Arrival (27 page)

“I find that hard to believe.”

“You’ll think I’m silly.”

“I doubt that.”

“Well,” she stalled, trying to muster up the courage. “To me, it means that everything my ancestors gave up, everything they sacrificed along the way, was worth it.”

“That’s a beautiful sentiment,” Tony assured her kindly.

She looked him in the eyes again. They were even closer to her than before.

Tony moved his head in closer, sure that the moment was right, watching to see if she would allow him to kiss her or if she would withdraw in fear.

Scared to death, her hands trembling in her lap, Adia closed her eyes and tilted her head to accept his kiss.

Now he was sure it was time, and Tony closed his eyes and moved his head closer still, until their lips touched. Just a brief brushing of lips, followed by another and another.

“
Tony? This is Lynn.
” his comm-set squawked.

Tony sat bolt upright, feeling like his parents had just walked in and caught him in the act. Adia also withdrew, pretending as if nothing had happened.

“Uh, yes.” Tony announced as he pulled the mic down to his mouth. “Go ahead, Lynn.”

“
Have you seen Adia?
”

“Yes, we’re outside, starboard side.”

“
Good. Come back in. It’s nearly time to button up for the night.
”

“Copy that. We’ll be right in,” he promised as he scrambled to his feet. He reached out his hand, offering to help Adia to her feet.

“Thank you,” she replied as she took his hand and pulled herself up.

“My pleasure.”

* * *

As the sun went down, the creatures finally grew tired of the food in the packs and left. As soon as they were gone, Jack waded cautiously out of the pond, immediately going for his weapon.

Will watched from the pond, choosing to wait at a safe distance while Jack checked things out. It was odd to see Jack tiptoe around the shore in the twilight, naked, carrying his rifle, in search of any remaining animals that might pose a threat. Once Jack was satisfied that the intruders had left, Will felt comfortable exiting the water.

“I can’t believe this,” Jack swore as he pulled on his pants. He didn’t waste time with his shirt, eager to investigate the damage.

Will went for his clothing, getting completely dressed as quickly as possible “How bad is it?” he asked as Jack rummaged through their packs.

“For crying out loud, they ate just about everything!” Jack continued to frantically search through what was left. “I’ve got maybe three energy bars, and that’s it!”

“Well, I’ve got a bag of dried fruit.” Will was trying to sound encouraging, but failed. “Oh, and they didn’t eat this bag of dehydrated hash.”

“Of course not, that stuff is nasty.” Jack sat down, dejected.

“What do we do now?”

“I guess we’re going to have to live off the land.”

“We have no idea what is edible and what isn’t. Maybe we should go back.”

“Either way, we’re still gonna have to live off the land. And I don’t know about you, but I sure don’t want to climb up that cliff we just fell off of.”

Will thought about their situation for a moment, trying to be helpful. “Well, I suppose we could test whatever food sources we might find. We could at least determine their immediate toxicity. But there’s really no way to determine their long term effects in the field.”

“Well, we know the long term effects of starvation, that’s for sure.”

“Good point,” Will admitted.

“Well, this sucks,” Jack decided.

Will was astonished to hear Jack admit the reality of their situation. He had always been so optimistic before. But he was right, it did suck. Here they were, stranded on an alien planet of which they knew frighteningly little about, at least a week or two from the safety of the LRV, nearly a light year from their mother ship, and over eleven light years from Earth. And now they had no safe source of nourishment.

“Well, let’s pitch camp here for a few days,” Jack said. “We can look for food first thing in the morning. Hopefully, after one or two days of foraging, we can gather enough to move on.” Jack pulled his tent out of his pack. “Looks like you’re going to have to put your scientist cap on tomorrow, Will.”

It would now be up to Will to determine what they could and could not eat. And the consequences of an incorrect decision could be dire. The thought of that much responsibility made Will a little nervous. But at least that decision would be resting in his hands for once, and not in the hands of others. That, in itself, was something to which he was unaccustomed.

* * *

Tony was having a difficult time sleeping in light of what had transpired only an hour ago. It was not his first kiss, but it had felt that way. So many thoughts were running through his mind, the foremost of which was if he had done the right thing. Was it just one of those situational things, like he had seen in so many of the old Earth movies that Laura and Maria liked to watch? Or was this the start of something real? The Conception council had not paired up he or Adia with anyone before departure since the mission was considered so risky.

He knew he was getting ahead of himself, but the thought was pleasing. He wanted to tell someone about their kiss, but he couldn’t tell Mac, that was certain. Mac would only cause problems with his snickers and uncouth remarks. And he definitely couldn’t tell Laura, she was already trying to match them up with one another. So he continued to toss and turn in his berth, wondering what the future might hold, and what Adia was thinking now.

Across the hall, Adia was drifting off faster than usual. She had never felt so content in her life, at least not that she could remember. It was amazing to her how one kiss, so small an act, could be so eventful to her. She had grown up in a world where you took the mate that the council assigned to you. Until now, she had fully expected to acquiesce to the council’s decision, just like everyone else. But suddenly, her future showed the possibility of something different, and something far more desirable.

But Tony had his reputation back on the Daedalus. He was a handsome young man, and was rumored to have had many encounters with young women. She found it hard to believe, in light of all that she had seen of him over the past few months. Such sensitivity could not be faked, she was sure of it. And despite the rumors, she felt compelled to learn more about him.

If she had still been on board the Daedalus, she probably wouldn’t have given him the time of day. There were several other eligible young men on board. And most of them would make suitable partners for raising a family. But despite her parents’ teachings, she had never been comfortable with the idea of leaving such a decision in the hands of others. For as long as she could remember, others had been making decisions about her life for her. Just once, she wanted to make one for herself. And maybe this time she would.

* * *

Day 18;

Today was a very difficult day, to say the least. It was a day of many firsts for me. It was the first time that I climbed down a mountain, not to mention the first time I fell off of one. Thankfully, nothing was broken, although I am experiencing aches and pains in places that I did not know existed. It was also the first time I went into a pool of water other than the whirlpool at the gym. It was the first time I witnessed an actual volcanic process in action, and it was the first time that my life was threatened by wild animals. Unfortunately, that last one cost us nearly all of our food rations, leaving us no alternative but to live off the land, lest we face starvation.

Tomorrow will be another first. Jack will be calling upon my scientific expertise in determining what we can safely eat on this planet. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that my education in biology and nutrition is probably not much better than his own. He seemed so confident that I was better qualified to make these assessments. I’ll do my best, of course. I suppose I can call upon my training in scientific practices and procedures and develop a method of analyzing the substances in question. The survival encyclopedia we found in the escape pod covers everything you can think of. In fact, we spent much of the evening studying the section on foraging for nourishment in the wild. Determining the immediate toxicity of consumables shouldn’t prove too difficult, as the bio-scanner is quite adept at such a task. But the myriad of possible side effects is impossible to determine, and the slightest mistake could quite literally prove fatal.

But enough dwelling on our misfortunes. On a more positive note, as I mentioned earlier, I have discovered active volcanic activity on this planet. You may wonder why I am excited about this. True, active volcanism can be a significant threat to the colony, but its presence can also be of great value. Geothermal power alone could provide all of the energy we would possibly need without the potential dangers of anti-matter reactors. Admittedly, however, no world is without its risks. It is only a question of the benefits outweighing those risks.

Will closed his journal, returning it to the inside of his backpack. He was thankful the animals that absconded with their food hadn’t found his journal interesting enough to take.

As he climbed into his tent to sleep, he noticed how much more alive the jungle was in comparison to the hills and plains they had traveled through thus far. The ‘still of the night’ was not an expression one used to describe the jungle. At least not this one. From every direction, he could hear the calls of various creatures as they went about the tasks of life. Squawks and yelps, coos and cries, even the occasional unsettling grunt. It was a symphony of alien life that should have made him nervous. But it did not. Perhaps it was the fatigue of the day’s strenuous events. Or perhaps it was the knowledge that none of the animals they had encountered thus far had shown any interest in them, only their food. Or perhaps, just maybe, he was finally learning to roll with the punches.

* * *

Waking later than usual, Will realized that Jack was nowhere to be found. He did find a pot of hash, kept warm by the embers of the fire. His belly rumbling, he held his breath and devoured the foul concoction, avoiding its potent aroma. It was, after all, sustenance. And it might possibly be the last Earth food they would ever eat.

After breakfast, Will took the pot down to the pond for cleaning, finding Jack sitting on a rock at the water’s edge. He was holding a long, crooked stick, obviously cut from a tree branch. Attached to the end of the stick was a thin line that ran down into the water.

“Morning,” Jack whispered.

“What are you doing,” Will whispered back.

“Fishing.”

“Fishing?”

“Fishing.”

“Why are we whispering?”

“Don’t want to scare away the fish.”

“Oh. Of course.” Will had no idea what Jack was talking about. “What, exactly, is fishing?”

“I’m trying to catch a fish,” Jack explained. “I read about it in the survival guide. This is a fishing pole,” he told him, holding the stick up for him to see. He was obviously quite proud of his handiwork.

“I see. It’s a very nice one, I’m sure.” Will moved over closer to Jack, sitting down on the shore nearby to watch. “So, how does this thing work?”

“There’s a hook on the end of this line here. And on the hook, there’s a bug.”

“A bug? Where did you get a bug?”

“They’re all over the place. Under rocks, under tree roots, anywhere dark and moist.”

“Why a bug?”

“To attract the fish.”

“Fish like bugs?”

“Earth fish do, at least that’s what the book says. Actually, it suggests using worms, but I figured a bug would work.”

“Where did you get the hook?”

“I made it out of a needle from the sewing kit. It wasn’t easy, either. I broke two of them before I finally got it to work.”

“So, the fish is going to try and eat the bug?”

“Yes, and when he does, that wad of plastic wrapper from the energy bar will get pulled under the water. That’s my signal to yank up on the pole, so that the hook digs into its jaw. Then I just pull it up to shore.”

“I see. Sounds easy enough. How long have you been at it?”

“About an hour.”

“Really? How many fish have you caught?”

“Well, none yet. Nothing has even swum by.”

“Maybe they don’t like bugs.”

“Maybe,” Jack admitted. “But if this doesn’t work, I’m going to try spear fishing next.”

“Spear fishing?”

“Yeah. You get a long, straight stick and sharpen one end. Then you wait until a fish swims by and you stab him with the spear.”

“But I thought you said nothing has swum by yet?”

“Well, not yet.” Jack pondered. “But fishing requires patience.” Jack sighed. “Apparently a lot of it.”

“I’m gonna start looking around for some nuts or berries or something,” Will decided.

“Are you sure you don’t want to try? I can make you a pole if you’d like.”

“No thanks. Better we diversify, I expect.”

“Suit yourself.”

After cleaning the pot, Will took it with him for a walk around the pond in search of edible plants. The hard thing was deciding what might be edible, and, toxicities aside, what would taste good as well as provide nourishment. They were difficult questions, ones that he never would have expected to face in his lifetime.

Will approached the problem logically. It would be easy enough to choose specimens based on their parallels with edible Terran plants. So looking for things that looked like nuts and berries seemed a good place to start.

Within an hour, Will had filled his pot with all manner of specimens. Colorful berries, large and small, brown and tan nuts, and even a few roots and flowers thrown in for variety. With any luck, they might even find something tasty in the bunch.

He returned to the campsite, only to find Jack still sitting on his rock, waiting impatiently for a fish to take the bait. “Any luck?”

“Hell no!” Jack wasn’t whispering anymore.

“Maybe you picked a bad spot? Maybe you should go where the fish already
are
instead of waiting for them to come to you?”

“I tried that already. Every time I go to them, they swim away.”

“Maybe you’re supposed to hide, or something?”

“It didn’t say anything about hiding in the manual,” Jack stated.

“Well, maybe these fish are smarter than Earth fish?”

Jack hadn’t thought of that. It seemed ridiculous, but he wasn’t having any luck, and he was willing to give anything a try at this point. He got up and moved behind his rock, crouched down and held his pole out over the rock. “How’s this?” he asked.