"Yes!" screamed Maddison triumphantly as she plunged her head deep into the refrigerator. "I can't believe it, real food!" She held the doors wide open as she allowed herself to tip backwards. Her extended arms kept her balance as she bathed in the frosty currents that spewed fourth. "Ahhhhhhhhhhh. So gooooood," she purred.

"And just as I was developing a taste for Tarraxen gruel," laughed Felix. Maddison shivered at the thought he had given her.

"Yuck! I'll do just fine without it thank you very much," she stressed trying to forget their vile textured and flavourless elixir. She closed the fridge with what Felix could only assume was a roasted chicken drumstick in her mouth.

"You know that came from an animal don't you?" He jested.

Madison plucked it from her mouth about as gracefully as anyone half starved could, in her mind she was at least. She chewed her prize quickly whilst preparing her rebuttal, "survival comes before morality baby."

Felix snorted. "Indeed. "Now what was that Oscar Wilde quote about, mind over morals?" He mumbled to himself causing her to shoot him a glance. "Anyway first up, we should go check out the infirmaries and designate who will run them for each section," suggested Felix as he skimmed over the data pad Joseph had given him.

Maddison with bright eyes and a mouthful nodded and they headed off with Gaia as their personal manifest of all the refugees. Luckily, she knew who had medical training out of those who survived.

Unable to contain himself further, Lloyd made a beeline for the largest structure in the community centre which was the gymnasium. Eva had been so out of character since the news came through that they were granted asylum, she blissfully ran off with Lloyd without a care in the world. Rather exhausted by the whole ordeal Bligh retired to bed for a kip whilst Emelia went for a walk exploring the grounds. All around as far as the eye could see there was red earth and sparse grasses, there were trees to be seen but one could count them in each direction on one hand. If there was anything of interest around, it would have arrived with the supplies provided.

The afternoon sun baked the ground around them, the air rippled and danced at ground level often giving the illusion of water in the distance. Maddison made a point to her father that he was free to explore but given the heat he decided to wait until the sun went down. The buildings were all fully self-contained and the internal temperatures were maintained at a rather comfortable 24 degrees Celsius. Within the hour most of the refugees had braved the squelching heat to move about and visit the recreational centres. Though all their physical needs were met on the Tarraxen transport, they still had little to do to keep their minds off the loss or their station and loved ones. For the first time in months they were beginning to smile and were actually excited by the dawn of each new day.

As promised and on schedule, Joseph returned, along with ten additional transports to ferry the medical staff to their objectives. There was a hypnotic wave of fluorescent yellow as they all stepped out of their ships in full CBRN suits, waddling over to greet them. Gaia spotted Dr Walden and gave her a friendly wave, which seemed only to cause the Doctor to blush from embarrassment.

Felix waved after making eye contact. "Hi Joseph! Pffft-pffft bah! bloody flies!" Felix fluttered his arms vigorously trying to keep further flies from entering his mouth.

Joseph along with a few dozen doctors tried to remain composed biting their lips instead of laughing. "You know there's repellent in the houses, don't you?" asked Joseph almost mockingly.

"Good to know," Felix wiped his mouth, "I've probably eaten a dozen just today. So shall we get started?"

"Yes. Our staff will proceed in pairs to each dwelling. Hopefully they will get through them all within the scheduled four visits." Joseph gave his signal and the Doctors spread out to make their house calls. "So, how are you finding it?" Joseph asked as he skimmed through data on his pad.

"You certainly spoiled us. We're truly grateful. So after we get the all clear, what happens next?" asked Felix.

"Well, everyone will need to choose a particular area or city they would like to live in. Once the arrangements are made you will undergo aptitude testing to see where your strengths lie. So that offers of interest can be made for your desired roles in society," explained Joseph.

"Interesting," stated Felix rubbing his chin, "so will prior education be recognised? As in, I have a Doctorate and I studied genetics extensively. My role on a Titan expedition was as a Xenobiologist," Felix elaborated proudly.

"Fascinating. Yes of course, all prior experience and accomplishments will be taken into account. Mind you, I've been advised that there will also be opportunities for further study should some wish to branch out." Advised Joseph.

"Oh wow!" exclaimed Felix very excited by the prospect of their new life. "I should also tell you something Erranos told us before he left."

Joseph's curiosity peaked. "What would that be?"

"He hoped that we would achieve technological parity so that we can be allies in the fight against the Scourge." Felix could feel Joseph's mind buzzing, though he didn't show it his mouth was almost watering. "As such, he gifted us with the theoretical data for all Tarraxen technology."

"No!" replied Joseph utterly dumbfounded, "everything?"

"Indeed," confirmed Felix with a subtle nod.

"That is quite the development. My superiors will be most pleased," responded Joseph. "I imagine their weapons are quite advanced?"

"I don't think you'd believe some of the things we've seen," answered Felix in a condescending tone.

"Given what I've already seen, I'm inclined to agree with you Felix. Now if you'll excuse me, I will go see how the medicals are progressing," Joseph excused himself. Felix nodded and went back to his own dwelling to wait with the others for their own appointments.

With blood samples drawn from Felix, Maddison, Eva, Silas and Bligh they were told to expect a wait of up to a month for the results with so many samples to test. This was welcome news as it allowed all to enjoy their time, seeing it as an extended holiday until they would be welcomed into civilisation. Armed with only a camera Felix and Maddison spent most of their time searching for and photographing wildlife. In the cool of the night there were many small critters scurrying around under the cover of darkness. It was easier going moving about at night, during the day the flies were relentless. The only significant sightings during the day were birds of prey floating effortlessly high above and a rather cheeky intruder they stumbled across in the middle of camp.

"Wow look how big he is," pointed out Maddison, "any match in the field guide?"

"Varanus gouldii, I'd say," replied Felix with his eyes fixated on the screen in his hand. "Good thing he didn't make it inside, we could have lost all our rations until the next shipment," he laughed.

"So umm, how do we pick him up? Goannas have a nasty bite, and that tail is like a whip." explained Maddison while circling and keeping her distance from their visitor.

"I say we get Lloyd to catch it," decided Felix as he chuckled.

Maddison laughed, "Yeah good idea." Felix went off to find Lloyd who was more than happy to help considering he no longer felt physical pain, while Maddison continued to shadow the goanna. After picking up the intruder and a few fruitless bites, Lloyd sprinted off to roughly 5km from their make shift town to release it. The goanna proceeded to hiss at Lloyd and whip him with its tail before scurrying off in a flash.

Slowly the days became weeks and eventually Joseph called to advise his team was inbound again with supplies. Felix asked if the results from the medicals were ready, even though it had only been a fortnight. Joseph reassured him that it shouldn't take too much longer and that he would make contact immediately with the news. The morning after their delivery, Felix was awoken by Maddison's scream. It seemed as though Bligh had passed in her sleep that night. The others rushed in after Felix to find Bligh's lifeless body laying peacefully in her bed as if she were still asleep.

Felix and Maddison inspected the body and agreed it was most likely of natural causes considering Bligh's years. Lloyd wrapped her and carried her to the infirmary next door for a postmortem to give them a conclusive answer. Before Lloyd stepped outside with the body, Felix scanned for anyone in the general vicinity. He could only sense a single pair talking around the corner and Maddison went to distract them and prevent them from walking around and finding out someone had died.

With Bligh's body now secured in the infirmary, Lloyd kept guard at the entrance whilst Felix and Maddison got to work. It was a hemorrhagic stroke that did Bligh in, a small tumour no more than 4mm in diameter had caused an aneurysm that led to the bleed on her brain. The tumour was placed into a specimen vile for further study as tumours had become quite rare among Gaia's children. They completed the postmortem finding no other cause aside from the aneurysm and were confident with their conclusions.

That afternoon, Gaia addressed the entire camp with the PA system patched into every building. "My children, I have sad, sad news." She paused hoping to allow the more frail of the camp to sit before she continued. "Councillor Bligh passed away in her sleep last night. Doctors have determined that it was of natural causes, and I choose to believe that Bligh was only now able to rest because we had arrived here safely. We will hold a memorial service for her in a few days time." A quiet tone sounded advising all that the PA system had been switched off.

Maddison went back to the infirmary to do an analysis of the tumour. To her shock it had now increased in size. In the 5 hours since it was removed it had increased in size tenfold. Most alarmed by the development, Maddison rushed off to find Felix. Upon finding him and returning to the infirmary the specimen vial was damaged and the sample was gone.

"But, that's impossible! The door was locked, I'm certain," stated Maddison adamantly. "Who would even want it?" she mumbled softly.

"Not to worry, I'll check the surveillance." Felix produced his pad and patched into the camps security systems. After a brief review they found that no one had accessed the infirmary aside from Maddison. "This is odd, I'll go find the others, just pack up here and come back to the house," he instructed, then he kissed her and left.

Maddison packed up her instruments and went back next door. She found her father Silas had just woken up from a nap.

"Hello darlin'. What are you up-" Silas froze and winced clenching his jaw tightly.

"Daddy are you alright?" Maddison asked inching towards him.

"I'm fine, just a little headache," he answered just as the light faded from his eyes and he collapsed.

"Daddy!" Maddison screamed as she dove to the floor after her Father. She called to him and squeezed his hand but his heart had already stopped.

Felix, Lloyd and Eva entered to find Maddison hunched over Silas's body, his shirt drenched with her tears.

"What happened?!" cried Felix as he rushed over.

"I don't know," whimpered Maddison. "One second he was talking to me, the next, he collapsed dead."

Felix turned to Eva, "will you stay with her please?"

"Yes of course," Eva nodded.

"Thank you. This can't be a coincidence, I need to check something straight away. Lloyd will you carry Silas for me please?"

Lloyd walked over, he knelt down to collect the body, "Sure thing," he answered.

Maddison wailed and tried to push Lloyd away but Eva held her firmly. "No! What are you doing?" she cried as Lloyd ignored her and picked up Silas's body. He and Felix went next door to the infirmary and Felix used a hand-held MRI scanner to check Silas's brain. There it was, staring Felix right back in the face was a 5mm tumour that had undoubtedly caused the aneurysm.

"Fuck!" yelled Felix.

"What's going on?" asked Lloyd.

"It's just like with Bligh," Felix confirmed, Lloyd's face sank. "They both died from a brain tumour."

"Hmmmm yes that can't be a coincidence," Lloyd reasoned as he approached Felix to see the sample. Felix removed then sealed away the sample and they went looking for Gaia.

As they stepped outside they paused and watched as an ugly looking fly the size of a fist casually flew right past them.

"What the hell?" announced Lloyd. Felix halted the creature mid-flight with his mind and pulled it back towards them. "What on Earth is it?" Lloyd tilted his head in confusion trying to inspect it.

"I don't know, but it doesn't look normal." The creature struggled to free itself and Felix was losing his grip on it. "I'm about to lose it, hurry shoot it!"

Lloyd lifted his right arm and the top plate of the lower section opened producing a small turret. He fired a single shot hitting the creature and its singed husk of a form fell to the ground. The smell was putrid.

"It might get back up, keep an eye on it while I get something," instructed Felix as he ran back into the infirmary. Seconds later he came back out with a vessel to seal the charred creature in. "I have a bad feeling about this," announced Felix, "let's hurry up and find Gaia."

"Right!"

Felix and Lloyd ran off and ten minutes later they found Gaia speaking with a group of people about Bligh's upcoming service. Felix pulled her aside and they showed her the specimen. Gaia's face went blank as she analysed the charred remains.

"Oh no, ohhhhh no no no," she muttered, "where did you find this?" she insisted.

"It flew right past us and Lloyd shot it down," answered Felix.

"Flew? Boys this is grave indeed, this creature is most definitely Scourge." Gaia's words caused fear to tighten it's grip on both Felix and Lloyd, but they remained focused.

"But, but how? How did this happen?" cursed Lloyd.

"Gaia have Emelia send word to Erranos immediately, after that please call out and ask for anyone in the adjacent dwellings if they have been experiencing headaches, dizziness or nausea and to report to my infirmary straight away. Head over there and keep them waiting until I arrive," instructed Felix with dire urgency.

"At once dear," responded Gaia.

The boys ran back to their house, Maddison still distraught was curled up in the living area with Eva whom was completely out of her depths trying to help her. Lloyd filled them in on the conversation with Gaia as Felix went into a separate room to contact Joseph.

Joseph answered and Felix tried to calmly tell him that they had a serious situation on their hands.

"The Scourge? That biological thing that attacked the Gaia station?" questioned Joseph sceptically.

"Yes! You need to send the military at once. If my concerns are accurate then everyone here may die in a matter of days," Felix said with the utmost urgency.

"For what exactly? Are you under attack?" asked Joseph losing patience.

"To eliminate anything that isn't human," replied Felix. "It cannot be allowed to spread and feed!"

"You will have to fill me in as to how this happened later, for now I'll go make the call," advised Joseph who promptly terminated the connection.

Felix ran back outside, paused, closed his eyes, took a long breath and composed himself then walked next door to find Gaia and a dozen others waiting outside the infirmary. Gaia handed Felix the infirmary's data pad and he smiled then gestured to the first in line, a middle-age woman and he followed her inside.

"Celina is it?" enquired Felix.

"Yes Doctor, Celina Lockwood," she confirmed.

"Alright, so you've been having headaches lately? Just since we arrived or?" asked Felix as he started to scan her head with the hand-held MRI. No tumour. Felix let out a long breath trying to go unnoticed.

"Yes since a week ago, am I unwell?" she asked fearing death was on her doorstep.

"No, no, you're fine. It's most likely being caused by the sudden temperature fluctuations from going in and outside here in this heat. Just make sure you drink plenty of water and if they don't go away in another day I'll give you a mild analgesic. Don't forget this is your first taste at 1g produced naturally. It made me feel odd off station initially too," he nodded embarrassingly.

"Oh, okay then, thank you Doctor," Celina jumped up looking a tad deflated despite her good news and headed outside. The next in was a young man no older than Felix.

"Riley is it?" Felix questioned as he read from the pad.

"Yeah, Riley Buford," he answered.

"Riley it says here you've been feeling light-headed lately, any other symptoms?" Felix asked as he started the scan.

"Not really, I just feel like shit when I stand up too fast," he explained.

Scan completed, no tumour.

"Well Riley everything looks good on the scan, just get plenty of rest and keep your fluids up and we'll see how you go in a few days," reassured Felix.

"Will do thanks Doc." Riley gave a wave and headed outside.

Felix continued this process of scanning his patients to check for any further signs of tumours but hadn't yet found anything. The last patient to see him was a young girl of four years old. Her father walked with her holding her hand as her other was suffocating a stuffed animal companion. Felix didn't need to read their minds to decipher what was written plainly on their faces. Her mother was lost on Gaia station.

"Hello sweetie," beamed Felix as he got down on his knees. "My name is Felix, what's your name?"

"Cassie," she answered in a sweet, soft little voice.

Felix smiled, "that's a very pretty name." Felix looked up at her dad, "full name?"

"Yes right, Cassandra Byers," her father confirmed. Felix nodded then looked back to Cassie.

"So Cassie, daddy said your head started hurting this morning. So I'm just going to have a look see with this little gadget okay?" asked Felix as he showed her his scanner.

"Okay," she smiled seeming eager to please. Felix commenced his scan. Felix could sense Cassie's father was growing anxious, he had increasing fears that his daughter was deathly ill. His mind had even wandered to the point where he planned to take his own life if he was to lose her as well. Felix, now feeling slightly more unsettled, finished the scan.

No tumour.

He stood up and placed his hand on Cassie's father's shoulder.

With a big smile Felix tried using his mind to help bring tranquillity to the tortured man. "It all looks good to me, just make sure she drinks plenty of water," he said with a smile. Felix looked down to Cassie and with a big smile he said, "all done Cassie, thank you for coming to see me." Cassie smiled back and nodded in acknowledgement. Felix turned back to notice Cassie's father had shed a tear. He quickly hid it from his little girl and smiled as they left the infirmary hand in hand.