Strange Scifi Tales - The Laziest Space Cadet [#140]

~~~~ 

           Cadet Jones was not an especially astute member of the space patrol; in fact, he was downright awful at his job. This wasn’t for lack of talent but a lack of effort. Jones simply didn’t care much about his career, so his superiors punted him to the furthest, most lifeless corner of the universe. Typically, one in Jones’s position would have been fired, but his superiors didn’t want to pay severance. Instead, they planned to make his work so mind-numbingly tedious, he’d quit in frustration. Unfortunately, they underestimated Jones’s ability to kill time.

           “Oh, I’m putting that on my birthday list,” Jones whistled as he flipped through a magazine on spaceships. He had set his own ship to autopilot, which gingerly flew through his patrol route. He was supposed to be watching for suspicious activity, but he couldn’t be bothered to actually do his job.

           “Maybe I should put some more coffee on,” the cadet mused as he finished his magazine. A tinge of boredom pinched at the corner of his mind. However, the professional slacker was already prepared for this eventuality. “Better yet, time to bust out my secret weapon,” he chuckled to himself as he pulled out a pillow from under his chair.

           “Now time for some R&R,” he nodded to himself before a glint passed across his ship’s front window. “What was that?” His head snapped to attention for the first time in years, but whatever he saw was long gone.

           “Probably nothing,” he assured himself. “But, according to regulation, I must report any mysterious or out of the ordinary activity,” Jones stated in a mocking voice. “Of course, last time I did that the Captain Stern chewed me out for wasting his time.” Jones shrugged and rested his head on the pillow.

           “Meh, whatever it was, it’s someone else’s problem now,” he shut his eyes and began his nap.

~--~

           “Finally,” the alien smiled, “that stupid patrol ship had been following me for three cycles, but I finally evaded them.” The alien flicked a switch on his spaceship’s dashboard, disabling the cloaking device that had kept him hidden. “That pilot must have been a top tier tracker, but I bet they never suspected I’d double back like that. With that roadblock out of the way, the invasion can finally begin.” The alien laughed as more spaceships carrying his people teleported in.

~~~~ 

Sometimes the most mediocre workers are not fired, instead they're brushed aside to be made into someone else's problem.

Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy

~~~~ 

Support me on Patreon: [link]