CHAPTER 1 #2
“Working for a bit longer I assume,” Minio responded and then gestured skyward. “Once the larger sun sets, most of the workers finish for the day.” He dismounted and grabbed her suitcase. “I can bring this to S’samph’s home for you.”
“No!” She paused, catching herself. He was just trying to be helpful.
“I mean, no thank you. I’d rather keep it with me.
” Eleri wouldn’t risk losing her only belongings.
She hadn’t even met S’samph yet. There was no way she was about to trust a complete stranger with the last precious personal items she’d managed to save from her family’s clutches.
“Whatever you like.” He pointed to one of the larger blue-brick buildings a few paces away. A sign out front was written in a script she couldn’t read. Although she spoke nearly fluent Universal, as required for all IA colonists, her literacy was poor.
“I’m sure S’samph will be along at some point.
I’ll let him know you’re here if I see him.
” Minio seemed in a hurry to be on his way as he placed a hand on his levibike.
“I assume you can find your own way to the clinic. It’s just straight down the road on the left.
” Eleri noticed flecks of silver in his eyes and wondered for a moment where they’d come from, but she banished the thought.
“Thanks. I appreciate that.” She managed a weak smile and a very human wave before collecting her suitcase.
She approached the building emblazoned with the Universal symbol for medical assistance.
It must have been white when it was first built, but years of dust storms had imprinted the brickwork with a distinctive shade of periwinkle.
She made her way inside and glanced around at the medical devices and neat row of healing capsules.
“Hello?” She called. It was surprisingly high-tech compared to what she expected.
There was a complete full-body scanner system in the center of the room, and each cot was equipped with a diagnostic interface.
If she weren’t so tired and sunburnt, she’d be itching to get her fingers onto some of the machines and test out their capabilities.
The clinic where she’d completed most of her training barely met the requirements for a Tier III medical facility, and she suspected the head instructor had bribed the review board to even grant them such a low designation.
Eleri propped her suitcase by the door and stepped deeper inside.
She reached the front desk and tapped her fingertips on the counter.
Maybe she could find some antiseptic and bandages, enough for basic first aid.
A popping sound startled her from her daze. To her left a creature appeared, it was about shoulder height and looked something like a translucent blue jellyfish despite only having three limbs. She’d never seen anything like it in the IA manuals, which meant it was rare or undocumented.
“Are you the medic here?” Eleri asked.
“Yes, please tell me how I can help,” the creature responded. Eleri presented her scraped-up hands. “It’s superficial, as far as I can tell, but I could make good use of an antiseptic and some bandages.” If she had supplies and half an idea what was going on, she could have patched herself up.
“Hello, Eleri from Gaia. You’re also dehydrated and suffering from sun damage. Sit, please.” The musical voice thrummed words in a low cadence, and an examination table appeared from nowhere beside her.
“You know who I am?” Eleri scooted onto the table, which was softer than it looked.
“Yes, of course. Your medical record was forwarded to me by the IA as I am the only physician in this settlement. Laurus is also not such a large place.” The creature spoke again even though there was no sign of a face or anything resembling a mouth.
A bright purple light beamed down on her injured hands and the abrasions began to heal before her eyes.
Eleri’s eyes widened. When she’d been working on her IA accreditation courses back on Gaia, only the final-year students at the highest-tier hospitals ever got near healing units like this.
Of course, she’d never actually finished her training.
Her family refused to help her pay the tuition fees, and she had no time to earn enough credits herself.
“Do you prefer your fluids orally or intravenously?” the floating jellyfish creature asked.
“I… uh orally.” Intravenous would be more efficient, but Eleri’s mouth was still as dry as the blue dust outside. The being disappeared and rematerialized a moment later with five hydropods.
“This will provide optimal hydration. Please consume them one at a time or you will regurgitate.”
“Thank you.” She was grateful, and the first pod burst in a cool gush on her tongue.
The dehydration must have been worse than she thought because the electrolyte fluid was heavy with salt.
Eleri was so busy guzzling the hydropods she didn’t even realize someone else had entered the clinic until approaching footsteps startled her from behind.
“Is this her, Aglao?” A voice from behind her addressed the jellyfish creature. Eleri yelped when she turned and found herself face to face with a latil’e male.
“I’m told you were expecting me.” A dry, sibilant voice filtered through the clinic.
Hadn’t he also been expecting her? He would have received her dossier from the IA.
It contained all her species classifications as well as detailed physical and personality diagrams. She brushed aside her concerns and turned to face him. Now wasn’t the time for skepticism.
“Are you S’samph?” The syllables of the name were far less smooth on her clunky, dry tongue than they had been on the recording she’d heard during her own perusal of his dossier.
“Yes.”
He was tall and long-limbed with a curling reptilian tail.
A forked tongue flickered in and out of his flat-lipped mouth as if he were trying to smell her.
His body was dusty yellow with a sail-like frill protruding from his spine.
There was a large chunk torn out of the frill.
She’d seen imaging of him on the spotty interface aboard the ship’s communication deck, but compared to the figure he struck in person, she barely recognized him.
“I’m Eleri,” she said and quashed the urge to offer a handshake. She had read the manual provided by the IA on S’samph’s species. Latil’e were not accustomed to greeting each other with physical contact. Most latil’e only touched each other in adulthood for mating purposes.
“Your body has lost water.” He flicked his tongue near her collarbone.
“And salt.” Eleri recoiled from close contact only to later realize it might be rude to do so.
Human impulses were a struggle to overcome.
Even though she’d practiced neutral body language according to IA standards, the tiredness in her bones and the haze in her head made it difficult to focus on the long-ingrained protocols.
“It’s nice to meet you,” she murmured.
His tail curled in on itself and his frill flattened against his spine. Eleri wished she had taken time to review the guide on latil’e body language, but even her hazy recollections were enough to register the negativity. “Unfortunately, I cannot return the feeling. This was a mistake.”
“A mistake?”
“Your contract was chosen by my clutch sister. I never asked for a mate.”
“You were in the database. I listened to your recorded materials. They had your voice.” Despite her best efforts to keep her tone steady, she couldn’t quite quell her rising panic.
“The recorded materials were created by my clutch sister using a vocal synthesizer. I didn’t know about them until only a few standard days ago.”
Eleri’s heart slammed against her throat.
“I can’t go back now.” She might have thought it was strange he didn’t exchange messages with her unlike some of the other women on the ship who received correspondence from their future mates, but she had chalked it up to poor intelewave connectivity from a remote place.
It stung to know that her careful messages to him had gone ignored, or even worse, unread entirely.
“Of course not. There is much work to be done here in Laurus. I am sure the IA can find another use for you. Goodbye, human.”
“Hey, wait a minute!” She called after him, but he didn’t turn or respond.
Instead of acknowledging her, he strode out of the clinic, leaving Eleri alone and speechless on the exam table.
Once again, she was everyone’s last choice.
With a heave and a sigh, she threw back the last water pod and held still as a thin layer of healing gel was applied to all her sunburnt skin by a mechanical nozzle.
It should mitigate the worst of the sun damage.
“What am I supposed to do now?” she asked more of herself than of anyone in particular. Her already sensitive stomach lurched with a sudden twist of anxiety. Without her connection to S’samph, she had nothing here. She had no job, no real belongings, and no way to afford a dwelling of her own.
“You should care for your health first. Luxportal sickness is a serious condition, and you will be at risk if you do not take proper rest as you transition to life planet side.”
“Is there somewhere I can go? To rest, I mean. I don’t have a home here.” She asked Aglao. The translucent creature appeared to consider her with a row of glowing blue circles on its brow.
“You should speak with our village leader, Pyo. He is in the building next door. Take care, human. If you ever wish to finish your training as an IA-certified healer, I can absorb the necessary knowledge to teach you.”
Eleri’s eyes widened at the offer. “That’s very kind, but I came here to help farm.”
“It is easy enough to change a contract to other skilled work,” Aglao said. “Besides, we will need someone here to run the clinic when I go into hibernation before flooding season.”
“I will definitely consider it.” She stood from the table and brushed a layer of dust off her jumpsuit, trying to distract herself from the enormity of what had just occurred.
Whatever she’d expected of her first day in Laurus, her imagination would never conjure something this miserable.
Her whole body ached from the luxportal travel and the weeks she’d spent cramped on a spacecraft getting from Gaia to Cassiaq-IV, but at least she wasn’t thirsty or bleeding anymore.
“I will confer with Pyo about the necessary forms if you decide to join me.”
“Thank you, Aglao.” Her pronunciation of the name was miserable, but the creature glowed a pale pink in response.
“You are welcome, Eleri of Gaia.” Aglao twirled and then disappeared with another loud ‘pop’.
The exam table vanished along with the medic, which left Eleri alone again.
There was nothing else to do but collect her things.
It made her infinitely grateful she hadn’t let Minio bring her bag to S’samph’s home.
Now she just had to explain to the village leader that the male who’d willingly matched with her in the IA MateMatch database had zero interest in her.