There was a breeze atop the hill where Nicole stood beneath the large tree. She had carefully removed the topsoil held together by vegetation to be replaced later; now she dug deeper into the ground.

  The bloody bundle rested gently in the grass. Still cold and stiff. Nicole had promised to take a look, to say a proper goodbye. Yet she hadn’t quite worked up the courage. She knew the rites; she knew them all. Yet none felt adequate.

  Her shovel hit a rock, the vibrations shocking into her joints. She sank the shovel into the dirt and rubbed her hand. She had already dug several feet down. The hole was small, but there was no coffin. Elsy would have a natural burial where she could return to the earth among the flowers just as she had desired.

  Nicole climbed out of the hole. She stopped, head swivelling towards the shape near the bottom of the hill. The tall gray humanoid shape.

  She straightened up. Nicole had been so caught up in her mind that she had not sensed company. Now that the company stood between her and the camp.

  The figure was tall, she estimated just over seven feet. Their skin was a thick gray, though their face had been painted white. At a glance, they looked near-humanoid, bipedal, with a similar musculoskeletal structure. Except for the strange protrusion, the segmented torso, which extended into a second, smaller pair of arms beyond the main set. As if they had a second ribcage layered above the first.

  They were very toned, lean, and nearly nude, draped in red beaded cloth. They wore simple shoes, and what little hair they had on their large, thick skull was tied back in a ponytail. They carried a bundle over one shoulder and a spear in their other-other-other hand.

  They did not move, nor did Nicole.

  Burying the dead was a commonly recognized trait of abstract thought and cognitive complexity. A large indicator of the line between sentient and sapient. Considering this being's interest in her activity, she was comfortable assuming it understood such implications as well.

  She raised her hand. “Hello,” she called out gently.

  The figure took a step back.

  Curious but not foolishly brave. Nicole could appreciate such hesitance. They left her be, returning towards the thick green jungle in the distance through the grassy meadow. They looked back several times, and Nicole watched them go.

  They knew where Elsy would be buried. Her pistol burned a hole in her holster. They could return and desecrate her body.

  She forced herself to relax as much as she could. That was a risk that would have to be taken. This hilltop was far from private. The Euphorion expedition would surely know as well. Tobias, of course, would visit the grave… at least to look the part of the grieving widower. Suddenly, she wished she had carried Elsy into the jungle and found some hole to tuck her in, never to be seen again by any of them. They didn’t deserve her.

  Nicole carefully picked up the bundle and climbed carefully down into the hole. Elsy wanted to be among the flowers. Despite Nicole’s complicated feelings, she would abide by the dead’s wishes. The hilltop had such a nice view of the ocean in the distance, Elsy would have adored it.

  She gently set her friend down. Tears were already beginning to run down her face as she unwrapped the bundle just enough to get one more glimpse of her face. She did not like what she saw. Pale and cold, damp from melting ice crystals, discoloured. This wasn’t Elsy.

  Elsy was gone.

  Nicole had failed to preserve even her likeness. Nothing seemed to work as she demanded anymore.

  She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, attempting to find some control over the simulated emotions running wild. She reached into her pocket and placed the chocolate protein bar in the dirt. She added Elsy’s comb sans the hair she had carefully collected, and finally, she added the spent fuel rod that the repair pod had extracted. It was the closest thing she could leave to her heart. Something immutably hers, so Elsy would not be alone.

  It was foolish and silly. Yet something inside her required it. Elsy deserved more; she deserved better.

  This was the best Nicole could do.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  “Goodbye, Elsy,” she said weakly. Her voice modulation was going embarrassingly haywire.

  With that, she climbed out of the hole, grabbed the shovel, and began to bury such a brief yet momentous part of her existence.

  Once the dirt was filled in, she added the tree roots she had cut and carefully replaced the topsoil segments. When she was done, the only thing that gave away the grave was the rectangular cuts that marked out the space covered with flowers.

  She grabbed the stick she had carved with the name ‘Elizabeth Barrick,’ and stabbed it into the ground as a marker. It would not stand the test of time, but it didn’t need to. Nicole would always know where her friend slept among the flowers under the crimson tree.

  She dragged her feet all the way back to the village.

  Over the following few days, she remained busy. She changed bandages and treated burns. Dolled out small doses of medication when it was truly necessary. She was not supposed to be the only doctor, but the few doctors on board had not survived the Euphorion.

  Tending to the woes of the biologicals was the last thing she wanted to be doing. Plenty would much rather have the human nurses tend to them. She was fine with that. She would not earn true respect by helping these people, but she would earn social capital. And considering Tobias’ temperament and the suspicion of shuttle three’s crew, she needed it.

  Nicole now had her own tent as a makeshift clinic. Nothing particularly fanciful, not even airtight. But she had space to work, a power cable from the bridge, and various medical equipment at her disposal. And of course, a flap covering a small corner to function as her own private space.

  Proper buildings were beginning to be constructed. Robots buzzing around along the construction platforms that had been laid out, placing the skeleton that would soon be airtight, solid foundations.

  The colonization of N7 has finally begun.

  It rained. So close to the sea, it was unavoidable. But the biologicals grew used to it, scrambling for shelter at the first sign of rain. The cabins held up surprisingly decently. Some of the biologicals even experimented with metal umbrellas, an unwieldy contraption to say the least. Rain jackets were deemed too risky as any raindrops that dripped inside would burn and be doubly difficult to escape, but they were a last resort. Far better than nothing.

  Food was still a major issue. As the final three shuttles arrived, the colonists finally had a plentiful meal. But the rations were a temporary solution.

  The cattle remained frozen; there were concerns about what exactly they were supposed to eat on the planet. Additionally, farming was quickly ruled out due to ambient acidity. Several greenhouse tents were set up so that seeds could hopefully germinate. There was little to be done about soil acidity beyond soaking it in fresh water for several days and finally dumping the water, drying the soil and adding fresh water. An imperfect process, but a potentially promising one at least until hydroponics were set up.

  That left hunting and foraging. N7’s acidity had been known, and several large boxes of neutralization tablets had been retrieved during the scavenging mission. Various scientists were in the process of testing combinations to see how best to neutralize the acidity of potentially edible foods. It would be a short-term solution; the neutralization tablets would run out. But now that they had better equipment, they had far more options to work with.

  Currently, there was a large pot of stew being boiled using the mollusks that was being closely monitored in one of the cabins. Nicole was glad she did not require food.

  Small animal traps had also been scavenged. A handful had been baited and armed in the hopes of catching various critters. Partially for study and partially for food.

  Things were progressing exponentially. Nicole hated it. Every day, a multitude of new things that Elsy would never see. Once her doctoring work was done, she buried herself in the remaining mystery she had brought back.

  The creature.

  While treating the biologicals, she had also done “checkups.” As far as she had been able to tell, there were no large tentacled parasites. Additionally, no reports of mysterious illnesses or anemia left Nicole a tad puzzled as she turned her attention to the one sample she did have.

  The blood slurry supply was starting to run low. More concerning was how droopy the creature was beginning to look. It was a slow degradation; Nicole had not even been sure of the gradual change until she had played back her memories.

  Now she was playing a familiar game she had lost before. At least the stakes were much lower…

  Her primary hypothesis was that it needed a correct blend of nutrients, and thus presumably a host body. It was simply too vulnerable on its own, as presumably it had to be a parasite. Of course, the issue that was then brought up was which creature could she introduce the critter to?

  Humans were the obvious choice. There was a precedent of the parasite… flourishing. And very basic testing had suggested the acidity of N7 would not be an issue. The test involved a small dropper and a preemptive apology to the creature as she squeezed out a drop onto one of its arms. It had not reacted.

  As far as Nicole had been able to tell, the acidic water had not damaged the creature. Further investigation found the slime it produced to be rather resilient. A whole other puzzle that would have to wait.

  The problem with introducing it to a human was an obvious one. Which human? She had an anesthetic. Perhaps she could keep someone unconscious long enough to see what would happen. But then what? Word would get out, and if they died, their absence would be investigated.

  No, she needed to start smaller. And she did not have long to figure it out.