Chapter 17: Koriv’n

 

I held the solar panel in place as Rajiv’k bolted it to the frame on the roof. Rajiv’k and Natalie were the creative brains of the group. They were the tinkerers, and often their projects ended up improving life for everyone involved. This time however, it was Calvin who’d started the project.

With everyone helping out, we’d finished the greenhouse. The greenhouse, strategically placed on the south side of the building, would protect the crops and extend the growing season. With just a bit of power to heat the place during the worst of the cold season and cool it during the heat, Rajiv’k believed we could grow year-round.

We’d installed doors to allow access to the greenhouse from inside the building, and the new addition was also the perfect place to house our chickens. They were no longer the tiny peeping yellow hatchlings they once were. They grew fast and had already started growing in their feathers.

With the roof free, Calvin had suggested solar panels to power the building. This compound was initially supposed to be a temporary situation, just for the summer, but bit by bit, it had become a home, a permanent home. And the members were a family.

I’d never had a family before—all hunters were clones of the original specimens—but I was excited to finally belong somewhere. Before this, I’d fought the scourge because I was supposed to. Now, I had a real, concrete reason to fight. I fought for the compound and the people in it, and I fought for Nikki.

With our compound growing and improving, it required more protection. We needed to increase security. The idea of the allied human settlement moving closer wasn’t a bad one, and I knew they were looking for a better location nearby.

The volunteer fighters left the compound a few days ago, and Meghan had gone along with them. Nikki had promised to visit. They weren’t far, and the location was sheltered within Jorg’k’s old territory. Through the last cold season, we’d each had an area to patrol. I’d been through the region several times, as it bordered on mine.

I studied the solar panel. Now that I thought of it, I remembered seeing similar things on top of a large flat roof.

“Where did Calvin find these panels?” I asked.

“They were from his old home. He’d just had them installed before the scourge came.” Rajiv’k stepped back to look at his handiwork.

“I think I saw many of these at the edge of my territory. The entire roof of a large building is covered with them. I should go retrieve them.”

“We also need the batteries to store the power.”

I had not even thought of that. I marveled that I’d lived in my shuttle my entire life with a power source that recharged in the sun but didn’t have the faintest clue how it worked. The hunters had naively relied on the technology supplied by our makers for far too long.

We had access to the ancient archives of the Xarc’n race, so their technology was not lost, but few understood how to make sense of the information. I could have the formula for immortality and invincibility in front of me and not know how to read it. We were created to fight, not to build and innovate, but times were changing.

Some hunters, like Rajiv’k, taught themselves as they experimented with their projects. The humans from the settlement had also offered their knowledge.

Like the hunters, most of the humans didn’t understand how the technology they used worked either, but a few did. Some only had limited knowledge of the things they’d studied or used previously; others were only experts in their chosen field. As a group however, the combined knowledge and understanding were vast. This was the value of teamwork.

“I better take Calvin along with me. He’ll know what to look for.” I didn’t want to waste time bringing back the wrong things.

“Good idea. Take another hunter as well. You’ll want two shuttles to bring back the panels.”

It was also best to travel in pairs now that the armed human group was riled up. We were on the lookout for retaliation.

The door to the roof opened, and Natalie and Nikki walked through. The two had spent most of the afternoon carrying the planters full of soil down to the greenhouse. Nikki was tall compared to Natalie, and watching them had been humorous. I’d asked if they needed help, but they’d shooed me away.

I approached them as they headed toward the next soil-filled bin. “I’m heading out to find more solar panels. I saw some at the edge of my territory. Come with me.”

Nikki looked to the remaining pots and bins.

“Natalie and I will move those,” Rajiv’k said. “We need those panels. And you need to get out of the compound before you stir the crazy.”

Nikki giggled, then tried to hide her reaction.

“It’s go stir crazy,” Natalie whispered loud enough for everyone to hear.

Nikki grinned. “Stir crazy sounds better than cabin fever. I was having cabin fever with my old group. Meghan and I were desperate enough to run out into the town on our own with no shoes, no weapons, and no water.” Then her face turned serious. “This place with all the upgrades you’re putting in is exactly the type of place those assholes would attack. Even with all the hunters with blasters, they might risk it. We need to be careful.”

Rajiv’k and I exchanged a glance. I hadn’t told her yet, but the hunters nearest to the paramilitary group had been dealing with harassment lately. The humans made it clear they were looking for the missing females, as well as for supplies. Since Shawn and Benson had been the only ones who knew our location, and they were dead, the group had targeted the closest group instead.

“What?” Nikki narrowed her eyes at me.

“I’ll explain on our way to the solar panels.” I knew she had to know eventually. I didn’t want her to worry, but she had the right to know.

Rayk’n crossed the bridge over to where we were carrying several large sacks of soil on his shoulder. He walked over to the south side of the building, found an empty place next to the greenhouse, and tossed the bags down. They landed with a loud thud and what sounded like a bag breaking, the contents spilling out.

Natalie put her hands on her hips and glared at him.

“It’s faster this way,” Rayk’n said defensively.

“Line the bags of soil up on the roof next to your shuttle,” Rajiv’k said. “I’ll bring them down. Koriv’n needs another hunter to help bring back more solar panels.”

“Where are they?”

“I’ll send you the location,” I said. “We need to find Calvin first, so we know what we are bringing back.”

“I saw him checking the perimeter on my flight in; I’ll go find him and meet you there.” He looked glad to be off soil duty.

Anybody with nothing to do was put on soil duty. They’d torn out the concrete on the ground when building the greenhouse. The original plan was to lay down as much soil as they could. The new plan was something Natalie had called raised beds. The plan was to fill the bottoms of the beds with logs and leaves and native soil before topping them off with the rich bagged soil. Soil duty was never-ending as it seemed they always needed more.

I crossed the bridge to my shuttle. Nikki still stiffened up every time she crossed the bridge, though adding railings had helped her and all the other humans’ trust of the structure.

She kicked off her shoes the moment we were in the shuttle, a good sign she was comfortable here and treated it as home. Our home. She no longer felt the need to keep her shoes on at all times, even when sleeping, so she could run at a moment’s notice.

I sat down in my seat and tugged Nikki into my lap. That was her place in the shuttle when we flew. I’d need to add an extra seat with a safety belt for Nikki for when I went hunting for flyers.

Unlike Earth vehicles with the driver or pilot in front of a windshield, I piloted my shuttle from my desk, my screen showing the video feed from outside. I also had the ability to turn my walls into a full-sized three-hundred-and-sixty-degree display of the outside world, which was my preferred way to fly.

This was one reason hunters aimed to keep our shuttles tidy. With all our cabinets and drawers set into the wall, every surface became part of the display. Even my sleeping nook’s privacy screen showed what was outside. Objects left out obstructed our view.

Nikki cuddled back against my chest as I sent Rayk’n the approximate area where I’d seen the panels. We’d see them from the air once we were close enough.

“You need to explain that look between you and Rajiv’k before I fall asleep. I’ve given up trying to stay awake when the shuttle is moving. It’s impossible. It’s like one of those automatic rocking cradles.”

I chuckled. We’d only been out on my shuttle twice, and both times, Nikki had fallen asleep against my chest a few short minutes after we were airborne.

I told her about the reports we’d been getting from the hunter group to the south, the one on the other side of the gang she’d lived with. The cowards weren’t attacking the place outright but picking on lone hunters in the area.

As I’d expected, she blamed herself for the troubles, and I reminded her that she wasn’t the one doing the attacking. The fault lay clearly with the gang. They’d done the same to Rajiv’k and Natalie once, trapping them on a roof away from his shuttle.

I assured her the hunter group had been dealing with the armed troublemakers since they’d banded together at the start of the warm season and were well aware of their tactics. They’d built their stronghold with both human intruders and the scourge in mind.

They’d even considered attacking the humans to push them out of their territory but worried for innocent lives lost. They knew the group had members that only stayed because there was nowhere to go. Those like my Nikki.

Now we knew the males kept them there forcefully.

Like our compound, the hunter group planned on staying together through the winter, even though they only had one female mate in their group. The humans were known to attack lone hunters, and they now hunted in pairs or trios, scouting the place thoroughly by air before landing their shuttles to hunt.

“They’ve been dealing with those males since long before you left. They’ll be fine. And we’re setting up better defenses at the compound in case they come here next. You’ll be safe.”

Nikki yawned, the slight motion of the shuttle combined with the soft rumble of my chest affecting her. “I always feel safe when you are around.”

She leaned back on my chest and closed her eyes, and I tucked my chin to kiss the top of her head. I held my female in my arms as we flew to our destination.