Enemy of the Kaiuni

Enemy of the Kaiuni- Chapter 7

Enemy of the Kaiuni Draft 7

(as told by Radiance)

I went back inside after checking on the black-blue bulb vine flower. Krylon was still checking through the flash drive for any useful information.

"Humans have gotten more advanced than we think according to this. We know they've got settlements on Earth, Moon, Mars, used to on Adjacent, Europa, which is a moon of Jupiter, and now Algor, but I've also found in here documents saying they're close to cleaning up Venus's atmosphere so that it will be livable for them. They're also considering attempting to colonize Eternal." said Krylon.

I sputtered, "Wait, do they know that Elandorians and Alciria live on Eternal already? They can't just move to a planet already inhabited by intelligent life!"

"I don't think they know. I think the humans believe that this solar system doesn't have sentient life forms. They already know they're not alone in the universe, because they've had contact with other aliens, but it's not well-known information to all humans. Only those in a position of power realize that there are aliens." said Krylon.

I grimaced. "Humans can be ignorant most of the time."

"It's actually not their fault. It's a secret to most humans because that's they way people who do know keep it." explained Krylon.

I growled, "Well, that's a cruel thing to do. Keeping secrets from those just because they have little."

"There's nothing we can do. We're not humans, so it'd be hard to interfere without putting ourselves at risk health-wise and security-wise. We might as well forget about helping humans until aliens are more well-known to them. So are you ready to collect a bounty by turning in this laptop and flash drive?" said Krylon.

I looked at my feet. "Uh, Krylon, I want to stay on Eternal."

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Krylon in shock.

I tried to defuse the situation. "Just for a little while longer! There's still opportunities on Eternal, Xylem, and Phloem that we're going to miss if we leave now!"

"You can't reach Xylem and Phloem without a space shuttle or fancy toy." Krylon smirked.

I laughed derisively. "I can with my talent."

"Oh, really?" chuckled Krylon. He didn't believe me! And he's my only supporter!

I glared at him. "I have before. I can go to either Xylem or Phloem. Xylem I can breathe on, Phloem I have to hold my breath aboveground and move belowground quickly so the X-rays and ultraviolet rays stop burning me up too bad, even with Elandorian natural resistance."

"Prove it to me. Jump over to Phloem and bring me back a mitofin fish." implored Krylon.

I grabbed him by the wrist and yanked him outside. Phloem loomed directly above us. I could see her gazing longly for me to come to her.

I let go of Krylon's wrist. I closed my eyes, looked high, and super-jumped. I shot past the clouds and out of the atmosphere. I held my breath. I can hold it just as long as any other Elandorian, for eight days. The vacuum of space does not crush me and I can propel myself far enough to reach Phloem or Xylem.

I landed hard in a long-extinct volcanic crater on Phloem. It's the only way to get down to the underground ocean where the mitofin fish swim. You have to take one of the old empty lava tubes. Gold lines the sides and as you get further down, so does obsidian. Both are valuable, but I need to bring a mitofin fish back for Krylon.

The tunnels are long and twisting. Water drips from the ceiling. Some gets in my mouth. The taste it makes in my mouth makes me gag. I must remember not to breathe though.

I make it to the rocky shore. The sand is black and nothing like normal ocean shores. A type of the two plants float around aimlessly in the shallows. They are the only plants of Phloem. They're called cytase and riboment. Cytase is the one that floats around, riboment grows roots in the bottom.

Cytase plants look just like lily pads, but they are a darker green color and mitofin fish love eating them. Riboment look like ferns but grow underwater.

Small fish dart around the plants. They are the only animals on Phloem currently living. The invertebrates were wiped out way before I ever came to know of Phloem. There are fossils of them under the ocean floor. I've found them and sold the fossils for a pretty current.

Catching the fish is easy. They have no natural predators since the invertebrates died out. I quickly snatch a large one nibbling on a nearby cytase plant. The fish eat cytase and riboment, the five bacteria types (raffin, osmo, camb, solan, and astran) decompose the bodies for food, and the plants use those nutrients. The ecosystem on Phloem is extremely simple.

Mitofin are blind. They are pale and have see-through skin. I can watch the fish in my hand's heart beat slowly. Mitofin can breathe from both water and air. They breathe in oxygen and out carbon dioxide. The plants and bacteria take in carbon dioxide and put out oxygen. Normally I should be able to breathe in this atmosphere then, but the high xenon gas level would poison me.

I run up the tunnel to the surface and jump off into space towards Eternal. Now Krylon can eat his words as I watch in approval.