2nd Earth:Origins

Chapter 6: Part 5

The planet's thick and rainless atmosphere has provided us with opportunity to wander around away from our crash site for days. Lim and Minerva, using the hovercraft traveled eastward from our crash site to investigate the mountain ranges. They reported a low plateau, which is sparsely covered with vegetation. Trees that look like stunted evergreen trees are abundant on highlands. They can provide us with enough timber just in case we'll build our settlements here.

There has been no sign of 'Tommy,' for the past several weeks and well into Alice's day of childbirth. We used the Lamaze method of delivery although the auxiliary has all the medical facilities for delivering a child. It happened when Lim and Remi were on a reconnaissance trip to the Three Peaked Mountains, about 400 kilometers away. It was unusual for Remi to go on a reconnaissance, but Alice needed me during that time.

"What do you feel now, that you've delivered twins into another world?" Minerva asked Alice.

Alice, probably not expecting such a question couldn't answer immediately. I answered for her when I sensed sadness and joy from her.

"I was not expecting twins. But Alice's is not the first person to give birth away from earth. You will be the next person to do so. The Mars Solarians were the first earth people to populate another planet."

My answer is more stupid than I expected it to be. Alice then answered.

"I feel glad and sad at the same time. Glad because I gave birth to Peter's babies and sad because my mother isn't around to find out."

She started crying.

It would have been funny because I was holding Alice's left hand and Minerva her right hand, but it wasn't. Alice still feels homesick and is literally sick, because of it. Both of us tried to assure her that everything is all right, both here and on earth. Minerva took our children in swaddling clothes and placed them beside her, so as to assuage her loneliness. I took the boy and Alice was holding the girl.

"The jewels of this planet." Minerva stated.

Minerva herself is three months pregnant.

Fraternal twins. The boy was out ahead of the girl. We named them Pablo in Spanish or Paul, for the name of my father and Jennifer. Alice liked Jennifer, since that was the name that should have been given to her by her mother, her father chose Alice.

It is already morning when Lim arrived alone. Immediately, Lim visited Alice in the Auxiliary. He didn't say anything about their trip, yet. He was elated to see the children and was already imagining things for his children too. Although he looks happy, there was something in him that was bothering all of us. He is worried, not scared but a hint of frustration was in his voice. Later that morning, Lim talked to me when Minerva and Alice were in the Auxiliary. Outside of the camp Lim told me something.

"Several kilometers before the Three Peaked Mountain, we saw remnants of another crash. The crash was more recent than we were but the craft was already bits and pieces. I suspected it was the ISS Logos. But I am not so sure."

"Where's Remi?"

I didn't immediately answer Lim for I was expecting this kind of report. What I was not expecting was Remi's disappearance.

"Remi didn't want to come with me. He said he'd go to the Three Peaks alone. He didn't want me to go with him, because it's forbidden. I don't know, what he was thinking because all of us cannot scan Remi's thoughts. Only he can do it to us, but not the other way around."

"What else did he tell you?"

"He said that I shouldn't return to the place alone. His condition is that we bring one of the children, the male one. Remi knew everything about Alice's childbirth. Alice wasn't even laboring when we went there early morning. He also encouraged me to have many children as possible, and that you should do the same."