Space: the Final Frontier!
Okay, so I haven't done much writing over the holidays. I got wrapped up with the fifty million things I had/wanted/felt I needed to do for all that. Now that Christmas has come and gone and the New Year is here, I'm trying to get back into the writing groove. With that in mind, I offer up the second part (of five) of Visitors. As always, it's a self edit, so all screw-ups are mine. (If something's really terrible, please let me know so I can take a look.)
The first part with warnings, ratings, and explanations, can be found here.
=======
Standing beside Gojyo, in the middle of the field of flowers, Hakkai shielded his mouth and nose from the last, acrid gusts of exhaust coming from the landing ship. He saw Gojyo did the same. Hakkai observed the ship with interest: the ship really was golden, a slender, golden oblong with a needle at the top and three spidery landing struts protruding from the bottom. He wondered what purpose the coloring served and how it was so well preserved. Normally, exposure to space dust and the like would strip enameling or paint right off. Perhaps it was a part of the very material of the ship's hull?
Then, the configuration of the ship changed and Hakkai forgot all about the ship's color. A doorway formed-or if not formed, was made apparent-in the side of the ship closest to them, evidenced by a thin, dark line zigzagging its way around one of the barely discernible hull plates. The plate in question detached from the top first, swinging out from the ship until it was parallel to the ground. Whatever it was made of-Metal? Organics? Ceramics?-shivered, and the plate changed shape until it was rounded, like a stepping stone. It hovered, completely detached from the ship. And then a being stepped through the doorway and onto the golden disc. The disc descended smoothly and silently to the ground.
The being riding the plate down was, in fact, quite ordinary-looking: man-shaped, blond hair. The only things unusual about it-him?-were the luminous purple eyes and a red dot in the center of the forehead. The being looked at them and frowned, wrinkling up what would have been an otherwise attractive face. Hakkai noted its attire, a flight suit of some kind, was of the skintight variety. It stopped just short of total exposure and indecency, owing largely to the fact that it appeared to be layered, a tasteful neutral shade over black that covered from wrists to ankles. At least, Hakkai presumed as much since boots and gloves obscured the alien's extremities.
When the plate hovered an inch above the ground, the alien stepped off, and the golden disc shot back up again, forming itself seamlessly into place again.
"My name-title is Sanzo," said the alien.
Hakkai decided that this Sanzo was probably a male of the species, based on temperament alone. In Hakkai's experience, females were less…abrupt during first contact.
"I come from the planet Chang-An," said Sanzo.
He spoke with exaggerated carefulness and a definite sneer, as if he expected them to be poor, simple folk easily impressed with his entrance. Hakkai found it most distasteful. Really, if this was how this species conducted first contact… Hakkai exchanged a glance with Gojyo, who rolled his eyes.
They-Hakkai's people-already had sublight and FTL ships; matter converters and organic circuitry; adaptive shielding. They'd cured all diseases once thought to be incurable on their planet, had solved poverty and hunger as if they were no more than a set of finicky mathematical equations; and their environment was pristine; all their once-endangered animals now flourished again. It would have been obvious from a simple orbital scan that this was no backwater planet.
Still, the representative of the alien ship couldn't have seemed more critical in the less than five minutes since he'd arrived. Hakkai took exception to this Sanzo's attitude.
"If you would so kindly move your ship," said Hakkai. "There is a designated landing pad one kilometer south."
"What?" said Sanzo.
He went from sneering to a rather irritated and, dare Hakkai say it, constipated expression. Assuming, of course, that Sanzo's species suffered from such digestive complications.
"My apologies," said Hakkai. "Am I not speaking slowly enough for you to understand?"
He nodded to Gojyo, who affected a particularly slow and stupid look.
"Move ship," said Gojyo, gesturing. "South. One kilometer."
He pointed stiffly in that direction and Hakkai could tell he was trying hard not to roll his eyes again. Sanzo looked back and forth between Hakkai and Gojyo.
"Is that better?" said Hakkai.
"This was not what I expected," said Sanzo.
The wrinkles between his eyebrows deepened.
"Oh?" said Hakkai. "I apologize if we disappoint you, but you are in my field, ruining my crops."
Sanzo looked around, arms crossed over his chest.
"Flowers?" Sanzo said. "You're growing flowers?"
"Look, buddy," said Gojyo. "Just move the damn ship and you can gawk around all you want."
Gojyo went from slack-jawed yokel to bright and sharp and aggressive in an instant, and Hakkai appreciated this transformation. He wondered if Sanzo did, too, or if he simply took the insulting tone at face value.
"Fine," said Sanzo. "Move south."
He spoke into the air, mouth pinched tight. Hakkai looked at their guest with some concern.
"I'm not taking that crap from you," said Sanzo. "It was your idea to stop here, of all places. Now get going."
The ship shuddered upward again, expelling more hot exhaust as it went. Then, it made its way safely above the tree line and rapidly out of sight. Hakkai looked at the friss-flowers. He sighed. As he had feared, they were burnt to a crisp.
"Now," said Hakkai. "Would you like to introduce yourself again? My name is Hakkai, and this is my homeworld. Forgive me if I don't shake hands."
He gestured to Sanzo and was amused by the surprise Sanzo seemed to show at the sight of his claws. Had this alien really noticed so little about the people he met?
"My name-title is Sanzo," said Sanzo. "My homeworld is Chang-An."
He gave a grudging sort of movement that might be construed as a bow of greeting, had Hakkai been feeling kind.
"I don't believe I'm familiar with your world," said Hakkai. "Did you travel very far?"
"It's on the edge of the Boddhisat sector, territory held by the cult of the Merciful Goddess." said Sanzo. "I've come on a mission of peaceful exploration."
Gojyo snorted and shifted from one foot to the other.
"And that would explain the plas-cannons and vortex-class shielding on your ship how?" said Gojyo. "That's a lot of firepower for so-called peaceful exploration."
Hakkai raised an eyebrow. Gojyo did have a better eye for that sort of thing, but he himself hadn't caught a hint of any of it. Perhaps he'd been distracted too much by the color of the ship…and its occupant.
"Funny, I didn't catch your name," said Sanzo. "And my ship is none of your concern."
Gojyo grunted and stuck out a hand. Sanzo looked at him like it was a dead animal. Gojyo returned his hand to his pants pocket.
"Sha Gojyo," he said. "Traveler extraordinaire, hailing from…well…here, now, I guess, which makes your ship my business."
"Oh really?" said Sanzo.
Gojyo stepped forward aggressively, hair swinging across his face. He brushed it back with a hand that was already curled into a loose fist, an obvious threat. Sanzo faced him squarely, not backing down an inch, though Gojyo was taller and broader through the shoulders.
Hakkai thought quickly. If Gojyo and Sanzo got into a fight, it would no doubt be Hakkai who mopped up afterward. The idea did not please him in the least, and so he intervened in their territorial face-off.
"Now, now," said Hakkai.
He put a restraining hand on Gojyo's shoulder. He squeezed hard enough that Gojyo gave him a quick glance.
"The universe is a very large place," said Hakkai. "I'm sure Sanzo's ship is designed purely to defend itself."
He turned to Sanzo again, confident that Gojyo wouldn't make a move.
"Are you traveling alone?" said Hakkai.
Sanzo turned his head, the mulishness in his expression and in the set of his shoulders softening a touch.
"Not exactly," said Sanzo.
"And will we be meeting this not exactly?" said Hakkai. "You must understand, I have paperwork to fill out, and if there's another being in your party who sets foot on my land…"
Hakkai sighed, thinking of the seven pages that each additional being would generate. The intricacies of government policy baffled him. He didn't know who had decided that it was a good idea to make citizens like himself fill out the attendant paperwork, but he would very much like to have words with this person.
"Paperwork?" said Sanzo. "Are you a bureaucrat?"
"As I said before, I'm a farmer," said Hakkai. "But our government is well prepared for instances such as these-first contact and the like."
Sanzo glared down his nose at Hakkai, as if he resented his presence being relegated to the unsatisfactory category of first contact. Hmm. Perhaps Sanzo was an important figure on his home world?
"I can order him to stay on the ship," said Sanzo. "He'd probably eat you out of house and home anyway."
Hakkai looked at Gojyo. To him, Gojyo's face showed all too plainly that Gojyo didn't like the idea of whoever-it-was going hungry, all alone on an alien planet. Truth be told, it didn't sit well with Hakkai either. He gave Gojyo's shoulder a pat and let him go.
"I'm sure it wouldn't be too much trouble," said Hakkai. "You could contact your shipmate and let him know."
Sanzo blinked one long, slow blink.
"Done," said Sanzo. "He's on his way."
Was it Hakkai's imagination, or did Sanzo's expression seem just a hair less sour?
"So," said Gojyo. "We never did get the name of your friend on board your ship."
"His name is Goku," said Sanzo.
And then, after a moment of hesitation:
"He's a genetic construct," said Sanzo.
His eyes wandered the fields.
"Ah, I see," said Hakkai. "I take it he and you are telepathic."
Sanzo grunted, but still avoided looking too closely at the two of them.
"Just him to me," said Sanzo. "And I to him. You don't need to worry that we'll go walking through your heads."
Sanzo looked rather unhappy about Hakkai's perceptiveness. Ah well. The signs hadn't been hard to see. Hakkai did wonder, though, why Sanzo chose to speak out loud to this Goku, if they could indeed speak mind to mind. But then, there were some worlds that disapproved of the pursuit of genetic engineering, and it would be prudent of them to communicate aloud.
"I should hope not," said Hakkai. "It would be rather rude. And as it is, we have a small confession to make as well. Hakuryuu!"
A whistle cut through the air, and a small, white dragon flew toward them. Sanzo had the good grace to be startled by the sudden appearance, even if he did cover for it quickly. Hakuryuu landed on Hakkai's shoulder, and Hakkai scratched the dragon's chin. Hakuryuu craned his neck in Sanzo's direction.
"This is Hakuryuu," said Hakkai. "He's a construct as well, though I suspect he is quite a bit different from your shipmate. His primary purpose is to serve as a translator."
Sanzo stared at the little dragon. Hakkai could see that Sanzo was having difficulty equating Hakuryuu with a computerized translator. Hakkai smiled.
"I trust he hasn't caused any interference in your other telepathic bond?" said Hakkai.
Sanzo shook his head. He didn't appear to be angry, but he also seemed far from pleased.
"How long has it been eavesdropping?" said Sanzo.
He spoke with an evident reluctance and a certain level of distaste, though Hakkai couldn't determine whether it was over Hakuryuu himself or what Hakuryuu did.
"He's been translating our conversation so far," said Hakkai. "But if you'd rather not have Hakuryuu leaning on your mind's language centers, I'm sure we could muddle through with the computer databases instead."
At length, Sanzo shook his head again.
"That won't be necessary," said Sanzo. "Is there anything else I should know about your construct?"
"Only that he comes and goes as he pleases," said Hakkai. "And he's quite capable of blending in with his surroundings."
Hakkai gave Hakuryuu another scratch, this time on the chest, and shooed the dragon off. Before Hakuryuu had flown five meters, he vanished again. Sanzo stared after him.
"Don't worry," said Hakkai. "Hakuryuu has plenty of range. As long as he's within ten kilometers, we'll be able to understand each other."
"I see," said Sanzo.
He stiffened for a second, then sighed.
"Goku's coming," he said. "If you don't want him trampling your flowers, we should meet him at the edge of the field."
"My crops have already taken considerable damage today," said Hakkai. "It would probably be best to meet your companion."
Sanzo's shoulders tightened.
"It's not my fault that the red fields make such a distinctive landing target," said Sanzo.
Hakkai drew in a breath and tried to remain calm. Gojyo's hand dropped onto his shoulder, and Hakkai appreciated the contact. It helped him to better reign in his temper, over which his control was rapidly eroding.
Sanzo seemed to sense this, because he proceeded to give a non-apology.
"We don't go around deliberately breaking the laws of other species," he said. "If there had been some sort of beacon in orbit with landing instructions, or contact from some facility here on the surface, we would have obeyed."
"Charming," said Gojyo.
He spoke quietly and into Hakkai's ear, for Hakkai alone.
Hakkai exhaled and pushed his unreasonably emotional reaction back behind his pleasant persona. It was absurd, the way he was behaving. What must their guest think of him? The way Sanzo looked at him now was no comfort. He gathered his thoughts.
"We are, generally speaking, not a space-faring species," Hakkai said. "Though we are quite capable, it is rare that we leave our planet, let alone the system."
"Oh?" said Sanzo. "Any particular reason?"
Hakkai felt himself tense up again. This really was a subject best broached somewhere more comfortable. It would take some explaining, and he'd prefer to do that while seated and out of the all-too-hot mid-day sun.
"Are we meeting your companion or not?" said Hakkai. "Come along, please."
Without waiting for a reply, he turned his back and started walking, Gojyo in tow. He heard Sanzo fall into step behind them and was pacified.
Perhaps this wouldn't be so difficult after all.
=======
I worry a bit that I'm taking too much of a salad bar/kitchen sink approach and am putting a bit too much of everything into it. I worry I'm muddying the waters, that I'm making it too or not enough sci-fi. But then, I'm enjoying doing it, so that's got to count for something, right?
Anyway, now that I've got this squared away (for the moment) I'm going to try to chip away at the next bits of Two if by Sea. I wasn't getting anywhere with it over the holidays, but maybe I'll do better now.
~later
The first part with warnings, ratings, and explanations, can be found here.
=======
Standing beside Gojyo, in the middle of the field of flowers, Hakkai shielded his mouth and nose from the last, acrid gusts of exhaust coming from the landing ship. He saw Gojyo did the same. Hakkai observed the ship with interest: the ship really was golden, a slender, golden oblong with a needle at the top and three spidery landing struts protruding from the bottom. He wondered what purpose the coloring served and how it was so well preserved. Normally, exposure to space dust and the like would strip enameling or paint right off. Perhaps it was a part of the very material of the ship's hull?
Then, the configuration of the ship changed and Hakkai forgot all about the ship's color. A doorway formed-or if not formed, was made apparent-in the side of the ship closest to them, evidenced by a thin, dark line zigzagging its way around one of the barely discernible hull plates. The plate in question detached from the top first, swinging out from the ship until it was parallel to the ground. Whatever it was made of-Metal? Organics? Ceramics?-shivered, and the plate changed shape until it was rounded, like a stepping stone. It hovered, completely detached from the ship. And then a being stepped through the doorway and onto the golden disc. The disc descended smoothly and silently to the ground.
The being riding the plate down was, in fact, quite ordinary-looking: man-shaped, blond hair. The only things unusual about it-him?-were the luminous purple eyes and a red dot in the center of the forehead. The being looked at them and frowned, wrinkling up what would have been an otherwise attractive face. Hakkai noted its attire, a flight suit of some kind, was of the skintight variety. It stopped just short of total exposure and indecency, owing largely to the fact that it appeared to be layered, a tasteful neutral shade over black that covered from wrists to ankles. At least, Hakkai presumed as much since boots and gloves obscured the alien's extremities.
When the plate hovered an inch above the ground, the alien stepped off, and the golden disc shot back up again, forming itself seamlessly into place again.
"My name-title is Sanzo," said the alien.
Hakkai decided that this Sanzo was probably a male of the species, based on temperament alone. In Hakkai's experience, females were less…abrupt during first contact.
"I come from the planet Chang-An," said Sanzo.
He spoke with exaggerated carefulness and a definite sneer, as if he expected them to be poor, simple folk easily impressed with his entrance. Hakkai found it most distasteful. Really, if this was how this species conducted first contact… Hakkai exchanged a glance with Gojyo, who rolled his eyes.
They-Hakkai's people-already had sublight and FTL ships; matter converters and organic circuitry; adaptive shielding. They'd cured all diseases once thought to be incurable on their planet, had solved poverty and hunger as if they were no more than a set of finicky mathematical equations; and their environment was pristine; all their once-endangered animals now flourished again. It would have been obvious from a simple orbital scan that this was no backwater planet.
Still, the representative of the alien ship couldn't have seemed more critical in the less than five minutes since he'd arrived. Hakkai took exception to this Sanzo's attitude.
"If you would so kindly move your ship," said Hakkai. "There is a designated landing pad one kilometer south."
"What?" said Sanzo.
He went from sneering to a rather irritated and, dare Hakkai say it, constipated expression. Assuming, of course, that Sanzo's species suffered from such digestive complications.
"My apologies," said Hakkai. "Am I not speaking slowly enough for you to understand?"
He nodded to Gojyo, who affected a particularly slow and stupid look.
"Move ship," said Gojyo, gesturing. "South. One kilometer."
He pointed stiffly in that direction and Hakkai could tell he was trying hard not to roll his eyes again. Sanzo looked back and forth between Hakkai and Gojyo.
"Is that better?" said Hakkai.
"This was not what I expected," said Sanzo.
The wrinkles between his eyebrows deepened.
"Oh?" said Hakkai. "I apologize if we disappoint you, but you are in my field, ruining my crops."
Sanzo looked around, arms crossed over his chest.
"Flowers?" Sanzo said. "You're growing flowers?"
"Look, buddy," said Gojyo. "Just move the damn ship and you can gawk around all you want."
Gojyo went from slack-jawed yokel to bright and sharp and aggressive in an instant, and Hakkai appreciated this transformation. He wondered if Sanzo did, too, or if he simply took the insulting tone at face value.
"Fine," said Sanzo. "Move south."
He spoke into the air, mouth pinched tight. Hakkai looked at their guest with some concern.
"I'm not taking that crap from you," said Sanzo. "It was your idea to stop here, of all places. Now get going."
The ship shuddered upward again, expelling more hot exhaust as it went. Then, it made its way safely above the tree line and rapidly out of sight. Hakkai looked at the friss-flowers. He sighed. As he had feared, they were burnt to a crisp.
"Now," said Hakkai. "Would you like to introduce yourself again? My name is Hakkai, and this is my homeworld. Forgive me if I don't shake hands."
He gestured to Sanzo and was amused by the surprise Sanzo seemed to show at the sight of his claws. Had this alien really noticed so little about the people he met?
"My name-title is Sanzo," said Sanzo. "My homeworld is Chang-An."
He gave a grudging sort of movement that might be construed as a bow of greeting, had Hakkai been feeling kind.
"I don't believe I'm familiar with your world," said Hakkai. "Did you travel very far?"
"It's on the edge of the Boddhisat sector, territory held by the cult of the Merciful Goddess." said Sanzo. "I've come on a mission of peaceful exploration."
Gojyo snorted and shifted from one foot to the other.
"And that would explain the plas-cannons and vortex-class shielding on your ship how?" said Gojyo. "That's a lot of firepower for so-called peaceful exploration."
Hakkai raised an eyebrow. Gojyo did have a better eye for that sort of thing, but he himself hadn't caught a hint of any of it. Perhaps he'd been distracted too much by the color of the ship…and its occupant.
"Funny, I didn't catch your name," said Sanzo. "And my ship is none of your concern."
Gojyo grunted and stuck out a hand. Sanzo looked at him like it was a dead animal. Gojyo returned his hand to his pants pocket.
"Sha Gojyo," he said. "Traveler extraordinaire, hailing from…well…here, now, I guess, which makes your ship my business."
"Oh really?" said Sanzo.
Gojyo stepped forward aggressively, hair swinging across his face. He brushed it back with a hand that was already curled into a loose fist, an obvious threat. Sanzo faced him squarely, not backing down an inch, though Gojyo was taller and broader through the shoulders.
Hakkai thought quickly. If Gojyo and Sanzo got into a fight, it would no doubt be Hakkai who mopped up afterward. The idea did not please him in the least, and so he intervened in their territorial face-off.
"Now, now," said Hakkai.
He put a restraining hand on Gojyo's shoulder. He squeezed hard enough that Gojyo gave him a quick glance.
"The universe is a very large place," said Hakkai. "I'm sure Sanzo's ship is designed purely to defend itself."
He turned to Sanzo again, confident that Gojyo wouldn't make a move.
"Are you traveling alone?" said Hakkai.
Sanzo turned his head, the mulishness in his expression and in the set of his shoulders softening a touch.
"Not exactly," said Sanzo.
"And will we be meeting this not exactly?" said Hakkai. "You must understand, I have paperwork to fill out, and if there's another being in your party who sets foot on my land…"
Hakkai sighed, thinking of the seven pages that each additional being would generate. The intricacies of government policy baffled him. He didn't know who had decided that it was a good idea to make citizens like himself fill out the attendant paperwork, but he would very much like to have words with this person.
"Paperwork?" said Sanzo. "Are you a bureaucrat?"
"As I said before, I'm a farmer," said Hakkai. "But our government is well prepared for instances such as these-first contact and the like."
Sanzo glared down his nose at Hakkai, as if he resented his presence being relegated to the unsatisfactory category of first contact. Hmm. Perhaps Sanzo was an important figure on his home world?
"I can order him to stay on the ship," said Sanzo. "He'd probably eat you out of house and home anyway."
Hakkai looked at Gojyo. To him, Gojyo's face showed all too plainly that Gojyo didn't like the idea of whoever-it-was going hungry, all alone on an alien planet. Truth be told, it didn't sit well with Hakkai either. He gave Gojyo's shoulder a pat and let him go.
"I'm sure it wouldn't be too much trouble," said Hakkai. "You could contact your shipmate and let him know."
Sanzo blinked one long, slow blink.
"Done," said Sanzo. "He's on his way."
Was it Hakkai's imagination, or did Sanzo's expression seem just a hair less sour?
"So," said Gojyo. "We never did get the name of your friend on board your ship."
"His name is Goku," said Sanzo.
And then, after a moment of hesitation:
"He's a genetic construct," said Sanzo.
His eyes wandered the fields.
"Ah, I see," said Hakkai. "I take it he and you are telepathic."
Sanzo grunted, but still avoided looking too closely at the two of them.
"Just him to me," said Sanzo. "And I to him. You don't need to worry that we'll go walking through your heads."
Sanzo looked rather unhappy about Hakkai's perceptiveness. Ah well. The signs hadn't been hard to see. Hakkai did wonder, though, why Sanzo chose to speak out loud to this Goku, if they could indeed speak mind to mind. But then, there were some worlds that disapproved of the pursuit of genetic engineering, and it would be prudent of them to communicate aloud.
"I should hope not," said Hakkai. "It would be rather rude. And as it is, we have a small confession to make as well. Hakuryuu!"
A whistle cut through the air, and a small, white dragon flew toward them. Sanzo had the good grace to be startled by the sudden appearance, even if he did cover for it quickly. Hakuryuu landed on Hakkai's shoulder, and Hakkai scratched the dragon's chin. Hakuryuu craned his neck in Sanzo's direction.
"This is Hakuryuu," said Hakkai. "He's a construct as well, though I suspect he is quite a bit different from your shipmate. His primary purpose is to serve as a translator."
Sanzo stared at the little dragon. Hakkai could see that Sanzo was having difficulty equating Hakuryuu with a computerized translator. Hakkai smiled.
"I trust he hasn't caused any interference in your other telepathic bond?" said Hakkai.
Sanzo shook his head. He didn't appear to be angry, but he also seemed far from pleased.
"How long has it been eavesdropping?" said Sanzo.
He spoke with an evident reluctance and a certain level of distaste, though Hakkai couldn't determine whether it was over Hakuryuu himself or what Hakuryuu did.
"He's been translating our conversation so far," said Hakkai. "But if you'd rather not have Hakuryuu leaning on your mind's language centers, I'm sure we could muddle through with the computer databases instead."
At length, Sanzo shook his head again.
"That won't be necessary," said Sanzo. "Is there anything else I should know about your construct?"
"Only that he comes and goes as he pleases," said Hakkai. "And he's quite capable of blending in with his surroundings."
Hakkai gave Hakuryuu another scratch, this time on the chest, and shooed the dragon off. Before Hakuryuu had flown five meters, he vanished again. Sanzo stared after him.
"Don't worry," said Hakkai. "Hakuryuu has plenty of range. As long as he's within ten kilometers, we'll be able to understand each other."
"I see," said Sanzo.
He stiffened for a second, then sighed.
"Goku's coming," he said. "If you don't want him trampling your flowers, we should meet him at the edge of the field."
"My crops have already taken considerable damage today," said Hakkai. "It would probably be best to meet your companion."
Sanzo's shoulders tightened.
"It's not my fault that the red fields make such a distinctive landing target," said Sanzo.
Hakkai drew in a breath and tried to remain calm. Gojyo's hand dropped onto his shoulder, and Hakkai appreciated the contact. It helped him to better reign in his temper, over which his control was rapidly eroding.
Sanzo seemed to sense this, because he proceeded to give a non-apology.
"We don't go around deliberately breaking the laws of other species," he said. "If there had been some sort of beacon in orbit with landing instructions, or contact from some facility here on the surface, we would have obeyed."
"Charming," said Gojyo.
He spoke quietly and into Hakkai's ear, for Hakkai alone.
Hakkai exhaled and pushed his unreasonably emotional reaction back behind his pleasant persona. It was absurd, the way he was behaving. What must their guest think of him? The way Sanzo looked at him now was no comfort. He gathered his thoughts.
"We are, generally speaking, not a space-faring species," Hakkai said. "Though we are quite capable, it is rare that we leave our planet, let alone the system."
"Oh?" said Sanzo. "Any particular reason?"
Hakkai felt himself tense up again. This really was a subject best broached somewhere more comfortable. It would take some explaining, and he'd prefer to do that while seated and out of the all-too-hot mid-day sun.
"Are we meeting your companion or not?" said Hakkai. "Come along, please."
Without waiting for a reply, he turned his back and started walking, Gojyo in tow. He heard Sanzo fall into step behind them and was pacified.
Perhaps this wouldn't be so difficult after all.
=======
I worry a bit that I'm taking too much of a salad bar/kitchen sink approach and am putting a bit too much of everything into it. I worry I'm muddying the waters, that I'm making it too or not enough sci-fi. But then, I'm enjoying doing it, so that's got to count for something, right?
Anyway, now that I've got this squared away (for the moment) I'm going to try to chip away at the next bits of Two if by Sea. I wasn't getting anywhere with it over the holidays, but maybe I'll do better now.
~later