posted 04-05-99 04:44 AM ET     

"This is foolishness."

The woman rose from the comfort of her leather chair and placed her palm down on the stone table, not noticing as her dark hair falling in disorganized strands over her shoulder. "And you still haven't told me why they would take this risk."

Deirdre gazed at her levelly from her seat�s depths. "It's an important mission, Tara. Not only do we gather more data about the native life, but we manage to mark down the lay of the land as well. And if his hunch is correct, we could have valid alternatives for future bases." She spoke slowly, as if trying to cool the conversation.

Tara wore her station with passion and pride -- it showed, from her fresh white-buttoned uniform with the large Gaian insignia on her breast, down to her gleaming black boots. Such devotion to her position meant much to Deirdre, even if the good commander needed to be held in check from time to time.

"All the while leaving ourselves wide open for Spartan attack," Tara replied. "We might as well be carrying bulls-eyes on our backs." Tara wanted her voice to compel Deirdre to her position, but the even stare of the latter�s eyes had reduced her words to almost a plea. Even as her resolve wavered, she cursed inwardly at her lack of firmness.

"It's not a big expedition," Deirdre said, leaning forward and crossing her fingers on the table in front of her, "just an ATC with eight individuals, and they'll only be gone a week, probably less. And I do have your assurances that Jeremy and Takashi are excellent choices for the mission. Yes?" It was less a question than a prompt.

"Yes. You have my word." Tara's voice was heavy with resignation. She turned away from her and sat at the edge of the long rectangular table, looking at the computer map of the immediate area around Gaia's Landing on the wall, its familiar blue elevation curves and white lettering a more welcome sight than Deirdre's gaze. She absently pushed her loose strands of hair behind her shoulders. "I just can't believe we're doing this to build a giant treehouse," she muttered almost inaudibly.

Deirdre smiled despite herself. "Enthouse," she corrected. She lifted the porcelain cup from its saucer and sipped gently, savoring the aroma of the herbal tea as much as the taste.

"Whatever it is," Tara continued, "it'll be visible for miles. Let's just scream out to the Spartans to come and get us."

"Any above ground structure will be visible, Tara, and unless you plan on finding some more dormant volcanoes to excavate, it's the only way. Not moving from our Landing means letting the Spartans have control of the planet..." Deirdre noted Tara's muffled curse with silent satisfaction, "...and you know it. If Markael is right, we can save enough materials to get bases up and running in little to no time, leaving more time and resources to set up defenses and station patrols. It makes perfect sense from both the ecological and defensive standpoints. Do you understand?"

For a moment, Deirdre sensed that Tara was about to say something, but after only a slight pause, she merely nodded. The back of her neck was suffused with sullen red.

"Good." Deirdre stood and smoothed her dress with one hand. "Then have your men prepared to leave at 0700 hours tomorrow, and equip them with essentials."

Tara turned to face her and put her heels together, bowing perfunctorily. "Yes, Lady Skye," she said, her face clear of expression. Without waiting for a further response, Deirdre left the room as quickly as she had entered.

Tara clenched her teeth in disappointment, wondering if she belonged. I believe in Gaia, she thought, and I believe in its principles. But we have to be practical, and we can�t while following a man who goes starry-eyed at the mention of nature. A man who doesn't seem to care if we survive. Looking down at the porcelain cup left behind on the conference table, Tara noticed it still half-full with the dark green liquid. Wrinkling her nose, she tossed the cup carelessly into the sink.

* * *

The insistent rocking of the vehicle awakened Markael. Languidly, he reached down and gripped the lever, propping the cushioned seat up from a reclining position. A bleary feeling of mild surprise surrounded him; he'd never been able to slumber sitting, and was certain that the rumbling hum of the Andromeda's generators behind him would be too loud for sleepiness to conquer. And yet he'd managed to sleep comfortably for two days in a row.

Sylvia was still reclined next to him, fast asleep, a pair of headphones on her head. Her hands remained crossed on the front of her sky-blue jumpsuit. Instinctively, he began to tug on the front of his own navy blue suit, the zipper holding it firmly in place. Not even a change of clothes, he thought disgustedly, now this is really roughing it.

He carefully leaned over and removed the headphones from Sylvia's head. After reaching to smooth a few strands of her hair, making sure they didn't fall out of place, he switched off the audio box mounted on the console in front of her. He looked up and noticed one of the xenobiologists watching him, her hazel eyes twinkling with mischief, her ruby red lips curved into a smile.

His hand retreated defensively. "She wasn't listening to it anyway. Besides, there's no use in wasting generator energy, we might need it for emergencies."

"Uh-huh." Marian nodded as if sharing a private joke, rubbing one of her brown curls of hair in between two fingers. Under his glare, she turned back to face her console screen, absorbing herself in the video once more.

He rolled his eyes. Oh well, people believe whatever they want to. He turned to look outside, his fingers brushing against the brown-tinted forceglass. His puzzlement at what was causing the bumpy ride was dispelled quickly. After leaving the area of Grande Teton, they had been travelling across flat and arid terrain, sand clouds rising up in the Andromeda's wake and a clear view nearly out to the horizon. Now they were crossing a series of rolling hills, with no plains anywhere in sight. Rocks were littered across the landscape, strewn clumps of a land cracked in places with waterlessness.

Xenofungus had started appearing in large beds as their journey continued, and Markael's gaze remained fixed in wonder at the native plants. He vividly remembered watching a Theodore Geisel television special as a child and being fascinated with the plants twisting forwards and backwards, up into towers and down into staircases in defiance of order. It was the same chaos here, with runners splashing out to the sides and spiralling upward into tapered strands, a mass of fungal stalks snaking around themselves, curling into themselves, reaching out into space. Like watching smoke stream upward only to dissipate into wavering streams, he mused, or watching a crackling fire dancing in the night air. Beauty and unity in the randomness of it all, a beauty one can lose himself in.

The Andromeda ran over a large rock, breaking Markael from his train of thought. The cabin shook violently, and his head nearly hit the forceglass.

"Sorry," Jeremy called from the driver's position, "I'll watch it next time."

The shaking was enough to rouse the large man directly in front of Markael. He yawned noisily, and with a smacking of his lips, he stretched out his arms and legs. Marian looked at him briefly before returning to her video. "Well, at least you weren't snoring...this time."

Takashi opened his mouth, about to reply, but concluded she wouldn't have paid any attention. Running a few fingers through his hair, he blinked rapidly. "Is it my shift yet, J? It's been a while."

"Nah, I'm fine." His voice was even and unconcerned, but he shifted his weight to another part of the seat. A lowering of his eyebrows and tightening of his lips bunched the numerous freckles on his ruddy face, betraying his long time at the wheel. "Besides, we're nearly there."

"I had a strange dream," Sylvia said, startling Markael somewhat. Apparently, the last bump had brought her awake as well. Her blue eyes were still unfocused, staring out into the landscape, but Markael could sense something foreboding in her gaze.

"What was it?"

"I thought... I dreamed of a huge forest. The leaves were red, though, and the trunks were xenofungus runners. It was growing, just eating everything up in sight. It took up all the land, the water, even the sky. I got caught in its path, I guess, and I was being swallowed by the darkness." She placed a hand over her shoulder and shook with unease. "I'm still kind of scared."

"No need to worry," he said, hoping he wasn't being too flippant, "I don't think these ents bite."

Sylvia smiled weakly and adjusted the seat until it pushed forward into a sitting position once more. He noticed that her right hand was still trembling a little, a fact she tried to hide by gripping the adjustment lever tightly, tight enough to whiten her knuckles.

"The ents' grove should be over the next rise," Lalithra said from her seat. She quickly ruffled through the wrinkled charts and maps that she'd been working over the past few days. Markael had heard rumors that the cartographer was distantly related to Pravin's wife, and her dark skin, wide nose, and bright eyes did have some resemblance to Pria. She settled on a light-blue chart, folded neatly in half. "I'd say anywhere between three and five..."

"Now this I gotta see for myself." Marian quickly switched off the screen on her console and strolled up to the front of the vehicle, trying hard not to let the bumpy ride affect her gait. Takashi shrugged and followed suit, and soon, the whole crew gathered round the main windshield. Even Bonnie, who normally shrank behind her numerous reports and botanical tables, shyly brought up the rear, standing on her tiptoes to try and see over the others. Only Robert stayed behind, sitting at one of the sensor stations off to the side, peering intently at the screen through thick spectacles.

Jeremy half-turned in his seat, frowning. "I'd really appreciate it if you guys took a seat. Getting crowded in here. If we hit a bump..."

Marian smoothly interrupted him, hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. We all trust your driving. Unlike some people here." She flashed an impish grin at Takashi, who protested ostentatiously that the skid wasn't his fault, over her skeptical replies and Jeremy's soft mutterings of "dangerous".

Markael craned his neck for a good view though he didn't think the ents would be visible from where Andromeda was. The slow petering out of the buzz of conversation proved him wrong. At first Markael thought that the mass was an oddly-shaped plateau, a rock outcropping among many they'd passed in the previous day. Then the crest resolved itself into a forest of smoothly domed trees, sides slender and bare of branches. The unique signature of the ent groves.

He shook his head in disbelief. For a moment he thought that the grove must have been perched on a short mesa; it couldn't be that tall. Yet the base of the mass was a chaotic jumble of intertwined roots. Unmistakable. The power of the sight was magnified by the landscape -- it was though an unseen hand had stripped the land bare of everything but rocks and hills, and placed the ents as massive watchtowers, silently observing. Waiting. As they grew larger, as the caravan crept closer, he could almost feel an indistinct presence descend upon him. The hollow voices of the ents called to his blood -- What are you doing here? Who are you?

Who are you?

The crew stood still, too moved to speak. Robert's voice echoed their amazement. "The sensors say they average ... 283.5 meters high, with the highest at 307.4..." He drew a hand across the screen that displayed the ents, as if to confirm their reality.

With their goal in sight, Jeremy pushed the ATC faster, and it was a downhill ride to the grove. As the Andromeda sped down the ridge, the ents started looming over them, their shadows drawing long gashes on the rolling landscape, their domes lost well above the windshield. The grove dwarfed any sight they'd seen, even the majesty of the Grande Teton volcano. The crew stood in awed silence, watching the endless length of wood grow and become more distinct before their eyes. The moment was broken by a nervous clap of hands from Takashi, who started moving toward the rear of the vehicle. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's suit up and get out there."

* * *

The airlock doors opened, and they rushed out into the open. Markael inhaled deeply, breathing freer despite the plastic scent of the oxygen canisters. Even while cramped in the bulkiness of the environmental suits, the freedom of movement felt good to him. He could feel the rippling of a breeze pass him, a cool whistle broken by a soft chirp from a nearby razorbeak, followed by the flapping of its green wings. A tiny furry arachnid tentatively probed one of his feet with a leg; a small kick sent the creature scuttling away at surprising speed. Creatures in the open space. The freedom of space felt better, even though it was clearly overshadowed by the presence of the grove.

He walked around the edge of the entforest, feeling the crumbling of the soft soil under his feet and gazing upward. The shadows of the ents had coldly snuffed out the rays of the noonday sun, and their enormous roots had stretched out in wooden cords across the rocky ground. Most of the crew kept to the edge of the forest as the roots thickened to unclimbable heights in the center; one could imagine being dropped in the maze of them at the center of the grove, struggling vainly to escape the walled trap...

Takashi walked alongside, carrying the hyperdrill in his hands while leaving the ubiquitous shredder rifle slung in a shoulder holster. He fingered the large base antsily while keeping a hand on the extremely long and slender driller, tipped by the laser bit. "Well, can we start? I don't want to be carryin' this thing around all day."

Bonnie was already standing at the base of one of the ents, sensor in hand, probing the wood gently with the palm of a hand. "You've brought it?" she asked without looking up.

"What does it look like?" Takashi said, raising the drill slightly.

"Right here, I think," Bonnie said, pointing at a spot on the base, "would be the closest. Without having to climb the roots." She flipped closed the lid on the sensor and turned around, smiling.

He sidled up to the trunk, placed the drill against it and clamped the metal stabilizers in place. "Right here, you say?"

She nodded, and Takashi carefully activated the unit. It responded with a burst of sound as the small laser bit dug itself into the trunk, the buzzing grind protesting every movement. Takashi kept the unit steady, trying to keep his face casually observant, but the tightness of his movements showed it wasn't easy.

Markael exhaled, running his fingers across part of the giant trunk. "Amazing that we'd have to use the drill. What do you think accounts for this hardness?"

Bonnie shrugged. "The best guess so far is that the environment of Chiron was much different long ago. Either there were extremely violent storms and cataclysms, or there were numerous predators that were able to burrow through hard materials."

"Like the mindworms, perhaps?"

She clicked her tongue in thought. "Perhaps, but it seems odd that an organism with such burrowing ability would be a herbivore, or go after plants. Whatever happened, it placed more emphasis on protection from outside elements rather than nitrate circulation. Without more bedrock samples, though, it's still just a guess."

A loud curse, and the grating sound of the drill suddenly ceased. "This isn't that easy," Takashi said, taking his hands off the machine and turning to Bonnie, "I'll need the extra stabilizer. Could you get it from the car?"

She nodded and ran off in the direction of the Andromeda. Takashi favored her retreating figure with a sidelong glance. "Got nice eyes, she does. I'd take a shot at her, but she's too short. Not enough friction, you know?"

"You ought to lay off the subject of women for once." Markael's mouth formed a wry smile despite his distaste. There's that bare masculine machismo again, he thought, but I suppose there's some comfort in knowing that some people are consistent. He slowly shook his head, half in disbelief, half in amusement. "I can't believe you tried to put some moves on Marian the other day."

With a wide grin, Takashi threw up his arms in mock protest. "Hey! She gave me the opening. She gave me the signs. Why not? Life goes on, my man." He leaned closer, rubbing his hands with exaggerated relish. "Besides, we gotta start over here. New colonists have to come from somewhere, right?"

Markael grimaced. "You should join the Hive."

Takashi burst out laughing and clapped him on the shoulder. Of course I don't believe that, Markael thought, but he makes me wonder sometimes. Takashi cheerfully turned back to his drill and said to no one in particular, "I just might, I just might."

His eyes rested on a large growth of xenofungus some distance away. It was an unusually large bed and would have attracted his notice but for the gigantic grove towering above them. Out of curiosity, he walked over to it, ignoring Takashi's warnings of not going too far. In the distance, he could see Robert on his knees, examining bits of moist soil trapped in glass specimen bottles. To his left, Lalithra stood with a field scope, running it across the area. If they can stray that far from the grove, I certainly can, he thought.

As he approached the bed, he wondered what was drawing him closer. There was a dream he'd had, where he heard a beautiful melody underneath the rushing clouds. Funny thing to remember, he thought, but maybe because it's the first time in quite a while that I've actually been outside. He looked up at the pale yellow-orange sky. Low clouds, burnished at the edges with crimson, stood in threatening rows. There was nothing here to remind him of this dream. No blue sky. No sound. No... there was something else. Something important. A strong wind kicked at his body as he tried to remember.

A muted voice sang softly in his ear.

Startled, he turned around sharply, wondering if he was hallucinating. No one was anywhere near him. As he listened more intently, he realized it wasn't a voice, after all. It was more of an echo -- and it was precisely what he'd heard in his dream. Am I imagining things? What...who...

The questions in his mind evaporated under the sheer beauty of the song. He stood transfixed as the ephemereal melody continued unabated, simple and complex at once. For a moment, the world blurred. His very senses became shadows, an indistinct fog next to the clarity of the sound. He closed his eyes to take it in more completely, and he heard the whispers in his ears as clearly as ever before, drawing himself out of himself. Like whisperings of the wind. The wind?

It took him a moment to realize that it was the wind blowing through the fungal bed that was creating the mysterious sound. He'd heard about the xenofungal sussurations before; how was it that they were so melodious? He sat on a flattened stone as the sound wrapped itself around him, entranced him. There was something perfect to the melody in its breathy and wafting tones, a voice calling out to him from unknown places. He began to shape words to the song, uttering them softly at first, then singing them in gentle tones. They seemed right, somehow, even though it wasn't the same as his dream that day.

Oh-ma-eh-ah-deh-oh,
Ai-na-le-yi-ya,
Oh-re-so-sa-yi ai-ya-nu-re-ya...

A wisp of memory tugged at his mind. His mother sitting on an ornate carpet, legs crossed beneath her, chanting unknown syllables with eyes shut, the scent of incense heavy in the air. Her telling him one of the songs of Milarepa, the strange words hinting at indecipherable meaning. He distantly thought he may have recognized some of the syllables in his words, but it was the dream that fought for his attention. The dream of a keening melody.

Was this it? Could I remember?

Oh-ma-eh-ah-deh-oh,
Ai-na-le-yi-ya,
Oh-re-so-sa-yi ai-ya-nu-re-ya...

In his absorption, he became unaware of time passing. He could hear the bed clearer, now, more distinctly, as if his act of listening was enough to intensify the mysterious sound. A rocky footfall next to him broke his trance as he looked up to see the red-haired guard watching him closely, shredder rifle in hand.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. "You're singing with it. In tune. How'd you manage to pick it up?"

He realized Jeremy must have been listening to him for some time. "Well, I have perfect pitch." He shrugged. "It's just something I was born with, I think." The song washed over him, and he closed his eyes again, drinking it deeply, feeling cool waves flowing down his body and arms from it. His voice became breathy and distant, as if retreating from conscious thought. "It's very beautiful, isn't it?"

"You think it's beautiful? Really?" Jeremy wrinkled his nose, the freckles across his face bunching up in mild disbelief.

Markael looked up only briefly before shutting his eyes once more. "You don't think so?"

Jeremy shrugged. "I dunno, I think it sounds kind of creepy." He immediately looked down at Markael, worried that he might have offended him, but the Speaker was still feeling out the sound, oblivious to any concern. After a slightly awkward pause, he added, "But I'm not that great with music."

Then there was only silence, filled with the singing in Markael's ears, ancient voices calling out to him. Beckoning, pushing him onward, outward into the void.
In the closed corridors of his mind, he saw the fungus growth suddenly pushing outward with a renewed vitality, perfect blooms appearing near the tops, the drab red suddenly infused with splashes of yellow and pink and blue. The song called out in his ears, sang with the vibrancy of a chorus of voices. The roots twisted outward, snaking forth in long strides towards him, as the blooms grew in gigantic palettes of color, surrounding him on all sides. Runners spiralled upward, fading into obscurity in the red sky, and the blooms opened toward him, the petals calling out. The melody became harsh, a deafening roar in his ears as the immense blooms swung over and gently closed their petals around his head...

He opened his eyes with a shout, instinctively throwing a fist into the air. Open space. Nothingness. His breath came in short, ragged gasps. He quickly looked at the fungal bed, his body wracked with trembling. Was I just imagining that?

Jeremy put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, man, y'all right?"

Markael nodded weakly, rubbing his fingers together. Just a dream. Just a dream. He noted that his palms were sweating, and pressed them together. "I...I hope so."