Starfish

Twenty-Three

Nina pulled on her blue swimsuit in the privacy of her shelter, tugging the straps into place and adjusting the fit before stepping into her wetsuit. "Okay, moment of truth," she muttered, pulling the suit up to her hips and sliding her arms into the long sleeves. Reaching behind, she pulled on the long string attached to the zipper and blew out her air, waiting for the suit to catch. All that damn Dreen food, should've stuck with human rations. But the zipper slid up her back with less resistance than she expected, and to her relief she was able to fasten the little hook at the back of her neck as well. Turning to the reflective surface of the solar array's panels, which she had insisted on storing in her cabin, Nina inspected the look and spun left and right, taking in how beautifully the suit clung to every inch of her from her throat to her wrists to her ankles. "Oh, perfect." Delighted, she hooked a net bag containing her flippers, airmask and webbed gloves and trotted out into the sunlight. Ardus was nowhere to be seen. Is he changing? What would he be changing into? Don't Dreen swim naked?

She sat and stirred the coals, the breakfast fire slowly dying, until she heard the creak of a shelter door and had to force herself to sit still. Whatever she saw today – the day they would spend almost entirely in the water, collecting samples and counting nests and looking for a specific kind of kelp for Meem's worms – it was still a working day, and Dreenai's waters still held many dangers. "Are you ready?" Ardus asked, his deep voice rolling over her like heavy surf, and Nina let herself turn. "Yep! Ready when you...are." Her voice dropped mid-sentence in mild disappointment. Ardus wore a similar getup to hers, except his was black, and rather than a single piece his was two – a short-sleeved top and knee-length bottoms, both studded with mesh pockets and loops, and he'd added a belt of weights and clips for tools. While clingy, it was made of a matte material that did nothing to accentuate his build and the pockets added bulk in odd places, disrupting his outline. Nina had to remind herself not to frown. Damn it! When are you going to get naked? She stood, however, and noted how after she picked up her gear and turned back Ardus was just looking elsewhere. Mm-hmm, that's what I thought. Temporarily appeased, Nina started off down the beach.

At the edge of the water where the black sand turned the foam grey, Ardus and Nina stood and looked out towards the sea. "This is not the sheltered lagoon at the university," Ardus reminded her, indicating the darker water where the beach dropped off and opened to the deeper ocean. "Stay close to me. Pay attention to your surroundings as well as your instincts – if something feels wrong, I want you to alert me immediately. While it is still relatively safe, there are creatures out there – screamers, predatory drybacks, possibly even starfish – that do sometimes venture into the shallow water looking for an easy meal." He gave her a solemn look. "Do not become that meal."

Nina shook her head. "Believe me, I don't want to." Ardus eyed her face mask, an egg-shaped half-dome with two cross-straps and a valved respiration system attached to the chin. "I will be unable to speak once submerged, so I will be signaling to you with my hands. Watch my behaviors and reactions."

"Got it." Nina pulled the mask on egg-point-down, cinching the straps behind her head and pushing the mask down to press the air out. The mask suctioned onto her face and the clear plastic fogged with her breath. With a hiss, the respirator activated and the fog cleared. "Can you hear me? Say something." Her voice came through in a canned, hollow tone.

Ardus nodded. "I can hear you, Doctor."

"Good, I can hear you too. If my sound cuts out, let me know." Nina bent and slipped her feet into a pair of silicone swimming flippers. Taking a high step over the first short wave, her knee almost up to her chest, she heard a chuckle. Nina turned and caught the Dreen grinning at her. "What?"

Ardus shook his head. "Will you be comfortable in those?"

She looked down at the big, ungainly things made of bright green silicone and shaped like long triangles. They made her feet twice as long and clumsy on land, and if she wanted to walk without falling on her face she had to lift her feet higher and step carefully. Throwing Ardus a haughty look, she said, "Not all of us were born with webbed feet, you know." Turning with as much dignity as she could muster, Nina flapped and slapped through the water until it reached her waist, splashing herself liberally in the process. Ardus followed at a respectful distance, pretending to scratch his nose to hide his smirk.