by Stella Dawn
I glare at Tsunis’ back. He stands a few steps away, occasionally shaking his head as if he continues to evaluate just how unsuitable I am for the position.
I hoist my backpack onto my shoulders. I’m very concerned about the dangers this place is no doubt hiding, and his ability to protect me. I don’t give a fuck though. I’m not taking any of this shit. I can handle anything.
“I’m ready as soon as macho man is. Didn’t you ever get an education on equal rights?”
Confusion crosses his face. “How can rights be equal? It depends on the distance.”
I’m so baffled by his comment I just shake my head. Taryne and Yos seem amused. Great. I’m so happy they are having a good time. What is this, their honeymoon or something?
I grip the straps of my backpack and stick out my chin. I stare Tsunis down and wait for him to comment. He doesn’t, just shakes his head again.
The others help us pick up our supplies and we make ready to go. There has to be an ocean here somewhere. I can smell it, as well as the super-hot fully humid air that promises a large body of water.
I focus on that. I try to ignore the heat and Tsunis’ looks. None of it will matter once we get to the ocean.
6
Tsunis
I scowl at her where she stands before me, hands balanced on her pack straps. Her chin is sticking out and I don’t know what this means in human body language.
“Are you sure, delicate little flower? You have protested quite a bit. I’m not sure that you won’t wilt.”
The glare she gives me is full of sharp daggers. I feel them penetrating me as if she wishes her very gaze could kill me. It makes me grin.
“Lead on.” Is all she says. I can tell that she has many words loaded and waiting but she doesn’t speak them. She seems determined now, not to say a word.
That might suit me just fine. She’s got pride and she’s got attitude, these things don’t make her tough. I have no way of knowing what she can take. Even though my hopes are not high, I am curious to find her breaking point.
She and I settle our packs on our backs and set off, waving goodbye to Yos and Taryne. Eliana follows behind me sullenly.
There is no path from this spot, it was the only place to land the shuttle. I push between the thick trees and vines, looking behind me as I go. I’m impressed that Eliana is paying attention to the forest around her. She tries to follow me exactly and place her feet where I put mine.
It’s very quiet except for the singing of insects. Every ecosystem like this, with extreme heat and humidity, breeds massive insects. We hadn’t yet discovered them all, but I knew the singing ones were something like an earth cicada. They are quite a bit larger though and can give a nasty bite.
Eliana does not speak, even once. I have to slow down occasionally and hack through vegetation with my machete, as I don’t want to deviate from the course laid out on my map. It’s too easy to get lost in this jungle and very dangerous, especially at night.
I see Eliana looking at the vegetation, but she doesn’t touch anything. She makes a few notes on the device Taryne gave her. I’m pleased to see her already working, in a sense. She clearly has an avid fascination for biological things.
I listen closely to the sounds as we move through the thickest parts of the jungle. I keep an eye above but also try to listen into the forest. The deeper we get, the quieter it becomes.
I know, there is very little chance of running into them in this part of the forest, but I can’t rule it out. I have to be vigilant.
Xoks are on this planet. It’s a big place. I don’t need to worry about them infringing on us, although they might, given time. They hate everyone and everything, holding their standards of machinery as the highest possible calling. All of them are spliced with machinery in different ways.
The whole idea disturbs me. I can’t imagine a good reason to chop yourself up anyway. But melding the physical with the mechanical? It sounds painful as well as barbaric.
Still. We have to be careful. They are always looking for human females. They have no problem with captives and slavery and Eliana would be captured for breeding stock without hesitation.
We move through the jungle slowly, the sun pushing up to its zenith over our heads. The hissing of insects and the heat becomes unbearable and I call a halt.
There’s a small pool of water nearby that might be good to fill our canteens with. I do a sweep of the area, taking my time and checking thoroughly in surrounding bushes. There are all kinds of dangerous creatures in this jungle and you can’t be too careful.
Eliana sits down some distance from me and opens her pack, slowly chewing through a couple of ration bars. She looks accustomed to them, at least. They provide all the nutrition you need in a very small block. She eats with small bites, looking into the pool of water.
I see delight flash across her face as she stares into the water. She pulls out her little device and takes pictures and notes. She’s probably looking at small fish and amphibians. I’m touched by the simple joy on her face as she watches the ripples in the water.
She has a real understanding of water creatures, a personal interest. It brings her joy just to watch them. I consider this while I finish my own ration. Perhaps she really is the right one for the job, since she has so much passion. I can see how that would create a strong work ethic. It would help her conquer any doubts she has.
I call out to her that we will rest awhile until the sun shifts. She looks up and nods but still doesn’t speak to me. When she looks up her face is hard and impassive but when she looks back down into the water, she has that quiet joy about her again.
I can’t take my eyes off her. The manner she displayed while we were arguing has completely melted away. I couldn’t have imagined this kind of attention from the way she spoke so flippantly. Key to observing any type of creatures is stillness and patience. It really didn’t look to me as if she had those qualities.
But when she sends her attention into the water, the silent depth seem to reach up and join with her soul. It makes me feel strange, as if she has something of our race in her. I don’t know why, but I feel she would be just as at home in the ocean as I am.
Parts of last night’s dream flash through my mind but it’s all fragmented and strange. I can’t remember what it was about. Something to do with Eliana and the water. I wish I could remember but the images flee.
She continues to look into the pond, that soft smile on her face. Like this she is open and transfixed by the water.
She looks beautiful.
I think over our time together and I realize she seems to have taken extreme offense to the idea she might be delicate. She doesn’t like the word. Perhaps it was a little unfair of me, because I made the judgement without even seeing her conquer the jungle without a murmur.
I still have my doubts. I don’t know what we are getting into with her and we need information now. We don’t have time to find another. She needs to get in there and work as soon as possible.
I decide to file away the word delicate and not use it at all. I don’t want to upset her. I can’t explain it, but something about watching her over the water has softened me. I had my doubts about her, but she displayed strength in the jungle and now a complete and quiet peace as soon as she found water creatures.
I admit grudgingly that she probably isn’t delicate. Perhaps I was unfair. I want to apologize to her, perhaps even talk about it. She remains fixed on the pond and when she glances up to me, she turns her eyes away immediately. She doesn’t say a word and this too, impresses me.
She has a determination in her, that’s for sure. I look away into the jungle, settle against a tree trunk and go into a light trance to rest my muscles. I hear her tapping at her device and taking pictures.
After my skin tells me the sun has shifted past the mid-point I get up and tell her it’s time to go. She settles her pack and stands nearby, watching me and waiting. She still doesn’t speak.
I’m start
ing to miss the sound of her voice. I’m starting to worry if the emotional instability of humans might be catching. My usual calm has started rocking like waves before a storm.
What is she doing, to affect me so deeply?
7
Eliana
Trudging along in the sticky jungle, I feel like this nightmare might never end.
I glare at the back of Tsunis’ head. If he calls me delicate one more time, I’ll find a delicate little knife to stab him with. I’m so insulted by his manner I can hardly speak.
Well. I could yell. This only seems to encourage the notion that I’m difficult, so I’d rather just keep my mouth shut.
I don’t know if I should be embarrassed by my reaction to the planet or even angrier that I wasn’t told about it. I’m not sure what I expected but it certainly wasn’t this.
Ocean planets are temperate by nature. The large bodies of water regulate the weather conditions and the constantly moving tides create shore breezes that cool down whatever land mass exists. I must admit I did have images of cool, grassy hills rolling down into deep blue with frothing waves. I’d seen pictures of a coast like that in the old earth albums.
I knew that a great majority of ocean areas were considered ‘tropical paradise’. I’m not exactly sure why so many humans would want to go and stay there if it was anything like this.
I look down at the ground, watching my feet. I refuse to apologize. I have every right to be upset by these conditions. Jungle planets are known for their pitfalls. The weather itself is enough to kill me, never mind what’s hiding beneath the canopy.
I keep my lips pressed together, trying not to speak. I’m used to being by myself, but I often talk. Usually, to the fish. It’s not like they talk back, but they listen well. It’s been recorded that fish don’t have feelings, sub species intelligence only. I disagree and I’m hoping to find evidence of it.
My fish would come and gather by the edges of their pools when I talked to them. They knew that I cleaned their tanks and gave them clean water. They knew that I brought the food and I was always quick to respond if there was danger, such as a hungry gull. I like to think it was a relationship similar to a farmer and his flock of chickens.
Simply the way they recognized me and asked for my attention goes a long way to proving my theory. That data is completely useless though, because the conditions were too closed. Domesticated fish that have never left their spawn tank aren’t going to display a whole lot of variation to their behavior.
Thinking over science and theories I hope to prove calms me down a bit. I feel less likely to swear at Tsunis now, but I’m still mad. I watch him striding ahead of me and I can’t believe how he continues to ignore me.
It feels like a great big game of chicken. Something you might play in a school yard. Whoever talks first loses!
The idea is so disgusting I almost launch into discussion right then and there. I roll my thoughts over a couple of really in-depth marine biology facts that would certainly challenge him, but I don’t actually open my mouth.
It might be a childish game of chicken, but I don’t want to lose.
I step quietly along behind him, making sure my feet match his steps. I can’t believe he’s being so rude.
He glances back every now and then, but his expression doesn’t change. Once he sees that I’m following he turns back and pushes aside greenery, sometimes using his machete.
He has not once asked me if I need help or if I’m okay. Several times I feel like the heat is going to actually take me down. When I stagger to a stop and gulp water he just stops and waits for me. As soon as I put the water away and stand up straight, he turns his back on me and keeps walking.
I’m fuming, I can’t help it. What kind of asshole doesn’t even ask if the other person is okay? It’s just basic decency. It has nothing to do with how we feel about each other on a personal level. We should still be looking out for each other’s well being.
Even though I do start to get exhausted and my feet stumble, I don’t say a word. I bend under the weight of my pack and sweat gets in my eyes. I try and focus on the trail while my vision blurs and my eyes sting.
Clearly, this is some kind of test. He’s just waiting for me to fall down crying so he can point at me and say ‘ha-ha’. Well. I’m not letting that happen.
I trudge on, step after step. When the jungle starts to get dark, he leads us to a spot under two trees, pulling up some nearby fronds to close us in and give us something soft to sleep in. I turn my back on him, gulp down a ration bar, then curl up, almost instantly falling asleep.
Even though the ground is not very hard and I’m very tired, I don’t sleep well. Tsunis moving around wakes me and when I stir, he looks down on me curiously.
He doesn’t say hello, or good morning. I set my mouth to a hard line as he stares at me. He shrugs and moves away, and I sit up slowly, rubbing my head.
I drink some water and eat another ration bar. I notice that Tsunis is standing by the thick vegetation, almost tapping his foot. I take my time getting myself together before I lift my pack and head towards him.
He turns and walks into the jungle immediately. Swearing under my breath I follow him, wondering if I’ve been paired up with the most arrogant son of a bitch in the universe.
The pace on this day doesn’t change. Tsunis doesn’t hurry but he does walk steadily, with a lengthy stride. I’m forced to trot to keep up sometimes which makes me pant as my backpack slaps me painfully in the spine. He only stops once for a lunch break before pushing on again.
My muscles are aching, and my joints are on fire. It’s a good thing I don’t have to focus mentally on anything because my mind is stuck in dense fog.
Even after seeing me struggling, he still doesn’t offer me a hand. He doesn’t slow down or consider taking extra breaks. I’m so fucking furious I can barely think but I don’t have the breath for an argument, which is just his luck.
I try to distract myself by looking around, trying to understand some of the local wildlife. I’m observing a line of big black birds when my gaze jumps as I recognize something plastered against the tree trunk.
It’s well hidden. It has some kind of fur or it might be wearing a garment made from a hairy animal. The dark black and brown covering blends in almost perfectly with the trunk. The only reason I noticed something odd about it was when I saw the eye and curve of mouth pressed up against the tree.
I pause for a second, looking forward to make sure I don’t lose Tsunis. I don’t want to thing to know I saw it, so I focus my gaze further away, observing it from the edge of my vision.
Part of the face looks very human. Weathered skin and a very human looking eye and mouth. It looks smaller with longer arms and legs. The fingers are very long and many jointed, which gives me the willies a bit. When it turns its head and I see a big metal plate covered in sensory arms, that’s when I realize what it must be.
Xoks. I’ve heard of them but never seen them before. Now that I know how they hide I notice quite a few. They press to the trunks of the trees under branches, peering at us from their camouflaged positions. They scare me a bit, but I don’t say anything. Surely, Tsunis knows they are there and if they were dangerous, he would say so.
I don’t want to be accused of being emotional. I’ll keep my mouth shut, thank you very much.
Once again, he stops and makes camp without a word as darkness begins to fall. I’m worried about the Xoks, but I figure if he’s not worried I shouldn’t be either. I’m determined not to show him any weakness. I won’t give him a single excuse to doubt me. I can take whatever he can dish out.
When another blistering hot day dawns I start plodding forward, my heart almost as heavy as my feet. I’m so uncomfortable and wrung out, both physically and mentally I don’t know how long I can keep this up for.
It’s another barely tolerable march for me, with only one break that isn’t nearly long enough. As the light begins to change, I feel a slight panic. I don’
t know if I can do another night out here, followed by another day of cold, emotionless silence.
When Tsunis stops and points through the vegetation I sigh in relief to see the buildings not too far away. I have no idea what the colony is like, but it’s got to be better than this danger infested mudhole.
I can’t wait to get out of this fucking jungle. If he doesn’t run all the way home, I just might.
8
Tunis
Fine. I admit it, although reluctantly.
I might have underestimated our delicate flower just a bit. After Eliana's outburst towards her less than satisfactory working environment, I doubted once again whether choosing her for the job was wise. I worried whether she'd be as vocal during our long jungle trek. After all, I've known many human women twice her size struggle with far less.
And yet, not one word of complaint passed her lips throughout our entire trip.
My village is deep inland, which means three days of solid hiking through dense jungle terrain. Even slicing through most of it with my machete doesn’t make the ordeal easier, just faster. And in this climate, nearly every inch of ground teems with hidden ant nests, snake burrows and other unsavory creatures. This means we were often forced to climb steep hills and move over tree roots as thick as ship masts, all trending with precise caution. It was too hot to explain this to Eliana, but luckily she was observant and learnt fast to tread carefully in my footsteps.
Throughout our journey, I set a brisk walking pace and, out of habit, only allowed us to stop for an hour every few hours. Danger lives with an empty stomach in these parts. While I’m more than capable of keeping our small party safe should any trouble arise, I’ve no interest in courting death either.
