Page 7 of Jorhee

“Indeed. Still staying tonight?”

I shook my head. “I’d planned to originally, but given the travel time to reach New Haven, I decided to go ahead and leave.”

“That eager to leave Grekl behind, eh?”

I grimaced. “That, and arriving an extra day earlier than expected means I can see what’s happening there before anyonehas time to prepare for my arrival, so if there’s anything they wish to hide from me, I have a better chance at sniffing it out.”

Hulomin nodded. “Not a bad idea. Though as small as the colony still is, I doubt there’s much going on other than people trying to establish crops and so on.”

“That less than a thousand figure we were told?” I snorted. “Try five hundred. My main concern is to make certain illegal plants and animals aren’t making it through, or fertilizers and whatnot, in an attempt to cut corners or bump up yield without thinking of the environmental consequences down the line. I want organic measures only that are approved for the planet’s ecosystem with its health in mind, and the use of bots for weed control.” I smiled. “At least there I will not have to hold back on the use of advanced tech if that is the best choice.”

Hulomin clapped an arm on my shoulder. “New Haven will be a thriving colony with a healthy, growing economy in no time under your leadership!”

I beamed at his confidence in me and sincerely hoped that it would not turn out to be misplaced. Integrating humans into an alien society was bound to have its ups and downs, and I still had a lot to read up on about their species and customs. I wanted New Haven to share the best of both cultures to create something new and vibrant.

“Share a meal and a drink with me before you go?” Hulomin cajoled, giving me a hopeful look.

“Well, I do need to eat,” I agreed.

“Excellent! Let’s go see what the cook has in store for us. And I promised Paxtil I’d have her send him a snack. I doubt he’ll eat much as he’s still far too excited.”

6

JESSE

This is it: after weeks of waiting, I’m finally going to get tested. And then I’ll be able to start my move to New Haven. I’ll have to start small, seeing as it’ll just be me and Buster to run the place until I can afford to hire a ranch hand, after I find out how to go about doing that.

The Mylos officer who’d met our shuttle stopped in front of a door, which he opened and motioned for us to go inside.

“Alec!” a guy already inside called out, spotting someone he knew.

“Um, hi,” he said, walking over.

“You had to wait for your test, too?” the guy asked him.

“Um, yeah. I thought you were mated to that Kit guy.”

Huh. For a moment, I’d thought they’d arranged to take the test together to provide each other with moral support, or maybe because they planned to run a claim together. Now, however, the confused look on the Alec guy’s face indicated this was not the case. They simply happened to end up signing up and getting the same testing session.

“Here to get it confirmed. I’ve never taken the test, and you know how it is. Until they are told, their minds hold them back.”

I rolled my eyes at this. That seemed to be pie in the sky to me. He obviously had a huge unrequited crush on some poor Mylos and was about to get a major disappointment. It surely couldn’t be a Dragonii, as they only just arrived and as far as I knew, they hadn’t mingled with the general population outside of these first few testing sessions.

Alec looked as doubtful about his assertion as I did, but instead of saying so, stammered out, “Um, yeah. Sure.”

His friend patted the empty seat next to him. “Here, have a seat. I was here before anyone else, and the nurse said the matching officer would come out at one on the dot and take us all to the area they’ve got set up.”

“Cool,” he said, plopping into the seat.

The guy smiled at me, gesturing to the empty seat next to him as everyone else moved to find an open seat.

Great. My usual umming and ahhing over which seat I should take had me looking like I was trying to make friends. Which would be pointless, as I doubted from what I’d heard so far that either of them were New Haven bound.

“So, you’re sure you’re mates, huh?” Alec asked his friend as if feeling the need to confirm what his friend had already pretty much stated, blushing as he did so.

“Yes. Some things you just know, even if certain Mylos miss the obvious and rely solely on these tests. Are you hoping to get matched?”

“Yeah. I’m tired of being alone, and hookups don’t really appeal, you know? I might only be twenty-three, almost twenty-four, but I’m ready for my happy ever after guy to show up so we can plan a life together.”