Shine On, Space Cadet (Pt. 4)

By the time Cal had skimmed a few headlines and read part of the way through an article on cloud seeding Venus, the ship had reached the upper atmosphere and the gravity generator had kicked on. He unbuckled himself from his rack and exited his quarters to introduce himself to the crew he would be helping command. The ship was an easy layout to memorize as there were only two main corridors per deck. The signage on board was clear and easy to read, though the signs appeared to be the only new hardware on the entire ship. Cal made his way down to the crew common area which had begun to fill with various crew men and women. There were engineers, mechanics, drone pilots and various other enlisted deckhands. A few took notice and saluted him as he walked in, but many seemed focused on their own tasks or inquiring about what was for breakfast. One of the older crew members, a tall dark skinned man, approached him and saluted Cal.

“Welcome aboard Lieutenant, please excuse the informality of the crew. Captain Wallace doesn’t enforce protocol here in the common room, but I assure you, we are all honored and excited to have an Officer from the Academy on board.”

“Thank you, Petty Officer… What was your name again?” Cal asked.

“Sorry Sir, I’m Omar, head of drone repair and maintenance.”

“Ah, excellent. I look forward to working with you. Though we will have to continue our conversation later, I am meeting the Captain shortly. Though I’d be happy to get to meet more of the crew en route to our destination.”

“Aye, you’ll have plenty of time, sir!”

Cal, nodded to the Petty Officer and left the common room to make his way to the Bridge. Captain Wallace was waiting for him, and after he saluted her, they began discussing the mission.

“We will assist in the suppression of an uprising in the Beta Lambda – A7R system, locally referred to as Blair. The system is made up of a dwarf star orbited by a single gas giant. A moon orbiting the gas giant is home to a significant mining colony operated by Exxon Galactic Holdings where they harvest sulfur and heavy metals. The regional governor for this system has had issues with the inhabitants of the mining colony for years now and a number of skirmishes have broken out. Local security forces have generally been able to subdue them up until now. From the reports we’ve received it appears the miners are being influenced by radicals from the outer rim worlds who are instigating violence and fomenting anti-republic sentiment.”

Cal interjected at mention of the Rim worlds.

“Sir, do you mean the rim settlers? I had heard most of those communal worlds collapsed decades ago?”