“Has everyone been to the window, and seen where we’ll be training? Camp Alpha is not the kind of place you would go on vacation. It is the kind of place where soldiers are trained, and formed into an army the Ruhar will learn to fear. The Kristang have set aside this planet as a training and staging base for humans, for three reasons. First, nobody else wants this place. It’s dry, I'm told that it can be 110 degrees in daytime, and down to 20 below at night. And that’s the nice part of the planet, where the training base is located. The sunlight is a funky blue-white color, and it will peel the skin off your bones if you aren’t protected. Second, because this place is so damned nasty, it’s a great place to train. Not every planet we’ll be going to is like Earth, here you will learn to use the equipment the Kristang provide, and to survive in harsh conditions. If you can’t be combat effective here, we don’t need you. And third, the Kristang chose this place because they think the Ruhar don’t know about it. Yet.”

"Sir," someone asked, "why is the planet all brown and burnt looking?"

"The star here is a slow variable, it hiccups every once in a while and increases its output. When that happens, it scorches the entire system, then it settles down again."

Hiccup? That sounded like one hell of a hiccup. The crowd of us shifted uncomfortably on our feet, and a low murmur went around.

"Don't worry about it, the Kristang know the star's schedule, it won't flare up again for another ten to fifty thousand years." Gonzalez added hurriedly. A range of ten to fifty thousand years sounded like the Kristang should have just told us they had no freaking idea when the star would next blow up. "Your briefing packets have all the info you need about this planet, so I'm only going to cover the high points. There is life down there, the biggest animal is an insect about three inches long. It has sharp pinchers and it's venomous, but the venom isn't fatal to human biochemistry, it only causes a mild rash sometimes, as an allergic reaction. Most people don't react to it at all. The only things that are dangerous to us down there are the climate, which can get really hot and really cold, and our own stupidity. Use common sense, remember you're here for training, and read the regs; they're written to keep you alive and combat ready. We will assemble into units when we get dirtside, until then, follow instructions."

CHAPTER THREE     CAMP ALPHA