Michael Siemsen - Exigency

“There they are!” Angela’s voice in his helmet.

“I see them.” EV2’s shiny white hull couldn’t be missed in the duotone field of brown soil with neat rows of short, green crops. Zisa and Pablo, too, were more than discernible in their orange survival suits. And, as reported, a few Threck stood nearby.

Tom began cramming from memory.

While culturally different from City Threck, Country Threck had rapidly grown dependent upon their coastal cousins. Minnie posited that City Threck had begun by exchanging wagons of seafood for portions of the then-limited crops. Later, they’d brought fresh water via aqueduct to the landlocked region from the distant mountains, reducing Country Threck dependence on the unpredictable rains, and enabling the farmers to multiply their harvests.

But this civil relationship between previously separate cultures hardly suggested that Country or City Threck would behave even remotely accommodating to actual aliens.

As Tom considered the potential danger of the situation he and Angela were about to enter, he self-soothed with a series of recalled images from Minnie’s reports: a Country Threck nursing an injured rodent, well-organized teams of City Threck building a dam, groups lounging in a warm mud bath in the city as they debated the existence of “the future.” No scenes of war or religious sacrifice or cruelty.

As Tom and Angela descended, the three Threck near the EV suddenly caught sight of the skimmers, and took off running through the field toward their domicile. Tom had never before seen a Threck in a hurry. Those guys could move! They reminded Tom of Jesus Christ lizards running across water… but in funny outfits. Unlike the common City Threck in their Romanesque robes, Country Threck wore more fitted garb: trousers of canvas-like material and an overlapping short cloak that covered their heads and a bit of tentacle, like a medieval hooded shoulder cape.

Tom watched the farmers bound across the crop rows as he brought the skimmer down near an apparently ecstatic Zisa. He shut down the transport and glanced up to Angela as she descended. To annoy her, he pointed out a landing area in the open space exactly where Angela was headed.

Angela’s voice: “Oh, right here? May I? Here’s good, you silly ass?”

He glanced back at her as she touched down and saw her wry grin when something suddenly struck his chest, pushing him off-balance, and he almost tumbled off the skimmer platform.

“Zooks, that was so close!” Zisa embraced him and he tentatively stroked her back. She was shaking. “Thank you thank you thank you!” she babbled into his chest.

Tom looked up and saw Pablo’s she’s exaggerating expression.

A request appeared in Tom’s fone.

ALERTS: Direct Connect request from Pablo.

Tom accepted and an M instantly appeared.

PABLO: No danger. They were just standing there, staring at us.

Tom composed a reply while making fatherly shushing sounds and patting Zisa’s back as she cried.

TOM: I figured. How was it the past few days? Pure hell?

PABLO: Surprisingly OK. She talked a lot. I listened. Kind of really connected. We did it. Took turns sleeping.

TOM: Wait. Did it? As in IT?

PABLO: Yup. Don’t say anything tho. Not even to Ang.

TOM: That’s crazy! And don’t worry, I won’t.

Tom opened a new M to Angela.

TOM: Pablo and Zisa did IT!

ANGELA: NO! You’re lying! Are you lying?

Tom copy/pasted his exchange with Pablo into his M to Angela just as she arrived at his side. She rubbed Zisa’s back in circles and guided her away from Tom.

“C’mon now, hon,” Angela said. “It’s all over now. We’ll let it all out and get to work, ‘kay?”

ANGELA: So it looks like you waited about 3 seconds after promising secrecy before telling me.

TOM: LOL not even 3 seconds.

ANGELA: I’m in awe.

TOM: Me too. I love you.

ANGELA: Love you too. You better not c/p crap I send you.

TOM: Never.

TOM: OK Once.

TOM: OK Rarely.

TOM: OK Sometimes.

ANGELA: I’m gonna kick your ass.

“Thanks for the assist,” Pablo said as he shook hands with Tom. “Guessing you guys landed pretty close to here?”

Angela nodded. “About five-K east. Let’s get your skimmers undocked so we can tow your EV out of this field.”

Tom agreed. “And you two need to finish your exigency procedures. Data files, suit water, SSKs, food. We need to stay on top of that stuff until everyone’s at the rally point. Aether and Qin made a water landing and expect to be there tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I caught that on comms earlier,” Pablo said. “Are we sure they’re okay out there?”

“We’ll check in with them once we get you guys out of here,” Angela called from the other side of the EV. “Just get going on your stuff for now.”

Pablo leaned to Tom and cut his eyes toward the EV, whispering, “She’s still bossy.”

Tom smirked. “Yup. I think she’d like to be gone before your three farmer friends stroll back out here. You two eat anything yet?”

Pablo’s face twitched a little at the mention of food. Tom empathized. For how many years had it been the ultimate taboo? How long would it take for the stigma to fade?

Pablo replied, “We both had our scheduled calorie bars. You?”

Tom nodded affirmative as Angela called out again, “Tom, could you come back here, please?”

Pablo and Tom shared a lighthearted “uh-oh” face and split up.

“Coming!” Tom walked around the EV just as the first skimmer was unfolding. “I’ll start the other one—”

“No, I need you to figure out how to link the skimmers. You know, for loadbearing.”

“Right.” He walked to his own skimmer, trying to recall the steps.

Up to eight skimmers could be linked and controlled by a single node, and at least three were required to heft the weight of an EV. He dove into his skimmer’s settings in search of a link or connect menu, but found it under “Advanced Tasking.” Only two other skimmers appeared in the discovery list until Angela got the fourth powered up.

“All set!” Tom gave her a thumbs up. “Let’s get the cables out.”

A few minutes later, Tom noticed two Threck had reappeared in the field. The pair were lying low behind the row of bean plants closest to their domicile, attempting to covertly observe the team with only their protruding eyes. Tom imagined the species had spent millions of years in such a position, body hidden beneath the sea floor, or more recently, in mud—thus the eyes’ position atop the dome-shaped heads.

“We’re all hooked up,” Zisa said, snapping Tom out of his daze. “You want us on our skimmers or in the EV?”

“Oh, definitely the skimmers,” Tom said, observing her face looked especially red and dry. “Just hang onto your grips and don’t reinitiate control unless I say so. You doing okay? You’re not sweating.”

“Plenty of sweat in this suit,” she said and tilted her head to the EV. “Pablo’s almost done filling his. He already told me I have to drink more water.”

“So are you?” Tom worried about Zisa manufacturing another illness for sympathy’s sake. She’d done it a few times on the station and they couldn’t deal with that mess here on the surface.

“Yes, I am,” she said like a bratty teen. “Here… see?” She grabbed the tube with her tongue and sucked in several gulps.