Free The Broken Cage (Solstice 31 Saga Book 2) by Martin Wilsey Page A

said.
    “Jimbo always left his stripes in his cabin when he went there. It was full of heavies and security folks like me. His friends had all served on the Ventura for years.”
    “Heavies?” Wood asked, as they broke into the sunlight.
    “Heavies are the people that lived in the outer rings where it was over 2G all the time. Live there for a few months, and you end up looking like a Greek goddess.”
    “Planet is becoming visible, dead ahead,” Wood reported back to the Memphis .
    “We will stop in a few more clicks when the planet is fully visible,” Hume added.
    Fresh craters were now frequent. They found a flat rock outcropping at the top of a hill that allowed the relay strength to increase.
    It took them two hours to set up the sensors and the optical observatory.
    They waited while the systems from the Memphis were all tested.
    “Do you think we'll survive? Or ever get out of here?” Wood asked, looking at the planet.
    “Yes. Yes, we will,” Hume said, as a matter-of-fact.
    “We can't die here. I just received my first longevity treatment.” Wood laughed.
     
     
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER NINE
     
    Tan'Vi
     
     
    “Why am I telling you this? Because, Barcus is not the only one responsible here. I killed those bastards, and yes, in retrospect I'd do it again.”
    --Solstice 31 Incident Investigation Testimony Transcript: Master Chief Nancy Randall, senior surviving security member of the Ventura's crew.
     
    <<<>>>
     
    “Poole, this map has several villages marked on it. Let's avoid them by following a line, like this.” She indicated it on the HUD.
    “If the pi symbol represents a shelter, do you think there is a variation on this symbol, with a leg missing? Or this, the one with the peaked roof?”
    “ We will find out soon. Following this track we will pass near both. When the Fly catches up, it can recon. ” AI~Poole was businesslike again. “ It will catch up soon. We are moving much slower to ensure we are not seen and our tracks are difficult to follow.”
    They traveled at night now and rested during the day. Moving along streams and rocky areas, they hid in dense forests during daylight.
    Rand discovered that there was a particular annotation for a three-sided, open shelter and a visible, aboveground shelter like a cabin or other building.
    The forest here was untouched. The forest floor was littered with fallen trees of all sizes. The going would be very difficult for a person on foot and impossible for a horse. The canopy above gave shelter from sat monitoring, which, it seemed, the trackers were aware of.
    Rand found similar journals in other shelters. Some even warned of the level of observation from above.
    For two weeks, they moved at night. Easily avoiding settlements, even small groups, and individuals, via infrared.
    The game became plentiful. One morning, Rand awoke to find a buck at Poole's feet.
    “Last night, while we were parked, it scraped its antlers on my leg. I reached down and broke its neck just at the base of its skull with a quick squeeze. We had discussed hunting, but I had no idea it was so easy.”
    Rand gutted the deer, right there. She had Poole bring the deer with them to the next shelter. It was a small, aboveground cabin on a small bluff above a stream. No one would ever find this without a map. It was simply not visible from any direction until they were there. There was already firewood and even a large cook pot on a swinging hook in the fireplace. Soon, the deer was skinned and quartered. A simple stew with salt and pepper simmered over the fire.
    Rand slept in the small cabin. It was outfitted with four hammocks. The hammocks hung from only one hook when not in use. When deployed, they basically took up the entire cabin. They were very comfortable and meant she didn't have the worry of mice like with the mattresses in other shelters.
    Poole had taken up a position in the evergreens, legs extended all the way, still as stone, blending in.
    ***
    Rand dozed