Disclaimer: See chapter one.

Bess stood behind the Transrover, watching her husband help load the equipment. THe men had been working all morning in silence. The whole group had agreed with Danziger's decision to leave, they all knew they couldn't stay here indefinitely. But that didn't mean they liked it. The idea of leaving Devon behind – of leaving anyone behind – horrified them. And the idea of going on without their leader terrified them. Morgan turned and smiled at Bess, although it came out as more of a grimace. She handed him the last small bag.

'That's the lot, Morgan. Everything's packed.' He nodded and passed the word on to Alonzo who jumped down and went to tell Danziger they were ready to leave. Bess clambered up on to the 'rover and found a comfortable place to sit. It was her ay to ride, or so Danziger had said over breakfast. She wanted to walk but she hadn't wanted to argue and make things more difficult for him. Anyone could see how unhappy he was about leaving. And so she would ride and make sure the kids did too. From atop the vehicle she watched as the group congregated, slinging bags over their shoulders and avoiding each other's eyes. Danziger came last, walking out of the spaceship leading Uly by the hand. He lifted the boy on to the 'rover beside True and then swung himself into the cab. The engine started and the caravan of colonists moved out, slowly and sadly.

For two days they travelled like that, taking turns walking and riding. THe only exception to this was Julia who rode constantly in the ATV, working in a VR lab she had had Morgan set up for her. She emerged only to eat and even then only at strong urging from Alonzo. The others looked at her with concern every time she joined them. She had been like this for nine days now, ever since she activated the cryo-chamber. Driven, Alonzo called it. Others used the word obsessive. Either way, with each day that passed the circles beneath her eyes grew darker and her temper grew shorter. Julia was not used to feeling useless – her whole life was dedicated to fighting disease ad she hated to lose a battle. And in this case it was worse because Devon wasn't dead and yet Julia could still do nothing. She had taken the decision to move on badly, seeing it as an admission that she had failed. But despite that she wasn't prepared to give up yet. By early evening of the second day everyone had given up suggesting that she take it easy and had accepted that Julia would have to decide when to ease up herself.

Julia wasn't the only one the crew worried about. Uly had barely spoken since his mother collapsed. He answered any question directed at him, but only with one or two words. No-one, not even Yale, could get him involved in conversation. The young boy had attached himself to True, a silent shadow, and refused to be separated from her. To the surprise of everyone, True took this well. No one understood why Uly had chosen True. Their relationship had always been one of friendly rivalry but now Uly had chosen True above all the others. Even True didn't understand why this was but she felt sorry for the boy who had just lost his only parent. True couldn't imagine living without her dad.

And so he dealt patiently with Uly, talking to him as normal but not expecting any replies. She told him stories of her life on the station – so different from his- and stories her father had read her to sleep with when she was younger. Danziger watched this with amazement and pride. And no small amount of fear. Times like this made him realise that his little girl was growing up.

The second day after leaving the spaceship they stopped early because they had found a perfect campsite, complete with a stream which tested clean. In their months on the planet the crew had learned better than to pass by drinkable water. The adults – all except Julia – began setting up the tents while True and Uly gathered firewood from the edge of a nearby forest.

'True, do you still miss your mother?' True turned to face Uly, surprised he had spoken.

'Yes.' Even thinking about it made her sad.

'Do you think you'll miss her forever?'

'Yes.'

'Me too.' Uly went back to picking up dead branches and loading them on to Zero's arms. True watched him for a moment and then went back to work, understanding at last why he had chosen to latch on to her.

After dinner that evening – another virtually silent meal – Danziger announced that they would not move on tomorrow, taking the opportunity of drinkable water to replenish their dwindling supplies. This was the first decision he'd made since assuming leadership that he felt comfortable with. He didn't have to ask himself what Devon would do. He knew she'd stay and restock. This thought almost made him laugh. He'd spent so much of his time since landing on this planet fighting with Devon over her decisions and yet now that she was gone he found that needed her opinion. In the last nine days he had realised something. Devon had done a good job as leader and, without even realising it, he had come to trust her judgement. And he'd be very glad to have her back and hand responsibility over. With this thought in mind he headed over to the med-tent, to which Julia had returned immediately after eating. Entering through the flap he stood and watched her work for a few moments before speaking. She moved jerkily, constantly muttering to herself. Danziger appreciated her dedication and understood her desperation but he was worried about her. Someone needed to convince her she was only human.

'Any progress, Julia?' Her head whipped round and she glared at him.

'I would have told you if there was.'

'Sorry. Just asking.' Julia ran her hands through her hair and sighed.

'No, I'm sorry. I'm just a bit frustrated.'

'And exhausted.' Julia scowled

'I'm fine!'

'I just told the rest of the group we'd be staying here tomorrow. We can refill the water tanks and rest a bit.'

'Fine. Whatever.'

'Everybody's going to rest, Julia. Especially you. Even if I have to sedate you.'

'Don't be ridiculous!'

'I mean it Julia. You're no good to Devon or anybody else like this. Those samples will still be there when you wake up.'

'I can't believe this! Don't you want me to find a cure for Devon?'

'Of course I do. But I don't want you to kill yourself doing it. And neither would Devon. So tomorrow you rest, spend some time with Alonzo. Then you can come back with fresh eyes. OK?' Julia continued scowling at him but he met her glare calmly, knowing he was right, and eventually she dropped her eyes.

'OK. But just one day.'

'Just one day, if you promise to take better care of yourself.' Danziger raised an eyebrow and Julia nodded reluctantly. Danziger left the med-tent relieved that he'd been successful and feeling very slightly more confident about being in charge.