Face to Face by Linda FFF

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Face to Face, Part 5
by Linda

"Mother."

At the hollow sound of Devon's voice, John Danziger dropped his Magpro in shock, the piece of metal noisily crunching leaves and branches as he, Magus and Baines turned to stare first at Devon and then at the gray-haired woman accompanying Alonzo and Julia. Mother and daughter stared at each other for several long moments without speaking.

"Devon, sweetie, I can't believe it's really you."

Devon looked at the woman she had for so long believed dead, felt unwanted tears begin to fall from her eyes and then jumped into the parked Dunerail and took off without another word -- dirt and leaves flying from beneath the wheels of the vehicle as she took it to its highest speed in an astoundingly short period of time.

The others silently watched as she expertly maneuvered the vehicle in a direction that was neither toward camp nor toward anything else the colonists were familiar with. As Danziger finally regained some control over his senses, he went chasing after her on foot, yelling her name. But whether Devon Adair did not hear him or chose to ignore him, he wasn't sure as the Dunerail pulled out of his sight. Realizing that his chase was hopeless, he turned and walked silently and slowly back toward Julia Heller, Laura Magus, Larry Baines, Alonzo Solace and Cynthia Adair -- all of whom were still standing around silently, amazed at the events of the preceding minutes. Then the members of Eden Advance turned and stared at the woman their leader and friend had addressed as mother. Cynthia Adair stared after her daughter's trail, hands on her hips. Nervously, she ran her fingers through her short hair and sat down on the ground to think.

"We could try calling her on gear." Julia was the first to come up with a statement.

"If Devon wanted to talk to any of us, she would have invited us along."

Julia and Alonzo exchanged a look, knowing instinctively that Danziger was feeling rejected and left out, not that the mechanic would ever admit it aloud. Of course, judging from Devon's initial reaction to Cynthia Adair, whatever collage of feelings he was experiencing was probably a pale shadow of the demons Eden Advance's leader had chosen to face alone.

"So what do we do now?" Baines looked first at Danziger and then at the woman Devon had addressed as mother and then back at Danziger.

"I don't know," Danziger snapped in frustration, running a hand through his unruly blond hair as he averted his face to avoid the sympathetic gaze of his friends. "Who died and left me in charge?"

"No one." Magus couldn't help empathizing, although she knew that was the last thing John Danziger wanted. "I'm sure Devon will be back to put you back in your mechanic's place in no time. In the meantime, we should probably call the camp and tell everyone what's going on."

Just then numerous gears started beeping in unison. As Magus, Julia, Alonzo and Baines simultaneously put theirs on, Danziger moved toward one lying on the ground, left behind in Devon's haste to escape the situation. "Great," John mumbled to himself. "Now she's taken a page out of my book. She's going to be hell to track without gear."

"At least she still had that overnight pack with her," Magus mumbled, before turning her attention to the message.

"John, I'm sorry but I think you'd better hear this." Baines spoke, but all four of his friends looked at him, praying they would not have to be the one to tell him directly.

"What?" Danziger donned Devon's gear and looked into the serious face of Yale.

"I am sorry to have to tell you this John, but we cannot find True. Apparently, no one has seen her in several hours. We have searched the camp and she is not here."

"What do you mean she's not there?" John shouted into the gear, his anger, fear and frustration all more than doubled instantly.

"Devon asked me to check on both children when they did not appear to see you off," Yale explained patiently, understanding the father's reaction. "Ulysses was in his tent playing in virtual reality, but no one can find True. We all have searched the camp area and she is not here. I think you should return to camp as soon as possible."

"We're on our way." Danziger turned off his gear, picked up the Magpro and started walking back toward camp.

"John?"

Danziger turned at the soft sound of Julia's voice.

"C'mon, we gotta get back and find True."

"What do we do with her?" The doctor gestured toward Cynthia Adair.

"I'm not leaving until I get a chance to talk to my daughter."

Danziger glared down at her. "Haven't you done enough damage already?"

"Is Devon still stubborn?"

The five Eden Advance crew members looked at the woman in stunned silence. One by one, first Baines, then Magus, then Alonzo nodded their heads. Julia and John merely looked at her impassively.

"Well, I'm twice as stubborn," Cynthia Adair asserted. "So you are not getting rid of me. You might as well take me with you."

Danziger frowned and then glanced at his gear. "I don't have time to argue with any Adair right now. Just stay out of the way," he growled.

As he marched off toward camp at a rapid pace, the other Eden Advance crew members followed quickly on his heels. Cynthia Adair got up, brushing off leaves and dirt with quick, sure motions. With one last look over her shoulder in the direction Devon had taken, Cynthia struck off behind them.

As the six figures silently made their way toward the camp, True Danziger entered a cave she had found near another smaller mountain in the dense woods. It looked like rain as the sky darkened for the night, and she was tired. True figured her exhaustion was due to the burdens of traveling alone; she didn't usually carry such a heavy pack. So she laid out her sleeping bag on the dusty floor of the cavern, but she was not yet ready for sleep. She sat on the bedding, ate an energy bar from the stash she had removed from Bess' stores, and pulled out once again the picture of her mother. Using one finger, she traced the stranger's face. Alone, the young girl recalled what her father had shared with her. She recalled his sad expression as he explained that he loved Ellie and wanted to marry her, but that she would never accept his proposal. She also heard her father's words in her head as he admitted that Ellie had never told him she was pregnant, that it had been the doctor who shared the news after Ellie's accident in space, that it had been his decision to keep the baby alive. She knew in her heart that her mother hadn't wanted her. Otherwise why would she have been a secret? But she knew her father had wanted her -- at least 'til they got to this planet, 'til he started kissing Devon and giving Uly machine lessons. She remembered all the times she had disobeyed him. She remembered her misbegotten friendship with Gaal. She remembered her father kissing Devon and telling Uly about the Transrover. So her mom didn't want her, and her dad didn't want her now that he had Devon. Decisively, the 10-year-old ripped her only picture of her mother into shreds so small there was no way to tell what the picture once was. Then she walked out of the cavern and threw the shreds to the wind, which scattered them throughout the dark shadows of the forest. She was on her own, but she knew in her heart she could handle it. Then True returned to the bed she had made herself, curled up and fell into a deep sleep -- traces of some fallen tears evident on her face.

While the young girl's eyes were closed, another hurt child continued her run through the woods. As the rain began to fall, it roused Devon from her thoughtless chase. What she was hunting, she wasn't sure. What she was escaping was the frightening unknown and a past returned. As the rain drenched her, she wondered if Uly was OK and that thought alone made her stop the Dunerail. She turned and looked around her, uncertain where she was, uncertain if she could even retrace her steps to return to her friends and family. Briefly she wondered what had happened once she left. She also wondered what her mother had been going to say, where she had been, how she had gotten to this planet, why she had let her daughter and her husband mourn her as dead. She recalled how her mother had aged, her hair turned gray, new wrinkles lining the familiar eyes and smile, a tan demonstrating a life far different than the one she had once lived as a member of the station royalty. She decided that it made no sense to try and return to camp tonight. Her rage, anger and pain had taken her too far in the vastness of the woods. She thought of Uly and then briefly of John, who had chased her to no avail, and she decided to call the camp and let everyone know she was all right. But as she searched the Dunerail, she could find no trace of her gear. Knowing how worried people would be, she felt guilty. But Devon acknowledged to herself that there was nothing she could do safely until morning. She urged the Dunerail underneath a ledge on the mountain, deciding she might as well be as dry as possible while waiting out the onslaught of water. As she left the Dunerail to create a makeshift bed on the rocky ground, Devon gave thanks that she at least had some provisions with her. She thought first of Uly, then of Yale, then of John and his daughter. In a way, she wished Danziger were with her, but she had made her own choice for solitude. And she was grateful he and Yale were there for Uly. And if he was with her, she would probably have to deal with the issue of that kiss, something that struck terror -- among other feelings -- into Devon Adair's heart. As the rain pounded, she finally thought of the woman she had seen for the first time since her 18th birthday. And then she thought of a funeral and of her own tears. As the past began to haunt her, Devon curled up and tried to block it out. She fell into an uneasy sleep, pursued by visions of the past and the fears for her future that accompanied them.

"Where is Devon?"

Inside the com tent, Yale directed his question at John Danziger as he surveyed the wet group of returning crew members, who resembled a pack of drowned Grendlers.

"Beats me," the mechanic growled, unsure who he was angriest at but willing to direct the rage at whomever happened to be convenient.

"Yale, is it really you?"

The cyborg's face more than adequately displayed his shock at the visage of Cynthia Adair. "Ms. Adair." The words escaped his lips, almost involuntarily. As he stared at her, his concerns for Devon grew. Ignoring her query, he asked a couple of his own. "What happened to Devon? Is she all right?"

"Have you found True?" Danziger's question erupted through clenched teeth.

Watching the scene, Julia decided to step in and add a note of organization and rationality, despite the unsettling rivers of her own emotions. "One thing at a time. Yale, when Devon saw this woman she said 'mother', jumped in the Dunerail and left. She left behind her gear, so we cannot contact her and we don't know where she is."

"We thought you were dead." Yale directed his comment at Cynthia, who was about to respond when John Danziger jumped back into the conversation.

"Now tell us what you know about True?" His words were more a demand than a query.

"We think she took some supplies and went out on her own. No one has seen her since her history lesson with me this morning. But Bess found some food missing and a sleeping bag is gone as well. Perhaps John should check his tent and see what else is missing."

"Are you saying she ran away?" Danziger's worries for his daughter were warring with his worries for Devon. As the tutor nodded, Danziger growled, "Boy I seem to have a knack for chasing off the women in my life." He stomped off toward his tent, without realizing that he had publicly admitted his feelings for Devon for the first time.

Julia looked at the remaining group. "The fact of the matter, and I am positive John already knows this, is that we are not going to make any progress finding Devon or True tonight. All we can do is get dry, warm and fed, and prepare to send out search parties for both of them first thing in the morning. Hopefully the rain will have let up by then."

As the crew members scattered, with Julia going to check on John and the remainder attempting to follow her instructions, Yale and Cynthia remained, staring at each other until another entered and broke the silence.

"Yale, I know the group came back. Where's my Mom?"

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