[ WP ] In the distant future , a team of soldiers must return to an abandoned Earth .

Reentry had become more and more simple these past years. Of course, that had mostly been on planets with a lower gravitational force than earth. Over the roar of the slowly dying warp engine, the techs assured me that the small rockets attached to the heat proof material that covered my calves would get me to 8,000 feet before my suit depressurized. Of course, that was n't what I was worried about. Theoretically, I would arrive there faster than I did when I normally did this on any other planet, the gravity would account for that. 
 
 I was much more worried about the strength of the wingsuit I was being strapped into. I knew it had worked when I used it on Mercury and Venus, but here? This had never actually been tried before. I did n't voice my concerns however... that's not what a squad leader did. `` Team, move out! ``, I barked when the suits were secure. I walked my team to the airlock, as opposed to our normal jog. Why not? We had plenty of time. Today, we would have to wait for a small shuttle to be dropped down to the planet. Normally, we could return to space using one of the massive space elevators was attached to. 
 
 But not the Earth. We'd left this planet far before we had invented that technology. That had only made it harder for everyone to leave. Fifteen minutes after we had arrived at the airlock, I received the order to jump. `` Team, let's go!'' I yelled, trying to ease the nervous soldiers as I punched the button that would open this side of the airlock. THis time, we did jog, and as soon as we were all in the airlock, I ordered the men to pressurize. At once, each and every one of them punched a pad on their upper left shoulder, and a hiss was heard as the suits absorbed the air of the surrounding area. I sealed the airlock, and opened it to revel the Earth. 
 
 I jumped, and immediately afterwards, as they had been trained, my squad jumped after me, already in formation. This was the reason I had joined the military. Our rockets were programmed to activate 14 seconds after the outside air had lost pressure, which was exactly how long it took for every man to leave the giant hulking ship which would remain in this very spot until we returned. 
 
 My men, as per my orders, could see nothing on their HUDs but incoming dangers. I liked it that way, where they could n't see their speeds or altitudes, no one could argue with me about not following regulation. There was no regulating for this jump however. Like arrows, we all plunged towards the Earth, arms at our sides, traveling at speeds now of more than 3,000 miles per hour. As the altimeter on my HUD alerted me that we were are 20,000 feet above the Earth, I tapped a combination on my palm, immediately projecting orders to my men to flatten their bodies to begin losing speed. We would have to be traveling less than 800 miles per hour before we could activate our wingsuits. Of course, if we reached that speed before we had descended to 8,000 feet, it did n't matter what the techs had said... we would never make it before the suits depressurized. 
 
 As we reached speeds at which the suits insulation kept the noise out, I could hear myself breathing heavily. Any second now, and we would be at 800 miles per hour. I breathed a sigh of relief as my altimeter ticked `` 8,000''. Looking back at the speedometer, I saw I had looked away for too long, we were now at 650 miles per hour. To activate our wingsuits, we would need to tilt back down towards the ground, or they would rip our limbs from our bodies and kill us immediately. I tapped out the command, and every soldier shifted into a 30 degree angle towards the ground. 
 
 I tapped out another order, and every soldier simultaneously put their arms out and squeezed both hands into a fist, activating their wingsuits. Any minute now, we would be on Earth again... and Earth which looked luscious and green to me. Life was not a stranger to this planet I realized, turning towards the flare our dropped shuttle had activated. And suddenly, it was over. I was on the ground... and everything melted away, as I removed my helmet, and was hit by the first blast of fresh oxygen I had ever felt. I would n't like it after I left here, I realized... not at all.
