By the end of the day, Chet informed me that we were nearing the Broadsider pirate base, and I found myself strangely melancholy. Once we got a ship, we would travel faster—and I was eager to take to the sky. But I had truly enjoyed the time I’d spent traveling.
Flying the rest of the way…well, it seemed that would undermine the epic nature of my quest a tad. That said, as I considered, I decided that many of the heroes from the stories would have used a starfighter if one had been available. Gilgamesh, for example, would totally have done it. （Not sure about Xuanzang, admittedly. He’d probably have been all about the need for the journey to refine him, or some other super-wise Zen stuff.）
We ended the day on a jungle fragment that I liked more than the first one I’d been on. It had less underbrush and all the plants were blue, which I found relaxing. It was just a more natural color.
According to Chet, this fragment would pass the pirate base the next day. So we decided to camp, and he sent M-Bot to scan for life forms that could be dangerous.
“I doubt that there are large beasts on this fragment,” Chet explained to the AI, “but it is better to be careful than to be eaten.”
“Plus,” I added, “if the delvers can possess bodies, they might be able to grab one we don’t expect. So see what kind of life there is, big or small. I’d rather not be surprised by a group of zombie chipmunks.”
“Zombie…chipmunks?” Chet said.
“It would likely be a fun fight,” I said. “With lots of kicking. Probably feels about the same to kick a chipmunk as it does to kick a rat.”
“And…how many rats have you kicked, Miss Nightshade?”
“Only the ones that were asking for it,” I said, smacking my fist into my palm.
M-Bot zipped off, and Chet and I began pulling down blue fronds and making bedding out of them. I kind of wished we could make a fire like in the stories, but it never felt cold in here—or hot. Plus the smoke would give us away.
Soon we each had a nice bed. And though I’d liked the caverns, this was probably going to be the softest of our nights in the nowhere.
“Thank you,” I said to Chet as I settled into mine, “for all of this.”
“I’ve been paid each day,” he said. “You don’t need to thank me!”
And each day he’d watched the reality icon with hunger. But I moved past that. “You haven’t just guided me, Chet. You’ve taught me and shown me incredible things.”
“Well,” he said, “at the very least I’m glad you were able to see an ocean of sorts. I did promise you they were fun to explore! Regardless, no need to thank me. You saved my life on that fragment that was being destroyed!”
“And you saved mine.”
“A sign that we’re an excellent team!” he said, settling back into his nest of fronds. More solemnly, he continued, “Truly, Miss Nightshade, I’ve rarely had such an invigorating companion. Plus you encouraged me toward a goal I’ve been avoiding for far too long. For that I thank you.”
I nodded in agreement. “What are we likely to face tomorrow? Will the pirates be armed with modern weapons, for example?”
“Yes,” he said. “But remember they are mostly outcasts—not a true military force. They have gathered together more out of necessity, to be near other minds.”
“Any idea why that helps us not forget in here?” I asked.
“It is curious, isn’t it? It’s like…people are all a little more real when they’re together. Maybe together we remind one another what it is to be alive. To have family.”
He said that last word with a hint of longing, looking upward through the trees. He’d forgotten his family, whoever they had been. I wished that he could see M-Bot as a lost friend, reunited, and not an “abomination.” But I decided not to bring the issue up again at the moment.
We fell silent for a while, then Chet spoke, his voice softer. “I once had a ship in here. I decided to fly it all the way to the lightburst—to get out that way, if I could, and return to whatever life I’d left behind. But…I lost myself, flying. I think that’s when I finally lost the last of my memories of my family, you see. Out there on your own, you don’t have anything to remind you of who you are.
“Down on the fragments, everything—the stones, the structures, the trees—helps somehow. It grounds us, one might say. Ha! At any rate, I think we two will be fine flying together. We’ll have each other, plus your icon. It should be enough. Should be…”