A/N: Here's chapter eleven! Spring is back in action, but that doesn't necessarily bode a good fortune. As a side note, I know that none of the diseases technically cause coughing, (I don't think coughing is even a thing in the game). But I added some for dramatic effect/storytelling purposes. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Rimworld

Spring had made its arrival, at long last, but its effects seemed to be minimal at first.

The snow had receded quite a bit more than it typically had, but there was a stubborn sheet of it left. Still, it was better than it had been in a while. Since the ground was still partially frozen, Toni couldn't work on the crops quite yet, so she was still stuck doing grunt work to keep the base spiffy for everyone else. (She was still furious with Cadmus since he promised to finish the workshop for the tailoring bench, a demand she submitted to him last year).

Jack and Cadmus had been building as much as they could. They were using too many stone blocks, more than what Meowski was producing, so they had to occupy themselves by other means. They at least were able to install power conduits inside the workshop, as well as outfit it with lights and heaters. Temperature control was important. If it was too cold, the mechanical benches would freeze up immediately and refuse to cooperate. So basically all they needed in the workshop were the physical work benches themselves.

Truthfully, Jack did all the construction now. Cadmus would rather focus on mining, for the time being, as there were tons of rare ores out there he had yet to discover, much less mine out. In the past few days, he had been mining out some of the compacted machinery. Having more than two gears and wires was not only nice, but it seemed like a necessary precaution, given how frequently they were being used.

No one wanted to go through the few dozen servings of muffalo milk. Unless it was some sort of emergency and they were getting tired of water and berry juice, no one just had it in them. Whether they liked it or not, they attached sentimental value to their precious muffalo. And although the muffalo meat, (and bear meat) in the freezer would most likely feed them for at least a partial season, it still left a pang of sadness left within their hearts. Or perhaps a pang of realism, a pang that reminded them that they were, after all, roughing it in the wild.

Genevieve seemed to up her research game as a response to it. Or perhaps it was just mere coincidence. For now she went from researching basic survival needs, like pemmican or refined carpeting, to self-defense and the anatomy of weapons. The smithy would be built soon, as will several stonecutting benches and a tailoring bench. Then the workshop would be complete, for now.

Cadmus had picked up a nasty cough for a while, not knowing exactly where he got it from. He assumed it was from the cold, and nothing more. After all, despite the fact that it was still spring, it still had yet to reach fifty degree for more than a few passing hours.

There was one thing he found strange, during the bustling activity of the lot of them. Phoebe wasn't awake yet. And she was always the first to rise. At first, he didn't pay it much mind, but now he was worried. He decided to go in and check on her.

When he entered her room, she was awake, fully dressed, and sitting at the edge of the bed. Her eyes looked even more distant than usual, "Oh, you're awake." Cadmus said, "Well…here we are. I thought we were all gonna die in a few days after our cruiser crashed…but…we survived here a year. We did it Phoebe…it's fifty-five-oh-one…and we're getting closer, I can feel it."

"Cadmus…"

"Hmm?"

"This…this isn't working."

"What?" He asked, "It's working just fine for me. We have a nice system going."

"I don't mean that. I meant." She pointed at herself, then him.

He looked confused again, but this time there was a faint fear in his eyes. Denial, bewilderment. "You…you can't be talking about us…right?"

She stood up, walking past him, heading for the door, "I think you should build me a separate room. As soon as possible." She left.

"What?" He coughed, following her out. "Hey, wait! Phoebe! We can talk about this, right?" He asked as they both travelled down the hallway, "I mean…I get it…things aren't perfect…but…hey…we can make an agreement or something."

She whirled around to face him. "I seek to make no arrangements with you. What we started…all that time ago…in the waning days of the spring, it will end, now. I wish to sleep by myself, and I'd like for you make it so."

"But…but…what's with you?" He sputtered, "I get it, you hate it here, and I do too, to an extent…but…we need each other…to make it out of here…we feed off each other well…I thought…"

"You kept siphoning my jobs off one after the other…" She clenched her hands into fists, "So I do nothing now but cook! I…I don't feel important to the group at all! You promised me that you would cook instead of me…that you would take the burden off…but you never did."

Cadmus felt the heat of stares. Someone was watching their heated argument, but he didn't care to look at the moment, "'Kay…so I forgot…sorry our muffalo dying distracted me for a day or two…jeez…the hell…one mistake and I'm kicked to the curb?"

"It wasn't just that…" She said, "Ever since I've been cooped up in the kitchen…we haven't even been seeing each other much…compared to the beginning, it just isn't the same…"

"Yeah…cause I've been out building stuff and mining…those are important jobs too…almost as important as cooking…"

Phoebe coughed for a while, "I'm through having this pointless debate with you. Build me my own room at your earliest convenience…" She turned around and started walking away.

Cadmus coughed for a long time as well, "Damn it…that's it? We're done? Just cause I forgot a few things! But we just got married." He coughed a bit more and winced, feeling his head, "You…you little…" He grimaced.

Toni had been watching with her jaw agape, fear on her face. Like she was watching the father and mother of the colony fight and break apart right in front of her very eyes. When Cadmus fell to his knees, she rushed forward to his aid.

"Huh…" Cadmus's eyes fluttered open, "Where am I?" He asked, sitting up, "A…hospital bed?" He asked, looking around. Phoebe and Genevieve were also sitting up in hospital beds, while Toni was standing in the center of the room.

She crossed her arms, looking at the three of her patients. Honestly the giant bear claw scar on her right eye worsened her resting bitch face and made her all the more intimidating to look at. "I hate to say this…but…you guys all are infected. Fibrous Mechanites."

"What…" Cadmus's eyes shrunk, "A…a disease…?"

Toni nodded, "I recognize the early symptoms."

"Are we gonna die?"

"No. It isn't fatal." She said, "But it's not pretty. There's a lot of inflammation and pain. It gets worse as it progresses…but…even if I didn't treat you at all…it'd run its course and end. Be thankful you guys didn't get a more lethal disease."

"So…those are the symptoms that are entailed?" Phoebe asked.

Cadmus's eyes angrily darted over to Phoebe the second she opened her mouth, but Toni answered her question with a nod.

"Well, this is just great." Cadmus said, "Even if it doesn't kill me…" He stopped to cough, "I got tons of work to do…" He growled, "How will I do it when I'm sick?"

"Actually, the mechanties are a mechanical based disease. They'll actually boost your abilities and strength. But you'll be in a lot of pain, feel like crap, and get tired easily. So in terms of your workload, you'll just about break even."

He muttered something under his breath.

"You three are the ones that got it." She said, "Pretty sure Jack did too. Meowski and I are fine."

Genevieve nodded, "I'm pretty sure Jack can't even get out of bed."

Toni raised a brow, "That…shouldn't be. It's not debilitating…"

Cadmus got out of bed, heading for the exit, "I got things to do."

"As do I." Genevieve said, coughing a bit, "Luckily I'll still be seated…when it comes to my work…"

Toni sighed, "Least we have a lot of herbal medicine, at least…"

Later that day, yet another poor soul was chased toward the Elephant Kingdoms by the Animal Moles.

She was quite thinned, very dark-skinned, like Jack. She had short black hair, and black and tan clothing. She looked to be in about her late forties, as like with Jack, she was out of breath by the time she reached the base.

"Please…please help me…" She panted, "The Animal Moles…they're chasing me…if…if you assist me, I will return the favor in any way that I can…"

Genevieve nodded, "Head inside, we'll keep you safe." She said, "Your name?"

"Adelynn Shelton."

She nodded again. Once Adelynn was safely escorted inside, Genevieve assembled who she could and they stationed themselves outside to face the impending danger.

It was the five of them, the entire team minus Jack. The five of them raced forward, with Phoebe hiding behind a tree once they travelled far enough. Adelynn had come from the east, which was lucky for them, for that was the most reinforced side of the base. It was lined with a stone wall. The north was also reinforced, as raiders would have to go all the way around the mountain to get to their base.

Phoebe stayed back, while the three melee attackers and close-ranged gunners kept moving on.

Cadmus coughed briefly, "I'll take him…Genevieve…you stand back a little…the three of us will flank 'em."

It was a single attacker again, but she had a firearm of her own. It seemed to be handgun similar to Genevieve's. The raider took aim and fired.

Blood spurted out of Meowski's arm. She hissed and threw out a few swears. Cadmus roared and cut through the attacker with his axe, and blood went everywhere. Genevieve took advantage of the fact that the raider was reeling back, and shot her with her revolver.

Even more so after that, Toni whacked the assailant with her wooden club, and the raider fell to the ground. She quickly got up, coated in blood. She fired her pistol at Cadmus with as many rounds as she could.

Except for that all the bullets clinked off against Cadmus's armor. When the raider realized that she wasn't getting anywhere with him, she fired at someone else. Toni winced, a now bloody wound on her torso.

Before anyone else could attack, Cadmus gave another deadly strike with his axe, nearly bisecting her in one strike. The raider, or her remaining parts, were motionless after the assault. Cadmus's eyes were bloodshot, filled with anger, and underlined by bags. It was the first raider they killed without Phoebe's intervention. This faction would be fine without her, just like he was going to be.

Genevieve gave a slow nod, once it was more than clear that the raider was dead, "Very well…you may all return to your stations. For those injured, I will take care of you. Cadmus…if you could please…bury this woman. Meanwhile, I'll make sure the new member is settling in alright."

His walks were now painful and dreary. He had an ache in his heart, and an ache everywhere else in his body, thanks to this nonsense mechanite disease. The divorce seemed to hardly affect Phoebe, did she even care about them at all when they were together? Or was it just a game to her? Was it just, meaningless sex? Who would dump everything down the drain after a small handful of disagreements?

Maybe they were more than just disagreements for her. Maybe they meant more than he suggested. Maybe this was a sign that, after Elspeth, after Phoebe now, that he wasn't meant to be in a relationship with anyone. He wondered what his sister would think. Would she be laughing at him? No, most certainly not. She'd be worried for him. She was always so much more of a better person than he could ever be.

He paused when he saw a large pack of something out in the distance. It was high up in the northeast, so he could only barely make it out. Of course, it was springtime, so naturally all the animals were likely going to come flocking back into the area. As part of their migratory pattern, he figured.

What he didn't expect to see were wargs. A good group of them, up there. A grin formed on his face, for this could have been the first good news in a while. He could have someone go out there and tame some of them for free. They'd save eight-hundred silver per tame, and have war machines at their doorstep. That'd show that scummy trader. Between Genevieve and Meowski, the world was their oyster when it came to animals.

Phoebe was standing by the entrance of the base, her arms crossed. Cadmus glowered at her as he approached the door, "What now?"

"Genevieve said that it's imperative that you build Adelynn a room." She said.

"There aren't enough stone blocks yet to make a new room."

"There's also my room that I requested, unless you had forgotten."

He seethed with a horrid rage, "Didn't you hear me…?" He fumed, "I just said there weren't enough stone blocks to make a new bedroom! You deaf?"

While most women would flee at the sound of Cadmus's yelling, Phoebe's eyes only hardened, "There's also the workshop you need to work on. As well as the freezer, that needs to be completed preferably before the next harvest—"

"With Jack in bed…its back to just me building again, you got it?" He snarled, "I can't just make all that stuff appear at the drop of a hat. I gotta wake up, hope I don't feel like shit, and make it myself, now get outta my way!" He shoved her, heading inside the base. Toni was in the immediate hallway as well, smiling and about to greet Cadmus, but he shoved her out of the way too. With the amount of bulging veins, the redness in his face, and sickening look in his eyes, he sooner looked more like a monster than a man.

Genevieve and Adelynn flinched when they heard Cadmus yelling, but nonetheless their conversation continued, "Ah…the nice crisp air…refreshing, isn't it?" Adelynn smiled.

Genevieve nodded, "So…Adelynn, right?"

"Please, call me Addy."

"Right…Addy." Genevieve smiled, "So…what do you excel at?"

"I suppose that should start with where I came from. Actually…to be truthful, I don't know much about my childhood…or adolescence…I…woke up as an adult, if you will. I slept in a cryptosleep casket for one-thousand years."

Genevieve's eyes shrunk to the size of dots, "So…you were born…in the four-thousands."

"Correct…but slept through most of it." She smiled, "It was all part of a conservation effort, I was told. I was born into the nobility of the Glitterworld royals. I was a peaceful leader and negotiator. And…I also follow the ways of a pacifist."

"You lived in the Glitterworlds…just like us…"

"I'm sorry…just like you?"

"See, most of our group is from very different backgrounds. The three original founders. Cadmus, Phoebe, and myself, we come from Glitterworlds. The rest lived here."

"I see, interesting."

"So you excel at being a diplomat."

"Yes. It's one of my greatest strengths." She said, "But I'm also no stranger to manual labor. Whatever it takes to help, I'll do it."

"I see…" She said, coughing for a bit.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes…I…some of us…caught a very minor disease…"

"Ah, perhaps I can help. I'm…no medical genius…but…I could administer medicine and tend to basic wounds. I want to help you all as much as I can in thanks for what you've done for me."

She smiled and nodded, "We appreciate the sentiment."

"I just have one request."

"Yes?"

"Do you mind if I take the night shift?" Addy asked, adding with a smile, "I'm not much of morning person."

"Of course, work whenever you feel most comfortable."

"Thank you very much." She said, and then a pause went by, "I'm also quite skilled taking care of animals." She said, "We always had a garden out back, a very large one. There were a lot of cats and dogs living in it. I befriended all of them."

Genevieve's smile grew, "Very nice."

The two of them watched the sunset together. Luckily the raid only brought minor injuries, and Genevieve patched them up with ease. They also had a revolver in the storeroom now as well. An extra one. And extra weaponry was never to be looked down upon, as it could save their lives in the long run.

After a while or so, Genevieve and Addy heard the sound of barking. Both women turned to see a pair of dogs, with white fur on their legs and lower body, and gray fur situated at the top. They were rather big dogs, half the size of a person.

Genevieve blinked in confusion, "Dogs?" She asked.

"Aw…huskies." Addy got down to their level, immediately being met with romps and licks from both dogs, "Hello there…" She tried to pet them both equally, but this seemed to be a difficult task, given how much they were wandering around and sniffing Addy.

Genevieve looked terribly confused, "But…what would a domesticated dog be doing out here?"

"You've seen what it's like our here." Addy said, "Pirates can attack innocent travelers, pieces of spaceship can crash into the planet. These dogs probably did have owners at one point in time. But…they were either abandoned…or…separated." She said, "Kind of hoping for the second one…honestly."

Genevieve nodded, then backed away a little bit when one of the huskies got near her. The dog jumped up and put its front paws on her, as way of a greeting.

Genevieve couldn't handle the cuteness anymore. At the risk of Lady getting jealous, Genevieve gave the dog a squeeze, "Hello, you! Hello, hello, hello!" She kissed the side of its face, "Aren't you cute?"

Addy squinted at their necks, "Hmm…seems they both have names…" She said.

"Oh…do they?" Genevieve asked.

"That's right. This one's named Pinky." Addy said, "What about yours?"

Genevieve gently held the dog in place, looking at the nametag on the collar, "Cassidy." She said, "Hello, Cassidy." She gave the dog a brief hug. Then she looked at Addy out of concern, "Can we…can we just keep them?"

Addy shrugged, "Unless their previous owners come back. But…I feel like we would've seen them by now."

Genevieve nodded. Somehow, looking at the two energetic, eager huskies, exploring the outside of the base and sniffing around everywhere, she just knew that things were going to be alright.

A/N: 'Divorced from Phoebe, -20.' Yeah, that was, that was fun to deal with for a handful of quadrums. Thanks for reading!