We finished with the questions and were escorted back to the orphanage, where we were treated to a celebration dinner that lasted late into the evening. The next day we said our goodbyes to the younger classes. We had grown bonds teaching them, and were sad to leave them. But the draw of the rest of the world was great, and I was ready to see what Mars was like. The day after we were briefed by our group leaders. We were assigned a region of the outlays to protect and monitor for any signs of dog attacks. Our capabilities and training allowed us great range around the outlays, which would slightly overlay the range of the next nearest group of guardians. We would be grouped into our familiar cell groups. Balthasar and Cadmus would accompany me. We would be taken in by a local family that would house and feed us for a stipend from the government. This was to promote crosscultural understanding. Therefore, we were to not only be guardians, but ambassadors of the orphanage. We were trained how to interact with families.

"Call the mother, mrs. whatever and the father, sir. Be respectful of their opinions. Always say thank you for their food and lodging. Don't let them see your upper body without a shirt on, they might be frightened by your arm. Don't be alarmed if they want to touch your arm. You should let them.

The outlays are a rural community like those back on Earth. They value community events and rely on each other to subdue the landscape. You should expect lots of dances and community meals. You are not, however, expected to dance. While at an event, be ever vigilant of any dog attack. Yo are not to imbide in any alcoholic beverage to the point of intoxication.

"Avoid any relationships with girls for at least a year of deployment. Until that point, conversations with any female is to be avoided. Although you were trained to control your emotions, you have not had significant training in suppressing amorous desires. It willtake at least a year of training and study before any series of serious conversations with girls of your own age are to be attempted, perhaps longer. Expect advances from some women who find you intriguing. Avoid this. Keep your minds and bodies ever vigilant to the protection of the outlays. Succumbing to their advances would degrade our ability to protect them against any harm.

"Expect parties upon our arrival celebrating our presence. Attend and enjoy your time, yet stay vigilant. Expect many questions from them that you won't expect. Remember your training and your principles. We are to act in accordance with our mission and values to protect and respect the people of Mars. Potentially inciteful questions may be asked, remember, we are here to protect them, not provoke them. If they upset you, politely disengage from the conversation and return to your guard post. Remember, do not respond in violence for any reason. If they advance on you, use evasive action to elude their aggression. You are far more prepared for combat than any outlay terrafarmer, you have no excuse to engage in combat with them. It would be an aggregious crime for you to do so.

"You will have a general posted between every group circumference whom you will report to bi-monthly, and directly after any engagement with dogs. Every month you will meet with two other teams in the area to strategize over recent dog movements and patterns. In the event of a dog attack, you will alert your nearest brother group to the attack and request reinforcements as deemed necessary. After attack, immediatley brief not just your general, but the two brother groups adjacent to you sphere. Whenever possible, lure the dogs into the far outlays to avoid the witness of the terrafarmers. It will be best for them to only know of the work you do, not see it. They are civilians, unused to the sight of violence. Any skirmish, whether it is successful or not, will incite fear in the outlayers.

"You will take a goverment transporter to your designation and will be introduced to your host family. Take in the sights of Mars. You are here to protect all of it. Some parts are not as beautiful as others. Some are less populated. Some are in need of repair. You are not here to protect Mars because it is beautiful, though it is. You are here to protect Mars so that we can realize its full beauty and fix its ailments in peace.

"Before you leave, we have a special gift for you all. You will receive it tomorrow. We are very proud of you all and wish you the best of luck. Stay true to the course that has been set for you and you will become heroes for many generations to come. You will be pivotal to the success of Mars. Congratulations, boys."

The next day we were woken up and escorted into the large anteroom of the orphanage. there were the familiar upgrade physicians waiting for us before the door. The next youngest class was lining the walls of the room. Behind the doctors were our teachers and superiors. Beside the physicians was a large, room sized storage container draped in crimson cloth. We were escorted to the front of the line and were met by our principal. "Children of Mars. I am so very proud of you. As you embark on your new journey that you have prepared so diligently for, we are so very pleased to present you with this gift. Bade Abba, please step forward and receive your gift."
Bade Abba stepped forward, the crimson cloth was taken off of the large container, and Samantha came out carrying a new arm. The physician took it, removed Bade's arm, and replaced it with the new one. It was an upgrade, personalized with our class symbol, our specialist symbol, and our own field moniker. It was sleeker, more fluid and slick than our old arms. The symbols were emblazened in crimson on the shoulder, the inside of the bicep region, and the forearm. They were terrific.
"You, my dear children, are now men of Mars! These arms have no safety override. We trust you with our very lives. Congratulations."

We were each outfitted, one by one. It was a stately ceremony. The younger class looked on with awe and hunger. Those of us in line waited patiently for our new arms. My turn came and I was fitted. The familiar tingling sensation filled my body. The same sense that this arm wanted to move came over me. It seemed ready. I could feel its power. It wanted me to use it, to try its upgrades. It was impatient. I was ready to leave.

We convened with our groups and into the goverment transporters. Each one held 10 people, three groups and one general. We moved out of the compound, past the trees, the elders of mars, out of our lives and into the streets of Roanoke.

The caravan of five transporters turned into the city, and into a giant celebration. The streets were lined with people throwing confetti into the air, singing songs, waving flags and dancing. All of a sudden people started running beside the transporters, banging on the doors, shouting at us. I remembered the history lessons on riots. This seemed like one. I wasn't sure if they were happy or not. It was pandemonium. There were fireworks going off in the sky, loud music was blaring out of windows, colorful debris was flying through the air. horns were honking, our transporters were shaking from the force of the masses pressing against it. We moved on, slowly, as if swimming upstream in a sea of humanity. Like Moses opening the red sea.

A loud thump resounded beside me. A man with an open grinning mouth and wild hair had one hand pressed against the window. His eye tooth was crooked and yellow. His other hand was beating against the transporter. I looked at what the man had smacked on the car. A newspaper was plastered between his hand and the glass. It was the Martian Free Press. There was a picture of us with our enhanced arms raised aloft into the air with a blaze of light shining out of them. Above the photograph, in big bold letters, the headline yelled:

"Rocket Boys Unleashed!"