Five years. It was how long she had been training for this mission. Five years today, to be exact. With a held breath, her blue orbs moved to the man in charge. Of all those who successfully got a ship in the air after the nuclear war began, these were their prodigies. These were the heroes selected to die for humanity. Though not all of military lineage or scientific training, these brave men and women were ready to take on whatever laid in their wake. No speech of motivation, no rally of promise, no glimpse of God's faith in humanity, none of that could save them now. They were prepared for their first step toward their coffin-less grave.

Standing at attention, the blue eyed, blonde haired woman by the name of Jenny Lynn Walker tried to force a smile when the CO (commanding officer) shook her hand.

"Do man proud," he said with a firm shake.

"I'll do man and woman proud, sir," she corrected.

There was a bit of silence before the CO grabbed her hand again and firmly squeezed it. "Humanity it is, Lieutenant Walker."

It was a nerve-wracking title. She was to be their leader, well, second leader. Eyes quickly jumping to Captain Chaunhan, she let out of a sigh of relief. He was technically in charge, but she was his first man, er, woman. As her eyes moved down the line, she found some others who also had titles of worth. There were only twenty-five of them in total so of those twenty-five, only five had 'higher' ranking; she and Chaunhan being at the top of the tier. Looking around again, she let her eyes wander to some of the specialists and privates, or the 'low men/women' on the totem pole. Really, it was odd to think these soldiers so low. One, a Ms. Belmont, worked for a private sector. Another, a Mr. Vanguard, was a guard for a lab. Neither of them received leadership ranking, which made her wonder if skills only played a partial role in ranking. Was their IQ test more important than she originally thought? And what of that personality analysis?

A smirk came onto her lips. She was being applauded -- they were all being applauded. A giant screen captured their faces and reflected their images back to their home ships. Everyone was cheering. This was a ground breaking beginning (or end, should they fail). All were anxious for this moment and some were sobbing tears of joy.

Too bad it was all uncalled for. What if they failed? What if they never made it? What if their actions doomed mankind? What if...!

No, she needed to stop thinking like that. Whisking away the pesky ;what ifs,' Jenny turned her attention to that real matter at hand -- suiting up and getting ready to fly to Earth.

This job had was bittersweet, a true double-edged sword. Yes, your life was on the line, but you also got to have the first glimpse of home, of Earth. For 200 years, humanity was living in space. World War III caused this 'fleeing of Earth.' Had the bombs never been dropped, this overpopulation issue in space might not exist. Hell, this mission wouldn't exist.

Her head snapped to her side. She was being coaxed off the stage and down to the prep room. It was time to suit up, strap in, and ship off to Earth. Holding her breath, she glided down the stairs and into her chamber. Women stepped in and sprayed her body. God did it sting, but it would prevent hair from growing anywhere, save for her face. It was an odd thing to really think about, but it had its rational. Didn't need ingrown hairs or folliculitis ruining a mission. Not to mention, no hair meant no issues with adhesives or bandages.

A needle was shoved into her arm, which caused her to hiss and wince in pain. A little forewarning would have been nice, she scoffed inwardly. They were not injecting a fluid that would allow her body a fighting chance against radiation poisoning. It wasn't going to allow her to suck in ceaseless amounts of toxic air, but it was enough to let her take a few breathes every now and again without the fear of dying.

Drops fell into her eyes, a safeguard for the iris and pupil. It was essentially a permanent coating that would prevent her from going blind. Granted, she could still lose her eye due to a foreign object that was larger than a fleck of dust.

Another not-so-fun part of the routine began, which caused her much fuss. To ensure she wouldn't get pregnant or bleed, the medic team needed to... well, do some things down there. Even the men had their little 'fun time' with the docs as they ensure no horny boys could create little babies. Now, they weren't sterile. No, they could still reproduce; just not with these devices on and in them.

Her hands racked over her body. God it felt so weird, but it would stop phasing her in no time. Why? Well, they were onto shoving this horrid smelling laser up her nose. It was their way of prepping her nose hairs for foreign intruders. They received a special coating, you could say, to keep them extra sticky for trapping pathogens. Of course, it made nose blowing all the harder, but the lack of allergies would be so worth it!

Onto her nails, the prep team coated them with something that would keep her nails from breaking. They could now collide with a rock and not chip. They were as tough as diamonds. Opting for the black coating, she smirked down at those perfectly polished nails. Not too long, but not too short. Just right, she sighed in relief.

Jenny's ears were touched next. A tube that would fall out when the body was ready was added to her canal. It would allow her ears to adjust to the new pressures, which is why it came out with time. It would fall out whenever the body was ready.

Finally done, Jenny moved to her suit. It was skin-tight but exactly what she wanted. Donning herself in her usual cloths, the woman began to climb into her suit. Once secure, she was given her belt that was fully equipped with all the apparatus she was trained in the previous five-years to use. A breathing apparatus, shades, headlamp, glow stick, comm system, pistols, etc. As she slid her hands into her pockets, a heavy weight came to her back.

"Keep this on you at all times, this bladegun is your life."

"Yup," she said nonchalantly as she looked over at her rump where the holster rested.

"There will be more guns on the ship, of which you will need to move into the safe house."

"Who's carrying the tent?"

A newfound weight came to her back. It was a backpack, or so it felt.

"You," the person before her said. "Lieutenants get the tent."

Camera now locked on her face, Jenny cocked a brow. "Uhh?" She shifted her eyes toward the reporter.

"Just getting a quickie closeup with each of our twenty-five soldiers. You're second to last on our list."

"I'm not sure if I should be insulted or honored," she teased before pushing back a strand of loose hair. "So what do you want me to say to the folks watching?"

"Anything. Make us remember you and your legacy."

"Right. Well, I'm Jenny Lynn. I like cats and my favorite color is orange. I'll do everything in my power to keep these twenty-four safe and sound. With any luck, we'll find it's all clear down there and you can come join me and the team." A grin slid onto her face and went from ear to ear. Seconds later, she was poking out her tongue and throwing up victory-signs. "Wish us luck and, Andy, make sure you don't get fat while I'm away!" There was a wink and a nose wrinkle.

Camera off her, Jenny growled. "I hope that'll please the crowd."

She wasn't thrilled about this suicide mission, but she understood it. It had its merits and, well, mankind needed off the ships. A permanent home was necessary, or civilization would crumble.

Taking her final steps off the Neutral Training Ship, she marched into the rocket that would ship them back to Earth. It would take about a day of flying there before they would arrive. Ample time to freak out, panic, and kill everyone. There was a mental eyeroll. Like she would let that happen.

Into the rocket she went. As she ducked into the hole, her eyes caught a glimpse of the others. "Cheer up, folks! We're getting our much needed vacation. I hear America looks lovely this time of year, especially Cape Cod. Hope you all packed your suits!" With a wink, she crawled to her seat and strapped herself in.

"Lt. Walker reporting in. All troops accounted for. Begin liftoff procedure when ready."

Much like launching a NASA rocket, the cockpit crew was given their series of checks and orders. They complied and were cleared for liftoff. In seconds, the loud engines kicked in. That noise soon tripled in magnitude. And then, as the heart started to skip beats, it happened.

Silence was the calm before the blast off. Engines fully engaged, the crew launched forward and left the zone of the ship. Gliding as such speeds unheard of in 2012, they began their one-day trip to Earth.

Once the rockets were dropped and forever lost in the vastness of space, the shuttle dropped to a safe(r) speed, thus allowing its passengers an opportunity to get up and wander about the cabin and chambers. Unbuckling herself, Jenny found herself floating up toward the ceiling. With a laugh, she swam toward the window.

"God, the stars look beautiful from here."

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