Welcome to Gaia! ::

___An announcement boomed over the speakers of the laboratory building. All researchers and developers were to come to the main hall immediately. The swarm of people walking through the hallways to congregate made steady noises, until the rush of clicks filled the laboratories. A low murmur was heard steadily building into the excited rush fluttering among the speakers. Queries of what it was, if things were going on. Some attendants had brought their specimens and held them in tight arms. Was someone going to be taken away? Finally everyone congregated in the hallway, until the announcer told them to file into the large social room. Everyone was quiet now, taking their seats with a nervous feeling in each of their stomaches. At the very front there was a podium set up, Assistant Natsube was no where to be seen, and the researchers whispered anxiously.

___Researcher Uenoh'ai stood up from her chair and walked to the platform, holding her posture straight and delicately gripping the sides of the stand. The anxious whispers had gradually turned into frantic chattering, and the room was booming with titters and questions. Researcher Rabid was sitting near the front, her fruiting pot in her lap. Khomi was somewhere nearby, and Logan was not there at all. Uennie checked her watch and wrote something down in a file. The people who noticed her felt as though she was waiting for something, good or bad? Gradually the silence grew from few to all, as they all resumed their seats and looked up at the person at the front of the room solemnly. Uennie smiled at them and continued to check her watch casually. A feeling of relief settled like a cool rain upon the audience, everything seemed well and in-hand.

___Renault walked into the room, looking very calm as opposed to his normal cheer and clumsiness. As he walked through the aisles, everyone fell quiet. He was the highest researcher in rank besides Natsube and the legendary Dr. Gaia. Uenoh'ai smiled at her higher officer and held her hands out to his, shaking it gently. Assistant Natsube stepped out from a back room and took a seat behind the podium, smiling and waving at the many people there. Renault took his seat next to Natsube and she reached over, and took his hand reassuringly. Turning back to the front, Uennie cleared her throat and began to speak.
___"As we all know, Renault has been a treasured part of our research and staff for a very long time, since the beginning of the Vale. He has helped us with excellent upkeep and to always remember to smile about the importance and brilliance of our work. We have all become familiar with his specimen Mara, and her lovely zest for life-"
___As she said this, little Mara was led in by a man in a gas suit by the hand. Closely following behind was Eden, the first Vale specimen, though not very old and appearing to be younger than Mara. The people in their seats shifted uncomfortably. Why was that man in the suit? They looked at little Mara's face and some of the women burst into tears at her forlorn look. Eden seemed delightfully unawares as to what was going on, and he even began to skip slightly. Undaunted, Uenoh'ai continued her speech.
___"Renault has decided to take leave from us, and in doing so, Mara will now technically be homeless. As is typical of all Vale specimens when they do not have enough affection or care in their life, they wither, and these children die. This brings me to why Eden is also here, and it is obvious."

___The man led Mara and Eden into a glass chamber. He seemed to've told them to hold hands and step up into a tube just big enough for the both of them. Eden didn't seem to understand, but things had been explained to Mara and she smiled very bravely as she held Eden and walked in. The man in the suit reached into the tube and pulled down two respirator attachments, gently placing them onto Mara and Eden's mouths. The front to the tube zoomed closed and everyone watched as Mara comforted Eden gently.
___"Renault's pass will be deactivated immediately, and he will never be able to access his laboratory again. He is though, welcome back at the lab to visit at any time, so please feel free to say hello and smile as always." Uennie's voice seemed strained as she tried to keep her eyes off of the children. They heard Eden begin to cry, he didn't like his tube. No one could really blame him. Everyone held their specimens closer as they watched.
___"This is what happens when you leave the Vale, or neglect yours. They die, they are not little tools or items you can leave unattended. They are just like children and need loving and nuturing. No amount of fertilizer can revive them. We have developed a system which will allow us to preserve them so they do not die. This is a state of comatose, they will be completely unconcious and unaware of their surroundings. Failure to attend to this immediately will result in your specimen being revoked with no questions asked. Renault, your pass please." She held her hand out to him. He reached into his pocket and gently passed it to her. Inserting it into a small device a swipe went past it and a laser quickly flashed on the barcode. Uenoh'ai handed it back to him as she smiled at him and turned to the front, again.

___A nod from Uennie told the man to begin. Eden became frantic as a titian-coloured substance began to fill up the tube. It rose slowly, until it enveloped their bodies and they began to float. Mara held onto him, and he appeared to become very sleepy. Very soon Mara began rubbing her eyes until they both curled up with each other and fell asleep. The man pressed a button and a large flash enveloped them. When it disappeared and the spots began to fade away, he removed the capsule from the glass cubicle and gently pushed it into a hollow opening in the wall until it locked in place. Everything was still, you couldn't even see if they were breathing anymore. Suddenly an automated hole in the ground opened and the pod was rushed down underground, carrying the two specimens with it.
___"Please use this experience you have witnessed as a warning and guideline from henceforth on." Uennie said softly. Renault stood up and hugged Natsube and Uenoh'ai briefly before going down the steps of the platform. Researchers stood up and shook his hand, wishing him farewell and good luck. He left the room and went to the elevator exit. Everything was quiet, and the minute sound of him typing in his final code was heard, and the boom of bars and doorways closing in his faraway laboratory faded into the room. The doors to the elevator opened and his footsteps tapped slowly in.
___"Good-bye, Researcher Renault." The automated voice echoed, and he was gone.

___Uenoh'ai walked slowly through the Laboratory, holding her ID Card beneath the several laser locks to open her desired doorways. She checked her watch and held her hands in front of herself. Her foot tapped methodically and she watched the tiles. Some had chipped slightly, and were becoming worn from the constant wear of people's strolls. As the approval ring sounded she reached forward and hit a glowing button. The whirring of working mechanics echoed in the lonely room and she waited for the elevator to veer into place. Far away in the back of her mind she heard a piano start to play. The cold steel doors opened and she stepped in. The temperature dropped immensely as they closed again, and she slid her sunglasses up on top of her head as the elevator shot down the shaft. She stood there in silence, watching her breath materialize in front of her before vanishing into the cold. A fluorescent light lit up above her head, and the doors opened. She took a step down and steadied herself on a nearby rail.

___She hated stairs, more than anything. She'd fallen down so many as a child that she had a slight phobia about them. The memory of her shins banged up and lacking a dermis made her shudder horribly. Out of all her body her legs and hands had suffered the most damage. She thanked her clumsiness and the constant issues of being thrown or scraped off of horses for the many scars. Her heels hit the metal stairs with a resounding clarity. As she slowly made her way down the single flight, she sighed with relief as she reached the ground. Her heart always slammed into her stomach when she was at the last step, as if something could go terribly wrong on that last reach down. It was silly, but something she had dealt with for a long time so it didn't exactly bother her, or not so much anymore. She made a face and steadied herself again, before walking swiftly to a control panel. The platform she was on shook, and she widened her arms to steady her body. She had forgotten that if she moved too fast the cables would break and send the entire area down into the second basement. She inched her way over to the panel and began to type, sending her fingers dancing over the keys.

___The plasma flickered and glowed a bright white before settling into the usual processing screen. She hit the enter key and a noise was heard down below, and the loud grinding of a capsule behing pushed up to the platform edge was heard. A countdown voice sounded in a monotonous baritone. The capsule door opened and two very confused Vale appeared. Reaching her hand out Uennie grasped Eden's palm and gently helped him step down. Mara looked at her with hopeful eyes and reached her hand out too, but Uennie shook her head sadly and leaned close to kiss her on the forehead gently. Mara bit her lip and nodded, pulling her hand back down to her side. Uenoh'ai sighed softly and closed the capsule door again. She reached over and hit another key, and watched as the liquid began to fill the capsule and Mara fell asleep again. With another click the machine removed the pod and rushed it back down into the freezing temperatures. The Researcher entered a code into the computer and gently picked the groggy Eden up in her arms. She carried him slowly up the stairs, checking her balance every few steps. When she reached the elevator she waved her ID Card under the scanner and initiated the lockdown.

___The low booming voice of the computer bid her farewell, and she held Eden in her arms as the doors closed around her again. He started to shiver, and she knew she couldn't blame him. She held him as close as possible and felt the elevator shake before shooting up the shaft again. She quietly thought of Mara, and began to wonder what to do with her. She paused for a moment and watched the elevator open, her head losing its dizzy feeling from the fast ride up. Mara needed a home, she couldn't stand seeing a look so sad on the face of any child, specimen or not. In the back of her mind she began to organize a way to find Mara a new Researcher. She headed into her office and wrapped Eden up in a blanket. Picking up her phone she hit the option for announcement and spoke into the mouthpiece loudly.
___"Eden has been cleared for pick-up. You will find him in my office adjacent to Laboratory Three." She set the phone down on the receiver with a clack but then picked it up again. "Also, congratulations to Kyocho and Alinedra. You have passed into Rank 2 and become our new Greenhouse Helpers!"
___Uennie set the phone down again and pulled her sunglasses back over her eyes, the adjustment from almost complete dark to light taking its toll. Eden made a soft noise and she reached into her bag lunch and handed him her thermos of soup. He sipped it delicately and she smiled and ruffled his hair affectionately, waiting for his Researcher to come pick him up.