This is the 9th free sample of Oranje, I’ll be posting up to the end of Chapter Ten for free. You can buy it here, or if you’re interested in getting a review copy of the book, you can contact me via email or on twitter (links to both on my website).
Links to the previous free samples:
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Marienne looked up as the lights in her office dimmed, a not-so-subtle hint that the end of the work day had arrived. She rubbed her eyes and glanced at her watch: eight o’clock. She’d done another twelve-hour day. Her desk had assumed its normal unorganised state, a dozen different tasks open on her monitor. A cough from the doorway made her turn to see Jan standing there.
“Are you off, Major?”
He nodded. “It’s been a long day.”
“It really has.”
“Are you heading back to your quarters, General?”
She looked at her desk. “Not yet. I’ll tidy things up here first. You should go and get your rest.”
He saluted and was gone. She spent a few minutes clearing the last few unfinished items from her schedule—there was always more to be done—then closed everything down. Getting up from her desk, she looked out of the window to see the sun rising over the curve that was Tiamat. After lingering for a second to absorb the image, she left. The lights shut off behind her, and she began the long walk through the grey, dark station to her own private quarters, on the other side of the great docking arms.
This was the quiet time in the middle of one crew shift. There were three, each took turns doing eight-hour shifts, so she didn’t encounter many of the station’s crew as she made her solitary walk. The few she did meet gave her brief salutes and cautious looks. No doubt the press conference had been the focus of every conversation that day. Returning the salutes, she reminded herself to send out that statement of intent first thing in the morning. She walked as fast as she could without looking like she was trying to hurry back to her room.
A few guards and single rooms were the only differences between the senior officers’ section and that for the rest of the crew. Her quarters were located at the end of a long corridor, past all the other officers, and she pushed the door open. The lights came on inside to illuminate her little piece of home. Four small grey walls greeted her. Space was always at a premium on a space station, so even as the region commander, she had only a small amount to herself. The top level had a sofa and TV along with a desk. Every wall had storage boxes built in, to make the most use of the space available. She headed straight for the stairs down to the level below, where her bed and the bathroom were located.
Undoing her jacket, she woke up her computer to check her messages. Looked like her family and friends had all seen the press conference. She scrolled through her large inbox, a mix of supportive and derisive messages, but stopped at one. It was from Isah, her husband. It wasn’t the long message she expected; it just asked her to get in touch as soon as she could. She looked at the clocks she had as her monitor’s background. One showed universal time, the other local time on Perun, the capital of the Union. It was where she was from and where Isah still lived with their daughter Maya. The time was seven in the morning there, early enough to have a shower before calling him.
The time went fast, and soon she was sitting at her desk, dressed in a plain grey tracksuit, reading up on the latest tactical theory discussions. Not quite the relaxing evening she had had in mind, but at least it was better than more work. She made a call request to Isah and waited to hear back from him.
The article she was reading was by General Reiter and was typical of her work. It was solid and strong but lacked in flexibility and adaptability, unlike her own work, which relied on an officer’s training to adapt as the situation changed. The computers on a combat vehicle could deal with the everyday stuff anyway—you needed to let officers use their creativity to get the best results.
The sound of rolling drums told her that Isah was making a call to her, and she answered it straight away. She smiled when she saw him. He smiled back, but only for a moment. He looked stressed, thick lines visible on his forehead, and his hair was starting to go grey in places.
“Hello, my love,” she said. “How are you?”
“I’m good, thank you, Marie.” His gaze was avoiding her eyes. “How are you? I’m sure you’ve had a busy day.”
“I’m okay. You know how it is.” She studied his face. He looked tired. “How are things with you?”
“The usual, nothing exciting happening to me.”
“How is Maya? She still doing well at the Technology Institute?”
“She’s acing her grades, no change there.” He managed a smile at last. “She says hello.”
“Give her my love next time you talk to her. I’ve not had a chance to call her for a while. I do miss seeing her face.”
“I wish you could do that more often. She barely saw you when you were at the Academy; now it’s even less.” His face was stern, not the caring one in the picture she had framed on her desk.
“You know I’m trying my best. With tensions so high with the Republic, everyone in the Space Force is having to put in the extra effort needed.” She folded her arms.
“That’s surprising, given what you said earlier.”
Ah, the press conference. “Is that what you wanted to talk about?”
“Yes, it is,” said Isah. “How can you talk like that?”
“Because it’s what I believe. You, of all people, should know that.”
“Should I? I’m not sure I know you anymore.” Tears were starting to form in his eyes. “I definitely don’t understand why you accepted this command.”
She steadied her hands. “I took the position I was offered. Why do I have to keep explaining that to people? Why do I need to explain that to you?” She looked away from the screen. “You understood my views well enough at university. Why not now?”
“That was a long time ago. A lot has changed since then,” he said. “You in particular.”
“I’m not the only one. What happened to the young revolutionary you once were?” She could feel tears forming in her eyes as well.
“I grew up and stopped pointlessly hating the system. I thought you might follow suit someday.”
“Is that what you really think of me?” She shook her head. “I don’t hate the system. I hate what the system does.”
“Like this war.”
“It’s not started yet.”
It was his turn to shake his head. “The Republic have broken the last agreement too many times. We can’t ignore that any longer.”
“Why not? We’ve been fighting them in pointless wars for centuries. Why do we have to repeat the cycle again?”
“They show no respect for our nation, the nation you swore to serve and protect.” His eyes were bulging, and veins showed on his forehead.
“I know the oath I took. Don’t try to tell me I don’t. If it comes to a war, I will serve as I’m needed. That doesn’t mean I can’t try and stop this war from happening in the first place.”
“You’re not the Marienne I remember.” His voice broke as he spoke.
“And what is that?”
“I remember a young person full of passion to serve their country, to make it a better place for all of its citizens. I remember someone who wanted to do their duty.”
“You don’t think that’s me anymore?” A tear ran down her cheek.
“After those interviews you gave? No, you are not that person anymore. You’re not the woman I married.”
“You’re wrong,” she said.
He shook his head, his eyes wet but without tears yet. He looked too angry for that.
“You are. I am still that person.” She stared into his eyes. “I don’t want this war because it means nothing apart from people dying. Years ago, you would have agreed with me. I’m not the one who has changed; you are.”
They looked at each other in silence, and she wiped her eyes.
“We can’t go on like this,” she said. “It’s not doing either of us any good. Can’t we try again, give ourselves some time to remember who we are to each other?”
“When do you propose we do that?” he said. “You’re always working and don’t have time for us. You never had time for Maya when she was a kid either.”
“I raised her as much as you did. Don’t you dare try to forget that.”
Another moment of silence.
“So what do you want us to do, then?” She rubbed her brow. “This can’t go on.”
“No, it can’t. It has to end.” He was looking at his lap. “I want a divorce.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but no words leapt from her lips.
“My lawyer has drawn up the documents. All you need to do is sign them.” His voice was breaking with every syllable he spoke.
She breathed in and fought back more tears.
“So this is it, then? This is the end of us?”
“We’ve been fighting each other for years and years. When was the last time we worked as a couple? It’s time to end it.”
Marienne’s mouth opened in disbelief.
“What about Maya?”
“She’s an adult. She can decide who she wants to see.”
She took another deep breath. “I need time to think.”
“I’ll send the documents through to you. Please, Marie, sign them.”
“All these years, and it will end like this, a call over the Net instead of face to face.”
“We would be waiting a long time for that to happen.”
They looked at each other, angry and sad in equal measure.
“I have to go, Marie. Please think about it.”
“Goodbye, Isah.” She ended the call with a slap on her screen.
Moments later, the divorce documents arrived in her inbox. She didn’t read them. From her desk, she picked up the picture of them back in their university days. They had been so happy then, totally in love with each other. He’d changed since then—maybe she had too. She put the picture down in its place, at the perfect angle for her to look at it when she was sat down. She took a moment to clear her thoughts and turned back to the tactical article and opened the next dozen as well. The lights stayed on in her quarters for a long time that night.
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