Planet Walkers by A. V. Shackleton

Author:A. V. Shackleton [Shackleton, A. V.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Publisher: Courageous Books
Published: 2017-11-16T13:00:00+00:00

INSIGHT

Alone on a craggy northern island of the Southern Archipelago, Huldar hunkered down beside a mighty waterfall and watched the dawn light flood beneath a pall of inky dark clouds. In an instant, squalls of rain were transformed into shining capes. Wildlife filled the air with chirps, wails and ratcheted clacking. The roar of the falls thundered through his body. Rain bucketed down, running freely over his face from the edge of his hood. He cleared his eyes with one hand and stared into the braided chasm below. Thick mist sparkled between long fingers of shadow, but it was not just the dawn that flashed among the droplets.

All around him, up and down the length of the canyon, small blue lizards darted in fits and starts from crevices where they made their homes. Wherever the sunlight pooled, they gathered. Jewel bright on rain-dark rocks, they lifted cerulean wings as if in tribute to the sun; then, at some unspoken signal, they launched into the void.

Wings fluttered like fragments of shattered summer sky. Tails flashed in the pearlescent vapor. Blue streaks, agile as eels, chased through the spray after glimmering rainbows of flying silver fish – a sight to rival the famed sky-veils of Manziat.

More than anything, he wanted Andel to see it, but he was afraid to leave even for one second, knowing that the moment would not last and that their psychic bond was not deep enough for him to share such wealth and do it justice.

As if his thoughts had been a cue, the sunlight was eclipsed by storm clouds and the magical scene darkened. Lizards still flew, fish still jumped, but everything was different. He stood and bowed in homage to the wonders of El’s creation, and, after a last look, began walking slowly along the edge of the ravine, careful to avoid unwary lizards.

He wondered how the creatures survived the long winter, but in their short window of time they could only have the briefest of overviews. Mating displays and breeding behaviors were rarely glimpsed, and there were few clear clues as to how any of the myriad life forms on this complex world reproduced.

He paused to pull a vine from his path and looked up as flashing blue wings arced above the ravine. It puzzled him that many populations showed no evidence of variation in age. Where were their young? But these mysteries would have to wait until the next thaw-cycle, or the next. The Overlord was far more interested in the location of mineral deposits, and saw ecological systems in terms of dangers and assets rather than life and beauty valuable in its own right.

With other assignments, ten years was the accepted rotation … ten years on, ten years off until the new planet was well understood. Only then would the Imperial Explorers give their final reports and the Guild release the new world for utilization – or not. However, this one was only habitable for three standard years. It would be another seven before it thawed again; so a three by seven rotation.

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