A True terrian by Lia Faile

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A TRUE TERRIAN, Part 2
by Lia Faile

True and Uly sat against the med tent out of sight of the adults but close enough that the children were able to overhear the conversation. Two small heads disappeared around the corner of the tent and the children conversed in low whispers.

"You're right, Uly. All that commotion last night *was* about me."

"I know. I was there on the Dream Plane with them. Your father and Alonzo didn't see me and the Terrians didn't seem to care that I was there."

Playing with a small hole in the knee of her pant leg, True felt the sudden need to defend her father's actions. "It's not that my Dad doesn't want to help Devon...he's just scared of the Terrians that's all. So am I...a little."

"They wouldn't hurt you True. It's not their way."

True stopped enlarging the hole at her knee and began to draw swirls and lines in the dirt with her index finger. Picking up a handful of the earth, she watched it sift through her fingers. "What's it like? To be buried." She finally asked. Uly shifted on his knees and mimicked her actions with the soil.

"It's scary at first. You don't expect to be able to breath, but you can. You can even see...in a way." Uly squinted his eyes a bit as he attempted to remember that night. "It's warm. Kinda like when you were a baby and your mom would hold you."

True wiped her dirty hand on the front of her t-shirt. "My mom never got the chance to hold me." Peeking around the corner to check on the adults, True saw that they were still in deep discussion. Turning back to Uly she nibbled on her lower lip before finally asking her next question. "Could you find the Terrians you saw on the Dream Plane last night?"

"Sure. They aren't far from here. Why?"

"What if I went to the Terrians and let them do to me what they did to you? It would be all settled and done, then Dad would have to let Julia try to make a vaccine."

"You'd do that?"

"Yeah. If it would help Devon and everyone else. Plus Dad would have more time for me if Devon were back to lead the group."

Uly stood up and held out his hand to True. "We better go now before they come looking for us." True took his hand and allowed him to help her to her feet. They both checked on the adults one more time. Satisfied that they wouldn't be seen leaving or missed immediately, they scampered off into the hills.

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The talk of Terrian gene manipulation drew the normally tacit Cameron into the discussion. "Why can't the Terrians alter adult human DNA, Julia?"

Relieved for the excuse to tear herself from Danziger's combative gaze, she turned and addressed the colonist eagerly. Even switching into her usual 'lecture mode' as Alonzo fondly called it. "I'm not sure exactly how Terrian science works. It doesn't even fit our concept of science. It's far more organic than ours, to the point it appears more like magic than technology. But I would imagine it's for the same reasons as ours. Gene manipulation is easier the younger the subject is. Take me for example." Julia betrayed just how comfortable she had become with the group when she next spoke of her own manipulated DNA without any hesitation. "Everything from my occupation, my sex, my eye color, to even my teeth was decided before I was even conceived. It's easier to create a human than it is to modify one."

"And if the Terrians are unable to alter True's DNA?" He asked as his eyes shifted briefly from her to Danziger.

Taking a deep breath, Julia answered Cameron but held Danziger's gaze the entire time. "If for some reason the gene manipulation is unsuccessful and I'm unable to reverse any damage done to it, her chances of surviving are slim to none."

A slight twitch of one eye was the only reaction to cross Danziger's otherwise impassive face. "Still want to 'discuss' it, Morgan?" Without waiting for a reply, Danziger turned on his heel and stalked off towards the Transrover. "Let me know when you all have finished and are ready to get going." He shot back over his shoulder.

The group watched Danziger's retreating back with sympathy. This was a choice none of them would make if True were their child. A contrite Bess turned back to Julia and asked the next obvious question. "Why risk True? Since Uly is already part Terrian, why not just wait for him to reach adolescence and use his DNA then? What's the rush?"

Julia cleared her throat and shifted uncomfortably. "Boys don't mature as quickly as girls do. They don't generally reach adolescence until they're about 15 years old. That's six years from now. We don't know what might happen to those of us that remain once the colony ship arrives." Here she stopped to take a deep breath before continuing. "Besides, I doubt if Uly will survive that long."

Her announcement was greeted with astonished faces followed by exclamations of shock and demands for clarification. Once the clamor had died down, she shared with them what she had the night before with Danziger. The news brought the group to a painful silence. The miracle of Uly's cure was the only good thing to come out of the doomed mission so far. In a way the mischievous boy had become the camp's mascot. A living reminder of what hope, faith, and determination can achieve. Most of them had never looked upon a dead body before this mission. None of them wanted to have to dig a tiny grave.

Fighting down the emotional turmoil that the news of Uly's condition stirred in his own heart, Yale summarized the situation. "So if we don't' risk True, we lose Uly. If we do risk her, we could lose both of them." Julia nodded and was forced to blink rapidly to keep the tears in her eyes from falling.

Baines gazed over his shoulder at the big man who was taking his frustration out on the various containers of supplies that he tossed into the back of the Transrover. "Man, this has got to be killing Danz. He really loves those kids."

"Julia, could you create some computer simulations of DNA manipulation in a child of True's age and study the feasibility of it? Maybe even come up with a contingency plan if it failed. Anything that could increase the children's odds of survival." Julia nodded in agreement and headed back to her med tent to start. The others went their separate ways to begin the now familiar task of breaking camp.

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True sat beside a wheezing Uly and gazed at him helplessly. They had come about a half a kilometer and this was the fourth time they were forced to stop and rest. Now True was sorry that they hadn't tried to sneak the ATV out of camp. She scanned the sagebrush dotted hills and relaxed when she couldn't see the camp. That meant they weren't visible to the camp either. Enough hills and gullies sheltered them from the others.

"You okay? I can go back for Julia if you need her." True's expression betrayed how she felt about this idea. Being read the "riot act" as her dad liked to call it had become a near daily ritual. Only the thought of spending the rest of the trip to New Pacifica locked in the Transrover didn't appeal to her one whit. And she was certain that was what would happen if she were forced to return to camp now.

The pale faced boy turned his fatigue-weary eyes on her. He lifted his chin defiantly and shook his head. "No, I'll make it. I'm not an invalid yet."

"Well, maybe we should try to find some shade to sit under while we rest. I wish we'd thought to bring a canteen with us." As True walked around in search of shade, the ground opened up before her and sprouted a Terrian. Startled she screamed as she landed on her butt.

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Danziger looked up from the map he and Yale were studying. He rubbed his stubbled chin in irritation. This was one of the more unpleasant duties he inherited from Devon. Looking around at the slow progress of the camp breaking, he shuffled his feet restlessly. He should be helping break down the tents and loading the Transrover, not playing connect the dots with a compass and ruler. Maybe he could delegate this task to Alonzo. There couldn't be that much difference between a star chart and a land relief map.

Suddenly he whipped to attention and cocked his head as if listening for something. Yale looked up from the map and swore he saw him sniffing the air like a canine. "Where are the kids?" Danziger demanded.

Rising from the table, Yale adopted Danziger's concerned stance. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen them all morning."

Danziger took several steps until he was roughly in the center of what remained of the camp. Squinting his eyes, he scanned the area intently. When they didn't give him the results he wanted, he cupped his hands around his mouth and holler for the children in his booming voice. "TRUE! ULY! Front and center! NOW!"

The rest of the group stopped what they were doing and looked around for the errant pair. Danziger stood there a few moments more with his hands on his hips and a deep scowl on his face. Yale walked up behind him. "I can't locate them on gear."

Without a glance or reply, he headed for the Dunerail with long purposeful strides. Calmly he began to assemble provisions. He checked his canteen, his gear, and by the time he hefted the magpro, Alonzo had joined him.

Alonzo eyed the blase manner in which Danziger worked. "Where are you going?"

"To find the kids." He replied calmly as he secured the large gun next to the driver's seat.

Alonzo placed his hand on his shoulder in a friendly gesture. "John, the Terrians didn't take them. They wouldn't have."

Danziger shook off the pilot's hand and turned on him. All pretense of calm dropped. "How do you know for sure?" He asked through clenched teeth. "They just took Uly the first time. Remember?"

Visualizing the situation if Danziger met up with any Terrians in his present state of mind, he held up his hand in front of the larger man but did not touch him again. "Okay, but I'm going with you."

At that moment a Terrian emerged on the other side of the rail. Startled, Danziger made a grab for the gun, but Alonzo was quicker. He planted his palm against Danziger's chest and held him and the gun at arms length from one another."He won't hurt you." Each word was stressed and accompanied with Alonzo's dark eyed stare.

Breathing harshly, Danziger eyed the gun. "Yeah well, I wish they'd stopped doing that." He peered at the alien out of the corner of his eye. "What does it want?"

Alonzo turned and spoke to the Terrian, making sure that the gun was well out of Danziger's long reach. "Apparently the kids took off on their own and went to the Terrians. True's demanding that they alter her DNA. They know how you feel about them, John. You have to agree to this."

"Why is my agreement so important? They have True. Why?"

"Like you said. They took Uly and Mary. Nobody was given a say in it. Mary's parents died because of it. Devon really didn't have a choice if she wanted her son to live. If they can convince you to entrust her to them, they feel they will have accomplished something."

"Where are the kids?" He asked quietly.

"John, they know others are coming. And that more will come after those. You don't want to endanger your child. She's all you have. This planet is literally their mother. They don't want to endanger her. They know what we did to the Earth. They're terrified that we'll do the same thing to here. The planet dies without them, they die without the planet. It's not like they can escape out into space like humans did. If they can establish a bond with at least some the humans, and if they can be accepted by the others then Terrians and Humans can peacefully coexist."

Danziger stood starting at the Terrian. It was an unusual sensation. Partly because it was so alien to himself, and partly because he was forced to look up at it. It was one of the rare times in his adult life that he actually felt small. With brows furrowed and jaw clenched tight, he shook his head emphatically.

"I'm a mechanic, not a diplomat. I can't just hand my kid over to a bunch of aliens that we know nearly nothing about then put my faith in them and God and hope that everything works out. No. I'm sorry. You're asking too much. If it was me, then all right. Fine. No problem. Not True."

The Terrian bowed his head. If he didn't understand Danziger's words, he understood his expression and tone of voice. Before he descended back into the earth he trilled once more at Alonzo, then disappeared. Glumly Alonzo climbed into the rail behind the steering wheel. "Come on. I know where they are."

Julia came running to the rail with her med kit bouncing on her shoulder. "I'm going too. Uly's condition may have deteriorated." She climbed into the back behind Alonzo.

Danziger stood glaring down at the top of Alonzo's head. His hands curling and uncurling at his sides as he briefly considered giving in to the desire to yank him out of the driver's seat by his collar. Instead he walked around the vehicle, careful to not step on the spot where the Terrian had been. Not that he worried he would fall in, the earth seemed to pack back down firmly once the Terrians had passed through it. Guess he was just nervous about being dragged under like he'd seen Gaal being dragged down. Folding his big frame into the passenger's seat, he instructed the others to continue with breaking camp. When he got the kids back he didn't feel like hanging around this place. Alonzo put the rail in gear and sped off over the hills.

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end part 2 of 8 - A True Terrian by Lia Faile

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