Ellen clipped the gun to a hook on her belt and checked one last time that the gun's safety was engaged.
"Remember. For the time being, only officers are allowed in the armory, all others need the commander's permission," Lieutenant August explained to them.
"Understood, Lieutenant," Ellen and Olivia said in unison and saluted.
"Very well, then I'll leave you two alone and get some sleep."
With springy steps he went to one of the elevators and was gone moments later. After that, apart from Ellen and Olivia, there was nobody else in the hangar. The overhead lights had been turned off completely except for the front row, so they could only see half of the hangar. Nothing could be heard except for the low hum of the drive core, a sound that surrounded them all day.
"What do you think of all this?" Ellen asked Olivia to break the silence.
"It's alright," Olivia murmured, fumbling with her armor without looking at Ellen and not seeming to want to continue the conversation.
"I'm looking forward to the practice mission. Where do you think they're going to send us?" Ellen asked, trying, but Olivia just shrugged.
There it was again, her reserved behavior that she couldn't place. Ellen sighed.
"Oliv... What's going on?"
"What do you mean?"
"Since we've been with the Alliance, you've seemed very… different. You barely laugh and hardly talk to us anymore. Did something happen? Did we do something wrong?"
"I do not know what you're talking about."
Ellen didn't reply to that. She knew Olivia, and if she didn't want to talk about something, you wouldn't get it out of her.
They stood in silence for the rest of their watch.
Two days later, the 231st platoon was ordered into the conference room right after breakfast. After everyone was seated, Commander Lance spoke.
"Marines, it's time for your training mission. We have placed five probes on the planet Rayingri for your teams to recover. It's currently a refreshing surface temperature of 45°C, so I'd recommend wearing light clothing underneath your gear." He chuckled a bit at the statement. "The officers in the shuttles will explain everything else to you. You have fifteen minutes to get ready."
"Yes, Commander," they said in unison and set off excitedly.
Ellen was infected by the euphoria around her. She was excited to finally go on a mission and prove herself, even if it was just an exercise. However, she still felt insecure in her new role as squad leader. Jenkins told her just yesterday that he didn't think she was good enough to be their team's private 1st class after she couldn't do as many push-ups in the weight room as he did. Norah, Lauren and Alex had stood in front of her indignantly and told him how ridiculous he was being, but he hadn't been impressed and only grinned at them. Ellen had been a bit embarrassed by this scene because she was capable of defending herself and the others hadn't made the situation any easier, although she appreciated the gesture.
Ellen glanced sideways at Jenkins as they rode the elevator to the cargo deck. He pierced the wall in front of him with a fierce glare and cracked his knuckles.
Alex gave Ellen a light nudge in the side and winked at her with a grin. When in doubt, Ellen could count on Alex, and on Ida, too. And over the past two days, she'd gotten to know Holly a little better, so she was sure she wouldn't let the beta team down either.
The elevator doors slid aside, whirring, and they went straight to the armory. Each of the lockers lining the walls bore the name of a Marine aboard SSV Rome, and the large gun cabinet at the rear was being unlocked by Lieutenant August.
"Find your locker and dress up, then I'll give you your weapons," he called over his shoulder. "Put the helmets on once you reach Rayingri."
Ellen found her locker on the left. It read "Webber, E." in large letters, and she felt a little proud to see her name there. Inside she found a bulletproof suit on a hanger and the armor plates she would need to attach to it neatly hung on hooks on the walls.
In basic training, they'd practiced quick donning and doffing of their gear on numerous occasions, so it took her less than two minutes to strap on the last piece of armor and slip on the reinforced gloves. After a final check to make sure everything was in order, she went to August and took three thermal magazines and a shield booster along with an Avenger assault rifle. The shield booster was a small, black tube that she pushed into the slot provided on her chest. A blue shield flickered around her entire body and then vanished. It would deflect bullets from her as long as the power in the amp held.
After stowing the thermal magazines and attaching the assault rifle to the hook on her back, she left the armory and waited for the rest of her team. First came Jenkins, who only gave her a quick nod, then Alex, Casey and finally Holly, all three chattering excitedly.
"Are you ready?" Ellen asked everyone.
"Yes, ma'am!" Alex replied, saluting and grinning. Ellen rolled her eyes, turned away, and led the way to one of the shuttles, where they settled into the five seats on the right. Moments later, Norah took a seat across from her and smiled.
"You okay, El?"
Ellen returned the smile. "Couldn't be better."
XO Van Hagen and Lieutenant August also boarded and the shuttle's door was closed.
"Cob, you can start the shuttle," August said to the pilot and sat in the seat next to him, while Van Hagen remained standing and casually held on to a handle on the ceiling.
They could hear the hangar's heavy door slowly sliding aside, then the shuttle took off with a gentle jerk and left the Rome.
"Listen up, greenhorns!" Van Hagen said and they all looked at him surprised. "I'll oversee the Beta team, Lieutenant August the Alpha team. We won't join you during your march, but we will keep an eye on you via the cameras in your helmets and monitor your communications. Your goal is clear: each team must get to the assigned probe as quickly as possible. Once you've done that, recover its contents and return to the gathering point. We have created a route for each team, which you can find on your omni tools. Any questions?"
Since no one said anything, he nodded contentedly. "Good. Oh, and Webber," he continued, turning to Ellen. "I put 100 credits on you being the first to come back. And I really hate losing my bets."
Ellen swallowed hard. "Understood, sir."
He studied her intently for a moment longer, then went forward and spoke to August.
"Bright prospects," Alex murmured to her from the side. "But we'll be fine."
Ellen could see Norah smirking at her and mouthing a "haha".
Twenty minutes later the shuttle landed on Rayingri. Since the external cameras had only been turned on up front, they had not yet seen the planet, but Ellen had studied the map sent to them on her omni-tool during the flight. Apparently they would be dropped off in a very mountainous area, which meant they faced a very strenuous trek stretching several kilometers.
The pilot opened the shuttle's door, and August called out to them. "We'll start as soon as all the teams get off the shuttles."
Ellen got up, feeling a nervous flutter in her stomach as she donned her helmet and prepared to set foot on an alien planet for the first time in her life.
As she planted both feet on the reddish, sandy soil, she realized that the gravity was stronger than anything she had known before. It felt like she was about to pull something onto the ground with a little pressure.
"Good luck, Beta Team," van Hagen said through the comm link in the omni-tool, while the other two shuttles also landed and the teams quickly disembarked.
"Are you ready?" Cahill, the leader of the Deltas, called over to them.
"Naturally. The Beta-team will be back on board before you even find your probe," Alex replied with conviction.
Norah grinned. "Ha, that sounds like another bet. If you lose, you'll pay for our drinks on our first shore leave.
"Another bet?" Ellen moaned.
"And if you lose?" Alex asked indignantly.
"We won't lose."
They heard Shaun laugh over the comm. "Don't underestimate the Gamma team girls, we're long gone."
Startled, Ellen looked around and noticed that the other three groups were already on their way.
Norah sprinted and yelled, "Alpha Team, follow me!"
"Great," Jenkins grumbled. "Private 1st Class Webber, can we move now?"
"Shut up, Jenkins. Come on Beta-Team, we've given them enough head start," Ellen called, checking the route on her omni tool and setting a gentle jog pace. Their route was long and according to the map there were some big hills and other obstacles, so it didn't make sense to burn all their energy at the beginning. But Jenkins didn't keep their speed and was soon almost two hundred yards in front of them.
Reluctantly, Holly said, "Private Webber, um, ma'am, I have a suggestion."
"Leave the ma'am out. What is it, Holly?"
"I used a small program to calculate an alternative route that would get us to our destination at least thirty minutes earlier. I know we have a set route, but -"
Alex interrupted her. "That was more of a recommendation than an order."
"Alex is right. Nice job Holly, didn't know you could do that. Show us the way," said Ellen enthusiastically. "Jenkins, come back, we have a better route."
Jenkins stopped and turned to face them, but made no move to move in their direction.
"That was an order, Private!" Ellen called to him over the comm.
They could hear him cursing over the communicator, but orders were orders and he had to respect that if he didn't want to get in trouble with their superiors. He trotted back slowly and joined them after Holly led them sharply to the left, up a hill.
"Once we get over that, we have to go through a long gorge and then we're almost there," she explained.
After another ten minutes, Ellen felt the first drops of sweat running down her back. The incredibly hot temperatures and the unfamiliar gravity were wearing on her, but she would not show any weakness to Jenkins. Since the atmosphere wasn't toxic, they all had their helmets off to breathe easier. Ellen looked at Casey, who was trying in vain to fan her face with her gloves, which she had taken off.
At the bottom of the hill, Ellen slowed them, and when they reached the top after a hard walk, they looked around. Red colors in the form of hills, mountains and plain rocks as far as the eye could see.
"Over there!" Alex exclaimed, pointing in front of them to a deep, narrow crack in the middle of the ground that seemed to stretch for a kilometer.
Ellen nodded and marched forward. "Here we go! I don't want to know what happens to us if we dally too long and Lieutenant Commander van Hagen loses his bet!"
They went down the valley at a quick walking pace and soon found themselves surrounded by meter-high cliffs. The sun stood in such a way that it was bright enough to see easily, but at the same time they could move in the shade, which made it a little more bearable.
"The heat is killing me," Casey gasped. Alex gave her an encouraging slap on the shoulder.
"Come on Cas, didn't you grow up somewhere south? It must have been hot back there."
"Yeah, but I didn't have to wear armor."
Jenkins rolled his eyes and grumbled, "Women," but it was so quiet that only Ellen heard it.
After they were about halfway down the gorge, Holly suddenly stopped.
"Did you feel that?" she asked, eyes wide.
Ellen shook her head. "What do you mean?"
"Nothing... I could have sworn that -" Suddenly the ground shook slightly beneath them. But not only that, the walls around them seemed to tremble too. But just as quickly as it had started, it was over. Ellen felt her knees tremble a little, and like Alex, she had one hand on the wall.
"An earthquake?" Casey asked, shocked.
Jenkins replied, "Bullshit. They wouldn't abandon us in an earthquake region. And even if they did, it's over now."
As if on cue, the ground and the walls trembled again, but this time much stronger and it didn't seem to stop. Stones and boulders rained down on them from above.
"Run!" Ellen yelled and charged, which was difficult because the ground wasn't getting smoother. Jenkins was faster than her and pushed her sideways to clear a path, causing her to fall hard to the ground.