It's a bit into the future. Enough into the future that landings on just about any part of the Sol System is possible now and the N.A.S.A. Space Program has people out there on the planets and moons of the solar system. But a mysterious organization arose named simply "The Shadow Force", and space became a little more hostile. So the military developed the Starcom division to escort scientists all around the solar system.

(Read here and get caught up on the theme, but the above basically states it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...The_U.S._Space_Force )

Jake is a kid genius in his early teens, eager to join the science end of things.  Today he finds himself at a launch pad, waiting his turn to enter the shuttlecraft.

"This is so awesome!" he thinks out loud, "To think I got picked to go along!"

  At least Joe doesn't have "Crowbar" as a nickname.  He's hoping that maybe Jake's field would include making shoulder mounted laser cannons not weigh so much (though that's less of an issue when floating in space).

  "So, someone fill me in.  Are these unfeeling killbots or the kind that scream in a morbidly comical manner when you take them out?"

A guy with black hair walks up to the two. "You two here to head for orientation?" Upon confirmation, he nods and says, "I'm Lieutenant Tora. I'm here to take you to your suits, the transport ship, and eventually, to your captain." He starts to lead the way.

Jake gives Joe a "whaat?" look and shrugs.

"I wouldn't know."

He salutes the Lieutenant.

"Thanks!"

He's still not used to the whole civilian among military thing.

  "As long as there is no mention of Chrysalids, I look forward to getting the heads up on all this."  Psst, wrong franchise!  Salutes are Go, and Joe follows after.

Tora leads the two to the suit-up room, where the pair are given space suits to wear! They are pretty cool and surprisingly low-bulk, allowing for good maneuverability. Then the pair is taken to the transport; a Starmax Bomber. Once the two are inside the ship, a pretty face with a helmet pops up on a monitor. "Welcome aboard the Sky Limit. This is your Captain speaking, and we will be arriving at our destination at approximately 2 hours. For take-off, please be sure your seat belts are fastened until otherwise indicated. After the ride, we will have more time to get acquainted. Until then, please sit tight."

(Here's the list of ships. The starmax is the first one: http://www.starcomspaceforce.c...wing_vehicles.html#1
The back opens to fit that orange seating unit inside:
http://www.starcomspaceforce.com/starmax_pop.html)

"Aye aye, Captain!" Jake answers with a smile and slight blush.  This trip just keeps getting better and better!  He straps in and tries to calm himself.

  If you keep your tray table up, and seat in full upright position, then you can survive any disastrous crash.  ANY.  So yeah Joe buckles in.

  "Those who sing X on the wall songs will have to float home."

The trip is uneventful and they all make it to the Pluto colony. The ship lands, attaches to the base, and soon they are all in the base. Scientists looking excited to welcome Jake aboard while Liberty goes to both Jake and Joe, taking her helmet off. The scientists lead the way while Liberty begins getting acquainted. "I got briefed on you two, but I'm curious what you would say about yourselves. What are you good at? What are you bad at? What are things you hate, so I know to avoid them when needed?"

"Oh great," Jake groans, "Now that you've said that, I'm going to have that song replaying over and over in my head.  I suppose I could cure that with some other kind of music."

He spent the trip listening to his Ipod and updating his social networking accounts with stuff like, "Blasting off!"

"I'm an inventor," Jake answers Liberty with a proud smile, "With a focus in robotics.  But I'm not very good at just about anything that isn't Science related.  Personal pet peeve are put-downs."

  "I'm a decent enough shot if I got something to aim at, not one of those sorts who can claim to be just as good a shot with their eyes closed.  Known enough to at least fix a laser if not build one" Asking someone to stop and fix tour gun in a fight is kinda stupid.

  "I'm bad at... putting that much thought into my personal failings?  Also never managing to learn people hate honesty if it's not nice sounding honesty."

Liberty says, "People hate mean sounding anything. Honesty or lies. But trust me, I know what you mean." she looks at Jake. "Put-downs? Do you mean like if you are working hard and someone comes along and says, "Boy, you're lazy. I don't know why I hired you", or do you mean something else?"

"That works as an example," Jake answers, "And because it's a topic I dislike, I'll refrain from giving more examples.  How about yourself?  You seem like you have some out-of-the-ordinary or specific strongly held pet peeve that makes you unhappy."