A/N: Ok, so I just did a big rewrite of this chapter. It´s pretty much the same information, but hopefully it makes more sense, and gives a better start to the story. I will also be redoing the next few chapters, and (cross your fingers) posting a new chapter.

Light spilled through my bedroom window, and I looked out at the sun rising above the mountains off in the distance. The view of the jungle from the east side of the compound was breathtaking. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to ward off the slight chill in my bedroom. Although I was not normally an early morning riser, I loved to take the opportunity to watch the sun rise. The sun was just beginning to break over the mountains in the distance, and the intense rays of the sun meeting the dark sky looked spectacular. Already there were birds flying about in search of their morning meal. Their cheerful songs could be heard, despite the distance the compound was from the jungle.

Although the jungle outside was beautiful, it was also hostile. The compound where we lived, known as SS07, was built to accommodate a group of 20 scientists and engineers, and the other workers required to run the station. In total, we were approximately 100 people. Gonstalunia, the country I was born and raised in, has a very large landmass; it's actually the biggest continent on the planet. However, the liveable space on the continent was not enough to make up for the rapidly growing population. A large jungle took up approximately 3,000,000 square kilometers of the continent, and was uninhabitable. A toxin in the air, emitted by one of the plants known to grow in that region only, made it impossible for humans and certain animals to live there.

Anyone not in a protective suit would die after spending more than a week in the jungle. It took nearly fifty years to determine what tainted the air, and also to find a way to remove that plant without endangering the habitat. Once clearance was granted by the Gonstalunian government, many of the top scientists and engineers in the country were hired, and a special compound was built. In that group was my fiancé, Peter.

When Peter told me he'd been selected to be part of this team, I never imagined it turning out the way it did. It was supposed to be a two year contract, with Peter receiving high pay and better work opportunities for the future. He jumped at the opportunity, even though it changed the plans we'd made for our future. We were young, in love, and felt invincible, like nothing could happen to ruin our happiness. We'd planned to marry in the year 2054, a year after I'd finished my studies at the university. Because the part at SS07 was supposed to take a year, Peter and I decided to marry before he started.

Peter and I had originally planned to have our first child within the first two years of our marriage, but the restrictions at SS07 changed that. The risks involved forced the government to decide that no children would be allowed to come. All couples were asked to keep their family plans on the back burner, so to speak. All staff were required to receive monthly contraceptive injection as a precaution. I hated how the government could have this kind of control over our lives, but Peter and I both knew it was the kind of opportunity he couldn't pass up.

We were very surprised when after four months at SS, as we called the station, I started experiencing morning sickness. At first, we figured it was just a virus going around, since there were other people who had been sick recently. When it continued for a month, I knew it was time to go to the infirmary. The chief medical officer happened to be a good friend of mine, whom I had met while my father was an instructor at one of the largest universities in Gonstalunia. My father was a renowned doctor, and was giving a series of lectures at the universities when I was a teenager. Susan Meddik was a promising medical student at the time, and attended these lectures. My father introduced me to her when I came to one, and we became very good friends. During her final years of medical training, we fell out of contact, as I had begun my studies at another university. It was a very pleasant surprise when I realized Susan was going to be the one running the infirmary at SS.

I remember seeing mixed emotion on her face when she gave me the results of the blood tests. I was sitting on one of the beds in the infirmary, anxiously awaiting the results. She was dressed in a teal colored waist-length lab jacket, with her dark hair pulled up into a twist at the back of her neck. She entered the room with her hands in her pockets, and kept her gaze to the floor until she approached me.

"And?" I asked. Susan was a reserved person by nature, but didn't often have a serious look on her face. Her hazel eyes met mine.

"Kiri, we need to talk about something," She started, "because this shouldn't be happening." Her cryptic reply threw me off.

"Susan, what is happening? Unless it's a disease or something, then it can't be too bad, right?" I pressed gently. She let out a sigh before answering, and pulled up a stool so she could take a seat.

"You're pregnant." She chewed on her lower lip, "And since I know neither you nor Peter have missed your injections, this means there's something wrong with the contraceptives." It was news I hadn't expected to hear, because of the contraceptives; I'd automatically assumed they were completely effective. I briefly put a hand to my stomach, surprised that I was actually carrying a child.

"So, what do we do?" I raised my eyebrows questioningly. Susan looked back at me, and it was obvious that I'd disrupted her thoughts.

"Sorry, I was just thinking of how to tell Director Tamrak. I wasn't given any procedures to follow for a case like this." She admitted honestly. Her lack of personal interest in my ´case´ showed that something was bothering her. She was not one to get caught up in procedures. I admit I felt a little lost, since Peter and I had not expected to be able to have children until we were done at SS07. It didn't help either that Susan, a very capable in charge kind of person, also seemed a little stunned.

"Do you think they´ll make me give up the baby?" My voice came out very small, surprising even me. Susan´s face softened, and she gave me an apologetic look.

"Oh, Kiri, I am sorry. Here I am thinking about all the labwork I'll have to do to get this problem with the contraceptives figured out, and you're trying to fathom the idea that you are going to be a mother soon." She gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "Everything will be fine." The look in her eyes would have had me convinced if the little voice in back of my head said that she was wrong.