-The Fall of Crowmeca-

Ken was one who never backed down from a dare, and he reminded himself of this fact as he stared down the near limitless waterfall of South Crowmeca. Despite the many times he could have died, he did not fear much; he was hardened to the extreme. He used to be significantly more cautious, but those days were long behind him. All he had now was the forever expanding universe around them all. He was most attracted to events and grand sights, so when he heard about this place, he had to come, and he was not the only one.

Ken took his time and was getting ready for his eventual jump. Quite a few people joked around him, laughing and carrying on like they had no care in the world, while Ken prepared for something no mortal creature could survive without the properly enclosed, and near indestructible ship that was provided for this trip. That group had travelled with him here and were the ones who dared him to jump shipless.

To Ken’s surprise, they all decided to jump with him in increments, protected in the ships meant for the extreme attraction. Their jumps were not for hours yet, so they all gathered around and drank their clumsily disguised alcoholic beverages. The banter triggered the memories of the original conversation the night they all met, and he started to reminisce about how he got into this absurd situation in the first place. It was one night when he had a bit too much to drink- something becoming entirely too normal for him- that he jumped into a nearby conversation.

“The waters of Salmanack will heal anyone, but they are deadly because of the tides!” A dark-haired human male spoke loudly, and drew Ken into the conversation from afar. “I swam in them successfully for three hours-completely healed my back,” the man boasted.

“That’s nothing compared to the heat of Madonia! It’s so intense that any exposure is enough to melt flesh and boil the organs of the thicker skinned,” an Aktonian told them, a tall and lanky humanoid alien, “no one wanted to join me, for good reason. To see the once in a lifetime views made possible by a global cooling effect that happens only once every 4,267 years, the trip alone could kill you. The window was short, and the visit had to be exact, or we wouldn’t escape in time not to burn up leaving the planet.”  

“What kind of views?!” A human woman asked, shocked.

“Lava waterfalls, steam plumes larger than clouds, and the ever-changing landscape around you!” The excited Aktonian explained further.

“Speaking of killer views, a few years back I came across an ocean floor that had dried up completely. There…

living off the fossils of long dead sea creatures, were the meanest crabs! They could grow pincers large enough to cut off a human leg!” A drunk Loranite narrated in a much clearer manner than it acted.

“Then why were you there?” Ken asked, finally contributing to the conversation.

“Them mean suckers have the most delicious meat, it’s a delicacy because they are so hard to catch and kill,” the Loranite clarified.

“That reminds me of the time I visited Jaramainy, that’s how they describe their women!” Everyone laughed at the Trasp. Ken figured the exaggerated laughter was because their species was not as commonly seen as most others. They were intriguing to look at and to listen to. They were a favorite of Ken’s because they looked reptilian, but were aquatic naturally, and were the most adaptive of any species to date. Their scales were hard because on their home planet, the seas are heavily acidic, but they could go without submerging in any liquid their entire lives, and could process many different types of atmospheres.

“I knew a woman that was that mean recently, went cave diving for natural resources on a frozen moon. After twelve miles of hiking, she separates me from the group, we are trapped in a room, and she refuses to let me leave until I’ve taught her how to harness magic. I was lucky she was even born with the ability, or I might still be there!” Ken interjected, remembering the event as if it were yesterday. He ended up recording the memory with an enchantment, so he would never lose it. Everyone raised their glasses to Ken in solidarity of his lucky escape.

“The rains on Kilamuranie are so heavy the soil will drown you,” a different Aktonian spoke this time. “The native Salindiens live within the loose mud and swim around like nothing bothers them. I was there for trade, there were no buildings and my ship had to hover; if we landed, it would have sunk!”

“That’s insane,” was the consensus from the group in response.

“I went to Urota once, everyone there was so nice, but they were so very emotional,” the human female from before spoke up. “the normal way there to settle an argument is to brawl, men and women alike! I made everyone cry there with my gratitude for a pleasant political visit.”

“I would lose my mind there!” The human male responded.

“That is why my bosses sent a woman, we can handle the emotion. It would be a fantastic place to pick up a husband, it’s too rare to find an emotional man elsewhere!” The snarky woman replied. A general clapping and ragging on the males occurred before conversation continued.

“None of these stories top my friends’ visit to the cliffs of Tempesta,” the first Aktonian rejoined enthusiastically.

“Oh, I’ve heard of that place!” The Trasp shared the Aktonian’s excitement. “He said nearly everyone there chickened out by the time it was their turn to jump.” Those who knew of the cliffs mumbled a derision of weakness or two, before the Aktonian continued to expound to those who were not familiar with the landmark. “See, it’s this precipice that’s thousands of feet of sheer cliffside. If you aim right once you jump off, you’ll land in an area where gravity prevents you from falling too quickly; you basically float to the calm waters way, way at the bottom.”

“That also reminds me of a place a stranger once told me about that piqued my interest,” the Trasp started again, and everyone quieted their own side rambling to listen. “There is a planet just within Andromeda, on the Milky Way’s side, that has a near infinite waterfall. They have turned the waterfall into an extreme sport, where you can jump down the waterfall in an indestructible ship. Your skill at dodging obstacles determines how injured, or dead, you are at the bottom.”

“Can’t be extreme if you can’t die,” the human woman affirmed, in response to the deadly claim of this sport.

“I disagree. I can not die; I bet I could do something to make it even more extreme, nonetheless,” Ken proposed carelessly, not even noticing the brief silence that ran through the group.

“Well then, I dare you to jump the falls of… what are they called?” The human woman implored the Trasp.

“The Great Fall of Crowmeca,” the Trasp provided, nodding his head slightly in an up and down motion.

“Exactly that- jump that with no protected ship, and film it for the enjoyment of everyone,” the human male added, and the group got excited, their noise level escalating rapidly.

“Of course, I will! What a fantastic idea!” Ken clamored, as he held up his drink. To his surprise, this group of random strangers all raised their glasses one by one.

“I’m in!” They all shouted in various ways, all wanting to witness the deed themselves.

“How do we get there?” The other Anktonian paused.

“I just got a new ship, it’s big enough for all of us,” Ken then tilted his glass back and finished his drink.  

“I guess we should introduce ourselves, I’m Larent, I identify as male,” the first Anktonian spoke. It was historically customary that the Ankton’s introduced themselves by gender as well as by name, this was due to the fact it was most often too difficult to tell.

“Larent, it is nice to formally meet you, I am Yanette, I identify as female,” the second Aktonian spoke up next. They gave a customary nod in acknowledgement of each other.

“Good names those are, I’m called Brevy,” the Loranite added, raising its glass as if to cheer.

“And my name is Sunli,” the human female jutted in quickly.

“Mine is Steve, nice to meet you Sunli,” he reached out and gently shook Sunli’s hand when he spoke to her, to everyone else he gave a polite nod. Only humans felt the need to always touch each other during greeting, be it hugs, cheek kissing, or handshakes. There have been times where this has been of great detriment to their race, and certain levels of germaphobes will keep away from physical contact altogether.

“I’m Marone to those I like,” the Trasp spoke up loudly after a short pause. Clearly, they had wanted to be the last to speak up, but Ken was good at being the center of attention, and getting the last word.

“I’m Ken, it’s really nice to meet you all. Larent, we are going to have to go to those cliffs of Tempesta after the Fall of Crowmeca,” Ken indicated to the tall Aktonian,“though I think we will be needing a visit to Salmanak, don’t you think Steve?” The human male laughed and made a friendly gesture towards Ken in response. “Yanette is a beautiful name, I look forward to hearing more about your travels in trade. I wonder what kind of politics you are interested in for your sector, Sunli.”

“Let us then get off to Marone’s second planet. No one actually thinks it’s a good idea to be around women who are described as ‘mean suckers’, so the first planet is out. Before that, I do vote we stop by and get them other mean suckers, and have a good meal before the Fall. Is that planet close to us, Brevy?” Ken presented earnestly, and everyone agreed with him, all turning to the drunk Loranite.

“No, not really, it would take us like, three years to get there,” Brevy hiccupped and laughed a little.

“I have a shortcut, just tell me the coordinates,” Ken urged.

“A shortcut through space?!” Sunli exploded, slapping both hands down on the table in front of her.

“How can you have a shortcut to somewhere when you don’t know where to go?” Yanette pressed brashly, her tone dubious.

“Located in the seventh district of the RAaic-2478-1293. Fourth planet in the eleventh solar system,” Brevy happily read the location off its personal device, as it had promptly looked it up upon Ken’s request.  

“Alright then, there first, and then the Fall of Crowmeca,” Ken gave the group a big smile and closed out their tab at the appearance of a well-timed server. “If it takes more than two hours to convince you of my shortcut, and/or it takes us more than ten days to get to the crabs, then I promise I’ll turn around,” Ken added, and everyone relaxed instantly. There was a general approval in the group.

“Well, seeing as how you just bought my drinks, I’m game, as long as we can pick up some more!” Steve bantered, “I have nowhere else to be.” One by one they all confirmed their spot in this adventure.

…

Ken was true to his word. When his ship did its first distance hop, the entire group was enthralled, and spent the entire charge time anticipating the next jump. Everyone with Ken was a traveler of some sort, and everyone had equipment that located them in the universe, per their understanding. After each jump, everyone would compare notes from their equipment. The conversations lasted until the jump was charged up again, which took hours. They even started suggesting places to go after the Fall, each of them feeding off one another’s excitement and their hearty amount of drinking supplies.

The visit for the crabs was short. Ken lowered his ship close to the ground and Marone kept the ship hovering. Ken leapt to the ground, rolling to a stop once he hit earth. His arrival was immediately noticed, and the ground began to shake beneath him. He ran straight ahead once the vibrations got strong. The giant crabs burst out of the ground just behind him. He yelped, since Brevy had failed to mention quite how massive the crabs were. Still, it took Ken only a few minutes to take the crabs that chased him down and knock them out.

They loaded as many into the ship as they could carry. They locked them up tightly, and made a quick retreat from the massive dried up seabed. Down at the ground during the retreat, more crabs ascended around the leftover knocked out ones. They parted the hard earth like it was the water that was once miles above it. The group promptly made their way to the nearest market to sell most of their massive haul, cooking the rest themselves as they made their way to Crowmeca.

Arriving there, they circled the planet, taking in every bit of the magnificent sight. They were not alone in their scenic orbit around the blue planet. Not many people were there though, and they did not cross paths with any others. It was clear that it was a destination spot, due to a broadcast that repeated over and over from the planet.

“Welcome travelers! Crowmeca is a type 6c planet in the universal code. (This means nearly uninhabitable due to extreme low temperatures.) Glaciers cover over ninety percent of the planet’s surface. The water travels through a continuous process, where the Northern ice melts and runs to the South to scatter and refreeze. Once there, the water melts and drains back to the North when the planet’s poles flip once a year, during the deep winter. Sightseeing is allowed; the current flow is South to North. So, fly around, admire this beautiful planet. Do not interfere with those in the fall; rescue teams are in place and trained to deal with the fatal waters. The planet is protected under the local Section 18 police, and harvesting Crowmeca’s water is strictly prohibited. Most of all, be safe if you plan to take the fall. This has been the tourist center, call into our radio network for more information, we can be reached at ….”

The entire group was ready to see the falls, and they headed to the tip of the planet they labeled as ‘South’. Marone landed the ship for them, while Ken began getting the ship ready for storage. A valet took the ship and parked it out of sight when they approached the main building. There, they rented all their necessary equipment. Ken found open kayaks that were meant for smaller sections of falling water, lower grade rapids that were the main source of their traffic. Once the group arrived, every one of them wanted to participate in the fall. They used their profits from the sale of the crabs to rent their indestructible ships.

Ken slowly and carefully inspected their equipment as they all prepared and worked out their order. Running his hands along the heavily carved ships, he could feel how old the machines were. They had a deep presence that made enchanting them easy. He embedded enchantments that made the ships control more with thought in desperate situations, smoother rebounds if they did hit something, and reducing whiplash to an always survivable level. Lastly, he added those same enchantments to his open kayak.

At first, he did not want any help. Now that he was there though, he wanted to do more than simply survive the fall. The people around him gave him a purpose for the moment, and that took the edge off his carelessness a bit. He genuinely wanted to enjoy the fall with them, which turns out is not a waterfall at all, but rather a massive and long river full of class five and six rapids. You only gain more speed as you go along, and despite the indestructible ships, a portion of the adventures die along the way.

Ken put on his equipment, which consisted of a 360-view camera securely attached to the front of his kayak. Ken passed on the helmet, but did wear a full wetsuit. They all signed their consent forms, and launched off in the order they had picked. First, it was Steve who went. This surprised Ken as humans were not normally the most daring of the species present in their group. It was Larent’s turn when the guide told them enough time had passed to put enough distance between the two contestants. When prompted, Larent was followed by Sunli, and then Ken.

They put Ken in the middle, so they could record him from behind in the more open areas. The cameras provided by the facility and were closely monitored. They were incredibly powerful, and the resolution was impressive enough to zoom in and get footage the person living the moment could not see. Brevy followed Ken, and screamed loud enough for Ken to hear when he made the plunge into the near freezing water. Yanette said a prayer as she descended, leaving Marone to take up the rear.

“We can talk to one another guys!” Sunli’s voice exclaimed suddenly from between Ken’s legs as he patted the top of the fast-moving water with his paddle, to move his light boat out of the way of obstructions.

“Well, if there isn’t a button right here with a mic,” Brevy observed, bemused. Ken was glad that he knew their voices well enough to know who spoke when.

“Brevy, you see Ken?” Larent inquired when he got a moment.

“Yeah! He is much better than me at avoidin—OWWE—the rocks, yeah. Ow.” Brevy groaned loudly into the microphone.

“I suspect he won’t be able to talk to us during this process because it takes a hand to press the button to talk, and that paddle demands two.” Larent replied.

“Do you think the immortal hot bod can hear us?!” Sunli radioed coyly.

“Well he just hit his first obstacle, and it spun his boat around…he has managed to recover, so yes, I do believe he can hear us!” Brevy laughed as he told the group of Ken’s apparent distraction by Sunli’s outburst. 

“You think we should have packed food? I’m already getting hungry,” Steve complained, he made a startled noise right after, “never mind, refreshments….appeared, I just havta eat from…” Steve trailed off and others discovered the basic snacks the ship feeds you if you say you are hungry. Ken’s ship did not though, as his ship was designed for shorter outings, not that Ken was in any position to check for such a thing.

Ken dodged and weaved through countless rapids. His kayak took a beating, banging against rocks both above and below water. Brevy kept the group updated on his condition like an announcer until they made their way into the first of the deadlier parts. Steve was first to enter the maelstrom of class 6 rapids. The first time he screamed in shock, Yanette stuttered out prayers to her god over the speaker for everyone to hear. Continuing to scream at close random intervals, Steve scared the entire group. They assumed his button had gotten stuck and they all had his terrified screams blasting in their face, or in Ken’s case, through his legs. They could not escape listening to the awful game of pinball the river was playing with him.

When Larent entered the rapids, no one heard from him. Everyone assumed he was focusing, and hoped it did not go as poorly for him as it was going for Steve, though no one could get anything through on the radio, even if they wanted to, with all of Steve’s cries of agony and fear.

“Say an extra prayer for me, alright Yanette?” Sunli attempted to request as she prepared to enter the raging waters before her. Ken did not worry for his friends, but he did worry a bit about himself once he was faced with the deadly rapids. He may not die, but he could get pinned under the water and pass out, to possibly never be found. He focused the best he could, and entered the mist.

“Missing top has proceeded into the mist; we are nuts for this…” Brevy reflected. He now stared the rapids down himself. Steve seemed to have calm down, and the rest assumed he had been able to gain control of his ship a little.

“There is a massive ice tunnel we are going through during these rapids. Steve might have lost radio connection. So, see you all on the other side.” Marone informed, just before Larent entered the tunnel.

Ken fought to slow himself down when he could. By dragging his paddle, he would tilt his boat back and forth to try and cut the speed down. He was not ready for the dramatic drop in temperature the tunnel presented. The water felt like it soaked into his bones, and turned them to ice. He kept pace, and continued to dodge and slide off as many obstacles as he could. The jarring nature of his trek made him wish he had not been such a showoff.

With his attention wholly occupied by the fall, he did not notice the time passing. When he emerged from the tunnel, he was surprised to feel warmth on his body. The water raged faster outside, but there was not as much to dodge, and Ken gave his arms a break, tilting his kayak with his weight to stay on track. “How is everyone in front? I’ve made it through.” Ken updated, as he found his button. There were cheers over the radio from the three in front of him, who had made it through the rapids themselves.

Ken was sure they would make it through, because he took the sharp edge off this adventure. He did not want to end up dragging this group to their deaths. Their lives were special; he also did not plan on telling them that they made it with some assistance, no matter how little it was. He did not want to take the excitement from them, since they all could use it more than he ever could.

Ken could not see those behind him, but he made it a game to try and hit more obstacles than Sunli did in front of him. Ken watched as her quick reflexes would barely keep her from making contact at all with the rigid rocks. Ken quickly figured out that whatever she was avoiding, is what he wanted to traverse willingly. Brevy gave fervent commentary on Ken’s actions, as if he were covering the extreme sport for a massive audience.

“He dives to the left just in time to launch himself a few feet into the air, by choosing to go between two huge rocks! Instead of dodging the massive mist to the right like I am going to do, Ken has entered the death trap! Emerging victorious, Ken shows off just how much he wasn’t lying, this man is clearly immortal!” Brevy went on and on, never missing a beat. This made Ken laugh more than a few times, and helped distract him from how bad of a decision this truly was. 

By the time they reached the halfway point, Ken was exhausted. He rarely reached this state anymore. Even his daily exercises no longer made him sore. Feeling the wear on his body breathed life into him, and Ken hollered into the air above them loud enough for Sunli and Brevy to hear almost a mile in front, and behind him. Ken strived every day, it felt like, to feel human again. Be it the company of mortals, traveling somewhere new, or jumping into something dangerous, he was sure to chance it, any opportunity he got. He had long accepted that he was not well off alone. Finality haunted Ken in an odd way. He thought so much about maybe seeking out a way to end his existence, that he could not even keep track of it anymore. He knew it was impossible, but still he wanted to entertain the notion in his darkest times. 

The fall seemed to go on forever, no end in sight. Ken’s stomach started to growl with hunger, but he continued to manipulate the paddle, feeling the adrenaline every time he crossed an obstacle. He craved that feeling so much, that from time to time he would aim himself towards the rougher rapids. Ken was sure that without his enchantments, Steve would have surely snapped his neck from whiplash in the tunnel. No one else lost control the rest of the fall, despite some ugly sections of rough water. Steve’s blunder was just that. He was a very skilled adventurer, and proved that as he called out information to the rest of the group as a leader would do. 

 By the time they neared the end of the fall, Ken was more than ready to be done, and he was not the only one. They all had their ships magnetically slowed, and they came to a soft stop, even with the water still raging around them at full speed. Workers helped them each out of their boats, and cheered them on as Ken was sure they always did when the contestants did not die. The group immediately made their way to the restaurant situated at the North station. There was a small gathering inside of people on the planet that had watched their collective trip down the fall. Ken had not realized it had been broadcasted, and was suddenly glad he did not have access to the speaker for ninety-nine percent of the time, because editing would have done him no good. 

The only one who was given more attention than Ken was Brevy. His commentary was such a hit that he even had a call-in job offer. Ken was proud to have provided a small amount of entertainment for some people. This is when Ken was hit with the second surprise of the night: a point system. A copy of the results was provided to every member of the group, and the results were uproarious, to say the least. Everyone tried to talk at once. Larent became animated enough to start climbing on the table to be heard. Nothing about their interactions were civil, and the waitress had to come over and demand that they calm themselves by slamming her hand on the table and screaming “Enough!” Everyone listened, calmed, and then began speaking one at a time.

 “Well I got the worst score with the most amount of points,” Ken shared while laughing with the others.

 “That just means you hit the most obstacles, some would say that’s the best since that was your goal,” Marone identified, nailing Ken’s true intent. 

 “Well, you hit the least and that would mean you were the worst of the group!” Ken jested as he bounced the remark back at Marone, who shrugged while wearing a knowing smile. This caused Sunli to get fired back up.

 “I was so close!” Sunli had just a handful more points than Marone. Marone’s smile grew, and they eventually laughed when Sunli grunted in exasperation. 

 “You did look like a fish out there,” Ken directed at Sunli, she nodded in appreciation of her skills. 

 “I’d have been a contender, if I did not goof up there before the tunnel, and then the tunnel…” No one said anything as he paused, “I’m surprised I’m not dead, I thought for sure I was a goner,” everyone had thought the same at one point or another.

 “Well, still did not do quite as bad as Brevy!” Ken changed tack quickly to avoid having to admit to his slight lifesaving tampering. 

 “Admittedly, my hands should have been on my controls more, yes, but you were just so engrossing!” Brevy defended himself loudly,

 “It’s alright, at least Ken did a lot worse than you, even though he was doing it on purpose.” Yanette interjected calmly, but firmly. 

 “I’m dead average, as is the story of my life, in all but one manner–” Larent got most of his crude joke off before Sunli shouldered him to interrupt.

 “That means you did pretty well Yanette,” Ken gave a little clap as he called her out.

“No big deal, I’m just glad my prayers worked!” Yanette allowed herself to follow up with another prayer, and the others tried their best to respect it, before moving on.

 “Honestly, as well as I did I was just trying to do what she did better, most of the time-not as much involved for me as far as thinking,” Marone raised their glass in the female Aktonion’s direction. “Here’s to teamwork!”

KEN VII