Aynsefian

I think of Nikse once more. I try to be sensitive in my thoughts, knowing that I don’t want to be unkind towards the memory of her. She still sits back there, forty-five kilometres away on the planet’s cold and rocky surface, alone and in the dark, exposed to the elements of Aynsefian. It hurts terribly to think of her in that state. I wish I could do something about her situation. I wish I could take her somewhere more fitting. I don’t want her life to end the way it has. I can still see her control centre, burnt out and horribly damaged. I have to let her go. As much as it still hurts, I have to move on.

I can remember her kind soul. Her loving personality. All of that. I must place it in the past now. There are many more things to be done here. We might be doing something momentous here in this cave by finding this lost civilisation. We have a destiny, the three of us. We need to explore and understand what has happened here. The loss of Nikse still haunts me, though, and probably always will. It didn’t have to happen. I’m still angry, as much as I try not to be.

I remember Captain Fen, now, and her ship… the IR84U. The name comes back to me. I don’t hate her and her ship quite as much now. The circumstances that led us to be dumped here still bother me, though. I still don’t understand why she dropped us here on this planet and destroyed our ship. It makes no sense at all. I feel sorry for her. She took delight in banishing us. She mustn’t be very well, mentally. She needs help.

Then again, without that action, we’d have never found Aynsefian. It doesn’t mean anything to me yet, though. Mostly I just want to go back home to Inconflencia. I want this more than anything in the universe. There’s a part of me, though, that wants to explore this cave, to help Arlyss and Cindlyss. I’m kind of glad that I’m forced to do that, for now. I want to be a part of what they are doing. I want to share their journey some more. It’s a journey that’s just beginning, perhaps.

Seeing as I have no choice, really, I may as well embrace it fully. I will go and see Aynsefian for myself. With them.

As I finish this train of thought, they both begin stirring. I sit up at this and decide I’d like some water. The thought that I can have as much as I like is quite comforting. I’d like a proper breakfast too, but some more moss will do for now.

I look a bit closer at the moss in the dim cave light. There are subtle colour variations. There is a shade of blue, a deep red and an aqua colour, here and there, in different patches around the creek. I ate the pure green moss last night. Maybe I could try some aqua-tinted moss.

I could check with the Purlinians if this is okay to eat too, but I think that’s a safe assumption. It looks almost identical to the green moss. It’s clearly related.

The taste is different. There’s a subtle honey flavour to this one. It’s really quite nice. Just the perfect type of moss for breakfast. It goes down quite well. I give thanks to Aynsefian for growing it. This planet is getting better and better.

Some water from creek washes it down and I’m starting to feel better about the immediate future. I’d love a wash, but it’s still too cold here. I can tolerate feeling dirty for a bit longer. My hunger is gone, along with my thirst and my pain. Hope has returned to replace all of that. We can live here for a while, it seems, and there is something interesting to explore.

Now there’s just the isolation to deal with, along with finding some sort of miracle rescue or way to get home.

Maybe Aynsefian has a few more surprises for us yet. Anything is possible.

After we’ve eaten and had more water, I’m ready to press on, farther into the cave. A quick glance at the Purlinians and it’s clear that we’re all of the same mind. I’m still physically tired from the long trek, but I’m definitely motivated to find out what is in this cave.

I have a brief thought about going back to the cave entrance and maybe making a sign for potential rescuers, out of rocks or something.

That’s probably not necessary. If anyone from home comes here, they’ll find Nikse easy enough and then track us from there. I’m not worried about that at all if they get here. Nikse’s distress beacon – the one she sent after we got hit by that strange pulse – could easily bring someone too. I’d forgotten about that until now. My hope rises a touch more.

In the meantime, it’s time to find out where Salvation’s Creek goes. We head off, with the vehicle of honour, Salvation himself, simply following us. His power reserves are getting lower, though. They’re more than two-thirds gone. That troubles me. I want him around all of the time, and in a few days he’s going to run out of power.

I’ll carry him. That’s easy. He’s not very heavy. He comes with us wherever we go, with or without power. He saved our lives.

We walk a few hundred metres or so. I’m not really paying attention to how far we’re walking now. Nothing much changes. There’s the creek, lots and lots of moss, and some more of that wispy grass. No rocks any more. There’s just a wide expanse of sandy soil, with the water gently flowing in graceful arcs through the middle of it all.

I may be imagining it, but the creek is getting wider. And deeper. It’s difficult to step over now, so no, I wasn’t imagining it. We need to choose a side to walk on as I don’t want to take my boots off, nor get my feet wet. We choose the left side. I don’t know why. I suppose it doesn’t matter.

The acoustics in the cave are eerie. Other than our footsteps and Salvation’s gentle wheeling along, the cave is completely silent. When we stop and stand absolutely still, I swear I can hear infinity. It’s a calming, tranquil feeling. Aynsefian is putting a spell on me now.

I’m starting to love this planet.

The turnaround has been astonishing. I’m feeling peaceful in here. This is a good sign that the civilisation, when we find it, will be pretty special. I trust the images that Arlyss and Cindlyss sent me, so I’m sure it will be. I just hope it isn’t run down or in ruins or anything. Maybe it’s even worse and was destroyed in some sort of cataclysm or war. I try to banish that possibility from my mind.

We stop for a rest for a bit, and while we’re resting, Salvation turns off his light. It really is easy to see in here now. With his light off, I notice something I didn’t see before.

There is a bend ahead, and around the corner, it looks like there’s some bright lights on the other side.

I’m really keen to see what is powering the lights. Is it the internal sun I saw in those visions? Probably not. This looks like a powerful but localised light, possibly even multiple lights, at the ground level, judging by the shadows at the cave roof several hundred metres above. I’m mildly disappointed that it’s not the mini-sun I saw in the Aynsefian visions that Arlyss and Cindlyss sent me. I’m astonished by that and can’t wait to see it for real. Nonetheless, these ground level lights promise something, and I want to find out what it is.

Salvation’s power reserves should last a bit longer now, with his light off. I glance at my companions and we’re up and moving again. We haven’t walked too far, and there’s no wind, so it’s okay. It’s also quite mild in here, temperature wise. So much so that I decide to take one of my sweaters off. My gloves have been off since this morning and my fingers are a still a bit sore, but I can feel them improving and returning to normal.

We trek farther along on the left side of Salvation’s Creek. The light gets brighter. Then we round the bend and I see what is shining so strongly.

It’s three gold crystals, embedded in the ground at even intervals along the path. They are eerily similar to our lights back at home on Inconflencia. Not for the first time am I finding connections with my home planet. It’s intriguing, to say the least. The crystals light up this whole section of the cave and suddenly everything changes as I look beyond the crystals.

Some bigger plants and even trees are visible in the distance. Salvation’s creek is wider and more expansive. The roof gets higher and higher too. However, there is one thing above all within the scene in front of me that dominates my attention.

Right in front of us is a massive, yawning chasm.