Space Cadets [Role Play]

Elanor was making notes on the impending training schedule when she noticed the head next to her begin to dip. She gently nudged the girl next to her with her elbow; better to wake her now than for her to get in trouble when the lights came up.

I opened my eyes when I felt an elbow nudge me. I gasped, realising I'd fallen asleep. "Thanks!" I whispered to Elanor. The lights came on and there was a moan which passed through the auditorium as everyone adjusted to the light. Major Norton thanked everyone for coming then he dismissed us so we could go and unpack in our mini-dorms. I remembered I had to call the Professor. I pulled out my phone and brought up the "Favourites" I touched the photo of my dad, a man of about 48 with dark brown hair, now greying at the sides, with his rimless spectacled on his nose, smiling, causing wrinkles to appear around his eyes. He picked up on the 1st ring. "Hello sweetie!" He said, in a loving voice. "Hello Daddy!" I answered. "How's the Institution?" He asked. "Brilliant!" I said, excited. "I've met some great people already! This girl called Elanor, her dad is in the military! But the presentation was a bit difficult, there was a section on mum." I paused. "Well, Su, your mother did play a big part in the institution development. Are you alright?" I nodded, then realising he couldn't see me nodding I said, "Yeah I guess, anyway I was just letting you know I'm fine here! Hope you're ok! Don't blow up the lab like you did last week!" I said. I heard a laugh. "I won't!" He said. "Bye bye dear!"

When the group was dismissed to return to their dorms, Elanor looked over her classmates with a calculating eye as they filed out. She seemed to be among the oldest in the group, some of them barely old enough to get into Air Cadets. Maybe they were bringing them in for long-term training, or looking to set records for the youngest astronaut. It was hard to say if her age would be an asset or a liability.

After the others had left, Elanor made her way back to her dorm room with little difficulty; she was a quick learner, and could find her way back with more ease than the route she'd taken to the auditorium.

Once there, she wasn't quite sure what to do. Her clothing was hung up or folded away, her bag was tucked in the back of her closet, and everything was neat enough to pass inspection. It looked like they were expected to use this downtime to mentally adjust to their new roles, so she forced herself to relax.

Opening the top drawer on her bureau, she pulled out the new moleskin she'd chosen for her training journal and the leather-bound copy of Jules Verne's masterpiece. Sitting on the bed and leaning back against the wall, she smiled to herself, running her fingers over the well-worn cover. First she'd document her first day there, then lose herself in the fictional world.

OCC: Jessie am i accepted yet?

OOC: I'm just gonna copy the beginning too, if you don't mind

I sat on the coach in my living room with my laptop on my lap and a pair of headphones on my ears so i wouldn't have to listen to my parents telling me to go outside and garden with them. I really hated gardening. my parents loved it so much. they owned 15 different gardening stores and they all were very successful. then my mom came in the house, i did my best to ignore her. she waved a hand in front of my face and i finally took out my earphones, "What do you want mom?" i asked, " package which arrived in the post for you" she said
i took the pack age. It was a small, thin, rectangular package, i opened it, it was a tablet like thing. The screen was shiny and dark. There was a small finger-print scanner which I pressed my thumb against. A laser beam shot out of the center of the screen and read my iris pattern. "Identified target!" Came a computerized voice. I frowned. Then the face of a middle-aged man appeared, his bristly mustache a grey/brown color. He spoke.

"To Miss Sandra-Alexander Booker
This is an official recruitment message, notifying you that you have been selected by the Space Cadet Agency to represent humans through the Solar System, and beyond! This is not optional, you must accept. The people of Earth depend on you!
Major N. Norton"


I set it down on the table, it was such a rush, i didn't even realize my dad had walked in until he said "NO! absolutely not!" "WHAT! did you not hear that guy? he said I have no choice!" i said with anger, "Plus i want to go, the solar system! come on, you know i don't like gardening. " "Sweetie," my mom said to me, "We just don't want you to leave us."

I didn't care, one day they would understand. i packed my clothes that night, and when i went to bed, i told my parents i love them, i knew i wouldn't see them for a while.

Once i managed to find a way to the Agency, i went to the front desk , and i told her i was looking for my dorm room, and what i was to do. She explained every thing and i made my way to a screening room for my orientation

GwynethLove wrote:OCC: Jessie am i accepted yet?

OOC: Yup Just start

BIC: I sat on my bed, looking at the plain white walls. They were so... dull. I looked around for a Cadet Manual to see the house rules. Finding one in the drawer by the bed, I opened it and found the rules.

Rules of the Dorms
1. Lights out is 10:30pm
2. Dorm rooms must be kept clean, beds made, dust-free.
3. No food or drinks, except water
4. Valuables can be kept in the safe in your room. The safes open with iris recognition, to ensure security
5. Walls may be decorated with posters and pictures, but do not use sticky tape or glue. Sticky Tack is available for $1 in the cadet store. Do not draw or paint on the walls!

"Seems fair enough!" I said. I grabbed my purse and went in search of the cadet store. There would be some posters in there and I could buy some tack. Sure enough, there were hundreds of posters. Many educational ones, with diagrams of the stars and the planets. I chose a large one of the earth with the words "This is your home, Take care of it" on it. Looking through the other posters, I came across one of my mother. She was dressed in white with a space helmet under her arm and her name across the bottom right hand corner. A smile flickered across my face as I touched the name. "Mum" I whispered. I purchased the earth poster and some sticky tack and went to decorate my walls.

A few chapters in, Elanor found herself unable to focus. Normally, she'd fall into the fictional world with ease, but now that she had the potential to actually leave the planet . . . well, it wasn't quite enough.

She remembered seeing a manual in the nightstand drawer, and retrieved it. The rules provided a comforting familiarity to her. She'd been making her own bed with military precision since she was tall enough to reach, and had never gotten in the habit of leaving things out of place, so that would be simple enough. The rule against food was a tad strict -- every base she'd been on, even the most disciplined soldiers would have a stash of their favorite snacks in their trunk. But you wouldn't be able to sneak things onto a space shuttle, so she supposed it was good training.

It was the mention of the cadet store that caught her attention.

Elanor had never really decorated her room before; between short-term stays and rules some bases had against wall decorations, it wasn't a loss she felt. But here, it was a new start. Best to make the room her own, in some small way.

There would be plenty of time to make her decision. They were supposed to have this time to settle in, and barring any surprise announcements she should be clear until dinner. She flipped through the guide until she found a map, and figured out where it was from her dorm. Grabbing her wallet from the drawer -- she should probably keep it in the safe, after this -- she made her way through the building until she found the store.

The selection was excellent; posters, clothes, hats, watches, books -- clearly, they'd taken into consideration that some recruits might've realized belatedly they forgot to pack something.

She picked posters, first -- one depicting the earthrise from the moon, another a photo of the Milky Way and an arrow pointing in the direction of Earth's sun saying 'You Are Here'. A pack of stick-tack. A pair of fuzzy socks for wearing around the dorm. A book on women in the space program. Finally, a pillow and matching throw that had glow-in-the-dark stars on them. Not the most practical, but she wanted to make the room her own for once.

There was a moment when she considered a shirt that said 'Actually, I AM a rocket scientist' (funny, but not quite true yet) and a planisphere watch (nice, but she already had a perfectly good watch) before finally deciding she had enough to decorate her dorm.

Elanor made her purcases, then followed the corridors back to her dorm.

when i had finally found my way to the auditorium, i saw people filing out of the room. "Im too late." i thought. i made my way into the dorm area instead. i found mine. it was small. it had a desk, bed, closet, dresser, small three-shelf bookshelf, and a side table with a drawer. I made myself at home. i neatly hung all my clothes up, and put the others in the dresser.When i went to hang my clothes up, there was something in the back. a safe, which contained an iris scanner lock, for safety reasons i guessed. i unloaded all my books to the bookshelf and put my shoes neatly lined on the bottom shelf. i went to place my flashlight and wallet in the bed-side table's drawer. when i opened it though, there was a manual. i took the manual out, put my flashlight and wallet in, and sat at my desk. I read the manual and house rules. when i read about the no food rule, i was happy. this meant i could tell my parents not to send me food, cuz of school rules. I hated my parents food, but at this time was kind of missing it. I kept reading the manual to get my mind off my parents. i read about posters and sticky tacks and walked over the the Cadet store when i was done. I hoped i would run into someone there, i was getting kind of lonely...

On her way back from the Cadet Store, bags in hand, Elanor noticed the younger girl. She looked to be a tween, and while the others at orientation seemed pretty young, Elanor had figured they'd all at least been old enough to have graduated from high school. Odd, overall, given that the space program started out recruiting from the air force, army, and navy -- the crowd here was pretty young. But the girl seemed too young to be in the program. Maybe she'd wandered off from a tour group.

"Hey, kid. Are you lost? Is there a school tour going through here or something?"

I finished decorating just as my phone began to ring. I dove over my bed, pulling half the covers with me. "Hello?" I said, slightly out of breath. It was my great aunt. "Hello Susan!" She said. "Hello Aunt Tallulah!" I said sweetly. "How are you dearie?" She asked. "I am well, Aunt Tallulah!" I answered. "And yourself?" I added. "I'm as good as I can be for a woman of my age!" She said, with a chuckle. "Your daddy tells me you've been recruited!" I smiled to myself, my dear old great aunt was so nosey, she probably squeezed the information out of my father. "Indeed I have Aunt Tallulah!" I said. I continued to chat to the elderly lady until I heard the bell ring for dinner. "Oh I have to go, Aunt Tallulah! Dinner is ready!" I said. We said goodbye and I grabbed my things, then noticing my messy covers, I quickly straightened them before rushing to the dining hall. I saw about 40 students, all sat round a long white table. I found a space. There were two seats either side of me, both empty. I wondered who I would be sat next to. My stomach rumbled. I was so hungry!

OOC: wiat, molly ur talking to me right?

[OOC: Yes, I was talking to you. Forgive Elanor; she's a bit confused as to why someone seven years her junior would also be considered for the space program -- after all, they're not in the habit of sending kids up.]

OOC: it's ok, i was just making sure

[OOC: Sandy, is she going to reply? If not, I'll just have Elanor head to dinner.]

I was walking in to the cadet store and i saw another girl, i assumed she was another cadet, because she had cadet store bags. i heard her say something say something.
"Hey, kid. Are you lost? Is there a school tour going through here or something?"

"what," i thought, "she can't be talking to me.." she seemed to be looking at me. then i realized i was a lot younger than her. but i hadn't met any of the other cadets yet, so i didn't know how old the others were. i decided to say something.
"Um,If you are talking to me, No, I'm not lost." I said to her, "I'm sandra-alexadner booker, but please call me sandy. I was selected to be a Cadet."

Awkward, Elanor thought. She cleared her throat, attempted to change to a more repsectful smile, and nodded at the girl.

"Um. Sorry about that, Sandy. I'm Elanor. I didn't realize they were recruiting this young. I guess they're planning some long-term training for us . . . I mean, there's never been an astronaut under 25 sent up. So, wow. You must be an amazing prodigy -- from everything I've read, they require a minimum of a bachelor's degree to even consider you for training."

"Oh, it's ok, Elanor" i said to her, "I really don't mind.and i guess they must know something that i don't. I haven't done anything related to space since my 4th grade field trip to a space and science museum. and after that trip my parents banned me from anything space, but it was the most fun i had ever had." i wondered then why i was here, i really have nothing to prove that i should be here.

Not for the first time since arriving, Elanor began to feel a niggling of suspicion. She knew the space program had strict requirements; part of her desire to sign up involved studying them carefully. And she knew she had only half the flight time required and none of the relevant experience that an astronaut would need. The invitation had been quite vague to begin with, and now that it was becoming clear she was among the oldest there . . .

But training would take time. Two years of basic training, a year of advanced training, and a year of mission-specific training were standard for your average recruit. Maybe they'd just decided that starting even younger would let them direct the curriculum with more precision, properly train those with the most potential.

"Well, the program's going to be a lot more work than the museum shows. They tend to tone down the worst parts for the public . . . we're here for the long haul, so age hardly matters at this stage. I doubt we'll be seeing the inside of a shuttle before you're eighteen. Are you prepared for an intense training schedule?"

Elanor had no doubt the physical training would be no less strenuous than boot camp; the girls who arrived each year all looked weak to her starting out, but they could surprise her with their tenacity. Maybe this girl would, too.

[OOC: Okay, it's been a week. Are you going to reply, or will Elanor just head on her way and meet Susan for dinner?]

OOC: Sorry... again...

BIC: "Yeah, i guess." i said to her. "I really don't know what is going on, i got here late and missed the orientation." i started to think of my trip here. my stomach growled at me, i didn't realize how hungry i was. "I guess i haven't eaten anything since that slice of toast this morning, and i think it would be about dinner time now" i thought to myself. "Do you know what time it is?" i asked Elanor, "I am really hungry and i was wondering when dinner is."

Just then, the dinner bell rang. Elanor smiled and pulled out her manual, flipping through to the map.

"Right now, apparently. Come on, I'll fill you in on the way. I just need to drop my stuff off at my dorm and we'll head to dinner. Don't worry, they mostly just covered the history of the Institute -- pretty basic stuff. I'm sure we'll be getting training schedules soon."

She resumed moving in the direction of her dorm in Saturn block, room 42.

"So what specialty do you think you'll go for?"

"Oh, ok, i didn't realize it as that late" i told her, "And yeah, it would be great if you could fill me in." i followed her to her dorm and she asked me what specialty i would go for. of course i knew nothing about what she asked me. "I'm not sure," i told her, "I really don't know what is happening, i really want to be one to actually go up into space, walk on the moon. my parents would never approve though."

Elanor set her bags at the foot of her bed, glanced around the room to make sure nothing was out of place, then locked the door on the way out with her room card. A glance at the map and she started them down the right corridor.

"Well, there's a wide variety of positions. It's not just a matter of getting to walk on the moon. There's experiments to do, repairs to be made, a lot of responsibility. You could go into medicine -- someone needs to make sure we all stay healthy up there, after all. Or hydroponics, work on the plants so we have fresh food and oxygen up there. Robotics, of course. Language skills are a benefit if we meet up with astronauts from other countries. I've got flight training, so I'm hoping to get a pilot assignment. Do you have any interests that you'd want to work at -- good grades in physics or bio, maybe? A knack for fixing stuff?"

She spotted a sign indicating the direction of the cafeteria; they were heading the right way.

"Don't worry about your parents. They'd have to approve on some level, or you never would have gotten permission to come here. I mean, you're under eighteen -- it would be ten kinds of illegal for you to be here otherwise."

[OOC: Even if you don't have an interest in science, it's good to give your character one -- they're training to be astronauts, after all, and they're not going to just send up a bunch of untrained kids.]

"Yeah," i said, " i guess i have always had a knack for fixing stuff, I mean, small things like headphones, nothing even close to satellites, but I'm more into computer programming, i don't really know how that will help me here." We started out to the cafeteria, my stomach was growling louder and more often now, then i started to think about my parents again, and also what Elanor said. the to avoid that subject i looked at a nearby sign, i said "Oh, it looks like the Cafeteria is right around the corner. Let's go, I'm starved"

Elanor relaxed marginally. Headphones weren't all that simple to fix; if there was a problem bigger than wriggling the wires, most people would just toss them and buy new ones. The girl must have some talent . . . and computer programming would be useful.

"Well, that's great. Computers are vital for the space program, but I never had a knack for more than the basics. I'm sure you'll find your niche here."

Finally reaching the dining hall, she held the door for the younger girl and went to grab her tray at the counter. The food seemed to be the same comfortably familiar variety as she'd get on the base, Elanor noted with a smile. She selected a rotini with pepperoni and tomato sauce meal, sliced apples, and a cup of tea.

A glance around the room indicated that her detour to her room had left her one of the last to arrive; she and Sandra were the only ones still standing. But she noticed a familiar face, and better yet an empty seat. She moved to the empty chair to the left of Susan Astra and flashed her a smile.

"Hey, Astra. Any insider tips on what to expect? Places like this sometimes haze the new recruits."