Through Light and Shadow - Chapter 1

Renata Garver Soto ran her hands through the tall, dark purple strands of the grass-like plants that covered the rolling hills outside of humanity’s first settlement on the planet Elpis, orbiting the star Trappist-1. That star was a small red ball that was now low in the hazy red twilight sky. A cool breeze made the grass roll like waves on an ocean. The wind teased her long, straight black hair and Ren stopped to activate the magnetic clasps on her green field jacket.

The evening calls of various small creatures occasionally rose into the air, strange cooing and trills which cut off quickly after they began. They seemed cautious, warning each other to head home and find shelter. Many predators hunted at night, and their prey knew to keep a low profile as the sun began to set.

Looking over her shoulder, she could just see the top of the circular seven-story megastructure of the settlement, Requiem’s Landing. A tower in the center of the structure rose higher still. It had taken a year to survey the planet for the best location, another two to assemble the raw resources while the advanced team camped out in their landing craft. Construction had taken a mere three years after that point. Mega constructs like this had become somewhat common on Earth towards its end, so the engineering involved was at least nothing new.

She’d hiked a few miles away, alone despite every protocol they had. The local predators had learned to stay clear of human activity, but there were still migratory creatures who were ignorant enough to be dangerous. Ren had advantages others didn’t, however.

She slowed her breathing for a moment and gave a mental nudge to SAMI, the sentient artificial machine intelligence that shared her mind with her. When her warm brown eyes opened again, light blue ripples began appearing in the grass around her. Most were small puddles, faintly making their way through the grass. Each ripple was the sound of wildlife moving around them. Their positions had been triangulated between Renata’s own ears and the audio sensors on the technology studded pendant around Ren’s neck that housed a pinky finger sized warp crystal that SAMI was installed on.

It had a limited range, especially this far from Requiem’s Landing and the copious number of cameras and sensors in the megastructure. Some of the ripples seemed to wash out when the wind gusted, which limited even Ren and SAMI’s enhanced hearing. Ren's heart rate was slightly elevated as she scanned the plains around her for signs of any larger creatures, and SAMI could feel her excitement and anxiety through the neural interface. There was a certain thrill in not knowing what might be lurking out of sight.

They weren’t out here for a rebellious hike through the rolling plains of Elpis. When Renata had first arrived on the surface of the planet, seventeen years ago when construction of Requiem’s Landing had just begun, she and SAMI noticed something the advanced team had missed: a sentient alien, quietly watching them from the fields of tall purple grass. They weren’t sure how everyone would react to yet another alien species, so they kept it quiet. Ren and SAMI watched the watcher. It seemed content to observe, and they never saw more than one in the plains outside the settlement. They’d also never managed to spot the watcher approaching, nor leaving. It seemed to simply vanish in the grass, leaving no trace for them to follow back to wherever its home was. Until tonight.

Things in the Landing had finally gotten to a pace where Ren could requisition some long-range sensors without people noticing. She’d aimed them at the areas of the plains the watcher always seemed to prefer. That had been a few weeks ago. The watcher seemed to show up every other month or so, sometimes more or less frequently with no discernible pattern. Finally, SAMI alerted her that a heat signature matching the watcher’s estimated size was slowly making its way through the grass.

They’d set out immediately, alone, to see if whatever it was would be willing to approach a lone human. Renata was fairly confident that if it had wanted to attack, it would have by now.      

The sensors had only managed to snap a couple of images. From what they’d been able to see of it from afar it wore what appeared to be leather clothing and some sort of camouflage cloak, likely made from the local grass to help blend in. Since the watcher hadn’t shown up with a bunch of its friends in a show of force, she assumed it found them more curious than a threat. The folded rifle and survival knife on Ren's hip were present primarily in case of non-sentient predators… but she had to admit she was glad she had them all the same. 

Anything yet? Ren said to SAMI mentally.

No, SAMI replied over the neural interface. Last view I had from the long-range scanner had it a couple hundred meters away, but that was twenty minutes ago. Maybe they’re still too – stars, behind you!  

Ren spun and her breath caught. There, not three meters away, the watcher stood on two legs, regarding her with large eyes that had thin green irises. It reminded her somewhat of certain monkey species from Earth, but with large, cat-like ears and it didn’t appear to have a nose. Its skin was an almost metallic shade of copper, though most of this was hidden by those leather-like garments which moved oddly, and a shaggy hooded cloak the same shade of purple as the surrounding grass. In fact, the cloak nearly appeared to be made of the grass, but Ren couldn’t pick out any details that would indicate woven reeds. It was like the grass was growing out of some kind of mat.

Keeping her movements slow, her heart pounding and her mind racing with excitement, Renata raised a hand in greeting. The watcher cocked its head, then glanced around as if checking that Renata was alone. Returning its gaze to Ren, it slowly reached up a pair of hands, three fingers and a thumb Ren noted quickly, and pulled its hood back revealing a length of what appeared to be vibrant green fur or hair topping its head, Ren couldn’t decide which. The fur-hair almost seemed to move on its own, though it was hard to tell in the dim light.

The watcher then pulled the shoulders of its cloak back to reveal more of the strange leather armor underneath. Ren got a distinctly feminine vibe as she took the creature in but tried to resist making any assumptions. She did note that there were three large holes in the armor on either side of its torso; they gave off a huff of air. Ren realized this was how the creature breathed.

That is some unique physiology, I haven’t seen anything else on Elpis— SAMI started to send mentally, but Ren gave her a firm nudge to quiet her.

Stay focused, Ren sent back.

The watcher held up one of its three fingered hands again, mirroring Ren’s gesture, and took a slow step forward. Before she could react, a low, angry buzzing noise rapidly grew louder. Something that looked like a large hummingbird without a beak approached. It had four wings and an odd fin-like tail. It hovered next to the watcher and a small buzzing voice issued from a thin mouth on the creature, sounding like: “Or-rik.”

The watcher immediately dropped into a crouch, its skin rapidly turning a dark shade of green. Ren spotted the dark shape of a furry tail from beneath the watcher’s cloak, twitching in agitation. They flicked a hand and pointed to the sky. The flyer rocketed away with a buzz that vibrated Ren’s ears. Ren instinctively copied the watcher and dropped to a crouch, looking around for whatever had clearly spooked them. She nearly jumped when something tapped her knee. Looking up, the watcher locked eyes with Ren, and then slowly reached a hand under their cloak, pulling out what looked like a length of rope. It started slithering. The watcher gave the snake-rope thing two squeezes and it uncoiled, rigid plates clicking into place as it seemed to take the form of a long staff ending in a razor sharp chitin-like point. 

They looked back to Ren expectantly. A single chirp issued from the flying creature that must have been hovering somewhere overhead, but the watcher kept their eyes on Ren, motioning slightly with their freehand. Ren nodded and reached a hand to her belt, detaching the compact folded rifle from her hip. She held up a hand to them again, hoping to keep them calm; she didn’t want the watcher to be startled. Pressing the button on the pistol grip of the rifle, it swiftly unfolded with a loud clang, the magnetic coils whining as they powered up.

Far from being startled, the watcher looked curious as it eyed the gleaming metal. A double chirp from overhead got its attention though. Ren could feel slight vibrations in the ground… something was approaching. Looking around, she brought the rifle to her shoulder but couldn’t spot anything moving yet. She turned back to the watcher; where they had been crouching a second ago, only a tramped down bit of grass remained.

Ren looked around quickly, trying to spot the watcher. The vibration in the ground was getting stronger, though Ren could only detect it thanks to SAMI heightening her senses. She froze as she saw something that looked like small orange glowing dots, the shape of a small flame, floating over the rise of the nearest hill. They were bright against the dimming sky. It was joined by dozens of other lights grouped closely together, then another clump appeared a few meters away.

Kinda wishing we would have brought some backup, now, SAMI's words swam into Ren's mind.

Ren gulped in agreement, then clicked on a flashlight attached to the rifle, the blue beam of light illuminating the hillside. The creatures didn’t react. They had long since discovered that creatures on Elpis had evolved to prioritize the wavelengths of light that the local star put off and selected specific wavelengths of light for their field lights that would be invisible to the wildlife. Looking closely, Ren could just make out the fan of tail feathers that the glowing spots rode. The grass just in front of each cluster of lights parted, and she saw the glint of a pair of forward-facing eyes.

Candletails, SAMI sent. Those two are a distraction. Watch for others.

Pivoting slowly, and taking some deep breaths to keep her heart rate under control, Ren aimed the cone of light at the grass behind her. Three pairs of eyes glinted back at her, about thirty meters away. These candletails had their tails limp behind them and would have been nearly impossible to spot without the reflection of their eyes. The grass barely moved as the eyes slowly stalked closer. Though Ren couldn't see them, she knew their retractable claws were sharp enough to cut through her field jacket with little effort. Sweat trickled down the side of her head despite the chill in the air as she felt her fear starting to replace the earlier excitement.

Suddenly, a complex series of whistles emanated from the watcher’s flying creature. The candletails all twitched, and one gave up its attempt at stealth and began sprinting toward Renata while the other two turned and began running away with a startled trill.

A new high-pitched whine filled the air, and something slammed into the two retreating candletails with a wet thud. Ren sighted her rifle on the one rushing her. She squeezed the trigger, and the magnetic coils launched a small metal slug at high velocity. A sharp crack echoed into the hills, a spray of dirt kicking up just in front of the candletail as her shot landed short. The candletail dodged to the side but kept running.

If this one had encountered humans before, it would have turned and ran at the shot. Renata wasn’t so lucky tonight. It snarled, sharp teeth gleaming in the blue light, it’s too-wide snout looking menacing on its otherwise cat-like face, muscles causing its purple feathery coat to ripple as it pumped its four legs.

The candletail leapt. Ren rushed and squeezed the trigger again, the shot merely grazing the flesh on its hind leg. Time slowed as Ren dropped her rifle, hands darting for the survival knife on her other hip, bringing it forward as she assumed a fighting stance before the rifle even hit the ground. The creature seemed to slowly move toward her through the air with its retractable claws outstretched. Ren heard the angry high-pitched whine again, and something dark and metallic looking darted out of the night and plunged itself through the candletail’s spine, arcing up and away from the ground after it passed through.

Dark red blood showered the grass. The candletail thumped to the ground just beside Renata as she spun and brought her knife down on its neck instinctively.

Time resumed its normal flow as Ren yanked the knife free and spun, watching for any other predators. She heard a thumping sound and turned to see the watcher standing, skin once again metallic bronze, a fist patting their chest.

“La-shu, kiven,” they said and smiled broadly, showing a mouth with almost human-like teeth.      

Renata thought she spotted a few extra pairs of canine teeth, but there were definitely what looked like molars in that mix too. Their voice was soft, the words sounding crisp and clipped, with a feminine pitch. Ren found herself thinking the watcher was a woman, something she could correct later if her assumption proved wrong.

They, or she, tapped her staff and it collapsed and curled around her arm. The watcher gave it a stroke as if it were a pet of some kind, then held out a hand and gave a shrill whistle. Three high-pitched whines approached from different directions. The dark metallic darts that had killed the candletails flew in, dropping into the watcher’s hand, rigid wings folding and unfolding a few times which gave them a beetle-like appearance. She gave each of the beetle-darts a small tap, which seemed to still them, then placed them into a small bandolier style garment around her leg.

An alarm echoed distantly from Requiem’s Landing, but Ren kept her eyes glued on the watcher, who began to turn away from her.

“Wait,” Ren called, and the watcher paused, cocking her head as she looked back at her.      

Ren tapped her chest with an open hand.

“Renata,” she said, then motioned between herself and the distant city, “Humans.”

She held her hand out to the watcher with what she hoped was the same look of expectation she’d received from the alien earlier. The watcher seemed to consider for a moment, then turned back to Ren, tapping her own chest.

“Ta-ni-ock,” she said, then motioned toward what they’d come to call the Grand Forest, no longer visible in the dark, “Driln.”

A string of the strange, clipped words followed, and the watcher, Ta-ni-ock, seemed to place herself deliberately between Renata and the Grand Forest.      

She pointed at Ren, then back to Requiem’s Landing.

“Huu-min,” Ta-ni-ock said, then pointed to herself and back to the Grand Forest, “Driln.”

She pulled her hood up, pointed from Ren back to the forest and made a slashing motion with her hand.

I don’t think they want us to come visit, SAMI intoned in Ren’s mind.

Renata nodded.

“Thank you, Ta-ni-ock,” she said, placing a hand over her heart and bowing.

Ta-ni-ock snorted from the six breathing tubes on the side of her chest, “Ren-ata, shra-shu,”she said, and began walking back toward the forest.

Renata sat, her mind reeling as she and SAMI began pouring over the data from the encounter in the few moments before a shuttle craft came roaring in. Its floodlights turned the surrounding hills into daylight again and sent small creatures shrieking and running in terror.

As it landed, a couple of safety officers in orange and yellow jumpsuits with rifles at the ready jumped off the lowered ramp at the shuttle's rear, then ran up to Renata. She recognized them: Nora Sive with her deceptively diminutive frame, her red hair in a bun under her watch cap, and Banks Finley, his green eyes sweeping the scene.

“Hey, Ren! Everything alright? Our sensors picked up the shot, what are you even doing out here after dark?” Banks said as he scanned the night with his rifle held low.

“Just some field research,” Ren said calmly, “Pack of candletails caught my scent, had to drop a few of them before the rest ran off.”

“Right… huh.” He was looking at the candletail that had been killed in front of Ren.

“Never seen one up close?” Renata asked, hoping he wouldn’t notice the odd wounds.

“Nope. ‘Cuz I don’t go on walks alone after dark. But then, I’m not an Oraculi,” he shrugged, then asked with a sly grin, “Want a ride home, or did you have more ‘research’ to do tonight?”      

Ren laughed and nodded, “Yeah, I’ll take a ride, thanks.”