This is civilisation

<snip>
“If you have any sense at all, you’ll steer well clear, your friend is gone”
“So, the sensible option is to avoid them eh?”
“Yes.”
“So where will we find them?”….
<end snip>

Seymour could see that this was going to be one of those situations they'd do something preposterous, like leave the comfortable warm house, and all head out back into the dangerous jungle.

As they talked, he had a spy around the house. It wasn't exactly oak panelled, but compared to anything he'd seen on this planet so far, it was an elegant stately home. Mr Eastlick was clearly a tinkerer, maybe an inventor of sorts. He knocked on a pillar that held the roof up, sawn timber held together with joists made from smelted metal, presumably metal from the escape pod the Engineer had talked about.

Walls, floors, tables, chairs, this was a civilised home. Already, Seymour didn't want to leave. Then he saw something that made him so excited he had to waft his cheeks with his hand like a fair Victorian lady. “Is that... a kitchen sink?”
He barged Eastlick and jay out of the way with his temporary wheelchair, almost grazing their shins.
“Plumbed drainage system, copper pipes, and...” he leaned upwards and turned a tap. “Running water!!!”
“Why are you so excited, are you that desperate to do the washing up?” Jay laughed.
Seymour shot a dismissive glance back. “No, no, no. I have 'people' for that. But what this means, if you've got running water have you also jolly well got...”
Seymour spun around, looking for a door, which Jamie proudly pushed open. “Are you looking for this?”
Seymour bit into his fists with excitement. “A toilet! A working toilet!” He gasped, and Jamie blushed.
“Oh say it isn't so!” He wheeled himself inside. “Does it flush?”
Jamie nodded, and pointed to a pull-cord that Seymour tugged gingerly. A pipe deposited fresh clear water into the bowl and it spiralled down into a drain, and Seymour almost orgasmed with excitement. “Bravo!” he applauded.
“What's the big deal, it's just a normal lav.” Eastlick said, an eyebrow raised at the Ambassador's OTT reaction to a rudimentary toilet.
“The 'big deal' Mister Eastlick is that this is the very first toilet I've jolly well seen since landing on this disgusting planet, and although you're right it's not exactly the golden latrine at the Sultan's palace in Dubai, it's infinitely better than digging a hole and covering it back up with dirt.” He said, then looked a bit embarrassed.

As they'd now gathered around Eastlick's lavatory, it was Jay who mentioned after an awkward pause that they should get a move on to this 'Haruk' settlement that Jamie had mentioned.
“Not a chance gentlemen. I shan’t be moving from this very spot.” Seymour said adamantly.
“What, Jamie's toilet?”
“Laugh all you might, but at least this isn't out there... with all the bugs and monsters, and squids, and disease, and no bathrooms. This right here...” he pointed to the ground. “This gentlemen is what civilisation looks like. I for one am not moving.”

From behind in the group, Phil pushed forward urgently, his hands cupping his own buttocks. “Move aside, that curry's back with a vengeance! This is gonna be a ripe one!”

*** 10 minutes later ***

The entire group trudged through the jungle away from Jamie's house (or “ground zero” as Phil had now dubbed it), which still had visible fumes coming out of the windows. Jamie glared angrily at a more relieved-looking Phil.

“Push me faster!” Seymour demanded from a knackered-looking Alex, who was pushing his wheelchair from behind. Seymour pulled up alongside Jamie.
“So Mr Eastlick, tell us about the first time you encountered these ''Haruk'.”

<Tag! Does Jamie get on well with the Haruk? Are they brutal enemies, or do they have some sort of non-aggression pact or trade agreement perhaps? Something that might let us get into their city. >