posted 03-17-99 09:42 PM ET     

The letters blurred into each other as he fought to stay awake. It's still too early, he muttered, but there's just a bit more work to be done. And what difference does early and late mean here, anyway? Just an arbitrary division of units under a star we can't see. Just a time when the base lighting was at its peak, and a time when it was almost completely dark. Markael's hand reached for the glowbulb, brightened the light to a reasonable level. He had hoped that it would rouse him, but it failed to do so. The stone still surrounded him, the orders needed to be issued, people were asking for his attention. How long have I been sitting here writing? he wondered. I can't remember. His eyelids collapsed as he backslid into dream.

He watched the clouds speed overhead, billowing from the nothingness of the sky only to retreat back into transparent obscurity. A star, a bright sun streaked across the sky as day shifted into night, and night back into day. He stood transfixed not by the sudden speed, but the bright colors around him. Even though it lasted only a moment, the twilight purple was darker and more velvet than any he'd seen; the morning sunrise an enchanting crimson; the midnight stars as bright as pearls in the darkness. The mid-day sun brighter and yellower -- was it Earth's sun, or Alpha's? It seemed too bright for either.

Stretching his arms over his head, something giant blossomed beyond his reach, just beyond the grasp of his mind. He reached higher, wanted to take it all in for himself. Sky. Sun. Stars. Clouds. And over it all, the keening of a melody, something that reminded him of a chant his mother had recited to herself when he was young -- mysterious and wonderful and elusive. He looked around, wanting to hear it more clearly, but it came in diffuse strains, as if reverberating from a faraway canyon. A low dull throbbing in his temples, and he was lost in the ethereal sound --

You...

He awoke with a start, his cheek pressed against the cold surface of his desk. Where...? He righted himself slowly. Yes. Of course. My work, always waiting. Only a moment passed, and he remembered his dream. Had that been a melody? He closed his eyes and strained to recall any of it, but it had evaporated. Probably not worth remembering anyway, he thought. Yet, there was an unmistakable feeling of loss in the air. He frowned, suddenly feeling impatient, and took pen in hand once more.

His eyes drifted down to the clock on his desk. Almost time for the recess, he thought, I'd better head down to the main arboretum. He shook his head, trying to free himself of the dream, but it still tugged at the edge of his consciousness. Something I've forgot? Or am on the verge of forgetting?

* * *

The doors slid open and Markael took a deep breath as he entered the arboretum. The air was filled with the invigorating scent of pine, far fresher than the mechanical ventilation he'd grown accustomed to. As he crossed over from tiled hallway, the soft feel of packed soil beneath his feet felt forgiving. The space was enormous, and he absently thought how it took nearly a month of excavation for the mechs to put in the soil and plants. Even the presence of tall trees didn't take away from the feeling of great space. And overhead, spaced regularly around the arboretum, were the lights. Inverted domes made of clear crystal filtered the powerful glow above them so that it streamed down warm and sun-like. Far different from the cold fluorescents that peppered the hallways in the cavern.

He walked down the main pathway, taking in the lush plant life around him. Small beds of flowers on either side, with exotic scents wafting upward; conifers and broadleafs reaching upward with stately branches; and above all, the feeling of green. Grass and leaves on all sides. He silently resolved to spend more time here.

A large figure emerged from behind some low-hanging branches and approached, waving an arm. "Mark! How ya doin'?"

He looked up at the approaching figure. "Hello, Takashi," he said, tilting his head upward. Takashi was nearly a head taller, and even though he was slightly overweight even for his size, he had enough muscle to give the appearance of strength instead of fat. Or at least he would have, but his arms and chest were covered in the bright silver gleam of his security uniform. His boots were capped with dull steel, resulting in an even heavier gait, and he quite conspicuously carried a large shredder rifle in one hand. Markael smiled at the getup. "A little overdressed for the occasion, are we, my friend?"

Takashi shrugged cheerfully. "Well, Lady Deirdre's supposed to be guarded round the clock. McLellan's orders." As if to make the point, Takashi nonchalantly slung the large rifle over his shoulder with one arm.

Markael looked down uncomfortably. Orders. And this guy's the perfect one to receive them. He won't even think to...oh well, forget about it, he thought. "So," he said brightly, clapping a hand on Takashi's shoulder, "how are you adjusting to life here so far?"

"Kinda weird, I guess," Takashi said as he lumbered along the path, "but I've got no regrets about being here. I like this kind of life. Besides," he added, leaning down conspiratorially, "there are more chicks here than guys. Can't argue with that, huh?"

Markael smiled wryly. "I suppose...it depends on your point of view."

Takashi slugged him playfully on the shoulder. "Oh, come on, man! You can't say you haven't noticed that, huh? What could be better than chicks with fashion?" He accentuated the last word as if savoring a taste.

Markael rubbed his shoulder absently and winced. "As you like. Where's Lady Deirdre? I've got to see her about something."

"In the clearing around this corner," Takashi said, "but I think she's -- you know, quiet around these times. You sure you want to see her?"

Markael nodded and stepped off the path, feeling the welcoming softness of green grass underneath his feet. Carpets are all right, he thought, but there's something about the crunch of real grass blades that makes me feel at ease. Gingerly nudging some branches aside, he carefully walked into the clearing.

Deirdre Skye sat upright in the center of the clearing, eyes closed in meditation, her curled brown hair falling gently over one shoulder. There was a dome of light directly above, encircling the grass around her with a gentle glow. The soft light gleamed off her bare shoulders and face and seemed to wash out the colors of her blouse and long dress. For a moment, it seemed there was only white light, shaped into the contours of a still human being.

He approached cautiously, trying not to make a sound. Strange, he thought, I've known her for long before this, but she seems so different now. He remembered her constant fretting over proper soil specimens, hunching over scores of computer terminals, professionally making recommendations on his procedures. Now, instead of a friend or superior, he thought, she seems unreachable, immaculate. Is it because she's had to lead our young nation like this? To show she's in command? To move herself in a higher position than the rest of...

No. He shook his head slowly. No, nothing like Tara. Surely she remembers the times on Earth, remembers the rest of us. It isn't necessarily the fate of those in power...

"Markael?"

Her words came distantly, her vowels elongated in breathy sound. "Markael, is that you?" She didn't move from her sitting position. If not for her words, one would think she was slumbering.

"Yes, my Lady," Markael said, bowing slightly. "I hope I'm not--"

"I don't call you 'First Speaker', Markael," Deirdre said, opening her eyes for the first time, "so there's no need for 'Lady'."

Markael only nodded, looking into her eyes. Those eyes -- so many times in the dull confines of the lab he'd seen them, and they'd never pierced him with their blue hue as they did on Chiron. What was happening here? Maybe, he thought hurriedly, it was just the effect of the light.

Deirdre turned her head turned languidly toward him, but her body remained in its original position. After waiting for a response, she prompted, "You wanted to see me about something? Or are you just visiting Takashi here?" She threw a look over his shoulder.

Markael started, quickly looking over his shoulder at Takashi. He felt mildly surprised that he hadn't heard him enter the clearing. But I probably wasn't paying that much attention, he thought. Oh well, time to do it.

"La...Deidre. I'd like to assemble a few people for a survey team to the south ridge." He thought his voice was a little too formal and clipped as he spoke, so he added, "There's something there that deserves some inspection."

He waited for a response, but she looked at him with unfathomable patience, not even moving her head. Only her steady gaze, broken occasionally by the blinking of her eyelids. Whoever said eyes were windows into the soul hadn't met one like her, he mused. Sometimes, she can be friendly. Other times... well. With some discomfort, he continued, "The time has come to look for sites for future cities. We can't stay here forever, Deirdre. There are plenty of places where we can set up with minimum ecological impact."

She lifted an eyebrow slightly, with a trace of amusement. "You're so sure that that's my main concern, over the Spartans?" Her query held neither contempt nor haughtiness -- just the even tone of observation.

"Well, if I may be so bold, yes," Markael said. He shifted his weight to one leg briefly before trying to stand upright under Deirdre's focused gaze. He continued, "and besides, now that you've appointed Tara McLellan in place, I'm sure she can ably take care of defenses." He paused over the last few words, feeling a tang of unease in his mouth.

Takashi tensed his body slightly, but Deirdre gave no sign that she noticed. "Quite true," she said, nonplussed. "Well, continue."

"The fact is," he said, lifting his minipad and pushing a few keys upon it, "There are plenty of above-ground sites that can remain secure and still be built with a minimum of material. Any of the cliff faces, for instance. But I've got an idea that I've been working on the past few weeks. I believe the ents on this planet could even do the job."

"The ents?" Deirdre arched her eyebrows in surprise, a sudden movement out of her normally unreadable exterior. She turned fully to face Markael.

Takashi's brows furrowed as he leaned closer. "What are ents?"

"Here, look." Markael swiftly turned the minipad�s face toward the larger man, the small screen frozen on an image of a colossal tree with mighty roots. Yet, for all its girth, the tree appeared fragile and naked, as its trunk was bare of branches and ending in a humble dome. Ents. He had actually hoped that the nickname would catch on since he persuaded one of the biologists to name the specimen's species entoboladus. Maybe not sentient and movable like the fanciful creatures of Tolkien, he thought, but a guardian of trees and forests would be a fitting homage for them.

"Wow," Takashi said, grasping the minipad with both hands. "Those things are huge."

One side of Deirdre's mouth curved into an uncertain frown. After a cursory glance at the viewscreen, she looked at Markael inquisitively. "I still don't see what the ents have to do with future base sites, Markael."

"That's just it," Markael said, gently taking the minipad from Takashi and tapping a few keys on it without removing his eyes from Deirdre. Have to stay focused. Can't break eye contact, not from those eyes. "The ents themselves can serve as future base sites."

"Build a colony on the ents?" Takashi raised an eyebrow.

"Not on the ents. In the ents. Look," Markael said as the display shifted to a skeletal grid with pressure and temperature gradients beside it, "On the outer rings of the trunk, the tensile strength of the wood is amazing, almost like stone. Furthermore, the outer rings don't participate in much of the circulatory system, only serving as protection from the outside."

Deirdre and Takashi leaned forward as gridded concentric cylinders appeared on the minipad, pulsing with red. Markael continued, "As long as we space the habitats on a centered ring around the outside, avoiding the inner trunk where the main circulation takes place, we won't have to worry about unbalancing them at all. And the lab tests show that the presence of carbon dioxide and oxygen ward off the chiolindii dramatically."

"What's kye-oh-lin-dee?" Takashi asked, blinking rapidly.

"It's a xenopathogenic bacteria," Deirdre replied without taking her eyes off the display screen, "one of the ents' greatest natural enemies."

"The greatest by far," Markael continued, "since no natural creature could do much to its trunk. So you see, our presence could actually help invigorate the ents, as long as we ensure their circulatory system isn't unduly disrupted in the main trunk. Our scout teams spotted a large grove of ents near the south ridge. It's a little far away, but it's definitely worth the trip."

"And the effect on the colony itself?"

"That's why I want to go on the survey team," Markael said. "I need some samples to make sure that the ent's circulatory fluids won't damage our synthmetals."

Deirdre favored him with a sidelong glance. "Why so keen on the idea of above-ground cities, Markael? We can't go outside without being suited up, after all." There was a hint in her eyes that she already knew the answer, that she wanted him to spell it out.

He looked away, his words coming slowly. "What have we come here for, Deirdre? To live with Planet, to share in its beauty." He sighed heavily and looked at the dome overhead. "How are we supposed to live here if we shut ourselves up in these windowless caverns? It's just so...enclosed, Deirdre. We can't raise a whole generation of people that can't see the sky. We can't."

She paused in thought, looking at him askance. Please, Markael silently pleaded, let it work. We can do it. After what seemed like a long pause, she nodded. "All right, it sounds like you could use a break from your work." He gave a start at her relenting, and she responded with a smile that held a hint of mischief. "It's all right, Mark, I've known you too long to not see what's eating you. I'll tell Joanna to take over for you in the meantime. Who do you need on the team?"

He sighed in relief. "A couple of xenobiologists, some botanists, of course, and maybe a surveyor to get a feel for the land. If you want to map the area, then a cartographer as well."

She turned to the other man, an eyebrow raised inquisitively. "Takashi? How about you?"

Takashi, still lost in his thoughts, was taken off guard at the sudden question. "Hm? W-well, sure, I'd like to go, if, uh, Commander McLellan says it's okay." Markael stiffened a little on hearing the title, but Deirdre wasn't paying attention to him.

She waved off his concern fluidly. "It's all right, Tara will probably ask for a security team anyway. I'll make sure you're on the list." She turned to Markael, her smile finally broadening. "Is there anything else, Mark? If not, I'll ask that you turn your files over to Joanna so she can take over."

Markael smiled broadly in return, his breath shallowed with relief. "Thank you, Deirdre, that's all. I..." He paused awkwardly, putting out a hand, "I really appreciate it." My thanks seem kind of pale, he thought, but I mean them, this time.

She wordlessly took his hand to shake, nodding gently, and then turned back to her meditative posture, eyes closed, the smile slowly fading from her lips. He bowed uncertainly and turned to leave, his pace quickening. Takashi strolled alongside, his voice lowered to a small whisper. "On a trip, huh? I guess I oughta tell Commander..."

Markael cut him short without breaking his stride. "Don't bother. You don't need to tell her since Deirdre's going to make a recommendation to have you on the team anyway."

Takashi raised up a palm. "Okay, okay. Well, it's been a little while since we've been outside, huh?"

"Too long," Markael said, looking up at the domes. He could see light. Not the artificial kind, but the life-giving kind. He could already imagine the soft glow of Centauri A, the ribbons of clouds near the horizon, the boundless sky opening up before him. "Too long."