Part 4
"Why?!" Henrietta pounded against the door. Her father stood just on the other side. Mr. Hemsing held her by her shoulders, weakly attempting to calm her.
Watts had packed his daughter's stuff, one reason why he had shown so late that night. By the next morning, a shuttle had been prepared and their belongings already on board. Mr. Hemsing agreed to watch after Henrietta while they were on the planet.
Many of the children were also packed and ready to be sent down to neighboring planets where loved ones would take care of them. This had been an agreed upon plan after the devastating attack that left many orphaned.
New recruits would arrive on the ship in the following week, fully understanding the previous history aboard the ship. Some crew feared the xeno still lived and another search of the ship would be conducted after the children left.
Watts, himself, had lost his wife in the attack. His daughter almost followed, an eight-month infant. Rita had been on life support for a month when the medicine finally showed that it had been working on her tissues, fixing the damage.
"Launching in three, two, one…" The entire shuttle jerked forward, knocking the young girl and old man off their feet. It launched into space before slowing. The pilot gravitated the ship towards the atmosphere of a red-looking planet.
It looked to be one big desert but upon entering the atmosphere, large plateaus covered most of the planet. The large rocks took heat from the sun, making it not hospitable. Below, dwelling in the shadow of them was where vegetation and most of the cities flourished.
Shuttles from the ship spread out like fireflies, landing in all parts of the planet. Rita continued to look up, now wishing she had never despised being among the stars. Mr. Hemsing finally escorted her to her seat, strapping them in.
Other children on board cried but some were excited about the new land, not for a second hesitating in their glee. When the ship landed, they were the first out, running around and breathing fresh air for the first time. Others who had been crying or stubbornly refusing to accept their new home were carried out, comforted by adult's false words. Henrietta, being the eldest in the group, knew their parents weren't coming back for a long time, or at all.
Hemsing led her to retrieve their belongings before getting a cab to take them to their new home. Already a house had been bought and furnished for the two of them.
"Maybe you can see your friend, Henrietta. I'm sure he came down here too." The man tried to comfort her in the back of the cab. His arm wound around her shoulders, pulling her in for a half hug.
"He's still aboard the ship, Mr. Hemsing. I won't see him again." Instead of being sympathetic or questioning her words, the old man chuckled and patted her head. Henrietta could smell his cologne, one of spice like any old man would wear.
"Fate works in all mysterious ways, hun. I'm sure you'll see him again."
They arrived at the house. This kind of suburb was new and many trees still separated people from their neighbors. The many who ventured this far often bought large acres of land and took the nearby train station into the city for work.
Her father had bought the house, a good patch of land along with it. Hemsing had the backyard cleared for some livestock. He shared his farm stories back on Earth where his grandfather taught him all sorts of things. Much like Henrietta, Hemsing never saw his dad much and soon after his graduation from high school, his dad died a proud Marine.
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11/12: This chapter is so short T.T I would add Part 5 to the end of it but I feel like that transition is better for a chapter change rather than a switch in the middle of the chapter. If that makes sense. So sorry the length hasn't changed too much.
I really would like to give chapter titles, but I'm not sure what to call each one.