So too, was Alistair Everett Lowell a young biologist. He was part of the team of botanists studying the effect of Azurian terra-forming methods on Deruyan plants. Having long since found that the soil cleansing was more than effective, he went on to study what would happen if Deruyan and Azurian plants could coexist and create a healthy ecosystem. He had two labs: one, where he grew things in petri-dishes and tested certain types of moss on the foreign bark of trees originating from another world, and the other, an entire atrium full of plants and animals from both worlds.<br/><br/>There had been a zoologist sharing his lab with him-- an old man who had the misfortune of dying of heart attack while they had been working. Rett had been more than horrified when his elderly partner keeled over right in front of him. He called the authorities, who dealt with the body. When he found out that his former lab partner was, indeed, dead, he was devastated.<br/><br/>For four months, he'd been looking after the plants and animals both by himself. The work was a strain on him, but he had managed to find a mixture of plants and animals that filled the appropriate niches, and didn't compete each other into death. It was an ideal ecosystem for a temperate climate, and introducing the seeds of these plants would begin the process of reclaiming Deruya. After the poisons were shot out of the soil, that is. He'd just gotten used to working by himself, and was even enjoying it, when he found out that he was being given a new partner.<br/><br/>This news was not received well, but eventually he conceded that the work was too much for him to do by himself forever. He wondered if this Azurian biologist from the genetics department would be any good at zoology. He was there early on the day she was meant to arrive, tidying up the lab.<br/><br/>When she opened the door, he was seated in an office chair faced towards the door, hands folded in his lap, an expectant look on his face. "Hello," he greeted her.