I felt like I was floating, adrift in space, a sea of black. I didn’t feel hot or cold. I just felt I existed. That was good enough for me to realize I wasn’t dead. At least I hoped I wasn’t. Then came the most horrible feeling I’ve ever felt. Even more horrible than being blown up. It felt like thousands of tiny spiders were loose in my skull, all trying to find a way out. I wanted to scream, but there was no air.

There were tingles down my spine and out to my extremities. I started to feel pin pricks of pain randomly across my body. I couldn’t move and I couldn’t breathe. I started to panic and then realized, they must have located a blank for me after all.

Blanks are ugly things that nobody likes. Granted, it’s better than being dead. They are also expensive and in short supply. They are clones, but they don’t have to be born and then grow up. They have no brain, eyes or inner ears. They have faces like maniquins. Hence the name ‘blank’. They have no genitalia either. There are no genders associated with them. And they’re not built to be used forever. Nobody likes being in one and nobody likes having to work around someone in a blank. They’re just too creepy and inhuman. You’re in a blank just until a suitable “donation” can be obtained. It’s usually the body of a condemned criminal. Needless to say, there is a lot of controversy over the use of blanks and what happens afterwards.

When the technology to move a brain from one host to another became reliable, a lot of laws suddenly sprang up to regulate the procedure. The military always gets first dibs. The military puts their people in serious danger more than any other group. Bodies can’t be sold and the transfer has to be a medical necessity not vanity. You also can’t get a parking ticket and be sentenced to the body farms.

So I felt confident I wasn’t dead and that I’d wake up in a blank. I could detect lights and darks and shapes moving around. I opened my eyes and could make out blurry images. I could hear distant sounds. Or they sounded distant.

I heard a muffled female voice say, “Call Captain Murphy. Lt. Simmons is starting to wake up. He wanted to be notified.”

A different voice said, “Yes doctor.”

My whole body felt numb. I could finally feel I could move, but I seems to be restrained. This is my first time in a blank. I hope this doesn’t happen often. It’s been said that Col. Wildman Williams, known to close associates as Wild Bill, has been in twenty-five different blanks; one for as long as a year.

I heard footsteps coming towards me. I heard Capt. Murphy’s distinct voice ask, “How’s the patient, doc?”

Whoever the doctor was, he was outside my visual range. “See for yourself, captain. Obvious good blood flow. In an hour, we’ll be able to remove the restraints and we’ll see if all the vital brain to body connections are working correctly.”

Capt. Murphy said, “This surgery’s pretty reliable, right?”

The doctor chuckled. “I’ve never lost a patient yet. Sometimes some of the nerves in the spinal column don’t take right away. We can usually correct that in a later surgery. The lieutenant’s spinal column was in perfect shape despite the beating he took in the explosion. This was a text book case so we don’t anticipate any problems. After another hour’s rest and you’ll be able to leave with the lieutenant.”

Capt. Murphy leaned over me. His face was blurry, so I just assumed he smiled at me. “Looking good, Simmons. I won’t sugar coat it lieutenant. You not only looked like shit, but like a bag of ground up shit when they brought you in here. The only thing holding your skull together was your helmet.”

The doctor chuckled. “I thought you said you weren’t going to sugar coat it.”

I felt Capt Murphy pat my shoulder. “Simmons is a marine. Marines are used to being bags of shit. I’ll be back in an hour.”

The doctor laughed. “The lieutenant will be right here, captain.”

If I could, I would have shaken my head. Captain Murphy is one callous son of a bitch. You can call him all the names you want, but he does have your back. Shit, I remember seeing Reynolds as nothing more than a heart and lung and half a skull and Murphy got him back in time to transfer to a blank. He now commands his own platoon. You just have to ignore that weird tick he’s got.

I’m anxious to get out of this bed and back on my feet. I’m just not anxious to see the hideous form I now am. I’m definitely not picking up any chicks for a while. Well, there are some women who get off with blanks.

I think I kept dozing off, which is good. Time really drags when you’re stuck lying flat on your back and can’t move. I heard the doctor say to someone who just approached, “Ah, Capt. Murphy. We were just about to call for you. Lt. Simmons is ready to be discharged. Most patients leave in a wheelchair, but we need to be sure everything is working.”

As the nurse removed the restraints, Capt. Murphy said somewhat gruffly, “No bitching, Simmons. This was a rush job. Another hour and we’d never be able to extract that document stuck in your melon.”

As the nurse removed the last restraint, she said something really strange. “Okay, sweetie. Try to sit up.” I just shrugged it off.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and sat up. This didn’t feel right. I felt long strands of hair sweep across my naked back and a weight shift on my chest threw me off balance. What the hell? I looked down and hair fell into my eyes. I saw breasts. Breasts! On a blank? Blanks have no gender!

“Murph, is this some kind of sick joke?” I exclaimed as I took inventory of my body. “This isn’t a blank!” I jumped down from the bed and felt the painful bounce of tits on my chest.

Frowning, Capt. Murphy said, “I told you not to bitch about it. There was no choice. You either get this body or you get dead.”

I walked up to Captain Murphy and looked up at him and said, “But why a female? You’re even taller than me!”

Murphy shook his head. “Would you rather be dead?”

The doctor stepped next to me. “I’m very sorry Lieutenant Simmons. Trust me. We’d rather have used almost any option other than this. I had to get the admirals permission to use this body. The last several days of engagement has depleted our stock of blanks.”

I turned to the doctor and demanded, “But why a female? Don’t you normally use a condemned POW? Am I even an adult?”

The doctor shook his head. “The girl was sixteen.”

Shocked, I shouted, “You used a child? I thought you used condemned prisoners only?”

Captain Murphy said calmly, “They did. If I had waited much longer, the girl would have been executed.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Eh… executed? What the hell could a girl have done to warrant being executed?”

Capt. Murphy said, “She tossed a satchel charge into barracks with two hundred sleeping marines. She had come to get into a food line. And before anyone could stop her, she tossed the satchel into the barracks and killed a hundred and seventy-three marines in their sleep.”

“Holy shit.” I shook my head. “But what happens to me? I can’t go into combat as a sixteen year old girl!”

Capt Murphy nodded. “Your combat days are done, that’s for sure. Let’s get you to the lab. Command wanted that done yesterday.”

I exclaimed, “I still haven’t gotten over the shock of becoming a girl! I don’t even have a uniform!”

Capt. Murphy grabbed one of the ties from my hospital gown and tugged. “Oh grow a pair. I have orders to get you to the lab the moment you wake up.”

A nurse handed me some scrubs and said, “Please, captain. Let the girl put these on.”

The doctor said, “It is against regulations to run around naked aboard this vessel.”

The nurse helped me put on the scrubs. I noticed the size was small. This was ridiculous. Surely they can’t mean to keep me in this condition.

I ran behind Captain Murphy as he hurried through the companion way. I cried out, “Can you slow down, Murph? I don’t have shoes and stepping on this metal hurts.”

Captain Murphy glanced behind him. “Stop complaining.”

I stopped and just stood in the middle of the companionway with my arms folded. It felt weird touching my own breasts. Captain Murphy continued on a short way before he discovered I was no longer behind him.

“Are you coming?” he asked, motioning me to follow.

“No!” I shouted. “This is insane. I… I… I… wake up as a girl. You try to drag me through the ship naked. I’m owed a debriefing on my status.

Capt Murphy walked back towards me. He started to poke me in the chest before thinking better of it. “I’m putting my ass in a sling for you, Simmons. Command wanted me to bring you straight to the lab while you were still nothing more than a blob. They want the intel. They don’t care about you. Command isn’t happy I wasted time getting permission to use a prisoner for your new body. The press will have a field day. Let’s get the intel and then we can slow down and figure out what to do with you.”

I narrowed my eyes on Capt. Murphy. “What do you mean we’ll figure out what to do with me? I’m a commissioned officer attached to your mission, right?”

Captain Murphy suddenly looked sad. He said, “No. You’re not. Col. Wild Bill doesn’t want children in the ranks. We’re mercs. The press already hates us. Can you imagine the uproar if they learn we have a sixteen year old girl?”

I exclaimed, “But I’m not a child! You know who I am! Transfer my brain to a new host. I’m sure we have some new prisoners by now.”

The only time I’ve ever seen Capt. Murphy look defeated. “Strict rule, no children in the ranks. Strict rule number two, once you’ve been transferred to an actual human host, you can’t be transferred again. I’m sorry.”

I just stood there. I couldn’t believe it.

Captain Murphy started walking down towards the lab. He stopped when he saw I wasn’t following. He gestured for me to follow. “Come with me little girl. We need that intel.”

As I caught up with Murphy, I asked, “What’s the deal calling me a little girl?”

Captain Murphy stopped walking and turned to face me. When I got up next to him, he towered over me. “You’re little and you’re a girl. Any other dumb questions, lieutenant?”

I sighed. “I guess not.”

Oddly enough, we stopped right in front of the lab’s entrance. Murphy pushed a button and the door slid open. “I think we’re expected.” I followed Murphy through the door.

The lead technician in the lab came out of his office, someone named Doctor Grundy, and grinned at us. “Gentlemen! Um, er, ladies and gentlemen. I’m glad you’re here. Everything is set up so we can start without delay.” He pointed behind him and then started walking to the rear of the lab.

As we passed by computers, techs, monitors and various equipment, I would have no trouble believing that the lab consumed half of the ship’s power. That’s always been the rumor, but damn! Just look at all this stuff.

As we entered the small equipment filled room, the lab tech said, “Now miss. If you’ll just remove your blouse and hop up on the chair.” I’ve done this before and thought that an odd request.

Frowning, Dr. Grundy spun around and sternly said, “Belay that miss. Jordan, knock it off. Can’t you see this is a child?” To me, Dr. Grundy said, “You don’t have to disrobe, miss. But please climb into the chair.”

The chair was elevated on a dais, and they had provided steps to help getting seated. The chair hummed menacingly and I felt uncomfortable sitting in it. Jordan then strapped a five point webbing and cinched it tight. What the hell? He then held out a small plastic rod with wires on each end.

Jordan said flatly, “Please bite down on this, miss.” When I did, he snapped a cage across my jaw and tightened it. ‘Try to avoid moving your head around during the procedure.” Couldn’t the idiot tell I was completely immobilized?

Captain Murphy grinned at me. “Just relax, lieutenant. This process will hurt you far more than it will hurt me.” He chuckled.

Dr. Grundy gave me a wry smile. “You know that there’s some pain involved, miss. But you’ve changed since the last time you were our customer. Be advised miss, that women are more sensitive to this process than men. You may feel a desire to crawl out of your skull, but that’s normal for females. It’s strictly transitory and ends immediately upon cessation of the process.” This just gets better.

Jordan lowered a cable festooned head set that covered my whole head. He said, “You’re lucky, sweetie. We installed this headset just six months ago. The previous one required us to shave your head. You have such pretty hair, it’d been a shame to shave it.” He then slapped a few switches and shouted, “Ready doc!”

Dr. Grundy sat down at the device’s console. “At first, miss, you’ll experience some mild discomfort. And then you’re hit with some serious pain. Just try to relax. You don’t have to do anything other than sit there and look pretty.” Can I beat this guy up?

I have done this before so I hope the doc was just trying to scare me. It’s uncomfortable to be sure, but I never experienced anything like what he was telling me. I felt a buzzing in my head when he started the process. There’s a virtual pointer they call a cursor he moves around inside my head which feels really weird. Then he hit me with the full strength and he wasn’t kidding about wanting to crawl out of your brain. All my muscles tensed. And then I understood the restraints. I’m not ashamed I actually screamed.

Five teeth gritting minutes later, he turned off the machine. I slumped in the chair exhausted.

As Jordan started removing the restraints, Dr. Grundy tapped his monitor and said, “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” He then handed Murphy a shiny data cube. “Perfect image. Very clear. I commend you on your outstanding memory, miss. That’s it. We’re done. Have a nice day and all that.”

I was actually shaking a bit as I slid out of the chair. That was the worst experience I’ve ever had doing a memory extraction. I think Dr. Grundy just hates girls. I followed Capt. Murphy out of the lab.

As we stood outside the lab’s entrance, Murphy turned to me and asked, “Are you okay? You look kinda pale.”

I stood next to Capt. Murphy taking in some deep breaths. “That was terrible.”

Murphy chuckled. “Well, he did warn you.” He then looked at his communicator for a moment. He raised his eyebrows as he looked over at me. “Come along, girl. We need to find a uniform that fits you. You should feel privileged. Wild Bill himself has requested your presence.”

I looked at Murphy surprised. “What the fuck?”

Capt. Murphy shrugged. “I didn’t’ tell you. But on the way to the lab, I was informed you were reduced to civilian status and to drop you off planet-side at the UCP orphanage for safe-keeping. But now you’ve been re-instated as lieutenant.”

Shocked, I asked Murphy, “You wouldn’t have done that, would you?”

Again he shrugged. “Orders are orders, girl. I mean, lieutenant. Let’s get you a uniform.”

As we walked down the gangway to a lower level, Capt. Murphy asked, “So how are you doing, lieutenant? Does that girl host feel okay?”

I shrugged. “Oddly, I feel perfectly normal. It’s as if I’ve always been this way. Everything seems to work. At least they got my eyes in the proper sockets. Remember Ensign Russell? It was bad, but also hilarious.”

Murphy chuckled as we entered the ship’s exchange. “We’ll see how you feel when you start that monthly thing.”

I sighed heavily. “Ah shit. That’s right. I’ll have a period. Being female is a gift that just keeps on giving, isn’t it?”

Murphy grinned as he said, “You can stop having a period for a while.”

I just looked at Muprhy and asked, “How?”

Laughing, Murphy said, “Get pregnant. Now let’s get you a uniform.”

A woman walked up to us and gave me an odd look at me dressed in the ill fitting scrubs. She turned to Captain Murphy to ask, “What can we do for you today, captain?”

Pointing at me, Capt. Murphy said, “This girl needs a regulation uniform.”

She looked at me curiously and again asked Murphy, “Yes, sir. Is she a cadet?”

I muttered, “I’m standing right here.”

Murphy chuckled. “Ah no. She’ll need lieutenant insignia.”

The woman looked confused. “Are you sure, captain? She looks what? Fourteen? Fifteen?”

Frowning, I said, “I’m sixteen.”

The woman looked from me back to the captain. Murphy said, “She’s on a special assignment.”

The woman said, “Oh.” She suddenly smiled knowingly at Murphy. “Oh!”

Murphy stifled a laugh.

I looked at Murphy and asked, “Am I missing something?”

The woman giggled and looked to me. “Right this way, miss. Let’s get you fitted.”

We went into a back room where the woman looked me up and down while saying “Mmmmmm”. She then pulled a uniform from the rack. It was light blue and resembled dungarees, with a very short, pleated skirt. She handed it to me. “Here. Try this. It’s really cute. A lot of women are wearing this style these days.”

I looked at the uniform dubiously. “Are you sure?”

The woman nodded. “The captain asked for regulation. That’s the most feminine uniform that’s regulation.” She grinned at me. “The colonel is going to really like you.”

“Hey wait. The insignia is on the wrong collar,” I said after noticing she’d pinned the lieutenant insignia on incorrectly.

She giggled. “Does it matter?”

I frowned and said, “Of course it matters.” I re-pinned the insignia and then went into the changing room. I had removed the top of the scrubs when the woman entered the room with me.

“I just realized you don’t have any undies,” she said with a giggle. “I’ll help you size the bra. Slip into these panties real quick.” At first I was completely embarrassed to undress in front of this woman. Then I thought what the hell? How many naked women does she see in a day?

As I tossed the scrubs to the floor and took the panties from her, she grinned at me. “Oh yeah. The colonel is really going to like you.”

I frowned as I took the bra from her. “I’m not a prostitute!” She just nodded as she adjusted the fit of my new bra.

I stepped into the uniform and pulled the dress up. It was all one piece. And holy crap was it short.

I narrowed my eyes at the woman. “Are you sure this is regulation?” I tugged on the hem of the skirt.

She nodded at me. “Yes, ma’am. You look cute. Oh. Dora’s still here. Would you like her to do your make-up? I noticed you’re not wearing any.”

I shook my head. “I’ll pass.”

Grinning, she said, “Well, I think we’ve kept the captain waiting long enough. Follow me.”

We stepped back out to where Murphy was waiting. His grin was wide. “Well lieutenant. You certainly cleaned up nicely. We need to go. Wild Bill has already sent me two notices.”

As we exited the exchange, the woman smiled and said, “Have fun!”

I said to Murphy, “You are taking me to a briefing, right?”

Capt. Murphy just chuckled.

I followed Murphy through the twisty passages as we made our way to the executive quarters. It was a wide area and actually had a receptionist. Wild Bill certainly liked to live large.

The receptionist looked at us when we arrived. I was surprised she didn’t stand for Capt. Murphy or salute. She pointed behind her desk and said, “Colonel Williams is expecting you and the girl, captain. You may enter the conference room. She looked at me with disdain. I noticed she was wearing a longer skirt than I was.

I took a deep breath and swallowed. Talk about nervous. It’s rare to get an audience with Wild Bill himself. I followed Murphy into the room.

There were six men in the room when we entered. It was a sparsely furnished room. A large monitor on the far wall and a large table in the middle ringed with chairs. One person was standing and he gestured us inside. The other five had their backs to us.

The man standing was undoubtedly Wild Bill. About in his early forties and chiseled good looks with a minor scar on this forehead, close cropped hair and a bushy moustache.

One of the seated men turned to greet us. His smile faded immediately as his face turned red. He leapt to his feet as he drew his pistol. Another man reacted the same. Murphy pulled me behind him.

The first man shouted, “It’s her! That terrorist bitch who killed my men!”

I screamed. I really need to get a handle on my girlishness.

Wild Bill shouted, “Stand down! Stand down!” Everyone was standing now, hands on their weapons.

The second man to stand, still holding his weapon scowled in anger. “What’s that bitch doing here? I thought she was to be executed!”

Wild Bill again shouted. “Stand down. Everybody calm the fuck down.” Pointing at me, he said, “That’s not her.”

Still holding his weapon, the first man who stood, Captain Ryeback I think, said, “What do you mean that’s not her?”

Wild Bill glared and said, “Secure your weapon, Ryeback. No. That’s not her. That’s her shell, but it’s not her. Everyone stand for the lady. This is Lieutenant Simmons.” Murphy pulled me back out in front of him. As they all stood, I felt very small.

Pointing at me, Wild Bill said, “The lieutenant left half his body on the planet to bring us the documents that the Council is now using to finally convince themselves we have a war on our hands, as well as disrupting enemy communications.” He stepped around the table and extended his hand towards me. “Damn fine work, lieutenant.”

I hesitated to take his hand. With a worried expression I blurted, “I’m not having sex with you.”

Wild Bill laughed heartily. “This is indeed disappointing, lieutenant. I do enjoy a good screamer. But that’s not why you’re here. Why would you think that?”

I looked at my feet. “When I was being fitted for a uniform, the woman in the exchange seemed to suggest that I …uh…”

Wild Bill shook his head. “I do apologize, Lieutenant Simmons. That’s fall out from the my birthday last year when my officers brought in some dancing girls – just for dancing – and had taken them to get fitted for uniforms. I’ll have a talk with them. Have a seat.”

I sat in the chair next to Murphy as everyone else sat down as well. Two of the captains in the meeting I’d never seen before. As an ensign, I was under Captain Morris. Since it was his army, Wild Bill used naval ranks for officers. I could never figure out why he used colonel for his own rank. He could have used general, admiral, king…whatever he wanted.

The wall monitor lit up as Wild Bill said, “Let’s get down to business. Lieutenant Simmons, as I’m sure Captain Murphy probably already told you, I had dropped you from our ranks. As a child, it would be a huge liability to retain you on a combat force. The media and our enemies would have a field day with that.”

Interrupting, I protested, “But I’m not really sixteen, Colonel.”

Shaking his head, Wild Bill said, “Doesn’t matter. The truth is always the first casualty with the media. But anyway, there’s a loophole we can exploit. To save your brain, we had no choice but to use the body of a terrorist girl that was scheduled for execution. We can actually use this to our advantage.”

A picture appeared on the wall display. The picture had been taken with a telephoto lens. The picture was of two teens. A boy and a girl.

Wild Bill pointed at the picture. “I’m sure you all recognize the girl in this picture. She is now Lieutenant Simmons. At the time of this picture, just six months ago, she was a local girl named Rose. She was recently a resident of the shelter for homeless children of the planet’s capitol. The boy is named Jack. We have no history of him at all. He didn’t show up until the Delcrons landed forces here. We suspect he’s a spy and a saboteur. He’s managed to enlist several of the children at the shelter to the Delcron cause. The most important one is Rose, was basically his girlfriend. He obviously doesn’t really care about her as he sent her on a suicide mission to kill our marines.”

I just sat there, unsure of what to think. “This kid sent his girlfriend, someone he cares about on a mission that could have and well, did get her killed? How could he do that?”

Wild Bill nodded. “That’s what we need to find out. We have no direct ties between him and the terrorist activities that are plaguing the capitol. But these activities only started after he showed up at the shelter. The shelter tells us he’s a quiet, nice boy around eighteen years old. He makes friends quickly. And Rose was a well liked and trusted girl. She’d bring the troops food, snacks, drinks, whatever. Everyone was shocked when she destroyed those barracks. According to the shelter, Rose and Jack were spending a lot of time together. Occasionally, they’d leave the shelter together.”

I asked, “I don’t understand. Why not just bring him in for questioning? Bring in a bunch of kids so it doesn’t look like he’s being singled out.”

Captain Ryeback snorted. “You don’t think we haven’t? We’re either on the wrong track, or he has a very disciplined mind. We can’t use extreme interrogation methods on a child even if he’s eighteen. We’d lose our license from the UCP.”

Wild Bill sat on the edge of the table. “And this is where you come in, Simmons. You’re his girlfriend, or so he thinks. He might share information with you accidently.”

I fidgeted with my hands. “I don’t want to be someone’s girlfriend.”

Wild Bill shrugged. “Understandable. But we’ll just leave you at the shelter. You’ll still have to deal with Jack but you’ll be out of the war.”

I glared at Wild Bill. “That’s it? I’m stuck being a girlfriend either way.”

Murphy asked, “What do you expect us to do? Col. Williams sells the image of a wild and crazy bunch of mercenaries, but if we don’t follow the UCP rules and regs, we get our license revoked. Like it or not, you’re sixteen years old and there’s not one damned thing we can do about it. You can volunteer to be an undercover agent. You stay in the game. You retain your rank and you go with us when we leave.”

I frowned at Murphy. “Is that the best offer you can make?”

Wild Bill shrugged. “Under the circumstances. I don’t know if this helps any, but before we stuck your brain into that host, we did a physical examination and you’ll be happy to know you’re still a virgin.”

“Not really,” I said dourly.

Wild Bill said, “What’s your decision, lieutenant? Just remember, as our spy, we won’t abandon you. In fact, in a week or so, we’ll send Murphy down to replace the current UCP garrison commander. We suspect he’s been compromised.”

I scowled at Wild Bill. “I’m not left with much choice. I’ll do it.”

Wild Bill grinned. “Good girl! Murphy was sure we could count on you. But be advised, Simmons. Despite your training and rank, you are no longer authorized to handle military weapons. That’s not to say you can’t defend yourself. Good luck, Rose.” He saluted me.

Murphy stood up and said, “Let’s go, Simmons.”

As we walked out of the meeting room, I turned to Murphy and said, “I’m scared.”

He flashed me an odd look. “Scared of what? You’re not going into a combat zone.”

I huffed and said, “I’m scared of boys.”

Murphy chuckled. “Naw. I bet you’re going to love boys. Have you seen yourself? Boys are going to love you.”

I folded my arms and glared at the floor. “You’re not helping.”

“Regardless, come with me to my quarters,” said Murphy. “You need to change into the clothes Rose was wearing when we captured her.”

“I hope you washed it,” I said wrinkling up my nose.

“That’s a negative, girl,” said Murphy. “You have to look just like she did at the time of capture.”

A few hours later after I had gotten some sleep, Murphy led me down to the hanger deck. I climbed into the passenger seat. Captain Murphy said, “The pilot will set you down east of the children’s shelter. Just follow the road. It should be mostly safe, so don’t mind the burned out buildings.”

I looked up at Murphy. “But at this time, it’s still dark down there!”

Murphy shook his head. “How stealthy are you going to look being delivered in broad daylight in one of Wild Bill’s scout ships? Just hunker down until daylight. You remember your cover story?”

I looked at him as if he was crazy. “Are you crazy? Who has the photographic memory here?”

Murphy shook his head. “Just be careful, keep your knees together and let us know what you find out.”

I nodded. “I’ll do my best, Murph.”

Murphy tapped the pilot’s helmet twice and the canopy started to lower. The pilot guided his craft over to a launch tube. Moments later we were shot out of the tube on a landing curve to the planet’s surface.

Most of the night surface was dark with only a few spots of light. So most of the planet is uninhabited. Why is blood and treasure being spilt for this rock? Both sides want to add it as a member system. I guess the extremely high mineral content is one reason.

The pilot set the scout’s skids in the dirt by an abandoned farmhouse outside of the capitol. “I’ve scanned thirty klicks perimeter. It’s all clear, miss.” He popped the canopy. “Take care and thanks for flying Wild Bill’s space taxi service.” He then chuckled.

“Thanks for the lift,” I said as I tapped his helmet twice. I stepped back a few feet. Dust swirled around as he fired his thrusters and he jetted back up into the sky. The sky was totally brilliant with stars. The only light at all was star light. I sat and leaned up against the farmhouse wall. I’ll just wait here until daybreak. I was not looking forward to this assignment.

I must have fallen asleep as I woke up, but chilled and stiff as red streaks spread across the dawn sky. I wiped the dirt from my black pants. I wasn’t exactly the height of fashion. I also had on a white shirt a black pattern printed on it. I had on boots. They were pretty nice. I wondered where Rose got them. I’m sure she didn’t get them from the shelter.

In the brightening sky, I could see a dirt road leading in both directions from the farmhouse. I needed to head west, and as the sun rises in the east, I knew which way I should go.

It didn’t take long to arrive at the outskirts of the capitol. The streets were paved and there was actual vehicular traffic. Several buildings had lights on. You almost wouldn’t know there was a war going on.

I carefully picked my way between buildings. I had a vague idea where the shelter was. The morning was getting bright. I felt vulnerable being alone as a girl. What few people I saw greeted me pleasantly enough.

As I got closer to the shelter, there were kids out playing around the street. There was a park across from the shelter with kids playing. In stark contrast to the kids playing, several soldiers patrolled the streets.

As I started to round the corner of a building, my arm was suddenly grabbed and I was spun around. A shocked looking boy held my arm. “Rose!”

“Jack,” I said as I recognized him.

I was pushed against the wall as his lips pressed into mine. I started to push him back, but remembered he’s supposed to be my boyfriend. I put my arm around his neck and kissed him back. His lips were soft and so full of passion. I know it’s crazy as I’ve only been a girl for a day, but I really enjoyed being kissed by this boy. I tried to remind myself he’s a killer, but I couldn’t bring myself to believe it.

He pulled himself away from me and just stared at me. “Oh Rose! I was so afraid you were dead or captured when you didn’t come back.”

I grinned at Jack. “I’m hard to catch.”

Jack grinned back at me and then leaned in to kiss me again. I just melted.