The old man coughed and chuckled.

“Youthful exuberance. Rest assured they are more poised on the battlefield than they are in the spotlight.” And he smiled. The crowd laughed with him again. This man could announce he was retiring to the outlays and the farmers would follow him to the deserts.

“What is this man’s name?” I asked Balthasar.

“Casimir Pulaski Skowronski. He’s been here since the second wave. They call him father. I asked the man who was next to me. He left after Dimitris’ pulse blast.”

“He could take them to the middle of nowhere and they’d thank him.”

Cadmus nodded. “He was an ex-general in the Polish army living in Chicago. He was an engineer before he came to Mars.” He shrugged at Balthasar’s raised eyebrows. “I read about him at the home. I saw his name and liked it. What?”

Balthasar said, “Nothing. I didn’t know you read anything but comics and homework.”

“I liked his name. I swear, Balthasar. You don’t have to be such a jerk.”

Casimir spoke again, “Let us make our adopted ones welcome. Let us retire to song, dancing and feasting!”

At that the crowd erupted into applause and shouting. The crowd quickly moved to the outskirts of the square and David and his band mates took up their instruments and began to play a quick dance melody. The young farmers, men and boys, women and girls, separated from the crowd like drops of water from a dripping faucet and began to dance in an unorganized circle.

We drew back against a pillar and watched the dancing.

“What are you going to do about Demitris, Aaron?” Asked Balthasar.

“What do you mean?”

“You provoked him. He’s got our superior in his back pocket. Demitris can get him to assign us farm hand duty for the rest of the month,” said Cadmus.

“I know. He was lewd. Did you see him lifting that girl’s dress?”
“Don’t get over your head. He’s a fop. But he’s clever and can make you feel like a moron. Don’t talk to him if you can help it.”

“Fine. I know. He’s such a bastard though.”

“All three of them are,” said Cadmus. “Just leave them alone and it will make our life a lot easier. As it is we’re going to have to watch out for some juvenile retaliation after you punched him in the nose.”
“I can’t believe you guys saw that.”

“What, you thought we were more concerned with Casimir than you? Anyway, everyone saw that. You were sort of the entertainment for the night.” Said Balthasar.

“It was an accident.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. Well, you got Abbot to shake his head at you two.”

“What’s new? I’m surprised he came at all. Or at least didn’t convince our superior to keep us at the farms. Associating with filth like us really tarnishes his reputation.”

“I think his arm is made out of gold, actually.”

“And when he shoots dogs his pulse beams frown at them.”

“In fact, he doesn’t kill them, he just convinces them they’re worthless and they leave in shame and die in the outlays.”

“Hey, look at him trying to dance out there.”

“He’s with that girl that you helped up, Aaron.”

“No, really? Well, he’s no dancer. It looks like he’s marching in formation.”

“You should go cut in, Aaron.” Cadmus smiled at me.

“Yeah, I must have missed all the dance lessons at the home. You know, the ones you guys attended all the time? I can’t dance.”

“Come on, Aaron. You saved her from the wicked Demitris. You should let her repay your kindness.”

Abbot and the girl were dancing, and as we talked they moved in an awkward circle by us. The girl looked at me as they turned. Cadmus and Balthasar laughed.

“See that, Aaron? She wants you to save her from the clutches of another ruthless, armed man.”

“Okay. You know what? I’m going to go get something to eat. I’ll leave you two to keep each other company. Maybe you can dance with each other.”

“Ah, poor Aaron! Try not to punch anyone else in the face, okay?” Cadmus yelled after me. Balthasar laughed.

I loved them. They were my brothers. Yet Casimir’s words were still ringing in my ears. His speech praised us, yet somehow it seemed more like a plea to accept us rather than elation for our arrival. They distrusted us. We were sent from Roanoke, someplace they hadn’t been to in years or at all. The place from which the commands to subdue came every year. We may have been like them once. But we were no longer. What did they see when they looked at me? Did they see their children? Did they see them laughing in their yards, or dragged away in a trail of blood and broken pieces? Did they long to see a trace of their hope in my eyes? Did they search for it in their reflections in my arm?

They tried not to look at me or my arm directly, but I could feel their eyes on me the whole night. It made my shoulders tight. I was eating by the musicians. I liked how loud it was. There were no voices, no noises but music. Cadmus and Balthasar had found two girls to dance with. It was funny to see us dancing with one awkward arm held behind the girls, shining and incongruous in such a benign setting. Abbot gave all of us license to disregard the women directive from our superiors. The night was so long and without direction. We were not used to the night without a task. The only concern was to look impressive to the terrafarmers. I didn’t feel so impressive. Neither did our young faces and shining clothes look inspiring beside the rough hands and ruddy features of the seasoned terrafarmers. They had been protecting and defending their homes for much longer than we’d been in training. Some of them had been at it much longer than we had been alive.

Dimitris did. But he was the only one. He was too quick. He let out a loud yell and shot a pulse blast straight up into the air. A few things then happened simultaneously. The girl standing beside Dimitris was startled, turned around to look at him, stepped back on a terrafarmer’s foot, and fell down; the terrafarmers—as one—turned and stared flatly at Dimitris; Dimitris stopped, lowered his arm and half shiftless, half confused turned about in a circle; I felt bad for the girl on the ground looking at her hands--she looked like a young deer on the ground, legs buckled about under her—and moved forward to help her. I bent forward and reached out my hand just as Dimitris must have noticed the girl on the ground as well. I caught him out of the corner of my eye moving downward, just as my left arm rose upward behind me. It caught him flush on the nose. The girl grabbled my hand and I lifted her up. Her hands were warm. So was her smile.

“Ow!” Dimitris yelled, just as the girl said, “Thanks.” I nodded and smiled back. I got nervous and started to open my mouth. A movement beside me drew my attention back to Dimitris. He had shifted as if to come toward me, but the full weight of the terraformers’ stare kept him rooted in place, holding his nose. It was bleeding. I smiled at him.

“Sorry.” I shrugged my shoulders and walked back to my spot in the crowd. Dimitris wiped his nose with his pocket-handkerchief.

“I’ve seen your children grow up into men and women. I’ve seen them give birth to grandsons and granddaughters.” He glanced to the side, “In case you didn’t catch that, I’m an old man.”

Again, more chuckles from the crowd. They were rapt. His voice was like hardening honey. Smooth and sweet, with jagged rocks of sugar cropping up every so often. It commanded complete attention. And the terrafarmers were pleased to give it to him.

“We are a strong people. We’ve taken this land for ours. We have survived where others have only dreamed. When I was a child, my classmates on Earth thought Mars was a dead planet, suitable only for science fiction novels. If they ever thought of being here, they fancied themselves as cowboys facing off against Martians and androids. It was a fantasyland.

But we have made it real. We are making a new home for humanity, and we are rooted in it like the giant oaks of Roanoke. We are the giants of the new world, and our roots go deep to the core.”

The crowd murmured and nodded its approval.

“And nothing can uproot us. I’ve seen your looks tonight. Your eyes go sideways with misgiving and hints of fear. As if a metal arm could dig us out of the thick soil of our land. As if the men of Roanoke were giving us notice of eviction.” He slammed his hand on the podium.

The terrafarmers shifted uncomfortably and looked at each other, on the verge of noise.

“I have seen us survive the terror of dogs, and I have seen the terror of dogs rip through our community for 30 years. I have seen our tears fall into the earth we till. I have buried friends and their children. I have seen the holes in their bodies like the holes from a seeder, deep and empty. I have presided over funerals only I can count the number of.” He paused and looked over the crowd. His gaze hovered like a heavy spirit over these families. I felt it in my soul, and I was ashamed.

“Sarah.” He looked at a woman in the crowd. “I buried your father. John, Martha; I buried your son. Luke, I buried your wife. The Dillon’s, Robinson’s, I buried your neighbors the Oh’s and gave their land for you to steward. The Sebastian’s were taken away from us entirely. We had to burn the Nelson’s land to take the memory of their deaths away.” He paused and the sniffles in the crowd were like some kind of musical rhythm. “Would you like me to go on? Would you like to cry tonight like we are at another funeral?”

“These boys. These boys with their shining arms who are here with us tonight were born from the same wellspring that we survive on. They are children of Mars who were taken away. They have come back to us. They were born out of the same hope that all of us have. And the tragedy of death hangs on their shoulders as heavy as it does ours. They have been shaped by the same soil, life has been blown into their nostrils by the same vast wind.

“They have come back to us. Yes. And they say they have come back to protect us. Yes. Who are we to judge our lost children’s intentions? They are here with us now, they are our children. There will be plenty of time to learn of their intentions. In the meantime, rejoice! Be glad that we have protectors. Rejoice in these new, strong, hands. Throw up your hands and shout.”

The old man walked, as I had come to expect from the terrafarmers, deliberately. His goal was a podium in the south corner of the square. He smiled and nodded at all the farmers he made eye contact with, but he never stopped or waited for conversation. His back was straight and he had gray hair. His skin was dark and wrinkled. His eyes were half lidded from years of squinting into the sun, but they were clear and lively underneath the lids. His hands were thick and his fingers were crooked like tree roots. He was clad in the loose fitting brown trousers and shirts of the martian farmer. The night breeze made ripples in his clothes . He appeared walking underwater, deliberate and fluid. Conversations naturally quieted as he walked by and people turned to follow him. A crowd gathered in front of the podium. David was behind the podium wiping down a violin with a cloth, standing beside a group of men doing the same to basses, violas and hand drums.

I stayed behind, Balthasar and and Cadmus looked back at me. The were unsure if they should leave me and move forward. I waived them on. They moved into the crowd. Dimitris was near the back, he was occupied with his enhanced arm. He was standing near a young woman, she was focused on the old terrafarmer. Edwin and Fairfax were slightly behind Dimitris, flanking him. They were hiding smiles in their cheeks. He was up to something. I made my way toward Dimitris. I overheard him say to the girl, "You have nice ankles." He was smirking and brushed his hair back. She looked at him, and turned back toward the podium. Dimitris shrugged his shoulders. Fairfax and Edwin looked down and smiled into their chests. They made me sick with their antics. I used to train with Fairfax in the first years. He had become hard and impressionable since then. I had only trained against Edwin. He was shifty and keen.

A breeze rustled through the crowd and slightly lifted the young woman's long skirt over her ankles. She absentmindedly smoothed it down and shifted her shoulders. Dimitris smiled and rolled his shoulders. I made my way beside Dimitris. My hand was tingling. I could hear my heartbeat. I hated being this close to him. It was unpleasant.
"Why don't you leave them alone, Dimitris."
"Oh, hello. Aaron. I didn't think you'd notice." Dimitris looked me up and down and leered. I heard Edwin and Fairfax chuckle.
"Just leave them alone."
"Why? They don't know what I'm doing. It's just the wind, right? It's not like I could mess with that. We're just having a little fun. This place is so," he looked around disdainfully, and then back at me, "dull." This time Fairfax and Edwin couldn't hold their mirth and laughed outright.
"We're here to protect them, not use them. This isn't a game."
"Please, spare me your ideals, Aaron. Your morality is just an excuse to cover up your shortcomings." I looked around. Balthasar and Cadmus were looking at me. They looked troubled. They were too far away to hear what we were saying, but they could see I was upset. It would be too disruptive for them to come over, they would look like they were preparing for a fight. I saw Cadmus shake his head. Balthasar hit him in the shoulder.
"Keep your tricks out of here, Dimitris."
"Or what, Aaron?"

I had no idea what. My face was red and I could feel the heat coming out of my cheeks. Dimitris was staring at me with a slight smirk on the right side of his lips. Fairfax and Edwin were staring in to the sky with their arms folded, whistling. I started to open my mouth when the old terrafarmer began his speech at the podium. Everyone turned to face him. I shut my mouth. Dimitris raised his eyebrows, smiled, shrugged his shoulders and turned to face the podium. I was stuck standing beside him. I couldn't move through the crowd to Balthasar and Cadmus without causing a stir. I clenched my fist.

"Good evening, brothers and sisters. Sons and daughters of mars. Let an old man say a few words before we begin our party."
The old man was standing beside the podium, his arm resting on it. Our general and Abbot, Daffyd, and Orestes were behind him in a semi-circle. Their uniforms were crisp and well-pressed. The crowd chuckled. Everyone was smiling. I was furious.

We finished dinner and the Eltsina's took us to the square. You may be thinking that this is like a town square back on Earth, that there are a lot of shops surrounding it and lots of people coming and going. A square in the outlays is just the square. A large tiled square meeting area. The terrafarmers are equipped with everything they need for self-sufficiency. They produce everything they need for survival, are equipped with all the tools and repair equipment they need, and their cars can travel great distances in short amounts of time. The only thing they can't provide for by themselves is community. Therefore, one of the first traditions of terraforming mars was the creation of "squares." They are precisely like a town square in size and purpose, that is: a meeting place for community in a central location. But there are no shops, no one lives there, and it is surrounded on all sides by trees and flora and fauna. It is a vacant terraformed bubble. Hosting duties are divied up between the closest terrafarmers per martian terraforming quarter, roughly three months out of the year. The local community of terrafarmers meet there for festivals, commemorations, weddings, birth celebrations, and funerals. These were the first areas to be adorned with beauty in mind. They are all unique and crafted with artistic flourishes. Just as the outlay terrafarms are formed with a single-minded purpose of survival and expansion, so are the squares created with single-minded beauty and celebration.

We arrived at night, approaching from the vast flat plains one solitary and vertical black wall against the sky. This was what terraformed bubbles looked like at night from the outlays. Shapes grew into trees as we approached, and as we entered the little forest lights began to glitter in the immediate distance. It was like a fairy tail we were taught in the early grades at the orphanage. I imaged our car was ushered in by forest gnomes and serows. Our square was a large green tiled expanse, with red concentric cirlces emanating out from the middle. It was flanked by great red rocked pillars carved out of the martian landscape into Roman colonnades. Atop these pillars were lucent globes of green and gold and red, each color sublty waxing and waning in brightest. It was magnificent. The trees seemed to pulse like thick irridescent veins, throbbing with beautiful blood pumped from the square.

All around people were milling, coming toward the square; in from their cars, or wandering about talking with friends, setting up instruments and fiddling with consoles on the pillars. There was a soft and deep hum of voices hovering over the square, punctated every so often with a slight high laughter or deep bass chortle. David pulled out an instrument case from our car.
"Ready for the party, boys?" He said and walked toward the group of men with the instruments.
I saw Demetris with Edwin and Fairfax in one corner, huddled together, leaning against and glancing at all the people coming in with furtive eyes. They must have been as awed as I was. Natural, joyous celebration sprung from a spontaneous appreciation of life and beauty was foreign to us, and though I felt warm in the cool evening, I was still scared by the thick mirth flowing from the square. They were wearing their dress uniforms, their arms were shined and buffed and reflecting the light in swirls along the curves of the sinuous joints. They were fops. But they were smart and vindictive. It was best to be on their good side to avoid needless problems.

An old man stepped out of his car followed by our general in turn followed closely by Abbot, Daffyd, and Orestes. They were three of the highest performing students in our class at the orphanage and were often the figureheads of our class. It was no suprise that they would arrive with an old man and our general. This man must have been one of the first terraformers.

"After dinner there's going to be a celebration party in the square for you boys. All the terrafarmers in the region should be there. You'll have a chance to see everyone you're protecting." David said.
"Great! That's wonderful. What does a celebration look like? What does it look like in the outlays, I mean." Said Cadmus.
"We play music, dance, and talk. Nothing different than Roanoke I'm sure."
"Of course not. I wasn't sure if it was different maybe. What should we wear? This food is delicious, Sarah, thank you." Sarah looked down.
"Wear whatever you want. I saw the papers, I'm sure you all like to make an entrance."
"Well, we don't have much clothes. I think I'll wear my dress uniform. What do you think the others are going to wear? We should probably wear our dress uniforms so we don't look like slobs."
"Cadmus, I'm not sure the other terrafarmers will be focused on your clothes."
"What do you mean, Mr. Eltsina? I haven't read about that aspect of the outlays. Do you not care about clothing?"
"Cadmus, I mean you have an other attribute that is more curious than your clothing."
"Oh. Right. I forgot."
"Though I'm sure they'll be impressed with your fine clothes, too." Elizabeth said looking at David.
"We're used to being around each other, Mr. Eltsina. To us, we're normal." Said Balthasar.
"Well, what are we?" Asked David. We looked at each other. Memories. The past. Bad dreams.
"Our charge."
"Well, I thought we might be friends." Said Elizabeth.
"You now live in my house. That makes you a part of my family." Said David.
"This food is really delicious, Sarah." Said Cadmus
"Yes, it is very good. We're used to mess hall food." Said Balthasar.
"Thanks." Said Sarah. She looked at Elizabeth, "It's mom's recipe."
"So, Aaron, what'd you think of the farm? Why don't you debrief us all of my home?" Asked David. I had been chewing a good piece of potato when he asked. It was becoming uncomfortably hot in the kitchen.
"Well. This isn't how we normally debrief, sir."
"That's fine, Aaron. Just tell us what you thought of the place. I'm curious, too."
"Well. There are three cows in the pasture to the west, four horses in the stables. The loft has eight bales of hay. There are extra horse shoes along with farm tools in the south corner of the barn, neatly organized. There is a chicken coup west of the house with about 8 chickens in it. I couldn't see them all. To the north are the fields, Adjacent to the fields is the large oak tree, about two bodies wide at the bole and a half mile to the east of that is the copse, mostly heather trees and heath. There are some other low growing shrubs. This area is roughly 100 square feet. There are many areas to hide in the heath between the soil and the branches. The outlay waste perimeter half-circles the farm from north to west. It is mostly flat with modest rolling hills and scattered rock outcroppings. The silo is three stories high and half stocked. I'll draw us a detailed map later tonight before first watch duty." Cadmus and Balthasar nodded their heads. I was proud of my work.
"But, what did you think of our home?" Asked David.
"It is large and lacking in natural strategic defense. I'm sure we may have to post two guards depending on the threat level to the area. We will discuss between the three of us and our commander the best staging areas for the three of us to be located near at all times to ensure adequate response time to any incoming hostiles. I'm sure we can use the copse and the oak tree to our advantage, even the silo, though I'm reluctant to use damageable assets as potential battle areas and protection. Hopefully we'll never have anything close to that. The area affords us no mistakes."
"Well, I don't know what I think about that."
"Oh, don't worry, Mr. Eltsina, we won't make any mistakes."
"No, I'm not sure you understand my question. How does my home make you feel?" I looked at Cadmus and Balthasar. They shrugged.
"I don't know, Mr. Eltsina. I'm not sure I understand how that applies to us being here."
"Well, I like my home. I would hope that my guests and protectors would like it to." Sarah was still looking down, Jack was playing with his fork and Elizabeth was staring at me with David.
"Oh. Cadmus and Balthasar don't need to know if I liked it or not." They shook their heads.
"I'm not asking for their sake. I'm sorry. Let me rephrase my original question." David said. Elizabeth was wiping her mouth with her napkin.
"Forget about debriefing us. Did you like the tour of my home?" I wasn't sure if it was because the oven was still on in the kitchen, but it was terrifically hot in their house.
"We weren't taught to think like that, sir. But I suppose, when I got out of the transport, the hot wind and the dirt reminded me of something good."
"Well, I suppose that will do for now."
"I bet Dimitris' group will wear their dress uniforms. I think we should really wear them." Said Cadmus.

I arrived. The hot breeze swept around me. I could almost feel the dirty seeds in my dirty hands. Jack ran out of the transport and into the fields. He flit through the field, stopped suddenly, bent down and picked something up, ran off again, and made straight for a large oak tree which he promptly scaled. I lost sight of him in the shade of the leaves. Here in front of me was the house, squat and long and painted green, the fields, a copse, the oak tree, and beyond the dirty waste, the horizon. I put my hand in the ground and felt the dirt. It was warm. I saw Jack jump out of the tree and dissapear into the copse.
"Jack! Come help you sister with dinner!" Elizabeth yelled.
Cadmus and Balthasar were unloading their gear into the house. The sun was hanging in the air like a bouy in still water. I broke up the clumps of dirt in my hand and rolled the little pebbles around with my fingers.
"Boy, why don't I take you for a tour of the farm. The other boys are busy with your gear." I looked up at David. He was talking to me.
"Yes, sir. I'll brief them on the terrain after supper."
"Good. Let's go."
We started behind the house and headed toward the barn. David walked briskly, I followed behind him. We walked into the barn, up into the loft, and then out the door. We walked to the silo and the storage room, then to the tool shed and the drying house. He took me through the fields, showed me the big oak tree, walked me to the copse, pointed to Jack's hiding spot, walked me toward the cusp of the terraformed fields, and stared into the wastelands. He never said a word. That's what I liked about David. He crouched on his haunches, I followed. We stared. We stared until the sun dropped and touched the land. He stood up.
"Your hand. Its dirty. Wash up before dinner."
"Yes, sir."
"You been on a farm before?"
"Yes, sir."
He started back toward the house.
"Time for dinner. Sarah will be amiss."

Sarah was a young girl, no more than 13. She was wearing an apron and serving the table with Jack. She didn't make eye contact. When the table was set we sat down.
"Boys, this is Sarah, our daughter. Sarah, this is Cadmus, Aaron, and Balthasar."
She nodded her head and stared at the table. "Welcome home."
They all bowed their heads and held hands. Jack reached his hand out and put it on my rocket arm. I reached out my hand and held onto Cadmus' rocket arm, he did the same. Balthasar held hands with Sarah. This was a prayer. We had read about them. Balthasar shifted, and looked down. David stared at us. I put my head down. David began:
"Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Mars as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses, just as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, now and forever. Amen."
To which they all replied, "Amen."