Son of the Lalan hero

Simulation

The second day of punishment eased slightly when I was finally released at noon. My mind was filled with the hope of attending the second level cadet class. I longed to be with them, learn from their experience and fly other ships, I couldn't occupy it, I loved flying. However, my attempts to find the lieutenant to request permission proved fruitless. With no other option, I decided to head straight to the flight lounges, not knowing if I would be welcome or not.

Upon arrival, I found a group of second-year cadets waiting patiently in line to gain access to the simulation rooms. Although I knew it was risky to join them without official permission, my curiosity urged me to continue. Not caring about the disapproving looks, I moved to the back of the line, determined to experience what was to come.

What I saw next astounded me. The lieutenants in charge of the class were not wearing virtual reality helmets like the others. This intrigued me deeply - did they have some kind of special system to perceive things that we cadets couldn't see? 

He had short brown hair military style, and black eyes. He had a rather serious look. On his uniform was his name: Taylor.

Seeing that my little by little, my classmates joined the line and an expectant crowd formed and began to let the cadets in an orderly fashion. I tried to enter the place.

"You're grounded!", I heard myself blurt out.

"Uh... Yeah, but I'm done grooming, besides I just want to see what the simulation is like."

He looked at me with some annoyance and left me alone.

I tried to explain my situation to him, arguing that I had already served my punishment and had free time to attend the class, but the lieutenant seemed disinterested in listening to me and looked at me with an indifferent look. He only relented a little when he felt the pressure from my classmates who were watching him.

I walked until I was finally able to step onto the floor of the simulation room. It was a unique, almost ethereal environment. There were dozens of helmets of all sizes and a screen showing what each person was seeing.

I continued to move forward until I found an empty chair. On it rested a strange helmet, connected to several wires. I looked around and noticed that none of my companions dared to put it on. I decided to follow their example and, with a slight tremor of excitement, I prepared to grab it and wait for permission. I was anxious to find out what was there.

As I waited my turn, I looked intently at the screen in front of me. It displayed a series of instructions for the simulation. Some of them looked confusing and challenging.

The room began to fill up with more than fifty cadets, I knew almost no one there. The anticipation and energy in the air was tense, fueling my excitement and nervousness. Aware of the opportunity before me, I tried my best to remain calm and immersed myself in the simulation.

[...]

Almost an hour later, all the second level students were gathered in the simulation room, eager to face the challenge. The lieutenant made his presence known in the center of the room and began to address everyone in a firm, authoritative voice.

"Good afternoon, cadets. Today is the second day of drills, designed to prevent accidents and minimize the risk of injury and death in this competition. Unfortunately, 15 students have lost their lives in previous years, so I urge you to exercise extreme caution. Now, everyone can put on your helmets. Remember, the simulation ends when your ship hits the ground or when someone finishes the race."

The tension and excitement was palpable in the air as each cadet donned their helmets, including myself, albeit with some trepidation at the unfamiliarity of the experience.

Suddenly, I found myself transported inside a spaceship, its design modern and replete with buttons controlling a wide range of movements and attacks. A radar showed dozens of moving ships and the path ahead. It was amazing, I marveled at the impressive simulator before me. But my amazement was interrupted by the start sound, and everyone else set off for the goal without even being prepared.

I lagged behind, being the last to enter the simulation. I accelerated to try to catch up with the group, but I encountered a series of obstacles in front of me: meteorites and strange-looking flying objects. I had to slow down and maneuver cautiously to avoid colliding with them. The situation became even more challenging when some colleagues committed recklessness and crashed into these structures. The obstacles became a constant threat, forcing me to slow down even more and look for a less congested road.

I decided to speed up a bit so as not to be left behind and not be one of the last, but one of my companions started firing laser beams. To protect myself, I activated the shields and accelerated even more, but the further I went, the more obvious the main challenge of this simulation became.

We were approaching steep mountains and the wind was blowing with impressive force. The slightest mistake could send my ship crashing to the ground. Fear gripped me as I struggled to maintain control of the ship. I had never faced such an extreme situation before. I decided to accelerate and pass between the mountains, but it was a complicated task. Some objects hit the windshield and shattered it, making my vision even more difficult. However, I reminded myself to stay calm. Rushing would only make things worse.

Concentrated and focused, I stopped thinking about reaching the goal in the first place and instead focused on completing the simulation to the best of my ability. 

I continued to face the challenges, the last two mountains changed the ship's gravity, which was disconcerting but exciting at the same time. Surprisingly, the simulation system suddenly shut down, and I was trapped in the ship as it began to descend sharply. In desperation, I tried to turn on and reboot the system several times as I watched my ship plummet.

Finally, the system came back online, and I took the opportunity to try to regain my lost altitude. However, the wind blew me away from the mountains, spinning me in uncontrolled circles. Three kilometers from the finish line, I managed to stabilize myself and muster the courage to continue piloting towards the mountains.

I increased my speed, reaching almost 150 kilometers per hour. It was a challenging struggle against the wind and gravity. The ship's glass shattered, but I made it through the mountains, only to encounter more obstacles along the way.

I had to go through tunnels in some mountains that were 800 meters high, but suddenly, everything shut down. It looked like the simulation had been cancelled.

Confused, I took off my helmet and looked at a third-person screen, where I saw my ship drifting. I looked around and realized that all my shipmates were looking at me. A lieutenant shot me a look and spoke in a disapproving voice.

"Cadet Nick, that was stupid and reckless. It is unbelievable, but you are grounded. You will not participate in this simulation again until you serve your punishment."

One of my classmates intervened in my defense, speaking up for the first time.

"Lieutenant, that's unfair. Cadet Nick was the only one who made it over the mountain, even Arturo, who is the best pilot, couldn't make it."

The lieutenant replied coolly, "Cadet, I did not give you permission to speak. Besides, the punishment was imposed by another lieutenant, and I can't override the decisions of a colleague. I let it slide just out of pity, but your reckless attitude is pushing others to do stupid things, don't do this kind of thing in competitions!"

An awkward silence filled the room, and the tension was evident. Without a word, I rose from my seat and left the room. It seemed that the lieutenant was not pleased that I stood out among my peers.

I walked away without saying anything to anyone, but I was left with the knowledge that I was above most of my peers. Still, I was persistently curious to find out what the remaining part of the test had in store for me. Perhaps I would have been able to complete it.

[...]

I returned to the hold of the derelict ships to rest. The simulation left the body tired, it was amazing that it was so real in some ways. I went to sleep in the ship where I usually rested, it was the only one I managed to open. It was still early, but I felt very strange, however someone knocked several times on the door.

I got up from there, I thought it was Lucia, however it was the lieutenant who gave me the punishment.

He did not hesitate to take off his helmet when he saw me.

It was Lieutenant Bruyne, the one who gave me that punishment.

"I see you want to do as you please. Do you think you have the same privileges as Lucia?"

From his tone of voice, I had to speak to him with respect, and I stopped looking at him.

"Sir, I just wanted to know what the simulation was like. I didn't want to take the test without experience."

"According to what I was told and the records, you drive like an experienced pilot, Who are you?"

I was really scared to hear him say that, I thought he was starting to suspect me, and I had to tell him a lie. I took advantage of the fact that he didn't have that helmet and told him a lie.

"My dream was always to be a pilot, I studied several years for this, and I flew several ships."

"Mmm, I see, but that won't save you from your punishment. Now you will have to clean the rooms of the second level students as well."

I was quite worried to hear that, it raised my punishment level. Now I wouldn't have time to fix the ships. Nor do anything else.