The sad remains of the old ship was found, and only ONE other life pod of survivors. This one had a few teens, and two surviving adults. None of the other pods managed to jettison before the ship shuddered and blew apart. The bodies of all the dead were gathered, families kept together as much as possible if they were able to find out who belonged to which family, and the funeral was solemn. The other life pod's survivors were brought to the station to meet with Master Twii and the children, and learn about the world around them, and get proper care and therapy for their trauma.
@internutter/challenge-03222-h313-necessary-adjustments -- Fighting Fit
The wreck was almost like a Deregger ship made by the lowest bidders, in that it was amazing that the entire thing wasn't made of ductape[1] and cardboard. It was the greatest loss of life in Alliance History since a planetary polity refused to believe that their sun was going nova[2].
Only one other group survived. A life pod with older children and two rather small adults. All of whom now had a lifelong fear of enclosed spaces.
Twii moved their Dojo to a nearby planet so they didn't have to fret about split-second emergencies where the kids were far from a sleep niche[3]. You couldn't depressurise a planet, after all. And since it was a Havenworld, very little could harm them.
The shellshocked teens and adults came under their care as well, since Twii was the one with the most experience. Besides, they could speak the dialect and they were used to teaching.
Therapy sessions had to be scheduled on a calendar, because there was only so long one cogniscent could speak per day. Between those and meditation, the group of long-haulers managed to at least settle.
Worse and worse, their 'promised land' eventual goal had been eaten by a nova centuries ago. Whoever sent them off was probably trying to get rid of them. Such, unfortunately, was often the case with the generation ships.
The kids adapted to GalStand quickly, sopping up GalSimple and then the rest of the lexicon in a matter of weeks. The teenagers were shakier at it and the adults could manage a few rote phrases with effort. Brain plasticity should have been extended in the Human race a long time ago, but that was only Twii's opinion.
Accounts of the last moments of the Promise were jumbled, but the forensics agreed. Substandard ship with no micrometeor defenses? It only a matter of time. The Promise was broken, and thousands perished. Those who made it into the lifepods also suffered as they died, since they weren't maintained very well and leaked air the instant they launched.
Twii and the therapists had to work with Survivor Guilt as well as everything else.
Finally, once all the bodies were recovered, there came the question, "How do you bury your dead?"
The answer, "Under trees," made sense. They needed air and the mechanical systems had perished during time immemorial. Therefore, the sacred groves of the remembered, on this new world, would be all the same age.
Rows upon rows upon rows of sacred seedlings. People taking turns reading the names of the dead, so that the souls would not go into the cold dark, there to be lost forever. None of the survivors wanted the lost to go into the cold dark.
Here on the new world, they had sunshine and constantly fresh air. Here on the new world, they could remember those who had died. Here on this new world, they had a beginning mixed too thoroughly with an end.
They would never be the same, that was true. Hopefully, with guidance and a chance to breathe, they would grow.
[1] Over the intervening centuries, the debate between "duck tape" and "duct tape" heated up until it was finally resolved by melding the words together into a whole. And anyway, most people prefer gaffa tape.
[2] The histories tell us that they shot at any spacecraft attempting even a partial rescue of the planet's life forms, allegedly intelligent ones included.
[3] Alliance sleep niches are designed to become lifepods in case of sudden depressurisation. This way, the theory goes, nobody perishes because they were asleep.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / ridermai]
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