Page 11 of Stellar Drift
Just then, Ranger Melekir entered the common area, took one look at the standoff between Torishi and Delacallo, with Brannezzo watching like it was free entertainment, and turned right back around and left.
Too bad.Houyen liked Melekir; she’d trained him when he’d first arrived.But she was hugely conflict-averse and was counting the days until retirement.The CPS didn’t usually let employees with her talent level leave, so she was terrified of drawing attention that might get her smooth exit ratfucked by Matsurgan.
Houyen busied himself with sorting his new collection of teas and slipped out the door before his fellow rangers noticed.
On his way back to his office, he reflected on Delacallo’s relative contentment.Sadly, the pursuit of passion wouldn’t work for him.Celibacy wasn’t always comfortable, but he wasn’t built for recreational sex.He’d learned long ago that he needed to be friends with someone before he could be interested in them physically.Even if he were willing to have a relationship with a coworker — which he wasn’t — no one at this duty station was his friend.They weren’t actively trying to kill him like the corrupt team three assignments ago, but Torishi and Brannezzo would throw him off a skyskimmer to lighten the load if they thought they could get away with it.
The only person he wanted to spark a friendship with was Sairy, and he’d pretty much tanked his chances there.He was doubly remorseful for essentially blackmailing her into using her experimental remedy on the fever victims in Axolotl Bend.
He was no more fond of filing than Torishi, but his dive into the archives had paid off.While restoring missing data for a remote ranger station, he’d found a tranche of old survey records that mentioned wuzzy bugs.
As he settled in at his desk, an idea struck him.Conducting botanical surveys was the number two item on his official list of responsibilities.He pulled up a topographic map of his sector.As far as he could tell, the high-altitude cloud forest on Jalkapanga Mountain had never been surveyed.If he worked it right, he could do his job and accomplish his personal mission at the same time.
Irakat Collective, Qal Corona • GDAT 3235.018
Houyen landed his CPS flitter on the Irakat Collective public visiting vehicle pad, grateful that it wasn’t crowded.Six days.That’s how long he’d had to wait for Brannezzo to finally depart for his extended Eolium duty assignment, giving Houyen the clear operational window he needed.The timing was dangerously tight.The wuzzy bug season was already waning, and every passing day diminished their chances of finding an active breeding ground.
He felt the pressure as he walked toward the administrator’s office, a knot of anxiety jangling his nerves.This whole venture depended on convincing the locals to join an expedition that he couldn’t officially sanction, to hunt for the theoretical source of a disease his boss refused to acknowledge.
When he was shown into the small, transparent-walled sunroom the town hall offered for meetings, he saw that Garamont, the town administrator, had invited extra participants.Phendari Fordas was there, as expected.But two others were not.He should have anticipated the first: Phen’s wife, Kodetia Bristi, sat beside her, a look of intelligent curiosity on her classically beautiful face.Koda was as protective of Phen as she was adventurous, and it was unlikely she’d let her wife go trekking up a mountain without her.
The other attendee was a complete surprise.Tucked into a corner chair, as if hoping to merge with the lush rainforest backdrop, was Sairy Sarvand.Her presence sent a jolt through him, a mix of apprehension and an inconvenient flicker of pleasure.
Garamont, looking spry in a simple blue tunic, gestured to an empty seat.Houyen expected the man would be easier to deal with than Axolotl Bend’s panic-prone administrator.Phen and Koda were dressed in the stylishly practical layers that served as a walking advertisement for their fabrics business.He owned one of their indestructible vests himself.
Sairy said nothing.She wore simple brown pants and a long-sleeved knit top in mottled shades of green that perfectly matched her eyes.Her wavy brown hair was pulled back by a wide headband, and her expression was unnervingly neutral.He couldn’t tell if she was annoyed, indifferent, or simply observing.
After the briefest of pleasantries, Houyen launched into his proposal.“According to the ranger records, which are admittedly not as organized as they could be, Jalkapanga Mountain hasn’t ever been surveyed by any ranger since Makaan Reserve was first chartered.I would like to remedy that soon, and asked Phen if she’d be interested in conducting an entomological study at the same time.Specifically, of the wuzzy bugs that periodically plague the river towns.Finding and monitoring their breeding ground would go a long way toward at least predicting the next infestation.”
“Why wuzzy bugs, specifically?”Koda asked, her tone light but her eyes sharp.“They’re just another rainforest nuisance.Like swarming bees, or ant marches.”
“Because I think they’re the vector for a recurring disease,” Houyen said, glancing at Phen, hoping she’d had time to review the data he’d sent.
“What disease?”Garamont asked, leaning forward.“Like that pernicious mange that decimated the fox population a few years ago?”
“Infinity fever, right?”Phen’s voice was firm, her eyes full of interest.She was looking directly at Houyen.“The outbreaks look like they correlate to the wonky wuzzy bug seasons.I think the lack of a cold season messes up their schedule.”
Now came the delicate part.Houyen chose his words with care.“The Ranger Service Chief believes infinity fever is a myth.My only participation would be as a fellow traveler who is collecting botanical samples.”
Garamont looked astounded.Phen’s brow furrowed in a thunderous frown.After a moment of silence, Koda rolled her eyes with an eloquent, weary grace, a mirror of the expression Sairy had worn when he’d told her of Matsurgan’s theory.From her corner, Sairy appeared to be deeply engrossed in studying her fingernails.
“Obviously,” Koda said, her voice dripping with acid politeness, “we must invite your brilliant boss to our next outbreak.He can’t catch something that doesn’t exist, right?”
“How does he explain away the data you sent me?”Phen asked, her arms crossed over her chest.
Houyen let out a single, humorless laugh.“He doesn’t.He stopped reading it a year and a half ago, after the first time I mentioned the possible connection.”He blew out a frustrated breath.“I don’t want to wait for him to refuse to read the new data I found.And I don’t want to wait for the fever to spread even farther.Fourteen years ago, one family compound on Jalkapanga’s eastern slope reported a mysterious illness with a high fever and an odd rash.Ten years ago, it showed up in the nearby hamlet.Starting six years ago, it moved west and hit Wakaman Shire, then here, then Axolotl Bend.The current wuzzy bug reach is all the way to Falco Joro’s construction site.That’s forty kilometers from the river, which means it’s not just ‘fish piss from upstream.’”That had been his boss’s ludicrous explanation for the disease.
Garamont frowned.“Don’t you still have that entomologist on staff?Brandy or Benso or something?Why can’t he go with you?”
“Ranger Brannezzo won’t be available until well after this wuzzy bug season is over,” Houyen said.Brannezzo’s parting shot yesterday had been, “See you all at the solstice.”Houyen had counted on his colleague’s determined avoidance of fieldwork when scheduling this meeting.“I’m hoping Phen can use her insect-affinity talent and her experience.”
Koda turned to Phen.“When does wuzzy bug season end?”
“It’s ending now,” Phen said.“The breeding site is probably underground.We’ve got maybe six or seven days to find the active site.Otherwise, we’ll have to wait until next season, whenever that is.”She met Koda’s gaze, her expression resolute.“I want to go.”
Koda spread her hands in a gesture of cheerful finality.“Then we’ll go.”She looked back at Houyen.“How about the day after tomorrow?We can afford to close up shop for a few days.It’ll be good to get out.”
Houyen blinked, taken aback by the speed of their decision.He was so used to bureaucratic inertia that decisive action felt foreign.“Yes.I can meet you at any time and place you want to launch from.”
