The rays of Gavilon’s orange sun had just began to filter through the gaps in the foliage on the shores of the Nidak river when a small ship came crashing through the upper limbs of the tallest trees and stopped in a partially controlled landing. The ship came to rest halfway on the ground and halfway on a stump, leaving it at a tilt. Two men climbed out of a hatch and began to hurriedly grab the nearest limbs and covered the ship with them in order to conceal it. After thirty seconds of this frantic effort, they dove under the nearest bush and hid themselves as the sounds of their pursuers became closer. They remained as still as possible as the high pitched whine of the alien craft hovered over their position for what seemed like hours, moving away in different directions but always returning to this area. Then, as suddenly as it appeared, the alien ship shot off to the east; and the two men could hear the sound echo off the canyons far away.
“I think they gave up” said Terand, as Jarvick climbed out from underneath his bush and began to look around.
“I thought they would never leave” replied Jarvick.
Terand stood up and said “Let’s find this tree and get out of here, I don’t want to have to fight my way out. This place is crawling with aliens.”
Jarvick laughed and said “Well, they ARE four legged creatures” as he pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. Unfolding it, the two men looked at the picture Matea had printed for them; it was a picture of a Pyka tree.
Matea had researched this particular tree for Jarvick and the two of them had read up on it before they embarked on this dangerous mission. A mature Pyka tree averaged thirty feet in height and grew on the shore of the Nidak River. It had large leaves at the top of the main trunk that measured four feet in length and one foot wide. The seeds, approximately eight inches in length, grew in clumps of twelve directly underneath the leaves near the main trunk. When the seeds were ripe, they turned from green to a bright red, which is the correct time to pick them. If the seeds were brown, they were too ripe and unusable; right before they fell to the ground.
They had landed on the southern side of the river, about a hundred yards from the shore, so they started walking toward it and looked around. Neither of the men could see any tall trees with big leaves, so they walked west. The going was somewhat difficult because the forest grew right up to the edge of the river and the men had to push it out of their way. After thirty minutes of clawing their way through the growth, Jarvick looked up and saw what they were looking for. Right there in front of them were two tall trees on the river’s edge; and each one had bunches of red seeds hanging at the top, waiting to be picked.
Across the river on the north shore.
At this point, the river was only fifty feet across but the current was fairly swift and would be difficult, but possible, to cross. Jarvick said “I don’t see any other trees nearby, so we might as well get these. We will just have to use our shirts to carry the seeds in as we swim back.”
“I don’t know how to swim” said Terand.
Jarvick sighed, and said “I had to learn in the academy. Give me your knife and watch for aliens, I’ll go get them.”
Terand handed him his knife, then Jarvick stepped into the current and swam across. He landed a little downstream from the trees because of the current, then climbed out and walked back upstream. The Pyka tree had few limbs to climb, so Jarvick had to shimmy up the long trunk, which took a minute or two. When he reached the seeds, he retrieved the knife and cut the seed bunches loose and they fell to the ground. He then slid down the trunk, climbed the other tree and repeated the process. At the bottom of the trees, Jarvick removed his shirt and tied the seeds into it, forming a pouch. Swimming back while holding the seeds proved to be more difficult than the first time; the current forced him downstream farther than he had anticipated. Terand followed him and helped him out of the water, and they began their trek back to the ship.
Terand cleared away the limbs that they had piled on the ship while Jarvick climbed inside and stowed away the seeds. Terand climbed in and closed the hatch, and Jarvick said “Let’s get out of here. Take it up above the trees and look for aliens. If it’s clear, hit maximum speed.”
“What if there are aliens?” asked Terand.
“Hit maximum speed” replied Jarvick.
The ship rose up slowly and cleared the top of the forest, as Terand watched the screen, which was clear.
The leaves on the highest tree below them swayed in the breeze as the ship ascended and became a small spec shooting through the clouds.