Landed

Your stomach lurches as the plane's wheels touch the ground. You hold on to your bag as you skid to a slow drive and the pilot starts turning into a large hangar. The plane comes to a stop and the two agents collect their briefcases and purses and you do the same. You file out, down the built in stairs one at a time. The pilot and flight attendant follow behind you.

Your feet touch the ground and you couldn't be happier, that was a long flight! You look behind you as you are shepherded towards a large black van and see Georgia waving good bye to you. You get in the van and it takes off. Inside of the van is surprisingly roomy, but the windows are completely blacked out, you can't see a damn thing. The two agents take seats adjacent to you and the ride is mostly silent with a few coughs being the only communication.

This is beginning to look shadier and shadier by the minute and you decide to break the calm.

"So..uh...are you guys really with the government?"

Agent Harvard laughs, "A little late to be questioning that now, isn't it?"

It only takes a second for the gravity of the situation to sink in; you're completely across the country, with at least three strange people and you have no way of seeing any landmarks or escaping. You begin to hyperventilate.

"Teal, give her a bag please."

A paper bag is thrust into your hands and you place it to your mouth like you've seen on television.

"Look, Jane," says Agent Harvard in a calming manner, placing her hand motherly on your thigh, "We are who we said we are, we are with the government, and we are here to get your help. Here, watch this."

Agent Teal pops down a TV screen and places a small disk into the slot. A video of the President herself pops up and begins speaking to you. The President addresses you by name and lists a good number of your academic and sports achievements. She then goes on to explain a bit about the goal of this mission and they have somehow gotten a video of your parents saying how proud of you they are for your helping of the country. The video ends with a final note from the President, claiming you are helping the country make it's first steps to colonizing Mars.

The video ends and you're left in the dark vehicle.

You scratch your head, "But why all the secrecy? Why the subterfuge?"

Harvard pats your leg, "Dear, do you know how many country's want to be first to Mars and claim it just for them? Do you know how badly we're going to need Mars in the next couple of generations?"

You know what the news and your professors have claimed but you aren't entirely sure.

"The world may be at peace but it's a tenuous peace. We've all come together to cut back emissions, to better control population growth and to ensure we don't nuke each other to oblivion. But there's always someone who's unhappy with the peace, someone who doesn't think our peace is the right peace. Mars isn't just a planet ripe to be colonized, it's more than that."

Agent Harvard sighs heavily, "This little operation is not just us, we've got Russia, the EU, India, China and Japan in on this project. We've formed a coalition to ensure that humanity thrives. We want to get ourselves to Mars to hedge our bets, and hopefully this project will work and we'll be able to finally get off this Goddess forsaken rock."

You stare at your feet, this is some heavy shit for a twenty-six year old to take in but you don't have long to wallow in your thoughts. The car screeches to a halt as the two agents get out of the car. You follow and are greeted with a large wall that stretches far to your left and right, a small entrance is built in what appears to be the dead center, and it's crawling with guards.

Agent Harvard steps up next to you, "Ms. Doe, we're here."