Chapter 14


Though winters on Vega IV were quite intense with heavy snowfalls almost persistant throughout the season, it was thankfully a short season, at least in the central regions of the planet’s western continent. Three months after the first snowfall came the last snowfall, followed by the great thaw as the planet’s orbit brought it closer to the system’s A-type main sequence star. The winter season was immediately followed by the continent’s violent stormy season. She’d never before experienced storms the likes of which she saw on Vega IV.

Lightning shattered the darkened sky, flashes occurring almost continuously day and night, with lightning strikes occurring every few minutes, some even coming dangerously close to Hayley as she walked through the park that evening. Many Exiles, from what she could see, had taken shelter close to the arcologies, lining the outer walls or within the partially enclosed spaces of the promenades. A few however, like Hayley, just couldn’t be bothered with such precautions. Her life of exile had begun to truly take its toll on her over the course of the past few months. The novelty of the snow had worn out after about a month, and the winter’s bleakness had led her down a pit of despair. When finally the snow had melted, bringing the promise of longer days, more sun and the ability for Hayley to finally return to her pond, she’d felt her spirits rise. But even as life returned to the withered trees and brown grass, she couldn’t quite dig herself out of her hole of self-pity. She’d reunited with her kick/dodgeball teammates for a game earlier that week. The only game of the season it would turn out to be. A group of scruffy-looking male teenagers, obviously from the shanties, had noticed them playing in their usual spot in the small open field near the western fence line. They watched for a bit from the other side of the fence, jeering and taunting the Exiles whom they knew couldn’t do anything. When that wasn’t good enough for them, they jumped the fence and ran right into the middle of the game, one of them snagging the ball as it was kicked.

Laughing and jeering, one of the young boys, probably no older than sixteen, slashed the ball with a pocket knife, doing so out of pure malice with a toothy, lopsided grin on his face. The collective spirits of every Exile on the field, player and spectator alike, was deflated along with the ball.

Hayley, who was in the outfield at that moment, turned her eyes toward the catcher whom she knew owned the ball. He slumped to the ground, instinctively drawing a hand over the face of his helmet. The defeat in his posture was palpable. "You stupid little brat!" Hayley raged under her helmet, utterly furious with the complete lack of empathy shown by the three teenagers, who continued to torment the nearby Exiles.

A few of the Exiles acknowledged the three boys with rude gestures. It was the least they could do, and practically the only thing they could do. Tiring of the shameful spectacle, the Exiles in the field dispersed. But it wasn’t over. Next came something that would shake Hayley to the core.

She watched as her team’s pitcher started off the field, when one of the larger youths shouted something to the others, taking notice of her. They ran toward her and surrounded her, forcing her to stop. Hayley watched with rising anger as the boys focused their bullying efforts on her, saying things to her that no other human should ever say to another.

"Hey bitch, how do you look in there? Fucking ugly as shit I bet. Probably glad you have that thing on your head so no one has to see your ugly ass face," the boy said, leaning in close and rapping a fist against her helmet. "All this time having to live out here gave you a nice fucking body though. I bet you’d love it if I stuck my dick in your ass, wouldn’t you?"

"Do her man, do her!" One of the other teens urged.

"Yeah man, do her! She can’t do anything."

"You’d like that, wouldn’t you, you fucking whore?" The larger teen pressed his head against the female Exile’s helmet, causing her to lean back. There was nothing she could do though, and she knew it and Hayley knew it. She knew the girl just had to sit there and wait the boys out, hoping their jaw jacking would tire them out eventually. "Come on whore, do something why don’t you? You can’t, because you know you want it. You want me fucking bad, don’t you?"

Hayley’s hands balled tightly into fists. She wanted to do something, but couldn’t. She couldn’t get close to the other Exile and couldn’t put her hand on a citizen. But maybe she could track a DIS agent down. Peering around the immediate area, she couldn’t see any. They rarely patrolled the park, normally being found in the more citizen-heavy populated spots like the promenades. The closest one was unfortunately about a four minute run away, and Hayley didn’t want to leave her friend alone with these thugs.

The large boy made a move, grabbing the Exile by the arm and throwing her to the ground. The woman tried picking herself up but had the back of her head stomped on and pounded into the ground. Without the helmet protecting her, her skull would have likely been fractured. Clearly dazed by the assault, she shakily tried to push herself up, but was forced onto her back as one of the teens drilled the side of her body with his knee.

"Stop it!" Hayley cried and took a few running steps at the boys, stopping just short of the five meter limit.

The boys detected the other Exile in their midst, looking up at her with wicked intent in their eyes.

"Get a good look!" The larger boy said, as he forced himself on top of the female Exile on the ground. To Hayley’s horror, the boy began groping the other girl, squeezing her breasts firmly with his hands while grinding his crotch into her body. The female Exile, terrified of touching the teen, just laid there with her fingers digging into the ground. She shook spastically, but not from fear. The Warden system was registering the contact between her and the boy, sending intense jolts of pain through her body as it counted every touch as a separate violation. It was if they knew that the more they touched her the more punishment she would get and the more her sentence would increase. They kept it up for several more minutes, the larger teen dipping his head down and getting a mouth full of the Exile’s breast. It was the most perverse and disturbing thing Hayley had ever witnessed. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the teen pushed himself off of the female Exile, leaving her on her back and shivering uncontrollably. It was clear these predators hadn’t had enough however. One of the smaller boys started toward Hayley.

"This one looks pretty hot too," he said, his lips curled back in a vicious grin. "She’s mine."

Realizing she was the next target, Hayley turned and started running. She’d only managed to get maybe two-dozen paces when the teens tackled her. Screaming beneath her helmet, she could do nothing as pain ripped through her body, Warden’s voice continuously droning ‘Contact Violation’ in her head. She felt the pressure of a pair of hands squeezing her breasts as she was forcibly sat up and pulled into the lap of one of the teens. Instinctively she tilted her head forward and drove it back, the back of her helmeted head smashing the front teeth of one of her assailants. It took her a split second to realize what she’d just done and know that she’d be paying for it.

"You fucking bitch!" The teen roared, as blood spurted from his gums where his two front teeth had been smashed out.

Nothing the teens could do to her however would compare to the pain she was about to endure. It was like her body was being covered in a vat of boiling oil. It was so intense and so shocking to the system that she couldn’t even scream. Her body became stiff like a board as every muscle in her body exploded in agony.

"Major Offense. Assaulting a citizen. Punishment level 9 administered. DIS has been dispatched to your location."

The pain subsided after several long seconds, just as Hayley felt herself beginning to lose consciousness. It wasn’t over for her though. Other pain was now wracking her body as she found herself laying face up, the three boys now stomping and kicking her. She felt her ribs crack and new, very real pain rip through her body. The one she’d head butted stood over her head and was kicking the side of her helmet furiously. She’d never been so thankful she was wearing the suit and helmet. She figured she’d be in far worse pain had she not.

And in another first, it was the first time Hayley was glad to see DIS agents. A pair of them appeared and one by one threw the boys to the ground. There was a struggle as the three youths attempted to scramble to their feet and flee, one of them even getting a few feet away before one of the agents raised a concussion pistol and fired a shot. The boy was thrown off his feet, as if he’d just been hit by a speeding car. It was a satisfying sight as Hayley looked on. The other two boys were repeatedly clubbed by the agents until both were black and blue and no longer resisting. It was brutal and it was the exact kind of behavior Hayley had hoped to make other people conscious of through her tour, but at that moment, after having watched her friend raped and having been beaten severely, she could think of no better fate for the three. She hoped they’d been charged, convicted and exiled. Nothing could have been more poetic.

After the agents mopped up, one of them came to speak with Hayley; a female DIS agent who even had the courtesy of removing her gas mask before speaking to her. She knelt down next to Hayley with her DPAD, holding the device over her body.

"Warden HK14. Subject diagnostic."

"Exile HK14 diagnostic. Subject is suffering from four broken ribs, a punctured lung and various fractures along the left and right Humerus. Analgesic protocol level 6 administered. Recommend immediate medical attention."

"Warden, alert medical. Have them send a shuttle. Don’t worry, we’ll get you some help," the agent looked down at Hayley and much to her surprised gave her a small smile. "Warden HK14, initiate free speak protocol. How are you feeling HK14?"

She had to admit she didn’t feel as bad as she figured she should have, given the level of injury she’d sustained. She figured it was either the shock or Warden’s ability to nullify her pain. "I’ve felt better," she finally admitted.

"I’m sorry you had to through that. We’ve been having problems lately with youth gangs from the shantytowns. We’ve caught a number of them abusing the Exile population. We’ll get you fixed up, don’t worry."

Hayley turned her head catching a glimpse of the other Exile standing a few yards away and watching closely. She was glad she wasn’t hurt. But the way she stood with one arm crossed over her chest and her other hand deliberately placed over her crotch suggested to Hayley that perhaps she’d been injured in a deeper way. The rape, or attempted rape, had clearly taken something out of her. Hayley reached a hand out toward her, wiggling her fingers slightly to acknowledge her. The other Exile pressed a hand against her chest over her heart, then drew both hands together as if enclosing them around her heart. She released the invisibly clutched heart at Hayley. The young former singer smiled, happy to have done something positive for a fellow Exile. Even though she hadn’t been able to help her directly, they both knew Hayley’s assault on their mutual attackers had drawn the attention of DIS agents. Had she not done that, even at the risk of increasing her own sentence, she may have been killed and the other Exile would not have gotten any justice.

Medics arrived soon afterward, riding in a sleek aircraft that looked similar to a tilt-rotor aircraft, only with no propellers. Instead, it used rotating jet engines. The red and black schemed craft landed a few meters away from Hayley, paramedics deploying the instant it touched down. They carefully loaded the injured Exile onto a padded stretcher, strapped her down and hurried her into the aircraft. It was then a short 2-minute ride back to the arcology.

For the first time in eight months, Hayley was indoors again. The medics were sure to deactivate most of Warden’s monitoring protocols while they transported her, and during the course of her stay in the New Rome medical center. It was interest to Hayley to see exactly how wounded Exiles were treated.

She found herself back in the medical center/laboratory she’d first been in when they were prepping her for exile. She’d hoped that they’d be forced to remove the black latex-like skin from her body or at least her helmet, but to her disappointment it was not to be. Using a type of laser system, they were able to repair her bones from inside. They first suspended her within a liquid filled tank, like a large fish tank. The fluid, which was about as thick as molasses but as clear as water, kept her afloat at about the midway point of the tank. An auto-tracking laser, deployed from a ball-like turret above, went to work rapidly firing a needle-thin white beam at her. The beam fired in rapid micro-second bursts, cutting through material and flesh to strike at her bone where the breaks were located. The process took several hours, the beam essentially ‘welding’ the bones together. Fortunately, Warden kept Hayley in a mild stupor, making the process seemingly quick and painless. She fell asleep about mid way in to the procedure, and woke up outside of the fluid and on a bed inside the patient ward. She wasn’t alone. A number of other Exiles occupied beds throughout the ward, all of whom appeared to be resting comfortable.

A familiar figure wearing a white medical coverall appeared from a side room and walked up to Hayley’s side. The tan-skinned raven-haired Dr. Savan, as usual, wore an inappropriate smile on her face.

"Hello HK14. It seems you’re doing well this morning."

Hayley breathed a heavy sigh. She really had no desire to see or speak to the woman who’d basically turned her into an Exile. "Eat me, you perky bitch."

The doctor’s eyes widened, her mouth forming into a sardonic looking smirk. "Perky bitch...well, that’s a new one."

Shit...she heard that. Hayley grumbled, not realizing her free speak mode hadn’t been deactivated. She didn’t apologize for the remark though, figuring it was a pretty apt description. "How long have I been asleep?" Hayley asked instead. "About 12 hours. How are you feeling?"

"Fine I suppose."

"Good. How are you coping out there if you don’t mind my asking?"

"I do mind."

"Oh," Savan frowned. "You know, some find it helpful to talk about their experiences, as a kind of therapy. Most people can’t wait to talk when they have a chance. This may be the only chance you’ll get to..."

"Just...save it, doctor. I don’t want to talk to you or anyone else, alright?"

"As you wish. You’ll be discharged in an hour. Warden HK14, deactivate free speak."

Hayley breathed a deep sigh as Savan walked away, glad to be rid of the woman. She turned her head slightly and looked at the Exile in the bed next to hers. The young looking male Exile seemed to sense her glance and turned to look at her, the two exchanging small nods of acknowledgment. It was strange, she thought as she stared at the black suited being before her. It hadn’t even been a year, and already Hayley was identifying more with the Exiles than she was with regular people. It was almost as if she’d stopped considering herself a person anymore. She was an Exile. As if being an Exile was to be something beyond being human. Or perhaps she just couldn’t trust people not wearing the suits. With other Exiles, she could pretty much predict their behavior. Regular people were so much more random. So much more chaotic. She dwelled on those thoughts, even after DIS agents came to retrieve her and flown back outside to the park where they’d found her. Feeling just a little bit woozy but otherwise fine, she wandered back to the pond she called home. She wouldn’t be staying however.

Following one of her daily maintenance cycles, Hayley found herself staring at the regular citizens walking along the nearby walkways and bridges, and in and out of the promenades. She watched them carrying on about their daily lives, totally unsympathetic toward the Exiles all around them, apathetic toward their suffering and almost totally unaware of their existence. Hayley found herself growing spiteful toward regular people. It wasn’t jealousy or envy, the kinds of emotions she’d felt earlier on. No. All she felt was disdain for the common man. They were the ones who’d put her there, they were the ones who were keeping her there, and they were the ones brutalizing her and her fellow Exiles. The final nail in the coffin came when Hayley spotted three familiar faces moving through the walkway, laughing and jostling each other, occasionally throwing glances toward the Exiles near the maintenance station. It was the three teenagers who’d attacked her and her friend, walking Scot-free with only a few bruises from their beating at the hands of the DIS agents serving as punishment for their crimes. She couldn’t believe it. She smacks a woman’s DPAD out of her hands and she gets an extra year thrown on her sentence. These three little criminals rape an Exile and savagely beat another and get...nothing.

These people were savages. All of them. And Hayley didn’t want to look at them anymore.

As the skies filled with dark ominous clouds and claps of thunder shook the ground, Hayley looked out toward the wilderness beyond the arcologies and beyond the shantytown and knew that’s where she needed to be.