At night Hertz always thought the city streets looked like Christmas. His father had told him about Christmas when he was very young. They had lived in a small town on St. Albans called Baxter. The legend, if it could even be called that, was an explorer known as Baxter was the first to venture to the planet and had founded a city. La-de-da-de-da. After a hundred years or so the settlers who had followed realized the climate wasn't going to get any better and left. Baxter, once on its way to being a great metropolis ended up being a town. Then, as the original settlers got old fewer settlers were coming than were leaving, or dying. Hertz' family were one of the few that grew. They thrived in the forested mountains and glacial plains. There were occasional arrivals that shared their desired privacy and helped build the town back up. It was slow, but his family and a few others expanded and built a good life. Regular transports in and out became a reality after the Alliance established a base. While the Alliance presence was unwanted, it's remoteness and size made it bearable. Still the planey only attracted the few tourists who wanted to experience hunting in the frigid wilds or enjoy the snow diversions of Eysiel Flara, the luxury resort on the opposite side of the planet. It, too, was a necessary evil to keep in touch with the Verse at large.

Hertz had led several expeditions to hunt Dury boars and various types of deer. He was at home in the wilds knowing every stream and cave for hundreds of kilometers. That knowledge kept him alive now as they hunted him. It had been two weeks since he had seen the last ones, but he heard the ship and knew they would be tracking him again soon. He was due to check in tomorrow. He hoped he would be able to send that signal.

The cave had a small opening which gave him a measure of security and allowed for a easier sleep. There were no large predators on the planet and the foxes that scavenged on the weak larger animals were no threat to a