THE PLANET - OUR HOME - part 4

And the Sky Beyond

(The voice of Devon Adair): "Sometimes it's difficult to remain hopeful. When everything around you is dark and miserable, it's hard to hold your head up and keep your spirits high. It's even harder to raise the spirits of those who have entrusted themselves to you. We are deep into autumn now. The cloud cover is so thick that we haven't been able to see the sky for over a week. It hasn't stopped raining. Everyone is so tired and unhappy. It's all I can do to keep everyone moving. If we can just escape from this weather, we'll be okay. And maybe the rain will stop tomorrow."

* * * *

It was raining. It had been raining for ten days now. The weary, waterlogged Eden Advance party trudged through the soggy field, under the low-hung gray clouds. Morgan sniffled and hugged Bess closer to him. Cameron accidentally stepped into a deep puddle, splashing Baines. Baines only looked up momentarily, seemingly unaffected by the drenching, but he was the next one to hit a puddle and then Cameron was equally soaked. Walman and Magus drifted towards the back of the group, carrying a tattered poncho over their heads. The children huddled under the tarp of the TransRover, looking silently out into the grayness. Julia sat at the back of the vehicle, her legs hanging out, her face still and uncaring. Mazatl, Denner and Yale rode in the DuneRail as Zero, or at least his head, piloted the vehicle without his usual commentary. The ATV bogged down again and everyone paused and looked at it, waiting for Alonzo to rock the small vehicle out of the mire, hoping that they would not be called in to push it again. The pilot succeeded and their slow progress continued.

Devon impatiently drummed her fingers on the dash of the TransRover and looked over at Danziger. He was covered from head to toe in a thick layer of dark brown mud. Of course, they all were stricken with the mud to varying degrees, but Danziger was carrying enough soil on him to consider growing crops. They were all wet and miserable and it didn't look as if the rain would be stopping any time soon. Visibility stretched only a few dozen meters. The ATV and the DuneRail, just ahead of them made this even worse. Both of the smaller vehicles kicked up a wall of moisture and muck that was now steadily building up on the TransRover.

The TransRover was faring worse and worse. No matter how hard Danziger tried to keep the vehicle in running order, it continually balked and died. The damage done over almost two months ago, when it almost slid off the black stone bridge and into the Morgan River, seemed to be growing worse by the day. The moisture didn't help matters. The vehicle had died four times so far today. The group would stop and crouch under makeshift canopies until the mechanic was able to dry off whatever cable had shorted out. By that time, all the vehicles would have sunken into the marshy soil and would require help to get out.

Once again, food was running low. They had been able to find some game in the woods, but had seen nothing since they had entered the rainy valley. The edible vegetation was scarce at best. So, besides being cold, wet, dirty and tired, they were also hungry. They had known hunger before. In their travels they had survived drought and famine, severe heat and biting cold, but this relentless dampness seemed to top everything. Devon was afraid that if they did not make it out of this constant rain soon, there would be no hope for them.

Bess could hardly see from under Morgan's arm. He had his coat wrapped around both of them, and her head was pressed against his chest. From a small space she looked out at the gray wet world. Something caught her eye, something unexpected. She pressed against Morgan, redirecting his progress and aiming him toward what she had seen. He complied easily, seemingly unaware that she had changed their course. He was too dispirited to care.

They came to a stop by a gnarled tree, so full of branches that it was nearly choking itself. Bess had to force her way out of Morgan's grip so that she could reach out and pull off one of the red fruit that was growing on the tree. She turned it over slowly. The fruit fit nicely in the palm of her hand. She stuffed it into her pocket and reached for another. Morgan watched impassively as she emptied the tree of its fruit. They had found too much poisonous vegetation recently to become excited about any new findings. Once she filled her pockets, she filled husband's, then she stepped back under his coat and under his arm and the two of them started back toward the caravan.

When they caught up with the TransRover, Uly leaned out. "What did you find?" he asked. Bess pulled one of the red fruit out her pocket and showed it to the boy. He smiled. "A is for apple," he said simply. Everyone who had ever seen an ABC Book knew that A stood for apple. It had been 200 years since the last apple trees failed on earth, and yet Uly was still able to correctly identify an apple when he saw one.

* * * *

When the TransRover died for the fifth time, Devon decided to call it a day. The travelers did not even notice that the rain was stopping. They were all so sodden and miserable, that it made little difference.

"Look," Baines jabbed Cameron as Alonzo stood up on the ATV. The pilot had remained amazingly clean. He was flecked with mud, thrown up from the front tires of the small vehicle, and wet of course, but compared to the rest, he looked pristine.

Alonzo smiled down at them. "Let's get moving. Maybe we can get the tents set up before the rain starts again. We wouldn't want to get any wetter now would we?" With that he stepped down from the ATV, his feet flew out from under him and he landed on his butt in the thick dark mud.

Magus, Cameron, Baines and the Martins clapped as Alonzo struggled to his feet. He stepped forward and started to make a comment when his feet flew out from under him again and he took a face dive.

Baines shook his head. "Lonz, that's not how you visit the Terrians."

Danziger walked up to the group, and helped Alonzo to his feet. The mechanic smiled at the miserable pilot. "Welcome to the club," he said.

The group shuffled off to put up the damp tents on the rain soaked earth. Nobody wanted to sit around and talk. Everyone disappeared into their tents, to set up the heaters and start drying out their clothing.

Devon went to the MedTent where Julia and Cameron studied the fruit. "It's an apple. There is no doubt about it," Cameron said. "The genetic coding shows a slight mutation and that's probably an adaptation after many generations to better suit this new environment."

"How many generations do you think?" Devon asked

Cameron shrugged, "It's hard to figure for certain, but I'd say there's somewhere around 20 generations of apple trees between this one and the tree that grew on earth. I can tell this much. It is definitely edible."

Julia turned one of the fruit over in her hand and looked up at the others. "Well, let's give it a try," and she bit into it, remembering the sensation of biting into her first piece of Grendler Fruit

Devon raised an eyebrow. "Well?" she asked.

Julia handed two more apples from the pile to Devon and Cameron. "It would be a crime not to share."

* * * *

"I'm tired of being wet," Morgan whined as he struggled out of his soaked pants. "I'm tired of being tired and dirty."

"I know honey," Bess said quietly from their bed, "we all are."

He arranged his muddy pants near the tiny heater and then peeled off one of his socks. "If I could just have dry socks, dry socks that stayed dry all day, I'd be happy." The small heaters were a new addition to their creature comforts. Actually, they were only a conglomeration of old broken pieces of electronics, the brainchild of Danziger. Everyone's heater was a little different, and each worked to varying degrees. "Dry socks, that's all I'm asking for."

"I know honey."

"I hate it when my feet are wet." He hopped on is right foot to remove the left sock.

"I know."

Morgan carefully placed his socks so that they would receive ample heat. "The mat is soaking wet too. The blankets are wet. The air is just so full of...full of 'wet' that nothing will ever really dry out here. And all this cold and wet makes my knee ache. It was getting better, but now it's just too wet and cold."

"I'll heat you up," Bess said seductively. She motioned Morgan to her.

Morgan smiled and abandoned the arranging of his clothing. He was about to climb under the sheets when he slapped himself. "Ouch!" He swatted at a dive-bombing insect. "Hey!" He beat his arms about at the invading buzzing bugs.

"Quick!" Bess cried as she fended off a biting attack, "Get under the blankets." Morgan dove in after her and Bess worked to tuck the blankets around them. She giggled at the thought of them trapped so close together under the sheets. "You're safe now," she said.

"I certainly hope not," Morgan said with a grin.

* * * *

The insects were everywhere. Devon carefully fixed Uly's bed. She was arranging an extra sheet to form a tent over his head, in order to keep away the insects. "Mom, is it going to rain tomorrow."

"I hope so," Devon muttered, smashing another of the insects.

Uly looked surprised. "Why? It finally stopped."

"Yes Uly, and after it stopped raining we started getting these insects. If it starts raining again, maybe they'll go away. Don't scratch."

Uly pulled his hand away from his chin. "I don't know Mom. Maybe the bugs aren't so bad."

Devon swatted and swung at the insects as she finished fixing the sheet around the boy. "Hope for rain, Uly. And now go to sleep."

The boy snuggled down into the not entirely dry blankets and fell to sleep. And then, almost immediately, he was standing in the middle of several buildings, built with light colored wood. The sky was a bright white. Uly knew where he was, even though he didn't recognize the buildings. He was in the DreamPlane, and for a change, the DreamPlane seemed amazingly stable. He looked about to see three Terrians standing silently near one of the wooden structures. He started towards them, trilling, when he heard a voice.

"Eric?" A woman, dressed in pale clothing, walked toward him. She was older than his mother, with hair so blonde it was almost white. "Eric?" Her face was full of expectation, but once she saw that he wasn't the person she was looking for, her expression changed to surprise. "Who are you?" Her voice sounded strange to Uly, it was almost as if she was speaking another language, but he was able to understand her perfectly.

"My name's Ulysses Adair. Who are you?" he said brightly. He was excited to find this newcomer in the DreamPlane.

"Ulysses . . . the Odyssey. My name is Anna Gerting. Where did you come from Ulysses?"

"You can call me Uly." He smiled at her. "We came from..." he paused, not knowing what to say at first. "We came from Earth's space stations. We've been traveling an awful long time to get to New Pacifica. Do you know where New Pacifica is? Are you one of the colonists?"

"Space stations? So they built them. I can't believe it. They actually did it." She shook her head slowly. "They did it much faster than I thought they would. How long have you been living in the space stations, Uly?"

The boy shrugged. "All my life. That's why we came here. I used to have the Syndrome, but the Terrians cured me." He pointed to the Terrians that were standing nearby, silent and almost forgotten in the DreamPlane. "I'm part Terrian now."

"You've lived on the space stations for all of your life?" She looked stunned. "Have people been living there for a long time."

"Oh yeah, for over a hundred years." He thought it was an odd question.

Anna turned pale. "Tell me, what is the Syndrome?"

Uly looked at her quizzically, "Aren't you from the stations?"

"No Uly, I'm not from the stations." She squatted down beside him. "Tell me about the Syndrome."

"They say that living in the space stations was killing me and lots of other kids like me. They said that stations made us weak and sick and a lot of kids were dying from it. Some people figured that the only way to save kids like me was to take us off the stations and to find a planet that we could live on. We couldn't live on Earth anymore, so my mom started Eden Project. They found this planet and they found out that people could live on it, so we came here. We're the advance party. My mom's the leader. There's hundreds of others coming soon. We have to get to New Pacifica before they get here."

"I knew it." Anna stood up and walked away. "I knew it." She turned back toward Uly. "I'm sorry Uly. I'm sorry that you were sick, but I told them. I told them it would happen. That's why WE came here. Everyone was talking about rushing into space to build these floating stations to support all of humanity, but I told them...I told them." Her words were coming quickly and she was obviously becoming angry. "I told them it would mean the end of humanity. People couldn't live like that, not for long. We, my family, my company, financed the New Earth Explorers. We would find a new world to live on, one where we could truly live like human beings. We found it...we found it here." She paced quickly back and forth, "If only...oh, if only." She paused and looked at the boy. "I have made many mistakes. There's so much I regret. Do you know what regret is?"

"I think so." Uly had backed away from the woman slightly, because he was a little afraid of her at that moment.

"I regret that we didn't stay together." Her voice had become slow and sad. "I regret that I failed them. I regret so many things."

Uly woke up suddenly, under the heavy cold blankets, listening to the sound of rain.

* * * *

The eleventh day in the rain started the same as the other ten, the same as most of their days. They packed up the camp and started rolling. They were wet, tired, perhaps a bit more sluggish than usual, but that was to be expected with the dreariness of the constant bad weather. The group spotted more apple trees and later a few pear trees. Cameron was able to retrieve several saplings. They could plant this species in New Pacifica, along with the samples taken from Mary's Garden, and it would have a much better chance of surviving than any starts they brought from the stations. They collected all the fruit that they could find, and dined on apples and pears during their afternoon stop. During this pause, Mazatl spotted something growing under one of the trees. Cameron's analysis was quick. "Snap peas." Cameron said, gathering samples of this plant as well, "My grandmother used to grow these when she was a kid," Cameron said to anyone who would listen. "She had a little garden box that she kept under a grow light. She'd paint pictures of the stuff that grew there. I think my mom still has some of her paintings." He smiled thoughtfully as he fingered the green vegetables. His grandmother's paintings had shown scrawny, yellowish bushes. The plant that Mazatl had discovered was thick and a healthy dark green.

Devon debated whether or not they should remain at this spot, and take the time to carefully search the area for other vegetation, but she finally decided that it would be best for the group to continue moving. The rain was falling steadily without any sign of another let up. Everyone seemed so lethargic and spiritless. She decided that the only cure for that was to get them out of the endless rain. It was quite possible that with one more day of traveling they could move outside of this weather and have a chance to dry out. Once they had the chance to warm up and see the sky again, she could send research parties back into the gray rain in search of fruit and vegetables.

As they traveled through the day, the group kept a lookout for new plant life. It was a strange treasure hunt in the rain. Cameron found a huge cucumber vine, laden with vegetables. Magus and Walman discovered squash and string beans, and Baines found a scrubby little corn stalk. But by mid-day, nobody was in the mood for searching out new vegetation. They drifted through the grayness in a haze. Morgan carefully held Bess has they walked, as had been his practice in this rain, but she seemed to lean against him more than usual.

"What's that?" Devon pointed at a large shape looming before them in the mist. Her joints ached and her head felt tight and hot.

"Dunno," Danziger said. The mechanic squinted against the headache that had been building for some time. "We'll find out pretty soon." He swallowed with difficulty. He thought he might be catching a cold.

The shape gained definition, and the group found themselves at the base of a gray stone structure. On the other side of this building, they found the stone foundations from several other buildings and the wood debris of whatever structure had been built upon them. The stone building was solid, with neither door nor windows. Although, Devon usually would have been extremely interested in such a structure, all she wanted to do at that moment was to crawl into her bed and sleep. Nobody else seemed to care much either. They scanned the structure but found nothing of interest.

They had just finished their survey when Julia approached Devon and Danziger through the rain, and started running her DiaGlove over them. "You feeling it too?" Julia asked them.

"Head hurts. Joints hurt, yeah," Danziger said and Devon nodded in agreement.

"Ringing in your ears? Dry throat?" Julia asked

"Yeah, that too. What is it?" Devon looked at Danziger in surprise. She didn't know that he was feeling that badly too.

"I don't know for sure. Almost everyone seems to be suffering from it though." She touched Danziger's face. "Have you been scratching this?"

Danziger fingered the bump that the biting insect had left. "Yeah, I guess. It itches like crazy."

Devon exposed her arm to show several large red welts from the insect bites from the night before. "Is this the cause? I thought I was just tired and depressed. I didn't think of mentioning it to anyone." Devon sighed.

"Others are complaining too?" Danziger said. "I bet Morgan was the first."

"Actually," Julia said, "He's the only one who doesn't seem to be suffering."

Devon looked puzzled. "Does he have any bites?" she asked.

"That's just it. He has as many bites as anyone. Yet, he's his regular old Morgany self."

"In other words, it's hard to tell if he's complaining more than usual," Danziger muttered. There was no maliciousness in his words. He had long ago given up his dislike the government liaison, but old habits died hard. Morgan was still an easy target.

"If it's not the bites, does it have anything to do with these structures, or something in the air here. Maybe it's the food that we've found?" Devon said quickly.

"Not that I can tell. The fruit and the vegetables checked out perfectly. There's nothing wrong with them. I can't find anything wrong with this place either. Nothing worth worrying about in the air, nothing in the soil. I'm going to have to say that it has something to do with those bug bites. In any case, Morgan is somehow immune to it. I say that we should set up camp now and I'll set to work and trying to figure this out."

"Dad! Devon!" True screamed. She ran a few steps towards the adults and stopped. "Something's wrong with Uly."

The four of them ran back to the TransRover where True and Uly had been riding. "We were talking and he said that his head hurt. Mine does too, but then, just then..." they arrived at the TransRover and discovered the still form of the boy. "He just fell over and he wouldn't wake up."

Devon pulled her boy from the TransRover and Julia was already scanning him. The welts left by the insect bites were fully visible on the boy's neck and head. "What's wrong? What's happening?"

"I don't know," Julia said. "I just don't know."

****

"Hello Uly." Anna walked toward the boy again. They were standing in the DreamPlane near the large stone structure that the Eden Advance Party had discovered. Now, instead of just stone platforms, there were two rows of simple wooden houses. Uly recognized that this was the place where they had met before. The three silent Terrians still stood near one of the buildings, they turned to Uly and trilled softly as he approached Anna. Anna smiled. "I'm glad you came back. Did you tell your mother about our visit?"

"No, I didn't have time to talk to her today. I haven't been feeling too good," Uly said.

"I'm sorry. I hope you feel better. Uly, there is something I need you to do."

"What is it?" Uly asked.

"I realized why you came here, why they are allowing us to meet like this," she said, indicating the silent Terrians. "I didn't think that they could communicate over time, but somehow they are allowing us to do so. You are here so that I can pass a message onto your mother. She is the leader of your people, just like me. I must tell her about my mission and let her know everything that went wrong. You must tell her everything that I tell you so that she doesn't make the same mistakes. Can you do that, Uly?"

"Yes, I think so," he said.

The two of them sat down at the base of the large stone building and Anna began her story. "I'll start from the beginning. I told you that we came here, searching for an alternative to life in the space stations. Our ship was the Drache. There were 55 of us all together. We had discovered a planet that we believed could support life and we estimated that the journey to that place would take eight years. We were surprised when we awoke and 27 years had passed. When our pilots awoke from ColdSleep after eight years, they found the first target unlivable. Our pilots, Alexander and Armon, found another target, this planet, reset the controls of the ship, and returned to ColdSleep. When we finally arrived here, we discovered that this place was everything we had hoped for. It was perfect. We had found our new home.

We had to send a message back to Earth to inform them of our finding. We could tell them that there was no need to use the space stations. We could live like human beings beneath an open sky. Unfortunately the communication system on the Drache had failed. Our ship was truly not designed for such a long mission. We had lost long range communication, and the ship only had minimal short-range communication available. We debated our options, but finally we decided to send the Drache back to Earth. Alexander and Armon volunteered to take the return trip and let the people of Earth know what we had found. The rest of us would disembark on the planet. Uly, have you ever heard of the Drache? Of Alexander Rienhardt or Armon Pollin?"

"No, Anna, I haven't."

Anna looked very sullen, "They were so sure of themselves. Pilots are always so sure of themselves. I didn't want to let them go, but it was the best thing to do. The ship was too old." She sighed and then she continued with the story, "We divided into two teams and used our two shuttlecraft to travel to the surface. I am the leader of the Alpha Team. My husband Konstantine traveled with me, as did my brother Karl and my sister Helen and her family. Otto Bethke was the leader of the Beta Team. He was a headstrong man, a good leader. We used to joke about who would be the first to conquer this new planet and civilize it."

"During the trip to the planet's surface we became separated. Our shuttles had malfunctioned due to their years of disuse and we found ourselves many kilometers apart. Our shuttle landed very near here. We attempted to contact Otto and the others, but our equipment was plagued with the same problems that had affected our ship. We used the Drache to transmit the message; their short-range communication system was at least functioning. When we finally made contact with the Beta Team, we discovered that they had landed far to the east of us, with many injuries. We would have to go to them. So we started traveling eastward. Then the Drache left orbit and our communication ceased. We had enough vehicles to carry all of us: three Carriers, plus our TrailMaker and Crawler. We would go to our friends. We would find them."

"I started to have strange dreams, like the one we are experiencing now. At first I was very afraid, but then I learned that this was the way that the Terrians choose to communicate with us." She looked up again at the Terrians. "I think that they always did their best to help us, but there was only so much that they could do."

Uly nodded. "The Terrians have helped us too. We don't always know what they want though."

Anna continued, "We found an incredible forest. Nothing like it existed on Earth any longer. We were humbled by its greatness, but we needed to pass through to reach the Beta Team. We used LaserSlicers to cut down the trees and the TrailMaker to clear the path." She pointed to the stone building behind them, but Uly didn't understand why.

"What's a LaserSlicer and a TrailMaker."

Anna smiled. "The LaserSlicer is a tool, about so big." she spread her arms wide, "It is a lightweight device used for cutting. We used them to cut down the trees of the Great Forest. The TrailMaker is a vehicle. It is very tall, you need a ladder to climb up into it. We used it to irradiate the ground and the tree stumps. Then we used the Crawler to flatten the road so that the Carriers could get through. The Crawler is a low vehicle, used to carry heavy loads and to flatten roads. The Carriers are transport machines."

"It took four months to build that road. It was very hard work. There were strange creatures in the forest. There were awful dogs that terrorized us for many days until we discovered that they were afraid of our ElectroLanterns."

"We were on that road!" Uly cried. "That's how we got through the forest. We had a lantern too. It says 'MTR' on the top. What does that mean? A Grendlers gave it to us while we were in the woods."

The Grendlers," Anna sighed and was silent for several moments. "Of course, I will get to that as well. There is so much more to say that I must continue with the story as it happened."

She was quiet again, and then she continued, "My people were all very hard workers. Dieter Mueller knew everything there was to know about building roads. He was our inspiration. Without him the road would never have been built. He used to sing as he worked. He always sang loudly. Everybody loved him."

"Did you guys build the bridge too?"

She smiled. "The bridge belongs to my brother Karl, my engineer. I have never seen anyone as happy as Karl when he started work on the bridge. He just loved to build things. I believe he had waited all his life for such an opportunity. But the bridge was difficult. The bridge was very difficult for all of us."

"What do you mean?"

"At first it started well. We needed to get across the river. We scouted it for several days but were unable to find an adequate place to cross. We decided to build a bridge. Our equipment was heavy, especially the Crawler. We decided that a stone bridge would best support its weight and we were able to find an adequate supply of stone nearby. We were afraid that the Terrians would not want us to cut into the stone, but once we showed them what we meant to do with it, they seemed satisfied and allowed us to build the quarry. Everything was going so well when we lost Marta and Albert." Her voice became quiet and her eyes intense. "Nobody is sure how it happened. We were all working so hard when part of the bridge collapsed and they were gone." Anna wiped her hand across her eyes. "We chased them down the river, but . . . but the river was too strong. There was no hope for them."

"True and Morgan fell into the river," Uly stated helpfully, "But they're okay."

Anna smiled, "I'm happy that they're okay. We weren't that lucky. After that loss, we fell apart. We argued for days about what we should do. Whether we should continue to try and reach the Beta Party or whether we should come to terms with the fact that building this bridge was a folly. Dieter believed that we should forget about finding the Beta Party and return to the landing site, because the valley seemed fertile. He decided that it would be a good place to set up our new home. Paul, our most experienced driver, believed that we had not exhausted the possibility that we could drive across the river farther to the north. Konstantine, my family and some of the others stood by my side in my decision to continue our building of the bridge. We fought terribly, although we all loved each other very much. I was too distraught to think clearly. I would accept any solution that was given to me. Finally, the decision was made. Since we could not agree, we would agree to disagree. We would separate and each person would follow the idea that they believed in."

"Dieter took part of our group back through the woods to the valley with the TrailMaker and one of the Carriers. Paul traveled upriver to find a better crossing point with a small group of our people. He took another one of the Carriers. That left me with only ten people, including myself, to finish the bridge with the Crawler and the last Carrier. I often look back at this moment as my worst decision. I should never have let us part."

"But you did finish the bridge?"

"Oh yes, but at a price. Karl was destroyed by the deaths of Marta and Albert. He blamed himself. The completion of the bridge was the only thing that mattered to him after that. He worked at a fevered pitch, always the first one to work and the last one to lay down his tools at the end of the day. He studied his blueprints endlessly. He hardly ate or slept. He seemed almost unable to speak about anything that wasn't pertaining to that black creation. I spoke to him on the day that the bridge was to be completed. His eyes were so strange, so distant from me. I hardly recognized him anymore. When the final stones were laid, a calmness seemed to finally fall on him. He was laughing. He looked up at me and smiled. He slipped from the bridge before any of us could move."

She sighed deeply and looked over to Uly. "I truly miss him. He was my little brother. I used to look after him when he was a baby. He had such tiny shoes." She held out her hand as if she was holding an infant's shoe. "I always wanted to hold him and cuddle him, but he would have nothing of it. He wanted to walk on his own."

* * * *

The rain continued to fall as night fell. The MedTent had been crowded, but Julia had just moved most of the ailing patients out and back to their own tents. She had sent Cameron to look after them as best he could. Their headaches and muscle pains were steadily growing worse. Now, just Devon, Uly, Morgan and Bess remained. Uly still slept in his mother's lap. Bess sat with her aching head in her hands and Morgan sat nervously beside her. Julia continued to study at her diagnostic computer. Her head was thundering and she could hardly think anymore. Her arms and back hurt so badly that every movement brought new pain. She had run every diagnostic that she could think of, but she just couldn't think anymore. She had been able to verify that the insect bites were at the root of their problem, but she still had not been able to determine why Morgan was the only one unaffected.

"So what is it?" Morgan asked. "Do you know what it is yet?"

"No," Julia said flatly, "Still looking."

"Are you going to run more tests on me?"

"Yes."

Morgan looked about, uncertainly. "They're not going to hurt are they?"

"I don't know. We'll see what we can do." Her words were low and terse, through gritted teeth. If she could only make the pain in her head stop, she might be able to come up with an answer.

Devon ran her hand over Uly's head. Julia had said that he was in a deep sleep and dreaming. He seemed to be peaceful enough, but Devon was still unable to wake him. Her own head hurt so badly that she only hoped that his wasn't hurting as well. She watched as Morgan squirmed under Julia's scrutiny. Devon knew that if Julia was feeling as poorly as she was, that it would be very hard for her to figure out what was going on. She only hoped that the answer would come soon. This was not like the sickness she had known before, when the planet was rejecting her. This was different. It was almost more cruel, because the onset of the pain was so slow, but constant. It was like being slowly squeezed in a giant press, with no sign of relief

"Why don't you just start injecting people with stuff. I mean, hit them with everything in your book. Something's got to work." Morgan looked hopefully between the three women. "You're bound to find the right one."

Julia looked up at Morgan with tired eyes. Then she gestured to half dozen cartridges that sat next to her SedaDerm. "That's why," she said quietly. Bess and Morgan looked confused, but a glance at Devon showed that she understood. Julia continued, "The SedaDerm doesn't run on air and water. It needs the RJ214 cartridge to supply the inert gel. The SedaDerm converts the RJ214 to the prescribed medication."

Bess squinted at the tiny assembly of cartridges. "Is that all that's left?"

Devon nodded. Julia had kept her apprised of the situation. The doctor had done her best to cut back on the dosages she was using, but it was inevitable; they would have to eventually run out. The hope had always been that they would find the other CargoPods before that happened.

"Will that be enough of those RJ214s?" Morgan asked. "Once you figure out what's going on, will it be enough?"

"Yes," Julia said, "As long as I can figure out why you are immune. As long as I can figure out what makes you different."

"It doesn't make sense, why am I the only one who doesn't have it? I'm the one that everything usually happens to," Morgan whined. "Everything happens to me. I'm the one that got hurt in the DuneRail wreck. I'm the one that almost drowned. I'm the one that gets drooled on by every Grendler we come across. I'm the one that gets hung upside-down. I'm the one that gets stung by a koba. I'm the one that gets drugged and tied up all night in the middle of nowhere..." Morgan stopped his tirade when he saw Julia staring at him. "Ah, really, I had almost forgotten that last one."

"Koba venom," Julia said and turned quickly to the computer. She tapped excitedly on the keyboard. "When you were stung by the koba, your blood was filled with toxins." She peered at the data on the screen. "There, you see. This is a copy of the readout I took that day. Toxins were all through your system. Enough to kill you...but it didn't." She tapped on the keyboard again and brought up another report. "And here is a read-out of your blood today."

Devon looked up. "Is it there?"

"I'm looking....I'm looking." Several minutes passed as Julia keyed the computer. Then, finally, a satisfying ping answered her inquiry. "Yes! It's here. In very minute quantities, but it is there."

"Koba venom?" Devon asked.

"Koba antitoxin." Julia answered.

"And that's why Morgan is the only one who isn't sick?"

Julia shrugged. "It's the only thing that I have to go on. It's possible that the same antibodies he has built up to deal with the koba toxins will also affect the insect toxins."

"Can you replicate it? Will you be able to use the cartridges"

Julia shook her head. "The cartridges will get us only half way there. I will need the actual antitoxin to create the cure."

Morgan looked up nervously. "Where are you going to get enough kobas to sting everyone? I, I don't think it's such a good idea. It's not the kinda thing I'd go doing, I mean it wasn't a very pleasant experience." He looked from Bess to Uly. "I don't think that would be a good thing to do to everyone."

"There's another way."

"What? What is it?" Morgan watched her apprehensively.

"Morgan Martin, I want your blood."

* * * *

"We had finished the bridge when winter set in. We didn't know what to do. We still needed to meet our colleagues, but the snow made the going impossible. I missed Dieter, Paul and the others. We had no contact with either group and we had no idea what had happened to them. We were searching for food when we found this strange small creature, a koba. I tried to capture it, but was stung by it. Oh Uly, it was very painful, it was like dying. I fell into a coma for many days. Everyone thought I had died, but Konstantine, my beloved husband and our doctor, wouldn't give up. He kept me warm and safe for the entire time. The others thought that he had gone insane with grief, but I awoke from it days later. Stay away from the kobas, Uly. They cause nothing but trouble."

"Oh we know," Uly answered. "One of 'em did the same thing to Captain O'Neil and to Morgan. We didn't know that the Captain would wake up so we buried him. We knew better by the time Morgan got stung. The Grendlers dug up the Captain, but he got killed anyway."

Anna nodded, but didn't seem to hear him. "By the time I woke up again, my group had settled in for the winter near the bridge. I was too weak to protest. One morning after I had fully recovered, I saw a vehicle heading toward us from the other side of the bridge. At first I thought it was part of Paul's party and that they had found their way across the river. But it wasn't Paul; it was Trudi from the Beta Team, the other shuttlecraft. Finally, we had found them! Our spirits soared, until she reached us."

"Trudi, dear sweet Trudi, she once was so robust and smiling. You could always count on Trudi to cheer you. This young woman who arrived in the Carrier wasn't the same person anymore. She was a shrunken version of that lively woman, with eyes that still haunt me. She told me that they had suffered awful casualties in the crash and that they had landed in a desert, without food or water. The survivors died one by one. She suffered each loss until she was alone. I didn't think I would ever comprehend what she felt."

Anna drew her knees up to her chest and sat silently for a moment. "Twenty-five people died in that desert. I knew and loved them as much as the people that I took in my team. The loss was incredible. We lost Monika and Leo, Abbot, Eva and Oskar, Ilse, Georg, so many people. The news troubled us all. So many people gone. So many good people, and Karl, Marta and Albert too. We didn't know what had become of Dieter and Paul, and the others who went with them. We felt very alone at the Bridge Camp."

"The winter was very difficult. We survived mostly on fish from the river. When the weather finally broke, we packed up one Carrier and headed north to look for Paul, leaving behind the other vehicles. It felt strange to leave the bridge after we had striven so hard to complete it, but from what Trudi had told us, there was no need to go looking for the others. We never really crossed Karl's Bridge."

"We traveled north for eight days when we came upon a terrible sight. We found the wreck of the Carrier that Paul and the rest had taken. They had been traveling too close to the river's edge and the bank had given way. From the direction the vehicle was pointed, they were traveling back downriver toward us. If the people had fallen into the river and drown, it is possible that we did not see their remains as they floated past, especially if the accident happened after the bridge was completed. If we had only been on the river at that time...well." She shook her head, and continued. "We continued north for another ten days just in case. We discovered signs of their encampments, but we never found any of the Northern Party. Six people, six of my people gone like that, gone like the rest."

"I'm sorry," Uly said, because Anna looked so sad.

"If they had only stayed with us. If I had only demanded that we stay together..." Her voice trailed off, then she turned again to Uly and looked at him with her fierce gray eyes. "I know that this is a difficult story for such a young boy, but it is important that you tell your mother all about it. It is important that she knows."

* * * *

Julia carefully processed the latest blood sample while Morgan rubbed his bandaged arm. "Why did you have to use a needle. Don't you have some sort of a thing-a-ma-bob that doesn't hurt?"

Julia shook her head. "Not if I want to remove any quantity of blood. Besides, it really shouldn't hurt, Morgan."

Morgan frowned. "I just hope there isn't going to be any more quantities," he muttered. Julia had already stuck him three times, each time drawing a larger sample. "I'm not going to have any blood left."

Julia squinted against the pain in her head as she watched the read-out on the monitor. "Come on, find the anti-toxin," she said under her breath. So far the machine had only been able to locate a minuscule amount of the necessary molecules, hardly enough to inject any of the group. Several minutes passed as the computer continued its search, slowly recording an increase in its findings. "There, that's it!" She removed the SedaDerm from the side of the processor and looked at it for a moment. "I don't know what this will do. Morgan has had it in his system for over a year. He could be conditioned to the effects. This may put whomever I inject into a coma. Hell, it may not do anything. I'm grasping at straws here."

"Then I'll be the first," Devon said. "If it causes any ill effect, I want you to be in your right mind."

"Maybe it should be me then," Bess said quietly. "Because the group will need you too."

"Hey! It's my blood," Morgan pouted. "It's not like being bitten by a snake."

Devon nodded to Julia and the doctor gave Bess the injection. Everyone sat quietly, watching Bess as she rubbed her temples.

* * * *

In the DreamPlane, Uly sat silently beside Anna and listened. She continued to tell him her story. "We finally decided to return to the Valley Camp, our landing site. But Ella, Trudi and Wilhelm had fallen ill with a fever. We could not make it all the way back to the landing site where the others were waiting. We decided to stop at the Bridge Camp. By that time the Crawler and the Beta Team's Carrier were gone. Grendlers probably took them. We had seen Grendlers quite often, but rarely had contact with them. The fever had grown worse and it was obvious that we could travel no further with the sufferers. We decided that it would be best for everyone if we left Ella, Trudi and Wilhelm at the Bridge Camp with Konstantine and Gretta. The rest of us would continue to the Valley Camp to meet again with Dieter and the rest. It broke my heart to leave Konstantine there, but I decided that it was the right thing to do. I remember the last time I held Konstantine in my arms." She held up her hands as if she was embracing a ghost. "He told me, 'Don't give up hope.' We walked along the river, unable to speak a word. And then we stopped and he looked into my eyes..." her voice trailed off and she stared off into space.

"Anna," Uly said timidly, breaking the spell on the woman.

Anna cleared her throat and with some effort, began to speak again. "It was while we were on the road through the forest when we faced another tragedy. Josef was walking out in front with the children when a Grendler approached him from out of the shadows. He was surprised and the Grendler took the LaserSlicer that Josef was carrying. We had been using these tools as protection from the wild dogs in the forest, in case the ElectroLanterns failed. I think that the Grendler meant no harm. He only wanted the tool. The LaserSlicer discharged when the Grendler took it, and two of our children, Bettina and Maria, were killed. The flash frightened the Grendler. It threw the tool down and it discharged again, killing Eric, who was only nine years old. Then the creature ran off into the woods. We never saw any of the Grendlers after that. It was a horrible accident. In only a few seconds all of our remaining children were lost. Some in the group wanted revenge, to hunt down the Grendlers who lived in the wood and exterminate them. But that would have been wrong. It was an accident. I forgave them."

Anna sat with her head in her hands and sighed, "The lantern that you spoke about, with 'MTR' stamped on it, belonged to one of the children, Maria Teresa Ruch. She was such a lovely child. No matter what happened she was always cheerful and able to see the bright side of things. She was my niece. My sister Helen was never the same after she lost her Maria and her Eric. Eric was full of adventure, always ready to burst ahead of the rest of us. He never ran out of energy. Bettina was Wilhelm and Gretta's little girl. Oh, how she loved to dance. She was so worried about leaving her parents behind at the Bridge Camp, but we brought her with us because we thought it would be safer for her. A light went out in our group when we lost them, and the sky grew a little dimmer."

Anna sat up again and continued her story. "We returned to the valley more than a year after we had first arrived. We found Dieter and his party here. They had built this small village, using the trees from the forest. Dieter's group had suffered loss as well. They had not been able to find enough food and Katherine, the oldest of our group, had not survived. She was like a mother to us all. Everyone who survived was thin and weak. They had lost their Carrier to the Grendlers some time ago. In order to save the TrailMaker they had built this stone fortress for it." Anna indicated the stone building that they were leaning against. "It is the only vehicle that we still have. I had to abandon the last Carrier during a trip into the south, when it's engine finally failed. I believe that the Grendlers could have made their way into this structure if they had wanted to. But for some reason, they didn't want to. It's ironic of course that the TrailMaker was damaged during the construction of this building. We protected it, but we cannot use it."

"We had to return to the Bridge Camp for my Konstantine and the others, once we felt the fever would have passed, so we started back east shortly after we had arrived at the Valley Camp. We still had the last Carrier at this time. When we reached the Bridge Camp, our worst fears were realized. No one was alive." Again, Anna paused, then summoning up her strength, she continued. "My beloved Konstantine, and his nurse, Gretta, had given their lives to try and save the lives of the others. The fever did not spare them. All of them, it took all of them." She drew in her breath slowly. "My Konstantine, so tall and handsome. He had such a beautiful voice and he used to sing to me, softly. He was my good sense. He was my sounding board. He was my beloved. Without him, I felt like half a person. It was so like him to give his life to save the others, but how would I go on without him? I felt as weak and as helpless as when I had suffered the koba bite. There was nothing I could do. We left a monument to them at the base of the bridge, for them and for all who died at the river. Then we created a second memorial to leave in the forest, at the site where we had lost our children. It was my dream to someday reach the site of the Beta Team's shuttle crash, but for now, I just wanted my group to be whole again"

"We returned to the Valley Camp heavy hearted. Out of the 55 people that had started our journey, only 13 remained. We decided to stay in the valley and do our best to make a home here. We knew that this planet was a good place. The Drache wouldn't return for 50 years, but if we could make the valley a livable place for those who were coming, it would be worth while."

****

"Honey," Morgan said. "You're all right now, aren't you?"

Bess looked up and smiled. "I think it's working. My head isn't hurting anymore." She moved her arms cautiously, "My joints don't seem to be as bad either."

Everyone in the MedTent breathed a sigh of relief. Julia began scanning Bess with the DiaGlove. "The insect toxins are gone," she said with a smile.

"You see!" Morgan said. "Nothing wrong with Morgan Martin's blood. What's the matter with you people?"

Julia next injected Devon and then herself. "What about Uly?" Devon cried.

"I only had enough antidote in that batch for the three of us and I'll have to recalculate for the children. I don't want to give them too much." She pressed the next cartridge into the SedaDerm and then reached again for her hematology equipment. "Have you had anything to eat today Morgan?"

"What? Not since this afternoon. Just those apples. I've been too worried about Bess and too busy sitting in here letting you poke and prod me."

Julia nodded to Bess., "Why don't you go fix him a nice batch of apple juice and see if there is anything else you can dig up for him to eat."

Morgan looked suspicious. "Is this supposed to be some act of gratitude?"

"Not exactly. I just want to keep you from passing out. We're going to need a bit more blood out of you," Juliaa explained.

Morgan's suspicious look grew deeper. "How much more?"

"Just lay back and let me do the work. Bess, bring plenty of fluids. We'll have to keep him hydrated."

"Bess!" Morgan cried as his wife left the tent in search of munchies. "I don't want to be a pincushion!"

"Be brave," Bess said as she left.

Morgan watched uneasily as Julia advanced on him with another needle. "Vampires," he said and closed his eyes.

* * * *

"Dieter and the others had planted the valley with the seeds and the starts that we had brought with us, but they never bore. The plants would begin heartily, and flower, but they didn't produce. The soil and atmosphere here was different than on Earth and our vegetation had no chance of survival. We brought animal stock with us in ColdStorage, so if nothing else, we might be able to exist on them. In the autumn came the rains. It rained for days on end and finally when the rains stopped, the insects came. The insects remained for only a few hours and then they were gone, but it was enough. The rain had softened the soil and the animals were driven mad by the insect bites. They broke through the fences and were lost."

"Then the illness started amongst us. My people, all that remained, fell ill with headaches and muscle-aches that didn't let up. Nothing we tried stopped it. It continued to worsen and finally the illness killed them. My sister Helen was the first to go. We had always been so close. She was my best friend and my confidant. After her children were taken from her, she had no desire to live. It was almost a blessing for her, but for me..." Anna trailed off, and then began again. " Then her husband followed, then Dieter. I watched them go, one by one, until I was the only one that remained. We blamed the insects. They return here every fall, after the first break in the rains, but they never take me."

"I failed them so miserably, I cannot begin to explain it. Uly, it is very important that you tell your mother all of this. Do you understand? Let her know how I failed. Let her know what I did wrong so that she may not fail as I have."

Uly cocked his head. "I don't see where you failed though," he said. "I mean, it wasn't your fault. Sometimes bad things just happen. It's bad luck."

"I didn't keep my people together. Every time I think back on those times when I allowed us to split up, I realize that I made a horrible mistake."

"Mom hasn't let us split up like that. We have scouting parties go out sometimes but we always come back together again. We always try to stay together."

"I'm glad about that Uly. If your mother continues to do that, you all should be all right."

"Mom told me once that our only hope of reaching New Pacifica is if we stick together." Uly looked at Anna and saw that her eyes were full of tears. "Are you okay?"

"When I was little, my grandfather toldl me of a time when the sky on Earth was beautiful and blue. He watched it during his lifetime change from blue to yellow with smog. By the time I was born, the idea of a blue sky was like a myth. Still, I believed what my grandfather told me. I believed that human beings were meant to live beneath a blue sky, not under layers of pollution and not enclosed in plastic and metal. When we came here the sky was so startlingly blue that I could hardly contain myself. Everything that I had hoped for had come true. As my people began to die, as they left me, I saw the clouds closing in on my dream. But I still believed that the sky was there beyond the clouds, I still had hope. Now, when I sit here alone, I can still see the sky. I still believe there is hope. If not for me, well ..."

* * * *

Uly gasped in surprise to find himself lying in his mother's arms in the MedTent. She said his name softly and kissed him. He looked about at the expectant faces. "Looks like he's going to be all right," Julia said as she handed a SedaDerm to Cameron, "See that everyone receives their injection. Looks like things are about to get a bit brighter."

The boy blinked as he sat up and looked around. Morgan lay on the cot next to him, looking a little pale and drowsy. Julia was carefully taking the liaison's blood pressure while Bess looked on. "Mom," Uly said, "There's something I need to tell you."

* * * *

When morning arrived, the long rain had finally stopped and the insects showed no sign of returning. Yale joined the group in the MedTent, and he listened with the rest as Uly recounted the story. Morgan napped on the cot while the others talked. The others in the party began to stir and move about the camp. They found more fruit and vegetables growing nearby and began collecting. When Danziger heard that the stone structure housed a vehicle, he formed a team to break into the building. He shouted with joy when the machine saw the light of day again. Not only did the TrailMaker await them, but also a pair of LaserSlicers. A quick examination of the high riding vehicle revealed that it was too damaged to run again, but the spare parts were a gold mine. "Grab my tools True-Girl," he said to his daughter, whose eyes glowed as bright as his own at the sight, "It's time to open our gifts."

"Yale, is there no record of their ship, the Drache, returning to Earth?" Devon asked the cyborg.

"I have nothing listed in my databanks concerning that ship or the pilots. I have no listing of the name 'Drache'." Yale responded.

"Drache?" Morgan said feebly, looking up from his bed. Julia had taken a substantial quantity of blood from him. Not enough to be dangerous, but enough to leave him weak for some time, "Where? Where did you hear that?"

"Good morning, Sunshine!" Bess plopped herself down beside him. "Are you hungry?"

"Where did you hear about Drache?" Morgan asked again.

"Why?" Devon asked, "Have you heard the name?"

Morgan licked his lips and seemed to make an effort to come to a decision, "Well, when I signed up for this mission, we used a code word for it, Drache." The others looked at each other in silence. Morgan watched them uneasily, unable to figure out what their expressions meant. "What's wrong?"

"Their pilots did make it back." Devon said. "They must have made it back to Earth some 50 years after they left it. The space stations would have been well established by that time. The Council probably didn't want anyone to know the news that the Drache brought, so they silenced the information. That's how they knew about this planet and why they were able to send the penal colonists here." She turned to Uly, "Uly, tonight, when you go to sleep, I want you to visit the DreamPlane again. I want you to find Anna and I want you to tell her something."

* * * *

"Uly," Anna said softly, "I'm glad to see you again. I've been lonely."

"I told my mom everything, like you told me and she wanted me to deliver a message to you."

Anna looked at the boy expectantly. "What did she want to tell me?"

"She needs you to know that you were not a failure," Uly said. "She said that we never would've made it across the river if you hadn't built the bridge. We didn't have the quarry on our side of the river and we didn't have a forest so we didn't have anything to build with. So the bridge worked. We used it. We crossed it. It was a good bridge. And, we wouldn't have made it through the forest without your road. We didn't have the machines you had. You figured out that the lanterns kept those wild dogs away and you forgave the Grendlers. If you didn't do that then the dogs might have killed us, because the Grendlers are the ones who gave us the lantern. They had kept it all that time. They were always sorry for what happened."

"You planted food and stuff and the food kept growing. It's all over the place now. We were hungry. Because you did that we have food to eat now. And, you saved the TrailMaker, now we can fix the TransRover so we can keep moving. Mom said that everything you did helped us. You did what you wanted to do. You helped the people who followed you. You helped us! And we are going to be helping the others who are still coming. You see? You didn't fail."

Anna smiled, but her eyes were wet with tears. She knelt down beside Uly. "I now understand why we were brought together. You were brought to me to tell me that I did not fail. My work accomplished something. My people did not die in vain. Everything we did here, we did for you. I am proud to think that I was able to help you and your people." She hugged Uly tightly.

Then she continued, "And I also understand why I was brought to you. It's not to tell your mother what to do. Obviously she knows how to lead her people, otherwise you never would have come this far. You are here so that I can tell YOU how to lead. Someday you will be a great leader. You have observed your mother and you know what is right. I am here to tell you what happens when you make poor choices."

"I'm just a kid. Nobody's going to follow me."

"I know you will lead someday. And now you know both sides." She smiled again and stood up and walked over to the Terrians who had always been nearby during their talks. "Thank you," she said humbly to them. "Thank you for this opportunity." And then she walked back to Uly. "It's time for me to leave now Uly. I must join my people. We've been too long apart. Good-bye, and Uly remember..." And with that Uly awoke.

* * * *

With the end of the rain, the Eden Advance Party spent several days in the valley. With the parts from the TrailMaker, Danziger was finally able to fix the long crippled TransRover. They stocked the vehicle with samples from the new vegetation in the valley. They found wheat and oats, carrots and turnips. Apricots, pears and late bearing strawberries, flax and cotton, and several spices. Their larder was the fullest it had ever been. The LaserSlicers and spare parts from the TrailMaker were carefully stowed as well.

Finally, the cloud cover lifted enough to reveal the high mountains to the west. Devon looked at the mountains with trepidation. It would be a difficult crossing, but she could see a pass cutting through that would be the easiest route. The sky was clear and blue through this pass and something told her that New Pacifica was not far beyond. The sky beyond the mountains beckoned to her and she knew that it was time to be moving again. They were almost there.

Once again, the group packed up and started on their way west, toward that patch of blue sky. They crossed a slow meandering river, so wide and corded, that it only came up to their knees at its deepest part. As they left the valley and started up the pass, Devon looked back into the German Lands and considered all that Anna Gerting had accomplished. She had helped them so much. Devon was glad that they were able to tell her that. Devon had asked Uly to tell her everything except for the fact that the Drache had returned to Earth. It seemed unfair to burden her with the fact that her pilots succeeded, but their mission had failed.

Just as they left level ground, a thundering sound rose out of the north and a herd of animals rushed past them through the valley. True jumped up and down and screamed for joy as she recognized what she saw. Horses, wild horses ran with the manes flying, galloped through the valley. The group stared in shock at the sight, but it was easy to believe. Anna Gerting and the New Earth Explorers had been here. Anything was possible. They watched as the wild animals followed the river and then disappeared from sight. Devon would have to return someday to this place someday. There were other surprises to be found here, but for now, they had to start moving before winter set in.

The group continued into the high foothills. Devon, who had walked out ahead of the group, paused and let the others pass. The TransRover was in the lead, climbing effortlessly into the mountains. Danziger smiled broadly at the controls and waved nonchalantly at her. For the first time in almost two months, he didn't have to fight the machine to keep it moving. Walman and Magus walked beside the vehicle, hand in hand. Next came the ATV. Bess was riding and Morgan driving it, looking very serious. True ran up beside them and said something to Morgan that made Bess burst into laughter, and Morgan blush. Uly caught up to True and the two children ran off ahead of the rest. Alonzo and Julia walked behind the ATV. Julia was pointing something out to Alonzo who stopped to see what it was, and then strode forward to catch up to the ATV and point it out to the Martins as well. Next came the DuneRail with Yale, Mazatl, Denner and Zero. Yale was trying to explain something to Zero, and Mazatl was shaking his head at the impossibility of it. Finally came Baines and Cameron. Baines was talking to Cameron in a disinterested yet intense way and Cameron nodded in agreement. A strawberry suddenly splattered against Baines' head. He looked up quickly to the DuneRail, only to hear Denner giggling, and to see Matazl peering back at them innocently from around the seatback. Devon watched them all as they moved along past her. It was good to see them all here together. She turned and followed, heading toward the pass through the mountains and the sky beyond.

THE END