“Would you like more?” he offered.
“Yes! I mean, please. Thank you…”
“I am Captain Logan Coor, but you can call me Logan.”
“Thank you, Logan,” she said, liking his name.
He poured her more water, and she readily drank it down. She moaned at the delicious taste. It had been so long since she had anything so pure. She wondered if they filtered it this way or if it came from some natural alien water spring. She must have spoken out loud because he answered her.
“We have natural springs on our home world, but we specially filtered this water on our ship for long-distance space travel. It has extra nutrients in it.”
“Are the nutrients okay for humans?”
“It should help heal any ailments you have. Not all ailments, just if you are lacking anything that would keep you from reaching your healthiest peak.”
“Wow, that’s impressive. May I have more?”
He nodded, pouring her more. “How long has it been since you have had any water?”
“We drink water sparingly. We have some water spots where the water comes from a well down below the subway. Occasionally, my tribe trades with other tribes who have acquired bottled water.”
“What about the food and water supplies my people have provided specifically for the tribes?”
She frowned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Our Drastan leaders made a deal with the Earth leaders. We agreed to supply the domes with food, water, clothing, and medical needs. We also provide extra supplies to be distributed to other Earth inhabitants that do not live within the domes.”
Faith snorted. “That bullshit. We receive nothing from the domes unless we take it.”
“It is not the agreement made. Are the dome leaders not holding up their end of the deal?”
“No, they’re not. But it doesn’t matter, anyway. Those of us who live in the tribes know that you only care about the above-ground dome dwellers.”
“That is not true.”
“Right, I forgot the part where you want slaves and women to breed more Drastans.”
He jerked back as if she had struck him. She wouldn’t hit another person, but even if she had hit him, he was so big and had muscles everywhere, she would only hurt herself.
“Where did you get that ridiculous idea?”
“It’s what’s being said below ground. Your people need women to breed because you have no women of your own. You trade with the dome people to get them to give us up so you can make us your slaves.”
Logan shook his head. “That must be the most absurd thing I have ever heard. First, our people are not short of females, and we breed just fine. Second, we initially helped your people because it is the right thing to do. We have found some of Earth’s minerals valuable, so we trade, but there isn’t anything on Earth that we cannot find somewhere else.”
Faith wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or disappointed that he would not take her to breed. Her cheeks felt hot just thinking about doing those things with him. His warmth overwhelmed her, and they weren’t even naked. The way he looked at her was making her have butterflies in the stomach.
“What minerals?”
“The only thing truly of value left after the nuclear explosions is buried deep below the surface. Specifically, natural crystals can be uncovered. My people use these for energy.”
“Our world was on the verge of losing those precious minerals. I guess with no one mining the minerals for the past eight years, it somehow replenished.”
“That is what your scientists claimed when we made the agreements. Would you like more water?”
She wanted to be greedy and say yes, but he’d had nothing to drink yet and she wasn’t sure how much he had on him. “I’m good for now.”
“The tribe you were with tonight. Who leads it?”
