Stranded with the Alien (Starbound #1)

Nineteen

They ate the last of the rations the next morning and set off before it became too hot. Vahn wore his flight jacket for a while but eventually removed it. The SDF T-shirt he wore was a smidge too small and kept riding up to reveal his abs.

He seemed comfortable with the heat and she wondered if he ever got sunburn. Unlikely. Those scales probably gave him a UV protection factor of a zillion.

He had his tentacles wrapped loosely round his body, further reducing his moisture loss. All in all, he was much more suited to the desert clime than she was.

“What’s it like on Vraxos?” she asked impulsively as they walked. “Is it hot like this?”

“Half of the planet is. That is the half where we build our cities.”

“What’s the other half?”

“Mostly agricultural. It is a peculiarity of our planet that some fifty percent is beneath a permanent cloud system which produces rainfall most days. It is where we graze animals and grow produce. The urban half is hot and arid but our technology makes it habitable.”

“Why don’t you just all live in the cooler bit?”

Vahn shrugged.

“We like the heat.”

“But don’t the cities produce massive waste products? Greenhouse gases, that kind of thing?”

Vahn shot her an amused glance.

“Like Earth, you mean?”

“We solved our global warming problem years ago,” she said tartly. “We use renewables and nuclear power.”

“So primitive. No wonder you want our technology.”

Kara frowned, unsure if he was joking.

“What? No! It’s Vraxos that wants Earth’s technology.”

“Is that what they tell you in school?”

“It’s the truth, isn’t it? Vraxos tried to invade and we…”

“That is a pile of zift. Vraxos did not try to invade anyone. It was your planet that wanted our resources.”

“What resources?” Kara was beginning to get angry. “We didn’t even know about Vraxos until your soldiers dropped out of the sky one day.”

“I see. So we just happened to be passing by your little blue rock and decided to colonize it?” Vahn’s voice hardened. “Let me assure you, human, the only thing Vraxians want from your people is peace.”

“That’s not true.” Kara stopped dead. “Our leaders have tried to broker peace repeatedly and been rejected.”

“Your leaders have lied to you.”

“ Fuck you! ” Kara was yelling now, her fists clenched. “It’s not a lie. My father died in that first battle. He died protecting us from your swarm of invaders.”

“Then we have one thing in common at least, small human.” Vahn regarded her steadily. “The war has taken loved ones from both of us.”

He turned and walked on. Seething, Kara followed him. They didn’t speak until they reached the outcrop of spindly trees where she’d taken refuge on her first night on this planet.

It seemed an age ago.

The body of the arachnid which had attacked her was gone. No doubt claimed by hungry desert animals. Kara looked nervously at the trees as they approached, wondering if more were lurking.

Vahn seemed to read her mind.

“Let us hope that creature which attacked you is a purely nocturnal species.”

His voice was neutral and she forced herself to relax her shoulders. If he could get past the argument, so could she.

“It definitely looks greener here. Let’s look for a water source.”

“Wait.”

Vahn was looking up into the trees with a puzzled expression and she instantly tensed up.

“What is it? Is it one of those giant spiders?”

“No. There is something unusual about the leaves.”

Kara squinted into the upper branches.

“I don’t see anything. Just green foliage. That’s normal, isn’t it?”

Vahn drew his laser-sword and flicked it on. Then he threw it high into the tree, sending it scything through the base of a thick branch.

The blade dropped back down and he caught it deftly by the hilt. The severed branch followed, thudding onto the ground beside them.

Kara gazed down at it and her heart fell.

“Damn.”

“Indeed.”

What she had taken for leaves were in fact thousands of tiny, green insects clinging to bare twigs. When she poked at them with her foot, they rose in a thick cloud and swirled round her head.

“Jesus!”

She coughed as they got into her mouth and eyes. Frantically, she batted them away until they swarmed back to the tree.

Vahn, she noticed resentfully, hadn’t been touched.

The branch on the ground was now bare, unadorned with even the slightest bit of foliage. She walked round the base of two or three other trees. They were all the same.

None of them had any leaves. The trees were as parched as everything else on this god-forsaken planet.

She whirled round to Vahn.

“There’s still got to be water somewhere, right? Even if the trees don’t have leaves, there are insects. Animals. Other plants. Look, there’s a bush here…”

She plucked a scrubby little plant from the ground. Its roots came out dry and shriveled, and its leaves turned to dust in her hand. She let it drop.

“No, this can’t be right. It can’t be.” In desperation she pointed at the larger line of green towards the hills. “There are more trees over there, they can’t have grown without moisture.”

“Kara.” Vahn’s tone was unexpectedly gentle and it immediately put her on the offensive. She lifted her chin.

“We need to keep looking. Come on.”

“We need to rest. We have some water left, you should drink.”

“I’m not thirsty. Come on.”

She strode off. He followed, wondering how long she could survive on their remaining water supply. There was half a canister left. It would last maybe a day. Two if he himself did not consume any.

Truthfully, his hydration needs were minimal. Water was not a pressing problem for him. But lack of food was.

Vraxian metabolisms burned a lot of energy. He knew if he didn’t eat in the next day or two, he would be in serious trouble.

Whichever way they looked at it, they were both screwed.