Janae shook her head. "If I ever had a sign this was a bad idea..."
"This is not the best way to start this program," he said.
#
The Galactic Alliance ship had not received any significant damage from the platform's collapse; however, they chose to move their transport back into orbit under the circumstances. It made many of the volunteers feel safer. It seemed many who had agreed to be a part of the program now no longer wished to participate.
Khalzin understood.
He did not like how badly this was going, but he found no fault in their logic.
He sighed. This was supposed to be an easy theory to prove.
Already, mere minutes in, someone was sabotaging it.
At least Janae was not injured. After a doctor had inspected her, she had come with him back to his home. Unlike many of the other females, she had opted to stay. She had not wanted to give up so quickly in the process.
He appreciated that.
"The view is breathtaking," Janae said as she stared out the window of his residence. Her dark eyes were wide, and she gazed through the wall of windows like she was staring into a fantasy. She didn't move from her spot, but her gaze did, gasping and sighing over the view.
He stepped next to her, handed her the water she asked for, and looked out the windows as well. It had been a while since he'd honestly looked at what was out there.
The beauty of his world. It surprised him that he didn't recognize the beauty of it anymore.
He had seen it for so long it seemed like nothing exciting anymore.
As he watched her marvel at it, he felt almost ashamed that he was not more--more what? Proud? Impressed? Awestruck? More of some emotion in any case.
"It's like we're in the clouds," she said.
"We almost are," he replied. His residence was built out from the upper part of the mountain near the landing pads. However, he was on the opposite side of the mountain, so he could not see the landing pads.
Though he didn't need to imagine much, the area had been blockaded off, and inspectors of all kinds were attempting to determine the cause of the accident. No one wanted to say it was sabotage, but he knew.
It was sabotage. It was far too coincidental to be--
"Did you see that!" Janae exclaimed.
He jerked himself out of his thoughts, and his adrenalin started to pump again. Had she seen something? Was there more to the attack?
"What, where?" He put his hand on her shoulder to pull her back from the windows.
"That bird! It just swooped down and grabbed, that, well, whatever that was on that tree there, and ate it! It was amazing!"
He blinked. "A bird?"
She glanced at him. "Yes. What did you think I saw?"
"I do not know. A threat."
She ran her gaze over him. "Sorry. I just-- I have never been up this high before. It's all so different." She stepped back to the windows and put her hand on the window. "You can read about a place, see the data about it, but it doesn't tell you what it is. Not really. They don't talk about the landscape other than what is unique. I mean, I know your planet on one side is hospitable, and on the other, it is barren. The continents are opposites. But you use those differences. The continents on the far side are for manufacturing and refining the ores you mine from the asteroid belt.”
He nodded. "You are correct. Our planet-wide ecology is unique.” He was impressed she had learned about his world in such a way.
"Still, it doesn't tell me about thefeelof it. The way the air smells slightly volcanic, and how the trees and the foliage come right up to the landing pads because it's almost like the planet is attempting to make up for the lack of growth on the other side."
He smiled.
