The Lesson of the Sand

Sept. 20 - Splintered Rock

Today was a day I had set aside for spice harvesting and a survey of the deep desert. After collecting extra water for the long trek I planned, I headed out away from the landing pad and towards some distant rocks and caves.

As I padded across the dunes, occasionally I saw the sand heave like the swell of a wave in the ocean. At first I thought it a trick of the heated air. Then, off in the distance, I swear I saw something large and dark break the surface of the desert then just as quickly disappear beneath the sands. The air filled with the heavy cinnamon smell of spice.

In the deep desert, the sand is endless and the sun relentless. Besides the natural dehydration that occurs, simply walking through the desert drains the vitality from you. I must have pushed myself too far, too fast. I started to feel light-headed and so headed back.

I regained consciousness in the shade of the vaporator close to the Hagga Settlement. I must have passed out. Somehow I crawled back here. It probably saved my life.

If I died out here, they would never find the bones.

I drained one of my canteens and climbed the worn stone steps up to the Hagga Settlement itself. In the box set aside for that purpose, I left Joan al Jofar, the keeper of the sands, three bags of raw spice as payment for rent on my house and in fulfillment of my water debt to her.

I love this floor. In another life, I would live here. I would harvest the spice and drink my coffee, relaxing on pillows as the heat of the basin rises. Within these walls, I would teach my daughter how to weave and I would grow old beside that window...

-----

Returned to the sand basin I watched as a superb looking craft landed nearby on the sand. The pilot looked like a distant cousin of LilyBell the deputy sheriff from Hale’s Moon.

She greeted me cheerfully, “You not got sue pr powers, so whay you crose welsend at legs he?”

'Not got super powers' is right. I almost died out here and it wasn’t even lunch.

“Hey you liek go som wher? I ge frendin out at caves. We cen fly som wher if you liek.”

I agreed. I needed the rest before I attempted another trip into the desert.

“Com,” she said with a smile.

The interior of the craft was cool and inviting. I settled into a comfortable chair mid-deck feeling humbled by the sand.

“Hey wher you liek to fly?” called my pilot, whose name turned out to be Maya.

“You are the pilot.”

“To town? Caves?” asked Maya.

“Yes, that sounds nice.”

“You be at caves. I see you.”

To the town it was to be then.

Once arriving back at the landing pad, I bid my pilot farewell. I then resupplied and returned to the desert to harvest spice closer to civilization.

There I came across a man in a dark uniform holding a scanner of some kind in his right hand. He wore a headset and a dark beret. I greeted him.

“Maraanash,” he replied. “Welcome to the desert...”

“Thank you. I am Major Siamendes, SIU, Alliance Military, Zenobia.”

He grinned and asked playfully, "Hot enough for you? It's not the heat. It's the utter lack of humidity..."

“Yes it is hot...” I acknowledged.

“Baroun Tardis, Scout Service... they conned me into "Station Chief" here.”

“A pleasure to meet you.”

“A pleasure here as well, Ma'am.”

“.. and you are in charge of the port then?” I asked

“No, not really... the starport was here before I arrived. The Scout Service contracted with the locals to let us put a way-station here.”

“Excellent,” I replied. He handed me a scanner much like his own. “What might this be?”

“A survey tool for looking for minerals or chemicals.”

“Does it work locating spice?” Hope springs eternal.

Baroun Tardis shook his head, “Sadly, no.”

“Sadly indeed,” I remarked. Using the paracompass was difficult at best.

“There's some copper yonder,” pointed my companion. “I was going to grab some.”

“Splendid. Lead on.”

We trekked across the sand and up a small rise in the rock. The scanner buzzed and hummed in his hand and in a short while he was collecting his mineral.

I took the opportunity to ask about my hallucination. “Oh ... can you tell me about the creature I saw....”

“Huge, moves along the ground, leaves a cloud of sand?”

“Yes.”

“Sandworm.”

“Worm?” I was stunned. “A bit large I'd say....”

“Yeah, they grow big here.”

“It seemed drawn towards me when I walked.” I thought at the time it was an illusion of the heat.

“They detect the vibration of your feet on the sand, or so I'm told.”

“Indeed...” Well, this would prove trouble for our mechs crossing the desert, I thought.

“It was a pleasure to meet you Baroun,” I said with a smile.

Baroun Tardis nodded, "Honor was all mine"

-----

We parted ways and being a few bags of spice heavier, I again ventured into the deep desert.

Learning my lesson, this time I stopped often to rest and to conserve my energy.

Exploring the deep desert I came across a number of caves that showed signs of residency. Most were simple affairs, but deep inside one cavern was a sophisticated elevating platform that access to different levels of the cavern including a well defended watchtower made of the surrounding rock.

Clearly this was not a primitive people. It suggested a degree of organization and technological advancement that must be factored into any plans before offers of support are made to the current government.

The next step will have to be a close look at the political factions here. Weigh the strengths. Explore the fault lines. Watch.

I completed the day with more harvesting, slowly and respectfully moving across the sand.

The day drew to a close and I returned to the landing pad. My pack was filled with small bags of raw spice. With my military designation, I should have no difficulty passing customs unmolested.

As I crossed the landing pad, I saw the figure of Sentry Swashbuckler speaking with a water seller from Shadow. Sentry was the man that Colonel M_______ instructed me to interrogate concerning the increased trade between Hale’s Moon and MacLaren’s Drift.

However, I was out of uniform, over heated, and seriously thirsty. All that along with my head abuzz with raw spice, I was in no condition to apprehend myself let alone anyone else. Sentry would just have to wait until I was ready for him.