The caves were larger and deeper than Kalthara had expected. It was almost too easy to hide her ship away in one of the more remote caverns. Well… perhaps 'easy' wasn't the correct term.
Austin had been right about the areas effects on electronics. She'd noticed the issues when she'd first looked at the ship, but at the time she'd written it off as being caused by some kind of damage to the inner console. But once her ship proved to be working enough to take off it was clear that something external was interfering with her instruments.
She wondered if it was a result of this area's effect or the planet's whole magnetic field. The interference was striking. Strong enough to match the energy fields from a tiny planet. Yet Kalthara was certain that her proximity to this area had worsened the effect on her instruments.
Forget it. She reprimanded herself. There are more important things to worry about.
Mainly what their next move should be. Her ship was now hidden from the prying eyes of other humans, but they had left the artifact at the outcropping. In hindsight, she probably should have instructed Austin to find room on his transport and bring the thing along for safe keeping. As it was now they were going to have to make two trips.
That being said, it may have been a blessing in disguise.
The caverns were numerous and came in many shapes and sizes. Some, like the one she had hidden her ship in, was quite large and roomy. Only narrowing out as they went deeper. Others were so small that Kalthara was certain only a very small creature could just manage to squeeze inside before either coming out in some larger opening or becoming wedged and trapped in an even tinier space.
Before they could hide the artifact, it was ideal to search the caves and find one that could fit the large altean machine. It had taken them far too long to find one to house her ship, and it wouldn't do to take any longer on this task than necessary. Every passing tic was a fresh opportunity for some outsider to stumble across their little secret.
Austin didn't appear to understand that, seeing how he was lingering around the caves and staring at the walls with an intense interest.
Kalthara allowed herself a moment of annoyance. Trying to keep that man on task was like herding cattle. Apparently one had to remain ever diligent to get even one iota of production out of a human.
She slid down the side of her ship and landed hard on her feet. Making a point to ignore the prickling sensation that shot through her legs as she did so. Striding over to where Austin was scratching on the wall with his eyes narrowed, she waited until he seemed to be entirely absorbed in his task before speaking.
"What are you doing now?" Kalthara asked in the most exasperated voice she could muster.
The effect gave her a great deal of satisfaction.
Austin nearly jumped out of his own skin in surprise as he whirled around to look at her.
"Do you have pads on yer feet or somethin?! You're seven feet tall, you shouldn't be able to scare me like that!"
She drank in his expression before replying, "Perhaps you just need to pay more attention instead of being distracted by a wall."
"It ain't the wall!" Austin growled in irritation. "It's what's ON the wall. Bunch of drawings and stuff."
Kalthara's ear twitched in annoyance. "Drawings? But I thought you said no one came around here anymore! Do you mean to tell me that that is untrue?"
Her entire body bristled with subdued anger. If she had to move her ship again because of this fool of a creature had misled her, or if he had tricked her, then Kalthara felt sure she'd be better off just cutting her losses and killing him before he could do any further damage. A part of her felt tempted just to do it anyway to save herself any further irritation.
"Of course it was true! These drawings ain't new, they must've been made by some people who lived here a long long time ago." Austin turned back to the pictures and scrapped his nail against the rock. "It's old but I can just make it out…"
"You do not mean to seriously waste my time with this, do you? Need I remind you that the altean artifact remains where we left it? Do you seriously want some other human to find it?"
"Look will ya just be patient? Not many people come this far out into the desert this time of the day anyway."
"That only means that it is an opportune time to act."
"Lady, do you wanna get heatstroke? Cause last I checked walkin around in the middle of the desert at the hottest part of the day in skin-tight black clothing is how you get heatstroke."
Her yellow eyes narrowed, fixated on Austin, and didn't blink. They remained that way as he stared back at her. Both of them still as statues.
Kalthara had never lost a war of willpower. Not once since she had passed her trial had anyone, friend or foe managed to deter her gaze.
So it came as no surprise when Austin sighed and turned away.
"Fine." He put his hands up in the air in surrender. "There should be enough room in this cavern for ALL of your freaky space shit."
She said nothing in response. Not even bothering to correct his mispronunciation of the word 'ship' or his improper grammar. Though it was awfully tempting to do so.
It was to his credit, Austin felt, that he didn't drive the truck straight off of a cliff killing them both just to be rid of his infuriating… guest?
Honestly, he had no idea WHAT to call Kalthara at this point. Partner seemed like a gratuitous term to give to someone who belittled you every little step of the way. Friend was definitely out of left field. The term acquaintance hardly applied in this scenario.
Even 'enemy' was looking a bit weak at this point.
It's only for a little bit. He reminded himself. Just until her ship is fixed. Then things can go back to the way they were before.
If he were being honest 'before' wasn't nearly as desirable as his current mindset made it out to be. Comparatively speaking though, being alone in the desert seemed favorable over having all of his personal decisions overruled by Kalthara. Honestly with the way she micromanaged everything Austin wouldn't be surprised if she turned out to be some alien hive queen or something. Lord knows she acted like it.
Thankfully the mirror-tube (he refused to call such a shiny futuristic looking device an artifact) was exactly where they had left it. With no footprints or conveniently dropped items to indicate that anyone other than themselves had been there.
Shocker.
He couldn't see much point in being her guide if she wasn't going to take his word on things like this. It wasn't like he'd been living in this desert or three years or anything.
Thankfully hauling the tube to the top of the truck, tying it down, and lugging it all the way back to the caves left little time for either of them to say something to further irritate the other. Especially since the tube had taken up all the room in the back, forcing Kalthara to climb onto the top and cling to the ropes for dear life as Austin drove.
It was an admittedly funny sight to see in the rearview mirror. She sat awkwardly on the top, her one free arm wrapped around a loose hanging rope. Her normally controlled and domineering face struggling to stay stoic as they rattled along.
This ride was clearly not one she was enjoying, and every time the truck went over an uneven patch of earth her mouth would open and he could practically hear her yelp in surprise. Normally he'd feel bad for someone in a position like hers. But she'd shot him down when he'd suggested driving the machine to the cave himself and just picking her up on his way back.
Austin wasn't really an unkind man. Far from a saint, but certainly not a cruel sadist.
As a result, he tried avoiding all of the needless bumps along the way. And in fact, he did avoid most of them. Not ALL, but most.
He only realized that he probably should have tried harder to avoid a few more of them when, once the truck came to a stop, the mirror tube flew off of the roof of the truck and onto the dirt (in what could only be called a needlessly violent manner). Followed by Kalthara who jumped off the roof and kicked the inoffensive object into the cave violently before following after it.
A cursory glance over her stance and the way she moved told Austin that this time staying in the truck was an ideal course of action. At least if he didn't want to die in the next few minutes.
When Kalthara eventually emerged a few minutes later with something tucked under her arm, Austin chose not to comment. Instead, he waited quietly for her to climb into the bed of the truck before starting the engine. Praying it wouldn't stall.
Thankfully, it seemed the old engine was about as ready to upset the alien woman as Austin was because, for once, it started up without trouble and carried them away.
"What do you eat?"
Kalthara's ears twitched at the question but pretended she didn't hear.
"I mean… ya look kinda like a cat so does that mean you only eat meat?" Austin paused before adding. "Do ya even drink water? Saw a movie once where water was like acid to aliens. It was dumb as hell, but I ain't a biologist soooo…."
She replied with silence.
"Well if ya only eat meat then yer plum outta luck. All I have is jerky and some chicken strips. Everything else is either dried fruit, nuts, or oats. Course I also have eggs. Can you eat eggs?"
Twisting the tool (screwdriver it was called) she continued to inspect the scrap she had taken from the altean machine. All while pointedly ignoring the abhorrent distraction.
Austin sighed.
"Are you giving me the silent treatment? Do women do that in space too?"
With one hand guiding it against the table the screwdriver somehow found its way under the cracked disc.
"Look, if this is about hitting all those bumps with the truck… Well I mean I was off-roading, it ain't like I have full control out there."
Kalthara slowly, and purposely twisted the screw head.
"Besides it wouldn't have been so bad if you'd just trusted me to come back and pick you up! I mean how hard is that? All you had to do was sit in the shade of the outcropping for a little bit while I dumped the thing into the cave." His voice shifted to a scolding tone. "You shouldn't even be doing all this shit anyway. You have a broken arm! I don't care what your immune system is like, exerting yourself while injured is a textbook example of a dumb idea."
The disc budged from its mount on the metal frame but held firm against the force of her hand.
"On that note, ya really should eat somethin. Ya don't even have to tell me anythin else about yourself. Just give me an idea of what you can and can't eat!"
Kalthara added more force under the disc, concentrating harder and harder on getting it out.
"Y'know what?! FINE. Eat whatever ya want! Don't come cryin to me when the blueberries make yer head explode!"
The sound of the door slamming combined with the disc shattering, shards flying across the table. Kalthara growled and tossed the screwdriver to the side and glanced behind her to see if Austin was truly gone. The sight of an empty shack answered her question.
Humphing, she began to gather up the shattered pieces. Perhaps now she'd finally be able to get some work done without the inane buzz of silly questions in her ears.
Once she had all of the pieces gathered up, she picked one up and held it up to the light streaming through the nearby window. It was not, as she had previously thought, glass. She wasn't sure what it was.
It was crystalline. Sort of. Clear and translucent, it shone in the light like a prism but reflected it at an angle across the room like a mirror. Or rather the light did not simply deflect but rather seemed to be absorbed and trapped within the confines of the disc.
"Interesting."
She turned it over in her fingers and watched as the light it reflected moved across the wall. Removing it from the direct sunlight, Kalthara cupped the shard in her hands and peeked at it, watching as it took on the faintest glow.
Research and experimentation were not part of her forte. She was much more suited to examining armed units than she was lost technology. But all the same, if pressed to explain what it was she was observing, she'd have said that it looked like the material was actually absorbing and processing energy.
The glow faded, telling Kalthara that the small bit of energy it had gotten from the sunlight had been used up quickly. Yet, even so, there remained something there. It was tiny, just barely a twinkle, but it was there.
Setting the shard back onto the table, she sat and stared at it.
"What in Marmora's name were you used for?" Her hushed voice rang hollow and unheard against the walls of the shack. But the question still lingered in her mind.
The machine it had come from had been too complex to merely be some type of lighting device. Perhaps it was some type of laser weapon? Or perhaps some light based energy engine?
Sighing, she rubbed her temples in frustration. When she was in space the device had done… something. She hadn't been able to tell what. One moment she was being fired at by space pirates with her brother, and the next she had crashed landed on this primitive planet.
It HAD to be a weapon of some kind, to cause such destruction. But in that case, how did it work? Could she somehow repair it and use it to her own advantage? Could she repurpose the way it stored and released energy to power her own ship?
There was no way of knowing.
An experienced mechanic might have been able to tell her, but as it was there was no such information on hand. Glancing at the primitive machinery Austin kept around his home, Kalthara grimaced. There certainly wouldn't be anyone to answer her questions within the immediate quadrant that was for sure.
It was all so frustrating.
Never before had she realized just how reliant she was on the blades information base. How much of her near escapes in the past was attributed to being able to contact her comrades, or at the very least having usable technology on hand. There was nothing like that out here.
Just dirt, technology she couldn't or didn't know how to use, and a man who couldn't keep his mind on track for more than five ticks.
Whatever docking bay may have existed on this planet likely didn't have a direct line to the central empire, let alone one to the quadrant where the Blade of Marmora was based. Even if she managed to escape this rock, it could take her YEARS to determine where she was in the cosmos and charting a way home.
The already depressing thoughts were not helped by the rumbling in her belly, the tiredness in her limbs, or the dirt and sweat that clung to her skin.
Kalthara found her eyes wandering over to the corner of the shack where Austin's makeshift fort still lay in pieces on the ground. She had recalled seeing him sift through it for supplies earlier. He'd withdrawn some kind of packet and later had had a steaming bowl in his hand.
Crawling across the floor towards the mess, she carefully made sure to keep the door in her peripheral vision (lest Austin walk in and grow smug about being proven right about her need for food) as she sorted through the pile to find something, anything, that looked edible. What she found amounted to the kind of stash a small rodent would hide in a hole in the ground.
As Austin had said it was mostly just berries, nuts, and some kind of packets. The "meat" was dried and stringy and smelled odd. Kalthara wasn't even sure it actually was meat. It could be something else with just a similar name.
The assortment of foods did help solidify a few things for her though. From the looks of things humans, seemed to be hunting-gathering society. There was no sign in the shack of anything like an artificial preservation machine or anything else she could recognize as being customary in a kitchen.
Truly she was living outside of civilized society.
But food was food and this was survival.
She purposely passed over the nuts and berries. There was no telling where Austin had thrown them before, and although she was almost certain the blueberry comment was sarcasm, it was safer to pass them up until she was sure.
That only left the weird smelling meat and the packets.
Eyeing both, she eventually reached over and took one of the packets, inspecting it closely. It seemed to be made of some fiber based material with what she assumed to be an earth language printed on it. Sniffing it, she tore the packet open and watched the contents pour out onto the floor.
Kalthara frowned at the pile of lumpy oats that was now scattered on the floor. It didn't look like enough to properly feed someone. Course, perhaps it was like the nutrient packets that the blades frequently kept in case of emergencies. One packet was chocked full of enough nutrients to keep a scout going for days.
Scooping some back up into her palm, she gave the stuff one last experimental sniff before carefully taking in a small mouthful. Her teeth tried to work through the crunchy meal, but struggled as the dried grains repeatedly stuck to her tongue and made eating the whole mouthful much more difficult than it needed to be. Finally, she swallowed and grimaced.
It wasn't, on the whole, tasteless. Just dry, crunchy, and not particularly enjoyable to the tongue. Also most definitely not filling given the way Kalthara's stomach continued to growl for food.
Sweeping away the leftover oats with her hand, she decided it'd be best to forage for herself when she got the chance. It was clear that whatever Austin subsisted off of, wasn't anything she would be interested in eating. Human taste buds were obviously malformed or otherwise nonexistent.
Ignoring the protests of her stomach, Kalthara took a moment to explore the shack.
Which on an initial sweep took all of a half a minute.
Then she decided that it might pay to be a bit more thorough and did a second, and much more detailed, analysis.
It really was a very small dwelling. In fact, Kalthara was tempted to argue that the word "dwelling" might not even apply in this context. It felt more like a recycled storage unit than anything else. She'd seen lavatories with more elbow room than this.
However, it still contained a few basic amenities.
There was a table and the long cushioned furniture she had lain on. A collection of square machinery in the far corner that looked designed for food preparation (but given the options she had for food she somehow doubted this.) Another shelf was filled to the brim with boxes with dials and wires hanging out. Turning one of the dials only gave her static, but she momentarily wondered if she could repurpose the machine for use in her spacecraft. Books lay piled up in a corner, but as they were in an earthen language, they were completely useless to Kalthara.
That was all that was visible in the room from what she could see. Personal effects like clothes were nowhere to be seen, making Kalthara wonder if Austin just wore the same thing all the time.
Her eyes scanned the room for anything she might have missed. Finally resting on a corner of the ceilings where, when she narrowed her eyes, a panel appeared to visible. Moving to a position just beneath the panel. Kalthara reached her long arm overhead and pushed at it. It budged slightly but otherwise didn't give way. Frowning, she tried knocking on it but that didn't do anything either. Perhaps it was voice activated?
"Open" she spoke in a clear commanding voice.
Nothing.
Kalthara clicked her tongue in irritation and looked around to try and find an access pad or something. When one did not appear to be readily apparent she glared at the offensive panel, wondering what exactly it was that Austin was hiding behind there. It could be anything ranging from a simple storage area to something far more sinister.
There was an excellent chance that whatever was up there had nothing at all to concern with Kalthara or her problems. But the paranoia of the slightest chance that it MIGHT concern her was enough for her to search through the room for anything that could be a cleverly hidden secret button or something.
"What are ya doin?" Austin's incredulous voice drifted in through the newly open door.
It was enough for Kalthara to nearly drop the lamp she was checking under.
He walked in and immediately took note of everything that had been moved or discarded. Especially the pile of dried oatmeal that lay scattered on the floor. With some amusement, if the upturned corners of his mouth were anything to go by.
Caught in the act, Kalthara was at a loss for what to say. Dare she admit her own curiosity? Faintly she wondered if she could play it all off somehow before Austin spoke again.
"Look yer clearly hungry, so why don'tcha let me cook for you?" He paused before continuing. "Well cook would be kinda a gratuitous term for instant oatmeal but still it's gotta be better than eating dirt and bugs."
Kalthara slowly and carefully placed the lamp back onto the nearby coffee table and thanked her lucky stars that Austin hadn't picked up on her snooping.
She'd been snooping.
It was so obvious that she'd been snooping that Austin almost found it cute. Almost, as was frequently becoming habit, was the keyword.
As he stood over the old stove heating up the water and pouring in the oats, his mind kept drifint to the loose set of boards under which Kalthara's alien knife lay wrapped up in the rag Austin used to clean his exhaust pipe. He was almost certain that was what she'd really been looking for though food had likely also been on her mind.
Now that they were back at the house, the blade's resurgence terrified him. He could still remember how the light of the moon and stars had glinted off the metal. How, even in the dark, it emanated an otherworldly glow. Just the sight of it had given him chills.
It was so strange. He'd never had any issues with blades before. Hell, his own military issued knife had saved him hundreds of times in the airforce.
But this one was different.
It wasn't just that it glowed, was alien, and had been used to almost kill him. It was the sheer age of the thing.
The blade looked sharp and lacked any notches. Its surface had that sheen that only blades fresh from the heat were supposed to have. Even the hilt looked brand new.
Yet there was this feeling of oldness to it. As though this was a knife that had seen things. Most of them bloody and ending with someone very very dead.
It was a blade for people that knew exactly what a blade was made for.
And that terrified him.
Kalthara hovered just a few feet from Austin trying very hard not to be seen looking over his shoulder. Every time he glanced in her direction, there'd be a streak, and then she'd seem to be standing casually on the other side of the room in complete indifference. But once he focused back onto the pot she was behind him again. He could feel it.
Austin briefly wondered if this was what it was like to own a cat.
Normally, Austin tossed things like cinnamon or brown sugar into his oatmeal. Maybe some dried fruit or even nuts for flavor. This time he decided not to.
For one he didn't need his strange house guest thinking he was poisoning her. It was only now occurring to him that his comment about blueberries may have been unwise given how unfamiliar she was with earth food.
Besides Austin couldn't see why he should expound so much extra effort for someone so ungrateful. After all, she was staying in his house. A little bit of courtesy was to be expected.
"What is that smell?" Kalthara's voice was in his ear. But when he turned his head she was standing on the far side of the room.
"That's the food?"
"Why does it smell different?"
"Cause it's cooked?" He offered.
Kalthara didn't look satisfied.
"Look," Austin took the pot off the stove and poured its contents into a ready bowl. "I ain't got the kind of experience to explain why cooked stuff smells different. It just does."
He thrust the bowl and spoon under her nose and held them there until she took them.
"Now eat."
She stared at the things in her hands, or more specifically, the spoon. After a few moments, she gingerly ran her finger over the smooth rounded tip. Frowning, she gave Austin a suspicious look.
"Why does this utensil lack its notches?"
"It's… what?"
"It's notches. There are supposed to be small slits at the top that allow you to skewer harder bits of food."
Austin stared at her.
"Are you… talkin about forks?"
"No. I am referring to food utensils. Of which there is only one."
A moment passed before he sighed and went back to the kitchen. Returning with a box of silverware.
"Okay. I'm not playin any more charades. Which of these is the closest thing to what yer talkin about."
Kalthara peered inside and shook her head.
"None of these are exactly like what I mean."
She paused before reaching into the drawer and taking out a fork.
"Food utensils look like this."
She held up the spoon.
"Spliced with this."
Austin stared.
"You can't be talking about sporks. You can't be."
"What are sporks? Is that what you call food utensils on this world?"
He stared at her and sighed.
"Just use whichever yer most comfortable using. I'm going upstairs."
"Up...stairs?"
Kalthara held the bowl of oatmeal as Austin crossed the room to where the panel was. Reaching up he grabbed a handle and pulled.
The panel moved.
A set of stairs folded out from the ceiling and settled into the floor. Austin scurried up the stairs and into the loft satisfied with the way Kalthara's mouth hung open.