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“Mistress, you jest.”

Ishake my head, smiling as they continue back and forth.Whenthe buzzer goes off, we both head down the hall together.Briarspeaks to several of the guys on our way to the dropship.Herbright blue eyes and dark hair seem to glow in the lights of the hallway.She’sprobably the only girlIknow who could make these shapeless jumpsuits look cute, butIswear hers seems to fit differently than mine, asIfeel likeI’malways pulling mine out of my ass cheeks.

CarlaandJamesare deep in conversation whenIwalk onto our ship, soIlean my head back and close my eyes.Mymind wanders about what could possibly happen to me today.Theship lands, and asIwalk down the ramp, my eyes devour the new colors the sky grants us this morning.Eventhough these first few days have been one thing after another, there is no denying the beauty all around me.Idon’t know if it’s because it’s new and untouched or what, butI’vesnuck off several times simply to walk and explore the area around the new perimeter fence, which they are still in the process of putting up.Iwas happy to see and hear that it’s only temporary, asIhate the feeling of always being caged in.

Continuingdown the ramp with the others from the shuttle,Ismile asJameskissesCarlabefore turning toward the fields he and a few others have been working in.Kirais already in the makeshift kitchen, stirring something in a bowl when we enter.Noticingthe dirty bowls scattered around,Iimmediately headtoward the water cart.AsIpull it out and start loading the containers, her words stop me.

“Goodmorning,Lacie.Oh, you don’t have to go get water today.Lookover there.”

Ittakes me a moment to realize whatI’mseeing. “Isthat a sink?”

“Yes, isn’t it wonderful?Itappears thatMeKworked all night on this, and thanks to his efforts, we now have running water.Iwas so excited thatIhugged him before thinking about it, andIswear he couldn’t get away from me quickly enough.It’samazing how we take the little things for granted until they’re no longer available.”

“Hedid this by himself?”

“Yup!WhenIwalked into the pavilion,Iwas startled to find him lying on the ground, rechecking the drainpipe.Hetold me that the sink would provide enough clean water to meet our needs in the kitchen and that it was even safe to drink and cook with, as he had installed a filtration system on the pipes coming into it.WhenIthanked him multiple times,Icould tell it slightly embarrassed him as he whispered to himself before walking off.”Sheair quotes to me, ‘water is too heavy for females to be carrying such a long distance.’

“Hedoes seem to simply walk away when he doesn’t want to answer or talk anymore.”

“Lacie, how would you know that?Haveyou interacted with him much?”

“Yeah, we’ve crossed paths several times now.Ihave a feeling he’s not impressed with us human girls at all.He’sbeen nothing but snarls and growls for the most part.”

“FromwhatDaRhas told me, the culture on his home planet is very different from most in this universe.They’restill very strict about acceptable clothing and the roles their females play in everyday life.Itkind of reminded me of the olden days, when fathers in the family would sell their daughters to the highest bidder, or the old man who would improve their status in society.Hismother’s people all think marrying or mating for love is either foolish or not heard of.Somethingabout ‘companion contracts’ so it’s all a bunch of business arrangements.”

“Wow, that’s sad when you think about it.Imean, the odds of finding your one and only is rare in itself, but to look at it so clinically sucks.”

Walkingover to the sink,Iturn the water on and off, and suddenly my mind ponders whetherIwas the cause of this.Quickly,Idismiss that idea.Hemight be the most beautiful manI’veever seen, but that seems to end the moment he opens his mouth. “Itwas very kind of him to do this for us in the middle of so many projects.”

“Ithought so as well.AllIcan figure is that he didn’t want us lifting the water onto the cart and toting it back and forth to the creek.Whoknows how the male mind works?”

Carlawalks up laughing, “Thatseems to be the truth no matter the species girls.”

Turning,Ihave to put my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming out loud when suddenlyI’mface to chest with theCommander. “Lord, you scared me half to death.Wheredid you come from?”

“Beat ease,Lacie.Iwalked in while you were playing with the water, so it probably covered my footsteps.Ihave a question for you, would you have an issue with being reassigned?Thereis a young female who has been working withJamesthat seems to be having an allergic reaction to the dust from the newly tilled field.Whenthis was brought to my attention,IthoughtIwould ask if this is something you would enjoy doing, asKirahas told me several times now that you seem to enjoy the aesthetics of your new world.Now, you would not have to stay if you do not enjoy the work as it is quite a bit more physical than this.”

“Idon’t mind a shovel if that’s what you’re worried about, and honestly,I’mmore in the way here than helpful.Whendo you need me to go?”Helooks away from me.

“Kira, do you needLacieat the moment?”

“No,CarlaandIcan handle it right now, but make sure to send the other girl over before lunch.Weget slammed quickly when everyone shows up.”

“Iwill haveDawnreport back here afterVedecechecks her out.”

Hemotions for me to go ahead of him, but stops momentarily to kissKiraon the forehead before following behind me.Thekitchen is on one side of the area and the fields on another, and at one point,Ialmost go on without theCommanderas he is constantly being stopped for one thing or another.Thesound of banging catches my attention, andIfindMeKin a newly cleared area, beating long pieces of metal into the ground, only to stop momentarily when he sees me walking with his father.Asoft touch on my back has me turning back to theCommander, who is looking at me differently. “What, doIhave a bug on me?”

“No,Ijust noticed something that had not occurred to me, is all.Come, let us see if we can escape these distractions so that we might get some things done this rising.”

Thebanging starts up again, andIcatch myself looking back, but the trees blockMeK’sform. “Commander, what isMeKworking on in the tree line?”

“Thatis the first dwelling location.Thefoundation to hold up their outer shells can be quite difficult to install, especially without the maintenance bots to help.Unfortunately, with only two planetside and their schedule full,MeKis having to do most of the manual work himself.Myplans are to head his way to offer my assistance onceIget you settled.”

“Iknow the way to the fields.Youdon’t have to walk me over.”

“Iwill see you there safely since the sensors are not fully operational yet, and you have to go through the wooded area to reach the fields.Iknow you have wandered around on your own asSCOUThas been monitoring the perimeter, but the moon still has a lot of unknowns, and even thoughIencourage your exploration,Iurge you to do so with caution.”

Allthis time, especially at night whenIcan’t sleep, a million questions roll through my mind, and hereIam in the perfect situation to ask them, only to come up blank.