Page 28 of Hunter’s Harvest

“They do feel very comfortable. It’ll be fine temporarily until we get our clothes cleaned. I saw a decontaminator in the hallway.”

It turned out the decontaminator was for leather only. My clothes had to be hand-washed. I didn’t mind. Washing one set of clothes was actually pretty easy. It was the drying that took time. We soon had them hung up and drying in front of a fan.

We stopped in the lobby to pick up some mystery food wraps. Var’n was hesitant until I bit into mine and found strips of marinated and cooked food bars layered with fresh vegetables from New Franklin’s many greenhouses. I fed him the burrito, and he ended up wolfing his down and eating half of mine.

“Did you even taste that?” I asked, amused at how fast it had disappeared.

“Yes, it tastes like food.”

I shook my head. Even with the translator, he was a little strange. Maybe it was from being alone for so long. He had Hess’n, though, and the others he mentioned, but I wondered how often they saw each other. It must’ve been such a lonely existence.

The front door to the hotel opened, and Var’n’s arms tightened around me.

“S’okay. It’s just Meghan and Mal’k.”

I waved them over since they were clearly looking for us.

“We are heading back out to search the wreck for anything salvageable and to look for Marisol one more time. We thought you two might want to come along.”

“Yes! I need to find Marisol and Var’n needs to pick up what’s left of his shuttle.”

“First, I must get my translator updated. I cannot continue to rely on this device.”

Oops. That was right. I’d gotten so used to the button translator repeating my words that I’d almost forgotten about it.

“No problem,” Meghan said. “They’ll get you all fixed up in the mothership building. It’s best if you warn them you’ve got a power core coming so they can start on your shuttle. We’re not leaving until the dinner bell anyway. We’ll meet you out front then.”

I could feel Var’n’s excitement right through his body. A hunter’s shuttle was like an extension of themselves. Missing one must feel like living without an arm.

We made our way to the mothership building. I’d actually never set foot inside before, and I could tell Var’n was nervous.

“It is strange to see it on the ground. I have never seen it land.”

I found his hands around my waist and gave them a squeeze. And then we stepped inside.

Chapter 12: Var’n

It was strange to see a mothership with humans inside. The layout was the same as I always knew it, but it looked different enough that my brain did not immediately recognize it as home. For one thing, it was not filled with hundreds of hunters. It also smelled very different, mostly because it was here planet-side.

“How are you feeling?” Nellie asked as I looked around.

“This is my mothership, but I do not know where to go first?”

“If it was still up in space, where would you go?”

“I would go to the repair bay, because usually I return to the mothership to fix my shuttle. Or the infirmary, if I am injured. Or I would go visit our overseer.”

I wasn’t even sure if my overseer was alive anymore, but I didn’t say that out loud.

Nellie pointed to a plaque on the wall showing the layout of the ship. “It says the overseer's office is that way. Let’s start there.”

I hesitated.

“What’s wrong?”

“It… It will not be my overseer.”

“Oh, right. I’m sorry. But Jask’l is nice. I met him last time I was here. He’ll help get you sorted.”