The Touchstone Trilogy

by Andrea K Höst

  Nearly through the rift now. Today we're going to try me giving people security clearance. If that doesn't work, tomorrow I try to take Maze to Kalasa.

  Big Boxes

  The information being shown on the public channels on Tare is well behind the reality of Muina's settlement. They started building Pandora just three months ago and already it's become a living town, with external lighting and sidewalks and bits which will be gardens when it's not Winter. Of course, having buildings which just grow themselves in a few days, so long as they have enough raw material available, really makes it a lot easier, but they still would have had to do a huge amount of designing and planning and working out power and water and connecting up the toilet recycling system and air-conditioning and outfitting the interiors.

  Over fifteen hundred people are living and working here.

  There's only one or two 'small' individual buildings. The rest are 'blocks' three stories high and something like six suburban houses square. Quite huge, in other words. It reminds me a bit of the university campuses I toured (via website) halfway through last year, when trying to decide where to apply. Each of the blocks is devoted to a particular area of exploration and science – so far they've built blocks for animals, plants, geography, geology, weather, archaeology, devices and Ena research – along with a bigger central command thing, which combines coordination with greensuit barracks and supplies. There's a combination of both dorms and permanent accommodation in the science blocks, along with a few outer blocks which are primarily residential and something called 'services' which appears to be where everyone's food is cooked and laundry is done and stuff like that (though I don't think they have one centralised mess hall any more). And attached to that is the 'greenhouse' – just as much a big white block as all the rest, but devoted to ensuring that the settlement can survive even if the Litara stops showing up. I'm told they're already busily producing crops of Muinan plants identified as edible. And a lot of Taren algae which is processed into food.

  To my surprise, although there's some similarities to the severely plain central command block, someone has actually put some thought into appearance when designing the rest of them. There's all kinds of etched patterns and designs breaking up the severity of the whitestone, and lots of windows (almost all opaquely shuttered to keep out the cold or the view). And sloping roofs! Just a mild tilt – you could probably walk around on them quite safely, but definitely sloping, with some gorgeous patterns cut into them which also serve to direct drainage. Even the central block had been retrofitted so that its roof slopes.

  "I'm impressed," I told Isten Notra, peering out the window of the ten-person shuttle taking us from the Litara directly to the central amphitheatre of the old town. "Tarens remembered that buildings have outsides."

  "The cities we will one day build on this world..." Isten Notra began, then stopped and hugged me. "We will make it our home again. Thank you for that, Caszandra."

  This embarrassed me incredibly, of course, though I am getting more used to people thanking me emotionally for something I did by accident. I distracted myself by digging into my backpack and pulling out the two beanies I'd bought. I gave Isten Notra the blue and purple one and talked about things I'd learned on my two whole trips skiing at Thredbo, particularly that you lose a surprising amount of heat through the top of your head. Isten Notra was very sensibly dressed, but like everyone else who'd been travelling on the Litara, had nothing resembling headgear. She thanked me and plonked it on right away, making her secretary act like he'd just eaten a lemon. I think beanies might count as 'little kid hats' on Tare or something. Lohn certainly looked like he was trying not to laugh.

  I didn't particularly care, though. My beanie was two shades of green and when they opened the shuttle door I was damn glad I'd brought it. It was cold enough to make my nose hurt, and everyone's breath steamed out in clouds. It hasn't snowed at Pandora yet, but they think it will very soon, and you can see a dusting of white on the higher hills in the distance.

  New arrivals to Muina are always taken first thing to a platform to be cleared, and whenever possible are all done at once to avoid making the Ddura anxious. There were about twenty newcomers on this trip, easily handled. I stayed on one side of the arena with First Squad as Shon and Isten Notra became official Muinans. The Ddura showed up midway through the process, and made happy noises, but was far less wildly exuberant than those first days. The question of whether I could give people access to Kalasa was settled as soon as the shuttle took the new arrivals off to the warmth of the buildings. No.

  I tried thinking all sorts of commands at the platform, but it didn't react at all as it does when it gets told people are Muinans. And no-one was teleported anywhere standing on it. Maze didn't push against the inevitable once we'd run through the test options, having Mara take me off to the medical section in the main block for the headache the Ddura had given me. It's not as excited as it was, and shuts up more on command, but it does still hang about letting off occasional moans if people play with the platform. He's scheduled the mission for quite early the next day since by then it was evening for me and very late in First Squad's 'day', though only just sunset at Pandora.

  After my headache had lifted, Maze sat with me to explain exactly what we'll be trying tomorrow, and was being very calm and reassuring, but with his eyes so unhappy. I wish I could make him feel better about this. They want me bunk down here in medical tonight, thoroughly monitored. I can see they're worried I'll have nightmares about Kalasa, and I can't tell them what's distracted me from tomorrow. You see, it's occurred to me that there's a faint possibility that Ruuel was at least partially aware of the 'good dreams'. If I could make Mori feel she was being stung by giant insects, could Ruuel have spent night after night on the Diodel wondering why it felt like there was a girl snuggling up against him?

  It's an awful thought. I'm hoping it's just me being paranoid, since I suspect that if he'd been aware of the strangeness of my dreams at Arenrhon he'd have sent me straight for testing. But now that he does know, and now that I definitely am strong enough to make people feel things, I get to be all worried about having a good dream, instead of looking forward to it.

  Ruuel has been tied up with something. I glimpsed him once on the Litara, but it was only during the platform experiments that I was close enough to see he still looks tired, and I haven't seen him since then. I don't know if the Setari are even in the same building – except for Jeh from Second, who seems to have drawn first babysitting shift, and is in the next room. It's probably best if Ruuel's far away, preferably somewhere shielded.

  Unfair. Good dreams about Ruuel had almost made me look forward to this mission. But while I have no problems with me privately having all sorts of fantasies about him, it's totally another ball game making him have dreams about me.

  I'll try for otters.

  Thursday, June 12

  Into Kalasa

  I dreamed I was sitting on the side of Ruuel's bed, watching him sleep. My subconscious making a compromise, I guess. It was a little cell of a room, just a single bed and a rack for luggage and a door. There wasn't any light, so I'm not altogether sure how I could see, but it was all very clear.

  He wasn't wearing his uniform, the first time I've seen him in anything else. A dark boxer-brief and singlet arrangement. And he was having a nightmare, was shifting fretfully under a half kicked-off blanket. Fully living up to the Place Sight reputation for being 'haunted'. He looked like he was in pain, and I longed to touch him, but instead I made myself wake up. I knew it wasn't fair of me to watch. I don't think I was projecting, just looking, which is a big leap forward in control. Not that I'll mention it to anyone.

  Taarel wasn't with him. Stupid thing to be happy about, and I suppose it's terribly unlikely they'd be together during a mission anyway. I didn't dream again after that, and was woken up by Maze, who took me off to an early breakfast with a bunch of greysuit section heads who wanted to ask me about Winter. Being a Sydney g
irl, I thought this was tremendously funny, but neither Tare nor Kolar have much experience with snow. Tare has a semi-frozen polar region with scarcely any solid ground, while the Kolarens actually live at their poles because the equator area is too hot. So even Australians know things they don't about seasons, and I yabbered on about hibernation and igloos and tree branches breaking off from the weight of snow, and seasonal migration of animals, and then wandered into a tangent about Ice Ages and dinosaurs. I now have an assignment to review all the information being collated about Muina's plants and animals, mark any that seem familiar, like the hairy sheep, and write little essays on everything I know about the Earth equivalent.

  After that, Maze took me to be outfitted in my chest armour of ultimate doom, and all the gear I'm expected to carry. A breather, of course, and a good wad of rations and thin water bottles and a firelighter because I'd specifically requested one (I'm so over making fires by rubbing two sticks together). The gun, and a spare charge pack for it. A small and a large relay beacon – one I can wear and one I'll be holding which is very powerful but they were worried it wouldn't come through with me. Maze carted that about for me – it must have weighed twenty kilos.

  He was very much in control of himself, calm and relaxed on the surface at least, even when he was telling me what he wanted me to do if he didn't come through with me. Basically get off the platform and get back on, since that might be all that was required. If not, head for the next platform. He'd made me read through all the information about Cruzatch before we came to Muina, which hadn't really made me more comfortable about being anywhere near them.

  "You're facing up to this very well," he said, finally. "But I know that you must be nervous."

  I shrugged. "Would be stupid not to be. But it's got to be easier than last time, after all, even if I get stuck there by myself."

  He sighed, and gave me a quick hug (which made me feel hot all over – it's very different when Maze does that to when Lohn does). "The first few moments after arrival will be critical," he said. "You will have the advantage of surprise – don't waste it."

  We met up with the rest of First Squad and levitated over to the amphitheatre, where the other squads were waiting with a mix of greensuits and greysuits. I was totally distracted by tiny flakes of white swirling and drifting around us as we flew. Two trips to Thredbo hasn't made snow any less of a novelty to me and I said as we dropped down to the amphitheatre: "We have to have an epic snowball fight if it gets deep enough."

  "The frozen rain?" Lohn asked. Tare doesn't have a word for snow, though I guess old Muinan must. I'd taught them the Earth word for snow instead. "How do you fight with it?"

  "You scrunch it into balls and throw it at each other. And you can make forts to hide behind. But for fun," I emphasised, smiling hello to everyone waiting about in the cold. "Not to figure out the most efficient way to kill things in snowy places or anything."

  Maze shook his head slightly – I think he thought I was putting on a brave face or something – but said: "All right – if there's enough snow we'll have an epic ball of snow fight. Ready now?"

  I nodded, and he brought me into mission channel, adding over it: "We've all been fully briefed. Let's do this."

  Four squads are a lot of people, and the amount of machinery which has been installed in the platform room, along with various technicians, made it feel quite close and cramped. But warmer than up top, at least.

  "Verifying equipment function," said the one technician who was in the main mission channel.

  Maze handed me back the heavier relay, and then had me take the 'carting Cass about' position, and bound our suits together as best he could with my chest armour interfering. Zee got up on the platform with an even more powerful drone, since they were hoping I might bring everything through which was on the platform, whether or not I was touching it.

  "Clear to begin," said one of the bluesuits over the mission channel, and Maze lifted us both up and dropped down on the platform.

  It worked. Even to the point of bringing Zee and the drone through with us. Maze let his breath out, and he and Zee shared a look of total relief, even as they both reacted to this weird, crystalline web filling the room. It made a little dome over the top of the platform, and was particularly thick on the side which was broken, hiding the cisterns below.

  There were two Cruzatch, over by the room's entrance, but before they could do anything they had to hastily dodge the pieces of rubble and shattered wall Maze threw at them. The crystalline stuff snapped and broke apart.

  "Blocking the entrance till we know more about what this is," Maze said, already busily doing so. He just shoved the Cruzatch out with the slabs of fallen wall and then piled the stone up.

  While he was busy fishing up bits of fallen stone and preventing the Cruzatch from getting back into the room, Zee extruded a bit of her uniform into a thin cloth and wrapped it around one end of a stick of broken crystal, setting it there like a handgrip.

  "Three or four dozen in the immediate area," Zee said, taking the heavy relay from me and handing me the stick of crystal. "We'll hold them out of the room. Bring back the rest of the squad, and get some kind of initial impression on this."

  Maze swept a corner of the room clear and shifted us and the big drone off the platform. "Satellite signal not reaching," Zee told him, and he nodded and then picked me up physically and dropped me back on the platform.

  I shifted back to Pandora immediately, the suddenness of it a bit disorienting since I'd expected a delay. Blinking, I looked around at the circle of waiting Setari, then slid back off the platform, saying rapidly: "Forty Cruzatch, and the room is full of crystal – some kind of trap. Maze wants to know what it is. He's barricaded the entrance."

  Ruuel was conveniently nearby, so I handed the stick to him as a greysuit materialised at my elbow and insisted on shining a light in my eyes and making me follow it. The rest of First Squad climbed on the platform and – when the greysuit said they couldn't see any immediate impact on me – Second Squad joined them.

  The faintest brush of fingers on my arm brought my attention back to Ruuel, who had enhanced and now touched one bare finger very lightly to the crystal stick. He was still looking tired, but calmly analytical as he gazed down at the crystal.

  "Good instinct," he said, at last. "The elementals – fire, light, electricity particularly – will cause it to become a gas. Not poisonous. The intention of this is to capture."

  "Understood," Grif from Second Squad said, and I found myself lifted back on the platform, Ketzaren and Alay flanking me even before my feet touched the stone.

  The next couple of minutes were pretty frantic. Cruzatch are dangerous close-combat fighters, and their claws can cut through things: not quite as easily as a light-sabre, but enough to mean that Maze's barricade wasn't holding. And there were dozens of the things. The telekinetics took point, using the splintering rock to force them backward, out of the trapped room. I was sent straight back to Pandora, to bring Third and Fourth Squad, and the Setari went full-out once they were out of the range of the crystal.

  Ketzaren and Alay kept me close, but moved me out of the platform room, even though Maze had broken up most of the crystal and shoved the pieces off to one side. By the time I got outside the battle was aerial, and the Cruzatch were retreating.

  "Don't pursue individually," Maze said, and the Setari dropped down to gather in the very centre of Kalasa, then broke into two – Second and Third staying at the central point with me, while First and Fourth vanished into a big building about four levels up.

  I didn't like that: listening to Maze's occasional terse instructions but not able to see what was happening. The Cruzatch tried to ambush them, and it sounded like it got pretty hairy for a couple of moments. I guess my expression mustn't have been particularly guarded – First and Fourth Squad are most of the people I care about on this world – because Taarel put her hand on my shoulder for a moment and smiled at me, eyes full of confidence and reassu
rance. She really is so very kingly.

  It was over relatively quickly, though, and we listened to them discussing what sounded like another malachite marble. The Cruzatch had apparently vanished through it much like I can use the platforms. For the short term the two squads used fallen rubble to block the entrance, then came back down to stand in the central circle.

  "We'll report in and move on to phase two," Maze said, but then paused, looking up, and they all gazed up with him – not at any threat, but at Kalasa. Damaged, but still the city of the Lantarens. No-one said a word, they all just took a moment and looked.

  I then spent the rest of the day playing taxi. Maze reported in, and I brought through a mixed bag of greensuits and greysuits. The Setari took the drone up to the highest point of the city, while the greysuits tried to decide where to start, and just before we called it a day a satellite finally succeeded in detecting it – it's on the other side of the world from Pandora and slightly south, on an island in one of the biggest lakes. The Diodel is on its way there now, stuffed with technicians, and Second Squad along for safety. They're going to start a settlement and try to work out how to get through the city's shield from the outside while another bunch chip away at it from within. The malachite marble/power stone doesn't seem to turn it off like at the Arenrhon installation.

  No-one's allowed to stay inside Kalasa overnight ('night' in this case being when I'm off-duty), although there's half a dozen drones there, particularly around the re-sealed Cruzatch escape hatch. It was a long day of tentative exploration, though we did get a break for lunch – whereupon I was hugged by an awful lot of people (Nils blew in my ear for good measure, and laughed very wickedly at my reaction). I gather from something Eeli let slip that the Setari had been under strict orders to not worry me with discussions of how little they wanted me to get on any platforms. I'm back in medical again, but this time because they want to monitor me for aftereffects of being of taxi. I don't much like sleeping in medical because the greysuits insist on popping in and out of the room. I can track their movements, though they're still not as clear to me as the Setari.