Taboo

Disclaimer: The characters, concepts and places of Deepwater Black used in this story are the property of the Sci-Fi Channel, YTV and Empire Entertainment. It is a non-profit piece of fun and no copyright infringement is intended.

Warm muggy heat veiled the planet and the light persistent rain that raised the humidity only served to increase Reb Anderson's bad mood. Gret had picked the planet up on the long-range scanners and Reb had finally agreed to come down and take a look when they detected anomalous energy readings from the planet surface. It had been five hours since the shuttle entered the planet's soggy atmosphere and made their disastrous landing and as far as he was concerned nothing had gone right since.

Wrenching viciously at the long green vine that was clinging determinedly to the side of the shuttle, he tore it free and flung aside the shreds. Somewhere in the rainforest whatever passed for birds on the planet had started to get over the shock of the shuttle's crash and were starting to call cautiously, their bell chimes rippling through the air and blending with the constant patter of rain. Blossoms of every imaginable size, shape and colour bloomed all around the shuttle torn clearing, scenting the damp air with a rich panoply of fragrances that somehow blended perfectly with each other.

Reb was in no mood to admire the scenery. He had spent the last three hours resurrecting the shuttle's power system and was now waiting for the computer to reboot so he could get the navigational systems back on line. "This is all his fault anyway," Reb muttered bitterly under his breath as he turned to assault the next tangle of greenery. "I knew I shouldn't have listened to Lise and let Bren pilot. He couldn't fly a Frisbee."

"I heard that Reb," the soldier retorted, emerging from the rainforest in time to hear the engineer's remark. "And what's a Frisbee anyway?"

Reb glared at him and didn't answer. Fleeting images from his donor's distant Terran past occasionally caught him by surprise and slipped out before he could stop them. What really embarrassed him though was attempting to explain such references to the others. Their donors had been born and raised in the colonies long after his and couldn't understand what he meant.

Bren scowled at him and stomped off to deal with the vegetation clogging the other side of the shuttle's engines. It didn't help his temper that, deep down, he had a feeling he knew what Reb had been muttering about and that the engineer was right. He had made a big mistake when he took the shuttle too close to the building weather system over the planet's equator.

Once in orbit Bren had been reluctant to abandon the search for signs of technology because of a little rough weather. Reb had warned him to steer clear of the storm but, arrogantly confident in his own piloting abilities, he had scorned the engineer's complaints as cold feet and sent the shuttle skimming into the mass of churning storm clouds, convinced that they would be safe this high in the atmosphere.

The winds had grabbed the shuttle and dragged it down at terrifying speed, the combinations of wind pressure and gravity literally sucking the vessel down into the storm itself where the violent electrical discharges had shorted their power system and sent them into a nosedive.

They had crashed into the rainforest canopy; smashing their way down through the huge trees and eventually ending up nose deep in the rich soil that had cushioned their landing. Once they had recovered from the shock and assured themselves they were both bruised but otherwise unharmed from the crash, they had started to check their situation. They had lost all power, the computer had crashed and communications were out. The weather system overhead was causing interference on all the radio frequencies and was in all probability a permanent fixture over the planet's equator. On the other hand, the shuttle was physically undamaged and probably still space worthy - assuming they could get the power-systems back on line. Reb's worry over getting the engines back up and running had made him short tempered and when Bren said the wrong thing at the wrong time, it had started a blazing row which had ended with the soldier stalking off to patrol the area while Reb stayed to make repairs.

"Did you find anything out there?" Reb asked curtly after a few minutes of doggedly wrestling with the vines.

"Only more trees." Bren glanced over at him. His temper was still simmering, but he was reluctant to stay at odds with his companion. He and Reb always seemed to manage to rub each other the wrong way somehow. "How's the shuttle?"

Reb grunted, shredding a stubborn patch of leaves. "I managed to reboot the systems, but I don't know how long it'll take us to get full power. I'll have a better idea when the computer reboots. Did you think I was doing this because I enjoy gardening?"

"I thought you might be doing it to take your bad mood out on something."

Reb glared at him. "If I wanted to do that, I'd kick you from one end of this rotten jungle to other," he retorted.

"You and whose army?"

"You think I'd need one?" Reb straightened up, stalking close enough to square up the taller youth.

Bren considered easing his frustration by taking a swing at him. Most of the time he challenged Reb's authority for the sheer hell of it, but, at the back of his mind, he knew Reb was a better commander than he was. Besides, right now they were both feeling belligerent because of the situation they were in. Neither of them enjoyed feeling helpless. And that was the trouble - they were too much alike not to be at odds at times. "Hell, no," he sighed. "Look, I screwed up, okay? I got us into this mess. There. That make you feel better?"

Reb eyed him warily, unsure whether he was being mocked or not. "No," he said finally, but he backed away and ripped at a few more vines.

"So, why are we doing this?" Bren asked after a few more minutes of grim weeding.

"Because this stuff is blocking the engine intakes. Assuming we manage to take off at all, we'd overheat and blow up with this in them."

"Oh..." Bren stripped off a few more vines.

Reb suddenly spat out a curse and stepped back, wiping his hands down his pant legs. Then looked round for somewhere to sit and sank down wearily on a fallen tree.

Bren hesitated, wondering if giving up on his own efforts was going to get him yelled at again. He decided to take a chance. "Is there anything else I can do to help?" he asked cautiously, sidling over to the engineer.

"No," Reb sighed but he sounded more tired than irritable.

Bren dared to sit down next to him. "I guess we're both feeling pretty grouchy," he offered awkwardly. "I am sorry..."

"I should have warned you earlier. Or ordered you not to get so close. But you never listen to orders..."

Bren bristled instinctively. "You're a civilian," he reminded him grimly. "Since when do you give me orders?"

"Deepwater's a civilian ship," Reb retorted, giving him a cool look. "And you're in a minority of one as far as the military goes."

Bren glared back. He had never been able to figure out why he couldn't intimidate the engineer. He was taller, heavier and far better trained. If anyone should have been intimidated it should have been Reb. Yet Bren always got the distinct impression that Reb would not only go down fighting but would probably rip his throat out in the process. "And what does the civilian genius suggest we do then?" he demanded sarcastically.

"We wait," Reb answered succinctly and started picking the fungus-softened bark from the tree trunk.

"For what? For it to stop raining?"

"For the computer to reboot so I can figure out our next move, military moron."

Bren tensed and shot to his feet, stalking across the clearing to glare at the shuttle. "So we stand around and do nothing? That's going to look really great to the others when we get back to Deepwater. We could at least explore."

"Explore what? You said there's nothing out there. Or maybe you want to round up a few trees and interrogate them until they talk?"

Bren swung round and scowled at him. "What about the energy readings Gret found?"

"What about them?"

Bren took a deep breath and told himself to stay calm. "If we can find them, maybe we can find some kind of a radio and get a message to Deepwater. Then if by some fluke you can't fix the shuttle, we can still get out of here."

Reb simply stared at him for a long moment, then a little too casually looked away. "All right. Where do we start looking?"

The soldier gaped at him in amazement, then closed his mouth with a snap as understanding dawned. Reb's belligerence was caused as much by uncertainty as Bren's was by frustration. Bren had never considered that the engineer could have his own doubts about fixing the shuttle. Suddenly feeling a little more useful and a lot less dense, Bren brightened up. "I picked up an increase in the energy readings from that direction," Bren pointed South and unhooked the compact sensor device from his belt. Flipping it on, he came back to the engineer and showed him the readings. "See? Maybe there's some kind of base or something over there."

Reb frowned at the miniature screen. "Maybe..."

"It can't hurt to look," Bren urged. "Maybe we can find the local inhabitants."

The engineer looked up at him slowly, studying Bren's eager expression thoughtfully. "I don't suppose it'd do any harm," he admitted cautiously. "And there's nothing else to do while we wait."

"We can seal the shuttle so nothing can get in." Bren jogged back to the shuttle and disappeared inside, calling back over his shoulder. "I'll get the gear and some ration packs."

"We'd better be back before dark," Reb warned. "We don't know what kind of wild animals live around here. I don't want to get eaten by something."

"The predators wouldn't want you. You're too tough to chew!" Bren teased in answer.

Reb raised a blond eyebrow as he slid to his feet. The soldier sounded almost as if he was in a good mood now. Maybe it was only inaction rubbing him the wrong way. Glancing at the leaf stained sides of the shuttle, Reb sighed. Maybe that was all that was making him so irritable too. He only hoped that his fears would prove groundless and his attempts to get the shuttle functioning again would be successful after all.

An hour later, Bren paused to reach down to Reb and help the engineer scramble up the last few feet of muddy rock to the top of the slope. On leaving the shuttle, they had headed South following the energy readings. The thick rainforest had started to give way to a rockier landscape that started to climb from a gradual gradient to a steep incline. Now they seemed to have reached the top of the ridge.

While Bren turned in a small circle, scanning the forest, Reb sank down on a convenient rock and studied the view. The rainforest they had crashed into was now revealed as filling a steep sided valley; the end of which the shuttle had ploughed into and come to rest on its upper slope. Mountains towered on either side of them, their distant peaks veiled in white clouds. A couple more miles and the shuttle would have crashed into those massive pinnacles of rock and stone and smashed itself and its occupants to smithereens. And still could if their engines failed on take off....

Tearing himself away from the valley before he thought about that particular scenario too much, Reb turned to look over the crest of the ridge. Below them stretched more rainforest, but this time it had a checkerboard look where squares had been cut out of the sweeping green to show as brighter patches of golds and browns.

"Cultivation," he murmured.

"What?" Bren turned to look down at him.

"Down there. Signs of farming," Reb explained, pointing to the squares as he fished his electronic binoculars from his equipment belt. Adjusting them for low visibility, he scanned the forest curiously, wondering if he would pick up signs of human habitation. He saw nothing moving, but on the far side of the valley a forest fire was burning among the trees.

"Burn off," Bren muttered, picking up the fire with his own binoculars. "Could be burning out the enemy..."

"Or clearing trees to make way for new crops," Reb countered. "Do you always have to think like a soldier?"

Bren lowered the binoculars. "When in the company of civilians who don't, yeah," he said flatly. "This is alien territory, Reb. You don't presume it's friendly until it proves it."

"Is that why you brought a gun?" Reb needled. "To shoot a bunch of farmers?"

Bren glanced down at the laser strapped to his hip and nodded, refusing to be provoked. "Yes," he agreed flatly. "I'm supposed to protect you."

"Since when?"

Bren blinked and an image glittered in his mind, a fractional prex sparking with information. "You want me to quote the rules and regulations? I was assigned to this mission as the military presence. My position is to see to it that the civilians are kept safe. Particularly you for some reason..."

"And all this time I thought you were along for your sparkling conversation."

"Sometimes you make me wonder why I bother though," Bren growled and stomped off down the slope.

Reb bounded after him. "It's probably my wit and charm."

"Your what?" Bren came to a halt and stared at him, wondering if he had heard him right. Reb surprised him with an impish grin.

"Your point is taken. They could be hostile. We don't know that they're even human. Because they appear to have similar farming methods to those once used on Earth means nothing." He fell into step alongside the soldier as Bren walked on. "Besides, I hadn't noticed the energy readings coming from anywhere near those crop areas."

"No, that's true. They don't." Bren glanced at the scanner he was still holding. "You still want to take a look?"

"If it's not far."

"Why? You getting tired?" Bren taunted.

"No, uneasy."

"Uneasy?" Bren echoed, no longer laughing. "Why?"

"I keep getting the feeling I'm being watched."

"Oh..." Bren fell silent.

Reb walked quietly for a few minutes, alternately looking at the trees once more crowding in around them and then at the soldier. "Bren? You think I'm imagining it?" he asked finally.

"No, that's the trouble."

"You feel it too?"

"Ever since we neared the top of that ridge. Notice how quiet it is?"

Reb glanced round and self-consciously eased a fraction closer to the dark haired soldier. "Yeah...." he admitted. "All the birds have shut up again. What does it mean?"

"Probably that there's something around making them uneasy too."

"Such as?"

"A predator of some kind is the likeliest explanation."

"That's reassuring. Why don't we go back to the shuttle?"

"Because I want to find out if it's an animal or not. If we turn back it might see it as a threat and attack."

"Oh…." Reb considered this as they walked on, his pace unconsciously quickening slightly.

"Bren, why would the birds shut up for a predator? Wouldn't they be used to that?"

"Depends if they're its normal prey or not. If so, we may have nothing to worry about. It might only be watching us to make sure we don't bother it. It'll get bored."

"And if not?"

"Then it's checking us out for lunch. Stay alert and it'll probably think twice and go away," Bren flicked a glance at the blond and grinned. "Are you glad I brought the gun now?"

Reb grimaced. "What if it's an alien? Or a human?"

Bren's smile faded. "Then we have to wait and see what it does. Here, you hold this." He passed the scanner to Reb and casually rested one hand on his gun. "See if you can get it to scan for life signs."

Reb nodded and fiddled with the scanner, concentrating on the readings while Bren looked around them warily. After a few moments, Reb started to wander absently away and trotted into the undergrowth.

"Hey...!" It took a minute for Bren to realise the engineer had vanished, then he looked round in a panic. "Reb!"

"Over here, Bren," Reb replied calmly. "I think I've found something…"

Lacing his fingers over his gun butt, Bren dived into the undergrowth after him. "When I catch you..." He had to let go of his gun to claw his way through the vegetation and finally scrabble his way into a clearing. "What do you think you're doing?!" he demanded irritably. "You can't go wandering off like that without telling me!"

Reb gave him a cool look and pointed at the huge hole that had been torn into the earth in the middle of the clearing. A jumble of shattered rubble overgrown by vines and mosses surrounded it, blocking the way in. "There are energy readings coming from down there," he explained, venturing closer and holding the scanner out over the rubble. "See?"

Hurrying after him, Bren peered over his shoulder at the readings then scowled at the hole. "Don't go too close."

"It's perfectly safe. No signs of gamma…."

Bren clamped a firm hand on his shoulder and gave him a shake. "Look at it, not the scanner. Forget the invisible stuff, I'm talking about the visible," he warned sharply. "It looks like it could collapse at any minute."

Reb frowned and eyed the wreckage doubtfully. "I doubt it. It's pretty overgrown. If it was going to collapse, it would already have done it," he decided as he eased closer.

"Perhaps it's waiting for a dumb blond to come along and step on the wrong bit," Bren retorted scornfully. Reb hesitated and slid a look over his shoulder at him. It wasn't easy, but the soldier did his best to be reasonable. "Look, I'm as curious as you are, but maybe I know a little more about frontier colony bases than you do, okay?"

"Meaning?" Reb asked warily.

"Meaning, that wasn't caused by a simple cave in. Underground bases are built to withstand a starship blowing up on top of them. They're designed that way to protect colonists as a last resort." Bren peered at the closest block of rubble and pointed out a shadowy line flaring through the plasconcrete. "See that? That's from a plasma burn. This base was destroyed from the inside. Someone blew the auto-destruct to seal it off."

"Why would anyone want to do that?" Reb protested.

"Lots of reasons. Anything from it being a Raider base the Sentinel Corp found, to an ethnic study site they didn't want the locals to find. Maybe they wanted to hide from aliens."

Reb opened his mouth to argue then thought better of it. Their own encounter with an alien spaceship hadn't been exactly peaceful and they still didn't know what had caused their hostility towards Deepwater. "Okay, okay," he muttered irritably. "So we settle for scanning it. I don't think it's the main source of the readings we got in orbit anyway."

"Whatever makes you happy," Bren retorted sarcastically and prowled off to circle the edge of the site while Reb took his readings. "Guy's a frustrated archaeologist," he muttered under his breath as he examined the wreckage. The more he looked at the burn marks, the more deliberate it seemed. It was almost as if someone had done their best to not only destroy the base but hide any sign it had ever existed. Someone had covered the remains over after the initial explosion.

"Uh, Bren?" Reb called uncertainly.

"No, we're not going any closer."

"Bren...I really think...."

"No!"

"I really think you should look behind you."

"If this is some kind of lousy joke...."

"No. Look behind you and turn around slowly."

Bren shot the engineer a filthy look but swung around slowly and glared behind him. There was a handful of men standing at the edge of the clearing, watching them with hostile expressions. Unlike the space travellers, they were dressed in rough homespun cloth tunics and trousers of muted colours to blend in with their jungle environment. They were armed with an assortment of weapons ranging from spears to bows and arrows.

"Uh hi...." Reb offered cautiously as Bren backed warily towards him. The spears bristled in response and a black haired, ferocious looking man stepped forward and gestured violently at the scanner the engineer was holding then shouted something.

"What did he say?" Bren hissed.

"I have no idea," Reb admitted, flinching as the man stepped closer and motioned at the scanner again. Forcing a smile, the engineer offered the device to the native gingerly and had it snatched out of his hand and thrown to the ground. With a contemptuous expression the man smashed it into the ground with his leather boot heel.

"Hey!" Bren protested angrily and jerked forward in threat. "You can't..." A faint fffting sound interrupted him and something stung his neck. Startled by the sharp pain, he put a hand up to his throat and encountered a needle sharp spine. Tugging it loose with a wince, he stared at the hollow needle in bafflement and looked over his shoulder at Reb. "What...?" he began as his head started to spin and his vision splintered into an array of bright colours. The last thing he heard was Reb yelping his name and lunging towards him before the darkness descended on him.

Catching the soldier as he passed out, Reb was pulled to the ground by his weight. Fumbling at his throat for a pulse, the young engineer looked up at the natives in panic as they surrounded him. "Who the hell are you? What did you do to him?"

The natives closed in and the black haired man snapped out something guttural to the others. In response, one of them grabbed at the unconscious Bren, pulling him out of Reb's arms and rolling him onto his stomach.

"No, you leave him alone!" Scared of what they were going to do, Reb dived forward to push him away and was instantly grabbed and dragged back. His struggles were subdued by the black haired man who belted him across the temple with his spear butt.

Sagging to the ground at the man's feet with blood running into his eyes, Reb could only watch groggily as Bren was roughly searched and tied up before they turned on him and repeated the procedure, removing and smashing their equipment. Satisfied that he too was disarmed, they bound the blond youth's arms behind his back and yanked him to his feet, dragging him upright in front of the black haired man that Reb assumed was their leader.

Standing in front of him, the black haired man fingered the silky cloth of his black tunic, comparing its softness with his own tunic. He shook his head, spitting a comment at Reb.

"I'm sorry. I have no idea what you're talking about," Reb replied miserably. "But we haven't done anything to you. What do you want?"

Ignoring him, the leader gestured to his men to pick up Bren and follow him. With the soldier flung casually over the shoulder of one of the natives, Reb found himself being marched out of the clearing at spear point.

Instead of heading back into the valley where they had left the shuttle, they made their way rapidly downhill at a swift pace. With his arms tied, Reb had difficulty keeping his balance and fell several times before the leader came back and glared at him. He still didn't understand what he was saying, but he could guess from his irritated tone of voice.

"It isn't my fault!" Reb yelled at him, his fear yielding to rising temper at the rough treatment. "If you want me to keep up, untie me!"

The leader scowled and slapped him across the face, then gestured down into the cultivated valley and shouted at him again.

"Yelling isn't going to make me understand you, you moron," Reb snarled back at him. "I'm neither deaf nor stupid. I simply don't speak your language and I don't have a translator!"

One of the other men said something quietly at that point, gesturing at the engineer's hands. There was a short, irritable discussion then Reb was roughly spun around and his hands retired in front of him. Before he could start feeling pleased by this concession, he was subjected to the indignity of having a leather leash tied around his throat. The leader took up a loop of the tether and with a rough tug, pulled him up close.

"You follow..." he said haltingly, his accent so thick Reb could hardly understand him. "You not...we kill...."

"Gotcha...." Reb whispered and nodded frantically when the man lifted his hand in threat.

Satisfied the leader grunted back and set off again, tugging Reb impatiently along behind him while the others followed closely. This time the journey was a little easier as the leader chose a slightly smoother path to follow. But although Reb was now able to stay on his feet, every now and then the man would yank deliberately on the leash and half choke him with an evil grin that suggested it was a cruel reminder that he remained a captive.

That was the least of his worries however. First there was the fact that Bren remained unconscious and showed no signs of stirring. Who knew what had been on the blow-dart that had used to subdue the soldier? Then there was the fact that they had been captured at all. The rough treatment Reb had received so far didn't make the future look too promising, although he supposed it was a lot better than being killed on the spot. For all he knew though they had been captured by a bunch of cannibals and were simply being led home like lambs to the slaughter.

It seemed like forever to Reb as he was dragged across hills, through the thick thorny undergrowth and across so many muddy swollen streams that he lost count of them. But finally he was marched into a village and hauled unceremoniously towards a larger building at the far end. Unlike the thatched wooden walled building that made up most of the village, this one was made of dressed stone.

The leader said something to the man carrying Bren and he cut off from the rest of the group, carrying him towards a smaller wooden building near the steps.

"Where is he taking him?" Reb demanded anxiously, daring to catch up with his captor. The leader scowled and cuffed him back with a rough blow, then jerked him along by the leash towards the stone building. By craning his neck, Reb could see Bren being carried into the building and apparently abandoned. What did that mean? Hopefully it merely somewhere to hold him until he was conscious or maybe they weren't expecting him to come round at all and it was only somewhere convenient to dump the body.

Reb had to switch his attention hastily back to where he was going as they reached the building. Dragged up the steps at the front, he was forced to his knees on the platform at the top and two men stayed to guard him while the leader trotted inside. Scared and determined not to show it, Reb filled in his time by looking around him. The villagers had come out to watch and were gathering around the bottom of the steps. Most of them looked more curious that anything else. In the hopes of getting them on his side, Reb attempted a friendly greeting and was promptly cuffed brutally to the stones by his guards. A rough kick in the ribs warned him against saying anything else then he was dragged back to his knees again. Huddling miserably between the guards, he contented himself with studying the building, his curiosity rousing at the sight of the carvings on the door lintels. It seemed to be some kind of record of events and he picked out the shape of several shuttles and suggestion of settlement and farming.... A colony world then? But why destroy the base they had found? Unless it had been an accidental explosion....

The leader was back again and this time he had an older man with him. He was a little taller, with close cropped greying brown hair and hard grey eyes. A long bladed knife was shoved carelessly through his belt. As far as Reb could tell the only thing marking him out from the other villagers was the oblong metal object hung around his throat on a rusting chain. It looked like some kind of key with what had once been a miniature keypad on it. Wondering where he had got it from and what it was for, Reb eyed the pendant curiously until the man grabbed him by the leash and yanked him to his feet.

"Who are you?" he demanded in a harsh but recognisable accent.

Reb was so startled to be addressed in a language he understood he didn't answer for a second and was shaken roughly for his teeth to rattle for the delay.

"Answer me, tech." He spat out the word as if it was an insult. "Your time is long past and you have no place here. You no longer rule. You answer or we kill you."

Reb swallowed hard. "We came here by accident..." he began cautiously. "We don't mean you any harm."

There was a low mutter from the black haired man.

"Silence, Kern. I am Archon and I decide what will be done with them." He turned back to Reb, his eyes glittering with suppressed anger. "You came from the valley?" Reb hesitated, flinched from a lifted hand and then nodded hastily.

"We crashed...."

"You were seen by the hunting party coming out of the valley. You deny this?"

"No..." Since they had been caught there was no point in denying it.

"It is forbidden to enter the valley."

"We didn't know...We came by shuttle."

The Archon ignored him. "You went straight to a forbidden site. You knew where it was."

"I had a scanner until he broke it," Reb nodded at Kern. "It guided us there..."

Kern glared at him, his hands clenching into fists as if he wanted to belt him again.

"He was correct to do so. The evil of technology has no place here."

"Evil?" Reb echoed in surprise.

The Archon stabbed a finger at his chest, indicating the fine material of his clothes. "You are not of the Natural People. Where did you come from?"

"I told you, we crashed..."

The Archon slapped him across the face and looked out at the gathered villagers. "He is an Unnatural. He came from the valley. We know now that the machines still spawn their evil. This Abomination is one of them: a Tech."

"What?" Reb stared at him then yelped as the Archon grabbed his shoulder and dragged him to the edge of the steps.

"Look at him! Does he look like us?"

An uneasy muttering ran through the crowd. Even Reb could see that he didn't. While he was bright blond and pale, all the villagers were dark haired and brown skinned from long exposure to wind and sun. No wonder they had hidden Bren, Reb thought dazedly. He could have been mistaken for a local.

"Machine spawn. They must be killed," the Archon spat as the villagers muttered uneasily.

Kern shifted nervously. "Archon, I would speak...." he mumbled haltingly. Unlike the Archon he seemed unfamiliar with the language.

"Then do so."

"The other one is like to us…."

"Probably this one's captive." The Archon shook Reb roughly.

Kern shot a glare at the blond. "But how can we be sure...." He gestured at the villagers.

"What they say is right. The Techs had powers. The ability to heal themselves of wounds..."

"This one is a mere clone. A servant of the Techs. Look at him!" Grabbing Reb's chin, he forced his head up so the villagers could see the bruises on his face. "Did you not do this to him, Kern? Where is this vaunted power to heal?"

Kern chewed his lip thoughtfully. "Perhaps he wished to conceal what he is. Bruises are nothing...."

The Archon snorted in disgust and ripped at Reb's sleeve shredding the fabric. "He will bear the clone mark..." He scowled in fury, finding Reb's arms bare of anything except skin.

Reb could feel his senses spinning as he looked up at the brawny villagers towering over him.

"We're not dangerous..." he stammered.

"Again to conceal the truth of what he is...." the Archon decided, ignoring Reb. "They must be killed."

Kern shifted nervously. "But..."

"It is taboo to enter the valley. The Tech sites are forbidden. We do not want the Abominations here again. These two must be killed as a lesson to all. There will be no breaking of the taboo while I am Archon. And if you wish to follow me, you will keep to that."

Kern bowed his head. "The villagers still fear..."

The Archon snorted and snatched the knife from his belt. "This one is no Tech," he snarled and yanked Reb around to face him as he lifted the knife...

Bren awoke to dim light and a throbbing headache. It took him several minutes to register that he was awake and tied up in some kind of hut, rather than having a nightmare. Then he rolled over and looked around him, wondering where Reb had got to. Hearing the sounds of life outside, he flailed his way to his knees then propped his shoulder against one wall and with its help struggled to his feet. A slatted window in one wall let the light in and he wobbled over to peer out.

He found himself looking across some kind of square at a stone building and he could see Reb's small blond figure among a group of men at the top of the steps. There seemed to be an argument going on with the engineer in the middle getting pushed around. Reb was acting dazed and Bren narrowed his eyes, wishing he was close enough to make out what was being said. Then he saw the older man raise the knife and Reb look up in shock as it fell in a vicious slashing movement. Reb crumpled, sagging as the guards grabbed at him.

"No! Reb!" Screaming in anguish, Bren flung himself against the wall, yanking at the wooden slats across the window in an effort to get out. "Leave him alone, you bastards!" A spear butt rattled against the slats, startling him into pulling back and shutting up. Recovering from his surprise, he pushed back to the window, straining to see what was going on.

Reb had been pulled back to his feet and turned to face the crowd of villagers. The grey haired man dragged the blond's shaking hands away from his face, shouting at the crowd and ignoring his captive's silent shock as he caught Reb's bloody chin and brutally displayed the wound to the villagers. The knife blade had opened his face, laying open his left cheek from his ear down to his chin.

Bren moaned under his breath. He wasn't close enough to see more than the bright spill of copious blood painting Reb's face, but from the way that the engineer was swaying he was in considerable pain. Every instinct Bren had as both soldier and friend told him to get out there and help and he spun away from the window, adrenaline steadying his balance as he attacked the door and found it solid no matter how hard he kicked it. Something was holding it shut from outside.

Hearing voices approaching, he backed up and prepared himself to rush whoever entered. There was a rattle as the heavy locking beam was slid back then door crashed open, slamming against the wall. He lunged forward and halted, finding himself confronted by an array of sharp spear points. Herded back by the guards against the far wall, Bren could only watch angrily as Reb was dragged in by the grey haired man and the hunter and dropped on the floor. He waited only until the guards had started back to the door before he darted forward to the engineer and crouched beside him.

"What kind of animals, are you?" he snarled bitterly as he touched Reb's shaking shoulders and glared at their captors. "We've done nothing to you. He wasn't even armed!"

There was no answer but he thought the hunting leader understood him and looked slightly uncomfortable as he hurried out and slammed the door. "Bastards," Bren hissed under his breath and turned his full attention to Reb. "How bad is it?"

"G'way," Reb slurred in answer, burrowing his head into his arms.

"No can do. There's no where to go. Besides, I saw what they did, Reb. Let me see." The engineer gingerly shook his head and with an exasperated sigh, Bren caught at his shoulder and pulled him up. Reb instinctively raised his grubby hands to cover his face. "Don't be so stupid," Bren snapped, slapping his hands down. "Don't touch it. You're filthy." Reb gave him a groggy look, his eyes glazed and huge with pain and shock. As gently as he could, Bren touched his chin, turning his face towards the light from the window. He sucked in his breath, feeling his stomach churn. Reb closed his eyes, obviously not wanting to see Bren's expression. The knife had certainly made a mess of the engineer's face, no doubt as had been intended. Absurdly the thought ran through Bren's mind that Yuna was going to be furious with him for not protecting Reb properly.

"We need to get the bleeding stopped," he announced as calmly as he could. "Can you untie me?"

Reb cracked his eyes open and with shaky fingers fumbled at the soldier's ropes. Bren did his best to hold still and hang on to his patience. Reb was obviously doing his best. Finally Reb got the knots untied and Bren rubbed his wrists in relief as he shook off the ropes. "Okay, I'll untie you in a minute. Let me do something about your face first."

"Don't touch it," Reb protested. "You'll only make it hurt more."

"We can't leave it like that. We have to keep it clean if we can," Bren argued, unfastening his equipment belt. Their captors had taken all their electronic equipment, but to his relief had left him his medical kit. "You'll have to hold still now…" he warned as he opened one of the antiseptic pads and, using the packet to protect it from his dirty fingers, pressed it as delicately as he could to Reb's face. Reb flinched, cowering away from the pain. "I'm sorry," Bren told him, feeling almost as miserable as the engineer did. "But it has to be done." Opening a second padded dressing, he placed it gently over his cheek, using it to close the edges of the wound together. He could feel Reb visibly shivering as shock set in with a vengeance. "What happened out there, Reb?" he asked, hoping to distract him while he worked.

Reb blinked at him dazedly. "The valley is a forbidden area for some reason. So's the base we found. They're going to kill us for breaking their taboos."

"Oh marvellous," Bren muttered as he taped the dressing down as carefully as he could and then started to untie the engineer.

Once he had started, Reb kept talking, the words spilling out of him as he told Bren what the Archon had said. "I don't understand why they were so afraid of us," he finished shakily at last.

"Some people are always afraid of what they don't understand. Here, hold this. Keep up the pressure until the bleeding stops." Bren tugged his hand up to hold the dressing in place.

"It hurts…."

"Of course it does, knothead," Bren snorted. "Look, do you want to lie down?"

"No..."

"Then you can lean against the wall." Bren patiently bullied the engineer into moving over to lean on the wall. "How are you feeling?"

"You don't want to know."

"Yes I do or I wouldn't have asked." Bren met his eyes, waiting calmly.

"Cold..." Reb admitted finally. "I can't stop shaking."

"The shaking is shock," Bren told him, glancing around the hut and spotting a heap of material in the far corner. Padding over he investigated it, finding a couple of moth eaten furs and a blanket that had seen better days. "Well, they're not exactly what we're used to, but they're better than nothing." He said as he brought them back and laid one of the furs on the floor for them to sit on. Reb shifted over on to it with weary obedience, glad to let Bren wrap the blankets and furs around him and even lying down when he was coaxed into it.

Once he seemed settled, Bren went back to the window to take a look outside. The guards were still lurking, one on the door and one beside the window where he couldn't reach him. "Doesn't look like they're going to feed us," he said thoughtfully, raising his voice loud enough for the guards to hear. "Water would be nice though..."

"They'd probably poison us anyway."

Bren glanced back at his companion and frowned. Reb had curled up into a ball under the furs and was still shivering visibly. With a sigh he headed back over to him. "Move over...."

"What?" With one hand pressed to the side of his swollen face Reb lifted his head and gave him a dizzy look as the soldier stood over him with folded arms.

"I said, move over. We could both use some sleep," Bren ordered in exasperation. Reb continued to stare at him until Bren nudged him into moving and settled down beside him. Shifting closer, he tucked one arm under the engineer's neck.

"What the hell are you doing?" Reb demanded belligerently.

"Making you comfortable. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't give a damn but you're hurt and cold and I'm all you've got. So shut up and put up and go to sleep... commander."

Somewhat stunned by his tone, Reb let Bren tug his head down to rest on his shoulder. "You never called me commander before," he said slowly.

"I never thought of you as one before," Bren admitted, suddenly knowing he was telling the truth. "But I was proud of you out there."

"Proud? Of me? Why?"

"You kept your cool. You didn't start screaming or panicking."

"I was too scared. I felt numb...."

"Being brave isn't not being scared. It's being scared and still doing the right thing. You may not make a soldier, but you make a pretty fair captain. But don't you tell anyone I said that." Reb laughed faintly, the tension oozing slowly out of his body as he relaxed. Bren could feel his shivering starting to lessen too. "We'll get out of this, Reb. Somehow, some way, we'll get away. I'm not about to get myself killed on some nameless little backwater of a planet that no one's ever heard of. According to my prexs I come from a long line of soldiers. I can't go letting them down, now can I?...Reb?" There was no answer. The engineer was either asleep or unconscious. Bren sighed in embarrassment and shifted gingerly so that he could hold the dressing tight on his face before he settled down to wait. There was certainly no way he was going to be able to sleep when they could be coming to kill them at any moment.

Bren woke with a start some time later; startled to realise he had slept after all. His neck ached from the awkward position he had dozed off in and his arm had gone numb where Reb was lying on it. As he gingerly attempted to ease free without waking him, he heard the noise that he thought had disturbed his sleep. There was a soft hissing sound from outside, followed by a heavy thud and then scuffling noises as if something was being dragged.

"What is it?"

Bren jumped nervously as Reb whispered the question to him. He hadn't realised he was awake.

"I'm not sure. I think someone's out there." He pulled his arm free, rubbing it urgently to bring it back to life. Reb sat up beside him, his expression looking dazed in the dim light.

"Maybe they're changing the guard. I thought you were asleep."

"My face hurts too much," Reb mumbled miserably, touching his throbbing cheek with light fingers. Hearing the door rattle, he shot Bren a worried look as the soldier leaped to his feet.

"Stay put." Bren eased slowly towards the door. This is great. Reb's wounded, I'm unarmed and there's a pack of crazed villagers out there waiting to do us in....

The locking beam was lifted from the outside and the door creaked back against the wall. A bright ray of light hit Bren in the face and he instinctively flung up one arm to shield his eyes.

"Don't do anything stupid and I won't have to shoot you," a low male voice warned as the flashlight was shifted away from his face. "I've come to get you out of here."

Dazzled, Bren blinked furiously at the bulky outline of a tall figure he could see in the doorway. "Who are you?"

"Does it matter? I've stunned the guards. Can your friend walk?"

"I can walk," Reb answered for himself, lurching unsteadily to his feet. He caught at Bren's shoulder for support for a second, then straightened up and took a shaky step forward.

"Wait, Reb." Bren caught at his arm as he started for the door. "Why should we trust him?"

"Do you have a choice?" the man answered blandly. "Look, my name's Darnel. The villagers are currently holding a meeting over how they're going to execute you. The current favourite is purification by ritual burning. It'll be a majority decision in the end. They're very democratic that way."

"And was it democratic to slice Reb's face open? He didn't do anything to you! And neither did I!" Bren snarled.

Darnel said nothing for a moment, but studied Reb, his eyes glinting as the glow of the flashlight caught them. "No," he said regretfully. "That wasn't necessary. But fear makes people do strange things. And I never said I was one of the villagers."

"Who are you then?" Bren demanded darkly.

"Bren," Reb protested wearily. "I don't want to be burned alive. Can your paranoia wait until we're out of here?"

"And exchange one trap for another?"

Their would be rescuer ran one hand through his hair in exasperation. "Look, I'm only doing this because you need help and I can't stand to see a couple of youngsters getting killed over something that had nothing to do with them. I've got kids of my own back home of your age. I hope someone would have the decency to help them if they needed it. Now, are you going to come with me or stay here and fry?"

Bren opened his mouth to argue and got Reb's elbow dug sharply into his ribs. "Look, I'm cold, tired and hungry. And I hurt," Reb growled at him. "Getting out of here seems like a pretty good idea right now. And other than waiting around to be executed there doesn't seem to be much else we can do but go with this guy. Unless you have a better idea?"

Bren scowled and shook his head, reluctantly having to concede that he didn't. Reb had a nasty habit of being logical when he wanted to be violent. He followed the engineer as he limped to the door and their rescuer stepped back, glancing warily around them.

"We don't have much time," he warned quietly, taking Reb's arm to steady him. "The meeting could break up at any minute and someone could notice the guards are missing. Can you ride? I've got us as couple of pack-beasts."

"I can ride," Reb answered before Bren could open his mouth.

"Good. This way then." The man flicked the flashlight off and slid off into the darkness, guiding Reb and leaving Bren to follow. With an exasperated glance at the sky that turned wistful as he realised the stars were out and it had stopped raining, he loped after them. Darnel led them a few hundred feet into the forest, signalling to Bren to avoid the worst of the terrain as he steered Reb. Finally they entered a clearing where two large, four legged shaggy haired animals waited.

"Sorry about the transport. I had to leave my flitter. I daren't bring it into the village or they'd kill me too."

"S'okay," Reb mumbled, eyeing the animals curiously and then weaving over the nearest one. It sniffed at him curiously as he patted its neck, its eyes reflecting green tints in the flashlight as Darnel flicked it back on.

"Why?" Bren demanded curtly as he caught up. "What have they got against you?"

"Me personally? Nothing as far as I know. Against any kind of technology and anyone who uses it, a whole lot. But it's a long story. I'll explain it to you when we get clear of here," Darnel answered as he went to help Reb mount the pack-beast.

"Why not now?" Bren wanted to know.

"Because the villagers are a damn sight better at hunting than I am. And we need to find shelter before the moon comes up. Can you ride?"

Bren shot a glance at the pack-beasts and frowned as he watched Reb settling himself into the saddle and gathering up the reins. "No," he admitted flatly. "We didn't have riding animals on Jupiter."

Darnel looked blank for a second then shrugged. "You'd better ride with your friend then," he said as he untied his own pack-beast.

"Scared of having me behind you, are you?" Bren sneered, moving aggressively towards him.

"As if happens, I'm more worried about your friend falling off," Darnel snapped. "He doesn't look so hot to me."

Bren scowled and shot a quick look up at Reb, then changed his mind about arguing. Maybe it was only the too bright light of the flashlight but the engineer looked like a ghost. He was swaying as he sat astride the pack-beast with closed eyes. Swearing under his breath, Bren jogged over and slapped his knee lightly. "Wake up and give me a hand, Reb," he ordered.

The engineer jerked in bewilderment, gave him a glazed look then nodded and caught his hand obediently. Tucking his toes into the rough wooden stirrup, Bren hauled himself up and settled across the saddle behind his friend. "This thing is big," he complained.

"But solid as a rock," Reb said quietly. "Don't worry. I won't let you fall off."

Bren snorted and anchored himself by cautiously looping his arms around Reb's waist. He looked over at Darnel as he came up alongside them.

"Think you can manage?" he asked.

"We can handle it," Bren answered firmly.

"Okay. Follow me then."

Darnel nudged his beast into a walk and Reb urged his own animal into following. It had a slow rocking gait that was strangely comfortable despite the odd motion.

"Sheesh, you could get space-sick on one of these things," Bren groaned as he grimly held onto the engineer.

"Or simply sick..." Reb said distantly.

"Please don't. Not while I'm aboard," Bren protested and won a soft laugh out of the blond. Darnel, after watching them for a few moments to be sure they could cope, picked up the pace and the beast's gait increased, its rocking motion belying its turn of speed.

"We're going to have to take shelter soon," Darnel called back to them after about half an hour of riding.

"There's no sign of anyone following us," Bren called back. He had been keeping a wary eye open for pursuit. "If the villagers are so eager to kill us, why aren't they on our tails?"

"Because they're going to let the Vars do it for them."

"What?"

"The moon will be up soon. That brings out the predators. Nothing they like better than fresh pack-beast - unless it's fresh human. I've only got a stunner and that won't work on most of them. Besides, the pack-beasts will panic and I don't think you'll be able to control yours if it decides to throw you."

Bren bit his lip, inclined to agree with Darnel. Reb was still guiding the animal, but for all intents and purposes was on a one way link to it. He hadn't said a word since they left the village and he barely responded when Bren leaned over his shoulder to peer at him. It didn't look as if it would take much for him to pass out.

"This way." Darnel was slowing his mount and turning off the track they had been following to plunge in amongst the trees.

Another ten minutes or so and Bren was aware of a change in the pale starlight filtering through the canopy of leaves overhead. It was starting to take on a strange reddish quality that reminded him of blood.

"Not far now," Darnel stopped his pack-beast to wait for them and give Reb a worried look. The engineer was sagging in the saddle, clutching at the pommel with his free hand.

"Maybe we could stop and rest for a minute..." Bren suggested, tightening his grip on Reb.

"It's only a couple more minutes," Darnel urged however.

"One cave looks much like another…." Bren began.

"It isn't a cave. It's an old abandoned Tech base. Once inside we'll be safe. The holographic shields are still working." Darnel gestured behind them as something screamed angrily back on the track they had left. The pack-beasts shifted restlessly, snorting and lifting their heads to snuffle at the air. "Vars. They're not good at hunting by smell, but they'll figure it out. They hunt in a pack and pull down anything they come across. That's why the villagers haven't come after us. They'll leave us to the Vars. Come light rise, the Vars will be gone and the villagers will come looking for what's left. If they can't find us, they'll assume the Vars got us and give up at dark fall. That will give us a chance to get to your shuttle before the predators come out to hunt again."

Bren frowned, eyeing his suspiciously. "You know about our shuttle?"

"I saw you come down in the valley. The villagers got to you before I could." Darnel glanced back again as the Vars howled in eerie two-tone cadence. He shuddered. "We have to hurry..."

Hearing the wild scream ripping the night shreds with its razor edge, Bren agreed with him and gave Reb a hug and a shake. Reb jerked upright, leaning back against him. "We're nearly there," Bren told him grimly and kicked the pack-beast startling it into its rocking gait to follow Darnel as he led the way down the track at a gallop.

The jungle opened out around them with surprising speed as Darnel slowed his pack-beast to a slow jog as they crossed a clearing, heading for what seemed like a solid stone wall.

"This can feel a little uncomfortable, but it's not as bad as being eaten alive," he called back to them as he pulled an oblong pendant from under his tunic and tapped at it. "Keep your mount moving."

Before Bren could answer, Darnel rode straight into the wall, his heels pounding his pack-beast's sides to keep them moving. Snorting and shuffling, the pack-beast and rider vanished.

"What the?" Bren stared in amazement for a second then realised it had to be some kind of hologram. The pack-beast was slowing, reluctant to go closer and Bren copied Darnel by hammering the animal's sides with his heels to keep it moving. It stalled, veering sideways and refusing to go closer. "You stupid…." Behind them Bren could hear the Vars screaming as they followed their scent down the track as full speed.

Reb stirred, doing his best to coax their recalcitrant mount forwards and it shuffled and snorted. Then reared back, nearly spilling its riders to the ground as Darnel appeared out of the wall. Now on foot, he grabbed the pack-beast by the reins and hauled, bellowing at it as he dragged it towards the wall. Bren added his own efforts and, as the screaming of the Vars grew ever closer the pack-beast finally shot forward into the wall, kicking and plunging as it went.

There was a moment of sickening disorientation, a wild screaming of Sonics in their ears and they were through. Trembling in panic, the pack-beast came to a halt of its own accord as Darnel released it and ran for a control panel embedded into the rock of the wall. Stabbing at the coloured keypad, he quickly typed in a combination of numbers and then let out a sigh of relief. Bren looked around him slowly, too dazed to move for a moment. They were in a cave, lit by lights set into the rock overhead. Ahead of them an obviously manmade plascrete archway was set into the wall, revealing a set of steps leading upwards. Becoming aware that Reb had slumped back against him and released the reins, Bren tightened his grip on his waist. Reb twitched in surprise and sat up again, shooting a glare over his shoulder at him.

"You look terrible, you know that?" Bren said quietly. Before Reb could answer, Darnel returned. Seen in decent light at last, he was tall and distinguished looking with greying black hair and eyes. He was taller than Bren but thinner, his layers of clothes putting pounds on him.

"Now we're safe," he told them as he came back to them. Taking the reins, he towed the pack-beast over to the side of his own animal and tied its reins to a ring in the wall.

"What's to stop the Vars getting in here?" Bren demanded as he slithered gratefully to the ground. If he never rode another pack-beast it would be too soon. Darnel caught his arm and steadied him as his knees buckled after the ride.

"The hologram emitters must include Sonics in their transmissions," Reb mumbled as he leaned on the saddle pommel and gazed down at them groggily. "That's that awful noise we heard as he came through."

Bren grimaced at him. "Trust you to wake up for a technical question."

Reb smiled weakly and made a reluctant attempt to dismount then changed his mind as he realised how far down it was.

Darnel nodded. "He's right though. We think it was deliberately set to affect the predators. What's uncomfortable to us, is agonising and disorientating to them. There's a forcewall in operation too now."

"Is that what you activated when we came in?" Bren asked warily, aware that they were now trapped with the man.

"Yeah. It'll keep the Naturals out too." Darnel showed him the pendant he wore. Tiny multicoloured LED's sparkled on it. "This is the key to open it from outside."

"The Archon's got one of those," Reb commented. "But it doesn't light up like that..."

"Probably out of power." Darnel looked up at the engineer thoughtfully and held up his hands to him. "Come on down, Blondie. You need some rest."

"We can manage...." Bren scowled and jostled him aside so he could help Reb down himself. Reb half slithered, half fell off the pack-beast, ending up leaning heavily against the soldier.

Standing well back, Darnel eyed them in exasperation. "Have it your own way," he said dryly. "You might as well go up to the base itself. I've got to tend to the animals and check on my flitter. I left it re-charging but the powerpack's getting sluggish these days. It doesn't always hold the energy properly."

"Maybe I should take a look?" Reb suggested, roused from his misery by the hint of something technical to play with. "I'm an engineer."

Darnel's eyes sparkled with interest but Bren spoke up quickly. "Yeah. If it ain't broke, he'll fix it...." he said sardonically.

"Yeah, I.... Wait a minute!" Reb turned hurt blue eyes on the soldier and Bren gave him a tired grin.

"Slow, Reb. You really do need some rest."

"I think we all do," Darnel said quickly, salving Reb's pride as the engineer stiffened. "Take the steps up to the base. I brought food with me if you're hungry. Don't bother with the synthesisers, they're useless. The water's okay to drink and you can shower if you want. I can even give you a change of clothes if you don't mind local stuff."

"Anything will be fine." The idea of getting clean appealed to Bren - he seemed to have been damp and muddy forever - and a shower would help get Reb's various scrapes and bruises clean. Tugging Reb's arm across his shoulders and twining his arm around his waist for support, he steered the engineer towards the steps he had seen.

"I thought I was supposed to be in command," Reb complained plaintively but without much energy.

"I'm the muscle, remember? You do the thinking. You're going to have to find a pretty good excuse for explaining how we got in this mess to Yuna when we get back...."

An hour later, Bren plonked himself down beside Reb at the table in the main area of the base. Like Bren, the engineer was now clean if still a little damp, but he wasn't looking at all well and he was shivering despite the warmth of the base.

Ignoring the soldier's worried expression deliberately, Reb focused on Darnel as he came in.

"So, what is this place?" he asked as the native deposited a tray of stew bowls on the table.

"Are you descendants from a failed colony?"

"Depends what you mean by failed," Darnel answered. "We're still here, aren't we?"

"But split into two separate groups from what we've seen," Bren pointed out waspishly.

"Naturals and Techs," Reb said quietly. "Or Unnaturals...."

"Clones," Darnel said quietly as he passed a bowl to each of them. "It's a long story."

"According to you we have plenty of time to hear it," Bren reminded him, eyeing the contents of his bowl with cautious curiosity.

"It's called stew," Darnel told him sarcastically. "It's made from local vegetables. All I did was zap it to heat it up. It isn't poisoned. See?" To prove it, he leaned across and took a sample spoonful from Bren's bowl. "Why are you so suspicious of me anyway?"

"It's his natural instinct," Reb snorted, pushing his own bowl away. "Look, I'm sorry, but I'm not really hungry..."

"We haven't eaten since we left, Reb," Bren stopped himself before he mentioned Deepwater and took a mouthful of stew. To his astonishment, it tasted marvellous and he took a second spoonful before he could stop himself.

Darnel smiled. "My wife is a wonderful cook," he said happily as he circled the table and pressed one hand to Reb's forehead. "But you do feel a little too warm for your own good."

Bren frowned uneasily. "Reb? How do you feel?"

"I'll survive," Reb gave him a wan smile; self-consciously keeping his face half turned away from them. He had a splitting headache, but the last thing he wanted to do was admit to any kind of weakness in front of either Bren or Darnel. "Look, if it makes you happy I'll eat something." He took a mouthful of stew, wincing as the movement pulled at his cheek.

Bren found himself exchanging a worried look with Darnel as the older man sat down. It was a strange feeling to find himself in agreement with the stranger and he turned back to his stew hastily, scowling at it as he took another mouthful. Unlike Reb there was nothing wrong with his appetite and he concentrated on eating, glad to find the stew both tasty and filling.

While they ate, Darnel talked, filling up the awkward silence. "This wasn't originally a colony planet. It was an experimental base to see if this planet would be worth colonising. You know about the Pandora Plague?"

"That's not quite what we call it, but yeah," Bren agreed since Reb seemed unwilling to talk and eat at the same time.

"The base was founded as the Pandora Plague really started to take hold. The theory was that the independent colonies would stand a better chance than those in regular contact with, and depending on, the civilised worlds for support. That was probably true enough. When we lost contact with the Central Core, we survived. The trouble was we were never really meant to be an independent colony, only a research base. We didn't have enough people to provide a viable gene pool or the type of experts we needed to make the colony a success. So, we had to make do with what we had. Cloning technology, memory implants, anything that would give us a decent chance…."

Reb looked up at him then flicked a glance at Bren. They both had the impression that Darnel was lecturing them like a teacher. This was legend to him, stories he probably taught his own kids. "Where does this stuff about Techs and Naturals come from then?" the soldier asked.

"Back when the base was being founded the League of Naturals movement was pretty powerful and growing stronger all the time. Their basic platform was no technology, back to our roots, that kind of thing. They considered technology and its products to be an abomination." Darnel looked thoughtfully from one to the other of the young faces in front of him. "To them, clones were anathema. Genetic engineering was the epitome of everything they were against. It is said that they actually sabotaged the gene arks, claiming that mankind must descend back into savagery to become Naturals again. Personally, I think their stupidity could have wiped out the human race."

"That doesn't explain...." Bren began.

"I was getting there," Darnel interrupted. "I told you this place was meant for research? Well, part of what they were researching was whether or not a Natural colony would be viable and could survive. The League was pushing for more colony worlds to be opened up as fast as possible. They wanted the gene arks turned into colony ships so people could be sent out from the Core to colonise the galaxies. There was little more than a Natural Commune here when we lost contact with the Core. Cloning was the only way to widen the variety of the gene pool."

"I'll bet that went down well with the Naturals," Bren snorted.

Darnel shrugged and glanced curiously at Reb as he made a small sound and shoved his stew bowl away. "Hardly. The colony started to split into factions, the scientists on one side, the Naturals on the other. Eventually it got completely out of hand and the Naturals started a riot. They wrecked every base they could." Darnel paused, frowning at Reb again. "Are you okay?"

"Uh huh..." Reb said distantly. "Go on..."

Darnel frowned; watching the engineer doubtfully as Reb folded his arms on the table and rested his head on his forearms.

"There's not much else to tell. Once the riots were over, we were pretty much split into two groups: Naturals and Techs. The Naturals abandoned the prefabricated bases and moved into the valleys. They started farming and building their own communes. But they had to accept the first clones or they were doomed to inbreed. They resented being reminded of that by the Techs. So the scientists withdrew into the mountains and established their own communities rather than get killed off. We farm too. There isn't that much difference between us really..."

"Except for the hostility factor?" Bren mocked.

Darnel smiled ruefully. "That's got worse. The Naturals need the Techs: for metalworking, crop seeds, medicine and so on. But they don't want to admit it. To help them we have to practically smuggle in anything that seems like technology. Take me, I'm viewed as a merchant trader from another Natural village. But you can bet that the Archon knows I'm a Tech."

"Why bother to help them if they resent you so much?" Bren wondered.

"We need their farming abilities. They have the better agricultural land. Besides, it gives us an excuse for being in the valleys. Sometimes we need to visit bases that have been mothballed like this one to get spare parts...."

"Mothballed?" Bren didn't recognise the word.

"Mothballed means...preserved. They sealed it up to use later. S'an Earth word…" Reb mumbled softly.

Tensing suspiciously, Bren shot a quick look at Reb and caught him out in a flinch of pain. "Reb?"

"I'm fine...." Reb said vaguely, responding to his voice. When Bren stirred beside him, he looked at the soldier automatically but his eyes failed to focus.

Bren knew that look only too well. Reb was starting to prex and if they didn't want Darnel finding out they were clones...."Reb, you'd better lie down," he said sharply, catching hold of the engineer's arm and hoisting him bodily to his feet.

"Hey, take it easy with him!" Darnel protested, scrambling to his feet.

"S'okay…" Reb said faintly, the words slurring together as he leaned against Bren. "S'right…"

"For pity's sake..." Darnel reached to help and Bren warned him back with a glare, physically blocking him from touching Reb. "Don't be ridiculous. Let me help you..." Darnel protested as Bren helped his friend to the door.

"We can manage," Bren told him as he held onto Reb. He wasn't sure what was keeping the engineer upright, but it was either willpower or stubbornness. It certainly wasn't strength. Bren could feel the heat in his body radiating through the ankle length robe Darnel had given him. "Stay with me, Reb," he urged anxiously as he guided him down the corridor to the sleeping quarters.

"M'sorry…"

"Hang on, nearly there...." Bren yelped and grabbed, hanging onto the engineer as his knees buckled under him and he went down, his whole body tensing into one taut line as the prex caught him. For an agonising moment, he stayed rigid then he went limp as spaghetti in Bren's arms. Biting back a curse, Bren supported him, dismayed to find Darnel standing in the corridor looking at them in silence.

"Now, do you want my help?" he asked quietly.

Glancing towards the door of the sleeping area, Bren gritted his teeth and nodded reluctantly. He didn't want to drag Reb all that way when he was already hurt. "Yeah..."

Darnel smiled bleakly and came to help the soldier lift Reb and carry him the rest of the way to the sleeping area. They put him on a bed in one of the side rooms and Darnel put one hand on his forehead, studying Reb's ashen pallor.

"His fever's rising," he said coolly and straightened up. "Do you know what to do?"

"If there's an auto-doc..." Bren began uncertainly.

"It doesn't work. Its memory chips were pulled when the base was mothballed...." Darnel shot a look at Reb as the engineer moaned and stirred restlessly. "Look, Bren, I know you have no reason to trust me. You're marooned on an alien world, surrounded by people who have proved they're hostile by the way they've treated you. You don't know anything about me and there's nothing I can say that's going to make you want to trust me. But right now, your friend here needs more help than you can give. I know a bit about medicine. There are herbs I can use to bring down his fever…."

"So much for you being a Tech," Bren sneered, hiding his fear at his own helplessness.

"You use what works," Darnel retorted icily. "Are you going to let me help Reb or not?"

"I guess I don't have much choice at this point." Bren surrendered, suddenly weary of the whole thing. He certainly didn't know what to do to help Reb.

"No, you don't. I'll get my gear from the flitter," Darnel replied steadily and headed for the door. Pausing beside Bren in the doorway, he gave him a sympathetic look. "Why don't you get some cold water?" he suggested. "It'll help bring his fever down."

Bren nodded slowly. "You know what's wrong with him?" he asked carefully.

"That's a loaded question."

"Is it?"

Darnel gave him an odd smile. "I know he's prexing if that's what you're asking. I know he's a clone. But that isn't what's causing the fever. That's what the Archon did to him." He hesitated, then dug under the folds of his tunic and produced an ancient looking stunner. Silently, he held it out to the soldier, butt first.

Bren looked at the weapon then at him with a neutral expression. "That won't help me to trust you," he told him.

Darnel pursed his lips, then slipped the weapon back into concealment. "The Naturals got the best of the deal population wise. To survive, the Techs had to produce more clones," he told him slowly. Turning his hand over, he displayed a curling tattoo of a DNA strand twining up the inside of his wrist. "Thanks to the Naturals the clone mark is engineered into our genes so they know what we are descended from. To them it's a brand. To Techs, it's an insignia we're proud of. "

"You're a clone?"

"I'm descended from one," Darnel answered, then shot a worried glance at Reb as the engineer moaned and shuddered. "This had better wait. He needs help now." Sliding past Bren, he jogged off down the corridor, leaving the solider gazing after him in puzzlement.

Frowning to himself, Bren crossed to Reb's side and awkwardly tucked a pillow under his head. Reb was shivering violently despite his fever. "I don't know, Reb, he baffles me. If I knew what it is he wants from us, maybe I'd feel better. But right now, I'm out of my depth..."

Two hours later, Bren watched warily as Darnel pulled a sheet over Reb. The native had stripped the engineer's clothes off, bathed and cleaned his scrapes and bruises with a herbal concoction and persuaded the groggy blond to drink a sweetened mixture of herbs when he reluctantly roused from his prex. Reb's temperature had finally started to drop about half an hour ago and he was now sleeping at last, curled into a ball under the light covering.

Darnel glanced at the solider where he sat ramrod straight on a chair against the wall. "You should get some sleep too, you know. I don't mind sitting with him. He should sleep for quite a while now."

"I'd rather stay here," Bren answered woodenly.

"It won't make you feel any better," Darnel said mildly however. "This isn't your fault."

"I never said it was."

"No, but you were thinking it," Darnel smiled faintly as he sat down on the end of Reb's bed.

"An infection is an infection. Under the circumstances, you did the best you could."

"Except stop him from getting hurt in the first place," Bren muttered bitterly, defensively folding his arms across his chest. "It's all my fault we're here at all. Did you know that?"

"I thought your shuttle crashed..."

"Yeah, it did. Because I ignored Reb and got too close to the planet."

"An accident..."

Bren snorted in self-disgust. "Macho military minded moron. That's me. Sometimes I think Reb's right when he calls me that..."

"You think he means it?" Darnel asked mildly.

Bren scowled. "Yeah...." he muttered, then grinned ruefully. "Only when I make him mad though..."

"You're close then."

"You're kidding!" Bren retorted then frowned warily as Darnel chuckled. "What are you laughing at?!" he demanded hotly.

"You two. You fight tooth and claw like a couple of Rayaks then, when the fur stops flying, you walk away without so much as a scratch. And as soon as someone so much as threatens to touch either of you the other one leaps to protect him. I've seen brothers that aren't as close as that."

Shifting restlessly on his chair, Bren scowled in embarrassment. "I suppose, there are so few of us, we've kind of become a family…"

"Few?"

"Back on...." Bren paused and glared at him.

"I didn't mean to trick you," Darnel said hastily. "I'm not setting up a trap."

"Oh really?"

Darnel sighed. "Your suspicious nature is getting really wearing," he retorted irritably.

"Look, you don't have to tell me about your friends. You could have an army waiting back at your shuttle and I wouldn't care. I was only curious."

Chagrined, Bren ducked his head and mumbled an awkward apology. He was starting to like Darnel despite his reservations. "I've screwed up protecting Reb already, I don't want to make the same mistake twice," he added.

Darnel nodded in understanding and climbed to his feet. "Fair enough. Look, I need some sleep even if you don't. I'll take one of the other rooms. Call me if you need anything."

Left to his own devices, Bren sighed and leaned forward, shoving his hands through his dark hair and rubbing his face. He was so tired he could hardly think straight any more. Pushing to his feet, he closed the sliding panel and checked Reb's temperature again before he stretched out on the other be. It was harder than his bed back on Deepwater but right then he was too tired to care.

Reb woke slowly, aware that the incandescent heat of his headache had faded to a painful ache that counterpointed the throbbing of his face. Vaguely he remembered the horrible splintering sensation as his thoughts turned to shards, the white-hot sparks shattering his consciousness as the prex swept over him. Prexes didn't usually hit like this one had...but he had been resisting it and, considering how he had felt before it caught up with him...

The odd thing was, he could remember very little of the prex at all. There had been a lot of shouting going on, a violent argument that seemed to have come to blows...

Shuddering, Reb pried his eyes open and let out an on voluntary groan, wincing as the dim lights of the room pierced under his eyelashes and stabbed into his head. Unable to focus past the light and holding one hand against the soreness of his cheek, he started to lift his head and was halted by the feel of a cool hand on his forehead pushing him firmly back down.

"Down, boy," Bren's voice floated out of the blur of colours hovering over him.

"Bren?" Reb quavered.

"You were expecting someone else?" Bren retorted. "Hold still a second...." There was a soft clicking noise and the savagery of the light paled to an acceptable level. "There, is that better?"

"Yeah, thanks...." Without the light in his eyes, Reb found it easier to focus despite the persistent throb of pain. Bren was hovering over him, tousled from sleep.

"How do you feel?" the soldier asked as he picked up a glass from the shelf between the beds.

"Like I've been for a trip through Hyperspace without a spaceship," Reb answered truthfully.

"That good, huh? Here, drink this..." Bren offered him a glass of an orange coloured liquid.

"What is it?" Reb eyed the glass warily.

"Something Darnel whipped up for you. He says your electrolyte balance is off and this will help. There's a painkiller in it too. You needn't look so worried. I watched him synthesise it and I checked it on the medical analyser. And yes, before you ask, I do know how to work one."

"I never said you didn't," Reb retorted, struggling to sit up and take the glass. After a second, Ben perched awkwardly on the edge of the bed and supported him while the engineer reluctantly sipped at the syrupy liquid.

"This place doesn't have a functioning auto-doc," Bren went on. "And all Darnel's got is a portable medical scanner. So we had to wing it. This stuff seems to have been doing you good so far."

"I thought it tasted kind of familiar..." Reb frowned uncertainly as he sipped the last mouthful. It didn't taste as bad as he had expected somehow.

"You remember drinking it?" Bren said hopefully.

"Kind of."

"Darnel wasn't sure you'd remember. You didn't seem to know what you were doing."

"Suddenly you trust Darnel?" Reb murmured, sliding a look sideways at him. "Where is he anyway?"

"Checking those pack-beasts of his. As to trusting him, I haven't had much choice. You've been out of it for hours, Reb. You were starting to worry me. If you've finished that, you'd better lie down again."

Reb sighed in exasperation as Bren pushed him back flat. "I don't need all this fuss," he complained.

Bren hesitated as he pulled the sheet over him, then shook his head. "You're still feverish, Reb," he said quietly. "We need to get you back to Lise."

"There's so much we could learn here..."

"Such as what? How to get ourselves killed in one easy lesson? The Naturals don't want us here."

"What about the Techs?"

"What about them? Our mission is to get to Earth, remember? This colony doesn't need us and Earth does."

"Does it?" Reb questioned gloomily. "Civilisations can rise and fall in the time we've been gone. We leapt from sailing ships to starships in not much longer. And if Earth managed to get help from the colonies...."

Bren sat down on the edge of the bed with a thud. "You never mentioned that before." Reb closed his eyes, his eyelashes a startling sweep of gold against his pale skin. Against the clean dressing Darnel had put on his cheek though, his skin was flushed and swollen and his left eye was starting to close. "Never thought I should..."

"Does this have something to do with your prex?" Reb opened his eyes and gazed at him silently. "Do you want to talk about it?" Bren prompted gently. "Gret says that sometimes it helps."

Reb managed a weak lopsided smile. "I don't remember much. I think it was something to do with the League of Naturals....There was a riot…Something to do with a protest about funding for new colonies being diverted to the Genesis Project..." Reb winced, flinching as a lingering eddy of pain washed over him and brought the torrent of emotions from the associated prex...

"Listen to them. No wonder they call them Naturals. They're a bunch of animals…."

"They have a point though. We do need colonies," Reb said quietly, turning from the window and the rioting citizens below to look at the tall black haired man standing beside him.

"We need the New Ark more," Crane answered.

"Do we? Is it really necessary to build another space station now? Some of those people have put all the money they had into the Deneba Project and now you're telling them there will be no new colony?"

"You're an engineer, Anderson. Are you telling me you don't want to see another space station being built?"

Reb gazed at him bitterly, aching to answer the older man back. Crane's interests lay in the profits to be made from interstellar shipping. His trade cartel had fingers in every port from Earth to Andromeda. Reb needed money and a backer if he was ever to achieve his own dreams of building starship drive, but loyalty to Crane came with a price he couldn't pay. "For the right reasons, yes," he said carefully. "But Earth needs new colonies. She needs to diversify to survive. Why withdraw your funding from the Deneba Project? You promised me you'd use my designs to build a hyperdrive for a colony ship, not another space station power plant!"

Crane was silent, gazing from the window at the crowds below. "Blame them. Because of them I won't build a new colony that they can subvert," he said slowly. "I don't want to be stuck on this planet when the crunch comes and the Naturals take power. And if you had any sense, neither would you. The New Ark will be my chance at immortality. Our chance..."

"Immortality?" Reb echoed warily.

Crane smiled wolfishly. "I intend to have myself cloned. The New Ark will hold a gene bank containing the genes I select personally from my followers." He gave Reb a knowing look and put one hand on his shoulder. "Don't tell me you've never considered it."

Reb shook him off. "I don't understand."

Crane sighed. "Simple. You will design the New Ark to my specifications and it will be built in orbit around Deneba. There will indeed be a colony there. But not some petty farming commune where those lazy Natural layabouts can profit from my generosity. It will be mine: built from my dreams to be my paradise. It's high time I spent my profits on myself. This is what I have planned for since the first time I set foot on a starship. And now the time is ripe..."

"The Colony Commission won't allow it. No individual can buy a planet..."

"Every one of the backers for the Deneba Colony knows my plans and have approved it in return for a place on the New Ark..." Crane frowned, eyeing Reb suspiciously as he backed away. "Don't be a fool, Anderson. We need you but you can be replaced...Did you think I don't know about your relationship with Varian? I know you've been reporting back to the Colony Commission all along. But that doesn't mean you have to continue to do so. Join us, Anderson..."

Instinct made him move, twitching away from Crane as the older man reached for his arm. He shoved him back, startled to see the mini-disrupter slither from his sleeve. As the entrepreneur scrabbled cursing after the weapon, Reb ran in panic, aware of Crane shouting for Security as he bolted from the office and headed for the Riser at the end of the corridor. Bowling a guard over who attempted to stop him, he slammed into the Riser and sent it down to the lower level.

"Come on, come on, hurry..." Slamming one fist against the doors, he nearly fell through as they opened unexpectedly and spilled him out into the richly carpeted foyer. Varian had been right all along. He hadn't wanted him to be. But Crane was manipulating the Colony Commission for his own aims. He wanted a colony of his own where he could rule like a king....

Reb sprinted across the foyer of the Crane Complex and through the doors, running without thinking into the swirling riot of the Naturals as they marched on the building.

Enraged by Crane's betrayal they saw only a young man in a Consortium uniform and turned on him instantly, seeking to vent their rage...

"No! Let go of me..." Darnel ducked the fist swung at his head and caught Reb's wrist, striving to hold on to the engineer. Although considerably smaller and younger, Reb was full of wiry strength despite his fever and shoved him back as his eyes flicked open.

"All right, kid. Relax, no one's going to hurt you..." Darnel soothed, pressing down on his shoulder. Staring at him in febrile bewilderment, Reb cringed, putting up one hand to protect his face. "It's okay...."

Reb lashed out at him again, this time connecting with his jaw. Swearing under his breath, Darnel pinned him to the bed and turned his head to yell for Bren. As he did so, Reb brought up both knees under the covers and flung him off. Darnel crashed into the wall with a thud as Reb catapulted off the bed and bolted for the doorway, staggering as dizziness made him trip on the edge of the robe Darnel had put him in. He collided with the edge of the doorway, clung to it for a second and then weaved out into the corridor.

Leaping after him, Darnel caught his arm and pulled him back, blocking his instinctive effort to hit him again. "Oh, no, you don't catch me out twice, Reb..." he panted, struggling to haul him back into the room. "You're in no condition to go wandering off. You're sick…"

Yanking his hand up, Reb bit Darnel on the wrist and wrenched free as he let go with a yelp. He made it the door again as Bren appeared and blocked his escape.

"What is going on in here?"

"You didn't tell me he bites!" Darnel complained indignantly.

"I didn't know he did!" Bren protested. "Reb? What are you doing? Go back to bed..."

The engineer stared at him, one hand cupped over the side of his swollen face. Then he made another lunge to get past him. Bren was faster and caught him, reluctantly putting an arm lock on his squirming friend. "Will you please calm down, you knothead?"

"He's delirious," Darnel muttered.

"Well, fancy me not noticing that," Bren retorted sarcastically, glaring over the top of Reb's head at him. A whimper of shocked misery from Reb made him loosen his grip a fraction and pull him against him, feeling the engineer sagging. As he did so, Reb started to tremble violently and lowered his hand from his face, staring at the blood that covered his fingers in horror. "Hey, let me see..." Bren coaxed anxiously, turning the blond to face him. During his struggle to escape, Reb had dislodged the dressing from his face and the wound was bleeding - so was his nose.

"Here, sit him down..." Forgetting his annoyance, Darnel helped Bren guide Reb back to the bed and produced a cloth for his bloody nose. "Lean forward now...." he coaxed gently, petting Reb's hair as he bowed his head and clutched at the cloth. He shot a worried look at Bren. "Does he normally come out of a prex fighting?"

"No," Bren admitted. "Reb's usually the one who has the quiet prexes. But when he does have a bad one..." He shook his head helplessly. "He was quiet when I left him to you. What happened?"

"He started getting restless, then...Woah there!" Darnel caught at Reb hastily as he made another lunge for the door. Bren tackled him, pinning him to the wall as Reb fought to knee him, bite him, anything to get free. Finally, Darnel reached over Bren's shoulder and pressed a hypospray to the engineer's neck. After a few seconds, Reb slumped bonelessly and Bren went down with him to the floor, cradling him awkwardly.

Darnel knelt and checked Reb's pulse, then pressed a cool hand to his forehead. Glancing up at Bren's worried expression, he shook his head. "I think it's time we both admitted we're out of our depth. We can't help him anymore. He needs the experts. My flitter is ready to go now and we can be at a Tech base in a few hours."

"You said we shouldn't move before dark. And it won't be dark for a another hour or more."

"If we wait, he'll get worse. He needs help now. I think we should risk it."

Bren hesitated, biting his lip in doubt as he looked at Reb's pale features. "No," he decided finally.

"Don't be stupid. His fever is getting worse...."

"Can you guarantee your people can help him?"

"Well, no..." Darnel admitted reluctantly.

"Then I'll take him to our ship."

"Your shuttle? But I thought you crashed..."

"We did. But Reb repaired her. We were waiting for the computer to reboot when we got caught. Lise will know what to do. If nothing else, she can put him in Regen'." Bren paused, looking up at Darnel again. "I'll need your help getting him there. I'm lost..."

Darnel gazed at him in silence for a long moment, then he nodded and pushed to his feet. "All right. We'll go now. With luck, the Naturals will be on their way home by now…."

Darnel's flitter was an archaic flitter that Bren could remember from a stint he had done on a Martian Landbase. Yuna would have loved it. The pilot had frequently piloted similar vehicles across the red deserts of the terraformed world. It was noisy and cramped compared to the military vehicles Bren had been accustomed too, but had the advantage of being almost impossible to break and easy to repair making it ideal equipment for a small colony.

After a slow start easing through the thick undergrowth surrounding the Tech base, Darnel steered the flitter onto a narrow track and turned North East, easing the flitter into as much speed as he dared.

"We're no more than an hour from your shuttle," he reported over his shoulder to Bren. "Travelling by Pack-beasts would take three or four times that." He had released the animals from the base, knowing that they would simply return to their Natural owners.

"How can you tell?" Bren asked from where he huddled beside Reb in the back of the flitter. They had put the heavily sedated engineer on the seats, strapping him in for safety. It left Bren with nowhere to sit except on the floor, not that he cared much. He had his fingers wrapped around Reb's wrist - to monitor his pulse he told himself.

"We've got all the energy readings in this area mapped. Your shuttle's power signature shows up clearly."

"So, we do have power then," Bren murmured under his breath, glancing at Reb. "Chalk one up to you."

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Get us there as fast as you can, will you? No insult meant, but the sooner I'm off this planet the happier I'll be."

"None taken," Darnel replied coolly from the controls. "If I was in your position, I guess I'd feel the same way. You might as well sit back and enjoy the ride. Even if we get spotted now, there's nothing the Naturals can do to stop us."

Sometime later Bren jerked awake as Darnel shook his shoulder respectfully. The flitter was quiet around them. "We're here," he told him. "Or as close as I can get us anyway."

"Uh..." Bren sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and focusing blearily on Reb. Before they had left the base, he had insisted on cleaning Reb up again and putting a new dressing on his cheek, but the red track marks of dried blood stood out sharply against his pallor. "How's Reb?" he asked as Darnel checked him over.

"About the same. The sedative's starting to wear off. We'd better get moving. You want me to carry him for you?"

"I guess so," Bren said groggily as he pushed to his feet, stretching to ease sore muscles. He didn't really think Darnel was likely to use Reb as a hostage. But if he was going to, Bren figured it would be better for him to have his hands free.

Darnel unstrapped the engineer and then wrapped a blanket around him before he scooped him up. "You want to get the door?" he prompted. "And you might want to grab a flashlight from that rack..."

"Oh uh, yeah." Bren stumbled sleepily over to the hatch and popped it open, letting in a gush of warm moist air redolent with the scents of flowers and wet leaves. He selected a flashlight from the rack by the door as he peered outside. "At least it's not raining again..." he muttered as he picked his way down the ramp that unfolded automatically and looked around him.

"Your shuttle should be to the right and downhill," Darnel told him as he emerged cautiously behind him. Bren steadied him as he carried Reb down the ramp then led the way into the forest.

Five minutes of stumbling through thick mud and wet undergrowth and they emerged into the clearing the shuttle had torn into the rainforest when it crashed. Seeds long hidden in the mulch had seized the opportunity supplied by the break in the canopy and new stems were sprouting underfoot, reaching for the sky. They crunched in the darkness as Bren picked his way to the side of the shuttle and groped for the keypanel.

With a pop and a hiss the door opened and Bren slid inside to check on the computer. Tapping a few quick commands into the dashboard controls, he let out a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding as the instruments flickered to life.

"Bren?" Darnel called from outside.

Bren punched a couple more keys to bring the engines on line and hurried back to the hatch, catching up a Stunner from the weapons locker as he went. Sticking his head out of the hatch, he discovered that his precaution hadn't been merely paranoia. Darnel was no longer alone; he was surrounded by the Naturals from the first hunting party they had run into.

"I'm sorry, they took me by surprise," Darnel said gloomily. He had put Reb down and was holding him supported against his side with an arm around his waist. The engineer seemed to be semi-conscious and was leaning quietly against the bigger man, gazing around him in groggy confusion.

Bren folded his arms carefully to conceal the Stunner and stepped slowly out of the shuttle and focused on the black haired leader of the group. "You must be Kern," he said grimly, ignoring the spears that bristled towards him.

"You know my name?" Kern eyed him with a flicker of panic.

Bern smiled wolfishly. "I know many things," he said dryly. "What makes you think your precious Archon knows everything?"

One of the other men in the group snarled and took a threatening step forward, Kern shoved him back with an outstretched arm. "You're an Unnatural..." he muttered uneasily.

"Only by your definition," Bren snapped back at him.

"One of these days you're going to replace the Archon, Kern," Darnel interrupted quietly. "Don't be as paranoid as he is."

Kern shot an angry look at him. "Be silent, traitor."

"You need us, you always have," Darnel retorted. "Bren and Reb came here by accident. Let them go." He broke off as a spear was thrust towards his face.

Reb looked up at Darnel slowly; his eyes wide with glazed curiosity as he reached out and gently pushed the spear aside. "Don't," he told the man who wielded it calmly. The Natural gaped at him as the blond tugged away from Darnel and moved unsteadily towards Bren.

"Bren? I'd like to go home now please? I don't feel so good...."

Kern snarled and lunged, grabbing Reb by the arm and jerking him towards him. "You will all burn...!"

"No!" Bren yelled in fury as he saw the flash of panic cross Reb's face. Even as he drew the Stunner and aimed to fire though, Reb was pulling back and yanking Kern forward towards him. He brought his knee up in the man's face, then clubbed him two handed over the back of the head. As Kern went down with a thud, Reb staggered back, turning anxiously towards Bren. He yelped as another Natural lunged at him, intending to skewer the blond on his spear. Bren shot the Natural, watching grimly as he flailed to the ground in a tangle of limbs as the Stunner numbed his nerves.

"Duck!" Bren roared and as Reb and Darnel obediently hit the ground, Bren flipped the Stunner to wide beam and swept it across the rest of the Naturals. They went down like falling leaves, dropping where they stood. "Quick! Get on board. I don't know how long that'll hold them." Bren urged, sprinting forward to grab Reb and haul him bodily to his feet. Darnel stood up and looked around him in bewilderment as Bren helped Reb to the shuttle. "Darnel! Come on! I didn't kill them. Wide beam has a weaker effect…" One or two of the Naturals were groaning and stirring despite the Stunner's effect.

"But..."

"You want to stay here? They'll kill you!"

"My family..." Darnel said feebly.

"I'll get you back to your family," Bren promised, tightening his grip on Reb as the engineer swayed and sagged again. "Come on. Don't you want to see our ship?"

Darnel blinked and focused on them then hurried to help the soldier get Reb on board. As helped Reb to a seat, Bren sealed the hatch and scrambled for the controls. "I suggest you sit down and buckle up," the soldier ordered as he brought the engines on line. "This is likely to be a bumpy take off."

Emerging from the dense cloud cover of the planet into open space, Bren wiped one hand across his perspiring face and shuddered. For a while there he hadn't thought the labouring shuttle would make it out of the planet's gravity well.

"Stars...." Darnel's soft sigh of wonder made him glance over his shoulder at the older man. "I never thought they'd be so bright. Or so beautiful…"

Bren glanced out at the panorama of diamond studded black velvet and smiled tightly. He didn't really have time to admire the view. "How's Reb doing?"

"He's asleep," Darnel answered; pulling his thoughts together to glance at the engineer strapped in beside him. "Now what?"

Bren was attempting to get the comset back on line. "We call Deepwater for help. She shouldn't be far away…." With a soft purr a screen lit in front of him and Bren sighed in relief. "Shuttle One to Deepwater. Deepwater, do you read?" Holding his breath, he waited. Even if no one else was listening, Gen should be monitoring and the computer never missed so much as a relevant bleep.

"Shuttle One, this is Deepwater. Where have you guys been?" Zak's impatiently ebullient tones bounced around the shuttle's cockpit.

"It's a long story..."

"Hey, a survey doesn't take this long. You found some girls down there?" Bren laughed tiredly. "I wish. Zak, we need a homing signal. Reb's hurt and the shuttle's pretty banged up."

"Yeah? Okay. Hang on." Zak's good humour was quickly subdued and replaced by cool expertise. "Right, here's your signal," he said after a moment as a display started to blink on the shuttle's instrument panel. "I've got your position logged. Yuna's on her way up and we'll come to meet you. How bad is Reb?"

"He's feverish, delirious sometimes. Don't tell Yuna, but someone slashed him with a knife. He's a bit of a mess."

"What?!"

"Keep it down, Zak," Bren said wearily. "I think he'll be okay. Look, we've got a guest as well. He's going to need a ride home."

"No problem. Look, I'll warn Lise what's happened. That okay?"

"Yeah. I'm going to push this shuttle as hard as I can. The sooner I get Reb to Lise the better I'll feel…."

Sinking tiredly onto the seat of the Habitat, Bren cradled the energy drink Gret had synthesised for him against his chest and settled his head back against the cushions. He knew he should got to his quarters and rest, but sleep was the last thing on his mind. Lise had whisked Reb down to Sickbay as fast as she could, her worried expression making them all panic. In the end she had had Gen lock them all out while she worked and had finally reported a few minutes before that Reb's fever had been reduced far enough for her to risk putting him in Regeneration. The rest was now up to him.

"Bren?" Yuna's low question made him reluctantly open his eyes and give the young woman a wary look.

"The last thing I need right now is you yelling at me," he warned as she sat down at the table and gazed across it at him. "I did everything I could. It wasn't my fault Reb got hurt."

Yuna gave him an odd look and nodded. "I've been talking to Darnel and that's what he said. He's an interesting man."

"I guess." Bren really wasn't in the mood for conversation. "Where is he anyway? You haven't left him wandering around on his own, have you?!" The thought made him sit bolt upright in alarm.

"Of course not. Zak's showing him around. But would it really make any difference if I had?"

Bren scowled at her and drained his glass with a gulp then slammed it down on the table. "I still don't know what he wants from us!" he exclaimed in exasperation. "There has to be a payback."

"Still as suspicious as ever…" Yuna smiled faintly and rubbed the heels of her hands against her eyes. "What would anyone in his position want? He wants information."

"Information?" Bren stared at her blankly.

"He's told us about the Naturals and the Techs. Can you imagine how much knowledge has been lost with time and the depredations of the Naturals? They need a way to restore that data and that's how we can help him."

"How?" Bren demanded. "We can't afford to let anyone stay here with them."

"I didn't say that. But we can download as much information as he needs from Gen's files. We can give them instructions on how to build and repair equipment, copy blueprints, formulas for them..."

Shaking his head, Bren started to pace the Habitat. "What good will that do?"

"Bren, don't you see? Deepwater's primary mission when we get to Earth is to re-seed the planet from our Gene banks. But to do that we have to be able to create an environment for people to live in. Deepwater is more than a gene bank, she's a colony ship. She has the information Darnel needs for his colony, because one day we're going to need it too."

Bren stared at her and sat down again with a thump. "And if Earth already has a civilisation? What then? What if the League of Naturals made it into power? What if we're the enemy and they come hunting us?"

Yuna didn't answer for a moment but studied her hands thoughtfully. "I don't know," she said finally. "Do you?"

"No...I never thought about it before."

"Reb has," Lise's soft voice interrupted them and they both looked at her in alarm. "Relax, he's doing fine. According to Gen you won't even be able to see a scar when she's finished with him."

"So we add embroidery to her many talents," Bren snorted.

"Be grateful," Bren," Lise warned. "She's saved you a few scars too, remember."

Chastened, Bren hung his head and nodded. "And can she save Earth as well?" he asked.

"That's up to us," Lise pointed out as she sipped the drink she had brought with her.

"Reb thinks Earth might be civilised," Bren said cautiously. "I kind of hoped he was delirious, but the more I think about it...What do you think?"

Lise gave him a cool look. "I think the odds of everyone being wiped out on Earth are remote. There would be people like me who could survive, pockets where the plague never reached, ships returning who knew nothing of the plague…I think there will be something there. The question is what and who and who will have a right to the planet."

Bren swallowed, his head buzzing with new ideas that he was in no shape to consider. I only hope it isn't the League of Naturals. If it is our welcome will be distinctly unfriendly."

"All the more reason for us to check every planet we pass as a possible colony site for the future," Yuna added. "And to help Darnel's people survive here."

"That's a problem for the future," Lise said firmly. "Right now, your problem is not enough sleep. You should get some rest, Bren. You're not responsible for Reb anymore."

"I promised Darnel I'd take him home…"

"Zak can do it when he's ready to go, assuming you're not awake. I think he might want to stay and see if Reb's all right first though," Yuna answered quickly.

"Which won't be a for a few hours at least. Get some sleep, Bren. You'll think clearer for it."

It was strange to watch Darnel wave to him before he turned to follow Zak into the shuttle, Bren reflected. Darnel had been ardently grateful to them all for the information they had been able to provide and for a chance to see the star from orbit. Bren had a feeling that the older man would never forget that.

Several hours sleep, a good meal and a hot shower had made Bren feel almost human again. So had finding Reb awake and sitting in the Habitat, desultorily finishing off his own meal while Yuna and Lise watched over him. He had brightened up on seeing Bren, glad of someone to take the heat off him for having no appetite.

"You're supposed to go and rest, Reb," Yuna scolded from behind him and the soldier turned to look, finding Reb and Yuna in the airlock behind him.

"As soon as Darnel's safely on his way, I will," Reb answered, eyeing her warily. "Hadn't you better get aboard or are you going to let Zak do the pre-flights?"

"He's quite capable of doing them on his own," Yuna retorted but she started towards the shuttle anyway then abruptly swung back and kissed the startled engineer on the cheek. "I'm glad you're all right," she told him. "See that you stay that way," before she ran for the ship.

Bren laughed as he strolled back to join Reb.

"What do you suppose that was for?" Reb asked plaintively, self-consciously touching his face. Although Lise had confirmed that there would be no scar once treatment was completed, the faint tracery of the wound was still faintly visible and sore when he touched it. She hadn't wanted him to remain in Regeneration any longer than strictly necessary, however. There were side effects sometimes.

"If you don't know by now, then you're a lot thicker than I thought," Bren chuckled as he herded Reb back into the airlock.

Reb gave him a sheepish grin, pausing to look back at the shuttle as the airlock door closed. "I'd have liked to see Darnel's home."

"Yuna wasn't about to let you off the ship!" Bren snorted.

"I'm in command," Reb argued and went on indignantly when Bren only laughed. "Well, I am!"

"Yes, commander," Bren threw him a mocking salute then surprised him by dropping an arm around his shoulders. "She'll be okay, Reb. Yuna's a lot more dangerous than the pair of us put together. Come on, come to the Habitat with me and I'll synthesise you a Hot Chocolate."

Reb surrendered. He hadn't really been that keen on returning to the planet when it came down to it. He figured it would be a long time before he stopped having nightmares about the Archon slashing at his face with that knife...

"Reb? You okay?" Bren prompted gently, holding the airlock hatch back for him.

Reb looked up at him slowly and gave him a faint smile. "Yeah, I'm okay," he said quietly and followed him into the corridor. They walked in companionable silence for a few minutes, each aware that the mild animosity that had always come between them before had somehow vanished. Somewhere on the planet they had started to learn each other's strengths and weaknesses. "Bren?"

"Yeah?"

"Next time we go to a planet, I want you to listen to me when I tell you to back off."

Bren tensed, scowled and then nodded. "Okay," he agreed grimly. "On condition."

"What condition?"

"That when I tell you to carry a gun, you don't darn well argue with me..." Reb was silent for so long that Bren thought he was going to argue with him anyway and shot a glare at him, startled to find the engineer smiling to himself. "What?" he demanded impatiently.

"I didn't know you cared," Reb chuckled and took off at sprint, racing up the corridor. Bren laughed, then chased after the engineer, realising that for some strange reason and despite all their differences and arguments, that he really did care.

The End