Another pod landed just over their heads then veered right until it disappeared in the horizon. They immediately packed their bags and started their journey to the direction of the pod.
Today, as they walked, the soft spring sun was just enough to warm their skin. It was a pleasant walk. Very much different from their last winter trek when everything had been icy cold. Redwoods started to appear in their surroundings. Streams were also abundant so they didn't have a hard time with water. It was amazing how a pack of good ration food and good rest could make a journey pleasant.
Amanda went forward to the nearest red tree. She was doing something in front of the tree, but Sarek could not see what it was. He could only see her back. Curious, he went to her to inspect.
"'Amanda and Sarek were here. xoxo'," Sarek read the carvings on the tree with a flat voice. He turned to look at her hands. "You have blunted your pen-knife," he further admonished.
"Just leaving a little souvenir."
"Interesting. This is a testament. A piece of evidence to corroborate our story that we have been here. For when we go back, they may not find our words sufficient."
"..." Amanda hadn't intended it that way, but she was shutting her mouth on this one.
He further examined the writing, "Is this a routinary practice among humans when they visit a new environment?"
"Well, ye-es?"
"You are unsure."
He was sure it was a statement, not a question. "I'm sorry, it's been done so casually, I hadn't noticed it was now probably a practice. It was done for fun than for a purpose."
"I now understand why Humans have advanced much in a short period. They have this set of thought patterns that can produce the most unique solutions out of the common algorithms. But I am curious, what is the meaning of the carvings, 'xoxo'? I'm afraid I do not recognize it. Is it Standard? Ancient Runes? Andorian letters?"
Amanda laughed so hard she was already clutching her stomach. She went past him, but not before patting his head lightly and saying, "look it up, big boy." She was a good deal walking happier after that.
Presently they came into a forest with great oaks. It was a warm day which made you think about sleeping under the shade of the trees, with the trees providing a cool shade from the direct heat. The oaks were bigger grandfather trees and the leaves above were huge so only a few slits of sunlight got inside, straight-shooting to the ground from the roof of leaves and branches. The undergrowth was full of soft wet leaves, her boot sunk into it when she stepped.
An insect flew as a helicopter and hovered close to her shoulder. "Ow, ow, get it away! Get it away!" She exclaimed. It landed on the floor and never moved again. Smitten by her conscience that she had killed it, she prodded it with a stick.
Sarek was behind her with his litany, "Amanda, it is illogical to feel responsible for the death of this being. You acted on self-defence. The insect may have had poisons that could have killed you."
"Why look at this, it's nothing but a leaf." She examined the thing closely and discovered it was only two orange-coloured leaves popping out from one stem forming an intertwined circle that started small at the bottom and grew large and less hard as it shot to the top.
"I see," said Sarek picking it up from the ground and examining it. It was thicker than a normal leaf. "Its leaves are intertwined. Its widening surface area coupled with its tight design makes the air-resistance propel it to spin very fast," he observed, putting the object close to his eyes.
Up above her, more were dropping from the tree. But instead of dropping like a normal leaf, they descended in a wide arc of varying sizes depending on the width of their leaves which made their descent slower and more graceful. The forest was full of them. Amanda wanted to catch one.
They glided down with grace and elegance of dancing ballerinas. She held out her hand but the leaves had no intention of falling into her palm. They veered away whenever she thought they would already almost land in her hand. In the end, she did catch one.
"Look, Sarek!" So Sarek looked into her hand.
"It's not just a leaf, it's a seed," said Amanda.
"Indeed it is," said Sarek. On the very end of the circling leaves was a seed about the third size of his thumb.
"I'm going to keep it."
"Have you checked if this is legal? The agricultural quarantine restricts the entry of animal, fish or plant products. Failure to obtain such permit with corresponding health sanitary or phytosanitary certificate may result in seizure of aforementioned items."
"You sound like a Government database. But you also said 'may'."
"I am merely pointing out that-"
"Oh look! The seeds are edible!" said Amanda, looking over the beep of the tricorder. "I guess we're having Calcium..., Iron ...and Magnesium tonight. No poison too." she read the output.
And that ended the dispute. Sarek let her pick as much of the seeds as possible without any more objections or demand that she produce certifications. It was good to know Sarek would drop being legalistic when it was already a matter of survival. She stuffed her bag with it. And when there wasn't any more space, she stuffed his bag with it. And when she still found them she picked it up then stuffed the pockets of her fatigue pants, then his fatigue pants. Then after boiling some, munched it along the way.
By nightfall, they started to notice something different. The falling Dancing Ballerinas gave off a faint glow. Ballerinas that were already fallen to the ground also glowed. Amanda wanted to take some to their pod but she found out it was not the leaves that were glowing. It was an insect inside the centre of each. A firefly.
They walked a bit more and the glowing Ballerinas seemed to get more numerous as they continued forward. It came to a point that she was careful not to step on any of them. They were precious little things. She couldn't bear ending the light of even one. Beside her, Sarek was also doing the same.
She could see the fireflies up trees, crowding over a big pulp that looked like fruit. Pulps hanging on the trees was about the size of her hand. Then something unexpected happened. A seed fell away from the main pulp, and as soon as it caught air, it started to spin and dance fast. It must have been that when the pulp starts to soften, that was when the seeds fall to become Dancing Ballerinas. One by one, they would break away from the large main pulp seed, then fall gracefully to the ground.
"Woah," Amanda stopped on her tracks. Up above her, the whole oak tree was filled with fireflies. They have found their nest. They were flying all over the place like little faeries living in a tree. It gave the great oak a faint glow. Especially if you were directly below it and peeking upon its branches. The little dots of light looked like pixie dust ready to sprinkle on them.
"Fascinating," said Sarek, looking up.
She went forward to hold her hand above them, not to capture, but to revel in their beauty.
Sarek looked at her glowing face and was struck by a realization that she was still quite young. Very much far away from him in age. Still in the stage where she was still fascinated by the stimulants and the sensations simply by her surroundings. He was struck with a longing to protect and not break this jewel. But he knew that time would come and pound it more to see if it still stands.
She couldn't quite resist the temptation of putting her hand on a branch full of thick glowing fireflies. She gave a soft laugh when they scattered above her hands, then settled back down to the side of the branch again.
"Like little faerie angels."
Sarek raised an eyebrow and looked sideways to her. "You are aware that fireflies light in order to attract a mate?"
Her smile faded to a mock-frown chuckle. "Unbelievable."
"What is?"
"The fact that I was enjoying a beautiful moment and you just have to tell me an infodump on mating. Now all I can think of calling them is horny bugs instead of faerie angels."
"I do not understand why you have to cease calling them faerie angels just because they mate."
Amanda opened her mouth to give him a good reason. Then closed it again because she couldn't find one. She smiled serenely up to him. "Faerie Angels it is."
They decided to camp there for the night; underneath the glowing oak tree. They boiled more of the seeds for their dinner.
Next day brought them to terrain with lesser trees. The ground started to have soft grass until they came to a glade that was full of it. The kind that would want you to go barefoot with its bed-like softness. So Amanda said so, but Sarek wouldn't hear of it. The grass was dangerous and she might step on a poisonous bug. Later on, the ground started to get watery and she was glad Sarek told her to keep her boots on.
.oOo.
Amanda should have known better. The fireflies last night would have been enough indication that they were near some wetland. She should have already known it when the ground beneath them started to be watery then mossy until it was only their feet that broke the surface moss that wrapped the water surface like a blanket. Or when they saw an abundant supply of blackberries that were just waiting to be picked.
"Marshes."
"Can't we go around it?" said Amanda.
Sarek shook his head. "The tricorder states this type of terrain is 45 hectares wide. There is no other option but to cross it."
The last time they were here to retrieve the third landing pod. it was during the winter and the bogs were frozen solid, with a thick layer of snow on top of it. It had been an easy flat hike and their enemy was the perilous frost and the unforgiving white. Now it was a different terrain they had to navigate and fight.
They had to go back to the oak trees to make a canoe. The trees in their current position were too thin with the roots spreading all over the blanket-covered moss water.
They went back to the great oak trees. He tapped them to see if it was hard enough. They scrutinized the body if it was wide enough. When he was finally satisfied with his choice of the tree (not the firefly nest), he took out the laser cutter and set about his work.
First, he cut the tree to make a big log. Then they both cleared the bark out to make it smooth. He flattened the top up and shaped the sides narrower. It was to make the canoe aero-dynamic. Next, he carved out the canoe's inside from the flat top. They only made one oar. They decided to take turns in using it, so the other could shout directions.
Very soon they were pushing it on the start of the water.
Sarek told her to sit behind him because "Females are always behind males in Vulcan."
Amanda would have made a fuss at this but he added, "It is for your protection. This is an unfamiliar terrain. If a predator happens to pass, it would have to go through me first before it reaches you."
"Isn't that unfair for you?"
Sarek's shoulders rose and went down as if in a shrug. "It has been how my people have done it. A female can survive without a male. But a male cannot survive without a female. It was, therefore, logical to put the males on the front line because if the female is in the front, both of them will die by defacto. Furthermore, I have combat skills and higher body mass. I will be harder to bring down if there is a predator waiting to ambush us for food."
"I suppose so. But all the same, be careful alright? I don't want you to die."
"I shall do my best to comply with your request."
They oared forward in silence, the boat and their oar, the only one disturbing the lonely curtain moss on the water. The trees became bigger and bolder until roots were so high up that their canoe had no trouble passing below. For a long time, it was all weeds and moss and great mangrove trees, with an occasional lily on the grass-moss.
Some of the trees were all covered in in mosses. In the low covered sun, it was giving off a faint glow. And all those times, there was a steady drip-drip of lake water from somewhere.
Presently they came upon an alligator eating a huge turtle. They saw it cut through the turtle's shell-like cheese, then munch it off piece by piece. After it was done eating, the alligator then went to regard them with uninterest. She shivered.
"Perhaps that was for the best. Had it not eaten that turtle, it might have found us as meals."
"Poor turtle."
They rowed again. For some reason, they whispered when talking.
"Sarek?" Amanda whispered.
"Yes, Amanda,"
"This place seems a little bit strange, don't you think? As if the place doesn't want to be disturbed and we're intruders."
"What part of this whole excursion seem strange to you?"
Before she could reply, their boat struck something solid. It was apparent that the water was now so low they could go no further. Sarek snapped a sturdy vine with his hands from a nearby tree as if it was paper. Then he tied the canoe to one of the sturdy trees. They walked a few more paces. The watery ground turned into steadier soil. Eventually, they arrived at the place where the trees came to a full stop. He looked down below him. It was no longer soil. It was sand. He blinked at the warm sunlight. They were out of the woods.
Amanda let out a gasp. "We're here. We're finally here," she said.
Yes, they were. The pod was a few paces away from them with ample food supply. But instead of going inside, Amanda went past the shuttle pod and went instead into the open sea. There were big rocks here and there. And there was a slab of land that seems to still be shallow even for miles. She was laughing.
The water was as smooth as glass and as clear as jelly. It had a blue shade on it against the white sand. If you look hard enough, you can almost see a trace of green in the water. It was almost a pity to step on it. But when she took off her shoes and dipped her feet on the perfect water, she didn't feel sorry at all. She sighed when the watery sand made contact with the skin on her feet. At first, she kept to the shallows. And when she ventured deeper she would fold her pants higher. A few more steps into the water she finally stopped. Casting a furtive glance at his direction, she went back into the dry sand and started taking off her shirt.
Sarek gulped. Probably for practical purposes. Her clothes would get wet in the water if she wore them. It was logical to remove them before swimming, said the coherent part of his brain.
She hesitated for a bit, then wiggled off her fatigue pants as well. Soon she was running and twirling and wading the shallow waters with nothing but her underthings. Orange underthings.
Fresh white ripples met her feet. She seemed to get genuine pleasure from simply tripping on the shallow lines. Humans. There were a lot of cultural seminars about them that warned him they were always this vivacious, unpredictable, extensive passion. But it was the first time he had observed one in this proximity for a large period of time. Perhaps it would be beneficial to conduct observatory research...
Amanda squinted and shielded her eyes when she gazed up into the sky. The sun was so hot there was nowhere in the sky safe to look at. Her eyes went back to his direction. Is she finally going to acknowledge his existence?
"Sarek?" said Amanda, going near him. "Won't you come?" she said. She gently went back to the shallow waters. Sarek felt like he was being pulled along with her.
"Take off your shoes," she instructed. He didn't know why he had obeyed her. But he found himself putting his shoes on the dry sand next to her clothes and heading the water with her.
She was right. The lapping of the water on his feet was comforting. He found himself looking at the gentle ripples on the clear water for a long time. Contrary to his expectations, the sand and the water was not cold as water should be. It was warm.
"Come deeper," said Amanda. "Do you want to take off your clothes?"
Sarek shook his head.
"Alright then, let's just hope the pod has some extra clothes for you."
Shouldn't he go and check first before continuing in this excursion? But if he leaves now, he might not come back. And very soon they were already waist-deep in the water.
"There you go. Water wasn't so bad now is it?" She stepped back from him and let herself fall back to the water.
"Amanda. Perhaps you should not venture too far."
"Don't worry, it isn't that deep yet," said Amanda, doing a back-stroke. "Do you know how to swim?"
"The environment which I resided had not provided me with many opportunities."
Amanda suddenly stood up and shielded the sun in front of him. "Do you want to learn how to swim?"
"I believe that is preferable to drowning," replied Sarek.
"That settles it then. I'll teach you," she said. "If you'd want of course."
She proceeded to teach him how to swim. First one was what she called 'float'. "Just lie on the water as if it was a comfortable bed. The more you panic, the more you'll sink," were her instructions.
'The more you panic, the more you sink' was an easy concept to be understood in the Vulcan culture. Her hands were below his back, preventing him from falling. When she was convinced he was visibly relaxed, she withdrew her hand.
Then she finally lay on beside him on the water to stretch her hands and feet. She let out an audible sigh that came off as a moan.
"Finally getting my money's worth for that cruise trip," she said.
While she was doing butterfly strokes while floating, she inadvertently slightly brushed Sarek's finger.
"What do you think of it?" said Amanda.
"It is acceptable," replied Sarek.
"Acceptable? You like it?"
"It is an acceptable survival skill if I ever find myself thrown into a body of water."
After a while, the sun sunk lower. Sarek rose from the water and began the preparations for making camp outside the escape pod.
Amanda looked to his direction to see him making short of the firewood on the seaside. She decided that for once, she wasn't going to get out of the water yet. Not just yet. Just a little while longer.
.oOo.
The fire cackled contentedly on the beach. They dug a sufficient hole in the ground and laid some big stones over it, feeding the fire below with dead twigs and dried ate a full meal each from the pod rations. And dried their wet clothes near the fire by sticks they erected.
"It's so c..c..cold," said Amanda. Her lips were turning a shade of purple. Her skin was itchy and she was a degree colder than usual. But her heart was full.
Sarek put more firewood in the fire. "That is the natural consequence of swimming until the sun is already down." He handed her a ration.
"You're not eating a ration," observed Amanda.
"No, I am not."
"Why?" she asked again.
"You have lost an adequate amount of heat from your water excursion after the sun was no longer present and therefore in need of warm sustenance to ward off hypothermia. I, on the other hand, was largely unaffected because I rose from the water earlier. It is therefore logical that I consume our abundant resource of berries to make the rations last longer."
"I shouldn't be eating this."
"You should," he replied. "If you are not adequately warm, we will encounter more problems that can drain our resources."
"I'm sorry for setting you back and being a burden."
He handed her a mushroom on a stick. When she raised her eyebrows questioningly, he replied "It is logical to consume all our perishable food items. We can only carry an optimum of 10.6 kilograms on the way back."
They sat back in silence. It was a clear night. They could see the milky way skewed in a different shape but otherwise present and gleaming above them. Like a guardian. It was bigger, brighter and vividly clearer, right from the plump of the centre, down to its very tail trailing along the horizon. It was so much better than seeing it in a high-powered telescope. It was also somehow colder.
.oOo.
Gosh faeriemagic07, stop trying to make Vumans happen! It's not gonna happen.
Well fine. No more news about hot bi-racial Vumans.
P. S. Vumans would like to thank you for being interested in their history and culture.
