Child of the Sea: The Amazing Underwater World of Florabal

By F.C. Young

Vanys can’t hear any of the land creatures of Florabal. But, she does discover that she can hear the creatures under the sea. After a near-fatal encounter with a tidal wave, Vanys is saved by a huge manta ray-like creature. With his help, she is reunited with her family and helps in the fight against an ancient enemy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: TOPLINK PUBLISHING, LLC
• Release date: Aug 27, 2018
• ISBN: 9781949502763

F.C. Young

Young is a nurse anesthetist by trade and writer by desire. She was raised by a single mother who instilled the wonders of nature and the world in her. Her mother was also a gifted writer. This story was crafted by Young as a tribute to her mother.

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Child

Of The Sea

The Amazing Underwater World Of Florabal

F. C. Young

Copyright © 2018 by F. C. Young.

Paperback: 978-1-949502-75-6

eBook: 978-1-949502-76-3

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

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Printed in the United States of America

Contents

Chapter 1: Goodbye To Earth

Chapter 2: A New World

Chapter 3: Bees, Trees and Lightning

Chapter 4: Trees of the Water

Chapter 5: Rescue

Chapter 6: How do You Invite Trees?

Chapter 7: Something new

Chapter 8: Nobbies

Chapter 9: The Wave

Chapter 10: Sea Memories

Chapter 11: The Bad Things

Chapter 12: They Are All Gone

Chapter 13: The Water Is Boiling And The Remotes Are Fried

Chapter 14: The Others

Chapter 15: The Love Shuttle

Chapter 16: Protectors

Chapter 17: Coincidence

PROLOG

In the years 2105 through 2117, the United Countries of Earth and the Off-World Colonies, launched five thousand automated probes into the galaxy. They were tasked with finding star systems that contained habitable planets. If a probe discovered an Earth-like world, it would take detailed readings and then return to the point of origin, meaning Earth. The first probe returned in 2194. The probe that discovered Florabal returned in 2210.

Florabal orbits Cassie’s Star located in the front leg of the constellation Lynx. It is a G-type, yellow star similar to the sun of Earth.

There are fourteen bodies orbiting the star. Nine are rocky, three are gas giants and two are asteroid fields. The two of the three inner planets are no bigger than Earth’s moon and have no atmosphere. The third planet is about the size of Mars but is also a dead world. But the fourth planet, Florabal, has an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere, oceans and continents. The planet is one and half times the size of Earth and its gravity is slightly heavier. The day is twenty-nine hours long and the yearly cycle is four hundred and two days.

Three years after the probe returned, two ships were cast into the void of space toward Cassie’s Star. The giant ships, the Polaris and Vega, held fifty thousand colonists and enough supplies to last a very long time. The trip took the ships fifteen years and during that time, the colonists were suspended in a death-like state called stasis.

Upon arrival, two colonies, Alpha and Beta, were set up and the exploration of Florabal was begun by only a handful of awakened humans. It was soon discovered that the plants and animals of the planet were sentient and that various members of the colonies could communicate with them.

The first creature to communicate was an Avie. This creature looks a little like a bat, is about that size but has fingers and the disposition of a raccoon. It can be loving to a human but very mischievous when no one is looking.

They learned that the dominant species on the planet were the trees, which could walk around and change location during their first few years of life. The trees taught them a new way of speaking. For instance; the planet was known as Here, the sun was called the Bringer of life, Water was known as Life’s Food, a day was called the Bringer’s march and the night was the dark time, a year was called a cold dark time and the parents of a child were called seed makers. Once the people got used to that way of talking, communications got much easier with the trees. But, the trees were not pleased with the coming of the humans and told them that they were not welcome on Florabal and were on trial to see if they were worthy to stay.

The people were not on the planet a year before an ancient enemy of the trees reappeared and the colonists joined with the trees to fight it. Together they saved the planet and in gratitude, the elder trees gave permission for the humans to stay on Florabal.

CHILD OF THE SEA

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CHAPTER 1

Goodbye To Earth

Vanys settled the purple and red swim skin around her shoulders and pulled the hood over her head. She sighed. Why do you box jellies have to hurt so bad? I hate wearing this thing, she said to the water. With one easy stroke she brought the clear plate to her face and pressed the button which sealed it to the hood. She was now fully protected from anything in the water. And by anything, she meant the box jellies. They were very small in this region but if they touched you, your body would be racked by searing pain and if a tentacle grabbed on to you, it would leave a terrible mark. She took a deep breath. Yes. She could breathe easily. The face-plate was doing its job of allowing oxygen through its membrane but nothing else.

Vanys looked out to sea and saw two gray shapes repeatedly leaping from the water as they raced toward her. Jimmy and Susie were coming to play with her. They were wild dolphins who visited the lagoon every day. A tear slid down Vanys’ cheek. This would be the last time she would ever see them. In two hours, she would be on a transport bound for Jupiter Station. There she would board a gigantic ship where she would be put to sleep, but not only asleep, she would be put in stasis. It was like her body was frozen and she would not age. There she would remain for fifteen or more years while the ship made its way to the new world of Florabal.

But now was not the time to think of that. Her friends were here and it was time to play. She ran into the water and watched the fins appear at the ends of her feet. The same thing happened to her hands. She now had four flippers to help her swim. She grabbed the dorsal fin of Jimmie and let him tow her into deeper water. The three beings played and tumbled until the voice of Vanys’ mother rang in her ear. It’s time to go, dear, it said in the slightly tinny tone of the comlink.

Vanys rubbed her friends one last time and waded out of the water. The fins on her hands and feet vanished as she walked up the sandy beach. She reached up and touched the button that released the face-plate and breathed the sweet air of Earth. She had not been on the planet for very long, but she had grown fond of it. Air, she said under her breath. How wonderful it is to have it made by plants. She had lived all of her eleven years on Mars. There, people live under pressure domes or under the newly formed seas. All the air of that planet was made by machines and smelled, maybe, not bad, but smelled, ‘different’.

Her parents were part of the team that was overseeing the development of the oceans on Mars. They monitored the blue-green algae they had transplanted there. On Earth, many millions of years ago, these lifeforms had taken the carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and replaced it with oxygen. The science people were hoping that they would do the same thing on Mars. But there were many people to do those jobs and her parents wanted a place less populated. They wanted to have a world to live in where domes and pressure suits were not required. To that end, they applied to the Colony Project, where humans were being sent to newly found worlds across the galaxy. A year ago, after a ten-year wait, her parents had been chosen to go to Florabal. Vanys was very excited at first, because the family was relocated to Earth for six months of training in a real ocean. She had loved everything and wished she could stay on that tiny island in the tropical sea forever. Goodbye, she called to her friends as they jumped from the water, whistled loudly and headed back out to sea.

The shuttle will be here in fifteen minutes, dear, her mother warned. They are on a tight schedule and we must be ready to board as soon as they land.

Okay, Mama, Vanys said as she ran for the shower. She pealed the swim skin off after she had rinsed it in the warm water. She was dry under it and did not need to wet her skin.

Minutes later she inspected herself in a mirror. Her olive skin was much darker than it had been on Mars, but still shown with health as did her unruly black hair that ringed her heart shaped face and liquid, dark-brown eyes glistened with tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. She sniffed and swallowed. This won’t do, she told herself firmly. I will be happy. I will go to the new world and make it my home. She gave a final nod at her appearance and ran for the door as she heard rocket thrusters, signaling the arrival of the shuttle. On the way out, she grabbed her backpack which held her treasures, like the video library with images of the dolphins and her little, stuffed dolphin.

She shuffled along the path behind her parents as she watched her mother’s long black hair sway from side to side as she walked hand in hand with her father. They were both dark and fine-boned like her and echoed their southeast-Asian heritage. True, none of them had ever been to that region of the Earth, but they seemed to have found each other on Mars.

In minutes, the little shuttle was climbing into the inky blackness of space. Twenty minutes later, the family stepped aboard the larger ship that would take them out to Jupiter. They were assigned a tiny cabin and told to lie in their bunks when the warning was sounded. Vanys smiled, she was an old hand at this, since she had done it not six months before. Granted, the trip from Mars to Earth had only taken four days, not the two weeks this trip would take. But, the principles were still the same.

As soon as the ship reached maximum velocity, they would be allowed to move around. But during acceleration, they needed to be contained so that they wouldn’t fly around or be squished against a bulkhead.

She climbed into the small round space that was her sleeping tube. The floatation mattress was very comfortable and slightly warm. She closed her eyes and waited. Five minutes to boost, came a deep voice over the comlink. Vanys’ heart beat a little quicker.

Are you alright up there? her mother asked.

Yes, Mama, she replied. I’m a little scared, like the last time, she added.

I wish we could have you in here with us, dear, her mother answered, the notes of sadness clearly present in her voice.

It’s okay, Vanys said. As soon as it starts, I’ll be fine.

You are a very brave girl, her father praised her. When the all clear is given, come and join us for a few minutes.

Thank you, Papa, she said. If she and her parents were the size of Europeans, she would not be able to join them. She giggled. The space for the couple was very tight, but since her family was of a fine stature, all three could just squeeze into it.

One minute to boost. Vanys swallowed and licked her lips. There was no pain during acceleration, but the heaviness on her body was uncomfortable and the slight difficulty breathing was a bit unnerving.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one---boosting. A steady thrumming enveloped Vanys’ thin body as she felt herself being pressed into the mattress. Maximum thrust-- now. They were on their way to Jupiter.

By the time they were a week out from Earth, Vanys knew every part of the ship. It was bigger than the one that had taken the family to Earth, but no less crowded. She spent as little time as possible in her tiny cabin. Instead, she played in the gym or curled into one of the small viewing ports and gazed into the blackness of space.

Shortly after they got underway, Dyson, her father, brought up the video feeds of Florabal. The family spent a piece of each day visually exploring the new world. They were most interested in the oceans and a good place to set up the first colony for the sea people. The family agreed that one spot on the planet needed further exploration. It was in the southern hemisphere, not far below the equator. The broad expanse of the sea was broken by a large sprinkling of islands. They clustered together and would have made a land mass the size of the North America, if they had been joined. They were not joined however, with many waterways cutting through them. One particular area held Vanys’ attention more than any other. There was a large lagoon, miles and miles across, dotted with tiny islands and surrounded by much larger ones. The sea was shallow in the lagoon and glowed in light shades of aquamarine. On one of the larger islands that ringed the lagoon, was an area that would be perfect for a small settlement. The sand on the crescent-shaped beach shined bright white and the slope up to the low hills was green with grass and low shrubs. It would be a perfect place to live and work, at least in Vanys’ mind.

Well, dear, her mother asked one evening over a week into the trip. You have been studying these pictures very hard. Have you found a place that you would like to call home?

Yes, mama, she answered and brought up the images of ‘her’ beach.

You have very good taste, her mother said. We have also picked this spot and so have the other members of the ocean contingent.

Vanys squealed. Really? We might really live there?

From this perspective, fifteen light-years from planetfall, it would seem so, her father cautioned. Only after we reach Florabal will we know for certain.

Vanys nodded soberly. I understand, papa, she said and then brightened. But I will have that dream while I sleep. You will indeed, her mother, Nancy, answered.

For Vanys, another pleasant part of the trip to Jupiter was her budding friendship with two girls who would be part of the ocean colony. On the first day out from Earth, Vanys looked for a place to sit after she got her lunch. A dark girl with kinky black hair waved to her. We have room, come sit with us, she called. Vanys pushed through a knot of milling people, slid her tray onto the small round table and plopped onto the stool.

Thanks, she said as she beamed a shy smile at the dark girl and the red-head next to her. I’m Vanys.

I’m Katie, answered the twelve-year-old red-head. Are you one of the sea people?

Um huh, Vanys responded, her mouth full of juice.

And I’m Sophie, the darker girl said. I guess we will be seeing a lot of each other. She smiled broadly as she took a bite of pudding.

Do you swim with the animals? Vanys asked.

A little, Sophie answered. Mostly I walk along the shore and explore the tide pools.

I swim, Katie interrupted. I’ve even worn swim skin. We can go in together, she said brightly.

It will be fun, Vanys answered. I just hope there are creatures like the dolphins of Earth. I like playing with them and it would be so nice if we could have friends like that on Florabal.

You played with dolphins? Sophie asked in a voice filled with awe.

Didn’t you? Vanys was surprised. She thought all the sea people would have had that kind of experience.

No, Sophie answered sadly. My family specializes in the plants and animals of the inter-tidal region. We were stationed in a mangrove swamp and never saw the ocean, just lots of bugs. Sophie shuttered. We had to wear bug repellant and lots of clothes.

Oh, Vanys said. I’m so sorry. Are you from Mars?

No, she answered. "I’m from Venus. Like Mars, they are trying to get oceans started now that the planet is cool enough. We were there to help with the swamps and other plants that live half in