Shine On, Space Cadet (Pt. 3)

The three exchanged salutes and Cal introduced himself.

“Welcome to the Turk, Lieutenant, I am Captain Wallace and this is First Mate Alfonse. We were waiting for you. Now that you’re here we are prepared to step off. Alfonse will show you to the Lieutenant’s quarters and once we’ve left the Earth’s gravity well I’ll go over our mission. That will be at 0800. You’ll settle in here fine. The Turk looks rough, but she has a good crew and our chef makes an excellent paella.” said the Captain with a smirk.

“Thank you sir, I look forward to serving this ship!” responded Cal.

“That’s good to hear. I’ve been told you’re fresh out of the academy?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good, you shouldn’t have picked up any bad habits then. I’ll leave you in the hands of my First Mate. Until later, Lieutenant.”

Cal saluted the Captain as she left and Alfonse grabbed his suitcase. He tried to stop him but the man insisted. The First Mate was a small man, he looked to be Puerto Rican and maybe in his forties, if not older. He guided Cal onto the ship and showed him his quarters, a tiny room with a single small window looking directly out at what appeared to be the engine exhaust vents. The room smelled of sweat, but it had a certain charm. Cal had grown up reading old stories about Victorian era explorers and the Napoleonic wars, he liked to think their accommodations were just as spartan. His classmates may be on brand-new ships patrolling the trade routes of the Core systems, but he would be out in the reaches of space, on the razor’s edge. The prospect of the mission filled Cal with excitement though he still had some time before he had to meet the Captain and discuss their orders. 

Cal unpacked the few things he brought which took only a couple of minutes and then sat down on the bed and strapped himself in for take off. In the meantime, Cal pulled up his tablet and checked the news. While he read, a digital female voice came over the intercom telling everyone to prepare for take off. He had been on numerous flights now and felt relaxed, flipping through the headlines while the engines began to fire up and the ship lurched forward.

“Exxon Sulfur Freighter Adrift in Archimedes System, Rescue Operations Underway”

“President Madeline Arma-Su Proposes Plan to Shore Up Galactic Health Insurance Market, More Subsides and New ‘Pick Your Own’ Dental Coverage are Planned”

“Earthlings Make the Best of a Smelly Situation; Antarctic Methane Geysers Set Alight for 27th Annual Polaroo Festival”

“Life as an Interplanetary Dog Breeder; Op-Ed”