Do you know my shadow? by Lisa04

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Do You Know My Shadow? (16/17)
by Lisa 04

"What's that, Morgan? Come again?" Baines asked into his gear. Morgan had contacted him with a message but static interrupted them before he could hear everything the other man was saying. "I've got to get this piece of junk cleaned," he mumbled, tapping on the headset. "I said, we need you to come back to camp to look at this stupid perimeter system. The alarm is going off and no one can get it to stop," Morgan repeated, trying to make his story sound believable. "Can't someone else look at it," Baines said. "We're right in the middle of tracking that damn Grendler and I think we're on to something." "No. no one else can fix it. I'm sending someone out to take your place. Just tell Sheppard to wait..." The last part of the message was cut off by static. "Great," Baines grumbled. "Just great. Now this piece of junk isn't working either." He grabbed his bag and threw the gear into it. "I don't know why in the world no one can seem to fix that stupid alarm but me." He made the last comment knowing full well that nobody else could repair the alarm because he had jerry-rigged it so much during his repairs no one else could make heads or tails of the wiring. Even Danziger had given up trying to understand why the contraption continued to work.
"What is it?" Sheppard asked. He had stood quietly to the side while Baines had answered the call from Morgan. His subtle attempts to try and break away so that he could be alone to think were thwarted when they stumbled upon more grendler tracks. Now that they had a trail to follow, he couldn't find a good excuse to split up an search separately. Baines looked over to his search ‘partner'. To be honest, he didn't mind getting called back to camp. Sheppard didn't really say much and had resisted his attempts to strike up a conversation. The older man made him uncomfortable. He didn't know what Devon saw in this guy and frankly he was tired of trying to find out. "Martin said the perimeter alarm is malfunctioning again and they want me to come back to camp to take a look at it."
"Oh," Sheppard said, secretly relieved that he would now be able to be alone to think about his plans. "I suppose I could follow these tracks and find out where the Grendler's den is, then radio the location back to camp." "No, Devon doesn't want anyone searching alone. They're sending someone out to take my place. You're supposed to stay here and wait for them," Baines replied as he grabbed his pack. "They should be here soon." Sheppard was annoyed, but he didn't let it show. "Who are they sending?" "Don't know. He didn't say. It'll probably someone from one of the other teams since we've found some tracks to follow. I don't think anyone else has had much luck," Baines shrugged.
"Well, I'll just wait here then," Sheppard said, forcing a smile. "OK, see you back at camp. Good luck."
"Goodbye," Sheppard answered. Well at least he could use the time before the other person arrived to finalize his plans for Danziger and Devon, he thought as he sat down on the trunk of a fallen tree. "Morgan, do you have the last coordinates for Baines and Sheppard?" Devon had rushed into the main room and headed toward the communications console. Morgan jumped at the sudden sound. Turning to see Devon striding rapidly towards him with a frown on her face, he stuttered, "Uh, yeah, sure. I just called Baines to get him back here and I got a reading on their position." "You called to get Baines back to camp?" Devon asked, momentarily confused. "Why?"
Deciding that he wasn't going to play the fall guy for whatever Danziger was up to, he answered, "Because that's what Danziger told me to do. He wanted me to get Baines to come back to camp. He was being really weird about it though, he didn't want me to tip off Sheppard that he was coming out to take Baines' place." Morgan shrugged his shoulders and threw his hands up in the air, indicating that he had no idea what was going on. "Dammit," cursed Devon, turning around to look at Yale who had followed her out to the main room. "What is he up to, Yale?" "Take it easy, Devon," Yale said, "Danziger just wanted to talk with Sheppard to find out if everything was all right." "Take it easy?!" Devon said incredulously. "You know damn well that Danziger is not going to just talk. He's too hotheaded." Devon shook her head. "I just can't believe what you're saying about Sheppard is true. Danziger has been suspicious of Sheppard since they met and he has been looking for an excuse to turn everyone against him."
"Devon, Danziger did not make up this story. The Elder told us of his own free will," Yale pleaded. Somehow he had to make her understand.

Devon looked at the tutor. She didn't want to believe what he said, she couldn't. How could someone that she had felt so safe with, someone that she trusted, have done those things? No, Yale was wrong about Sheppard. It was all some misunderstanding. Maybe the Elder was angry that Sheppard had left. Maybe he blamed him for Katarina's death. She didn't know why he said the things he did, but she did know that he was wrong. He had to be. Still, something was different. Something wasn't right. She had felt it, but tried to explained it away. It was just because they hadn't seen or talked to each other in so many years...Wasn't it? She shook her head. She didn't have time to think about all of this. She had to stop any confrontation between the two men, something bad was going to happen if she didn't. The uneasiness that she had felt in the pit of her stomach over the last couple of days began to grow. She had to get there, now.
"Morgan, give me Sheppard's latest coordinates," she said, grabbing her coat and gear.
"16 degrees north, 5 degrees west, about 5 kilometers," Morgan answered, avoiding the glare Yale gave him.
"Devon what are you doing?" Yale asked. "I'm going to stop this," she answered angrily. "Devon, don't.." Yale's plea hung in the air, unfinished and unheard as Devon bolted from the building.
Spying the one person vehicle that had been transformed into a makeshift wheelchair for Alonzo, she jumped into it and sped off just as Yale emerged from the biodome.
"Devon!!" the tutor shouted at the quickly disappearing vehicle. Knowing that she didn't hear him and wouldn't stop even if she had, he turned and hurried back into the biodome. "Morgan, I want you to call the other search teams and give them the last known coordinates for Danziger and Sheppard. I want everyone to go to that location."
"Why? What the hell is going on?" Morgan asked, confused with all the cloak and dagger antics.
"I can't explain it right now, just get everyone there," Yale answered as he too grabbed a set of gear and place it on his head. Seeing a pistol lying on the table, he started to reach for it then hesitated. Although he was able to fire at Gaal when forced to, his weapons aversion program was still active. His hand hovered over the pistol then slowly continued forward, grasping the weapon. Yale turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Morgan asked nervously, seeing that the tutor had taken the weapon.
"To make sure nothing bad happens," Yale answered as the door slammed shut behind him.

Sheppard sat perfectly still, staring intently at the water of the stream that danced over and around the stones and twigs that threatened to block its path. In his mind he was formulating a plan...a plan that would take care of the obstacles that stood in his way, and assure his bond with Devon. It had become clear to him that he needed to rid Devon of Danziger's influence before he could step in and lead the group to New Pacifica. He was certain that he could quickly solidify his hold on Devon with just a few more Dreamplane ‘sessions'. Sheppard smiled to himself, *This is going to be so easy. Once I control Devon then I control ‘everything'*

Danziger sped along in the dunerail, barely avoiding a large bolder in his haste. He had been going over what the Elder had told him, and was getting angrier by the minute thinking about the way Sheppard had taken advantage of Devon. *Just like the slimeball to prey on a woman in a vulnerable state,* he fumed. *I should be coming up on his coodinates any minute.*

Sheppard was growing tired of waiting for his new search partner and was getting ready to head back to camp when he first spotted the bush moving. He watched as it slowly moved aside, revealing a Grendler emerging from a hole in the ground. Slipping behind a tree, Sheppard stood quietly as the animal replaced the bush and then lumbered off into the forest. "So that's where the beast has been hiding," he thought. "I wonder what he's got down there?" As he moved toward the bush to investigate, he heard the sound of the approaching vehicle.

Danziger couldn't quite interpret the expressions he saw on the older man's face when he arrived at the clearing. For an instant he thought he saw fear then hate before the usual mask of restraint returned. It took all he had to contain the anger that had built up inside of him as he drove to this destination. He knew, however, that he had to be calm and crafty if he was going to trick Sheppard into revealing his true self. *What if he has really changed?* a small voice whispered in the back of his mind. *Fat chance* his more cynical side scoffed, for it knew that his intuition about this man had been sounding alarms from the moment they met. "Well, good afternoon, Mr. Danziger," Sheppard smiled coolly, his mind racing to figure out the mechanic's agenda. *What was he doing here? Did it have something to do with his and Yale's disappearance this morning?* "Thought I'd come give you a hand in hunting for the Grendler," Danziger replied casually. He didn't want to tip his hand too soon. He had to wait for the right moment to confront Sheppard.
"Umm," Sheppard remarked. *Sure you did...What are you up to?* he said silently. "Well, I'm happy for the company," he smiled superficially, as he nodded to the other man.
"So, you have any luck with those tracks you and Baines were following?" "No, not yet," Sheppard lied. He chose not to tell Danziger about the Grendler or its den, deciding that they might come in handy at a later time as a plan began to formulate in his mind. "Well, maybe we should backtrack. You guys might have missed something further back where the tracks started." Danziger suggested, eyeing the other man.
"Whatever you think is best." Sheppard shrugged, grabbing his walking stick and standing to join Danziger. "Lead on." The two men walked in silence back toward the creek where Baines and Sheppard had first spotted the tracks. Each contemplating their own agenda. Finally, Danziger spoke.
"So, Sheppard, it looks like we're going to be spending a lot of time together traveling to New Pacifica so maybe we should try and get to know one another. "
"Yes, I'd like that," Sheppard replied, glancing over to the man walking slightly behind him.
"So where did you and your sister grow up?" Danziger asked innocently. "We were born on earth and lived most of our lives there, near mining colony 16. And you?"
"Born and bred on the Stations. Feels kinda nice to get my feet on some solid dirt instead of the cold hard metal of those floating colonies. Never thought I'd say that, but there sure is something about this planet that makes you feel like a new man."
"Yes, this is a remarkable planet," Sheppard agreed. "It's amazing the things I've seen since we crashed here," Danziger remarked. "Man, I can't tell you how many times something has happened that just blew me away. It's almost like this planet is magic." Sheppard glanced at the other man, but said nothing.
"And those diggers, boy are they incredible. I mean, that dreamplane stuff, did you ever imagine anything like that could ever be possible?" He turned to look at Sheppard.
"It is a pretty wonderful thing," Sheppard nodded. He thought he knew where the other man was going with this conversation. *He's not very subtle* "Tell me something, Sheppard," Danziger stopped suddenly and turned toward the other man. "How did you know that the Terrians and this planet could help Uly and the other Syndrome children?"
Slightly startled that Danziger would ask such a forthright question so soon, Sheppard paused for a moment. He quickly collected his thoughts and answered, "The Terrians told me they could."
"But how could they know if they would be able to help him? "The Terrians understand that anything on this planet ultimately becomes a part of it. And if the child were here, they could use it to help him," Sheppard answered. "The Terrians have a such a symbiotic link to this planet that they are able to tap into the metaphysical part of it at will." "Hmm," Danziger said thoughtfully. "It's sort of strange the bond all these Terrians have with each other and this place," he said, sweeping his arm around to indicate their surroundings.
"Yes, their bond is quite strong," Sheppard agreed. "It's incredible what they are capable of," the mechanic went on, "it's no wonder the Council wants to control them and this planet. No telling what the Council would be able to do if they were ever able to accomplish that." "Hmmm," Sheppard nodded. "They are amazing creatures." He continued walking, following the Grendler tracks deeper into the forest. *This is crazy,* Danziger thought to himself. *I'm not getting anywhere like this. I need to know if this guy is back to his old tricks or not.* Danziger was never one to play games, he'd always had better luck with the direct approach.
"Look Sheppard, " Danziger stopped and looked at the other man. "You know first hand how ‘amazing' the Terrians are, don't you?" "I'm not sure what you're talking about," Sheppard said, cautiously. *Where was the mechanic going with this?? *
"What I'm talking about is the little ‘deal' that your sister made with the diggers." If Sheppard were still ‘transformed' then he wouldn't know anything about the agreement Katarina had made with the Terrians or anything about his real past. If he could just get the older man upset or angry, maybe he'd slip up and reveal himself.
"I don't know what ‘deal' you're talking about," Sheppard said coolly. "My sister never had much contact with the Terrians, she was ill and kept to herself." *How could he know about what Katarina had done?* Danziger saw an opening. "Oh, she was ill all right. Looney as they come. I guess she had you to thank for that, didn't she?" "If you're implying that the sleep chamber malfunction was somehow my fault, I don't where you're coming up with that, I loved my sister very much," Sheppard said, indignant. He could feel the anger starting to swell inside of him.
"Oh no, I'm not implying anything about that chamber. And it sounds like you really loved your sister, dragging her into a pack of fanatics and all, and getting her shipped off to this planet with you when you couldn't play nice with the Council," Danziger said sarcastically. "Yeah, buddy, you really know how to treat family. I'd hate to see how you treat people you don't like." Sheppard stood, fuming. *Danziger and the tutor must have talked to the Elder somehow. That must be where they were this morning. He should have realized that the old man wouldn't keep his mouth shut...He should have shut it for him.*

Devon raced toward Danziger and Sheppard's last reported location. She still couldn't believe the things that Yale had told her. Questions flew through her mind. *Could I have been that wrong about Sheppard? Was the Elder telling the truth? What if Danziger and Yale were wrong about Sheppard and he was still the kind, loving man that came to her on the dreamplane? What if he weren't?* So many questions that needed answers. *I should be there soon,* she thought as the hollow feeling began to grow in the pit of her stomach.

Danziger continued to try and bait Sheppard into revealing himself. " So tell me Sheppard, how does it feel knowing that you had to have a ‘woman' save you ass? That doesn't sit well with most ‘High Priests' now does it? I mean, you're supposed to be some bigwig and all, aren't you? But I guess you couldn't hold your own with the Terrians. Your sister had to beg them to let you live. She had to trade her ‘soul' to save yours. "

Danziger wasn't expecting what happened next. Sheppard swiftly brought his walking staff up and struck the other man on the side of the head. Danziger fell to the ground, struggling to reach his weapon before unconsciousness took him. When he came to, his wrist were bound behind him and he was leaning against a tree stump. Sheppard was watching him, perched atop a large rock. The weapon in his hand, aimed directly at the mechanic.

End part 16

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