“There is a psychological test necessary for getting the license? I always thought it’s just a theoretical and a practical exam?”
Robin was confused, he never heard of a third test before.
“It’s not mandatory, only in special cases the UAS is demanding them. Since all UAS members have to do regular checkups to make sure no one is suffering from trauma or developing a mental illness, normally they leave it at that.
They sent me to a psychologist and we had a nice chat for an hour. He had asked for my opinion on many topics and we discussed different ways to approach various situations you might encounter as a UAS pilot.” Niu explained, “I had the feeling he didn’t really like me, but hey - the man is a psychologist and not there to be my friend.
A day later however, I was notified that I failed the test and am deemed unfitting for the job.”
“That… is a lot to take. I’m sorry Niu…” Robin said, unsure how to console her, “What was the reasoning?”
“Mrs. Alaris shows great ambition to chase after her career and fully commits to piloting in delight. She is fully supporting the UAS guidelines and shows great engagement to find solutions that solve conflicts without unnecessary violence.” Niu recited with a scornful voice.
“Huh?” Robin tilted his head in confusion, “That doesn’t sound too bad, does it?”
“I asked my instructor and he gave me a translation. He said it boils down to ‘Mrs. Alaris is an action junkie with a soft heart’” She said.
“Oh… wow…”
“My parents were raging, they immediately sent Joseph, my watchdog - or assistant, as they call it - and contact to the family, to make sure I upheld my part of the deal.”
“Really? You earned so much credit in the public eye for the Alaris’, why are they so stubborn?”
“Credit is all good and fine, but they like credits more!” Niu gave a sad chuckle but then suddenly threw her drink at the wall in a flight of anger. The glass blasted apart, splashing her cocktail all over the window.
“Fuck!” She cursed, half screaming, “I was so close.. so close!!”
Niu took a few deep breaths and slumped back on her couch.
Robin was way out of his depths in this situation. He hated people-problems and while he got better with such stuff after interacting much more with his friends over the last months, it still wasn’t his forte.
He thought about going over and giving her a hug - that cheers people up, right? Robin hesitated a moment, but ultimately remained sitting on his couch. He instead reflected on what Niu had told him and quickly stumbled over something that felt off.
“Hey, so this psychological test is basically about checking if you are fit for the job… shouldn’t that be something that is done before you enter the 3-year training program? Also, if it’s not mandatory, who are they testing? Sounds more like something you would use to find the black sheep in your own lines and I can hardly imagine them suspecting you…”
“Keep going…” Niu motioned him to continue.
Robin mulled over this for a moment until his eyes went wide in realization.
“Your family? They could easily ask the right people to test you and while the feedback from the psychologist sucks, it’s not too far off… easy to predict such an evaluation. Let me guess, how the UAS proceeds after getting such test results is a matter of interpretation. They could very well just suck it up and put you behind the wheel since you are an amazing pilot. However they could also get you away from the military ships and find you an assignment on a non-combat ship - they invested massively in you, no chance they would just kick you out after training you for three years…”
Niu let out a long sigh.
“Yeah, that’s pretty much what I figured, too.” She said, “And it is just as you explained. The UAS didn’t kick me out, but assigned me to a small interplanetary carrier, a continuous non-combat mission to organize transports in the Mereus Cluster. Like a train driver, going a fixed route every week…”
Robin saw her jaws clench and even if he only knew her for so long, he was well aware that she would never be happy with that job. However, did she have a choice? Signing in to the UAS is not something you can just back out of to join your family’s business.
When he asked Niu about that, she once again laughed sadly.
“You are right, normally. However, the Alaris family has enough money to pay the UAS everything they had invested in me, plus some additional fees. That’s all it takes to step back from the contract.” She said and when she saw Robin’s incredulous look, she continued “How I do know? The price is already negotiated and ‘will be added to what I owe my family’ as my mom had worded it.”
“Holy shit, so - they knew from the beginning that they would call you back home at some point? That’s a pretty nasty move…”
“Welcome to the Alaris family!” Niu gave a fake cheer.
“But you don’t have to leave the UAS, right? Your family cannot force you to decline the job on the carrier, can they?”
“No, they cannot. But we had an agreement and I don’t wanna be the one to break a promise.” Niu said with a firm voice.
“Pardon, call me a hypocrite, but weren't they the ones who set you up first? Why would you care about any agreement any longer?”
Niu sat on her couch and grumbled to herself.
“It’s not that easy, you have no idea how pissed they would get, if I don’t follow the rules. And that aside, I really don’t wanna die suddenly of boredom on an interplanetary transport, because I’ve already done the tour 200 times before…”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Now Robin finally got up from his couch and walked over to Niu with a soft laugh. When he arrived at her side and she looked up at him, he gave the midget a hit on the head.
“Ouww… what was that for?” she whined.
“Really? Niu, when I first met you, your story reminded me of one of these princesses in the novels I sometimes read. Unwilling to follow the family rules, she runs away and enjoys the life of an adventurer for some time, until the clan catches up and takes the princess back home where she waits for the hero to save her.”
“Well… Ouww!” Niu rubbed her head when Robin hit her again.
“No ‘Well’, your family fucked you over and if you are now going to abide to some made up deal because of honor or whatever, you are just stupid. You are no princess and there is no hero on his way to save you. Throw them a finger, join in on the Keeper-mission that is about to start and see where it will take you. If you come to realize you miss your family, great go back then. If you enjoy exploring the universe even if it’s not in a Cap-size ship, then you can just come with us afterwards. And who knows, maybe you’ll even find some entertaining things to do on a random planet who-knows-where and decide to stay there to live a happy life.
The Alaris family will be pissed? So what? Let them rage at home, it’s not like they will send a headhunter after you.” Robin huffed between his ranting and shook his head. With a soft voice he continued.
“I’m really, really sorry that you lost this chance to live your dream, but there are so many things you could do from here on - there is no need to punish yourself by going back!”
Niu, still sitting on the couch, looked up at him and then leaned her head against his legs. She didn’t say anything and Robin also had nothing to add. What she does from here on was up to her. Sure, he would be happy if she came with him, but he would not ask once more or try to pursue her. She wasn’t a princess and he definitely wasn’t a hero. Everyone had to make their own decisions.
Robin stood still and only when he heard her sniffing silently, did he awkwardly begin to pat her head.
While he was waiting for her to calm down, one thought sneaked his way back into his mind: ‘...she is not a princess, right?’
***
The evening didn’t go on much longer after that as Happy was mostly lost in her own thoughts and Robin was getting more and more nervous about the checkup - he still had too much to prepare.
After Keran stopped by to take him back, Robin immediately shoved all other thoughts away and continued to study the many different papers he got from Prof. Aurelius. With some help from ROMAS he slowly got more confident in his idea and planned the next steps.
That night he didn’t get much sleep but stayed in the laboratory, testing out varying concepts and crafting prototypes. Only when the old man returned the next morning and sent him home, did he get some sleep.
Robin rested a few hours and returned to the workshop after lunch. When evening came, he finally finished his first stable prototype.
“I’m done!” He exclaimed and pulled out the range extender he had built the day before already.
Prof. Aurelius slowly shuffled over and inspected the little tool.
“You think it works? Did you already test it?”
“Yup, but I have no idea how much range I gain with this. Time for the field test!” Robin cheered happily.
“No, boy, you did well and I see you’re really driven. But I have some matters to attend to today and this time I’ll close the lab or else you will move in here sooner or later.” The wizard-like man shooed him out.
Robin pouted but the man remained stubborn.
“Fine, but tomorrow after the checkup, I’ll get a chance for my tests!” He demanded.
“Sure, sure. Now gone with you!”
Robin returned to his room and lay on his bed, the cable for charging plugged into the wall next to him.
“Do you think I’m close enough?” He asked when night fell over the facility and soon text appeared in his vision.
* Range is enough (43%)
* Range isn’t enough (57%)
“Okay, not as good as I had wished for, but let’s hope luck is on our side.” Robin mumbled and pulled out two small tools he had crafted. The bigger one was the range extender which he also plugged into the wall. For a second he hesitated as he watched both cables and thought about making stupid jokes about his… well, he flipped a switch and the circuit board began to blink.
“Alright, you are free to go. Go ‘n get it!”
* Connecting…
* Connection established
* Enabling video-feed
Robin closed his eyes and concentrated on the video that was now running on his Interface. It was in first person and he could see Aurelius’ lab from the inside.
“Go to the door and try to open it. Would really suck, if that doesn’t work…” He said and watched as the drone began to hover and slowly fly over to the door. Luckily the laboratory was closed to keep people out and not to keep rogue drones inside. A small mechanical arm extended from its underside and tapped on the keypad with a little claw. Without any mishaps the door opened. ROMAS made the drone tap a few more buttons to ensure it could get back in when it returned and flew out, down the corridor towards Robin’s room.
“Can you scan the surroundings for people nearby?”
* The drone has this ability
* With this kind of connection I cannot access that function
* ETA: 3:22 min
“Too bad” Robin sighed and watched on as the camera glided through the hallways. When it came close to his door, he jumped off the bed and went to open his door.
Moments later, the black drone rushed in.
He didn’t dally around and handed over the second tool he crafted. The drone grabbed the small circuit board with its claw and immediately turned to leave.
Robin sent out an Echo-Pulse and after confirming that no one was nearby, he gave ROMAS the go.
Back on his bed he continued to watch the video-feed.
ROMAS steered the UAV through many corridors and Robin had long lost any sense of direction. That was one reason why he sent the drone, the other was that if the drone was discovered he could still give this endeavor another try personally. However he really hoped that wouldn’t be necessary as the risk was too high. If someone discovered him sneaking around, shit would really hit the fan.
* Drone is nearing the maximum range
* Range is enough (21%)
* Range isn’t enough (79%)
“Burn in plasma… really?” Robin cursed, “How much is missing?”
* 20 meters
Robin grumbled and got out of the bed, he disconnected the range extender and hurried down the hallway while hiding it under his shirt.
“Pin me a timer!”
* 3:46:11 h until the range extender runs out of power
“What? Okay, forget the timer. Just focus on the job!” He said and looked for a quiet corner to sit down, after ROMAS notified him that he was close enough.
From there on, it felt to him like watching a movie in which some sneaky thief was breaking into a medical station to search for a compatible workstation. Then with his clawed hand, he fumbled for ages with a little tool until he finally inserted it into a port that was turned away from the room.
Yeah, the story sucked but Robin was relieved without end when the little scout finally was back out of the office and on his way home without alerting anyone.
Robin went back into his bed and waited for ROMAS to return the drone to the lab, before he finally could close his eyes to find some sleep.
“This was the stressful part, tomorrow comes the risky one…”