A/N: Alright guys it's been a long time coming but i finially got my lazy butt up and reposted the story! I owe a big thank you to Captainquirk1701 and Rayrae118 for all of their help in editing this story! i think it's ten times better then what it was because of them and i hope you do to.

Hopefully now it won't be so hard to read because of grammar and spelling mistakes. I HOPE YOU ENJOY AND PLEASE R&R!

Edited chapter 1

My name is Tom Leighton. I am 10 years, 6 months, 2 weeks, and 2 days old. My world is about to change forever.

It was a normal peaceful day, the sort so common on Tarsus IV. Everything was so calm that the thought of anything bad happening was almost laughable.

Well, when something bad finally did strike our paradise in space, no one was laughing.

It started for me when my dad came back from the science lab where he worked with a worried, almost scared expression on his face.

"Mary Ann, Tom, Kelsey, meet me in the family room now!" he hollered, his voice echoing through the small cottage. His voice was tighter than usual, with none of the natural warmth it normally held when he spoke to us.

I was already in the family room, so I just switched the T.V. off and turned my attention to Dad as he stepped in to the room. A second later my mom and little sister appeared from the kitchen, where they had been baking cookies.

My father was pacing around the room like a caged tiger, mumbling weird half-sentences about fungus, eating, gone, store, danger, Kodos, the fields. He glanced up as Mom and Kelsey walked in, and his eyes flickered down to their powder-covered aprons and suddenly flared up with uncharacteristic anger.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He shouted, making us all jump.

My mom, whose eyes had gone wide at the outburst, stuttered for a second before finally getting the words out: "Making cookies, dear."

"Oh, you're making COOKIES are you?" Dad growled.

"Just oh-so-harmlessly spending our limited amount of food on sugary treats! Don't you have enough for the things we got through not to go carelessly tossing them in the garbage just to satisfy your sweet tooth? You ungrateful little brats! You should only be eating when you're hungry! From now on, no more snacks! And any time you want something to eat, you have to tell me first. Do you understand?"

My dad finished his rant by suddenly grabbing the antique lamp that had been passed down in his family since the early twenty-first century and chucking across the room and into the opposite wall. Mom and Kelsey's eyeswere as big as saucers, a look that i was sure i was mirroring as well.

"RICHARD!" my mother screamed as little Kelsey began to cry, "Stop! You're scaring the children!"

Mom's words, however, were unnecessary, because the second the sound of the shattering lamp stopped, regret filled my father's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Mary Ann…I'm sorry, kids," Dad sighed. His voice was more tired than I had ever heard it, and it looked as if he had aged 20 years between the time he had left this morning and the time he stomped back in.

"Tom…Kelsey…kids, go to your rooms. Let me talk to your mother for a bit, OK?" Dad whispered, squeezing the bridge of his nose like he had a terrible headache.

Too shocked to argue that it was unfair for us to be sent to our rooms when we had done nothing wrong, I put my arm around Kelsey's shoulder and guided her down the hallway.

As soon as I was in my room, though, I tossed myself onto my bed, my shock melting into anger at the unfair treatment.

I didn't have time to let it brew, however, because less than two minutes after I entered my room the door opened. Assuming it was my parents, I just curled tighter into a ball and ignored it.

That is, till I heard the soft sniffle. Turning, I barely had time to brace myself as Kelsey suddenly launched herself from the doorway and into my arms.

"Tommy, why is daddy so angry with us?" Kelsey sobbed into my shoulder as I slowly sat up.

"Shush Kelly, Daddy isn't mad at us. He's just mad about something." Even as I said it, I knew that wasn't going to be of any real comfort.

"But what is he mad about, Tommy? Why is he yelling and throwing things?" Kelsey persisted.

"I don't know, Kelly. I don't know."

Kelsey's questioning, tear-filled eyes were fixed on me, but before she could open her mouth again my door opened and my parents trudged into my room.

Mom was crying into Dad's old handkerchief and Dad, if such a thing was possible, looked even more strained then he had before.

"Tommy…Kelly…I'm sorry, but we've got to talk," Dad said as Mom let out a hard sob and buried her face into his neck.

Kelsey almost immediately let go of me and flung herself at Mom.

"Don't cry, mommy! It's okay, whatever it is it can't be that bad, can it?" She asked, staring innocently up at Mom.

I didn't know it then, but that would be one of the last few innocent things I heard or saw for a very long time.

Mom picked her head up and looked at Kelly for a second before dropping to her knees and pulling her into a tight hug.

"My precious baby ….My innocent, beautiful little angel," Mom sobbed into Kelsey's hair, "How I wish this wasn't happening."

Alarmed by my mother's action, I quickly ran forward.

"MOM! DAD! What's going on?" I demanded, feeling panic build in my stomach as my parents continued to look defeated.

Mom barely glanced at me before pulling me down into the tight hug she had Kelsey trapped in.

I didn't say anything, and after a few seconds of seeing nothing but the blue of my mother's shirt as my face was pressed into her shoulder, hearing nothing but heartbroken sobs, and feeling nothing but the cotton from her clothing and the violent tremors shaking her body, I heard my dad drop to his knees, joining us on the floor, and felt his strong warm arms wrap around us protectively.

Then, as my mom's sobs slowly began to quiet down, my dad explained what had happened, holding us as if he hoped to somehow shield us from the horrors to come. None of us could ever have imagined just how truly bad it was going to be in just a few short weeks.

It seemed that a fungus unlike any that had been seen before was eating away at the main fields that provided food for the colony. It would be weeks before Starfleet would even receive the message that Tarsus IV was in danger, and weeks after that before they finally got here to drop off supplies and food rations. It was suspected that before then most of the food would be gone and over half the population would be starving.

People could only go thirty days without food, I knew, and it would be nearly double that time before Starfleet got here. At my age, only a couple of things made sense to me: we would be more hungry than normal, we weren't allowed to eat anything without Mommy or Daddy's permission, we would be storing food in the cellar below the house, and under no circumstances were we allowed to tell anyone where we were hiding our food, not even our friends.

We stayed still, hugging each other, long after Dad finished talking. Kelsey had already fallen asleep by the time Dad and Mom finally released us, and as he carried her into her room he told me to do the same, that it was late and I would need rest.

I was tired from the emotional turns of the day, but it was only 8:30. Since it was summer, the
sun was just starting to set, coloring the end of the fields outside my window a deep gold.

I was just beginning to drift off when I heard a voice at my door. Reluctantly, I pulled my eyes open and rolled to face the sound. My father's silhouette against the dull light from the hallway greeted my tired eyes.

With a sigh, my dad stepped into the room, closing the door. He walked towards me, his slow and measured steps so hypnotizing that I almost fell asleep again, and sat on the edge of my bed.

"Thomas…Tommy…Tom…" He seemed to have trouble deciding what name he wanted to called me by. "Listen, son. First I want to apologize for my behavior earlier. It was uncalled for, and I'm sorry."

I frowned, my mind once again on the brink of shutting down. He was still on about that? From what I could gather, he had perfect reasons to be upset.

"It's okay, Dad. I understand," I whispered

I expected him to nod his head, maybe ruffle my hair or give a small weak smile and then leave, but he didn't.

"…Tom….I need to ask you a favor. Do you think you could do something for me?" he asked.

My thoughts were starting to blur together, but I managed to nod and reply

"Sure, wha…what's that?"

"Tom…starvation can do funny things to people. I need you to promise me, if something happens to your mother or me, that you'll protect Kelsey. Keep her safe. Can you do that for me?" Dad whispered.

By now his voice was so far away I wasn't sure if I was dreaming or not.

"Sure, Dad. I promise," I heard myself say mechanically.

And then I felt the pressure lift off my bed, the lightest ruffle of myhair, and a breezy "Thank you, son" near my ear. My father slowly began to leave.

The last things I remember after that were a whisper so low I was sure I dreamt it: "Remember, son," and the smell of burned chocolate chip cookies floating down from the kitchen into my room and making my stomach rumble. The vague thought that I had gone to bed without dinner was all my mind could register before I drifted off to sleep.

It was nowhere near the last time that thought would cross my mind.