The Shell and the Star - Part 6

I'm continuing with more of The Shell and the Star, a never before published "aquatic sci-fi romance" that's being offered in serialized format on this blog.

If you're just now tuning in to the story, you can catch up on the past five parts already posted at this link:

The Shell and the Star

Part 6 begins after Jinn agrees to let Trey give her a tour of his father's estate in the oceans of Veros. 

She really hadn't planned to stay this long, but...

CHAPTER THREE

The Imperator’s estate was large and sprawling, his elegant manor surrounded by an expanse of manicured seafloor. Situated against the western shore of the bay, the sea bottom ended at the sharp rise of a rock wall that jutted from the sandy bottom. Jinn surveyed it all with widened eyes, trying to absorb the completely alien world in silent awe.

Fourth City itself spilled east and north across the wide, shallow bay, a full day’s swim across according to Trey. He told her the city was protected from the main ocean by a plasma eco-barrier at the narrow strait that served as entrance to the protected body of water. The eco-barrier had been a gift from Talstar long, long ago.

“It shields us from the sea predators,” Trey explained. “There are deep-dwelling creatures that hunt in the depths. When food is scarce, they sometimes come to the shallows.”

Jinn peered out into the watery expanse, imagining some aquatic monster taking shape out of the misty blue. “But we are safe here?”

Trey nodded, his dark hair drifting with the move of his head. “There’s been no breech of the barrier for many longtides.”

As she paused to admire a stand of long-dead, peach-tinted corral, Trey turned to face her. “Come with me. This way.”

“Where are we going?”

“I want to show you a very special place.”

He led the way through a narrow inlet in the sheer rock walls, just wide enough for her sphere to negotiate, to a pool beyond. The sheltered lagoon was probably a hundred foot-spans across and twenty deep. Inside, a variety of aquatic plants grew—a wonderland of huge sea fans, colorful sponges and towering kelp forests. Large numbers of fish schooled here, too. And an odd little five-legged scavenger he called a starfish.

“A creature shaped like my star,” Jinn exclaimed, showing her palm with its blue tattoo.

Trey smiled at her. “So it is.”

In spite of her reservations, she was growing to like him more already. “This place is so beautiful, like something out of my dreams.”

“It’s my favorite spot,” he said quietly. “My father named it Trey’s Garden, because I spend so much time here.”

“Why is that?”

“When I was young, I first came here to hide from Tardem. My brother was not kind to me when I was a child. Over time, he became more accepting of our differences, but I continue to spend much of my time here.”

“Doing what?”

Trey looked thoughtful, and seemed to choose his next words carefully. “Studying, mostly. And experimenting. This pool provides a unique environment. Come. Let me show you what I mean.”

She followed when he swam closer to the rocky sides of the pool. Trey pointed to a spot on the surface above, where the water roiled and bubbled furiously.

Alarmed, Jinn backed her bubble away. “What causing that?”

“It’s a waterfall,” he answered.

Jinn stared at the chaos above, still feeling a little frightened. The thrashing water looked violent and dangerous. “And what is a waterfall?”

“Rain water collects on the land and becomes a stream. The stream follows the downward slope—always seeking the lowest point—until it eventually reaches the sea. This is where one stream falls over the rocky cliff above.”

“So the water…runs? Like in the hydroponics farms on Talstar?”

“Yes, but this water isn’t pumped. It flows naturally.”

“From my home, we can see lines on the planet surface. My father said they are called rivers, but to us it’s mystifying. It seems the water behaves very strangely on land.”

“It’s actually how things work in the natural world. Water always runs to the sea. Like it does here.” Trey swept a fin toward a terrace of rocks that was close to the surface near the chaos he called a waterfall. “Because of the constant mixing of ocean and river, the water here is brackish.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means the water is a mixture of salty and fresh. It allows me to grow certain types of rare edible plants, like eelgrass and saltgrass.”

Astonished, Jinn looked over the raised beds. “You’re growing food here?”

“Just experimenting really, on a very small scale. I don’t produce enough here to call it farming, but the eelgrass produces buttons that are edible and the saltgrass can be ground into a paste used as a food base. I occasionally bring my little harvests home to add to our meals.”

“You…you mean you can eat these plants that grow in the wild? Without hydroponics? Not in a sterile environment? And this doesn’t make you sick?”

“Not at all. The plants are thoroughly washed before we prepare them, of course.”

“That’s…” Jinn stared at the watery landscape he called a garden. “That’s amazing.”

“It is my hope that someday, many longtides from now, we will be able to produce enough to share the bounty with Talstar.” Trey gave the roiling water he called a waterfall a sideways glance. “But I don’t spend all my time working. This place can also be a fun, too. Watch this.”

Trey turned and swam straight into the churning waters. Jinn gasped, fearing he’d be hurt in the turbulence. But after he disappeared into the frothy cloud, he tumbled back out in a series of slow somersaults before regaining control in the calmer currents.

Jinn stared at him in open-mouthed astonishment. “That does look fun.”

“Do you want to try it?”

Jinn harrumphed and rolled her eyes, reaching out to tap the inner surface of her envirosphere. “I think not. If my bubble were to hit the rocks…”

“I understand why you need to be cautious. All of this is outside your experience. Outside your comfort zone.” Trey swam back and hovered near her sphere, moving his footfins back and forth in a slow tempo that kept him vertical in the water. When she finally made eye contact, his smile eased away. “Jinn, if you—” Trey stopped, his gaze narrowing on a point beyond her bubble.

Jinn looked back over her shoulder to see a large form had trespassed into Trey’s Garden and was swimming toward them at a fast clip. She grabbed for her controls in alarm, until the shape took the form of someone she recognized—Trey’s brash older sibling, Tardem.

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Thanks for following the story. I'll be back next week with Part 7 of The Shell and the Star.

Have a great week!