Solar Twins

by Jason F Crockett

  “People are not going to like that,” Captain McNally responded. “Are you sure that is really necessary?”

  “Captain, just look around you! Our tents provide no protection at all against these monsters!”

  The captain sighed in concession. “O.K. then, go ahead and arrange it. I will get my crew to get the power levels back up on the shuttle so it will be ready for tonight. I’ll probably be there if you need me.”

  “O.K., thanks.” Brian turned to talk with the security personnel that were picking through the remains. Captain McNally quickly left the mess the cats had made behind as he headed back to collect his crew. He needed to get started as soon as possible. It would take all day for the shuttle to cool down and ventilate properly.

  Later that evening, Captain McNally stood by the entrance to the shuttle watching everybody come in for the night. He tried to reassure them, but the general mood was a somber one. Nobody wanted to live in two places and sleeping in the shuttle was only a step away from admitting defeat and having to start all over from scratch.

  “Even the children are upset by the move,” he thought as he watched the Wesson twins, Tina and Bill sullenly follow their parents through the entrance. He forced himself to stay there and greet everyone on their way through and just be visible and available for them. When the last family passed through he stood there looking over the camp contemplating the necessity of the whole situation. He was still there when they began to lock it all down, and Shorty bounced into view weaving through the tents with Mike Mogel close on his heels.

  “Hold on, Brian,” he said waving for him to open the great doors back up. “It looks like we’ve got some stragglers.”

  Brian reversed the doors and came over to wait impatiently next to Captain McNally.

  Shorty was full of excitement as he bounced up the ramp. Mike was trying to keep up.

  “Where have you been, Shorty?” the captain asked sternly. “You were almost locked out. I would hate to lose you to the cats just because you were late for curfew.”

  “I don’t know anything about a curfew, Captain. I’ve been gone all day and just got back to find everyone gone like it was the rapture or something. So I don’t know if you want to tell me what’s going on first, but I have got to tell you what we found today. If this whole curfew thing has anything to do with the cats, what I found may help us out some.”

  After watching the parade of the discouraged, Shorty’s attitude was very attractive and catching. “Did you leave before we found out about what the cats did at the cat tent last night?”

  “It was just getting light when we left, and I had no reason to go by that tent. Why? What happened?”

  “A whole pride of cats tore everything to shreds along with another security guard. That is why we have instituted a curfew from sundown to sunup. So far no one has encountered one of these beasts during the day.”

  “Is my family all right?” Mike asked looking concerned.

  “Yes, they’re fine.”

  “So, the curfew is for everyone to be in the shuttle at night? We can’t keep that up for long. What’s the plan?”

  “We have to try to either build a large enough fence around the perimeter to keep them out or find some caves or some other permanent defensible location to live.”

  Shorty exchanged glances with Mike who broke out into a huge smile.

  “What?” asked the captain.

  “I think we have found the perfect spot, Captain. You’re not even going to believe it until you see it. It’s truly remarkable!”

  “Well, tell me already!” Captain McNally exclaimed.

  “I’m telling you, you have to see it. Just believe me when I tell you that what we have found fixes your whole problem. You can sleep tonight. Just meet us here tomorrow at sunrise with whomever you want to bring, and we’ll show you your new home.”

  “You’re really not going to tell me!”

  “I’ll just say this,” Mike chimed in, “You asked for caves, but we’ll give you that and better. It will be worth the wait, Captain. You’ll see!” He turned and strode down the corridor. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Right now, I’ve got to find my family and get something to eat.”

  “Me too,” Shorty said, not letting the captain detain him any longer. “I’ll see you right here at sunup.” Then he too strode off down the corridor.

  The captain turned to Brian. “I hate surprises! Go ahead and lock it down. I’ll see you tomorrow at sunrise. You can bring some security with you. Who knows what Shorty’s getting us into.”

  “Will do, Captain. See you tomorrow bright and early.” He watched the captain stroll down the corridor shaking his head as he went. The large door clanged shut and he could faintly hear the ramp sliding into place as well. He looked into the eye scanner and gave the lock-up command. Nobody else was coming in or going out tonight.

  Shorty, Mike and Raul were already at the shuttle door waiting when the captain and Brian exited the elevator and made their way quietly down the long corridor. Shorty was as lively as ever even this early in the morning. Three more security guards walked up as the door opened and the ramp slid down to the ground.

  “Is that everybody?” the captain asked Brian, slurping the last of his coffee and setting his cup on the floor next to the door.

  “This is everyone I asked to come,” he nodded.

  Lead on then, Shorty,” the captain said. “Show us your great and mighty discovery.”

  “O.K., let’s go,” Shorty replied. “You may be laughing now, but just wait. You’ll be thanking me real soon.”

  They set off through the camp but stopped short as soon as they saw the condition of the settlement. The once orderly array of tents and baggage was torn and strewn all across the ground. At first glance, it looked like the settlement had been hit by a tornado or ransacked.

  However, they quickly realized that this mess was a work of the pride of cats.

  “Gentlemen, this puts a different face on our day. I don’t think we can break away to go on this treasure hunt with you, Shorty.”

  Shorty regarded the captain calmly. “On the contrary, Captain, this makes our journey all the more necessary. Just send back one of the guards here to get the cleanup organized. Trust me, Captain. You have to see this now more than ever.

  “Shorty, I’ve never had cause to doubt you before, so I’ll trust you now. I hope for all our sakes you know what you’re doing. Brian, send one of your guys back to organize a thorough sweep of the settlement for cats and then to organize cleanup efforts. You can catch up with us. Shorty, let’s get this over with.

  They made good time and less than an hour passed before they were passing under the entrance to the cave.

  “That’s the entrance to the cave I found where we killed the cave cat,” Shorty explained. “It is connected to the cave I’m going to show you, but this other entrance is closer to our destination. It’s only another five ticks up the creek.”

  True to his word, five ticks later they picked their way around a corner and found themselves standing in front of a large pool at the bottom of a 20-meter-tall waterfall. The water was so clear you could see the bottom all the way back to where it swirled with the bubbles from the waterfall itself. The rock wall on the north side of the pool rose imposingly twice as high as the waterfall before disappearing from sight. On the south side close to where they stood, a fissure ran a good ten meters high. It was over a meter wide at the bottom and stretched to a point at the top.

  It was into this fissure that Shorty led them. There were no signs of any large animal life, other than the bat guano that littered the floor. Shorty handed out cold torches from his backpack and led them further in speaking constantly about the consistency of the rocks and the shape of the rock formations. Soon his voice took on an odd echo and then he disappeared.

  Moments later they too stepped into the huge cathedral cave and followed him off to the left.

  Captain McNally and the others were awestruck. Ha
d there not been an opening in the ceiling of the cave, even their powerful cold torches would not have been able to plumb its depths. As it was, the cold torches were almost not necessary. Light streamed through a massive opening in the ceiling of the cave revealing in its dust-speckled beams an island easily twice as large as their entire camp. It rose in a steady slope up from the water on the near side to about two meters height. It stayed close to that level all the way to the far side where it peaked several meters higher than the rest of the island. It was over that rise to the West that the sunlight currently played up on the wall. Surrounding the island was a dark pool that revealed little of its depth. Instead, it reflected the light almost perfectly, causing other areas of the cave to brighten and reveal more of their depths.

  The cave floor where they walked was solid rock. However, closer to the water, they found that there was a lot of loose shale and some other small igneous rocks strewn down to the water’s edge.

  Shorty turned and faced them throwing his arms wide as if to display the cavern. “You see what I was talking about, Captain?”

  “You never said what you were talking about Shorty.”

  “You know what I mean. You had to see it. Words can’t describe it. Can’t you see how this could solve all our security problems?” He walked around illustrating with his hands while he spoke. “We bore out the entrance a little larger and build a gate. The other entrance is difficult to get to, but we could bore it as well and carve out some stairs for better access. We build a bridge over the lake and set up our tents across the way. Then eventually we build our homes right into the rock walls of the cavern as we tunnel for ore or build stone houses on the island to replace the tents. Don’t you see? This is our post.”

  Captain McNally gazed thoughtfully around the cavern while listening to the chatter of the others. “Brian, what do you think? It is definitely more defensible I would say.”

  “That is for certain,” Brian exclaimed. “From a security standpoint, it’s excellent. Even if the water isn’t drinkable we could boil it if need be. However, the waterfall outside feeds the creek that has already been tested. We could even pipe it in if necessary.”

  “Not everyone will want to live inside here, Captain.” Raul said, “But if that is approached as a temporary thing, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work.”

  There was a chorus of agreement from the other guards and they looked expectantly at the captain.

  “Everyone in favor of moving camp?” he asked. Without hesitation, they heartily agreed. “Now I hope the rest of the camp will be so enthusiastic. How long will it take to bore out the entrance?”

  Shorty stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment. “It will take us a day to get the equipment here and another three to seven days to trim up the walls. Since the tunnel is so large already, there won’t be as much debris as if it were a fresh bore. We could use the rubble to build a causeway to the island.”

  “It shouldn’t go all the way,” Brian said. “A portion should be removable like a drawbridge. And we don’t even know how deep it is yet. It may not be possible to make a causeway.”

  “We can make a drawbridge out of wood and just have stone pylons. I’ll get together with Jose to see what he can come up with,” Shorty said.

  A half an hour later they had laid out a plan and schedule and they were headed back to the settlement. Brian left two guards behind to guard the entrances (more to ensure that they knew nothing lived there than for any other reason). If all went well, within a week’s time they would be moved out of the shuttle again and Outpost would be the first permanent settlement on Magellan.

  CHAPTER NINE:

  Surrogate

  Healer Gaio sat on the cold hard ledge that passed for a bench in the ante-room to the Mwene’s throne room. It was all he could do to stay awake while he waited for the summons to enter. If the seating had been any more comfortable, he would have been asleep already, but it was designed for utility, not comfort, and emphasized the Mwene’s station.

  The crack of the guard’s staff startled him into wakefulness. “His Excellency Mwene Crisópraso will see you now.”

  Healer Gaio stood quickly and stretched his legs before following the broad back of the Mwene’s special guard into the throne room. He knelt with head bowed until the Mwene called him forward, his rich voice echoed throughout the chamber.

  Healer Gaio glanced at the tapestry hanging on the wall to his right. It was one of his favorites; for his father (also a healer in his time) was depicted tending to the medical needs of the Mwene’s general while the great battle to subdue the yulupalexa of the ice raged in the background.

  “Come. Approach me my most faithful Healer Gaio. What news have you?”

  Healer Gaio looked briefly into the Mwene’s bright eyes and was reminded again of why he served him so faithfully. Never had there been a Mwene so strong and skilled, nor one that ruled with such compassion for his subjects. “Your Excellency,” he bowed again, “I bring some great news. All of the procedures have been completed as you already know, and we have settled the patients down to rest. Your nlaikha should take a break from her regular duties but be cared and tended for carefully. Jacinto may return to work in a week’s time, but she must take care not to stress herself too much. Rakhabi is already awake and seems to be doing quite well. Since she is away from home I doubt we’ll have any trouble keeping her from stressing herself too much. We are not entirely sure of the normal gestation period for these alien children, neither do we know how far along they already were. We will not have them go through the normal procedures for childbirth. Instead, we will just reverse the procedure we just performed and call it done.” Then he added almost as an afterthought, “Only if you approve, of course, your Excellency.”

  “Of course, Healer Gaio. That is why you are my chosen healer. As you have said so let it be from the mouth of Mwene.”

  Healer Gaio bowed again as he accepted the Mwene’s declaration. “Now then,” continued Mwene Crisópraso, “I can tell that you have neglected yourself to accomplish what you have done. Come,” he said standing, “show me to Rakhabi’s residence and then you can go refresh yourself and get some much-needed rest.”

  “As you will your Excellency,” he said. He bowed again and led the Mwene and his retinue out of the throne room.

  Less than half a mark later, the Mwene arrived outside the new residence of Yakobe and Rakhabi. He watched Gaio as he almost stumbled down the corridor so exhausted was he. With a small inclination of his finger, he signaled his guard who in turn struck the floor before the door with his staff. The door slid to the side revealing what appeared to be a beach on the ocean. So, this is what they had chosen. Rather than choosing the more familiar forest type scenery, they had elected for a coastal scene. He glanced to the right and noticed that although they had chosen the beach, instead of the thin branchless palm, they had inserted a large kwila into the mix. He smiled as he crunched through the sand enjoying the change of atmosphere. “Whatever makes them happy,” he thought. It certainly did look odd though to one who had actually been on the coast.

  Yakobe came into sight from behind the kwila in greeting.

  “Arise, Yakobe,” said the Mwene, “for today it is I that call upon your humble abode, and you are the host.”

  “Your Excellency, I could not be happier to serve you this day. That which we could hardly dream, you have made a reality. Please come and enjoy the shade of the kwila and share in its strength with us.”

  “Gladly. How have you found your new dwelling?” the Mwene asked as he followed Yakobe back behind the kwila.

  “Never had we thought to reside in such a wonderful setting so far from our home.”

  “I find your choice of scenery interesting.”

  Yakobe chuckled. “All who see our vista have a similar reaction. How anyone could live in such anemic trees like palm trees is beyond me. I understand it does not look right to some, but we felt that since the ability was there to create an
illusion such as this, it suited our purposes. The kwila gives us the feel of home, but the beach, the feel of holiday and relaxation. Your palace is truly amazing. The abilities of the skilled that serve you are truly remarkable. The illusions are quite complete to all the senses. If I am not too forward in asking, how is this oceanic illusion possible? I can understand fooling the eyes for that is easy to do but smell and touch are not so easy to fool.”

  “It is a complicated process really,” said the Mwene, “but to put it simply, I isolated a few real locations to borrow these sights, smells, and textures from and with tessering, we use a combination of reality and illusion to produce what you see around you now.”

  By now they had mounted the root-like steps that climbed the kwila and entered the living space. Unlike the customary multi-level homes normally found in the kwila, everything was all on one level. Making up for the lack of living animals, were beautiful wooden carvings of forest creatures that were not only set around the room for decoration but were carved right into the functions of the room itself. The chair that Yakobe offered to the Mwene was shaped like a bear sitting on its haunches and scratching its back against the tree. The footstool had a wolf relief set into its top. Even the cup in which Yakobe brought the rooibos tea was a section of bamboo cleaned and polished and etched with a scene from the jungle.

  “By your leave, your Excellency,” Yakobe said after serving him the hot beverage. “I’m sure Rakhabi would love to join us. I should not be gone long.”

  “By all means, there is much here to keep me busy in your absence. Seldom do we have visitors from your area and I find the variety with which you have decorated your home refreshing.”

  Yakobe hurried off to help Rakhabi prepare to meet the Mwene who had given them so much. The Mwene sipped the tea and allowed his gaze to take in the décor of the room. It had been a long time since he had visited the Arborers and a return trip sat fairly low on his list of priorities. Given the situation with Rakhabi and Yakobe though, that would have to change. Such trips were such a hassle. He was not the kind of person to enjoy all the pomp and circumstance that inevitably followed a trip like that. He almost prided himself on his own practicality, but the court retainers always found a way to slow everything down with their all so important traditions. He gathered his thoughts again as Yakobe led Rakhabi into the room.