Chapter 39: Lake World

Later in the night, I was sitting with Jem keeping watch on the obelisk. Laine and Mina were resting by the fire. I’d kept the fire going with larger diameter branches.

We looked up at the night sky. Tonight there were no clouds, and the sky was clear, revealing star constellations. It was really quite beautiful.

“Just think, perhaps one of those stars is Carolus. Quon is hiding out there, and we’re stuck here,” I said.

“Agreed. If we could only contact Quon and invite him here,” said Jem.

Then it hit me. “Jem, you just came up with the missing part to my amazing plan! It is so amazing that I am surprised I did not figure it out sooner,” I said.

“I did?” asked Jem.

I hugged her. “Yes, you probably don’t even realize it yet. Permission to carry out my amazing plan,” I said.

“Proceed Commander,” Jem said with a giggle.

I stood up and moved a short distance away from the fire. I wanted the best view of the night sky, free of light pollution from the fire. With my communicator, I took pictures of the night sky, looking in different directions.

I returned to Jem. “I need to prepare a text message,” I said. Jem looked amused at my actions, but she knew enough to trust me.

I put together a message for Quon. “Quon, we are hiding in another star system. These pictures show the constellations visible in the night sky. Find us.”

I attached the pictures and had it ready to send.

“I’m ready, Captain. Please guard the obelisk. If all goes well, I will return soon,” I said.

I walked over to the obelisk and touched the inscription to return me to Carolus four.

After a brief flash, I looked around to confirm I was back at the clearing on Carolus four. It looked to be early evening here, and the clearing was empty. I did not expect it to remain so for long.

I quickly tapped my finger and thumb five times to send a ping to Quon.

A moment later I got a twitch in my arm. That confirmed Quon was still hiding somewhere in the system.

I hit send on my communicator. From my training in navigation, I knew that the night sky is like a fingerprint. The night sky on Tian Prime includes constellations that you can only see from Tian Prime. The night sky seen from the lake world should be enough for Quon to calculate our location. I’d given him a map to the lake world.

I was about to reach for the obelisk and return when I got a reply, also in text. It just said “Two days.”

It confirmed to me that Quon had our location and would be there in two days.

My time was running out. The creatures should have locked on my location by now. I did not want to get caught here.

I pressed the inscription on the obelisk to take me back to the lake world. The lights flashed, and I was no longer on Carolus four.

I was back on the lake world, standing next to the obelisk. Jem was on her feet with a stun gun in her hand.

“Don’t shoot!” I said. She put her gun away. I walked over to join her.

“What happened? You only left a few minutes ago,” said Jem.

“I did what I needed to do. Quon knows where we are, and will be here in about two days,” I replied.

Jem smiled at me. “Amazing! So we don’t have to return to Carolus?”

“No. We just continue our vacation here for two days. I expect Quon will need time to fabricate a new shuttle, then we can be on our way,” I replied.

I explained to Jem about the night sky and constellations.

“That’s amazing!” repeated Jem.

“You suggested contacting Quon and tell him to come here. That was the missing ingredient to my amazing plan. Now we relax and wait for Quon to come to us,” I said.

Jem and I stood guard at the obelisk until morning. My brief visit to Carolus four caused two energy spikes that were certain to alert the creatures. Their patrols would find nothing except the stone obelisk, and so far they had not discovered its capability.

When Laine and Mina woke up, they found the fire was still smouldering. Jem suggested they get cleaned up before taking over from us.

As soon as they returned, we found a place in the shade to get some sleep. We hadn’t told them what happened during the night, that could wait until later.

I woke up beside Jem under a tree. It took me a moment to get my wits together, then I got up and hurried to the obelisk. Laine and Mina were sitting around talking.

“Hello, how are you doing Brian?” asked Laine.

“I am rested thanks. Any activity at the obelisk?” I asked.

“Nothing. So far they have not worked out where we are,” said Mina.

“Excellent! It concerned me they might come through and overwhelm us. Last night while you slept, I returned for a brief visit. If they detected the energy spike, it might lead them to the obelisk,” I said.

“It will keep them interested in Carolus four, trying to figure out what is going on there,” said Laine.

“And that is a good thing, because they won’t be visiting this system soon,” I said.

Jem turned up at this point.

“Captain, they report no activity at the obelisk,” I said.

“Good, have you told them the news yet?” asked Jem.

“No Captain, would you like that privilege?” I responded.

“Laine, Mina, last night Brian returned to Carolus four and informed Quon of our location. We have two days to enjoy this planet before Quon will arrive in the system,” said Jem.

Everyone was on their feet now. Hugs all around.

“What is on the agenda for today?” asked Jem.

“I was thinking to visit the lake and bathe. Maybe Laine can teach me swimming,” I said. I looked at Laine when I said the last part, and I received a smile back.

“Take Laine and Mina with you. I will keep watch on the obelisk. Relieve me in two hours Commander,” said Jem. I nodded. We got up and wandered towards the lakeshore.

Laine, Mina, and I arrived at the lake, and we removed our uniforms. The sun was high in the sky, so I assumed it must be early afternoon.

I stepped down the beach and was soon knee deep in water. It felt chilly. I gazed at the tall, snow-covered mountains on the other side of the lake. I imagined most of the water in the lake was once melted snow.

Laine startled me out of my reverie. “It is unfortunate we couldn’t teach you to swim back on Carolus four. The water is much warmer there,” Laine said.

I turned around to face my crewmates. “I can’t change that. Give me time to wash and get used to the temperature, then we can try learning to swim in a few minutes,” I said.

Laine waded out into deeper water and then dived under the surface. She really loved swimming. It made me want to learn.

I sat down in the shallow water and splashed myself. I didn’t have any soap or cleaning items like a washcloth.

Mina handed me a small leafy branch. “Try this, you can use it to scrub your body clean.”

“Thank you,” I said. I took the branch and scrubbed my body while looking around at the view. On a space vessel, your vision was limited. Here I could see for miles.

I turned back to look at Mina. She was watching me.

“Do you swim?” I asked.

“I can swim, but not like Laine. She seems happiest in the water,” she replied.

“That she does. Do you have any tips for me?” I asked.

“Make sure you breathe in air and not water. If your mouth is below the surface, do not breathe in, or you will choke and drown,” she replied.

“Thank you. That’s helpful,” I said.

“I know it sounds obvious. But, once you choke, you will panic and that is very bad,” said Mina.

“Now you have me more worried,” I said. I added a smile to take the edge off my response.

Laine chose this moment to return. She grinned at both of us.

“Ready to try swimming?” asked Laine.

“Yes,” I replied. We moved into waist deep water. Laine had me trying to float. She explained that most beings had a natural buoyancy.

Too soon I knew it was time to relieve Jem. I thanked Laine and Mina for their help, and I promised to continue the swimming another time soon. Then I got out and picked up my uniform and wandered back towards the obelisk.

“How was your swim Commander?” asked Jem. I had just made it back to where Jem sat, keeping watch on the obelisk.

“It was refreshing, and I learned more about swimming. I can’t claim that I know how to swim yet,” I replied. In my short walk up the slope, I already felt mostly dry. I sat down on a rock and put on my uniform again.

“Your interaction with Laine and Mina is a good morale-building activity. They get to help you, and you get to trust them,” replied Jem.

I thought about her words; they made sense.

“I relieve you of your watch duty, Captain. I suggest a soak in the lake. If you ask Mina, she can provide you with a suitable branch for scrubbing,” I said.