Breaking Interstellar: Cosmic Lives Matter

by Michael Tobin

  Chapter Four: People of the forest

  Not so tiny anymore, Toby gains more and more momentum as she swings back and forth. She’s showing off for her siblings, who watch and laugh from a short distance away. As She puts more energy into her swing at just the right moment, she comes ever closer to her co-conspirator.... Harper. He shifts his body rhythmically back and forth, swinging and laughing. Closer and closer they swing, and soon, synchronicity occurs and they’re able to grip each other’s hand. There they dangle, ten-feet off the ground; legs flailing, and the arms not occupied with holding on, are sticking out the other way waving. The crowd goes wild, as the remainder of the dirty-dozen, howl with laughter at such a spectacle.

  The use of dangling the youngsters inside harnesses, to allow for easier mob-control while parents worked, went out of vogue years earlier. The practice is resurrected from time to time when the need arises for punishment, and behavioral modification. These days, the nine-year-old kids are too old, and too big for such crowd-control methods. Besides, lately they’ve been behaving, for the most part, within the limits expected by their parental-units. Braxton regains composure from laughing at such a comical site, and moves closer. Using a hiking stick, he prods Toby in the ribs; causing the two jail-birds to disconnect and swing chaotically.

  “Awe, why’d you do that Brax?” Toby asks, disappointingly. “We were close to escaping from this high-altitude prison!” She yells, at the same time kicking out to see if she can’t pay him back for his brazen act.

  “Because you two look so funny up there!” He informs. “That, plus I guess you don’t remember what you did to me the last time I was in the harness of shame.” He bellows with a great laugh, twirling Toby with the long stick he wields so expertly.

  “I’ll harness of shame you! Your ass is grass, when I get down from here Braxton Crane!” She yells venomously, as the room goes round and round. “You got me into this mess! You’d be up here with us if we spilled the beans! Stop.... stop.... I’ll puke on you....”

  “Brax, be nice!” Cooper demands, as she moves forward and grabs one of Toby’s feet, stopping the girl from spinning. “She’s right you know; you got her into this trouble. It should be you who’s in the harness!” Turning to the victim. “It’s okay Toby; I’ve got your back!” With a well-placed elbow, Cooper knocks Braxton back a few feet, protecting her best friend from more jabs.

  “Hey Coop.” Harper begs. “What say, you get us down from here. We’ll all escape into the hills for a while.” He bounces his eyebrows enticingly.

  Now, the entire group is getting into an uproar. They move closer to the two desperate criminals, trying to figure a way to get them down from such an embarrassing predicament. There’s no furniture, or other tools in the compartment that can be used for such an extrication, but they soon figure out a plan of action.

  Adam, Jax, Magnus, and Braxton get on their hands and knees between the two dangling offenders, while Max and Shirley climb onto them, attempting to make a human pyramid. After the six accomplices become a stable platform for accent, Tina carefully climbs the mountain of salvation, grasping the quick-release handle near Toby. The mechanism releases, sending Toby and the pyramid plummeting into a tangled heap of bodies on the floor!

  Expletives and moans aplenty, waft up from the tangled mass of humanity, just as Nyla enters the compartment. Poor Harper still dangles, kicking his legs and reaching up in a useless attempt to release his own harness from the cable. Toby, and her rescuers are so busted! But, Nyla can’t keep a straight face and joins fray, rolling around with the rest, tickling as many as she can get her hands on. Everyone has a great laugh, as Harper enjoys a bird’s eye view of the spectacle, from his lofty perch.

  “Hey, is anyone going to get me down from here?” He requests pathetically of his siblings.

  Nyla and the others are still laying on the floor, trying to regain a modicum of composure as the wriggling brown young man above, begs to be noticed.

  “Well, if you think you’ve learned a lesson about raiding the pantry for sweets, I might consider an early release.” Nyla informs, with a serious tone that was hard to maintain. It pained her greatly to administer punishment to the not so little kids, and seeing as Toby had already been released, she decides that they’ve had enough embarrassment for the tiny offense.

  “Yeah Nyla, I learned my lesson.” He offers with rolling eyes. It’s the same pseudo-admission he usually gives after getting into trouble.

  Mother android stands, giving him a stern look; trying to make it seem like she’s considering the validity of his statement. “Well, seeing that your partner in crime has already won early release, I guess it’s okay for you to come down also.” She says with a laugh, and calls for Wil to bring in a step-ladder as Harper’s release mechanism is just out of her reach.

  Wil enters the compartment, wondering why the kids seem to be out of breath. They still lay on the floor, wriggling and wrestling with each other. “My, my.... what did I miss?” He inquires with a chuckle, eyeballing the tangled mass of humanity at his feet.

  “Oh, you missed a wonderful tickle-fest!” Nyla informs, gleefully. “Now, please get Harper down from his perch, so we can get on with our day.”

  Placing the step-ladder, Wil climbs up next to Harper who whispers in his ear. “It’s just not fair Wil.... Nyla can tickle us good, but she’s not ticklish, so how can we get even?”

  “Well Harp,” Wil, whispers back, “I’m not ticklish either.... but we’ll think of something.” He offers hope of reprisal, as he in turn, tickles poor helpless Harper, who is perhaps the most susceptible of all the kids. With Harper still reeling, Wil reaches with one hand and releases the harness from the cable while keeping the wiggling boy from dropping to the floor with the other.

  He lowers Harper to the floor. “Wow Harp, you sure are getting heavy! No more space-cookies for you, young man!” He says jokingly, as Harper breaks loose from his hold and runs around the room yelling and hooting, as if he just got away with some great crime. He dives into the still wriggling pile of siblings, wrestling and laughing. Both androids beam with pride at raising such lovable little monsters....

  “Okay kids, listen up.... Cooper, leave Jax be, and listen up.... Ling, stop biting Adam’s ear and listen up....” Nyla patiently waits for the group to calm themselves and pay attention.

  “As you all know; tomorrow is your birthday.” Nyla reminds them, even though they all knew what day it was. Although they were born on different days within a three-week timeframe, they all enjoyed the same birthday to avoid an unnecessary month-long celebration that would exhaust even the most energetic of android parents.

  Harper stands tall and proud. He’s the oldest of the group. In fact, he’s the eldest human on the entire planet. Each birthday, he reminds all his siblings of that fact. He was the first to pop out of the oven, so he should get the lion’s share of the cake and gifts. It’s a ploy he tries every year, but is never truly successful. Not when attempting to pull such rank on a group of alpha-personalities. And at the same time, they would be disappointed if he didn’t at least make the attempt. After all, seniority ought to allow for a degree of extra privilege.

  “Tomorrow, you’ll all be ten-years-old. There will be no classes.” Nyla announces the well-known number to her bakers-dozen of little terrors. “Instead, Wil and I have a special surprise for you. Now, don’t let your imaginations run too wild.... just organize into a well-behaved group outside at the commons at 0800. Be sure to bring plenty of bug repellent and bandages.” She jokes seriously, adding. “Especially you, Mr. Harper Williams .... the bandages, I mean.” The group has a great laugh at poor Harpers expense, and he gets an elbow in the side from Toby while she laughs the hardest. “Yeah, remember last year Harp? That little gymnastics stunt, didn’t turn out so well.” She mercilessly reminds, giggling infectiously.

  The next morning turns out to be another warm, sunny day in the valley. At 07:45 the children gather at the assigned rend
ezvous point. There’s much speculation about the so called ‘special surprise’ that Nyla had mentioned the day before. Energies run high as usual, but there seems to be a little magic in the air too, as thirteen rambunctious and freshly-minted ten-year-old’s wait impatiently for 0800 to arrive.

  Magnus, Amy, Toby and Cooper play marbles with neighbor kids, as Braxton, Kara, Max, Shirley, and Tina, amuse themselves with a game of hacky-sack nearby. Jax, Harper, and Ling keep busy with climbing around on the low-hanging branches of a nearby tree. Adam gazes up into the tree from the safety of ground level.

  “What do you think they have in store for us this year?” Adam calls up to Ling, who’s swinging upside down from a branch.

  “Well.... perhaps this year, they’ll give you a brain!” She jokes with wild laugher.

  “Oh, ha ha little miss monkey-girl!” He retorts, reaching with a stick to tickle her. But she’s too fast for him, and dodges the poke. With cat-like reflexes, honed by the weaker gravity of Oberon Prime, she swings off the branch in a maneuver that’s poetry in motion. She lands next to him in a crouched position, while doing some poking of her own. Her knuckle finds its mark between two of Adam’s ribs; sending him reeling backwards with shock.

  Of all the children, it’s Ling who learned how best to put the lower gravity to work for her advantage. Oberon Prime has about 5-percent less gravity than the earth. So, the first few generations of humans will seem stronger than others in the future, before evolution balances everything out. However, these little tikes don’t realize just how much stronger they actually are, because they have no baseline to compare themselves with. But Nyla and Wil notice that it’s much easier for the children to move around on this lesser-massed planet than the kids they knew back on Earth. Even they have a nice advantage, compared to living and working in a full g.

  “Mr. Harper Williams! Get down from there this very minute!” Nyla scolds, disappointed that she had to yell so early in the morning.

  “Oh jeez, I never get to have any fun!” Harper complains sharply, as he calculates his descent from the lofty height of 20-feet. As he approaches the branch that Ling had launch from, he notices many eyes upon him; so, it’s only natural to attempt, and perhaps best her acrobatic prowess. One branch above the ‘Ling-branch’, he shifts his balance, allowing himself to drop; many gasps reach his ears. With his track record of injuries, his siblings have gotten into the habit of watching his performances, against the chance for seeing yet another near-death experience. Nyla, can only cringe....

  He grabs the bottom branch with both hands as he drops, letting the built-up momentum carry him through an arc, sending him flying into the air at a right-angle to his original descent; He had never attempted such a move outside of imagination, but it feel right! He tucks hard, performing a near-perfect backflip, but sticks the landing horribly, just in front of Nyla. With uncontrolled momentum, he rocks forward off balance; clunking his head real good against her left tibia. With a sickening thud, his forehead bounces off the titanium with a painful sound. Like a human, this part of the leg is not padded very much, and being metal, it yields not. He lands backwards on his butt, reaching for his head. Any high-praise from his siblings is muted, but they’re still impressed with his daring move. Nyla can only cringe, yet once again....

  Harper’s hand go instinctively to the new injury, as he sits there in the dirt. “Jeez Nyla, you’re built like a brick shi......” He’s stops short, as Nyla cuts him off.

  “Don’t you EVEN finish that sentence, young man!” She scolds loudly. Bending down, she grabs him up by his collar, holding him in front of her face. His feet dangling two-feet off the ground in a very compromising and embarrassing position. She continues to vent.... “Harper, what am I going to do with you!” She yells in his face, then quickly relents, as the boy repays her anger with a loving and mischievous gaze, and a guilty smirk on his dark-brown face that turns into a smile. Her circuits melt.... How can she stay made at such a cute kid, she wonders....

  “You’re going to give me gray hairs young man.” She says more softly, letting him off the hook, one more time. “Please, at least try to be good .... today of all days!”

  “I’m sorry Nyla.” Harper apologizes sincerely, rubbing the growing knot on his forehead. “I just don’t know what gets into me sometimes! But, I’ll try to try” .... He promises insincerely, as the other children gather around Nyla with many ‘good mornings’, and more than a few congratulations to Harper for not breaking his neck during such an awesome display of foolishness.

  After a few minutes, Wil joins the group. “Good morning, and happy birthday kids!” He greets enthusiastically, putting down an armful of backpacks. “My, but I think you’ve all grown tremendously since last year! Don’t you agree, Nyla?”

  “Oh, my yes! Happy birthday gang!” She regains focus. “Now, I want you all to grab a backpack, and follow us.” She instructs, following Wil who had already started the hike.

  The children are excited, as they jostle to see who gets a backpack first. Soon, they each have one, and are running noisily after the two androids. “Wait for us! .... Wait for us!” Kara yells, as they all try to get ahead of each other. Soon, it’s the children who are leading the androids into the hills. Kara and Braxton have a good idea where they’re going, trying to keep the group from getting too far ahead.

  As they leave the habitat behind, they enter into thick brush that soon gives way to forested highlands. It’s a beautiful day, with many creatures scurry about, after being disturbed by the rambunctious group. Up ahead, they see a clearing that’s a popular place for playing. As they get closer, they notice that the area had been decorated for a party! They stop, waiting for Nyla and Wil to catch up. Keeping up with energetic young humans, can be a real challenge; even for androids. Especially, when they are not exactly spring chickens anymore!

  Blankets are spread on the ground, food and refreshments are placed for a hearty breakfast, and all the children settle down for a nice meal. But before anyone has a chance to dig into the delicious repast, there comes a shaking of the brush at the side of the clearing. Nyla and Wil are expecting this, and stand to greet the guests that were invited to the party. They are old friends. One of them is the male that helped win the day many years earlier during the cat fight....

  It’s not easy inviting friends that don’t speak your language, but after years of periodic meetings, Nyla and Wil had developed a good understanding. When one uses a digital-mind instead carbon, it’s quite simple to memorize words and phrases. The alien language, requires a complicated series of chirps and squeaks that a human would be hard-pressed to repeat. The guests are bipedal, furry, feline-featured animals of about 4 and a half feet tall. They sport truncated snouts that once were longer, before evolution did its thing. And with long whiskers and a regal mane of facial hair, as an earthly feline might display, evolution had provided Oberon Prime with some very handsome creatures indeed. Proud and regal, they are!

  They wear nicely woven clothing, that they had recently designed. The fashion of their village was strictly loose-fit clothing; until the arrival of the star people, that is. Now, many of them, including these visitors, have adapted what would be described as close-fit tunics not unlike the jumpsuits the star people use. Each, wears a utility belt, from which many pouches and tools dangle. Jewelry around their necks are made of polished gem-stones, with a sprinkling of large canine teeth. Along with the intimidating spear they carry, and their graceful walk, its easy to see that they are capable folks that mean business. They are of a clan who call their species by the name of Zenarawan. As close as Nyla and Wil could figure, it meant ‘people of the forest’, and that fits them just fine.

  “Razzi! .... Surri!” .... Toby runs forward, greeting two friends who are close to her age. Their parents enter the clearing next, brushing dust off their tunics. Toby turns to Nyla and Wil. “So, this is the surprise you mentioned yesterday!” She and the other children all run to meet their guests. For the
m, this is the best birthday surprise ever.

  Nyla and Wil make greetings with the two Zenarawan adults. They speak using the native language, causing the human children to tilt their heads as they try to understand. It’s all gibberish to them, so they lead their young friends over to the feast.

  Linmari, a lovely female, and Raznalli, a handsome male, are leaders within their clan, and were among the first group of hunters to meet the two androids, before the humans were born. “Good day, Nyla. Good day, Wil.... My, how the little-ones have grown! You must be very proud!” Linmari exclaims.

  “Welcome, Linmari! Its good to see you again! And, I can say the same about Razzi and Surri! They grow like the trees of the forest!” Nyla greets enthusiastically.”

  Wil greets the pair with a wide smile and welcoming words. The tall android motion for the Zenarawan’s to join the gathering, and eat some food. The meal looks appetizing, consisting mainly of grains, fruits and juices. All products from hard work in the valley below. Linmari breaks out some delights of her own cooking prowess, and everyone except Nyla and Wil, dig in.

  It’s the first time that food has been shared between the Zenarawan’s and humans. Linmari notices that neither of the adult humans were eating. “Try this, it will brighten your appetite.” She offers slices of sweet cake made from the sugary Rabba-tree sap and grains.

  The two androids, knew that time for disclosure would come eventually. Nyla graciously responds. “Oh my, Linmari; that does look delicious! But, Wil and I do not eat the same food that you and our own young-ones do. We require a different kind of food. I can’t explain it in a way that you will truly understand, but Wil and I are very different from you.” She stands, unzips a section of her jumpsuit at the waistline, and opens an access panel on her left side. Wil stands, explaining as best he can to the shocked animals. Razzi and Surri and the humans, are too involved with their food to notice adult things.

  “You see,” Wil points to the small opening in her side. Within the cavity, many small lights can be seen flashing after he pushes one of the test buttons. It’s truly a shocking moment for their furry visitors, and both androids are glad that the Zenarawan’s didn’t gather their children and flee into the safety of the forest.

  Raznalli moves closer, reaching but stopping just short of touching. “It’s true.” He speaks to nobody in particular; his tone mystical. “The people of the stars, are not what they seem.” Nyla reaches, offering her arm for him to grasp. He grips her forearm; is seems colder than it should. She flexes her hand open and closed; the furry hunter feels muscles that seem somewhat different than they ought; like bands of the hardest sinew, they move under his paw, in ways that tell of great strength. He gazes onto her lovely brown face, seeing details that could not be noticed from a distance. Her features are not exactly like those of the young children, but instead seems more like something not quite alive. Regaining his composure, he says to Nyla in a respectful tone. “Many new stories of the star people are yet to be told. I want to learn more about those who live.... yet are not alive. Eat.... yet don’t eat. People.... yet not people.” He releases her arm, as Linmari moves forward to inspect.

  Wil closes Nyla’s panel, and allows her to monkey the ‘show and tell’ on himself. She exposes his data-panel, and soon their new friends begin to realize just how different their tall, new friends really are. Because of this new information, Linmari wonders how such a person could have children. “You can’t be their natural mother.... are you?” She inquires, pointing to the large brood of youngsters. That, plus Nyla seems much too young, to have so many.

  Now, the two androids are at a loss on how to explain this one. There’s no possible way to explain such technology to stone-age people.... So, Nyla simply shakes her head negatively. She sees a look of understanding about her not being the true mother. It’s an amazing turn of events for the Zenarawan’s, but they’re not too surprised by anything the star people do. Raznalli reaches into a pouch on his waistband, pulling out a black stick-like device. He hands it to Wil.

  “Hey Nyla, did you bring any batteries? Raznalli’s pen-light is dead.” It’s not the first time the batteries needed to be replaced. Each time, Raznalli wonders if it could be brought back to life.

  “Yes, I brought some.” She responds, reaching for the pen-light. The furry adults gather around, watching intensely as Nyla unscrews one end of the stick, and replaces the batteries. She places the old ones in her pocket for recharging, and hands the pen-light back. The Zenarawan’s quickly forget about the food, conversation, or anything else, as they chitter between themselves about the newly animated light. All, is good in their world once again!

  With the meal behind them, the children move off and play. “Braxton.... Magnus.” Wil calls, before the children get to excited to listen properly. “Please remember what we talked about earlier.” He reminds them of their duties to keep an eye on their siblings. It was demonstrated early on, that those two boys have natural leadership skills, so he and Nyla try to nurture those abilities as much as possible.

  “Okay Wil.” The young men say in unison, as they race off with their friends. Soon, the young ones divide themselves into groups, engaging in various games such as marbles, leap frog, tag, or skipping rope. The adults kick back, watching the group of energetic children go about the joys of being young, without a care in the world.

  After a while, Nyla notices that many of the children seem to be communicating in a fashion that’s very unusual. She keeps a keen eye on how the two-different species are interacting. It quickly becomes noticeable that something extremely unusual is happening within the group. It’s a well-known fact that they can’t communicate using the spoken word, but Nyla now sees that there might be other ways. Quite often, the human children would turn and pay attention to the Zenarawan youngsters who called, but didn’t call.... As if there’s an unseen link of mental contact between the two.

  This ghostly interaction seemed to convey unspoken information, demonstrating a level of understanding that went beyond the laws of physics as we understand. Sometimes, the strange phenomenon went the other way too. With one or more of her children doing the summoning, without verbal interaction. And then the two would continue playing as if an understanding of some sort had taken place. Such a perplexing thing, weighs heavily on her mind. She strives for understanding, before bringing it up with Wil.

  However, she suddenly feels a tug on her own mind. Not anything tangible, but a familiar spark she had noticed years earlier when first meeting the furry-ones. Even before Oberon Prime, she had such anomalies, but not so strong. Without realizing it, and without any physical or verbal motivation, she’s compelled to turn her attention towards Linmari. In doing so, she is handed a gift of great beauty. It’s a hand-woven basket that must have taken many long hours of dedication to complete. She reaches, accepting the fine offering with a glowing smile; but not forgetting the strange contact that had occurred. The ramifications seemed intriguing.

  “Thank you, my friend!” She exclaims, with true surprise. “It’s very beautiful! It must have taken a long time to create such a wonderful basket.” She speaks the indigenous gibber-jabber, as she examines the artwork. Wil, is next in line to receive a gift. However, his attention had to be garnered with a physical contact on his arm, as the spark sent his way, just seemed to bounce around in his circuits without effect. Nyla noticed this, and knew then, that Wil could not be mind-touched in the fashion she was. She strongly suspects that whatever causes her fainting episodes, might be linked with this latest anomaly. Perhaps something good will come from her condition after all, she hopes.

  “For me?” He asks with wonderment in his raised voice. “Raznalli, you shouldn’t have!” He’s handed a beautifully made, stone dagger. Basically, it’s a spear-point, artistically set into a bone handle. “My, what an incredible tool! Thank you very much!” He shakes his friends paw friendlily.

  “Wil, please hand me my backpack.” Nyla requests. Reaching into the
bag, she pulls out several beautifully made compasses, mounted on fluorescent-green rectangular panels of plastic. Handing one to each of the Zenarawan’s, she marvels as they inspect the gifts. They sniff inquisitively, turning the devices this way and that; their minds transfixed by the free-floating needle within the clear cover. Wil moves closer, bringing forth a duplicate from his pocket. Holding it still, he shows the curious animals how to stop the crazy needle from moving all around. Then, with steady paws, they monkey Wil’s actions, totally amazed at how they’re able to tame the wildly moving, little stick inside.

  Nyla brings forth an aerial-photograph of the region, placing it on the ground between them. Without realizing it, she finds that the photograph is more interesting to the forest people than the magical devices. They instantly recognize the photograph, looking at the sky, wondering just how such a thing could happen. Nyla brings them back down to Oberon Prime, showing them how to use the compasses to find home, if lost. They’re a big hit! But still, the photograph is a bigger one. Raznalli receives the only one she had brought, with promises for more to come.

  Soon, Linmari turns her attention to the group of Zenarawan youngsters. Without any verbal command, the furred little-ones excuse themselves from the games and come over to the adults. Wil for the first time notices the peculiarity. He looks at Nyla with a surprised expression. Now, she knows that the interesting event she had witnesses earlier, was indeed a real anomaly, and not a figment of her circuits. The subject is put to the back of their minds, neither wishing to address the issue just then.

  The morning turns late, soon changing to early afternoon. The Zenarawan’s grow anxious, fidgeting noticeably. Nyla recognizes the time has come to wrap-up the day’s festivities. So, she calls over her brood, and all pay respects to the adult Zenarawan’s. Farewells, make the rounds. The day had been a memorable one for all, and it’s agreed upon that the next gathering will be at the home-village of the forest people after the next lunar cycle, which on Oberon Prime is 45-days away.

  The walk down the hill finds the two androids lost in thoughts about the turn of events that occurred that day. They each know very well, that ESP in humans back on Earth, was a rare and unquantifiable phenomenon. It’s almost impossible to diagnose the extent of an individuals heightened or enhanced perceptions. Let alone, trying to determine how a phenomenon like that, could manifest itself in not just one of their children, but seemingly all. The rambunctious gaggle of youngsters, break past the adults. Yelling and tagging each other as they run ahead, leaving the two androids in a cloud of dust. Each determined to get to the bottom of the newly discovered events, before the day is done.

  “Wil, do you suppose that what we saw back there, is more than just the Zenarawan’s reaching out mentally? I mean, how could all the kids be so receptive.” She inquires, concernedly.

  Wil puts his arm around her shoulder, squeezing gently. “Well my dear, that’s what we need to find out. Because, with these determined and intelligent kids, anything might be possible.”

  They continue walking downhill towards the habitat. Dust from the human-stampede is blown into the surrounding forest by a gentle breeze. Before long, Nyla forms a thought that makes her circuits skip a beat. She stops mid-stride, turning to her partner. “Wil, when was the last time you saw the headband?” She inquires about the ‘item’ they had been forced to purchase from the alien pirates, that boarded their starship during the transit from Earth.

  Wil turns.... shock plastered on his face as if he were a deer caught in the headlights. If he could turn whiter than he already was, he would have done so that very moment. “Nyla, I haven’t checked on that for some time now. I got used to it always being in the little hidey-hole inside the command chair from the bridge.” He admits, sincerely regretting his lack of responsibility.

  “Well, that chair has been in storage for quite some time now. Did you leave it inside the assembly when it was removed from the bridge? That was years ago!” Nyla scolds, resuming her journey at an increased pace. She knows deep in her circuits, that it’s also her responsibility to make sure certain things get done. They may have both dropped the ball on this one, she sadly admits to herself.

  “I’m afraid so Nyla.” Wil admits, waiting for the axe to drop. However, the proverbial axe doesn’t drop. He’s surprised by her lack of finger-pointing. In fact, besides the intense frown that developed on her lovely brown face, he understands that it was a mutual responsibility that had fallen through the cracks. Life on a new world, and thirteen hungry mouths to feed, caused them to become complacent, regarding things that didn’t seem very important at the time....