Full Circle

[Travis Kroells 0]

“Full Circle”…Kroells’s logs (Log 49)

 

“Small Victories” Part 2 of 3

 

 

 

Six months after Kayla’s funeral…

 

Travis Kroells rose from his seat in his astrophysics class.  The mummers from the class were still there, or maybe they were always there.  Travis had a knack for finishing the tests with record speed, and accuracy.  And this final was no different.  He felt he should spend more time on it, considering the fact that if he couldn’t pass it, especially with flying colors, his chances for a top spot on an exploration ships were pretty much ruined.

 

As he walked down the rows of seats to the professors desk, avoiding the glances of the classmates, some furious that he had gotten off, some furious at the shuttle crash.  All of Kayla’s and Andrew’s friends were in his class, him and engineer, and her a fellow member of the sciences.  

 

He couldn’t take his mind off the subject, why he always got done so fast.  Obviously he knew the material, but besides that…he always used to believe that it was because he trusted his instincts, that when ever he second guessed his beliefs, it often turned on him.  But now…he felt as though he didn’t care.  

 

He gently put the padd down in front of the professor.  “Err…sir; I have a pass to leave early…”  

 

The middle aged man looked back at him with certain disgust.  “Yes, I know Kroells, now get out of here.”

 

Travis sighed as he walked out…even the professors had it in for him…something that disturbed him greatly.  None the less, he had a great smile on his face, knowing that he wouldn’t have to deal with him or any of his teachers any more.  He could go on to do what ever he wanted, and not receive glares and death threats by his peers.

 

His mood only got better as he walked the streets of San Francisco heading for his direction, knowing that in a few weeks, he’d be off of Earth, one way or another, and he’d never have to come back.

 

He entered the large building by the water front, not to far from the academy actually; he was late for the fact that he took the longest possible route here.  He wasn’t sure if he wanted to go in, but he figured that he’d have to deal with him eventually.

 

The glass doors swooshed open, leading Travis into a colorless lobby area.

 

“Ah, cadet Kroells, the admiral has been waiting for you.”  

 

He looked back to the receptionist, she was attractive, not much older then him…he pitted her, she must have taken this assignment right out of the academy, hoping to the fact that working right under an admiral would move her up in the ranks.  “Of course he is.  He’s always waiting for me.”

 

She frowned at him as he stepped into the lift and sent it to the proper level.  He’d been here once before, the day that his mother went missing, her ship, attacked by Orion pirates.  They could never tell if the ship was destroyed, or if it made it to a nearby planet.  With no data to formulate a search mission, the ship was announced missing, presumed destroyed.  His father had no time for him; he spent most of his hours behind a desk, trying to bring the Orion syndicate down, feeling that it was the only way to avenge his wife.  The next 10 years of his life were spent on his grandfather’s farm in central Minnesota, one of the few areas in the world that was never turned into a modern suburbia.

 

The halls were the same as they were that day when he was 8.  As barren and unforgiving as the gates of hell.  He slowly walked down the hall; he reached the only room, and abruptly walked in, finding it the only way to get it over with.

 

He almost instantly had a flurry of Padds thrown at him, he could never get the jump on his father, and today wasn’t the exception.  “What are these?”

 

“Nice to see you’ve grown your hair out like a hippy, they’re ships that I want you to serve on.”

 

Travis sighed, his hair was for once as he liked it, about 3 inches growth, a modern day mullet except for the fact that all the hair length was equally long, it just looked like he had one.  “Sheesh aren’t we power hungry today…picking what ship I’ll be on.”  He paused as he looked over several of them, “Their all with in 50 light years of Earth!  How am I supposed to get any good spot on a research ship when every thing in that vicinity has been mapped down to the square micron!?”

 

“Did you think you were really going to go under the science department like you planed?  You’re going to be a member of the command staff on a star ship!  Just like I was, just like my grandfather was!”

 

He picked up the padds, trying to humor him.  “So then, these are my choices…”

 

He smirked.  “Just remember son, your application requests go through me.”

 

He looked at the padds…nothing was there that could help him…Everything was near Earth, easy for him to keep an eye on….He continued to sift through the padds, until he came across something interesting, he tossed a padd at the admiral.  “Fine, then…The USS Reaent it is.”

 

He took the padd, and put his signature on it, “I knew you’d see it my way.”  

 

Travis turned around, and slowly left the office, “What ever.”

 

3 months later……

 

Travis sighed, as he walked onto the Reaent from starbase 123 (I think that was the one?) the ship was the only one in the choices presented by his father, with the potential for exploration…Still…he felt that he had just made one of the biggest decisions of his life, on a whim…He guessed only time could tell…