Cadets: Short Stories

JONATHAN'S LOG: FAMILY

Me and my sister had been close since we were toddlers, much like any siblings We had loving parents who treasured us with all their hearts. Both our mom and dad served in the Galactic Federation, and were always away out in space on all sorts of adventures. We Always missed them, but that never bothered us much. We knew that they would always return home safe and sound. When they did come home, dad would tell us amazing stories about the universe and all its wonders. Jennifer and I would play spaceships in our backyard, pretending we were exploring the universe just like our parents. Mom even made us little Starfleet uniforms and spacesuits to wear.

As soon as we were old enough to start school, we set out to become officers of the Galactic Federation just like our parents. Joining the Galactic Federation was not going to be easy. We had to study hard in order to be accepted into the Galactic Federation Academy, where cadets learn and train to become the next generation of Starfleet officers. Jennifer and I had our eyes set on attending the Space Program. We always wanted to see the universe. When we were little, I would often nag my dad to take me on his voyages, only to be told I was too young. Though he promised to take me and my sister out into space once we were old enough.

The next few years, Me and Jennifer were full of confidence. Every day we would go to school and study hard, feeling positive. We would bid mom and dad farewell every morning and come home from a good busy day. However, there were hard times when we would either fail or barely pass our exams. Sometimes, Me and Jennifer would often come home frustrated, only for mom, dad, or aunt Julia to comfort us. Despite all the ups and downs, we refused to give up and kept working hard. Sometimes our grades would get a little better.

As time went on, Jennifer and I became so focused on our studies that we began to drift away from our parents. We stopped saying goodbye to them in the morning, and sometimes skipped breakfast. We would come home with a lot of homework. We would study during dinner or skip and rush to our rooms. When we achieved enough grades, we would send an application to the Galactic Federation Academy. We waited anxiously for a returning letter, and when they arrived it was a rejection. This would leave us feeling like all our hard work wasn't enough, but dad kept encouraging us not to give up. So, we kept on trying again and again.

By the time we were ten, our parents had gone away on another mission, and we were staying with aunt Julia. They were planning to return home on our eleventh birthday. When our birthday came, Me and Jennifer returned home from school beaming with excitement. We couldn't wait to see mom and dad, as well tell them how well we were doing in school. However, when we got home, we found our aunt sobbing with three Starfleet officers beside her. We didn't understand why she was upset, and when I asked where mom and dad were, she went sadly quiet for a moment. Aunt Julia had us sit down and what she was about to tell us would traumatise us for life. She had been told by the three officers that mom and dad had disappeared during a mission beyond Federation space. Nobody knew what happened to them. They just vanished along with their ship and crew. The Federation had been searching for weeks, but eventually declared them missing.

We fell to pieces after that. The closet people in our lives were gone forever. The days that followed were hard. Overwhelmed with grief, Me and Jennifer no longer felt we could pursue our dream to join Starfleet without our parents. We stopped doing well in school and distant themselves from our friend. We also found it hard to sleep. I would toss and turn throughout the night, unable to stop thinking about how much I missed my parents. During the day Jennifer felt waves of sadness, and all she wanted to do was be left alone to cry, wishing that it was all a bad dream.

Months passed, and we were still struggling to cope with our grief. By this time, we had stored away all our Starfleet toys and posters, because they were reminders of our parents and it made us sad. Aunt Julia worried about us a lot, and felt she needed to do something. So, one day after we came home from school, Aunt Julia stopped us from going to our rooms. She had us sit down on the couch and brought over a box with our names on it. It was filled with old stuff I hadn't seen in years, dating back to when we were toddlers. Looking at all these treasures brought back memories that made us smile, especially when we noticed our old uniforms mom made. We hugged them tightly with tears in our eyes. We weren't crying because we were sad, we were crying because we felt at peace by all the happy memories we had with our parents. Seeing us smile brought tears to Aunt Julia as well, and we hugged each other tight.

Afterwards, our lives began to brighten up again. We decided to continue pursuing our dream to become Starfleet officers. We started doing well in school again, which lead to passing grades. We reconnected with our friends, and even brought down all our Starfleet stuff from the attic. At the same time, Jennifer adopted a cat and called it Sparky.

Jennifer and I graduated from grade school with flying colours, and during the summer break we received letters from the Galactic Federation Academy. We were hesitant to open them, and when we did, we beamed with joy. We got accepted into the academy.

We still missed our parents, and we're both said they would never see us attend the our first year or see us graduate. They would have been proud of us both for getting to where we are today. I still believe they are still out there somewhere alive, and someday I'm going to find them.