Lovana: the lost planet ch 1

Chapter 1: Mrs. Hawkins's discovery

It was a dark night at the Montressor spaceport, the sun wasn't to come up again for a few more hours. A small ship sailed stealthily into one of the disused warehouses, all beings on the ship keeping their eyes peeled for anyone who might spot them.

As soon as the engines died and the doors of the warehouse were closed, the crew was set to work unloading their cargo. An alien stood off to the side on the dock work, he was humanoid in shape but with a bird beak instead of a mouth and feathers instead of hair. The captain of the crew advanced towards this being, noting with satisfaction that the bird-man's feathers rose in agitation.

"I trust you acquired the requested cargo?" The bird-man asked, his voice masking his anxiety.

"Depends if ya acquired the sum we agreed on." The captain retorted, one tentacled hand resting on his laser pistol. The bird-man retrieved a large purse from his pocket and handed it to the captain, who jangled the coins inside before putting them in his own pocket. A satisfied smile crept onto the captain's face as he signaled two of his crew to retrieve the special cargo. They returned a moment later with an unconscious girl being dragged between them.

"She is unharmed, correct?" Asked the bird-man, using a talon like hand to tilt the girl's head back so he could scan for any bruises or cuts.

"Yeah, only drugged 'er so she'd stop tryin' ta get away. Slippery devil." The captain said.

"Very good, my employer thanks you for your services." The bird-man nodded his head. The captain was about to speak when the girl's eyes flew open. She jerked her arms free of the unsuspecting crewmen and made a break for the door.

"STOP 'ER!" Shouted the captain. The closest crew members leapt after her, accidentally crashing into each other as they did so. The girl dodged another crewman only to get her long hair caught by yet another one.

"Gotcha poppet." He said as he pulled her backwards by her hair. The girl went in the direction the crewman pulled her and used the momentum to kick him between the legs. The man let out a cry of pain and released the girl.

She made it to the door and burst through it into the allies beyond. Running through the maze of streets, the girl got herself and her would be captors lost. The heavy footsteps of her perusers faded as her feet, and fear, took her farther and farther away. Once she was sure she was safe, at least for the moment, she stopped and surveyed her surroundings. There was a ferry close by, the driver calling for last minute passengers. The girl hurried over and offered the alien her few coins, which he took without even batting an eye. The girl moved to the front of the ferry, hiding behind a group of sleeping spacers heading home. She breathed a sigh of relief when the ferry began to move away from port. The angry shouts of her captors fading into the night.

She settled down onto a crate the best she could and watched the night turn to day then slowly to twilight before they reached the surface of a planet. She disembarked the ferry and wandered the shops, tormented by the smells of food she was unable to buy, the only few coins she had owned had been spent on the ferry. The pirates had only given her enough food to stay alive because of her many escape attempts.

The sun had sunk behind the horizon and it was beginning to rain by the time she fell, mostly starved and exhausted into a partly sheltered area. She was too tired to move from where she had fallen, so she allowed sleep to take her.

Mrs. Hawkins waved goodbye to the last of her customers and closed the door, locking it for the night. Ben was clearing tables as he sang a song from his old spacer days.

"Thanks for all the help today, Ben. I don't know what I'd do without you." She said as she picked up a broom and started sweeping.

"My pleasure, Mrs. Hawkins." Ben smiled as he hefted a pail of trash up into his arms and proceeded to haul it out to the trash pile. Mrs. Hawkins continued sweeping and cleaning up, noting the sound of rain pattering against the windows. She smiled contentedly as the water tapped an unknown song out on the shutters. Memories flowed through her mind, mostly of reading stories to Jim on nights like this. With a content sigh, she finished sweeping and began putting away the broom.

"Mrs. Hawkins!" Ben suddenly called.

"What is it Ben?" Sarah asked, walking through the kitchen to the back door. The robot simply pointed to a mess of soggy cloth outside the doorstep. She was about to dismiss the whole thing when the mass of cloth sneezed.

"Oh my… Ben help me." Sarah said in surprise. Together, Ben and Sarah carried the shivering figure into the kitchen. Brushing away the long brown hair out of the person's face, Sarah realized the figure was a human girl.

"Get the doctor. Not Delbert, Dr. Hanks." Sarah specified. Ben hurried out, not even bothering with a raincoat. Sarah worked on warming up the poor girl. The girl cringed in her sleep when Sarah tried to wipe away the mud from her face.

"Sssh. Hold still, you're alright." Sarah whispered, just as she use to for Jim whenever he would come home with a cut or scraped knee when he was a child. The girl seemed to calm and Sarah finished wiping away the mud. The girl sleepily opened her eyes and looked around at her surroundings. She startled a bit at seeing a stranger so close to her, she scrambled back until her back connected with the counter behind her.

"Hi, hey… it's ok. My name is Sarah Hawkins. You're at the Benbow inn on Montresor, Ben and I found you outside. Are you okay?" Sarah said gently. The girl tried standing up but quickly sat back down, holding her head with one hand and gripping her right ankle with the other. Sarah carefully moved closer to the girl and placed a hand on her forehead. She was very warm to the touch. The girl watched her warily as Sarah stood back up.

"You've got a fever, come on. Let's get you into dry clothes and then into bed." Sarah offered the girl a hand. The girl looked at Sarah's hand then her face, then back to her hand, then back to her face. Finally, she tentatively took hold of Sarah's hand. Sarah helped her up and allowed the slightly taller girl to lean against her as they made their way to the only available room, only pausing to grab a nightgown from Sarah's room.

"I know it's not much, but it's the only one not occupied. It may be a tad messy, but at least Jim keeps his room fairly nice." Sarah said as she opened the door to her son's room.

The girl didn't say a word as Sarah gave her the nightgown to change into. Sarah left the room to give the girl some privacy. The girl surveyed the room carefully, it was simple with few personal belongings. An old toy was slightly scorched and kept in a place of honor on the shelfs above the bed. It was a bit messy but gave the room a homey feel. After dubbing it safe, she changed as quickly as she could. Her head span whenever she moved too quickly. Her thoughts were foggy, and were becoming foggier by the moment.

"I think I can trust her," was the only clear thought she had. The girl opened the door to let Sarah back in when she was done. Sarah helped the girl to the bed and tucked her in, noting how thin she appeared. Just as she finished, Sarah heard the back door open.

"Hey Mrs. H! I brought the doctor." Ben called as he came to the back rooms.

"We're in Jim's room." Sarah called, the girl wincing at the loud noise. Ben lead the doctor in. The girl watched both new comers warily, only calming when Sarah placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Let's have a look." The doctor said, shining a light in the girl's eyes. He mumbled to himself as he did various checks and procedures.

"Say ah." He said, pulling out a tongue depressor. The girl opened her mouth without making the requested sound. The doctor checked her throat before exchanging the tongue depressor for a thermometer. After a few moments the doctor removed the thermometer and checked it.

"Mild fever, probably just a bad cold and stress. Malnourished too. Bed rest and a few good meals should help." The doctor said.

"Could you check her ankle?" Sarah asked. The doctor did so.

"Interesting." He murmured, "Mrs. Hawkins, may I speak with you for a moment?" The doctor and Sarah stepped out into the hall, leaving Ben to keep the girl company.

"What is it?" Sarah asked as soon as the door was closed behind them.

"I think you are dealing with an escaped slave. When I examined her leg there was chaffing from a shackle." The doctor explained.

"A slave? But slavery was made illegal years ago." Sarah said, biting her pinky nail in worry.

"That doesn't stop some, especially pirates. It wouldn't be a stretch of the mind to say she's half starved too," The doctor said, collecting his things, "as I said before, bed rest, a few hot meals, be sure she eats slowly. If she eats too much too quickly she'll just get worse. And no over exertion, her ankle is sprained so she shouldn't try to do much more than walk for a few days. Call me if she gets worse."

"I will, thank you, doctor." Sarah said, her mind lost in thought as she payed him for his services. Sarah re-entered the room to find the girl was listening intently, although sleepily, to Ben as he told her one of his stories.

"Jim was up on the cliff, then whoosh! He was off on his solar surfer. You should've been there, he rushed through obstacle after obstacle until he and the last guy were neck and neck. Just as the other guy was about to win, Jim swung in front and crossed the finish line! Winning the solar surfer competition for the second year in a row!" Ben said. The girl clapped in excitement, genuinely smiling at the robot.

"You don't talk much, do you?" Ben asked. The girl shrugged her shoulders.

"You seem familiar too…" Ben said, studying the girl.

"Come on Ben, we need to let her rest." Sarah said, opening the door for the robot.

"Sure thing." He said to Sarah, then turning to the girl, "You don't worry about a thing. Mrs. Hawkins and I'll take care of you." Ben said, patting the girl's hand. The girl smiled and nodded her thanks before settling in and quickly falling asleep.

"I wonder were she's from." Sarah said to herself. That thought as well as many other kept puzzling her all night.

The girl slept for nearly two days. She only awoke when Ben or Sarah woke her up to eat or use the restroom. Sarah would often come in and check on her. Most of the time she was sleeping peacefully, but other times she thrashed around, obviously having a nightmare, whimpering and groaning. Sarah did all she could to help the girl, putting a damp rag on her forehead, whispering lullabies, and the like. On the second day her fever broke. She was sleeping peacefully once again so Sarah decided to head to bed. Before she left the girl awoke enough to whisper a soft thank you.

"You're welcome." Sarah whispered back as she closed the door behind her. "At least now we know she can speak." Sarah thought as she walked to her room.