Inhye literally shrugged off the delay. "
Happens even to the best of cap'ins." She didn't speculate, even internally, as to why they were late, but she knew there were plenty of good, understandable reasons. Even if theirs wasn't one of those, she still wouldn't mind. In any case, she was grateful that they had come, and that it was a warm month. She needed the parts that
Kerberos ferried for her aerofoils and heat transferring system. Evening would come soon, but the air temperatures, even in the mountains, would remain comfortable.
There was no need to rush repairs.
"
Could use it," replied Inhye to his offer. Though she didn't often take others up to her homestead, let alone strangers, she realized that it would be much more convenient to install the replacement parts with another set or sets of hands. "
Hold on."
Inhye returned to Saerounachim. Behind him floated a hovercart. She took its remote control from the same saddlebag into which she had put her wood carving and navigated the cart into the hangar. She patted the bed before sending it further towards to ship than she herself walked. "
Load her up."
The shipment wasn't that large—only a few boxes—but it had, or would, pay well for the goods' worth. Due to its importance to a colonist's livelihood and ability to do her job as judged by the ORDC, it had been rushed.
After the cargo was loaded, there was plenty of room left for the spacers to ride along.
The cart followed behind Inhye on the plate path that turned quickly to dirt outside of the city and wound past a detention center. A mile or so on, the path's elevation which had been rather level until this point began to gently roll, leading the travelers through the foothills. The slope then increased substantially into the mountains proper. Trees, grass, and brushes of the valley below continued to grow out of the angled earth until, in another mile, they began to thin and outcrops of bedrocks replaced some of the foliage.
The land stretched up and out like this, so their journey did as well.
About forty five minutes had elapsed from leaving Nezan to the first moment where Inhye, leading the way, glimpsed the tops of her windmills. She rode on over a small crest that led down to her
kiva-style homestead. Its buildings arranged in a semicircle were completely visible from up here, as were a few lights she had left on, having expected to get home late. Darkness was just beginning to settle as a thin but perceivable sheen of shade over the world; the lights glowed against it warmly.
Three
Darrieus wind turbines stood sentinel over the west side of the settlement, where they also overlooked timberline on the other side of the mountain ridge. Two spun gently, the bulbous tops pirouetting in the wind. The rightmost giant was prevented from moving likewise, as one of its concave aerofoils was missing.
Saerounachim began to trot in a beeline for the stables structure, but Inhye tugged the reins in a manner to stop and turn him about to face the cart. "
Welcome to the middle of nowhere," she said to the spacers who had come along. "
Where I like to be." She tossed the cart's remote control to BR-8, inviting him to drive.
Then she let her horse make his own way home.
