For Francesca, it was a freedom she didn't realize she needed. She had left the cave with Dana's permission to search for her sister Charlotte's vault.

  She remembered Dana's warning, "We will not be able to give you a Dowath escort, Dmoko has limited the use of Dowath help to only essential things. He may calm down, but for now, he's still spooked by us finding the spy Heather. "

  So alone, Francesca travels through the ruins and wastelands on a path that's usually safe.

  She feels the warm breeze flowing over her body and her Ponu physiology and Ponu suit, making her feel every touch, every sensation, from every blade of grass under her feet, to the wind blowing through her short, light brown hair. She feels as if nature itself is caressing her.

  This is the feeling she loves, of being a Ponu, one with nature. She does not fight the feeling like many of the women back in the cave; she embraces it. What she was before, she thinks, was fine, but this is so much better. What she was before the war, before the world ended, was a teacher. She enjoyed her classes. She enjoyed teaching children and seeing smiles on their faces.

  She had given all of that up for a chance at life. Her twin sister Charlotte convinced her to register for the Geeryo Project. It would be a chance to survive. At what cost? Servitude? A price worth paying, she thought. There were many who took their pride to the grave. Then there were others, like the cave Ponu. They knew what they signed up for, why now, she thought, are they acting like Geeryo was some big bad entity out to control them? If not for Geeryo, they would have all died in the war.

  She remembers San Francisco, what it used to be like. The nights at her sister's home, just her, her twin, and her brother-in-law, talking, having a drink or three, watching the lights illuminate the skyline and bay with the Golden Gate in the distance. She enjoyed seeing the transport ships at night leave from one side of the bay to the other. They looked like shooting stars in the night sky. Now all that was gone. She didn't want to see whatever was left of it; it would be too heartbreaking.

  She thinks about Kaela, who could be her only family left in the world. The chance of finding her was low. If she really was a scavenger, it would be suicide for a Ponu to enter their camp looking for her. Still, she wondered where Kaela was and hoped she was ok.

  She half expected her sister Charlotte to already be dead, but she had to know for sure. Kaela's presence had given her new hope. Lana had found out that Kaela is as closely related to Francesca as a niece or nephew. That only leaves one option, Charlotte. It was supposed to be impossible. Lana hated Geeryo but believed their technology was infallible, but maybe she was wrong. Maybe the cryo pod, which was supposed to perform microsurgeries on the Ponu, "re-write" their bodies, had failed. If Kaela existed, then maybe Charlotte was out there. They wouldn't look the same age anymore, Charlotte would have added at least as many years as Kaela's age. Regardless, she couldn't wait to see her twin.

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  She stopped by a lake. She'd like to imagine it as enchanted and herself as a magical creature. The fireflies that emerged nearby only enhanced that effect. They moved towards her and cast an effect as if she were sparkling. She felt as if nature itself was talking to her, embracing her as one with nature. This was life.

  The scavengers resist nature, she thinks with a frown. Maybe she would have also in her old life, but now, thanks to Geeryo, she longs to be one with it. She smiles.

  She hears the distant sound of music. "Yes," she thinks, she heard it was near here and that she might run into it on the way. A Vari village. The Vari were small humanoid creatures. To someone from Francesca's native time, they had a stunning resemblance to "Greys" you would see in UFO movies, only with more human-like eyes and wearing stitched rags for clothing.

  Apart from the Dowath who lived in the cave with them, the Vari were one of the few species that seemed to like the Ponu, that is, when the Vari were not scared of them, as they were with most creatures in this world. They were bullied by the Lizard Men, ignored as useless by the Sky Reapers, and thought of as pathetic by the Scavengers. To Francesca, they were just poor little creatures trying to survive in a world where everyone was bigger and scarier than they were. She could empathize.

  She walked into the village as their music played, their celebration, and those Vari who saw her immediately gave a cheer for their Ponu guest. She was offered food. One bold Vari took her hand and pulled her to the center of the village for a dance. She thought it was hilarious; he could only reach her chest on his tiptoes, but he tried and was courteous, kindness matters, she thought. She enjoyed a couple of dances and food, and then was on her way, leaving behind the Vari, content with their lives in nature.

  When she found Charlotte, she thought she would have to show her the village. She would like that.

  For the first stop in her search, she would make her way to Vault 20, the one Kaela said she was from. It was a long shot. Kaela, she was sure, was a scavenger. But maybe, just maybe, the vault number wasn't just pulled out of thin air. Perhaps Kaela and her parents had spent some time there when Kaela was a kid. Maybe that's how they survived for so long to have and raise a daughter.

  Or, maybe Kaela really did just pull a random number from the air. Either way, this was her only clue. If not Vault 20, then Vault 90. Whatever it takes.