A Soldier in Love Page 4

  “Thank you,” she said as his blue eyes met her green ones.

  “I only wish we had enough time for you to implant me with one,” he said.

  She shrugged her shoulders. “Yeah, I don’t know you might have had a Frankenstein ear if I would have done it.”

  “Maybe so. I guess, it is a good thing we are friends. I will be relying on you for information now,” he grinned.

  “We had better go,” she whispered.

  He nodded. “Yes, let me disinfect this and apply a salve and we can go,”

  “Thank you, and thank you for being a friend. You’re the first one I’ve had in a very long time,” she added quietly.

  He smiled and slowly made his way out the door as she followed.

  Michelle and Aaron jogged towards the launching zone and got in line with the other soldiers. They were the last ones in line, but it didn’t seem to matter, everyone was distracted with something.

  Michelle was amazed that the pain in her ear was almost gone. She wanted to rub over the area with her fingertips to see what it felt like, but she didn’t want to draw attention to herself.

  “Chip, soldier,” a tall uniformed office said as she came forward in line.

  Michelle held out her left wrist and he scanned over it. She couldn’t help but to feet like a cow being led to the slaughterhouse.

  “On board, soldier,” he waved her on.

  Michelle scrambled forward and got on board. She turned around to see that Aaron too was scanned and not far behind her. She barely knew him but it gave her such a great comfort.

  Michelle sat down in the uncomfortable seat and this time Aaron sat next to her. The shuttle was eerily quiet. She could tell that this trip was going to be a silent one. The nervous tension filled the air. There were only 15 others on this flight. Her stomach knotted, she could have sworn Aaron said all 30 were going to Redex. She wanted to ask him, but knew she couldn’t even if she could have, he probably didn’t know.

  She strapped herself in and tried to relax in her seat. She jolted slightly as the oxygen masks suddenly deployed.

  Michelle put the mask to her face and fastened the straps securely around her head. She watched as Aaron did the same. She took a deep breath in. This time there was no sleeping gas, she could tell immediately with the smell. This worried her it could mean they would have to fight upon landing.

  She looked to Aaron and he looked back. Just having a friend made things so much easier.

  She began to regret how she had treated the girl Kate on the previous flight. She looked around to see if she could see her, but she couldn’t get a good view of the back of the ship being strapped in.

  “Attention soldiers, take off will begin shortly. Strap in,” the intercom announced.

  “All oxygen masks on. We are preparing for takeoff, I repeat all oxygen masks on,” the intercom boomed.

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

  Michelle gave Aaron a weak smile and before she knew it the ship was propelling itself from the space station out into the unknown.

  Chapter Five

  Redex reminded Michelle of the Grand Canyon except the sky was not blue; it was more of a turquoise color. The sun was a soft green color through the atmosphere. The terrain was red and desert like. She looked in the sky to see two moons beginning to set in the sky. It was evening in Redex, if that’s what you called this time of day on another planet.

  Despite the vivid colors of the planet, it seemed to be a barren wasteland. There were a few canyons but nothing beyond that. Michelle could feel the gritty sand beneath her boots. She could see no plant life in range. She heard nothing but the footsteps of the others and the sound of the wind.

  She looked back to the terrain and began to remember when she was a child. Her parents had taken her and Amy to the Grand Canyon.

  Did we do that? Michelle questioned herself. She felt as though she had a mild headache.

  Maybe, we didn’t. Why does my head feel so foggy? Everything seems blurry. Must be all this space travel…

  “It looks like the Grand Canyon,” she said to Aaron who stood beside her.

  He shook his head. “Yeah, except were not on any vacation.”

  Michelle knew he was right. She felt silly making such a comment. That sort of thing didn’t matter anymore; they were here to fight a war not to reminisce about the past on Earth. She shook her concern off as she felt a wave of heat come over her. She felt a few beads of sweat begin to form on her brow as they made their way to the base by jeep. It had to be at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit if not more and that was with the sun going down.

  If I can’t take a little heat, a little sweat, what kind of soldier am I?

  It wasn’t very long until they reached the base. The base was a large flat, concrete building. Close to it was a small dam of water. It seemed as though the dam provided the energy the base would need.

  “Soldiers, attention!” The Commander they had been following boomed. He was a short, stocky man with a bald head. He had dull brown eyes and weathered face. It was evident he had seen his fair share of war, fighting, and death. He was a no-nonsense type of man as most were in the Earth Army. Michelle knew his type; she had spent ample time with Amy and Eric and their military circles.

  Michelle stood at attention along with the others in her squad.

  “At ease,” he said as he began to pace up and down the line studying each soldier’s face.

  “Welcome to Redex, it’s hot as Hell here. You will all be issued a cooler pack when you get inside,” he stated. He paused as he marched up and down the row of soldiers again.

  “We are here to fight and we are fighting an enemy we do not know,” he continued. “That doesn’t mean we can’t win, that just means we have to be the best,” his voice echoed off of the concrete walls.

  He continued to pace up and down the line of soldiers, studying each of them. Michelle shuddered. She felt something between a piece of meat and a prized race horse.

  “Training is going to be intense. We have to be smarter, stronger, faster than them,” he continued to eye each soldier’s body.

  He stood still.

  “Today, you will get your cooler, take nourishment, and rest. Tomorrow we will begin,” he said as he led the way inside.

  The soldiers made their way in the base behind The Commander. Michelle and Aaron followed last in line. To her relief it was cool in the base building.

  “What are cooler packs?” Michelle whispered to Aaron while keeping an eye on The Commander in the front of the line.

  “They are affixed to your neck, removable but sturdy. They are made of a cooling gel. Your neck is close to your brain so it tricks your body into thinking it is much cooler than it actually is. It keeps your brain from overheating and causing brain damage,” he explained in a quick whisper.

  Michelle nodded.

  “Next,” the nurse called out.

  Michelle sat down as the dark haired nurse affixed her cooling pack. She recognized her from the cafeteria; she was one of the ones speaking at the table.

  Michelle held out her wrist tentatively. All healthcare procedures were documented by the Earth Army.

  The nurse shook her head. “No need for that here. We have to conserve power so we have to do things the old fashioned way.”

  Michelle nodded. “Ah, OK.”

  She watched as the nurse opened a packet of disinfectant.

  “Put your head down,” the nurse instructed.

  Michelle held her head down as to expose the back of her neck. She felt the nurse pull a few wisps of hair away from the back of her neck. Shortly after, she felt the familiar sting of antiseptic.

  “Almost done,” the nurse murmured.

  Michelle took a deep breath in as she felt a pricking sensation on her neck and then a sudden blast of coldness throughout her body. She watched as goosebumps formed on her arms. She felt the nurse press the pack against her neck harder
and she felt the coolness leave her body.

  “It will activate again in the heat tomorrow,” the nurse kindly explained.

  “Thank you,” Michelle replied as she slowly stretched her legs and rose to her feet.

  Michelle made her way from the clinic back down the hallway to the cafeteria. She couldn’t help but feel anxious as she realized how large the base was but how few soldiers occupied it. The base only had a small number of staff members and she wondered how long they had been here. She thought she remembered mostly everyone from the station. There were many unopened boxes covered in dust.

  I wonder if we were the only ones who made it through? What did the nurse mean we have to be old fashioned and write everything down here? Where are we?

  Michelle followed the sound of chatter into the cafeteria. The other soldiers sat in the make shift dining area. There were no tables so most everyone huddled in groups and sat Indian style on the concrete floor.

  Michelle took her rations and looked down at her tray. It was no surprise that again they were fed the gray, oatmeal-like substance and a lumpy protein shake.

  She lowered herself to the floor slowly away from the others. Michelle counted the other soldiers in the room, there were only ten.

  I wonder what happened to Kate.

  She sighed and tried her best to eat the food in front of her. Her stomach groaned in protest at the protein shake’s texture, but she ignored it and began to chug it. She started on her oatmeal and tried to listen in to what the others were saying.

  Damn, I’m too far away. I can’t hear anything.

  “Soldiers,” The Commander’s loud voice echoed off the walls as he stepped into the room.

  The commotion silenced and all eyes looked towards him.

  “Finish eating and find a bunk. You can shower tomorrow after we run. Remember we are on water ration here on Redex, so no more than five minutes in the shower.”

  Michelle had expected him to say more. Hell, she expected anything besides they had to ration water. No news on Earth, no information on where they were at, why they were sitting on the floor, no plan, nothing.

  Michelle could almost feel the red sand clinging to her body, her hair, her uniform. She longed for a shower desperately. Tired, frustrated, and dirty she finished the remaining oatmeal and made her way to the bunks. She unlaced her black boots and placed them at the edge of her bed. They were covered in red dust just like the rest of her.

  Redex, she mused to herself. What else would you name a planet covered in red dust that sticks to you? A

  Michelle closed her eyes and relaxed her body against the thin mattress.

  She quietly whispered, “IS activate,” and tapped the upper part of her ear.

  Please work, please work, she silently begged.

  A wave of relief washed over her as the system began to chime in her ear, “IS sync to satellite initiated.”

  Michelle inhaled sharply. She hoped it would sync.

  “Sync failed no satellites available. Information available from last sync, continue?”

  “Yes,” she whispered quietly despite being alone in the room.

  “IS stream to me topic Redex,” she continued to whisper even softer now.

  “Streaming topic Redex, please wait,” the computerized tone began.

  Redex, a planet discovered in the momentum solar system. Planet is approximately one-tenth the size of Earth. Redex is classified as a minor planet. Gravitational pull similar to Earth. Redex has two known moons, both are small and irregular in nature.

  Planet has no known civilization beyond one Earth Army base and one landing and fueling zone. The landing and fueling zone is frequented by travelers going to neighboring planets such as Zimpth and Blar.

  Planet with similarity to some Earth climates found in United States, Africa, and Middle East.

  Intelligent inhabitants are unknown. Fauna includes include molcos hund, species unknown. Species classified as extremely dangerous by exploration team 700. Redex species unknown are vicious and will attack upon sight. Dislike acidic nature of humans for food but regard humans as a predator.

  Species will feed on yowee melons, tree bark, and any prey. They feed on anything low in acidicity. Anything acidic in nature disrupts their delicate bacterial balance.

  Due to low intellect, species unknown regards all others as prey. Species is not available for domestication.

  Natural foods here include yowee melons which grow into a thick vegetation. Yowee melons should not be consumed by humans as they are highly poisonous.

  Climate possible to grow genetically modified high heat resistant foods such as solanum lycopersicum and capsicum cultivars.

  “Fuck, speak English to me. I don’t know what all these scientific terms are,” Michelle hissed.

  Tired, confused, and frustrated Michelle turned the IS off and shut her eyes. Shortly, after she drifted to sleep.

  Chapter Six

  It was cold in the morning before the green sun came up to radiate heat off of the sandy plains. It felt much like a desert on Earth. Michelle remembered that the IS did say Redex would have terrains like those of Earth.

  The Commander’s voice bellowed breaking Michelle’s thoughts, “Today, we will run. We will run ten miles. Those who do not make it will run again tomorrow, if they do not make it tomorrow they will run again until they do.”

  He paused and wrote something down on his clipboard.

  “You will run to the vegetated area that will be three miles, and then back to base will be another three making six,” he shouted. “Do you understand?”

  “Sir, yes, sir,” the soldiers said in unison.

  Michelle began to jog behind the others. She knew six miles was a trek, it wasn’t undoable but it was best to start slow, especially in this heat. She felt the cooler pack on her neck drop a few degrees. It seemed to be helping a little but sweat was still beading around her forehead.

  If I can’t take a little heat, what kind of solider will I be?

  She thought back to Earth, where she had used to run every day. She thought back to the treadmill at the gym and the track at the school but everything seemed a little fuzzy. Her head felt jumbled up.

  She shook the fuzzy memory away and concentrated on running.

  Must be the heat messing with my brain.

  She continued to run as sweat was beginning to drip down her body. She felt strong as her legs propelled her forward. She looked to the others in her squad. Everyone looked miserable. She continued to run, passing them one by one. There was only one in front of her.

  Excitement gripped Michelle when she realized it was Kate.

  “I didn’t see you on the shuttle,” Michelle called out. She slowed down to catch her breath.

  Kate slowed down and turned to Michelle and smile. Her smile quickly turned to a look of terror.

  “What’s wrong?” Michelle stopped. She gasped when she saw a soldier had fallen down.

  “It’s the heat, its heat exhaustion,” Kate said as she also caught her breath.

  Michelle and Kate jogged up to a male soldier who had collapsed. Michelle took note of him; he wasn’t very tall, maybe the same height as Michelle. He was about average build which meant they could carry him back to base without too much trouble.

  “Let’s get him back,” Kate directed.

  Michelle and Kate remained quiet as they moved the collapsed soldier to the base for the nurse to attend to them.

  “You think he will be OK?” Michelle asked.

  Kate nodded. “Yeah, they say they’re more out there.”

  “Let’s go get them,” Michelle said despite her reluctance to leave the cool concrete building. Michelle took a large gulp of water from a canteen she had been handed. She handed it to Kate who also took a long drink.

  Michelle and Kate jogged slowly back out to collect another with heat exhaustion.

  “They sent me on ahead,” Kate replied finally breaking the silence.

  “I was worrie
d,” Michelle said looking into her deep brown eyes.

  Kate nodded.

  “Look, I’m sorry for being a bitch on the shuttle,” Michelle offered.

  Kate shook her head. “You weren’t. Well, actually you were kind of icy but maybe the Redex heat broke that.”

  Michelle smirked.

  “Friends?” Michelle asked as they pulled the next soldier up, each balancing part of the weight on one side.