Chapter 3

"Let's take a walk," Ellie suggested, pulling out of John's embrace and taking his hand in hers. The swirling white around them coalesced into the corridors of the Station they'd called home so many years before.

"Man, it has been forever since I was here last," he exclaimed. He looked down the seemingly endless miles of corridor, aware for the first time that he felt claustrophobic. They stopped at a window on the stars and looked out to see a pair of spacewalkers conducting maintenance on the hull.

"That could be us, couldn't it, Johnny?" Ellie laughed, pointing at the pair.

John watched the pair sealing a bit of the hull, an icy chill descending down his spine as he realized what he was seeing. When one of the couple began to pull the other along the side of the station, he knew. "It is us, Ellie," he whispered as he pulled her close, unable to take his eyes off the vision. "I can't lose you again."

Suddenly the world swirled around him and they stood outside the door of the neuro unit, watching as the technicians placed Ellie into cold sleep. He could see himself touching the door of the chamber, tears pouring down his face.

"Why are we here? Why are we watching this?" he asked angrily.

Suddenly Ellie pulled back from his embrace and pointed. "This is why, Johnny," she said.

Now they stood in the Council ship. He could see himself standing before Devon's cold sleep chamber, his hand touching the door just as he'd done Ellie's. Suddenly, the room was filled with Terrians, making the strange low sounds they made.

"I don't understand," John stammered, nervous in their presence.

"Neither do they," Ellie answered gently. "They say that they can feel your pain on the Dreamplane. They don't know why. But you are this group's leader now and they are trying to understand you better."

"How do you know all this?" John asked roughly. "Who are you?" He pulled away from her.

"I'm your Ellie. I'm all that and more," she answered as the world began to go white around him. "Take care of yourself and our True, Johnny." Then she gave him one last kiss and it all faded away.

He came to awareness that he was lying on the hard ground, a sunstone in his hand, not burning him, just warming him through.

"He's coming around," he heard Julia's voice say.

"Hey, the Terrian's gone," Morgan called out as gentle hands removed the VR gear from his temples.

He tried to call for Ellie, but his voice didn't make much sound.

He opened his eyes, and after a few seconds they focused at last. He glanced around at the friends surrounding him, his eyes lighting on True.

"Are you okay, Daddy?" she asked softly as she came to kneel beside him.

He reached up to touch her long hair, looking into those brown eyes so like her mother's. "I don't know," he whispered. "I don't know."

They'd managed to get John into his bunk. He seemed to be in shock and didn't fuss at all when Julia gave him a sedaderm to get him to sleep.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Alonzo.

"You made me sleep this morning, now it's his turn. I'm rested enough to know exhaustion when I see it," she answered.

The next morning, John did indeed look better rested than Alonzo had seen him in days. He was surprised though to see him loading a knapsack into the ATV.

"Where are you going?" Alonzo asked.

"To see the Elder," Danziger answered matter of factly. "Keep an eye on the camp while I'm gone. I'll be back in a couple of days. Tell Devon I have my gear with me and I'll keep it on as long as I'm in range."

At the mention of Devon's name, Alonzo made up his mind. He wasn't sure how hard it would be, but he was going to have to knock his friend out cold.

Then John sighed deeply. "I can't believe I said that. I went on way too many scouting missions with that instruction ringing in my ears." He turned back to Alonzo. "I'm okay. Really. I just need to see the Elder about what happened to me."

"Then I'm going with you," Alonzo quickly decided. "Yale will watch the camp for us." He expected a fight, but to his surprise, Danziger simply nodded his head.

"We'll still take the ATV in case they need the rail," he said when Alonzo returned with his knapsack and Julia in tow.

"John, are you sure about this?" Julia asked in concern, running her diaglove over his neck.

Gently, but firmly, John took her hand and pushed it away. "I am fine. Quit fussing over me. I've already asked Bess to keep an eye on True. I just have to talk to the Elder. We'll be back in a couple of days, all right?"

Julia nodded and backed down. She was very glad Alonzo was going. More so when she heard John say, "Lonz, you drive." John never let anyone else drive, much less on the ATV. He climbed up, barely folding his long legs behind the seat as Alonzo crawled in front behind the wheel.

Alonzo gave Julia a long look. "I'll take care of him," he said solemnly. She nodded and the two men rode off.

The trip back through the pass was much faster with the two of them unhindered by the slow movement of the rover and those on foot. However, Alonzo noted it was much quieter as well. Apart from some brief discussions of the route and past landmarks, John only answered his queries with one syllable answers. Whenever Alonzo pressed him about the events of the day before, all John could say was "I don't know what happened."

But his spirits seemed unusually positive for a man who'd had his first disturbing psychic experience.

Julia had asked him the night before what he believed had happened. All he could think of to tell her was that the Terrian had said that Danziger was dreaming with them. Apparently, they'd been trying to get through to him on the Dreamplane, but were confused by what they saw there. The sunstone came along at just the right time to augment the VR for an alternate way into Danziger's mind.

"Danz never struck me as the dreaming type," Alonzo had admitted. "It only seems right that even the Terrians would have to use a technical gadget to get into that head."

They camped overnight under a bluff. The stars were bright overhead.

"We saw the stars on the Station sometimes," Danziger suddenly stated out of nowhere. "Most places it was too bright either from earthshine or the docking lights. But out of the few windows in our sector, there were a couple where we could see the stars."

"Not like here though," Alonzo replied.

"No, not like here."

The men fell silent again.

Then Danziger spoke up again. "She's on the Station, 'Lonz. She's there on the Station waiting for me and True to come home," he said seriously.

"Who is?" Alonzo asked quietly, not at all easy with the unusual direction of the conversation.

"I talked to Ellie. She's there on the Station and she's herself," Danziger replied evenly. He looked up at the stars again. "I didn't get the chance to tell her to get back into cold sleep. She has to wait for us."

Alonzo sat silently by the fire. It wasn't for him to say what John did or didn't see on the Dreamplane. After all he'd had a visit from an ex-girlfriend named Lydia and it seemed as real as if she were sitting next to him by the fire.

Plus, they'd theorized that Morgan's vision of Bennett had been planted by Riley, but there was no guarantee that it wasn't Bennett himself somehow projecting into the Dreamplane like Del Curry had done.

"I don't have any idea who or what you've seen, John," Alonzo began. "But I'm more than happy to see the Elder with you."

"The Elder can show me how to dream myself home," John replied distantly. "I can dream myself back to Ellie and tell her to wait for us."

He sat there quiet in his thoughts for a few more minutes, then he turned back to Alonzo, firelight shining in his eyes. "I never thought I'd be grateful to the Terrians for anything. They've always creeped me out. But right now I'm grateful. They gave Ellie back to me."

Something about the tone of his voice filled Alonzo with misgiving. He just wasn't sure how it would all pan out in the end.