It wasn’t a good thing that that instantly brought Jared and Kane to her mind. A knot the size of a golf ball formed in her throat. She swallowed against it a couple of times, trying to dislodge it and finally cleared her throat. “Hopefully, I can prove I can also find the right planet so you won’t decide your trust in me was misplaced,” she managed to say finally.
Reuel was studying his computer readout. “Well, the star appears to be consistent with what you recalled and the computer has detected six planets.”
Hopefulness surged in her. She sat up straighter, pushing her unhappiness to the back of her mind. “It would have to be roughly the same distance from the star as Earth,” she said.
They’d been traveling a while before the computer confirmed that there was a planet in orbit around the star that fell within the ‘comfort’ range necessary to human life. Excitement began to thread Chloe’s veins. She could see from the tension in Reuel that he’d begun to think they’d found the planet she’d told them about, too.
Nearly an hour passed before he pointed to a tiny speck in the distance. “That is our target.”
Chloe felt her heart contract almost painfully in her chest when she stared at the spot. Itwasthe planet! She knew it was! She remembered when her father had pointed it out. Even from this distance she could see the blue.
She tamped the urge to tell Reuel, however. There was still just enough doubt in her mind that she thought she preferred to err on the side of caution—especially when she’d already been wrong so many times.
Two hours later, however, the almost microscopic dot had become a big blue ball against the velvety black backdrop of space. Reuel focused the ship’s sensors on the planet they were approaching, studying the readouts with frowning intensity. He looked up at her finally. “I believe you have found our planet,” he said, his lips slowly curling into a smile.
Chloe chuckled excitedly. “I was sure it was it! I was just scared to say so after I was wrong before!”
He chuckled. “Iam sure of it! If I did not know that your men would tear my head off and castrate me, I would kiss you Chloe Armstein!”
Chloe gaped at him, but he had turned his attention to the com-link. She listened as he instructed the crew to bring the Salvager in. She could hear excited voices in the background on the other end.
“We will celebrate tonight on land!” Reuel said, his voice deep with excitement.
Uneasiness flickered through Chloe at that. “Don’t forget the creepy natives.”
He shook his head, his attitude swiftly changing to grim determination. “I have not forgotten. I am certain they will not want to share, but we have not come so far, or fought so hard, that I will accept that. They will have to learn to share this world with us.”
Chloe felt her belly clench at the ruthlessness she saw in him. The natives would learn to share, she realized, or they would die.
Chapter Sixteen
Not surprisingly, Reuel didn’t wait for the Salvager to arrive. Giddy wasn’t a word that Chloe would ever even think to use to describe Reuel. He was far too reserved for that, but she sensed his excitement in his quick movements, his focus, the tension in him, even the taut set of his face.
Chloe felt her own excitement rise as the great blue orb filled the forward view. The rattle and buck of the ship as it dipped into the atmosphere and was pelted by air currents only seemed to accentuate the fluttery feeling in her stomach, her breathlessness, the awe that filled her as she caught her first glimpse of the beautiful blue sea she remembered.
For a while, that was all they saw, and Chloe was beginning to feel anxiety filtering through her excitement, beginning to wonder if she’d been wrong after all, when they reached the dark side of the planet just as the sun crested the horizon. Before them lay the planet’s emerald jewel. It seemed to stretch from pole to pole and far into the distant horizon, just as the sea had.
One enormous land mass, she wondered? Or had they simply missed other, smaller masses?
Reuel took the craft down, skimming along the coast for some time, low enough Chloe could see the surf breaking against the pale sand of the beach, before he turned inland. The plant life grew so thick it was almost impossible to catch more than a quick glimpse of the ground every once in a great while.
Eventually, they saw a rise in the land in the distance and outcroppings of yellowish-brown stone and the thick jungle gave way to a squat mountain. Reuel circled it slowly and finally landed. He gave away his excitement in the speed he threw off his harness and got up.
Smiling faintly, Chloe followed him as quickly as she could and he’d still descended the gangplank and strode to stare out over the jungle before she even reached the gangplank.
“We will need to survey the planet carefully,” he said when he heard her approach, “but I am thinking that this would be a very promising spot to build our first city.”
Chloe was impressed. “A city?”
He grinned abruptly. “A city. A very great city. I have lain out the plans already and designed the buildings we will need.” He turned to survey the plateau and frowned. “I may need to throw them away and begin again. I do not want to make the same mistake that our creators did, not when it is known, now, that it is important to protect the world that is your home and not rape it of all that it has to give and give nothing back.”
“I know it’ll be beautiful,” Chloe said, smiling. She dragged in a deep breath and released it slowly, wrinkling her nose. “The air will take a little getting used to, I suppose.”
Reuel mimicked her and sent her a quizzical look. “It is good air! Fresh, filled with the scent of life.”
“Ah! I wondered what that smell was!” Chloe said chuckling. “Dirt? Plants?”
He grinned at her. “You are too accustomed to breathing the recycled air of a ship!”
