The joy I felt during that moment was immense. We were going to make this world ours. Sure, we had a few obstacles to overcome, but nothing could get in our way. We were all a team. We had suffered the same losses, and we were in it together. No matter what.
Ready to start the day, I went straight to the foreman my team and I had talked to the day prior. I held out my hand for a handshake and smiled. He looked at me strangely. “I’m William Porter, what’s your name?” he said.
I hesitated, but only for a moment. “My name’s Aella. I think we are going to be a great team,” I said. “Would you and your crew be willing to help me?”
William looked at me with speculative eyes. “Miss Aella, I don’t even know what department you’re in. You never told us. What project are you working on?”
I laughed. “I guess I did leave that part out, huh? Well, I’m part of the agricultural team, and I am an agronomist. So, I need to get growing some food. Think you can help with that?”
“Probably so,” he winked. “Let me go get my team rounded up. Meet us over by the supply hull with some people from your team. We’ll go find the rabbits and grab some tools we were sent up with.”
“Did you say rabbits?” My excitement was apparent. “How?”
“Whoa, slow down. Since the whole thing on Earth happened, a few more experts jumped in to analyze what you all had to deal with up here. They decided you weren’t exactly equipped with the essentials,” he said. “Someone down there had a pretty good idea that we were going to need some help with getting more food quickly. I hear rabbits multiply a lot quicker than pigs.”
“That’s amazing! I can’t wait to tell Spencer. I’ll go get everyone together and we will meet you over there.” I ran away with a bit of a squeal. I was so excited. It seemed that one of our biggest problems was about to get a little boost.
Quickly, I ran to Spencer. “Spencer!” I yelled as I approached him. “Spencer, the newcomers brought rabbits on the ship with them! Rabbits!”
His look of surprise and excitement mirrored mine. “No way, that’s incredible! Where are they? Are they full grown? What breed?” His questions were unending.
“I don’t know, I have no idea. We are going to go meet the foreman with his crew now, though, and they are going to show us. Do we have stuff for cages?”
“Well, we don’t have technical cages, but it wouldn’t take long to build them one. I bet they’re getting hot in that pod, though. They'll need to get out soon. Rabbits don’t handle heat very well,” he said.
“Should we do that before we go to meet them?”
“Probably, but we’re gonna have to make it quick.” he said.
Spencer instructed me to go grab leftover sticks from the area around the saw mill, and stick them into the ground, spaced in one inch increments. He then laid bushy brush down on top of the sticks to create shade and shelter. “This will have to do for now. It will keep them cool, dry, and contained for the time being,” he said.
Quickly, we gathered Garrett and Smith to help. Jane was busy with the chem team so we didn’t bother her. We walked swiftly to the meeting area behind the supply hull. The crew and foreman stood waiting for us.
“I heard about the rabbits.” Spencer said anxiously. “What breed are they?”
The foreman spoke through his chuckles, “I have no idea what kind of rabbits they are. All I know is that they’re rabbits. Everything else is nonsense I didn’t need filling my head.”
Spencer nodded his head quickly and continued to walk at a brisk pace with the group. The foreman led the way, using a GPS tracker on the pod, similar to the ones we had in our helmets upon landing. It was easy to locate the little red dot on the map, and it wasn’t far away.
When we arrived, we realized the hatch had already been opened. “Was someone already here?” Smith asked, his gaze fixed on the wide-open door.
“Nah, it was programmed to do that, that way the rabbits don't suffocate. They stress out easily, you know,” one of the men from the crew stated.
“We’re lucky there are no hawks here on Circadia to eat them. On Earth, that would be like monkeys in a barrel,” Spencer said. ‘Anyways, let’s get them out of there. Ever carried a rabbit before?” His question was directed at Garrett, who looked like he had never once touched a farm animal in his life.
“No. Not exactly,” Garrett said. His tone was dry.
The pod was smaller than the crew’s, so it was easier for the guys to climb to the top. Spencer dropped into the pod and began handing the rabbits out to the crew members by their feet. Working in an assembly line fashion, people handed the squirming rabbits down the line until it met with someone who was running back and forth between the pod and the new containment areas. The process went quickly and efficiently with so many people. It made me wonder how other teams were doing with all the extra help. It was astounding how quickly a task could be done with more people.
LATER THAT NIGHT, WE realized what the tax of having such a luxury was. During dinner, the lead nutritionist stood up and said
