Lest We Lose Our Edens, Part 1
by Lia Faile
When the apple reddens
Never pry Lest
we lose our Edens,
Eve and I.
"A Woman's Last Word" by Robert Browning
Alonzo jerked awake. Shivering, he blinked several times and inhaled deeply. His actions woke his companion. A sleepy Dr. Heller lifted her head from his chest and peered at him in the eerie glow of the dual moonlight. Her palm rested on his chest and she could feel the hammering of his heart beneath it. Awake and concerned now, she slid her hand up in an unconscious motion to his throat as if she wore her diagnostic glove.
"What's wrong?"
Alonzo reacted as if he'd just now noticed the woman he held in his arms. A woman he didn't recognize. Slowly he began to come back to himself and remembered where he was. Licking the sweat off his upper lip, he tried to reply but his voice was strained and hoarse as if he'd been screaming.
"I don't know...I thought I was...someplace else."
"You were dreaming."
"No, it wasn't like the other dreams. There weren't any Terrians there. It wasn't like before."
Julia slide her hand up along his cheek to his forehead and gently brushed the hair and sweat from his brow. Looking into those eyes she saw fear and uncertainty. Emotions they all were becoming all to familiar with on this new world.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Alonzo shook his head, closed his eyes and tried to fight back the stinging tears that suddenly welled up. When he reopened them he gazed at Julia through a distorted watery haze. Seeing all the love and concern for him reflected in her blue eyes caused several tears to spill over and run down his cheeks.
"Alonzo! What's wrong? *Talk* to me."
Alonzo didn't reply. He grabbed her convulsively and pulled her to him and held her like she was a life preserver. He buried his face in the soft crook of her neck. Julia felt his hot tears hit her bare shoulder and then run down to where they pooled in between her breasts.
"There was so much *blood* Julia! I...I couldn't stop it! And the laughing!"
"Shhh...shhh. It's okay. It was just a nightmare. Shhh...shhh. Go to sleep."
Julia kept repeating this softly as she rocked him gently in her arms. Hugging him tightly to her, she stroked his head with one hand and his back with the other. He said a few more garbled sentences but she ignored them. Her priority right now was to calm him down.
There was time later for questions. Something told her it would be better to examine this dream in the bright light of day--away from any shadows. Because Terrians or no Terrians any dream, or nightmare for that matter, that Alonzo Solace had was important. Here on G889 they had learned that dreams could come true. And if dreams could, why couldn't nightmares?
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True was suppose to be out gathering kindling wood, but she was doing more daydreaming than anything else. The winter finally seemed to be ending. The days were getting longer and warmer. Most of the snow had receded, although deep patches still remained in the areas sheltered from the sun. Soon they could start on their way again. The dome had been a godsend, but so many strange and terrible events had occurred here, that she looked forward to putting some distance between it and herself.
She absently bent over to pick up a piece of wood, when a flash of color caught her eye. It was a flower. A tiny flower so small she nearly missed it. True bent down to examine it more closely. With her face mere inches from the delicate bloom, she caught the first whiff of it's perfume. The scent was indescribable, except that it made her think of her mother. She didn't know why--she'd only ever met her mother in VR and that Eleanor Moore had merely been a shell. She closed her eyes and sniffed again. Yes, definitely her mother.
She would have to remember this place and bring her Dad back here to see if he was reminded of Elle too. He'd been more open lately and had shared some stories of Elle with her. True didn't ask too many questions though, she saw the pain that those memories still brought to him. Both in his eyes and in the way his voice would catch every so often. Even though he tried to camouflage it by pretending he had a frog in his throat.
The flower was no more than three inches tall. It had three narrow petals that had jagged edges. Its color was somewhere between fuschia and violet. It looked so small and fragile, but it must be truly hardy to be the first to bloom. Maybe they would name it after her! After all, *she* discovered it! Morgan Martin couldn't have _everything_ on this planet named after him! Yes, she would bring everyone here to see her flower. Before, True would have hoarded this discovery to herself, too selfish to share it. Maybe she was growing up, or at least use to the others being around. Everybody would enjoy this first sign of spring! But first she'd show it to her father, alone. She was still a bit selfish.
Carefully she brushed the snow and debris from around it. She was looking around to find something to mark the spot so she could find it again. So intent on her task that she didn't notice that she was being scrutinized the whole time. Her observer silently glided up to her and stopped a few feet behind her. Still she detected no sign of him.
"Hello, Poppet."
True spun around and fell backwards onto her haunches and hands. Her heart hammered against her ribs in a desperate attempt to flee her body. So frighten was she that her trademark scream she always had at the ready and wielded like a sword, lodged in her constricted throat and refused to budge. One small corner of her otherwise numbed mind screamed at her to "RUN"! But her legs would not comply. She sat rooted to the spot staring at a nightmare.
"You...you're...dead...."
She was finally able to stutter out.
"The news of my demise was greatly exaggerated. What's the matter...no hug for your Uncle Gaal? Didn't you miss me...even a little?"
The lanky man held his arms open expectantly. True started to shake her head violently in the negative and scooted backwards on her rear, when her eyes were drawn to something Gaal held in his hand.
"That...looks like.....my Dad's coat."
Realizing he wasn't going to get a warmer welcome, he slowly lowered his arms to his sides. He glanced down and stared at the white coat he held bunched in his hand. When he looked up, his eyes had a vicious hobgoblin gleam to them. Slowly a wicked half smile appeared on the side of his mouth. One eyebrow canted upwards.
"Well, it *looks* like your father's coat because it *is* his. Oh my, Poppet....you've crushed your flower. Pity."
True followed his gaze down to her hand. Her lovely flower laid crumbled under her hand. It wasn't so hardy after all. Now she would never be able to show it to anyone or have it named after herself. Slowly she lifted the guilty hand to her face and smelt its perfume one last time. She then glared up at Gaal and felt her fear being shoved aside by anger.
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!!"
Finally True's legs decided that her mind had the right idea about getting out of there. She sprang to her feet and fled back towards camp as fast has her wobbly legs would take her. Over her harsh gasps of breath she could hear him laughing.
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A weary Julia entered the med-tent and plopped down into the chair. She looked around aimlessly at the various experiments, slides, and tests she had set up and waiting. Where to start today? Sighing she massaged her temples. She'd gotten very little sleep last night. None at all after Alonzo's nightmare. He still refused to talk to her about it. Rather than fighting about it, she decided to leave him alone for awhile and try later. If he still refused to talk about it, she'd turn him over to Devon. Devon would wear him down quick enough. Although he would be angry with her for doing such a thing. Too sleepy to work on anything, Julia laid her head down for a short nap.
"Give me your coordinates, Citizen."
Julia woke up in Reilly's VR rendezvous. *How the hell did she get here!* Reilly paced around her glaring hatefully. She knew if he could he'd have her by the throat. Even though he couldn't really harm her or touch her in VR, Julia backed up cautiously trying to keep the pacing Watcher in her field of vision. Slowly they began to move across the floor in a warped ballet.
"NO! I won't help you!"
"You have a responsibility to the Council!"
"I have a responsibility to my *friends*!"
"You're supposed to have had these emotional tendencies bred out of you."
"I'm not your puppet anymore, Reilly!"
"I *will* have that boy! You are only delaying the inevitable and hurting yourself in the process. Think of the Big Picture!"
"Go to HELL!"
Julia woke up with a start. Forced her fingers to unlock from the edge of the table they'd been clutching. She expelled a long breath of air. What brought that on, she wondered. Guess Alonzo wasn't the only one susceptible to nightmares. She brushed the hair that had escaped from its binding away from her face. Absently she stuck her hand in her pocket and felt a tingling sensation. Her hand closed around a tiny object.
Drawing it out with a sense of trepidation, she examined the object in her hand. It was a small silver capsule and it was vibrating. Her hands trembled as she pulled gently on its ends. A familiar female mechanical voice made a demand she thought she'd never have to hear again.
"Respond Immediately."
Julia dropped the communicator onto the table top, where it rolled off onto the floor. She tried to stand up, but the planet seemed to lurch beneath her feet causing her to stumble back into the chair. She clasped her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming. A tiny moan escaped.
"Respond Immediately."
Quickly Julia snatched it up and turned it off. She stuffed it back into her pocket and rocked back and forth in her chair. What was she going to do?
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Devon wandered about the camp in search of her wayward mechanic. Neither he or True were in their quarters. She wanted to go over the schedule for ending their sojourn here and resuming the trek to New Pacifica. She needed to know the status of the vehicles. She caught sight of Cameron lugging a heavy box across camp. The man was always moving something she thought, mouth quirking up on one corner. If only the rest of the Eden Advance men were so easy going as Cameron, Devon's job would be a lot easier! Course, Cameron's easy going style is what prompted her to sign him on for the original colony set-up team.
"Cameron! You seen Danziger around?"
Cameron turned and smiled at Devon. Shaking his head negatively he replied,
"No, ma'am. I haven't recently. You might try Walman or Baines, they were talking with him first thing this morning. They're over there still fiddling with the perimeter sensors."
Raising her hand in a friendly farewell wave, Devon started to head off in the direction he'd indicated. Then had an afterthought and turned back around to him.
"By the way, Cameron, 'Devon' is sufficient. No need for the 'ma'am' stuff here. Like Danziger is so fond of pointing out...I'm not the boss anymore."
Cameron frowned at her attempt at light humor. He took her statement seriously, not in the joking manner she had intended.
"He doesn't show you enough respect...Devon. You financed this venture, gathered the people, and have kept us together. You are the leader here. He should keep that in mind when he challenges you in front of everyone. People are starting to question your abilities."
Before she could response, Devon saw Walman and Baines emerging from the nearby woods. She waved her hand wildly and hollered for their attention.
"Hey guys! Come here, a sec!"
Walman and Baines stopped, exchanged looks, and ambled over her way unhurriedly. Devon had been noticing a lot of looks being passed around lately. Until Cameron's comments though, she'd been too preoccupied to wonder about them. Now she started to. Maybe she should have a word with Danziger.
"Yeah, Devon. What can we do for you?" Walman asked, flashing his dimpled smile her way.
"Have you guys seen Danziger? I wanted to go over the plans for breaking camp here permanently with him."
"Nah, haven't seen him all morning." Baines volunteered not meeting her gaze.
"But Cameron says he saw him with you two earlier by the sensors."
Walman and Baines both fixed Cameron with a hard glare. Cameron returned it steadily but clutched the box he was toting closer to himself like a shield.
"Well? I'm waiting gentlemen."
"Oh yeah, right. This morning. He said something about rechecking the route down the mountain once more."
"He left camp?! *Again*?!! Damn him! I bet he doesn't have his gear on either!" She fumed as she fumbled with her own set. "How dare you keep this from me!"
Cameron decided now would be a good time to finish his original chore and leave Walman and Baines to the verbal dressing down Devon was winding up to give them. The two men gave Cameron a promising wait till later stare.
"DEVON! DEVON! EVERYONE! COME QUICK!"
The initial impact of True's screeching froze everyone in place. But only for an instant. Her high decibel ululations were migraine inducing, but the child had yet to cry wolf. All thoughts of meal preparations or AWOL group members were forgotten as everyone rushed to see what had True so agitated.
Yale flew out of the dome with the others hot on his heels. True was barreling straight towards them, arms pumping wildly and her braid flying behind her like a jockey's whip driving her towards an imaginary finish line. Devon knelt down on one knee and braced herself for impact. She could tell that the girl would not be able to stop her heedless flight.
"DEVON! DEVON! HE'S HERE!"
Devon managed to avoid being knocked on her rump by the small human missile. Holding her by the waist to steady her, Devon had never seem the child so pale. Her eyes were so dilated with fear, her irises were barely visible. Shudders racked the girl's small frame giving her a palsied appearance. Her mothering instincts took over and Devon began to stroke True's back in an attempt to comfort her.
"True, calm down. Now tell me what's wrong."
True responded to the calm authoritative voice. Normally it would have inspired her to rebellion, but right now she was thankful for a strong-willed adult. After taking several great gulps of air, True again tried to warn Devon of who she'd seen.
"Ga..Gaal! It's Gaal! I saw him!"
Immediately the rest of the group exchanged looks and started to mutter amongst themselves. Devon ignored the background distractions and concentrated on the frighten girl in her arms.
"True, Gaal is dead. The Terrians took him. Don't you remember?"
"No! No, he's not! I *saw* him! Up there!"
She flung her arm backwards, indicating the direction she'd come from. Devon looked where she was pointing but saw nothing. Tiny crinkles formed as she furrowed her brow in concentration. *Something* had terrified the girl. Returning her gaze to True, Devon gave her a soothing, reassuring smile that usually worked on Uly.
"Now True, sometimes our eyes play funny tricks on us. Maybe you saw a shadow, or...or even a Grendler, and your imagination turned it into something else."
True had reached her frustration limit. Her hands that had been holding onto Devon's shoulders balled into tight fists twisting the fabric of her coat. Giving the woman an irritated shake, she pulled her closer and stared icily into her eyes.
"It wasn't my imagination." She bit out through clenched teeth. "He *spoke* to me."
True never resembled her father more than at this moment, a mesmerized Devon thought to herself. The set of her jaw, the piercing eyes, the flaring nostrils. Even her voice had dropped an octave in her anger. Devon decided she better get more information from her in order to calm her down..
"What did he say to you?"
True loosened her hold on Devon's coat. The angry little spitfire was gone, replaced once again by the scared little girl.
"He...he called me 'Poppet' and asked me if I missed him."
Tears sprang into her eyes and her lower lip began to tremble.
"Devon, he has my dad's coat."
This last sentence was barely a choked whisper, but hit Devon like a hammer blow between the eyes. There was no way she could be making this up or be confused. Looking at the surrounding woods suspiciously, she stood up and turned to Walman and Baines.
"I want a full perimeter search. Everyone else I want inside the dome."
"My dear lady, that won't be necessary. If it is me you seek, look no farther!"
Devon spun around and instinctively shoved True behind her. For a change the girl didn't protest. In fact, she backed up even farther. Devon glanced over her shoulder looking for her son. She saw that he was with Yale, and that Yale had adopted a leonine posture. Satisfied that her son was well protected, she turned her attention back to their uninvited "guest."
The man made a theatrical bow and doffed an imaginary cap to her. The man was extremely gaunt. Apparently the winter had been hard on him as well. He had a red jagged scar that ran from just below his right eye down to his upper lip. That was new. It caused his eye to droop down and his lip to curl up. He looked as if he were winking and snarling at the same time. Devon also noticed he was wearing an exact duplicate of John Danziger's winter coat. Only Danziger's didn't have a red blood stain or tear just below the collar bone like the one Gaal was wearing did. Also a new Terrian bone necklace dangled about his neck.
Walman and Baines armed their magpros, leveled them at Gaal and started advancing. With no gun handy, Alonzo hefted a metal tent stake and joined them.
"If anything unfortunate happens to me, my friends will kill your precious mechanic."
Devon held her hand up; the men stopped and lowered their weapons. Although they did not disarm them.
"What are you doing here, Gaal? How did you get away from the Terrians?"
"Such concern! Such interest in my well-being! It was more than I expected! I'm really quite touched."
He held his hand to his chest and smiled lopsidedly.
"The Terrians were all set to 'put me in the earth' as they so euphemistically like to put it. My Grendler friends didn't want to lose their only source of human blood, so they rescued me while the Terrians were recuperating in their beds."
"And just *why* do you think I'm here, Ms Adair? For revenge of course! That little brat betrayed me!".
"What have you done with Danziger? Where is he?"
"I haven't done anything to that big oaf...yet."
"But if my demands aren't followed to the tee, I'll return him to you *a piece at a time*!"
Snarling savagely, he fixed True with his demonic gaze. She couldn't look away from those terrible eyes.
"After all I'd done for her and was ready to take her under my wing and shape her into my own image! 'Sharper than a serpent's tooth is it to have a thankless child.' Well Poppet, if any tragedy befalls your father, take comfort in the fact that *none* of this would have happened if not for *you.*"
He took several steps in her direction.
Walman and Baines quickly moved between Gaal and True. This offered her physical protection as well as blocked her from his viscous glare. Bess Martin came up behind her and hugged her protectively.
"Don't listen to him True. None of this is your fault. The man is crazy."
True turned her tear streaked face towards Bess.
"He's going to kill my dad." She choked out.
Bess gathered True up into her arms and walked her back towards the dome so she wouldn't be able to heard anymore. She shot Gaal a cold look. Bess didn't often have wicked thoughts, but she silently cursed the powers that allowed such a creature to exist.
Story Notes:
All standard copyrights apply...blah, blah, blah.... Just read and enjoy! Still doing some last minute editing so the rest will follow shortly! This is dedicated to all the E2 people. Thanks for such a wonderful show. Don't take any other offers just yet! We haven't given up yet neither should you.