** =+= YEARS EARLIER =+= **

“Honey, I’m home,” called out McKenzie as he swam through the front door of his underwater house.

His wife, Mera, called out, “good day?”

“Busy day,” McKenzie replied, “my team’s been halved, some kind of virus that’s wiping out the air breathers. I am working with the Docs to work out what’s happening to my colleagues. We think it is only the air breathers that are in danger of the virus, that it isn’t transferable to us, but we aren’t taking any chances. The non Atalans are being separated from us, I’ve been named second in charge of the Federation task force planetside and we’re not permitting any more arrivals.”

“Oh,” Mera answered, “sorry to hear that, but at least you’ve gotten a promotion out of it.”

“Yeah, I know,” McKenzie said, “they can have the promotion, I can do without the headache of it. Let’s eat out, let me be a husband and father instead of a Scientist.”

“Kids,” McKenzie called out, “we’re going out for dinner, formal scales.”

TBC

• XO