Goheen Witch 3 - O Brave New World (Dark Sci-Fi Fantasy)

Arriving on a strange new world, Taymar and Ben discover it to be much more dangerous than their first impressions.
Book 3 of the Goheen Witch series of short stories.
A dark, sci-fi fantasy
copyright © 2014 Trisha Miller, London, England

Goheen Witch Book 3 – Oh Brave New World
Taymar, Katz Constellation, First Quadrant, 973, 26th Millennium.
I strapped myself into my Navigator chair and sat, with the ache of loneliness and the remembrance of my dead sisters sounding in my mind: a dull ache I could neither change nor hide from. As the ship began its approach on the planet, the pilot looked at me strangely. We both knew, in words unspoken, that he had betrayed me but, for the while, in the strangeness of this vast new world, we needed each other. The ship swiftly descended though the atmosphere of the planet and hovered above the surface, blowing clouds of snow up from the ground. We left it concealed in a pine forest and descended through a steep gorge, until the snow just lay in patches and the valley grew fertile, rich with golden foliage and the scent of wet woodland. This world was beautiful, but I had no heart for it. Though my dead sisters were a thousand years behind us, I felt far closer to them, than to the man that walked beside me.
The valley broadened into a flat, green plain with the golden lights of farms. Then the lights faded behind us in the garish blaze and noise of a vast, towering city. We entered what looked like a bar. I could feel all eyes upon us and hear the questions of their thoughts, in my once quiet mind. Then their curiosity faded into idle chatter and the thump, thump of loud music as they lost interest in us. We were shown a table and brought a tasteless dish of lentils and some strangely colored drinks, by a young boy. The pilot looked at me questioningly but I sensed the boy intended us no harm, so we ate the food hungrily and quenched our thirst with the cool liquid.
“You look better with dark hair: it suits you,” said the pilot.
“I grew tired of the deception. I thought I might blend in better.”
“I think you’re right,” he said, looking around at the other women in the bar. “Looks like you’d have been the only blonde on the planet.” He reached for his glass but it fell from his hand, smashing on the stone floor. Then the mental noise about me fell utterly quiet and Ben sat motionless, unable to move.
“You’re a telepath. Could you not see this coming?” mumbled Ben though his numb lips.