Chapter 1

Ever since I was a child i always dreamed of the stars. I would reach up and wish i could just fly up there. In our world space was just a dream. I had that dream though and I knew one day I would reach this dream.

I became an astronaut and i trained in every way i could. I finished top of my class and was wanted by many space agencies. At first it was awkward being one of the youngest astronauts but i wouldn't let it bother me too much. It wasnt long after I became apart of this agency that I was already put i to a team and we began training. Our mission was to settle on Mars. At first the mission seemed normal. We'd be the first to successfully land on Mars. Not much was really said about any other attempts and everything was very hush hush. We had a team of seven. One of the team members was from the military and the four othe team members seemed to already know each other. We were told that we would have top notch gear and it was very new technology not know to the public. The most exciting thing was there would also be support animals going with us, two cats, Cleo and Hades. They were in fact trained astronauts, they even had badges too. So cute.

I remember seeing space ships and astronaut suits in the textbooks, online, and during tours, but nothing ever like this. It was almost like we were in a fantasy movie or like we had some kind of alien technology. Maybe this is why there were so many military personnel involved, I mean we even had military on our team. No one but me seemed to be too shocked but two of my team mates were totally fan girling over the ship. After we got done being shown all our fancy gear and where we would be staying, we were left alone to become acquainted with each other. Clover, Reed, Bently, Dr. White, and Clayton all already knew each other. Samatha was our military personnel and she immediately took command. I could tell no one really liked her but no one really objected.

"I am Samantha, I will be the team leader. Is there any questions?" everyone looked at each other. I could tell no one seemed to really care.

"Alright if there is no questions then i will excuse myself. I have other buisness to attend to." then she left. As soon as the door shut behind her Clayton and Bentley began laughing and mocking her. Then Clover walked over to me and sat down next to me and she waved.

"Hello, I'm clover. I sure you got all our names but I just wanted to introduce myself personally." she smiled.

"oh... hello. I'm Penelope. So... how do you all know each other exactly?" I asked shyly

"Well we have all grew up together and all joined together. We were all born into this agency in a way." she stopped and looked around. It was then i realized everyone was quietly watching. Dr. White sighed and walked over. She leaned down to clover.

"You know we aren't really aloud to talk about that right? Try not to share too much. okay." she pulled a chair over and sat next to her. Then everyone else moved closer.

I looked at everyone, confused I began to ask why but maybe i shouldn't. "So you are all close?" They all laugh and look at each other and nod.

"I thought taht since we were all being sent to Mars it wouldn't matter if i shared too much since we are a team and it iant like we are coming back." Clover says then sighs.

"I really can't wait to leave this planet." Clayton says then stretches. He looks at the clock. It is already starting to get late. He then gets up and starts to leave. "Goodnight everyone we going to have a long day tomorrow. I'm going to go ahead and try to sleep some." Then Reed gets up, "I guess I am going to go too. Goodnight everyone try not to have too much fun without me."

Bently leans over and reaches his hand out to me for a hand shake, "You can call me Ben by the way. I hope we don't scare you away. I hear you were top of your class. We could use some brains around here." we shake hands then he gets up and leaves the room quietly.

Now it is just me, Clover, and Dr. White left. they look at each other and laugh a little then look at me. "I guess that makes it a girls night." we all laugh a little but something just doesnt feel right. Maybe it is just that I dont have much experience being around people. Clover and Dr. White seem really seem nice though. Dr. White jumps up and leaves the room to return with a cat under each arm. She is smiling so big. The cats aren't though.

"You haven't gotten to meet Cleo and Hades yet!" Cleo is a fluffy calico with beautiful blue eyes and Hadea is a pitch black bob tail with golden angry eyes. Before she can set them down Hades frees himself from her Dr. White's arms and leaps onto my lap. He is a lot heavier then he looks. She laughs, "He never wants to sit in my lap." she them pouts and he glares at her for a moment and then looks at me. I begin to pet him and he lays down. "Now I'll be here all night." We laugh.

The following day we begin training. Today we started with disaster training. We had to practice what to do if we get hit by an asteroid or if there is a fire and of course machine failures. We trained how to run the fancy ship. The ship is a lot bigger then it looks. Even the cats ran around the ship with us. They seemed more familiar with it then the rest of us. We had to move around in our suits as well and they don't even look like astronaut suits that I learned about. They are not bulky and the air tanks are slim. It was a lot simplier then I thought. It was just uncomfortable because the layer that is skin tight kept giving me a wedgy. Even the cats had little suits, which was adorable. Then we talked about what our mission would be. We would be preparing Mars for colonies, which meant starting gardens if possible and mapping out the safest areas. Ben was our map maker and Clover was the botanist. Clover looked really excited about having plants on mars. It was a very eventful day.

The next day we had to have our bodies get use to high speeds and stay in our suits for long periods of time. We are given detailed tours of the ship and everyone is told there roles. Bentley being the engineer would be incharge of the engine and maintenance. Clayton is the pilot and Reed is his co-pilot. Samantha is the team leader, she monitors everything to make sure everything is working properly. Clover is to help Clayton is the engines. Dr. White is the ships doctor. I am doing all the little things. I guess so I'm out of the way since I'm inexperienced. The we were informed that our ship is the first of its kind and that it doesn't move like any other ship recorded. Ours would get us to our destination within a month. "impossible" why is it that I'm just now learning this. I seem to be the only one surprised by this. Everyone else is just happy they don't have to sit in a ship for years. How do we have such advanced equipment. Nothing like this is documented.