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eventually happening upon a field overgrown with grass and tangled weeds and littered with strange trees unlike any others he’d found in the forest so far. A quick examination showed them to have fruit on their branches but quite different from the kind in his pack. The fruit—yellow with a coat of blue fuzz—grew twice as thick, and upon examination had a smell resembling strawberries.
    With his bone knife, he split one in half to reveal a juicy interior. He debated eating it, then shrugged and did it anyway. As the juice hit his lips and tongue, its powerful flavor overtook him, and he smiled. Delicious.
    This single tree alone had over a dozen pieces of fruit. As he scanned the field, he spotted at least twenty other trees, each exactly like this one. Had he somehow stumbled upon the remnants of an orchard? Was he truly so lucky? In all his time on this planet, he’d never found food as plentiful as this.
    A cloud passed overhead and Terry looked to see the twin suns descending from their zenith, marking the afternoon’s approach. He had several hours’ worth of light left, and he still had things to do.
     
    ******
    Ortego Reconstruction Outpost
    April 15, 2350
    The flippy tent was crowded with parts and supplies. Mei sat on the table swinging her short legs while Zoe fiddled with the controls, trying to power on little Mortimer. Two of the other robots, Jefferson and Stanley, were already outside moving debris from the pit and making good time.
    “Looks like the system stopped cooling,” said Zoe. She had Mortimer’s back panel open. “Give me a sec.” She got to her feet and retrieved a new unit from the nearby bin.
    Mei was surprised at how adept Zoe was at handling the flippies. A few problems arose now and again, but for the most part she handled her new role well. It must’ve been a nice change of pace after decoding and cataloguing Ortego Disks for so many months, but Zoe never complained one way or the other, making it difficult to tell if she actually enjoyed the change. Regardless, Mei was relieved to see her adapting so well.
    Travis was a different story. Both he and Bart were exceptionally gifted engineers, but they preferred working alone. Mei understood their perspective, but the reality simply didn’t allow for any alternative. Luckily, both men seemed to understand what was at stake. They dealt with the situation like professionals, albeit reluctantly.
    “Here we go,” said Zoe, hitting the power switch and shutting the panel. Her voice had a hint of uncertainty in it. The flippy hummed as the system rebooted, its eyes turning blue once the process was complete. “Diagnostic check,” said Zoe, glancing at the pad in her hand. “Looks like Morty’s back to normal. Let’s try some exercises.” She tapped the screen, and the flippy raised its tentacles, then dropped them to the side.
    “Can he get to work now?” asked Mei.
    “Looks like it.” Zoe typed a command, and Mortimer waddled out of the tent to join his two brothers.
    “Great job,” said Mei. The sooner the flippies did their work, the better. It wouldn’t be much longer before they cleared enough rubble to access the basement level. In fact, if the scan she performed an hour ago was any indication, they were nearly there already. A few days, in fact, if things went smoothly.
    Zoe approached Mei and leaned against the side of the table she was sitting on. “So you really think we’ll find anything underneath all those rocks?”
    “I’m hoping,” said Mei.
    “I have to be honest,” she said. “I don’t get it.”
    “Don’t get what?”
    Zoe hesitated but went on. “It’s no big secret what happened to you and your boyfriend,” she said, catching Mei a little off guard. None of her staff had referred to John in such a way since he arrived, although it wasn’t like she’d been keeping their relationship a secret. But still, she didn’t expect it. “You and him…those other kids. We all know the