LOG-001.When I’d first woken up in my new life, I’d found myself lucky enough to have sat up as an adult, rather than a baby or something. Reincarnation had always been something I’d thought about, after all, even if I’d expected having to die first, rather than simply passing out after a particularly enjoyable party.Still hadn’t stopped me from blinking open crusty eyes and letting out a belch that must have contained the souls of several Irish spirits, of course. From there it had taken me a bit to realise what had happened, namely because it hadn’t been the first time I’d woken up in a bedroom I didn’t recognise.I’d learned pretty quickly that things weren’t exactly as I’d been expecting once I’d realised I was actually somewhat built. Oh, by no means had I ever been skinny or anything, but I certainly hadn’t had biceps I could actually see peeking out from my shirt when I stretched. That had been…an interesting thing to adapt to, naturally.Regardless, from there it had been the usual game of trying to figure out where the heck I was. I’d nearly shit myself when I’d exited the tiny, kind of filthy bedroom only to talk into what I’d later learned was a homeless shelter sponsored by one of the local institutions of the settlement I’d found myself in.A quick greeting with a blue alien lady with tails coming out of her head instead of hair later, and I’d promptly realised that I wasn’t exactly in Kansas any more. Further (incredibly careful) investigation from that point on had netted me a few things, particularly after I’d asked the madame blue at the desk if she had any of my stuff.First was that I was homeless, obviously. Had been for several months from what I’d been able to decipher. Second was that my official legal name (at least according to something called an Imperial chain code) was Kado Katar. And third was that I needed to leave, since the shelter was getting shut down in like a week or so due to a lack of funding.Yeah, the earliest days of my new existence had been…rough, to say the very least. There may have been a lot of begging for scraps while on the street, in between watching what could only have been starships weaving their way through the soft blue sky above.Things got difficult. And in a moment of desperation, with hunger churning my stomach over and over, I’d eventually broken and settled for trying to just snag a piece of fruit from one of the vendors occupying the open market I’d taken to loitering around.Getting my shit kicked in by an Imperial stormtrooper before being arrested was, in hindsight, the best thing that could have happened to me. Namely because it was the leading event that led to the kickstarting of what would be my future career.—“Kado Katar.”Exchanging nervous glances with the other men and women (one of them had some crazy wicked tattoos and what I was pretty sure were horns literally growing out of their head) I’d just barely started getting to know in the cramped interior of the holding cell, I stood up from the bench I’d been sat on for the better part of a few hours, before making my way towards the now open doorway.The cuffs keeping my wrists locked together felt horribly tight, but the sensation was forgotten as I beheld the (honestly kind of pretty) woman waiting for me outside, her stern countenance only enhanced by the peaked cap sitting atop her head, alongside the cold forms of the two white armoured soldiers standing behind her.Licking my lips to wet them, I did my best to stare into her eyes instead of looking at her immaculate uniform, and spoke.“Uh, y-yeah. That’s me.”Flinching as some unseen signal caused the door to slide shut behind me, I finally noticed the table that had apparently been set just outside of the holding cell, two chairs sitting on either side of it.The woman nodded before gesturing to one of the seats, and I found myself hurrying to settle down opposite of her as she took one, the uncomfortable sensation of one of the two soldiers moving to stand behind me leaving me somewhat tense.There was a long silence after that, save for the officer (because what else could she be?) pouring over some kind of transparent tablet. I wanted to say datapad, but who knew what these people actually called it. For all I knew I’d just gotten lucky that everyone (bar a few obvious aliens) seemed to speak English so far, and-“Kato Katar, of the recently deceased Katar family. Fell into poverty after the loss of your family’s farming estate in a freak accident involving a fallen starship. Infraction is…petty thievery. No other crimes listed.” Compared to some of the other wretches you were sitting alongside, you’re practically innocent.”Farm? I’d owned-or at least been part of-a farm?Ignorant of my thoughts, the woman glanced up from her device, arching a brow slightly as she looked me up and down, leaving me to try and awkwardly scratch the back of my neck only to remember that I was still in cuffs.“Certainly not the worst example of a human specimen either. Hm, you’ll do.”Blinking, I admirably resisted the urge to say something crude and settled for behaving like a perfectly normal, civilised person should.“Can’t say that doesn’t sound ominous. May I ask what you mean, ma’am?”The question earned me a small smile from the woman, before she flicked something on the tablet and slid it around to face me, leaving me to stare at something that looked…suspicously like a job application."It's not too complicated, really. The governor of this world has decided to implement a new program for petty criminals such as yourself, due to the severe lack of available agents that might be migrated from other systems. Simply put, you will either contribute to society via one of several potential career paths, or you will be put to work in an Imperial labour camp, and made to contribute anyway.”For all that her tone remained polite and her expression positively friendly, there was a dangerous gleam in her eyes that made me want to rear back.“Should you decide to make the intelligent choice, you and I shall go over what role might best fit you. Please, have a look at your options. Though don’t think to dawdle, we are on a rather strict schedule.”Keeping my mouth firmly shut, I did as ordered and began looking through the list of available roles, each with a nice little picture of this or that example set next to it. Most of the options…weren’t exactly encouraging.Imperial army trooper. Hell no, my uncle would strangle me from beyond the grave. Imperial stormtrooper. Maybe, the guys keeping me in check looked cool, but the training time looked like it would take several years…“Uh, you guys need drivers, yeah?”My finger remained pointed above the picture of a man stood next to what vaguely looked like a truck of some kind, his masked face and bucket helmet betraying nothing, though he seemed rather relaxed, leaned up against the vehicle with his arms crossed.The officer’s face lit up slightly at that, the woman leaning forward as she gestured towards the role.“You have experience in operating vehicles?”I slowly nodded, refraining from mentioning my brief tenure as a trucker, uber driver, and delivery guy. Those probably wouldn’t make too much sense, considering this body’s supposed farming background.“Excellent! Then we’ll get you slotted into the Imperial Combat Driver program. The Empire always needs more men who can handle a speeder or two. Just select the role and we’ll get your signature sorted…”It was a strange day, one of many that would follow, but at the very least I’d somehow bumbled my way out of poverty and into working for the government.Still, speeders…that was probably like a bike or something, right? Weird that they were so desperate for people willing to take the job. It was just driving after all, how hard could it really be?