Respira...My First Book Attempt

For the reader:

No reports on life outside of Respira are allowed, though it is known that life exists on other planets within their galaxy of Circinus.

All persons shall be enlisted to the Respira Galactic Peace Force (RGPF) on the day following their 20th birthday. Only those with extreme severe physical or mental disabilities are precluded from this service.

Little is known about what the RGPF actually does aside from the official statement that they are a “beacon of peace and hope in an unstable galaxy”.

Chapter 1

STATIONS

The light was dim in the small, damp room, only lit by a single candle with not much life left. Apphai peered out of the hexagonal window of her base level room on the large starliner. Resting her head against the cold, metal wall, her long tendrils of unkempt mouse-brown hair falling to her waist, she looked out and wondered at the vastness of the deep blackness stretching out as far as she could see before her. What’s REALLY out there? she thought to herself. It had only been 5 days since her arrival on the starliner, but it had felt much more like a month.

She had just turned 20 years of age. RGPF enlistment was a constant source of anxiety and a hot topic of discussion among those approaching the birthday of dread. Of course, many rumors circulated about what the RGPF does, but no one younger than 20 ever really knew. One thing for certain was that after service was completed, those who actually made it back, as many did not, were...changed in some way. A bit like the way of a leaf gliding from summer to autumn changes into a dull-colored crispy waif, just before it’s crushed underfoot. Apphai had not wanted to go and had even considered hiding or running away, but she’d heard the rumors about how those who chose that route before her were promptly never seen or heard from again. She’d left behind her family and she dearly missed her best friend Sina, who was a year younger than her. She had no idea what she would be doing or where she would be going. She’d come to the large starliners’ port at the designated time and day to report for her service. It was a massive ship with a large “R.G.P.F.” painted in blocky red letters across the side. She could see a line forming so she hustled in. When she got to the front of the line a man stopped her just before entering the ship.

“Sign this” he’d said.

“What is it” Apphai asked.

“An NDA, just sign it ok? Don’t make a fuss.”

She signed it hesitantly. So this is why no one ever talks about it, she thought, as she went to find her room.

After she’d settled and put away her things she sat on the bed thinking What does that mean? No news of other planets was ever allowed on Respira, so the residents knew next to nothing of what the galaxy was like outside of their home planet. Are the other places I’ll see as beautiful and mountainous as Respira? Are all planets even like Respira? I honestly know nothing about the outside galaxy.

After 5 days of being stuck in her room with no answers, she was so incredibly bored, and tired of waiting. She had wandered the starliner as much as was allowed and had only spoken more than a “hello” to one other person so far, her neighbor Ansar. Ansar was in the room adjacent to her and he had enlisted the same day, meaning they were both new recruits of the same age. They had walked out at the same time the day before to head down to the canteen to retrieve their evening meal. Ansar was a tall boy with olive skin and jet black hair. He looked down at her with piercing green eyes and said “Canteen?” as he saw her walk out. She was so startled that all she could manage was an affirmative head nod as they both headed down the narrow hallway. Apphai fully expected that to be the end of the conversation which she would have been happy with, as she was a rather reserved girl. No one else had even seemed interested in talking with her anyway and she had already made up her mind to proceed with great caution given how little she knew about what the next 3 years would hold for her. After a few moments in step with each other, Ansar looked at her again.

“So which city are you from?” he said in a hushed tone.

“Patria City” she replied, without looking at him.

“Ahh, Patria, the big city! I’m from Famira, ever been?” he inquired. She glanced briefly at him and shook her head no.

“Well, you ain’t missin’ much to be honest, lots of farmland and country bumpkins like me” he smiled widely and expectantly at her, as if hoping for some kind of reaction.

“I never left Patria City before,” she said flatly. He lost his smile and continued on.

“Never?! Wow. I traveled a lot delivering produce and farm supplies to various towns and villages up North. My family owns a farm and farm supply business, pretty small-time, but I enjoyed traveling. I was actually pretty excited to get off-world and see what else is out there! How about you, looking forward to seeing other planets? Cultures?” He asked eagerly.

“I guess” she answered timidly, “I’m a bit...nervous.”

“Yeah I guess it can be a bit nerve-wracking, but it’s an adventure right?! I’m Ansar by the way.” He seemed so calm and cheerful she thought. Quite unlike herself, but she was feeling a bit more relaxed, just having a normal conversation with someone again.

“Apphai,” she replied.

“Apphai, I like that,” he said as they entered the canteen room. “Want to be friends?” he asked her as he grabbed an orange from a basket and tossed it to her.

“Sh..Sure” she said hesitantly as she clumsily caught the orange. What a strange boy, she thought. So direct, and unnecessarily friendly, however, she couldn't help but be appreciative of his willingness to befriend her.

The next day, Apphai was awakened by a firm knock on her door. She rose slowly and opened it to find a woman of about age 40, she presumed, staring sternly at her.

“You’ve got 30 minutes to get dressed and be in the conference hall for station assignments. Do NOT be late”, she added, and then made a quick turn and walked to the next door to repeat the process. Apphai brushed the sleep from her eyes and noticed Ansar across the hall with his door open.

“Hey! Meet out here in 20, we’ll walk together” he whispered then shut his door before she could even give an answer. Apphai was left feeling confused, and to top it off, barely awake. There was no gentle sun pouring in her window, no warmth from its glow to gradually wake her, like in her room at home. Just cold, dark, space. She glanced at the small clock above her bed. 4AM…why? she thought. They’d told her nothing except where her room was, the communal bathroom, and the canteen was for five whole days. She was told to confine herself to those areas until instructed otherwise. She didn’t even know where the conference hall was. Did Ansar know? Perhaps that’s why he suggested they walk together. She quickly ran a brush through her long hair, which she didn’t normally do, threw herself into her day clothes, and rushed outside her room. Ansar was already there waiting for her.

“Do you know where to go?” Apphai asked him.

“Yeah, I explored a bit more than I should have a few days ago and remember seeing a sign for it…..uhh ... .this way,” he said as they took a left turn down another hallway. She followed after him quietly. She could feel her anxiety rising to the surface about this gathering, her cheeks flushing as she accidentally bumped into Ansar when he suddenly stopped.

“Here we are,” he said and opened the door for her. She walked in sheepishly and they both took a seat towards the back. The hall was slowly filling with other bodies looking around the large room with questioning eyes. Apphai peered at the large clock above a stage at the front of the room. They still had around 5 minutes before the designated time.

“Don’t be nervous” Ansar said, seeming to notice her visible tension, “maybe we’ll get the same station assignment”. Apphai barely heard him as the chatter began to rise in the room and the seats around them slowly filled. Shortly after, the same lady who had rapped on her door earlier that morning took the stage with a strong, commanding presence, hands behind her back, and waited patiently. The chatter died down rather quickly as people began to notice her.

“You are here today to receive your station assignments. There are six stations you can be assigned to. They are as follows: Internal Support, Relief and Aid, Weapons Assembly and Repair, Piloting, Combat, and Reconnaissance.” She gestured to three large screens behind her “Please find your name in the corresponding station category, Internal Support, R&A, and Weapons please proceed through the door to my left of the stage. Piloting, Combat, and Recon, please proceed through the door on my right.”

Apphai began scanning the screen for her name. She found it.

“Recon” she whispered, not really to anyone but herself.

“Combat... for me,” Ansar replied. “C’mon, let’s go” he stated as he stood up and began walking away. Apphai hopped up quickly to follow. Combat, recon, weapons? she thought. For what? What will we be doing? Are we going to be fighting? What kind of peace force needs to fight? So many questions began flooding her mind. She could feel the tension in the air as everyone began finding their respective names, many of them looked absolutely terrified. Did they know something she didn't? She barely knew Ansar, but she felt bad for him. She wondered if he was nervous. The way he’d said ‘combat’ had made her feel uneasy. It was dark, unsettling. She suddenly felt as if the whole lot of them knew something she didn’t as if it was all some joke that she wasn’t in on. But no one was allowed to talk about the RGPF and what they did, so how could they know anything more than her?

They squeezed in the door to a room where about 200 people were standing shoulder to shoulder. The ceiling was low and there were small light fixtures in each corner of the room as well as three doors that led elsewhere in the middle of each wall. A young man stood on a shallow platform in the middle of the room.

“Piloting, raise your hand” he shouted. “Alright then, over here through this door please” he stated as he waved his arm in the direction of the door on his right.

“Combat, you go through this door here,” he said as he whirled around, gesturing to another door.

“Well, see you later I suppose,” Ansar said, looking directly at Apphai, “chin up, you’ll be fine,” he told her as he attempted a smile and then turned away to follow the others. Again, she hadn’t even had a chance to say anything. What would I even say anyway? she thought to herself and tried not to worry about Ansar. She had a feeling that she would have enough of her own worries soon.

“The rest of you, follow me.” The man in the middle said finally as he stepped down from the platform and exited through the only door left that had not been used. Apphai tried to slow her breathing. She could feel the anxiety welling up inside her. So many unknowns, I don’t like this.