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Chapter 10
Hello, Terarin!
“Yo Foxx, get down here!”
Gekk-grekk
, Foxx poked his head out of his pillow-filled burrow to find it was Free calling for him, who was hiding something behind his back.
“Ok,” after a yawn, Foxx swiftly floated down.
“I present to you…” Free revealed what was in his hands—the synthesizer, now glossy-new, “A working synth!
Foxx tilted his head, “How did you fix—”
“Just some wires were out of place,” Free swished his hair dramatically then smirked, “Told you I could fix it.” He placed the synthesizer onto the floor, “Try it out, bang out whatever tune comes to mind.”
“Ok,” Foxx sat in front of the synthesizer, looking a bit like a loaf, then levitated over three dowels to act in substitution to fingers.
At first, he randomly pressed a few keys while turning a dial or changing the pitch occasionally, it was clear he had a certain sound in mind. And when he found that sound, a soft quiet hollow drone, he played half-formed melodies—starting then abruptly stopping and restarting with slight variation. Upon each reset, he thumped his tail lightly on the ground and his ears pointed back.
Free noticed Foxx’s quiet frustration, “I know that feeling… You’ll find the right tune, just keep at it.” Leaving Foxx to his songcraft, Free walked over to the Camper’s helm, taking a seat next to Frost, “So, how long till we get to Terarin?”
Frost glanced at the star chart to their side, “It should come into view about… now.”
Shining like blue marble in starlight, Terarin’s surface was almost entirely water—almost. At its north pole was a wasteland of rock and snow with a spiraling pillar of ice at its center which pierced beyond the atmosphere. Inversely, at its south pole, were grand volcanos sunken beneath the sea; their amber glow clear to see even from space. Finally, spanning across the equator was a shattered chain of islands of sizes large and small.
Free leaned back in his seat, “Where we’re landing?”
“Reef Coal city on the island Mavacea,” Frost replied.
“Great, humidity and heat, just amazing for the circuitry,” Free sighed. “When I saw that ice pillar, I was hoping for a dry-cold trip.”
Frost gave him a look, “Then do not get splashed.”
“One, that’s not an equivalent, and two—” Free gave them a snarky look back, “Says the one who gets knocked out by a light heat wave.”
“Then I will stay in the shade, it is not an issue.”
Free tsked, “Any more info?”
“Nothing useful.”
“We’re just wandering around until we find a lead?”
“As always.”
A few minutes later, they entered Terarin’s atmosphere, getting a firsthand look at Mavacea and Reef Coal.
Mavacea was hoisted far above the sea by water-weathered cliffs—so steep and tall, the only way in or out were mountain highways, island bridges, and underwater tunnels.
As for Reef Coal, which sat in the middle of the island surrounded by mountains that lined its edge, they could barely see what it looked like. Most of it was covered in shade tarps, tree palms, and sun umbrellas—all together forming a colorful canopy that hid the city underneath it.
Frost landed the Camper in one of the few gaps in the canopy—near the heart of the city, then joined into the busy main road.
Foxx raised his ears, hearing the chatter of the bustling streets, un-loafing himself, moving to the side windows. Peering out he saw buildings pass by, each covered in ferns, flowers, and vines—each a perfectly curated garden with greenery that shined in the sun, perhaps a bit too much. Looking above, he saw bubbles floating in the air and—strangely, the sun and sky as well. As if the canopy that covered the city vanished right when they went below it.
Although a few around the streets were Aliens, most were of the native species; the Gilleot. A bipedal semi-aquatic species with long swimming tails, oily fur coats, and a second coat of flora resembling lily pads, seaweed, or eelgrass that hung off them like a ghillie suit—some even had theirs styled with blooming water flowers. While Foxx did see a few who let their second coats grow out long, most around had them cut short, revealing their long thin whiskers and black beady eyes.
“So many people around, plugging the radio into a power line is ruled out, we’d be caught in seconds by some rando walking by,” Free said.
“Hmm.”
“Here’s what I'm thinking; we find out where they get power in the first place. Weird there’s no power stations around here, right?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“But where would be a good place to start looking?” Free tapped his head.
They made a turn and suddenly found themselves barraged by loud and flashing advertisements, all pointing the way to “Northcliff Mall.” Most of them had what must have been the Mall’s mascot on them, a whale-like creature with four sets of fins with no eyes but still rocking sunglasses.
“How about Northcliff Mall?” Frost suggested.
Free shrugged, “Better than wasting gas.”
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