Legends II - Legends of Love by Nicole Mayer

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Legends II : LEGENDS OF LOVE. (4/9)
by Nicole Mayer

It was a journey of so many poignant memories. Years had passed since the first trek across the planet, yet as the group travelled through the terrain, it seemed only yesterday.

They could vividly remember the endless hiking from dawn until dusk, their hopes pinned on a dream. A dream that was now reality for most of them.

Sadly, they recalled the friends they had lost along the way; then smiled at thoughts of first encounters. Everything was so different now, but somehow, the raw essence of the wild, unexplored planet had not changed.

"Do you remember that mountain, Uly?" asked True. She and Uly were perched on the high back seat of the smaller scout vehicle that Walman was driving. Ahead, she could see the dust cloud produced by the larger vehicle containing the medical equipment in which Julia and Danziger were seated.

They would be travelling thousands of miles, and unfortunately, there were no stable transport tunnels near the downed spacecraft where Devon was buried. People still used the tunnels but had strict medical check-ups afterward.

So two vehicles had been essential to the expedition, mostly as insurance against problems, but it also provided the small group the chance to spread out.

Uly stared hard at the mountain True was pointing at. "Was that the one where you accidentally threw my..."

"...hat over the edge!" continued True, laughing at the memory. "You were furious, so you grabbed my scarf and threw it down too!" "And then you hurled my shoes over, so I was trying to wrench your shoes off your feet," snickered Uly.

True was laughing loudly now. "And then Dad came along and threatened to throw us both off! Oooh, he was mad."

"We never found your scarf, did we?" reminisced Uly. True brushed her long hair back, and it fluttered in Uly's face.

"No, I don't think we did. I just remember how Dad made us search for hours for your shoes. And we were told we weren't ever allowed to go on another mountain scout."

"It was the last one, anyway," commented Uly. True's hair blew in his face again, and he wondered if she would ever cut it. Not that it wasn't beautiful, of course.

"This is just so incredible," said True wistfully. "It's as if we've stepped back in time." She closed her eyes, and imagined Uly as he was back then, a cheeky young boy who loved to tease her.

Ghosts of the past danced before her eyes. Everyone had been so full of dreams of their future at New Pacifica, and somehow, the weariness was now forgotten. Only the laughter and the tears they had shared on that amazing journey remained in True's heart.

"We were the first," said Uly proudly. "We made this place happen."

True nodded, and squeezed her almost-brother's hand. "I'm so glad we were part of it." And that was true. She wouldn't have traded anything for the memories that she shared with her friends, the original Eden Advance.

But as the months passed and they travelled closer to the place of death, the memories were no longer so happy. Julia looked upon the landscape with new eyes. The last time they had been there, everything had appeared in shades of black and grey. A pall had hung over the group as they struggled to survive after the terrible loss.

Julia had almost driven herself to the point of collapse, searching for clues that weren't there. Danziger had been numb and withdrawn; it had taken him a few weeks to inspire hope both within himself and for the group. And Uly had cried himself to sleep for days.

But they had survived. More than that, they had conquered defeat and succeeded.

"Brings back the memories, hey, Julia," Danziger said solemnly. She looked into his haunted eyes and nodded. Their second journey had begun so joyfully, but the darkness of this place seemed to overcome all.

Nervously playing with the compass, Julia asked, "How much further?"

Danziger knew. He would never forget the landscape here, for his eyes had been drawn backwards with every waking moment. A harrowing battle had raged within his soul as whether to stay with Devon, or go forward and push the hurt away.

However, time had showed that the right decisions were made. To go on, and to survive. But now, Danziger's heart was in his throat as he strained to make out the images on the edge of the horizon as the afternoon wore on.

There. A tiny flash of sunlight, a glint in the distance. That was it. They knew it. The two vehicles, by some mutual understanding, ground to a halt and the five weary travellers gathered.

Quietly, they stared into the distance. They were so near to their destination now, and each wondered what the next day would bring. So much hope was pinned on them, and their actions, and no one knew what would happen if they failed a second time. They were afraid.

Somehow, the derelict ship ahead of them flashed at regular intervals, as if it were homing beacon. In a way, it was, the only sanctuary in the thousands of miles of desert that held a living, human being.

Or so they believed.

The sun was setting and darkness appeared to creep over the landscape and swallow the ship whole. Danziger shuddered. How long had Devon suffered like this, alone in the dark? And it was his fault. He felt a fear grip his heart and suddenly did not want tomorrow to come. He was afraid of the future and what it might bring.

The five watchers looked out across the shadowy landscape. The air was quiet, not even the gentlest of breezes disturbed the sparse clumps of ragged grass. It was still a place of sadness, destined to be that way for all time.

"Do we go on, or make camp here?" asked Walman suddenly, his voice ringing through the stillness of dusk.

"Stay here," said the other four voices in unison. It seemed they were all a little afraid to go meet their goal. It was safer here on the edge, where dreams were still possibilities and truth would not destroy all hope.

"Devon, no!" moaned Danziger. He could see her, just on the edge of his vision, a wraith in the moonlight that danced away from him constantly. She was nothing more than a spirit that could never be caught. He reached out to her...

Shaking his head, Danziger refocussed his attention on the cryo-chamber. With trembling fingers, he pushed the release buttons and heard the slow hiss of the pod beginning to open. Crossing the room quickly, he prepared to gather her in his arms and let her live.

She wasn't there. The crib was empty, for she had truly vanished to the spirit world.

"No!" cried Danziger. "We came back for you! You have to be here!"

A musical laugh sounded behind him. He whirled around, and was rewarded to see a flash of dark hair. But all too soon, it was gone.

Stumbling outside into the night air, Danziger's eyes desperately searched the horizon. She was gone.

"Devon!" he roared into the night. "I can't lose you again! I can't live without you!"

Danziger's gaze returned to the ship as he fell to his knees in defeat. He heard the seductive calling of destiny...

...and someone was shaking his arm. "Dad, wake up!" hissed True. She didn't want to embarrass him any further by having everyone else awake and aware of Danziger's nightmares. She'd had enough trouble so far on this trip keeping him quiet, but tonight's nightmares were by far the worst.

"True!" Danziger gasped as the world slowly came into focus. His heart pounding furiously, Danziger realised that again, Devon had been tormenting his dreams. Telling him over and over that he should not have left her, and could not let her die. It was his duty to let her live again.

He stared up at the stars, his face bathed in their soft luminescence. The night was warm, and the small group had slept under the stars again. Uneasily, though.

True realised that her father was finally awake enough to understand what she was saying. "Dad, I'm worried about you. You're always calling out for Devon in your sleep."

"So what if I am?" Danziger snapped irritably. Didn't True realise how important she was to him?

True jumped, visibly surprised at his reaction. "I just want to know that you're okay." The young woman's voice was sorrowful, as if she knew Danziger was slipping into a realm from which there was no escape.

Danziger saw the pain flicker across his daughter's face, and was instantly sorry. "Come here, True-girl," he said softly, using the nickname he hadn't used for years. "I'm sorry," he apologised.

"I'm just a little tense, you know?"

"I guess we all are," replied True wisely. She gave her father a hug, and prayed that he would be alright. Then she slipped off back to her bed, and soon fell into a troubled sleep.

But Danziger could not sleep. With his arms behind his head, he gazed at the stars and moons until the light of day finally broke.

Slowly, they approached the derelict ship. Everyone was visibly relieved to see that the outside, at least, appeared intact. The hatch was still sealed as tightly as it was the day Danziger and Alonzo had sorrowfully closed it. Or literally fused it shut, Julia realised wryly as a laser torch was produced to cut it open.

Inside, the air was stale and musty. True carefully sniffed at it, remembering a time half-forgotten. There were bad memories here, bad feelings. She could almost see Elizabeth again, and feel the intense pain from feedback to the biostat implants, remember collapsing to the ground and screaming in agony while clutching desperately at her head....

The single, impersonal light of the ancient computer system blinked incessantly, casting random shadows across the room. There was a thin layer of dust over everything, although Julia could not fathom how it had got there with the ship having been sealed so tightly. Yet all things died, eventually, so perhaps the ship itself was turning to dust.

She trod over to the control panel, her heart in her throat. What if the equipment had failed? However, the lights showed Julia that Devon was still sleeping peacefully, or as peacefully as was possible with such primitive equipment.

Calling up a quick diagnostic, Julia suddenly wished that Alonzo was there with them. He had a lot more experience with the old-style ships than she did, and Julia was worried that she wouldn't remember how to operate all of the controls.

But then she recalled that it was Morgan who brought out Franklin and Elizabeth from cold sleep in the first place, so it couldn't be too hard to figure the workings. And she could always call Yale via the satellite relay if she was desperate.

Her fingers dancing, Julia called to Walman to start bringing the medical equipment inside. Everything looked good.

"Danziger?" began Julia, turning to see what he was doing. He was situated in front of Devon's cryo-chamber, his fingers delicately tracing the blurred outline of her face.

Danziger felt a sense of fulfilment come over his soul. Finally, they had come back. Finally, they could save her. Finally, he could love her, and she him. The glass was misted before him, but Danziger could imagine every detail of Devon's serene face perfectly. Not long now, and she would be in his arms.

"John!" Julia's voice broke his reverie. "Are you ready?" Was he ready? He had been waiting for this moment forever, or so it seemed. Taking a deep breath, he turned to face Julia with hope in his eyes. "Yes."

Perfectly, the mechanical procedure began. Julia was ecstatic to see that the ship did not fail Devon, as it had failed the other doomed people eight years earlier. Any second now, the door would be opening and Devon would be free.

She fell into Danziger's waiting arms like a fragile baby bird breaking free from its nest.

Danziger held the small form in his arms. He could smell her hair, the beautiful sweet scent that was missing from his life for so many years, feel her soft skin, and all the physical sensations that were just *her*.

Devon shuddered, and a small moan escaped her lips.

"Devon, I'm here. We came back for you. You're going to be alright," Danziger whispered over and over as he held her close, revelling in the momentary sensation before reluctantly placing her on the medical bench.

Devon opened her eyes in confusion. "John!" she managed, seeing his blue eyes gaze - lovingly? - she wondered, down at her. Suddenly, Devon realised that he did love her, and she, she - loved him. It was something wonderful that being so close to death had shown her.

~They say that your life flashes before your eyes before death,~ thought Devon, ~but no one ever mentions the revelations that it brings...~

Her body shuddered, and Devon moaned. The pain hadn't lessened at all, even though she knew she had been asleep for some time.

"It's alright, Dev, Julia's here," soothed Danziger, stroking her hair. Julia's face swam above her. As Devon struggled to focus, she realised how much older the doctor looked. She shifted her eyes to Danziger, and he, too, had aged.

"Where's Uly?" Devon managed. Frighteningly, she could still feel herself dying, feel her heart shuddering and threatening to give out at any moment.

"Right here, Mom," came a deep voice and a strange face appeared.

"Uly?" she gasped, then broke into another fit of spasmodic coughing.

"It's okay, really," he replied. "We'll talk later. You have to get well first-" and a look of horror overtook his face as he broke off.

"Julia!" he said frantically. "I can't hear the singing!" Julia's face was just as troubled. "I know," she whispered in a hushed voice. "I'm not detecting any of it on my scanners.

"How could we be wrong?" Julia suddenly burst out as Devon's body arched in pain yet again. "I don't get it! All the symptoms are the same..."

"Do something!" raged Danziger, grabbing Devon's hand as her desperate eyes searched his for understanding.

"John," Devon gasped. Her voice was little more than a frail whisper.

"She's suffering a complete system failure!" Julia's words had been repeated many times before but this time, they had a sense of finality. "I can't do anything," she choked in horror. She saw the disbelief whirl across Danziger's face, and offered mute apologies with her eyes.

"Mom, I love you," said Uly. "You did everything for me. You brought us here...."

"New Pacifica?" she managed. Danziger leaned close to hear Devon's words, and tell her that her dream had become reality.

"We made it, Adair. The colonists arrived, all the Syndrome kids are fine. You did it."

A small smile crossed Devon's face through the pain. "Thank you, John."

"Devon," he said, his voice deadly serious. "You have to make it through this. I can't live without you. I can't lose you again."

Devon felt the world swimming about her, and she was fading in and out. Dimly, she was aware of someone caressing her cheeks, telling her to breathe, damn it!, but suddenly she could no longer feel her heart beating. It was all over. "Not yet!" her mind screamed. She prayed desperately for one more moment in the living world, to tell John Danziger that she loved him.

But it was not to be. "She's gone," said Julia in a flat voice as every reading went dead.

"No!" roared Danziger. "I didn't tell her, she doesn't know, she can't be gone yet!" Wildly, he pushed on her chest, willing her heart to start again.

"Stop it, John!" shrieked Julia through her tears. "She's gone, okay? We can't bring her back to life!" Danziger stared at the still form, his heart breaking. There was only one thing to do.

"We have to put her back."

"No."

"Yes, damn it! I *will not* bury her in the ground! She deserves more than that!" Danziger raged. For him, burying Devon would mean the final acceptance of her death, and he wasn't ready to deal with that. He didn't suspect he ever would be. As long as her body remained, surely there was some sort of hope?

Julia saw Danziger's pain through her own, and realised he could not be reasoned with.

"Okay, then," said Julia, her face weary with defeat. "We'll put her back."

True led Uly outside as Danziger gathered Devon in his arms for the last time. He and Julia despondently approached Devon's final resting place.

Neither of them heard the tiny gasp as the chamber sealed shut. Didn't realise that, against all odds, Devon Adair's heart would still beat one last time. She would not give up so easily. If only she had the chance to live, or die.

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