Michael Siemsen - Exigency

Tom pinched the button. “Hi, Zisa, this is Tom. Listen close, okay? Do you know if you’re anywhere near the city, or if this farm is out in the country?”

“Yes!” she replied in an anxious whisper.

“Which? Yes, near the city?”

“No, country,” she said, annoyed. Tom heard a garbled something from Pablo. Zisa responded, “I know! We’re two-point-two-K west of the river, okay? Just tell us what to do! A proper peace greeting or whatever!”

Tom sighed and gave Angela a grim look. Everyone was supposed to download the emergency maps, language, and customs file before exiting their EVs—something Tom and Angela had also failed to do.

Angela leaned close to Tom to hear the radio.

Tom continued, “You’re not going to like this, Zisa, but it’s important for you to know. Listen, have Pablo come near the radio so you both hear me, okay?”

“Come here,” Zisa said. “He wants you to hear…. Go ahead.”

“Here’s the deal. These are Country Threck, so they’re not as predictable as City Threck, and I’m not too solid on their dialect. You definitely want to keep from making unintentional hand or head gestures. Body movements are nearly half their language, so you could accidentally say something offensive or threatening. Don’t turn your back to them. Don’t keep your mouth open if you’re not talking—”

“Ten meters and slowly closing,” Pablo said. “One of them is saying something.”

“Just don’t interrupt. In a second, you’ll need to stop talking to me and focus on only them. Ee-shaaay-CK. That’s what you’re going to say. Ee-shaaay-CK. Nothing else. It means ‘peaceful greetings’ in every Threck dialect. Carry that a sound and punch the CK at the end. Now, give me your coordinates so we can get to you asap.”

Tom saved Zisa and Pablo’s location to his fone and DC’d with the EV to download the emergency file he should’ve picked up in the first place.

Angela was standing in front of him, fanning her face and neck with her hand. “Should I get the skimmers going?”

“Yes, please. Thank you. Don’t forget your helmet, though. This heat isn’t safe.”

A moment later, the full emergency data pack was on his fone and he sealed the EV before joining Angela at the rear to help undock the skimmers.

This wasn’t how first contact was supposed to play out. Now they were at an immediate disadvantage.

“You okay, baby?” Angela said as she prepped her skimmer. Tom only shrugged and clenched his jaw as he watched the skimmer slowly lower and twist into shape. “You were good back there. On the radio.”

“I wish I’d taken the ‘backup’ role more seriously,” he said as he stepped on his skimmer’s platform and powered it on. “Actually, I just wish Minnie was here.”

Droplets of ocean water dotted EV1’s two overhead portholes. The pod’s slow rises and falls, combined with early digestion restart, had Aether’s stomach in a threatening state. She and Qin should already be on their second calorie bar, providing the fresh bile something to work on, but the idea of eating made her feel even sicker.

Obviously, it would’ve been preferable to touch down on dry land, but she couldn’t blame Qin for that. A) He was the one who’d figured out the fine adjustments required to get the stranded pods rounded up and reentering, saving all of their lives; and B) EV1 only deviated off-course because the main chute hadn’t automatically deployed. Instead of landing along Threck Country’s lush southern coast, they’d continued hurtling an extra 8K south before the backup chute fired. Now, floating so far from shore, land was but a hazy strip on the northern horizon.

Neither had been keen on the idea of rowing their way ashore, even with their suits’ temp regulation systems. In the middle of Epsy’s southern hemisphere summer, where temperatures frequently exceeded an unlivable 60 C, waiting for the current to carry them most of the way would be more than acceptable. That was, if none of the other evacuees felt inclined to amble out their way with a few skimmers to carry them to the rally point.

Aether wasn’t holding her breath. The other teams had their given tasks, and unless called upon for emergency assistance, all should have been heading to the rally point and setting up. Once the sun set, the heat would rapidly dissipate, and she and Qin would spend the better part of the evening paddling the EV the rest of the way in.

Qin, face contorted by his growing dread, sat with eyes squeezed shut. While an exceptional pilot, Qin had always been at home in a lab. He despised the outdoors and all that lived within it—animals (whether furry or not), bugs, even plants for some reason. Among all of Aether’s crew/patients, she knew Qin would never have issues with cabin fever, irrational antagonism, or space panic. But that was on the station. He loved the station. Now, she wasn’t so sure how he’d manage. His SP rating had always been worst, and by a wide margin from the next lowest, Zisa. Since evac, whenever he wasn’t busy, Aether had him deep-diving into transitionary input. And that’s what he was doing now, brow furrowed with concern as he sat transfixed by Threck Country maps, pics, and vids from the emergency file pack. Minnie had been utterly meticulous with its content.

Minnie.

Yesterday, with 13 orbits remaining out of 74, Qin had worked out EV5’s and EV6’s trajectories. Minnie, John, and Ish had been headed straight for Hynka Country’s middle highlands, chillingly close to one of the savages’ most populous villages.

Aether closed her eyes and tried to see the situation as John would. Focus on logic and tasks at hand. Do what could be done while mentally compartmentalizing all she couldn’t control. In addition to their top SP ratings, Minnie and John were the most “generally capable” crewmembers, regardless of their differences. If they followed protocol, they’d now be a team of three, with Ish’s Hynka expertise at their disposal.

A comms alert rang out, startling both Aether and Qin.

Qin leaned forward and reached the panel first. “We’re in range!” He pulled out the old wired-style headset. “It’s Zisa. Kind of freaking out. Calling for Tom. Should I tell them where we are?”

Aether shook her head. “Sounds like she might have more pressing concerns. And it’s radio. We don’t want to step on Tom if he answers. Give it thirty seconds. Relay specifics.”

“Angela’s on now… handing off to Tom… Zisa and Pablo landed in farmland… several adult Threck approaching… Tom’s all over it. So now? Before they go away? Should I tell them? When they’re done, you know, maybe they can—” Qin was already bordering on panic just hearing about others’ distress.

Aether smiled softly and patted the air with a “settle down” hand.

She spoke gently. “In a minute. Make sure they’re both done transmitting. But no distress call. We’ll stick to our plan while they do what they need to do.”

Qin waited in fidgety silence for exactly one minute before pinching the mic. “EV-One to Four and Two. In comms range.” He relayed their current coordinates and glanced at Aether. “Should we request periodic check-in?” Aether returned a no-nod and motioned him to calmly finish. “We’ve made a water landing and will meet you all at the rally point tomorrow. Over.” He sat and listened.

“Any response?”

“Nothing.” He wiped the sweat from his head. “I think you’re right. They’ll be indisposed for a bit.”

“Did it sound like Zisa and Pablo were in serious danger?”

Composure returning, Qin shrugged and gave her a knowing look. “Yeah, but .”