Student Ejected from Shuttle Mid-Flight

A simple semester-long trip from the University space station on the moon turned into a year-long ordeal after an argument between the shuttle captain and a student.

The University's boasting about their latest expansion led to massive student curiosity; as a result, the space shuttle was fully loaded when the last student boarded. Noticing the only available seat was one located next to the captain, which had his helmet on it, the student moved the helmet and took the seat.

The captain, upon returning to the shuttle became enraged that a student had the audacity to move his helmet. He began screaming in a language no one was able to decipher, in addition to the words, "Don't touch."

Not wanting to create further trouble, the confused student apologized for his actions and suggested that the matter be dropped. However, the moving of the helmet was such a crisis for the captain that he was unable to let go of the matter.

The captain began to navigate the space shuttle, leading students to believe the matter had been resolved; suddenly, the captain turned once more to the student and said "Get out of my space shuttle!" Because they had already left the University's space station, the student refused to get out, as he had no where to go. The captain explained that he was not going to continue the trip back with the student still in the space shuttle.

The students on the bus, bewildered by this statement, questioned as to what they were to do as they had already left the space station. "How was he going to demand that he leave now? We were in the middle of space!" exclaimed one student aboard the shuttle on the evening of this bizarre event.

The captain stopped the shuttle, causing groans from the passengers in hurry to return home. "Get out!" the captain yelled again. The confused student asked the captain where he was supposed to go in the middle of space. The captain continued to argue with the student until he finally began to move the shuttle once more. The students gave a loud sigh of relief, but it was too soon. Moments later the captain pushed the eject button, releasing the student's door and ejecting him into space. "I told you I wouldn't bring you home!" the captain said. The student was left floating around the galaxy.

Passengers onboard become enraged and fearful. "What are you doing? You can't just release students into the middle of space!" some yelled while other students, afraid of upsetting the captain and receiving the same treatment, remained silent.

Fortunately, not long after the returning shuttle abandoned the student, a shuttle en route to the space center saw the student floating in space and took him onboard for a return flight to Earth.

The captain of the second shuttle explained what he saw. "I was very confused to see this young man floating around the galaxy. I noticed he was wearing a Pace sweatshirt so I stopped to give him a lift... if I hadn't come when I did, who knows how long he'd have been floating through space!"

One year after their exhausting journey began, students arrived back at One Pace Plaza. Unfortunately, the ordeal caused such a delay that many students were unable to return home in time for their spring semester classes. Students aboard the shuttle will be forced to delay graduation by one semester. Upon their arrival at the University, students reported the incident to security personnel; the story was further supported by the second shuttle captain, who picked up the stray student. Transportation and security are investigating the matter; no decisions have been made yet.

The student involved said, "Am I surprised by what happened? No, actually I'm not. I should be, but I'm not, this is Pace...nothing surprises me anymore. This incident is ridiculous, I really hope this man is fired, I spoke to security and transportation and they said that they are in the process of resolving the matter. However, I am concerned that even after making this complaint, they still allowed him to navigate the shuttle."

A meeting will be held in the Student Air and Space Union; anyone with information is invited to come.