The Scythian Crisis, page 17
part #3 of Space Colony One Series
“Oh my goodness,” Cariad exclaimed.
“I think that must be why it didn’t entirely disintegrate on impact,” Kes continued. “The fila’s buildings formed a honeycomb structure that collapsed and broke the ship’s fall.”
“Did thousands of fila die?” asked Cariad.
“No. They knew it was coming. They watch the skies. They saw everything, predicted where the ship would hit, and evacuated everyone in the area. From what I could tell it wasn’t even that big of a deal for them.”
Cariad was silent for a moment as she came to terms with the new information. What Kes had told her was throwing her understanding of Concordia into an entirely new light. It was not an untouched world by any means. In a sense, the Nova Fortuna colonists were interlopers.
“It’s a lot to take in, right?” said Kes.
“It certainly is,” Cariad replied.
“Are you ready for some more?”
“There’s more?”
“Lots more. But do you want to hear the doozy?”
“Okay, go ahead. I don’t think I can be any more amazed than I am right now.”
“I’ll take that challenge,” Kes said, his eyes twinkling. “Like I said, the fila saw everything that happened during the battle. They saw the aliens who attacked us. They already know about them. The word they use to name them is ‘scythes.’
“You mean like the tools farmers used to use for harvesting crops?”
“Exactly. I think they chose that English word because of the crescent shape of their ship and the harvesting connotation.”
Cariad inwardly shivered. Did the attacking aliens harvest their enemies? Was that why they had retreated from the battle? In order to return to gather the crop of human colonists? “So did the fila have anything to say about the prospect of the Scythes coming back?”
“They did. They don’t want them here either. They don’t want them on this planet, they said, because they want to live here too. They’re going to try to help us defend it. They’re sending a ship.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“How is the construction progressing?” asked a voice at Ethan’s side, making him jump.
He turned to find Strongquist standing beside him, beneath the overhanging branches of a large plant. The android seemed capable of moving about without making a sound. Ethan guessed he must have been aboard the shuttle that had arrived at the new settlement construction site in the forest a few minutes previously, transporting in more building materials.
“Pretty well,” Ethan replied. “The excavation is finished and most of the supporting structures are in place. Putting in power lines and water pipes at the residences should take another two or three weeks. Then we stock the storage areas before finishing off the homes and moving people in.”
“Good. I take it you’re also building defensive structures?”
Ethan now understood the reason behind the Guardian’s visit: he was checking that the colonists were adequately preparing to protect themselves against an attack. Ethan appreciated the fact that the android appeared to be seeking to advise and not dictate.
“Of course,” Ethan replied. “Would you like to see?”
“I would like that very much,” said Strongquist.
“We’ll have to wait a moment.”
Ethan watched as a digger emerged from a hole and deposited its load onto the pile of excavated soil. Another digger was slowly transferring the pile’s contents to the fields of the farming district, where farmers like Cherry, Phy, Rudra, and Misha were tilling it into the dried tsunami mud.
The decision to construct the new settlement underneath tall stands of vegetation had seemed obvious after Ethan heard all the scouts’ reports on potential sites in the surrounding landscape. The mighty tree-like ferns would serve as additional protection on top of several meters of dirt, and they would hide from aerial scrutiny any evidence of human activity.
The soil beneath the forest was dark and rich and extended so deeply underground that none of the excavators had encountered any subsoil or rocks, which had sped up the digging considerably. Cherry had been excited when she first saw black dirt, saying that the crops would be heavy that year. Ethan only hoped they would live long enough to harvest them.
Ethan waved at the man driving the digger to get his attention, then he walked over and asked the driver to take a break for twenty minutes.
He motioned with his arm for Strongquist to join him. Both men walked down the rutted slope that led into the new subterranean settlement.
Lights hung from wires along the passages that led from the entrance area. They provided enough light to see where you were going but not much more. Ethan was already familiar with the settlement’s layout, however. He’d spent many hours down there discussing the execution of the plans that several of the builders and Garwin had drawn up.
“This way,” Ethan said. “I have something to show you that I think you’ll find interesting.”
The air was humid and slightly warmer than on the surface. It also smelled of leaf mold, and roots of the vegetation above that had not been severed during the excavation poked out from the wall and ceiling.
“I heard you have been helped by the fila in the construction?” Strongquist asked.
“Kind of,” Ethan replied. “They can’t help with the digging, but they have helped us with water and power. They must have figured out where we were excavating because they sent word that they could connect us to an underground river and their own local geothermal energy supply.”
“That is very good news,” said Strongquist.
“It certainly was. We could have powered the place with generators, but water was going to be a problem. This way.” Ethan led Strongquist off the main route and down a short, narrow, blind passageway. At the end was a spiral staircase that disappeared into a black hole in the ceiling.
“I thought the settlement was one floor only?” asked Strongquist.
“It is,” Ethan said. “You go first.”
The Guardian climbed the slim steps, turning as he progressed around the spiral. Ethan followed him up, his head not far below the android’s gaitered calves and booted feet. The lighting ended at the ceiling, and so they were soon climbing in almost total darkness. A rectangle of light shone dimly above.
“I estimate we should be well above ground level now,” came Strongquist’s voice. “So we’re climbing inside something.”
“Yes,” Ethan replied. “Can you tell what it is?”
The Guardian’s footsteps halted. Ethan guessed he was reaching out to touch the wall of the tube through which they were climbing.
“We’re inside the trunk of a tree,” said Strongquist. “Very interesting. And this light I can see a little way above is a lookout point?”
“That’s right. Take a look through it then we’ll go down.”
The android continued his progress up the staircase while Ethan waited for him on a lower tread. He knew what Strongquist would see because he’d also looked through the rectangle cut into the tree’s trunk. The tree had been selected due to its height, which gave the looker a clear view over forest canopy and to the surrounding landscape.
“Impressive,” Strongquist said. “Is this the only one?”
“No, we have two more, each facing in a different direction.”
“Excellent,” Strongquist said. “I’m glad you’ve considered the possibility of the aliens approaching by land as well as from the sky. I think it’s extremely likely that they will investigate farther afield when they discover you have apparently disappeared from the original settlement. I will come down now.”
Ethan climbed downward. “Maybe they’ll think we’ve left the planet.”
“That would be the preferable outcome,” Strongquist said, “though unlikely considering they destroyed your only means of departure. Then the Mistral would come under attack. However, the aliens’ previous behavior would suggest they view this planet as their property, possibly a site for their own colonization. In which case, you may find yourselves sharing the place with yet another intelligent species, although a hostile one.”
Ethan contemplated the idea of years, decades, or perhaps even centuries of struggle against another species who didn’t want them there. He hoped it would not come to that.
“What’s been happening on the Mistral?” he asked as he continued to climb down the steps into the chamber below.
“We finished printing all the specialized parts for the pulse emitter,” Strongquist replied, “and we’ve begun creating the additional weapons and other items you requested. I believe the first batch should arrive tomorrow.”
“Great,” Ethan said. “We’ll find somewhere to store them securely. If we do face an assault over land we’re going to need everything we can get.” He stepped down from the bottom tread and moved aside to make room for Strongquist.
When the android had reached the bottom, Ethan invited him to come and see something else he might find interesting.
Ethan had saved the best for last. He showed the Guardian into a chamber that had a plastiwood floor, unlike most of the rest of the settlement. “This was all Garwin’s idea,” he said, “and he designed and made the mechanism.”
“Mechanism?”
“Imagine the aliens have found one of the entrances,” said Ethan. “They shouldn’t because they’ll all be camouflaged, but imagine they do and they’re trying to get inside. How can we attack them? All we can do is barricade the doors and fight them if they break through. Garwin thought it would be useful to be able to attack from the surface if we needed to.” He pressed a button on the low ceiling. The ceiling slid to one side and the floor began to rise.
They emerged from underground into the forest. Not far away, the pile of excavated dirt stood, and alongside it was the man in his digger, waiting patiently for them to leave.
“We can use this to send people up to fight above ground or just to fire something before retreating into the settlement,” Ethan said. “As soon as the floor is level with the forest floor, it locks in place and only someone with the right security access can open it.”
“I am doubly impressed,” said Strongquist.
They walked over to the digger and Ethan told the driver he could go back to work.
“So another four weeks or so to completion?” asked Strongquist.
“Something like that,” said Ethan. “The builders have been working night and day.”
Time was slipping away faster than Ethan liked. The aliens could return to resume their attack at any moment, but the likelihood would increase significantly after the next four weeks, according to the Guardians. The colonists had worked as hard as they could with that deadline in mind. He hoped they would make it.
“Good,” the android said. “And have the Mistral’s shuttles proved a better alternative than using the flitters to transport the materials for rebuilding?”
The Guardians had proposed that their vessels should be used to bring the colony ship’s supplies to the site. The Nova Fortuna’s supply stores had been pillaged to build and stock the new settlement, but the copious stocked materials and food had finally run low. If the colony was devastated by another disaster, the colonists wouldn’t have anything else to fall back on. They would be on their own.
“The shuttles have been fantastic,” said Ethan. “We couldn’t have moved as fast as we have without them.”
“And how are relations with the fila progressing?” asked Strongquist. “Aside from their offer to supply power and water? I heard there were ongoing dialogues with the ones who live in the lake.”
“Yeah,” Ethan said. “They put some of their special helmets on the shore. Anyone who wants to can wade into the water to speak to them. I think a few people have taken them up on their offer. Compared to the settlement rebuilding, though, I think it’s very slow going. But I have to admit I don’t have a lot to do with that.” He’d found he wasn’t able to approach the lake without a sense of dread rising up in him. His stump would ache with the memory of the agony the threads had inflicted on him. “Has there been any sign of the threads’ ship?”
“No,” replied Strongquist. “We haven’t been able to detect it. The fila in the Nova Fortuna assured the scientist who is our main point of contact that their ship is on its way but they seem unable to give an arrival estimate. It’s strange. They appear to mark time differently from standard human scales of measurement. Their concept of time seems unrelated to planetary rotations or circumnavigations of the system’s star. Perhaps that isn’t quite so surprising considering the fila are aquatic. My guess is that they evolved in deep water, where day and night aren’t so noticeable.”
“If their buddies are coming, I hope they arrive before the not-so-friendly aliens do,” Ethan remarked.
“It would certainly be useful to have an ally,” said Strongquist, “even an unpredictable one. But we mustn’t think we can rely on them to save us.”
“I heard they said they would try, but if the aliens succeed and take over Concordia they won’t be able to help us.”
“Yes, that is what the scientist reported,” Strongquist said. “They didn’t give an explanation but I would guess that it’s because their ships are filled with water or another liquid. They won’t be able to evacuate a great number of human colonists. Or perhaps they don’t know of another planet that can sustain human life. They may only know water worlds.”
The android’s guesses made sense. The chamber the threads had constructed for Ethan had barely kept him alive, and he was only one person. The idea that the threads could modify their ship to accommodate well over a thousand humans wasn’t credible.
“Would you mind taking a walk with me?” Strongquist asked.
“Sure,” Ethan replied. He wanted to walk over to the farming district anyway to speak to Cherry about what was happening there.
He guided the android in the direction of the farmland, following the rutted track worn by the diggers as they transported the excavated soil to its new site. As soon as that task was complete the track would be smoothed over to hide the evidence of the colonists’ new location.
They walked along in silence through the undergrowth. The vegetation was drier than it had been in weeks. The regular downpours seemed to have stopped.
Strongquist appeared to be deep in thought, so Ethan didn’t interrupt him. He reflected instead on how time and experience had changed his perspective on being Leader. It had turned out to be easier than he had thought. The job mostly involved exercising common sense, and it gave him satisfaction to know that he was doing everything he could to ensure the survival of the men, women, and children of the colony.
The only thing that bothered him was that he hadn’t had an opportunity to apologize to Cariad about his overreaction to her suggestion all those weeks ago. He didn’t have time to go all the way out to the Nova Fortuna, where she was living, and he wanted to speak to her in person, not over a comm.
As they drew closer to the farms, Ethan saw that some people were taking down the fence that had surrounded the lake. He was reminded of the time he and Rudra had clung to it to survive the tsunami. Now, Rudra’s daughter, little Ganika, was aboard the Mistral. Ethan had seen her there while he’d been waiting on his prosthetic leg. He imagined it must have been a hard decision for Rudra and his wife to make, to be parted from their child for so long for her safety.
Once the underground settlement was ready, all the little ones aboard the Guardians’ ship would finally be able to return planetside. If the hostile aliens attacked again, the surface would be a safer place than aboard the defending starship.
Strongquist finally spoke, “Do you mind if I ask you something personal?”
Ethan was so surprised he almost stumbled. “Personal? Like what?” Too late, he realized his reply might sound rude. But it was the first time ever that he’d heard Strongquist or any other Guardian refer to anything relating to the colonists as humans with feelings rather than objects to be protected.
“Uh, never mind,” said the android.
“No, it’s okay,” Ethan said. “Go ahead.”
“I don’t want to bring back painful memories for you.”
“Oh.” Ethan had a good idea of what Strongquist was referring to. “You want to talk about the First Night Attack, when Lauren and Dr. Crowley died?”
“Not exactly. Ethan, I wanted to talk to you about emotions. One emotion in particular. I wanted to ask you how it feels to be in love.”
Ethan halted.
The android turned and regarded him with gray eyes. “I’m sorry. If you don’t wish to discuss the subject, I understand. I only asked you because I know very few colonists on a personal basis. I’m aware that my question would be inappropriate if you were only an acquaintance.”
“I guess it would,” said Ethan, stalling for time to recover from his surprise. “You want to know what love feels like?”
“Yes,” Strongquist said. “I’m not sure if you’re aware but we do experience emotions. I don’t know why exactly, but I think they may be a natural consequence of our mental makeup. Though it may not seem obvious to you, barring a few differences we are essentially human. We feel.”
Did the android think he might be in love? Ethan considered asking him but then dismissed the question. It didn’t seem kind to put Strongquist on the spot. “I can tell you what it feels like for me,” he said, “if that’s any help. I don’t know if it’s the same for everyone.”
“I would be interested to hear,” said Strongquist.
“Okay.” Ethan considered. “It’s like… You feel this warmth, this excitement right in your gut whenever you’re near that person or even just think about them. And it isn’t a sexual thing, though of course that’s there too. You want to be with the person you love forever because whenever you’re with them you’re happy. And you feel like you would do anything to keep them safe and happy too. Now that I think about it, love is hard to describe. But that’s about as close as I can get. Does it help? Do you understand?”
