A mechanical roar erupted over the canopy of the impenetrable rainforest, forcing the calls of the native wildlife into submission. The two pilots within their speeding hauler were on a life saving operation with time pitted very much against them. They had minutes to get to their intended location, enough to count on a single hand, and yet it would be an absolute miracle if they were to make it in time.

"Down there!" directed the co-pilot, leaning over towards the front windshield in order to gaze out into the wilderness. He had spotted a red stream of smoke rising calmly through the trees, it was a signal flare from the missing Wasp.

Jackson jerked back on the control wheel of the aircraft, hooking the vehicle into a sudden roll as he redirected their pathway towards the smoke plumes. The co-pilot, failing to predict JJ's sudden actions, was thrown back into his seat, slamming the back of his skull against the head rest. He wasn't furious, he simply showed little emotion to the discomfort that he had just experienced, it was not the time to act like a wuss.

They approached the crash site as Jackson shifted his sights towards his co-pilot, "I'm gonna jump for them."

"Are you kidding me?" the co-pilot returned with a look of astonishment, unsure if Jackson was understanding the seriousness of the situation, "I can't fly this thing on my own! I've only been in the air for a week so let me go down inste—"

The concerns fell on deaf ears as Jackson keyed his command into the hauler dashboard, sending the control console sliding across the front panel and over to his partner. The boy looked at its grandness in fear, slowly inching his hands closer so that he could switch from back seat driver to pilot of the flyer. He watched as Jackson moved out of his seat and towards the rear of the Hauler, picking up a chest harness along the way. The ex-pilot reached up into the rafters and pulled down a winch cable, attaching it first to the safety gear and then onto his own back. With a push of a button on the wall the floor began to fold it's way back, revealing the lush green jungle below.

"C-coming up on site..." the younger of the two announced just as the clouds of red smoke began to waft their way around the hauler. As they hovered in the air Jackson could see hints of yellow amongst the ground, a sign that this was definitely the crash site they were looking for. This was it, the daring moment. With a deep breath and the feeling of time slowing down to a crawl, Jackson let his body fall out of the aircraft in a bungee style drop.

The wind rushed around his torso as he fell, whipping his matted hair back towards the skies, fluttering his loose clothing like a flag in a cyclone. The ground was fast approaching towards the male as his eyes shifted from it's usual dirty brown to a much more vivid and vibrant gold. Jackson's speed promptly began to decrease as the new sensation of weightlessness took over. His mass began to twist and turn under it's own inertia until eventually he collapsed on the ground below in a rag-doll heap. He hadn't mastered the art of landing on his feet quite yet.

"Jesus Christ!" The voice echoed through Jackson's headpiece, "That ability of yours has turned you into some crazy ass son of a bitch."

Jackson laughed, giving the cable a tug so that he had a fair amount of slack to move around. "Well at least my Lunos is useful, right Bubbles?"

A heavy groan could be heard over the radio waves, "Yeah yeah... I blow bubbles out of my mouth. Can you see the pilot anywhere?"

By this point in time Jackson had located the downed Wasp, and climbed onto the metal frame. He peered over the debris and into the cockpit seat to see a barely conscious male, covered in blood and oil, "Yeah, I found the pilot. Lucky bastard if you ask m..." JJ froze for a moment. He peered deeply into the surrounding brush, certain that he heard something... inhuman.

"Pull me up," he whispered cautiously into the intercom.

"Don't you wanna chec—"

"Bubbles... I do not wanna become mog'romp chow so when I say pull me up, you pull me up!"

A flurry of curse words could be heard in Jackson's ear. The man snapped his sights towards the length of slack on the ground, watching it tighten and return back into the hauler. "This is gonna hurt," JJ warned as he bear hugged the injured pilot just as their two combined bodies jolted up vertically towards the cargo bay.

The foliage below tore open with a trio of white, striped felines bounded into the area with one gazing upwards towards the two humans. They was hungry, starving for a meal, and this wasn't going to let this lunch meal get away so easily. With their razor sharp claws extended and a series of powerful bounds, the pack of mog'romps used the closest tree as a climbing post to leap upwards for their kill. JJ's eyes glowed as he desperately attempted to reduce his weight as much as possible, further increasing the speed of the ascent. They had just cleared the canopy when the alpha beast reached the highest branch, hissing at the escapees for being so savvy; it was a close call to say the least.

Jackson and the injured pilot entered into the hauler with the floor panel closing up underneath them. "We all secure and sound?" called out a voice from the front of the aircraft.

"Yeah," replied Jackson, feeling exhausted from the ordeal, "Sounds like a plan. This planet is more dangerous than what I could have ever expected."

"Still better than what we had."

Jackson sighed. His partner was right. Awilix was a terrifying place but it was still better than the limited time they had back on Earth.

"This is quite beyond unacceptable! Eight thousand square kilometers and our workers have only managed to clear out a maximum of two in the last month!"
"Kilometers, miles... Seriously old man will you speak in a language that we all can understand."
"I will speak however I please, you insolent yankie boy!"
"Will you two loud mouths just quit derailing the topic... —"

One month after the arrival on Awilix and the first of many city meetings was being held within the center spire of Landing, a collection of several newly formed departments to which all of them wanted to have their say on the matters at hand. It should have been a civil conversation but as the minutes progressed on it quickly became apparent that these self-elected bureaucrats were nothing more than self-centerd businessmen. Each of them sat around a large elliptical table, throwing out their mindless opinions, shutting down the discussion of needs and instead arguing with the discussion of wants.

The first of these notable individual was also the one causing the majority of the ruckus, a man known simply as Fáng Quan. Mr Quan was a business tycoon from the Asian region back on Earth, a powerful rarity for his time and one who managed to single handily own 15% of all trade business within the South-East Asian region. It is unclear how such an older figurehead had managed to secure himself a position within the Noah II but when the coinage within your pocket equals more than the yearly salary of your regular citizen, it isn't too hard to figure out how he managed to do so.

Disputing against him and with such enthusiasm was a much younger, mid to late 20s male by the name of Carson McCreary. With the low qualifications of a traffic cop and a high level of determination, Carson had decided to take on the role of Landing's security. He knew from the start that it was going to be a challenge but if it meant that he could get under the skin of questionable individuals such as Mr Quan then he was glad to take on the role.

It was during their verbal duel when Annabelle Harroway stepped in, "— So far for the past half an hour you two have acted more like children then actual men. It should not get to the point where youngest member of this cabinet has to give a parental talk to two older males. So if you don't mind then maybe we can get back to discussing the topic of how we are going to deal with the growing problems that this city has created?"

"Annabelle is right," injected a mechanical voice from the only, non-living representative on the board, "I in particular would like to know how we are going to tackle the Eidolon problem?"

"See! Miss Lankerfield does have a vali—" Carson's words were cut short.

"Carson McCreary. You will either call me by my name Cerridwen, or Dr. Lankerfield. I did not spend several years of my life devoted to the creation the cryogenic pods for you to refer to me as a low-level Mistress. Now, continue..."

"Err, yes," Carson took a sip of his water glass, feeling as though his very soul had been pierced by an arrow of dominance, especially from a talking toaster. "Ahem... As I was about to say, earlier last night we had yet another killing by Eidolon. My people are still yet to identify the victim but this is the second of such killings since Landing's arrival."

"How certain are you that it is them?" Cerridwen queried, ensuring that he had some evidence to his empty accusations

"Well, they wrote in blood, on the floor mind you, the exact time that the body would be discovered, even down to the seconds." Carson placed his palm on the table, loading up the holographic projection of the crime scene. The image rotated around displaying a visual light show of all the details including the body and the haunting numeral message. While Cerridwen was not phased by the images that she witnessed, Annabelle turned her head away from the projection. A level of disgust boiled inside her of how this man was so willing to share sensitive photos to such a large group of people. Carson noticed the girl's expression, realising that it was probably not the best practice to bring up crime scene photos during a pseudo government discussion. He quickly released his palm off the table, forcing the display piece to disappear from existence.

"I would like to request a fifteen minute break..." Annabelle softly opened, hoping that someone would acknowledge her plea. She had a sensitive stomach and wished to venture out for some fresh air.

Cerridwen turned her sights towards the female next to her, noticing the emotions of disrelish, "Once again, Annabelle is right. Let us take a short break and come back to this with a greater sense of aptitude."

The android watched as every other member began to vacate their seats. Following suit she began to push herself out of the chair, the servos in her body giving the slightest of whirs as they moved about. As the large group of representatives proceeded towards the entrance door, heading outside for some much needed fresh air, she did the exact opposite and headed towards the window to gaze out upon the city below. Instinctively she rested her arm up against her window and pressed her forehead against the glass. A touch of fog from her breath would have been a beautiful sight, but it's absence only reminded her of how she was still a prisoner to the cryogenic pods.

"Such an assertive woman," Cerridwen was caught offguard, but not startled. She hadn't expected Fáng to linger around in order to talk to her. "Such a prominent technologist, and yet you have been demoted to a form less than human." Mr Quan plucked out a cigar from his breast pocket, slipping it into his lips and lighting the end with a chrome lighter. He puffed away, breathing out clouds of white smoke, imitating that of a legendary dragon.

Cerridwen examined the reflection in the window, sizing up the tycoon and wondering what his twisted agenda may be, the true reason for joining this board of directors. "What is it that you want this time Fáng?" she scowled into the glass, ensuring that he could see her displeased expression.

Fáng's teeth sharpened as he presented his trademark, sinister grin. "Nothing right this very moment, but some day that may change. You understand how it is; Business, control."

"Whatever it is that you are offering, I do not want it."

"As I said before... Not right now, but who knows... you may just might change your mind."

Cerridwen watched as he turned away to eventually leave the room, knowing full well that he was pushing his limits to see how far he could test the lone engineer. She gazed back through the window, finally able to enjoy the view in peace.

Keefer Bernstein had observed a peculiar fact about memory. Any time something greatly out of the norm happened, it was impossible to recall exactly what lead up to the event. That was probably why he had no idea why Holla, internet sensation and fame seeker, was kissing him so feverishly. In his bed room no less. Thankfully they were both still dressed.

“Um.” was all poor Keefer could get out. Holla had a grip on his jacket and was bobbing in and out like a boxer, landing kisses along the side of his face. Keefer's field of vision was filled with Holla's blond curls and the occasional glimpse of her glowing golden eyes. Keefer wasn't sure how to defend himself. The carpenter didn't want to touch her in an inappropriate way, but the idea that maybe there wasn't an inappropriate way to hold her in this situation scared him. When she pushed him onto his bed, Keefer was able to catch her shoulders before she fell on top of him.

“Something wrong?” Her curls were dangling inches away from his face. He could smell her shampoo; exotic fruits.

“What's going on?” Keefer didn't realize how breathless he was until he tried to speak.

“Oh my!” Holla's face suddenly changed to one of concern. “Was all this too much? I just assumed that since we were both neighbors you'd want to get to know me a little better.” Holla rolled off of Keefer and helped him sit up. The fame seeker folded her hands in her lap and smiled. With Holla no longer forcing herself into his personal space, Keefer could see she was wearing a modern white gown. She had accessorized it with a purple fuzzy scarf and a waist buckle. This was an attempt to mimic a popular fashion trend back on earth called “Neo-Glam.” People mixed modern fashion with retro fashion from the 1980s. It was popular with new celebrities and classic rock/punk artists. “You said you wanted me, didn't you?”

That's right. This was the first time Keefer and Holla came home at the same time. In truth, Keefer wasn't aware he was right next door to someone as popular on earth as Holla. He couldn't remember all the details, but he did remember talking with her. He did recall saying he'd like to have her over some time. Wait, was all this a misunderstanding!? Keefer did his best to compose a smile and turned to face the fame seeker. “Alright, so what 'exactly' did I say?”

Holla pressed a finger into her cheek. “Well, I don't remember 'exactly' what you said. But it was either that you'd 'like to have me for dinner' or that you'd 'like to have ME for dinner.'” Holla grabbed the edge of the bed with both hands and started kicking the air. “I thought this was the most interesting way to clear all that up.”

Keefer chuckled nervously. “Well, it's noon time so...”

“You just want a snack then?” Holla gave the carpenter a playful wink.

“No! Heh, not like that.” Keefer waved his hands. “I just wanted to get to know you better.”

“Oh! Well in this day in age, it's really important that you do your research first.” Holla bounced off the bed and wandered towards Keefer's computer desk. Instead of taking a seat, she bent over without bending her knees. Her head hovered level with the computer screen when she woke it up from sleep mode. “First let's take a peak at your search history. Quite a few of my old videos were backed up and you may have seen a few without realizing it.”

Keefer was a little too anxious to turn off the computer screen. “I uh, don't think that's really necessary.” He hoped he didn't look nervous. “Why do research online when you're right in front of me?”

“True.” Se stood up and turned to face Keefer. “I mean, this blouse has a pretty low cut. Why look at a video when you've got the real thing right?”

“Ah...”

Holla sighed and looked away from Keefer. “Yea, it probably isn't that impressive after you've seen 'sponge' right? You know, the experimental film where I get crushed by a human torso inside a submarine?”

“Um, weren't you in a bathtub?”

“So you HAVE seen it! Haha!”

Sponge was one of Holla's more famous films. It was about a bikini-clad slave deciding if she wanted to escape to a life of freedom, or live as a slave inside the bath tub. The climax of the movie has the slave trying to escape the bathtub, only for a another character called Master to show up to stop her. In the final moments of the movie, Master traps slave before shouting “I'll crush you like a spunnnnnnge,” which quickly became a meme after appearing on several reaction images. The film was hailed as a masterpiece by some, but criticized as being little more than soft core erotica as well. The film is known to most people as “That film where you see Holla naked,” as Holla is listed as the actress for both Slave and Master. While Master's body was positioned to hide anything adult rated, it still wasn't a film you told most people you saw.

“Well...” Keefer's face was flushed a most brilliant shade of red. “I mean, I don't think anyone would dispute the fact that you're attractive. And-”

“You know I'm not going to rape you, right?”

“...I had my doubts.”

Holla sat down on the edge of the bed. “I'm not easy, and I don't typically come on that strong to people. But even I need a little cheering up now and then. As one of the first celebrities of this new world I have my work cut out for me. Everyone's so sad.”

This didn't sound like the fame seeker that Keefer met just seconds ago. The unstable bundle of energy had simmered down into something stagnant. Even the glow in her eyes seemed weaker. Keefer almost wanted the old Holla back, but he did feel like this was a woman he could comfort and talk to. He sat down beside her. “We're all still adjusting. I know I have difficulty adjusting moving from apartment to apartment on earth. I can only imagine the kind of unrest moving to another planet must cause people.”

Holla turned her head to look at the carpenter. “You know we're going to have the hardest time right?” She folded her arms. “We're generation zero. We came from a world that had the luxury of government subsidized housing and handicap parking lots. We could come home from our day at work, fill a bowl with ice cream, and spend the evening watching cat videos. We could also make choices.” She started to count her fingers. “What to have for dinner, what to do for a living, who we wanted to have sex with, or even IF we wanted to have sex at all.” Holla shook her head, and her lower lip quivered. “We wasted five years of our lives retreating from an ideal utopia. We complained about earth, but we left because everyone was wrong. It wasn't our inability to prevent wars, control green house gasses, or recycle. A rock was going to be the end of us. Something not of our world. We left behind a lot of good people and-” She paused to breathe. Holla's eyes were becoming wet. “And kids. Lots of kids. They wouldn't have survived the trip. Our youngest passengers are young adults now. Our new world doesn't have any children in it. There's no hope.. Not yet.” She reached up with her sleeve and dried her eyes. When she looked back at Keefer, there was a big, toothy smile on her face. “Which is why I have to be their hope now! My time to shine, baby!” Keefer was so shocked by her reversal of emotions that he didn't even react when she kissed his cheek. “Thanks for listening, hun! You've been a lot of fun!” She hopped of the bed and started to skip towards the front door. What just happened?

“Holla?” Keefer followed Holla to the front door. “What's going on?”

“I think you're pretty cute, Keefer.” Holla giggled as she reached the door. “But you know, us celebrities are at our most desirable when we're still romantically accessible. As much as I'd love to see a little Holla or Keefer running around, I heard motherhood can make your breasts sag. That's just not good for the ol' career.” Holla tapped the open button, and the door slid out of the way soundlessly. “But if you just want to be friends or do somethin' on the down low...”

Keefer had given up on trying to figure out if Holla was being serious or not. It was probably best if he just rolled with it. “Well, maybe we could be friends. I mean I saw sponge, so I'm not sure you have that much more to show me.”

Holla's grin widened as she prepared to step through the breech of the door, but she stopped. “Keefer.” The fame seeker looked over her shoulder at her neighbor. “This is a crazy world we live in, and there will be several points where you will be required to make your own observations. This was true on earth, and I fear it is even more so here.”

“How do you mean?” Keefer folded his arms.

“Well, everyone assumes that I was both characters in sponge. I mean it's understandable, both characters were played by an actress called Holla. For the duration the characters were on screen and the angles the scene was shot at, it wouldn't have been hard to impose an extra of myself into the scene.”

“You mean you didn't?”

Holla's smile shifted into a smirk. “I didn't really feel like superimposing myself in the scene, so I dared my room mate to do the scene with me. Her name was Hollie Anderson, so I put her in the credits as 'HollA' No one could figure out why the 'A' was uppercase in the credits. No one ever suspected that we were two different people.”

Keefer was, again, stunned with shock. He snapped out of it when he remembered something. “Hey um, I don't know if you're busy, but did you want to hang out a bit longer? My sister is suppose to join me for lunch, and I think she'd like you. She should really be here any moment now.”

“Oh uh.” Her smirk disappeared. “I don't think that's a good idea. I don't get along with girls very well. Especially when there are men around to charm.” With a giggle, she stepped outside. “I should really be at my photo shoot anyway. See ya later, neighbor!”

Keefer wasn't sure what to feel at the moment. That woman was a total enigma to him. Well, he couldn't dwell on her now. The carpenter decided to prepare lunch while he waited for his sister.

…

Holla walked into the apartment beside Keefer's and shut the door. In comparison, hers was considerably smaller. Just a single room apartment compared to the labyrinth that belonged to “Keefer Bernstein.” Holla wasn't really comparing those two apartments though. She had some place to be, or more precisely, someone else to be. There was no rush, but Holla did have to shift gears a little bit. The bubbly fame seeker might have the luxory of time, but a by the book woman like Lenna was never late, never made excuses. Holla started to shed her exterior. She tossed her scarf, waist buckle, her clothes, her underwear, everything she had on her person went at the end of the bed in a heap. It was time to become someone else. Holla walked into her closet and pushed some of her coats off to the side. It was difficult to see, but there was a trap door here. Holla didn't hesitate, she lowered herself into the void and closed the trap door overhead. There was a switch down below that turned the lights off in this apartment, but she didn't need to use it at this hour of the day.

As Holla walked down the dark corridor her body began to change shape. Her breasts shrank, and her waist expanded to compensate. Her lustrious golden curls became a short black curtain, and her nose got longer and thinner. Holla had entirely disappeared, and Lenna now stood in her place.The only resemblance between them was their glowing eyes.

Lenna climbed out of the trap door into her own apartment. She got dressed in her work clothes and looked into the mirror. The crimson red suit looked sharp. This was someone you wanted to stand behind, but one you never wanted to face. With calculated movements, Lenna left her apartment.

The overseer approached Keefer's apartment and gave his door a firm knock. Seconds later, he showed his face.

“Hey sis.” He said, struggling to smile. “Aren't you a little late?”

“Long story. I don't want to talk about it.” Lenna sniffed. “Perfume?”

“About that...”

Lenna rolled her eyes and stepped past Keefer. “Is lunch ready at least?”

The carpenter let out an exhausted sigh and closed the door.

"Jethro! You better get your lazy ass in gear boy. I can hear those damn bongos from over here. Get out of that shed and get to moving soil for the new crops to take hold." With a jolt of energy he jumped up from his seat, tripped over a few tools as he came bumbling out of the shed. "Reggie, I am so sorry man I just had this last part to get down. You see it was a solo of sorts, well, I mean, I am playing by myself so it is always a solo..." as Jethro tried to string an excuse together Reggie cut him off, "I don't care if you are playing for the Queen of Bongotopia you hear me! We need to finish this plot up by the end of the day or it is mine and your asses, ya hear?"

With a enthusiastic thumbs up he put his bongos down in front of the shed. Picking up his families pitchfork he walked down to the far end of the plot. This plot of land had been put off for a few days because it would seem some of the other farmer's pieces of land had begun to sprout Ghost Leaf. Naturally this took precedence over new lands being made. I mean, who would have thought we could find a new form of nicotine on this foreign soil? The thought would make Jethro excited because he could test in his pipe later with some of the other Farm hands. Once the leaf had been cleared safe of course. Lord knows that Jethro Caloway wouldn't be stupid enough to try something so foreign before it had been cleared officially. Or maybe it had been cleared already? His lackadaisical attitude really could take the best of him at times. If they had already cleared it safe he could have been smoking for days now.

Upon reaching the end of the plot he started putting his Lunos to work. Pressing down hills was mostly his duty while attempting to make this soil more fertile for the ghost leaf to at least grow. The biologists up higher then him had been studying how the earthly seeds had been reacting to the soil to see if it was even possible to grow here. Hell, in the plot over from his they had started attempting to grow tomatoes. The thought made his mouth water. "If I could get my hands on one of them ripe maters right now. Dog gon, I would be a happy camper I tell you what." as this dream escaped his accent ridden lips he gazed over at his father's pitchfork.

'Well pop, you and ma would be proud huh? First of the Caloway's to help shape foreign soil for any sort of flora that wanted to grow. Maybe, we can even get our hands on local wildlife and use them as livestock? Oh these hills out here surely have endless possibilities. However, I will leave that for the big brains up stairs to figure out what to do next' the thought faded away as he took a break for a second. Out of no where a rock, of sorts, hit Jethro in the arm. "What did I tell you about day dreaming Mister?" a sarcastic female voice came from behind him. Jethro spun around and threw his hand down, ready to draw his imaginary revolver at any point the little lady made a wrong step. "Any closer young lady and I will be forced to draw, and I know that you know that I know I am the best here shot this side of the northern fields!" Without missing a beat Miss Patty slowly reached behind her back and pulled out the fiercest of the imaginary weapons, the imaginary gatling gun!

As she began spinning the wheel of justice on the side of that weapon Jethro dived to the side shouting ,"Bang, Bang" as he hit the ground. She stopped real quick, putting her hands on her hips, "Jethro Caloway, you know that this gatling gun could have torn through you quick as a whip! What are you doing diving down?" As he laid there he had a moment of thought cross his face, eyes then shot back to her, went wide and the greatest dramatic death began to occur. "Patty, you...you done got me...Death's door is a opening...and I am ever fleeting from this new world...come closer....Patty." As he reached out Patty responded, "I am not coming over there Caloway." Jethro's eyes squinted toward her, "Patty Phillips if you don't come over here now and accept my final words I swear to god I'll..." she cut him off, "You'll do what?"

Jethro was about to respond when, once again, a rock came sailing for his head. As though it was an act of defense, Jethro saw the rock last minute and raised the ground in front of his face to block it. "Damnit, what is with Rocks today? Look what you made me do Reggie! Now I have to flatten this piece of soil again. Damn it all." Reggie and Patty both shared a nice laugh at this, "You need to come over here and check this out! The both of ya, get on over here!" As Patty headed off, Jethro took the time to flatten the earth back down and headed over in a hurry.

The spot of interest was in the Tomato fields. They actually had tomatoes growing! What a sight to be had. All of the separate Field Hands, Farmers and the lot made their way over. "The fruits of our labor have finally shown their form!" Reggie announced as random cheers happened from each of the workers. Some of them began to feel the texture of the outside. Just like back home! Dog gon, I cannot wait for them to test these puppies out! Surely I will have me a tomato sandwich by the end of the day, freshly grown, damn, tomato sandwich. Jethro thought to himself as he smiled at Patty

However, something was amiss. Reggie went ahead and picked one of them and began messing with it in his hands. Jethro looked over at him at first, shaking his head, but a sound had caught his ear. His eyes peered to the sound in question. That tomato seemed to have been nicked somehow and...is that acid?!? The ground beneath the tomato, sure as hell, was sizzling away. Without missing a beat he whipped around but it was to late. Reggie had taken a foolish bite of Eden's apple. Sin was not the consequence of this bite, but certain terror was to be had by the on lookers. Reggie, grabbing for his throat as his jaw began to burn away from the inside out. It took mere moment for his jawline to be something of a distant memory and his throat along with it. A loud thud happened as his body hit the ground.

An eerie silence was had right then. What do I do?! What do I do?! Reggie is dead, REGGIE IS DEAD!! Screaming in his head as he began to fumble in his pants. Ripping out his cellphone he found @Synthesis Nir's number and started typing away about the Tomatoes to him. "For god's sake someone call medical immediately! We need to get Reggie's body out of here! For the love of god, No one touch the damn Tomato's!" Patty roared as she began to take charge of the situation.

Jethro Typed: Nir, we have had an incident. One of our fellow Farmer's, Reggie, ate a tomato without the proper testing happening to it first. I am very sad to say this, I mean I really don't know what to say honestly except, Reggie is now no longer with us. Please respond back with what you need from us. Please respond ASAP

There were many things Abigale found quite similar on Awilix that reflected back home in her new life. For example, waking up slumped over her desk, papers spread out, her computer on sleep, and as she sat up, papers coming with her stuck to her cheeks. Carefully pulling them away, Abigale set them aside, organising them as best she could as she rubbed her eyes away of all sleep. How long had she been out? When she had last checked the time, it had been early hours of the morning. Now...it was still morning, wasn't it? She hadn't slept the day away? No she was sure she'd only been asleep a few hours.

Sighing heavily, she ran a hand through her hair that was probably sticking up in all directions, and pulled it back, finding the hair tie she had taken out who knew when and tying it back, deciding that she didn't care what that looked like. She blinked bleary around her office, the room oddly small, and disorganised, but Abigale tended to be able to find what she needed when she needed it. Often she made the mess worse in searching for what she wanted, but this didn't effect her ability to locate what she needed.

As a nurse entered, her makeshift assistant and one of her only staff, Abigale gave a weary smile. "Demelza. How nice to see you. Nothing has happened, has it?" Demelza shook her head "No ma'am, only I have the results you wanted. I didn't want to disturb you though, you didn't seem to have slept long" Abigale accepted the file Demelza offered, and locked it away in a draw for later, giving the young girl a appreciateive smile. "Thank you Demelza" She said rising, and stretching, her back sore from the numerous times she had fallen asleep slumped over, but soon her body had healed the sore muscles, leaving a slight edge of tiredness, but nothing that wasn't barable.

Demelza reminded her so much of her little sister, it was often painful to interact with the younger woman. She missed her family every day, and hated not knowing what they must have felt, when she left, of not knowing how they were, or what they were doing. If they were even alive. It wasn't something she liked to dwell on, yet it didn't seem to be something she could stop herself thinking about at times. It was always there. Nor did it help that Abigale found herself feeling guilty about it, or that she hadn't really made any close ties here. Working hard to establish the medical building, and not having much time to even eat at times, the thought of interacting with others right then was just too exhausting.

As she made her way to retrieve some food, she went through what needed to be done that day. So far she had had no serious patients, inuries, but she knew that that was only a matter of time. WHen she'd accepted the place on Noah, she hadn't thought to end up essentially as Dead of Medicine, and yet here she was. She rubbed at her eyes wearily again, grabbing the food, and walking, eating as she did so. She checked the building over, checked over any patients she had, and what little staff, making sure everything was running smoothly, running well, and that no one was finding it difficult.

Demelza found her as she was making her way back to her office, a little destressed. Hearing her explain that there appeared to be a misshape on the farms, Abigale heaved a heavy sigh, and she gathered her supplies, knowing that it was probably useless, a protective suit however was a must, given that they still didn't understand what effects the soil would have on plants, and made her way to the lands put aside for farming, her body weary, but knowing this was something she needed to do. It didn't make her feel any better about it, yet Abigale wasn't one to skip on her work duties, and this covered them. Soemthing serious happened, you needed the senior, and most skilled, doctor on site. Even if it was a dead body, she could at least figure out what had happened.

@Americore

"Here little Mr. Bug, come here, just laaaaaaaaaaaaaaand on my arm and you can get all of the delicious Earth blood you can-AHA" he exclaimed giddily as the hairs on his forearm bristled and the small bloodsucker stiffened from the voltage running through it. After a second, the insect fell to the ground dead and Kostia's arm returned to its non-electrified state. He shook the arm loosely, as if trying to remove the last bit of static electricity from it. It still felt weird to use his Lunos - he could never shake the feeling that every metal thing he touches will shock him like he had been running around with wool socks on carpet. He shuddered at the thought, then got up from his place at the bonfire and entered the small brown tent that was home to the entire scouting party of four.

Were you frying bugs with your Lunos again? Anna piped up from the corner of the room where her cot lay, setting her novel aside for a minute. Shocking, Konstantin corrected her, I was shocking bugs. Frying just sounds horrible. Speaking of whiiiiiiiiiich... he turned to the large older man in the center, who was busily milling about an electric stove. There was a large pot on one of the heatplates and a smaller one on the other. The man, whose name was Joseph, turned towards his younger companion with a calm fatherly smile. Settle down, Kostia, food will be ready when it's ready. If you're bored you can go out and help Mark collect samples, he said in a low bass rumble. Konstantin wanted to say something, but could find nothing satisfactorily witty. Instead, he turned on his heels and marched back outside into the heat and humidity of the jungle.

The first thing he saw when he went outside was... Nothing. Or rather, he saw smoke for the brief moment he could keep his eyes open. He started coughing reflexively and felt his eyes fill up with tears. The young man quickly took a few steps to the side and stood rubbing his eyes for a few seconds before his vision started coming back. After a few groggy blinks he had adjusted to the light and could easily identify the culprit of this unpleasant incident - the goddamned bonfire, lit to smoke out the bugs out of the camp (and doing a pretty poor job of it, too) was billowing smoke towards the tent due to a shift in the wind direction. Kostia approached it with red watery eyes, contemplating a fate that would fit such a troublemaker of a fire. Ugh, I wish I could just stomp you out... But Joseph would probably be mad and force me to stand outside as a human bug zapper or something. Stupid fire... he muttered under his breath.

Konstantin's nefarious plan of bonfirecide was interrupted by a sudden realization. There was a sound in the jungle. Well, there were always sounds in the jungle, but this one was not a native sound. It came from the west, maybe northwest and was getting louder. The scout stretched to his full height and listened. It was definitely something man made. And coming closer fast. A... motor? Yes, it was a motor. Sounded like one of those bigger airships, not the little Wasps that would zip around all the time. He trained his eyes on the direction of the sound and sure enough, a speck of metal in the distance was quickly turning into a square and then the square started getting less square and more cube-like until finally Konstantin could see the shape of a Hauler. It was going way above the usual speed for this type of aircraft, which was still way slower than most nimble single-pilot aircraft, passing the camp just a lick to the west of it but still making an eardrum popping noise. The sound started to lessen as both the craft slowed down and got further away. It seemed to have stopped moving forward after a few seconds and the buzz of a hovering Hauler could be heard faintly by the scout, but the machine itself was hidden by the treetops. "It can't be that far away," Kostia thought, "I wonder what the rush is all about?" Then he noticed it - in the direction the Hauler had gone, a small blinking red light. It was just barely visible through cracks in the greenery of the jungle. "Oh..." his voice trailed off as the realisation came to him.

Anna, Joseph, keep the food warm for me, I need to go check this out! he yelled as he ran off roughly in the direction of the flare. It could not have been more than a couple kilometers away, how did he miss it? Kostia cursed himself under his breath as he navigated the treacherous terrain of the jungle as best as he could. Luckily, the area was mostly known to him already and all the adrenaline helped remember quicker and safer paths. It took no longer than ten minutes for him to get there, but by that time most of the fireworks were over. There was a very obvious gap in the treeline that let a little more light than usual find its way to the ground. In the middle of a pile of wood, vines and metal was the culprit of this gap - a downed Wasp. Or rather, what remained of it. The scout diverted his attention skywards, where the cargo door of the Hauler was slowly closing. Odd, the Wasp did not appear to be on fire, why would the rescue opperation be rushed like that. Confused, he stepped forward towards the pile of rubble and then he realised.

There was a very distinct sound, one that he had heard before and probably one of the reasons his team insisted on him carrying a weapon. He lowered his eyes again and saw the trio at the other side of the clearing, two of them still looking cross at the big metal hunk in the sky. The third one, to Kostia's dismay, was looking straight at him. It was as if both of them were slowly hypnotizing eachother. A few moments passed and neither animal nor man made a move. Then the feline turned to its companions and let out a very distinct "trrr" sound to get their attention. The young man could not speak mog'romp, but he kind of got the intention of the message and it spelled MURDER in big block capitals. The other two now also focused on the lonely boy on the ground. What was he supposed to do? He could never outrun them. And climbing a tree was about as useful as diving deeper to avoid a shark. He had only one option and that was head for the Wasp and hope the people in the Hauler above notice him.

He made a run for it, giving all his tired legs could give at this point. The Wasp was closer to him than to the predators, but they were far far faster. With just a few meters to go, he noticed a blur at the corner of his eye. The one that spotted him first decided to call dibs on the prey. Fangs blaring, it went for Kostia with a horrible hunger in its eyes. Instinct kicked in. The scout's eyes turned a beautiful golden colour and all the hairs on his head turned into a spiky mess. He ducked and the mog'romp's fangs missed, but the legs made contact with the man's stomach, forcing an "Oof" sound out of him. In a panic, Kostia focused all of his electricity into his abdomen and released the charge.

The tumble was rough, but luckily, he didn't get injured. Konstantin got up as quickly as he could and saw that his attacker was still dazed, having trouble getting on its feet. The other two stopped at a respectable distance - hungry, but afraid to approach further. He knew they were persistent and he also knew he could not keep his Lunos charged forever. Right now he focused on gathering as much energy as possible, hoping to scare them off if another attack was incoming. His hope of surviving lay in the Hauler above. He wanted to look up or shout for help, but something in the way the alpha beast looked at him gave him the impression that it would be an admission to the fact that he knew and the animal could guess. The fact was, if help did not come soon, Konstantin was as good as dead.

@NuttsnBolts

---

"P-Please. Let her go," he cried out, knees bruised purple from the length of time spent kneeling in front of the armed woman and her captive. Tears streamed like an accursed waterfall down the sides of his face and air suddenly seemed like fire in his lungs, and yet he couldn't stop. Not when the barrel of a gun was placed firmly against the captive's temple and a careful finger teased the trigger. "Take-Take me instead."

A look passed over the woman's face as she held her captive tighter, digging the barrel deeper into the skin. Olive eyes narrowed at the man and her lips curled into a cold sneer. "Don't worry. After I blast her brains out, you'll be next." She watched as the man cowered, shaking even harder if that were possible. A foul smell wafted to her already scrunched nose, and it didn't take long for her to identify that the cause was the stain that now painted the front of the terrified man's work pants. The image gave her pause and her hold on the captive slackened for a brief moment. The captive wiggled slightly, which was enough movement for Talcri to remember her job and regain her grip. She addressed the man again, catching his gaze and holding it, "Unless you give the Big Boss what he wants."

Instinctively, the man's head shook. There was simply no way; not when the carefully worded request first knocked on his door and not now when a family member was being threatened with death. "Please." The plea escaped his lips, a prayer unheard by the one who he needed to hear.

The stoic mask remained on the pink-haired girl's face. "Would you rather I kill her?"

A choice. He was presented with a choice. Either his greatest treasure, or his... He glanced at the captive again, eyeing the hands clawing at the robotic arm that kept her, and wondered, not for the first time that morning, exactly what his connection with her is. He knew in the deepest of his heart and mind that she was family, but he couldn"y pinpoint just which role she played. Was it a sister, a daughter, or a niece? He supposed, in the face of things, it didn't matter. She was family, and she would die if he didn't succumb to the mobster's wishes. A choice. Was there even a choice to be made? He was damned if he did and damned if he didn't.

He spared another glance towards the captive, and he released a shaky sigh. "Very well," he acceded, mustering all his strength to raise his hand. There was nothing special about the limb, but Talcri tossed her captive aside and formed the light emitted by the small bulb above them into a dagger. With a swipe, the man's hand was severed at the wrist, his screams filling the small cabin.

A grimace made its way to Talcri's lips as she recovered the hand, noticing the way the skin shifted from the pale white to an assortment of colours before settling on blue, and placed it inside a special container. "Eugh, disgusting," she muttered, as the container sealed itself, giving a satisfying hiss as it did so.

"Aww," her captive cooed as she righted herself and approached the still screaming man. "I can't believe you did that for me." She fell to a squat by him, catching his eyes as a slew of pleas and curses fell from his lips. Watching him, she couldn't help but smile softly. "I really do appreciate it."

The man whimpered as she retrieved a black dagger from her back. It was a faithful tool, and one that has never once disappointed her. The cold metal of the blade licked the skin of the man's neck. One second, the man was crying softly; the next, he lay lifeless on the floor. Talcri walked over to the two, a disapproving look on her face.

"You killed him," she remarked. There was no surprise in her voice, only resignment. She watched as her sister cleaned the blade of the dagger using the man's shirt and sheathed it to her back.

Jaica stood, a bright grin on her lips as she practically vibrated on the spot. "Of course. We don't leave loose ends." Her head tilted to the side as she tried to take a peak at the container in Talcri's hands. "You got it?"

"I did," the younger twin replied with a nod as she handed the container over. She wiped her hands on her jeans, cringing at the way they ended things. "What does the Boss want with his hand? His Lunos is just changing something's color when he touches it. Nothing special."

Despite herself, Jaica couldn't help but smile at the mention of the now dead man's Lunos. It was amusing when she'd first watched him do it; he touched the liquid in Jaica's glass with a finger and she had watched as it turned into a bright shade of green. For most people, the Lunos would be nothing, but the man was an artist - a painter. He valued that hand more than he valued anything. Why their Boss wanted the hand - and just the hand - was not something the knew, and so Jaica answered with a shrug. "He has his reasons. Let's get this to the drop-off and we can celebrate by getting cake."

Talcri blanched. They would celebrate with cake for killing a man. She watched as Jaica's lips broke out into an excited grin and the protest died on her lips. Her sister was simply doing this for them, nothing more. Just like how the man sacrificed his hand for a perceived family member, Talcri knew her sister would do the same. She eyed the corpse and allowed it to add another weight to her shoulders as she followed her sister out.

Jaica simply grinned and gave the men wandering in a high-five as they exited. The clean-up crew was always nice company, and they made the best jokes. Perhaps she'd buy them some cake too.

---

"Down the rabbit hole you go," Jaica sing-songed as she dropped the container into the chute, waving goodbye to it as it descended into the abyss. The screen atop it glowed a bright grin, a cheery thumbs-up appearing onto it. Talcri rolled her eyes, but accepted the credits that were transferred to their accounts.

She wished they didn't need it, but the pay was good and one did not simply leave the Big Boss' services. One day, though, she promised herself. She turned to her sister, ready to drag her out of the building that gave off an oppresive air to her, and noticed that Jaica was still staring at the screen. There were new orders presented, directed towards both of them. A name and a short profile was followed by the Big Boss' commands.

Talcri had never met the Boss personally, as he was never one to physically interact with his, for a lack of a better word, goons. He was shrouded by darkness, a field of secrecy keeping him away from both the eyes of the authorities and his own people. She was sure not even her sister has met the Boss in person, but with the soft smile slowly crawling onto Jaica's lips, she wondered if maybe she had assumed wrong. Jaica was, after all, one of the Boss' favourite pets.

She shook her herself out of her thoughts as Jaica turned back to her, her usual bright grin making the oppressive air take a few steps back from the sisters. "We have a new assignment. Not much information though, so I'll have to start digging." She began to list all they knew in one hand, "His name is Keefer Bernstein. Really old, and he used to run a mining company. We also have an address for his apartment, I believe. Oh, you'll love this. He's apparently loaded." Mischief danced in Jaica's eyes, which was not mirrored in her sister's. "I'll try to find out more about him and you do your thing. Let's have cake at home tonight!"

Talcri couldn't help but smile at her sister's chirpyness, even though she feared their new job might suffer the same fate as their recently finished one. She gave her sister a nod and took her leave towards the markets, where she was sure her friend would be hanging about. Jaica skipped in the opposite direction, intent on slithering right into the fray.

@BrokenPromise

Doctor Avaline Rose strode down a corridor of dull metal panels, linking beneath the scattered lights set into the ceiling above. There were few markings on the walls, abstractive lines in red and white, section numbers, and others that turned to a blur as her long legs carried her purposeful strides towards the end of the northern hallway. Set beneath the towering structure that was the City of Landing, the sublevels held a stuffy sense of confinement—despite the adequate ventilation chambers set at intervals in the crevice between floor and wall—one reeking of achievement and learning.

Here was the home for the small, yet growing vision of one small, odd man. To either side rectangular viewing windows stretched, showing the sparse clusters of men and woman adorned in white coats bristling when pens and pads, their goggle clad faces bowed together in hot debate or over their research materials. There a man gestured with a long, thin rod of metal, instructing his underlings on scientific principles, though only three people sat before him. Avaline sniffed, pushing up the spectacles balanced delicately on the bridge of her pointed nose, lips pursed in thought. ’We’ll be needing more minds to tame this world, perhaps I should suggest funding a center of learning..’ she mused, letting her thoughts carry her.

Too soon, she found herself on one side of the metal barrier, split with a line down the middle, that separated her from the man who had somehow managed to pull all of this together. She remembered, briefly, the first days upon this god forsaken world. People running about in panic, children crying, people lost and looking dazed as a mass hysteria swept through them. Perhaps it was excitement and wonder, or maybe fear of the unknown. Either way, Avaline was quite pleased to see how quickly order had been established.

She sighed, taking a breath and steeling herself for what was about to come. She still wasn’t used to such.. Aberrant behavior. The door hissed open as her heels clicked against the white synthetic flooring, likely a poured type of surface with an antimicrobial coating. She stiffened as her gaze swept over the room, fingers tapping incessantly on the clipboard pinned beneath her arm and pressed to her abdomen. Before her the scene was chaotic, haphazard, and a potential danger, though she might need time to prove that last thought.

The space was rather large, with a counter that ran around three walls of the windowless room, set with cabinets above and below, doors of which had been left open at random. The room’s two sinks sat clustered with dirty equipment, and the countertops themselves were a disorganized mess of samples. She walked along the length of the counter, trying to ignore the tools and implements left strewn between the work material.

Clusters of plastic containers sat huddled together, not in neat and tidy rows, but apparently grouped by difference. All of them filled with dirt, some of which were peculiar shades, and labeled by what had been done to the soil. Some of them held vibrant green plants, others of awkward shades and hues, but mostly they held the shriveled corpses of those that had not taken. Her heart sank somewhat as she noted that nearly all of the samples held dead plants. She crossed to the section of counter running parallel to the door, looking at the labels. Most were noted to be show sterilization levels, soil composition and origin, and the chemical adjustments. Clipboards next to each grouping held firmly clamped notes, which she peeked at. Unfortunately, Avaline was never known for her love of plants, and many of the things listed were foreign to her.

One label in particular caught her eye. She noticed that this particular label was associated with more than a few groupings of plants, some of which looked promising.

”Jethro?” She queried, righting herself and catching Nir’s eyes through the holo display of his computer. He simply nodded, in fact, by the look of it he hardly seemed aware of her presence, let alone the implied question. His slight nimble fingers were rapidly speeding across the flat surface of electronic keys. From this side of the display Avaline could see he was working on inputting simulation model data, likely to further refine his theories. She sniffed again, adjusting her glasses and smooth her unwrinkled lab coat before placing herself next to him. She set the clipboard down, a bit too firmly, which seemed to shock him out of the scientific trance he had entered.

”Ah, Ava-”


”-you mentioned Jethro? The farmhand, yes?” Nir asked, catching Ava’s eyes with his own, dark brown and glistening as if he had forgotten to blink in some time. Avaline sighed, at times she felt less like an assistant director and more like a mother, and not just because of the ageless face behind those wizened eyes.

”The samples?” She admonished, raising a blonde brow in skepticism.

”Oh, right.. Right, he was helping. He has power over dirt.. Or soil, though I don’t know the extend of it he claims-”

”He’s a simple farmer, not a scientist.” Ava countered curtly, disapproval evident on her face.

”Well his plants seem to be fairing better, or, at least the soil. Something about manipulating the composition, though it seemed a strain, I often find myself having a hard time-”

”And what of them? Are they sustainable? Mr.Quan is already pushing the agricultural department to clear land faster, I think the Ghost Leaf has made him rather.. exuberant.”

”Technically..” Nir began, though at the clearing of Avaline’s throat he paused to focus, ”For practically purposes, no, those that do live die overnight, and some of them even I can’t bring back. Those you see there I’ve already written off, the code is.. Wrong, warped. It’s becoming quite clear that earthly plants were not made for this planet, I mean that’s obvious, but we can’t adapt them here. Even if we could it would take far too long. Our efforts have proven useless, and I rather like Jeth thank you, his bongos are.. cool.”

Avaline let out a hmph, to let Nir know just exactly what she thought of that. Cool? For god’s sake he was a man of science, a young man, but of science no less. When she had heard Nir had been the first to step forward, she was expecting a man forged by the passage of time, of trials and tribulation, not this.. This boy! Her teeth pressed together as she looked back at the samples, asking farm hands to help? No matter the extent of their.. Abilities, was outrageous. Surely a simpleton couldn’t be elevated above his position simply because he can move dirt.

No, it had to be that Nir was studying the effects of dirt touched by the Lunos, that had to be it, yes! That was why she had chosen to follow him, she would have never considered that, or perhaps at a much later date. She was focused on practical applications, and Nir was, well.. Nir. She stooped over his shoulder, looking at the model of rendered orbs spinning lazy patterns across the display. He wasn’t even working on the planting problem, her eye twitched.

”I thought you were working on farms? Surely this pet project of yours can wait?” She insisted, tapping her foot impatiently against the floor. It took Nir a moment to notice, or rather finish what he was doing, though he seemed completely oblivious to the subtle clicks of her pointed shoe.

”Pet project?” Nir asked incredulously, ”This will revolutionize the smoking industry as soon as I can get these documents sent out to the manufacturing facilities. I’m sure Mr.Quan is worked up over the speed of the crop’s growth.. Despite the fact that I may have helped them along-Now now stop glaring at me. I’ve asked the scouts to collect samples from the surrounding jungle, and we currently have some test crops nearing the end of their cycle. Everything is going along smoothly.”

Avaline’s eyes pinched together, smoothly for Nir was akin to riding a dingy through a tropical storm. Smoothly. Hah! A small chime played as Nir’s display notified him of an impending message. He clicked it open, causing Avaline to sigh. She was definitely not done talking about this! However, the message caught her attention. Her eyes widened, as she read. A small pang of sadness resonated through her, Reggie was dead. She frowned, she had rather liked the man. Hardworking, industrious, just as people should be. She looked at Nir whose face was… blank as he responded, did the boy feel nothing?



Avaline’s face scrunched together again, Nir was an unending source of worry for her, ”Are you planning to okay the distribution of the Ghost Leaf? What about clinical trials, and long term studies?”

”Well, we did short term studies, and I’ll probably be dead before we clear a long term trial. There’s no inclinations that the Ghost Leaf will lead to long term illness or death, and even if does, nobody will care. That much is certain, just look at the tobacco industry, or what it had been. Nobody cares as long as they get their fix and I for one, would like to smoke something.”

Avaline stared at him for a long moment. His reasoning was infuriatingly sound, despite the uncouth methods. She was glad to be only second in command. The task Nir had taken upon himself was a daunting one, and yet he handled it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He only stressed about his problems, those of the plants, everything else seemed.. Expected, to him. At least from her viewpoint.

”Right, well.. I have some things I need you to sign off on,” Avaline said, motioning towards the clipboard.

”Is it the funding reports you threatened me with? Nir asked carefully, staring at the clipboard in what might have been abject horror. Avaline nodded, prompting Nir’s own sigh as he ran a hand through his hair, though it remained unlively and flat, if not a bit disheveled.

”Alright, but it’ll have to wait until I get these manufacturing releases done. By the light, the stuff is already clean, dried, and rolled into a tube. I just need to fill out the forms.. Phah, there’s always a bloody form, can’t escape them.”

”My, what colorful language you have Doctor Nir,” Ava mused, a small smile pulling at the corner of her mouth.

”A man’s gotta have hobbies,” Nir replied, already turning back to his work.

Avaline pulled up a chair, sitting near him, but not too close. Just incase his slight madness was catching. She produced a small tablet from her coat, going over the functions of the various departments she helped oversee, though in actuality she practically managed the entire affaire. Nir could hardly be disturbed from returning to his plants and dirt, he wasn’t much of a bureaucrat. Despite that, his mind was.. Plentiful. What she saw as grand ideas and meticulous planning, he gave as if it were ordinary.

She shook her head slowly, perhaps in disbelief, though with more than just a little wonder as she tucked a golden curl behind her ear. Luckily, she was a patient person. There was always work to be done, and most of Nir’s director duties had been pushed off onto her, where she had in turn passed some things off to her underlings. Yet, her mind kept going back to the notice from earlier, killed by a tomato.. What a way to go. She hated the uncertainty that brought, of the future, or her livelihood. Without sustainable food, they wouldn’t survive. Her gaze fell to Nir’s back, tapping away, data streaming before him. He looked so much like a boy, Avaline saw something of a son in him, despite their few years of difference.

She had Sons that were still on the ship, still frozen, still sleeping, and she missed them terribly.

@Synthesis @Caits

A whirlwind of emotion stormed within Jethro. 'Reggie you asshole! You knew the safety briefing! We all did...I was just as excited as you for this new discovery.' he reached down and yanked the necklace from his neck as quickly as possible. The back had been eaten away by the "acid" like substance that took his life. However, he wasn't going to let his friends keep sake get lost in the medical ward. Engraved on the pendant, just an inch in diameter, read:

'To the Skies, we will ride'

Reggie used to talk about it quite often. A memory flashed before him as he fell on his ass next to his dearly departed friend.

Reggie walked up to Jethro in his room and slapped him on the back, "Guess what I just found?!" he exclaimed as he sat and spun around in Jethro's computer chair. "You finally find those Elvis records I have been asking about? I swear if you do then I will finally get back the record player witch hunt!" With a bit of a laugh he shook his head, "Even better." Tossing the pendant at Jethro. He caught it and saw the engraving on the front, "To the Skies, we will ride? Something off a Johnny Cash song? I mean, I love Mr. Cash but not to knowledgeable of his famous quotes." Tossing it back to Reggie who caught it with a frown. "You better get your day ears into gear you country bumpkin! Cash had nothing to do with this, even though I wish he had haha." His eye's began to get lost in the pendant. "This belonged to my grandfather. A gift from my grandmother while he was in the Army. To let him know that no matter where he road that at the end, we would ride to sky together. In one big bike club of heavenly light."

The memory faded as he felt his mobile chime. Jethro looked down to see Nir's response and with one quick swipe of his face he jumped to his feet. Patty had done a good job of preemptively getting the other farmers back to work. Some wondered back, others were in tears, but many were consoling them. Putting a hand on her shoulder Jethro said, "Help me out Patty, we have to cordon off this area with the lights Nir likes and what not." She nodded then looked over to another field hand, "Marty, wait here and make sure the body gets attended too. There should be someone from medical coming down to handle Reggie, ya hear?" Marty nodded and with a final pat on the shoulder of one of those brought to tears headed over to Reggie.

Once all of the equipment had been brought together they began marking the "Tomatoes" as hazardous. Jethro strung up the lights as Patty continued to mark down the row. Looking over her shoulder she remarked to him, "What a damn fool, that bastard. I swear I wish I knew why he did this." Jethro let another tear fall down his face once the remark left her lips. We all knew deep down why he did it. The sheer, child like excitement of seeing something grow here that resembled home took the best of him. Jethro then took it upon himself to get his rock throwing revenge from earlier. Winging Patty's right arm he replied, "Probably to avoid having to hear you and me have a 'singing' duet again."

Patty stopped dead in her tracks as she turned back to him, "Caloway, how can you make jokes at a time like this?" Without missing a beat he said, "I understand that time will pass on this here planet. During that time, Reggie will no longer be apart of that with us. However, we can't sit here and let our lives fall to the wayside. We have to remember him as he was. We have to help his spirit live on in the new world. Help all of us remember the hardworking son of a bitch that he really was. Big emphasis on the bitch part."

It was as though a small pinch of hope spread across Patty's face. "Well if that is the case," she flipped Jethro the bird, "Your singing was what really brought our future music career down ya monotone prick!" They shared a decent laugh at this point. Memories would flow through there minds for days after of them together with Reggie. Today though, they had to make sure the medical personnel got all the help they needed with Reggie. "Patty I have to run and get this sample to Nir, you mind holding down the fort here until I get back?"

As she curled her lips into a frown, "First of all, you ain't my boss Jethro. Secondly, I will do it," she continued down the line, "But because I want to, not because you told me too." He smiled, snagged a "tomato", bagged and tagged it, and headed off. He ran by his shed first to grab his bongos and pipe. Well at least I have one thing to look forward to today. A good smoke, with a good dude. Slinging his bongos across his back, he placed his pitchfork back on the wall and touched the pendant. "Ride smooth brother, may the roads to heaven be clear and true."

Jethro would always have a problem walking through the science district. A bunch of, very intelligent, scientists roamed these halls. How could a dirty, vest wearing, farmer feel out of place? Well in a lot of ways. Thankfully, he reached Nir's office quick fast and in a hurry so only a few people could shoot him confused glances. "Hey buddy, got you your sample."

Keefer and Lenna ate their lunch in relative silence. Because of Holla's unexpected visit, Keefer panicked and made some old fashioned peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Only both the peanut butter and jelly were made out of imitation products. Had he known Lenna was going to be late, he'd have gone with something more befitting of a family reunion. Still, betting on Lenna being late for anything wasn't a good idea.

“...So that's it?” Lenna made her inquiry without looking at Keefer. While her mood was already sour, telling her the events that transpired before her arrival hadn't made her pleased.

“Well, it did happen.”

“Oh, I know it happened.”

“Really?”

Lenna turned to face Keefer. “Yes.” Her glowing eyes made her look very intimidating. “This was originally going to be your father's apartment. Choosing to be between his daughter and some bimbo is exactly the kind of thing I'd expect him to do.” Lenna dropped her sandwich onto a plate. “ The kissing, the flirting, I don't question any of it. Maybe the seriousness of her intent, but not the actions themselves.” The overseer folded her hands together and leaned on her elbows. “I just thought you knew me better than this. Such tales do not make up for this miserable excuse of a sandwich.”

Keefer was the type of person who believed in wearing a smile at all times. But he had difficulty holding the corners of his lips up to his sister. It had been a long time since they had seen each other, even if you didn't count the five years they spent in the hibernation pods. Keefer was suppose to be the overseer of his father's mining operation, but didn't like dark or small spaces. Because of this, he chose to work with his mother on the farm. His sister however adapted to her father's work better than anyone could have imagined. Because of the miner's lifestyle, Keefer's father and sister were seldom home. They were drilling all over Germany with monthly visits to the farm. Once Keefer got his carpenter career launched, he left home and hadn't seen her since.

“I get the impression you're annoyed with more than just the sandwich.”

Lenna sighed and let her arms collapse on the table. Keefer could tell that she was looking at the apartment. He had already grown accustom to such luxory, but the truth was that only the most wealthy got to enjoy apartments like this. The kitchen was filled with appliances, and the dining room could easily seat ten people. There was a bath that featured a jacuzzi, a hobby room with a state of the art home theater system, and of course a bed room. Keefer still had a hard time believing that most people were living in single room apartments. Even his sister did, and she had worked hard her entire life. “Our father, he really was a piece of shit, wasn't he?”

Keefer was happy to entertain the change in topic. “I don't think I'd word it quite like that. I mean yea, I'm a little disappointed he didn't make arrangements for mom. I can kind of understand why he'd hate me honestly. He invested so much in me and I couldn't do the same work he could. But I was able to take his place when he conveniently passed away. So I can't really speak ill of him. At least he was thinking of you.”

“Yea.” Lenna snorted. “I'll leave my wife and son to die. Then I'll stick my apartment between a slut and a personal slave who bends to my every whim.”

Keefer groaned. “You shouldn't be so hard on Holla. You two actually have a few things in common.”

Lenna raised an eyebrow. “Like?”

“Well.” Keefer pointed at Lenna's face. “You both have your lunos on all the time.”

“That's not too uncommon.” The overseer looked away from Keefer. “I assure you our abilities are vastly different. My lunos improves my thought processing. Holla probably has something that makes her look cuter.”

Keefer grinned at Lenna's strange explanation. “All I'm saying is that it might be a little too soon to start bad mouthing her. You could have other similarities. If dad was as conniving as you made him out to be, he might have some leverage on her as well.”

The overseer conceded with a sigh. “Maybe you're right. Awilix seems to possess it's own mysteries, and nothing is what it seems.”

“Holla said something like that too.”

Lenna raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Yea, as an example of how unaware we can be sometimes, she told me the secret behind the credits of Sponge.”

Lenna raised her other eyebrow. “There's a secret?”

“Yea.” Keefer placed his hands on the table. “So you know how everyone thinks Holla played the roll of both characters? Well, you'll notice Master's name in the credits is spelled with an uppercase 'A' at the end. The reason for this is because Holla didn't play that character. It was actually her roommate, Hollie Anderson. So that's why... Why... Why are you smiling?”

“Did you try to confirm this story?”

“Well no. I mean, why would I? I had to prepare dinner and-”

Lenna stood up and walked into Keefer's bedroom. He'd have liked her to perhaps ask if she could use his computer, but he was also interested in what she was going to look for. The overseer took a seat in his computer chair and fired up the video of Sponge. She then skipped past the entire movie right to the credits.

-
Slave..............Holla
-
Master............Holla
-

Keefer was shocked. “Why would she lie to me about something like that? It was so easy to check.”

“But you didn't check it.” Lenna was almost laughing. “You see Keefer, it's not good enough to just have an observation. Intelligence is meaningless if it isn't backed up by facts. You'll never solve the mystery if you just take everyone's word for it. You need to find proof to give such statements credibility.” Lenna got up to leave. “We should do this again, only without the garbage sandwiches.”

Keefer was still awe struck by the revelation he had witnessed. But he was at least happy that Lenna seemed to enjoy their time together, even if it ended with a laugh at his expense. But he couldn't stay here much longer. it was getting near time to go to work. He snatched up his tool bag and walked out the front door.

Abigale made her way towards the farms, heading there as quickly as she could, she knew it would nevertheless take her a little while to get there. She shifted her thigns slightly to an easier way to carry it, and let her thoughts wander. No doubt she'd get there, and find that someone had forgotten everything needed to be tested. Foolishness, but it was something she couldn't disgrade. Humans were, ultimately, flawed beings. Even with their...adaptions, human nature tended to stay the same, and rarely changed. Or that was her view on it.

She glanced about her as she walked, finding the place both beautiful and strange. It was a wonder she would have liked to share with her family.That was a dangerous line of thinking, and yet she couldn't stop herself, reaching up to clasp the necklace around her neck, that held a small photo of them. Her little brother and sister wouldn't be so little anymore. She hoped her father was happy. Hoped that...she wasn't really missed. And hoped that one day, they might be here too. She refused to think on the possibility that they might be dead. It just wasn't possible for her.

She swallowed back tears, and worked on compsosing herself as she continued, reaching the farms, she glanced about. What they were doing here was extremely important, if they couldn't find a way to make plants grow here, and be sustenable, they would probably perish. Fresh food was so important to the body. Her own body healed naturally, thanks to her abilities, but that would wear her down. Fresh was necessariy for their survival here, and she hoped what happened wouldn't set them back. That would be devestating.

"Hello?" She called, making her voice loud and clear, as she tried to find out where the commotion was, and what she could do. Maybe if she found out what had happened, and how, she could help with the growth of the crops. It amazed her what were growing, jeez, was that tomato plants in the distance? the thought of a tomato sent her mouth salivating, and she hoped to god they were going to be healthy, but a part of her wondered if that was the cause of all this.

"I'm a doctor, someone wanted medical? Do I need my suit?" She called out again. @Americore@Synthesis

"Jackson, we have an issue here."

Jackson stood up and stepped over the injured wasp pilot, climbing back into the cockpit seat of the hauler. His body landing in the seat with a solid thud from the exhaustion. Curiously he took a look at what his co-pilot was concerned about and analysed the display on the screen. One of the exterior cameras was showing the images of a man engaged in a fist fight of sorts with the mog'romps, flashes of lightning sparking across the landscape, small traces of visual interference in the electronics with every bolt.

"Oh crap!" Jackson voiced, cursing out loud. The duo had only been assigned to pick up a lone wasp pilot, not act as a rescue shuttle for a larger group of people. They didn't have the space left on the hauler to carry a fourth individual, especially with the collected load that they had stowed away. Jackson thumped his clenched fist on the dash, sending a rattle through the front cockpit.

"We have to call it in," the Bubbles expressed, knowing that there was little that they could do.

Jackson reached over and activated the long range communicators. His co-pilot was correct, it was a choice he wasn't proud of, but they were out of useful options and had to let the depot know of the situation, "This is Hauler Zero-Two-Five. We have an injured pilot aboard and will be returning to base for immediate medical help." He paused for a moment, giving a deep exhale in breath before continuing, "There is also a secondary person still on the ground and we are unable to assist them due to a pack of mog'romps in the area."

Re-entering into Hell's Kitchen was not on the agenda for Jackson; the man appreciated his body being in one piece. Even with his pistol he knew that he was no match for the animals. He neither had the accuracy or speed to win against them in a dual, and if he missed the crucial shot it could mean that all three would hone in on his location and decide that human would be a tasty, midday treat.

"Damned if we do, damned if we don't," Jackson muttered under his breath. "We ain't no hero's and if we don't get this one back soon enough we are gonna have to deal with a dead body."

"I hear ya," Bubbles replied as he listened in to the depot response through his headset. "Seems like our foreman is sending out a few wasps so he's gonna get help soon enough."

Jackson groaned. This was not the positive outcome that he was hoping for.

Keefer was working in the business district today. He had been helping build an office complex for a while now. The interior was complete enough that they could start putting windows in. At the same time, the exterior paneling would be put up by a different squad of carpenters. The carpentry profession hadn't changed much over the years. It was still largely people in hard hats with tool belts constructing something. The tools they used had come along way, but the job itself was more or less the same.

“Windows Jobe!” Keefer called out to his co-worker. “We're almost done now!” The windows were always an exiting step for Keefer, as it was usually his last job before a building was complete.

“Yea... Windows... Done...” Jobe was an unenthusiastic, slow, fat, slob, to be perfectly blunt. However, Keefer found Jobe's laid back nature made him easy to deal with. He wasn't a fast worker, but he did keep a level head in most situations. You could joke with him all day and never offend him. Jobe was holding a large window in place while Keefer calked around it. The caulk gun hummed as the motor pressed the adhesive into the window seam.

“You know back in the day, we'd need to nail this guy in after we glued it? Even wait for it to dry?” Keefer pulled his finger off the trigger and turned to his companion.

“Yea... Nail... Wait... Dry...”

“Haha!” Keefer slapped Jobe on the back. “I'm done. We just need to go do the next few floors now.”

Keefer was a bit more eager to get to the next floor than his companion was. By the time Keefer got to the staircase, Jobe had just finished turning around to walk away from the window. He would make it to the next floor in his own time. However, that didn't mean that '”this” carpenter had to wait for him.

The next floor was coming along nicely. There were two workers here already who had installed all the windows already. Well, most of them. One of the window pains laid on the ground in pieces. The two workers had already started shouting at each other.

“That's the third one!” The taller of the two shouted. He was alsow wider, and probably hit the gym on a daily basis. “I can't believe someone thought you'd actually be beneficial to the survival effort. I be you could fuck up a cup of coffee!”

The second man, smaller and scrawnier, was trembling. Not out of fear, but hatred. “Aren't you the one that glued his glove into the window seam? We'd be done already if you didn't screw that up!”

“You've got some nerve...”

This was bad. Someone was going to get hurt if the situation kept escalating. Keefer approached the disgruntled workers. He took a calming breath with each step.

“Guys.” Keefer lifted his hands up in the air. “ I realize we're all really exited to be-”

“Who the fuck are you?” The larger man baled his hands into fists.

The smaller man tipped his head let and right as he spoke.“Fuck fuck fuck, Is that the extent of your vocabulary? Maybe you should have stayed in school!”

“You want to fight?” The larger man's fists pulsed with energy. They were glowing cherry red, like heated metal.

“No, I want to kick your ass!” The shards of glass that were on the ground were listed into the air. They spun around the small man like electrons hovering around an atom. The two workers locked eyes with each other, both glowing gold with the power of their Lunos. But that glow didn't last forever. The gold in their eyes flickered and went out along with their powers. The larger man's arm's cooled and the glass fell back to the ground. There was also a sound, something akin to static. But they heard it with their minds instead of their ears.

“Enough!” Keefer's shout took both men by surprise. While both of them were without their powers, this man was still able to use his lunos. “Do the two of you have any idea how petty you sound?” Keefer was too annoyed to look directly at them. A sideways glance was all he offered for eye contact. Keefer pointed at the taller man “You are swearing your head off like a school bully, and YOU!” Keefer swung his hand over to the other. “...Are no better for trying to escalate the situation.” His hand fell to his side. “You're aware we are the only ones left, right? There's no earth anymore.” The glow in Keefer's eyes went out, and the noise in everyone's head went away. “There were only so many spots open on the Noah, and everyone who stayed behind sacrificed themselves for us passengers. Do you think they'd be happy if they were looking down on you two right now!?” Keefer's voice cracked at the end. It was hard for either of the men to stay mad after that. “Alright.” Keefer said with a sigh. “Do you guys need any help with this window?”

“N-no, we got it!”

“Yea, It's alright. I think we can adjust for our height differences now.”

Keefer nodded and turned away from the other carpenters. He slid his hand over his chest to feel his heart's pulse. Damn, even using dead cell for that short period of time had his heart rate up. It was hardly a health concern, but it took so long for it to return to normal. Keefer started to take deep, cleansing breaths in an attempt to calm down. In, and out. In, and out.

“The hell is going on here!?”

That voice did not belong to the other workers. Keefer turned around to meet his boss, Borr Larsson, face to face. There were only three things you needed to know about this man. First was that he was the overseer of construction in the city limits. Second was that he took his job very seriously. The last one was that he had a legendary temper and was known to get in your face like a drill sergeant.

“H-hello sir!” Keefer swallowed.

“You...” Borr pointed at Keefer with the claw of his hammer. “Did you activate your Lunos, effectively aborting my analytic view of the building?” Borr's ability was that he could look at an object with a sort of x-ray vision. He couldn't really “see” through things, but he could locate structural weaknesses, find faults in wires, and tell if a woman was pregnant or fat.

“They started it...”

Borr pulled back his arm and almost threw the hammer out a window, but instead slid it into his tool belt. He was visibly angry, and it took him a lot of effort to refrain from violence. “They were fighting again?”

“It was going to be a fight, yes. B-but you shouldn't blame them.”

“...If I'm going to blame anyone for anything, it's going to be YOU Keefer!” He threw his hands into the air. “Yea, it would be really bad if someone got hurt on the job, but not everyone can be as even keeled as Keefer and Jobe. Not every fight ends with a fatality, in fact, few ever do. Maybe the fighting would stop if someone got punched out.”

Keefer folded his arms. “You don't mean that.”

“I don't.” He placed a hand on his head. “I thought the range on that 'dead cell' of yours was pretty low.”

“You must have been standing directly above me.”

“Then it won't happen again?” Keefer didn't say anything. Borr groaned. “Alright, you're forgiven. Get those windows up so that we can move onto the next project.”

No more words were exchanged, the two men departed.

Nir’s eyes focused on the information rapidly descending on the barely opaque screen before him, glowing faintly blue and humming softly. Not the machine, mind you, but himself. There was no tune, no rhythm to the sounds, just a casual, happy murmur of low noise to offset the droning of the air pumping units and the faint taps his fingers made as they sped across the glass-like panel, one holding an array of keys meant for a computer such as this. Avaline sat next to him, likely perusing other tasks she had to be about, or perhaps planning her week out. She was meticulous in that way, planning, arranging, organizing. She liked everything laid out before her, broken down into neat row and column punctuated with estimates on how long each task should take. She always accounted some extra time when visiting him. He didn’t mean to throw her plans out of array, yet, there was so much to do. So many problems to solve.

His lips turned down in a half frown, though it was more of a pursing of the lips as his eyes gazed above, and slightly through the screen before him. The plants, it always came back to the plants. Part of him wondered what would be left for him to do once he solved this problem—And he would solve it—but another part merely chuckled, there was always something to do. Always something that needed understanding. However, the wilting, dying plants grouped on the counters were dying, even those that seemed vibrantly alive. To him, they were suffering, their color a few shades paler, their perkiness just a bit off. It wasn’t as if he could feel their pain, perhaps not yet, but somehow he knew. The struggle was immense, he could ascertain that much when he encouraged them to grow with his Lunos. It was growing easier, with practise, but the plants did not want to take. It was as if somehow they knew this was wrong, that this was not their home, and they did not belong here. Almost as if they did not want to grow here, and now in light of that recent message… Nir was inclined to believe those feelings.

Avaline cleared her throat, noticing he had stopped. He shot her a bashful smiling, turning back to the computer, to the data, the forms. It was comforting, filling out section after section with prerequisite information. Not because it was ordered, or streamline, but because there was nothing left to figure out. Nothing too important, for the Ghost Leaf anyways. Yes, there were always the problems of cost and profit, distribution, growing, and things of that sort. There was Mr.Quan, who would no doubt press for increased, industrialized production and larger growing fields. But for Nir, he had delved the secrets of this plant, discovered not far from the border of the city, and he had solved it’s puzzle.

It was surprising, to find something so valuable to close. He didn’t yet trust himself to venture farther out, that’s what the scouts were for with their more useful Lunos abilities, for those that could control them better. Nir was a fledgling, one that had just barely started to grow it’s feathers. He was not yet ready to fly. His Lunos remained unreliable at times, and when he tried to force a change that was too unnatural, it became difficult. No, he would need more practise.

He finlized the production forms and sent them out, to other heads of other departments who would oversee them and likely fill out their own forms. Hopefully, it would be less than a day or two before he could show something from his work. It had been a pleasant distract while he tried to unlock the mysteries of the farming situation. A side project he had completed before the main task. Despite all of the inevitable waiting, on scouts to bring samples, for earth to be cleared, for plants to grow, it still sat wrong with him. Yes, Ghost Leaf was an achievement, his first, and hopefully there would be many more to come. He just felt as if he had failed so far, the rations wouldn’t last forever. If he couldn’t solve this problem, they would all die.

He stopped humming as his eyes fell on the stacks of papers Avaline had brought with her. Seeing that he had finally turned his attention towards her task, Avaline perked up and sat her tablet down. He waved her off, before she could speak. It was better to read, or at least scan what you were about to sign rather than have someone read it to you. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Avaline, he was just the type of person to look up a word even if you’d told him the correct definition beforehand. Just to be sure.

Mostly, the papers revolved around the agricultural department, very little had to do with the biological facility he managed despite being the only actual member of staff there. Finance reports, clearing schedules, supply requisitions and budget expectations, and of course, some heavily worded requests from the businessmen up top. Though Mr.Quan was their primary funder, pushing the needs of Nir’s department in whatever management council they had established up there, there were some smaller donors. Advocates of science, those who looked towards the future of life on Awilix, they understood the need. That was another slight worry, once he solved this problem, would their support drop if not stop completely? Everything was a puzzle, and many things he did not have an answer to. That didn’t bother him.

He only worried about the plants.

Avaline was more than capable of running the department in his stead. To be honest, he hardly wanted the job in the first place, but somebody had to do it. Perhaps it was his lack of trust that he didn’t push the position on somebody else, someone who would devote more time and attention to it. Maybe he didn’t want to be ordered around, perhaps set on some useless task. Avaline was a good choice, there were some other bureaucratic folk he associated with on occasion that could fill the place. Yet, he didn’t give it up. He’d even been asked a few times if he would step down now that the others had their wits about them. He did not.

That was a mystery about himself, and that did bother him. Substantially so. A person should not be a mystery to himself.

"Hey buddy, got you your sample."

Nir gave a slight start of surprise. He had been so absorbed into the reports he hadn’t heard the door open. Jethro entered, indeed with the promised sample, causing Nir to smile slightly. He wasn’t sure why he liked the man so much. Perhaps it was his jubilant nature and attitude. For such a simple man, he was surprising down to earth. One could be fooled by that goofy grin of his, Nir had once looked into his eyes and known there was perhaps a bit more behind that smile. Maybe it was a kinship, Jeth didn’t seem to care much for the complexities around him, prefering the simplicities in his life. Nir felt the same yet, despite the complicated nature of the things he delved into. He didn’t much care for anything other than the plants and their problems, but he did have something they both cared about.

”Ahoy Jeth, Thanks for coming,” Nir said, finishing his signature with a flourish on the final page requiring his attention. He didn’t stand however, instead he motioned for Jethro to sit as Nir pulled unlocked a drawer off to his side. ”I know you’re a busy man, so I won’t keep you long—fields to plow and earth to turn and all that, but I’ve got something here for you and your boys. I actually just sent out the paperwork, so you should start seeing it hit the shelves in a couple of days. I did push for the price to be lower, I didn’t want the Leaf to be something for the higher class, ya’know?” Nir rambled, pulling out an inconspicuous bag.

Trapped between the clear, thin walls of the plastic was a substance that could have passed as a dried herb for spicing food, but the look in Jethro’s eyes said that he knew better. Nir unzipped the top, letting the scent waft out. It was pungent, permeating the air with the scent of bitter dried herb and mint. Nir took a pipe out next, ignoring the wrinkling of Avaline’s nose—likely in disgust—as he did so.

”Well..” Avaline began, pointedly. ”If you’ll just excuse me, I’ve been here far too long and should see these reports to their proper homes.”

Nir nodded, with a dismissal wave of his hand, causing Avaline to sniff in disapproval. He hadn’t meant to be rude, he was just occupied. He felt rather excited, hopefully his friend shared the same attitude. Jethro emptied his hands, setting his bongos on the floor and produced his pipe. In a moment Nir had both of them stuffed with the dried, blueish leaf, packed down to perfection. He took out a second bag of the drug, though it was larger than the first he had produced.

”This one’s for sharing Jeth, and I know you will. Don’t spread it around too much yet though, I’d hate to see you mugged,” Nir paused for a moment, looking at the man before him and let out a chuckle, ”Well, perhaps get into a scuffle then… would you like the honors?” Nir finished, producing a nonchalant silver flip lighter, a relic really, from an age past, and holding it out.

@Americore

Just one more minute. Then another one. And then it will all be over. Konstantin thought to himself, choking slightly on the meaning of the word over. He wanted it to mean "These beasts will be scared away or killed and I will be safe", but in the dark recesses of his mind another interpretation tried desperately to be heard - "Your life will be all over". The young man tried to push it away as far as he could and was mostly successful, although it was less due to his will and control over his thoughts than due to the insane concentrations of adrenaline filling his body. The confrontation was man vs. beast, but in a situation like this the man was often reminded that he too, was a beast. The rational mind was given a strict order to sit down and be quiet while the instinctual sorted this out.

The shocked mog'romp was finally coming back to its senses, shaking off the last remnants of the daze it had been experiencing. It crawled behind Kostia, forcing him to turn and back up towards the wreckage of the Wasp. The alpha grunted sternly and the other mog'romp quickly leapt towards the rubble, cutting off the prey's possible escape. He was completely trapped and needed the cavalry - fast. But for some reason, they would not come. He knew even without looking up that the Hauler crew, for one reason or another, were not coming to perform the daring rescue he had expected. Had they not seen him? No, surely the pilot was competent enough to notice three huge predators corralling a man who was shooting sparks out of his body. Were they afraid? He saw with his own eyes how one of the crew made such a daring escape carrying an injured man. Maybe that was all the courage he had then. The scout made a mental note to have a few words with the Hauler crew, if he ever figured out who they were. And also if he survived. Dying would really hinder his efforts to yell at people for not saving his life.

No more than a minute could have passed since the third beast came to its senses when Kostia noticed the ring around him start tightening. He turned frantically from one animal to the other, trying to look as threatening as possible (which did not come easily given they were each at least double his weight). He hatched a desperate plan. Maybe he could get past one of them and get to the wreckage. That would give him at least some advantage, maybe two or three minutes more if he found a suitable crevasse where the monsters could not reach easily. He turned towards the alpha, taking a step forwards as if ready to fight. The animal lowered its head and growled, seemingly a little insulted at the feistiness of this little morsel. Then, as if frightened by this display, Konstantin made a sharp turn towards the one guarding the downed Wasp and made a run for it. The animal raised its head in shock for a second, before returning to a position of preparation. When the prey got within the right distance, it made a leap.

The man saw huge, yellowed teeth, covered in saliva, coming in at him fast and just dying to get a taste of his flesh. He reacted just in time to veer right and rolled on the ground to avoid the bulk of the animal knocking him over. He got up as quick as he could, but the more agile beast was already at his position, swiping with a paw. For some reason, Konstantin envisioned himself as a hedgehog, spines perked up to scare away a predator. His body interpreted that as a signal to let the voltage it had stored loose. The claws made contact with his right breast and right as they ripped through the fabric of his clothes and schredded the skin and muscle beneath, the mog'romp got a very nasty discharge. The beast fell flat to the ground, temporarily paralyzed, while his opponent stumbled backwards, clutching at his chest. He could see the blood flowing quite clearly, but surprisingly, he felt barely any pain. His body was in full fight or flight mode and pain inhibited both of these options. He quickly gathered himself and once again made a run for the wreckage. Luckily, the mog'romp closest to him froze for a few seconds, possibly reliving the very recent memories that its packmate now had to experience firsthand as well. It took a step back and watched the injured prey with caution, not daring to approach.

The alpha looked at its pathetic excuse of a pack, snarled annoyedly and began making great strides towards the prey. It could see the man was weakened now and would surrender sooner rather than later. To Konstantin's credit though, he had no intention of surrendering. He continued as best as he could, pressing his bleeding chest with his left arm, but he could feel something was wrong. He was losing charge slowly but noticeably enough and his breathing got heavier and heavier. With about ten meters left to go, he turned around to see yet another, larger set of teeth flying at him. He ducked instinctively and tried to cover his head with his arms, but was too slow on both actions. He had managed to lower himself a little bit to avoid the teeth, but a mass of muscle, fur and hatred bashed into him at full speed, knocking the wind out of his lungs and throwing the young scout towards the wreckage he had so desperately tried to reach. The same wreckage also stopped his flight, knocking the lights out of his eyes, too.

The next few minuted were a mixture of consciousness and unconsciousness for Konstantin. His vision was blurry - when it was there at all - and he sometimes managed to put together the situation he was in and that he would be ripped apart by hungry beasts any second now. He heard some noises, but not the ones he had expected. It sounded like a gun being fired, but mog'romp did not use guns. And then he slipped back into unconsciousness for some time, but a familiar voice brought him back. "ours... was... out... happened... Lunos... thanks..." his mind only registered a few words. Mark... Kostia recognized the owner of the voice in a moment of lucidity. He tried to raise his head to look at what was happening, but that was too hard of a task. Is this what dying feels like. Ah, fuck it! He stopped fighting and passed out.



"One of ours, yeah. Don't know what he was doing out here, I just happened upon him while collecting samples," Mark explained to the Wasp pilot. Other pilots were rushing into the scene with an emergency kit.

"Well good to know someone's competent in your team. We'll take him back to the City and throw him into one of those vats, should fix him up in a few hours. Nice aim, by the way," the pilot pointed to the corpse of the mog'romp laying nearby, its head with two holes that were not there originally.

"Yeah, it's my Lunos. Thanks for taking care of him, I don't know if I could have dragged him to the camp in time," Mark responded grimly. Kostia, you fucking idiot... he added mentally.

The Awilix Council meeting members were finally discharged from their prison of bickering and disputes; it was a freedom that only cost them several hours of their limited lifespan. Cerridwen entered the elevator and pressed her finger on the ground floor button, causing the doors to slide shut in preparation for the eventual drop. They were inches from sealing her inside when a hand of slender appearance grabbed the heavy panel of metal. The action forced the doors to scream stop and reverse in direction, opening up to reveal the young female known as Annabelle.

Annabelle smiled softly as she looked up at the robotic figure, locking eye contact for only the slightest of seconds before stepping inside. "Sorry to be a burden," she whimpered as she stepped inside, apologising for holding up the good doctor.

Cerridwen's eyes trailed the girl, watching her enter the square room just as the doors sealed them inside. She didn't say a word, refusing to be phased by the slight inconvenience of waiting. The elevator gave a jolt as it began to lower, dropping from the triple digit floors to eventually land on the one closest to the earth.

"Thank you for stepping in earlier," Annabelle cracked the silent air with a show of gratitude, "Gore and murder just don't sit well with me. It makes me physically sick." The girl had her hands resting in front of her stomach, using one hand to tightly grip the fingers of the other. She was embarrassed at how she handled the situation during the meeting.

"Carson was reckless. Those documents should not have been shared during that forum," Cerridwen responded in a monotone voice, offering words of comfort but failing offer the emotions.

Annabelle looked up at the woman, studied her metallic figure, and noticed the array of lights and sensors that scattered the surface. Her eyes were drawn to the cameras that rested within the faceplate; the optical orbs that gave Cerridwen sight. Cerridwen noticed and turned her sight back away from the girl; she had grown accustomed to people staring at her uniqueness. Annabelle noticed this and instantly reacted.

"My apologies! I was just lost in thought wondering if looking at the world through a robot changes your outlook."

If Cerridwen was able to breathe she would have let out a gentle huff of air. "It is something that I have become quite acoustomed to. Before this expedition much of my work involved monitoring various subjects and samples, so the concept of viewing the world through cameras and screens is simply... second nature." Slowly she swayed about, giving the impression that she was deep in thought while speaking, "What I have noticed is my lack of emotion while I am within this body. Since my human body is still in cryogenic sleep I can't feel that same adrenalin rush I would once get while experimenting."

"That must be hard, not being able to enjoy the work that you do," Annabelle offered words of sympathy, looking up to the current floor that they were on and noticing how they had now approached the single digit range.

"It is a misfortune, but it makes my plans all the more easier to complete as I can focus on the statistics at hand."

The elevator came to a rest as the doors swept open, revealing the lower lobby of the tower. Cerridwen stepped out and proceeded to make her way towards the outside world, leaving Annabelle behind to her own musings. The woman had a meeting to attend to, a construction firm within the business district where the overseer was complaining about some design flaws in the machinery that they were using. Cerridwen was not impressed with the complaint. She had taken the opportunity to evaluate the designs and didn't agree with what the man was concerned about.

@BrokenPromise

There were many things Abigale knew that she shouldn't be risky in. This was probably one of them. But she couldn't help her own curiosity, and so when there was no one there to hear her, Abigale started forwards towards the tomato plants. At the very least if something hadn't happened there she could see the tomato's close, and dream of a sandwich with one. Or just a whole tomato by itself. God, she never thought she'd be so deserpate for one, and had to wonder if there was a time when she had despised them. Had she just been...picky? She thought on that as she walked, getting lost in her own thoughts, Abigale closed the distance to the tomato plants.

It soon became clear that the area was blocked off, and Abigale's heart sank. Looks like they wouldn't be having tomato anything. It seemed like a sinking hope, that they'd ever grow anything edible. That wouldn't, of course, kill them. Saddened by that notion, Abigale wondered if she would end up dying slowly of starvations, perhaps the last person alive with her healing abilities. It was a daunting thought, and Abigale paused a moment, wondering if she had signed her death coming here. She drew in a slow breath, and then let it out, weary of the heavy thoughts that she just couldn't seem to banish. Perhaps if there was a little bit of hope...

Abigale continued forward, staring at the plants with grief. So beautiful. And apparently so deadly. Abigale shifted, taking out some gloves, she put them on, and crouched the take a sample of the dirt. Often, in medical investigations, you had to test a lot of things, to limit the cause of illness, or death. She slipped the sample in her bag, and continued on her way, knowing that there were probably others who could do the testing, yet in something serious like this, Abigale wanted her own results.

Seeing the body, Abigale gave a sigh, and she didn't need to be a cop to know the murder weapon was the tomato. She glanced about to see if anyone had noticed her approach, or if there was anyone around who had been watching her. Perhaps she should have done that first, but she had let herself get distracted by the puzzle. She flushed at herself, and cleared her throat.

Patty had been preoccupied with making sure the area had been made as secure as possible once Jeth had taken off. I swear, if Jeth wasn't around, I would have gone insane a long time ago. My sons still being up there in that temporary slumber. Missing them is the least of the feelings I have right now.

Being ripped out of her day dream she heard the good doctor holler from down the way. She told a couple of the farm hands still around to do their best at making sure no unnecessary people came around. "Doc! Hey Doc!" she shouted while jogging up to her. "I am terribly sorry for keeping you waiting in this...tragic scene here. I was the one who contacted for medical so if you need anything from me please feel free to ask."

Patty was once again brought back to the body of Reggie. His throat non existent, jaw finally starting to stop eroding away, it looked like something out of one of them gore films. Just a week ago he had been giving her hell over the music she and Jethro made. Now it would seem a tragic turn of fate took away his ability to bring music to the world. Reggie wasn't musically inclined but most of the hell he brought to them was to make them better. He knew the two of them loved music because they were simple people. She wasn't as simple as Jeth but music helped calm her nerves. Kids up in the final frontier sleeping still, every day was a mystery, to continue was a familiar hobby kept her feet planted on this planet.

Stifling some tears, "His name was Reggie, Doc. I don't know what you can take from this scene, but I am willing to help anyway I can."

Across the world Jethro was being put into an entirely different situation. Avaline had just brushed passed him on her way out. Tipping his head to her as she left it didn't seem to warrant any acknowledgment from her. He shrugged it off and headed inside. Nir on the other had was a treat in himself. Jeth loved the guy because he was one of the smart ones. The knowledge adventure he dove down seemed to have no end from his eyes. Whenever Jeth got to come by it seemed as though Nir was working on something new in the lab. This sort of passion in a job always inspired Jeth and brought the best out in him.

However, his mind was thrown for a loop after Nir had explained to him that the new Ghost leaf was good for smoking. Hot damn this day is returned slowly to a neutral state. I will need some time to really give Reggie his proper send off but this will be a smoke for him. Am I being selfish pushing for this at a time like this? No, Nir doesn't need to get brought down needlessly. He is to important a scientist to have his mind distracted. Sure the ending of a life is as important as it gets. With that being said, Patty and I will have it covered.

"Boy oh boy, the famous ghost leaf!" he announced as he graciously grabbed the pipe from Nir. "I would be more than honored to smoke this." Striking a match in his pocket he drew in the smoke from the pipe. Mint overtook his mouth that brought him back to his dipping days. Throwing in a pinch of Copenhagen Mint and letting it sit there used to be a part of his daily routine on the farm. Since leaving, and dip being a thing of the past, his mind raced with new opportunities to enjoy the Leaf. As he exhaled a bluish smoke rose into the air. "Look at that Nir! That is mighty pretty. Can you think about the possibilities with this leaf? Cigar rolling, chopping it up to dip, you can really get a good industry going for us workers out in the fields!" He leaned over, brought his bongos in between his legs, and started beating away on them. Just a nice soft tone to keep the mood calm.

@Caits @Synthesis

To most workers, an overseer is nothing more than a glorified office drone. They just sit in front of a computer terminal and write the occasional report to upper management. When they aren't writing, they're probably scolding the people who actually do work. If none of those, they are probably playing video games or watching porn. The real overseers know that's not the case, and none more so than Lenna.

Lenna had many more responsibilities than just shouting at workers and writing up reports. She had to make sure safety guidelines were being followed. She had to manage resource use, and balance production with maintenance. And of course, her shouting had to be productive. There was no point in making a miner or mechanic nervous if it slowed them down. Thankfully, Lenna had shaped up her crew so that they were fairly maintenance free. But it seemed like her crew expanded every week, giving her new hands to train. At the moment she was responsible for about fifty different people. All people she had to keep safe, yet also working quickly enough to create desirable results.

Lenna spent most of her time on the overseer's bridge, where she stood now. The overseer was surrounded by her entire crew, all lined up on consoles in a circle. Most of the mining equipment could be run remotely, and it was easier for the overseer to keep tabs on everyone if they were in close proximity to each other. Lenna walked behind the miners, glancing at their displays and listening for potential problems.

A miner looked to his coworker. “Hey Josh, I need a collector over here.”

“Just dumped a load, I'm headed right for ya!” The coworker didn't look away from his screen.

A mechanic whistled loud enough to catch everyone's attention. “I just finished lunch, so if you need a battery swap or a tune up, I'll be in the maintenance bay. Don't make me go onto the field to fix your wreck!”

Lenna had a clip board tucked between her palm and arm. Despite the name, it was just a PDA that you could use with a stylus. The technology improved, but the name stuck. A second didn't go by where she wasn't changing screens, checking off objectives, or just writing notes. Her new batch of workers were quite reliable and didn't need much supervision.

The only exception to this was Rose, a brat who lacked the discipline for the job. She wouldn't be so infuriating if she was just bad. Rose had no real desire to work. She treated her mining drone like it was a game, and seemed more interested in the social network on her PDA then working with the people around her. But if she really didn't care about them, why wear such noisy, distracting outfit? Thankfully, Lenna had found a relatively simple way to keep tabs on her: Just look at her social media feeds.

Rosey78: dAy 3: stl no pritE stones D :

Rosey78: pritE suR d miner NXT 2 me iz checking me out. goin 2 kick Hs (_!_) l8r. <3

Rosey78: Thinking bout ramming my co worker's mining drone. dey won't knO wot hit dem. LoLz!

Lenna hastened her steps until she was behind the brat's seat. The overseer grabbed the top of the chair and spun it around so that Rose was facing her. Only rose was still facing her PDA, texting with one hand while holding her head up with the other.

“What are you doing?”

Rose didn't look up from her tablet. “I'm practicing new ways to have fun.”

“Like damaging the company's property?”

Rose blew a raspberry and rolled her eyes. “Nah, nobody wants to play with me.” She looked up from her PDA. “But I figured you were using social media to keep tabs on me. You just thwarted my plans too quickly. So I thought it might be fun to just write nonsense and see how you reacted to it.” Rose smiled. “It's interesting, you find property damage a more pressing concern than sexual harassment.”

“Well...” Lenna eyes shifted down to Rose's chest. She was wearing coveralls, but had left the front of her suit open all the way to her belly button. This exposed her black netted bra. “...Maybe we wouldn't have to worry about 'sexual harassment' if we finished getting dressed in the morning.”

Rose snorted. “This job is so boring!” she slammed her fists into the arm wrests on her chair. “I'm so glad I only have to work a six hour shift. I'm a fashion designer, why do I have to muck around with the lot of you?”

“We're trying to establish a civilization.” Lenna folded her arms, tucking her clip board under her shoulder. “There won't be a large demand for vanity until we get a little better established.”

“Tell that to Holla! She's going to start in her own movie pretty soon.”

Lenna smirked and closed her eyes. There was still a faint glow behind her eyelids. “I assure you even she is doing unpleasant work right now.”

“Nuh-uh!” Rose held out her PDA. “Just look at her social feed! She never says anything about shit like this!”

Lenna's eyes opened back up, and her smirk vanished. “She's going to be a movie star. If she complained publicly about it, people would lose respect for her.”

“Whatever.” Rose spun around in her seat and placed her hands over the command console. Holographic joysticks appeared in her hands. “I bet Holla would go crazy doing this job.” She squeezed the trigger, causing her drone to fire plasma shots at a wall of rock. “Honestly, there's no skill at all, you just shoot the walls and wait for a collector to clean up after you.”

“There's plenty of skill.” Lenna unfolded her arms. “It just appears simple because you're not trying to be productive.”

“Productive rock smashing...” Rose chuckled. “You've been doing this for a month, did you find anything interesting?”

“We found traces of metals that are very close to the ones on earth. Even though you don't see anything, all of that rock contains ore that we can use.”

“I don't know overseer, this is all making me very sleepy.” A few seconds later, Rose started to mock snore and leaned her body to the right. This caused the mining drone to spin and scatter its plasma shots all over the place. Some of them were even hitting the ceiling, which could potentially cause a cave in on millions of credits worth of mining equipment. The drones were just too heavy to recover in the event of a cave in. Lenna dove in beside rose and struggled with the controls, but the brat did everything in her power to ensure her miner was shooting erratically. Lenna took the back of her hand and flung it into Rose's face, flattening her nose. She followed through with her strike, causing rose and her chair to fall over. The head rest kept Rose's head off the floor, but it was still a pretty bad tumble. The teenager's hands quivered from the shock. She reached for her face to feel her nose, smearing the blood around as she did so. “I-It's broken!” Was all Rose was able to reply with. A few of the miners had been watching Lenna's meeting with Rose, but the recent commotion had drawn everyone's attention to the fiasco. But Lenna was unaware of all that, or maybe she just didn't care. Her eyes were trained on Rose's console monitor. Her miner was looking directly at a blue glow. There was something shining so brilliantly it could be seen through the rocks that surrounded it.

“Evacuate the mines.” Lenna didn't look away from the screen. “I want one collector and a precision drone to come to Rose's miner. Everyone else is to leave the mine and dock with the bridge.” The other miners knew better than to question their overseer. But not Rose. Despite her injury, even she was able to appreciate what she was seeing.

“W-what are we looking at?” The shock was starting to subside.

“It's unknown.” Lenna placed her hands on the edge of the console, still not looking away from the screen. “You might have discovered a new substance.”

“M-me?” Rose set her chair back up and sat in it, though she stayed outside of Lenna's reach. “Does that mean I get to name it?”

“If it is a new substance, you can name it whatever you like.”

Despite having her nose broken, she smiled and powered up her PDA to tell everyone the good news.

Meanwhile, a single collector and a special precision mining drone appeared on screen. The precision miner had a smaller photon bullet that made it ideal for chipping away rock without damaging ajacent structures. It could also use a traditional drill for low heat, low impact applications.

“Time isn't a concern, we're ahead of schedule. Whatever it is, it could be unstable.”

The precision operator began the delicate operation of cleaning the rock away from the mystery object. Everyone's sense of wonder grew as the glow was slowly unearthed. Before long, a glowing blue fluid poured out of the hole.

“So it's not ore.” Lenna waved her hand at the screen. “Build a make shift bucket out of rock, fill it, and stow it on the collector. Then evacuate the last of the mining equipment.” Lenna turned away from the monitor and marched towards the hatch. “I'm going in on foot. Have the mechanics begin routine maintenance. I'll be back in a few minutes.”

Rose turned to Lenna. “But what are you doing?”

“You'll see.” Was all Lenna said before disappearing out of the hatch.

…

After a few minutes, the overseer had come back. Rose was a little surprised by her quick return. “So what did you do?”

Lenna drew her vein buster. “I shot an entire tube of explosives near the glowing liquid that remained. There's a lot of it.”

“Because?”

“Do you need to ask?”

Rose was in too much pain to react strongly to anything. “Didn't you collect a sample for some scientists to examine?”

“I did.” Lenna's thumb moved over a button on top of the vein buster. “But all of the scientists are focusing on food at the moment. It could be weeks or months before they even decided to look at the sample I've collected. Hell, the sample might even spoil before anyone gets a chance to look at it. I can't wait that long to see how volatile this is. I have a crew to run, and I refuse to mine around something without knowing how volatile it is.” There was no objections from anyone, there wasn't time for them. Lenna's thumb mashed the button on top of the Vein buster. The “boom” following the button press was a lot bigger than it should have been, and the following quake was enough to throw the overseer onto her back.

A monitor hooked up to an exterior camera showed blue flames erupting out of every cave leading into the mine. Boulders rolled down the side of the mountain, and the cave entrances were hidden behind a veil of dust. It would be several minutes before things settled. “Well” Lenna said while standing back up. “Bad new is that we probably have to dig those passages out again. Good news is that we still have access to all of our equipment, and we might have just discovered a possible fuel source on this planet.”

Rose had managed to stay in her seat. “Okay, so it's highly volatile?”

Lenna looked at the outside video feed. “It would appear so.”

“In that case, I'm going to name it Lenna-lolium.”

The hanger bay doors dropped open as Jackson's hauler came barrelling into the landing zone, a scream of reverse thrust before the vehicle dropped onto the steel surface. The engines were still spinning when Jackson jumped up from his seat and rushed over to the rear tailgate, slamming his hand on the activation panel with a heavy slap. As the gates were slowly opening he could see a medical team already on their way, hover-stretcher inbound.

"It's not looking good!" he yelled out, just as the gate touched down on the landing pad, "He's been coughng up lumps of blood the whole way here."

The team swooped inside and carefully scooped up the man, placing him on the stretcher. One of the medical staff members noticed an excessive amount of blood coagulating around his forearm and pulled out a set of scissors, slashing into the fabric.

"He's been bitten!" They announced, seeing the series of indented teeth marks carved into the skin. "The marks don't seem familiar but from the looks of it he has been injected with a poison."

The medical team didn't have much time and stormed out of the hauler, yelling commands at each other as they left both JJ and Bubbles on their own. Bubbles walked up next to JJ, placing his hand on his mate's shoulder. "There's not too much we can do at the moment. I'll clean up the mess, you go take a breather."

Jackson sighed as he pulled a pack of cigarettes out oh his pocket, lighting one up in his mouth. He didn't have a huge supply but managed to sneak a few into his personal storage box upon the Noah II. "Thanks bud," he replied, feeling drained of energy, "Are you sure you don't need a hand?"

The co-pilot laughed, "Really, I just have to stick a mop in my mouth and this mess will be as good as gone."

Jackson laughed, the thought of the man trying to ingest a cleaning utensil was a sight worth seeing, but he knew that the man meant well. He turned away from his vehicle, giving a subtle way goodbye, and set out into the hangers. He had to report back to the foreman and inform him of what had happened; the dangers that he encountered and the man that he happened to stumble upon. Every piece of information was important, especially with Mr Quan breathing down their necks every 5 minutes.

Teeth brushed? Check.

Curls holding? Check.

Outfit looks reasonably tidy? Check.

Borr was smiling at his reflection in a window. It wasn't often he got a visit from someone so important, certainly not one as important as Cerridwen. Or did she prefer to be called Lankerfield? He had heard that she was gruff and mean, but people said the exact same thing about him. The nature of their meeting was not especially friendly, but it was important to be friendly in this kind of situation. He could yell and hound his own crew until they pissed themselves, but he knew this would require more finesse.

He wasn't worried.

Everything he was about to do was a simple precaution for a worst case scenario. In all honesty, Cerridwen sounded like someone Borr wouldn't mind taking out for a drink sometime. A shame she she didn't have a real body at the moment. Not in landing anyway. Such a gesture could be taken the wrong way fairly easily.

But he wasn't worried about offending her, not at all.

He needed to talk to Cerridwen Lankerfield about the equipment. The scaffolding generators seemed to be reacting to interference, the caulk guns were obviously inspired by Vein busters, and some of the cable packs on the rappelling booms were already starting to wear out. Was he really suppose to work with such tools? That is to say, this was a good reason to make a fuss right?

But he wasn't worried about the request, not at all.

Not at all.

Nope.

Worrying wouldn't solve anything. All he could do was make a reasonable effort to appear like an overseer who could handle his work load. Yea, that was the ticket. A finished building, clean swept, nobody could argue against that.

The building hadn't been clean swept.

Borr was starting to worry.

Borr approached his desk and moved around some notes. The office building he was standing in was almost done. Keefer and his slow friend were probably putting in the last windows right now. He had fifteen men on the outside of the building, so the building would be complete soon.

The door to his temporary office swung open.

“Keefer?”

The newly arrived closed the door behind himself. “Jobe and I just got the last window in place. Is there another build site you wanted us to go to?”

“No. I want you to join the cleaning crew and perform the finishing sweep. Once the exterior is finished, the exterior crew can join you. I want this place swept clean.”

Keefer turned to leave, but stopped himself. “I thought you wanted us to hurry up and start another job site.”

“Plans change Keefer.” Borr stood up in front of his desk, casting a shadow over his employee. “Priorities...Change...”

“I-I understand!” Keefer chuckled nervously before turning around to leave.

“Wait.”

Keefer turned back towards Borr, his hand was resting on the open button. “Yes?”

“They would probably work faster if I appeared personally, wouldn't they?”

“Yes, that is true.”

“Well then.” Borr walked around his desk. “Let me personally appear before them. The cleanliness of this building is of utmost importance!”

“But sir, I thought we had droids for that!” Keefer stopped talking when Borr spun him around and walked out the door with him.

@NuttsnBolts

...

Rose's nose still hurt. It probably would for a while. Worse than the pain, she could feel how deformed it was. There would be no long term effects though. A quick dip in a medical healing pod and her nose would be as good as new. Her ego was hurt far worse. Did Lenna really have that kind of power? To literally smack around miners who didn't bend to her whims? It must have been so, because none of the other miners came over to help Rose. Or was that just because Lenna had successfully brainwashed them all?

Rose came from a prestigious family. She wanted for nothing during her upbringing. The only thing she ever had to work towards was becoming a fashion designer. She got her business license at the age of twelve. But then that little twelve year old girl went to sleep on earth and woke up as a seventeen year old woman somewhere else. At first this was exiting. She could fit into the outfits that had inspired her. She didn't have to pretend to be a grown woman anymore. She could go on dates, own property, the works. Her exiting future had already arrived. But what happened? They made her go through some training simulators and determined she would be good as a drone miner. She was suppose to be using her creativity to tailor outfits, not perform these menial tasks.

“Just as I anticipated.” Lenna's voice pulled Rose out of her thoughts. “They wouldn't have had any interest in the blue fluid before. Now that I reported how volatile it is, they are quite eager to study it.” Lenna looked all around herself at the miners. “We are to stop mining for today. The mechanics can catch up on the maintenance, but there's no reason for the miners to stay here. You are dismissed.” After her announcement, Lenna walked into an elevator to be taken to a different floor.

One by one, the miners started to get up to leave. Some happy for the time off, others disappointed in the cut in credits. Rose was not among them. She remained seated after they left. Rose was about to get up when her PDA vibrated. She had received a private message on one of her social media feeds. The young woman quickly picked up her PDA and woke it up.

Holla(IfYaNeedMe): Hihi! How is my follower today? <(^v^)>

What. Was. Going. On? That was definitely the handle of the internet sensation everyone knew and loved. But why did she get a message from Holla? They never actually spoke to each other, and she must have had thousands upon thousands of followers. Rose was exited, yet skeptical. Rose typed a message back, avoiding the use of her typical speed chatting.

Rosey78: I'm fine. How are you?

Holla(IfYaNeedMe): Peachy peachy! ^(^o^)^ Is that typically how you write?

Was it bad that she chose to write differently? Her heart started to pound a little harder.

Rosey78: No. But I think it's easier to read this way.

Holla(IfYaNeedMe): It most certainly is! ~_^

She breathed a sigh of relief.

Rosey78: I'm really glad we're chatting. It almost feels like a dream. Do you chat with your followers often?

Holla(IfYaNeedMe): Sadly no. I don't have time to chat with all of them. V-V I do read all of their comments though!

Rosey78: If you don't mind me asking, why am I lucky enough to be chatting with you?

Holla(IfYaNeedMe): Haha! It's not “all” luck! I screened my followers for very specific criteria. I was looking for someone who was younger than 18, a girl, had a reasonably sized social group, and had a playful personality. You were the first one I chose. <(^v^)>

Rose's smile grew and grew as their conversation went along.

Rosey78: What would you like me to do?

Holla(IfYaNeedMe): I just need someone to manage my work Emails. An online secretary! How much would you charge me to do that?

Rose didn't even think before typing.

Rosey78: I would do it for free.

Holla(IfYaNeedMe): You sure? I'll be rolling in it once I land that movie deal! ~_^

Rosey78: It's okay. I'm happy just to be your friend.

Holla(IfYaNeedMe): Oh hoh! ^(^o^)^ Well if you change your mind, do speak up. Also, while I do find your new “voice” much easier to understand, it lacks the same emotion that your old way of speaking had. You can still use acronyms and emoticons when you type like this.

Rosey78: I'm happy to be your friend! : D And I get paid pretty good for what I do. Lol

Holla(IfYaNeedMe): Haha! Much better. ~_^ What do you do for a living? how is your boss? I personally find my boss kind of boring.

Rose couldn't wait to type a response.

Rosey78: OMG do not talk to me about bosses right now. I'm working in mining and she is (pardon me) little Hitler! No I'm serious. It's so easy to picture her dressed up as a Nazi in one of those vintage world war movies. Or like that villain in the fourth, twelfth, or sixty-eighth Indiana Jones movie. I'm just waiting for her to burn the jews, lol!

Rose wondered if it was a mistake to write something so negative to someone who had brought her so much joy. Holla seemed to be hesitating in her reply.

Ding.

Rose had received an Email... from Lenna Bernstein.

Dear disgruntled employee

You seem to have forgotten that I was keeping tags on ALL of your social media feeds. Even your private messages cannot escape me. You might want to be more careful with what you type into your work PDA. Most overseers would fire you on the spot for such misuse of company property.
...However, I am happy that you are taking on more responsibilities. Doing work for free shows the kind of drive you really have. Since you find this job boring, maybe you'd like to be my secretary too? Multitasking adds complexity to any job, and you look like you could use all the help that you can get. If you abuse your new duties, I will be revoking your internet access. So please don't disappoint Holla just to spite me.
Looks like you still have some work to do. You will not go home with the other miners. Email me with any questions.

Lenna Bernstein
Overseer of mining #11

Scratch that, Lenna deserved the entirety of Rose's wrath, negative or not. Was there software on her PDA that allowed Lenna to look at her private messages? Rose's thoughts were interrupted by a new private message.

Holla(IfYaNeedMe): your boss sounds scary. Σ(ﾟдﾟ;)∑