Three years after he was shipped off in cryostasis, Andaros was awoken from suspended animation.

"He's awake, Doctor," a disappointed female voice said from outside the stasis pod.

Andaros looked to see a rather attractive female Rivanian standing there glaring at him. The well endowed, four breasted, mint-green skinned female with the flaring hips was obviously not happy to see he had survived stasis.

"Now, now Miss Verretra, there's no need for such hostility," a male voice answered. Here, Andaros saw a rather portly Devinian, a bit surprising since his race was usually thin as a rail.

"This bastard killed his own mother!"

"You know as well as I do that we are not paid to judge the convicts who are sent here," the apparently older doctor said.

"He was convicted!"

"Many people are convicted, and not all of them actually did what they were convicted for," the doctor told her, "and there are extenuating circumstances that are often not in the records. Could you be a dear and get four guards? They need to chain him up. Even if he may not be truthfully guilty, it's better to be safe than sorry."

"As you wish, Doctor," the woman answered, leaving the room shortly after.

After his nurse had left the room, the doctor addressed him. "You can come out now," he said as he turned to one of his monitors, "I unlocked the stasis pod door, so you only need to push the door forward and it'll do the rest of the work for you. Make yourself at home while my assistant is getting the guards to lead you to your new home."

Andaros did as instructed and pushed. Soon the door opened upward, and he cautiously stepped down onto the grate in front of the stasis pod. Looking around, he saw an examination table nearby and sat down on it without a second thought. The good doctor visibly relaxed as he heard the sanitary cover crinkle, but Andaros completely missed this fact as he wasn't looking toward him.

Andaros didn't know this, but this moment practically determined the way he would be treated for the entirety of his stay on the planet. Had he attacked the doctor, like many convicts would very possibly have, his life would likely have ended there as the doctor didn't like those who would kill their own parents as he was said to have done. As it was, this moment was a test for the boy, a way to determine what kind of person he really was. With this, the doctor was willing to give him a chance. He decided to watch and question Andaros, who despite his furious look, appeared to be quite an honest individual if you watched his eyes carefully.

After Andaros sat down, the doctor addressed him once again. "You'll have to forgive my assistant. She is new, and pays too much heed to galactic news," the rotund man told him.

"I-i-i-it's o-o-o-okay."

"I thank you. I don't mean to be rude, but may I ask whether you did what they say," the gentleman asked out of apparent curiosity.

"N-n-n-no S-s-s-sir," Andaros looked toward the doctor, and answered a little bitterly.

"Oh dear, forgive me for forgetting to introduce myself. I am Doctor Skaelvaer Gliediv. Let me see if I can understand your circumstances from what I have observed thus far," the doctor told him.

"You suffer from a stuttering issue you are very self-conscious about, judging by the grimace you gave after each time you finished speaking. You have naturally angry looking features and a large, well-muscled build, which has a tendency to make you look like a thug to those around you. These two things combined caused you to frequently be misunderstood. You often got in trouble for things others did, and people took your silence as an admission of guilt. Based on your look a moment ago, you expect me to not believe you, just like everyone else, but your eyes show conviction that you indeed did not do so. Therefore, I would postulate that you are, indeed, not guilty. Did I get everything right?"

Andaros nodded, and the man couldn't help grinning.

"I'll have to have my assistant teach you a bit of sign language so you can communicate a bit easier," he said. "Also, I'll see if I can get the warden to look into your case."

"Th-th-th-thank y-y-y-you," Andaros replied gratefully.

"Sir, we're . . . What the hell! Why is this bastard out here!" The woman was furious as she noticed the situation.

"Because I let him out," Dr. Gliediv replied calmly. "As you can see, there was no issue at all with this young man."

"AS I CAN SEE?! AS I CAN SEE?! I TOLD YOU TO STOP DOING THIS CRAP! YOU KNOW IT'S DANGEROUS! HE KILLED HIS OWN MOTHER FOR GOD'S SAKE!"

Andaros happened to agree that doing something like this without the guards around was dangerous, but that didn't mean that her words concerning him were not hurtful.

"Enough! Nothing happened, and the boy was quite obedient," Doctor Gliediv answered unhappily. "The chains won't be neccessary, he's quite well behaved," he instructed the four guards. "Get him into some clothes, and escort him over to the orchard."

"Yes Doctor!" The guards led Andaros out in his hospital patient styled gown immediately.

-----

After the four had left with Andaros, the man faced his assistant, watching her carefully. She couldn't help squirming uncomfortably at this.

"Miss Verretra, I'll have to trouble you to teach him some sign language, at least enough he can get by. He has quite the case of stuttering, and is very self-conscious about it," he finally told her.

"What, why?! He killed his mother!"

"Because, I judge that he is telling the truth when he tells me he did not do it," he answered her perfunctorily. "Now, do me a favor and go get him situated, while I request an inquiry into the case. Teach him dilligently, and give him the benefit of the doubt, please. Have some men bring in furniture, and I insist you stay in the villa until he is capable of carrying on a decent conversation in sign."

The woman sighed after a moment of wrestling with herself. "Fine, but if anything happens to me, I'll haunt you 'til the day you die," she answered.

"It won't."

"How can you be so certain," she asked, not convinced.

"Over the many years I have been working here I have seen countless criminals pass through these halls," he answered. "After a long time, you get a feel for who is a true criminal and who is not, for who has committed a crime and who has not. I've learned to read when someone is lieing through a number of clues, despite the deceptions they may try to use, and that boy was not lieing when he answered me. Despite how disagreeable his looks may be, he is quite an agreeable child by my estimation."

"What are you, the Earthlings' Sherlock Holmes?"

"Wouldn't that make you Watson," he responded with a mischievous smile.

"I prefer to think of myself as Watson's granddaughter," she replied dryly, "it fits a bit more I should say."

"Fair enough." The good doctor just shrugged at her hidden jab, and didn't bother retaliating. "Off you go, I've important business to attend to."

"As you wish, Sir."

After his assistant left the room, a feral grin spread across the doctor's face. "Have the boy's case investigated. I want to know who was responsible for this," he said to the empty air.

"Yes Sir!"

"Hmph, they dare to send an innocent into my prison. I'll make them wish they had never crossed me," he said, revealing row upon row of sharp predatory teeth this time as he spoke.

There were two things the "doctor" absolutely hated, when people looked down on him, and when they perverted justice. Those who dared do either of those two things, whether within his presence or not, tended to disappear. His "people" would, of course, verify whether he was actually responsible for the crime he was accused of, but that was a mere formality as far as the doctor was concerned. The real question was which dumb bastard dared to pervert justice and had the gall to send an innocent boy to his prison.

"*Sigh* There isn't much I can do about his conviction now, but perhaps I can use him for that plan. . . On the plus side, there's an honest boy around her age here now," he said after a bit of thought, "Perhaps I can hitch them up." At this, the look on the doctor's face turned into a pleasant grin, but soon turned to a scowl. "Otherwise I could never face my old friend from his grave."

-----

Andaros was led out of the massive fortress and over to . . . an orchard, surprisingly enough. It looked to hold something like hybrid apple and cherry trees, of all things, and was somewhat well maintained. Within the center of the orchard was a large clearing which housed a rather impressive villa. The building seemed to be in a bit of disrepair, but seemed sturdy enough. After leading him into the foyer, the four guards warned him to remain within the orchard's boundaries, then left.

Andaros stood there blanky. For him it was only a week after his trial concluded, and two weeks after his mother's death. The grief of the past two weeks was still heavily weighing on his shoulders as he stood there.

"You trying to grow roots?" A pleasant female voice spoke up from behind him after an indeterminate amount of time, causing the boy to turn around. "Not happy to see me, huh," she asked a bit grumpily after a moment, to which he clumsily waved his hands around as he tried to indicate this was not the case.

The woman actually giggled at his panicked response, displaying a smile that caused him to become slack-jawed in shock at the complete change in treatment she showed him. She laughed all the more charmingly at his shocked face.

"That's a good look for you," she told him as she continued to giggle. "Pick a room for yourself already, it's been two hours since the guards informed the director that you had been dropped off."

"I-I-I-I th-th-th-thought y-y-y-you h-h-h-hated m-m-m-me," Andaros said in confusion.

"Luckily for you, the doctor believes you're innocent, or I definitely would," she told him meaningfully. "If he says you're innocent, it's highly likely that you are. But if you try to do anything to me . . . Wait, how old are you anyway?"

"S-s-s-sixteen."

"REALLY! I thought you were older," she replied, now showing shock herself.

Andaros just shook his head in answer, not sure what to even say to that.

"Well, choose a room on the second level for yourself while I get some supplies sent over for the two of us. I'm stuck here until I can teach you sign language," she instructed and informed him. I'll be he's still a virgin, she thought secretly.

"I-i-i-is th-th-th-that o-o-o-okay?"

"It doesn't really matter, it was the instructions I was given," she explained. "How are you with household repairs?"

"I-I-I-I'm g-g-g-good w-w-w-with e-e-e-electronics a-a-a-and p-p-p-plumbing, b-b-b-but n-n-n-not s-s-s-so m-m-m-much w-w-w-with w-w-w-woodwork," he replied reluctantly.

"I'll get some men to repair the doors and windows on the villa and check the roofing then, but I'll need you to take a look at the solar panels on the roof and the wind turbine generators," she told him. "Do you think you can handle checking the wiring in the building?"

"Y-y-y-yes," he replied. The house he and his mom had shared on Meracene had used old fashioned wiring rather than a wireless power transfer array, so he was quite experienced with repairing and maintaining wiring, and insulating it when needed.

"Well then, I'll be outside waiting for the workers. Pick out your room while we're waiting," the woman instructed.

Now that Andaros was left to himself once again, he found himself overwhelmed by grief, but trudged his way up the stairs slowly despite this. Doing something was better than letting the sadness eat away at him, so he forced himself to make his way up the worn staircase, and onto the second floor. Following one of the two halls, he looked into the rooms on each side, finding a library, and a study on one side of the hall, while the other side contained several rooms containing different types of work benches.

Returning to the stairs, he travelled down the other hall, finding the bedrooms he was looking for within. All of the bedrooms seemed to have their own washroom, and a personal bookshelf, as well as some additional shelving. From what he could tell, the woodwork was in good order, not betraying it's age. Someone, or something, must have been maintaining the building until fairly recently.

Andaros chose to leave the largest and most ornate bedroom to Miss Verretra, and actually chose the smallest bedroom for himself. Even with the room's small size when compared to the other bedrooms, it was still far larger than his bedroom on Meracene had been. Thinking of Meracene brought memories of his mother, and of the day he found her murdered, flooding back to him, and Andaros sat down heavily against one of the walls, tears flowing down his cheeks.

Andaros just sat there with his arms wrapped around the knees he brought up to his chest for a good hour before he finally recovered himself somewhat. Eventually he began to sing in a hauntingly beautiful tenor, making up the song on the spot.

I look around trying to see your face, But your presence is missing from this place. My heart has always relied on you, To help me survive, to see me through. Wish you were here, Wish you were here. Wish you were with me in this place, But now your gone without a trace. My heart is burdened with these tears, Unspoken words, and endless fears. Wish you were here, Wish you were here. Crying out, but you can't hear, Wishing I could see your face. Your smile that once comforted, Loving arms wrapped around me. Wish you were here, Wish you were here. And now you're gone away from me, Can't bring you back, and I can't see. What should I do, where should I turn, To find the path that I should take. I do not know what to do, What should I do, what can I do? Wish you were here, Wish you were here. I'll be fine, I'll face the world, I'll cast aside my endless fears. I realize it won't be easy, I Realize it will be hard. I will not run, I will not hide, But still I wish you were here. Wish you were here, Wish you were here.

-----

Reiya Verretra heard the hauntingly beautiful singing coming from the villa, and found herself wondering where it was coming from. Her heart refused to believe it was coming from that boy, who would sing in such a longing voice after slaughtering his mother? She could only imagine someone who was innocent doing so, and she still didn't really believe he didn't do it despite the doctor's opinion on the matter. She curiously entered the building, and followed the voice up the stairs and to the right.

Locating the room the voice was coming from, she walked down the hall. The song ended when she was halfway down the hallway, but she continued on to that room. Looking inside, the only one she found within the room was Andaros. He was sitting with his back towards the wall, his arms wrapped around his knees, and tears streaming down his face as he stared toward the floor of the room. Looking at him, it was obvious that Andaros wasn't actually seeing the floor.

Seeing this sight, and having heard his song, truthfully changed the opinion Reiya had toward him. Previously she had treated him politely in an attempt to lessen any grudges Andaros may have toward her while she was forced to live together with him. She still hadn't believed in his innocence, but now she found herself believing he truly had not commited the crime he was accused of. She found herself thinking that any man who could compose such a requiem for his mother was unlikely to have been the culprit behind her death.

It was still unnerving that his face always appeared angry, but watching him she found that his facial features were quite handsome now that her belief in his guilt and innocence had changed. Before she knew it, she began to move forward to comfort him.

-----

Memories flashed across Andaros's mind. Memories of the times his mother disciplined him, but also memories of all the times she comforted him.

Maria Terasien was by no means always hard on him, she practiced tough love, but was quite fair. In fact, when it didn't come to public perception, she could even be considered lenient. She adored her only son, and despite not being able to provide him with the latest and greatest, she provided him with the one thing every child really needs, love. Whenever she was at home she always had time for her son, and would spend hours helping him to understand his school subjects, and work on various projects.

His mother was the only parent he had so it fell on her to teach him about life, but she never once complained about raising him by herself. She made sure he understood about life, and taught him how to maintain their house, and what amenities they could afford. It was from her that he gained his knack for electronics, and from her he learned common sense and kindness to others.

Andaros's thoughts were interrupted as he felt a gentle touch on his shoulder. He looked up to find the doctor's assistant, Miss Verretra standing there with concern covering her face.

"I'm sorry," she told him, "Sorry for the way I acted earlier, and for my words. Do you think we could start over?" She wasn't afraid to admit when she was wrong. After seeing him nod, she introduced herself. "My name is Reiya Verretra, pleased to meet you Mister Terasien," she said, extending a hand toward him.

"U-u-u-um, A-A-A-Andaros," he replied clumsily taking that hand and giving it a few slight shakes.

"What was she like? If you don't mind me asking that is."

Andaros hesitated or a minute, mainly because of his stuttering and how long it would take him to tell her anything. After a long moment of silence, he began to speak in his halting voice.

"M-M-M-Mom w-w-w-was th-th-th-the m-m-m-most c-c-c-caring w-w-w-woman I-I-I-I kn-kn-kn-knew . . ."

He began to haltingly tell her a great deal about his mother, and relate to her a number of stories of small things she had done for him. They were things most teenagers and children would forget, or completely miss, but Andaros remembered in great detail and was very thankful to them.

One time, Andaros fell down the stairs and scraped up his knees and elbows very badly, he also earned himself a large bump on the head during the fall. Maria fretted over him for hours, cleaning and bandaging the wounds on his knees, elbows, and forehead, and making sure there was no further damage or trauma to her son.

Another time, she stayed up all day and night two days in a row while he was sick in bed, caring for him constantly while he suffered from a high fever.

Yet another time, she took him to a nearby zoo despite their tight funds. She spent the entire day explaining what various creatures were, where they came from, and what their various habits and survival mechanisms were. Andaros remembered seeing her carefully packing a lunch the night before which they ate that day, he related it in great detail.

For her part, Reiya listened attentively as Andaros spoke, not interrupting despite the long drawn out sentences, something Andaros greatly appreciated. She thoughtfully asked questions about various details and actively participated. She was amazed that someone with such a stuttering issue could be such an engaging storyteller.

Despite his issues speaking, Andaros enjoyed speaking to her. One particular memory caught Reiya's attention exceptionally well.

-----

That first day had been a balmy one, and as Andaros trudged along through the woods, he was covered in sweat before long. He and his mother were on a camping trip, and were stopping at several camping sites along the way to their destination and back. The coniferous forests of the northern hemisphere of Meracene were filled with lively wildlife and plants transplanted from old Earth, and Andaros was filled with wonder as they trekked along, despite the miserably hot weather.

The animals present on the planet where typical Earth animals, so one only needed to know how to handle such creatures in order to avoid danger. Thus, it was not difficult for Maria and her son to avoid too much danger. As they made their trek, Maria taught her son basic survival tactics and knowledge.

"See the trees? Notice how they always have moss growing on one side of them? That's because Meracene's star Gralvden is to the south when viewed from this hemisphere, that means that the shadows stay toward the north, and thus enough moisture is present on the northern side for the moss to grow there," she explained. "We can use this in order to find our bearings by being able to determine which way the equator is from our position. There are places where this trick cannot be used, but in general this is a viable tactic for determining your bearings when you are in a bind, and do not have access to a compass or GPS."

"Another useful fact has to do with these coniferous trees. The cones that give the trees their designations contain seeds during this season which can be harvested if you do not have food. For these pine trees, we call these seeds pine nuts."

"In fact, the trees of the forest offer protection and sustinence to a great many creatures. In particular, for our trip they will provide a place for us to store our food in order to avoid the probability of losing it to predators, and lessen the chance of predator attacks," she continued. These were all basic survival facts, but she continued explaining as they went along.

Maria taught Andaros how to recognize edible plants and berries, build a fire, hunt, clean, and prepare animals for consumption, and a great many other things on that trip. The best part of the trip was when they arrived at their destination, a crystal clear lake that had a wide, low waterfall draining into it. A great many deer and other animals congregated near the lake, and they stayed there for a week just observing the wildlife.

Not everything was fun and games however, during this trip Andaros learned to be wary of predators, he and his mother were stalked by a mountain lion. Luckily the beast was quite wary of them and never quite found the chance to attack within it's comfort zone, but it was still a harrowing experience all the same. Maria used a number of tricks to frighten the cougar away when it came too close, or there is no doubt the lives of the two would have ended during that trip.

Through all of his stories, one central theme stood out, the love and care Maria Terasien held for her son. She taught him how to survive, how to protect himself, and how to love. Any woman could have a child, but Maria Terasien showed herself to be a real mother.

-----

"She sounds like she was quite a woman," Reiya said after hearing out his stories, "I would have liked to get to know her. You really loved her didn't you?"

"I-I-I-I st-st-st-still l-l-l-love her," Andaros corrected, his voice filled with sadness. "I-I-I-I a-a-a-always w-w-w-will."

"Yeah. . . I wonder what's taking those guys so long, it's been eight hours since you began speaking," she said awkwardly. "I hope nothing bad happened involving the convicts, or the wildlife."

"Sh-sh-sh-should w-w-w-we g-g-g-go s-s-s-see," Andaros asked.

"It's probably a good idea," Reiya responded, "but we have to be careful, the wildlife here are quite ferocious. We don't usually have too much trouble with the convicts as a result, but there's still that possibility too."

"W-w-w-wildlife?"

"Yes, it's the reason the prison has such a high mortality rate, and why only those convicted of heinous crimes are sent here," she answered his question. "It's also the reason we're the only prison where the convicts are fairly well-behaved, and are allowed to carry arms, they're too busy defending themselves from the native animals to cause trouble. The orchard here is fairly safe, the beasts don't like the blossoms, but most of the prisoners' living areas come under daily attack. The guards and convicts have to work together in order to survive."

"Th-th-th-that b-b-b-bad?"

"Yeah, still want to go see?"

"Y-y-y-yes," Andaros replied with a nod. He got up, and determinedly headed toward the stairs.