Gaia 3

VI. Trepidation

Jaleah and Carsin stared at each other in silence for several minutes, each trying to figure out what an ancient explorer could possibly be trying to warn them about on an uninhabited planet. 

"I think we need to talk to Karmyne," Jaleah finally said, "Maybe triangles have different meanings in other dialects." 

"Maybe," Carsin nodded, not fully convinced. 

"Why don't you try to find her, and I'll just...look at these charts again." 

"Aren't those the same charts you've been looking at for the past month and a half?" Carsin asked, "What do you think you missed?" 

"Honestly? I don't know. I've looked at those charts so much that I've memorized them. But if your explorer thinks there's something dangerous on the planet...it's worth looking them over again. Now go get Karmyne. We're going to need her help." 

Carsin sighed and ran off. 

--<<>>--

By the time he returned with Karmyne, Jaleah was neck-deep in charts and data graphs. 
"Seriously? This again?" Karmyne sighed, sitting down, "I thought you found an explanation for the irregularities." 

"I thought I did," Jaleah replied, still sifting through various reports, "But then Carsin found something in that journal. Carsin, show her." 

Karmyne sighed but scanned the page Carsin put in front of her. 
"What am I looking for here?" she asked. 

"Right over there, line 10," Carsin said, "The triangle." 

"Hm." 
Karmyne tilted her head and considered this for a minute. The seconds seemed to drag on until Jaleah could no longer contain her question. 

"Well? Are we freaking out for nothing?" Jaleah asked, fixing her eyes on Karmyne. Her eyebrows lifted with worry, and her eyes were lit with fear.

"Well, it's hard to tell," Karmyne replied, "Now, I personally never learned how to translate this particular dialect, but I do know a lot about various ancient dialects from that general geographic region in that time period." 

"And?" 

"It's true that about half the dialects from that region used triangles in their written languages to represent danger, but many of the dialects from that region also used triangles to denote God, or their own tribal deities."

"Which dialect is this language written in?" 

"This journal is written in Oulali shorthand, which I personally do not read," Karmyne replied.

"But do you know what significance triangles held in tribes that spoke and wrote in Oulali?" Jaleah asked. 

"Unfortunately, most people who wrote in Oulali shorthand would use triangles for both danger and God. The only way to know what they mean is to look at the context. Carsin, keep looking for recognized symbols in the text, and hopefully, we can piece together what the author is trying to say. Meanwhile, I'll go gather my books on the cultures who wrote in Oulali shorthand, and see if I can find any clues there." 

Carsin nodded, and Karmyne left the room. 

"So what are you going to do?" Carsin asked. 

Jaleah sighed. 
"I guess I have to keep looking through all of this," she said, gesturing at the pile of graphs, papers, charts, and books spread out in front of her, "I don't think I have any other option. At least, not if I want to sleep." 

"And you think you might find something?" 

"Well, this is all the information we have ever gathered on Gaia 3. If there's anything to be found, I'll find it." 

"Well, good luck," Carsin sighed, opening up the notebook, "I think we'll both need it." 

Jaleah nodded, and they got to work. 

--<<>>--

Jaleah spent the next few hours reviewing the information she already knew by heart. She couldn't help but think that this was an exercise in futility. If there was some danger on Gaia 3, shouldn't it have appeared in some of the data? The Union had sent countless of rovers to the planet to look for signs of life, but not once had the rovers sent back data that suggested that there was anything living on the planet. So then what could the danger be? 

She theorized that it could just have to do with the topography of the planet. She had studied some of those maps and noticed that Gaia 3 was covered in deep, scar-like trenches. Perhaps this was the danger the journal was warning them of. 

But for some reason, Jaleah just could not shake the feeling that there was something more. Again and again, her focus was drawn back to the irregularities in the atmospheric charts. Those spots she had thought were holes in the ozone...maybe they were something else. Something dangerous. 

Suddenly, she was jolted out of her thoughts by a tap on her shoulder. She jumped and turned around. 

"Kyndle!" she said, taking a deep breath, "You scared me!" 

"Sorry. I just wanted to know if you're turning in now or later." 

"Turning in? As in, to sleep?" 

"Yes. Believe it or not, but you do need sleep if you're to function properly," Kyndle replied, nodding seriously. 

"What about dinner?" Jaleah asked, frowning. 

"That was like an hour ago. We repeatedly told you we were eating, but you were so busy you didn't even hear us," Kyndle explained. 

"Oh." 

"Don't worry. We saved you some food. But you really should get some sleep soon." 

"Yeah, okay," Jaleah agreed. 

She stood up and started gathering her things. 

"Don't worry about your stuff," Kyndle said, "It'll be here in the morning. And I'm scared that if you bring it to our quarters, you'll work on it all night." 

Jaleah started to protest, but Kyndle shut her down with a stern stare. 
"Seriously, Jaleah. Put it down and walk away." 

Jaleah sighed, grabbed a bite to eat, and followed the good doctor back to their quarters. Yet despite Kyndle's order to put down her work and get some sleep, Jaleah couldn't help but continue to think about the possible dangers that lay ahead. 

--<<>>--

When she finally fell asleep, she once again had the nightmare. This time, however, there was a twist; instead of being alone, she was being haunted by the skeleton of the crew member who had written the journal. He kept telling her about the danger on the planet, but no matter how much Jaleah begged him, he refused to tell her what it was. Then the bones crumbled to dust, and as if on cue, Jaleah began running once again toward the unknown destination she had never seen but knew all too well. 

And then she woke up. 

==<<>>==<<>>==<<>>==

Once again, thanks so much for reading! If you enjoyed this chapter, I'd really appreciate it if you took two seconds to vote for it. Otherwise, keep reading to find out what happens next (spoiler: Jaleah definitely has ADHD)