Pegasus Colony (People of Akiane: A Colonization Science Fiction Novel Book 1)

by Phyllis Moore

  The creatures are fierce and as large as polar bears. The monsters explode out of the ocean, attack, and carry their victims into the water to devour them.

  We have named them tupilak after an Inuit mythical monster that lives under the ice.

  Guards now watch over the fishermen. After they have filled their nets and return to Endurance, the guards become hunters of these creatures. We now have our first kill and have experimented with cooking it.

  Tupilak is good meat, but the dogs won’t eat it. They only eat fish. It’s good that the fish have also returned. Now we don’t have to fly over the ocean looking for them. Now that we know what to expect, next summer we will stock up for the warm years.

  As winter sets in, that also means no more of the plant that makes up the red line. We shall have to wait until spring before we can head back.

  First Taste of Tupilak

  Faris smiled when she saw Fatimah standing at attention as if she were still in the Space Force.

  “I hear you killed a sea creature,” Faris said. It was the first to be killed since the creatures’ arrival.

  “Yes, Mum,” Fatimah said.

  How many times had Faris reminded her troops that they were no longer in the military? Still some were not able to let the training go. So she’d stopped reminding them.

  While on duty, Fatimah remained the soldier. Off duty, she and Faris were becoming fast friends. Fatimah made an excellent sergeant, but she made an even better friend.

  World Space Coalition had trained Faris to stand aloof from those she commanded. She was not to become friendly or take a lover from her crew, but things were different.

  On Earth, even on WSC Moon Base, Faris had the opportunity to make friends with those who were not under her command, but here on an alien planet, everyone was under her command. It didn’t feel right. They were a community. Space force no longer ruled.

  Father Joe had encouraged her to follow her heart. Allah teaches love and trust not isolation. Faris decided it was to her emotional wellbeing, and the betterment of her command, if she made friends.

  Fatimah had become her best friend. They had been in each other’s wedding. But Fatimah was still sergeant at heart.

  “It jumped out of the water as easily as a cat jumps onto a table. What do we do with it, Mum?” Fatimah asked.

  “I say we eat it,” Adryel said as he came alongside.

  Faris passed her hand over her full belly and smiled up at her beloved.

  “How do we cook it?” she asked Adryel. “That thing is at least 400 kilograms.”

  “We build a smoker,” Joe said, joining them. “We have the materials.”

  “We should build a room,” Adryel said.

  “A room?” Fairs asked. “You are joking.”

  Adryel smiled. “No, I’m not.”

  “A whole room?” she asked.

  “If the meat is good, we’ll want to smoke more of them or grill them or make a stew or steaks,” Adryel said. “We’ll need a place to store the meat after we’ve gutted and cleaned it.”

  “How do we distribute it?” Joe asked.

  “An Inuit Indian tribe would hang the meat and people would come to take what they want,” Adryel said.

  “So we build a room to store the meat,” Faris said. “People will come and take what they want for their personal needs.”

  “Yeah,” Adryel said, “but we’ll roast this one.”

  Faris eyed him.

  “Might as well cook this one to see if we even like it before we build a whole room,” Adryel said. “We’ll celebrate and all will eat.”

  “Do you know how to roast it?” Faris asked.

  Adryel laughed.

  “He’s from Texas,” Joe said, also laughing. “He grew up smoking meat and barbecuing.”

  “Fatimah, what do you say? It’s your kill,” Faris asked.

  She grinned from ear to ear.

  “Well, gentlemen,” Faris said, “there’s your answer. Have at it.”

  “We’ll need more than one to feed all of us,” Fatimah said with a twinkle in her eye.

  “Then you’d best go hunting,” Faris said with a shake of her head and a light laugh.

  Fatimah’s smile of pride changed into the smile of a huntress. “At your command, Mum.”

  Dinner of the next Afternoon

  Adryel nervously hovered over Faris as she cut into the first piece of meat. She didn’t bother to wave him away. She didn’t dare. He needed an answer.

  “Tender cut,” Faris said admiringly. “That’s a good sign.”

  Adryel’s chest swelled with pride.

  She sniffed. “Smells divine.”

  Great satisfaction lit Adryel’s face.

  Faris brought her fork to her mouth, and without hesitation, bit into the meat. “OH!” She closed her eyes, dropped her head slightly to one side. “Mmmm!” This was better that she could have hoped for.

  He continually surprised her. She knew he could cook, but she would never have guessed he could roast an alien creature like this.

  “There’s your approval people,” Adryel loudly declared. “Come and get it.” He bent down and lightly kissed Faris.

  She reached up, placed her hand on the back of his neck and held him there for a few seconds longer.

  Chapter 31

  Lieutenant Jessica Hewitt

  Day Seven

  The Expedition

  IT ALL happened too fast. One minute I was inside a perfect, warm habitat where I could comfortably roam for hours. At first light the following morning after my conversation with the admiral, I was outside getting ready to trek across Akiane’s frozen forlorn tundra. I’ll be camping in the snow and ice. Don’t tell me life’s fair.

  On this insane trip, I’ll be traveling with strangers to the other side of this world in hopes of finding something. That’s what Captain Assetti and the priest Striken had done.

  For some reason, my military-issued winter suit, with its miracle fabric, which would have kept me very warm, wasn’t deemed good enough. I was issued an Akiane red and white fur suit with fur boots, suspendered pants, fur jacket, and gloves.

  The boots were turned inside out, fur inside, with the top turned down to make a white cuff. Gloves were the same. The fur on the coat and pants were turned outward.

  The front of the coat was secured with several leather fasteners from just under my neck to past a leather belt. Just below the fasteners, the coat hung down to my knees and opened up, giving me room to move.

  Underneath, I wore three pairs of wool socks, two pairs of long johns, liner gloves, fur gloves and, under my hood, a knitted cap. Stuffed in my jacket pocket was a plastic breathable visor that snapped onto my hood to protect my face from extreme night cold, and a pair of sunglasses to protect my eyes from sun glares off a white world of snow and ice.

  My fur hood, with its white cuff, cut off all peripheral vision. I hated not being able to see what was going on around me. I had visions of being attacked and eaten alive before I saw my attacker.

  I was advised to write a farewell letter to my family, just in case I didn’t make it back. I didn’t write it. I couldn’t. There wasn’t anyone to write to. Dad was dead. I didn’t know where Mom was and didn’t care. I couldn’t write a letter to any of my relatives. I’d have had to begin by telling why I left Earth in the first place, which was to get away from them. They’d been too “supportive” after Dad died. I desperately wanted space to grieve. Well, I’d certainly been given space now.

  Two sleds and all the supplies and food we’d need for the trip. How could we carry enough food for the three of us and all those dogs? What were we going to do when we ran out of food? Cameron said I was not to worry. We would not starve. Right.

  Cameron separated the gear into two piles. It took awhile, but after rearranging the piles three or four times, he was finally satisfied. Large leather bags of dried meat, vegetables and fruit, blubber for heating and cooking, dried fish for the dogs, cooking utensils
, and our personal belongings were piled next to one sled. The tent, sleeping blankets, one Space Force-issued orange plastic boat for the return trip over open water, and all other miscellaneous equipment would be on the other sled.

  Lu tried to comfort me by reminding me that there were no wild animals on Akiane. Jorg said there wasn’t any plant life. Olivia said fish would be difficult to find. The Admiral assured me Cameron knew what he was doing. Nothing anyone said was encouraging. All I knew for sure was that my life was in Cameron’s hands and I didn’t trust him.

  Seven priests stood to one side, their faces hidden by their fur hoods. They were supposed to be Cameron’s brothers of the cloth. Not one of them offered to help. They just watched as he heaved and hauled gear to its proper place. They stood so motionless, I couldn’t tell if they were praying or were frozen in place.

  Some forty fishermen prepared for their day of fishing. Their hoods were pulled back with their jackets open and their heavy fur gloves stuffed in their pockets as they mended nets and sharpened spears. All of them wore green gloves. What was that about?

  A pair of puppies chasing each other got tangled in a net that had been carefully laid out. A patient fisherman spoke softly to calm the confused pups as he freed them.

  The net was again laid out for another careful inspection to make sure there were no tears or tangles. Once he was satisfied that all was as it should be, he and a friend folded it so they could carry it to the fishing waters.

  Another dog playfully tugged at the blunt end of a spear. A fisherman tugged back. They seemed to enjoy their game.

  Close to 100 dogs and puppies were underfoot, yet no one seemed to mind. Those people were incredibly tolerant of their pets.

  From the dogs and puppies milling around, Nu Venia decided which would pull the sleds. She’d already harnessed one team in place and was starting on the other. We were taking thirty-three dogs, two teams of sixteen, one for each sled, and one dog that calmly sat at Cameron’s side.

  Nu Venia’s fur suit was too large for her. The sleeves and pant legs were bunched up. Why not wear a suit that fit? Did she expect to grow up while on this quest? That would take more than a couple of years. Just how long did they expect this quest to last?

  Her jacket was open and hung down below just scraping the snow, her hood rested on her shoulders, and at this moment she wasn’t wearing fur gloves nor her green ones. She needed the dexterity of her fingers to hitch the dogs to their harnesses. This cold weather was only a mild discomfort for her. I wished it was only a mild discomfort for me. Just the thought made me miserably cold. How long before my blood turned to ice? Twenty years in a warm Earth prison was sounding pretty darn good.

  Nu Venia checked one animal’s body and hips and decided it was not right for the job. She examined another, which was strong and sturdy. She placed him with another larger, forty-five-kilo dog she’d just chosen. Dad had called them wheel dogs, the largest and most powerful dogs on the team. They were always placed directly in front of the sled.

  The dogs in the middle were called the turn dogs. The two in the front of the team were the lead dogs, or point dogs. One of them was alpha dog, the leader of the pack, the one the rest of the team would follow. The alpha was usually the most aggressive and would keep the others in line.

  Inside the habitat, against the black lava rock floor, the dogs appeared white, but against the pristine snow, they looked dingy. Their light apricot tufts made their white coats look stained, as if they’d been rolling around in red mud and a good washing had not completely gotten it all out. There were few dogs that were truly white.

  Cameron’s fur hood also rested on his shoulders, but his jacket was fastened. He used his belt to help keep the ends of his jacket out of his way while he knelt in the snow. He only wore his thin green gloves.

  He didn’t like the way the first sled was packed. So he unpacked it. He was almost halfway through reloading when he stopped and unloaded again and started over. Evidently it was important to the mission that everything was in the exact right place.

  A dog sniffed at a large leather bag on the sled. Delicately, it tried to undo the tie with its teeth.

  The red dog, with a white belly and three white paws that sat next to Cameron, softly growled.

  Cameron had finally finished packing the sled and was getting ready to place a tarp covering over it and tie it down. He turned to see what was happening, “Ai!” he yelled at the thieving dog.

  It ignored him.

  Cameron moved toward it, but the dog was too fast. It scampered off.

  “Stay away,” he yelled at it.

  The dog complained with short whining noises at being denied a treat. Cameron pulled the tarp over the packed sled and leather bag, and tied it down. Once the dog realized the treat was lost, it moved on.

  With a fisherman’s help, Cameron placed the folded, orange plastic boat on the bottom of the second sled.

  I kept hoping, praying, begging that I would wake up. I was really in my bed, back on Earth, not light-years away about to trek on some insane quest across a thawing ocean.

  I watched the habitat entrance for some last-minute reprieve, for someone, anyone, to run out of the habitat and relieve me of duty. No one came.

  It didn’t matter how many times I told myself this was not real, that it was not happening, the nightmare kept progressing.

  I looked up at the sky and sighed.

  Britannia’sseven-day layover was up. After last minute preparations, she’d departed for WSC Moon Base. Abandoning me.

  “Thinks she’s still up there?” Jorg asked.

  “No,” I said.“Captain wouldn’t linger once the layover was officially done. He’s headed back.”

  “It’s suddenly very lonely, isn’t it?” Olivia said.

  “Lonely,” Rona confirmed.

  “The ship was like a guardian angel watching over us. We knew she was there if we needed her. Now our guardian is gone,” Olivia said.

  Olivia was right, there had been a since of security. If anything had gone wrong, the captain would have sent someone to recue us.

  If the ship was stationed here, they would have kept an eye on me and rescued me when I got in trouble. There was no one to call for help.

  For every time I’d been abandoned before, this was the worse.

  At least on Earth, I was still apart of the human race. As much as my family annoyed me, I could call on anyone of them and they’d coming running. I mean I had 35 first cousins. Now whom did I have? Aliens?

  How was I to trust them? They were the ones who got me in this mess in the first place. They didn’t care if I lived or died. All they wanted . . .

  I didn’t know what they wanted.

  And that’s what terrified me.

  Chapter 32

  Lieutenant Jessica Hewitt

  My Friends

  “ARE YOU sure about this?” Olivia asked for the millionth time. One might have thought we were best friends by the way she carried on. What did she care? She didn’t even like me. I’d have thought she’d be glad to be rid of me. I certainly wasn’t going to miss her.

  “No,” I said, “but orders are orders.” I must not have been feeling myself, for I was uncharacteristically tolerant of her.

  “Makes you sound brave.” Rona was having difficulty with her emotions. She kept taking deep breaths.

  She was the logical one. I hoped she didn’t start crying. I wasn’t sure I could handle it.

  “Hardly,” I assured her.

  Jorg stood silently at my side, staring at the snow and his orange snow boots. He was unusually quiet, as if contemplating something important.

  I should have been nicer to these people. They were the closest I had to family. Olivia had given me more attention than my mother, who didn’t care enough to even say good-bye when she abandoned me and Dad. Jorg, Rona and Olivia were the only friends standing with me, in the cold, to see me off.

  Gino and Spago had been by earlier, but they’d
left with their teams in the hovercraft, heading for the mountains. Research must continue. Gino, at least, gave me a hug and a wave good-bye.

  “Don’t worry, you’ll make it back.” Jorg didn’t sound or look any more convinced than I felt. “And if you don’t, I’ll make sure these people build a monument in your honor.” He attempted a smile.

  “Thanks,” I said. Somehow his humor was lost on me right then.

  Our eyes locked.

  Oh how I wanted to get lost in those blue eyes. If only he’d take me into his arms and. . .and. . .and what? Well, at least he was here with me now.

  My friends had given me the courage to walk outside. I’m not sure I could have done it by myself.

  How will I survive without them? Who will give me the courage to endure? I looked at Olivia. She’d encourage me by yelling at me when things become intolerable. It was her way of making me angry enough to succeed. Maybe I would miss her—a little.

  Tears of resentment, mixed with fear, threatened to undo what little resolve I had left.

  I turned around to see how Nu Venia and Cameron were proceeding.

  Cameron. I hated that man. He’d lied to the admiral. He promised I would be safe. He was so delusional he believed his own lies that we would return alive and well.

  I couldn’t help wondering what was his agenda? Why was this trip so important to him? When I asked, his answers were always evasive, something about Nu Venia’s honor, my destiny and the community’s survival. I didn’t understand how his community, Nu Venia and I fit together, and he didn’t seem able to explain it to me.

  None of it made any sense.

  Why was Nu Venia going? She hated the idea. Yet, she seemed resigned to Cameron’s will. Did she ever stand up to him? Did she always follow him like a puppy? Or was her resentment smoldering, waiting for the right moment to blow?

  “All the fish are female,” Olivia said.