nukes small planet

When I woke up that terrible morning, at first, it wasn’t half bad. As my engines slowly revved up for the new day, I quickly noticed a note left at my bedside from father. He was heading into town, it said, in order to pay his taxes. Strange, how even in this day and age when humans have been able to pay for things remotely for thousands of years, that father still wished to pay face to face. He said to me, I remember, that money is all you really fight for in this world, so when someone takes it from you, you have to let them understand how serious it is. Also, he probably went to go sell some of our milk and eggs at the market, which is why its taking him so long to return. I stretched and groaned, like I did every morning. How little I realized how easy things where, and how easy they never would be for me again for a long time.
	I soon went downstairs and made breakfast. Eggs, cereal, and Keph Sausage (which was imported, of course. No oceans on this planet). The led clock said 13:30, so it was getting extremely close to noon. I knew I should have been up at least seven hours earlier to milk the cattle, but no one was mad at me, and I wasn’t complaining either. Its one of the benefits of being an only child of a single parent. When your only parent is gone for the morning, you can do whatever you want and get away with it. That is, until they get back and see the mess you made in the kitchen. I spent twice as much time cleaning up as I did preparing my meal. Father was not someone who I wanted to see in a bad mood, especially after he just payed his taxes.
	As I shut the door behind me (leaving it unlocked, not like anyone was going to barge in unannounced), I started heading for the cattle yard. I could already hear them Bessies whaling away, mad that they hadn’t been milked yet. I kicked a stone along the gravel path as I walked, not noticing the ominous clouds forming in front of me. As soon as I got into the barn, I began to get the cattle in line for milking. They were all crowded around the gates, so it wasn’t hard to get them into place. I opened the gate slowly and let only one it at a time, to prevent myself from being pounded into the manure. They knew what they had to do, and they wanted it badly. After they were all at their stations, I flipped the switch, and I swear I could hear all twenty of them sigh in relief.
	I let the machines do their job, and I opened the door, and took a good look at the morning sky.
	Then I froze.
	And rightfully so, because in front of me was a sight that no one ever wanted to see. Clearly over the horizon, in the direction of town, was the largest mushroom cloud (also the only mushroom cloud) that I had ever seen. After asking myself way more questions then necessary, I realized that father may not be coming home. It took me way to long to get myself together, and I found myself running to the tractor barn. Already overhead, I could see a swarm of ships going in both too and from the town.
	When I got to the barn, I was surprised to find I wasn’t the only one running. Up the road came Ted, our strange neighbor who never seemed to enjoy wearing clothes. He was one of the nudists that lived up the road, the freefolk who thought that clothing was for sissies, or something like that. I was surprised, and slightly happy, to see he was wearing some sort of garment this time I saw him, though it appeared to be nothing more than a potato sack with holes cut in it. As he got closer, I realized that in fact, I was correct in my assumption.
	“Nathan!” he yelled at me. How the jackal did he know my name? “We have to get out of this rock! The wind is blowing in this direction! If we stay here too long, the radiation will catch us!”
	“No”, I said, without much thought. “We have to head to town, my father is there.” I then realized I had just talked like this oddball was going with me, of course he wasn’t!
	Ted took a moment, then he sadly exclaimed. “Nathan, your if your father was in town, he is most likely dead. We have to worry about ourselves now.”
	This was the last person I want to tell me about my father’s death. I was feeling anger boil up inside of me, but not at anyone in particular. I let my emotions control me, and I yelled back. “Get your own ride then! Why do you have to come with me?”
	Ted looked at me like I was the stupid one, which I now think was kindof ironic. “We don’t have any technology where we live. You know that. We believe in being one with nature, and being…”
	I interrupted him, not wanting to hear his speech. “Look man, if your one with nature and all that shit, why the hell are you wearing a potato sack? Isn’t that against what your telling me?”
	Ted actually looked slightly embarrassed to be wearing that potato sack, which is a bit ironic considering what his kind usually wears. “We have to get to the station, if there is anything left of it.” He said. “I can’t walk around up there like… that! Hurry up, the others are waiting up the hill! We need to get out of here!”
	I didn’t think of that, what if this actually was an attack and not an accident. What if the station didn’t exist anymore. I could leave this man behind along with the others, but that would mean they could die, and it would be my fault. I realized, I had to do the right thing.
	“Get in the ship” I commanded him, pointing to the small shuttle in the corner of the barn. “And lets get out of here.”