Chapter 1 #2
They now headed out again, and she wondered what would happen this time, but nothing did.
It felt good to be out in the woods, and right now they were walking in an area where something smelled so sweet.
She looked up, and it looked like a Tulip tree, but then a bird landed on the flower, and it snapped closed over it.
It was important to warn everyone about this tree because it was predatory, and there was no way to know how damaging it could be if it closed on top of someone's hand.
This was also unusual because most meat-eating plants would typically emit a foul odor to attract insects and animal scavengers.
“If we come back past here when we leave, we should take one of the flowers so it can be tested for medicinal value,” Victoria suggested.
“We can make a point of coming back this way,” Oret offered.
They looked around, finding several patches of unusual flowers and grass.
The two of them picked berries, and she gathered some roots.
When they reached the foot of the mountains, they gathered several different minerals.
One of them resembled platinum, and she couldn't wait to find out what it turned out to be.
Their base camp was surrounded by mountains, some of which were closer than others.
On the way back, they found a nest but decided to leave it be since there was a good chance it had already been harvested once.
Victoria felt like it had been a successful trip, especially when they were close to the end and had harvested a couple of tulip flowers from the tree.
It was rather eerie when the tree screamed.
That just drove home how different this world was. As soon as they returned, they went to the medical tent, where Daisy Murdock was on duty. She was a healer and a good one.
“What did you two bring me? Looks like a full bag of things.”
“Why don’t you check this first? It’s a meat-eating plant. We saw a bird get eaten by it,” Oret explained.
Daisy looked excited and began to test it.
“On the outer part of its leaves is a powerful sedative. On the inside, it has digestive juices. The sedative can be used, but only in small amounts. I’ll freeze these two and send them to the main medical center.
I believe Bekka will be pleased and wants to do something about it.
Let’s check out some of these other things. ”
Every item they had gathered was either edible or useful in some way.
That was an exceptionally successful gathering trip.
That wasn't even considering the pet Oret had found.
She wondered if their new friend would be useful for guard duty.
Many of the other planets had discovered animals that were useful for walking with guards, so that guards didn't have to walk alone and could protect themselves more effectively.
Animals often had better hearing and vision, as well as a more acute sense of smell.
“I need to go check out the new mine,” Victoria said.
“I'll take you.”
They headed to the new mine, which was close to where they had been gathering.
It was a relief to see that the guys were still working and had done a good job so that they hadn't lost any time.
This mine contained jewels, including diamonds, and had a few areas with silver and gold deposits.
There were other uses for the jewels, or the chief wouldn't care about this mine at all.
Diamonds could be used in some mining equipment for cutting purposes.
Victoria knew there were also some scientific uses, but that wasn't really her area, and she didn't care and only wanted the work they were doing to be worthwhile and appreciated.
The shame was that the mine where the dragon was located was the most important one, as it contained a mineral used in the construction of spaceships.
The other mine was on lockdown so that the dragon wouldn't be disturbed.
It would be going hunting, and everyone had been told to leave the dragon alone if they didn't want to die.
It would be a week or more before someone came to pick up the dragon to take it to others of its kind.
Victoria hated that it had messed up her schedule regarding the mines, but she was glad that the little guy hadn't been hurt and that no one else had either.
Oret went back to his work, and she went back to hers, finishing out the day at the diamond mine, which the miners had nicknamed.
That was as good a name as any, and it would probably stick.
Someone had been assigned as caretaker for the dragon, so she wasn't going to worry about it.
It would be a good thing if it were taken away and she could have her mine back.
Maybe that sounded bad, but she did feel bad for the little dragon who was all alone and glad that it had found some of its people to go back to.
Things were tough on a new planet, where everyone had to do their best and reach certain levels to be considered successful.
Up until now, she had been doing fine, but not everyone was doing so great.
The kitchen was always struggling, and so far, at least half the farms were in chaos.
At this point, Radvar was cutting them some slack in certain areas because he knew that they had started out with people who had no experience and some who just didn't want to work.
That wouldn't be the case for much longer, and she felt sorry for her daughter because her areas were struggling more than Fenwick's.
That might be because their son-in-law seemed intimidating, and he didn't have the same ease with people that Sara sometimes did.
It had really been a miracle that they were doing as well as they had.
Several of those people they had to get rid of ended up not being able to do anything except go to the moon, where they would probably die.
Sara had a hard time dealing with that, and at least a dozen people had gone there so far.
Victoria had not had a single person go because everyone knew it was hard in the mines, and they didn't volunteer to go there; only volunteers were allowed to go.
There might have been a few that were skirting the level she required, but they all seemed to get it in time.
Oret was the one who got to send them away, and since he was a Majuri warrior, he understood how the system worked.
Even though Sara was not the one sending them, it still broke her heart to see them dragged away.
Victoria could admit that she didn't like watching the shuttle being loaded when she knew it was going to the moon, but she understood that lazy people interfered with the way that the colony ran and could risk all their lives.
A dozen had left, and so far, only one had been allowed to come back, and they had been changed as far as being a much better worker went.
“Why don't you let me escort you to supper?” Oret asked.
“Why not?”
He smiled, as if he thought she was weakening, and maybe she was.
Oret was an attractive man, and his interest in her was flattering.
She doubted that he was younger than her, even if she thought he looked it.
Majuri aged better than humans and lived longer.
It was said that their mates also aged better and lived longer once they mated.
Not that this was any reason to mate a warrior.
The fact that he was an attractive man, easy to talk to, and the most capable male she had ever met; those were all reasons to mate with him.
She had just never thought about mating again when her husband had died; she'd said that would be all, never again.
It was hard to believe she was considering jumping in.
Maybe it was because everything was so different that she was having these thoughts, or maybe it was because of him, not only the way he was, but the changes she had gone through since she'd been on this new planet.
Victoria would have to give this a little more thought before making a decision.
Meanwhile, she would enjoy everything he did to try to change her mind.