Page 27 of Experimental Voyage
“Oh, most excellent. Still alive. Let us put this on board the ship and get some other water samples so we can make certain it has a suitable habitat until we hand it over to the conservatory studying them.” Alban bounded up the ship’s ramp, leaving me to gawk at him. After a few minutes, the Veloc returned, displaying his crest and whistling a merry little tune. “They did not teach you about the kidnapping of plants and animals on expedition voyages, did they?”
“I mean, it was probably just going to die if it was left out on the sand like that, but won’t scavengers miss the potential meal?” I shrugged and resumed my search of the beach, discovering shells, odd holes with bubbles coming out of them,and several more jellyfish in a myriad of different colors. Alban gathered all the jellyfish and took them on board. I questioned how we’d keep them alive with no idea of what they ate, but I figured I’d learn soon enough. More of the birds came and hunted the crustaceans, leaving twitching legs in their wake. Making use of a pair of tongs, I gathered samples, putting them into sterilized bags for later review.
One of the braver birds approached me while I was rummaging through the remains, and it peeped at me, fluttering its wings and hopping about.
I considered the discarded legs, noticed that one had morsels of meat on it, and used the tongs to present the food to the bird.
With zero evidence of fear, it accepted my offering, going to work consuming the snack.
I went back to my business, and the bird continued to follow me, staring at me with its beady little eyes, peeping each time I moved on.
Nearby, where he investigated the discarded shells, the Veloc whistled and hooted his amusement. “You’ve made a friend.”
“One of the samples had more meat on it than others, and I think it’s hungry.” I resumed my work to fill the bag with molted crustacean shells, legs the birds hadn’t consumed, and even the dismembered but living body of a crab. “Alban? This one is still alive, I think. But it has no legs. The birds took its legs?”
The Veloc ceased laughing, came over, and joined me. “A painful part of life, little one. It might live if you feed it, but it would take a long time to regrow its limbs, and we simply don’t know if we can feed it with what we have.” Reaching down, he scooped the crustacean up, went to the water, and placed it in, submerging it and holding it in place so the water wouldn’t wash it away. “Yes, you are correct. It still lives.”
“Do they count in the type of creatures we can take?”
“They do, but you would have to feed it by hand often and take care of all its needs. It cannot swim, it cannot eat, and it cannot do anything others of its kind can do. On my world, it takes a long time for their limbs to regrow. It may not survive its injuries.”
“Why didn’t the birds eat it?”
“The shell is too strong. The birds were strong enough to remove its legs, but they were not strong enough to break through the shell. Bad luck for the bird and its prey.” After placing the crustacean on the sand, he pulled out a bag and placed the distressed animal inside before adding water. “We cannot show compassion to every beast that has lost nature’s game, but I will inquire with Waldren if this little one can become a ship pet and experiment. Try to catch a little one or two of this type so we can observe their social inclinations. We do not want to take only one if they live in groups. That would be cruel to it.”
“What is it, do you think?”
“A crab of some sort, but with more legs than the ones I am familiar with.” Alban returned to the ship, leaving me with two clear boxes with lids and instructions to put one crab in each box should I manage to catch any.
The little bird, who’d watched me with interest, ran off, dug at a small hole with bubbles, and captured a tiny crab. Rather than shake it, it brought the crab to me, waiting while its prey waved its claws and legs in the air.
Astonished, I took the box and held it under the crab.
The bird dropped the crab and ran off to hunt.
In the time it took Alban to return, the tiny bird had brought me ten crabs.
“Alban?”
The Veloc cooed, plucked the largest of the wiggling crabs from the container, and systematically removed its legs, crackedthe shell, and handed it back to me. “Its beak is broken, and it cannot break the crab’s legs. See?” Alban pointed at one of the nearby birds, and sure enough, the tip of the little one’s beak was shorter and blunted, nor did it close correctly. “You provided it with food when it cannot feed itself.”
“It asked for help?”
“It is smart for such a small little bird. And we are learning much here. There are few predators of its kind. It has no reason to fear us.”
Hoping I wasn’t about to contract some disease from handling a dead crab, I pulled out what I thought was the meat for the bird and offered it. Without hesitation, it ate, swallowing as much as it could at a time. “If we leave it here, it’s going to die, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it will die,” Alban said, and he sighed. “I will see if we can utilize some form of loophole to keep your bird, but do not get your hopes up. I will bring you larger boxes so you can gather crabs for it. We will try to feed it, but again, we make no promises for its survival.”
Life was hard; I’d learned that lesson when a spaceship had tumbled from the sky, stealing my hearing.
An act of kindness from a mercy ship and her crew had saved my life. A second act of kindness, from Waldren and the Veloc, had restored my hearing.
If I could save the bird, I would.
After eating the crab, the bird went off to catch more, bringing small and larger prey alike to me. After observing, I realized something was also wrong with the bird’s wings. Unlike the others, which took flight at their whim, the little one limited itself to ineffective flapping.
Alban returned with Herserael, who wore gloves over his clawed hands. He scooped the bird up and began an examination of it, cooing and whistling.
