by Lynn Rae
“Why are you wearing that uniform?” It fit him too well to be a castoff, and since he had no pips or insignia, she had no idea what his specialty was.
“Because we don’t throw nude parties at the ass end of the Niento Arm.”
Lia laughed out loud. He was being funny. She doubted it was for her benefit; he most likely was just enjoying the party.
“It worked that time,” she chuckled, and Colan’s profile creased into a smile. Wonderful.
“I wore this because it was the only clothing I had that wasn’t dirty or ripped. You said party, so I did my best.”
“You did very well. You look…nice.” Lia walked beside him as they started across the room. Colan accepted her compliment with a quirk of his eyebrow. Right, so that had been a rather lukewarm endorsement, but she couldn’t think of anything else to say which wouldn’t embarrass him or confuse her. He gathered some cheese from a nearby column and handed her a plateful.
“I didn’t realize you were in Civil Service.” She should have found the time to check on him in the system, but she’d been so busy since she’d arrived she’d had no energy to satisfy her personal curiosity about anything. Not Colan Nestor, or what the furry trees were called, or why the sunlight made her squint so much.
He nodded, chewed, and then snagged two glasses of juice from another serving column.
“What do you do?” It might be more fun to try and get the man to talk rather than read some dry official biography.
“Surveying. The planet.”
Lia was impressed. “I didn’t realize that. They used all your reports to set up our apportionment grants. According to the Territorial Adjudicators they were wonderfully complete.”
“I could have been making up a lot of it and spending most of my time on Gamaliel drinking beer on my deck.”
Lia shook her head at his self-deprecation as they circled around a fruit display being slowly demolished by a thin woman in a faded red jumpsuit. “That’s true, you could have. Would you be willing to tell me which parts aren’t accurate so we don’t send anyone out there and lose them?”
“Maybe I’ll show you sometime.” Colan paused and stopped in front of two older men who were astonishingly similar in appearance. They were both about Lia’s height, slim, and grey haired with keen gazes. They also wore dun colored coveralls and worn silver boots. They’d staked out a location between a drinks column and a dessert column and seemed to be content to stay in that area for the near future. They both regarded Colan with interest and then turned to her for introductions. Both Wayde and Rob bobbed their heads as they shook her hand.
“This is Lia Frei. She’s the scheduler for the new settlement.”
“What does a scheduler do?” Wayde, or perhaps Rob, piped up.
“I reconcile fantasy and reality.” Lia gave her standard answer. The two older men looked confused, but Colan choked out a laugh and shook his head. “What I do is constantly update work schedules, both actual and projected, and coordinate materials deliveries. When settlers start to arrive, I’ll schedule their arrival times to fit with available lodgings. Things like that.”
Wayde and Rob nodded complete non-understanding. “Can’t a program do that?”
Lia rocked her head back and forth. “Some can, but there are so many variables and speculation and guesswork, it’s hard for an AI to predict more than a few hours into the future. People don’t make updates into the system often enough when they are working hands-on, so the system never has up-to-date information. I, on the other hand, go out and talk to people and get their actual progress updates inputted in real time. I also know when someone is likely to be overestimating or underestimating their progress. What do you two do here in Pearl?”
“We mostly sleep and drink in Pearl.” Rob grinned at her and elbowed Wayde in the ribs.
“These two are shellers, which means they go out in the forest and hunt for mineralized flivver shells. When they’re here in town they usually do just sleep or drink,” Colan explained as he glanced between them. The older men bobbed their heads again and watched Lia.
“I see, I think. I read about these shells. They’re pretty valuable aren’t they?”
“Can be, Lia, they can be.” Rob reached into a pocket of his jumpsuit and withdrew a tiny pink vial. He untwisted the cap and gestured for her hand. She reached out, and he tapped the container against her palm, and a small curved piece of stone fell out. It looked like a sliver of a rainbow; colors shimmered and shifted across the surface as Lia held it up to the light. For its diminutive size, it was mighty eye-catching.
“That’s amazingly beautiful. And that’s part of a dead insect, or what are they, flivvers?”
“Yep. Similar to insects but with exothermic systems and seven legs rather than six. That was a wing carapace for an altoid niens. They have three. Uneven number of wings, but somehow they manage to fly. Judging by the chatoyancy and weight, it’s been percolating in mineral water for about a thousand years.”
Lia was charmed by the idea that something so lovely could come from a discarded bug part. She carefully tilted it back into Rob’s vial, and he capped and stowed it in a swift, practiced movement. “Are they rare?”
“Not especially. Flivver parts litter the ground in some areas. But really fine ones like that are hard to find. Most get broken or ground up before they can transform.” Wayde nodded and ate a fruit compote tart. Colan retrieved two and handed one to Lia before they all disappeared in Rob’s hands. He shot Colan a foul look but smiled when the column spiraled up three more from its interior. Claude must have loaded quite a few appetizers into them tonight.
“I’d love to look for some.”
“It’s rough out there.” Colan gave her a stern look, his slight scowl and narrowed eyes similar to when his features were touched by humor. The differences between happy Colan and angry Colan were miniscule. “There are worse things than foot weevils in the forests.”
“Now, don’t go scarin’ her, Tor.” Wade shook his head and ate another tart. “We’ll take you out so you can have a gander. You just got here, and I bet you haven’t seen much beyond the walls of your office, have you? Don’t know how you folks can be inside so much and not just lose your grip on sanity.”
Lia nodded agreement. The idea of an adventure appealed to her. She’d come to an unsettled planet for the chance to have some excitement, and to prove she could handle a project of this size and complexity, especially since she’d lost out on her first choice assignment. Maybe her headache would lessen if she was out in the fresh air.
Colan sighed with an aggrieved air. “When do you fellows want to do this?”
“How about tomorrow? Could you get away for the morning?”
Lia agreed immediately. Once this party was over, she was due for some free time. She’d caught up on all the changes she needed to coordinate between all the divisions, and it was unlikely much was going to change overnight, when everyone was theoretically sleeping. Tomorrow morning would be ideal, because Cordon was due to arrive that afternoon and could take over these liaison duties after she briefed him.
“We did have a favor to ask you.” Wayde ventured with a glance at Rob who took a long drink of his juice.
“What can I do for you?” Lia reverted to a more formal tone and posture, ready to not commit to anything if it might cause problems for anyone on the admin team.
“We were hoping you’d give us permission to do a little prospecting in the areas you clear for construction. We’d just do some digging in your excavated fill. Completely not in anyone’s way.” Wayde widened his eyes as he waited for her reply.
“That sounds reasonable. Let me check on Welti’s schedule and find out when they aren’t going to be excavating so it will be safe.”
“That’s wonderful. We’ll stop by for you in the morning.” Rob grinned as if he’d won a prize, and Wayde shook her hand again. Both men smiled at each other and shuffled away toward another column of food.
�
�Do you know what you’re getting into?” Colan’s scowled with apparent disapproval again.
“Hopefully, a fascinating morning spent outside and away from my datpad.”
“Wet, mud, sharp fronds in your face, sucking flivvers, holes to break an ankle in. You have no idea.”
“You just told me. Besides, I’ll never learn my lesson if I stay at my desk and look out the window.” Lia watched Colan as he took a breath, apparently ready to argue with her.
They were distracted from more tart conversation by a rumble of raised voices behind them. Lia turned to see a pretty, dark-haired woman standing in front of Moca, talking animatedly and jerking her hands in the air as the magistrate put on a calm expression. Lia wanted to make her way over but was impeded by the people in the cafeteria who drew around the confrontation. Colan was at her side and made a path toward the two women, his hand hovering near her back as he maneuvered them along. Lia couldn’t imagine what might have happened. Moca was the consummate diplomat. She could soothe nearly anyone with her respectful attention and genuine willingness to listen.
“I’m warning you, if you facilitate the arrival of any persons with intent to exploit these organisms, there will be terrible consequences.” The pretty woman took a step toward Moca, her eyes glittering with fury, and Lia found herself moving to Moca’s side instinctively. She reached out, put her hand on Moca’s arm, and could feel the tension radiating from her body. Colan appeared at the other woman’s side, his face a tight mask.
“Riva, let’s go and get you a drink.”
“I don’t need a drink, Tor. I need to make her—make them all—understand what’s going to happen here.” The woman, Riva, didn’t tear her gaze away from Moca as Colan tried to lead her away. People Lia didn’t know gathered around them, and she desperately wished Zashi was there to help. The safety chief could make a crowd melt away with one glance from his black eyes.
“Riva, I understand your concerns. I’d be happy to see you tomorrow so that we can have an in-depth discussion.” Moca smiled as she made the offer, and the other woman narrowed her eyes and edged even closer. Lia shot a concerned look at Colan, and he took a breath and tightened his mouth into a resigned line. Without a word, he circled an arm around Riva’s shoulders and drew her back into the crowd of staring people.
“Let go of me, Tor!”
Riva’s voice echoed before the crowd closed around behind them. There were lots of curious stares, and several Pearlites seemed satisfied there had been a scene. Lia noticed a familiar face. The woman from the restaurant, Joli, smiled as she held a drink up to her mouth.
Chapter 3
“They breathe through these holes?” Miklos, the new informationist, asked with wonder in his voice. Colan paused on the damp forest path and searched for a good place to put his feet, since it seemed the young man was curious about that particular species. He’d been full of questions all along, probably because he was an informationist in search of information. He’d been the only other settlement team member, aside from Lia, to take Wayde and Rob’s tour this morning, and Colan grew to like him because of his cheerful enthusiasm for his new home.
“That’s right. They breathe through those holes lining each rib and coming up out of the ground. Stoma. That’s what we call them, but I don’t know what the science people say.” Wayde rubbed his chin and peered at the pale blue ribs arched above them. “The ground is so soggy they need something up here to catch the air.”
“So they actively respirate?”
“Yes, they are breathers. No lungs or diaphragm, more a bellows system inside there. Powered by humidity levels in the cells.”
Lia arrived at his side and nodded, taking a deep breath as she leaned her hand against a stoma rib. Colan gave her an evaluating look. She appeared tired. She’d been groggy that morning when they’d set out, and despite her assertions the fresh air would do her good, she still seemed unwell. There were lavender smudges under her eyes, and she had lagged behind the two old shellers as well as the young man ahead. Colan found himself slowing his pace to stay near her.
“Seems like I could take a lesson on breathing from them.” She rubbed fingertips against her temple and winced.
“Do you want to head back?” Colan was concerned for her. They’d been walking for over an hour, and even if the linear distance back to the settlement wasn’t significant, traveling over broken ground with an incapacitated person was not something he cared to do.
“No. This is interesting. I just wish I could shake this headache.” Lia closed her eyes and took a few breaths through her nose as if she was trying to center herself.
“What kind of headache?”
“The kind that hurts my head. What other kind is there?”
Colan took his own centering breath, not willing to argue with her when she was feeling ill. It could be any number of things, but now he was worrying about it. If his theory was right, she was suffering from ocular nervosa. “Where does it hurt?”
She reached up and gestured at the back of her skull, running her fingers from the base up to the midpoint on her cranium. Not good. Colan stepped closer to her, and she blinked up at him through squinting brown eyes. “How long has it hurt?”
“Since I stepped off the shuttle here. It comes and goes.”
“But it’s been painful longer each time it returns?”
“Yes. How did you know?”
“I think I know what’s wrong.” He tore his gaze from her and looked over at the other three men who were wandering toward a wet ravine. “Hey Wayde, you go on and we’ll catch up in a few minutes.”
Wayde nodded agreeably. “Give her a rest, sure. Humid as all get out today. We’ll just head down along here and stop at that big growth of cockers. Last time I checked there was a woolie in the sinkhole. Miklos here will likely be interested.” The young man nodded quickly, and with a wave at Lia, which she listlessly returned, the unlikely threesome wandered away.
“What’s going on?”
“I think you’ve had an allergic reaction to Gamaliel. Or at least your nerve endings have.”
Lia wrinkled up her eyebrows. “Is this another one of your mysterious ailments?”
“Not mine. You’ll be fine. Didn’t you read the report your doctor and Padev put together?” Colan tried to tease her as he evaluated her. She was too pale and didn’t have as much spirit as she had that first day. “It’s not a serious condition. When you get back to the settlement, your doctor can give you some steroids, and that will cure it in a few hours. But until then—”
“Until then, what?”
“I’m going to try and make you feel better, so your hike back won’t be as miserable.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Give your nerves something else to talk to each other about.”
Lia studied Colan as he peered down at her, and her stomach fluttered. He stared at her as if he could monitor a pain gauge on her forehead. If there was one, it would be in the red. Her vision clouded and every beat of her heart throbbed too hard in her arteries and veins. At this point, if he could alleviate even a fraction of her discomfort, she’d let him do whatever he wanted.
“What’s a cocker? What’s a woolie?”
“I’ll tell you later. Just close your eyes and try to relax.” He stepped forward, and for a second, Lia wanted to refuse him, her instinct to not accept his orders asserting itself until her head thudded with another wave of pain. Managing to give him a stern look, she closed her eyes and waited. She sensed his approach. Somehow he moved the air around her in a distinctive way. His fingertips bumped against her hands, and she jumped at the contact.
“Relax. Your nerves are jangled enough already,” his deep voice advised her. It sounded as if he spoke right in her ear. With little circles, he traced along her palms and rubbed along her fingers, the repetitive motions slowly capturing her attention. She stopped thinking about the organisms surrounding them and the work she was sure was waiting for her at the
settlement and instead let Colan’s skin on hers distract her.
“There’s something about a particular wavelength of light in our sun which can trigger a reaction in some people. It resonates in a link between the retina and the optic nerve, and the neurons start to fire too frequently. It’s technical.” Now he stroked her wrists, and a weight lifted from Lia’s shoulders. The pain shrunk a fraction, but she relished it. “So if you close your eyes, and have some other stimulation, your nerves can settle for a while.”
“What if I wear shades?”
“It’ll help.” She felt him move against her, shifting his fingers to her elbows as he touched her skin, his thumb running up and down her forearms. She was looser and almost relaxed right now—enough that she was grateful to have her eyes closed so she wouldn’t have to look at him and be embarrassed. “We’ll get them on you in a minute. I still want you to keep your eyes closed.”
“How many people have this happen?”
“I’ve known of two. One was Gina Healy; she told me all about it. The other was a man who had such a severe case he lost his rational mind and took an axe to the side of the science station. You can still see the marks.”
“I don’t have an axe.”
“Good, I won’t have to watch my back.” There was a light tone in his voice, and if she hadn’t known better, she’d say he was amused. He rubbed his thumbs into the palms of her hands, and she nearly moaned at the sensation.
“So, it didn’t happen to you?”
“No. The foot weevils got me, but this never did. Once your eyes adjust, it won’t bother you anymore.”
“How long does it take?” His thumbs now stroked against her wrists, and Lia found herself anticipating where his fingertips might travel next. The contact felt so good she wished she’d worn less clothing so he would have more targets.
“It wears off in a week or so. But your doctor can speed it along with steroids.”
“Okay.” She breathed out in satisfied agreement as he shifted his attention to her temples, fingers circling against the sensitive skin in a slow rhythm. Stars, that was good, not just the lessening of her headache, which was appreciable, but the gentle friction pleased her in a visceral way. Eyes still closed, she listened to him breathe. There were no other sounds in the forest. The shellers had told them only a few types of flivvers made noise and only in their breeding cycles, so silence was the norm among these looming creatures.
