Space Academy Rejects is a Affectionate Parody Space Opera by C.T. Phipps and Michael Suttkus. It is the second book in the Space Academy series.
Vance Turbo has spent the past few years working among the refugees of the Kolahn War, attempting to resettle them after the cataclysmic end to the conflict where the Kolahn homeworld was destroyed. Unfortunately, all of that work is rendered pointless when the planet is destroyed by a SKAMM missile that causes their sun to explode. Vance successfully makes it out of the system with a ship full of refugees, though, and receives what he has both longed for as well as dreaded: a command of his own.
Unfortunately, Space Fleet has no interest in Vance doing anything but gladhand and bribe locals in Contested Space. Worse, he's been shackled with a crew of questionable skill after a mass recruitment as well as lowering of standards. Vance realizes he's never going to do anything worthwhile again if he remains in command of the Ares, right up until he receives an offer to help negotiate the most important deal in Community history: an end to the devastating conflict with the Notha.
But the Notha Emperor only wants to deal with him.
This book is followed by Space Academy Washouts.
This book contains the following tropes:
- Affectionate Parody: The AI of the Ares is The Shat, which is based off of actor William Shatner.
- All for Nothing: All of the years of work Vance and others put into turning New Pompeii into a livable new homeworld for the Kolahn is undone when the planet is destroyed by their star being blown up.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Shelly and Vance drown with it due to the fact that he is a Cowboy Cop officer compared to her By-the-Book Cop. They resolve it fairly early, which causes even more problems.
- Big Bad: The Notha Emperor is the artifact of not only the destruction of New Pompeii but also the planned eradication of the Elder Races in the Core.
- Bittersweet Ending: Vance successfully prevents the destruction of the Elder Races, kills the Notha Emperor, and destroys the Emperor's Reach. However, the Notha peace agreement is scuttled and Earth is still withdrawing from the larger galactic community.
- Call to Agriculture: After serving in the Kolahn War, Vance has spent the past few years working as a refugee aid on New Pompeii to help resettle the Kolahn.
- Cool Ship:
- The Ares is a ship more like a luxury liner than a battleship from when humans designed their vessels to be more like Star Trek: The Next Generation.
- The Emperor's Reach is a fourteen kilometer-long dreadnought that is an entire fleet to itself in firepower.
- Didn't See That Coming: Vance uses his teleportation ring to kill the Notha Emperor using a thrown javelin. The Notha Emperor's last expression is one of complete surprise.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: According to
Word of God, the attempt to form a Human League for economic advancement of humans versus aliens is inspired by Brexit as well as "America First." - Enemy Civil War: The Notha have degenerated into this since the death of the Great Notha.
- Expy:
- The Emperor's Reach is one for Darth Vader's flagship, The Executor.
- The Homefront News Network is inspired by Fox News.
- Inappropriately Close Comrades: Vance struggles with the fact that all of his love interests are people either part of his crew or in his chain of command. Which isn't illegal in Space Fleet (if you do the right paperwork) as other races don't have the same problem with it as humans but is frowned upon.
- I Surrender, Suckers: The Notha Emperor lures Vance and company onboard his ship with promises of this for the Notha Empire and Community. It's all a trick to get Vance to join him.
- Kicked Upstairs: Vance was promoted to captain after his heroic rescue of many Kolahn Refugees but also to keep him away from using his popularity to lecture people on the mistreatment of refugees.
- Killed Off for Real: Captain Klaws is killed by Suicide Attack in the opening chapters of the book.
- Starship Luxurious: This is the Ares to the point of parody as Vance is mystified by all of the amenities on what was supposed to be a battleship (and formerly was during the Kolahn War). After it's refit, it has carpeting and suites plus an actual mall including gift shop. Justified by the fact Vance wanted to captain a warship but it is now a vessel of diplomacy.
- Star Killing: New Pompeii is destroyed by a mysterious attacker in the opening chapters.
- Unequal Pairing: Vance Turbo and his superior officer, Shelly, have a relationship while the latter is captain during their six month journey back to Earth in a crippled ship. Both of them expect to be reassigned afterward when the ship is decomissioned and have had a lot of Unresolved Sexual Tension. The issue becomes a much bigger one with the fact that Vance is promoted over Shelly and she's assigned as his first officer.
- Surrounded by Idiots: The Ares as a result of EarthGov's Homefleet dramatically expanding and lowering its qualification requirements. This is partially due to its desire to break away from the Community. They are generally civilian and Space Academy rejects who have very little military discipline as well as a lot of bad habits that Vance wants to train out of them.
- We Can Rule Together: The Notha Empeorr was genuinely impressed with Vance Turbo's chutzpah and offers to make him a lieutenant in the post-Elder Race world. Vance refuses.
