What Really Matters

When the clanship stops at an uninhabited, terrestrial planet, Kinahran and her friends want to play and explore. (The grown-ups make them help look for useful planetary resources to trade, as well.) But a mishap leaves their adult mentor wounded and unconscious, and when they try to radio for help, the signal is jammed! Did pirates take Kinahran's mother and baby sister hostage, or have a colony of bipeds claimed this planet as their new home? Five young Kintarans, alone in the wilderness, must find out what's going on.

This story was originally published in the fanzine, Pawprints. It is suitable for most ages.