lying on the floor. She even kicked a shin guard into the wall.
Jana crawled into bed and glanced at the picture sitting in its frame on the stand, wishing with all of her being she could be back there, frozen in that moment.
And cried.
12. Assignment
The next morning, it took a minute before the memories of the night before flooded back to her. Jana rubbed the sleep from her eyes and licked her dry lips. She could taste the salty remnants of the tears from last night.
Angry with herself, she took great care in picking up the pieces of armor and placing them gently in their foam lining. When she snapped the locks shut, she imagined locking the memories of the night before in there, too. She took a shower, hoping it would wash away all the tension and negativity bottled up inside her.
It didn’t work. Jana’s stomach grumbled, and she begrudgingly made her way to the mess hall. So awful was her mood that she didn’t even stop to look out the orbital station at the planet below. It was rust colored and tinged with blue, composed of mostly iron and cobalt. From here, the planet sparkled. It’d been more than five hundred years since the Fall, since the Government came to power and instated the Planetary Restoration Act. Jana often wondered if she’d ever get the chance to look up through the atmosphere of a planet instead of down at one.
She brought the food back to her room. Everyone in the mess hall was talking excitedly about the party, and she wanted no reminders. She sat on the couch and logged into the mainframe. URGENT MAIL flashed across the screen. And urgent is never good. “Open.”
A buzzer went off in her room. The little video monitor on the wall next to the door showed a fully-uniformed soldier Jana didn’t recognize. Before she could get up, the door opened on its own. Only the station security team had override capabilities for dormitories and other lock codes.
He pushed his way into the room. “Ma’am, I need you to come with me immediately. Colonel Vacero has been looking for you.” That’s probably what the message was.
“What’s going on?” Jana stood up, frowning.
“I don’t know. I don’t have that information. All I know is that I need to get you to the briefing room. Now if you’ll excuse me, we have to go. Now. ”
Jana grabbed her shoes and looked down at herself. Shorts and a tank top. I’m gonna walk in there looking like a hobo. It couldn’t be helped. They’d just have to be understanding. He led her from the room. She barely managed to get her shoes on without falling over at the pace they were going. A few times she knocked into him. He grunted, but knew better than to complain. Jana cursed her short legs; his strides were twice hers, so she gracelessly half jogged alongside him.
They found the room and he opened the door for her, shoes untied, hair in a sloppy ponytail, face still puffy from all the crying. She caught her reflection in the door as it slid open. I look like a sea creature.
“Nice timing. We were just about to begin.”
“Yeah, nice timing.” The comment reeked of sarcasm. Jana’s mouth tightened into a hard line. Are you fucking kidding me right now? Of all the people... The rude girl from the party sat at the rectangular metal table. Passed out drunk last night and she still looks better than I do right now. She’d at least been able to get dressed properly in her uniform. And when I first met her, she seemed like such a nice girl.
Colonel Vacero stood near the wall opposite the door, and the three other people sitting at the table all faced him.
“Yeah, nice to see you, too.” Killing her with kindness seemed like a wonderful idea.
“Please be seated, Lieutenant Darren. We don’t have much time.” To her complete surprise—and relief—David was there too. She took the seat next to him. A thick burgundy folder lay in front of each of them. A mission? What? “You may open your folders. We had to put this team together in a
Jana crawled into bed and glanced at the picture sitting in its frame on the stand, wishing with all of her being she could be back there, frozen in that moment.
And cried.
12. Assignment
The next morning, it took a minute before the memories of the night before flooded back to her. Jana rubbed the sleep from her eyes and licked her dry lips. She could taste the salty remnants of the tears from last night.
Angry with herself, she took great care in picking up the pieces of armor and placing them gently in their foam lining. When she snapped the locks shut, she imagined locking the memories of the night before in there, too. She took a shower, hoping it would wash away all the tension and negativity bottled up inside her.
It didn’t work. Jana’s stomach grumbled, and she begrudgingly made her way to the mess hall. So awful was her mood that she didn’t even stop to look out the orbital station at the planet below. It was rust colored and tinged with blue, composed of mostly iron and cobalt. From here, the planet sparkled. It’d been more than five hundred years since the Fall, since the Government came to power and instated the Planetary Restoration Act. Jana often wondered if she’d ever get the chance to look up through the atmosphere of a planet instead of down at one.
She brought the food back to her room. Everyone in the mess hall was talking excitedly about the party, and she wanted no reminders. She sat on the couch and logged into the mainframe. URGENT MAIL flashed across the screen. And urgent is never good. “Open.”
A buzzer went off in her room. The little video monitor on the wall next to the door showed a fully-uniformed soldier Jana didn’t recognize. Before she could get up, the door opened on its own. Only the station security team had override capabilities for dormitories and other lock codes.
He pushed his way into the room. “Ma’am, I need you to come with me immediately. Colonel Vacero has been looking for you.” That’s probably what the message was.
“What’s going on?” Jana stood up, frowning.
“I don’t know. I don’t have that information. All I know is that I need to get you to the briefing room. Now if you’ll excuse me, we have to go. Now. ”
Jana grabbed her shoes and looked down at herself. Shorts and a tank top. I’m gonna walk in there looking like a hobo. It couldn’t be helped. They’d just have to be understanding. He led her from the room. She barely managed to get her shoes on without falling over at the pace they were going. A few times she knocked into him. He grunted, but knew better than to complain. Jana cursed her short legs; his strides were twice hers, so she gracelessly half jogged alongside him.
They found the room and he opened the door for her, shoes untied, hair in a sloppy ponytail, face still puffy from all the crying. She caught her reflection in the door as it slid open. I look like a sea creature.
“Nice timing. We were just about to begin.”
“Yeah, nice timing.” The comment reeked of sarcasm. Jana’s mouth tightened into a hard line. Are you fucking kidding me right now? Of all the people... The rude girl from the party sat at the rectangular metal table. Passed out drunk last night and she still looks better than I do right now. She’d at least been able to get dressed properly in her uniform. And when I first met her, she seemed like such a nice girl.
Colonel Vacero stood near the wall opposite the door, and the three other people sitting at the table all faced him.
“Yeah, nice to see you, too.” Killing her with kindness seemed like a wonderful idea.
“Please be seated, Lieutenant Darren. We don’t have much time.” To her complete surprise—and relief—David was there too. She took the seat next to him. A thick burgundy folder lay in front of each of them. A mission? What? “You may open your folders. We had to put this team together in a
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