Zakku-Al-Rada
(The Winds of the Fey)        
By Eric S. Brown      

Doctor Sedric Ah-Val reached for the comm. switch on the console before him, opening a channel to the other vehicles of the small convoy.

"OK, we're far enough. Everybody stop. We'll make camp here." The four massive all-terrain rovers pulled to a stop, a hundred feet from the edge of the tree line. Men and women hopped out of their vehicles, hastily unloading equipment. Dr. Ah-Val climbed down from the lead rover onto the soft soil still moist with the morning dew, watching the bustle of activity around him.

Convincing the University to fund the research expedition to the Zakku-Al-Rada Forest on New Gideon had taken five years of his life and far more work than he'd ever dreamed of, but now he was here at last. He, his group of students, and a small attachment of military personnel would be the first of the humans to ever explore the strange and mystical place.

"Zakku-Al-Rada," the name given to this forest by the now extinct race known as the Shreal, roughly translated to "The Winds of the Fey". It was said that another race never encountered by humanity existed within this place, never emerging from within the boundaries of the trees, though New Gideon had been colonized by mankind for over three decades. It was Dr. Ah-Val's hope to find these beings and reach out to them. If the legends were true, the Fey were far more advanced than the Shreal had been, even in their last days before the war with the human colonists forced them into extinction. The Fey could perhaps be persuaded to coexist peacefully with humanity, and teach mankind how to channel the meta-energy, ripe for the taking all throughout the atmosphere of the world. Thus, ending the search for a new and desperately needed source of power for the Earth Government and the whole of the Terran Republic.

A young student, Robert, wearing the standard gray university issued uniform approached the doctor smiling. "We should have base camp set up with the hour, sir," he informed Dr. Ah-Val.

Sergeant Wilkins, a burly and hardened man not much older than Ah-Val himself, followed in Robert's footsteps. Ah-Val noted the sergeant's loathing expression, hating EarthGov for insisting the military be involved with a research expedition such as this.

"My men are at your disposal, Doc. How far inside the tree line do you want the sensor set up?" the sergeant asked.

"No more than a mile for now," Ah-Val answered, staring at the high powered combat rifle the soldier carried. "Sergeant, is it really necessary to carry those things around in broad daylight. If the Fey are watching us they may consider it to be a hostile act. I have no intentions of starting a second genocidal war on New Gideon."

The sergeant shrugged, "Doc, for all we know, these 'Fey' of yours may be the worst threat ever faced by the Terran Republic. My reports say that the Shreal never came to this place. They were terrified of it and if the Fey can truly harness the meta-energy of the planet, they would have the resources to drive us from New Gideon forever. I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen."

"Oh really, Sergeant? And how would you do that?"

"Look, I'm here to protect your pathetic little group of bookworms but if it came down to it, Doc, I'm willing to sacrifice us all. Earth Gov. sent along a ten megaton nuclear device to burn the forest to the ground with if these Fey turn out to be like the Shreal, and you better be damn sure from the get-go, I'll use it if I have to.

Sergeant Wilkins stormed away toward his squad of Marines, to begin placing the sensor modules inside the tree line. Ah-Val gritted his teeth trying to control his rage at the man's ignorant view of Zakku-Al-Rada supposing a certain degree of stupidity was a prerequisite for being an officer in the Corps. Putting his thoughts aside, Ah-Val hurried to help his students assemble the control terminal of the remote sensor units.

The day passed uneventfully, enviro-tents were erected and top of the line military surveillance sensors, capable of recording images in numerous spectrums, as well as motion detectors were scattered throughout the outer reaches of the forest and tree line itself. Ah-Val's six graduate students chatted among themselves excitedly as night fell, sipping coffee and building a campfire, though it was not needed. The weather was warm and New Gideon's trio of moons provided ample light, casting long shadows across the camp.

Wilkins and his group of five Marines kept to themselves, cleaning their weapons and watching the trees nervously. An air of paranoia hung about their section of the camp. Wilkins assigned two of the soldiers to keep watch. They paced the perimeter of the encampment alert and seemingly anxious to blow the hell out of anything that poked its head out of the trees.

Nights on New Gideon were much longer than the Earth standard, lasting a full eighteen hours, and as the night dragged on the students' excitement began to wane. At some point, each cast a longing glance at Ah-Val, hoping the doctor would hurry the hell up and do what he had promised them he would.

Finally, Sedric closed the copy of The Myths of Ancient Ireland and rose from where he leaned against the lead rover's tracks. He rubbed his back, as he stared up at the stars. A deep and profound silence fell over the camp, as everyone gathered watched him make his way toward the sensor control module. When he reached the device he flipped open a panel Wilkins had never seen before. A tiny replica of a Shreal Xenoox slid outward. A Xenoox was very similar in design to an earth piano in the shape of its keys; though its sound was so alien earlier human scholars had taken years to recognize it for what it was.

Wilkins leapt to his feet, rifle in hand, hurrying to stand beside the doctor. "What the hell are you doing, Doc?" he asked angrily.

Ah-Val turned calmly to confront the man, "My job, Sergeant."

Ah-Val's fingers stroked the keys gently as an eerie series of chords erupted from the sensor modules inside the forest.

The other soldiers were on their feet and the perimeter guards withdrew closer into the camp. "Jesus Christ," Wilkins muttered.

"I took the liberty of modifying your equipment, Sergeant," Ah-Val explained as he played. "We needed a way to draw the Fey out and a week before we left Earth I happened to stumble upon an old Shreal text which described this melody. You were wrong when you said the Shreal never came here, Sergeant. They made a kind of religious pilgrimage to Zakku-Al-Rada once every ten years and this piece of music was an integral part of the ceremonies they performed on this very spot."

As Ah-Val continued to play and Wilkins stood at his side horrified, a gentle breeze seemed to start from nowhere, blowing through the leaves of the trees, making them shimmer and dance, reflecting the moonlight like millions of tiny prisms. The gathered students cheered, in awe of the beauty cast upon the night.

Wilkins slapped Ah-Val's hands away from the keys. "This was not part of the plan."

"Sergeant, our goal is to contact the Fey is it not? Unless you plan to reduce the chances of an encounter to random luck, I suggest you let me continue."

Wilkins brooded for a moment before replying, "no one authorized you to tamper with the equipment. I'll need to inform EarthGov of what you've done here. If they approve, then you can continue tomorrow night."

"But . . . "

"No buts, Doctor. The decision isn't yours or mine to make."

As the brokenhearted student and Dr. Ah-Val retired for the night, Sgt. Wilkins and Pvt. Thompson prepared a message drone. It would be launched before dawn, traveling through Void space, at speeds far beyond that of light, to central command on Mars. If all went well, the sergeant should have a reply in less than twenty-four hours.