Captain Rydian of the Human Galactic Unit

It was such a simple mission. Go down to the planet and collect data. Simple, right? That's what I thought.

My first mission as a Space Captain, and it just had to go wrong. Why me? I did nothing but good work and heroic deeds, yet here I was.

Planet Klicta. That was the name that changed my life forever. I never would have seen it coming.

I am Space Captain Rydian, and I am a human from Planet Earth. I was a mere cadet before I applied to become a Space Captain in the S.T.S., which is the Space Travel System. Captain is the second highest rank in the Galactic Military. Above that is Commander, which is the single head leader of the entire S.T.S.

In my days as a cadet, I did great things. Amazing things! I was a hero! One of Earth's greatest heroes, making history in my actions to save Earth. I saved Earth about three times actually, along with a few smaller things along the way. No cadet could say that. I was even in the Hall of Fame, which only made it easier to choose me for Captain.

Not everyone thought it was right to make a cadet, the lowest rank in the S.T.S., into a Captain, but not even they could say I wasn't a fair choice. I actually skipped four or so ranks to go from cadet to Captain, believe it or not. Never in all of history had anyone skipped that many ranks at once, especially not at my age.

I'm actually only eighteen, the youngest Space Captain in all history. Like every Space Captain, I will be such for ten years, then retire. Even when I reach my retirement, I'll still be younger than any Space Captain ever was on their first day. The youngest Space Captain was thirty. I'll be Twenty-eight when I retire. You see why so many felt odd about my becoming Captain? Well, it only got worse.

You see, I actually ended up taking the position as the fifteenth Space Captain from General Coin. For the last seven years, he's been waiting for the day he would finally get his white Space Captain jacket. Well, you can imagine how he felt when they called my name instead of his. Not too pleasant, I assure you.

Though, I must have been very naive not to have noticed it at the time. I guess I was just too busy taking in the glory of becoming a Space Captain. Things probably would have gone a lot more smoothly if I had noticed.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

If you really want to know my story, read it for yourself.

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Chapter 1

I could only be shocked as I watched the big screen. Before me was displayed images of the planet below. There were towns, and cars, and houses, and people going about their day. Colorful people, but people all the same.

It was all too odd to me, "This doesn't make sense. This planet... is evolved?"

A woman appeared on screen. She was a lovely woman with curly brown hair pulled up into a loose bun while some of it hung in locks around her dark-toned face. Her brown eyes seemed to sparkle like her pearly white teeth. My very beautiful Personal A.I., Vanessa.

She spoke softly, looking nervous to speak without being spoken to, "If I may, sir..."

I knew this was the case, having seen it with my own comrades over the years when talking to our superiors, so I sighed, "Vanessa, you really don't need to treat me so formally. We're a team now, ok? You, I, and Alphonse. You and Alphonse are my colleagues, not my servants. If something is bothering you, just say so. I want to know." I smirked, "After all, you've been in this business far longer than I have. And after living my life being under snobby superiors, I don't want to become like them."

She smiled, grateful for my kindness, "Thank you, sir." Then she turned her attention to the images of below, "I'm just concerned about this planet. The Commander was insistent that you have a very simple, easy mission to start out with. After all, this is your very first mission as Captain."

I nodded in agreement, "Yes, it is a bit odd. Maybe she wanted to give us something easy, but not so easy that it would offend us? After all, I saved Earth, and even the Commander herself, a few times in the past." I looked at the images again with a sigh, "I trust the Commander. If this is the mission she chose for us, I'll have to assume it's one we can handle."

A tall man stood at my side. His skin was pretty pale, almost albino actually, while his eyes were a bright violet. Along with his short black hair that was always combed neatly, he looked pretty impressive and professional, which was good since he was my Captain's Assistant. His name was Alphonse.

Alphonse spoke in that straightforward, yet very respectful, voice I'd come to like, "I must agree with Miss Vanessa, sir. I have joined many Captains on very simple missions over the years. Never did they take place on a planet so advanced. This planet will be space-born within a matter of decades."

I rubbed my chin as I considered what he said, "Perhaps that's why the Commander wants us here. Maybe she's worried this planet will become a threat, just like the Plakters. Probably needs inside information to understand this planet." I smiled, "Who knows? Maybe she changed her mind about an easy mission because of my history. After all, I was the one who stopped the Plakter War myself."

Alphonse gave a nod, "Yes, a fair possibility, sir. Shall we begin our descent? We can start preparations once we're settled."

I nodded with a grin, becoming excited for the mission ahead, "Very well. Take us down, Vanessa."

She gave a nod, "Yes, sir. Activating cloaking field."

I watched as we flew down into a wooded area just outside of the nearest town. I could see the town sign. Though, I was surprised when it was made up of symbols I didn't know.

I groaned. They even had their own language. Perfect.

I watched the world of Klicta pass by as we landed. It really was a lot like Earth. Though, everything was awfully colorful. The trees were blues and pinks and reds while houses were all colored one specific color. One house that was blue had every shade of blue to work with, not any red or purple. Only blue. Light blue, dark blue, cyan blue, persian blue, any blue you could think of. Same with a house that was pink or a house that was yellow. One color for each house.

And apparently the same applied to each person it seemed as I looked at them. They wore shades of only a single color, their hair and eyes and skin all based around that same single color. A woman with light pink skin had a darker shade for hair, a reddish shade for her blouse, a very dark shade for her jeans, and even a purple shade for her fingernails. It was both slightly weird and strangely fascinating to me.

I looked forward to discovering more to this planet. I was going to prove my worth as a Space Captain. If I was going down in history, it was going to be a history lesson to remember.

It was the sound of beeping that woke me. I opened my eyes to see a screen next to the bed, blinking red as the alarm went off. I yawned as I sat up and tapped the screen, turning off the alarm.

I could see my reflection in the mirror across the small room as I stretched. My long dirty-blond hair hung in a wavy mess, some locks even falling in my face. They almost hid my pine green eyes and my softly tanned skin. Having worked around fire and welding equipment so long, my skin gained a bit of a tan color. I also gained strong, yet lanky arms and legs from hard labor.

Being a cadet was no easy job. Small and sometimes insignificant, but never easy.

I climbed out of bed with a sigh, "Vanessa, report."

Immediately, Vanessa appeared on the screen next to the bed, "Good morning, Captain. I've done research on Klicta and learned their calendar. It seems they only have seven months, each month about thirty-eight days long. What is considered a week is nine days, and it is now year 5817."

I smirked as I unbuttoned my shirt, "Seven months, thirty-eight days, nine day week, and year 5817. Got it. How about time?"

Vanessa smiled to see I was keeping up, "Seven hours of sunlight, ten hours of dark. A full day is only seventeen hours. There is a technology in all clocks and watches that makes time exact all over the world. Very impressive in all honesty."

I found that surprising, "Seventeen hours, huh? Days are shorter on Klicta. Fair enough."

Vanessa nodded as I laid my shirt over her screen to finish changing, "They're at a different position from their sun on this side of Klicta. It also rotates a little faster, making the days shorter. I also finished your translator."

I pulled the shirt off her screen once I finished, now wearing a grey shirt and black jeans, "Thank you, Vanessa. Good work."

She smiled with a slight blush from being complimented, "Your most welcome, Captain. Do come by the lab chamber to see it. There are a few things I would like to explain."

I nodded as I adjusted my trademark red neckerchief, "I'll be right there." She gave a nod and disappeared. I grabbed my white Space Captain's jacket and headed out the room.

We were still on the ship, though it was cloaked so no one could see it. We had landed in a wooded area just outside of town. So far, not too many people walked into the woods, and those who did were always walking the path a little ways off. No one ever realized a space ship was sitting just a stone's throw away.

The door to the lab slid open and I walked in. Alphonse and Vanessa were already there waiting for me. Vanessa smiled from the large screen, "Captain, Alphonse and I have put together what will be your Planetary Disguise."

I smiled as I looked over the devices and folded piles of clothes on the large metal table, "Alright, let's see it."

Alphonse picked up a small metal device first, "This is the Translator you will be using. It's two parts, one for speech and the other for sound."

I looked it over, "Speech and sound? How does it work?"

Alphonse explained patiently, "The Translator not only translates what you hear into English, but it also changes your English to their language whenever you speak. We've discovered the name of the language. The language, when translated to English, is called Dixone."

I thought about it, "So the people of Klicta speak Dixone. It's a good thing I have a Memory Chip."

A Memory Chip would be the tiny device planted in my brain to improve my memory tenfold. They're obviously incredibly expensive, especially on a cadet's payroll, but I got it as a gift from a man I saved during one of my heroic deeds. He was quite grateful, especially since he nearly lost his daughter too in that event.

Vanessa spoke, continuing the explanations, "I also did a bit of personal tuning to the Translator, sir. You see, it only translates words to English, not terms. In English, the Dixone word for car is Lreah. So, I went through the dictionaries of Klicta and replaced all the terms I could with English terms. So now you'll hear car or house or other terms and names you're more familiar with. Also, when you speak using the terms, the Translator will give them the words they know. Well, most words. Some English words will still not translate well, so I would still be careful how I speak around them. Try to stick with basic speech."

I just had to grin at her, "My dear Vanessa, you truly are an amazing woman. I never would have thought of that. Well done."

She blushed at my compliment, "Thank you, sir."

I looked at the Translator still in Alphonse's hand, "And how do I use it? It can't be something everyone can see."

Alphonse nodded, "It works automatically. Once it's placed inside of you, their words will sound like English to you."

I wasn't sure I liked how that sounded, "Inside of me? How do you do that?"

He cleared his throat, "In a manner of speaking, I have to shove it down your throat."

I chuckled nervously, "Really?"

He chuckled, a bit amused with my reaction, "Don't worry. You never feel a thing." Then he gave me a clever grin, "Also, I already did it last night while you were sleeping."

I blinked at him, not sure I heard him correctly, "You what?"

He smiled at me, "Do you remember ever actually going to bed yesterday, sir?"

As you can imagine, my jaw dropped, "You put me to sleep and planted the device?" I grinned, pretty amazed with my assistant, "Not bad. Pretty clever actually." I smiled as I crossed my arms, "So where in me is the Translator now?"

He pointed to his own throat, "Right here. You can't feel it, but it's there."

I chuckled, "Very impressive." Though I was quickly confused, "Wait, but if it works automatically, how come I'm still speaking English?"

Alphonse chuckled, "You're not, sir. I have the earpiece of a Translator in so I can understand you, and Vanessa already has the language translated in her systems from programming your translator. You're speaking Dixone right now."

I scratched my head, quite amazed, "I am truly impressed. I certainly never came across technology like this as a cadet."

Alphonse smiled as he continued the explanation, "The other piece is inside your ear, though not too far. If you look right down inside your ear, you'll see the tiny device."

To see what he meant, I reached one finger inside my ear and could actually feel it. I turned to him, "What if someone happens to look in my ear? Won't they see it?"

He sighed as he crossed his arms behind his back, "Unfortunately, yes, but to put it any further could damage your hearing, I'm afraid."

I could understand that, "Fair enough. What else do you two have?"

Vanessa smiled, looking pretty excited about her next reveal, "Well, Alphonse and I did plenty of research on the people of this planet as well last night. The term for them is Klitons. No surnames either. They just say kliton, along with their color. Like a blue girl with the first name Annie would be Annie the Blue Kliton."

Then she made a few little pictures appear on screen next to her, each of different klitons going about their day, "As I'm sure you've noticed, everyone is color coordinated. I think it's just a natural rule for them to coordinate by color. Everything they wear has to be in range of their natural color. They do the same with their homes, businesses, and decorating." I really didn't know whether to be creeped out or fascinated.

I decided to simply accept it, "Good to know."

Alphonse picked up some of the clothes, "Because of this, we knew you would need to be color coordinated to fit in. To avoid coloring your body from head to toe, we decided to make you a brown kliton. Your skin is already a light shade of brown from being tanned, so if we color your hair and give you eye contacts, you'll look more than suitable. I collected all the clothes you have in a shade of brown and managed to find enough."

I looked over the different piles of clothes he'd collected, "Are you sure they don't look too human?"

He nodded with a confident smile, "I've seen more than enough footage of passing klitons to be sure. These will fit in fine." He handed me some clothes and led me to a tall cylinder in a corner of the room with a door on the front.

I stepped in and closed the door behind me, "The hair dye isn't permanent, is it?"

Alphonse spoke from outside the door as I changed, "No, sir. In fact, since your hair is a darker shade of blonde, it would only take a slight radiation to change the color to brown. Your only concern would be the color contacts. You cannot risk anyone seeing you missing even one."

I chuckled as I pulled on the hoodie, "That's not all that big a problem. I'll just make sure to carry a pair of sunglasses with me." Then something came to me, "By the way, Vanessa, how do seasons work on this planet? If there are only seven months, how many are each season?"

She spoke, "Winter is two months, fall and spring are each one month, and summer is the last three. Though, because of the distance from the sun, summers are very hot while winter is never too cold for too long."

I smirked as I put in the brown color contacts using a small mirror at the back of the cylinder, "Lucky planet." I climbed out of the cylinder, now dressed in all brown with soft brown eyes. Even a pair of dark brown sneakers and a light brown watch.

The watch looked weird with the seventeen big dots to represent the hours. The face had a sun inside the embrace of a crescent moon at the center, while ten of the top dots were white in the dark blue section covered in tiny white stars and the bottom seven dots were yellow in the sunny blue section. I figured it represented the seven day hours and the ten night hours. The dot that showed what time it was was black, but only partly. It seemed that each dot worked like an eclipsing moon to show how much of the hour was past.

I sighed as I showed off the new look, "How do I look?"

Vanessa gave her friendly smile, "No less handsome, sir."

I chuckled as I walked over, "Nice choice of words."

Alphonse picked up a strange metal remote device with a tiny pin-like item, "Now, I will plant a tiny device in your scalp to change your hair color with a single touch of a button." I pulled out my hair band, which was also brown, and let him part my hair to place something in it. I gasped in pain as something sharp pierced my head, but only for a second.

He let go with a smile, "There. Finished." He looked down at the remote and turned a dial. I noticed my reflection in the nearby mirror to see my hair darken to a darker shade of honey brown.

Alphonse smiled, "That should work. What do you think, sir?"

I sighed as I looked myself over, "I look so different. I almost can't even recognize myself." I grinned at them both, "Well done, you two. I'm very impressed."

Then I grinned determinedly, "And now to test it. It's time to meet the klitons of Klicta."