Chapter 14: Laying the Path Forward

Three weeks had passed. The recruits stood in line and in parade formation in the gym. It wasn’t the most ideal of locations. There were few large rooms, but it would be good enough for what was to come.

Enlai, Isandro, Dariea, and Gavrill were in their respected marine camouflage working uniforms. Each was in a stalwart stance, hands neatly clasped to their backs and legs spread slightly apart.

Enlai could feel it in his bones. The day of graduation had come. Over a month and a half of hard work. They had done it. For once, he felt inclined to give those that doubted him the middle finger. So much had happened. Each day felt forever, and they felt weary to the end. However, as the final days were coming to a close, so did how everyone behaved. There was far less trouble and issues. It was like crawling out of a dark tunnel and into the light

It was just the four that were in the room. The gym felt clean, as if a great effort were made to ensure its orderliness. It had been silent for half an hour. Even with the training, it was difficult for the silence to remain in place forever.

“How much longer will they have us wait here?” Dariea whispered.

“Don’t know...,” Enlai whispered back. “Did they forget us?”

“Gavrill is confused...,” Gavrill quietly replied.

“Are they monitoring us?” Isandro nervously asked. “We’re breaking the rules speaking in parade rest like this.”

Enlai took a deep breath. “They will come ... just...”

It was so quiet that they could hear the door slide open behind them. Enlai immediately shut up as the others heeded as well.

It sounded like a large set of individuals had entered. Through Enlai’s peripheral vision, he could see at least eight human figures and two Itreans emerge and enter the room. Who were they? Enlai didn’t know. The humans ... they were ... all dressed in marine camouflage uniforms. Other marines? The Itreans both appeared to be Aksren Itreans. One of them had to be Ioren. Her head and nose crest and feathers were a dead giveaway. He couldn’t tell who the other was. Each individual had lined up in a large column by the wall. They stood in formation like a wall gazing upon the four recruits. When everyone had entered quietly, they each went into parade rest. It was time...

“ATTENTION ON DECK!” Stone yelled as loud as he could. By now, it was something the four recruits were all too used to experiencing. The other marines and Itreans came to attention. The four recruits did the same thing. The silence was unstoppable.

From the peripheral vision, three figures emerged into the room. Stone had entered first to call to attention. Behind him were both the XO and CO of the ship. They had been in their respected officer uniforms. What Enlai had failed to see was that one of the marines had brought in some sort of small table. There appeared to be sets of items that sat on top of it.

A ship whistle had been blown. It was old and traditional and was given the highest respect only in the most ceremonial circumstances. The severity of the scene was evident. Enlai’s legs were tired, and his feet were hurting, but they had become mute at this point.

Both Shira and Javier could be seen from Enlai’s line of sight. Both of them walked in a straight line. They would turn almost in a ninety-degree arc. Both Shira and Javier then turned in unison to face the four recruits. Finally, it would be Stone that would break the silence. Zalika stepped out of the formation of the other marines. She had walked over and picked up the table. She then turned, walked in the same path as the CO and XO, walked behind them, and then placed the table in the center of both officers. She then backed away, did a 180-degree turn, and walked back from where she came from. The table appeared to be made of wood. On it was a silver-lined bowl and sets of white cloth.

Upon the return of the marine to the formation, Stone stepped forward and walked down the same line as the officers and Zalika had maintained. However, unlike in the past, where he had been in his standard camouflaged uniform, he was dressed formally this time. The Master Sergeant’s uniform was adorned in blue, red, and light blue. He had a garrison cover. On his chest was a series of medals and commendation merits. He still carried a side holster and firearm, much as Shira had on her side. Stone stepped in between the two officers and stood behind the table facing the four recruits. It would be he that would break the silence in the room.

“When the people of former Earth arrived on Mars,” Stone loudly explained. “They worked hard. They built the canyon cities, made new lives, and grew relaxed. Their bodies became frail, used to the low gravity of Mars. However, humanity did not lie down. The military survived and continued to move forward. When Gabatrix lay the path before us, the UWA and the UHN were formed. In the essence of the ancient marines of former Earth, the UHN would create the United Human Naval Marine Corp Unit. They would be the spear and tip of all future frontline combat.”

Everyone continued to maintain their attention. For Enlai, it was odd to see the CO and XO standing in parade rest. It was all organized for everyone’s benefit.

“When the first marines set forth upon the new worlds, they were greeted by the environment. The crudely built transports were horribly made and under armed. The ground vehicles would buckle and break in the different gravity and the marines fell upon their asses. The guns had long but fallen apart before they were fired. It was one of the most humiliating events in human military history. The marine corp was a joke, mocked by the UWA media as pointless and a waste of resources. However, one man saw to it differently.”

Stone pulled out of his pocket a switchblade. He unsheathed the blade and then appropriately placed the knife next to the bowl. Enlai could only imagine what was going to happen next as Stone continued to speak.

“Among one of the marines that fell to his face was none other than Chief Warrant Officer Cormac. My father was among his aids that bore witness to that day. Cormac had told the press that it was his goal to fix the problem. He had once commented to the reporters that he remembered the sands of Mars. He remembered its color and how he was used to the environment. He remembered the day when the Martian military had to put down the Gentry Rebellion that broke out in Olympus Canyon City before the time of Gabatrix ... how the soldiers bled to maintain order and disobey the higher-ranking officials that claimed that they knew more than they did. When those officers failed to acknowledge the lack of severity in the conflict, the soldiers made the correct decision at the threat of being shot by their own soldiers. The many that survived remembered the contribution of their fallen comrades. They ungloved their hands in the pressure-less environment of Mars, cut their hands open, and let their blood fall to the sands below in the name of the honored dead. They remembered the sands of Mars had grown redder that day to remain forever. Peace was restored, civilian lives were saved, and a battle cry was born. Cormac rose to attention and stood away from his podium. He held his fist high so that the press would never forget the contribution of those peacekeepers. WHAT WERE HIS WORDS?”

“Redder than Blood! Blood for Life!” all the marines said in unison.

“Cormac ignored the press,” Stone continued. “He championed the cause and would create the Martian Marine Military Academy. Everyday, Cormac would shout to the press and politicians. More money was needed. More people were needed. More resources were needed. The marines would never give up. Each day they grew stronger. Their equipment was better. Their bodies grew firm. Their ships became better. Their guns more reliable. The vehicles mighty and robust. When the next training operation was made in the early 24th century, the marines exited their transports yelling the battle cry. AND WHAT WERE THEIR WORDS?”

“Redder than Blood! Blood for Life!” all the marines said again in unison.

“Each day, new marines come forth. They hear the call of the former soldiers of Earth. The duty to protect the human race from evil, destruction, and death. Today those oaths have been taken by four new marines that stand before you. They braved the cannon fire, ran to their enemy, pulled their blades, and yelled the battle cry...!”

“Redder than Blood! Blood for Life!” It was said again.

Stone composed himself and pointed his hand to the table. “The table that stands before you are claimed to be a surviving piece of furniture from the former military academy of West Point. Its age surpasses all of us and the future marines of the UHN. Today, I will make that oath again. Each of the new marines will step forward, state their name, and make the battlecry. They will each leave today as one of you.”

Stone lifted up the knife and brought his left hand to the bowl. Then, using the blade, he made a slash against his palm. He never winced, letting a small amount of blood trickle to the bowl below it.

“Master Sergeant Stone!” He yelled. “Redder than Blood!”

“Blood for life!” the other marines called out.

With that, Stone took his knife, stabbed the table with it, and then grabbed a small white cloth to wrap his cut hand. The knife point dug deep into the wood, holding it in place to be picked up by the next. It would be Enlai that would approach first. He stepped out of formation and approached the table. Stone took several steps back to allow the next person to take his place. Enlai picked up the knife and recited the words.

“Private Enlai!” Enlai yelled. “Redder than Blood!”

“Blood for life!” everyone said in unison. This time, it would be Stone that would join in completing the line.

Enlai could feel the pain as he made the cut into his palm. He could see blood drip into the bowl. He quickly took the spare cloth and wrapped his hand around it. He would do his best to return back to the marine recruit formation as Dariea approached in his place.

For Javier, this seemed like a barbaric ritual. However, he was fully aware of the marine’s contributions. They were mentally strong and fortuitous. He couldn’t deny that they were the best of the best, bound by blood and soul. A part of him felt a wave of sorrow. The UHN truly lost valuable soldiers in Cipra, wasted as if they were tossed into the wind. This at least felt like closure to him, a new beginning for humanity for the UHN marines to rebuild themselves over such horrendous opposition.

Dariea cut her hand over the bowl. Her blood flowed to the bowl as she winced in pain.

“Private Dariea,” the female marine called out. “Redder than Blood!”

“Blood for life!” the other marines said.

Dariea stepped away and returned to the formation, almost forgetting to grab the white bandage to wrap her hand. She took the knife and placed it on the table. She was doing her best to resist the pain as Gavrill was next.

Gavrill approached the table. He picked up the knife and made a slight swinging gesture with it. The handle spun on his palm to the ready position. He then brought the blade to his palm.

“Gavrill ... Private Gavrill,” he said. “My title and name. Redder than Blood!”

“Blood for life!” they all said.

Blood poured into the bowl as he held it over the bowl. He then took the knife and stuck it to the table. Unlike the others, he let the blood flow for what seemed like a minute. Even if it were only ten seconds, Enlai wondered what Gavrill was doing. He could see that the man seemed somewhat tormented. There was a hint as to what Gavrill had told him earlier. The towering recruit did horrific things in his civilian life that he wasn’t proud of. It seemingly haunted him. Unlike Enlai and Dariea, the cut was more profound, almost as if it were intentional. However, it appeared that Gavrill reconciled his past. There was much going through his mind as he closed his eyes for a moment. He then reached over and picked up the bandage to wrap around his hand before returning to the formation.

Isandro was next. He approached the table and stood next to it. He picked up the blade, used the white cloth to wipe it down, and then neatly brought it to the palm of his hand.

“Private Isandro,” he said. “Medic and marine. Redder than Blood!”

“Blood for Life!” the other marines said.

He made a light cut over two of his fingers and let the blood drip into the bowl. Unlike the others, he was friendlier to his hand and took it easy on himself. There was no need to be fanciful. He took the cloth and then wiped the blade again before wrapping his fingers up nicely. He placed the knife appropriately on the table before returning to the formation.

Stone then took a step forward and looked at the four and then the rest of the marines. The silence filled the room. He wasn’t going to wait much longer as his bandages had turned red. However, nothing was going to stop him in his raw stoic stance. He took his hands and then began to clap them together slowly. The rest of the marines all applauded the same. Javier and then Shira all replied in unison. The clapping got louder. For the first time, Enlai could breathe a sigh of relief. He could now call himself a marine...

A couple of hours had passed. Enlai and Dariea were walking down the passageway of the Lifen’s centripetal ring. By now, they knew every room that was present. Their hands had been cleaned and healed. Mounted to the shoulders and hands were bags and personal belongings. The look of exhaustion had been present in both of them.

“Finally...,” Dariea said with utter relief. “Finally done with this shit...”

“Same,” Enlai remarked. “Fucking done...”

“My hand still hurts from that.”

“Don’t worry. It will heal. Besides, we didn’t have to cut the palm of our hands either.”

“Yeah, Isandro was smart.”

“Well...,” Enlai smiled a little bit. “We have our first set of duties for tomorrow.”

“Don’t remind me. At least I will have a day without having to worry about fucking watch.”

“God, we are free from it ... for now. It’s going to feel like a vacation.”

Dariea slowed down a little bit in her walk. Finally, she came to a stop and looked at Enlai.

“Enlai...,” she said. “Thank you ... for not giving up on everything.”

“I was never going to give up.”

“Good ... because if you did, I was going to follow you out the door.”

Enlai could see that look in her eyes. It was that of pure lust, but she was doing her best to mask it behind her stoic features. His eyes went down to her chest, but he quickly looked forward as they resumed their walk.

“Ugh ... made it,” Enlai said as they reached the door. “My quarters.”

“Wait ... this is your quarters too?” Dariea asked.

They stopped by the entrance and then looked at one another. Enlai said one word. “Fuck...”

“Me...,” Dariea completed the sentence. She didn’t hesitate. She reached over to the door panel and tapped the button.

The door slid open to reveal a room meant for two people. Two bunks resided next to each other on either side. It was similar in shape to all the other rooms in crew berthing. Enlai walked into the room first and tossed his bags down. Dariea did the same thing as well. With Enlai, he breathed a sigh of relief as the lights turned on and the doors slid closed behind him.

“Wow...,” he commented. “Our own fucking room ... it looks like a hotel suite when compared to our shitty barracks quar...”

He was suddenly slammed to the bulkhead with a powerful force. It wasn’t a painful hit, nor did it cause any pain. Enlai could feel the weight of a woman that bore down upon him. It was happening so quickly. Dariea couldn’t hold back any longer. She wasn’t any stronger than Enlai, but it still took him by some surprise. Her face pressed to his. Immediately, he knew what was going to happen.

“Did ... we lock the door?” He asked with a muffled voice.

She turned her head. A remote sense of hunger could be seen on her face before she quickly slapped the panel to the door to engage the locking mechanism. She didn’t even hesitate to wrap herself around him. Her lips pressed against his.

Instinct took over. Enlai grabbed her body and kissed her as hard as his lips could do it. The breathing was hard between them. They were almost like wild animals that were in heat. The only way to satiate it was to let it take its course. She pulled away from him. Her look could pierce into his soul. Both of them gritted their teeth.

“What bunk do you...?” he tried to ask.

“Shut up,” she replied. “Can’t take it anymore ... need fucking relief...”

“Got it.” Enlai wasn’t going to argue back on this.

She was breathing through her teeth. Her hands went to his chest as she quickly began to undo the belt on his camouflaged pants. Enlai wanted to do more, but her appetite needed to be sated. Everything became a blur. Adrenaline was in full swing.

“Get it off,” she said. “Get it all off...”

He took his shirt off, exposing his bare chest. Dariea then gently fell to her knees to face his crotch. She grabbed his belt and pulled it off. Next, she unbuttoned the pants and yanked them down to his boots.

There was no time. Enlai wouldn’t even get the chance to take his boots off. The woman took her fingers and neatly wrapped them around the elastic band of his boxers before pulling them down. His penis, which was already semi-erect, flung outward into the open. She quickly pulled her shirt off, exposing her sports bra. She then reached behind her back. Enlai looked down. He had already seen her nakedness countless times before, but it was obvious that things were different. She unsnapped her bra, exposing her firm breasts before him. However, her attention was mainly focused on his penis. She never slowed down. She tossed her bra besides her as she took both hands and grabbed the base of his shaft. A large amount of fine black untrimmed pubic hair resided on his crotch, but she had no care about it. She had a good look at the two floating orbs dangling beneath it. In less than a second, her lips made contact with his tip.

Enlai took a deep breath as he could feel the wet warm lips of her mouth engulf his member. He was already growing harder as each second went by. Pleasure nerves were firing all through his nether regions. Finally, there was a small number of slurping sounds that could be heard.

“God ... damn...,” Enlai remarked. His hands pressed to the bulkhead wall. She was outright aggressive. He was doing his best to hold back, but it was overwhelming.

“Holy shit, slow down a little bit,” he told her. “I have a lot stored down there. You’ll make me cum too soon.”

She paused momentarily and pulled her head away. “I don’t care,” she said. “You’ll have plenty more anyways for tonight.”

“K ... Fuck, that feels amazing.”

She resumed. For Enlai, this felt like the best blowjob he had ever had. But, of course, he knew that most of this was the clout from the lack of sexual intimacy for several months. For a short moment, he took his hand and felt her head and hair. Her head was moving back and forth. Despite her buzz-cut look and muscular frame, she was more beautiful than any woman that existed on the ship. His hands would play with the hair a little bit. He had almost forgotten that she was sucking his dick. He wanted more from her. It caused him to buck his hips a little bit.

“How the hell are you so good at this?” He asked her.

She took his member and pulled it away from her mouth. His penis was covered in her saliva. She then worked her head to his scrotum. She started to use her tongue to lick the hanging orbs. She would gently let them into her mouth, using her lips to massage them gently.

Enlai had to let things flow naturally. It was as if Dariea was trying to eat him alive. She then let them plop freely to dangle in the air again. She used her tongue to lick up the side of the shaft before she said something to him.

“Don’t get used to this,” she told him. “Every day for the next few weeks, your mouth will be eating me out like I how I saw you eating those noodles in the galley.”

“I guess ... I have an awkward way of eating ... oww...,” he winced. Dariea used her finger to pinch his ass real hard to shut him up. However, she didn’t stop giving him oral sex.

Dariea ... Enlai’s thoughts were having to tell him everything about her. Of course, she was serious and playful in her own way. But, in reality, he knew she was happy even if she wasn’t showing it. It was something that he really liked about her. It especially showed at this moment.

Her head was bobbing back and forth. She wouldn’t take the whole shaft into her mouth, but it was enough for the tip to barely touch her uvula. She would use one hand to serve as a bumper to prevent the rest of his member from gagging her. However, she would use her hand to massage and manipulate the base to provide more stimulation. The slurping sounds would continue.

The only issue that Dariea really seemed to face was the heavy amount of pubic hair. It was nobody’s fault, as personal hygiene of the lower extremities wasn’t a premium factor in boot camp. For Dariea, the strands would bump her nose, tickling her senses. However, the saliva was also matting it down.

The stimulation ... Enlai banged his fist on the side wall. He wanted to have her. He wanted to be inside of her. He could already feel an orgasm coming.

“Going to cum soon,” he told her. “You want in your mouth or pussy?”

She withdrew. For a few seconds, her mind had to analyze her decision-making. Enlai was correct. He was loaded to bear from the lack of orgasms in the last month. If he came now, it would be a torrent that would flood her throat, and she would be gagging for hours. She licked her lips as the tip was glazed, ready to be shoved into her nether regions.

“Pussy...,” she said. She quickly let go of him. She turned around and walked over to the unmade bunk. She reached down to start undoing her boots. Enlai was doing the same thing. He bent down and undid the straps to his boots. His pants and boxers were fighting him all along the way. However, it didn’t take long for him to slap his boots and socks off. He could watch Dariea taking her boots and socks off for a short moment. She undid the belt and pulled her pants down. There was a pleasant view of her naked body. Her tattoos and strong frame radiated from the overhead lights. Her ass was somewhat firm.

However, Enlai couldn’t argue any different about himself. He was fully naked with a hardened erection pointing directly at Dariea. She walked over to the unmade bunk and then flipped onto her back. Enlai wasn’t that far behind her. He quickly moved to the bed. His body met hers. He promptly made two kisses on her stomach. He had a good view of her naked front for a brief moment. Her crotch carried a fine amount of pubic hair. His fingers went straight to it, and he almost inserted them right into her vaginal entrance. However, she was quick to stop it.

“No foreplay,” she said. “Just do it.”

“Alright...” he stopped and got on top of her. His belly rested on her belly. She separated her legs as he aligned his crotch to hers. It didn’t take long for the tip of his member to press against her vaginal lips. Then, with a short press, he entered into her.

“Ngh...,” she slightly winced. She had closed her eyes. Enlai could feel a sense of warmth. For several seconds, his body and mind were processing everything that was happening. He wanted this. He wanted to be inside her so bad, and now his wish was granted. He started to buck his hips. She didn’t appear to be in pain, but her tightness might have been an indicator that she hadn’t had sex in a while or ever. Enlai wasn’t going to question it.

He didn’t slowly buck his hips at the start. Both of them were still in the rigors of adrenaline and lust. Instead, Enlai started to get aggressive. He began to thrust hard. The tip of his member would almost fully withdraw before he slammed back into her all the way to the hilt. His scrotum would slap into her anus.