Stellar

Chapter 1: The Room

He woke up with a sudden jerk. "Wake up! Wake up!" a fellow crew member said in a very motivated tone.

"What is it?" said Robert the space cadet.

"We are gonna be late for our first day." said the crew member with a glimmer in her eye.

Robert then replied in an unmotivated and angsty tone, "Five more minutes please."

She shook Robert. "Wake up, come on!".

"Okay! Okay! I'm up!" he replied in a tired tone.

"What's the whole excitement over this first day thing anyways? We've been on this ship for the past 400 years and we finally got a job. What's gonna be so new about it?" he explained while giving an annoyed and sort of confused look.

"WE FINALLY GET TO BE SPACE CADETS! That's what's so new! We can explore the planets we visit and the outside of the ship too... We'll make repairs, but that's not the point, okay? The point is... WE GET TO BE SPACE CADETS!" She explained in a very excited manner, almost jumping up and down with excitement.

Robert then replied a little bit more cheerfully, "I guess exploring planets would be pretty cool".
Then a loud speaker mostly used for announcements and telling all the members aboard what's for dinner said, "Attention all trainees for the space cadet program. Please report to the Room". The speaker shut off with a loud screech.

Robert then asked, "What's the Room?"

The other space cadet sharing a room with Robert replied, "You haven't heard about the Room? Are you serious? Have you been living under an astroid for the last 18 years of your life?"

Robert then replied with "Livy, you don't have to act like I'm an idiot or something, okay? I just I.. just have never heard of the room. That's all. No need to raise your voice."

Livy replied with an annoyed calm tone as if she is trying not to blow a fuse. "The Room is the place where the special training happens." Her tone switched to a very excited mood "We get to train with the jet pack and the laser guns and most importantly the speeders!" Livy smiles with the biggest grin you could ever see on a person.

Robert then replied "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going!"

Robert imagined the jet pack testing for he was most excited for that of all the other things. His dream as a child was to be able to fly one day. They both hurried out of their room and into the hallway, lit with bright white and blue LEDs across the corners of the roof and floor.

Livy looked to Robert and asked, "What do you think we'll get to be trained on today?" in a excited, curious tone.

Roberts looked down to his feet. "I don't know." He looks back up again to Livy "I'm sure we won't get to do anything today and it'll just be a get-to-know-the-crew day." He looked down again while walking down the hallway. Livy then replied in a sort of disappointed mood, "Yeah, you're probably right. We'll need to get to know who we're working with so we can trust each other and make new friends I guess."

They suddenly stopped as they both stared out of a window in the hallway. It led to the outside of the ship that was looking over the nearest planet.

"Livy, do you think we'll get to explore that planet? After all it is 70% unknown."

Livy in a excited tone replied, "Yes, I'm positive we'll get to explore it. After we get trained that's gonna be our job. Out of all the jobs, we are the ones who get to go there. Not the trash people, not the food preparation team, but us: The Space Cadets".

They continued to walk down the hall. As they arrived at the door to The Room, Robert looked to Livy with a nervous look. She looked back at him the same. "You ready Robert?"

"Ready as I'll ever be. You?" He replied. "Yup." Livy replied in a nervous tone.

They both opened the huge 8-foot door that said 'Sector T' on it. They were greeted by a group of about 20-30 people just like them. In the middle of them all, there stood a figure, strong and muscular and big in mass.

Robert whispered to Livy, "I think that's the trainer."

"I do too." Livy replied, while giving off a scared, nervous look to Robert. They both lined up with the rest of the space cadets in the program.

The muscular trainer with a very manly voice said, "You all have been chosen for this job not because you're good, not because you're better than anyone else, but because you're willing. And that's the most important part of this job. Other than bravery."

"Bravery? More like lazery." A student whispered to another cadet.

"I AM SERGEANT MIKE RILVERS! AND I WILL NOT, AND I MEAN WILL NOT, HAVE ANY DISRESPECT IN THIS PROFESSION! WE ARE A TEAM AND WE MUST WORK TOGETHER OR WE WILL ALL DIE!" The sergeant screamed. Livy and Robert looked to each other, worried from this new information they had been given.

Mike then stated, calmer this time, "Out there in the field, you won't just be researching and repairing the ship, or exploring planets. There is some real danger in this job. For example, the other day, we lost Jake. He was an old cadet, about 2 years older than you guys. But he didn't die. No No. He was lost. We searched for him for days but the last radio message we received from him was 'Leave the planet as soon as you can. We're not the only ones...' Then a loud screech sound over the recording happened and it fell silent."

The space cadets all look at each other in fear of what might have taken Mike.

"Now you see why we must train hard and stick together: so we can be ready for all situations." He paused letting it sink in. "Now let's go around and tell each other our names."

The cadets, including Robert and Livy, all went around and said their names. Then they were sent back to their rooms for the night until the next day.

"Livy, what do you think tomorrow is gonna be like?" Robert asked.

Livy paused before answering, making her own guess. "I'd say tough and a new learning experience." She finally replied.

They both finished walking from Sector T, AKA the Room, back to their room. Robert laid down in his bed and slowly fell asleep to the sound of the soft rumbling of the ships engines. Livy talked to Robert while he slept. "Sleep well, Robert. I can't wait to train tomorrow."

She hops into her bed, thinking of the endless possibilities of the next day, and drifted off to sleep.