Viridian Sands

"We will do as the Matriarch commands," the large one said as she gave her counterpart a sideways glance, making Kozi shrink back into her seat. Just her deep, husky voice was powerful enough that Ramos could feel it reverberate through his body.

The third Rask remained silent, seeming unimpressed as she took another swig from her cup. Her brow was furrowed into a scowl, and her sandy hair was shaved at the sides, leaving it just a little longer on top. Something glinted near her collar, and Ramos noticed that she was wearing a necklace that had been assembled from spent shell casings the size of his fingers.

The Alpha rose from her seat, and her two packmates followed suit, leaving their drinks on the table. As they approached Ramos, their size became even more apparent. The Alpha must have weighed five hundred pounds, and her two underlings weren't much smaller. He could get a better look at their clothing now, the subtle patterns that were pressed into the leather leaping out when they caught the light, the studs and buttons glinting. Their jackets were fairly loose, and they wore simple tank tops beneath them, but their pants left little to the imagination as they strained against their muscular thighs and rumps. They ended just above the heel joint, giving way to sandy fur and feline paws. Something else of note was all the belts that they wore, laden with pouches and holsters.

Ramos wasn't sure which of them to address, so he extended a hand reflexively.

"Jorge Ramos," he said, waiting for someone to take it. The Alpha glanced at Orzi skeptically, then engulfed his hand in hers, so large that she could have closed her fist over his like she was holding a golf ball. She had three thick fingers and a thumb, each digit tipped with curving black claws that looked like they could have filleted a salmon, her silky fur oddly soft against his skin.

"Whore-hey," she muttered as she tried to pronounce the unfamiliar name.

"Hoo-hay," the one with the messy hair added.

"Uh...you can just call me Ramos," he muttered as she released his hand. "Most people do."

"Remember the Matriarch's orders," Orzi added, planting her hands on her wide hips. "The human has seniority, and you will do as he instructs. Drop him off at the camp when you are finished with him, and Kozi - keep your hands to yourself."

"Wait," Ramos mumbled, glancing up at her. "You're just gonna leave me here with these...guys?"

"You have everything you need, and there are other new arrivals who require orientation," she replied as she placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder that was heavy enough to weigh him down. "Rashka and her pack have already received some basic training, and they know what to do next. You can ask any of the other workers if you need help with anything."

With that, she turned and left through the flap, leaving Ramos standing alone with his new students.

"Okay," he began after a moment of silence, clearing his throat. "As you know, the UN has sent me here to teach you about ecological engineering. Based on what Orzi has told me, your task is going to be operating and maintaining the equipment used to revitalize the soil and grow new saplings, the goal being to eventually seal up the breaches in the jungle band. Do any of you have any experience with forestry or operating agricultural machinery?"

"Our experience is military," Rashka replied, the large Rask staring down at him. "We served in a Matriarchy combat unit."

"Ah, is that where you got the..." Ramos gestured to his face.

"No," she replied tersely, refusing to elaborate further.

"You're all soldiers, then? I guess this is a swords to plowshares situation."

The three aliens shared glances, confused by the reference.

"Very well," Ramos continued, resisting the urge to loosen his collar. He was sweating, and the oppressive heat wasn't the only reason. "If you've ever driven an APC or maybe a tank, a tractor isn't all that different, and a lot of the same rules apply. Of course, a lot of our systems are autonomous, so controlling those is more about learning how to give them useful instructions."

"Proceed," Rashka said with a curt gesture to the flap.

Ramos headed outside, the three aliens following behind him. He could feel their eyes on his back, like some ancient instinct warning him of sabertooth cats lurking just beyond his sight. As he trudged through the sand beneath the shadow of the crawler, Kozi - seemingly the most outgoing of the three - began to circle around him.

"First time on Borealis?" she asked, smirking at him as he struggled along. "You have not yet learned to walk in sand."

He glanced down at her feet, seeing that her furry, three-toed paws were spread wide to support her weight, keeping her from sinking. She was remarkably agile, walking backwards ahead of him, her hands clasped behind her back as she bent at the waist to bring herself down to his level. "Want me to carry you?"

"Orzi said hands off," the angry one muttered. Her name was Zhura, if he remembered correctly.

"My hands are off," Kozi said, raising them in surrender. Ramos noted that her fingers had little fleshy pads like those of a cat. "She did not say I could not speak with him."

"Focus on your work," Rashka chided. "We will be out in the sun all day if you waste time flirting."

"So, what made you want to change professions?" Ramos asked, desperate to change the subject. "You told me that you were soldiers during the war?"

"Matriarch Korbaz put out a call to all those who would help restore the territory," Rashka replied. "With the rebellion over, it seemed the best way to serve our people and our Matriarch."

"I guess that's a noble sentiment," Ramos replied. "The Matriarch probably needs a lot of manpower if she's going to establish completely new industries that didn't exist before. A large chunk of the population is going to have to learn new skills and start working in fabrication plants and on farms. The Coalition can only give you a kickstart - you'll have to learn how to do all of these things for yourselves."

They soon arrived at the parking area for the agricultural machinery, Ramos stopping to appraise the impressive vehicles.

"Hey there!" he said, calling out to a Valbaran who was perched on top of one of the dozers. "Are these things ready to roll?"

"They're fueled and prepped!" she replied, brandishing a wrench at him. "We just got done tweaking the suspension systems and gearboxes for high-G. You'll need to sign for them before you take them out!"

She leapt down from the vehicle, remarkably agile even in the high gravity, thrusting a tablet computer into his hands. He examined it for a few moments, then signed out all the equipment that he thought he'd need, passing it back to her.

"You're that Earth'nay who arrived with Orzi, yeah?" she asked as she cocked her head at him. Her accent was familiar - maybe she'd been hanging around other humans. "Remember to stay hydrated. The Earth'nay who come here never drink enough, then they fall over, and we have to go out in the ATV to pick them up."

"He is under my protection," Rashka added, the Valbaran having to lift her head to look the Rask in the eye. "I will ensure his safety."

"Alright. Just don't scratch my paint with those claws, Rask'nay."

"Shoo," Kozi said, waving the little reptile away. The Valbaran gave her a flash of red feathers, then scampered off towards the tents with a bobbing gait that reminded Ramos of a pigeon.

"Right," Ramos said, clapping his hands together. "We're taking out the Washington, some of the trailers, and some of the earthmovers. Rashka and Kozi - I'm going to show you how to hook up the trailers so everything can be towed out to the field...or the desert, in this case. Zhura - we need to load up with seeds and fertilizer. Can you handle that?"

Zhura glanced at Rashka for confirmation, then nodded, heading back to the camp. While he waited for her to return, Ramos showed Rashka and Kozi how to attach the trailers to the tractor and earthmovers. The tractor was driven manually, but the dozers with their wide treads and large blades had no cabs, instead being controlled remotely. It was a simple matter to slave them to the tractor so that they would follow behind it, towing the rest of the equipment.

When Zhura returned, she had a small group of Jarilans in tow, the Workers carrying large burlap sacks filled with fertilizer and racks of seeds in suspension fluid ready to be loaded into the drill. Several of them set about piling the goods onto a trailer while another approached Ramos, her long, feathery antennae waving in the wind.

"This will be enough for a day's work," she explained, turning to watch her team. "The fertilizer was shipped in from Elysia, so it should suit the native plants just fine, and it's been treated to improve its nutritional content. The seeds are a little something that our geneticists cooked up. We've already been tweaking the genomes of the local crops to improve yields and hardiness, and we think we've managed to modify these trees to take to poorer soil and grow more rapidly than the wild strain. It should make your job that much easier and cut down the time it takes for them to reach maturity."

"They won't impact the local ecosystem too much?" Ramos asked.

"Along with modifying the genes responsible for those enhanced traits, we made them sterile," the Worker explained. "They'll stick around for a couple of hundred years, but by the time the breach has been repaired, they should give way to local strains and disappear entirely."

"That's marvelous," Ramos mused, watching a Worker effortlessly toss a bag of fertilizer that must have weighed as much as she did. "We could use some of those back on Earth."

"Hit us up on the comms if you need anything," the Worker said, giving him a nod before joining her team. They formed an orderly column and waddled off into the sand, a couple of them peering back at him as they chatted to each other.

"Who wants to learn how to drive a tractor?" Ramos asked, turning to the waiting Rask. "Rashka - how about you?"

"Very well," she conceded. She climbed up into the cab, sliding into the driver's seat and appraising the control panel skeptically. Ramos followed behind her, hefting himself up the ladder and clambering into the passenger seat beside her. It was smaller and set a little lower, intended for riders or instructors, but it was still way too large for a human. The cab was rather spacious, and if he had to guess, it was a modular design that could be swapped out to accommodate different species. Washington Dynamics was based on Franklin, the bread basket of UN space, and they produced some impressive agricultural equipment. There was no room for Kozi and Zhura, so they found handholds on the hull.

"I'm assuming you know how the wheel and pedals work," Ramos began, Rashka leaning down to get a look beneath the raised dashboard. "On your right is the control panel. It has some switches and buttons that control the tractor's functions and tap into the trailer, but for the most part, everything is controlled via that large touch panel. See those graphics? I slaved the dozers, which means they'll try to follow the tractor wherever it goes. I want you to pull out and head to the work site."

It took a little instruction, but Rashka soon had the Washington trundling along the sand on its four triangular sets of treads, a procession of dozers forming a column behind it. They matched its movements, practically driving along its tracks, the round camera domes mounted above their hulls twisting and turning as they scanned their surroundings for obstacles. They drove out from beneath the shadow of the crawler, heading for the jungle in the distance.

"You're doing well," Ramos said, trying to give the aloof alien some positive reinforcement. "You've driven before?"

"Buggies and APCs," she replied.

"Give it a little more gas as we crest this dune," he advised, bouncing in his seat as the tractor tackled the incline. He reached over to twist a knob on the dash, feeling a stream of cool air fill the sealed cabin. This was a hell of a lot nicer than the ramshackle buggy Orzi had driven. It even had that new car smell.

"An unnecessary comfort," Rashka complained as the breeze blew her hair.

"Sorry, is it too cold for you?" Ramos asked as he turned the dial down a few notches. "I've only been here for a day, so I'm not used to the heat yet."

"You should strive to adapt," the Rask replied, scrutinizing him with her cold gaze. "You will be dependent on this technology if you do not embrace the reality of the desert."

He had to resist the impulse to shrink away from her intense stare, remembering what Orzi had told him. If he wanted things to run smoothly, he had to gain their respect, and he couldn't do that if he folded whenever they challenged him.

"Well, I'm gonna leave it on," he muttered as he turned his eyes back to the path ahead.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the limits of the jungle, where the tall trees began to give way to smaller, hardier undergrowth that eventually transitioned into barren sand. Ramos peered into the dark depths, obscured by the shade provided by the canopy, his mind swimming with possibilities. These were strange trees - not at all like the ones he had seen in the rainforests of Earth. They almost seemed to have evergreen qualities, perhaps evolved to survive the cold nights and harsh winters of Borealis. A couple of hundred meters to their right was the windbreak, and it seemed as good a place to start as any.

The two passengers hopped down onto the hot sand, and he followed suit reluctantly, climbing out of the air-conditioned cab. He grunted as the heat hit him. Orzi had been right - the A/C almost made it worse in comparison.

"Gather around!" he said, the three Rask forming a rough crescent near the tractor. "What would you say is the first resource we need for growing plants?"

"Water?" Kozi suggested.

"Yes, very good. How do we find water in a desert?"

"Lakes, oases, rain," Rashka replied.

"The water cycle here is unreliable, so rain isn't a good option. Piping in water from the lake would be possible, but tell me, does anyone know how an oasis forms?" The Rask shared glances, but none replied. "Aquifers are underground water sources that can seep up to the surface to create oases and even lakes. That groundwater is also what wells tap into. That machine over there is a portable drilling rig," he said as he pointed to one of the trailers that was hooked up to a dozer. "It's going to tap a series of wells that will feed a drip irrigation system that we can lay down once the earthmovers have flattened the area. It'll keep the new soil that we lay down moist. We have orbital survey data showing the locations of many of these aquifers, but we can use the ground-penetrating radar on the drilling rig to find the best locations. Rashka and Zhura, I'm going to show you how to program the dozers to start working on the first grid square. Kozi, it's your turn in the tractor. I'll be your navigator, and we can take out the rig to find some water."

"Oh, do I get to be all alone with our new teacher?" Kozi asked, glancing at him with a suggestive smile.

"Kozi, behave yourself," Rashka chided. "We are here to work, not to play games with the aliens."

"Come on, boss," she replied with an exaggerated pout. "The Matriarch gets to have one. Should we not follow her shining example?"

"Show your Matriarch the respect she is due, or you shall be corrected," the larger Rask replied with a snarl that bared her sharp teeth.

Ramos glanced between the two, not sure whether he should intervene, but Kozi soon backed down with a deferent bow of her head.

Kozi and Zhura looked to Rashka for confirmation, and after she nodded, they got to work. Before long, the half dozen earthmovers were plowing the dunes flat in the chosen area, and Ramos was driving away with Kozi. He was sat below her in the cab's passenger seat, using his tablet to examine the feed from the radar as she took the wheel. Like Rashka, she seemed to know her way around a vehicle well enough.

"So, I hope you don't mind me saying that you seem a little more...approachable than the rest of your pack," Ramos began as they trundled over a dune.

"Oh, is that why you wanted to get me alone for a while?" she replied as she glanced down at him with a smirk. "Here I thought you had something more fun in mind."

"You've spent more time with humans than they have? Your language skills are certainly better."

"I like to hang out with the Marines," she replied, keeping one hand on the wheel as she leaned back into the padded seat. Her leather getup was so tight that he could hear it creaking when she moved. "They seemed to have been expecting to fight an insurgency when they arrived, but nothing about Korbaz's claim was illegitimate, so there has been very little unrest. They are bored, and there is not much to do in the city besides drink and talk."

"You're not angry that the Coalition is occupying your territory?" Ramos asked, giving her a sideways glance.

"We are Borealans," she replied with a shrug. "There is no shame in fighting and losing."

"What's the deal with Rashka?" he continued, pausing for a moment to tell her to hang a right. "Is she always so...distant?"

"She will warm to you if you prove your worth," the Rask replied with a smile that suggested she was all too familiar with the process.

"Forgive me, but you two don't seem to get along," Ramos replied. "Why do you prod her and poke her like that? I thought Borealans were supposed to be subservient to their Alphas?"

"You clearly have much to learn about packs if that is what you believe," she chuckled. "Have you spent much time with Borealans other than Orzi?"

"There was an Elysian who briefed me on the carrier during the flight here," Ramos replied. "He seemed pretty normal. Not to imply that you're not normal, he was just very well-adjusted to living alongside humans."

"He was probably an auxiliary," Kozi explained. "They undergo integration training that teaches them how to interact with your kind and how to manage their impulses. There are some stationed here - they are a terrible bore."

"You haven't done that?"

"No," she said with a grin, drumming her hooked claws on the steering wheel. "To us, integration training is like blunting a sharp blade. There is more to being in a pack than just giving and obeying orders," Kozi continued as she navigated another dune. "Some strive to become powerful Alphas, while others content themselves with lower positions in the hierarchy. The intense competition does not suit everyone. Others enjoy the perks and lack of responsibility of being at the bottom. There is something to be said for being cared for and protected."

"I assumed it was a constant fight to be top dog, but now that I think about it, I suppose a kind of equilibrium would have to be reached at some point. Fighting all the time can't be productive."

"To answer your question," Kozi added. "If I provoke Rashka, it is because I enjoy her corrections..."

"Oh," Ramos muttered, his cheeks starting to warm. "I didn't realize you guys were...like that."

"Like what?" she pressed.

"Together."

"Even after spending so much time with humans, I still forget that you have such strict preferences," the Rask said as she suppressed a laugh. "Borealans are primarily attracted to status. Rashka is my Alpha - she takes care of me, and I love her for it. So does Zhura - though she may have more trouble showing it. Rashka can be cold and distant, yes, but she becomes as hot as the midday sand if you know how to get her attention."