New chapter: it's almost complete. Yay! As much fun as I have had with this story, I am going to be very glad when this is over. It's been too long, but maybe it has given me some new viewers. Perhaps those who are new to my stories will like this one enough to check out some of my other ones. Planning wise, this should be completed by the end of May and I'm aiming to start posting a new story. But it's only the beginning of May, so we shall see. For now enjoy. Special thanks to Tsu no mei for the subject of this chapter.
"You've gotta be kidding me," muttered the Native girl in annoyance. It took a lot to annoy Wilhelmina "Will" Ravenfeather, but she was annoyed tonight. For the last six weeks, she had worked on mapping the basic constellations on Earth by hand and another three nights trying to compare them to Perim's night sky. She wasn't having much luck.
Over the last three nights, she had gone to three separate secluded locations in hopes of finding a star grouping she knew. No such luck and it was getting annoying.
Tonight she was in the Mipedian Desert; not her smartest choice of location, but Will had confidence that the night wouldn't end badly. She had brought her gear and some extras. It was cold in the desert at night, something Will grew up with. She wore an extra sweatshirt in desert camouflage and had packed some gloves, unsure how cold it would get.
Will's spot was not far from the Mipedian Dew Farm. It was close enough for the wildlife to stay away, but far enough away that the patrols were unlikely to notice. Will also wondered if the fires around the Dew Farm would be enough light pollution to mimic Earth. Perhaps with the light pollution, she would notice something familiar. It was something she hadn't taken into account before.
Will still wasn't finding anything. At this rate she was probably better off making a star map from scratch. It was a hassle, but Will was willing to put in the effort. She got out her notebook and turned to a clean page. She also took out her compass to find north. At the very least she wanted to map the north star - Polaris. Will had already mapped the moon's path so she had a basic idea of what should be where.
"But if it was where it's supposed to be, I wouldn't be having problems."
She blew a piece of dark hair out of her face and put her flashlight in her mouth so she could use both hands. She set her page up to start plotting.
While she was doing that, Will was very aware of what was around her. Most people would be too focused on the work in front of them, but not Will. For her, it was eyes on the page, ears in the air, and ready to fight. It was a good thing, too, because twenty minutes into plotting, Will heard something off to her left. She kept working, but was subtly moving things around. She "dropped" her pen in the sand.
Will took the flashlight out of her mouth and reached down to retrieve her pen. However, Will did not pick up her pen, but reached for the knife she had stashed in her cowboy boot.
She jumped up, shining the light to blind the stalker and raising the knife to defend herself.
"Thought Mipedians were supposed to be sneaky," Will called out. "You make too much noise."
"If I wanted to kill you, human, you would be dead," said a female voice.
A lean, green skinned Mipedian appeared. She had long black hair and a face like a viper. The Mipedian royal family emblem on her jewelry showed that she was a noble if the blue and white skirt and top didn't give it away.
"Na-Inna," Will whispered under her breath. The Mipedian had a post at the Dew Farm overseeing the water supply. To outsiders it didn't seem like much, but a drop of water could mean the difference between life and death in the desert.
"What are you doing out here, human?" Na-Inna demanded.
"I was trying to do some star mapping," said Will. "What about you? You're not the type to go out on patrol when you have someone else do it for you, are you?"
Na-Inna sniffed. "Typical insolent human."
"Typical stuck-up noble," Will countered.
"Why you -!"
"Ah, that's exactly what I'm talking about," Will told her. "Always thinking you're so superior."
Na-Inna snarled.
"All well and fine," Will continued coolly, "if you already knew those around you were lesser."
Will kicked open the cooler. "Wanna drink?"
Na-Inna blinked in confusion. "What?"
"Do you want a drink?" Will asked again. She started going through the cooler. "Water, cold coffee, protein shakes, a couple of juice boxes. I have some food, too."
Na-Inna stared at Will.
"What?" Will asked.
Na-Inna laughed. "This is absurd!" She doubled over, holding her middle. "I'm out here in the middle of the night to capture a human and you're offering me your rations."
Will started laughing along with Na-Inna. "Well, when you put it that way, it is crazy."
"So what are you doing out here, human?" Na-Inna asked a bit more civilly this time.
"Trying to work on this star map, but it's not going well," Will replied. "I'm comparing the constellations of Earth with Perim, but so far everything looks different. I can't even find the north star."
Na-Inna frowned. "North star?"
"Yeah; the star that you use to find north no matter what time of the year."
"We use the south star," said Na-Inna. She turned south and pointed to the bright star in the south sky.
Will looked at the star. "Wait," she drawled. She pointed up at the star and drew a line from it to the next star and to another. "There's the handle."
Na-Inna watched Will drop her hand and stare at the sky. "You gotta be kidding me. It's backwards! Oh, why didn't I see this earlier? I'm such an idiot!"
Na-Inna continued to watch Will in bemusement. "I assume that you have found what you were looking for."
"Yeah! Ha! I never thought of Perim having a south star instead of a north star," said Will. "And draw a line from Ursa Minor and you find Cepheus. Now I can see them! Thanks, Na-Inna."
"I'm glad I could be of such help," said Na-Inna. She looked up at the stars. "Ursa Minor? Cepheus? Those are the Earth names of the constellations?"
"Polaris is the proper name for the north star," Will explained. "Once you find it, you can pretty much find anything if you know where to look. And if everything is backwards, it shouldn't be too hard for me to find everything else."
"We call that star Home Star," said Na-Inna. "The star grouping below it is The House."
"Cepheus, the king," said Will. "Many of our constellations have mythology stories attached to them. Polaris is part of the Little Dipper or Ursa Minor - Little Bear. Ursa Major - Big Bear, or the Big Dipper is above it here."
"Do you have a favorite?" asked Na-Inna.
Will had to think for a moment. "Ursa Major: if I can find that, I can find everything else. Do you have a favorite?"
Na-Inna pointed to a cluster of several stars. "The Treasures. We call them that because they look like a cluster of gems."
Will knew it as Pleiades.
"Think we could exchange notes?" Will asked. "Now that I know what I'm looking for, maybe you can tell me what you call the constellations."
Na-Inna nodded. "I can do that. We'll need a fire though. It's going to get colder out here."
"I've got enough drinks and snacks to last us," said Will. "And I've been using Hot Hands to keep me warm in addition to my jacket. I can spare a few. Beats ruining the starlight with the fire."
"I'm not sure what 'Hot Hands' is, but if it works for you, human," Na-Inna said haughtily.
Will rolled her eyes. "And here I thought we had gotten passed that."
They spent until dawn talking about the different constellations and the stories behind them.
I may have forgotten to give a special thank you to Tsu no mei for the story idea for the one-shot Mortem. Thanks, amiko.