Going Home part 3

Three weeks after landing they found what they were looking for. The site surveyed by Intern Evea Soren and Officer Kat Miln indicated a wealth of artifacts beneath the soil. The next nine weeks brought long days of excavating an abundance of artifacts. As the sun crossed the zenith and began the long slide toward the horizon Controller Sev sat back on her heels to relieve some of the pressure on her back from bending over the buried item she was uncovering. The stained, hard, rectangular frame appeared to have most of its rows of square buttons intact. Some of the buttons still had symbols visible on them. How long it had been buried here on this distant, forgotten world would be determined in the lab after she gave her report, but she felt in her fiber that the dating would predate the earliest settled planets on record.

She gazed around the excavation site feeling satisfied with the work they had done. It was impressive considering the limited personnel and resources. They would be bringing back a wide array of artifacts. Artifacts the Thinkers would not be able to deny or argue against sending a full team here. The fact that they had been resistive to this mission still made her uneasy. Over the years the Thinkers had passed more and more restrictive laws concerning contact between humans and all other life forms. She knew from her studies that humans had barely survived on some of the planets they tried to settle and were wiped out on others due to incompatibility with the local flora and fauna, but she felt they had gone too far, that not having any contact with other living things, completely isolating themselves from the natural environment was not, in the end, going to benefit humankind. Humans had become too much like droids, living their pre-programed lives in artificial, domed environments, blindly following the directives of the Thinkers. She gave vent to a long sigh and stood up.  

Hot and dusty from the fine work of brushing the last of the soil aside before lifting her find out of its resting place she pondered if this was the planet she wanted to spend the rest of her career exploring. She could transfer to the permanent team that would be sent here. It would give her the opportunity to continue searching for the animals that had so enchanted her and had eluded her every attempt to see again. She and Captain Darrow had made a second trip to the den under the tree only to find it abandoned, its emptiness palpable in the air of the small glade.

She felt a heaviness deep inside at the thought of leaving without seeing the black creature and her family again. She had spent her free time searching the data banks accessible to her for any reference to an animal like the one she saw without success. She felt they were important. She had felt a connection when she first saw the black one she started calling Missy, a connection she suspected was the reason Mazer had kept sending teams to more distant, unknown worlds to survey.

The team’s last day ended with the sun slipping beyond the horizon leaving brilliant pinks and purples splashed across the western sky. The night descended around them bring the day to a close and bringing the group together for their final evening on the planet. For once C.S. Grange joined the group at the campfire, sitting at the edge of the ring of light, his face partly in shadow as he talked about the return trip, about returning to the clean, civilized worlds they had left to crawl around in the dirt. He told entertaining stories of bizarre glitches in the electronics world despite all the advances in technology.

Controller Sev, relaxed and comfortable in her sling back camp chair, listened with amusement and wondered if her first assessment of Computer Specialist Grange as an unfeeling cyborg was too harsh. She sat studying the dancing flames of the fire, a mug cupped in her hands, feeling the warmth of the beverage seeping into her hands. A tingle at the base of her neck caused her to shift in her chair. She looked up from the fire and glance out into the dark. There, gazing back at her, were two glowing eyes. She remained still watching as a darker patch behind the eyes moved in the shadows, inching closer, until the shape coalesced into the black animal she had seen when they first started surveying. The animal looked thinner and her coat seemed rougher than she remembered. With out thinking she called out softly.

“Hey, Missy. What brings you to our fire?”

The animal stopped moving. Its eyes focused on her. At the sound of her voice the others turned to look. Intern Soren gasped. Everyone sat still in the flickering firelight, watching. The four-legged creature stretched its nose forward, sniffing the air, trying to pick up the scent of the snack food they had been sharing.

“Hungry?” Controller Sev asked. She bent down without taking her eyes off of the creature, reached into the bag of chips she had set on the ground next to her chair, pulled one out and tossed it toward the animal. It started and began backing into the gloom.

“Hey Missy, its okay. Its right there if you want it.”

The animal stopped moving, its head the only part still visible in the light, its eyes intent on Controller Sev. It sniffed the air again catching the scent of the tossed bit of food. The animal inched forward until it was close enough to lap up the snack. A spark popped in the fire pit. Everyone jumped and looked at the dancing flames. The black creature slipped back into the shadows again.

“Hey, Missy. Want another?” Controller Sev called out in a quiet voice. She reached into the bag and tossed another piece. It landed just inside the ring of light. For a brief moment all was still as if time had lost its battle with the forward motion of the universe.

At the edge of visibility the feathery tail began a slow, side-to-side movement and with great caution it inched close enough to snatch up the morsel on the ground. Controller Sev was ready with another chip, holding out her hand before the animal could down the bite.

“Here’s some more. That’s it, come here. Your safe here.”

The tail moved in wider sweeping motions and with less hesitation the animal stepped close enough to extend her muzzle to the outstretched hand and the chip it held. Controller Sev sat motionless, letting the animal take the food, before easing another piece into her hand. As the animal reached for the new piece, she moved her hand back enticing the animal to make another step forward. For a long moment no one moved. Brown animal eyes looked up into brown human eyes making a connection the Controller had never experience before. She looked deep into the questioning eyes, the innocence and longing they radiated tugged at her soul and she felt emotions stir in her depths, emotions long thought bred out of humanity with its focus on logic, reason and intellectual pursuits, an emotion of caring for another so overwhelming that the other’s welfare superseded her own and a lifelong bond was forged. The four footed animal leaned into Controller Melisa Sev, lifting her muzzle to sniff the human face and to Melisa’s surprise licked the second skin covering her face. After a moment of stunned silence Melisa slipped her second skin glove off. The urge to touch the animal with her bare hand so strong she ignored a lifetime of conditioning to remain isolated from the natural environment, a conditioning Mazer had encouraged her to ignore on other safe planets allowing her to experience the nature of the world outside the controlled human environments. She touched the side of the fur-covered neck, letting her hand rest without moving against the silky fur, feeling the warmth of the creature’s body. She bent forward and buried her face in the furry neck breathing in the faint, warm, musky scent that came through the filtering of her second skin.

One by one the others came over to make their acquaintance with the creature, to pet it and let it lick their hands, everyone that was except Grange. He sat back in his chair with his arms folded and a frown on his face. Melisa looked over at him, a quizzical expression on her face, and gestured for him to join them. He scowled further, gave a slight shake of his head and stood up.

“You should not be touching that creature. Have you forgotten the laws? Humans cannot associate with other life forms! That has been the law since the earliest times of human travel throughout the universe. Have you forgotten the stories of disease and death with each new planet settled when humans settled in the open? It is only through living in sterile, controlled environments and zero contact with lower life forms we, as a species, have survived for the millennium we have. It’s the law and that thing should be driven away or shot.” He scowled at the four of them before leaving the circle of firelight and making his way to the lander. They watched him enter the lock in silence.

“It was a breach of protocol and against the law to remove your skin to touch the animal, Controller.” Captain Darrow said from where he squatted next to her, his hand stroking the warm body of the animal. “It should be reported.”

Before she could respond the animal turned her head to look toward the trees and lifted her ears. She whined at the dark before turning back to Melisa, touching her once more with her moist nose before moving away from the humans. She stopped at the edge of the light to look back again before disappearing into the darkness.

“Oh!” Intern Soren said, watching the spot where the animal had slipped into the night. “She is so beautiful. You said there was a whole family. Do you think the rest of them will come visit us?”

“I hope so. She felt so thin under her coat of fur. I’m worried they aren’t getting enough to eat.” Controller Sev said replacing her second skin glove. She turned to Captain Darrow. “I’ll log the illegal contact before I turn in for the night. That is if Grange hasn’t filed it with the people he reports to every night.”

Silence filled the night air. Everyone knew C.S. Grange sent reports back to someone among the Thinkers, but none of them discussed it, preferring to avoid conflict this far from home.

After a moment the group began moving back to their seats around the fire and settled back. Talk was subdued between stretches of silence as they each shifted their gaze from the fire to the last place they had seen the animal and back to the fire. Controller Sev said very little, her hands tingled with the memory of soft silky fur, her nose filled with the memory of musky animal scent, her whole being awake with longing to reconnect with the animal again.

“I doubt we will see her again.” Captain Darrow said nodding toward the spot where the animal had disappeared into the night. Controller Sev found herself thinking the pilot was mistaken this time. There was something about the way the animal looked at her, something meaningful.

“I’m going to turn in. Busy day tomorrow with lift off at 1400 universal time.” Officer Miln said standing up. The intern stood up also, echoed the security officer’s good night and the two women left the circle of light.

For several minutes the remaining two sat beside the campfire watching the dying flames and enjoying the feel of the cool night air before calling it a night, putting out the fire and making their way back to the lander.