Chapter 18
Lord Malathin of the Lupries Worldship studied the latest information on his Human captives with a strong level of cynicism. They seemed to be settling down nicely, building additional living huts and outhouses, even a large commons hut in the center of their town. It was strange to him since all of his preliminary data indicated the humans would be stubborn and resist to the last. "They must be planning something," he said absentmindedly, not even realizing he had spoken aloud.
"You think that just because the humans are finally doing the sensible thing by settling down here that they are up to something?" asked Cyani.
"Why else would they be so complacent?" Malathin replied while still looking over the data. "It says they have been going out to explore and forage for food outside their village. How far out have they gone?"
"A few have gone beyond our scanning range. But, does it really matter Lord Malathin?"
"Yes, it matters. If they fully realize the nature of their prison, they could possibly take advantage of that knowledge."
"Maybe they have realized the nature of their prison, and realized escape is hopeless, and that is why they have become so complacent so suddenly?"
Malathin took a moment to ponder the thought. "Some times, Cyani, you do have a good idea. I still wish we knew for sure."
Cyani did not seem to notice the implied insult. "Shall we begin the tests on the Humans?"
"Yes, we might as well get it over with."
"No, we need to put the nursery near the center," Nova insisted while pointing to the center of the hut diagram they had sketched into the dirt. "That way we can protect it, and we should be able to evacuate or hide the children easier."
"Ok, Ok." Alan relented, and rubbed out one of the outer boxes and drew it next to the center hut. "Is that better?" He did not especially like having been voted the chief architect of the group, but the knowledge he had gathered from working at his museum meant he was the only one of the group with the know how to build houses out of wood and mud. He had supervised and been the primary worker for most of the huts that they had built, and it had only made him appreciate the development of the nail all the more.
Nova and several of the others hunched over the diagram nodded approval to the new placement of the nursery hut. The largest building was in the center, with two dorms built to either side, one for the men and another for the women. The nursery building would be built in front of the main building, between the two dorms. An outhouse was to be built behind the central building. Other small huts were to be built around the two dorms. The first few would be for food preparation and storage. Additional small huts were being built so that the few married couples could stay together, with plans for other small huts to be built for others who just didn't like the community living of the two dorms. Finally, another ring of small huts were to be constructed around the quickly growing village.
"I'm not building all of those by myself," Alan declared.
"I think we are getting the hang of the construction process," someone else replied, with more than a little annoyance creeping into his voice.
"The main thing we will need you to build, Alan, is the outer ring of huts because they will need special attention," Nova said. "They need to be moveable, or at least set up so we can take them down easily."
Alan thought for a moment. "Ok, that won't be a problem. I'll just use the vines as rope and lash the sides together, instead of using mud as cement. They will be rather drafty."
"If this is an artificial environment," someone asked, Nova thought his name was John, "then do we actually have enough wood for all of this? And what about food?"
"We should have more than enough wood. They have provided us with a very large habitat. We won't know how large it an area we have for sure until our scouts get back."
Ito did not know how long he had been walking, silently counting his measured paces as he went. He wasn't even sure why he had accepted the job Nova had given him. Just like him to be swayed by a pretty face into doing something utterly stupid like walking in a straight line through a jungle, and into a desert. He could imagine his tombstone now, "Here lies Ito, died in the desert because a pretty woman told him to."
It was a strange walk; he couldn't help feeling the total absence of birds in the sky. Each time he looked up he expected to see one. It was an odd thought. He didn't even like birds.
Then, Ito's walk abruptly ended. He moved his right foot forward to take the next step, but it seemed to hit something causing him to fall forwards. His fall forward was also abruptly stopped, as his face hit the horizon painted wall in front of him. With a grunt of pain, Ito fell sideways to the ground.
"That is what I get for not paying attention," he thought as he climbed back to his feet. He looked to either side looking for a window like Nova said she had found. Sure enough, there was one a few feet along the wall.
The sight that greeted him when he looked out of the small window took his breath away. It wasn't a star field that he was looking at, although stars were plainly visible, it was a huge dome hanging out in space several meters beyond the dome he himself must be looking out of.
"Oh, yes, they are going to like the information he was going to bring back to the camp," he thought while trying to commit as much of the sight to his memory as possible. That, along with the number of paces it had taken him to reach the edge would give the others a good idea of exactly how large a prison they were in. With the other scouts going in different directions, they would soon have an excellent idea.
Ito turned back towards the camp and began his long trek back to the others when he saw the first flashes.
Lightning? Inside a ship, without even any clouds?
Thunder clapped unexpectedly, startling everyone at the camp. Then, Wendy screamed. It was not just a scream, but a blood curdling scream that came born of the deepest fear imaginable.
Nova turned and immediately began running towards the sound, not simply because Wendy was her friend, but also because Wendy was suppose to be safeguarding her children.
The scream continued, as Nova and the others gathered to see that Wendy hanging in mid air, apparently suspended on a lightning bolt that refused to dissipate. It simply stayed there, rippling electricity through Wendy's body as she screamed.
Just as suddenly, the lightning bolt was gone, leaving Wendy to fall to the ground in a heap.
Nova was not the first to reach her fallen friend, it was an elderly man she had not yet talked to much. "How is she?" Nova asked.
No one had thought to ask if the man had any medical training or not, but he at least acted like he knew what he was doing. "She appears to be fine, just unconscious."
Nova did not know what had happened, but she did know that whatever it was, she knew that the bolt that had struck Wendy could not have been lightning.