“Great. I’ll begin launch proceedings. It shouldn’t take long to get approval as we are the only ship leaving with the sun. Everyone else waits until after breakfast.” With a last glance around the cabin, I made my way into the cockpit and shut the door as per protocol.
I sit and strap in and then take a breath, wanting to pretend that I didn’t notice the way Hrad watched me as I talked. Was it because he’s anxious about flying or because he’s worried about Charlie or Kate?
I’m not going to ask. I don’t need to know. He’s a big guy, and he can sort it out. Like the others, he volunteered. But unlike theothers, he didn’t do it for fun or adventure or even his career. No, he volunteered because he didn’t want his brothers to be separated from their mates.
And damn, that means he has a bigger set than anyone else on this ship because he doesn’t want to be here. It also makes me more interested in him as a person. I’m so used to dealing with men like Charlie, who think they’re all that and more, who like that I can fly a ship in one breath, but then remind me of my duty to the colony in the next. I haven’t bothered to find out who my match is because I don’t want to be disappointed.
And if he’s found out, he hasn’t approached me either.
I radio my intentions to leave to command, keeping a careful watch on the sky.
It’s my boss who responds. My father. “You are clear to launch at your leisure. Keep the sun at your back and have a safe flight, Alisha. You’re in our thoughts.”
My lips curve. I want to tell him that I love him, but there will be other people listening. “I will see you in a week.”
6
HRAD
When Alisha warned us that the ship rattled, she didn’t mention that the shudders would travel through my bones. Charlie watches me from the other side of the ship. Kate is sitting next to me with that all too familiar look in her eyes.
I am not prey for either of them.
I keep my fingers relaxed even though they want to curl around the seat, and close my eyes, hoping that I appear relaxed even though I want to be back on the ground, even if that ground is the continent where the other Honey tribe will hunt me.
I know how to evade that kind of hunter.
I am familiar with how my people behave…humans…I am still figuring them out. Sometimes I’m a threat, something akin to a wild animal that is best avoided. Sometimes I am a curiosity, a creature they want to study. Few see me as a person.
Alisha does. She doesn’t have that hungry look in her eyes like Kate does. Like I’m a prize to be claimed. I’ve had women claim that they choose me and become upset when I decline, not understanding that I also have a choice. I want to trust as easily as my brothers. To have a mate…or even an affection with a man. But I fear being used and discarded.
I spent a lot of last night thinking about my life and making peace with what may happen on this mission. And while I claim not to fear death, I have repeated those words so many times the cloth is wearing thin. Because I look at my brothers and their happiness, and I want that, yet I do not trust anyone to be that close to me. Which means I am torn in two different directions, and no one can live at war with themselves. One side must win.
Either I remain alone and belong nowhere, or I learn to trust another and create my own home. The first I am familiar with. The closest thing to a home I have known is with my banished brothers. They became my family. Everything we did was for each other. We became limbs of the same beast.
They will not cast me out, but I am no longer as functional, and the beast is no longer needed to survive. The ship bounces in a way that reminds me of a ship cresting waves. There is no salt spray in my face or wind in my hair, but the feeling is not that much different. A couple of people gasp.
The cabin crackles, and Alisha’s voice fills the air. “We are currently skirting the coast of the mainland, and I anticipate landing in ten minutes. When we land, please leave your bags where they are, and assist with getting the camouflage netting over the ship.”
She shouldn’t need to remind her team of every single step, but this team is not made of warriors. Half of the people here will panic in an emergency if not told what to do.
“Remember, no loud noises. No chatter. Use your comms, and if you see something, call it in,” she continues. “You’ve been assigned to a group. Do not wander off to chase samples. Stay together. This is recon only, not a diplomatic mission.”
Everything she says was in the official documentation. And while I struggle to read their letters, Ruby went through everything with me. I wish Ruby were here instead of Kate. Rubyis sharp and serious and dangerous, but it wouldn’t be fair to separate her from Aldit.
Alisha continues with the rest of the briefing. While I don’t have a specific job like the others, I am to assist with labor and security as well as general advice. If not for the proximity to a tribe, I might enjoy the mission.
“Prepare for landing. This is going to be fast,” Alisha says.
By fast she means rough, and by the time I step out of the ship, I want to spread myself on the dirt and enjoy the stability. There is no time as we pull out the netting, dotted with leaves, and drag it over the ship. To my eye, it doesn’t look particularly well camouflaged.
Someone should have asked for my opinion. I hope it does not come to needing it. Did anyone see us flying over the sea, or were we able to hide in the brightness of the sun as it rose?
Charlie, Neve and Kate load up with gear. They will set up cameras and take soil and rock samples. They also have the greatest distance to travel and won’t be back until day six. The sites for samples and cameras are marked on the map, and with each camera set up we will be able to track their progress.
Hugh intends to fly a modified drone over a farm and perch it in a tree. The drone has been given wings and fur to appear like a cloud seeker from a distance. I hope no one shoots it down as hunting practice. Though it is usually only the banished who turn cloud-seekers into a meal, tribes need a bigger supply of meat.
Erica…she is working with Hugh, but she was almost dropped because much of her work can be done by watching the cameras. But while Hugh is studying farming, she is more interested in the people. We explained that all of our tribes work slightly differently—Orik’s tribe allows women to take two mates, while my tribe sends fourth sons away. Some rely more on fishing and others on farming. There is trade between nearbytribes, but also bigger gatherings once a year, which is especially important for small tribes where a woman may be too closely related to potential mates.
