The woman had glazed eyes as she looked at her.“We needed protection.We needed food.Zelda was so good at hunting, we grabbed Aretta at knifepoint and told Zelda that she would remain safe as long as Zelda did what we asked.”
“Well, that wasn’t smart.”
The woman was defensive.“It worked.”
“Ah, so, since you think it right to use children, you shall not have any until you repent and understand the horror of what you did.”She reached out and touched the woman’s cheek.Then she looked around and slammed her staff into the ground.A wave of power crept through the ground, and the folks beset by ghosts froze in place.
“I will let Ra know that I have sterilized a few of his new colonists.Ah, I will mark them.”She tapped the staff again, and a circle of thorns formed a third eye on their forehead.“Now he will know.”
Skylar said, “That is more than I haunted.”
“Just because they weren’t obvious doesn’t mean that they didn’t do some sketchy shit during the time after.”Chloe smiled as the ghosts left, and the marked ones started sobbing.
“Are they just sterile?”
“No, they are neutralized.No desire.No ability.No potency.A repair unit can’t even fix this because I have made it part of their bodies.This is now their natural state, and if they change their way of thinking, the mark and the change will disappear.”
Skylar looked at her.“I thought you were all about encouraging life.”
“I am, but sometimes, to get a healthy plant, you have to prune the dead ends.”
“Wow.Right.”
Chloe looked at her.“You thought this was all about getting things to bloom.Well, it is.And now that the predators have been neutralized, the shyer of creatures have a chance to bloom.”
“Right.So cool.”Skylar grinned.“I think you scared the guardians.”
Chloe looked over at the women in the armoured bodysuits.She waved cheerfully, and one of them laughed.The woman came over.“Hiya.I am Cori.”
“Pleased to meet you, Cori.”
“I don’t suppose you are swinging by Sanctuary Base anytime soon?”
“It’s on our list.Why?”
“I want to visit my half-sister, Trin.And if we have time, can we grab Isolde from the broadcast station that she’s on?”
Skylar laughed.“I am sure we can, as long as we get to the Pericoff world in time for the import of new citizens.She has to be there to make sure the introduction goes smoothly.”
Cori paused.“So, I can come along?”
“You can come along,” Chloe said.
Ra flew toward them and said, “Ladies, your new ship is at the orbiting station.”
Chloe laughed.“Thank you.I have to explain something that I did to some of the colonists.You will need to know.”
He nodded, and she gave him the briefing, including that if they were truly repentant and had empathy for their victims, the mark would disappear and their bodies would resume normal activities.
She paused.“Oh, Lord Ra, do you want any of this area to be green?”
He grinned.“I will have an answer when you return to speak with your cousin again.”
Chloe nodded.“Thank you for the invitation.”
“Your crew is eager to meet you.Please return to the pyramid so that Harwin can say her farewells, and how did you know to make that rattle?Harran loves it.”
She grinned.“All of our family has something of the sort.They are soothing, right?Well, I am going to get back on that skimmer with Skylar and Cori, and we will be there in a few minutes.”
