To the Station

Algodon couldn't believe it. Homonae really did use minerals to season their food. Algodon thought he was going to be sick. At least it wasn't more precious stones like emeralds or diamonds, but being a crystalis geminidi whose appearance resembled that of the semi-precious algodonite, it was disconcerting to say the least. He watched in horror as the halite was ground down to mere grains.

"-and then you rub it into the flesh of the fish!" said Peterson as he did just that. 

What a way to meet the Composer, thought Algodon. Ground down then consumed by intelligent furless apes. 

Algodon's view of humanity wasn't improving any time soon after this experience. Peterson, blissfully unaware of his impression on poor Algodon, merrily continued his cooking, whistling. He took the slices of the fish and began to fry it in a pan with a sauce that filled the room with a pleasant fragrance. Algodon hoped this time the odor would stay pleasant. Peterson instructed Algodon to slice a round tuber and showed him how to do it. Algodon would be the first to admit he didn't have much experience with cooking, but he hoped the human's instruction proved more fruitful than his fishing lesson a few hours before. 

He got to work cutting the tuber in medium slices as he was shown, but his mind was elsewhere. He kept thinking about the abandoned research station that they had briefly passed by. If it were true that it held geological information about the immediate area, Algodon could cross-reference his own data of the anomaly. If anything he could use that abandoned place as somewhere to stay. As a geminidi, he didn't need food, water, or air to survive. All he needed was exposure to the resonance of the nearest star or a resonance chamber and he was set. But since Helix-One, especially the area he was in, was a human occupied planet he scarcely hoped to find a resonance chamber anywhere. That would mean he would have to stay day side of the planet for twelve hours fairly soon. Twelve hours was time he did not have. In his estimates, he had less than two days left to report back to his ship otherwise the Magistrate would start looking for him. Algodon, unaware, had crushed the tuber. 

"I suppose mashed is good enough," suggested Peterson as he took the slices off of the cutting board and began to mash them with a tool. Algodon hummed as he watched, apologetically. It seems cooking would not be on his list of skills. Peterson dismissed him from kitchen duty afterward, and Algodon was grateful. 

Algodon slipped out of the kitchen or tried to. It wasn't easy considering his height and bulk but he made due with little damage to the surrounding room. He may have left a dent in the doorframe but felt it should have accommodated his size anyway. He made for the exit, it was time for him to get some work done. He made for the research station. 

—

Sio had never really known there would be so much walking involved nor have so much equipment she had to carry for salt mining. Her feet were in knots. Auburn took most of the load carrying the pickaxes, lights, drones, and other survey gear, but being so much smaller had disadvantages, even with an exosuit. It had been her first day doing field work with Auburn, and they were tasked with surveying for a new vein of salt. It was a bust so far, as Auburn had said. There were no clear signs of another deposit that would supply the needs of the village and outer colonies while they worked to repair the malfunctioning water pump. 

With the damage that had been done to the mines it would take decades with their current equipment to drain the deposit of water, if they were lucky. But luck didn't seem on their side. Auburn was leading the way with Sio directly behind him. He gestured for Sio to slow and stop. They were on a hill just over the village where they could see the hustle and bustle of the market street and town center. 

Auburn knelt down and took a sample of an exposed mineral bed on the ground where they stood. A scanner from the side of his exosuit popped out of its casing and ran analysis. It flashed red, indicating there was not enough salt in the deposit for their purposes. Auburn sighed, this was not looking good. 

"Let's rest here for a moment, Sio." He said. Sio complied. It had been a tiring morning. Auburn undid some fastening on his shoulders and legs and walked out of the exosuit then assisted Sio with her own. After hours of walking in a hunched back position it was difficult to stand any other way. Sio stretched out her back, arms, and legs then rummaged through her exosuit's storage container for some water. Finding some, she opened the canister and drank deeply from it. She sat down next to her exosuit, exhausted. Auburn remained standing, far more conditioned to the long day's walk, and took out two holo-tabs that he stretched out from corner to corner to form a screen attached to the exosuit. He scrolled through what looked like databases for a few moments before coming across an image that was pixelated and poorly rendered. He let out a curse as he tried to download the image only to find the file corrupted. Frustrated he let out another sigh and plopped down next to Sio who offered him a separate canister of water which he took gratefully. 

"It's not the Symphony's day, little Sio." he said as he sipped from the canister. Sio nodded in agreement. Today, no, the past month, was not going well for the salt miners on Helix-One. Even without the recent tragedy that befell Sio's and Auburn's families, they had suffered more than average losses, several injuries, and a full malfunction of the main hydro-generator. 

It was not going to be an easy fix. Still, mining operations had to continue otherwise the quota for salt would not be met by the time the ports reopened. Sio finished her water and placed the canister back into her exosuit's pack then layed down on her back to watch the sky. It was a duller than usual, the light of the red dwarf their planet orbited diffused in pale oranges and reds that appeared more pink. The clouds were stratified, scattered like the broken ice on the ocean's surface. Sio thought it beautiful. 

Auburn interrupted the moment with a disgruntled huff as he stowed the canister of his now empty water back into a pack on his own exosuit. Clearly something was on his mind. 

"What's the matter, Auburn?" asked Sio innocently. 

"One of the data points, the picture I was looking at, is corrupted. We're going to have to make a detour to the geology facility." Auburn stood, looked at Sio then back at the exosuit.

"What's wrong with doing all that?" The girl probed. In the small amount of time Sio knew Auburn, it was not like him to be so hesitant to do what needed to be done. Auburn shook his head and shrugged his shoulders as if to get rid of a bad feeling that crawled up his neck. Auburn then rubbed the back of his neck as if to squash that feeling then turned to Sio and said only one word.

"Arcanids."