Carpathia IV: Episode 108 - Gone Fishing
Unknown Planet, Camp
Morning dawned on what the crew hoped would be their last day on the planet, depending on how successful Reylen's ship would be in it's fishing expedition. They selected a nice, flat spot for draining and salvaging. The only thing left to do was to drop a line and hope to catch a nice, juicy Shadowdancer.
Reylen: All ready, Captain. Just give the word.
Aire took a deep breath and folded his arms across his chest.
Aire: The word is given. Let's bring her up.
Reylen raised his his communicator.
Reylen: Commence salvage.
Though Aire knew the ringship wouldn't be in view right away, he still instinctively peered skyward, as did the rest of the crew. Surprisingly, they didn't have to wait long at all. The light from the distinctive energy ball of the ringship preceded the ship itself, lighting up the morning sky even brighter than the sun did, swooping down toward the sinking site. The ringship slowed as it approached the Shadowdancer and a beam emitted from the lower hull, down into the sea. The crew watched, anticipating their ship to arise from the ocean at any moment, but the beam ceased and the ringship soared up into the atmosphere.
Reylen: This is going to be tricky. It's lodged down there pretty good. It'll take some time for the ship to circle around for another try.
Another try indeed. And another. And another. It was late afternoon by the time the ringship was finally successful. Unfortunately, few of the crew witnessed this event, at least from the beginning, for after the fifth attempt or so, most went back to what they had been doing before.
As the Shadowdancer slowly rose from the depths, the crew took notice and rushed to the hilltop to see, just in time to see the Shadowdancer hovering above the sea with water and bits of ship pouring out of its many orifices. Even from a distance, Aire could see the ship shudder as it strained against the ringship's tractor beam. The ringship wasted no time depositing the Shadowdancer on a flat, grassy area near the water and then sped back into space.
Though nobody thought the Shadowdancer would be salvageable, seeing it out of the water dashed any hope of otherwise into utter ruin. There it lay, still gushing its filthy water as though bleeding, looking like a massive, crumpled whale.
Aire watched, forlorn, but he knew it was time to order the engineers to assess the structural integrity so they could start salvage. Before he could give that order, he felt a poke at his ribs.
Sassinesa: Oh, your boss is going to be proud of yoooooouuuuuuu!!!
Aire rolled his eyes. Though Sassinesa was a bit of a pest, he discovered over the last several days that he was a helpful pest and one not easily offended.
Aire: Bug off, Sassy.
That's all it took to cause Sassinesa to flounce away, waving his stringy arms, and giggling like a kid.
Sassinesa: Hee hee hee hee!
Aire took out his communicator and opened it.
Aire: Ramei, you know what to do.
Ramei: We're ready and on our way, Captain.
Aire stayed where he was, watching Ramei and his team make their way to the Shadowdancer. Though he had an itch to be there himself, to see the damage, to supervise, he also knew that now was not a good time to be underfoot, peering over people's shoulders. In the short time he served under Adell, he learned trust. This crew, unconventional as they were, always got the job done. There was trust, but also an air of unpredictability at the same time. Ramei would get the job done, just as sure as he would also be expected to run his mouth at precisely the worst moment. As sure as Amenaru probably had something secretly stashed up his patoot more often than not. As sure as Teren would fuss about his fur. As sure as Sorchae would taunt the crew with her novelty medical devices.
It took Aire time to warm to the experience. At first, he thought the crew worked well in spite of their differences. Now, he knew it was because of them. A crew united in its oddity. Now, the ship that brought them together was a crumpled mess. What was next? He didn't know. Would they be able to thrive just as well split up onto different ships? Change and adaptability were also part of life too, so perhaps this was inevitable. Aire's year aboard the Shadowdancer seemed to pass too quickly.
Reylen: Sorry to interrupt, Captain. You look a bit lost right now, but I just got word that the cargo shuttles are on their way down.
Aire: Ah, yes. Very good. Looks like we won't be able to leave today, but hopefully we'll be able to get everything sorted tomorrow. I'm told that there were some air pockets still in the ship. Maybe we'll get lucky and some irreplaceables weren't ruined.
Just as Aire finished, he noticed something fuzzy gliding toward the Shadowdancer wreckage.
Aire: That'll be Sassinesa. I'd better get over there. He can be useful if given a task to do. Left alone, he'll just annoy everyone.
Reylen: I'll come with you. He might calm down eventually, you know. 200 years without any social contact is bound to make anyone a little goofy.
After Ramei and his team verified the structural integrity of the ship, rotating teams worked through the night to clear the Shadowdancer of personal effects and important equipment. Indeed, there were air pockets in the ship, including some crew quarters. When Amenaru and Kit opened the doors to each of their quarters, a torrent of water poured out and everything inside was a soggy mess, though there were some bright spots. Kit's closet had stayed sealed, preserving his clothes and his trunk, in which he kept the comics that Amenaru gave him, also remained watertight. Amenaru wasn't so lucky. Nothing escaped the liquid wrath, including his favorite toys.
Since Teek was not able to go on his own, Amenaru and Kit searched his room after theirs. Teek's was only half-flooded and at least some of his action figure collection survived in glorious condition. They decided to put the dry figures in a clean box and pack the wet ones in with their own items.
The same microdramas played out all over the ship, with the crew searching their quarters with joy in some, disappointment in others, and mixed feelings in even more. One by one, the crew emerged from the ship with their boxes which were quickly whisked away into the tokki shuttles. The scene outside resembled a busy spaceport with the constant parade of shuttles flying back and forth between the planet and the camp. As the night wore on and the work wound down, the shuttles started carrying people as well as cargo. Amenaru and Kit rode a shuttle together and the sight of the ringship filled Amenaru with a momentary sense of dread. It looked exactly like Rhalma's ringship. Kit, however, was nonplussed.
Kit: All the ringships look the same on the outside. It's the inside that's different.
Amenaru: As long as it looks nothing like that junker we pulled you out of, that'll be okay by me.
It looked nothing like the old junker on the inside. It was almost like a starliner. The tokki even arranged a concierge team to guide the crew to their cabins. Almost everyone had to double-up to their rooms, which suited Amenaru just fine. Of course, he and Kit shared a cabin. It was a plush affair, with a large, soft bed, spongy, bouncy carpet, and shimmering, luxurious felt covering the wall panels, all befitting a species who codified the pursuit of pleasure into their own constitution.
The wall felt beckoned to Amenaru as it shined under the lights. Reaching out his hand, he stepped toward it, entranced. The first touch sent a tingle through his body. It was soft. Really soft.
Impossibly soft.
His ears stood up. His tail stood up, tingly shivers shooting through it from the base to the tip. Something else also stood up as he ran his hand over the creamy, delicate fabric.
Kit: Amenaru!
With a shudder, Amenaru recoiled his hand and spun around to see Kit staring at him, concern written on his face.
Kit: I called out to you three times before you noticed.
Amenaru glanced at his hand and then back to the wall.
Amenaru: I'm sorry. I was... distracted.
Kit: Obviously. You didn't notice what's on the bed either.
Amenaru leaned to the side, peering behind Kit to the bed. On the foot rested two pairs of black string bikinis.
Amenaru: Oh, I've heard about this! The royal silk underwear, right?
Kit: Not those, no. Only the Queen has access to that. Each enclave has their own, but the Queen's is the best. These are pretty good, though.
Amenaru: Gee, I wonder if everyone's in a room like this.
Kit shook his head.
Kit: Most rooms aren't this lavish. I didn't say anything. Maybe Reylen requested this for us.
Unable to resist any longer, Amenaru rushed to the bed and picked up the silk undies, running it around through his fingers. Royal silk or not, it gave him the same tingly sensation, causing him to visibly shudder.
Kit: Many of the materials that tokki use in decorating and accessorizing are designed to elicit that response. You seemed to feel it more intensely, though.
Amenaru: I think I did... erm... still do, really. So... you wanna?
Kit acknowledged by immediately starting to strip off his uniform. Amenaru knew that his second experience on a tokki ship would be much better than the first.
The Next Day
No more tents. No more equipment. The only indication that anyone had been there was a load of trampled grass and a scar across the plain leading to the ocean. Soon, the Shadowdancer itself would be lifted back into space and it would seem like nothing ever happened. Only four remained on the planet, soon to be three.
Reylen: It should be much easier this time, now that the Shadowdancer isn't full of water. Ready when you are, Captain.
Before answering, Aire turned to get Ramei's approval.
Aire: Ready, Ramei?
Ramei answered while keeping his face buried in his tablet data.
Ramei: Ready. I'll monitor what I can until it's out of range.
Aire: Let's do it, then.
Reylen: Okay, sending the signal now.
While there was a short time to wait for the ringship to swoop in, Aire turned his attention to Sassinesa.
Aire: I want to thank you for all your help. At least something good came out of all this.
Sassinesa: Glad to help, and you brought a shipload of tokki with you! Maybe I have been here too long. It was nice to have some peace and quiet for awhile after the reethalit left. I am going to stay here a bit longer, but I'm sure we'll meet again.
Aire: In the meantime, we'll be sending some science vessels your way, if that's okay.
Sassinesa indicated his unreserved excitement by patting his paws together and then running around in circles several times.
Sassinesa: Yay! Send them on down!
Before Aire could react, before he could even raise an eyebrow, Sassinesa launched himself from the ground and wrapped himself around Aire's torso. So completely, with the flaps between his limbs, that Aire felt like he was wearing a fur coat that still had a heartbeat.
Sassinesa: Thanks for visiting!
Aire: Alright, alright, get off me, you yo-yo.
A light push with his arms was enough to get Sassinesa to release him. At the same time, the ringship descended from above and slowed at the Shadowdancer. The tractor beam launched from its undercarriage and the ship lifted off, smoothly and cleanly this time. Within moments, the ringship carried the Shadowdancer into space. The only thing left was to bring the hulk back to Polaris Deep.
Commissioned art in this episode from:
AvareonArt
Zelbunnii
Thatwildmary
Colourbrand
