Page 171 of Home

“We are going back to the base. You need help?”

“A few extra hands would be nice,” Buchanan said.

“Zrakad?” Zhuxi said.

“I’ll gather a few males,” Zrakad said.

“Meet me at the transport I flew,” Buchanan said, then turned toward Va’roush. “Get in the transport I came in, Va’roush. We’ll take you back and help you get her and all her stuff back here.”

“The beasts?” Va’roush asked.

“Them, too.”

Va’roush gave a single nod and started jogging toward the transports those from the base had arrived in. He waited beneath the one Buchanan had arrived in. Eventually Buchanan, Zrakad, and three other Ceresians warriors joined him and they all boarded the transport, headed for Mel’s place.

~~~

Mel was outside her barn, making three piles — one to keep, one to give away, and one to burn as she went through generations of accumulation. She’d just walked back outside with armloads of old tarps and horse blankets that were full of holes and tattered beyond repair. She dropped them in the burn pile and started back toward the barn when the sound of a transport caught her attention.

She looked up into the sky, trying to determine its location, and finally found it headed her way from the south. She walked over to the barn door where she’d leaned her shotgun and picked it up, holding it relaxedly at her side as she watched the transport getting ever closer. She’d hoped they’d just pass overhead, but knew they were flying too low to be doing anything other than looking for a place to land. “I do not need this shit,” she grumbled, raising the shotgun to aim at the transport as it settled on the ground about sixty feet from her.

She locked her aim on the ramp as it began descending from the transport.

Inside the transport Zrakad laughed, shoving Va’roush’s shoulder. “Look! She is anxious to shoot your ass again!”

“She does not wish to shoot me. She wishes to shoot anyone who is on this land as long as she is still on it.’

Zrakad was still chuckling, but when the door opened granting them access to the ramp, he stayed right where he was. “You go first. I will not be rolling on the ground writhing in pain because she is still wielding her weapon. You should have taken it by now.”

“Why would I take it?” Va’roush asked as he paused at the door.

“So she doesn’t shoot you.”

“She won’t shoot me. She may shoot you, though,” Va’roush said, as he stepped out onto the ramp. “It is me, Mel!” he called out. “I have brought help.”

Mel reluctantly lowered her weapon. “Help for what?” she asked. “I told you it was too late.”

“I have procured a home for you and all your beasts.”

She hesitated, not quite sure of how to respond. A few moments later she shook off her shock and started toward Va’roush and all the males exiting the transport. “What are you talking about, Va’roush?”

“There is a home. It is a very nice home, with many rooms and cleansing chambers. It has a safe room beneath that I’ve not yet explored as well. It has fields for crops and machines to work the land. There is a large building to store the machines. We will build pens and shelters for your beasts. It is ours.”

Mel’s heart skipped a few beats as a flash of hope ran through her. “I don’t understand, Va’roush. How did you get us a house.”

“It is Kol’s house.”

“Kol? You mean the Consul?” she asked.

“Yes. He and his family left Earth. They will not be back, other than perhaps a visit or two. We will build them a cottage to use if they visit. We will place it far from our home. He has said if we will keep the property from falling into disrepair and keep it a beautiful land, we can live there.”

“For how long?” she asked.

For the first time she noticed his lopsided smile when he looked directly at her, instead of just past her. “Forever. He is sending legal documentation stating the same so that we’ll never have issues with anyone claiming we can’t live there. We will be caretakers of the property. It will be our home for all of our lives.”

She sat down right where she was. “How did this happen? I don’t… I just…Why?”

“It was his mate’s property, through her family, much as yours was handed down. But they will no longer live on Earth. It will be ours now. We will be…” Va’roush stopped, searching for the words.

---