The team scouting downriver had jogged in their bouncy Tridonian gait most of the day. Everyone had adjusted to the planet's stronger gravity, and their activity since landing had greatly improved their endurance.
The countryside was hilly, and there were places where the river's water cut valleys through the higher ground. Near the end of the first day, the river went to the left in a broad, sweeping curve. The patrol waded out, looking for a place to cross. They found it was shallow for all but a narrow stretch near the far bank.
With typical Amilikut initiative, a strong swimmer took a rope across the deepest water and secured it to a tree on the far shore. After several tests, they were confident they had a way for the non-swimmers to cross. Once across, they made camp, satisfied they had achieved their most important objective.
It was the first time anyone from the second settlement slept out under the stars. Three in the patrol had hiked and camped back on Tridon, so it wasn’t a new experience for them. It was also the first time anyone from the settlement had been on this side of the river.
The campsite was up a long slope on top of a bluff. Standing there, the men could see the river snaking through tree-covered hillsides off to the horizon. That evening, the setting sun reflected off the watery trace. A crackling fire illuminated the sleeping rolls, and the men laughed and told stories, enjoying a night of camaraderie.
The rising sun roused the team. While preparing to set off, someone saw a faint column of smoke in the distance. It was away from the river rising from the far side of a flat hill, and they decided to check out the source of the smoke. Six men were soon jogging in unison. When they reached the flat hill, the leader signaled to stop and reminded everyone they were there to observe but not be seen.
Slowly, they worked their way up the hillside, pausing occasionally to listen. But all they heard were birds chirping. Then, finally, one man crawled across the top of the hill to where he could see down to a campsite.
A wisp of smoke was still rising, but that was all. The point man waved for the rest to follow. The smoldering remains of the fire left a few half-burnt sticks around a pile of ashes. The men scanned left, right, and across the shallow valley but saw nothing. Their patrol leader kept them lying in the brush, listening for any sounds. Then he had them carefully creep down to the campsite.
The men examined the ground for tracks and anything left behind. The impressions near the fire were longer and broader than their boots but lacked any distinct shape. And they found a few bones from a small bird, bare of any meat, evidence that only one or two had stopped there.
The patrol spent an hour around the site's perimeter, looking for tracks to tell them where the mysterious visitors might have gone. But the grass-covered ground revealed no clues. Finally, it was time to return to their previous camp. They left, not sure what they had found.
On the way back, the patrol passed by a long row of tall bushes covered with vines that bore clusters of small berries. It was a fruit popular with their community. The men stuffed bunches of the bluish berries into bags they carried and clipped them onto their packs.
Back at Settlement Two
Back at the settlement, more food-gathering groups had been busy. The food scientist had cleared all the samples brought in the previous day. Today, the food gatherers hauled back large quantities to supplement the settlement's meals. As a result, they stopped using any of the food remaining on the lander.
During the morning, Ecurben met with Drachcirn and was pleased to find him with a smile.
“Your smile is a good sign.”
“I have some ideas that might give us a start on navigation here.”
The two walked to where the river had washed up a pile of logs. Drachcirn started to explain.
“When we were in orbit, we observed Wenobek rotate around an axis, and the light from its star covers the surface exposed by the rotation. Down here, each morning, that star rises and passes overhead. But that's just how we see it. In reality, we are moving, and the angle to the star is rising and later falling.”
“OK, but what's the point.”
“If we draw a line from where the star rises above the horizon to where it sets, we have defined two directions that are always the same. Now, stand on the rise-fall line so your right-hand points to where the star rises. You are then facing parallel to the axis of rotation. The axis of rotation defines two points on our planet: two poles. So, standing as I’ve described, you are facing one pole, and your back is toward the opposite pole. This process gives four directions that are the same everywhere.”
“Understand, but how does that help us?”
“We can make maps and use these standard directions. We can use a protractor to measure the angle between a standard direction and a specific location. This method is a way to give exact directions from a particular place,” Drachcirn said.
“Good work! It's a good start. Keep working on it.” Ecurben wanted to encourage Drachcirn.
He returned to the large half-dome, a central meeting hall. Their lander's main radio was there, and he wanted to check in with the patrol leaders. Each leader had a battery-powered communicator.
Up ahead, he saw Ecinajee leaving the large half-dome structure.
“Hey, Ecinajee!”
She heard him, turned, and flashed a smile.
“Your food searchers are doing a great job,” he said. Ecurben had been attracted to her the day they first met. He liked her confident, enthusiastic personality. He wanted an excuse to talk to her.
“Thanks,” she said, wondering if he had another assignment.
“Wanted your thoughts on how everyone is accepting the local food.” It was the first thing that came to mind.
“Better than I thought. But we need to work on more ways to prepare it. Cooking food is new to most, but it gives them a way to make a meal special.” Ecinajee was flattered that he was interested in her opinion.
“That's a great idea. Any suggestions?”
“Yes, Let's do more with meat. The fruits are popular, but meat provides the energy to do hard work.”
“Those large birds with the funny tail feathers. I’ll ask the hunters to bring back enough for everyone,” Ecurben suggested.
“Great,” she replied with a flirtatious twinkle in her eye.
Ecurben nodded and headed to the radio room inside the habitat, encouraged by their encounter.
The settlement had a powerful radio powered by the lander's nuclear generator. The radio could transmit and receive on several frequencies simultaneously. A computer could answer incoming signals and record basic information.
Before leaving the New Dawn, each descent vehicle had a designated frequency known by all the senior officers. Likewise, each patrol had an assigned frequency and a code identifier. It was a Tridon military practice that was part of their astronaut training.
On the radio, he said, “Patrol E3.”
He heard, “E3 here.”
“Just checking in. Any progress?” Ecurben asked. He was speaking to the patrol that had gone upriver.
“Some. The river flows over a low falls into a long, narrow lake. There are a lot of trees here, and we’ve seen small herds grazing in the meadows. No luck on a place to cross.”
“Do you plan to return tomorrow?”
“We plan to push on further tomorrow to look for crossings. Then take two days to return.”
“Try to bring back some meat. Whatever you find.”
“Will do.”
The lake sounded interesting. Ecurben made a mental note to find a craftsman to build a boat.
He switched the frequency and broadcast “Patrol Q22.”
Soon, a voice said, “Q22 here.”
“Just checking in. Any progress?”
“Yeah, a lot. We found a way to cross the river and spent the night on the far side. More interesting to the folks there, our packs are loaded with clusters of those bluish berries.”
“Outstanding! When will you be back?”
“We are camping on our side of the river tonight and will be back the day after tomorrow. Will fill you in on all the details. Tomorrow, we plan to explore further down our side of the river.”
Ecurben immediately sensed the patrol leader had news he hadn’t wanted to report on the radio.