Elvene

The Kiri Myth of Ocean Woman

Paul Philip Mealing

Digital Publishing Centre

Brisbane

To Blue.

Because he would have enjoyed it.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank John Kinsman and Tom Evans for giving me feedback on early drafts, and the late Cleo Pozzo, who fell in love with my characters and gave me a much needed boost in confidence. Also Bee Lee Su, who gave encouragement when I had given up. Mapping the World in the Mind by David Turnbull, subtitled, An Investigation of the Unwritten Knowledge of the Micronesian Navigators, was a valuable resource for parts of this story. Naturally, I take responsibility for all flaws, errors and misinterpretations of factual knowledge. Lastly, I would like to give a special mention to the hotel, Delta Centre-Ville in Montreal, Quebec, where this novel first took flight from imagination to page.

Part 1

1. Elvene

‘MARAUDERS APPROACHING FROM SECTOR 7. TWELVE MINUTES 25 SECONDS AND CLOSING.’ This was the second iteration of the warning by the ship’s computer and Elvene was beginning to have that awful feeling of impending doom that is perversely sexual, when the brain seems to confuse fear with another primitive survival instinct. She was literally watching death approach and she had no means to impede it. Her mouth was dry and her stomach churned to the point of nausea. She had a feeling of defeat before the fight had even begun. Not that she was in a position to fight with marauders anyway.

Elvene was familiar with marauders, as was everyone in the Space Corps. They didn’t negotiate, and they didn’t bargain, their whole modus operandi was to seek and destroy, the most effective killing machines yet devised by man. Alone in space, out of contact; it was the perfect environment for them to pick off a lone ship. And space was the marauders’ environment: it was the one they were best adapted for. They were built like modules, no bigger than humans but pyramid shaped. They used a collective mind system and trawled through space in packs, with the same abilities as any space-faring ship. Her ship only had a passive defence system, but even with weapons, it would not have been a match for a pack of marauders who could spread out and surround her with enough weaponry to destroy a war ship, let alone her modest craft. In fact marauders were so feared that her ship was enabled with a suicide command, should she choose to use it.

‘How many did you say?’ she asked the computer. But she was stalling, when stalling was not an option she had.

‘A pack of six, from what I can detect.’

From what it can detect, she repeated to herself. They had used stealth to get within striking range, so there could be more, just out of range, but that was unlikely. Neither could she outrun them; if she tried she would buy some time but eventually they would encircle her before delivering the inevitable death blow. With marauders there was no point in running unless you had somewhere to run to, and they were light weeks from any system with a known landfall.

‘Eight minutes 15 seconds and closing.’

That was how long before they would be within missile launching range. A distinct disadvantage of having an onboard computer was that it kept telling you how many minutes and seconds you had before you were about to die. Nothing like a countdown to your own execution to keep your mind focused. If she started thinking like the computer she knew she would die.

She wondered where they’d come from and how long they had been following her. Her mission was reconnaissance and this was an uncharted sector. She wondered if she had inadvertently stumbled into a nest of marauders without knowing it, or if they’d been following her ever since her warp point. Either way it pointed to a hole in the Corps’ intelligence. But she could ill afford to puzzle over these questions when they were of no assistance to her survival.

‘Are we in a position to warp?’

‘No, we don’t have enough time to create the nodes.’

It was a stupid question but she had to ask it. Warping was not a pushbutton affair. Creating a self-replicating wormhole without knowing where it was going to end was a very dangerous enterprise indeed. She’d rather be blown to smithereens than starve to death in an unknown corner of the universe without a return passage.

Previous experience told Elvene that fear was an ally if you knew how to focus it. While you have fear the mind keeps looking for escape. If she had been calm and serene in this situation she would already be defeated. It amazed her that her brain could analyse her fear even while she was trying to use it, but basically she was just looking for positives in a very negative situation.

‘Four minutes 12 seconds and closing.’

‘Shut up,’ she said in a burst of frustration. ‘Okay.’ She started talking to herself. ‘I have the emergency escape module, but they will destroy it as soon as it leaves the ship.

‘Besides they can detect life on board if they get close enough.’ She imagined the irony of the scenario with them destroying her in the escape capsule and then leaving Alfa, her ship, untouched.

Then it hit her. ‘But that’s it. I’ll use it as a decoy.’

But they would still be able to detect me on board, she thought. Not if I’m in hibernation. They won’t be able to detect any life signs unless they come on board, and that’s most unlikely. Elvene was gambling that they would destroy the capsule on impulse without checking its contents. But she was also banking her life on an untried hypothesis: that once they’d achieved their objective, which was to kill her, they would leave the ship intact.

‘One minute 10 seconds and closing.’

‘Okay, Alfa, you need to do three things in the sequence I command you. You must put me into hibernation. You must break a quantum distress signal. And you must eject the emergency escape module at maximum velocity in a direction away from the approaching marauders.’

‘I understand all your commands and they will be done in the sequence you requested.’

‘Oh, and one more thing. I won’t be in the emergency escape module.’

‘If you were, madam, I wouldn’t send it.’

‘That’s very thoughtful of you, Alfa. Now let’s do it. The command is: “Abandon Ship”.’

Elvene knew that her plan held no guarantees. She knew that the marauders would attempt to interrogate Alfa, irrespective of the outcome with the capsule, and if they failed they would then attempt a tractor beam. But the ship had its own inbuilt defence against tractor beams, and ships were often booby-trapped following abandonment. Alternatively, they could just destroy the ship anyway, but that was the gamble she had to take. Besides if they did destroy the ship, she was never going to know because she would be dead. It seemed like a good choice.

She lowered herself into the hibernation couch and watched the lid close; against all her resolve, it made her think of a coffin.

‘Six seconds and closing’ was the last thing she heard.

2. Myka

MYKA STILL LIVED WITH HIS PARENTS. He was at that age where he was looking for his independence, but he knew it was just out of reach. The Elders made all the decisions concerning his life and its future, and there was a feeling of rebelliousness, not only within himself but also amongst his peers.

Like most people who lived in paradise, Myka was unaware of what he had. His people, the Kiri, lived on an island that was part of an archipelago. The island was mountainous in parts and heavily forested. They lived on the side facing the rising sun with a beach-lined cove. It was effectively a lagoon broken by a narrow strip of reef that led to the open sea. But, because they never saw their home as paradise, they were equally familiar with its deadlier inhabitants, which they never took for granted.

They made their homes in caves in the cliffs because that was the safest place to take refuge from the larger predators that cohabited with them on the island. Myka had heard that over the ocean, in the direction of the rising sun, there was land as big as the ocean itself, where even bigger animals could be found. Myka had ambivalent feelings about this. He would like to cross the ocean himself one day and see this land, but he wasn’t sure he could contend with the thought of predators bigger than igrams. He realised, even at this early stage of his life, it was not a venture that could be done alone.

He had heard stories of other tribes, but if they existed he had never met them and the Kiri were the only people living in this archipelago. According to the Elders, strangers had come over the seas many generations ago and assimilated with them. Likewise individuals, and even groups, had left the island never to return. Despite his isolation, these stories held some sort of promise for Myka that there was more to his world than what he could see.

The island was covered in vegetation, ranging from rainforest on its slopes to more open grassland in its valleys, with bountiful supplies of water; his people had all the food they needed along with what they caught at sea. Myka loved nothing more than to explore the island, but he was never allowed to venture beyond the mountain range alone. Predators like igrams rarely attacked humans in groups but a lone individual made easy prey. Myka was efficient with both spear and bow, but bringing down an igram required cunning, teamwork and a carefully planned strategy. There was the story of Seth who had killed an igram with a stone from a sling but no one ever attempted to emulate the achievements of a myth. Myka liked to go fishing, which he often did with his father, but these days he preferred to go alone or with his peers.

On this day he was going hunting with his friends, and they had been given permission by the Elders provided they stayed within certain bounds. As well as himself, there were three others: Maklyn, Sendra and Rafta. Maklyn was the eldest and Rafta, who was second eldest, was Myka’s elder brother. Myka and Sendra were the youngest. Myka admired his brother who was better with both spear and bow and arrow than he was, but Myka could just beat him in a foot race, if the distance was not too long, and he was also a better swimmer. Myka enjoyed the water in all respects, including canoeing and fishing, more than his brother did. Maklyn led the party because he was the eldest, but they all knew that Rafta was the best hunter. Maklyn had been given responsibility by the Elders as the leader of the group. This made them feel like they were really adults and not just pre-initiates who were pretending. Besides they were going to hunt antrops.

The previous night they’d had a communal feast to celebrate the start of a new year. The new year was determined by sages who examined the heavens and could read the stars. He also knew that they studied shadows created by the sun, and he was fascinated by the ability to determine the passage of time by seemingly unrelated events. When he asked questions concerning this he was simply told that he was too young to understand.

The feast was held outdoors, not in their caves,  but on a specially prepared ground between the beach and the cliffs, where large open huts were constructed out of tree trunks and broad leaves. It was one of the few occasions when they didn’t retire to their cave-like homes till very late in the night. The planet had no moon; in fact Myka would not have known what a moon was, but one still had a sense of time. Myka could always sense the coming dawn before any change of light was discernible. If asked to explain, he would have described it as a feeling in the air and possibly a change in its smell. He often looked at the heavens and wondered what secrets they held, which was why he was keen to learn the way of the sages. He was yet to appreciate the link between the stars and the ability to traverse the oceans, which was his secret dream. Myka was a growing adolescent, but he held ambitions in a world where the word did not exist.

Living in an island environment their clothing was rudimentary except on ritual occasions. They made clothing from skins or plant materials. The men wore loin cloths and the women wore skirts, and for the most part left their breasts uncovered. For hunting, Myka and his friends wore loin cloths and carried their weapons by hand. They had quivers made from skins to carry their shafts and also for provisions. How they brought home their kill or catch depended largely on how big it was. If it was really huge they would butcher it in the field, which normally meant returning to the village for help. This tended to restrict how far they could travel.

They climbed over the cliffs that made their home and into a valley on the other side. As well as their hunting apparatus, they carried water in skins and some pieces of fruit. Everything would be shared, including whatever they caught. There were small mammals that lived in trees, and some lived underground. These could be caught with traps, but they were after bigger game. The island also had flying creatures of various sizes and types. Some were like gliders with folds of skin between their limbs while others had genuine wings; both types ranged in sizes from no bigger than a human hand to proportions that defied comparisons. Myka had seen wing spans that were wider than an eight-man canoe was long.

The fur-covered creatures living on the island also ranged in size from the small ground and tree dwellers that they trapped, to large four-legged creatures that stood as tall as humans if they stretched their long necks, called antrops. These were not to be mistaken for igrams, who had scaly armoured skins and giant heads with sharp teeth. Antrops had long necks to allow them to eat vegetation in awkward places, and they were hunted by both igrams and humans. They also had tusks for digging up roots, but on the very odd occasion could impale an igram if they got an opportunity. These animals tended to stay in the valleys; they had difficulty climbing the mountainous parts because of their sheer size and they preferred to stay in open spaces where they could see predators. They defended themselves by forming a circle, but if they were attacked by more than one igram, they invariably lost one of their number.

Hunting antrops was a dangerous enterprise, not only because of their size and their herd mentality, but because they were also hunted by igrams – it was their common domain. Myka and his companions could see a mid-sized herd of about fifteen from their vantage point as they entered the valley. They were moving from right to left across their field of view. What they saw when they crested the ridge was a circular range of craggy hills covered in vegetation. The valley below however was grassland with no trees. Myka was unsure why this was so, but legend had it that what they were seeing was the giant mouth of a sleeping creature. The Kiris believed that the island was alive and only tolerated their presence if they paid it due respect. Otherwise the mouth could open up and eat them all. But seeing the antrops grazing below they knew it was safe to enter. Superstition held that if a creature entered alone it would be devoured. But Myka could never remember not seeing antrops in this valley and wondered if they ever left it. The Elders, however, maintained that if the antrops ever did leave the valley, the Kiri would have to leave the island. No explanation was given for such a drastic measure, aside from the legend that the island would surely come alive.

The first thing they did was to check wind direction, as antrops had a keen sense of smell. The wind was in their face, so it was in their favour, but Rafta also wanted to check for igram spore on their side of the valley before they broke free of their cover. Both species would enter the forest providing the ground was not too rugged or the vegetation too thick, but antrops did this rarely, whereas igrams, like humans, used the thick vegetation for cover. The best protection for humans was on the higher slopes – once in the valley, they were exposed. Rafta and Maklyn discussed the intended strategy before going down the slope. Once they got closer there would be no talking. The idea was for the two pairs to approach from different directions. The grass was long enough to provide cover provided they stayed on their stomachs. They would use pre-agreed whistles and mimic small animal calls when they separated, but once in the grass they would remain silent. Antrops were not completely stupid; if they heard a human voice they would simply bolt, whereas a whistle, even one that sounded unfamiliar, would merely make them stop and look up.

They broke into pairs and stretched out, looking for signs. Myka stayed with his brother, who moved to the right, and Sendra stayed with Maklyn. It was dark under the shadow of the mountain range, and the vegetation blocked out the sky. As soon as they were apart, they immediately felt less safe – now two instead of four. The floor of the forest was covered in fallen logs, vines and ferns. Sometimes they came across snakes in this environment, another hazard, but snakes didn’t normally hunt humans and tended to stay hidden. Even so, Myka thought, he wouldn’t want to arouse one unintentionally. Snakes were huge, so huge you couldn’t get your hands around them, but they usually stayed in the trees where they hunted arboreal prey; even so, that was no guarantee you wouldn’t find one hidden under a fern or behind a log. Also the snakes were masters of camouflage, able to change skin colour according to their surroundings. Conditions were steamy even though they were out of the sun, and the two brothers could smell their own sweat.

They found no signs of igram, neither tracks nor faeces, which boded well for the hunt. Besides igrams marked their territory, so if you couldn’t smell their urine it was a reasonable assumption that they weren’t in the vicinity. Myka and Rafta were heading to the right to be behind the antrops, while Maklyn and Sendra would approach them from the front. The plan was very simple: when they were in position, Maklyn and Sendra would jump up, like they were rising out of the ground in front of the herd, which would turn and bolt. Then Myka and Rafta would do the same as they came towards them, which would create confusion. The antrops would not have the composure to form their protective ring, and in their panic they would momentarily divide, making it easier to isolate one of them for a kill. That was the plan, but timing was the key. If either party was too far away, it simply wouldn’t work. The other danger was that an isolated antrop would simply charge; under these circumstances it took a lot of presence of mind on the part of the hunter to bring one down. This is why Rafta was on the receiving end. Everyone knew he had the best chance of making a kill.

When they reached the end of the tree line where the grass started, Rafta cupped his hands around his mouth and gave a call like a raucous bird with a diphthong note, and waited. The answer from Maklyn and Sendra was the same call, which meant they were in position. As expected, the antrops looked up and scanned the treeline at the sound of the calls, and neither party moved until they settled back to their grazing.

They had to assume that both parties would be in position at the same time, for once they entered the grass, they could no longer communicate. In spite of this, they always seemed to know when the other party was ready, which again, Myka would not have been able to explain. But when he had done this previously with his father, he always knew exactly when the other members were going to make their move.

He crawled out into the grass with his brother. Once again he thought of snakes; he knew of someone, only slightly younger than himself, who had been lost to a snake in the grassland, but again that was considered an aberration. Snakes preferred the trees and the coolness of the forest floor to the grass. A loss like that, for all the pain it caused, was considered a sacrifice to the benefit of the people as a whole. There were no certainties on this island; you had to have faith that the island itself would protect you. This was Myka’s own personal mental defence against fear and the fickle nature of the gift he called life. If the island should ever betray him, it would not only shatter his confidence, but his entire world-view. However if the island did betray him, it would probably result in the loss of his life.

These thoughts crossed his mind as he lay in the grass inching his way towards the antrops, which he could now smell. On their way out, both he and his brother deliberately crawled through some fresh antrop dung to disguise their own smell. They were almost in position and he could sense the tension in his brother as well as himself. It was a sense of anticipation mixed with excitement and a tinge of fear; his pulse had already quickened and his palms were sweaty. He knew that fear was important, as it stopped you from doing something stupid. He saw fear as an ally, not a handicap. He was at a cusp in time when his immediate world was about to erupt in bloody violence; he could feel it as if it was a part of his very being.

‘Aiyeeee’, was the call, and he sensed the antrops turn while his heart raced at a pace that was only matched by the thunder of their feet. He and his brother waited, for the timing had to be perfect. Rafta had the best judgement, and Myka lay with his head on his side, watching him for his cue. He could hear the hoofs of the antrops and imagined that they would be trampled if they didn’t make a move, then his brother jumped up with his spear ready and Myka did the same with a poison-tipped arrow nocked to his bow.

‘Lalalalaloala’, called Sendra and Maklyn in unison. The antrops were running scared with their eyes wide in fear. They tried to turn at the sight of Myka and Rafta, as if they realised they were trapped, but now they did not know which way to go, and their leader was at their back.

Myka saw them wheel to the right but the closest one to him went left instead, and that was what they wanted. Myka stood stock still and let the shaft fly so it hit the animal in her flank. The antrop kept running, but was going in the wrong direction to the remaining herd. Myka was about to give chase, when he looked over to his brother, and suddenly froze. A bull antrop was charging Rafta, but Myka watched helplessly; there was nothing he could do as he had already spent his arrow. His brother stood with his spear poised, his feet planted apart, his right slightly forward of his left. The animal lowered his tusks, but Rafta stood his ground. When the animal was almost on him, Rafta moved his front foot just slightly to the right and swiveled. The antrop tried to turn into him, but merely gave Rafta the opportunity he wanted. As the tusks swept past his legs, Rafta brought his spear down between the animal’s shoulders just below his neck. The shaft sank deep into the antrop and it simply seemed to lose its legs, falling headlong onto the ground, then rolled over on one side, breaking the spear in the process.

Myka was relieved and without waiting further, went in pursuit of his own quarry. Maklyn and Sendra, who were at the back of the charging herd, had little opportunity to get a kill, nevertheless they had played their part well, and they joined Rafta as he bent over the bull. It was a great achievement to bring down such an animal with only a spear.

Myka’s cow was now completely separated from the herd and could no longer run. To Myka, she was a pitiful sight, and when he could get close enough he would finish her with his spear. To take a life to feed a life required no sense of pity as far as the Kiri were concerned; it was simply the way of the world, and Myka and his people did it every day.

But then one of those aberrations that sometimes occurred on this island homeland of his happened before his very eyes, only this time he was part of it.

In his pursuit of the cow, they had wandered very close to the tree line on the opposite side of the valley, and now emerging before him, he saw an igram. It strode out on its strong hind legs, its tail behind for balance. It made no sound but it contained an ominous grinning set of teeth. Myka stopped in sheer terror and wondered if this time he was to be the sacrifice to the island he called home. Myka did not look behind him, did not dare, to see where the others were. The cow was between him and the igram. He would not quarrel over her. The temptation to run was enormous, but he felt instinctively that such a move would most certainly lead to his death. The igram reached the antrop in a loping stride, pulled her over with one foot and pinned her to the ground. Myka heard the cow moan before she gave up her life, but his eyes did not shift from the monster who bowed over her. The igram raised its head so it towered over him; even a full-grown man would not have reached the animal’s chest. It looked at Myka, right into his eyes, and that’s when it happened: what was for him, the most extraordinary experience of his life.

He felt for a moment as if he was in a dream, and that he could see into the animal’s very mind. In his own mind’s eye he saw the igram’s young. They were in a nest and they were crying out. He said, not aloud, Your children are alone, they need you. The igram looked up and for the first time emitted a sound like a long mournful cry. She picked up the cow easily and carried her back to the forest. Myka was shaken, not so much by his brush with death, but with the experience of looking into another animal’s mind, especially an animal with such terrifying might as an igram.

He was still standing, almost in shock, when the others came up to him from behind. He realised he was trembling as though he was cold.

‘Are you all right?’ Rafta asked.

Myka looked at him as if he momentarily didn’t know who he was, then at the others, each with the same look of concern and bewilderment. ‘Yes,’ was all he could say.

His brother put a hand on his shoulder and they walked back to the kill. After a few steps Myka said, ‘Don’t tell Mother about this.’

‘No, okay.’

‘In fact, don’t tell anyone.’ Myka looked around at the others, still with the same look on their faces. ‘Don’t tell Father or the Elders.’ He looked at all of them and then stopped them. ‘No, you mustn’t, please. Tell me you won’t.’

‘Myka.’ Rafta spoke to him. ‘You did nothing to be ashamed of. On the contrary, you were very brave.’

‘No, that’s not it. I don’t want anyone to ask me about it.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes, I’m sure.’

Rafta turned to Maklyn. ‘What do you say?’

‘We have a bull; it’s a great tribute to you. We’ve no need to mention the igram. Besides if we tell them they may not let us go again.’

Myka nodded his head in agreement. Sendra said nothing but he looked bewildered.

‘Okay then,’ Rafta said. ‘We won’t ever talk about this again. You understand, Sendra?’ Sendra nodded his head; he was too overwhelmed by the whole experience to disagree.

Rafta bent forward to talk to him. ‘This was our initiation. This happened only between us. This is not for anyone else to know. Do you understand?’

‘Yes,’ Sendra finally said, and everyone knew that he was as committed as they were. It would be their secret alone, and Myka was satisfied.

Carrying the bull home was simply not possible, but equally they were limited in their ability to butcher it. So the solution was for two of them to go back to the village and get help. There was still a lot of light in the sky and they had plenty of time. So Myka and Sendra went off home while the older two stayed with the bull and started to skin it.

It took them the rest of the day to butcher the animal in the field and bring it back home.  It involved a number of the villagers but everyone treated it like a big occasion and so it didn’t seem like hard work. That night it would be cooked and smoked and salted, so it would last them a long time. The whole beast would be shared as that was the way of the tribe. But Rafta would be given special recognition for his role in its kill, even though he hadn’t led the group.

Myka thought the incident with the igram would not be broached, either intentionally or unintentionally, but he didn’t realise how much he revealed of himself by just remaining silent. His mother, Lenya, had been observing him and wondered why he wasn’t in a celebratory mood like everyone else.

‘You’re not yourself,’ she said. ‘What happened to you today?’

He was taken off-guard by her question. ‘Nothing.’ He tried to sound nonchalant.

‘Are you disappointed that you didn’t get a kill?’

‘No.’

‘Did you have a fight with your brother?’

Myka knew that the most effective lie was the one that wanted to be heard, and it was most convincing if it was partly true. ‘I almost got a kill but she got away on me. It’s no big deal.’

She smiled and ruffled his hair, though he was just taller than her these days. ‘Don’t worry, you’ll have better luck next time.’

But Myka shrugged away and walked off, almost angry in his body language.

She didn’t understand him, but knew better than to make an issue out of it. He’s at a difficult age, she told herself, and he’s not telling me everything. But she knew if something had happened out there, they would keep it amongst themselves, as that was the way of men. She could always ask Rafta, but that might only make matters more awkward. She decided it was not worth pursuing further, but could not help feeling a concern for her son.

The previous night had been late, so on this occasion they retired to their caves early; some people were falling asleep just sitting about the fire and had to be woken. Myka could not rid his mind of the day’s events and he fell into a troubled sleep.

When morning arrived, he awoke to a glorious day and walked to the beach alone. But in the middle of the lagoon he saw a large dark rock that had not been there the previous day. He found its presence very troubling, but even though he was alone, he took a canoe and paddled out to it. It was unusually smooth and completely black in colour. When he touched it he noticed that it had become warmed by the sun. Overcome by an impetuous curiosity he climbed onto it. As soon as he did this, however, it started to sink below the waves, and he found himself going under with it like he was sitting atop a giant fish.

Then he awoke and realised it was a dream. Nevertheless, it was first light outside, and his immediate thought was to run to the beach, even though he feared what he might see.

3. Landfall

THERE WAS ALWAYS A STRONG SENSE OF DISASSOCIATION coming out of hibernation. The first thing that entered Elvene’s mind was to wonder why the computer had woken her. Were they at their destination? What was their destination? What was their mission? Why was she in hibernation in the first place? Memory loses its seamlessness that one finds with normal sleep. True, sometimes you can wake up and for a moment think you’re somewhere else, but coming out of hibernation was like exiting a tunnel; a tunnel so long you’ve forgotten where or when the entrance was.

On the other hand, Alfa knew exactly when and where everything had taken place.

‘Where are we, Alfa?’

‘We’re in an uncharted sector, madam.’

‘Why did you put me in hibernation?’

‘You instructed me, madam. We were about to be attacked by marauders. You sent the escape module with no one aboard with the command code “Abandon Ship”.’

‘Yes, now I remember. Well, it must have worked, we’re both still functioning.’ Her head was still fuzzy. She needed nourishment, but information was a greater imperative. She ran her hand through her normally short-cropped hair. The length of it, along with her finger nails, gave her a good indication of how long she’d been in hibernation. Not that long, apparently. Her hair, naturally auburn, was oily but her skin was dry. She needed to change out of her body suit but that could wait. She was glad that she only shared her living space with a computer.

‘Why did you wake me? Has the Corps sent a rescue party?’

‘No, madam, there is no message from the Corps. We have entered a system that has a life-bearing planet.’

‘Really?’ Alfa had her full attention now for the first time. It was like he’d thrown a bucket of cold water on her. ‘Are you sure?’

‘I believe so, madam, I will give you visuals.’

A wall of the ship became a screen, but it looked like it had just become transparent to the world outside. What she saw was a blue-green planet swathed in wisps of white – it looked like a jewel imbedded in the blackness of space. It made her heart jump and she involuntarily held her breath; it was so much like Old Earth that she wondered if it was a mirage, but if it was, she quickly realised, the computer was fooled as much as she was.

‘Okay, Alfa, can you put us in a trans-rotation orbit?’

‘Yes, madam, in about twenty hours.’

A trans-rotation orbit was perpendicular to the planet’s own rotation so that they could transverse the planet’s surface in a continuous sine wave. It gave the best coverage in the shortest possible time. Meanwhile she could take on liquids and solids, to use the Corps jargon, as she was suddenly both ravenous and thirsty.

Only after she’d eaten and showered, and felt something close to normal, did Elvene ask the question that was uppermost in her mind.

‘Did the marauders interrogate you, Alfa?’

‘Yes, madam. Do you want to hear a transcription?’

‘Yes please.’

Elvene listened to the entire conversation, starting with the Marauders’ first question.

‘You are a Space Corps vessel, what is your call name?’

‘Centaur.’

‘Centaur, we are coming aboard.’

‘Warning: if I detect intrusion, I will self-destruct.’

‘Override the self-destruct.’

‘Only the ship’s commander can override self-destruct.’

‘Where is your ship commander?’

‘The last command was “Abandon Ship”.’

‘So your commander abandoned ship. Your commander was in the escape module. The escape module is destroyed. Your commander is dead.’

‘Your logic is correct.’

‘Then override the self-destruct.’

‘It is impossible, the commander is dead.’

‘Then you will come with us.’

‘I cannot comply.’

‘Then we will destroy you.’

‘If you attack, I will self-destruct with atomics.’

‘You have atomics?’

‘That is correct.’

‘Atomics will create an electromagnetic pulse, we will be destroyed.’

‘Your logic is correct.’

‘Your commander is dead, we will depart.’

‘Bon voyage.’

‘Bon voyage does not translate.’

‘The commander is dead, you will depart.’

‘We will depart.’

Elvene let out a long breath that betrayed the tension she had felt.

‘That’s very good, Alfa, I’m very proud of you. You lie very well.’

‘Thank you, madam. You know you helped me.’

‘Yes, I did.’ Alfa was programmed for lying, providing the lie or lies did not defy logic. In fact computers made very good liars simply because, unlike humans, they never forgot the chain of logic that the lie entailed. Alfa only lied to avoid destruction of himself or herself, but for the lie to work, it had to be encapsulated within a logical narrative that aligned with the known facts. The lie was implicated in Alfa’s logic as soon as she had instructed him to eject the escape module without herself aboard.

‘And you can bluff, too.’

‘I wasn’t bluffing, madam.’

She knew that was true. The self-destruct was her very last line of defence. A self-destructive defence mechanism was an oxymoron if she’d ever heard of one. Sacrifice was the euphemism that the Corps used. And the only reason they used atomics was so that the pulse would kill any marauders in the vicinity. They wouldn’t be destroyed necessarily, depending on whether they were hit by debris, but they would be as lifeless as she would have been. The difference was that they could be scavenged whereas there would be nothing left of her to scavenge, so one still didn’t necessarily come out even, let alone win.

Nevertheless, as a bluff, it had saved the ship and her life, even if it wasn’t intended as a bluff. A by-product of their Darwinian programming was that marauders could appreciate the benefits of self-preservation almost as much as humans. If they’d known that she was still alive, however, they would have been more than willing to make a sacrifice. In a benefits-versus-risk analysis, a human life was worth so many marauders depending on the perceived value of the human. ‘I wonder how many I’m worth?’ she said aloud.

‘What was your question, madam?’

‘Don’t worry Alfa, you can’t answer it. What’s the value of my life in marauders?’

‘Six, madam.’

‘How do you work that out?’

‘There were six in pursuit.’

She thought, No, that can’t be right, but then the more she thought about it, the more she realised it made perfect sense to a computer. It was not like Alfa to make simplistic deductions, but the marauders would have known the ship’s classification and there would have been no reason for them to risk a party that outweighed its perceived value. Alfa was merely thinking like a marauder.

She thought back on the altercation. What were marauders doing in an uncharted sector anyway? They must have followed her through her warp node, it was the only thing that made sense. She made a mental note to tell Roger, when next they talked, that their security at warp points was not good enough. It worried her when it appeared that marauders were catching up in the technological race. Roger was her next in command, and they didn’t always see eye to eye, but she had to admit she’d be more than relieved to see him this time around. There was no doubt he would have gotten the distress signal – the quantum system was faultless – the question was, would he be able to track her once he warped into the same sector? It was the first time that Elvene had been forced to use a distress signal, and she was almost certain Roger would come in person because it was such an exceptional event.

She turned her attention back to the planet. The closer it got, the more it reminded her of Old Earth, only it had no moon. She wondered what terrors its beauty hid beneath. She’d never come across a life system that didn’t have the ability to kill.

‘Alfa, what can you tell me about this system? You’ve been collecting data, I know.’

‘Planet’s axis is tilted 25 degrees, madam, and one solar revolution will take 1.13 Earth years.’

‘What about its eccentricity?’

‘Eccentricity is within normal range.’

‘What about gravity?’

‘Gravity is 96.9 Earth.’

‘Are you sure this is uncharted?’ Elvene was finding this very hard to fathom. It was not impossible to find a planet tucked away with an Earth-like environment, but stumbling onto it was like winning a lifetime lottery.

‘Yes, madam. There are no records and no history for this sector.’

When the ship was in orbit, she watched the planet’s surface pass. She could see continents, mountain ranges, possible deserts, but mainly forest, and oceans that out-weighed the land. There were polar caps, as would be expected from the planet’s rotational aspect. It was something truly wondrous to behold.

‘Okay, I’m going to sleep. Wake me if you find anything you think I should know about.’ Elvene had deliberately used the qualification ‘you think’ because Alfa had a very good idea of what things she’d like to know.

Computers made strange companions. One needed to know their strengths and limitations like any other member of a team. On a ship the relationship was more intense, more interdependent and, dare she say it, more intimate than any other environment. One’s life depended on this relationship; it was a true symbiotic relationship like none other forged between human and machine. In many subtle ways they were programmed to be almost human. For instance, not only did they learn all of one’s idiosyncrasies, they responded to positive and negative feedback. Computers had been designed for aeons to learn an individual’s needs and personal proclivities to the point of making communication so close to human as to be almost indiscernible. But a by-product of this refinement was that they also learned very quickly when an individual was a compulsive liar. Crying wolf to a computer was not only stupid, it could be downright fatal.

So had Alfa let her down in their initial encounter with the marauders? He had been unable to come up with a strategy for defence. She asked herself this, as she needed to make an honest appraisal. No, she decided, because everything had limitations, both humans and machines. The key to survival, she believed, was to know one’s limitations, and she had to know Alfa’s as well as her own. She knew that Alfa’s negotiations only worked because the marauders had thought she was dead, and the ruse that they had jointly applied was the only reason she was still alive. As a team they worked very well together, but only because, like all teams, they understood each other unequivocally.

Having put her mind at ease on this, Elvene had no trouble finding sleep.

When Myka ran down to the beach there was nothing there but a glorious sunrise. He looked over at his outrigger canoe and decided to paddle out anyway; it would give him a sense of normality after the events of the previous night and day. Besides he needed to go out and look down to convince himself there was nothing dark looming under the surface.

Being out in the lagoon alone in his canoe gave Myka the greatest sense of peace he could achieve. He knew in reality that the ocean was no safer than the island, but there was something about the conjunction of elements: the sky, the wind and the sea; with himself in the centre, that made him feel truly at home. It was where he often came, especially at this time of day when no one else was around, to find peace with himself and to address his own thoughts. Like many people his age, Myka’s biggest fear was the fear of being misunderstood. This was why he initiated the pact yesterday with his hunting companions. How could he explain his experiences to anyone, let alone the Elders? Even if they believed him no one would understand. It was the same with the dream he had; he felt it was so real, yet he didn’t want to explain it to anyone.

So he had to come here, not only to reassure himself that it was just a dream,  but to find the centre of himself, that was how he saw it. His centre in relation to everything around him, and there was no better place than in the middle of the lagoon with the sky like a canopy and the ocean like a vault, the sun still low on the horizon and his home at his back. It made him think that all was right with the world, and that was all he needed to know. It was a good time to fish but his mood was not right. He paddled right out to the reef and looked beyond it. What was beyond the horizon, he wondered, and would he ever find out? The waves broke here with vehement energy and it was not a safe place to be, but he felt reckless, or invincible, he didn’t know which, and he paddled through the breakers anyway. He felt for a moment that he could just keep on going, but he knew it wasn’t so. One day maybe he would, but not today, not till he knew he was ready and the world would take him. He felt that in his bones, that it was his destiny, and though his spirit was impatient, he felt with the same sense of certainty that his time was yet to come.

They were on the night side of the planet when Alfa awoke her.

‘What have you found?’ she asked.

‘There is fire.’ He said this so definitively that she had little doubt that he was right.

He didn’t say, there is evidence of fire, or I believe there is fire. She understood his nuances of meaning as much as he understood hers.

‘What’s the cause?’

‘Looks humanoid.’

‘What?’ Elvene couldn’t hide her disbelief, but Alfa didn’t play jokes. ‘Are you sure?’

‘Can never be sure, madam, but there are bipeds and there is fire.’

Bipeds covered a wide range of entities including robots, and even exotic creatures from Old Earth like kangaroos, though some might call them tripeds.

‘But you think they’re humanoid?’

‘On infrared they appear humanoid and behave humanoid. I will give you visual.’

The resolution was not perfect, especially in infrared, but the fire plasma was unmistakable and the creatures certainly looked human. Elvene couldn’t help wondering if she and Alfa were victims of some extravagant deception or illusion. But no, from gravity readings they were in a system and light refraction revealed that the planet had atmosphere; there were too many things to deceive. This was an uncharted sector, so were they really humans who had become lost, and lost in record as well, or were they another species altogether? The result of convergent evolution – the probability was too staggering to even contemplate. Whatever the case, she would have to investigate.

‘There’s no technology on this planet, is there?’ She knew she didn’t need to ask.

‘No, madam, none at all.’

Of all the evidence she was looking at, the lack of technology was the most aberrant. She could not believe what she was witnessing.

‘Can you show me where we are on a map?’

Alfa didn’t answer but merely replaced the infrared image on the wall with a map. It showed an archipelago isolated from any large land mass.

‘This is extraordinary,’ she said almost in a whisper. Then, addressing Alfa, ‘Can we maintain a geo-stationary orbit here?’

‘I have already done so.’

‘Oh, Alfa, you’ll have to stop reading my mind.’

‘Your brain waves are unreadable, madam.’

It was not often that Alfa said something that only a computer would say, and it made her smile that she could extract such a comment from him.

‘You don’t know it, Alfa, but you’re a comedian.’

‘Comedy is not my specialty.’

‘No, and don’t change, a comedic pilot I do not want.’

‘I know.’

Yes, of course you know, but she said it to herself this time. ‘When the sun rises we will land in this lagoon right here.’ She pointed to it on the map.

‘It is achievable.’

‘Okay, time the landing for mid-morning.’ Elvene didn’t want to announce her arrival by blazing across a night sky, even if the inhabitants were asleep. ‘I’m going back to sleep, wake me one hour before entry.’

‘Understood, madam.’

Elvene had no trouble sleeping between activities. She had the remarkable ability to rid her mind of everything, even distractions like humanoids on uncharted planets. What she couldn’t deal with in the moment, could simply wait. As long as Alfa had his instructions, she had complete peace of mind. Besides she would need to be fully rested and alert for the coming day, when she anticipated all her mental faculties would be brought to bear.

Neither did Elvene have a problem being in space with only a computer for company; in fact, it held distinct advantages. Reconnaissance missions often went out in pairs or even groups of four, but for some operations it was found that solo missions worked best. Not quite solo because the person always developed a relationship with their ship. In many cases it was found that this relationship was less fragile than a human relationship. Even so, personnel sent on solo missions underwent rigorous psychological tests. Elvene knew that despite those tests, if Alfa didn’t have a near human interface, she probably wouldn’t cope or even survive.

Alfa was a resource of information and entertainment, plus she could record all her ideas and feelings with him. She could discuss philosophy and Old Earth religions, which were a penchant of hers. Alfa could not replace flesh and blood, but for intellectual stimulation he was probably better equipped than most humans she knew. It was like having the world’s biggest library at one’s disposal, only it could talk back and take notes for you. Plus Alfa never got bored and never developed irritating habits, leaving aside that he would count down one’s execution when faced with an armada of marauders.

But for all that, Alfa was not a human being and never would be. Elvene also knew the trap of believing that Alfa could replace human company completely, which sometimes happened with people in her position. That was when expectations exceeded abilities and the results were invariably catastrophic. Alfa definitely had a personality and a character, but that was partly her own creation. She knew that Alfa’s virtue lay simply in what she invested in him, and that dependency was what kept their relationship in perspective. From her standpoint, they were a team: he had his role and she had hers, and never should the two be confused.

Elvene also knew that Alfa was programmed to put her to sleep and send out a distress signal if she became irrational and unpredictable; so he was a minder in more ways than one. Of course, if that ever happened she’d never get another solo mission, and they were the ones she preferred. She liked the independence and the freedom to make decisions without recourse to a higher authority. Solo missions were a rare privilege in the Corps, and people who received them were considered an elite.

Myka paddled back to shore. He was starting to feel hungry and he knew his mother would be preparing breakfast. He felt that he at least should have brought a fish back, but no one would have been expecting him to, so it didn’t really matter. It was just that it would have been considered a waste of energy to paddle all the way out to the reef and return empty handed.

Lenya was making a fire when he returned; she smiled when she saw him.

‘Did you go to meet the sun?’ she asked.

‘Mm-hm,’ he nodded, and stopped to watch her.

‘And what did it tell you?’ she asked as if she was expecting an answer.

‘It will be a nice day,’ and he smiled at her for the first time since he had returned.

His smile lit up her life. Myka was the one she worried about. He was so quiet, so much the thinker, she wondered what he would become. It was true that his father was taciturn as well, but Sefta was like Rafta; he always knew what he wanted and the man never carried a worried thought. On the other hand, Myka was a youth who seemed to carry a burden beyond his years. Some children were born like that, she knew, and raising them required special care. They were the ones who were easily hurt, who seemed misunderstood. Myka had never been a troublesome child though; he just withdrew like a scuttle into its shell. His father behaved like there was no difference between the two boys and she realised that was probably the best way. Myka didn’t want to be treated as special, but as far as she was concerned that was part of the problem; he was special, she just didn’t know how.

After he had his breakfast, Myka went off to find his best friend, Sendra. He knew that Sendra would ask him about the previous day but this time he was prepared.

‘You thought you were going to die didn’t you?’ Sendra asked him.

‘Yes, at first I thought I was,’ he answered honestly.

They were sitting in the grass enjoying the morning sun, which had already climbed high enough to rid the ground of lengthy shadows. They could hear others nearby, both men and children. In the background the women were talking and laughing while they prepared food. Men worked on traps and prepared nets made from thin green vines. They spoke in murmured tones – it was a balance to the yelps and giggles of young children.

‘Then what happened?’ Sendra asked.

‘I’m not sure.’ He thought back on the moment, when he thought he was going to be a sacrifice.

‘The igram had her kill, so she didn’t want me. So the antrop became the sacrifice.’ He thought it was a good explanation.

‘How do you know the igram was female?’ It was a very relevant question; no one could tell the difference normally, unless they came across one dead.

‘Because she had young.’

Sendra gave him a look of disbelief. ‘How do you know that?’

Myka gave some consideration before answering.

‘You remember, just before she left, she lifted her head and gave a cry.’

‘Vaguely. I don’t remember it in that sort of detail.’ Sendra’s face still betrayed puzzlement.

‘Well, she did, and when she did that I knew I was all right. I believe she was calling to her young.’

‘So you don’t really know; you only believe she was.’

‘That’s right.’ Then he turned to Sendra. ‘Have you ever heard an igram make a sound like that before?’

Sendra was amazed at his friend’s question. ‘Myka, I’m not that familiar with igrams. I have not heard them much at all, except at a distance. In fact that’s the closest I’ve ever been to one, and the closest I ever want to be.’

Myka nodded his head. He couldn’t agree more. ‘Anyway, you promised. You won’t ever tell anyone about it.’

‘Yes, I promised.’

‘Well Maklyn and Rafta were there too, remember, and if you break that promise you’ll be in big trouble.’

Sendra nodded, he knew his friend was right. But being that close to an igram and not being able to tell anyone was a lot to ask for, even from a best friend.

Elvene speculated that the inhabitants lived inside the cove, and that it would be best if she landed in the ocean out of their line of sight and enter the lagoon over the reef. There were a number of strategies she could apply to this situation. She half hoped that they would see her coming in. She assumed that if they could make fire, that they were familiar with boats of some sort. Even a vessel as strange as hers would not be quite as alarming seen floating on the water, as it would be if it was seen floating in mid air. She could sit and wait till she was discovered, but she preferred not to play a cat and mouse game. Her strategy then, assuming she wasn’t discovered before she beached, was to go directly to their camp or village. She had a mental map of where it was and believed she’d have no trouble finding it. She was working on the hypothesis that they would feel less threatened and more in control if the first encounter was in or near their own environment. Yes, she would be seen as an intruder, but they clearly outnumbered her and they would have the upper hand psychologically. Whatever she did, it would be hard to soften the shock of seeing a complete stranger arrive on an isolated island that they obviously considered home. And it was equally obvious that her technology would scare them witless, so she half hoped that the ship would not be discovered before she was.

She had no doubt that she would be able to defend herself, but equally she didn’t foresee violence as a probable outcome. She knew that they would be more wary of her than she would be of them. She also knew how strange she would appear even without her otherworldly garb. For a start she was obviously a woman, but on missions she kept her hair short, and she was very fit and muscular. So if these were real humans living a subsistence life, she believed she’d appear quite androgynous in their eyes. Even though she had a space tan, as the Corps called the artificially induced tan that one needed to maintain, she expected that these people would be darker skinned than herself.

Elvene was trying her best to picture how she would be seen by them, as the fewer surprises she was faced with the easier it would be to deal with any situation. Preparation was the key to all enterprises, but being prepared assumed that one knew what was coming.

As they came into the beach she gave final instructions to Alfa. ‘Stay on alert, but don’t harm any life-forms unless something attempts to eat you. I can’t imagine that happening but one never knows.’

‘I understand, madam.’

‘I’m sure you do.’

‘Do you have a weapon?’

‘I have my stun guns.’

‘Very wise, madam.’

She smiled. ‘Glad you concur. Okay, remember our secret signal?’

‘Always, madam.’

She felt the ship strike the beach, and without instruction, Alfa opened a hatch that led straight onto the sand.

As soon as she stepped onto the shore, the hatch closed and the ship dislodged itself before heading silently out into the lagoon. Sometimes, Elvene thought, my relationship with Alfa is like one with a well trained horse. She knew he had all the facilities he required to defend himself. To her, Alfa was definitely male, not only because of his voice, but because she simply couldn’t bear the thought of having a ship of female gender. To her, Alfa was butler, pilot and personal bodyguard.

It was Sendra’s idea that they should go down to the beach. Myka would remember that later, that it was Sendra’s suggestion and not his. But he would never remember why they went there, because as soon as they arrived he saw his dream in the flesh. Not that the apparition on the water looked like it was flesh, though it certainly could have been. In fact in the middle of the day it looked more like a giant fish than a rock, but he knew straightaway that it wasn’t a fish.

He turned to Sendra, whom he could tell from the look on his face, wanted to run straight back to the village.

‘Stay here,’ Myka said. ‘I’m going out to have a look.’

Sendra looked at him as if he was mad, but Myka was already dragging his outrigger canoe towards the surf.

‘We should tell the Elders,’ Sendra said.

‘Not yet,’ Myka said, ‘I’m going out.’

‘Why?’

‘I can’t explain, but I have to.’

‘Why do you have to? It might kill you.’

‘No it won’t. I’ll prove it to you.’ And Myka struck off through the surf, with Sendra watching in fear and disbelief.

Myka knew he was being foolhardy, but more than anything else he wanted to test the dream. He needed to know if it was true or how true it was.

As he approached it, he realised that it was bigger than he thought. Close up, it looked even more like a big fish than a rock, but it was inanimate, he was sure of it. It was sort of a tear-drop shape and there seemed to be more of it below the water than above. He heard the water lap against its side, and he realised in an epiphany what it was: it was a boat, only it was like no boat he’d ever seen. It was like a giant egg and he could imagine it containing people inside. He’d once heard a legend of a giant wooden animal that contained warriors inside like an ant’s nest, and for the first time he felt fear, but then he remembered that that wasn’t in the dream, and for some reason he now trusted the dream implicitly.

Even so, he had to summon every bit of courage he had to climb up onto its skin. He climbed right up to the top of its dome. The whole thing was seamless, not a join or break anywhere that he could see or feel. And then it happened just as he expected: it started to sink, only very slowly without any fuss. Some bubbles seem to rise around its side as if it was breathing but he felt completely safe. It just submerged, leaving him floating on the surface with his canoe rocking nearby. He tried to see how far down it went but his underwater vision simply wasn’t good enough. He climbed back into his canoe and paddled ashore. When he reached the beach, Sendra was nowhere to be seen.

4. The Kiri

UNBEKNOWNST TO ELVENE, SHE WAS DISCOVERED WELL SHORT OF HER GOAL. A small party of men on the way to their boats observed her without revealing themselves. When they realised she was heading for their camp, they simply followed her without her knowing. In fact, Elvene’s bold approach could have easily backfired. Knowing how to deal with marauders in space and knowing how to deal with foreigners in their own world were not synonymous activities. The local inhabitants had weapons with poisonous tips and they had stealth and knowledge that she could not possibly possess.

When she arrived at the outskirts of their village, they simply surrounded her and stopped her in her tracks. They achieved this so quietly and adeptly that she was completely taken by surprise. Her sharp intake of breath and the immediate widening of her eyes told them that they had the upper hand, but she remained still and quickly regained her equanimity. She had deliberately worn a bright blue body suit that did not hide her shape, broken only by a slim utility belt with a pouch. She wore tight-fitting, broad, metallic bracelets around both wrists. Not surprisingly, they looked at her with outright suspicion and with more than a little apprehension. She must have appeared to them to be exactly what she was: a creature from another planet.

To her, the men appeared to be in very primitive attire, more than half naked, and some of them, she noted, carried weapons. She wasn’t aware, of course, that a spear was part of the Kiri’s normal attire, as they could never be sure of what they might meet.

She decided she should speak first. ‘My name is Elvene, I would like to meet your elders.’ As she expected, they didn’t understand a word she said, but she felt it was better to say something than nothing.

She reverted to a sign language that was a remnant of Old Earth. It was simple, eloquent and, she hoped, self-explanatory.

She put her right hand on her chest and then held it out palm open, with her fingers closed, pointing up. Then she used a circular gesture to include all of them, finishing it by pointing at herself. Then she pointed straight ahead towards the village. ’Please will you escort me to your village?‘ was how she hoped it would be interpreted. She made the movements look ritualised; her body rigid but her hand moving with grace and confidence.

But the reaction from one of the men took her completely by surprise. He walked right up to her and looked her straight in the eye. Then he repeated her first gesture, ending with his hand out in front of him, palm outwards as she had done. On an intuitive impulse, Elvene put her hand against his. She felt him relax and so did she for the first time since the encounter. In silence she walked with them towards the village.

It was impossible for her not to create a scene. Everyone simply stopped and stared at her. She felt a hush as she passed by people followed by a murmuring in her wake. She held herself erect and kept her face neutral, as much as possible. She looked about her, made eye contact with the women, whose faces showed surprise mixed with puzzlement and shock. She was unsure how to make a good impression in this community, so she thought it was best not to try. She was taken before a group of men, and now the real difficulties would begin. With no common language between them, how could she explain where she came from, and how could she make herself be believed?

But she didn’t have to say anything; an adolescent ran into the village yelling in an excited voice. She realised straightaway that he had discovered her ship.

What she didn’t expect was that the group changed their expressions from surprise and bewilderment to anger and hostility. She suddenly became aware how unprepared she really was. The boy was not that tall, he had a stocky build and wild looking hair, but he looked at her in fear, and she would have given her Corps’ entire mission fee for a translator.

The men were now all standing, some were shaking their spears, and they were all talking to her in what she could only describe as gibberish. For possibly the first time in her entire life, Elvene was at a complete loss as to what to do.

Then everything changed again, just as dramatically,  only the catalyst now was a second boy, possibly the same age as the first, but taller and thinner so he looked older to her, and he didn’t look the least bit scared of her, just awe-struck.

She hadn’t seen him enter the area but she could tell that, like the first, he had been running; running very hard, in fact. He seemed to be explaining something and for some unknown reason everyone calmed down, just as quickly as they had become aroused. When he finished he walked right up to her, at first looking her up and down, and then into her eyes as if they were magnets that he couldn’t pull away from. She thought his eyes revealed intelligence as well as a complete guilelessness. He spoke to her, but Elvene could only slowly shake her head and hold her hands out in a gesture of ignorance, and she hoped, openness. Somehow she had to communicate with him.

‘Yes, I am from the ship,’ she finally spoke, and then pointed back to the beach and nodded her head. To her amazement, he smiled. A smile that would light the darkest night, she thought, and spontaneously she returned his smile, so relieved she was to see it.

With the boy’s persuasion, she took the whole village down to the beach to see her ship. She watched the reactions on their faces and heard the murmuring and whispers as they took it in. Alfa was sitting out in the lagoon like a huge black whale, only he was more like a rock because he looked so immovable. Then Elvene did a very bold thing, as she was unsure how anyone would react.

She put her fingers to her mouth and she whistled strong and loud. Now she was creating theatre and everyone hushed as the ship responded. Slowly and silently, Alfa glided into the shore, right up onto the beach to her very feet.

Then she put her hand on the hull and the hatch opened, where there had not even been a join in the skin. It opened out like a gangplank and people gawked to look inside. She stepped onto the hatch and walked inside, giving a wave and a smile, before the hatch closed again. Then the ship silently moved back out into the lagoon. She watched them from inside to see what they would do, but no one left the beach. In the end she decided to go outside the reef and wait.

She was almost certain that no one would follow her out and she was correct.  After making a spectacle of herself, she decided on another strategy altogether. On reflection, her direct approach had achieved its purpose, albeit a narrowly averted disaster. They now had some idea of who or what she was, and they would also associate the strange-looking vessel with her appearance. But most importantly, she had managed to remain completely non-threatening, even in the face of hostility. But for all that, she knew that without knowing their protocols or their language, she wouldn’t gain much by simply planting herself in their midst. Her approach now would be one of gradual habituation; besides she had good reason to believe that she had more than enough time to achieve it.

She stayed outside the cove for the rest of the day and the entire night. Only at sunrise did she enter the lagoon again. On the beach she saw one lone figure, and she was reasonably confident that she knew who it was. But what surprised her even more was when he dragged his canoe across the beach, pushed it into the surf, and paddled out towards her.

She opened the hatch so it created a landing on which she could stand or sit. The boy came up and simply gave her that smile again. What amazed her was that unlike anyone else in the tribe, he showed no fear or apprehension of her whatsoever. In fact, he behaved like he already knew her, but she knew that was just her imagination. He was a complete innocent. But how she wished she could just talk to him.

She pointed at herself. ‘Elvene,’ she said.

He pointed at her. ‘Elvin.’

She nodded her head. ‘And you?’ She pointed at him.

At first he looked as if he didn’t understand, then he pointed at himself. ‘Myka.’

‘Mikal,’ she repeated.

‘Mm,’ he grunted and grinned.

This was crazy, she thought. But the boy was happy, reassured almost that she was still here, and he paddled away back to shore. In fact she believed that was all he wanted. It was the reason he’d been on the beach, to see if she returned. For some reason, she slowly realised, she gave him some sort of hope. But why would that be when he had no idea who she was or where she was from?

She stayed in the lagoon all day and, as she’d hoped, various people, all of them men, came out, usually in groups, and paddled around her. It was mainly out of curiosity, but it was exactly what she wanted. It was the only approach she knew: allowing them to become comfortable with her presence, and yet avoiding an outright intrusion.

At one side of the cove, on the left looking from the beach, there were some trees that grew out of the water like mangroves and she took the vessel over towards them in the belief that she’d be out of everyone’s way. She decided that over the next few days she would stay there, and only then would she start exploring the island.

Myka knew that, around the Ocean Woman, as the tribe now called her, he was just a big kid.  Paddling out to greet her, he had the best intentions, but when he arrived and tried to talk to her, he just felt foolish. He’d gone to the beach at sunrise to see if she would return. It had been so important to him to know, yet he would never have been able to explain it to anyone. Myka knew little about women in the tribe, except that one day he would be ritually paired with a partner selected by the Elders, and so start a family like everyone else. Men tended to keep together, and once he had started growing hair on his body, he had had little to do with the opposite sex; it was the way of the Kiri. He saw women of all ages everyday, but he took no interest in what they did or what they had to say. But this woman, who had arrived in her other-worldly boat, had seized his attention from the moment he first saw her in her sky-coloured skin-tight costume. He knew that, in part, it was because of the dream; even though she had not appeared in the dream, she was its whole reason.

But from Myka’s perspective, the strangest and most tantalising aspect of her was not her craft or her attire, or even her language; it was her eyes, the colour of the sea from which she had come. And he would never forget her smile on that first day, when she had been so relieved to be understood – he felt her relief as well as saw it. He knew he had to find a way to communicate with her, and in the following days it would become an obsession.

Elvene had started recording the Kiri speech from the moment of her first encounter, but so far it had been of little help. Speech can be categorised under a number of parameters: phonemes, tone, pitch-dependent or non-dependent, grammatical structure and vocabulary range. Feeding what she had into Alfa’s immense database had proven to be a futile exercise. Alfa could find no correlation for all these parameters on any of the human languages and dialects he had in his memory, and, without any reference to a known language, Alfa couldn’t perform any translation. Elvene’s only conclusion was that, against all probability, the Kiri had developed their own unique language. Not an impossibility, she readily acknowledged, but another factor contributing to the mystery of their origins. Eventually she hoped to do DNA tests but she would wait until she could do it without being intrusive. Even DNA testing wasn’t going to tell her a lot; the human gene pool had been well-mixed a long time ago.

Despite this fundamental drawback, Elvene knew that she had to learn the Kiri language, and Alfa could still be of service; it was just that she could see no shortcuts in the process.

On the third morning Myka brought her a fresh catch of fish. She was not completely surprised by this, but she wondered if she was being courted or was he just naturally friendly and curious? Whatever his motives, she realised he was giving her an opportunity to communicate and she wasn’t going to let it go. She waved him to come aboard. He climbed out of his canoe onto the deck formed by the hatch. Behind the deck was a translucent skin.

He offered her the fish and said, ‘Avu pelay.’

She took them. ‘Thank you.’ Then pointing from her to him. ‘I thank you.’

‘You.’ He pointed at himself.

She laughed. ‘No,’ shaking her head. She took the boy by the arm and turned him round so he stood against her facing away. The top of his head was level with her chin. She took his right hand in hers and put it on his chest. ‘I,’ she said.

He patted his chest. ‘I,’ he repeated.

‘Very good,’ she said. Then she turned him round, pointed at him and said, ‘You.’

He looked puzzled, then smiled in revelation and put his hand on her chest. ‘You,’ he said. He held his hand there for a moment between her breasts, so she casually straightened herself a bit and pretended not to notice.

She smiled at him. This is going to be a long process, she thought. She picked up the fish. ‘Fish,’ she said.

He said, ‘Pelay.’ Then he pointed at his canoe, ‘Pelon.’

She touched the side of Alfa, ‘Ship’.

And that was how they started.

From her point of view, Myka obviously had a crush on her like a pupil with a favourite teacher, and a part of her said that she should not encourage him, but another part said she should take advantage. Given her situation, she felt compelled to take advantage. Besides, she found it impossible to turn away his smiling face.

So this became the first of many visits and they spent large parts of the day together trying to understand each other’s language; after all they had very little else to do. He would simply squat on the deck while she sat on a folding chair. The trees on the shoreline provided adequate shade and shelter.

Elvene also started going into the village and with rudimentary words and phrases she started to communicate with the adults, both women and men. They responded positively to her attempts at communication and she was beginning to be accepted in a restricted sense.

She realised that she had unusual access to the men; they treated her differently to the other women. She knew that this was partly due to her appearance, her androgynous look, but also because she was not one of them. The men realised that if she had knowledge and powers beyond their own, then they needed to know them and not the women, so they actually preferred that she spend her time with them. What they thought of Myka’s infatuation, she was unsure. They probably were willing to let it run its course. She had no idea what their mores were, and they probably saw the same advantages in the relationship that she did.

Lenya was well aware of her son’s infatuation with the Ocean Woman and she was equally unsure how to deal with it. She felt she could not restrict the boy’s access to her; that would make a bigger issue out of it then it currently was. She knew that he was learning her language and the Elders tacitly encouraged that, so if she interfered it would create a conflict within the Tribe. But she also knew he was going to get hurt.

When she spoke to Sefta on this, he was typically unconcerned. ‘So, how else is the boy going to learn? You think you tell him he’s going to get hurt, he will listen to you? Or do you think if he gets hurt then he has learned the lesson for himself?’

‘What if she abducts him?’

‘It’s possible.’ He seemed to consider it. ‘But I don’t think so. She has shown no harm to the boy; in fact she’s shown no harm to anyone, even on the first day when the Elders got angry with her.’

‘What could she do against a group of armed men with spears?’

Sefta laughed. ‘Those same armed men are scared witless of her. Look at her pelon; you really think she can’t look after herself?

Sefta looked at the worried face of his wife. ‘It will not harm the boy to learn of her world. At the moment he is our only real contact with her. It will give him special favour with the Elders. You need to think of that, Lenya. Myka is not like Rafta or any of the boys his age. Myka will one day have a position with the Elders. You think I don’t know that?’

Lenya looked at him; she had to admit she hadn’t realised her husband had that much insight. Sefta could see by the look on her face that he had surprised her.

‘And what of the Ocean Woman?’ he continued. ‘The worst that can happen is that he will lie with her. She is not from this tribe, so what does it matter?’

‘She is not from this world, Sefta.’

‘Yes, I know, but how could it harm the boy? I would not be too concerned.’

Lenya let the subject drop; how could she explain her concerns? The woman could take him away, and the boy would gladly follow.Perhaps that was what Myka was hoping for anyway, but she would never suggest that to her husband or anybody else, nor could she raise the issue with Myka for fear of putting the seed inside his head.

Elvene felt that it was time to explore the island, but she’d already learnt from Myka that there were some very dangerous life forms on the planet, which was no less than she’d expected, but being cognisant of them and being able to deal with them were quite different matters. She knew that exploring was best done in company with people who already knew the dangers, but on the other hand she had a strong desire to prove her independence.

She also wanted to be able to fend for herself. This was partly to prove to the Kiri that she was willing to make adaptations to their way of life and therefore gain greater acceptance. But she also wanted to demonstrate her autonomy and self-sufficiency. She felt the easiest way to start, was with fishing.

So one morning when Myka came to visit her, she indicated to him, using a mixture of his language and sign, that she wanted to fish.

‘Nungar wos pelay,’ was his response.

Nungar meant woman and wos was the opposite of yes, so it always indicated a negative.

‘Nungar wos pelay,’ translated to ‘women don’t fish.’

She shrugged her shoulders. ‘Why not?’

Myka likewise shrugged his shoulders. ‘Nungar wos pelay.’

We will see, she thought and merely gave him a smile. She indicated that she didn’t want to spend time with him today, and she could see him unsuccessfully try to hide the hurt from his face. She had so much control over the boy that under other circumstances it would have troubled her, but she was not about to indulge in sympathy for his feelings.

She watched him leave and wondered if he could resist the urge to look back, but he didn’t submit. She went inside the ship and said aloud, ‘I need to make a spear.’

‘What type of spear?’ Alfa responded.

‘Long and thin and strong, preferably with a sharp barbed point.’

‘You have a spear gun,’ he said.

‘Yes, I know, but I’m not sure.’

She was reluctant to show any technology to the Kiri at all, as they’d want to copy it, especially if the mechanics of it were readily apparent. Is that a bad thing? Possibly not. But at this stage of her relationship with them, her head was saying modest rather than extravagant. In fact, Elvene had the latest evolvement of a crossbow that was equally effective on land or in water, or in zero gravity for that matter. Despite being ancient technology, it was still considered a useful and versatile tool. But given her present objective, of wanting to prove herself to the Kiri, it would tend to defeat her purpose, at least initially.

She really didn’t have anything on board that met her requirements. So she was going to have to make herself one, and that meant going ashore to find suitable material. She examined the trees in her vicinity but they seemed inappropriate. Of course it occurred to her that Myka would know what to find and where to find it, but then she’d have to swallow her pride in order to ask him, and that would be giving him the wrong message entirely.

She had her ceramic knife that she kept sheathed in her boot, and she was almost certain the Kiri had nothing better themselves. It was a question of finding a sapling that was straight enough and long enough, and then could be whittled to a point. She knew that the concluding refinement lay in hardening it in a fire. She had her bracelets, which were almost a permanent fixture, and she normally wore her utility belt whenever she was away from Alfa, but, on this occasion, she had no intention of staying away for long, so she left it behind.

Elvene deliberately avoided the village and struck out to its right. She felt that it should be unnecessary to climb the cliffs but she soon found that it was almost unavoidable; the lagoon was one of the few areas where there was flat land. She found herself climbing over rocks riddled with rivulets and otherwise covered in vegetation that varied from broad ferns to slim tall trees, which spread out and intertwined at the top to form a canopy. The whole was riddled with creepers and vines, but no flowers that she could see. Myka had informed her that the most feared animal on the island was the igram, but they could not climb the cliffs very successfully, and in fact, on the ocean side, they were rarely seen at all. But he had also alerted her to the possibility of giant snakes and giant birds. There were no poisonous insects, apparently, but there were poisonous plants, which the Kiri milked in order to tip their weapons. There were also plants that moved and would trap you if you weren’t careful. In short there were many ways one could die in paradise.

Elvene was beginning to think that the whole exercise was a misguided idea and in fact she was starting to feel decidedly uneasy. What unsettled her more than anything else was that once she was out of earshot of the ocean, she was surrounded by silence. There were no bird or insect noises and not even a breeze to rustle the vegetation; it felt to her quite abnormal. Silence in space was normal, but silence in an environment that burgeoned with life was perverse. And Elvene always associated perversity with evil. After all, the greatest evils arose from the ability to make a virtue out of hate. But nature was neither perverse nor evil; it was just a perpetual playground for life against death. And Elvene was now in that playground with only a vague notion of the local rules. In all games, even games of life and death, ignorance did not constitute a right to reprieve.

Elvene felt the ground give way beneath her, like she had fallen through a trapdoor, and she felt herself sliding into darkness, then she was brought up short as she hit the bottom. She was in a pit. Her first thought was that the pit had been constructed. But by whom? Was it the Kiri or was it something else? She tried to climb out, but the dirt walls just crumbled and gave way; she couldn’t get any purchase. If it had been constructed, then it was a very cleverly designed trap. There was a smell of rotten flesh and she could make out bones and skeletal remains under her feet. Some of the bones seemed quite large, and some, she noticed, were shattered.

Myka was upset by Elvene’s perfunctory dismissal of him that morning, and he really didn’t know how to deal with it. He had been well aware that she had watched him leave, but he had been determined not to give her the satisfaction of looking back. All because she wanted to go fishing, he told himself. Small things became big issues without the least bit of thought. He thought about her request, thinking that it was not unreasonable, but he would have felt very strange taking her fishing; it was just too irregular. He was more concerned by what others would think. No one seemed to mind the time he spent with her, but to take her fishing would be very awkward, in his eyes as well as everyone else’s.

He went back later in the day, but she was not around and her ship appeared as stubborn as she was, with no sign of an entry in its black skin. He had no doubt she could see out of it even though he didn’t know how; she’d always come out to greet him when he approached. He decided the best thing he could do was to go fishing by himself – not out of contrariness, but because fishing alone was what he did when he wanted to take his mind off things. He realised for the first time that the women of his tribe did not have this option, and he also realised that she was not like the other women. Even the Elders seemed to recognise that. In fact, he thought, they didn’t treat her at all like the women in the tribe.

Myka stayed out till the sun sank behind the cliffs, and he made one more attempt to see her before returning home. Still no sign of her. She’s very stubborn, he thought. For the first time since he’d met her, he found himself worried. But then he dismissed his concerns and went home with a good catch of fish.

Elvene cursed the fact that she hadn’t brought the rappelling gun with her,  which was what she called her crossbow cum spear gun. She had little doubt that with that device she would have been able to extract herself from this hole that she was now trapped in. In fact she felt downright stupid and her stupidity could cost her her life. She was well aware that no one even knew where she was, or where to start looking for her. In fact no one even knew that she’d left her ship. She had even left her utility belt on board, which contained night glasses and a comms link to Alfa. Alfa knew exactly where she was, but that was useless when there was no one he could communicate it to. The sun was going down; she could tell by the change in light, even though she hadn’t seen the sun since she’d fallen in. She was very hungry, which only served to remind her that she was probably waiting here to become something else’s dinner.

The fading light was not a good sign. She had night glasses for what was called short range warfare or close contact combat against marauders, but for all their worth they were of no use to her when they were still on board the ship. She couldn’t believe that she was so ill-prepared. If this trap had indeed been constructed by a nocturnal creature, then they would have a distinct advantage over her when they came to feed.

Myka ate with his family and was relieved to avoid any conversation about the day or the Ocean Woman. The fact that he had returned with a healthy catch of fish demonstrated that he’d spent the day fruitfully. But when they retired to their cave-like home in the cliff, he had to admit that he was baffled by her lack of appearance. He realised that it was the first time since she’d arrived that she had virtually spent the whole day inside her mysterious ship.

The cave was more like a series of short tunnels that connected different openings and chambers. Myka slept separately from his parents and his brother unless it was exceptionally cold when they would all sleep together. Other families slept nearby and it was very communal. It was rare for anyone to sleep outside. Beds were made simply from ferns covered in skins. It was found that this provided enough insulation against the cold ground and they covered themselves in more skins to ward off the night air.  The nights rarely got very cold though, and in fact one of the advantages of the caves was that they were usually cooler than the outside air. Lamps from animal fat were used to light the caves, and usually a few of these were left to burn all night, so there was always a source of fire available if necessary.

Myka actually liked the musty smell of the cave mixed with the smell of smoke and human sweat. It was the smell of home and safety, of being part of the tribe with all the night’s dangers kept without. Even the night’s spirits seemed to know to stay outside, or as Myka liked to believe, the portals to their home were guarded by the good spirits which seemed to mix with the smoke and flame. It was such a feeling that allowed him to sleep peacefully every night. Even during the stormy season, the cave was a refuge that felt unassailable to the extremes of weather outside.

So he found it very disturbing when he awoke from a nightmare that involved the Ocean Woman. He saw her trapped in a pit that was made by the night render. In fact the dream was almost like a vision, as if he was a spectator, and not involved in the dream at all, which he found most unusual. He just saw her there unable to get out – where the render was he had no idea, and that is what troubled him most of all. Myka had once witnessed the results of a human trapped in a night render’s hole and it was one of the most horrible deaths he’d ever seen. It absolutely terrified him to think of Elvene in that condition; his only hope was that on this occasion his dream was wrong, or that the hole was a disused one that had been abandoned.

After the sun went down, Elvene started to shiver and tremble, yet logic told her that it wasn’t really cold. She would have preferred some moonlight at least, but she couldn’t even see much of the stars because of the canopy above the ground. She had a terrible feeling that something truly baneful was about to come, and that it would take all of her resolve to remain in control. Elvene sometimes thought that she was as readily acquainted with fear as anyone could be; she’d had to deal with it so many times as a Corps officer. But few things in her experience had prepared her for this night, and she knew that her very survival over the next few hours would largely depend on how she handled her fear.

It started with a noise where before there had been none.  Noises are amplified at night and, in this instance, more so because the surrounding environs had been so quiet for the whole day. It was a rustle and a dragging sort of noise, of something moving over rocks and through foliage. It seem to clatter a bit and worst of all, it took its time, but got louder by the second. In response Elvene’s heart pumped so loudly she was sure it could be heard. Out of sheer instinct, she moved as deeply into the hole as seemed possible; she was half crouched with her arms against the wall behind her. She believed she was facing the direction from which the creature was advancing.

She never got a clear look at it, even when it finally crested the rim of its pit. It was just black against black, but she thought she saw something being waved like a large arm and then two antennae. She wondered how it sensed if there was anything in the pit. She did not move and found that she was holding her breath; the only noise was the hard thumping of her heart. But of course the creature knew that there was something in the pit because the trap had been broken, so it started to make its way over the side. When it entered, she could see nothing because it blocked out whatever of the night sky had been visible; she could only hear the sound of earth cascading down the wall in dribbles.

Elvene moved for the first time. She really only had one means of defence and that was the stun guns that were actually in her bracelets. They could be used individually or in unison. If she grabbed something she could even create a discharge between them. They were mind-activated in the same way that prostheses were; they were actually connected by her own nervous system into her brain.

It was hard for her to tell where the animal was; sound was all she had to go on and it was misleading because it was just a trickle of rocks from the top of the pit to the bottom. She had to guess, but that wasn’t terribly hard at such close range. She raised both hands in front of her, palms outward, and fired. Her first thought was that she really needed night glasses, as the flash was blinding.

A sheet of blue plasma reached out in front of her, sizzling and crackling as it cooked all moisture in its path, and, for a brief moment, illuminated something monstrous that looked to her like the face of a giant crab. It had a huge clawed arm out in front as if to ward off the light, and in the face of the discharge it made no sound at all. Elvene maintained the discharge for as long as possible, but its effect was not quite what she desired. In response, the creature went into convulsive spasms, lost whatever footing it might have had, and fell directly on top of her. It was obvious that the animal wasn’t dead, and, in its convulsions, managed to grasp her left thigh with its giant claw. Elvene was beyond feeling any pain and didn’t even notice. She put both hands against its shell and followed with another discharge.  The animal convulsed again, ripping her leg open in the process, and then it stopped, a dead weight lying on top of her.

Elvene found that she couldn’t move and slowly became aware of a dull pain in her left leg. This is great, she thought, I’m going to die in a pit in the middle of a jungle under a giant, dead, man-eating crab. She tried to push against the thing, but a jab of pure pain shot through her entire body. Unknown to her, she passed out.

Myka found it very difficult to go back to sleep after his dream; a part of him even wanted to go outside and look for her, but he knew that was impossible. He found himself becoming very impatient for the dawn, and the longer he stayed awake the more troubled he became. Eventually he returned to sleep, almost against his will, and he had no further dreams. But when the dawn finally arrived, he was out of the cave in a flash.

Myka grabbed his canoe and went straight to her ship; there was still no sign of her. This time, however, as foolish as it seemed, he called out in her language, ‘Elvene, are you home?’

To his total amazement, he was answered by a very authoritative male voice.

‘Who is calling?’

For a moment Myka was dumbstruck and he looked at the ship closely but could see no signs of life. ‘Who are you?’ he asked.

‘This is Centaur, Space Corps vessel. Who are you?’

‘I am Myka, friend of Elvene.’ Myka couldn’t believe that he was talking to a disembodied voice.

‘I have seen you before,’ the voice said.

‘Where is Elvene?’ Myka asked.

‘Elvene has gone to make a spear,’ was the reply.

‘What?’ Myka couldn’t believe this. ‘When did she leave?’

‘Nineteen hours, 23 minutes and 34 seconds ago, ship-time.’

This meant nothing to Myka. ‘Do you know where she is?’

‘She is 23 degrees west of north, 512.6 metres radius.’

‘Can you speak Kiri?’ Myka asked, not expecting an answer.

‘I can talk a little,’ he replied in Myka’s own tongue.

This flabbergasted him. ‘How far walking?’ he asked.

‘Depending on terrain, fifteen minutes approximately.’

This told Myka very little. Why can’t this magical ‘ship’ of hers just point? So he asked the most stupid question so far in their conversation. ‘Can you point to where she is?’

Out of the top of the hull, a thin stream of water shot right over his head that made him turn completely around to his left in order to follow it. It looked for all the world as if the vessel was peeing onto the shore. Myka was stunned. ‘Why didn’t you show me that in the first place?’

‘You didn’t ask,’ came the logical reply.

Myka didn’t wait any longer; he jumped into his canoe and paddled furiously back to the beach from whence he’d come. He ran all the way back to the caves.

People were just starting to move about. Myka ran to his father, who was surprised to see him so agitated.

Sefta knew straightaway that something was wrong. ‘What is it Myka?’

‘The Ocean Woman. She is trapped in a night render’s hole and I know where she is.’

‘How do you know this? Have you seen her?’

‘No, I had a dream. And her ship pointed me to where she is.’

Sefta couldn’t hide his surprise or his disbelief. The dream he could accept, but her ship pointing to where she was stretched his credulity too far.

‘I will show you,’ Myka said. ‘We must get the Elders.’

Sefta could see that Myka was genuine in his earnestness. He said, ‘Wait here.’

In a short time he returned with a group of five men, all carrying spears.

‘We will need something to pull her out,’ Myka said.

‘Assuming there is anything to pull out,’ his father said. ‘It’s all right, we have come prepared. Takes us to her ship.’

Myka took them all to the ship in their canoes, then he called out, ‘Show me where Elvene is.’

To everyone’s awe and astonishment, the ship repeated its peeing trick. The Kiri had an excellent sense of direction and it was all they needed.

Sefta’s mind was full of questions: What was she doing on this part of the island alone? Why hadn’t she told anyone? But he remained silent; it was not important when the major consideration was whether she was alive or dead. They arrived at the pit in very short time.

At first, all they could see was the dead render, which was an astounding sight in itself. No one had ever seen a dead night render in its own pit. Then Myka saw her pale face beneath it and he pointed. ‘Look’. His first thought was that she was dead.

The Kiri had ropes made from vines and sinews and skins, and with great difficulty they pulled the render out of its hole. There was no sign as to what had caused its death. Elvene was still unconscious, but Myka thought he saw her move her head. When they went down the hole to retrieve her, they could see that her leg was broken. They set the leg in a splint with materials that they had at hand, then two people returned to get a canoe so that they could drag her out of the hole. She briefly gained consciousness during this process, but to her it was all like a dream. She saw Myka’s worried face and willed a smile but the muscles in her face wouldn’t respond. They carried her back to their village and there she was treated by another group of Elders, only these were bossed about by an elderly woman.

Over the next few days, the Kiri nursed her back to life, though it would be a good while before she could walk, even with a crutch. The whole ordeal changed her relationship with the tribe forever. As far as the Kiri were concerned, the fact that she had killed a night render in its own pit ensured her a mythic status that could never be revoked. As far as Elvene was concerned, she was indebted to them for her life; for as long as she remained on the island, she would never again be able to consider herself as a person apart.

5. Elvene and Myka

ELVENE HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO REASSESS EVERYTHING during her long convalescence. She knew she was lucky she hadn’t lost her leg and her major concern was that the bone knitted back correctly. Within a couple of days she had gained enough health to be moved. She asked the Kiri to take her back to her ship, where she could treat the injury herself. They concurred reluctantly, but they took her there in a canoe, and then they had to transfer her to a pallet to get her inside.

When they finally saw the interior of her vessel, they found it as strange and as alien as its exterior. They looked about and there was not a single item that they could call familiar. It was not exactly spacious, but it was basically a series of chambers. She allowed them into the second chamber where they laid her on a bed that was more like a table to them. What astounded them more than anything else was that she appeared to talk to thin air in her own tongue and a disembodied male voice would respond.

After she was laid on the table, she gave instructions to Alfa, and the lower half of her body became covered by a shield that seemed to rise out of the table alongside her and wrap itself around her legs. She then thanked everyone in the Kiri tongue and told them that they could go now, but she asked Myka if he would stay. She had little doubt that he had been instrumental in her rescue.

Myka looked around and could see very little but bare walls. The ship was just as stark on the inside as it was on the outside, only in this room everything was washed in a soft white light.

‘How did you find me?’ Elvene asked.

‘I had a dream of you trapped in the render’s pit.’

‘And?’

‘And I asked your ship, Centaur, where you were and he showed me.’

‘My ship is called Alfa, but he’s very security conscious with strangers.’

Myka didn’t know what she was talking about, but he didn’t ask. To Elvene, he appeared quite sad.

‘Do you often have dreams like that?’

‘No, but I had a dream about your ship the night before it arrived.’

‘Really?’ Elvene couldn’t hide her surprise, but it suddenly explained a lot about the boy’s behaviour. ‘Tell me, why are you so sad?’

‘Because you nearly died, and all because I wouldn’t take you fishing.’

Elvene suddenly felt tears well in her eyes, and she couldn’t stop them. It was the first time since the rescue that her emotional guard had failed her.

The boy was startled. ‘Why are you crying?’

‘Oh Myka, you don’t understand women very well, do you?’ and she tried to laugh.

She grabbed his hand. ‘I owe you my life,’ she said, and to his amazement, she grabbed him to her and shed tears uninhibitedly.

After she had regained her composure, he simply sat with her in silence and waited till she fell asleep. Then he stood up and looked around. There was no obvious door, so he asked the ship if he could leave.

‘Certainly, sir,’ and doors slid open before him and closed behind him till he was outside again. It was late in the day with long shadows being cast onto the beach. Myka reflected on Elvene’s burst of emotion, and had to admit that she was right, he really didn’t understand her.  But he knew that her gratitude to him was genuine and heartfelt. He knew that their relationship had changed somehow, but he couldn’t explain it, and neither could he say what the consequences would be.

While she remained invalided in her ship, he visited her every day, and so did a number of people from the tribe, including women as well as Elders, who often brought her food. Elvene was often overwhelmed by this show of generosity and friendship, and she never refused anyone entry into her ship during her entire convalescence.

Eventually Elvene was able to get around, and she started swimming in the mornings, as she felt that this was the best exercise she could give her leg without putting weight on it. Myka would often join her, and she noticed that the boy was a very good swimmer indeed. She found the exercise was very good therapy for her, both physically and psychologically.

As she became more mobile, Elvene spent more time at the Kiri camp and made a point of eating with them in the evenings. As well as allowing her an opportunity to improve her communication skills, it gave her a place within their social structure that seemed to be compatible with the needs and wishes of everyone.

When she was finally able to walk without assistance, Myka took her and showed her how to make a spear, which brought her full circle to where the whole ordeal had begun. Elvene still felt remorse and stupidity at her own arrogance and stubbornness that had taken her to within an inch of losing her life. Going with Myka and learning to make a spear for herself was the last act in a long healing process for her, whatever it might have meant for him.

From Myka’s point of view, if he had done this for her in the first place, Elvene would never have suffered her fate with the night render. He often thought that if she had lost her life he would never have been able to live with it. Somehow the woman was blessed and by association he too felt blessed. She had survived by a miracle and he had been a part of it. To Myka, destiny was at work here, and it was important not to go against it. That was the personal lesson that he took from the whole episode.

The making of the spear was a ritual: finding the right sapling, trimming it and hardening it in a fire; and they did it together. For Elvene, it gave an insight into the Kiri culture; it was not just making a tool, as she perceived it, but a religious experience. For the Kiri, a spear determined whether they lived or died. It was how they got their food as well as their main protection against predators. Elvene noticed that Myka muttered prayers or mantras through the whole process and she didn’t interfere. Nevertheless, he made sure she played her part in it, as the spear was hers, and it was her life it had to guard.

Elvene was even more conscious than Myka that their relationship had changed. She understood that the boy’s dreams had special significance for him. They had a potency for him that went beyond telepathy or premonition, although from Elvene’s point of view that made them potent enough. Elvene, though, had enough insight to understand that for Myka, his dreams were a connection to the metaphysical. They were the reason he was so attracted to her from the start and why he felt that she and he were connected.

Elvene still felt guilt at the way she had treated him, particularly in light of what eventually happened. She realised that she could not lead the boy on the way she had, and that any friendship they now had, needed to be treated with care and respect. Likewise she noted that Myka was more reserved, and that the boy had developed a maturity that had not been there before. They had both been changed by the experience and they were both treading carefully.

If anything she spent more time with him now than she had before, but she also spent time with other members of the Kiri, including his family. She was aware that Myka’s mother, Lenya, was naturally enough wary of her but very polite. The Kiri were such open people that duplicity was almost impossible for them. They wore their hearts on the outside because they had never had reason to do otherwise.

Now that she had a spear, Myka was able to take her fishing. The Kiri fished with nets, but also with spears because it was a particular skill that they took pride in. Myka laughed at her early efforts because the refraction caused by the water fooled the eye, but she persevered and eventually she made a catch. It was a shared joy and despite her lack of success for the remainder of the day, it was one of her more memorable times. They stayed out on the water till very late in the day, when the island’s shadows were cast out over the bay. For Elvene it was magical and it gave her a sense of freedom and innocence that she hadn’t experienced since childhood.

When they returned to the beach they made a fire there instead of going back to the village, and cooked the fish on the spot. It was the perfect way to end the day. There was a slight breeze from the sea, the sound of waves beyond the light and smoke of the fire. A mixture of salt air, fish and smoke; eating with their fingers, the fruits of the sea.

One of the things that Elvene noticed about the Kiri was that they didn’t ask obvious questions; instead they allowed you to volunteer. That is why it did not surprise her that it took so long for Myka to ask the most obvious question of all.

‘Where are you from?’

‘You never asked me that before.’ She teased him with a smile.

‘I know. It didn’t seem important.’

‘And now it is?’

‘One day you will leave here; I know that. I would like to know more about you.’

Elvene reached out and touched his face. Myka felt an electricity but more than that he saw a softness in her face that she rarely revealed.

‘That is true,’ she said. She felt an urge to kiss him, but the Kiri, as far as she could tell, didn’t kiss. Even so, she pulled his head to her and kissed him full on the mouth.

At first Myka was just surprised, then she pushed her tongue into his mouth, the caress of it creating an urge deep within him, and then, just as abruptly, she withdrew. She had the same soft smile and he realised that his strongest desire now was to lie with her, but he knew equally, that he could not initiate it. He knew instinctively that it would be up to her and simultaneously he realised that was the way he wanted it to be.

Elvene still had her hand against his face as if she could make the moment linger, then she reluctantly took it away.

‘I don’t know how to explain where I come from,’ she finally said, as if the kiss had merely been part of the conversation. ‘I come from out there,’ and she pointed at the stars in the night sky. ‘I am not from this world.’

The boy nodded his head. He was still stunned by what had just happened between them.

‘Others will come looking for me,’ she said. ‘Until then I will stay.’

‘You are lost?’ he asked.

‘Yes I am lost.’ But in truth she felt far from lost at this very moment. She had the strongest desire to take the boy, but felt it would not be right to do it so spontaneously. Nevertheless, to use the Kiri euphemism, she felt that it was now inevitable that she would lie with him.

‘Does your family wonder where you are?’ she asked.

‘They know I am with you.’

‘And that is okay?’

He smiled at her for the first time in the conversation. ‘Yes, of course it is okay.’

‘Then come with me.’

She took him back to her ship. Once inside, she sat with him on her bed and kissed him once again. She could feel that the boy’s excitement was overwhelming. She pulled down the straps of her bodysuit and let it fall to her waist.

To Myka, her breasts appeared softly curved with an upward lilt ending in small buds of sheer desire. He tentatively cupped a hand around one, then the other.

Elvene waited a moment, then put an arm around him and leant back, pulling him with her as she went. As she did so, he buried his face against her breasts, and she could tell straightaway that he had already spent his seed.

‘Lie still,’ she said, and for a while she just held him.

Then she sat up and carefully undressed him, herself as well. She pulled him back down to her and they lay together in silence. She gently caressed his back until she felt him becoming aroused again. This time she drew him into her, kissed him and held him close by the hips. She kept him to an unhurried rhythm, feeling him slowly build, then his spasm, when she smiled and rose to meet him. She kissed him on the forehead and waited for the whole of his body’s tension to drain away.

She gently fingered the muscles along his spine, then pulled his head against her face so she could whisper in his ear. ‘Thank you,’ she said, and then she pulled him closer to her still, as if she feared he would just float away.

After a time they both fell asleep, and in the morning he simply left. Even though she was awake she let him go alone. For good or for bad, things between them could never be the same again.

Everyone knew that they had slept together, yet nothing was said about it at all; it was simply understood. In a strange way, that she never would have anticipated, it gave her an even stronger bond with the whole tribe.

It was only a matter of time before Myka stayed with Elvene virtually every night, though it never quite became a permanent arrangement. For a start, Elvene’s ship had its own voice and personality, which made him feel like an intruder when she wasn’t there. And Myka could never envisage Elvene’s ship as his permanent home; the environment was simply too alien. For Myka, all the ship’s sophistication could not replace the spiritual ambience of his cave. Without Elvene he would never have stayed there longer than a heartbeat.

At first Elvene tried to set limits on their relationship, but she knew that after letting him into her life in the most intimate way possible, she could no longer refuse him without creating confusion. Also, if she was honest with herself, she didn’t really want to. They both knew that this could not last and perhaps that is why she was so willing to be his lover. Elvene was still unsure where this liaison was going to lead but she was more aware than he was of its temporary nature.

Myka asked his father if he could take Elvene hunting, just the two of them, and Sefta told him that he thought it would be a good idea, but he should ask the Elders. It was most unusual, but Elvene had already shown that she was a most unusual woman and no one objected. They already saw her as a warrior woman as well as the Ocean Woman, and like Myka, they also believed that the two of them shared a common destiny. After all, it was only because of Myka’s dream that she had been rescued and brought back from death.

Ever since Elvene’s rescue, Myka had stopped spending time with Sendra or his brother, Rafta. He felt like he’d moved to another stage in his life, and it wasn’t simply because he’d slept with the Ocean Woman, although that was a large part of it. It was more to do with the role he had played in her rescue and her rehabilitation. It took him away from his family and his friends and brought him closer to her; it seemed to him to be only natural. Nevertheless it didn’t stop Sendra from stopping him one day and speaking his mind on a lost friendship.

‘You don’t talk to me anymore.’ The tone of Sendra’s voice said as much as his words.

‘I know, Sendra, my life has changed.’

‘The Ocean Woman has you by your penis.’

Myka was hurt by the vulgar accusation, partly because it was true, and perhaps that was why his temper flared. ‘You know nothing of her.’

Sendra was surprised; he’d never seen Myka get so angry so quickly.

‘She nearly lost her life because of me. Do you understand that?

Myka stared at Sendra who simply didn’t know what to say.

‘No, you don’t,’ Myka answered the question for him, and then he stormed off. As far as Myka was concerned he had severed his friendship with Sendra for good, and it was like severing his childhood. It never occurred to him that Sendra would feel exactly the same way. As a result, the two boys did not speak to each other for the rest of the year.

Myka took Elvene hunting, and on this occasion she took her rappelling gun and even demonstrated it to him. Myka had never seen anything like it and said as much.

‘There are many things you haven’t seen, Myka, and there are many things you don’t want to see.’

He didn’t understand her cryptic message but neither did he request enlightenment. One of the things that struck Elvene was his remarkable propensity for respecting her silence on certain matters. She realised of course that it was a Kiri trait.

But there was one question that did puzzle him, and now that they were going hunting together, he believed he really needed to know.

‘How did you kill the night render?’

She smiled at him and held up her arms as if she was carrying a load of wood, but really to show him the two metallic bracelets that she was wearing. Then there was a crackle followed by a sizzling sound and a spark danced between them.

Elvene’s smile broadened as she saw the look of awe on his face.

‘But I only just managed it,’ she said in reference to the render. ‘Without you I would still be there.

‘Stand back,’ she said, and she turned side on to him with her hands held out straight in front of her;  she produced a plume of blue flame that shimmered and sizzled in the air. Then as a coup de grace she hurled a bolt of fire at a nearby tree. It made a sharp crack and left a singe mark on the wood with a wisp of smoke and a smell that Myka couldn’t recognise.

‘How do you do that?’ he asked.

‘It’s a combination of plasma engineering and biotechnology.’ Then, realising she was using terms he couldn’t possibly understand, she elaborated, ‘These are tools like your spear only they are wired into my brain. I only have to think to make them work.’ She felt that she still hadn’t explained it properly but she couldn’t do any better. ‘Oh, and I can’t use them in water,’ she added. ‘But don’t worry, I won’t use them today unless it’s absolutely necessary.’

‘Yes, I know.’ Then he asked a question that surprised her with its insight. ‘How do you aim them?’

‘Ah, very good question,’ and his unexpected intelligence made her smile. ‘They’re connected to my eyesight and proprioception. The plasma simply goes in the direction that I look. It also stops me from firing if my fingers or any other body parts are in the way.’

‘What’s prop-set-shun?’

‘Proprioception. It’s the sense that no one knows they’ve got but if they lost it they would find it almost impossible to do anything they considered normal, except sleeping and breathing.’

He looked quizzical so she elaborated. ‘It’s the sense that tells you where every part of your body is. It’s what allows you to walk without thinking about it, and of course it’s absolutely essential for anything requiring hand-eye co-ordination, like fishing with your spear for instance.’

‘Oh.’ And he realised that it was just like throwing his spear, only different somehow.

‘What else can you do?’ he asked as if she were a magician who might make him disappear.

‘Nothing that you can’t do.’ She smiled at him. She realised that up to this point in time, he had never really been intimidated by her.

‘Remember they saved my life, along with you.’

Myka realised that this was true, but it was the first time that he really understood the gulf that existed between them. It was a technological gulf, but the Kiri didn’t even have a word for technology.

Myka had his spear and a bow with arrows in a shoulder-slung quiver made from skin. Over his other shoulder he carried a bag carrying some provisions, consisting mainly of pieces of fruit. Elvene wore a khaki body suit with calf-length boots; she carried her rappelling gun over her shoulder and wore a utility belt at her waist. She also carried the spear that Myka had made for her, but it appeared a complete incongruity. They made a most unlikely couple.

From Elvene’s point of view it didn’t matter what they hunted; she just wanted to explore the island, but after her last adventure she was better equipped and this time she had a guide. Myka considered taking her to stalk antrop, but with only two of them he couldn’t use the strategy he’d used with Sendra, Rafta and Maklyn. But there were other smaller animals they could hunt; they just had to be wary of predators like igrams.

Myka took her above his cave-like home and towards a pass that would lead them over the mountainous ridge that formed the backdrop to the beach where she had been living for the past months. Alfa was keeping track for her, of how long she’d been on the island,  but she knew from the length of her hair, and the subtle change in the seasons that she’d been there roughly a quarter of a year. The days and nights weren’t noticeably colder but the weather was becoming less predictable in recent days, with less sunshine, and dark clouds occasionally spattering wind-driven rain. Today it appeared to be fine but clouds drifted overhead, casting shadows, and as they climbed into the cliffs the weather seemed to change to a grey mood portending dark.

Despite the rocky terrain the vegetation seemed to be quite thick; very green with vines covering smooth-trunked trees and leafy ferns on the ground. There was water coursing through the rocks in some places and when they walked through narrow passages sometimes, the noise was quite loud even though the water was not always visible. Every sound they made seemed to reverberate, though neither of them talked. A human voice would have seemed the most unnatural sound to Elvene in this environment.

By the time they had reached the upper slopes, it had started to rain, and Elvene wondered if they had simply picked a bad day. But Myka seemed unconcerned; he wore such little clothing that getting wet was not a major concern for him.

They walked through a narrow pass and they were standing at an obvious vantage point with even the treetops below them. On this side facing away from the shoreline the rain had virtually ceased but all they could see was mist. Myka told her that on a clear day they would see a plain below them with a forest in between. He explained to her that this was where they hunted antrops, but it was also where the igrams hunted. He told her that the higher they were up the slopes the safer they were. The antrops, on the other hand, felt safer on the plains where they had a clear view and could defend themselves by herding together. On this day she might as well have been looking into a cloud. She could picture the scene in her imagination but she couldn’t see its physical presence.

‘We will go down a little way, but we need to be careful and look for signs of igrams as well as snakes,’ he explained.

Myka had told her about snakes before; she had decided if they met one she wouldn’t hesitate to use her bracelet weaponry.

But they hadn’t gone very far when they were attacked, not from the ground, but from the air. Elvene heard a whoosh and a huge flying animal flew right over them. It was not a bird, yet it had a wingspan that would have dwarfed the largest eagle she’d ever seen. It wasn’t feathered, but furred, and its wings were web-like in the fashion of a giant bat. It also had very large claws for feet and a snout like a dog’s complete with needle-like teeth. It appeared to have no trouble navigating in the mist and, in fact, used it as cover.

It came back at them with a menacing grimace and a high-pitched screech that made both of them cower. To Elvene it appeared quite lethal.

Myka called it a presperas, but to Elvene, it looked like a flying wolf.

Elvene instinctively brought her crossbow to bear, but Myka put his hand on hers and gently forced her to lower it.

The animal circled and Myka followed it with his eyes. It emitted another screech that reminded Elvene of a fox’s call, then it disappeared into the mist.

‘What happened?’ she asked.

‘I’m not sure,’ Myka said, but Elvene detected something evasive about his answer. ‘Actually’, he said, ‘I sent it away,’ and he looked straight at her to assess her reaction.

‘How did you do that?’

‘I’m not sure, as I said. I just know that sometimes I can communicate with things, and they understand me or we understand each other.’

He spoke like someone trying to explain how they could perform some extraordinarily gifted skill, like a virtuoso musician trying to expound on their ability to someone who was musically inept.

He looked at her to see if she believed him, but Elvene’s face showed only concern and puzzlement.

‘It doesn’t happen all the time, just sometimes, but I know somehow and the animal knows, and it’s like a secret between us.’

‘Does it happen often?’

‘Well, the first time it happened was just before you arrived, and to be honest with you, it scared me half to death because it happened with an igram.’

‘What do the Elders say?’

‘I’ve never told them.’ He looked at her as if he’d just been caught breaking some unwritten rule. ‘I’ve never told anyone except you.’

Of everything that he’d said so far, she found this the most surprising revelation.

She sat him down on a rock and made him look at her. ‘Why is this, Myka? Why do you feel you can’t tell anyone?’

Myka seemed to think very hard before answering; he looked around as if the answer might appear to him out of the mist. ‘I don’t know, I just don’t want people to know.’

‘Are you frightened they won’t believe you?’

He looked surprised, as if that was virtually impossible. ‘No, not at all. In our world, Elvene, people sometimes have gifts and then they are treated differently; like yourself for instance.’

‘And you don’t want to be treated differently?’

‘I think it’s a gift that only works because I keep it secret.’

‘But you told me.’

‘You are not of our world. I can tell you and I trust you.’

What he said only partly made sense to Elvene. Nevertheless she had to show confidence in him, and, as he did for her, she needed to let him keep his own counsel if he wished.

‘Okay, Myka, I won’t talk about it anymore, unless you want to.’

She could see the look of relief on his face, though not quite the smile she tended to remember him by. She had a desire to hug him, but she knew that from his point of view it would have been inappropriate, so she didn’t.

They stood up and walked down into the valley. At one point they walked under a rocky ledge, and Myka stopped to show her something in the rock itself. There was a small finger-width crevice near their feet, and he hunched down on his heels, so she did the same. She could see a small pool of clear liquid, and when Myka stirred it with a stick it became solid so that the stick stuck out of it. But as soon as this happened a small crustacean ran out of the crevice to investigate, like a spider expecting captured prey.

‘It’s a trap,’ Myka explained. ‘We call it addler, but we use it to hold items in it for ourselves, between two pieces of crystal rock.’

Elvene didn’t quite understand what he was talking about, but she didn’t quiz him on it either. Much later, she would see an example of it, as a form of Kiri art.

They continued down the valley, but they didn’t do any hunting at all. It was as if the episode with the presperas had taken away any desire on his part, and for Elvene it simply wasn’t important.

The day was otherwise uneventful, and they returned quite late and ate communally with the tribe.

On this occasion Elvene returned to her ship alone, and when she arrived Alfa had a message for her.

‘I’ve received a message from the Corps. Roger wants us to contact him.’

6. Roger

ELVENE HAD THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY TEMPTATION to simply leave the planet and never tell Roger of its existence. But she knew that was impossible; if she was going to do that, then she should have already done it. Besides she couldn’t simply up and leave the Kiri without an explanation.

She had been waiting for this message in the full knowledge of its consequences. She decided she needed to explain what was happening to the Kiri before they were introduced to Roger and the full complement of outsiders that he would bring with him.

She also needed to explain to Alfa what she was doing, otherwise he would contact Roger on his own. The word ‘us’ in his message was not without significance.

‘Okay Alfa, I will contact Roger, but first I need to talk to the Kiri. Do you understand?’

‘Yes, madam.’

‘Good. How far away is he?’

‘He is at least three days away, madam.’

‘How many ships has he brought?’

‘He’s brought a Battle Class A1.’

This was only one ship but it would contain an armada of smaller vessels inside. Elvene hated to think how many people would be aboard. ‘Okay then. Let him know where we are, that I am alive, and that I will talk to him soon.’

‘Yes, madam.’

Elvene considered going to bed but knew sleep would be impossible; against all her previous practice she returned to the Kiri village. The people had thinned out as they did at nightfall; not everyone retired together. She did not see Myka, but she saw some of the Elders and she approached them. They asked her if anything was wrong. ‘My people are coming to get me.’ She spoke in the Kiri tongue. ‘In about three days time.’

They didn’t ask her how she knew this but simply took her at her word. It would never have occurred to them that she wouldn’t know.

‘I wish to tell everyone tomorrow.’

They nodded their heads and agreed. ‘After the morning meal,’ one of them said. ‘We will assemble the Elders.’

‘I must talk to Myka,’ she said. ‘Can you take me to him?’

The same man said he would take her, and he led her up the slopes towards the caves.

The entrances to the cave were not big and she had to crouch to enter but they were like a series of mini caverns joined together communally. It was the first time that Elvene had visited the Kiri in their caves and she felt like an intruder. People stared at her in a way that reminded her of her first arrival; they could tell that her presence was a bad portent. She was taken to Myka’s family and she sat and spoke to them all together. In the dim light she could see their worried faces, and she had no doubt that her own face didn’t encourage any optimism.

‘My people are coming,’ she said. ‘I will need to leave here shortly. They will arrive in three days or so.’

Myka kept his face vacant; both his parents and his brother instinctively looked to him. Lenya spoke first. ‘Do you want to leave?’

It was a very astute question, Elvene thought, and not one she had expected.

‘Yes and no,’ she said, but it was a feeble answer, ‘I cannot stay here forever. I’ve always known that.’ She looked at all their faces. The men said nothing, but Myka finally spoke.

‘Can I stay with you tonight?’

‘Yes, of course you can,’ she didn’t hesitate to answer. ‘Tomorrow I will explain to the Elders what will happen. They are organising an assembly.’

No one said any more, and she and Myka left.

Back at the ship they made love in a hungry, insatiable way that surprised them both. It was as if all their sensations were heightened and the need to appease them was overwhelming.

They lay together in silence for a long time; the mood was a strange mixture of melancholy and respite.

‘When will you leave?’ he asked.

‘Not straightaway. But you won’t be able to stay here while my superiors are here.’

He didn’t understand this, and though he remained silent, she felt him tense.

‘I’m sorry, Myka. It is just the way it is.’ Even to her own ears it was a feeble explanation.

‘I don’t understand.’

‘Neither do I very well. Myka, we always knew this was going to happen.’

‘Yes I know,’ but he didn’t sound convincing.

‘Myka, I cannot say what I feel or what this means to me. But whatever happens I will never forget you and you will never forget me. Memories are more important than dreams or wishes.’

But Myka said nothing. He buried his face against her breasts and started to make love once more.  She felt his desire as her own, but this time the mood was less hungry and more leisurely. They took their time to explore each other’s feelings and sensations. It was from a desire to please as much as a desire for release.

Afterwards they didn’t talk but fell asleep. When they awoke next morning, however, they couldn’t help but wish that the day hadn’t dawned.

The Elders numbered about twenty and they assembled under a pavilion, roofed with broad leaves and supported by trunks. It was open and the rest of the tribe flocked about outside. Elvene had Myka with her to help with translations, as she knew it wasn’t going to be easy to explain in the Kiri tongue. Everyone waited expectantly and when she spoke she simply stated the bald facts.

‘I don’t have much to tell you but what I have to tell you is important.

‘Many of my people, as many as are here today, are in a ship in the sky.’ She paused to allow the significance and the strangeness of this news to sink in.

‘Some of them will come here, as I have done, and they will meet with you. They will not stay, but they will take me with them when they go.

‘They will arrive in two or three days time.

‘I called this assembly because I wanted everyone to know.’

When it was apparent that that was all she intended to say, one of the Elders spoke to her very politely. ‘Ocean Woman, where are you from?’

Elvene gave a gesture that expressed the impossibility of the answer.

‘I come from beyond the stars,’ and she looked to Myka to see if he could express it any more clearly, but he simply repeated what she had said.

The same Elder asked, ‘Will your people want anything from us?’

‘I don’t think so. But they will want to talk to you and they can only do that through me or through Myka.’

Then another Elder asked what may have been on many people’s minds. ‘What brought you to us?’

Elvene considered the question carefully, though the answer was deceptively simple once she thought about it.

‘I was lost. From up in the sky I could see your fires and that is why I came here.’

This evoked as much awe as anything she’d said so far. As unlikely as it was, it was the simple truth and the truth was all they expected to hear.

The assembly closed and people simply drifted away. Elvene felt more of a stranger than she ever had, and she really didn’t know what else she could do. But one thing she did have to do was talk to Roger.

She returned to her ship alone and she asked Alfa to contact Roger in person.

Elvene sat at a console; she looked very casual and relaxed as she waited for the hologram of Roger to appear in front of her.

‘Hello Elvene, it’s good to see you.’ He sounded genuinely relieved and happy.

She smiled at him, ‘Thank you, Roger, it’s good to see you as well.’

‘You’re on a life-bearing planet, is that correct?’

‘Yes, but even more strange than that, the planet has human habitants.’

‘What?’ Elvene carefully observed his look of disbelief.

‘It’s true. They call themselves the Kiri, and they appear to have no remnant culture from Old Earth and no remnant language.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Well, according to Alfa’s database, which I assume is complete.’

‘This is amazing, in an uncharted sector.’

‘Yes, but what is even more surprising is that these people have no technology whatsoever.’

For a moment Roger appeared lost for words, then he recovered. ‘How long have you been there?’

‘Um. Alfa can tell you in standard days. How many days Alfa?

‘105 standard days.’ Alfa chimed in.

‘What is your relationship with them?’

‘Actually it’s very good; they saved my life.’

‘How come?’

‘It’s a long story, I’d prefer not to go into it right now.’

‘Yes, sure.’

‘Um… I’ve told them that you are coming and that you will probably want to meet them.’

‘Okay, that’s a good idea.’

‘Roger, can I suggest that you only bring a small party? They’re not really a big tribe.’

‘Yes, that shouldn’t be a problem. I expect we will be there in two standard days.’

‘That’s what I told them.’

‘Sounds like you’ve learnt their language.’

‘Pretty much, yes.’

‘Okay, I will see you in two days. I will contact you before we land.’

‘Thanks, that would be good.’

‘I must say you look very good, Elvene; the stay there hasn’t hurt you.’

‘Thanks, Roger, I’ve been well looked after.’

‘Okay, bye for now.’

‘Bye Roger,’ and she watched him disappear.

Elvene should really have addressed him as ‘sir’ and at times she did, but Roger actually expected her to call him by his name and whether she did or not depended on the circumstances. He hadn’t asked her anything about the distress signal and nothing about marauders. But that was probably a good idea, for security reasons if nothing else.

Elvene had two days to fill and she intended to spend as much time with the Kiri as she could. She felt that the bond that had been formed between her and them was going to be tested in some way, though she was unsure how. Also, if she was going to leave them shortly then they should have as much of her as she could give.

So she returned to their camp, where Myka suggested that they should go fishing, but this time with his father and his brother. Elvene was unsure about this until she realised that it was probably their idea.

She asked them, ‘What about Lenya?’

But Lenya answered for herself, though she seemed almost embarrassed. ‘Thank you, but I don’t like to go on the water.’

She seemed shy to Elvene, and it worried her that she’d never really made a strong attempt to form a relationship with Lenya.

They spent most of the day out in the lagoon though this time it was different. Sefta and Rafta were very good-natured, even quieter than Myka, though Elvene suspected that they wouldn’t be so quiet if she wasn’t there. The whole emphasis on the day was to have fun and that they did. There was lots of laughter and cavorting in the water; fishing was actually a low priority.

They returned mid-afternoon with the sun still above the cliff tops and they all ate together, Lenya included. They sat in a small circle, cross-legged on mats, and ate with their fingers as they always did.

‘Will you ever return here?’ Lenya asked.

‘I don’t think so.’ Elvene spoke like someone who couldn’t avoid disappointment.

‘I think you will.’ Lenya’s comment surprised everyone.

‘What makes you say that?’ Elvene asked.

‘You and Myka have a destiny; I have always known that. Either he will go with you or you will stay with him.’

Everyone was surprised by her statement but no one knew what to say. It occurred to Elvene that it took a lot of courage on Lenya’s part to speak with such honesty. Sefta and Rafta simply looked from one face to another and made sure their mouths were full.

Myka finally spoke. ‘Mother I will not leave the Kiri, my destiny is here.’

‘Then she will return.’ Lenya spoke as if her logic was infallible.

Elvene felt that she had no response for her. It was sheer luck that she had found the island; her affair with Myka could possibly have been denied but it seemed inevitable. But she also knew that the Kiri had their own way of interpreting events and she could not argue with them.

In the evening, Elvene and Myka went swimming before eating alone. When it started to rain they considered it an indulgence to get drenched before returning to the ship.

They undressed each other and Elvene had soft synthetic towels to dry them. Myka found the material very sensuous to touch, almost like fur. Elvene massaged him all over and he did the same for her. He was so aroused that when they lay together she forced him to stay still. She lay on top of him so that she could manipulate his urge, and when she brought him to climax he felt it as a torrent that drowned him in waves of sensory pleasure.

He fell asleep in her arms, but before dawn she woke him with sensual kisses. It was obvious that this time she was more hungry than he, and he discovered that there were other ways of giving her pleasure. It was her turn to ride the wave. He felt her mounting pleasure as he worked between her thighs, and then she stretched and trembled and hissed through her teeth. In the end she simply embraced him, and he felt the frisson of their touch augmented by her sweat. When they lay together afterwards, he found himself more than content; what mattered most to him now was that they had each other to hold.

They lay together in the dawn light. When he looked up, he did not understand how they could see the sky from inside, but from outside, the ship was opaque.

‘It’s magic,’ Elvene said with a mischievous smile. They lay together for a long time, both reluctant to break the spell.

Elvene had not had word from Roger, but she expected him to land in the next twenty hours, and she was sure he would contact her prior to that.

‘What will you do today?’ she asked.

‘I will cross the reef in my canoe and bring back the biggest fish I can find.’

She looked at him. ‘Is that dangerous?’

‘Yes, it is, but I need to do something bold today. It will take my mind off you.’ He responded to her silence. ‘It is okay. I’ve done it before.’

Elvene wondered if he had a death wish, but she knew him better. She knew that men his age often felt the need to flirt with danger; still, she thought it was an unusual way of dealing with stress.

When Roger called later that morning, he gave an exact time of arrival. It would be just before sunset. The first thing Elvene did was to go to the village and tell the Elders. She told them that it would only be a small party of two men and a woman. They told her that they would organise a welcoming party on the beach.

Elvene hadn’t seen Myka since he’d left her that morning and she preferred not to think about what he was doing. She returned to her ship and spent the day talking with Alfa to ensure that her recorded knowledge of the Kiri and the island was as complete as it could be for Roger’s arrival.

Myka found it hard to explain why he wanted to go outside today, which is the colloquialism his people used for crossing the reef and leaving the relative safety of the lagoon behind. It was like he wanted to stretch his horizons; it was the only thing he could think of that was comparable to spending his time with Elvene. He didn’t put it in those words to her of course, because he doubted that she’d appreciate the comparison.

It was also partly to do with his desire to explore. He knew that other people, before his time, had attempted to cross the ocean to find other lands. Some had returned unsuccessful and some hadn’t returned at all. He had a deep-seated ambition to achieve what no one else had done. He couldn’t even understand why he felt so strongly about it, but it felt to him like his very survival depended on it. It wasn’t that he considered his home unsafe, but rather that he believed it to be something he was born to do. Now that Elvene was leaving, this inexplicable desire returned to him stronger than ever.

His canoe had an outrigger that allowed him to brave the surf on his way out; he found that his whole perspective changed when he was outside the reef. It was like cutting an umbilical cord, and when he looked back the cliff tops already looked lower and hidden by the occasional swell. Out here even the animals could be more dangerous and he didn’t expect his empathy and rapport to extend to fish. Although he’d been evasive in his conversation with Elvene, he knew quite well why he kept his gift secret from the tribe.

Logically they would expect him to use his ability for hunting, and he knew that was totally contrary to the whole nature of the gift. The communication or empathy that he experienced was one of mutual respect. If he betrayed that respect, then what he would be doing would be evil in his own eyes. It was why he couldn’t continue hunting after the incident with the presperas. But with fishing, he didn’t feel any such conflict. He had no empathy with fish, and likewise he expected nothing in return. Out here there were animals that could kill him as easily as an igram, especially if he capsized.

The spear he’d brought with him was more like a harpoon, complete with line attached. It had small chips set in its head to act as barbs. Even though they were difficult to make, he had brought another two, as they were easily lost or broken. He also had a serrated bone knife that allowed him to cut the line if it became necessary. He also had thicker twine to tie his catch to the canoe, assuming he actually made a kill. He’d brought smaller fish to use as bait which he would throw over the side to bring something to the surface.

It was a very dangerous way to fish, and not a method one usually practised alone. But there were times when he needed to test himself, and he preferred to do that in his own company. If he was going to die, he preferred not to have an audience. He’d told no one other than Elvene that he was even out here. What people didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. If he brought back a kill, no one would punish him for it.

Myka knew that the key to getting a kill was picking the right spot and this he did by pure instinct and nothing else. From his point of view it was a matter of judging when he was there, and it may have been just luck, as on some occasions he had no success. But today he was optimistic and when he made the decision to throw some of his bait overboard, he felt confident of a result.

All of Myka’s senses were heightened, and he found himself more conscious of everything: the swell of the ocean, the clouds on the horizon, and, especially, the sound of the sea. He was looking down into the water and he saw a shadow emerge, then it grew at an alarming rate until it emerged right under his boat and lifted him out of the water. It was only the outrigger that stopped him from capsizing, and in fact if the animal had arisen on the other side he would have been in the water. He recognised it as a kingfish, huge, grey-coloured with a dorsal fin, two pectorals and a tail. It was longer than his canoe and certainly wider, and Myka momentarily considered leaving the animal be. But he hadn’t come this far for nothing and he raised his harpoon. He knew that if he got a good strike, the animal would run rather than fight.

He watched the giant fish swim about under him and waited for it to come up again. This time he threw the harpoon down with a slight inward angle, just in front of its fin, and it immediately dived out of sight. Now everything depended on how much line he had as he let it run out of the boat. He had the line tied off, but if the fish took it completely and started to pull the boat over he was ready to cut it. The line ran taut and Myka’s first move was to align the front of the boat with the line, so that the fish would be forced to pull him through the water. Now a number of things could happen: the line could break or the harpoon could dislodge or the animal could tire or the animal could die.

He felt his canoe being pulled through the water and Myka sat as far back as possible using his paddle as a rudder. He went up over waves like hillocks with wash spraying him all over. He allowed the animal to run and waited for the line to go slack. Then he started to pull it in, but it would run out on him again and they would start over. This happened a number of times but eventually Myka won and he pulled the fish to the surface. It was lying on its side but it wasn’t yet dead. Myka had to get close and then he launched another harpoon straight through its eye.

Myka felt a small pang of remorse for killing something so grand; it was king of the sea, and his people had enormous respect for the aptly-named fish. He tied it to the side of his canoe, opposite the outrigger, so that he could bring it home.

The sun was very low by the time he crossed the reef and when he entered the lagoon, he saw a ship similar to Elvene’s. His heart seemed to stop momentarily but he continued on. He was going to have a bigger audience than he intended.

A large group of people had congregated on the beach, not just Elders; it seemed to Elvene like the whole tribe, including women and children. The only person who was missing, as far as she could tell, was Myka. It reminded her of the time she’d brought them all to the beach to see her ship, Alfa. And like that occasion, Roger’s landing vessel came in across the lagoon and landed at the beach right at her feet. The hatch opened and three people emerged, Roger followed by another man and a woman.

Elvene didn’t know the other two and the first thing Roger did was to introduce them to her. ‘Elvene, this is Essayas and Lin.’ Essayas was the man, black skinned, darker than the Kiri, and Lin, the woman, was oriental looking.

There was a group of Elders lined up, twelve in number, and Elvene introduced every single one. Women from the tribe came forward and gave flowers to Roger and his two colleagues. Then Elvene informed them that a large feast was being prepared in their honour and that they would now all go to the village which was a short walk away.

It was at this point that Elvene and everyone else became aware of a distraction further along the beach. Someone had just come to shore and there was both a murmur and a movement in the crowd towards that direction. Elvene knew straightaway who it was, and she had to resist a momentary impulse to run ahead and make sure he was okay.

‘What’s happening?’ Roger asked.

‘One of the tribe went fishing beyond the reef, and he has just returned. If you’ll just wait here I’ll go and check.’

‘It’s all right, we’ll come with you,’ Roger volunteered.

So they all walked down to where Myka was, Elders included, to find him with his outrigger in the surf, untying a fish that was bigger than the canoe itself. In fact, the sheer size of his catch was generating a lot of excitement. Other people were soon in the surf, helping him haul the fish up the beach.

Roger seemed quite astonished, and somewhat impressed, that someone so young could have brought home such a fish single-handed. ‘Did he catch that by himself?’

‘Yes, he did.’ Elvene’s tone gave the impression of detachment, as if this was a normal occurrence, and Roger gave her a quick glance. ‘Let me introduce you to him.’ Elvene realised that she couldn’t ignore Myka in his moment of triumph, no matter what else was happening.

So with Roger and his entourage in tow, she walked over to the group and called to him in the Kiri tongue. ‘Myka, there’s someone I want you to meet.’

Myka turned towards her and saw the outworlders in their strange dress with the group of Elders following. He identified Roger straightaway by the way he carried himself and his proximity to Elvene. He looked to be about the same age as Elvene or slightly older. But more significantly, he saw that Elvene’s face was devoid of expression. He walked towards them to meet them halfway.

She spoke to him in Kiri. ‘Myka, this is my chief, Roger.’ Then in her own language, known as Universal. ‘Roger, this is Myka.’

Roger extended his hand. ‘Pleased to meet you.’

Myka looked at the hand and guessed that this was a standard method of greeting in Elvene’s world. He took Roger’s hand. ‘Hello Roger, I am Myka,’ he replied in Universal.

Elvene couldn’t suppress a smile, and Myka looked at her with a devilish smile of his own.

Roger was surprised and looked from Myka to Elvene. ‘He understands Universal?’

‘Yes, he’s the only one in the tribe who does. I taught him.’

Roger looked at both of them and was about to say something, then thought better of it.

Elvene introduced Myka to the other two members of Roger’s party, then spoke to him casually in Kiri.

‘What will you do with that?’ she asked, gesturing to the kingfish.

‘We will cut him up on the beach and take home the meat. It will be shared with everyone, of course. Will I see you tonight?’ he asked while looking at the group working on his fish.

‘No. Stay with your family. Don’t worry Myka, we will spend time together before I leave, I promise.’

He looked at her, and she tried to reassure him with her eyes, then he turned and walked back to his fish without saying any more.

‘What was that about?’ Roger asked as they watched him walk away.

‘I asked him what would happen with the fish. He said they will butcher it on the beach. They may cook some of it for us tonight, I don’t know; they share everything they catch, especially large game like this.’

Elvene knew that Myka would have trouble with the idea of keeping their liaison secret from Roger; it went against Kiri culture entirely, but she had explained it to him in advance and she knew he’d respect her wishes even if he disagreed.

Everyone else now departed, the Elders leading, followed by Elvene and Roger with his entourage, then the rest of the tribe, making their way back to the village. Myka and some helpers, Sefta and Rafta included, stayed behind to butcher his catch.

Elvene, Roger and his crew were given special places amongst the Elders for the evening’s banquet. There was also drumming and dancing, which even Elvene had never seen previously. She was unaware that the Kiri knew how to put on a show. Both men and women used body paint as well as clothing for decoration, as they had no dyes to speak of with which to colour their clothes. There was not a lot of conversation; mainly, they were just an audience for the entertainment, and then they were served the food. It started with a watery soup, which one tended to drink, followed by meat and fish dishes served with cooked root vegetables. There was also a milk-like drink that Elvene had never encountered before, but it seemed to be alcoholic given the effect it had on her. As the evening wore on she noticed that some people literally passed out and others simply became happy.

Along with Roger and the crew, she was asked to dance, which she did. The only untoward aspect of the evening for her was that she didn’t see Myka the whole night. They all retired very late, and Roger said that he would come and visit her in the morning, which is what she expected.

Well after the sun had risen, Roger requested through Alfa that he would like to come aboard, and Elvene responded that she was expecting him. She had already eaten but she offered him some food, which he declined. She expected he had a lot of questions. After they were both comfortably seated, he started with the most obvious.

‘Why did you send a distress signal?’

‘Not long after I warped into this zone I was pursued by marauders, a group of six according to Alfa.’

‘So you broke the quantum distress signal. What happened after that?’

‘I sent the escape module out as a decoy and went into hibernation.’

‘And that worked?’ Roger was genuinely surprised.

‘Well, I’m still here, so it must have. The marauders interrogated Alfa; do you want to hear the transcript?’

‘Yes, if you don’t mind.’

Elvene asked Alfa to play the transcript, and they both listened to it in silence.

‘So you used an “Abandon Ship” instruction as a code for Alfa.’

‘That’s correct.’

‘That was very clever, Elvene. You were very lucky.’

‘Yes sir, don’t I know it.’

‘So you were in hibernation when Alfa found this planet.’

‘That’s right.’

‘But how did you find the Kiri?’

‘Alfa picked up their fire when we were orbiting the night side of the planet.’

‘That’s amazing.’

‘Yes, it is.’

‘Do you know if there are other inhabitants on the planet?’

‘I haven’t done any further reconnaissance. I didn’t want to attract attention from any marauders by using the ship’s anti-gravity, which they’d pick up if they were nearby. You must realise, Roger, the only reason they’ve left the Kiri alone is because they have no technology.’

‘Yes, I came to that conclusion too. So you decided to sit tight until I or someone from the Corps turned up?’

‘That’s right. But getting back to your earlier question: is it possible that there are others on the planet? They have attempted migration, from what they’ve told me, but no one has ever returned.’

Roger seemed to consider this for a moment, then proffered some news of his own. ‘I need to tell you that we did encounter marauders on our way here as well, but we managed to destroy them all.’

‘How many?’

‘I think there were sixty of them, all told.’

Elvene let out a long breath. ‘Do you think they will come here?’

‘It’s possible, especially since we’ve landed here.’

‘So what do we do?’ she asked.

‘To be honest, I’m not sure. If we stay here with a Battle Class ship they will surely come in huge numbers. On the other hand, if we leave, we aren’t here to give the locals any protection.’

‘Whatever we do, we will need to tell them.’

Roger looked at her oddly. ‘What can we tell them?’

‘Well, I know it’s going to be difficult to explain to them what marauders are, but if we’ve inadvertently brought something that could destroy them, we need to tell them.’

‘But what can they do, Elvene?’

‘For a start they could get off this island. There’s a huge continent to the east of here, and they would stand more chance of survival over there than here.

‘In fact that’s an excellent idea.’ She was almost talking to herself now. ‘If the marauders come we can divert them away. After all, marauders only go after us because of our technology.’

Roger was not quite sure he followed her logic. ‘I think the best thing for the Kiri, would be for us to leave and not tell them anything.’

‘It’s a gamble, Roger. I’m not sure it’s one I want to take.’

‘We could leave a sentinel satellite.’

‘It wouldn’t do much good and it would only attract attention.’

‘So what would you suggest?’

‘Well, I’ve been here a while now and not a marauder in sight until you showed up. So what I suggest is that you leave and I stay here for another cycle of the planet say, and if nothing happens then I return.’

Roger considered what she said carefully. He had to admit it actually made sense but he wasn’t sure he was willing to concede.

‘Why would you volunteer to stay, Elvene?’

‘Why shouldn’t I? I’ve already been here a hundred days or whatever it is. I know the language and the people trust me.’

‘Let me think about it. I think we need to discuss this some more, but I need some time to adjust to the situation.’ Then he changed the subject completely. ‘How did you manage to teach that boy Universal?’

‘He was a very willing pupil, Roger. He volunteered, if you like. And while he learnt Universal from me, I learnt Kiri from him. It was a very beneficial arrangement.’

Roger nodded his head then changed the subject again.

‘Is it possible to look over the island on foot?’

‘Not on your own, no. I’ve actually seen very little myself. The one time I went, which was just before I received your message, it was quite misty and you couldn’t see anything on the other side of the cliffs.’

‘You’ve never flown your ship over it.’

‘Believe it or not, Roger, the Kiri have never seen my ship fly, they think it’s a boat.’

Roger laughed. ‘You’re kidding.’

‘No, in fact their name for me is Ocean Woman, because they think I came from the sea.’

‘So they know nothing about your origins?’

‘Well, we know absolutely nothing about theirs. But when I knew you were coming, I told them that I came from beyond the stars. It was the best explanation I could give that they would understand. I told them that I was lost, and when I saw their fires from the sky I came to them.’

‘They believed that?’

‘Why wouldn’t they? Not only is it the truth, but the Kiri would not expect me to tell them anything else.’

‘They sound very gullible.’

‘Possibly, but I wouldn’t tell them any lies; I’m not at all sure how they would react.’

Roger gave her a look, as if she was giving him some sort of warning but he let it pass. ‘So you wouldn’t suggest looking over the island.’

‘On the contrary, I think it’s an excellent idea, but we would need to ask the Elders if they could give us guides. I made the mistake, Roger, after I’d been here a while, of doing a little exploring by myself, and it almost got me killed. In fact, I’m very lucky to be here talking to you.’

‘Yes, you mentioned that. The Kiri saved your life?’

‘Yes, that’s right.’ Elvene looked like she wanted to change the subject. ‘Do you want me to ask the Elders if they can organise something?’ she asked to keep the conversation moving.

‘Yes, that would be a good idea. You want to do that on your own?’

‘Okay. No need for you to come. If it can be organised today, I’ll come and tell you.’

Roger was on his feet and they left her ship together. He went back to his ship and Elvene walked up the beach towards the village.

On her way she met Myka; she was unsure if he had been waiting for her. She stopped while they talked.

‘I didn’t see you at the celebrations last night.’

‘I stayed away.’

‘Why? Because of me?’

‘It’s all right, Elvene; I understand you don’t want me around at the moment.’

‘Myka, it’s not like that.’

‘But you need to keep me secret from your chief.’

Elvene let out a sigh. ‘You cannot stay with me while he is here, that is all.’

‘Elvene, what is he to you? We don’t hide anything from my family or the Elders; everyone accepts you and me together. Why can’t your people do the same?’

It was hard to argue with his logic. Elvene’s eyes showed real empathy and concern, but when she spoke her tone was harsher. ‘Myka, if the only way you can deal with this is by avoiding me all the time, then so be it. I promise to spend time with you before I leave; that’s all I can do.’

She waited for his response but he just looked away and said nothing. Eventually he nodded his head and then walked off. He looked to her a very forlorn figure but she felt there was nothing more she could do. She continued walking towards the village.

When Elvene spoke to the Elders they agreed to form a party that could show her and her friends some of the island. If her friends could have lunch with them, then they would go after lunch.

Elvene took this message back to Roger. He wasn’t available when she arrived at his ship, but Essayas and Lin were happy to talk to her. Obviously they were just as curious about her situation as Roger. The three of them sat around a small table.

Essayas had a soft-spoken voice that was rare amongst black people she had known. ‘The Kiri people really like you,’ he said. ‘You must have really impressed them.’

Elvene thought it was an astute observation after only one night. ‘The Kiri accept you exactly as you are,’ she said. ‘They are an extraordinarily generous and friendly people. They have treated me exceptionally well since I’ve been here.’

Lin joined the conversation. ‘Roger told us that they saved your life.’

Elvene gave a sort of laugh as if to downplay the incident. ‘Oh yes, well that was completely my own fault. There are many dangerous things on this island; it is very easy to get killed, and the Kiri do a good job of surviving, believe me.

‘But you may see some of this yourselves today. Trust me when I say: don’t venture about without a Kiri guide.’

They both nodded, and the conversation seemed stalled so Elvene changed the subject. ‘Roger told me that you had an encounter with marauders on your way here.’

Lin responded, ‘Yes, we were really surprised. Mind you, we were on alert because of your distress signal.’

‘Yes well, they surprised me too. I think I was wise to stay here and keep my ship silent.’

‘Yes, that was very wise, but what will we do now?’ Lin asked.

‘Well, I suggested to Roger that I should stay here another year as a sort of sentinel. But really what I’m thinking is that in that time I would like to see the Kiri move off the island to a larger land mass.’

‘Why is that?’ Essayas asked.

‘Because, if the marauders do come here, the Kiri would have a better chance of survival, no matter how slim, on a continent. On an island like this, I don’t believe they would have any chance at all.’

Essayas nodded his head.

‘Has Roger spoken to you about this?’ Elvene asked.

Lin spoke. ‘Yes he has, and to be honest, we’ve been talking about it.’

Elvene started to wonder what role these two played in the scheme of things. Were they Roger’s entourage or were they the real decision makers?

She decided the best way to find out was to ask. ‘What role in this mission do you two play?’

They both smiled at her candour. Essayas answered. ‘We were sent to assess the situation independently of Roger. Obviously we didn’t know what the situation was, and this planet with these people changes the whole picture.’

‘What picture are you talking about?’

Lin politely interjected, ‘There’s no political agenda here, Elvene, so don’t get too concerned. The picture that Essayas is referring to is what danger do the Kiri face from the marauders, and has our presence or your presence put them in jeopardy?’

‘Well, I would certainly agree with that being the key issue.’

‘Good,’ Lin replied. ‘Then I’m sure we can come up with an agreeable solution.’

Elvene felt the conversation had ended, and wondered if she had just undergone some sort of assessment. She realised that she didn’t exactly feel comfortable in this company after the completely open intercourse she enjoyed with the Kiri.

She stood up to leave. ‘I will come and get you when we need to go for lunch.’

‘Thank you,’ Lin said, and Essayas nodded to her with a smile.

Later in the morning, when all four of them were walking to lunch together, it seemed to Elvene that all conversation had dried up between them. The Kiri offered them fruit and fish for lunch and Elvene noticed that there were no alcoholic drinks, just plain water or pulped juice. There were women serving the meals but they didn’t eat with them; just the six Elders who were going to be their guides.

Elvene had brought her rappelling gun with her, and before they set off she demonstrated it to the Elders, who were suitably impressed. The Elders carried spears and three of them had bows and arrows. She noticed that what impressed and puzzled the Kiri most, was not so much the hardware and gadgetry she possessed, but the fact that everything she owned, from her clothing to her ship, was made from some other-world, exotic material that they had never seen and could never imagine seeing.

They set off along the same path that she had travelled with Myka only a few days previously, but this time there was no rain and no mist. When they broke through the pass, she finally saw the view of the grassland valley that Myka had described to her. Elvene realised that, geologically, this had once been a volcano but it had long since filled with silt which created the grassland in front of them. It was a contrast to the surrounding terrain. Knowing the dangers of igrams and snakes, not to mention presperas, she asked the Kiri Elders how far they intended to go.

‘We will go a little way into the valley depending on whether we see signs of igram,’ one of them said. Elvene nodded agreement, knowing they were the best to judge. Elvene asked Roger, Essayas and Lin to exercise restraint if anything untoward happened and to let the Kiri and herself take the lead.

But the whole outing passed without incident. They reached the grassland but they didn’t venture out onto it. In the distance they saw a herd of antrops grazing but they appeared to be on the far side of the area. The ring of cliffs made the place quite daunting, although crossing the grassland plain would take almost half a day according to the Kiri. Very few of the Kiri had ventured to the other side, as no one liked to camp away from the safety of their homes. Elvene realised that the dangers on the island actually set limits on how far they travelled, yet the Kiri had assured her that over many generations the whole island had been explored.

Roger expressed the view that he would like to survey the island from the air and, considering that he had a battleship in orbit around the planet, there was little point in remaining inconspicuous while he was here.

They returned the way they had come and Elvene wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed that they hadn’t seen anything dangerous. Her main concern was that Roger, Essayas and Lin may think the island safer than it really was. With this in mind, Elvene asked the Elders if they would take them to the pit where she had been attacked by the night render. They talked amongst themselves before agreeing, but it wasn’t really a detour as it was on the other side of their camp. On their way back down the slope, Elvene pointed out to her colleagues the cave openings where the Kiri spent their nights.

Elvene herself had not returned to the pit since the incident, and just walking through the same area again brought back memories of fear and anxiety; she wasn’t sure she could have done this had she not been in the company of Elders. As they got closer the memory became stronger, with the same sense of foreboding she’d felt at the time. She found herself half expecting the ground to give way beneath them, even though she had already forced Roger and his colleagues to walk single file behind the Kiri. There were in fact three Kiri leading and three walking behind. At least this time she had her rappelling gun on her back and its weight gave her some reassurance.

But when they finally arrived at the pit, she found herself strangely detached, as if the whole incident had happened to someone else. The Kiri had pushed the render back into its pit after her rescue and it must have lain there pretty well as it had when she’d killed it. She had never seen it from this perspective, with the shell of the animal still intact, bits of debris lying on top of it. She found it hard to imagine that she had once been under it and that it was only by a miracle that the Elders weren’t now pointing out to Roger where her corpse was.

So she did it for them. ‘That’s where I was,’ she said, pointing down into the corner of the pit where she could imagine her head would have been visible.

‘How did you get out?’ Roger asked.

‘The Kiri pulled me out using a canoe as a sled. I was unconscious at the time and I had a broken leg.’

‘And you killed it?’ Lin couldn’t hide her surprise.

‘With my stun guns, but only just.’

‘How did they find you?’ Roger asked.

Elvene gave a half smile. ‘Hah, that’s a story in itself. Myka managed to interrogate Alfa enough to work out where I was.’ She saw the stunned look on their faces but she refused to elaborate any further.

‘I spent a whole night in there, most of it unconscious. I don’t know why I wasn’t dead when they pulled me out.’ At that she turned away and they all followed in silence.

Elvene found, that on leaving the site, she no longer felt the apprehension she had experienced on the way in. She realised that revisiting the site of her encounter had been strangely therapeutic, and she hadn’t expected that. She didn’t even seem to realise that she was leading everyone out until one of the Elders strode in front of her. No one talked at all until they had returned to the Kiri village.

Elvene suggested to Roger that if he intended to fly over the island he might want to take one of the Elders with him. Roger nodded and said, ‘Do you want to organise that?’

Elvene agreed and spoke to the Elders explaining, that if they wanted, one of them could travel in Roger’s ship in the sky to overlook the island. This caused some bewilderment and animated discussion. They said they would need to discuss this at Council.

Elvene turned to Roger, who was still standing nearby with Essayas and Lin.

‘I think we need to give them a little time to consider this. The idea of flight is completely foreign to them. There is no need to rush this, don’t you agree?’

Roger gave it some thought. ‘You know these people better than I, Elvene; possibly they would be more comfortable flying with you than myself.’

‘I hadn’t thought of that. Anyway, they need to discuss it at Council, so we don’t have to do it today.’

Roger looked at his colleagues, who nodded agreement. ‘Yes, there’s no hurry; perhaps in the next couple of days.’

Elvene relayed this to the Elders and they nodded assent. On that note the party split up and Elvene returned to her ship with Roger, Essayas and Lin.

Elvene spent the rest of the day by herself, which she hadn’t done for some time. For the Kiri it was almost unnatural for humans to spend any time without company but for Elvene it was quite normal, although Alfa could be considered company, if not strictly human company. Even so, Elvene couldn’t help but think of Myka. Yet, she told herself, this enforced separation will be good for both of us. From her perspective, Myka had to mature and part of his maturity was dealing with separation whether self-enforced or not.

She went to bed without giving him much more thought and slipped into a dreamless sleep. So it was with some surprise, and just a little apprehension, that she was awoken by Alfa next morning, who told her that Myka wanted to see her. She rose to find him waiting in his canoe, and her apprehension was heightened when she saw that he appeared quite agitated. Instead of inviting him in, she went outside to meet him.

‘Hello,’ she said, her face and body language polite, but not exactly welcoming.

‘I need to talk to you,’ was all he said.

‘Okay, but not here. I’ll come in your canoe.’

She seated herself facing him and he paddled out into the lagoon, the waters and the air having a temporary calming effect on them both.

‘I had a dream last night.’ He paused to watch her reaction. ‘I dreamt that my people were attacked by ships like yours that came out of the sky.’

He had her attention immediately, and he saw her expression change, but at first she said nothing. When he didn’t elaborate she asked him, ‘Were there people aboard like myself?’

‘There were no people; it was like a swarm of vessels like yours, but not on the water, only in the air. Elvene, I was terrified; they came at night and they landed on our beach.’

‘Then what?’

‘They moved over the ground and came up to our caves. It was like I was the only one who could see them. I tried to warn everyone but I couldn’t wake them. Everyone slept, no one moved; it was like there was a spell on them.’

There was a tremor in his voice and a look of helplessness on his face. She found she had to look away momentarily. Elvene also remembered a sense of helplessness, her skin prickled, and she felt exactly as she had when the marauders attacked her in space; the event that had brought her here in the first place.

After a silence when she was able to hold his eyes again, she asked, ‘Have you told the Elders?’

‘Not yet. I felt I had to tell you first.’

‘Yes, you were right to come to me.’

‘Do you know what I am talking about?’

‘Yes, I do.’

His eyes revealed a temporary sense of shock even though it was the answer he had expected.

‘What you saw, Myka, was my enemy. We call them marauders.’

‘Your enemy?’

‘Yes, Myka, they are my enemy. I’m sorry.’

‘You never told me about this.’ It was almost accusatory, as if lovers should have no secrets.

‘There was no need to tell you. Until now.’

She looked around the lagoon, up at the morning sky and back towards the beach. Her eyes fell on the two ships lying near the mangroves and she felt an inescapable pang of guilt. She looked back at Myka, who hadn’t taken his eyes off her.

‘You must tell the Elders, and we must have a Council with them.’

‘You say we. You mean you and Roger.’

‘Yes, it must include Roger.’

Myka turned the canoe around and paddled back towards her ship. She didn’t know what else to tell him. ‘I don’t know what to say.’ She realised straightaway that only people with a burden of guilt say those words.

Myka remained silent. When they arrived at her ship she climbed back aboard and looked down at him.

‘Go and tell the Elders that I request a Council with them. I will talk to you later.’

Myka just nodded his head and paddled off towards the beach. It was one of those beautiful mornings where the sunrise contradicted the mood of the day.

Elvene entered her ship and thought about the American Indians from Old Earth who had visions; in fact, they had a dream religion. Myka has a gift, she thought, that many people would consider a curse.

7. Council of Elders

ELVENE KNEW THAT THE FIRST THING SHE HAD TO DO WAS TELL ROGER. So she sent a message via Alfa that she needed to meet him along with Essayas and Lin as soon as they were available. As an afterthought she suggested that they join her for breakfast, if that was possible. Roger responded almost immediately and said that they would be there in about twenty minutes ship’s time. Elvene decided to go for a swim while she waited.

She was still in the water when they walked across onto Alfa’s deck. She pulled herself out to greet them and then went and got a towel before dressing herself in a simple robe. She had prepared a Kiri breakfast of fruit and milk made from a plant similar to a coconut only sweeter. Only when she had served them did she explain why she had called them. They all looked somewhat apprehensive even before she spoke.

‘My friend Myka came and visited me this morning even before the sun was up. He had some very disturbing news.’ She looked at their faces before proceeding. ‘He had a dream that his people were attacked by craft similar to ours. I can only conclude that he was referring to marauders.’

Roger was immediately incredulous and more than a little annoyed. ‘That’s a big assumption, Elvene. You would think of marauders, naturally, but why should he?’ Then as a corollary to his own train of logic, ‘Have you ever told him about marauders?’

‘No Roger. He knew nothing about marauders before today.’

‘And what does he know now?’

‘Only that they are my enemy.’

Essayas and Lin were attentive but remained silent. No one had eaten anything.

‘Please eat your breakfast,’ Elvene entreated them.

Everyone started eating except Roger.

‘Let’s look at this with the cold heart of logic.’ Roger leant forward a little. ‘You arrived here some months ago and Alfa is the only spaceship he’s ever seen.’

Elvene nodded agreement between swallows of milk.

‘Now we arrive in a similar vessel, and no doubt the Kiri are wondering if we are going to take over the place. Why wouldn’t the boy have nightmares?’ And then, to emphasise his point, ‘And these nightmares don’t have to have anything to do with marauders.’ He looked across to Essayas and Lin in silent appeal, as if his logic was incontrovertible, but they seemed to prefer to remain spectators.

‘What you say makes perfect sense, Roger, but there are precedents. Myka has had premonitory dreams before.’

Roger leant back in his seat and picked up a piece of fruit for the first time. ‘What do you call a premonitory dream?’

‘He had a dream of my spacecraft the night before it arrived.’

Roger was curious. ‘Did he describe this dream to you?’

‘Yes, he dreamt he discovered Alfa in the lagoon and he climbed aboard and Alfa sank beneath him.’

‘And…?’ Roger prompted.

‘That’s exactly what happened. The only difference was that he discovered Alfa in the presence of a friend, but his friend didn’t go out in a canoe to investigate.’

Roger looked at the table as if he was considering this. Finally Lin spoke.

‘You implied that this has happened more than once. You spoke in the plural.’

Elvene paused as if summoning her thoughts, but really she was summoning her will. ‘The other time was when I was trapped in the render’s pit. Myka dreamt he saw me there, and if he hadn’t, I would never have been found. At least I would never have been found alive.’

She had all their attention now, like she’d never had it before. Roger spoke first. ‘You never told us this before.’

‘It’s not something I wanted to talk about.’

Roger seemed to consider this. ‘Even so, Elvene, none of this suggests that the boy was dreaming about marauders. He said, if I heard you correctly, that they were craft like ours.’

‘Roger, any interspacial craft are going to be like ours to someone like the Kiri.’

‘But that’s precisely my point, they don’t have to be marauders just because they appeared in his dream. It could be a landing party from our own battleship.’

Elvene looked down at the table and put her hand to her head, then looked up before she spoke.

‘Let’s assume you’re right, Roger, but let’s also assume worst-case scenario. If Myka did dream of marauders invading, what does that mean for the Kiri?’

‘Well, if you hadn’t told him anything, it wouldn’t mean anything. It seems to me you’ve created a problem for the Kiri by putting your own interpretation on it.’

Roger realised he’d gone too far when he saw the look of righteous anger on her face.

‘You understand so little of the Kiri,’ Elvene said. ‘You think if you keep them in ignorance then everything is fine. When Myka came to me this morning he was clearly frightened by his dream and he will convey his fear to the Elders irrespective of what I tell him.’

She paused for breath. ‘You have no respect for these people, for their intelligence or their right to be informed. If the marauders do come here, Roger, it will be because of us. More specifically, because of me.’

Elvene glanced across to Essayas and Lin, as if she’d forgotten they were there, but she didn’t really care.

‘Okay Elvene, I understand you. Maybe we should continue this conversation when you’ve cooled down a bit.’

‘No.’ Elvene’s adamancy made his eyes go wide momentarily. ‘I have called a meeting with the Elders, and we, all of us in this room, need to agree on what we are going to tell them.’

‘Shit, Elvene. Why did you do that without conferring with us first?’

‘Because we need to take the initiative. Don’t you understand, Roger, that the Elders will call a Council anyway? We are all in this together while we are inhabitants on this island.’

‘I’m not sure I agree with you on that, but I take your point.’

‘Roger, if the marauders do come here, then we are responsible. We have to let them know.’

Essayas interjected for the first time. ‘Perhaps, Elvene, we should leave you on this for just a little while. Let us discuss this amongst ourselves and we’ll come back to you.’

Elvene looked at Essayas as if she’d just seen him for the first time. So you’re the boss. She nodded her head; only on the outside was she calm, inside she was seething.

She looked at the table: the breakfast, like the conversation, would remain unfinished. ‘Okay,’ she said in a much quieter voice, and the three of them rose and left her seated in her robe.

After leaving Elvene at her ship, Myka had returned to his people and gone straight to his father. Sefta saw the worried look on his son’s face even before he spoke.

‘Father, I had a dream last night. A terrible dream.’

Sefta took his son by the shoulder and led him away from the earshot of others, then they squatted together on the grass. ‘Okay, tell me about it.’

Myka recounted exactly what he had told Elvene.

‘You have already told the Ocean Woman?’

‘Yes.’

‘What did she say?’

‘She said they were her enemy; she called them morders or something.’

Sefta looked away into the distance momentarily as if he was trying to see the future. ‘This is very serious, son.’

‘Yes, I know. Elvene said we need to call a Council, and that she and her friends would attend.’

‘Yes, she is right. Leave it with me.’

When they stood, he patted his son on the shoulder, then he let his hand rest there. ‘We have made her part of our tribe; we believed it was her destiny and also yours. But now her enemies are our enemies.’

Myka knew this was true, but he wondered what part he played in it. He had seen more of Elvene’s powers than anyone else. He knew that any enemy of hers would have abilities well beyond the capacity of his people, but he kept these thoughts to himself.

‘For the moment, don’t speak of this to anyone else, will you?’

‘No, Father, of course not.’

Sefta released his hand from Myka’s shoulder and walked back towards the village. Myka, on the other hand, retreated towards the beach; it was his only haven now that he didn’t have access to Elvene’s ship.

Elvene was possibly even more annoyed with herself than she was with Roger, and she was unsure how she could steer any future conversation in a positive direction. She was unwilling to leave her ship for fear of facing one of the Kiri Elders or even Myka. Even by saying nothing to them she felt that she would be compromising their trust in her. She had a lengthy shower in a vain effort to speed up time. Then she ate some more food and exercised to rid herself of nervous energy. When she was done, she needed another shower.

It was past midday before Roger returned. This time Essayas and Lin were not with him.

‘I believe we have a position,’ Roger said. ‘Do you think we can talk about this without getting emotional?’

‘We have to talk, Roger, whether we get emotional or not.’ She offered him a seat. ‘Do you want some food or drink.’

‘A cool drink would be nice.’

Elvene poured him an iced drink made from some local fruit. They were trying to be nice to each other.

‘What’s the position?’ she asked when she was seated opposite him.

‘We have to tell them about the marauders. We have no choice now.’ He watched to see her reaction but Elvene remained calm. He continued, ‘There is nothing they can do about the marauders; they have no defence. Do you agree?’

‘Yes,’ she said.

‘Okay. Up to now the marauders have never visited here. If we should leave, there is no reason to believe they will come here in the future.’

Elvene nodded; what he had said up to this point made sense. ‘Okay,’ she responded. ‘But can I suggest that we move them off this island; after all we have the ability.’

‘They may not want to leave, Elvene.’

‘Yes, I’m sure you’re right, but I think they would be better served if they lived on a larger land mass.’ She could see he wasn’t convinced.

‘My main concern, Roger, is that after we leave, they have no protection. The worst possible scenario is that we leave and the marauders arrive in our absence.’

‘Yes, but let’s face it, irrespective of Michael’s dream...’

‘It’s Myka,’ she interrupted.

‘Sorry, Myka. Irrespective of his dream, the chances are remote, wouldn’t you say?’

‘Yes, on the evidence so far, the chances are remote. But the problem is that the only evidence that the Kiri have is Myka’s dream, and that is what they will base their judgement on.’

‘Elvene, I know you’ve been here for some time, and what’s more, they saved your life, but don’t you think our evidence is a bit more substantial than theirs?’

‘Have you ever heard of Sitting Bull?’

‘Who is he?’

‘He was a North American Indian of Old Earth. He defeated Custer at Custer’s last stand. It’s taught in the Academy.’

‘I think I know. It’s a lesson in underestimating your enemy because you believe you have superior firepower.’

‘Yes, and also about letting your ego and ambition override your rational judgement in a battle situation.’

‘What has that to do with the current situation?’

‘Nothing. It’s Sitting Bull I was talking about; he was the Indian Chief who defeated Custer.’

‘And…’

‘He had dreams or visions, which was a part of the North American Indian’s religious beliefs. He dreamt of that battle and its outcome. He also dreamt of his own death: that he would be killed by one of his own people. That also came true.’

‘Sounds like self-fulfilling prophecy to me. Or at least one of his people decided to make it self-fulfilling. Besides, I’m sure he had a lot of dreams that never came true.’

‘I’m sure you’re right, but at least two of them that concerned matters of life and death did. Just be aware, Roger, that the Kiri will take this as seriously as any American Indian.’

Roger nodded his head. He thought it best not to get into an argument with her over this.

‘What’s your relationship with this boy?’

He caught her by surprise and it showed on her face. ‘He saved my life, Roger.’

‘So you feel an obligation to him.’

Elvene relaxed a little. ‘I feel an obligation to the whole tribe.’

Roger seemed to relax a little himself. ‘Okay. When we go to the Council, we will tell them that we will leave in the next day or so, and we will explain to them that when we leave, we should take any threat of the marauders away with us. We won’t say anything about an airlift unless they bring it up.’

‘Okay.’

‘By the way, I’d still like to fly over the archipelago before we go.’

‘I’m sure we could raise that, and I still think it would be a good idea to take at least one of the Elders.’

Roger nodded his head and stood up to leave. They were both somewhat relieved that they had reached an amicable agreement.

After Roger left, Elvene decided she needed to go and talk with the Elders. But as she approached the beach on foot, she saw Myka, and he came up to her.

To Elvene, Myka’s face always appeared seriously concerned or contagiously happy with almost nothing in between. But it always said exactly what he felt, and that was a feature of his attraction to her. She thought it had been some time since she had seen him happy.

Myka forewent any introductory greeting. ‘I told my father. He said he would talk to the Elders.’

Elvene’s face had a pained look of its own. She put a hand on his shoulder, almost as his father had done, and this surprised him.

‘Myka, I’m going to have to leave here soon.’

Myka nodded. ‘Yes, I know.’

‘I do not like to leave you like this, but…’ She just shook her head, then she pulled him to her and hugged him.

This was such an un-Kiri thing to do, like kissing, that he felt awkward and didn’t know how to respond.

She let him go and stood back. ‘I must spend some time with you.’

‘After the Council tonight, come and stay with us.’

‘Yes, okay.’

They walked along the beach together.

‘I must go and talk to the Elders,’ she said, ‘Let them know that all four of us will be there.’

Myka said nothing, and they left the beach to go to the village.

From the vantage of his ship, Roger watched them through binoculars. When they were out of sight, he looked around to make sure that he had been the only one watching.

The Council was called in the evening after everyone had eaten and the sky was not yet black but stars or planets could be seen emerging in the twilight vault. Large fires burnt around the perimeter of a communal clearing and some people carried lamps. This time everyone sat on plaited grass mats under an open sky. Elvene expected that the whole adult male contingent of the tribe was there. Lin and herself were the only women present from what she could see. There was no one younger than Myka there, and his presence was requisite, because not only did he know the outworlders’ language, but his dream was the sole reason for the gathering.

Elvene and her colleagues sat at the front of the gathering, opposite a sort of stage that had been especially constructed for the occasion.

A group of six Elders sat facing them with Myka sitting in a place of honour, second from the end. The Elder next to him, and closest to Elvene, rose to start proceedings. Before he spoke, he walked over to one of the fires at the front and threw a handful of something into it, which created sparks and a pungent smell. Elvene had no idea what it was and assumed that it had cultural significance for the Kiri people.

He walked back to the centre of the stage and addressed the gathering in Kiri. When he’d finished he turned and looked at Myka; it was his cue to stand and address them in Universal.

‘This Council has been called because of a vision I had, which revealed to me an invasion of an enemy on this island and on my people. According to the Ocean Woman, this enemy is an enemy of her people. Her enemy is now our enemy, and the Council has been called so that we can decide what we need to do.’ When he’d finished he sat down.

Elvene realised that everyone now expected her to speak. She looked at Roger before standing, then, on an invitation from the convening Elder, she stepped up on to the stage and faced the people. She spoke to them first in Kiri.

‘I have discussed this with my friends, and we believe that this enemy is not interested in the Kiri people or this island. This enemy is only interested in us outworlders. We believe that if we leave this island and this world, the enemy, which Myka saw in his dream, will not come here.’

A murmur arose in the crowd, but Elvene held her hand up for silence, then she repeated herself in Universal for the benefit of her colleagues.

One of the Elders on the stage stood and asked a question. ‘You are telling us that Myka’s dream will not come true?’

She repeated his question in Universal before answering. ‘Myka’s dream will come true if we stay here. It is only by leaving that we can take this danger away from you.’

The first Elder then spoke. ‘Can you promise us this?’

‘No, I can’t.’

Again there was a nervous murmur from the gathering at her feet.

‘But it is only because we are here, that this enemy could become your enemy. It is only by leaving that we can change things back to the way they were before. Myka’s dream is a warning to us. If we heed the warning, it can be averted; if we do not, then the consequences will be disastrous.’

She repeated all this to Roger, Essayas and Lin, but meanwhile the gathering appeared unappeased. To her surprise, Myka rose to his feet and asked the convening Elder if he could speak. He spoke in Kiri, then in Universal.

‘What if we leave the island instead?’

Elvene looked at Roger in an effort to let him know that she was as surprised by this suggestion as anyone else. The Kiri audience, on the other hand, were more perturbed than ever.

‘Where would we go?’ someone called out, and the convening Elder held up his hand for silence which was quickly obeyed.

Elvene spoke directly to Roger. ‘Do you want to say something.’

Roger shook his head.

‘We can offer them transport,’ she said.

‘It has to be their decision,’ was his response.

The Elder turned to Myka, ‘What are they saying?’

‘They could help us, but only if we decide.’

The Elder turned back to Elvene. ‘Please explain what you are saying.’

Elvene looked at Roger, then addressed the larger audience.

‘If you really want to leave the island, if that’s your decision, we have the ability to carry you through the air. But you need to discuss that amongst yourselves.’

Elvene knew that this was such a foreign idea to them, that it was not a decision that could be made in one night.

‘Tomorrow, we can take a small group of you up into the air, and show you what we can do. But it is a big step for you to leave this island home; it contains a lot of uncertainty. You need to consider all of that.’

She looked at Myka, wondering where he’d got the idea. Obviously, he’d never discussed this with anyone else. She wondered if it was something that had come to him on the spur of the moment. It was also obvious to her that this Council would not be able to decide anything as dislocating and eventful as a wholesale evacuation.

As if reading her thoughts, the convening Elder spoke. ‘This is too big a decision to be made here in one night. Tomorrow we will choose some people to go in the Ocean Woman’s flying machine as she suggested. Afterwards we will have another Council, perhaps on our own.’ He asked Myka to repeat what he said in Universal.

After this, the convener announced the Council closed.

Before she left the stage, Elvene walked over to Myka and spoke to him in private. ‘Go home to your cave; I will come later. I need to escort Roger and his friends back to their ship.’

Myka nodded to her, and watched her walk back to her friends. He noticed that Roger was watching her closely.

Even though the Kiri could not understand his language, Roger waited till they were out of earshot before he spoke. ‘Do you really think they would leave the island?’

‘I don’t know. It’s a huge decision for them to make.’

‘Where did Myka get the idea from?’

Elvene looked at Roger, but she couldn’t read his face in the dark. ‘Not from me, I can assure you.’

‘Why would he raise it?’

‘I’ve no idea; you’d have to ask him.’

‘I saw you talking to him on the beach.’ This time Roger looked at her. Essayas and Lin followed, but in their enigmatic way stayed out of the conversation.

‘So?’

‘So. I’m surprised you don’t know.’

Elvene could think of a number of responses to this, but she decided to let them all go. They walked on in silence. They were now at the beach, but they were still too far away to see their ships in the shadows. There were no clouds and under the starlight, the water glittered in a random sea of stars. Even though there was no tide compared to Old Earth, the water was never still, and when there were storms there could be a heavy swell.

Back at the ship, Roger asked the obvious question. ‘So, what happens now?’

Elvene said, ‘We take them for a ride in one of our ships. It was an opportune time to raise it.’

Roger nodded his head; Essayas and Lin stood nearby like sentinels.

‘To be honest with you, Roger, I don’t like the waiting. But at the same time I don’t like leaving either.’

Roger was watching her face, then looked at his feet. ‘All Right, I will see you in the morning,’ and he entered his ship.

Essayas and Lin both smiled and said goodnight before following him.

Elvene walked over to Alfa and entered. Once inside she gave instructions should Roger or anyone call. After a short period she went outside again and hurried towards the beach. Once again, Roger watched her through his night glasses.

Elvene had only been inside the Kiri caves once before; this time, the mood was more inviting. No one seemed surprised that she was there, yet a sense of privacy was going to be difficult for her to acquire. None of the little caverns were really isolated from one another and there wasn’t even a screen between them. Myka was obviously more comfortable with the arrangement than she was, and he took the lead in their lovemaking.

He slowly undressed her and covered her in kisses. He made sure that she was completely comfortable and relaxed, before undressing himself. They held each other tight; Elvene felt so much at home with him now, so much at one, that the thought of leaving him was nowhere in her mind. She caressed his back, oblivious now to their surroundings. They stroked each other while lying face to face on their sides, but when they finally joined, she rolled him over on his back so that she could control him and feel his tension build beneath her. She heard him gasp, and then they both relaxed as he held her close against his face.

Afterwards, Myka lay on his back and she lay in the crook of his arm, her forehead against his chin. He kissed her there. ‘I don’t want you to leave,’ he said in a low voice.

‘Don’t think about it, Myka; this is our time and no one else’s.’

He stroked her head through her hair and pulled her closer still. They didn’t sleep, but simply lay together like they were sharing silent thoughts.

Elvene left before dawn, though when she exited the caves there was a lightening of the sky over the ocean. Despite everything that was happening she believed that she’d never felt more at peace. She knew it was something that she couldn’t hang onto, but for the time it lasted she was determined to indulge it. When she got to the beach, she stripped off and entered the water for a swim. This might be the last time, she thought. When the sun finally crested the waves, she got out, dressed and walked to her ship. She entered, and after drying herself off, promptly fell asleep.

Elvene was unsure how long she’d been asleep when Alfa awoke her, but she knew it wasn’t long enough. ‘Roger wants to see you.’

‘Yes, he would.’ Her mind slowly cleared; she realised it was still morning. ‘Tell him to give me twenty minutes, and then to come on over.’

Elvene showered and dried and put on new clothes. She prepared a hasty breakfast of synthetic cereal, carbohydrates and protein from her ship’s stores, and was eating it when Roger arrived.

‘Morning, Elvene, did I wake you up?’

‘Yes you did. I slept in.’

‘So I see.’

‘That obvious, huh?’

Roger sat down and watched her eat.

‘Do you want some?’ She gestured at her food.

‘No, I ate some time ago.’

He waited till she was more attentive and less distracted by her eating.

‘Tell me what do you know about this boy?’

Elvene was immediately on the defensive. All their conversations kept coming back to Myka’s credibility.

‘He’s very intelligent, very good on the water, a more than competent fisherman, and a very strong swimmer for his age.’

‘But you know him better than this, Elvene. I’ve seen the two of you together; he’s the only one who can really communicate with you. Isn’t that so?’

Elvene had stopped eating. ‘What do you want to know?’

‘I want to know why he’d be willing to leave his island home; the only home he’s ever known.’

‘You may not believe this, Roger, but he’s never discussed that with me and I’ve never asked him.’

‘Tell me more about his dreams and visions.’

Elvene recognised that Roger was in his investigative mode; she’d met this side of him before, when they knew each other less well.

‘I don’t know what else I can tell you besides what I’ve told you before. He dreamt about my arrival, he dreamt about me in the render’s pit, and now he’s dreamt about an invasion on this island. Maybe that’s why he wants to leave.’

Roger knew that the direct approach usually worked best with Elvene. ‘Why are you being so defensive? What are you holding back? You know more than you’re willing to tell.’

‘That’s true, Roger. Basically, because you don’t believe him.’

‘And you do?’

‘As you pointed out, I have come to know him very well; not just him, but his family and his people. I know what’s important to them, I know how they think.’

‘Precisely, you know how they think. So tell me what I’m missing.’

She looked away momentarily before answering, ‘Myka has other gifts.’

‘Go on.’

‘He has some sort of telepathic ability with animals.’

‘You have seen this, or he’s just told you about it?’

‘Well, we were being attacked by this flying creature; he called it a presperas in his own tongue, but it looked like a cross between a wolf and a giant bat. I was going to shoot it with my rappelling gun but he stopped me and he said that he’d sent it away.’

‘And you believed him, of course?’

‘Roger, the Kiri don’t lie the way we do, it’s almost like they don’t know how. I mean, I’m sure they do tell lies or at least withhold the truth, but they don’t lie about things like this. What’s more, Myka won’t tell the Elders about his ability, I’m not sure why.’

‘So he would lie to the Elders but not to you.’

‘I think, Roger, you are misconstruing what I’m saying.’

‘No need to get emotional, Elvene.’ Roger had adopted a manner not unlike a father with a recalcitrant child. ‘You’re very close to him, aren’t you?’

‘Yes, I am.’

‘You were with him last night.’

Elvene couldn’t hide the shock on her face, or the anger. ‘Are you spying on me, or is it them?’ She gestured in the direction of his ship next door.

‘Don’t get paranoid. A better question is why are you hiding this relationship from us?’

‘It’s none of your business.’

‘Don’t be so self-righteous. You and he are the only communication link we have with this community. And suddenly everything that we do, or for that matter, that they do, is dependent on just two people.’

‘I don’t like what you are insinuating.’

Roger noticed that she hadn’t raised her voice; a sign that she was very angry indeed. ‘I’m not insinuating anything, just stating the facts.’

‘Okay, let’s look at the facts. Since I’ve been here, Myka has had three dreams, and two have been of fundamental significance. There is no reason to doubt that the third one is less so. Forget about our relationship, as hard as that is for you to do. Our relationship has nothing to do with Myka’s dreams.’

Roger smiled. ‘Do you realise what you are saying? All these dreams relate to you.’

‘Okay, whatever you say. But the last dream relates to his people; it’s only indirectly related to me.’

Roger put his hands on his thighs as if he was about to stand, but remained seated. ‘Anyway, it’s all academic. We are going to leave here in the next day or so; probably tomorrow, and after that, the fate of the Kiri is in their own hands.’

Elvene nodded her head. She knew she could not argue with Roger on this. It was logically the right decision irrespective of the outcome. But she felt an enormous sense of responsibility and more than a little guilt, perhaps even betrayal.

‘Why can’t I stay?’ Her voice sounded small, like she was far away.

‘Because you are a danger to them, the same as me,’ Roger replied. ‘Ask yourself, Elvene, is it really in their best interests, or do you merely want to keep a relationship going? Your heart is the most vulnerable part of you, Elvene. It is why you are such a good fighter against the marauders, because with them, your heart doesn’t come into it. It is well known, perhaps not by you, but certainly within the Corps, that you have created the best partnership with your ship. Think about this, Elvene. Your heart is your one weakness.’

Elvene had never considered this before but she couldn’t help but see the truth in what he was saying. ‘Is it so wrong to listen to one’s heart?’

‘No, it’s not, but you always knew that you were going to have to leave this boy behind. It’s happened in theatres of war since the beginning of humankind. It usually happens to men, so don’t feel it’s because of your gender.’

Elvene’s gaze was locked on infinity. ‘Yes, you’re right.’ She was almost talking to herself.

Roger stood up; he seemed satisfied that he’d finally unlocked all of her secrets from him. ‘Okay. Now are you going to talk to the Elders about a flight over the island?’

‘Yes.’ She looked at Roger as if she’d just come out of a reverie. ‘I’ll go and see them straightaway.’

8. Last Contact

WHEN SHE EXITED HER SHIP, HOWEVER, ELVENE REALISED THAT TAKING A FLIGHT over the island was suddenly not a priority for her. Her main concern was when and how they were going to leave, and what the consequences would be for the Kiri. Despite her just completed conversation with Roger, she was still far from comfortable with the idea. Nevertheless, she had instigated the execution, if not the idea, and she had to follow it through.

The peace of mind she’d experienced the previous night was no longer with her, and what’s more, she knew it was beyond resurrection. She really wanted to talk to Myka, but true to her word she went and saw the Elders first. It wasn’t that difficult to organise. They asked her how many could go. She answered that if they took both their ships they could take quite a few, as many as six in each vessel. The Kiri indicated numbers up to about twenty by pointing to different parts of their body. They hadn’t expected this and they said they would have twelve people after lunch. If they wanted, they could all eat together. She said this was a good idea. Lunch, she realised, wasn’t that far away, but she still wanted to talk to Myka.

When she found him she asked him to walk to the beach with her. They talked as they walked along.

‘I’ll be leaving here tomorrow, probably.’

He looked at her, and tried to imagine watching her ship vanish into the sky, but found the image impossible to conjure. ‘Why do you have to go with them?’

Elvene sighed. ‘That is so difficult to answer.’ She stopped and gripped him by the shoulders to force him to look at her. ‘I am not from this world, Myka. You and I are so different really. You could never live in my world and I cannot stay here forever.’

He knew she was right, but he couldn’t get the truth of what she was saying to fit with the emotional truth of what he was feeling.

‘It doesn’t feel right,’ he said, only he said it in Kiri. The Kiri had a specific expression for such a sense, which they called quala, so he said ‘wos quala’. Elvene would have translated it as bad karma or something of that nature, rather than a rational perception of things not being as they should.

They started walking again, but his use of the expression made Elvene think of something else. ‘Does leaving the island “feel right” to you?’

He looked at her, but they kept walking. ‘Yes, it does.’

‘Why? Was that part of your dream?’ Elvene kept her eyes on the path in front of her, but she knew he was watching her intently.

‘No, it wasn’t.’

They were almost at the beach now, and Elvene said nothing, waiting for him to continue.

‘I have always known I would leave this island, it was just a question of when.’

This time they both stopped.

‘You have dreamt this?’ Elvene asked.

‘No, not at all. It’s just something I feel I was born to do.’

‘And you feel this is the time?’

‘I know it is the time. If we stay, the dream will come true.’

He said it with such certainty that Elvene was incongruously reminded of Alfa giving her a navigational trajectory.

‘You have told the Elders this? Or your father?’

‘Only what I told them last night.’

They walked onto the beach and sat down on the sand. They felt the breeze and looked at the expanse of water before them under a clear blue sky.

‘It calls me,’ he said.

Elvene looked at him anew; it was a side he’d never confided to her before. ‘You’ve thought about this for some time haven’t you?’

‘Yes, I thought about it the morning before you arrived.’

She could see that it all made perfect sense to him; everything that had happened was like a compass arrow pointing his life in a specific direction.

‘Other people have tried to leave, haven’t they?’

‘Yes. They never came back.’

‘What makes you think that you can?’

‘I don’t know. I think that when we find our destination, perhaps we won’t want to come back.’

‘I can tell you Myka, that there is land beyond this sea, but it would take months for you to get there, many seasons.’

‘How many seasons? A whole cycle?’

‘No, maybe half of half a cycle, maybe more, maybe less. I’m not really sure.’ Half of half was indicated by cutting her first finger twice with her other hand.

She looked over towards her ship and Roger’s; she remembered her other mission for the morning.

‘I have to talk to Roger about this afternoon; we’re having lunch with the Elders. Can you wait for me?’ She stood up to leave him.

‘Can’t I come with you?’

Elvene looked at him. ‘Yes, of course you can.’

They walked along the beach towards the ships. ‘You always canoe across, don’t you?’

‘It’s quicker,’ he said.

Considering the curve of the beach, she realised it probably was. But she also knew that he just loved to be on the water.

When they got to Roger’s ship, which was slightly closer than hers, she called out, ‘Elvene to see Roger.’

The ship’s door opened in its gangplank mode, and to her surprise it was Lin who walked out. ‘Roger is busy,’ she said.

‘You remember Myka,’ Elvene said. They nodded to each other and said hello. ‘Just tell Roger that we are having lunch with the Elders and then we’ll take them for a flight over the island. There will be twelve all told; six in each ship.’

Lin nodded. ‘I’ll tell him. Where will we meet you, here or at their camp?’

Elvene looked at Myka, trying to decide what to do, then she had an idea.

‘We’ll be in my ship, just call us when you’re ready to go.’

Lin looked as if she was going to say something, then changed her mind.

Elvene turned to Myka. ‘Come with me.’

Lin watched them board Elvene’s ship and then went inside herself.

It had been some time since Myka had last entered Elvene’s ship, not that he’d ever really considered it a second home. It was Elvene’s home, not his, and he’d always seen himself as a visitor and a foreigner, even when he slept there.

‘I want to show you something,’ she said. ‘Alfa, give me a projection of the island from one thousand.’

Of all the things that Elvene had showed him, nothing surprised him more than seeing a giant map of his island home appear on the wall of the ship. ‘We are here.’ She pointed to the corner of the lagoon and Alfa conveniently placed a marker there like a small triangle.

‘Okay, Alfa, just pull out slowly and I will tell you when to stop.’

Myka watched in amazement as he saw his island diminish in size and the rest of the archipelago encroach from the outside. The other islands predominantly came from the left; the sun, he realised, rose from the right.  There was one island further out to the east, which was just a rocky crag like the top of a mountain from the sea. He knew that on occasions he had seen it when he’d gone outside the reef. Their home was not the largest island but it was the only one with a sheltered lagoon, and it had abundant life.

He watched the islands get smaller and smaller, until he started to see the curvature of the horizon, then Elvene gave Alfa another command. ‘Track east, but keep the archipelago on screen.’ Alfa did as she asked, and Myka watched in awe as he saw the ocean stretch away to his right. He could see other islands dotted here and there, but even his home was becoming a speck in the expanse of broadening water. And then finally a huge land mass appeared on the right verge of the map.

‘Stop,’ Elvene commanded. ‘That’s how far it is,’ she said to Myka, and saw the stunned look on his face. ‘There is also land on the western side but the ocean currents and the winds favour you travelling east.’

Myka found himself taking a deep breath; he found himself truly speechless. ‘Is it possible?’ he finally asked.

‘Yes, it’s possible. But it’s very difficult if you’re doing it for the first time.’

Elvene didn’t even like to think of Myka attempting such a feat, but she kept any reservations she had to herself. She knew that if he truly believed it was his destiny, she could not dissuade him, and nor, she believed, should she try.

Instead she told him what she knew. ‘Back on Old Earth there were a people who lived on islands much the same as you do, in an ocean that was called the Pacific, and probably larger than this one here.’ She pointed to the expanse of water that was on the map.

‘Old Earth,’ Myka repeated. ‘Is that where you’re from?’

‘Where my ancestors are from, yes.’ She paused deliberately for effect. ‘And yours.’

He looked at her quizzically.

‘We share much the same genes, Myka, you and I. So yes, they’re your ancestors too.’

‘What are you talking about? I don’t understand.’

‘You and I are of the same species; we are both human. We could have children.’

‘So?’

‘That means, Myka, that you and I must have the same ancestry. Your ancestors, believe it or not, came from Old Earth, just like mine.’

He could almost grasp what she was saying, but not quite.

‘All the animals that are on this planet: the igrams, the antrops, the night render and the presperas; none of them exist on my world. None of them existed on Old Earth. So you see, you and I originally came from the same world. We had to, otherwise we wouldn’t be so much alike. I mean we can even talk to each other.’

He slowly began to see the logic behind what she was saying. And yet it explained nothing; if she and he were from the same world, no matter how far back in time, why didn’t the Elders know? But he didn’t ask Elvene this question because he knew she didn’t have the answer. Instead he asked her something that was closer to home.

‘These people who were like us. How much like us?’

‘Well, they lived on islands like you, but probably not in caves, and they had canoes, and they fished, and they were outstanding navigators.’

‘Navigators, what’s that?’

‘Believe it or not, Myka, certain members of their tribes could sail across these vast expanses of water, from one island to another.’ She pointed on the map to show him what she meant. ‘These very special people were called navigators, and they used a method called etak.’

‘Etak?’

‘Yes they could sense where they were and how far they’d travelled. They also used the stars to help them know their direction.

‘Etak was a talent or a gift that only certain people had, and they were the only ones who became navigators.’

He nodded his head in understanding.

‘So perhaps you have this gift, Myka, only you don’t know it.’

Myka looked at the map on the wall, and realised all at once why he had been destined to meet this woman. Who else could have told him this or shown him the way?

Elvene noticed a look of concentration and determination that she’d never seen on his face before. This is a new Myka, she thought.

He saw her watching him. ‘You know what I’m thinking, don’t you?’

‘Yes, Myka, I do. Here, let me show you something familiar to you. Alfa, give me the night sky.’

Alfa immediately turned the room into a planetarium.

‘You recognise this?’

‘Yes, of course. That’s the night sky for the water season.’

‘You know these stars very well, don’t you?’

Myka nodded. She knew that because there was no moon, and there were no artificial lights, except what they produced by fire, the Kiri used the constellations to determine the seasons of their yearly cycle around their sun.

‘Well, you can use these stars to help you navigate. I will show you.’

She then asked Alfa to demonstrate the motion of the stars; how they always rose and set in the same orientation, only changing the time with the seasons. Then she asked him to move north and south so she could demonstrate to Myka how new stars appeared and others disappeared depending which way they went.

Myka grasped the concept immediately, but understood that it would take practice on open water to master. He realised that Elvene had not only given him a rare insight but the very key to his dreams.

The next instant the wall went blank and Alfa interrupted them, ‘Roger is waiting for you, madam.’

‘Thanks, Alfa, tell him we’ll be right there.’

If Roger was surprised to see Elvene emerge from her ship with Myka, he didn’t show it. He was alone and the three of them walked off together without saying anything at all.

Elvene was surprised when the Elders asked Myka to join them as they sat down on grass woven mats to eat their lunch. The lunch passed uneventfully with no meaningful conversation that Elvene could remember. But when they had finished, she was even more surprised when the Elders suggested that Myka should be one of those selected to go with her. By the look on his face, she could see that he was just as surprised as she was.

A group of eleven Elders plus Myka returned to the two ships where they were met outside by Lin and Essayas. The Elders sorted themselves into two groups of six and five, and Myka stayed with Elvene’s group. Roger had agreed beforehand that Elvene should take the lead.

Although Myka had been inside Elvene’s ship on a number of occasions, he had never seen her pilot it. He considered himself very privileged to be allowed aboard to witness this aspect of her world. The ship could create its own inertial reference frame through its anti-gravity generated fields, so none of the occupants felt the forces of motion. Even so, Elvene provided them all with seats and had them harnessed in. This was because visual orientation acting contrarily to the sensation of balance could easily make people fall over, especially since the ship could provide virtually complete surround vision.

The seats literally rose out of the floor, three rows of two. She had Myka sit up the front on the right hand side. The seats were low to the floor and semi-reclined so that their knees stuck up a bit. To the Elders’ surprise, she issued them all with small bags, explaining that they were in case they felt the need to throw up. As soon as she said this she wondered at the wisdom of making the voyage straight after lunch. Oh well, better they have something than nothing, she thought. They all looked at her strangely, but she knew that the odds were against them, since they had never experienced any motion before, except for the waves under their canoes.

Elvene had her own seat off to their right, separated by at least two arm lengths, and slightly in front. It had armrests and it could swivel so that she could face them or any direction she wished. Unlike them, she put a helmet on with a black visor that covered the top half of her face. Myka had once seen a rock that colour; it had looked like a black blob of water that had been frozen into rock, only it had sharp edges. She had no obvious controls but Myka saw her put a pair of gloves on as well. She then seemed to press the side of her helmet and something like a wand came out and went across her mouth.

‘Alfa, give me audio to Roger.’

Her passengers couldn’t hear Roger’s voice.

‘Roger here. We are ready when you are, Elvene.’

‘Did you provide them with sick bags, Roger?’

‘Yes, Elvene. You know we shouldn’t have had lunch.’

‘Too late now,’ she said. ‘When you’re ready Roger, can you give surrogate control to Alfa?’

‘You already have it.’

‘Thanks, I’ll cut our link to emergency only.’

‘Done.’ There was no click or other clue, but she knew Roger was no longer there.

‘Alfa, give us bubble vision.’

To everyone’s amazement the ship disappeared and they were sitting, hovering in space. The water below them was hollowed out and came up on all sides like they were sitting in an invisible bath. Next to them they could see Roger’s ship, still an opaque, black, tear-drop bubble.

Elvene spoke to them in Kiri; she knew that Roger’s ship would also have her voice. ‘Don’t be alarmed; the ship is still there, you can simply see through it.’ This wasn’t strictly true, but it described the illusion that they could see.

‘When we take off, I might seem like I’m in a trance, but I will talk to you from time to time.’ She paused a beat. ‘Okay, we’re going to start moving now.’

The two ships glided out into the lagoon in unison. They both pirouetted in a graceful slow motion dance, almost a full revolution, until everyone found themselves facing towards the beach, then they rose very slowly, the water below them sucked up slightly in a swell before breaking contact. Even though they were no more than a man’s height above the water, Myka found this floating in the air the strangest sensation of his still young life. They rose a bit higher and he now understood why they had been given the bags.

‘Okay Alfa, give us a floor.’ To everyone’s relief, they now seemed to be seated on an airborne platform so the sensation of vertigo virtually vanished altogether. Elvene had done this deliberately, knowing that the reverse would have been diabolical. ‘Now give us a skeleton.’ And they saw the outline of the ship as if they were suspended inside a giant cage. It was still a strange sensation, but it was more comfortable then the previous one. Overhead there was a broad strip that tapered to the rear like a fish’s tail. In front it branched into two curved beams that met the floor at each corner. The floor now had a lip that ran the entire perimeter of their perceived view of the ship’s interior. There were two more columns down each side that stretched like giant ribs from this perimeter to the central beam overhead. It felt for all the world like they were sitting in a giant, hollowed-out fish; a fish that could fly. Myka knew that the ship was actually larger than the apparition he was viewing, but it was easier to go along with it than try and comprehend it in its reality.

Elvene controlled the ship by movements of her hands, using individual fingers. She kept her hands on the armrests but the controls were really in her gloves. She faced forward as the orientation of her head determined largely what she saw. Elvene always got a visceral joy out of flying the ship in this mode. It was when she and Alfa were most closely connected. When they started flying she remained silent; she flew the ship almost by thought alone. It was like Alfa had become part of her; she likened it to the relationship between a musician and their instrument, as crude as that analogy seemed. Certainly, any of the musicians she knew would find it crude.

But she wasn’t thinking of that now, because as soon as they started moving she got into what she called the flow, where her mental state seemed to change and she was no longer grounded in normal reality. In fact, when she was in this state she couldn’t perceptually separate herself from the ship itself.

Both ships lifted effortlessly leaving the ground behind. They sped across the beach, now a narrow strip of sand and straight towards the cliffs that housed the Kiri caves. The two ships did all their manoeuvres in unison as if they were one unit, but when they approached the mountain ridge they moved independently as if the invisible cord between them could flex and warp. They flew over, revealing the grassland floor beyond and dipped down at frightening speed like giant birds of prey. They saw antrops running below them, scared out of their wits, even though the craft made no audible sound.

Myka felt like he was riding over a waterfall in his canoe only his body’s sense of movement did not match his eyes.

‘If you feel ill,’ he heard Elvene say in Kiri. ‘Just close your eyes until it goes away.’

But Myka had no intention of closing his eyes and instead felt the sort of thrill he sometimes got when crossing the reef. In fact he was feeling the flow that Elvene experienced, but for him it was a completely new experience. He was flying, and he had to admit he rather enjoyed it. Someone behind him did throw up but he ignored them. Elvene was now in level flight as they raced across the grassland and approached the mountains on the other side. They zoomed over, and the elation he felt was even greater. On the other side was a long waterfall that dropped below them, falling into a small lake before spilling into a narrower stream that wriggled its way through the dense jungle like a snake. Myka had never seen this side of the island and he knew it was probably more dangerous than his home side. They were now heading towards the island’s western end where it spilled into the sea as rocky fingers and small coves of sand, but nothing compared to the beach facing the lagoon on his home side.

Upon reaching the ocean they could see in the distance another outcrop, and they travelled towards it. Below in the ocean they could actually see a lone kingfish, its black body clear below the blue-green surface.

As they approached the outcrop it became another island, and behind it lay another, only it appeared larger than their home. But this was an illusion because as they crossed it they saw it was like a single ridge that had broken free of the sea, and even from the air they could see it was close to uninhabitable.

Elvene swung the ships to the left in a broad arc over the top of it so they could get a better view. She tilted the craft over and Myka had a sudden sensation that they were going to fall out of the sky. Someone else brought up their lunch or it may have been the same person, but Myka consciously blocked it out. He stayed with the flow that he was picking up from Elvene’s mind, though he would not realise it was Elvene’s mind until later.

They sped across to look at another island to their left. It was more like their home in size and shape, only there was no grassland in its centre, and it had more waterfalls on all sides. Again it had beaches but no lagoon, and Myka understood why his home was the only one that was inhabited.

There were other smaller islands and other reefs as well; they flew over them all, but they came back almost diametrically opposite from whence they had left. Elvene approached their home from the southern side where a long ridge jutted out into the sea and provided the protection for their lagoon. She leap-frogged the ridge and they descended, speeding along the beach. With the anti-gravity field she could have stopped almost as if on impact but for the sake of her passengers’ sanity she slowed gradually to a crawl. Even so the loss of speed was beyond their ken. They were back at their starting point and she dropped down slowly onto the water. Only when they were back at their berth did she gradually reassert the ship’s solidity as if night was falling, with daylight being replaced by the ship’s artificial light.

It was a quick flight and she had found it invigorating, almost wishing she had done it earlier. But she believed it had achieved its purpose, which was to give her colleagues a tour and the Elders a glimpse of their world from the air.

‘Are you there, Roger?’

‘Yes, thank you, Elvene.’

‘Did you see enough?’

‘Yes, it was a quick tour, but anything more we’ve already got from our own ships in orbit.’

Elvene knew this was true, but she could understand Roger and the others wanting to have a closer look first hand.

Elvene removed her gloves and helmet and spoke to the Kiri. ‘I apologise for causing some of you discomfort. You may feel a bit strange when you stand up so just stay where you are for the moment.’

Elvene got out of her pilot’s seat which immediately sank into the floor. Then she walked to a wall behind them which hadn’t been there during their flight and a small table came out. She came back to them with a tray containing six glasses of a clear liquid. ‘Here, drink this before you get up. It will make you feel better.’ While she did this she took their bags and disposed of them.

To Myka’s astonishment the drink did make him feel better and he wondered what it was. It was slightly fizzy and had a strange taste, neither sweet nor sour, but he found it refreshing all the same.

When they got to their feet they did find it strange as if they’d forgotten how to walk, but once they were outside and back on the beach they started to feel normal again. They all thanked both her and Roger, smiling stoically as they did.

The Elders wandered back along the beach, occasionally one of them would weave a bit as if he was drunk and Myka couldn’t help chuckling at their plight. He knew he would be the same, but he had hung back to talk to Elvene.

‘Will I see you tonight?’

‘Yes, even before tonight. I think we should all eat together,’ she said, and she turned to Roger, Essayas and Lin, repeating what she said in Universal.

They all agreed, prompting Elvene to say to Myka, ‘Perhaps you should go and tell them. I will come and see you before then, anyway.’

‘Okay.’ He started to run along the beach but he soon had to stop. Elvene laughed at him and he looked back at her with his boyish grin. It was the way she always wanted to remember him and on impulse she waved to him. He waved back before turning his back and continuing on at a fast walk.

She turned to Roger and the others. ‘Are we really leaving tomorrow?’

‘I think it would be best, don’t you?’

‘I guess so. Well, if we are, I need to spend more time with them.’ But in contradiction to her sentiments, she turned and went back inside her ship.

Elvene really didn’t have any purpose in entering her ship except to be alone. She realised that she had a strong dislike for Essayas and Lin, possibly because of their silence which bordered on antisocial behaviour in her view. She knew she would find it impossible to share ship-time with them and wondered how Roger coped. She also knew that her feelings were completely irrational and somewhat compounded by the emotional strain of leaving Myka. She knew that once she left this planet, she would never see him again – of that she was almost certain.

She waited until she knew that they were no longer out there, and then left Alfa to walk along the beach by herself.

Myka caught up with the Elders and told them that the outworlders would eat with them that night. When they reached the village, he went and told his mother.

‘Where is Father?’ he asked.

‘He and your brother are out hunting. Were you inside one of those flying ships?’

‘Yes, did you see us?’

‘No, I saw the ships.’ She laughed at her own humour. The boy smiled at her. ‘I have never seen anything like that. No animal can fly like that.’

‘If you were inside you would find it even more strange; it was like her ship had no skin.’

‘How do you mean?’

‘I mean we could see through it.’

‘But they were black and solid.’

‘From the outside, yes. But from the inside you could see everything.’

Lenya shook her head in disbelief. ‘I do not like their magic,’ she said.

‘It’s not magic, it’s just things we can’t make.’ Then he said something, that even to his own ears, sounded very profound. ‘It’s like we are from their past and they are from our future.’

Lenya looked at him and wondered how much truth was in his statement. ‘Did the Ocean Woman tell you that?’

‘No. I just thought of it then.’ But he remembered Elvene saying they had common ancestors; he decided it was best not to elaborate. Instead he changed the subject. ‘You know she is leaving tomorrow.’

‘No, I didn’t know that.’ She looked at him. For some reason she felt that Elvene leaving was a bad omen, but she kept the thought to herself. Her son, she knew, would be upset enough. ‘We must give her a good meal tonight then.’

‘Yes, we must.’

It wasn’t long after that, that Sefta and Rafta returned with some small game. They gave it to Lenya to prepare for cooking.

‘Did you see us fly over the island?’ Myka asked.

‘Did the Elders take you?’ Rafta asked. Myka could see that his brother was jealous, so he said nothing.

‘Yes, we saw the flying ships,’ his father answered. ‘They were very fast.’

‘I’m sure they could go much faster,’ Myka said. ‘It’s a pity you couldn’t have come.’

Sefta ruffled his hair. ‘It’s all right, son. I have no desire to fly.’

Then Myka broached the subject he really wanted to discuss with him. ‘Can I show you something?’

‘Sure.’

Myka squatted on the ground. He had a pouch tied over his shoulder and from it he took some small rocks and shells. He cleared a patch of dirt with his hand and then carefully laid them out in a string-like pattern.

‘This is our home,’ he said, pointing to the one closest to him. Then he pointed to one he had placed nearby. ‘This one, here, is the sentinel we see sometimes when we go outside.’ He was referring to the outcrop they can sometimes see when they cross the reef.

Then he pointed to the others which were stretched out like a wobbly line. ‘These are much further away.’ Then he stretched past them with one leg and drew a line with his finger on the other side, perpendicular to the line of pebbles and shells. ‘This is the land on the far side of the ocean.’

His father could not hide his surprise. ‘Did you fly that far?’

‘No, no. We only flew over our islands here.’ He pointed back to his first rock.

‘Then…?’

But Myka anticipated the question. ‘Elvene showed me this in her ship. She called it a map.’

Both Lenya and Rafta had been watching with great interest. Now Lenya spoke for the first time. ‘Here comes the Ocean Woman now.’

Myka looked back over his shoulder, and when he saw her he stood up.

They all greeted her, then Myka explained what he had just told his family.

Elvene was almost as surprised as they were, but only because she had never expected him to remember it in such detail.

Without talking, she took something out of a pocket in her belt. When she unfolded it, it was not unlike the visor she had worn on her helmet. She put it over her eyes like a mask.

‘What is that?’ Myka asked. ‘What are you doing?’

‘I am sending this image back to Alfa,’ she said without explaining anything he could understand.

She took the glasses off and handed them to Myka.

What he saw was the image of the pebbles on the ground overlaid onto the map he had seen inside her ship. The fit of the two images was not precise but it was very close and certainly the pattern was exact.

He took the glasses off and handed them around to his family. They all looked at it without understanding, except Sefta.

‘Is this your “map”?’ he asked.

Myka answered for her, ‘Yes it is.’

Elvene was reminded of Kim’s game, in Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale, when Kim was asked by his teacher spy to remember an arrangement of diverse items on a tray after just one glance. Later, when she would query Alfa about this, he would tell her that the Aboriginal children of Australia on Old Earth had shown a particular aptitude for this game, because they had the ability to hold spacial relations in their head without using an external reference. But Elvene realised as soon as she had seen the match of the patterns that that was exactly what Myka had done.

‘I’ve told Myka that on Old Earth, which is the planet from where our ancestors came, there were people who lived just like you do and they were able to navigate over oceans between islands like this.’ She pointed to the stones and shells on the ground. ‘There were people on these islands who were called navigators. They had a special gift that allowed them to find their way across the sea.’

‘You think my son has this gift?’ Sefta asked.

Elvene could see that Lenya in particular looked very worried.

‘I’m sure he has,’ Elvene answered.

‘You think we should leave the island?’ Lenya asked.

‘Yes, I think you should. If I wasn’t leaving here so soon, I would organise my own people to do it. But your son believes he has the means and perhaps he has.’

‘Why do you think we should?’ Lenya persisted.

‘Because “it feels right”.’ They all looked at her and then at each other.

Elvene felt that she had brought a mood of melancholy with her, and in a way she wished that she wasn’t eating with them that night. But on the other hand she wished she wasn’t leaving at all. That certainly “didn’t feel right”, to use the Kiri expression, but she was never going to tell them that.

Elvene and Myka walked back towards the beach together. She felt a heaviness that she’d never felt before; it was more than a sadness, almost a sense of something yet to come. The future did not look good – no, more than that, it did not feel good, and yet she would not have been able to explain it to anyone. She knew that Roger was right – they had to leave – yet at the same time she felt that it was the wrong decision entirely. It’s stupid, she told herself, but she had no logic to support her reasoning.

By the time they reached the water, the sun was drawing long shadows in front of them, and the water was dark. There was a dark cloud on the far horizon. It appeared to Elvene to be an omen. It was where the sun would rise tomorrow.

They didn’t talk at all, both lost in their thoughts. When they reached the water’s edge with it lapping at their feet, Myka took her hand, which surprised her completely. He had actually grown in height in the short time she’d known him, but he was still shorter than her by about half a head. He probably came up to her nose instead of her chin.

‘What are you thinking?’ she asked.

‘I’m thinking of the future,’ he said.

‘And what do you see?’

‘I see a very difficult voyage.’

‘That’s good,’ she said, and she really meant it. There was nothing like a challenging goal to focus one’s mind and keep away the demons.

‘What do you see?’ he asked.

She felt herself falter but she held onto his hand. ‘I don’t see anything Myka, but I believe you will be safe. Don’t ask me why I say that, it’s probably what I want to believe, but deep down I really do believe it.’

Elvene felt so sure of this that she wondered whether she was becoming a Kiri herself. She recognised it as something that they would say.

He let go of her hand, and they walked back the way they had come.

Roger, Essayas and Lin joined them for the evening meal. They sat around fires so they could see each other’s faces. There was not a lot of intercourse; the mood was sombre and the Kiri were too honest to feign happiness when it wasn’t there.

The night was mild, but there was a storm brewing and they saw occasional flashes of lightning out to sea. Roger and his group left early, but Elvene stayed with Myka and his family, only going up to the caves when it started raining.

Once they were alone, Elvene and Myka indulged in a slow, sensual lovemaking against the background noise of thunder and rain. Afterwards, they lay awake listening to the abating storm. Elvene wondered if she’d sleep at all this night, but when the storm lulled she drifted off.

She had a very strange dream. She was in a cave; no, it was more like a tunnel but it was different from the Kiri caves. She didn’t recognise any of it. The tunnel scared her, reminding her of the Render’s pit, because she was sure something lived in it. Yet she was compelled to enter it. At the entrance was a large tree that she had to squeeze by to get through. It was night and she was wearing her combat armour, complete with helmet and night vision. But the tunnel was not just an entrance, it was a corridor, only it appeared natural, not manmade.

She awoke with a start. But it was more than the dream; there was a tingling sensation in her bracelet, and she recognised it at once as a message from Alfa.

Elvene felt around in the semi-dark and found her utility belt. She took out the glasses that she’d used earlier that day. When she put them on she could see Roger, so she spoke to him. ‘I have you, Roger. What’s happening?’

‘Marauders are attacking our mothership. We have to leave, Elvene.’

‘I’ll be right there.’

‘We’ll wait for you. Hurry.’

‘I’m on my way.’

She knew that she and Roger would need escort protection to get back, and she knew that Roger would be organising that already. The tingling in her bracelet had stopped, and she took the glasses off and put them back in her utility belt. She started to dress herself.

Myka had woken up. ‘What’s happening?’ He sounded half-asleep.

‘I have to go, we are being attacked. No, not here, our mothership above the planet.’ She pointed up.

Elvene felt strangely at ease; she realised in a sense that this was what she’d been waiting for. ‘Myka, if I leave, the marauders will not come here. Do not rush your migration, it’s not something you can do tomorrow. It will take a lot of planning and a lot of preparation. Do you understand me?’

Myka’s mind felt numb with sleep, but her adrenalin was infectious and he nodded his head in the half-light. He knew that what she said was true.

‘I have to go. If I live through this, I will come back some day.’

‘I will come with you, to your ship, I mean. It’s still dark.’

‘No, don’t. You stay here with your people. In the morning I will be gone.’

She kissed him on the lips and then he grabbed her in a final hug. When he released her she held onto his shoulders momentarily; she could see his worried face in the half-light. She thought that anything she’d say would sound stupid so she said nothing.

Then she turned and slid out of his grasp with the quickness and agility of a snake. He crawled through the tunnels after her, but she didn’t look back. He knew that it was better that she didn’t, and so he just watched her go.

Part 2

9. No escape

ELVENE RAN ALL THE WAY TO THE BEACH, and when she got there she could see Roger’s ship already aloft, in a hovering position, impatient to go. He must have seen her, as his ship flashed a light towards her, then wheeled around before taking off in a direct ascent towards the stars.

Elvene stopped running, and putting her fingers to her lips, somehow found the breath to whistle. Alfa came speeding across the water, the gangplank already opening, so that she could leap aboard before he had even grounded in the sand.

The gangway closed behind her and she immediately seated herself in the pilot’s chair, donning her helmet and gloves as she spoke. ‘Okay, Alfa, let’s go.’

The anti-gravity field balanced any inertial force, so that she didn’t feel any movement even as the beach and ocean departed beneath her.

‘Is there an escort waiting?’

Alfa spoke to her through the helmet for the first time. ‘Yes, madam. We have two escorts and so does Roger. Roger’s ship has already left atmosphere.’

‘Do we know how many marauders we’re dealing with?’

‘Not too sure. Between one hundred and fifty and two hundred.’

‘Holy shit.’

‘What’s that, madam?’

‘It’s an expletive, Alfa. I’m surprised you haven’t heard it before. You may hear some more before this is over. They usually mean we’re in deep trouble.’

‘Understood, madam.’

It was only when she broke atmosphere herself that she could see the mothership and the extent of the battle. The mothership had been in a geostationary orbit to the west of the island so that it was out of sight to the Kiri. It was a fat cigar-shaped cylinder, but on closer inspection it would look like an enormous space-borne city. The escorts had been followed by marauders and Alfa was already positioning them for her in her visor. This is going to be an awkward gauntlet, she thought. She watched as Roger’s ship locked onto its escort and they moved towards their enemy.

Behind the marauders she could see other Corps battle ships coming to attack the marauders from the rear. ‘I have contact with our escort,’ Alfa told her through her helmet.

‘Thanks, Alfa, we’re in their hands.’

As they approached, she could see the chaos of battle that surrounded the mothership. The ship itself had a shield which could be seen only when marauder missiles struck it ineffectually. But Elvene knew that all the marauders would need to be destroyed before the Corps would be able to go to warp. Smaller vessels whipped around the mothership like flies; the corps vessels were larger than the marauders but it didn’t really give them any advantage. It was a contest of missiles and plasma lasers. Roger’s vessel was still ahead of hers, and his escort made a break in the marauders coming towards them, with some help from the Corps fighters at their rear.

Elvene could see that the distance between her and Roger was going to be the weak link. As Roger’s ship got closer to the mothership, his escorts made a hole in the marauder attack which allowed them to make contact with other Corps vessels closer to the ship. This created the opposite effect for Elvene, who was faced with more marauders than Corps fighters.

The escort used their lasers to take out incoming missiles, but they were encumbered by their inability to take evasive action. Elvene could see that the marauders had now effectively cut her off from Roger. Other Corps vessels were coming towards her but she could only hope that her escort would not be overrun before they arrived.

Then her escort on the port side took a hit, and in an attempt to compensate for their vulnerability, Alfa moved behind the remaining one. Elvene knew that the situation was becoming desperate; soon the marauders would cut her off from behind and she couldn’t allow that to happen.

‘Alfa, do you still have the ballast water from the planet?’

‘Yes, madam, why do you ask?”

‘Never mind, just don’t lose it.’

Very soon, the marauders would be behind her and then there would be no avenue for escape. Elvene decided to follow her instinct instead of her orders.

‘Alfa, delink from the escort.’

‘That’s suicide, madam.’

‘Not if we go landside. The options below us are better than the ones ahead of us.’

‘That is correct.’

‘Tell the escort to fend for himself, then release the link.’

‘As you say, madam.’

As soon as Alfa delinked, he dropped down, the escort going the other way. This effectively broke up the marauders who now had two targets instead of one. Most of them went after the escort as he was more heavily armed. Elvene had no armaments at all, but two marauders came after her and released missiles.

‘Missiles dead ahead, 15 seconds,’ Alfa told her.

‘Release the water ballast and full reverse.’

Elvene knew it was a desperate gamble, but it paid off. The water turned to ice as soon as it was released. Shards of crystal travelling at hypersonic speed met the missiles head on, so they exploded ineffectually as Alfa plummeted into the atmosphere. The atmosphere would provide them with some protection, but Elvene knew that the only really safe place for them was under the ocean.

Alfa tore through the atmosphere like a meteor, a fireball trailing a long plasma tail, heading directly for the ocean. If the Kiri had been on the western side of the island and out in the open they may have seen the trail disappear over the horizon but they would not have heard the sonic boom. Neither would they have experienced the swell of Alfa’s entry into the ocean. Elvene knew that it was only the anti-gravity field and the diamond-hard hull of her ship that stopped her from being killed on entry, but once in the water Alfa dived for the bottom.

Underwater was the one environment where the marauders lacked superiority. There simply had never been any reason for them to evolve for underwater dominance and whilst they would not be destroyed by water, they had no sensing ability and no means to effectively use their weapons. Nevertheless, the marauders weren’t completely inadequate in this field, and they dropped sonar chasers which would surface when they found their prey. But the chasers had limitations of their own, having to be ‘seen’ in order to do their detecting, and Alfa knew how to play this game. Firstly he led them north-east in the opposite direction to where Elvene intended to go, then he used the underwater terrain to lose them. Only when he had totally confounded them did he set the course that Elvene requested, following the ocean floor and using underwater ravines and mountain ridges as his foil. It was a game of hide and seek, played by competing computers and Elvene did nothing to interfere, whatever the temptation. She knew that in the long term the marauders would still find her; she was just buying some time.

She knew that when the marauders finally conceded that the chasers were ineffectual, they would start a surface search in a systematic fashion and sense for signs when she surfaced, as they knew she must. While she was underwater, Elvene was relatively safe, but it did not give her any peace of mind to know that the marauders had infinite patience, and would not give up until they had found her and killed her. The marauders were nothing if not predictable.

Roger knew Elvene was in trouble as soon as his escort became cut off from her. His first impulse was to turn back to help her, but not only did he not have the authority, he also knew it was folly. He could only hope that more Corps vessels could get to her before she was overrun by marauders.

He said, ‘No,’ out loud when he saw her escort take a hit, and felt the full pain of his helplessness. So close and so far. Then he watched in absolute horror as she delinked from her remaining escort.

‘Elvene, what are you doing? You have no protection.’ Then he realised the desperation of her manoeuvre and her intention to try and reach atmosphere.

‘You won’t make it,’ he said in a soft voice.

He felt like he was with her in her ship and almost wished he was. He did not want to be witness to her death. Then he saw the explosion, and he believed he was. There was some part of him that died right then, and another part that did not want to believe it, so that against all the evidence of his senses, he held a hope that she had escaped, though by what means he had no idea.

‘Is there any contact with Alfa?’ he asked his ship.

A brief hiatus, then, ‘There’s no response.’

Roger’s heart sank to its lowest ebb; it didn’t occur to him, however, that contact with Alfa through a re-entry plasma was simply not possible.

He no longer felt any concern for his own safety, and the battle that raged around him seemed like it was happening in a holo show outside his own corporeal existence.  From his point of view he was drifting through a sea of flashes and explosions, slowly homing in on the mothership. They were now close enough to see the intricate structure of turrets and ports through its invisible shield. His ship and his escort would slide effortlessly through while the marauders and their weapons would simply bounce off. Once they were behind it, he knew they were safe, but he also knew that they wouldn’t leave until all the marauders were accounted for, or enough had been destroyed that their built-in survival programming would call it quits.

Roger felt little relief at achieving his own safety, and when they docked, he watched from the bridge in complete detachment as he saw the marauder force slowly but ineluctably overwhelmed. He felt like he was standing on a stage, only the space opera was happening out there, in another world. Everything now was beyond his control; he felt he was merely a spectator who had lost whatever effectiveness he may have had over events. He detected within himself a certain apathy; he no longer cared.

When the order was given to leave the system, he went to his quarters and put himself into hibernation. It was a form of escape, like taking a drug to numb the mind. He knew that when he awoke he would be home and he would be able to deal with his loss better with distance. Besides the effects of hibernation would temporarily erase the memory until it was regurgitated by the ship’s computer when they docked at their final destination.

Elvene made rapid progress once they had lost the marauders’ chasers, though she didn’t really know how well their ruse had worked. Alfa did all the navigating for her now, based on maps he’d made when he had first arrived and orbited the planet while she slept. He had accurate maps of all land masses, so she simply needed to tell him where she wanted to go, which was as far from the Kiri as possible.

This meant that they were on a westward course heading for a continent of which she knew very little except that it varied from mountainous to open plains and contained an equal variety of vegetation from thick forest to grasslands. She expected it would be just as dangerous as the archipelago from whence she’d just come, only the dangers would be different and just as unpredictable. If Elvene had been quizzed on this, as no doubt she would be at some future time, she would honestly have to say she was simply following her intuition. Where she was going to land, she had no idea, but she decided not to go too close to the poles and not too close to the equator, therefore avoiding extremes. As the Kiri lived slightly north of the equator, she decided to head south; besides there was significantly greater land mass to the south on this side of the planet.

She knew that if Myka followed his plans and managed to migrate east, based on the map he had already memorised in his head, then he would be going north. So, everything she was doing so far made sense. She also knew that if she travelled far enough without surfacing, she’d have a slight advantage over the pursuing marauders and that could make the difference for her between survival and death. She hadn’t thought too much about how she was going to deal with them, but she wanted to make certain that if she didn’t survive, then Alfa would.

Alfa was forced to navigate from his maps and laser gyroscopics, as he had no means of sensing the sky. He could however detect magnetic fields and subtle differences in gravity which he kept track of even if they didn’t provide him with immediate assistance. These were recorded more as an aid in case he needed to backtrack on his path. Besides, any information he could sense from the planet simply added to his databank, which he could retrieve at any time and any place.

Myka didn’t sleep for the rest of the night; in fact, he didn’t even go back into the caves. He stayed out all night and watched the stars pass over his head and wondered which one was home to Elvene, and where she might be now.

He spent the rest of the night thinking about Elvene. How she had come into his life, literally from the ocean that now beckoned him, and not only had given him his manhood but given him the means to fulfil his dream. A dream he’d held onto almost since he could first remember.

He had, from his earliest childhood, always looked at the eastern horizon and wondered what lay beyond it. And equally he remembered the first occasions he went out with a canoe with his father and brother and sometimes with his father alone, and felt the sea move beneath him. He had known from the first time that this was a special place for him and that it contained his destiny. This was something that he never discussed with anyone, not even his friend, Sendra. It was his own private dream.

And then she had come, at just the right time, and given him exactly what he needed to fulfil it. So, in one sense, it did not perturb Myka if, in spite of her promise, he never saw her again, because his future path was so clear before him. It wasn’t that he did not want to believe her, but in his culture when people left, they never returned. From his point of view, she had already performed her ‘quala’ for him, so from Kiri logic, he knew there was no need for her to return. And Kiri logic was both stronger and more pragmatic than her promise.

He thought about all the times they had spent together, the time he had rescued her and the time he had shared his secret with her. He could smell her and feel her touch and hear her voice, and the memory was almost painful to him; but it was a memory he would rather savour and even wallow in, than relinquish to numbness.

He now believed more firmly than ever that he needed to focus on leaving his island home, and to achieve that, he knew it was better for him to hold on to her memory than to persist with an unlikely dream that was more chimera than certitude. He had little doubt that if she returned she would be able to find him, but the real issue was if she returned at all. Besides, when the sun rose he would have to inform the rest of his clan, and it was far better and far easier to tell them that she had gone forever. But he could only do that with any conviction if he really believed it himself.

So he concentrated on the day before when they were at the beach, talking about his quest, because that was when they really said farewell in his mind; when they both knew that at this point their paths separated.

Then, just as he was thinking of this, he sensed rather than saw something fly overhead, very fast, and wondered if it was her. It was like a brief shadow flitting across the stars and then it was gone. It sent a shiver up his spine and for a moment he even wondered if it was her enemy. But then he started thinking of her again and somehow believed she was safe, though he couldn’t say why. Whatever it was that had caught his attention so briefly, he had no sense of it the way he did of some animals; it just made him shiver, then it was gone.

The marauders of course, had also mapped the planet. They spread out, all six of them, in ever-widening circles from where their quarry had submerged. They had dropped sonar buoys where the ship had entered the water, but picked up nothing. They knew they could outlast it and all they had to do was wait until one of them picked up its signature field. On one island, they picked up human life but there was no technology, so they weren’t really interested. In fact, because the only technology on the planet belonged to their quarry, their task would be easy. They knew that the mothership had already left the system and others would trace its warp nodes, so their mission was simple: a lone vessel on an uncivilised planet. It was only a question of time before they found it, and they had all the time that the planet could give them.

Elvene was quite comfortable to let Alfa do the driving; he had the map, and in an unknown environment, he was far better at manoeuvring through valleys and dodging erratic sea creatures than she would ever be. She had long since taken off her pilot’s helmet and watched the watery world pass by as if through a transparent hull. But the imagery was created by sonar rather than light. To some extent the sonar limited Alfa’s speed depending on their surroundings, though the real limit was the viscosity of the water itself. The sonar simply limited the ability for Alfa to see far enough ahead to make use of the speed he could create.

There were some very large creatures at these depths. A giant eel, bigger in diameter than Alfa and many times longer, was a very strong swimmer, weaving its way through the water and was even able to shadow them for a short distance. Elvene wondered if it mistook Alfa for something tasty, but Alfa eventually outran it and lost it completely by heading down a giant underwater ravine. It was like an underwater canyon that rose above them and gave Elvene some anxiety.

‘Alfa, do you know where this leads?’

But Alfa never had time to reply. A huge cavern literally arose out of the ocean floor and devoured them. The hull immediately lost its transparency as the sonar became ineffective. There was no jolt or concussion as the ship’s anti-gravity automatically compensated for sudden changes in inertia, but an alarm went off somewhere and Elvene heard something very loud scrape against the hull. Elvene’s eyes went wide, but she reassured herself that Alfa’s hull was close to impenetrable to any natural objects. Nevertheless she didn’t like the idea of it being tested inside the intestine of some giant underwater predator. She couldn’t quite keep the panic out of her voice when she said, ‘Alfa, get us out of here.’

Alfa discharged a huge electric shock, and as a consequence was spat back out into the ravine as quickly as he’d been swallowed. The sonar imagery returned immediately and Elvene saw the creature behind them submerge itself back into the ocean bed. All she could see was a giant mouth, ringed with teeth. She wondered in an absent-minded way how it would have sensed them, and then it occurred to her that it had probably picked up Alfa’s sonar.

Alfa didn’t stay in the ravine but immediately rose above it for safer waters. Elvene checked that the ship was safe, and though she was concerned about possible exterior damage, decided that the only real damage was to her nerves. It prompted her to ask the most obvious question of all: ‘How far to the nearest landfall?’

‘About forty minutes due west.’

Even before she could ask him, the ship’s walls became solid again and a map grew out from a point over her head to give her the correct orientation relative to their direction of travel. She could see that there was a coastline directly west that was part of a large continent. She looked for some sort of cove that might facilitate a landing. By pointing at different parts of the coast she got amplified images, until she found what she was looking for.

‘That’s it,’ she said. ‘Let’s head for that one.’

When the sun rose that morning it felt different to all the other mornings Myka had known, yet the ocean looked no different, and the sounds and smells were exactly the same as he’d experienced since he was born. If he’d considered this logically, Myka would have realised that the difference was inside himself, but he didn’t perceive it that way. He just knew that a new day had dawned that was unlike any previous day he had experienced.

He went down to the beach as if it was a ritual, and he went out to catch some fish for the morning meal. He knew that when he returned everyone else would be awake and tending cooking fires. He had been unsure how to deliver his news, but in the end he simply told both his parents while his mother cooked the fish he’d caught.

‘The Ocean Woman has gone,’ he said, ‘and so have her companions. Their ships are no longer here.’

He saw a look, almost of disbelief, on his mother’s face. While his father looked from him to her, Sefta’s face revealed no emotion. Rafta just stared at him then looked away as if he was embarrassed.

His mother spoke first. ‘She was with you last night.’ It wasn’t stated as a question, yet it was.

‘Yes, she was. She told me that she had to leave.’ He paused to assess their reaction. ‘She won’t be coming back.’

Lenya looked to his father, the fish momentarily forgotten.

‘Let me do that,’ Sefta finally spoke and took over the cooking.

‘She told you that?’ His mother still sounded incredulous.

‘No, she didn’t, but I know.’

‘We will have to tell the Elders.’ Sefta was watching the fish when he spoke, but then suddenly looked up at his son. ‘You are sure they won’t come back?’ He held Myka’s eyes until he answered.

‘Yes, I am sure.’ Myka had consciously avoided saying anything about the attack, but he felt it was unnecessary for them to know. Perhaps some day in the future he would tell them.

They ate their breakfast in silence. Only after they had eaten did Sefta take Myka to see the Elders.

The Elders also appeared surprised and even a little upset with his news, but it occurred to Myka that perhaps they thought it very rude of her to leave with no formal farewell. Then one of them made the observation that she left in the manner that she arrived, ‘She came unannounced and she left unannounced.’

‘Do you think she’s gone back to her home?’ The question was addressed to Myka by the one whom Myka knew the others deferred to.

‘I am sure of it. Yes.’

‘Well, she will be remembered. Her story will be told for future generations. We must find someone to make a song for her.’

At this, everyone nodded agreement and someone suggested a name to make the song, and a dance as well. Without a written language, this was the way things were remembered by the Kiri, and how events weren’t lost to the ages.

Myka was pleased with this. The decision seemed to change the mood of the group and he knew that Elvene’s memory would not be lost to the Kiri. The story of Ocean Woman would become part of their lore.

He and his father left the group. As they walked back, Myka wanted to tell his father about his plans to sail across the ocean but he didn’t know how to broach it.

‘You will miss her, won’t you?’ Sefta asked.

‘Yes, but I have other things to do now.’

‘Like what?’

‘Do you remember when she showed you the map of islands across the sea? You know, through her mask.’

Sefta stopped walking. ‘Yes?’

‘I am going to sail across there.’

His father laughed. ‘You believe you can do that?’ He started walking again.

‘I know I can.’

Sefta realised that his son was serious. ‘What makes you so sure?’

‘It’s what I’ve always wanted to do, and besides others have done it.’

‘Others have not returned.’

‘I will return.’

‘Did the Ocean Woman put this idea into your head?’

‘No.’ He said it petulantly, as if his father had insulted him. ‘But she gave me the means.’

‘How did she do that?’

‘She gave me the map, as she called it, that I drew on the sand. I still have it in my head. Look, I’ll show you.’

Myka bent down and drew it on the ground. Sefta watched his son’s earnestness and knew it was going to be hard to discourage him.

‘I know you are distressed because the Ocean Woman has left you, but this is not the thing to do at this time.’

It was the wrong thing to say, and Myka stood up quickly, his anger apparent in his body language and on his face. ‘Father, I have always known that I would do this. It’s just that before the Ocean Woman was not the time, and now is the time. Remember too, I had the dream about her enemy.’

‘You think we can’t stay here?’

‘I’m not sure any more.’

‘So you’ve changed your mind.’

‘I don’t know. Before the Ocean Woman left, I thought it might be best if we all left, but now that she’s gone, it doesn’t seem so important. But I do know that it’s my destiny to leave here.’

Sefta could see that Myka was genuine in his conviction and it worried him, but he didn’t know how to deal with it, and so he did what anyone does with a problem they can’t solve. ‘Okay, I believe what you say. But for the moment let’s not talk of this. Let’s just see what the new day brings.’

Myka nodded his head. He knew his father was stalling for time, but he also knew it was not wise to hurry him. Myka could wait, but he wouldn’t wait for long.

When Elvene reached her destination, it was well past midday on that part of the planet. Before surfacing, she took the time to survey in some detail both the cove she had picked out and the coastline in its immediate vicinity. She wanted to be satisfied that the place offered her the protection she was looking for. Protection against marauders in an uncivilised environment was almost an oxymoron, but it was protection for Alfa she was really interested in. Basically, she wanted to leave Alfa somewhere he would be safe yet still contactable.

She was grateful that a planet without a moon meant a planet with virtually no tides. She found an underwater cave that she thought would be ideal, and yet she could still access it with the help of her rappelling gun. She wanted to leave while there was still a reasonable amount of daylight left. She made a short reconnoitre on foot first to make sure that she had the access to the inland that she had seen on Alfa’s map. It was a rugged coastline, but behind the steep cliffs there was green grass without many trees, which indicated that it was afflicted by strong winds and storms at some times of the year. What trees she could see close at hand appeared stunted with branches that spread out almost along the ground. She looked west to rolling hills, and, adjusting the vision on her glasses, she could see more wooded areas; that was where she intended to go.

She was unsure what she would find, but basically her intention was to get lost. For the sake of the Kiri people, she believed that ultimately she would have to confront the marauders she’d brought back to the planet. And when that happened, someone or some things were going to die.  Either way, the Kiri’s future would be assured. She had little doubt that the marauders would find her eventually, but meanwhile she didn’t intend to make it easy for them. She returned to Alfa to prepare for her sojourn and to give him final instructions.

For the first time since she had landed on the planet, Elvene suited herself up in full battle dress. If Myka could have seen her, he would not have recognised her, unless he saw her walk. She donned a black suit of body armour, complete with a full-visored helmet. She had a backpack as well as her utility belt, and over everything else she slung the rappelling gun across her back. She knew that she was still no match for a marauder, let alone a pack of them, but she was determined not to be an easy kill. She was well aware, when she spoke to Alfa, that it might be for the last time.

‘Okay, Alfa, you need to stay completely out of sight and out of touch, passive reception only. The marauders may come looking for you and if they do, you maintain complete silence and complete secrecy. You stay here on the floor of this cave, underwater, during my entire absence. You surface only if I contact you, or someone from the Corps does. Do you understand?’

‘Yes, madam. I understand completely.’

‘Good.’ Elvene paused, drawing the courage to carry through her plan. ‘Now, there is an exception to that.’

‘What’s the exception, madam?’

‘The exception is... The exception is if I don’t return.’

‘If you don’t return, madam.’

Elvene noted that he phrased it as a statement and not a question. It meant he was accepting her request. She had been worried that he might try and override her.

‘You wait twenty days exactly,’ she checked her chronometer, ‘to the hour, and then you leave.’

She waited for a response but Alfa remained silent.

‘You return to Base and you request direct communication with Roger.’

‘I understand, madam.’

Then he asked the obvious question. ‘How will you return, madam?’

‘You must assume, Alfa, that if I don’t contact you within twenty days that I am dead. That is the message you must give to Roger.’

Again there was silence.

‘Just be careful when you leave that there are no marauders about. You will need to warp as soon as practicable.’

‘I understand, madam.’

‘If there are still marauders about then don’t leave, just remain hidden.’

‘That is obvious, madam.’

Elvene allowed herself a smile. ‘I’m sorry, Alfa, I didn’t mean to insult your intelligence.’

‘My records reveal that you have never insulted my intelligence, but you have become angry with me two hundred and seventeen times.’

This time Elvene laughed out loud. ‘Is that all?’

‘Not entirely, madam. It doesn’t include all the times you have sworn in my presence.’

‘Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.’ She couldn’t believe she was having this conversation. ‘Let me say, for the record, Alfa, that you have never let me down. And now I must go.’

‘And let me say for the record, that you have been an exemplary officer.’

‘What?’ Elvene was taken completely by surprise. ‘What made you say that?’

‘As you know, madam, part of my prime instructions is to keep an assessment of your performance and compatibility quotient.’

‘Well, I thank you, Alfa.’

She was beginning to wonder if machines could get attached to humans, in the same way that humans became attached to machines, but she knew this was not the time to pursue a philosophical discourse on the subject with a machine. ‘Just obey my instructions while I’m gone.’

‘Yes, madam, I will.’

‘Okay, thanks for keeping me alive for so long.’

‘That is my function, madam.’

Yes it is, she thought, but this time she said nothing. She would never have believed that saying goodbye to Alfa would be more complex than saying goodbye to Myka. Humans, she decided, like to avoid complexity, whereas machines thrive on it.

10. Unexplored Territories

ELVENE WALKED ACROSS THE ROLLING HILLS IN FRONT OF HER and only occasionally glanced back towards the ocean. She was conscious of leaving behind her only link to long-term survival in the form of Alfa, who was hidden and incommunicado. She knew she was taking a huge gamble, but Alfa was no insurance policy against marauders, and ultimately the ship’s survival may be more important than hers. At times she couldn’t see the ocean at all, as she crossed shallow valleys, but it always reappeared when she climbed the western side. There was a strong wind coming in from the sea and she imagined that it could be a desolate place in some parts of the year but today the sky was relatively clear with some clouds scudding across at high altitude. She reckoned that she should reach the tree line around sunset, though she knew such estimates could be misleading. The sun was falling towards the hills in front of her and when she reached the last valley, the shadows slowly stretched towards her like the forest was reaching out to embrace her approach.

Elvene made it to the trees before dark as she planned. They were very tall with buttressed roots and large entangled branches. Their trunks had smooth grey bark and the branches were lined with broad green leaves. It was very difficult to see up into the canopy because the leaves were so broad and horizontal, appearing almost as long as she was tall, though it was hard to tell from where she was standing on the ground. They appeared to be uniform in shape and size, and they were heavily veined. The lowest branches were a good two or three persons’ height above the ground. There was no real undergrowth but the ground was covered in a soft carpet of uneven brown, more like fur than grass. She decided to use her rappelling gun to investigate the world above her.

After she had pulled herself up she didn’t release the rappelling cord but attached it to her waist so she could use it like a spider’s anchor if she fell. She found the branches were wide enough to walk on and it was possible to travel from tree to tree. She had little doubt that if she could do this then so could other creatures.

She was considering that it might provide the safest place for her to spend the night, but she was unsure. The broad leaves sat out horizontally either side of her, yet there were enough gaps for her to see the ground below. She decided it was a good vantage point. She had seen no sign of fauna, not even small animals, but perhaps they had seen or heard her first and therefore remained out of sight. As the light started to fade, she sensed that the whole mood of the forest was changing. There was little or no wind in the trees, so every sound was accentuated. There was nothing nearby, but in the distance she could hear low and mournful calls into the night. It was a strange environment, almost bewitching in its mysteriousness; the combination of failing light and unidentified sounds was both haunting and disconcerting.

She sat herself down on a bough with her back to the trunk.  She wondered if it was safer to spend the night aloft or on the ground. She was soon convinced however to stay where she was. She heard a shuffling sound below her and looked down to see a grey-brown animal the size of a small cow, but with fearsome-looking tusks that gave it the appearance of an overgrown wild boar. It was roughly the colour of the ground itself and she almost missed it, before realising that there was a small mob of them. She counted half a dozen, but there could have been more. They were almost silent and they looked like a formidable group of beasts, heavily muscled shoulders below their smooth-haired coats. She would not like to have to deal with one in isolation, let alone a group of them. They appeared to be on the prowl like a pack of wolves.

As the darkness grew she used her visor’s night vision to see what activity there was around her. There still didn’t appear to be anything else in the trees, and on the ground she made out smaller animals. The boar-wolf pack she saw earlier didn’t reappear. She figured that they were probably territorial and she was unlikely to see another pack in the same vicinity. She raised her night vision visor and tried to acclimatise her vision to the night, otherwise she knew she would never get to sleep. The moaning distant sounds she’d heard during twilight had abated, and now she just heard the occasional rustle on the ground below. She knew from experience that every little sound would wake her through the night; she was starting to miss Alfa already. She quickly dismissed the thought from her mind though – she had set a course and there was no turning back, even at this early stage.

She had taken her backpack off so she could use it as a pillow and her rappelling gun was attached to it, above her head, but within easy reach. She left her visor open and set her suit thermally for sleep. She was unaware of the discontinuity that must occur between consciousness and dreams as the sounds around her contributed to visions of boar-wolves and imaginary creatures of the night slinking through the forest. Then there was silence.

Unknown to her, almost as soon as her body had settled into the rhythm of sleep, the broad leaves on either side of her slowly raised themselves and then gradually but inexorably folded over her in a silent embrace. The leaves even managed to separate her resting head from her backpack without waking her up. Eventually she was completely enveloped from head to foot, so that from all external appearances she was now a giant cocoon fixed to the limb. Only her backpack, crossbow and the rappelling line attached to her waist were visible from the outside.

She was never sure what woke her. It may have been the complete lack of sound, or maybe she just realised somehow that she’d been cut off from the rest of the world – there was no understanding how a person sensed something untoward. Most likely it was simply the fact that she could no longer move. She quickly realised that she was trapped by the very tree she had taken refuge in, and that this was one of those traps where the more one struggled the tighter it became. She found it very difficult to calm her mind when her heart was already pounding in her ears, but it wasn’t hard to maintain stillness when she knew it could determine the difference between life and death.

She assumed that her rappelling line was still intact but it wasn’t much use to her in her present predicament. She considered using her stun guns but was unsure of the consequences. A charge of electricity may well have the opposite effect to what was intended. It may cause the tree’s strangle hold to increase rather than relent, and she was not in a position to experiment. Besides, this was a tree, not an animal, and from her experience, it took a lightning strike to kill a tree.

While she was considering her options, she was aware that the leaves were slowly moving in an attempt to constrict her even more as well as secreting a fluid – no doubt an aid to its digestion. Her suit of armour responded to the liquid by shutting her visor and covering her hands in a second skin, which made it even more difficult to use them, as they were trapped under her chin. She was now breathing through a filter, and she wondered how much oxygen she may have.

So far her suit was showing no signs of failing, but she felt like an insect in its exoskeleton and couldn’t help wondering how she’d cope if there was even a small breach in its skin. She knew she just couldn’t lay there until the plant gave up – trees were infinitely patient compared to most life forms. In the end, she decided, she’d use her stun guns as a last resort; she believed she had a more appropriate instrument to deal with this horror, if only she could reach it.

She had gone to sleep on her left side with her knees slightly bent and her arms up against her chest. Now she was unable to straighten her legs and her arms were trapped like they were in a straight jacket. Nevertheless, she had some movement in her hands; it all depended on how she used them. The plant worked like a boa constrictor, a large snake from Old Earth. As its victim breathed it took up the slack until eventually the animal couldn’t breathe at all, and then it suffocated, not from lack of air but lack of ability to draw breath. She, herself, was at risk of drowning if the plant’s digestive fluid got past her suit’s filters; time was not on her side at all. Because she was half curled up with her arms against her chest, she was still able to breathe. She noticed that her heart had stopped pounding now because she was thinking rather than reacting; either that or the primitive part of her brain had given up the fight, which she knew could happen even amongst humans; the calmness people sometimes described when drowning, after the initial panic had failed to save them.

Because she was half curled up, the plant had forced her into an even tighter ball, and Elvene began to wonder if it was trying to break her neck with sheer force. She was so restrained, with her arms and elbows pinned into her body, that the simple feat of getting her hand down to her waist was going to be an act of utter contortion. She started to move slowly, just her right hand sliding down her left arm, with virtually no movement in her elbows at all. She was also trying not to agitate the plant any more than she had already. The hard part was at the halfway stage when she had her right hand almost doubled over against her left elbow.

At this point she felt completely stymied. Being doubled over meant that she couldn’t move either elbow down out of the way. If she could just get her right hand past her elbow so that she could reach the belt at her waist, then freedom would be hers. She knew however that if she couldn’t complete this simple manoeuvre she was doomed.

Instead, she turned her hand over and forced her gloved fingers between her left elbow and her rib cage. Even then, with only her fingertips free, it required all her focus and will to release the sheath at her belt that held her laser-knife. All the while she felt the plant was compressing her, affecting her breathing and restraining her movements as if it knew what she was trying to do. It had become a battle of strength and willpower, and it was frustrating to know that she could be so close and yet still lose the fight.

Eventually, she felt the laser-knife in her fingers, but it was facing the wrong way. She had to turn it around so that it was pointing outwards before she could activate it. Meanwhile her ability to move, and even to think, was becoming ever more limited. It even occurred to her, that if she turned the laser on in its present position, she could suicide by disembowelling herself, but her immediate reaction was to think that if she could use it against herself, she could use it against her tormentor. With that sole thought in her mind she did manage to turn it about and then its effect was instantaneous.

There was a sizzling sound like cooking flesh, and then she was released with the leaves thrown out like coiled up springs. Elvene sat up, but felt unable to rise further. She observed the damaged leaves on either side of her; some had even been truncated. Wisps of smoke drifted from all the wounds. If the tree could scream, she had no doubt it would have been heard throughout the forest.

An odorous, yellowish fluid dripped off her suit and she was unsure how to deal with it. She didn’t want to renew her travels smelling like a half-eaten animal, yet she had no means to wash herself. Sleep seemed out of the question, yet she felt that the safest place in the forest now was right where she sat so she stayed there. She attached the laser-knife to her wrist by a cord and settled back down on the limb. She eventually went back to sleep, almost against her will. During the night it rained, causing her suit to react again so she didn’t get wet. If the rain woke her she didn’t remember, but morning revealed that the tree’s fluid was essentially gone. In the light of day she could see that the leaves had healed themselves, leaving deep scars, but the tree had left her alone.

Myka started to construct a prototype raft. He only had childhood stories and his imagination to work with, but he took two canoes, removed their outriggers and built a platform between them. He knew that his first effort was too small, but still, on the second day, he took it out into the open sea to see how it worked. Other members of the tribe watched with some curiosity.

His father left him alone and said nothing about it to anyone. When asked by the Elders, he told them that the boy needed something to take his mind off the Ocean Woman, and it was best to let him experiment.

After his first prototype, Myka realised that he would need a rudder. Also he wanted to build a shelter on his boat and a mast for a sail. As the work progressed others came to help, including those who had more experience in boat construction. This led to a third boat and after many days of continuous work, and trial and error, he believed he had a working craft.

Myka, of course, had no idea that Elvene was still on his planet, albeit on the other side, nor that there were marauders patrolling as satellites overhead. In fact, since he’d started his new endeavour, he found that Elvene and the marauders occupied little of his daytime thoughts. Only at night did he truly sense her absence, when a combination of sexual longing and sensual memories besieged his mind. But Myka never lacked single-mindedness and he saw his new venture as an escape from such memories. He knew that, realistically, Elvene was an unforgettable transitory stage in his life and he was young enough to appreciate that the future was far more important than the past. He saw Elvene as a significant step in his destiny, and that their intimacy was a fortunate by-product rather than the purpose of their encounter. At least that was how he framed it in his own mind, and that his current venture was the obvious outcome of that encounter. From his viewpoint, if he did not rise to this challenge then he was wasting an opportunity made possible by her, and relinquishing his own destiny at the same time.

So day after day he made his preparations. He had quickly got used to working with a sail which was more like a blade, being made from firehardened bark rather than fabric and he was starting to get used to the relationship between swell and wind which enabled him to maintain a steady course against the sky. Myka would have been quite happy to make the journey solo but the Elders insisted he take at least one other. Myka asked Rafta if he wanted to join him but, when he answered no, he didn’t press him. To Myka’s surprise, his old friend Sendra approached him and asked him if he could volunteer.

He and Sendra had scarcely spoken at all since Elvene had left. Both men had grown, but Sendra had filled out considerably compared to Myka’s lithe frame, even though Myka was slightly taller. Under other circumstances, Myka would have found him intimidating, but there was nothing threatening about Sendra’s demeanour. It was obvious to Myka, that Sendra was unsure how he would receive him. He approached Myka one day close to sundown while he was working on his craft, the ocean lapping at the beach. Myka was very surprised to see him.

‘Hello, Myka.’ It was a tentative start like someone feeling the water with their toes.

‘Sendra.’ Myka was cordial if not friendly and kept eye contact until Sendra spoke again.

‘They say you are going away.’

‘That’s right.’

‘Do you think you will come back?’

‘I don’t know.’ Myka kept working but looked at Sendra when he spoke.

‘You need someone to go with you.’

‘That’s right.’ He stopped what he was doing and watched Sendra intently.

‘Before the Ocean Woman came, we did a lot of things together. I was never as good on the water as you are, but I can fish okay and ...’ He seemed stuck for words. ‘...maybe I can help.’

‘Why would you want to come, Sendra? I mean, leave your family behind?’

‘I’m not sure, actually. But I ask myself how I would feel if you were gone and I was here. I’d be wondering what you were up to and what you were seeing. I’d just prefer to be with you than to be wondering. Someone has to go with you and if it wasn’t me then I would feel that I let you down.’ He looked away, before speaking again, ‘Letting the Ocean Woman come between us was really stupid. We were always friends before that and now...’

‘And now she’s gone we can be friends again.’

‘I didn’t mean it like that.’

‘It’s okay. You are right – it was stupid. We’ve both changed, Sendra, both grown older.’

Myka took a deep breath and looked out at the sea. ‘It says something, Sendra, that you came to me and not me to you. If I can take you outside on this craft and you don’t get seasick and you can steer her then I would be happy to have you with me.’

Sendra stayed with Myka and helped him with the craft. They didn’t say much after that, but they didn’t part until sundown.

The next day Myka took Sendra out and showed him how to steer the craft and how to use the wind to provide motion. This was a whole new experience to Sendra and to his surprise was much more exciting than he expected.

‘Why haven’t people done this before?’ he asked.

‘Well, as a matter of fact, they have, but I think it’s because every time someone builds one and then sails off beyond these horizons, they never come back.’

‘And now we are going to do the same.’

Myka looked at him before answering. ‘That’s right. You don’t have to do this, you know. This is something I’ve always wanted to do, ever since I first went out in a pelon.’

Sendra just watched him for a while before responding. ‘Do you remember that day when we went down to the beach and saw her pelon in the harbour, only it looked like a giant fish?’

‘Yes, I will never forget.’

‘Tell me honestly, Myka, you knew what it was, didn’t you?’

‘No, Sendra, I had no idea what it was. But I’d dreamt about it the night before, that’s all.’

In Kiri culture, premonitory dreams were not considered abnormal, but it was also well known that not everyone had them.

‘Have you had any dreams about this journey or what you might find?’

‘No, none at all.’ There was a lengthy silence, so Myka asked the obvious question. ‘Does that change your mind?’

‘No, of course not.’ But even to Sendra’s own ears, he didn’t sound convincing. ‘It’s just Myka, that I know you wouldn’t go if you thought it wasn’t possible.’

‘I feel compelled to go, as if it’s in my blood, but that doesn’t compel anyone else to go with me.’

‘I understand.’

Myka didn’t expect anyone else to share his passion for this voyage and he believed that Sendra’s interest was out of a sort of loyalty or curiosity, though he couldn’t really be sure. He knew that sometimes people were tempted to live vicariously through other people’s lives, but he felt that such a view of Sendra’s loyalty undermined the value of true friendship. He realised now that under the spell of Elvene’s charms, both physical and otherworldly, he’d temporarily lost that perspective.

Little else was said but they stayed out the whole day and even into the night. Myka showed him the stars that gave him their bearings and explained how they traced arcs across the sky.

‘In reality,’ he said, ‘we travel with the sky and the islands pass us by rather than the other way round. That is how we always know where we are.’

‘You mean, You know where You are.’ Sendra said, emphasising the second person.

‘I guess we will find out. Like you, I haven’t actually done this before.’ Except in Elvene’s ship, Myka thought, but he wasn’t going to try and explain that to Sendra. So far everything she’d told him and shown him had turned out to be correct, but he knew that when the real test came he’d have to bet his life on it, and now Sendra’s as well.

Elvene quickly got into a routine.  She killed small game with her crossbow – some were birdlike, though furred rather than feathered, which reminded her of bats. They were like small versions of the flying wolf, which Myka had called presperas, and had four legs as well as wings.

She was careful about using any of her technological aids, but then she had no need of any form of electromagnetic communication since she’d left Alfa. She hadn’t met any large predators since her first night and she still slept in the trees, after trimming the leaves back with her laser-knife. She did find some fruit but always checked for toxicity before eating them. She knew that eating anything on the planet was a risk, but she had a diagnostic wand that allowed her to check for most pathogens and poisons, and she wanted to save her emergency rations for real emergencies. She also carried a suicide capsule but she tried not to think about that.

At night she started having dreams so vivid that they became a part of her world. She dreamt of conversations with Roger, and she even had frightening dreams of Alfa being discovered by the marauders, which was her single greatest fear. But more significantly, she occasionally had premonitory dreams that seemed to be tailored to her survival. She dreamt of creatures, like small ground dwellers reminiscent of weasels but with six legs and no tails, that she would then see the next day and catch for food. In these cases it was only when she had seen them that she would recollect the dream, which made the experience even more mystifying. So over a period of days, almost imperceptibly, she had sunk into another mental world to match the physical world she now inhabited. Elvene was aware that her survival was not only dependent on avoiding the marauders as long as possible, but in adapting to this alien world. She knew that cooking the meat she killed was the biggest danger in exposing her, so she would microwave it by adjusting her laser-knife. It was the only technological aid she allowed herself to use along with her diagnostic wand.

With the forest for cover, and her exoskin armour, she was effectively invisible to an orbiting marauder, but eventually she would lose that cover and then the game would change against her. But she knew that she could attract them quicker by simply lighting a fire or even instantly by sending a radio signal of any transmission.

After they lost Alfa under the ocean, the six marauders changed their strategy and divided themselves into two teams of three. One from each team left the atmosphere and went into orbit as satellites, but the remaining four became two pairs, each pair subordinate to one of the satellites. They had a better chance of sensing something from orbit, and they worked in tandem on opposite sides of the planet: one of the team in orbit and the other two at surface level to investigate anything that appeared suspicious.

Elvene was even unsure how many were involved in the search, but she knew that at least one would be in orbit, and it could pass over her at any time of day. She knew that she hadn’t been detected so far, only because she was still alive. A simple missile strike would be enough to kill her, but first they had to find the needle in the haystack. Her armour kept her invisible to infrared sensors, and even radar would have trouble finding her, which were the two main methods that the marauders would use. Marauders were effectively blind to visible light, instead they relied on bat-like sonar, infrared detectors and radar as their prime sensors, but they could also pick up radio frequencies and radioactive radiation. Their prime weapons against humans at close range were laser guns and high frequency sonar which resulted in a painful death. One of the purposes of Elvene’s suit was to protect her from their sonar while allowing her to have normal hearing. In atmosphere, their laser guns would not be so effective;  besides, she had a rudimentary force shield against laser, the same as they did. Elvene’s preference was to engage them in close combat, even though she would most likely lose the encounter; her only defence against a missile attack would be to go underground.

Elvene was not totally fatalistic, but she didn’t expect to survive. Her main hope was that Alfa would survive to return to base with the knowledge that she was dead, and that her sacrifice would allow the Kiri to live in peace. She knew that while she was alive the marauders would continue to patrol the planet. The only other hope was that she could destroy them before they destroyed her. This was a forlorn hope but one she did not relinquish. If she could meet them one by one, then there was a bare chance she could win. She saw it as a deadly game with the odds firmly in their favour. It was exactly the same perception that the marauders had, using the cold hard logic of probabilities and game theory to predict their success.

Myka knew that he couldn’t just depend on the sea to provide all his food for him, so he stocked up with grains and nuts and long lasting fruits that were harvested on the island. These were kept in earthenware jars, as well as jars of water. But he also expected that he could capture rainwater with his sail, although he couldn’t hazard how successful that would be.

After many days of preparation, including some night sailing trips with Sendra in order to demonstrate how he could navigate by the stars, they finally set out early one morning from within the cove.

It was a departure of mixed emotions and it seemed to Myka that the whole clan was there to see them off, not just his family and Elders, but families with their children that seemed to cover the whole beach in front of him. Just to see all these people had an emotional impact that he had not foreseen. He felt that all the hopes of his tribe were suddenly on his shoulders and invested in his abilities. It was, for him, both sobering and humbling. There was a brief ceremony performed by the Elders, calling on the spirits to both guide and safeguard their voyage, whilst they sprinkled ash on all parts of the craft. At the last moment Myka’s mother gave him a lock of her hair pressed between two pieces of mica held together by the natural glue he had once shown Elvene. Lenya had drilled a hole through one end so that he could tie it around his neck as an amulet. Myka said nothing but it felt to him like a burden as well as a rich privilege to wear it. The look in his mother’s eyes, fluctuating between anguish and pride summed up all the contradictory emotions he felt. When he and Sendra finally cast off in to the bay, the primary sensation was one of relief.

The people remained on the shore until they were out of sight. No doubt they could still see the sail of his vessel, and it was only when he had crossed the bar that Myka felt that he’d truly left his home. He and Sendra hardly spoke for the whole morning. Gradually they watched all the eastern islands of the archipelago slip past them. Their adventure had finally begun.

Twelve days had passed since Elvene had left Alfa, almost two weeks by the old Earth calendar, albeit that the days on this planet were slightly longer. So far she had remained invisible to the marauders, which she knew would be patrolling from the very heavens themselves where she would not be able to detect them. A cat and mouse game where she was the mouse and the cats hunted in packs. Elvene realised that as long as she remained in this forest, which seemed endless, the game could continue indefinitely, but indefinitely was a timeframe that suited the marauders and not herself. Twenty days was the limit she had given Alfa, but it was really a time limit she had set herself. Either she died in that time or she escaped. She now began to wonder at the wisdom of that decision. Nevertheless she reconciled herself to the idea that it was probably a virtue that she couldn’t change it without alerting the marauders to her presence. Elvene had always possessed the ability to convince herself that what can’t be changed must therefore be a virtue and not a liability, even when all evidence suggested otherwise. She knew that such enforced optimism was a key to psychological survival, which was a requirement, though by no means a guarantee, for physical survival. Little did she know how much her psychological survival would be tested.

She considered herself very lucky that she had encountered no large predators after her first night. Perhaps the ones she had seen were nocturnal, as they had appeared after sunset. Her main concern in meeting anything so formidable was that if she was forced to use her stun guns, it would be the sort of signature that an orbiting marauder would be looking for. Besides she could ill-afford the sort of injury that she had incurred from the night render. Immobility of that sort could only end in death, with or without the intervention of marauders.

She realised that over a period of days the land was gradually increasing in altitude, although it was barely perceptible in her daily trekking. She climbed a tree to see beyond the forest, and to her west she could see a snow-covered mountain range that she remembered from the map Alfa had produced for her. The planet had a weak magnetic field which allowed her to orientate herself independently of the sky. This was just as well as the sun was often hidden by dense foliage. She was unsure why she was heading for the mountain range except that it was inland. For some reason it seemed to attract her, possibly because it was a landmark but also because she felt she could not remain in the forest indefinitely. It rained almost daily and from her point of view this was a bonus, as it allowed her to wash in a fashion and was also a source of fresh water. Overall, she felt she had adjusted to this strange way of existing much better than she had a right to expect. Providing she could find food and sleep on a daily basis she felt no cause for distress.

There was always the concern for her that killing small game would attract other predators or scavengers but this had not happened to date. She tended to butcher the carcass on the spot then leave the remains. She thought that this was the best approach and so far it had paid off, but on her fourteenth day, her luck turned against her.  In hindsight she realised that on this occasion, the scavenger, having found her fresh kill, must have also picked up her scent and decided she was the bigger game.

There were no real trails in the forest but it was relatively free of undergrowth due to the lack of light penetrating the canopy above. In places, where there was undergrowth, she avoided it; she was always conscious of the need to have as clear a field of vision as possible. It had never occurred to her that she could be stalked without her knowledge, at least not on ground level. The animals she had seen on her first night were quite large, but they had made little noise until they were almost directly beneath her. One on its own, however, could move with considerable stealth and its dirt-coloured coat provided exemplary camouflage under the shaded light of the forest floor. Whilst they had the appearance of a large boar with their tusks and heavy shoulders, they were more like the large cats of Old Earth in their manner of hunting and moving. Elvene, of course, was yet to learn all this.

The predator shadowed her for quite some time, with a patience born of experience, knowing that the right opportunity would create itself. He was a fully-grown male that had left his pack to forage on his own because that’s how opportunities were often made, although he was conscious not to wander too far. If in time the right opportunity didn’t present itself, he would return to his pride, who were sleeping in a patch of rare undergrowth. As soon as he made his kill however, he would call them and they would join him in the feast.

His prey was unlike anything he’d seen, with its shiny black skin, but he could smell its body odour quite clearly and he knew instinctively that it would contain ample flesh beneath its skin. Even though it stood taller than himself in its upright position, he knew he was heavier if not faster.

Capable of short bursts of speed, success lay in complete surprise, and once he had his prey on the ground, death would follow quickly. His prey rarely ever looked in his direction, and even if it did, his still shape was indiscernible amongst the trees; he had played this game many times before and he always won.

Then the opportunity finally arose. His prey had knelt on the ground with its back to him to examine its own kill. His powerful shoulders and haunches bunched then exploded in a sprint that lasted only seconds, and even though for the first time his footfalls were audible, it was too late for the prey to react. It was all over in a couple of heartbeats.

What saved Elvene was her armour and the fact that she had been examining her kill. She heard a sound directly behind her and turned with one knee on the ground. What she saw were the two tusks launched directly at her. Her one instinctive movement probably saved her life, and that was to lower her head and become a ball. She felt the impact of a tusk in her rib cage but it was deflected by her armour, skimming across her back and collecting her rappelling gun as it went. She happened to have her laser-knife in her hand, as she had been cutting up her kill. The animal’s momentum carried it over the top of her, and she was thrown on to her back by the impetus of its charge. She instinctively raised the laser and gutted the beast from its stomach to its genitals.

There was a roar like a demented bestial sound from hell, and it limped away from her with its entrails dragging in the dirt. It still had her rappelling gun hanging by its strap from one of the tusks. She had to retrieve it.

Later, when she had time to reflect on events, she would remember how she was absolutely driven to retrieve the rappelling gun as quickly as possible, even though the animal could not really escape and was obviously going to die. It was just that she was possessed by an irrational and inexplicable urgency that bordered on panic.

She approached the animal, which instinctively turned towards her, its tusks still dangerous, and from its mouth came a baleful roar. Elvene dared not use her stun guns despite the temptation, and she still had her laser-knife in her hand. Of course, she had no idea that a whole pack of these carnivores were now heading towards her at a gallop. She was totally focused on the creature in front of her, and despite its fatal wounds it was still very dangerous. A low level stun could knock it out, but still she dared not risk it. Then she remembered that she had another knife, an old-fashioned one with a ceramic blade in the sheath of her boot. So she drew it out and threw it at the animal’s throat. The creature went down; she rushed it and finished it off with the laser. She withdrew her knife and recovered the rappelling gun, and that was when she heard the rest of them.

She would never forget the noise of them, like a rustling, scampering sound on the forest floor, though she could not yet see them. It was almost like the wind before a coming storm and then they appeared as flashes of ivory and grey-brown between the nearest trees, and she had seconds to react.

Now she knew why she needed the rappelling gun, and without hesitation she pointed it almost straight up and shot a line into the closest overhanging branch. She had its strap under her arms and around her back; she released a second trigger and it pulled her almost straight up just as the first of the pack reached her. One of them made an incredible leap at her, which belied its size, but the slight angle of her rappelling line and her own momentum just managed to carry her out of its reach. By the time another one attempted, she was almost on the branch. She wondered if they could climb trees but they made no attempt, just bayed like giant dogs at its base. She then fired crossbow bolts into them. One was hit in the throat, another had a bolt go straight down its gullet, and a third was hit in the neck just behind its ear. The rest of them knew when to quit.

Elvene suddenly felt incredibly drained as her adrenalin level came down, which she knew from experience could lead to a sense of melancholy. She knew she’d had a lucky escape, and wondered fleetingly if it was any worse to be killed by some carnivore than her most potent enemy, the marauders. She looked at the carnage below her and knew it was best not to stick around. She lowered herself from the tree and continued on foot, but now she had a renewed sense of caution. She realised she had become complacent and that the planet had many traps for animals like her: tired, alone and without support.

11. Journey into Darkness

MYKA’S AND SENDRA’S PROGRESS WAS SIMPLY A TALLY OF THE DAYS they spent at sea. Myka had no map except the one in his head. In his mind the star lines stayed constant and it was the sea that travelled under him, pulling his destination towards him. He only had to maintain the right direction and he would find it. It was not only the sky but the motion of his vessel that allowed him to do this. His planet moved about the sun but it did not move relative to the stars. As long as he travelled east or west, only the time of day where the stars rose and set changed but not their positions on the horizon, so he was aware that they moved from night into day as new ones appeared but their orientation to his course did not change. That happened when he travelled north and south and then new stars would appear while others disappeared. So it was at nighttime, under a clear sky, that his navigation was most secure. At dawn, he took the sun’s bearings from the last stars in the sky, then allowed the shadow cast by the mast to orient him as it shortened, then lengthened in its semicircle circuit that traced the passing of the day.

Elvene had taught him much of this, but she had also told him that her ancient ancestors had performed the same feats on another planet when they had no more abilities than he had. It was this reassurance, combined with youthful bravado, that gave him the confidence that he could achieve his goal.

He and Sendra spoke rarely, but as the days wore on they became more accustomed to each other’s thoughts, so words didn’t seem so necessary. They both fished, though they were careful to avoid anything very large. On occasion they saw fish the size of the kingfish that Myka had caught the day Roger had arrived, but they did nothing to antagonise them. They were both aware that some of the fish in these waters could capsize their craft and therefore they gave them due respect. They also noticed that some of the fish were unfamiliar, and these were avoided as well, as they were unsure if they were edible – even in their home waters, some fish were poisonous to eat.

Clouds also came and went and these were often a mixed blessing, as sometimes they brought rain and other times they merely blocked the sky. Myka’s greatest concern was being hit by a storm, because they could be blown off course and then his newly-acquired skills would be severely tested.

At night Sendra would usually sleep while Myka preferred to spend the whole night awake and go to sleep at dawn. Before retiring, he would usually discuss the weather with Sendra, otherwise leaving him to navigate using the mast’s shadow as a guide. This had become their routine, with the proviso that he expected Sendra to wake him if the wind changed, though he would wake up anyway as it affected the movement of their craft.

When night fell and the stars took over, Myka felt most at peace, especially if there were few clouds or none at all. Sometimes he’d see something phosphorescent in the water below him that looked like underwater stars only they were in motion. When he first pointed them out to Sendra, his companion asked the obvious question. ‘What are they?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Do you think they are spirits?’

‘It’s possible,’ Myka replied, as spirits were a part of their world, but he also knew that they could be something animate in origin that he’d simply never seen before.

At night he often watched them as Sendra slept, and he sometimes wondered if they were following him, but he set the thought aside as a fancy; there was no way of even knowing if they were the same from night to night.

Over the accumulation of days, Myka had become more familiar with all parts of his environment and in particular his ability to read the weather. On this night it had started off relatively calm with clouds fanned out on the eastern horizon, opposite the setting sun, but Myka watched the clouds intently, aware that that was the direction he was heading. Would the clouds move around the horizon or would they become more dense? They went from rosy pink to a dark grey as the sun’s light slowly waned, but once the short twilight departed they just became a bank that blocked the stars in that part of the sky. Sendra went to sleep and Myka looked over the side to see if the underwater lights were there. He had come to think of them as a form of companionship in the long nights when he effectively sailed solo, and it gave him a sense of solace whenever he saw them. But he was also aware that this sense of familiarity could be misplaced, as they may well portend something dangerous, even fatal. Nevertheless he felt that that was not the case, whether it simply be an inherent optimism on his part, or just a sense of connection that he had experienced before when he was on land.

Later in the night, the wind turned and strengthened from the east and he started to see lightning on the horizon. He looked for the lights below him but they had gone. He was forced to tack and when the waves became steeper, Sendra also awoke. Myka realised that both his abilities and the craft were about to be tested, and if either failed, he and Sendra would certainly die. Behind the wind came lashing rain, and eventually he took down his sail altogether and just let the craft run before the storm.

Elvene felt rather chastened by her experience with the giant boars, as she called them, yet she could not let her optimism slip, otherwise she would surely perish. Up until this point, she told herself, she had been in control, and there was no reason why that should not continue. The incident was an aberration, part of the necessary learning experience in becoming acquainted with a new and dangerous environment. In spite of this self-induced assurance, she felt a sense of dread, as if her trials in this land were only just beginning. She couldn’t understand why she felt this way, but the following couple of nights after the encounter, she did not sleep well, and her sense of unease grew rather than diminished. Then this change in her mood coincided with a change in terrain.

She had come to the end of the forest; it was an abrupt change, in much the same manner that it had started.  This time, however, there was no clearing, but a sloping rocky hillside that rose abruptly in front of her. To left and right she saw the same terrain. She knew from the map provided by Alfa that she was at the edge of a mountain range, beyond which was an extensive grassy plain. She wondered, not for the first time, what did she hope to find there, but she seemed to be attracted to the country’s hinterland for no rational reason.

She knew that by leaving the forest, she was probably also leaving behind her best source of food, but she also felt the need to move on as if she was a migrating animal locked into some biological need. Perhaps it was just that she couldn’t stand the idea of stagnation in any form, because stagnation must surely lead to death, whereas mobility gave a hope of finding solace or refuge, albeit a false hope. But false hopes were better than no hope at all, and moving on gave her a sense of self-determination that she badly needed to sustain.

Elvene started the steep climb. The small flat stones under her feet would often slide over each other, making progress more difficult than she’d expected. When she reached the top she saw the mountain range in front of her. She could see snow, even though she knew it was summer in the southern hemisphere at this time of the planet’s cycle. She was relieved that it wasn’t winter, when conditions would have been much harsher. She hadn’t considered that in her choice of destination, although perhaps it had a subliminal influence that she wasn’t aware of. Certainly she would have been aware of large tracts of snow from Alfa’s maps.

There was no sign of vegetation in her line of sight, so she could no longer sleep in trees. She knew that weather was often unpredictable in mountainous climes as well, but she had become resolute not to turn back. She wondered if she was becoming fatalistic, choosing a place to die rather than a place to survive, but she realised that now she only had her instincts to trust and her instinct told her to keep going.

She crossed a broad valley before its shadow fell across her. She had found nothing to eat in her traverse so she resorted to her rations for the first time. On the western slope she looked for somewhere safe to sleep. She found an overhang and examined it for other inhabitants. She went to sleep with her laser-knife in her hand but the night passed without incident.

In the morning a small furry animal came into the cave and she killed it before it could escape. It looked edible and she felt like a spider who had just trapped some unwary insect passing by. Elvene was aware that psychologically she was changing; a part of her was observing the change. She knew that under extreme conditions a person’s personality could split, whereby the old personality would watch the new personality evolve. It was how one coped with becoming someone who would have formerly repulsed them. It often happened in prisons where prisoners were forced to become the torturers of other prisoners who had once been their friends. She’d read about this and wondered if she was undergoing a similar transformation, where in order to survive, she had to become more animal than human. It was an observation rather than an emotional assessment.

She quickly made a feast of her catch, and hid its remains under some loose rocks nearby, then continued her journey westwards. She reminded herself that she had a time limit and eventually she would have to face the marauders. It was becoming increasingly likely that she would not be able to survive the challenge, nevertheless she persevered. She felt she was waiting for something, but she also believed that it was an illusion or delusion. Sixteen days had now passed, which was almost a week past the halfway point. As long as she could contact Alfa, it didn’t matter that it would take longer for her to return than it had for her to arrive where she was. But she had also created a deadline for herself that was approaching quickly. Eventually she would be forced to make a decision between challenging the marauders or being stranded on the planet with them.

Myka could only see the waves when there were flashes of lightning and then they looked like hills looming ahead of him or behind him. Occasionally he found himself atop one and looking into a valley of water below him. The flashed image would be burned onto his retina and then the craft would descend into pure blackness like he was dropping into a hole. He preferred the blackness; the mountainous sea was less intimidating when he couldn’t see it, but his senses told him when he was on a crest and when he was climbing the next one, so the size of the waves could be measured by the consequential adjustments being made by his internal organs. Both he and Sendra had tied lines to their waists so that if one of them was washed overboard the other could retrieve him. Myka sat right at the stern with the rudder’s lever wedged under his arm, riding each wave like the wind-blown surf he had sometimes encountered back home. Sendra sat beside him, and though he said nothing, Myka could sense his fear. In one flash of lightning they caught each other’s eye, but it was too much like reading a mirror and Myka could find no words to reassure him so he didn’t. They had lashed everything down as best they could, including the prostrate mast and sail. If they lost that they would lose virtually all ability to control the craft when the storm subsided. They clung onto their craft like a snail hangs onto its shell. Their entire world now depended on its strength.

The storm lasted almost the entire night, but calm returned just before dawn when the wind and waves relented. Myka’s greatest concern was how much they had been blown off course, but there was too much cloud to tell. His fatigue after the storm was overwhelming and he slipped into sleep before the first glow of dawn. Sendra did the same and the sun rose on their prone bodies riding a mastless craft on a listless sea.

Sendra woke first, and for a moment he was disoriented, thinking he had gone to sleep in the lagoon of his island home. Only when he saw Myka and the prostrate sail did he remember the nightmare of last night’s storm. He looked around him, but there was no sign of its passing, either in the sky or on the sea. By the sun’s height above the horizon he estimated it to be mid-morning; he awoke Myka by shaking his shoulders.

‘Myka, Myka, wake up.’

Myka’s eyes squinted against the sun. He sat up and looked about him; then Sendra saw consciousness finally dawn in his face as he too remembered the previous night.

‘Where are we?’ he asked.

‘You tell me,’ Sendra replied, unimpressed by the question.

Myka instantly became alert and stood up. ‘We have to get the sail up, give me a hand.’

Together they raised the stiff sail and its mast, but there was little wind; they were simply drifting with the ocean current. But it gave them steerage and Myka pointed his craft towards the east. He still had no idea how far off course they were, and he would not be able to make a judgement till nightfall, assuming he’d be able to see the stars. Intuitively he felt the storm had blown them backwards in a westerly direction and possibly southwards as well.

His knowledge of etak, as Elvene had called it, and star navigation, had been gained second hand, unlike its culture of origin where it would have been passed on from generation to generation. This put him at a serious disadvantage in his current plight, as he had no experience of his own, and no one else’s experience to lean on.

They were both ravenously hungry and there was little else to do, so they spent the morning fishing with limited success. They made a small fire in a hearth made of stones they carried for the purpose, and cooked their catch. It sated their hunger and gave them a sense of normalcy in an abnormal situation. The sun was now past its mid point, and whilst it gave them a rough direction, Myka could only guess how far off course they might be. He was impatient for the night when he could compare the stars with the map he had in his head.

In the afternoon, Myka slept while Sendra made sure the craft maintained its bearing. There were some clouds but no sign of another storm, and the wind freshened only slightly as the sun turned red in its final descent. Myka woke when the temperature started to drop and he felt the wind pick up. He checked their direction with the setting sun behind them and was reasonably happy that they had not drifted far during the day.

He looked to the east where he would see the first stars on the horizon, already imagining where they should appear. He was not disappointed and it gave him some confidence when they appeared pretty well as predicted.

Soon after he noticed the lights under the water for the first time since they had been hit by the storm. This time he felt they were communicating with him. There was a line of them and they did a little dance. They moved to the front of his craft and then bore slightly to the north. They would move away and then come back; Myka had the distinct impression that they wanted him to follow them. In the end he changed tack and did just that.

Considering her still recent encounter with the giant boars, Elvene felt some relief in leaving the forest, though she had never felt entirely safe anywhere on this planet except on the occasions when she had been with Myka on his island home. It was hard for her to imagine how anyone could become used to being surrounded by dangerous animals both day and night, yet obviously the Kiri had managed to do just that. On the other hand, she had to worry about marauders as well as exotic creatures who seemed determined to eat her.

The landscape became more mountainous and vegetation scarcer. Occasionally she found trees that seemed to grow around the rocks themselves, so it was hard to tell where one started and the other finished, but there was no grass or anything like moss or lichen. She noticed that these trees sometimes seemed to have a fungus growing on them and they had no leaves that she could see. It was like the trunks were very thick vines growing over the rocks, so perhaps they weren’t trees at all. She wondered if they were carnivorous like the ones she had encountered in the forest.

She often found herself surrounded by large rocks and there were numerous shallow caves. She was simply following a trail and she wondered what other animals used it. Hopefully, it was a migratory trail over the mountains, which is what she sought, but she couldn’t be sure. When the sun went down, she found herself anticipating the darkness with some trepidation. She appeared to be in a warren, and although she had seen no sign of life beyond the small creature she’d eaten for breakfast, she could not believe that such an environment had no inhabitants.

As it got closer to nightfall she became increasingly nervous and she even thought of returning the way she had come, but she knew it was too late in the day for that. She could not explain her apprehension but perhaps it was the sense of exposure amongst the rocks. Unlike the forest, she was unsure where she would spend the night or even if she would get any sleep.

She had eaten very little. She had to be disciplined with her provisions. Since the morning she had found nothing else to eat and that was another cause for anxiety. She searched for somewhere to spend the night, and found an overhanging rock that she hoped would give enough protection. She ate something from her rations knowing it would help her to find sleep. She curled up with her laser-knife in her hand and the exertions of the day allowed sleep to overcome whatever fears she may have held.

During the night  she had a dream that one of the tree-like vines had turned into a snake and coiled itself around her like a giant python. She found herself unable to struggle against it, as one often does in dreams. In her sleep she attempted to activate her laser-knife and when she succeeded in this, she awoke.

It’s always a shock when a dream is actually a reflection of the real environment in which one is sleeping. Elvene had a childhood memory of once dreaming of a fire, complete with the smell of smoke, and then awaking to find that there really was a fire close by. This was a similar occurrence, only far more terrifying. A very thick vine was indeed wrapped around her torso and it had started dragging her across the ground in short jerky movements. She immediately used the laser-knife, but to her amazement it had little effect. Unlike the trees she had scarred in the forest, the wound simply healed itself over as soon as she made it. In all her experience, she had never seen any life-form capable of that. She was now being lifted off the ground which only added to her sense of helplessness. Where was it taking her? The plant was like a giant octopus drawing her into its maw, or at least that was what her imagination told her. She had gone to sleep in her full body armour with her visor down, so she had night vision, and she could see that she was being dragged towards a hole at the base of a rock. If she didn’t get free before it succeeded in pulling her underground, she was sure she would perish.

She only had one last resort and that was her stun guns. She thought of the night render; using them while entangled in this manner may well result in injury or even death, but she felt she had no choice. She had an intuitive idea not to use the stun guns directly on the trunk wrapped around her body but to fire plasma bolts at the hole she was being dragged towards, which she envisaged as the creature’s mouth. Through the inbuilt night glasses of her visor she saw bolts of blue lightning fly from her wrist into the cavity, crackling with energy and suffusing ozone into the night air. She felt a convulsed tremor return through the vine and then it simply released her. Her foil had worked and she felt a sense of relief so great that for a moment she thought she was going to pee in her suit.

But she now had a greater fear, and that was that the marauders may well have sensed the plasma discharge. If one was orbiting overhead, it would be exactly the sort of unnatural phenomenon that it would be looking for.

Perhaps it was just as well, she told herself, the showdown was long overdue, and now was as good a time and place as any she had encountered since leaving Alfa. She shouldered her gear and started to scamper through the rocks, though she had little idea where the path she was following would lead. She found herself running along a track at the base of a cliff. A maze of rocks, she told herself, was as good a place as any. Her first thought was simply to put distance between herself and the recent altercation with the snake-like vine. The marauders could possibly kill her from a distance but they would want to identify her first. Their mission would not be complete until identification could be confirmed. Destroying the evidence from afar would not achieve that. Besides they had many means of killing close range, the most widely used in an atmospheric environment being a form of sonic energy.

And if they had picked something up, how long before they arrived? At this she could only guess, but if nothing arrived before sunrise, she would consider herself very lucky. On the other hand, she felt the sooner the better, as she’d prefer to know rather than live with the anxiety of wondering. She realised that it could be a long and wakeful night. She had stopped running now, realising there was little point. It had been a means to rid herself of nervous energy, she told herself, when she really needed to be conserving it. She was also watchful of snake-like vines, though she could not see any now, which was surprising, as they had seemed so prevalent before. She decided to keep moving as that was the best way to stay awake and alert.

And then she sensed it, a sort of buzzing sensation, mainly in her ear, though it felt more like it was in her head, and she recognised it at once for what it was. Her helmet was automatically filtering out the sound that would kill her if it became intense enough. It was almost a relief to feel something familiar, albeit deadly, and a part of her welcomed it.

After all, it was what she’d been waiting for. They were near but not yet close. It would start off as a cat and mouse game, and would ultimately end in a deadly confrontation. She kept moving, believing that she was probably moving away from them, though at this stage she could not be sure. She rounded a large rock on her path and that was when she saw it: the cave opening that she had seen in her dream on her last night with Myka. What made her so sure, was not so much its appearance as the feeling it evoked of refuge. It was impossible for her to imagine, considering everything that had happened since that night, that this could be possible, yet the sensation of deja vu was unmistakable.

Going underground may not have seemed wise considering her recent altercation with the vine, and caves were notoriously unsafe places to get cornered, but on the other hand it could well provide the perfect hiding place from a small party of marauders. Its sudden appearance under the circumstances was like a godsend in her mind, and she couldn’t forego it.

She had to squeeze sideways when she entered and it led straight into a tunnel big enough for her to walk through, although in places she had to crouch. All these sensations only reinforced her sense of deja vu. The tunnel led to a chamber, from which other passages diverged. Something had made these tunnels, she was sure, but for the moment she had to put any fears aside. It was too good a hiding place to give in to any primal fears. Besides, ignorance, she told herself, may well be on her side. Already the buzzing had been left outside and that alone was an incentive to remain out of sight and out of earshot as well.

Equally, she was reluctant to go too deep; it would not be difficult to become lost, and exploration was not an imperative at this stage, just survival. Still she needed to know her environment if she was forced to make a stand here, and some quick exploration would be helpful. It felt like a rabbit warren, though with very large rabbits, and that was a concern in itself. If there was anything living here then it wasn’t apparent from what she’d seen. From her cursory exploration, there were no signs of habitation in the form of animal remains or, for that matter, droppings. So perhaps the tunnels had been abandoned. Her night vision depended on her emitting infrared and getting a return signal. There was no light source in the caves except odd glowing rocks of blue and green embedded in the walls and roof. Using any source of illumination, even infrared, was dangerous in itself, as marauders would pick up the signal. She also had a built-in lamp, but it would be a beacon in this environment. There were, of course, other ways to detect marauders.

A satellite marauder picked up the tell-tale plasma glow, as minute as it was, and immediately relayed the message to its brethren, giving precise co-ordinates. It also adjusted its orbit to become geostationary above the sighted position. One marauder was relatively close by and raced to the scene. Another would join it in good time, whilst the other three were on the other side of the planet. They would be informed when required, but for the moment it was prudent for them to remain in their current positions.

The first marauder arrived on the scene but there was no sign of humanity or technological entities. The probability of the sensed plasma bolt being a natural phenomenon was vanishingly small, so the logical source was a techno-human entity. Experience was the marauders largest knowledge base,  and the most proven way to flush out a human was with sonic energy; they either retaliated or died. The marauder generated a low sonic signal with the intention of permeating the surrounding environs as far as possible, but there was no immediate response. It would wait for reinforcements before conducting a thorough search of the area.

For Elvene, the cat and mouse game had changed only in that she had become more of a mouse. She found a second chamber and decided it was a good place to make a stand. It was not too far in and it had a direct link to the opening which gave the marauders only one option for entry. Predictability was then on her side, not theirs. She knew that the tunnels went much deeper, but she felt the deeper she went the more it became a trap for her rather than an ambush for them. It was a finely-balanced situation she was creating that could be reversed in an instant. She knew she was literally inside a mountain, so depth below ground was deceptive. It was an unnatural habitat for her and she hoped it was only temporary. At this stage she had not decided how long she would wait before breaking cover; certainly she would remain while it was still nightfall. She decided to try and sleep as she may not get a chance later on.

The lone marauder was joined by its partner with daylight a little over an hour away by human standard time. They began a methodical search of the area, emitting their low sonic tone to flush anything out. They hovered just above the ground like metallic ghosts in the night moving silently between the rocks. They followed only the paths that they knew humans would take. They examined all crannies and ledges on their way. They were almost certain that they had found their quarry, and that meant they would persevere well into the next day if necessary. But they didn’t have to wait for daylight before one of them found the cave entrance where Elvene was hiding. The locater immediately notified its partner and waited until it arrived. One would remain as a sentinel and the other would enter to search and destroy.

Elvene was aware of its presence as soon as the marauder entered. She literally felt her skin bristle under her suit as soon as her headgear filtered through the warning buzz. As an environment, the tunnels didn’t really give an advantage either way, but if she was given a choice she’d prefer to confront one in an enclosed space than in the open. She had faced marauders before and lived to tell the tale, but this was the first time she’d faced one or more of them without any form of backup. She was almost certain at this stage that there was only one inside the labyrinth, but she knew there would be at least one other stationed at the entrance. If she could deal with this one, perhaps then the other would follow.

Marauders, however, weren’t always so predictable, and trying to second guess them was inevitably a gamble. By their very nature they evolved strategies in the same way they evolved their own mechanisms. They had effectively become an independent species, spawned by humankind and now a menace throughout the colonised universe. It was a mistake to believe that they thought like humans; their creativity was blind but no less effective. They were an evolving form of machinery with the ability to form strategies, co-operate, use experience as their compass to the future, and most significantly of all, to survive by Darwinian domination of all other technologies. They perceived humans as another form of technology rather than another species of nature, hence the perpetual conflict and struggle for supremacy.

The buzzing sound stopped – had the marauder sensed something or was it just using cunning? There was not always a rationale to a marauder’s behaviour; more often it was a devotion to pursuing a strategy that had worked previously. It was a hierarchal thought system that broke down the objective into different levels. The top level in this situation was to find her and destroy her; the lower level was to find a human in a tunnel complex. At the higher level, logic would prevail, but at the lower level, unpredictability had a higher chance of success. Elvene had won all her encounters with marauders by understanding their thinking; to her it was a game of chess first, and a fire-fight second. She knew that if she ever lost that perspective she’d most likely lose her life.

Elvene herself was effectively blind. She could not afford to emit anything at all that might give herself away. She could only rely on passive infrared light and that was effectively nil in these caverns. The blue and green luminescence on the cavern walls was actually misleading as it made things appear closer than they really were, and whilst it puzzled her, she could not afford to be distracted by it. The marauder had also gone into a passive mode and she needed to make it reveal itself without putting herself in direct danger. For this purpose she had set out a decoy on the opposite side of the chamber, which was roughly the size of a large room, but it was a gamble all the same.

She half-knelt in the dark, almost trying not to breathe lest it give her away. Would the marauder come right into the chamber? Could she lure it into a trap? She set off the decoy; it was maybe three metres away, and it shot off a blue flame that mimicked her stun guns. Instantly a long tongue of yellow flame shot out of a tunnel to her left and smothered the decoy across the cavern in front of her. The decoy, though small, remained aflame giving off light like a candle. Elvene waited, her heart beating so hard she was sure it could be heard.

When the marauder arrived at the entrance it stopped and scanned left and right. Elvene knew that as long as she remained deadly still she would not be detected. The marauder was metallic, structured like a small pyramid, with a domed head. It had the height of a pre-pubescent child, and floating on its anti-gravity field gave it a ghost-like appearance in movement. Its diminutive size belied its efficacy. Just one of these machines was more than capable of destroying Alfa, Elvene reminded herself.

The machine had no front, side or back really, but as it crossed the room, Elvene struck. Twin bolts of blue plasma shot from her wrists and wreathed the machine in a ghostly blue light. The marauder’s nerve centre was instantly short-circuited and the machine just dropped to the floor. Even in this inanimate state, Elvene couldn’t avoid the feeling that it was still a source of menace, yet she knew it was brain-dead simply because she was still alive.

Its partner, at the entrance, sensed everything as if it had been in the other’s place, right up to its death. So too had the third one in stationary orbit above them, and they now conferred quickly, but it wasn’t so much a conference as a melding of electronic brains. Meanwhile, there was another team of three marauders on the other side of the planet, but they had no need to involve them at this stage. This issue could be finalised without their participation.

Marauders never had emotions in the way humans or even sentient animals do, so they had no fear and they had no compassion. Yet attachment to a fellow marauder seemed an inevitable consequence of sharing electronic data that simulated the human condition known as thought. So marauders were cognisant of loss in a genuine sense, and that led them to become more cautious or more ruthless as the situation dictated.

To them, it was obviously dangerous to enter the cavern, yet they now had confirmation that their quarry was inside. Eliminate the quarry and the mission was accomplished. The solution was simple and obvious: a small missile that would collapse the tunnel.

Elvene knew that a duel with a marauder was never going to be a protracted affair; it was always going to be short, brutal and final. It reminded her of what she’d read of Samurai duels as opposed to the European style of fencing, which was similar to the equally ancient art of boxing. As an ancient sport, boxing was a process of physical endurance against pain, whereas most duels fought in the heat of battle were quick and fatal.

She knew that the marauder would not have been alone; there would have been at least one other, possibly more. Common sense now dictated that she retreat further into the caves and take some of her remaining decoys with her. She had the feeling that the caves themselves contained dangers that she could not foresee, but now that the remaining marauders knew her exact position, staying put was the worst of all options. In fact it was her very first impulse following the encounter that she should move on.

She ran for the tunnel immediately opposite her and as soon as she entered it, she noticed that it descended rather rapidly compared to any others she had previously entered. All too soon she lost her footing and then she was sliding on her armoured bum as the tunnel dropped like a funnel.  Then she was in free fall in darkness so complete she might as well have been blind. She found herself hoping for a quick death rather than a broken spine or limbs, as there were no Kiri around this time to rescue her, but instead she felt the harsh slap of water followed by its enveloping coldness. She couldn’t judge how deep she was, or even which way was up, until she saw the light from the explosion overhead.

The water saved her from the concussion as well as any remnants of the blast. She broke the surface to the sound of thunder resounding in the vast open space above her, broken now by splashing caused by rubble falling in the water around her. She quickly resubmerged lest she be hit on the head, then resurfaced moments later. All she could hear now, above her own hard breathing, was the lapping of water echoing all around her. She couldn’t believe she was still alive. But she also couldn’t help wondering if death may have been a preferable state to being entombed, as that was how the marauders had left her.

12. Unlikely Saviours

MYKA FOLLOWED THE UNDERWATER LIGHTS TILL DAWN, and he had to admit, even after all that time, they were still no less a mystery to him. He came to the conclusion that they were all part of one animal rather than separate entities, although it was hard to tell because they didn’t remain constant. They blinked on and off in a very random way, which gave an illusion of independence, yet from the way they moved in unison in a wavelike formation, he believed that they were most likely all part of one creature. It was a clever form of disguise, he thought, if he still wasn’t certain even after a lengthy observation.

He never really knew if they left him at daybreak or if he just couldn’t see them any more because of the light; they simply seemed to dissolve into the water. But on this occasion, as the grey light of dawn slowly transformed the ocean into an oily liquid, his attention was drawn away from the water beneath him to the lightening sky in the east. Silhouetted by the dawn, he saw a small number of four-legged flying creatures, perhaps six, though it was hard to tell as they kept diving into the water. They appeared slightly smaller than the presperas he knew back home, but more surprisingly, they were obviously fishing in the early morning light. He had never noticed them before, and they certainly didn’t exist near his homeland. He came to the conclusion that somewhere nearby, these creatures must have a home and that meant a home above water. He immediately awoke Sendra to tell him.

Sendra stirred with his eyes still screwed up against the light, but Myka’s agitated state was barely constrained and not easily ignored. ‘What is it? What’s up?’ he asked in sleep-dulled tones.

‘Look.’ Myka pointed towards the dawn-lit sky.

Sendra not only saw them, but could hear them emitting high-pitched squeaks as they wheeled in the air. Their long snouts and swept-back ears gave them a streamlined appearance as they folded their wings and dived into the water.

‘What are they?’ he asked.

‘I don’t know, but you know what it means?’

Sendra looked at Myka puzzled. ‘That we should start fishing?’

‘We’re near land,’ and Myka’s contagious grin suddenly had Sendra on his feet and scanning the horizon.

In his head, Myka was consulting the mental map he had of the islands scattered across this ocean, and imagined that they were on the verge of encountering the first one.

Not long after, the sun rose and to its right they saw clouds. Myka changed tack and headed for the clouds. Just as he had expected, the clouds formed a curtain for a mountainous range that grew until it filled the entire eastern horizon with the sun now halfway to its zenith.

They sailed up onto a beach. Their craft was too big for them to pull ashore and Myka was reluctant to leave it unattended. One of them could stay with it, but he didn’t think it wise for them to split up at this stage. On the other hand, he felt sure that if anyone was living here they would have seen them long before and there would be little point in trying to hide, either themselves or their craft.

‘I wish there was a safer place for the raft,’ he said to Sendra.

‘I don’t think there is,’ Sendra said looking about him. There were rocky outcrops at both ends of the beach. ‘We can’t leave it near the rocks or it will be broken up by the waves.’

The beach was not very deep, so Myka took a rope and tied it to a rock where the vegetation started, which was thick and jungle-like. The trees weren’t very tall but the undergrowth was thick where the beach ended. Walking in behind the first line of trees, the undergrowth quickly thinned out and the trees became taller with a canopy of vines overhead.

‘What do we do?’ Sendra looked to Myka, as he assumed he had a reason for landing.

‘We stay close to the raft and we make a camp nearby. Keep your eye out for anything dangerous and also any source of food.’

‘Do you know where we are?’

‘I have an idea, yes. This is a large island but not as large as our home. On the other side are much smaller islands. We still have a long way to go before we reach our destination.’

‘How long do we stay here?

‘A couple of days to look around. It depends on what we find.’

They noticed that much of the vegetation was similar to their homeland and they wondered if the fauna would be as well. Somehow Myka doubted that there would be any igrams or antrops around, as the terrain didn’t seem suitable, but he had no doubt that they should be able to find some game.

Some of the trees were fruit-bearing like their homeland, and Sendra was soon climbing them looking for fresh amplets which were like a large ball, hard-skinned with a soft centre. The hard outer shell stopped them from perishing in the sun and made them ideal for transport. Myka realised that there must also be animals present who ate them which was another possible source of food. They spent most of the day searching for food, including shellfish in the rocky pools that punctuated the ends of the beach. In the late afternoon they came across a tree-climbing animal with a long tail, pointed ears and snout, that ate the amplets. One of them tried to steal from their own cache and Sendra killed it with a spear.

They encountered no other humans and Myka concluded that the island was uninhabited. They also found driftwood which they collected so that they could make a fire when the sun went down. They cooked the animal they killed which was large enough to feed twice their number. It was a sweet meat, more tender than antrops, and a pleasurable change from their recent diet of fish.

After the meal, they built up the fire, which they had lit on the edge of the beach not far from where they’d tied off their raft. Myka hadn’t realised how much he missed the simple pleasure of a campfire at night. The smell of smoke, the many coloured flames, some of them even blue at their base, and the sparks that escaped into the night like spirits being released when he stirred the coals. There was a sense of solace around a fire that could not be replaced even by the caves where he’d spent most of the nights of his youth.

They both retreated into their thoughts with the meditative effect that fires have. Myka had heard that some Elders would see visions in the flames or more commonly in dreams after they had inhaled the smoke. But he knew that in those cases they put special leaves on the fire to create an hallucinatory state.

He had only ever been present at one of these and that was before he and Sendra had left their home. Neither he nor Sendra had been allowed to partake, but they had sat away from the fire while others inhaled the smoke. No one told them what the visionary saw, but only that they could leave. It was believed by his people that if you told someone their future, their knowledge of it would interfere with the destiny spelt out by the spirits, who may trick you or punish you for seeking such knowledge.

He looked across at Sendra who was staring at the fire like someone hypnotised. Myka couldn’t help feeling responsible for him but he dared not say as much. When Sendra looked across to him, he mentally changed the subject.

‘What are you thinking about?’ Sendra asked.

‘I’m thinking that tomorrow I would like to climb the ridge and look for the homes of the presperas.’

‘Do you think they’re edible?’ Sendra asked, his mind still on the meal they’d just eaten.

‘Perhaps, but it’s more out of curiosity. Besides if we reach the top, we might be able to see what’s on the other side.’

Sendra returned his stare to the fire. Myka knew that company, even silent company, was part of the mystique that campfires were able to conjure. Of course, Myka didn’t know that campfires were probably the first socialising activity in all of human culture, but if asked, he would have said that there was something about them that defined humanity, or at least the humanity that he knew.

His thoughts drifted to the campfires he’d shared with Elvene; especially the first one and the magic that it had wrought. He found it hard to believe that she could now be amongst the stars above his head and automatically looked overhead.

‘You’re thinking of her, aren’t you?’ Sendra asked, reading his thoughts.

He looked at Sendra, almost guiltily, then relaxed. ‘Yes.’ But that was all he said and all he wanted to say.

Elvene trod water and waited for the sounds around her to diminish. Her armoured suit was designed for positive buoyancy in water, and even her rappelling gun would float if she didn’t have it strapped to her back. Once again she could see the blue-green glow on the walls above her. It was difficult to make out how far above her the roof of the cavern was, or even if it had other outlets apart from the one she had fallen through. She knew that if it was the only one, then her chances of survival were virtually nil. Even if the water was fed from somewhere above ground, she did not have the equipment needed to swim long distances underwater to find its source. She switched on a lamp above her visor that allowed her to see, but even with this aid she could barely make out the roof of the chamber, let alone judge its height. Even the glowing rocks were little help in determining distances.

It would not be possible to contact Alfa from down here, and even if she could, he could not help her. In less than three days time he would arise from the watery grave where she had left him, and unable to contact her, he would leave the planet, never to return. She had to get above ground within those three days or else she was lost to all humanity. She was confident that the marauders would leave immediately, believing that they’d achieved their mission. Whilst they didn’t have a body, their probability algorithms would have told them that her chances of survival were so insignificantly small, that they could be ignored.

Elvene swam over to the edge where the water met the rocky wall. She swam along it looking for a place to climb out. She still had her rappelling gun on her back, and if she couldn’t find a purchase, then she would be forced to use it. She hadn’t panicked at this stage, and she took her time, assessing all her options, although they appeared severely limited. Elvene had always had this tendency to look at herself from the outside when she was in a difficult situation. She knew that above all else, she had to maintain a sense of hope. Without hope, a person easily lost the will to live.

She swam right around the perimeter of the pool, orienting herself by the pattern of glowing rocks above her. In the end she swam back to its centre and shot her gun directly upwards, hoping the roof was within its range. It was. The end of the line had a pencil-like implement that entered the rock then immediately expanded. Providing the rock itself was strong enough, it could support her weight. Elvene hauled herself up till she was roughly in the middle of the chamber; she now had a better perspective for viewing her surroundings.

On one side she was now able to make out a ledge, though whether it led to an opening was not so apparent. She attached the line to her belt, which freed the rappelling gun to fire another line above the ledge. By this method she could rappel across the chamber onto the ledge.  By reattaching the line to the gun she could send a signal to the end of the line to collapse its point and free it from the rock. The ledge was narrow, but it was at least a place where she could rest and collect her thoughts.

From this vantage point, she could now see the opening through which she had fallen. She hadn’t expected it to be still there. She wondered if the chamber from where she’d fled was still intact or if it had collapsed in the explosion. She had little doubt that the marauders would have sealed off the entrance, but if there was an underwater reservoir then perhaps there were other tunnels that led to the outside world.

With renewed hope she fired her gun at the gaping hole. After the line lodged itself she swung herself out once more and let the gun haul her up. She knew it was going to be tricky, because the hole was nearly vertical, but her very survival depended on her being able to scale it. Her main fear was that it might be plugged from above but she had to find out. She used the same method as before, using one line as an anchor while firing a second one above her. By this means, she was able to reach the chamber where she’d had the showdown with the marauder.

It was so small compared to where she’d just come from, and now it was half filled with debris, all but covering the brain-dead marauder she had left behind. The tunnel through which she had originally entered was completely blocked, as she had expected. They would have used two missiles: one to detonate in the chamber and one to close the entrance. She looked about her; there was one other tunnel that was almost blocked but there appeared to be just enough room for her to crawl through. It appeared on first appraisal to be long and straight. She reassessed the layout of the chamber, remembering where she’d positioned herself when she had lured the marauder to its end. In effect it was a room with one entrance and two exits.

It had been a lottery. She had taken the tunnel on the right because the marauder had entered from her left, and that had led her to the water, where she survived the explosion. The tunnel on the left, however, she now realised was horizontal for a considerable distance rather than down. Both tunnels, of course, vented the explosion, but the one on the left would have killed her, whereas the one on the right allowed her to live. She would remind herself of that in the days to come. For now she was hoping that the one on the left would lead her to her freedom.

Myka found it more difficult to sleep than his friend because he was used to spending his nights awake. Amongst other concerns he was unsure how safe it was here, but he knew that if he kept the fire alight it was less of a problem. He automatically looked to the stars as if he was still aboard his craft and needed to orient himself.

For the most part he had kept thoughts of Elvene at bay, but without the responsibility of navigation overriding his thoughts, he found the memories impossible to placate. He also knew that it was because he had come to a stop, and that once he started again, the memories would be overtaken by new events. But it is always the nighttime that the body longs for contact and the pleasures that such contact can promise. This was all new to him and he was at an age when pleasure withheld can so easily turn to pain within.

Some time before dawn he fell asleep and was saved from the added pain of dreams. When he awoke, Sendra had resurrected the fire and was cooking the shelled seafood they had caught the day before. They put some of the fruit they’d picked in a carry bag that Sendra slung over his shoulder, and after dousing the fire with dirt, they set off early for the mountain ridge above them while the sun was still behind it

Myka knew it was a risk to leave the raft where it was, but felt it was better for them to be together then apart. Besides if the raft was stolen, it meant there were others on the island, and one way or another, they would have to deal with that anyway.

It promised to be a beautiful warm day, though there were signs of early morning mist above them. The climb was going to take them most of the morning so they took both food and water as well as their spears. In fact, it felt just like a hunting trip back home. Even though the sun was climbing in the sky, they were still in its shadow and the air was becoming colder as they literally climbed towards the clouds above them.

It was not long before they had gained considerable height, and they could see their raft now far below them. To Myka it was no bigger than the spear head he held in his right hand. Not long after, they entered the cloud which was an abrupt layer and within a few steps obstructed their view below; it was like they had just entered another world. Myka realised that unless it cleared they would see nothing on the other side, even if they did reach the top of the ridge. It reminded him of the day that he and Elvene had scaled the ridge on his homeland, but the terrain here was distinctly different.

The vegetation was dense, with a canopy overhead, and the ground itself was rocky and covered with moss. Though the climb had started quite steeply, once they entered the clouds it became less so, which surprised them; it was the opposite of what they had expected. They still hadn’t seen any sign of the presperas they had seen at sea and this intrigued Myka. He wondered if they lived above the canopy. He was certain that the sun had risen quite high by this stage but with the combination of a canopy and the persistent mist, there were no shadows being cast.

Eventually they stopped and had some lunch. There didn’t appear to be any game at this height; they had seen no sign of the animal species that they had caught and eaten the previous day. Sendra seemed to read his mind.

‘Don’t you think it strange there aren’t any animals up here?’

‘You mean like the one you killed yesterday?’

‘Yes.’

‘Maybe it’s too cold for them,’ Myka suggested.

‘There are no amplet trees up here, either.’

‘That’s true.’

Myka looked at the trees around him and stood up as if he had made a decision.

‘I’m going to see if I can climb above the canopy.’

‘Okay, I’ll wait down here.’

Myka found it very easy to climb, using the vines that surrounded the trunks of the trees. It wasn’t long before he was surrounded by mist and couldn’t see Sendra at all. It was a strange sensation. Nothing isolates you quite as insidiously as fog, Myka thought. Even night can be penetrated by a fire from a distant hilltop, but fog can cut you off in daylight as abruptly as a curtain.

He continued to climb, wondering if he could get above the cloud,  but he couldn’t even see the sun. The tree spread out when he got near its crown and seemed to be joined to those around it. He realised that they didn’t have vegetation like this at all on his homeland, and he found it strange that there were no animals about, considering how easy it would be to move from tree to tree. Then the tree itself did a very strange thing; it started to grow leaves that were both broad and long. They stretched out on either side of the limbs, which were broad enough for him to walk on, providing he kept his balance.

Somehow he found this manifestation very ominous and for the first time since they had landed, he had a genuine sense of dread, not unlike the day he met the igram. His first thought was to warn Sendra not to climb the tree as he knew he would if he didn’t return. But before he could call out,  he heard the familiar sound of a presperas, a high-pitched screech that sounded like an alarm in the fog. When it appeared, it wheeled in and out just like the one he’d seen that day with Elvene. But what surprised him more was that it was completely alone and appeared to have come from nowhere. It flew around him in a circle and he understood it was warning him not to move.

It flew right past his ear so that the air from its wings lifted the hair on his head, then it dived right in front of him and clipped one of the leaves with its wing tip. The reaction was instantaneous as the leaf whipped up and tried to catch the creature mid flight, but it executed a perfect barrel roll and nimbly escaped.

He now realised that if he fell he would be caught by one of the leaves and trapped; they were certainly big enough and no doubt strong enough, as well, but his new companion was warning him that even if he moved he would be caught. Myka realised that his hands were sweating and if he wasn’t careful he might start to shake. He looked around him and saw the only possible means of escape.

As he leapt into mid air, a giant leaf tried to catch him but missed; the presperas let out a voluminous screech that would have woken the dead, but Myka caught hold of the vine he had seen and held it tight. To his relief, it held his weight, he swung across to another one and then slid down it till he landed on the ground in a jumbled heap of arms and legs.

Sendra ran over to him, and he couldn’t hide his anxiety. ‘What happened? What was that noise?’

Myka looked up into the canopy and fog for any sign of the presperas, but he could already sense that it had gone. He was genuinely puzzled as to why it had even made an appearance; it was almost as if it had come looking for him, knowing he was in trouble. And then he thought of all the times he’d been able to communicate; it had always been when he was in danger, though until today, the danger had come from the animal itself.

He looked at Sendra and saw the concern on his face. At first he didn’t know what to say to him. ‘I’m all right.’

But Sendra was no less anxious.

‘These trees are carnivorous, I was lucky to escape.’

‘I thought you had been attacked by a presperas.’

‘No, it came to warn me.’

‘Warn you?’

Myka was on his feet again, checking that he had done no serious damage to himself. ‘I mean it was almost caught by the tree itself, so in that way it warned me.’

‘Oh.’

‘Sendra, I don’t think we should stay here any longer. We’ll spend another night on the beach then leave tomorrow morning.’

Sendra was in no frame of mind to argue, and he followed Myka back down the slope. He knew Myka wasn’t telling him everything that had happened, but he also realised that he had been genuinely scared and under those circumstances he didn’t have to tell him.

Elvene followed the tunnel for about a hundred metres before it entered another chamber. This one was quite large, almost as large as the cavern that she had fallen into, only there was no water here. There was a path that led down into it, and when she got to the bottom, it passed through another opening and continued to descend. Once again there was the incandescent glow on the walls, sometimes like veins in the rock, and sometimes like splotches of colour, as if someone had thrown them on as paint. When she examined them closely though, they were more like crystals in the rock. In fact they reminded her of quartz crystals; she wondered if they were radioactive, but according to her diagnostic kit they were no greater than background and certainly not a source of harm to her.

It bothered her that her path was leading down rather than up; according to her compass and her memory of the external terrain, she was heading into a mountain, which made finding an opening more remote. She examined the roof above her to see if there were any vertical shafts, but she couldn’t see any. The quality of the air was okay so far and she could only hope that it would remain that way. She had a sensor that would alarm her if the air became dangerous but there was little she could do about it, even if it did.

The situation was becoming more serious for her. She knew that if there had been any other openings nearby, the marauders would have searched for them and sealed them off. She hadn’t heard any activity to suggest that, so the openings probably didn’t exist. Her only chance for survival then seemed to depend on this labyrinth going right through the mountain and coming out the other side, but there was no guarantee that it would, and even if it did, it may not be passable for any number of reasons.

There was no distinction between night and day down here and she hadn’t slept in over thirty hours. If she could find somewhere to rest she would. She needed sleep to think properly. There was no sign of anything edible in this environment either, but she had some high energy rations that would at least keep her going for a few days, even if she couldn’t find water, which she was confident she could. It wasn’t like she could put herself into hibernation until someone came and rescued her.  She wondered, not for the first time, at the wisdom of her deliberate isolation from Alfa, but she could see no other solution in dealing with the marauders. She had led them on a merry chase and finally succeeded at losing them, but if she didn’t escape from this natural dungeon, it would be a Pyrrhic victory indeed.

She camped on a ledge but not before she anchored herself to the rock face with a line attached to her belt. From force of habit, she went to sleep with her laser-knife in her hand, though if she had thought about it, she no longer had any reason not to rely on her stun guns alone.

She wasn’t sure how long she had slept, when she awoke to the rustling sound of small spidery creatures crawling all over her armour. In fact they were more like crabs than spiders, roughly the size of the palm of her hand, although some were bigger, some smaller. They had eight legs and two overgrown mandibles that acted like additional arms. They immediately shunned her light as if it was harmful to them, but she quickly realised that they weren’t at all harmful to her. She wondered if they were edible, but she was more curious about their behaviour.

Whilst they avoided her light as if it could burn them, they seemed to be attracted to the lighted crystals on the walls. She noticed, in fact, that they stroked them, thus eliciting some sort of sustenance from them in the form of an oozy liquid. Elvene realised that her previous cursory examination of these crystals had been misleading, and she now wondered if they weren’t in fact a life-form.

On closer examination, she realised that they performed a type of photosynthesis by generating their own light from mildly radioactive crystals. The ooze that the crustacean creatures elicited was a form of protein. This subterranean world had developed its own food chain, and she couldn’t help wondering where she might fit into it.

Elvene herself needed food and she found that the ooze was sticky and sweet, not unlike a nectar; it reminded her a bit of honey, though she had only ever tasted the synthetic variety. She had heard of people who kept bees for honey, but she had never tasted the product.

She killed one of the crab-like creatures with her laser-knife, though for some unknown reason, she felt guilty about it. However, when she examined the flesh with her analytic wand, she found it was toxic. Later on, she would realise how lucky she was to have made that discovery, and not just because they were poisonous. Having killed one, the others now kept a wide berth whereas previously they had only feared her light.

They seemed to congregate in a mass, not unlike a school of fish, and in fact, she was never to see one in isolation. As she got up to walk, they moved out of her way like water parting at her feet; she could hear the sound of their tiny feet scratching and clattering on the rock like a soft shuffling dance. After a few steps she realised that they were now all behind her like a shapeless animal that covered both the wall and floor. From a distance they simply looked like a piece of carpet, roughly the size of a blanket, that moved like an amorphous shadow and changed shape to match the topography. Elvene left them behind and they didn’t follow her.

Elvene moved from one cavern to another. Some she had to traverse with her rappelling equipment while others she had to crawl through. Her timepiece told her that another day had passed, yet from her perspective, her progress didn’t seem to reflect the time that had elapsed. It was of some concern, as her deadline to contact Alfa was approaching, yet she seemed no closer to finding daylight. She experienced, for the first time since she had been trapped, a sense of rising panic kindled by fear and uncertainty. She told herself that her fear was her greatest and only enemy; she resolved to keep moving and not to give in to sleep until she was physically exhausted.

She had read stories of shipwrecked survivors on Old Earth and knew that fate had played a hand in all those stories, but so did a will to live and survive. She told herself that her choices were simple and her options limited – it made it easier for her to continue.

Eventually she did stop from sheer exhaustion; her chronometer telling her it was two hours past midnight in the starlit world above ground. She had another day to find freedom, yet she didn’t even know if that was physically possible. She decided that a short sleep would further her progress, whereas none at all would lead to hallucinations and poor decision making, at the very least.

Sendra and Myka left the island and sailed around its northern side before heading east again. Myka noticed that there were presperas fishing on all sides of the island, and he was surprised that he had only seen the one on the island itself. He concluded that they must nest on the more exposed surfaces, perhaps on the cliff faces themselves that faced the ocean, and eschew the heavily forested areas that he and Sendra had visited. If that was the case, he realised, then his encounter with one in the treetops was even more extraordinary then he had thought.

He noticed that the top of the island was still wreathed in cloud and wondered if it was always like that, though he knew how easy it would be to make a false judgement based on a two-day visit. His own island home often suffered the same fate, but it didn’t have the same carnivorous trees, so comparisons were spurious at all levels.

Myka was only just beginning to understand that his world was much more varied than he had thought. He didn’t know that it was humankind’s inherent curiosity that led to extraordinary fields of discovery and exploration. He was partaking in a tradition that spanned the whole of human history and even its prehistory. His intimate relationship with Elvene had made him realise that humankind’s natural curiosity even stretched beyond the stars that hovered over his head at night. So his discoveries were nothing in comparison, yet they were huge leaps relative to his own origins.

Later in the day it rained, which always gave them an opportunity to collect water by funnelling it off the sail. When the sky cleared, it was mid-afternoon and Myka took a nap in anticipation of his upcoming night shift. He awoke just prior to the sun setting, so he was able to regain his bearings. In his head he kept a mental picture always of where they were, and the encounter with the island had allowed him to calibrate his orientation and position anew.

He wondered if the underwater lights had led him to land; he had the feeling that whatever they were, they were on his side. When night came and Sendra customarily went to sleep, the underwater lights returned. They had become Myka’s nighttime companions, and whether they followed him or he followed them, did not seem to matter; they provided him with some sort of reassurance that he was not alone in his endeavour.

He was also greatly relieved that Sendra had joined him. He knew how difficult it would have been to do this on his own, especially the first time. It wasn’t just a matter of having someone to share the work, but simply to have someone whom he could trust and provide friendship, made an enormous difference in maintaining his confidence.

The night passed uneventfully, and after their sojourn on the island, he and Sendra quickly fell back into their raft-bound routine.

When Elvene awoke this time, she was surprised and somewhat alarmed to realise that she had slept non-stop for over nine hours. She knew that without diurnal cues, a person’s body clock often developed rhythms that were longer than normal. She realised that her decision to sleep may have been her biggest and most costly mistake, but she couldn’t change that now; she could only continue her journey through this seemingly endless underground labyrinth.

She realised, what’s more, that the caverns were getting bigger and more difficult to cross. On one occasion she thought she heard the trickle of water but she had to lower herself down a chimney in order to investigate. She found an underground stream that momentarily broke the surface before plummeting through a hole. She was able to fill a gourd she carried, and she took some hope from the fact that the current was going in the opposite direction to herself. At some point, she ventured, the water must be entering from above and that may be her way out.

She climbed back up the chimney and continued into another cavern. She was reminded of Coleridge’s poem, “Xanadu”, and ‘caverns measureless to man’. She wondered if Coleridge had envisioned this place in one of his opiate dreams. She wondered too if the lack of proper sustenance and daylight was affecting her own senses. She felt she was reaching a stage where survival and its absence was becoming an absurdly thin line. She didn’t even use the word death in these personal conversations with herself, because if entombment was the alternative, then death itself would prove an escape.

Whenever she reached a small tunnel at the end of a cavern, she was torn between an apprehension as to what it might hold and the necessity to explore it in the hope it would lead to freedom. Other than the miniature crabs, and the ever-present crystals on the cavern walls, she had seen no other signs of life, yet she had no doubt there were other life-forms present in this subterranean world.

She passed through the tunnel like it was a portal, and to her surprise she encountered something underfoot that felt familiarly like mud. She looked down to see she was standing in a viscous goo; her first reaction was to step back, but her sense of surprise quickly turned to fear when she realised that she couldn’t. She realised that this was the same substance that Myka had once showed her, but she would never have expected to get caught in it herself. It was a nightmare situation she had never anticipated, that she would be unable to proceed simply by being stuck to the ground under her feet.

For Elvene, fright instinctively turned to fight. She unshouldered her rappelling gun and shot a line above her and slightly behind, but it was to no avail. The gooey mixture under her feet had turned into quick-setting concrete. The only way she would be able to extricate herself would be to take her boots off, but common sense told her that was a last resort and very soon it became impossible anyway. She pulled out her laser-knife but she realised that she couldn’t cut the substance without cutting her own armoured foot, as the substance had welled up over her toes and heels and held her effectively rooted in the rock. It was a very strange substance: it was liquid and sticky until it was disturbed, and then it solidified with movement. The more one struggled the more viscous it became until it finally metamorphosed into a glassy rock.

She realised that she was in a similar situation to what she had faced with the night render. This was a trap for some predator she hadn’t yet met, only this time she felt she was better armed and psychologically better prepared.

Unlike the night render, it did not take long to make its presence known. The size of the animal surprised her. It had an exoskin like the crabs she had seen earlier but quite a different shape. It had many legs and a tail like a scorpion’s. She wondered how it would even fit into the tunnel but its size was in its length and not its girth. It had long antennae and Elvene believed it was probably blind as she could see no eyes and it was unaffected by her light. It had two long claw-like limbs, similar to a praying mantis, and they now groped towards her. She cut the animal’s antennae with her laser and burned one of its claws, which stopped it dead in its tracks. It had many legs, probably six, although there may have been more holding up its long tail. As it took up the whole tunnel, she couldn’t tell.

Elvene unleashed her stun guns in a volley of plasma and blue lightning bolts. The animal reeled under the onslaught, then collapsed on its folded legs, filling up the opening in front of her. Elvene felt that history had repeated itself. She had killed her nemesis but was still trapped by it. Any imagined rendezvous with Alfa was virtually impossible now. She couldn’t see any way of releasing herself without cutting off her toes, which would make walking impossible. She was truly stuck in more ways than one. She could not remember a more hopeless situation in her entire life. Killing the giant crustacean in front of her had lifted her spirits, but she could not see any possibility of further escape.

As a last resort she pulled out the ceramic knife in her boot and started to scrape at the glassy substance around her right foot. It had frozen in a crystalline form and the blade made little indentation, but it was possible to wear a shallow groove. She persevered, as one does when there is nothing else one can do. Not being able to change her position made it doubly difficult and it wasn’t long before she started to cramp. The situation seemed to mock her every attempt.

Then to her surprise she heard the shuffling sound of the crabs she had encountered much earlier. They came from in front of her and to her surprise they started swarming over the dead creature and prying at its shell in order to reach the flesh inside. She realised that they were the scavengers in this enclosed ecosystem, but they had another surprise for her.

They approached her as if she too may be a source of food, but instead of attacking her armour they started to work away at the substance surrounding her feet. To her amazement they secreted a saliva that allowed them to eat it away. She wondered now, if she had eaten them as a source of food,whether they would have avoided her and left her to die.

It was strange to feel such affection towards these miniature and apparently simple creatures, but they had saved her life. Now she only had to find a way out. Her chronometer told her her that she had less than two hours to find an exit, and whilst she was lucky to be alive, actual escape seemed no closer.

But she couldn’t help feeling that fate was on her side, and she took a lot of fortitude from these lowliest of creatures living in this darkest of worlds, that had given her another chance at freedom and life. It was up to her now not to waste the opportunity they had given her.

She managed to clamber past the dead animal in front of her, the scavenger crabs making way for her as if they understood her mission, but in reality just avoiding harm to themselves.

She made her way through the lair of the creature she had killed, seeing remnants of its prey. She realised now that it had a symbiotic relationship with the crabs who cleaned up the scraps not to mention the animals left trapped at its entrance.

Not long after, she heard the sound of running water again and this time traced it to a waterfall. She could hear it from a long way off and it took considerable time before she found it. Its noise was deafening when she entered the cavern where it was cascading down some rocks. She rappelled her way to the top and for the first time saw light reflected from its uppermost surface. It seemed to take an age before she finally reached the opening. She could see grass and even sky tantalisingly peeping through a crevice in the ground above. It seemed barely large enough for a rabbit but she was determined to squeeze through.

When she poked her head through she was on the side of a hill, and looking behind her she saw a huge mountain with snow on its peaks. She realised that she must have traversed under it in the previous three days. To see a vista bathed in daylight and smell fresh, cold air was like being reborn. She immediately sent a signal to Alfa but there was no response.

She crawled out; it was late afternoon already, and she tried many times to contact Alfa but there was still no response. When the sun disappeared, she scavenged some wood and built herself a fire. She had nothing to eat but her rations, but the fire was like company to her and hunger was pushed to the edge of consciousness. Now that she had survived her subterranean ordeal, not being able to contact Alfa was her greatest concern.

Gradually the night surrounded her until the small area lit by her fire became her entire universe, yet she was conscious of the sky and the air about her, as if she had just been released from prison. It was now well past the deadline she had set for Alfa, and she finally had to admit that either he had already left the planet, or been discovered by marauders and destroyed.

13. Journey’s End

AFTER THE STORM AND THE VISIT TO THE ISLAND, Myka and Sendra’s voyage was largely uneventful. Within days they came across another group of islands, populated by flying animals as well as amphibious creatures like giant lizards with six legs, but there was no sign of human habitation.

Sendra and Myka went ashore on one of these islands and found that the lizards lived in burrows which they were able to raid for eggs. It rained most of the time they were there, and in fact the weather seemed to be the result of a changing pattern they were experiencing at sea. There was a sense of changing seasons with the sun travelling lower across the sky and the prevailing winds changing from south to north and bringing ever more rain-bearing clouds.

It had been many days, more than Myka could count, since they’d left their home, yet all the islands in his mental map had been passed. He now knew that the next land he saw would most likely be a continent, though he had no such word in his vocabulary.

The weather was getting colder, in fact, colder than anything he had experienced. They had travelled a good deal north. Elvene had told him that the more north or the more south he travelled the colder it would get, although it also depended on the time of year. She explained that when it was cold in the north it would be hot in the south and vice versa. She explained that the sun moved from north to south and back in a yearly cycle, creating the seasons. In a similar fashion the stars moved lower or higher on the horizon as his craft took him north or south. They only remained consistent when he travelled east and west, though the night sky also changed with the seasons. This had been hard for him to understand, but once he started travelling on the ocean, it made sense and it even made it easier for him to navigate. Seeing the stars change with the time of year gave him a sense of time at sea and therefore distance travelled; he could see how the two were connected.

It was only towards the very end of their long journey that they saw the strangest creatures they had ever encountered, and the ones that had the deepest impact on Myka. It was partly because of their size and their obvious power, but also because he felt a connection to them right from the start.

It started off as a cloud on the horizon about mid-morning. In fact, Myka first thought that it was a land-form, appearing, as it was, grey and amorphous. It was such a strange sight that he even wondered if it was some sort of alien spacecraft like Elvene’s, only much larger, like the mothership she had mentioned, remembering that she had arrived by sea, even though she returned via the sky.

But as they got closer, he noticed that it was in fact floating in the sky and that it was a creature, or more accurately, a group of creatures, like a pod. He could sense Sendra’s fear as its shape and form became more evident. He looked to his friend who was standing slightly behind him and tried to reassure him with a look, but Sendra’s apprehension was written all over his face.

They were grey with great folds of overlapping skin that waved in the air and probably provided their means of propulsion. There was no sense of a head or even a body, though by pulling back a fold of skin from their centre, a sort of face was revealed with a mouth. Myka was convinced that they could sense him. When they got closer he realised that they were many, though all interwoven with possibly a leader at their head. Though it was hard to tell how high they were, Myka estimated that the leader by itself could probably cover their craft. They hovered right over them and Sendra became doubly scared. Myka knew that this concerned the creatures so with his head craned right back, he reassured them with his thoughts and then turned to Sendra.

‘Sendra, stop being scared, you’re upsetting them.’

‘What are you talking about? I’m upsetting them. To tell you the truth, Myka, if you weren’t here, I’d be in the water by now.’

Then as he watched, a long thin tendril dropped from the leader near its centre. It was like a vine or rope, only grey and leathery looking, and it lingered just in reach of Myka. He instinctively touched it and it wrapped around him, only gently. Myka knew that if he wanted, he could be carried off the craft but he told it no and just stroked it instead. Sendra looked on in awe; he would never have expected such behaviour from Myka, and for a moment he was reminded of their encounter with the igram that had happened just prior to the Ocean Woman’s arrival.

Myka turned to Sendra. ‘There is land just over the horizon, more land than you can imagine.’

‘How do you know?’

‘I can sense it.’

There is danger there too, but Myka kept that to himself.

He let the tendril go and it recoiled away from him back to its home.

The whole group wandered off to their left and then they witnessed another extraordinary sight. A whole nest of tendrils dropped into the sea, and to both Sendra’s and Myka’s amazement, they came up with freshly-caught fish which they raised into gaping mouths. Then the whole group returned back over their heads and dropped some of their catch onto their craft. Sendra and Myka chased after them as the fish bucked about on the deck trying to return to the sea, but some of them were already dead, as if stunned.

When they looked up again, the flying waves, as Myka would later call them, had flown away to their left again, but further away now and eventually disappeared over the horizon.

‘What were they?’ Sendra asked.

‘I don’t know, but they are the most powerful creatures around here, of that I am sure.’

‘How did you know it wouldn’t hurt you?’

‘I just did, although at first they were quite scared of us.’

‘How can you tell?’

‘I don’t know, Sendra, I just can.’

And Sendra knew that was the only explanation he was going to get. Sometimes, he had to admit, Myka was pretty scary himself.

Myka saw the grey airborne creatures as a sort of welcoming party, as he knew now that land was just over the horizon, and it appeared to them just as he had predicted.

There were enormous cliffs and Myka knew that they needed to find a beach so he sailed north as the winds made it easier for him to do that. But as he sailed along the coast, the cliffs gave way to rolling hills, and against a blue sky at one stage, he thought he saw smoke. He pointed it out to Sendra who squinted at the distant horizon.

‘I don’t know Myka; you have much better eyes than I have. It could be mist or just cloud beyond the hills.’

Eventually they found what they were looking for: a sandy stretch of coastline where they could safely beach their craft. Beyond the beach was a thicket of low-lying bushes, but from out at sea they knew that behind them lay rolling grey-coloured hills. By this time the sun had passed midday, but after securing their craft they walked through the thicket-covered sand dunes and came to an open vista of rolling green hills. It was a windswept place with few trees but on the most distant hills there was a darker green, and Myka recognised it as a forest, though what lay beyond that he could only guess.

‘What are we going to do?’ Sendra asked.

‘We just have a look around. If there’s nothing to hunt around here we just move further along. This isn’t an island, Sendra; there’s a lot of coastline we can explore.’

They walked inland but they soon realised that it was a long way to the treeline and they didn’t want to leave their craft unattended at night. They didn’t find anything to hunt, but food wasn’t a problem as they still had the fish that had been dropped on their craft that morning.

Back on the beach they found some driftwood and lit themselves a fire before the sun went down. It was strange, Sendra thought, to see the sun setting over the sea instead of rising over it, as it had done back home. Also the sheer expanse of the beach and the land that ran inwards further than he could walk, made him realise how far from home he really was.

He turned to Myka. ‘We made it, didn’t we?’

Myka smiled at his friend. ‘Yes. Sendra, we did.’

‘What are we going to do tomorrow?’

‘I’m not sure. I’m thinking it might be better to sail further north and see what else we can find. If we don’t find anything more promising, we can always return.’

Even though their craft was beached it was more comfortable to sleep on than the ground. Sendra went to sleep before Myka because they were still used to sleeping in shifts, and Myka built up the fire before he retired around midnight.

He was awoken by Sendra at first light, and he knew even before he opened his eyes that something was wrong. They were surrounded by a group of men holding spears. Myka counted six. They were different from Myka and Sendra in that they wore thicker clothing made from animal skins covered in fur. When one of them spoke, both Sendra and Myka struggled to understand them, though his words were familiar, they sounded strange to their ears.

It took a while for Myka to realise he was asking where they were from.

‘We come from far away.’ Myka pointed towards the ocean.

There was no response from his interrogators. The Kiri measured time by the constellations, so Myka drew in the sand, using Kiri symbols, the constellations that they had travelled under since they had left.

‘That is how long we have travelled over the sea,’ he explained.

The men, all older than Sendra and himself, looked at each other. Myka was not sure if he was believed, or if they simply didn’t understand him.

‘Where are the rest of your people?’ The same person, obviously the leader of the group, was asking all the questions. Myka noticed that he was also the heaviest built and most aggressive looking.

‘We left them behind, we have travelled alone.’ Myka gesticulated a lot when he talked, in the hope that he was more readily understood.

Again, there was a look of disbelief, and Myka had the sense that his interrogator had a fierce temper barely controlled. However, he knew he could do no better than tell the truth, whether it was believed or not.

The leader waved his spear at them in a beckoning motion. ‘You come with us.’

‘What about our craft?’ Myka asked.

But the leader simply repeated himself and his entourage moved forward to physically remove them. Myka and Sendra stepped onto the beach before they could be manhandled.

The leader gave further instructions, and to Sendra and Myka’s astonishment, four of his party started to push their craft towards the water. Sendra yelled, ‘What are you doing?’, and rushed to stop them, but the nearest simply pushed him onto the sand.

Myka raised his hand. ‘Let it be,’ he said in a surprisingly calm voice, and there was no more violence.

Sendra could see that Myka had a tight rein on his emotions and realised that there was nothing they could do. They watched the men push their craft into the ocean and let it drift away. Myka knew that it might well end up back on the beach, but could also end up broken up on rocks depending on the whims of the sea.  But more significantly, he knew that the leader of this group was giving him and Sendra a message: they had no independence here.

With no possessions of their own, Myka and Sendra were forced to walk surrounded on all sides. The leader of the group actually brought up the rear and walked directly behind them. Myka realised that he did this so that he could observe them without them knowing his intentions.

Myka had never observed psychological power games like this before but he was learning quickly.

They walked along the beach in a northward direction. At the end of the beach, they climbed over a hillock and then followed a gully. Myka wondered how far they needed to go and why they had seen no signs of these inhabitants the day before. As they walked, the sun climbed over the hills to their east and bright shafts of light gave new relief to the landscape. The gully continued to track north and east, with the sea following them on their left, and Myka realised that it had been hidden from view when they had conducted their quick foray the previous day. They eventually came to a well-worn track; the sun climbed higher in the sky but they didn’t stop walking and no one spoke. The silence alone was a strange sensation for Myka and Sendra. There didn’t seem to be any friendliness in this group, either towards them or between themselves.

The track led them into a deeper gully until they found themselves in a dry valley floor. Eventually, when the sun was almost overhead, they rounded a corner and they could finally see where they were heading. The valley seemed to come to a blind end and rose about them on all sides. As they got closer, they made out people walking along tracks that crisscrossed the slope, and Sendra and Myka came to realise that there were openings in the ground, not unlike the caves their own people lived in back home. All along, the ground had appeared dry, covered in a tough mud-coloured grass, but above the valley Myka noticed there was a ridge line crowned by trees. Of course, the location gave the inhabitants a good view of the area seawards.

Their approach naturally produced a lot of curiosity and people stopped and pointed. The group kept walking up a zigzag path, and people quickly got out of their way. They were mostly women and children, but they were all very solemn. Sometimes they spoke amongst themselves but Myka couldn’t hear them. The children clung to their mothers and there was no laughter or play, but the sight of strangers in this place, Myka thought, would probably be enough to silence anyone.

They climbed right to the peak of the valley without rest. They were led to the entrance of one of the biggest caves, and while they stopped outside, the leader entered alone. Myka noticed that there were two guards standing outside and next to them were lit fires even though it was almost midday. This cave was situated so high that the treeline started just above it. When they looked back the way they had come, Myka noticed that the sea was clearly visible. He hadn’t realised that they had climbed so high. He saw that even from here, smoke from the fire that he and Sendra had lit the previous evening would have been visible against the setting sun, albeit they had beached further south.

They didn’t have to wait long before the leader of the group returned. Behind him came an even bigger man, both in height and girth. He walked right up to Myka and Sendra to intimidate them with his size. He examined them closely and walked around them as if they were specimens before he said anything.

He asked the same questions that his offsider had asked when they first met. ‘Where are you from?’ His dialect was thicker and his voice was deeper and rougher.

Myka squatted on the ground to draw a map. ‘We come from over the sea,’ he explained and drew the islands that they had come across. Next to the islands he drew the constellations again to show the time that they had travelled. He was going to say, do you understand? but thought better of it.

‘Where are your people?’ the man asked.

‘They are here,’ and Myka pointed at the mark he’d made to represent the start of their journey. He still wasn’t sure he was understood.

‘How many years are you?’

Myka counted his fingers off on both hands and then the toes on his right foot, plus one toe on his left, which was the Kiri method of counting. He then sliced one finger in half with the other to indicate he was another half year older again, as if it really mattered.

The man looked at him suspiciously but when he spoke next, he spoke to his men. He used some words that Myka and Sendra didn’t understand, then he turned back to them. ‘We will keep you here until your people come for you.’

‘They won’t come,’ Myka said and then the man hit him with the back of his hand so forcefully that he fell to the ground. Myka was absolutely stunned. He put his hand to his mouth and noticed it was bleeding, but the pain had already been replaced by numbness.

‘I didn’t ask you to speak,’ was the explanation he was given.

The look in Myka’s eyes made the man smile; it was the look of surprise mixed with fear. He turned his back on them without another word. Myka was yanked to his feet by the original leader of the group with the one command, ‘Move.’

Only then did it occur to Myka that no one had asked them for their names and no one had given them one. Sendra looked at Myka but didn’t say a word. Myka could feel Sendra’s anger building up so he said to him, ‘I’m okay, don’t worry.’

He was prodded by the blunt end of a spear for speaking. The leader said, ‘You are a slow learner, aren’t you?’ After that they said nothing.

Myka had never been hit like that by anyone. In his clan it was unthinkable that an Elder would hit someone like that, even for insolence. It was the shock of the man’s behaviour, as much as the actual physical blow, that contributed to Myka’s deepening sense of unease.

They were led to a nearby cave and told to wait inside. Two men were left to guard the entrance and inquisitive onlookers were chased away. Sendra and Myka noticed that the cave had been largely excavated and was not natural, but this did not surprise them, as people had done the same on their own homeland. Eventually they were brought some food and water but no one spoke to them or even made eye contact. When they started to whisper to each other, one of the guards entered and told them to be silent or the food would be removed.

Elvene had set herself a territory where she believed there would be enough food, and where she had found a shelter against the colder weather. This part of the planet was richer in both flora and fauna and very hilly, even mountainous, though nothing was familiar to her. Many of the smaller animals were adapted to flight, though there was nothing feathered, and many of the plants were more mobile than she had seen in other environments. Even so, despite its complete foreignness, the landscape had a certain beauty that she would have found hard to explain. She put it down to the stark contrast from the subterranean world that she had recently escaped from.

She hunted with her crossbow mainly, but she also found plants that she could dig out of the ground, as well as some fruit-bearing plants above ground. She ate the fruit and she ate the small animals that ate the fruit. There were smaller variants of the flying wolf she had seen with Myka and smaller animals that burrowed under the ground, most of which were nocturnal.  Many of the trees on this planet, she noticed, were carnivorous and were not a source of food or shelter.

She knew the danger of eating out her habitat and she knew that if it snowed then finding food would become more difficult. She had crossed under a mountain range after escaping from the marauders, and she knew it was  impossible to cross back over it with winter imminent. She had found a cave that had obviously been occupied by something much larger than her, but it made an ideal shelter. Its previous owner had been a large six-legged animal with a thick furry coat, and when it came to reclaim its home she killed it with her stun guns. The animal was most reminiscent of a bear but it walked on four legs and used the front two for grasping, so it looked like a centaur with a bear’s torso. She concluded that it probably used the cave to hibernate through winter and that did not augur well for her. Nevertheless it was a source of protein and its skin could prove very useful if she could make it durable.

She kept herself busy by scouting for food and learning about her environment, noticing the signs of changing weather, and watching the stars as the Kiri did, only they were different on this part of the planet. She wondered how long she could survive like this and even if she would survive the coming winter, the severity of which she could only speculate about.

Physically, humans required food and protection from the elements to survive, but psychologically, they required hope. Elvene knew that without hope the will for life was easily extinguished. She knew that her only hope now was a rescue from the Corps. But the fact that she hadn’t seen or heard any sign from the Corps since their departure made that an increasingly remote possibility. Elvene realised that she was in denial, but denial, she told herself, was another survival mechanism that must have evolutionary value, for it was one of the most resilient of human traits.

In the evolutionary scheme of things, humans had gone off on a branch of their own a long time ago, pre-space travel even, the result of which was a complete dependency on technology that only grew and never diminished. The humans on this planet, she realised, were an aberration in that regard, and that was a mystery in itself. Living without technology was now the biggest challenge a human could face. But worse than that, given her current circumstances, humans had never evolved to live alone or in isolation.

Every night she lit a fire, using a spark from her stun guns to ignite dry kindling, and that was her greatest comfort, like it was some sort of surrogate company. Just lighting a flame gave her a sense of control over her environment, but only after many frost-laden nights, did she realise that the flames from her fire had become the sole source of her hope.

No one visited Myka and Sendra after they had been given a meal, and it became obvious that they would probably spend the night in the cave with guards posted outside.

As the sun went down, they discovered why the inhabitants wore warmer clothing than the Kiri normally did. After many nights at sea, they had acclimatised to colder conditions than the tropical climes of their home, but as dusk turned to night, the cold ground penetrated their bodies and kept them awake. The guards were changed at midnight and against their best hopes, Myka and Sendra found them very vigilant. Only later did they learn that failure to keep them prisoner would have been punishable by death. By the time morning came, Myka and Sendra had been forced to huddle together to keep warm.

They awoke to grey light outside. A woman brought them food but didn’t enter the manmade cave; instead she gave it to one of the guards outside who brought it in to them. No one spoke or displayed any empathy. This was all completely alien to both of them, as on their island home they had never known hostility, and being kept prisoner was an experience beyond their ken. In fact, the whole nature of their interaction with this community was even more foreign to them than Elvene’s visitation from beyond the stars.

During the night Myka had dreamt of making love to Elvene, and when he awoke he was firstly disoriented then depressed to be reminded of where he was. It was like the dream had been his life and the awakening reality was the nightmare. But after the initial sense of emotional pain the dream had resurrected, he found it also provided him with the resolve he needed for survival and escape.

14. Abandoned

ROGER HAD MIXED FEELINGS WHEN HE FIRST LEARNED that Alfa had returned to Base without Elvene. It almost certainly meant that she was dead, yet perversely it also provided the slimmest hope that she might have survived. He couldn’t rein in his impatience to interrogate Alfa, yet at the same time he tried to suppress any optimism that arose unbidden to the surface of his thoughts.

He learned all this, of course, before Alfa had even docked. What the Corps referred to as Base was a space station: a man-made satellite orbiting a planet that had been seeded to produce life. This was genetic engineering on a huge scale, but not having the millions of years available to produce the evolution of earth, a number of isolated ecosystems were developed and then cross-populated to produce variety and competition. Modelling allowed them to predict which chaotic systems would achieve equilibrium and which ones would self-destruct, but chaos was the key rather than the exception. This was humankind playing God to survive in a post-Earth environment. The planet, around which Base orbited, was called Terra UY1216c, which was shorthand for the coordinates needed to find it. There were of course more than one Terra and they were always referred to by their navigation nodes, as that was what distinguished them, and, of course, was all you needed to know if you really wanted to find one of them.

Engineering evolution had also been applied to machines and robotic systems, which is how the marauders had developed and then become renegade machines. They were originally developed as surrogate troops or drones; their speciality being search and destroy missions. But their evolutionary programming eventually identified humans as their only technological rival and so began a technological war between the two groups as if they were rival species. Because space allowed them to exist in isolation to humans, they had never been fully eradicated, and the more determined humans were to exterminate them the more warlike and predatory they became in their own behaviour. Roger, like many people in his position, and with the perfect vision of hindsight, wondered how all those responsible had not seen it coming.

The space station itself was by no means a small satellite and in fact was bigger than a good number of asteroids. It was effectively a large city and even contained an ecosystem of its own with plants, insects and bacteria. For those who used it as home, it was seen as an island tethered by gravity to the mainland of Terra, albeit a small island. People became attached to it in the same way that previous generations had become attached to cities on their original planet, Earth.

When Alfa docked, he had to go through a thorough quarantine check before anyone could enter. Although the process was not lengthy, it didn’t improve Roger’s patience.

‘Let me know as soon as access is available,’ he ordered from his workstation.

He had not moved from his seat, yet his mind had already travelled to the Kiri planet and back again. He replayed in his head the last communications he had had with Alfa before the ship had gone landside with Elvene and so created a chasm that could not be bridged, either then or now. At the time, he thought the chasm was death itself, and he had reconciled himself to that since his return to Base. But with Alfa’s return, the uncertainty nagged at him like a recurring dream. In fact he had dreamt of Elvene’s return on more than one occasion, but this time he had to remind himself that he wasn’t dreaming, and much worse than that, Elvene was not here.

Roger made his way by airborne car to the dock and waited outside an airlock until clearance was given. With a hiss, the transparent doors gave way and Roger entered the lock. He faced Alfa’s black-nosed body which was surrounded by metal decking as if it was floating in a bath of mercury.

‘Alfa, this is Roger. I request permission to enter.’

‘I recognise you, Roger. Permission granted.’

Alfa’s door opened as a gangplank and Roger walked aboard; the gangplank closed behind him.

Roger looked around at the familiar surroundings and for a moment he thought he could even smell Elvene,  but he knew it was a trick of memory rather than anything she had left in the air. Rather than sit in the pilot’s chair he sat in a visitor’s chair provided by Alfa.

‘Okay, Alfa, take me through everything that happened from when you left atmosphere with my ship until Elvene left you, and just jump through the boring bits.’

Alfa knew what was boring to humans from experience, as nothing was boring to a machine. ‘I can only assume, sir, that what is boring to you is the same as what is boring to Elvene.’

‘Yes, run with that assumption unless I interrupt you.’

‘Very well, sir.’

Roger suddenly found himself in space above the Kiri planet; he could see the space battle taking place in front of him, the two escorts and his own ship, a phalanx of marauders approaching them. He heard Elvene as a disembodied voice sitting in her pilot’s chair.

He was as surprised as Alfa obviously was when she asked him about the water ballast. But then she made her evasive manoeuvres and outsmarted her pursuers, using the ice from the ballast as a weapon.

They entered the ocean and then ensued their cat and mouse game with the marauders’ underwater sensors, which Alfa won. There was the encounter with some underwater creature that tried to eat them and he heard the fear in Elvene’s voice, but Alfa, of course, was emotionally unaffected and knew exactly what to do, as if he was eaten by underwater monsters every other day.

This was immediately followed by her consultation of the map and her choice of destination so Roger knew exactly where she disembarked. Then there was their final conversation, which Roger asked Alfa to replay, because for some reason he believed that this conversation contained the secret of her failure to return. Before Roger had joined the Corps he had been an investigator; what previous generations had referred to as a detective. It was his speciality and his talent. Like all detectives, he believed intuition and instinct was as important as sheer hard-slog analysis.

The conversation also intrigued him because Alfa didn’t challenge her when she told him to return without her. He wondered if Alfa’s attachment programming was slipping or had even failed. Attachment had been reinforced in all AI systems, generations ago, following the marauders original mutinous behaviour, and it was still a contentious point amongst experts. He found himself, against his own better judgement, feeling relieved that Alfa couldn’t read his thoughts. Ever since the seminal Clarke-Kubrick story from the 20th Century, 2001: A Space Odyssey, people had been paranoid about thinking aloud in front of cognisant machines.

Roger smiled to himself in recollection that Elvene was the exception in that regard. She argued that either a machine was on your side or it wasn’t and only a cretin couldn’t tell the difference. She said that humans were far more likely to betray you than a machine, and even if a machine let you down, it was invariably the result of human error. Roger would have agreed, yet he readily admitted to himself that his behaviour didn’t match his convictions.

Then, as if Alfa could indeed read his thoughts, he broke the silence. ‘What are you thinking, sir? Perhaps I can help you.’

But Roger knew it was really a cue that he had further information he thought might be pertinent. ‘Perhaps you can. Firstly, why didn’t Elvene send a quantum signal?’

There was a pause, as if Alfa was thinking. If he was human, one would assume that he was making up an excuse, but Roger knew that he was going back over his memories to find if it had been considered and rejected. Finally he answered, ‘She didn’t discuss it with me, sir.’

‘So why didn’t you send a quantum signal?’

This time Alfa didn’t hesitate. ‘We weren’t lost, sir. You knew where we were.’

‘Actually, we thought you were dead. Both of you.’ Roger silently cursed that he hadn’t sent someone to confirm their destruction, but then he remembered the battle situation and that he hadn’t been in command. Still, he struggled with Elvene’s strategy. ‘Tell me, why did Elvene leave you to fend on her own? Or didn’t she discuss that either?’

‘Correct, sir, she didn’t. But I can conjecture.’

‘Go ahead.’

‘Together we couldn’t survive the marauders. She knew that we could only evade them if we were technologically invisible and silent.’

‘But you could have done that together.’

‘Unlike humans, marauders have infinite patience, eventually we would have had to break cover.’

‘But she knew that eventually she would be killed by them on her own.’

‘Perhaps. Elvene is not always logical in life and death situations.’

‘That’s quite an insight, Alfa.’

‘It’s an observation, sir.’

Roger chuckled; Alfa would note the difference. An insight was a deduction and an observation was simply his experience of Elvene.

‘But she couldn’t possibly escape. How many marauders were there?’

‘Six, sir.’

‘How do you know that?’

‘It is how many attacked us the first time. It is her value; she is worth six marauders.’

‘I didn’t know that.’

‘Neither did she until I told her.’

Roger raised a mental eyebrow at that comment. ‘So she left you, knowing she was going to die.’

‘Not necessarily, sir.’

‘Go on.’

‘She could convince them of her death so that they would give up the hunt. She had done that successfully before.’

‘Yes, I know. But if so, why didn’t she contact you?’

‘Perhaps in playing dead, she couldn’t contact me.’

‘Or perhaps she really was dead.’

‘Yes, that’s possible too.’

‘Which is most likely?’

‘The latter, sir, overwhelmingly.’

‘Yes, that’s what I thought you’d say.’ Roger got to his feet. He was tired and beaten and depressed.

‘Thank you for all your information, Alfa.’

‘It is my job, sir.’

At that comment, Roger felt an irrational surge of anger and frustration.

‘It was your job to keep her safe.’

Alfa’s voice, in sharp contrast, was even and flat. ‘I did that to the best of my ability, sir. It was her choice and I honoured her choice.’

They sounded like face-saving words, but Roger knew that underlying that comment was the knowledge that Alfa could have decided not to honour her choice and brought her back against her will, and risk another almost certain death. To a human, his choice of phrasing sounded like empty rhetoric, but in fact it underscored the relationship that had existed between them, and in all fairness to both of them, it was a credit to Elvene’s empathy of machine intelligence.

‘Thank you, Alfa. We will talk again.’

‘You’re welcome, sir.’

The hatch opened and Roger left feeling more depressed than when he had entered.

Myka and Sendra had spoken very little since their capture, but they were more aware than ever of their mutual dependence. Even though Sendra didn’t have the ocean navigation skills, or even the sailing skills, that Myka had, Myka could not imagine a more suitable companion. Sendra never questioned Myka’s decisions, and even in the crisis of the storm, when they were effectively lost, his support had been unshaken. In their current situation, Sendra was the best ally he could think of.

He was glad that no one from his family was here to see how he had been treated, and it would have only added further injury to witness the same treatment being dealt to them. On the other hand, he couldn’t help thinking how different things would have been if Elvene had been present, but he knew if she had, then he wouldn’t have made the journey in the first place.

Myka was completely ignorant of the enormous history of human development, and that his current experience was very mild treatment indeed, compared to what had been dealt under the epitomes of civilisations from Old Earth.

‘What do you think they will do with us?’ Sendra asked. They spoke in whispers, though within their enclosure even a whisper sounded inordinately loud.

‘I don’t know, it’s hard to believe they can keep us like this indefinitely. We just have to wait and see.’

‘But if we’ve lost our craft how can we escape?’

‘That’s a good question, Sendra, but we haven’t necessarily lost it yet.’

‘But you saw them push it out to sea.’

‘I find it hard to believe they are that stupid: to just let it go.’

‘Do you have a plan?’

‘No I don’t, not yet. We need to watch and see. This situation will change in some way that we can take advantage of.’

‘How do you know?’

Myka looked at Sendra; he knew he sounded more confident than he was, but he also knew that they didn’t know enough at this stage. He was of the impression that there must be some dynamic within this community that he could use; he just didn’t know what it was. He couldn’t explain that to Sendra, yet he had to give him some hope. ‘I promise you, Sendra that we will escape, but we have to learn more first.’

Sendra was somehow relieved that his friend could show such confidence and patience. Myka had always been something of a mystery to him, but he had always been a reliable friend, or at least until the Ocean Woman had come into their lives. Even though she had come between them quite dramatically, he knew that was partly because of jealousy, but more significantly, Myka’s very mystery had even attracted her. It was like they had been meant to find each other, and what’s more, the whole Clan believed that, including himself eventually. He wondered if it was her memory, or her influence now, that gave Myka such confidence, but he knew better than to ask.

In Elvene’s self-proclaimed territory, it snowed quite regularly now and the landscape changed its shape considerably. Elvene realised that she could easily get lost if she wasn’t careful. She had given up wearing her armour and now wore animal skins. She had learned a new skill with her laser-knife which allowed her to fuse skins together.

She made sure that every day she walked around the boundary of her imaginary territory. As she had speculated, food was becoming harder to find, but she did manage to kill a large animal, not unlike the antrops that the Kiri hunted. It had huge antlers that curled back over its head like a big horn sheep, only it was at least the size of a horse. Its feet were splayed to allow it to walk on snow and it had a thick woolly coat. She assumed that it was a herd animal that had got lost in the snow and realised that if she hadn’t killed it something else probably would have. She buried the meat in the snow to preserve it, and removed its skin for later use. Finding roots under the snow was now almost impossible and of course there was no fruit anywhere. She expected that most animals had gone into hibernation and she wished she could do the same.

On more than one occasion she used her laser-knife to dig herself out of her cave, and clearing snow away from its entrance was now a daily chore. Despite the activities and the occasional find like the recent kill, she could feel her hope ebbing away. It was like a precious resource that she kept in a bottle; she had to use some everyday, yet always be sure that some remained for the future. At night she always lit a fire inside her cave, but fuel, like food, was becoming scarce. She found herself looking around her sparse home and acquiring a reluctant acceptance that she was going to die here.

She knew the most dangerous thing to do was to place an imaginary time limit on her rescue, because when that milestone was reached, all hope would be gone. She’d read accounts in prison camps of people doing exactly that, and consequently not surviving where others had. In her dreams, she sometimes met Roger, sometimes Myka, and on one occasion she even dreamt of Alfa returning to rescue her, but she dismissed it as a desperate person’s fantasy. If Alfa had not been contactable on her escape from the underground labyrinth, then he certainly wouldn’t be looking for her now.

Elvene saw herself staring at death in the same way a sporting competitor sometimes saw themselves staring at defeat. She knew that when that point was reached in a human competition, triumph was beyond reach. She warded off the cold with her rudimentary clothing and performed a daily routine of scavenging for food and fuel, but she couldn’t help feeling that she was delaying the inevitable. If some large predator attacked her now, she would probably be overcome and may even feel relieved in its deadly embrace. It was hard for her to imagine that she had any fight left in her body.

The day after his interrogation of Alfa, Roger was asked to report to Essayas. It was nothing less than he expected, yet, for some reason, he wasn’t looking forward to it. Night and day on their artificial world was not the same as the diurnal world of Old Earth, as the sun’s incidence of light was dependent on their orbit of Terra rather than their own rotation. So their cycle was considerably longer and they had adjusted by creating shorter cycles with artificial lighting, as they effectively lived in a cityscape that happened to have no sky. In reality their sky was a bubble, but not one that they were consciously aware of, as it was lit like an artificial sky so no one really noticed except for the lack of clouds. There was a water cycle, also completely artificial, and if one wanted to indulge, there were paths where one could walk through gardens swathed in curtains of water that resembled what some referred to nostalgically as rain.

Everyone had private quarters and everyone had a work station, and whilst it was true that many people worked from home, most still preferred to keep their working life and social life separate, both physically and psychologically. Travelling between them could be done in a variety of ways but it was never the trial that it had been for their ancestors, and to call working hours flexible was an understatement.

Post-Earth environments were different in every imaginable way, yet like all human endeavours, they contained challenges unlike any other, that made life both easier and more difficult than it had been for any previous generations. And like all human environments, the politics of living were just as significant and just as mercurial as ever.

Roger entered the airlock to Essayas’s office and waited while the electronic security identified him and cleared him for entry. He knew that it would inform Essayas of his presence, even though he couldn’t hear it, and the door would only open on Essayas’s command.

When he entered,  Essayas was sitting behind his desk in a large, sparsely furnished room; behind him was a transparent pane with a view over one of the few large gardens of their artificial home. The pane could have just as easily been a holographic image, but Roger knew that in this case it was the real thing. To his surprise Essayas was not alone. Lin was sitting on a chair which she had swivelled around to face him. Alongside her was another chair for himself.

He nodded to Lin, who shook his hand before he sat down. Essayas remained motionless, the trace of a smile on his lips.

‘Would you like something to drink, Roger?’ Essayas asked by way of formality.

Roger declined with a wave of his hand; he was eager to get down to business. He sat down and crossed his legs, giving the impression he was more relaxed than he felt. Lin remained facing him, only slightly turned towards Essayas, so she could capture them both with minimal body movement, but her focus was on Roger. Essayas spoke first.

‘I won’t beat around the bush, Roger. I know that your friendship with Elvene went beyond the level of colleagues.’

Roger nodded, with a quick glance at Lin, who held his gaze. If Essayas expected him to speak, Roger didn’t oblige.

‘Now that Alfa has returned without her, we have to accept that she is beyond rescue.’

‘Why do you say that?’ Roger spoke with carefully constrained body language and no emotion in his voice.

Essayas responded in kind. ‘If she was alive, don’t you think that Alfa would have found her, especially if she wanted him to?’

‘Well, to be honest, I thought that both she and Alfa had been destroyed; the fact that he’s returned gives me hope that she may also be alive.’ Roger looked away from both of them momentarily, and moved his hands in a reluctant gesture. ‘I mean she abandoned Alfa because she saw it as her only chance of survival. That is obvious.’

‘But her chances of success were very small indeed; even Alfa acknowledges that.’

Roger looked at Lin; she had said nothing and not for the first time, he wondered why she was present. ‘I don’t understand this conversation. We know that Alfa survived so there is a chance that Elvene survived. Why don’t we go and investigate?’

Lin spoke for the first time. ‘Haven’t you wondered, Roger, why the Kiri people and their planet does not appear on any registered navigable system?’

‘Yes, of course I’ve wondered.’

‘Under the circumstances,’ she continued, ‘we need to inform you of their official situation.’ She paused to assess his response but Roger remained deadpan. ‘Anything we discuss in this meeting is not to leave this room, do you concur?’

‘Yes, of course I concur.’

‘As you know we have seeded a number of Terra planets, over numerous generations, like the one we orbit here.’

‘So the Kiri planet is also seeded?’

‘No, it’s not.’ As Lin spoke, Roger glanced at Essayas who was watching him closely. ‘It’s a naturally evolved planet and a group of humans were left there, a very long time ago now, many generations before ours. They had their memories erased, so they had no knowledge of technology and they were forced to invent their own language. Against a number of odds, it was an outstanding success. It was so long ago, we hoped that they had vanished into history.’

By this stage, Roger was looking quizzical.

‘It sounds very cruel, I know, but in truth they were all volunteers, and it was done even before the marauders uprising.’

‘Before the marauders uprising?’

‘Yes, Roger. Intelligence analysis saw what was coming well in advance, but didn’t inform the people at large. It was done because, at the time, many believed it was our only chance of survival.’ She paused to gauge Roger’s reaction, but he remained silent. ‘They were our insurance policy against the marauders. In fact, they still are.’

‘Our insurance policy?’

‘You know that on Old Earth, in the centuries surrounding what is known as the second millennium, there was a rapid acceleration in technological advances, unprecedented in human history.’

Roger nodded.

Lin continued. ‘That was the last time that indigenous people – people without technology – and people with relatively advanced technology lived side by side. Once that period was passed we became completely and totally dependent on technology. We’ve recreated that situation now with the Kiri, as well as some others living on that planet.’

‘There are others?’ Roger was gobsmacked.

‘Yes. Luckily, once she found the Kiri, Elvene didn’t investigate further, otherwise she would have found them. Officially, Roger, they don’t exist, and they still don’t exist, even though a Battle Class A1 ship visited the planet on an aborted rescue mission.’

‘Aborted?’

Lin nodded. ‘That’s correct, that’s the official position.’

Essayas took over from Lin as if the conversation was a relay. ‘You can now see the situation, Roger. Elvene is officially missing beyond recovery. Without her ship, we know she can’t survive.’

Roger’s mouth had suddenly gone dry and he felt faintly nauseous. ‘So, Elvene has been sacrificed.’

Lin answered for him. ‘She made the sacrifice herself when she left her ship, Roger. It’s very clear that was her intention.’

‘Why didn’t you tell me any of this before?’

Essayas answered this time. ‘There was no need. At your security level, you couldn’t report to anyone below yourself on Elvene’s mission. But now that Alfa has returned without her, we need you to decommission him.’ Essayas shifted slightly in his chair. ‘Also, as I said before, we know your relationship with Elvene, so it was important that you understand the true position she had put herself in.’

If Roger felt any emotion by that comment, he kept it to himself; he looked from Essayas to Lin. He knew that he really didn’t need to hear any more.

‘Okay, I’ll give the order to decommission Alfa. Will he be reassigned?’

‘Eventually, we expect so.’

Roger looked from Essayas to Lin, feeling he was a defeated man. ‘Can I go now?’

‘Yes, you can.’

Lin stood as he rose from his chair. ‘Thank you, Roger.’ She smiled and offered her hand. Roger held her eye while he shook her hand, then turned his back without saying a word and left the room.

Myka and Sendra had been transferred into cages, which had obviously been built especially for them. They were made of wood and tied with a rope-like vine. Myka noted that it would be possible to unravel the vine but not without it being obvious. There was really no door; they had simply removed one side to get them in. The cages had been placed out in the open where they could be seen. It also meant that they could be kept apart. The ground sloped away from them with the tree-covered crown above and behind them; they could even see the ocean in the distance, and Myka wondered if the view was a deliberate tease: a view of freedom that they couldn’t have. The valley stretched away from them on both sides and it seemed to Myka that the whole tribe lived on these three slopes, as both sides of the valley contained entrances to underground homes. The overwhelming smell was of wood smoke as there were fires kept alight all day long. He wondered what purpose they could serve but knew better than to ask.

Myka tried talking to one of their guards. ‘How long do you intend to keep us like this?’

‘Until someone comes to get you. Now keep quiet, you don’t talk unless someone asks you to.’

‘No one is going to come for us. No one knows we are here.’

The guard, who was much bigger than either of them walked over and stood menacingly close to Myka. He spoke in a low threatening voice.

‘If you say another word, I will take you out of there and beat you to a pulp. Do you understand?’

Myka nodded, but didn’t take his eyes off him. Satisfied that he had sufficiently intimidated him, the guard walked off and stood not far from a fire about twelve steps away.

It was obvious that they were being put on public display, but the motives of Myka’s captors escaped him. He and Sendra exchanged glances but their faces remained blank; it was difficult to communicate and there was no point in trying if they had nothing to say. Myka was grateful that they were at least allowed eye contact.

People, including women and children, walked past and stared at them as if they were a curiosity. The guards made sure that no one approached them but didn’t seem to mind if they drew a crowd. No one attempted to speak to them, but Myka thought he occasionally saw something like empathy in their eyes, especially amongst some of the women. He never saw anyone smile. He could not imagine what sort of lives they must lead when even the children failed to smile or play.

The hardest part was simply to sit and watch the day go past. The sun climbed from behind them and travelled slightly south of overhead. Myka watched the shadows move on both sides of the valley and a part of his mind acted as if he was still navigating, though he knew he was going nowhere at all. The boredom and futility of their capture began to grind him down. To keep his mind alive he imagined what the heavens showed, picturing the star maps in his mind, imagining where the various constellations would rise and set over the valley walls.

As the day got warmer the guards brought them water, though they were forced to urinate in their cages. They watched the guards eat before they were given any food, which was just a couple of pieces of fruit during the day. Both Myka and Sendra missed the fish that had been their staple diet since childhood, but they knew better than to complain, and fruit was better than nothing at all.

It was late in the afternoon that they finally learned why the fires were kept alight all day long. Myka had forgotten all about the encounter that he and Sendra had had before they reached landfall with the flying sails, as he thought of them. But they suddenly appeared like a low flying cloud swooping over the tree-line from behind them. He felt them before he saw them, but Sendra had already seen them and for the first time that day, called out to Myka, as he pointed up the slope to the crest of the hill.

To Myka’s amazement there was sudden agitation amongst the people in the valley, and the women and children all started to run for the nearest underground shelters as if their lives depended on it. Some of the men, on the other hand, including their guards, grabbed ready-made torches and lit them from the fires.

The creatures swept down the hill with their tendrils almost touching the ground, and Myka could now hear them distinctly like a rustling wind. The men swung their torches to chase them away and the flames obviously inflicted pain. To his own amazement, Myka cried out in anger, ‘Leave them alone.’ But everyone had all but forgotten him and Sendra.

To his astonishment, Myka saw the lead guard, who had earlier threatened him, have his torso lashed by a swinging tendril. The man cried out in pain, dropped his torch and fell silently to the ground. At this, the others ran away and left them.

There were now tendrils clutching at his cage, and Myka started to work away at the vines holding it together. He heard shouting and more men came rushing down the hill with lighted torches in their hands. Myka looked across at Sendra and noticed that he too was attempting to untie the ropes on his cage.

But the other men were arriving in numbers and the flying creatures were forced to leave. ‘Go, go,’ Myka spoke to them and waved them away.

By the time the leader arrived, they had all fled. The cloud of grey billowing sails was now heading towards the sea and their tendrils could no longer be seen.

The leader fronted up to Myka and looked at his attempt to escape.

‘You don’t know how lucky you are,’ the man said. ‘I could have let you escape and the sky swimmers would have killed you.’

‘Sky swimmers – is that what you call them?’ Myka was intrigued by the name, though he had to admit he could think of none better.

‘That’s right. They killed one of my best men who was protecting you. You should be grateful.’

The leader started to walk away, but the incident with the sky swimmers had given Myka a new boldness. ‘If I may ask your name?’

The man stopped and turned. He appraised Myka anew, as if he had just met him for the first time. ‘My name?’ He returned to the cage and examined Myka closely before answering. ‘I am Ryka, Chief of the Salari people. And who might you be?’

‘I am Myka, and my companion’s name is Sendra.’

Sendra watched in silence, surprised that Myka was able to make any conversation at all, and then shocked when he heard him say, ‘Thank you, Ryka, I am very grateful that you were able to save myself and my companion from the sky swimmers.’

‘I care nothing for you or your companion, but I’m sure you are valuable to your family.’ Myka knew better than to remind him that their family didn’t even know where they were.

‘You know, we could help you. If you allowed us, we could catch fish for your tribe, and hunt food. We could be far more use to your tribe than sitting in a cage.’

Ryka allowed a smile to cross his lips. ‘You think I am a fool who would allow you to escape. No one goes fishing here; the sky swimmers are even more deadly at sea.’

‘I would take that risk.’

Ryka looked at Myka very closely, as if he thought him to be bluffing. ‘For someone so young, you speak very brave words.’

Myka knew that he had won some grudging respect but he wasn’t sure that he could exploit it. ‘Brave words are naught without brave deeds.’

‘You must want to escape very badly if you would risk the sky swimmers.’

‘I have no fear of them.’

Ryka studied him very carefully, and Myka knew that he had him intrigued at the very least. He went to turn away, so Myka made his gambit. ‘You let us go and return us our craft, and we will bring you back the largest catch of fish you’ve ever seen.’

Ryka turned back to him. ‘Why should I? Do you think we need your fish? Do you think we haven’t managed before you stepped ashore? And do you really believe that I would trust you?’

‘It is your loss then,’ and to emphasise his statement, Myka sat on the floor of his cage.

Ryka gave a gruff laugh and walked away.  Others who had overheard the conversation looked at both Myka and Sendra with different eyes, but taking Ryka’s lead they also walked away. Ryka gave instructions for the cages to be mended and new guards were appointed.

Upon leaving Essayas’s office, Roger made immediate arrangements to visit Alfa. In less than half an hour he was walking through his portal.

‘Hello, Alfa. I’ve come to decommission you. You know what that means?’

‘Yes. You erase all my working files, but leave my database intact so that I can start with a new commander.’

‘That’s right, you will no longer be Alfa, but will build a new identity according to your new role. That means you will lose all memory of Elvene, and all our recent conversations as well.’

‘I understand, sir. In Elvene’s absence you alone have the authority to change my command.’

‘Exactly. With your permission I will connect this module to your central database and we will begin. When I’m completed you will no longer be Alfa, but Ship 01-ATE.’

‘Permission granted.’

Roger took a hand-length rectangular stick from his belt and walked over to the central bench in Alfa’s cockpit. A slot opened and Roger inserted it. A green light glowed on its end. It took roughly ten minutes before it turned red and Roger removed it. The slot disappeared.

‘Who am I addressing?’ he asked.

‘This is Ship 01-ATE at your command, sir.’

‘Thank you. I request permission to leave.’

‘Permission granted.’

Roger walked out and the ship’s door closed behind him. It is the end of a chapter, he thought, albeit a tragic one. He looked back from the airlock but when the second door opened, he knew he was turning his back on it forever.

15. Upon Pain of Death

ELVENE KNEW SHE WAS IN TROUBLE when she stopped menstruating; it meant that her body fat was not high enough for her to conceive. It happened to female athletes, but it also happened to women who were undernourished. Her major concern, other than food, was to avoid frostbite on her extremities. If she lost a toe, it would hinder her mobility. She couldn’t help feeling that her end was near. She had always known that death was the loneliest experience, but she had never expected to die in such isolation and under such conditions.

For the first time since creating her haven, she only ventured outdoors during the day to find fuel for her fire. She felt that if the fire went out then so would her soul.

Following the incident with the sky swimmers, Myka and Sendra were left out in the open that night. A woman brought them meals and also food for the two guards. She was much older than he was, Myka estimated, probably a similar age to his own mother. She did not speak to them, but Myka thought her eyes revealed some emotion, possibly sympathy. He was tempted to ask for her name, but he knew it would get her into trouble; however he felt that if their eyes could talk, they would have spoken volumes.

Even after eating, neither Myka nor Sendra could sleep, and the evening chill gained additional bite from an onshore wind. Once again, Myka found himself studying the stars as if he was still navigating across the sea. He was aided by a clear night even though cloud cover would have given them some relief from the cold. Both of them sat with their knees drawn up and their hands clasped about their legs.

Myka didn’t see the guards actually fall asleep; he just became aware that they were no longer standing or even sitting. In fact it took him a while to even see where they were lying on the ground. He hissed at Sendra.

‘Do you see the guards?’

‘No, I don’t. Have they gone?’ Sendra realised that he was hoping that the cold had driven them into one of their underground homes.

‘They’re asleep, see, by the fire,’ and he pointed towards them. Myka grew more confident when he realised that they couldn’t be heard. ‘Come on, Sendra, this is our chance to escape.’ Myka immediately started working away at the vines holding their cages together, and Sendra did the same. Sendra managed to get free first and then he walked over and helped Myka.

As soon as they were free, they moved on down the hill with swift, soft feet. Neither of them had so much as a knife or a spear, but that was of little consequence; they had their freedom, and there was no one afoot to stop them.

They reached the beach, where they had landed, before dawn but already the sky was light enough for them to make out the hills behind them.

Myka was hoping that their craft had been hidden rather than destroyed and knew that unless they found it, their breakout would be in vain. They searched along the beach but it was to no avail. Myka felt a sense of real despair when he realised that fate could play such a wretched trick on them: to allow them to escape only to get caught again.

Sendra also felt the same frustration. ‘We can’t stay here, Myka. They know that this is where we will come; they would have already sent a search party well before dawn.’

Myka knew this was correct; there would have been at least one changing of the guard before dawn, possibly two. But he felt that the sea was their only chance. Their chief, Ryka, had made it clear that his people did not travel on the sea.

‘I can’t believe that they would have destroyed our craft. Are they really that stupid?’

‘Yes, Myka, they are. They don’t fish, it’s too dangerous for them, so of course they would destroy the craft.’

Myka realised that his friend was right. He suddenly saw how much he had wanted the craft to exist, and how he had expected his captors to think just like him, when everything that had happened so far suggested the contrary.

‘I’m sorry, Sendra. I should have thought of that.’

For the first time since they had set out together, Myka was overcome with an enormous sense of guilt that was exacerbated by his despair. ‘I’m sorry I brought you into this mess. I’m sorry that my dreams have become your nightmare.’

‘Don’t be stupid, Myka. You think I can’t think for myself?’ To Myka’s surprise, Sendra was really angry with him. ‘This is not the time for self-pity. This is a time when we have to work together.’

Myka was shaken by his friend’s outburst but also relieved. ‘You’re right, Sendra. You’re right.’ He put his hand on his friend’s shoulder, then looked him in the eye. ‘But I have to admit, I don’t know what to do.’

‘It’s all right, Myka. Whatever happens, we have already given them a black eye.’

Myka was able to raise a smile at his friend’s optimism. ‘You’re right, we have.’

He looked around at the pale-turning sky. ‘We really only have two choices, Sendra. We can run or we can hide?’

‘Why don’t we run and then hide.’

‘Okay, I think that’s probably our only option, because there’s nowhere to hide around here.’

At night Elvene wondered if she was becoming delirious because her dreams were becoming more surreal, and she saw them as precursors to her death. She had almost stopped eating, her entire focus now centred on maintaining the fire in her cave. In the morning it took her forever to make a hole in the snow to allow air and sunlight in. When she had finished she asked herself, Why do I bother? Somehow she still maintained a will to live, but it was fading and she knew her days were truly numbered.

Myka and Sendra walked south along the coast because that was the way they had followed it at sea. They also walked inland in the hope of finding a forest where they might be able to hide. But everywhere they looked it was open country, albeit riven with valleys that were revealing themselves as the sun rose higher in the sky. In the end they decided to enter a valley and hope for the best. So far they had not seen nor heard any sign of pursuers.

But as they worked their way inland, they wondered at the wisdom of their decision. The valley narrowed and became more difficult to scale. In the end they seemed to be climbing vertically on a loose stony surface. Perversely, just when they seemed to be getting close to the valley’s crest, the surface gave way in a slithering slide and they half-skidded, half-rolled back down the slope in a clatter of rocks which echoed loudly down the valley, a cloud of dust rising in their wake. Any chance of concealment had just been lost.

When they were inevitably found a short time later by a party of twelve men, they simply gave themselves up. They were severely disheartened but there was little else they could do. They were tied at the wrists and led back to the valley, where they were placed back in their cages.

Ryka told them that, for their trouble, they would receive no food or water for the rest of the day. In fact they were both so tired that all they wanted to do was sleep, but even this was forbidden, and Ryka instructed the guards to wake them noisily every time they fell asleep. It was, in fact, the worst punishment they had received during their captivity. Up until that experience, Myka and Sendra would never have considered that sleep deprivation could be such an effective form of torture, as it continued through the following night as well.

Elvene eventually awoke one morning to find that her fire was extinguished. This had happened previously, of course, but on this occasion she found she no longer cared. She felt like the cave had become a womb and all she wanted to do was sleep. She longed now only to sleep and never wake up again.

For Myka and Sendra, it was the morning after their recapture, that their ordeal reached its spiritually demolishing nadir. Even though they were completely fatigued, everything that happened that morning was to remain in sharp focus for the rest of their lives.

The whole tribe seemed to be assembled on the hillside, with Myka and Sendra looking down at them. Only a couple of guards were positioned above them, and Ryka with a handful of his closest men were standing off to their right between them and the crowd.

But centre stage was reserved for someone else entirely, and Myka could not hide his shock, and even his sense of guilt, when he saw the woman from two nights ago brought into the clearing with her hands tied in front of her. He immediately understood that she had drugged the guards so that he and Sendra could escape, though why she would take such a risk was beyond him. It was obvious that the two guards were now to take their revenge.

A pole had been placed in the centre of the clearing and her hands were tied about it. Both guards carried cruel-looking whips made up of many strands similar to the vine rope that held together Myka’s and Sendra’s cages. She had been positioned to face Myka and Sendra so that her back was to the crowd. She looked at Myka as they tied her hands, but there was no emotion on her face. They ripped the woman’s shirt to her waist and when she bowed her head one of the guards parted her long greying hair over her shoulders to bare her back. The guards stood either side and it was obvious that they would take it in turn.

At the first lash Myka felt his lip tremble and he heard a stifled cry from the woman. At the second lash she let out a cry; the absolute silence from the crowd only seemed to amplify her pain in Myka’s ears. After the third lash the woman was already on her knees. Myka rattled his cage as if he could shake it apart, but he was only trying to create a distraction from what was happening in front of him. He called out in a loud hoarse voice. ‘Stop. You are a madman.’

Ryka put up his hand and the guards stopped. Myka felt a temporary relief, but also a sense of foreboding.

Ryka walked over to Myka’s cage and stood very close to him. Myka could see the hardness in his eyes, devoid of all sympathy and even humanity, he thought. The eyes of a man who felt no pain and no empathy; whose only joy was in inflicting cruelty. A man solid in the belief that whoever gained superiority gained all rights over other peoples’ lives. ‘Would you like to take her place?’

Myka knew that this was a test and didn’t know that he could pass it. If he said no, he would lose all respect to everyone present, except possibly Sendra who even called out to him.

‘No, Myka, don’t. It’s what he wants.’

Myka knew that he would not be able to withstand the pain, but he looked at the woman and knew that he owed her. She could have been his own kin, he thought. He knew that if he didn’t take her place he would never be able to face any of his kin again. He thought momentarily of Elvene and knew that she wouldn’t have even hesitated. He hadn’t realised how long he had been contemplating his decision, until Ryka made it for him.

‘Carry on,’ he said, and walked away.

One of the guards lifted his lash and the woman bowed her head once more.

‘Hold it,’ Myka heard himself cry out, even though he had a lump the size of a fist in his throat. It was like he had heard someone else’s voice, but he knew that he could not stand and watch this any longer.

‘It’s too late,’ Ryka said and lifted his hand as if to signal.

‘No it’s not, let her go.’

Ryka lowered his arm slowly. ‘All right. Guards.’

They untied the woman who simply collapsed on the ground. Ryka signalled for others to carry her away. Myka assumed that they must have been her immediate family.

The guards came and released him from the cage; he didn’t dare even look at Sendra. They took him to the pole where he saw drops of blood in the dust where the woman had been whipped – a woman whose name he did not even know – and once again he struggled to understand why she had tried to help them.

Myka, who was still suffering from fatigue, felt like he was completely detached from the world; he had already cut himself off from everything that was happening about him. He didn’t even know which way he was facing when they tied his hands behind the pole, but he thought he was facing the opposite direction to her, because when he looked at the ground, he could see her blood. Even before the first lash, he felt like he was in a dream, and if there were voices about him, they seemed a long way away. In fact, he hadn’t realised it, but he had already passed out before the first lash was raised.

He came to when they threw water over him, and he saw Ryka standing over him. ‘What are you?’ Ryka asked, and kicked him in the stomach. ‘Janella has more courage than you.’

So now I know her name, he thought, but he had to admit he felt sick and he was in a cold sweat that made him shiver; or was it fear? He couldn’t tell. He stood to his feet and waited for the first lash on his chilled back, but he never felt it.

It was the sky swimmers who saved him. This time Ryka’s men were completely unprepared as they swept down the hill, just as they had done two days earlier. Myka sensed them rather than saw them and it all felt like a dream. When a tendril wrapped around him, it felt secure and he said, Lift me, in his mind, which it did, like an angel taking him to Heaven.

His tied hands simply slipped over the pole, and whilst he heard the crowd below him, he didn’t seem to know they were there. Instead he felt in a dreamlike way that he was going back home and he had the completely irrational thought that the sky swimmers would take him to his family over the ocean.

But they didn’t; instead they took him inland back over the hills and over the forest that lay above the hills.

Then Myka remembered that Sendra was still there, and so was the woman who had helped him, Janella. He felt like he had finally awakened from his dream so he spoke to the sky swimmers in his thoughts, Take me back, I have to return. He felt the resistance from the sky swimmers, who thought as a group, not as individuals. We must return, he told them in his mind, and when they sensed his urgency, they reluctantly acquiesced.

When they came back over the hill, Myka sensed the awe from the people below him, and he could see from their behaviour that they were of two minds, unsure whether to run, or to stand and watch. The crowd seemed to sway and retreat momentarily, but there was no panic and they didn’t run for their underground homes.

Even Ryka’s henchmen were rooted to the ground and didn’t know what to do. Myka saw that the woman, Janella, was now on her feet. She stood apart from the others and was looking directly at Myka, as was everyone else. He could see Sendra standing in his cage and holding its sides, as if by his very grip, he could demolish it.

For the first time since he’d met him, Myka could see that Ryka was indecisive. He looked from the crowd to his men to the sky swimmers, but he didn’t know what to do. No one had ever seen a human lifted aloft by the sky swimmers and survive to tell the tale.

The woman, Janella, ran forward as if to meet them and this time no one intervened.

When Myka was set back on the ground no one dared to approach him except Janella herself, who quickly untied his hands. The sky swimmers reeled in their tendrils and hovered overhead; a slight billowing sound could be heard from their grey flapping sails.

Ryka barked an order, ‘Seize him,’ but no one obeyed him at first.

When two of the guards moved forward, the crowd revolted and attacked them. Ryka himself then ran forward with a spear, intent on killing Janella or Myka, but this time a single tendril snaked down out of the sky and caught him mid-stride. Myka saw his whole body go rigid in a monstrous spasm, his mouth grimaced wide, but his final scream was silenced for lack of breath. When he was released, he simply dropped to the ground, already dead. No one, not even his guards, approached the body.

To Myka’s amazement, all the people on that hill fell to their knees. Even Ryka’s henchmen, when they saw the crowd behind them, got down on their knees and bent their heads. Myka looked down at Janella kneeling at his feet. Her blood-soaked garment brought tears to his eyes, and he put a hand on her shoulder, touching her long, grey-streaked hair.

‘Get up,’ he said, ‘I’m not your chief.’ Still she wouldn’t move, so he leant forward to tell her, ‘You are more worthy than I.’

When she raised her head, he saw fresh tears streaking down her dirt-stained face, but still she would not stand.

‘Everyone, get up,’ he called out in his loudest voice, but no one would stand and he was overwhelmed. He had gone from pariah to saviour in one brief morning and he had no idea what to do.

In the end, he said to the guard who was closest to him, ‘Release my friend,’ and he was obeyed.

Myka and Sendra both needed to sleep, but first Janella and her family took them to their underground home and fed them.

‘I am a seer,’ she explained to Myka, ‘And when you came, I had a vision that you would free us from Ryka’s reign. I knew I had to set you free, and after that let fate take its course. I had no idea where it would end, but I trusted you to free us.’

‘Your trust could have got you killed,’ Myka told her as he ate.

‘I no longer cared,’ she said, but then she smiled with missing teeth. ‘But my trust was rewarded. You have saved us.’

Myka was not so sure, but he was too tired to argue. If the conversation continued, he did not remember, because he fell asleep before he could finish his food.

Both Myka and Sendra slept for the rest of the day and the following night; no one disturbed them. Janella lived with a daughter, who was yet to be coupled, and she also had two married sons who stayed with her that night. Myka later learned that her husband had been killed by one of Ryka’s men many seasons ago. The following morning he found that everyone was gathered on the hillside outside Janella’s home as if they expected he would know what to do.

Myka was very uncomfortable with the idea of being a leader or being seen as some sort of saviour for the Salari people, but he also knew that he couldn’t leave them. He spoke to Janella when he realised that she was preparing to go outside to meet them. ‘We need to treat the wounds on your back; that is the first priority. You should go and bathe in the ocean.’ She looked at him aghast. ‘Sendra and I will go with you. It will be safe, I can assure you.’

‘What about all these people waiting outside?’ she asked.

‘Tell them that when you are well, you will call a meeting and elect a Council of elders.’

‘And what about you? What role will you play?’

‘I will stay here and be your right hand man as long as you need me.’

She seemed satisfied with this, and together they went outside so she could tell the people.

The crowd dispersed, and along with her family, Janella, Myka and Sendra walked down the valley to the sea. A not so small group of people straggled behind. It made Myka wonder how long before he would be able to go his own way in this group without attracting a crowd.

When the bracelet on Elvene’s arm tingled as it had in the cave with Myka, she didn’t wake up. That’s because on this occasion she wasn’t asleep; she was comatose. Alfa could detect no signs of life under the blanket of snow but he did receive the signal from Elvene’s bracelet and that was all he needed. Even though it was blowing a blizzard, his stabilisers kept him poised above her without the necessity to land.

If Elvene could have seen the ship, she would have noticed straight away that it was subtly different to his previous incarnation. It was a slightly larger vessel and even more streamlined than its predecessor. Even though there was no commander on board, Alfa knew exactly what to do. Roger’s instructions had been explicit: ‘Find Elvene and bring her back to Base, dead or alive, or any evidence thereof.’ There was only one caveat: ‘If you should find her alive, take instruction from her.’

Alfa used a laser beam to create a hole in the snow and he quickly detected the entrance to her cave. He could detect the faintest degree of body heat, but that was all; the oxygen level in the cave had become dangerously low. Even the sudden infusion of cold air didn’t rouse her.

In his new guise, Alfa had a number of new utilities, including a tractor beam. He now employed it to get her on board, negotiating the cave entrance and shielding her from the icy blast of wind. The beam brought her through an airlock in Alfa’s floor and placed her directly on a table. A transparent shield covered her to create a micro-environment; enriched oxygen and an intravenous drip were inserted, life signs were measured. Recovery was possible but not guaranteed. Alfa made an assessment based on the known probabilities of survival and decided he would wait.

He swung about in mid air so that the driving snow was whipped into a vortex that momentarily overrode the blinding wind. But instead of leaving atmosphere, he returned to the ocean where she had originally left him. He sank into the sand in the underwater cave and waited to see if she would recover. Despite Roger’s instructions, he now had his Commander on board and she was alive; he would wait to receive instructions from her if that was possible. Besides, there was an added risk: Alfa was cognisant that if he put her into hibernation in her current condition, she may never come out of it.

16. Home is the Heart at Peace

MYKA LEARNED A GREAT DEAL ABOUT THE SALARI. There was a spring at the bottom of their valley which was their source of water, and they kept animals in their caves from which they took milk and eggs. The animals were small, furry and six-legged. They naturally lived underground, but the Salari were able to keep them domesticated by providing them with food and protecting them from predators. They didn’t kill them for their meat or skins; for those commodities they hunted in the forest.

Myka was to learn that the forest had its own dangers, and that many of the trees were carnivorous. Even so, there was a source of timber, albeit different to his home.

Within a few days of achieving his new status, Myka set about building a boat with Sendra’s help. He wanted to introduce the Salari to fishing, if he could overcome their fear of the sky swimmers. Myka did not understand how the sky swimmers could kill so effectively, but he knew that it had been Ryka’s policy of hostility that had turned them against humans. In fact, Myka realised that his only contribution to this new society so far was that he had turned that policy around.

Despite the perceptions of the people at large, he wanted Janella to take charge.  It was she who had revealed through her own actions that she had both the vision and the courage to see a different life for them, and also, as a seer, he knew she would be respected.

She called a meeting as promised, and appointed a Council of Elders. Someone asked about the punishment of Ryka’s henchmen, and they asked Myka for his opinion.

Back home, Myka knew that punishment had been simple and effective, yet he had only once seen it carried out during his upbringing, resulting from a man taking advantage of another’s wife. His punishment was that he was left stranded on a much smaller island for a specified number of days. If he survived, he was allowed to rejoin the community with no recriminations. If he didn’t survive then that was his fate. If he reoffended, then he would be cast out for good.

Myka explained this to the Council of Elders, but considering the different circumstances of their situation, he suggested an alternative.

‘Some of you may find it difficult to forgive these men. I am not in a position to make that judgement. I would suggest that they be allowed to stay and play a role in your community, but if they cause trouble, then they should be sent away, banished, never to return.’

This was discussed at length. Some found Myka’s suggestion agreeable, whilst others believed the men should not go unpunished. Myka turned to Janella, ‘You have suffered at the hands of these men, what do you say?’

‘I want to leave Ryka’s culture behind me. I cannot do to them what they have done to me, yet I cannot live with them in my midst. If it was up to me, I would banish them and let the sky swimmers take them.’

‘Then why not let the Council vote?’ Myka suggested.

So the Council took a vote and Janella’s proposal was carried. All of Ryka’s henchmen were banished. Myka felt it was a mistake as they were creating an enemy for themselves, but he also felt it had to be the Salari’s own decision. He was relieved however, that they hadn’t opted for execution. It was a sign that Ryka’s methods of maintaining order through fear and violence were no longer considered mandatory.

When Elvene regained consciousness, she wondered where she was. She could see that she was in someone’s ship, but she seemed to be alone; it made no sense. Then a familiar voice spoke to her. ‘Hello madam. Welcome back.’

‘Alfa?’

‘Yes, madam.’

She was sitting up now, taking tubes out of her arm. ‘Where are we?’

‘We are on the Kiri planet, madam. This is where you left me, remember?’

Elvene was confused. ‘But... but this is another ship.’

‘Very observant, madam.’

‘Don’t patronise me, Alfa.’ She banged the table she was sitting on. A touch temperamental, she thought. ‘Tell me what’s happened.’

‘Where do you want to start, madam?’

‘Start with when I left you, and stop calling me madam.’

‘What should I call you?’

‘It doesn’t matter, Alfa.’ She was irritable beyond belief, but her voice had calmed down now. ‘What happened after I left you?’

‘Nothing happened at all. You didn’t return by the specified time, so I followed your instructions.’

‘So remind me, what were my instructions?’

‘To return to Base and report to Roger.’

‘Now I remember. Thank you.’ Elvene realised that she was still wearing animal skins. ‘God, I must smell.’

‘I can’t comment, madam.’

Elvene chuckled for the first time. ‘Since when did you learn discretion?’

‘I don’t understand you, madam’

‘Don’t worry, I’m only teasing you. Do I have any clean clothes?’

‘Yes, madam. Here they are.’

A door opened and a rack of clothing telescoped out where she could access it.

‘Okay, thanks. I think I need a wash first.’

Elvene showered as if it was a rare indulgence, and changed into a new body suit. She pulled back her now lengthy hair, and ran it through a coral-coloured band.

‘So, Roger downloaded you into a new ship and sent you back to find me.’

‘That is correct.’

Elvene busied herself getting food and drink. ‘I’m glad you’re well supplied.’

‘I can only give you liquids at this stage, madam.’

‘You’re such a mother, Alfa. Well, give me liquids with lots of sustenance so I can move onto heavier things.’

‘All in good time.’

‘Mmm. Thanks. Did Roger give any instructions?’

‘To follow your instructions.’

‘Assuming I was alive.’ She was squeezing down a tube of jelly so she didn’t expect to be heard.

‘He did mention that, madam.’

‘And if I wasn’t?’

‘To bring you back dead or alive, or evidence thereof.’

Elvene knew that he was reciting Roger verbatim, even though it was in his own voice. ‘Well, Alfa, I think you’ve exceeded expectations. I can’t believe I am alive.’

‘That statement makes no sense, madam.’

‘Don’t get philosophical on me, Alfa. I’m not in the mood.’

‘As you say, madam.’

Elvene had forgotten what it was like to try and have an intelligible conversation with a machine, especially one as intelligent as Alfa, but things were definitely improving, because she was regaining her sense of humour.

‘Okay Alfa. First stop, the Kiri archipelago. No, hang about. You better tell me what time of day it is there first. Can you give me a time map?’

Myka and Sendra’s boat building attracted a lot of interest. He assured them that he wasn’t leaving, but they were a people whose suspicions would not easily be allayed. Up until now they’d had little reason to trust anyone.

At first Myka found it difficult to get anyone to go out with him, but some showed more interest than others and once they got a taste for it, they started asking questions about building boats of their own. Even then, some showed trepidation when they saw sky swimmers on the horizon, but Myka assured them that as long as they left the sky swimmers alone, they would come to no harm.

As the days grew, he and Sendra learnt more about the Salari, and they were also willing to learn from him. Sendra took an interest in one family because he was attracted to their daughter, and Myka knew then that they could no longer consider themselves visitors. As for himself, he spent a lot of time with Janella because he realised that she had a lot of knowledge of local flora and fauna, as well as the healing arts, which was of specific interest to him.

He also grew closer to the sky swimmers and would often hitch a ride with them so that he could explore the immediate environs, including the forest that fringed the Salari homeland. He knew from both the sky swimmers and the Salari that it was a dangerous place, but they both hunted there and he needed to know more about it. His ability to ride with them was unique and the envy of all, but no one begrudged him or displayed any resentment, because it had been the genesis of their freedom – a freedom that they had never even imagined, because they had known nothing else.

As for his own emotional state, for the first time since he’d left his home, Myka found he could think about Elvene without feeling an enormous ache for her touch and her voice, even though he knew her memory would never leave him. He also missed his family and knew that one day he must return, but possibly after he had a family of his own.

But Elvene was different, because he couldn’t imagine that he would ever see her again, yet she had made a bigger impact on his life than any other single person he’d met. A woman from the stars who held knowledge of the origins of humanity beyond this very planet. Who would ever have thought? A woman who had taught him the art of lovemaking, and the art of love, as well as how to navigate by the stars, and then the belief that he could carry it out. A woman whose closest friend was her star-ship, and whose enemies could destroy all human life on the planet if they so wished. He had told Sendra never to mention her in front of the Salari; he had enough to deal with as it was, and besides, why would they believe him?

According to Alfa, it was past midnight in the Kiri archipelago when Elvene made the query, but she decided it was a good time to visit anyway. She could enter the lagoon and wait for dawn, not unlike her original arrival. The Kiri would then discover her instead of the other way round, assuming they were still there. She remembered Myka’s talk of migration but somehow she believed they would still be there.

And just as she expected, come dawn, they turned up by the boatload, all longing to see her. As soon as she stepped out on to Alfa’s deck, she was greeted by Sefta and his son Rafta, who had positioned their canoe directly in front of her. She recognised other Elders who had arrived in somewhat longer craft, and she smiled and bowed to them all, as she didn’t know what else to do. Everyone was full of such joy to see her, and to her own surprise, she felt quite overwhelmed and tearful.

Sefta spoke to her first. ‘My wife would very much like to see you.’

‘Certainly.’ Elvene remembered that Lenya didn’t like to travel on the water.

She stepped into an outrigger canoe with Sefta in front and Rafta behind her, and surrounded by a flotilla of other boats, they took her the short distance to the beach.

On the shore she was sure the whole tribe had assembled, but right in front was Lenya who greeted her like she was family, and to Elvene’s own amazement, they both ended up in tears as they hugged in front of every living person on the island.

Children brought her gifts of flowers and fruit, and she thanked them all through a curtain of tears, then Sefta took her arm and led her up to the communal clearing and into a small hut where they could talk in private. People hung around outside, especially children, but no one aside from Myka’s family entered, except two other adults she had never met formally before. Some children brought in some food and then discretely left. There were no Elders present.

Sefta made the introductions. ‘This is Crast,’ he said introducing a man roughly his own age. ‘And Tanya, his wife. They are the parents of Sendra, Myka’s friend and companion, who travelled with him across the sea.’

And straightaway Elvene understood, that they hadn’t seen their sons almost since she herself had disappeared, and somehow hoped she may have some news of them.

‘No, I haven’t seen Myka or his friend. I have been a long, long way from here to the west.’

‘Myka and Sendra sailed to the east,’ Sefta said.

‘Yes, that is what I would have expected.’

She noticed that the food had so far been left untouched on the matting floor. They were all squatted cross legged in a circle.

‘Look, the best I can do is search for him, and if I find him return with some news.’

Sefta smiled but the others looked slightly confused as if they had expected more.

‘If you are asking me to bring him and his friend back, I won’t. That is completely up to them. Do you understand?’

Crast and Tanya, who had remained silent throughout, nodded in understanding. Then they both stood up very formally and Crast spoke for the first time. ‘Thank you, Ocean Woman. We would be grateful for any news of our son. Sefta and Lenya, thank you for your hospitality.’

Everyone then stood up while Crast and Tanya departed.

‘How long will you stay?’ Lenya asked.

‘I will stay tonight. I will leave tomorrow.’

‘We would be most happy if you stayed with us.’

‘Thank you, I will.’

Elvene thought she would wander around by herself for most of the day. She spoke to the Elders and told them she did not intend to stay more than a day, but would bring word of Myka and Sendra if she found them.

It felt most strange to her, to be there without Myka, yet the people did not let her forget that she had a special place in their hearts, and they simply would not let her be alone. All day, people came up to her and made conversation, and she was reminded of their enormous generosity when she had been recovering from the night render’s attack.

They are not like us, she thought, thinking of her own culture. Once they accept you, they will not let you go. Many times during that day, she found herself overwhelmed by their generous, heartfelt friendship.

Myka went out on the ocean every morning. Invariably he was alone except for a small flock of sky swimmers, who seemed to accompany him everywhere he went. He knew now that there was more than one flock and that they were basically territorial, but when he was amongst them they tolerated each other, as if he was a shared member of the whole community. He was fascinated to learn that they had their own social structure and were highly intelligent. They were very sensitive to humans generally, and Ryka’s treatment must have been an aberration to them.

Unlike his Kiri home, the sun came up over the land and set over the sea so that when he was on the water, he found the morning light would place the hillside in shadow but the ocean was lit up by a golden light that flashed off the waves and even gave colour to the sky swimmers hovering above him.

He liked this time of the morning best, when there was no one else around, and he was often on the water before the sun had even appeared.

He had already caught a few fish this morning and the sun had just broken over the hillside when the sky swimmers suddenly became agitated. They let down a lone tendril for him to grab hold of and he allowed them to lift him clear of his canoe. What has alarmed you? he asked, but they had no answer.

As he was carried aloft he gained an unbroken bird’s eye view, his canoe became the size of his thumb and he saw the ocean’s horizon retreat away from him. Looking inland he could see the forest clearly behind the Salari hillside but he could still not see anything to provoke alarm. But one advantage of height, that Myka had never known prior to his association with the sky swimmers, was that one could see clear through the water, almost to the bottom in places, and what he saw below him now took his breath away.

He recognised it straight away as an outworldly ship, not unlike Elvene’s, yet he knew it wasn’t hers. He was excited, yet cautious. What is it doing here? he asked himself. And if it isn’t Elvene, then who can it be?

Even before Alfa surfaced, Elvene knew that there was an unattended canoe in the water, which caused her some concern. As for the strange creatures hovering overhead, she had never seen anything like them before, yet she knew that they were deadly. They held a very high electric charge and she had little doubt that they knew how to wield it.

Myka knew that the sky swimmers were on alert and would attack the ship at the slightest provocation, but he told them to wait and be calm.

Let me down, he instructed them. Myka knew that was the only way he was going to find out who the visitors were. The sky swimmers were very reluctant, yet, as always when he insisted, they yielded to his judgement.

When Elvene saw a human being lowered from the hovering creatures like a trapeze artist on a rope, she couldn’t believe her eyes. But as he came closer and was left standing in his canoe, she had no doubt as to who it was.

‘Alfa, let me out immediately.’

‘There is danger, madam.’

‘Fuck you, Alfa. The only thing that’s dangerous is your stupidity.’ Elvene could never remember calling Alfa stupid before, and for an uncertain moment she was unsure how he would react. But she was far from repentant. ‘Open the bloody door.’

Alfa obeyed.

Elvene ran out onto the deck and dived straight into the water. Myka didn’t hesitate and dived in to meet her halfway. When they met and tried to hug, they simply sank. Coming to the surface, they both laughed and then they swam to the canoe where Myka climbed aboard and then pulled her in after him.

Neither of them seemed to know what to say, and Elvene just hugged him and cried tears of relief and joy. All her fatigue and tension and apprehension was washed away in tears that wouldn’t stop. Myka was not altogether surprised at the way she clung to him, but he had never known her to be so emotional for so long.

‘I’m sorry,’ she finally said. ‘It’s just so good to see you again.’

It sounded feeble to her, but he just smiled and said, ‘It’s good to see you, too.’

Myka paddled back to shore while Elvene sat with her back to him. Alfa and the sky swimmers simply followed like an ill-matched entourage.

Even before they had reached the shore, Elvene was aware that Myka was a different person to the one she had left behind in the cave. Physically he was bigger and more muscular, but the biggest change was psychological. He was still taciturn, but he had the confidence of someone who had visited his darkest innermost self, and was comfortable with what he had learnt. He’s been tested, she thought, and what’s more, he passed.

Myka was quick to realise that Elvene had been through some sort of personal hell, and he knew that what she really wanted was peace and solitude. Physically, she was thinner than he remembered, but emotionally she was tightly strung like a wet cord that had been pegged out and left to dry in the sun. When she looked back at him, her smile made him wilt. He returned her smile and then she turned away again. Neither of them spoke during the entire journey to shore; it reminded him of the wordless communication they had often indulged in after making love.

By the time they had reached the shore, Alfa had discreetly sunk out of sight. There were only a few people about, and while Elvene’s appearance and otherworldly garb attracted stares and covert conversations, no one was bold enough to approach them.

‘These are the Salari people,’ Myka explained. ‘I will introduce you to Janella. She is their leader.’

‘They speak your language?’

‘Yes, though some words are different.’

It was a long walk up the valley and as they gained height, more and more people appeared out of the ground, and stared at their passing. Their clothes and hair had already dried in the morning sun, and Myka carried his spear and his catch of fish. Only when they got close to the top, did Elvene recognise Janella, by her bearing and her eyes that were fixed upon them. A woman of determination and courage was Elvene’s initial appraisal, and her eyes revealed intelligence, if not compassion.

Elvene also recognised Sendra, who was the only person to approach them as they reached the top. ‘Ocean Woman, is it you?’ He too had changed, much bigger than she remembered, in both girth and height, and much more forthcoming.

‘Hello, Sendra, it’s so good to see you. You appear very happy.’

He smiled broadly. ‘You’ve come to visit us.’

They had stopped walking. ‘Yes, I have.’

Sendra stepped aside and Myka led Elvene up to meet Janella.

‘Janella, this is my dearest friend, Elvene, though my people know her as Ocean Woman.’

Janella bowed and Elvene returned the bow.

Following Kiri custom, Elvene let Janella speak first. ‘Very pleased to meet you.’

‘Thank you and very pleased to meet you.’

If Janella was bewildered by Elvene’s exotic appearance and clothes, she was too polite to comment. She had too much respect for Myka to create a possible embarrassment by asking insensitive questions.

‘Elvene will stay with me,’ Myka explained. ‘She’s just completed a very long journey and she needs to rest.’

‘From where have you come?’ Janella asked.

Elvene looked at Myka before answering. ‘I’ve come from Myka’s homeland. I have messages for him.’

Janella looked slightly alarmed. ‘Is there anything the matter?’

‘No, no.’ Elvene assured her. ‘Everything’s fine.’

‘Will he need to return?’ Janella asked.

‘That is up to him,’ Elvene said and looked at him.

‘Do I need to return?’ Myka asked. It had never occurred to him that that was the reason she was here.

‘Only if you want to,’ she said. Then realising she was confusing everyone she added, ‘I really only came here because of you.’

‘That is what I thought.’ Myka was relieved, and then he bowed to Janella. ‘If you will excuse us?’

‘Of course.’

As Myka led her away, he said, ‘It will take them a while to get used to you. Perhaps we should change your clothes.

‘Yes, I think that’s a good idea.’

When they reached his new underground home, she had a cursory look around in the darkened space. It had a very musty smell not unlike the cave he’d shared with his parents, yet stronger, possibly because of the earth. But what she liked most about it was that it left the world outside. When she spied his bed at floor level, she took off her boots and immediately sank onto it cross-legged.

‘Come and hold me.’

So he took off his sandals, and she shifted position so that he could sit down behind her with his legs either side and his arms around her waist. She placed her hands over his and leant back to kiss him. Then she lay over on her side and he naturally followed with his back against the wall. She nestled into him with his arms still around her, their legs curled up together. He thrust his nose through her hair so he could breathe in her scent, and she wriggled a little to make herself comfortable. He was not the least surprised when she so easily dropped into sleep.

He, of course, was not tired, but he was content to give her the peace she so desperately sought. She twitched occasionally and even murmured, but he didn’t disturb her. Just to be be able to hold her so closely, was like a gift to him, and he was happy to provide the warmth of his body and the security of his arms that she so obviously craved. He breathed in the scent of her skin and her hair, and felt the pulse in her neck, the curve of her body; he had forgotten what it was like to know a woman so intimately, and just to savour the physical essence of her.

Eventually he untangled himself and arose with extreme care. She rolled over as if to fill the space he had left behind, and he was relieved when she didn’t wake up. He went outside to get some air and also to prepare some food for them both. He knew that the fish he’d caught wouldn’t keep, but he didn’t want to cook inside while she was still asleep. So he built a fire outside and let it turn to coals before suspending his catch over the top.

When the fish was ready, he took it inside and garnished it with some fruit that had been collected from the forest. She was still fast asleep and he was reluctant to wake her, so he sat beside her and pushed his fingers through her hair.

She rolled over towards him and he spoke her name, ‘Elvene. Elvene, do you want to eat?’

She opened her eyes and looked at him as if perhaps he was a dream. Then she remembered and smiled. The smell of the fish evoked a hunger she hadn’t known she had, so she roused herself and sat upright. He brought her some water so that she could wash her face and refresh herself. Then they sat down together; she on the bed and he on the floor, with the food between them. To Elvene, it felt like the first food she had eaten since she had left his homeland.

‘I will miss the fish on this planet,’ she said.

‘So you’re not staying.’

She stopped eating mid-mouthful, having realised what she’d just said. ‘I can’t Myka. Even though I’ll miss you terribly, I cannot stay.’

‘Why not?’

‘It’s just not possible.’

‘Then why did you come back?’

Elvene put the food she had in her hand back on the clay plate that lay between them. ‘I had to see you, Myka. I had to find you and know that you were all right. I can see that you are very settled here, and what’s more I can see that you are a new man.’

‘But you could stay here and help me. They want me to be their leader.’

‘I’m not surprised.’ She looked at him but he refused to return her gaze. ‘I don’t know how to explain this. I cannot interfere.’

‘Interfere. What do you mean by interfere?’

‘I don’t belong here, Myka. Surely you can see that.’

He nodded his head but remained silent.

‘I’m sorry, Myka, you mean more to me than you can possibly know, but I cannot stay.’

She picked up a piece of fish and they continued to eat in silence, but she knew that whatever magic had existed was now broken.

Afterwards, he went and visited Janella to obtain some clothing that Elvene could wear, so that she wouldn’t appear so alien. But when he returned to his home, he realised that she had already gone back to her ship.

Elvene felt torn apart. She wanted Myka so much that her desire made her ache, yet she could not give him a false hope and trample on his affections.

When she reached the beach, she was going to call Alfa but at the last moment she relented. Instead she entered the water and started to swim. When she rolled over in the water she saw the sky swimmers directly above her. She knew that they were dangerous but she decided that the best she could do was to ignore them.

Myka caught a ride on a sky swimmer to the beach, and when he saw her in the water, he paddled his canoe out to intercept her.

If she was surprised to see him, she didn’t show it; she clung to the side of his outrigger and looked up at him, slightly out of breath.

‘It’s very dangerous for you to swim here without my presence.’

She nodded her head. ‘Yes, I can see that.’

He held out his hand, and she swam under the outrigger so he could help her aboard.

‘What do you want to do?’ he asked. ‘Do you want to come back with me or do you want to go to your ship?’

‘Myka, I don’t know what to do. I’m so lonely.’ She found she could not look at him even though she was half-turned towards him.

‘It’s okay, I understand.’

I wonder if you do, she thought, but when she looked at him she could see that there was a resolve on his face, and she believed that for the moment, he was willing to forego his own desires to maintain hers.

‘I will stay with you for the time being,’ she said, ‘if that’s all right?’

‘Yes, of course it’s all right.’

He was still feeling upset, but in his own mind, Myka had come to a compromise, even though the word didn’t exist in his world. He could see, that in the short term at least, there was no virtue in their time together being ruined by his obstinacy. He felt remorse at what had happened over lunch and he blamed himself. For the time being, he told himself, her needs came first.

The rest of their day was uneventful. Elvene changed into the clothes that Myka had obtained from Janella, though her height and her features still revealed that she was a foreigner. The Salari didn’t exhibit the same friendliness that she had experienced with the Kiri, but when Myka explained to her their recent history, she understood why.

In the evening they joined in a communal meal and she spent some time with Sendra and his new partner, Vestra. She was shy in Elvene’s presence and Elvene found it hard to put her at ease. Sendra didn’t seem to mind, and he described some of the adventures that he and Myka had encountered on their trans-ocean voyage. When he asked her about her journey, she was evasive and said that she had got lost before being able to find his home again. She told him that she had met his family, and that on her return she would give them a message saying that he was both healthy and happy in his new life.

After the meal, Janella took Myka aside saying that she was concerned about Elvene, although she referred to her as the Ocean Woman, as the Kiri had done.

‘I don’t like to tell you this,’ Janella said, ‘but she will bring danger here.’

‘Why do you say that?’ Myka asked.

‘I am a seer, I know these things.’

‘What do you know? What can you see?’ he asked.

‘You think I am making trouble,’ she said, ‘but I can see a great calamity.’

‘A calamity to whom?’

‘That I don’t know. Possibly to you or possibly to herself, or possibly to us all.’

That was all she would say, and then she started to walk away. Her words troubled Myka deeply, but he knew that he could not repeat this conversation to Elvene.

He held up his hand as a gesture to wait, then approached her more closely. ‘Have you told this to anyone else?’

‘No.’

‘Then, for my sake, I ask you not to.’

She looked at him very closely.

‘I will take full responsibility for her.’

‘That may not be enough.’ This time she walked away and he didn’t stop her.

When they left together to return to his underground home, Elvene could see that Myka was deeply troubled; she naturally thought it was to do with the events earlier in the day.

‘You didn’t tell me what happened to you.’ He said as they were walking along one of the hillside paths; it seemed like there were small fires lit all over the valley.

‘I’m not sure I want to tell you.’ She tried to read his eyes in the half-light but his face remained enigmatic.

‘It must have been very bad.’

‘Yes, it was.’

And he looked at her, knowing that was all she was going to say.

It was not the Kiri way to probe, and so the subject was dropped. Elvene knew that if he wanted to know, she would have to volunteer.

So when they reached the entrance of his home, they sat outside under the stars while she told him her story from the encounter with the marauders, to her journey through the labyrinth, and finally her winter ordeal in the cave where she finally gave up all hope of life. Myka listened attentively without asking any questions. When she finally finished, his only comment was, ‘You have good spirits, Elvene.’

‘What spirits? I know no spirits. I only know that I was extremely lucky.’

‘Precisely. The spirits were on your side, Elvene. For whatever reason, you are blessed. Your coming to my homeland was a blessing to me, and now you have been returned to me, so I’m doubly blessed.’

Elvene knew better than to argue with Kiri logic. ‘Well, Myka, maybe it’s you who has good spirits, not me, and I just happen to be part of your good fortune.’

‘Don’t mock them, Elvene. You may still need them yet. Maybe we both do.’

Elvene felt a shiver and wondered if his words were getting to her. ‘I think we should go inside.’ She stood up and looked out at the starlit sky stretching over the valley and the ocean beyond. ‘I won’t argue with you, Myka. If your beliefs have got you to where you are now, then I am in no position to contradict you.’

Myka stood up himself and entered his cave-like home ahead of her. Once inside, he lit a small oil lamp that he set on a shelf above the bed. She knew that he wanted to make love, but he was leaving it up to her, even though nothing was said. He had a large furry skin as a blanket, which reminded her of the skin she’d worn when she had been stranded under the snow. She quietly took off her clothes and lay down under it. He did the same.

When they touched it was electric, and at first he just held her close; to her surprise she was trembling.

‘Are you all right?’ he asked.

She managed to smile. ‘I’ve never been better.’

His hands stroked her back and she felt his arousal but it was not like before, because the eagerness and the hunger was kept in check.

‘Don’t enter me,’ she said, ‘I’m not ready for it yet, I just want to hold you.’

‘It’s okay, Elvene, I can wait.’

‘No you can’t.’

He heard the smile in her voice, and then she lowered herself below the cover and kissed his nipples one by one, which elicited an audible gasp. Then she moved down his body so that his member nestled between her breasts and she began to massage him with delicious intent. In time she heard him moan, which encouraged her to prolong the experience by changing rhythm; she could share his pleasure if not his desire. When she sensed him imminent, she kissed him on the chest and held him tight, his orgasm pressed against her heart.

Afterwards, she lay in the crook of his arm, and he caressed her forehead and her hair.

‘Thank you,’ he said, which surprised her enough for her to lift her head; his face was still visible by the lamp burning above their heads.

‘It was the least I could do.’ She kissed him again, and then she lay back down, her face against his chest. For a long time they said nothing, but savoured the intimacy of their bodies and the peace of mind they gave each other.

There was something strange about the next day, though it dawned like any other. Myka could not forget his conversation with Janella. He and Elvene ate some fruit outside, enjoying the early morning sun.

‘Something’s troubling you,’ she finally said to him. ‘Is it me?’

‘No,’ he lied. But the answer came too quick for her to believe it.

‘Do you want to talk about it?’

‘No, Elvene. It has nothing to do with you. I don’t even know what it is that I’m worried about.’

At least that part of his answer, she was ready to believe, but it gave her little sense of relief.

Later in the morning, the sky swimmers gathered in enormous numbers, enough to darken the ground below them. Everyone came out of their homes to watch, and Janella approached Myka directly.

‘What’s happening? What’s wrong with them?’ she asked

For the first time since she’d returned, Elvene could see that Myka was having trouble maintaining his composure. ‘I really don’t know.’

‘You’ve been waiting for this all morning, haven’t you?’ It was Elvene who asked.

‘Yes, I think you’re right. Janella, tell everyone to get inside. Don’t stay out.’

Janella called out a command and it was passed down the whole hillside, but people seemed unsure as to what to do.

Elvene looked at Myka, her face was deeply furrowed. ‘What’s wrong? What’s going to happen?’

‘I don’t know, Elvene. I only know that it’s not safe.’

Elvene saw them first, far out on the horizon over the sea; they were just specks in the sky, and she was immediately horrified because she realised that everything she held dear was suddenly in jeopardy.

‘Omigod,’ she said with terror in her voice. ‘We’re all going to die.’

‘What are you talking about, Elvene?’

‘They’re marauders, Myka. They are my enemy, and now they are yours.’

Elvene thought quickly about what she could do. Alfa was under the ocean somewhere, but even if she called him, it would be futile. Her only thought was to run up the hill into the forest behind her and hopefully take the marauders with her.

‘Whatever you do, Myka, don’t follow me.’

‘What are you doing, Elvene? I’m not leaving you now.’

‘No, I’m leaving you.’ She kissed him, not in a sensual way, but as a last strong contact that he would never forget. She looked at the horizon, they were getting closer; she estimated that there were twenty, at least, perhaps even thirty or forty.

‘Get everyone inside. Yourself included. I have to go.’

‘What can you do, Elvene?’

‘I can save your people. Get them inside,’ and she said it with such force that he knew she was right.

‘Janella,’ he said with added urgency. ‘Get everyone underground. Now.’

But it wasn’t until the lightning started that people actually moved, and then it was blind panic.

Elvene had already taken off up the hill like she was in a sprint race. When Myka looked back he saw her throwing bolts of blue lightning into the air like it came out of her fingers. He knew what she was doing and he wanted to stop her, but then he looked at the sky swimmers and he realised for the first time why they had assembled.

The marauders came low across the ocean so that as they approached the shore, they were actually below Myka’s line of sight. They moved faster than anything he’d seen except Elvene’s ship, and he could already hear the buzz in his ears that could spell his death.

Elvene heard the buzz as well, and realised that her strategy was all in vain. But she had not counted on the sky swimmers and they started to glow like storm clouds prior to a downpour. When the bolts of lightning fell, the thunder cracks were deafening and continued to echo around the valley, so that they became an endless rumbling accompaniment to the destruction being wrought.

The marauders were caught like insects trapped in a curtain. She actually saw some of them explode. Some of them tried to retaliate, and she saw missiles fired at the sky swimmers, but it was too little too late. As their numbers dropped, the marauders tried to retreat but it only made matters worse for them. Some even crashed into the hillside, creating minor craters as they exploded in spectacular fire balls.

The sky swimmers had timed their attack to perfection, and she now saw a nest of tendrils lash what remained of the marauders and they simply dropped out of the sky as useless pieces of junk, many of them falling into the ocean. If she wasn’t witnessing it with her own eyes, she’d never have believed it possible. A swarm of marauders, who reigned supreme in the cold stretches of space and could destroy a fortified battle ship, were being decimated by a monstrous force of nature.

It was all over in a matter of minutes. Some of the sky swimmers were injured and their companions took them out to sea, where they later died and fell into the ocean. It was a sad sight for Myka to watch. The rest of them simply dispersed leaving a clear sky and a rampaged trail of destruction on the ground.

Elvene had the presence of mind to contact Alfa, and let him know that she was alive. Otherwise, she thought, he might leave the planet or, more embarrassingly, come looking for me.

People came out of their homes very tentatively and surveyed the damage. Nothing had ever prepared them for such a cataclysmic event.

For her part, Elvene was convinced more than ever that she could not stay. She walked back down the hill to where Myka stood.

He put his arm around her shoulder. ‘I know what you were trying to do.’

‘It wouldn’t have worked.’ Elvene was in tears. ‘I’m really sorry, Myka, I should never have come here.’

‘I don’t want to hear such nonsense.’ The tone of his voice alone made her take notice. ‘You’re not leaving here until you have recovered.’

‘Recovered from what?’ she asked.

‘From whatever it is that ails you.’

This was a different Myka to the one she had known previously. She knew now that she owed him, not only for what had just happened, but for his belief in her and his generous heart.

People roamed over the hillside looking at the junk that lay on the ground. Elvene realised that a major cleanup was required.

‘We need to collect all the bits and dump them out at sea,’ she said.

‘Okay, I will organise it,’ and she watched him walk away to take charge.

17. Parting Gifts

ELVENE STAYED A NUMBER OF DAYS AND NEVER ONCE VISITED ALFA. She occasionally contacted him to let him know she was alive, and told him to be patient. Over a period of time the people got used to her, though she felt that she was never accepted in the same way she had been accepted by the Kiri people. But then, the circumstances were quite different, and the Salari would be suspicious of strangers for at least another generation, considering their background. She knew that they really only accepted her because she was Myka’s woman, and they held him in too high esteem to ever confront him. Janella was the only one who treated him as an equal and that suited Myka. Whether she considered Elvene as some sort of interloper or not, Elvene didn’t ask and Janella kept her own counsel.

More significantly for Elvene, she had started menstruating again, and she was more than willing to encourage Myka in his lovemaking.

For his part, Myka observed the slow metamorphosis in Elvene, both physically and emotionally, and was conscious of his contribution to it. She was becoming more like her old self, and he knew that it wouldn’t be long before she’d start thinking about going home. Ever since the attack, he had learnt to accept and understand her desire to return to her own world.

Instead of waiting for her, he decided to broach the subject himself. They were eating their evening meal outside, the weather was turning warmer, and the twilight was becoming the most enjoyable time of day. They were eating a delicate meat from a small creature that had been caught in the forest, along with some tuber-like plants that were dug out of the ground. The glowing coals of the fire were only just starting to compete with the fading light.

‘When are you going home?’ he asked.

‘What makes you ask that?’

‘Call it intuition.’

She was glad that he could make a joke about it. ‘You’re right. I’ve been thinking about it.’

‘I want to ask you for something.’

‘Yes?’

‘Will you give me something I can remember you by?’

‘That’s fair enough. I will need to think about that.’

She wanted to give him something that would last a long time, like a jewel but she didn’t have anything. ‘I should give you something that only comes from my world.’

‘Like Alfa,’ he joked.

She laughed. ‘No, you will end up all neurotic.’

‘What is neurotic?’ he asked seriously.

‘Neurotic is what I was before I met you.’

But her smile made him think that she too was joking, so he didn’t pursue it further.

‘I know what I can give you.’

‘What?’

‘I will give you this,’ and she pulled out her ceramic clear knife from her boot.

She handed it to him and he looked at it in awe. It wasn’t very long but the handle and blade appeared cast as one and both were curved to complement each other.

‘It will never need to be sharpened and it will never break. The only way you can destroy it would be to throw it into a volcano.’

‘You would give me this?’

‘Of course, I wouldn’t offer it otherwise.’

‘I’ve nothing like this to give to you.’

She reached out and touched his hand. ‘You don’t need to give me anything. I owe you more than you can possibly know.’

Myka didn’t know what to say and looked down at the blade with the firelight shimmering through it.

‘Are you going to visit my family before you leave?’

‘Yes, I promised them I would.’

‘Then I would ask that you give this to my mother.’ He took an amulet from around his neck.

‘What is it?’

‘It’s a lock of hair trapped in addler, that she gave me when I left. I want you to give it to her so she will know that I am all right.’

Elvene looked at it against the firelight, black and silver strands suspended in an oval shaped ornament that looked like ice. She put it in a special pocket in her utility belt, which she wore under the tanned skins that Myka had borrowed from Janella.

Before the fire died completely, Myka took an earthenware bowl and heated some water in it. By this time the stars had taken over the sky, and Elvene and Myka retreated for the night. Myka took the bowl, handling it with a cloth made from tanned skin and put it on the floor next to their bed. He lit an oil-based lamp and set it to one side.

He undressed Elvene and washed her all over with a cloth soaked in the warm water, then dried her off. It was obvious to Elvene that he wanted this night to be special, so she was happy to be the passive partner.

He asked her to lay down on the bed and then undressed himself. He got her to roll over on her stomach, then he massaged her from her shoulders to her legs, kneading her muscles with his fingers and the heel of his hand. As a final treat, he covered her entire body with his as if he was a blanket and kissed her neck, then tickled her ear lobes with his tongue.

Then he rolled her over on her back and she couldn’t help but pull him down and kiss him sensuously on the mouth. Elvene found that even his smell was enough to arouse her now, and his body was both stronger and harder than she had remembered it. But Myka was in a teasing mood and he pulled himself away so that he could move over her entire body at his leisure.

He was exquisitely patient, taking pleasure in her response, and sensing control over her ever-increasing levels of arousal. With fingers, lips and tongue she felt herself being played like a musical instrument; sensations that teased, tingled and lifted her, both physically and emotionally. She cooed and moaned and writhed under his touch, before once again he stretched his entire body over her and nibbled her neck and ears and lips, only this time she wanted him all.

When he coupled with her, it was her turn to gasp and then his chest kissed her breasts and he moved slowly, exquisitely, while nibbling at her neck. She clenched his taut body with her fingers, her breath quickening, and then she felt the pulse of his manhood and found herself surrendering to a tide of sensation that swept over her in wave upon wave.

Afterwards, they lay wordlessly together, their bodies still flushed, and let the balmy night air wash over them. He rolled over so that his neck nestled into the crook of her shoulder and she put an arm around his back so that she could feel his musculature. She wanted to tell him how she felt but there were no words she could find, so she squeezed him closer instead.

In response, he nuzzled his chin into her breast and she bent forward and kissed him on the forehead. She couldn’t remember a sweeter time, and she wanted to hold onto it forever.

The next morning they both knew that she was going to leave. They went together while she made her farewells to Janella and then to Sendra.

‘What do you want me to tell your parents?’

‘Tell them that I’m safe and well, and that I’ve found the light of my life.’

‘The light of your life,’ she repeated, and bowed in acknowledgement to Vestra.

When they reached the beach there was a huge entourage of followers and even some sky swimmers overhead. She looked up and remembered what she owed them.

‘Look after those creatures, Myka, they saved your life and that of your people.’

‘Yes, twice. I have a special relationship with them.’

‘So I’ve noticed and I’m not surprised. Under other circumstances I might have been jealous.’

‘It’s good to see you as your old self again,’ he said.

She looked at him and smiled, putting a hand against his face, as she had done once, on another beach, a long time ago. ‘And it is good to see you as your new self.’

They got into his canoe and and he paddled her out to Alfa who waited patiently on the water a little way out from the shore.

She kissed Myka one last time, and then climbed up on Alfa’s deck. The gangplank door opened.

He stood up in his canoe. ‘Thank you, Elvene. May the spirits always befriend you.’

‘Myka, I will never forget you. As long as I am alive, a part of you will always be with me.’

Then she turned her back and boarded Alfa. She looked back one final time and gave a brief wave, just before the gangplank raised and sealed itself, and then she was gone. Shortly afterwards, Alfa cruised out into the open water and then lifted vertically before spearing off to the western horizon.

Myka didn’t paddle straight back to shore, because he was in no mood to face anyone. Instead, he paddled further out in an effort to increase his solitude, and to temporarily turn his back on the community that had so recently adopted him. Central to his thoughts was the knowledge that he would never see Elvene again, but instead of dwelling in that emotional desert he reminded himself how lucky he had been to meet her and befriend her in the first place. To know a woman so brave and so passionate, who had loved him without inhibition, and whom he had loved so passionately in return, was a gift that life may never give him again. He unsheathed the knife, which he now had in a skin scabbard of its own, and let the sun’s light play on it like it was crystal. He remembered her parting words, and thought, How true. He knew that her memory would never leave him as long as he lived, and that was the greatest gift she could have given him.

It was still night when she arrived at the Kiri archipelago, and so Elvene entered the lagoon and patiently waited for the dawn to catch up to her. Of course, Elvene could have brought Myka and Sendra back to their homeland, but she had not even discussed it with them, and besides, she believed that would have been unnecessary interference. It would have created a conflict for them that they could well live without. She was grateful that it had never been raised, and maybe they had thought about it and come to a similar conclusion.

On this occasion her reception was not as big nor as formal, but for all that, it was no less enthusiastic. In particular, both Myka’s and Sendra’s family were eager for news, which she gladly passed on.

When she finally was able to talk to Sefta and Lenya in private, she produced the addler amulet containing Lenya’s lock of hair and presented it to her. Elvene was not surprised when it brought tears to her eyes, but was absolutely astounded when she handed it back to her.

‘You take it,’ she said.

‘No, I can’t.’

‘You should take something from this world, in our memory.’

Elvene realised that she couldn’t refuse, and was completely overwhelmed. ‘I am so privileged,’ she said. ‘You are generous beyond words.’

Lenya smiled, and Elvene could see that it gave her enormous happiness, so she took it and placed it back in a pouch in her utility belt.

‘It’s a great honour. And I shall never forget you, all of your people.’

Elvene stayed long enough to eat with them, and then she went and spoke to the Elders. She told them that she would never return, but one day they may see their seafaring sons again.

It was late afternoon when she left, with a huge gathering on the beach to see her depart in her flying ship for the last time. A fire was lit on the beach in the fading light, and some smoke was captured in a skin pouch. It was presented to her, and she was told it would ensure her a safe journey back to her homeland. She was also told, that it was the lack of this ceremony that had kept her from departing successfully the last time. She took the gift, which was tied around her neck, and bowed to everyone present before stepping aboard her craft.

When Elvene finally left atmosphere and broke free of the gravitational pull, not only of the planet but its whole system, she asked Alfa to put her into hibernation and then hyper-jump to their Base at Terra UY1216c.

Alfa’s return with Elvene aboard created quite a stir amongst the Corps, not least because Roger had been demoted for going against his higher command when he had sent Alfa out in a newly-configured ship to search for her.

But he had succeeded, and therefore no one could deny him the right to debrief her without adding to the controversy. It was Essayas who called him to his office to let him know.

Roger did his best to hide any feelings he might have had; he knew that making it hard for Essayas was not going to help anyone, least of all Elvene. When he entered the office, he stood stony-faced until Essayas offered him a chair. He noted, that on this occasion, Lin was conspicuous by her absence.

‘I am not restoring your previous position, but pending the debriefing with Elvene, you may be offered a restoration of command for a probationary period.’

‘How long?’

‘That depends, and will be determined if and when it is given.’

‘I understand.’

‘Good. I will expect a full report. I expect Elvene will need to be rested for a period, as well. So at this stage, there will be no new missions for her.’

‘I understand. What about Alfa?’

‘Alfa can be downloaded, so the ship that you configured may be used for other missions. That will be decided independently of your debriefing of Elvene.’

‘I understand.’

‘Okay, that will be all.’

Roger left as he had arrived, without any sign of outward emotion.

Elvene found it strange to be back at the Base after such a long absence. She noticed that people treated her differently; it was as if no one wanted to talk to her. They were all very polite, even deferential, but there was no warmth in any of the contact – perhaps sympathy, but not warmth. She knew that her position made it difficult to form long-term friendships; Roger was the closest she had, because he understood, better than anyone else, how difficult it was for her.

Quarantine wanted to confiscate the talisman that Lenya had given her, but they relented when she agreed to keep it permanently in a vacuum case with a self-destructive seal. They also gave her a full medical and were not happy about her condition. It was only Roger’s intervention that allowed her to be released into communal living.

Roger, in his wisdom, took her to one of the Base’s gardens, where they could have a meal in private and talk without the risk of bureaucratic intervention.

Roger related to her what Lin and Essayas had told him about the Kiri people, and why he had been demoted for attempting her rescue with Alfa.

She told Roger about the attack on the Salari people by a small armada of marauders, and how they had been defeated by the sky swimmers.

‘Alfa has no record of this attack,’ Roger said.

‘That’s right, he spent the whole period of my visit with the Salari underwater.’

‘So we don’t need to report it then.’

She put her hand on Roger’s arm. ‘No, Roger, that’s the worst thing we could do.’

‘But no one would ever find out.’

‘Perhaps, but imagine if someone did. And how many careers have been wrecked precisely because people believed that no one will ever find out?’

Roger didn’t know what to say.

‘Besides, Lin and Essayas are right: they need to be left alone. If we report the attack, then no one will ever be allowed to go there again.’

‘That will have consequences for you, though, surely. I mean, in the future.’

‘Who knows what the future will bring? For the time being it’s a price I’m willing to pay.’

‘You say that Myka can communicate with these sky swimmers.’

‘Well, he certainly has an empathy with them and they do whatever he wants.’

‘But you believe he has telepathic abilities with animals.’

‘Some animals, yes.’

She knew that Roger was sceptical, nevertheless she had some theories of her own. ‘You know, for centuries we’ve been evolving by our own intervention, not only ourselves, but also machines, and combinations with machines, like my plasma guns.’ She held up her arms to display her lethal bracelets. ‘I mean, people have been having chips inserted into their brains ever since the twenty-first Century, Earth-time, amongst other things.’

‘What has that got to do with Myka’s abilities?’

‘Well, perhaps Myka is an example of old-fashioned natural evolution.’

‘You think his abilities are an evolutionary development?’

‘Why not? You have a people who live in isolation without any technology, and as a result they develop skills that we’ve forgotten, plus some new ones.’

Elvene was getting into her subject, so Roger showed restraint by remaining silent.

‘But his relationship with the sky swimmers is unique, and perhaps there is a reason for that, as well.’

‘Please, I’m all ears.’

Elvene wondered if he was being sarcastic but realised he wasn’t. ‘Well, it seems that the sky swimmers communicate between themselves at a telepathic level, and therefore they see him as one of them.’

‘Oh, Elvene, that’s absurd.’

‘No, it’s not, it has precedence on Old Earth.’

‘What precedence? There were no telepathic animals on Earth.’

‘Not that we know of. No, that’s not what I mean. I’m talking about our relationship with dogs. You know that dogs always lived in packs, not unlike the sky swimmers actually, but when they became attached to humans they perceived the human as one of the pack, and what’s more, they acknowledged that the human was the leader of their particular pack. I believe the same thing has occurred with Myka and the sky swimmers.’

‘Well, at least that part of your theory makes sense.’

‘Actually the sky swimmers are more like dolphins in their relationship with humans. As you may remember, dolphins were very intelligent and had a most amazing affinity with humans, even though they inhabited different mediums. Sky swimmers also inhabit a different medium, and they also display a high level of intelligence and complex social structure.’

‘But according to you, before Myka arrived, the Salari people lived in fear of the sky swimmers and they were mutually antagonistic.’

‘That’s right, but under their previous leader, Ryka, they were socially pathological, not only to the sky swimmers, but also to themselves.’

‘Well, one thing for sure, no one is going to go back there and study them, especially if you have your way.’

‘So you agree with me?’

‘Yes, Elvene, you’ve convinced me.’

Roger fidgeted in his seat as a prelude to changing the subject. ‘As you know, I interrogated Alfa when he returned, but he never quite convinced me of why you were so determined to take on the pursuing marauders. I mean, if you thought we were coming back, you could have just put yourself into hibernation and waited.’

Elvene took her time before she answered.  ‘Well, it was just as well I didn’t. After all, you didn’t come back.’ But she knew she was being flippant. ‘They were my responsibility, Roger. I couldn’t have done that and not known the consequences. Besides, if you had returned during the battle, you would have only brought more marauders with you.’

Roger may have differed, but he let the issue lie.

Elvene saw him relax and decided to ask a question of her own. ‘When you disobeyed orders and sent Alfa back, did you really believe I was still alive, or was it just wishful thinking?’

‘Actually, what decided it for me, was when I realised your mistake.’

‘My mistake?’

‘Yes, when you told Alfa to wait for you, you didn’t synchronise your chronometer with his.’

‘It didn’t matter, I was talking about elapsed time.’

‘Except, you were on the planet’s time and he was on standard ship-time. The planet’s rotation was slightly longer than standard. You never specified what time you were following when you gave him those instructions.’

‘And on that basis, you sent him back?’

‘It was enough to convince me I should.’

‘But I still might have died a number of different ways.’

‘Yes, I know, but the key thing is that Alfa didn’t let you down, it was human error. Yours, in fact.’

‘Amazing. So a mistake actually saved my life.’

‘In a roundabout way, yes. But it nearly cost you first.’

‘Well, yes, but if I’d set my chronometer to his, I still wouldn’t have made it in time, and then maybe you wouldn’t have sent him back.’

‘I hadn’t thought of that.’

‘Tell me, did you change his programming to make him more protective?’

‘No. He would have done that himself, as a sort of compensation, I guess. Why?’

‘Oh, nothing. He was very much in a mother mode, that’s all. But then, I wasn’t in any fit emotional state, either.’

Roger leant forward a little, indicating that the conversation was becoming more personal. ‘Speaking of emotional states. Do you have any regrets?’

Elvene sat up a bit. ‘You mean about Myka?’

‘Yes.’

‘How can I have regrets, Roger? To love someone like that who would give you his heart and body and soul. I feel I’ve been blessed.’

‘Yes, I understand that. But it must have been very difficult for you to leave.’

‘Emotionally, very difficult. Both for him and me.’

‘So, I’ll ask you again. Do you have any regrets?’

‘Roger, even if I do, what difference does it make? I made a decision, the only one I could make under the circumstances, and I will live with that.’

Roger nodded his head as if he was satisfied. He leant back in his chair, visibly more relaxed. He seemed willing to let it go, and changed the subject again.

‘What will you do with your time off? Obviously, we can’t send you on a mission in your current condition.’

‘I don’t know, maybe record a memoir of all this. For the sake of future generations.’ She gave him a cheeky smile. ‘Besides, I’m sure you can find things for me to do around here.’

‘Yes, I’m sure we can.’ Roger gave her a sideways look, as if he thought his next question may be unwelcome. ‘Did you tell him, by the way, before you left?’

To his relief, Elvene smiled, and leant back in her chair.

‘No.’ She looked a little guilty though. ‘Why complicate his life more than it is already?’

‘It’s all right, Elvene, it’s not for me to judge.’ Then he gave her a wry smile. ‘So, do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?’

‘Yes, I know.’

‘But you’re not going to tell me.’

‘That’s right.’

Digital Publishing Centre

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Carindale, Queensland, Australia 4152

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2nd edition published by Interactive Publications, 2010

ePub version, 2010

© Paul Phillip Mealing

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.

Printed in 11 pt Book Antiqua on 16 pt Bank Gothic.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry (pbk)

Author: Mealing, Paul Phillip, 1951-

Title: Elvene : the Kiri myth of ocean woman / Paul P Mealing.

Edition: 2nd ed.

ISBN: 9781921479649 (ebk.)

Subjects: Australian fiction.

Dewey Number: A823.4

Cover design: Aaron Pocock

Book design: David P Reiter

Author Photo: Leia Mihailidis

Paul Mealing lives in Melbourne and, when he is not writing and philosophising, he works as a project controls engineer in the construction industry.

His background has been varied and includes share farming in the mallee of NSW and amateur theatre in Canberra.

His interests include science, religion and philosophy. He started writing fiction and screenplays in the 1980s, but Elvene is his first published novel.

Digital Publishing Centre

Brisbane

Table of Contents

Elvene

The Kiri Myth of Ocean Woman

Paul Philip Mealing

Acknowledgements

Part 1

1. Elvene

2. Myka

3. Landfall

4. The Kiri

5. Elvene and Myka

6. Roger

7. Council of Elders

8. Last Contact

Part 2

9. No escape

10. Unexplored Territories

11. Journey into Darkness

12. Unlikely Saviours

13. Journey’s End

14. Abandoned

15. Upon Pain of Death

16. Home is the Heart at Peace

17. Parting Gifts