Katie Kincaid Space Cadet

by Andrew van Aardvark

  Unfortunately, the list of her handicaps was every bit as long as that of her advantages.

  Henry could have gotten away with just showing her how to take care of her gear and pass the routine daily inspections she’d be subject to. He intended to do much more than that. If Kincaid failed her first year at the Academy, he’d take it as both a personal failure and a failure of the Space Force in general.

  Henry wasn’t given to stressing out, but he didn’t make a habit of failing either.

  “It may not make sense in a short time frame or logically,” he said, holding her eyes with his, trying to be calm and reassuring while also impressing the seriousness of what he was saying on her, “but, please, take my word for it the routine here at the Academy is very pragmatic.”

  “Okay,” Katie said. Her tone was skeptical and her eyes drifted to Wolf. Henry didn’t know if the girl was aware of it herself, but she seemed very taken by Wolf. Wolf was Henry’s best friend. He was fond of the opposite sex and very good with them. Handsome, polite without being a milksop, and very engaging. He had a way of focusing on people and making them feel special. Wolf claimed not to have made any decision, but Henry was sure that he’d be going into politics after completing his mandatory time in the Space Force.

  Wolf also seemed quite taken with Kincaid. Henry knew that didn’t change the fact he wasn’t going to be involved with a fellow cadet, let alone one a year behind him and three years younger. It was an additional headache that Kincaid might not be aware of that fact or her own feelings. Henry couldn’t broach the topic with Kincaid, but he was going to make a point of bringing it up with Wolf later.

  “Maybe you’ve heard that the military is mostly hurry up and wait,” Henry said to Katie.

  “I had a friend back on Ceres who was an ex-marine who used to say that,” Katie answered.

  Wolf and Colleen both looked a bit surprised. Henry who’d done his homework was not.

  “Great,” Henry said. “We’re guards. There have been militaries that have been constantly at war for extended periods, but historically they’re exceptions. Almost every military spends most of its time training and preparing for combat, or simply standing on guard. Actual combat doesn’t take up that much of our time.”

  “But those are the important times, right?” Katie half asserted, half asked.

  “Yes, but how do you prepare for them during the times you’re not fighting?” Henry replied with a question of his own. “Because you know, once you’re engaged, it’s already too late.”

  “Once the crap hits the fan, you mean,” Katie said. “Okay, I guess you’re going to tell me.”

  “It is unbecoming for an officer or an officer candidate to indulge in profanity,” Henry admonished her. “We make our points politely and with logic. And yes, I’m going to tell you.”

  Katie frowned.

  Henry didn’t bother to tell her she needed to keep her feelings to herself. He had to walk a fine line between giving her enough direction and discouraging her.

  “Okay,” she said. “I’m listening.”

  “I’m glad to hear it,” he answered with a smile intended to take the sting out of his sarcastic correction.

  “Sorry,” she said. “I know you’re trying to help. I’m trying to understand.”

  “That’s good,” Henry said. “It’s good to understand the reasons behind regulations and the other orders you’re given. It’d also be good if you understand that it isn’t a prerequisite to following them.”

  “Shut up and do what I’m told?” Katie ventured.

  Henry held his breath for a second or two. He would have liked to sigh. Uncharacteristically, he wanted to curse the Admissions Board that had thought it a good idea to invite her into the Academy at the ripe old age of sixteen. Barely sixteen. “A good leader will solicit your opinion when he or she has the time for it,” he said. “Otherwise, in the absence of impending disaster due to information your leader doesn’t have, you should assume they’re competent and follow your orders without questioning them. That is correct.”

  Katie blinked. “Understood.”

  “Good.” He checked the time. It was passing quickly and there was a lot he needed to tell this young woman. For her own good and for the sake of his conscience. “What works in combat isn’t what works in peacetime.”

  “Nobody has seen any combat in a long time. Okay.”

  “So how do people who haven’t combat experience themselves prepare other people for it?”

  “They do what traditionally works?” Katie half asked.

  “Exactly,” Henry said. “And they don’t try to guess what parts matter and what parts are obsolete and out of date. So you’re getting trained the same way we trained officers back in the 20th century who themselves were copying what worked back in the 19th, 18th and even 17th centuries following traditions that reach back to the middle ages.”

  “That sort of makes sense,” Katie admitted.

  “I’m glad you think so,” Henry said.

  “But you know, you’re suggesting modern experts don’t really understand how people work.”

  “It might be true that the military trusts tradition over civilian expertise,” Henry said. “Now are you willing to learn how to take care of the new uniforms and kit the Space Force has graciously supplied you?”

  “Some of it seems rather arbitrary,” Katie said.

  “It is, but it’s required,” Henry said. “Now we could talk about this for the remainder of the evening or we can get past it. Past it and on to seeing you make it successfully through your first year here despite some severe handicaps.”

  Katie colored.

  Henry sympathized. He didn’t doubt being so confused and out of her depth was a very new and very unpleasant experience for her.

  “Right, we need to prioritize. Thank you,” she said.

  Once she set her mind to it, she proved to be a quick study. The clothing she’d been provided wouldn’t have been out of place in the late nineteenth century. It was apparent she’d had no prior experience with the materials involved, ironing, or precision folding. Nevertheless, once Henry had shown her what was needed with Wolf and Colleen giving additional examples, she rapidly proved capable of following suit.

  “Great!” Henry said when Katie finished folding the final piece of underwear in the precise fashion prescribed. “Everything has a place and a manner it is to be stored in and that will be inspected along with your room generally every day for the next several months. There will be occasional inspections throughout your stay at the Academy. After a while, keeping your gear properly stored will be second nature and no worry. You’ll see,” he said with a reassuring grin.

  “Looking forward to it,” Katie said with a wan attempt at a return smile.

  “Okay, now we need to talk about physical training and athletics,” Henry said.

  “I can’t swim,” Katie said. She colored. “I’m scared of the water.”

  “Not used to that?” Henry asked.

  “I grew up in a dangerous environment,” Katie said. “I was always prudent. Last time anything really scared me like this I was a kid.”

  Henry was glad that Katie wasn’t looking Wolf’s way and didn’t see his smile at that. As far as Wolf was concerned, Katie was still a kid. A cute, adorable kid, but a kid.

  “And that’s despite one near death experience.”

  Henry finally did allow himself a sigh. He wanted to ask about that experience. It was more important to tackle her problem head on. “It’s a natural reaction to an unfamiliar danger,” he said in a reassuring tone. “You shouldn’t feel bad about it.”

  “Sergeant Yakovitch said being able to swim a certain distance fully dressed was required,” she answered.

  “Yes, and you’re going to be able to do that.”

  Katie looked skeptical.

  “Almost everyone naturally floats,” Henry said.

  “Cindy Lee didn’t,” Colleen said, making her first major and
not useful contribution to the conversation. “She sank like a stone.”

  “Katie is not Cindy,” Henry said patiently. “I can tell by looking at her that she has a normal amount of fat and muscle. She will float. Besides, we both know Cindy can swim, it’s just more work for her. All Katie has to do is keep her head about her and do some simple things despite it being a stressful situation. I know Katie can do that. Can’t you, Katie?”

  “I’m good at following emergency procedures if I know what they are,” Katie affirmed.

  “Great!” Henry said. “We’ll make sure you do. Most kids on Earth here first learn to swim about the time they start kindergarten, so I hope you won’t mind that the training videos I assign you reflect that.”

  “I’m not that proud or stupid,” Katie said. Henry could tell that she felt she ought to be able to do something kindergarten kids could do too. So that ploy had worked. He didn’t allow himself to smile at his success.

  “So that takes care of your main physical training problem, I think,” he said.

  “There are others?” Katie asked.

  Colleen and Wolf glanced at each other. Henry gave them a tiny shake of his head. He was trying to build Katie up here, he didn’t need them undermining his efforts.

  “Physical Training and participation in sports are important parts of the Academy experience,” Henry quoted. “Says so in our charter. The Space Force wants you fit. They believe in a healthy mind, in a healthy body. We also value the concepts of team play and fair play that are developed by sports.”

  “Okay,” Katie said. “What does that mean for me practically? Do I have to join a sport? Can I pick my own?”

  Once again, Wolf and Colleen glanced meaningfully at each other behind Katie’s back. Henry gave them quelling glances. It was true, however, that most of the rest of the cadets had not only been well aware of this requirement for years, but had been preparing for it for those years.

  “Yes, and yes,” Henry responded. “You will have to participate in some sport at all times, which in practice since many sports are seasonal means you’ll have to be enrolled in a variety of different sports at different times. Intramural basketball is the default for anyone not enrolled in something else. You’re not tall and I’m guessing you’ve never played basketball before, right?”

  “I’ve heard of it,” Katie answered. “That’s about all. Played indoors with an orange ball and a hoop with a basket. Tends to have high scores?”

  Henry grinned in lieu of grimacing. “So ideally we want to find something else you’ve some natural aptitude for, yes? Something you have the chance to excel at. Probably not swimming or water polo, right?” He grinned some more to show he was joking. That it was all in good fun.

  Katie looked serious. “Probably not swimming or water polo,” she agreed. “I’m actually good at running, especially endurance, navigating and I’m a good shot. Is there anything that combines those?”

  Henry and Wolf looked at each other. “The biathlon in winter and orienteering in the fall and summer?” Wolf suggested. “Modern even combines them.”

  “Cross country or track and field if that doesn’t work out,” Henry added.

  “I’ll research all of those,” Katie said.

  “Good, you’ll have try outs scheduled during the first couple of weeks after you’re done Cadet Prep,” Henry said. “Be sure to be ready.”

  “I will.”

  “Great. Now, as it happens, the end of Cadet Prep is marked by the candidates demonstrating both their fitness and their ability to co-operate in an end of course Obstacle Course Race. You have to at least finish it, and if your assigned team comes first or close to it, that’ll look good on your record. You’re always being evaluated here. You want to always be taking every chance to shine. At the same time co-operation is valued over being competitive.”

  Katie frowned. She seemed to understand she was being told something important, but not exactly what it was. “Right,” she said without asking any questions.

  “You need to listen to this too,” Wolf said to Colleen.

  What was left of the evening was consumed in explaining the various obstacles in the culminating obstacle course.

  Henry ended with a final sum-up. “Above all, remember despite the difficulties and the mud and the fact you’ll have problems at times the course is meant to challenge you not defeat you, if you’re in good shape, remember the tricks we’ve explained, and work together with your teammates, you’ll pass it no problem. Okay?”

  Colleen and Katie both nodded. Neither of them born athletes they looked daunted.

  “You’ll be fine,” Wolf put in.

  With that, Henry and Wolf left the girls with barely enough time to get back to their own room before lights out.

  They had work of their own to do.

  Still, Henry felt it’d been worth it helping the younger cadets.

  * * *

  After a long day of PT and drill, and with the need to prepare both her kit and the room she shared with Colleen for routine inspection the next morning, Katie really didn’t want to be running a bloody silly obstacle course this evening.

  Particularly as two of the four teammates she was supposed to be practicing it with had disappeared. Susan and Stephen were big, blond and very fit, and Katie couldn’t complain they treated her badly. They didn’t treat her well either. They basically acted as if she didn’t exist. They’d disappeared down course some time ago.

  One teammate remained behind, always a bit ahead of her, effortlessly doing in a short time what took her a great deal of effort to do in a longer time.

  Andrew Cunningham gave every indication of finding her flailing about amusing.

  He had a little smile and bright eyes and watched her as if she was some strange specimen of bird. He was almost entirely clean, with only a little mud on the lower part of his running shoes. He wasn’t even sweating. It was infuriating.

  Katie was sweating and covered in mud. She kept slipping and falling. Who was it that thought living on a big ball of wet dirt was a good idea? Physically Katie was up to the running needed, and she even had the upper body strength to pull herself across the monkey bars, up walls, and over all the other obstacles the sadists at the Academy had dreamed up.

  What she didn’t have was any experience of running over rough ground or in mud. It might be a skill that could be acquired. Katie certainly hoped so, but so far she hadn’t. She kept tripping, slipping, stumbling, and falling down. Often in the mud. She was beginning to feel what she thought was a legitimate worry that she was going to injure herself. If she broke an ankle or just sprained it, she could be medically invalidated out. The worrisome prospect added to her misery.

  Right now she was struggling up a long hill full of wet grass. Might look idyllic in a photo, it was torture being there in person. Andrew waited patiently at the top of the hill. He even waved. Jerk. Katie tried to pick up the pace and slipped losing her balance. She waved her arms in the air, trying to get it back. It was a losing battle. She plopped down and slid a few feet through the trampled down muddy wet grass.

  Pulling herself up, she looked down to see her white PT gear smeared with green grass stains. She was going to have to clean those before lights out. Damn.

  Andrew was still at the top of the hill, grinning wider and waving impatiently. Doggedly Katie half plodded, half ran up the hill to where he stood.

  “Not much wet grass on Ceres?” he asked pleasantly.

  “No,” Katie grunted, looking for where she was to go next.

  Down the reverse slope of the hill a path of trampled grass and mud led to a structure of large timbers with attached ropes. It looked as if it bridged a narrow, but deep stream with muddy overhanging banks somehow. How it was to be used was unclear to Katie.

  Andrew looked at her and took off down the slope. He loped along quickly with sure footing that looked like some sort of magic to Katie. A magic she hadn’t been gifted with.

  Katie followe
d as best as she could.

  By the time she’d reached the foot of the timber structure, Andrew had already shinnied up one of several ropes dangling from the top of it. He was standing up there waving at her.

  Katie knew she wasn’t going to get up there as quick as Andrew had. But she would make it. She was fit enough and her assigned mentor, second year Cadet Henry Vane and his buddy second year Cadet Wolf Hoffmann, had explained the technique to her. She had the feeling they’d been going beyond what they were required to do in doing so. She appreciated that. She would have had a hard time with the rope climbing without it. Also, it was nice that there were people here who wished her well and were willing to help. No girl’s an island.

  The basic technique was “Brake and Squat”. You held the rope between your feet, the brake, and used that to push yourself up to grab the rope as high up as possible. Held on with your arms and grabbed and held the rope between your feet higher up, the squat. You didn’t try to pull yourself up with just your arms, not unless you already had a lot of upper body strength and were trying to build more.

  Katie had already had some practice with the technique in PT. It didn’t take her too long to almost reach the top of the structure.

  Andrew didn’t wait. By the time she’d arrived at the narrow platform nearly at the very top of the structure, he’d already swung away and to the other side of the structure on the other side of the stream below. The stream looked a long way down. Structure hadn’t looked quite that high from ground level.

  Her elusive teammate had used a rope hanging from a beam that was the very highest part of the structure. He had had the decency to see that rope swung all the way back to Katie. Katie caught it and contemplated what she needed to do next.

  It wasn’t the jumping off and swinging part that caused her pause. It was the letting go and going ballistic to land on the narrow platform opposite part that concerned her. It looked like it’d be easy to miscalculate that. It looked like a long fall to nothing soft you if you did.