Chapter Two

Everyone, Danziger included, believed that when dawn broke, the Terrians would be back up through the earth, True in hand. However, that did not occur.

Briefly, just after dawn, Alonzo had a short contact with the Terrians, who told him that the change was underway but that it was difficult and time-consuming. She was very sick and they would make no promises. They then cut off the contact as if they'd taken enough time away from their work.

He went out to tell Danziger what he'd heard from them.

"Thanks, Lonz," he'd replied simply. Alonzo looked at his friend and could see the strain of the past night—no the past several weeks--lining his face. He looked exhausted.

"Go inside and lie down for a bit," Alonzo suggested. "We know it will be a while yet. I'll stay here and keep watch."

"No, I'm all right," Danziger replied. Alonzo was not surprised. He knew that until True came back to him, nothing would drag her father off that spot.

They sat in silence for a bit, then Danziger turned to him. "When the Terrians took Uly," he began, "Devon made a promise to get him back. We made good on that promise when we rescued the tribe from Gaal. What are we promising now, Lonz? What deal are we making for True?"

Alonzo thought for a moment, then carefully responded, "I think the Terrians are the ones making good on a promise this time. I think they regretted what happened to the colonists' children very much. They felt responsible. I get the feeling from them that they are looking to repay that debt by helping True."

Danziger nodded. After another long silence, he spoke again. "What's she going to be like when she comes back?"

"Like Uly maybe, like me," Alonzo answered. "I don't think you'll see much obvious change in her. It'll be interesting to see how Uly reacts to having another part-Terrian in the group."

At the word part-Terrian, Alonzo could see Danziger stiffen a little. "Don't get bent out of shape, Danz. After all, aren't you part flower now?" he teased, hoping to break down the mood a little.

Danziger smiled weakly, then responded, "I guess so." Then he stood up and looked out over the dewy grass ahead of them. He walked over to the fire, which had nearly died down completely. "I just want her back, Lonz," he said softly. "She's my life."

In the main dining hall of the complex, Cameron busily set out trays of food for breakfast. Each day in the complex gave him back just a little more of his self-confidence. No one in the group could run a kitchen the way he could; no one in the group could feed them so well. At last, he'd become valuable. He relished every minute of it and dreaded the day that they would leave all this behind and he would go back to being just another hand.

He heard a noise and looked up to see the ZED enter the room. Cameron was at first nervous, then calmed down a bit when he realized that Morgan and Bess were with him. They didn't seem afraid of him, so perhaps it was safe after all.

"Zeke," Morgan was saying, "how long has it been since you've had a real breakfast?" The ZED—Zeke, Cameron noted with interest—just looked mystified.

"Can I interest you in some multi-grain pancakes with berry syrup?" Cameron offered, completely in his element. Zeke just looked at him blankly, so Cameron took the initiative to place a short stack on a plate and top it with his freshly made syrup—a mix of earth and G889 berries and very delicious if he did say so himself.

Morgan and Bess followed suit and dug in merrily, watching the ZED out of the corner of their eyes. Clearly the poor thing had been eating spirulina and concentrated nutritional bars for too long, Bess thought to herself as she watched Zeke struggle with his fork.

At last he awkwardly managed to get a bite to his mouth, syrup dripping everywhere. If the constant praise Cameron had been getting from the rest of the group had been gratifying, the look of uninhibited delight on Zeke's face eclipsed them all. Cameron felt as though he'd been instrumental in creating a spiritual breakthrough.

"I'd forgotten about food," Zeke managed to say. "I'd forgotten what food is like. How could I forget this?"

"I'll be glad to help you remember all kinds of things about food," Cameron said proudly. "Just let me know if you have any requests."

Zeke nodded and proceeded to enjoy his pancakes, the rest of Bess's pancakes (Morgan had eaten quickly when he saw where things were headed), and several more plates of the wide variety of dishes Cameron had concocted for the morning.

As the other members of the group came in to eat, they all enjoyed the spectacle of the huge, frightening ZED gleefully sampling everything on the board. Finally, Bess and Morgan had to practically drag him away from the table physically for fear he would hurt himself.

"What else is there to do?" Zeke asked as they sat in the central lounge area with Walman, Magus, and Mazatyl. "What else have I missed?"

Magus looked at the layer of road dust that covered him and remembered their discovery of the complex with a sigh. "When was the last time you had a real, hot water shower?" she asked.

Walman took a good look at all the cybernetic equipment that burdened Zeke's body. "I don't know if he ought to get wet. He looks like he might short out," he suggested doubtfully. When Magus hit him on the arm in reprimand, Walman replied defensively, "I wasn't trying to be mean—I was trying to be helpful."

"No offense taken. I am fully waterproof," Zeke replied evenly, then he looked at Walman intently as if trying to place him in his memory. When the memory clicked into place, a look of remorse fell over his face. "I injured you, didn't I? I hope you have recovered fully. I am very sorry that I caused you pain."

"Don't remind me," Walman answered grimly, shuddering at the recall. "Apology accepted if you won't mention it again." The ZED just looked at him sadly. "I mean it, I'm fine," Walman reiterated. "Go take a shower."

Zeke stood up, then paused as if unsure which direction to go. "You can use ours," Bess offered. "Morgan, go show him where to find everything."

Morgan gave Bess a long, strange look, then turned to Zeke, "Sure, no problem. Follow me, Zeke." After they left the room, everyone unexplainably burst into hysterical laughter. For some reason, the whole idea of Morgan Martin showing a ZED where to find the shampoo was unaccountably hilarious.

Outside, Cameron and Uly brought Danziger some breakfast. He looked up at them and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Here's some of what's left after Zeke finished demolishing the breakfast buffet," Cameron stated with a smile.

"Zeke?" Danziger asked, taking the plate politely.

"The ZED," Uly responded. "We're calling him Zeke."

"When did the ZED get reactivated?" Danziger asked sharply. Cameron and Uly looked at each other guiltily, as if they'd told some kind of secret.

"Uly, why don't we go find Alonzo or Yale or somebody," Cameron offered brightly as the two of them backed away.

Danziger eyed his breakfast plate suspiciously, then put it aside. What on earth was going on around here?

Within a few moments, Alonzo and Yale approached, Bess close behind. "You wanted to speak with us?" Alonzo asked as Danziger rose from his seat on the storage box.

"Who reactivated that ZED?" Danziger asked hotly. "What kind of safeguards do you have on him?

"Morgan, Yale, and I reactivated him after the group decided it was okay," Bess answered in a soothing voice. "We've got a failsafe program downloaded into him. The minute he even seems like he might hurt somebody, he'll shut down automatically. Plus, Mom can shut him down through you, me, or Morgan."

"Everyone involved felt like Zeke was no longer a threat to us," Yale added calmly. "He seems to be doing very well at reintegrating into society."

"No offense, Yale," Danziger butted in, pacing back and forth in his consternation, "but this is not a long lost lamb. It's a ZED. I had a nice, long conversation with a ZED a few months ago. He also seemed like a nice enough guy in between shooting people and torturing them." He stopped then and looked down at them piercingly. "And why are you calling him Zeke?"

"Long story," Alonzo answered smoothly. "So far, it seems to be going well." He pulled up a seat to watch Danziger pace, then added reassuringly, "Don't worry. We're watching him closely."

"Who's watching him now?" Danziger asked shortly.

"Morgan," Bess responded. "Zeke went to take a shower." Danziger just looked at her in disbelief. She reached out to pat him on the arm then continued, "Let me bring Zeke out here and you can spend a few minutes getting to know him."

"You people have gone completely nuts," Danziger concluded. "I do not want to meet the ZED. But I do want to talk to Baines and Walman about the dunerail though. I think I've got an idea for a way to straighten the frame."

Yale shrugged and put his arm around Bess's shoulders. "Let's go find Baines and Walman," he said. "I don't think John is in the mood for Zeke at the moment."

Alonzo sat quietly and watched Danziger pace a few moments longer. Then Danziger stopped and stretched his shoulders wearily before taking a seat again.

"How are you making it?" Alonzo asked.

"I really thought she'd be back by now," Danziger answered grimly. "What do you get?"

Alonzo tried yet again, but no luck. The Terrians weren't talking. "Nothing more," he sighed. "I wish I could just jump in there and give you an update, but I can't."

"It's hard, Lonz," Danziger said softly. "On the stations True never got sick. She broke her arm once climbing down off a cargo pod we were loading, but didn't even cry. She's such a trooper, moving from unit to unit and job to job without complaining. The only demand she ever made was for a cat." He laughed a little at that.

"She was just as much a mechanic as I was—heck, if she was here right now, I'd put her to work on the dunerail with the rest of them," he commented, rubbing at a kink in his neck. "And she'd do a better job than Baines—guaranteed."

"She'll be back here before you know it, John," Alonzo responded. "The Terrians will bring her back, smiling and running around just like Uly. And she'll be mad if there's nothing left for her to do on the rail."

"That's not what I wanted for her, you know," Danziger stated sadly. "I've worked all her life so she could be more than this. I've made her into the very thing I didn't want her to be."

"What do you mean?" Alonzo asked, shifting to a slightly more comfortable spot on the stool. His joints were beginning to ache a little from the long night of waiting with Danziger.

"I've dragged her from job to job, working as my little assistant from the time she could walk," Danziger explained. "No time or money for anything but the most basic on the job schooling. I taught her how to read myself from manuals and storage containers. She learned to add by counting bolts and cargo pods. I've been trying so hard to earn her way free that I've made her into a drone in the process. All she knows is work."

Danziger looked grim, and Alonzo realized his friend had spent entirely too much time in his own head over the last several hours. He could only hope the Terrians would bring True back before much longer. Bring her back safe and sound—the alternative was unthinkable.

Just then Julia walked up, diaglove at the ready. Alonzo expected her to run a quick check on Danziger, but to his surprise, she approached him first. "How are you feeling?" she asked him.

"Fine, I guess," Alonzo answered in confusion. "What are you checking me for?"

"I've been running more tests on your blood samples," she said as she busily adjusted the glove, checking her results. "I've come up with a couple of treatment options that I want to try."

"Julia, what's up with Alonzo?" Danziger asked in concern.

"I'm not going to pull any punches with either of you," she replied. "Alonzo is showing signs that the particles are beginning to overwhelm his biochip implant's ability to handle. I think for him it was the rush of adrenaline from the scare with True yesterday."

She pressed an injection against his neck. "This might make you a little sleepy," she stated. "The particles seem to respond to increases in cellular energy, so I'm trying to slow you down a little."

She passed Danziger some gear. "If he starts to go to sleep, call me," she requested. "I'll be in the med lab working through some more data."

Then she passed her diaglove over Danziger's head and chest. "You know that you're working under a serious sleep deficit," she stated in concern. "Plus, you haven't eaten more than a couple of mouthfuls in over a day now."

"I'm fine, doc," Danziger protested as Julia brought out an injection. "I'll eat and sleep when this is all over."

"Of course you will," she answered. "That's why I'm giving you a stimulant and energy boost for now." She pressed the injection into his neck and Alonzo could see Danziger visibly perk up.

"What's in that thing?" he asked in amazement. He sat up and took a deep breath. "I feel great."

"It's only temporary and no replacement for real food and rest," she warned. "And don't ask for another one, you won't get it. This is just to get you through today. If they haven't brought True back by nightfall, you'll just have to bring out a cot and sleep here." Julia gave Danziger a very stern look.

"Meanwhile, I'm sure you can get one of the guys to bring you something to do," she continued.

As if on cue Baines and Walman approached the trio, carrying the rail's busted solar conversion panel between them. Following them to Danziger's dismay, were Morgan Martin and a tall red haired man wearing clean clothing and a bemused expression.