TAKEN: Journey to a New Home (16 page)

  “They didn’t give her anything dangerous, did they?” His face was full of concern.

  “No, instead of scissors they gave her a small set of snippers. It’s like a u joint with a sharp edge on the inside and you squeeze the threads between to cut. It does have two small sharp points at the tips for fine cuts in small places and could cut your finger but no one can be seriously stabbed with it,” she used her thumb and forefinger to show how it worked.

  “Let me think on it then after dinner you and I will talk and go see her. I want to give her a chance but she must understand that I will not tolerate behavior that endangers my crew and my ship,” he told her.
And especially my mate
but he didn’t say that thought out loud.

  “That’s all she can ask. I think you’re right that she has a lot to make up for especially given she was on probation at home already. So I won’t fight you on whatever decision you make on this issue.”

  “Thank you for trusting me,” he told her softly. He reached over and gave her soft lingering kiss that did as much to fluster her as the deep demanding one he’d put on her in the lift this morning. Then he left with a smile and a wave. She returned to the kitchen with her own smile. She sensed everyone was waiting. “He said he’ll think on it today and we’ll talk about it after dinner. But we both agree that Blanca has to serve some form of punishment and it has to be for more than one day.”

  “Damn straight.” Samantha said as she finished punching down her dough for the fresh bread. Sienna helped Samantha split the dough into loaves. They glossed the top with what Moz had shown them was similar to butter although it came from a plant in the Hydro. Now the loaves needed to rise for the last time and would be ready to go in the oven when the roasts came out to rest. Holly was finishing the spread from the gahix fruit as they finished the bread. Sienna noticed she looked a little tired. She glanced at Samantha and decided she needed a break too.

  “Okay, everybody at a stopping point?” The group nodded. “Good. Let’s go have a sit in the dining room for a little while we have a snack and a cool drink.”

  “We’ll grab the water and juice,” Taylor motioned to herself and Ashaa who rose with her to get the pitchers.

  “I’ve got the dori seeds,” Rose said picking up a jar of the seeds that tasted similar to pecans once they were toasted. Untoasted they were bitter and astringent. Jasmine grabbed bowls while Holly grabbed glasses.

  “Let’s take a load off then,” Sienna led the way in to the dining hall. They sat at the table while having their snack and talked about the foods they were prepping along with tomorrow’s menu. After a thirty minute break both Holly and Samantha looked much better. They went to finish dinner and start prepping to serve. They had decided serve family-style and fill the large serving dishes with each item for each table. Moz had told her this was the way they usually served the community meal so they all spent time as a group. Sienna decided this was the best way to continue.

  Gval and his crew of three showed up as scheduled an hour and half before everyone else and had the dinner for what amounted to their breakfast as they were about to begin their night shift. The four men enjoyed the meal and Gval told Tek he was never allowed to cook again. Tek frowned as the other two agreed that if Tek ever cooked again a mutiny would probably occur after everyone learned what good cooking was by eating this meal. Samantha laughed at Tek’s pout and told him she would be happy to give him a few lessons. He agreed and the other three groaned at being the ‘victims’ of his lessons. A little before dinner service was to begin Wendy, Natalie and Tabitha turned up to help serve and clean. Gval and his three said heartfelt thanks with Tek admitting sheepishly that maybe he wasn’t a great cook but he loved doing it. Shortly after the hall began to fill with noisy males, but to Sienna’s surprise they quickly helped finish setting the tables while they joked and laughed with each other and the ladies.

  Sienna knew the moment Dezek entered the hall. Her nape started prickling again. Why did it do that and worse why did she suspect he knew. Volunteers quickly helped move food and bread to the tables and Dezek stood and said what he told her was a thanks for the meal in his own language. She decided it must be similar to grace and she wondered why the translator didn’t translate. The language was pretty with a flowing lilt to it. Then he sat and the hall was filled with noisy conversation once again. She looked around and almost every table had one or two of the women but they were being accepted and folded into the conversations with ease and grace that surprised her. The men helped clear the tables between the meal and the dessert with the hot herbal drink. After dessert she went to the kitchen and was surprised to discover several crew members in the kitchen running dishes through the cleaning units already. They had Samantha sitting on a stool while they did her bidding. Nyman seemed to be in charge at the moment.

  “Don’t worry, I made her sit,” Nyman told her softly as she stepped next to him. “I think she’s more tired than she’s willing to admit.” He smiled and winked, continuing to direct the volunteer’s cleanup. She went back out to talk to Dezek.

  “Everything good in there?” he asked her as she sat back down.

  “Yes, I just wanted to check on Samantha. Earlier today she and Holly looked a little tired. Nyman has her on a stool giving directions. I’m just amazed at how many of them volunteer to help cleanup.” Sienna told him shaking her head.

  “They’re used to it. We learn early that working as a group makes the work go faster and lighter on everyone. After the meal last night and this one, there isn’t a single one of them that would endanger the next one,” he told her laughing. “They love to eat but to eat something that didn’t come out of the dispenser and tastes this good. Believe me, they have no problem at all with a little cleanup for a reward like that.”

  “I’m glad everyone enjoyed it so much. I hated not feeling useful,” she told him.

  “So let’s talk about Blanca. I spoke with the Fathers this afternoon. After discussing it with them, we’ve decided that she will remain in exile in her room for fourteen days. She can come out of her room for two hours of the day. One of those hours will be spent in Hydro working alongside everyone else. The other you can decide what she will be doing since you or Wendy will need to supervise her. She must agree to follow all the rules and respect the rights of others. She can also have her midday meal with your group. I know you meet in Hydro to have lunch together but must return to her room promptly when her time is over. I’ll also leave it up to you which two hours of the day she spends out of her room. The longer she goes without a behavioral issue, the more of her privileges she will get back.” He watched her process the information he gave her. She smiled.

  “I think that’s more than fair. I’ll get with Wendy tomorrow to work out the details.” She reached out, took his hand and squeezed. “Thank you. You had every right to just ignore her for the rest of the trip.”

  “I tried to think about how it would feel to be stripped of my family, home and everything else familiar. Then to be rescued, only to discover I still wouldn’t be going home and I was with child.” Dezek frowned. “The child part of that was the toughest mind you.”  Sienna laughed at his joke.

  “I’ll bet,” she agreed, laughing. “Can I ask a question?”

  “Sure.”

  “Several times you’ve referred to the ‘Fathers’. Who are they?”

  “Well, Blanca wasn’t that far off. The Fathers are the group of elders who have been selected to make the rules for our planet and society. But in our case the Fathers act for the good of the many not just one spoilt child. There are fifty one individuals who meet about every four hundred days for three days at a time. They vary in age, occupation and geographic location as to where they live. Each serves what amounts to a five year span and then hands the position off to someone else from their community. A male must be aged sixty years to serve as a Father,” Dezek explained.

  “What about women? Don’t they get a representative?”

  “No male of my race would ever do anything that would harm or endanger a female, Sienna. Our mates and mothers are held in the highest regard. As empaths it would be impossible to do otherwise. Think about Rose and Vax. Do you think Vax would ever do anything that would harm, threaten or even intentionally upset Rose?”

  “No. He’d probably prefer to cut off his own hand,” she told him without hesitation. He smiled that she already realized that fact and could accept it. By many standards, their patriarchal society was considered archaic and sexist, but most who held that opinion had no idea how deep the empathy went. It wasn’t something they advertised. No one even knew their true race origins and they intended to keep it that way.

  “Let me check the kitchen one last time and then you can walk me home. We’ll stop and check on Blanca,” she told him. Sienna proceeded to the kitchen and discovered the dishes were clean and put away, the floors and counters had been scrubbed. Samantha was telling Nyman about tomorrow’s meal. “You’ll make sure you clean up that drool before you go right, Nyman?” Sienna teased him.

  “Certainly, I wouldn’t want any of my favorite chefs to slip and fall,” Nyman told her with playful offense.

  “Of course not, Samantha, I’ll see you in the morning. Dezek and I are going to see Blanca,” Sienna said as she hugged her friend. “Get some rest.”

  Nyman and Samantha said goodnight and Nyman assured her he’d walk Samantha to her quarters. Sienna returned to Dezek’s side and they entered the lift. They stopped at Blanca’s quarters and Sienna was shocked when they entered the room. All of the debris that had had littered the floor was gone. The small trash receptacle was about to over flow. Her supper dishes were stack on the bar along with her dirty laundry. The room looked barren now without all of the furnishings and the debris gone. The teen was sitting on the bed working on what looked like a blanket. There were several finished pairs of booties on the shelf above her drawers in varying colors.

  “Wow. Blanca, you’re fast at this,” she pointed at the bootie sets. “Can I pick them up?”

  “Sure, they’re complete and the ends are tied off and secure,” the teen told her. Sienna picked up a pair of booties and realized there was also a matching cap for each set. Each set was a different color of the super soft yarn. The tiny booties were perfect. The little caps were adorable.

  “Blanca, these are beautiful. I didn’t know you could crochet,” Sienna told her. The teen shrugged.

  “My mom taught me when I was about eight before she died.”

  “They are very well done,” Dezek agreed. “You could make a living selling these.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I did a lot of thinking about you today, Blanca,” Dezek started. “I cannot completely absolve you of what you did when you started the fire. The fire threatened the lives of everyone on this ship. However, I’m not without compassion and I tried to consider how I’d feel in your place. So with that in mind and after discussion with the Fathers, your punishment will last fourteen days but you will be able to leave the room for two hours a day and lunch. For one of those hours you will work in the Hydroponic garden doing whatever Moz needs from you. For the other hour Sienna or Wendy will be assigning you a task to complete. If you can prove to me that you can work with these rules and not cause any trouble, I will lift the confinement after fourteen days. Do you have any questions?”

  “No.”

  “Do you think this is fair?” Dezek was growing concerned.

  “Yes. What I did was horrible. I think your being more than fair. I appreciate that you’re not going to keep me locked in here the whole time,” Blanca quietly told him. “I didn’t know about the gas.” He watched her and realized she was close to tears. Humbling oneself was never easy he knew. He’d made his share of mistakes. He was after all very stubborn as his mother often reminded him.

  “Then let’s see if we can all do better starting tomorrow,” he smiled at her and she gave him a watery smile and a nod.

  Sienna walked over and hugged her. “It’ll get better, sweetie.” Sienna picked up her clothing and Dezek lifted the dishes and the trash receptacle. They went to Sienna’s quarters. Dezek placed the dishes in the cleaning unit and emptied the trash bin into the recycler. He heard the unit in the bathroom go on. He sat down to wait for Sienna. In about fifteen minutes she came out dressed in what he knew she wore to sleep. She avoided looking at him. She took Blanca’s clean clothes and set them on the table beside the door. She turned to go back to the sofa and he was standing behind her. She ran into his chest. His hands steadied her. He gently lifted her chin. Tears shimmered in her eyes.

  “Tell me,” he said softly.

  “I miss home too. I miss my grandmother and worry who will take care of her. I miss my cousins and my aunt and even my snooty uncle. I miss my business and my back yard garden. The cat that staked out my garden shed as his territory. I even miss my nosy neighbor and all the things that used to annoy me,” she told him as the tears started to slide down her face. “I know I should be grateful for having been rescued…” He pressed his thumb to her lips to stop her words.

  “You’re allowed to be homesick you know. You wouldn’t be normal if you weren’t,” he told her gently kissing away the tears. He lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bed. He pulled back the comforter and settled her in the bed. Dezek sat on the edge, removed his boots then slid in next to her. It spoke volumes that she didn’t protest only came back into his arms burying her face in his shoulder. “If I could take away your hurt, I would do so without a second’s hesitation,” he whispered to her. “But I don’t think I could ever give you up now that I’ve found you. I know that makes me a selfish bastard but I can’t help it. You looked up at me with those beautiful green eyes and my heart nearly stopped. I knew I would do whatever it took to leave that place with you beside me.”