Gaia 3

XVI. Joy

Daviron did not stop weeping for the rest of the night. Meanwhile, everyone else stayed up late to celebrate Karmyne's news. 

"I can't believe you're pregnant!" Liyan exclaimed, "Can you believe you're going to have a baby?" 

"Not at all," Karmyne admitted. 

"And given the timing, you'll be having your baby here," Kyndle added, "Which I'm sorry to say means you're going to have to do with an epidural." 

"Ugh, don't remind me," Karmyne groaned, "I don't want to have to think of that for another few months." 

They all laughed. 

"But your baby's going to be born here," Jaleah repeated in amazement, "I think this might be the first documented case of birth on a foreign planet." 

"Yep!" Karmyne replied happily, "But it's kind of fitting, don't you think? What with Daviron being the adventurer he is, I mean." 

"Have you thought about what you're going to name it?" Carsin asked. 

"Well, if it's a boy, I want to name him Zion, after Daviron's father. You know, he passed away earlier this year, and so if it's a boy, it's kind of like he's the reincarnation of Davi's dad." 

"And if it's a girl?" Zax prompted. 

"If it's a girl," Karmyne smiled, "And I hope it's a girl, but if it's a girl, I'm going to name her Gaia." 

"Well that isn't cheesy at all," Liyan replied, rolling her eyes. Karmyne laughed. 

"It's very cheesy, yes," she agreed, "But on the other hand, I wouldn't really be able to name her anything else, you know?" 

Liyan nodded in agreement. 
"Fair enough," she conceded. 

--<<>>-- 

The next day, Daviron had stopped crying. Instead, he had traded the tears for an amazed, crooked smile, and spent all of breakfast stumbling around camp, repeating 'I'm going to be a dad'. A few of the crew members were starting to get concerned, but Karmyne assured them that he would snap out of it in a couple of hours. 

As Karmyne predicted, he did eventually come to his sense. They were traveling just to the north of the large mountain range when they entered yet another city. Most of the buildings had been destroyed, but a few notable landmarks had survived, and so they decided to stop. 

The first landmark was a relatively unassuming statue situated under an arc. It was the arc that was especially breathtaking; even after all these years, Jaleah could make out a starry night sky mosaic. 

This first landmark, however, was dwarfed by the second. The second was a massive statue of a king victoriously wielding a gold scepter, flanked by lions. Above this king was an arch made of white stone and gold fashioned into wings. The whole of it was topped with a massive crown. Jaleah could only imagine that this must have been a great leader to be so honored by his people. 

--<<>>--

They took a few notes on their surroundings before eating a quick lunch and getting back in the vehicle. They still had a few hours of daylight left, so they decided it would be best to keep traveling. They headed southwest, finally crossing the mountain range. 

The scenery suddenly changed drastically. The mountainous landscape had disappeared and been replaced by orange terraces covered with blue water. Naturally, they stopped to investigate. 

"What is this?" Liyan asked, tentatively setting foot on the ground. She made sure to step on dry land, clearly fearful that the water was somehow dangerous. The other crew members followed suit. 

"I don't know," Zax replied, "I've never seen anything quite like it." 

"Well, I think the question we all want answered is, is it dangerous?" Daviron asked, staring warily at the bright orange steps. 

"Channelling Jaleah, are we?" Liyan muttered. Daviron glared at her. 

Zax sighed. 
"I'll do some tests and get back to you on that," he said, pulling on a pair of gloves, "In the meantime, I suggest you put some distance between you and the water." 

They took a few steps back and watched as Zax began performing some tests on the water and rock. About an hour later, he got back to them. 

"Well?" Daviron asked impatiently. 

"Well, it's not dangerous. From what I can tell, these are travertine terraces, made from calcium carbonate. The orange color is due to iron carbonate carried by the water, which is also not harmful. It's just carbonated mineral water." 

"What about the blue color of the water? There's no way that's not harmful," Aedard argued. 

Zax held up a vial of clear water. 
"It's just the reflection of the sky. The water's not actually blue." 

The crew sighed in relief then joined Zac by the steps to study them, take notes, and admire their beauty.

--<<>>--

After about an hour, they left the terraces, which Jaleah had discovered were created by two separate mineral springs over the course of millions of years. It was starting to get dark, however, and they needed to find a place to set up camp.

After a few miles, they began to see the outline of a city on the horizon. Aedard adjusted their trajectory, and they began speeding in the direction of this new metropolis. So far, there wasn't much to see: the light was fading, and the horizon was a little hazy. However, Jaleah could make out a tall, needle-like tower with a spherical bulge near the top. It was very similar to the one they had seen in the first city, and Jaleah began to wonder if it wasn't some important religious or political monument.

Unfortunately, she would have to wait to investigate it. The sun was rapidly setting, and the light was getting dimmer by the second. They were forced to set up camp a few miles north of the city, but Jaleah didn't mind too much; the natural landscape around them was beautiful and the sky clear, so she was excited to spend the night under the stars, free from the distractions of the city, however ancient that city might be.

--<<>>--

That night she had another dream, but this time it was no nightmare. Rather, their ship was landing back home to a warm welcome. She dreamed that she, the crew, and baby Gaia were returning home as heroes, hailed for their bravery and dedication to knowledge. It was a nice change from the nights of restless terror.

It was such a nice dream that the next morning, Jaleah was only awakened when Liyan shook her out of her sleeping bag and into the dirt.