Tales of the Sentinel Space Guard

After reciting the creed Instructor Hannon had us undress into our under garments so Doctor Yalla could examine our physiques.

“Doctor Yalla will come by and judge your physiques; this will give her a better judgement on what type of diet she should start you on and as to who your partner will be.” Said the instructor.

“How will this determine our partners...sir?” asked a girl up front.

“We need to pin you with someone who will challenge you every step of the way, not someone who will cuddle you and say everything is going to be ok. What better way to do that than with someone who is already in better shape than you?!”

“But, mentally, wouldn’t that make the other person self-conscious instead?” asked the guy in front of me.

“If you can’t handle your own personal demons then you don’t deserve to be a Sentinel. Listen up and listen well class, there is no counselor here, there are no peer moments, off days, healing days, or even vacation days; this job requires everything you can give and even more. If you want to quit, then quit now and never comeback to this bay again, got it?”

“Yes sir!” we all shouted.

Not a single person left that line after that. We all resolved ourselves and decided to stay no matter the ordeal. I knew this job was dangerous and I expected this job to be worse once I’m accepted, but the only way I’m leaving this path is when I die.

“Ok everyone, I think I’m done. Instructor Hannon, I will have my results before the end of day and will post them by the barracks.” Said Doctor Yalla.

“Thank you Doctor Yalla!” I proclaimed.

“Haha, you’re welcome cadet.” She said as she smiled and walked away.

As I stand there I see other students starting to put there clothes back on.

“What the hell are you all doing?” asked Instructor Hannon.

“W-we thought we could put our c-clothes back on sir?” some scared kid asked while shaking vigorously.

“Why? You cold or something cadet? We about to do your first day warm up, just like that, in your under garments. Everyone, spread out arm’s length from the person next to you.”

As we begin to line up, side by side, we see the entire bay in front of us change into an obstacle course. Ships started being absorbed into the walls everywhere; the other Sentinels were gone and none of us noticed, but that meant that we had the entire docking bay to ourselves for this obstacle course. There was an infinite climbing wall behind us, which was just a regular climbing wall that would move at various speeds while the person stayed stationary; small shooting range, a small zero-gravity/g-force room to help with tasks we may have to do while being on the outside of the ship during hyperspace jumps and a huge open area full of free weights and trainee Sentinel Suits to help with strength training. I slowly started to grin at what was happening because this truly was the beginning of a dream come true for me.

“You all will do this course 3 times a day for your first week. We will shorten this class every year to an expertly capable and determined class of 6; that means only 3 groups will be here at the end of the 5 years. Only 3 groups, 6 people will be able to call themselves a Sentinel Space Guard. The people who do not make it, don’t fret, Sentinels would be nothing without the logistics teams and intelligence teams; you will be rerouted to undergo their training. If you do not make it there then you will be forcible removed from the roster and sent back as a regular citizen.” Explained Instructor Hannon.

“When can we sign back up if we get forced to leave sir?” asked some guy on the far left.

“Never! You couldn’t handle it the first time, what makes you think you can do it a second time. Also, we don’t have time to re-train failures; so, aim for the top spot now and hold on tight or the next guy might pass you.”

After that was said I noticed Sam and Freddy both looking at each other with a slightly worried face and couldn’t help but grin.

“Something funny cadet?” whispered Instructor Hannon from behind me.

“No sir, just excited to be here sir!”

“Good because you’re leading the first 9 of y’all to the free weights pit.” He demanded.

“Yes sir! I need 8 people to follow me to the free weights pit, now!” I shouted.

Those 8 people follow right behind me immediately to the pit; we locate the trainee suits and help each other put them on. The full kit Sentinel Space Guard suit comes in 3 parts; first is the cosmic radiation protective body suit that is skintight but very stretchable and durable, second piece is the thermal/medical suit that keeps your body temperature steady and helps the doctors monitor your vitals and can act like an impromptu life preserver, and the third and final piece is the main metal golden piece. The gold is an incredible shield against radiation and the heat from the sun, so making sure you have everything on the 3rd suit cleaned and not damaged is vital. The entire ensemble weighs roughly 120lbs, but with the weightless of space we hardly notice it. The trainee suits are only 110lbs because the instructors decided that in the beginning of training, forcing us to even put on a 10lb helmet is a lot.

With all of us in our suits we finally get the go ahead to start lifting, but all the weights were unmarked and seemed to be the exact same.

“Sir, which ones do we chose?” I asked