- Chapter One
September 3, 2506
Astro Corps Academy Physical Training Simulator
07:40 GST-Z
- Oh God, my lungs are going to burst.
Kathleen Walters pushed through the final stages of the physical endurance trials. Every cadet at Astro Corps Academy had to go through this. Boot camp was done. Now came the endurance simulator, the last trial.
She had already run through simulated desert heat. Now she was climbing uphill as the simulator shifted to ten thousand feet above sea level. She had done some hiking in Colorado a few years back, but this was far worse. Her lungs ached. The treadmill kept speeding up. The air thinned.
Push past what you think is possible, she reminded herself.
Four circuits were required. She was now entering her sixth. The female freshman record was eight, set by Brenda Nelson, the same who had fought with Captain John Harrigan, who had just saved Earth from the Zontaerian Islamic Bloc invasion. Breaking that record would make her a legend.
The air grew heavier. Heat pressed down on her. It had been cold enough earlier that she had seen her breath, but now the air felt thick and wet. Her chest burned.
"Seventh circuit beginning," the computer announced.
Kat smiled. One more and she would tie the record. Only two other freshmen had ever done that. Sweat stung her eyes. She wiped it away, only making it worse.
"You will not stop now!" she shouted to herself.
Kat’s legs screamed, and her lungs were on fire. The heavy air was suffocating. But she knew the pain was just her brain begging her to quit. Then came the triple chime.
She raised her wrist. A hydration tube from her running suit dispensed a nutrient-rich blend of electrolytes and minerals. She sipped carefully.
Every twenty minutes, the suit gave her fluids. The instructors had drilled them on how to pace themselves. The simulator monitored vitals and pace. Fall below the required rhythm, and it will issue a warning. Three warnings, and the trial ended. But she was beyond the minimum now. She could stop. She wouldn't.
Her steps became harder. The treadmill was simulating terrain: mud, sand, bogs. Magnetic resistance made each step a battle. She smiled. They want me to break. Not happening.
"You will not beat me! Bring it on!" she yelled.
The simulator’s lights shifted. The screen showed a muddy swamp. She pictured her father, who had died in the Battle for Earth six months ago. She could hear his voice encouraging her.
The image changed. The air lightened, but the heat intensified. Eighth circuit.
She checked the chronometer. Nearly three hours in. She was nearing marathon time.
The screen displayed a sunbaked lakebed. Cracked earth. Bright light. She squinted. Her mouth was dry. She forced her imagination not to dwell on the dust. Kat had run cross-country in high school, but Vega Two’s mild climate was nothing like this. She had never run in such miserable conditions until she came to Houston.
Kat neared her breaking point. She pushed on, remembering her father’s words:
You never do great things until you push yourself beyond what you think is possible.
He was right. One more circuit, and she would tie Nelson’s record. Her throat burned. Fans blasted hot air. Dust spun on the screen. A gust nearly knocked her off balance.
She stumbled but recovered. The chime sounded, and Kat sipped her fluid while the lights dimmed. Wind roared again, but now it was freezing. A snow-covered mountain appeared on the screen.
It got steeper uphill. The treadmill angled higher. Magnets fought her every step. Her lungs burned in the frigid air.
Her legs threatened to cramp. She pushed the thought away. She was a believer in the power of suggestion. No weakness allowed.
She slogged on. The suit would keep her from freezing, but not from feeling pain. She pumped her legs harder.
This was it. Break this circuit, and she would own the record.
The chime sounded. This cycle was the shortest yet. The fluid barely touched her.
She was in agony.
The incline increased. She kept going. She was wobbling now. Kat’s legs were bricks. Her chest heaved. Her hair, soaked with sweat, was freezing.
Then the treadmill leveled. Wind stopped. The air thickened. The screen showed a rainforest.
"Tenth circuit beginning," the computer said.
She had done it.
"I quit," Kat whispered.
The treadmill slowed into a cooldown. She walked as instructed, took her fluids, and obeyed the final prompts on instinct alone.
The simulator doors opened. Medics entered.
Kat collapsed. - "Hey Kat, wake up!" Fran Corsaci said, shaking Kathleen’s sore and stiff body.
"Knock it off, Fran!" Kat smiled as she painfully rolled over.
"You are the talk of the campus, girl! I can’t believe it. My roommate is the talk of the campus. Nelson’s freshman record? Do you realize the mark you broke this morning?"
"Fran, all I did was try to do my best and refuse to quit. I did nothing great."Kat sat up propped up by her pillows.
"Bullshit someone else, or even yourself if you’d like, but don’t bullshit me!"
Fran was a Jersey girl in every sense of the word. Big city, no-nonsense, and impossible to fool. She and Kathleen had become fast friends during the boot camp they endured together over the summer.
Kat had been awake once earlier when doctors inserted her IV for nutrient feeding. She was suffering from exhaustion and fatigue, but given the feat she had accomplished that morning, it was not surprising. Her conditioning, though not designed for marathon distances, helped her avoid serious complications.
When Nelson set the female record years ago, the infirmary kept her laid up for two days. Kat wondered how long the doctors would keep her.
Now that she was fully awake, hunger stabbed at her stomach. The IV had sustained her body, but she needed proper food.
"Hey Fran, how about trying to get some food brought in here?"
"Not chow time yet, Kat, but they’ll feed you. Until then, here—"
Fran handed her a small protein wafer.
"You were squirreling those away, weren’t you?" Kat raised an eyebrow.
"I figured, what the hell? Besides, some of the chow line food is so horrid, I’d rather munch one of those than eat the slop from the Academy kitchen."
"You better get used to the food here, Fran. Once we’re ship bound, I hear it only gets worse."
"Yeah, I know." Fran rolled her eyes.
Kat raised the bed to a sitting angle. Even that seemed to drain what little energy she had. She lifted the wafer to her lips. Thankfully, it was one of the fruit-flavored ones. Cherries and apples flooded her mouth.
Finishing it, she looked over at Fran, who was now in her cadet uniform. Kathleen smiled.
"It’s about time you noticed. Nice, huh?"
"You wear it well. So how did you do?"
"Oh well, I ain’t no record-breaker. But I did one circuit past the requirement. That was before they told us someone had collapsed in the simulator going the distance." Fran pointed at Kat.
"Yeah, well, I wish I didn’t feel like crap right now."
"Cheer up, Kat. Once I heard it was you, I had to come check on you."
"Where are you supposed to be right now?"
"Marching on the Promenade in about—"
Fran checked her chronometer.
"Shit! I’m supposed to be there in six minutes and that’s clear across campus!"
"You’d better move it. Double time!" Kat called as Fran bolted, nearly knocking over a nurse entering the room.
"Late for something?" the nurse asked, pointing after Fran.
"Marching drills on the Promenade."
"Well, if an upperclassman stops her for running like that, she’ll be on report. You only get three as a freshman before you get shipped." The nurse wagged a finger in Fran’s direction.
"I know. So will I be on report if I miss drill tonight?"
"Oh no. The brass is giving you a pass until we clear you. Enjoy it. It’ll be the last rest you get before the semester ends."
Kat nodded. She recognized good advice when she heard it. Her eyes drifted closed.
Sleep came quickly.