Calan - The Immortality Paradox

Chapter Nine: The Scorpion's Prey, Part Two

Date: 324, OA19,655

Location: Crin, E'blanche, Canol System

The wind whipped up the side of the base outcrop as Harissa stepped onto the balcony. It was the highest point of the building, exposed to the elements. She had wrapped a strip of tarpaulin around her neck and mouth as a makeshift scarf, but it did little to protect her from the chill. She found Gregon leaning against the steel netting that prevented his fall into the five-hundred-metre drop towards the foot of the glacier. Succumb to his usual nerves, he bit the knuckle on his finger like a ravished Crin-lapin. As she joined him, she reached out and swiped away his hand.

'Stop it!' She bellowed through the faceguard and against the roar of the wind. 'Eventually, you'll have nothing but bone left!'

As he glanced guiltily to one side, Harissa noticed the frosting of his whiskers and sideburns gave him a mature, wisened complexion. Nevertheless, his eyes betrayed his childish slant.

'What are you worried about?'

'Everything!' He replied equivocally. He stared back defiantly into the cloud of ice that had seemingly settled in the Crin Valley for many months. He struggled to open his eyelids as snowflakes stung his face like needles.

Following the Professor's departure a week ago, Gregon had become increasingly worrisome about the state of the satellite. U2-Alpha was well and truly destroyed on impact, but U2-Fly had the potential for revival. Though they had been initially elated to take charge of reconstruction, the information conceded during diagnostics had been less than reassuring. They confirmed that the electromagnetic pulse source destabilised the orbits was Kingdom, as President Tywysydd had initially divulged. Harissa double-checked their findings by calculating right-ascension and declination coordinates at the impact time and traced their origin back to the aforementioned system. The data didn't lie. But it also left them in the dark. Awaiting a monster they knew was out there, but they were defenceless against its impending strike.

Gregon had taken it upon himself to delve deeper into research. Anything that would help them understand why the sovereign state with vastly superior technology had decided to knock out a neighbouring system's most advanced communication relay. Or at least as advanced as the Leonis Chapter could feasibly devise. Between the Professor and the head of communications, Harissa hadn't realised she'd been surrounded by high-maintenance maniacs for many years. Diligent in their work but obsessed with their desires. Gregon had even turned to habitual fasting amid his intense explorations. Drinking robust, caffeinated flasks like fruit juice and not touching a single crumb of solids.

Holding a rapidly reddening hand to the wind, Harissa gave her companion another withering glance.

'What the bloody hell are you doing out here?'

She almost didn't see the shrug. 'Contemplating!'

'What? Jumping to your death?' Harissa wasn't necessarily afraid of heights, but she had a tumultuous feeling in her stomach as she spotted Gregon's elbows on the railing. 'Watch your head!' She reached above her into an alcove set into the building and found purchase on a rusted and extremely cold handle. Heaving with all her might, feeling her muscles straining, she pulled the transparent shield across the balcony. The wailing of the wind died immediately, along with its tempestuous air current. Snowflakes continued to batter the exterior but were feeble in their assault. 'Finally, I can hear myself shout now!' She maintained her outside voice to emphasise the point. Gregon peered at her with a half-loathing, half-playful gaze.

'I was enjoying the chaos. It eases my mind.'

'You're such a child.' Removing the scarf from her chin, Harissa shook her head disapprovingly. From within one of her pockets, she unfolded a thermal cap. She tugged it on his head without asking his permission, allowing the ear mufflers to curl around his lobes. His eyes were set just low enough to see underneath the fabric. A frown manifested. 'The Professor will be displeased to return to his Astronomy Base to find you as a frozen statue on one of his balconies. Being liable for breach of employee safety alone would give him a heart attack.'