He nodded. “Our arrangement had run its course.”
“Yet here you are,” she said, crossing her arms. “Agreeing to commit to a foreigner on our world. All for the sake of, what, Stron? Notoriety?”
“For the honor of helping a friend.”
She shook her head. “That is utter foolishness. And I hope you fall into a shaft,” she muttered as she spun around and walked away.
He didn't know what to say with that, other than he wished her the best of fortunes for the future.
He was going to need it as well, with this whole mess.
6
ADRYEL
The buzz of conversation filled the common area.
The data chip pressed against Adryel’s ribs, a constant ridge beneath her shirt where she'd sewn it into the seam. She'd gotten used to it over the voyage — mostly. Every time she shifted in her seat or reached for something, there it was. A reminder of everything she'd left behind, and everything she was still carrying.
She pressed her arm against it once, just to make sure, and turned back to the viewport.
The Galactic Alliance ship had entered the system not long ago, and now they were heading toward Kantenan. She could see the world ahead, a vibrant side that was lush and alive-looking, and then a stripe, where the dark side was, and that's where a good deal of the mining work happened. It had something to do with the processing of citricite and other ores that the Kantenans mined.
Just seeing the world had her breathing a sigh of relief.
It didn't matter how much Graecey promised that she wouldn't be kicked out of the program, Adryel kept expecting to be ejected from the ship every time she turned around.
It eased her mind to know that if she was ejected now, it would at least be to a planet and not into the expanse of space.
She'd overheard some of the workers commenting that landing and getting everyone ready could take forever, so it might be a while before they would get off the ship. Besides, landing a ship this large could take time. The bigger the ship, the harder it was to maneuver, especially in gravity. The Kantenan world was standard level one gravity, which was what most humanoids were used to, but it still took time and expert maneuvering especially in the lush jungle terrain.
Best to be prepared to sit and wait even if it made her antsy.
She found Janae and plopped down with her, giving her some snacks.
Janae’s nerves were getting to her, because she started scratching at the dry skin on her brow.
Adryel slapped her hand. “Stop it. You’re only going to make that look worse right before we go down.”
Janae shrugged. “It gets worse when I'm nervous, regardless of touching it.”
“Well, you don't need to do anything to mar your skin more just before we meet our mates.” She reached up and started brushing Janae's bangs back into place.
“Like you have a chance,” Roemary said as she glided by, looking like her usual perfected self, followed by her apprentice, Sereya.
Okay, maybe they weren’t master and apprentice, but sometimes, they had that vibe. They weren’t equals, but it was obvious that Sereya was following Roemary. They were opposites in many ways - Roemary with her pale skin and hair, and Sereya with her darker skin and dark hair.
Both were determined to be chosen by an alien.
To prove their value or something. Roemary expected the aliens to be fighting over her, while Sereya, well, she was up in the air.
Roemary, though…
Adryel would punch her in the face if given the chance. Especially if she kept messing with Janae. Janae was too sweet. Naive in a way. She felt like Janae needed a protector.
Especially from bullies like Roemary who kept insisting that she was well-financed. It wouldn't surprise Adryel to find out that her family was a major benefactor for the Galactic Alliance's program.
Maybe her family just wanted to pawn her off on some alien. Get her out of the way.
