Chapter 2: Carolus Four

It was late afternoon on Carolus four. Our journey to the beach took about half a day. Then I spent a long time fixing the food dispenser while Laine rested.

After I’d found and fixed a table, I set it next to a fallen tree where we could sit.

I returned to the food dispenser and ordered two Quard dishes that I knew Laine enjoyed. She was from Quard, and I knew I was scoring major points for style. I took them to the table.

“Dinner is served!” I said.

I offered Laine my hand and helped her up and over to the table. We sat together on the tree and soon finished our meal.

“I needed that. Thank you, Brian. You’re incredible,” said Laine. More goo-goo eyes.

“I agree. The food was much needed. Now I need to rest. I’m wiped out,” I said.

“You have done a lot. I surprised we made it this far,” said Laine.

“Do you remember our escape from The Trading Post? That was a near impossible escape. Then there was Yastri. After such miraculous escapes, I can’t ruin our winning streak,” I chuckled.

Laine smiled.

“I promised your father I would take care of you. I have to face him with a clear conscience,” I said.

“You can do that, Brian. I look forward to taking you back to visit home. Now, it’s your turn for the cot,” said Laine. She gestured to the cot.

“Are you sure? Yell if you need help with anything,” I said.

“Yes, get your rest! You will need to build us a shelter later,” replied Laine.

I didn’t argue with her. I stood and went to the cot.

By the time I lay down in the warm climate, I was sound asleep.

Around dinner time, Mina went searching for Jem. She found her in the lido, asleep in her favourite hammock.

“Jem,” said Mina as she nudged her.

“What? Oh, Mina,” said Jem as she woke.

“You said we’d have dinner and a movie together. It is getting late,” said Mina.

Jem slowly got out of the hammock.

“I must have overslept,” replied Jem. “I’ll go change and meet you in the main dining lounge.”

Jem left the lido. Mina looked around and noticed a sign that read “Laine’s Beach”. She smiled, then turned and left.

Soon after, they met up in the main dining lounge. Neither felt in the mood for cooking, so they selected dishes from the food dispenser.

Jem ate in silence for a while.

“We left the system several hours ago. Ship said it was about three days until our next destination,” said Mina.

“Good,” she replied.

Mina could tell Jem’s mind was elsewhere.

“What would you like for tonight’s movie?” asked Mina.

“Why don’t you choose. Just something to take our minds off things,” replied Jem.

Mina flipped through the movie index.

“What about that one?” asked Jem. The index had stopped on an adventure on a tropical beach.

“Fine by me,” replied Mina.

They cleared up their dishes and sat on the sofa. Ship dimmed the lights, and the movie started.

It was the middle of the night when I awoke. Being near to the equator, the nights were darker here. I could hardly see my hand in front of my face.

Not far away was the familiar sound of the surf.

My body ached from all our earlier exertion. I slowly rose to a sitting position and looked around me.

“Laine?” I called out.

I regretted leaving our space suits behind at the obelisk, since they had bright lights in the helmets.

Then I heard her snoring to my left. She lay close by the cot.

I didn’t remember any details about predators on this planet. We were lucky so far.

I’d overslept, and now I was paying a price. It was too dark, and I had little energy to build a shelter. We should have prepared a fire. I felt guilty for not doing more before I slept. I vowed to rectify things tomorrow. If I wandered around now, I would probably end up lost.

With the warm climate, we would survive one night sleeping under the stars. I lay back down and fell asleep again.

This time I awoke feeling a bit of a chill. After sunrise, the temperature would increase. Fortunately, that wouldn’t be too long.

I sat up and looked around us. The predawn light was enough to see.

Laine was still sleeping on the ground beside my cot.

I wandered off and watered a bush.

When I returned, Laine was still sleeping. She had been through a serious ordeal.

I knelt down beside her and I debated leaving her where she slept or moving her onto the cot.

She preempted my choice when she opened her eyes and looked up at me. She beamed her full-power smile at me.

“Good morning!” she whispered.

I smiled. When she smiled that way, it was hard to remain grouchy.

“How is your ankle feeling?” I asked.

“It is slightly improved, thanks,” she replied.

“I am so sorry, but I slept through the night. I’d intended to do more,” I said.

She grimaced.

“I need to use an en-suite,” she said.

“How about a bush over there?” I said. “I can help you up and leave you somewhere while you take care of things.”

She stood with my help, then put one arm over my shoulders.

We hobbled to somewhere, and I left her as promised. I made a mental note to make a crutch for her from a suitable branch later today.

Laine called, and I returned and escorted her to the table. Then I fetched two coffees.

“This is remarkable that the food dispenser still works,” said Laine.

“Yes, the miracle of Baglogi technology, I’d say,” I replied.

The wrecked campsite looked no different from yesterday. Then I recalled seeing items of clothing.

“Laine, I saw several bathing suits yesterday. We can get changed and go in the ocean to clean off and relax,” I offered.

“I’d like that. We can also take our jumpsuits and wash them in the surf, and hang them up to dry in the sun,” she countered.

“Wait here,” I said. I stood and gathered all the clothes I found on the ground.

On our last vacation, we brought a lot of outfits with us. I came back with armloads. I even found a few towels.

We sorted through a pile of beachwear until we each found something suitable.

By now, it was past sunrise and getting warm. Once changed, I could see the bruises on her ankle. She also had discolouration on her arms and side.

She noticed my visible wince.

“It doesn’t hurt that much now. I expect a good soak in the ocean will do wonders for me,” said Laine.

We stood, and I slung the jumpsuits over my shoulder. We made our way to the surf until we were about waist deep in the water.

This water was agreeable, but not overly hot yet. Laine could use the buoyancy to support her, so she moved back from me.

I started washing the jumpsuits while Laine watched me.

“Do you remember when we crash landed in Yastri?” asked Laine.

“Yes. You saved my life, towed me to the island,” I replied.

“We saved each other,” she said.

“We stayed on that island until Ship built a new shuttle,” I said.

I wondered if the food dispenser could manufacture laundry soap.

“It is similar. We even had a food dispenser there,” said Laine.

“We’ve had enjoyable times together,” I replied. Laine grinned.

The jumpsuits were as clean as I could make them without soap. I left the water to hang them to dry.

“I’ll be right back,” I said over my shoulder.

It wasn’t long before I returned to the surf. Laine was floating up to her shoulders.

I put my head under the water and scrubbed my hair to get it clean.

When I surfaced, I saw Laine smiling at me.

“What??” I asked.

“I just enjoy looking at you, silly!” she replied.

I shrugged. At least she was alive and cheerful. It was the best outcome I could ask for in our situation.

We sat in the surf for two or three hours. Laine even tried swimming with just one leg and both her arms.

“Are you hungry?” I later asked.

“Mmm, yes!” she replied.

We left the ocean and returned to our camp. I helped Laine to sit at the table.

“What can I get you?” I asked.

She named a Quard dish, and I fetched it from the food dispenser.

We ate our breakfast together. After, we had another coffee.

“I’m not big on survival skills, but I thought up a list of things to do today,” I said.

She sat back and straightened her shoulders and faced me.

“I need to build a small shelter, using the remains of the original one. It must rain sometimes here,” I said.

Laine nodded.

“I’d like to fabricate a crutch, using branches. That will allow you to get around until your ankle mends,” I said.

Laine smiled. “I don’t mind you helping me, Brian,” she said, grinning.

“Last night it was dark and got chilly in the early hours. We should have a fire for heat and light. It may also keep the local creatures away from disturbing us,” I said.

“I remember the fire on that lake world. It was nice,” replied Laine.