Gliese Chronicles: Exploration of Sakcore Ch. 3
By Rachel Anne Wallace
They walked into the ship and the first order of business was to treat the sting Hianne had suffered. She had attempted to grasp the small dragon in her hand and the air movement had sent it onto her arm where it had stung her. They were amazed they were so light and wondered why they seemed to simply float in the air. Perhaps their scans and inspection under a scope would reveal details they hadn't discovered yet. Cela was thinking this was an example of the groups' diversification over time into different habitats with different species selecting different sized prey and niches.
Hianne looked at her with a frown, "It looked so pretty and harmless, guess I should have remembered sharp bright patterns and colors are often a warning to stay away."
Cela looked at her sympathetically, "When I found this dead one I didn't think of it myself, then I saw one stun a smaller Eusectoid on the ground and it gave me a hint as to what it might be."
They moved over to the dissecting microscope and placed the dead dragon under it in a shallow plastic dish, with its venter upward. As she moved it on the stage of the scope details became apparent they hadn't seen in the video or still pictures taken of the larger dragons they had first encountered. The animal actually had another eye, making for a total of three, located on the midline of the body towards the posterior of the body. This eye, combined with the eyes widely spaced at the front of the animal, provided a means of triangulation and perhaps of determining height above the substrate. After shooting the large dragon it had been so large they hadn't been able to see the underside as it lay on the ground so this smaller specimen was showing them details previously unseen.
The proboscis was located between two appendages apparently used to grasp prey, she assumed after it was rendered harmless after having been stung. There was another set of small appendages at the very end of the body she assumed functioned during reproduction. If dragons were sexually dimorphic, that is male and female, these appendages may be different in structure and size.
"Let's get a scan so we can see its internal anatomy," Kira suggested.
They moved to the smaller MRI machine and she was using a metal probe to position the dragon. She hadn't thought about static electricity, there didn't seem to be a good reason to expect there would be a problem as they hadn't turned the machine on yet, otherwise, I would have used a plastic probe. She had barely touched the surface of the wing when there was a squeaky popping sound and flash of light. Kira and Hianne both jumped back.
"What the hell just happened?" Kira asked.
"I don't know," as she leaned down to get a closer look.
When she did, she discovered that the wing she had touched had gone flat, it was deflated, with a small dark spot. The other wing remained fully inflated.
"This is strange, it looks as if we had a static electrical discharge that ignited whatever gas is in the wing." As she looked at Hianne.
"Kind of like aquatic animals that have an inflated bag or sail that allows them to float and move with the wind," Kira offered.
"Okay, that sounds good, but why would the gas burn?"
Hianne grew a smile. These animals seem to float in the air, what if the wings are filled with a flammable gas? That would explain what we observe as they fly, as they seem to kite on the air currents."
I looked at her, "Hydrogen! I'll bet it's hydrogen inside."
"Of course! It's just like making hydrogen in a test tube, add a source of energy, expose it to air, and you get a pop." Kira said excitedly.
She set about preparing the MRI, picked up a plastic probe, and took precautions to dissipate static electricity in the work area. In a way, having one wing deflated and one inflated while they did a scan would reveal more information. Strange things happen in science in terms of making discoveries; accident or mistakes can sometimes be a good thing.
She set the MRI into scanning mode and walked away as it did its work. They decided to go to the hangar bay to see if Robb and Jason had prepared the ACV for their first trip onto the inland sea. Kira in particular was more than ready to see what lie on and below the surface. This first foray would concentrate on making observations of surface conditions and in obtaining bathymetric readings to compare with the sensor readings taken from orbit. They were also going to place some underwater cameras to get a sense of what life might be present. This was really Kira's time more than the rest of them and she felt it was long overdue. She had sampled the shallow pools of water at the inland sites they had visited, but this would be the first deep water she would explore.
Jason saw them as they walked down into the hangar bay, "I suppose you're anxious to get going?"
"You better hurry, Kira is about ready to walk down and jump in with no clothes on," Hianne joked.
"Not a good idea, once those native life forms see a naked alien they're going to flee," Jason dead-panned.
"Only if they see you naked first. If they see me they'll come swimming as fast as they can." We all laughed as Kira made a face at him.
"Okay, Robb will stay here to button up the ship so small critters don't get inside. He'll monitor our progress as I placed another transmitter onboard just in case we get into trouble. I have life vests for each of you to put on before we reach the water."
"Who made you captain?" she asked in a mocking tone.
Jason looked at her with a smile. "No one, that's why you're going to drive."
"I'm what! I don't know how to drive this," she exclaimed.
She looked at Kira and Hianne. They both had their hands over their mouths trying to hide their smirks. No help there, "Jason, I was just kidding, really."
"I know you were, but you really should learn how to operate this as we'll be using it quite a bit at this location. I'll sit next to you and help you at first. Come on, it won't take you long to learn, I have faith in you."
She cursed herself silently—she should have kept her mouth shut. Hianne and Kira still had broad smiles. They were enjoying this far too much. Jason must have thought so too. "Hianne, you can drive on the way back, then tomorrow Kira can take us out. No good reason that all of you shouldn't be proficient operating this vehicle."
The electric fans soon lifted the ACV above the ground and Jason took the controls as they picked their way through the scattered vegetation and were soon cruising above the water throwing spray behind them. The water was calm as there was no breeze. This surprised Cela as she expected there to be a steady breeze over the open water. She looked up and noticed the sky was a clear blue color with Tricore and our star clearly visible. It was a beautiful day—peaceful she thought.
Jason conducted a communications check with Robb to make sure their signal was being received, something she would not have thought of doing. It was this kind of attention to detail that she appreciated in him. Minutes later Jason guided her in the use of the control stick that operated the ACV along with the foot pedals used change direction. She gained confidence quickly as it really was fairly simple to operate. A thumb wheel on top of the stick controlled the speed of the large fans under the craft and its height above the surface. The two foot pedals activated smaller fans than allowed for tighter turns. In fact, if you used them all in the right combination you could turn the ACV one hundred eighty degrees from a standing stop. Jason had her practice just off-shore before they headed farther into the lake. After twenty minutes she was actually having fun.
"Getting a little cocky aren't you?" Hianne called out as she completed her third one eighty, sending spray high into the air.
She laughed and then Jason pointed indicating it was time to head out. She had the ACV skimming over the calm water while watching the navigation screen showing where they were going to place the underwater cameras to capture activity remotely. They hoped this approach would give them some idea as to what to expect when they went into the water themselves the next day. Thus far, they hadn't seen much other than a few Eusectoids flying over the water and a little disturbance of the water's surface suggesting movement below. They arrived at the first camera sample site and she brought the craft to rest on the inflated floats with the fans set to station-keep the ACV steady in one location.
Jason pulled the small inflatable raft from its lashing on the side of the ACV and pushed it into the water. Then they placed an underwater camera setup consisting of an anchor on a length of plastic cord, the camera, and then a cord with a float that held the antenna and small solar array to receive commands and transmit images to the ship when ordered; though they could watch in real-time too if they chose to.
Jason climbed into the raft and paddled a short distance away and dropped the anchor over the side. When it hit the bottom he pulled it back up using the meter marks to determine the attachment point for the camera. After attaching the camera, he attached the float with the antenna and solar collector and let everything go into the clear water. They completed the process three more times for a total of four sample points with each camera set at different depth to provide a vertical activity profile.
Kira had used her tablet and tested each camera before they left to make sure they were receiving a clear image. It was while watching an image on the last camera as Jason rowed back to the ACV that she thought she saw a large creature on the screen. The three of them were watching the screen, hoping to get a look—thinking it would be fantastic to see a large aquatic animal even before they got back to the ship. It would be a sign life was abundant enough to support a large creature of some kind.
She looked up expecting to see Jason approaching and saw the raft was empty! She didn't see him swimming and her heart stopped as she saw turbulence on the water's surface behind the raft twenty meters away.
