The Lexal Affair, DM Arnold [i wanna iguana read aloud .TXT] 📗

in close -- no doubt to prevent us jumping.”

“Can you evade them?”

“I'll try. I can't get jump coordinates without fixing our starting point... I'm assuming they're armed.” She pulled the shuttle's unistick and flew a corkscrew maneuver. The other shuttle fell back.

“Okay, now let's jump... come on, computer... there -- hold on!” She moved her hand to the jump actuator when a proximity alarm sounded. “Let's try it again...” She began more evasive maneuvers.

“It looks like they're trying to target us broadsides,” Andra said, looking out the viewport.

“I'm presenting a minimum cross-section,” Nayva replied. She rolled the craft.

Nyk looked out the viewport. He saw a muzzle flash and heard the sound of something striking the shuttle.

“That was close,” Nayva said. She rolled the shuttle again and pitched the nose upward. The pursuing craft closed in. More rounds struck the shuttle.

Nayva pushed the stick forward and dove toward the planet. The shuttle was spinning and the blue planet swung around in the forward viewports. She pulled the stick back and brought them around behind the enemy shuttle. “Let them think we're armed,” she said. “It's an Altian shuttle.”

“How much more evidence do we need than this?”

The Altian craft executed a tight turn and came toward their port side. Nyk saw a muzzle flash and heard a pop and a hiss.

“They've hit a viewport! We're losing atmosphere.”

Nayva pressed a control and the warp-jump shutters closed. “That'll slow it down. We don't dare a deep space transit with that damage. We'll have to set down and effect repairs.”

“Can you repair that?”

She put the vessel onto autopilot and stepped back to examine the damage. “Yes, we can seal that. It's no worse than a meteorite impact.” She returned to the cockpit and began a reentry maneuver.

Nyk heard more rounds strike the shuttle. “We're losing power in the number one cell,” Nayva said. “We've no choice but to set down, now.”

“Where can we go?”

“Under the circumstances, we can't afford to be fussy.”

The shuttle headed into a thick cloud cover. The craft broke through and a white continent stretched before them. “Brace yourselves ... I'm diverting all power to the inertial sink.”

The shuttle landed hard, belly first on a hilltop. Nayva popped open the hatch. “Quick, the power cells may be damaged enough to blow.”

Nyk helped Andra out. Nayva grabbed a pouch, slipped the strap over her head and jumped down. They ran for cover behind a boulder. The shuttle exploded, sending pieces of debris flying over their heads.

“What's that?” Nyk asked, pointing to the pouch.

“Survival kit. We're going to need it.”

“Where are we?” asked Andra.

“Southern continent. It's uninhabited -- uninhabitable.”

“It'll be dark soon,” Nyk said looking at the blue sun hanging low in the sky. “We must find some shelter. How about over there?” He pointed to a rock outcropping. A large, flat overhanging stone formed a roof over an alcove. “Maybe we can build a fire.”

Nyk led the two women across the rocky terrain toward the outcropping, pushing his way through the shoulder-high brush.

Andra stopped. “Is there a knife in that kit?” she asked.

Nayva opened the kit and withdrew a folding knife. Andra took it and began hacking off her gown above her knees.

“You'll be cold,” Nyk said.

“I can't maneuver in this thing.” She folded the cloth and tucked it into the pouch.

The sound of a growl came from a thicket. “There may be some large carnivores inhabiting this region,” Nayva said.

“Perhaps a fire will keep them at bay,” Nyk replied.

Nyk stepped up to the natural alcove. “This'll do. Let's start gathering firewood.” Nayva and Andra fanned out from him and began collecting bits and pieces of dead trees and vegetation.

“Dusk,” Nyk said. “It's getting cold.” He looked at the pile of firewood the three of them had gathered. “I hope that's enough.” He made a pile of dried vegetation and placed some smaller twigs on top. “Is there anything in that pouch to start a fire?”

Nayva began rifling through the pouch. She shook her head.

Nyk took two sticks and began rubbing them together. Andra laughed. “Do you really think that'll work?”

“Do you have a better idea?”

Andra found a flat rock and slipped it under the pile of kindling. She unclipped the handgun from her belt. “Stand back.” She pointed the handgun at the pile and pressed the trigger. It discharged with a dull poomph, its pellet shattering the rock, showering the tinder with sparks. Tiny flames flickered up.

Nyk knelt and fanned the fire. Soon the twigs ignited and he fed larger sticks and logs onto the blaze. A cloying and sickeningly sweet smoke wafted from the fire and collected under the flat rock of the alcove. Andra coughed and attempted to fan away the smoke. “I hope it's okay to breathe this,” she said.

“Once the volatile material burns off, we should be rid of the smoke,” he replied as he piled on more sticks. “There -- the smoke is diminishing.” He looked up. “It's getting dark. We'll take turns tending the fire. I'll go first.”

Nayva took the piece of fabric from the pouch and used it as a blanket. She and Andra held each other. Nyk crouched by the fire. He could see large forms moving in the background, their shadows thrown large onto the trees of the woods beyond.

Dawn came. Nyk was shivering and holding onto Nayva for warmth. Andra knelt by the fire. He sat up. “That pile of firewood looked so large last night.”

“We'll need better shelter than this,” Andra said. “And, we'll need some food.”

Nayva sat up. “Tell us about the southern continent,” Nyk said.

“It's one big glacier. We're in the piedmont.” She pointed toward a white mass stretching to the vanishing point. “The piedmont's too small and too rugged -- that's why it's never been colonized.”

“When was Lexal settled?”

“About two hundred years ago.”

“We'd better gather some more fuel,” Nyk said and headed toward the scrubby woods. He began carrying sticks and placing them on the fire. Nayva carried an armload and dumped them on the pile.

Andra picked up her handgun. A six-legged creature was approaching, creeping toward them. She lowered the handgun and fired. The animal yelped, began to run and fell over.

“Why did you do that?” Nyk asked.

“We need food. That is food.”

“How do you know it's edible?”

“If lagexeva is edible, I'm sure this is, also.”

“You've tried lagexeva?” Nayva asked. “You're braver than I thought.”

Nyk helped Andra drag the carcass toward the alcove. “Hand me that knife,” she said. Nayva slipped it from the pouch.

Andra slit open the carcass and eviscerated it. Nyk fed some sticks to the fire, and soon the carcass was roasting. The flames burned its feathery coat, filling the air with an acrid smoke.

“How did you know to do that?” Nyk asked.

“I was on Earth long enough to see a deer dressed from the hunt.”

“You'll have to tell me about your Earth adventure some time.”

“We should fill our bellies,” Andra said. “No telling when we'll eat again.” She ripped off one of the six legs, peeled off charred skin with the knife and handed it to Nyk.

He took a bite. The meat was sweet, with a hint of the camphorous note he had tasted before. “This isn't bad at all.”

“Force yourself to eat all you can hold,” Andra said. “Then, eat some more. The best place to carry food is in your stomach.”

“I need some water,” Nayva said.

“I encountered a stream over there,” Nyk pointed. Nayva stood and walked in that direction.

Andra ran her hand along her stomach. “I've never been so full.”

“We should rest a bit,” Nyk said. “Then, let's look for better shelter.”

Andra began cutting chunks of flesh from the carcass and impaling them onto sticks. “Maybe we can carry some food like this.”

Nyk picked up Nayva's pouch. “Let's see what else is in here... healing salve... broad- spectrum bioagent... communicator... binoculars... lamp.” He picked up the communicator. “Nothing. It must be short-range and we're too far from the comm net.” Nyk took the binoculars and began scanning the rugged countryside. He pointed. “Up there -- a cave. Maybe that will be better shelter, and maybe the elevation will bring us into communications range.”

Nayva returned. Nyk pointed toward the cave. “We're heading up there. If we get started now, maybe we can be there by nightfall.”

Dusk fell and Nyk cuddled with Andra and Nayva for warmth. The three had collected a large pile of firewood and had started another fire by the mouth of the cave. They ate more of the meat Andra had impaled on the sticks. “We'll take turns tending the fire again,” Nyk said.

“I'll go first this time,” Nayva replied.

“The warmth feels good,” Andra said. “There's something oddly romantic about having an entire continent to ourselves.”

Nyk took the portable lamp from the pouch and switched it on. “I wonder how far back this cave goes. He swung its beam around in the darkness. “There's another room behind this one. It's a tight squeeze. Oh! My goodness!”

Nyk flashed the light around the rear chamber of the cave. On the walls were pictures and characters. Against the back wall was an altar, and on it was a crude clay model of a spacecraft. Surrounding it were bits of charred wood.

Andra and Nayva squeezed into the rear chamber. “I don't recognize that writing,” Nayva said.

“I do,” Nyk replied. “It's Esperanto, written in the ancient Roman characters. Nyk pointed to a section of the text, illustrated by a pair of circles and lines. He began translating, “In the year 154 After PlanetFall, we under the leadership of Midoro Kyhana took leave of Planet Floran...”

“How can you read that?” Nayva asked.

“It's the language of the original Floran settlers,” Nyk replied. “The language of the failed Centauri mission. I taught it to myself so I could translate Koichi Kyhana's journal.”

“Who's Midoro Kyhana?” Andra asked.

“I don't know. An ancestor, no doubt, but not one I recall from the family genealogy.” Nyk continued to read the text. “It says here Midoro was among the crew of one of the first interstellar vessels built after PlanetFall - - in the year 154. I hadn't realized we were engaged in interstellar travel so soon after the founding. I'd always heard the first successful interstellar expedition was 342 APF.”

“Perhaps the operative word here is successful,” Andra said.

Nyk continued reading. “Midoro was a member of a group wanting to break free from the main colony and form another. He was unhappy with the leadership on Floran. He and his band insinuated themselves into the crew of this vessel and commandeered it on its maiden flight. I'll bet as far as the homeworld knew, the mission was lost.”

“And that assumption pushed back the interstellar travel program almost two hundred years,” Andra said.

“They selected this world upon which to build a colony,” Nyk added.

“A colony that failed,” Nayva said. “Lexal was uninhabited when colonized.”

Nyk pointed to the text. “They called this world Abo. This text, these drawings have survived here for over sixty-five hundred Floran years.”

“This is an amazing find,” Andra said.

Nyk shone the light onto the clay model of the spacecraft. “This is what their vessel looked like.” He picked up a stick of charred wood and sniffed it. “Some sort of incense. This must've been a sacred place for them.” He handed the stick to Nayva.

“It smells so fresh.”

“The cave's moisture preserved it. Look -- the clay's still soft. I can see the sculptor's fingerprints. I wonder how long the Abo colony thrived.” He swung his lamp around to another section of the wall. “Look here!” He pointed to the Kyhana crest -- the three katakana characters in a circle. “Once we're out of here, we must report this find to the Floran museum.”

“If we get out of here,” Nayva replied.

“We must be careful not to disturb any of it.” Nyk replaced the charred stick onto the altar.

He squeezed through the passageway into the front chamber. Nayva stoked the fire. “It's actually quite comfortable in here, now,” she said.

“Let's see if we can get some sleep.” Andra cuddled against him.

Dawn's light streamed into the cave. Nyk looked behind him at Nayva and Andra, sleeping in an embrace. He fed sticks into the fire. Then he picked up the communicator and climbed to the summit of the hill and attempted to make contact.

He returned to the cave. “Any luck?” Andra asked.

“No.” Nyk grabbed the last stick impaled with meat and began heating it over the fire. Andra arose. “I must relieve myself,” she said. “I'll be back in a moment.” She headed toward a clump of bushes.

“No real need for modesty,” Nyk called after her. “We're all one family, now.”

Nayva arose and rubbed her eyes. She looked at the communicator. “Any luck?”

“No. I'll keep trying.”

“I wonder what the situation's like in the capital.”

Andra returned. “You know, I thought I saw smoke coming from the woods down the slope.”

“Where?” Nyk followed her,