Deep Space Journey - 11. DSJ Chapter 11

“Right, you two remain where you are, the others march inside, and await more instructions” Lucas added, and he followed the remaining cadets into the shed, and closed the door, while Quinn and two trainers remained with the two that had been told to stay put. “You two are hereby dismissed from entering the academy, and banned from applying in the future, for now, you can wait in the bus, to see if any others will be joining you,” Quinn said to the two women.

“Sir, you can’t do this, I request to speak to your superior” one of the women complained, and one of the trainers chuckled and turned to the women. “Young lady, you just made one very big mistake just now, not only is Mr Lenegan the Director of the Academy, he is also a Senator of the High Council of the United Republic of Planets, so your request is denied and I suggest you get onto that bus now,” the trainer said with a small smile.

Knowing that everything was under control, Quinn headed inside to see how things were progressing with the rest of the cadets, and he observed that there are a few items that had been placed in the boxes, that had been put near the door, for any cadet, that may still be carrying any banned or restricted items. Taking a look in the boxes, Quinn saw a few packets of cigarettes, a flick knife, some alcohol, some knuckle busters, and a belt with sharp studs on them.

Turning back to the cadets, “This is your final warning, once the scanning commences, any banned or restricted items found on your person or in your luggage, will not only be confiscated, but it will result in an immediate termination and permanent ban, of your position as a cadet in the academy, and you will be sent home with the other two” Quinn said to the cadets, and two more items were placed in the boxes.

Sadly, two of the cadets did not take the warnings seriously, as more tobacco and alcohol were found in their luggage, and Lucas took them and their luggage outside, and they were placed in the bus, which transported them back to the Auckland airport, so they could board the next flight back to their home countries, of Singapore and South Africa. Each of the remaining cadets was issued four sets of tracksuits and sports shoes, as part of their training uniforms, and when the bus returned from its trip to the airport, the cadets and trainers, boarded the bus for the journey north to the training camp.

For the next seven weeks, the remaining 60 cadets had daily fitness training, daily lectures on the Laws and Traditions of Sahndrol and the United Republic of Planets, lectures on Astrophysics, Geophysics, Astronomy, Astrobiology, Exobiology, Astroecology, Space Medicine, Astrogeology, plus Basic Flight Training. When the training was completed, the cadets were given a day to relax, but they had to remain at the training site and not go into town at all, as they would be leaving at any time.

The morning after the day off, the cadets and trainers boarded a bus and headed for the Airforce base at Auckland, where the Star Voyager arrived to take them to Mars. Once the bus had left the base, Lucas called the cadets to a parade, just a few hundred metres away from the ship.

“Well Ladies and Gentlemen, congratulations on completing your basic training, as you see this ship is the Star Voyager, which will transport you to Mars in just 8 hours, and for your information, this is the same ship that Senator Lenagan and I boarded 8 years ago, for our mission into deep space, where it was upgraded to more advanced technology to allow us to travel faster over greater distances.

There will be a small amount of gravity when we have entered space, so be aware of this and take it easy when you are walking around, when we board the ship, you will be given a tour of the passenger seating area, including the how to use the bathroom in space, and the crew will provide you with low gravity meals during the journey.

When we arrive at the Space Research and Training Academy, there will be gravity equal to what you are used to on Earth, but you will find that the oxygen will be a little more, pure than on Earth, which may take a day or two for you to get used to.

During the journey to Mars, you will have issued with a kit bag with your uniforms, boots and a few other supplies for your time at the Academy, at all times except when you are on-off time, you are to be in full uniform, no exceptions to this rule, and I expect you to be in full uniform by the time we arrive on Mars.

Breaking of any rules during your time at the academy will result in a penalty, your kit bag includes a book that contains the Laws and traditions of Sahndrol, plus the rules of the academy, I expect you to study that book well during our journey, so you know everything by the time we get to the academy” Lucas announced.

“Right, on behalf of the Sahndrol People, and the United Republic of Planets, welcome to you, the first cadets of the Space Research and Training Academy, now grab your bags and follow Mr Durham onto the Star Voyager” Quinn ordered, and soon all the cadets were inside, where the training staff were waiting to get their luggage stowed away, show them to their seats, and get buckled in.

Just over eight hours later, Quinn came onto the PA system, “This is your co-pilot speaking, please return to your seats and get buckled in, as we are approaching the Mars Space Terminal” Quinn said as he had been in the co-pilot seat for most of the journey.

Once they had landed, Lucas leads the cadets into the admissions processing area, where each cadet went through the entry screen process, where once again there had their bodies and luggage scanned for any illegal items, of which there was one packet of cigarettes that were found.

Because the cadet had completed the basic training and had already arrived at the academy, it was now up to a disciplinary tribunal to decide on what punishment should be given to the cadet involved, and once the scanning was completed, he and his luggage were taken to a nearby interview room.

“Mr Meyer, during your admissions scans, it has been revealed that you brought an illegal item into the academy,” Lucas said in a serious manner, “This does not mean that you will be sent back to Earth and your home country of South Africa, you will, however, go before a disciplinary tribunal to decide what will be done about your actions, especially when you have had so many warnings’ Lucas continued to inform the now very nervous cadet.

“I am very sorry Mr Durham, it will not happen again, I want to be here and complete my training at the academy, I will do anything to stay here sir,” the cadet said to Lucas, “Ok that is a start, now you will be given treatment to help you overcome your addiction to nicotine, and you will be facing the disciplinary tribunal in the next few days.

Once the cadets had settled into their quarters, they were summoned by the trainers and led to a nearby recreation lounge, “Right Cadets, you have now been allocated living quarters, this will be your home for the next three years, I am now having distributed to you, a copy of the floor plan of the accommodation, general living and recreation building, plus a floor plan of the training building.

The other buildings are off-limits to all cadets at all times, any breaking of this rule or any other rules at the academy will result in disciplinary proceedings. There is a three-times and you are out a policy, so just remember, every time you break a rule, you are one step closer to being sent back home to Earth, and a permanent ban to the United Republic of Planets facilities” Lucas announced to the cadets.

As the door to the recreation area opened, Lucas saw two High Council Security guards enter, he knew right away what this meant, “Cadets stand at attention, for his Supreme Excellency, the Chancellor of the United Republic of Planets” Lucas ordered loudly, as he and Quinn turned to face their leader and saluted. “Welcome sir, this is an unexpected surprise,” Quinn said to the Chancellor.

“I thought I would come down and inspect the facilities myself, since a ship was coming here anyway, to bring your families here” the Chancellor replied. “What do you think of the place so far, sir?” Lucas asked, “Very good Lucas, and after you have these cadets settled, and you have caught up with your families, I would like to have a short meeting with you both, before I head home to Ganymede tomorrow” Chancellor Chaenej responded.

Sometime later, Lucas and Quinn sat down in the conference room, with the Chancellor, “I was wanting to talk to you about some current plans, I have already spoken to the other High Council members, and they are all 100% behind me, and it’s just you two that I need to convince before we go ahead with a new project” the Chancellor began, and over the next twenty minutes, he explained what he had planned.

The project was to build a large space station, to be placed in orbit of Earth’s moon. The space station to be named Scorpio, due to the design in the shape of a Scorpion. The International Space Station that orbits Earth is just 109 metres long, while Space Station Scorpio will be an enormous 580 metres long and 290 metres wide, plus it contains three decks.