Twi’win turned her head halfway to the right before letting it swing back. “It is my hope you may find something to justify their expectations,” she replied dryly, “along with the loss of time, personnel, and material resources.”
Ruslan hoped to find something more than that. The director’s continued disparagement of her automatics’ findings notwithstanding, he hoped to find a hammer with which to shatter his loneliness.
8
Not only was the outpost on Daribb smaller than the research base on Treth, it had been in operation less than half as long. Many of the creature comforts he and his companions had enjoyed on the world they had previously visited were greatly reduced or not available at all. Add to that the perpetual gloom that contrasted greatly with the bright sunshine of the previous station and it was easy to understand why the outpost’s Myssari staff, dedicated as they were, went about their daily routines with considerably less bounce in their tripartite step.
Preparations were made to transport Ruslan and his companions to the ruined city where the scouts had made their dubious sighting. Though Twi’win’s cold appraisal of the possibilities and barely concealed resentment at their presence had dimmed his early excitement, he was still eager to see for himself, as were Kel’les, Bac’cul, and Cor’rin.
While proper attire was available to outfit the visiting Myssari, no such gear existed that would accommodate his taller, narrower, bipedal human frame. Amid grumbling, several sets of the special glider boots that the Myssari used to skate atop the slick, muddy surface were cannibalized to provide him with secure footing.
“How does the creature stay upright on only two legs?” The outpost’s chief engineer was watching as Ruslan experimented with ski-walking on the improvised gliders. Standing beside the intermet, Cor’rin was no less intent on the human’s efforts.
“There is something within the species’ hearing mechanism that aids them in staying upright. Although we have only the one live specimen available for study, examination of numerous cadavers confirms that the internal physiology is common to all and to both sexes. I confess that the process never ceases to astonish me. It is not perfect, however. I have seen him fall.”
“I don’t wonder.” The engineer simultaneously admired and sympathized with the human’s struggles to master the use of the modified gliders. “The possibility appears not to bother him.”
“It depends how he lands. The skeletal structure is sound but, as anyone can see, absurdly top-heavy.” As if to confirm her analysis, Ruslan promptly tumbled forward, overcorrected by flailing his arms and kicking outward with his feet, and landed on his backside with an appreciable splash. Fortunately, the surface on which he was practicing was inside the outpost. While approximating the consistency of the ground outside, it was nowhere near as thick with dissolved soil and organic solids. When he rose, helped up by Kel’les, his pants were damp but not dirty.
“I wonder how long it will take him to master the gliders well enough to walk outside?” The engineer did not sound optimistic. Cor’rin was quick to step to Ruslan’s defense.
“I think you will be surprised. From having studied him for a period of years, I can assure you that the human is very adaptable.”
The engineer made a high-pitched gargling sound. “Not adaptable enough, or they wouldn’t be one individual shy of extinction.” His body pivoted while he continued to gaze at her. “I have work to do. We are perpetually shorthanded here.”
His guest indicated that she understood. “A fact of which your director never ceases to remind us.”
It was midmorning of the following day before everyone, including Ruslan, felt he was competent enough on the gliders to consider commencing their search. It could have begun earlier but everyone felt it was important that the human be able to fully participate. That meant being able to enter narrow passageways and travel down crumbling corridors on his own, without the aid of machinery. He felt as strongly about that as did his hosts.
From the air, the decaying city the outpost’s xenologists had identified as Dinabu was dauntingly extensive. Ruslan regarded the sprawling, decaying metropolis with concern. Even if the outpost’s automatics had seen something worthwhile, it could be anywhere within the crumbling depths below. Just because the pair of driftecs touched down at the exact coordinates that had been recorded by the scouts did not mean that whatever they had seen remained in the vicinity. Searching the city on foot could take years, even with advanced Myssari detection equipment. How many years Ruslan had remaining to him could only be estimated.
Sitting in the driftec, then, he was wasting time. As soon as the disembarkation portal opened, he was outside.
Whatever had prompted his kind to settle such a glum, soggy world remained a matter for speculation. If there were valuable minerals, the mines had yet to be found. Perhaps there were interesting indigenous food sources, he told himself as he stepped down off the battered metal landing platform. Possibly non-synthesizable organics. The answer would lie in the local records that Twi’win’s limited staff of linguists was methodically deciphering.
Walking on instead of in the omnipresent muck involved sliding one’s feet backward and forward, as if skiing on snow. Snow, however, did not gurgle beneath one’s feet. As he followed Bac’cul and their outpost guide toward the nearest large buildings, he wondered how deep the thick brown mud was beneath their feet. Maybe deep enough to swallow a man before he could utter a sound and without leaving the slightest indication he had ever been. It was a sobering thought and he was careful to keep his balance.
There was nothing remarkable about the entrance to the structure where the scouts had seen… something. Save for adaptations to the local climate, the interior was not all that different from the dozens, the hundreds, of abandoned buildings he had explored on Seraboth. There were similar devices, similar layouts, similar furniture. The same forlorn assortment of forsaken personal items. The same vestiges of a vanished people. The same pain.
Nothing moving, though. With the collapse of the city’s infrastructure following the obliterating sweep of the Aura Malignance, there was no possibility of utilizing local power or other facilities. While the necessary machinery was present, it was badly in need of repair and restoration, thanks to the depredations of local flora and fauna. In tandem with his companions he activated the illumination function of the modified Myssari exploration vest he now wore. This enabled him to better see his surroundings and his companions to see him. Looking like a swarm of oversized fireflies, they spread out to inspect each room in the building.
Ordinary Myssari would have been unsettled by the gloom and strange noises. Not the accompanying team of researchers from the outpost. They were familiar with Daribb’s lugubrious moods. Ruslan’s companions, however, were used to brighter, more cheerful surroundings. Even devastated Seraboth had boasted blue skies and sunshine.
Gazing at his present environs, he wasn’t sure he wanted them to be better illuminated. Unclassified scum pooled in the corners of violated buildings, while white-tendriled quasi-fungi climbed the posts that supported aboveground walkways. Where the latter had collapsed, he and his friends had to traverse the mud.
Directional lights mounted on individual vests allowed them to search recesses and crannies within the interconnected buildings. Heat-seeking sensors told the lights where to aim. Ruslan’s picked out a large mass of black fur that, when targeted, dissolved into a mad mob of multi-legged, pink-bellied creatures with top-mounted eyes and oversized teeth. He was not surprised. Similar creatures thrived on Seraboth and on Myssar itself. The frantic dark-furred beings followed a rule of evolution that was standard where higher lifeforms had developed. Breed often, have large litters, dwell in those places that are shunned by more dominant creatures, and your species will be a success. He grunted at the irony. Humans had bred infrequently, had small litters, and chose to live in the most amenable regions. Small furry things survived. Humanity had not.