After lunch, Alonzo made the solitary trek back to the caves to return the Morganite specimen after assuring John that he wouldn't also take a detour through the spider tunnels. While most of the other group members started the task of packing items that would not be needed during the night, Julia sat at her workbench, reviewing the results of the scans she'd done of Devon. She soon became totally absorbed in her work, as she was wont to do, and time slipped away.

A sudden cacophony broke out from the camp, snapping Julia's concentration. It sounded like everyone was suddenly scrambling madly around.

"Ohhhhhhhhhh shank!"

She heard the unmistakable expletive come from Walman's mouth.

"Get down!"

That's Magus, Julia thought, as she stood up in a flash from her workbench.

"Take cover!"

Baines.

"Someone help me get Walman to Julia!"

Cameron.

"Daddy!"

True.

"I'm okay, True-girl! Just sit tight with Yale and Uly. Do not move until I tell you to, okay?"

John.

"Ulysses! Stay down. True, come!"

Yale.

Julia's mind was a turbulent whirlwind of competing thoughts and memories. This was starting to sound like a replay of what had transpired when they encountered the Z.E.D. unit so many months ago.

Oh, God, please tell me it's not another one of those emotionless killers... She dared not leave her tent to look outside, deciding that it would not be prudent to place herself in unnecessary peril. She already guessed that Walman was hurt; how badly, she didn't know. She hurriedly prepared a pain-block vial for the hypo-spray, and slipped on her diaglove. Her preparations were well-timed as a moment later, Cameron and Mazatl appeared at the entrance of the Med-Tent, supporting an injured Walman.

"We're under attack," Cameron grunted. "We think it's another Z.E.D.!"

"Put him down right away," Julia said, indicating one of the cots. She tried to push back the fear that the attack originated from a Z.E.D. unit as Cameron surmised. Walman's face was a mask of pain, and his left leg dangled uselessly. There was a hole in his trousers that was clearly caused by a bullet – a bullet that was still embedded in his leg.

Cameron and Mazatl complied with Julia's request, and they hefted their friend to the cot.

"Get this bullet out of me now, Doc," Walman managed to say through clenched teeth, cheeks puffing.

"I will," Julia said calmly, as her genetic engineering predisposed her to keeping cool in a medical crisis. "I'm going to administer a pain-block, because I need you to keep absolutely still. We know from past experience that the less you move, the less it hurts."

Walman's jaw was working, and his fists were tight balls; knuckles white. A sheen of perspiration covered his agony-creased brow. "Do whatever! Shank, this hurts!"

Cameron fingered his beard nervously, and Mazatl stood back in silence, allowing Julia access. With a smooth hiss, the medication entered Walman's system, and moments later, he became more relaxed.

Julia examined the site of the entry wound, which was just above the left knee. The Ops crew member's clothing was already stained with his blood, but Julia was relieved to note that not much had been lost.

"Laser cut," Julia instructed the diaglove. The device complied instantly. A neat incision appeared as she glided the finger along the surface of Walman's thigh, separating skin and muscle.

"Do you feel anything?" Julia asked, always conscious of her patient's comfort level.

"Nothin'," Walman answered, almost dreamily. "Didja find it?"

"Yes," Julia said, concentrating intensely, "I almost have it."

"Good," he answered, awash with relief.

Julia's fears that it was indeed a Z.E.D. firing at them were confirmed when she noticed the tell-tale feature of the killer cyborgs' choice in ammunition: the incendiary worm bullet.

"Got it," she triumphantly exclaimed, pulling out the offending projectile with a pair of forceps. A grimace crossed her face as she held it up. No matter how many times she saw them, the sight of the slowly revolving, bore-like bullets always made her stomach roil in disgust.

"Give it to me!" Cameron said, desperate to be rid of the thing. He yanked it from the forceps and made a mad dash for the opening of the tent.

"Be careful!" Julia yelled after him.

Outside the tent, the rest of the Eden Advance crew hunkered down between stacked storage crates, vehicles, and machinery. Bess and Yale huddled with the children. Magus, Baines and Danziger crouched in positions throughout the camp, Magpros on the ground within arm's reach. They'd learned from their earlier encounter with the Z.E.D. unit who'd taken John captive that armed members of a group were usually the first to be targeted.

Gayle Denner and Morgan Martin had taken refuge next to the TransRover, and were eventually joined by Mazatl.

"Zero! What do you read?!" John hissed at the robot.

"I read motion. There are seven individuals, west-northwest, approximately fifteen-hundred meters away," Zero's mechanical voice advised. "Moving east-southeast at an approximate rate of two meters per second."

"Great," John muttered.

Seven of them, all probably armed to the teeth. We're sitting ducks here.

They'd already come through so much... to be under attack again was almost too much to bear. The second that Zero had raised the alarm several minutes ago, warning of an incoming projectile, the whole camp had panicked. Then Walman had been struck, and John had all kinds of flashbacks to his ordeal with the one killer Council cyborg who'd interrogated him after having shot him. He absent-mindedly rubbed that thigh, though the wound had long since healed.

John wondered about the seven individuals Zero had been able to pin-point. Could they all be Z.E.D.s? Was it possible they were hunting in groups? He'd seen Cameron dash out of the Med-Tent tent and away from the camp. He correctly guessed the man had gone to dispose of an incendiary bullet.

Was it also possible the seven were penal colonists? There were so many unknown variables on this planet.

"Warning," Zero's vocal simulation announced, "incoming projectile..."

A sudden yell of pain fractured the already fragile psyche of the group.

"Who's hit?" John bellowed, strain evident in his voice, but there was no answer. He cast quick, careful looks around camp. When he didn't initially see anyone down, he tried a roll call.

"Sound off!" he shouted. He called all the Ops crew members' names first, and was met with silence when he called Cameron's.

"D*mn it, Cameron!" John swore. "Where is he?"

"I saw him taking off in that direction," Magus yelled, pointing west. "I think he was going to get rid of the bullet Julia pulled from Walman!"

"Somebody's gotta go get him!" Baines said, worry drenching his words.

"Stay put!" John warned. "Nobody's moving yet."

"But John, he needs help now!" Magus pleaded.

Movement caught John's eye. Cameron staggered back into camp, clutching his left bicep, blood streaming between his fingers. "I've been hit," he mumbled.

Magus broke cover and went to assist the bearded man. "Come on," she said encouragingly, "let's get you to Julia."

"Keep your heads down!" John barked. "For God's sake, don't give 'em somethin' to aim for!"

"I'm running out of cots," Julia said wryly, as Magus presented the hurt Cameron.

Julia disinfected her hands, and followed the same routine with Cameron as she had with Walman.

Knowing that the Z.E.D.s were programmed to eliminate the largest, armed males first, Yale decided it would be safest for the children to be with an unarmed female inside a tent, which at least afforded the illusion of protection.

"Go to the Med-Tent and stay with Julia!" Yale ordered forcefully, and the children knew it was not open for discussion. "Do not come out until one of us tells you it is safe!"

True and Uly took off for the doctor's tent without a word of protest.

Julia took in their pale, terrified faces, and tried to allay her own fears. With Walman and Cameron out of commission with the sedatives she'd administered, they would be absolutely useless in a fight.

And I don't even have a weapon, she thought in desperation.

The fact that they'd barely been able to get a jump on the Z.E.D. unit the last time was only due to careful planning and stealth, and even then the plan had almost completely backfired. Julia remembered that the cyborg could very easily have killed Baines had she not bluffed her way into making it think she was in good standing with the Council. Even though she'd been swift when she pressed the hypo-spray to the non-armoured patch at the base of its skull, the brute still had lightning-fast reflexes that surprised her, and she'd paid the price with a snapped wrist.

No, Julia knew that this time around, it would be too dangerous to attempt a ruse on her own.

The children clung to the young doctor as the trio huddled together in the tent behind a heavy piece of medical equipment, waiting for word that it was safe to exit.

Julia had tried earlier to raise Alonzo on Gear, but to no avail. She'd hoped to contact him; warn him... Her Gear was sitting on her workbench, and she wasn't about to move from her position just to retrieve it, even though the thought had crossed her mind.

The sounds coming from outside the tent in the camp were becoming unbearable to hear. There were yells and screams accompanied by the sound of Magpro fire and other assorted weaponry.

Julia closed her eyes, and tried not to put visuals to what she was hearing, but it did little good. After so many months of travelling together with the same group of people, she could easily identify the characteristic timbres and pitches of their voices. These were her friends who were crying out in pain and terror, the very same friends she had sworn to protect. And every cry and every weapon blast was like a bullet to her own heart. It sounded like an all-out massacre, and any minute, she feared her hiding-place with the children, Walman, and Cameron, would be uncovered.

"Julia," True whimpered, her eyes brimming with tears, "why are they shooting at us?"

"I don't know," Julia answered carefully, her mind growing increasingly frantic about their chances for survival.

"I'm scared," True gulped, then whispered: "...I think my dad...I think my dad's been... I heard him, and then..."

The tent flap suddenly snapped open, and a tall, imposing figure was silhouetted against the afternoon sun.

True shrieked, and Uly sucked in a ragged breath. He tightened his grip on Julia's arm, burrowing his head against her side. She could feel both youngsters trembling uncontrollably.

"Stand and be identified."

The voice of a Z.E.D. unit was unmistakeably flat and lacking in any kind of empathy, and the one standing before them was pointing its weapon at them.

"Uly; True, stay behind me when I get up," Julia instructed in a low whisper, then mustered all the courage she possessed. She gently disengaged herself from the children and said in a hushed tone: "It's okay... I have a plan..."

She shakily stood from behind the piece of medical equipment and faced the emotionless menace.

"Z.E.D. unit," she raised her voice, projecting confidence she did not at the moment feel she possessed, "stand down. I am Council appointee Dr. Julia Heller, I.D. Delta 04917."

The Z.E.D. seemed slightly confused, then regained its composure. "That is a physician's code... Accessing... Dr. Julia Heller, Council appointee assigned to monitor the Eden Project. Tasked with procuring the child, Ulysses Adair, for the purposes of advancing the goals of the Council... Penal codes associated with Dr. Julia Heller... Julia Heller, you are to be taken into custody where you will await execution for your numerous crimes against the Council."

Julia stiffened as she heard the cyborg recite a litany of 'charges' she had allegedly committed in violation of Council laws and statutes.

"I'm not going anywhere," Julia declared. "And you're not taking this boy, either."

"You have no authority here, physician," the cyborg's monotone was starting to annoy Julia. "Surrender or be killed."

"No!" True wailed.

"Be still," Julia admonished with a subtle flick of her hand. But the girl jumped up impulsively, and railed at the Z.E.D., kicking at it, flailing her arms, pounding at its armoured body with her small fists.

"True! Stop!" Julia shouted in dismay, terrified for the girl's safety. Julia lunged forward to pull True away from the cyborg. Like a giant swatting away a gnat, the Z.E.D. shoved True aside, sending her cartwheeling away through the air. She slammed bodily into the workbench, and slumped to the ground.

"True!" Julia and Uly cried in unison as the girl remained quite still.

"You will stop this defiance," the Z.E.D.'s toneless voice grated on Julia's ears. She was about to move to attend to the unconscious True when she felt the soldier's hand on her shirt, restraining her. In a swift, fluid motion, it lifted her off the ground and brought her face-to-face, closing a hand around her throat.

"Put her down!" Uly's pleas reached Julia's ears. "Don't hurt her!"

Julia was gagging and gasping for breath, and could see into one of the empty, soulless eyes of the Council super-soldier. The other eye was hidden, covered with a cybernetic optical enhancement. She then realised that the Z.E.D. wasn't actually strangling her; just maintaining a secure hold. Julia knew kicking or striking the Z.E.D. would be futile. If it wanted to, it could instantly snap her neck much like the other Z.E.D. had snapped her wrist. She was trapped.

"I see you understand that it is useless to fight, physician," the Z.E.D. said. "Instruct the boy to cooperate now, and perhaps the Council will be lenient with you."

"Mr. Walman! Mr. Cameron! You have to get up! Julia's in trouble!" Uly tried to rouse the sedated men. Julia heard his panicked terror, and it cut her to the core.

Instruct Uly to cooperate? Julia thought of the Z.E.D.'s unusual word choice. Then it dawned on her: the Z.E.D. had most likely been programmed not to harm Uly in any way.

"Uly," Julia managed to choke out, still held aloft by the soldier, "you have to get out of here. It won't hurt you. I think it's part of its programming. The Council needs you alive."

"Very perceptive, Citizen." An amused voice just outside the tent caused Julia's blood to run cold.

The tent flap parted, and in stepped the Watcher.

"Reilly," Julia breathed. Her stomach did a somersault, and his icy smile sent shock waves through her.

Even after all her own ruminations and theorizing, there had still been a tiny part of her that hoped the Council member was all a creation of a berserk satellite A.I. Now, she knew with certainty that he existed in flesh and blood.

"I told you I'd find you, Citizen," he chided, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "At last, we meet in person."

Uly cowered by Cameron's bedside, and stared up at Reilly with wide eyes.

"You must be U-lyss-es Ad-air," Reilly crooned, stressing the consonants in the child's name and stretching the vowels, as if savouring the sounds.

"Don't you touch him!" Julia exclaimed hoarsely.

"My dear, sweet, treasonous Doctor Heller," the Council member tsk-ed, returning his gaze to her, "your affection for the boy and the rest of this rag-tag gang of misguided fools has been your undoing. And you had so much promise. The Council invested quite heavily in your future, Julia. Your mother will be extremely disappointed that her legacy has been so tarnished."

"My mother is living out her retirement years on the Stations by now, if she's even still alive at all," Julia ground out. She was starting to grow weary of being suspended in the air by the Z.E.D., but the cyborg showed no signs of tiring of the uncomfortable position whatsoever.

Reilly had a look of amusement on his face. "I wouldn't be so sure about that, Citizen," he chortled, the skin around his eyes crinkling as he smiled.

"What do you mean by that?" Julia frowned in confusion.

"After today, it won't matter to you one way or another," Reilly said, waving his hand in a gesture of dismissal.

"How did you find us?" Julia asked, trying another stalling tactic. "Was it EVE? Is she monitoring us through our neural implants?"

Reilly's smile intensified. "EVE has the capability of monitoring you all from orbit. But there are natural black-out zones and areas that she can't detect you. That little problem was compounded when Bennett's little virus started playing havoc with her systems. When she started going on the fritz during that last winter, we lost all contact with her from the surface. That was a problem, because we still had scant information on where you were. Out of self-preservation, EVE implemented two strategies before the virus completely crashed her critical systems. First, she started broadcasting a looping VR signal, hoping to snare someone with it and entice them to wake Bennett. The other was to amplify the biostat monitoring signal. That, unfortunately for all of you, adversely affected your health. But once the fix was uploaded, we were back in business, so to speak. And now, here I am, ready to take what belongs to the Council."

"He doesn't 'belong' to anyone but his mother," Julia said through clenched teeth, appalled at Reilly's audacity.

He ignored her comment, moved past her and the Z.E.D. and stalked towards Uly.

"Uly, run!" Julia heard her voice breaking.

The child scurried away from Reilly, but the Council member was fast. He deftly snatched at Uly, and managed to get a hand on the collar of his sweater.

"Gotcha!"

"Julia!" Uly called out.

"Leave him alone!" Julia yelled desperately. "If anything happens to him, humans will never be able to settle here! Reilly, you can't control this planet!"

Reilly did not dignify Julia's warning with a response.

Uly wriggled under Reilly's steel-like grip, trying to free himself, demanding to be let go, but the man merely smirked at his vain, ineffectual efforts. He approached Julia's workbench instead, and pored quickly over the contents. His eyes moved past Julia's Gear, and finally found what he was looking for. He picked up a hypo-spray, already loaded with a sedative capsule, and pressed it against Uly's neck.

Julia heard the gentle hiss of the spray, and then silence. Her shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Hmm," Reilly observed, "that's much better. I think I like him much more when he's quiet. Don't you?"

Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet began to shake.

Two Terrians emerged, their staffs charged with the strange and terrifying lightning.

Julia caught a glimpse of them through her peripheral vision, and her heart leaped when she saw them appear.

Uly must have summoned them on the Dreamplane. They won't let Reilly take him!

Momentarily startled, Reilly froze in place, and stared at the Terrians with a mix of horror and fascination. The creatures' mouths opened, and they vocalized something in their own language.

"I don't understand you," Reilly said condescendingly, "but the boy is mine. Now go back to wherever you came from! Get!"

One Terrian cocked its head to one side, the staff in its hand crackling with energy. It reached out to the sedated boy with the other hand.

Reilly swung Uly aside possessively. "Back off!" he snapped. "You don't know who you're dealing with."

"Reilly, let Uly go," Julia begged, her throat dry and raw. "The Terrians have a connection with him that you won't be able to find under a microscope!"

The pair of Terrians produced another series of low, lyrical sounds together, and joined their staffs. The tips glowed more brightly at the point of contact as the charge built to maximum levels.

Even though Julia didn't understand their 'words', she could almost sense the meaning, and she perceived the Terrians had just issued Reilly an ultimatum; a sort of 'last chance before we fire' warning.

Also realising what was about to happen, Reilly shouted to the Z.E.D.: "Shoot them, now!"

"No!" Julia cried. But without hesitation, the deadly cyborg drew a weapon, took aim, and shot the first Terrian while still maintaining its hold on Julia. The creature shrieked upon being struck, and immediately sank into the earth. The next instant, the second Terrian was also hit, and it quickly followed its kin below the surface, letting out a bass-note groan.

"Well, that's more like it. Filthy creatures," a more composed Reilly mused with a sneer. "Their kind will be eradicated from this planet – as soon as we find out what makes Ulysses Adair tick."

Julia felt a torrent of hot, fiery rage building inside her. It coursed through her veins, and sought full release and expression. I will not allow you to butcher Uly! I will not allow you to slaughter an entire race of beings! In a moment of clarity, she knew what she had to do.

With a sudden motion, Julia thrust her diaglove-clad hand into the Z.E.D.'s face, deliberately jabbing her finger in its exposed eye. "Laser cut!" she commanded.

"Stop, physician!" the Z.E.D. droned.

"What are you doing?!" Reilly demanded in a loud voice.

Julia heard a hiss and a pop, and felt the membrane give way as the laser burned through the conjunctiva. She grimaced as she shoved her finger deeper inside the cyborg's eye socket, pushing through the gelatinous vitreous humour.

"St-stop-stop-op, physician-nan-nan-an..." it stuttered.

I hope the laser is frying your brains and your programming, Julia thought angrily, somewhat discomfited that the killer soldier wasn't struggling in any way, or showing any signs of suffering pain from its now destroyed eyeball. Then the nauseating stench of burning brain matter entered her nostrils, coupled with disquieting sounds of fizzling...

"Citizen Heller, stop this now!" Reilly roared.

The Z.E.D. convulsed once, and its limbs started contracting and seizing. Its face twitched involuntarily, and Julia's air supply was cut off as the cyborg's hand clenched more tightly. Julia was being slowly asphyxiated, but still kept the glove's laser function running.

"You're killing it!" Reilly howled furiously.

That's the idea, you idiot, Julia thought with grim satisfaction. I just hope I kill it before it kills me!

Reilly made a decisive move towards the pair, but stopped in his tracks as the Z.E.D. let out a guttural groan, shuddered, and then pitched forward and collapsed to ground, pinning Julia beneath him.

Reilly was livid. "You've just added wilful murder to your lengthy list of crimes against the Council, Citizen," he spat venomously.

Julia couldn't answer. She was being smothered by the dead cyborg, and she could feel her hold on consciousness slowly slipping. The hand that was closed around her throat had jarred loose when the Z.E.D. had fallen, but now his shoulder was pressed against her nose and mouth. Her diagloved arm was awkwardly caught between the ground and the Z.E.D., and Julia could feel that her finger was still uncomfortably embedded deep in his eye socket.

She tried to shove the cyborg's head aside with little success, but every push granted her a little more breathing space.

"Laser function: terminate," she mumbled, when she was at last able to draw an unobstructed breath.

Julia heard Reilly exhale in frustration. She couldn't see where he was, but knew he was hovering nearby. Then his shadow darkened what little she could see, as he blocked the slanted rays of the afternoon sunlight that were streaming through the partially-open tent flap.

She raised her eyes, and saw Reilly standing over her, Uly slung under one arm, limply hanging at his hip. He was holding the Z.E.D.'s pistol with his free hand. It was pointed at her forehead.

"I suppose I could just execute you right here," he said airily, pausing to let his words take the desired effect. "I could shoot you in the head and that would be the end of it. But you know what I think? That would be too merciful a death for you...I wonder how long it's been since that first worm bullet was fired? Since they were all fired? I doubt you've been keeping count of how many minutes have elapsed. Even so, you can't know with absolute certainty.

"So, here's what I'm going to do: I'm going to take our boy, and leave you here to ponder with what little time you have left all the things that might have been, if you'd only been obedient to the will of the Council. Yes, I think that will make a most fitting and satisfactory punishment. You see, pretty soon, all those incendiary bullets that are still lodged in the limbs of your dead friends will detonate; it's inevitable. I told you once you'd die running, Citizen. It seems I was wrong about that. Instead, you're simply going to die in a pathetic heap on the ground, disgraced, dishonoured, in the middle of nowhere."

Without further fanfare, Reilly turned around and retreated with Uly.

"Reilly!" Julia hollered, though her voice was still muffled against the Z.E.D.'s shoulder. "Reilly... Stop! You can't take Uly! Reilly...!"

Julia struggled again to shove the dead Council assassin off herself. Survival mode had kicked in, and she could hear her pulse pounding in her ears.

This can't be happening! I can't let them win!

'You see, pretty soon, all those incendiary bullets that are still lodged in the limbs of your dead friends will detonate; it's inevitable.'

Reilly's words mocked her, and Julia felt hot tears stinging her eyes. The crushing dead-weight of the Z.E.D. was inconsequential in relation to the weight pressing on her heart, mind and soul. Her friends were dead; murdered by a ruthless organization that sought ultimate control of everything – everything that she had vowed to herself she would protect and preserve as long as she lived.

Alonzo.

Julia's heart skipped a beat.

Alonzo was still out there! Bitter tears of heartbreak flowed. If Alonzo somehow managed to avoid detection, he would come back to find nothing - nothing but empty craters and a series of blackened blast zones. The incendiary bullets would see to that.

No! It mustn't happen like that! Julia's mind raged in protest. Her tears stopped, and again she pushed with all her might against the Z.E.D.

But no matter how hard she shoved, her efforts came to naught. The Z.E.D. was simply too heavy, and she didn't have the proper leverage.

A soft moan caught her attention before she was able to sink into total defeat.

"True?!" Julia called out hopefully. The girl was starting to stir! "True, can you hear me?"

"Mm-mm...hmm?"

"Please, True, try to wake up! You have to!" Julia tried not to sound hysterical. She honestly didn't know how long they had before the first bullet Cameron had disposed of would go off, nor the rest of the bullets. She didn't want True to be around when they exploded.

"Oww...Julia, my head hurts," True groaned.

"It's okay, True," Julia said soothingly. "You're going to be okay."

"Julia!" True gasped, as she sat up and saw the doctor trapped beneath the dead super-soldier. She could see the top of Julia's blonde head, eyes and nose, but not much else of her.

"I'm okay, True," Julia reassured the girl. "I'm not hurt. I'm just stuck."

"Is it – is it dead?" True asked in trepidation.

"Oh, he's quite dead," Julia said reassuringly.

True approached and started yanking at one of the cyborg's arms, hoping to help, but she could barely budge that single limb.

"Ugh! It's like this thing weighs a ton!" she exclaimed. "I can't move him, Julia."

Julia hid her crushing disappointment. She'd also hoped the girl could offer assistance in moving the carcass. Now she knew this was not going to happen.

"Don't worry about the Z.E.D.," Julia finally said.

"What's happened to Uly?" True asked fearfully, her brown eyes roving around the tent. "Where is he?"

Julia sighed sadly. "Reilly," she whispered. "I couldn't stop him..."

"What about everyone else?" True queried.

"I-I don't know," Julia answered, "I haven't been able to see outside the tent – wait, True, no! Don't look!"

The girl had been about to run outside, and Julia was relieved that she paused before going any further.

"True," Julia said, tone gravely serious, "listen to me: you have to leave the camp right now. Head for the Morganite caves. Do not stop for anything, do you understand me? Run. Don't stop until you find Alonzo. He should be on his way back. Tell him that the Council... tell him Reilly was here, and that we were attacked by the Z.E.D.s. He also needs to know that two Terrians were shot with worm bullets. If they're not taken care of... I have no idea what would happen with an underground detonation..."

"Julia, I can't leave you and Walman and Cameron!"

"Yes, you can!" Julia countered. "You have to. Those worm bullets are going to go off anytime now, and they're going to obliterate everything in their blast zone."

True's lip was quivering, her eyes shining with tears. "But..." she protested weakly.

"You're a brave girl, True Danziger," Julia said encouragingly, "and you're strong, just like your father. He raised you to be smart and resilient, and you are. You can do this."

The girl swiped at a tear that had fallen down her cheek. She sniffed once, then squared her little shoulders.

"Okay," she said, drawing a shaky breath.

"Good girl," Julia commended. "Remember what I said: Don't stop for anything. Reilly could still be monitoring, but he's already got what he came for. He won't be looking for you, at least."

True nodded resolutely. Her face was terribly stricken but very solemn as she said: "Good-bye Julia," and turned to exit the tent.

"True." Julia called out one last time, mentally kicking herself for selfishly delaying the child even a single second longer than necessary.

"Yes?"

"Tell Alonzo... tell Alonzo I love him...and that I'm sorry that I...I..." She couldn't finish her sentence.

True gave a sad smile. "It's okay. I promise I'll tell him," she said, and took off running.

Julia released the breath she'd been holding when she could no longer hear True's footfalls. She closed her eyes and waited silently for death.

She tensed when she heard the first explosion, indicating the bullet Cameron had disposed of had reached the end of its hour-long cycle.

A few seconds later, she heard the beeping of her Gear from the workbench, and knew it could only be one person attempting contact.

Alonzo... My love...

Her thoughts settled on their first real contact after their cold-sleep capsules brought them out of a 22-year hibernation. He'd been cocky and presumptuous, and had tried to make a pass, offering that they go 'celebrate life' together before everyone else woke. She'd rejected him immediately. Her mind was already full of her responsibilities, and of her own hidden demons. 'Celebrating life' was not on her list of duties and priorities, and certainly not a part of her Council agenda.

She heard another unsettling 'boom' from the bullet that had struck Cameron. Magus had taken care of that one, but hadn't gone very far out of camp out of fear of the Z.E.D.s. The ensuing tremor rattled the equipment in the tent. She could feel the shock waves reverberate through the ground and through her body.

Not much longer now, Julia thought in quiet resignation of her fate.

My loyalty lies with the Eden Project, and all the members who rely on me for their health and well-being.

I broke their trust once, and thankfully regained it.

I will not break it again.

I'd rather die first.

Julia heard the Gear chirping again.

Oh, Alonzo... You reminded me of that conversation we had so long ago... How I revealed to you I didn't want to feel things for you that you didn't feel for me... that I didn't want you to break my heart.

You said again that you weren't going to break it...and I believed you.

I never thought I'd be the one to break yours...

Julia did not hear the final series of explosions that instantly eradicated the entire Eden Project camp.