Page 1 of Hope Forged
Prologue
Adigitallandscapewhizzedpast Ziamee as she traveled through the canyon, flying her research skiff along its ravines and over sheer cliff faces. She wrapped her hands around the joystick and yanked to the right, banking the ship icon on the extended fore-screens.
“What do you see?” her father asked, his voice in her earpiece.
“Undiscovered fauna to the east. Two unknowns grazing to the northwest and a few water creatures that show promise.” She read the findings off her headpiece display—the data scrolling across her vision. “Padya, what if I fly in closer; won’t I find more?”
“With any new biosphere, you will be bombarded with choices. Finding more will come with time. For now, which of the three seems a good place to start?”
“Well…” Ziamee chewed on her lip. “By the time I reach the grazers, they might’ve moved on. I don’t have the tools tocatch those in the river. That leaves the flora: immobile and accessible.”
“Excellent,” Padya crooned, his approval in the warmth of his voice. “Now remember, a xenologist vows not to disturb the fauna and flora they study, but sometimes, it’s unavoidable.”
Ziamee whirled her skiff around and headed toward the marker, eyeing the ground in search of a suitable spot to land. “So, do reconnaissance before I take a sample?”
“Document as much as possible, and take a scraping at first. Don’t clip off a leaf until you know it’s harmless.”
“Can’t find a spot to land, Padya,” she wailed. “What do I do now?”
“Oh, for Elorach’s sake, Amet, she’s nine,” Mudya cried out, loud enough to penetrate Ziamee’s headpiece.
Ziamee flicked a button on the joystick. The imagery spluttered to black. She yanked off the visor and raised wide eyes at her mother.
“Leave the child, Faerar,” Padya said, giving Ziamee’s shoulder a squeeze.
“She’s neglected her studies. In allowing this, it teaches her not to persevere.” Mudya huffed.
Overcome with guilt, Ziamee lowered her gaze. Mudya was right about her avoiding her studies. Anything was better than hours spent on a subject that bored her.
She clasped her hands on her lap and peered under her eyelashes at her mother. “I’m sorry.”
Mudya’s expression softened. “Perhaps a bath?”
Ziamee leaped to her feet and packed away the visor. Baths weren’t unpleasant, but it would delay returning to her tablet and Oztai’s tutelage.
“Oh, my.” Mudya grinned. “You hate applied physics that much?” She tapped her chin. “Learn the basics, then you need not touch it again.”
Hope blossomed like the birthing of a dwarf star. “Truly?” Ziamee asked, her focus vigilant.
Mudya hummed, then laughed when Ziamee threw her arms around her mother’s waist.
“Bath first.”
Ziamee pulled away, then skipped to her quarters.
“You spoil her as much as I do,” Padya teased.
Ziamee didn’t catch Mudya’s response as her door shut. Her cabin was narrow, her bed a deep slit in the bulkhead. She’d draped her sleep robe over the back of a chair. On the opposite side was a built-in table with her stacked tablets and datacubes. The ray was embedded in the floor to the rear of her room. A bath took moments; still, it required that she strip. In the chillier atmosphere of space, she was never warm enough. A shiver wracked her, but she stepped onto the disc. Around it spun, chiming when it wanted her to lift her arms above her head.
It was the tightness of her skin she hated. The sensation gritted her teeth, and she swept up a dirty garment to rub it over her body. Dressed in a fresh tunic, jerkin, and pants, she returned to the lounge.
On the counter sat a steaming cup of kandyru. Mudya made it for her every night just before the resting hour. Ziamee clambered onto the stool and pulled the tisane closer, drawing in a deep inhale before taking a tentative sip. She hummed when the spicy tea warmed her mouth, throat, then belly.
She cradled the cup, relishing the moment alone. But as the minutes dragged on, she frowned, tilted her head to listen. The silence was unusual without her parents’ banter filling the air.
“Oz?” she asked, raising her chin to the ceiling.
“Yes, Ziamee,” he droned.
