Phwolfe Song (Golsidan Revival Series Book 1)

by Kimberly McLaughlin

  Anna snuggled down deeper in the blankets. “Oh … I think I found a way to get some leka without having to traverse the jungle.”

  “How could you do that?” Des jumped upright.

  His surprise jolted Anna awake. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. “You need to stop being so jumpy, sweetheart.” Anna complained as she climbed out of bed and threw on her t-shirt.

  “If you stopped surprising me, I wouldn’t need to jump.”

  “Sweetheart, after the incident with the stick, you should never be surprised by anything I do.” Anna quipped. Des shook his finger at her. “I had just finished checking the dimensions to make sure a full pack fit through when you showed up. But I need to look at the rest of the route.” She scrolled ahead. The route required her to climb a ladder, before it led her to the rail room. How could she navigate the rails though?

  Wow! A hand over hand propelled suspension basket. Geez, Golsidans left the strangest things to manual labor. How about getting down to the hive? Anna put in another query. The basket equipment included a lowering cable and a power winch. She thought it out. “Des, I could do this by entering Environmental Control on Deck 7 in the Midsoutheast 7 section. I go up the ramps and through the connecting rooms, on Deck 11, I climb this ladder and some more ramps, and on Deck 20, I’d reach the rail system room in the East 7 section. Pull myself out on the rail, toss the gesar flour out, wait for the Maleka to eat it and drug themselves, then lower the basket and harvest the hive. The return trip might be more difficult and take longer, propelling the basket in with the leka. But, I could achieve it in this light gravity.”

  Des scrolled back to the beginning. He studied it all the way through. He went back to the midway point and shook his head. “No, you couldn’t. See here, this whole section only receives partial heating. The temperature readings fluctuate between twenty-eight and thirty-nine degrees Fahrenheit.”

  Anna shrugged. “So I bring a couple of thick sweaters in my pack. I stop and put them on, before I enter that section. The unheated portion only covers one section on Decks 13, 14, and 15.”

  “Yes, but once you get out onto the rail system the temperature stays between ninety-four and a hundred and six degrees.” Des argued.

  “Okay, I bring the clothes for the cold section. When I get into the rail room, I take them off. I bring about three or four liters of water for when I’m on the rails. Once I drop down to the hive, the temperature lowers. It only stays that hot right up on the rails. I’m more worried about the basket. It has sat there unused for a long time.”

  Des looked it over. “The basket is made of tiera-plas. You don’t have to worry about it. Age never affects its strength. The cables are tiera-plas coated, braided high grade metal which is nearly indestructible. The mechanical moving parts might pose a problem, the basket suspension hanging wheels and the winch. It matters how well they got maintained and greased before going into storage.”

  “It says the room holds spares of everything. The temperatures won’t harm you?” Des looked worried.

  Anna smiled at him. “Des, humans handle that range of temperature on a frequent basis. That range equals the yearly cycle where I lived. In winter, the wind chill sometimes dropped below negative five degrees. The temperatures reached the high nineties or above a hundred only during a couple weeks of the year, but I endured them with no issues. I’ll bring plenty of clothes and lots of water. In the worst case scenario, the temperature swing might cause me to catch a cold. But if I prepare well, that probably won’t happen. Worry-wart!” She teased as she bent down and kissed his brow.

  He sighed deeply. “I will always worry about you. I’m really well suited to do so. When would you plan on doing this run?”

  “Not for a couple of days, I want to get a good start on the harvesting for the feast first.” Anna sighed. “There’s a lot of food to prepare for one of these feasts.”

  Des chuckled. “Well, it runs all day long and the entire crew attends it. Everyone leaves a feast full and happy.” Des pulled Anna into his arms. “You should plan on waiting at least two days before making a leka run. I can lesson you for the next two nights on how to check the mechanical parts and make repairs if you need to. You know, I am going to worry about those temperature extremes until I see you come back through them with no harm.”

  “I won’t stay in them long enough to cause any harm love. Humans work in temperatures like that all over different parts of Earth.”

  Des nodded. “Let’s eat and get some sleep. I will start lessoning you again.”

  “Thanks, sweetheart. I set out the food before I got interrupted.” Des joined Anna at the table. They ate and climbed into bed. She remembered to set the alarm and then she fell asleep.

  Anna woke up before the alarm feeling great. This long nap in the middle of the day really helped keep the energy levels up. She dressed and made the dash to East 1. Two hours remained before the cool crew started. She faltered in mid-stride. Wow! She was finally thinking in Golsidan time.

  Anna finished the last straining on and bottled all of the dyes. She figured out Cima’s and Jatlo’s two percent of the greal dye and set it aside. She grabbed her packs and ran up to East 4. She double checked the electrical field. She used a remote to open the door.

  Yes! A gesar bush fell in. It filled two carts full to pick that one bush. After Anna trimmed it back, she attacked the denua again. She ran the vines through the processor, made a dozen boxes, and started clearing paths. She picked what grew in the way, mostly denua. She made eighteen more boxes to store it in.

  Once the paths lay clear she used the carts to her benefit. She concentrated on picking the gesar and catronu first. She needed to make syrup and oil for roasted and fried savti. When four full carts of the mixed, plus the two full of pure gesar stood waiting, she started pushing them to the hall. Back and forth she went, emptying the carts and processing the harvest. Finally, when she finished filling three presses with catronu and eight of the sixty liter pots with gesar, she switched to picking everything.

  When Anna filled all those carts, she went and grabbed more of them from East 5 and 6. She started a cart for oesla with a tray marked for the tassels. Most of the belao bore mewu damage and went directly into the processor. But, it reminded her to set aside ten pounds of overripe gesar for mewu bait. What little blemish-free belao she found got put onto a separate cart.

  She had a cart for the gesar; the chopped up fruit on the top level and the rinds on the bottom level. The pretlo went directly into the processors. She brought six more carts of gesar, three each of catronu and oesla, and one of belao to Heroes’ Hall before the crew showed up.

  Anna waited till everyone arrived. She wasn’t sure how they felt about preparing for the feast or if they even wanted to work without Chief Sato. “All right people, since you showed up here the Phsatorae must have talked to you. Did he explain everything to you?”

  Jatlo as always spoke up. “We need to help you prepare a great feast. You agreed to do all the final processing in the central station of East 4 Heroes’ Hall after we peel and cut gesar, scrub savti, rinse everything, and save the tassels from oesla. We talked it over and want you to be our interim Crew Chief until Sato comes back. Give us our orders, Chief.” Jatlo smiled widely.

  “I appreciate the trust you’re putting in me. I want the aces in their places. All of you, who process faster than harvesting, listen up. I’m giving you your chance to shine. Savti covers the counters of East 1, waiting to be scrubbed. East 2 has full carts to be peeled, cut up, rinsed, and sorted. Plus, our harvesters will be working out of this garden, providing enough to keep even your fingers busy, speedy one.” Anna bowed to Shalo as chuckles surrounded them.

  “Sign in wherever you want and use the scale at your sign in station to keep track. Harvesters, clear paths now riddle East 4. You can roll the carts right into the garden, put your harvest onto them, and roll them back out here to be processed. Tag the carts with your mark to keep track of your harvest.
Processors sort as you process. I’ll harvest until there are a couple of processed carts ready to go. Then I’ll start stuffing pots, presses and loading ovens and fryers. I plan to return the empty carts back here or to East 2. East 1 has enough carts for the produce there. I want everyone to meet back here at eleven o’clock. Okay, everyone sign in. Five minutes and we go.”

  They ended up with an even split thirteen processors and thirteen harvesters. Marfi, Cima, and Shalo decided to start on East 1. They planned to switch to East 2 after East 1 got finished. Jatlo and Pealo stuck it out with East 2. Everyone else stayed at East 4. Anna managed to pick four carts before a full one of gesar stood ready. She took off running for Heroes Hall.

  By eleven, all forty-eight sixty liter pots busily boiled gesar. The fryers worked away frying savti. The drying ovens in Heroes’ Hall, plus in East 5, 6, and 7 labored hard making gesar flour. Forty-four twenty liter pots boiled up savti for mashing, plus, four oesla dye and nine denua dye pots were steeping. Furthermore, all twelve presses squeaked and squealed as they squished catronu.

  Anna met up with the crew. “Great job people! I’m asking for five or six volunteers for tomorrow night. I’m building a barrier across level 1 at Northwest 3 tomorrow in the warm. In the cool, I’m asking for three volunteers to watch for me while I harvest korftu and some more greal. I’d also like to have two or three volunteer processors over there. Everyone else stays to harvest and process here in East 4. If any of you want to stay over and keep at it feel free too. I’m going to go mash savti until twelve and then quit for the night. I’ll bring the empty carts back here tomorrow cool. But, remember I’ll be working at Northwest 3. I plan to check in with everyone tomorrow at eleven o’clock. May your blood stay strong.” She bowed to them and headed back to Heroes’ Hall.

  Having never done KP duty before in her life, Anna learned by the time twelve o’clock rolled around exactly why it often got assigned as a punishment detail. She managed to scrape her knuckles, bruise her fingers, and splatter the counters, floor, and herself with goo before she got all of the savti mashed and put in serving bowls. She filled little dipping bowls and pouring pitchers with catronu oil. She finished up the time by putting the dirty pots into wash and cleaning her messy mashed vegetable decorations off the counters and floor. Then, she went and took a long, hot, much-needed shower before heading home.

  Anna woke up early the next morning, left Des peacefully sleeping and went to work. She had enough gesar syrup to finish filling the pouring pitchers. The rest she set aside for roasting savti. She put away the clean pots and loaded the dirty. She put the fried savti on serving platters. Thank God, most of this feast happened to be buffet style. She dropped all of the gesar rinds into the pounders and ran over to East 1.

  Somebody had stayed over because all the carts held savti in stacked trays, scrubbed and ready to go. Anna refilled the fryers and put some in to roast. Then she remembered to strain the dyes and put them back on to re-boil.

  At East 2, everything was ready to go too, so a lot of somebody’s had stayed over. Anna got the produce in to roast, press, boil, or put onto serving platters. She loaded the gesar flour back in the drying ovens for the final drying. She pushed the empty carts back to East 4 and 5. She put the gesar rinds in East 5, 6, and 7 in to the pounders.

  Anna ran back to East 1 and accessed information. She found the measurements she needed. She ordered up the denua boards for making a first level barrier. At East 4, she found carts full of prepared produce lined up through the processing room and out onto the garden paths, proving the sheer awesomeness of the cool shift crew. They had probably all stayed over to get it done. By the time, she got the carts pushed up to Heroes’ Hall, the supply processor in number 1 was finished making the boards.

  Anna went over to Northwest 3 with her denua boards and four bottles of second boil glue. It took her an hour to build the barrier. Mostly, because she learned what to do as she went along. She felt like she had eyes growing out of the back of her head by the time she finished. She went back to East 4 and harvested twelve carts to give the cool shift processors a start. Then, she trotted over and checked out East 5. The electrical field gauge read as operational and no bush fell in when she opened the door. She brought over the empty boxes from 2 and 4 and filled them with denua. That cleared the paths nice and wide. She harvested six carts and headed back to KP duty.

  By the time, Anna again caught up with the cooking at the hall; the time stood at four ninety. Enough, she took an extra long shower at Des’s, went home, and collapsed into bed without even eating.

  When the alarm clock went off, Des barely allowed her to sit up before he force fed more of that horrible greal down Anna’s protesting throat. He was extremely lucky that she loved him more than she hated greal. He wanted to go with her to Heroes’ Hall. But, when she told him the temperature in the processing room, he changed his mind. He went to East 5 and started processing what waited there.

  It took under thirty minutes for Anna to finish up in the hall. The fried and roasted savti still went directly on to platters. She bottled the catronu oil. Then, she ran up to East 5 and processed denua until Des finished a cart full to go to the hall. He came over, gave her a kiss and a cuddle, held her for a few moments, and then told her to hurry back.

  Anna performed KP duty like a woman possessed. Des and she finished processing the full carts in East 5. They went over to East 4 and harvested six more cartful’s. Now, over half harvested the East 4 garden looked much neater. Together, they checked on her mewu bait, found it all gone, and set out more. Anna showed Des the trap design.

  Desvren laughed. “You call them sticky traps? But how do you plan on getting the mewu off?” Anna explained dipping them in cold water and he shuddered. “A Golsidan couldn’t do that. Maybe our children will be able to.”

  “Des, how are we going to have children?” She almost felt afraid to hear the answer.

  “A seldom used healing technique exists that allows the healers mind and another’s to trade places. I use the others body to make a child with you, and then my mind and the others trade back. Basically, I father the child with someone else’s body.” Des shrugged.

  This time, Anna’s shock caused him jump. “How is that possible, Des?”

  “Both the other and his tai’twain need to want a child badly enough to not be bothered by it having four parents instead of three.”

  “You think, someone will volunteer for this and let you use his body?” Anna found it hard to believe. A male giving his body temporarily to Des to use went way further than donating sperm.

  “You let your brother and sister-in-law use your body. Plus, I have already received three offers.”

  “I only stood in as a surrogate mother for my nephew Anthony. I didn’t actually trade my body with or move my mind into my sister-in-law Tara’s body.” Anna explained. She swallowed hard. “Who offered to trade bodies with you?”

  Des rubbed his cheek against Anna’s. “Sato volunteered first, then Jao, and yesterday warm Dasie approached me. Who do you like the most?”

  “Des!” Anna screeched.

  Des shrugged. “Well, you could easily grant them all children. It only takes you a month. They need to carry the child after that. You could mother a lot of children and I want to father many.” Des hugged her.

  “I think we ought to wait until after this sub-clan thing gets settled. And I want to build up a food store in reserve before conceiving children.”

  Des nodded and grinned again. “Who do you want to be first?”

  Anna shrugged. “I like them all. But, I feel most comfortable with Sato. Isn’t he a good friend of yours?”

  “Yes, a very good friend. He never complained about the stick story.”

  Anna’s head went back and she laughed.

  Des hugged her again. “We need to go, sweetheart.”

  When Des and Anna got to Northwest 3, Dasie and Brema stood waiting for them. “I’m not allowed to harvest yet, but I can
watch and my friend Tafka wants to join us and watch also. He just got removed from the infirm list, so this will be a good job for him.” Brema smiled.

  “Brema, may I see your hand?” Des asked.

  Brema rolled back his Isadi suit to the wrist, and held out his hand. The scar that ran the length of his thumb proved how deeply the harvest knife cut him.

  “It healed well.” Des announced. “Thank you for asking your friend to come.”

  “He wanted to help Wolfe. He really appreciated that greal.”

  “I’m glad somebody likes the stuff. Personally, I dislike it, too sour. Dasie, Sharp Eyes, I’m glad you chose to come.” Anna said. She felt a little uncomfortable because of the offer he made Des so she smiled slowly.

  Dasie sighed. “Ah... Des spoke with you. Such a thing isn’t something to be nervous about. I have wanted a child for a long time and feared to have one. Every generation, our temperature tolerance decreases and our dependence on the Isadi suits increases. When first made, Isadi suits only got used for space and planet exploration. Now, we need to wear them every day to survive. I want it to be different for my child.” He smiled brightly. “I wish my child to have your temperature tolerance. Such freedom would make a glorious gift to begin a child’s life with. Here comes Tafka, now.”

  Right behind Tafka walked Jatlo, Cima, and Pealo. Pealo beamed. “We knew you would need three. Shelling korftu takes time and you harvest greal very quickly.”

  “Thank you friends, I appreciate your help.” Anna smiled “Okay, let’s go.” She pushed the remote and leapt through the door running out of pure reflex.

  Des hollered behind her. “You wait for us to watch before you go over the rail. Do you hear me?”

  Anna turned and jogged backwards for a moment. “I’m just going to run the rail and check for any sign on the trees.” She turned back around and dashed off.

  Northwest 3 still looked safe. Anna searched for the best spots for the watchers. Desvren jogged up first. She sat on the rail shelf and just admired him.