Lia took a deep breath of the strangely scented air of Gamaliel and smiled at the walls of the barracks as they rose into the peachy sky. Everything was progressing exactly on schedule and nothing pleased her more. By the end of the week this wing should be finished and ready to house fifty new settlers in relative comfort. “Lia!” Someone roaring her name jolted her out of her reverie, and she turned toward the sound in confusion. Colan strode her way, his face tight in familiar lines of annoyance. What had irritated him now? “I can’t believe you could be so inhuman!” he thundered, swaying to a halt a half meter from her and leaning his scowling face right into hers. Lia straightened her shoulders, unwilling to even appear intimidated. Because she wasn’t. Not at all. “What’s the issue now, Colan?” “The issue? The issue?” he spluttered, his eyes flashing with simmering rage. “I’m amazed you would consider destroying someone’s house a mere issue. Leaving them homeless must be a minor point on one of your schedules.
