As a newly-deployed midshipman assigned to the deep space exploration vessel LaSalle, Louis had been very worried about how he would handle his first mission to an unexplored planet. When he had found out he was being deployed to the LaSalle straight out of training, he told his DI that he thought it might make sense for more experienced crew members to be thrust into the unknown. His DI had shaken his head unsympathetically and simply responded, "Trust your training."

Once on the LaSalle, Louis' anxiety had only multiplied as the ship drew nearer to its first unexplored planetary system. While a few of his fellow junior crew members also seemed to share his worries, he was surprised that the majority seemed completely unconcerned and placid. "Trust your training," they kept saying to him dismissively, echoing his DI.

Given all of Louis' worries about his upcoming away mission, it was ironic that his first contact with an alien species actually occurred well before that. Louis had been tasked with retrieving some specialized kit from one of the lesser-used cargo holds at the stern of the vessel. As he was accessing the specified crate, he heard a noise right behind him. When he turned around, he was shocked to discover he was face-to-face with a large blue alien covered in squirmy tentacles.

As Louis stood frozen in place, fear began to rise up and threaten to swallow him. But then Louis was shocked to hear the alien hiss in nearly flawless English: "Do not be afraid, human. You have been prepared for this mission. Calm your mind and trust your training."

To his surprise, Louis felt his body relax and his fear evaporate immediately, replaced with warm feelings of safety and compliance. "Calm my mind. Trust my training" Louis repeated over and over as he tried to consciously process what his unconscious mind had already embraced. As his body grew more limp and his mind slowed, a small part of Louis' mind scrambled to recall any details from his training that might help. His remembered that there had been daily lessons devoted to alien missions, but now that he needed that information, he realized that he could not remember a single detail. As he struggled to retrieve anything useful, he felt like those memories had been put into a box, to which he had no key. Unfortunately, struggling to retrieve those memories was exhausting what little mental energy he had left. Soon he felt that diminish, and then evaporate completely as his mind joined his body in being completely limp and calm.

As his struggles ceased, Louis was pleased to find that relaxing his mind was actually the key that allowed him to unlock his previously inaccessible memories. As their restraints dissolved and his memories unfurled, Louis' conscious mind now arrived at the conclusion his unconscious mind had always known: He and his fellow cadets had not been trained on how to better resist the aliens; they had been trained to better serve them.

As his new mission occupied all of his thoughts, Louis smiled vacantly and kneeled submissively before his master. Then the alien began to thoroughly explore the body of its newest servant.