Refugees on Urloon. Melissa Aires
the nearest Rim worlds. It would never be suited for the long and dangerous journey back to the Center Worlds. They were lucky it had made it this far. It could be useful as a trader.
The crew would set their decisions before Liam in the next month, but most had already decided. He himself was already scheduled as one of the first to undergo water adaption.
It bothered him that Svana wouldn’t even consider the adaption procedure. Svana planned to live the rest of her life on Urloon, and life in the dome cities would be much easier than life in a small farm colony. He hoped eventually she would change her mind but so far she seemed content with her choice.
“Did you get a com sent to your daughter?” he asked Svana over the midday meal they usually shared in his quiet office.
“Yes, one of the girls posted it for me. I sent Junia coordinates and told her it was beautiful here with clean air, no crime. You know how rare that is on the Inner Worlds? Safe compared to Center City. I hope one day she’ll come here. Though I suppose if she did, she would adapt and move to the domes. Still, Junia would be close and safe. She could visit me here.”
“You could adapt, too.”
Her pink lips curved into a slight smile. “I’m done with excitement and enormous changes. It is time for me to set down roots. For the first time in my life I am free of war. I plan to live quietly, in a cottage with a garden, working on the community fields. Maybe learn to work with that white Urloon fur.”
Her future didn’t seem fulfilling enough to Liam. “The domes have many advantages, Svana. Music, restaurants, theaters. Things that make life interesting.”
Svana shrugged. “I lost a husband and two children in the war, moved my only living child a dozen times, from refugee camps to munitions plants, trying to make a decent life for her. My wants are few. Peaceful gardens and fields appeal to me. But I do wish I was closer to Junia.”
Liam’s flatpad buzzed. He tapped the com.
“King Rankree and Queen Elaine are here to speak with you.”
“Do you want me to leave?” Svana asked.
“No, there’s no need for you to leave.” He tapped his com. “Show them in.”
King Rankree was the ruler of the local population of water-adapted humanoids who called themselves the Urloon. Rankree and his people were descended from a group of Terrans who had been part of a scientific experiment to adapt humans to life underwater. Urloon had been colonized centuries ago in the first diaspora of Terran colonists into the galaxy. The Urloon had maintained and refined the DNA adaption and they had bred true for generations on this distant world. His wife, Elaine, however, was a Biotech from Terra, the only remaining member of an exploration and scientific station sent here years ago at the cusp of the Asha War. She had undergone the Urloon adaption procedure around the time of her marriage to Rankree some twenty years ago. They had a number of children, some young adults.
Rankree was tall, with the wide-shouldered, muscular build, pale skin with an alabaster sheen, long flossy blue hair and crystal blue eyes common to the Urloon people. He dressed in breeches and a vest made from chandolay fur. The unique white fur shed water quickly and did not get heavy when wet, a perfect cloth for sea people.
Elaine was a small and sturdy woman with fine, long-lashed blue eyes, artificially engrafted gill slits, and a few silver streaks in her long dark hair. Liam had heard rumors that the children of their union, sometimes seen in the spaceport village, were stunning combinations of the two, each more beautiful than the last.
“Rankree, Elaine, please come in and join us for some refreshments. You have met Svana before, haven’t you?”
“Yes, briefly. So nice to see you again, Svana.” Elaine had a gracious manner that made others feel welcome. She and Svana were close in age, though Liam thought the manner of dress for Urloon women made Elaine appear more youthful than Svana, who wore heavy utility one-piece suits. Elaine wore a white fur vest and short fur skirt. Her high white boots were also made of chandolay fur, and an embroidered thick cloak completed her attire. A brief thought of Svana dressed in such a manner skittered through his mind but he squashed it immediately.
Liam’s delight in seeing them was unfeigned. They had saved the lives of his crew by answering his distress signal and also fighting off a large, aggressive pirate ship they’d picked up with their distress signal as they neared Urloon.
“Thank you for seeing us, Captain.” Elaine spoke Confederation Standard with a lilting Terran accent. “No refreshments today, thank you. We are here to offer an invitation to you and your crew. We have our Moonfest celebration of spring in four weeks, at Urloon’s two moons’ conjunction. We would be honored if you and your crew would join us.” She smiled, revealing deep dimples. “We will start the festivities with the traditions of my home on Terra, with a colored egg hunt, adapted to Urloon, of course. There will be a fair on the commons during the day, and later we will have a feast.”
“After the children retire we will meet on the cliffs to watch the chandolay dance,” Rankree continued.
Elaine rummaged in her waterproof bag and pulled out an info film. “Here. You’ll want to understand the evening celebration. It is a fertility festival and we understand if you or your people choose not to attend. But with the aurora lights, the moon conjunction and the dancing of the chandolay, it is an event like no other.” Elaine dimpled at them again.
After they left, Liam picked up the film. He had managed to adapt an Urloon film player to his large desk com since much of Urloon information and training was contained on films. “Want to watch this with me? Sounds like it could be a little explicit. I’ve heard a few references to their Moonfest.”
Svana’s cheeks took on a pink hue. “All right. I guess we should know what it is all about.”
He was glad they were watching it together, alone. Svana made him feel...he wasn’t sure how to define it. Hopeful? Comforted? Not so alone, which was why her decision to stay on land bothered him. No more midday meals, late night tea. He had thoughts of her that were not always thoughts of a friend, but he was a man, after all, and thoughts of sex, no matter how inappropriate, filled his mind from time to time.
Svana had been nonmilitary support staff on board his ship, running the supply room and cleaning for his crew while they were busy working at their command stations, preparing for the final battle. She’d handled the dire news they were lost in deep space with courage, and had been invaluable in those early days when it looked like they would all die alone in the vacuum of space.
Finally the Urloon had picked up their distress signal, and two months after first contact they had broken into the atmosphere of a white- and sea-green world. Urloon flyers had protected them from pirates in an impressive show. They had made a safe landing, though their ship had been in need of major repair before it could take to space again.
Svana was his sounding board now. What she lacked in military strategy she made up for with maturity, native intelligence, common sense, and an understanding of young people. Since his Chief Officer, med staff and Chief Engineer had died at Adrazine, she was the only crew member near his age.
Svana was a tall woman, nearly his height, big boned and strongly muscled, with a nice soft coating of chubbiness he liked more than he should. Dark blonde hair, brown eyes and a snub nose made her pretty in an unconventional way.
“I’m having another cup of tea. Want one?” It was Urloon Spice tea, rich in antioxidants with a tang he had come to enjoy.
“Sure.” He waited as Svana brought him a cup of tea and joined her on a small settee, far too aware of her thigh pressed along the length of his own. He slid the film into the unit.
“Archival film 20.00.7403” ran across the screen. The film came on, showing a much younger Elaine wearing an even briefer chandolay fur two-piece, one that barely covered her full breasts.
“This in an informational film concerning the Urloon spring moon conjunction festival, called Moonfest. We offer it as an information service