He walked up to the button and looked at it. Nothing special, just a small round button on the wall. Since it was about time to go, he decided to do a little snooping. He reached out and poked Polly in the eye.

She cried out and fell backward into her seat on the bridge of the KaiStar. Savros, confused, jumped backward and hit the edge of his seat, landing on the deck. He looked around the bridge and then looked up at Polly and Jaen. Jaen smiling with her arms crossed and Polly smiling through the tears of her one closed eye was the best possible thing he could be looking at. He smiled up at them.

"Welcome back Savros, we've missed you!" Shin's voice was like that of a long-lost friend. Polly and Jaen each took an arm and pulled Savros to his feet. The three of them hugged each other before busting out laughing.

"You got me right in the ball!" Polly laughed, playfully smacking his arm.

"Hey," Savros laughed, "I was minding my own business, snooping around my room in the center, and just as I pushed a button it turned into your face." He grabbed both of them and hugged them again.

"When I woke up…." He began but didn't finish.

"We wanted to be there. We waited for months, but by then the distress calls coming in from Nog'Racias and other areas had increased drastically. We had to help." Jaen was speaking, and Polly was nodding next to her.

"It's not that," he said. "I was worried about you guys and afraid I would never see you again. But more worried about what Doctor Ameil and Trel'Ka told me." Polly and Jaen looked as if they knew what was worrying him.

"Is it that bad?" he asked.

"There was an adjustment period." He could tell Jaen was choosing her words carefully, "But everyone pretty much has a hold on things now. It was a cosmic event, and the background energy levels are fairly constant across Living Space. It's changed things for everyone, but it's also changed things for everyone. We are not responsible for any of this, but there are those people out there that blame the three of us for the devastation and destruction that came with the energy."

"But really," Polly cut it in, "In the four months we've been coming out here to help, the worst we've gotten is people walking, or running, away from us when they realize who we are. We're kinda famous," smiling, she tugged her collar smugly, "and you'll see, most people think it's going to turn out to be the best thing ever, despite the way it started out."

"I agree with the ladies, over all our receptions are positive. As long as we are smart and careful, our risk of attack is only negligibly higher. None of the conflicts we've been in have had to do with who we are or what happened on The First World." Shin always knew what to say.

He'd only been awake for two days, but it felt like years since they'd all been together like this. They had been out here for months. If they said it wasn't that bad, he believed them. They were all in good spirits and seemed to be in fine shape.

"Besides, now that we're all back together, KaiStar is stronger than ever." Polly smiled at him. "So what's up first, guys?"

"I think it's time to go back and look for my uncle. We could start at Abriva, check in with Sadjier."

"Sorry Savros, Northern BelToa is gone. We checked in with Sadjier a few times before it happened. The last message from your uncle was the one we got before we left. He never sent another." Jaen informed him. "We can go to Abriva if you want, but I think we would be better off just going to look for ourselves."

"Sounds good to me," Polly said, "We get to see Savy's home planet!"

"Sadjier too?" Savros had a hard time accepting that he wasn't responsible for BelToa and Sadjier.

"He was never reported to the Halo as missing, so there's a decent chance he's okay, but the tek centers are all destroyed." Shin said. "And I hate to bring this up, but in two days, we are due to give our testimony to Nog'Racias Counsel. If we fail to appear, I don't need to say what will happen to the Contage Refugees."

"Shit, I forgot about that." Polly said.

"We'll just have to take Savros home, run over and testify, then come back. It shouldn't take longer than a few days." Jaen looked at Polly for any disagreement.

"We just got back together, now we gotta split up again! Boo." Polly voiced her disagreement. "But we can't abandon the refugee's. And Savros would have to wait aboard the KaiStar, anyway. So yeah, I guess we might as well. What do you think?" She looked at Savros.

"Sure." he wasn't thrilled about it but knew they had things to take care of, as well. "I can spend a little while looking around, and I'll get a room for the night at the inn. Then hopefully by the time you guys get back, I'll know where we need to look."

"It's a bummer, but it's a plan." Jaen wasn't thrilled about it either.

"So," Savros sat in his seat, "what I miss?"

Shin answered, "We've been transporting refugees, goods and diplomats to and from the conflict in Nog'Racias. Likely because the devastation in Nog'Racias was already so extensive, they've suffered little from the initial impact of tryptic energy. Other than Idyll Quies, it may be the least affected place in Living Space."

"What happened to Idyll Quies?"

"Nothing," Jaen answered, "They had just finished the construction and were preparing for cleaning. There were only a handful of people on the entire planet! Even in the new Living Space, Idyll Quies will still be the best of the best. An untouched gem from before everything changed." She had a look of longing, and he could tell by her tone that they hadn't gotten to use the free stay yet.

"Are they open yet?" he asked. "We could go use our stay after you guys are finished in Nog'Racias."

"There haven't been enough people back to work. It's understandable, considering. But last time we checked on it, there was still no opening-date posted." Jaen continued, "Now that you are up and about, we can actually go. As soon as they open."

"Yeah, it wouldn't feel right, going without you anyway." Polly plopped down in her chair.

"Shall we depart? Do you need to go back to the Center for anything?" Shin asked.

"I would love to have my clothes and gear back, but otherwise I'm ready to go." He said.

"We put your clothes and stuff in your quarters, along with some of the 'Thank Yous' we've gotten in the last few months." Jaen said, swiveling her seat and sitting.

"Oh, great!" Savros jumped up and darted off the bridge.

Entering his quarters, stopped in his tracks upon seeing the state of his room. The desk, the shelves, most of the floor, and half of his bed were covered in baskets, bags, and various boxes. The first thing he noticed was nearly all of them contained flowers. He saw specimens from all across Living Space. His uncle had shown him several of them on the scanners they'd carried while out in the wilds, camping or hunting. Looking around, there were so many that he didn't recognize, and he wanted to document them. Around the room, he noticed trinkets and candies, along with other things that looked edible but were unrecognizable.

"Whoa," he said, standing in the midst of it all.

"Everything, except the items on your bed, were all given to you by grateful individuals we've encountered since returning from the Pyramid. If I extrapolate the percentages based on the number of people we've come into contact with and the number that has greeted us with gratitude, or at least understanding, I estimate that nearly seventy percent of the population is sympathetic." Shin's calculation was a shock to him. He'd imagined most people were probably angry and hurt and blaming him or them.

"What's the stuff on the bed?"

"The package at the foot is a gift from all of us. The items next to it are gifts from Polly and Jaen. Nearly anytime they were out or went somewhere interesting, they brought you something back. I believe it was their way of keeping you close when they were so far away."

Savros looked at the collection of goods next to the package. There was a crazy-looking insect trapped in amber. Shaped and polished for display. As he looked through the rest of the things, he thought again about his uncle and all the steps that had brought them here. Tears filled his eyes. He was so lucky to have met Polly and Jaen like he had. The fact that they accepted him right away had left him feeling like he needed to make it up to them. No matter what he did, he'd always felt in their debt.

And here they were, still thinking of him while they were out, risking their lives for other people. He realized he'd never be able to catch up to them, but he was okay spending the rest of his life trying. He was home. He had his family back and was ready to get back to his life with them. Now I just have to find Uncle Sav, he thought to himself.

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He picked up the package and tugged on the blue bow wrapped around the stiff brown paper. As he removed the ribbon and bow and pulled the package open, Shin explained a little to him.

"After what happened in the pyramid and especially after falling under attack at the edge of Living Space, your clothes were basically rags and your gear destroyed or lost." Savros lifted the gift out of the package and held it up to examine it. A brand-new crew uniform. The straps and belts were sleeker, the colors deeper, and the material carried more weight than his last one.

"Polly made the designs, using Jaen's new tek upgrades to the fabrics, and I put it all together."

"It's awesome!" He said, "I'll never take it off." He stood and stripped off the paper-esque clothes from the Center and pulled on his new clothes. He checked himself in the mirror. "I love it, but I won't match the others now."

"I think you'll find it matches better than you think."

Savros opened the smaller package he found after removing the uniform from the package. The smaller package contained a new, finished version of the teleporter tracker, a new holo-suit, and a communicator. Seeing the gear sparked a memory, and he began to panic.

"Shin," he began, terrified of the answer he might get, "Do you know where the picture of my parents is? Or the Ol'Gud artifact that was in my pocket."

"You will find them on the shelf, likely hidden by the gifts. We put them there before the baskets and packages started pouring in."

Savros moved a vase of incredible aromatic red flowers. The petals stood upright and wrapped tightly around the center and each other. Just behind them, he found the picture leaning against the wall of the shelf and the strange spiked ball sitting next to it. An enormous wave of relief washed over him as he picked them up. Putting the ball in his pocket, he looked at the picture. They looked so happy. For the first time, he didn't tear up. He smiled, remembering his parents on their last day together. The day at Faetrell. At least he knew they were at peace. On the other hand, he had no idea how or even where his uncle was.

Savros placed the picture in the pocket next to his heart, "Thank you Shin. You are a true friend, and I really appreciate it." He realized as he gave himself another look in the mirror that his hair was quite a bit longer than the last time he'd seen it. And from the nine months inside, it was a darker blue than he'd ever seen it before. He ran his hands through it, and it fell to either side of his forehead. He'd always got a haircut with his father, and this was the longest it had ever grown, just long enough to cover his eyes when he pushed it all the way forward. As he ran his fingers through it again, pushing it back to the edges of his face, he decided he liked it longer. And since it had been his and his dad's tradition, he didn't feel right cutting it without him.

Savros left his quarters to rejoin Polly and Jaen on the bridge. His beaming smile only widened when he entered the bridge and saw them. They had both changed into new uniforms that matched his and were standing side by side. All of them stood there smiling for a moment before he approached them, and they all stood side by side.

"It is my greatest honor to once again introduce the immutable crew of the KaiStar!" The bridge flashed, and Shin put the new picture of them all together up on the main screen.

"Shit, we just keep getting better looking!" Polly pointed at the screen.

Savros laughed, and Jaen said, "Let's see the old one to compare."

Shin put them both up side by side.

"Wow!" the three of them said in unison.

"Sagrus looks like a baby in the old one!" She winked at him as he laughed. She wasn't wrong. "We all look younger!" She said.

"And look how much better the new uniforms look!" Jaen loved them as much as he did.

They gave each other a group hug before taking their seats, still grinning.

"It's so good to be home!" Savros said, leaning back, looking around the bridge. Everything looked about the same, except something was different. Everything looked cleaner. Some of the equipment was newer, and there were a few new interior panels on the hull, but that wasn't it. Then it dawned on him. The wires were gone. Making the entire bridge tidier and cleaner looking. It also seemed to brighten it up quite a bit.

"It looks great in here too! The damage must have been really severe for an over haul like that." He was still looking around.

"So you don't remember what happened?" Shin asked, but the others looked at him, as well.

"I remember making it back to the KaiStar and leaving the Pyramid. After that, it goes fuzzy. It feels like a dream that I can almost remember, but slips away when I try."

"Well, that's probably for the best anyway, it was pretty traumatic." Jaen explained what happened. "We were ambushed at the edge of Living Space. They immobilized us and ruthlessly fired on us. But you saved us. We were moments from death when you used tryptic energy to go outside the KaiStar and destroy six ships while repelling their final attacks."

"The entire encounter lasted only eleven seconds." Shin added.

"Whoa!" he said. Then thought to ask, "Did my face and arms look like they were burning?"

The look of recognition and surprise on their faces gave him an answer before Polly answered.

"Fuck yeah they did. It was crazy! You looked scary as hell! You tore a hole in KaiStar, walked outside, all on fire and looking pissed. After you destroyed the ships, you came back inside. The hole fixed itself and you collapsed looking normal again."

Jaen added, "We didn't wanna bring it up, in case it was too traumatic. Polly's right though, you looked very scary and I would never want to be on the wrong end of one of your attacks. The whole thing was pretty intense and scary, and we would absolutely would have been killed if you hadn't saved us. We are so lucky that Polly almost ran you over on Abriva."

"I knew you belonged with us right away." Polly winked at him, and for the first time, he truly grasped the sincerity of their statements. A tear ran down his cheek, but before anyone could say anything else, a crackling voice came over the intercom.

"Vessel KaiStar, This is Captain Iskatel. I must inform you that you are in a no-fly zone and ask you to return to your designated flight path. With that out of the way, I would like to say to Savros, and all of you, on behalf of the Center and all the people we serve, 'Thank you and good luck out there.' Captain Iskatel out."

They all kind of chuckled, realizing they had just been sitting above the med wing of the Center.

"I guess that's our cue to go," Polly said.

"Apologies, Captain, departing now. And Thank you." Shin responded to the Captain before engaging the drives and taking them away from the Center.

They blasted off into the darkness, and Jaen turned in her seat facing the two of them.

"Who's hungry?" she asked.

Savros was careful at dinner not to eat too much and stopped when he felt full after only a few more bites than he'd had in the med-wing. The four of them spent the evening telling Savros about the different adventures and mishaps they had while he was out. They jettisoned one of the holding quarters when one of the refugees had an emotional episode leading to a tryptic event, as they had taken to calling it. When caught in friendly fire, they ended up having to replace one of the PD-X3's. And, after thinking they had finally exhausted their supply of rat-pacs, offering them to refugees and diplomats, they found a shipping container with more of them. Enough to fill the cupboard in the galley several more times. Some things never change.

At the end of the evening, Savros returned to his quarters and began sorting some of the flowers and baskets. He thought of getting the scanner out of the drawer and cataloging some of them, but it was late, and it could wait. He slept soundly and deeply, surrounded by plants and flowers. The scents and fragrance of them seemed to help him relax. He awoke feeling refreshed and ready to go. It felt like this first morning of a grand new life.

"Good morning, Shin." He sat up, stretching, still fully clothed.

"Good morning, Savros. I trust you slept well, you maintained a rhythmic sleep pattern all night."

"Oh yeah, I feel great actually." He hopped up and bounced in place a few times. "Wow, I really do feel great!" He laughed as he slipped his new boots on and went to the bridge.

"Good morning, ladies!" he sang as he entered the bridge.

"Good morning!" they sang back to him.

"We're all set to go look for your uncle." Jaen said, turning her head to look at him.

"If you wouldn't mind entering the coordinates, I will begin plotting a course." Shin said to him.

He sat in his seat and entered everything he knew of the planet's location. He only knew the location by the local system's coordinates. Shin was a genius, though, and Savros was sure with a little more information, he would easily find it.

"Destination located, plotting course." Shin found it immediately.

"Next stop, Savy's home world!" Polly held her hands in the air.

"Jumping in three, two, one."

"Breakfast?" Savros was already heading to the galley, so they followed him. He'd planned to grab a rat-pac and call it good, but there was a full spread of food this morning, so they all sat back and had their fill of various meats, vegetables, and pieces of bread. Shin was still an incredible cook.

Before they knew it, Shin was back on the intercom, "Arriving at destination in three, two, one."

Savros darted onto the bridge, looking at the screen. There before him was his home planet. Exactly as it had always looked when returning with his father from a nearby delivery. He could still hear his father's voice as he showed him the different continents and where they lived on the planet.

"There!" He pointed to an area about a third of the way below the equator. He touched the display, and Shin marked the location.

"Beginning approach to planet. No satellite activity or long range transmission."

"No, there wouldn't be. It's pretty underdeveloped. Everyone here leads simple lives and relies on each other." Savros was paraphrasing his father's answer when he'd asked about satellites a few years ago.

"Entering atmosphere."

Savros watched the terrain come into view. The plains of swaying grasses and massive lakes lead into sloping foothills and rushing streams. The terrain continued to rise as the mountainous landscape rose in elevation before tapering off into a mix of ups and downs through the hills at the peaks. They cleared the peaks, and the terrain turned rocky before suddenly dropping away again. Farther ahead, Savros spotted a shining green coastline, butting up against crystal clear waters.

"There's Faetrell Beach! The beach is sparkling green, and the water is so clear you can see the sea floor even when you can't reach the bottom."

Shin veered KaiStar toward the beach to fly over it for a better view. Faetrell really was a beautiful place. Even after everything he'd seen since leaving, it ranked right up there at the top. While he was growing up here, he'd failed to notice the beauty and wonder of the landscape. He understood now why his parents chose to settle here. It was like an untouched paradise.

They flew over Faetrell and continued on. He tried to get a glimpse of the campsite, but he couldn't locate it from the air. The next thing he saw was the local town near his parents' house. Unable to pinpoint when it started, he realized he didn't even think of this place as 'home' anymore. KaiStar had become his home, Polly, Jaen, and Shin; his family. While he still felt the pain of losing his parents, it seemed as though it had happened a long, long time ago and to someone else. His uncle was the link between them. All that mattered was finding him. And, hopefully, talk him into coming with them.

Shin brought KaiStar in low near the front gate of the quaint, rural town, which, by his current standards, Savros would call little more than a village. A tall wooden fence surrounded the town, with large, sturdy, wooden gates on the north side of town being the only ways in or out. He knew there were other ways in and out, but to outsiders, and for appearances' sake, the gate was the only way.

"We'll come down with you and make sure you find a place to stay tonight before we go." Jaen stood and turned to him as he and Polly stood, as well.

"Okay," Savros said, sounding relieved. "I wanted to show you guys around, anyway. There's not much to see here though."

"That's okay, I wanna see it anyway!" Polly said, tossing him a hydro-pac and handing one to Jaen.

"Me too." said Jaen.

"Cool, let's do it." He said, hitting the button on his new teleporter.