Under Shifting Shadows

The strange creatures seemed unconcerned as Jones reached into the glass-clear water to steal their eggs. Barefoot, her pants rolled to her knees, she stepped carefully, slipping her fingers into the sand where the eggs were just half-buried and easy to pluck. She was wary and worked quickly, but the creatures merely blinked their rows of tiny eyes and shuffled their turtle-shell bodies out of her way. There were dozens of the large eggs but she took only six. Two each would be plenty.

Over her shoulder the swollen red sun began to dip toward the sea, but the moons, two of them already risen, would reflect enough light for her to find her way back to camp. It was her turn to collect and cook, so the two men had stayed back to work on the damaged ship.

Seven days and she already felt at home. The air was thin and a bit too warm, but the breath of the planet was fragrant, the freshwater sea cool and full of the egg-laying turtle mollusks, leafy seaweeds, and schools of sleek-swimming birds. The heath beyond the campsite was thick with promising vegetation. They couldn’t help but compare the surrounding paradise to the mess they’d left back home: oil and radiation spills, food shortages, civil wars escalating, democracies dying. Jones’ painful marriage was just another reason she was relieved to be forty trillion kilometers from Earth.

It was Captain Bass who’d joked about not returning. His idea, really.

He and Reyes were building a fire when she returned. The three of them took pleasure in building the campfires together, helping each other relearn a primitive survival skill—collecting and breaking up wood, coaxing the flames, the triumph of heat and light created by hand.

The men unloaded the heavy water tank strapped to Jones’ back and they all sat around the fire to refresh with cool drinks. Jones treasured this routine, the leisurely minutes they took each day as the sun went down and the cooler air swept in. The warmth of the fire drew them close. She felt anchored by the men’s energy, their confidence, their strength of mind and body. They listened as she described her hike over the heathland to the sea, the odd prints she’d seen in the mud, the abundance of leathery eggs she’d found.

Reyes spoke of his intent to explore. “The survey drone showed a bog between here and the woodlands. Tomorrow I’ll go look for peat. It can be dried and burned, an excellent fuel source.”

The captain was all about the ship. “We made good progress today getting the primary grid restored. We’ll have to dismantle the cryo system and repurpose the filaments, but the power should be working in a few days. Then we can focus on the ignition. That’s going to be tricky.” He scratched at the fine stubble coming up on his chin; he somehow managed to shave every morning. Reyes’ face was covered in a week’s-worth of beard.

The eggs were double-yolked and rich, seasoned with peppery seaweed they’d dried in the sun.

“Delicious.” Reyes tapped his fork. “Good job today, Jones.”

“Not as tasty as your soup. No need for a chef-bot with you around.”

Reyes smiled. “I haven’t cooked in years. It’s actually fun. Like a chemistry experiment.”

The talk of food prompted Jones to share an idea. “I think we should capture one of the water birds. Or at least find out where they nest. Other birds too. And there may be mammals or reptiles in the woodlands. It would be good to have a variety of proteins in our diet.”

“I had a similar thought, Captain. I’m certain we can find some edible flora, but maybe we should break into the emergency cache and use the crop seeds to plant—”

Bass held up a hand. “Let’s hold off on that, Reyes. On your ideas too, Jones. Good ones, but I’m not ready to give up on getting the ship patched up as best we can and blasting off in just another week or two.”

“A week or two?” Reyes said. “The thrusters are completely shot. Do you really think that’s possible?”

“I do. All we have to do is get the ignition online and repair the thrusters to a stage two boost. It should be enough to get us into the shipping lanes, and from there we can float until we get picked up.”

“Should be enough?” said Jones. “What if it isn’t?”

“Even if it is enough, Captain, we’d be adrift in the black. What if we don’t get picked up?”

Bass seemed bemused by their concerns. “O ye of little faith! Would you really prefer to be stuck on this strange planet rather than take a chance on getting home?”

Jones and Reyes exchanged glances and said nothing.

Night sounds moved in—melodic trills and whispers of creatures hidden in the dark. They finished their meal and sat in the glow of the dying fire, in the shifting shadows of the parade of moons that rose and sailed across the starry sky.

~~~

Later, while the two men slept, Jones crept out of the tent and walked uphill to the crash site. The small starship sat solidly in moonlight, seemingly unscathed except for an area of scorch marks and smashed panels from the hard landing. The underbelly had been cut open to expose the ship’s innards. Crawling between the broken landing spurs and hydraulic jacks, Jones pulled her knife, reached inside, and carefully punctured one of the fuel cells. It could have easily been damaged in the crash, the tiny drips of fluid gone unnoticed.

As she returned to the tent, a voice spoke out of the dark.

‘Where’ve you been?”

It was Reyes. Jones was startled, wondered if he’d followed her.

“Went to the loo. Didn’t know I’d need a hall pass.”

“I thought we agreed loo facilities would be downhill.”

“Yes of course but I walked back the other way. I thought I heard an animal running up toward the ship. Didn’t see anything.”

Reyes lingered.

“And what are you doing up?” Jones said.

“Loo of course.” Reyes wandered down the hill, his silhouette clear. The last moons of the night were still high.

Jones slipped back into the tent. Reyes returned some twenty minutes later and settled in. With her eyes closed and her breathing slow and heavy, Jones could only pretend to sleep.

An hour later there was a small explosion.

~~~

The fire was extinguished before too long. In the light of the quick dawn, they examined the now gaping hole that spewed blackened engine parts and dregs of foul smoke.

“She’ll never fly now.” The captain’s face was streaked with soot and sweat. “And with the state of things back home we could be stranded here for quite some time before a rescue ship comes. You both realize that, don’t you?”

“Yes,” said Reyes.

Jones nodded. She couldn’t speak. The punctured fuel cell was a deliberate act of sabotage, but it wouldn’t have caused an explosion. It was meant to delay, not ruined the ship. Something else had caused the explosion. And now they would be stuck here for years.

She looked at Reyes but he didn’t meet her eye.

Cloud shadows moved up the hill toward them. It started to rain, soft and steady, with a whispering breeze scented with spice.