Chapter XXV
Bruciare Vacanze
Zuli, Rose, Sedena, Stone, Niuon and Asora walked down the hall that led to the space liner docked on the outside. It was like walking into a plane at a regular airport...technically this was an airport, the Albuquerque Universal Port. One wing of the port was an international airport, the other was a space port, with ships coming and going. Since the liners were planet and space fairing, they replaced the old 747s. Not only that, they were faster, more maneuverable, comfortable, and most important: safer. They had regular seating arrangements on the bottom floor of a liner, like the 747s, the second floor a dining/rec area, complete with a bar and on board casino. And the third floor consisted of rented private quarters. Considering they would be in slipspace for hours on end, they needed good entertainment like that.
"Hell, I think I'll stay on the ship," said Stone as he looked at the cheap, brochure PDA detailing the liner.
"Hey!" said Sedena, thumping him in the shoulder with her fist.
"Wow, glad you think a spaceliner is better than our planet," said Niuon dryly.
"Oh can it, you said the same damn thing as we were prepared to get off last time," Asora said, thumping him in the shoulder as well.
"Imma spay!" Lirui said excitedly in Niuon's arms.
"That's right, into space," Niuon said, grinning at Lirui. They reached the end of the hall and went into the door to the first floor of the liner. From the outside, the ship, which resembled a Halcyon Class battle cruiser, only smaller, was hovering above the tarmac, the tethered hallways connected in four places on the side. Two other liners were tethered to the terminal, and several others awaited load off and load up.
Inside, the coach area was fairly busy. Sangheili and humans were all seated and speaking, some went up and down the isles. They went up small elevators that were dotted around the side walls of the ship.
"I rented rooms for us, we're all next to each other," Asora said.
"Alright," said Stone. They all went into an elevator (slightly cramped), and rose up to the third floor, went down the halls, and arrived at their rooms. Sedena and Stone went into theirs, and saw it was a small, yet cozy room. Bunk beds to the left, with personal TV screens in each bunk, on the ceiling of the bunks and on the wall opposite to where you laid your head. There was even a slide out compartment under the screens with a game controller. Separate screens would make "split-screen" allot more fair, although Sedena and Stone had worked out their honor system not to look at each other's screen.
As if the beds weren't enough, two cushy looking chairs were on the right side of the room, on either side of a small table. Since their room was on the side of the ship, they had a window. Right now, they were still overlooking the terminal and Albuquerque.
"This place is great," said Stone, stepping into the room and looking around. They suddenly felt a slight pull under their feet, and a dizzying sensation, then it passed.
"Did you feel that?" asked Sedena.
"Yeah what-" The intercom made a ringing noise, then a voice said,
"This is your captain speaking, the sense of vertigo you just experienced was the artificial gravity activating. We will be lifting off in a few moments, so keep careful balance. Though we have gravity, the ship can still experience turbulence. Next stop, Sangheilios; City of Torin in the State of Lom."
"How long is this going to take exactly?" asked Sedena anxiously.
"About seven hours. The new Forerunner class slipspace drives make everything easier," said Stone. It was quite a marvel, all the Forerunner technology was slowly being rebuilt, with both Sangheili and human technology. It made everything so much more efficient.
"Mm," mumbled Sedena.
"Aw come on, there's plenty to do here," said Stone, patting her on the shoulder. She pointed at him,
"No ditching me for the casino." Stone frowned at her.
"I'm not gonna do that until near the end of the trip," he told her, a smirk twitching on his lips, but remaining hidden.
"That's right," said Niuon suddenly as he poked his head in. "You and Zuli get to watch Lirui up here while the rest of us test our luck. I actually got a little extra money from the last spaceliner."
"Was the origin Sangheili?" asked Stone.
"Yes, why?" asked Niuon, looking puzzled.
"Well," sighed Stone, clapping his hand on his shoulder (or close to the shoulder as he could get without it looking awkward, "I'm guessing your gambling games are fair. Human games, however, are dirty, corrupt, and skinflinted...in the direction of the house." Niuon looked a bit affronted.
"With respect to your species, that is probably the worst possible thing someone could do in a so-called 'fair game'."
"No offense taken, I just go in there for wallet stuffers, nothing the fill the bank vaults with," Stone said.
"I'll take your word for it," said Niuon. The intercom then rang again.
"This is your captain again, we are now departing. Though you do not have to sit, I recommend keeping a steady balance, for it will be a shaky ascent." Sedena and Stone gripped some wall handles then looked out the window. The ship rumbled as it rose into the air, and the sight of them rising up with rapidity made Sedena and Stone get vertigo again. First the doubleport (that's what they called airport/spaceport mix) disappeared from view, then Albuquerque, soon the vast desert was gone, under clouds, then the shield atmosphere became a blue mist over a huge orb. And they passed an Orbital Defense Platform, and several other ships. Then the ship slowed to a simple drift.
"We will be entering slipspace momentarily, everyone. Simply stay in your positions, this should take about a minute while our liner is being processed.
"Processed?" asked Sedena, looking to Stone.
"ID and stuff like that," he said. "Just a computer to computer talk thing." Them, along with everyone else on the ship, waited the promised minute before the intercom rang again and the captain said,
"All set, folks. Make yourselves steady, we enter slipspace in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." The ship rumbled again, and Stone and Sedena looked outside. It only seemed like they were drifting from the defensive platforms and ships, but then they were bedazzled by the enormous portal they entered. They passed by the blue light rimmed hole, and then the ship jerked, rumbled roughly, and then went on smoothly, nothing but blackness outside. Sedena looked out in nervousness.
"You alright?" Stone asked.
"I'm fine," she said, though she squeezed Stone's hand without realizing it.
"I'm guessing this is the first time you've seen the outside world of a ship in slipspace. I was nervous too in my first time," Stone said.
"It's different than just being in a windowless room...or an artificial environment," Sedena said.
"It's nothing to worry about, it's the same as it always was," Stone told her. He almost told her about the fail-safes ships were equipped with in case of slipspace failures, but he wondered if that would make her more worried than reassured. She didn't ask, so he didn't bother saying anything.
"Let's hit the buffet," Stone said. Sedena looked at him then smiled.
"Is that why we didn't get up early to make breakfast?" she asked.
"Well, we wake up at six in the morning to a three hour car ride to a doubleport, then get in a ship bound for Sangheilios which will take about seven hours. What do you think?"
"Fine, smart-ass," Sedena said. "You can go and I'll just have room service."
"So you're saying you don't want to go to an all-you-can-eat buffet?" Stone asked.
"Who said that?" asked Niuon, looking at Sedena. "Have you lost your mind, girl?"
"Yeah, what he said," Stone said to her.
"Alright, just don't act like fools," she said in exasperation.
"It works," said Niuon, shrugging. The group of them spent the next seven hours going about the ship. The adults saved themselves a final hour-and-a-half at the small casino, while Zuli and Sedena watched Lirui back in quarters. Asora actually got lucky and won three hundred dollars at a blackjack game, claiming beforehand that: "It's too simplistic, people must not win very much."
"Well," said Stone as she cashed in her chips for nanites, the Sangheilian virtual currency, "If you go to other games, you bet much more money than on ol' blackjack. But there are some blackjack games, mostly in Las Vegas, that get high stakes."
"Eggh, I always despised high stakes games," Asora said as the nanites were transferred to her credit-card like device. A small, silver rectangle that was accessed physically, like a USB plug, so no wireless hackers could gain access. The nanites were heavily defended currency anyway, even too difficult for three human ship AIs to crack a single, small-cash limit card; let alone the memory banks of Sangheilios. Even then, the memory banks were physical, the ones that relayed the amount of precious metals that made the value of the nanites. Computers crashed and got their hard drives wiped, metal just sits there where it's put.
"Yeah, I never thought they were any good either," Stone said.
"Hey, what's goin' on?" asked Niuon, who had been checking out the slot-machines with Rose.
"I got us an extra three hundred nanites," Asora said. Niuon gaped at her.
"You're kidding," he said. Asora handed him the nanite card, and he looked at the tiny sliver of a screen near the top (it looked like a calculator screen only glowing). Sangheilian numerical symbols showed the amount of nanites stored on the card. Apparent three-hundred extra since he last checked.
"Off what?" he asked.
"Blackjack," Asora said. Niuon blushed. "What's the matter?" he asked.
"...I just lost three-hundred on roulette," he murmured. Asora just stared at him.
"...you bet...three hundred nanites?" she asked.
"You did!" Niuon exclaimed defensively, some looks cast towards them.
"Um, Asora got a twenty-one in blackjack, that wins you extra if you hit that number, she didn't bet that much to begin with...it really was luck," Stone said.
"You're not going near casinos anymore," Asora said to Niuon.
"I hardly go as it is," he retorted.
"I don't wanna talk about it, let's just go check on the children," said Asora dismissively, rubbing her eyes in exasperation.
0000000000
"If you're gonna be like that, we can just quit," Zuli said in rising irritation, at an already fully angry Sedena, as she glared at the chess pieces before her. She and he were seated at the table with the chess board, while Lirui played quietly with a toy on the bed, not regarding either of them.
"Be like what?" she snapped.
"That!" Zuli snapped back.
"Tat!" Lirui parroted suddenly, pointing right at Zuli, obviously a gesture he picked up from his mother or father.
"Oh stay outta this," Sedena said to Lirui, who gave her a perplexed look. She then brooded over the board again, head resting on her propped fist. She looked them over for a moment, then glanced up with her eyes at Zuli, who was staring at her with a bemused expression.
"What?" she asked, freehand held palm-up in a shrug, still looking without raising her head.
"You just warned an infant to stay out of an argument...as if he were our age," Zuli stated, folding his arms on the table before his chest.
"...so?"
"'So?'...that's rather...silly," Zuli chose the word carefully, wanting to say 'ridiculous', but refraining. She didn't respond, but looked back at the chess board.
"Go already," she said. Zuli made a half-ass glance at his board, then moved his bishop to Sedena's king.
"Checkmate," he said.
"What!?" Sedena exclaimed. She saw he was right. "How'd you do that!?"
"I just moved the piece," he said flatly, turning his chair over to the window and looking at the blackness of the slipspace-stream.
"Real funny!" Sedena said loudly.
"Stop shouting," snapped Zuli.
"I'm not!" she snarled, indeed shouting. Lirui whined in nervousness. "Oh keep quiet!" she said sharply to Lirui, but slapped her hand over her mouth at just realizing what she had done only immediately after. Lirui began to cry.
"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Zuli said in disbelief, shocked and even offended at Sedena's negligence. She only looked down in shame as Zuli picked up Lirui and tried to comfort him. "You take these things way to seriously," Zuli finally said when he got Lirui to be quiet. "He's just a baby, Sede-"
"I'm sorry!" Sedena said. Zuli sighed.
"Fine, I know you didn't mean it." The two were quiet for a moment, and then the door slid open, revealing Niuon and Asora.
"Ahda! Mota!" Lirui said excitedly, reaching towards his chuckling parents. Zuli guessed "Ahda" was Lirui-ese for "Father" and "Mota" was "Mother".
"How was he?" asked Asora as she took Lirui from Zuli.
"He was fine, didn't cry at all," Zuli said. He hadn't in fact, but he left out the previous event that had just happened.
"Good," said Niuon. "We've only got a few-" The intercom ringing interrupted Niuon and the captain said,
"We will be exiting slipspace and arriving at Sangheilios in five minutes time, I advise you check your belongings. The entire process of exiting slipspace and docking should give us ten minutes, and an extra ten minutes of being idle, so you have plenty of time exit the ship with everything you need. That is all."
"Finally," said Sedena, striding down the hall and into her and Stone's room. There, he was already checking his dark red duffel bag. He preferred the simplistic styles of long-distance traveling gear, though Sedena preferred to be a little more organized. Just a small wheeling bag, filled with a few formal dresses, and some casual tunics and pants. Her knife and energy cutlass, however, had to be specially delivered by the authorities, but she would receive them when they got to where her grandparents lived, nevertheless.
"Excited?" Stone asked, looking up from his bag "Don't answer," he said after he saw Sedena's smile. It widened into a grin. He smiled too.
"You're going to love it, Stone," she said as she checked her bag hurriedly. "And you'll get used to the heat."
"Maybe," he said. "But I've put up with worse." He was later going to reconsider that statement.
After five minutes, the captain announced,
"Be prepared, we are exiting slipspace in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." Sedena and Stone held onto the walls, then looked outside the window. The ship rumbled slightly and they felt it slow down, despite being in artificial gravity. Outside it was black, black, black; Sedena and Stone squinted as the window passed a huge color of blue light: the mouth of the slipspace portal, then they passed that and saw stars. Sedena immediately rushed over to the window and craned her head in both directions.
"There!" she exclaimed in glee, pointing. Stone came over and looked over her shoulder (just managed too), was she having one of her super-Sangheilian-growths (as he called them) again? He beheld the wonderful planet of Sangheilios. It was fairly larger than Earth (according to what he garnered on Wikipedia, the approximate population was over eight billion, and there were millions more on other colonies somewhere out there). The outer atmosphere, rather than being blue, was a clear tint of red, and the landmasses and watermasses were more scattered, rather than huge masses like on Earth. The three suns (being dimmed by the special window) burned brightly away from Sangheilios, and Stone could almost feel the heat right now. Around the planet, much like Earth's, were orbital defense platforms, and a few military ships were dotted around the planet, on patrols obviously as they orbited the planet. Each platform had a single large flagship, and from what Stone knew of Sangheilian ranks, each ship had a Supreme Commander as a Shipmaster, as well as a Fleetmaster. He had seen one once on the news, big guy with purple armor, a purple cape, and a very ornate headdress, but not quite as grand as Councilor helmets. Still, the guy was impressive...ah who was Stone kidding? He looked like an Austin Powers villain. He just wouldn't say that out loud, duh.
"Do you see Her?" asked Sedena in wonder.
"See what?" asked Stone. She shot him an annoyed smile. The intercom rang.
"Our liner has just been processed, we will now proceed to Sangheilios; in the City of Torin of the State of Lom. This should take five minutes, please do not panic as we experience reentry, we are quite safe."
"Well no shit," said Stone. "No, I've always wanted to come on a ship that has even the remotest chance of melting miles above the surface of a planet," he ranted sarcastically to himself. "I can't believe people still flew in those damn 747s knowing that risks could be high at times." These liners were allot safer than planes, whether over a planet or in vacuum.
"Quit your mumbling and let's go!" Sedena urged, hefting her bag, not even bothering to roll it on the wheels.
"Yes, ma'am," Stone said, giving her a small salute, which she giggled at. He threw his duffel bag over his shoulders and they exited the room. The others were all ready to hit the first floor as well.
"Shall we?" asked Niuon, and they all went down the elevator. When they reached the first floor, they went to the reception desk and returned their keycards. The whole liner was basically a flying hotel. Some people nicknamed them "Fotels". The minutes passed, and they watched out the window as they lowered into the extremely bright planet of Sangheilios. Stone held his breath as they went over a lush, jungle covered mountain, very similar to the ones in Africa (he felt a small pang of sadness, now that those were gone forever). There, in a valley; where the only exits were flying and the highway that went off in between two humps of mountains: the sparkling city of Torin was most majestic. The skyscrapers were more curvy, and the whole place had a clean feel to it, not grimy feeling like Earth cities. It almost had a Disneyesque feel to it, although Stone didn't expect talking mice and the Jonas Brothers to be hanging around here (he had a grimly pleasant feeling they'd be attacked if they were in fact hanging around).
The doubleport was similar to the one in Albuquerque; not in architecture but in layout. The terminal near the city, on the tarmac were loading bays and hangars, and there were the hallway tethers connecting to the terminal gates, which transferred the passengers. Stone noticed it getting considerably warmer in the ship, and saw the air conditioning was off. They were probably right in doing so; as even on Earth, when Stone left a cool shopping mall in Las Cruces, he was always blasted by the hot summer air of the desert as soon as the sliding doors opened to his exit. Here would be no different...only worse.
The ship rumbled roughly as the tethers were attached in the three different side exits of the ship. There was a brief pause, then a jolt under their feet. The artificial gravity had just been replaced by the planet's real gravity, and they had a sense of vertigo again.
"Just to let you know, everyone, the gravity has just been shut off in the ship, which is why you may be feeling vertigo," the captain stated briefly. "Here we are, those who are still unprepared to exit, you still have ten minutes to get things ready before the ship reloads. Thank you for..." They all ignored the captain as they went to the exits. The doors slid open with a hiss, and they set off down the hall with a bunch more people. And like that, hot air blasted Stone, and he couldn't help but flinch. He breathed in oxygen, but it was hot. But oxygen nevertheless.
"Holy shit," he blurted out, and Niuon couldn't help but burst out laughing. But then he let out a hearty,
"Aaaah. Feels good to back with the home temp," he said. "I thought my bones would freeze on that iceball you call Earth," he said teasingly.
"I think my brain is boiling," Rose said.
"Don't worry, you'll get accustomed to it," Asora said. They came out of the hall and into the busy terminal. A few humans, more Sangheili. Stone looked out the large windows that let in the sun...suns. The sky was peculiar with its red tint, and he almost expected the rest of the world to be red, but it was just as colored as Earth. The Earth wasn't colored blue under its sky, was it? Bright green jungles, a glistening lake (which was reflecting the red sky, so it did have some slight effects) but nevertheless, it was virtually the same as Earth. Stone immediately reached for a bottle of water in the net pocket of his bag and drank deeply. He saw Rose doing the same out of the corner of his eye. In fact, every human that had come off the ship was chugging down the water, and the few who had not brought any glanced longingly at those who did. But of course, those ones quickly congregated at the several vending machines, which were filled fifty percent with water. The other fifty percent were Sangheilian soft drinks. Mostly sodas and juices made with the local fruits. Stone was enticed to get a bottle, but there would be time at the other terminal, as this was Niuon and Asora's stop, not theirs.
"It's been very fun, thank you," Niuon said to Stone, shaking his hand.
"Don't mention it. Hopefully you can visit around another kick-ass holiday," Stone replied.
"We'd love too," Niuon said. Asora crouched down and hugged Sedena.
"It was so nice seeing you both again," she said.
"It was," Sedena replied. The rest of them exchanged their goodbyes, Lirui replying "Gahbi!" and then Niuon and Asora marched away to exit the terminal to their home. The four of them watched as they left, the lonely guests-from-afar-just-left pits in their stomachs. They then proceeded down to their next gate, on the liner that would take them to the State of Zaf. Only an hour trip, into the slightly developed town of Sitrik. According to Sedena's grandparents, it was similar to T or C. There were suburb like residential areas, the downtown district with shops and restaurants, and the farming communities a mile out. Dianos and Seris lived in their own home in a more spacious residential area, mostly where the mildly wealthier merchants and others lived. According to them, the homes looked similar to Spanish villas, and Stone pretty much guessed the area would look exactly like that to him. Light tan colored stucco on a very open house, with red brick rooftops, and jungle foliage sprouted around.
"Stone," said Sedena, nudging him.
"Huh?" he asked, coming out of his deep thoughts.
"You were walking past the gate," Sedena said.
"Oh, sorry," he said, seeing he was a few steps past the gate's ticket receiver, feeling like a fool. Zuli and Rose had already entered their tickets into the machine, and Stone and Sedena did likewise. They waited five minutes for what was left of the liner's occupants to load off, then when the light shined green, they entered with several other people. Stone was sweating a little now, feeling sticky under his clothes, and he grimaced as his extremities sweat. No need to go into details their, let's just say: it was starting to pinch and feel raw.
"Are you okay?" asked Sedena in concern, as Stone breathed a little heavier than normal.
"Yeah...how hot is it here again?" he asked.
"Generally," said a Sangheili woman behind him, and he looked at her, "around this time the average temperature is 140 degrees. Right now it's 154. But it should drop tonight, and stay around the average for the rest of the week. And it's breezy, so wind chill will bring the temperature considerably down."
"Okay, thank you," Stone said.
"You're welcome," the woman replied, smiling pleasantly. It would be easier for them to just sit in coach for the mere hour, so they did. This liner was much smaller anyway; still a space worthy ship, but more the size of a regular 747, only better flight engines. Not a Fotel at all, though it had a bar and restaurant and had artificial gravity running. This was, of course, more similar to the Sangheilian Frigates. Curved, a sheen purple, and a darker interior. Although the darkness of the interior would only be in effect at night, when the suns were down. As Sedena explained: after a bright day, even a Sangheili wants to wind down in a dark, soothing atmosphere; be part of night, rather than making it go away with more brightness. It was scientifically proven anyway that diurnal species should not be cast in brightness at night for extended amounts of time. It destroys the natural cycle, whether you are awake or asleep. Although, Stone had one of his "weird things", like everyone has their own "weird thing", that he was either in; a) brightness, or; b) darkness. He hated dimness...well, that was with regular white or yellow light bulbs. With the soothing green, blue or purple lights that the Sangheili used, he always enjoyed relaxing silently in that atmosphere.
The hour passed allot quicker than they had expected. Usually when you were excited to get somewhere, it seemed to take forever, but this time they were lucky with their psychological sense of time. The ship slowed and descended to land in the small local airport. The town, they saw as they passed over, was very similar to T or C. A downtown district that was towards the front of the town facing the lake (the buildings were surprisingly small), an apartment district on the opposite end, and a very beautiful park in the middle. The residential suburbs, not clone houses thankfully, were to the east of the town. A good many of them consisted of geodesic domes, and Stone wasn't surprised. The domes' odd shape was known to reflect heat, and make the interior cooler, and they were very sturdy, which would be good against the most likely strong Sangheilian storms.
The great lake had recreational areas right on the grassy edge, and then the small sand beech all around shore. Small boats dotted the lake as well as small docks on the edge. There were even small houses in the jungles on the side across from the town, probably where the wealthiest resided. The area, where Stone assumed was where Dianos and Seris lived, was much like the line of houses on the La Jolla beech, in San Diego. The houses were fairly far apart from each other with larger yards, and had an assortment of types of backyard. Small vegetable and fruit gardens; normal aesthetic tree, bush and flower gardens; patios and decks. It was similar to Earth, but still different in its own way. Buildings were shorter, which was safer against strong winds. And the villas were very Spanish looking, but the stucco was colorful (not in a tacky way, Sangheili knew their style obviously), a few houses had large, thick tree leaves as siding, and vine tied roofs; while others had the brick siding, and clay tile roofs. Some of the villas retained the dome attributes.
"Grandma said that their house had the blue tiled roof with the light green brick siding...there!" Sedena said, pointing out the window. "Look!" she said in glee. Stone looked and laughed as he saw two tiny people in the backyard of the house Sedena described, waving up at the liner. Then they disappeared as the ship went further away, to land at the airport. The process was quick, and they left the liner, went through the small terminal, then came out to the frontal area where traffic was coming and going. They waited for a moment, then a minivan resembling vehicle pulled up in front of them. As soon as Dianos stepped out of the side of the car, Sedena abandoned her bag and jogged over to him.
"Grandad!" she exclaimed. He grinned and knelt down and caught Sedena as she threw her arms around him, and he laughed in delight.
"Welcome home!" he said, then let her go.
"Hello Sedena!" Seris said as she came over to her granddaughter and hugged her as well.
"Good to see you again, Stone, Rose, Zuli. Welcome," Dianos greeted the others as they came over (Stone pulling Sedena's bag and giving it to her).
"Thanks," said Stone. "It's beautiful here." The three suns were starting to decline so they could create early afternoon. It was breezier here too (most likely due to the large lake), so the heat had subsided a little, though Stone and Rose still sweat a little).
"I hope cool enough," said Seris in concern.
"We'll live," said Rose, smiling.
"Heat strokes have happened right in this very town," Dianos said cautiously.
"We're from the desert, we can deal with it," Stone said.
"Well alright, but just say if you need anything special to cool you down," Dianos said as he offered to take Sedena's and Zuli's bags.
"The lake should be fine. It might still be warm to you, but it is cooler and more refreshing than hot air," Seris told them as she offered to take Rose's and Stone's bags as well. "Makes this area breezy as well."
"Sure, we'll have to head out there sometime," Rose said.
"Must be cool to you," Stone said as the lot of them began to get into the vehicle. It was like one of those mini-school buses to Stone, only luxury styled.
"No, it's somewhat warm," said Seris as they began to drive away. "But even in the Hot Cycle we do get 'over-heated', I imagine like your summers in the deserts can be hot for you. Although we don't get those frigid winters. We may be more resistant to heat, but we don't experience respective winters here, and this temperature is still considered pleasant, somewhat hot."
"Imagine an eighty-degree day in your timberlands of North America," Dianos added.
"Exactly," Seris agreed.
"Yeah, eighty is pretty hot to us," Rose replied, letting the wind of the moving car blow on her face through her open window.
"We're supposed to have a storm tonight, to let you know," Dianos said. "What we call regulars would be considered severe to human standards."
"Wow...what's a harsh Sangheilios storm like?" asked Stone.
"Always a hurricane. A moderate hurricane to humans. We, thankfully, don't get anything more severe than that," Seris said. "And tornado and flood regions are uninhabited."
"Hm," said Stone thoughtfully, then looked out the window. He had to crane up his neck to see the top of a regular three story apartment building, more like a four-and-a-half story to humans. The windows looked especially sturdy and thick.
"The hell with Texas, everything's bigger on Sangheilios," Stone said. Dianos laughed at that.
"Even us," he said, grinning.
"What an amazing park!" Rose said in strong admiration, gazing as they passed said park. The park was surrounded by a ruby steel fence with big open gates in the middle of each side of the square park. The outer edge of the park was simple grass, neatly trimmed, with brick paths, and benches on the sides of the paths. But most of the people simply laid in the sun, and only a few sat in the benches while they ate a late lunch. But further into the middle of the large park was thick bush and trees. The huge bushes were about twelve feet high, and the large trees had huge canopies. There were only three trees. The paths disappeared into the bush and flower covered landscaping.
"There are side paths that lead to private pockets for couples, deep in the bushes," Seris said.
"And the same paths lead to small ponds as well. It's an amazing place," Dianos added.
"Why don't we head there tonight?" Rose murmured in Stone's ear, and a smile pulled his lips.
"Sure," he said. They passed through the downtown area, where many appealing shops were located. A clothes shop, a few restaurants, and other oddball stores. Stone noticed Ini Trades as being the name of one office-like building. There were secondary signs with English translations, just like the side signs of Earth with Sangheilian words.
"Ini Trades I assume is..."
"Our company's 'headquarters'," Seris said. "Slow during this time."
"Doesn't really need the big boss hovering over every going-on," Dianos said, sounding somewhat relieved.
"I'm guessing it was busy before we arrived," Stone said.
"Ugh, you have no idea," groaned Dianos. "I think we may have to hire more people, to get more things done quickly."
"You're not talking about this now, Dianos, I told you I would handle things for a while," Seris told him warningly.
"Ah, yes, you're right," he sighed. They finally arrived at their home. It was beautiful from above, spectacular right up close. It was square shaped, with a mansard roof. One corner of the house was a patio with two arches on either corner, and the entrance was on the left wall within the arches. It was, naturally, a tall house. The ceilings looked to be ten feet above. Seris parked the car and they all piled out, grabbed the luggage, and were brought inside. They entered the beautifully furnished house. The ceiling was indeed ten feet high, and Stone beheld the strangest dining chairs.
"Gravity chairs," Seris said when she noticed Stone staring curiously at the chairs. On the ground, were short holders, like those you'd see of a crystal ball; and in these holders, were diner-counter bench-like seats. Seris went over to one and tapped a button on one of the holders with her toe, and the seat rose into the air, propelled by a soft white light, that looked like swirling mist, though it remained in the center of the round holder. She then adjusted the height, making it perfect for Stone to sit at the table.
"Wow," he said in amazement as he took a seat.
"Lean back," Seris said, grinning. Stone gave her a surprised look, but then smirked, knowing what was going to happen as soon as he leaned back. He seemed to be stopped by nothing as he leaned back, but didn't fall backwards.
"This is great," he said, folding his hands behind his head.
"What a beautiful sun room!" Rose said from somewhere in the house.
"I...this looks so familiar," Sedena said, looking around. Seris smiled warmly at her.
"You were here when you were very young, Sedena. Probably...subconscious memories." Zuli walked to where Rose had called from. Into the den. Two chairs across from each other, and a small table in between them. There were living vines on indoor fences all along the walls of the den, some pictures hanging right off the strong vines.
"You have jungles in your homes too?" asked Stone and Seris laughed.
"We love our nature," she said, appreciatively stroking one of the vines.
"We did, we didn't, and now we do again, and sometimes still don't," Stone said.
"Huh?" asked Seris.
"Yes, don't get to involved with us, we're erratic," Stone said warningly, Seris just smiling and rolling her eyes. They went into the sun room, where Rose was laid back on a couch in the suns. The sun room had more plants, a small table and regular chairs around it, and some couches. A book case was in a corner, along with a small stereo system. The windows were open, and outside, the backyard had a vegetable and fruit garden. Mostly ground plants, but two trees a few feet back from the garden...there was a small pond there too. Stone saw several bright blue birds floating in the pond. They looked like crosses between a crane and duck. Not like a pelican, but they were very elegant looking, and had emerald eyes. The beaks were a cobalt as well.
"We actually manage to catch fish in there," Dianos said. Stone chuckled.
"Neat," he remarked. Sedena and Zuli went out and looked at the pond.
"So, how is she with her training? I heard about the tumble her teacher took," Seris said to Stone.
"Oh, she's doing fine. She just started learning about the spears."
"Ah yes," said Dianos, smiling. "She's growing well, she'll be a strong woman when she comes of age."
"And her teacher is alright. He hurt some things pretty bad, but should recover within a month. Although...Sedena still has that temper. She hasn't shown it much lately, but not much provokes her..."
"But the few times something does?" asked Seris seriously. Stone shook his head.
"I gotta keep putting it off, before something gets out of hand."
"I guess she gets that from her grandmother," Dianos said teasingly to Seris who sighed.
"You don't have to keep saying that," she told him.
"Still," said Dianos, shrugging as he went outside himself, the rest following. As they went near the pond, a huge...thing buzzed loudly right over Rose's head.
"Whoa!" she exclaimed, whirling around, but the thing was gone.
"What's wrong?" asked Dianos.
"Big bug," Stone stated. He had thought the bug had been a hummingbird when he first heard it, but remembered: everything is bigger on Sangheilios (with some amusement). That thing had probably been a common housefly...okay maybe not, it was a probably a medium sized insect to a Sangheili, but still...the bugs here were probably especially creepy.
"Oh yes, zims is what we call them. Bees, basically. Common pollinators, and they create rumsey, our respective honey," Dianos told them.
"They sting?" asked Rose, slightly worried.
"They don't. Trust us, they would be fierce stings even to us," Seris said.
"I'd like to see the bug that gets you high in the sky when it stings you," Stone said, and Rose slapped him in the arm spitefully, smiling in annoyance.
"Yes, exactly why we entrusted you to our granddaughter," said Seris sarcastically.
"What?" asked Sedena, looking at them.
"Nothing, Sedena, we were only joking," Seris told her.
"Quite a garden," Rose commented, crouching down to look at some vine plants that looked suspiciously like pumpkins and watermelons, but still different. Especially in color.
"It does us fine," Dianos said. He then plucked a leaf off one of the bushes and handed it to Stone. The leaf had a smooth, leathery surface, and the skin was rather thick, but it was hollow inside. Kind of like a chile pepper. Stone's eyes lit up then
"Iatao? For real? Right off the tree?" he asked, and Dianos only grinned. Then Stone took a bite.
"Good God, Stone!" Rose said.
"That was our hottest species," Dianos said to Stone, who's face was red now.
"I don't care, this is great," he said breathlessly.
"I'll get you some milk, that cools down the most effectively," Seris sighed, going to the house.
"Thanks," he wheezed, thumping his chest with his fist lightly, then stifled a burp with the same fist. He really started to sweat.
"I suggest a cool shower," Dianos said, smiling in amusement while watching the man with his arms crossed.
"Sounds like a plan," Stone agreed.
"Stone, please don't kill yourself here," Sedena said. Dianos chuckled.
"You too, Rose," Zuli said.
"Do I really look like I'd do something in the nature of Stone Gossard? No offense, Sedena," Rose added politely to the Sangheili girl.
"None taken," she replied.
"Hardy fuckin' har," Stone said. Seris came up behind him and offered him a glass of white creamy milk.
"Hold on, didn't you say this would put me in a coma or something?" asked Stone.
"It's from a different animal, one that humans aren't allergic to," Seris said, then put on a look of mock offense. "Do I really look like the type to kill off our granddaughter's father?"
"You never know," Stone said, toasting with the glass teasingly then drinking. It was sweet, sort of, very creamy and soothing. It, of course, had a different flavor away from cow's milk. It was raw milk too, the best kind. Stone still couldn't believe, after centuries of human history, some people still wouldn't drink raw milk. It was downright ridiculous. But he wasn't some people, so he drank deeply, then wiped the white mustache off his upper lip.
"That was great. I like my new meal I invented," Stone said.
"Iataos and milk? Come on, don't call yourself to first to think of that," Dianos said.
"I can patent it first, has anyone patented it yet?" Stone asked.
"Leave your pathetic political correctness back with your own kind...really," Dianos said to Stone, who laughed.
"You really don't have to worry about that." Stone heard the buzzing of an on-coming zim, then gave a yelp as the buzzing became a roar, as the zim bumped right into his ear. He batted it away, and the zim started circling him in an angry way. Stone swung his glass at the zim as it danced in front of him, catching it. He then put his hand over the glass opening, trapping it.
"Ha!" Stone laughed triumphantly.
"They're quite clumsy as well," Dianos said, grinning. The zim settled down. It was like a bumble bee, most notably it had hair, though its features weren't very visible. It had a head, but it didn't quite show as much as a bees', and the body was simply a plump mass. It was like a lint ball almost, only with legs and wings. The hair was gray, and the wings were very large. It crawled on Stone's palm, and the usual tickle of bee feet on skin was replaced by the sticky pricking of the tight-gripped zim feet. Then it stuck its face on Stone's palm and bit him.
"Yah!" he yelled in surprise, releasing his hand and the zim flew away this time, instead of picking another fight. "Little shit," said Stone, looking as the small pricks on his hand. It was like being poked with a thin needle.
"I've never seen one bite before," Seris said, very surprised.
"It's not poisonous is it?" asked Rose, looking at Stone's hand.
"No, no. I knew they bit, it's alright Seris," Dianos said.
"Oh...hm," she said, putting her hands on her hips.
"It's rare really, as we don't pay heed to them, and they to us," Dianos explained.
"Just like bees," said Stone.
"Heh, I guess our planets are rather the same with their ecosystems," Seris said. "I'll show you to your rooms." The four guests murmured their thanks and followed Seris back into the house and up the stairs. Seris stopped in the hall and turned to them.
"Now, we have two guest rooms. One has two beds, the other is a single bed. I'm guessing you two would want to share a bed," Seris said to Stone and Rose.
"Of course," they both replied. As Stone and Rose checked out their room, Zuli and Sedena brought their things to theirs. Both beds were next to each other, with only a nightstand between them at the head of the bed, a blue lighted lamp held aloft. Down at the end of the room was a double seated couch and a television in front of it. Then there was an armoire, no doubt empty and ready for them to temporarily store their clothes in. There were two windows over each head of the beds, letting in plenty sunlight.
"What do you say we kill—I mean break Stone and Rose into the atmosphere by taking them on a hike to that small mountain," Zuli said, smirking as he gestured out the window to said mountain. It was covered in jungle, save for some bald spots near the top, where it was large, brown rocks. Sedena smirked too.
"I think we should take it easy too, even I feel a little too warm here. Being in that freezing desert." She and Zuli snickered as they began to unpack their things.
Rose sighed as she stretched out on the bed, hands folded behind her head on the large pillows. There was plenty of room. The bed was about nine feet long and six-and-half feet wide, she barely felt as Stone plopped on the firm mattress next to her and took the same position.
"God," he sighed, fanning his face with a baseball cap.
"Damn," Rose added, and they both grinned grimly. "I say cold shower after whatever activity might happen in a bit."
"I'm down with that." Rose chuckled.
"I bet how the shower temps work is vice versa as it is to Earth plumbing," she said.
"Please no. I don't wanna get in trouble for using up all the cold water."
"Probably not, since it is iffy weather to Dianos and Seris. They probably like warm showers." There were knocks on their door then.
"I've got these special blankets for you," they heard Dianos call.
"Come in," Stone said. He opened up and came in with said blanket tucked under his arm. As Stone and Rose got up, he said,
"This blanket is made from a special material that remains cool, even in the hottest weather...as long as it's indoors and not in the sunlight," he said, handing the blanket to Rose. She felt it and smiled. It was pretty cool.
"Thanks," she said.
"Well I wouldn't let you two bake to death in the middle of the night," Dianos said, then shared a chuckle with them. "As I was walking by Sedena and Zuli's room I overheard 'hike', so I'm assuming they've already got a plan for the afternoon."
"They're probably laughing about how much fun they're going to have torturing us," Rose said dryly to Stone and he snorted.
"I'll bring allot of water, and there's a small pond at the top of the mountain that you two could cool off in. It's under heavy tree canopy and shade, so it'll be more cool than the lake," Dianos told them.
"Sounds good, got the camera?" Stone asked Rose.
"You know it," she said, turning on the camera, then going in the picture selection, where past photos were taken, then showed it to Dianos. He leaned over to look, then began to laugh; hard. He stepped back, holding his arm over his stomach, his eyes shut tight as he 'busted a gut' laughing.
"Uh..." Stone said, eyebrow raised to Rose in questioning. She only grinned and showed him the picture she had shown Dianos. First it was N'tho slouched over deeply, on Stone's chest, then Stone slouched on Niuon's chest, all three of them drooling in their unconsciousness from the new years night's drunken hurrah. But this one had Sedena pretending to be ready to pounce on Stone, she had fixed her face into an evil and excited grin, as her eyes held animalistic pre-victory triumph of her kill. Stone sighed and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger, then smiled sheepishly.
"The mighty N'tho Sraom of the final battle of the Great War, who fought with the Master Chief and Arbiter, drunk and disorderly in front of his pupil...and the parent doing the same," Dianos crossed his arms and looked down at Stone with mock sternness.
"Hey, I gave her a stirring speech on the dangers of drunkenness, and how she should never ever do it, at all, and how she should avoid anyone that does it...no matter who," Stone shot back. Dianos just sighed and smiled.
"I'm sure she took it to heart. I'll know for sure when she says she'd rather stay here when your visit is over."
"I saw that nice mini bar in your kitchen," Rose told to him, crossing her arms.
"I'm telling you, it's soda pop and juice, that's all," Dianos said over innocently. "And it's Seris'."
"Yeah, sure," Stone said.
"It actually is Seris', she drinks more than I do."
"Don't even try it," Seris said suddenly, making Dianos jump slightly and turn to her in surprise. She strode in and said,
"I've seen him passed out on the couch, on the floor, in the garden, and in the shallow end of the pond plenty of times," she told Stone and Rose.
"Atleast I didn't try to test my strength by taking out all the seats in the MFV, then attempting to lift it up, and throw out my back in the process. We wasted plenty of water putting ice on her back," Dianos said to the two humans.
"If you call healing me a waste," Seris sneered.
"MFV? Is that the van out there?" asked Stone.
"Yes, Medium-sized Family Vehicle. We have classes of vehicles. They resemble your vehicles, we just have a...more...how should I put it? More technical terminology for our vehicles. What you call a van we call an MFV. A sedan is a Small-sized Family Vehicle. We can explain all this later," Dianos said as he turned, hearing Sedena's and Zuli's footsteps sound from the hallway, then both children entered the room.
"Settled in?" asked Seris. Both Sedena and Zuli gave affirmative murmurs. "Since you two haven't been here for so long, but know it better than Stone and Rose, what should we do today? We've still got sunlight to burn," Seris said to them.
"We were thinking of going hiking to the mountain out there," Zuli said.
"Good plan," said Dianos. "Let's pack some things for the trek then head there," he said, walking out the of the room, headed to the kitchen. The lot of them packed their lunches, Stone and Rose sampling some meats for the trip. Though the "small lunch" the Sangheili were having looked to be the size of the average beef steak. Seris and Dianos kindly shaved down Stone and Rose's portions. Everything was so unique, coming from such a planet. Stone thought the red sky was neat, but still preferred the cool blue sky of Earth. They loaded into the van, then drove through the town, and down a less busy road that went through the jungle. The trees were monolithic as they rose in the sky, the root patterns of the trees looking comfortable to sit inside, with fallen leaves making a cushion between two big thick pieces. But Stone wouldn't try to lie in those leaves, filled with God knew what kind of insects or animals.
Near the end of the short drive to the base of the mountain, they saw a flock of beautiful birds fly just in front of the van. They were bright green, and had long wings and tails. The tips of the wings were curved in a shape similar to the edge of a scimitar sword, and the tails were more like thin cat tails, flowing in the wind as they flew. What dazzled the humans the most about them were the undersides of their wings. The feathers seemed to be reflective, like metal or glass, and every time they flapped their wings up, the suns' reflection flashed on the wings, a greenish-orange like stain glass. It was almost like watching the rapid-exploding firecrackers, only without the noise. They flew in a C shape as well. Rose managed to get a video feed with her camera for a short time, before they suddenly banked to their left and dove upwards. Stone didn't know if they landed on tree branches or went into the sky, since the car passed them. But he knew this would be one of many amazing experiences.
They finally came to the base of the mountain, in a dirt parking lot with several other cars parked around. Several trails went up different parts of the mountain. The breeze was less here, being broken by the heavy trees...and seemed to be insulated in this deep part of the jungle. Stone put on his sunglasses and waved his cap over his face. Rose did exactly the same as she looked up the mountain.
"Water before we begin?" asked Dianos, offering a bottle to the humans.
"Yes, thank you," Rose said, taking the bottle gratefully, then drinking a healthy amount, Stone doing so when she offered him the bottle. Once they had their about-to-go-through-the-heat-of-hell-on-Sangheilios drink, they followed Dianos and Seris up a trail. Atleast the paths were clear, parched soil beaten down by many booted footsteps. Only a few small roots from saplings (which were more like the size of medium oaks or maples on Earth) were sticking up through the soil, but they were easily overstepped. Only fifteen minutes into the hike, Stone and Rose were sweaty and stinky, and being attacked by Sangheilios' version of mosquitoes...only they were larger, and their bites were like being pricked with small sowing pins. Thankfully Dianos and Seris had a mean, natural bug repellent. It was a pheromone produced by a type of animal to attract others of its kind, but bugs hated it, and stayed far away from them.
"But...wouldn't a pheromone attract the animals instead?" asked Rose.
"Since it's mixed with the smell of a creature not of its kind, meaning us of course, they will know we're not really one of them. And we can't smell it ourselves, so it's a win-win product," Dianos told them.
"Are you okay?" asked Sedena to Stone, looking at the huffing and puffing man walking next to her up a jungle mountain under three suns.
"Yeah, I am, don't worry," he said, smiling at her and waving in a dismissive way.
"Same here," Rose responded. "It's good for us...water, Stone?" He passed her the bottle and she guzzled some of it, then he asked for it as well.
They soon paused when they heard a deep buzzing sound that sounded like a small fusion power generator Stone.
"Zim hive," Seris stated, pointing up into a tree which was a dirty gray-white, and looked more like stucco than bark, but was still a natural wooden texture. The gigantic brown hive was up on a branch, and there were hundreds of the huge insects zooming around, bringing in pollen or heading out to gather more.
"Do they make honey?" Rose asked.
"They do, and it's quite delicious," Dianos said. Rose snapped a photo of it.
"Zuli," Stone said to him, "I will give you one hundred dollars, to climb up there and prod it with a stick."
"Fuck that," Zuli blurted out, and Rose kicked him in the ankle (though she struggled to contain a grin).
"Sedena?" Stone asked.
"Anything for my father," she said charmingly, smiling, giving a girlie curtsy as she walked passed him, then leaped up to a branch. She grabbed it then pulled herself up with ease, then leaped to another branch. Dianos and Seris didn't look worried at all, but Stone couldn't help being worried, and he regretted daring her. But she made it to the branch (having snapped off a small twig on the way up) then walked out to the edge of the branch where the giant hive was located. Dianos looked prepared to catch her, and Stone now officially regretted doing this. He promised himself he wouldn't dare her to do something like that again, especially if there wasn't a mighty grandfather right there to make sure she didn't get hurt.
Sedena grinned then gave the hive a good prod, making it sway. The buzzing got more intense, and the zims that were outside and had saw the assault on their hive, immediately began to swarm Sedena.
"Fuck!" Stone shouted in anger, at himself. To his astonishment, Seris and Dianos only laughed.
Calmly (and a little smugly, mostly directed at Stone) Sedena jumped off the branch, plummeted forty feet to the ground, then did a tumble to cushion the impact of her legs on the fall, and came up unharmed...only now all the zims were pissed and came charging down, stingers or no stingers.
"Let's go!" Dianos called, jogging up the trail with Seris, who giggled like a teenage girl during her first spooning. Stone and Rose were flustered with a mix of horror and amusement, as they followed Dianos, Seris, Sedena and Zuli up the trail at a quick pace. They ran for about thirty seconds before stopping, and looking back down the trail. Nothing, since the trail curved and they couldn't see the hive anymore.
"Jesus," breathed Stone, then chugged water, automatically offering it to Rose when he was finished, and she drank.
"Isn't it what you wanted?" asked Zuli, smirking. Stone couldn't help but grin, then gave Sedena a hundred dollars in twenties.
"Go crazy," Stone told her as she plucked the fistful of dollars from his grasp.
"Wow, he didn't try to barter or anything," said Seris, impressed.
"Hey, I keep my promises," Stone said, putting his wallet back in the pocket of his shorts, he still had sixty in his pocket (though he knew he'd have to change that in for a disposable nanite card, especially made to transfer human currency into nanites).
"Well, we're almost to the top. I'd say...ten more minutes, then you and Rose can dip your heads in the pond," Dianos said.
"Let's make it seven, I've already got my blood pumping," said Rose, who immediately took off at an impressive stride (impressive for being in 140 degree weather), and Stone puffed after, being grimly/pleasantly/ironically reminded of his father reading him, when he was six years old, "The Little Engine That Could."
I think I can, I think I can, I think I can; holy shit, I think I can.
They did, seven minutes later. The ground leveled out flatter (somewhat) and they walked on the rock top surface of the mountain, probably left over from a long dead volcanic eruption during the birth of the planet. Other large chunks of the rock put bald patches on the top of the mountain, and some of the trees were smaller here. But there was one thicket directly in the middle of the top, that was very tall. No doubt the pond in the middle of the soft, soil patch of the mountain. It was cooler up here as well, somewhat, and a nice breeze flowed on them. Rose sighed and faced towards the wind as she tried to retie her hair into a bun, sunglasses reflecting six tiny suns in each lens. Sweat was in drops on her neck and forehead, and parts of her white tank-top were stained: armpits and front.
Stone didn't look much different. He was fidgeting with the lens of his sunglasses, one had fallen out, for no apparent reason it seemed.
"Piece of shit, you can't by anything that lasts well unless it costs your asshole," Stone growled.
"Um, cost your asshole?" asked Dianos, eyebrow raised.
"What my dad used to say when he bought something and it immediately broke afterward. Really, what would you do without-"
"We get it, Stone," Seris interjected. Stone finally popped the lens in its socket then put his glasses on. Then the other one came out.
"Fucker!" he snarled, throwing the pair on the ground then stomping on it with his boot. He then sighed and picked it up, not wanting to litter their planet.
"There's plenty of those at the Earth Imports shop in town," Seris said.
"That's fine," Stone said, pocketing the ruined sunglasses.
"And you criticize me on my temper," Sedena said with an ever-so-slight sneer, but a joking look in her eyes.
"Not once in my life, have I ever gotten so angry to kill some...um, never mind," Stone said, and Dianos snorted at that. They proceeded into the woods again, and this time it was very cool, rather than insulated heat like in the jungle below. Stone guessed it was the altitude and wind chill, combined with the shade of the tree canopy. They soon came to the middle portion with the enormous trees looming above. Almost no sun was coming through, except for a small glitter in the middle of the pond ahead of them, coming through a spot where the trees tops didn't obscure the suns and sky. Some Sangheili were already present (even a single human couple, with a very dark tan) and swimming in the pond, chattering, and generally enjoying some leisure time. Stone immediately knelt on the shore with Rose and dipped his head in, hat and all. If their heads had been above water, they would have heard the other human couple laugh empathetically. The water was warm, but still soothing to the heat they experienced above water. After a moment, the two of them removed their heads, taking in big breaths.
"By tomorrow you'll be marginally accustomed to the heat," Seris said.
"And it'll be like the Arctic when we get back to New Mexico," Rose said, and Seris had to chuckle at that, as she sat on the shore, took off her shoes and dipped her feet into the water, Dianos joining her. Sedena and Zuli had already stripped down to swim shorts and went in the water head first. If there was one specific attribute that Sangheili had to their bodies, and many humans commented on this; they have great swimmers' bodies. It was only natural that the watermasses and landmasses were scattered more than Earth's, so the Sangheili could have easier access to an ocean to take a swim in.
Sedena and Zuli moved like sharks under the clear water for a moment, then came back up.
"Hey, it's not an ice bucket like the Elephant Butte lake," Zuli commented, then he and Sedena laughed.
"I could go for an ice bucket," Rose said, as she removed her tank top to her swim suit underneath. Then she went into the water, and Stone soon followed. The next half-hour was spent at the pond, which was pretty large, not "small" like Dianos had said. Well, it must be small to a Sangheili. Everything's bigger on Sangheilios. They swam for a bit, had their lunch, then explored the rest of the top of the mountain, looking at the views. On the opposite end of the mountain that faced the town of Sitrik, was a large ocean body.
"It's a very nice beech, and there," Seris said, pointing to a small glistening object near a small rocky mountain, smaller than the mountain they were atop now, which was pretty small to begin with, "is the Zaf Keep, where the Zaf family resides."
"One of the Zafs is a Kaidon, right?" Rose asked.
"Yes, Sesa Quzaf; he's been very good to the state. He sponsors the USSC that connects to your American state 'Maine'. Like the Dam State's USSC branch is connected to New Mexico."
"Everything's going well with that, I think the USSC will totally replace the UNSC in a few years," Stone said.
"It is. All those naysayers aren't even getting a second glance," Seris stated. "They say they try to be logical and not get their hopes up high, but really, they try to be logical to themselves, since pessimism is really what makes things fail."
"Most of the time atleast," Dianos stated, Seris nodding in agreement. Stone and Rose glanced up as silent firecrackers flashed above their heads, then those beautiful green birds flew over again, the firecrackers turning out to be the glistening under wings. Rose took some good pictures with the speed-shutter setting of her camera, then looked at them.
"Perfect," she said, grinning. Stone looked and liked what he saw. The photos of the birds were very clear, as if the birds had been posing in mid-air for a photo shoot. It was a really nice camera. He liked the digital cameras that had physical shutters, not like those cheap Wal-Mart cameras that pretended to have shutters, with the electronic click.
"They can get mean though, stay away from their nests," Dianos said. Stone immediately pictured that stupid movie "The Birds" and imagined the green birds chasing a Sangheili woman into a phone booth, then one slamming into it, spraying purple blood on the glass while making a giant spiderweb crack. Stone snorted, and Rose gave him a nudge and a smirk, knowing exactly what he was picturing. Then a random thought occurred to him.
"Hey, do all living animals on Sangheilios have purple blood?"
"Of course. Do all Earth animals have red blood?" asked Seris.
"Yeah. I was just curious."
"We're not that unique," Dianos said, chuckling.
"Who said I thought you were special?" asked Stone with mock snideness.
"We're very special," Dianos replied, grinning. The breeze blew towards Dianos and Seris, and with it came the sweaty stink of Rose and Stone, and they grimaced briefly before hiding their looks.
"Shower time," Rose said, noticing their looks. They both smiled in embarrassment, and then the group headed back down the mountain, got in the car, then drove back (keeping the windows open for heat as well as the...other reason). They got to the house, and Rose and Stone played Rock, Paper, Scissors, for the shower, and Stone won.
"Make it quick," Rose said as she changed into a fresh, non-sweaty shirt for the time being. Stone went into their bedrooms' bathroom. To his left was the sink first, large, almost up to his chest, and the large toilet beside it. Then the shower was at the end of the room, a towel rod mounted on the right wall. Stone stripped then stepped up to the shower/bathtub. There was a single button above a crescent-moon shaped dial. The right side of the dial was red, obviously indicating "hot" and it slowly transitioned to blue to the left. Stone smiled. This would be simple. He stepped into the tub, under the high-up shower head. The head was detachable but he couldn't reach it...maybe if he jumped, but he wasn't about to perform acrobatics in his hosts' bathtub and make a ton of noise. He left it as is then set the dial to cool, but not freezing cold. It was still hot in the bathroom, but thankfully a small, rectangular window above the shower's tile wall was open, letting in fresh air. Once Stone was all set, he pressed the button above the dial. Immediately he was sprayed with water, only it was as strong as a fucking fire-hose and beat against his skin in sharp drops, like hail, only at a fast rate. Stone yelled in surprise and staggered back, this resulted in the pelting of his private parts. He stumbled out of the bathtub and onto the thick, absorbent throw-rug at the foot of the tub. As if that wasn't enough, the heavy impact of his body on the floor caused a precariously placed bottle of some sort of cream to drop on Stone's head and splatter out of the nozzle on the floor. Stone only absently waved his hand in the general direction of his head while he focused his other on massaging his two fragile bits.
"Stone!?" Rose called in alarm from outside, slamming on the door.
"What happened!?" he heard Seris exclaim as she apparently burst into the room.
"I'm fine," Stone growled, getting to his knees and sitting up, the shower still blowing down loudly.
"Was...the stream too powerful? I'm so sorry, Stone, that's sort of like a rough massage to us," Seris said, sounding mortified.
"That sounded pretty rough," Dianos said as he heard him walking in. "Is it really that overpowering?"
"I got hit in a tender area," Stone said, now being able to stand, though his extremities still killed him with the after-ache.
"Old war wound?" asked Dianos empathetically.
"...no..." Stone said, raising his tone on the "O", a shorter way to say: "no you dumbass."
Outside, Rose said lowly,
"Human males have external genitals." Dianos was now fully mortified as Seris was.
"Even the..." Rose nodded.
"Stone, there's a dial on the shower head that reduces the power. If it's still too powerful then just take a bath," Seris called in.
Stone stood carefully on the side of the tub and reached for the head. He turned a switch and the stream got softer, soft enough for him, but a bit rough enough to be a soothing massage.
"Thanks," he called through, forcing the aggravation to not show in his voice.
"We're sorry again," Dianos said.
"It's no problem really," Stone said as he stepped in the shower then closed the glass door. Stone sighed as he began to wash himself, the aching now only a slight throb, but still feeling like hell. The last place a man would like to be hit. He finished up his wash then stepped out to let Rose have her turn. She didn't say anything on what had just transpired. It was bad enough when a man got moody over being hit in that place under usual reasons, in a normal situation or atmosphere...but here, and the reason...Stone would no doubt be a great deal more testy.
As Stone pulled on pants, able to take off his robe, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," he said. Sedena came in, and had a very cautious and neutral look on her face as she watched Stone for a moment, as he pulled a fresh, non-sweaty shirt on. Both he and Rose would need to use Dianos' and Seris' washing machine by three days.
"Are you okay?" Sedena asked.
"Yeah," sighed Stone.
"Our next activity should be fun," Sedena said brightly, trying to make Stone bright as well. He smiled honestly.
"And that is?"
"A really good restaurant, grandma says."
"Great," said Stone, now cheered up. Sedena could always do that to him. "That'll be fun." Only it wasn't.