Victoria Silverwolf
Vegetarian Werewolf
[Many thanks to those of you kind enough to do so much hard work helping me with this story. I have tried to improve the most obvious flaws with the first version of the opening scene. In particular, I have tried to stay with one viewpoint character; I have removed confusing metaphors; I have removed the plot hole almost everyone pointed out; and I have have tried to make it it clearer who the characters are. I hope this is a little better.]
[P.S. Please disregard the strange change in typeface shown below. I don't how I messed this up, or how to correct it.]
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Niels Sorensen entered Curiosity's control center as quietly as possible. The three other crew members stood around a holographic image of the unnamed planet the ship orbited. Scattered clouds floated over countless small islands. The planet's ocean was a deep, inviting blue.
Akimi Haruna lifted a hand in greeting. "Nice of you to join us." A quick wink took some of the sting out of her words, but Sorensen felt himself blushing. It wasn't always easy being the newcomer aboard a small scout ship.
"I was using the cycler when I got your message." Sorensen moved closer to the image. It looked like a ghostly pearl half a meter in diameter. "What have we got here?"
Haruna stood between the two Vrax aboard Curiosity. She seemed perfectly at ease working with hermaphroditic, pseudo-reptilian centaurs twice her mass. One of the Vrax -- Sorensen thought it was Slarik, the elder of the two -- lifted a massive arm over the projection. Dozens of the long, delicate tendrils that served it as fingers wriggled over the planet, as if they could brush away its mysteries.
"Water," Slarik said. Its voice was a quiet rumble, like distant thunder. "Oxygen. No life."
"As far as we can tell from here," Sorensen said. "Sensors don't tell the whole story."
Haruna leaned forward a bit and folded her hands together. She was tall and slender, and the gesture reminded Sorensen of a long-limbed water bird seeking its prey. "True enough," she said. "Still, the evidence we have is convincing. All data are consistent with bare rock and empty oceans. Not uncommon, if it weren't for that damn oxygen. Without something similar to photosynthesis, that's a puzzle."
Thrin, the other Vrax aboard , shuffled its front legs as it examined the slowly spinning image. It touched the jeweled icon that hung around its thick neck on a ceramic chain. Anxiety? Excitement? It was impossible to tell. "More information wished for," it said.
Sorensen tried not to smile at Thrin's grammatical confusion. Rarely did a human being master even a few words of any Vrax language, most of which had bewildering multiple tenses for past, present, and future. Thrin and Slarik were far more intelligent than their stumbling use of human speech might suggest.
"So we go down and take a look." Haruna waved a hand through the hologram. Points of light danced on her fingers like diamonds.
"Agreed." Slarik backed out of the control center without further discussion. Although Curiosity functioned as a rough democracy, the fact that Slarik's clan had provided the lion's share of the funding made the elder Vrax first among equals.
Thrin continued to study the image. Its large silvery eyes, devoid of anything resembling irises or pupils, were impossible to read.
"Anomaly," it said. " Promising. Dangerous." Instead of walking backwards like Slarik, Thrin turned until it was facing away from the image. Sorensen wondered at the significance, if any, of this gesture.
"They don't fool around," he said. "We better get ready."
With a lazy half-salute Haruna left the control center, walking briskly toward her station. Once again Sorensen wondered why she had chosen to work aboard a scout ship, when she had the skills to be valued as a flatspace navigator anywhere in the Protectorate. Xenophilia, a youthful sense of adventure, the willingness to waste years for the chance to make one of the rare discoveries that would make her filthy rich -- none of the usual explanations seemed to fit perfectly.
Sorensen made his way to his own station. The slightly stronger pull of simulated gravity, as he moved from the center of Curiosity to the periphery, was conforting. He strapped himself into his familiar chair, the winking monitors surrounding him like old friends.
"Approach begins." Thrin's voice, somehow gentler than Slarik's, seemed to be coming from everywhere. Sorensen thought he could hear the whisper of ion jets, although they were supposed to be silent. He relaxed and closed his eyes for a moment as acceleration pushed him back into his seat.
"Feel like going for a swim, Niles?" The playfulness in Haruna's voice brought him out of his reverie.
"Do I have a choice?" Sorensen glanced at his monitors. "The whole place seems to be nothing but one big beach."
Sorensen watched the planet approach on his viewscreen. The light from its primary, a shade more orange than Sol, illuminated three-quarters of it. As Curiosity drew nearer, the light grew until it nearly covered the entire hemisphere. Could this truly be a world which had never lived?
The image suddenly seemed to blur, as if waves of heat rose before it. Sorensen tried to focus his viewscreen, but nothing seemed to help. He scanned the monitors quickly. There were odd fluctuations in atmospheric temperature and chemical composition.
"Something strange, Thrin," he said. "You might want to reduce--"
Sorensen's body slammed into his restraints, as if a giant hand had grabbed Curiosity. He felt as if he were inside a monstrous church bell, swinging from side to side as his ears were blasted by sound. The ship shuddered for an endless moment, then stood still.
Sorensen opened his eyes. Half his monitors were damaged, and the rest displayed readings which baffled him. He winced as he moved out of his restraints. There was blood on his left arm where one strap had bitten deeply.
"Who survives?" Slarik's voice seemed as commanding as ever.
"Back legs injured," Thrin said weakly. "Movement difficult."
"I've got some cuts, nothing serious." Sorensen rose to his feet. "What the hell happened?"
"Unknown," Slarik said. "Haruna, report."
'I'm here," she said. "I think I broke my wrist. Damn."
"No injury here," Salrik replied. "All go Thrin."
[P.S. Please disregard the strange change in typeface shown below. I don't how I messed this up, or how to correct it.]
_____________________________________________________________
Niels Sorensen entered Curiosity's control center as quietly as possible. The three other crew members stood around a holographic image of the unnamed planet the ship orbited. Scattered clouds floated over countless small islands. The planet's ocean was a deep, inviting blue.
Akimi Haruna lifted a hand in greeting. "Nice of you to join us." A quick wink took some of the sting out of her words, but Sorensen felt himself blushing. It wasn't always easy being the newcomer aboard a small scout ship.
"I was using the cycler when I got your message." Sorensen moved closer to the image. It looked like a ghostly pearl half a meter in diameter. "What have we got here?"
Haruna stood between the two Vrax aboard Curiosity. She seemed perfectly at ease working with hermaphroditic, pseudo-reptilian centaurs twice her mass. One of the Vrax -- Sorensen thought it was Slarik, the elder of the two -- lifted a massive arm over the projection. Dozens of the long, delicate tendrils that served it as fingers wriggled over the planet, as if they could brush away its mysteries.
"Water," Slarik said. Its voice was a quiet rumble, like distant thunder. "Oxygen. No life."
"As far as we can tell from here," Sorensen said. "Sensors don't tell the whole story."
Haruna leaned forward a bit and folded her hands together. She was tall and slender, and the gesture reminded Sorensen of a long-limbed water bird seeking its prey. "True enough," she said. "Still, the evidence we have is convincing. All data are consistent with bare rock and empty oceans. Not uncommon, if it weren't for that damn oxygen. Without something similar to photosynthesis, that's a puzzle."
Thrin, the other Vrax aboard , shuffled its front legs as it examined the slowly spinning image. It touched the jeweled icon that hung around its thick neck on a ceramic chain. Anxiety? Excitement? It was impossible to tell. "More information wished for," it said.
Sorensen tried not to smile at Thrin's grammatical confusion. Rarely did a human being master even a few words of any Vrax language, most of which had bewildering multiple tenses for past, present, and future. Thrin and Slarik were far more intelligent than their stumbling use of human speech might suggest.
"So we go down and take a look." Haruna waved a hand through the hologram. Points of light danced on her fingers like diamonds.
"Agreed." Slarik backed out of the control center without further discussion. Although Curiosity functioned as a rough democracy, the fact that Slarik's clan had provided the lion's share of the funding made the elder Vrax first among equals.
Thrin continued to study the image. Its large silvery eyes, devoid of anything resembling irises or pupils, were impossible to read.
"Anomaly," it said. " Promising. Dangerous." Instead of walking backwards like Slarik, Thrin turned until it was facing away from the image. Sorensen wondered at the significance, if any, of this gesture.
"They don't fool around," he said. "We better get ready."
With a lazy half-salute Haruna left the control center, walking briskly toward her station. Once again Sorensen wondered why she had chosen to work aboard a scout ship, when she had the skills to be valued as a flatspace navigator anywhere in the Protectorate. Xenophilia, a youthful sense of adventure, the willingness to waste years for the chance to make one of the rare discoveries that would make her filthy rich -- none of the usual explanations seemed to fit perfectly.
Sorensen made his way to his own station. The slightly stronger pull of simulated gravity, as he moved from the center of Curiosity to the periphery, was conforting. He strapped himself into his familiar chair, the winking monitors surrounding him like old friends.
"Approach begins." Thrin's voice, somehow gentler than Slarik's, seemed to be coming from everywhere. Sorensen thought he could hear the whisper of ion jets, although they were supposed to be silent. He relaxed and closed his eyes for a moment as acceleration pushed him back into his seat.
"Feel like going for a swim, Niles?" The playfulness in Haruna's voice brought him out of his reverie.
"Do I have a choice?" Sorensen glanced at his monitors. "The whole place seems to be nothing but one big beach."
Sorensen watched the planet approach on his viewscreen. The light from its primary, a shade more orange than Sol, illuminated three-quarters of it. As Curiosity drew nearer, the light grew until it nearly covered the entire hemisphere. Could this truly be a world which had never lived?
The image suddenly seemed to blur, as if waves of heat rose before it. Sorensen tried to focus his viewscreen, but nothing seemed to help. He scanned the monitors quickly. There were odd fluctuations in atmospheric temperature and chemical composition.
"Something strange, Thrin," he said. "You might want to reduce--"
Sorensen's body slammed into his restraints, as if a giant hand had grabbed Curiosity. He felt as if he were inside a monstrous church bell, swinging from side to side as his ears were blasted by sound. The ship shuddered for an endless moment, then stood still.
Sorensen opened his eyes. Half his monitors were damaged, and the rest displayed readings which baffled him. He winced as he moved out of his restraints. There was blood on his left arm where one strap had bitten deeply.
"Who survives?" Slarik's voice seemed as commanding as ever.
"Back legs injured," Thrin said weakly. "Movement difficult."
"I've got some cuts, nothing serious." Sorensen rose to his feet. "What the hell happened?"
"Unknown," Slarik said. "Haruna, report."
'I'm here," she said. "I think I broke my wrist. Damn."
"No injury here," Salrik replied. "All go Thrin."
