Aurora (The Exodus Trilogy) by Andreas Christensen Read Free Book Online

dead for a century and a half!” Tina found herself agreeing with Dean. It shouldn’t matter who an old administration back on Earth wanted to run things here in this new world. It should be up to the people, right here, to decide. And she agreed whole-heartedly that Admiral Greg Hamilton would have been the best leader they could imagine. Having served with him, she knew that he could make the tough decisions, while he also had a gentle side. He had even discussed with her how power corrupts, and how the nature of soldiers in certain instances could turn well meaning, good people into tools of oppression.
    Tina decided she didn’t want to take part in the discussion, as she saw Henry walking over to them. Lately these talks had tended to get uglier than she’d come to expect from her friends, and it was time to take a step back.
    “Kim, wanna come with me and get some supper going? I’ve been thinking of chicken lasagna.” Kim complied eagerly, and followed Tina up the trail leading to her cabin. As they entered, they could hear Dean and Henry shouting at each other. Something had to be done about it, and soon. She had come here to find some peace, and perhaps even build something of importance. She had a growing feeling though that the politics of the colony was starting to get too close, and right now she needed something to take her mind off it all. In the back of her mind though, a small voice said that the political struggles had only just begun. Kim laughed, and disrupted her train of thought.
    “Those two… Someday, it’s going to get physical.” Tina couldn’t help but smile, and the two women giggled like girls at the thought of the two headstrong men going on about their fucking this and bloody that. No wonder men started wars, while women tended their wounds afterward. Still, in some way, it was depressing: here they were, trying to build boats and find their way around in a new world, and politics were already tearing up friendships.
    MARIA SOLIS
    Maria straightened and stretched her back, inhaling deeply the smells filtered through her mask, as she took in the vivid red and orange hues of the autumn leaves that littered the ground on the edges of the field. There were evergreens to the north and east, but the trees around Fort Andrews had already started dropping their leaves, and the wind gently rustling the branches caused more leaves to fall. Looking around, she saw her friends nearby, and more people spread out in every direction. This was one of her projects, and the time had come to reap the rewards. A couple of months back, they had planted the genetically modified seeds, and the vegetables were now ripe for harvest. Right next to her, Geena and Tori also decided to take a break, and while Geena was sweaty and breathing heavily, Tori grinned from ear to ear.
    “Not your average sci-fi idea of astronauts and space exploration, eh?” she said. Maria just smiled, and Tori continued.
    “But this, this is life! We’re growing our own food, guys! I haven’t had this much fun since my teens.” Geena just muttered quietly, which spurred Tori on.
    “Hey, I was a farm girl. Me and my sister Johanna used to work the fields every harvest. We were allowed to skip school for a week. Best times of my life.” As she mentioned her sister, she quieted down a bit, and Maria knew why. Tori and her sister had both been picked for Selection, but while Tori just seemed to float through, acing every test and impressing their instructors time and again, Johanna had been kicked out early on, when hundreds were cut every day to weed out those deemed unfit for the then-undisclosed mission. Little did they know it would be the last time they would see each other.
    “Farming, bah!” Geena said. “All right, so it has to be done, I know. We need to eat. But what about your greenhouses, Maria? And how about automating all of this?” She flung out her hands, as if to emphasize the obvious. Maria just laughed,