Captain Paul Lewis was a forty-six year old man. Patient with cloned colonists and the rough environment that come with it. But what he wasn't patient with were the cowards who committed crimes. Several that were made for the continued well being of the colony on Seto. Over the last sixteen years, he had watched the newly born newly cloned children grow up among with the men and women. Relatives, per say, in many ways they were his brothers and sisters. But it wasn't their choice to fall for each other. Many Earthlings called that narcissism.

Some species called that "loving yourself despite the flaws and differences that you see in everyone else compared to you" in trying to justify how the clones kept finding each other and falling in love like it were a natural order of things. Which it were not. It was a miracle that nothing terrible had happened due to the medical advancements in treating copulating clones and medicine alone that kept the developing fetus alive until birth.

They had been the only group of clones on Earth who had volunteered for this kind of colonization because they had done the impossible and were willing to do the impossible a second time defying all odds. And they succeeded. Lewis was smacking his hand with a black bat strolling down the street looking from side to side quite warily.

"Where is that Jerome," Lewis looked around the area eying the elevated huts kept up by support beams that had several ladders.

"Uh, captain," Lieutenant Noa started. "I think the kid might have skipped down."

"Lieutenant, I really doubt that," Lewis looked down toward the lieutenant. "He is your co-dependent on defense and we have accounted all weapons."

Noa grimaced.

"I. . ." Noa didn't know what to say. "He is too smart to stay."

"I know he is one of us but this is someone who lives from day to day surviving just like the lot of you kids doing the best that he can for himself," Lewis said. "A Earthling is not supposed to live this way and that's primarily our fault," the sound of the waves colliding against the rocks in the distance with space birds flying overhead flying down toward the small crevices was distant but loud enough to hear. "No one should have to grow up with dangerous wildlife that can attack at any given notice and need to hide."

"Yes, sir," Noa sternly nodded.

Lewis placed his hands on his hips then shielded his eyes looking on.

"Wheres does Jerome live anyway?"

Lewis looked toward Noa.

"I know right where he lives." Noa said, looking on.

"Help. . . Help. . . Help!"

Loki awoke with a pant as his eyes held fear from within them then grasped at the blanket bringing it closer under his chin staring at the cieling.

"Just a dream," Loki said, trembling. "Just a dream."

Loki briefly closed his eyes.

"Are you alright, Loki?" Peepo's child voice sprang out from the dark that echoed.

Loki looked toward the glowing pair of red balls floating in the dark.

"I am okay, Peepo, " Loki said, then propped himself up. "Why are you here?"

"Considering that you have just been put to bed after a day that you have had," Peepo said. "It was the logical thing to do."

Loki lowered down to the bed.

"I app-I app-"

"Appreciate,"

"Appreciate it, Peepo,"

"What were you dreaming about?"

"It's nothing,"

"It is not nothing," Loki slipped out his lyrotron. "It made you wake up."

"It's. . ." Loki said. "I was in the dark holding a . . . light source. . . There was fire in it but glass was covering it and I didn't know where to go."

"That is a lantern," Peepo said.

"Then I heard the commander calling for me so I ran but each time it felt like I go closer. Like he were across from me. But eventually, his voice became really distant," Loki gulped. "I dropped it then everything was in flames and the cieling was falling. Doors were falling around me and no one was there to stop it. I was in the academy's hallways but it was in worse shape. Every time I put out the flames, it started all over again and. . . I was alone fighting against fire. I was the only one who stayed behind to defend the academy."

"You are currently not alone, Loki," Peepo said. "You do not need to be afraid of being alone."

"I wasn't afraid," Loki said. "I was mad that people weren't there to help me."

"Long as you are here," Peepo said. "You will always have that people always open to help you."

"Do you mean that?"

"Affirmative,"

"That is. . ."

"Reassuring," Peepo's red glowing eyes turned toward him. "Is that the word you are searching for?"

"Yes," Loki said.

"We do not just help people outside of campus but inside," Peepo said. "There are many kinds of different struggles here."

"Do you have struggles?"

"I have my struggles,"

"What kinds?"

"Power failure,"

"That sounds awful,"

"It doesn't happen often,"

"But it happens often enough for you,"

"Affirmative,"

"Must be less worse than not knowing anything,"

"It is far worse than not knowing anything, Loki," Loki looked down toward Peepo. "It is being in the dark and not knowing if the mission was successful despite my unexpected shut down," Peepo shifted away from the boy. "I am scared that the next time I have power failures. . . it could just very well spell the end of the academy."

Loki came over to Peepo's side then patted on the manu-droid's head.

"Hey," Loki said. "It is okay."

"Easy for you to say," Peepo said. "You're a organic unit."

"I will play my lyrotron for you," Loki said, then sat down onto the edge of the bed and took out his lyrotron. "I know just the tune."

"You are too kind," Peepo said.

Loki placed the lyrotron into his mouth then began to shift the long orange segment in and out of the space instrument. He played it for thirty minutes as his eyes slowly closed. Eventually, Loki fell back onto the bed fast asleep so Peepo caught the lyrotron in between his claws then lifted the young boy's body all the way up onto the bed. Loki shifted on to his side. Peepo scanned the lyrotron very carefully while rolling toward the front side of the bed and waited for the boy to wake up.

"Mrs Jerome, Mr Jerome,"

Mrs Jerome was a forty-nine year old woman standing in front of the doorway very concerned. From beside her was Mr Jerome, a clear forty-something year old version of his son Jerome, a bit without a goatee or a full head of hair.

"Yes?" Mrs Jerome said.

"Is this about our son?" Mr Jerome asked.

"Yes," Lewis said.

"I told you not to put him on that," Mr Jerome said. "My boy ain't no fool."

"He got people killed," Noa said.

"Because he did the smart thing," Mr Jerome said.

"He hid and waited out the saber-tooth cats," Mrs Jerome said. "What kind of colony drop off is done in territory that has a pack of them?"

"He was the leader of the unit," Lewis said.

"And they didn't follow him?" Mrs Jerome asked, skeptically.

"They didn't," Lewis said.

"They should have followed him," Mr Jerome said.

"You should know that he had," Lewis said. "Did he mention that?"

"He told me what I needed to know about the situation," Mr Jerome said. "He is a scared kid."

"A scared kid who got twelve of our relatives dead," Lewis said. "There are forty-three angry and distraught survivors."

"Forty-three," Mrs Jerome said. "That's a good number."

"That is a unacceptable number," Lewis said. "You love your son but the law is the law and he has to be taken in. According to the survivors, he never gave a order. They just stood around as the cats were headed their way!"

"Why. . . why . . . why did you put my son in that position?" Mr Jerome hissed. "He is a farmer."

"A farmer works with their surroundings and makes the best of it," Lewis said, sharply. "Not cowers in fear."

"Why don't we visit our father?" Mrs Jerome asked, her hands wrapped around Mr Jerome's arm. "We haven't visited him in quite some time."

"We are due for it," Mr Jerome said.

Mrs Jerome walked out of the house with a basket in hand then was followed by Mr Jerome. The group walked in then the door closed right behind without being prompted. Lewis shook his head with a tsk repeatedly with his head lowered. Noa raised his head up, his eyes closed, regretful of what was going to happen next. In his left hand was a short but slender bat that had straps from the center between the butt and the rounded yet fat tip.

The four officers took out their sticks then snapped them in half.

The green lights illuminated from each stick so they went from room to room.

"Jerome!"

Noa went into the living room with Birn.

"Come out, Jerome!"

Lewis walked into the kitchen holding up the glowing stick alongside Turvin.

"We know you chickened out on escorting the new colonists to Ballis Town!" Turvin opened the large cabinets then peered around.

Lewis went into the dining room.

"Where could he possibly be?" Lewis snapped. "He isn't going to expect a lenient sentence for abandoning his assignment!"

Noa went down the hall with one hand reached out. All the candles were out with smoke drifting off them inside the little holes that stood at ten inches tall and ten inches wide. Noa took a turn then came to a stop from within the room with Birn by his side. He held the glowing in the dark stick up far as he could then scanned around the area finding a bed, equipment, medical tools, torn sleeves that had once been decorated by the badge to the defense force.

"Jerome!" Noa called.

Lewis stepped into the room.

"Alright, he isn't here," Birn said.

"Well shit," Lewis said.

"He must be more clever than we thought," Noa said.

"He could be on the cieling," Noa suggested.

Slowly, one by one, they looked up then exchanged a glance with each other holding up their glowing sticks.

"Let's check the other place," Lewis said.

"You said it, captain," Turvin said.

The room grew dark then there was a thud. The darkness retreated to the outside of the house that had a open doorway. Lewis came out of the hut with two hands gripping on the man's jacket then tossed him to the dirt where he skid down staining his shirt in dark brow mud including his face. Jerome got up to his feet then turned around to face the squad with his hands rolled up into fists. He locked eyes with Noa and the other officers. Slowly, but surely, Lewis stepped forward with his hands linked behind his back.

"You made a good sentry," Lewis said. "But not a effective officer."

"I am not a fool," Jerome used his sleeve to wipe off the mud from his face. "They were."

"Cuff him," Lewis said.

Jerome was caught off guard as two officers came from behind them and restrained him then placed his wrists into the silver cuffs that restricted his movement.

"Think you got off easy just running away all those times?" Lewis asked. "You got someone killed. You're really going to pay. Mark my words, lieutenant."

Lewis waved him off dismissively watching the teenager being taken away with no protesting or struggling coming from the clone.

"I'm going to miss him," Noa said.

Lewis shook his head in shame.

"He could have had a stellar career," Lewis said. "Could have had. . ."

"I saw it from the start," Noa spoke up drawing the captain's attention. "I knew it from the beginning. He was never going to have a great career."

"How?" Lewis asked.

"He always agreed with the other officers to run," Noa said.

"Eliminating clones who don't have survival smarts isn't something I take lightly," he faced Noa. "If there were there another way to save his life. . ."

"You would take it, captain," Noa said, watching Jerome's figure get smaller.

"I would," Lewis said. "But. . . we can't change a man on the final frontier. No one can." He shook his head. "There is no place that wants a such a young clone like him outside of Seto."

Lewis walked ahead of Noa.