I looked up at the sky, recalling all the other ships that had flown up…and I realized something we had all missed.

“We aren’t the only ones down here,” I whispered, my words picking up speed. “There are more people out there.”

“How?” Zealand stopped shouting just long enough to listen.

“Think about it. We can’t repopulate the world with six people. That means they dropped off more kids like us. I saw two ships a few kilometers away and if this world is as big as they say it is, there must be thousands or even hundreds of thousands being dropped off too.” I grinned, my heart racing from excitement rather than anxiety. “We can meet up with them and work together. We can do more than just survive.” I focused on Scotia. “We can rebuild what we lost and avenge our people.”

“How?” Scotia asked, though she was giving me an invitation to expand on my words rather than genuinely questioning me. I saw the beginnings of a smile on my face.

“Well.” I pointed at each of my teammates. “The Occisio thought we were weak, which we are, but only in some areas. We have strengths too.” Now that I finally had a purpose, my panic was completely gone, replaced by the thrill of a goal. Now that we’d hit rock bottom, there was nowhere to go but up. “Zealand, you may have a temper but you also have boundless energy and determination. You’re strong too.”

The short teen puffed up his chest a little. “I guess so.”

“And Sina, you’re a little clumsy and bad with your hands but you’re fast and have quick reflexes.” I saw her stand taller and realized just how powerful my words could be. “Graec, you can be a good leader when you need to be. You may be a little overconfident but you’re good at focusing on objectives and you’re brave. Libyci, you may be insecure and back off when you think there’s a risk but you’re smart.”

She opened her mouth to protest but I raised my hand to cut her off.

“You’re the one who remembered all the plants and chemicals they taught us about. You know how to mix things together to create something new. I’ve seen it. Now that the Occisio aren’t here to hold us back, you can do that again.”

Her dark eyes brightened and I knew I had her on board. Now all that was left was Scotia…and me.

“Scotia.” I gulped, feeling the back of my neck burn from her stare. “You may not like taking orders, but you care about people and notice things others don’t. You like to question everything around you and look for new solutions.” Even when she looked at me, she saw more than just my nervous ticks and stuttering.

“And you’re good with numbers,” she whispered softly, grinning. “And speeches, apparently, when you get riled up.”

I stuttered, my cheeks burning now that she’d brought attention to it. I had to get these last words out before the anxious thoughts returned. “What I’m saying here is that we know the Occisio are out there now, and we know humanity was close to becoming as powerful as them. We can do it again…and now we know what our predecessors don’t. We know to be ready.”

“But if we try to do that, they might come back and wipe us out again,” Sina whispered. “For good this time.”

“So we warn the future generations,” Scotia answered. “We make it part of our culture. We keep things hidden. Adapt. Prepare. The Occisio were using us as test subjects, studying us and how we work, but we’ve been doing the same. We’ve lived alongside them for ten years.”

“And who knows,” I added quietly. “Maybe some of the humans from before still remain, hiding somewhere. If we find them, maybe we’ll live to see the rise of humanity after all.”

“Yeah!” Now Zealand was pumped up. None of them needed encouragement anymore. “Let’s find our new allies and make the greatest comeback the Occisio have ever seen. The weakest among us will become their doom!”

I smiled, not sure about that last part, but my sorrow was gone, replaced by hope. This was the first time in my life that I actually felt my life meant something. This was far better than living as a soldier bred to die.

As we retrieved our fallen weapons and started toward where I saw the other ship leave, I couldn’t stop smiling. Scotia was doing the same.

As our previously spotless shoes browned from dirt, wiping away the perfection of the Occisio, she reached for my hand and intwined her fingers with mine. The touch sent warmth up my arm and into my face, making me blush all over again, but the nervousness retreated as she smirked.

“I hope we see Gregis again,” she told me. “And next time, you won’t miss. Right?”

I nodded, looking down at Congo’s pin on my chest.

Even if I didn’t have the chance to kill our old mentor—the being who wiped out our parents, sent our brothers and sisters into an icy grave, and murdered Congo—one of my children might.

And I’d ensure they were ready. Even if my descendants got scared, they’d be able to overcome it because I’d teach them how. One advantage of having so many weaknesses was you could learn how to overcome it, and it made it easier to teach others the same.

In searching for the worst children, the Occisio may have accidentally chosen the best among us to train the next generation.

Gregis told us we were humanity’s last hope. Unfortunately for him, it might be true.