It’s little things that make you homesick.

Right now it’s a dark room lit with backlight and amber. Filters on the lights send shadows flickering across the walls, dark upon dark. Climate controls raise the humidity, incense adds the tang of the forests. All I need is a wav of crissl calls and I’ll be home.

I am saved from self pity as Davy storms in the door, waving a copy of my Intention. His hair has deepened to blue-black and his eyes dance madly with golden sparks.

“This isn’t a game!”

I refrain from answering. Once Dayv gets going there’s no point in trying to reason with him. Just like the rest of his Line. I make a mental note to the computer to resubmit my theory on genetic personality defects.

“Have you really sunk so low? To work for them is bad enough, but to hunt for them?” He throws the Intention at me, scattering the papers across the room. “I though your Line had more honor than that!”

“Maybe we don’t.” Nothing is quite as satisfying as forcing other Lines to remember that we refuse to play by their rules. Just because they see themselves as above working with the humans doesn’t mean the rest of us have to suffer. My Genefather was an adventurous soul and his Line reflects that.

“Marc, I…” My creshe leader stops halfway in the door, apparently with his own copy of my Intention. With a single look, he sends Dayv storming out of the room. When we are alone he turns the same look on me.

“You’re an idiot.”

“It’s harmless fun.” I lean back in my chair and smirk. “He can’t touch me and he knows it.”

“I’m not talking about Davy.” He settles into one of the free chairs and suddenly looks very tired. “You know relations with Earth are already stressed, this little stunt of yours isn’t helping things. Why on Cryl would you want to kill people?”

“Technically they aren’t people. Chapter 1, line 1, ‘They rose from the Earth as one, stepping into the void and cleansing the Lines of flaws.’ I’m just taking the cleansing back to the source.”

“Which is exactly what we are trying to prevent!” Sa-Marc snapped, “This isn’t a game.”

“That’s what Davy said.”

“Did it ever occur to you that sometimes the other Lines are right?” He gave me a frustrated look. “Two of the Lines have put in requests to have you retested. The others aren’t more than a step behind.