Transmission Lost by Stefan Mazzara Page A

“That's suicide without ropes. All we can do is keep going up.” He left unsaid the uncomfortable thought that they would still have to go down the other side of the mountain. Jack would rather not think about that right now. He crawled back over to Aria. “Come on. Let's eat something, rest for an hour or so, and then we'll get back to it.”
    “Alright,” Aria agreed, giving a sigh.
    “Besides, whenever you get back home and make a report about all this, do you really want to have to tell your superiors that you couldn't do the same thing as a weak, puny human?”
    At least this time Aria managed a weak smile, and even a small laugh. “Is true, I not want to have to say that,” she said. “Though this human not that weak or puny.”
    “Wow, that might be the nicest thing you've said to me.”
     
    ******
     
    When they were both ready, they continued the climb. Jack could still feel a little soreness, but the rest they'd taken had allowed him to recover significantly. The vines were also starting to grow more numerous, giving them additional handholds. Both of them were astounded at how strong the vines were; they were able to support even Aria's weight with no problems. Experimentally, Jack borrowed Aria's knife and tried to cut through one of them. He got barely a quarter of the way through the vine before he had to give up, lest the knife grow too dull to be of any use. That was a shame. Jack had been thinking of trying to cut a few lengths to take along with them for use as ropes.
    After almost an hour of climbing, Aria felt as though she couldn't take anymore. “Is...Is almost the top, yes?”
    Trying to keep his handholds, Jack blinked sweat out of his eyes. “I'm not sure...I think I see something that looks like a ledge, but...” He paused, listening, his ears straining. “I think I hear running water.”
    “Water? Good...” Aria's hand slipped, and she swiped her claws out, hurriedly clutching at a vine to steady herself. “Will need a bath...after all this...”
    “Come on...If we're near the top, we can't stop for too long...My arms won't last.”
    It took nearly twenty minutes more of hard climbing, but they finally came to the top. As Jack and Aria pulled themselves up and stood on flat ground, they found themselves surprised once more at what the uncharted planet had in store for them. Instead of just a simple rock ledge, they were standing on what appeared to be a wide, expansive mesa. In front of them, stretching as far as they could see, was a thick jungle of tall green shrubs, high purple ferns, and short feathery grasses of numerous colors. To their left, the mountain continued climbing up, forming a wall border for the jungle. To their right, perhaps five kilometers away, a second peak rose up, creating a valley in between the two.
    “So many plants, so high up...,” Aria murmured, her breathing still heavy from the climb. “This planet...is strange...”
    “Yeah...,” Jack agreed. “Full of surprises.”
    Aria's ears perked up, her tail swishing back and forth eagerly. She could hear the sound of running water that Jack had heard earlier. “Come. I want to find the water.” She shook her canteen, which was nearly empty. “Thirsty after climb.”
    Jack agreed wholeheartedly with this. Too, he was extremely tired and felt like they'd want to set up camp soon. There was still plenty of daylight left, but this day had been their most trying one yet, physically speaking. With Aria leading the way now, Jack followed. As they walked, the sound of water grew louder and louder. Before too long, the shrubs and ferns gave way to a clearing, and Aria gave a loud “Ooooh!” of delight.
    Cascading down the rock wall very near to their left was a wide, rushing waterfall, feeding down into a large, shallow pool. The water was relatively clear, although there were white swirls throughout that Jack assumed were clouds of minerals carried down from the mountaintop. Sunlight illuminated the