Zac took a deep breath and brushed his hands over his uniform. He had felt uncomfortable without the holster for his laser pistol, so he was glad to be wearing it again.
Zac walked down the corridor to the anteroom attached to the sim suite where the team was assembling for the pre-training briefing. Today’s scenario would be a rescue mission. They were acting the part of a small team sent to extract stranded warriors on a planet riddled with Xakul. Leaving on a smaller shuttle, they would go to the extraction point where they would meet and rescue the stranded warriors, and then return with them to the starship.
It was a simple mission, but what the humans didn't know was it always ended in failure. The point wasn't to succeed; the point was to see how a warrior handled defeat. And, after being so successful in their training so far, Zac was interested in seeing how Laila would handle the team's failure.
Entering the room where the team was holding the pre-mission briefing, Zac joined Laila at the front of the room, nodding for her to begin the briefing. He leaned against the wall, legs and arms crossed, watching silently as she instructed the team. Finishing, Laila flicked a glance to him.
“Anything else to add, Commander?”
“No, your briefing was comprehensive,” he said.
She gave a small smile, quickly letting it drop to turn back to the team. “Questions?”
Laila dealt with the few questions and then they entered the Sim suite, Zac following them into the large room.
Once they were inside, the doors closed, and they were standing in a boxy, gray room. The space was equipped with many small holographic projectors, which flashed into life at Zac's command.
The next moment they were in a simulation of a starship shuttle bay, the doors open to space. It was so real Zac had to fight the uneasy feeling that they were about to be sucked out of the starship, or 'spaced'. On a real shuttle bay, an electromagnetic field acted like an artificial atmosphere, holding all the gases inside the starship, preventing them from being sucked into the vacuum of space. It was not easy to get comfortable with the thought that the only thing between you and death is an artificially generated barrier you can’t see. Even though this was only a simulation, it still felt eerie to Zac. Despite spending much of his life in space and enjoying it, he had no interest in being sucked out into the great void.
The small shuttle that they were using in today's simulation was an advanced model, a small starship really, capable of not only shuttling a small team to and from the planet's surface, but also of traveling long distances, by virtue of its faster than light, or FTL, drive. The shuttle, minus the engines, was built into the sim suite. Once the program was running, it would be virtually indistinguishable from the real thing.
He followed Laila to the shuttle and, climbing the ramp, entered the small hold. The ship was tiny, barely big enough for the six of them. T’arq quickly strapped himself into the pilot's seat, securing the harness with practiced ease, Domik folding his form with considerable difficulty into the co-pilot’s seat.
The rest of the team pulled down folding seats that lined the cargo hold. Zac pulled down the seat next to Laila and settled in. Despite this being a training exercise, he still felt the familiar rush of adrenalin he felt before a mission.
He pulled the harness down over his shoulders and connected it to the straps between his legs. The team began checking harnesses as T’arq completed his own pre-flight checks, ready for departure. The familiar sequence of checks settled Zac's nerves, the heavy ramp closing with a reassuring thud.
The shuttle lifted from the floor of the docking bay and glided through the faux electromagnetic field and into space. Or, at least, simulated space.
“Ready?” He asked, turning towards Laila. T’arq quickly guided the shuttle away from the starship, ready to begin the rapid descent to the planet's surface.
An automated voice projected into the shuttle, “Descending in 10... 9... 8...”
“7... 6.... 5...4...”
“Hold on, this could be a wild ride.” Zac had to raise his voice to be heard over the rising whine of the engines.
“You have no idea how ready I am,” she replied, their gazes locking.
“3... 2... 1... launching.”
With the last word, the shuttle sped up rapidly, pushing its passengers into their harnesses. Zac forced his feet towards the floor as his legs lifted with the force of acceleration. This type of shuttle was fast by necessity; able to get in and out before the enemy could track them. Unfortunately, that meant the ride could be less than comfortable.
Zac risked a glance at Laila, whose eyes were closed, hands wrapped around the harness near her chest. She swallowed hard, clearly fighting nausea. The first few times in a shuttle often resulted in an upset stomach, something he hadn't thought to mention, his own first shuttle trip having been many years ago.
The auto-thrusters kicked in with a sudden lurch, accelerating in the opposite direction, forcing everyone back in their seats. Groans filled the shuttle.
“Are you trying to kill us, T’arq?” Oren shouted towards the cockpit, looking a little green.
“Yeah, yeah. You try piloting this beast!” came T’arq’s reply, to which Oren grumbled something unintelligible and shuffled in his seat, trying to get comfortable.
As quickly as it started, the shuttle suddenly slowed, the dull roar of the thrusters announcing their arrival. They landed with a thud; the impact causing many to complain as the shuttle settled.
Laila snapped into action, releasing her harness. “Team, check in,” she ordered, and a chorus of replies echoed in the small hold as the team unclipped themselves from harnesses, strapped helmets onto their heads, and retrieved packs and weapons, ready to disembark.
“Commander, we are good to go.”
Zac nodded, impressed with her calm, and gestured for her to continue. “I’ll follow your lead, Captain.”
