A Soldier in Love Page 3

  Michelle watched as a variety of men and women strapped in. A few moments later the oxygen masks dropped.

  “It’ll be OK,” Michelle said to Kate giving her a weak smile before putting on her oxygen mask.

  “All oxygen masks on. I repeat all oxygen masks on,” the intercom boomed.

  “Takeoff initiating in five… four… three…two… one…” the intercom continued.

  Michelle felt her body jerk forward as the engine boomed. The rough ride had begun. It was an unpleasant feeling, far more jolting than any rollercoaster ride. They had quickly made it out of the atmosphere and were on their way.

  The ride was a long and bumpy one. Turbulence on airplane was nothing compared to this.

  Suddenly she felt overwhelmingly wave of sleepiness hit her. Her eyelids felt heavy. They almost felt as though they were being forced close.

  They must have put sleeping gas in the oxygen¸ she realized as she adjusted her oxygen mask to ensure it would not come off if she were to drift off.

  She took a deep breath of air in and shut her tired eyes. No longer able to fight the effects she fell into a deep sleep.

  Michelle groggily opened her eyes and then in terror reached out for her oxygen mask, but it was gone. Her heart raced but then she realized the shuttle was docked, they were no longer moving.

  She took a deep breath in.

  I’m OK, I’m OK, I can breathe. Thank you, God, she rejoiced silently. She had survived her first shuttle ride. It was just as bad as they had said it would be. Her head felt jumbled up and she felt a little dizzy.

  She surveyed the others around her. Most of them were sleeping still. She remained silent but made eye contact with a few others who were awake. She took another deep breath and tried to get herself together.

  She looked over to her side to see Kate. She was still asleep. Her face looked almost peaceful.

  “Where are we? This isn’t First World II,” Michelle asked quietly to a male soldier who was conscious. She felt the ship shift and her restraints pull her back from falling. She heard a loud beeping noise. They were docking.

  “We are the space station refueling,” he answered. His voice was low and hoarse. “We are to take nourishment, rest for one night, and then some of us will take the next shuttle to Redex tomorrow,” he continued.

  “But I thought we were going to First World II?” she questioned.

  He shook his head. “First World II is gone. The Cabaka have taken it over too.”

  Michelle remained quiet. She felt a wave of sadness come over her. It all felt hopeless.

  I have been spared. We were so close… but why? Why was I spared?

  Michelle came to her senses, To fight, that’s why I was spared. I have to keep fighting.

  “Any soldiers awake?” she heard a deep masculine voice call out.

  “Yes, sir,” she called with a few others in unison.

  “Make your way up,” the voice called out again.

  Michelle unstrapped herself and carefully made her way up to the front.

  She felt unstable. Her legs felt like two heavy rods of iron. She struggled to move forward and to keep her balance. She felt a headache forming in the back of her head and another wave of dizziness hit her.

  She took a few deep breaths in and crouched at the front of the shuttle before making her way down the steps to the docking area. She felt tired, shaky, and her muscles were weak. She took another deep breath and moved forward shaking off the dizziness.

  “Wrist,” a large uniformed man hissed. He had no obvious concern for her condition. She was just a number to him, data to be collected and kept track of.

  She nodded weakly and held out her left wrist as her eyes adjusted to the bright lights of the station.

  “A3343Z, make your way to the dining hall, take nourishment. You are assigned to go to Redex in the morning,” he said.

  Michelle nodded.

  Redex… I haven’t heard of Redex…

  The space station was one of the smaller docking stations. Everything about it seemed cold, bleak, and gray; it made her feel the same.

  The halls were empty as she followed the signs to the dining hall. Her steps were slow but her body slowly rebalanced itself. She felt a sudden pang of hunger. She knew they had traveled far and long but as for how long she wasn’t sure. Time passed differently in space than it did on Earth.

  She stood in the cafeteria line and took her meal. It was the same gray porridge and protein shake, not that she minded. She was just happy to eat.

  She quietly sat down at the unattended end of a talkative table in attempt to gain some sort of information. She took a bite of her porridge-like dish and tried to listen closely to the conversation going on.

  “I heard they sent us here to preserve some sort of human life in the universe,” a young black man stated matter-of-factly to the group.

  A young woman with short jet black hair shook her head. “No, we are here because we are hiding out as back up. You know, to throw the Cabaka off.”

  “We are here because it is not just the Cabaka we are fighting,” a dark haired man interjected.

  The table went silent.

  Michelle quickly finished what little food she had been given and put her tray up. She wasn’t sure if what the others had said was true or not. She learned not to trust rumors long ago. She stuck to her instincts and to the facts as those were what would guide you.

  She made her way to the bunks and claimed an open sleeping platform. She slowly unlaced the black laces in her boots, neatly lining them up in front of the sleeping platform.

  She pulled the thin blanket over her body. She inhaled the musty scent of the cloth and looked over to the empty sleeping platform beside her. It was a two person suite but thankfully no one else had claimed the second space.

  She looked around the room one more time and then the door before lightly tapping the metal bud in her ear.

  “IS activate,” she whispered hoarsely.

  The small piece of equipment chimed in her ear to let her know it was syncing to a satellite.

  “Stream sound to me directly, topic Cabaka invasion of Earth,” she commanded.

  She closed her eyes and listened as the monotonous tone began inside of ear, “No updates available.”

  Disappointment gripped her. After all the trouble she had gone to get an IS it was proving to be rather useless. She sighed and closed her eyes. She was unsure how another day came and passed but it had.

  ***

  The next morning, Michelle was awoken by a loud buzzing sound. She slowly sat up as her eyes adjusted to the dim light.

  It was cold on the space station, very cold. It seemed like such a bleak place and all too metallic even for her tastes. Michelle could smell what she thought was bleach or cheap disinfecting cleaner down the hall. It felt about as inviting as a sterilized hospital room.

  “Oi, we are leaving in an hour. Take nourishment and report for shuttle,” an unknown voice called out loudly from the hallway.

  She removed the thin covers from her body and quickly made her way to the bathroom and brushed her teeth with the disposable toothbrush and toothpaste on the counter.

  She removed her uniform and stepped inside the shower. The warm water washed over here. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine she was any place else. The water ration wouldn’t last long, maybe three minutes at most and that was being generous.

  No, I can’t think of that. I have to hurry, I’ve got to eat.

  She quickly stepped out of the shower and dried herself off with a towel. It all felt so rushed, it felt impersonal.

  Before putting her uniform on she examined at her naked reflection in the small mirror. She was thin, thinner than the others. She could see her hip bones and rib cage were already slightly visible. She splashed some water on her face to help her wake up and then slipped into her drab uniform.

  She kneeled down and laced her black boots up tightly before she began to make her way to the din
ing hall.

  The dining hall was buzzing with voices. She silently cursed herself for not waking up earlier.

  Damn, I should have got here sooner. There will be a line.

  She was pleasantly surprised to find that along with oatmeal and protein shake that they were having canned fruit. She eyed a can of mandarin oranges that someone had just placed on their tray. They looked succulent, sweet, and full of flavor. She remembered a time when such delicacies were freely given; a time before the rationing. There was once a time when there were three meals a day, not just two.

  “It’s to prevent scurvy,” a soft masculine voice called out behind her.

  She slowly turned around to see a tall, blonde haired, blue eyed man. He flashed a smile revealing straight, perfectly white teeth. His blue eyes had a warmth to them.

  “Sit with me? We have some time our shuttle got delayed another thirty minutes,” he said.

  Michelle didn’t reply; she only nodded in agreement. She studied his face; he was handsome with an all-American boy look about him. His blonde hair and light blue eyes reminded her of her parents. It also reminded her of Amy. She felt a ping of sadness hit her. She didn’t want to think about them, she didn’t want to face that they were gone. She didn’t want to wonder if Amy was OK or not.

  “I’m Aaron, B56700,” he stated as they sat down at an empty table towards the corner of the cafeteria.

  It seemed like the spot provided them with some sort of privacy as the busy nervous chattering from the others masked their conversation.

  “Michelle, A3343Z,” she replied.

  “I haven’t heard of anyone having a letter at the end of their code, only at the beginning,” he replied.

  Michelle rolled up her uniform sleeve to reveal the thick black letters and numbers on her wrist.

  “Well, there it is,” she said giving a small smile.

  He grinned. “I’m going to have to nickname you, Z.”

  The pair both picked took a large gulp of their protein shakes.

  “You have been very quiet. Everyone else is trying to get to know each other,” Aaron said with a concerned look.

  “I… I know,” Michelle replied quietly unsure of what to say.

  “We might as well be friends, were all each other has up here,” he said warmly.

  Michelle nodded. “I guess, I’m just trying to concentrate on the task at hand.”

  “What do you mean?” he questioned.

  Michelle ran her hand through the few strands of hair that weren’t tucked into her ponytail and then pressed her hands together. “I mean, we are all soldiers now. We have to forget who we used to be.”

  He shook his head. “No, I think you have it all wrong.”

  “Why?” she asked.

  “Remembering who we used to be helps us to be better soldiers. Without remembering who we used to be, what are we fighting for?” he replied.

  “What were you on Earth?” she said before taking another large gulp of her gritty protein shake. She would save the oranges for last. They would be her reward for eating the rest of her meal.

  “I was a doctor. I will still be a doctor here as well,” he stated.

  She finished her drink and opened her container of oranges. “And, you are going to Redex correct?” She watched as he did the same.

  He nodded his head. “Yes, all thirty of us are.”

  “And you say, I am your friend now? Your family now?” Michelle questioned.

  He nodded again to confirm. “Yes and I mean that. I mean I know I don’t know you well but we’re in this together.”

  “Then I have a favor to ask,” she asked softly bringing her large green eyes to meet his pale blue ones.

  “What is it?” he asked not breaking her gaze.

  “If you are doctor I believe you can do it,” she began.

  “Do what?” he interjected.

  She uncovered the small silver disc in her ear hidden by her thick auburn hair.

  “I need this and I need you to hide within me,” she said quickly covering it back up with her hair.

  He grinned. “You’re a smart one, Z.”

  “I just had good advice and a little luck is all,” she replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

  “Come, we don’t have much time,” he said setting down the empty cup of mandarin oranges.

  She stood and followed him. They made their way down a long and winding hallway. It was such a large station and there were only thirty others; it seemed like they could get away with their little task. Chaos always provided a cover.

  “With the security systems up and down, I think my old medic badge will work,” he said as he swiped the card and turned the handle to a room.

  He put the lights on dim and began to wash his hands.

  “Sit on the floor,” he ordered.

  “The floor?” Michelle questioned without hiding the shock in her voice.

  “Yes,” he said in a hushed tone.

  Michelle crouched on the cold floor.

  This doesn’t seem very sanitary, I thought this guy was legit… Maybe I should ask what kind of doctor he was on Earth.

  He began to quietly take a tray with a disinfecting packet, a needle, and various other medical equipment from the cabinet above the sink.

  He lowered himself to the floor and put on a pair of gloves.

  “The floor in case someone walks by. I don’t want them to see us through the window. You know we could get in trouble if someone were to find us. We would probably have our food rations revoked for two days. If they were mad enough you know they’d slice the top part of your ear off,” he explained quietly.

  She swallowed and nodded. She knew what she was doing was against protocol, but she had to do it anyway. She couldn’t stand to be another low ranking Earth Army soldier with no clue as to what was going on.

  “I’m sorry, Michelle but there is no time to get you something for the pain. Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked.

  “Yes and hurry. I don’t want to get our food rations taken and I’d like to keep my ear,” she said with pleading eyes.

  “Michelle, this going to be very painful without anesthesia, I can numb you a little with this cream, but I feel as a medical professional I must warn you,” he said.

  “I know, but it will be even more painful not to know,” she replied solemnly.

  “I’m going to disinfect the area, apply a numbing cream, and then slice your upper ear and insert the disc,” he said as he opened the disinfecting packet.

  He pulled back the auburn strands that were hiding the small grey disc and began to disinfect the area as well as the top of her ear where he would re-implant the device to ensure it would remain hidden.

  “Who implanted this one for you?” he whispered roughly.

  Michelle took a deep breath in trying to relax her racing heart. The numbing cream was cool and it made her shiver since the ship was already extremely cold.

  “I did,” she replied.

  He unclipped the gadget and held gauze to the open wound as small red droplets of blood began to pour out.

  “Hold this to your ear,” he said handing her the gauze.

  She held it to her ear as he rummaged around. He gently moved her hand down as he examined the area once more. He took the scalpel while she held the gauze below to attempt to soak up the blood and began to slice the cartilage between the top part of her ear.

  She winced in pain and gritted her teeth. The pain was intense. She could feel every movement of the knife severing through her cartilage. It cut lower, and lower, she thought the pain would never end as it shot through her body. Each slice became more and more painful.

  “Fuck, that hurts,” she stammered then gritted her teeth again. She wished he would have given her something to bite down on.

  “I’m sorry,” he stammered. “I hate to hurt you.”

  “It’s OK,” she barely replied as she sucked in another deep breath of air as the sharp pain continued. She wondered
if it would ever stop.

  He quickly inserted the small silver chip into the cartilage and then began to sew a few stitches to hold it together.

  Her knuckles went white as she balled her hands in fists to deal with the pain. She could feel every movement he made.

  “These stitches will dissolve in your ear. They will leave no evidence that you have an IS chip. Your cartilage will grow around the chip and it should be stable in almost any atmosphere sheltered inside your body,” he whispered.