Chapter 7: Boat Tour

The end of the day was marked by another procession of Valbarans leaving the office, Steven waving back at them as they flashed their feathers in greeting, showering the two males with attention on their way out. Steven understood how it might become overwhelming for Yemi after so long, but he had to admit that being treated like a celebrity was kind of fun – at least for a while.

Ipal and her flock were the last out, pausing to surround the desk like a pack of wolves as they tended to do, Ezi leaning on its polished surface.

“Are you ready to go, Steven?” she asked.

“Go?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “Where are we going, exactly?”

“He’s already forgotten,” Ezi chuckled, giving Ipal a smirk. “Remember over dinner, we talked about taking you on that Kal’quetz tour?”

“I didn’t realize you meant this afternoon,” he replied.

“Do you have other plans?” Mima asked.

“Not right now,” he said with a shrug. “I suppose I can go. You guys have to start involving me in your planning process, though.” He shut down his display and rose from his new chair, giving Yemi a nod. “I’ll talk to Joseph and see when he’s available. We’ll talk about it soon.”

“Alright,” Yemi replied with a flush of green. “I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

Steven left with the flock, who were now giving him suspicious looks as they walked down the carpeted corridor.

“What did you and Yemi talk about?” Ezi asked, matching his pace with her bobbing gait. “Who’s Joseph?”

“He’s a friend who helped me out when I arrived in Kalahar,” Steven replied. “Yemi and I were talking about going out for a few drinks with him.”

“What!?” Ezi gasped, her feathers erupting into shocked yellow. “You managed to get Yemi to go out!?”

“Just as work friends, yeah,” he replied as the little alien practically hopped up and down excitedly. “Sounds like he doesn’t get out all that much.”

“We’ve been trying to get Yemi to go out with us for about three rotations,” Ipal scoffed. “That boy won’t budge from his desk for anyone, and we’re pretty sure he doesn’t do anything but work and sleep. How did you manage to convince him?”

“I didn’t really have to convince him of anything,” Steven replied with a shrug. “I just asked him if he’d like to join us. You could try being his friend before you try to get into his shorts, you know.”

“We are his friends,” Ezi protested. “We’re always inviting him out.”

“Okay, but you have a very obvious ulterior motive for doing that,” Steven chuckled. “If you toned it down a bit, maybe he’d respond better. He doesn’t seem to have many friends at work, and he might appreciate you genuinely wanting to spend time with him. He worked me into his schedule, so he can’t be totally swamped.”

“Perhaps Steven is our way to get to Yemi,” Ezi said with a conspiratorial flash of red.

“I’m not gonna do that for you,” he replied with a smirk.

“Aw, come on!” she whined as she tugged at his sleeve. “This is the first time Yemi has agreed to do anything with anyone since we joined the company! You clearly know how to talk to him. What’s the secret?”

“I’m not gonna be your wingman,” he chuckled, pulling his arm away.

“At least tell us what he likes to drink,” Ipal insisted.

“His favorite food?” Mima asked.

“What music does he listen to?” Tilli added as she hurried along beside him.

“Ladies, ladies,” Steven chided as they reached the elevator. “This evening is supposed to be about me. I expect the full Calcutta tour.”

“Kal’quetz,” Paza corrected.

“Yeah, that,” he replied as he stepped into the car.

“No wonder you have to write everything down,” Ezi giggled.

They descended to the ground floor and headed outside, catching a train instead of riding scooters this time, as their destination was a little further away. Steven took a window seat, watching the city diminish and be replaced with rolling parkland and patches of forest, the wall looming ever larger ahead of them. Only when they neared the break in the wall did he realize that they were heading back to the port through which he had entered the city, the glittering expanse of ocean stretching to the horizon, dotted with little islands.

The train slid to a stop, and they piled out onto the platform, the ocean breeze blowing Steven’s hair as he took in the view. There were the piers extending out into the water, along with the myriad of strange watercraft, small skiffs and massive cargo ships skimming just above the ocean’s surface.

“This way,” Ipal declared, waving them on with her feathers. “We’re close enough that we don’t need scooters.”

They followed one of the winding paths that led through the band of parks and trees until they transitioned to the more artificial area of the docks, the grass and flowers giving way to paved carbcrete. The sea birds that Steven had seen on his way from the spaceport crowded the sky, perching on mooring posts and following the ships in flocks, riding in their wake.

“You must have never seen the ocean before arriving here,” Tilli mused as she watched him take in the view. “What do you make of it?”

“It’s beautiful,” he replied, pausing to watch one of the mammoth ships leave the docks. It accelerated, gradually building speed until it lifted a few meters from the water, heading off towards the archipelago. “An ice miner is never going to be able to do it justice, but the way that it reflects the sunlight is incredible. It looks like ... a big mass of sapphires, always shifting and shining. Everything on Ganymede is so still and static, sometimes literally frozen, but nothing here ever stays in one place for long. The water moves, the clouds drift, the leaves blow in the wind.”

“An ice miner could do worse,” Ipal said with a smile and a flush of green.

“What really gets me is how far I can see,” Steven added. “There’s no glass in the way – no visor or dome. Then there are the things I can smell and hear. When you’re wearing a pressure suit out on the surface, the only thing you can smell is the inside of your helmet, and you can’t hear anything that isn’t piped through your headphones. Inside the warrens, sound doesn’t carry very far with all the pressure doors. The fact that I can still hear the city and smell the gardens all the way out here is crazy to me. It’s like all of my senses have been expanded.”

“Well, you’re about to get a closer look at the ocean,” Mima said.

The flock led him to a small, white building at the end of one of the piers. A couple of boats were moored nearby, their streamlined, catamaran-like hulls bobbing gently on the water. They were smaller than the transport that he had ridden in on, only large enough for a handful of passengers. Both the boats and the building had some kind of Valbaran signage on them that he couldn’t read, and there were a couple of other flocks milling around outside, seemingly waiting for something. They glanced up to peer at him as he approached, the sight of an alien ever the novelty in Kalahar. One of them was a family with a male in tow, and Steven noted that he had no eye paint or jewelry. Could that be the mark of a happily married Valbaran?

Paza dipped inside the building, returning a short while later with yet another flock in tow. These women were all wearing matching wetsuits with the logo of the company emblazoned on their chests. It was hard not to examine their figures in the form-fitting clothing, the otherwise modest swimwear practically skin-tight, leaving very little to the imagination.

There had been hints through the loose tunics that the females favored, but they really did have breasts, the small mounds easily visible through the spandex-like material. Beneath them was a flat belly with a narrow waist that flared out into their signature hips, giving them an exaggerated hourglass figure. Their thighs were almost as thick around as their torsos, packed with the muscle that allowed them to leap around with the ease that they did. Their butts were tight and firm, the way that their thick tails extended out from the bases of their spines somewhat obscuring their pert cheeks.

He realized that he was staring and quickly averted his gaze. Somehow, he was seeing the aliens in a new light – as though two wires had become crossed or two wayward neurons had made a connection that hadn’t existed before.

“Come on, Steven!” Tilli chirped as she tugged at his sleeve to get his attention.

The flocks were loading onto one of the boats under the supervision of the staff, Steven following his friends up the precarious gangplank. They seemed to have arrived bang on time for the tour to start, but the Valbarans were nothing if not obsessively punctual. There was an awning on the boat to protect the passengers from the weather, and as he looked down, he saw that it had a viewing area with a glass bottom.

“Are we going to be seeing some fish?” he asked.

“You could say that,” Ipal replied.

There were some Valbaran-sized stools arranged around the viewing area that would allow the passengers to swivel easily, but Steven elected to grip a handhold near the side of the boat, peering down at the ocean as they got underway. One of the wetsuit girls took the helm near the prow, easing the boat away from the pier, slowly picking up speed as they headed out into open water. Once they were going fast enough, the hull lifted away from the surface, the ride becoming far smoother.

“It feels like rotations since we’ve been out to the marina,” Ipal sighed, joining Steven as he enjoyed the cool spray from the canards. “We live right beside the ocean, but we rarely get to appreciate it. You’re giving us a good excuse to have a lot of fun, you know.”

“I am known for my boundless benevolence,” he replied.

“I’m sure,” she chuckled, her pink feathers blowing in the wind as she leaned over to follow his gaze.

“By the way, shouldn’t I be wearing a life jacket or something?” he asked. “We didn’t exactly have municipal pools on Ganymede.”

“What is a life jacket?” Ipal replied with a tilt of her head.

“It stops me from sinking if I fall overboard.”

“Why would you fall overboard, and why would you sink?” she asked, as confused as he had ever seen her.

“I wouldn’t fall overboard on purpose,” he protested. “Don’t most people sink in water?”

“Not us,” she replied. “Many of our bones have cavities filled with air sacks that make up part of our respiratory system.”

“So, you always float?” Steven asked skeptically.

“Unless we’re weighted for free diving, yes,” she said. “Am I to assume that you have no such air sacks? No wonder you’re so heavy.”

“Heavy!” he replied in mock outrage. “I’m not overweight – I just have dense bones.”

“Better not fall overboard, then, big guy.”

“I need to have some words with your English tutor,” he muttered, turning his eyes back to the waves.

The boat coasted for a while, passing between a couple of islands dotted with palm trees before eventually slowing. It lowered itself back to the water, Steven feeling the gentle waves start to buffet it again, the glass bottom giving the passengers a clear view into the water below. He joined the crowd of aliens around the viewing area, his height letting him see over their heads easily.

The water was deep enough that the ocean floor was obscured by a blue haze, the sight filling him with a strange, instinctual sense of unease. Shoals of silver fish flitted back and forth, forming great, swirling masses that flowed together as though they were driven by some shared intelligence. It was mesmerizing, Steven finding himself transfixed by the sight. They swam in great streams before clumping up into larger masses, seeming to chase something that he couldn’t see, their scales shimmering in the sunlight. The tour guides began to speak, Ipal translating for his benefit.

“These fish are surfacing in search of microscopic zooplankton,” she explained. “They swim in shoals for protection – making themselves look larger to prospective predators. That won’t fool a Kal’quetz, though.”

“You’re really building this thing up,” he muttered.

“They hunt in this area, so it shouldn’t be long before one of them shows up on radar.”

They waited for a few minutes more, Steven watching the fish dart back and forth beneath the boat, then one of the guides called out.

“Large signature on the scope,” Ipal said. “She’s coming in.”

Steven turned his eyes to the horizon, moving to the guard rail and searching between the islands without being sure what he was looking for. Something caught his eye, and he saw a flock of white sea birds soaring above the water – the same kind that often followed ships around. They were sticking close to the waves, circling as though something beneath was drawing them in.

A shape breached a few hundred meters from their boat, a great mass displacing the water as it slid into view, its blue-gray skin gleaming in the sun. It was hard to make out much more than a hump, but it was large, whatever it belonged to coasting through the ocean with deceptive ease. A pair of sealed nostrils opened up, shooting a spout of water high into the air that sent the swarming sea birds scattering, and then it sank back beneath the waves with barely a ripple.

Steven had seen videos of whales – an Earth animal of unmatched size – but the scale was hard to imagine without seeing one in person. Just the way that this thing made the ocean surface bulge outward with its passing gave him some sense of its immense mass.

It was heading towards their boat, or rather, towards the shoals of fish that were swimming about beneath it. At a glance, he could tell that it was larger than their little craft.

“Uh, that thing looks pretty big,” he mumbled as he stepped away from the edge of the boat. “Is it safe for us to be here?”

“They do these tours all the time,” Ipal replied. “It’s quite safe – the Kal’quetz don’t attack boats.”

The conversations of the other passengers became lively and excited as a great shadow darkened the viewing port, many of them leaning in to get a closer look. The creature was directly below their boat now, Steven catching a glimpse of an impossibly long body undulating lazily, winding from side to side as it pushed itself through the water. Its movements more resembled a crocodile or a snake than a fish. It was moving far faster than its slow pace should suggest, Steven seeing a shark-like profile with two long pectoral fins that jutted out from its streamlined flanks, a thick tail following behind it. There seemed to be stripes or mottled patterns running down its back, but it was hard to tell if that was just the dappled light that made it through the water casting shadows.

It was gone as quickly as it had appeared, Steven and some of the other guests moving to the side of the boat as they tried to track it. For something so big, it was incredibly stealthy.

“How large do these things get?” Steven asked as he scanned the waves.

“Maybe twenty-five meters,” Ipal replied. “Seventy tons or thereabouts.”

“Holy shit.”

The passengers let out a chorus of excited chirps joined by yellow feathers as the creature breached again, and this time, Steven had a better idea of its size and shape. The nostrils must be high on its head like an Earth whale, and the hump that followed behind them as it slid back beneath the churning waves must be part of its back.

It was gunning for a shoal of fish now, Steven tracking it as it wheeled back around towards their boat. He moved back to the glass bottom to watch it, seeing the mass of silvery fish clumping up together to form a rippling, pulsating mass in some kind of threat display. It was like they were trying to make themselves look like a single large animal in an attempt to ward off the coming attack.

Steven got a look at the Kal’quetz’s maw as it rose up towards the surface, a long, streamlined snout reminiscent of some ancient marine reptile opening to expose rows of curving teeth. It had countershading – dark and mottled on top, but fading into a lighter coloration on its underbelly. Its dark eyes seemed too small for its massive head, and those sealed nostrils were situated high above its brow, about where the blowhole would have been on a dolphin. Its body was scaleless and sleek, honed by millions of years of evolution to plow through the ocean like a torpedo, a muscular tail longer than a train car powering it along.

It accelerated into the shifting mass of fish, cutting a swathe through them with its jaws, the rest of the shoal splitting into two groups and darting away in a bid to confuse it. The Kal’quetz snapped its mouth shut, sending pieces of torn fish and clouds of chum floating into the water, swallowing its catch as it turned for another run. The delighted cries of the passengers filled the air as it swept beneath the boat again, displacing enough water to make the little craft rise on the wave. Its streamlined body cut through the ocean, seventy tons of blubber and muscle changing direction on a dime to chase its quarry, those oar-like flippers steering it like rudders. It snapped at the shoal, catching another large mouthful, taking a literal bite out of them that quickly filled in again as the fish closed ranks.

Steven knew why the seabirds were following it now, watching them swoop down into the water to snatch up pieces of floating meat and scraps, a couple of them fighting over a morsel as they spiraled up into the sky.

Excited laughter filled the air as the creature exploded from the ocean, its momentum propelling it up above the waves with a tremendous spray of water, putting clear half of its length in full view of its captive audience. Its rubbery hide was etched with pale scars that told of a lifetime of conflict – whether with larger prey or others of its kind, Steven couldn’t guess. It almost seemed to wave at them with its long flipper as it rolled over, crashing back to the waves with another torrent of water that sprayed the onlookers even from a distance.

“This is so much fun!” Tilli trilled with an excited flash of feathers. “I feel like it’s been rotations since we came down to see the Kal’quetz feed. Why don’t we do this more often?”

After watching the giant marine creature terrorize fish for a while, it returned to the depths, and their boat headed back to the docks in turn. They disembarked from the little craft, Steven and the flock making their way back up the footpath towards the nearest train station.

“That was incredible!” Steven exclaimed, walking backwards as he turned to address his companions. “I can’t believe how big that goddamned thing was. Seeing the Teth’rak on video was one thing, but that creature was so close that I could probably have reached over the side of the boat and touched its back! What was it called again?”

“Kal’quetz,” Paza replied. “Val’ba’ra is home to many species of megafauna. You have seen the Teth’rak, the Kal’quetz, then there is the Do’patli, and still more.”

“On Earth, they have whales and elephants,” he continued. “I’ll have to find you a picture of an elephant on the intranet – I’ll bet you’ve never seen anything like it, even here. It’s a giant mammal that has tusks, a trunk, and huge ears.”

“I should like to see it,” Tilli added eagerly.

“Do you have any plans for the rest of the evening?” Ipal asked.

“Yeah, what are you doing tonight?” Ezi added.

“I was going to go home and get some food before I turn in,” he replied. “The sun is already setting. It’s kind of weird having a giant visual indicator of when it’s bedtime, I have to say.”

“We’re going to be taking the same train, so why don’t we stop over at your place?” Ezi suggested. “I’d love to take a look at how Earth’nay live.”

“I didn’t really bring much with me, so everything in the house is just stock,” he replied. “Besides, I didn’t buy enough food to feed six people – I was only shopping for myself.”

“We could order out,” Ipal suggested with a feather flutter akin to a shrug. “We know how much you like to expand your culinary horizons.”

“I mean ... I guess so,” he conceded. He wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted the flock set loose in his house, or whether it was appropriate for coworkers to be inviting themselves over, but he was a guest on this planet. When in Rome...

“Great!” Mima trilled with a flush of green. “I promise that we won’t impose. Right, Ezi?” she added with a pointed glance at her flockmate.

“Fine, fine,” Ezi grumbled as her sheaths hung limply from her head. “You act like I was planning to turn the place into a lounge or something.”

They rode the train back to Steven’s usual stop, then made their way up the path to his house, Ezi snickering at him as he ducked through the low doorway. Once they were inside, they fanned out to investigate as though they expected to find something unusual.

“Make yourselves at home,” he grumbled as he watched them scatter.

“Hey, you didn’t actually buy random nonsense from the store!” Ezi declared as she rummaged through his fridge. “I guess the househusband you met gave you some good recommendations.”

“I’ll have to leave you with some recipes,” Mima said as she leaned over her flockmate’s shoulder to get a look. “This is already giving me some good ideas.”

“Even for someone as large as you, this bedroom seems very empty,” Ipal added as she dipped her head through the arched doorway. “I always found that strange about bachelors. I can’t imagine being able to sleep alone.”

“Don’t they sell smaller houses?” Steven asked as he made his way over to her. “Apartments in the city, maybe?”

“They do, though this is called a residential band for a reason,” she replied with a sarcastic flutter of yellow. “Most of the housing allocations are here, and they’re all built around the same basic layout.”

“Seems a little messed up to me,” Steven continued as he appraised the room-spanning bed. “Sure, having a lot of space as a bachelor is nice, but he’s reminded that he’s not part of a flock every time he goes to bed.”

“Is that how you feel?” she asked, sparing him a curious glance.

“Hell no,” he chuckled, kicking off his shoes and walking across the mattress. He flopped down, spreading his arms wide to demonstrate. “Do you have any idea how small my bed was back on Ganymede?”

Tilli wandered into view and picked up one of his shoes, tugging at the laces as she examined the strange object.

“Hey, don’t lose those,” Steven chided as he sat up. “I don’t imagine it’s easy to get new ones out here.”

“Why do you have to wear these?” she asked.

“What, you guys don’t have shoes?” he replied.

“We wear shoes as part of pressurized suits or protective gear,” Ipal explained. “There isn’t a reason to wear them in everyday life.”

“I suppose scales are a little tougher than skin,” he mused as he watched Tilli tap her claws against the rubbery texture beneath the sole. “Haven’t seen any broken bottles around, either.”

He heard rustling packaging, climbing back to his feet to check on what Ezi and Mima were doing in the kitchen. Ezi was already gnawing on one of the insect protein bars, taking a seat on his couch.

“What?” she asked innocently as she brandished the half-eaten treat. “You told us you don’t like them, and you shouldn’t waste food.”

“Speaking of which, we need to order,” Paza said as she pulled out her phone. “What are your coordinates, Steven? Never mind,” she added, preempting him before he could reply. “I’ll use the planetary positioning system. What are we getting?”

The flock began to chatter in their native language, Paza entering the information into her phone with her usual speed as Steven stood around and waited for them to finish.

“You guys got pizza?” he joked, but it landed flat without any of them knowing what pizza was.

Mima and Ipal joined Ezi on the couch, while Paza sat on one of the chairs. The only place that Steven was really comfortable was the couch, so he had them shuffle over to make some room for him, his body almost comically large and lanky compared to theirs. He only realized that Tilli had snuck off somewhere when she emerged from his bedroom with his rucksack in her hands.

“What are you doing with that?” he demanded as she set it down on the coffee table, starting to rummage through its contents.

“I want to see what Earth’nay things you have,” she replied, reaching her little arm into the bag. “Is this all you brought with you?”

“I traveled light, and I haven’t really finished unpacking everything yet,” he explained as his cheeks started to warm.

The rest of the flock leaned in to get a look as Tilli started to place items on the glass. There was his comb, a few data storage devices for media, a spare toothbrush and toothpaste, a bundle of new socks, an electric razor, aftershave, a packet of soap, and a cardboard tube.

“This looks like a feather groomer, but larger,” Ipal said as she picked up his comb and ran a claw along its teeth.

“That’s for my hair,” he explained.

“And this?” Ezi asked, brandishing his toothbrush.

“For cleaning my teeth.”

“I could have guessed that,” Mima chuckled.

Tilli broke open the packet of new socks and pulled one of them over her hand like a glove, while Ezi began to play with his toothpaste, trying to figure out how to open the screw cap. She squeezed out a glob of the white paste, then gave it an experimental sniff, her feathers erupting in surprised yellow.

“That’s mint,” Steven said, reaching past Mima to snatch it from her hands. “It’s supposed to make my breath smell fresh. Don’t mess with that – I didn’t bring very much.”

“You can get dental hygiene supplies here, you know,” Ezi chuckled as she returned the toothbrush to the pile. “It’s not like we don’t clean our teeth.”

“Yeah, but your toothpaste might be cricket-flavor for all I know,” he grumbled.

“What’s this?” Tilli asked, picking up one of the data drives.

“Careful with those,” he warned as she turned it over in her hands. “It’s a storage device.”

“What’s on them?” Ezi asked.

“I didn’t know how much human media would be available on your planet’s net, so I brought a collection of movies, music, and books that will hopefully last me a good decade or two. At least until you guys start subtitling yours. Actually, that would probably be a bad idea,” he added as he remembered how much overflowing text his translation app produced. “Might as well read a novel at that point.”

“Earth’nay media!?” Tilli asked, her feathers flaring in excitement. “I’ve never seen any Earth’nay movies! Can we watch some?”

“Yeah, show us some Earth’nay music!” Ipal added. “What do they listen to on Ganymede?”

“I would, but all I have is a phone screen,” he replied with a shrug. “I’m afraid that it won’t be a very immersive viewing experience.”

“He doesn’t know,” Ezi snickered, giving Mima a nudge. She hopped out of her seat, reaching for the table and pressing her finger against the glass, a control panel appearing beneath her hand. With a few more presses, a hidden projector at the apex of the domed ceiling flickered to life, creating a large holographic display that floated in the air above them.

“Why the hell is everything in this house hidden?” Steven complained, throwing up his arms as the aliens laughed at him.

“Hand me your phone,” Paza said, rising from her chair to join Tilli at the table. He passed her the device, and before he even had time to instruct her, she had found the data cable for the storage drive and had connected the two. “You already have software compatible with our wireless protocols, so it should be a simple matter of connecting the device to the home network,” she said as her fingers danced across its screen.

“Okay, now gimme that back,” he muttered as he extended his hand. “There’s some private stuff on there.”

She passed it back to him, and he set it down on the glass table, but he was distracted as Tilli lifted the cardboard tube and began to open the plastic cap.

“Hey, hey!” he warned, prompting her to pause. “Be very careful with that – it’s fragile.”

“What is it?” she asked, handing it to him across the table.

“It’s a calendar that I brought with me from Ganymede,” he replied. “It’s very old – my grandparents gave it to me. I was going to put it up somewhere once I found a suitable place to hang it, but all of the walls here are curved.”

“May we see it?” Mima asked, the aliens waiting expectantly.

“Alright,” he sighed, unfastening the cap. He upended it and gave it a gentle shake until there was enough scroll to grip, gingerly sliding the roll out of its protective container. He flattened it out on the table, the flock crowding around to get a look.

It was a hanging scroll made from a strip of silk that was stretched between two wooden bars, the top one sporting a red ribbon that would let it be hung from a hook. The top half of the scroll was decorated with an ornate reproduction of a Chinese painting in a traditional style, depicting a dragon and a tiger locked in battle astride misty mountain peaks. Below it was a circular calendar separated into segments and adorned with Mandarin characters and numbers, its borders decorated with red and gold brocade. On each segment was a smaller depiction of one of the twelve animals associated with the Zodiac.