“Weapons?” I asked, because that was an obvious one.
“If you think they’re necessary.”
I thought about the too-clean metal object sitting on that distant ridge. The way it didn’t fit with the storm-ravagedlandscape around it. The implications of something arriving here, now, when this planet was just beginning to emerge from its long isolation.
“They’re necessary,” I said.
He nodded once, accepting my assessment without question. Maybe there was more to him after all.
“It’s a date.” He said it casually, but something in his tone made my pulse jump.
“It’s reconnaissance,” I corrected.
“That too.”
We climbed down from the wall and walked back through the settlement. The sky had deepened to purple, and lights were beginning to glow in windows. Cooking fires sent smoke curling into the air, carrying scents of roasting vegetables and spices I couldn’t identify.
“Are you hungry?” Baleck asked. “The communal hall serves the evening meal soon. You’re welcome to join.”
“I have rations in my quarters.”
“That sounds deeply depressing.”
Despite myself, my lips twitched. Almost a smile. “I’m used to it.”
“Being used to something doesn’t make it good.” He stopped outside the guest quarters. “The offer stands. Any evening you want actual food instead of compressed nutrients, you know where to find me.”
I should have said no. Should have maintained professional distance. But I found myself saying, “Maybe.”
His skin brightened to warm golds. “I’ll take a maybe.”
He bowed slightly and walked away. I watched him go, noting the easy confidence in his stride, the way D’tran he passed greeted him warmly.
I went inside and ate a ration bar in my quarters. It tasted like cardboard and regret.
CHAPTER 4
BALECK
The village was coming alive as I made my way toward its edge, pack secured against my back and supplies for a full day’s journey carefully organized inside, along with a single blaster. The early morning light painted everything in soft golds and ambers, catching on the stone buildings and wooden supports that lined the main thoroughfare.
After weeks here, I’d grown accustomed to the D’tran settlement, but I still found myself appreciating its design. The buildings rose organically from the landscape, following the natural contours of the valley floor. Stone foundations gave way to wooden upper levels, with metal salvaged from ancient wrecks reinforcing the structures. The doorways and windows were softly curved, and I’d learned this wasn’t just aesthetic. The shapes helped deflect the fierce winds that occasionally swept down from the mountains.
Water flowed through channels cut into the stone paving beneath my feet, a drainage system elegant in its simplicity. The sound of it was a constant, quiet burble that had become familiar. Guard posts stood at regular intervals along the main path, though the guards themselves seemed relaxed this morning. They nodded as I passed. Their color-shifting eyestracked me with mild curiosity rather than suspicion. It had not always been that way for Mierva, Cleo, and me. We had been called “sky people,” and plenty of the D’tran had not wanted us here.
The settlement had changed, thankfully. There was no longer any tension in the air, and there were fewer wary glances. The D’tran had accepted that we weren’t a threat. That we were there to help, and that the prophecy had turned in the “good” direction. We hadn’t caused them ruin. We’d brought renewal. Progress, as Sophie liked to say in her reports.
I passed the communal kitchen, where the morning meal was being prepared. The scent of roasted grain and spiced vegetables made my stomach growl, but the ship had brought a nice supply of lami, the liquid produced by our Solas. That was all the nourishment I needed, for now. A group of children ran past, laughing and chasing each other. One of them nearly collided with my legs, looked up with startled orange eyes, then darted away with a giggle.
The low stone wall that surrounded the village came into view. It was perhaps one meter high, not designed to stop a determined army but sufficient to discourage casual predators from the surrounding forest. Beyond it, I could see the dense tree line that provided so much of what the D’tran needed. Wood. Plants for food and medicine. And danger, if you weren’t careful.
There was a rectangular structure ahead, near the wall, and standing beside it was Iris.
She was dressed the same as the day before. Black bodysuit from neck to boots, weapons arranged with careful precision at hip, thigh, back, and under her arm. But this time she’d added wraparound sunglasses that concealed her eyes completely. The overall effect was striking. She reminded me of polished onyx. Beautiful and utterly opaque.
My gaze traveled down the sleek line of her body before I could stop myself. The bodysuit left nothing to the imagination, clinging to slim curves and the lean muscle beneath. She was small, yes, but there was nothing delicate about her. Every line of her body suggested coiled strength. Resilience.
Then I noticed what she was leaning against.
