Bartoc Secret

by Clara Woods

  “Hmm.”

  “Can’t you test that with one of your scanners?” Lenah asked.

  “No. I lost most of them months ago on Masis III. I have nothing but my eyes to help us learn anything new about this planet.”

  “How did you know the air is breathable again?” Lenah asked.

  “A book the Head Mage gave us.”

  “Let’s go then and use those eyes.” Lenah held the hatch open for him. “Get yourself a weapon and come to the cargo hold.”

  Though his eyes widened, he nodded.

  When Lenah entered the corridor, Corinna was already at the hatch, her hand hovering over the open button.

  “Are we sure this is breathable?” she asked when Lenah stepped next to her.

  Lenah shrugged. “The doctor says so. But he just read about it and doesn’t have the right scanner to confirm.”

  “I’ll go out first,” Martello said.

  Lenah turned and saw him approach carrying one laser weapon in his hand and a second one strapped over one shoulder. “That’s not fair, Martello. We should all go.”

  “And gain what?” he asked. “You and Corinna are the mind mages. You’re still needed in something important. Even if this is all I’ll ever do in this war, it will have been worth it.”

  He was right.

  Lenah stepped aside to give him room. “Go for it. And, Martello, be careful.”

  He flashed her a wide grin. “Girl, I am never careful.”

  Before Lenah could say anything else, he opened the hatch and slipped out.

  The door was open for a mere second, but Lenah felt heat, and a nasty odor as if something had burned recently seep into the corridor. A few moments later, it was gone, removed by the Star Rambler’s automated air system. Through the view window, she watched Martello walk to the open hatch. He stopped and his shoulders rose as he took a deep breath. Then he bent over, choking.

  Lenah’s hand shot toward the hatch. She took a deep breath, determined not to breathe and to get Martello back.

  But he spun on his heel, grinning widely and lifted a thumb.

  Lenah groaned, then signaled a thumbs-up back through the small view window.

  “What a clown,” Corinna remarked. “You sure you want to become part of that family?”

  Lenah looked at her sharply. “Who said anything about that?”

  “Well, let’s see.” Corinna lifted a hand to start counting on her fingers. “One, you and the cyborg can’t stop touching each other. Two, you’ve been through your first serious fight, yet you keep looking at each other like teenagers. Three, you made quite a heroic effort to not only get the cyborg back but also this comedian in his family.” She nodded. “I think that about says it all.”

  “And she was jealous when I fought Cassius the other day,” Persia said from behind.

  Lenah whirled around, making a shooing motion. The last person she wanted to know about that was Corinna.

  “What?” Persia lifted her hands in an innocent gesture, but her eyes were gleaming. “It’s true. I thought you mind mages could make people say the truth. Corinna could have easily gotten it out of me, anyway.”

  Lenah felt herself flush. “Ugh. Is that all you two are worried about? My love life?”

  “No.” Corinna gave Persia a confident nod. “But it’s definitely better than standing here and hoping that old man doesn’t topple out of the ship. Be a good sport for once, Lenah. Besides, I’d be truly happy for you.” Her hand touched Lenah’s shoulder.

  Lenah looked down at it resting there, stunned. “Uh, thanks, I guess?”

  Corinna moved her hand. “One tip, though. You shouldn’t waste any time on getting a long-term relationship. We’re not exactly in a safe life situation.”

  Lenah rolled her eyes. “Tell that to Cassius,” she said, then stared straight ahead at Martello, wondering if Corinna knew she’d touched on exactly the one topic Lenah and Cassius didn’t see eye to eye. The same sentiment—urgency to create an experience with Cassius—was exactly what had caused their recent fight. And though Lenah still wanted to take the next step with him, she was determined to give him space. She was glad when Corinna didn’t say more.

  Meanwhile, Martello stood at attention, with his head moving from one side to the other. After another few minutes, he turned once more, this time waving them to come forward.

  “Is everyone armed?” Lenah asked.

  Persia held up a laser and Corinna was holding a gun in her hand. Doctor Lund had emerged behind them, but instead of carrying a weapon, he was holding a holobook.

  “Uh, do you plan to hit something with a book?” Lenah said. “I asked you to bring a weapon.”

  Doctor Lund, who had been reading, looked up. “You know I’m no use with a weapon. I would much rather bring this geology book. At least, I might be able to tell us something about the planet.”

  “I shall defend my youthful assistant,” Zyrakath said, appearing out of the common room and carrying a gun himself. Lenah, knowing that he was able to use it, nodded, even though the sight of the child-like drone with an equally big gun, his wings flapping wildly, was a little comedic.

  She turned and thumbed the open hatch button.

  13 Balhudh

  Lenah led the way as they crossed the cargo hold to catch up with Martello. She took a careful breath, noting the strange smells and intense heat in the air. The cave they were in lay in semi-darkness, mainly caused by part of the ceiling caving in when Lenah crashed into it, but outside, beyond the ledge that covered their cave, the sun was shining brightly. A burnt smell hung heavy on the air, but Lenah wasn’t sure if it came from the Star Rambler or the outside. She had given the ship quite a bumpy ride.

  Lenah joined Martello at the bottom of the short gangway, and together they stepped down into the cave. Cassius appeared next to Lenah. He wasn’t armed, but she could tell by the tenseness in his muscles that he was ready to fight. Different sized stones lay scattered all around, and Doctor Lund bent over one, starting to reference his holobook. He muttered to himself as Lenah followed Cassius for a round through the cave. Cassius was walking nimbly, somehow anticipating the stones and avoiding them. Lenah wasn’t doing such a great job, barely able to see in the half-darkness. She briefly thought to turn on her wristpiece's light but decided against it. If someone was close by and by some miracle hadn’t seen the Rambler crash into the canyon, she didn’t want to call attention by turning on a light underneath an abandoned ledge.

  After they had completed the round, during which neither Lenah nor Cassius saw anything that stood out, they joined the others who had stopped close to the exit, surrounding Doctor Lund who was crouching over the stone.

  “My grandpa and I will go first,” Cassius said. Not waiting for Lenah’s answer, he stepped forward with Martello. She watched them with a held breath, half expecting something or someone to attack them. But nothing moved as they stood in the bright light, and after a moment, Cassius waved the rest of them forward.

  Lenah joined them, looking down into the narrow canyon. The ground lay at least twenty meters beneath them, and the walls were almost perfectly perpendicular. Small cracks and similar smaller caves like the ones they were standing in were the only difference in the blue color. The stone was beautiful in its own way, but Lenah felt that it was eerie, somehow unnatural. It was a cold color, defying the heat all around them. Lenah looked up and shaded her eyes against the big bright sun. On a rational level, she realized this was Cassia, the exact same sun that had heated her all her life, yet, here, in the blue desert, it seemed less friendly.

  Taller canyon walls all around limited their view, but Lenah knew from their arrival that this landscape would monotonously continue for many clicks. A few desert plants were trying to grow in shady nooks, but otherwise, they seemed to be completely alone.

  “Let’s split up and each go in a half-circle.” Cassius gestured for Lenah, Persia, and Doctor Lund to come with him.

  They walked silently, each
of them trying to pay full attention to their surroundings. Something moved up ahead, but when Lenah tried to see what it was, there was nothing left but a small cloud of blue dust. But now they knew they were not completely alone.

  Doctor Lund stopped them several times to touch the ground or study a rock formation, but he never said anything.

  They finally met up with the other group again, but the fact that none of them had encountered anything hostile didn’t relax Lenah.

  “We saw something scurry away,” she told the others. “But it was gone before we could get a good look.”

  “It was probably a small animal.” Doctor Lund looked up from his book.

  “We didn’t see anything. Nor any water,” Martello said in a gruff voice and wiped sweat off his forehead. “I can’t believe I’m somewhere even hotter than Victory II.”

  “And that’s saying something,” Corinna muttered. Lines of stress stood out on her forehead.

  “What do you think of this place?” Lenah asked Doctor Lund when they had once more stepped into the shadow of their ledge.

  He cleared his throat. “It’s a strange combination of minerals. The coloring, the lakes we saw while flying in. It’s hard to say anything else without scouting more or seeing a native species.”

  “Is it known to be settled? Are you sure?” Persia held a gun in one hand and her hammer in the other.

  Doctor Lund nodded. “Our source said so. This is one of the terraformed worlds of the Saltoc sector. All of them are supposed to create ideal living conditions to one or more of the Bartoc’s conquered races.”

  Martello frowned. “Ideal conditions, huh?”

  “But why is there nothing here?” Persia’s voice echoed off the chamber walls.

  “We might be in the least hospitable continent. Maybe the population or animal life is mostly nocturnal.” Doctor Lund pointed at the sun. “Honestly, that wouldn’t surprise me.”

  “No matter what,” Lenah interrupted him. “We need to figure out what to do next. I think our first priority should be to get the Star Rambler running again.”

  “Yes, absolutely,” Uz said and moved back toward the ship. “But first, I’ll need some lunch. I haven’t eaten anything since we left the Cassidian sector.”

  Lenah’s belly agreed with a loud growl. “Persia, let’s go with Uz and heat up some meals for everyone. The rest of you, stay out here and make sure no one is sneaking up on us.”

  They all nodded. Lenah was glad when she stepped into the cold and filtered air of the Star Rambler. She crossed the cargo hold and found Uz rummaging through the kitchen closets.

  “Uh, Lenah. We don’t have a lot of food left,” the Cassidian said as she got out a small stack of rations.

  Lenah crouched next to her. “Is that all?”

  “Yes.”

  “Stars, that’s barely enough food for a couple of days. I hadn’t thought about it, but I guess the rations from the mages are almost out.”

  “And Corinna didn’t give us any when we were at Cheung Army headquarters,” Persia said, looking at the limited stack of food. “What do we do now?” Her voice sounded small.

  Lenah closed her eyes for a moment. “I honestly don’t know. We might have to find something here...” she trailed off, thinking of the inhospitable world outside. But to Persia she said, “Let’s heat up half a ration for each of us and then I’m sure we can hunt.”

  * * *

  “What, this is all?” Martello asked when Lenah handed him his half-ration.

  “That’s about one-third of what we have left,” she told him.

  Cassius inhaled sharply and looked at the minnen already loaded on his spoon. “We’ll have to hunt,” he said, then put the spoon in his mouth and chewed slowly as if wanting to savor the maximum of what he had. His tone made it clear that he wasn’t looking forward to the prospect of having to hunt either.

  Lenah, eating her own stew and peeking out of the cave opening, had to agree. She doubted they would find anything known to them, like a minnen or a chicken.

  One by one, she regarded her group, trying to decide what the next best step would be.

  Uz was still wearing parts of her spacesuit. Her face and hands were black from hours of keeping the ship’s engine running. She sat, crouched low, her green skin looking pale.

  Next to her sat Lorka in his mage robe. He seemed to have had another growth spurt since leaving New Earth, and his socks once more peeked out of his robe. He was looking around with curiosity and a calmness that maybe could only come from someone who had grown up on a radioactively contaminated planet. For him, Balhudh must seem more hospitable than home.

  Cassius and Martello stood together, looking around attentively between bites. Martello somehow managed to hold onto his gun clenched under his arm, despite carrying a spoon and bowl.

  Persia had moved back to a wall, looking around wide-eyed and ducking at the slightest movement.

  Not far from her stood Corinna. She had already finished her dish and was refastening her top bun. From her jerky movements, Lenah could tell how uncomfortable she felt.

  Doctor Lund had barely touched his food. Instead, he was kneeling on the floor next to Zyrakath. They were looking at a tiny cactus that had grown just inside their cave, whispering excitedly.

  Who should stay and who would Lenah send hunting?

  “Persia and Lorka,” Lenah said after a few moments. “You stay here with Uz. Help her in any way you can, but make sure one of you is always guarding the outside. You don’t want any bad surprises.”

  Persia looked like she was going to protest, but Lenah spoke over her. “The rest of us will go explore and hunt. Let’s see, maybe we’ll even run into a human settlement.” She had meant it as a joke, but no one laughed.

  They all looked uneasy to be sent away. To their benefit, no one argued. They just leaned closer over their food.

  Persia got up and approached Lenah. “You sure you want to do this?” she asked her softly.

  “Do what? Go and find the food we urgently need?”

  “Sure, but it doesn’t have to be you. You and Corinna should stay here. You’re the most important of all of us.”

  Having heard something very similar from Martello only a few minutes before, Lenah took a shaky breath. Even though it would be tempting, she shook her head. “No. Us mind mages should go. Our powers might be necessary.” She finished the last bit of her meal. “Besides, what if we really run into some humans?”

  Persia smirked. “I doubt that. Either they killed them all or they are hanging out on a much prettier world.”

  Lenah patted her on the shoulder. “It’ll be fine. Just take care of the ship for us. You’re in charge if the Rambler while I’m gone.”

  14 Bone-Eater

  Doctor Lund stumbled on the stones, and Cassius reached out a hand to steady him. The climb out of their cave and toward the top ledge was rough and sometimes required them to use both their arms to pull themselves up the tall steps.

  Lenah eyed Martello, but he seemed to handle the exertion better than the much younger Doctor Lund, who was sweating profusely.

  Lenah was barely any better. Martello had insisted they wrap their heads with any spare shirts they had. “You’ll need the protection against the sun,” he’d said and shown Lenah how to do it. Knowing that he had grown up on a desert planet, she had taken a white shirt out of her closet and wrapped it around her head and shoulders. Even though her mouth and nose were covered, it did nothing to help with the nasty smell in the air. Burnt and unhealthy.

  Up ahead, Cassius had reached the top and was peering carefully over the ledge. He stood and offered his hand to Doctor Lund.

  Lenah followed last. When Cassius placed her on her feet, she took in the view. They were surrounded by blue rock, cold and mercilessly stretching in all directions. Toward the east, the rock evened out into a large plateau, while the terrain in the other three directions continued the canyons. The outlines were blurry from the heat and met
up with the horizon. To one side, the sky looked orange and gray.

  “What is that?” Lenah asked.

  “It looks like a fire,” Doctor Lund answered, also staring in the same direction and making notes in a holodevice. “Too far away to tell for sure.”

  “How did I not see this from the air?”

  “May have just broken out,” Martello said. “We have fires on Victory II, and they spread fast. One second, you look at a tree, the next, it’s eaten up by flames.”

  They followed the others along the top of the canyon. Cassius walked in front with Corinna while Doctor Lund and Zyr stopped every few minutes to study something on the ground.

  “How will you recognize your sustenance?” Zyr asked Doctor Lund when he looked at a gnarly bush that was growing in the shade of a boulder.

  “What do you mean?” Doctor Lund frowned. “I’m sure we can’t eat this bush, if that’s what you mean.

  “How will you know if an animal is edible and nutritious,” Zyrakath confirmed Lenah’s suspicion. “This planet hasn’t been in contact with the galaxy known to you. While your species brought a lot of animal and plant life to this sector, you won’t find any of this here.”

  Doctor Lund nodded, but it was Cassius who answered. “We have to hope that we’ll find a Balhudh-type minnen.”

  They fell silent once more, climbing on top of yet another ledge. Lenah looked down into a small plateau that sprawled out a hundred meters below them. She gasped when something moved in between two rocks.

  An animal stood there on four stout legs, its back covered with horned protrusions in all colors of the rainbow. It was big, like a sturdy cow, and bending over something bright yellow, something with legs. Another animal?

  Doctor Lund edged closer, kicking loose a small stone with his foot. It landed with a thud on the plateau beneath them. The big creature whirled around, revealing multiple horns surrounding a face set with black beady eyes. Lenah took in its strangeness. The head was enormous, the horns all different shades of bright colors. They were the same shape as the protrusions on its back, just longer. A big mouth sat on a square face, topped off by a small nose and equally small eyes.