She shrugged. “Not the way I’d want to live, but it seems to work for the many people who call Verdara home. Unfortunately, we have to use one of their beast-drawn wagons instead of the cool four-wheeler I have stowed in the storage compartment of the ship.”
“Bummer. I love four-wheelers.”
“Me, too.”
“You used to go out four-wheeling with your family in Alienn, as I recall.”
“Yes.” Madelaine smiled as if reminiscing about the fun she used to have. But soon enough, her expression shifted to a more serious one, as if remembering that she’d left that life behind five years ago.
Jack knew that her father, stepmother and sister moved away from Earth shortly after Madelaine left for Alpha-Prime, but no other details.
Before he could ask her about it, she hopped up from the table and went to set the coordinates for Verdara.
The Observer noted that Jack and Madelaine seemed to work quite well together. They’d survived Malvoraxis Veil unscathed and that was quite an accomplishment. Perhaps it would be the toughest package retrieval, perhaps not. There were other dangers that the two of them would have to figure out.
The Observer was not supposed to intervene in any way, but planned to revisit that judgment as time went on.
Ultimately, the Observer was there to not only document, but to ensure this mission was successful. So much was riding on Madelaine and Jack to see this journey to its conclusion.
The Observer couldn’t follow them to Dr. Butler’s farm without being seen, so decided to take care of another obligation while on Verdara. The Observer walked out of the Hearthvale market hub using a side road meant for farm equipment. No one saw the Observer while cloaked.
The path had the advantage of keeping the Observer hidden while on the brisk walk to the Valewind Fruit District Cooperative and another mission that might need some attention.
The Observer could easily catch up with Madelaine and Jack on Keirios, the market planet.
They landed thePaladin Seekernext to a market hub called the Hearthvale Cooperative in the grain belt district. Verdara had rules they’d have to abide by, but they at least weren’t life or death, and Madelaine could speak for herself.
Verdara was a nice planet. While Jack had heard of the remote planet in passing, he’d not known anything about it until they read the parchment to prepare them for this leg of their journey and done some investigating.
Madelaine was right when she said Verdara fed half the galaxy and a portion of the next galaxy over. The massive planet was basically one big farmer’s paradise.
This particular commonwealth handled various grains, but other places on the planet grew other things.
There was a vegetable cooperative, a fruit cooperative—growing both fruit trees and ground plants bearing fruit—a meat cooperative along with a dairy cooperative, working closely together. Additionally, there was some sort of catchall cooperative that grew edible beans, seeds and nuts, as well as everything else that didn’t fit into one of the other markets.
Madelaine had a place in mind where they could get a beast-drawn wagon to take them to the farm of the local doctor who was the keeper of the next package. At least on this planet, their lives were not in danger with every step they took.
The Hearthvale grain belt district looked like pictures he’d seen of the Midwest on Earth, perhaps Nebraska or Iowa, with endless fields of grain and azure blue skies.
The towns had very simple living structures. There were no large bustling industrial cities, just farmers living uncomplicated lives away from the hustle and bustle of a more modern life. Despite that, Jack and Madelaine had read the short informational blurb in the recent package that indicated it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows on this planet.
Citizens were expected to contribute to the greater good of the planet. If a citizen became hurt or ill and could not contribute and had no family to pick up the slack, they were sent off world to live out their days.
A large family was more equipped to care for their elder members than, say, an only child, but often the elder agrarian members retired off planet to save their loved ones any extra work. It made him think of his Aunt Dixie and all the effort she put into fundraising for the Starlight Old Folks home in Alienn.
Jack thought this planet’s treatment of their old folks was a bit harsh. “Sorry, Grandma, if you don’t pull your weight, we’re kicking you off planet or possibly shoving you onto an ice floe. Good luck and safe travels.”
They hired a young man named Jeb to drive them to the farm. It took almost thirty minutes by beast-drawn wagon.
They pulled up to the thatch-covered building with a simple handmade sign hanging on one outer wall that read, Dr. Eldon Butler and nurse Dana Butler. It also had an arrow pointing to the left. They carefully disembarked from the wagon and followed a well-beaten path around to the entry.
Dr. Butler and his wife were in front of their modest home, waving at their daughter as she rode away on another beast-drawn wagon.
“She’s headed to a community bordering the Valewind Fruit District Cooperative to help with the birth of a child or she’d stop and chat,” Dana Butler explained. “Everyone on Verdara contributes in all the ways that they can.”
