“One must plan ahead for future growth! We will have meat again sometime, so best we are prepared for-”
“Ahh, shit,” Felix said. He pointed to the cave. The wind had shifted directions and was blowing smoke inside their shelter. It was beginning to build up inside.
Koale looked downright sheepish. "I'm sorry," he said, "In hindsight, it is quite obvious. Next time we'll move the fire inside."
Felix patted Koale on the arm. "Hey, I'm new to this too. We'll figure it out. Now, we need to finish cooking. Ideas?"
"Well, we don't have enough wood to start another fire. I suppose the best we can do is keep going and see if we can’t build another on the morrow."
It turns out neither man was much of a cook. It was all the two of them could manage not to burn the meat too badly. They watched the sunset as they compared notes on the boxes, the bag, the butchering of the corpse and all the other odd happenings.
"At the very least, we have food for a few days now, between this and the rest of the bars,” said Koale. “We also still have that fruit I would like to try in the morning, see if that's palatable.”
Felix nodded. "Water is still a worry. I really don't want to go back to that stream, but we may have to. I vote to put that off for another day and see if we can't find a better option."
"Agreed. As much as I can't wait to tinker with the bag, I feel like we would be best served exploring and building up the camp during the day. When it's too dark to venture out, we can start experimenting with all of this," Koale gestured at the back of his neck.
Plan of action, however vague, in place, the two settled in for their second night on Karlyke.
***
"Welcome back, dear viewers! As always, I am Daviron, your tireless host, and joining me again is Islae, xenobiologist from Rebus University." Daviron turned to face Islae. "So, the implants have been in those two for roughly twelve hours now. What can you tell us?"
Islae smiled, "Well, as you know, the implants can take up to two to three weeks to reach full potential. This is, of course, rarely a problem, as the more advanced operations are not usually the most pressing so soon after planetfall. One thing long time viewers may note is how swiftly this particular generation of implants were able to restore function to their hosts compared to previous generations. One advantage of the long lull in new survivors has been the opportunity to really process the xeno data we already had and refine existing tech."
Daviron drummed his fingers on the desk. "Islae, you know I love when you talk tech, but don’t keep us waiting in suspense. Let us know what we've got down there!"
Islae grinned, "Okay, so here's the breakdown: the human is 162 cm, and weighs in at 63.5 kg…”
CHAPTER SIX
The next morning saw Felix and Koale seated around the ashen remains of the fire. Sullen embers glowed within. Felix studied them, resolutely not looking at the small collection of food before him.
Earlier that morning, Felix and Koale had discussed having one of them eat the fruit and the other, the meat. Koale had read that explorers would use that method when they weren't sure if foraged food was truly edible. They ultimately decided against that plan. There was no way to tell if something would be toxic to both species. Plus, not to put too fine a point on it, neither wanted to solely eat the meat.
The meat was both burnt on the outside and nearly raw in the center. On the bright side, at least it wasn't rancid, or, it didn't smell like it had turned anyhow. Felix hoped that was a good enough indicator. The meat sat in Felix' stomach like a rock.
Looking to alleviate the taste, Felix eyed the fruit that made up the remainder of the pile. They had split the white fruit they had found while exploring the previous day.
Felix hadn't noticed before, but some of the fruit were much heavier than the others, for all that they were roughly the same size. He was pretty sure the lighter ones were not ripe.
When the heavier fruit popped into his last remaining empty blue box, Felix's suspicion was confirmed. He wondered why he was just now noticing the difference. They must have been fruit that Koale had gathered.
The two split the light and heavy fruits between them evenly. Felix started with one of the heavier, presumably ripe, fruit. It had a thick, brittle shell. The flesh inside was extraordinarily succulent, and the juice dribbled down his chin. It didn't taste of anything much, just a faint sweetness. The light fruits, on the other hand, contained nothing but the dry, shrivelled husk of the meat. Spider web-like whisps criss-crossed the interior.
Felix's stomach roiled. In hindsight, the same earlier logic should have dictated that they either eat the waterfruit or the meat. In the future, he would be more careful, though he had a real good guess as to which was stirring up trouble.
Felix rubbed his greasy hands on his uniform pants. He winced at the maltreatment of his clothing. It was a rather moot sentiment, he conceded to himself. The whole "stranded on an alien planet" thing aside, his uniform was torn and caked in dirt, sweat and a not insignificant amount of blood. A little grease was but a drop in the filth bucket.
Hands as clean as they were going to get, Felix leaned back and surveyed the area whilst his stomach decided if it was going to rebel or not. He had to admit, when he wasn't running for his life, this place really was pretty.
The sun peeked over trees which were gently swaying in the breeze. Felix would, without reserve or qualification, rather be in any civilized area, planet or otherwise. If he had to be stranded in the wilderness full of savage beasts trying to eat him, at least it wasn't a frozen waste as well.
Felix's stomach settled from near insurrection to mere discontented grumbling, and he pondered the plan for the day. He idly picked at the shell of one of the light waterfruit as he thought.
They had a bit of food left, but they were nearly out of water. The fruit did a lot to slake his thirst, and could let them stretch their remaining water. Felix was really not looking forward to braving that jungle nor the stream again.
Felix tossed the empty shell from hand to hand as he turned his mind back to his plans. He tried to think of what they needed beyond immediate necessities. They needed to move the fire to prevent a repeat of the previous night to start with. That was an easy fix, however.
Koale was clearly also on a similar train of thought. "I think we ought to start today by inventorying what we have gathered so far, and perhaps organize a little. Once we see what we have, we can figure out what needs to be done most urgently.”
Felix nodded and got to his feet with a grunt. He hoped that eventually he would get used to all of the activity and maybe hurt a smidgen less.
He held out a hand and helped Koale to his feet. Together they walked into the cave to sort their goodies. Felix grabbed an armload of his haul from the previous day and sorted them into neat piles in the back of the cave.
As he worked, icons refilled with colors and the numbers in the boxes updated at the bottom of his vision. "So," he said as he put down a pile of leaves, "What's your thoughts on those blue boxes?"
"You mean the quick bar?"
Felix shrugged, "Sure? I got to name the snuffle lizard; we can call it 'quick bar' if you like."
Koale threw Felix a look. "It isn't what I like, that is the proper term. I didn't get a chance to really test it yet, but it seems to work like a video game. You mentioned you were always able to pull out what you wanted out of the bag, yes? And it keeps track of items and how many you are holding. That's a quick bar in a nutshell."
Felix put a small rock on top of the leaves to keep them in place and went to grab the bones and skin from the giant cave gecko. They were still where he had butchered it the night before, as well as the mess they had yet to clean.
"Okay, fine. It's a quick bar, but why do you think- what the hell!" Felix stared at his empty hands. A half second before those hands had been holding the gecko skin. It had just disappeared. A weight settled about his shoulders. His hands flew up but there was nothing actually there.
Koale dropped the rocks he was carrying and dashed over. Felix grit his teeth. "Everything fits in the bag yesterday, then it doesn't, then it does again. I have a log in my bag that I never grabbed. Today, I pick up a thing, it disappears. I am about done with this planet and everything here."
"What disappeared?" Koale asked as he looked around Felix.
Felix knelt where he had been, un-moving. "The skin. I picked it up, and it disappeared. I swear I could feel it drape around my shoulders, but there's nothing there. It's just gone."
"Hrrm, that is interesting. I wonder," said Koale as he sat next to Felix. His eyes glazed over for a moment, and then he smiled. "Well, that answers that. Raises many more questions, however.”
Felix tried to glare, but his curiosity cut through his frustration. "What? Did you figure out what's going on?"
Koale hesitated a moment. "Some, I think. Here, think 'inventory' if you would."
Feeling like a dork, Felix thought 'inventory' as hard as he could. In the middle of his vision, a large blue square appeared. It was divided vertically into two pieces. The first was slightly larger than half and contained row after row of the same blue boxes in the quick bar.
There were six to a row, and at the very bottom and slightly separated from the rest was a copy of the quick bar that normally resided in his vision. And the very first box was an icon that looked a lot like a certain missing skin. Felix glared at it intently.
As the skin drew his attention, words appeared in the, previously blank, second section of the box.
Giant Cave Gecko Skin (1)
Weight: 4.5 lb
Type: Skin
Use: Unknown
That was certainly something. "Well," Felix said, "I found the skin. I'm not sure exactly where it is, or how it got there, but it's in one of the boxes in the inventory."
Koale made a faint grunt of acknowledgement. "Good. Have you looked at the tabs yet?"
Felix glanced to the rightmost side of the box. Three tabs stuck out. One read, 'inventory' and was a sky blue. The other two read 'crafting' and 'research'. On a hunch, Felix thought 'crafting' at the tab. The tab highlighted to the light blue, and the main box cleared.
The box was still vertically divided as before, but the first section was now nearly empty. It had a sole box with a picture of a desk. Beneath it read, "To obtain more crafting plans, research more materials at the research desk." Thinking at the desk, words populated to the right as before.
Research Desk
Requirements:
Structural, variable
Binding, variable
Inscribable, variable, (optional)
Research sounded a bit out of their league for now, but Felix selected the 'research' tab anyhow. The box this time was empty. Maybe after they made the desk the tab would be more useful. Felix thought 'close' and the box disappeared. Felix was rather pleased with himself. Maybe he'd get the hang of this thing sooner rather than later after all.
Felix glanced over to Koale who was near bouncing with excitement. "We have got to build the research desk, right away!" he said.
"Shouldn't we get some water stocked up first? And disguising the cave entrance would certainly help me sleep better. Have we even got the time for research?"
"There's always time for research.” Koale turned a disappointed eye towards Felix and continued, “I'll do it myself in the evenings, and we can gather materials as we complete our other tasks during the day."
Felix, seeing this was a losing battle, switched over to bargaining mode. That was something he was quite familiar with.
"Well, perhaps we can. But we should put it off a day." Koale jumped up, sputtering words of disapproval. Felix held out a hand. "I know what you are going to say, but bear with me here. I propose we spend today making tools and preparing for the trip back to the stream. If we get ready today, we can collect more supplies tomorrow, and you will have more time for your studies following."
A deal was struck, and preparation began.
Felix gathered several fist-sized rocks and smashed them together. It was sweaty work, but by the end, he had several with jagged edges. He attached them to sticks with vine Koale had gathered while he was busy. The result was rather haphazard spears. Not the greatest of craftsmanship, but better than nothing.
After Koale finished gathering the vines Felix needed, he took several of the hollow waterfruit and put a small hole on the top of each with a talon. Along with the empty water bottles, they would serve to transport water back from the stream. During the heat of the day, they took a break and moved the firepit to the back of the cave. If they managed to bag any game while they were out, at least they would be ready to cook this time.
By the time evening fell, they had weapons and containers ready. They even took the time to clean the cave of its previous owner. At first light, they would venture into the jungle once more.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Before the sun had risen, Felix and Koale were doing a last check of their supplies. They had spears for the trip. The ramshackle weapons didn't exactly inspire confidence, and so they had prepared two each. They had figured out how to clear the quick bar earlier, and Felix had his spears set to the first two boxes.
The water bottles didn't seem to work with the inventory system, so Koale was wearing the bag with the bottles stashed inside.
The medkit didn't work with the inventory either, they had debated the merits of bringing it versus the risk of losing it. By the end, they had decided the risk of losing what remained of the medical supplies was less than the risk of needing it and not having it, so along it came. It was also tucked into the bag.
Additionally, they each carried half a dozen hollowed out waterfruit, several of the ripe variety and a couple hunks of meat. Everything else, from the remainder of the meat, to all the leaves and stones they had gathered was to stay behind.
Felix was torn on leaving the meat. He didn't want to attract any nasty critters to the shelter. On the other hand, he'd rather they be attracted to his cave than his person.
By the time their gear, such as it was, was checked and secured, dawn crept over the hills. In the still twilight, they set out.
Felix and Koale followed the rocky ridgeline that had originally led them to their cave. They felt secure enough to maintain a decent clip. They were reasonably sure of their safety for that leg, and they weren't going out of their way to forage en route. The difference was significant.
Previously, it had taken all morning and into the afternoon to get from the nook where they had spent the first night to the entrance of the cave. As such, they had planned to break there for lunch. When instead they arrived in the mid-morning, they decided it was far too early to break, and pressed on. They would stop before cutting into the jungle.
Finding the point to head into the jungle, though, that would be tricky. Following the ridgeline as they were, they were certain to be headed in the right direction. How far to go in that direction was much more troublesome.
Given the ragged state they were in during the first trip, and the lack of obvious landmark, there was real danger of overshooting that same correct point entirely. In an attempt to find their previous exit, they slowed their pace and carefully searched for any sign of their passing.
By the time they stopped for lunch, they still hadn't found a clue. Felix sat hunched over, elbows resting on his thighs. He sighed and willed a ripe waterfruit to pop into his hand. He wasn't used to feeling, well, being incompetent.
False modesty aside, Felix was damn good at his job. He wasn't a half-bad salesman in general, but he knew his love of gadgets and tools elevated his ability to move his product to another level. That’s what earned him the company trip to Edais afterall. Not that he’d be able to get off this planet to attend, but that was beside the point.
He certainly wasn't perfect at everything else in his life, but he had a knack for finding people with abilities he needed and convincing them to help. And none of tha
t made one whit of difference now.
He and Koale may well suffer a slow death from dehydration as the waterfruit ran out, all because he hadn't thought to make a small marker. Felix ate his meal methodically as he brooded.
Beside him, Koale sat morosely, staring at a hunk of meat. With a martyred look, he slowly began to eat. Halfway through, Koale stopped and turned to Felix, who was still staring into the jungle. "This," said Koale, gesturing at the remaining meat, "Is truly terrible."
Felix's shoulders slumped. "Don't I know it. It would have been so easy to fix, and now, we may die."
Koale blinked in surprise. "That's a bit melodramatic, don't you think? All we needed was a little effort put into better preparation, and the whole mess would have been avoided."
Felix snorted. "I think we could use more than just 'a little' effort, but regardless, it's too late now."
"Too late for this batch, surely, but next time we can do better without much trouble."
"Next time?" Felix finally sat up and looked back at Koale. "What are you-"
Koaled cut in, "It's simple. Moving the fire back into the cave should help, if for no other reason than not smoking ourselves out. We'll be able to keep a better eye on the cooks. Beyond that, I think the rotisserie I detailed is quite possible and should produce dramatically better end results."
"Err, perhaps? I mean, I am certainly willing to try." Felix shook his head, still at a loss. "Maybe we ought to wait until we get back to the cave before we worry about that."
Koale grunted at the reality check and got to his feet. "Sooner begun, sooner finished, and we have much to do when we return."
"That's great and all, and I'm not saying you are wrong, because you aren't, but unless you know where to head in, I'm not sure where we go from here."
Koale looked at the jungle, then turned to study the ridgeline behind and before them, as if seeing it for the first time. He turned back to Felix and shrugged. "Does it matter where we exited previously?"
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