Page 51 of Mazorium Buys a Human

I doubted that, but I kept that thought to myself.

Maz opened the hatch and stepped out, Nadia still in his arms. I followed him and was immediately hit by a myriad of unfamiliar smells. None of them were unpleasant, but it was a lot to take in all at once.

Even though Maz stepped off the ramp without hesitation, I tested the ground with one foot first. It was solid, so I followed him, then looked up and gasped.

I’d seen plenty of captures of Old Earth my grandmother had taken with her when she’d left with a small community. One set of captures was next to trees and bushes. Those trees had been polite sized. A person could’ve wrapped their arms around those trees.

The trees surrounding me were so massive I was having a hard time comprehending. I took a few steps further away from theship and turned in a circle. There was a thick, spongy grayish-green plant covering the ground and muffling my steps.

Maz had set us down in the middle of an oblong plateau. I could see the edges where there was a sudden drop off in all directions. Maz walked off to do a circle around the ship, and I rushed to join him. I noticed we weren't too far from one of the edges. I strayed off to look over the side of the plateau.

A glance down revealed two things to me. One was that this entire plateau was actually the stump of one of the giant trees! We could’ve landed an entire fleet of Maz’s ships and still had enough room to walk around.

The second thing I found out was I didn’t like heights!

I moved back so fast I almost tripped. Turning, I saw Maz almost out of sight around the ship, so I rushed to catch up. I wouldn’t be going near any edges ever again.

A pleasant smell wafted up from the plants under my feet, and there was a constant soft clattering of leaves overhead.

“This would be a good place to enclose with a protective barrier so when Nadia can walk she will have room but we don’t have to worry about her going too far.”

I nodded, taking in the area. The soft ground cover was the thickest here. The ship blocked the slight breeze which meant if it got any worse, this spot would be sheltered. I could see setting up a play area like the one on the station I grew up on. That had been a luxurious station. I’d cried bitter tears as a nine-year-old when my family had been forced to move to a different station for work.

Would Nadia cry when we had to leave?

I brushed that thought away. That was a future problem.

“I want to set up the bot ports there,” he said, pointing to another spot.

We finished the walk around as he explained where everything was going to go. He sounded excited to start doing his work. Itwould be interesting to find out more about surveying an entire planet.

I only half listened to him while I took in our new home. Between the sights, sounds, and the pleasant smells, I decided nature wasn’t so bad.

“I like it here,” I murmured, then looked up at Maz with a grin. “As long as there’s no volcanos.”

He sounded another rumble of amusement. “No volcanos. Are you hungry? It’s time for our evening meal. Over the next few days we’ll adjust your schedule to coincide with the planet's day/night cycle.”

I realized I was starving. “Yeah, food sounds good.”

We walked back on board the ship. He moved to close the hatch, but I stopped him.

“Could we leave it open? For a little while.”

He sounded a rumble of agreement and left the hatch open. The cool outside air drifted through the ship, replacing the stale air I was used to. I didn’t mind the change, and I swore it made our first meal here taste even better.

Chapter 16

Mazorium

“Maz?”

I looked up from the bot platform I was working on to see Mika approaching. She had a steaming bowl in one hand and a plate of flatbread in the other. I quickly dropped the tools in my hands and rushed to take the burdens from her. What if she’d tripped and fallen? She might’ve burned herself.

“You shouldn’t be out here,” I admonished, even as I started purring.

“I was worried about you,” she said, drawing back. I hated that she did that, but it was entirely my own fault. I was so tempted to do things to her that I couldn’t trust myself with even a simple touch. She’d noticed and was now pulling away from me before I could pull further away from her.

My eyes locked on the collar around her throat. I’d come to hate that thing. It represented everything wrong with my world view before my eyes were forcefully opened on Helsin Station.