She offered Jago and Kriss a small bow of her head. “It is a pleasure to welcome you to my eatery, the Kalahari, named after the home of my ancestors.”
“You are... were a Gift?” Shayla asked.
“I came from Earth as a Gift. And, I stayed after my nestors left.”
“Left?” Shayla looked over to Jago.
“Warriors must fight,” he said simply.
Nieve pointed at the mural. “Do you like the view?”
“Oh, yes,” Shayla said. “It is beautiful.”
“I had them painted from images in my head. It wasn’t easy to explain what I remembered.”
“Do you miss it?”
“Naturally, but my home is now here, on Odesta.” She picked up a menu. “Do you like anything?”
Shayla shrugged. “I don’t know what anything tastes like.”
Nieve pointed at one entry. “This is a little like salmon, and we serve it with rice grown near my house.” She had her own house! The eatery was evidently a great success.
“I’d like to try it.”
“We will, too,” said Kriss.
“Excellent.” Nieve waved to another member of staff and gave her the order.
“So this is your business?” Shayla asked. The place was packed, the mood lighter than the other eatery. There were plenty of smiling faces. Mostly Hezara, which she expected, the planet was awash with men, but there were also other less Hezara-looking guests.
“I own it. I created it out of nothing.” Nieve lowered her head and voice. “Their food leaves a lot to be desired, don’t you think? Ghastly cubes or crunchy uncooked leaves. I had to do something.”
“You wanted to stay?” Shayla whispered back.
“Back on Earth my family are scattered, and although I miss some things, the lakes of this world are so beautiful after the deserts of my land. It was supposed to be just a few years,” she laughed, a bubbly kind, “and now I don’t want to go back.”
Jago cleared his throat. “You don’t mind that humans are scarce? That you are alone?”
Nieve straightened. “I’m not alone. I have made friends. There are other species that come here to live, Gifts from other planets who have stayed. We have much in common. Then, I met a few other humans. I have two friends who decided to stay on. One designs clothing—”
“Dresses?” said Shayla.
“Yes. Beautiful ones. The other is responsible for the music you’re hearing.”
“It’s lovely.”
Three women from Earth who’d chosen to make a future on Odesta and not gone back. What drew them to stay? Was there really a possibility to live amongst all these men and not feel threatened by their Hunger?
Nieve excused herself, leaving them alone.
“I didn’t think it was possible to work,” Shayla said.
Jago poured water into their glasses. “There is no law forbidding it. Hezara allows free movement between worlds. There is nothing to stop any human from living here, if they chose.”
“Really? I assumed differently, you know, because of the gifting. I mean what if more humans came and settled, men and women, wouldn’t that cause difficulties?”
“Possibly.” Kriss swallowed a mouthful. “But nobody comes. The galaxy is huge. The incentives are small. Only a few have moved around, trading, or making a new life. The Gotti are the most adventurous. They harvest technology wherever they go, and we keep their routes of passage safe from the Violence.”