Chapter 8 #2
It was early morning, and their ship had been loaded the night before, ready to take off right after breakfast. The other planet they visited for supplies was just a little bit further away than Mars 2.
That planet was so close in fact that it affected the orbit of the Monster Moon.
That moon orbited further away than their moon did.
It got caught and was pulled away for a time before breaking free again.
That was when the Monster Moon had its cold month.
That would be here soon, and Victoria wanted to get furs to trade with them.
They had a tuber on their moon that Anna and the kitchen were able to use like a potato.
Victoria would be happy enough to take some of that in trade for the furs.
If not that, then some of the minerals they were mining could also be used, as they could be traded if they couldn't be utilized.
Everyone was excited about the hunting trip when the ship landed on the planet.
Twenty-five people, excluding the children who accompanied their parents, were on the trip.
Only four of their hunters were beginners.
Victoria and he would be working on training what was probably the least experienced one.
Each trainee was assigned to work with two seasoned hunters.
Gary was the one they had. The only thing he’d done at this point was acquire his needed bike and hunting gear.
At least that was a step in the right direction.
He’d gotten a weapon and knives with a sharpening stick.
Those were all things he’d have to learn to use.
At least everyone in the hunting party seemed excited and willing to learn.
The hunt began with Victoria taking down something that she said resembled a buffalo. He confirmed the kill and dropped a tracker on it. Oret took down a deer, and then everyone began to hunt. Gary tried to shoot the equivalent of a turkey and missed.
“You really need to try to shoot something larger so that you have a better chance of hitting. Small birds are usually for more experienced hunters,” Oret explained.
Gary gave up on the turkeys, and this time he went for a deer.
He hit it in the shoulder, and Victoria finished it for him.
Her interest was mainly in things with fur, so she would have something to trade with the monsters.
Others were shooting everything you could imagine because they were on a plain that was loaded with herds of various types.
The first truck filled up quickly, and they began loading the second.
The crew was loading water because they couldn't seem to get enough of that.
Once they were done, they would be able to hunt or fish if they chose to do so.
If they filled the trucks quickly enough, they would fish.
That might be stopped early to do some gathering.
The next trip would focus on fishing and gathering.
It was the way they’d been doing things, and it worked well enough.
Their plan seemed to be providing what they needed, and adjustments could be made as needed.
By the time all the trucks were full and they had gutted their kills, it was lunchtime.
They moved away from where all the guts were, as it would draw scavengers they didn't want to deal with.
Oret picked a good spot by the water, and after giving warnings to everyone fishing about standing too close and not being observant enough, they began fishing.
There was no doubt that the fish were biting, and they caught a large amount.
Once they cleaned the fish, they spent the rest of the day gathering.
With only one scanner, it was decided that the others would simply bag the items and not concern themselves with whether they were useful or not until they got back home.
Oret scanned everything he and Victoria found, and they marked it for its usefulness.
They had fish for supper, and after the campsite was cleaned up and the fire was put out, it was time to head home.
On the trip, Oret took that time to start scanning the bags and writing the results on them.
He was amazed at how few items were poisonous.
Most items were edible, and a few had mild medical applications.
Everything was scanned before they arrived at the moon, and the purposes of the items were discussed with those who had collected them.
Some donated the medical items, but others kept them.
Oret didn’t know what they thought they’d do with them.
They had little trade value since they were mild in nature.
Perhaps they had heard about how some items had generated large amounts of money, but none of these items would yield the same results.
It was good to be back with a full ship of the things that they needed.
Their work wasn't done yet, as they would now cook one of the large kills in the fire pit, and then they would cut everything else and store it away in one of the freezers or refrigerators.
Those in the kitchen had mixed feelings because they would be learning to cut up kills, but they would have the meat cooked outside for the day.
That meant that their work would not be harder because of the kills that had been brought back; it would just be different.
One of the older men was already very good at cutting up the kills because he had been a butcher.
The lady who was interested in him had begged him to show her how to make the cuts.
He seemed frustrated because she was not a quick learner, but he continued to try.
Everyone with any skill at all was trying to train someone.
That included a handful of older children.
It was causing a little resentment because the new hunters did not want to be trained by someone who could be their own child.
It was clear that the children were talented and had no trouble making the cuts.
Once they had a good start on the meat, they had to get on the fish because it would spoil quickly.
Victoria was on the fish alone, doing an excellent job while he was training two of the new hunters.
They were doing well because they knew better than to ignore him as he instructed them.
Some of the hunters with only a little experience were already hunting small animals on their own.
That was a bigger help than it sounded like.
It was early morning before they completed the necessary work to ensure that all the meat and fish were ready for storage.
Oret was impressed with the amazing job that his mate did.
It was obvious that she was tired, and he hurried her away so that she could get at least a little bit of sleep.
They had told those who worked that they could take two hours of extra sleep.
However, overly tired workers often performed poorly and frequently had accidents.
That was not something they wanted. They hurried home and crashed, completely worn out.
He had set the alarm because she had not even thought of it.
She was getting more tired than usual, and it worried him.
Victoria was hard to wake up in the morning, but once she was up, she dressed quickly, ate, and went to work.
He intended to keep an eye on her, but since he wasn't in the mine with her, he told his friend, Tol, to watch her.
Life was settling into a pattern. They traded with Mars 2 and the Monster Moon at least once a month.
Mostly, the items they traded were from their supply planet because their moon didn't have much that anyone would want.
Oret hoped that would change in time as they developed the farms and discovered items on the moon.
Water, fish, animals, and worthwhile plants were brought over every time they went on a supply trip, which was at least twice a month and sometimes as often as once a week.
The chief was pleased because the mine was hitting the proper levels, and they were supplying much of their own needed food and other necessities.
Victoria had not only hit the required levels but also exceeded them slightly.
Gabe had the builders doing better than he had imagined, given the influx of new, untrained workers every month.
Anna had impressed him greatly because she had the kitchen running wonderfully, and the food was so much better than he had imagined it could be based on how it had been from the beginning to now.
Tasha's farm had a better-than-expected harvest, and even the other farm had reached the necessary level.
Two more farms had started, and he would hope for the best but was concerned because they had not had good luck with new farmers.
The next farm was about to start, and it was always a concern if the farm family would be able to handle the work.
He and Victoria were going to Tasha's farm for supper tonight. Oret enjoyed her family, and the children were wonderful. Victoria's grandchildren were the closest that he would have to children of his own. When they arrived, Tasha was out messing with her beehives.
“What are you doing? Do you need help?” Victoria asked.
“Anna asked that I give her a hive so that she has honey available on site. I'm splitting a hive so that she can have one,” Tasha explained.
“That girl is very smart and hard working.”
“I can't deny it. My brother made a good choice. They have already planted wildflowers around the camp in areas where it's not feasible to establish a garden. I believe the bees will do well, and I know that she will take good care of them.”
“I have no doubt. I see that you are almost done,” Victoria observed.
“I am done now. I plan to leave the hive here for a week before moving it.”
“That's wise. It will give the bees a little bit of time to recover.”