Shadow of the Xel'Naga, page 18
The rest of the colonists watched in a daze. So many astonishing and terrifying things had happened to them in the last few days that they did not even question the miracles they were now seeing.
Octavia's exuberance began to awaken them. “Wait until you see the valley!” she said. “It's all fertile land now, bursting with plants. We'll be able to grow any kind of crops there. I guarantee we'll have a yield higher than anything in our colony's history. It's a new chance for us, a spot of hope. We can get back on our feet again.”
General Duke scowled at Octavia as if she were to blame. “My military force came to rescue you and now most of them are wiped out.” He shouted into the office that had, until recently, been his command center. “Mayor Nikolai, I demand that you contact the Terran Dominion and request a full extraction team, battlefield analysis, and relief for my surviving men.”
The mayor poked his head out the door, looking insufferably pleased with himself. He didn't seem terribly disappointed when he said, “I'm sorry, General. All of our long-range communications systems are down. They were destroyed in the attack.”
General Duke growled, as if he wanted to chew on some rocks and spit out sand. “And you don't have any spaceports? No star traveling technology on this rock?”
Mayor Nikolai shook his head. “We're just a fledgling colony, General. ‘Simple dirt-farmers,’ I think you called us.”
“Clodhoppers,” Octavia added. “Don't worry, I'm sure they'll come looking for you eventually.”
Duke balled his fists and planted them on his hips, glaring at all the townspeople. “Well, I'm stranded here then. Now what am I supposed to do?”
“Let's be practical.” Octavia reached over to the wall of one of the dwellings and picked up a long-handled hoe that was stained with Zerg blood. She shoved the farming implement into the flustered general's hands. “You can start weeding. We've got a lot of new arable land to cultivate.”
Duke spluttered and could think of no response. Octavia gave him a wry smile. “It's easy, General. Any child can show you how to do it.”
With the help of Lars and Cyn, she gathered Jon, Wes, Gregor, Kiernan, Kirsten, and a few other settlers, to lead them out to the lush, revitalized valley and show them where they could plant fresh crops. Handsome young Lieutenant Scott, looking at Octavia with undisguised interest, volunteered to accompany them. He seemed happy and relieved, as if he was tired of warfare and might prefer to settle down here. . . .
As the colonists worked together to pick up the pieces of their scarred world, Octavia sincerely hoped they would never draw outside attention again.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gabriel Mesta is a pseudonym for the husband-and-wife team of KEVIN J. ANDERSON and REBECCA MOESTA. They have written two dozen books together and dozens more separately. They have worked in many “universes,” including Star Wars, The X-Files, Star Trek, Titan A.E., and Dune, as well as their own original universes. For more information on their work, please visit them on the web at
www.wordfire.com
or
www. dunenovels.com
or write to them care of
AnderZone
PO Box 767
Monument, CO 80132-0767
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
CHAPTER 37
CHAPTER 38
CHAPTER 39
CHAPTER 40
CHAPTER 41
CHAPTER 42
CHAPTER 43
CHAPTER 44
CHAPTER 45
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
GABRIEL MESTA, Shadow of the Xel'Naga
