Orientation Day Part 1

Arjun stepped off the space shuttle with his suitcase in one hand and his backpack slung over his shoulder. His legs wobbled and he almost fell over, but he steadied himself. The boy had never been in space before he took that shuttle from his home planet, Mimir-7, and it was a lot for him to take in.

What was even more overwhelming, though, was the fact that he was now on a massive space station, the largest in the galaxy. This was the Academy for the Pursuit of Galactic Exploration, or APGE for short. It was the most prestigious and rigorous post-secondary institution across all the worlds humanity had settled upon. 

This was because of what the academy was meant for. Every single APGE graduate took the same job; they became Voyagers. Voyagers were humanity's best and brightest, some of the most brilliant and skilled humans to ever exist. Of course, they had to be, because their job asked for nothing less than perfection.

Voyagers were tasked with exploring the cosmos to find new planets for humanity. It was a dangerous and lonely task, but it was considered the highest honour to be chosen as one. Every single kid dreamt of one day becoming a Voyager. The fact that Arjun and the others were here meant that they alone, out of hundreds of thousands, had been chosen.

The docking bay that Arjun stood upon was, for lack of a better word, utterly plain. The floor, ceiling, and walls were all made of the same grey metal. The only splash of colour in the bay came from the translucent wall behind Arjun from which he could see into the vast emptiness of space, dotted with bright, twinkling stars. It was a holographic vacuum shield that protected loose objects and creatures in the docking bay from being sucked into the vacuum of space. Arjun had never seen them in person before, but he had read about them in high school. They could be activated and deactivated within seconds, making them incredibly popular for large and busy docking bays like the ones used for commercial stations.

The bay was huge, likely over fifty feet tall. Like the one he was on, each of these platforms was filled with transport ships and space shuttles that had carried dozens of students to the Academy, all of whom began to exit their transports. Arjun saw many of the students wobble and step uncertainty off their shuttles, and he guessed that, like him, this had been their first time in space. It made him feel a little less alone, knowing he wasn't the only one who wasn't used to this.

Suddenly, a voice sounded on the PA system as the space station's AI, Saraswati, named after the Hindu goddess of Knowledge and Creativity, spoke up."Dear students and guests, please exit the docking bay so that the shuttles may leave the station." As soon as the AI finished speaking, six exit lights flashed, signaling their location. The students began exiting the bay at once, and Arjun was pulled along with the others. Quickly, Arjun realized that all the exits seemed to lead to elevators. When the one he was in got full, it automatically closed and began to rise.

The elevator was a large metal box with windows on all the walls. It was too cramped for him to move, but thankfully Arjun was standing near the windows that overlooked the docking bay. It was empty now, with only transport ships and shuttles left in the massive room. The translucent vacuum shield vanished, fading into nothingness. As one, the ships in the bay rose and shot out into the inky void of space, going toward the Black-Hole Warp Drive that was set up near the station. The shield was reactivated as soon as the ships left, suddenly appearing in place.

The Black-Hole Warp Drives, or BHWDs, were ingenious machines that had been created during the dawn of the 25th century. These machines generated a singularity using dark energy as a power source, which transported any objects that entered them into a region that existed outside of time and space, which people called Internal Singularity. In this region, a ship could "re-enter" the universe at any place or time through an infinite number of Gaps in that region.

Despite the infinite possibilities, the only Gaps used were ones created by other BHWDs called Stable Openings. Gaps that were created naturally were called Unstable or "Wild" Gashes, because they formed due to quantum wormholes. Unfortunately, these wormholes were usually so unstable that they would collapse as soon as any bit of matter entered them. Moreover, they usually were formed inside the Event Horizon of naturally occurring black holes, which meant that even if someone could enter through them, they'd likely die almost instantly.

Everyone stopped as soon as they exited the elevators, expressions of awe and wonder on all their faces. The room was large, not as large as the docking bay, but still far larger than anything Arjun had been in before. It was also incredibly beautiful. There were small garden areas filled with the flora of dozens of worlds and hovering benches that could be moved with simple voice commands. The room was made from shining steel and titanium alloys, with magnificent pillars, made from the same alloy and designed to look like those from ancient Greek buildings, lining the edges of the room. Huge windows, twice as tall as any student, dotted the walls, and from them, they could peer into the vast brilliance of space.

The thing that caught Arjun's attention, though, were the 3-D holographic images of the various worlds that humans had discovered and claimed in the last few centuries. They drifted lazily through the room without any projectors, the planets they displayed spinning on their invisible axes. Each one had a hologram with the planet's name displayed right underneath the actual planet, and students quickly realized that tapping the name allowed them to change the language that it was written in, and even pull up the planet's history. They also soon discovered that by tapping anywhere on the holographic planets, they could have it zoom in like a camera to show them the planet in question from up close.

All the students quickly began exploring the room. Many fiddled with holograms of the planets, while some examined the flora from planets they had never been to or even seen, and others still studied the architecture of the room. A few just chose to sit on the benches and appreciate the beauty of space with the windows along the walls. Though the first years weren't loud by any means, many of them began to talk and laugh as they introduced themselves to new friends or caught up with old ones.

However, before Arjun could introduce himself to anyone, a hush quickly fell over the students. As one, they turned to the end of the room, opposite where they had entered. When Arjun looked there, he couldn't help the gasp of excitement that escaped him. Standing there, on top of a pillar, was a Voyager in an all-black IE-Suit.

The Interstellar Exploration Suits, or IE-Suits for short, were the epitome of human engineering, created to be used only by Voyagers. These suits of advanced technology were made up of over 400 individual parts made from a specialized tungsten-carbon steel alloy that was stronger than basically any other metal known to man. They were connected using high-powered magnetic links that were strong enough to survive even the intensive g-forces of space flight. The suits were built for surviving hostile environments, and as such had a host of functions that could be used, such as thrusters for quick escapes, shield generators to help protect against radiation, and air filters for hostile climates.

The two most useful functions, however, were the recycling and the containment systems. The recycling system turned human waste from the wearer and harmful substances such as toxic chemicals and harmful radiation into electrical energy, which was used to power the suit. Part of this power could be diverted to the containment system of the suit, which was used to carry samples of things such as dirt or small flora or fauna for examination in a laboratory.

"Thank you for your silence," The Voyager's voice was soft but firm. She didn't yell, she didn't even seem to be using any technology, but it still carried to the very end of the hall. "Now, I understand that all of you are the newest recruits to the APGE. You should know, this is not a place for the weak of will. This is the most rigorous university in over one hundred worlds, and it prepares you for the most difficult job known to mankind. You will have to train until you puke blood, study until your brain splits, and practice until your bones break. If you do not think you're up for this task, then leave now."

None of them left. Of course they didn't. This was their dream. They had trained their whole lives for this, sacrificed years of studying and training to be the best, all so they could achieve this one goal. There was no way any of them could give it up now.

Unbidden, memories of Arjun's family came back to him. Arjun had been born to Govinda and Shanti Varma, a loving couple who had been born on Hermes-12, a planet a few sectors away from Mimir-7. The two had met in high school and became fast friends, but soon Shanti realized she had a crush on Govinda. Eventually, when they graduated from university, she managed to work up the courage to ask Govinda on a date. He accepted, and the two were married only a couple of years later. 

Unfortunately, what they thought was a fairytale romance was doomed from the start. Govinda's parents, rich politicians of Hermes-12, thought that Shanti, whose parents were simple farmers, was far beneath them and disproved of the relationship. No matter how hard Govinda tried, they refused to accept Shanti as their future daughter-in-law and refused to allow the two to marry. Left with no choice, they were forced to elope.

They married in secret on Hermes-10, a nearby planet in the same sector. It was a small ceremony, and only a handful of friends were invited. Soon after their wedding, they began "sector-hopping", where they randomly travelled to nearby star sectors to find a new place to call home. Within a few "hops", they settled on Mimir-7, a planet that humanity had recently begun settling on.

Things were fine for a while; the two of them quickly found jobs in the planet's growing economy and even managed to buy a decently large house. They were overjoyed when Arjun was born a few years after their marriage, and their happiness only grew when his sister, Diya Varma, was born a couple of years after.

Tragedy struck the family when Arjun was only ten. While Shanti was out working and Diya and Arjun were in school, Govinda chose to work from home one day. However, their house was broken into by robbers that day. Govinda attacked the robbers and called the police, but he was shot while grappling with one of the robbers and died a few minutes later.

Shanti, Diya, and Arjun were all heartbroken and devasted when they heard this. Shanti wanted to do nothing except curl up into a ball and sob, but she knew she had to push aside her grief to help raise her children, which she did. She worked twice as hard as before, doing whatever she could to ensure that her children were always fed and taken care of. Never once did she complain or blame her kids, she barely even raised her voice at them. 

This was the main reason Arjun wanted to become a Voyager. While most others simply wanted the prestige, Arjun wanted to be able to help support his mother and sister. She had done so much for him, and he wanted to thank her and repay her however he could. He wanted to ensure that she would live the rest of her life in comfort and never want for anything. He had promised himself that, no matter what, he would take care of his mother however he could.