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Authors: Lisanne Norman
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nothing to do with him. Who wanted to run the risk of what these good people considered âbad bloodâ in their family?
Not that she wanted to marry. Only the women strong enough to join the guerrillas were free from their duties of producing the colonyâs next generation. It was an option to consider, possibly her only one.
Chapter 4
Carrie lounged back in the chair, heaving a sigh of genuine relief as she pulled the cigarettes out of her pocket and lit one, inhaling deeply. Thank God, her first day was over. Her class had just left, homeward bound for their afternoon chores. Once more she was her own mistress. The job, her contribution to the Resistance movement, was no sinecure. Although the class numbered only twenty, they ranged in age from five to fifteen. After that, any further education was gained by being apprenticed to one of the trades within their settlement. Academic education was, for now, a luxury on Keiss. Survival in Valleytown depended on the more basic skills of farming and animal husbandry, although some technical skills were needed. Consequently, the children spent only a few hours every day with her.
The Valtegans opposed even this, with the result that the classes were conducted in secret. Carrieâs extra sense had always told her when any Valtegans had been in the vicinity of the Community Hall, so as yet she had not been discovered.
She looked idly across the hall: there was no sign that it had recently been a classroom. Officially she was running a crèche, watching the younger children with the help of the older ones, while their parents were busy in the fields. Her glance strayed to where Kusac lay basking in a pool of sunlight. His eyes flickered open and regarded her lazily for a few moments before drooping closed again.
He had surprised everyone but her, she thought, smiling to herself. From the start he had been friendly and docile and except for the odd foray about the valley, he hardly left her side. Reluctantly, her father had given in and allowed him to continue living in the house.
She sat up abruptly, sensing someone approaching. She groaned, disturbing Kusac. It would have to be David Elliot! She had tried to make it clear that she wasnât interested in him but her father would keep inviting him to call on them for dinner. Short of ordering her to accept Davidâs advances, he had done everything in his power to encourage a match between them.
David owned the timber yards and bringing him into the family would be to their advantage. He was also wealthy enough to have several men working for him, so she would never be expected to do any of the hard manual work for which her father insisted she wasnât made.
âRacehorses arenât built like Clydesdales,â he kept telling her.
The arrival of the Valtegans, plus the two pleasure centers which had mushroomed up near Seaport and Oceanview, had disrupted the lives of many of the Terran colonists, creating a small floating population comprised mainly of younger people filled with resentment. Colonists living near the sites of the centers had been dispossessed of their land and had drifted northward, unwilling to settle down permanently again. It was these people that David and some of the others in the valley employed. The more militant youths had joined bands in the forests under the command of the Captain and the remaining crew of the Eureka. They harried the enemy in any way they could, making guerrilla sorties on their outposts.
The door swung open and David poked his head into the hall.
âHello, Carrie. Thought Iâd come and see if you were finished.â
âTheyâve just left,â she replied, getting to her feet and lifting her jacket from a nearby chair.
âIâll see you back to the house, then. Thereâs a Valtegan patrol in the town today. Itâs not a good idea for you to walk back alone.â He held the door open imperiously for her.
âIt
Not that she wanted to marry. Only the women strong enough to join the guerrillas were free from their duties of producing the colonyâs next generation. It was an option to consider, possibly her only one.
Chapter 4
Carrie lounged back in the chair, heaving a sigh of genuine relief as she pulled the cigarettes out of her pocket and lit one, inhaling deeply. Thank God, her first day was over. Her class had just left, homeward bound for their afternoon chores. Once more she was her own mistress. The job, her contribution to the Resistance movement, was no sinecure. Although the class numbered only twenty, they ranged in age from five to fifteen. After that, any further education was gained by being apprenticed to one of the trades within their settlement. Academic education was, for now, a luxury on Keiss. Survival in Valleytown depended on the more basic skills of farming and animal husbandry, although some technical skills were needed. Consequently, the children spent only a few hours every day with her.
The Valtegans opposed even this, with the result that the classes were conducted in secret. Carrieâs extra sense had always told her when any Valtegans had been in the vicinity of the Community Hall, so as yet she had not been discovered.
She looked idly across the hall: there was no sign that it had recently been a classroom. Officially she was running a crèche, watching the younger children with the help of the older ones, while their parents were busy in the fields. Her glance strayed to where Kusac lay basking in a pool of sunlight. His eyes flickered open and regarded her lazily for a few moments before drooping closed again.
He had surprised everyone but her, she thought, smiling to herself. From the start he had been friendly and docile and except for the odd foray about the valley, he hardly left her side. Reluctantly, her father had given in and allowed him to continue living in the house.
She sat up abruptly, sensing someone approaching. She groaned, disturbing Kusac. It would have to be David Elliot! She had tried to make it clear that she wasnât interested in him but her father would keep inviting him to call on them for dinner. Short of ordering her to accept Davidâs advances, he had done everything in his power to encourage a match between them.
David owned the timber yards and bringing him into the family would be to their advantage. He was also wealthy enough to have several men working for him, so she would never be expected to do any of the hard manual work for which her father insisted she wasnât made.
âRacehorses arenât built like Clydesdales,â he kept telling her.
The arrival of the Valtegans, plus the two pleasure centers which had mushroomed up near Seaport and Oceanview, had disrupted the lives of many of the Terran colonists, creating a small floating population comprised mainly of younger people filled with resentment. Colonists living near the sites of the centers had been dispossessed of their land and had drifted northward, unwilling to settle down permanently again. It was these people that David and some of the others in the valley employed. The more militant youths had joined bands in the forests under the command of the Captain and the remaining crew of the Eureka. They harried the enemy in any way they could, making guerrilla sorties on their outposts.
The door swung open and David poked his head into the hall.
âHello, Carrie. Thought Iâd come and see if you were finished.â
âTheyâve just left,â she replied, getting to her feet and lifting her jacket from a nearby chair.
âIâll see you back to the house, then. Thereâs a Valtegan patrol in the town today. Itâs not a good idea for you to walk back alone.â He held the door open imperiously for her.
âIt
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