4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Hesarium

“There are plenty of pre-packs inside, and if they run out, we can always order more,” Hesarium said as he squatted near where Rain was digging in the dirt. “There’s no need for you to labor for your food any longer.”

Rain looked up at him with a chuckle. “This isn’t about growing food.”

“It isn’t?” he asked with a confused rumble, pointing at one of the containers of plant starter balls behind her. “Unless the label is incorrect, that bag is full of nort plant starters. What else is there do with nort but eat it?”

“Okay, yes, I’m growing food, but this isn’t about growing food to feed us, but growing for the fun of it,” Rain argued as she placed one of the balls into the ground then put a sensor node next to it and covered the entire thing with a layer of soil.

Hesarium finally understood. “You’re doing this because you enjoy the labor and challenge, not because you fear food shortages.”

Giving the earth a last pat, she sat back and looked at him. “Exactly. I’ve never grown nort before, so I expect this first crop will be a disaster.”

Hesarium sounded a negative rattle. “I’m sure it won’t be. You’re a skilled agriculturist. No plant would dare to do badly under your care.”

For some reason, his statement made her laugh. “I don’t think plants respond to threats.”

Before he could respond, a shadow fell over them. He wasn’t surprised to look up and find Bazium blocking the sun. If anyone was going to be able to sneak up on them, it would be his old squad leader.

“Baz!” Rain scrambled to her feet and peered around the male. “Is Ari coming?”

He started to sound a negative rattle but cut himself off. “No, she isn’t. But she is the reason I’m here.”

Intrigued both by Bazium’s words and his strange rattle stutter, Hesarium rose to his feet. “Greetings. Would you join us for some sopa?” he asked.

“I’ll sit as you drink, but I hope to end our discussion quickly,” Bazium said.

Bazium’s appearance allowed Hesarium to get Rain out of the sun. Soon they were all sitting in the cottage with cold drinks in their hands.

“What would you like to discuss?” Hesarium inquired.

“Ari is suffering from our success here,” Bazium explained. “With all the new humans brought in, everything’s gotten much more complicated and demands most of my time. I’ve come to ask you to help by taking over additional administrative tasks so I can spend more time with Ari.”

“You need to do more than that,” Rain said, forcing a rattle of surprise out of Bazium.

“What do you mean?” he asked. “My lack of attention caused her current maladies, so resuming my previous participation in her life should remedy them.”

Sympathy for both Ari and Bazium filled Hesarium. He remained silent, letting Rain impart her wisdom. Much like Ari, she was an observant human who was good at critical analysis of others. He had no doubt she would have insight neither of them possessed.

Rain raised an eyebrow at Bazium and tilted her head to the side. “You think it’s that simple? Let me ask you this, if you're piloting a vehicle and you lose momentum in the middle of a turn, will turning the power back on fix everything?”

“Of course not. You’ll need to course adjust to…” His words trailed off as a rumble of concern slid out of his chest. “Are you saying I can’t fix this?”

“I don’t know about that,” Rain said with a little frown. “But I know there’s more going on than you being busy.”

“What else can I do?” Bazium’s words sounded more like begging than a request for information.

“Ari and I had a great conversation a few days, uh, rotations ago, and I think she’s feeling a little lost. For a long time, her life was taken up with making sure everyone survived, first on Earth during the Final Cataclysm and then later on the mining station.”

“She performed her leadership role admirably,” Bazium agreed. “She’s like you, a superb human.”

Rain flashed him a smile. “Thanks, but I wasn’t farming for compliments. She spent years entirely dedicated to keeping everyone alive. That continued even after everyone got here because there was a lot of organizing to be done. But now you have Talins in charge of everything. She doesn’t even greet people at the port anymore like she did with all of us from Omanal.”

“Other humans performed important time-consuming duties before coming here and aren’t suffering ill effects,” Bazium pointed out.

Hesarium suddenly understood Rain’s determination to dig in the dirt. He sounded a negative rattle, turning Bazium’s attention to him.

“The other humans found duties that please them.” He pointed to the latest spot in Rain’s garden. “Rain is enjoying planting crops. Zuri has a distillery. Mandy collects items to create art, and many of the couples are occupied with raising their children in a safe and caring environment. It would seem Ari hasn’t found her purpose here yet.”

“Thanks for getting it, Hes.” Setting down her drink, Rain stood up and settled in his lap. Resting one hand on a thigh, he rubbed a scent gland into her fluffy hair and started up a soothing rumble.

“I love this,” Rain said. Hesarium looked up to see her staring intensely at Bazium. “I can’t imagine my life without Hes in it. It would break me if we were ever separated.”

“I feel the same about my Ari,” Bazium assured her.

“I believe you, but here’s the part I need you to really listen to. As much as I love Hes, I couldn’t simply hang out all day waiting for him to have some free time for cuddles. I need something else in my life. Hes is right, everyone’s picking up hobbies or building families, or both. Ari isn’t doing any of that.”

Dropping his head in his hands, Bazium sounded a mournful rumble. “Ari isn’t interested in gardening or having children. Am I doomed to watch her fade away, unable to save her?”

To Hesarium’s surprise, Rain laughed at Bazium’s lamentation. “Rain, my friend is in pain.”

“I’m not laughing at Bazium’s pain or the predicament,” Rain rushed to say, her mouth turning down in a regretful frown. “I’m laughing because of course Ari isn’t interested in the same things as me or someone else. She’s unique. You have to help her figure out what would make her feel fulfilled. One thing that might help is all of us doing something as a community. We’ve gotten a little cliquey lately. There aren’t any parties, celebrations, or big communal gatherings.”

Bazium straightened up and sounded an excited rattle. “Yes, your conclusions have merit. It must’ve been hard to go from spending every submark of every rotation in close proximity to other humans and then have it all gone. There would be relief but also longing mixed in. I will organize the best party she has ever experienced. I will help her find her community again!”

“We can help,” Rain offered.

Hesarium sounded a negative rattle. “I think Bazium should do this alone as a form of penance.”

As Hesarium expected, Bazium’s shoulders went back as he sounded a challenging rattle. “Yes! This is a battle I’m determined to win.”

“I’m not sure you should be comparing putting on a party with going to war,” Rain murmured.

Hesarium sounded a short rumble of amusement before addressing Bazium. “I’ll talk with Tarrian and Norrium about assuming your duties. Have all your notifications sent to me, and I’ll distribute tasks.”

“Thank you for your gift of time and skill,” Bazium said, setting down his untouched drink and rising to his feet. Rain hopped off Hesarium’s lap and stood in front of Bazium, blocking his exit.

“I just thought of something,” she said, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “The last time I checked the concurrent calendars, I noticed we’re getting close to an Old Earth holiday called Christmas. You should look into making the party a holiday one.”

His little human was almost vibrating with eagerness, making Hesarium regret his suggestion of Bazium organizing by himself as penance. If Rain was this enthusiastic about a Christmas party, then he was going to help Bazium make it spectacular. May the ancestors bless their endeavors!

“Perhaps help from a few select Talins isn’t out of the question,” Hesarium suggested. “As long as it’s in the service of the entire community. You’ll still do the brunt of the work, but the added help will allow you to accommodate all the humans.”

“Yes,” Bazium agreed. “We will need to begin immediately. We have precious little time to achieve our goals!”

After making Rain promise she’d finish her drink before going back outside, Hesarium caught up with Bazium.

“I have thoughts,” he said to his longtime friend and leader.

Bazium stopped, impatience radiating off him. “What is your suggestion?”

“If we’re going to throw a party dedicated to a specific human holiday, we need to do research. What type of activities did they do? What food did they eat? Did they wear special outfits or perform specific actions? This is all mission-critical information you need. I’m going to suggest you let me do some of the research. I’ll report my findings and you can organize accordingly.”

“I’m glad to hand this task over to you,” Bazium agreed.

“Excellent!” Hesarium exclaimed with an excited rattle. “I’ll interview Rain first, then several of the other humans. After that I’ll–”

“You can’t interview anyone!” Bazium objected. “No one can know, and you need to have Rain promise to keep the secret. This must remain a surprise for Ari.”

Hesarium didn’t think it needed to be a surprise, but he couldn’t argue with Bazium. This was his penance to perform.

“Then after I interview Rain, I’ll comb through the few records we have from Old Earth.”

“That’s a good plan,” Bazium said, striking his fist to his chest. “I expect a report from you soon.”

Then he turned on his heels and walked away, his long strides rapidly carrying him out of sight. Hesarium gave himself a moment to consider how all of this might go horribly wrong, then dismissed it.

They were Talins, and even more, they’d been the most decorated Advance Squad of their generation. They would hold a Christmas celebration to rival any held on Old Earth!

Hurrying back to his beloved Rain, Hesarium wasn’t surprised to find she’d left the cool, comfortable confines of the cottage and was kneeling in the dirt again. Sinking to his knees next to her, he unclipped his Ident and tapped the record function.

“I have questions,” he began.

Rain laughed and pointed her trowel at him. “I’m not surprised. I’ll tell you how we celebrated, but I’ve got to warn you, humans had different traditions all over the place and a good portion of the population didn’t celebrate Christmas.”

“Tell me all you know,” he ordered. “I’ll use the information wisely.”

Rain’s grin widened. “This is going to be interesting!”