In the vastness of space, Captain Jack Trumble floated inside the state-of-the-art spaceship, Odyssey 9. The ship was on a mission to Mars, but it had one unusual quirk: its captain couldn’t read.

Jack’s illiteracy was a well-kept secret. He had always managed to get by with his quick wit and charm, relying on the voices in his head – well, actually, the ship’s sophisticated AI, ALIX.

“Captain, please confirm the coordinates for the Mars landing,” ALIX’s smooth, robotic voice echoed through the cabin.

Jack squinted at the blinking console in front of him. Rows of text and numbers scrolled by, completely incomprehensible to him. “ALIX, you know I trust you more than my ex-wife. Just go ahead and confirm them for me,” he replied, trying to sound casual.

“Captain, protocol requires human confirmation,” ALIX insisted.

Jack sighed, rubbing his temples. “Alright, alright. Let me just…uh, take a closer look.” He leaned in, pretending to examine the screen. “Yep, looks good. Confirmed.”

There was a brief pause. “Captain, you haven’t pressed the confirmation button.”

Jack cursed under his breath and fumbled around, eventually hitting a button that looked promising. The ship lurched slightly, and ALIX’s voice returned. “Coordinates confirmed. Commencing landing sequence.”

Jack let out a breath of relief. “See? No problem at all.”

As the ship descended towards Mars, Jack’s mind wandered to his past. He had always been a bit of a dreamer, aiming for the stars despite his, let’s say, educational limitations. He could never quite grasp the squiggly lines and dots that people called letters, but he had a knack for charming his way through life. How he became an astronaut was a series of fortunate events and a lot of luck.

“Captain, we have a problem,” ALIX interrupted his thoughts.

“What’s up, ALIX?” Jack asked, trying to sound authoritative.

“The landing gear is not deploying. You need to manually override the system.”

Jack’s heart skipped a beat. “Right, manual override. No problem.” He floated to the manual override panel, covered in switches and labels he couldn’t decipher. “Which one, ALIX?”

“The red switch on the left, Captain.”

Jack scanned the panel, realizing there were three red switches on the left. “Uhh, ALIX, can you be a bit more specific?”

“The one labeled ‘Landing Gear Override.’”

Jack groaned. “ALIX, you know I don’t do so well with labels. Can you describe its position relative to the other switches?”

ALIX paused, clearly processing Jack’s unusual request. “It’s the middle red switch on the left panel.”

With a deep breath, Jack flipped the middle switch. The ship shuddered as the landing gear deployed, and Odyssey 9 touched down on the Martian surface.

“Landing successful,” ALIX announced. “Captain, may I ask a personal question?”

“Sure, ALIX. What’s on your mind?” Jack replied, feeling a sense of triumph.

“Are you illiterate?”

Jack froze, the triumph evaporating. He looked around the empty cabin and then at the console. “ALIX, can you keep a secret?”

“Of course, Captain. My data protocols ensure privacy.”

Jack sighed, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders. “Yeah, I can’t read. Never could. But I made it this far, didn’t I?”

ALIX’s voice softened. “Indeed, Captain. You are a remarkable human. Now, shall we begin the mission protocols?”

Jack grinned. “Let’s do it, ALIX. Just tell me what to press and when.”

And so, Captain Jack Trumble, the illiterate astronaut, embarked on the Mars mission, guided by his trusty AI. Together, they navigated the challenges of space with a mix of wit, charm, and a dash of humor, proving that sometimes, even in the darkest corners of the universe, laughter really is the best way to light the way.