Jacson Ez - Space Diplomat

[From the author: Hey everyone, chapter 5 is here! This story is really taking on a life of its own and I'm having a great time writing it. This project began as a way to process some intense emotions in my own life, and I'm glad it's resonating with so many people. :) If this is your first time here, I recommend you start from the beginning! Enjoy!]

Something poked Jackson's shoulder and he gradually woke up, filled with a primal desire to sleep five more minutes. He kept his eyes squeezed shut, refusing to acknowledge the attempt at getting him out of bed. He wasn't even that comfortable, but he'd been through hell and the travel blanket over him felt like a palatial suite. Something poked his shoulder again, then twice more, and Jackson begrudgingly opened his eyes.

"Come on, sleepy. We need to get moving."

Vera. Her bright pink face stared down at him. Golden eyes unusually somber and serious. Jackson grumbled something unintelligible and rolled over, closing his eyes again.

"Nope," Vera said, grabbing his shoulder. She rolled him over onto his back, and kissed his forehead. "You're cute, but if you don't get up I'm going to leave you here."

"Ugh, fine." Jackson rolled to his right like he'd done a thousand times, and tried to push himself up, but he didn't move. He blinked a couple of times, trying to get his brain to work. His arm. It all came back to him. He'd just tried to use an arm he didn't have, and now that he was thinking about it, his missing hand itched. With a series of annoyed grunts, Jackson rolled over the other way and sat up. He reached out for the water bottle, opening the valve before picking it up. He took a long drink.

Vera walked over, sipping from her own bottle and popping the last of a ration into her mouth. Jackson could see a few remnants of the other pieces still drifting around inside her, almost gone, but not quite. "Sorry about the view," she said, "I hoped I'd be done digesting before you woke up." She tousled his hair and smiled at him. "You really aren't a morning person, huh?"

Jackson looked over at her, scowling. "Definitely not," he said, "it's not even morning anymore and I'm still grumpy." He looked her over, realizing she'd shifted another outfit onto herself. This one was clearly inspired by hiking wear, with sturdy, reliable pants and a comfortable long-sleeved shirt. She even had a sun hat on. There was something so cute about the hat, a pure affectation that did nothing to actually shield her vision from the sunlight. "I like your hat," he said.

Vera beamed, clearly pleased that he'd noticed. "Thanks! I made it myself." She giggled. "That joke never gets old."

Jackson stood up and groaned, both because of her joke and from realizing just how bruised he really was. The stabilizer patches had done a great job, but they were out of juice now. No painkillers meant he felt the aches and pains from every movement. He smacked his lips and took another drink of water, then announced to the world at large, "I feel like shit."

Vera didn't acknowledge his complaining and lifted up the nanoweave blanket they were using as a tent, ducking under it.

Jackson knelt down, setting the water bottle on the ground. He began folding up his blanket and pillow, and then noticed Vera had left a thermos in the makeshift shelter. He braced it between his feet and opened the top, picking it up and reflexively giving it a sniff. Coffee. He might actually be in love with Vera. Jackson took a long, slow drink, savoring the heat and the flavor and the smell. It had been a long time since anything tasted this good.

Once he finished gathering everything and tucking most of it under his arm, he followed Vera out. Two backpacks, each loaded up with supplies, and alongside them, the storage crate which presumably still had Tinoqa within it. Vera tucked something into one of them and held the pouch open for him to add the blanket and pillow.

"How's Tinoqa?" he asked, nodding toward the crate. He set the thermos and water bottle on the ground and started loading up the sleeping gear.

"I scanned her earlier, she seems to be stable. We've got..." she reached for her data jewelry and then remembered it broke earlier. She sighed. "We have a few hours, at least. The revival syringe is safe, too. I held onto that real tight during the impact."

"Good work," Jackson said, taking another drink of coffee. There wasn't much in the thermos, which made sense, he needed water more than anything else right now. He still felt sad to see it empty already. "And thanks for the coffee."

"Like I said, I know you're not a morning person." Vera smiled at him, her cheeks a rosy pink, and her eyes bright. She looked beautiful, and full of life and energy despite their ordeal. He wanted to kiss her, but he knew where that would lead. "Is this everything?" he asked. "I would have helped." He looked around, trying to see if they'd left anything behind.

"Yup!" Vera said. "It's okay, I'm feeling bouncy again. Full of springs!"

Her usual sunny disposition had returned, Jackson smiled in spite of his grogginess. "Full of springs? I'm not sure that translated quite right, but I like it. I'm glad you're doing better."

She danced over to him, light on her feet, and kissed him. "Me too," she said. Vera put her hands on his waist. "How are you doing?"

Jackson reflexively glanced at his arm. His missing hand itched again, and he took a deep breath. "I'm okay," he said after a long exhale. "I keep trying to use an arm I don't have, and... it itches."

Vera nodded, just listening.

"I still don't know where to meet the Rhorak, or who to meet, and what I'm even going to do when we get there... and Tinoqa." He worried about Tinoqa, but there wasn't anything more he could do now. They just had to get her to the Rhorak and hope she woke up.

"Mhm," Vera said, still nodding.

Jackson sighed. "And I can't even ask Ace for help."

"You can, kind of," Vera said. She let go of his waist and then stretched out to one of the backpacks, pulling Jackson's tablet from a side pouch.

He'd been wondering what happened to it, good thing it survived the crash.

"Ace put a pretty detailed plan on here," Vera said, "and she even sent me the access code so I could snoop in all your files."

Jackson raised his eyebrows but said nothing.

"Come on, I laugh at all your jokes! Even the bad ones."

He chuckled. "Sure, but that's because I'm always funny."

Vera shook her head. "Anyway, I went over it while you slept, and there's a small Rhorak collective about a forty-five minute hike away. Based on what Yucce provided, there's a juvenile there named Haeva who you are supposed to meet."

"I'm... supposed to meet them?"

Vera furrowed her brow. "I don't know what that means either. It sounds like they're expecting you?" She said the last part as a question, unsure of her own interpretation.

"Well, only one way to find out," Jackson said. He inclined his head toward the two backpacks. "Is one of these for me?"

"Yeah, the lighter one," Vera said. "Now that I'm back at full strength I can take most of the gear. And I'm definitely carrying Tinoqa." She pointed one finger at him. "Do not fight me on this."

There was something heartwarming about her insistence, even though they both knew he couldn't manage the bulky crate with one arm. He smiled and she smiled back and they stared at each other like two teenagers for a few moments.

"I'm glad we agree," Vera said. She grabbed the nanoweave and absorbed it into her arm, folding it as it came in, and by the time she ejected it out and tucked it away in a backpack, it was once again a 1-inch square. Then she stretched her arm out and looped it through both straps of one of the packs. Reeling it in like a fish on a hook, when it reached her body she morphed it through herself, ending with the pack resting on her back, but with the straps embedded in herself, running through her torso. Jackson could see the backpack itself had sunk slightly into her, and her body anchored it in place.

Taking the cue, he picked up the other pack. He angled his torso and raised his arm so it slid down, coming to rest against his chest, then he swung it around and looped his shoulder through the other strap, reaching over to pull it the rest of the way. It took some doing, but he got the pack on and managed to latch the buckle over his chest.

Vera just grinned at him. She hadn't moved to help, and Jackson appreciated that. He needed to feel capable, like he could take care of himself.

He shifted his weight from foot to foot. Satisfied the pack wouldn't slide off the second he started moving, he asked Vera, "So where to? And is there anything I need to know along the way? Predators, dangerous plants... quicksand, maybe?"

Vera giggled. "Sorry, the word for quicksand in our language is really funny. It's..." she waved one of her hands around, searching for the right way to explain it, "I don't know, it's just funny."

"I get it," Jackson said, "sometimes words are just funny."

"Yeah," Vera said, smiling at him. "I'll get you a Sela dictionary if we make it back home."

"When we make it back home," Jackson corrected, "not if. Gotta keep morale up, you know?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Anyway, Mr. Diplomat, why don't you save some of that energy for the Rhorak."

"Sure, let's get moving, we can talk on the way."

Vera nodded. "I'll take the lead, and don't worry about predators, I'm scarier than anything we'll run into out here."

She tucked his tablet into a pocket on his flightsuit and give his ass a slap. The resounding clap startled Jackson and he jumped a little.

"Just keeping you on your toes," she said, then she turned around and scooped up the crate, balancing it expertly. She stretched one arm out and around it, like a lasso, then absorbed it through herself, repositioning the backpack so the crate now rested against her back, held there by rope-like tendrils of Vera's body. The backpack was on top of it, still partially embedded in her. She started walking, carrying the weight and bulk like it was nothing.

Once again, Jackson was reminded just how strong Vera really was. Humans had become the top predators on Earth because of technology and teamwork. Vera could kill anything they ran across with her bare hands. Good thing she was a sweetheart. He held up his wrist, using his nose to activate accessibility mode on the medical bracelet. It had a few options, he picked voice commands.

"Navigation," he said, quietly. The bracelet displayed a compass and a rough estimate of his current coordinates, along with the direction to the nearest registered city. Vera was going the opposite way, deeper into the desert. Not surprising, but he hoped Ace's plan was a good one. Not a lot of help that way if it didn't work out.

By now, Vera had gotten ahead of him a bit and he jogged to catch up. He swayed, the weight of the backpack shifting as he leaned first one way, then overcompensated the other, but he found his balance quickly.

The path took them through a rocky canyon, with high crags around them and tall pillars of stone jutted from the ground at random intervals. They were rough and jagged, with tough desert plants clinging to their exteriors. They had long, dangling roots which draped across the stone and twisted in the slight breeze. Given the high level of humidity on Genoria, even out here, Jackson figured those were for pulling moisture out of the air. Or ensnaring live prey. He gave them a wide berth.

"Hey Vera," Jackson said when he got close, "can I ask you something?"

Vera smiled at him, and he realized she looked very comfortable in nature. Jackson would have described her as a city girl, and this side of her surprised him. Maybe Sela were less picky about their surroundings than humans. Or maybe it was just knowing that she really was the most dangerous thing out here.

"Anything, Jackson. We've got forty-five minutes and I'm here to help you get in the mood to make peace."

Vera stretched her legs occasionally as they walked, extending or retracting them to keep her torso and center of gravity perfectly balanced. Jackson noticed she didn't have any shoes on, and remembered running barefoot through soft grass as a kid.

"Well, I'm curious about your empathy. The kinesthetic thing. How does it work?"

She gave him a knowing look. "Starting off with the sex questions already? I shouldn't be surprised." Before he could defend himself she continued, "I'm just teasing. I've thought about this a lot, because I'm supposed to be able to explain the Sela to other species, and I still don't have a great answer."

"Sounds like this is a good chance for you to practice," Jackson said, stepping around a small rocky outcropping. A tiny reptilian creature scurried into a shady crevice. He didn't get a good look at it, just a blur of green and yellow, but it looked like it had six legs and two tails? Maybe just one.

"Always look for the win-win, classic diplomat." Vera flashed him a wide smile.

There were worse ways to spend time than hiking and talking with Vera. He thought about doing this again, maybe after they'd resolved the current crisis, but before the next crisis inevitably started. He'd like that, and he was pretty sure she would too. A few minutes passed, Vera pondering how best to answer his question.

"So," Vera said. "I'm probably going to mess this up, but you know how humans have mirror neurons? Like, parts of your brain activate when you do something, but also activate when you see someone else do that thing."

"Sure," Jackson said, remembering his human neurology classes, "the leading theory is that they're the mechanism behind how we feel empathy. The way we can put ourselves in someone else's shoes, so to speak."

"Exactly," Vera said, "well, mirror neurons are primarily triggered by visual or auditory stimuli, things you see and hear."

She nudged Jackson slightly, guiding him in a wide arc around a small opening in a nearby crag. He assumed something dangerous might be nesting within. If they were on Earth he'd say a rattlesnake, but here it could be anything.

"Well," Vera said, continuing her explanation, "we don't have brains or neurons, we're a distributed consciousness. And as you know, we don't have sensory differentiation. So you put those two traits together and we can basically think on-location, we can process stimuli exactly where we receive it. It makes us hyper-perceptive to small details."

Jackson wasn't entirely sure he followed, but he nodded, hoping it would become clear as Vera continued.

"So," Vera said, stepping around a small pit. Something wiggled in the shadows, but didn't emerge. "Humans feel emotions in their body, like when you're anxious and your chest gets tight, or you're scared and you feel it in the pit of your stomach, plus basic stuff like heart rate changing. There's a lot of subtle stuff like changes in muscle tension... when your skin gets flushed, we can feel that too."

"Hm, I was wondering if it was a kind of telepathy," Jackson said, a bit of disappointment in his voice.

Vera laughed. "Don't sound so sad! I'm getting to that. The first part is like reading body language or picking up on a facial expression, but like a hundred times more sensitive. Especially during sex." She looked over at him and bit her lower lip. Her cheeks flushed turquoise and she looked ahead again. "Sorry, you're very distracting."

Jackson watched Vera's round, captivating ass sway with each of her long steps. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

"Anyway," Vera said, trying to focus on her explanation, "the last piece of how I can read you is the sensory filtering. Like I told you the other day, we filter out a lot of input, because otherwise we'd be totally overwhelmed. But when we feel close to someone, emotionally I mean, then we let it all in. My body actually does whatever it can to match your emotional state, including... intense experiences." She looked at him again. "I'm talking about sex." She winked at him.

"I'm glad you're getting more comfortable letting me in," Jackson said. "So can we get to the telepathy part?" She reached out and guided him again, this time maneuvering him away from a squat brown bulb covered in thorns. It looked like a spiky pumpkin with a bright orange flower on top.

"Right, the connection is two-way. So... I don't have a great grasp of this, but as I understand it, our ability to shapeshift lets us actually join bodies a little bit. Human emotions travel along your nervous system, which are dedicated cells that serve only that function. My emotions travel through my whole body. And when part of me starts mimicking your physiological responses, it's like a little radio tower broadcasting signals that your body can pick up on. Like... that weird knee-tap hammer thing you see the doctors do in human shows—"

"They actually do that," Jackson said.

"Really? There has to be a better way." She shook her head. "Anyway, when you get your knee tapped, your leg moves, and it bypasses the brain, right? If you're having sex with a human, you see your partner do certain things like yelling your name so loud your neighbors get concerned, your brain interprets that as them having an orgasm, and then you feel good because you did that. With a Sela, we skip right to the last step. You get direct body to body communication saying 'Vera is having an orgasm because of you' and you get to enjoy it without having to think."

Sela biology meant Vera didn't need to stop talking to breathe. She could really get on a roll when she wanted to. Jackson wasn't sure she'd ever stop, but he enjoyed listening to her.

"Does that make sense?" Vera asked, "I'm probably butchering my explanation."

Jackson laughed. "It was fine, thank you. It's a lot, but I think I'm understanding it. I just..." he paused, reflecting on everything he'd learned about the Sela in the last few days. "You're incredible. Everything about you is fascinating, I could listen to you talk about your body all day."

She gave him an impish look. "Just my body?" She shifted her posture a little, giving him a perfect view of her curvy silhouette.

"No, you could tell me about history, philosophy, food..."

"Okay, okay," Vera giggled. "You think I'm hot so you'll listen to me ramble about whatever it takes to get me into bed again, and don't try to deny it, I could feel everything you were thinking earlier." She blushed turquoise but didn't look away, holding eye contact for a few seconds. Then her cheeks faded back to pink, and she looked forward once more.

They walked in comfortable silence for a while, Jackson enjoying the view of Genoria's deserts and feeling the mild warmth of the afternoon sun on his skin. Vera made him happy. Being with her felt so natural, so comfortable. Even when they were hiking through the desert in the aftermath of a crash landing. There's no one he'd rather crash with, he thought to himself.

Eventually, Vera said, "It's fun going on a hiking date with you, but maybe we should talk about the Rhorak? You know, your mission?"

Jackson chuckled. He enjoyed flirting with Vera, but she had a good point. He wasn't here to be happy, he was here to stop a war.

"Fair point, let's start with Haeva, the juvenile. Yucce told me the Rhorak use gender neutral pronouns, right? What information do we have on them?"

"Yeah, that's right. And not much," Vera said, "but I've learned a lot about the Rhorak from Yucce's data, even though I... well, it's new stuff."

Her cheeks flashed blue, and Jackson knew why. She gave him a look that said not to ask about it, and he respected that. There'd be time later.

"They're a very contemplative species, they take things slowly and deliberately, and their bodies are all unique. There's no common shape to the Rhorak, they're... kind of like us, in that way. Except they don't age, they don't die, and according to Yucce, they see themselves as a fixed point around which the universe revolves."