Edit: Found, I fail at search.
"The Retrieved" by Sea-Life
http://storiesonline.net/s/56095/the-retrieved
NICE TRY SERGEANT as an exact match search.
My previous searching involved poppies, exoskeletons, spacecraft, meditation and all sorts of other things not in the story at all.
This was on storiesonline but either I fail at search, it's been removed or it was never one story. Any help finding the title, author and full text will be gratefully appreciated.
Earth is going to be destroyed by some sort of cosmic sized disaster (neither man made nor alien, I think?).
Prior to this a limited number of humans are harvested/abducted covertly (100,000?).
The hero is in such poor shape physically the aliens regenerate him (change in body type, athletic and mental ability, possibly given red? hair).
All humans harvested required to work for aliens for x year contracts if they wish to live.
Hero then trains to be special forces soldier as part of contract (x years service enforcing trade and peace treaties).
During training hero saves love interest during field training exercise on game reserve planet (conducted in full body armor exoskeleton, unpowered for the entire FTX, native animals so dangerous that even the herbivores are deadly, love interest has leg broken and spends almost entire FTX strapped to hero's back so he can save her).
Hero and love interest and unusually high percentage of humans pass special forces training.
Just before earth's destruction hero pitches aliens on deal (in exchange for an uninhabited earth like planet and aliens rescuing more humans, only a few million in the limited time available, humans will train and supply special forces qualified humans to aliens for x year individual contracts).
During this hero is forcibly volunteered for new phasing armor exoskeleton (only one to survive process due to history of meditation, on fields of poppies?).
Hero explains method of survival to aliens and successfully trains handful of squad to survive the phasing armor exoskeleton process (meditation to get back to reality, also proof of concept FTX ends with hunter force neutralized very quickly, "nice try sergeant"? possible quote).
After hero's contract is expired he, on the new human home planet, helps train special forces qualified humans (focuses on meditation, on fields of poppies?, to help with phasing armor exoskeleton use, has off planet cult following who are advised to leave the planet of killers and assassins if they turn up as tourists/pilgrims/fanbois).
I really hope this is one story and not parts of "prototype 10", aubie56 stories and others jumbled up by my faulty memory.
Thanks
Mark