Chapter 5

Stumbling over a newly grown root, Haledon chased after Sparrow. He could feel his stomach twisting and knotting anxiously with each step.

"We're going on your ship?" He asked before passing through the grass veil.

They both emerged into the chaotic corridor. Witch-Hazel was gone, having disappeared deeper into the pod, while dozens more Earth Druids had filtered into the crowd.

Scattered amongst the sea of faces, Haledon was beginning to see more of the Astralaceae crew with SOIL suits like his. Each of them was itching at various limbs, sending a crawling sensation through him.

He began to scratch at his shoulder.

"Technically—Stop that!" Sparrow slapped Haledon's hand.

"Ow—hey!" He hissed.

"You're going to kill yourself."

"What?" Haledon stopped walking. "I thought Witch-Hazel was bending my branch."

Sparrow continued forward, seeming to ignore him. With a sigh, Haledon fought the urge to scratch as he trotted to catch up.

"...autoimmune response, and the suit may reject you. As such, you will die." Sparrow finished saying as he approached.

"What? You left me behind. I didn't catch that."

"On Earth, a reindeer calf can run within ninety minutes of being born. Keep up, Seral Druid Haledon." Sparrow snapped.

Mumbling to himself, Haledon quickened his step to maintain pace with her. He followed in silence for a while before again speaking up.

"So...why will the suit kill me?" He inquired hesitantly.

"Your suit is a living organism that needs time to bond with your central nervous system. Scratching it at this stage could trigger an immune response in the SOIL, which could result in it rejecting you as a host. Then, when your life is in jeopardy—like being ejected out into space or shot in the chest with plasma—your suit won't defend you."

"My old foliage protected me."

"Your old foliage was outdated. This one is reinforced with an organo-alloy, making it much more durable. So, if you are shot in the chest with plasma, as mentioned earlier, you won't immediately die."

"You mentioned plasma twice. The Astralaceae doesn't go anywhere near enough to stars for that to be a concern."

"Haledon, we didn't just come to your Astralaceae because we wanted to grow your modifications for you. You were supposed to go on for a million rings in peace without intervention. This seed was supposed to be both pioneer and primeval, sowing every star system with verdant life. But something threatens all of us, and your fleet, the vanguard of our galactic ecosystem, must evolve if you are to survive. We are here to expedite that process for you because that apex predator stalking among the stars is nothing like you have ever seen."

"You're like nothing I've ever seen," Haledon muttered.

"And that should terrify you." Sparrow stopped, causing Haledon to run into her back. She swivelled and stared into his eyes. Inspecting them again with a deep, concerning interest. "But you don't have fear. Not anything like we have on Earth. You've lived in a sterile environment meant to protect and nourish you for millennia. You have known nothing but comfort with no threat to your very existence. An island of naivety. Your fleet left a vibrant world full of hope and peace with nothing to fear. In a way, I failed to—"

She shook her head and looked over Haledon as she twitched her fingers anxiously.

"The Mecharrion are beasts of metal and fury. Their bodies are humanoid, but what lies within their obsidian carapace is alien to us. They do not share our devotion to the balance of Nature. They do not share our compassion. They only seek to exploit it for their gain. They are so divorced from Nature that it is nothing more than an inconvenience to their truth. No more than three generations after your Astra left, they cut through our world with a crack of thunder. And for what? The metals under our mountains. A worthless, inorganic material that has no use above the ground. But they hunger for it."

Haledon could feel the skin tightening around his face as his eyes grew wide, and his mouth slowly opened. Sparrow's eyes continued to inspect his, dancing ever faster as she observed every square inch of his expression.

"Yet, still, I don't see the fear for your life. The feeling passes by you like the shadow of a cloud." She straightened her posture slowly. "I hope, for this fleet's sake, the Mecharrion never stumble onto you."

"Primeval Druid Sparrow, can't we reason with them?" Haledon inquired as he looked around at the confused faces of the Astralaceae crew. A few had stopped to listen, their expressions twisted with discomfort.

"No," She turned and began to walk. "The Mecharrion are slaves to their insatiable consumption of the natural world. I hypothesize that they may not even know it exists anymore and are only interested in their collective gain. The death and destruction they leave behind are—" She caught herself and huffed. "Never has Nature produced a more destructive force, Haledon. We tried to reason with them in the first few conflicts. We aimed to cooperate as Nature teaches, but that cost us many lives. And after a long time, it appeared only natural selection would determine the victor in this survival of the fittest."

"What if—"

"Too many questions." Sparrow cut Haledon off as she again stopped and inspected him. Her eyes held something he had not yet seen, a glimmer of compassion. She opened her mouth to talk, but quickly pursed her lips. The visage disappeared, leaving a look of disinterest.

With a loud huff, Sparrow continued walking. She crossed through the threshold, bridging the gap between the Astralaceae and the alien vessel.

He stood there hesitantly for a moment, eyeing the people who occupied the space around it. Standing guard, two hulking Arboreal Defenders towered over the mingling crews. Their bark appeared brittle and aged, with pins of fire scoring on the trunk. The needles of their arms and back lay relaxed against them, giving the illusion of a foliage cape hanging over their shoulders.

Numerous members of the Sequoia Squad milled around, grafting various tubers and bulbs into the wall.

Watching the cooperation, Haledon remembered back to when he was a sapling. He learned that in Nature, the edge between two habitats was always the most diverse in species. He had noticed this over the years in the areas between pods, the places where Glades and Watering Holes formed. And now, in the space where the Astralaceae Druids converged with the Earth Druids, he eyed the curious interaction between the crews.

He watched as several druids preened themselves while the others looked away. The occasional Earth Druid tucked behind a corner and worked with their floral plumage, accentuating a preferable feature. Laughing and flirting filled the halls. Casual conversations reminded Haledon of friends catching up after a long separation. The once static environment was alive with new life.

"Haledon!" Sparrow called out from the gateway and waved at him. "We haven't got all day."

"Yes, umm—" Haledon turned away from the scene and back towards the warm red light of the doorway. He rushed forward through the breach and emerged into a different world.

The first thing he noticed was the air. Living within the Astralaceae, Haledon had grown accustomed to the slightly crisp and refreshing atmosphere that invigorated the crew. The alien ship he stepped into was uncomfortably hotter. Thick dampness hung in the air, and he felt as though he was suffocating.

Beneath him, the ground was soft and moist in comparison to the rigid bark he was accustomed to. It gave in slightly with every footfall and released a muted slosh.

Looking around at the walls, he noticed that they appeared to be of the same material. The occasional trickle of condensation made its way down the surface before soaking into the ground.

He tried to lean in and examine the hall's composition, but the light made it difficult to concentrate. Strange shadows danced along the floor and walls as the red light played havoc on Haledon's eyes.

"Ah, how do you see in this light?" He asked, rubbing at his eyes.

"Your SOIL will help your body adjust," Sparrow responded. "The juggernauts photosynthesize red spectrum best. It feeds their regenerative capabilities."

The hallway opened into a central chamber with multiple doors and diverging paths. Haledon's head felt like it was going to roll from his shoulders as he swung it in every direction, attempting to observe the new world.

Various Arboreal Defenders wandered in and out. Men and women outfitted in different SOILs spoke briefly in passing. Spruce mingled with maple. Beech chatted with oak. Even in such an alien world, Nature seemed to maintain a balance between all species.

Passing in front of an open room, Haledon spotted something genuinely unbelievable. Standing from four feet to two, a small elephant stood twice Haledon's height. The creature balanced on its back feet as vines and roots began to twist around its front two. Fibrous fingers stretched forward from the toes and touched against the wall. Its wobbling steadied as it reached its trunk up and grabbed hold of spikey fruit dangling from the ceiling.

"Haledon!" Sparrow yelled as she wandered through another doorway.

He pulled his attention away and caught up to her as she wandered down a side corridor.

Compared to the first hallway, this one was much narrower. It was wide enough for one person at a time but tall enough to fit even the most towering Arboreal Defender.

Keeping pace behind Sparrow, Haledon felt a thick glob of ooze suddenly coat his shoulder. He grabbed it and ran it between his wooden fingers. The viscous fluid clung to his hands and stuck to the armour.

"Sparrow?" He asked. "What is this?"

She turned and looked at him and then up at the ceiling.

"Curious." She muttered to herself. Her gaze loosened, and she stared into space for a moment before pulling her focus back to Haledon. "That is a defence mechanism."

Sparrow walked forward a few steps to a dead end. She waved her hand, and the wall relaxed. It revealed a small cylindrical passage lit in a pale blue light. Reaching in, she withdrew a long, silver bolt.

"It is a natural sap exuded by the ship. When coming in contact with other organic substances, it remains inert. But when it touches inorganic materials, like the metal of this arrow, it becomes a catalyst for a powerful acid." Sparrow extended the arrow out and touched the tip to the substance on Haledon's shoulder. It began to hiss before an overpowering caustic smell assaulted his senses. He watched for a moment as the arrow fell to the ground, and the metal melted to slag.

"How does it work?" He asked as he attempted to rub the goo from his hand to his hip.

"Science and Nature. Now, come on." She entered the cylinder and wandered out of view as the path curled down and out of sight.

Haledon followed, carefully stepping over where the metal bubbled against the soft floor. He walked through the portal into the cylinder as the wall behind him constricted. Jumping forward out of shock, he looked back and touched the barrier.

"Sparrow?" He asked, turning to follow the path.

He walked the length of the narrow room with firm footfalls. Tracing his fingers on the wall, he noticed the texture was again different. In comparison to the foliage of the Astralaceae and the fleshy texture of the Earth Druid ship, this one was chitinous. Some roots weaved along the space, occasionally dipping into the floor or climbing to the ceiling.

Finding his way to the end of the path, he stared curiously out as the floor began to curve down and out of sight. Haledon hung his head over the edge and listened to the muffled conversation going on below.

"Hello?" He called out.

"Haledon, stop screwing around and get down here," Sparrow yelled back.

Looking around, Haledon hesitantly edged his feet closer and closer to the edge, not wanting to step over. Eventually, stumbling over his bark feet, he tumbled forward and down the hole.

He expected to fall straight down, landing in a heap at the base of the shallow drop. But instead, he curved forward, gravity pulling his body flat against what should have been the roof of the lower room.

Anxiously gripping the floor, he stared at the ceiling, confused as to what was happening. Looking back down, he noticed a confused Witch-Hazel and Sparrow sitting directly in front of him.

"What are you doing?" Sparrow asked as Witch-Hazel turned its head back around, chuckling to itself.

"I—the floor," He rambled, pushing himself to his feet and looking around. "How?"

"Because—" Sparrow turned away. With a flick of her hand, vines twisted together behind the first two chairs. A third seat emerged, spinning for Haledon to sit.

He did so, pulling himself into the chair before it swivelled to face forward. As Haledon adjusted his posture, he could feel his SOIL reaching vines over the chair. Shifting to move, he discovered that he was locked in place, his back firmly held to the chair.

"What—what's happening?" He asked, anxiously twitching to free himself.

"We're launching. Hold on." Witch-Hazel responded. It turned to see Haledon out of the corner of its eye. "Try not to fertilize your SOIL."

Vines gave away at the front of the vessel, revealing two bulbous windows. There was a gentle buzz as Witch-Hazel's fingers dipped into a basin of liquid. The buzzing changed to excited chirps before back to the calming hum.

A dull thud shook the ship, and Haledon felt his stomach float into his chest. The stars outside began to twist and spin as the Astralaceae came into view.

Haledon leaned forward in awe, staring at the exterior of the world he had known his whole life. Attached to it by what looked like a mouth was the massive ship the Earth Druids had arrived within.

Haledon, who sat mouth agape, was astonished by the sheer size of both vessels.

"Ah, Megacolides Cosmogigantus. Colides for short." Sparrow bragged over her shoulder to the awestruck Haledon.

"Space worms?" Haledon muttered curiously.

"Don't—don't call them that." Sparrow scolded Haledon, her tone quickly changing.

"Space worms, heh." Witch-Hazel chuckled audibly.

"Don't encourage him." Sparrow then scolded Witch-Hazel. Turning her head forward, she tapped her fingers against a series of buds and tendrils, releasing spores into the air.

The orange illumination of the fine dust danced and twirled around her hands until they coalesced into a figure. It was a dragonfly. Specifically, the dragonfly-shaped ship they had entered. With a twitch of her fingers, the curved tail straightened, and four wings folded out.

The ship began to propel toward the Colides at a surprising speed. The wings vibrated but never moved from their position as the craft adjusted course and skimmed the surface of the Astralaceae.

Haledon gripped the chair, closing his eyes as they flew past the seed ship.

"Ah! Forswyn!" He cursed, peeking through a single eye.

"Don't worry. Witch-Hazel is an experienced handler. You couldn't be with a safer gravity skimmer." Sparrow reassured him and gave a passing glance at Witch-Hazel.

"Gravity skimmer?"

"The Macromiidae Gravitas, or Dragonfly, is a gravity skimmer. So long as there's a gravitational force somewhere, it can amplify it into propulsion. The deeper the well, the faster it can go."

"So, the ships—?"

"They have a slight gravitational pull, yes, so they're great to use as a slingshot to other Astras or Colides."

The illuminated image of the Dragonfly pulsed twice like the thumping of a heart.

Sparrow returned her gaze forward as they cut through the void. She ticked away at the budding flowers before sliding her hand into the terminal. The spores swirled again, transforming into a male human face.

"Authorization?" He inquired.

"Gaia-three-eight-Lily-seven. Primeval Druid Sparrow—responding as requested." She replied procedurally.

The head turned and looked down at something. A moment passed before it looked back at Sparrow.

"Confirmed. Please adhere to Setae Forty-Two, in Segment Three."

"Understood." Sparrow withdrew her hand from the foliage and wiped clear fluids down her side. "There," She pointed to a break in the armour where a thin leg had extended out from the Colides they approached. "We'll land and go straight to the Hypogeal Nexus."

The Dragonfly flipped and spun as it smoothly slid into position on the Colides. An anxious silence filled the room before a similar thud of the ship latching into place resonated deeply.