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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