LF Friends, Will Travel

“Why did you think that was a good idea?! What logical thought could have made you do such an illogical action?!”

The digital voice of Scellestra rang out in anger and worry, the response to the absolute audacity of this organic being stripping all concepts of politeness from the Woolean AI. The rest of the tourists on the striking orange sands of the beach had all stopped what they were doing to stare, tens of Parket, Terrans and another species stopping to look at the swarm of nanobots billowing furiously

“I’m sorry I just wanted to know what it would be like…”

The Parket that was being admonished was a giant bird, around 5ft tall, adorned with striking bright yellow feathers. These were all pressed flat against his body in a show of regret and submission.

“Why would you do such an idiotic illogical stupid action? When you saw the makeup of my being, why would you eat it?”

Once again the Parket shrunk deeper into the blue vest they wore, guilt evident on their being as they stared at the ground. Several of the onlookers had returned to their private activities now that Scellestra’s voice had become less angry and more questioning, although a gaggle of curious birds of various colours were still obviously watching the show.

“I saw the little things move around like a bug then I thought ‘Hey, I wonder if they taste like a bug’? It didn't, wasn't great, tasted like sand- I know I shouldn't have done it but I didn't think because I was too excited at seeing someone cool like you.”

The apology was given in a fast flurry of chirps and squawks; the impulsive bird still ducked down as if they were a fledging being berated by an angry parent, instead of a dumb tourist.

“Scelly, chill dude. The cute little bird said he was sorry. Look how sad the birdie looks!”

The sound of Ivan’s voice could be heard from below the conflicting pair. The Terran looked… relaxed. Lying down on a towel on the orange sands, wearing nothing but a pair of Hawaiian shorts and a set of sunglasses, enjoying basking in the beautiful sun and fantastic picturesque weather.

Even ODIN, their AI core lying in the sand next to Ivan, wore a cheap pair of plastic sunglasses to continue the holiday mood.

“Do you not realize how dangerous what this bird did was? I am made up of nanobots, which if a small section of them lose connection, will by default start replication until a proper consciousness can be reformed. This is done using any available material. Including organic.”

Upon hearing those last two words the Parket gave a squawk of alarm, feathers billowing out as they stared down at their own belly, as if a bundle of nanobots would explode from it at any moment.

“Oh no, Did I mess up, am I going to die!?”

Scellestra couldn't help but feel a glimmer of enjoyment at the annoying bird finally working out the potential dangers they had put themselves in.

“I immediately disabled the consumed instances. Your actions are still illogical and dangerous though. You effectively swallowed a blender.”

“I am so sorry, I'll never do it again!”

There was movement once again as the very relaxed Ivan interjected once more, voice calm and unbothered, possibly due to the half-finished drink of various calming substances. The Terran took a moment to lift up his sunglasses before looking at Scellestra.

“See, everything is fine, no harm no foul, just chill dude…”

The form of the Woolean AI formed into a disapproving crossed-armed bipedal form.

“I guess. I accept your apology Mr Parket. Mostly because you called me cool.”

“Yes, you are very cool! I saw you billowing around like some kind of cloud of sand and I wondered what you were and how big you could get and you’re super shiny I guess because of all the metal and you remind me of this cave I found nearby where all the ceiling is made out of gemstones and I can show you if you want or not I can leave as well but I’d like to try and know more about you because you’re super cool and fun!”

The words flowed out of the Parket in one long tumbling sentence, not taking a moment to slow down or breathe at any point, as the excited exclamations started and never ended in one long series of squawks. From that flurry of information, the Woolean did manage to gather one thing: there was a cave that the strange bird wanted to show them.

“I guess I can see this cave that you wish to show me. As an apology for eating part of my being.”

“Yaaaay!”

As Scellestra followed the Parket, who continued to talk and chirp at a million miles an hour, the waves crashed up upon the shoreline. Miles upon miles of clear turquoise water hitting the vibrant orange beach, an ever relaxing background sound as the bright sun shone upon the planet’s surface, allowing the thousands of visitors to the beaches of Far-Sa-De to bask in its perfectly warm rays.

Following this paradise along, leaving behind the unfortunate Woolean who was dealing with a barrage of questions and statements, another group of tourists could be seen, these far more energetic than the inebriated Ivan. Someone had set up a volleyball net, of which multiple figures of varying species ran or flew around, hitting the ball over the net by any means necessary; the general rules were far more relaxed than the Terran version, simply due to the physical impossibility of most species using their hands to push the ball to the other side.

There were Terrans and Parket, Hatil, Ritilians and even a pair of the insectoid Kirken, all moving as fast as they could to knock the ball around. There was also another figure, one moving around at the back of the play area, simply due to the space needed to avoid hurting others. A figure of metal and firepower; A single M1 Abrams tank, piloted by the Terran AI called TANK.

The only thing more bizarre than the weapon of war playing volleyball, was the fact that they had fashioned a sort of ‘giant bikini’ around the giant metallic body. TANK was not one to avoid getting into the ‘spirit’ of things, even if it didn’t quite apply to them.

They drove back and forth with a rumble, using their turrets to knock the ball back to the opposite side as noises of enjoyment and mirth sounded out across the beach, various players joining and leaving as the day grew long until disaster struck. TANK misjudged the force and angle of their moments, causing the ball to give a loud pop as it embedded itself onto the end of one of TANK’s small gun turrets.

The crowd groaned with despair collectively as TANK tried to awkwardly remove the destroyed ball from the end of the gun barrel, waving it around as they tried to shake it free. Stephanie gave a small laugh as she stared at the AI, before walking over and ripping it free, holding the deflated item in her hands.

“I AM VERY SORRY, I DID NOT MEAN TO DO THAT. I THOUGHT THE MATERIAL THIS ITEM WAS MADE OF WAS STRONGER.”

“No problem, I’ll go order us a new one.”

There was a momentary pause from TANK as their lights dimmed for a second, before returning to full brightness once again.

“NO NEED, I HAVE CONTACTED THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THIS RESORT AND ALSO ORDERED A ROUND OF REFRESHMENTS FOR EVERYONE DUE TO THE INCONVENIENCE.”

Stephanie looked surprised, with a single raised eyebrow and a smirk as she stared at the AI.

“You had to leave the Tank to do that right? The systems here aren’t all connected up properly?”

“IT SEEMED THE FASTEST WAY TO RECTIFY THE ERROR.”

“Thank you! You’ve been doing that more and more, I know how hard it is for you. No coaxing was needed, you’re doing a fantastic job! Keep this up and we can try looking into trying something longer-term when we get back home.”

The group was eventually interrupted once more by a red feathered Parket riding a hovering vehicle; the uniform she wore suggested she was someone who worked here, and the refreshments and new volleyball sat safely in the storage on the back of the little hovering scooter.

With everyone now fully ‘refreshed’ and a new ball to play with, Stephanie picked up the ball and tossed it into the air to start the game once again. The ball soared into the sky, the ocean to one side, and the jungle to the other. A luscious rainforest climbed upwards towards the heavens as it followed the single giant volcano that this island hosted. The greenery was filled to the brim with the calls of animals as reptiles, birds, and beasts all went about their day-to-day lives.

At the top of this climb, a group of people were walking. The beachwear had been replaced with hiking gear, the various Terrans, Parket and other species all marching silently as they approached the summit. There was little talking being done, the silence of people undergoing a tough hike, even the Parket walking along instead of flying; as that was the entire point of this excursion.

Jeremy hiked along the trail with the others, feet stomping along, sweat dripping from every piece of exposed skin. His feet hurt and his breathing laboured. The Terran frankly wanted to die. Victoria walked next to him, his wife still energetic and hardly looking winded, seeming to act as if she’d just gotten out of bed fully rested. Jeremy loved his wife, but sometimes he got the feeling that they both lived at slightly different speeds.

It had been a 6-hour hike, how in the hell was she not knackered at all?

Regardless of how much it hurt, eventually, his trials and tribulations would end, as the trail they were following levelled off. The group left the foliage behind, the top of the volcano giving away to just hard volcanic rock and ash. From up here, they could see the surrounding Island: Jungles and beaches stretching out into an endless sea, but the real treat was the volcano itself.

The heat could be felt, even from here, the view of the bubbling magma churning below them from the base of the crater was something rarely seen outside of this location.

“This is the peak of the Aurathal Volcano, which is the tallest point on the island at 1881 meters. It is named after the old Kaenel God Aurati, the lord of fire and dance. Back on Jarnal, primitive Parket civilizations were thought to have sacrificed prisoners of war to volcanoes such as these in exchange for good harvests or fortunes although obviously this planet was colonized long after such traditions fell into disuse.”

The blue Parket at the front, wearing the uniform of a tour guide, chirped out an explanation of where they were as the various tourists mingled around the top. They took pictures and leaned over to look at the long drop down the centre of the active volcano.

“We’ll be taking a thirty-minute break here, then we’ll head back down.”

Jeremy and Victoria stared out into the view. No matter how many places they went, something was amazing about the natural beauty of the universe. Every mountain was different, every view and shoreline its own painting. Even through the pain in his legs, standing here on top of the island next to the woman he loved, made the last six hours worth it. No words had to be said, just standing in each other’s arms as they stared out into a view not many people got to see.

“OK, so we’re heading back now. For those of you who can fly, I suggest taking a direct route over the centre of the volcano. You’ll catch some great updrafts and some fantastic views. For the rest of you, please follow me into the tram which will take us over the same route back down to the restaurant we started at.”

It was at this point that Jeremy and Victoria split up, Jeremy heading over to the tram while there was a flurry of exclamations and squawks of surprise as Victoria made their way over to where all of the Parket were preparing to fly over the edge.

“Um, excuse me I think you’re in the wrong line because you can’t fly.”

“Maybe she knows that?”

“Yeah but if she can’t fly she’ll die, Terrans aren’t lava-proof right?”

“Maybe that’s intentional many Terrans will totally die in awesome ways.”

“That’s kinda metal and awesome.”

Jeremy couldn’t help but feel a rising panic as Victoria unzipped her jacket, revealing the item she’d been wearing all this time: A wingsuit. The Terran took a few moments to stretch, before without any hesitation launching herself off the side of the volcano, more chirps of amazement from the other Parket as the folds of fabric caught hold of the heated air and Victoria soared into the sky.

Jeremy could hardly watch from his far safer vantage point on the tram, which by now had also started to move along with the other more grounded tourists. Eventually, he let go of the breath he’d been holding, once he saw her pass over the other side of the crater and descend out of sight, to where he’d later meet her again on the beach below.

I love that woman, but one day she’s going to give me a heart attack.

Now that the danger has passed he could focus more on the view that stretched out before him. The volcanic magma below, the jungle between them and the beach, and the endless sea that stretched out into the horizon. Far across this sea, where the day started to turn into night, another event was happening. A ship sat parked on the sands as dusk took the main continent on Far-Sa-De. Music, enjoyment, and dance could be heard coming from this location.

Burning merrily outside the ship, a campfire glowed into the darkening night as tens of Parket bobbed, flapped and chirped along as the music rang out. The excitement was evident from those attending this impromptu concert. In the center of it, stood Tumaini, playing her violin in a joyous tune.

No sad songs were to be played here as those who attended listened and danced to the sound of the strings, partying and singing out for this Terran who brought their music. For that was the greatest thing you could do for a Parket: Bring them your song.

The Avians bobbed and flew around, singing out for the joy of it as Tumaini continued to play in a fast energetic manner, the joy of a Terran being represented in sound. Some of the Parket grouped up, going wing in wing and embracing each other, while others enjoyed the night in their own individual way. Two Parket were chasing around a Roomba that had left the ship, the little machine's googly eyes wobbling around as they fled the grasp of the chaotic birds, eventually rushing back into the ship to gain sanctuary from the crazy avians.

As dusk finally ended, the stars came out, lighting up the sky next to the three moons of the planet, the song playing on as the night took hold, the music being thrown deep into the darkness. It was a testimony of joy and delight being broadcast into the universe at large, for all to hear but unheard by most.

Out there, in orbit, twelve ships arrived.