Kai shivered against the cold mid-morning air that breezed its way in through the petite cracks in the metal door before him, causing goose bumps to erupt down his spine. It was eerie, in a way, full of expectation. He cracked his neck as he stared at the ceiling, waiting for this particular door to open, before slowly reaching up his hand and rubbing his aching shoulder with slender fingers, giving him the chance to glance at the scene that lay around him.

The 100 recruits sat obediently still in an expansive white room. The ceiling high, the floor scuffed and marked, it was cold and the air emanating from the door didn’t help regulate the temperature. The blindingly bright walls made the room garish and uninviting, and the faint smell of bleach cast off a discomforting feeling which seemed to echo through the mass of people. Although the room itself seemed cold and evil, the atmosphere inside gave the walls colour. The recruits were oddly quiet – but the air was filled with anticipation, eagerness and excitement.

Kai, however, couldn’t feel the excitement, the eagerness. He did not want to leave the planet, nor did he want to be a part of the Space Corps. But this was his only option. An option that would probably keep him away from home for years. That familiar feeling of dread settled in his stomach as he faced the prospect of losing contact with his relatives.

A quick, high pitched warning alarm buzzed for a fleeting second, and Kai visibly flinched in surprise. As he turned, the rest of the recruits turned with him – to stare at the door. As quickly as the alarm sounded, a green light appeared above the door. Murmurs quickly spread around the room and Kai became tense. Slowly and deliberately, the door heavily shifted open, sliding into a panel on the adjoining wall. Kai shuddered as icy cold air hit him.

The green light, which flickered on only moments ago, began to flash violently before emitting a thin laser light a few feet in front of the door. The light shimmered, and then projected the holographic form of a slim brunette woman with deep violet eyes. She looked about, seeming to assess the area before turning to the group with a slight smile.

“Good evening recruits,” began the hologram. “And on behalf of the united space corps, welcome.

“Only the admirable and brave are admitted to the space corps. You, recruits are the embodiment of bravery and fearlessness and it is you that will be at the forefront of this war. Your only objective is to protect earth, protect its colonies and above all – protect the people.

“We must be vigilant in this war and strong, for the Lumenian’s are a powerful race of aliens who will stop at nothing to make sure we are all destroyed. The path that you have chosen will be difficult, long and unbearable. But the space corps is one single entity, and your loyalty must be to your fellow recruits and the space corps.”

The hologram continued to talk, while Kai again glanced at the recruits around him. They were leaning forward, engrossed in the words the hologram flowed out to them – some sat bolted up, while others had small looks of fear appear across their faces in nervous flashes. The enormity of their task was sinking in slowly into their brains and through their bones, the weight of commitment and responsibility becoming heavier and heavier on their shoulders; and with a jolt they were forced to realise that there was no going back. They would have to stay until the end.

 “Now. Recruits.”

 Kai turned his attention back to the hologram.

 “I will call out your full name and a number that is specifically for you. This will be your ID number. You do not have to remember this – it’s only for the mother computer to register.

 “Once your name is called you will make your way towards this door. On the other side of is the holding bay where you will be greeted by a lieutenant of the ship that you will stationed on.” The hologram paused. “Good luck recruits. And may you return home safely.”

She disappeared with a programmed flicker and a fuzzy noise, before a short, stout officer made his way through the recruits from the back of the room. The sweat ran across the officer’s brow as he hobbled towards the front and Kai noticed that the belt around his waist was stretched and unbearably close to snapping. His faded white uniform showed a lack of tender care and his boots were a faded brown with scuffs of dried mud around the soles.

He lifted a sleeve to his brow and vigorously wiped the sweat away as he approached the door. After simultaneously touching two buttons on the door panel, he turned to address them, face red as a beetroot, and spoke out to the recruits.

“Right now recruits. Err listen, listen up! I will call your names out now. With your number. So… just… come to the front when I’ve called you out. Yes, yes, make sure you’re listening.”

A holographic data screen with blue writing appeared at face level with the officer. Systematically, he began to call names out.

Kai waited for his name. But he couldn’t. He had decided he didn’t want this. This was a bad idea. He turned towards the back of the room. Far away he could see the door in which they had entered through and in the shadows he could see more silent officers, their faces masked by the dark. If he ran for the door he would be stopped; that was a definite. He would be caught and executed. Such was the punishment for defecting.

Then he remembered his mother. Her face. The way she held him after he awoke from a nightmare. ‘I’m doing this for her’ he thought. He breathed out shakily.

“Zero, one, three, three, six – Kim Jongin.”

His head shot upwards. There was no going back now. He stood, legs feeling oddly unstable beneath him, and walked towards the door in a forced uniformed fashion. Once there he waited, shifting from foot to foot. A few more names were called out and then the plump officer totted other to them. He pressed his gruff palm against a metal pad on the opposite side of the door and in return the door shuddered, before groaning open slowly.

“Make your way through then,” the officer nervously said, “Go on now. And- and good luck.”

He waved them away. Confused, the 20 recruits whose names had been called out ventured through the door.  They found themselves in a slightly smaller boxed room, a door facing across from them, and as the door closed behind them, said door opened in front of them. Bright light streamed through, dazzling Kai for a slight second and causing him to lift his hand to shield his eyes. The recruits walked forward hesitantly and Kai made his way towards the back of the group.

The small group of recruits were greeted by loud noises and movement and as they peered around, Kai struggled to keep in a gasp of amazement. They were in the shuttlecraft landing bay. The massive area was unlike Kai had ever seen; large shuttles stood side by side in different areas of the compound and they were surrounded by metal walls which reached up towards the sky like malignant blockades. People busied themselves loading equipment and checking the engines of each craft, while others bustled about with rushed expressions and carrying medical supplies in their arms.

Kai felt someone brush up against his arm, and he turned to see a tall skinny boy with light brown hair, and big doe-like eyes stood beside him. Kai felt his eyes narrow of their own accord, scrutinizing how young this boy looked. He didn’t look old enough to be recruited, let alone even be stood here next to him.

“Oh, sorry!” the boy said, smiling over at him apologetically as Jongin flinched at how deep the boys voice sounded. “I wanted to get a better look. This place is pretty cool, yeah?”

“I guess,” Kai replied, shrugging and turning his head away.

“So what’s your name? I’m Luhan,” he held his hand out. “Flight Interpreter.” He added, smiling.

Kai couldn’t help but let a smile tug at his lips as he took Luhan’s hand in his.

“Kai,” he replied, shaking it once, firmly.

“What’s your speciality then?” asked Luhan, tilting his head. “You don’t seem like a flight interpreter, or engineer. Pilot maybe?”

Kai nodded. “That’s right. I’ve been training as a pilot.

“Wow. Only the good ones are the pilots. I hear the craft are pretty hard to control.”

 “It is difficult,” mused Kai, drifting his glance away from Luhan to a tall officer who was striding towards the group. Luhan turned to see that had caught Kai’s attention, then jolted upright when he realised it was a Lieutenant.

“Good evening. Well now, I’m guessing you are my recruits hmm?”

The Lieutenant announced in a booming deep voice, causing the recruits to stand to attention and salute in unison.

The Lieutenant folded his arms and chuckled at the sight lowering his head and taking a step towards the recruits. He was incredibly tall with handsome features; his deep voice soothed them as he spoke.

“My name is Lieutenant Choi Seng-Hyun. But, for obvious reasons, you must all call me Lieutenant Choi.” He smiled broadly, making eye contact with each recruit. “Right, if you all follow me. We need to catch a shuttle. We have a ship to run.”

Kai and Luhan looked at each other and let out small chuckles behind their hands as they followed Lieutenant Choi. Before he knew it, Kai’s thoughts had once again turned to his mother, and his reasons for joining the space corps. He knew this was the right decision.

All for you Mother.