Chapter 6

Sparrow had already loosened her vines and was walking past Haledon. He went to stand, but the foliage held fast, sending him slumping back into the chair.

"What?" He spoke with a huff and grabbed at the vines. "How do I—?"

"All you have to do is think about them releasing," Witch-Hazel commented as it stood and walked past Haledon.

Taking a deep breath, Haledon focused his attention on his body. There was a moment of tension in his chest, and then warmth flowed throughout his body, rushing towards his limbs. He stood, the vines releasing and retreating back into the bark of his armour.

"And there you go." Witch-Hazel finished, giving Haledon a pat on the shoulder and disappearing around the bend in the dragonfly's tail.

Chasing Witch-Hazel over the curve, they both made their way to a standing Sparrow.

"Sparrow?" Witch-Hazel asked in a strange tone.

"Stay here." She grabbed at sap that was trailing slowly down the similarly narrow passage of the other Colides. "I want you to have the Skimmer perform a repeating hyperspectral scan of the Astra fleet and the surrounding area out to half an A.U."

"Something out there?"

"Not yet." She muttered, looking at the sap. "Let me know if you pick up anything strange on the electromagnetic spectrum that doesn't add up with the others."

"On it." Witch-Hazel turned and squeezed past Haledon.

"Haledon, keep close. Let's make this as quick as possible." Sparrow said as she rushed down the hall, her hands still fiddling anxiously with the sap.

They made their way out of the tight passage and into the main corridor. Following quickly, Haledon tried to keep up with Sparrow while eyeing everything within the worm. As it was with the other ship, the air was hot and sticky, saturating the walls and floor. He did notice that there was less crew congregation, with most of them heading in the direction he was currently moving.

After a short walk, the two exited the Colides and emerged on the Astralaceae. Haledon examined the ship excitedly. He had never dreamt of venturing beyond his seed, having been taught that being on one of the other Astralaceae was akin to stepping onto another world. That each seed was supposed to support its own diverse biology as a way to give each planetary seeding the best chance of success.

What he noticed as he stepped out was nothing short of chaos. Earth Druids rushed around, lugging large accumulator nodules down the hall. Astralaceae Druids stumbled and collapsed against nearby walls and were immediately helped by the nearest person. Shouts erupted as more people rushed down the hall to help in another area.

"What's happening?" He asked with a pit in his gut.

"It appears this Astra has suffered a blight of sorts," Sparrow mused to herself as her eyes danced around the room. "If it's affected the rear seed, that means it's been a multigenerational problem."

Haledon looked at a nearby Druid. He stared at the jaundiced skin of the man as he weakly lumbered forward. His knees wobbled before the legs finally gave out.

Instinctually, Haledon lunged forward with his arms out. Vines burst from his wrist bark, wrapping around the man. They cradled the man before he touched the ground, gently resting him against a wall.

"Nice catch," Sparrow complimented Haledon as she approached the weakened Druid.

Haledon's vines released the man and snuck back into his armour. He stared down at his hands and then again at Sparrow. She had crouched in front of the worn Druid and placed her fingers to his face.

"Jaundiced skin, reduced muscle mass, scars from delayed wound regeneration—" Sparrow muttered as she inspected him from top to bottom. Her hands adjusted his head gently, moved his arms, and flexed his knees. She eventually stood and looked to Haledon.

"I almost guarantee that his bones are as brittle as fall leaves. If it wasn't for the suit, he would be too fragile to function."

"Is it a disease?"

"Of sorts," She placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "Malnutrition is a terrible thing. His body lacks essential nutrients, which I must now hypothesize is also what is affecting the ship."

Sparrow revealed a compassionate smile as leafy tendrils extended from her hand and latched to the man. His body relaxed as he fell into a deep sleep. Clasping her hands together, Haledon watched as roots began to weave a knotted ball in the open space. A faint red bioluminescent glow pulsed from the center as vines reached towards the sleeping man.

"What's that?" Haledon asked as he inspected it.

"It's a nutrient-rich tuber that will give him a boost of energy for the next three days. Though it won't be enough to fix the genetic abnormalities caused by generations of malnutrition. At least he'll wake up feeling better than he ever has."

As the root attached to the man's chest, Sparrow turned and began a quick step down the hall.

"Sparrow!" Haledon yelled out after being temporarily mesmerized by the red glow.

Dodging between the crowd of Earth Druids, Haledon eventually caught up to Sparrow. She had stopped at a lateral corridor to converse with a pair of well-armoured Druids.

"I would concur with your hypothesis," One of the Druids said, nodding to Sparrow. Her black hair fell down her back, eventually blending into the branching banyan armour she wore.

"But how?" The other one spoke. Her oaken armour was swollen in the stomach where a protective burl had formed. "The Astra's are meant to adapt to issues, including this nutrient deprivation, with redundancy. It shouldn't—"

"But it did," Sparrow interjected. "And we need to remedy it. Sierra, how familiar are you with Endophyllonchronology?"

"I've performed my share of dendrochronological studies back on Earth."

"Nearly the same thing, would you go to the Hypogeal Nexus and check all the input and output lines for the last five mast cycles. And Sunray, go to the forward Hypogeal Node and prepare a redwood cast with an alder heart."

Both nodded and began to leave when Sparrow cleared her throat.

"And Sunray, don't forget to vine the pith to the heartwood."

"I remember." The Druid in Banyan armour replied as she gave Sparrow a wink.

Sparrow turned towards Haledon and nearly walked into him before realizing he was there.

"Oh, Haledon, perfect." She replied anxiously. "Follow me, we're going to the rear Hypogeal Node."

Haledon followed silently as Sparrow muttered to herself. Her hands swung through the air, tracing invisible shapes with each unintelligible word.

"Sparrow, what are you doing?" Haledon eventually asked.

"Working, what are you doing?" She asked, pausing her gestures for a moment. "Oh, right, nothing because you haven't learned this yet. Have you been paying attention?"

"I—kind of? I saw you made a swirl motion."

"Watch closely...and listen!" She insisted as her hands began to twist.

"Involuta fungicae." Her hands folded and drew a mushroom that mirrored top and bottom.

"Spiralis Helionthus." Her wrists danced a double spiral before clenching her fists at her elbows and drawing them across her chest.

"Astralaceae close." She finished and looked at him. "Questions?"

"Yes, one—what?"

Sparrow lowered herself down to Haledon's eye level.

"Involuta—" She traced the mushroom cap and curl of the gills before bringing her hands together at the stem. "You need to channel the pattern into reality."

Her hands danced again into the double spiral. Haledon noticed she was tracing something beyond the spiral, with subtle flicks of her index and pinky fingers.

"It's a sunflower!" He exclaimed.

"Yes, now, you see," Sparrow replied as she finished the final motion. "And you must close your Call of Succession—Astralaceae close—which finalizes everything."

"Call of Succession?"

"Everything is succession." She scolded him. "From barren earth and fullest tree to the youngest Pioneer and oldest Primeval. To grow trees in a night, you must first understand every step the land has taken over millions of years. To master this is to be a Master of Succession. To take raw material and grow the moss, grass, shrubs, and trees. There are no shortcuts to growing a healthy ecosystem."

"I don't understand. What did you do?"

"I told the ship to divert nutrients to the Cosmophyllon. With those nutrients in place, the initial layer of impact moss forms a protective layer before the electroreceptive fungi fruit. These fungi will absorb various forms of cosmic radiation, converting inorganic matter accumulated from the void of space into nutrient-rich organic matter for the Astra. The next star this Astra flies by, the mushrooms will accumulate an excess of wide-band electromagnetic radiation. That should jumpstart nutrient production and get the ship back into a healthy state."

"That's genius," Haledon muttered in awe.

"Genius? Ha, it's a quick workaround." Sparrow approached a grass screen.

Walking through a sparse grass screen, the two entered a crumbling Hypogeal Node. The sickly foliage of the wall hung limply against the exposed roots. Where nutrient lines were supposed to be were instead large, cankerous growths. From them, an amber sap oozed out and pooled against the decaying floor.

Two ill-looking Druids turned to face Haledon and Sparrow. Their eyes were sunken, with dark bags standing out from yellowing skin.

"Can we help you?" They asked.

"You can go find an Earth Druid to feed you," Sparrow responded and shooed them away. "We're taking over here for this cycle."

They nodded without question and slowly made their way out of the room. When the second one had disappeared beyond the veil, Sparrow sighed and looked around at the space.

"What a forswyn mess," Haledon muttered to himself.

"Yeah...to whatever that means."

"It's like when something awful happens and—"

"Didn't ask for an explanation," Sparrow's voice trailed as she wandered around the room, touching the walls. She eventually stopped, placing a hand over a particularly gnarled web of roots.

"Here." She muttered.

"What?" Haledon asked, pulling himself away from a violet flower pulsing with light. It seemed to flicker with the pulse of nutrient lines. The faintest puff of spores would erupt at random intervals from microscopic gills.

"Haledon, come here. I want you to do something for me."

He walked over quickly and held up his hands to Sparrow.

"How can I help?" He asked.

"Tell this bramble to become moss. Just say, 'Rhizomous Fractalis. Sphagnum Tessalae.' And trace it with your fingers."

Haledon stood for a moment, staring at Sparrow. He directed his gaze back at the bark mass and sighed.

Reaching out his hands, he traced the air with his index fingers.

"Rhizomatous Fractalis. Sphagnum Tessalae." Sparrow slapped a hand against the back of Haledon's head. "Ow—hey!"

"Feeling, Haledon. Feel the words. Feel the plant life. Feel the balance of Nature. And embrace the chaos that unites all creatures in one eternal symphony."

Haledon clenched his jaws as the pain washed away from his thoughts. He felt his mind, a fine-point focus on the moment, begin to drift like a cloud against the sky. His vision began to blur before he closed his eyes, and in the darkness, he felt the laboured breathing of the Astra against his body.

"Rhizomatous Fractalis." Without thought, his hands moved, flicking and spreading like a root digging through the soil.

"Sphagnum Tessalae." He finished, clasping cupped hands together. He extended his palms, pushing them forward as he opened his eyes.

The bark of the canker began to soften. The wood decomposed, giving in to a thick blanket of moss beneath. It began to spread invasively, consuming the wall around the cancerous mass before moving to the floor and ceiling.

Haledon turned his attention to Sparrow, who watched the spread with a flicker of amazement in her eyes. It quickly switched to calculation as the moss continued to expand, eventually taking up the room. Her gaze returned to disinterest as she looked down at the Seral Druid.

"Adequate." She mouthed and looked at the soft mound in front of her.

Slipping her hand into the moss, she quickly withdrew it with a hiss. Blood began to spill from her palm as she shot Haledon a concerning look. Reaching her hand back in, more carefully the second time, she flexed her arm and withdrew a slender object.

"Careful, it's sharp." She said before handing it over to Haledon and beginning to slather algae over her palm.

Haledon carefully took the item into his hands. It was cold, almost too much to handle. Fighting the urge to drop its frigid mass, he examined the object further. He eyed platinum-coloured metal and the jagged, dagger-like appearance. A thicker obsidian mass was affixed to it, looking more like an unrefined ore that twisted around the exterior. Finally, a pale blue glow came from sapphire veins that fractal out from beneath the blackened core.

"Better," Sparrow said to herself as she brushed the goo from her healed hand. "Now, Haledon, what do you make of this?"

"It looks like a chunk of space debris that couldn't be broken down."

"I would guess you were half right." Sparrow pointed at the metal in his hand. "See these pockmarks. It looks like it has been breaking it down for a long time, and this is just the end of it. We need to check the Astra for other tumours like these."

"What are you thinking?"

"The Astra acquired an excess of metals that have been poisoning the ship and crew for generations. If I'm correct—"

Sparrow stopped and turned her head to the side. Her gaze softened as she seemed to be listening to something.

"Haledon," She pointed to the wall. "E.P.C., go."

Haledon's mind raced for a moment before he pieced it together. Sparrow wanted him to perform the same Endophyllonchronological reading as the other Druids.

There was a panic in her voice, so he didn't question it but just began the process.

"Sparrow, everything alright?" He asked, walking towards the inflow veins first.

"We may have trouble." She snapped out and locked eyes with him.

For the first time in his life, Haledon witnessed genuine fear in someone’s gaze.