I glance at the terrariums crowding the lab floor, but choose not to look closer. I don’t feel up to the task yet of taking stock of our experiments. If the pattern holds, the grey decay will have advanced again during the night.
Fatigue overwhelms me, and I slump back, pressing my hands against my face as I squeeze my eyes closed, refusing my tears an exit. It must have looked great on paper, sending out scientist couples to investigate the viability of exoplanet colonies. We called our assignment on Kapteyn b our second honeymoon among the stars. The perfect couple: Joel, the exobiology/physics double PhD, and me, Olivia, the botanist/engineer.
Only thing is, they forgot to include a marriage counselor.