One Fell Swoop by Allison McDonnell

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Over the next days, it appeared that the rain clouds had dissipated for good; and with it, the mud which had coated the vehicles and had accessorized the Edenites' boots and trouser legs. Unfortunately, the overall morale of the group was also gone, with no sign of returning anytime soon. Not since they'd buried Eben while dealing with their own impending deaths due to the bio-chip malfunction had spirits been this dismal.

Eden Advance's daily twenty click quota was achieved and usually exceeded, though it was accomplished in near silence. Whether they were commandeering the vehicles or journeying on foot, conversations were rare as most kept to themselves while remaining lost in their thoughts. Discussions which took place during their nightly meals and even as they huddled around the campfire for warmth were now carried on in hushed, stoic tones. Laughter was nonexistent and it was as though every single member of the group had lost the ability to smile.

The shores of New Pacifica were within their reach-- less than fifteen days travel time. Yet no one in Eden Advance seemed to care beyond what new responsibilities and possible hardships it would mean for them as they readied themselves for the arrival of the colony ship. Even to Devon, the once lofty and, at times, seemingly impossible goal of reaching New Pacifica which had occupied the majority of her thoughts, had been relegated to a mere footnote in her mind, now eclipsed by more pressing matters.

Devon had retaken her place as leader just two days after John's death, but her first concern by far was for the welfare of the children. As such, she was more than willing to continue to delegate some of her responsibilities to other crew members in order to spend as much time with them as possible. Uly tried to put on a good front and support his Mom and True, but it was obvious to everyone that he missed Danziger terribly. True spent her days riding in the vehicles and her nights ensconced in the Adair tent. Coaxing her to eat was almost as difficult a task as getting her to speak in words consisting of more than one syllable. Instead, her expression conveyed her emotions loud and clear and she usually appeared as though she was only seconds away from becoming sick to her stomach, disintegrating into tearful cries and exploding into a fit of unbridled rage, all at the same time.

Despite her sorrow and the fact that John's loss permeated her nearly every waking and sleeping thought, Devon knew that the others looked to her for guidance, so she did her best to keep her emotions in check. Only once-- when she was searching her belongings and had stumbled across the underwear that she'd playfully stolen from John months before and had carefully hidden in a small compartment sewn into her knapsack-- was she so overcome with anguish that she was forced to secretly leave camp.

That night, she'd slipped by Mazatl's watchful eye, too emotional to allow the sentry to see her. Occasional streaks of moonlight cast from the two moons hovering above had lit her way as she'd stumbled through the forest. She'd been certain to stay far away from the river; not just due to the danger of the rapids, but because it was yet another crushing reminder of Danziger's death. Once Devon was safely away from the eyes and ears of the group, she'd collapsed in a heap on the ground, rocking back and forth as she whispered John's name in between racked sobs.

Over an hour later and once she had run out of tears, Devon remained huddled in the shadows, her thoughts now drifting to a conversation that she'd had with Danziger many months before in which she'd speculated that Eden Advance might be cursed. At the time, Danziger's alternate point of view that bad things happened for a reason had reinstilled in Devon the much needed optimism that, no matter what obstacles they were encountering, indeed things would get better. However, now she wasn't so sure. After all, what could the reasoning possibly be for John's senseless murder? What good could ever come out of ripping a father away from his daughter; not to mention taking away a man who was irreplaceable in the hearts and minds of all those who knew him? Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. The only truth that Devon was sure of was included in a confession which she'd inadvertently blurted out to Alonzo while in the East coast spider caves: It just wouldn't be New Pacifica without John.

Danziger had been gone for six days now and Devon wondered if there would ever come a time in her lifetime when she would not feel the pain of his absence. She sincerely doubted it. And there was another issue, something of a rather sensitive nature, that was weighing heavily upon her psyche. As much as the leader tried to put it out of her mind, in her heart she knew that the matter needed to be addressed and dealt with. And luckily, there was someone in Eden Advance who could help her accomplish the extremely delicate task.

That evening, Devon made arrangements to put the children to bed a bit early and then returned to the dwindling campfire just as Alonzo and Julia were retiring to their quarters for the night.

Devon caught up to the couple just as they were about to enter the med-tent.

"Could I come in and speak with you for a few minutes?" the leader beckoned, stepping out of the darkness.

"Of course, Devon," Julia replied, more than a little surprised to see her. Though she'd occasionally checked up on a still recovering Magus, Devon had mostly retreated from the other crew members; instead choosing to spend almost all of her time with the children. It was good to finally witness her seek out the company of others.

Alonzo lifted the canvas tarp to allow the two women first entry and then followed behind. As the flap fell to a close, Julia turned up the nearest lumalantern to brighten the room, as well as to more easily permit her to perform a cursory check of the leader's features to see if anything was medically amiss. Devon seemed physically fine, though her mannerisms made her appear nervous and more than a bit troubled.

"Would you like to sit down?" Alonzo asked, motioning to a nearby overturned crate.

"No thank you. This won't take long," Devon relayed uncomfortably, her hands clasped tightly together in front of her as she tried not to fidget. "I need to ask you for a favor; a very important one. And I also need this to stay between us, at least for the time being."

Devon barely gave them time to nod their agreement as her eyes centered on Alonzo, stating, "I'd like for you to contact the Terrians to see if there is any way that they can provide us with the location of John's body." She paused to swallow hard. "And if and when they do, we're going to set a new course to retrieve him."

The pair's eyebrows shot toward their hairlines as Devon furthered, "Once John is back with his friends and family, we can have a proper burial. He deserves that dignity. He deserves to be at peace."

Alonzo and Julia exchanged an indescribable look, completely dumbfounded by the announcement. It was necessary for Julia to clear her throat in order to find her voice.

"Devon, I understand why you're asking this," Julia replied in a sympathetic tone. "But don't you think that it would be better if we waited to recover John's body until after we reach New Pacifica?"

"New Pacifica can wait a few extra days," Devon expressed with a hint of bitterness.

Alonzo's voice was infused with kindness, despite the uncomfortable subject. "Sure it can," he interjected. "It's just that... wouldn't you rather Danziger's final resting place be somewhere close to where we'll be living? That way, everyone can visit him as often as they'd like to."

Devon started shaking her head emphatically before he'd finished speaking. "No, this can't wait. It needs to be handled now," she exclaimed, becoming slightly choked up, but successfully holding her emotions at bay. "Every single moment that we sit here, John is out there somewhere... alone... exposed to the elements."

She let out a shuddering breath. "Th- There could be animals..."

The sentence wasn't completed, but the inference was clear. Devon clamped her eyes shut and, as such, missed the horrified expressions now displayed on Julia and Alonzo's faces.

Devon remained as composed as possible, though her words steadily increased in speed. "Once John is back with us, we'll have a funeral and bury him. And after we've established New Pacifica, we'll go back and move him closer to us."

The leader finally reopened her eyes and let out a deep exhalation. "I realize that I'm asking a lot of you. This is not going to be easy. I also know that the Terrians may not want to help us. Please just do your best to make them understand how important this is to us," she relayed. "And if they ask for a favor or another promise in return, just let me know what it is and I'll do it."

Alonzo's features had returned to their prior sympathetic state. "I'll contact them tonight," he assured in a tone filled with compassion. "And I promise to let you know as soon as I hear anything."

Devon was the very picture of professionalism, though her eyes were heartbreakingly sad. "Thank you," she nodded as she headed for the tent's exit. She pivoted back toward the couple, adding, "This means more to me than you can imagine."

Devon retreated into the darkness, leaving Alonzo to stare at the now empty threshold while he absorbed the daunting task in front of him. Moreover, he was desperately trying to rid himself of the newly implanted images of Danziger's days-old corpse and of the possible condition that it was currently in. Between the two subjects, the pilot was feeling more than a little overwhelmed. He was also absolutely certain that the R.E.M. sleep that was necessary for him to achieve in order to communicate with the Terrians could not be accomplished that evening without the help of a sleep aid.

Alonzo instinctively extended his arm in order to take Julia's hand and was surprised that she was no longer within his reach. He twisted his body around to see that she had silently made her way across the room to her main work station and was already loading the hypo-gun with a sedaderm caplet. Despite the circumstances, a small smile couldn't help but escape from Alonzo's lips at how well Julia was able to read him and accurately size up exactly what was needed of her.

Not wanting to waste any time, he immediately moved toward the double cot, roughly fluffing the pillow before flopping onto the mattress. Once Julia ascertained that her lover was comfortable, she lowered to one knee directly next to their shared bed and delicately placed the hypo-gun just below his ear.

"You ready?" she asked.

Alonzo let out a slow, calming breath to clear his mind as much as possible.

"Let's do this," he said with a resolute nod of his head and Julia wasted no time pulling the apparatus' trigger to administer the sleep aid.

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So close, yet so far.

After over a year of time and practice on G889, navigating the Dreamplane was no longer much of a challenge for Alonzo; that is, it wasn't much of a challenge as long as he could get to sleep. The real difficulty now almost solely lay in communicating with the Terrians.

It wasn't as if he couldn't interpret their words, nor did the beings ever seem to experience any trouble when it came to deciphering the language of humans. But it was Eden Advance's actions-- accompanied with the motives and emotions behind it-- that sometimes seemed to become hopelessly lost in translation between the two species. The idea that humans acted as individuals with singular viewpoints and aspirations often appeared to confound, even exasperate, the creatures. Their collective world was seen in black and white, with no room for gray in between. There was little to no tolerance granted when mistakes were made and the beings certainly didn't believe in second chances. As such, talking with the Terrians was an easy task for Alonzo. However, getting them to understand and empathize with Eden Advance's choices often proved to be something altogether different.

Alonzo deftly moved through the Dreamscape's narrow tunnel that his mind had been projected to. He barely noticed the occasional jarring of the scene in front of him, nor was he adversely affected by the overlapping chorus of Terrian trills which endlessly reverberated off of the tunnel walls at every angle. The pilot rounded the corner and entered an open chamber illuminated by generous amounts of sunstones which adorned the cave from the floor to the ceiling. Although the glowing rocks provided more than enough light for Alonzo to see, he noted that he didn't feel any warmth emanating from them and he briefly wondered if this was due to the fact that he was in an alternate reality.

After he reached the center of the room, Alonzo remained nonplussed when three Terrians sprouted up from the stone floor directly in front of him. He searched their large frames to see if he could recognize any identifying characteristics such as accents of cloth or foliage. Although the creatures bore none of those things, what interested Alonzo was that none of them carried a staff. This was highly unusual. He wasn't sure if this was because the beings were from a local friendly tribe or if they simply didn't consider Alonzo to be a threat. Either way, he regarded it to be a good sign, indeed.

Alonzo knew that Terrians generally didn't like to waste time on pleasantries, so he got right down to business.

"I am here to ask for your help," he said plainly. "There was a man in our tribe. His name was John Danziger. Six days ago, he was attacked by another group of humans and his body was carried away by the river. We would like to bury him, but we don't know where he is. Do you have any idea where we can find him?"

The middle Terrian appeared to be the spokesman for the group. "Yes, we are aware of the location of your human, John Danziger."

A small sense of relief washed over the sleep-jumper that, not only did the beings know where Danziger currently was, they divulged this knowledge without making him jump through hoops. So far. One hurdle down; only a couple of more to go.

"Could you tell me exactly where he is so that we can recover his body?" he queried.

Alonzo was suddenly struck by an idea that would save Eden Advance valuable time and stress, and he decided to run with it. After all, it couldn't hurt to ask. "Or better yet, is there any way that you could bring Danziger back to us?"

All three Terrians tilted their heads to the side, obviously confused. "We do not understand the nature of your request. Explain your reasoning."

The pilot chose his words very carefully and knew from past experience to keep his explanation as concise and free from emotion as possible. "John Danziger was an important member of our tribe and we would like to honor him by putting his body back into the earth."

He further clarified, "For humans, burial is a rite of passage very similar to your Moon Cross."

This seemed to make an impression on the creatures and they contemplated Alonzo's description for several seconds before finally responding.

"Do you wish us to bury your human for you?"

Alonzo blinked a few times in surprise. He hoped that the Terrian tribes who inhabited New Pacifica were going to be this accommodating. It would be wonderful to have a partnership where the two species were not only willing to work with each other, but would come to one another's aid in their time of need.

"No, thank you," the pilot replied, obviously touched by their offer. "Another part of the human custom is for our group to gather together and hold a ceremony-- a ritual of sorts-- as we place our friend into the ground. It provides us with a sense of closure, as well as a sense of peace."

Alonzo decided to attempt to further bridge the gap between them. "And when John Danziger's body has been reclaimed, you are more than welcome to attend our service, if you'd like," he offered. "In fact, your presence there would be an additional honor for our friend."

The Terrians showed no reaction beyond their silent gazes. As such, Alonzo had no idea if his invitation was being mulled over or if it had been discarded in its entirety. In fact, although the creatures appeared to be relatively hospitable, they had yet to agree to retrieve Danziger or to provide his location.

At last, the center Terrian broke the stillness. "There is a hill to your west, not far beyond the trees. At the base, you will find a small clearing outlined with stones. Your human will be returned to you there tomorrow at first light."

Alonzo nodded in appreciation. "Thank you," he said, adding, "And we consider this another token of the growing friendship between our two species. If we can ever return this favor and help you in any way, please come to us and ask."

The Terrians let out one last, unified trill before bowing their heads and descending into the earth.

Alonzo shut his eyes, greatly comforted that, after the despair that Eden Advance had experienced for nearly a week, something was finally going their way. Thanks to the Terrians, John Danziger was at last coming home where he belonged; to the people who loved him.

Maybe the pilot would be able to sleep soundly tonight after all.

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