Around an hour later, Saleek and Patrick were wandering through the dusty, sand-filled streets of the settlement.
‘So how long is this going to take?’ asked Patrick as they walked.
‘Well, the guy said it would be at least three hours to reset and refuel the engine, plus another hour to charge the internal battery. It’s been ‘bout an hour already, so I say we head back in ‘bout three more hours, check the ship then take off and get away from this dustbowl of a planet,’ answered Saleek.
He raised his hand to shield his eyes from the glare of the powerful sun in the cloudless sky.
‘OK,’ said Patrick. ‘What do you want to do until then?’
‘How ‘bout something to eat?’ suggested the spiky lyan.
‘Are you serious? I thought you said you ate a couple of hours ago?’
‘I did. And now I’m gettin’ hungry again. What’s the big deal?’
‘No big deal. Sometimes I forget different species have different dietary requirements.’
Saleek smiled and shot a glance at Patrick.
‘Is that a polite way of saying I’m greedy?’
Patrick smiled back.
‘I didn’t say a word.’
Saleek laughed.
‘You didn’t have to. C’mon, let’s check this place out.’
Together they walked over to a large market stall that was stocked full of odd-looking vegetables and local meat products. Patrick examined the items on the stall while Saleek conversed with the owner, a relatively elderly female of a species that the human did not recognise. Patrick saw small, ovoid things that resembled nuts; large, purple-coloured cylinders with green tops; peculiar-shaped carcasses of some local fauna that was giving off an even more peculiar odour and many more things besides. For a moment, Patrick longed for the familiarity of his home planet, including all the luxuries and food to which he was accustomed. He wasn’t even particularly hungry but he suddenly felt a craving for an old Earth-style snack – slivers of potato that were fried in fat and covered in salt. Quite unhealthy for you, but delicious nonetheless. Patrick let out a small sigh as he realised it would likely be a long time before he ever tasted familiar food like that again – if he ever did. He certainly was a long way away from the outer colonies while he was stuck in the Barren Lands.
Saleek handed over a couple of credits to the woman, who inspected them closely to make sure that they were real and not counterfeit. Satisfied that they were indeed real, the woman then hastily pocketed them and handed Saleek several items while Patrick looked on. Saleek then turned and started walking away from the market stall as Patrick followed.
‘What have you got there?’ inquired the human as he studied the items cradled in Saleek’s arms.
‘A couple of different things. These ain’t like the meals you had on Nexus One, or even the ones made by the ship’s dispenser. This is all raw and natural,’ explained the lyan. He sniffed one of the items he carried and pulled a face. ‘If you ask me, all this stuff about goin’ natural ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.’
Saleek handed Patrick a small, round fruit. The human took it and bit into it, before quickly spitting it out again.
‘Urrgh!’ he commented as he wiped the remains of juice away from his lips with a dirty sleeve. ‘That’s so bitter!’
Patrick was about to throw away the unwanted fruit over his shoulder before Saleek stopped him.
‘Hey! Whoa, what are you doin’?’
Patrick stopped mid-throw and looked at his companion.
‘Um...getting rid of this thing? It’s horrible. Wait, do you want it?’
He held out his hand and offered the blue fruit to the lyan.
‘It’s not that. Can’t you see how valuable any food must be to these poor people? Don’t just throw it away ‘cause you ain’t a fan,’ said Saleek as he looked over to his left. A few metres away there was a group of filthy-looking children, huddled together in the shade of a nearby tent. There didn’t seem to be any adults or guardians nearby and they all looked rather dishevelled, dirty and, quite frankly, depressed. Saleek wandered over to them as Patrick stood and watched in surprise before coming to his senses and following the spiky alien.
‘Hey kids,’ greeted Saleek as he approached the group of children.
As soon as he spoke, most of the children got up to their feet and scrambled to run away as quickly as possible.
‘Hey, hold on! Wait! I’ve got something for you!’ exclaimed Saleek but it was to no avail.
All the children had run off, apart from one – a young girl whose messy hair was matted and stuck together due to the sandy environment. She was clad in dirty rags for clothes and she was very, very thin. She almost looked too weak to run away or say anything as Saleek stood over her. It was then that Patrick caught up to the lyan.
‘Hey, I don’t mean to criticize but I think you’re scaring them,’ explained the human.
‘Yeah, I worked that one out,’ replied Saleek. ‘Here, hold these,’ he said as he handed Patrick the entirety of his collection of food.
Patrick struggled to hold all of the items, nearly dropping something twice as Saleek piled on more food into his already-full arms. The lyan then proceeded to take a large purple cylinder with a green top from the heap of food and knelt down in front of the girl.
‘Here you go,’ offered Saleek. ‘Take it.’
The girl looked away and did not move.
‘Hey...do you speak Standard, little girl?’ prompted Saleek patiently.
The girl slowly looked back at the lyan and mumbled something in an unknown language.
‘I don’t think she understands you,’ said Patrick from behind the mountain of food.
‘It’s okay. Look, you can eat it.’
Saleek took a bite from the purple flesh of the vegetable that he held in his hands. A few droplets of moisture dripped from the lyan’s lips and decorated the sand below with wet patches as he munched on the mouthful.
‘See?’ he said, once again offering the purple vegetable to the young girl.
The dishevelled girl moved slightly closer and sniffed. Saleek’s arms remained outstretched, his hands holding the purple cylinder. Suddenly the young girl smiled in excitement and quickly snatched the vegetable out of Saleek’s hands. For a moment, she held the food tightly to her chest before taking a large mouthful of purple flesh from the cylinder. She beamed at Saleek whilst chewing. Her friends, who had been watching from afar, suddenly ran over and all looked expectantly at Saleek, arms outstretched and hands open.
‘Don’t worry, there’s more where that came from,’ said Saleek.
He then took item after item from Patrick and handed them out until every single child had something in their hands. After a few shrieks of delight from some of the younger ones, all that could be heard was a steady munching as the children proceeded to feast on the free food.
‘Well, I guess this is the last one left,’ said Saleek as he took the last fruit (which had human teeth marks around the edges) from Patrick’s arms. The spiky alien paused for a second before kneeling down and handing the small, round ball to the young girl to whom he had already given the purple cylinder.
As her mouth dropped open in surprise, he added, ‘This one is for trusting me. Enjoy it.’
‘So...what? You’re a thief with a conscience now, is that it?’ asked Patrick, bewildered.
‘Something like that,’ replied Saleek, before standing up and marching off.
Patrick stood still in surprise for a few seconds then he chased after the spiky alien.
‘Hey! Hey!’ called the human. ‘Hey, Saleek. I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m sorry.’
The lyan stopped and allowed Patrick to catch up with him.
‘It’s just...how come you gave away all your food? I thought you said you were hungry?’ asked the confused human.
Saleek shrugged.
‘I’m kinda peckish, but I don’t really need to eat. Those poor kids clearly need it more than me or you,
so I gave it to ‘em.’
Saleek then shoved his hands in his pockets and started to slowly wander onwards down the sandy street. Patrick walked alongside him.
‘Surprised?’ asked Saleek as he looked at his companion.
‘Well, sort of, yeah,’ answered Patrick, meeting the lyan’s gaze. ‘With you having so little money and so little food onboard your ship, I just never thought that you would give away something like that.’
Saleek smiled and looked away from Patrick, watching his feet kick through mounds of thick sand as he walked.
‘I guess seeing those helpless kids reminds me of how life used to be for me back on Nexus One when I was younger.’
Patrick nodded as he remembered.
‘That’s right, you mentioned that you had to survive by begging for handouts when you were a child, didn’t you?’
‘The thing is, I remember how tough it was. Sometimes I went for days on end without eating anything. And Nexus One is a busy metropolis of a planet with millions and millions of people on it. There was always some back alley full of bins to rifle through for food. This place is a sandy hunk of rock in comparison. Those poor kids ain’t got anyone, by the looks of it. I just feel so sorry for ‘em – I hate seeing people suffer...’ said the lyan, looking a little downcast.
Patrick suddenly felt like he had newfound respect for Saleek. Sure, the guy did some dodgy things but it was only in order to survive – quite frankly, any other sentient being would do the same thing if they were in Saleek’s shoes. Giving away what little he had to those even less fortunate than himself showed what kind of person the lyan was, and it was one that Patrick was now happy to call a friend. The human quickly glanced behind him and saw the children ravenously tucking into the food that Saleek had given them.
‘Well, they certainly seem to be enjoying what you gave them,’ said Patrick.
‘Yeah,’ said Saleek, managing a small smile.
The two walked onwards for a while without saying another word.
Chapter 20
The Hidden Treasure of Darfor Page 31