<h2>Planet 5 / Ch. 40: Overcoming obstacles</h2>


    </a>The kitchen, Mer Embassy, Mars.


    “Hi, sis, Mum said you wanted to talk?”


    “Two things. Number one, I''ve got a guest coming tonight, Humphrey Hathella Ben. Best behaviour, please. He''s almost asked me to walk with him and I''ve not given him a hint of yes or no yet, but I''ll swat you if you go sticking your nose in. No breaching anyone''s privacy, OK? Secondly, you asked me about some rumours. Sheena from Sun-Drive says you — and I assume that means you, parents you''re negotiating with and no one else — can know she''s at the bubble research school with a few friends. She knows there''s a lot of historic connections between the embassy and the Bubble Programme, and asks if you''d want to persuade mum and dad to invite her over some time to gape and gawk along with three guys she knows and the camera crew that are following them around.”


    “You''re joking!”


    “No, I''m not. You''re the fan, you get to persuade mum and dad that film crew in the embassy is a good idea, filming them ooh and ah and listen to history lessons and maybe splashing around in the pool, looking out of the tower, that sort of thing. Then you get to handle the security issues, their rights to privacy and not being mobbed by fans issues, and so on. You probably get interviewed on-camera by them about stuff you''ve written, too.”


    “They know what I''ve written?”


    “No idea. What have you written?”


    “There''s stuff on the net about them joining the bubble programme long-term, I''ve written that a certain staff member at the Research Group has asked me about the band which is really unlikely unless there''s some foundation to the rumours, but surely it''s just for a publicity stunt, and I don''t believe they''d have time to keep writing and do their own science.”


    “Hmm. Sheena looked at some of my videos of the killer octopuses yesterday, and might end up weaving them into a song, I don''t know, but they didn''t come to make a video about the mating habits of killer octopuses, that''s just something that came up in conversation and they decided was fun and interesting. I told Sheena you''re an active fan, she doesn''t know your contact details and I don''t know hers. I''ll try and remember to leave yours for her before I fly tomorrow if you''re interested.”


    “Of course I''m interested!”


    “Sure? You''ll know things, and people who know things can''t publicly speculate about them.”


    “I can still speculate about other things though, can''t I?”


    “Depends how much you learn. If you don''t want your fan-life to change, maybe you should just say no, hide in front of your terminal and make sure you don''t meet any visitors to the embassy for the next month or so.”


    “What happens in the next month?”


    “That''s deliberate imprecision so I don''t give away too many clues, brother mine.”


    “The fan speculation stuff is fun, but I''d much rather get to know them. What are they like? I mean real, not their stage personae?”


    “I''d say they''re normal people with normal people problems, trying to do what they enjoy without giving away so much of their private lives that their friends and families suffer.”


    “Urm... there are these constant rumours about Sheena and Humph going out, can you shed any light on them?”


    “I am able to, yes, but if I did then you''d not be able to write about it,” Samantha said, putting the meat she''d been browning into the pot. “What do you know about the relationships within the band?”


    “Sheena and Shaun are brother and sister, Shaun''s the older, about the same as you, Sheena''s the youngest in the group, about my age. She and Jaz had some kind of on-off thing for years and then they wrote a song saying ''let''s stop fooling ourselves, we should just stay friends'' .Humph is a complete mystery, but he seems older than Jaz and Shaun. Did you say your maybe-friend is called Humphrey? It''s a really rare name, I thought.” her brother, Vincent said.


    “Vincent''s not exactly common but there are two in the group. And it''s certainly not as rare as Hathella.”


    “One per generation at most. Yeah. That''s serious fame, sister you''re thinking about getting close to.”


    “Not like mum being ambassador to Mars, you mean? We''re seventh cousins I think it is, on the Lara-knifetongue and Boris Gravity-master to Hathella link. But we haven''t checked every ancestor yet, and it''s going to be tough, because of the land-folk connections.”


    “Serious discussions. I get it, I get it,” Vincent said.


    “How''s your research going? On both fronts.”


    “I''m finding a distinct lack of girls sufficiently interested in interstellar gas clouds that they''ll risk a second chat, even when I apologise and say it has to fill my thoughts at the moment. And they did ask about what I''m doing. But the thesis is almost done, praise God. Are you sure there are no opportunities in the Bubble Research Group?”


    “Dating opportunities or job opportunities? There''s quite possibly both, actually. Especially if you want to turn pilot. Did I really tell you not to apply?”


    “I think I might have just been annoying you.”


    “Quite possibly.”


    “So, what can you tell me about Sheena and Humph?”


    “Sheena likes astrophysics, Humph studied Marine biology. No romance at all from what I''ve seen, and I''ve heard one refer to the other as ''my cousin''. I don''t know if this is a big give-away or not, but when I was telling them about the killer octopuses then there was a discussion of possible wording and one of them said something like ''we can''t be that blatant, we need to leave stuff for the fans to research, or they won''t catch the bug.'' So I think they see that as part of what they''re trying to do.”


    “Which ''bug''?”


    “Curiosity about this wonderful universe that God''s made.”


    “Do you mean they''re Christians?”


    “Faith or lack of it is in the private life not shared with fans, is it? I''m not going to breach their inalienable right to privacy. You''ll have to ask them yourself.”


    <hr>


    </a>Mer Embassy entrance


    Samantha was just welcoming Humph to the embassy, and Humph was realising that she was speaking Mer to him and getting hopeful when her brother came round the corner. “Humph?! You''re going to be comparing trees with Samantha?”


    Samantha groaned, “Hush, little brother! Humphrey doesn''t know why he got invited here yet. Yes, that was one of the thoughts I had. This is my little bother, known as Vincent, I''m afraid to say he''s a fan, but hopefully his self control will mean the only thing he does on his computer is write about interstellar space dust for his thesis. Oh, Sheena''s hoping to get him to arrange for the band to visit, cameras and all.”


    “Space dust, eh? Yes, that sounds like Sheena''s department. Please don''t tell anyone we speak Mer, or my mum''s called Hathella or anything like that. It''s too much detail for my true-but-misleading public profile.”


    “I don''t understand....” Vincent said.


    “Why misdirect fans about who we are? Because our families don''t need the hassle of being associated with a rock band, I don''t want my sister mobbed because of me, Atlantis doesn''t need people looking for us, our musical style doesn''t fit with Mer in most people''s books, and we know some people think mermaids should only ever play a blow-pipe, and would reject us because of that prejudice and so on. Basically our manager convinced us, and it provides us with a little cushion where we can escape from the whole soulless entertainment business and get on with real life. You really want to compare trees, Samantha?”


    “I want to compare family trees, and I want to tell you why I won''t be around for two or three weeks or so and that it''s to help both of us in different ways. Vincent, please tell everyone food is in the kitchen. If there''s really some disaster, we''ll be eating upstairs. Mum''s given permission before you look outraged.”


    “Wow,” Vincent said. Food was never allowed in the tower except on very special occasions. Then he added, “Urm, just in case Samantha forgets to give my network I.D. to Sheena...”


    “Yes, you can tell me.” Humph said. “Or leave a message at the Research Group.”


    “And I ask her all the questions I''ve got burning in my brain and leave you in peace, right?” Vincent asked.


    “As long as they''re asked honourably, yes, especially that one,” Humph said, reacting to the thought that had bubbled up in Vincent''s mind about whether Sheena was interested enough in astronomy to consider discussing family trees. Vincent grinned. He knew he didn''t feel called to singleness.


    <hr>


    </a>The tower, Mer Embassy, Mars.


    “So, Vincent is feeling Single and Desperate too, eh?” Humph said, as they climbed to the top floor, plates in hand.


    “A friend of his has returned the acrostic SADBLOTS to current use; Single and Desperate Bachelors Left On The Shelf. You felt like that?”


    “Worrying that if I didn''t take every opportunity God gave me to talk to someone I''d miss out on the patient and kind Christian woman interested in alien seas I needed to not live out my life alone? And also worrying that as I was too weird even for Tabitha I''d never have the chance to share my soul with someone? Optimistic about any pretty face, willing to face knives for the sake of a smile and a conversation? Why did you think I decided to interrupt your meal?”


    “Hmm, somehow my knife has been restrained around you. That''s very uncharacteristic. I guess that means you don''t really seem that weird in my book, nor so desperate that alarm bells go off in my skull. Let''s see if we''re relatives, please. Closer than Hathella marrying Boris Gravity-Master, anyway.”


    “And then you''re going away?”


    “Lift off tomorrow morning. It''ll give me time to think about things like whether I love being one of the first to document a new species so much that I really want to stay a probe ship pilot all my life and ignore other opportunities.”


    “So if we aren''t relatives? What then?”


    “Then since you''re thinking about exploring alien oceans, I''ll walk with you, Humphrey Hathella Ben if you want me to, and while I''m collecting observer-probe reports, which is what my trip''s for, I''ll consider letting you teach me a language of Planet Five.”


    “You''re going to Planet Five?” Humph asked, excited.


    “It''s on the planned route, yes. It''s about four days to get to the general area in a fourth generation probe ship, then we — Bonnie and me — have got twelve planets in the region to visit. The computers say we can do that easily in four days. But no one''s been there in a long time, and the charts might need updating. We''re allowing up to eight days, before we come home. Planet five is one of the last, so if the computer''s right we can happily spend some time looking at your sea monsters if we''ve time.”


    “Oh wow, oh wow! That''s so exciting! New news from the planet! You wanted Sheena to keep this from me?”


    “If you ruined my evening, yes. So what''s most exciting, comparing family trees, or the possibility of new data?”


    “What''s most exciting is that you are doing it, Samantha. And are thinking of maybe going there with me, if they''re close enough to getting there. Sathzakara Cannon-stabber?” He asked, naming an ancestress.


    “Not heard of her.”


    “Stabbed her knife into a bronze cannon that had been pointed at her, on Planet Five.”


    “Urm, possibly only famous in your circles?”


    “Maybe. Maybe there too, who knows. It was in the Imperial palace of Dahel. What about Maggie Planet-finder?”


    “As in Ground? Not an ancestor, nor her brother.”


    “Rachel Planet-finder?”


    “Nope, as far as I know, all my ancestors back then were safely living in Atlantis.”


    “Your turn, then?”


    “Jacob Tunaspeed,” she said.


    “But not his great-grandson Jacob Star-chaser?”


    “No,” she confirmed.


    “So much for my mother''s side. Dad''s is going to be harder. Fortunately there are records, and I do have a copy.”


    “That''s good, so do I of mine. More stew?”


    “It''s really good, but no thanks. It''d be easy to gain weight here in Martian gravity, even with working in the fields. Any landfolk royalty in your family tree?”


    “Urm, not that I''m aware of.”


    “Well, that cuts out a few of mine then. Any of these names look familiar?”


    “Well, they look Russian, but no. What about anyone on here?” She unfolded a sheet of paper she''d been fiddling with. It had her whole family tree on it.


    “So... why have we been doing it the way we have?” Humph asked, a little put out.


    “Because that way we avoid the potential problem of too many people just off the paperwork and it''s the traditional way, of course,”


    Samantha said, then grinned “and I get more insights into your background too.”


    “Samantha, we''re not fourth or fifth cousins.” Humph said.


    “And?”


    “And even if you could have saved me some anxiety by producing this earlier, I like you.”


    “That''s nice. So are you actually going to risk my knife now?” She asked.


    “Would I be risking your knife if I asked you to walk with me?”


    “That''s cheating. You need to be brave and ask.”


    “Will you walk with me, Samantha Lara Timothy?”


    “I will, Humphrey Tune-crafter Hathella Ben.”


    “And would you like a memory-ball of some key Planet Five vocabulary?”


    “Oooh, the things he offers me! I''m not sure I ought to risk it. If I wasn''t flying tomorrow I''d say yes, but brand new vocabulary and stress situations aren''t a good mix, sometimes.”


    “Good point. And you''ve got to pack too?”


    “Actually, I''m already packed, so as long as I get to bed at a reasonable time, we can talk, or walk or swim. It''s up to you.”


    “Then can we talk and swim?”


    “Of course. Actually, give me that memory ball.”


    “You''re sure?”


    “I''m going to feel like a complete idiot if we pop down to the surface for a swim and accidentally meet someone.”


    “Ooh. So you need advanced stuff like introducing yourself too? Let''s practice a bit first. This is how you say ''I am Samantha and I study fish.''”


    “I don''t just study fish,” Samantha said, before he managed to finish.


    “I''m walking with a pedant!” he said gleefully, “Sorry, it''s the best way to express marine biologist I''ve found so far.”


    “Well at least add in sea-monsters and people might be able to guess I study things in between too.”


    “OK, say this then,” he repeated the introduction phrase.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    <hr>


    </a>Hayeel''s Church, Caneth


    “I bind myself to you, Salay, as my husband in the sight of God and all spiritual and physical beings until death separates us. I vow that I will never leave you, and that I will work to make our marriage a reflection of Christ''s union with the Church.”


    “I bind myself to you, Hayeel, as my only wife in the sight of God and all spiritual and physical beings until death separates us. I vow to you myself, my strength, my care, my love and my support, that I shall never leave you and that I too will work to make our marriage the reflection of that holy union.”


    “I therefore pronounce you husband and wife, man and woman, and if it is God''s gracious and sovereign will, in His time: father and mother. May He bless you as you grow together and serve him wholeheartedly. And as we celebrate this hope-filled event, let us also pray about the challenges that the coming years may bring, both for the happy couple and indeed the whole planet. May God send us the help we need at the time we need it.”


    “Amen,” the congregation said, not quite sure that last bit was about.


    <hr>


    </a>Kanuga


    “Hello, Tesk, do you hear me?” Naneela asked, at the time of day Tesk was normally listening.


    “We hear, highness,” the Dahelese technician on Tesk replied.


    “I have a rather unexpected experiment for the academy to consider.”


    “Yes, highness?”


    “I''ve been working on modifying the transceiver I brought with me to work at higher frequencies, and I made a discovery: some of the harmonics of the pulses from the spark generator actually extend all the way to the required frequency range. If a tuned circuit could be applied to their generator, along with with an antenna of precisely the correct length, then it is entirely possible that no further modifications would be needed to meet the Tesk end of the challenge.


    "Obviously the tuned circuit would have to be able to cope with the power, but I think it''s well worth them trying. I think I''ll need another week or two to get the transmitter here up to the required power, but the test equipment here is really helpful. If they can''t get enough power into the harmonics, then I can give instructions, to reproduce what I''ve got here, but you know how well that has worked so far.”


    “Not well at all, highness, we know. The glass-blowers here just aren''t used to encapsulating metal in glass at such exact distances. We will pass on your suggestion.”


    “Excellent.”


    <hr>


    </a>En-route


    “Again?” Bonnie exclaimed as the computer signalled that it had dropped them out of warp-speed a fifth time in the three hours they''d been on the flightpath.


    They''d barely managed to come a tenth of a light-year since their last visit to a planet; checking everything was safe to restart had taken most of that time.


    “Another progressive drop in light levels from the navigation ''scope,” Samantha said, studying the display “It looks like the nebula strikes again, but I''ll need to check.”


    “Can we approach from another direction? We''re never going to get there at this rate.”


    “Hmm, OK, let''s pick up the data from the planet we just skipped, that''s heading out of the nebula now, at least.”


    “What''s your Humphrey going to say if we never get there?”


    “I don''t know. I am going to be seriously grumpy though.”


    The new destination star was chosen, and the ship was soon moving at what pilot and co-pilot thought of as a reasonable speed. It took them about three hours to reach their destination system and home in on the planet.


    “Samantha, is that what we were going through?” Bonnie asked, looking backwards as they emerged from bubble-space the last time.


    “I''ll get some readings, but I think so. Interstellar dust jet. Pretty, isn''t it?”


    “It''s just an optical illusion that it looks like it''s heading straight for that star there, isn''t it?”


    “Urm,” Samantha said, as the head-up display identified what she was seeing. “I hope it''s an illusion, that''s the home-star for Planet Five. But my little brother will quite likely murder me if I don''t bring back some pictures of that thing, since they''re his PhD topic, so can we do a bit of a circle around it? Or at least a quarter octagon?”


    “Sure. I assume you mean after we''ve picked up the data from here?”


    “Certainly! It''s coming in already. Hmm, not much progress by the looks of things: this is that war-torn planet, where they never even got good enough contact to be set the challenge of finding peaceful ways to settle differences. Apparently they have developed rocket technology and regularly launch suborbital missiles at each other now. So far no nuclear technology.”


    “Praise God for that!”


    “Indeed. Let''s go, the A.I says they''ve also developed piloted missiles to defend against alien invaders sitting in their upper atmosphere.”


    “That''s nasty.”


    “Yes. Pointless too, since we don''t do interplanetary invasions, not the military sort, anyway. So, let''s go half a light-year towards that star there, before we get spotted and someone gets launched to kill themselves,”


    After a few more short jumps, Samantha and Bonnie were convinced of three things: they''d done enough astrophotography, it was boring; the dust jet was indeed going straight towards Planet Five''s sun, and last but not least, they wanted to see something interesting, like sea-life.


    “From orbit, I presume,” Bonnie said, as Samantha set the navigation computer.


    “Other than the risks of getting mashed by something big, or accidentally eaten by sea monsters, the survey reports all clearly say there were no biological risks, so if you want to go swimming, I''m certainly ready to.”


    “Let''s see what the monitor A.I. says. We don''t want to get into someone''s war.”


    “Or be taken for goddesses and be lumbered with someone''s relative,” Samantha agreed.


    <hr>


    </a>Parked 50km above surface, Planet Five


    “Data dump is still in progress, Sam,” Bonnie nudged the pilot awake “but they''re using radio, for speech. At about five megahertz.”


    “Put it on speaker as well as recording, can you? I might understand something.” Samantha blearily said.


    “Sure, that''s why I woke you up.” Bonnie grinned.


    A light voice came from the speaker, “Yes, Hayeel, I agree, but I can''t do anything from here, it''s so frustrating!”


    Another woman''s voice replied “But not being willing to even try making it work at fifty megahertz? Is it more stupid pride?”


    “They''re worried about interpretation, they claim. Spark versus oscillator. It''s supposed to be the same signal from both ends of the continent.”


    “But we need to get the aliens to come, as soon as possible, don''t they understand?”


    “My technician friends say they told them they lose a week if it doesn''t work, but not trying might mean delaying things at least half a year, and they still didn''t want to try. Can you try to persuade the High Council to get involved?”


    “I don''t understand a word of it,” Samantha said. “except megahertz and in that last over she said something that sounded like Windwardese for High Council. I think they must be speaking Dahelese, the third language.”


    “Want to try to shock them?” Bonnie asked.


    “Not in a language I don''t understand,” Samantha said.


    “Isn''t anyone listening in Tesk?” the second voice, Hayeel, said. “This is High Council member Hayeel and I want to talk to someone on the High Council or the army or academy for that matter, and I''d like to hear why the radio department are refusing to even try getting the spark transmitter to work at fifty megahertz.”


    “Oooh, I understood that!” Samantha sat up, saying. “High Council member Hayeel sounds a bit cross with the radio department at the academy, for not wanting to try their spark gap system at fifty megahertz, which is the challenge frequency.”


    “Hello, Hayeel, this is Sashan. There''s quite a bit of disbelief that it''ll work, and there''s also surprise that Naneela got anything at all at that frequency. In other words, it seems like such a thin straw they don''t want to try clutching at it. And the other thing is that they were just starting to cannibalise the generator for wire when the message got there. Basically we don''t have enough high quality wire here to do everything, and Naneela managed to convince them their beloved spark generator was a dead end.”


    “I understood that,” Naneela replied, then switched to Dahelese, “Can you translate Hayeel? I begin to understand. The Library here in Kanuga says the first spark generator of the aliens worked at fifty megahertz, which is why I looked. The signal was not strong but I certainly heard it. We need to ask the aliens to help save the planet from the dust, and we can''t assume they can work miracles. Six months might mean the difference between them being able to help and it being too late.”


    Hayeel translated for Sashan, and added. “I could barely see any stars last night, Sashan, the fire in the sky was so bright here, so I agree. I don''t want to lose an extra six months'' air to space when it''ll be blown away as quickly as Teng says it will be when the dust cloud gets closer. So while I''m praying, I also want that signal sent if at all possible.”


    “Short summary of a really convenient conversation to overhear,” Samantha said, “They seem to expect the dust cloud to strip the atmosphere in a few years, so want to send the signal as soon as possible. No wonder the A.I. is getting excited.”


    “I didn''t think A.I.s could get excited,” Bonnie said.


    “Well, recording so much, then.” Samantha said, “It''s like us with astronomy, we don''t record much when it seems boring.”


    “So aren''t you going to let them know you''ve heard them?”


    “I don''t really know what to say. How in the solar system can you protect a planet from an interstellar dust-jet?”


    “Forcefield around the planet?”


    “Thank you. Next question, how do you power one of those? The energy needed would make the Mars comet shredder look like a school demonstrator.”


    “Pass. What would happen if you launched a black hole into the middle of the dust cloud?”


    “Assuming it managed to suck up the whole cloud, you mean? I''d guess you''ve now got a black hole and accretion disk glowing somewhere from ultraviolet into the hard X-rays aiming at these guy''s sun. Don''t expect much thanks even if it misses swallowing their sun.”


    “Say something, Samantha.” Bonnie said.


    “Fine.” Samantha, accepted the microphone and hesitantly said a modified version of what she''d practised , “I am Samantha, I fly spaceship. I heard what you said and tell astronomers. I am not astronomer, I study fish and sea monsters and collect information from watching machine. Keep praying.”


    There was silence over the airwaves. “What did you tell them?” Bonnie asked.


    “My name, that I''d heard them, that I''m not an astronomer, but I''d tell them. And that I study fish and sea monsters.”


    “Fish and sea monsters? Why not sea-life?”


    “Because Humph knows the words for fish and sea-monsters.”


    “You are an alien?” Hayeel asked eventually.


    “You are probably small and green, I am taller and very pale brown.”


    “Not pink?” Hayeel asked.


    “You can call me pink if you like. It is long time since my people came, but some remember some of this language and language of Tunga.”


    “Not language of Dahel?” Naneela asked.


    “From Dahel, was not good friends.” Samantha said.


    “Alien knife in cannon is a great treasure of royal family.” Naneela said. “The message that emperor is not a god is remembered.”


    “I will tell my friend at home that Sathzakara is remembered. He is child of child of child of child of child of her, perhaps more.”


    “I am descendent of stupid emperor who thought he was a god, and wise emperor his grandson who chose Christ. I not speak this language well, sorry.”


    “You are doing very well, Naneela. And so are you, Samantha,” Sashan said. “Must we still send the signal?”


    “Yes, please.” Samantha replied. “It is safer to have two messengers.”


    “Signal must be the same? Exactly the same?”


    “I don''t know. I will check.” Samantha said. Turning to Bonnie, she asked, “Any idea how to find out the specifications of the signal they need to send the observer probe?”


    “Yes, it''ll be in the probe''s configuration, urm... here it is, ''come'' in morse code, at 50 MHz plus or minus one, from both ends of the continent within sixty seconds.”


    “Next question, why fifty, and can we change the frequency?”


    “Like to the frequency you''re now talking on?” Bonnie asked.


    “Exactly.”


    “Fifty, because that gets through Earth-like atmospheres pretty well. But I''ll give it a go. And... oh! It seems to have accepted it.”


    “Hurrah for people who know A.I. user-interface technology,” Samantha said. Then transmitted, “The signal is a word spelled with short and long tone or noise. It does not matter how it is made. My friend here, Bonnie, has asked the machine to listen for the signal on this frequency. Perhaps the machine is obstinate and did not listen to her, but you may try.”


    “Now?” Hayeel asked, shocked.


    “If you do not remember the signal, I can look it up.” Samantha said.


    “I know it.” Naneela said. “I can just sing it?”


    “I think, yes.”


    “dah di dah di, dah dah dah, dah dah, di” Naneela sang, feeling very silly.


    “Probe says ''Expected signal received from leeward edge of continent, approximate location: Kanuga''” Bonnie reported to Samantha as Sashan repeated the signal with a whistle.


    “Probe reports ''Expected signal received from windward edge of continent, approximate location: Tesk or Caneth. Departure clearance granted for Mars orbit, initiating bubble-drive self-test sequence. Updating routing data.''”


    “The machine heard, and prepares to go.” Samantha said into the microphone.


    “But... but... we are not ready!” Hayeel said. “There are still remnants, criminals who have avoided detection until now and commit sacrifices. We do not have a world government, we are not ready.”


    “The cloud does not wait,” Sashan said. “Thank you, Samantha, that you have helped us.”


    “Will we be called gods?” Samantha asked, “Will girls or boys be given to us in sacrifice?”


    “No.” Hayeel said, “I do not think that will happen.”


    “Will any king try to take us prisoner, to sacrifice to their god?” Samantha asked.


    “No!” Hayeel said, “All rulers except one follow Christ, and her daughter does.”


    “Are there any who hear thoughts?”


    “I, Hayeel, hear thoughts, so does Sashan, and many other women on the Tesk High Council. Two men, Hwalf and Tuga, have the gift of God.”


    “Ask Hwalf and Tuga to call to Karrie who sometimes talks to me, or Ben who knows many tales of your home and calls it ''Planet Five,'' and is father of my friend who waits for me at home.”


    “Tuga looked for people on your home planet who would expect to respond to the probe''s return, and found none.” Hayeel said. “It worried us.”


    “Karrie is not on Earth, but other planet of us, Mars. Ben does not normally speak to pilots across the stars.”


    “Ah. I thank you! Much is explained!”


    <hr>


    </a>Off the Northern coast of Caneth


    [Samantha?] Karrie''s mental call came to her. [Someone I''ve never heard of has just called me, saying you said he should, and not giving me much more detail.]


    [Tuga? Or Hwalf? Planet five have just triggered their monitor probe to go home and report job done.]


    [Tuga. You helped that happen, I hear.]


    [Sorry] Samantha said entirely unrepentantly. [But really, they had international two-way speech radio, when the challenge said they just needed to send a roughly synchronised Morse message at a frequency one place was struggling to get to because of a wire shortage, or something. Bonnie tweaked the frequency and five minutes later, bye-bye probe. They''ve got an interstellar dust jet heading their way that Vincent would be overjoyed to study, except of course he''s almost finished writing up, and they''re terrified of what its going to do to their atmosphere. The solar wind is already off-scale. I''m practically at the equator here, the sun isn''t setting yet and I''m seeing aurorae. For more details you can talk to Hwalf, Tuga, Hayeel, Sashan or quote ''anyone else on the High Council''. But I actually recommend Hayeel. She seems quite well informed, anyway. Sashan might be too, but she didn''t say that much except explain the wire shortage.]


    [Fine, I''ll quiz Hayeel. What are they like?]


    [The people? Short green and very human-like. One was seriously campaigning for a cross-species marriage for a while, according to the reports. She figures in that pizza picture in the dining room, but someone''s changed the toppings on the pizza she was holding compared to the original picture.]


    [Hello, are you thinking about Evnela?] a male voice sounded in her skull.


    [I am, you''re Ben?]


    [I am indeed. Someone called Hwalf told me he was in Caneth, on Planet Five, which is shocking, and that you''d given me his name, which is also a surprise to me, but he wasn''t sure what else to say.]


    [Hello Ben, Karrie''s also on the line, I''m currently watching the sunset from a beach on Northern Caneth, where co-pilot Bonnie and I have been watching sea monsters swim past, and deciding not to go swimming, given how long their necks are and how many teeth they have. I''m planning to bring back some sea-shells, I think, they''re pretty. You can blame Humphrey for getting named, by the way.]


    [I''ve not actually called Humphrey for about ten days.]


    [Ah, then you don''t know that we compared family trees just before I left, he asked me to walk with him, I accepted, and he drilled loads of Windwardese into my brain, hence the conversation.] Samantha replied.


    [And now you''ve opened up Planet Five?]


    [Opened it up? It needs help or evacuation or something. There''s an interstellar dust-jet within shouting distance and closing fast, a local astronomer thinks atmosphere is going to be knocked away in a few years. Solar wind is off-scale compared to anything I''ve seen and there are daylight aurorae.]


    [What''s the population these days?] Ben asked.


    [I''m not sure. Probably more Mars than Earth.]


    [I guess we ask Hayeel or someone else,] Carrie said.


    [And I need to ask Humphrey all about you, don''t I?]


    [Research pilot, main interest exo-planet marine biology, Dad built my ship, Mum is Lara Mars-speaker.]


    [Ah! Humphrey did say you''d met. I totally failed to understand it as more than ''Mum I''ve said Hi to your friend''s daughter,'' North coast of Caneth, you said?]


    [Yes.]


    [If you''re by a fresh water source, big fast land-predators and big faster prey creatures come out of the forests around sunset, or they did, if I remember correctly.]


    [Thanks for the heads-up. That''s sort of now.]


    [I won''t distract you, then. You don''t mind me telling Humphrey, do you?]


    [Not at all.]


    “Bonnie, there might be big fast predators or prey coming for a drink at sunset, I''ve just been warned.”


    “Karrie said?”


    “No, Ben. So lets say thirty seconds to grab anything we might want and then get into the air.”


    “That long, eh?”


    “Less if you hear or see motion in the forest.” Samantha''s eyes and ears were straining, her feet edging her towards the safety of the ship.


    “You''re worried,” Bonnie said, starting to move.


    “Training video, wide path beside the sea, going from woods to a river, with no people about. It could even have been filmed from exactly here, and we''ve wandered too far from the ship. I''m stupid, stupid, stupid! I know this stuff.” She was walking quickly.


    “Shall we run?” Bonnie asked.


    “Yes.” Samantha said, “we can use the probe for collecting stuff. Ship launch probe to home in on me.”


    It was only two hundred metres to the ship, but it seemed like ages. They were half way by the time the hour-glass probe had reached them. Eighty metres from the ship, there was a crashing sound in the forest behind them. “Probe, disk forcefield. Bonnie, grab the probe on three. One two three! Probe and Ship hover altitude twenty-five metres, rendezvous.”


    “That was exciting.” Bonnie said, holding on to the probe. Another crash sounded. “I do like voice commands.”


    “Yeah. Sometimes you just don''t have time to press buttons. Of course there''s still no sign of the noisy things.”


    “Trees swaying in no breeze,” Bonnie pointed out as she stepped onto the bubble-ship''s wing.


    “But maybe we didn''t need to run,” Samantha said, double-guessing herself in hindsight.


    “Better safe than sorry.” Bonnie reassured her. “Wow!”


    It wasn''t an elephant, nor was it a tyrannosaur, but there were similarities to both. It was on two powerful legs, had a long trunk, and sharp claws on its bear-like front limbs. It ran, probably at thirty miles an hour. And was at least five metres tall, behind it there was a slightly smaller one, and then two that seemed likely to be juveniles.


    “Ship, hover at two hundred meters. They jump in the training video,” Samantha explained to Bonnie.


    “Welcome to Planet Five.” Bonnie said, “These are the predators?”


    “I don''t think so. They look more like they''re just thirsty and wary.” The first one had passed under the ship and had sucked a trunkful of water as it reached the river and turned to face the woods. It seemed remarkably agile. It dipped its trunk in the water behind it a number of times, each time emptying it into it''s mouth. “Big one watches the woods, other parent watching the river.”


    “You don''t think... sea monsters?”


    “Maybe. Those necks weren''t very hydrodynamic. Maybe they''re lunge-type ambush predators.”


    “Except the river''s too shallow, surely.”


    “Let''s just observe. Cameras on.”


    It didn''t take too long for something to happen: two predators came out of the forest, one was probably a juvenile and was smaller than the juvenile herbivores, the second was presumably an adult. Both had four legs, fangs and no trunk. The larger prey herbivore gave a trumpet of warning, and charged the threat. The other three followed, the smaller adult between the juveniles and the sea. The larger predator stepped well away from the path of the charging adult, the younger, inexperienced one stayed a little too close, and was bowled over by a hit from the trunk as the adult rushed past. The second adult wrapped its trunk around the fallen juvenile predator that was in its path, tossed its head and threw it past the larger predator, into the sea. The predator made a lunge for one of the juvenile herbivores, which had stopped its run to watch the flying predator. Now it screamed in pain but managed to kick free. The predator, with its mouth-full of flesh, looked at its offspring, just in time to see a sea-monster whip its neck around the young predator''s body in a snake-like grip, preventing escape and then sink its teeth into its back. The junior predator thrashed and kicked, and died.


    The older predator swallowed and disappeared into the forest, following the trail of blood.


    “Cameras off,” Samantha said.


    “Scary.”


    “Pretty good strategy from parent herbivore. If youngster hadn''t stopped to admire the view there''d be no question about which side won.”


    “As it is.. One dead predator one possibly fatally wounded herbivore.” There was another crash from the forest, another family group of herbivores came out, and then another three. “Cameras on,” Samantha said. No predator followed, soon there was a constant traffic of herbivores running to the water, drinking, and running back to the woods. As the last entered, it was ambushed by a predator that might have been the same one as earlier. Although the herbivore was larger, it couldn''t shake the predator from its back. In pain, it grasped the predator with its trunk and threw itself into the air, landing on its back. The predator had tried and failed to get free, and was crushed. Limping badly, the herbivore hobbled back into the forest. “Cameras off. I think the predators lost tonight. And I''m very glad we ran.”


    “Me too. Can we go home?”


    “I think I still want those shells. One day I might want to show them to people and admit what I almost got caught up in because of them.”