Page 18 of Oret
There was no way to do everything at once, and his people needed places to live.Tents just weren't sufficient, and they needed houses, especially those with children.The plan was the same one the Empire had followed as long as anyone could remember.Was it possible that the rules they had followed had begun here, and were the rules brought back from their time?Could something like that work anyway?That was a lot like the question of whether they were their own grandpas?Did it matter?Probably not, but they all wondered if that was what happened.Was this the beginning of their great empire?If that were the case, they would all need to work hard; otherwise, the empire would never have reached its current state, and what would happen to them then?Would some invisible hand come back in time and snatch them away because they had never been to begin with?
Oret needed to get back to work and stop worrying about something he couldn't change.They were knocking out two houses a day, which was good considering the inexperienced crew.At least the builders all seemed to be putting forth an effort and trying to learn so they could complete the task.He couldn't help but worry about how the mine was doing, even though he knew that Victoria would put her best effort forward and get the best possible results out of the miners, who were even more inexperienced and doing a harder job.He knew that mining was the most demanding job, and it took the hardest toll on the body.Their equipment was not the best yet, but he knew that the chief would upgrade it every time they met their goals.That was important because mining could cause numerous illnesses, and sick miners were unable to perform the necessary work.
It was the next day, and he and Tol headed out to the one farm that had been established already.They were a little disappointed.They had expected more with the time they'd had to establish that farm.Next, they headed to the farm where Tasha and her kids were working.She would be with them until the farm was established.With so much to do, that was necessary even though, for now, that would leave all the mining on Victoria's shoulders.They had just started this morning, but they were already sowing two fields with the equipment that the chief had sent and had the hives set up where they would be safe, but the bees would have no food until some plants were raised.That's why the plants they had chosen were flowering ones.They had also planted wildflowers around the yard, and those would come up in a few days.
While the two daughters tended to the fields, Tasha and her sons built a barn to house the animals that the chief had sent with them.They had decided to do that before building the house, and Oret wasn't sure if that was the best approach.That meant they would have to stay in the cave and trek back and forth to the farm every day.He was sure they had a plan, so he was going to stay out of it.They had been through this once before, but he was sure that when they had arrived, a house had already been provided on Mars 2.He was surprised when, right before lunch, Victoria arrived with food and began to work on the house they would need.Building their house was an excellent way for her to help them get started.
Tol and he jumped in to help, and it was amazing how much progress they made by the end of the day.One floor was complete, so they would be able to stay on the farm, and he was sure they would choose to.He did have to wonder if the children would be out here alone or if one of the ladies would stay with them to ensure their safety.Thirteen might be old enough to be in charge of something, but the other children were younger than that, and it would worry him.
“Tasha will be staying with them for now.We will be hosting a family that will be training on this farm before they start their own.Once we meet them and are sure that they will be trustworthy, we can leave the children with them.Of course, we will be checking on them regularly.”Victoria explained.
That sounded good to him.While he believed in children taking responsibility, he also believed in ensuring that they were all right every step of the way.While young Majuri children were sent to military school, they were always under supervision.They would have to set up a military school because the chief had found some more orphans that would be divided between here and Mars 2.Even though many of those children would be adopted, they would still be sent to the school at a young age.The chief had also identified some military personnel who would be divided between the two locations, with one of them assigned to run the school.
At the very least, military personnel should be well-trained, shouldn't they?That was his hope, and he was considering the possibility of having the military personnel and orphans build the school.Maybe they would take more pride in it that way, and that was not unusual among the Majuri.Many schools were built in this manner, especially in the colonies.It was a surprise that every time they said that there were no more humans to bring to colonies, they seemed to find more in pockets where they had been unharmed.Monsters, on the other hand, seemed to be available in huge numbers even with the restrictions that the chief placed on their conditions.
“Are you ready to quit for the day?”Oret asked.
“We're at a good spot.They can stay out here safely, and we can finish the other level soon.We still need to figure out how to get water here, but they aren't far from the river.”
“At least they have the server that runs to a lagoon.That should help, but water is necessary at some point.We also need to make a hunting trip, but someone needs to stay in charge.”
“I'm going on the trip, and I assume you are.That only leaves Tasha and Tol to be left behind.”Victoria observed.
“This won't be necessary later, but until then, everyone will have to take a turn staying behind.This time, it will be Tol.”
“That sounds fair.Right now, we need to get ready to eat supper and get a good night's sleep.Do you want to hunt in the morning?”
“I think that would be best, so we don't run low on food.We won't take many with us because I'm not sure how well they'll do, and I don't want to be shot.”Oret explained.
Victoria nodded in agreement.They would notify those who would go on the trip tomorrow before they turned in for the night.In the morning, they would take the ship to their new hunting grounds and get enough meat for a month if they were lucky.Another trip would be needed for fish, and again for the vegetables and fruit that they needed.It was true that the moon was small, but there were large areas of desert and other areas that simply had nothing of worth.Those areas needed to be planted, but they would require more water to support the plants that would grow there.Eventually, before the hunting planet was colonized, he hoped to create a lake and fill it with fish.It was necessary to feed the people on this moon.He knew better than to rely on what they could trade for something as important as food.
Last night, the small group of people they were taking with them was notified, and they would either be on the ship or left behind.This morning, it was chaotic as they prepared and made sure that they had something for everyone to eat for breakfast.Hopefully, they would find something to eat for lunch and possibly for supper while they went hunting as needed.They had a scanner that would indicate whether something was poisonous or edible.He didn't know how primitive people had managed not to die off by eating poisonous foods.Everyone was on the ship, and he noticed that no one was missing.It was a shame that Tol was left behind, but he would be going on the next three trips before he had to miss one again.
The planet was lush, with a tropical climate.Animals roamed everywhere, and vegetation grew abundantly.They hadn't checked yet, but he'd been told that the waterways were teeming with fish and other marine life.Oret couldn't wait to bring back some of the meat and other things because their food on the moon was bland.Good food was one of the things that was required when you expected people to work hard and work long hours.This was only one of the reasons that they had taken this trip so soon.Another reason was that they needed to know what was available here so they could possibly bring some of it back with them.The main problem was that there was not enough water on the moon to support plant and animal growth.A load of water would be carried back under the ship in an inflatable carrier.
“It's exciting to go to a new world,” Victoria observed.
“I think so as well.A planet like this with so many living resources is especially exciting.”
When they landed in one of the few clear spots, everyone unloaded and took their air bikes so they could get around.Of course, none of their new people owned their own air bikes, and these were the ones that Radvar had sent to them so that new people would have something to use.Two of Victoria's grandchildren had accompanied them, and he was already aware that they were skilled hunters and gatherers.Fishing was also no stranger to them.Only two of the four had come because there was much work to be done, but this was important work too.Today, they would see what resources they would have to work with.
The hunt started out well with a truck filled in no time, even with the small number of hunters.Those animals on this planet seemed much like the ones on the planet they had come from.There were a few small differences in the vegetation, and eventually, they would see if there were differences in the fish.There was an unusual animal that resembled what humans call a unicorn.He instructed everyone to leave the animal alone for now until they found out more about it.Not everyone was happy about that, but they followed the instructions.Since the animal was much like a horse, it could be domesticated and used for labor.Since they were short on machines, that would be an excellent use of a creature like this.There was a small bay, and he thought they might be able to lure the creature in and see what could be done with it.One problem was that the horn was extremely sharp, which made the thing dangerous.
While others were enjoying their lunch, he and Victoria ate quickly and then decided to see if a unicorn would come to them.It stuck up its nose at him, but it came right to her and let her lead it away.He was sure that it wouldn't be happy with her later when it discovered it had been taken away from all that it knew.They got back to the group, and it was time to continue the hunt.Another truck was full in no time, and when they took a break, some of them gathered and took some plants back.They even took a few that were poisonous for the medical staff to check out.Victoria had tried to convince Daisy to come with them, but she said she was happy where she was.They had gotten a doctor straight from Earth, along with a nurse and a medic.Victoria had already spoken to the three of them separately to gather some information about their training and interests.She had found their training and experience acceptable, but she still would have preferred Daisy.That wasn't anything they intended to share with their new medical crew.
The medic had come with them, but he really hadn't been much help.He needed to learn how to hunt and butcher his kills.Since he had done nothing, they didn't know what kind of experience he might have had or might not have had.With two full trucks, after the others took a break while they were gathering, it was time to cut up and clean some of the kills.It was disappointing that out of the six extra people who had come along with them, only two had any skills at all, and those were limited.Those were left alone to do the best they could with their kills, while the others were put with somebody who knew what they were doing, and they began to train.At least only two of them complained constantly.He wondered who they thought would take care of their kills.There were no servants here, and everyone needed to pull their weight.That was the problem with inexperienced people who came straight from Earth; they always seemed to think there was someone else who would take care of those jobs that they didn't want to.
It took them a long time to deal with the two trucks, and at that point, Oret decided it was a good idea to do a little fishing to see what was in the water.In general, because fish were smaller, they were easier for inexperienced people to work with.
“Everyone, we are going to do some fishing but be careful because we don't know what's in the water, and it might be something much larger than you,” Oret explained.
“Shouldn't you be warning the little kids that are with us?”One of the colonists asked.
“Those young kids are far more experienced than you are and have been fishing and hunting all their lives.They know to be careful near the water's edge.”Victoria replied.
She got a lot of looks that told him that the colonists didn't believe her, but they would learn.Hopefully, the lesson would be an easy one, and no one would be injured or killed.Some lessons were learned the hard way, but he hoped this wouldn't be one of them.Hope never got him far, and that was the case this time, too.One of the colonists was grabbed by what looked like an octopus, and one of those small children saved them by cutting its arm off with a machete.That colonist was no longer as excited about fishing and stayed back from the shore.Maybe they would realize that being careful would allow them to fish and survive.A few hours of fishing and many fish meant it was time to start cleaning those fish.
Again, this was a job no one seemed to like, but that didn't matter because it had to be done.It was the same two colonists who, at least, had some idea of what to do with the fish.Since the fish were easier to work with, they were done much quicker, but there wasn't as much meat as the hunting had provided.That was only to be expected since they weren't netting any fish.Some of the colonists would have to learn how to do that, and then they would be able to bring back large amounts of fish.Looking around at all that this world had to offer, he could see that they hadn't affected what was available at all yet.It was time to go back and bring their bounty with them.Most of it would stay on the ship and be taken off a little at a time, as one of the bays had a refrigerator and a freezer area to keep the food in good condition.
