Mparntwe. - 6. Chapter 6

Mparntwe Chapter 6.

***

Mirri tickled Jarra's ear lobe with his eagle feather to draw attention away from the Information System.

"It's explore time and we're going to our new place."

Jarra dodged the feather a few more times while he closed down then made Mirri laugh by taking it and returning the tickles. Normally Mirri would want to prolong this but his anticipation for the new exploring place was too strong and he passed across the little travel pack which Jarra always carried.

"Will we see the Eagles?"

"I think so, Mirri. The ranger man said they're always there."

Jarra had researched this place, called the Valley of the Eagle's, a long time ago but he'd never been able to go there because, apart from being way beyond his walking limit, it was also very rough and rugged. Today's trip, organised by Baradin, was exciting for both of them.

"Feather Eagles?"

That meant Wedge Tailed Eagles.

"Yes and other eagle's too. They like the cliffs that are there."

"Are they big cliffs?"

That made Jarra laugh.

"Yes, Mirri. Too big to climb."

"Uncle Baradin is waiting."

That meant stop talking and get going, so they did.

"Uncle Baradin!"

Baradin was waiting at the Mparntwe exit to the surface and after the usual enthusiastic rush and welcome hug they started the two hundred meter walk to the mag-lev station.

"It's a big day Mirrigan, so you have to look after Jarra with extra care."

"I always look after Jarra."

"Yes, and you do it wonderfully well, but this explore is the biggest one he's ever done and we'll have to make him have a long rest when we get halfway through."

"We will make a bed for him."

"A bed?"

"We will find grass and leaves."

"That's a wonderful idea."

The trip involved a familiar journey on the mag-lev to the Trephina Gorge, an exciting ride with the ranger in a small all terrain vehicle over steep rough ground to the entrance of a gorge, and then a walk through to the valley.

While Baradin was talking with the ranger about pickup arrangements Mirri rushed to a small pool of water, climbed a boulder, threw some rocks to make a big splash, and caught a little skink which was scurrying for safety when its home was overturned and returned to show Jarra his prize. Jarra loved these little skinks but could never understand how Mirri managed to catch them. His own efforts never worked because they were so fast and agile.

"Look at his little eyes. We must be like three giants."

Mirri thought about that, nodded, and ran to return the lizard to its home territory. Baradin pointed to the gap between looming rocks.

"That's the way, Mirrigan. See if you can find our trail."

Mirri rushed off, at full speed of course because a new explore like this was totally exciting, and disappeared past the first of the rock walls.

"I don't know how he does that. It makes me nervous to watch. Have you ever seen him trip or fall?"

Baradin was talking about the precipitous rush with no apparent regard for taking a sensible course.

"Hardly ever and when he does he seems to get out of it without hurting himself very much."

"Well, WE are following the trail, and there's one of the markers."

Jarra walked toward the interesting looking gap at the slow, steady pace which would allow him to cover the maximum amount of distance, but after covering only thirty meters there was a great yell and he stopped abruptly to watch Mirri hurtling towards them.

"Jarra! Jarra! Jarra! It's a adventure! You found the best adventure. Big walls! Big cliffs and water pools!"

All this with a flurry of hugs for both Jarra and Baradin.

"Did you find the trail?"

"The trail is easy. See."

Mirri pointed to one of the markers as if anyone who couldn't see must be blind.

"Uncle Baradin, Jarra is the best searcher. He found the gorge for us. It's... It's wonderful."

Baradin shared a look with Jarra before giving Mirri a special hug. 'It's wonderful', was a new expression.

"Let's go then so we can all see it. Are you going to stay with us for a while?"

Mirri nodded and took Jarra's hand. That lasted while the trail was wide enough but a few minutes later it became impractical, and besides, there was too much needing closer investigation.

Jarra agreed with Mirri. To each side the rich colour of the gorge walls, and ahead the sparkling waters of a rock pool with sandy sides next to a large flat top boulder, indeed made this an adventure.

For the next while they wound their way very slowly through the rugged gorge with its sometimes enclosing walls and chain of rock pools. Four times Jarra was piggybacked through steep climbs and descents till the trail flattened again, and even more times he stopped and watched while Mirri happily explored boulders and ledges, the placid pools of water, and every plant or feature which took his interest. Normally Jarra would accompany Mirri where it was feasible, but with this extended expedition he had to be content with watching and waiting till Mirri returned with his questions and comments. With the routine developed on their normal walks, Baradin would accompany Mirri or stay with Jarra according to what was happening. Today he was doing more staying than usual, probably because of concern for Jarra's energy levels.

"Oh no! Look where he's going. Do you think we should call him back?"

Jarra shook his head and they watched as Mirri made his way to an interesting ledge overlooking the platform of rock they were sitting on.

"He must have suckers on his hands and feet. ...What's he doing?"

Mirri was waving and jumping on a lump of rock and making a funny pose.

"He's being King of the Mountain. He loves it."

The gorge widened and the explorers stopped where the trail started to descend. The valley below was their destination and Jarra was suddenly nervous. In real life it looked further than his planning from the InterWeb. He could manage the going down but the hundred and three meter change of elevation coming back up was impossible and the plan for Mirri and Baradin to carry him now looked too ambitious.

"The Eagles! The Eagles! Look!"

Mirri's keen eyes, anticipating, had seen them first. A pair lofting above and gliding. Jarra watched the apparently random course with his sense of wonder stirred. A quick glance showed Baradin watching, as rapt as they were.

"Another one! See!"

Mirri pointed to a third Wedge Tail tracking along the clifftops toward them. It was harder to see because it wasn't silhouetted but that changed as it came closer and closer. Jarra felt a flash of disappointment when it wheeled and disappeared, then renewed pleasure when, lifted on an updraught, it reappeared and started gliding towards them again.

The great raptor circled above and Jarra was almost certain he could see its eyes checking the intruders. The tableau of silent watching was broken by a sudden sound and for the twenty or thirty seconds the Eagle remained above, Mirri sang his happiness.

"Did he come to say hello, Uncle Baradin?"

Baradin didn't answer for a moment and Jarra thought he had a strange look on his face.

"I don't know, Mirri. It felt like it, didn't it?"

He shared out a drink and the little group started its cautious way down to the valley floor.

Jarra closed his eyes and relaxed on the bed Mirri had made for him in the shade of a rocky shelter. Baradin had helped, collecting soft grass and a bunch of gum leaves to serve as a pillow. Jarra liked this pillow because the eucalyptus scent added to the outdoor adventure feeling. Mirri insisted it was rest time and Baradin backed him up with an edict to stay put for at least an hour. Quite a relief really and Jarra's plan was to sleep for at least half of that. He cracked an eyelid to see if Mirri and Baradin were still in view. Yes, there they were, further down the valley so they wouldn't disturb him and walking towards a clump of kangaroo tail bushes.

A splashing sound registered and Jarra lifted his head to see what was happening. Baradin was sitting close by and further away Mirri was swimming. A look at his InfoPad showed forty minutes since he sat down and also alerted Baradin he was awake.

"Sleep well? We've only just got back."

Jarra nodded.

"Did Mirri find anything interesting?"

"Everything was interesting. The kangaroo tails are in flower and we watched the insects searching for nectar. We kept seeing Eagles, though some of them were hawks, and he was really excited to see a tiny eagle hover in the air then stoop down on something. He now knows what a kestrel is. I've just told him to do his own thing for a while so you can keep resting. ...Do you want to close your eyes again?"

"Not at the moment. I like watching him do things."

Mirri was floating on his back and squirting water into the air.

"I do too. Keeping his company on our once a week exploration is good for my soul. ...Does that mean anything?"

"The squirting? Yes, he's done it before. I showed him some whales on the InterWeb and he's pretending to be one."

"Does he sing very often when he's with you? I was almost overcome with wonder at his reaction to the Wedge Tail."

So that was the strange look.

"It changes. It happens a lot when we're exploring, but any time he's happy or excited it can start as well."

"Do you have many records of times when it's happened?"

"From my ComPatch? Yes, I have it on whenever we're out and I do store everything. It would be a big job to search for all the occasions though."

"We should collect them all. They're treasures. ...What's he doing now?"

Mirri, his body horizontal and submerged except for his head, was dragging himself along the shallow edge, but Jarra knew what Baradin meant.

"He's a crocodile. He usually does that when I'm there to be his prey and he dives on me and eats me."

“Amazing. I think you read each other's minds.

Jarra, I have some good news for you. It's three weeks since you made your proposal and you must be wondering why nothing seems to have happened. In fact it's been a major item and the full Council has met four times to deliberate. It was quite stormy at first but with the help of Durrebar and our own experts pushing strongly there is now unanimous agreement to go ahead. Sometime soon a special project will start at the Alkere Research Centre with Durrebar overseeing its development. It will go ahead quietly with no public announcements in the hope of staving off any external pressures till it's reasonably well established."

Jarra sat up and excitedly grasped Baradin's arm.

"It's really happening? They're not changing anything so the AI isn't independent?"

"Not likely. We'd have to find a completely different team if we wanted that."

"Will I be able to find out how it's going?"

"Of course. Darri will arrange for you to visit whenever you like. We don't want you to talk about it on the InterWeb though. Not till it becomes generally known."

"Like a secret?"

"Yes. It won't stay that way because as soon as your team of scientists leave their current positions their moves will be closely watched but ...Here comes Mirri. He's seen us talking. Are you going to have a swim like you planned?"

Jarra shook his head.

"No, I think it would be too much."

The next few minutes involved Mirri telling everything that had happened and after that a guided tour of his rock house, really a natural cavity in the nearby rock wall, which was a special discovery not to be missed.

"It's time to climb to the lookout, Mirri. If you get tired you'll let me help won't you?"

"I'm strong for Jarra."

"Yes you are, but I can help too."

Mirri didn't say anything and Jarra shook his head with a little smile to let Baradin know he wouldn't be doing any carrying. Mirri had decided it was his job.

There were two stops. One about halfway up and another after half the remaining distance, but they were both instigated by Baradin who was taking in Mirri's dogged progress with the same amazement as Jarra. The trained muscles which let Mirri race like the wind didn't even falter with the challenge of carrying his friend from valley to height and Jarra was so taken by the achievement that as soon as he was on his own feet he couldn't help giving Mirri a huge thank-you hug.

***

Jarra could hardly believe it. A two-week trip to the Community Center for First Australians being established at Carnarvon on the west coast of Australia. Baradin was going in his ambassador role and he'd decided it would be a good experience for Mirri and Jarra. That meant taking Karmai as well to look after them whenever there were meetings or other business and that meant even more excitement when Karmai organised a trip to a nearby Marine Research station which he was really interested in because of its involvement with dolphins. Baradin said it was a late birthday present for them both, which was funny because Jarra's 14th birthday was five weeks ago and Mirri's nearly 2 months before that. Jarra was just grateful. Apart from the trips to Alkere he'd never been away from Alice Springs in all his life and this big airliner carrying them on the 2000 kilometer journey was quite amazing. Mirri's eyes had gone wide with wonder at the size of it and he'd been glued to the view from his window seat ever since take-off.

"When do we see the big water?"

Mirri had fixated on the big water when Jarra had shown him pictures and explained that the ocean was bigger than the land. Karmai checked the flight progress screen.

"Soon, Mirri. Another twenty minutes and we'll be landing."

Jarra watched as closely as Mirri. Viewing something on the InterWeb was nothing like seeing it for real and his mind was already boggled at the vastness of the country they'd been flying over. There was a sudden change in the feel of the aircraft.

"What happened?"

"It's good, Mirri. We've started to descend. Watch the ground get closer and look for the river with lots of trees."

"More water?"

"Yes, it flows into the ocean at Carnarvon and Karmai will take you to see it tomorrow."

They did see the river but it was forgotten when the aircraft banked slightly and the expanse of ocean came into view.

"It is big. Where does it all come from?"

Jarra agreed with Mirri and watched spellbound till the change of direction for their landing brought a new rush of excitement.

***

Jarra couldn't believe what he was seeing. This was the third day of their Carnarvon stay and instead of the planned electric boat trip from the mouth of the Gascoyne River and inland, which they'd all been looking forward to, they were standing on a reef watching a hole. At the moment the interest was the hissing sound of air being expelled under huge pressure from a wave hitting the reef. Whoo! Jarra jolted then yelled his excitement as a twenty meter geyser of water erupted skywards. They'd been watching this blowhole for nearly a quarter of an hour and this was the most spectacular display yet. Word had come through to Karmai that the heaviest swells for several years were pounding against the cliffs at the nearby Quobba Beach and he'd quickly rearranged their day. Mirri and Jarra weren't pleased because they'd been looking forward to seeing pelicans but at the sight of the giant waves everything else was forgotten.

"Come on you two. We're going further along to see the really big ones."

He pointed in the distance to where a headland was, at the moment, almost engulfed by a great wall of white.

***

Jarra stared in wonder at the hundreds of pelicans lined up on the sandy shore of the little island as their electric boat slid silently and slowly by.

***

Jarra stared in amazement through the glass bottom of their special boat at the Ningaloo Reef where Mirri and Karmai drifted underwater while a gigantic whale shark sailed slowly past.

***