Unexpected Encounter

“Just another ten minutes, then I should really get back…”

Flyspur continued to mutter to himself as he followed his info pad to the origin of the strange signal he had discovered. He should be halfway back to the Nellie Bell by now, and wandering off to an uncharted moon was hardly a characteristic of the Jssfloon – that sort of thing was usually reserved for his friend and captain – but the readings he found were too intriguing to pass up. From what he could see, it wouldn’t be there much longer, and how could he miss such potential?

The moon’s surface was mostly soil, but it had a gravelly texture under Flyspur’s feet. His info pad led him through a forest of silvery trees which, in the reflective glow of the orbiting planet, were quite spectacular in themselves. But scenery was not what he had come for. He came to a clearing, where he came across the largest tree so far, its roots twisting and weaving in and out of each other like a snaking river. With an irritated chuff, Flyspur batted the side of his pad; the readings had disappeared, but this was definitely the spot.

Before he could contemplate his next move however, his tail stiffened at a rustling sound behind him.

“Who’s there?” demanded a deep, resounding female voice from the darkness in the undergrowth.

From behind one of the impressive trees at the edge of the clearing emerged a tall, greenish alien with fierce jet black eyes with white pupils. Her muscular legs had two knees; one bending inwards and the other out. She had a long, strong tail, dangerously sharp looking claws, and large scales across her shoulders and back. On her head appeared to be stiff, curved spines that looked like hair. Upon seeing Flyspur, her pupils grew dramatically and she bared her sharp teeth. In one effortless bound, she leapt over to the Jssfloon, towering over him at about a storey high.

“Tell me why you’re here, little Rekhnik,” she demanded dangerously. For a brief moment, Flyspur thought another creature had arrived, because he heard two voices. But he quickly realised both were coming from his present adversary. Her species must have a secondary set of vocal chords; with the intent of intimidating, he assumed. He did not bother to ask what a Rekhnik was.

“I didn’t mean to intrude,” he replied urgently, his lower arms stiffening instinctively.

The air was suddenly filled with a fierce rattling sound. He looked up and saw the alien’s shoulder scales shuddering, creating a chilling reverberation in Flyspur’s skeletal cartilage, like a deathly wind chime. Then he noticed she was getting … surely not … taller: her four knees locked, giving the impression of two very tall beanpoles. The scales on her shoulders and back rattled louder and louder as they extended from her body. Her tough keratin mane raised as well. Flyspur recognised all too well that this was a show of aggression. He must have seriously blundered into her territory, and he would have to explain himself, quick.

“I was on my way back to my ship when I, er,” he stammered. He really didn’t mean to trespass, but how was he going to convince this storey-high alien of that? He hurriedly blurted out, “I found some anomalous readings on this moon.”

Somehow, that sentence stopped her. She stared him down, her white pupils still dominating her eyes, and asked, “Anomalous?”

“Y-yes…”

To his surprise, she inhaled deeply, and her white pupils shrank to slits. Her keratin mane and shoulder scales relaxed back onto her body and she unlocked her knees. She was still awfully tall, so Flyspur was still cautious.

“You’ll have to forgive me,” she said matter-of-factly, that unnerving reverberation in her voice dimming until by the end of her sentence she had one voice again. “I don’t like being surprised.”

“Quite right,” Flyspur agreed, forgetting momentarily that his life had just been in jeopardy. “I can relate to wanting to be completely aware of one’s surroundings. I … I hope you can forgive me, as well. For trespassing, that is.”

The creature cracked her neck and shot him a wry smile, “I’ll consider it,” she lowered herself into a squat and met his eyes. “If you tell me why you’re here.” There was a calmer tone to her voice, but there was also a warning edge to it.

He composed himself, chuffing through his nostril slits to calm his rapid breathing. He recounted to the alien that while on a return trip to his ship, his shuttle’s sensors had detected some anomalous readings on the surface of this moon that he just couldn’t help investigate.

“Something drew me here,” he continued to explain. Having only just met this species, he was trying to read her facial expressions and body language. Was he boring her? He hoped not. He was in no mood to find out if this creature was carnivorous. “Normally I would have waited until I was back on my ship, I hardly ever do anything this reckless,” he added with a fluster. “But I didn’t detect any life signs…”

“Too right,” she interjected with a smug cock of her head. “My dampeners are meant to cloak my signature. Of course I’ve never had a problem with nosy little aliens on this moon before…” If she had had eyebrows, Flyspur’s sure she raised one accusingly at him.

He swallowed. “Normally I wouldn’t have bothered. But I spotted something in my readings…” Slowly, he withdrew his info pad and brought up his data. He put his multitasking to good use by finding the information whilst keeping a wary eye on her, just in case he would have to make a break for it. However, he seemed to have piqued her interest. Encouraged by her curious gaze, he held it out to her. She scoffed loudly with her two set of vocal chords, which made him jump.

“I can’t read that tiny screen! Here…” From a small pouch on her back and handed Flyspur a tiny metal square. He pondered it for a second, not sure what it was or if he wanted alien technology corrupting his info pad. “Just place it anywhere on your device,” she continued impatiently.

Flyspur reluctantly complied, and as he did so the square vibrated and projected a holographic screen of his pad in front of them. “Oh!” He couldn’t help being impressed. “Yes, as I was saying,” he pointed to a string of code, “There! Do you see it?”

“What, the isotopic nuclei overlaying the quantum base elements?” she replied lazily.

“Impressive, but no.” Flyspur turned to the screen and pointed, “That minute ion atom is giving off a slightly higher electrical reading than normal.” He stroked his chin with one hand, scratched his head with the other and wrung his lower hands together in intense concentration. “I thought if I could locate the origin of this anomaly I might be able to pinpoint and isolate its …”

He froze, suddenly remembering he had turned his back on a potentially dangerous stranger. He whirled around quickly, but rather than the previously aggressive stance he had expected, she was smiling at him.

“Fascinating,” she mused.

“What?” he asked nervously.

“It took me three go-arounds of this moon to spot that.”

“Er, well perhaps my sensors are a little more astute?”

“Respectfully, that’s not it at all,” she said blandly. Her gaze darted back and forth between Flyspur and the screen, and her smile widened. “Do you have a name, friend?”

For the first time since he encountered this creature, Flyspur’s posture relaxed when she said ‘friend’, and he believed she meant it. “My name is Flyspur,” he replied politely. “I don’t suppose I could ask for yours in return?” 

She smiled again. “In my culture, you only ask for something you are willing to give back in return.” She bowed her head deeply, “My name is Cheh’lahneh. And I promise not to eat you,” she added with a wink. 

Flyspur chuckled. “In that case, as any decent tradesperson would do, I would ask you for information, if you are willing to receive some in return?” 

She nodded approvingly. “Well played. I’d be more than happy, but it seems you already have to information you seek.” 

“I don’t see how,” he replied slowly. She seemed to be missing the point of his question. 

“But. I could give you a secondary filter on your scanner…” She stretched out her arm, well over his head, and tapped the holo-screen a few times with her surprisingly dexterous claws. The data flickered, and a new layer of code appeared. Flyspur almost dropped his pad. 

“By all the Colours…” he breathed, inching towards the screen as if approaching a delicate piece of art. “This…this is…” 

“Mhm?” 

“Do you realise what this is?” 

She smiled wryly. “Tell me.” 

“Just look at this line fragmentation!” He chuffed excitedly as the text scrolled down the holo-screen. “It opens up so much potential to what little we know of current quantum metaphysics. Look…” He tapped at the screen and highlighted four strings of code and began placing them in order, “With this integration pattern on a recapitulating echo cycle we could…” 

He paused, suddenly aware of her amused expression. Her tail flicked; something his did when he was getting impatient. Some mannerisms transcended species. 

His soul spots flushed. “You know all of this,” he affirmed with a grimace. She nodded, her smile widening. He swore her jet black eyes twinkled. His tail twitched now, and he subconsciously tried to supress it. “Do you … have anything to add?” he asked sheepishly. He was sure now his spots were pulsating. 

“No,” she replied lightly. “I was just appreciating how much you were enjoying yourself. Your insight is so…” Her scales rustled in a pleasing motion, “…refreshing.” 

Flyspur’s tail relaxed and his expression softened into a reciprocating smile. “I’m…I’m flattered,” he stammered. “But I can hardly illuminate on what you have…” 

She held up a claw and interrupted him, “I’m just a pilot, little friend; that algorithm was concocted by some big shot in a lab who didn’t get out enough. Took her years to formulate it.” She motioned to the screen, then to Flyspur. “But you. You saw it straight away. You didn’t have to think it, you felt it. I just love that. I haven’t met many Sentients who could do that so quickly,” she added with a warm smile. 

Flyspur wasn’t sure how to react to such praise. On his home world, he was barely a second thought; reminded his entire life how lucky a mere third was to attend school, and how grateful he should be to have been educated at all. He had learned so much as the Nellie Bell’s First Officer, and certainly he made it a point of habit to be knowledgeable, for the sake of the crew’s safety on missions, but he would not go so far as to call himself an academic. 

Sensing his hesitation, the Dunnory gave a crafty smile and straightened her impressive legs to a standing position, but she did not lock her knees like she had previously. He craned his neck to look at her; he barely reached her lower hip. 

“What are you doing?” Flyspur asked curiously as she reached out a long arm above her. She quickly signalled for quiet, her smile never fading. He complied, and watched in awe as she grabbed hold of one of the silvery branches above them. 

She looked down at him and her smile grew, if possible, even wider. “I think, this…” She pulled sharply at the branch, “is what you were looking for.” 

Flyspur inhaled slowly, in awe. Light seemed to emanate from within the tree, pulsing like a heartbeat. And from those streams of light, he could see little specks crawling out to the surface, not unlike the little hermit crabs from his home planet as the tides gently washed out. The specks of light emerged from the silvery bark and floated in the air around them like stars, before coming back to rest on their home. Flyspur managed to put a hand in one’s path, and it landed softly in his palm, the warmth coming off it flowing through his whole body. 

“What are they?” he whispered breathlessly. 

“You tell me.” 

He looked up at her smiling face, and returned an even bigger one. He released the entity and watched it gently float back to its kin. Not wanting to disappoint, he gestured to the screen and dispensed his theory, all four hands gesticulating with wild excitement. He listed the endless possibilities and potentials of this moon as she squatted next to him, listening; charmed by his fresh new perspective.

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My entry into chill13’s Hi Ho Hyperdive contest! I got a little carried away with the writing element…I couldn’t help myself. 

This is Flyspur’s first encounter with a Dunnory (Dunnory - design and reference sheet, Dunnory female aggression stance), an advanced species willing to share their technology only with those they feel have a special flare for it. Flyspur more than makes the cut.

I made the sci-fi jargon and specifically vague (or vaguely specific ) as I could, so you can imagine what the little lights are for yourselves. Sometimes I think leaving something unexplained and up to the imagination is more fun, yes?

Incidentally, the text on the holo-screen is the Dunnory language, but I’m going Doctor Who on y’all and introducing a magical translation matrix that is somewhere  

Also, if you’re interested, I could put up the process video for the artwork? 

Flyspur and Hi Ho Hyperdive belongs to chill13,

Cheh’lahneh and the Dunnory belong to me.