It was worse than a lava flow,Some idiot offworld mining company caused a mistake that would lead to a low flood of toxic volcanic ash that would sweep through the valley into a colony city.

I cooperated with Humans as one of the rescue teams.

I spent the next two days loading as many people onto transports to the emergency space stations sent by the Federation.

Their fleet was en route with rescue teams.

As I was loading, a young couple, Humans surprisingly were begging us to get her grandparents, her boyfriend pleading that their grandmother was too weak to leave the house and that their grandfather left to be with her.

Me and Ramirez got on a transport with a winch and a heavy transport to their house in the valley.

less than 2 hours left before the ash flow would start and envelop the city within minutes.

We sped, pushing the engines to the best we could safely, to save the strain on the return trip and the lift.

Ramirez and I prepared to breach the door but the old man, fit as a fiddle, let us in and even prepared some iced tea for us.

We begged and pleaded him to go with us, that we had a ship that could lift her out of the ash flow.

But to our horror, her life support system was a substantially older model, turns out she was hooked up decades ago to many systems, to move them all would take more than the hour we had left.

She begged the man to join us, to live on in her name.

He said that he was already old, he was not as strong as he once was, and that a world without her in it is no world to live in by himself.

I tried to plead to him, that his granddaughter and grandson sent us to save them, he shook his head as he pushed us out the door "I have lived a good life, if my wife is to pass on, I wish to be with her when it happens"

I shouted at Ramirez "Ramirez, Get a Grav chute, we'll lift the whole house if we have too"

But he looked at me and knew we didn't bring all the equipment just to save up on weight.

"Bud, lets leave, let them enjoy their time left with each other instead of us intruding".

I wanted to slap sense into him, but Ramirez slapped it into me instead.

We got on the ship, I saw him wave goodbye at us.

I knew they would not survive, even by some cosmic luck they'd still be underneath the toxic ash flow from the mountain, and if that didn't kill them, they'd die from the volcanic eruption.

I spent the entire trip going back up smashing my fist bloody against the transport wall, Ramirez was quiet the entire time.

As it happens, we weren't able to get everyone off the colony to the space station or to other colony cities on the planet.

I hate it when you can never truly 100% accomplish something, no matter how perfect the system said it would work.

Like some cold reality joke you'd say nonchalantly to get people to shut up.

Rescue workers helped us save those who were only caught in the ash flow from the volcano, mostly high up villages and villagers who were too stubborn and we had no time to force them onto transports.

My group was sent in with Ox-Tanks and shovels, digging people out.

Just as I thought I'd be at peace with the old couple obviously not making it, their home now buried under hardened molten rock and glass, it hit me again as if the universe wanted to give me a double punch in the Thoraxial GUT.

Ramirez' Uncle's team got hit with a sudden pyroclastic flow out of nowhere that got a lot of people killed.

As soon as we finished our work we ran to the ICU.

His uncle was burned, his clothes could not be removed since they fused with his skin, his bodies covered in burns.

The doctors said that they can't save him, the internal burns and injuries are beyond even our best rejuvenation treatments, and that all they can do is painkillers and that they can't waste time on him.

Ramirez grabbed the doctor by the shoulders and shaked him, telling him that his uncle was a fighter, his uncle shouted with the same strength he had when he recruited us "NEPHEW, Unhand that man, he as a job to do, as I did mine"

Ramirez held his uncle's hand, begging him to pull through, that he had so much ahead of him.

His uncle smiled "I know my time is up, nephew, and I must take my leave, but I have lived...a GREAT life"

Ramirez held his hand tight "But you could live longer, I still need to make you hold your grand nephew in your hands"

His uncle shed a tear "I know, but you'll hold him close for me, right?"

Ramirez quietly accepted it, and just kept holding onto his hand.

His uncle looked at me "Keep this little one out of unnecessary trouble, especially in this line of work"

I nodded "I shall do my best, sir"

He laid his head back "I'll see you again, Maria" as he took his final breath.

Ramirez said he could not be mad at himself, or his uncle, he couldn't do it and his uncle wouldn't want that for himself.

I tried to comfort him. Drinks, food, even got him his favorite DigiPoc Cards.

The funeral was quiet.

And to this day, I could never understand how Humans could see their death coming and accept it with the grace I wish the living had more of.

But then again, I may have already answered my own question.