Ratchet clutched tightly to the round of bread and hunk of meat he'd managed to swipe from the farm settlement he squatted near. It had been about five years since his pod had crashed here, and already he was an outcast as a non-contributing orphan on a bootstrap Agro planet. Every morsel he was able to get to eat was either stolen or hunted, and both were precious and not to be wasted. While the meat was from a hunt, the bread was stolen, and he needed to get far away from the settlement before anyone caught him with it. Clutched in his tail was a bottle of nano-milk, even more precious in its own right and the main reason the settlers were chasing him now.

Spying a small cave entrance, he leapt for it, tossing his meat and bread into the air as he scrabbled with his hand-claws to widen the hole enough for him to squeeze through. He pulled his tail and the nano-milk in just in time to stick his hands back out to catch the bread and meat, pulling them in, leaving no trace he'd ducked in. He chuckled to himself as the settlers raced by. "That's what you get for selling my pod for scrap," he muttered darkly as he moved deeper into the cave, his feline eyes letting him see clearly in the exceptionally faint light.

As he lifted the meat to his mouth to take a bite, he realized that the light was pink. "…that's odd…" Curiosity proved to be stronger than hunger, and the six year old made his way slowly towards the source of the light.

As he approached, the light grew brighter, occasionally flaring as though electricity was sparking. This caused a more cautious approach, since he knew electricity to be dangerous unless tamed, and the few tools he'd managed to swipe from the settlement just weren't enough to make him confident in his ability to tame whatever this was. Still, he shifted meat and bread to the same hand while reaching to the pocket of his baggy trousers – also stolen, and the only clothes he had for himself – to pull out his screwdriver, his preferred tool/weapon for just about any situation. This would either be a machine he could attempt to fix or scavenge for parts, or a creature he could kill for extra meat…or a robot he'd have to defend himself from, but that was unlikely.

Turning a corner in the cavern, he froze as he caught sight of the source of the light. A crack ran along one wall of the cavern, glowing with pink sparking light that seemed to be barely contained. Even as he stared, the crack seemed to seal itself up, leaving only an angry sounding voice muttering in a language he didn't understand. Ratchet decided that whatever this was, he wanted nothing more to do with it. Turning, he moved to rush all the way back to the other end of the cavern…only to pause as he heard a sniffle.

Turning back, he saw two figures hunched against the wall opposite the crack. Both had very pale, almost white skin and shocks of pink hair on their heads. One was small and wispy, while the other was bulky. Both were less than half his size and the larger one seemed to be trying to comfort the smaller one.

Kids, Ratchet thought to himself. Looks like another couple of off-world orphans, just like me. Well, they can expect to get the same treatment I did… He frowned as he thought back to those early days after his arrival on Veldin. How he'd fought to try and keep his pod – the only thing he had to know who he was and where he came from – fought for every scrap of food, and fought to keep from being a target of the other youngsters' scorn and disdain…only to be cast out of the settlement after losing everything. Going wild, discovering he could easily circumvent any security measure the settlers used to secure their resources, and finding he could easily hide where they could never reach him, or never think to look. A harsh, unpleasant life that left him rather cynical. Good luck to these two trying to emulate me, he thought to himself.

A soft sniffle echoed in his ears. Getting a better look at the figures and getting a whiff of them, he realized the smaller one was female. The little girl was on the verge of tears as she clutched at her belly, the larger male desperately trying to comfort her.

Ratchet stared at the tableau for a time, still not having been observed. …they won't make it, he finally determined. There's no way they can survive on their own. He started to turn away again, deciding it wasn't his problem…but couldn't.

They're just like me, he told himself. Alone on a world not their own and outcast by anyone who might care for them. They look even more out of place here than I do, and I doubt they'd survive the sun without help if they're that pale, let alone any other hazards.

It's hard enough just getting food for me! he countered hotly. How am I supposed to feed three?

And can you live with yourself if you turn your back on them? he demanded of himself. If you prove to be no different than the farmers you so despise?

The little girl whimpered something softly that sounded like a word as she reached up towards the boy, who grabbed her hand. He responded in the same language, plainly promising her something…probably to take care of her.

Ratchet sighed to himself. I'm probably going to regret this. He stepped out of the shadows and walked towards them. "Hey," he called out gently, trying not to frighten the pair.

Both spun to look at him. The girl looked afraid. The boy suppressed fear to look belligerent. He shifted to stand between Ratchet and the girl, his surprisingly large fists balled defensively.

Ratchet paused, holding up the bread. "Hungry?" he asked curiously. When this caused no reaction, he brought the bread to his mouth and took a small bite. Chewing, he swallowed before holding the rest of the round out to the boy.

The boy stared at the round of bread for a time, slowly and carefully edging towards Ratchet. When he was in reach, he snatched the round out of Ratchet's hand and dashed back to the girl, breaking off a small piece and trying to feed it to her. The girl tried to eat, only to cry as the bread fell out of her mouth, seeming to have difficulty chewing for some reason.

Sighing, Ratchet shifted to hold the nano-milk out with his tail. As much as he relished what for him was a rare treat, the little girl plainly needed it more than he if she was that weak. The boy took the bottle and – after a bit of fumbling – held it to the girl's lips so she could drink. She drank a third of the bottle before she was strong enough to eat some of the bread.

Ratchet squatted down and scooted closer. "So who are you?" he asked curiously. When they simply stared blankly at him, he groaned and shook his head. "Guess I have to try a different approach." He put his hand to his chest. "Ratchet." He gestured to the boy.

The boy blinked at him for a time, then finally responded, "Prog."

Ratchet moved his hand to the girl. "Prog," she confirmed in a soft, quiet voice.

Ratchet blinked. "Huh, must be a family name. Guess they're siblings. But not what I was hoping for." He gestured to both children, drawing a circle around them with his hands. "Prog," he stated firmly. He then made a circle around himself indicating no one else, then crossed his arms in negation. He once again gestured to himself. "Ratchet."

"Vendra," the girl piped up before Ratchet could gesture, showing she was quick on the uptake.

"Neftin," the boy added, catching on almost as quick.

Ratchet smiled. Well, they're pretty quick. Shouldn't be that long before we're communicating normally. He glanced between them. "You two brother and sister?" he asked, hoping to get confirmation.

Neftin frowned, plainly trying to parse out what Ratchet was asking. Vendra apparently was much quicker in thought. Taking Neftin's hand, she said something in their language immediately followed by "Brother" quite firmly.

Neftin blinked, then said a different word in their language. "Sister?" he added, more uncertain than Vendra had been. Vendra nodded confirmation.

Ratchet smiled as he scooted closer. "Well, glad to see language shouldn't be a problem for too long," he declared, settling down beside them and taking a bite of his meat. Noticing the pair staring, he sighed and tore the meat into thirds. "Here," he said finally, giving them each a third.

Neftin responded by drinking half the remaining nano-milk before handing the bottle back to Ratchet. He then tore the round of bread into thirds, giving Vendra the middle third with the least crust and handing Ratchet the third he'd taken a bite out of to explain 'hungry'.

Ratchet smiled as he stuffed his meat into the bread to eat, chugging the nano-milk with pleasure. "We're going to take care of each other from now on, okay?" he offered. "We don't belong here, and everyone else here is going to make a point of letting us know that. I'm used to it. But as long as we stick together, we'll show them, okay?"

Neftin frowned, his lips forming around words, shaping things Ratchet had said. Vendra placed a hand on his and said something in their language. They shared a smile before they each took one of Ratchet's hands. "Brother," they stated firmly.

Ratchet's smile turned softer as he blinked away tears. "Yeah…I'm your brother now," he confirmed. Huh, whadda ya know? I have a family now…