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I rolled my eyes. There was no point in arguing with him. I turned to Jask’l. “So when are we leaving?”
“We are staying for the evening meal and overnight. The mothership will be closer to this area in its orbit in the morning. We will leave then.”
I grinned. “I’m so glad you’ll get to stay for dinner too. I heard the hunters on the mothership only ever ate food bars. It must be so boring to have the same food day in and day out.”
“We can order other supplies from the food production labs on Earth now, but there is no cooking apparatus up on the mothership. And even if there were, none of us would know how to use it to prepare food.” He looked at me hopefully. “Maybe you could come up and teach us? We can show you how we fix these ships in return.”
“I might not be the best candidate for that. Cooking isn’t my forte.”
“What is aforte? Is it some sort of defensive structure?”
“No, that’s a fort. I’m saying I’m not good at it. But I’m sure I could find someone who would love to come up to teach you.” I stood, wanting to get away from the mean pair of eyes that were boring a hole into my soul. “I’ll see you at dinner.”
Eeek! I couldn’t wait to see the mothership!
Chapter 4: Kan’n
I pushed open the worn, wooden door and peeked inside the red building. The humans called this abarn, and I’d heard them referring to the buildingacrossthe street from the main baseas afarmhouse, even though it had the wordsLittle Hearts Daycarein colorful letters on it. Apparently, it had been both a food production facility and a place for raising young humans. They were using this barn to store spare parts for vehicles and other large objects. I saw one of those machines Sam had used to lift my shuttle off the ground.
The roof and walls were thin, but intact. Of all the places I’d seen so far, this was the best option. It wouldn’t be nearly as comfortable as my sleeping nook. But it would do for a few days.
I’d been officially kicked out of Sam’s shop now that they planned on moving my shuttle up to the mothership. Sam had made a big fuss about me messing up her system. I didn’t see any system…just piles and piles of stuff. She might not be very good at fixing shuttles, but she was exceptional at making piles.
Mo and Kat, the unofficial leaders of the humans here, had suggested that I sleep in theofficeswith everyone else while my shuttle was up in the repair bay, but I’d declined, and had spent the last few hours looking for a better spot.
Unlike the areas I used to patrol, there were few buildings, with the camp occupying the two largest human-made structures. There was thisbarnbuilding I was currently investigating, and several more three-walled structures filled with hay. I’d already determined those to be bad camping spots, being too open. There were few trees too, only a handful of bushes and some large boulders. The giant expense of flat land stretched out for an eternity before me.
Worried about being discovered, and not having had luck in finding non-hostile humans, I’d lived a nomadic existence in the years after I’d arrived on Earth. I had several bases that I switched between, including one in a town that had been abandoned before the scourge even arrived.
My travels took me from these flat plains, over the mountains, across the arid land beyond, to the coastline, and back again. I’d always had my shuttle, and therefore always had a home.
In the early days, I’d focused chiefly on survival. It was the first time I’d ever been without the support of other hunters. There was no mothership to call upon for help. No reliably consistent deliveries of supplies and food from the production facilities. No hunter group to band together with when the yearly swarms began.
Many of the humans I’d met had either been terrified of me or full-on hostile, but eventually, I found a few groups who tolerated me; often we fought bands of scourge together. We traded with each other, with me offering the use of my hand-held medical unit to those who had been injured or were ill.
I’d met a handful of females, but the only one who had shown any interest had eventually leveraged that to help her group steal my shuttle and imprison me. I’d learned too late that humans were not to be trusted. Ever.
This was why I didn’t plan on sleeping anywhere near them. The only reason I’d agreed to stay inside their building before was because I had felt safe in my shuttle.
I dug the Earth-made Xarc’n food bar out of my pouch and removed the wax wrapping. The food bars made here tasted a lot better than the ones I had on my ship. I stuffed the wax back into my pouch; I’d learned over the years that it made good fuel. The first bite had me feeling a little bit better at my failure to find a camping spot. These food bars alone were enough to convince me that coming to Earth was a worthwhile decision. The old ones on my last planet had tasted vile.
Tavir’k , the hunter who made deliveries to this group, had brought extras when he’d heard I was here, which I greatly appreciated. I needed all the food I could get to regain the muscle and mass I’d lost while imprisoned.
I took stock of my temporary home while I ate. The more I looked around, the more I liked it. Here, I wouldn’t be tempted by the delicious smell of cooking food, which had been impossible to avoid before. The humans were always eating, it seemed. The first time Sam brought an extra portion of food back from the kitchen for me, I’d told her that I didn’t like human cooked food. She’d shrugged and left the plate for me anyway.
I’d eaten it when she wasn’t looking. They’d used our food bars, sliced them thin, and fried them up. It had all been served over a gruel of some kind. I’d expected it to be bland like what they’d served me at the other place. But it was flavorful, the thick porridge made with a meaty stock with pieces of aromatic vegetables.
She hadn’t brought food back for me since, and I’d never gone to the kitchen to ask for any. I didn’t want to owe these humans anything.
Earlier, when Sam had brought Jask’l food and sat with him, I’d felt a sudden inexplicable surge of anger. I’d tried to ignore it, but then he’d asked her to go up to the mothership with him and I found myself charging out of the shuttle.
Surely it wasn’t because I was interested in Sam. It must be because I didn’t want another hunter to be tricked by her feminine wiles.
Yeah, that must be it.
Even now, the hunter from the mothership was taking his evening meal with the humans. I’d hoped he hadn’t been brainwashed, but I was wrong. Jask’l clearly trusted these people just as much as the other hunters did, talking freely with them and sharing information about our technology. Ror’k, the hunter who’d made the trip with Jask’l, was the same.
Had our entireforcebeen compromised? It was frustrating.
