The colonists at the second settlement chose the name N^Wotvor, a popular vacation destination on Tridon. Nearly everyone in their community had heard about the place, even if they had never been there. One Rabizut woman explained it brought back happy memories.
Ecurben was in the half-dome where they had their lander's radio. Ekulon, their descent vehicle pilot, was taking a shift monitoring the radio. Most of the time, there wasn’t any radio traffic, but the weak transmission from the other settlement required someone to respond, indicating what needed to be resent.
“Sir, Good news from the other settlement. Eteppon got their lander's radio working. Their transmissions now come through strong and clear.”
“That is good news. Trying to figure out those static-obscured messages was nearly impossible. I want to set up a regular radio conference with the Commander.”
“Will do, sir.”
“Any news from them?”
“I heard they have a patrol that hasn’t returned, and they haven’t been able to establish radio contact either.”
“Did you brief them on our patrol's observation of the native village?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Let me know when we have a radio conference schedule. I prefer to do one every three or four days at the Commander's convenience.”
“Will do!”
Ecurben was about to start walking back to the village. That's when thoughts of the upriver patrol came to mind. It had returned two days ago, and he recalled their report's significant accomplishment was the distance they covered and the far-ranging samples collected. His reaction then was that it hadn’t found much that was new.
This patrol had discovered the wide river near their village curved in a sweeping turn five days upstream. It flowed roughly perpendicular to what everyone called the Jua-Rising-Setting line – the line connecting the points on the horizon where the sun rose and set.
The river remained wide and shallow, filled with rapids as it twisted through a broad valley. The terrain rose gradually to a high, distant ridge on one side. The landscape was an open sea of tall prairie grass and colorful flowers. Higher up the slope, it became rocky and filled with small trees. They had seen herds of T^Nesiwa off in the distance but no evidence of native villages or camps.
Small streams tumbled down the long slope, cutting through the hillside and entering the river they followed. They collected soil samples from the streambeds where the rushing water had eroded through the adjoining hillside.
Noirami requested they take cores at different locations. They carried a tool used to drive a pipe down into the earth. The hollow tube was barely more than twice a man's height. The samples pulled didn’t extend very deep but did reveal the layers beneath the surface.
Ecurben decided it was time to visit the scientists, hoping the material collected would be what they needed. Their lab was in an adjacent half-dome habitat. Keeping it here provided easy access to the lander's electrical power. Walking into the lab, the community leader noticed a long row of collection bags lined against one wall.
“Retlawon, Any results on the samples brought back by the upriver patrol?”
“We’ve just started. Noirami and I are working on the cores. They show distinct layers. We’ve been looking for bits of material we can date. So far, what we’ve found hasn’t been sufficient.”
“Do you think the layers differ that much in age?” Ecurben asked impatiently.
“Sometimes floods deposit sand and gravel or erode surface layers. There can be substantial differences. That's why carbon dating a layer is so important.”
“How far along are you doing this dating?
Noirami answered, “We’ve finished the first two cores but couldn’t get a date on any layer. It's a tedious process. So now we are working on the third. The patrol pulled this one from deeply eroded soil. Its layers, hopefully, are much older. This one has a distinct ash layer near the bottom. It's very unusual.”
“Do you think that it has some special significance?” Ecurben pressed, trying to be patient. He thought scientists get easily distracted by the strangest details.
“Sir. This layer is so unusual it will be a marker for age in other cores. That's why we are working to date it.”
“I was hoping you found something to help us make weapons and articles the community needs.”
“Sir. We have a group making charcoal. We still need to find a source of sulfur. We have a lot of samples. We have to test each one to know if any contain sulfur,” Noirami explained.
“And we talked to a group doing ceramics, and they are making large tubs for mixing materials,’ Retlawon added.
“OK. Process the samples as fast as you can,” Ecurben said grudgingly.”
“Give us a couple of days. It would help if a patrol could take more cores where the river has cut deep through the ground,” Noirami pleaded.
“I’ll be back. We depend on you.” Then, walking out of the lab, he decided to bring up their hunt for raw materials the next time he talked to the Commander.
He left the lab and started the trip back to their village. The Senior Pilot's thoughts were preoccupied with their immediate needs: better weapons, new clothes, and metal.
The Following Day
Nevetsin was waiting in the large half-dome, where The Commander met with his informal leadership group. Gergin, Enaida, Solracin, and D^Lanoden were already there. After several minutes, Eteppon appeared, followed by the Commander. He apologized for being late, explaining he had been on the radio talking to Ecurben, the first of their periodic calls.
“Being able to have an easy conversation with Ecurben made my day,” he exclaimed.
“Any new developments?” Gergin inquired.
“They are analyzing rocks and material their patrols found, but nothing remarkable. I told them about the arrows with iron tips our hunters are using. And they had one odd request. Their men took some cores using a piece of pipe from their lander, and the scientists are trying to date certain layers. They want us to do the same where the river cuts deeply through the hills. So I asked to have Noirami call and give D^Lanoden and Solracin more details.”
“Our big concern is the missing patrol. We still haven’t heard anything,” Nevetsin said impatiently.
“I think we should send out a search party, “ Nireem concluded. “Make sure we have a daily call to track their progress.”
“Will do!” Nevetsin responded.
“Sir. Should I fashion a pipe for pulling core samples? Eteppon asked.
“Since they asked, make one, and if possible, in time to be used by our next patrol. Anything else for today?”
“Thanks to D^Lanoden, we have soap that's tolerable. It's still not as fragrant as we had back home, but it works,” Enaida offered.
The group broke up, and Nireem and Gergin walked out together. The Commander felt most comfortable talking to Gergin when he didn’t understand something. Outside, the day was sunny, and new leaves colored the landscape.
“Gergin, What do you make of their interest in core samples?”
“I would guess they saw something unusual and want to find out if it's widespread or just a local anomaly.”
“Then our recovery team should take cores where they can. I don’t believe it will help us, but it's best to satisfy their scientific curiosity and end the distraction.”
“Sir, I was thinking last night about tools that would help. We need to make wheels and a wagon. A carpenter might be able to make one.”
“That's a good idea. Carrying everything in backpacks isn’t very efficient. Spread the word that we have a project for a carpenter.”
Gergin acknowledged the order and headed off to find Enaida. Several colonists had gathered around the Commander to express their concerns.” Gergin was glad he didn’t have to deal with disgruntled people daily.
Later, he was back in their log hut, having a meal with Enaida. She had gotten confident making simple meals from dried foodstuff. Jerky from T^Nesiwa was usually a main ingredient. In a warm broth, it softened and was much easier to chew.
Proudly, he related the Commander's enthusiastic support for his wagon suggestion. He asked her to ask around for a carpenter willing to take on the project. Enaida had more contacts with the Amilikut than he did, but it wasn’t likely anyone had experience making wheels.
The two discussed the morning meeting and Enaida's sense of the community's needs. She still prioritized clothing, complaining they soon would have to wear T^Neiswa hides. Several women know how to use a loom, but we need thread and yarn for weaving.
“Where can we find the fiber to make thread, yarn, string, and rope? Do the scientists have any reference information to help us?” She asked determinedly.
“I check with the science guys. You find a carpenter to make a wagon,” Gergin said, smiling. He understood how strongly Enaida felt about clothes, and he could see they were nearly in rags.
“Deal,” his wife replied. Talking about their disintegrating clothing made her feel better. Then she thought: Could the wool from T^Neiswa be spun into yarn?
Later that afternoon, Gergin found Solracin and asked for help finding a source of fiber for weaving. They searched the computer files and found references to plants used for it on Tridon. Now, they had to find similar plants and figure out how to make thread. Solracin wondered how an advanced society could send them across the galaxy without the know-how their ancestors had mastered.