Opening: "My Kingdom for that flower!" Katlyn Sanden grumbled to herself, pushing sweat-slicked hair out of her eyes. She checked the jungle trail, diligent not to stray from the marked path off which an American gringa, bioprospector for Biogenes Corporation, could all too easily disappear forever. A flash of light caught her eye – metal…building? Out here? Gnawing her lip, she paced up and down the path, trying to get a better view of the structure and wishing the expedition funds included enough radios for all its members. A distant buzzing came from the object, and some part of it strobed, flashing brightly even against the tropical sun. Whatever it was, it was toward the river. Back toward the camp. Surely, this short an excursion off the trail would not get her lost. Katlyn turned to look at the trail one last time, fixing the larger trees in her mind for landmarks.
Focused again on the bright metal, Katlyn plunged into the green wall. This near the river, the growth was thick even on the jungle floor. She pushed aside another leaf, craning to see above the bush as she stepped forward…into air. Arms flailing, Katlyn fell over an unseen edge and skidded down a steep, muddy bank that was more cliff than slope. A final yell jolted from her as she landed at the bottom on a wide sandy beach. Dazed, she noted the sandbar reaching out into the shallow river, connecting to her beach and pointing at a wide, oval craft snugged tight against the bank and almost invisible beneath the overreaching trees. The scurrying insectoid aliens, now stopped, stared at her in equal consternation, their feathery antennae spread wide and quivering. "Umm, hello?" Katlyn managed, not the most original of quotes for Humanity’s First Contact.
1/4 Action point: The commotion draws out another alien from within the ship. This one chitters at its fellows, antennae waving and then curling back down around its body out of the way. Antennae curling tightly and heads bobbing low, the aliens go back to their work – picking familiar plant specimens, packaging them neatly in small containers, and ignoring Katlyn completely.
Middle: Katlyn tries to communicate with them but is rebuffed. She attempts to climb the bank, falls, and breaks her leg. Hot, hungry, in pain, if she cannot obtain some help soon, the jungle will claim her. The aliens go about their routine, with soft chitters and frequent glances and antennae waving in her direction – when she is not looking at them.
3/4 Action point: Katlyn finds a branch to use as a crutch and starts dragging other branches out on a sandbar visible from the air. She attempts to write an "SOS" visible to air rescue searchers, but the branches she can drag are small because of her injured leg. A search helicopter flying over the river does not see the message. One of the aliens notices her efforts, and, intrigued by the writing, comes hesitantly nearer to observe. Katlyn succeeds in rough communication with the alien.
End: Katlyn trades her input to the aliens’ translator machine for help making a bigger "SOS". Katlyn directs the aliens as they pull larger branches into place to spell out the message. The aliens hide in the undergrowth when the helicopter sees the "SOS" and lands to rescue Katlyn.
Copyright © 1999 A. Robin Bausman
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