The whole camp was in activity, as they prepared for the next long trek. They would have to move longer and faster this time, rationing the water. They were leaving the woodlands; it was another length of desert ahead, and water-holes was far apart. Danziger didn't like having to send out one scout-team after the other, not being able to go himself. But since Devon no longer was around to handle the going-on's in the camp, the crew had decided to ask him not to risk himself getting lost to them, leaving them without a leader, and they had 'asked' him to stay in the camp. Walman shuffled by, talking to someone on his gear, grinning broadly. «...He did? Well, just stay out of sight, OK? He's still a bit sore about...» He stopped mid sentence, dead in his track as Danziger placed a heavy hand on his shoulder, connecting to his gear. «Baines! Get your sorry ass over here, on the double!» He snarled, hearing his words take immediate effect, as the crewman stormed through camp, causing a commotion. Seconds later, the panting man skidded to a stop in-front of his boss. «Who, is out there, taking your place, so that you can schloufe the time away in V.R.?!» Baines smiled nervously, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, looking at Walman. «Don't tell me... Morgan!» Danziger moaned, dumping down on a crate, covering his face in his hands. A uneasy feeling rose inside of him, and he got up, heading towards the comm-tent, calling up the scout-team. Satisfied everything was allright, he signed off, telling the team-leader to keep an eye on Morgan at all times. He didn't want him lost again.
By supper, the camp was almost all packed down and loaded onboard the vehicles, as near as their tents and beds. Tomorrow they would catch up with the scouting team, so they would need all the sleep they could get, for this stretch would be one of the hardest ones, ever, both on crew and machines. Julia still sat bent over her work, as Danziger came in. «Come on, you've got to pack up now. I want everybody rested and ready 'til tomorrow, and this stuff in its crates.» She straightened her back, wincing as her stale muscles protested against her moving. «They're exactly the same.» she yawned. «It is Morgan, but yet not.» She got disturbed in her thoughts by the sound of running feet outside, and one of the crew manning the comm-sole came crashing in. «Danziger, there's a vehicle following us! ETA about an hour after dark!» She panted, as much of excitement as from the running. «Vehicle?» Both Danziger and Julia followed the woman to the comm-tent, and checked the narrow-range receiver. «It's one of ours. An L.T.V. But...» The operator breathed. «But from another batch?» Alonzo broke in, hanging over the operators shoulder, looking from the screen to Danziger. «You could say it like that.» the operator nodded. «Ours, but not.» Julia mused, slowly making her way back to her work. Danziger ordered extra guards out, just in case, and sat down outside his tent facing in the direction the vehicle would come, waiting, oiling and checking his Mag-Pro. By the time it got dark, there finally came a signal from the advanced guards, telling that it was only one vehicle approaching, only one person in it. But it had gotten to dark to see if he was armed. Danziger called them back in, urging them to caution, not letting themselves be seen. The scout confirmed, and added: «Sir, he's got halogen lights on that darn thing?!» Halogen lights? On an L.T.V.? Where'd he get the power? Danziger got up from his hammock, calling Yale on the gear, telling him to keep the kids out of harms way. Now he could see it to. A set of powerful spots, lighting up the terrain a long way in-front of the L.T.V. as it made it's bumpy way towards their camp, heading straight for the mess-tent, it looked like. The vehicle skidded to a holt, and the driver jumped out, shaking dust from his cloths and hair, muttering to himself. Reaching into the back of his L.T.V. for something, he suddenly found himself staring down the barrels of at least fifteen fully charged Mag-Pro's, and he dropped his canteen with a yelp, rising his hands. Danziger walked closer, studying the figure as if he didn't believe his eyes. «Morgan?!» The man spun around, smiling bleakly, shrugging. «I'm back?!» He laughed nervously, as the Mag-Pro's followed his every move. «What's with the 'honor-guards'? You've seen a ghost, or something? You look spooked.» Danziger waved the guns away, and told the guards to resume their duties, guarding the camp. Felling a little better once the weapons were gone, Morgan continued to shake dust from his cloths, making Danziger cough. «Look at this! It was brand new!» He complained, picking up his canteen which had gotten dented from the drop. «Oh, well, water tasted like yacch, anyway.» He muttered, finding the canteen empty as well. «There isn't any thing drinkable in the mess, now is there?» Danziger stood like nailed to the ground, goping, trying to make heads and tales of this whole thing. Morgan had just called in on the comm-sole, together with the rest of the scout-team, only an hour ago, and now he was here, arriving from the totally opposite direction, in a heavily modified L.T.V. ?! Was there two of him?! And in that case, which one was 'their' Morgan? Well, needless to say, he thought he knew the answer to that last question already. Call it a gut-feeling. Before he followed 'the real' Morgan into the mess-tent, he gave a quick order to the night crew in the comm-tent not to tell the scouting party about the nights events in the camp, but to tell them to return to camp the next morning. «Tell them we got problems with a machine or something. Their safety might depend on it. We don't know who this other guy is, or what's his intentions!» He pressed, and bade the crew a good watch. Inside the mess-tent, Morgan was already in the midst of a story about his adventures, while he gulped down the hot semolina as if it were the best he had ever tasted. «Ah, John. There you are!» He rummaged inside his pockets fishing out a V.R.-cylinder. «Take a look at this!» He tossed it at the silent mechanic, who warily attached it to his gear, folding out the eyepieces. «It's not the best, but I only had a land-surveillance distance-gauge to my disposition for recording it.» He explained. There was the familiar blue blink of light, and Danziger's mouth dropped open. Then he presented the broadest grin he could manage. «Nice, isn't it?» Morgan smiled proudly in-between mouthfuls. «But I need to have a private word with you about something before we go back there.» Danziger removed his gear, giving Morgan a query look: «No gears?» Morgan shook his head. «Not even spareparts.» He swallowed, taking a big swig from his teacup: «But lots of other stuff. It's one of the big ones! Stacked with food from floor to ceiling!» Morgan pulled out the inventory list, handing it to his friend. «I've tagged off what I've used.» Danziger's eyes danced down the page while he read the list, more eager than a boy opening his birthday-presents. «With all this stuff, we'll make it to New Pacifica at least six months earlier than we've calculated!» He enthused: «Here are A.T.V.'s, TransRovers, L.T.V.'s... surveillance systems...» «All in original packaging, ready to be assembled. Heck, even I can do it...» Morgan hinted, wanting everybody to know just who built his L.T.V. Bess, who hung around his neck, smiled proudly at him, giving him a big kiss. «Er... I think this is yours?» He smiled back, fishing out her necklace from inside his shirt, handing it to her. «Oh, Morgan. You found it? I searched all over the place for it.» She gasped. «Well, it lay underneath a root or something...» Morgan shrugged: «I'll tell you about it later.» Some of the crew had eagerly started carrying Morgan's supplies into the mess-tent, and he jumped up, rescuing his violets from being trampled. «What's that, you've taken up gardening, Morgan?» Walman grinned, and placed the last crate down on the floor. «It's for Bess!» Morgan said curtly, ignoring Walman's attempt of making a joke at his cost, and gave the biscuit-can to his wife. «They're violets.» For a while, everybody stuck their noses close to the miniature flower, admiring it. Morgan used the opportunity to open one of his crates, fishing out the food he had ment for making a private feast for his wife with, and quickly placed it silently out on the table, thinking what the heck... Then he cleared his throat, smiling, feeling ever so generous. Julia came over to him. «I would like to see you in the med-tent, when you're finished eating, please?» She smiled reassuringly to Bess, who had suddenly become so serious. «Can't it wait 'till tomorrow?» Morgan pouted, not liking the idea of a health-check, with all its needles and pokes, and... He sighed, as Danziger shook his head: «Rules!» «Yeah, yeah, what ever...» Morgan sighed, and followed the doctor, having lost his appetite. Danziger got over to Bess, and sat down beside her, smiling. «That's the right one, eyh?» She gave him a bleak smile back, nodding. «Yeah, you just have to take one look around this room to get that proven.» He continued, knowing where her thoughts were circling at. Then thinking about what he just said, he noted that the gloomy mood that had laid over the camp the last week or so, seemed to have wanished completely. Odd. Or was it? Soon the cook came balancing with a serving-tray full of little goodies from Morgan's treat: «There's just a little snip for everybody, I'm afraid, but it's Julia's orders! We could get sick from to much rich food after all this semolina lately.» The tray was passed round, and the room got almost quiet, as each tried to make his or her bits last as long as possible. Danziger gathered some for the guards and the comm-crew, and headed out into the night. As he passed Julia's tent, he stopped by, leaving her her share. She had just finished her check on Morgan, who sat sulkingly on the edge of her table, rubbing his sore thumb where she had stuck him for a bloodsample. «John, can we have that talk now, while everybody is bussy with theirs?» He asked in a low voice. «Shure, tag along.» Danziger headed out of the med-tent with the nervous bureaucrat following right behind. «What is it that's so secret?» He smiled to Morgan, taking lead through the dark campsite. Morgan stopped by his L.T.V. removing a panel, and shone a flash-light into the compartment. Danziger raised his eyebrows, then looking seriously at Morgan, who quickly placed the panel back on. «A crate full. Unregistered. Grenades to.» Morgan said shortly, looking about him. «Contraband's?» Danziger more stated than asked. «Uh-huh.» They walked on towards the comm-tent in silence. «Well, we can shure use them.» Danziger finally said, as they entered the tent, putting on their smiles: «We've still got a long way to go, and who knows what we'll get into on our way.» It was nearly morning before the camp finally settled down to sleep, and Morgan crawled to bed, over-tired and still bright awake. Time and again, he'd had to tell the others about the pod, and what was in it. They were like little children, wanting to hear their favorite story over and over, and when the guards had changed, he'd had to tell it again. Even Julia had taken time off from her work, asking, wanting to know if something had broken of the medical equipment, studying the inventory list. He yawned big, and snuggled close to Bess, who was sleeping already. She had placed the violet right under the 'window' of their tent, so it would be the first thing she'd see when she woke, he noticed. «I love you, Bessie.» He whispered into her hair, and closed his eyes, knowing the red eyes in the shadows would not see him this night.
Danziger sat in the mess-tent with Walman, Baines, Yale and Julia. He sipped carefully on the heated can of real coffee Morgan had saved for him, feeling the caffeine take effect. «What do we do?» Julia asked, stifling a yawn. «We don't know who this other man is, where he comes from, why he's here, or if Morgan knows about him.» Yale summed up, looking at Baines and Walman who shook their heads, not knowing either. «And we shure don't know if he's dangerous or not. He might be a spy for some group of penal-colonists, or worse... the Council.» Alonzo added. «Or he might be as harmless as Morgan.» Danziger mused. «Doubt it.» Walman said, thinking of how the man had chased away the Grendler. «What's that?» Danziger shot him a stern look, sensing another piece of the story not told. Knowing he had given himself away, Walman told about the Grendler. Danziger got pale. «You thought that not worth mentioning?!» He snarled, getting more and more irritated with the mans recklessness. Walman shrugged, smiling excusivly. Danziger looked away, gritting his teeth trying to calm himself. It hadn't bothered him that much before, but now, when the whole responsibility of the missions safety lay on him, he couldn't turn the other way, leaving the problems for someone else to solve, or say that Walman was just blowing off steam. And he was dragging Baines with him into his follies too. Now that he was alone in control, he begun to understand what a pain in the ass he himself must have been to Devon sometimes, letting his mechanics-crew get away with slack discipline, as long as they did their jobs properly, and without complaining to much. Well, now it paid back. He gave a deep sigh, and downed the last of the coffee. «John, are you allright?» Julia sat down beside him, placing a hand to his forehead. «You're hot!» She exclaimed, insisting he'd go to bed. «No can do.» He smiled tired at her. «We got problems coming, and we don't know how big.» Julia looked sternly at him. «Either you go to bed now, or I'll help you get there!» As he started to shake his head she placed a sedi-derm at his neck and pulled the trigger before he could react. «Walman, Baines, help him to bed!» She ordered. «And Alonzo, when the scout-team comes in, send them right to the med-tent? If it works on Danziger, I'm shure it will work on... who ever he is. I'll put him to sleep for some hours, then you can deal with him. When you're all rested.» Yale came over to her as Walman and Baines struggled with getting Danziger on his feet. «He's just sluggish.» Baines moaned, giving all his strength to supporting the big mechanic. «Must be the coffee.» Walman grunted. Julia smiled. «No, I just gave him a mild dose. Enough to make him want to go to bed.» «He's not the only one in need of sleep.» Yale said quietly. «Why don't you get some rest too. I'll wake you when they arrive.» Julia nodded, and headed for her tent, followed by Alonzo. Morgan woke only a few hours after he'd gone to bed, regretting all the tea he had drunk the night before, and shuffled half asleep over to the 'outhouse'. The next thing he knew, a pair of strong hands grabbed hold of him from behind, threw him face first into the dust, flipped him over, and with a roar attacked him with fists and boots where ever he could get at him. There were shouts and curses, feet running and several hands grabbing at him and his assailant as they rolled around eachother, struggling, and he felt a slight sting before it all got quiet again, and Julia bent over him with her medi-glove. Then Bess was there, looking concerned: «My God, Morgan. Are you all right?» He tried to move, to tell her he was fine, but he couldn't. His whole body was numb. He knew he had been beaten severely, but he didn't feel anything. Why was he so calm? So tired? Danziger came into his visionfield, and disappeared again, cursing: «What the hell was he doing out here? I thought I told you to...» Then Julia came back, pressing something to his neck. Another sting, and suddenly his body started tingling, aching. He could move again. But now he didn't want to. He felt like he had been chewed and spit out by a Grendler. «You've been worse. You've got some bruises and a pair of broken ribs, that's all.» She said, seeing him grimace with pain. «You'll be fine in no time. You're a quick healer.» «Tell me I've got a concussion to.» He moaned. «I could swear that that guy looked just like me?!» Alonzo helped him on his feet, guiding him carefully into the med-tent, setting him down on the bench. A low grumbling noise behind him, made Morgan turn around quickly; Something that made him gasp with pain, as vivid colors danced before his eyes, and the room started swirling. «Morgan.» Julia said, irritated, and administered another pain-block. With a moan of relieve, he laid back on the bench. Again someone made a noise beside him, and he turned his head, looking right into his own, angry eyes. «Julia.» He whined thinly: «What on earth(2) did you give me? I'm seeing things here...» He closed his eyes, thinking the apparition would go away, but it didn't. It still glared back at him, hatefully, when he looked again. «Don't worry, Morgan. I've given him something that makes him unable to move. He can't hurt you.» Morgan finally realized that this was not a hallucination, and it sobered him. «Jason!» He gasped, sitting up, carefully. «What was that?» Danziger came over to him. «You know him?» Morgan shook his head. «Both yes and no. I know of him... I asked once, when I was very little, where my twin had gone, remembering him from the wats...» Morgan looked puzzled: «They told me I had none, that it was only a reflection in a shiny surface... But reflections aren't soft, and they sure don't kick back...» He looked shocked at Danziger, realizing what he remembered. «I... I was made in the wats?!» Yale shifted nervously in the back, clearing his throat. «The Genesis project, ofcourse...» He came over to them, looking serious. «Well?» Danziger asked. «I don't know to much about it, since it was classified as highly secret, but there was rumors...» Morgan suddenly looked as gloomy as his double that lay strapped to the other bed. «Yeah! I can tell you, there were rumors! » He spat angrily. «You're telling me I'm one of them?!» He didn't need an answer. The words of his classmates mother from long ago eccoed in his mind, setting all the pieces of the puzzle that was his life up until now in their right places. «I'm one of them! » He threw himself back on the bench again, this time ignoring the pain, almost welcoming it, as a distraction. «Both of you are.» Yale corrected. «You are identical twins.» Danziger didn't like to be kept in the dark about this, so he hemmed loudly, letting them know he still waited for an answer. But Yale ignored him, looking at the two brothers. «You said you remembered him from the wats.» Morgan creased his brow. «Yes, I actually do... I remember a lot from when I was very little as a matter of fact. But they always said it was only my imagination running off with me. That I was reading to much I didn't understand.» He looked over at the man tied down on the other bench. His eyes was wide open, nostrils flaring. «But I never believed them when they said I didn't have a twin. They over did it. Kept insisting, over and over, that he didn't exist, instead of just waving my question off, as they did when there was nothing in it. That way I knew he was for real. I learned to read them well over the years.» He got up, and loosened his brothers ties. Danziger jumped forward, started to protest, but Morgan just looked at him, with the same intense look his brother had sent him some week ago, and he found himself backing down. «He won't harm anyone.» Morgan said. «I would probably done the same in his place. They lied to him as they lied to me. Different lies, different effect, but they lied. They always lie.» Then he started laughing. «Man, they must have been pissed off when they found they chose the wrong twin! And by then it was to late to change us.» He looked at his brother, suddenly solemnfaced again. «But we got to pay for it, didn't we.» His brother just closed his eyes, slowly. A sharp sting at his neck, and Julia helped Morgan back to bed, tucking him in. His brother jerked, trying to move under the influence of the 'numb-drug'. «Relax... Jason, was it?» Yale said calmingly. «He need rest. Between having been on his way back here, alone for more than a week, and you beating him up, he haven't slept more than an hour or two. You could both do with some rest.» He tucked the other Martin in, and dimmed the light. «Now be quiet, both of you.»