Alex barely heard Jenna’s futile protests.

He was already moving too quickly, his fist pulled back behind him and clenched, ready to deliver the full force of his body against his foe.

Serrano was moving as well and when the two men finally collided, the sound was like a thunderclap.

Alex’s first punch landed right against Serrano’s jaw. The force of the momentum knocked the man off his feet, but Serrano was smart enough to grab onto Alex’s body, pulling him with him. They collided into the ground, causing the other nearby colonists (as well as several native Vestans) to stop what they were doing and to gather around the two sparring men.

Serrano got his first blow in once they were on the ground. Alex’s jaw exploded with pain as it took one and then two heavy thrusts before he was able to roll to the side. Serrano followed him, aiming another punch before Alex struck first.

That next blow drew blood. Specks of it dripped from Serrano’s grizzled jaw. The temporary lull earned by the heavy blow allowed Alex to draw his knife from belt and he attempted to slide it between them, wanting to gut Serrano for what he did.

The problem was Serrano was too quick for that. He grabbed Alex’s hand and smashed it against the ground several times until his grip was weakened. The next thing that happened was someone snatched Alex’s knife from his hand while other men surrounded them, trying to pull them apart.

The problem was they just weren’t strong enough. The hatred between the two men ran so deep that it was going to take an act of god to separate them. Even without his knife, Alex launched into another attack, pummeling Serrano’s face several times and forcing the man off of him.

As Serrano fell back, Alex moved on top of him. He grabbed Serrano by his collar and smashed his fist into his face repeatedly. The light went out of Serrano’s eyes, and Alex hoped to land a killing blow in the next mighty punch.

It never came.

What came instead was a small pinch against Alex’s back. In the next moment, he felt a surge of energy batter his body, forcing him to disengage and attempt to crawl away. The pain only intensified until Alex felt like he was ready to throw up, and then it stopped briefly only to resume in momentary intervals.

By the time it stopped for good, Alex felt like he’d been beaten with a sledgehammer.

Before he could even catch his bearings, he heard the sound of two feet walking toward him and stopping directly next to him.

“I don’t know what the hell you think you’re doing in my city, but any further behavior like that will see you exiled swiftly.”

The voice was feminine but it was entirely lacking in anything resembling warmth. With the last bit of energy in his body, Alex craned his head upward to see who’d uttered the words.

What he saw first was a cruel pair of brown eyes. They were capped with arching and very disapproving eyebrows. Just below them were pointed and pursed lips, no doubt willing to unleash another tongue-lashing if the situation called for it.

Her features were cruel and hard but they weren’t exactly ugly. She had jet black, glossy hair that came just to her shoulders. She had a pleasing, womanly figure but the lack of warmth in her body language told Alex she was someone that thought she was very important.

“Who . . . are you?” he croaked at the woman.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I’m Belladonna Worthington. I’m the chairwoman of the Vestan Council, and what you were just doing was breaking our law. Who gave you the right to attack this man?”

Alex tried to push up to his knees but found his strength still weak. At that moment, he saw someone rushing toward him.

It was Jenna. She fell to her knees to support him, helping to hold his body upright.

“That man is a criminal,” said Alex, gesturing to Serrano. “It’s because of him that our colony ship was destroyed. He’s nothing more than a violent thug!”

Belladonna grunted. “You call him violent and yet you were the one that attacked him. I find that very ironic. What’s your name, colonist?”

“I tried to kill him because he tried to kill me,” growled Alex. “As well as the rest of the people on the Racine.”

Belladonna pointed the stun gun at Alex again. “Answer my question. What’s your name?”

“Enough!” yelled Jenna, shielding Alex from the gun. “You don’t need to shoot him again!”

“I won’t shoot him if he answers my question,” snapped Belladonna. “Last chance. What’s your name?”

Alex’s eyes narrowed. “Alex Hawthorne.”

Belladonna made a tsk-tsk noise with her mouth. “Well, Colonist Alex Hawthorne, you have a lot to learn about our laws here in Vesta. For one, we don’t allow any of our people to attack anyone else. And certainly not to kill. You’re lucky this is your first day in the colony or I could have you tried for attempted murder. But, I’m willing to show you some leniency, only because you’re new.”

Belladonna then pointed at Serrano, who had now managed to get off the ground. He positioned himself next to the Vestan leader.

“Under no circumstances are you to harm this man ever,” said Belladonna. “If I get another word of any such attack the likes of which I just witnessed, I will have you exiled from Vesta within the hour. And this isn’t just some ordinary exile. Exile outside the city means death by the bears. That’s how serious your predicament is right now.”

“Just so I have this straight, I get the threat of exile but he gets nothing?” asked Alex, pointing to Serrano. “The man who almost killed most of us?”

“I don’t care what he did on the Racine,” snapped Belladonna. “I only care what happens here on Vesta. This man is under my protection now and he’s not to be touched.”

“What about Alex?” asked Jenna out of the blue. “What’s to stop Serrano from harming Alex now that he can’t fight back?”

Belladonna’s eyes narrowed again as she looked at Jenna. “Who are you, colonist? Tell me your name.”

Jenna managed to look defiant as she gave her name, something that caused Alex to fill with pride.

“Well then, Colonist Jenna Whitaker, I take it you’re his companion?” asked Belladonna, jerking her head in Alex’s direction.

“I am,” replied Jenna coolly.

“Then you’ll be happy to know that Serrano will uphold the peace as well,” replied Belladonna. “There will be no infighting in my colony whatsoever. As long as your man doesn’t attack Serrano, Serrano won’t attack him.”

Alex looked at Serrano briefly to see his reaction to that statement. Predictably, Serrano looked angered and he opened his mouth as if to fight it. He closed it after one glare from Belladonna though—a look that seemed to indicate that it was something that would be discussed later.

With no other challenges to her orders, Belladonna reached over and touched Serrano’s jaw, which was still bleeding from the fight.

“Go get yourself checked out by the doctor, Serrano. We’ll get you patched up and looking like your old self in no time.”

Serrano gave her a smug grin. “Thanks, Belladonna, I’ll do that. I think I’m actually going to enjoy living here on Vesta.”

His arrogance only inflamed Alex’s anger. It wasn’t lost on Alex that this was the same man who was trying to do anything possible except go to Vesta. And now it seemed he already had the head of the Vestan Council on his side.

What else could go wrong?

Alex found out the answer to that question next when yet another woman approached the group. This new woman also walked with an air of importance, and Alex suspected she was another member of the council by the way she closed the distance between herself and Belladonna.

The woman was attractive in an odd sort of way. She had blonde hair that was pulled back into a tight bun as well as a face that was almost entirely unblemished with any marks. The main problem with her was her eyes. They were completely lifeless, as if her soul had died a long time ago and only her body remained.

Alex suspected he knew her name long before he actually heard it spoken out loud.

“What happened here?” demanded the woman, looking at Belladonna.

“Nothing that I haven’t already taken care of, Cassara,” replied Belladonna, putting her fingers in her eyes in frustration. “Just a scuffle with the new colonists.”

“A scuffle?” said Cassara with confusion. “I was brought all the way down here for a scuffle? I thought something big was happening.”

“Something big has happened,” said another voice behind them.

Both Belladonna and Cassara turned to see Annette moving closer toward them, her red hair swaying just behind her.

In her shadow came the form of Ellie, meekly following her cousin.

If Alex thought that Belladonna had been upset by his fight with Serrano, it was nothing compared to the shit storm that developed once they saw Ellie.

“What the fuck is she doing here?” yelled Belladonna, pointing her finger at Ellie.

Cassara wasn’t happy either. She glared at Ellie too. “You were exiled from the city. You’re not allowed to come back here!”

“She has an explanation for being back,” said Annette in a calm tone, trying to play the role of the moderator. “She didn’t just break her exile for no reason.”

“This better be a good fucking reason,” growled Belladonna. “She knows what the penalty is for coming back.”

Ellie opened her mouth to say something but Annette quickly stopped her. She waved her hand, as if to silently say that she was going to lead Ellie’s defense. With what Alex knew about Ellie & Belladonna’s history, perhaps that was for the best.

“One of our newest colonists has slain a bear,” said Annette simply, causing many in the crowd to either gasp or start murmuring. “And he’s done it with nothing more than his bare hands and a pulse pistol.”

“That’s impossible,” snapped Belladonna. “She lies.”

“Only a handful of bears have been killed since they first appeared not quite a decade ago,” added Cassara. “And those have been killed by the VDF at long range.”

“Well, this colonist killed a bear in hand-to-hand combat,” explained Annette. “And it wasn’t just one bear but two.”

Now the crowd was really chattering to themselves. Most of them were looking at Belladonna, no doubt wondering what she was making of the news.

“Where’s the proof?” she demanded. “You tell me two bears are dead. Where are their bodies? And who is this new colonist? I need to know who he is right now!”

Annette pointed her finger at Alex, who was still on his knees. “That man right there. Colonist Alex Hawthorne.”

Suddenly, the eyes of everyone centered on Alex. Someone from the crowd, a native Vestan judging by their dress, let out a low whistle.

“You’re telling me this violent savage has not only attacked a new colonist on his first day but now has killed two bears?” asked Belladonna incredulously before crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Really, Ellie, I knew you were desperate but I never thought you’d resort to telling lies to get back into Vesta.”

“It’s the truth,” growled Ellie, speaking up for the first time. “I saw it happen, and we could lead you to the body of the dead bear if need be.”

“And you’ll find the other body near our escape pod,” added Alex. “The bear tried to attack us as soon as we landed on the planet. It ripped open the pod doors and it’s only with a heavy amount of luck that we managed to kill it.”

“Ripped open your pod doors? That’s impossible,” argued Belladonna before looking back at Ellie. “Is this some kind of scheme you cooked up? Invent some story about a man killing bears so that you could escort him back to the colony? Really, Ellie, you’ve sunk very far. Your grandfather would be so disappointed—”

Ellie was moving forward quickly as if she was about to punch Belladonna herself. “Don’t you dare say a word about my grandfather! Ever since you’ve forced your way onto the Council, you’ve made a mockery of everything he’s believed in!”

Belladonna grinned smugly. “And yet, I’m still the chairwoman of the Council. And you are exiled nonetheless.”

“Either way, it’s important that this colonist reached Vesta no matter the cost,” said Annette, pointing at Alex again. “If we have someone who can finally kill the bears, this could be the turning point that we need. For nearly ten years, we’ve been searching for some way to get an advantage over the bears. Maybe this man is the key?”

“I’m less than impressed,” replied Belladonna. “And seeing as what he did to Serrano here, I think he’s taken all of you for fools. You need to remember that all of these arriving men are criminals first and foremost, another stupid decision allowed by our exiled chairwoman here. In order to get anyone to come to Vesta, she had to resort to known murderers and thieves. I wouldn’t put it past any of them to lie, cheat, or steal if they thought it might help them.”

“We had to take what we could get,” argued Ellie. “It was that or nothing!”

“Then I would have taken nothing,” snapped Belladonna.

“And then our colony would have been totally destroyed,” replied Ellie. “We need people to keep up our population.”

“Some people we got,” scoffed Belladonna before looking at Alex. “And it looks like Ellie’s bad traits are already rubbing off on him.”

“I never hit you,” growled Ellie. “No matter how much I wanted to. Or how much you deserved it.”

They nearly came to blows again before Cassara separated them. She was the next to ask the faithful question.

“So what do we do now?” she asked, looking at Belladonna for guidance. “What do we do about Ellie breaking her exile?”

Belladonna simply shrugged. “The only thing we can do by the law. She’s going to have to be executed.”