Eugene Bohr Eugene closed the book and yawned. He stared at the cover. A man floating through space, giving birth to a tentacled child through a slit in his forehead. The title was "Third EyeDeas." He laughed a little and shoved the book into his backpack. The speakers in the ship's cabin crackled on: "This is your Captain speaking. We're now entering the Sol system. Within the hour, we'll be passing Terra, land of the old ones. Our scheduled arrival time to Minos Juvenille Detention Center is 1147. Thank you." The ship was only half full, so Eugene had almost an entire row to himself, except for his P.O., who took the window seat. Eugene made sure she was asleep before popping in his headphones and drifting off himself. The sirens of Centauri beamed into his ears and he closed his eyes. Meanwhile, a kangaroo rat bounced along the sandy plains of West Terra. It bobbed and weaved around the brush and rocks. With its arms drawn up tight against its chest and its eyes tittering this way and that, it looked like it was stealing its ridiculous body across the arid terrain. The kangaroo rat, let's call him "Kevin," climbed a hill. On his way up, he passed fossilized boots and rusted signs that had been blown from the outposts during one of Terra's famous radiation storms. When Kevin reached the top, he saw a beautiful valley, initially carved by a mighty river, that acted as the current home for a pathetic muddy stream. Kevin searched the ground for dried berries or nuts or whatever it is that kangaroo rats eat until he noticed that the ground was shaking. He quickly dove for cover, knowing the rumble meant human vehicles. He lost his mother and father in a tragic DuneDuster accident. But he soon raised his stupid, beady little eyes to the heavens and saw clouds parting. And through them a glow appeared and soon a spacecraft hurtled toward the ground. It crashed on the valley floor and Kevin, being the Good Samaritan, hopped down to see if his help was needed. The area stank of fuel and smoke. Kevin stared at the wreckage curiously for several minutes. Suddenly, the emergency hatch shot off and landed on some rocks near the stream. A woman fell from the opening and landed, limp, on the ground below. Shortly after, a young man fell too, punctuating his fall with an emphatic "crammit!" It was Eugene, he dragged his P.O. away from the ship. He propped himself up against a boulder and proceeded to faint. The ship burst into flames. Kevin scurried away. The smoke snaked into the sky, signaling to the nearest outpost, Atlas Rock, that something was up.