It was a cold morning at the newly restored fortress, Blue Command; Private Collins steered on the tar-mac with the other 14 recruits. The air was cold, but Collin's couldn't feel in his standard issue regulation blue armor. It was a quiet morning and fresh snow was on the ground. It crunched under the troop's feet; the mood was solemn, and silent, save for the humming quad turbine of the pelican preparing for dust off. Snow fluttered about under the Pelican as the troops entered the passenger compartment of the awkwardly shaped transport ship. Collin's sat down next to the ranking officer, Sgt. Riggs.
"So, you've been to Sidewinder before, right?" asked Collins.
"Yeah, this is my third visit."
"What's it like?"
"Well, it's a planet made entirely of ice, so it's pretty frikkin' cold." Collin's chuckled.
"So what are our orders?"
"Well, we go to Blue Base, relieve the current officer and 14 rookies, then you take orders from me, work your way up the ranks, then maybe you'll even become an officer by the time you're done."
"Really?"
"Really." By this time the other rookies had begun talking amongst themselves.
"So, how long is it to Sidewinder?'
"About 24 hours."
"It's gonna be a long ass ride..."