Chapter 1 New Prospects

In the year 2304, settlements have been established in the wastelands as people hope for new beginnings. What remains of the past are mere fragments of history due to the many wars that took place. The first settlements were founded on the planet Meraki in the late 2200s when space travel was still limited. Unfortunately, only the wealthy and famous were able to settle there, leaving the poor and those who suffered from the wars to fend for themselves. Unfortunately, peace on Meraki was not a given, and a lot of wanderers and techies with the dream of fame and contentment found a way to overthrow the once peaceful planet.

Keira, a promising soldier from the eagle tribe, has been called to join one of many attempts to take Meraki back. 

The Eagle tribe is the name of a group of soldiers in one of the bigger settlements that started from a once flourishing town.  A town they decided to call New Hope.

Keira returned the knife to its holster. In these times, obtaining weapons was a difficult task. Whatever remained after the wars was quickly snatched and sold to the highest bidder on the black market. Keira's life had never been easy. She was an orphan who was raised by an old soldier, Don, who was regarded as a war hero in their settlement. Although Don was the best father she could have asked for, he never wished for Keira to become a member of the force. However, it seemed to be a part of her that she couldn't ignore.  She was a woman who desired to make a difference, but unlike many women, she couldn't engage in market trading or get married at a young age to look after her husband. She was one of the rare women who knew combat and self-defense, but this ability was not appreciated as she was often overlooked due to her gender. Due to Don’s retirement, she had limited clothing options and had to rely mostly on clothing donated to the local church or collected from deserted towns. The town had started producing some of the items themselves, but most valuable items were taken by raiders who had a greater interest in weapons or things with trade value.

“I take it I can’t change your mind.” Don was sitting in the corner of the kitchen eyeing her every move as she entered.

“Dad, you know that I have to uphold the family name.” She smiled and pulled her long black locks in a braid.

You would assume that soldiers would dress accordingly, but their army consisted of mostly close combat, skilled trackers, and a couple of brawny men.  Tribes were scattered all over, most had allied and some had perished over the years.  In their group, there were only two women, Keira and a very skilled tracker called Sasha. 

“You know that at twenty-five you are one of the few unmarried women in town, that does not include Hellen.” She had to smile.  Hellen was an old lady who lived on her own.  She was part of old money, nobody in town knew about this as she mostly kept to herself except where it concerned her father.  As a young lady, Hellen had the chance to live on Meraki, but she stayed behind because she fell in love.  It was short-lived as just after he died in battle.  She knew why Hellen kept to herself.  If word got out, she would have been robbed long ago.  Lawlessness was part of life, most of the time nothing was done as no one could defend themselves.

New Hope was one of the safer towns.  Eagle tribe had ranks and authority, something most tribes lacked. 

She took a deep breath.  She did want to get married; she wanted a family and a good life for her and Don.  There was just no way that she would sit idly by and wait for something to happen while she knew that she could make a difference.  She has always been fast on her feet, alert, and extremely quick with a knife. 

She walked outside, the leather pants she put on were heavy and made her feel restricted.

“Good morning, Keira.”

Josh’s voice made her smile. She often imagined he was waiting for her, at twenty-eight who knew?  Josh had always seemed wary of commitment.

“So I take it Don could not convince you to be a good and proper daughter.” He sighed.

He was teasing, and his dimples were exposed, followed by a dazzling smile. Josh was tall, standing at 1.85m, with piercing green eyes, and sun-streaked blonde hair. The younger girls usually followed him around, and one would have to be blind not to see their intentions. She met Josh five years ago when she had just turned twenty. She and Don were traveling from town to town as he was stationed all around to establish and recruit new resistance fighters. This is the longest they have ever stayed in one place and she was happy.  She also thought that Don had a soft spot for Hellen, but he would never acknowledge it. 

“You mean a proper girl who learns to sow and garden from a young age?  The type who sits and waits for her loving husband at home with cooked dinner?”

He lazily brushed his hair to the back, it was due for a haircut.

“If only.”  He winked.  “You would have been married a long time ago.”

Was he flirting with her?  She never knew if he was serious or joking. “It is funny how times change.  I remember there was a time when women were part of the workforce, where they had some sort of drive.” 

“Nothing wrong with a lady who dotes over her hardworking husband.  I do agree with having a purpose, but goodness Keira we do need something to look forward to.  I know you have only been part of small takeovers and missions, but it gets grueling.  The uncertainty of returning home safely always lingers in one’s mind.”

“What better way to take your mind off those thoughts than for me to join you on other missions.” There it was, she said it out loud.  They have always been joking around, but she has never openly flirted back.  She always just brushed him off.

“Keira?” For once Josh was quiet, as to recollect his thoughts of what just happened.

The timing was perfect as Major had just joined the group. Although they all had ranks, each group had only two distinctive leaders due to their relatively small size. Major was the senior leader and, at this stage, quite old. He was soon to be replaced by Cliff, who was being announced as the new leader. Everyone knew that Josh was going to be the second in command. Despite being young, he was a great leader who understood everyone's strengths, listened to new ideas, and was not afraid to change tactics to suit the group. They all worked as a team and spent countless hours training to perfect their techniques.

Major cleared his throat and everyone immediately quieted down and stepped closer.

“Ladies,” He eyed Keira.  “And gents.  We are very excited about the new changes that are coming.  It is such an honor to have worked with all of you, and see the dedication and what we have achieved.  For the first time in a long time, we have a chance to take back Meraki. 

"We have gathered all the necessary components to finish assembling the spaceship. Now, it's the technicians' responsibility to complete their part. Look around you, because you are about to become a part of history. Space training will begin next week, and we'll start our fitness training at 5 am tomorrow." He halted and looked around.  “Now the reason why we all got together this morning.  It is of no surprise that Cliff will take over my position and Josh will take over Cliff’s reigns.”

Keira watched as Josh walked towards her. “Congratulations, you are surely making a name for yourself,”

“No kiss?” Josh said coming dangerously close. 

She smiled and whispered in his ear.  “The ladies in town might get the wrong idea.”

“I don’t mind.”

Just then they were interrupted by none other than Dorothy Perkins.  She had made no secret that Josh was her first choice as a husband.  She swung around and almost hit her in the face with her umbrella.  An item she thought was highly overrated.  For a moment she looked at their town, civilization went back in time.

She looked at Dorothy then back at Josh.  “I will leave you to it, I have to go powder my nose.”

She could hear Josh smirk from behind. “You are going to have to start taking me seriously Keira Summons!”

The problem with Josh was, that she knew him too well.  She knew that even if Dorothy Perkins irritated the living daylights out of him, he never gave up a good night of fun.  She also knew that he was way too good at what he did, every girl that he strung along thought they were the only one.  She had to admit he was clever.

“Are you ready to battle?” Sasha bumped into her.

Sasha was the only woman except for Hellen that she talked to.  Sasha's striking appearance was marked by a crown of bright red, curly hair that cascaded around her face, framing her intense, piercing blue eyes. Her skin was speckled with freckles, adding to her unique beauty. But her appearance was only the beginning of what made Sasha remarkable. Her talent as a tracker was unparalleled, as it was whispered that she could identify the date, sex, and age of a culprit simply by sniffing their tracks. Her gift extended to all creatures, whether human or animal, and her skill was widely acknowledged. Sasha cast a sidelong glance at Josh and swiftly pulled her hat down to cover her eyes. Despite her fair complexion, she relished being part of the group. Sasha was always dressed in fully covered-up attire, and although she sometimes felt pity for her, that never deterred her from being true to herself. "I thought you were cleverer than that," she said as she pointed at Josh.

“I know, but he is lovely to look at.  They say marriage changes a man.” Keira laughed out loud.

“Yes but is it enough?  You must get yourself a hardy one, take my Buck for instance;  he saw a good woman and he married her.”

Sasha waved and in the distance, she spotted Buck making his way towards them.  She could tell Buck knew he married out of his league and always treated Sasha with the utmost respect.  They were a strange combination but they knew how to make it work.

“How could you leave me with Dorothy?” Josh was out of breath.

“Stop playing with the girl’s feelings and marry her already.” Sasha looked at her.

“I have asked her countless times but she just would not budge.”

“I am talking about Dorothy; Keira is too good for you,” Sasha said rolling her eyes.

“You have to be kidding me, I have nothing in common with Dorothy.  She is already smothering me and we are not even friends.”

“Josh, stop being an idiot.  All your sneaking around is going to catch up to you one of these good days, and if it happens, please call me I am going to stand in the crowd and tell you I told you so.  By the way, I have talked some sense into this girl, there is a line of men waiting.  You with your bad habits should be dead last in line for her hand in marriage.”

Josh eyed Sasha.  “Maybe I am having fun until the day that Keira eventually accepts me.  She is immune to whatever I have tried so far.”

“You are dumber than I thought, this poor flirtatious charade that you are putting on only works on prey that do not know you are a wolf in sheep’s clothing.” She grabbed Buck’s hand. “It is men like you that make me so thankful that I am married.”

Josh exhaled.  “Why do you hate me so much?”

His comment fell on deaf ears as Sasha had already turned around and walked away.

“There is some truth in what she says.” She has never been straightforward with Josh.  It has come to a point where she is scared that this little crush of hers may end up getting her in trouble. 

Despite their light-hearted dynamic, which often includes playful references to marriage and future events, there were moments when she couldn't help but acknowledge the sincerity in Josh's words. She had genuine feelings for him, and while she wasn't necessarily planning to tie the knot anytime soon, the idea of getting married was something she could see herself looking forward to in the future.

"I agree with you," Josh said, his expression turning serious. "There's a lot I want to tell you, but you have to trust me when I say that you're special. Everything Sasha said is true."

She was surprised to see Josh looking shy, as he was usually bursting with confidence.  “Look Josh….”

He interrupted her and said, ‘Please keep that thought. It has taken so much courage to tell you what I just did. If you have to reject me, I hope you'll do it properly. The dance is on Friday. Would you do me the honor of joining me? You don't even have to buy a dress. I'll send everything over. If you agree, I'll pick you up from your house.'"

“And if I don’t agree?”

“Then you would have to send out Don to be the bearer of bad news.”