Unity

Chapter 13

"Has it come in yet?" Jen asked for the tenth time.

"Not yet," I answered, checking my tablet. "You know what," I said a few moments later, "we should wait until after we return to check assignments."

"No way," said Thad. "It will drive me crazy the whole trip."

"I think Zack is onto something," Tina stated. "Let's make a pact right now. No checking assignments until we get back." It took some convincing, but finally everyone agreed.

"The only way I can do it is to leave my tablet behind," Thad admitted.

"Why don't we all leave them?" I suggested. "That way there is no temptation to peak."

Everyone agreed and tried to find something to occupy our time while we waited for our transport. An hour later, Lieutenant Briggs arrived to escort us to our transport. As we were leaving, everyone's tablets sent out a notification tone. "Stay strong," I said as we exited our barracks.

"You're not going to check your assignments?" Lieutenant Briggs asked incredulously.

"We decided that we were going to enjoy our R&R without thinking about how we are going to be split up," I answered.

"Kudos to you," he said.

The trip to the lunar colony was much easier than the initial launch from earth. We were all in a celebratory mood as the moon drew closer. We finally landed in a hanger that was still partially under construction. An umbilical tube connected to the airlock with a his, and we disembarked from our shuttle. We were greeted by an elderly Asian woman who was well shorter than five foot.

"Welcome," she began, "I will be your guide during your stay. If you have any questions, do not be afraid to ask. We have strict rules here for obvious reasons, and any violation of those rules will be dealt with quickly and severely." Despite her small stature, it was obvious that her bite was much worse than her bark. This was one woman I didn't want to cross.

"If you will follow me, I will lead you to your accommodation. We have many amenities that you may find of interest, but do not be disappointed if you do not find many that you would planet side. We are not a resort or host many tourists. There are plans to build a new complex to accomplish this, but that is still several years out. Regardless, I hope you find your stay enjoyable.

We were led from dome to dome until we reached a small dome. "This will be where you will be sleeping. There are informational packets on each bed. If you need me, feel free to call from any computer terminal. Just ask for May." She turned away and quickly left us to our own devices.

"Well, lets get settled and figure out what we're going to do first," I suggested.

"It's late, I'm thinking of turning in for the night," Andrew said with a yawn. I did feel tired, but we only had two days to take everything in and I didn't want to waste a moment.

"How about we each choose what we want to do tonight and then we can do things as a group or several groups tomorrow," Tina suggested. Everyone agreed and we all went into our rooms. We each had our own room. They were very small, just big enough for a small bed with drawers below the mattress. After sharing a room with so many, it felt amazing.

I laid down on my mattress, thankful for the grav plates that simulated Earth's gravity. I was worried I would have to strap down to the mattress in the moon's low gravity. I browsed through all the activities that we could do. The selection wasn't huge, but many of them looked fun. I had planned on exploring the colony, but my body had other plans. I was soon sound asleep without realizing I had succumbed to my bodies desire for rest.