Early spring

Mid afternoon, local time

Inhabitant of Caladas VII

[They saw us.]

[We should go tell someone.]

[Agreed.]

We were young, only 15 years. We had never seen visitors on our land. The shorter figures with their heads covered could have been human - but the others definitely weren't. And most of them had weapons. We had to get back and tell the rest of our people.

We ran on all fours, bounding across the landscape faster than any normal human could follow.

One of the many benefits of bonding with a Lekgolo colony - you aren't limited to human forms of movement.

We leaped over the rocks, heading for an area where the land was split into deep, wide crevices. We knew the area well - we often played and explored here. We dove into one of the crevices. I lost my eyesight as my bond-brother covered my head to protect me - but I could still "see" with the vibratory sense we shared. We were going into a natural maze. There were numerous tunnels here we could hide in, and a few we could follow underground all the way home.

My name is Jake, by the way. My bond-brother has his own name, but there's no good way to spell it in English.

We changed into a snakelike form better for navigating the crevices. I let my bond-brother pull my legs together and hold my arms against my torso. As a human I knew how to walk. So when we walked on two or four legs, I controlled our movement, and my bond-brother followed my lead; supporting my body and giving us the strength to walk, run, jump, and climb. When we crawled or slithered like this, the roles were reversed. This was a Lekgolo's natural form of movement, so I just went along for the ride, giving input if I wanted to.

We were only a little slower in this form. I could feel the Lekgolo rippling around me, propelling us at high speed through the natural maze. We flowed easily around corners and through narrow spaces, twisting and turning to accommodate the limited ways my human body could bend. Up ahead, I could sense a narrow opening under a rock.

[Get ready, it will be a tight fit.]

[Go for it.]

I braced myself. The air was squeezed from my lungs as we shoved ourselves into a gap barely taller than my head. It took several seconds to wriggle through the narrow space, but it soon opened into a larger tunnel. My bond-brother didn't slow down, but immediately loosened up so I could breathe easily again.

1409 UTC

Capt. O'Brian

"What the hell?" someone exclaimed. That about summed it up. I stared at the rocks where the creature had disappeared.

"Strange behavior for Lekgolo," muttered one of 'Taham's warriors.

"They could be summoning backup," said another.

Blinking and sending commands with my neural interface, I navigated my armor's data systems. Recording playback… there. I flipped through the last minute of recordings until I found what I was looking for, and shared it with the team. I mirrored it on my wrist pad for our allies' benefit.

The picture was hazy - but clearly showed a human head atop a Lekgolo body.

"Can anyone tell me what we're looking at?" I asked, breaking the stunned silence.

"Well," said Sam. "I guess that answers the question of whether there are humans here."

"Now the question is," interjected Jacobs, "are the worms carrying that person - or eating them?

We all looked at the Sanghelli as if they would know.

Shipmaster 'Taham shook his head. "You humans would know better than I, but he does not look distressed or in pain, does he?"

He was right. The human, who looked like a young man, appeared more startled than anything.

"But," continued 'Taham, "I have never heard of Lekgolo coexisting with other species, to the point where they'd be willing to carry them."

"If it was carrying him," Sam commented thoughtfully, "that might explain how humans have survived here. What if the Lekgolo could support their bodies the way this armor does? It would at least let them move around. If they've lived here long enough, they might have adapted to the gravity over generations. Although human adaptation to high-g is mostly theoretical - we've never colonized a planet higher than 1.3G."

"I suppose it is possible," one of 'Taham's warriors said hesitantly. "Lekgolo are strong and adaptable creatures. But I have never heard of such a thing. That would imply a level of respect that Lekgolo have never shown to outsiders. They would be treating the human as one of their own. A bond-brother."

This was all fascinating, but we weren't going to learn anything standing around. The discussion shifted to what our next steps were. We decided to continue on foot and try to track the Lekgolo through the lava field, while the Phantom covered us and helped search from overhead. But it didn't take long to lose the trail among the narrow crevices.

"Pilot, what do you see?" asked 'Taham over comms.

"Nothing," was the reply. "I believe it's no longer on the surface. Scanners are clear."

We looked down at the crevices, and the caves that some of them led to. "Okay," I said, "let's get back in the air and continue toward the Phoenix. Keep an eye out for movement. If we see him again we'll try to make contact."

Jake & bond-brother

[Sorry about that. You ok?]

[Yep, thanks.]

Our conversation wasn't in words, but simple thoughts and impressions that flowed freely between us. I didn't know exactly how it worked - entangled brain waves or something. After enough time together, the human nervous system can become attuned to the signals Lekgolo use to communicate with each other. A human won't really be part of their hive mind - we remain individuals - but we can share thoughts with each other and act in perfect unison.

We can even share our major senses - not perfectly, but well enough. Through the Lekgolo's echolocation, I can sense our surroundings even with my head covered, or in the dark. It's a great sense to have; 360-degree awareness of shape and motion. And through my eyes, the Lekgolo can experience long-distance vision, which they don't have in their natural form.

My people bond with a young Lekgolo colony at an early age. About the time we learn to walk. It was the only way our ancestors survived the high gravity when they were stranded here. The Lekgolo saved them. The amazing creatures can support our bodies, squeeze our limbs to stop blood from pooling, give us the strength to move around freely. Over the generations, we humans became better adapted to the gravity. But the bond is more than just a survival mechanism now. It's a part of our life, our culture. I grew up with a bond-sibling, and so did my parents, and grandparents. And it's just as valuable for the Lekgolo as it is for us.

We continued down the tunnel - an ancient lava tube enlarged by Lekgolo generations ago. It wasn't even tall enough for a human to crawl through on hands and knees, but it was made for Lekgolo colonies bigger than us. We made good time. These tunnels formed a vast network that spread out for miles, connecting to our homes and beyond. We spend a lot of time here in the summer, when the temperature on the surface becomes deadly. We come down here with our friends after school or work, find a nice cool side tunnel to crawl into, and lie there for hours talking, playing games, and telling stories.

We entered a main corridor. This one was large enough for several colonies to move side-by-side - even with human members. We went back to a quadrupedal form to move faster, crawling along like a lizard. An unassisted human would have been exhausted doing this - the human body wasn't designed to move this way on its own. But it was no problem for us. I didn't bother trying to keep my head up to see where we were going - I kept my spine straight, letting my bond-brother support my neck and head; relying on our echolocation to sense where we were going in the pitch black tunnels.

We came to a fork in the tunnel. The main corridor went left, and a small tunnel branched off to the right.

[Go through the lake?]

[It'll save ten minutes. Let's do it.]

The smaller tunnel was an underwater connection to the lake next to our home. Right now, we were inside a hill just above the lake. The passage on our right sloped down, plunged below the water level, and emerged into the lake about 20 meters deep.

Lekgolo could move in water just as well as on land. But despite all the other ways they could augment a human, they couldn't give us the ability to breathe underwater. So I would have to hold my breath.

I was used to it. All of us humans spent a lot of time in the water. The young people enjoyed swimming and diving, and older folks enjoyed the relief from gravity's pull. My bond-brother and I had been all over this lake, above and below the surface. On a good day, I could hold my breath for three and a half minutes.

Lekgolo are incredibly fast swimmers, and being paired with a human doesn't slow them down much. Swimming together is exhilarating. We're one of the fastest things in the water.

I prepared my breathing as we slithered down the tunnel, and took a deep breath just before we hit the water. The cool liquid felt nice, even if it did get a bit chilly below the thermocline. Between the simple bodysuit I wore and the Lekgolo wrapped around me, I was warm enough. We maneuvered through the underwater tunnel, the path ahead clearly visible to our echolocation. We swam down at a steep angle for about 20 meters before it leveled out. I worked my jaw and throat to clear the building pressure in my ears.

After about a dozen meters on a straightaway, the tunnel sloped up and we emerged into open water. We flattened out into a more fishlike form and whipped through the water, trying to cover as much distance as possible before having to surface. Little creatures swam around us, but stayed well out of our way. I still had plenty of air. My bond-brother did all the work of swimming, so I could relax and conserve oxygen.

A few minutes later though, my lungs had really started to burn.

[Do we need to surface?]

[Not yet, I can hang on for a bit longer. Let's stay underwater as long as we can.]

We pushed on. The Lekgolo held my nose and mouth shut in case I blacked out. It had happened once when I was younger - but my bond-brother had kept me from inhaling any water, and carried me to the surface so I could breathe again. It was much safer than diving alone, or even with other humans.

After another half minute, my chest was heaving, and we headed for the surface. We popped out of the water with my face uncovered, and I gulped in fresh air as we looked around. We had come a little more than halfway across the lake. I pulled my arm out and checked my watch, the only piece of technology I carried. We had been underwater for 4 minutes and 3 seconds.

Any excitement at beating my record was tempered by nervousness as something rose above the hills, where we had seen the intruders. A bulbous green aircraft, all curves and soft lines. It didn't look human at all. It didn't come directly toward us, but swooped wide around the area where we had gone underground. I took another deep breath, and we slipped back under the water. We stayed just a few feet below the surface, swimming hard for the far side where home was.

AN:

My working title for this story was "The Symbiotes of Caladas VII." I liked how it had kind of an old-school sci-fi vibe, but I decided it was too much of a spoiler.

It's just a coincidence that UTC and local time on Caladas VII are so similar right now. The local time is actually later in the afternoon, closer to 1530 or 1600 (3:30 or 4 pm). Caladas VII has a longer rotational period and slightly higher axial tilt than Earth, so local time will become progressively more out of sync with UTC.