The empath trait plays a helpful role ingame with dialogue choices, too. I often choose them when presented.
Andromed not missing a beat was a game changer for Andreja, as we will soon see!
*******************
Eighteen – Sunset Over Eridani II
The Verity of Fate
“You are not a ‘weirdo’, Annie,” said Andreja. “Actually, there are times when you say strange things, but that is only because I am unfamiliar with most forms of slang, or the colloquialisms of the people living in the Settled Systems. That however does not mean you should demean yourself so.”
“Hey, I’m just telling it like it is. How many others do you are walking around with inhuman DNA and blasting energy out of their fingertips?”
Her attitude towards what happened had seemingly changed overnight and it began to worry Andreja. This apparent nonchalance came out of left field and it was a huge departure from the angst ridden version of Andromeda that she lived with for the better part of two weeks. Andreja wasn’t sure she cared for it.
“I feel as though you should be taking this more seriously,” she said.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Annie -”
“Let it go, Andreja. I need to deal with this my own way or I’m going to break down again.” She took a bite from her burger and then set it down with a sigh.
“I have ruined the mood, have I not? And we were having such a nice time talking. I am sorry, Andromeda.”
“No, it’s fine,” Andromeda muttered. “I know you’re just trying to help, and that means more to me than you probably realize.” Her thoughts strayed to the buggy scanner, and her warm bed. “I’m gonna go tuck in for the night. Turns out traversing an icy moon saps your energy pretty quickly. Let’s stay parked here for a while and we can get underway tomorrow, yeah?”
“Very well,” said Andreja. “I will be in the workshop if you need me. My weapon needs cleaned.”
Andromeda nodded and had a foot out of the door before she doubled back and grabbed the broached wine bottle still sitting on the table. She disregarded her friends rueful head shake but swore she saw a smile touching Andreja’s lips while she too left the table. The Verity wasn’t that big, which meant trying to hunch over a small table in her small quarters made for an awkward time attempting to repair a customized handscanner. The noise of Andreja servicing and testing her strange rifle across the ship didn’t help matters either.
She’d been at it for nearly an hour, scratching her head more than once while trying to trace out the problem with limited tools. Finally, she touched the lead of her multi-meter to a wire terminal nestled under the main circuit board and was rewarded with an intermittent beeping sound. There was a short in that wire. Andromeda flipped the meter dial to measure resistance, and the ohms displayed were indeed lower than the adjacent terminal. She danced a little jig in her chair, plucked out the culprit, and soldered a new connection in place. Moments later the scanner lay on her table, reassembled and ready for testing.
A flick of her finger over the power button and the device booted instantly with a bright and crisp readout on the screen. No more glitchy UI, and no more static crackling out of the speakers.
“Hah!” exclaimed Andromeda. “Mine now, you bastard.”
She set it down and rubbed at her eyes as the exhaustion kicked up a notch. Her bed called, but she had one last thing to do. Grabbing the etching pen out of her toolbox, she drew a picture of her own next to the odd creature Andreja had scratched in: the Plushie Starpal she slept with as a kid, and had left in the safe of her sleep crate. Its happy little smile set between four eyes on a diamond-shaped body with six tentacles wiggling out of its sides looked adorable next to whatever the horned beast Andreja had drawn was.
“Perfect.”
* * *
Tropical Forest, Eridani II, Eridani System
The planetary scan information populated the terminal screen and Andromeda scrolled through it with grin that grew more pronounced the more she read. No suits were needed on this world: a perfectly breathable atmosphere, pleasant weather, safe water, and a staggering diversity of life. She looked out the window of the cockpit at the tropical trees swaying in the breeze. They had landed near the coast of a vast ocean, right on the terminus between forest and sandy beach.
“Pinch me, Dre. It’s too good to be true. Has to be.”
“Dre? Since when is that a thing?”
“Dunno, just feels right. Especially since you refuse to call me ‘Dro’, like everyone else does.”
“I am not sure about that nickname, Annie. Although I do understand your reasoning. Let me think on it?”
Andromeda shrugged. “Still probably gonna call you that anyway.” She gestured towards the planet beyond. “Shall we?”
“Of course. Allow me to check the power levels on my scanner first. It will need to be fully charged, as I will be the only one scanning.”
At this teasing jab, Andromeda remembered her own repaired scanner and went to grab it from the table next to her bunk. She also decided to remove her sweater and undersuit in favor of a tank top and pants to help acclimate to the sub-tropical weathers of the biome they needed to scan first. Dressed and ready to go, she sat back down in the cockpit and powered up her own device with a sly glance at Andreja.
“Where did you get a functioning scanner?” asked Andreja.
Andromeda held it up so her companion could see the back of it. “It’s yours, Dre. I fixed it and put my own mark on it. I know you asked me to throw it away, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. This was a part of your past – a past which you just shared something important about – and now it’s a part of me. Like my own personal slice of Andreja, ya know?”
Andreja rolled her eyes with a grin. “You still continue to surprise me, Annie. It is hard for me to express how that makes me feel. I suppose I would say it is very… hmm...”
“Romantic?” Andromeda offered hopefully.
“How did that phrase you used when we first met go?” she smiled coyly. “Mum is the word?”
“Oh, shut up,” laughed Andromeda. She punched Andreja’s shoulder playfully and then stood back up. “C’mon, we’ve got a planet to explore. Beautiful one at that.”
Geared up and ready to go, they descended the landing bay ramp and breathed in the salty air of the sea. Then the wind briefly changed direction and bathed them in a heady floral fragrance from the wide range of plant life tucked in among the palms of the forest at their backs. The system’s namesake star burned brightly overhead indicating it to be nearly noon already.
“Let us head into the trees and being scanning,” said Andreja. “We can sight see later.”
“Can’t we go lay on the beach first?”
“We can do that later, Annie. I promise.”
“Ugh. Fine. Let’s go scan some [censored].” Andromeda pointed her scanner at the wood line and whistled. “Damn, that is a lot of diversity. Should we divide and conquer? I’ll take the fauna, you take the flora?”
“That is fine with me,” said Andreja. “Any particular reason you chose the critters?”
“Mhm. Apparently my empath skills let me connect with them. Back when I was in New Atlantis, I took a walk outside the city and one of the wild animals came right up to me and sat down like we were best friends. Whatever is roaming this planet probably won’t be hostile to me.”
“Fascinating!” exclaimed Andreja. “I admit, I am envious of you for that ability. I have always had an affinity for the innocent wildlife. They often times are so… cute.”
“Knew you were a big softy. Seriously though, let’s get a move on. My ass wants to be parked on that beach by sundown.”
They fanned out and made their way beneath the canopy of trees, cataloging as much data as possible with their portable scanning devices. Every flower, every shrub, every spore Andreja found was documented in detail for Constellation’s ever expanding database while Andromeda did just the same with Eridani II’s vast array of fauna.
Spiny grubs with rock hard chitin shells scurried underfoot like oversized trilobites. Gravity defying creatures akin to jellyfish floated up and down in the air despite not having any obvious method of flight. And large predatory leafstrider’s darted through the undergrowth, the strange plates adorning their skulls resembling the broad leaves of a deciduous tree. There seemed to be no shortage of plant or animal life, and the two of them walked many kilometers while they scanned, lost in the beauty of the tropical forest. And lost in sparkling conversation.
The sun began to set when Andromeda groaned in overly-dramatic dismay.
“Goddamn it! We’ll never make it back in time!”
“I assumed this would happen,” said Andreja. “This is not my first planetary survey. I have a tent and enough rations for the night in my backpack.”
“… How big is the tent?”
A pregnant pause; and then: “Big enough.”
“You’re being cagey, Dre.”
“Fine,” she sighed. “It is a tent for one. We will be very snug if we are to sleep comfortably.”
Andromeda looked away and pointed her scanner at a huge beetle to keep Andreja from witnessing the satisfied grin plastered over her face. The level of intimacy they would share overnight had her heartbeat all aflutter. She couldn’t have dreamed up a more ideal scenario, and she wondered if Andreja had planned it all along. No reason she couldn’t have told Andromeda to pack her own tent.
“I can just make out a large stone arch through the trees, about a half a kilometer northeast,” said Andreja. “We can make camp there, and if it is sturdy enough, we can scale the arch to enjoy the view. I owe you a sunset, and I intend to deliver it.”
That statement made Andromeda do a double-take, and she instinctively honed in on Andreja with her empathic powers. Her smile grew even wider at what she found: Andreja had butterflies of her own dancing about her stomach, though she was much more practiced at disguising her emotions than Andromeda could ever hope to be. It seemed like a very special night was on the horizon.
I [censored] knew she liked me.
“Come on, Annie,” said Andreja, breaking her train of thought. “We must hurry so that we have time to set everything up.”
“Right behind you!”
Andreja led the way forward occasionally drawing a razor sharp tanto from her belt to clear the odd tree branch or prickly vine tendril from their path. The sun continued to drop at worrying pace while the two of them plodded slowly along, stepping over fallen branches, stones, and the occasional giant bug. True to her word, the fauna typically left them alone after staring in their direction and sensing a kindred soul in Andromeda. Roughly half a kilometer later, just as Andreja predicted, they ceased marching beneath a worn stone arch that rose slightly above the treeline at its peak. One side of the natural formation looked wide enough for them to scale, and the apex had plenty of room for them to sit side-by-side on.
“Here we are,” said Andreja. “Please clear away the dead leaves and twigs so that we may build a fire, Annie. I will find a suitable spot for the tent.”
“Light a fire? Can’t we just use a heat lamp?”
“Camping ought to be done the same way our ancestors taught us. Once we are set up, I will hunt for our supper.”
“Um. What?” Andromeda stared hard at her. “Absolutely [censored] not, Dre. We have plenty of rations – there is no reason for you to harm one of these beasts. Set the tent up and I’ll warm us up something to eat after I build the fire. End of discussion.”
There was a curious expression on Andreja’s face at being shut down in such a bold manner that suggested it wasn’t an experience she often dealt with. If ever. Andromeda started to feel she may have been too contentious on the matter until she saw a flash of approval in Andreja’s eyes. And the subtle bite of her bottom lip.
“Very well, Ms. Renault. I will have the tent erected in short order.”
“Good,” winked Andromeda. “Glad we got that sorted.”
Andreja began unpacking the aforementioned tent while Andromeda stooped over and started picking up the forest loam strewn about the slightly sandy soil. There was a lot of it, and a few minutes into constructing quite the pile of debris at the edge of their campsite, she realized it would take her some time before enough had been cleared away to safely light a fire. Her nostrils flared in annoyance, and then she had a minor revelation. Shuffling around until her back faced Andreja, she raised her hand, focused on a less powerful expulsion of force, and blasted the ground free of the remaining unwanted fuel sources.
“Hah. That worked a treat.”
“Nobody likes a show off,” said Andreja.
“Work smart, not hard.”
Less than ten minutes later a fire crackled merrily amid a ring of stones, and a small tent that confused Andromeda stood just off to the side.
“Yeah, I don’t see how we both are fitting in that thing” she observed. “Unless it’s a magic tent that’s bigger on the inside.”
“It will be snug, but something tells me you will not mind.”
“Guilty as charged,” blushed Andromeda. “Are you hungry? We can, I dunno, skewer this synthameat on a twig or something.”
“We can eat later. The sun will soon be setting and we still have to climb atop the arch.”
She took the lead again and began to deftly scale the wind-blasted stone with a grace born of an expert climber. Andreja stopped only one or two times to seek out the next place to grab with her hands, or to find purchase with her foot. Andromeda watched open-mouthed from the ground knowing full well that if she even remotely attempted such a feat she would fall flat on her back. She thought of her boost pack hanging next to their spacesuits on the Verity and wished she’d have worn it anyway. And before she knew it; Andreja had reached the top and waved her on.
“No [censored] way can I do that, Dre! Where’d you learn to climb like that!?”
“We always had something to climb when I was a child,” shrugged Andreja. “Give me a moment,” she added. Unhooking a length of sturdy rope from her belt, she tied a loop around a large outcropping of the archway and let the rest fall to the ground. “Can you manage that?”
Andromeda grabbed the swinging rope and held it in her hand.
“Um. Hell if I know. Guess I have to try.”
And try she did: more successfully than she expected, too. It took Andromeda less than three minutes to shimmy up the rope, hand over hand, until she met Andreja’s who helped pull her up with a grunt.
“You are heavier than you look,” she panted.
“Gee, thanks,” said Andromeda. “Just what every girl wants to hear.”
“Er, sorry. I did not mean to imply that -”
“I’m just teasing you, Andreja.” She took a moment to gaze around in wonder. They stood just above the treeline with an unimpeded view in every direction. Even the massive engines of their ship were slightly discernible in the far distance. Taking a seat with her feet dangling over the edge, Andromeda patted the spot next to her. “Sit with me. Looks like the sun is about to set.”
Andreja gladly obliged, and joined her friend in basking under the vivid orange glow blazing through the clear blue skies of Eridani II. Lower and lower the sun descended towards the western horizon casting a brilliant and indescribable beauty over the swaying treetops of the tropical forest. They sat in relative silence, enjoying the view in each other’s company while nightfall encroached from behind. In the onset of gloom, Andromeda’s hand once again found Andreja’s, though for a wholly different reason.
“I am glad you are here with me, Annie.” Andreja’s head tiled to the side and her eyes twinkled.
Andromeda did not pass up the invitation. “There is nowhere else in the universe I’d rather be.”
She leaned in close with her heartbeat thumping so loudly in her chest she thought for sure Andreja would hear it through her shirt. Their lips met, and reality melted away for the time being.
I can't stand the "will they/won't they" trope in books and media.