The next morning, Mary Tarith gathered everyone at the doors to the laboratory with a plan to introduce new thought processes into their research program. It was her opinion that they had been studying too much and hadn't had time to fully digest the new things that they had learned, so they would take one full day away from the labs and do something relaxing.
"So, what do we have on the docket for the day to help our researchers relax, Lady Tarith?" Max teased her as she assembled the group.
"Today, we are going to go to the Volacanic Springs on Rae 5. They have a unique form of fish in there that creates an endothermic reaction when exposed to water, cooling the ponds enough that they don't boil near the volcanoes, and the high mineral levels give them an incredible luminescence.
Since the topic of the week is unique energy patterns, I thought that a bit of relaxation while exposed to them should help clear everyone's minds."
The springs were also quite remote and hard to get to, inside an area that was designated as a nature preserve, so there was no development in the area, and it was a long trip in by the flying shuttles from the major cities, which made it one of the less popular tourist areas.
If they were lucky, they might even have the whole place to themselves, given the small population of the planet and the abundance of other places to visit.
"I have prepared the shuttle, so if everyone will please follow me, we will head to the surface right away," Mary ordered.
Uncle Lu must have been warned in advance, as he was wearing a tropical shirt and carrying a bag full of various beach accessories, which would not normally be brought to the research lab.
"Normally" because with him, you never really knew what was going to be a topic for research, and so you couldn't rule out that they were for scientific purposes.
With a cheer, the researchers followed Mary to the shuttle bays, ready and willing to try her new method, which involved playing in the water while brainstorming new ideas. As a workplace technique, it was practically made for the Innu, who were an amphibious species to begin with.
So, Max started to come up with research-related games for them to play.
Not ones that directly referenced their work but ones that would help with their creative thinking. Then, he realized that he didn't have to. Having them come up with different games to play all day long was a much better method, and he could just stop trying to guide them for the day and let the Innu be Innu.
While they did that, he could watch the fish, take a walk around the volcano, and relax by the water with Uncle Lu, who was dying for more people to tell the stories of their work since Max and Nico had started sending him a constant stream of ideas to improve.
He was sequestered within his lab all the time, and he didn't really get out much, so he never got the chance to tell anyone who didn't already know about how their research had been going. The stress had to be getting to him by now, but he wasn't willing to step away for the day any more than the others were, even if it was clear that he needed it.
The shuttle circled the site once, giving everyone a chance to look down on the active volcano as they descended, and then settled down on the small landing pad next to the larger pool. There were no other shuttles or vehicles here, so if they weren't alone, then whoever was here had hiked in.
For most humans, that would be a two-day journey, so it looked like they had the place to themselves.
The three men were chased out of the shuttle when they landed so that the ladies could change into swimwear, and Max led Ranarth and Uncle Lu down to the water's edge with a folding table and an armload of chairs.
This turned out to be exactly Ranarth's sort of spot. There were all sorts of unique plants on this planet, put here by design when it was terraformed, and the fish species was a particularly unique one, brought out of the history books from a long-dead planet to repopulate the waters here.
This was one of the few places on the planet that they were suited to, so Mary had picked them herself as part of the efforts to make the world more interesting to tourists. Eventually, this place would be a top destination, with its beautiful scenery and unique species, but for now, it was a hidden gem for them to play at.
All of that was secondary to Mary, though. While she wanted the work to go smoothly, her primary goal was to get to spend more time with Nico since her youngest kids were now in school, and she had an empty nest at home. Mary loved having little ones around, but hers were slowly making their way out into the world.
"Alright, Everyone, I want you all to have fun today, but I have a task for you. I want each of you to find one different way to have fun in this spot. Even if it's a cool thing to look at, you have all day." Max instructed the researchers, making them laugh as they ran for the water.
Ranarth smiled and pointed at a tree. "Up in the branches of that Golden Bark Maple tree, there is a bird's nest. If you laugh at the right frequency, they will echo your song."
He let out a musical laugh, and a half second later, a dozen small bird voices echoed it, singing his laughter back to him.
The Innu cheered, and Mary stared at him in shock.
"How did you know that? I didn't know that, and I'm the one who introduced the species to the region." She asked.
"Got it, Commander. We will do our best."
The old Darkling shrugged. "They're a near-perfect descendant of a species with the ability, so it only made sense that they would have it too. I noticed them doing it when we were setting up the tables, but it's not a note that is commonly made by human voices. The Innu should be able to do it, though, if they sing while mostly underwater.
Being submerged changes the pitch of their voices for aquatic communication, and that will put them in the right pitch."
Mary nodded happily as the old man gave his description, then brought out a selection of snacks from the shuttle.
"Today is going to be a good day, and I'm not letting anything stop me." She declared.
