments in the dark, the doors finally opened, light pouring in from the outside and revealing Commander L’Kara to be standing there. “Congratulations, Rodriguez.” She scoffed. “You and your crew are all dead.” Ryan looked on in horror as his classmates stared at him. Some with looks of contempt, some with looks of pity. He couldn’t tell which were worse.

Later that day, Ryan laid in his room, distraught. He stared at the ceiling, thinking about what had happened. He rolled over, disgusted with himself as he heard a knock on his door. “Ryan… It’s me, are you ok?” Peabo said. Ryan sighed, pressing his smart tablet to open the door. “Come on in.” He said, listless. “When you didn’t come to lunch, I came to check on you.” Peabo said, sitting down in Ryan’s chair. “What happened today, man?” Ryan frowned, sitting up in his bed. “You saw what happened. I froze.” Ryan said dejected. “You were nervous. It was unfair of the teacher to put you in a simulation that difficul…“ Peabo said before he was cut off. “No, it’s because I’m part Timorian! Don’t you get it! Do you remember, the kids that used to make fun of me in school? When they found out I was only half human? When I said I wanted to join the Space Exploration Division?  Maybe they were right. Maybe I am weak.” Ryan said, holding back tears. Peabo didn’t say anything, instead reaching back and punching Ryan in the arm as hard as he could. “Ow! What the Hell?! What was that for?” Ryan exclaimed. Peabo got a stern look on his face. “Because.” He said. “I punch people who bad-mouth my friends.” Ryan frowned, rubbing his arm. “Look, don’t listen to those assholes.” Peabo said. “You’ve got just as much right to be up here as anyone else. We’ve got another chance to make up the exam tomorrow. So, don’t beat yourself up.” Peabo said.

Ryan sighed, a little comforted by his friend’s words. “By the way, did you see the Aquarian girls at breakfast? I got to say, they’re pretty hot. The gills are not a deal-breaker for me.” Peabo smirked. “Dude, do you ever think about anything else?” Ryan said, smiling at his friend. “What? Don’t act like you don’t either.  I saw you checking out the teacher!” Ryan stammered. “I was not! I was just thinking about her…” Ryan stopped himself, realizing there was no way to finish that sentence without sounding perverted. “Ha! I knew it! I’d be careful though, a Rathgarian girl would probably tear you in half! Their mating rituals are crazy!” Ryan smirked “And why do you know that?” he asked. “I.. it… It was for research, ok?!” Peabo exclaimed. “Yeah, research.” Ryan teased. “Dude, shut up!” Peabo said.  Ryan sighed, looking at the poster on his wall. “You know, this place… it’s not much like Star Quest at all.” Ryan said. “They always focused on peaceful exploration, understanding other cultures.” Peabo thought for a moment. “Yeah, maybe not. But maybe that’s why this place needs guys like us.” Ryan smiled. “Wait a second… That’s it!” Ryan stood up, grabbing his smart tablet from the desk. “Peabo, I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ve got research to do.” Ryan said, a look of determination on his face. “And no, not that kind of research!”.  Peabo stood up, chuckling a little. “Ok, I’ll see you tomorrow.” He said as he left the room. Ryan shut the door as he left, turning back around and sitting back on his bed. “Ok, access the U.P.P database.” Ryan said, his tablet following his command. “I want you to show me everything you have on Troctite culture.”

The next day, Ryan came to the training room, again met with angry looks from the class. But this time, Ryan didn’t mind their looks at all, his own look of confidence on his face confusing them. Peabo came up to him, taking his post next to the captain’s chair. “Ryan, you doing ok?” Ryan smiled. “Yeah, don’t worry. I’ve got this.” He smiled. Peabo shrugged, wondering what his friend was planning. L’Kara stood in the doorway again, addressing the class. “Same simulation as yesterday. Number 1219-F. Rodriguez, your mission is to get your crew out safely.” She said as she left the room again. Just as before, the sound of red alert malfunction warning blared. “Zzzrtaaak observed his control panel. “Yep, it happened again. Malfunction in the same engine.” Ryan nodded, turning to his navigator. “Hoshi, where are we?” He asked. “Same as last time, In Troctite territory.” She said. “Just checking. “Ryan said. “Open a channel to the other ship.” The other crew member did as he instructed, opening a channel. Just as before the simulation of the Troctite commander came on screen, uttering the same phrase. “This is Captain Rynock! What are you doing here?” Ryan smirked, speaking to the screen. “Well I would say we’re here for the atmosphere, but we’re in outer space!” Ryan said, smiling. The rest of the class looked at Ryan with utter confusion. The simulation reacted in kind. “What?” it asked. “Look. We’re in the quadrant by accident. We had a malfunction with our matter/anti-matter engine and ended up out here. The matter says it’s the anti-matter’s fault. But we all know matter makes everything up.” The whole class still looked on, unsure of what to make of Ryan’s poor attempts at comedy. Peabo was equally confused, but couldn’t help but chuckle at Ryan’s terrible puns. He pulled Ryan aside and whispered in his ear. “Ryan what are you doing?” He said. “Don’t worry.” Ryan replied, turning back to the simulation. “We were about to reroute power to our remaining engines and leave. Unless you want to help me get out and push!” L’kara looked on from the other room, equally confused. However, the tension in the room was immediately cut short by the loud, intense laughter of the simulated captain. “Oh man! You guys are alright! Go ahead and get out of here!” He said, ending the transmission. “With pleasure.” Ryan said turning to face the engineering station. “Zzzrtaaak, divert all power to the remaining engines and prepare for warp speed 12!” He said, pronouncing the engineer’s name correctly this time. “Hoshi, set a course toward the Gamma quadrant.” All the other crew members laughed in relief, coming over to Ryan’s chair. Peabo turn to his friend. “Ryan, just what the Hell was that?” He asked. “I told you, research.” Ryan said, sitting back in his chair. “I looked up everything I could about Troctite culture last night before bed. Troctites see excessive courtesy as disingenuous, a way of hiding someone’s true feelings. My apologizing was only making him angry, and less likely to trust me.” Ryan said. “I see… But what about...” Peabo said before being interrupted. “Oh, the bad jokes? Well I found that Troctites may look scary, but their culture has a great love of comedy! It’s a tradition going back thousands of years. Opening with a joke is the best way to show a Troctite you are after peaceful negotiations.” Peabo breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, you crazy bastard.” Peabo said, giving his friend their special handshake. The rest of the class seemed surprised at Ryan’s resourcefulness, returning to their posts. Peabo put a hand on Ryan’s shoulder. “Just one thing. Next time… tell your second in command the plan, ok?” Peabo said. Ryan smiled. “Sure.”

As the rest of the class broke for lunch, Ryan walked out of the simulation room. L’kara pulled him aside, frowning and again crossing her arms in front of her. “Just want do you think you just pulled?” she said. “I passed the exam.” Ryan said. “You said it yourself, don’t get your crew killed.” He said. “You never said I had to fight. I learned about the culture of the people I was addressing, and I got out of the situation. I did what a good captain should.” L’kara’s face shifted from annoyance to anger. “Listen, smart guy. Don’t think that I’m not on to you. You might have talked your way out of this one, but space is a dangerous place. Someday, you will have no choice but to fight.” She said, reluctantly pushing a button on her smart-tablet. Ryan’s own tablet beeped in response, signaling his passing grade. Ryan looked up at her as she walked away. “Maybe, someday.” He thought to himself. “But not if I can help it.”