Haven Cavern
L'Naym and Alyen sat huddled in the back of the main cavern. Alyen had both arms securely
wrapped around his lifemate. Kevin Park sat close beside them. He was trying to be brave but
one could see the fear as he listened to the thunder of the meteo shower outside.
Close beside them were all of the other children. Trisha sat closest with her mother beside her.
Elizabeth sat beside her parents, who were each holding one of the twins. Anna sat with her parents,
tightly holding a flashlight. The caves had each been fitted with light sources but having her
own made her feel better. "In case the storm knocks them out," she'd said.
The McDowell's sat tightly together. Connor had Chandler on his lap. On one shoulder was
a squirrel-like Ogdal and on another a nine inch, guinea pig-like Qoboo. Beside him in one
cage was his 6 cm Merkis and in another was his five cm long Flutterlizard. All of the animals
were obviously frightened by the distant roaring and their owner was too although he was
trying not to show it.
Although seventeen, Natasha, who sat close to her parents, was clearly unnerved as well.
L'Naym's eyes kept going to each of them. She had been protective of all the young people
since their exile and from the moment storm had started she had gone into full protect mode,
not just to her unborn, but to every child in the group. And although she accepted her lifemate's
comfort there was no doubt that she was prepared to leap up in an instant to protect all of them.
Little Trisha had gone into protect mode too. She had insisted that she and her mother sit close
to L'Naym "So I she watch over her and the baby," she'd declared in a tone that permitted
no argument.
The rest of the refugees all sat or stood nearby. One might have thought that some might
have tried to go into the smaller back rooms. But the refugees always gained strength
from each other and nobody really wanted to be out of anyone's sight.
In the week since they had first learned of the regular meteor showers Lieutenant Akari had
been considering all scenarios and tightening up on security and everyone had been busy.
The Waverider was a critical source of power and transportation and needed to be protected
from showers They had used its phasers to blast a large hangar sized hole for it in the hills
and were working on making a tunnel to connect it to the refugees' living cave.
Scans of their caves had revealed that behind one of the cave walls was an entryway to a tunnel
that led downward to deeper underground caverns. The refugees hadn't tried to clear it yet but
that was definitely on the 'to do' list. If they had to stay here permanently underground shelters
were a strong possibility.
The Waverider had also done scans of the entire hill range, which stretched about 500 km,
determining the location of other over caverns and a few other streams.
L'Naym, for the time being, had been required to confine her expeditions to the camp area.
She spent her time either analyzing the soil and plant samples near the cave or at the spring,
helping Travis and Vumor. Engineers often were there too.
There were still plenty of water rations but they needed to think long term. Travis had been
developing a solution to act as a water purifier. Vumer and Petty Officer Robert Mayberry
were going over plans for a pump and L'Naym offered ideas for irrigation; they needed to
plan for gardens. They had brought seeds with them and they had been continuing their studies
of the planet's native flora.
She had been spending the morning of that day doing that, but from the time she had awakened
she had felt a slight unease. When no ground teams were sent out that morning, nearly everyone
working on projects in the caves instead, she had felt relief.
But the unease had stayed. And it didn't decease as the morning passed.
At around 12:00 she had heard Akari mentioning that he was thinking about sending a small
team out later that afternoon her unease had spiked.
"Sir," she had said urgently. "I don't think that you should send any ground teams out today."
"Is there something wrong, Crewman?" he had asked
She nodded. "I think so. The baby's fine, I just have a feeling of… wrongness."
"Are you sensing anything telepathically?"
"Not really. It's just…an instinct. Sir, I don't think it's safe for anyone to go out."
Akari nodded. The Nlian had told him that pregnant females of her kind had heightened instincts
when it came to danger. She had suggested that maybe they could use this ability to help the refugees.
That she could act as a sort of early warning system. She hadn't asked to go with any of the survey
teams; she had known he wouldn't allow that. But it seemed to be helping anyway.
The engineers were working on satellites to put into orbit to monitor for any potential showers.
But it would be a few more days before the first ones were ready.
They still had the Waverider though.
Akari and Maxwell had taken the Waverider out. Not long afterwards the Helmsman had commed
the colony informing them that a large meteor shower was approaching and ordering everyone into
the cave. He and Maxwell had flown the Waverider into his hangar and entered the main cavern
only moments before the storm had started.
The storm was terrifying. Most huddled in the back of the caves listening to the rumble and thunder
of the storm. Those closer to the entrance monitored the size of the rocks, some of them boulder sized
and some as large as shuttles, smashing against the ground.
"Are you afraid, Trisha?" L'Naym asked.
"No," the little girl said quickly.
L'Naym smiled gently. "Well I am. A little bit. There's no shame in being afraid. Fear is a response
to danger. I know that storm outside is frightening to everyone, but these caves will keep us safe.
Why don't I tell all of us all a story to pass the time?"
Trisha perked up. She always loved L'Naym's stories.
L'Naym paused. "I think I'll tell a story about my home Nlia."
"Do they get meteoroid showers like this?" Anna asked.
"No, not like this. But it has its dangers. All of you here were either born on Earth or your parents
where. My home Nlia is very different. Earth has seven continents. Nlia has three: the Northern Land
in the north and the Western Land and the Eastern Land in the south.
She smiled at her lifemate. "By beloved is from the Northern Land. It's a small island about the size
of the Earth country of Turkey. Its ancestors called it the Evergreen because it is covered with
beautiful forests. People who live in the North are often called The Children of the Forest.
"But the Northern Land is tiny. The Western Land and the Eastern Land are both to the South
and called collectively the Southern Lands."
"And that's where you're from!" Trisha said. "People who live there are called the Children
of the Sand because its a desert and there's sand everywhere!"
L'Naym smiled. "You're right. In both the Southern Lands there is grass and scrublands in
the northern coasts and that is our primary farming area. But most of the Southern Lands are
made up of desert. A desert much vaster than Earth's Sahara.
"Picture a golden ocean of sand stretching from horizon to horizon. Vast seas of dunes stretching
as far as the eye can see in all directions. These are the deserts of Nlia. And it is there that my race
was born.
"The sands of Nlia hold many secrets to those skilled in their lore. The greatest of these is the art
of finding sources of water. Oases and springs were more valuable to my ancestors than gold and
the task of Water Guardian was one of our most highly esteemed."
"It certainly explains why you've got so many ideas for that spring," Robert Mayberry put in with smile.
L'Naym blushed before continuing. "My people have a saying 'The desert is never barren.'
Because even though it is sparse, life exists in great variety and in it we find great beauty.
"But even though it has great beauty the desert has many dangers. One is the heat. The temperature
can reach well over a hundred degrees.
"That's really hot!" Connor said. His family was from Scotland.
"It is. One of the most dangerous things to encounter are sandstorms. Imagine a wall of sand stretching
up to two miles high, 50 miles wide and sometimes traveling 100 miles an hour. Imagine that wall
sweeping toward you, engulfing you."
"I got sand thrown in my face once." Elizabeth said. "It was awful."
L'Naym nodded. "A sandstorm is far worse. It can darken the sky so that it is literally as dark as night
and you literally can't see your hand in front of your face. And the sand not only blinds you it chokes you.
Some storms only last for minutes. Some last for hours and some have lasted for days."
"What do you do if you get caught in one?" Melissa asked. The sixteen year old always had an intense
curiosity.
"On my world everyone in the Southern Lands is taught what to do if caught in a sandstorm.
If you're in a city of course get inside. If you're not, if you're traveling by foot then above all
do not panic, stay calm. Try to get to some sort of shelter. If there is none, keep your back
to the wind and face away from the storm. Crouch down, this will give you some leverage
and the storm's force is less towards the ground. Above all keep your eyes, nose and mouth
covered. Many of my people, when traveling by foot, have veils and face coverings. If all you
have is the shirt on your back, take it off and use it as a cover."
"We're all crouching down right now, aren't we?" Kevin asked.
L'Naym smiled. "That we are. Our group here is like the tribes that lived near Tanlon, on the edge
of the Great Dune Sea of the Western Land. Wandering tribes often came to that area because
there were a series of rocky outcroppings that offered shelter from both heat and storm.
They set up permanent camps by them and in time it became a great city."
"If we have to stay here will we built a city like them?" Trisha asked.
"We might. And like them when a storm comes we seek shelter, crouch down and wait it out
knowing that storms always pass in the end."
"Indeed they do." Everyone looked up to see Lieutenant Akari approach. "The one outside is
beginning to let up now."
Indeed, upon listening they all noticed that the roaring had died down considerably. After a few
more minutes the noise gradually stopped altogether.
Everyone in the cavern let out deep breaths.
Alyen reached out and gently ruffled Kevin's hair. "Storms always pass."
A shout interrupted before he could say anything else.
"Lieutenant Akari!"
Ensign Dal ran out of the chamber where he had been monitoring their listening device.
"Sir! I'm picking up a signal!"