“All you need is a mop, a rag and some spray cleaner,” One of the workers said to me.

I was in the Sanitary Center asking around for what I needed to clean the transport ship. Liz had just finished showing me where it was. The Hydra was equipped with five transports and each one could hold 20 infantry soldiers. It was apparently rare for them to be used and thus they were reserved for special missions.

Thanking the man, I grabbed what he said I needed. Thought about the civilian ship as I carried my supplies to the elevator. What could be going wrong? What were civilians doing flying around in space, anyway? Were they merchants of some kind? I pushed the button to activate the elevator.

The elevator door opened. Standing inside was Dave.

“Hey, where you headed? Need any help carrying that stuff?” Dave said. Why was this guy always nice to me?

“No, I think I’ve got it all. I’m headed for the ship in 1-A. There was a distress call and I was tasked to clean out the transport,” I said.

“I was notified about that. Surprised they’re sending you up there, though. Sounds like a pretty big job,” Dave said.

He was right. “Tell me about it,” I said.

“I should be heading back to my quarters now. Good luck with the cleanup!” Dave said as he offered me a wave. He exited the elevator and turned down a hallway. I shouldn’t be zoning out like this, I have a job to do! I entered the elevator and pushed the button for the second floor.

Where did my motivation come from? I hadn’t even been a janitor for a whole week and suddenly I feel obligated to do work. This was totally unlike me. Maybe it was the uniform. Maybe I just needed a purpose in life that wasn’t school. Had I finally grown into being an adult?

Made it to the second floor. I started walking to the transport ship, supplies in hand. The ramp for the transport was already down, as if it were waiting for me. At the top of the ramp was a door which had been propped open. I entered it.

The inside of the transport was just like what you’d see in a science fiction movie. There were two long benches on each side of the transport for the infantrymen to sit down in, complete with safety harnesses. In the front of the ship was a place for the pilots and there was also a bathroom on board.

I shut the door to the transport to give myself more privacy and decided to get to work. Set my stuff down on the floor. Had a mop, a spray bottle filled with cleaner and a small rag.

There was a particularly dirty spot near the entrance of the ship. I picked up the mop and began to scrub the floor. Nothing happened. The floor remained dirty. What was going on? I could have sworn I did it right. Quickly realized my mistake. I forgot to get a bucket filled with soap and water! Maybe it was too obvious, but my coworkers failed to mention anything about it. Now I had to walk all the way back to the Sanitation Center. Went to the door that led outside and gave it a push. It wouldn’t open. Of course, I thought, I had to use the keypad. There was none. How was supposed to get out of here? After trying to figure out the door for several minutes, I yelled for help. Nobody ever came.

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I chose to do the best I could with what I had. Used the rag and cleaning spray to wipe up the messy spot on the floor. Much better. Proceeded to spray and wipe down all the dirty places I could find. Probably took me three hours.

Even after all that time, nobody ever came and got me. I was tired from working and wanted to take a break. Decided to take a nap in the bathroom. Surely someone would find me, I thought. After getting as comfortable as I could, I closed my eyes and went to sleep.

I awoke to yelling. The transport ship was shaking around. Were they trying to get me out? Quickly stood up and opened the bathroom door.

In the transport ship were all the infantrymen, harnessed on their benches. They were mostly wearing black uniforms with what looked like body armor underneath. Either that, or they were really muscular. A few of them wore pink with large crosses on the front. They all had helmets on with clear visors to protect their face. One of them, who I assumed was in charge, began talking.

“Remember, these are parasitic alien life forms! They will not hesitate to kill you if you let them!” He said. The yelling was familiar. Was the same guy who woke me up.

“Hey, thanks for finally getting me out of here,” I said.

The yelling man looked directly at me, shocked. I could see his mouth drop down. All the other infantrymen on board looked at me as well. I thought it was pretty rude.

“What are you doing here!?” The man in charge shouted.

“I’m the janitor who was asked to clean this ship. I accidentally locked myself in here. Took a nap in the bathroom. Can I go now? My supervisor is going to kill me if I show up late again,” I said.

“Son, you’ll be lucky if you show up alive,” he said.

“What do you mean?” I asked. Surely this guy couldn’t be upset with me. I was just doing my job, after all.

“We just landed on the civilian ship. There is some kind of alien infestation on board. We’re tasked with killing all of them and looking for a queen. This ship isn’t turning around until we finish the job. It’s protocol,” he said.

“Oh, then I’ll just wait in here. You guys go do your thing,” I said.

Sure, it was kind of annoying that I ended up traveling to the civilian ship. Though as long as I stay in here, I should be safe. Just have to wait for the men to do their job and we can return back to the Hydra.

“Sarge, look out!” I heard an infantryman say. There was some kind of yellow creature quickly tunneling through the ceiling, causing bits of metal to fall to the ground. It was the size of a large watermelon and had multiple tentacles. It fell directly on the man I had been talking to.

Instantly, the creature hissed and punctured the mans head with one of its tentacles. The helmet stood no chance against it. He fell to the ground, limp.

One of the men got out of his harness. He pulled out his battle rifle and began firing at the ground. Red lasers shot out of it and the gun made really odd high pitched sounds. The creature stopped moving, full of cauterized wounds.

The infantrymen started getting out of their harnesses and equipping their battle rifles. “Humphrey, you’re in charge,” I heard one of the men say. They were totally unfazed by death. Had they experienced it before? Surely they must have, right?

I felt sick to my stomach. This was real. This wasn’t a joke. I felt like throwing up. Held it in, though. Wouldn’t want to make the floor even messier than it already was.

“Don’t let Sarge’s death be in vain! We’re tasked with clearing out the infestation and rescuing any survivors!” A man said. Must be Humphrey.

“Sir, what about the janitor?” Another man asked.

“He comes with us. He’d get killed in here,” Humphrey said.

I didn’t sign up for this. I just wanted to do my job and head back to my quarters. Now I was expected to go into a battlefield?!

“Get ready, men! Opening the door in three, two, one…” Humphrey said. He pressed a knob on the side of the door and it flew upwards. I could have sworn I checked all the buttons over there. Must have missed one.

All the infantrymen funneled out of the transport ship. No use staying in here, I thought. Didn’t want to end up as lunch. Looked around for a spare weapon. I grabbed my mop and followed them.