Page 7 of Claimed By the Krijese

Chapter 4

Iris

With the help of the Tavikhi and a couple of their human…mates, we manage to unload all the supplies from the cargo hold of the ship and place them in the storage building. Now, we’ve all gathered inside what Gary called the central meeting house, which is laughable since nothing about it gives the impression of a house. It’s a poorly constructed building with four walls and a roof. The only light comes from the sun shining through the open doors.

Against the back wall is a big stack of tents we’re lucky enough to call home sweet home for the rest of our miserable lives. The utter disbelief on several of the people’s faces almost makes me feel bad for them. Maybe because I’ve always prepared myself for the worst I’m not more outraged by how we all were played. Life has dealt me nothing but shitty cards. Why should coming to another planet be any different?

“Now that everyone’s here, let me start by again welcoming you to Tavikh and New Province,” Gary’s voice carries throughoutthe building to those of us in the back. “As you’re aware, things here aren’t what we were told when we left Earth.”

Grumbling spreads throughout the crowd and Gary calls for quiet.

“That doesn’t mean this is a terrible place. In fact, things here are actually better than what those of us from the bottom tier had. Truly.” He scans the group. “We have real food, clean water, and fresh air. We have a few datapads you can borrow to read books or magazines. You can even watch movies that have already been downloaded to the devices. Are things perfect here? No, but what place is?”

The rumbles of displeasure actually start to die down. I guess it doesn’t take much to satisfy people. Of course, who wouldn’t be tempted by some of the things Gary mentioned? The sad fact is, he’s mostly right, if it’s true we don’t have to eat protein bars, drink questionable water, or breathe in the smoke and grime that lingers in the air far too close to the bottom tier. How pitiful that we all so easily accept the absolute bare minimum things humans should be afforded as though we’ve been given the greatest gifts ever.

“We do have rules everyone must follow, of course,” Adam adds to the conversation, but his gaze is locked on one of the Tavikhi-human couples. The woman arches an eyebrow before he finally continues. “Violence against any woman isn’t tolerated. Violence against children isn’t tolerated. There are no exceptions to this.”

Clearly there’s a story here, if that’s the first rule being explained. Kind of like common sense warning labels that started appearing on products hundreds of years ago. Obviously someone did something.

“What happens if the rule is broken?” A female voice calls from somewhere up front.

Gary and Adam exchange glances. “Banishment.”

Whispers start up again and people glance around at each other. The two females with the Tavikhi cross their arms and glare at people.

“What do you mean ‘banishment’?” A man I can’t see asks.

Banishment. Exile. You get kicked out. Who doesn’t know what that means?

“It means exactly that,” Gary clarifies. “If you are found to have broken the rule, then you’ll be kicked out of New Province. Where you go after that is up to you. You’re just not allowed within our walls.”

“So you’re saying we’ll be forced to leave here?” It sounds like the same man poses the question.

Adam nods. “Yes. You are welcome to take your belongings and make your own camp elsewhere. The other option is you may be allowed to live with the Krijese. That depends on the severity of the crime and whether Kala allows it.”

That perks me up. Krijese? Isn’t that the name of the vicious aliens the two crew members were talking about? The ones who are either extinct—which clearly isn’t the case—or are just late in arriving to slaughter us all? I know I should keep my mouth shut, stay under the radar, but I don’t.

“So the Krijese aren’t extinct then?” I say the alien word slowly, but I still don’t think I got it exactly right.

Gary rattles his head slightly. “Who told you they’re extinct?”

I wave in a general way. “Just something I heard on the ship. They said the Krijese have attacked every ship that’s landed here except this one. Since they didn’t, the logical explanation was that they don’t exist anymore.”

My comment about the attacks causes a fair amount of chaos as everyone starts talking at the same time. Gary and Adam try to calm people, but voices rise—as do tensions. That is, until the woman—Remi—climbs onto the shoulders of her…mate—I can’t get used to that—and, with two fingers in her mouth, releases a piercing whistle. I wince at the sound. But it shuts everyone up.

“If everyone is done whining?” she snarks. “King Armik and the rest of the Krijese who would have caused any of the humans harm are no longer alive. However, there is a small tribe living up in the hills that are allies to the Tavikhi. Kala and his people won’t bother you. My guess is, you’ll never even see them. Unless you break the rules. Or you make any other kind of trouble. As far as the Krijese go, though, you have nothing to be concerned about.”

Remi scans the room and when no one speaks up, her mate helps her down. Gary glances over at her before returning his gaze to us and clears his throat.

“Yes, as Remi explained, none of the Krijese have bothered us since their small tribe moved to the hills. That still doesn’t negate the fact that if you are banished, you will be offered the chance to live with them.”

He and Adam give everyone an opportunity to voice any more complaints, but none are forthcoming. At least, not yet. They go over more rules and how the settlement runs on a barter system with each person or family being responsible for a task neededto keep things running. Food, clothing, and weapons are traded and everyone has access to their own water.

“If there aren’t any other questions, then everyone will need to form a line to get their tent from Bruce,” Adam announces. “He’ll instruct you how to put it up if you don’t already know. When you’ve received your tent, you can pick any open spot out in the settlement to set up your home. If you have a dispute with someone, talk to either me or Gary. Once again, welcome to Tavikh and New Province.”

Remi whistles once more, but this time from where she stands.

“Zydon and I have been tasked with extending an invitation to you all to live in the Tavikhi village with us. There are close to thirty humans, including several families, who currently reside there. We’ve also just had our most recent Tavikhi-human hybrid birth, which brings our total up to three.”

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