Second Impressions by Mary Brick

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SECOND IMPRESSIONS (4/4)
by Mary Brick

Alonzo sat next to the unconscious Danziger, keeping an eye on him while he surveyed their surroundings. From the slope of the cave wall, he surmised that the Grendler had used the entrance as a slide to get into the cave. 'That must be an interesting sight,' Alonzo thought, trying to picture a Grendler making any kind of a graceful slide into the cave.

The pilot's attention was drawn away from his rather bizarre ruminations when he heard Danziger groan. Crouching down next to the injured man, Alonzo asked, "How do you feel?"

Danziger put a hand to his head and moaned again. "What hit me?"

"Well, let's see," Alonzo replied. "First you fell down this hole. Then you landed on me. Then you fell backwards and hit your head. I'm not sure, but I think your mag-pro may have even given you a whack in the bargain."

Danziger tried to sit up. Alonzo stopped him, saying, "I don't think that would be a good idea. You took quite a shot to the head. Even one as hard as yours must have sustained quite an injury. You've been out for quite a while."

Danziger brushed off Alonzo's restraining hand. "Sitting here isn't helping us get out," he said testily. "I'm OK. Just got a bit of a headache, that's all."

Alonzo and Danziger looked around the cave. It was quite dark in each direction. Without a lumalight, it would be impossible to find their way out. The only way out was the way they came in.

Alonzo started to help Danziger to his feet, but the mechanic reeled and fell back down. "Dizzy," he mumbled.

"John, I don't think it's a good idea for you to move," Alonzo suggested. "You probably have a concussion."

Danziger leaned against the cave wall. "You're probably right. Have you contacted Julia so they can come and get us?"

Alonzo rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, I would have. However," he pointed at the ground next to where Danziger sat, "you crushed the only gearset we have."

Danziger picked up the broken gear. "Oh, shank."

***

Julia drove, following Morgan's directions as he monitored the scanner's readout. "Would you like to tell me how you are tracking Danziger's mag-pro?" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her. "Is it turned on? Can you track a mag-pro that way?"

"Yes, you can," Morgan replied. "However, the signal I'm following is from a transceiver I put on all the mag-pros."

Julia glanced over at Morgan, totally confused. "What would possess you to put transceivers on the mag-pros?"

Morgan looked up from the scanner. "I got the idea after Danziger was captured by the ZED. After it took so long for us to trace him, I figured we should have another way to track each other." Morgan looked again at the scanner's readout. "Turn that way," he directed. "We're almost there."

Julia made the course adjustment as Morgan continued. "Also, we all know, for whatever reason, how much Danziger hates to keep his gear turned on. But, Danziger would rather go on scout naked than leave his mag-pro. So I put small transceivers on all the weapons. Even if they aren't turned on, they're traceable. I know it doesn't provide a mean of communications, but I figured that, in case of an emergency, we'd at least have a way of tracking whoever had them."

Julia smiled, amazed at Morgan's initiative. "But why didn't you say anything about it before now?"

Morgan shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I was afraid that some people would think it was a stupid idea." A beep from the scanner caught Morgan's attention. "Stop here. This is where the signal ends."

Julia stopped the dunerail. She and Morgan disembarked and looked around. All they saw was kilometers of open space...and no sign of Danziger or Alonzo.

"Alonzo!" Julia shouted. "Danziger!"

They wanted in a small circle, each calling the missing men's names. Suddenly, Morgan stopped, catching Julia by the arm. "Did you hear that?"

"Julia? Morgan?" It was very faint.

"Alonzo!" Julia shouted again. "Where are you?"

"Down here!" was the faint reply.

"Keep shouting!" Morgan hollered. "We can't see you. We'll follow your voice!"

"Watch out!" Alonzo warned. "John and I fell down a hole. It's well concealed."

Julia and Morgan followed the sound of Alonzo's voice. Suddenly, Julia stopped short with a cry of excitement. "Morgan, over here!"

Morgan trotted over to where Julia crouched. "Alonzo. Danziger. Are you down there?" she asked.

Alonzo's face appeared at the bottom of the opening. "Sure are, Doc. And are we ever glad to see you!"

Peering over Julia's shoulder, Morgan asked, "Are you two OK?"

"I'm OK. But John took quite a blow to the head when he fell," the pilot replied, pointing to where Danziger sat, his head in his hands. "He's conscious but pretty dizzy. I'm going to need help getting him out."

"I'm coming down to check him out first," Julia said. She rant to the 'rail and retrieved her medical bag. Upon returning, she carefully slid down the opening and went to where Danziger was sitting. Putting on her diaglove, she did a quick scan. "Minor concussion and abrasions. Nothing serious, but it's no wonder you're dizzy." She did a quick scan of Alonzo and determined that he was all right. Motioning to the pilot, she said, "C'mon. Help me get him up."

Alonzo helped Julia get Danziger in a standing position. Danziger swayed slightly. "Whoa," he murmured. "What a head rush."

"Morgan," Alonzo called up to the waiting man. "Give me a hand up and then we'll get Julia and Danziger out."

Morgan grabbed Alonzo's outstretched and pulled him out of the cave. Then they turned their attention to getting the other two out. Once above ground, Alonzo and Morgan each took one of Danziger's arms and helped him to the dunerail. Julia following and sat beside the injured man in the back seat, monitoring his condition. Alonzo and Morgan got in the front and headed back to the cargo pod.

Walman was in the secondary cargo bay when he heard the dunerail approach. He went out to greet the wayward explorers and their rescuers. "Everyone OK?" he asked as the 'rail stopped next to the cargo pod.

"Pretty much," Julia replied. "John's going to have one hell of a headache, but he'll be fine."

Morgan walked over to the pile of supplies Walman had been stacking. "What have you found?" he asked.

"Some pretty good stuff," Walman answered, wandering over to the pile he had made. "Mostly medical supplies and clothes."

Morgan rolled his eyes as he looked over at Danziger. "Medical supplies and clothes," he said sarcastically. "Imagine that."

Danziger groaned, holding his aching head in his hands as Julia and Alonzo laughed. Walman stood by, looking confused. He obviously didn't get the joke.

***

Alonzo and Walman stayed behind to guard the cargo pod while Julia and Morgan took Danziger back to camp. Morgan drove so Julia could keep an eye on the injured man. Various members of the group greeted them when they returned to camp. Julia directed Morgan to head straight for the med-tent, which he did. Morgan stopped the 'rail and hopped out of the seat. He and Julia assisted Danziger into the med-tent and helped him sit down. Devon and True followed.

True sat down beside her father. "What happened?" she asked worriedly.

Danziger gave her a quick hug. "Just a bump on the head, True-girl," he reassured her.

Julia checked him once again with her diaglove. "How's your head, John?"

Danziger winced a little. With a glance in True's direction, he whispered, "Hurts like hell, Doc."

Julia nodded. "Well, you're going to be fine, but I'm going to give you a painblock just in case."

While Julia ministered to Danziger, Devon cornered Morgan to get the whole story. He quickly explained the day's adventures, concluding with the discovery of the much-needed supplies Alonzo and Walman were guarding.

Devon looked very pleased. "Good work. I'll send Mazatl and Cameron out to pick up Alonzo and Walman and retrieve what supplies we can carry. John, are you sure you're going to be OK?"

Before Danziger could reply, Julia said, "He'll be fine. He's got a pretty thick skull." Everyone laughed, though Danziger's laugh turned into a small moan of pain. Julia looked conspiratorially at True. "Why don't you take your Dad to your tent, True, and see that he gets some rest."

Danziger put a hand up in protest. "Doc, I'm fine," he said. True took her father's hand in hers and pulled. "Sorry, Dad," she said. "Doctor's orders."

With a look of defeat, Danziger got up and started to walk toward the tent opening. He paused, a confused look on his face. "I have one question, though. How did you two find us?"

Julia looked at Morgan. "I believe that is your story," she said with a smile of encouragement.

Morgan played with the edge of his jacket, took a deep breath, and told Danziger how he put the transceivers on the mag-pros and why. When he finished, he looked at Danziger, uncertain of his reaction.

Danziger chuckled and slowly shook his head. "Martin, you surprise me," he said. "Before today, I would have said that was the stupidest idea I'd ever heard."

Morgan looked at Julia as if to say 'I told you so.'

"However," Danziger continued, but paused as if words suddenly failed him. He looked at Morgan, sighed, opened his mouth to speak, and stopped again. Looking off to the side, he said, "However, given the circumstances, I'd have to say that it wasn't such a bad idea after all."

Morgan laughed softly, knowing how much this was killing Danziger. Smiling he said, "Look, Danziger, I don't want you to throw an embolism or anything." Putting out his hand toward the mechanic, he said, "You're welcome."

Danziger took Morgan's hand and gave it a firm shake. Then with a nod to True, he left the tent.

***

Morgan found Bess and took her back to their tent to tell her about his success with the scouting party. As she sat listening to him, she was surprised that his storytelling took on none of the exaggerated boasting that similar stories of his had in the past. He told the story quietly and straightforward, obviously proud of his accomplishment, but not seeming to unduly dwell on it.

She came out of her ruminations when Morgan said, "Then we shook hands and that was that. G889 may not be Eden, but I think things will be better from now on."

Bess hugged him tightly. "Oh, honey, I'm so proud of you. And I guess you're right. Things will be better for us now."

Morgan moved a stray curl off Bess' face. "Does that mean you don't want to leave?" he said hesitantly. "That we don't have to go back to the Stations?"

Bess straightened up, looking quizzically at Morgan. "Have to go back to the Stations?" she repeated. "What do you mean...*have* to go back? I thought staying on this planet would be the last thing you'd want to do. I thought you'd be thrilled that I would want to go back to the Stations, too."

Morgan looked down at his hands and then gave Bess a sideways glance. "Well, I...uh...well, I have come to realize that I've pretty much, well...OK, *totally* had my own way in what we've done and where we've lived since, y'know, since we've been married. I dragged you away from your home, I kept you from seeing your Father and your friends, I dragged you here. And, I thought, y'know, what with the new-found growth and maturity of mine and all, that it would only be fair to *you* that we stay on G889...since, y'know, since you like it here so much." Morgan tried to give her his best 'Are you buying this?' smile, but it came out more of a 'You're not buying this, are you?' one instead.

Bess wasn't about to give him an inch. With a look of eternal patience, she said sweetly, "Morgan, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Bess, I don't want to go back to the Stations. I want to stay here!" came the shocking reply.

"WHAT?!" Bess couldn't believe her ears.

"My work was...our friends were...our life was....Oh, Bess," Morgan stammered, not knowing how to begin.

Bess put her hand up to stop his nonsensical flow of words. "Morgan, what are you trying to tell me?"

Morgan looked at Bess and took a deep breath. "Things weren't exactly as they seemed, back on the Stations," he started again. "I told you all about my wonderful job. Well, it wasn't so wonderful. Do you know how many 'Deputy Secretaries for Interstellar Development' there are? Lots. I wasn't much more than a paper-pusher. Remember when I told you how, in taking this assignment, that it was really going to help my career?" Bess nodded. "Well, I almost believed it myself. No-one wanted this assignment. It was the death sentence for a government career. My God, it was 'Devon Adair and Her Syndrome Children Crusade'! The government wanted to keep the Syndrome quiet. This project wasn't going to help anyone's career. I was assigned to this project because I was expendable." Morgan looked down at his hands. "I didn't realize just how expendable, though."

Bess took Morgan's hands in hers, her eyes full of compassion. "Morgan, honey..."

"No, let me finish," he interrupted. "I made my job sound like more than it was because I wanted you to think it was. Your thinking well of me meant...means...more to me than anything. So I made it sound like I was really going places; that I had the inside track straight to the top, which couldn't have been further from the truth." Morgan sighed, determined to confess everything. "And our friends. Well, our *friends* were people just like me. Low-level, government stiffs in dead-end jobs hanging around other low-level, government stiffs in dead-end jobs. Believe me, if any one of use could've found better people to socialize with, we would have. So, there you have it. 'Life on the Stations With Morgan Martin.'" He looked at Bess, needing her understanding, afraid of her pity. "You were the only thing that was good in my life, and I had to come all the way out here to discover how true that was."

Bess smiled at his last statement. It was true that, despite the hardships, their marriage had never been better. "But, Morgan, what makes you so determined to stay here? We can go back and restart our life. You can get a better job. I mean, it's certainly more comfortable on the Stations than New Pacifica will ever be."

It was Morgan's turn to smile. Bess certainly knew he liked his creature comforts. "Bess, it's more than that. I will grant you that crashing onto this planet and making this trek to New Pacifica wasn't exactly what I had planned. And, as a result, I did some foolish things." He caught Bess' look. "OK, I was a total jerk. But in the past several months, I've come to realize that I'm doing to most important work I've ever done." Morgan stood up and began pacing, speaking earnestly. "Bess, helping set up and run New Pacifica could be the most fulfilling work I *ever* do in my life." He smiled. "I will admit that being a big fish in a small pond is appealing, certainly better than being a tiny fish in a big ocean." Sitting back down on the bed, he said with a chuckle, "Who knows, maybe I'll be mayor some day." Bess laughed and playfully slapped at his arm. Then Morgan grew serious again. "But is goes way beyond just the work itself. What it really comes down to is people." Bess looked at him questioningly. "*These* people. They are doing the most important work of their lives. I never said it before, but I want to stay here and see this thing through to the end, I want to do this for them, for me, and for you." Morgan grasped Bess' hands, his eyes welling with tears. "Above all else, I want to stay here for you, Bess. I owe you that much."

Bess looked into Morgan's eyes. "Morgan, you don't have to stay here for me. You don't owe me that. You don't owe me *anything*."

Morgan took Bess in his arms and hugged her tightly. "Oh, yes, I do," he whispered. "I owe you *everything*."

***

Bess Martin:

*****Like I said, lessons and first impressions. They are hard to learn and hard to change. But we are learning...about ourselves and about each other. And those lessons bring change. And change brings acceptance...which may be the most important lesson of all.*****

-The End-

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