Gasping for breath, I sat up and rested my hands on my thighs. As far as bouts of inedible food went, it wasn’t as bad as others I’d experienced. But still. The tuber had tasted mild and earthy, like a potato crossed with a mushroom. And I’d been hungry. And so, I hadn’t waited, but rather ate the entire handful, like a rookie.
Hours later, my body complained as the last vestiges of tuber molecules left my mouth. Rinsing and spitting, I staggered to my feet. It was time to look for civilization.
Burying the evidence of my violent rejection of interspecies cuisine, I left the tiny beach and entered the shaded bower of the path.
Long neglected by the looks of the overgrowing branches, I knew it was an official path because of the stones placed along the way. The risers were higher than human steps; my body shivered a little to realize the race on this planet must be taller and bigger than humans.
I walked for hours, sipping from my water canister and nibbling from my last ration bar. Oh, to have chosen an EEP! But no, each risk I’d taken had been calculated to within an inch of its life: correction, to within an inch of my life. I’d had to do it the way I did. No regrets.
Having worked for IGMC most of my adult life, I’d visited my share of alien planets. Unless this planet’s wildlife came out at night, and I’d slept through two of them here, there was a surprising lack of fauna in the thick woods. An occasional rodent like I’d seen on the beach would dart across my path, but other than that and a flurry of wings from a startled bird, it was eerie and still in these woods.
I supposed it could be private property where they had animal populations monitored. Or a hunting grounds where game would be introduced for specific events. I wouldn’t know until I’d met the inhabitants, of whom I was beginning to doubt their existence.
Taking another sip from my canister, a flash in the distance caught my eye. Scrambling to recap my water, I rushed forward to see the path emptied into a vast field of swaying grain, and on the other side of it, a huge fortress rose up like a ship. The flash was sunlight on a window, and I couldn’t help the elation bubbling up in my chest.
The path curved around the sea of grain, and I kept looking at the distant fortress and its imposing black rock and jutting battlements.
Swallowing, my steps faltered.
Yes, I’d needed to make the emergency landing. One planet away from the EEPs, from Joan, had seemed manageable. Wise, even, compared to flying another lightyear to whatever other planet SCOOBE had chosen.
But another planet might as well be another galaxy since I didn’t have a ship. Not only did I not have a ship, but I didn’t have a guarantee that this civilization’s technological advancement included interplanetary travel.
I had to sit down.
Head between my knees, I listened to the whoosh of the wind stirring the grain less than a meter away; I could reach out my hand and sift the stalks if I wanted.
Letting the deep shuddering breath work itself out, I sobbed for a solid minute, and then sniffling, laid on my back on the path and stared up at the blue sky. The other planet looked like a half-moon, mocking me.
It was possible I’d fucked up my own life to an irretrievable level.
But those four EEPs were all going to land on the Class A, and VELMA would make certain they landed on the same continent. Joan was going to live. So were the others.
Right now, I was fine, but the huge black fortress suggested the race of people on this planet was accustomed to warfare, and they may not take kindly to a visitor from outer space.
I could take my chances living in the wild, except for the astonishing lack of wildlife. And the fact the very first thing I tried to eat made me vomit.
Banking on my mama’s firm belief in the innate goodness of all peoples, I was hoping to get help here.
Sitting up, I let my fingers brush against my sidearm. My mama believed in people’s goodness; Daddy did not. It was his gun I wore strapped to my thigh, and the confidence it gave me to stand up, brush the dust off my ass, and follow the path that stretched around the field and approach the imposing and stark rock edifice.