Equipment needs to be maintained.
The colony needs protecting.
People like me take care of the colony as it is now, the other people, they are building the colony of the future. The colony that the children we have will benefit from. Which is why so many of us voted to make peace and learn from the aliens. We want a better life than scratching around in the dirt and learning by trial and error.
These guys can help us move past subsistence.
The scientists and doctors have been talking to Tiril—who arrived in secret and was kept locked up—about farming and such. And I’m sure there are plans being made on how best to incorporate the new arrivals into the colony.
I scuff my boot in the dirt. I can guarantee they will be assisting the farmers and food scientists or working with the people who are exploring options for cloth production. The clothing and blankets and shoes we brought with us from Earth won’t last forever, and people will tire of patched hand-me-downs.
The gate opens and the aliens walk in. They are tall, with long hair and beards, both decorated with beads and metal. They wear swords and have elaborate tattoos on their hands and forearms. From where I’m standing, I can see that their clothes are worn and much patched. But then these are men who’ve lived without a tribe for years.
They were banished…though the leaders reassured us that their only crime is being the fourth born son. That’s how they deal with their population imbalance.
Whether it’s alien genetics or something about this world, they have far too many boys and not enough girls.
And from the whispers I’ve heard, there will be no human alien babies. We’re notthatcompatible. Though I wonder if the scientists are looking at why that is, after all, they are perfectly adapted for survival on this world. Sticking out of their hair are two bony crests, like fans over each ear. Apparently, they use them to send an electrical charge when hunting, and they can also use them to communicate.
The three women who arrived with them seem to be relaxed and happy, which is the exact opposite of what most people were expecting. Plenty said that they’d be arriving half-starved and desperate for human company.
Yeah, that’s not the vibe I’m getting.
They are holding their mate’s hand, and smiling, and in no rush to pull away. They don’t appear to be hungry. Neither do the aliens. They look like they spend more time in the gym than the soldiers that protect the colony.
The aliens give what appear to be tight smiles that don’t show their teeth.
That was one of those cultural things we were warned about in the memo that was sent out a couple of days ago. That and pointing. Pointing is apparently threatening because that is howthey send a zap. So they point with closed fists. And if they show their teeth, it means they’re pissed.
Meanwhile, all these people around me are smiling and showing their teeth. To them, we must appear threatening. Though I don’t doubt the three human women with them gave them some cultural lessons. The last thing anybody wants is a fight.
I glance at the way some of the security guards are posturing with their weapons. Well, the last thing most of us want is a fight. Some guys are going to want to prove themselves.
I think most of the women in the colony would be happy if the guys proved themselves as worthy mates by settling down and committing to one woman instead of fucking everything in sight just because they can. Because they know women want sex and companionship and some will do anything to get it. They use that against us, expecting us to be happy with crumbs.
Been there, made that mistake. Never again.
When I need to have my three children for the colony, I’ll do it on my own.
I can’t help but watch the two unmated aliens, though. They seem strange, but I’m sure humans seem weird to them too. For just a heartbeat, I allow myself to imagine having an alien warrior mate. Someone who cares about my happiness. Someone who loves me.
One of the aliens rests his hand on his sword and scans the crowd. He cocks his head as if he knows what a good catch he’ll be.
Yeah, alien men aren’t that different from human men. And there are hundreds of women who will vie for his attention.
I turn away and make my way back to the laundry. As one of the first children born on the ship, I am one of the oldest women. One of the first who will be expected to breed. Originally, the plan was to wait several years and for it to be controlled, so therearen’t too many babies and not enough workers. Now there are discussions about allowing the women who want to start having children to do so. Not too many at once, though.
I don’t want to bring a child into this colony, not yet.
Maybe not ever, but I don’t get to opt out.
3
YVA
After being checked by a healer, a woman the humans call a doctor, we are then shown to the area where everyone lives. There is a communal kitchen, but no communal bathing area. Instead, each room has a sleeping area and a bathing area. And while the beds are big enough for two, Hrad and I aren’t sharing a room. So after being shown how the bathroom works, I am left alone.
While I have not been locked in, it was made clear that I am not to wander around the colony on my own. The humans do not trust us, and I do not blame them. I remove my sword and lay it on the bed, then I return to the bathroom. I do not care about the waste device, or the indoor waterfall—though the plumbing is far better than anything I have ever seen before—but the mirror. It is the clearest reflection I have ever seen of myself. Less blurry than polished silver or a puddle. I reach out and touch the surface. It’s cool and doesn’t ripple the way water does.
