The confrontation with Caprice didn't end at the hut. By the next morning, the entire settlement was buzzing. Caprice had gone crying to the elders, claiming that Gavin and his outsider mate were spreading vicious lies and destroying her reputation.
Ephriam Buckley, the settlement leader, had no choice but to call a public assembly. He stood under the great Elder Tree in the central square, his face a mask of weary patience. Caprice stood beside him, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief, looking every inch the wronged innocent. Konner hovered behind her, his arms crossed, his face dark.
"Gavin," Ephriam said, his voice booming across the square. "You have accused Caprice of a serious crime. Drugging a mate is a grave offense. Do you have proof?"
Gavin stepped forward, Karlie by his side. "I have my own testimony," he said. "And I have the fact that she fled the scene when I was at my most vulnerable. Her actions speak louder than any proof."
"He's lying!" Caprice wailed. "I was terrified! He was in a rut! Konner protected me!"
Konner stepped up, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Gavin, I know you're bitter about being replaced, but dragging an innocent female's name through the mud? That's low, even for you."
The crowd began to murmur. Caprice's tears were effective, and Konner's presence gave her credibility. Karlie watched Ephriam carefully. The leader's eyes were calm, but there was a slight tilt to his head, a subtle leaning toward Caprice's side. He wanted this to go away quietly.
Karlie wasn't going to let that happen.
She stepped forward, her voice clear and ringing. "If it's a matter of testimony against testimony, then let us ask the planet itself for judgment."
The square went silent. Everyone looked at her.
She pointed to the center of the square, where a massive crystal pulsed with a soft, inner light. It was the settlement's core energy stone, a sacred relic.
"The old laws say that any who swear upon the core stone must speak the truth," Karlie said. "If they lie, the energy will backlash, burning them from the inside out. Caprice, if you are innocent, swear it. Swear that you did not put rut-grass juice in Gavin's water. Swear that you left him only out of fear, not malice."
The color drained from Caprice's face. She looked at the crystal, her body trembling. The core stone was not a toy. It was a conduit for the planet's raw energy, and it did not tolerate falsehood.
"I... I can't," she stammered. "The stone's energy is unstable right now. It's not safe..."
"Unstable?" a voice called out from the crowd. It was the older female Karlie had befriended the day before. "It was fine yesterday when the healers used it. You're just scared."
"Scared of what?" another female chimed in. "The truth?"
The crowd began to turn. Caprice looked around, panic setting in. She looked to Konner for help, but he was staring at the stone, his face pale. She looked to Ephriam, but the leader simply raised an eyebrow, waiting.
She was trapped.
"I... I won't do it," she said, her voice rising to a shriek. "I don't have to prove anything to you! To any of you!"
She turned and fled, pushing her way through the crowd. Konner shot Gavin a look of pure hatred before following her.
The square erupted in chatter. Caprice had refused the stone. In the eyes of the settlement, that was as good as a confession.
Ephriam sighed, raising his hands for silence. "The assembly is over," he called out. "But this matter is not resolved."
The crowd began to disperse, but many of the females made a point to walk past Karlie, offering smiles and nods of approval. She had stood up to the bully, and she had won.
Karlie reached into her bag and pulled out three of the bamboo canteens she had made. She handed them to the females who had spoken up.
"A gift," she said. "And an invitation. I'm planning to build a better water system for the settlement. A way to bring clean water directly to the homes, instead of hauling it from the stream. I could use some help."
The females' eyes lit up. Indoor plumbing? It was a dream. "We're in," the older female said. "Just tell us what to do."
Gavin watched from a distance, his heart swelling with pride. Karlie wasn't just surviving; she was thriving. She was building a life, a community, right here in the dirt.
Later that evening, back in the hut, Gavin wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on the top of her head.
"You amaze me," he murmured. "The core stone... how did you know about that law?"
Karlie leaned back into his chest, a sly smile on her face. "Unit 9... I mean, the records from my homeland have stories about energy-based civilizations. And I've always found that the best way to catch a liar is to make them look the truth in the eye."
Gavin laughed, the sound rumbling through his chest. "My truth is standing right here," he said, pressing a kiss to her temple.
Outside, the stars were coming out over Eden Prime. Inside the small stone hut, the future was beginning to look a little less bleak.
