My name is Tepren Nasus, and I'm going to tell you the story of Jens Nera.
I met Jens on the bus that was taking us to the Army Space Center. She was sitting alone, so I sat down next to her due to lack of space. I introduced myself to her, hoping to break the ice a bit. When she told me that she was also heading to the ASC [1], I was surprised because she seemed younger than me. I guessed she was barely 20 years old, and I was right. At that moment, I only knew her first name and nothing else. She informed me that two other people from our bus were also going to the ASC, which increased the number from two to four. I then found out that she had the same assignment as me, D-203. So, we were heading to the same place.
Upon arriving at the ASC, we were amazed by the immense size of the Center. Space shuttles, spacecraft, everything was enormous. There were a lot of personnel present, and soldiers were waiting in the shuttles to depart for the space base. We were among the last arrivals for the morning, so we headed straight to the security barrier. We had to show our papers, certificates, and assignments. It was there that Jens and I learned that the two men who were with us also had assignment D-203. Security directed us towards a shuttle located quite far from the others. That's when we started chatting with the two other people, who turned out to be two brothers: Eder and Edel Lotha. Once inside the shuttle, we took the remaining seats and waited with the others to leave Earth. We saw other shuttles taking off, but ours was surprisingly calm. In the late morning, we finally took off towards the space base.
Thanks to a major technological advancement, we quickly reached the space base on the Moon. There, we had to present our assignments and all our documents again. After an hour on the Moon, we received a snack and the staff registered our belongings for the journey. Before leaving, I saw Jens talking to a man, but I didn't bother to find out who he was; after all, it didn't concern me.
The vessels that took us to Mars were huge ships capable of accommodating around fifty people, not including the crew. The space journey took place with 25 men and 25 women separated in a large room filled with bunks. Our belongings had already been prearranged. Boarding was imminent, and Jens found me just in time.
We were finally taking off for Mars.
On board the ship, the atmosphere was more like a "cruise", with a moderate speed. We were given uniforms, but our superiors remained invisible. Only the crew and staff instructed us on our tasks each time. This journey to Mars turned out to be quite boring, I must admit. During the trip, I noticed Jens' habit of spinning a coin in her hand. Otherwise, nothing extraordinary happened, except that Edel, Eder, Jens, and I quickly became friends, all eager to arrive on Mars.
A biosphere had been created on Mars by our ancestors to make it habitable. Earth colonists were sent and settled on the planet. Despite its smaller size than Earth, it was able to support human life. However, a race of unknown origin also made Mars their home, crossing the borders of the Inner and Outer Solar System. Their presence worried the Martian government, as they became violent towards the Earth-Martians, stealing, looting, killing, and arming themselves. For this reason, we were sent to Mars as scouting groups, tasked with training and securing the area where this humanoid race had settled. Although they numbered less than 2.000, we, the 300 soldiers sent to Mars for several consecutive weeks, were among the last arrivals.
A week and a half later, through the ship's portholes, we finally caught sight of Mars. Jens was extremely happy as if she had been waiting for this moment forever. She had often talked to me about her studies on planets, the Universe, and the stars, expressing her amazement at our ancestors' knowledge of the Universe. Mars had become a blue and habitable planet, hard to imagine for those who still perceived it as the red planet. We felt compassion for those who had started the Mars biosphere without seeing their work come to fruition. The people of the 22nd century remained a mystery, but thanks to them, Mars was now habitable.
Once on Mars, we discovered the grandeur of the training centers built there. Jens and the others were excited, expressing a joy and excitement reminiscent of childhood. We had always heard stories and seen images of Mars since childhood, without ever having been there. Other soldiers were due to arrive in the coming days, and our biggest question was how we would share the rooms.
I was eager to arrive on Mars because my brother Ader was already there. Although we were on the same team, I had not yet had the opportunity to discuss Jens' private life or family. I have always preferred to wait for her to talk about it herself. Upon our arrival on Mars, we were assigned to different Camps. Some were sent to Camp 2 or 3, while we were in the 1st. Fortunately, Jens and I were on the same team (the first), while Edel and Eder were on Team 2. My brother Ader was at Camp 1 and on Team 8.
In uniform and line by team, we were waiting to meet our superiors, including the General. We were told that the General would meet the teams one by one. Jens and I were in the front row, at attention, when the General finally approached. He began his speech about the importance of our mission here, walking in front of us, stopping in front of Jens, asking for his first and last name.
"Nera Jens."
The General, while smiling at him, told him that he recognized his face. It was at that moment that I learned details about Jens' family. The General then continued.
"A General father, a Lieutenant brother, and another Corporal. And you, how far do you intend to go?"
"I don't know, General."
"For now."
I didn't understand why the General was exposing Jens' life like this in front of us. He then stopped in front of me, asking for my first and last name, and if I had family in the Security Police. I replied that my brother Ader was also on Mars. The General confirmed knowing him and noted the striking resemblance between us. How could the General remember everyone? This was a question that I could only ask myself.
After his questions, the General asked us to follow him. We started walking, but the General was much faster, so much so that Team 2 and Corporal Nera joined us in peace. Jens took the opportunity to ask the Corporal how the accommodation would be arranged, with whom we would share the rooms. He told us that each would have their own individual room, which surprised us, but only Jens and another member of team 2 expressed it out loud. The Corporal explained that this was aimed at increasing efficiency, but that all this was made possible thanks to the help of the settlers during the construction of the Camps. The General, still ahead, asked the Corporal to explain more to us. He continued by saying that the goal was for us to be supportive and collaborate without any issues, requiring a minimum of privacy and that this was the norm on Mars. Although we shared meals and bathrooms, individual rooms were planned to promote collaboration in all Camps.
This was the first time we saw the Corporal, and we were eager to find out who the Sergeant and the Lieutenant were.
The General led us to a large room where two teams were already at attention. The Corporal stepped away for a moment to speak to a man slightly older than him, with similar features. We didn't know if he was the Lieutenant or the Sergeant, nor did we know his name. We lined up with the others, and the General spoke a few words before giving the floor to this man. After a brief exchange with the Corporal, they left together. The man stood in front of us and began to speak. I remember his speech word for word.
"Good morning, soldiers," he began, observing us and lingering longer on Jens, who had a slight smile. "I am Lieutenant Elladan Nera."
Lieutenant Nera, another brother of Jens? In less than a day, we had discovered that she had a General father, a Lieutenant brother, and another brother as a Corporal, all present, except her father, on Mars and at Camp 1. The speed at which we learned so much about Jens surprised me. I gave her a surprised look, and she looked back at me quickly, embarrassed.
"What can I tell you, soldiers?" the Lieutenant continued. "I could give you a moralizing speech about your mission here, tell you that you are here for a specific mission and that any misstep will bring everyone else down with it."
A silence fell over the room.
"But you already know this, and I am not here to remind you of it. You are soldiers, representing the entire Earth, and you will collaborate until everything is resolved. You will be here for a certain period, the duration is unknown. Soldiers, you are a family. If we learn to live together, our mission will be successful."
We all agreed with the Lieutenant, and it showed in our eyes. We were a family.
His speech, although short, was effective. Then he separated us, women on one side and men on the other, announcing the start of training the next day. Wake-up was at 6 am, breakfast was at 6:30 am, training started at 7 am, lunch was at noon, and dinner was at 8 pm. Curfew was at 11 pm, leaving us with free time. We were free to miss breakfast as long as we were on time for training, and we had plenty of freedom before and after dinner, except in technical areas and the quarters of superiors.
Lieutenant Nera entrusted us to a guide who showed us every corner of Camp 1 in an hour and a half. In the meantime, we crossed paths with other groups visiting the camp. I met Jens with her group, and although we tried to chat for a while, our groups left us without us realizing it. When we realized our situation, we panicked while finding the situation amusing. We tried to find them again, but not having memorized the place yet, we ended up on a deserted floor, realizing that we probably weren't supposed to be there...
So there we were, on that empty floor, ready to go back down when someone came out of a room at the end of a corridor. Jens and I looked at each other, completely panicked; the person hadn't seen us yet, and when they did, they quickly walked toward us. It was Corporal Nera.
"Good grief, what are you doing here?!"
Looking embarrassed, Jens replied.
"Hebden, we're really sorry, but we've lost our groups..."
I had just learned that the Corporal's name was Hebden. He told us that we had nothing to do here, that we absolutely should not go back to that floor. He didn't blame us and escorted us back downstairs. He even took the trouble to walk us back to our groups, who hadn't even noticed our absence. Later, we were taken to our rooms. The women had a reserved floor and so did the men.
In the evening, at 8 p.m., we gathered at the mess hall. There were about a hundred of us, all sharing the same mess hall and often the same tables. I sat at a table with Eder and Edel, then Jens joined us, and later, my brother joined us. He quickly made friends with the others. After the meal, the five of us went outside to explore the area. The day was calm, but it was only the beginning. Before curfew, the others went back to their rooms, and I escorted Jens to his floor.
The next day, Jens arrived at the mess hall at the same time as Eder. We shared the table with two other people from our team, Théa Naïgo and Ren Sparoa, as well as one from team 2, Hannon Brisa.
When it was time for training, we went to the meeting point outside the complex. By team, we were taken to different training locations. Two teams went into the forest, another ran around the Camp, one trained in combat with a second team; as for us and the other three, we were on different courses. The ten teams at the Camp alternated all morning and all afternoon. At noon, we all gathered at the same table.
Mars has days similar to those on Earth. Its revolution around the Sun is longer, but its days are almost equivalent to 24 Earth hours. Our breaks were infrequent, and the training was tough. We were not used to being trained like this; on Earth, we are just a Security Police force, here we are Soldiers. Everything was quiet, the species that had taken up residence on Mars, in the same place as our settlers, seemed to be on standby.
After the meal, we resumed training. It was hand-to-hand combat for us. Jens fought me several times, and although I beat her many times, I had a strong feeling that she was not at her best, far from it. My impression was confirmed after several weeks of intensive training when the General came to visit team 1 and offered the men a singular fight against him. Some men from the team accepted: Ren Sparoa, Reken Brabas, Dhoy Drexfot, and me. Most of the teams nearby came to watch the show. General Dizel Jader didn't seem as strong as he used to be, but he surprised us all. None of us managed to beat him, even though Ren came very close. After the fights ended, the General congratulated us. He was about to leave when Jens intervened:
"General, are you... sexist?" she asked, a confused look on her face.
A surprising question, very surprising, even daring. The General replied that no, he was not, and Jens' response surprised us even more.
"Then why didn't you fight against one of us?"
Jens had clearly just thrown down a challenge, and the General's eyes widened as much as ours.
"A fight, against one of you?"
Jens nodded.
"I challenge you, General Jader, to fight me."
What was she doing? Jens, fighting against the General when I could easily beat her? The General didn't know what to do; if he didn't accept, he would be seen as a coward, but at the same time, the idea of fighting her didn't really appeal to him.
"I accept. But Nera, if I win, Team 1 will have double duty," he said with a smile.
"And if I win?"
"If you win? Team 1 will be exempt from duty for a Martian week, Nera."
Exempt from duty or double duty, our choice was clear: Jens had to win. Our team and the others began to cheer on Jens and General Jader. Curious about what was happening, other people came to watch, including Corporal and Lieutenant Nera. They wore a strange smile as if they already knew the outcome of the fight. They watched their sister with pride.
The two fighters took their places, and the fight began quickly, encouraged by our cheers. Jens landed blows just like the General. But the way Jens landed her blows seemed very different from the way she had fought against me. There was more ferocity and less restraint. The General seemed to have a slight upper hand, then Jens kicked him in the stomach; he doubled over, and she said to him:
"General, I see that you're holding back your punches, but I warn you, I won't."
"Then I won't hold back anymore, but it will be at your own risk," he replied before launching towards her.
He had a boxer's technique, favoring strength over wisdom. Right, left, kicks, he aimed for Jens' body, not her face; he didn't want to injure his soldiers. As for Jens, well, I couldn't say. I couldn't describe Jens Nera's fighting technique. I never managed to identify any logic in the sequence of her blows, but she was defending herself very well.
The fight had already been going on for a few minutes. I kept looking at the Corporal and Lieutenant to see if there was any concern in their eyes, but no, nothing of the sort; on the contrary, there was only amusement and confidence. Their sister was getting beaten, but they weren't worried.
We were all certain that the General would win when the unthinkable happened. Jens put the General on the ground after producing a completely nonsensical sequence that would have taken down the toughest of us. With the General on the ground, Jens stood in front of him and said:
"So, General?"
Jens had defeated the General, who had taken down half of the men from team 1 in no time. But how had she done it? Nevertheless, I had the confirmation that Jens greatly held back her punches when fighting with me, and at that moment, I was glad. The General looked as surprised as we were. Only silence filled the air.
"It's okay, Nera, you've won," he said, getting up.
Jens had a triumphant smile. The General added, "Team 1 is exempt from duty for a week."
Cheers of joy filled Camp 1. We rushed towards Jens to congratulate her. I looked towards the Corporal and the Lieutenant once again, they had the same look and smile as before the fight, they knew how it would end.
Before joining them, the General said a few words to Jens, which she later told me. He told her that she had honored the team, that he would never denigrate any soldier, man or woman, from the Camps, and most importantly, that she deserved to bear the name "Nera." She was proud and almost moved by it.
The General told us that recreation was over, so we returned to our training, proud of Jens's accomplishment. The General then went to the Corporal and the Lieutenant, and they undoubtedly talked about the fight. Jens later told me what they had said, as her brother Corporal Hebden had informed her.
In the evening at the mess hall, all we heard was about team 1. We couldn't stop congratulating Jens and thanking her. For once, we ate with our team as well as Eder, Edel, Ader, and Hannon. We were happy but also surprised by our teammate's hidden abilities.
Later in the evening, while sitting outside with Jens, she told me about the conversation between the General, the Lieutenant, and the Corporal.
"I didn't know your sister was such a good fighter," said the General.
"It's one of her hidden talents," laughed the Lieutenant.
"The few times I saw her fight with Tepren Nasus, he beat her, or at least had the upper hand," said the Corporal.
"Tepren is her friend, she holds back with him," intervened the Corporal.
"I was convinced I was going to beat her like the others."
"You have the capabilities," said the Corporal.
"So how did she manage to beat me if I surpassed her?"
"Jens always said she couldn't be the strongest, she has strength but not enough, so to compensate for this weakness she prioritized agility and intelligence. Prioritize what she has to compensate for what she doesn't have," Elladan replied.
"I see, but there's something else that surprised me. I looked for a technique because there's always one, similar moves in a logical order, but I found nothing like that in Jens."
"Jens doesn't have a technique per se, she thinks having one makes you easily defeated. By fighting you, she analyzed you. You have a boxer's technique and she used it against you."
"Your sister is intelligent, Lieutenant, but there's something else, I could only recognize very few martial arts, how is that possible?"
"That, General, is because Jens knows more martial arts than half of this camp combined. She has always been close to our father, he taught her most of what she knows..."
"Well, I admit defeat at the hands of a soldier who is only a third of my age."
The General chuckled and the conversation came to an end. Jens spoke to me at length about her life and the reasons that led her to hide her combat skills. The Man is a pacifist, except in the Security Police, earthlings have no reason to learn how to fight anymore.
The week continued without any chores for us but with just as much training. We were all getting better every day. Jens was among the first, I followed her with difficulty. All six of us (Jens, Hannon, Eder, Edel, Hannon, Ader, and myself) had become like a family, we were very close. In fact, the different teams and Camps were like one big family. The superiors liked us a lot. There had been no alerts, the settlers and the unknown race seemed to be keeping quiet. Mars was calm. But it didn't last.
It was in the middle of the day, the team was calm, we were racing ourselves when suddenly we heard a loud noise coming from behind the Camps. It was very loud, it surprised us, we knew it wasn't natural. We all stopped and looked around. Team 4, which was not far from us, did the same. Two minutes later, black smoke rose into the sky, and the alarms sounded. We looked at each other and automatically ran to the rendezvous point. We were all in place when our superiors arrived. The General quickly explained to us what the emergency measure consisted of, two teams from each Camp would be sent to the scene. Before he even designated the teams, 1 and 2 volunteered.
"We have our two teams, follow me," he ordered. "As for the others, be ready to intervene."
My brother looked at me with concern, he had to trust me, I would come back. We put on our combat gear and then gathered in the armory. We were armed with rifles and grenades. It was so... strange. None of us carried real weapons when we were on Earth, war was so far from our thoughts. Nothing like this would have happened on our planet. But we had to eliminate our doubts, the settlers needed us. Mars needed us.
Lieutenant Nera also joined us in uniform, announcing that he would lead the six teams. It was our first outing from the Center, and the idea we had of this experience was far from the current reality. The four teams from Camps 2 and 3 joined us, but Lieutenant Nera supervised the operation due to his qualifications. We headed towards the smoke, crossing the Martian cities with a rural aspect, following the wishes of the Ancients for the preservation of the biosphere. The Martian and Earth governments had respected this wish over the centuries.
Walking in single file, the Lieutenant led the group, and we finally reached the bombed-out town. A field of ruins stretched out before us, creating a vision of horror. It was an act of war, a brutal reality. This kind of scene had not occurred on Earth for centuries, not even during the Great Revolt was it so violent. Now, we, simple members of the Security Police, were faced with the prospect of war. We had to regain our composure.
The Lieutenant ordered us to patrol to search for any potential casualties, and we split into groups of three. Ren, Jens, and I went in one direction, while Eder, Edel, and Théa Naïgo from our team were visible not far from us. The other groups quickly moved away, and Théa's group disappeared from our sight. The city was deserted, with the inhabitants either dead or having fled somewhere unknown. Only death seemed to reign among us. At one point, Jens, who was walking ahead of us, turned behind a house. When we caught up to her, what we discovered surprised us.
I first looked at Jens, who was ready to shoot, her weapon raised in a defensive position. It only lasted a second before Ren and I turned our attention to what she was facing. In front of us were three humanoids armed differently from us, but they had their weapons lowered and were observing us.
"Drop your weapons immediately! In the name of the Martian and Earth Government, I order you to drop your weapons," declared Jens.
They looked at us, but instead of obeying, they began to raise their weapons.
"Drop your weapons!"
"Jens, I don't think they're going to do it," I intervened.
"We need to warn the others."
"And how? We don't have a radio!" Ren exclaimed.
After Ren's words, Jens raised her weapon towards the sky and fired. It startled us and the humanoids.
"No need for a radio when we have our weapons!"
Later, we were told that all the other groups had searched for who had fired and where the shots had come from, and it was the intended effect. While the others were looking for us, we tried to push back the enemies. Jens fired a second time, but it didn't change anything; they didn't react anymore. Becoming more and more threatening, we felt the danger rising. I took Jens by the arm, pushed Ren in front of me, and we started running away from them. They then began shooting in our direction, and we just had time to take cover. A one-sided shootout ensued. We just avoided the lasers coming from their weapons.
When the Lieutenant and the other teams heard the gunfire, they rushed towards us. Before they saw us taking cover, they didn't know which group was under fire. We tried to fight back, but any movement would have made us a target for a laser. When they arrived, they started shooting towards the enemy, who eventually fled out of range.
"Are you okay? Are you injured?" asked the Lieutenant.
I looked at Jens and Ren, then replied that we were okay, that we were not injured. After this altercation, we resumed the search and only found dead villagers... Fortunately, many of them had hidden in the basements. Lieutenant Nera reported to the Generals via radio. It was decided that two teams per Camp would take turns on guard duty, rotating every three hours. We returned to the Center, crossing paths with two other teams on the way, accompanied by Corporal Thrawbac from Camp 2.
The patrols continued for weeks, the humanoids remained unidentified and showed no signs of life so far. There was also a new arrival from Earth, Mr. Felis Kareg. Chartering a shuttle for a single passenger was a blatant lack of judgment.
Kareg, a bureaucrat sent by the President to monitor the Generals, was an administrative official who had never carried a weapon and had never been in charge of protecting others. He had never faced death. His reception at the Center was extremely hostile. Lodging in Camp 1, every encounter with soldiers resulted in looks of disdain, including from Jens and me. In our eyes, he had no business being here. Ambassador Ayres trusted us, but the President seemed to disagree. Kareg controlled the actions and decisions of the Generals and carefully observed the soldiers to ensure that we were carrying out the orders we were given.
The patrols continued for a month in Earth time, and Kareg never set foot outside the Center. However, as always, something came to disrupt this fragile calm.
One morning, our team and Team 2 were on patrol with Teams 9 and 10 from Camp 3, who had extended their patrol with us. We were chatting quietly when the unthinkable happened. In the distance, an army of humanoids, armed to the teeth, was spotted by Brozelice Pitus and Nawon Mirpo from Team 9. They shouted to us that we were going to be attacked. Jens immediately activated the recently installed alarm system. We were only 40 facing this entire army. The villagers took refuge in the underground shelters in less than five minutes, leaving the village deserted, except for us.
We had been expecting this moment, which is why we had trained so hard. We thought we were ready to face the assault. The Camps must have received the alert and be preparing themselves. We watched as the army slowly advanced towards us, forming two lines of defense. Time seemed to stretch out, each second becoming an eternity. We were ready to give our lives for our settlers. Jens and Ren realized that this was not a good strategy, that we were too exposed. We agreed they were right. We took cover as much as possible, weapons pointed at the enemies. Time seemed to stand still when suddenly, the humanoids opened fire on us. As good soldiers, we retaliated, and the humanoids also took cover.
We had to hold out until reinforcements arrived. It was after about ten minutes that they arrived. We had been firing, again and again, for a long hour. When the humanoids got too close to us, our training allowed us to take them down. What a horrible feeling to take a life. Although they were our enemies, seeking only the death of our settlers, we, Earthlings, were tasked with taking their lives. We had never faced such a responsibility before. We had no losses on our side so far, but the wounded were starting to accumulate.
Hours passed as quickly as the wind, and the wounds were only superficial. The front line was constantly evolving. After three hours of combat, Jens was injured in the leg. Although it was not very serious, she was immobilized, and she needed to be taken back to the Center. I volunteered, but Gwendal Utgen, a member of Team 2, asked me to stay due to the high danger. He assured us that he would guide Jens, while Dame Rakur, from our team, also slightly injured, would help her to run. What happened next was narrated by Gwendal.
Crossing the battlefield, Gwendal sporadically fired to deter the enemies. Jens ran as best as she could, holding her leg, and Dame supported her. I couldn't hide my concern for them. They were moving painfully, and if Gwendal had not gone with them, Jens and Dame would probably have lost their lives. When they reached the Center, it was bustling. A doctor led them into a room, treated Jens' leg and Dame's wrist, then went back to help other wounded. They sat on the floor, listening to the commotion. A few minutes later, General Jader and bureaucrat Felis Kareg came to see them. The General wanted to understand the situation.
"Rest, soldiers," he said to them. "Nera, Rakur, how are you?"
"We're okay, General. The pain is there, but we'll be fine," Jens replied.
"It will be quickly healed," Dame added.
"Wait, you had to come with three?" Kareg intervened.
"Silence, Kareg," ordered the General.
Gwendal told me that he received four black looks from them.
"You should go back there and fight," Kareg said.
"Shut up, Kareg," Dame retorted.
"Soldier."
"Sorry, General."
"You should have stayed there and left them," Kareg taunted.
It was too much for Gwendal, who stood up.
"If I had stayed there, they would never have made it! You're just a bureaucrat, an administrative who has never had to decide to take a life. How dare you say anything?! You've never set foot on a battlefield. You don't know what it's like for earthlings to fight. When you have gone to fight alongside my friends, then I'll let you make remarks to me."
Felis Kareg was furious. He glanced at the General, but the latter just smiled. Jader ignored them. He told them that they would be taken care of and left, with Kareg on his heels. Hardly were they out of the room that Felis started to complain. Gwendal stood up and listened to their conversation through the slightly open door.
"A smile? Is that all you could come up with? You didn't even bother to take my side," Felis said.
"And why should I have?," the General asked.
"But your soldiers didn't respect their superior!"
"But that's normal, Kareg. You're not their superior. You're just an administrative officer that the President sent here for I don't know what reason. Utgen was right to tell you that, you've never set foot there, you don't know what it's like to fight."
"But neither have you, General. You haven't gone to fight."
The General gave him a fiery look.
"Unlike you, Kareg, I have been on a battlefield before, a long time ago during the Great Revolt. I fought alongside soldiers as brave as these three, soldiers who would give their lives to save others, including yours. I saw friends being killed before my eyes, I saw soldiers sacrificing themselves for Freedom, and today, I strive to keep my soldiers alive. When you have fought alongside them, Kareg, then I will let you make comments to me, but not today. Is that clear?"
"Yes, General."
Jens, Dame, and Gwendal were then alone for about twenty minutes. A nurse came to relieve Jens and Dame's pain. On the battlefield, we managed to repel the humanoids, then we went back up carrying our last wounded who couldn't be evacuated. Two teams stayed as patrollers.
At the Camp, we were taken care of. Personally, I only had minor cuts, so I went to find Jens, Dame, and Gwendal. I went to meet them. Jens told me that her injury was not serious and that she would be quickly back on the battlefield, which was also the case for Dame. I sat with them, and they told me what had happened with Felis Kareg. In turn, I recounted to them what had happened downstairs. We could hear commotion everywhere, then a little later, the Lieutenant and Corporal Nera came to join us. They sat down with us and asked how we were doing.
The war against these humanoids was far from over, and I felt a sense of foreboding as if the misfortune was only just beginning.
We stayed like this for an hour talking, then the Lieutenant and Corporal had to leave, and we went to be with the rest of the soldiers. There were no casualties. We stayed for a while at the infirmary with Edel, Eder, Ren, Théa, Hannon, and Ader. We had never been so tired in our lives... The meal was silent, most of the soldiers hadn't eaten and had gone straight to sleep. Jens and I then went outside. She could barely walk but didn't want crutches. We sat down and talked. She seemed pensive.
"I have a bad feeling Tepren, as if something painful is about to happen to us."
So, she also felt that?
"And if I tell you that I feel exactly the same way, what do you think?"
"That it's not normal. Tepren, something is going to happen, something really bad. The humanoids are going to come back, and this time there will be deaths."
She was trembling and seemed disturbed. I tried to reassure her by saying that everything would be fine. But deep down, I knew that Jens was right, that something was about to happen to us, and this time, it would be much worse. The end was near, and everyone could feel it.
Ground reinforcements had been sent, they were on their way. Ambassador Ayres had done everything to send them to us in time. Training and guard duty resumed for those who could move. Jens still couldn't, but after three weeks of immobility, she could finally resume. The Security Police were our family, and the soldiers were our brothers and sisters; we could count on each other.
The weeks were calm, but Jens kept telling me that it was just the calm before the storm. I refused to believe that we could lose friends. I didn't know what Jens was feeling, but she seemed half-aware of reality. I had the opportunity to talk to her brothers about her intuitions, and they told me that her intuitions often turned out to be right.
War was at our doorstep, the humanoids were ready for battle, and the colonists were evacuated to safer places. Finally... a new battle was about to begin. The alarm was sounded, and the soldiers were dispatched to the combat zone. The worst was yet to come...
Another battle, this one was more intense than the previous one. The humanoids were at the peak of their power, while we struggled to appear so. This part of the story remains the most difficult...
We were not engaged in hand-to-hand combat, but rifles against rifles. Our line was composed of Edel, Eder, Ren, Hannon, Théa, and Ader, always them, until the end. Jens was on my right, shooting at those who tried to approach, but she always seemed elsewhere. To my left, Hannon was lying in wait, gun in hand, shooting at anything that moved. We remained like this for hours. But the humanoids managed to advance, turning the fight into close combat, which we feared.
Three hundred soldiers, with the Lieutenants, Sergeants, and Corporals from the three Camps, were fighting with us. Only the Generals were not yet there, supervising from the Center. It was later that they joined us, bringing more weapons. We managed to push back the humanoids, but just when we thought we finally had the upper hand, the unthinkable happened. The enemies dropped bombs among the soldiers. Panic and agitation made me lose sight of Jens and the others. I found myself in the middle of the battlefield, standing, looking around me, trying to find my friends, but the dust and smoke obscured my vision.
Suddenly, an enemy grabbed me by the neck, and I fell backward. He tried to strangle me, but I managed to make him let go. I fought as best as I could, but a second enemy arrived. I defended myself as much as I could, and when my death seemed inevitable, Jens appeared out of nowhere to help me. Together, we managed to defeat them.
"Jens, you saved my life."
"With pleasure," she said with a smile.
"Watch out!" I shouted, throwing Jens and myself to the ground.
One of our enemies had just shot at us. We took refuge behind the remains of what used to be a house. The dust and smoke still obscured our view. I signaled to Jens that I would create a diversion while she attacked from behind. That's what we did. It was a success. Jens and I made a good team... For the following hours, we tried to find our superiors or any other soldier. All we could hear were gunfire and bombs falling all around us. All we could see were enemies. Eventually, we gained the upper hand. The humanoids were retreating. Most of the soldiers had gone back to the Camps.
It was so quiet. No waves, no movement. A deep calm settled over the battlefield. Jens stood a few meters in front of me, weapons at the ready, carefully scanning the surroundings. We saw no one else. Maybe we were the last ones, surrounded by the dead... I looked at her from where I was, my weapon in hand. I remember thinking that we were finally safe, that we would go back to the Camp to join the others, but I was wrong.
Jens looked at me with a smile, her brown hair flowing down her shoulders and her blue eyes shining, indicating that the humanoids had finally left when...
...a flash hit her abdomen. I looked at her, and she looked at me without understanding. I started screaming as loud as I could, with all my might. Without waiting, I shot the last humanoid still alive on the battlefield. I saw Jens fall backward like a common doll. I rushed to her, her premonition had come true, the worst had just happened... I started crying, and so did she. I told her that everything would be okay and that we would go back up there with our friends. She could only say a few words to me... I looked into her eyes, and she looked back at me.
"Tepren..."
I knew I wouldn't be able to save her.
"Don't be afraid Jens, I'm here," I told her, tears rolling down my cheeks. "I'm always here, I won't leave you."
"'M sorry... El-Elladan... Heb... you... you'll tell them..." she replied, crying.
The bright flame I had seen in her eyes since our meeting on the bus suddenly went out. I didn't want to believe that Jens had just perished. I cried my head on her stomach. I had her blood all over my arms and clothes. Never had a death been as painful as hers. I couldn't bring myself to leave her there, with her eyes still open. I took her in my arms and started to ascend. My leg was injured, but I didn't care.
I don't know how much time passed from the moment Jens died to when I arrived at the Camp, but the battlefield was now deserted. The infirmary was crowded, and when I entered with Jens' body in my arms, the soldiers and doctors looked at me. There was not a sound. Everyone had thought us dead, it was as if we were. I cried, staring at Ader who was sitting with the Lotha brothers. I saw in their eyes an immense grief, as great as mine. Behind them, Théa started to cry.
A nurse and Gwendal rushed towards me. He took Jens from me, saying he would take care of her. He went into a small adjacent room with a doctor. As for me, they settled me next to my brother, and they treated my leg. Like a perfect big brother, Ader took me by the shoulders and rested my head on his shoulder, like when we were children. I still hadn't spoken, and the tears continued to roll down my cheeks. I stared at my arms covered in Jens' blood. We remained like that for a long time, rocked by Théa's tears and a few others. Then Corporal Hebden entered. He was covered in dust and injured on the head.
"Where is Jens?" he asked.
He received no answer. Then he looked at each face and stopped at mine. My gaze said a lot, eyes full of tears, I looked at him, then turned to where his sister lay. He understood.
"No... not her..." he murmured."
I lowered my eyes, and he rushed into the hall, Gwendal and Sergeant Peïa Thegrine followed him. The Corporal couldn't stop crying. It turned my stomach... He was caressing her hair. It was Gwendal who closed her eyes. Then the Corporal turned around and saw General Jader lying down. He too had not survived. At Camp 1, four people had died, at Camp 2, three, and at Camp 3, five. Twelve dead out of 300, it might seem insignificant, but for us, Earthlings, it was already a lot.
"Where is Elladan? Where is my brother Peïa?"
She didn't answer.
"Missing, sir, no one knows where he is," Gwendal replied.
"Form a search team, I want volunteers, you find him for me, Soldier."
"Lieutenant Nera is missing, I want volunteers to find him, it's an order from the Corporal," Gwendal told us as he returned to the infirmary.
Hands went up, and the team thus formed set out to search for the Lieutenant. Hardly had they left when General Sawen An from Camp 2 entered.
"Where are your Superiors?" he asked.
We pointed to the adjacent room, but at that moment, Sergeant Thegrine came out.
"Where is General Jader?"
"Dead, sir..."
"Where... where are the Lieutenant and the Corporal?"
"The Lieutenant is missing, the Corporal is in the hall with his sister," she told him.
"I am truly sorry for the General and the Lieutenant," he replied, devastated, "bring the Corporal, with his sister if necessary."
"General, his sister is dead..."
"Oh... I am terribly sorry... But he must come anyway."
Reluctantly, Peïa Thegrine went to fetch Corporal Nera. They returned a few seconds later. The Corporal had red eyes.
"With the General dead, knowing that the Lieutenant is missing, I am truly sorry, Sergeant, but the role of General falls to you, you are the highest-ranking officer."
"What? No, I'm sorry, I can't, I... I'm incapable!" she said, panicked.
"If you can't, Corporal?"
"I accept," he replied with a lump in his throat.
Then all three of them left. We remained there for a few more moments, then we were sent to the restrooms. At least those who could walk.
I had washed and changed, but I still had this feeling of having Jens's blood on my hands. I joined the others in the rest area without saying a word. Then, all of a sudden, while we were sitting, I couldn't hold back my tears. The guilt of what had happened to Jens weighed so heavily on me, even though the others tried to reassure me by saying it wasn't my fault, that there was nothing I could have done. Ader tried to comfort me by saying that everything would be fine now. Meanwhile, the search team had found the Lieutenant. He was alive but in bad shape, still unconscious. The Corporal, now General Nera, went to see him. Ground reinforcements still hadn't arrived, and a new battle was looming. It seemed that these humanoids constantly had new troops at their disposal.
We had to prepare for a new attack. Being injured, I couldn't participate in the combat. Others like me had to stay at the Center. Sergeant Thegrine stayed with us, but General Nera went to the battlefield. The Sergeant led the troops from there. Hours passed again listening to gunfire and worrying about our brothers and sisters. Once again, they repelled the humanoids at the cost of a life, and not just any life... Hebden Nera had given his life to save a soldier in the clutches of an enemy. What irony, we who thought it would be Lieutenant Nera who would perish from his injuries. It was ultimately his brother Hebden who died. We knew that when the Lieutenant woke up, he would ask about his siblings, and no one wanted to be there when it happened. When he learns that both were deceased, he will be devastated... We were devastated ourselves.
The Lieutenant woke up, and none of us felt the desire to break the bad news to him; it was Sergeant Thegrine who took care of it. When she told him, we clearly heard his scream. The pain was such that I saw Jens on the battlefield again...
A few hours later, when the Lieutenant was on his feet, I heard the Sergeant talking to him.
"I'm sorry Elladan, I should have been in his place, but I refused the title of General."
"Peïa, it's not your fault, don't apologize," he replied, taking her in his arms.
Later, I went to the room where Jens and our dead were resting; General Jader and newly appointed Corporal Nera were there. A room filled with pain. I talked to Jens; she was so pale and her hand was so cold... The Lieutenant, now General, entered, which startled me.
"I didn't expect to see you," he said.
"I'm sorry."
We stayed there for a moment. He looked at his brother, and I looked at Jens.
"I was told what happened. You saw her die in front of your eyes and brought her back to us while you were injured."
I said nothing, prepared to leave when he called out to me again.
"Tepren, it's not your fault, you couldn't have done anything. It's cruel, but that's life; she had signed up despite the risk. Jens knew what could happen. Both of you knew."
We looked into each other's eyes, then he turned to Jens and took her hand.
"The war has lasted long enough, the reinforcements have arrived even though I would have preferred them to come earlier. Too many deaths are to be mourned. Tepren, it's time to stop this massacre and to... to avenge our dead, to avenge my brother and sister. Are you ready to follow me for the final battle?"
He looked at me, and I replied that yes, I was.
We and the ground reinforcements armed ourselves, we set out to stop once and for all the humanoids of Mars, to drive them out of the borders of the Solar System. The Last Battle was shorter than the previous ones, and this time we had won without any casualties. The humanoids were defeated. The colonists could finally return and attempt to resume a normal life. The ground reinforcements would stay on-site in the following weeks to assist with the reconstruction and eliminate the last resistants. As for us, we returned to Earth. There was a certain joy in returning to our world and reuniting with our families, but there was also, above all, sadness at having lost dear members of the Police...
On Earth, we were welcomed by Ambassador Ayres in person. I attended the funerals of Jens and Hebden, but I did not dare to go to all the others. I saw their father, Grand General Nera, accompanied by his youngest son, Elladan. For a moment, I thought I saw Jens in front of me, smiling at me. She seemed... at peace.
I stayed in touch with the Lotha brothers, Ren Sparoa, Théa Naïgo, Hannon Brisa, and my brother Ader, of course.
The story of Jens Nera ended as it had begun, Edel, Eder, and me on the bus taking us home, but today Jens was not there, and for the last time, I saw us walking towards the Army Space Center...
[1] : Army Space Center
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