The Mars Wars - Chapter 7

As Trace walked down the hallway, he pondered the events of the last three months. Every day they had trained to their limit, and every day that limit got just a little bit higher.

For Trace, the limit got higher at a faster rate then everyone else. As time progressed, it became clear to everyone just how far ahead of them Trace was. That is, except for Commander Westcott. He seemed indifferent, with not even a compliment to Trace.

Zane, on the other hand, seemed to resent Trace more and more. Every time it seemed he could be no more cruel to Trace, he was. Trace sighed as we walked. “Oh why the hell am I still here?” he muttered to himself.

“I don’t want to be here! Sure, it’s my fault for failing school, but still!” Recently Trace had been desperate for a glimpse of blue sky, but on their barren training asteroid, there was no blue sky, only the blackness of space.

“Hey Trace!” One of the other recruits called to him, snapping him out of his thoughts. “Hey” Trace responded, with a bit of confusion as to why they wanted to speak to him.

The recruit caught up to Trace and walked beside him. Her name was Kathryn? He couldn’t really remember, it seemed the recruits had been divided into two categories: those with Trace and those with Zane.

Many recruits had been approaching Trace and saying hi, trying to get in his good side. He didn’t really care, and couldn’t remember all the names. Kathryn, he remembered her.

The only reason he remembered her was due to the fact she had started coming in second place every time. “I’ve been trying to find you! I’ve been wondering, what’s your trick?” She asked.

“How do you mean?” Trace asked her. “I mean, how are you so far ahead of all of us? For gods sakes, you run the course in 5 minutes!” She inquired. “Uhhh I don’t know? Honestly, it’s all a blur when I’m doing that. I just follow my instincts.”

She stared at him in disbelief for a few seconds, before saying “No way. I refuse to believe that! People just aren’t that good!” Trace studied her, before saying “Well obviously, some people are.” He said.

Kathryn just seemed to get more resolved when he said this. “Well, the”

She was suddenly cut off as the base rocked with an explosion, followed by another and another.

She and Trace both looked at each other and shock, both thinking the same thing “What was that??” They both said in unison. Suddenly, the lights all turned red, and the loudspeaker system that neither of them knew about the existence of.

“Attention all personnel. The base is under attack by martians. Please get to your assigned posts.” Trace handled this information calmly, while Kathryn seemed panicked. “Oh my god, what do we do?!” She screamed.

Trace just looked at her as if to say “what do you think.”

“We go to the armory, grab a suit and gun, and get out there.” He said calmly. “How the hell are you so calm??” She said.

“I’m terrified. I’m just not showing it,” He responded. “Now lets get to the armory.” Kathryn replied “Right”.

As they ran through the glowing red halls, they passed by several other panicked recruits. Trace told them all to follow him to the armory so they could help fight.

In normal circumstances, many of them of them wouldn’t have followed Trace. But with the steely confidence and focus with which he said it, they all found themselves doing as he said.

Eventually, they got to the armory. Surprisingly, despite what had been said on the loudspeaker, they had encountered no martians on the way there. “Alright people, grab a suit and a gun! This isn’t training anymore! This is real!”

Trace walked over to a suit and climbed in with quick efficiency. Once he was suited, he quickly walked over to a weapon rack. Seeing that there was far more than just the normal pulse rifle, Trace decided to stick with what he knew, and picked up a standard pulse rifle. Along with that he also selected a few grenades, as well as a small electro-knife. He then activated his radio, checking all the channels, yet they were all empty.

Trace shouted to the recruits “Everyone! Set your suit to secure radio channel one!” As everyone did this, Trace looked out the doorway, only to see the hallway packed with Martian Marines.

Martian marine suits were very similar to those of the Terran Union, with one major difference: Martian armor was red, while Terran armor was gunmetal grey.

Quickly getting over his surprise, Trace shouted “Martians in the hallway!” Quickly ducking behind a nearby shelf, Trace immediately heard the Martians open fire. Only seconds later, the screams started.