The Quality of Mercy by Etain Antrim

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The Quality of Mercy, Part 6
Etain Antrim

Morning dawned bright and cold and Julia was awake to greet it. She had never gotten back to sleep after Alonzo's call. He had sounded weak and frightened, and she spent the rest of the night worrying about him. As soon as she heard others moving about, she dressed and walked over to the common room. As she walked in, she found Yale, Danziger and Devon having a quiet conversation next to the coffee pot.

"Good morning. Everyone is up early." Julia walked to the coffee and poured herself a cup, and then joined the small group. "I wanted to talk to you three. I got a call from Alonzo last night. He'd had some sort of frightening dream. I'm worried about both of them now. It's too cold for camping, and with Walman's knee and Alonzo dreaming, I think we should go get them." Julia stared challengingly at them.

"Actually, Julia, we all agree. That's what we were just discussing. And if Alonzo's having upsetting dreams, that just confirms it." Devon said calmly. "Danziger and Yale were just planning how to do it. There's an extra two feet of snow out there."

"Julia, we'll need to take the TransRover, but we'll also have to widen the path so the vehicle can get to them, and that'll take a day, at least. I figure that if we use the ATV to shuttle between the 'Rover and here in camp, we can do it." Danziger paused to take a long swallow of his coffee. "The 'Rover should leave a big enough footprint that the ATV can use it easily. After breakfast, Baines, Cameron, Magus, Mazatl, and I will get started. Do you want to call 'Lonz and Walman and let them know?" He took another big slurp of his coffee. "It'll probably be tomorrow morning before we can get there."

"Good. I'll call them now. Is there anything I can do to help?" Julia was energized even before she'd had her coffee. Now that she was finally seeing some action, she wanted and needed to be involved. And along with her excitement, she was aware of a continuing residue of anger toward the others, for not doing this sooner.

"We'll let you know if anything comes up. In the meantime, I assume you'll keep in touch with the scout team. And if we need to ferry any supplies to them, we can use those snowshoes we made last year." Danziger wandered off, heading over to refill his mug. Julia wondered how many cups he'd already downed that morning. The big mechanic and his morning coffee were legendary.

"Julia, do you think Walman needs a pain reliever? I'm not sure what was in their first aid kit." Devon asked.

"There were some derm-apps in there, but I'll ask if they need more. They may also need some food. Unfortunately, neither of them is physically able to snowshoe out of there." As she spoke, Julia walked over to the comm center. "Base camp to Walman or Alonzo. Can you hear me?"

***

Alonzo and Walman were still asleep when Julia called. Walman woke up when he heard his gear beep, heavy eyed from a lack of sleep from the night before. Alonzo had finally drifted off shortly before dawn, and slept soundly through Julia's call to Walman. As he put down his gear, Walman noticed that Alonzo was twitching in his sleep again, and knew that the pilot was dreaming with the Terrians.

Alonzo was on the beach at New Pacifica and speaking to both tribes of Terrians. He knew that this dream was a continuation of his last one. This time, the New Pacifica spokesman immediately began to show him another possible future. Alonzo saw a thriving town, filled that over a thousand people. New Pacifica had hundreds of small houses and tents laid out in a grid pattern, on dirt roads that met at right angles. A small but beautiful park had been developed from what had looked like a plaza before the colonists had arrived, and now sat proudly in the center of the town. The only large buildings in the town fronted on the square, and Alonzo assumed that they were the hospital and administrative buildings. A small gazebo in the middle of the park was surrounded by decorative plants and paths that wandered invitingly over the square. The town looked like a well loved community. Children ran through the streets, playing games that Alonzo remembered from long ago, from his own childhood.

Suddenly, chaos spread through the town. Z.E.D.s moved into the town from the forest at the edges. As they walked through the streets, some of the colonists met them in the streets with mag-pros. The cyborgs calmly shot anyone they saw and left the bodies behind as they moved on into the center of the town. The first man that Alonzo recognized was also the first colonist shot by the Council. Danziger lay dying in the street as True clung to him screaming in fear.

Alonzo sat up abruptly in his cot, gasping for breath. "No, damn it. It can't happen. No. No." He buried his face in his hands, then ran his hands through his hair, still breathless.

"Hey, Alonzo? Another dream?" Walman hopped awkwardly over to the pilot's cot and sat on the edge. He put his hand on Alonzo's arm. "Hey, buddy, what happened?"

But Alonzo didn't seem to hear him. Walman sat patiently, his hand on the pilot's arm, and eventually, Alonzo looked blankly at the hand that was exerting warm pressure on his arm, and followed the attached arm up to Walman's face. "Walman?" Alonzo's face showed his confusion clearly.

"I think you just had a Terrian dream. Do you remember?" Walman's voice was gentle.

"Oh yeah . . ." Alonzo sat quietly for a few seconds, collecting his thoughts. "The New Pacifica Terrians showed me another possible future. This time we were there when the colonists landed, and the town was bustling and it was a happy place. Then the Z.E.D.s attacked. Danziger was one of the first to die . . . True was screaming and trying to help him, but no one could do anything. And the Z.E.D.s just kept on, shooting everyone."

"My God. . . Alonzo, you need to tell Devon and the others about these dreams." Walman looked seriously into the pilot's face.

"I know . . . But, it's not the kind of thing you can say over gear, if you know what I mean." Walman nodded in agreement. "I'm going to tell everyone when we get back to camp." Alonzo sat quietly for a while, then mentally shook himself, throwing off the memory of the dream. "Wow, how late is it? I must have slept in." He looked around, realizing that the sun was well up. "How is your knee?"

"It's okay, doing better. Julia called while you were asleep. They are going to bring the 'Rover out to get us. They'll have to clear out some trees to make the trail wide enough, so it might be tomorrow before they get here."

"Well, I better get up and at least melt the snow for today's water." Alonzo grinned at his partner, "And, I was thinking, I bet I can make you a pretty good crutch. You'll be shocked at how much easier it makes getting around. There's got to be a suitable branch out there." He started to pull himself out of his sleeping bag while he spoke. Walman noticed how tired Alonzo was looking again, his face was pale and there were dark circles under his eyes. "At least it seems a little warmer today." Alonzo shrugged into his jacket as he headed toward the flap.

Walman nodded in agreement, although he hadn't truthfully noticed any real improvement in the temperature, and he followed Alonzo outside. He helped the pilot with the morning chores as best he could, and insisted on watching the stove as Alonzo waded out into the deep snow in search of the perfect crutch. Luckily, the pilot found what he was looking for fairly quickly, because he was out of breath and had to rest when he got back to the tent. He brought back a straight branch with a fork just about arm height, and once he had taped padding to the fork, he presented the crutch proudly to Walman. Walman was amazed at how much easier the crutch made it to get around. He was feeling pretty good as he swung around the camp on the crutch, and so was surprised when Alonzo announced that he was going back to bed. Walman quietly looked at the pilot and agreed that Alonzo looked like he could use the sleep.

After Alonzo went into the tent, Walman thoughtfully sat on a log and considered his partner. Alonzo was not well, that much was clear, but the Terrian dreaming was draining what strength he did have. Walman wondered why the Terrians couldn't see that too, and also wondered if there was anything he could do to help, but he couldn't think of anything. He was just relieved that help was on the way. He thought that neither Alonzo nor he could last much longer.

***

By mid-morning, the trail crew had managed to clear the first mile. Danziger eased the TransRover through the snow to the point where the crew was still working, and could see from his high vantage point that there was a particularly thick patch of small trees on either side of the trail just ahead of them. He jumped out of the 'Rover and picked up a saw, then looked up as he heard the ATV approaching. Baines had gone back to the camp for a replacement saw blade, but had a passager for the return trip.

Morgan Martin jumped off the back of the ATV as Baines brought it to a halt, and walked over to Danziger. "Uh, Danziger, I thought you could use another set of hands. I brought a tool set for myself. Just tell me where you need me."

Danziger tried not to stare, but he was surprised. Martin *never* volunteered for anything, especially if there was physical labor involved. "Great. We can always use another worker. Uh, Martin, have you ever cut down a tree before? No? Okay, go with Baines, and he'll show you what to do." Danziger nodded at Baines, then watched as the two men walked off together. Wonders would never cease. He picked up his own saw and moved to the next tree in the 'Rover's path.

***

Alonzo no sooner lay down than he found himself on the dream plane. Once again he saw the pretty little town that was the successful New Pacifica, only this time there were guards and a defensive wall around the outside of the town. He could see a well inside the wall that the colonists were using to supply their water needs, and it was clear that the Z.E.D.s were not able to attack because the colonists had been warned and were prepared. This time, the Z.E.D.s attacked the New Pacifica Terrians. One by one, the tribe members were shot and killed, and Alonzo watched in pain as the land began to die too. The leaves on the trees turned brown and fell, even though it was mid-summer; the grass yellowed and died; and all the small animals began to disappear, either dying in their burrows or migrating out of the blighted area. No birds were left to sing. And then all the cured syndrome children who had been merrily running and playing began to get sick again. Envirosuits came out of storage, and then the first of the children died, and with them the happy little town died too. As colonists tried to leave, they were picked off by the Z.E.D.s, until the only life left was a few ragged and dispirited colonists alone in the dusty ghost town that New Pacifica had become.

Again, Alonzo woke to find Walman watching him. "Another dream? Shank, don't they ever let you sleep?"

"Not when they have something to say. I'll be glad when this conversation is done." Alonzo sat up and buried his face in his hands, moaning, "Damn, I feel like hell. What time is it?"

"Early afternoon. Hey, don't get up! You look like you've been through the wringer." He tried to push Alonzo back down onto his cot.

"There's no point to staying in bed. It's not like I can sleep-- I might as well make us some lunch." The pilot started up as he swung his legs over the side of the bed, and was half way to standing when suddenly the world tilted on its side and big black dots crowded his vision and he fainted.

Walman watched with alarm as Alonzo crumpled to the ground, hitting his cot and sending it skittering backward as he fell. Walman leaned over his partner; he was unconscious and his forehead was bleeding from his collision with the cot. He tried to wake Alonzo, slapping him gently on the cheeks and calling his name, but the pilot didn't wake up. Walman eventually pulled a couple of blankets off his cot and tucked them around Alonzo, trying to at least keep him from getting chilled.

Alonzo opened his eyes to find Walman dabbing at the cut on his forehead with a cloth. Something was wrong, and it took him a while before he realized that he was on the floor of the tent. He looked around, confused, then looked back up at the man hovering over him. "Walman?"

"Hey, take it easy 'Lonz. You're okay." Walman stopped tending the cut and moved to lay his palm flat against Alonzo's chest to keep him from sitting up.

"What happened? How did I get here?"

"You passed out. Are you dizzy? Does your head hurt?" Walman didn't move his restraining hand. He could feel Alonzo trying to pull himself up.

"Yeah. I'm really dizzy. I feel kind of sick, like I need to throw-up." Alonzo relaxed, having convinced himself he needed to stay flat.

"You might have a concussion too; you hit a corner of the cot with your head when you fell. If you'd like, I'll help you move onto your cot. I think it'd be warmer than the floor." He removed his hand from Alonzo's chest.

"Okay." But Alonzo didn't really sound sure. "But you might want to get a bucket or something . . ." Just lifting his head to look at Walman made him feel really sick, and the tent started whirling around him. He felt a thin layer of sweat suddenly form over his whole body.

"Just lie still. I'll go get you something." Walman moved as fast as his knee would let him, and returned with a bag just in time. He tried to support Alonzo as he was sick, then got the pilot a damp cloth to wash his face. "Do you still want to move to the cot?"

"No. I'll just lie here for a while. I'll move when I feel better." Alonzo tried to keep completely still, afraid of what would happen if he moved. He tentatively closed his eyes, but when the room swung alarmingly, he opened them again quickly.

"Okay. Listen, I'm going outside to call Julia. Maybe there's something I can do to help." Walman patted him on the shoulder, then stood with the help of his crutch and moved outside. He left the bag next to the pilot, who looked like he might need it again. Once outside, he moved as far from the tent as he could before he called the camp. "Julia? Julia? I need you."

"Heller here. Walman?"

"Yeah. Julia, Alonzo just fainted, and he hit his head when he fell. I think he's got a concussion. What should I do?" Walman tried to keep his voice low, so Alonzo couldn't hear him.

"Walman, what happened? Why did he pass out?" Julia asked urgently and Walman could see her concern on her face.

"He's had a couple more Terrian dreams, and I guess he's just exhausted. He was trying to stand up, and he just passed out. He hit his temple on the corner of the cot and it bled a bit. When he came to, he said he was dizzy and feeling sick. And he threw up just a minute ago. He's still on the floor, but I wrapped some blankets around him. I don't think I can move him to his cot by myself."

"Just leave him on the floor, but try to keep him as warm as you can. And don't let him sleep until I get there. It sounds like he does have a concussion. I'm going to try to get out there. I think I can use the snowshoes. Oh, and Walman, get him to drink some water if you can. I'll call when I know how I'll get out there. And Walman, don't stress your knee." And with that last warning, Julia signed out.

Walman walked back toward the tent, stopping to pick up a water bottle on his way in. "Hey 'Lonz. Julia says you should try to drink a little water. Here, let me help you." He sat down beside his partner, his splinted leg stiffly sticking out, and supported the bottle while Alonzo slowly picked up his head.

The pilot took a few sips, then looked at Walman and said, "No more. I feel sick."

Walman watched as Alonzo, who had the inward focus of a man who couldn't trust his own body, carefully lowered his head. "Okay. Just lie still. Julia said you can't go to sleep until she gets here. She's going to try to snowshoe out to us."

"Man. We're some scout team." Alonzo said with a very small smile.

Back in camp, Julia talked to Devon, and they both agreed that Baines and Julia should head out immediately. "I'm glad we've already started to get the 'Rover out to them." Devon said as Julia filled a backpack with food and medicine. "At least we're a half day closer to them."

Julia nodded, "I'll call you when we get there, and let you know what the situation is." She walked out of the common room and hopped on the back of the ATV. Baines would to drive them as far as he could before they snowshoed the rest of the way to the scout team.

End of Part 6.

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