Spark

Propelled through space, the soldiers launch into the new realities of war. Although there is no window, Blake can feel they are traveling at acellerated speeds. Servers hand out one meal before arriving at Loki station, a short distance from the Earth’s moon. Commander Pixar, an older man with a curly mustache, stands up from his seat.

“Soldiers disembarking at Loki station have five minutes to exit the carrier.”

“Take care, brother,” says Alex.

“Thanks, you too,” says Daniel.

“We’ll see you soon,” says Blake.

“Yes,” says Daniel.

Alex and Blake hugged Daniel. They watched his silhouette against the lights of the terminal.

Daniel stands at attention at the entrance of Loki Station. Loki Station is a flat, dull building inside a behemoth spacecraft that orbits the moon. Daniel spots a flash of silver in the sky. Blake and Alex are hurdling toward Mars’s Reburst Station.

A week later, the silver carrier descends into Mars's atmosphere. Thud-dunk! The soldiers prepare their belongings and file in an orderly line. Walking into a connecting disembarkment area into the underground tunnel. Blake’s nose twitches with the Martian dirt.

The walls are of a red and brown mud material, thick and dusty as they twist in all directions around the soldiers. The walls and ceilings blend with the walls. Up and down become an illusion for one’s brain. There are markers every few meters to different rooms, such as Laboratory 1A or Cafeteria. Commander Pixar hands a piece of thick, waxy paper to each person.

“Remember this map for quick action in an emergency,” says Commander Pixar.

“We will split you into groups or assignments when we call your name. Follow your commander to your dormitory,”

A petite female Commander Lee calls Alex to her group. Blake follows Commander Pixar’s groups.

Commander Pixar points out the main areas as they pass by. Blake notices they walk past the primary command in the center and then to the left wing of the building. The air is mustier, so they are deeper in the ground, Blake notes. They stop at Dormitory 3C.

“Wake-up time is 05:00 Mars Time; the clock will be your new friend,”

He closes the thick metal door and lets them rest. Blake had finally gotten used to the feeling of the earth during his time on Earth. The solid ground feels different, deeper underground.

Excitement is as if a bottle uncorked when the group chooses a bunk bed and has time to unwind.

Green blankets over his body, Blake tries to sleep the first night on Mars. He places his finger on his wrist and feels his pulse quicken. Anxiety creeps up inside him with a heavy chest. He tries to take deep breaths in and out. He wishes to engage in mechanical work to keep busy. His mind drifts to Lily and her warmth. Blake thinks of his father and his project with the Vexes, and the unknown of their future. Blake prays for his family and friends. Blackness unfolds behind Blake’s eyelids.

An alarm wakes all the dormitories of lower rank at 05:00 Mars time. Blake’s days start with a cool shower in an aluminum tiled bathroom. Blake feels calm as water swirls into the drain, following a trail of silver lines on the floor. The aluminum floor allows for fun sliding.

“Woah Ho!”

As a unit, they have breakfast together. Afterward and they disperse to their mechanical courses. Each individual has a specialty; Blake belongs to the wiring team. Lunch divides their mechanical training. In the evening, they enter either physical training or lectures. The day ends after dinner with their dismissal to the dormitory.

A week later, Alex sits next to Blake at lunch. This is the only time their schedules coincide. Alex fidgets in his round stool seat. About to ask Alex why he is so unwound, Alex interrupts Blake in mid-thought.

“This afternoon we have hand-to-hand combat training together,” says Alex.

“Oh yeah, sounds exciting. Are we expecting to hand fight the aliens?” says Blake.

“I could beat you in a fight,” says Alex.

“Don’t be too sure,” says Blake.

“We’ll see,” says Alex.

Blake and Alex clear their trays and gather with their respective units. As Alex had said, they would be in a training room, 1B, together. Commander Lee walked in the front, while Commander Pixar walked in the rear.

Training room 1B is full of black mats lining the floor and punching equipment in the corner. In the center of the room is a tall, lean man.

“I am Sergeant Todd. I will explain hand-to-hand self-defense techniques.”

Sergeant Todd pairs them after showing them basic and advanced techniques. In pairs, the soldiers try the techniques with each other for attacks and blocks. Streaks of sweat ran down the soldiers’ shirts.

“Thank you, Sergeant Todd. We will go to our lecture now,” says Commander Lee.

As everyone enters the Laboratory, they fill in the chairs to the entire capacity. A woman dressed in a white coat brings a familiar memory to Blake. His father, in a lab coat, arrived from work aboard the Oasis.

“Hello, I am Scientist Jane. Refer to the information in front of you as I go through the presentation,” says Scientist Jane.

A light source lights up a projector at the front of the room.

“The IFF got images of the invades from our interstellar probes. We captured five distinct individual entities on this image.”

Everyone leaned in closer to get a closer glimpse while holding their breaths.

Jane presents the following information: These invaders are seven to eight feet tall. The shape resembles that of an Earth mulberry leaf. These life forms are in a biped form.

The probe captured this image outside of their spacecraft. We estimate the thickness of their build at 0.2-0.25 meters. A leaf requires the process of photosynthesis, which needs water, sunlight, and air as we know it on Earth. One possibility is the Leafeans. The invaders either have lost their Sun or an element in their biome. Thus, leading them to look for a new home planet in the Goldilocks zone. Of course, we are not discarding other possibilities.

“Questions?”

“Can we kill them with toxins?”

“We need a live specimen to experiment with lethal methods,”

“Was their planet like Earth?”

“If they live by photosynthesis, yes, very similar,”

Commander Pixar dismissed the units for dinner.

Meanwhile, Loki Station is in charge of communication and enemy movement tracking. On one green board was the tracking of the enemy movement, made possible by the space probes. One of Daniel’s unit mates notices movement on the green board.

“Look into probe 780,” says Daniel.

There is a row upon row of Leafeans space crafts. Daniel projects their trajectory. It is straight to Reburst Station. He does some calculations of speed, time, and space to find the time they have until engagement.

“Code 401,” says Daniel.

Daniel sends a message to Reburst Station.

A loud screeching alarm blares as Blake and his unit head to the dormitory. “Reburst Station is under attack. All units to their posts”

Leafeans proceed closer to an ember that is about to burn bright.