Across The Great Desert

Although he was only thirty, Ktor had already secured a job as a messenger for the Cherozan Corporation, the largest mining conglomerate remaining on the planet Gallora. As one of their messengers he transported small parcels and packages between their various offices — usually things that they were unable to transmit via the planetary network due to security. Mostly, this meant going to and from sites around the planetary headquarters on Ta’Lakor, the capital of the northern polar region. Occasionally though, he would have to traverse the Great Desert to reach their field office in Ta’Moran, the southern capital.  

He knew that the crash hadn’t been completely his fault — the contract had been issued at the last minute. Ktor had been scheduled to have at least twenty four hours off and had been hitting up some of the VR bars with his friends the previous night. Ktor had already had more than a few drinks when his wristband had started to glow, indicating a new contract. 

After making his apologies and promises to make it up to his friends, he took an auto drive back to his sleep cell. His messenger gear was piled in a corner of his closet — recklessly dumped there in haste after his last run. After quickly putting on his skinsuit Ktor stuffed the rest of his gear into his flight bag and ran out the door to his company owned fly-skid.

The Cherozan Corporation headquarters was a gleaming obelisk of metal and glass. The architect had added touches of green and blue to the structure — a nod to the original fertile and lush environment of the planet. After parking his skid in front, Ktor had walked through the service entrance and to the front desk of the building. He pressed his fingerprint on the screen sitting on the desk, indicating he was ready to receive the parcel. The manifest screen listed the contents as CONFIDENTIAL — which was pretty strange, usually they gave him some idea of what he was delivering. 

“Any idea of what this is?” Ktor asked the young clerk manning the desk.

She looked up from the holo she was watching as if noticing him for the first time. “No idea. All I know is that it came from Hkara’s office.” Hkara was the local manager of the corporation.

“Damn, guess I better not take my time then.” He gave a quick wink and his best smile to the clerk.

“Guess not,” she replied, her face down and already engrossed in her holo once more.

Several hours later, Ktor was sailing across the wide expanse of the Great Desert with the suns straight ahead of him. The desert stretched across the equator of the planet, a planetary belt, separating the somewhat habitable north and south poles of the planet. The landscape outside the skid’s windows was bleak and featureless with nothing to break up the monotony of the undulating waves of sand. Ktor found himself being lulled to sleep by the oscillating hum of the skid’s repulsors, his eyelids unsuccessfully trying to resist the inevitable pull of sleep.

The shock of his head snapping into the driver’s console, combined with the sickening thud of the skid embedding itself in the sand, jolted Ktor awake. The skid’s computer was supposed to automatically adjust and prevent these types of accidents — but the computer was not foolproof. It was the entire reason that the messenger was required to remain awake and alert during transit.

Ktor lifted his head from the console and reached his hand to his throbbing head, he could feel a small trickle of blood but the auto restraints in the skid had generally done their job to prevent any major damage. The system diagnostics did not look good — the main lift nacelles and communications were offline. Ktor checked the navigation system for the closest habited town. There were some old mining towns in the desert, relics of when the area had still been flush with resources. Now they were sad little places — inhabited by locals who were too invested or stubborn to move to the poles.

Ta’Riverton was the closest — about an hours walk away. Looking at the map it appeared to be a few thousand people in size. Beyond that there was nothing, Ta’Riverton would at least have a relay where he could at least make a call to his dispatch and let them know what had happened. Ktor carefully got out of the wrecked skid and began to look for anything to take with him. He cursed forgetting to bring his sun mask. The lenses would have protected his eyes from the harsh glare of the binary suns and the mask would have kept the sand and dust from his mouth.

The only thing worth bringing was the small water canteen that had been thrown into the sand during the crash. Shaking it, Ktor guessed that it was about half full — hopefully enough for his journey to Ta’Riverton. He also located his pack which held the parcel and strapped it on his back.

Ktor calibrated his wristband to his destination and set off. The suns were so bright he found himself almost completely shutting his eyes against the glare. His skinsuit fought against the fifty degree celsius heat but it couldn’t fully shield him from the harsh desert environment.  

As he walked Ktor’s eyes began to adjust and he started to notice small signs of life in the desert. Tiny insects scurried along the sand with bits of vegetation and other material in their pincers. Ktor almost stepped on some sort of lizard — it’s pitted khaki skin melding perfectly with its environment. Small rodents occasionally popped their small triangular snouts out of burrows, presumably attracted to the vibrations of Ktor’s shuffling feet. There is more life here than there is at the poles, he thought to himself.

The wind continued to blow, unimpeded by mountains or vegetation and Ktor doggedly plodded forward. As the suns crossed the sky and began casting a shadow in front of Ktor he noticed that more and more insects began flying directly in front of him, using his body as a shield against the oppressive heat. He turned his gaze down and watched them, mesmerized by their looping flight with his senses dulled by the heat.

After walking for an eternity Ktor realized that the suns were no longer in the sky. Looking behind him he saw a gentle glow that cast streaks of red, yellow, and orange across the sky in all directions. Ktor’s canteen had long since been exhausted and he felt the continual dizziness of dehydration sapping his faculties.

As the suns continued to go down, the landscape began blossoming. Small flowering plants slowly poked their buds from the arid ground and opened, revealing a kaleidoscope of different hues. Calls rang out through the now cold desert night and Ktor someone could make out small winged shapes diving and streaking across the darkening sky. More and more animals scurried along the cooling sand, the dropping temperature an invitation to travel from their burrows.

Ktor realized that there were lights ahead of him — the town of Ta’Riverton. It reenergized Ktor and he felt his pace quicken as he realized how close he was. Reaching the outskirts, Ktor realized he had overestimated the size of the town. Most of the structures had long since been abandoned, their metal exteriors faded and rusting — beaten down by the harsh desert climate. Houses and small shops stood unused, their windows gaping and their doors blown off their hinges.

Walking to the center of the town he found a small transit center. It’s holographic sign was broken but there was a painted one that had been hastily constructed in its place. The corrugated metal walls of the building looked in need of patching and painting. Walking into the building Ktor saw an old man, perhaps three hundred years old, napping behind a desk in the corner. The man wore old prospector gear, a sun mask dangling around his neck and a long coat festooned with bulging pockets. Chairs were scattered pell mell around the room and a small vending machine ran along one wall with almost all the items sold out. 

Ktor ran to the machine and navigated to the beverage section of its menu. The only thing available was water, heavily marked up. He bought four of them, greedily grabbing them from the machine. Taking his newfound treasure Ktor collapsed on one of the chairs, chugging bottle after bottle until he felt like his stomach would explode. He could feel himself passing out, the stain and exhaustion covering him like a blanket — half-heartedly trying to stay awake but knowing it was in vain.

“Today was somethin’, huh?” Ktor felt a tapping on his shoulder. He tried to ignore it, frustration building as the tapping continued.

“Ya in there son? Ya look like ya been through hell.” Ktor finally cracked his eyes open. The old man’s gnarled sun-stained face floated before him, every wrinkle and spot an indication of a life of hardship and tribulation. 

Ktor tried to sit up in his chair but found his body unresponsive and sluggish. He couldn’t speak, with only a raspy whisper coming from his sand whipped throat.

“Tak yer time. No need ta rush things,” the old man advised. “You just sit down and I’ll talk for a bit. Sound good?”

Ktor nodded in the affirmative, grateful for the understanding.

“Welcome to Ta’Riverton, name’s Nigel. I am guessing that you must have crashed yer skid somewhere here’s about. Lucky for you, that ain’t too uncommon. The desert here can be unforgivin’, so you musta done somethin’ right to have made it this far. I’ll getcha on the right track and where ya need to go, no problem. We don’t get too many transports anymore but should be one comin’ tomorra.”

Ktor groaned inwards, this would cost him his job. The corporation could be demanding, but they were a good employer and jobs were hard to find on Gallora. 

The old man must have noticed his dismay. “No need to worry. You should just be grateful you got here, everything else will sort itself out. Things have been rough out here since the heatwave started.”

“Heatwave?” The question escaped Ktor’s sunburned lips. He had never heard of a heatwave.

“Oh yeah,” — Nigel bobbed his head up and down — “we been havin’ a bad one now for oh … three-hundred years, give or take. This town used to have a river goin’ straight through it, the waste from the mine was dumped in there. The desert didn’t really exist back then.” He looked up thoughtfully. “Oh we had some desert here and there but not like it is now.”

“What happened?” Ktor felt his voice grow stronger as his interest was piqued. He had always thought the desert had been there for since Humans had discovered the planet.

“Not too sure I reckon. We worked the land, getting the minerals and the like outta it. Used to have great factories all over them parts.” — Nigel pointed off in the distance — “but the minerals, they dried up. With them gone, the factories went too.”

“Why are you still here?” Ktor asked, sitting up in his chair.

“Well, I been here my whole life, three-hundred forty-two years. Not ‘bout to change that now. I don’t know anything else. Besides, this area is better than it appears at first. Sure it’s hot now, but there’s nothin’ better than sittin’ outside watchin’ the suns go down. I do it every evening right before I nod off in my chair.” Nigel pointed to the chair where Ktor had first seen him napping.

Ktor marvelled at the old propector’s age. This was a man who had been alive longer than anyone Ktor had met before. He had seen the planet change and had seen events that Ktor had only read about or seen in holos.

“So whatcha got in there?” Nigel pointed at the pack. “Guessin’ you must be a messenger. Thems about the only people who come near this area.”

“Honestly, I don’t know,” responded Ktor. “They didn’t tell me what was in the parcel.” 

“Aren’t ya curious? Ya nearly died for whatever was in there.” Nigel cocked his head to the side.

“Well, now that you mention it, I am.” Ktor opened his pack. He knew that between the wrecked skid and the late delivery his job was probably forfeit anyways. He wanted to know just what he had risked his life for.

Ktor opened the pack and took out the parcel. The metal parcel box opened as he touched his finger to the access control. Inside was a holo tablet — used to store and display confidential information that was too sensitive to transmit over the planetary net. 

The holo turned on and immediately booted to a menu. As he paged through the material Ktor realized that he was looking at the exit strategy for the Cherozan Corporation, they were going to leave the planet. He chuckled and shook his head in disbelief, he almost lost his life delivering the plan that would lose him his job.

Nigel waited patiently as Ktor paged through the files on the holo. When Ktor turned it off Nigel paused a few seconds and asked, “So, what was on there? I heard ya’ laughin a bit.”

“It’s a plan, a plan for the Cherozan Corporation to leave Gallora,” Ktor answered. “Guess they got everything they needed.”

“Ya sound surprised. I coulda told ya that was comin’.” Nigel smiled, his eyes retaining their somber gaze. “They took what they wanted and now it’s time for them to leave.” 

“I guess you’re right,” admitted Ktor. “I never thought of it like that.”

“Oh, it’s like that for sure.” Nigel bobbed his head. “I’ve been seein’ it for years. We say its them big corporations like Cherozan but really its alla us. We take it all — the trees, the water, the minerals — and then we leave. That’s what happened in Ta’Riverton and thats whats about ta happen on Gallora. Now you just gotta figure out where you’re gonna go now.”

Ktor sat back and thought about where he would go. He imagined the river that ran through this now dusty town. Thought about the trees and animals that probably had played here hundreds of years ago. Despondent, Ktor stood up and walked outside, ignoring the questioning look from Nigel as he walked out the door.

Looking across the deserted town Ktor only saw the dust and refuse that had been left behind by the mines and miners that had built it. He dropped his head down, thinking of what he would do next. Where would he go? A small leaf, no bigger than his smallest fingernail, poked out from a crack between a wall and sidewalk. A small drop of green in an ocean of gray and brown. It looked fragile, the way it bent in the desert breeze, but Ktor could tell that it was strong at its core. 

“I’m not going anywhere,” Ktor called through the door to Nigel.

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