Haven 6 (16 page)

But could his people live with technology? They’d shunned it for so many years, living in a healthy relationship with the land. Could he stand by and watch the colonists strip the planet’s resources like humans had on Old Earth? What would Aries and Striker have done?

All of the unknowns stirred in Striver’s mind until the first rays of dawn touched the sky.

Riley rolled onto his back beside him, yawning. “Today’s the day.”

Striver nodded, eager to focus on something other than his turbulent thoughts. “We’ll reach the mountains by nightfall. Perfect timing to cover our escape.”

“Should I wake Ms. Boar Hunter?”

“No, let her sleep while we pack.”

Riley turned and shoved his blanket into his backpack. “You favor her, don’t you?” His voice was soft and low, almost a growl.

“What?” Striver froze, feeling like he’d been caught with his finger in the pearl-berry jam.

“The young woman.”

Maybe he did, but he hadn’t treated her any differently than anyone else who would have dropped out of the sky. “I’m just trying to make her feel at home. The last thing we need is an angry colony ship hanging over our heads.”

“Sure. You always do the best thing for our people.”

Why did he sound sarcastic? “I try to, yes.”

“Just like the raid on the drop ship?”

Anger simmered inside Striver and he pushed it down. “You were there. We decided as a council it was the best thing to do.”

“Riptide tells me you’re a great leader. She believes in you more than anyone else. You could at least show her the same attention you show to this space girl.”

Striver glanced back at Eri to make sure she was still asleep. Why was Riley bringing his sister into this? Why now? Somehow he had to turn the conversation away from Riptide.

Striver stood, challenging him. “Is this why you came? To look over my back and judge my decisions as a leader?”

Riley backed down, returning to packing the leftover boar meat. “No, no, no. I’m just suggesting, be careful. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“I won’t.” Striver turned back to packing, shoving his knife and their cooking tools into his bag with a
clang
.

“What are you guys arguing about?” Eri stood, hugging her blanket around her shoulders, a large pinkish curl falling in front of her face and making her look so adorable Striver had to turn his eyes away.

“Nothing. We’re preparing for the hike ahead. We should reach your coordinates by nightfall. That is, if they are still in the same place.”

Eri pressed a few buttons on her locator. “Yup. They are.”

“Good.” He threw her a package of salted boar meat. She weighed it in her hands and gave him a questioning look.

“A snack for the journey.”

“How much do you think I eat?”

Striver shrugged. In his village, a woman who ate well was a blessing. “Consider it a trophy, then.”

“Enough flirting!” Riley threw his hands up in the air. “I’m sick of the both of you.” He strapped his backpack on and started down the incline to the path of muck.

Striver blinked in dazed confusion. Flirting? Was he flirting?

Eri watched Riley leave with daggers in her eyes. “What’s gotten into him?”

Striver tied up his backpack and brushed away the ashes from their fire. “I don’t know. He thinks he knows what’s best for the colony, what’s best for me.” He didn’t know how that last part slipped out, but it did, and he couldn’t take it back.

“What do you mean, what’s best for you?”

A memory of Riptide running from his tree hut in tears flashed through his thoughts. “Never mind.”

He helped Eri fold her blanket. “Looks like we’re all packed up. You ready for another day of sludge?”

“If it’s going to get me to my team, yes, I am.”

They slid down the incline together and splashed into the swamp. Sunlight filtered through the trees, creating golden splotches on the water’s surface. It reminded Striver of Soren’s tale. He didn’t think any part of the story was true, but after meeting that boar, he had reason to rethink everything.

“What does he mean by
flirting
, anyway? I don’t seem to recall the word in my old texts. Not all vernacular words make it into my files.”

Striver pushed aside a mossy branch.
Thank goodness this one didn’t.
“It’s kind of like fooling around, shooting the breeze, in a way, so to speak.”

“I think we’ve been fairly serious and on task.” Eri sloshed beside him, adjusting her backpack.

“We’re making good time.” Striver wondered if she had any idea how much she distracted him.

The swamp water dribbled off into thick mud and long grasses that tickled Eri’s thighs as they hiked north. Jagged rocks took the place of mossy knolls, and the jungle thinned into patches of spindly trees. The blue sky overhead gave Eri a naked vulnerability. Could the commander spot her from the control deck?

The ship hovered over her like a parent over a child, and she avoided glancing up. The commander still awaited answers, but giving her what she wanted might bring an attack on Striver’s village. Either way, Eri wanted to know what they faced, whether she’d tell the commander or not.

“Striver, how many people live on Haven 6?”

“Haven 6? Oh, you mean Refuge?”

“Yeah, whatever your people call it.”

Striver jumped from one rock to another and held out his hand for her to follow. “I’m not sure. We do a rough census of our village frequently, but who knows how many Lawless have multiplied throughout the years.”

“Do they have an army?”

His face darkened. “More like a horde of mercenaries.”

She jumped onto his rock beside him. “Jeez. Have you ever tried to control them?”

He scanned the landscape in front of them, searching for the best route. “No. It was my ancestors’ dream for everyone to have the luxury of choice.” He jumped down to a patch of sandy ground and waved for her to follow.

Eri steadied herself by gripping a gangly tree trunk as she slid down to join him. “Aren’t you afraid they’ll overwhelm your village at some point and take over?”

Striver nodded, helping her up as she fell against him. “It’s a growing concern. We have the wall and the Guardians, but if the Lawless’s numbers continue to rise, someday it won’t be enough.”

Eri noticed his hands linger on hers, and she struggled to keep her mind level. “Who built the wall? The Guardians?”

“They helped, in part.” Striver let go and a small current of disappointment swam through her.

“What do you mean?”

“My ancestors, Aries and Striker, built the wall with the Guardians’ help. They wanted everyone to be able to choose for themselves, but they also didn’t want their choices ruling others.”

Eri put a hand on his arm. “They were brave and wise. But what will you do if the Lawless breach the wall?”

A black tuft of fur took off beside them, its wings fluttering like a butterfly’s. Eri watched it disappear over the horizon, farther into the Lawless lands.
Poor animals have no idea what awaits them with so many factions vying for their resources.

Striver shook his head. “I’m not sure. The council is hard to budge in any direction. They follow our forefathers’ wishes to the letter.”

“But what if your ancestors couldn’t predict the Lawless’s rise? I’m sure they’d change the bylaws to save the colony they started.”

He climbed up a ledge to another series of rocks. “True. But how? By cultivating technology? Then we’d be just like our predecessors on Old Earth, using weapons against each other until we destroyed our new world. I’m not willing to lead them down that same path.”

It was like trying to reason with her linguistics program. Frustration boiled inside her. They had technology in the palms of their hands and they refused to use it. How could she teach him that people can change, learn from the mistakes of their past? That technology did more good than harm?

Striver stopped on the ledge and gazed down at her. “Tell me about your commander.”

“Commander Grier?”

“The woman whose brain sits in the box.”

Eri nodded, climbing up to join him. “I don’t know much about her, really. I’ve only met her face-to-face one time, if you could call it that. I spoke to a computer screen, an image of what she used to look like on Old Earth.”

“What did she do on Old Earth?”

“She held a bunch of political offices before the planet’s collapse. When she left, she was governor of a place called New York City. Gangmen attempted to assassinate her, and she managed to survive, but her family died in the firefight. Commander Grier believed in furthering humanity, that we shouldn’t have to die out along with our world. She used all of her life’s savings to build the
Heritage
and follow her dream.”

“Do you have faith in her as a leader?”

“On the
Heritage
, she’s revered like a god. Commander Grier’s the only one of us who remembers the Old Earth days, giving us a singular vision for our future.”

“But you didn’t answer my question. What do
you
think?”

Anxiety rushed up Eri’s legs. They were already far behind Riley, and standing around wasn’t getting them anywhere. “To say anything against the commander—”

Striver put a gentle hand on her cheek, holding her face to his. “You can trust me.”

His touch, the closeness of his face to hers, and his smell of fire smoke and pine disarmed her. She closed her eyes and pressed her cheek into his hand, feeling the warmth spread through her face and down her neck.

Who cared about the commander? Why couldn’t they just stand there like that forever?

Eri pulled herself back from her intense longings and opened her eyes. Her team needed her; she had to stay sane.

Looking into Striver’s gaze, she faced her own fears. “Sometimes I think the commander has forgotten what it’s like to be human, to walk around and relate to others. I wonder if she’s lost touch with reality.”

Relief coursed through her. She hadn’t told anyone about her misgivings, and it felt good to shake her concerns from her own shoulders, to share the burden with someone else, an unbiased party.
Well, not totally unbiased.

“Whatever happens, Eri, we’ll work it out together, all right?”

She wanted to believe him so badly, she denied all the secrets brewing inside her and the fact she spied for people plotting to steal his home. “All right.”

His hand traveled to the back of her neck, his fingers interlacing with her curls. She leaned toward him, losing herself in his touch. His mouth was only a breath away. Her heart fluttered. Just a little closer…

Something stomped on the rock behind them and they jumped apart. Riley crouched down, like he’d just jumped three meters to where they stood. He chewed on a piece of long grass, and his blue eyes twinkled like magic. “Hey guys, I found the cave.”

…

Dusk came sooner than Eri expected, the mountain casting a dark shadow over them. Riley led her and Striver to a ledge where they could peer down at the mountainside without being seen.

“Where is it? All I see is rock.” Striver squinted as he lay beside Eri.

Riley pointed. “Look by that shrub. See the crack in the facade?”

Striver inched near the edge to get a better look. Eri resisted the urge to pull him back. She wasn’t his mother, and he’d been able to take care of himself all these years before she met him. So why was she feeling so overprotective?

“Boy, if it wasn’t for the coordinates on Eri’s locater, I would have never guessed anyone could even fit in there, never mind use it for a hideout.”

Eri placed her hand on her laser. “No guards?”

Riley spit out a piece of chewed grass. “Nope.”

“Why do you think they chose this spot?” Striver scratched his head. “It doesn’t make any tactical sense.”

Riley shrugged. “Who knows? I’m guessing this entrance is the only way out and in. It could be a trap.”

Eri checked her locater. Her teammates’ life signs blinked just beyond the rock. So close, yet so untouchable. The urge to save them welled up inside her. “They’re here, all right. We’ve got to do something. We can’t just shake our heads and turn back.”

Striver rubbed his chin with his fingers. “They may fight us with the lasers.”

“That’s
if
they got them working,
if
they figured out the code. Besides, I have a laser, too, remember?”

“It’s a gamble.” Riley crept up to the edge of the ledge with Striver.

“How could they possibly know we’ve come for them?” Each second of inaction pressed on Eri’s chest, squeezing out her last breath. Now was not the time to argue.

“We all know you guys have techno-gadgets that can do almost anything. What if they bet on you having something like that locating thingamajig on your wrist?” Riley picked up her arm and her locator flashed fluorescent green in the dim light.

Eri touched the screen and the light flashed off. “There’s no way they’d know what it did, or that mine connected to theirs, or that you guys saved me.”

“We’re going in.” Striver pulled his bow off his shoulder. “Like Eri said, we’ve come too far to turn back.”

“Under the earth, the Guardians can’t help us,” Riley warned.

“Good,” Striver shot back, sliding down the ledge. “Let’s prove we can accomplish something on our own.” As much as he cared for the Guardians, sometimes he felt their presence suffocating. It was like having your parents around you all the time.

Eri followed Striver, hoping Riley would come along. They could use his help, but if he didn’t believe in going, she wasn’t going to force him. Her feet touched the ground and she heard Riley sliding down the ledge behind her.

She turned her head as he landed beside her and gave him a questioning glance.

“I can’t leave you and Striver to go alone, now can I?”

Eri smiled and cuffed his arm. Maybe she didn’t hate him after all. “Thank you.”

“You can thank me once we get in and get out.” Riley shook his head. “
If
we make it.”