Coy’s Internship: Re-Entry V
Posted on Mon Oct 27th, 2025 @ 2:16am by Commander Rosa Coy
539 words; about a 3 minute read
Mission:
Character Development
Location: USS Sunfire
The final days of Sira’s module arrived. The cadet was efficient, precise, and confident — almost too confident, Rosa worried, though only in the way a mentor fears losing a protégé to circumstances beyond their control.
The last exercise would be both their culmination and their trial: an unassisted planetary extraction simulation, using all the skills Rosa had taught, plus Sira’s own rapid adjustments.
“Cadet,” Rosa said, voice crisp, “today, you fly it entirely alone. I’ll observe, but I won’t intervene. Every decision is yours.”
Sira’s eyes widened slightly, but she nodded. “Understood, ma’am.”
They entered the simulation. The terrain was unforgiving — canyon walls rising, thermal drafts twisting unpredictably, sensor anomalies coded to mimic real planetary chaos.
Rosa stayed in the observation seat, hands folded, noting every micro-movement, every adjustment Sira made. The cadet was precise, yet flexible, learning to trust her instincts as Rosa had advised.
Midway through, a simulated failure struck — a propulsion vector misaligned, throwing the craft off trajectory. Sira’s fingers moved almost instinctively, recalibrating thrusters, tilting and banking.
Rosa’s chest thumped, not with fear, but with pride. Coy’s voice, quiet now, whispered:
“She’s yours, in a way. All the lessons, all the mistakes… they’ll carry you both further than you know.”
The simulation concluded. Sira’s shuttle touched down perfectly, engines winding down with controlled precision. The cadet exhaled, cheeks flushed.
“You did it,” Rosa said softly, standing. “All of it, alone. Every maneuver, every decision — yours.”
Sira looked at her, a mixture of awe and gratitude. “I… I couldn’t have done it without your guidance, Commander.”
Rosa’s lips twitched in the smallest smile. “You did it because you trusted yourself. I just gave you the map.”
There was a pause — long, meaningful. Neither cadet nor mentor spoke first. It was Coy who broke the quiet, almost gently:
“You’ve both survived this storm. But remember — the sky doesn’t forgive, and neither do the lessons it teaches.”
Rosa nodded, acknowledging him but not letting him dominate her moment. She turned back to Sira. “You’ll leave this module with more than skill. You’ll leave with understanding — of yourself, of your limits, and of what you’re capable of when someone trusts you completely.”
Sira’s eyes glistened with unshed emotion. “I’ll remember, ma’am.”
Rosa placed a firm hand on the cadet’s shoulder — professional, yet grounding. “Good. Now go. You have a future to carve. And somewhere out there,” Rosa added quietly, “a sky that’s waiting for you to own it.”
Sira saluted, then turned, walking toward the exit — confident, capable, and ready.
Rosa exhaled deeply, the weight of mentorship settling in her chest like gravity itself. Coy’s voice lingered faintly in her mind:
“You’ve done well. You survived the storm, and in doing so… you may have learned something about yourself too.”
She let the hum of the empty bay wash over her, feeling both loss and renewal. The cadet had grown. The lesson had ended. And Rosa Coy, pilot and mentor, was ready to take flight once more — in the skies, in training, and within herself.
TBC
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