Liff takes a break from Granma Esi’s Pie-Ed lessons when the Urshanabi descends through Imir’s atmosphere. Liff resents being treated as twelve according to old Earth measures, insisting to herself that Imir’s time makes her twenty-six, and she is frustrated that her education remains full of Earth history and assumptions that seem irrelevant to life on Imir.

The settlement gathers tensely to watch the heavy lifter land. Liff notices adults keeping back and senses that something about this flight matters more than they will explain. The repaired shuttle descends roughly, tilts on landing, and Engineer Olf keeps everyone away until the craft is safe.

Heorest Holt emerges first, followed by Halena Garm, other familiar crew, and twenty-three newly awakened colonists brought down from the Enkidu. Heorest introduces the specialists Landfall needs now that its farms can support more people. Among them is Miranda Lain, recruited to educate the children because the old automated teaching systems do not fit Imir’s life.

When Liff and Miranda look at each other, Liff feels as if the facts of where and when she lives are slipping out of alignment. Miranda also stumbles, and Heorest steadies her, suggesting that the strange dislocation is not felt by Liff alone.

Later, Heorest takes Liff with Dastin Gembel into the hills to inspect expanding plantations. Gembel explains the engineered ecosystem of crops, fungi, pollinators, detritivores, pigs, and fast-growing conifers intended to make Imir self-sustaining as old Earth technology fails. Gembel becomes emotional over the hope that Imir can avoid Earth’s plagues and crop diseases, while Liff briefly notices dark circling shapes in the sky before the car moves on.