I don't know where to start, the garden or the animal reproduction, and neither does Eve. We have work to do, that much we know, but how or what to do remains unclear. I suggest we begin with the simplest tasks and then worry about the difficult ones later. Tomorrow. Maybe never. That's when my brain brightens with a thought. We retracted the floor. Why not the roof? Standing in the lab room where I'm supposed to examine and catalog soil samples and any rocks I dig up from the garden, this decision becomes the obvious next step.

While Eve snoops around in the storage-supply room next to the Animal Barn, I inspect the laboratories. Anything we've learned so far has come by asking Jinx questions. As long as it furthers the mission directives and Abraham doesn't deem it classified as something we don't need to know, he complies. That's how I knew where to store the rock and soil samples.

I decide to call this room, the Rock Lab, though I don't have a clue how to examine any samples I might gather. I'll worry about that later. Simple things first.

"Jinx?"

"How may I help you?"

"Let's retract the roof."

"Again, there are risks involved because of the restricted zone, but according to my estimation, sunlight is mission critical."

My lower lip puckers out as I nod. "That's good. But I guess you can't discuss those risks with us?"

"That would violate my directives."

"Of course."

I tick the seconds off in my head; Jinx moves fast. By the time I count to three, the motorized sound of the habitat's roof retracting grumbles overhead.

Nothing happens at first, but then a crack of daylight splits through the narrow gap as it opens. I do a double-take. I didn't expect the skylight to affect the laboratories.

Soon, the brilliant rays of the sun bring light to the Rock Lab.

The hab's A-frame roof inclines at a slight angle from the sides up to the highest point to allow rain to runoff. It's tinted. I consider the reasons for a polycarbonate skylight in the labs. Maybe to conserve power? Or in case of power failure we could continue working? That makes me wonder where the habitat gets its electricity?

But that's not my primary concern today.

Since touchdown a few hours ago, we've eaten another freeze-dried meal. It's not bad, but I yearn for something more satisfying. Actual food.

In our sleeping quarters, I rustle through the drawers under the bed and discover clothes several sizes too small for me. But on the other side, I find a pair of gray cargo pants and a white T-shirt that fits. I trade in my gravity boots for a pair of shoes with thick soles, and then set off for the garden.

I stride past Eve who's inside the Animal Barn's storage room, staring at a flat screen monitor that sets above a glass case with a round pedestal at its base.

"What's that?" I lean in the open doorway.

"Jinx says it's a 3D printer." She studies the screen, which displays row after row of instructions on how to use the device. "I haven't figured it out yet, and I'm not sure I need to until we fill the cages with animals." She whips her head in my direction. "Where'd you get the clothes?"

I smile because she's still wearing her gravity suit. "Under the bed in our sleeping quarters. I'm heading to the garden, see if I can grow anything. If I can figure out where to begin."

Eve goes back to fiddling with the 3D printer as I leave her behind. I'm not sure what she's thinking about making, but it's of little concern to me. She probably just wants to keep herself occupied.

Back in the garden area, I can't get over how the sun beams down, passing through the clear roof to the ground below. The polycarbonate doesn't have a dark tint in this section of the habitat. For good reason.

I study the terrain, the long grass and trees still flattened and half-dead from the impact of the landing. In a storage shed off to the side, I come across an arsenal of battery powered tools. They're all arranged in lines by type, secured to racks and connected to long bases. The most handy tool I find is a chainsaw with a push start button on the stock near the handle. It's already charged and ready for use. Within an hour, I've buzzed the small trees into manageable pieces in order to haul them out of the way and stack them like lumber. Each tree is as big around as my leg, so they may prove useful if I need to construct something later. The labor brings sweat to my brow, and I end up removing my shirt after it rings with perspiration. It seems reasonable so I think nothing of it. I go back to work with a mind to clear the garden to make growing crops possible.

In the shed, I find a pickaxe. Not how I imagined breaking up the earth. I'm overlooking something. There has to be a machine the designers intended for breaking up the ground. Like a tiller. With at least battery power.

I move to the center of the garden and wield the pickaxe in my hands. Turn the sharp point of the axe, take aim, and drive it into the grassy surface. It sinks into the dirt with ease. Rethinking my strategy, I twist the long handle around and ready the wider tip for another swing. This time, the flat end rips into the ground, and when I yank it out, it dislodges a chunk of dirt. The consistency is damp. I lean toward calling it mud, but it's dry enough to walk on without sinking down.

With the sun drawing more sweat from my brow, trickling down my back and chest, I whale at the ground, busting it up and fanning it out as I go. My progress forms a long planting row for the garden.

I stop and swipe the back of my hand across my forehead. "Jinx? Where are the seeds?"

"They're in the Agriculture Lab." The voice comes from a speaker on the wall next to the garden entrance. "There's a computerized dispenser that holds all the crop seeds in sterile, individual bins."

"Can I change the name of the laboratory to something like Farm Lab?"

"Farm Lab, it is."

"Thanks."

I take a few minutes to lengthen my row from thirty to fifty feet. With that done, I sling the pickaxe to the ground and head back toward the Animal Barn. The air is slightly cooler in this section of the hab. I pace toward the storage room and encounter Eve. She appears around the corner, carrying a bucket and a scoop with a short handle.

"Guess you got that printer to working?" I ask.

She halts in her tracks, startled by my appearance. Her chin sags, and her mouth parts as her eyes trace over my chest and abs.

She swallows an awkward lump, and so do I. She's wearing a white tank-top and gray cargo shorts. Her clothes aren't that revealing, but I've never seen this much of her. Her bare shoulders catch my gaze and hold it for a few seconds.

"Yes," she finally says. "The printer. I got it going." She glances away, and then she turns back and looks at me, maintaining eye contact, unblinking. "Jinx gave me a list of things to make for feeding and watering the animals. Not that we have any animals yet, but I had to start somewhere." At last, she allows herself to blink.

"Good. Well. I need some seeds." I point toward the labs. Give her a quick grin and then hurry off, the weirdest jangle of nerves prodding me to leave as quickly as possible. When I glance back, I catch her sneaking a peek at me as I walk away. She turns her head when our eyes meet, and for some reason, it sends my heart to fluttering.

I feel the need to focus on what I set out to do. Seeds. The Farm Lab. That's it.

By trial and error, and with help from Jinx, pressing one tab after another, the automated dispenser spits out a packet of corn seeds. It's not much, but it's a start. I hustle out of the labs, passing Eve and the Animal Barn. She's in a cage. We glance at each other, fleetingly, but I continue on, leaving her behind. I can't get distracted like that again. I have work to do.

In the garden area, pushing Eve from my thoughts as best I can, I sow the corn and cover it up with dirt.

Afterwards, I stand there, admiring my handiwork until I realize I need water and I don't know how to hook up the water supply to the habitat. There's a river rushing underneath us and there's a faucet next to the toolshed. But when I cut it on, nothing comes out. I'm missing something again. I could ask Jinx, but I'm hot and tired. My arms and shoulders ache from swinging the pickaxe, and my mind feels overloaded after my encounter with Eve. I don't know what to think about her. I don't know what to say to her either. This is the oddest situation two people could find themselves in. But we're here, and we have to build a working relationship to increase our chances of survival.

Two is better than one. I have to believe that. It's the only thing that makes sense.

With my shirt on and daylight waning, I wander back to the Animal Barn where I find Eve sitting on her bucket, her head in her hands.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"I don't know the first thing about embryos and growing animals in a lab because I'm not a scientist, and definitely not a veterinarian. I don't know what I'm doing."

"Neither do I." I plop down next to her on the floor, my elbows resting on my knees. Shaking my head, I peer up at the skylight. As I watch clouds drifting by overhead, the curiosity of a child strikes me. "I wonder what it's like on the outside?"

"Me too." She looks up. "But we're not supposed to go outside. Abraham won't allow it, and only he knows the code to the hab's exit door."

"But what about the—" I cut myself off and jump to my feet. "Come on." I take Eve by the hand and lead her around to the backside of the animal enclosures. On the catwalk, we approach the river. It roars loud in the smaller space.

I cup my hands together and whisper in her ear. "Jinx shouldn't be able to hear us."

Eve pulls back and looks at me. Then turns her ear to me again.

"If Jinx suspects we want to leave the hab, he'll tell Abraham. I don't know what would happen, but they might try to stop us."

Eve nods. She understands.

"We don't have to do it now, but if we decide to, all we'd have to do is jump in the river. The current would do the rest. Hold our breath for a few seconds and we'd be free."

When I pull back, tension washes over me. Eve and I are close to each other. As I stare into her hazel eyes, I realize I like it. I enjoy being near her.

I want her to feel the same way.

After our visit to the river, we settle in for the night. In our living quarters, we breakout freeze-dried steak cubes and vegetables. While we eat, we sip water from pouches similar to what we had on the space ark. I finally broach the subject of the habitat's water supply to Jinx. He explains he's here to help, and in a matter of seconds, we have water to take showers. Hot water, even. The hab had its own source, after all. But it won't last forever. Eventually, we'll have to tap into the river. I'll have to run pipes and pump it into the filtration system.

Day one had some highs and lows. Mostly frustrations.

I offer Eve our bed to sleep in. My plan is to take a bunk in one of the smaller rooms. As I walk away, I cut off the light, casting us in darkness.

I'm about to exit when Eve says, "I want you to stay."

My feet tangle up, and I catch myself on the door frame.

"I don't want to be alone."

"Okay."

"That doesn't mean what you're thinking." The lack of light reveals her silhouetted figure in the dark, and her voice has a firmness to it, but it's a soft edge. 

"I'm not thinking anything."

"Good. Just lie beside me and let's go to sleep."

A few minutes later, I feel myself nodding off when she scoots over close enough that I feel the slightest touch of her next to me. I hear her breathing, and soon both of us drift away, spending our first night on Earth.