Registration

Before proceeding to step towards the building in question, Marcus once again fell into a reverie as he noticed something even stranger about the place he was in.

Are there actually people living in these buildings? 

There's no clothes hung out, no lights on, no dogs barking. Not a single person was outside either.

Absolutely no indicators of life exist in the buildings around this office.

He then gazed towards the Spacer offices itself, there looked to be movement and activity in the form of shadows amidst blinded windows.

Is this entire district just to conceal one building?

When he was consulting his tablet on how to become a Spacer, it had suggested falsely to go to the official agency offices up in the space scraper, and in general, not a lot of information was disclosed on relevant government websites about where to actually go.

Frank, his father, was a relatively high-ranking official in the military before his retirement, a lieutenant colonel, though not high enough to meet the requirements to become a star born, he was obviously clued in to the networks of information that ran through the army and government.

Meaning the information Frank gave him to not go to the main agency, and instead take that route to the Spacer offices, wasn't public information either. 

The knowledge regarding how to actually become Spacers was being distorted and withheld from the general public, just what's going on here?

Becoming one was crucial to humanity's hope at a continued existence.

So why are they trying to discourage people from such a path?

Breaking free of his thoughts, Marcus strolled towards the four story building, on closer inspection, the state of the office itself was a little shoddy, dust and dead bugs collected on the corners of the windows.

It was clear they didn't receive many visitors, because if they did, maybe they'd try and make the building look more presentable.

As he approached the two front doors, they slid automatically open for him, revealing the bizarre interior of the reception.

It was a small waiting room, with a weird mish-mash of old and new aesthetics. He noticed the small lines of hard-back chairs lined up against the wall to face each other at either side of the room, which complimented the similarly stiff yellow paint-job of the walls.

Buzzing lights created an incessant racket on the ceiling, adding to the odd factor just that little bit more.

He blinked as he came to a frightening realisation.

This looks incredibly similar to the room in my dreams.

Marcus attempted to shake off such thoughts in order to calm himself, his ability to do this stemmed from the fact that this reception room was filled with other kinds of decoration and more futuristic objects that set it apart from the room in his dream.

There were various posters depicting outerspace, with the caption below the image always being something motivational like: "To boldly go." or, "Set out your sails amidst the stars." Marcus rolled his eyes at the lacklustre recruitment efforts of the Spacers. 

But despite these differences, he set forth in his mind quite an elaborate theory. 

His dream had hinted at the future, the atmosphere of the office, it can't be his subconscious that created that dream, how could he know what a place looked like before even visiting?

He would have to take this up with the voice on the phone, if 'it' still wanted to talk with him.

Or maybe, the dream's just a product of his creative imagination, as the voice said.

Marcus didn't know which scenario would be better, one would make him out to be a delusional fool, the other...

Was terrifying.

"Are you okay?" A woman's voice snapped him back into reality.

"Ah, yes, yes." Marcus replied speedily.

"So you're interested in becoming a Spacer?" She raised her eyebrow in half astonishment as she assumed the young man's aims for standing in front of her.

"That is my intention for coming here." 

"We don't get many who are brave enough to do so, could you come present your stellar certificate? We need it to start the registering process." She motioned for Marcus to step forwards.

He approached the desk, retrieving the slip from out of his bag and sliding it across.

She was also a bit taken aback upon reading the contents of the certificate.

"I think you're one of only a couple to have ever actually come from Centralis Academy." She gazed in surprise at the certificate, which obviously presented the pilot's school he had received it from on it.

"You don't get many?" Marcus questions in astonishment.

"Yes, you'd think everyone of our applicants would come from Centralis Academy, as it's where this office is based right? But there are only a couple of Spacer offices on Earth, so many people just come from the old backwater central cities, New York, London, Tokyo, you know, the usual's with something to prove." 

"On top of that, the people who graduated from Centralis have too promising of a career ahead of them to throw it all away just to become a Spacer, so you're really a needle in a haystack amongst them, no offence of course." 

"None taken." 

The automatic door suddenly opens from behind the two as they were talking.

 A scruffy yet mature voice suddenly sounded as both Markus and the receptionist turned to look.

"I tell you what, some of these candidates are ridiculous, it's the second time this year one's tried to run off with the ship." A man shakes his head as he enters, his head of dark brown hair, which seems to just touch the top of his shoulders shakes as he walks in.

He was wearing a dusty black trench-coat which covered the majority of his body.

His face, characterised by his sunken cheekbones and scraggly stubble turns to the two in realisation.

"Who's the new candidate?" He sighs, seemingly sick of them at this point.

The receptionist gazes down "Mr. Marcus Debecross, from Centralis Academy." 

"Centralis Academy?" The man seems to want to fold forwards in laughter.

"You're an odd one aren't you, an academic hotshot who wants to throw his life away to the stars." 

"It seems that way." Marcus tries to appear more resolute than the fool that this man had just painted him out to be.

"I was going to give him to Pierre, however since you've just come in, do you want to take this one?" She talks about Marcus as if he's an object.

"Pierre's an idiot, and will get him killed before he even exits Earth's orbit, so yes I suppose I'll be the one taking him, perhaps this time will be successful and you won't see me for a year Rita." The man proceeded to muse to the receptionist, who simply shook her head and smiled.

"Come along now, and bring your stellar certificate with you." He motions as he walks towards a corridor to the side of the reception.

Marcus takes the slip without any further questions, nods to the receptionist and follows behind.

"Just up the stairs and to the left, let's go, hurry up." The man says as he picks up his pace, he stepped forwards in an organised manner, like he was marching.

They move up the stairs, proceeding to pass through an unassuming corridor before arriving in front of a door with a single window on it, there were blinds covering the view inside.

"Come in." The man directs as he twists the handle of the door, walking in.

Marcus trails behind him into the room, finding his seat, the man with the mid-length brown hair also sits at his desk, they face each other and stay silent for a brief moment before the man begins to speak.

"My name is Garr Leonards, an enforcer of Spacers at this here office." He pulls his draw open as he finishes his sentence.

"My job is to essentially train Spacers on how to not pop like little flesh balloons as soon as they begin exploring the unknown reaches of our universe, though we have obviously been doing horrible jobs, as it happens anyway." Garr retrieves something out of his drawer, it was a cigarette and lighter. 

"You mind me smoking?" He says with a blink.

"It-" 

"I'm just kidding, I don't care if you mind it or not." He grins as his lighter ignites a small flame, he habitually covers it with his hand from the wind, even though he is inside as he lights the cigarette, when he did, smoke began to trail and smother everything in the room.

"So what made you want to become a Spacer." He asks with the cigarette in his mouth, puffing away. 

Marcus falls into thought at this.

It wouldn't be wise to tell him about the dreams I've been having, maybe he'll report them to some higher up because of the strange nature they harbour... I'll just tell him my other feelings regarding it.

"Because I have my family to protect, you've heard the words of that being, everything will end if we don't find it." He explains only a part of his motive to him.

"Wow, you're even more stupid than I could have possibly imagined." The man takes another drag of the cigarette as part of it burns away into ash which he taps into a tray on his desk.

"So you have a family?" He asks again.

"Yes, a father, mother and brother." Marcus replies without hesitation.

Garr coughs as smoke billows out of his mouth because he had started to laugh.

"You're truly selfish, have you not factored in the feelings of your family over this basic dream? How will you protect them if you're dead?" He blinks a couple times, truly in astonishment at the boy's ignorance.

"I've been told that I'm selfish multiple times for doing this, I am aware, but I still wish to do it." Marcus nods.

"Well, it's up to you, my role is to simply facilitate and allow you to begin travelling the universe, to become a Spacer, you'll need a few things first." He begins to explain.

"A ship of course." 

"Also a minimum of five crew members not including you the captain, enough dehydrated food to last you ten years and up to date weapons and ship systems." 

"All five crew members and the captain must become star born." 

"And finally, you must gain the permission and acceptance of an enforcer once all these things have been gathered to become an official Spacer and set off into the unknown reaches of the cosmos." 

This was a steep list of requirements to fulfil...

"Have you gathered all of these things?"

Garr narrows his eyes at Marcus as he questions.

"Er, no." 

Marcus scratches his head as he's at a loss for what to do.

"Don't worry, that's why we are here after all, being a Spacer is incredibly dangerous work, so along with your government licensed ship, I'm also going to be required to help and assist on your ship for however long it takes you to gather those requirements."

"Oh and you've also got to gain my acceptance to begin travelling as a Spacer once you've met the criteria of becoming one anyway, so if all goes well, I'll travel with you for a year or so whilst you get your crew, help you along the way to become a mature captain, then we can part ways at one of the outer systems and you can delve into space and kill yourself and your crew in anyway you want." He grins as if it all sounds simple.

"Okay, that's fine by me." Marcus replies whilst nodding in acknowledgment.

"And here's also the part you're probably waiting for, becoming a star born, right?" Garr blows out another puff of smoke as he talks.

"I believe myself to be capable of doing so." Marcus nods.

"Probably, though, getting into it's the easiest part, just know it gets worse and you can't go back." He huffs.

"I'd know, it's a never ending ride kid." His eyes glinted like a sea of stars for just a moment.

So Garr is a star born as well... this is the second I've met in such a short time since I've fully committed to the path of a Spacer, it must just be a regular occurrence in the occupation.

"I still understand, I'm going through with it." Marcus asserted without hesitation.

"That's all well and good, but to make any of that mean anything, you've got to sign this here to actually start, it also licenses your request for the stardust, your ship, your allowance, and registers you as a 'Spacer', although you aren't one properly until I say so obviously.

Garr hands him a holo-tablet with an empty form on it, disclosing the terms of the agreement he was about to undertake. Marcus's eyes rest on the bottom of the screen, observing what it says.

"SPACER APPLICATION - SIGN HERE: ......." 

"By the way, this gives me the right to execute you on the spot upon my suspicion of you utilising this clause to cause harm to the Congregation in anyway, so if you try running off with the ship, the star born powers, anything like that, it's good night for you." He points at Marcus's heart with his index finger, pulling a pretend trigger.

"And trust me, the grand majority of Spacer applicants I encounter have a few screws loose, obviously, why else would they have applied to do something so dangerous, some have tried to murder me when in space, others have tried to steal the ship, but they never succeed, so don't try anything." Garr's expression turned serious, as if every word he was saying was absolutely true.

Marcus seemed astonished for a moment that Garr would be able to do such a thing, but he suddenly steeled himself, he should have come to expect such high stakes surrounding an incredibly valuable resource as stardust.

"Of course I won't, you're treating me like some maniac who wishes to double cross you at any moment." Marcus rebuttals.

"I'm just speaking from experience." 

Garr throws his hands up in the air as if to prove a point. He then throws the burnt butt of his cigarette in the ashtray on his desk with perfect accuracy.

Marcus leans down as he uses his finger to sign the holographic document.

"Well, congratulations, we've just started our journey together." Garr rubs his hands together, grabbing the holo-tablet from his desk and stashing it in one of the pockets of his trench coat.

"Alright, let's stop dawdling, I'll show you to the new ship you've just been given free of charge by the government because of signing that." He nods as he suddenly gets up from his chair.

"We'll have to go through the undercity to reach the private hangar it's kept in though, you alright with a second trip, I mean, you would've had to go down there on your way back anyway." 

Marcus scratches his head.

That's unfortunate, I wonder if I'm going to run into those hooligans again.

After some deliberation, Marcus speaks.

"That's fine." 

Though one thought still permeated in his mind.

How the hell do these people commute to work everyday?