Katana's Secret

By jinnis

The wind howls around the silicone reeds, swirling the pale blue sands in dancing eddies around the stalks. Ary stops in the shade of the ghostly stalks, sparkling in the harsh red light of Katana's sun. Is this the discovery she hoped for? Her heartbeat quickens while runs a quick scan, all kinds of theories flashing through her mind. This might be the long-searched proof for life on this planet... she studies a broken segment of the stalks when a beep announces the results.

Ary lifts her darkened outer visor, trying to decipher the display of the monitoring device on her left forearm. The instrument tells her what she took as desiccated plants are mineral concretions, just another extravaganza of the planetary nature.

Disappointment sends a wave of exhaustion through her limbs. Breathable air is still at 70 per cent, ample to reach the base. No reason to worry. So, why is cold sweat running down her spine under her environment suit?

With a shrug, Ary stows the stalk segment in her sample bag, checks her bearings and closes the visor. Time to move. She revs her speeder and heads out into the plain, leaving the foothills of the mountain range behind. Her mission was a failure. Aside from the reeds, she didn't find potential resources. To allow the colony to grow, they need metals, minerals, fossil fuels, all kinds of raw materials.

Ary sighs, a rasping sound in the helmet, and adjusts her course. No use to spend air and fuel on a detour. She'll be back out here tomorrow, for another search mission. Katana has enough similarities with Earth to be considered a Goldilock planet. But its surface is covered by a desert, as far from the yearned for paradise as possible. Strong winds hurl coarse sand across endless plains and grind the ancient mountains to dust. It's hard to imagine any kind of life on this dustball.

Through the clouds of blowing sand ahead, she makes out the top of the dome. Its artificial metal-and-glass structure breaks the dust bank like the back of an enormous whale. Almost home, or whatever the habitat should be called. Suddenly, she can't wait to get into the shelter it offers, to breath the filtered atmosphere and to enjoy a few hours in loose clothing instead of the suit.

At maximum speed she approaches a dip in the otherwise even surface. Pulling the speeder to a stop, she squints her eyes and tries to estimate the size of the depression. The rim disappears to both sides in the swirling dust. She can't remember this spot, but so close to the dome, the terrain has been thoroughly surveyed and mapped. Straight ahead it is, no use wasting time.

The slope becomes steeper, and a fine mist clouds her visibility. A glance at the speeder's tracker tells her all is clear ahead. She slows regardless, spooked by the eerie blue light surrounding her.

"Must be the dust filtering the sunlight," she mumbles, her throat hoarse. The air from the tank is dry, and when she sucks at the straw connected to her water supply, only a few drops moisten her tongue. But she'll reach the dome in a few minutes. She'll be fine, she can risk travelling a bit faster for sure.

The fall takes her by surprise. The speeder dips forward, no solid ground beneath it, and Ary hits her head hard on the transparent canopy while she tumbles into darkness.

~

A shudder of the ground wakes her. Ary lies on a rocky surface in an awkward position, her left arm behind her back, her right caught beneath her knee. Her head hurts, and she can't focus on anything in the gloom, her lids seem glued together. She tries to rub the grit out of her eyes, but can't reach them. Right, the helmet. The dome was only minutes away when she fell... Bile rises in her throat. She gags and swallows the bitter lump in a fast reflex, aware puking in the suit is dangerous.

What happened? Where is her speeder? With a groan, she tries to sit up. A searing flash of pain shoots through her left wrist. Ary slumps down, fighting the bitter slime clogging her throat, and takes stock of her limbs. Except for the injured left arm, everything hurts but seems to work.

She struggles to sit up, her right palm pressed to the rock. An irregular vibration travels through the dense material. An earthquake? Or should it be named katanaquake? But the geologists declared the planet stable, too ancient to show tectonic activity.

Out of squinted eyes, Ary lets her gaze travel around. She must be in a cave. Smooth rock walls surround her, and the dim light falling in through the hole in the ceiling illuminates several tunnels leading away into unfathomable darkness.

Her spirit of adventure flickers like the flame of a candle. She hoped to discover something exciting since the first day she set foot on the planet. But right now, she'd prefer to forgo further exploration. She can lead an explorer team here tomorrow when her wrist is fixed, and her head stops throbbing. First, she has to recover the speeder and get back to the surface.

Ary stands up, fumbling with the controls of her monitor. The screen is broken but still emits a soft glow. In its light, she can see the speeder a few steps away. The canopy is split open, and one of the jets dented and misaligned. But before she can approach to investigate the damage, another quake throws her to the ground. The bones in her left wrist grate against each other while she cries out in pain and faints.

~

The oxygen alarm jolts Ary awake, panic setting in at the sound spacefarers fear like the devil. How much time has passed since she fell into the cave? The gauge is set to five per cent, so half an hour of air remains. With no time to waste, she staggers to her feet and turns towards the speeder.

The sight the dim light offers chills her to the bone. A massive form crouches over the remains of her transport. Shivers run along the bulky purple body covered by a warty skin. They are the source of the tremors Ary can feel through her boots. The alien doesn't acknowledge her presence, its interest caught by the scattered fragments of the speeder.

How is this possible? The speeder was mostly intact a while ago. Ary takes a step forward and freezes at the sight of four strong pincers cutting through the tough metal of a fuselage as if it were soft butter, shoving the pieces into a toothless gash in the alien's flattened front.

Disturbed, Ary shies back but whirls around an instant later at the scraping sound from the tunnel behind her. Another, smaller alien stamps towards her on dozens of short, sturdy legs, sending trembles through the rock. The bigger specimen at the speeder waves a tentacles attached to their front in the air and emits a chirping sound. The newcomer responds in the same way.

Torn between fascination and fear, Ary searches for a place to hide when two more alien arrive, exchange chirping greetings and share what remains of her speeder. Her heel catches on a loose rock, and she fights for balance while the stone rolls away. The tentacles whip around in her direction. Frozen in place, she waits for an attack. But the alien beasts loose interest when she doesn't move and the rock comes to rest again.

Not wasting more time, Ary turns around and, taking care to avoid loose rocks, runs as quietly as she can to the place where she broke through the cave's ceiling. A heap of blue sand cascaded into the cavity and beckons with an escape to the surface and safety.

To climb the loose cone costs a lot of energy. For three steps gained, Ary slips back two. But horror drives her on. If they can devour the speeder, they can do it with the dome. We used the same alloys for the construction. The engineers were confident they could withstand everything this planet can throw at them. They were so wrong...

When she reaches the surface, a sharp beep tells her she is down to two per cent of breathable air. The dome ahead of her is a promise of safety, and with stumbling steps, she sets out to reach it, cradling her injured wrist, eyes burning with unshed tears.

Ary reaches the hatch coughing and slams her right hand onto the recognition panel. She slumps against the metal door and glides down into the accumulated sand, losing consciousness before she hits the ground.

~

Bright white light sends piercing stabs through her brain and closed lids. Ary ties to shield her eyes with her hands, and a stab of pain in her left arm reminds her of the injury. She jerks up. Her helmet is gone, and she lies in a hospital bed, an infusion in her right arm connecting her to a machine. Several screws stick out of the cast stabilising her left forearm in weird angles.

An man in a white coat and with short-cropped grey hair steps up to her with a tight smile. "You're awake, great. I'm Doctor Martens. What happened?"

Ary stares at the mole on the doctor's left cheek, sorting through unrelated fragments of memories. The reeds, the dome, the fall. "I can't remember. I fell. But.. the aliens. They ate the speeder."

"Aliens? There are no aliens on Katana."

"So we thought. They are here. Underneath. Ready to attack."

The doctor frowns. "Aside from the broken arm, you have a concussion. Can you tell me what happened with your speeder?"

"They ate it, I told you. I think—I think they are intelligent. They communicate."

The frown on the doctor's face deepens. "Right. They communicate. And how do they look, small green men with antennae?"

"No. Big purple bodies, with pincers, and tentacles. Can you call the head of science? This is important."

"Sure, girl." He rubs his clean-shaven chin. "Get some rest. I'll see to all else."

"Thanks, Doc." Ary lets herself fall back onto her pillow, already half asleep while the doctor leaves.

~

"She told me to call the head of science, but with the quakes, Doctor Berchtold and her team are too busy to care for a confused outrider."

The voice tears Ary out of uneasy slumber. She struggles to make sense of the words while forcing open her heavy eyelids. The Doc brought another white coat, a young man about her own age. She digs her memory for the face, sure she met him before.

"Hey Ary, this is Matthew. He'll help you retrieve the use of your hand and your memory." Doctor Marten's voice is soft.

Now she remembers Matt. The day the travellers came out of cryostasis, he made himself known by telling everyone how wonderful their new life would become with bright eyes despite the incoming observations of the desert world. He is a physical therapist if Ary recalls it right. What's wrong, why didn't Doc bring a scientist as he promised?

"Doc, the aliens, they are here. We need—"

"Shh. You know there are no aliens on Katana. Our scientists observed it for years before we set out to colonise it." Matt might want to be helpful, but Ary's blood boils at his soothing tone.

"I've seen them. Can't you feel the trembles? They are real, approaching."

"Just a geological instability." Matt smiles and runs cold fingers over her arm. "Nothing to worry about, according to the head of geology. Just rest, you will feel better tomorrow."

Ary fights the urge to pull her arm away, blood rushing in her ears while her limbs feel leaden with exhaustion.

"Concussion," the doctor mumbles, addressing Matt instead of her. "Hallucinations are to be expected, with the heat and the dry climate. The survival suits don't prevent dehydration."

"Right. She seems delusional. Best to let her get some rest. I'll check on her in a few hours. The quakes probably add to her subconscious distress about the loss of the speeder and the injury. It will be better once they subside."

The words reach Ary like muffled sounds through a thick curtain. She fights her growing tiredness, claws at the infusion dripping an ominous pink fluid into the vein of her right arm.

"Poor girl. There will be an inquiry. Speeders are costly equipment. Well, I'll tell the head of survey to assign another scout to her sector."

"That will be best. Solorim will keep her under for a few days. Let's go."

Ary tries to form words, to scream. But her tongue is too heavy. She stares at the trembling stand with the infusion bag, swaying in the rhythm of the quakes. Are they getting stronger?

Her lids droop, and she sinks into a dark pit of oblivion.