Context by Deborah Walsh

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Context (8/20)
by Deb Walsh

Sitting on the edge of his cot, Alonzo dragged his fingers through his hair and sighed mightily. If this tag-team dreaming went on for too long, his circadian rhythms would be completely reversed. He got next to no sleep the night before, and this night looked to be no different. He'd slept half the day away making up for it, and he frankly felt like shit.

He hadn't told Julia about his view into the dreams yet; why, he wasn't exactly sure. There hadn't been a chance, really. The day had been weird, disjointed, and she was focussed on Danziger and whoever might dream next. She hadn't returned to their tent yet; she'd stopped to talk with Magus on watch first.

Sighing again, he lowered himself onto the cot and stretched, pulled the blanket over him, and rolled over. Julia came in a few minutes later, and he could dimly hear the sounds of her changing for bed and slipping in beside him. He rolled over again and wrapped his arms around her, pressing his face against the clean smell of her hair. She kissed him on the nose and yawned. Smiling into the darkness, Alonzo whispered good night and settled down for the night.

Sleep came soon enough, and with it, the next dream.

***

"Hello?" Julia called out. She held her hand to her eyes, shading them from the sun that beat down upon the bleached dunes that stretched down to the beach. Water lapped against the sand in a steady rhythm, and birds wheeled overhead. She turned slowly, looking for the spider cave, but this beach was curiously bereft of rock formations. "Where am I?" she asked softly.

Shrugging, she climbed up over the dunes inland, calling out every so often.

Finally, she came to a grassy area that sloped downward toward a valley. In that valley were rough buildings, forming an lopsided circle around an open area. And in that open area were many people, some of whom she recognized. She smiled, seeing Alonzo and Danziger, raised her arm to wave, and hurried toward them.

"This must be New Pacifica," she told herself excitedly as she stumbled across the uneven terrain. As she grew closer, she was able to see the people more clearly, and she recognized Dr. Vasquez among them. He seemed angry and was arguing with some of the others. The scene didn't look very happy, and that slowed Julia's pace. At last, she joined them, panting.

"Dr. Heller," Dr. Vasquez greeted coldly. "I would have thought you would have remained close to the children instead of wandering around this godforsaken place."

"Sir?" Julia asked, confused.

"Don't pay any attention to him, Julia," Danziger told her, not taking his eyes of Vasquez.

"I - ah, that is, what's going on?" she inquired, glancing around the group. "Where's Devon?" she added when she realized their leader wasn't among them.

Vasquez snorted contemptuously. "What does it matter?

The woman's practically a vegetable. Her opinion is virtually worthless. My god, Heller, the woman's in worse shape than the children are!"

"Now listen here, Doc," Danziger growled, stepping forward and drumming his finger on Vasquez's chest.

"That woman got us all here. She may be weak, but her mind's still as sharp as it ever was -"

"Fine, Mr. Danziger. I'm sure you have great experience of keen minds, repairing stations and moisture reclamation units. My concern is the health of the children and the colonists still in cold sleep.

And after examining Ms. Adair and the rest of you, I don't hold out much hope that this ill-fated excursion will benefit anyone, least of all Ms. Adair. The only thing we can do is get back on that ship and return to the stations. G889 is not a healthy environment for humans, despite all our hopes."

"Wait, what do you mean -" Julia interrupted, and Vasquez simply glared at her. Now that she really looked at the others, she had to admit that Danziger and Alonzo didn't look well. Their color was poor, and a thin sheen of sweat had broken out on both their faces. A faint tremor worked its way through Danziger's upper body, and he looked like he was fighting chills, despite the warmth of the sun shining down on them.

"Dr. Heller, I'm sure you've done everything you could under such primitive conditions, but even you must admit that the health of the Eden Advance crew is well below normal parameters. Even Ulysses Adair is suffering, despite his rather fanciful connection to the indigenous lifeforms. Malnutrition is the least of your worries. Intestinal parasites, bone degeneration, weakened hearts, nervous system disorders ... you people are dying by inches. Your only hope is to leave this planet and return to the stations."

"But -"

"We can't leave. At least some of us can't," Danziger said roughly. "Uly'll die if we remove him from the planet."

"We don't know that, John -"

"Yes, we do, Julia. It's the planet that cured him; his link with it is what's kept the Syndrome at bay.

We take him off G889, he'll die. Devon can't take care of him herself - their only hope is if some of us stay with them."

"We'll have to put it to a vote, then," Alonzo interjected suddenly. He reached for her hand, took it and held it grimly. "I'd like to stay. What about you, Julia?"

"Yes, of course I will, but -"

"You're fools," Vasquez spat. "You're condemning yourselves to death. You won't survive more than a few years, if that, on this planet. Don't you understand - this planet is inimicable to human life."

"What're you going to tell the colonists? Are you going to wake them -" Alonzo started.

"No. No point. We'll return to the stations and we'll simply declare this experiment a failure."

"What about the children?" Julia inquired anxiously.

"They'll die, Dr. Heller. Just as you will."

***

"Julia?" Alonzo called softly, reaching for her. He felt her shivering next to him, and pulled her close.

"Shhsh. It's okay. It's okay, Julia," he murmured.

"Alonzo!" she sobbed, curling against him.

"I know," he told her, stroking her face gently. "I know. It was a dream, Julia. A possible future. We can change it. We _will_ change it," he promised.

"You know?" she breathed, turning her face to look into his eyes.

He nodded. "The Terrians are letting me see their dreams. I saw it all. It's okay," he added, tracing the line of her jaw with his thumb.

"Don't you understand?" she asked urgently. "This is more important than simply curing Devon - whatever's wrong with her, we're involved, too. What Elizabeth said about the planet rejecting us - that's what was happening in the dream. We were dying because the planet hadn't accepted us, Alonzo."

"You don't know that for sure -"

"Yes, I do. We've got to find a way for the Terrians to help us, Alonzo. It's our only hope."

He kissed her forehead and hugged her tightly. "We will, Julia. I promise you - we will."

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