The Sun - When it Rose

"The Moons, the Stars, the Rain and the Sun"

The Martin girls cried and huddled onto their mother's lap, while their father tried to reassure them. Denner held the two boys, but Hugh struggled against her, searching for his mother.

Julia knelt over Yale and carefully examined him in the dim light while Magus hovered over them. The tutor looked as if he had fallen asleep, save for the trickle of blood that ran down the back of his head. Cameron was binding a gash on Walman's shoulder while Mazatl tore his own linen shirt into strips to act as a bandage.

"They just came at me," Walman was saying. "I couldn't do anything to stop them. Shit, I shoulda been paying more attention when I brought their lunch." He shook his head violently, and tired to tug his arm out of Cameron's grip, but the biologist-turned-medic wouldn't let go. Walman looked toward Uly and said, "It's my fault."

Uly pressed himself against the bars and tried to see into the dark corner, where a Grendler lay slumped and formless.

Devon stood defiantly at the locked cell door and glared through the bars at Captain Simmons. "Why?" she demanded, "why did you have to do this?"

"It is our duty to escape. I have told you that before," Simmons said simply. He walked over to the body of the Grendler and wrinkled his nose at the offensive smell. "I have been meaning to do that for some time."

"He has a family!" Uly shouted, "He's got a kid! How could you just kill him?"

Simmons shook his head. "That is an animal. Your cyborg is little better than an animal. There was little other harm done."

Julia stormed to the bars. "You killed Ed. You may have killed Yale! Look at him! If the connections to his implants have been severed, I won't be able to repair them." She looked over to Walman, who grimaced as Cameron secured the bandage. "Look at what you've done."

"You brought this down on yourselves," Simmons answered civilly.

Devon stepped closer to Uly, who was openly weeping. She put a protective arm around her son. "They killed him," he moaned. "He was my friend and they just killed him." He shook his head sadly, "What are we going to tell Agnes? What about Ted?"

"They were wrong to do this, Uly," Devon said, not knowing what else to say. "And they will pay for it."

Simmons smirked. "You people think an awful lot of yourselves."

Uly broke away from his mother suddenly to stand beside Julia. "Is Yale going to be okay?" Uly asked quietly.

Julia did not look at the boy. "I don't know, Uly," she answered truthfully. Yale's face was still and ashen, his breathing shallow. He had been hit in the head near his electronic implant and Julia knew there must be internal damage. If she only had her DiaGlove she might be able to help. Without it she was powerless.

All she could do was hope that she was wrong about his injury, that she was completely wrong and that he would recover. She released Yale's wrist and held onto his unresponding hand. "Hang in there, Yale," she said quietly. "Please, just hang in there."

The others in the cell looked on silently. It seemed impossible that Yale could be hurt. He was such a strong figure among them. It seemed terribly wrong for him to be lying so insensible. He was always the strong one, ever present and stoic. It seemed terribly wrong for him to be lying there so... human.

Walman spoke aloud again, "They just all came rushing out at me. I didn't have time to react. They just attacked."

Cameron patted Walman congenially on his good shoulder, but Walman shook him off. Devon said, "It could have been any of us. They were just waiting for the right moment."

"Screw it!" Walman said, "I shouldn't have let it happen."

Magus sat down beside her husband and gave him a peck on the cheek and said, "You just calm down for a while, and let Cameron get you patched up right. " Then, to change the subject, she turned to the others, and said, "I don't understand it. Why did Danz give us away? How could he do that? I never believed all that stuff about him betraying us. How could he go and do it anyway?"

"Do you really think he did?" Denner said softly, "I think he was up to something. He'd never just turn us in to the Council."

"Never," Devon said quietly, "Never." More than ever, she wished John were with her. She wanted to feel his resolute arm around her. She wanted to whisper in his ear that she trusted him, even now. She wanted to hold him and let him know that she trusted him.

The guard named Rodriguez entered the cave, stepping discretely away from Ed's body. "We can't get it running," Rodriguez said lowly.

Simmons looked back at the occupants of the cell. It had been a relatively comfortable space for the four guards. With sixteen people crowded in, it was rather oppressive. He pointed at Morgan. "You, Liaison, get out here now."

Morgan looked up sheepishly. "What? What do you want?"

"We need that communication system operational. Apparently we can't use that tunnel of yours, so this is the only way we can contact our Governor and report your capture. You are the one who's going to get it running again."

Morgan looked around at the others in the cave. "But ..." he caught Devon's eye. "What if I refuse?" he squeaked.

Simmons shrugged, "Then we will start killing your friends here one at a time. If you feel it is necessary to work slowly and inefficiently, we have ways of making you speed things up a bit."

Devon regarded Simmons and spoke to Morgan, "Do what they ask, Morgan."

Morgan nodded numbly, and stood. He made a movement away from his family and then turned and kissed each of his daughters and then his wife. "It'll be okay," Bess said reassuringly. "Just do what they say."

"I love you," Morgan whispered softly to her. "I just wanted you to know."

Bess smiled, "I've always known that."

Morgan limped across the crowded room and waited for the guard to unfasten the gate. They held their weapons level at the others as Rodriguez let Morgan through. "I'll need my cane," Morgan said. "I can't walk that far without it."

"You'll manage it," Simmons said. "I don't feel like arming my prisoners with any sort of weapon just yet."

"Give him his godddamn cane," Walman said, sitting up. "What's the matter with you?"

Devon pressed her hand against the gate before it swung completely shut. "Let me go too. He can't walk that far without help." She raised her arms. "I'm unarmed."

Simmons sighed, "If it will get him moving, what the hell." The gate was opened again, and Devon walked through before Rodriguez banged it shut.

Simmons left two of the guards to keep an eye on the captives, and took Rodriguez with him. Devon helped Morgan down form the rocky mouth of the cave. Once they were headed to the comm tent Morgan whispered to her, "Do you have anything in mind?"

"No," Devon replied quietly before Rodriguez ordered them into silence.

* * * *

Alonzo and Baines waited. Their ship, the Sunray, nestled on the Lesser Moon, out of sight of the Council Ship. "Still no signal?" Baines asked.

Alonzo drummed on the console and sighed, "They should have made contact by now. They've gotta put up that interference signal. Without it, there is no way of getting close to that ship."

Baines frowned and sat back in his chair. "What do you think happened?"

Alonzo shrugged, "It can't be good. I wish to God I was down there though. We can't do anything up here." He slumped down, resting his chin on his hands and said, "If we don't hear anything within the next hour, I say we go ahead and try to board that ship."

"Without the communication interference, we won't have a chance of getting close to it," Baines replied. "It sounds like a bad idea. We'd better wait until we got some cover."

Alonzo sighed, "I just can't handle this waiting around. I just wish I knew what was going on down there."

* * * *

True glared at the pilot and the guard as she tested her restraints. Alex remained silent while the guard, Hawking, hovered around the shuttle's main compartment. Finally, after an undeterminable amount of time, the group was ready to leave and Hawking departed with them. The pilot watched from the cockpit until the two remaining Council vehicles disappeared beyond the near hills and then he turned to the girl. Before he could speak, True growled, "If they do anything to hurt my father..."

"You know where they are?" the pilot asked. "You do know." He spoke with a strange accent. True had heard many of the station accents during her tenure as her father's assistant, but there was something different about the way he spoke, as if he was searching for the correct word to say. "Tell me this. I need to know."

"I don't know where they are," she said roughly. "I am not telling you anything."

The pilot leaned toward her and said, "I saw the sign. I know, I know that you know."

True shook her head. "I am not telling anything, so don't waste your breath." She tugged again and gasped slightly when the tight bands cut a little too deeply into her wrists. She met the pilot's eyes and saw something she hadn't expected. She saw compassion.

"I am sorry." He walked to her chair. "The Council can be quite cruel, I have discovered." He worked at the bands and released them. "Better?"

She pulled her hands away from the chair arms and rubbed her wrists. True looked at the pilot, dumbfounded.

He spoke again, "Please, you must tell me. It is all that matters. Where are they? I saw the sign."

"What sign are you talking about?" True said quietly.

The pilot gestured out to the windmill. "The crossbars. I saw them. You put them there, yes? So that I could see them."

True frowned, "I don't understand."

Alex sighed, "The TrailMaker is in the crossbars. From the New Earth Explorers, you know?"

True's mind reeled. These things he referred to were familiar. Suddenly it came to her, the story that Uly had related to them of Anna Gerting. Uly had dreamed of Anna when they had all fallen ill in Gerting Valley, when they had first crossed it during the autumn rains. The New Earth Explorers had landed on this planet over 100 years ago. The Advancers had named half the landmarks between the Last-Step Mountains and the Morgan River after the explorers.

The TrailMaker had been one of the vehicles belonging to the New Earth Explorers. Her father had cannibalized it to get the TransRover running. When the TransRover was dismantled and used to build the windmill, parts of the TrailMaker went with it. And yes, she remembered the long struts that formed the crossbars of the windmill had once belonged to Gerting's TrailMaker.

The pilot nodded, "Yes, you understand. You know. I see it in your eyes." He was suddenly excited, " I knew they would be here yet. I knew they would ... survive. You know them, the children of the children of the New Earth Explorers, yes? They are with you?"

True sat back in her seat and looked into the earnest face of the pilot. She remembered in the story that Anna Gerting had two pilots, Armon Pollin and Alexander Rienhardt. They had been sent back to Earth, on their ship, the Drache, before the disastrous mission fell apart.

"Alexander Rienhardt..." True said slowly.

The pilot beamed, "Yes! Yes!" He nodded happily, "You know me! I knew they would live. I knew we did not leave them to die. Armon, Armon he said we should not have left them. I was the one who said we were right. Where are they? The children of the children of the children of Anna Gerting?"

"You can't be alive..." True trailed off.

"But I am. Yes, you see." He poked at his chest. "I was in ColdSleep for very long time. They say I broke the record." His gaiety left him and he spoke again, "My friend, my good friend Armon, was not as lucky as I. Armon and I, we together survived to reach Earth. They released us from ColdSleep and asked us many questions. For many days, for weeks, we answered, then they returned us to ColdSleep. So many years passed. And when we were again awakened, only I survived. They said they need me to come here. They said I know secret things about the planet." He laughed lightly, "They do not understand that I never stand on the planet. I came only as close as the moons." He paused and said, "Please, I must know, where are the New Earth Explorers." He waited for a moment. "You do not trust me? Yes, I understand. Do not tell me where they are. Tell me only, The New Earth Explorers they live, yes?"

True met his eyes, and saw not the dull complacency of a Council member, but a lost soul. She always thought there was something unique about him when she saw him on the surveillance system. He moved differently, spoke strangely. He actually took the time to look around. It was wholly possible that he was Alex Rienhardt. "They are gone," True replied.

Alex waited a beat. "Yes, I know. Much time has passed. Tell me now, the...descendents are alive."

True looked into his expectant face. He was trying so hard to draw one response from her. He smiled so brightly. He seemed to have been waiting all this time to simply talk to one of her group, to find out where his friends had gone. "They all died," True responded, feeling a sudden incredible sorrow. "Nobody survived."

Alex sat on his haunches, and let his hands hang loose at his wrists. "But, someone lived... someone to give you the sign on the tower?"

"Please," True stood, "Please, my father is in danger. You must help me."

"But someone did live..." Alex said slowly.

True knelt down in front of the ancient pilot and said, "I will tell you everything, but you must help me."

Alex, his face so still it might have been numbed by jelly-fish-jelly, stared out beyond the girl. True grabbed him by the arms and said, "Please, you must do something. You must save my father."

Alex shook his head abruptly and stood. "Yes, yes of course." He turned as if he planned to go to the cockpit, and then turned again toward the exit and spun back to face the cockpit. After a moment he turned again to face True. "What will we do?"

* * * *

John Danziger pressed his back into the seat and glowered at the guard who faced him. Jim Bower sat beside him, with the Taser-rifle aimed at John's head. The other guard drove the vehicle. Governor Mayland Vance followed behind in a second DuneRail, with her aide driving. The rain splattered against them as they moved across the landscape. The sky was dark, thick with clouds. Danziger looked out at the sky as if hoping to draw ideas from it. He had taken a big risk in revealing the surveillance devise. He was counting on the fact that Morgan was at the controls of the comm system and would be able to shut it down in time. The liaison had not been much help to them during their traveling, but once he had found his niche, he took it quite seriously.

Danziger needed to do something to let the Council know that he was willing to help them. Of course, he realized that the Council would not readily comply, that they would not simply release True. But if he could draw a group of them away from the rest, he might have a chance of taking them captive, as he had Trimble's team. And the other members of Eden Advance were now well aware of what was going on in Roanoke. With the greater part of the Council now on this adventure, the Advancers would certainly rescue True, using the spider-tunnel. He had to trust that they were able to do so.

He shook his head as he realized how stupid he had been. When he attacked the DuneRail, he should have taken out Bower first. If he had done that, he would have had a chance of freeing True and escaping with her through the spider-tunnels. Things had gone horribly wrong.

Danziger had to come up with a plan. He would have to come up with something that would put the whole lot of them out of commission. He vaguely considered bringing them all the way over Cameron's Pass and to cross into Gerting Valley. With any luck they would make it just in time to meet the onslaught of the Sick-Sleep Insects. Of course, timing was everything and there was no telling when exactly they would arrive. It was the only plan he had.

He thought about Devon again. He could only hope that she understood what he had done. She must know that he was not trying to betray them, but save his daughter. She had to realize that he knew they could shut the comm system down before the frequency could be traced. She would know.

The DuneRail jostled and bumped over the landscape under the influence of the inexperienced driver. The DuneRail became stuck in the rain softened ground, and the driver took several moments to break it free. "I could drive for you," Danziger said, offhand.

"Just show us where to go," Bower growled at him. Danziger shrugged and settled into the seat again.

* * * *

Devon stood in the corner of the tent and watched Morgan as he worked to reconnect the comm system. She wasn't paying much attention to the process. Instead, she was thinking about Danziger again. She shivered as she remembered how he had pulled the surveillance device from the rafters of the Great House. For a moment, his face had filled the screen before he handed the optic away. She replayed the moment in her head, searching that face.

She wished she could read his mind, could see beyond those eyes, but he had held his face impassive and there was nothing to find in his expression. But she knew. She knew he would not betray them this time, not in this time-line. She only wished she knew what she could do to help him, and True, and save themselves as well.

Simmons leaned against Morgan's shoulder and the liaison turned on him, "Look, can you give me a bit of breathing room here? I can't work in these kinda conditions."

"You'll work," Simmons replied.

Morgan sighed, "Do you think I could get something to drink while I'm working. I could really go for some nice hot tea. Well, what I'd really like is a big ole mug of coffee, but I guess you don't have any on you."

"Shut up," Simmons barked. "You get this thing running again, that is all you are here for."

"I can never get any tea," Morgan muttered.

Devon's eyes moved across the tent, looking for something that could be used as a weapon. She knew that this might be their only chance for freedom. Her eyes rested on Morgan and she watched as he suddenly stopped working, as if he had seen something. He turned toward her and said, "Devon, you should be careful if you stand over there."

Devon puzzled and said, "Why's that, Morgan?

"Yesterday, I thought I might have seen one of those Killers things back there," Morgan replied and returned to his console.

Devon paused for a moment, and then moved out of the corner and closer to the comm system.

Simmons grunted. "We've all seen that Walman guy. He's in the cave right now with the rest of your buddies. He's a little worse for wear, but those Killer things didn't kill him."

"He was lucky," Devon said, guessing what Morgan was up to. "We were able to apply the antidote in time." She tried not to look at the shelf where Stanley spent most of his time. "The bite of a Killer will stop a man's heart. You have about fifteen minutes to apply the antidote. I suppose we did lie to your Governor when we told her that there was no known cure. Sure, we took advantage of the situation. It was a fluke and we were lucky to get away with it. The results are the same if the antidote is not given in time; the body would decompose before your eyes."

Simmons stiffened and Rodriguez moved uneasily, eyeing the corner that Devon had just vacated. Morgan glanced back at Devon, "Maybe he's gone by now, huh?"

Stanley, so terribly frightened by recent events, had been hiding on the shelf, in the box that formed his home. He was glad to see familiar faces enter the room and only needed a slight encouragement to show his enthusiasm. When Morgan turned back toward him, he gave Stanley that little hand motion that was an invitation to jump onto his shoulder.

The huge black spider leapt from his shelf, straight at Morgan, legs extended and eyes-stalks flailing. He expected to land gracefully on the human's shoulder, so that he could poke the man a few times on the noggin. He didn't expect his human to fall backward in his chair, screaming as if he were scared for his life. Confused and still high strung from earlier events, Stan sprang to the only other familiar face in the room. He managed to land right on that face.

The woman spun around, grabbing at the spider as if she was trying to pull him off her face, but she was actually impeding his departure. She flung herself about in the small tent. She cried out and then fell on the floor. The poor spider jumped away from her and skittered off as fast as his eight long spindly legs could carry him.

"Holy crap!" Simmons said, pulling his weapon and preparing to fire, but the horrible thing was gone before he had a chance. He turned to Rodriguez, to find him white-faced, and collapsing onto the ground. "Rodriguez! Rodriguez!" He toed the fallen guard, but the man had fainted dead away.

Simmons looked at the carnage. Papers were strewn across the floor, and fluttering about in the air. Martin had pitched straight back on his chair and Adair was just inside the tent, lying on one side, her face turned toward the ground.

"Damn it!" Simmons said. Keeping his gun ready, he ran to the cave. When he stumbled into the dim cavern and barked, "I want that doctor and I want her now!"

Julia was examining the Cameron's work at patching up Walman's arm. "I am not going anywhere," she said. "I have plenty of work already"

"Then you are letting your own people die," Simmons said. "I need that liaison alive. I need that communication system repaired."

Bess cried sharply, and moved out from under her children. She sprang to the bars of the cell. "What's wrong? What happened to Morgan?"

Uly was also at the front of the cell. "Where's my mother? What's wrong with them?"

Simmons nodded sharply. "Get out here now. You'll need the antidote."

"Antidote?" Julia said as she stood.

"One of those Killers attacked them."

Julia paused for a moment, realizing what had been said. Did Devon have a plan? What was going on. She knelt beside Yale for a moment, wishing she could do something, anything. He was still unconscious. She had bandaged his head, but had not been able to stop the bleeding. She looked to Cameron and said, "Keep an eye on him, okay?"

Cameron nodded solemnly. "You can count on it," he said and moved over to Yale's cot.

Julia grabbed for Mazatl as she walked to the gate. "I'm going to need help."

Mazatl stood and followed Julia. Simmons frowned, but motioned Holigrove to let them through. Mazatl rested his left hand for a moment on the door jam as he exited the cell, just long enough to force a last bit of torn cloth into the lock.

Uly noted what Mazatl had done, and when Holigrove slammed the door shut, Uly grabbed it and held the gate tightly to its frame. "You better take care of my mother!" He shouted as Simmons and Holigrove escorted the doctor and Mazatl out of the cave. He leaned back slightly and could feel that the gate was loose. It hadn't locked. He leaned against it again, holding so that the guard would not suspect its condition.

Simmons turned back to Veasey. "If you hear any trouble from out here, kill them all," he said darkly.

Veasey moved farther up the cave, toward the mouth, so that he could hear his fellow guards even though he could not see them. He kept his weapon trained on the occupants of the cell. Cameron and Magus stayed near Yale's still form, while Denner and Bess tried to entertain the five children. Walman watched Uly, who continued to hold the door shut. He had also noted Mazatl's actions, and realized that the lock was now jammed open. They would have to find a way to distract Veasey and then they could take him out. He motioned to Magus, and she knelt down next to him.

****

True stood at the shuttle's communication system and looked over her shoulder at Alex. He watched her seriously. "Be careful," he said. "If they know that it is you who is using this comm system..."

"They won't have a clue," True said with a smile. "Besides, I've learned a think or two about comm-system espionage." She fiddled with the controls, knowing that she'd have to ensure that the relay was fully operational before anything would work. Alex had explained to her that the monitoring signal had been discontinued. Even so, the relay should be operational if you knew how to reach it.

She set the shuttle's system to broadcast on all frequencies so that there would be no way to track down any specific band, and turned up the intensity. Then she cleared her throat and looked at the pilot. "This may seem a little weird," she said.

* * * *

Julia had reached the comm tent, just as Rodriguez shot out the door. She spun out of the way in time to avoid colliding with the guard. "Is it gone?" Rodriguez said in a panic. "Did it go away?"

Simmons frowned at the shaking guard. "The insect isn't here, if that means anything." He grabbed Julia by the shoulder and pushed her into the tent. He glanced in the direction of the MedTent, where Holigrove had taken Mazatl for the necessary supplies. Simmons shouted, "Hurry it up, Holigrove! We need the antidote now!"

Julia had stumbled into the tent, tripping over Devon. She landed on her hands and knees near Morgan. He opened one eye as she hovered over him. She wanted to ask him if they had a plan, if there was anything that she was supposed to do, but there was no time. Simmons entered the tent and she hissed at their liaison, who quickly shut the one eye.

"If he dies, you die," Simmons said sharply. "I need control of that comm system."

She looked up to see Mazatl and Holigrove heading toward them. The guard handed the medical bag to Simmons when they arrived at the tent. He opened the bag and removed anything that might have been considered a weapon before handing it to the doctor. She frowned, when he removed the scissors, needles and scalpels, but when she opened the bag herself, she was satisfied to see something had avoided his search. Still inside were the harmless looking triangles, grossberry thorns, coated with koba venom. The same device that Walman had used to dose himself three weeks ago.

She was still crouched on the floor, looking into the bag when the comm system suddenly awoke. A barking, growling, howling, whimpering, grunting sound brought the thing to life. Morgan must have connected enough of the system to allow incoming messages. The three guards spun around to face unexpected noise. Julia pulled one of the thorns from its case and stood. She jammed the small spike into Simmons' neck before he had a chance to recover from the shock of the strange sound. Simmons gasped and gargled, reaching for the pain in his neck. He turned, wild eyed to Julia and tried to move his hands to aim his weapon, but his arms had gone numb and he fell like a sack of potatoes to the floor.

Holigrove had been standing beside Devon's inert form. Devon lunged at Holigrove's legs, and felled him like a tree. Mazatl leaped on top of him to hold the guard down.

Rodriguez ran, screaming in terror. Devon jumped to her feet to run after him. She was only a few meters from the tent when Agnes, the Grendler, stepped out from behind the Solace tent and grabbed hold of the guard. She had returned a day early.

Rodriguez screamed again, "It wasn't me! I didn't do it." He struggled against her awesome grip. "It was Simmons. Simmons killed him. Simmons killed that other one."

Agnes looked to Devon and cooed softly in confusion. The Grendler could understand enough of this human speech to comprehend most of what went around about her. She looked to Devon.

"I'm sorry," Devon said. "I'm so sorry." Agnes wailed in agony.

Julia had already disabled Holigrove with the koba thorn, and was approaching Rodriguez. She realized though, that there was no need, for he would not escape the hug of the grieving Grendler.

"The cave!" Devon cried, "There's still one more guard." And she ran to the cell, remembering that Rodriguez had screamed and what Veasey had been ordered to do.

* * * *

Uly had heard the scream and saw Veasey bring his weapon to ready. The guard was too far away to be taken by rushing through the open gate, too well armed. Magus, Cameron and Walman were trying to come up with a plan to lure the guard to the gate so that they would have a chance of overtaking him, but Veasey was being to cautious. He would have to be distracted long enough to allow the others to reach him. Uly knew what to do. He threw back his head, crossed his arms and disappeared into the rock floor of the cave.

Veasey, shocked by the sight of a boy being sucked into the ground, sputtered, "What the hell?' as he stumbled backward a few steps. He again raised his weapon, intent on carrying out his orders. Suddenly, the boy rose behind him. Before Veasey had a chance to react, Uly grabbed the guard's arms from behind, ruining his aim. The guard thrashed about, trying to dislodge the young man from his back, but without warning Magus and Cameron were upon him, throwing him to the ground and holding him.

"Uly," Cameron said, somewhat astonished, "that was incredible. I mean, you've gone through dirt before, but never solid rock."

Uly shrugged. "It's not so solid as you think," he replied.

"What was it like?" Magus asked, catching her breath as she sat on Veasey's head.

"Kinda fun," Uly replied with a smile.

Magus, Cameron and Uly were still panting when Mazatl and Devon appeared at the mouth of the cave. Devon fell to her knees beside her son and wrapped her arms around him. "Mom," the boy said with a certain amount of irritation, but it was impossible to ignore the relief in his face as well.

* * * *

Danziger kept his eye on the slope before him. He had come up with a small plan, if he could get it to work. They had been traveling for almost an hour, but hadn't covered much distance. He was doing what he could to slow down their progress by sending them up over the steep hills, when they could have easily traveled along their bases. The poor traction on the rain soaked hillsides aided his slow-down tactic. The rain had stopped by now, but the sky was still gray and overcast.

He had managed to work the manacles off by this time. They had been improperly set, and it was only a matter of time before he was able to remove them. His hands were torn and sore from the effort. Bower's GEAR was sitting on the seat between them. Danziger would need to get his hands on of it.

What he needed now was a diversion. He received it almost immediately. "What the hell is that?" The guard Hawking said, wincing as he pulled his GEAR away from his head. Danziger could hear the indistinct but loud grumbling and howling from Hawking's GEAR. The guard slammed on the brakes.

Raddison, who was following close behind, and also distracted by the overpowering sound coming over the comm system, rammed into the first DuneRail. Everyone was jolted, Danziger grabbed Bower's GEAR and tumbled off the side. Bower glared back at Raddison, his anger overtaking his sensibilities for a moment, as Danziger tucked himself into a ball and rolled down the steep slope. He leapt to his feet and disappeared around the bend.

Vance, from behind them, shouted, "You idiots! Get after him!"

Bower recovered and smacked Hawking once soundly across the head with the Taser. "Moron, you're letting him get away!"

Hawking set the DuneRail in motion. It hopped and baubled down the hill after their escaped captive and around the bend in the hills. He stopped the vehicle and they stared out at the scene.

They heard the second DuneRail grind up slowly behind them. The vehicle, with its front end mashed in, died quietly at the side of the lake that greeted them. Raddison crawled out and muttered, "It wasn't my fault. I'm not a trained driver."

Bower grabbed the aide by his collar and shouted into his face, "Where the hell did he go!"

"Enough already," Vance said, as she joined the others. Bower, Hawking, Tulmey, Raddison and Vance looked out across the still pond and along the rocky hillside. There was no trace of their captive, not even a ripple on the water.

* * * *

Council Guard Reno moved his arms slowly and carefully, extracting his hands from the knots that Danziger had placed him in. He worked the ropes off his hands and started on the cords that bound his legs.

Trimble had once again toppled onto the lap of Lender. He was struggling to right himself when saw that Reno was up and walking. "Untie me immediately!" he demanded, trying to turn his head out of Lender's crotch.

Reno moved quickly away from the others and recovered something he been keeping an eye on for some time. When Danziger had quickly loaded the DuneRail, something had fallen from the vehicle. Reno recognized what it was.

"Corporal Reno! I demand that you untie me at once!" Trimble shouted as Lender tried again to roll his commanding officer off his lap.

Reno picked up the GEAR set and pulled it on. He was just about to make contact with his home base when the most incredible sound met his ears, a grunting growling barking sound that reverberated in his head. He winced at the intensity and strangeness of the sound and glanced back at Trimble, Lender and Farrow. "I think some of those Grendler things got ahold of our comm system."

* * * *

"Was that True?" Devon asked, once Morgan sat down at the controls of the comm system.

"Huh?" Morgan said, distracted, "Of course it was true, do you think she would lie?"

"What?" Devon said, confused at the response. She shook her head and tried again, "Was that True on the comm system?"

Morgan glanced over his shoulder at Devon, and then seemed to realize what Devon had said. "Yeah, yeah, True's fine," Morgan replied finally, "I guess that Council pilot is helping her. She said that she could trust him. They're going to take the Council Shuttle to find Danziger. The Council has him and they are taking him somewhere. She's asking that I throw up that communication interference so that they can get off the ground and find him unnoticed."

Devon smiled. True was safe, and perhaps Danziger would be safe too. It seemed remarkable that the Council's pilot would help them, but stranger things had happened. She hoped that True would be careful, but Devon knew True well enough to trust her common sense.

Devon nodded sharply to Morgan, "Get that interference going. Alonzo and Baines are probably going out of their minds wondering why it's taking so long to get started."

* * * *

"What did they say?" Baines said excitedly. "What did they say?" He had never quite mastered the Grendler language. He could recognize a few words, such as 'hungry', 'trade' and 'pie,' but had never learned enough to understand a sentence.

Alonzo said, "I think it was True. She said something about a pilot and a ship, but she wasn't talking about us. She says she has help. She says that they are going to look for Danz and she asked for the communication interference to start."

"Yeah, that's what we've been sitting around here waiting for," Baines groused. "How did she get away from the Council? Why is she using the wide band? Why is she talking in Grendler?"

"I don't know," Alonzo said and frowned. "I think there's a lot more going on down there than we suspect."

Baines shrugged, "Yeah, well, until they start that interference, I'd might as well take a nap."

Suddenly a booming sound interrupted them and then the comm system went dead - hissing sporadically.

"No time for a nap," Alonzo said. "It looks like we are on center stage now." He brought the Sunray back to life, firing up its main engines. The Sunray rose from the Lesser Moon, as Alonzo aimed it to the now blind Council Ship.

* * * *

True smiled when the comm-system fell victim to the jamming. "Are you ready?" she asked. "They won't be able to track us now. No one will even realize that the shuttle has taken off."

"She'll know," Alex said, pointing out of the main window of the shuttle and toward the approaching aide, Alison LaSalle.

True sat back in her seat. "Do you have a weapon?" she asked quickly.

Alex shook his head and said, "No, why would I want one?"

From her vantage point, True could see the woman drawing nearer. "Quick, we have to think of something."

Alex turned to the shuttle door as Alison knocked for entry. "Be still," he said to True as he swung open the door.

Alison stood in the opening. "The comm system is down again. I need to see if yours is working."

Alex gestured vaguely toward the mechanism. "It is yours to try."

The aide sighed and looked at True, who sat as still as possible in the chair. "Is she giving you any trouble?"

"She is good," Alex responded.

LaSalle smiled tightly and entered the shuttle. She started to move toward the communication panel when Alex held her shoulder.

She turned to him, perplexed. "What is it, Alex?" she asked.

Alex nodded to True, who stood and moved away from the chair where she had been restrained. LaSalle's eyes grew large. "I am sorry, but we must not let you go," Alex said, guiding the aide to the chair and sitting her down gently. LaSalle was too confused to resist. He held out his hand for True and she handed him the cuffs. "I will not hurt you," he promised the aide as he applied the restraints. "Is it too tight? Are you comfortable?"

"What are you doing?" LaSalle said, her voice revealing puzzlement, but not panic. "What's going on?"

"We are to rescue her father," Alex replied. "You will be safe. I will do nothing to hurt you."

"But Alex!" LaSalle asked sullenly, "You are one of us. How could you do this? How could you betray us?"

Alex checked the cuffs to ensure they were secure, but humanely set. "I am sorry. It is not my meaning to betray." He looked to True. "But I must do what is right. This is right."

* * * *

Alonzo maneuvered the Sunray in beside the massive Council Ship. There was always the possibility that someone was looking out one of the portals and may have spotted them, but they were banking on the fact that there were too few people awake, and that they were too busy to bother.

They searched for a docking port, and found a convenient place near the bridge. The moment the smaller ship made contact, it performed a service it was designed to do, it connected with the ship's computer system and blended in. The Sunray had been a shape-shifter's ship. Although the ship itself did not change shape, it may as well have. The moment it made contact with a foreign computer system, it hid its existence. It told the other computer that it wasn't there and the computer believed it.

Alonzo and Baines looked at each other for a minute. "Well, we're here," Alonzo said finally.

Baines nodded and picked up a weapon. "I guess we gotta do it."

"Two of us against who knows what," Alonzo said with a sigh. "Ready?"

Baines nodded and Alonzo opened the airlock that separated them from the Council Ship.

* * * *

Danziger sat back in the cave that had been created by the shape-shifter. It had once served as a holding cell for Morgan, and now it was a hiding place. Danziger sucked on his bloodied knuckles as he listened to the Council members moving about along the lakeside, and watched them on a monitor. This place would remain hidden unless they knew specifically where to look, and use an exact frequency to shut down the illusion that hid the doorway. Danziger had been able to set Bower's pilfered GEAR to the correct channel just in time to get through the illusion and reset it before the first DuneRail appeared on the scene.

The Council had broken into teams and were scouting the area. Raddison was looking out across the pond, looking air bubbles, snorkels or perhaps he was just trying to avoid the others. Bower was storming up and down the sandy shore and Vance sat majestically in the undamaged DuneRail. They could look all they wanted; they would not be able to find him here.

The others Advancers, certainly, would have been able to rescue True by now. He was banking on that fact. As long as True was safe, he could stay here forever. He had heard the Council members complain about the interference on their comm-system. It was a sure sign that someone in New Atlantica had sprung a plan to free his daughter.

The guard named Tulmey walked near the entrance to the cave and Danziger cringed as the illusion vibrated in his passing. Danziger panicked for moment, knowing that the illusion was the only thing that hid him from the Council. Tulmey did not seem to notice. There was no reason for that to happen, unless. Danziger could see a GEAR set hanging from Tulmey's waist. If that comm-jamming signal was running on all frequencies, it was probably hitting the frequency that the illusion generator used. The GEAR was setting it off. Danziger looked first at Bower's stolen GEAR. He had turned it off, so it wasn't going to effect the illusion. He glanced at the monitor to see the searching guards. Both Tulmey and Raddison were still carrying their useless GEAR. With any luck they would not pass this way again.

"Damn it!" Danziger muttered, "How the hell did they get loose." He saw several familiar faces suddenly join the group. Trimble, and the others he had captured earlier that day, stumbled into the valley surrounding the pond. They looked a little disheveled, muddy and lost, but happy to return to the rest of their group. Danziger listened to Trimble's report and had to keep himself from laughing at the lieutenant's description of their capture. Trimble certainly had a way of exaggerating his own actions. Reno looked embarrassed as he watched his commanding officer.

Vance listened to the report with a grave face. "We should send them back to camp," Raddison suggested.

"They will remain here and find that man," Vance said between gritted teeth. "If Danziger is not found, everyone will pay."

The four newcomers joined the others quickly and began the search, and majority of the group disappeared from view. Danziger could now only see Bower and Vance.

"You will find him," Vance said darkly, "And he will be executed for the way he has disgraced the Council."

Bower nodded, "I thought that was always part of the plan." He grinned mockingly. "You haven't come up with any new ideas for a while."

"And you should remain quiet," Vance replied. "You have much to own up to as well."

Danziger's view was momentarily blocked as someone walked in front of the cave. Again, the illusion shimmered slightly. This time, the figure stopped and retraced its steps. The guard stepped closer to the hiding place and touched the shimmering rock wall. The illusion crumbled and the hiding place revealed.

"Mr. Danziger," Corporal Reno said congenially, "I think it is time for me to return a favor."

* * * *

The Advancers had carefully moved Yale out of the cell and into the old Med Tent. Julia sat beside him again, doing nothing more than holding his hand and talking quietly. "Hang on, Yale," she said softly. "Just hang on." His blood pressure was dropping and his pulse was weakening. "Please, Yale, just stay with us."

The Advancers then performed the sad task of moving Ed. Morgan talked to Agnes, in that strange grunting language. He tried to tell her things that would make her feel better, but couldn't think of anything. He never was very good at coming up with decent things to say. He wished that Yale was awake or that True was here. They both were much better at things like this. He always ended up saying stupid things.

"Look," he finally said to the bawling Grendler, "We sure liked the guy and we're going to miss him a lot. And you can stay with us if you want, you and Ted, as long as you like. You're one of our family, you know."

Agnes wrapped her all encompassing arms around the liaison and squeezed, "Careful!" Morgan gasped. "I break easy."

****

Bower had dragged Danziger from his hiding place and hauled him out into the open. "So, you think you can make a fool out of me, do you?"

"Making a fool out of you wasn't my doing," Danziger said under his breath. "You did that yourself."

Bower hauled back to hit the mechanic, but stopped and instinctively ducked. Danziger rolled out of his grip and looked up to see the Council Shuttle bearing down on them. It screamed in close and the weapons exploded off the shuttle's starboard side, sending Farrow and Lender flying. The air crackled with the electric pulse generated from the large-scale version of Bower's Taser-Rifle. Trimble and Hawking dove under a DuneRail.

Vance glared at the sky as the Shuttle came in low and fast and then rolled away. She grabbed Raddison by the collar and shoved him before herself. "Get into the cave!" she barked. The aide stumbled and fell. The Governor jumped over him and ran toward the cave that Danziger had recently vacated.

The shuttle came in again. Tulmey and Reno were both under the second DuneRail by now. Reno was forcing Tulmey's head back further into cover. Farrow and Lender were senseless on the ground. Bower stood in the midst of it all. He had let his Taser fall and was now pointing his laser pistol at the ship that pitched and rolled and was coming back at him.

Danziger could see into the cockpit of the shuttle. There was the blonde pilot, his face set, as he artfully maneuvered the ship in close, and beside him was a young woman. "True..." Danziger whispered. He glanced back over to Bower. The bodyguard stood stiffly, his pistol raised and pointed at the propulsion system of the shuttle. The Council Mechanic knew what he was doing. At such close range he could detonate the craft.

Without thinking, Danziger ran at Bower, scooping the Taser up as he ran. Bower's concentration was centered on the approaching shuttle and he didn't even know what hit him when Danziger fired the weapon. The bodyguard fell in a huge heap on the ground.

The shuttle banked in again, firing just short of the first DuneRail. Trimble, terrified, ran out to where Raddison still lay with his hands on his head. Trimble shouted to the craft as he raised his hands, "We surrender! We surrender!" Hawking strode up reluctantly beside him, hands in the air.

Danziger waved to the shuttle, which broke off the attack. He picked up Bower's pistol and then moved to disarm the two surrendering guards. He had just pulled the weapon from Trimble's shaking hands when the crackling beam of a miss-aimed MagPro exploded over his shoulder.

He looked to see Reno force the weapon out of Tulmey's hands. "What are you, an idiot?" Reno said as he tossed the weapon into the open, and then crawled out from under the DuneRail. He reached back to drag Tulmey with him. "They got the shuttle. It's time to give up."

Danziger motioned for Reno and Tulmey to join the others as the shuttle landed nearby. He smiled when his daughter exited the ship. She stood for a moment in the doorway and then ran to him. She threw her arms around his neck and embraced him, "Daddy, I am so glad your safe," she said tearfully, "I was so afraid."

He was careful to keep an eye on his captives, and when his daughter released him, he handed her the Taser. "Keep an eye on them, True-Girl," he said as he took up Bower's laser pistol.

He glanced up at Alex as he debarked from the shuttle. He nodded solemnly to the pilot, and then headed to the cave where Vance had disappeared.

Vance had made her way to the back of the cave and had holed herself up in the cell. She had managed to arm herself with a chair, and she swung it wildly as Danziger approached her. Her hair was a mess, and her clothing torn. She looked like a wild woman, captured. The mechanic aimed the pistol and she dropped the chair with a clatter.

"I would have found all of you if it wasn't for that bastard Alex! If he didn't betray me, all of you would have died." Vance growled.

Danziger smiled slightly. "You never would have found the rest of us," he replied.

"I would have won!" Vance said as she sat heavily on the cold stone floor and wrapped her arms around herself. "I would have won."

Danziger remembered that he had killed two men, and that Grand was dead. He remembered that he and True were both held as captives, that he hadn't seen Devon for a year, that all of their lives had been disrupted. "This was never a game," he said quietly.

* * * *

Baines and Alonzo crept through several of the winding corridors of the Council's ship before they were able to get their bearings and find their way to the main sectors. They were able to ascertain that the only crew members awake, were now gathered in one room.

Now they stood, their backs flat to the wall and listened. There were voices beyond a doorway. They looked at each other and both nodded. This was it. Following a deep resolute breath, Alonzo flung the hatch open. The two men leapt into the room, weapons drawn, and prepared for ... well ... they weren't prepared for this.

It appeared to be the break room. Lt. Governor Parkins, Doctor Li, two guards and one nurse were present. Everyone was sufficiently surprised, most of them were partially undressed. They seemed to be in the middle of a rather cutthroat game of strip poker. The guards leapt to their feet but looked around stupidly and grabbed for their pants. Li pulled on her blouse and the nearly nude Parkins looked as if he wanted to disappear into the floor. The nurse, who appeared to be winning, simply set down her cards and held up her hand in surrender.

* * * *

Danziger, True and Alex had moved their captives into the shuttle's cargo hold. Bower was barely awakening when they were ready to move him. When Alex squatted down beside him, Bower said, "Why the hell didja do it, Reinhardt? Why did you turn on us?"

"I am not the one who betrayed," Alex said. And then he added, "Why did YOU do it? Why did you kill Nathan?"

Bower turned away, and said groggily, "It wasn't me. It was the girl."

"I am not stupid, Jim," Alex said. "Tell me, why did you kill him. He was one of us."

"He annoyed me," Bower growled.

Alex stepped back and looked at the others and said nothing more.

Once they had stowed Bower in the cargo hold with the rest, Danziger pulled on the GEAR he had stolen and tested it. The interference had been removed; the channel was open again. He dialed up the frequency that would bring him across the continent and signaled.

He was met with Morgan's concerned face. "What the hell are you doing? You know better than to transmit on this channel! They'll glom right onto us!"

"We got 'em Morgan. We got the whole bunch of them," Danziger said tiredly. "And by the way, we're okay."

"All of them?" Morgan said incredulously. "How did you capture all of them?"

"Hey! Are we talking again?" Baines chimed in. "Cause we captured a whole bunch of them here. They were rough. They were ruthless. But we got 'em! Lonz is just putting the last one into ColdSleep right now."

"You've taken the ship? They got the ship!" Morgan said over his shoulder. He was obviously talking to others around him, and suddenly both Devon and Julia joined in.

"Is everyone okay?" Devon said hurriedly. "Danziger, is True all right?"

"Yeah, yeah, she's here with me, converting the enemy."

"Baines!' Julia cut in, "I need you to get whatever medical equipment you can lay your hands on and get it here fast. I need a DiaGlove, a SedaDerm, a lab kit... just grab everything in the medical bay and bring it here now."

Baines looked flabbergasted, "But we just got here. I mean WE took the ship. We just can't leave it."

"Who's gonna take it away from you?" Danziger put in. "Besides, we got another ship. We can go baby-sit it for you."

"Another ship?" Baines expression did not change.

"Baines!' Julia ordered, "The medical gear. NOW!"

"Ah, okay," Baines responded and signed off.

Devon waited until Julia and Morgan left the transmission before she spoke again, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Danziger replied. "A few scuffs and scrapes. I'll survive."

"We need you back with us," Devon said softly. "I need you back. I have missed you so much."

"I'll be coming as quick as I can."

"I trust you," she continued. "I do. I trust you more than I can say. I knew you were not going to give us away. I knew..."

"I love you," Danziger said, stopping Devon instantly. He stared at her image for several moments, seeing the tears form in her eyes, wishing he could throw his arms around her. "I love you."

"John..." Devon's voice trailed.

* * * *

Somewhere in the midst of all, no one could say exactly when, a little tunnel spider on the wrong side of the continent found his way back to the vortex and headed home. His polar-relatives had not been very friendly and the whole atmosphere of the western location had set his nerves on end. When he crawled back out onto the right-side, back among his family and friends, the little love-spider had to admit, it was good to be home again.

* * * *

Yale's eyes fluttered open and he stared at the familiar ceiling of the new hospital. He smiled slightly, realizing that the new hospital was five years old now. He wondered if they would ever call it anything else. He turned his head slightly and discovered that it was a rather painful endeavor, so he returned his head to its original position and his vision was suddenly crowded with faces.

"Yale!" Uly said brightly, "You're okay!"

There was Devon beaming down at him and Julia smiling. "Glad to have you back with us," Julia said, as she ran her hand over his head.

"Julia," Yale said quizzically, "You have your DiaGlove again?"

 

She smiled again, "A little gift from our Council friends. They also left us four slightly used, partially damaged, DuneRails; quite a few weapons; some rather militaristic clothing; a nice stash of coffee and a portable lavatory that is constantly in the process of backing up."

"The Council! What happened? The last thing I can remember is that we were still in New Atlantica." The tutor winced slightly as he spoke.

Julia ran the DiaGlove gently over his implant area. "You received a pretty nasty blow to the head. Thanks to our old friend here," she wiggled the fingers of the DiaGlove for emphasis, "we were able to repair the damage and bring you back to us. The implants were not damaged, but many of the connections had been torn."

Yale smiled grimily, "I suppose that would explain the rather oppressive headache."

"Let me brew you some black-bark tea. That should help," Julia said and patted him on the shoulder.

Yale frowned slightly, "And what about the Council?"

"They are gone, or almost gone," Devon explained. "I'll fill you in on all the details later, but let's just say that we have put them back on their ship and slipped them into ColdSleep for their journey home."

"Devon!" Morgan's voice sounded from somewhere in the vicinity of the entrance. "Hey, Yale!" He limped into the room and came into Yale's limited vision. "You're awake. That must mean that the Council's DiaGlove works. So there weren't any booby traps. Sign me up, Julia. I'm next on the list."

"Yes, Morgan." Julia said with a shake of her head, "You are on the list. Remember what I told you though, I don't have the proper prosthetics to do a total repair."

"Fine, yeah, whatever," Morgan motioned with his cane to the door. "They're ready."

Devon held the tutor's hand for a moment longer. "It is so good to have you back," she said. She waited for Yale to smile before she left him.

Devon and Julia headed out of the hospital and into the night. The shuttle stood in the glow of their trusty and well-worn camp-lites. Mazatl, Magus, Danziger and Alonzo had just finished unloading the rest of the supplies that had been raided from the Council Ship, and many of the crates still littered the area. Zero was trying to arrange the crates into some sensible order, but seemed to be having trouble finding a manner of organizing the supplies, and continually moved the same boxes back and forth. The food stores on board the ship had not been touched.

Hugh sat on one of the crates and when is father passed, he rose up suddenly and held his hands high. The other children were asleep, but Hugh insisted on staying up to see his father. Alonzo smiled and swept the boy into his arms and hugged him tightly. "I missed my big boy while I was gone," he whispered into the boy's ear. Julia tugged at her husband's elbow, and he wrapped his arms around both of them. "It feels so good to be home."

Agnes appeared in the camp with her son, Ted, riding on her hip and a pack of belongings on her back. True approached her and spoke solemnly to the Grendler who grunted softly to her. When they were done speaking, Agnes moved over toward the others. She glared at the shuttle for a moment and then moved on. When she saw Morgan she grunted and then headed to the Martin house.

Bess leaned close to Morgan and watched as Agnes fumbled with the door and then made her way into their home. "Why is she going to our house, honey?" Bess asked.

"Ah, Bess," Morgan said, "there's something I need to tell you..." He looked into Bess' confused eyes and then said, "Remember how you were saying that you wanted to expand the house a third time?"

Devon turned to look for Alex and found him near the horse field. Walman, wearing his arm in a sling, and Baines, with a luma-lite, were with him, but Alex was interested in something else. He was talking Baines' nut-brown mare, Dolly, holding her head against him and running his hands through her thick mane. "Sie sind ein hübsches Pferd," he said softly in her ear. "Erinnern Sie sich an Ihre Mutter? Erklärte sie Ihnen über Anna?" The horse nickered and pressed her head against his chest. "Schönes braunes Pferd, was wissen Sie?" His voice was soft and sad as he caressed the head of the horse whose ancestors were touched by the people he had loved.

Uly had told him everything that he could remember about the dream of Anna Gerting, and Alex had listened silently. When the story was finished, the pilot had smiled and said, "I am glad that you told her, that you told her about how she helped you. Thank you for giving me the story."

When Devon approached, Alex released the horse, who reluctantly moved away. "Thank you," Devon said.

"I have done what is right," Alex responded. "I must do what is right. And it is time to return to the Earth Stations."

"Wait until dawn," Devon said as they walked to the shuttle. "It will only be a few more hours."

Alex shook his head. "Too much time has passed. It is time to go now."

"I hope you know what you're doing. It will take you twenty-two years to reach Earth. I don't think you realize how long that it when you are not in Cold Sleep," Devon said seriously.

"I have been asleep too long. I was asleep when my people died. I was asleep while the children of the Earth Stations died from the Syndrome," Alex responded. "The Council Ship was not the last to leave the stations for this planet. Other ships are coming. I will meet them as we return home. I will explain to them the way things are."

She looked at Alex sadly. "If it were only that easy. You have a difficult life ahead of you." There was enough food on board to feed the 100 passengers for four years. It would be enough to feed one man for 22. But food was only one of the concerns. How could a man live alone for 22 years?

"Many years ago I promised Anna Gerting that I would return to her and bring the people of Earth to this place, to be their new home. I have not done that yet. This is something I must do."

The Advancers crowded around the shuttle and wished the pilot well. True kissed him quietly on his cheek and Danziger thumped him hard on his back. He noticed the huge black spider waggle its foremost feet at him, as it pearched on the liaison's shoulder (where it had not budged since they returned to Roanoake Colony).

Alex shut the door to the ship and sat down in the cockpit and looked out at Eden Advance. They were smiling and waving at him. He waved back abruptly and signaled for them to move away. He brought the shuttle on line and took off into the night sky.

Alex brought the ship in low, swung wide across the ocean, then headed back inland. He crossed over the dark Last-Step Mountains. The sky was beginning to lighten as he raced over the surface of the planet, over the place where the New Earth Explorers Alpha Team, lead by Anna Gerting, had landed. He flew above the dense forest where they had blazed an impossible trail. He crossed the great river, which shone in the early morning light. The black stone bridge almost disappeared in the dimness. He then passed over the landing site of the Beta Team. Below him the land grew brighter until he was in broad daylight. The shuttle rose, leaving the atmosphere of G889, and heading into space.

* * * *

The sun rose over the Last-Step Mountains. Devon thought it was one of the most beautiful sights in the world. She leaned against Danziger and sighed. "We're home again. We can call the Colony Ship now. It's safe. It should only take about six months and it will be here."

"There's been no more dreams then?" Danziger asked. "No more Future Ulys telling you horror stories?"

"No more dreams," Devon replied.

The early morning air was cool and moist. The others would be waking up soon enough, to resume their neglected duties at Roanoke Colony, but for now it was just John and Devon and the sunrise. "I missed you so much," Danziger said, his voice breaking slightly. "All I wanted was to return to you."

"All I wanted was to have you with me again." Devon wrapped her arms around Danziger's waist and sighed.

"You made me a promise," Danziger started.

"When the Colony Ship arrives..." Devon continued.

Danziger pressed his mouth against her neck and then said, "I say that now is close enough."

Devon sighed and looked out toward the sun, which continued to rise steadily over the mountains. "Yes," she said quietly.

Danziger stopped and met her eye. "Yes?"

She smiled and repeated, "Yes." And the two embraced in the early morning glow.

THE END