Subordinance

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

“Dormitory Two! At attention in five, report to mess in fifteen!” On cue, the morning alarm blares over the sound system subsequent to the announcement. Wincing, I wink open an eye and throw off my blankets. The girl across from me groans, her arm laying over the side of the bunk. I swing my legs over the side of my bed and watch them dangle as I try to focus my thoughts enough to follow through with an action. With a grunt, I drop down and dig out my combat uniform from the nightstand next to the bunk, the boy sleeping on the bottom bunk snoring loudly. I proceed to whack him in the head with my combat shirt.

“What the—?” he startles, shooting up.

“Wake up, Twenty-Three,” I reply, him glowering as soon as the sleep wears off.

“Shove off, Nine,” he fires back, clearly disgruntled.

“You’d better get ready. I heard from a girl on the AirTram that her Quadrant had stealth drills all week. I wouldn’t want to do that on an empty stomach if I were you.” He drops his head back, groaning. I turn back to my uniform, tugging on the navy pants and slipping into an undershirt. I strap the vest of thick bullet-proof material around my torso before buttoning up the combat shirt. Heading to the bathroom, I run a hand through my cropped hair, fingering the ends of the dark strands as I pin them back and under my cap, the same navy as the uniform with a band of twenty-four silver stars around the brim that signify my Quadrant and Division.

Not wanting to be late, I grab my boots by the door and hop down the hallway to the mess hall, attempting to tug on the left and then the right. Bowls of stewed ration meal are set out on the tables with pieces of pale-pink fruit sitting somewhat sadly on top.

Delicious.

Sitting down, I stir a dented metal spoon around the mush, the greyish-cream color just a bit on the unappetizing side. The grumbling of my stomach begs to differ, though, so I choke down the ration meal with long droughts of coffee from the canteen on the table. The little pink fruit on top is a different story, however, most likely from the Second Army-issue canned fruit the Base receives every month. This looks like it might’ve at some point been a cherry.

Or not.

Whatever it is, I’m still contemplating the color when we’re interrupted by another announcement. “All Subordinates in the twenty-fourth Quadrant are to report to the Dome Complex in five. Consequences will be delivered to those who are late.”

Despite the pleasant company the ration meal and groggy Subordinates provide, I decide to start to make my way towards the Dome Complex, located conveniently on the other side of the Base. Even for someone who’s trained non-stop since the day they were created, it’s a bit of a hike.

Once you get out of the Division Halls and Sector Floors, you reach the main area for my Quadrant where the AirTram station, creation lab, and lesson rooms are located. At each Regiment Base there are 25 Quadrant Wings, and you pretty much stay in my Wing until you’re assigned your official position at 24 months. The only time you leave the Wing and return is if you’re called to the Dome Complex, which is at the center of the Regiment Base.

When I arrive at the Dome, a couple of Sectors are already there. I scan in with the same kind of scanner at the AirTram stations and go to where my Sector’s Leader stands. The story goes that he was promoted to that position because he saved the Kappa Regiment Commander twice when he was stationed in that District. For a Subordinate who’s still serving, he’s pretty old—almost seven years. In three, he’ll be able to retire to a home in the Sigma District and live out his days there for another twenty or so years, if he’s lucky.