In times like these, Julianne Hunter would ordinarily prepare a mug of coffee and relaxedly tell a tale.

This, to her, was a tale she'd never felt the need to tell anyone.

And so, it was quite a bit odd having to explain it there and then.

The story of her family.

Her strange, strange family.

Julianne: And, I suppose it would make the most sense if I started this conversation by talking about Max's human grandfather, Jason Doyle Hunter.

Rose: Jason...

That was a human name alright.

Julianne: He was the leader of the party of astronauts that landed on Neutron.

Without skipping a beat, Ken immediately started an internet search for his name.

"Jason Doyle Hunter."

And shortly after found results.

Julianne, as though she'd expected this....

Julianne: I suppose you've already searched his name out, haven't you, Ken?

This time, Ken wasn't shocked by her response, not that he wasn't, but rather, that he was, at least for the moment, more taken by what he had found at that very moment.

Ken: Yes, I have.

Julianne: (solemnly) And... what does it say...?

To Ken, what he was about to say wasn't "heavy" per se, but rather quite odd.

Although, as he would seconds later surmise on his own, it oddly enough made the most sense.

His eyes shot a blue light in front of the whole team, showing them Max's grandfather's photo.

He was a brown haired, blue eyed light skinned man, who bore a slight similarity to his own son, as one could easily tell from the photo.

And right next to his name were the words, in a bright and completely "unignorable" red...

"DEAD"

The sight in and of itself made Rose gasp.

Rose: He... he's dead?

Ken: Of course he is.

It took only a moment for Rose to realise what that could also mean.

Ken: After all...

He highlighted the rest of the text next to the photo, which showed the date of his death.

The year was 2024.

And his date of death?

1985.

Ken: All things taken into consideration...

It all came to them quickly.

The fact of the matter was, that Max's grandfather died at around the time one would believe Julianne was born.

But, Ken had still yet more to show them. Before any of them could even say a word...

Ken: Documented cause of death: Died in the line of duty, or, in better terms...

He left it at that..

Tiffany: He died while in outer space.

Ken: Exactly. Or, better put....

Now, this was nothing more than a hunch from Ken, but Julianne immediately confirmed what he'd said.

Julianne: You're exactly right, Ken.

She continued without skipping a beat.

Julianne: Jason Hunter, as well as my mother, Severine Andrews, were among the astronauts that just so happened to be on that space craft.

Severine Andrews. That being, Max's grandmother.

Ken's eyes switched views and turned as well to Severine's photo.

Just like with Julianne, her appearance was something quite similar to that of her daughter's.

One notable difference being how strict she looked.

Rose: That's....

The teen girls eyes turned to Max, who himself was taken by the photos.

His eyes were somewhat sad.

Julianne: And that spacecraft... never returned.

The mention of the fact wasn't so shocking simply because of the fact that the spacecraft hadn't returned.

On hearing this statement, one would come up with all sorts of reasons as to why the space craft did not return.

Did they die on the way?

No.

Otherwise, Julianne would not be seated in front of them right there and then.

Did they die on the way back?

Probable.

Did they die on the planet Neutron?

Also probable.

However, one other possibility did exist.

One that not too many people would immediately consider.

One that Ken almost instantly assumed was the case.

That being.... and also being hinted at by the small smile that suddenly made a showing on Julianne Hunter's face...

Julianne: That was because... my mother and my father in law, decided to stay in Neutron... for the rest of their lives.

That last fact was even more shocking than the last.

This was especially true for Ken, Tiffany, and Luke.

To think, ...

... two humans would decide to drop everything on their home planet and leave their family behind, all to "stay on a foreign planet."

Rose: They did!?

She gasped quite loudly after saying that.

Julianne: That they did.

Rose: No way!

Ken: Indeed.

Luke: I'll say...

It was akin to leaving one's nation for another and never returning, choosing to leave one's own people out of preference of another living space.

Why that made so little sense?

It was the kind of thing that no one would have expected anyone, including themselves to do.

The fact of the matter was, neither of them were especially young, seeing as they had just seen the photos. And so neither had made this decision uninformed. Or, at least they could say so.

So, the next question on all their minds, although out of perhaps human contagion or their own shock at what they'd just heard they wouldn't ask, was... why?

That would be hard for any of them to ask.

With the exception of...

Rose: But.... why?

It was at that moment that Julianne Hunter made a face that was wholly foreign to all of them, and only somewhat foreign to Max.

It was what one may call a "chummy" face.

Simply put, it was a kind of shy happiness that none had ever seen in the woman's face.

The woman by the name of Julianne Hunter was already over 30, full grown, mature, well groomed, and was a lot of what one would expect from a 30 year old woman.

Even better, she was an amazing actress, and so looking eloquent and at ease was simple for her.

But at that very moment, at that very moment, she looked like a teenage girl talking about her parent's relationship.

Julianne: I guess...

But even then, some level of restraint remained in her.

Like any teenage girl, she naturally admired her parents' relationship and often mused about it.

And so, in more ways than one, it was a truly odd conversation.

However, she would not be fully immersed in this feeling.

Even then, she knew better than to talk too freely about it.

Julianne: .... they just loved each other that much.

Not that she was lying, but the laughter she had right after served to only increment the validity of her story in her eyes.

The joy she'd felt on seeing that was genuine.

So genuine that any bits of doubt left in the eyes of the other teens simply vanished... as they exchanged glances with one another.

Rose herself began to smile as she watched the older woman laugh.

Rose: (thinking: She seems so happy....)

And the others remained silent, just till she finally stopped.

Julianne: (sighs) Oh... sorry.... I.... I guess I let myself get carried away.

Rose: No, it's ok.

Now Ken would have said something, but he decided not to. Not only because he'd decided that this woman was not too fond of him, but also... because he would rather avoid a girly conversation.

The second reason rang true also for Luke.

And as for Tiffany, it wasn't so much that she couldn't, but rather that she preferred that she didn't.

Leaving Julianne and Rose all on their lonesome, not that they minded.

Julianne: Really.

Rose: Uh huh. It sounds.... (squealing) Soooooo romantic.

Julianne: I know, right?

Ken: (thinking: Oh brother....)

If Luke could sigh, he would.

Tiffany: (thinking: Well... that's one thing down...)

However, for the sharp-eyed Tiffany, one thing remained clear...

Max.

Why did he look so upset?