"Ardus! Come look at this!"
Standing, Ardus winced at the twinge in his lower back. New man or not, his body still protested occasionally at the new source of overexertion. I may feel forty again, but I am still nearly three times her age. Nevertheless, the urgency in Nina's voice brought him up and across their shared office with speed.
"Look!" She pointed at the screen, a tiny fingernail painted coral-pink tapping where a flicker of motion blurred a frozen screen. "What is that?" Ardus knelt by her desk, pressing his shoulder against her side to look at her screen. She was pointing at something near the ground, something quite small and blurred by the poor video quality in the shadows of the forest. "Do you see it? Down there by that clump of grass. Hang on," Nina reversed the video and started the clip over. With her stylus she drew a circle on the screen, "Watch that spot." Ardus tracked the area as Nina advanced the footage frame by frame, a sense of excitement building as the circled area cleared slightly, the camera lens focusing on movement. She'd seen something that made her cheeks flush, and Ardus wanted to know what it was.
Just then, a form detached itself from a branch at the corner of the view. A flying creature, the Dreenai analog of a bird, spread its wings and hopped down from the tree and landed in a patch of shade at the bottom of the video. Behind its miniature-dinosaur body trailed two long streamer-like feathers, each ending in a split that gave the illusion of two additional trailing feathers. "Ah, a long-tailed hopper," Ardus told her. "Not exactly a common species in that area, but not so uncommon as to cause alarm."
"Are you sure? It doesn't look like the one in the guidebook."
Ardus squinted. There was a slight difference in the color pattern on the creature's neck and shoulders, and the manner in which it bobbed its bare-skinned head did seem modified from other specimens he'd seen before – rather that three successive nods this one bobbed twice, paused, and bobbed twice more. "A subspecies, perhaps, or a variation. The males do occasionally invent their own habits. They tend to mimic their parents for the first few years before coming up with more individualized quirks." He pointed to a subtle movement in the underbrush. "There, a female. Now watch him, if he raises his streamers that would mean he is interested."
Nina's fingers flew over her keyboard, taking down notes as fast as she could. She paused the video a few times to capture the moment when the male suddenly dipped his head, nearly laying his chest on the forest floor. Spreading his claw-tipped wings on the ground, the long-tailed hopper raised his hind-feathers and spread them into a wide V-shape. From there he alternated between twitching first one feather then the other, and flicking both up at a right angle to the ground. "There he goes," Nina grinned, isolating the behavior into a separate copy of the video to attach as a reference later. Her summary of their trip was going well, though coming on eight pages of notes and bibliographical citations alone. But Ardus could tell she was enjoying herself – the night before he'd had to peel her away from her tablet and coax her into bed. Just like I was at her age.
As far as relationships went Ardus had few complaints, and the ones he had were of a minor nature. He would have to acclimate to Nina's size and therefore her walking speed, make a few adjustments to his living space so that she would have access to things like the sink and other appliances, and he had to watch himself at night in case he turned in his sleep and rested too much of his four hundred and fifty pounds on her. Ardus was quickly learning just how much of his strength she could handle, and wondered that such a small woman could make him appreciate just how powerful he was now that his pores had returned. Nina seemed to have no trouble acclimating to his size, an agile climber and avid problem-solver in her own right. That he could so easily lift her, position her any way he wanted, or prevent her from moving at all gave him a new perspective on his identity as a Dreen, as a male of his species, and the disparity between their people. More than just science, he hoped that his experience would further the Dreen and human coexistence. It is not hard to adjust, it merely takes some consideration and awareness.
He had just settled back into his seat and was two words into his own work when their computer terminals pinged with notifications. "Ugh, another update?" Nina flipped a flyaway strand out of her eyes at the sound. "Between you and me and the wallpaper, I don't know how we're supposed to get any work done around here!"
Ardus tapped the screen, opening the notice. Since the explosion at the Port, Dean Reda and the rest of the administration had taken to issuing almost hourly bulletins detailing the current state of the Port, travel advisories and corrections to old or erroneous information. As far as anyone knew, the explosion had been an accident of physics with no reasonable cause to believe in sabotage or terrorism. The presumed cause – overheated cooling tanks rupturing from excess pressure – continued to be the most favored explanation.
However, it was the slowly rising number of Dreen affected by the same sudden, unexplained paralysis affecting Boda that worried him. Athe had reported earlier that Boda was being seen by a specialist, but that he was only one of possibly thousands affected and that Boda's case was far less urgent than those suffering from difficulty breathing as their chest and back muscles failed to function. While Dreen understood their great capacity to hold their breaths, even at several dozen feet below the surface of the sea, none could survive indefinitely without air. For the first time in living Dreen memory, ventilators had been put to use on otherwise healthy Dreen. In the week since the incident, tensions were high and it seemed that everyone had their eyes on the notification corners of their screens.
What bothered Ardus the most, however – aside from the Dreen doctors' apparent bewilderment at this affliction despite being several hundred years more advanced than human medicine – was that now, the Federation had gotten wind of the development and were hounding the Port authorities for information. Reda had been fielding calls for the better part of the day, judging by a quick note dashed off to him that morning and waiting in his inbox when he arrived for the day: Pushing back month's department board meeting until things settle down. Ardus hoped that would be soon. Looking up once more, he saw that Nina wasn't as focused on her summary as before. "Nina?"
"Hmm?" she murmured, not looking up.
"Are you-" Ardus was interrupted by the door chime and changed his tactic, "-expecting a visitor?"
Nina, head raised at the sound, gave him a look that told him she wasn't. "No, you?"
"I was not." Who is this? With his finger on the pad he spoke to the door. "Doctor Ardus, to whom am I speaking?"
The voice on the other end was unfamiliar. "Authorities of the Port of Dreenai, is Doctor Ma'atanoa in?"
Ardus glanced at her and Nina shrugged. "She is, but she is working currently. Will you be long?"
"We'd like to ask her a few questions."
Another look, another shrug. "Very well," Ardus responded, "but I ask that you keep it to a few minutes, we have deadlines to meet."
"So do we, Doctor." Officious, Ardus thought with some distaste. He rose and went to the door, allowing two Dreen in authoritative dark green uniforms to enter his office, one yellow and one almost blood-red. Nina stood as they entered, tucking her hair away from her face and straightening her clothes. She'd chosen human clothes and looked strange and small compared to the Dreen. Though not openly hostile, Ardus took note of how carefully they controlled their pores and expressions.
"Doctor," the red Dreen began, "I'm sure you're aware of the incident at the Port of Dreenai some days ago?"
"I am," Nina answered bravely, calmly.
"Do you have any knowledge of its cause?" Ardus was shocked by the official's forwardness – he seemed to be implying that Nina was responsible! Swallowing down a snarl Ardus took himself back to his seat and tried to ignore the interrogation. Nina shook her head, "I only know what's been announced, that the vessel's cooling tanks overheated and ruptured."
"That much is still true," the red Dreen nodded, "but other developments have come up. Are you aware of the casualties?"
Ardus watched as Nina's eyes widened. "Casualties? Has someone died?"
"There have been two dozen deaths recorded so far, and more than a hundred injuries classified as fairly severe." The yellow Dreen shook her head, "unfortunately the number of those in critical condition is climbing. You know of a Dreen called Boda?"
Ardus flinched. No! Not Boda! But Nina answered coolly. "Yes, I know him. I work with his partner, Athe. Is he all right?" Her eyes were still large, but despite her size she stood admirably – if she was afraid Ardus could not tell.
"As of this morning when we spoke to him, he was still speaking clearly and was aware of his surroundings, which is better than the more severe cases. I believe we've also talked to this Athe you mentioned, he's the one who suggested we come speak to you."
"Me? Why?"
"The cargo ship involved in the accident was Earth-based, the current theory is that some pathogen hitched a ride, somehow survived the journey through space, and was either ejected or reactivated upon touchdown. It was suggested that you might know something of microbes capable of surviving such a trip and causing the kind of paralysis we're seeing."
"Not off the top of my head, no. I'm not that kind of biologist." Nina shook her head slowly, thinking. "But if I had a sample or something, maybe Nia will let me use the electron microscope," she looked over at Ardus. "Do you think she'd mind?"
"I see no reason why not," Ardus crossed his arms. "And if she did, I am still the head of this department – if it becomes necessary I can override her objections." Though I doubt I will need to. "If you can provide us with samples, I will authorize the use of any facilities needed."
"I assure you the Port administration welcomes your help," the yellow Dreen nodded soberly, "but we'll have to go through all the necessary channels before we can guarantee you anything. Can we leave our contact information?"
"Of course," Nina took up her tablet and created a new note. "You obviously know where to find me, and if I'm not here you can leave a message with him," she indicated Ardus, "or his assistant. Really anyone in the department, it shouldn't be that hard to find me." She gave them a strange sort of smile, half embarrassed and half humorous.
After giving their contact information, the red Dreen said, "I understand you do much of your work in the field, but as there are exceptional circumstances we'd like you to stay as near the university as possible. If this...whatever it is does turn out to be Earth-based, we may need you at a moment's notice." He inclined his head. "We're sorry to pull you into this, but we're trying to avoid another incident like the one a few years ago."
"I understand that. Please, if anything comes up I hope you'll reach out to me, even if it's just a few questions. I want to help."
"Thank you for your cooperation," the yellow agent finished a series of bullet points on her own tablet, then extended a large hand towards Nina. "I believe this is how humans both greet and wish each other well?"
"That's right," Nina reached forward and clasped the Dreen's fingers. "Take care." The Port officials promised they would and nodded to Ardus as they left. Once they were gone, Nina turned to him with a worried look. He gestured for her and she came to him. "Ardus, I'm scared." That shocked him. Nina? Afraid?
"They only came to ask for our help," he assured her.
"Not them," Nina stepped closer, pushing between his knees and indicating she wanted him to pick her up. "The Fed. Humans. We don't exactly have a great track record when it comes to acting rationally in a crisis."
"It is not my place to judge," he slid his hands under her arms and pulled her into his lap. She leaned into his chest and Ardus supported her with an arm around her shoulders. Her back was tense, her hands curling into his tunic. "You are out of their jurisdiction, you likely have nothing to worry about. If necessary I can account for your whereabouts for the last several weeks – there is no way you are implicated." He pulled back, looking down at her. "Would you like to go back to the apartment? Perhaps the beach?"
Nina shook her head, trying for a smile. She didn't do very well. "No, I'm just worried. You don't know humans like I do – you think I'm hard to track, wait until you have ten billion of us all wanting something different and thinking everything else in the universe is out to get us. Last time half the planet thought all of Dreenai would come for us and either eat us or wipe us out."
Ardus chuckled and shook his head. "If I have learned nothing else from you, I have learned that humans are far too tough to be a pleasant meal. With some exceptions," he nuzzled the top of her head and gave her a gentle squeeze. "I can assure you my people are more interested in meeting our neighbors than eating them, and as far as we know humans are the only other intelligent life in this galaxy."
"I have my doubts sometimes," Nina gave a halfhearted grin.
"The same can be said for some Dreen. Will you be all right? Is there anything I can do to ease your mind?"
She shook her head. "I just want to sit here for a minute." And so they did, quietly, with Ardus's hand resting on Nina's back between her shoulder-blades and her legs curled up under her body. Ardus's pores emitted soft blue light, his Collar of Aku pulsing faintly green and white. Nina turned her head and laid her ear against his neck, no doubt listening to the tidal rhythm of his breath as it stirred her hair against her cheek. Under his hand Ardus felt her rapid heartbeat – rapid to him, at least – and the rise and fall of her ribs. Her fear wasn't totally irrational, but perhaps with their shorter lifespans humans were more susceptible to anxiety and the urgent need for security. Ardus knew from experience that change of any kind had a tendency to take its time, and his own observations assured him that even in nature, where change can be rapid and even violent at times, it was unlikely that any individual or species ever saw change from beginning to end. Nothing lasted forever, not even stars.