AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It might not seem like it, but this is the warming season, which is the time when mate-bonding starts for the wild kaia. Our own packs have drifted so much from nature that we don’t have a mating season, but here it’s important for mating to begin at an optimal time for the safety of the pups that will be born,” Tevi explains.
“This is so impressive,” Frankie gushes. “To think we’ve barely gotten our bearings, and you’re already well on your way to publishing your findings.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself!” Tevi lets out a laugh. “Now, you don’t mind if I put you to work, do you?”
I cock an eyebrow. “So long as I’m not mucking out a kennel, I think that could be arranged.”
“Hah! Perhaps you could use the humbling,” Tevi says. “But no, that’s not what I had in mind.”
“We’d love to help out,” Frankie says.
“It’s lucky that I have you today. I’m a one-female team here and sometimes that means I have to choose between observation on the ground and observation from above,” Tevi explains, pushing the papers on her table around. “The packs have been running chases for mating season. The females roam into the thicker brush at the edge of the tundra and the males chase them down, seeking their mate. If the spirit sees to fit to make a pair, the real chase begins, and the female will bolt across the tundra, leading her male away from the group.”
She plucks a tattered map off the tabletop.
“Like the mate-bonding ceremony,” Frankie observes. “Do all the creatures of this planet follow similar patterns?”
Tevi shrugs her shoulders. “The exciting thing about landing here once again is that we can find out. Much of our knowledge on the science of our planet is lost, unfortunately. The Deadheads surely have their own research on biology, but who can trust the findings of fascist propaganda machines?”
I clear my throat. I’d considered sending the Deadhead scientist here to meet her, but Tevi’s anti-Deadhead rhetoric might offend the poor male. “What do you need us to do?”
“I’m going to head into the field,” she says. “The kaia have gotten used to me poking around, and they tolerate my appearances. The two of you could take the speeder I’ve outfitted with image-capture drones. It’s been hard to get good images when I’ve been busy fiddling with my other devices.”
I glance at Frankie, and when I see her eyes alight with anticipation, I know I’ve chosen the right place for our first day on Kar’Kali together.
“Let’s do it,” I say.
The three kaia whine in protest when Tevi shuts them safely inside her place. We follow her to the small canopy she’s using to protect her skimmer and speeder from the elements.
“I’ll program the speeder with the path I’d like you to follow, so you won’t have to worry about much other than operating the image capture drones. They can self-pilot, but they take terrible images without input, so let’s hope you can guide them to capture something useful.” She fiddles with the mapping system on the speeder until she’s satisfied with its set course. Then she glances at me. “You probably take rutting trash images, don’t you?”
I cross my arms over my chest. “I apologize for my lack of artistic ability. I’ve been quite busy with securing this planet under our sovereign rule, thank you very much.” I point at my mate. “Francesca is skilled with these things. She had a travel blog. I saw the pictures she made with primitive Earth cameras.”
“Perfect!” Tevi exclaims, dragging my mate away to give her a tutorial on how to guide the drones with the controller and then set them on targets from various angles. When she’s done, Frankie wanders back my way with her eyes fixed greedily on the controller. I think she’s excited to try it out.
“You’re good to go,” Tevi says as she climbs into her skimmer. “I’ll hail you on the radio when we’re both out there.”
“When did you look at my blog?” Frankie asks as we get our coats back on and prepare to board the speeder. “I don’t recall showing it to you.”
“Would it be bad to admit I was stalking you slightly? While you were in regen,” I explain. “I can tell how creepy it must sound now that I’m saying it out loud, but I wanted to know more about you. It was interesting seeing the world through your eyes before we met. The images you included on your posts were very beautiful.”
She’s quickly tugging protective goggles over the top half of her face, but not before I notice a touch of pink rising to her cheeks.
“I’m an amateur,” she says, throwing her leg over the speeder seat. “But thank you for saying that.”
I follow suit, and suddenly the only thing separating us is the short divider that sits between her ass and my crotch. I chose to sit behind her for safety reasons, but having her body between my legs is making my mouth go dry.
“Is this going to be alright?” I ask her.
“We’re wearing very thick layers,” she says. Not technically a yes, but I’ll take it.
“As for my stalking, I think we can call it even. You know, since you spied on me in my sleep?”
She plants an elbow in my side.
“Oh, so you’re making exceptions to avoiding contact for violence?”
“Yes,” she sniffs as she jabs the start button and takes the helm.
