Despite the CKGs’ military status, their members are quite friendly. I believe that we often forget who they are beyond our defense force. They are not just soldiers fighting for our planet, they are kids and teens who love what they do and are dedicated to their job. I had the opportunity to realize this in person during my meeting with Terria Jordan, a member of Ruby Squadron. Let’s see what she had to say during our interview.
Interviewer: Good afternoon! I’m glad you were able to meet with me today.
Terria: Good afternoon! Thank you for offering an interview. I don’t have much on Thursdays so this was perfect for me.
Interviewer: I’d like to start off with a few basic questions. Your name, age, things like that. Is that alright?
Terria: Sure! My name is Terria Jordan, I’m fifteen years old, and I’m a member of Ruby Squadron of the CKG Starfighter Corps.
Interviewer: That’s perfect. How long have you been a member of Ruby Squadron?
Terria: Hm, about two years? I joined right out of the flight program. Oh, no, I forgot, I was actually in Amethyst Squadron at first but got transferred a few months into my official membership.
Interviewer: Who are your commanding officers?
Terria: My commander, Jace. Jace Adams. Under him are the squadron lieutenants, Stella Candello and Aye. Stella is first lieutenant, which means she’s next in line. Then it’s Aye and then me.
Interviewer: I’ll come back to that in a moment. Who commands Jace?
Terria: Technically Pitical, but since the two of them share command of the entire Starfighter Corps, they’re pretty equal. Above them is Sympathetical.
Interviewer: You mean Sympathetical Lisieux?
Terria: Yeah. And Pitical Lisieux.
Interviewer: Okay. If Pitical and Jace share command of the Starfighter Corps as a whole, why would Pitical be ranked higher?
Terria: Because she’s been there longer, I guess? (Laughs) It could also be that her sister’s status raised her. I don’t really know, but on paper, Pitical is the head of the Starfighter Corps and in practice, they work together.
Interviewer: I see. Back to your earlier answer about the command structure within the squadron. Jace is the commander and then there are lieutenants?
Terria: Yes. Stella is first lieutenant and Aye is second. If something happens to Jace, Stella takes command and Aye replaces her, then I replace Aye. Or if something happens to Stella, Aye moves up and I take his place.
Interviewer: Okay. How old are Jace and the lieutenants?
Terria: Jace is seventeen. Aye is sixteen? I think. And then Stella is thirteen.
Interviewer: She’s that young?
Terria: You seem to be forgetting that we are composed of kids and teens.
Interviewer: So she’s younger than you, but she’s ranked higher?
Terria: Yes.
Interviewer: Does that cause tension between you at all?
Terria: (frowns) No. Stella is one of my best friends. I was happy she ranked so high. Jace told me she was worried about being appointed to it and thought Aye or I should be first lieutenant instead.
Interviewer: So you’re perfectly content with your place?
Terria: Yes. Stella’s smart. She can handle it. I won’t pretend I wasn’t disappointed in not getting lieutenant, but she makes sense. I may be older and have more experience, but she’s better than I was at that age.
Interviewer: Okay then, let’s move on. What made you choose the Starfighter Corps?
Terria: I wanted to do something active. I didn’t like the idea of command and although I was okay at it, I really didn’t like combat. So I applied for the Starfighter Corps.
Interviewer: And what made you decide to join the CKGs?
Terria: Ever since I was young, I wanted to help people. I didn’t know how or when, but I wanted to do something for my community. I actually hadn’t heard about the CKGs until I went to one of their summer camps. It was amazing to learn about this group of kids and teens who did things and actually made a difference on their planet. So I came back from my summer camp and I told my parents, “I want to join the CKGs.” It took some convincing, but I managed to get one semester of a CKG class back when I was ten or eleven. The semester ended, I loved it, and my grades were good enough that I got to stay.
Interviewer: You decided to join that young?
Terria: Yeah. Some people have joined even younger. Jace, Pitical, the senior officers, almost all of them have been part of the CKGs since they were little. I think Jace was seven when he joined.
Interviewer: Seven? That young?
Terria: Well, for the classes. Like curriculum stuff. You can only be a full member if you’re twelve.
Interviewer: Okay. So you went through the CKG courses and were accepted as a pilot?
Terria: Yeah. I was assigned to Amethyst Squadron first under Commander Altinak. A few months into my assignment, I was transferred to Ruby Squadron.
Interviewer: Was the transfer difficult?
Terria: No, not really. All the squadron barracks are near each other, so I could still see my friends quite often. And while Jace wasn’t quite Altinak, he was someone I grew to respect. It was easy to be friends with him. He always kept this rapport going, being friendly and open most of the time but focused and commanding during simulations and drills.
Interviewer: Let’s return to my list of questions. Tell me about life.
Terria: What do you want to know?
Interviewer: How about you walk me through a day in your life? What does it look like? I’ll ask questions as you go along.
Terria: Okay. I usually wake up around 7 or so. The rest of my squadron gets up in that time as well. Jace is usually up earlier, before 6 on most days. Stella and Aye get up at about 6. We head to breakfast around 8. Most of the squadrons go around that time.
Interviewer: How is breakfast served?
Terria: Cafeteria style. Sort of like a college but the food is free. We have eggs a lot.
Interviewer: Okay. After breakfast?
Terria: It depends. Sometimes we have classes, sometimes we start simulations immediately. On Saturdays, we do ship drills in the morning. After our first engagement, we have lunch, and then afternoon sessions. The afternoon is usually drills and simulations.
Interviewer: What sort of simulations and drills do you do?
Terria: Simulations are for dogfights and battles, drills are for formations and practice in an actual ship. We do drills on Geranium to start but we do them in space too.
Interviewer: When is dinner?
Terria: About 6 in the evening. Then we have free time, although I usually spend about two hours on work for my classes. After that, we do various things. Play video games, talk about stuff, quiz each other. Hanging out. Sometimes we plan our activities and sometimes we just do whatever we feel like.
Interviewer: Lots of fun stuff?
Terria: Yeah, yeah. Lots of fun. Not all the time and not every day, but usually.
Interviewer: What time do you go to sleep?
Terria: It depends. 10 or 11 on most days but I’ve stayed up to midnight or later on Fridays and Saturdays. Stella actually stays up later than me, it’s weird. But she sometimes taps out of our group time to go read or watch her own shows. If she doesn’t, she’ll stay up for hours playing games with us.
Interviewer: How are your barracks set up?
Terria: Hm, how to explain this. We're in the main troop barracks, but each squadron is on a different floor. Ruby Squadron is on the second floor. We have a closed space, all the squadron barracks are like it.
Interviewer: What do you mean by closed space?
Terria: Hm. Okay, imagine I'm walking you to our barracks. We come to a door labeled "Ruby Squadron". There's writing all over it from current and former members. When I open the door, we enter a hallway space. To one side is the common area and farther down the hall are the rooms. I think there are sixteen rooms. Each room has a bedroom, closet, and bathroom. Then we have our common room and a little dining/kitchenette area. Jace and I cook sometimes.
Interviewer: I see. Are all the squadron barracks that way?
Terria: Yes. I don't know if any other CKG teams have barracks like that or if it's just the Starfighter Corps, though.
Interviewer: Is it helpful to have your entire squadron rooming together like that?
Terria: I think it is. If we go on missions, we need to be able to handle spending all our time together, so it certainly helps us get used to others' presence.
Interviewer: We're almost done now. Who would you say are your best friends? Either in Ruby Squadron or outside of it.
Terria: Stella. Aye and I are also friends. I like Jace but he's not my best friend. I'm still friends with Enmy from Amethyst Squadron. And I get along with Reni and Kylie.
Interviewer: Who are those last two?
Terria: Reni is a mechanic. He works on my ship. Kylie is the melee combat trainer but we have other things in common.
Interviewer: Okay. Last question now. Do you enjoy being a CKG and would you offer any advice to kids who want to join?
Terria: That's kind of two questions, isn't it? (laughs) Yes, I do enjoy being a CKG. On top of helping people and doing good in the world, I've made many good friends and learned so much about life and the world. My advice to other kids would be: try it out! Attend a few classes, go to a few camps, and see how you like it. There are a lot of hazards to this profession, so be aware of that. But I'm so happy that you like the idea and I hope you will join us!
Interviewer: Okay! Thank you so much for this interview. Have a good rest of your day.
Terria: Thank you for offering! Have a great day!
Comments
Author's Notes
I spent way too much time writing that interview. Also, most of it was written during a very long bus ride. I might have to change dates at some point, my timeline isn't perfectly worked out.