First off, let's take a moment to mourn the show. It was just finding its legs and had them cut from under them.

The Sondiv language was created by David J. Peterson. In this story I won't be using it too much. Most cases, the quotes will be labeled as this language or that, but there will be a few time where I will use Sondiv. When I do, I'll try to use what's established and available. What I couldn't/can't find, I'll wing it!

I don't think the use of Atrian ID wristbands was consistent until the second episode. In the first, only the 7 were seen with them, and then the second episode had everyone submitting their wristbands for SEU guards to scan. I'm going with everyone wearing the bands because it makes more sense.


His mother told him that the people of this world were called humans. It didn't matter what they were called because all he knew about them was that they didn't have any markings on their skin and always scowled at him and his people.

"We're going to our new home the humans built for us," his mother told him while they packed their possessions recently returned to them from the humans assigned to inspect and approve them. They didn't have much, only what little they were allowed to collect from the wreckage.

"The Hwatab advised them, so it should be very much like our homes on Atria," she said to him with one of her not-so-full smiles while folding their clothes. That was the only kind of smile she'd given him since the crash.

The human warrior standing near them, charged with escorting them outside, shifted from one foot to the other and constantly eyed the exit until he told them something in his language. Direhik didn't understood what the man said, but he could guess that the man grew tired of standing there waiting.

"You're my brave boy, my little warrior?" she asked Direhik as she stuffed the last of their clothes into a human-issued bag then held out her hand to him. He nodded and took her hand, and both walked out of where they'd lived for twenty-two Earth days.

If the Hwatab helped the humans, then their new homes were sure to be wonderful. They couldn't be worse than the structures the humans called "barracks" with everyone sleeping in large rooms filled with beds practically side by side. That was far from how Atrians were used to living, a far cry from the individual living areas that they called "pods." These rooms were too large, too open, and he always felt exposed as though eyes, human and Atrian, were constantly on him and his mother.

Outside, there were several large, tarp-covered vehicles decorated in various shades of green and brown waiting for them, and their human warrior escort loaded him and his mother, along with several other Atrians, into one of them. When they couldn't fit any more into it, they began loading the other vehicles with more Atrians until all of them were full and the vehicles rumbled to life.

His was the first to leave the gates of the barracks and down the road into the town of the humans. Both he and his mother looked through the opening in the back—the only opening to the outside for the—while his mother held him close to her. Humans had gathered on either side of the path the vehicles traveled, desperate for a glimpse of his people that were hidden for days from the rest of the world.

He hadn't seen humans other than their warriors, and he was relieved that many didn't have the scowls but seemed curious. It was the first time he'd ever seen a human child, and there were several of them standing with adult humans he guessed were their parents. There was one in particular that he could not look away from.

For a moment, he thought to pull away from his mother and call to her, call for his friend, Sonya. The girl looked so much like her, but there were no markings on her skin, and then he remembered. This girl was just a human girl, and Sonya died in the crash.

The vehicles continued until they had long since cleared the humans and their dwellings and came to an expanse of fence, only to slow down as they passed through them.

Direhik noticed the construction by the fences and wondered what the humans were building, but he didn't have time to think on it much before his vehicle slowed to a stop. Atrians were unloaded from their vehicles and human warriors stepped forward, surrounding them with their guns and scowls until all were gathered into an open area between the towers of stacked metal boxes with railings and steps reaching several stories.

He'd expected something close to the homes they had on Atria, but these were disappointing. Atrian homes were honeycombs carved into stone with compartments Atrians called "pods" for each family. They were beautiful under the Atrian sun, but these were not beautiful. They were old and rusted, dirty and worn as far as the eye could see upwards.

"Alyakson," said the human woman, Gloria Garcia, standing on the first level of railings as she looked down at the gathered Atrians. She smiled warmly and always seemed friendly enough when she walked through the barracks from time to time, but Direhik wondered if she actually spent time with Atrians. If she did, someone would have told her that her greeting was too formal. That most people simply said "yakson" when they were trying to be friendly.

The woman continued to speak, but in the human language most of the humans they'd encountered spoke. Their Iksen stood beside her—the first time they'd seen their leader since before the crash— translating for her. The stacked metal boxes were to be their new homes. It was the best they could provide in such short notice, but there were promises that there would be improvements in time.

With that information, the gathered people were instructed to form lines according to the order of their wristbands. One human warrior called Direhik's mother, and they joined their particular line of Atrians.

"Come with me," the human warrior said to his line in his humans words. They were the few words Direhik understood, having heard it many times before. Several human warriors followed closely at the rear of the line.

Direhik held his mother's hand as they walked towards the structure of stacked metal boxes, up the stairs leading to the first level of doors. Each time they passed a door, the human warrior would call out a name and a family would enter. By the tenth door, Direhik and his mother were called and they entered their new pod. Inside was just as it was on the outside. The metal was rusted in several places and what paint there did little to brighten the room.

The human warrior handed his mother keys and left, closing the door behind him.

"Why don't we take a look at the other rooms?" his mother suggested before offering her hand for him to take. He took it, and they walked hand in hand through each room. His mother had one room for herself, he had another, and then there was the central room. It wasn't as beautiful as their home on Atria, and it wasn't as bright and cheerful as their pod on the ship. But it was better than the barracks, and perhaps, if he they could make it comfortable enough, he would see his mother smile again. Without his father, it was his responsibility to help her through this.

"It'll be fine, Mother," he looked up at her and smiled.


It was the first morning after sleeping in his pod, and Direhik was excited for it. He rushed to brush his teeth, shrugged out of his sleeping clothes and shimmied into his play clothes. His mother sat at the bar in what the humans called the "kitchen" staring into her cup of tea.

"Where are you going?" she asked him with one of those smiles that he knew she really didn't feel.

"I'm going to go play! I hear the other children outside!" He was excited. For the first time since before the crash, he was very excited. When the humans kept them in the barracks, the children were allowed to play at designated times of the day only, and even then, parents were too afraid to let their children wander off too far.

His mother nodded and her smile faltered before she managed to force it back in place. "Have fun."

He ran out of the door and down the stairs, remembering the way to the ground. By the time he got to the first floor, he could see the children playing below, and they were playing ball! The excitement he felt was dulled when he remembered Sonya, but his mother told him to remember and honor his friend by living his life to the fullest.

"I can play catch!" he called to the children below. That was a way to honor her.

By the time he'd reached the ground, ducking and weaving through railings and jumping on metal overhangs, the children were staring at him, the one with the ball clutching it tightly to her chest. He smiled at her, one of his brightest smiles, and told her, "Throw it as far as you can and watch me catch it!" He nodded for her to agree, but she didn't move.

Her eyes darted from one face to another around her as though asking for help until an older child walked up to them, standing between them. "We're not going to play with you!" the older boy told him. "We don't play with the son of the pilot who caused the crash!"

In the barracks, he'd seen the eyes of the people around them, always looking, always frowning. His mother no longer spoke to anyone but her closest friend, Vega, and even then she preferred to share no more than a few words. They blamed his mother for everything that they'd lost and their imprisoned life on Earth.

"It's not my mother's fault!" he argued, having to tiptoe to get his face closer to the older boy's.

The boy didn't answer but sneered at him before giving Direhik a shove, forcing him to the ground in a cloud of dust. The boy laughed at him, and then the other children nervously followed suit until they were all laughing at him. Direhik pulled himself up and rushed toward the boy, ramming his head into his stomach.

It caught the boy off-guard, but not enough. He recovered quickly and punched Direhik in the eye. And then Direhik tried to step back as another punch came, but he tripped and landed on the ground once again, giving the older boy the opportunity to pounce on him, continuing his attack. Direhik tried to shield himself with his arms from the punches, but he wasn't quick or strong enough. By the time the Sector (guards) pulled the boy off of Direhik, his face hurt, and he tasted blood in his mouth.

His mother stood at the door of their pod as the Sector (guards) handed him over to her. They grumbled something to her in their language before walking away.

She didn't hesitate to take his face in her hands and press a kiss to his forehead.

"Was the crash your fault, Mother?" The tears began to form in her eyes before she pulled him into a tight hug. He didn't want to believe that it was his mother's fault, that she caused the death of Sonya and so many others, that she was the reason why this horrible human world among these horrible human people was all that they had.

"No, Direhik, but everyone believes that I did."

"Can't you tell them that it's not your fault?"

She pulled away from him, and he saw how her eyes darted to the ceiling for only a moment before looking at him again. "No one would believe me."


I'm always curious to know what people think of the chapters. I'm trying to fill-in-the-blanks when it comes to Atrian experience and culture, and since we won't have any more info on them, I'd like to know if this is actually interesting and true to the series (as short lived as it was). So I welcome reviews or PMs to let me know.