Alien Refuge Read Online Free PDF

immediately, however. If it fails in the middle of the night, they could freeze.”
    “I think it will hold up for a few days. Maybe a week, perhaps. Not much longer though,” Jol said.
    Ospar nibbled his lower lip. “Her funds are not adequate for her to have one of her own people repair it?”
    Jol felt a stab of sympathy for his Dramok. No doubt Ospar wanted to let the Nobek charge in and put everything to rights for a needing family. Having to tread so carefully around Earthers was a huge challenge for the take-charge governor.
    Jol told him, “The child’s difficulties make it hard for Matara Iris to do more than sustain them at their present level. From what I saw, I sincerely doubt she has the ability or goods to trade for the heater repair.”
    That was true. Her boots had been worn and not at all good enough for Haven’s frequent winter snows and ice. Her coat was patched and not an insulated garment, forcing her to wear many layers of clothes to stay warm. The cuff of one of her gloves had been fraying. Little Thomas had been wearing much better clothing than his parent. Iris had obviously put her meager funds into his wellbeing, forsaking her own.
    The Earther government was very much about people taking charge of their own welfare, even when it meant those least able to care for themselves went without. Only their church offered any kind of additional help, and rumor had it that institution was stretched thin these days. Who could settle on Haven was decided by Ospar, and he opted to bring in those who were in the most desperate need. Unfortunately, those people didn’t always possess the skill and know-how when it came to farming or animal husbandry. The worst fights between governors Ospar and Hoover these days was over guaranteeing that those whose crops failed would still be fed.
    Ospar would never allow anyone to go hungry on his watch, even if it meant dipping into the colony’s stores that were meant for sale off-planet. Hoover insisted that charity would only make people lazy and dependent. “Coddle them and they’ll take advantage until they get everything, stealing from those of us who don’t mind doing the work,” he’d shouted only yesterday, his jowled face the usual red it turned when he was around Ospar.
    “Starve them, and your fat Earther ass will be the only one left on Haven,” Ospar had yelled back.
    Jol had been standing at Ospar’s side, as he always was when Hoover showed up. It had taken all his willpower to not burst out in laughter. Hoover wasn’t precisely fat, but the man missed no meals either. It had been a funny though admittedly childish insult.
    At least Iris was farming enough to feed herself and her child. It guaranteed she didn’t have to go begging to a tightfisted Earther governor who lived in more fear of losing a few cuts of meat than seeing the hungry face of a little boy.
    His thoughts full of Iris and Thomas, Jol put his prepared meat pie into one of the vast kitchen’s heating units. An instant later, Ospar’s soup went into another one. On the Earther-style stove, Rivek began dropping his flat discs of bread into hot oil. They were perfectly in sync as always, but then they had been clanmates a long time.
    Jol didn’t bother trying to convince his Dramok with more arguments over the Jensons’ plight. He knew Ospar would give him the go ahead to fix their home’s heating system. Just as Ospar no doubt knew Jol would also repair the snow blower despite the order not to.
    Ospar’s glare was only window dressing. “I will not have a Matara and child endangered, even if they don’t want our help. Fix their heating at your earliest convenience, but be as discreet as possible. We don’t want the E.I.K. targeting them.”
    Jol nodded. “Of course.”
    Ospar knew better than to remind Jol to be cautious. However, the Dramok’s greatest failing was his heavy-handed way of running things, whether it be governance of a colony or his clan. For the most