15. Chapter 15 #2
Maz must’ve realized I was still spiraling because he touched my leg. “Please don’t be afraid. I’d never take you into a dangerous situation. If anything bad happens, we’ll simply power up and take off.”
That was what I needed to hear!
“Yes, we can leave at any time,” I agreed, feeling much better about all the nature we were about to be surrounded by.
“I need to go back to the control chair and oversee the landing,” he said, squeezing my leg.
Even that little contact meant a lot after so many days of nothing.
“If you become frightened again, please call out. We have plenty of time to land and secure the ship. I can pause our descent to comfort you. It isn’t an issue and won't cause any problems later.”
It struck me that this was his job but he was more than willing to ignore his normal procedures because I was acting like a frightened child.
I resolved to be better. Lots of individuals lived on planets surrounded by plants and animals. It wasn’t a big deal.
“I’m okay now,” I said, mostly telling the truth.
He sounded a last purr before letting go of my leg and returning to the command chair. I focused on keeping Nadia from getting upset. It was amazing how good a distraction a baby could be. Especially one as adorable as Nadia.
Although I was probably biased.
I was so distracted by making faces and silly sounds with Nadia that I barely noticed the slight shifts in the ship. There was a strong bump that finally got my attention. When I looked up, Maz was standing up and stretching.
“We’ve arrived. Would you like to see our new home?”
That last jolt must’ve been us landing. I shifted Nadia around and stood up.
Maz held out his arms. “I can hold Nadia, if you need a rest.”
It was good that his sudden dislike of touching didn’t extend to Nadia, but it made me feel worse. What had I done that had disgusted him so much?
I was tempted to keep Nadia from him but let go of that impulse. Maz had gone through something pretty traumatic, both physically and mentally. I needed to be patient with him, just like he was patient when I was recuperating.
“What does planet air smell like?” I asked as I handed her over to him. “There’s no filtration system to pull out impurities, so it’s probably pretty bad, right?”
He tucked her close to his chest, purring. “Most planets have a natural filtration system using plants, wind, and water. Their ecosystems are vast, so it can often take a massive impact to change the air quality for any substantial amount of time.”
“What could cause it?” I asked. He sounded a questioning rumble so I clarified my question. “What is big enough to change the air quality of a planet?”
“An asteroid impact, volcanic eruption, or an unchecked wildfire," he said.
Suddenly I didn't feel so serene. “Asteroids? Volcanoes? Fire! Fire happens in nature? There aren’t any types of suppression systems?”
We were at the ship’s outside hatch, and my shrill voice echoed in the hall around us.
“The fire would need to be extensive to cause the type of atmospheric issue we’re talking about,” he said.
“Fires down here are not necessarily as deadly as they are out in space. There are times societies have let fires continue to burn because it was a natural cycle of an area.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I’d grown up with the idea that fire was one of the worst evils possible.
There were so many safety protocols on ships and stations to keep fire from happening or to put it out as soon as possible.
The concept of letting a fire happen was so foreign it was hard for me to comprehend.
“I didn’t know there were so many other things to be worried about," I said, feeling myself starting to spiral into a fearful place again. I wasn’t too afraid of asteroids, there were all kinds of ways to keep a planet safe from them.
But now I had a multitude of new concerns, including fire and whatever a volcano was.
“We’re all going to die.”
I didn’t realize I’d whispered that out loud until Maz let out a loud rumble of amusement.
“I’ve surveyed many planets, and this is one of the most stable of them.
Storms are rare, this place is too wet for fire to be an issue, I couldn’t find evidence of a single active volcanic spot, and the magnetic field is larger than most planets this size so solar radiation isn’t an issue.
This place is almost as safe as any station. ”
I doubted that, but I kept that thought to myself.
Maz opened the hatch and stepped out, Nadia still in his arms. I followed him and was immediately hit by a myriad of unfamiliar smells. None of them were unpleasant, but it was a lot to take in all at once.
Even though Maz stepped off the ramp without hesitation, I tested the ground with one foot first. It was solid, so I followed him, then looked up and gasped.
I’d seen plenty of captures of Old Earth my grandmother had taken with her when she’d left with a small community. One set of captures was next to trees and bushes. Those trees had been polite sized. A person could’ve wrapped their arms around those trees.
The trees surrounding me were so massive I was having a hard time comprehending. I took a few steps further away from the ship and turned in a circle. There was a thick, spongy grayish-green plant covering the ground and muffling my steps.
Maz had set us down in the middle of an oblong plateau.
I could see the edges where there was a sudden drop off in all directions.
Maz walked off to do a circle around the ship, and I rushed to join him.
I noticed we weren't too far from one of the edges.
I strayed off to look over the side of the plateau.
A glance down revealed two things to me. One was that this entire plateau was actually the stump of one of the giant trees! We could’ve landed an entire fleet of Maz’s ships and still had enough room to walk around.
The second thing I found out was I didn’t like heights!
I moved back so fast I almost tripped. Turning, I saw Maz almost out of sight around the ship, so I rushed to catch up. I wouldn’t be going near any edges ever again.
A pleasant smell wafted up from the plants under my feet, and there was a constant soft clattering of leaves overhead.
“This would be a good place to enclose with a protective barrier so when Nadia can walk she will have room but we don’t have to worry about her going too far.”
I nodded, taking in the area. The soft ground cover was the thickest here.
The ship blocked the slight breeze which meant if it got any worse, this spot would be sheltered.
I could see setting up a play area like the one on the station I grew up on.
That had been a luxurious station. I’d cried bitter tears as a nine-year-old when my family had been forced to move to a different station for work.
Would Nadia cry when we had to leave?
I brushed that thought away. That was a future problem.
“I want to set up the bot ports there,” he said, pointing to another spot.
We finished the walk around as he explained where everything was going to go. He sounded excited to start doing his work. It would be interesting to find out more about surveying an entire planet.
I only half listened to him while I took in our new home. Between the sights, sounds, and the pleasant smells, I decided nature wasn’t so bad.
“I like it here,” I murmured, then looked up at Maz with a grin. “As long as there’s no volcanos.”
He sounded another rumble of amusement. “No volcanos. Are you hungry? It’s time for our evening meal. Over the next few days we’ll adjust your schedule to coincide with the planet's day/night cycle.”
I realized I was starving. “Yeah, food sounds good.”
We walked back on board the ship. He moved to close the hatch, but I stopped him.
“Could we leave it open? For a little while.”
He sounded a rumble of agreement and left the hatch open. The cool outside air drifted through the ship, replacing the stale air I was used to. I didn’t mind the change, and I swore it made our first meal here taste even better.