"Homecoming" - читать интересную книгу автора (Day Deanna)
Homecoming
Homecoming
Deanna Day
The atmosphere was rank with the smells of unwashed flesh and the
stench of fear. Mechanical sounds echoed in the dim light, mixing with the
human sounds of coughing, moaning, and the constant crying of a baby who
was wet and hungry. Over the sounds chanted a voice devoid of hope.
"Mayday, Mayday. This is lifeboat two of the independent trader
Marseilles. Our ship hit a thresher mine and we are adrift in the Martel
Cluster. Can anybody here me? Mayday, Mayday. This is lifeboat two of the
independent trader Marseilles. Our ship hit a thresher mine and we are
adrift in the Martel Cluster. Can anybody hear me?"
A beeping sound interrupted the chant. A voice from the rear of the
tiny craft croaked out. "Damn it, what's that? Has something else gone
wrong with this tub?"
"Shut up, Burgess. It's the proximity alarm. We're falling into the
gravity well of a planet." The voice was touched with incredulity.
"Oh, hell! That's the end of it, then. We've had it." The croaking was
turning into a whine. The moaning shifted to a sniffling wail of dispair.
"Shut Up!" The voice that had been chanting had regained a note of
hope. "This boat was designed to get survivors to the closest planet that
can support life. Maybe it did. Maybe we could be rescued."
"Fat chance," the croaking voice was bitter. "There's nobody way the
hell out here in no man's land! The cap'n was a damned fool to try to cut
through the buffer zone and there's no one else fool enough to be out here
to help us. And there aren't any habitable planets, either."
The baby squalled louder and the two men quit arguing. After a few
minutes the first man began chanting, again. "Mayday, Mayday..."
Hours later the beeping became a shrill siren, followed by a shrieking
sound that made the tiny craft shudder.
"Damn it, that's atmosphere!" The moaning wail became a howl of dispair
that matched the screaming of the infant. The croaking voice began
reciting a rosary in broken French. The tiny craft was buffeted and
slammed about. Heat built up to an almost unbearable point. Then there was
a tremendous slamming violence.
Silence settled over the scene. There were faint sounds of creaking and
popping as the overheated metal of the hull cooled. A hot draft pushed
it's way through a tear in one wall. Much later a snuffling sound came
through the torn opening. Then scratching sounds from near the hatch,
which was warped and sprung partially open. Claws slid around the edge of
the hatch and the hatch began to move, protesting with a screech of
tortured metal. This evoked an answer from inside the battered shell which
had been a lifeboat. A wavering cry wailed with terror and frustration.
* * *
"Cap, you won't believe this."
The young officer looked up from his mug of coffee with sleep puffed
eyes. "Believe what?"
The first officer tapped at his console. "We're picking up an emergency
beacon."
Captain Jeffers was immediately alert. "Beacon! Have you identified it?
What heading?"
The first officer worked at the console for several minutes, then made
a grimace. "Relax. It's from a tramp freighter name of Marseilles. Went
missing over seventeen years ago, out of Bremmen's Port headed for
Dustin's World. Looks like they took a shortcut through the buffer zone
between the old Federation and the Croft Empire and hit a mine or
something."
Jeffers snorted. "Seventeen years, huh? No rush then. Put up a plot and
let's see where the beacon is." He turned his attention back to his
coffee.
"Look at that mess, would you. The whole damn planet is a jungle." The
Captain shook his head with disbelief. The screen he was watching was
filled with greens and yellows.
The first officer examined a readout, then turned. "No response to the
hails. Just the emergency beacon. Chances are that no one lived to make it
this far, or they didn't survive the landing."
"You're probably right," the Captain made a sour face. "But the rule
book is pretty clear on things like this. The planet could support life,
and there's a beacon. We have to investigate. Tell Quant I want her on the
landing party, just in case."
"Quant? Oh, the shrink we're taking to Post 411. What for?"
"She's the closest thing we have to a medic, and if there are injuries
we may need her."
"Injuries! After seventeen years?" The first officer snorted, then
nodded. "The unloved, unreasoning regulation book, right?" Jeffers gave
him a pained look. "I'll get her."
Elaine Quant held tight to her straps as the landing boat shuddered
it's way down through the gusty atmosphere. She watched the faces of the
two men in the tiny craft with her. Evins, the first officer, was intent
on the controls of the little boat, a look of irritation covering his
features. O'Rourke, the old marine sergeant, had a slightly bored look as
he wiped a rifle lovingly with an oily rag. She had heard that O'Rouke's
answer to almost anything was more firepower. Years ago she used to think
that attitude was irrationally violent, but experience had proven that out
on the frontier that particular philosophy was right more often than not.
She was actually happy he was along on this jaunt. There was virtually no
chance that there would be survivors, but there were limitless chances for
problems to develop, the type of problems that O'Rourke had answers for.
Evins put the boat down in a tiny clearing atop a small hill. O'Rourke
went out first, then signaled all clear. The first officer stepped out,
swept a directional receiver around, then pointed north. O'Rourke
shouldered his rifle and pulled out a meter long machete. He led the way
into the jungle, slicing a path through the heavy vegetation.
Within the first few meters all three were dripping sweat. The
atmosphere was hot and heavy, 28 degrees Celsius and about 90% humidity.
The air seemed like a hot, thin soup, held motionless by the dense growth.
They had been stomping their way through the steamy jungle for a
quarter of an hour when O'Rourke suddenly stopped. In the intense silence
that followed he slid his rifle from his shoulder.
"What's wrong?" Evins whispered. O'Rourke shook his head. He lifted the
rifle and studied the surrounding jungle through it's broad sighting
scope.
"There's something out there. Something big. And it's following us."
Evins pulled his own service automatic from it's holster. O'Rourke
glanced at it and snorted with contempt. He turned back to cutting a path
through the jungle, but kept his rifle in his other hand.
Twice more O'Rourke stopped. At one stop Quant was sure she saw
something moving away through the maze of green in front of them. It was
not small.
Finally they came to a large mound of greenery. O'Rourke walked around
it, considering it from all sides, then began chopping away. Quant and
Evins kept their eyes on the surrounding jungle.
Quant plucked at her jump suit, pulling the sweat soaked cloth away
from her skin. She glanced at Evins who pushed wet hair out of his eyes.
He grimaced and wiped his hands on his legs.
"Hell," O'Rourke swore between heavy breaths. "What a mess. I'm
surprised the beacon is still functioning." Quant turned and saw that the
marine had uncovered a good third of the crashed lifeboat. It looked like
a melon that had been dropped from a height, the bottom was flattened and
there were tears going clear through the sides. As she watched, the big
man tore away a clump of foliage that was covering a wide open hatchway.
She stepped up beside him.
"My turn." She slipped a flash into one sweaty hand, and a vicious
looking little gun into the other. O'Rourke eyed the little weapon and
looked at her face in surprise. Then he went back to hacking at the
vegetation covering the crashed boat.
Quant stepped into the darkened interior, swinging her light across the
leaves and debris that had accumulated over seventeen years. The light
stopped on a round, white object. She rolled it with her foot and frowned.
It was a human skull. A few minutes investigation found three relatively
complete human skeletons. She brushed dirt and dead vegetation away from a
console, it looked relatively intact. Then she turned and stepped back
outside.
"Three skeletons. Doesn't look like they were disturbed much by animal
life."
Evins was working at a section near the rear of the boat which O'Rourke
had cleared. He was removing a small box from a heavily protected recess.
"Here's the log recorder."
Evins took the recorder to a relatively clear area near the rear of the
crashed boat and swung his pack off his shoulder. He took out a piece of
equipment and began working on the battered looking little box.
Quant noticed that O'Rourke had stopped working on the wreck. He had
his rifle out, but there was a strange look on his face and the rifle was
held in slack hands. Quant stepped over to him.
"What's wrong, O'Rourke?" she asked, scanning the jungle through sticky
lashes.
At her voice the big man jumped like he'd been shot. He gave Quant a
nervous look, then his face hardened. "Nothing. I just got a glimpse of
the thing that's been tracking us. Didn't get a good look, though." He
gripped the rifle tightly and began scanning the forest through the scope.
Evins stepped up with a frown on his face. "You found three adult
skeletons?" he asked Quant pointedly. She nodded. "Go back in and look for
another. A little one. This says there were four survivors in this boat.
Two ship's officers, the first mate's wife, and a three week old baby."
Quant heard O'Rourke spit out a few choice curse words. She stepped
back into the darkness and combed through the debris carefully. She found
the makeshift cradle where the infant had probably been placed, but the
straps were a tattered ruin. She picked up a buckle, examined it, then
retreated to the outside.
"Nope. But I found the cradle. And this." She handed the buckle to
Evins. He examined it in the sunlight and swore. O'Rourke turned with a
question on his face. Quant made a grimace. "Tooth marks, and no
skeleton."
Evins pitched the buckle back through the open hatchway, wiping his
hands once again on his legs. "That's enough for me." He glanced at his
directional finder. "Good. Looks like the beacon shut down when we pulled
the recorder. Let's get out of here."
O'Rourke didn't wait for any other directions, he started back the way
they had come at a dog trot. Evins and Quant traded surprised looks.
"What's eating him?" asked the first officer. Quant shrugged and started
after the marine. Evins shouldered his pack and followed.
Half way back O'Rourke stopped. When Evins stepped up and lifted his
handgun, O'Rourke slapped it down with a heavy hand. "Put that damn thing
away." Evins' face showed a flash of surprise, but he holstered the
weapon. O'Rourke lifted the rifle, studying the path ahead with the scope.
Over his shoulder Elaine Quant could just barely make out the display in
the tiny screen. It reminded her vaguely of an infra-red readout she had
once seen.
After studying the surrounding jungle for several minutes, the marine
began moving again, this time slowly and deliberately. The sky was
beginning to grow dark by the time they finally reached the base of the
hill where their boat was grounded. O'Rourke stood quietly for several
minutes. Then he nodded. "She's up there."
"She?" Evins asked irritatedly. "She who? What the hell is going on
O'Rourke?"
O'Rourke pointed towards the ship, which stood at the crest of the
hill. Quant and Evins looked up as a shadow separated from the tiny craft
and slipped away towards the far side of the hill.
"What was that?" Quant asked.
O'Rourke started slowly climbing the hill. "I only heard her at first,
following us on the way to the wreck. She's quick and quiet, but she was
getting pretty close to us." They reached the top of the hill and O'Rourke
began studying the ground. "It wasn't until you went inside that I got a
good look, though. At first I didn't believe my eyes. It's a kid. A girl.
With long hair, down past her waist. She's little, five foot or less. But
she's human. Naked as a jay bird, too. I saw her up real close on the way
back. She was hiding behind a tree until I came up on her. She stepped
out, looked me in the eye, then just vanished. Dodged away before I could
move." He looked at Quant. "Her eyes are blue. My daughter had blue eyes.
Be about her age, too, if she'd lived." The marine took a few steps, still
studying the ground. "She died in a Croft raid, her and her mom, 'bout ten
years ago." He squatted and pointed down.
Quant stepped over and looked at what he'd found. It was a clear human
footprint on the dusty ground. Evins looked at it for a moment, then
sighed. "Oh hell. I'll tell the captain." He turned and climbed into the
little boat. Quant looked up and let her eyes roam across the jungle
surrounding the hill. She noticed a shadow that was a little larger than
it should be. She stepped forward and the shadow faded into the greenery.
They camped on the hilltop for nearly a week before they finally got
the girl to come into camp. She was small, with fine boned features.
Surprisingly, she was clean and her skin was free from scratches. She was
very curious, and made friends with Quant quickly once she overcame her
shyness. But if either Evins or O'Rourke approached too closely, she
vanished into the jungle.
Finally the Captain lost patience and ordered O'Rourke to tranquilize
the girl and get back to the ship. O'Rourke argued against it but finally
agreed to follow orders under protest. When he lifted the dart gun and
aimed it at the girl, however, she got a sad look on her face and calmly
climbed into the landing boat. She waited with Quant while the other two
quickly broke camp.
Just before lift off, O'Rourke stepped to the hatch and lifted his
rifle to scan the jungle. He saw two animals sitting at the edge of the
clearing watching quietly. They looked like Earth tigers, except with
larger heads and longer legs. They returned his gaze without reaction.
Before they reached the orbiting ship, Quant managed to get a long
shirt over the girl, who had adopted a quiet, withdrawn demeanor.
Once the ship was under way, the captain called Evins, O'Rourke, and
Quant into the wardroom.
"Okay, I've got all your reports. So what are we going to do with this
kid?" He looked at Evins, then at Quant. The psychiatrist took a deep
breath.
"I'll take her, Captain. I can see that she's receives good care."
O'Rourke leaned forward. "If you need money, Doctor, I can send you
some, regular like. She'll need a lot of special schooling. To catch up, I
mean. Livin' wild like that, it'll take a lot to help her adjust."
Quant dropped her eyes. "I'm sorry, Sergeant. I appreciate the offer,
but there probably won't be any special schooling. Just someone to take
care of her and keep an eye on her." The marine frowned. Quant shrugged.
"There's been a lot of study on children that grow up wild. It happens
every now and then, and there's literature on it dating way back to the
old twentieth century.
"When an infant is adopted and raised by wild animals, then
reintroduced to human society, they never seem to be able to advance
beyond the level of their adoptive parents. They never manage speech, and
seldom even manage to learn to use their hands, unless the animals that
adopted them have hands, like monkeys or baboons. This kid has been wild
since the age of three weeks, and she's over seventeen years standard,
now. I gave her a physical, she's fully mature. An adult. There's not
really any hope she could ever lead a normal life."
O'Rourke scowled darkly. "Then why the hell did we bring her back?
Looked like she was doing fine where she was."
Evins frowned. "You mean leave her there? There's no way we could do
that. A kid, alone, in that jungle?" He snorted. O'Rourke just scowled
deeper.
Quant shrugged. "I'd like to think that we can give her a safer,
happier life. I just wish we knew more about the animals that adopted her.
It'd give me a better idea what to expect. She seems to be very docile,
not aggressive in the slightest. She's content just to sit in a corner and
observe what goes on around her."
"You're talking like she's an animal, Doc. She's not. She's a little
girl, a human girl." O'Rourke was still scowling.
Shrugging again, Elaine Quant replied, "I know, Sergeant. And I'll see
that she is given every possible chance. It's just that... There's really
not a lot of hope."
* * *
The grizzled old man looked a little lost, glancing at a paper in his
hand, then up at the number over the door. A woman in a white lab coat
looked up from a desk full of papers and smiled at him.
"May I help you, sir?" she asked with a melodic voice.
He glanced at the paper again, then cleared his throat. "I'm looking
for a Doctor Elaine Quant. I was told her office was in this wing, but I
can't seem to find the right room."
The woman nodded. "You've found it. Come in and have a seat, I'll let
her know that you're here." She touched a button and spoke softly into a
pickup. The old man looked around, then took a seat beside the door. A few
minutes passed, then a woman entered through a rear door.
"Good Lord! Sergeant O'Rourke." The old man stood and she gave him a
warm hug. His face grew pink and he pulled back a little from her.
"Just plain Jame O'Rourke these days, Doctor. They finally put me out
to pasture a few months back. Getting too old for the service. Eyes are
going and I don't move as fast as I used to."
She looked him up and down, noting the bull shoulders and muscled arms,
as well as the thinning gray hair and stubble on his chin. She shook her
head. "They don't know how good a man they're letting get away. How've you
been?"
He shrugged. "Good as could be expected."
"So, what brings you to Bremmen's Port, Mr. `Just Plain Jame' O'Rourke?
As if I didn't know." She tilted her head and smiled.
He smiled a little self consciously back at her and said, "Well. You
remember the little gal we found that time. The little wild one?"
Quant nodded, still smiling. "How could I forget, with the monthly
checks from you following me everywhere I went. You know, you really
didn't have to do that. I make pretty good money, I was having no
problems."
O'Rourke looked embarrassed. "I figured that much, Doctor. It's just
that, well. We took her from the only home she knew, and that made me feel
like I was, you know, sort of responsible for her. And besides, I never
did get over those blue eyes of hers. They reminded me of my own daughter.
And I didn't need the money, the Navy always took good care of me. So why
not?"
"Why not, indeed." Quant smiled more broadly.
O'Rourke waited expectantly, then frowned slightly. "Well? Whatever
became of her? Would it be possible for me to see her?"
"Oh," Dr. Quant said pleasantly, "I don't think there'd be any problem
with that at all."
O'Rourke looked at her with an expectant smile, then when the Doctor
made no further move or comment he looked puzzled. Finally he noticed the
woman in the white lab coat grinning broadly. Her eyes were a deep shade
of blue. A very familiar looking deep shade of blue.
"Good lord!" he said, a look of astonishment breaking across his face.
"You don't mean..." He turned to face Quant. "You said she'd never... that
there was no way she'd ever..." He looked at the woman, who stood and
stepped around the desk. She took his hands and clasped them tightly, then
leaned back against the desk with a mischievous look in her deep blue
eyes.
"I assure you," Quant began with a laugh in her voice, "there was no
one more astonished than me when this young lady began to speak. I had
done quite a bit of study in the field, become something of an expert
actually. And then one morning she simply looked me in the eye and asked
me why I wore clothes when the room is nice and warm. I nearly fell over
in shock."
Looking back and forth from one smiling woman to the other, O'Rourke
moved his mouth, trying to speak, then sat back down with a thump. "I... I
don't know what to say."
"I tried to send you messages, to let you know. But every time I
thought I had you tracked down, the message came back 'Moved, No Forward'.
Then your next check would come from somewhere halfway across known
space." Quant crossed her arms and shrugged. "I kept trying. As a matter
of fact there's at least two of my messages to you wandering around right
now."
O'Rourke rubbed his jaw. "You know the Navy. Where ever I was needed
they just up and shipped me somewhere else. Been the story of my life." He
looked to the bright eyed young woman. "Now, tell me the story of this
one's life. If you would."
The woman looked over at Doctor Quant invitingly.
"Okay. First, we tracked her family lineage by genetic screening. Her
father was Girard Champlain, first mate of the Marseilles. Her mother was
a woman from old Earth, name of Giselle. We never established what her own
name was, so we named her Ariel."
O'Rourke's head came up. "That was my daughter's name."
Ariel smiled and nodded. "I hope you don't mind, Sergeant O'Rourke. It
really is a beautiful name. And I've grown rather attached to it."
"Heavens no! It's just, I never thought..." There was emotion in his
voice and his eyes were more than a little shiny.
"It just seemed appropriate," Quant said. "At Post 411 we settled in
just fine. The only problem I ever had with her was keeping clothes on
her. You don't know how much trouble it can cause, even at a decent sized
post like that, having a good looking young woman who insisted on
wandering around in the buff. My offices were adjoining my apartments, and
I kept her pretty well locked up most of the time, but every so often she
managed to get out and wander off. Curious as all get out and eager to
explore." She shook her head but was smiling.
"Then we were stationed for awhile at the University at Goth. I managed
to get set up in a huge house, an old dorm building actually. My office
was on the ground floor and Ariel had four complete floors above that to
wander through and explore. She had videos, and music, and books, and a
very sweet old housekeeper who didn't mind a teenage nudist wandering
through the house."
"Books? Could she read?" O'Rourke studied the smiling blue eyes.
"I thought she was just looking at the pictures and copying the motions
she saw me making, but it turns out she was probably figuring it all out
by herself. It was shortly after that when she wandered into my office and
asked me about my clothing habits. From then on it was all up hill, at a
truly phenomenal pace. She hurtled primary education in a single year,
secondary in another, and sped right through several advanced degree
courses of study in record time. Her intelligence level is hard to gauge
by normal means. I've been hard pressed to just stay aware of what she's
into lately, with no possibility that I could keep up with her.
"Nowadays she works part time as a research assistant for me, and
spends the rest of her time trying to absorb the sum total of organized
human knowledge. She soaks up information like a sponge."
O'Rourke looked happy, but puzzled. "Doctor Quant. You told us when we
found her that she could never lead a normal life, that she'd never speak,
or use her hands, or any of that. I looked into it, to check on what you
told us. All the stuff I found agreed with what you said. How did things
turn out different? Where were you wrong?"
Quant pursed her lips and glanced over at Ariel. The younger woman was
still grinning mischievously. She shook her head. "Doctor Quant was
perfectly correct in what she said, Sergeant O'Rourke. She's told me about
the conversation she had with you. She told you that an infant raised by
non-human parents was apparently unable to advance beyond the level of the
adoptive parents. As far as it goes, that seems to be an accurate
observation. And my own case doesn't violate that rule."
O'Rourke still looked puzzled. Ariel went on. "The flaw is in the
assumption that the level of the adoptive parents is below that of humans.
In my own case I was lucky enough to be adopted and raised by a highly
sophisticated and quite intelligent family. By the time you found the
lifeboat I was well educated in several languages and a number of
philosophies and cultural disciplines."
The look of puzzlement on O'Rourke's face deepened. "But, ah... Ariel."
He seemed to have a momentary difficulty with the name. "You were running
around naked in the jungle. There wasn't any sign of civilized culture on
that planet. No structures, no power or communications systems. Nothing.
We did a fairly good scout before we landed. There was nothing there but
jungle."
Ariel still smiled. "You assume that an advanced culture needs to build
structures and alter their environment. That is called anthropomorphizing,
looking at something through the eyes of a human and evaluating it in
human terms. Please trust me, the Chrys'Al Myun have a very advanced
culture, with a broad understanding of the universe about them. They are a
truly wonderful and beautiful people.
"I was taught from a very young age that it was possible for humans to
come looking for me. And I knew it would be necessary to go with you when
you came. I have tried very hard to understand the human culture, and I
feel I have accomplished much in that pursuit. It has been quite an
enjoyable experience."
Both O'Rourke and Doctor Quant frowned. "Ariel," Quant began. "There's
a distinct note of past tense in your last statement. What exactly does
that mean?"
The younger woman looked a little sad. "Actually, I have been finished
with my study of the human race for nearly a year, now. I have simply been
waiting for Sergeant O'Rourke to make contact with us. It made sense that
he would eventually come to see us after sending support to me for most of
a decade. You were the first human I remember encountering, Sergeant
O'Rourke. And you cared about my welfare. For that I needed to thank you.
And I do, sir. Thank you so very much."
"But I don't understand," O'Rourke replied. "Your study of the human
race?" Quant, too, looked puzzled.
"I have spent the last nine years studying the human race, learning as
much about your culture as I could. I needed to discover my heritage, to
know what I could about my blood parents and their culture. But it is time
I returned to my own people, now. To share this new knowledge with them
and to reflect on it's meaning, and on the contribution of the human
culture to the symphony of existence."
"Your own people?" Quant sounded as puzzled as she looked. "Ariel, you
are human, your people are the human race."
Ariel looked sad. "My body is human, Elaine my closest human friend.
But my mind is Chrys'Al Myun. I grow homesick for the familiar trees of my
youth, and I long to see the faces of my brothers and sisters. I feel the
drawing of the songs of springtime, and I miss the crisp chill of the
winter winds. But mostly I miss the long, deep studies of philosophy and
the fun times spent with friends and family. That is the heart of the
Chrys'Al Myun, their love and study of philosophy and their love of
family."
Dr. Quant looked shocked. "Ariel, you can't be serious." O'Rourke
simply nodded. "Can't you see that she is, Doctor? I guess this is what I
was afraid of, way back when we first found her. She looked, well, happy.
Remember, Doctor Quant? She was clean, healthy, and seemed to be quite
happy. I always felt we did something wrong in taking her away from there,
I worried about it alot. I see now that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing,
but I can also see that she wants to go back. We shouldn't stand in her
way."
"But, Ariel, how come you've never spoken about this before? You've
never even mentioned returning, much less wanting to live on that world."
Quant's voice was full of surprise and lack of understanding.
"I have always known I would return to my home, but the time was not
right to do so. Not until now. I knew that Sergeant O'Rourke would return,
but not when that would happen. Speaking of this before his coming would
have caused apprehension and stress in you, my friend, and I did not want
to do so unnecessarily. But he is finally come, and the circle is nearly
complete. The time is now come for me to return home."
The look of shock on Quant's face faded, to be replaced by a look of
resignation that slowly transformed into a sad smile. "I'm sorry Ariel. I
guess it's really that I don't want to lose you. You're an adult, you've
been making your own decisions for years, now. You have every right to go
wherever you choose to go. But I'm afraid I'm going to miss you. Terribly
so."
Ariel reached out and grasped her friend's hand, then looked at
O'Rourke, who reached over and patted his hand on top of theirs.
* * *
The tiny vessel swung into orbit and O'Rourke examined the screen
before turning to the two women. "See, ladies, I told you I was enough of
a pilot to get us here in one piece."
Ariel had eyes only for the green world turning slowly on the screen,
but Dr. Quant looked at the younger woman with sad resignation. She
glanced up at O'Rourke. "Any reason we can't go straight down?"
"No. I have the coordinates of the original landing spot." He entered
them into the console and the tiny ship shuddered, then began it's
descent. A short time later they were settling to the ground. O'Rourke
glanced over at a large rifle clipped to one wall, then shook his head. He
pressed a lever which cycled open the external hatch, flooding the small
cabin with the thickly scented, steamy air of the jungle world. Ariel beat
him to the hatch, shedding her clothes as she went.
O'Rourke stopped just outside the hatch, blinking and staring as Ariel
ran lightly down the hillside, looking almost the same as she had the
first time he had seen her. Two leonine forms sprang forward from the
jungle below and his gut tightened for a moment before he saw her wrap
arms around them and wrestle them playfully to the ground. He felt Dr.
Quant's presence at his elbow.
"It looks like she was missed." Her voice held a very sad note.
There was a rustle behind them and the two turned to find themselves
joined by a larger version of the two figures wrestling with Ariel. The
feline face had eyes only for the three who were cavorting at the edge of
the jungle. A few minutes later Ariel saw the newcomer and ran back up the
hill. She threw her arms around the being's neck. She was followed by the
two others, who stood off a short distance away.
Fluid syllables trilled from Ariel's tongue. The being, who massed
easily twice what O'Rourke did, rumbled a similar sounding response. Ariel
gestured towards Quant and O'Rourke while she spoke. The conversation
lasted only a few minutes. Then Ariel turned to her human friends.
"Garl thanks you for returning me. And so do I." Her eyes were
glistening.
"You're quite welcome, Ariel, both of you. You're home now, and I'm
happy for you." Quant's voice had a catch in it. O'Rourke simply smiled at
her. Quant patted her friend on the shoulder. "I'm going to miss you
Ariel. Life just won't be quite the same."
Garl rumbled a question, to which Ariel trilled a response. When Garl
rumbled another phrase the two smaller beings trilled together, catching
Ariel's attention for a moment. Then she turned back to Quant and
O'Rourke.
"You are welcome to stay. Garl, Shmet and Shema all agree that you
would be welcome as long as you would like to remain here." She looked
into Quant's face, then into O'Rourke's. "Oh, please. Say you'll stay. For
a little while, anyway."
Quant blinked hard, looking surprised. She looked into Garl's eyes,
then turned and looked at O'Rourke. He was looking unsure. Quant, though,
had no reservations.
"You've got a deal, Ariel." She put a hand on O'Rouke's arm. "What's
the matter Jame? Do you have pressing plans elsewhere?" The old marine
gave her a sideways glance, then chuckled. "Hell, no. I'd be glad to stay
for awhile. It'd be good to get to know Ariel's friends," he hesitated,
"and her family."
Garl's head dipped and the two others made a pleased sounding rumble.
It seemed there was no need for translation. Ariel whooped with joy and
one of the smaller ones, Shmet or Shema, bowled her over and the two
rolled away wrestling.
Quant stepped away from the tiny ship, then hesitated. She pulled the
cloth of her jumpsuit, already soaked with sweat, away from he skin, and
pushed damp hair from her forehead. She watched Ariel tumble past,
comfortable and uncaring in just her skin. A light breeze dried her face
and whispered through her hair. After a few minutes Quant smiled, "Oh, why
not." She slipped the zipper down the front of her jumper and stepped out
of the stuffy clothing. O'Rourke's face went red and he tried to look away
without looking like he was doing so. Ariel discarding her clothing had
seemed perfectly natural, but somehow the Doctor's nakedness came as a
shock to him.
Ariel and her wrestling partner tumbled by and Quant was pulled into
the laughing pile of skin and fur.
O'Rourke stood beside Garl, watching the free for all as the other
smaller Chrys'Al Myun joined in the fray. Garl seemed to shift back and
forth for a moment, then the large leonine figure leapt forward, joining
in the romp on the grassy hillside.
After awhile O'Rourke passed a sweaty palm across his brow, then wiped
his hands on the damp cloth of his jumpsuit. He felt a trickle of sweat
make it's way down his back. Finally he swore softly to himself. "Damn it
all." He reached up and slid the slide down on his own jumper, stepping
from it clumsily. "When in Rome, I guess you gotta roam around." He was
folding the jumper when a pair of hairy arms wrapped around his legs and a
pair of young human arms grabbed him about the middle. The whole group
went tumbling down the hill together.
|
Homecoming
Homecoming
Deanna Day
The atmosphere was rank with the smells of unwashed flesh and the
stench of fear. Mechanical sounds echoed in the dim light, mixing with the
human sounds of coughing, moaning, and the constant crying of a baby who
was wet and hungry. Over the sounds chanted a voice devoid of hope.
"Mayday, Mayday. This is lifeboat two of the independent trader
Marseilles. Our ship hit a thresher mine and we are adrift in the Martel
Cluster. Can anybody here me? Mayday, Mayday. This is lifeboat two of the
independent trader Marseilles. Our ship hit a thresher mine and we are
adrift in the Martel Cluster. Can anybody hear me?"
A beeping sound interrupted the chant. A voice from the rear of the
tiny craft croaked out. "Damn it, what's that? Has something else gone
wrong with this tub?"
"Shut up, Burgess. It's the proximity alarm. We're falling into the
gravity well of a planet." The voice was touched with incredulity.
"Oh, hell! That's the end of it, then. We've had it." The croaking was
turning into a whine. The moaning shifted to a sniffling wail of dispair.
"Shut Up!" The voice that had been chanting had regained a note of
hope. "This boat was designed to get survivors to the closest planet that
can support life. Maybe it did. Maybe we could be rescued."
"Fat chance," the croaking voice was bitter. "There's nobody way the
hell out here in no man's land! The cap'n was a damned fool to try to cut
through the buffer zone and there's no one else fool enough to be out here
to help us. And there aren't any habitable planets, either."
The baby squalled louder and the two men quit arguing. After a few
minutes the first man began chanting, again. "Mayday, Mayday..."
Hours later the beeping became a shrill siren, followed by a shrieking
sound that made the tiny craft shudder.
"Damn it, that's atmosphere!" The moaning wail became a howl of dispair
that matched the screaming of the infant. The croaking voice began
reciting a rosary in broken French. The tiny craft was buffeted and
slammed about. Heat built up to an almost unbearable point. Then there was
a tremendous slamming violence.
Silence settled over the scene. There were faint sounds of creaking and
popping as the overheated metal of the hull cooled. A hot draft pushed
it's way through a tear in one wall. Much later a snuffling sound came
through the torn opening. Then scratching sounds from near the hatch,
which was warped and sprung partially open. Claws slid around the edge of
the hatch and the hatch began to move, protesting with a screech of
tortured metal. This evoked an answer from inside the battered shell which
had been a lifeboat. A wavering cry wailed with terror and frustration.
* * *
"Cap, you won't believe this."
The young officer looked up from his mug of coffee with sleep puffed
eyes. "Believe what?"
The first officer tapped at his console. "We're picking up an emergency
beacon."
Captain Jeffers was immediately alert. "Beacon! Have you identified it?
What heading?"
The first officer worked at the console for several minutes, then made
a grimace. "Relax. It's from a tramp freighter name of Marseilles. Went
missing over seventeen years ago, out of Bremmen's Port headed for
Dustin's World. Looks like they took a shortcut through the buffer zone
between the old Federation and the Croft Empire and hit a mine or
something."
Jeffers snorted. "Seventeen years, huh? No rush then. Put up a plot and
let's see where the beacon is." He turned his attention back to his
coffee.
"Look at that mess, would you. The whole damn planet is a jungle." The
Captain shook his head with disbelief. The screen he was watching was
filled with greens and yellows.
The first officer examined a readout, then turned. "No response to the
hails. Just the emergency beacon. Chances are that no one lived to make it
this far, or they didn't survive the landing."
"You're probably right," the Captain made a sour face. "But the rule
book is pretty clear on things like this. The planet could support life,
and there's a beacon. We have to investigate. Tell Quant I want her on the
landing party, just in case."
"Quant? Oh, the shrink we're taking to Post 411. What for?"
"She's the closest thing we have to a medic, and if there are injuries
we may need her."
"Injuries! After seventeen years?" The first officer snorted, then
nodded. "The unloved, unreasoning regulation book, right?" Jeffers gave
him a pained look. "I'll get her."
Elaine Quant held tight to her straps as the landing boat shuddered
it's way down through the gusty atmosphere. She watched the faces of the
two men in the tiny craft with her. Evins, the first officer, was intent
on the controls of the little boat, a look of irritation covering his
features. O'Rourke, the old marine sergeant, had a slightly bored look as
he wiped a rifle lovingly with an oily rag. She had heard that O'Rouke's
answer to almost anything was more firepower. Years ago she used to think
that attitude was irrationally violent, but experience had proven that out
on the frontier that particular philosophy was right more often than not.
She was actually happy he was along on this jaunt. There was virtually no
chance that there would be survivors, but there were limitless chances for
problems to develop, the type of problems that O'Rourke had answers for.
Evins put the boat down in a tiny clearing atop a small hill. O'Rourke
went out first, then signaled all clear. The first officer stepped out,
swept a directional receiver around, then pointed north. O'Rourke
shouldered his rifle and pulled out a meter long machete. He led the way
into the jungle, slicing a path through the heavy vegetation.
Within the first few meters all three were dripping sweat. The
atmosphere was hot and heavy, 28 degrees Celsius and about 90% humidity.
The air seemed like a hot, thin soup, held motionless by the dense growth.
They had been stomping their way through the steamy jungle for a
quarter of an hour when O'Rourke suddenly stopped. In the intense silence
that followed he slid his rifle from his shoulder.
"What's wrong?" Evins whispered. O'Rourke shook his head. He lifted the
rifle and studied the surrounding jungle through it's broad sighting
scope.
"There's something out there. Something big. And it's following us."
Evins pulled his own service automatic from it's holster. O'Rourke
glanced at it and snorted with contempt. He turned back to cutting a path
through the jungle, but kept his rifle in his other hand.
Twice more O'Rourke stopped. At one stop Quant was sure she saw
something moving away through the maze of green in front of them. It was
not small.
Finally they came to a large mound of greenery. O'Rourke walked around
it, considering it from all sides, then began chopping away. Quant and
Evins kept their eyes on the surrounding jungle.
Quant plucked at her jump suit, pulling the sweat soaked cloth away
from her skin. She glanced at Evins who pushed wet hair out of his eyes.
He grimaced and wiped his hands on his legs.
"Hell," O'Rourke swore between heavy breaths. "What a mess. I'm
surprised the beacon is still functioning." Quant turned and saw that the
marine had uncovered a good third of the crashed lifeboat. It looked like
a melon that had been dropped from a height, the bottom was flattened and
there were tears going clear through the sides. As she watched, the big
man tore away a clump of foliage that was covering a wide open hatchway.
She stepped up beside him.
"My turn." She slipped a flash into one sweaty hand, and a vicious
looking little gun into the other. O'Rourke eyed the little weapon and
looked at her face in surprise. Then he went back to hacking at the
vegetation covering the crashed boat.
Quant stepped into the darkened interior, swinging her light across the
leaves and debris that had accumulated over seventeen years. The light
stopped on a round, white object. She rolled it with her foot and frowned.
It was a human skull. A few minutes investigation found three relatively
complete human skeletons. She brushed dirt and dead vegetation away from a
console, it looked relatively intact. Then she turned and stepped back
outside.
"Three skeletons. Doesn't look like they were disturbed much by animal
life."
Evins was working at a section near the rear of the boat which O'Rourke
had cleared. He was removing a small box from a heavily protected recess.
"Here's the log recorder."
Evins took the recorder to a relatively clear area near the rear of the
crashed boat and swung his pack off his shoulder. He took out a piece of
equipment and began working on the battered looking little box.
Quant noticed that O'Rourke had stopped working on the wreck. He had
his rifle out, but there was a strange look on his face and the rifle was
held in slack hands. Quant stepped over to him.
"What's wrong, O'Rourke?" she asked, scanning the jungle through sticky
lashes.
At her voice the big man jumped like he'd been shot. He gave Quant a
nervous look, then his face hardened. "Nothing. I just got a glimpse of
the thing that's been tracking us. Didn't get a good look, though." He
gripped the rifle tightly and began scanning the forest through the scope.
Evins stepped up with a frown on his face. "You found three adult
skeletons?" he asked Quant pointedly. She nodded. "Go back in and look for
another. A little one. This says there were four survivors in this boat.
Two ship's officers, the first mate's wife, and a three week old baby."
Quant heard O'Rourke spit out a few choice curse words. She stepped
back into the darkness and combed through the debris carefully. She found
the makeshift cradle where the infant had probably been placed, but the
straps were a tattered ruin. She picked up a buckle, examined it, then
retreated to the outside.
"Nope. But I found the cradle. And this." She handed the buckle to
Evins. He examined it in the sunlight and swore. O'Rourke turned with a
question on his face. Quant made a grimace. "Tooth marks, and no
skeleton."
Evins pitched the buckle back through the open hatchway, wiping his
hands once again on his legs. "That's enough for me." He glanced at his
directional finder. "Good. Looks like the beacon shut down when we pulled
the recorder. Let's get out of here."
O'Rourke didn't wait for any other directions, he started back the way
they had come at a dog trot. Evins and Quant traded surprised looks.
"What's eating him?" asked the first officer. Quant shrugged and started
after the marine. Evins shouldered his pack and followed.
Half way back O'Rourke stopped. When Evins stepped up and lifted his
handgun, O'Rourke slapped it down with a heavy hand. "Put that damn thing
away." Evins' face showed a flash of surprise, but he holstered the
weapon. O'Rourke lifted the rifle, studying the path ahead with the scope.
Over his shoulder Elaine Quant could just barely make out the display in
the tiny screen. It reminded her vaguely of an infra-red readout she had
once seen.
After studying the surrounding jungle for several minutes, the marine
began moving again, this time slowly and deliberately. The sky was
beginning to grow dark by the time they finally reached the base of the
hill where their boat was grounded. O'Rourke stood quietly for several
minutes. Then he nodded. "She's up there."
"She?" Evins asked irritatedly. "She who? What the hell is going on
O'Rourke?"
O'Rourke pointed towards the ship, which stood at the crest of the
hill. Quant and Evins looked up as a shadow separated from the tiny craft
and slipped away towards the far side of the hill.
"What was that?" Quant asked.
O'Rourke started slowly climbing the hill. "I only heard her at first,
following us on the way to the wreck. She's quick and quiet, but she was
getting pretty close to us." They reached the top of the hill and O'Rourke
began studying the ground. "It wasn't until you went inside that I got a
good look, though. At first I didn't believe my eyes. It's a kid. A girl.
With long hair, down past her waist. She's little, five foot or less. But
she's human. Naked as a jay bird, too. I saw her up real close on the way
back. She was hiding behind a tree until I came up on her. She stepped
out, looked me in the eye, then just vanished. Dodged away before I could
move." He looked at Quant. "Her eyes are blue. My daughter had blue eyes.
Be about her age, too, if she'd lived." The marine took a few steps, still
studying the ground. "She died in a Croft raid, her and her mom, 'bout ten
years ago." He squatted and pointed down.
Quant stepped over and looked at what he'd found. It was a clear human
footprint on the dusty ground. Evins looked at it for a moment, then
sighed. "Oh hell. I'll tell the captain." He turned and climbed into the
little boat. Quant looked up and let her eyes roam across the jungle
surrounding the hill. She noticed a shadow that was a little larger than
it should be. She stepped forward and the shadow faded into the greenery.
They camped on the hilltop for nearly a week before they finally got
the girl to come into camp. She was small, with fine boned features.
Surprisingly, she was clean and her skin was free from scratches. She was
very curious, and made friends with Quant quickly once she overcame her
shyness. But if either Evins or O'Rourke approached too closely, she
vanished into the jungle.
Finally the Captain lost patience and ordered O'Rourke to tranquilize
the girl and get back to the ship. O'Rourke argued against it but finally
agreed to follow orders under protest. When he lifted the dart gun and
aimed it at the girl, however, she got a sad look on her face and calmly
climbed into the landing boat. She waited with Quant while the other two
quickly broke camp.
Just before lift off, O'Rourke stepped to the hatch and lifted his
rifle to scan the jungle. He saw two animals sitting at the edge of the
clearing watching quietly. They looked like Earth tigers, except with
larger heads and longer legs. They returned his gaze without reaction.
Before they reached the orbiting ship, Quant managed to get a long
shirt over the girl, who had adopted a quiet, withdrawn demeanor.
Once the ship was under way, the captain called Evins, O'Rourke, and
Quant into the wardroom.
"Okay, I've got all your reports. So what are we going to do with this
kid?" He looked at Evins, then at Quant. The psychiatrist took a deep
breath.
"I'll take her, Captain. I can see that she's receives good care."
O'Rourke leaned forward. "If you need money, Doctor, I can send you
some, regular like. She'll need a lot of special schooling. To catch up, I
mean. Livin' wild like that, it'll take a lot to help her adjust."
Quant dropped her eyes. "I'm sorry, Sergeant. I appreciate the offer,
but there probably won't be any special schooling. Just someone to take
care of her and keep an eye on her." The marine frowned. Quant shrugged.
"There's been a lot of study on children that grow up wild. It happens
every now and then, and there's literature on it dating way back to the
old twentieth century.
"When an infant is adopted and raised by wild animals, then
reintroduced to human society, they never seem to be able to advance
beyond the level of their adoptive parents. They never manage speech, and
seldom even manage to learn to use their hands, unless the animals that
adopted them have hands, like monkeys or baboons. This kid has been wild
since the age of three weeks, and she's over seventeen years standard,
now. I gave her a physical, she's fully mature. An adult. There's not
really any hope she could ever lead a normal life."
O'Rourke scowled darkly. "Then why the hell did we bring her back?
Looked like she was doing fine where she was."
Evins frowned. "You mean leave her there? There's no way we could do
that. A kid, alone, in that jungle?" He snorted. O'Rourke just scowled
deeper.
Quant shrugged. "I'd like to think that we can give her a safer,
happier life. I just wish we knew more about the animals that adopted her.
It'd give me a better idea what to expect. She seems to be very docile,
not aggressive in the slightest. She's content just to sit in a corner and
observe what goes on around her."
"You're talking like she's an animal, Doc. She's not. She's a little
girl, a human girl." O'Rourke was still scowling.
Shrugging again, Elaine Quant replied, "I know, Sergeant. And I'll see
that she is given every possible chance. It's just that... There's really
not a lot of hope."
* * *
The grizzled old man looked a little lost, glancing at a paper in his
hand, then up at the number over the door. A woman in a white lab coat
looked up from a desk full of papers and smiled at him.
"May I help you, sir?" she asked with a melodic voice.
He glanced at the paper again, then cleared his throat. "I'm looking
for a Doctor Elaine Quant. I was told her office was in this wing, but I
can't seem to find the right room."
The woman nodded. "You've found it. Come in and have a seat, I'll let
her know that you're here." She touched a button and spoke softly into a
pickup. The old man looked around, then took a seat beside the door. A few
minutes passed, then a woman entered through a rear door.
"Good Lord! Sergeant O'Rourke." The old man stood and she gave him a
warm hug. His face grew pink and he pulled back a little from her.
"Just plain Jame O'Rourke these days, Doctor. They finally put me out
to pasture a few months back. Getting too old for the service. Eyes are
going and I don't move as fast as I used to."
She looked him up and down, noting the bull shoulders and muscled arms,
as well as the thinning gray hair and stubble on his chin. She shook her
head. "They don't know how good a man they're letting get away. How've you
been?"
He shrugged. "Good as could be expected."
"So, what brings you to Bremmen's Port, Mr. `Just Plain Jame' O'Rourke?
As if I didn't know." She tilted her head and smiled.
He smiled a little self consciously back at her and said, "Well. You
remember the little gal we found that time. The little wild one?"
Quant nodded, still smiling. "How could I forget, with the monthly
checks from you following me everywhere I went. You know, you really
didn't have to do that. I make pretty good money, I was having no
problems."
O'Rourke looked embarrassed. "I figured that much, Doctor. It's just
that, well. We took her from the only home she knew, and that made me feel
like I was, you know, sort of responsible for her. And besides, I never
did get over those blue eyes of hers. They reminded me of my own daughter.
And I didn't need the money, the Navy always took good care of me. So why
not?"
"Why not, indeed." Quant smiled more broadly.
O'Rourke waited expectantly, then frowned slightly. "Well? Whatever
became of her? Would it be possible for me to see her?"
"Oh," Dr. Quant said pleasantly, "I don't think there'd be any problem
with that at all."
O'Rourke looked at her with an expectant smile, then when the Doctor
made no further move or comment he looked puzzled. Finally he noticed the
woman in the white lab coat grinning broadly. Her eyes were a deep shade
of blue. A very familiar looking deep shade of blue.
"Good lord!" he said, a look of astonishment breaking across his face.
"You don't mean..." He turned to face Quant. "You said she'd never... that
there was no way she'd ever..." He looked at the woman, who stood and
stepped around the desk. She took his hands and clasped them tightly, then
leaned back against the desk with a mischievous look in her deep blue
eyes.
"I assure you," Quant began with a laugh in her voice, "there was no
one more astonished than me when this young lady began to speak. I had
done quite a bit of study in the field, become something of an expert
actually. And then one morning she simply looked me in the eye and asked
me why I wore clothes when the room is nice and warm. I nearly fell over
in shock."
Looking back and forth from one smiling woman to the other, O'Rourke
moved his mouth, trying to speak, then sat back down with a thump. "I... I
don't know what to say."
"I tried to send you messages, to let you know. But every time I
thought I had you tracked down, the message came back 'Moved, No Forward'.
Then your next check would come from somewhere halfway across known
space." Quant crossed her arms and shrugged. "I kept trying. As a matter
of fact there's at least two of my messages to you wandering around right
now."
O'Rourke rubbed his jaw. "You know the Navy. Where ever I was needed
they just up and shipped me somewhere else. Been the story of my life." He
looked to the bright eyed young woman. "Now, tell me the story of this
one's life. If you would."
The woman looked over at Doctor Quant invitingly.
"Okay. First, we tracked her family lineage by genetic screening. Her
father was Girard Champlain, first mate of the Marseilles. Her mother was
a woman from old Earth, name of Giselle. We never established what her own
name was, so we named her Ariel."
O'Rourke's head came up. "That was my daughter's name."
Ariel smiled and nodded. "I hope you don't mind, Sergeant O'Rourke. It
really is a beautiful name. And I've grown rather attached to it."
"Heavens no! It's just, I never thought..." There was emotion in his
voice and his eyes were more than a little shiny.
"It just seemed appropriate," Quant said. "At Post 411 we settled in
just fine. The only problem I ever had with her was keeping clothes on
her. You don't know how much trouble it can cause, even at a decent sized
post like that, having a good looking young woman who insisted on
wandering around in the buff. My offices were adjoining my apartments, and
I kept her pretty well locked up most of the time, but every so often she
managed to get out and wander off. Curious as all get out and eager to
explore." She shook her head but was smiling.
"Then we were stationed for awhile at the University at Goth. I managed
to get set up in a huge house, an old dorm building actually. My office
was on the ground floor and Ariel had four complete floors above that to
wander through and explore. She had videos, and music, and books, and a
very sweet old housekeeper who didn't mind a teenage nudist wandering
through the house."
"Books? Could she read?" O'Rourke studied the smiling blue eyes.
"I thought she was just looking at the pictures and copying the motions
she saw me making, but it turns out she was probably figuring it all out
by herself. It was shortly after that when she wandered into my office and
asked me about my clothing habits. From then on it was all up hill, at a
truly phenomenal pace. She hurtled primary education in a single year,
secondary in another, and sped right through several advanced degree
courses of study in record time. Her intelligence level is hard to gauge
by normal means. I've been hard pressed to just stay aware of what she's
into lately, with no possibility that I could keep up with her.
"Nowadays she works part time as a research assistant for me, and
spends the rest of her time trying to absorb the sum total of organized
human knowledge. She soaks up information like a sponge."
O'Rourke looked happy, but puzzled. "Doctor Quant. You told us when we
found her that she could never lead a normal life, that she'd never speak,
or use her hands, or any of that. I looked into it, to check on what you
told us. All the stuff I found agreed with what you said. How did things
turn out different? Where were you wrong?"
Quant pursed her lips and glanced over at Ariel. The younger woman was
still grinning mischievously. She shook her head. "Doctor Quant was
perfectly correct in what she said, Sergeant O'Rourke. She's told me about
the conversation she had with you. She told you that an infant raised by
non-human parents was apparently unable to advance beyond the level of the
adoptive parents. As far as it goes, that seems to be an accurate
observation. And my own case doesn't violate that rule."
O'Rourke still looked puzzled. Ariel went on. "The flaw is in the
assumption that the level of the adoptive parents is below that of humans.
In my own case I was lucky enough to be adopted and raised by a highly
sophisticated and quite intelligent family. By the time you found the
lifeboat I was well educated in several languages and a number of
philosophies and cultural disciplines."
The look of puzzlement on O'Rourke's face deepened. "But, ah... Ariel."
He seemed to have a momentary difficulty with the name. "You were running
around naked in the jungle. There wasn't any sign of civilized culture on
that planet. No structures, no power or communications systems. Nothing.
We did a fairly good scout before we landed. There was nothing there but
jungle."
Ariel still smiled. "You assume that an advanced culture needs to build
structures and alter their environment. That is called anthropomorphizing,
looking at something through the eyes of a human and evaluating it in
human terms. Please trust me, the Chrys'Al Myun have a very advanced
culture, with a broad understanding of the universe about them. They are a
truly wonderful and beautiful people.
"I was taught from a very young age that it was possible for humans to
come looking for me. And I knew it would be necessary to go with you when
you came. I have tried very hard to understand the human culture, and I
feel I have accomplished much in that pursuit. It has been quite an
enjoyable experience."
Both O'Rourke and Doctor Quant frowned. "Ariel," Quant began. "There's
a distinct note of past tense in your last statement. What exactly does
that mean?"
The younger woman looked a little sad. "Actually, I have been finished
with my study of the human race for nearly a year, now. I have simply been
waiting for Sergeant O'Rourke to make contact with us. It made sense that
he would eventually come to see us after sending support to me for most of
a decade. You were the first human I remember encountering, Sergeant
O'Rourke. And you cared about my welfare. For that I needed to thank you.
And I do, sir. Thank you so very much."
"But I don't understand," O'Rourke replied. "Your study of the human
race?" Quant, too, looked puzzled.
"I have spent the last nine years studying the human race, learning as
much about your culture as I could. I needed to discover my heritage, to
know what I could about my blood parents and their culture. But it is time
I returned to my own people, now. To share this new knowledge with them
and to reflect on it's meaning, and on the contribution of the human
culture to the symphony of existence."
"Your own people?" Quant sounded as puzzled as she looked. "Ariel, you
are human, your people are the human race."
Ariel looked sad. "My body is human, Elaine my closest human friend.
But my mind is Chrys'Al Myun. I grow homesick for the familiar trees of my
youth, and I long to see the faces of my brothers and sisters. I feel the
drawing of the songs of springtime, and I miss the crisp chill of the
winter winds. But mostly I miss the long, deep studies of philosophy and
the fun times spent with friends and family. That is the heart of the
Chrys'Al Myun, their love and study of philosophy and their love of
family."
Dr. Quant looked shocked. "Ariel, you can't be serious." O'Rourke
simply nodded. "Can't you see that she is, Doctor? I guess this is what I
was afraid of, way back when we first found her. She looked, well, happy.
Remember, Doctor Quant? She was clean, healthy, and seemed to be quite
happy. I always felt we did something wrong in taking her away from there,
I worried about it alot. I see now that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing,
but I can also see that she wants to go back. We shouldn't stand in her
way."
"But, Ariel, how come you've never spoken about this before? You've
never even mentioned returning, much less wanting to live on that world."
Quant's voice was full of surprise and lack of understanding.
"I have always known I would return to my home, but the time was not
right to do so. Not until now. I knew that Sergeant O'Rourke would return,
but not when that would happen. Speaking of this before his coming would
have caused apprehension and stress in you, my friend, and I did not want
to do so unnecessarily. But he is finally come, and the circle is nearly
complete. The time is now come for me to return home."
The look of shock on Quant's face faded, to be replaced by a look of
resignation that slowly transformed into a sad smile. "I'm sorry Ariel. I
guess it's really that I don't want to lose you. You're an adult, you've
been making your own decisions for years, now. You have every right to go
wherever you choose to go. But I'm afraid I'm going to miss you. Terribly
so."
Ariel reached out and grasped her friend's hand, then looked at
O'Rourke, who reached over and patted his hand on top of theirs.
* * *
The tiny vessel swung into orbit and O'Rourke examined the screen
before turning to the two women. "See, ladies, I told you I was enough of
a pilot to get us here in one piece."
Ariel had eyes only for the green world turning slowly on the screen,
but Dr. Quant looked at the younger woman with sad resignation. She
glanced up at O'Rourke. "Any reason we can't go straight down?"
"No. I have the coordinates of the original landing spot." He entered
them into the console and the tiny ship shuddered, then began it's
descent. A short time later they were settling to the ground. O'Rourke
glanced over at a large rifle clipped to one wall, then shook his head. He
pressed a lever which cycled open the external hatch, flooding the small
cabin with the thickly scented, steamy air of the jungle world. Ariel beat
him to the hatch, shedding her clothes as she went.
O'Rourke stopped just outside the hatch, blinking and staring as Ariel
ran lightly down the hillside, looking almost the same as she had the
first time he had seen her. Two leonine forms sprang forward from the
jungle below and his gut tightened for a moment before he saw her wrap
arms around them and wrestle them playfully to the ground. He felt Dr.
Quant's presence at his elbow.
"It looks like she was missed." Her voice held a very sad note.
There was a rustle behind them and the two turned to find themselves
joined by a larger version of the two figures wrestling with Ariel. The
feline face had eyes only for the three who were cavorting at the edge of
the jungle. A few minutes later Ariel saw the newcomer and ran back up the
hill. She threw her arms around the being's neck. She was followed by the
two others, who stood off a short distance away.
Fluid syllables trilled from Ariel's tongue. The being, who massed
easily twice what O'Rourke did, rumbled a similar sounding response. Ariel
gestured towards Quant and O'Rourke while she spoke. The conversation
lasted only a few minutes. Then Ariel turned to her human friends.
"Garl thanks you for returning me. And so do I." Her eyes were
glistening.
"You're quite welcome, Ariel, both of you. You're home now, and I'm
happy for you." Quant's voice had a catch in it. O'Rourke simply smiled at
her. Quant patted her friend on the shoulder. "I'm going to miss you
Ariel. Life just won't be quite the same."
Garl rumbled a question, to which Ariel trilled a response. When Garl
rumbled another phrase the two smaller beings trilled together, catching
Ariel's attention for a moment. Then she turned back to Quant and
O'Rourke.
"You are welcome to stay. Garl, Shmet and Shema all agree that you
would be welcome as long as you would like to remain here." She looked
into Quant's face, then into O'Rourke's. "Oh, please. Say you'll stay. For
a little while, anyway."
Quant blinked hard, looking surprised. She looked into Garl's eyes,
then turned and looked at O'Rourke. He was looking unsure. Quant, though,
had no reservations.
"You've got a deal, Ariel." She put a hand on O'Rouke's arm. "What's
the matter Jame? Do you have pressing plans elsewhere?" The old marine
gave her a sideways glance, then chuckled. "Hell, no. I'd be glad to stay
for awhile. It'd be good to get to know Ariel's friends," he hesitated,
"and her family."
Garl's head dipped and the two others made a pleased sounding rumble.
It seemed there was no need for translation. Ariel whooped with joy and
one of the smaller ones, Shmet or Shema, bowled her over and the two
rolled away wrestling.
Quant stepped away from the tiny ship, then hesitated. She pulled the
cloth of her jumpsuit, already soaked with sweat, away from he skin, and
pushed damp hair from her forehead. She watched Ariel tumble past,
comfortable and uncaring in just her skin. A light breeze dried her face
and whispered through her hair. After a few minutes Quant smiled, "Oh, why
not." She slipped the zipper down the front of her jumper and stepped out
of the stuffy clothing. O'Rourke's face went red and he tried to look away
without looking like he was doing so. Ariel discarding her clothing had
seemed perfectly natural, but somehow the Doctor's nakedness came as a
shock to him.
Ariel and her wrestling partner tumbled by and Quant was pulled into
the laughing pile of skin and fur.
O'Rourke stood beside Garl, watching the free for all as the other
smaller Chrys'Al Myun joined in the fray. Garl seemed to shift back and
forth for a moment, then the large leonine figure leapt forward, joining
in the romp on the grassy hillside.
After awhile O'Rourke passed a sweaty palm across his brow, then wiped
his hands on the damp cloth of his jumpsuit. He felt a trickle of sweat
make it's way down his back. Finally he swore softly to himself. "Damn it
all." He reached up and slid the slide down on his own jumper, stepping
from it clumsily. "When in Rome, I guess you gotta roam around." He was
folding the jumper when a pair of hairy arms wrapped around his legs and a
pair of young human arms grabbed him about the middle. The whole group
went tumbling down the hill together.
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