#fletcher meyer

Two awoke alone. She didn't have a moment of peace to appreciate the morning. Her sleep had been horrible, just as it always was around the end of July ever since her son and daughter in law had left home to pursue adventure. Really, she could hardly blame them -- Fletcher never had the chance to leave Earth growing up, as his father couldn't leave, and Two would never go anywhere he couldn't follow. It was only to be expected... he was enjoying himself out there... he was, he had to be, that was what mattered. As many times as she told herself that, it didn't stop the pang of sadness that twinged through her processors whenever she thought that this would be the 20th time she wouldn't be able to wish him a happy birthday in person. Dwelling on it didn't help anything, and though she would never grow used to not having him and Asteri around, Two had plenty of practice working past missing her family. She rolled out of bed and hovered straight to the computer console against the wall. The least she could do was send him the letter component of his care package -- the rest should've been reaching him soon. She had sent a heavy box of gifts and trinkets from Earth weeks ago so that it would reach him on his birthday, but the message could be sent instantaneously, so she had saved it for this morning. It had been written and rewritten several times by her, Nos, and Quinn in the past few weeks, and was loaded with pictures and videos. Her pale, flat fingers separated from her arm and glided across the featureless panel, activating an array of interactive lights. No sooner had the holographic screen blinked into life than Quinn began to speak in a voice that came as close to excited as the system's placid voice could manage. "Good morning, ma'am. I have some incredible news." "Quinn! Good morning," Two shook the remaining bleariness from her visor. It was rare that Quinn began a conversation. "What is it?" "We have a message from Master Fletcher." As they said so, an image popped into the screen. Two opened it before she could even think to call Nos into the room, her eyeforms hungrily devouring the letter attached to the image: Mom and Dad, A few weeks ago, Asteri and I arrived on planet Rhizome. EVERYTHING is made of plants, no joke! I know how you feel about traveling, Mom, but if you were ever willing to go one place, this would have to be it! I'm sending you a bunch of stuff anyway. Expect all sorts of pods and seeds soon! They do a bunch of weird stuff, but I can't read the language on any of the packaging yet. Dad might be able to help you when it arrives, but if not, Quinn should be able to decipher it! I expect we might spend years on this planet, and if at all possible, I'd like to set up a lab or at least attend a place of study to learn as much as I can about the botanical life on this planet. I'm on the hunt for books on the subject that I could send your way, but to nobody's surprise, paper products are still as rare out here as they are anywhere else with modern technology. You might have to suffice with digital copies. Despite how great it is here, I can't shake the twinge of homesickness that always resurfaces around times like these. As of this moment, I'm 156 Earth years old. I miss everyone a lot. Getting your messages has become one of the things I look forward to the most. Tell everyone I say hello and I love them. Yours, Fletcher

(Also... that design on Fletcher's shirt? He bought it from a tourist trap thinking it just looked cool, but it's actually a traditional Rhizomian script for something crude and poorly worded. Nos recognizes it as soon as Two shows him the message and he can't take the rest of it seriously.)