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Zane hit the floor with a grunt and went still

"What’s wrong with hiaze went to his neck, looking for the rash Is our Elevator defective, too? The possibility that what happened in Darwin could also happen here had never occurred to her until now

But she saw nothing Nothing except the collapsed, unconscious form of Zane Platz

Only thirty people lived on Black Level The station was not equipped forthat had detached froer Anchor Station It had no kitchen, no recreation areas, and no medical facility

The skeleton crew iht, but it wasn’t enough to help Zane Platz

At least he’s alive, she thought Unconscious, but a pulse was there and he seeht at his side, in the cabin she herself used to occupy Other than the gentle rise and fall of his chest, he hadn’t moved since the collapse at dinner

A number of video calls were made between Black Level and Melville Station One of only two nose the patient remotely, but in the end the process proved too slow and inefficient

"Move him here," the doctor, Loraine Brooks, said She’d been a private physician on board Platz Station before the crew fled Her specialty was children, but like all doctors she had basic training in other areas "He seeh, and a climber car can’t be much worse than that cabin in terht away, then," Tania said

Tiet some people to help move him"

She nodded at him and took some comfort in the half smile he offered her While she fretted and worried he’d taken control of the situation, she reminded herself to thank him for that His presence, not just here but within the colony in general, was a wonderful piece of luck, she no

In the hallway behind him, she heard Marcus "The climber will be ready in a few minutes"

"Good," Tim said Their voices receded down the hall

The doctor on the screen gave Tania a sympathetic look "See you soon, Dr Sharma"

"Thank you, Dr Brooks" Tania switched off the terminal

Her old cabin, which appeared to be untouched since she left it alo, held little senti ith Natalie over a board game or puzzle, were hidden behind the last days aboard Anchor Station When she looked about the room now, she saw only a prison cell

Tania shuddered, then turned her focus to Zane

"Please stay with us," she whispered "You’ve been my rock since we arrived The only person I can talk to anymore" It should have been Skyler in that role She hated herself for thinking that She hated herselfout of her She’d heard better dialogue in those horrible old romance films the sensory chamber loved to recommend

The truth hen Tania looked at Zane she was always trying to find so in there She had no doubt that if he were here now, the colony would not be fiddling around with pouring concrete and fixing up the nearby dor the site in the forest, establishing plans and backup plans for every contingency of what may come next Already the colony had squandered half the ti the schedule she’d calculated was accurate

Everything, she realized, that Skyler had been urging they do He’d asked a hundred ti towers Permission he didn’t need Especially now that he had an aircraft

And a lover, a voice in her head said She pushed that visual aside with a cold shiver "Will you ever forgiveback tears Another bad line fro herself

Footsteps outside "In here," Tiave Zane’s hand a squeeze and pushed away fro table to use as a stretcher, but it wouldn’t fit through the door So the group lifted Zane in the blanket upon which he lay, carefully h the narrow entry, and laid him on the table Someone, not Tania, had the presence of esture, she thought, and yetthan any of my stupid words

The cli bay ten ed on the cord until it reached a cruising speed of 1,500 kilo pace, it would take , there was no illusion of gravity to be had Tania and Tim moved Zane’s stretcher to the opposite side of the cabin, so that when they decelerated at the other end he wouldn’t be on the "ceiling" After that, there was little to do except wait

The farm platfor the cord, their altitude deterher up on the Elevator, thea rotation of the planet below Unlike Darwin’s Elevator, though, there were no other stations to pass No Hab stations, looking like orbital hotels No quaint little Midway Station, that sency stop-off should anything go wrong It had rarely been used, as far as Tania knew She’d certainly never stopped there during her tiive hih the descent

Tania looked up fro, a worn paperback she’d found in the cli, but we can try"

Zane looked peaceful in the absence of gravity Not that he hadn’t before they’d left, but now he seeorous soainst the belts that held hih, were dry and cracked But try as theywater into his ravity, the fluid just dribbled out and floated away in small spheres Tim waved a hand towel around to capture the liquid before it found its way into anything important

"Even if it stayed in," Tania said, "he’d still have to s it"

They gave up, and waited And waited

Finally, hours later, Tania felt the tug of gravity It woke her froainst her shoulders

Slowing the cli as the acceleration process had, the progress displaysloth on the monitor by the airlock "C’mon, c’mon," Tim muttered

When the hatch finally opened, Dr Brooks waited just outside with a team of apparent volunteers "Take him to the infirmary," she ordered With a nod at Tania and Tim, the doctor drifted inside and checked Zane’s vitals as the others began to wrangle the makeshift stretcher

"Go with theet Karl on the comm and let him knohat’s happened"

"Thanks"