"They have to hear it."
"The eclipse will make that difficult," Jedriek replied.
"If they don't, they will shoot us out of the sky," Wrathin said.
"Great," Eleanor added. "Because that's something we have to deal with now too. Being shot out of the sky by the people we want to help us."
She took in the vastness of Sol-3. Rock. Darkness. Smoke. She swore she could smell it already inside, though she knew the ship was sealed.
The air and sky had a nighttime shade of gray, and the sky had a glow in the distance, in several points, from the active molten lava and volcanos that peppered Sol-3.
"Everything is rocky and black. It looks like something out of a nightmare. Why did you make this place your main world?" Eleanor asked. She regretted the words because she knew better than to devalue someone else's home. She was tired.
She didn't make the best decisions when she was exhausted. And this certainly qualified as exhaustion.
Possibly deliriousness too.
She looked at Jedriek. He was probably the only good thing about this whole thing. She certainly wasn't about to regret their time together, as limited as it had been.
Or would ever be.
"Central location among the worlds. That is why we made this our main home," Wrathin said, pulling her out of her thoughts.
"Well, it certainly wasn't for the scenery," Veta said. "Though you'll find the residences they have put together for us are quite nice."
"I'm sure," Eleanor said. "It seems like a devil's playground, this world."
"The resources are plentiful," Jedriek said.
"Where?"
He pulled up a digital map of Sol-3. "You see lava and stone. Look again."
The map turned and twisted.
And on two spots, there was lush greenery.
"That is not this world," Eleanor said. "That's someplace else. There's no way. This moon isn't big enough for such a variety of biomes."
"It is," Wrathin said. "The areas are not large, but they are there. Vegetation grows, and we have some crops we can harvest from the areas. Things we can sell in markets." He crossed his arms like a proud father showing off his accomplishment.
But minus the arrogance that her own father would display.
"So why build here?" Veta asked. "Why not in those lush green paradises?"
"We would lose the valuable assets there."
Eleanor nodded, though she shouldn't be surprised at what he said. He was a cyborg, after all. He might have some pride in his system, but he was also practical. Practicality had a certain level of appeal over passionate decisions.
Something that she needed to remind herself of.
Wistfulness versus practicality.
Practicality meant the peace treaty was completed.
Passionate meant following her heart.
Her gaze landed on Jedriek. And while her passion screamed for one thing, her practicality had to win out because she was a princess, and that's what royalty did. They did what was proper and the most practical for their people.
