《[S-41234 (DW-4)] or Trust me people it could be worse》


 Chapter 1

    Madeline grasped the straps of her restraints tightly as the emergency thrusters kicked in. Her knuckles went white from the pressure. Vertigo made her stomach feel as though it was being crushed, and she cursed.


    She hummed to herself, an indistinct tune, anything to distract her, anything to calm her down. Madeline was certain she would throw up any second now.


    Then instantly, all momentum was gone, and the airbags deployed, covering her in a firm embrace as the harness prevented her from hitting the roof. Afterwards, the bags soon deflated, and she was left panting in her escape pod.


    The light came on automatically, and her P.D.A¡¯s virtual intelligence connected to the pod¡¯s computer and ran the survival protocols.


    A holographic screen lit up in front of her, and a video began to play.


    ¡°Hello, Madeline; you have just gone through a traumatic experience and are most likely in shock. Please breath slowly and calm down; once you are settled, I will go through the information you will need to survive until rescue arrives,¡± a synthetic male voice said.


    Madeline did as she was instructed and got control of her breathing; as she did so, the V.I. said, ¡°remember there is no rush in this scenario; take as much time as is required; hastiness will only lead to mistakes.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Robert, I will¡±, replied Madeline. Madeline had named her V.I after a charming gentleman she had met five years ago


    She had no idea how long she took to calm down, but eventually, her breathing slowed, and her hands stopped shaking; she undid her harness and stretched.


    The stretching brought the trembling back, but it quickly subsided, and with one last intake of air, she felt she was ready.


    ¡°Ok, Robert, play the video!¡± she ordered.


    The V.I did as instructed, and the film began.


    ¡°Hello, survivor,¡± a second synthetic voice said. ¡°You have found yourself on an uninhabited world; the world you are on is¡­.¡± There was a brief pause as the life pod¡¯s onboard systems checked its logs and cross-referenced them with reading from the sensors.


    ¡°A Class 3 Death World designated as S-41234 (DW-4), survival prospects are minimal until help arrives,¡± said the voice.


    ¡°That¡¯s encouraging,¡± said Madeline, clicking her tongue.


    ¡°To increase your chances of survival, you must link up with as many of the other survivors as possible; this pod will not survive the rigorous environmental conditions for more than a few days¡±, the voice explained.


    ¡°To ensure the maximum chances of surviving until rescue arrives, only the hardiest amongst you should attempt the journey at first¡±, the voice paused for a moment as a scan was performed on the pod.


    ¡°Occupant is registered as Human, from Sol-3 know colloquially as Earth, a Class 8 Death World¡±, stated the voice.


    ¡°Species Homo Sapiens is certified to travel and link up with the nearest life pod; the location has been added to the PDA; please remove the emergency supplies from the locker and begin the procedure,¡± the voice said, and the screen went blank.


    ¡°Well, that wasn¡¯t very specific,¡± said Madeline, blowing air through her nostrils.


    She stood up and took her P.D.A, a bag containing five nutrient bars (a standard form of emergency ration), three water bottles, a knife, a fire striker, an air filter, some general-purpose antibiotics, a reverse osmosis pump, a first aid kit and some kindling.


    Madeline pressed the emergency release on the door, and light came flooding into the pod; she shielded her eyes and stepped outside.


    Her surroundings were tranquil; tree analogues stretched as far as the eye could see and covered the ground were other plants that bore a superficial resemblance to ferns; apart from the wind, the place was strangely quiet, with no bird song or insect chirps.


    ¡°Funny,¡± she thought, ¡°I had wanted to land on the planet, and I got what I wanted.¡±


    ¡°Be careful what you wish for, I suppose¡±, she added out loud.


    Madeline looked up, her ship had blown a hole in the canopy, and she could see the sky, blue with white clouds much like Earth.


    This wasn¡¯t Earth, though, and she did not need a computer to tell her that. The gravity was lower for one, the air was not as dense, and the sun¡¯s rays that managed to hit her felt off, not as warm as they should be.


    S-41234 (DW-4) was a famous tourist destination. She could still remember that tacky advertisement that had brought her here ¡°Come and fly over a genuine Death World, see a world where everything living seeks only blood, where the very air can kill you.¡±


    Of course, no one was supposed to land on it; this place was a living hell to everyone on the cruise ship that had brought her here, everyone except Madeline, of course.


    Humans were relatively new to the Galactic scene; relatively, it had been over three hundred years since first contact.


    They had made one hell of an impact, even before anyone knew anything about them. A sapient race evolving on a Death World was a novelty in and of itself. Only three other species held the honour.


    What made humanity unique was that they were from a class 8. The next closest ones were the Tu¡¯ril¡¯nep ta, from Si¡¯chit a Class 2.


    As such, everyone knew about humanity; even people on the other end of the galaxy knew about them; people who had never seen one and probably never would in their lifetimes had heard the stories.


    A race that could drink poison, eat toxic waste and freshen their breath with chemical weapons. Most humans found it all comical, even with context; after all, they were perfectly average to themselves.


    ¡°But that¡¯s enough thinking about evolutionary oddities. It¡¯s time to get moving,¡± Madeline told herself, blowing her blonde locks from her face.


    She checked her P.D.A; it displayed a compass with a directional marker pointing her to the nearest pod. The pods¡¯ computers had linked up and were already coordinating the other survivors.


    Madeline had no idea who she would find at the other end, but she knew they must be terrified.


    She took one last look at her escape pod; it was spherical, two meters in diameter, and pure white. The parachute and afterburners were visible. Emergency backups in case the gravity chute fails.


    Madeline hoped no one else¡¯s chute had been damaged; the shock of her landing could kill most other species.


    Strapping the bag to her back, she looked once again at her P.D.A, two kilometres to the nearest pod,


    ¡°Let¡¯s get going,¡± Madeline told herself, slapping her sides.


    ***


    Pushing aside a particularly stubborn bush, Madeline felt a certain sense of satisfaction as the stem cracked and it got out of her way.


    Madeline began sweating even with the lower gravity, slightly higher oxygen content, and less intense sunlight. She was not unfit, but she also did not do any meaningful exercise and was starting to regret it.


    S-41234 (DW-4) was a well-documented planet with a survey team coming to inspect the planet every two standard galactic years. She also knew much about it, having gone through numerous species profiles and geological videos while in quarantine.


    All Deathworlders and species from habitable worlds Class 8 and above needed to undergo quarantine and decontamination before being given free roam on a vessel or space station. To prevent any pathogens from wreaking havoc among those with weaker immune systems. Two weeks stuck in a room with nothing but the extranet to keep her company.


    The world was relatively early in its development, life having crawled out of the oceans just 150 million years ago. As such large land herbivores and carnivores had evolved just twenty million years ago, give or take a few hundred thousand years.


    This made Madeline confident; the largest predator was the zumawelu, named after the woman who had discovered it. A jaguar-sized cross between a lizard, cat and hedgehog. It looked fearsome, and it was, but even with only a five per cent difference in gravity between here and Earth, it had led to a vastly different musculature and skeletal structure.


    Madeline was confident that if she did encounter one, all she would have to do was stand her ground; as the apex predator of this world, it would not be used to anything, even attempting to fight back. Even if it did attack, her punches could crush its bones. At least she hoped so; she did not know much about bone tensile strength. Was that even relevant?


    The lower gravity also created another problem; with less force holding everything down, everything could be taller. She meant everything; the pseudo trees were massive, and given time, their descendent would make General Sherman look puny.


    Even the rocks and earth were held higher, meaning she needed to clamber over stones and roots.


    She checked her PDA and asked, ¡°How much longer till I¡¯m there?¡±


    ¡°At your current rate, you should arrive in approximately forty-five minutes¡±, replied Robert.


    ¡°Two kilometres over rough terrain, with no previous experience, in less than an hour,¡± said Madeline; she did not know if it was impressive, but it sounded impressive. If it weren¡¯t, she would lie, keep her morale up.


    She saw some movement out of the corner of her eye. It was probably not a zumawelu; they were relegated to the plains, and their large size hindered them in dense forest.


    Madeline saw what looked like a lizard staring at her; it was clinging to a tree trunk not with claws but with a single large pad at the end of its six feet. It was about the size of a giant iguana; its mouth was closed, but from how its eyes were positioned, she was sure it was carnivorous.


    It stared at her, both curious and wary but not afraid. It was covered in shiny red scales; Madeline wondered if that meant it was poisonous or maybe venomous. It flashed a yellow sail that ran along its back, most likely a warning.


    She had no idea what it was, the world had only been discovered four hundred years ago, and with such a small presence, the scientists would not have catalogued everything by now.


    ¡°If I make it out alive, I¡¯m naming your species myself,¡± Madeline said. Then, holding up her PDA, she took a quick picture. There was no sound, though there was an app you could download that made it for you.


    The not-quite lizard just looked at her, confused, until its attention was drawn to something crawling on the ground.


    With one swift motion, it fired a sticky tongue at the unfortunate creature below and dragged it into its mouth. Madeline saw a flash of a black exoskeleton and mammalian eyes before it vanished into the lizard¡¯s maw with a crunch.


    With that, it completely ignored her, having decided if Madeline were not going to attack now, she never would.


    Turning away from the animal Madeline kept walking. She wondered how many others were doing what she was; few would be qualified to make the first journey. Although she desperately hoped that she was not the only one, there were over 100 passengers aboard that cruise ship, and if the life pod had been correct, they would not live long enough for her to reach them all.


    Madeline knew that some of them had died in the pirate raid; she had seen their corpses, quite the horrifying experience. Nevertheless, she thought she had been rather brave, all things considered, helping fellow passengers and even some crew to safety.


    Still, it was odd that pirates would attack them. Not only were all cruise vessels heavily armed and armoured, with a complement of armed marines. There was also an old spacer superstition that attacking anyone over a Death World was terrible luck. Considering what had happened, they had been correct.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    She wondered if this made Earth untouchable, it would certainly explain why no aliens had ever made contact with them before humanity had invented FTL.


    Robert pinged, and she looked at her PDA; the life pod was just one hundred meters ahead. Madeline picked up the pace, deftly jumping over the obstacles that got in her way.


    Finally, there it was; another spherical white pod, only this one was six-meter wide; life pods needed different sizes for different species. Fortunately, the parachute and thrusters were still stored, which meant the grave chute had functioned perfectly.


    Madeline felt a pang of jealousy; it meant they hadn¡¯t felt their stomach try to leap from their mouth.


    ¡°Not their fault,¡± Madeline told herself.


    She approached the pod¡¯s door and knocked on it. There was no response, so Madeline knocked again.


    ¡°Is there anyone in there? My name is Madeline,¡± said Madeline, pressing her ear against the wall, it was warm to the touch, and the texture was pleasant.


    She could hear some mumbling from inside the pod, but it was too quiet for her to make out what they were saying or for the cheap translator installed on her P.D.A to pick it up.


    Eventually, there was a response. It took a couple of seconds for Madeline¡¯s translator to get working. ¡°You¡¯re from the ship, correct; my son says he saw to help some of the other passengers.¡±


    ¡°How do you know? How can you see me?¡± asked Madeline as she looked at the solid walls of the lifepod.


    ¡°There is a camera on the pod¡¯s hull,¡± the occupant explained. Madeline looked around and found a small black lens staring at her.


    ¡°Oh, Yes, that¡¯s me; I¡¯m the human on board¡±, replied Madeline.


    There was a brief pause, and the door opened. Stepping out from the sphere was an almost three-meter-tall behemoth of an alien, standing on four pillar-erect and trunk-like legs. Its skin was a faded purple and leathery. A simple set of cloth ornamentation on its back served as its clothes.


    Its face was long, with three ivory tusks protruding from its mouth, two in the lower jaw and one in the upper. Its eye was small, but they had a distinct iris and sclera.


    The aliens¡¯ lips began moving, and they said, ¡°We are glad that the video was correct.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for coming for us, Madeline; my name is Tarit; this is my wife, Tarin and our son Tazil¡± explained Tarit.


    Tarit was a Numiteru; if Madeline¡¯s memory was correct, from what she recalled, their species was from a Class 6 habitable world orbiting a gas giant. She could not remember the name.


    She also knew that Numiteru took a new name when they bonded with a partner to signify their new life together; the names started the same, hence the Ta. Though they kept the old one, it became akin to a middle name.


    Tarin and Tazil emerged from the pod; Tarin was of a similar faded purple, though Tazail, who stood at the same height as Madeline, was a duller brown colour, indicating he had not gone through puberty yet.


    Tazil also possessed small stubby tusks rather than the large elephant-like ones of his parents.


    Madeline¡¯s PDA pinged again, and Roger said, ¡°Next life pod location added, 5 kilometres away.¡±


    ¡°5 kilometres in this gravity, we¡¯ll be dead within the hour,¡± said Tarin, despondent.


    Tarit tried to comfort her, but she was having none of it.


    ¡°Look, I get you¡¯re scared, and this is more than you signed up for, but let me tell you something, survival is an act of sheer will. There are stories from all over the galaxy of people being stuck in situations just like this, with no knowledge or training, and they endured. If they can do it, we can do it too,¡± said Madeline, standing as tall as she could, looking as confident as possible.


    Madeline had no idea if it was true, but it had been damn inspirational in that movie she watched a few weeks back; though the swelling music had helped, it seemed to have a similar effect on the Numiteru family.


    ¡°You truly think we can?¡± asked Tarin.


    ¡°Yes¡±, replied Madeline with a nod.


    ¡°So, what do we do?¡± asked Tarit.


    ¡°We make for the next life pod; the system is designed to draw us all together, so we will never be sent to an empty one¡±, explained Tazil.


    The other three looked at him.


    ¡°I memorised the survival plan during quarantine¡±, explained Tazil.


    ¡°Smart kid,¡± said Madeline, with a smile


    The young man beamed with pride; what Madeline assumed was pride anyway.


    ¡°Five kilometres, gather the supplies and let¡¯s get going,¡± said Madeline.


    ***


    They had only been walking for five minutes before Tarin insisted they take a break. Though it frustrated Madeline, it was not the Numiterus¡¯ fault. To make up for the lack of oxygen in the atmosphere, they need to wear their respirators, which also filtered out pathogens and pollen, which could cause serious problems.


    This had the unfortunate side effect of causing the Numiteru family to overheat as they cooled themselves down by panting.


    Madeline acquiesced and busied herself by clearing the immediate path forward and inspecting their surroundings.


    Tarit was astounded by what he saw; not only was the little sapient not tired, but she was positively hyperactive; she was also twitchy, constantly changing her line of sight, examining her surroundings with a frightening intensity.


    Madeline moved with a grace he thought impossible, each movement flowing seamlessly into the next, and she was quiet, real quiet.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked Tazil between pants.


    ¡°Keeping an eye out in case anything tries to jump us¡±, explained Madeline.


    ¡°Seems rather pointless; we can barely see ten metres ahead,¡± said Tarin. ¡°We¡¯d be best saving our energy for if something does¡­ ¡°jump us¡±, she added.


    Madeline frowned. Sure the canopy did block out much of the light, but there was still plenty to see by. Madeline was confident if it were not for the trees; she could see a good two, three hundred metres in all directions.


    ¡°You really can¡¯t see further than that?¡± asked Madeline, looking the man straight in the eye.


    ¡°No¡±, answered Tarin, confused. Eventually, it clicked in the Numiteru¡¯s mind, and she said, ¡°Wait, you can actually see in this pitiful light?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, this kind of light is what you would expect before dawn or dusk; only someone with sight problems would be unable to navigate in it¡±, explained Madeline.


    ¡°I told you she was incredible,¡± stated Tazil.


    Madeline chuckled; if the boy kept this up, she was liable to get a big head.


    Determining they were indeed safe for the moment, Madeline also took a moment to rest.


    ¡°So, what brought you to S-41234,¡± asked Madeline, hoping the conversation would distract the family as they recovered.


    Raising his left arm, Tarit extended a dainty finger that had been tucked tight to his arm and pointed at his son.


    ¡°Tazil has always been interested in xenobiology, and Death Worlds fascinated him more than anything¡±, explained Tarit.


    ¡°So, we promised him that if he did well enough on his end-of-year exam, we would take him anywhere he wanted¡±, added Tarin, finishing her husband¡¯s sentence. ¡°We¡¯re just lucky he chose a cruise; that meant there was plenty for us to do as well¡±, she added.


    ¡°Luck had nothing to do with¡±, stated Tazil. ¡°I¡¯m just more considerate than you give me credit for¡±, he added.


    Personally, Madeline would have been annoyed at being interrupted like that, but Tarit seemed utterly fine with what had occurred.


    ¡°What about you?¡± asked Tarin.


    ¡°Bored, just wanted two weeks of luxury and a bit of excitement; imagine my shock when I discovered that they would be no landing party that will teach me to read the fine print¡±, Madeline answered.


    ¡°You mean you actually wanted to land here?¡± asked Tarit, the disbelief in his voice able to easily cross species barriers.


    ¡°Yes, even asked the captain about it, but he insisted that even if he were willing to land a shuttle, they would never get authorisation anyway¡±, explained Madeline, purposefully choosing to ignore his tone. ¡°He was very polite about it¡±, she added with a wave of her hand.


    A little more small talk occurred. Though Madeline intentionally refused to tell them about her profession, she felt that telling them their lives were in the hands of a waitress would not do much for morale. Something about trusting someone who busted tables for overpaid pretentious yuppies to fight super predators did not seem right to Madeline.


    Madeline chuckled humourlessly, they could fly her through the stars at one million times light speed, but they still needed her to wait tables.


    As the Numiteru regained control of their breathing, they drank from their water bottles and consumed one of their nutrient blocks. Madeline had given hers to the family, as she was confident she could eat most things on this planet without suffering too many deleterious effects.


    Still, the supplies would not last long, and then the other survivors would need to source food from the planet.


    ¡°We are going to have to find a solution to our food shortage. I don¡¯t suppose you three have any ideas?¡± Madeline asked.


    Tazil¡¯s eyes closed tightly, which Madeline believed was the Numiteru¡¯s equivalent of smiling. ¡°We¡¯re way ahead of you on that one,¡± he said, pointing to the P.D.A. strapped to his arm.


    ¡°Most species from non-Death Worlds carry portable scanners that can sample items to determine if they are dangerous or not¡±, he explained.


    ¡°Does it only work for your species?¡± asked Madeline.


    ¡°No, I can set it to scan for any toxic substance for any United Galaxy race¡±, answered Tazil.


    ¡°Good, that way, you can scan things before I eat them, too,¡± said Madeline.


    There was silence before Tarin asked, ¡°Why do you need to scan anything? You¡¯re from Earth; the air itself is toxic where you¡¯re from.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, but there are still things I cannot eat, wood, for example, that will shatter my teeth, and there are numerous things that are toxic to me¡±, explained Madeline.


    Once more, silence rained until Tazil said, ¡°I had read that humans could not consume woody material, but I thought it was a mistake.¡±


    ¡°Opportunistic omnivore, eating wood is something a specialised herbivore like yourselves does¡±, replied Madeline.


    ¡°Well, we would be more than willing to share our food scanners with you, Madeline,¡± said Tarit.


    ¡°Thank you¡±, replied Madeline


    *


    After The Numiteru were rested, they continued on their journey. It was monstrously slow, and by the time the light was dying, they had not covered half the required distance.


    With night the temperature had begun to drop, and the Numiteru started to panic. Climates on habitable worlds were famous for being stable, temperatures rarely rose or fell by more than five degrees, and biomes were almost homogenous on a planet.


    This left them unprepared for any world with things like seasons. Putting them at serious risk of freezing to death in the night, even though the temperature would not fall below fifteen Celsius.


    Madeline acted quickly, fashioning a simple shelter made from branches and leaves and creating a fire. However, they were crude things and would be unlikely to last more than a couple of days before breaking. She was careful enough to position it at such a point as not to roast them alive but still stop them from developing hypothermia.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, dad; I promise I will never complain about you making me go to scouts again,¡± Madeline said to herself as she tightened the final knot on her shelter.


    Madeline spent her last waking moments using Tazil¡¯s PDA to analyse the different plants they had collected. He, his mother and his father were exhausted, so Madeline had volunteered to do it for them.


    The PDA¡¯s scanner was a mass spectrometer that took a small sample of an object, broke it down to its fundamental parts, and determined whether it was toxic. What was more, it could do all this in under five seconds, ¡°The miracle of quantum computing¡±, mumbled Madeline


    She suspected that the aliens would have a rough night. It must feel like they were being crushed all the time. Madeline felt a little bad that she would most likely have a pleasant time; she had slept in lower gravity before; it was like being on a cloud.


    Then again, that had been on a big soft bed and had been at the same level as the moon, so perhaps the experiences were not conflatable.


    After several duds, Madeline finally landed on a small leafy plant that contained nothing that would kill the Numiteru.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s something at least, though we will still need to cook it to ensure any bacteria or parasites are killed,¡± said Tarit.


    ¡°A problem for tomorrow,¡± said Madeline.


    With the last bit of light, Madeline changed the setting to Human and scanned everything again. To no one¡¯s surprise, Madeline could eat all of it.


    ¡°The agony of choice,¡± said Madeline as she looked down at the endless row of identical leaves. ¡°Nothin but kale for three months¡±, she added glumly to herself.


    *


    Tazil was not usually the first to awaken; as with most teenagers, he preferred to sleep late. The sounds of the nighttime wildlife, however, kept his sleep light.


    He glanced to his left and saw his mother quietly dozing; to his right, his father did the same. Tazil forced air from his nostril; the gravity was punishing; he had no idea how the Human could stand it.


    Or rather, Tazil knew, he had taken their biology as an elective, but still, it was one thing to read about it and another entirely to see it.


    The fire still burned, though it was getting a little weak; the young man stared into the small dancing flames; he felt secure in its glow. Tazil always wanted to go camping, be careful what you wish for and all that.


    He carefully stood up, making sure not to disturb his parents. Before sunset, Madeline had been gracious enough to gather plenty of firewood, and it was not too difficult to feed it. The young Numiteru selected only the smallest branches.


    A part of him felt rather pathetic that they needed to rely so heavily on this small sapient, even though he knew that she could fight a whole platoon of Numiteru troopers and come out on top. Tazil paused for a moment and then thought, ¡°maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration.¡±


    Still, this day had been a rather humbling experience.


    Glancing over to Madeline¡¯s sleeping form, she looked astoundingly peaceful, as though he had not a care in the galaxy.


    ¡°Too peaceful,¡± thought Tazil. She was not moving at all.


    ¡°Is she dead¡± he mumbled, the terror slowly welling inside him. What the hell could slip into camp, kill her without a mark, and then leave again without a trace?


    Nervously he glanced around but could see nothing beyond the light of the fire, and the shadows it cast were terrifying. A trace of ancestral memory of the Watuluk, the native predator that once haunted his ancestors, now relegated to a few biological reserves, resurfaced.


    The forest seemed alive with noise, and Tazil found himself paralysed with fear. Only the heat of the fire forced him to move, his desire not to cook overcoming his prey instincts.


    Tazil backed into his spot and gently nudged his parents; they were quick to awaken.


    ¡°Tazil, what is it?¡± asked Tarin, using the same voice she had used when he was just a boy first learning to use his hands.


    He raised his trembling hand and pointed at Madeline.


    It took a moment for Tarit and Tarin to realise the problem, but then it hit them like a ton of bricks. They sat in place, trembling for what felt like hours but was most likely less than a minute.


    All the tension was lifted instantly when Madeline stirred, her face twitching. The three of them screamed.


    Faster than the Numiteru could blink, Madeline was on her feet, ripping half of her shelter to pieces in the process.


    Madeline was scanning the environment for what could have caused it, grabbing one of the fallen poles as a weapon.


    Her eyes scanned every inch of her surrounding but could see nothing. Eventually, it dawned on her that the quickest solution would be simply asking.


    ¡°What is it?¡± she asked, never once taking her eyes off the tree line.


    After a minute of receiving no reply, Madeline finally looked at her charges. They were staring wide-eyed at her with a mixture of fear and wonder.


    ¡°What?¡± Madeline asked, creeped out by the attention.


    ¡°You were dead¡±, whispered Tazil.


    Madeline¡¯s face had never been so lopsided in her life. If she had a mirror, Madeline might have been worried that she had suffered a stroke.


    ¡°I¡¯m quite certain that I was not dead, nor am I dead¡±, stated Madeline.


    There was silence before Tarit said, ¡°you weren¡¯t moving.¡±


    ¡°I know; I was asleep; that¡¯s what happens when you are asleep. I was having a wonderful dream as well,¡± replied Madeline.


    ¡°Yeah, but not like that, until you twitched, you were not moving at all¡±, stated Tarin. It seemed they were starting to believe Madeline was not a walking corpse, at least.


    ¡°Wait, are you saying you do?¡± asked Madeline.


    As it turned out, most species frequently moved in their sleep, far more regularly than the occasional tossing and turning that a human did. In truth, the more Madeline learned about it, the less it seemed like sleep.


    It seemed that the intense REM that humans experienced was unique to them, as were dreams. All other races lightly dozed, more akin to intense mediation than the prolonged paralysis Madeline needed.


    Madeline wondered why this had never been taught in school, it seemed like a fascinating fact, and it also confused her that Tazil seemed to be just as surprised as his parents.


    ¡°Has no one ever thought to compare sleep patterns before?¡± thought Madeline, which seemed like a significant oversite by the scientific community.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re fine?¡± asked Tarit.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve done this every night, every day of my life¡±, reiterated Madeline.


    Madeline did her best to rebuild her shelter and fed the fire with the logs Tazil could not lift.


    As she lay down again, she asked, ¡°So, will I be able to get my full eight hours?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Tarin rather meekly, feeling rather foolish about her outburst.


    ¡°I¡¯m not mad; all in all, I¡¯m more puzzled than anything else¡±, stated Madeline; they had a hard enough time resting as it was; she did not need to pile guilt on top of that.

 Chapter 2

    Morning came quickly for Madeline but slow for the Numiteru, both being used to vastly different day-night cycles.


    It was also time for breakfast, and a momentous hunger suddenly struck Madeline; her last meal was on the Silutek, which roughly translated to star glider.


    She wasted no time; taking a large flat stone, she dumped it unceremoniously on the fire and watched as the damp soil curled and crumbled away. It would do as a makeshift grill, but she was confident the leaves would be chewy and unfulfilling.


    ¡°No matter, woman, you¡¯re in survival mode now; satisfying is for later,¡± Madeline told herself.


    It was not only Madeline who was being proactive, inspired by her confidence and determined not to be dead weight or passive observers. The Numiteru started to gather more of the plant Madeline had singled out the night before.


    Madeline smiled, ¡°They just might make it after all.¡±


    That had to be the most boring thirty minutes of her life. Chewing those flavourless leaves, chewing and chewing. The only thing that made the experience even remotely memorable was the envy Madeline had felt at the Numiteru.


    For their part, they had enjoyed their breakfast, comparing it to a crispy vutle leaf, whatever that was.


    ***


    Fortunately, that was over now, they were back on the move, and Madeline was once again the subject of awe. Casually lifting fallen logs out of the way, helping Tarin and Tarit over large boulders. Tazil, due to his smaller size and lower weight, found it easier than his parents.


    After another compliment, Madeline realised that she needed to be careful; all this praise could quickly lead to a bloated ego, which was the last thing she needed. She had heard the stories of humans landing on theoretically less dangerous worlds than Earth and meeting grizzly ends.


    More wildlife showed itself during their trek, and Madeline finally noticed that all land animals had six legs, just like that gecko iguana she had encountered yesterday. She wondered why that was; you would think the lower gravity would lead to fewer legs than Earth, not more.


    Then again, evolution never had a plan; she supposed that was just how things went on this planet.


    Another annoyance reared its head during the journey. The Numiteru had already used up their entire supply of food. As it turned out, the less intense and more plentiful environment on their homeworld had meant they had never needed to evolve the complex energy storage mechanisms that, pretty much, all Earth life had.


    This meant they, and most likely all the other survivors, had the marvellous quality of needing to eat at least seven times a day, and that was merely to avoid starvation, not to remain healthy.


    Madeline had let out a long breath after that revelation. She had only been spared that agony yesterday because of the survival rations and the family toughing it out.


    ¡°No matter, I will adapt,¡± Madeline told herself, unsure whether she believed it. They should have mentioned it earlier; she would have gathered more supplies, but what was done was done; no point complaining about it.


    ¡°Next time, don¡¯t keep that kind of information from me,¡± Madeline explained, keeping her voice level.


    ¡°We will,¡± Tarin, Tarit and Tazil replied.


    ***


    Noon came and went, and they were finally approaching their next destination. At this rate, she would never save them all, and Madeline felt she just needed to come to terms with that.


    ¡°You¡¯re not Superman; you can¡¯t save everyone; just focus on what you can do,¡± she told herself. ¡°If you can just save these three, you will have done great¡±, she added. This had become a mantra she repeated every time some new obstacle presented itself.


    On the bright side, no predators yet, or rather none that could threaten them. A small frog-like creature had pounced on an even smaller lizard about a mile back, which had shocked the Numiteru somewhat.


    They just weren¡¯t as used to seeing the rules of nature as Deathworlders were. No brutal nature documentaries on habitable worlds, she supposed. Not that Madeline had been entirely unaffected, she did feel bad for the animal that had been eaten.


    Madeline was brought out of her thought by a troublesome log. Tarin and Tarit would struggle to climb over it, so she tried to lift it.


    She failed; it was simply too heavy; Madeline could move it, get it about thirty centimetres off the ground, but by that point, her arms screamed in protest, and she gave up.


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you two could give me a hand?¡± asked Madeline, holding out very little hope.


    ¡°No, but we can lend you two pairs of tusks¡±, replied Tarit, with a faint bellowing sound.


    They told Madeline to start lifting again, and once she had gotten the log going, they placed their two bottom tusks underneath the fallen trunk and heaved.


    The log moved higher and higher, to Madeline¡¯s pleasant surprise, until she had enough leverage to remove it from their path. She felt pain in her shoulder and knew she had just pulled something that was going to suck.


    Madeline looked at the trio and smiled, habitableworlders they may have been, but they were not entirely helpless.


    In the distant past, The Numiteru had used their tusks to dig around for roots and tubers during their planet¡¯s dry season, or what passed for a dry season anyway. When it came down to it, sun-baked mud was sun-baked mud no matter what world you were on, and it did require some strength to crack.


    As a response, the Numiteru had developed exaggerated shoulder muscles. Hence their hunched-over appearance. And while gram for gram, Madeline¡¯s muscles were far stronger; the Numiteru made up for this in quantity.


    They could move about twenty kilograms with their necks alone, true even an out-of-shape human could do that if they wanted, but almost none of them could do it with their neck. While none at all could do it with the twisting motions, the Numiteru utilised.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Madeline, a smile on her face


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it¡±, said Tarin.


    Roger pinged a few more metres along the trail they were making; the quartet were almost at the second lifepod. Madeline glimpsed some white through the trees. Filled with new energy, everyone made a bee-line for their destination.


    Careful not to leave them behind, Madeline finally reached the pod, and her heart sank. The parachute and thrusters had been deployed just like her own lifepod.


    Swallowing hard, Madeline decided she would not assume the worst and approached. Rapping hard on the door, Madeline called out, ¡°Hello, my name is Madeline; I¡¯m with some other survivors; you¡¯re gonna be fine.¡±


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    There was no reply.


    Madeline banged on the pod¡¯s side again, and once more, she heard nothing, no hushed whispers or quiet whimpering.


    Tazil approached, Madeline¡¯s worry was infectious, and he managed to squeak out, ¡°There¡¯s an emergency release on the side there.¡±


    Madeline followed his outstretched finger and found it.


    ¡°Everyone stand back¡±, she ordered and was dutifully obeyed.


    She took in a deep breath and pulled the release mechanism. Explosive bolts fired, and the door was blown off its hinges.


    Without wasting a moment, Madeline peered inside and, after just a second, could look no more.


    They were dead, entirely broken by the shock of their descent and sudden landing. The aliens¡¯ segmented bodies were hanging from their restraints, like a man dangling from a noose.


    Madeline looked at Tarin, Tarit and Tazil, and they knew what had happened without saying a word being spoken. The logical part of Madeline¡¯s mind knew that they should gather up the supplies in the pod and make for the next destination, but that seemed too callous to her.


    She allowed time for the shock to wear off; the first death on this world was something they knew was a possibility, hell pretty much guaranteed. Even so, it was still a lot to take in; this was supposed to be a luxury cruise.


    ¡°What do we do?¡± asked Tarit.


    Madeline rubbed her forehead; once again, she knew the logical choice, just move on. She would not entertain it. However, they were not animals, and their situation did not eliminate that fact.


    ¡°Does anyone know their funeral customs?¡± asked Madeline.


    ¡°What are they?¡± asked Tazil; Madeline realised that only she had seen the bodies.


    Madeline could not quite remember the name of the species, Filad, Filig, or something like that. They were insectoid in overall appearance, similar to a devil¡¯s coach horse, only with four pairs of legs rather than three.


    Their exoskeleton was a beautiful iridescent green, and their eyes, even dead, shone like rainbows.


    Madeline described all this to the group, and Tazil said, ¡°Fupilick, I go to school with one.¡±


    ¡°Do you know what to do?¡± asked Madeline.


    Tazil searched his memory; it was a rare thing to ask another about what they did with their dead, but Tazil was an unusual boy, and there was pretty much no question he would not ask.


    ¡°Yes, it took a bit of prying, but Zizi told me they are interred in mass graves,¡± said Tazil.


    ¡°So we just need to bury them together?¡± asked Madeline.


    ¡°No, they are buried alongside thousands of other individuals, so their ancestors can lead them to the next life¡±, explained Tazil.


    ¡°We have no other choice; if we leave them above ground, they will just decay into nothing or be picked apart by animals by the time rescue arrives¡±, stated Madeline. ¡°If they¡¯re buried, the damp ground might just preserve them long enough to get a decent funeral¡±, she added.


    It was unlikely; their bodies lacked much of the rigid materials like collagen and keratin that Madeline¡¯s had; even so, a minimal chance was better than none.


    With no tools, Madeline resorted to large branches to scratch out a grave; the Numiteru lent their tusks to the task, though they needed frequent breaks.


    As Madeline pulled up a stubborn root, her hands caked in soil; she heard a branch snap. It was faint, and at first, she was going to put it down to a freak occurrence. There was no doubt many large herbivores in this forest; Madeline supposed it would spot the pod and the aliens surrounding it and meander away.


    She was just about to get back to work when she heard another noise, this one closer, and there was far more than just one, and Madeline was no longer willing to ignore it.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got company¡±, she called out.


    Madeline ordered everyone to hide behind the pod, though it was only slightly larger than the one Madeline had descended in. It was just big enough to hide all four of them, as long as the Numiteru smushed themselves together.


    Carefully peering around the circular object, she scanned the forest for the slightest hint of movement.


    She was counting on her, apparently, superior eyesight to allow her to see them long before they saw her. Madeline entered a stillness she did not know she was capable of, and it greatly unnerved the Numiteru; they had all seen the images from history class.


    Tazil could remember the video they had watched. The Watuluk, holding still, ready to pounce on its victim, though they had not shown the Coup de grace.


    On the other hand, having Madeline stand between them and whatever was approaching was incredible, like having a tyrannosaurus rex as your guardian.


    Then she relaxed, all tension vanishing, ¡°We¡¯re fine¡±, she explained, walking into view of the new arrivals.


    Tarit, Tarin and Tazil did the same cautiously as first, and their hearts nearly exploded with joy. They were other survivors from the attack, two dozen of them at least.


    Leading the group was a two-meter tall bipedal, semi-mammalian, semi-reptilian creature that Madeline recognised as the cruise liner¡¯s doctor. She had spent more than enough time conversing with him during quarantine.


    Diduk recognised her; his facial chromatophores shone a calming blue, indicating happiness. ¡°I should have known you would have survived, Madeline.¡±


    Diduk was an Etulana from a Class 8 habitable world, making him the second hardiest species on the ship.


    Class 8 (H) and above were those beginning to approach Deathworld status but did not quite make the cut; diseases were just not lethal enough, and the weather was just not as extreme. They were by no means paradises. Even a Deathworlder, even a human, could be killed on a Class 8(H) if they were not careful.


    From what Madeline understood, it would be like trying to survive in New Zealand, generally pleasant, but you still needed to keep your wits about you.


    Madeline held out her hand and shook it; as part of his training, he needed to learn about everything about the different greetings of other species.


    ¡°Just you four?¡± asked Diduk. He glanced over Madeline¡¯s shoulder and saw the bodies of the Fupilick. ¡°Shit, not again¡±, he whispered.


    Madeline nodded mournfully, ¡°we were burying them before you arrived; if it is not too much trouble, we could use some help¡±, she explained.


    Diduk agreed, and the more physically able amongst them finished the task. Once it was complete, a few token words were said, and their attention turned to saving the rest.


    ¡°How did you find all of them so quickly?¡± asked Madeline.


    ¡°Luck mostly, the pods landed within just a few hundred meters of one another, so it took us less than a day to gather everyone¡±, explained Diduk. ¡°Unfortunately, just as many were dead as alive. I would wager we¡¯ll not find many more before the air filters break down or they run out of food¡±, he added.


    Madeline rubbed her face; she was overjoyed that so many had survived but was heartbroken at the thought of those people dying in a cold metal box, gasping out their last, or feeling their stomachs devour themselves.


    ¡°That being said, with you here, we may just have a chance¡±, stated Diduk.


    ¡°What¡¯s your plan?¡± asked Madeline, desperate to cling to any hope.


    ¡°You and your kind have an endurance that borders on the godlike¡±, stated Diduk, pointing at Madeline with his clawed hand.


    ¡°You¡¯re exaggerating,¡± replied Madeline, rubbing the back of her neck, trying hard to hold back her blush.


    ¡°I know it does not seem that way to you, but to us, it is the truth¡±, explained Diduk.


    He pulled out his P.D.A.; it was far bulkier than hers, marking it as an industrial model meant for business instead of personal use. ¡°Look!¡± he said.


    Madeline gazed at the screen; it gave far more information than her own, and she could see all the life pods.


    Just as Diduk had said, she could see the Numiteru¡¯s and her pod isolated to the south, whereas there was a large cluster of them to the east, which had been Diduk¡¯s group.


    There was one major group to the Northwest; Madeline saw twenty-three life pods clustered within two hundred metres of one another.


    Madeline knew what Diduk was getting at.


    ¡°You want me to run all the way there, gather up the other survivors and meet you halfway,¡± stated Madeline.


    ¡°More or less yes,¡± replied Diduk, tapping the sides of his P.D.A.


    ¡°You do realise I¡¯m not a professional athlete; I¡¯ve never even run a marathon, even a quarter marathon,¡± she explained.


    ¡°What¡¯s a marathon?¡± asked Tarit.


    ¡°It¡¯s a race where you run twenty-six miles for fun¡±, answered Madeline, not taking her eyes off Diduk.


    ¡°Twenty-six miles for fun!¡± Tarit and a dozen other people blurted out in unison.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to run it; you could make it there in under three hours at a brisk walk¡±, stated Diduk. ¡°What is most important is that you won¡¯t have us slowing you down¡±, he added.


    Madeline drummed her fingers against her legs; she did not doubt that she could do it. Even though she disliked the idea of having so many lives resting on her shoulders.


    ¡°Where exactly are we going to meet up?¡± asked Madeline.


    Diduk pointed to another spot on the map, ¡°there is a river here, not too wide, so no gigantic predators, I think, and we will have access to fresh water.¡±


    ¡°What about shelter?¡± asked Madeline.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll throw something together. We managed last night with no frostbite in anyone¡¯s toes¡±, stated Diduk.


    Madeline was sure you needed freezing conditions to get frostbite, but she was not a doctor, so she just accepted it.


    Jumping up and down, Madeline did her best to stretch, tugging at all her limbs until she felt limber enough. She may not need to run, but she was going to do so regardless; every second was critical.


    ¡°You got this,¡± said Tazil, patting Madeline on the back.


    Madeline smiled, stating, ¡°Someone¡¯s been reading up on human slang.¡±


    Tazil shrunk away in embarrassment; it was considered bad form to use another race¡¯s mannerisms without first knowing another for an extended length of time, and you were only supposed to do it in private. Not offensive exactly, more along the lines of putting on airs


    Not that humanity had cared; it regularly stole words from other races; it was steadily becoming so comprehensive that many linguists thought that humanity¡¯s major languages would become one of the lingua franca of the galaxy.


    ¡°You get all that, Roger?¡± asked Madeline.


    ¡°Yes, I have plotted the route for you¡±, replied the V.I.


    ¡°Ok, all goes well. I¡¯ll see you tomorrow,¡± said Madeline, and without another word, she ran into the forest.

 Chapter 3

    This entire year had been nothing but one steaming pile of Galashit after another, and Yulik was sick of it. He was tired of following idiots; he was tired of being ignored, and he was tired of being underestimated.


    The quartermaster had shared this sentiment, and Yulik had her full support; now, all that was left to do was to snap this fool¡¯s neck and be done with it.


    The former First Officer fell from his clawed hand and to the ground; his body had been broken easily in their duel; in truth, it had only gone on for as long as it had because Yulik had been having fun slowly taking him apart. The game had run its course, however, and now it was time to show everyone who they were dealing with.


    Yulik retracted his claws, and, standing at his full height, he addressed the crew.


    ¡°Our former captain was a moron who led us from one disaster to another, aided by this enabling coward¡± Yulik pointed at the first mate¡¯s body, which was already attracting some insectoid life.


    ¡°From Reshun to the Jio belt, we have suffered setback after setback, but we will climb our way to the top, get off this rock and back to doing what we do best.¡± On cue, the quartermaster cheered, and the rest followed suit.


    ¡°Now we needed to find the survivors¡¯ pods and follow their escape plan; we will either blend in with the castaways or take over the rescue party and fly to freedom¡±, Yulik stated. Another cheer went up, though this time it was not staged; any promise of rescue was better than the hopelessness of a few moments ago.


    ¡°Gather up all the supplies you can from the crash site; we¡¯re going to need them!¡± he ordered. The¡­ no, his crew followed his command now that they had a purpose.


    Yulik, for his part, surveyed the land, got his bearings and began to plan.


    Rocking back and forth on his clawed digitigrade legs, Yulik could tell this would not be easy. The air was bitter, the weight on his shoulders was distracting, and he knew some of the crew would not make it out alive.


    The quartermaster approached; she was a spindly insectoid with deceptively vicious jaws; her name was not pronounceable by Yulik¡¯s tongue and vocal cords, so everyone just called her Click.


    ¡°Captain, are you sure you don¡¯t need a respirator?¡± she asked, her voice slightly muffled through her breathing device.


    ¡°This is not the first Deathworld I¡¯ve been on, and that was a class 5; I did not need one then, and I do not need one now¡±, he explained, his voice completely lacking in emotion, though deep down, he was annoyed.


    Another underestimation, the lack of curiosity among other species, was laughable. How in the void did they even manage to invent the wheel? Let alone spaceflight? Just like the old Captain, too many risks when not needed and not enough when it was.


    ¡°At least he had enough honour to go down with the ship,¡± Yulik thought.


    ¡°Are you certain there will be a rescue party?¡± asked Click, ¡°Standard procedure when crashlanding on a Deathworld is to assume everyone is dead or will be by the time help does arrive.¡±


    Yulik chuckled, ¡°Indeed, tell me did you check the crew and passenger manifesto after we boarded?¡±


    Click rubbed her back legs together; those limbs were often used to convey meaning, happiness, sadness and the like. Right now, the sound she was making indicated confusion.


    ¡°Why would I¡­¡± she tried to ask, but Yulik cut her off.


    ¡°It¡¯s a good habit to get into, it was the first thing I did, and I learnt something exciting,¡± he said.


    There was a pause for dramatic effect until Click¡¯s patience was worn thin, and she asked, ¡°well, what was it?¡±


    ¡°One of the passengers was from a little blue world called Earth; heard of it?¡± answered Yulik.


    Click back legs began to sound again; this time, it was the ringing of dread. Every pirate had heard the tales of entire raiding parties reduced to jibbering wrecks from just a single human; their strength, speed, endurance and resistance to pain and harm was legendary.


    Most of it was no doubt exaggeration; no species could survive leaping from ship to ship without a suit, but even the plausible stuff was still a nightmare.


    ¡°You¡¯re certain; maybe it was a typo?¡± Click offered, grasping at any straw that meant she was not sharing a planet with a monster that was quite rightly enraged at her.


    Yulik chuckled once more, ¡°No typo; while you were all engaged in a pointless firefight with the marines, I was accessing the ship¡¯s systems, and I saw her; I saw what she did to Qinz.¡±


    The other members of the pirate band were starting to crowd around the two now, having finished their assignment in record time. However, all the optimism Yulik had filled them with was slowly draining out.


    ¡°Nearly tore his jaw off with a casual backhand, was not even trying to hurt him, not really, the female just wanted him gone¡±, explained Yulik, miming Madeline¡¯s action from the recording he had seen.


    ¡°So you see rescue is coming; the standard human procedure assumes alive until proven dead,¡± said Yulik.


    ¡°Even so, even if we can take this lone Human down, the rescue party will also be made of humans, and do you know what their soldiers can do? Have you heard of the one-week war?¡± asked Click, her legs rubbing vigorously now.


    Yulik had, most people had, a shining example of how not to wage war, the thing had actually lasted two days, but it took one week for the surrender order to go through. The humans had charitably included this time and thus the one-week war.


    Considering the war had been against an interstellar criminal cartel, not a state, and the humans had the support of a dozen other galactic powers, probably helped. The Homornes Cartel had had their hands in just about everything, from drugs to modern slavery.


    Not anymore, though; once they attacked a human freighter, the human governments declared war, and the entire galaxy gave them their backing. It had been so swift that Yulik suspected that the humans had been planning it for some time and just need a casus belli.


    ¡°We will succeed; survival is an act of sheer will,¡± stated Yulik.


    ¡°How?¡± demanded Click.


    Yulik unsheathed his claws, and everyone tensed up. He approached the nearest tree and dragged his claws down the bark.


    Everyone stared wide-eyed as Yulik¡¯s nails did not splinter as expected but rather shredded the iron-hard bark as if it were paper.


    Staring directly into Click¡¯s compound eyes, Yulik said, ¡°Because she¡¯s not the only Deathworlder on this planet.¡±


    ***


    ¡°Deep breaths, Madeline,¡± she told herself as sweat poured down her forehead and into her eyes. Wiping it away, she quickly checked her PDA, ¡°almost there¡±, she said between gasps, pocketing it once again.


    At least she would be fit and healthy by the time she was done, Madeline thought before nearly tripping on an exposed root. The lower gravity gave just that split second more time she needed to right herself before slowing down to a gentle jog.


    ¡°Steady pace now, girl; you want to get there alive after all,¡± she told herself.


    Roger pinged, which meant she was close now; Madeline stopped, peering through the trees; she tried to find a hint of white.


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    Yet she saw nothing after two minutes; Madeline rechecked her PDA. She was looking in the right direction. Keeping her PDA out, she slowly walked towards it. The fact that her PDA was receiving a signal from it meant that the lifepod had not broken up in the atmosphere and had not been too severely damaged during the descent and landing.


    Madeline was so focused on her P.D.A. she did not notice the puddle ahead and stepped into it.


    As the water soaked her feet and socks completely, Madeline thought, ¡°perfect, just perfect, you could have sprung for a waterproof spray, but no, you just had to buy an extra bottle of wine a week.¡±


    Looking around, she saw many more puddles, which slowly merged into ponds and finally, in the distance, the ponds joined.


    ¡°A swamp,¡± said Madeline.


    Adjusting her view to compensate, she discovered why she had not seen the lifepod; three-quarters of it was submerged, all pods had floatation devices in case they landed on ocean worlds or in a lake, but the trees but have damaged the mechanism.


    Madelin pinched the bridge of her nose; it was just one thing after another.


    Was it worth taking off her shoes? There could be sharp sticks or stones under the water. Not to mention fish analogues that might mistake her toes for tasty grubs. Keeping them on it was then.


    The water quickly drew up to her waist, and she would need to swim before long. Luckily the water was slow-moving, there were plenty of rocks and tree roots to rest on, and it was clear, which meant her clothes would not be caked in mud while nothing could sneak up on her.


    Even weighed down by her clothes, Madeline was in her element; she loved swimming, visiting the local pool at least once a week, even if she was no athlete. The cool water also lowered her body temperature, making her feel refreshed.


    Madeline found her morale improving, and all from a sixty-second dip.


    Approaching the pod, Madelin climbed onto it and banged on the side.


    ¡°Anyone alive in there?¡± she shouted.


    Pressing her ear against the pod, she could hear someone inside.


    ¡°Look, I know you¡¯re scared, but I just ran two miles to get here. Do any of you know how I can inflate the airbags? That way, the door can open without you being flooded with water,¡± Madeline called.


    Once more, there was mumbling, but eventually, a voice said, ¡°I¡¯ll check my P.D.A.¡±


    Thankful that claustrophobia and a rumbling stomach were overriding caution, Madeline waited patiently for a reply.


    After a few minutes, whoever was in the pod shouted, ¡°There is a release mechanism on the side of the pod.¡±


    ¡°What does it look like?¡± asked Madeline.


    ¡°It¡¯s contained in a red box,¡± the person said, ¡°I can¡¯t even see red¡±, they added, a tiny sliver of panic in their voice.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I can; just wait patiently while I find it,¡± said Madeline.


    ¡°Like we can do anything else,¡± said a second voice.


    The first voice shushed them and told them not to be rude; Madeline just chuckled.


    Bobbing gently on the surface Madeline prepared for the dive. Taking in deep breaths and breathing out slowly, she steadily increased her lung capacity. In between, she dipped her head beneath the waterline and opened and closed her eyes.


    After roughly two minutes, Madeline felt she was done and dived. The swamp was not particularly deep, but it was easily half again deeper than she was tall. Carefully inspecting the pod''s side, she examined the smooth metal for the red box.


    Moving slowly and deliberately allowed her to remain underwater for over a minute, but eventually, her lungs started to burn, and she surfaced. Repeating the breathing mantra, she submerged once more and repeated her inspection.


    On her fifth dive, she found what she was looking for; Madeline had overlooked it before, as it was embedded into the structure instead of sticking out the side. Madeline probably should have asked for clarification.


    Madeline was about to pull it when she noticed something from the corner of her eye. Scanning the water, she felt her heart rate rise; something was moving through the tree roots.


    It could not be huge, but it did not need to be big to take a chunk out of her arm. Her lungs started to complain, but Madeline was worried that if she surfaced, whatever it was would attack.


    Eventually, Madeline determined it was better to take the risk than guarantee drowning. Taking a quick breath, she submerged again. Whatever it was had left the roots, and Madeline relaxed.


    It was a fish, covered in large brown scales, though it had ten pairs of fins, thin and delicate like the ray-finned fishes of Earth. Madeline supposed it was taking advantage of the high water level to search for food inland. Its mouth was small, and it moved slowly.


    It was probably carnivorous, but the fish¡¯s choice of food was much smaller than her. Madeline relaxed, pleased she was not in danger and a little embarrassed she had worried over nothing. Turning back to the release, she pulled it with a sharp tug, and the skirts appeared and quickly filled with air, carrying it and Madeline back above the water.


    Sighing in relief, Madeline moved to the emergency door release and shouted, ¡°Better put your rebreathers on because I¡¯m opening the door.¡±


    As the door opened, Madeline wondered what the hell had happened to her. She had never been a pushover but was hardly a take-charge survivalist.


    Maybe it was the company she kept; everyone else being physically weaker than Madeline might be giving her a little power trip and, therefore, a confidence boost. On the other hand, maybe she had always been suited for this kind of thing and never noticed.


    She supposed it did not matter; all that did was that it was working.


    ***


    Thirty people, thirty people, had survived planetfall, and now all their lives were in Madeline¡¯s hands. At least for a day. She would do her best, and that was all she could do.


    Many different shapes and sizes were dotted around Madeline. Insectoid to mammalian. Reptile and amphibian. Scaled to fuzzy and slimy to parchment dry.


    Gathering them all on a stable mudbank, they planned their journey. It was difficult; many of them could quickly get hypothermia from prolonged exposure to the cool swamp water, not to mention a cut could be lethal to anyone of them.


    Examining the water, Madeline tried to find anything she could use. There were plenty of sticks in the water, but none were big enough to float upon, nor could they be lashed together to make a raft.


    Boat was out; maybe they could use the roots to keep above the waterline. Perhaps but many of them lacked the grace or finesse of a human, and wasn¡¯t that a weird notion? Plus, breaking a neck or arm would only take a single slip.


    Last resort, then. Looking around, it seemed the only viable option was to brute force it and swim.


    The other survivors were of a different opinion; however, ¡°You want us to swim in that?¡± a feathered serpentine octopus hybrid asked incredulously.


    As the snake alien eyed the water hesitantly, Madeline said, ¡°Wenul, was it?¡±


    Wenul¡¯s octopus-like arms that ran along his back like spines waved from side to side, which was the equivalent of a head nod in his species.


    ¡°I get it; it is not ideal, but there is no food here, no shelter, and if the water level rises, we will have an even greater distance to swim¡±, explained Madeline.


    ¡°So it is better to do it on our terms than wait for the option to be taken from us?¡± asked another alien who looked like a scaled-covered cow.


    Madeline pointed at them and said, ¡°got it in one.¡±


    The lizard cow¡¯s scales rattled, not an all together unpleasing sound, like maracas, which Madeline assumed was akin to a blush.


    Madeline again looked at the water, now focusing on what she could pull out instead of putting in. She smiled; plenty of large branches would serve as floatation devices for the less aquatically adept species.


    Without hesitating, Madeline stomped into the swamp. At first, some thought she was leaving them or leading the way, but as she dragged the boughs back to land, it did not take long for the survivors to realise her plan.


    ¡°There we go; now you have something to hold onto if you get tired,¡± Madeline smiled. The born teeth were a little unnerving for many of the aliens present, but none took any offence, realising from her actions that she was most likely not mad at any of them.


    Quickly inspecting her PDA, she determined the route they should take. The lake they were all meeting up at was roughly four and a half kilometres away. Considering the xeno''s sub-par physique, it would probably take about a day and a half to get there.


    Looking up at the sky, Madeline knew they needed to get moving; the day was fading, and they could not be caught out here at night.


    ¡°Ok, everyone, grab a stick if you can¡¯t get someone who can help you!¡± Madeline ordered, walking directly into the water.


    ¡°And try not to make too much noise, we have no idea what¡¯s lurking in this swamp, and we can do without the attention!¡± she added.


    As usual, Madeline led the way; entering the water gave everyone else confidence, and they followed. She could not swim too far ahead; however, not only did she need to keep the splashes to a minimum, but she also needed to keep an eye on everyone else.


    The water was not cold, at least by Madeline¡¯s standards; even so, it was not exactly warm either, and it could very quickly sap the heat from your body.


    Already many of the other survivors were slowing down, and Madeline often had to double back and carry them to rest points on exposed roots.


    It was difficult, slow, and Madeline was swimming four times the distance as everyone else. Despite all this, they were making progress. A charming elderly couple from a Class 7 (H) was picking up the slack; in under an hour, they could see the shore.


    ¡°Just a little further, and be mindful of the ground; it¡¯s soft and waterlogged; the last thing we need is someone falling into quicksand,¡± explained Madeline.


    These last few words pushed the group on, and they were finally out of the water. Some shook the water from their bodies, rolled in the dirt; Madeline wrung her hair and clothes while the rest shivered.


    They were not going anywhere for a while, and they all needed to be warmed through before night fell. Without missing a beat, Madeline immediately started to gather firewood. She needed to trek some distance to find anything dry and suitable kindling, but finally, she brought back a large haul of wood.


    Her ragtag band of survivors had clustered around a bare patch in the canopy, letting the sunlight dry their skin and warm their backs. Madeline knew they needed to be careful; few species had any natural protection from ultraviolet rays.


    Utilising the skills she had picked up throughout the years, Madeline lit the fire in a shaded spot where the world''s sun could not reach.


    However, Madeline did not rest on her laurels, borrowing one of the survivors¡¯ scanners and meticulously analysing the surrounding vegetation and fungi for anything even remotely edible.


    She was exhausted, running, swimming, saving, more swimming, hauling, and finally foraging. The worst part was it was not over yet; four members of her little group were carnivorous.


    Rubbing her tired eyes, Madeline looked at the water. There were fish in there and hopefully would find nothing to fear in a fishing line or spear. Now all she had to do was make a fishing line or spear.


    ¡°How hard can it be?¡± Madeline asked herself.

 Chapter 4

    Very as it turned out.


    The fish, having evolved on S-41234 (DW-4), where death lurked around every corner, were skittish, and Madeline could not get within twenty metres of them, let alone spearing distance.


    Which, in a way, was a good thing, as her spear was, in a word, terrible and probably would not have worked anyway.


    ¡°We¡¯re gonna have to rethink this,¡± said a large millipede, horse alien, whose name she could not pronounce; even the shortened, multilingual one most aliens called them was beyond Madeline¡¯s speech.


    The herbivorous aliens, for their part, just stood in amazement as these supposed natural-born killers floundered around; some were even in ethical debates over where they could kill anything at all.


    ¡°What in the twenty spheres are you all talking about? You¡¯re predators,¡± one scally amphibian asked, her disbelief easily crossing species barriers.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never killed anything in my life; I don¡¯t even swat the insects that invade my home¡±, the millipede horse explained.


    No herbivore responded, the cognitive dissonance having left them all dumbfounded.


    ¡°My race stopped killing animals for food when cloned meat became reliable; heck, the humans were cutting down on meat consumption even before that¡±, the unpronounceable alien explained like they were talking to a larva.


    Madeline was a little surprised at this. Cross-species cultural knowledge was usually poor, outside of historians and xenopologists. Then again, everyone has their hobbies, and learning about other societies was a damn good one in Madeline¡¯s book.


    ¡°Now, if you¡¯ll excuse us, we¡¯re trying to figure this out¡±, the millipede stated and turned their back on the group.


    ¡°You¡¯re feisty,¡± said Madeline with a smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m hungry; I get irritable when I¡¯m hungry¡±, they replied.


    ¡°We all do¡±, stated Madeline.


    After a few minutes of discussion, they were getting nowhere until Madeline had an idea.


    ¡°Look, there is no way any of us are learning to fish before we starve, right¡± stated Madeline.


    ¡°Right¡±, the other carnivores agreed, though they were not thrilled about the prospect.


    ¡°So we need to rethink the menu; we need to focus on much slower foodstuffs¡±, explained Madeline.


    ¡°You mean gastropods, molluscs and the like,¡± the horse millipede said.


    Madeline nodded.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what that gesture means¡±, they stated.


    ¡°Sorry, nodding the head means yes¡±, clarified Madeline.


    ¡°Wait¡±, a glossy, wingless bat-like survivor said. ¡°Filter feeders can be dangerous on my planet, and I live on a Class 5 (H); what will this world be like?¡±


    ¡°Red tide poisoning¡±, Madeline mumbled knowingly. ¡°Sadly, we have little choice. This is survival. Besides, this is a freshwater swamp with no industry; the risks are minimal,¡± she added.


    ¡°How do we cook them anyway?¡± asked the millipede horse.


    Madeline remembered her scouting days; they had done many coastal and marshland survival courses. Though cooking courses would be better, considering they did not actually catch the food themselves.


    ¡°I think we either boil them alive or roast them on a hot stone¡±, answered Madeline.


    The protest was immediate and vigorous. Madeline utterly agreed; cooking something alive was just as barbaric as eating it alive.


    ¡°We have no fecking choice,¡± stated Madeline forcefully, rubbing her eyes.


    Everyone was startled by this tone. Even the herbivores who were making it their mission to ignore as much of the conversation as possible looked on with concern.


    ¡°Are you ok?¡± the elderly woman, who had helped the others with their swim to shore, asked.


    Her name was Jodhr, which roughly translated to; one who glides through the meadows. Her culture used actual words for names rather than abstract ones like most humans.


    She was roughly the size and dimensions of a rhino, though she had no horn on her nose but rather a tiny bump on the top of her skull. She had six weight-bearing legs and two additional limbs positioned at the base of her neck. They were thin, and equipped with ten cartilaginous fingers, used to manipulate objects.


    ¡°Just a little stressed,¡± replied Madeline regaining her composure. ¡°Now everyone who eats meat, start scouring the water¡¯s edge of molluscs, crustaceans and the like¡­¡± she added before trailing off, her eyes fixed squarely on the water.


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    ¡°Is something the matter?¡± asked the horse millipede.


    ¡°There, on the water,¡± said Madeline, pointing at what looked like a log slowly drifting towards them.


    Everyone else struggled immensely, trying their best to focus on whatever Madeline was pointing at.


    At most, the eagle-eyed amongst them could make a darker blob on the water, but nothing definitive.


    ¡°I see something,¡± Jodhr said, squinting, ¡°though my eyes are not what they once were.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t see anything at all,¡± another said, trying desperately to see what was so damn engrossing.


    Suddenly struck with an idea, Madeline picked up one of the branches that had been used as a flotation device and began to beat the water rhythmically.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± someone asked; though Madeline was unsure who, her attention was almost entirely on the log.


    ¡°Testing¡±, she replied after a few moments.


    ¡°Testing what?¡± asked the millipede horse.


    ¡°Quiet!¡± ordered Madeline as she kept slapping the water.


    Everyone fell deathly silent, and Madeline kept up her repetitive task as the lichen-encrusted log drew ever closer.


    Raising her stick as high as she could, Madeline brought the branch down as hard as she could.


    Then dozens of razor-sharp teeth exploded from the water.


    Madeline leapt back as far as her legs and the local gravity would allow, keeping her stick between herself and whatever had decided to make a meal out of her.


    Cries of terror erupted from everyone present, although they were more like alarm calls to Madeline''s ears.


    Madeline¡¯s would-be ambusher hauled its way onto land after her, using six muscular and dexterous fins.


    It was massive, at least nine metres from nose to tail; its bones were thick and heavyset, and its face was like a monkfish, jaw facing upwards, with two bulging eyes positioned on the top of its skull.


    Like most river-dwelling life, its body was shallow and wide with a long, powerful tail and a delicate fluke, similar to a newt. Its skin was moist but tough, with many filaments and fleshy growths, allowing it to blend into its surroundings.


    Like a killer whale beaching for a seal, the massive fish continued to follow Madeline up the shore. Until only the very tip of its tail remained. Sensing that it was too far to continue the chase, it took one last bite at Madeline, grabbing hold of the branch and shaking violently, trying to kill her in the process.


    Despite its enormous size, Madeline found it surprisingly easy to hold on. However, it was all relative; if Madeline lost her balance, or the fish thing got some decent leverage, it would easily fling her into the water. The ambusher finally gave up and dragged itself back into the water.


    Never once taking her eyes off the predator, she panted heavily as the adrenaline wore off.


    Madeline knew what it was, even if she was unaware of the exact species. It was a krousticl, a very successful family of animals, still on the rise; scientific surveys had discovered over fifty genera and counting. They lived everywhere, from the coast to small river estuaries; some were even well established on land, only returning to the water to breed.


    ¡°How the hell could you see that?¡± someone asked.


    ¡°With difficulty¡±, responded Madeline.


    ¡°Are you gonna kill that thing?¡± asked another.


    ¡°How?¡± Madeline asked incredulously. ¡°It¡¯s nearly half a ton of solid bone and muscle, and all I have is this cheap knife¡±, she added, holding up the mediocre survival tool from her lifepod.


    ¡°You¡¯re a Deathworlder¡±, a small shrew-like alien mumbled, unwilling to meet Madeline¡¯s gaze.


    Madeline had to blink. Did these people really believe she was invincible, that she could take a tank shell to the face or something?


    Rather than bring this up, Madeline merely pointed out, ¡°It is too much hassle for too little reward.¡±


    The krousticl had taken to casually swimming back and forth along the water¡¯s edge, keeping an eye on all assembled. Unfortunately, its presence changed very little; they still needed animal protein.


    Keeping constant watch, Madeline carefully searched the water for anything edible. However, she was doing it alone, being the only one with the courage or perhaps the stupidity to enter the water.


    More than once, she was forced to drop everything and make a mad dash for the shore as the krousticl tried its luck again. Luckily the endurance and keen eyesight evolution had gifted her was doing its trick, and it never got within twenty meters of her.


    After an hour, Madeline had collected a small assortment of bivalves and what looked like limpets, if limpets had a rather decorative rainbow pattern on their shells. Maybe they did; Madeline had no idea.


    ¡°What next?¡± a survivor asked.


    ¡°Next, we poke them with the scanner, make certain that they are edible¡±, the horse millipede explained.


    Many winced at the idea, and Madeline steeled herself to do the heavy lifting again. The horse millipede, however, stepped up to the plate and did it for her. It would seem someone felt guilty about letting Madeline do all the work, or maybe they felt pathetic; the xeno¡¯s face was unreadable.


    After a few minutes, it was discovered that the limpet analogues were edible by all carnivores present. The millipede horse could eat a small species of snail-like animal in addition to the limpets. Madeline could eat them all; no real surprises there.


    Taking a few flat stones Madeline had collected, she threw them into the fire, and they quickly began to heat.


    ¡°Ok, anyone who does not consume meat for a living will probably want to examine those trees for a few minutes,¡± Madeline pointed at a nearby copse.


    Dutifully the vegetarians left for some botanical research while Madeline prepared the meal. With nothing left to do, she dampened the stone and placed the shellfish upon it.


    Nothing happened for the first five seconds; the animals retreated into their shells and went still, and everyone assumed that it must have been a quick death then.


    That was until the shell began to whistle; Madeline recognised it as the hiss that lobsters gave off when they were boiled.


    The carnivores looked horrified, covering their ears and begging them to stop.


    ¡°It¡¯s just air escaping¡±, Madeline stated forcefully; she had no idea if it was true, but by God, did she hope it was.


    Madeline relaxed again as the whistling died away; she was getting sick of this survival thing. She finally understood why her ancestors had turned to farming, it may not have been easy, but at least you did not have to worry about where your next meal was coming from.


    Madeline plucked one of the shellfish that only she could eat from the hot stone using her knife. The shell fell away, and the flesh was a pleasant pale colour.


    Seeing as Madeline was the heroic pathfinder, she took the first bite, trying her hardest to forget that it was once a living thing. The effect on Madeline was immediate and positive, it was remarkably bland, but compared to what she had eaten for the past two days, it was like a gourmet meal.


    ¡°Oh shit, I¡¯ve barely been here for two days,¡± thought Madeline, chewing her food, her expression changing to one of cosmic contemplation.


    ¡°I do hope rescue comes soon¡±, she mumbled to herself, swallowing her meal.

 Chapter 5

    Habia drummed her desk; she had always been an ambitious woman; even when she was a little girl, she had had dreams of making something of herself. Right now, however, she wished she had stayed back on her family¡¯s farm.


    Kenya may not have been inspiring, at least from her point of view, but at least crops never deliberately got in her way over the most straightforward task.


    Resting her head in her hands, Habia was nearly startled from her chair when her P.D.A. rang. It was an exquisite thing, deliberately made glamorous to impress other ambassadors and dignitaries, a classic powerplay, almost as old a civilisation itself.


    ¡°Madam Ambassador, Ambassadors Zumilu, Stod, and Feril will see you now¡±, a deep voice called from the other end. It was such a brief call there was no need for video chat.


    ¡°Thank you, Bidzii; tell them I will be right down¡±, Habia replied.


    She quickly approached her body mirror and straightened herself out, she doubted the alien could tell the difference, but it was always better to err on the side of caution.


    That was about as good as she could do on such short notice, running her fingers through her hair and removing any large knots.


    Pulling herself away, she grabbed her jacket and left her office.


    Her office was located on the Drentonita space station. Drentonita was a word that meant unity in the dominant language of the Yoil, a mammalian race that had a long history in galactic politics.


    Space stations were often used as political spots, as space was considered neutral territory as long as it was at least 250,000km from a planet, even if you were in someone else''s star system.


    Habia had been assigned here two years ago to improve relations with the Yoil, arrange a trade agreement, and forge ties with the other ambassadors. Typical political motives.


    Then that cruise ship had gone down in a pirate attack, Habia knew the old spacer legends about Deathworlds, and she was astounded that any crew, other than those who come exclusively from Deathworlds, would even attempt it.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± thought Habia. All that did was that a human had been on the pleasure cruise and needed rescuing or their remains returned to Earth.


    The gravity onboard Drentonita was low, at least for Habia, and she practically flew through the facility. As she passed a fetching bronze tableau depicting the Yoil¡¯s first space expedition, she noticed that a group of dignitaries blocked her passage.


    Habia could have asked them to move, but she noticed that the ceiling was high, and she was feeling adventurous and cheeky. She took a few steps back and gracefully leapt over their heads, it may seem childish or undignified, but Habia had learnt that the awe it instilled in everyone was worth the breach in etiquette.


    Habia reached her destination at a small conference room, her request at the moment was small, even if it was urgent, and the pomp of ceremony would just slow everything down. The elegant wooden door opened automatically, and she entered.


    Sitting at a small table were the three ambassadors; the Yoil were a vaguely ursine race, standing on their hind legs, and despite the low gravity of their world, they were little larger than Habia, at just under two metres tall.


    Their faces had three eyes, a standard for all life with internal skeletons from their homeworld, just like two eyes were for most things on Earth. Habia had long lost any sense of discomfort from looking at them and now found their long faces and hairy faces to be quite charming.


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    A small selection of food and drink was situated on the table, and Habia wasted no time sitting down and helping herself to a cup of Ririn. A mildly alcoholic beverage to the Yoil, and fruit juice to Habia.


    ¡°Ambassadors, thank you for this meeting,¡± Habia said, putting her cup down. ¡°However, given the seriousness of the situation, I feel it is necessary to skip the formalities and get right down to business,¡± she added.


    The Yoil, or the ones she had met, were creatures of habit, and Habia knew this was asking more from them than it would be from a human, but they were ambassadors like her and had been through similar scenarios before.


    ¡°We are more than happy to speed up our meeting,¡± Ambassador Stod said. He was the most senior of the Ambassadors, having practised his craft for over two hundred years, and despite a few quirks, Habia respected him.


    ¡°Thank you. However, I must confess I fail to see the problem here; all our government requests is that you allow a rescue vessel to pass through your system once. They will not even make a return journey,¡± explained Habia, commencing the aggressive negotiations.


    ¡°Our concern Ambassador Habia is that the vessel is armed and carrying a complement of marines¡±, Ambassador Zumilu explained.


    ¡°You read the reports from the Dret travel company; pirates attacked the vessel; we can leave nothing to chance¡±, Habia replied calmly.


    ¡°We understand that, but you must understand that sending any military vessel through someone else''s territory without a military access agreement is just unacceptable; if we let you do it, it sets a precedent¡±, explained Ambassador Stod.


    ¡°That precedent is that the Yoil are eager to help any lost souls in the galaxy. It is not a military vessel; it is simply armed and has military personnel onboard; it is not designed for sustained combat with a military ship¡±, retorted Habia.


    Habia was rather frustrated with space travel. One would think all you needed to do what point your ship at a star and hit go. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Firstly, FTL flight was highly inefficient, meaning you could only travel about twenty to thirty light years before needing to refuel.


    Now thirty light-years was not insignificant, but it meant frequent stops, and while you were in a system, no ship could not travel faster than light. The gravity of the star, sometimes stars, and planets, threw off the computer''s calculations, and the engines were highly susceptible to gravitational waves.


    Secondly, while travelling at ten thousand times light speed, there was no time to correct for errors or avoid hazards. This meant that everything needed to be perfect before you set off, and that led to the use of pre-arranged, concrete entrance and exit points.


    So even though there were technically infinite ways to enter a solar system, everyone, even an attacking force, always used the known route; it simply was not worth risking billions of credits worth of equipment on that gamble. Not to mention irreplaceable lives.


    These factors meant that The Francesca needed to system hop to get to S-41234 and then travel at sub-light speeds to reach DW-4. All this told that assuming nothing went wrong, it would take seven weeks to get there, and they could not afford to waste time in bureaucratic limbo.


    ¡°We do not see the need for a rescue vessel; they crashed on a Deathworld, and they will not be alive when you get there¡±, stated Ambassador Feril.


    Habia started to rap her fingers on the table, staring blankly at Ambassador Feril. Ambassador Stod also looked at Feril, and it seemed to Habia that he would have smacked him upside the head if he had not been in company.


    Feril glanced back between the two until it finally clicked, and he looked at the floor, embarrassed.


    ¡°Need I remind you that a family of your people was on that vessel, a Ulik family, three adults and a child? I cannot even begin to fathom how you can simply leave them behind¡±, stated Habia.


    ¡°Our hearts go out to them, but we cannot risk other Yoil lives to recover them; even if they survived the crash, they would be dead from poison food, predators, the elements or a thousand other hazards ¡±, replied Ambassador Zumilu.


    Detecting a chink, Habia struck, ¡°But no Yoil lives will be risked; the rescue vessel contains only humans, and returning to the notion of precedent. You can claim that it was an emergency rescue vessel, organised at lighting speed with would-be allies.¡±


    The Ambassadors glanced at one another; Habia knew what they were thinking; it would be good publicity. However, Yoil psychology was slightly different from humans, placing more eminence on results instead of effort.


    ¡°There is also the fact Madeline Bahn was on that ship; if she survived, she will be looking after them, meaning their chances of survival are much higher than you assume¡±, explained Habia.


    The Yoil did not have the same facial expressions as humans, but Habia had done extensive research, and she saw the signs, the twitching forehead, the pattern of blinks; they were seriously considering it.


    Habia smiled; it seemed she would not need five hours after all.

 Chapter 6

    Madeline had not had a pleasant night''s sleep, mainly consisting of tossing and turning. Nonetheless, she had managed a few hours, which counted for something.


    She had also had the foresight to inform everyone about her deep sleeping habits, and no one had bothered her while she slumbered. They had apparently grown worried enough that they had genuinely considered waking her.


    ¡°Does not matter,¡± thought Madeline. Soon they would be at the rendezvous point by the lake, and Diduk could take some of the responsibility off her shoulders.


    Honestly, it was like looking after a group of giant toddlers. Don¡¯t touch that! Don¡¯t rub that on your skin! You have no idea what did their business in that puddle.


    How could anyone be so paranoid over every shadow and distance sound but so carefree about anything you stuck in your body?


    ¡°Paradiseworlders, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever understand them¡±, Madeline mumbled.


    ¡°Roger, how much farther to the lake?¡± asked Madeline.


    The P.D.A. lit up, and Roger replied, ¡°Doctor Diduk¡¯s P.D.A. is approximately 750 metres away.¡±


    Madeline breathed a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Are you ok, dear?¡± asked Jodhr, sliding up to Madeline.


    Madeline''s head swung around so quickly that Jodhr recoiled in surprise. At first, Madeline was annoyed at Jodhr''s response; she had reacted as though Madeline had tried to punch her.


    ¡°It¡¯s not her fault; she is asking how I am after all¡±, thought Madeline


    ¡°I¡¯m a little stressed¡±, explained Madeline.


    Jodhr looked towards the ground, ¡°I¡¯m sorry we¡¯re not much help.¡±


    ¡°You and your husband helped keep everyone above water during our swim, so don¡¯t sell yourselves short¡±, stated Madeline, her voice carrying an authority that said this was a fact, not opinion.


    ¡°Thank you; still, I do feel useless most of the time¡±, explained Jodhr. ¡°Like when that thing attacked, I just stood there frozen; if you had not noticed that monster, it would have dragged one of us off¡±, she added.


    ¡°I don¡¯t blame you; it would be a fearsome creature on Earth as well, maybe not crocodile level, but still something fierce¡±, replied Madeline.


    Jodhr had no clue what a crocodile was, though she assumed it was an amphibious predator given the context.


    ¡°Besides, I hope I¡¯m as active as you when I¡¯m an old lady, swimming through a hostile swamp at your age,¡± said Madeline with a smile.


    Jodhr made a hooting noise emanating from her nasal cavity. For her species, that was the equivalent of an indignant huff.


    ¡°I¡¯m only two hundred and fifty years old, Madeline; I¡¯m hardly old¡±, stated Jodhr, looking away.


    Initially, Madeline was shocked, but her school days returned to her; most Xenos lived longer lives than humans. The Paradiseworlders, at least.


    Compared to Deathworlders, Habitableworlders naturally came up short; the same conditions of a Deathworld bred tougher, stronger and faster species.


    But this life on the edge meant that you needed to live fast and die young, at least by galactic standards.


    Madeline thought back to the explanation her teacher had given her. Almost all habitable worlds were not stand-alone planets but rather the moons of Gas giants. Protected by their magnetic field and the field of their parent, very little ionising radiation reached the surface.


    This, added to the limited predators, nonexistent cancer rates, low gravity, non-toxic flora and fauna, and lack of significant natural disasters, meant there was little need to repair the damage inflicted by the environment.


    Which, in turn, lead to a fundamental shift in survival strategy. That strategy was simple, live as long as possible to have as many children as possible.


    Before modern medicine, most species could expect to live to one hundred and fifty; the Tom¡¯jik had a natural life expectancy of two hundred and fifty. Add modern medicine, surgery and genetic engineering to the mix, and it almost tripled.


    So while Madeline would have one foot in the grave by one hundred and ninety years, if not already there. Jodhr was most likely middle-aged.


    ¡°Madeline, are you ok,¡± asked Jodhr. Madeline snapped back to her surroundings and looked at Jodhr.


    ¡°Yes, just lost in thought¡±, replied Madeline.


    ¡°You do that quite a bit, does thinking about things help you deal with your situation?¡± asked Jodhr.


    ¡°More like it distracts me, gives me a break¡±, answered Madeline. ¡°Look out! Loose root,¡± said Madeline, pointing at the ground.


    Avoiding a nasty tumble, Jodhr thanked her and checked her immediate surroundings. Once she was confident that she would not fall again, Jodhr asked, ¡°Is that a normal human coping mechanism?¡±


    Madeline shrugged, ¡°no idea, never asked anyone. Why?¡±


    ¡°Well, usually, that kind of avoidance is considered bad and can lead to extreme stress in most species¡±, explained Jodhr.


    Madeline smiled, ¡°You¡¯re a therapist, aren¡¯t you.¡±


    ¡°Guilty,¡± said Jodhr, waving one of her hands as she did so.


    ¡°You and Diduk are going to have your work cut out for you,¡± said Madeline.


    Jodhr paused as though she had just hit a wall. ¡°By the stars, you¡¯re right. I can give everyone counselling,¡± she said; her tone spoke of deep shame.


    ¡°You ok?¡± asked Madeline, putting a hand on her enormous shoulder.


    Jodhr¡¯s thin manipulating hands rubbed her face, and she said, ¡°I just complained about not being any help when I had a way to do so; I just did not notice it until it was thrown in my face.¡±


    ¡°It''s fine, nothing you can do about the past, now you do know, you can change it¡±, stated Madeline, trying to cheer the big woman up.


    ¡°Are you doing alright, Jewel?¡± asked Brox, Jodhr''s husband, who looked almost identical, except for his antlers, a rather impressive structure that reached nearly two metres into the air.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Pearl; I just had a conversation with Madeline and learnt what I can do to help¡±, explained Jodhr.


    While Jodhr explained it to her husband, Madeline could not help but think how strange it was to refer to your spouse as gemstones. Then she reminded herself that they were aliens and Human terms of affection would sound just as weird.


    Roger pinged and informed Madeline that they were almost there. Looking around, she could tell that the trees were thinning, which was strange, was there an animal that was thinning them out, like an alien beaver?


    Then through the trunks, she saw the other group of survivors, with Dr Diduk staring in her direction, Tazil, Tarin and Tarit standing dutifully at his side. She could also make out that Diduk was holding his PDA; it must have alerted him to Madeline''s arrival.


    Madeline smiled; now she could have forty winks, and once she was rested, they could focus not just on surviving this mudball but living on it.


    ***


    Yulik scratched his scaled chin; he knew he should sleep, but he needed to think. Despite his little speech and display three days ago, Yulik was aware of the monumental task ahead.


    There was no way they could take on a platoon of heavily armed human marines and not get cut to ribbons. That left only two options hostages or ambush.


    Typically hostages were the best choice; most species would gladly let a few penniless pirates escape if it meant saving one of their citizens. While humans were not soulless, they were sending a squad of marines to save one pleb; after all, Yulik wondered if they would be willing to negotiate.


    He had read and heard many stories of their refusal to deal with criminals, at least external ones. Most of that was likely exaggeration, but it was always best to be cautious with people with enough firepower to level a city block.


    Ambush was undoubtedly more likely to succeed than a firefight, but these were no idiots fresh from basic. Rescue ops were always performed by four years vets minimum¡ªanother odd human custom.


    There was, of course, the third option, but he would not countenance it. To accept it would accept he was not fit to lead, and Yulik was by far the most qualified here.


    ¡°Perhaps a break would help¡±, Yulik thought as he gazed up at the night sky. It was breathtaking, with zero light pollution, except for the fires they had started. Yulik could see the Milkyway in all its glory.


    The colours, the shapes, it was astounding; all this time, this had been swirling above his head, and he had never noticed. It was humbling in a way but also inspiring to have sailed through that creamy light for over ten years.


    Well, a small part of it, at least, for all the talk of the galactic community, The Association of Allied Planets comprised little over five hundred light-years in diameter. Huge, no doubt, but an insignificant chunk of the Milkyway overall.


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    Yulik blinked his nictitating membranes twice. He was not a soldier; he would have joined the military if he wanted to be a soldier. No, Yulik liked the idea of robbing a load of rich core world idiots and then flying to some isolated outpost to live like a king for the rest of his days, like every pirate.


    Not that it did much good to complain now, Yulik had taken charge, he was Captain, and though he was no hero, Yulik liked to think he valued the lives of his crew. He needed to; if they thought he was weak or leading them to ruin, Yulik would either have to abdicate or hang from the nearest tree.


    First thing first, they need to find the survivors; he already had a few techs working on it, trying to locate the signal of the survivors. He was difficult, they had very little equipment, but they had assured Yulik that they could do it.


    Once they had them, they could set up the ambush in a favourable location. One of Yulik¡¯s crew suggested they dump the survivors far away from the landing site and take the ship once the rescue party was out.


    It was not a bad plan, and in most cases, it would be the right call, but once more, everyone seemed to be forgetting who would be flying the damn thing. The humans would not be stupid enough to leave their only means of transportation alone.


    That was all in the future; for now, he needed to keep his people alive; two of them had already gotten sick, nothing major, a slight upper respiratory tract infection. Still, it was only a matter of time before someone caught something far more deadly.


    ***


    Madeline sat beneath a tree and watched everyone busy about inside the little camp they had made for themselves. All in all, they were doing rather well once they had rationally thought about what they could contribute. Some gathered firewood, others foraged for food or fashioned simple wooden tools.


    ¡°Ready to talk again?¡± asked Diduk, who was sitting underneath the same tree as her.


    ¡°Yeah¡±, replied Madeline.


    ¡°Good, now you were talking about the pirates that attacked us¡±, stated Diduk.


    ¡°Mmhmm¡±, grunted Madeline, confirming his statement.


    ¡°What has you worried exactly?¡± asked Diduk.


    Madeline readjusted her position and replied, ¡°that some of them survived the planetfall and that they are looking for us.¡±


    ¡°They have to find us and survive the planet before they can do anything, and do I need to mention how difficult it was for us to move through the world?¡± countered Diduk.


    Madeline nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Even if they do find us, we have a few marines armed with carbines to protect us¡±, added Diduk, gesturing to one of the ship''s guardians that had survived the descent. The very same one that Madeline had to save from drowning in the swamp.


    Madeline hummed.


    ¡°You disagree?¡± asked Diduk, edging closer to Madeline.


    ¡°Pirates are resourceful; by their very nature, they would not be pirates otherwise¡±, explained Madeline.


    Now it was Diduk¡¯s turn to nod in agreement, though he took less enjoyment out of it.


    ¡°Secondly, while I have nothing against them, marine is a slight exaggeration. I was talking to Hyt there,¡± she gestured to the same marine she had looked at before.


    Hyt was a crustacean-like alien, though she had no claws, too short to be a lobster and too long to be a crab. She was also squat, barely standing a meter off the ground, though her segmented legs were thick and robust, meaning she was one of the few who had much trouble traversing the planet and its high gravity.


    ¡°Anyway, she mentioned her training consisted of little more than six weeks of hitting stationary holographic targets, ones that did not bite back, I might add,¡± said Madeline.


    Diduk found himself thinking that was rather paltry. ¡°Better than nothing,¡± said Diduk.


    Madeline shrugged, wiped a small amount of bark from her shoulder and replied, ¡°suppose you¡¯re right, the whole part about guns really, don¡¯t need to be an expert; it makes killing easy.¡±


    Diduk squirmed a little, he knew it was true, but it was not a comfortable thought.


    ¡°How are the M¡¯ar?¡± asked Madeline, referring to a theropod-like species Diduk had saved before meeting up with Madeline.


    ¡°They¡¯ll live; the bacterial infection was relatively minor, and the antibiotics should finish the job in the next couple of days¡±, explained Diduk.


    ¡°Four days in, and we almost had our first epidemic¡±, sighed Madeline.


    ¡°At least we don¡¯t have to worry about viruses¡±, offered Diduk in an attempt to put a positive spin on it.


    Madeline nodded; Diduk had explained that the vast majority of viruses were very particular; each species targeted only one other species, or at most, a group of its close relatives. So even though the Habitableworlder''s immune systems were relatively ineffective, every single viral agent on the planet should completely ignore them.


    ¡°Turning back to the topic of Pirates, we could put up some defences¡±, suggested Diduk.


    It was not a bad idea if nothing else; it would keep everyone busy for a few days, though Madeline very much doubted that a branch wall would keep determined raiders at bay.


    ¡°I¡¯ll discuss it with everyone, see what they think¡±, stated Madeline, even though most of the survivors had begun to look to Madeline for guidance, almost on an instinctual level. She was determined that everyone should have a say in what happened. That way, if shit hit the fan, it would not be entirely her fault.


    Diduk¡¯s P.D.A beeped, he said, ¡°Sorry, Madeline, the M¡¯ar need their checkup; we¡¯ll continue this session tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Not a problem; they need you more than me¡±, she explained.


    ***


    Madeline lay on her bed of leaves, moss and lichen. It was surprisingly comfortable, if a little damp. It was probably wise to keep someone on watch, but other than Madeline, no one else could stay away from their meditation during the night.


    There had been no reason for them to evolve the ability to break their sleep cycle rapidly. While Madeline could wake them up, it could be very damaging to them, especially if it was done regularly.


    Madeline¡¯s only comfort was that the pirates, assuming they were out there, would have the same limitation.


    She tried to sleep and was somewhat successful until her body rapidly began to shake. Her first thought was that someone got panicky again and thought Madeline was dying until her brain registered that the shaking was coming from the ground itself.


    ¡°Earthquake¡± Madeline yelled.


    Disturbed from their sleep and not knowing what the hell was going on, the shaking was accompanied by screams, bleating, honks, hissing, and just about every alarm call Madeline had heard in her life.


    "NO ONE STAND UP! STAY AS CLOSE TO THE GROUND AS POSSIBLE!" Madeline screamed at the top of her voice. Usually, the intelligent thing to do was move to an open area, but the gravity was so high here that a fall could break the bones of anyone who was not Madeline.


    She carefully watched the trees as they rocked back and forth. A few branches fell to the ground, and she heard someone scream in agony.


    "SHIT," thought Madeline.


    Animals began to holler in the distance, and the movement began to slow.


    "It''s dying down. Everyone check yourselves for injuries! Diduk find whoever got hit by that branch!" Madeline commanded.


    Diduk scrambled to his feet, heading straight for the only person still screaming.


    "What the hell was that?" someone shouted.


    "It was an earthquake, scary but nowhere near as bad as it could have been", Madeline replied, carefully scanning the trees in case any were about to topple.


    "Just our luck, not only do we crash land on this hell world, but we get hit by the quake of the century", someone else grunted; Madeline hoped it was a grunt of frustration and not pain.


    "Actually, Deathworlds are famous for their tectonic instability; this was most likely a small to medium-strength earthquake", Tazil explained, eager to show off his knowledge, despite the danger.


    "You mean there could be even stronger ones coming?" someone asked.


    "We haven''t gotten through this one yet; aftershocks often follow earthquakes; that is when the real damage is done", Tazil stated.


    "Oh fucking fantastic", someone cursed.


    "We should probably move to an open area; that way, there will be less risk of falling debris, right Madeline?" asked Tazil.


    He received no answer.


    "Madeline?" asked Tazil, turning to look at the human.


    Madeline was not paying attention; her eyes were focused solely on the lake.


    "Madeline, what''s wrong?" asked Tarin approaching her from behind; again, she did not respond; she just kept staring at the lake.


    Tazil tried to follow her eyes; he could not see very well in the low light; thankfully, the moon reflected off the lake''s surface. All he could make out was a near-perfect reflection; nothing was moving, and nothing was there.


    As Tazil moved closer to Madeline, he realised she was not breathing. A glance showed him that she was holding her breath.


    "Madeline, Madeline, breathe!" Tazil commanded, shaking the woman back and forth. Which was difficult; it was as if she was made of rock.


    With Tazil''s shaking bringing her back to the world, Madeline looked around; "please tell me I just imagined that", she said.


    "Imagine what?" asked Tarit.


    "The bubbles on the lake", Madeline replied, pointing at the water.


    Once more, Tazil and a dozen others stared at the water, looking for any movement their eyes could detect. There was nothing.


    "Are you sure you did not imagine it?" asked Tarin, her voice attempting to be as soothing as possible.


    At that moment, the aftershocks hit, and the ground rumbled again, it was not as severe as the last one, but just as Tazil predicted, it caused far more damage; anything that a simply clinging on by the thinnest of roots was shaken free. And several trees came crashing to the ground.


    Madeline paid no attention to any of this; her eyes were fixed squarely on the lake. She prayed and begged that nothing would happen.


    Her prayers were not answered, and another group of bubbles erupted from the water.


    "We are leaving now!" Madeline shouted the terror in her voice, quickly crossing the species barrier.


    Diduk stood up; there was little he could do for the injured man; without the right equipment, he would not be able to set the bone; he would almost certainly lose it once they were off-world and would need a prosthetic.


    "We''re not going anywhere, Madeline; he needs rest, not a foot march", stated Diduk bluntly.


    Madeline got so close to Diduk that there was only a hair''s breadth away. She looked directly into his eyes with an intensity that made Diduk want to curl into a ball.


    "Mazuku," Madeline said and then turned to Diduk''s patient. Madeline saw they we long, very serpentine, though they were equipped with a mechanical set on hands. This told Madeline that their race had been uplifted. They were also long and thick, at least four metres.


    Madeline could see the damaged pseudo limb that aided the alien in propulsion. It certainly looked painful, but she had no time for delicacy.


    Grabbing the man by his body, Madeline lifted him onto her shoulders.


    "What in the great sea''s name are you doing," the man asked, both startled at the ease with which Madeline had hauled him up and terrified that his struggling was only a mild inconvenience to her.


    The barely-legged snake man was not heavy, but he was awkward, and it took some time for Madeline to balance him on her shoulders.


    "Madeline, what the hell is a Mazuku?" asked Diduk, concerned by Madeline''s complete disregard for another sapient''s wishes.


    Tazil was just as concerned, though his was based on this dangerous thing he had never heard of.


    "It''s a Swahili word; it means evil wind", explained Madeline, heading away from the lake on what she assumed was uphill.


    "That does not help", explained Diduk, who found himself following her, despite his reservations.


    "They are carbon dioxide eruptions from lakes", added Madeline, stepping over a log, "We should grab some of the burning branches from the fire as we go", she said, recalling that most people had poorer eyesight than her. There could be many trips and falls if they were not careful.


    "How could that possibly happen," the horse millipede asked, having finally pushed himself to the front of the crowd that was also following Madeline into the forest. "We have food here, water, and shelter; we can''t risk all that just because you think another natural disaster is coming.


    "Mazukus are rare, even on Earth," said Madeline. "Most likely on your homeworlds, they are once-in-a-million-years affairs due to the lower gravity and air pressure", she added, shifting the man''s weight. Madeline was putting far too much pressure on her right shoulder.


    "If a lake is deep enough, carbon dioxide can become trapped in its bottom layer, slowly becoming more and more concentrated", Madeline explained. "Until a trigger causes all that stored carbon dioxide to bubble up to the surface, suffocating everything in its path."


    "Trigger such as volcanic eruptions, heavy rainfall¡­ earthquakes", she stated. "And unlike with almost all other disasters, there''s no warning; by the time you realise you are in danger, it is too late."


    "How do you know all this if they are so rare?" asked the horse millipede.


    "I paid attention to geography", replied Madeline.


    In actuality, she had not; it was just the fluke that she had lived in a small village by the shore of Lake Chiemsee. In a bungalow, no less, and the terror that the deadly cloud could emerge at any time and suffocate Madeline in her sleep had burned itself into her memory.


    Of course, roughly four years later, she learned that Lake Chiemsee was far too shallow ever to cause a mazuku, something her teacher could have mentioned at the time.


    "Now, you can all stay here and risk suffocation, but I am going", she stated and continued her trek into the woods.


    The Habitableworlders paused, unsure whether they should follow her into the gloom. That was until another aftershock hit, and they could hear the bubbles bursting on the lake''s surface. They let panic take over and followed.

 Chapter 7

    Yulik approached the lake, staring directly at the ground. As he did so, he kicked a medium-sized crab-like animal. It did not move; it was dead. Surrounding this creature were dozens, hundreds of others, all of them killed mere moments apart.


    There were no scavengers; nothing was gnawing on their corpses, which meant whatever had killed them was still there. Judging from the nearby lake, Yulik assumed it was a Kulumenta, a carbon dioxide eruption, which meant it must be one deep lake.


    Fortunately, the carbon dioxide was now limited to a thin blanket just a few centimetres deep.


    "You certain that they are around here?" asked Yulik.


    Yulik''s technical expert, a Surt woman, a race of carnivorous molluscforms, inspected the device she had cobbled together. Yulik could be very demanding, and she did not work well under stress.


    She wanted to retreat into her shell, but she doubted it would do much to protect her from the captain if he got angry.


    "Yes, I can detect someone''s P.D.A here", stated Surt, her voice gurgling slightly, a clear sign of nervousness amongst her people. Luckily to Yulik''s ear, it was indistinguishable from her normal voice.


    "Just the one," asked Yulik.


    "Yes", replied Surt.


    Click approached, carefully stepping over the animal''s corpses, "Captain Yulik, what happened here?" she asked.


    Yulik took the time to explain the natural disaster that had occurred here and that it meant that the human was alive and leading them.


    "How did you come to that conclusion? From one P.D.A. signal and a kulumenta," asked Click, not seeing a single connection.


    "If the eruption had killed the entire group, there would be dozens of P.D.A. signals, not just one, not to mention we would see at least one corpse. That means someone dropped theirs during the evacuation," explained Yulik.


    "The only one who could have possibly known about this natural disaster, other than an exogeologist, would be the human female. The balance of probability puts it in the latter camp; therefore, she is alive and leading them," stated Yulik, stepping over a fallen tree.


    He needed to find wherever the passengers camped; if he could do that, Yulik could pick up their trail and continue the hunt. In the rush to evacuate, they would have left a lot of evidence behind.


    Click excepted that this was a possibility, but it seemed to contain a few leaps in logic. It was also possible that one of the passengers knew what a kulumenta was; tornados were impossibly rare on her homeworld, but she still knew what they were.


    It was better to assume the human was alive, though, as there was less chance of being caught in an ambush or trap.


    Yulik led his crew around the lake''s edge; there was little chance of another limnic eruption, even so, he kept an eye on the water.


    There also seemed to be a lot of mud; he nearly became stuck in one patch. Scrapping away at the saturated soil with his feet, Yulik found many fern-like plants pressed hard against the ground.


    "The eruption must have created a large wave that covered everything," he said to himself. "If the lake had been bigger, it would have caused an inland tsunami," he thought.


    After several hours of searching, Surt said, "We''re right on top of it; everyone look!" Yulik ignored that she had technically just given an order; if he reprimanded her, it would make him seem petty and damage his already tenuous position.


    Everyone began sifting through the mud; they pulled up many pieces of wood that had been lashed together, proving that the passengers had been there.


    With so many bodies searching, it did not take long for them to find the errant P.D.A.; Yulik took it from the pirate who had located it. "Good work," he said, wiping away the grime.


    "With this, we''ll know exactly where and when the rescue party will arrive," said Yulik triumphantly.


    Faster-than-light communication was not as simple as travel. Radio waves and other communication methods could be sent FTL, but they deteriorated quickly.


    To compensate for this flaw, every occupied system had several communication stations that would launch a capsule containing all relevant data at another station, downloading the information and sending it to its intended source.


    The cruise liner would have done this. Hence the delay between the attack and anyone finding out about it. It had been seven days since then, and the response from the human government should be arriving soon.


    The survivors would not be able to respond to this message, which was good; it meant they could act with impunity, and the rescuers would be none the wiser.


    Yulik handed the P.D.A. to Surt and ordered, "keep an eye on that and inform me the moment we get the rescue message."


    Everyone else was ordered to look for signs of where the passengers had gone, broken branches. There would be precious few footprints, but if they were lucky, one of them would not have been smothered.


    It was Yulik''s sharp eyes that picked up the first clue. A bent twig sticking out of the mud; it did not seem like much, but considering that the survivors would have scared away most other large animals and the CO2 had killed after they left, Yulik was confident only they could have caused it.


    More investigation of the area located more signs, and Yulik smiled; he had their trail now; Yulik called his crew to him and said, "This way."


    ***


    Madeline rubbed her eyes and checked her P.D.A.; it had been about 30 hours since she last slept. She wondered what the record was with a giggle.


    Roger pinged, informing her that she needed sleep, and once again, she hit ignore. No one had died when the Mazuku hit, Madeline''s forewarning granting them the headstart they needed to escape.


    Though she had nearly come close, Hyt, much shorter than most present, was at an increased risk of suffocation, as CO2 was heavier than air and hung close to the ground. Madeline had just made it in time; she was bloody lucky that Diduk had noticed she was missing.


    Carbon dioxide was not toxic, even to habitableworlders which was a blessing; it meant that a few lungfuls of air had reversed most of the damage. Though Madeline had very nearly collapsed during her heroic rescue and suffocated with her.


    The sudden exodus had led to the inevitable consequences; everyone was sleep-deprived, and Madeline had been forced to do everything while they recovered. Finding food for over sixty people, maintaining the fires, administering antibiotics to the M¡¯ar, and treating the snake man''s broken leg.


    After all that, Madeline was running on fumes; she was groggy, irritable, prone to stumbling and nonsensical ramblings. They were all on the move again, but Madeline had refused to rest; the forest was too cramped, there was not enough food, and there was an increased risk of injury due to the exposed roots, broken branches, and sharp rocks.


    Despite her monumental workload, Madeline had still found the time to locate a suitable new place to camp; it was a river roughly one hundred miles away. The water would be clean, food should be abundant, and enough open space to limit trips and falls.


    As they rested in a small clearing Diduk approached her. Being an entirely different species from Madeline, it was not always apparent when she felt unwell. The groans of pain Madeline did when injured would mean happiness, fear and a dozen other emotions in as many species.


    Despite that barrier, Diduk knew at once that she was in a bad way. Dark circles surrounded her eyes; her skin was greasy, Madeline¡¯s hair was a mess, and she was emitting a different scent than what she usually let off.


    Diduk knew she needed rest; this would be his fifth attempt today to convince her, and it would be his last.


    ¡°Madeline, we need to talk,¡± said Diduk.


    She ignored him; instead, she was looking up at the canopy, ¡°clouds look dark, probably rain, need shelter¡±, she mumbled to herself.


    ¡°Madeline¡±, Diduk called, grabbing hold of her shoulder and turning her to face him. He tried to ignore that it took two hands to do it.


    ¡°What?¡± demanded Madeline, her tone sharp and disinterested.


    ¡°Madeline, you need to sleep¡±, stated Diduk.


    ¡°I can¡¯t sleep, it talks of rain, and if you are left out in it, you¡¯ll go hypothermic and die, so I need to build some shelters,¡± retorted Madeline, jabbing his chest with her finger.


    Diduk believed that another human would have barely felt anything from that poke; his chest, however, stung in pain from the blow, and he suspected he would get a faint bruise there.


    ¡°We can handle that; you need sleep,¡± replied Diduk.


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    Madeline chuckled though there was no joy in it, ¡°handle it, he says, just like you handled it at the lake; if you had been making the decisions, you would have all choked to death.¡± Her face then contorted into a mirthless grin, and she turned her back on him, returning to her planning.


    Diduk stepped in front of her, and he could tell that his determination to continue the conversation was not easing her mood.


    ¡°I admit that my knowledge of geography is lacking, but my medical knowledge is not, and I know for a fact that going this long without sleep, even for a human, is incredibly damaging for your health,¡± stated Diduk.


    Madeline snickered, ¡°even for a human, as though we¡¯re some sort of super race.¡±


    Diduk was about to reply with galactic averages, but Madeline cut him off, ¡°do you know what I do? Do you know what the mighty Deathworlder does for a living?¡±


    Diduk did not answer; her profession had never come up during her medical.


    ¡°I¡¯m a waitress, I move plates of food from the kitchen to the table, and I do that for six hours every day, Monday to Thursday,¡± she explained with a snide smile.


    ¡°And in spite of that, in spite of the fact that I have never done a single second of true raw survival until I came here, I am still infinitely better at it than you,¡± said Madeline, raising her voice to such a level that it became difficult to ignore the conversation.


    She pushed Diduk away, and he needed to stabilise himself on a tree to stop himself from hitting the ground.


    ¡°So when I say that none of you would last an hour without me being awake, you just shut the fuck up and do what I say¡±, stated Madeline, with barely contained venom.


    Diduk was seriously concerned that Madeline would hurt him or rather make a deliberate attempt to harm him. He rubbed his shoulder; Madeline''s shove had nearly torn the muscle.


    Whatever extreme emotional state she was in, Madeline still had enough self-control to turn around and get straight back to work, ¡°I also need to make a stronger rope for snake boy¡¯s stretcher,¡± Madeline mumbled to herself.


    ¡°What I wouldn¡¯t give for another deathworlder,¡± thought Madeline. Suddenly she felt something touch the back of her neck.


    Madeline knew what it was; she had felt it dozens of times, getting vaccinations, genetic enhancements and the like.


    She turned to see Diduk, his eyes staring with an intensity that she did not think the lizardman was capable of. In his hand was the medical applicator. Unlike in the old days when a single needle was used to inject things into someone, this used a pad with thousands of microscopic needles to administer the shot; this had the benefit of causing no pain, which was always a plus in medicine.


    ¡°What did you just do, Diduk?¡± asked Madeline.


    He did not respond.


    ¡°WHAT DID YOU DO?¡± she roared.


    Diduk was stunned; by all rights, Madeline should have been out cold by now; he had used enough Daizepam to knock a Tretu out in seconds.


    Madeline took a step towards him and stumbled, ¡°thank the one light that it¡¯s working,¡± Diduk muttered.


    ¡°Having fun¡±, hissed Madeline getting back to her feet.


    ¡°It was an anaesthetic to help you sleep,¡± explained Diduk.


    ¡°You drugged me without my consent,¡± Madeline growled, ambling towards him; she was angry, but she was finding it hard to maintain it; she yawned deeply.


    ¡°You need sleep, and I made an executive decision¡±, stated Diduk; taking another step back, Madeline was still on her feet and walking towards him, a vicious snarl on her face.


    Madeline exploded into action; she clenched her fist and went for Diduk. Had she not stumbled and her reaction time so crippled by the lack of sleep, she would have hit him and most likely shattered his jaw.


    Madeline hit the floor, but she was still conscious. ¡°You won¡¯t last five minutes without me¡±, she mumbled through the dirt and leaf litter.


    ¡°We¡¯re not going to last without you; you just need some sleep,¡± explained Diduk.


    Madeline did not reply; she was finally out for the count.


    Everyone stared at her prone figure for over a minute before Tarin said, ¡°I thought she was going to kill you.¡±


    ¡°She wasn¡¯t going to kill me; Madeline¡¯s just stressed and tired, and that state made her incredibly irritable¡±, Diduk explained, though deep down he wondered if the drug had not taken effect, would Madeline have attempted to strike him?


    ¡°Good thing you sedated her then,¡± said the horse millipede, leaning over her quietly snoozing form.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t sedate her. I anaesthetised her,¡± explained Diduk.


    ¡°I thought anaesthetics did not provide any sleep benefits; it just knocks you out cold¡±, stated Tazil


    ¡°Right, I planned to get her unconscious, then when it wore off, I hoped she would fall straight to sleep", answered Diduk. "But it seems I vastly underestimated the dosage, and it just made her so drowsy Madeline could not stay awake anymore.¡±


    ¡°She''s right, you know¡±, said Jodhr.


    ¡°About what?¡± asked Tarin.


    ¡°We would not have lasted this long without her,¡± explained Jodhr.


    Diduk could not help but agree, but they were sapient creatures; their ancestors had reached the stars just like humanity, and if they could accomplish that, they could survive on this world for one month.


    ¡°Madeline said survival was an act of sheer will¡±, stated Tazil.


    ¡°Our survivalist is a waitress; she admitted it herself,¡± someone chimed in.


    ¡°Exactly, and look what one waitress was able to accomplish, minimal training, no experience, and we''re all still here¡±, pointed out Diduk.


    ¡°Now, let¡¯s put out heads together and prove Madeline wrong,¡± said Diduk.


    ***


    Yulik was finding it difficult to determine precisely how far behind the survivors they were. On Bosd, he would have been able to pinpoint it down to the hour. Every world was different; however, different humidity, different light, and different fauna.


    Still, he had picked up a few things from his week here and narrowed the timeframe to one to three days. He sighed; if he had been by himself, he could catch up to them within hours.


    For all their other qualities, none of which readily came to mind, his crew were not paragons in the physical department. To give them their credit, though, they were improving; the gravity and low oxygen were serving as a robust workout, and Yulik was convinced that the crew were now stronger than they had been at any other point in their lives.


    "Everyone take a break; get something to drink," stated Yulik. He took a swig from his canteen and found it nearly empty.


    "I''m going to find some more water," he said. "Make sure there''s a fire going by the time I get back", he added; he hauled a large container onto his back and wandered into the forest.


    Yulik''s crew did as they were told, and it was not long before a fire was roaring in the centre of their little camp.


    They sat silently, each one thinking about what had led them here, listing off the mistakes one by one.


    Click, however, was questioning Yulik''s decision; personally, she felt the best bet was to surrender and serve ten or twenty years.


    "Do we all agree with this plan?" Click asked.


    "What?" Surt said, Click''s words snapping everyone from their musing,


    "Shit, I did not mean to say that out loud," thought Click.


    "I''m just wondering if fighting our way out is the best option," stated Click.


    "What other option is there?" someone asked, though Click could tell from their tone that they had already thought about it; they just did not want to be the one to voice it.


    "Well, the option to surrender when the rescue party come, we would all live, and at most, we would get twenty-five years", explained Click.


    No one responded; they all just looked at the ground, no one wanted to be sent to prison, but they could not lie that it was the most sensible option. Twenty-five years wasn''t all that long, after all. Who knows, they might even get trained up and a respectable job at the end of it.


    "I don''t want to go to jail, but I don''t want to die even more," said Surt after a couple of minutes, her little pseudopods waving rhythmically, along with her eyestalks.


    "I know the captain is strong, but despite what he says, I know he is not a deathworlder; Bosd is a Class 10(H), not a death world," said one of the crew.


    "I think you''ll find it is", stated Yulik, who had just returned from his water collection.


    He removed the water carrier he had strapped to his back and poured its contents into a massive bowl. After placing the bowl over the fire, Yulik returned to his talkative crew.


    "I''ve seen the planetary stats, Captain; I reviewed all applicants", stated Click, "Bosd is a Habitable world."


    Yulik hissed, though, for a Ponut''kild, this was a dismissive smirk rather than a sign of hostility.


    "My homeworld has only been denied death world status by a quirk of fate; my race made contact with the wider galaxy about ten years after humanity", explained Diduk.


    "So?" replied Click.


    "So, they shifted galactic perception; compared to Earth, every world looks habitable, hell this place would have been classified as a habitable world if it had been discovered after humanity", Yulik explained, gesturing to the planet.


    "The Bosd government will eventually get the classification it deserves; my people have felt it was a slight the moment we joined galactic politics", stated Yulik.


    "I''m surprised you even care about any of them, considering your profession," said Click.


    "I am a pirate, not politically dead", replied Yulik.


    ***


    "How in the name of all that is holy can someone so small weigh so much," said Tarit as he hauled Madeline along the ground. Her stretcher rocked back and forth as it hit every rock and bump in the soil, but Madeline was oblivious to it all and slept on.


    "I could tell you about bone density, muscle tissue per square millimetre and all that," stated Diduk.


    "I think I''ll just stick to complaining," replied Tarit as they struggled to climb a small hill. "Please tell me it will be someone else''s turn soon", he added, scratching at the ground as he spoke, a clear sign of stress amongst his people.


    Diduk checked his P.D.A., "another ten minutes."


    "I''ll have dislocated my back by then," stated Tarit, grunting again.


    Diduk rubbed his eyes and called out, "everyone, take a five-minute break!"


    Everyone unceremoniously slumped down into the dirt. Diduk was impressed at how well everyone had adapted to the situation; a week ago, the notion of lying down in the mud would have been revolting to many of them.


    Madeline stirred but did not wake, and Diduk found himself wondering what it was like to sleep like a human, to dream as they did. He found it a little frightening to spend so much of your life unconscious, but from how Madeline described it during her medical checks, she thoroughly enjoyed it.


    Diduk once again checked his P.D.A.; the geographic data for this part of the planet was lacking, and they had already been confronted with many unexpected roadblocks.


    "One step at a time, Diduk," he thought "for now I need to find food," he said.


    Over the past few days, he had become good at identifying edible plants. Some of them were rather nice as well, and Diduk found himself adding them to his diet.


    Though Diduk was carnivorous, that did not mean he never ate vegetable matter. As with almost all carnivores, certain trace nutrients and minerals could only be found, in meaningful quantities, within plants.


    Naturally, with modern technology, cloned meat could be reinforced with these nutrients, but most people Diduk met still liked to have a little green food in their diet. It was pretty fun to eat too; he liked crunchy food.


    Collecting a couple of baskets the group had made over the past few days, he began scouring the forest for food.


    Despite his newfound botanical skill, he still utilised the scanner to ensure that everything was safe to eat.


    As his collection grew and became difficult to carry, Diduk decided to gather just one last batch. As he dug up the roots of a plant that had come to be known as sweetroot by the herbivores, he heard something behind him.


    It was the snapping of a branch; Diuk quickly took out his medical scalpel. It was not much, and it galled him to use a piece of medical equipment as a weapon. However, his fear of being eaten by a deathworld predator was greater, and he stood motionless, staring into the trees.


    Diduk knew that it was not one of the survivors; few could leave the camp by themselves, and those few who could all agreed to search different parts of the forest to maximise their food production.


    "Well, well, well, it''s been quite the chase you have led us upon", a voice called out from the trees.


    His brain quickly put everything together; as the cruise''s chief medical officer, Diduk had interviewed every single crew member and passenger, and this was not one of them. With the rescue party still three weeks away, at least it could only be one person.


    There was also the unmistakable cruelty his words carried that probably would have tipped Diduk off if nothing else had.


    The unknown man stepped from the forest; he was a bipedal reptilian, much like Diduk, but their features were more savage and feral. Two sharp canines poked from his upper lip, and his eyes possessed a predatory quality that Diduk found hard to put into words.


    Diduk also took note of his lack of a respirator, which could mean only one thing.


    "Now, doctor, if you would be so kind, please take us to your friends," Yulik said with a sneer.

 Chapter 8

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to keep your hands up, doctor; with your reaction times, you could keep them on a pistol, and I would have little to worry about,¡± stated Yulik as he walked Diduk into the survivors'' camp.


    The response was surprisingly muted as the pirates entered the area. Yulik chalked this up to the shock, and their current predicament led them to develop more robust constitutions.


    ¡°How do you know who I am?¡± asked Diduk, taking the pirate up on his offer and lowering his arms.


    ¡°As I told my crew, I do my research,¡± explained Yulik.


    ¡°Now, where is the human?¡± asked Yulik, pointing his pistol had Diduk¡¯s head.


    ¡°How¡­?¡± Diduk attempted to ask, but Yulik interrupted, ¡°How do I know what the only human on board is amongst you? Simple, you are all still alive; now, where is she?¡±


    With few options, well, no options really, Diduk led Yulik to the stretcher where Madeline was still sleeping.


    Diduk had hoped, prayed even, that Madeline¡¯s super senses would have alerted her to the pirates¡¯ presence and that she would have melted away into the jungle to hunt the pirates.


    No such luck; however, Madeline was still sleeping, utterly oblivious to what was happening.


    ¡°Why is she asleep? Why is she tied down?¡± asked Yulik; of all the meetings he had imagined in his mind, this was not one of them.


    Diduk did not want to tell the pirate; he did not even want to look at him. Still, he had the gun, and Diduk told Yulik everything.


    Yulik snickered, ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t think she envisioned this when she told you all you would not last five minutes.¡±


    As he gazed at the sleeping female, Yulik was struck with the realisation that he had never seen a human in person before. He was hit with the dissonance that most people experienced, the universe¡¯s great deception indeed.


    This Madeline looked so small, so helpless as if a stiff breeze would break her. Beneath that smooth, fragile-looking skin and delicate hair were muscles of whipcord steel and bones like granite.


    Yulik needed to consider his next step carefully.


    He knew, almost instinctually, that killing her would be the safest move. While this woman was not some hardened warrior or masterful survivalist, death worlds instilled a tenacity and cunning in all their lifeforms. However, it did not always reach the surface or emerge at an opportune moment.


    Earth would have only created a more extreme version of this, and Yulik would need to be careful when she woke up.


    Killing her, however, would create problems. Yulik¡¯s plan hinged on ambushing the soldiers and using the passengers as sapient shields. If Yulik could not prove she was alive, they would treat all pirates as hostile and most likely shift to extermination orders. The soldiers¡¯ primary goal was to rescue her after all.


    Angry, bloodthirsty soldiers were more dangerous than an irritated tourist.


    Yulik could not help but feel he was making a mistake, but rather than execute her right there and then, he ordered that the human female be restrained, even more so than she already was.


    ***


    Madeline felt weird, she was confident she had a headache, but Madeline could not feel any pain; she knew it hurt, but it did not hurt. Madeline sighed; she was too groggy for philosophical ramblings.


    She attempted to rub her forehead, but her arms would not move. They were also numb; she must have slept on them; how had that happened?


    As Madeline rolled onto her side, she realised that her arms and legs resisted, ¡°the hell is going on?¡± she thought.


    As Madeline¡¯s brain tried to process what little information she had, it dawned on her that maybe looking at her limbs might help.


    The light was bright, and it aggravated her painlessly painful headache.


    Even with her brain still stuck in first gear, Madeline could tell that she was surrounded by the other survivors, and she recalled that she had had a conversation with Diduk before passing out.


    ¡°Diduk,¡± Madeline hissed; that sod had drugged her; she attempted to stand and give the overgrown lizard an earful.


    Yet Madeline couldn¡¯t. It took her some time to realise that her legs had been bound.


    ¡°Diduk! What the hell have you done¡± Madeline yelled.


    Everyone was startled by the noise, and everyone turned to look. Their looks of surprise quickly moved to relief.


    Everyone began to speak at once, and Madeline found she could follow none of it, something about an attack, but this was getting them nowhere.


    ¡°What the hell are your people talking about?¡± shouted Madeline, her voice rising above the others.


    ¡°I believe they are referring to us,¡± an unfamiliar voice said.


    Everyone else fell silent, and Madeline righted herself until she was sat down, her knees pressed against her chest. She had no idea who this person was, but it did not take long for her to put the pieces together.


    ¡°Am I correct in assuming that you are the captain of the pirates that attacked us,¡± asked Madeline. She found herself strangely calm; Madeline did not know why; it could be the drugs still coursing through her system, but it was almost as if she was not there, like watching a movie.


    ¡°I am; though I am not the captain who ordered the attack; he died in the conflict, going down with their ship¡±, explained Yulik.


    ¡°Honourable¡±, stated Madeline.


    ¡°I thought so¡±, Yulik replied.


    Everyone looked on, somewhat surprised at this civil conversation, yet no one else spoke for fear of shattering this delicate balance. The passengers hoped that Madeline might be able to reason with them. The pirates, however, hoped that wherever this talk led, it would mean fewer of their deaths.


    "I must say you have risen far; the Ponut¡¯kild only reached the stars fifty years ago¡±, stated Madeline.


    Yulik was momentarily thrown off by the knowledge that Madeline had heard of his people; Madeline noticed this and added, ¡°you seem surprised that I know what you are.¡±


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    This knocked Yulik from his stupor, and he replied, ¡°Forgive me, I did not expect you to know of my people; to most, we are just another face in the crowd.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s part of standard education; humans learn about every Habitableworlder¡±, explained Madeline.


    Yulik found himself taking slight insult at this, but that feeling was overwhelmed by the idea that humans were taught about seventy-seven different sapient species.


    ¡°You may be famous for your prodigious minds as well as you¡¯re incredible bodies, but I do not believe for a moment that you memorise seventy-seven races¡±, stated Yulik.


    Madeline seemed confused for a moment before realising where the wires had crossed.


    ¡°I''m afraid you misunderstand; humans don¡¯t consider themselves to be Deathworlders; to us, a Deathworld is Venus, a 96% carbon dioxide, 450 degrees, sulfuric acid-drenched hell,¡± she explained.


    ¡°You and me, we¡¯re habitableworlders¡±, she added. ¡°That lot,¡± she gestured with her eyes to everyone else, ¡°they¡¯re paradiseworlders.¡±


    This was technically correct; she had learnt it this way back in school. When she decided to take her holiday out of human territory, however, the course she had been legally required to attend had explained that it was best to use the galactic standard with other races to avoid confusion.


    The past week had shown that Madeline was extraordinarily adaptable, and she found herself even referring to herself as a Deathworlder in her own head.


    Madeline''s explanation seemed to throw Yulik off for a moment. She did not know it, but the knowledge that the same race that had skewed public perception was not affected by it made some of his bias melt.


    Not that it mattered in the long run, Yulik wanted to escape, plunder for a few years and retire as rich a Tuvilu. The woman was still an impediment, and he needed to ensure she caused no problems.


    Yulik could not deny the allure of talking with her, however, and had to force himself away.


    ¡°Make sure she does nothing; I mean it, if she so much a sneezes, you tell me!¡± he ordered Surt; she gestured that she understood.


    As Madeline watched the alien walk away, she began to check her pockets, looking for anything that might be useful and found to her astonishment, that her knife was still there.


    Whoever tied her up must not have been happy about it and just done the deed and left.


    ¡°This is going to be even easier than I thought¡±, she mused as she began to cut at her bindings.


    It did not take Madeline long to cut through her bindings; it felt like an hour; however, her wrists were in agony, and she had sliced her hands more than once. Despite her reclaimed mobility, she still felt it was in her best interest to make everyone think she was still restrained.


    No matter Madeline''s strength or toughness, a laser weapon would still boil her from the inside out.


    So, Madeline sat there, assessing the situation. Her guard was nervous. Being left alone with Madeline was not something the Surt had relished.


    Despite the circumstances, Madeline could not help but feel that the slug woman was rather pretty in a way, covered in beautiful frills of deep blues and blacks, like a tropical nudibranch.


    Eerily beautiful or not, Madeline did not let herself become distracted.


    It was time, time to put a life dedicated to spy thrillers, action movies, first-person shooters, third-person stealth and real-time strategy games to good use. Her first response in these situations would be to doom stack a load of dragons, but that option was not available.


    As far as she could tell, the pirate captain was the main obstacle; without him, the rest would be relatively easy to deal with. Fighting him was not an option. Madeline had taken karate lessons for about three months when she was ten, and she could remember only four things from them.


    First was how to make a fist that could not break your thumb. Second, the best solution to any threat was just to run away. Third, a punch was more effective the closer you got, and finally, she learned how a skilled fighter moved.


    The pirate did not fall into the typical archetype. He was not simply a drunken sailor with a gun. This guy practised, and despite her physical abilities, he would slowly take her apart in a one-on-one confrontation; her only hope would be if she got lucky with a punch. Madeline knew better than to rely on luck, however.


    After what Madeline assumed was about half an hour, though she could not be sure, someone had taken her P.D.A., so they had not been quite as lazy as she thought; she had a plan, and Madeline thought it was a pretty good one. It all hinged on her getting deep enough into the woods, where the pirates¡¯ firearms would be mostly useless.


    She sighed; she would have to wait for nightfall, which was over seven hours away, judging by the sun. Seven hours, pretending to be restrained, this was going to be uncomfortable.


    ¡°Oh my god, you unbelievable bitch,¡± thought Madeline; it had not even occurred to her to check on everyone else.


    Her eyes darted from prisoner to prisoner; from what she could see, none of them were injured or, rather, had no new injuries. Madeline sighed; they had not put up any fight, which was good.


    She saw Diduk, the Nimuteru, the millipede horse, Jodhr and Brox were well, if somewhat shaken up. Madeline felt a little spite for Diduk even now; how dare he drug her without consent.


    Even so, she considered being held at gunpoint to be an over-proportional punishment.


    Diduk noticed her looking at him and stared back. Madeline wanted to tell him that she had a plan and would do everything she could to help them, but she took Yulik''s warning to the Surt very literally.


    It was best to be productive with her time and polish her idea to a mirror sheen.


    Part of this refinement meant gauging her guard, who still appeared uneasy despite having time to settle into her role.


    They were not heavily armoured, so a quick konk on the head would render her unconscious, and if she remembered correctly, Surt were not very quick, still processing a pseudo foot, much like an Earth snail.


    The Surt noticed Madeline¡¯s staring, but she did not avert her gaze. Madeline thought that if she quickly looked away, the Surt might realise she was planning something.


    So Madeline kept staring, and the Surt just stared right back. It was difficult to tell, but Madeline was sure she was shaking. ¡°If I keep this up, maybe they will faint out of shock,¡± thought Madeline.


    Somewhat unexpectedly, the Surt stood up and cautiously made their way to Madeline. Her first thought was that they would threaten Madeline and tell her to stop staring, but they seemed too timid for that; if this were going to be a dressing down, it would be the meekest one in history.


    The Surt got to eye level with Madeline, their stalks aimed directly at her and asked, ¡°If I help you get off this rock, will you put in a good word for me?¡±


    Madeline gave them a look and scanned the immediate area; she could not see anyone. If this was some kind of set-up, Madeline had no idea what the payoff could be.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to betray your fellows?¡± asked Madeline, sceptical of their intent, also astounded that she had used the word fellows.


    ¡°Not necessarily; if you live and convince the other humans not to massacre us, I might save their lives,¡± replied the Surt.


    ¡°You disagree with your captain?¡± asked Madeline.


    The Surt looked away, but with their eyes on stalks, that meant they did not need to move their head.


    ¡°He has his pride tangled up in this; he wants to prove something, and I¡¯m not sure even he knows who to,¡± the Surt explained.


    ¡°You don¡¯t believe you can take on a group of human marines,¡± stated Madeline.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe we could take on a bunch of Surt marines; you may have noticed that my people are not exactly the most agile¡±, replied the Surt.


    ¡°How many of you feel this way?¡± Madeline asked.


    ¡°As far as I know, just me,¡± they replied.


    ¡°There goes the idea for a mutiny, back to the original one,¡± thought Madeline.


    ¡°Where is my P.D.A.?¡± inquired Madeline.


    ¡°I think the Captain has it,¡± replied Surt.


    ¡°Get me my P.D.A., and then I¡¯ll believe you,¡± stated Madeline.


    ¡°I¡¯d never be able to do it,¡± The Surt explained.


    ¡°Then you die with your captain or trust him to pull it off,¡± replied Madeline.


    The Surt was not taken aback by Madeline¡¯s words, though Madeline certainly was. Instead, she viewed her surroundings and then walked towards a nearby tree.


    They called out something, most likely a name, and another pirate approached.


    ¡°Cover me for a bit; I need to use the little girl''s room,¡± the Surt stated; the other pirate did not seem to argue and took up Surt¡¯s previous position.


    All the while, Madeline sat there confused; unless she was mistaken, Surt were hermaphrodites; they should not even have a concept of womanhood, let alone identify as one. Hell, they did not even use individual names; they were all called Surt. Madeline supposed they must have some way of telling one another apart, but it was not through language.


    This little puzzle kept Madeline so distracted that before she knew it, the Surt had returned.


    In her hands was Madeline¡¯s P.D.A., Surt tried to untie her, but Madeline reached for her digital assistant.


    Surt was surprised at this, as the realisation that Madeline could have attacked her at any time, but was also reassured when she recalled that Madeline had not.


    ¡°What¡¯s your plan?¡± asked Surt.


    ¡°You¡¯ll get the gist of it soon; the finer points I will explain later, if you are true to your word, however¡±, replied Madeline.


    ¡°How did you steal it anyway?¡± asked Madeline.


    ¡°I¡¯m the tech; when I told the Captain that I wanted to examine the human¡¯s P.D.A., he just handed it to me; I guess it did not occur to him that I would attempt anything like this¡±, she replied.

 Chapter 9

    Yulik was busy sifting through the contents of the passengers¡¯ P.D.As. Most of it was personal and useless, but he felt it was best to know more than less. He was looking for anything he might use for blackmail or something to squeeze in case anyone gave him any trouble.


    Sadly everyone on the cruise ship had been a goody-two-shoes. ¡°Where¡¯s the human¡¯s P.D.A?¡± he asked himself, sifting through the pile of electronics.


    Then he remembered Surt had taken it. He had not given it much thought at the time, but why had she wanted it? Yulik scratched his chin; he needed it, or rather wanted it, he doubted it would contain much of use, but it was a guilty pleasure of his, sifting through someone''s personal information.


    ¡°Wait, I ordered Surt to guard the human; why the pure red did she come here asking for a P.D.A?¡± Thought Yulik, as a knot began to form in his gut.


    He threw the P.D.A. he was holding and made straight for the holding area. Every pirate between him and his destination wisely dispersed.


    As he emerged into the clearing, he saw Surt lying unconscious on the floor, right where the human had been restrained. Yulik inspected the ground and found her bonds cut cleanly; he also found a few smatterings of red blood on the cord.


    Yulik checked Surt¡¯s hands and found no blood on them, which led him to conclude that the woman had freed herself. Yulik cursed his shortsightedness; he should have checked her personally for tools.


    As his crew gathered, he checked to see if Surt was still breathing. The spiricles on her side were still pulsating, which was all he knew about her species morphology, so he supposed she was alright.


    Yulik had more important things to worry about now; he kept his laser rifle close at hand and his finger on the trigger. Despite what Yulik had hoped, the human had not been stupid enough to remain in sight and had vanished into the forest.


    His first thought was the human had bolted and left the others to their fate, but that was unlikely; she had already spent so much effort and time keeping them alive, nearly exhausting herself to death. If what the doctor had told her was the truth, however.


    Speculation was meaningless; however, they were dozens of eyewitnesses. Yulik approached one of them and asked, ¡°What happened?¡±


    He got no response, the person just sat there shaking, trying their hardest to retreat into their shell, but the rope prevented it. Yulik made a mental note to check the quality of that rope, it was lashed together from leaves, and he was not confident in its ability to hold, not after what had happened with the human.


    ¡°What do you think happened?¡± a young Nimuteru asked.


    Yulik gazed snapped onto the boy who, to his credit, did not flinch. Two other Nimuteru, who Yulik supposed were the boy''s parents, tried to silence him, but it was too late; he had found a talker, which was good enough for Yulik.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name, lad?¡± asked Yulik.


    ¡°Tazil,¡± the boy replied; once again, Yulik was impressed; the boy''s voice betrayed not a hint of fear as though the young man thought he was above it all.


    Yulik knelt though; in truth, the boy was much larger than him; it put Yulik below his eye line.


    ¡°What happened?¡± asked Yulik, his voice calm and focused.


    ¡°You left a Surt, a Surt, to guard a human. What do you think happened?¡± replied Tazil.


    Yulik felt a flash of anger, but he suppressed it. ¡°I admit it was an oversight on my part; however, now that I have admitted my mistake, perhaps you could give me the play-by-play¡±, stated Yulik.


    ¡°Madeline tricked Surt into getting her P.D.A., not sure what she said exactly, but it worked, cut her bonds, knocked her out and then ran into the forest¡±, stated Tazil matter of factly.


    ¡°Anything else happen?¡± asked Yulik.


    ¡°Nothing that I saw,¡± replied Tazil.


    Yulik made a hissing sound, which was the Ponut¡¯kild equivalent of raising their eyebrows.


    ¡°I¡¯m a habitableworlder; my eyes aren¡¯t as good as yours¡±, retorted Tazil, knowing full well what his body language meant.


    Yulik was going to respond when a voice called out, ¡°He¡¯s right, you know, Tazil knows nothing else.¡±


    ¡°Where are you?¡± demanded Yulik; he could hear the human but not see or smell her.


    ¡°Somewhere, I can see and hear you,¡± Madeline replied.


    A cryptic response, but Yulik could put the pieces together; scanning his surroundings, Yulik located a P.D.A. propped up against a rock. He approached, knelt and stared directly into the camera.


    ¡°Poo, I had this whole speech and back and forth planned, but you just had to go and ruin it,¡± said Madeline.


    Yulik believed her when she said she had planned a little conversation, but he also knew this setback was purely aesthetic; the confidence in the human¡¯s voice was unmistakable.


    ¡°What is the rest of your plan?¡± asked Yulik, genuinely curious as to where this was all going.


    ¡°It''s rather simple; you are going to chase me,¡± stated Madeline.


    ¡°You want us to hunt you?¡± asked Yulik, who had not expected that.


    ¡°No, YOU are going to CHASE me!¡± reiterated Madeline.


    ¡°You really believe that I would leave the safety of the group to play hide and seek?¡± asked Yulik dumbfounded at this; he would have to be a complete and utter moron to do that.


    ¡°I do¡±, stated Madeline, with smug self-assurance.


    ¡°And why is that?¡± inquired Yulik.


    There was a brief pause, and Yulik imagined that the human was flaring or whatever they did to express amusement. ¡°Because if you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll pick off your crew one by one¡±, explained Madeline.


    ¡°My crew are armed¡±, pointed out Yulik, gesturing to one of them.


    ¡°They are sluggish, and they can¡¯t see in the dark¡±, explained Madeline.


    ¡°So that¡¯s your plan; either I hunt you, or you hunt us?¡± asked Yulik, though it was more rhetorical than anything else.


    ¡°You know something? I don¡¯t think you have it in you to kill us,¡± said Yulik; he did not know much about this woman, but it was a safe bet that she would find the prospect of killing someone horrifying.


    ¡°That''s the best part, I don¡¯t have to, a small scrape here, remove their respirators, contaminate your food, and the planet will kill them for me¡±, replied Madeline.


    ¡°No, you will surrender, or we will start killing hostages,¡± stated Yulik, sending his ultimatum.


    He got no response at first, and Yulik felt like he had won until the P.D.A. started to make a grating sound; at first, he thought it was malfunctioning and that the woman had not received his threat, but then he realised what it was. He had seen the clip when he was just a boy, heard the recording from xenopothogly class, the human was laughing at him.


    Why was she laughing? Yulik could not understand it.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± demanded Yulik, trying his hardest not to shout; he needed to remain calm.


    ¡°Hard to put it in words, maybe I¡¯m just desperate for a laugh, but if I had to put my finger on it, I would say you,¡± replied Madeline.


    Yulik nearly smashed the P.D.A.; the little line that moved every time she spoke seemed to taunt him.


    ¡°You know you can¡¯t kill them, not just because you need as many hostages as possible, but mostly because if any of them get hurt, I will kill every last one of you¡±, explained Madeline.


    ¡°So Yulik, you see, you need to play by my rules,¡± she stated.


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    Madeline went quiet, and Yulik was left alone with his thoughts. He did not have long, however, as Madeline spoke once more, ¡°if you¡¯re having trouble deciding, there is one more thing you should know.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± demanded Yulik.


    ¡°Come closer to the speaker; let me whisper it in your ear,¡± replied Madeline.


    Yulik hesitated, was the P.D.A. boobytrapped, was this her actual plan to kill him with an I.E.D?


    No, that was impossible; there was no way she would know how to do that; she was a civilian, not some hardened terrorist.


    Yulik took the bait, knelt next to the P.D.A., and Madeline began to speak. ¡°Your whole plan hinges on you taking down a squad of marines. Do you think your crew will believe you can pull it off if you can¡¯t take me out?¡± she explained, the schadenfreude emanating from every syllable.


    She was right; void damn her, she was right.


    He had hinged his entire leadership on his physical ability; without that, he would not maintain control. There was still one thing that he did not understand.


    ¡°Let¡¯s say you win; you kill me; what do you plan on doing about my crew? Your friends will still be hostages,¡± asked Yulik.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m kind of winging that one, to be honest,¡± replied Madeline.


    Yulik was not sure what winging it meant, but he could probably guess.


    ¡°So when do we begin this little chase of yours?¡± asked Yulik.


    ¡°Stand up, look at two o¡¯clock¡±, stated Madeline.


    He did so and stared into the trees, he could not see anything at first, but as we warmed to his task, he could make out colours that did not belong: golden hair and brightly coloured clothes.


    ¡°I see you,¡± said Yulik.


    ¡°Catch me if you can,¡± said Madeline with a smirk.


    ***


    Madeline landed in a puddle; mud coated her shoes and trouser legs. At any other time, she would have been frustrated by this turn of events; as it was, she was rather glad the cool mud did much to relieve the heat building in her body.


    Not that she had much time to think about it, as a tree''s bark boiled and shattered over her head. The splinters hurt, but they were not strong enough to pierce her skin.


    She wondered what on Earth, or rather DW-4, had possessed her to go through with this. Not that she could do anything about it, she had made her bed, and now Madeline needed to lie in it.


    Her heart beat furiously in her chest, and she tried hard to keep her breathing under control. Madeline¡¯s only solace was knowing that Yulik was struggling even more.


    Ponut¡¯kild were good at sprinting, but over prolonged chases, they suffered greatly. Madeline also had the advantage of being in a forest, which meant that Yulik could not properly use his legs; the trees and gloom also affected his aim.


    Madeline heard Yulik roar from behind, which usually meant that he was spent, and Madeline cautiously slowed her pace. She could not leave him behind; he could just double back and ignore her if she did that.


    She also needed to be wary; more than once during their five-hour chase, Yulik had used this as a ploy to lure her in close. Using the trees, rock and foliage as cover, she carefully backtracked.


    Up ahead, she could make out Yulik, propped up against a tree. This was no trick; he truly did have nothing left for the moment. Madeline did consider attacking him now, but there was still the problem of his gun, it would only take one good round to take her down, and despite everything going against him, Yulik was an excellent shot.


    As the reptilomorph regained their strength, Madeline took the opportunity to do the same and check her P.D.A. She was still headed in the right direction.


    ¡°I know you¡¯re there,¡± Yulik stated through panting breaths.


    ¡°I know you do; that¡¯s the point,¡± retorted Madeline, making sure the trees protected her; she did not think that Yulik was above taking a cheap shot.


    ¡°Is this you¡¯re plan, keep running till I die from exhaustion?¡± asked Yulik.


    ¡°It might be,¡± Madeline answered, using her P.D.A.¡¯s camera to inspect Yulik; he was still there and barely moved an inch.


    ¡°Not very honourable of you,¡± stated Yulik.


    ¡°That might have hurt if you had not been the one to say it,¡± replied Madeline, a slight chuckle in her throat.


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± said Yulik, chuckling as well; for a brief moment, he forgot he was trying to kill this woman. Or was he? Yulik was not sure what he was going to do when he finally caught her.


    Madeline had nothing more to say and crept away from Yulik, putting as much distance between herself and the Ponut¡¯kild as she dared.


    ***


    Eight hours, eight hours of this and Madeline had already come close to death once; her arm had been grazed by a laser shot, leaving a red mark similar to a sunburn running the width of her forearm. It was already beginning to blister.


    It might have taken her arm off if it had been just a few centimetres closer to the centre. It stung, really stung, but there was nothing she could do, so Madeline ignored it.


    Madeline stumbled but managed to stay on her feet. ¡°JUST LIE DOWN AND DIE!¡± Yulik cried from behind her; the constant running had stressed him to potentially fatal levels. Ponut¡¯kild were just not meant to travel this fast for this great a distance.


    He was no longer thinking straight, his brain entering a prolonged rage state, with only one thought on his mind. Kill the human.


    Yulik fired wildly into the forest, burning and splintering trees while boiling the large pools of water that were becoming more frequent as their chase went further into the woods.


    Madeline had made it; she was back at the swamp, and now all she needed to do was find it.


    As they began to wade through the waist-high water, both of their momenta slowed, but Madeline still had the advantage, even more so now that the water was cooling her skin.


    Yulik was still panting heavily, though; he lacked the vast concentration of capillaries near the skin¡¯s surface needed to make effective use of all this water.


    Eventually, Madeline realised it would be far more efficient to swim. She dove beneath the surface; Madeline was not as fast as she would like; her shoes and clothes weighed her down. Not that there was anything she could do about it, any pause right now would lead to her death.


    Yulik saw this and growled, he fired into the water, but the liquid diffused most of the energy; even if he hit her, it would only do minimal damage. Yulik did not care, though.


    Shot after shot rained down upon Madeline, and the law of averages began to work against her. She felt a laser round hit her leg; it was similar to a bee sting but far hotter, though she noted that it was less painful than the shot that hit her arm.


    Madeline took this to be a good sign and continued to swim.


    Yulik snarled and let his gun fall, it came to rest against his hip, and he also began to swim. This was getting dangerous now; he was pushing his body far too hard, and even if he managed to catch Madeline, he might die from exhaustion.


    However, the Ponut¡¯kild pushed on, even as every muscle in his body screamed and begged him to stop.


    Despite his physical condition, Yulik did have an advantage over Madeline. His species had evolved from an amphibious reptilian ancestor. He utilised these vestigial traits, extra webbing between the fingers and toes, and his more streamlined morphology to close the distance steadily.


    Despite her urge to look back, Madeline kept her eyes squarely focused ahead, she did not know about the advantage Yulik had, but she knew that looking back would ruin the little hydro-dynamism she had.


    Yulik was gaining, and after just a few minutes, he was in striking distance; he reached for Madeline and grabbed her ankle. Her response was swift, and she began to kick his face. Her blows were comparatively weak, but they were still enough to knock out a couple of his teeth.


    He pushed through the pain and grabbed her with his other hand, his claw sinking deep into her calf. Madeline screamed and stopped trying to escape; her brain shifted from flight to fight, and she turned to launch a punch at Yulik.


    He did his best to get away, but her attack connected, and Madeline knocked the wind out of him.


    Yulik was forced to let go, and he gasped for air while Madeline made her way to the nearby mud bank.


    Madeline crawled over the mud and tried to stand; it hurt, but she could push through the pain. Yet as she got to her feet, she felt another hot bee string just above her hip, and she collapsed once more.


    Rolling onto her back, Madeline felt a new flush of pain from her laser burn; the mud had done much to absorb the blow, but she was no doubt developing a terrible burn underneath.


    Madeline looked up, and Yulik towered above her; only his lower ankles and feet were hidden beneath the water.


    Yulik had caught her, and at this moment, when he had finally won and proved that he could take down a human, Yulik took a moment to gloat.


    ¡°I DID IT! I BEAT YOU!¡± he screamed, stomping around in the mud and water like a child.


    Madeline just stared, her eye not focusing on Yulik.


    ¡°Everyone always underestimates me, thinks I''m just another soft, pampered baby like them, and look what I did¡±, he crowed.


    Madeline¡¯s eyes shifted to Yulik¡¯s face, and she said, ¡°Yes, well done, you beat a waitress,¡± each word she uttered was followed by the stamp of her leg, empathising each one, and causing large splashes in the water.


    ¡°You will not take this from me, you are the most deadly sapient race in the galaxy, and I beat you,¡± he stated, poison spewing from each syllable.


    At this point, Yulik noticed that her attention was not truly on him; it was on somewhere behind him.


    This was a trick, an old one every fighter knew: distract your opponent and take advantage of it.


    Still, as Yulik examined her, he realised that she was in no position to take advantage of it; by the time he looked and turned back, Madeline would only just be struggling to her feet.


    Was she that desperate, just for a few more seconds of life? Yulik did not doubt that he would most likely do the same if their positions were reversed.


    Madeline struck the water once more, ¡°are you getting distracted?¡± she asked flatly.


    Once again, Yulik could not help but realise that the human¡¯s attention was elsewhere. Despite every sensible bone in his body telling him it was stupid, Yulik could not help but look behind him.


    There was nothing, just a swamp, trees, water, debris and a log floating in the stagnant liquid, algae caking its surface¡ªeverything you would expect.


    As Yulik looked back towards Madeline, he found she had not moved; he had been right; she was in no position to attack. So what the hell was she doing?


    Yulik felt something bump up against his leg; Madeline had not moved; her attention was now solely on him. There was also a look on her face that could only be described as amusement.


    Yulik spun around to look again; that was all the confirmation it needed.


    Teeth sunk deep into the flesh of Yulik¡¯s leg, tearing his muscles and puncturing the bone.


    Yulik let out a scream of agony as the krousticl flung him into the water like a ragdoll. As he hit the water, he tried desperately to claw at the animal¡¯s face, but it was futile; the krousticl¡¯s scales were just too thick, and what minor damage he was able to do only drew the most meagre amount of blood.


    The predator threw Yulik again, and even over the screams, Madaline could hear his flesh being torn and his bones cracking under the force.


    Despite everything that had happened, Madeline could not watch and prayed that the pirates suffering would not last long.


    Yulik let out one last roar of agony before he was dragged under the water, and the swamp fell silent.


    Madeline did not like the silence; it was disquieting after everything that had just happened.


    She could not stay on the mudbank, other krousticl would be drawn by the noise, and she was in no position to resist.


    Using the last of her will and strength, Madeline hauled herself out of the mud and trudged to the nearest tree. Slowly she began to scale its trunk, climbing higher and higher.


    As she reached five or so metres off the ground, she discovered a nook in the trunk, one that could easily fit her.


    ¡°A little luck at last,¡± she slurred and slumped inside the opening.


    It was muddy and uncomfortable, but at least it was safe.


    As she felt her consciousness slip, Madeline said, ¡°I should probably take off¡­¡± and said no more.

 Chapter 10

    Five days since Madeline had led Yulik away, no one had seen hide nor hair of them. The survivors were nervous, and the pirates were scared. They were so nervous, in fact, that they had begun talking with one another about what exactly they should do.


    The passengers did not enjoy conversing with those that had blown them out of the sky, but as Madeline had often told them, this was survival and needs must.


    They had three basic ideas of what to do; if Yulik returned, the survivors would stay put and hope that the rescue squad could deal with them.


    The pirates agreed to surrender if Madeline returned and take the prison sentence on the nose.


    If neither of them returned, the pirate would surrender to the human soldiers.


    Diduk, however, knew which outcome he wanted.


    "Doctor, please, check my head?" asked Surt.


    "I''ve checked it every day for five days; you are fine," stated Diduk.


    "I was hit by a human; who knows what long-term damage she might have inflicted," argued Surt for the fiftieth time.


    "It was a light tap to make Yulik think you had not turned traitor," said Diduk.


    "Could have given me a little warning, though; I thought she was going to kill me," replied Surt, gently caressing the spot where Madeline had struck her.


    A pirate emerged and said, "my turn Surt; go get some rest."


    "I would be best you keep up the ruse until Madeline gets back," whispered Diduk.


    "You mean if she comes back," she corrected.


    "No," stated Diduk.


    The pirates'' guard duty had become more of a formality now, a smokescreen for Yulik so that he did not execute them for treason if he returned.


    So the man slumped beside a tree and sat there, ignoring everyone present.


    "I have to use the bathroom," one of the hostages said. The pirate grunted, stood up and led them away to a secluded spot; as they melted into the forest, the hostage said, "You look a little fatigued; did you sleep alright?"


    "Someone nicked me pillow, and I will find them and make them squeal," they replied.


    ***


    Click sat alone, eating a small reptile she had caught a few hours ago. Like most people here, she found the idea of killing her food to be somewhat unsettling at first, but she had quickly gotten used to it. It was sort of like pirating, she supposed; it was nothing personal; the little crawler just had something she wanted.


    Still, the meat was tough and stringy, filled with what was most likely collagen or some similar protein to give the animal more structure. At least in prison, Click would get something approximating real food.


    Click was of the opinion that Madeline and Yulik were dead, having killed each other in their scuffle; it was probably quite the sight; she envisioned the two Deathworlders tearing great chunks out of one another and still battling. Like those kaiju movies, she had enjoyed as a child and still did.


    She wondered if humans had giant monster movies; they were probably hardcore, like everything they did.


    Click heard something crack behind her. She turned around, expecting an animal or one of the crew coming to find her. Looking into the trees, she could see nothing, but that was the last thing on her mind, and something grabbed the back of her neck, it was not painful, but the grip was firm.


    "So pirate, how is this going to go down?" the unmistakable voice of Madeline asked.


    "You''re alive?" asked Click, utterly bewildered.


    "Surprised?" inquired Madeline, her breathing hard and shallow.


    Click dropped her weapon and quickly found her composure, "Easy, it''s going to be easy," Click explained.


    Madeline had been expecting a little more resistance than that, but she rolled with it.


    "Where''s Yulik?" asked Click.


    "Working his way through a digestive tract," answered Madeline.


    "You ate him?" Click asked in horror, her words were barely a whisper, and she was beginning to shake.


    "I said a digestive tract, not mine," Madeline stated bluntly.


    Click calmed; yes, that made much more sense; if the human was here, Yulik was almost certainly dead, and the local fauna would not have wasted a moment.


    "Far too chewy," added Madeline, a faint smile on her face as the pirate''s legs shook nervously.


    Despite her nerves and the situation she was in, Click could not help but ask, "How did you get behind me so fast?"


    Madeline did not respond; she just held onto Click''s neck; the insectoid woman wondered if Madeline had misheard her, not understood the question or was just being stubborn.


    Click was a pirate, however, and one did not become a pirate by logically thinking through the consequences of your actions. So she asked again, "I heard a noise behind me, turned, and then you were there; how did you do it?"


    Madeline was rather impressed by the woman''s defiance and explained, "I threw a rock to distract you; I was never behind you; I was hiding behind a tree."


    That was as much distraction as she was willing to tolerate, however, and Madeline increased her grip on the woman''s neck.


    "No more chit-chat; take me to my friends, or heads will pop off," Madeline stated bluntly. Click decided, true or not, to believe Madeline''s threat, leading her towards the non-hostages.


    They passed a few other pirates on their way, Madeline tensed, reading to dive into the woods or use Click as a living shield, but to her surprise, they attempted nothing.


    "Not very loyal, your compatriots," Madeline stated, whispering into what she assumed was Click''s ear.


    "Actually, they are," Click croaked, "We all agree that if you came back, we would surrender, and that is what we are doing; if Yulik could not beat you, we''ve got no chance against the rescue party."


    Madeline found she respected this attitude, even if it did reek of defeatism. She also decided she should not look a gift horse in the mouth.


    They emerged into the clearing containing the other passengers, and Madeline quickly scanned the area; she could not recall all their names. Still, she did recognise the faces, or in some instances, what they had in place of faces, performing a headcount as she did so.


    They were all they, every single one, and none of them had any extra injuries than when she left.


    It took a while for everyone else to acknowledge her presence, and Madeline was not surprised in the least when Tazil realised it first.


    "MADELINE''S BACK," he roared, and everyone immediately got to their feet, dumbly threw their heads from side to side until they caught sight of her and charged.


    Then their brains processed precisely what they were looking at, and everyone screamed, "DIDUK, GET DIDUK."


    Madeline looked awful; her hair was streaked with mud, he eyes were heavy, and her skin was discoloured. She visibly shook, as if it took everything she had just to stand upright; her clothes were torn, and dried blood coated much of them.


    It did not take long for the good doctor to reach her, "Madeline, I need you to sit down while I examine you."


    Madeline did not sit; she fell to the earth. Diduk ran to her side, "someone cut this bloody rope!" he ordered, waving his still-bound hands in the air.


    Click readily complied and removed the binding as quickly as she could.


    Diduk''s attention then fell back onto Madeline, "How do you feel?" he asked, trying his best to remove the dirt that covered her skin without pushing it further into her wounds.


    "Tired and in pain," Madeline wheezed, Diduk knew that just from looking at her, but he realised that he would most likely not get much more out of her.


    "What happened?" asked Tazil, approaching Madeline''s supine form; he gingerly reached out with his arm but then pulled it back.


    Diduk was about to reprimand him, but Madeline began to speak, "Yulik clawed my leg, shot me in the arm and then shot me in the back." Madeline realised that it was not the precise order in which things had occurred, but she was too apathetic at this point to care.


    Diduk made a mental note to thank the young man, as it would have taken far longer to discover Madeline''s back injury on her own. Madeline had taken quite the shine to the Nimuteru and, even in her current state, still had the common courtesy to answer him. Diduk carefully turned Madeline onto her side, who, for her part, put up no resistance.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    It did not take a doctor to see that this was by far the worst injury; the shot had boiled the skin and fused her clothes to it. There was also a great deal of swelling and a build-up of a yellowish-white substance, most likely pus, implying that Madeline was currently fighting an infection.


    The doctor did not believe for a moment that the bacteria that had invaded her system had any chance of killing her. They had no defence for her macrophages and neutrophils, which were no doubt massacring them, as he thought.


    Yet her body did not know this; it would be treating this as it would any other invasion, and that meant Madeline was no doubt in even more pain than would be expected by her injuries, and her injuries guaranteed a lot of pain.


    As Diduk gazed at the laser burn, he wondered why it had done such minor damage, Diduk was well versed in firearm injuries, and he knew for a fact that even with Madeline''s thick skin, muscle and bone, it should have left a massive, festering cavity in her back.


    Unless Yulik forgot to increase the power per shot on his rifle, the Ponu''kild must have been so desperate to catch her that he never bothered to check his weapon. Leaving the gun at a level that would fillet a Habitableworlder, but on a Deathworlder just left terrible burns.


    Madeline had escaped death by sheer dumb luck.


    Diduk knelt beside the woman who had quickly grown to become one of his dearest friends and realised something terrible; there was nothing he could do for her.


    Her injuries were awful, even for a human, and she would need surgery once rescue came, but in the meantime, all Madeline could do was wait in agony.


    Yet what sickened him more was that even if he had the equipment and materials at hand, he would still do nothing. Madeline would survive and, with human doctors and medicine, make a full recovery, but everyone else here was simply not as durable as her, not as solid or enduring.


    This was triage, and despite everything Madeline had done and all the pain she was in, she was still at the bottom of the list. Diduk needed to ration what little he had for those who needed it. Now all Diduk required to figure out was if he dared to tell her.


    ***


    The Spring¡¯s Aura punched through S-41234 (DW-4)¡¯s atmosphere, making a b-line for the coordinates provided by the ship doctor, who had thankfully survived the attack. It was always good to have a medical professional on hand.


    It was also beneficial that all ship officers had special codes they needed to memorise and could not store on any medium. This meant Lieutenant Agrawal knew that Diduk had sent the transmission and that he was not being held hostage, as there was a second set of codes for that.


    Agrawal knew the situation; their priority, Madeline Bahn, was alive, though she was injured and needed immediate medical treatment. Something The Spring¡¯s Arua was more than capable of providing, as she was essentially a cargoship-sized hospital with guns slapped to the hull.


    Most of the passengers had survived, though many were now suffering from the effects of living on a Habitableworld for so long. Dr Diuk had given them a list of all their conditions. The one that stood out to Agrawal the most was a Nish, a centipede donkey-looking thing with an unpronounceable name, suffering from this world¡¯s equivalent of cholera.


    The doctors and nurses aboard were all made aware and prepped for treatment.


    The one thing that Agrawal had not been expecting was that the pirates had not only survived but had located the passengers, as a tussle had occurred between their Captain and Ms Bahn, after which they had all surrendered.


    Even so, Agrawal and his unit were not taking any chances. Diduk had been asked to send photographs of all the pirates and informed him that any pirate who did not want to be torn to ribbons would be lying on the ground when The Spring¡¯s Arua touched down.


    Agrawal sighed; he had only passed his officer training six months prior; by all rights, his captain should have been leading this mission. Unfortunately, she had needed gallbladder surgery and had been forced to step down.


    At least this should be the wake-up call the woman needed to change her diet, steak and potatoes with virtually no vegetables every single day, washing it down with beer and coke. That was just asking for gallstones.


    ¡°We should be there in one minute,¡± the pilot stated.


    ¡°Do we have a suitable landing zone?¡± Argawal asked, gazing through the armoured viewing ports.


    ¡°The drones have found a spot, though we may need to clear some of the trees,¡± the pilot explained after glancing at one of their screens.


    Argawal did not like that; the idea of flattening an area of forest just for an LZ had never sat right with him. Ever since he was a little girl, he had loved trees and tree analogues. But people were higher up on the priorities list, so if they needed to knock down a few plants, so be it.


    Argawal said his goodbyes to the flight crew and departed the bridge; Argawal and his marines may have been military, but this was not a military operation. The crew and medical staff were highly trained and professional civilians, but civilians nonetheless. This meant everything onboard the Aura was far laxer than he was used to.


    The hanger was a large section of the ship and would typically contain a dozen ambulances, but they had been deemed unnecessary and was now occupied with over one hundred beds for preliminary treatment and noncritical individuals.


    Argawal left the doctors to their jobs, doing his best to stay out of their way. Like the rest of the ship, the hanger was impeccably clean; drones hummed all around and inspected every nook and cranny for even the tiniest contaminant. Given that they would soon have habitableworlders aboard, he did not fault these extreme measures.


    As part of the briefing he had been given, Argawal had seen what the first delegates to Earth had suffered when the environmental suits had failed.


    His platoon was waiting in the hangar, also doing the damnedest not to interfere with the professionals, and Argawal felt his stomach lurch as the ship rapidly descended.


    ¡°Nearly showtime,¡± he whispered; from everything he knew, this was going to be easy, walk to the targets, cable-tie the pirates, escort the survivors to the ship, let the doctors take over and go home. Simple, both tactically and morally.


    Despite this, Argawal was still nervous, he had never had sole command before, and he scratched the back of his hand, hoping the repetitive movement would calm his nerves.


    Taking one last breath, he approached his platoon and said, ¡°Ok, people, you all know the job.¡±


    The Platoon sergeant called, ¡°Officer on deck!¡± They all stood to attention. The doctors and nurses stopped what they were doing to look at the sudden source of the noise.


    ¡°At ease,¡± Argawal stated calmly.


    ¡°We depart the ship, secure the LZ, and then we locate the survivors,¡± explained Argawal.


    ¡°Does anyone have any questions before we depart?¡± he asked, scanning his platoon. Everyone remained silent.


    ¡°Good, let¡¯s get to it!¡± ordered Argawal.


    ***


    Madeline shifted against her rock; her laser burn stung in protest. She liked to think that the pain had receded in the previous two weeks; she also had a sneaking suspicion that it was just wishful thinking on her part.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok Madeline, the rescue party will be here soon, and they can get you the care you need,¡± Tazil said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.


    Madeline gave an eyeless smile which was quickly replaced with a wince. For the most part, Madeline had grown numb to her misery; but no matter her emotions, her wounds would often remind her of her state.


    ¡°I do hope them come soon; I¡¯m getting tired of laying in the mud,¡± stated Surt, a milky ooze weeping from her eyes; she too, had come down with an infection during their stay on DW-4. Diduk had treated her as best he could, but he had run out of antibiotics and was now spending all his energy keeping everyone alive until his colleagues arrived.


    Madeline smiled at her attempt at humour; it was good to see that the slug woman could stay so chipper, despite what was undoubtedly an uncomfortable condition.


    Someone squealed, and Madeline''s attention was drawn to the noise. Even though she knew the rescue party was coming, she still needed to be wary of the local fauna.


    When she saw powered exoskeletons and laser rifles, she was reasonably sure that these were not mesopredators looking for an easy meal.


    Madeline slowly hauled herself to her feet, propping herself up on a nearby tree.


    ¡°Madeline Bahn?¡± asked the marine.


    Despite her pain, Madeline could not help roll her eyes. ¡°No, I¡¯m a local; we shoot one another all the time for shits and giggles,¡± she replied.


    The marine did not respond, but she was pretty sure that their compatriots were snickering.


    A paramedic in a full biohazard suit took over from the marine. Unlike the soldiers, Madeline could see their faces. She had not seen another of her kind for over two months; it was an odd feeling, a mix of indifference and joy.


    Madeline also found her mind wandering to how pretty she was. She tried to shake it from her mind, despite her hands attempting to flatten her greasy hair.


    ¡°Ok, Madeline, my name¡¯s Ishi. Do you know what''s wrong? Do you recall what Dr Diduk diagnosed you with?¡± the paramedic asked.


    Madeline found that her tongue would not work correctly, ¡°Damn girl, you must be thirsty,¡± Madeline thought as she slurred out a word that might be charitably described as laser burn.


    ¡°I can fill you in on that one,¡± Diduk said, interrupting the conversation. He began to spout off some medical jargon that Madeline struggled to understand, something about cauterisation and subdermal something or other.


    Madeline could see marines restraining pirates and paramedics seeing to the survivors; Surt was being led away when a medic stopped them, insisting that she needed treatment. The soldier tried to argue, but the paramedic politely reminded them that this was a rescue mission, first and foremost.


    The snake man and the horse millipede were carried away on a stretcher, masks and tubes inserted in and on their bodies. It was hard to tell who was in what exoskeleton. Still, Madeline was reasonably confident that the marine assisting the paramedic was a man, and Madeline also concluded that they had a very nice backside.


    ¡°Ok,¡± Ishi said, looking back to Madeline. ¡°We¡¯re going to get you back to the ship and then start your treatment. Do you need anything?¡± she asked.


    Madeline held up three fingers, ¡°I want drugs, I want a shower, I want to eat something I have not personally killed, and I want to sleep in a bed.¡±


    ¡°That was four things, dear,¡± Ishi explained.


    ¡°I got shot; I think you can cut me some slack,¡± retorted Madeline, there was more bitterness in her words than she intended, but she was also too tired to care.


    Ishi did not seem to mind, probably hearing far worse from people in worse conditions.


    As Madeline followed the medical professionals towards rescue, she looked back to see Tazil staring with wide-eyed joy at what he was seeing. Madeline could not help but snicker, ¡°the boy¡¯s probably going to pop,¡± she thought.


    ***


    Tarin and Tarit rested on one of the beds; it was lovely not to sleep on mud for a change. They were both running a slight fever, but the doctor explained that they would make a full recovery.


    Tazil, who somehow had gotten through the whole ordeal without so much as a scratch, was fully geeking out.


    ¡°We¡¯re on an actual Deathworlder ship,¡± he whispered. He saw one of the cleaner drones glide past, and he looked at his parents, ¡°Look! Look at that!¡± he said with a squeal.


    ¡°Tazil, we have cleaner drones at home; three of them remember¡±, Tarin explained.


    ¡°Yeah, but these were built by Deathworlders¡±, he replied and went back to watching the little robots.


    They left their son to his fascinations, it had always seemed odd to them when he was growing up, but now they were both glad for his eccentricities. It had made him durable, and they were happy about that.


    A new doctor approached them, ¡°How are you feeling?¡± the human asked; the pair found it difficult to tell the difference between humans, primarily relying on nametags.


    ¡°Better doctor¡­ Baako,¡± said Tarit.


    ¡°Technically, it¡¯s Mr Baako; we don¡¯t use Dr past the consultancy level,¡± the doctor replied with a smile.


    He sat down in the chair, his environmental suit squeaking slightly as he did so.


    ¡°You said better, not perfect,¡± Dr Baako pointed out.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been hungry, hunted, held prisoner, watched by friends suffer and suffered myself, more than I could ever imagine,¡± explained Tarin after a few moments of gathering her thought. ¡°I just want to go home and pretend this was just one big nightmare,¡± she added, covering her face.


    ¡°We¡¯ll put a recommendation through that you receive counselling once you¡¯re back home; if you don¡¯t hear anything in seven days, I recommend you chase it up,¡± Dr Baako explained, tapping away at his P.D.A.


    ¡°What an odd expression, chase it up,¡± Tarit mused.


    The doctor asked if they had any immediate concerns, pain relief, or any new symptoms to their illness, but the Nimuteru explained that they would be fine.


    As the doctor left, Tazil approached his parents; they did seem to be doing much better; perhaps their condition was stress-induced rather than an infection.


    ¡°All in all, I¡¯d say we came out of that very well,¡± he said with an upbeat tone.


    His mother snorted and replied, ¡°I fail to see how it could have gone worse.¡± His father looked at him as though he had said they should all grow wings tomorrow.


    ¡°It could have been a lot worse, dad,¡± explained Tazil.


    ¡°How?¡± asked Tarit, not believing a word of it.


    ¡°Madeline might not have been there,¡± Tazil replied.

 Epilogue

    Not everyone got an entire solar system named after them; Madeline, however, had gotten rather lucky in that regard. Although, looking back on it, perhaps lucky wasn¡¯t the right word.


    It was an odd habit Madeline had gotten into over the past five years, waking up on the planet that bore her name and just letting that swirl around inside her head.


    Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she plodded out into the kitchen and got a cup of coffee going.


    As the brown liquid bubbled, she felt something crawl up her back. Madeline pulled open the curtains, the light of Bahn shining into the room.


    She picked up a bowl with the words ¡°Yulik¡¯s treats¡± written in permanent marker and took one of the small lumps of dried flesh that it contained.


    The moment she did so, a long sticky tongue grabbed hold of it and pulled it back into a mouth filled with tiny teeth.


    As the reptilomorph rested on Madeline¡¯s shoulder, its six padded feet adhering easily to her clothes and cheek. Madeline had promised to name the species after she had snapped that pick shortly after arriving on the planet, and she had done just that.


    Viscosipodes Madelinie or Madeline¡¯s Hextan to give it the common name.


    She had found this one injured during one of her expeditions; the hextan had suffered two broken front legs, making it impossible to climb. A predator would have picked it off for sure, so she had taken it home, nursed it back to health, and by that point, Yulik had realised that Madeline was a constant source of food and had refused to leave.


    Though a hextan acted in many ways like an alien chameleon, it lacked the ability to change colour, so Yulik was excellently camouflaged against the trees he would typically call home. That did not mean he was boring to look at; however, he was covered in beautiful patterns of browns and greens, and even his eyes helped him blend in.


    Yulik wrapped his tail around Madeline¡¯s neck and attempted to reach the bowl. Madeline, however, quickly swivelled on the spot. ¡°They are treats, young man; you¡¯ll spoil your breakfast,¡± she explained.


    Madeline brought the Hextan to what was essentially a large shoe tree and began to hang bits of food from its branches. She set Yulik down on his perch and turned the device on; the branches began to move.


    She had come to the conclusion that this was the best solution after Yulik had started to grow fat. This was a more natural way of feeding him that kept his skills sharp.


    With his royal highness satisfied, Madeline set to sorting her own breakfast. She needed to eat heartily; there would be no corner shops or supermarkets where she was going.


    After Madeline had recovered from her injuries on what was then S-41234(DW-4), and the award ceremonies, she had been given so many medals that he would be unable to move if she ever wore them all.


    Madeline realised she could not return to her old life; she quit her job and started looking for something more exciting. It was roughly two months after leaving that the obvious struck her, so she had sent a message to the research team that studied (DW-4) that she would be willing to serve as a guide for planetary expeditions.


    The reply had come in under a week, instantaneous by galactic standards. It was a resounding yes, and that was how Madeline became the universe¡¯s most outstanding expert of the planet (Madeline), that had been named after her shortly afterwards.


    Madeline¡¯s home, located along the river Tazil, looked rustic and primitive; it was anything but, not only did it have the usual comforts, air conditioning, central heating, lighting plumbing. But it was also constructed with gravity plating, meaning she could enjoy the comforting weight of home whenever she wished.


    The house was covered in wood and thatch to give it the illusion of simplicity.


    (Madeline) was currently in talks to become a human colony, though that would not occur for many years, and even when it did, the scientific study would continue, though they would doubtless get more human researchers when it did.


    In the meantime, the scientist needed additional funds and a year ago, she happened upon an idea. Tourism. More specifically, eco-scientific-survivalism tourism.


    It had been a slow start; to humans, even city-goers (Madeline) was rather quaint. The other Deathworlders could get it at home, and most habitableworlders were too scared to even set foot on it or whatever appendage they happened to have.


    However, there were oddballs in every race, and they got a few thrillseekers every month. Madeline felt the low numbers helped; it meant the tourist did not disrupt the scientists much, and each visitor got more attention, improving their reputation.


    Which was what Madeline was preparing for right now; she dressed in rugged survival gear, solid boots and thick heavy trousers that protected her legs and feet from sharp thorns. Madeline wore a heavy long-sleeved top; all these clothes had been coated in a water-resistant spray. The spray, which could be bought in any corner shop off-world, was worth its weight in gold here.


    To top it all off, she added a cloak made from the hide of a zumawelu she had killed three years ago. Madeline had not been hunting the beast; she had just been escorting the scientist out towards the plains.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    She had been forced to kill it to save her friends; once it was dead, waste not want not. It also helped maintain the illusion.


    Apparently, it had been quite the sight. ¡°Two titans battling for supremacy¡±, one scientist had said. Wonto, Madeline believed their name was; they were off-world now, they had been from a Class 3 (H) and had they spent any more time here, they would have either died or suffered horrible skeletal damage. Personally, Madeline just remembered a mad scramble in the dirt.


    ¡°Madeline, the guests will arrive in thirty minutes,¡± Roger said, the V.I. being the only thing that had not changed.


    Madeline picked up her P.D.A. and replied, ¡°Thank you for the reminder; tell Juku I¡¯m on my way now.¡±


    Roger sent the message, and Madeline slid her P.D.A. into her pocket. Madeline gently slapped her cheeks and said, ¡°Ok, showtime.¡±


    ***


    As she stepped through the front door, she could feel lighter as her house''s artificial gravity gave way to the planet''s natural gravity.


    All around her were the houses of the research staff; they were most likely empty, having left for work, though Welup was most likely still in bed; they had the week off, after all. If Madeline recalled correctly, the young person was spending it on a personal project.


    There were no solid paths from the houses to the research compound, the forest they had set up in did not have enough rainfall to warrant anything more stable, and the scientist wanted to keep their disruption to a minimum.


    Madeline felt that sentiment was kind of moot when you were poking and prodding everything living, dead and inorganic they could get their hands, paws, arms, tentacles or claws on.


    Climbing up the ramp, Juku was already waiting for her. ¡°Good morning, Madeline,¡± he said, waving at her; Madeline was starting to wish she had never taught him that he used everywhere.


    ¡°Good Morning. Is the expedition still scheduled for tomorrow?¡± asked Madeline.


    ¡°Oh yes, shuttles are just waiting for a final check and refuelling; after a crash course, our guest will be able to help with it,¡± Juku explained, waving again. Madeline did not bother to correct him, partly because it made him happy but mostly because it was pointless; he would just say he was using it in novel ways.


    Madeline had never seen Juku without his suit on; he was a fully aquatic species, he had gills and, therefore would suffocate. She had, of course, seen pictures, and while that did not show the whole picture, it was enough to get a general sense; Madeline knew he had four eyes, a bunch of pressure-sensing organs on his snout and well-developed nostrils.


    He also lacked any hands or feet, these being more or less useless in the ocean. Though intelligent, his people had been utterly incapable of creating complex tools and were uplifted to their current status roughly five hundred years ago.


    Apart from his suit''s robotic legs, he was horizontal, with six flippers and a tail fluke, the only distinguishing characteristics.


    ¡°Madeline, are you ok? You¡¯re staring,¡± asked Juku, his tone a mix of concern and a little discomfort.


    ¡°Fine,¡± replied Madeline with a smile, ¡°Just imagining what life would be like under the sea.¡±


    Any follow-up sentence was cut off as Madeline¡¯s P.D.A. pinged, and she heard the high-pitched whine of in-atmosphere engines. She and Juku looked up, and like clockwork, the shuttle appeared over the tree line.


    Madeline had no idea who was flying it; a travel company, entirely divorced from the research assignment, operated it. Still, the company was efficient and never failed to bring the tourists on time.


    The shuttle touched down, and the boarding ramp descended. If Madeline had recalled correctly, there should be five people onboard, minus the pilot and co-pilot, of course.


    Four individuals departed the shuttle, a mix of eagerness and nervousness in their movements.


    The nervousness was quickly replaced by stress, as their bodies strained under the gravity of (Madeline.)


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s been a while,¡± a familiar voice said as the fifth individual departed the shuttle.


    Madeline looked up to see a Nimuteru leave the ramp; he looked directly at Madeline and said, ¡°Hello, Madeline, it¡¯s been some time,¡± with a broad smile.


    She blinked twice as her brain caught up with her eyes, ¡°Tazil?¡± she asked, utterly bewildered.


    The Nimuteru has changed since she last saw him; he had gotten bigger for one. He was now taller than Madeline, his tusks were starting to grow in, and his skin was beginning to shift from brown to purple.


    As she accepted that this was indeed Tazil, her first question was, ¡°Where did you learn to smile?¡±


    ¡°Extranet, I¡¯ve been studying deathworlders with a renewed passion ever since our little excursion; in fact, I hope to get a job here once I¡¯ve finished university¡±, Tazil explained, his mood saccharinely chipper.


    ¡°Tazil, Tazil, I know that name,¡± Juku said, mumbling to himself, and then it clicked, ¡°I know you; you¡¯re one of the people who were stranded here along with Madeline.¡±


    Tazil took a slight bow and said, ¡°guilty as charged.¡±


    The other tourist looked on with awe at the young man who had survived over a month on a Deathworld and lived to tell the tale. ¡°It seems you¡¯ve suddenly become a lot more popular, young man,¡± said Madeline, nodding at the others.


    ¡°I¡¯m used to it; after I got back, just about everyone in school wanted to be my friend, and my bully problem evaporated overnight,¡± he replied, a smug little look on his face.


    Yulik yawned; he was used to meeting strangers by now. ¡°It seems that you¡¯ve been making friends,¡± stated Tazil.


    ¡°Yeah, Yulik and me are pretty close,¡± replied Madeline, stroking the Hextan¡¯s chin.


    ¡°Yulik? Why the hell did you name it Yulik?¡± asked Tazil, caught off guard for the first time since he had met Madeline.


    Madeline shrugged, ¡°No real reason, though if I had to pick one off the top of my head, I would say he likes to strut and thinks he¡¯s the centre of the universe.¡±


    Tazil chuckled humourlessly, ¡°that was two.¡±


    Madeline had her own question, ¡°if you don¡¯t mind me asking, why the hell didn¡¯t you tell me you were coming?¡±


    Madeline had kept in contact with just about everyone from the cruise ship, people like Diduk, Tarin, Tarit and Tazil; she sent communications once a week, the others varied between once a month to a year. She also kept in contact with Surt; she should be getting out soon, a mixture of good behaviour and working with the survivors.


    The slug woman was currently stationed at Fretu low-security prison; from what Surt had told her, it was a lovely place and served some of the best meals she had ever eaten.


    ¡°We wanted it to be a surprise, though I will admit it took some convincing on my parent¡¯s side,¡± Tazil explained. Madeline smiled; it seemed despite his physical growth Tazil had not changed a bit.


    Juku tapped Madeline on her shoulder and said, ¡°While I am happy for you, we do have an orientation to get through.¡±


    Madeline blushed slightly; she had gotten so caught up in her conversation that she had completely forgotten why she was here.


    ¡°Sorry, got a bit carried away,¡± said Madeline turning her attention back to the tourist, who had been very patient with her. ¡°Now, my name is Madeline, welcome to Madeline, and without further ado, we have a planet to explore.¡±