Chapter 4

Carin made it back to the dormitory without incident. The large, damp room was empty, the other laborers already out for their morning assignments. The air was thick with the smell of moldy straw and stale sweat.

She walked to her corner, the most isolated spot in the room, and carefully hid the burlap sack deep under her pile of straw. She sat down on the thin mat, her back against the cold stone wall.

She took a deep breath and gave the mental command, using the temporary name she had given it. "Open datapad panel."

The blue holographic screen expanded in her vision. The interface was more detailed now, with several new modules lit up. She tapped the glowing icon for the [Portable Farm Blueprint].

A detailed description scrolled across the screen.

This blueprint can bind to any 2x2 meter plot of land, transforming it into climate-independent, constant-temperature black soil.

Carin's eyes widened. Constant-temperature black soil. That meant she could grow food even in the deadly winter that was coming. She wouldn't have to rely on the clan's scraps.

But below the description, a red warning flashed.

Deployment requires 95 Energy Crystals as an initial power source.

She touched the crystals hidden in her inner pocket. It was a steep price, almost everything she had, but it was an investment she had to make. She tapped the "Confirm Activation Prep" button.

The blueprint dissolved into a beam of light that only she could see, shrinking into a virtual scroll that hovered in the top right corner of her interface, ready to be deployed.

Next, she turned her attention to the [Data Point Store] icon in the center of the screen. She tapped it, and a waterfall of merchandise cascaded down the screen. Her eyes scanned the list: "High-Yield Soybean Seeds," "Cold-Resistant Wheat Gene Fragments," "Primary Water Purifier."

Then she saw the prices. The cheapest seeds cost 500 Data Points. She checked her balance. In addition to the crystals, the corn entry had granted her exactly 100 Data Points.

Carin frowned. She opened the help file and quickly read through the ways to earn Data Points. Besides discovering new species, successfully planting and harvesting crops, or improving the survival status of the natives, would yield significant points.

The logic was clear. Plant the corn, harvest it, trade the harvest for Data Points, buy more supplies. It was a perfect closed loop.

She was so engrossed in her planning that she almost missed the sound of voices outside the door. The other laborers were back early.

Carin's reaction was a desperate, pained lurch. She willed the system panel to shut down, the blue light vanishing just as the wooden door was shoved open. She collapsed onto the mat, her fractured ribs screaming in protest. She pulled a ragged piece of animal hide over her face, stifling a real groan of agony.

A group of sweaty, grumpy females stomped into the room. One of them was complaining loudly about the small food ration she had received.

"Useless clan!" she snarled, kicking a wooden bucket out of her way.

The bucket rolled across the floor, bumping into Carin's mat with a dull thud.

Carin let out a small, terrified whimper, her body flinching under the hide. She played the part perfectly, the scared, weak laborer who couldn't even handle a loud noise.

The female who kicked the bucket looked down at her with contempt. "Waste of space," she muttered, then turned away to fight with the others over the water jug.

Under the hide, Carin opened one eye just a slit. She watched the chaotic, violent scene with a cold, detached gaze. Her fingers tapped silently against her thigh.

She couldn't deploy the farm here. There was no privacy, no security. Someone would see the glowing soil, or steal her crops. She had to move out.

And the only legal way for a female to move out of the dormitory was to bind herself to a male during the mating ceremony. She had to get that isolated, broken male with the stone hut.

She had to get Brannon.