Chapter One
Lord Orex of the Hmrainwalked onto the surface of his colony.It was a starter base and had contained two thousand people.The scorches on the ground showed proof that an attack had occurred the previous day.
He looked at the administrator, who was taking stock.“What was the damage, Milford?”
The Terran swallowed and looked toward the listless companion at Orex’s side.“Uh, they took some supplies, some minerals, and one colony admin clerk.Otherwise, we got off with light damage.”
Orex looked at his companion and back at the admin.“Who was the missing colony member?”
Milford brought up the data and showed the overseer.“She is an excellent all-around colonist.She has all of the skills that we learned when we were surviving.She doesn’t have a partner and works alone.”
Orex flicked through the data file and paused, looking at his companion.“There was one compatible Terran on your vessel.You said it was you.You are exhausted for a companion-class Terran, and your output is depressingly weak.”
Marta swallowed.“I thought it would be easy.I was a sex worker on Earth, and I didn’t understand how different it would be.”
He nodded and said, “Your contract is cancelled.You can either take a position at one of the new colonies or can go back to the bond auction.You will be paid three percent of your annual stipend, as that is all the nourishment I have received from you.”
She swallowed.“Fair.Thank you, Lord Orex.Are you very angry?”
He cupped her chin.“I want to tear out your lying, little throat.I thought this was all the Terrans could offer, and the other Hmrain were either lying or deceived.Though the children are harder to explain.”
He let her go, and she staggered back.Orex looked at the woman with dark hair and two different eyes, calmly looking at him from the tablet.Her eyes were white-silver and aqua.Very distinctive.Heterochromia only appeared in a handful of species.Her dark hair waved down to the centre of her back, and her skin was golden cream.How could he have mistaken the willing Marta for this creature?
He looked around.“Milford, you are getting back into preparation?”
“Yes, Overseer.We will be back to normal by the end of the week.Should we set up a memorial for her?”
“Oh, I doubt they killed her.Does she have any friends here?”
Milford paused.“I believe she has some.Do you wish to question them?”
Orex nodded.“Yes.”
Security officers got the information and went to bring the men and women into the colony office.
In an hour, they were sitting in a room while Orex paced and questioned them.“Does she have any relatives in this colony?”
The room went silent.Finally, a woman from the dispensary said, “Not at this colony.She has a daughter who made it to the Education Station.She was sent out in a batch to Aten.”
Orex focused on her.“She has a child?”
“Yes, Overseer.They were separated during extraction.Her daughter was in cold sleep before Zelda got up there, so she picked an admin position and got sent to Orval.She said she was waiting for something, and when the raiders demanded the consort, she walked forward and told them not to get their panties in a wad.They were gone five minutes later.”
One of the others said, “It looked like she had hailed them as a personal transport.It was weird how calm she was.”
Orex paused.“She wasn’t afraid?”
The dispensary friend said, “She’s never afraid.She guarded our enclave singlehandedly.She’s killed more humans than anyone I have ever seen.Her daughter is sweet and exceedingly smart.She was fixing small appliances and rewiring the power units that she and her mother had cobbled together.”
“How old was she?”
“At the time, she was eight.Now she would be twelve.”
“When do your species mature?”
“Legally at eighteen, physically height and everything complete is around twenty-two,” the doctor said.
Orex nodded and left the building, flying to his shuttle.Once in the shuttle, he locked into the colony computers and brought up all communications.