Gaia 3

XV. Sickness

The next morning, they broke camp before the sun rose. Daviron was eager to keep moving west in the hopes of finding more monuments and treasures, and while the rest of the crew was not so demonstrative, they were excited as well. It was just beginning to dawn on them that what they had found was unlike anything else. Gaia 3 was one of the few known abandoned planets, and certainly the only one with any significant ruins. 

--<<>>--

Jaleah sighed and looked out the back window of the vehicle. The sun was just starting to rise, lighting up the surrounding landscape. It reminded her of the road trips of her childhood; specifically, those long, occasionally excruciating family trips that began before dawn. She suddenly began craving doughnuts, like she used to get with her family as soon as stores began to open. There was nothing quite like the taste of a cream-filled pastry just as the sun was beginning to shine, and it was this nostalgia that she was now desperately craving. 

She sighed and turned back towards the rest of the vehicle's occupants. 

"You know what sounds good?" she announced, "Doughnuts." 

Most of the group agreed immediately. Karmyne, however, grimaced. 

"Actually, that sounds kind of awful," she gagged. Everyone looked at her curiously. 

"Are you kidding? You love doughnuts," Daviron replied. Karmyne shook her head. 

"Just the thought of them is making me feel kind of nauseous right now," she sighed, "I think I'm a getting a bit motion sick." 

"You haven't been motion sick at all this trip though," Liyan said, "Are you sure you're not coming down with something?" 

"I'm sure it's just motion sickness," Karmyne repeated firmly.

--<<>>--

About an hour later, Karmyne forced them to stop. She had been getting progressively paler, and it was clear that she needed some fresh air. 

While Karmyne tried to regain her senses, Jaleah climbed up a small rock outcropping and surveyed the scenery around her. To the south was an imposing, snow-capped mountain range. Unlike the mountains back home, which were more rounded and forgiving, these mountains were sharp and pointed. Their unforgiving ridges narrowed into arrow-like points that stretched high into the atmosphere. The tallest one of them was almost completely obscured by clouds. 

"Hey, we're ready to start back up," Liyan said suddenly, wrenching Jaleah back into the present. She nodded and followed Liyan back to the vehicle. 

"Is Karmyne feeling better?" 

"A little bit. She still insists it's just motion sickness." 

"You don't believe her?" 

Liyan shook her head. 
"It's really sudden. If it's just motion sickness, I feel like it would have happened yesterday or something." 

"Is she at least letting Kyndle take a look at her?" 

"No, she's refusing treatment. She took a motion sickness pill, though, and she promised that if she's still feeling sick by the time we stop for the night, she'll let Kyndle check her out." 

Jaleah rolled her eyes but chose not to say anything to Karmyne once she rejoined the group. 

--<<>>--

The pace that day was unusually slow; they had stopped several times to let Karmyne manage her nausea, and Daviron had instructed Aedard to keep the vehicle as steady as possible. 

As the sun was starting to set, they came upon another ancient city. This one, however, appeared much older than the one they had previously encountered. Most of the buildings were made of stone, and even though several of the buildings were crumbling, it was clear that very few of them were taller than two stories. Those that were taller were impressively decorated, and Carsin noted that most likely they would have been places of worship or the homes of the elite. One of these, a square, faded yellow building with two twin towers on each side, stood out to Jaleah. She guessed that it might have easily been able to hold ten thousand people, if not more. 

They set up camp in front of the yellow building. Karmyne had finally agreed to let Kyndle examine her, so while the two women went to a more private corner, Jaleah, Carsin, and Liyan decided to explore the yellow building. 

--<<>>--

The inside of the building was quite dusty, but despite this, it was clear that the floors and pillars had once been a distinct shade of red and green. However, Jaleah did not immediately notice this. Rather, she turned her attention to the courtyard. 

What Jaleah had previously believed to be a large, enclosed space was, in reality, a courtyard surrounded by an arcade supported by rows of green pillars. 

"Without a doubt, this used to be a place of worship," Carsin announced confidently. 

"How can you tell?" Jaleah asked. 

"The courtyard. There isn't really any place for people to live here; rather, it's a large space where people can congregate. And across the known universe, we've seen time and time again that the number one reason for people to congregate is for worship." 

"So what would they do when the weather was bad?" Liyan asked, looking up at the sky. There were a few clouds, but it was mostly clear. 

"It's been thousands of years, and this is a foreign planet," Carsin replied, "I have no clue what they would do. But I imagine they likely tried to tough it out." 

"But then if this was a place of worship, I imagine red and green were spiritual colors for this civilization?" 

"Or at least for this religion. I'm sure, as is often the case, that there were other religions on this planet. As we keep going, we'll most likely find signs of them." 

--<<>>--

Soon it got too dark for them to properly explore the building, so they clumsily tumbled out and rejoined their colleagues. Everyone was there except for Karmyne and Kyndle. 

"Are they not done yet?" Liyan asked, glancing nervously at Daviron. 

"No," Zax replied, "And Daviron's been getting more and more nervous." 

"I'm sure it won't be too much longer," Jaleah suggested doubtfully. 

"They've already been there an hour," Daviron replied hollowly, "What if something's seriously wrong?" 

Jaleah glanced anxiously at Liyan, who tried to shrug it off, but even she seemed nervous. 

"Listen, Daviron," she sighed, "I'm sure that Kyndle's just running all the tests to make sure that nothing's wrong with Karmyne." 

Daviron nodded but did not reply. The entire group fell silent for a few minutes, trying their best not to think of the worst-case scenarios. It was too late for Jaleah; she was already imagining that Karmyne was dying from whatever had killed Julius Lucioni, and that they were all next. 

Finally, the two women walked toward them. As they drew nearer to the light, Jaleah could see tears glistening in Karmyne's eyes. She was not the only one; as soon as they came into the light, Daviron jumped up with a panicked look in his eyes. 

"What's wrong?" he asked wildly, "Are you alright? Are you sick? What's going on?" 

Karmyne looked at him somberly. 

"I'm pregnant," she smiled. 

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