A Planet of Isolation-Part 1
A sci-fi AU for elsanna week on tumblr. Rated T. No incest, no explicit sexytimes.
Prologue:
"In the middle decade of the 20st century, men and women in rocket ships landed on the moon. By 2100 AD they had reached the other planets of our solar system. Almost at once there followed the discovery of hyperdrive through which the speed of light was first attained and later greatly surpassed. Other star systems were now within reach. And so at last humanity began the conquest and colonization of deep space."
One year out from Terra Base, on board the United Planets Cruiser C-57D:
"Captain, we are approaching the DC point for the Altair system!" Kai Jorgensen, the navigator and chief engineer of the exploration ship called out to his commanding officer.
"Alright, Kai, prepare to exit hyperspace at the DC point," responded Captain Anna Adams, commanding.
She strode over to the comm panel on the bulkhead and slapped the contact that opened ship-wide broadcast. "Attention, all hands. We are approaching DC point. All hand reports to your DC stations immediately! This is not a drill! All hands, report to DC stations immediately!"
Adams cut the channel and watch the crew move to their assigned DC stations. It had been a year-long journey from the Terran solar system to the planets orbiting the main sequence star Altair. This cruise was attempting to locate survivors, if any, of an expedition sent to Altair IV over twenty years ago. An expedition that had not been heard from since a transmission reporting a successful landing and announcing that the colonists would begin exploring the new planet.
"See anything, Kai?" Anna leaned over her chief engineer's shoulder, trying to spot anything that looked like human (or alien) habitation on the planet below as the ship's scanners executed a search grid as they orbited.
"No, Skipper. If there's anything bigger than a mud hut down there, our scanners haven't been able to find it. No radiation, either, except for a pulse that seemed to scan us when we first hit orbit." He gently adjusted a vernier on the glowing board in front of him. "I'm trying to check other frequencies, but so far there's – "
"Unidentified vessel, identify yourselves or be destroyed! You have only one warning before we blast you out of our skies!" The voice that blared from the speaker was hostile and angry.
Anna put her wristcom to her lips, knowing Kristoff would synch it to the ship's radios.
"This is Captain Anna Adams of the United Planets Cruiser C-57D! We are not hostile! Do not attack, repeat, we are not hostile! We are on a rescue mission for the United Planets colony ship Arendelle, lost in this star system twenty years ago!" Anna and everyone else on the bridge held their breaths, waiting for a plasma beam or nuke to blow them from the sky.
The seconds seemed an eternity before the voice, now calmer and less hostile, replied, "United Planets Cruiser, this is Doctor Agdar Morbius, expedition philologist of the Arendelle. I strongly suggest that you turn around and immediately return to Terra. This planet is dangerous and I cannot be held responsible for your safety!"
Wait, what? Anna looked at her second in command, Lieutenant Kristoff Bjorgman, who was tapping his handcomp furiously. Anna made a slashing motion to Kai, meaning that he should cut the comm channel so the planet could not hear their conversations. "Well, Kris?"
"Here it is, Skipper, Morbius, Agdar, Ph.D, Lit.D, and a string of other degrees. Expedition philologist, just like he says."
Anna thought for a moment, then signaled Kai to open the comm channel again. "Doctor Morbius, I appreciate your concern for our safety, but my orders are clear and leave me no discretion. May I please request landing coordinates for my ship?"
A moment of silence dragged on, then, "Very well, although I accept no responsibility for your ship and crew, Captain. If you are carrying the standard maps, please land at the following coordinates." Morbius read off a string of letters and numbers, which Kai punched into the navcomp, then nodded at Anna.
"Thank you, Doctor Morbius. I will contact you on this channel when we land and have secured the ship." She made the cutting gesture again, then turned to Kristoff.
"Well?"
Thoughtfully, Kris looked at his commanding officer. "It sure seems suspicious, Skip. How could a philologist, an expert in words and languages, be the only survivor of the expedition?"
"We don't know that he is the only survivor, Kris." Anna spoke to Kai, "Take us down and land us at those coordinates. Kris, the scanners indicate an earth-like planet, within comfortable range of temperature and atmosphere. No special equipment required, but sidearms will be required for any movements out of sight of the ship. And I want a full guard watch perimeter set until we have more information."
"Aye, aye, Captain." Bjorgman walked away to carry out the standard preparations for landing on an unknown planet. This one made him … twitchy.
The coordinates given them were in the middle of a large flat desert-like plain, with no large vegetation to hinder the landing. When the landing ramp had lowered, several of the crew ran down, spread out to cover all approaches to the ship and checked for any possible hostiles. The crew chief got the all clear from everyone, then commed, "All clear Skipper. No threats sighted."
Anna commed back, "Clear, chief. Set standard patrol routine, make sure everyone is in sight of at least one other at all times." She turned to Kristoff and said, "Okay, let's get a ground car unloaded and assembled, and see if we can find this Morbius – "
Kai interrupted her from where he was keeping watch on the scanner screen. "Captain! Something approaching from the southwest!"
"All guards withdraw to the shadow of the ship. Blaster crews to your weapons. Do NOT fire except on my command, acknowledge!" Anna barked her instructions to her crew. They may have spent a year in hyperspace, but they had drilled in VR simulations to become skilled at all the scenarios they would need once they had grounded on a planet. She listened until all stations had acknowledged readiness, then turned to Kristoff.
"Let's go down and see what's coming. I need eyeballs on this, threat or no threat."
Kristoff nodded, checking to make sure his personal sidearm was ready in its holster, then followed Anna down the ramp.
Anna and Kristoff looked to the southwest, where a dust cloud seemed to be approaching the ship. It was moving very fast. In mere seconds, it had drawn to within about 50 feet of the ship and stopped almost instantaneously. It was a featureless white ovoid, teardrop shaped and very aerodynamic. The Terran crew watched warily, waiting to see what would happen next.
Enough time passed for Anna to consider ordering one of her crew to approach the ovoid to examine it, when the front of the teardrop suddenly seemed to separate from the body and began walking toward them. The crew brought their weapons to bear and Anna shouted, "Do NOT FIRE! Wait for my command, or an overtly hostile act. We need to understand its intentions. DO NOT FIRE unless it attacks first!"
The white apparition approaching them was made of three stacked white ovoids, and it walked on two rather round feet, giving it an odd gait. It came within ten feet of Anna and Kristoff, ignoring the weapons trained on it. Two black circles appeared on it's 'face', and a 'mouth' seemed to be making motions that looked like lips moving if you squinted hard enough.
An electonic hum came out, then words. "Greetings, Captain Adams. I am Olaf the Robot. Doctor Morbius has sent me to bring you to his home for your discussions." The voice was rather flat and metallic, carrying no emotional tonalities.
Anna and Kris looked at each other, then Kristoff shrugged. "Why not, Skip? Looks like a better ride than the groundcar, and it will take a couple hours to assemble that."
"You're right," she agreed. She turned to the officer standing behind her. "Chief, Kristoff and I will be going with the … robot. Keep our tracking signals active at all times. I'll check in at regular intervals. If you haven't hear from me for more than one hour, come get us in force. Assemble the groundcar so it's ready if you need it. Acknowledge!"
Through all of this the robot had stood impassively, making no move and making no sound. It apparently understood what it was hearing just fine, however, as it 'spoke' as soon as Anna finished giving her orders.
"Please follow me, gentlebeings." It turned and began walking back toward the ovoid, which suddenly opened a 'door' to reveal two seats inside.
Anna and Kristoff walked over to the ovoid and got in. "Please fasten your seatbelts, gentlebeings. I am not allowed to begin movement unless all passengers are secure," intoned Olaf. It had become part of the ovoid groundcar again, and its voice came from their surroundings.
"Huh, solicitious of our health, Skip? Hope that means it's not hostile – whoa!" Kristoff exclaimed as the ovoid suddenly became transparent, and he realized they were moving at a very high rate of speed. He and Anna hadn't even felt the little car accelerate.
"Must be some kind of inertial damper. Nice. Wonder why it needs the seatbelts, then?" Anna mused as she took in the blurred scenery they were shooting past. It was a rhetorical question, but it got an answer.
"In the unlikely event of a malfunction, Captain," Olaf's voice said.
Kristoff grimaced. A malfunction at this speed and the seatbelts wouldn't be much help. After traveling almost 17 light-years at unimaginable speeds, it would be ironic to die in a groundcar accident, now wouldn't it?
The ride was short, but Anna estimated they had covered at least ten miles. Agdar Morbius apparently liked his privacy. Although she couldn't blame him too much; the energies that radiated from a landing starship made the landing zone very … unhealthy to be near during that touch down.
"Nice place, hey, Skip?" Kristoff looked around as they got out of the groundcar, which promptly drove off to who knows where.
The home was a sprawling complex, surrounded by trees and flowers that were clearly native to this planet, as the riot of colors had hues never seen on Terra. There was a brook bubbling through the grounds, and it looked to Anna like it pooled into a nice swimming hole not too far away.
After a year cooped up in hyperspace, the C-57D's oily metallic stinks had faded into something unnoticed. This fresh, cool air tickled Anna's lungs with a gentle reminder of what she had given up to go into space and explore the galaxy. She took a deep, cleansing breath, trying to make sense of the smells of this place. They were hauntingly familiar, but not quite the scents of home.
"Good afternoon, Captain, Lieutenant. Welcome to my humble home." The calm, low voice startled Anna out of her reminiscences. A tall, thin man with a pencil mustache, dressed in loose, comfortable pants and tunic and soft slippers stood in the doorway. It must be Doctor Agdar Morbius.
"Uh, good afternoon. You ARE Doctor Morbius, I assume?" Anna asked politely.
"Indeed, Captain. May I offer you the hospitality of lunch? I can only assume you are as sick of preserved rations after a year's journey as we were when we landed here on Prospero."
"Prospero?" asked Kristoff. "I didn't know the planet had been given a name by the UP."
"It hadn't, Lieutenant, but the colonists chose that name once we had gotten organized. Please, this way." And Agdar gestured for them to enter through the wide doorway into the interior.
A rather long time later, Anna sat back, replete and appreciative of the cuisine the professor had shared with them. "That was amazingly good, Doctor Morbius. You have culinary skills far beyond any philologist I've ever met."
"Please, call me Agdar. Titles mean nothing here. And I can't take the credit. Olaf prepared all of the meal. I simply programmed him with the food preparation knowledge base from the Arendelle's computers shortly after I built him.."
"Olaf?" Anna was startled. Robotics on Terra had not advanced anywhere near to the point where a robot could prepare a meal such as the one they had just enjoyed.
"Yes. He is quite the polymath. Handyman, cook, chief bottlewasher. Everyone's dream personal assistant, removing all of the drudgery from an old man's life. I would be quite lost without him."
Anna had been thinking over what Agdar had said. "You built him, Doc … uh, Agdar? I didn't think that sort of engineering and cybernetics skill was part of the background of a philologist."
"I had help." Agdar said nothing more.
"From who? The rest of the crew? And where IS the rest of the colony, Doctor? Is their settlement near here?" Kristoff was trying not to be intimidating and not succeeding terribly well. He was a tall, broad man, towering over Anna and even Agdar.
"Sadly, no, Lieutenant. I am the sole survivor of the Arendelle expedition." Agdar's face had a distant, somber expression as he looked into the distance, his eyes focused somewhere far away.
"What happened, Doctor? Some illness caused by a local bug that our inoculations couldn't protect you from?" Anna kept her voice carefully neutral. She didn't trust this man. There were too many things unexplained here.
"No, Captain. Not an illness. Not too long after we thought we were settled into the normal routine of colonization, one by one, in spite of every safeguard... my coworkers were torn literally limb from limb."
"By what?" Anna was horrified.
"By some devilish thing that never once showed itself. No matter how many guards or cameras we mounted, no one ever saw anything."
" – And the Arendelle?"
"Vaporized as the three remaining survivors tried to take her off to return to Terra." Agdar's lips thinned into a grim line and he continued, "No one seemed immune, except me and my wife. It was horrible."
"Your wife, Doctor? Forgive me, but the Arendelle expedition records list you as unmarried." Kristoff stated flatly.
"Oh, for heaven's sake, Lieutenant. Look up Idunn Nordfjell, expedition biochemist. She and I were married on the voyage here by the captain of the Arendelle!" Agdar's annoyance was clear. "I can show you the wedding certificate, all proper and legal."
Anna asked, "And I take it she is not home today, Agdar?" She was trying to defuse a situation that had suddenly grown tense. Perhaps Mrs. Morbius would help.
Agdar's face fell into a profound grief. "My dear wife died a few months after the Arendelle's destruction. In her case, of purely natural causes."
"We're sorry for your loss, Agdar. It must have been very hard for you, nineteen years of a lonely existence." Anna's sympathy was sincere. She couldn't imagine being that isolated for that long without going insane. Her personality was exuberant and outgoing, although adaptable enough to survive in a crowded tin can of a starship for a year's voyage between star systems.
"I've managed, Captain. I buried myself in my work, and there were other – " Agdar was interrupted by another voice, a lilting, warm, FEMININE voice.
"Father? I hope I'm not interrupting?"
The three people sitting around the remains of lunch stood up and turned to face the newcomer. It was a girl, no, Anna thought, definitely a woman, beautiful and smiling. Blond hair almost white, eyes far bluer than the sky of this distant world, bluer than the skies of distant Terra. She was dressed in a shimmering blue tunic that came to just above her knees, sleeveless and with a scoop neckline. Anna felt a blush begin to color her cheeks as she admired the vision in front of her.
"Elsa! I specifically asked you not to join us for lunch!" Agdar's admonition to his … daughter … seemed more exasperated than angry, although Anna thought there was a strong undertone of … fear?
"You did, father, but I'm certain you didn't say anything about dessert and coffee." Elsa smiled and approached the little group, holding out her hand and saying, "As you heard, my name is Elsa, and I am all the company my father has needed since my mother died." She looked them over rather boldly and continued, "I've wanted to meet other people, though, and now two at once! You are beautiful!"
Anna found her voice and stammered, "Thank you but you're beautifuller. I mean, not fuller, but more beautiful." Internally she groaned, "Smooth, Adams. You have been locked up in a ship for too long if you lose your poise in front of the first new woman you've met in over a year."
Kristoff didn't hesitate. He took Elsa's hand gently and asked, "May this beautiful one get you some coffee?"
He had his most charming smile on, a smile that Anna knew worked magic on women and not a few men.
They had been friends since the Academy, and Anna had watched him find lovers easily everywhere they went. She often envied him that easy charm. Exuberant personality notwithstanding, Anna found it harder to open up to another person, and her trysts were rather more infrequent than Kristoff's. Now, watching Kristoff begin to work on Elsa, who was clearly falling under the spell of his charisma, Anna found herself … a little envious? She shook it off. She was the captain, she needed to stay in control, even if Kristoff let himself dissolve into gooey romance. It HAD been a long year, though.
Anna was pulled out of her wistful reverie by Agdar sitting down and picking up his coffee cup to take a sip. "I suppose one day I shall be obliged to make the trip to Earth with her for the sake of her natural development."
"I would imagine, Agdar." Anna managed to sit and take another drink of coffee without spilling it on herself. "Probably soon, too."
While Anna and Agdar were distracted, Kristoff managed to drift toward the patio, his light touch on Elsa's hand naturally bringing her along with him. They stood just outside the door, within sight but not earshot of her father. He made a remark about the gorgeous flora of the garden, then said, "Your father wasn't too happy to see you meet us, was he?"
Elsa's giggle was softened by her hand held to cover her lips. "Of course not, you're from Terra! He's warned me about you, but I really wanted to see for myself."
Kristoff wrapped her delicate hand in both of his and leaned down to whisper, "Oh, I can be trusted, good old trusty Kristoff, that's me. But …" he glanced quickly toward the sofa where Anna and Agdar were talking, "Anna, on the other hand, has a reputation that spans seven planets!" He winked.
Elsa gasped slightly, "Oh, dear. What does she do?"
"Well, I don't feel free to discuss the shortcomings of a fellow officer, but any girl or woman who lets her get her alone, anywhere. Tch, tch, tch." Kristoff shook his head in mock sorrow.
"Yes, I can see it now. There, just then when she looked at me, her eyes almost had fire in them. I'm so glad you don't have any fire in your eyes, Lieutenant," Elsa said and Kristoff winced at this 'compliment'.
"Hey, I'm not that harmless! I mean, of course, Elsa. No fire here. Trusty Kristoff, like I said."
"Elsa, my dear, would you join us, please?" Agdar's voice was calling out to his daughter. She smiled at Kristoff and pulled him back into the house.
"Darling, the Captain here is concerned that you feel constrained in some way. Would you mind reassuring her?" Agdar explained.
"Constrained? How could I be constrained? I have you, I have Olaf to play with, I have all my friends – "
"Wait, what?" Anna interrupted. "I thought there were no other survivors?"
"There aren't, Captain. Elsa, dear, please show the Captain who you are talking about." Agdar stood and gestured toward the garden.
Elsa walked out of the house to the patio again, followed by the other three. She closed her eyes in concentration, and after a few moments, several small white 'creatures' hopped into view from out of the bushes.
Startled, Anna and Kristoff watched as Elsa stooped and held out her hand, and one of the little creatures hopped into her hand. She rose and turned to show it to the visitors. It looked like two … snowballs stuck together for a body, with two smaller snowballs for feet. It didn't have any hands, but two small black 'eyes' and a 'mouth' that smiled toothlessly up at Elsa, adoration clear from its expression. Elsa kissed it tenderly on its tiny head, then held it out to Anna. "Take it, Captain, it won't bite!" Her eyes twinkled with mischief.
Anna wasn't sure, but she held out her hand, and the little creature hopped onto it and smiled up at Anna with as much love as it had given to Elsa.
"What is this? It feels cold, like snow, but it's not melting," Anna asked Elsa.
"I call it a snowgie, Anna. I made them." Elsa seemed inordinately proud of herself.
"MADE them?" Anna was incredulous. "You mean, built them, don't you? Like your father did with Olaf?"
"No, I mean 'made'. Watch." Elsa picked up a flower and tickled her own nose until she sneezed. A snowflake formed in midair in front of her, then a snowgie appeared and fell to the ground. It stood up, looked around until it saw Elsa, squeaked, then hopped up and down, clearly begging to be held.
Anna almost dropped the snowgie she was holding.
Agdar cleared his throat. "It's a … skill that Elsa developed over time, Captain." He shrugged. "I'm not sure how or why. It may just be something she was born with, something brought about by the atmosphere or radiation belt of this planet, so different from Terra."
Elsa was playing with the snowgies, who gamboled and squeaked, jostling for her attention. Even the one in Anna's hand hopped down to join in the fun. Finally, Elsa stood and said, "Okay, enough for today. Shoo, now, and we'll play more tomorrow!"
The little snowgies visibly drooped, but they all ran off into the shrubbery at her instructions.
"See, Anna? Those are my friends. We have lots of fun playing in the gardens and exploring around the house." Elsa explained to the still dumbfounded starship captain.
Anna was saved from having to comment at that moment by the squawk of her communicator. She raised her wrist to her mouth and said, "Adams here."
"Captain, it's been more than an hour. Everything okay there?" Kai's voice came out of the communicator.
"Everything is fine, chief. See?" Anna swung the video pickup to show her surroundings, passing over Agdar, Kristoff and the gardens. When Elsa came into view of the camera, a wolf whistle came from the speaker.
"Knock it off, chief. We'll check in again just before we return. Adams out." Anna's annoyance was visible on her face. Kristoff examined the treetops, Agdar looked … glowering, and Elsa was still innocent of the reaction her delicate beauty was creating in the visitors.
"And, if I may be so bold, Captain, how much longer will you need to reassure yourself that I am fine and my daughter is also fine. And safe. And in no need of rescuing?" Agdar asked through visibly clenched teeth.
"Unfortunately, Doctor, my orders do not cover this situation at all. I find it necessary to communicate back to Terra Base to report on this situation and request clarification of my orders. That will take some time, so I'm afraid we will be on this planet for some weeks," Anna explained, her voice stiff and formal.
"Weeks?" Agdar was surprised.
"Primarily because it will take us that long to build a communications device with the range to punch through to Terra. The power required is enormous, and it will take a while to build a suitably shielded enclosure, far enough from the ship to protect us from the radiation." Kristoff clarified. "Then, we unload the ship's reactor core, put it in the enclosure and phone home."
Morbius thought for a moment. "Would it help if I supplied shielding dense enough to protect from any known radiation, at power levels far beyond those your power core can generate?"
"Well, yes, but how can you – " Anna asked.
"I will have Olaf deliver the shielding to you at your ship tomorrow, Captain. Now, as intriguing as this has been, I must ask you to excuse an old man his foibles. Good evening." Agdar gestured to Elsa. "Come, dear." They disappeared into the house, leaving Anna and Kristoff in the garden.
"Well, I haven't gotten a brushoff like that in a long time," Kristoff said.
"Yeah, speaking of brushoffs, Kris, you know damn well that girl doesn't know what you're trying to do – " Anna started to berate her XO but was interrupted by the ovoid ground car with Olaf in it pulling up.
"I will return you to your ship now, gentlebeings. Please remember to buckle up," instructed the mechanical voice.
"We'll finish this discussion later, Kris," Anna growled as she buckled up and the teardrop shot off to return them to the ship.
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The next morning found Anna watching the approaching dust cloud, wondering what it was bringing. When it pulled up to the ship, she saw it was a vehicle rather larger than the one they had traveled in yesterday. This one looked more like a flatbed truck with stacks of dark gray metal sheets loaded on it.
Olaf stepped out of the front, and a door opened and Anna saw that Elsa was with him. Her dress was as revealing as the one she had worn yesterday, but this one was a lighter shade of blue with white highlights. She stepped out of the cabin, looked around, then walked over to where Anna and Kristoff were standing.
"Good morning, Captain, Lieutenant. I though I'd join Olaf on his errand, I was so curious to see your ship." Her smile was innocent with delight as she took in the bustling activity of the crew unloading equipment from the ship and organizing it.
Olaf walked up at that point, carrying a slab of shielding and asked, "Where shall I put the shielding material, Captain?"
Anna replied, "I'll show you. Miss Elsa, I'll be right back." She made a sketchy salute and waved at Olaf to follow her.
Kristoff took the opportunity to come up and flirt with Elsa. "Hi, there. I'm surprised your father let you come all the way out here."
"Oh, I didn't ask, and he was sleeping in this morning. It was a long night for him in the lab, so I didn't want to bother him. I knew I would be safe with Olaf."
"But maybe not so safe from me," Kristoff joked. Of course, the joke went completely over Elsa's head.
"Of course I'm safe with you, Lieutenant."
"Kristoff, call me Kristoff." He took her arm under his own and said, "Let me show you around the site a bit."
Eventually they had wandered off behind some rocks that put them out of sight of the ship and all the activity and prying eyes of the crew. Kristoff made a show of dusting off a flat boulder and gallantly sitting Elsa down. He seated himself next to her and said, "Is there anything about Terra I might be able to help explain to you?"
Elsa thought for a moment, then said, "Well, are there any customs that I might be interested in?"
Kristoff made a show of seeming to think for a minute, then snapped his fingers and said, "Would you be interested in learning about kissing?"
"Kissing? What is that? What is it used for?" Elsa had clearly never heard of the concept before.
"It's very healthful stimulation. Gives the participants good cardiovascular workouts, increases endorphins and just generally makes you feel good all over!"
"That sounds … interesting. Can you show me?" Elsa asked.
"I most certainly can. First, you put your hands on my shoulders like this. Then, I put my arms around you and – " He leaned in to kiss her when a bellow interrupted him.
"Lieutenant Bjorgman, ATTENTION!" Anna's furious command was the loudest she had ever used on Kristoff.
Kristoff jumped to his feet, almost dumping Elsa on the ground. She squawked indignantly as her arms were pulled from his shoulders. She jumped up, too, and glared at Anna.
Who was standing a few feet away, hands on her hips and an expression of rage on her face. "Return to the ship NOW, Lieutenant. We will discuss this in my office shortly."
"Aye, aye, CAPTAIN!" Kristoff saluted and stalked off. His face was contorted with a combination of anger and humiliation.
Anna watched him go, then turned to Elsa and barked, "Well? What do you have to say for yourself?"
"What do you mean? We were just getting some healthy stimulation from kissing!" Elsa sniffed at Anna. "And don't you take that tone with me. Why are you so angry?"
"Healthy stimulation? Are you serious? You're damn lucky I came along when I did before he … he … argh." Frustration made Anna begin to pace. "I've got a crew of young, healthy, competitively selected specimens that have been locked up in hyperspace for 389 days, and you're out here wearing that, and doing … kissing! And … oh, go on, get out of here. Before I have you run out of the area under guard. And then I'll put more guards on the guards!"
Elsa huffed and stalked away to return home with Olaf, head held high and fuming at the treatment from Anna.
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" '– and then I'll put more guards on the guards!' What an infuriating woman!" Elsa exclaimed as she stomped back and forth in the parlor, explaining to her father what had happened.
Agdar tried to keep a straight face, but he was secretly pleased that his daughter was apparently angry with the Captain and Lieutenant.
"Elsa, this is the sort of thing I was trying to warn you about. Maybe now you understand why I taught you to 'conceal, don't feel'. I had anticipated something like this might happen if another ship ever came to this planet."
Elsa threw herself into her father's arms and sobbed on his shoulder. "Oh, father, you were right. I was so foolish to think you didn't have my best interests at heart. I'm so sorry."
He patted her back and said, "There, there, my child. It's fine. Just part of growing up. Now, run along and amuse yourself with Olaf or the snowgies. I have work to do in the lab tonight."
"Alright, father. Goodnight." She pecked him on the cheek and went off to her room.
Agdar watched her go, then went to his study.