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Description
Here's the first installation of this story: :origin()/pre10/ff57/th/pre/i/2015/016/0/0/rover_s_beginning_by_chill13-d8e4y44.jpg)
And I suppose this would be the next::origin()/pre07/424c/th/pre/i/2015/090/4/0/the_hat_by_chill13-d8nws6c.jpg)
Sun shown brightly from the skylight and the window overlooking the sparkling bay across the street. A raised platform draped with blankets stood in the center of the room, a bank of holo monitors blinking and flickering beside it.
Soorn's lower arms fingered the strap of the bag that now hung from his shoulder as he stepped gingerly into the room. He frowned in concern. "Where is his healing tank?"
The nurse let out a small chuff from her nose. His ignorance had annoyed her again. "He is not Jssfloon. Emerson would not have helped his recovery."
"I see." He approached the raised platform and looked town at the small creature nestled in the soft materiel of the bed. His expression was peaceful in sleep, which only seemed to make him look all the more tiny and vulnerable. His entire left side looked as if something had tried to tear it off and had partially succeeded. Everything on his left from mid waist to the top of his head was a mass of deep purple bruising and lacerations. Several deep incisions could be seen in his chest where the medical technicians had replaced ribs. Hair had been shaved off to make room for a shiny metallic plate surrounded by deep red and a trio of jagged wounds trailing down his forehead. But what pulled at his heart string the most was his arm. It was gone, unlike a Jssfloon limb, never to grow back, replaced by a dull grey mechanical prosthetic. Just looking at the little alien Soorn was shocked that he had survived at all. "How is he doing?"
"He is breathing, his heart is beating an his mind is active. We believe he is stable, but we know nothing of his species so it's difficult to be sure."
"Heart?" Soorn asked, his tail jerking in a swish of surprise. "He only has one?"
She nodded. "I am told they had to restart it during the procedure."
Soorn could feel the soul spots heat his cheeks. "That...that's terrible."
"Yes. This facility hasn't dealt with such a complicated case in years. His chemistry reacted badly to the synthetic polymers we usually use for bone replacement. We had to substitute biometel. It's much heavier but it was the only immediate alternative." There was a set of holo screens beside the bed, and she scanned them as she spoke. "Unfortunately Jssfloon healing accelerants won't work on him either. His blood has an iron base. It seems the best we can do by way of medication at the moment is an infusion of salt water to keep his blood levels and hydration from dropping."
"Oh." Soorn was a farmer. Nothing more. He knew next to nothing about medical procedures and most of what she said was beyond him. And he suspected she was aware of it. But what he did clearly understand was that it had been a struggle to keep this lost child from slipping away. "Have you found his species yet? Did his ship reveal anything?" Several spans ago the authorities had spoken to him about the alien's ship that had crashed in his field. They had promised to see if it's database had navigational charts, personal logs or any other information that might lead them to find the creature's home.
Her lips pursed slightly. She was tiring of hearing him ask that question. "No. The craft was too badly damaged. From what they said most of the computer components were melted and fused together. Unfortunately they couldn't extract anything useful."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"The only information we could find is on this." She motioned moved to the wall and pressed a sensor that opened a small drawer. Inside Soorn could make out a pile of stained cloth, the remnants of the boy's clothes. From a separated section of the drawer she drew out a thin cord with a small, flat, rectangular pendant clipped to the end. With clear reluctance she allowed Soorn to take it.
He turned it over in his hand. It was a metallic silver with what looked like a square thumb plate and a tiny bubble-like node on the end. On the back were written three symbols. "What is it?"
Her eyes looked heavenward briefly before answering as if begging the colors to make him stop pestering her with his unbearable ignorance. But her answer was perfectly polite. "It's a data storage device with a built in holoemitter. It seems to be music and historical documents. Sadly, nothing that will help us locate his family."
He looked down at the quietly sleeping figure. "So he is still the only one who can tell us where he belongs."
"I'm afraid so." She moved over to the bed and gazed curiously for a moment at the sleeping patient before pulling the soft blanket up to his chin. She took one last look at the readout, took a couple steps toward the door before turning to Soorn. "Will you be leaving us soon? Surely you must get back to your...occupation. There must be other children you should be looking after." She flipped her curly tail in s gesture that meant she certainly hoped so.
Soorn's double brows dipped in determination. She obviously thought he was a caretaker like most Thirds, keeping busy watching other people's children. "I appreciate your concern for my business. But I called to have a worker harvest the rest of my crop." He slipped his bag off his shoulder and dropped it purposefully at his feet. Earlier, when he had gone for a wash he had bought a change of clothes and a few other necessities so he didn't need to go home.
"As soon as he wakes and can speak we will be able to contact his relations. As admirable as it is there really is no need for you--"
"Than I will stay here until he wakes."
She let out an indignant chuff through her nose and the soul spots on her cheeks flared. Interruption was one of the highest forms of rudeness. She held herself as tall as she could, towering over the smaller male, her tail flicking wildly. "There is no way to know how long that will be. And after your ordeal I am certain you would be more comfortable in your own home."
"I can make due." With deliberately finality Soorn planted himself on the soft chair beside the alien's bed. "Thank you for your hospitality."
The nurse clenched her lower hands together, practically screaming her distaste at the thought of having to deal with him another moment let alone days. "As you wish. There is a hammock there." She gestured to a long loop of cloth hanging from the wall and the support it could be attached to. "The facilities are there." A small door was set into the furthest wall. "And as you know, the lagoon is across the street." With a whip like flick of her tail she turned on her heel and left.
"You've been very kind." Soorn said to her retreating back. He knew very well that healing houses had amenities for family members: separate rooms, bath pools, and a dining area. It was no surprise to him that she hadn't mentioned these to him. He didn't care. As he had said he would make due. As a Third with no family to speak of he knew what it felt like to be alone and he wasn't going to let this lost boy experience that no matter how inconvenient his presence was.
Without giving the nurse another moments thought he turned to the small figure on the bed. Even without his injuries the
boy had a quite striking appearance...so alien. His pale pinkish skin, that turned up nose and those ridiculous round ears.
"Where did you come from?" Soorn found himself whispering aloud. His ship was small, tiny even. It could have been an escape pod from a larger vessel. Or perhaps his species ventured out on their own before adulthood. On the other hand he could be a seed child. Soorn had read somewhere that there were races that sent their young out into space alone to spread their species. No. Soorn remembered his plaintive call for a father as he pulled him from his ship. He had a family somewhere.
"You'll be alright." He promised. "We will find your home." He reached a hand out to touch the boy's face, then hesitated. Even someone as uneducated as Soorn knew that alien cultures were as varied as the stars in the sky. What if physical contact was taboo or outright offensive to this species? But...how else could he let him know that someone was there for him, cheering him on? He let the back of his fingers brush the boy's cheek. It was soft and warm, nothing like his own clammy and slightly rubbery skin. He picked up the boy's limp, bizarrely shaped five-fingered hand and held it tight. "You should wake up, little one. You have a lovely view."
Days passed and nothing changed. Soorn occasionally took swimming trips to the lagoon and visited the cafe down the street but he spent most of his time in the healing house talking to the boy. He had also figured out how to opperate the small holo screen on the storage device and had played some of the multimedia for the child to hear. The nurse told him that the boy's mind had been damaged in the crash and it could be that all Soorn's efforts were catching water with a net, but in the end it was important to him that he had tried.
Soorn stared out the window, his upper hands folded behind his back as he took in the view. The lagoon was a sparkling teal with candy-striped brussle trees lining the beach. Off-world tourists and Jssfloon alike crowded the peach sand and played in the warm water.
There was a soft sound behind him. Soorn turned, first looking to the door to see if someone had come in. Then he noticed the expression on the boy's face had changed. His eyebrows had come together and his nose had crinkled into a wince. Soorn was there in a second.
It was a slow process. His breathing changed, the tips of his fingers flexed slightly. Finally his eyes fluttered then slowly cracked open. They were glassy and unfocused but after a moment they settled on Soorn.
He smiled gently. "Hello little traveler."
His lips trembled, moving several seconds before he managed to choke out a hoarse whisper. "What are you?"
"I'm your friend. My name is Soorn. What is yours?"
"I...I...don't know."
------
This ended up WAY longer than I had intended...and a lot more serious than Rover's usual adventures.
Yay! Rover's finally awake!
And I suppose this would be the next:
Sun shown brightly from the skylight and the window overlooking the sparkling bay across the street. A raised platform draped with blankets stood in the center of the room, a bank of holo monitors blinking and flickering beside it.
Soorn's lower arms fingered the strap of the bag that now hung from his shoulder as he stepped gingerly into the room. He frowned in concern. "Where is his healing tank?"
The nurse let out a small chuff from her nose. His ignorance had annoyed her again. "He is not Jssfloon. Emerson would not have helped his recovery."
"I see." He approached the raised platform and looked town at the small creature nestled in the soft materiel of the bed. His expression was peaceful in sleep, which only seemed to make him look all the more tiny and vulnerable. His entire left side looked as if something had tried to tear it off and had partially succeeded. Everything on his left from mid waist to the top of his head was a mass of deep purple bruising and lacerations. Several deep incisions could be seen in his chest where the medical technicians had replaced ribs. Hair had been shaved off to make room for a shiny metallic plate surrounded by deep red and a trio of jagged wounds trailing down his forehead. But what pulled at his heart string the most was his arm. It was gone, unlike a Jssfloon limb, never to grow back, replaced by a dull grey mechanical prosthetic. Just looking at the little alien Soorn was shocked that he had survived at all. "How is he doing?"
"He is breathing, his heart is beating an his mind is active. We believe he is stable, but we know nothing of his species so it's difficult to be sure."
"Heart?" Soorn asked, his tail jerking in a swish of surprise. "He only has one?"
She nodded. "I am told they had to restart it during the procedure."
Soorn could feel the soul spots heat his cheeks. "That...that's terrible."
"Yes. This facility hasn't dealt with such a complicated case in years. His chemistry reacted badly to the synthetic polymers we usually use for bone replacement. We had to substitute biometel. It's much heavier but it was the only immediate alternative." There was a set of holo screens beside the bed, and she scanned them as she spoke. "Unfortunately Jssfloon healing accelerants won't work on him either. His blood has an iron base. It seems the best we can do by way of medication at the moment is an infusion of salt water to keep his blood levels and hydration from dropping."
"Oh." Soorn was a farmer. Nothing more. He knew next to nothing about medical procedures and most of what she said was beyond him. And he suspected she was aware of it. But what he did clearly understand was that it had been a struggle to keep this lost child from slipping away. "Have you found his species yet? Did his ship reveal anything?" Several spans ago the authorities had spoken to him about the alien's ship that had crashed in his field. They had promised to see if it's database had navigational charts, personal logs or any other information that might lead them to find the creature's home.
Her lips pursed slightly. She was tiring of hearing him ask that question. "No. The craft was too badly damaged. From what they said most of the computer components were melted and fused together. Unfortunately they couldn't extract anything useful."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"The only information we could find is on this." She motioned moved to the wall and pressed a sensor that opened a small drawer. Inside Soorn could make out a pile of stained cloth, the remnants of the boy's clothes. From a separated section of the drawer she drew out a thin cord with a small, flat, rectangular pendant clipped to the end. With clear reluctance she allowed Soorn to take it.
He turned it over in his hand. It was a metallic silver with what looked like a square thumb plate and a tiny bubble-like node on the end. On the back were written three symbols. "What is it?"
Her eyes looked heavenward briefly before answering as if begging the colors to make him stop pestering her with his unbearable ignorance. But her answer was perfectly polite. "It's a data storage device with a built in holoemitter. It seems to be music and historical documents. Sadly, nothing that will help us locate his family."
He looked down at the quietly sleeping figure. "So he is still the only one who can tell us where he belongs."
"I'm afraid so." She moved over to the bed and gazed curiously for a moment at the sleeping patient before pulling the soft blanket up to his chin. She took one last look at the readout, took a couple steps toward the door before turning to Soorn. "Will you be leaving us soon? Surely you must get back to your...occupation. There must be other children you should be looking after." She flipped her curly tail in s gesture that meant she certainly hoped so.
Soorn's double brows dipped in determination. She obviously thought he was a caretaker like most Thirds, keeping busy watching other people's children. "I appreciate your concern for my business. But I called to have a worker harvest the rest of my crop." He slipped his bag off his shoulder and dropped it purposefully at his feet. Earlier, when he had gone for a wash he had bought a change of clothes and a few other necessities so he didn't need to go home.
"As soon as he wakes and can speak we will be able to contact his relations. As admirable as it is there really is no need for you--"
"Than I will stay here until he wakes."
She let out an indignant chuff through her nose and the soul spots on her cheeks flared. Interruption was one of the highest forms of rudeness. She held herself as tall as she could, towering over the smaller male, her tail flicking wildly. "There is no way to know how long that will be. And after your ordeal I am certain you would be more comfortable in your own home."
"I can make due." With deliberately finality Soorn planted himself on the soft chair beside the alien's bed. "Thank you for your hospitality."
The nurse clenched her lower hands together, practically screaming her distaste at the thought of having to deal with him another moment let alone days. "As you wish. There is a hammock there." She gestured to a long loop of cloth hanging from the wall and the support it could be attached to. "The facilities are there." A small door was set into the furthest wall. "And as you know, the lagoon is across the street." With a whip like flick of her tail she turned on her heel and left.
"You've been very kind." Soorn said to her retreating back. He knew very well that healing houses had amenities for family members: separate rooms, bath pools, and a dining area. It was no surprise to him that she hadn't mentioned these to him. He didn't care. As he had said he would make due. As a Third with no family to speak of he knew what it felt like to be alone and he wasn't going to let this lost boy experience that no matter how inconvenient his presence was.
Without giving the nurse another moments thought he turned to the small figure on the bed. Even without his injuries the
boy had a quite striking appearance...so alien. His pale pinkish skin, that turned up nose and those ridiculous round ears.
"Where did you come from?" Soorn found himself whispering aloud. His ship was small, tiny even. It could have been an escape pod from a larger vessel. Or perhaps his species ventured out on their own before adulthood. On the other hand he could be a seed child. Soorn had read somewhere that there were races that sent their young out into space alone to spread their species. No. Soorn remembered his plaintive call for a father as he pulled him from his ship. He had a family somewhere.
"You'll be alright." He promised. "We will find your home." He reached a hand out to touch the boy's face, then hesitated. Even someone as uneducated as Soorn knew that alien cultures were as varied as the stars in the sky. What if physical contact was taboo or outright offensive to this species? But...how else could he let him know that someone was there for him, cheering him on? He let the back of his fingers brush the boy's cheek. It was soft and warm, nothing like his own clammy and slightly rubbery skin. He picked up the boy's limp, bizarrely shaped five-fingered hand and held it tight. "You should wake up, little one. You have a lovely view."
Days passed and nothing changed. Soorn occasionally took swimming trips to the lagoon and visited the cafe down the street but he spent most of his time in the healing house talking to the boy. He had also figured out how to opperate the small holo screen on the storage device and had played some of the multimedia for the child to hear. The nurse told him that the boy's mind had been damaged in the crash and it could be that all Soorn's efforts were catching water with a net, but in the end it was important to him that he had tried.
Soorn stared out the window, his upper hands folded behind his back as he took in the view. The lagoon was a sparkling teal with candy-striped brussle trees lining the beach. Off-world tourists and Jssfloon alike crowded the peach sand and played in the warm water.
There was a soft sound behind him. Soorn turned, first looking to the door to see if someone had come in. Then he noticed the expression on the boy's face had changed. His eyebrows had come together and his nose had crinkled into a wince. Soorn was there in a second.
It was a slow process. His breathing changed, the tips of his fingers flexed slightly. Finally his eyes fluttered then slowly cracked open. They were glassy and unfocused but after a moment they settled on Soorn.
He smiled gently. "Hello little traveler."
His lips trembled, moving several seconds before he managed to choke out a hoarse whisper. "What are you?"
"I'm your friend. My name is Soorn. What is yours?"
"I...I...don't know."
------
This ended up WAY longer than I had intended...and a lot more serious than Rover's usual adventures.
Yay! Rover's finally awake!
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© 2015 - 2024 chill13
Comments53
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Seems to me Soorn's just as lonely as the kid. Great range of emotion 