The Mission From Mars-Lieutenant Koch

The next day Christina went to Fort Thomas Franks to interview the lieutenant in charge of the platoon of soldiers assigned to the Phoenix. She went to the main administrative building and sat in a small conference room. The most notable thing she had seen thus far was how nice everyone was to her. It was common courtesy to be nice to someone, but she couldn’t help but feel that due to who she was the reason for why she was there, Christina was getting some kind of special treatment.

After almost a twenty minute wait, the door opened and a young man entered the room. He was about six feet tall, with short blond hair. He looked like the average poster boy for the military. Lieutenant Charles Douglas Koch had been chosen because he was a smart command officer with a very level head on his shoulders. The men he was in charge of trusted him and knew that no matter what they did, he would do as well.

Shaking hands with the young lieutenant, the two sat down at the table and began their interview.

“Before we begin, I have to ask, how do you pronounce your last name?”

Koch chuckled and little and said, “It is pronounced like Cook. You would not believe the number of times I was made fun of in school growing up.”

Christina smiled and then pulled out her pad and pen. “So how does it feel to be going on such an important mission?”

“This is a big deal for all of us,” replied Koch. “I had to chose very carefully who I wanted to come along for this mission. I wanted to make sure everyone was qualified and up to the task for this mission.”

“What does the age range look like for your platoon?”

“It is a strong mix of young and middle aged individuals. The sergeants are veteran soldiers who have the most experience in difficult situations.”

“How did you choose these individuals? Since Mars has not had any real major conflicts, it must be difficult to actually choose the best of the best.”

“I can be,” said Koch. “However, we do drill here and do our best to make sure that every person here is ready to go in the event of a major situation. The people I chose can act independently of each other in the event something were to happen and we got separated. By having this kind of training in place, we can be prepared for anything.”

“Are you sure you are prepared for everything?” asked Christina.

“We are ready,” replied Koch. “In my opinion, there is nothing that can surprise us.”