Chapter 2:

Approximately eleven yahrens earlier...

It was late afternoon on a bright, warm spring day. School was over and young Rigel was making her way home from the school transport stop at the end of the road. She kicked a large gravel on the rough road, sending it sailing, wishing as she did that it was the life she and Mother were having to lead that was being booted away.

Since Father had been reactivated as a Colonial Marine in a big ceremony just over three yahrens before, the two of them had lived on Uncle Euberto's egg-production farm. They'd moved there to help Aunt Cresia with her illness, but she'd died a short time later, and Mother said economics dictated that they stay. Rigel knew little about economics, but she knew she hated it as a result.

The farm was located about eighteen kilometrons outside of the somewhat pretentiously named town of Golden City in Taura's southern hemisphere. To Rigel, the only things golden in the squalid little town were the dust, which blew in fairly often from the Great Southern Desert some distance to the southwest, and one of the school's official colors. As a result, Rigel wasn't particularly fond of the color gold, or burgundy, the school's other color, either.

The egg operation was located near the center of the agri-farm, with seed grain grown for the cluckers and the small flock of honkers in the surrounding fields, along with some vegetable gardens and greenhouses where food was grown for use by the family and the few hired hands. Unfortunately, the operation's location resulted in quite a long walk for the young girl every morning and late afternoon. As such, she entertained herself along the way, whistling lightly as she took a couple of bounce-like steps, causing her long, dark braids to fly behind her, before she kicked the stone again. This time it hooked to the right, sailing off into the adjacent field. Uncle Euberto's field. She hoped that he wasn't anywhere around to see that! If so, he'd make her life even more miserable.

Looking ahead, she saw a cloud of dust heading her way, so she quickly scooted to the side of the road. A few moments later, a large transport filled with the latest batch of eggs passed by her with the driver giving her a friendly wave. Rigel smiled and waved back before the dust cloud overtook her. She grabbed her mouth and pinched her nose as the dust settled around her, squeezing her eyes tight. A few microns later, she dropped her hand and opened her eyes just a bit too early, leading to a few coughs as she started once more toward home, wishing as she often did, that she lived closer to town or, better still, in Shelgard, her original home on the western coast.

Rigel had been able to make a couple of friends in her school class, though she lived so far from them that she rarely saw them outside of school. The children who rode her school transport were almost all a few yahrens older and they took great pleasure in teasing her about her clothes, her boots, her braids, and even her smell. She gritted her teeth at the thought and sent another gravel flying, Uncle Euberto be darned! The few younger children on the transport took great pains to avoid speaking or interacting with her to avoid attracting the attention of the older bullies, leaving Rigel to endure the situation alone.

As she turned into the long lane through the agri-farm that led to the farmhouse and production operation, she supposed that the situation could be worse. She had her own small room in Euberto's farmhouse, and she only had to do about one centar of chores in the morning before school and two centars in the late afternoon upon her return. She'd grown to tolerate the cluckers but generally avoided the horridly evil honkers entirely; fortunately, there weren't that many of them. They would sometimes escape from their covered paddock, and would chase and nip at anyone who tried to round them up.

The worst part, though, was the smell, which seemingly clung to everything it contacted. Living on the agri-farm, she was used to it, but going to school, or anywhere else for that matter, the smell went with her. She had learned to carry a small bottle of odor eradicator in her little backpack with her comp pad, her lunch bag, and a few other things. Unfortunately, the odor eater had something of a distinct, sweetish smell of its own, causing everyone to think that she actually enjoyed smelling like a sick flower all the time. Hopefully, their time on the farm, and their dealings with the honkers, that awful smell, and its infernal, sweet replacement would all be ending very soon.

That was because Father's tour of duty ended a few cycles ago, and he would be coming home to them any time. She was so excited by the thought! She hoped that they'd be able to return to Shelgard where she would be reunited with her real friends; she doubted that she'd even say goodbye to most of the people at her current school. The thought of once again being with her hometown friends, running on the nearby beach and riding her board in the surf with them, brought a smile to her face, though they'd all probably graduated to both longer boards and much larger waves in her absence. She'd take it as a challenge to catch up with them!

As she topped a little rise, she heard a sharp "Roouff!" as Grex, Uncle Euberto's big dagget, came bounding down the lane to see her.

"Hi, Grexxie! Good dagget!" she said as she kneeled and petted the creature, hugging his neck and rubbing his head and ears as he wagged his long, fluffy tail. She giggled as he licked her face and pressed against her. "Yeah, I love you, too, boy!" she said with a grin.

Grex was one of the few good things in her life at the moment, always happy to see her, and never pulling her hair. She reached into her small backpack and retrieved a ball she carried for just this purpose. "Here, Grex! Fetch!" she said as she sent the ball sailing down the lane. The dagget spun around surprisingly quickly and was on his way to get it. The cycle repeated several more times over the next few centons as the two neared home.

Grex was returning with the ball yet again as Rigel rounded the little bend into the farm center with all the buildings and facilities it took to make the operation work. However, Rigel's eyes were set on the farmhouse located a little way off to the side, where a ground car with official Colonial Marine markings was parked right in front of the white fence that circled the yard.

"Grex! He's home! Father's home!" she shouted as she ran toward the house with the dagget right behind her, still carrying the ball in his mouth.

She'd made it about half way there when she saw two marines in dress uniforms like those at Father's reinduction ceremony come out and get in the car parked just outside the gate. They drove down the lane toward her, so she stepped off into the grass, smiling and waving happily as they passed. Both appeared stone-faced as Colonial Marines must be taught to be. At least her father wouldn't be like that, she thought.

Grex pressed against her once more, snuggling his snout with the ball into her hand. She took it and rubbed his head excitedly. "Come on, Grexxie! Let's go see Father!" she said as she started running again, with the dagget bounding behind her.

She'd almost reached gate fence when she saw Mother sitting on the front steps. She was holding a somewhat crumpled paper in her hands, clutching it to her breast as she rocked herself back and forth, crying. The ball fell forgotten from Rigel's fingertips as she threw open the gate and ran toward the weeping woman...

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