Fractured Orbits Chapter 7
Fractured Orbits is book one in the Encoded Orbits Trilogy, It’s being released as a serial with chapters coming out on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The first ten chapters are free, before requiring a paid subscription.
Chapter 7
Hwicce had only been on patrol a few hours, but already the inside of his battle armour stank from his exertion. His head’s-up display listed the outside temperature at over thirty-five degrees Celsius—hot enough to challenge his air conditioning. He let out a long exhale and glanced up the steep path ahead. At least he was almost to the top.
As the suit techs had pointed out when he went to the armoury to pick up his armour, they had worked all night to fix the damage from the day before, but the air handling system still needed work. He pondered sending a flat of beer to the armoury as thanks for the new servos in his armour; no one wanted to climb steep slopes without servo assist.
That morning, he’d seen a new sense of relief in the eyes of his troops, but plenty of work remained. Intel expected there would be pockets of resistance as they continued clearing the city. Mopping up could take months yet. The knot of worry in his gut continued to tighten—he needed to find a way to return to Veena and Molly much sooner than that.
Fifty metres on, he reached the top of the ridge. On the crest, he stopped and focused on the panoramic view. The entertainment zone of Candy Cane Lane sat on a planet of the same name, a world barely terraformed. Breathable air and a few scraggly plants were the only nods to humanity’s manipulations. No farms, no mines, nothing of much use except a city built around a single purpose: entertainment.
“Fuck, sir.” Baker stopped at his side, holding her rifle at the ready. “This place sure is a shit hole now.”
Hwicce didn’t say it out loud, but he agreed.
On the valley floor, a thick layer of dust coated the few remaining buildings. Rubble and military checkpoints blocked the roads. Only a few gaudy hints remained of the city’s hay day. The hotels and casinos that once housed and entertained the millions of visitors each year were now destroyed or put to use as barracks and prisons. The only exception was the pyramid of the Pharaoh Casino that rose at the far end of the city; it remained nearly pristine and seemed to taunt him from a distance.
“I can’t wait until we rotate off this hell hole. I’d prefer to hit the gym on the Defiant over marching across this dust bowl,” she said.
“I suspect what you really want is to clear those sailors out of their credits by decimating them at generations dice.”
Hwicce looked up at the glinting outline of the spaceport above. Somehow, despite the carnage, the line of the space elevator remained intact. The fact that both sides needed it likely saved it from being a target.
“Hell yeah,” Baker said.
Hwicce checked his display to confirm the location of the rest of his platoon, but the augmented hearing in his helmet alerted him of a rubbing sound from behind. He swung his rifle around, pointing the sights on the source.
“Come out with your hands up,” he ordered.
Keeping her hands held high above her head, a little girl emerged from the other side of a boulder. She trembled as she stared at the barrel of his rifle. The girl had to be close to the same age as Molly.
Hwicce blinked, and the girl’s features changed to those of Molly. She winced as she stared up from the rifle to the faceplate of his armour. It’s not Molly, he told himself as he lowered his weapon. He swallowed. That was twice he’d hallucinated his family.
“Where’s your family?” he asked, knowing his voice sounded harsh through the helmet speakers.
She wrapped her arms around herself. “Gone.” Her voice was tiny.
This girl was alone in a war zone. He couldn’t in good conscience leave her out here. “Come with me; I’ll take you to the refugee centre.”
She stared at him and shook her head.
“I got this, sir,” Baker said over their private channel as she slung her weapon.
Baker knelt down to the girl’s level and opened her faceplate as Hwicce backed away a few paces.
“He looks pretty scary.” Baker gestured to Hwicce. “Kinda like a bear, right?”
The girl nodded and bit her lip. Then she shifted her gaze to Baker.
“Tell you what,” Baker continued. “I’ve got a stash of Space Chews back at camp. Would you like to share some?”
The girl’s face brightened at the mention of candy.
“While we do that, we can send the bear off to make sure there’s a cozy bunk for you at the refugee centre.” She smiled. “Maybe he’ll even find your family. Would you like that?”
“Yeah,” the girl said.
Baker held out a hand. The girl took it, and she and Baker started back down the ridge towards the camp. Hwicce held back and watched them for a moment. Baker’s ability to relate to a kid was unexpected. There was more to her than he’d realized.
With one hand full of glittery candy wrappers and the other holding onto Baker, the girl let herself be led to the refugee compound. As Baker took her inside, Hwicce studied the sea of humanity on the other side of the fence. The hundreds of people inside were more diverse than he’d ever seen in one place. Cybernetic implants, green skin, and even goggled Rokan hiding their altered eyes from the bright light, entertainers with tentacles for fingers, dancers with tails for balance. The variety of modifications was astounding.
What would the founders think of what humanity had become? He sighed. It didn’t really matter.
Veena’s latest message about Molly’s nightmares was what mattered. They needed him. The army didn’t—not anymore, not now that the war was over. The remaining work could be done by others.
He turned and walked away from the refugee camp gate without waiting for Baker. There was too much to think about. He needed a few moments alone.
Major Tong looked up from his desk when Hwicce knocked at the door just before lunch. The small man smiled and waved Hwicce in before gesturing to the seat across his desk.
“Good job on capturing those Rokan,” Tong said as he put away his datapad.
“The credit goes to my troops. I’ll pass on your compliment.” Hwicce sunk down onto the folding chair. It groaned as it took his weight.
Tong leaned back and looked Hwicce in the eye. “But that’s not why you’re here.”
“No, sir. I’d like to request a transfer to Rock 13-5A to work as part of their security detail.” He’d hate that kind of work, but at least it would get him closer to Veena and Molly.
“Your platoon here needs you. Especially now that victory has been declared. We still have months of work ahead of us. Keeping morale up is going to be critical.”
The two men locked gazes. Major Tong was right; Hwicce had an important role to play here—but how could he stay?
“I understand that my contract allows me to terminate it early once a victory has been declared.” Hwicce’s skin crawled at what he was saying. He hated doing this, but it seemed his only option.
Major Tong’s body language and facial expression changed. No longer did Hwicce’s commander seem open. It was as though Hwicce had shut a door.
“You are correct; you could just walk away from this.” He gestured around as though meaning the world. “But there will be administrative ramifications.”
A sour taste filled Hwicce’s mouth. “I understand.”
“You will be listed as having broken your contract—which is one small step away from a dishonourable discharge.” Tong’s face was taking on a reddish hue.
“I understand.”
“You will be expected to leave this base immediately, and the army will be no longer responsible for getting you home.”
Hwicce nodded—there had to be a ship heading the right way from the spaceport above. Getting to the Rock wouldn’t be impossible. He wouldn’t be allowed access to the base, but Veena and Molly could leave. His sister would hate it, but she would shelter them for a while.
“A review committee will be called to examine your departure. Until they complete your investigation, your veteran benefits will be frozen.”
A knot formed in Hwicce’s gut. Was this the right path? Would a few more months apart really matter? Maybe Veena could hold on for a while longer.
Tong leaned forward. “I think the best thing you can do for both your family and your soldiers is stay.”
Hwicce nodded again. “You might be right, sir. I’ll need to think on this.”
“Leaving now would cost you in unexpected ways. Besides, we should talk about that super-soldier you encountered yesterday.”
“I included all my observations about her in my report.”
“Yes, of course.” Tong pulled out his datapad and put it in front of himself again.
Hwicce assumed Tong was reading the report and settled into to wait. Scents of frying foods wafted into the office from the nearby kitchen, turning Hwicce’s stomach. The piling uncertainty was getting to him. He needed to make his mind up soon and act.
Tong looked up. “My superiors have a couple of questions. First, you reported that she didn’t seem aware of what she was doing.”
“That’s correct. I spoke with the purple cloak this morning. He confirmed that the net on her head controlled her actions.”
Tong paused to take a few notes.
Hwicce’s gut twisted further as he saw his chance. “I heard a rumour that our side is planning on creating super-soldiers as well.”
“That’s classified.” Tong met his gaze. “But peace may not last, and we need to be able to defend ourselves against super-soldiers like the one you encountered.”
Hwicce’s mind began to churn. If the Protectorate launched a program to create super-soldiers, would they be looking for subjects? On the Rock, Molly would be an easy target. He didn’t have months to get to her. All his other responsibilities had to be pushed aside. Getting back to his family was the course he had to take.
By dusk, Hwicce’s resignation was official. He was walking away from everything, including a free ride home. So far, his sister hadn’t responded to his messages, meaning he was on his own to get back to Veena and Molly.
On purpose, he arrived at the supply hut while the rest of the base was at dinner. He didn’t want to end up justifying himself to either his peers or subordinates. Standing there in civilian attire seemed wrong, but it was what he had to do.
“I’m checking out,” he said to the corporal manning the counter. Hwicce had seen him before around camp. Higgs, his name tag said.
He put his issued datapad on the counter, then backed a pace away and put his hands in his pockets.
Higgs projected the list of Hwicce’s issued kit into the air between them. “Right. Let’s start with your armour.”
Hwicce opened the armour case and stood back as Corporal Higgs went through the parts, checking items off the kit list as he went. The armour looked worn. It had done its job by keeping him alive in some pretty dodgy situations. Part of him felt naked now that he was handing it over to someone else.
“Rifle,” Higgs said as he closed the case.
Hwicce set his rifle on the counter, followed by his uniforms, rucksack, and electronics. With each piece of kit he handed over, Hwicce questioned his choice to leave until finally, he was left empty-handed, and all items on his kit list had been checked off. Uncertain how he should feel, he returned to his quarters and picked up the small civilian pattern backpack containing a change of clothes and his toiletries.
The only thing left was to find a berth on a ship heading towards Veena and Molly.
“Sir, where in the fucking hell are you going?” Baker blocked his way out of the camp. She wore her full battle armour, but her faceplate was open, allowing him to see her expression of betrayal.
“I just gotta go,” he said, his shoulders slumping forward under her glare. He started walking away from her down the dusty path towards the city.
She raced to block his way. “Higgs told me you handed in your gear. Did you think you could just sneak out of here without saying anything?”
“There’s blood on my hands.” Hwicce stopped and faced Baker. They stared at each other in silence for a few moments.
Baker ran a hand over her face, then bit her lip—a very uncharacteristic gesture from her. “Hell, sir, there’s blood on all our hands.”
He sighed. He’d hoped to avoid conversations like this, and he wasn’t sure he should tell her the truth about needing to get back to Molly. “Maybe, but I can’t do this anymore.”
“But we fucking won.” She paused for a moment and glanced back into their base. “Right?”
“They say we did.” A knot formed in Hwicce’s gut as the names of the soldiers he’d lost ran through his mind. But the remaining ones didn’t need him anymore.
“You went and resigned, didn’t you?”
Hwicce’s mouth went dry, and he said nothing.
“You fucking quit, and now you’re sneaking out of here without a word to anyone. It’s a dick move.” She clenched her jaw and glared at him for a moment. Then her demeanour changed as she looked down on the tally of kills scribed into the armour on her left forearm. Even though they’d been through several recent battles, it had been months since she’d updated the count.
“You’re an outstanding soldier,” Hwicce said.
Silence fell between them as they both stared at the marks on her armour. After a moment, her brow wrinkled, and her eyes went wide. “Fuck it. I’m coming with you…sir.”
Hwicce stared at her for a moment. He didn’t know much about her background, but he knew she loved being a soldier. At least she’d used to love it. But he knew that after one of the missions a few months ago, something in her had changed. He should have asked what was going on with her, but there never seemed to be a good time. Nevertheless, she shouldn’t just quit because he did.
“I order you to stay. Be a soldier. You’re awesome at it, and I know you love it.”
“You’re a god damn civi; you don’t get to order me around.”
Another silence fell between them as Hwicce tried to find the words to convince Baker to stay.
“If you resign here, you cease to exist to the army. They’ll expect you to leave right away and find your own way. They won’t even give you access to veteran benefits until a ‘review committee’ goes through everything.”
She stared at him, her dark eyes boring into his. She seemed to be thinking through the ramifications. Finally, she licked her lips. “I’m with you. The army can go fuck itself.”
“You can’t take your armour,” he said.
“Well... shit.” Baker ran her hands down the smooth surface of her armour. “I love my hard shell.”
Hwicce met Baker’s gaze. “The army’s not going to let you walk off with their fancy battle armour.”
“Fine.” She started stripping out of her armour and dropping the pieces on the ground. “But I’m buying a black-market version as soon as I can.”
He nodded, uncertain if he wanted the responsibility of having her tag along but out of reasons to convince her to stay behind. Being a soldier seemed to be her world; who would she be without that? But it was her choice to make—even if it seemed so sudden.
Baker ran her hands down her black track pants. “So, where the hell are we going to go?”
“I need to get back to my family. They need me.” He debated telling Baker everything—if she really was coming with him, she deserved to know.
“And they were on New Haven?” Baker asked.
“They were.”
She looked down at her feet. “Shit! I’m sorry. You must feel awful.”
“They made it out okay. After the bombing, Veena was recruited to work at the army base nearby.”
“So we’re headed to the fucking Alpha System.” Baker tilted her face up towards the sky, her soldier persona back in full force. “Step one: get on a ship. We’re gonna have to get up to the spaceport.”
Hwicce looked up, letting his gaze follow the long line of the space elevator down to where it reached the planet’s surface. In that moment, Hwicce was grateful for her company. She’d keep him focused and not allow him to wallow in self-pity.
“Turn in your armour, and then we’ll get going.”
to be continued…
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