The first uncertain light of dawn found Baines bursting into Danziger's tent.

"They're gone!"

Danziger rolled over and, propping himself up on his elbow, looked at the crewman blankly. He ran his hand across his face, trying to wipe away heavy fatigue. It took a moment before his brain snapped into gear. "Who's gone?"

"The Terrians, man. As soon as it started to get light, I looked up at the ridge expecting to see them there, but they're gone."

Danziger rose slowly, flexing like a big golden cat. Halfway through, he stopped to rest his hand on the small of his back. "I must be getting old. Parts of me don't wake up with the rest." He waved Baines ahead of him. "Okay, show me."

Outside, the morning was taking on a sharper definition. The first rays of the sun had lit the higher ridge while the lower positioned camp still slumbered in shadow.

"Shut the perimeter alert off. I want to go up and take a look."

Baines did as instructed. His Mag-Pro armed and ready, he watched from below as Danziger climbed the hill that overlooked the camp. Baines noticed that once Danziger reached the crest, he leaned over and seemed to be studying something in the dirt.

"Baines are you reading me?"

"Yea, got you loud and clear."

"Looks like the Terrians have been gone for a while."

"How do you know that?"

"There're little mounds of dirt where they must have reentered the earth."

"So?"

"So, there are tracks on top of the mounds....human tracks. Maybe 4 or 5 different boot or shoe prints."

"Shank! Penal colonists? What do you think they were doing up there?"

"I'll give you one guess. If they're anything like the other two we ran into, they're licking their chops. We're one big gravy train, my friend. Put the alarm back on until I get back. From now on it stays on day and night. Nobody leaves camp 'til we all do." With one more glance around, knowing he was probably being watched, Danziger made a cautious retreat.

ooo

The first thing Julia was aware of was Bess Martin's aggravated voice.

"......know how long it's been. I've been here most of the time." She was quiet for second before going on. "Yale just checked them about 15 minutes ago. There's no change."

There was a break. Julia realized she was only hearing one side of the conversation, so Bess must be talking to someone on gear. It became apparent who with her next words.

"John, Julia was giving an estimate. I'm sure twenty-four hours wasn't meant to be taken as exactly twenty-four hours." There was a heavy sigh. "Yale, he wants you to check again."

Julia heard Yale's approach and after a few minutes his heavy voice.

"Alonzo is the same. No vital signs, no brain activity."

Julia waited anxiously for Yale to notice the change in her readouts, if only to validate that she was alive. The fact that her brain was working while nothing else seemed to be was disconcerting.

Finally, after what seemed an extended silence, his voice rose excitedly. "I'm getting a reading of brain activity from Julia. I think she may be coming around."

'How long have I been out?' Julia wondered. She made a real effort to open her eyes. Her lids fluttered briefly with effort. Yale's face, pressing close to her own, appeared out of focus.

"Yes, yes! She just opened her eyes." The old tutor sounded like a proud father.

"John, Julia is showing signs of waking, but it will be a while before she's back to normal. I'll let you know as soon as she's able to talk."

'Don't count on a long recovery, Bess. I'm a lousy patient,' Julia told her silently.

Within an hour, the doctor was sitting up and getting answers. She had been out for a total of twenty-seven hours, forty-nine minutes. Alonzo still showed no signs of life. Walman had recovered in just under twenty-five hours. His immune system was recovering swiftly, so it appeared Julia's theory was correct. Danziger had been pestering Yale constantly for updates on both of their conditions. He had the camp on full alert since the Terrians had disappeared and tracks, possibly from penal colonists, had been found close by.

Bess noticed, as she filled the doctor in, that Julia never took her eyes away from Alonzo for long. At times, her gaze was so intense, it seemed she was trying to will him to move in some way. Finally, Bess tried to reassure her.

"I'm sure he'll be coming around soon."

For a second, Morgan's wife saw the shadow of uncertainty pass over the other woman's face. There was a glimpse of agony over a possible wrong decision before Julia covered it with a tight smile.

The gear buzzed and Bess took it with a wink at Julia. Somehow, she would stall Danziger. As Bess walked out of the room, Julia stood on rubbery legs and took her first steps to the pilot's side.

She leaned close to him. Brushing his cold lips with her own, lightly touching the unblemished areas of his face, she whispered in his ear, "Alonzo? Listen to me. You have to come back. Don't make me live the rest of my life wondering if I did the wrong thing; that there might have been another way. Don't leave me this way."

In her heart, Julia made a promise. If he recovered, she would not influence Alonzo's decisions ever again. When the ship returned to the stations, he would be free to go. She would not ask him to stay.

"Julia, are you all right?" Yale asked behind her.

Julia took a second to compose herself. "I'll be fine. I wish I could say the same for Alonzo."

"Your recovery period was longer then expected, wouldn't it make sense that his might be also?"

"There are so many variables. I tried to account for the differences: height, weight, body mass, his injuries, and the remnants of the drugs still in his system. I don't know, Yale, I just don't know."

There was an air of desperate despair about the young doctor. Yale came forward and placed his hands on the young doctor's shoulders, trying to comfort her.

"Julia, only a few hours ago, Bess and I sat here watching and worrying over you. What would we do if Alonzo woke before you or what would we do if you didn't wake up? I think sometimes we torture ourselves unnecessarily. We try to prepare for the worst possible outcome instead of focusing on the reality of the present. The reality is that you, Danziger and Walman all recovered. Alonzo will, too."

She gave him a half-hearted nod.

"Come. You should still be resting. Recover your strength."

"I can't, Yale. I'm sorry but I need to monitor his condition - come up with an alternative in case he doesn't revive on his own."

The older man shook his head in understanding. "Let me know what I can do to help."

"Right now, I need to speak with Danziger. I would appreciate your support when I tell him Alonzo cannot be moved."

If Yale's support meant anything, he never had time to voice it. After Julia took over the gear from Bess, the conversation between the doctor and the mechanic had grown heated.

"Julia, I don't think you realize the danger in staying here. The longer we delay, the greater the chance of attack. We're being watched."

"You're basing that assumption on a few footprints in the dirt. The real danger lies in moving Alonzo. He needs a sterile environment. I think Bess and Yale would agree with me." She looked up at the others for approval.

"I'm basing that assumption on years in the army field training. As for Alonzo, I'm sure I could rig something in the back of the TransRover."

"I'm not doubting your skill, but what you're suggesting is not feasible. The TransRover throws up too much dirt. There would be a greater risk of infection. I can't take that chance."

"And I can't take the chance of risking everyone else's life. Devon put me in charge of getting everyone to New Pacifica."

"Which includes Alonzo."

He ignored her. "Once we get going, the vehicles can outdistance anyone trying to follow us. We'll stick to open, flat areas - that way we'll be able to detect anyone coming. Here, the enemy has the high ground and I'm not comfortable with that."

"We must stay here until Alonzo is able to travel."

'God, she's a stubborn woman,' Danziger thought.

"Just for the sake of argument, how long before he can travel?

"I don't know! Once he wakes up, I have to stabilize him. His body needs time to heal."

"A few days?"

"A week, at least."

"No way. And before you take my head off, we'll run out of food and water by then. I'm not going to risk anyone's life by sending them out to collect it either.." Danziger bit back his anger. "I need you to work with me, Julia."

"No, you want me to agree with you."

"I figure I can put something together in a day or so," he said, ignoring her comment. "I'll keep in mind what you said about keeping the area sterile."

"So that's it? You've made up your mind and nothing I say means anything?"

Angrily, he shot back, "No, that's not it. I listened to what you said and then I made up my mind."

"What about a vote? On major issues that affected the group, Devon always let us vote. You were the one who insisted it was the only fair way." Julia was growing desperate.

"Fine. I think you'll see, once we run out of food and water, they'll vote with me."

For Danziger and Julia, fear wore a different face, but they each met it with the same fierce determination.

Julia glared at the mechanic and cut the transmission. Danziger sighed, feeling like the bad guy the same way he always felt when he punished True. He hoped he hadn't made a mistake in giving Julia a few days. Something was going to happen, he could feel it in his old soldier's bones. It was up to him to be ready when it did.

Julia was furious as she pulled away the gear's eye piece. It didn't help to see Bess smiling at her. Before she could redirect her anger, Morgan's wife spoke up.

"Julia, it's Alonzo. He's waking up."

"What? Are you sure?" Julia grabbed her glove

"While you were on gear, I heard a noise and went in to check on him."

Julia passed the glove over the pilot while Bess and Yale looked over her shoulder at the readings.

"Pulse and BP are rising. He's recovering quickly," the old cyborg commented.

"Maybe too quickly. It could be due to increasing pain. I'm going to slow things down a bit with medication."

Julia injected the pilot with the hypo-spray, then watched as the readings fell off. They began to rise again slowly until they stabilized in a normal range.

"Alonzo, I know you can hear me. I've given you some medication to help the pain. Is it working?"

"Hmmm."

"Is that a yes or no?"

"Hurts."

"What hurts? Can you be more specific?"

"Everything."

"All right, I'll increase the dosage."

"Can't see."

"There are still bandages covering your eyes as a precaution. I want to leave them for a day or so. Relax, you're not going anywhere for awhile, Fly-boy."

Bess shot Julia a look and wondered what Danziger would say if he heard that.

Alonzo waited anxiously for the drug to take effect. Not only would it relieve the physical agony, it would force back the demons that crept about in the dark corners of his mind. A lifetime of fears, tucked away, waiting for the time when he was, once again, helplessly locked in darkness.

His first cold sleep had ended five days early. He woke up, half frozen, locked in the capsule, a coffin. He never dreamt again. It was his love of flying that proved the stronger, helping him overcome the terror of that experience, but the fear was always there. With every mission, came the shadow. Every time he crawled into a capsule, the demon climbed in with him.

Now, there was a new demon - the last face he saw before that thing began to devour him. With nothing else to focus on, the memory of that face and those moments up to when Julia and the others had pulled him free, probably more dead than alive, replayed over and over in his mind. Other than the severity of the pain, he had no idea of the extent of his injuries - the damage that was done. He remembered voices full of concern and worry. Just now, Julia's voice, muffled and distant. Angry.

Worst of all was the vulnerability, the helplessness, the blindness, as unseen hands, poked and explored his body, unaware of the pain and humiliation he felt. Alonzo began to look forward to the hiss of the hypo-spray, to losing himself in the soft mist of oblivion, but in the hours that followed this awaking, Julia was to become the new tormentor.

The doctor pulled him out of the depths, pushing and prodding his tortured limbs, trying to mold him back into some semblance of the man he was. He begged her to stop, to let him go. Dying would be a blessed relief to the hell of living but she continued to force her will upon him.

Julia pushed the pilot as hard as she dared, doing only what was necessary to prevent a deadly build up of fluids. Between sessions, she worked on creating a healing salve which she applied regularly to his skin to give it flexibility during the therapy. Over the next day, she began to feel pleased with the progress they were making. One sign of her patient's improving condition began to show itself in the form of increasing complaints and protests.

Alonzo bit his lip against the pain as she flexed his legs and arms back and forth. "Stop! Don't you know what that's doing to me?"

She explained why it was necessary, using a lot of medical terminology he didn't understand.

Full of frustration he lashed out, "Remind me to let you win all our arguments in the future."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, your revenge is too painful."

"Is that supposed to be a joke?"

"Who's joking?"

"Alonzo, I'm just trying to get you better. This has nothing to do with revenge."

"Right. You chromo-tilts are above such emotions."

She ignored him and finished the therapy. "That's it for now. You have a few hours before I come back to torture you again."

"Very funny."

"Who's joking?"

He was covered in a sheen of sweat. The doctor knew his irritability was a result of constant pain. She dabbed his face gently with a cloth to remove the moisture.

"I must be messed up pretty bad if you want to keep me in the dark."

She looked at him, puzzled for a second. "You mean your eyes? I told you it was just a precaution. If you insist, I can take it off. I'd prefer you left it on since you don't need your eyes for anything right now."

"I'd feel better if I could see - know what's happening."

"Well, there's not much happening, but okay. Let me get rid of this stuff and I'll be back to remove the bandages. I'm warning you, your vision maybe blurry for a while."

"But it will clear up, right?"

"Yes, with time."

"I just want to see again. The last thing I saw was that convict's face leering at me. He knew what was going to happen to me - how I was going to die. The vine wrapped around my eyes, shutting off everything. I can't get it out of my mind."

"I know, I know." She spoke quietly.

"Julia?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it."

"It's only natural when someone is hurting you to want to hurt back. Don't worry about it. Doctors are trained to develop thick skins. Relax now. I'll be back in a few moments."

Julia regarded Alonzo with concern. The mental damage could be worse than the physical. She wasn't a psychiatrist. How could she treat what could not be seen? Distracted as she entered the other room, she didn't notice Bess until the other woman asked a question.

"How is he?"

"Alonzo? He's healing more quickly than I expected. Bess, when you worked with larval therapy on Earth, did they produce allatonin or any other broad-spectrum antibacterial agents that you were aware of?"

"Huh? Want to run that by me again, in a language I'll understand?"

Julia smiled. "Sorry. You seem to know so much about them, I guess I was--"

"Talking to me like an equal. Not even close. It's just a little down-home folk medicine. On Earth, we had very little. We learned to make do with what was available."

"I'm very thankful you did. What I meant was, the larvae seem to not only enhance healing by physical irritation, they also produce enzymes that help to macerate the tissue and a chemical by-product, ammonium carbonate, that may actually promote healing. It's the only explanation I can come up with for the accelerated tissue regeneration. "

"That's good. Right?"

"Yes, it's very good. It's just the clinical importance of these antimicrobial agents should be investigated."

"Something to do in your spare time," Bess suggested.

Julia laughed. "Like I have any. Seriously Bess, between this and the antitoxin found in koba venom, there's so much potential. I feel more confident than ever about Alonzo's chances. Who knows, I might even find a cure for the virus that affected Devon out of all this."

"That would be wonderful. It seemed so unfair, after all she did to save her son, to end up never having the chance to see him grow up."

"Well, don't say anything to anyone. It's still a long shot. I wouldn't want to get anyone's hopes up just yet. Besides, I have my hands full right now with Alonzo. I'm going to remove the bandages from his eyes now."

"Need any help?"

"No. I think he's feeling vulnerable right now and might not appreciate an audience."

"No problem. I'll take a break and go find Morgan. If you need me, just call."

"Thanks." Julia gathered saline solution and a yellow ointment she would use to soothe and moisten the pilot's eyes. While it might blur his vision, it would also keep out any infection.

"Are you ready?" She asked as she entered and saw his head turn toward her.

"Maybe you should tell me what I should expect to see."

"Your legs and pelvic area have the worst damage. Second degree burns along with cuts and abrasions caused, most probably, by being dragged across rough ground. From your waist up, you have first degree burns. Something like a bad sunburn. You also have a nasty head wound, which produced a hairline fracture of the skull. Nothing that won't heal over time, providing you have enough rest, care and treatment."

"Will there be scars?"

"Some. Nothing very noticeable. You're still impressive for someone who's a hundred and ten years old."

"Are you flirting with me, Doc?"

She smiled despite herself. "You're going to have to stay out of the sun for a while. I'll make up some heavy duty UV protection for you to use. Also, wear your sunglasses from sunrise to sunset until I'm sure there is no lasting damage. But we're getting way ahead of ourselves here. You have a long way to go until then. You're still in serious condition."

"I only have to move to remember. Sometimes the pain gets so bad, I don't want to live. It doesn't seem worth the effort."

"It will get better in time. You have to hang in there."

"I told myself, if I didn't make it, I can't complain. I've had a good ride up to this point. No real regrets."

"Alonzo, you can't expect life to always be a good ride. There are highs and lows. Sometimes it's a constant battle just to stay even. Have you ever experienced serious illness?"

"I was never around long enough to pick up even a cold. I guess the worst thing that ever happened to me, happened here when I broke my leg."

"Overcoming something like this will take more time and effort than your leg required."

"Thanks for the good news."

"Truth can be a bitter pill." She looked at Alonzo, gauging his mood, wondering if she could get him to open up more. It would be better if the pilot talked about the experience rather than keeping the emotions bottled up inside him. "You know I always felt that sleep-jumping was a way to avoid looking at your own mortality. You found a way of putting off growing old and eventually death."

"You're beginning to sound like Lydia."

"Lydia?"

"Someone I used to know."

"One of those girls in every port?" Julia tried to picture Lydia. She wondered what type of women he found attractive. The doctor found herself wondering if the handsome pilot would have given her a second look back on the stations if they had met by chance.

Alonzo seemed lost in thought. Finally, he spoke to Julia from the distant place of his memory. "Garsonia Station. She wasn't like that. We talked about life, growing old, and all. I felt I understood her then. Now, I'm not so sure. I was never good about the growing old part. It wasn't that I was afraid to die. Every time you go off on a cold sleep mission there's a possibility you won't wake up. It's about what you lose along the way to growing old. I always wanted to have control. It's what I like about being a pilot."

"She must have been very special. Was it hard to leave her?" Julia didn't intend to sound jealous, she just needed to know for some reason.

"It was a long time ago."

He said this as if it explained everything. Still, there was a note of sadness in the pilot's voice, as if the memory was still new. Of course, to him it would be. Alonzo jumped decades at a time, leaving Lydia behind to grow old. When he woke, his yesterday could be before Julia's lifetime. It was too disorienting to think about, so she concentrated on her task. She dimmed the light to protect his eyes and cut into the bandages.

"I want you to open your eyes slowly. Give them chance to adjust to the light."

He did as she instructed, blinking rapidly. Julia watched as Alonzo's face changed. His hand shook violently as he reached to touch his eyes. The doctor grabbed hold of him.

"Alonzo? What is it? What's wrong?"

"I can't see. I can't see anything, Julia! Why can't I see?"

"What?" She did a hurried scan, detecting no problem. "I don't understand. There's no damage. No reason for this."

"I'm blind." He said the words, not believing them, the shock draining him completely.

The doctor checked and rechecked each eye for damage. She was baffled. More than that, she needed to offer the pilot some hope to cling to. "Alonzo, listen to me. This could be a temporary condition. Maybe it has something to do with your head wound. I need to do more tests to be sure. I want to wrap your eyes again."

"Tests? What good are tests? Did all your tests let you know this was going to happen? Did they tell you I could be blind?"

"I'm not sure you are. It's too soon to tell."

"Well, it's not too soon for me to tell." He raised his hand, blocking her efforts to bandage his eyes. "Please, just leave me alone."

"Being uncooperative is not going to help"

He turned away from her, groaning with the effort.

"All right. We don't have to talk but I'm not going to leave you alone. I'm not giving up and you shouldn't either."

Julia's gear buzzed. Not now, she cursed silently. It buzzed again more insistently. She threw a longing look in the pilot's direction and ducked out of his room, preferring to take the call privately.

"Yes."

Danziger's face greeted her. "I have everything ready for Alonzo. I was wondering if you want to take a look?"

"This isn't a good time. There's been a bit of a set-back."

"What kind of set-back?" He sounded suspicious.

"Alonzo. I just removed the bandages from his eyes. He can't see. There's a chance he may be blind."

"Blind? Both eyes?"

"Yes."

"Permanently?"

"That's just it. I can't find any damage that would cause blindness, permanent or temporary."

"I don't understand. What's causing it then?

"There are a number of possibilities. His head injury, something in the plant's enzyme that seeped into his eyes, the medications I made using plants that are similar to Earth's but could possibly produce different side- effects. I injected him with koba venom when he was in critical condition. It could be any one or even a combination of these reasons."

"Can you do tests or something to find out which it is?"

"Yes, tests can rule out the likelihood of some of them." She hesitated. "There's one other. The cause may be psychosomatic."

"He's imagining it? That's crazy."

"No, it's not. Not when you think about what he's been through. It's been known to happen with post-traumatic shock."

"If that's the case, can't you just tell him? Snap him out of it."

"It's not that easy. Alonzo only knows he can't see. To him this means he is blind. Telling him it's all in his mind may make it harder for him to accept."

"So what do we do?"

"Run tests, rule out what I can, work on what is left. If I can find no physical cause for the condition, I'll suggest it to him as a possible reason."

"Which means we can't leave tomorrow?"

"Give me another day. I need to find the answer to this right away. I can't do that if I have to pack everything up."

"I just hope I have another day to give you."

"Why? Have there been any signs of penal colonists?"

"None that I can point to with any certainty. I'll double the guard tonight and hope the perimeter alert will give us enough of an advanced warning."

"Is that a yes then? I can have another day?"

"One more day. At first light, day after tomorrow we roll out of here."

--end Part 10--