Rachel was quiet, then nodded. “It’s an option to consider.”
Everyone turned to face the ocean. “My expertise was in water contamination. Finding imbalances and cleaning up messes made by humans. But if this is some kind of natural planetary cycle, like an ice age or changing temperature in the planet’s core, I’m not sure we can do anything to save the animals here.”
“At least the planet is not inhabited. That would a much larger problem,” Giram said.
I shrugged, not wanting to argue with a huge alien I barely knew. But to me, an extinction event on this planet—on any planet—was a large problem. “Can I go and collect some samples from the water?”
Rachel nodded. “Absolutely. I’ll run some data on ice formation and temperatures.”
“I want to go under and look around.”
“Under?” Giram asked, wide-eyed.
I nodded, tapped the glass of my helmet. “It’s just like scuba.”
The other scientists glanced at each other, clearly confused by the Earth abbreviation.
Rachel understood perfectly. “Great. I could do it but I’m a terrible swimmer and I don’t like to get in water I can’t see the bottom of.” Rachel went to retrieve some sample vials and handed them to me.
She looked my space suit over from head to toe and grinned through her own helmet’s visor. “Go ahead. Just don’t take your suit off. We haven’t done a full pathogen workup on this planet yet, and I don’t want your skin peeling off or something.”
Giram piped up. “As far as predators, there’s nothing dangerous for at least half a mile from shore. Not here. That’s why we chose this location for transport.”
“Got it.”
As the reddish water rolled up over the pink and white sand, it looked normal. Clear. Perfect. But the ocean that spread out before us was shades of red and orange. The depths that I could see in the distance looked a deep, dark purple. The water was unlike anything I had ever seen before, but it was stunning. Truly beautiful. The water was calm and smooth, the small waves barely cresting with tiny whitecaps as they moved onto shore.
Feeling lighter than I had in months, since the day I’d realized what an idiot I’d been helping my so-called friends destroy those whaling ships, I carried two of the sampling sticks in one hand and waded hip-deep into the water. It wasn’t the same as being in my wet suit dragging a longboard, but it felt glorious all the same. Just below the surface, giant white and yellow flowers floated like oversize lily pads the size of small cars. Tiny, sparkling fish darted under, over and around them, giving off tiny flashes of color that looked like twinkling diamonds had come to life. They swam around me, curious, swarming my legs so that I could no longer see my own feet as I stepped deeper into the calm water.
“You’re sure I can go under in this thing?”
Rachel didn’t even look up from what she was doing. “Yep. Full-on rebreather built into the suit and lights in the helmet. That suit is made to keep us alive in space, so the water is no big deal. We’ve got at least four more hours of air before we have to transport back.”
“Sweet. And nothing that will eat me for at least half a mile.”
“Well, unless Trax or Surnen shows up,” Rachel called. “But I doubt you’d mind that all that much.”
“You did not just say that out loud.” I glanced over my shoulder as I stood waist-deep in the water to find Rachel completely unrepentant, a huge smile on her face.
“Did. And you know I’m right.”
Refusing to answer, I appreciated the fact that the two Atlan warlords and four Prillon guards with us pretended not to hear our banter. They knew I was Surnen’s mate. Knew I’d just arrived. I was big news. They were monitoring the perimeter, checking the sky, looking for danger and ignoring the fact that Rachel had just teased me—within earshot—about having Surnen’s or Trax’s mouth on my—
“Mate. Are you well?” Surnen’s voice echoed in my comms again, and I wanted to curse Rachel for the visual I couldn’t get out of my head. “The readout on your suit shows abnormal external temperatures.”
“I’m still fine, mate.” Hungry for more hot sex, but other than that, completely normal. “I’m going to collect samples in the water.”
“Is that safe?” he asked.
Giram spoke up, offering Surnen data he’d collected about the water. I was thankful he was trying to reassure him that I was fine.
“Very well,” he replied, clearly appeased by the scientific data. “I am here if you need me.”
Rachel cleared her throat. “Oh, she needs something, all right, but you can give it to her later, Doc. Along with that spanking you promised.”
I could feel myself blush as I continued to walk deeper into the water. I turned around, faced the shore. “Good God. Could you at least pretend not to be listening, like the others?”
Rachel looked over her shoulder at the guards trying very hard to look anywhere but at the two of us. “Nope. I call it like I see it. And believe me, Maxim and Ryston don’t like it when I go off world either.” Her laughter chased me deeper into the water, and I turned back around and dived under, coming face-to-face with a large, shimmering eel-like creature with golden eyes and pink scales. The creature froze, terrified, before flashing away in a move I didn’t even have a dream of following. Was I the first human they’d ever seen?