Chapter 8: Botany

They traipsed through the mud, just as the elder had said, the forests here were thinning out. There were fewer pale trees, the vegetation beneath their boots giving way to reeds and what looked like colorful lilies that thrived in the shallow water. There seemed to be no hard boundaries here, no shores, just a spectrum of mud and water and everything in-between. The going was no easier, the damp earth sucked their feet deeper with every step, and Sleethe had taken to swimming through the water to their left with a surprising grace. It was just deep enough that he could power through the shallows like a veritable crocodile, his tail driving him forward with impressive speed, the lumbering gait that made him appear clumsy and heavy on land all but forgotten.

There were other Krell in the water too, further out towards the middle of the lake, some lounged as they floated lazily on the surface and some splashed around in short bursts of activity. Were they hunting perhaps? Mating? A group of them spied the human visitors and approached, weaving through the water silently, as if they were stalking their prey. They looked uncomfortably like crocodiles as they emerged from the lake, the murky water falling from their armored backs in curtains as they marched up onto the mud.

Their size was imposing, but Sleethe did not seem concerned, and so neither were the humans. There were larger, stocky males with broad chests and muscular limbs, alongside somewhat smaller females who were doughier with wide hips and thick tails. It was the first time anyone in the team, and perhaps any human, had seen a fully developed female.

They were almost as large as the males, their weight distributed to the hips, thighs and belly, giving them a distinct pear shape. There was a lot of mass to them, though it was distributed attractively, leaving them sleek and streamlined. There was a lot of brawn to them as well, there would have to be to carry such significant weight, their thighs and abdomens rippling with taut muscles that hid just below the surface, bulging outwards as they moved and shifted. They had fat deposits on their pale chests that, while not actually breasts, gave them a plump appearance and a deceptively feminine figure.

The ever friendly aliens surrounded the humans, at least a dozen of them, and they began to examine and greet them in the same way that the ones in the village had. They pushed their snouts into their faces and sniffed them, rubbing their scaly cheeks against the strangers like enormous, reptilian cats. They tugged at the unfamiliar clothing that the humans were wearing and ran their stubby fingers through their hair, seemingly interested both by the texture, and the variations in color and style between the visitors.

Oddly they stayed away from Webber, greeting her with their headrubs, but paying her less attention than they did the other humans. Was it something to do with the marking on her forehead perhaps? Sleethe greeted a few of them, but he wasn’t of much interest to the group when there were aliens to examine.

After a few minutes their curiosity waned and they left the team to continue on their way, slipping back into the water and heading out towards the center of the lake again. Reid hung back a little bit to let Webber catch up as they moved on, matching pace with the woman as they struggled through the mud and shallow water, sinking up to their knees in some places. Reid let the men press on ahead, waiting until they were out of earshot before speaking to Webber.

“So, what is that symbol? Do you have any idea? When the other Krell saw it they seemed to lose interest in you.”

“I ... I have no idea,” she stammered, her face reddening. “Maybe the elder painted it on me to indicate that I could speak some Krell? I don’t know.”

“You’re a lousy liar Miss Webber, you’re obviously head over heels for Sleethe. You’re like a dog with a pork chop, can’t take your eyes off him.” Webber started to speak hurriedly, perhaps objecting or apologizing, but Reid cut her off with a wave of her hand. “It’s not like you’re breaking any rules, I’m not going to reprimand you or anything like that. It’s poor timing perhaps, but your private life is none of my business, I’m your boss not your mother. You do need to tell me if there’s anything you know that might help us though, or that could be relevant to our current predicament, any insights into their behavior that you might have withheld.”

“I’ve not hidden anything that might be important, I just ... we’ve all heard rumors about what goes on behind closed doors on the station, I guess I just didn’t want everyone to see me as any less of a professional. I’m not some muddy recruit sharing a dorm with a Borealan.” Her face grew redder and she looked out across the lake, watching her alien companion as he drifted slowly through the water, matching pace with the slower humans like some kind of green submarine. “It’s not like I went looking or anything, I was doing what you had told me to do, and they just started ... going at it. It was so fast, so exciting, and then Sleethe just ... sort of...” She bit her lip as she reminisced, and Reid felt a quick pang of jealousy. “I think he really likes me, they don’t just mate at random in a big pile, I think they pair off too. If they find someone they click with, someone who’s compatible, then they stay with them. I think that’s what the symbol is, it tells the others that I’m spoken for.”

“An alien engagement ring, then?”

“Something like that...”

“You don’t need to be embarrassed about it,” Reid said, smirking. “At least he’s not afraid of commitment, and he’s better mannered than any of the boyfriends I had in med school.”

Webber suppressed a laugh, her mood lightening, and Dubois turned back around to see what was keeping the women.

“I think we’re nearing the far shore,” he shouted to them, “keep an eye out for these plants. Thorns like claws, dark green leaves, purple berries.”

“Yeah, I got it,” Webber replied, then she turned her attention back to Reid. “I guess we should fan out a little, cover more ground.”

“That sounds like a good idea, I don’t believe Dubois has any reason to have that gun with him besides playing cowboy, but stay within shouting range. You never know what we might encounter out here.”

“I think I’ll be ok, I have Sleethe with me after all.” Webber hesitated as Reid broke away in the direction of the lake, her eyes turned towards the carpet of tangled water weeds. “And thanks, Doctor Reid, for ... you know.”

Reid nodded.

“Don’t mention it Webber.”

They had been searching for the better part of two hours, the twin suns of 61 Cygni dipping below the horizon and darkening the green haze that permeated the atmosphere, before Clayton called out that he had found the plant that they were searching for. The team crowded around the squat bush as he maneuvered carefully around the wicked thorns and plucked a handful of berries.