TIME CAPSUL
By
Alex Queirolo
Timeline: Years after
Author's E-Mail: CUVH94A@prodigy.com
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Well, I acutually wrote this piece almost a month ago and then shelved it for a bit because there something wrong with it. I feel like I've fixed that. There have been a few people who have told me that they have enjoyed my work and I hope you will continue to do so. This is my first piece since 6-20-95 and am I so wrong to believe that that is just too long of a time? Anyways, I was away at the California State Summer School for the Arts at Cal Arts in Valencia, California(I'm definately moving to LA next year after I graduate from highschool this year) enrolled in the creative writing program and I think it helped. You tell me. I hope you like it. Drop me a line, comments are always ALWAYS invited.-Alex
Dedicated to Tara. I hope you don't mind, I used something from CHOICES.
Lia and Shel, my longtime writing buddies and George, your letter made me jump with joy and kept me from being totally computer-home-sick.Quote that makes me think of E2: From DANGEROUS MINDS: "You got to rage against the dying of the light." E2 being canceled certainly threatens to put out the light, doesn't it? That's okay, we're raging.
TIME CAPSUL
by ALEX QUEIROLO a.k.a Ryver Kyle
FUTURE: About fifty years into the future.
A man moved around the back of the tent, talking to himself in an excited tone all the awhile. He kept saying, "Shank, we found it." His companions all looked at him with expressions of awe and confusion. Arik Baines just grinned, threw up his hands and said, "Don't you get it? After all this time, we've finally found the Biodome. Oh man, I thought it was lost but..." The young man went down on his hands and knees and gently began to scrape dirt back. He looked up at another tall man, "Jamie, help me." Jamie scowled but bent down beside his friend.
"How did I get myself talked into this, Baines?" Jamie muttered, his fingers scraping through the redish dirt easily.
Arik Baines looked up at the young man next to him."Because my father and your grandfather were extremely good friends and we both carry that friendship within us, Jamie."
James Walman nodded slowly. His grandfather had been one of the original members of the Eden Crew and he had often talked about their travels to New Pacifica. That was the main reason that he jumped when he learned that his grandad's best friends' son had returned from the stations. He and Arik had bonded immediately and this mission to recover artifacts from the original voyage across G-889 was only making them closer.
"Hey, Jamie, look at this!" Arik cried out. Jamie leaned forward and gazed into his friends' chocolate hands. There, nestled in his palms, covered in dust was a small metal box.
"It's the chip." Jamie said in a an amazed tone."Oh by God, it's the chip."
Arik nodded. "When my father went back to the stations after the Colony ship arrived, he and my ma, uh, Teresa Gomez were held for questioning for days until Jennifer Heller had them all released. Things weren't the same for him though. I think both he and ma regreted leaving here.He said he missed his friends. He told me that he would go back if given the chance.He never got it but I did and I told him I was going. That's when he told me about this chip. He told me that he and your grandfather had made this vid of the Advance crew. Come on."
Arik swallowed. He'd heard the stories. This was real.
Walman said, "Now, you and I, you're the camera, I'm Walman, are gonna go on a little walk. We're gonna take a vid of the infamous Eden Crew so no one will ever forget the great Walman..."
"You're shanking crazy!" A voice said from the side. Walman turned towards his friend Baines and sighed.
"Oh, okay, you can be the co-host, if that'll make you happy. But here's the catch, Baines, ain't nobody allowed to know we're making this. I'm gonna bury it in a time capsul when we leave and someday, someone is gonna dig it up and we'll be immortalized."
Baines shook his head. " You're crazy." He frowned and then looked at Walman who was gazing back at him with a grin, "Alright. I'll help you for a little while."
The two men began to slowly walk through camp, Walman rotating his head from side to side. The vid camera was hooked to his eyepiece so that the chances of anyone realizing what he was doing were slim. "Hey's there's Danziger, let's go bug him." Walman said.
Baines gave his friend a strange expression, "Are you okay, man. Maybe I should have Julia check you out. You wanna go bug John. I hate to tell you but he hasn't been in the best of moods lately." Walman ignored him and moved towards John but did not start to talk to him.
He watched instead. Danziger was down on his back, head under the TransRover with grease and sweat dripping from his brow. His clothes were wet from lying in the snow. They had been at the winter camp for several weeks and John had finally said that he couldn't allow the weather to keep him from his vehicles. Devon had made some wise crack about parenting instincts and that had gotten the two started again. In any case, Danziger was letting loose a rampage of colorful adjectives. That made Walman smile. Danziger was a mechanic. He didn't go to cocktail parties and he didn't read poetry but he was a good man and a good father and he knew his job well and he got it done.
"Hey, whoever is up there, hand me the number seven, huh?" Danziger grumbled from under the vehicle. He reached out a grease-stained and calloused hand and opened it up to accept the tool. When Baines realized that Walman wasn't going to do it, so intent was he on surveying the camp, he did it himself and Danziger muttered a thank you and pulled the hand back. Walman brought his attention back.
"Looks like trouble in paradise,"Walman chirped. "What are you talking about?" Baines replied. "Look." He pointed towards where the Eden Projects' young, cocky pilot was standing. He was leaning against the dome with his back to them and his hands flat against the metal wall. His posture said he was angry. Alonzo Solace took a deep breath and then turned towards the duo but looked past them. He was talking to himself and gazing in the direction of the med-tent. He started to move towards it, the quick strides good indications of the boiling fury within him. He'd never been good at holding anger in and both Walman and Baines sensed that without mediation, the situation could quickly become volatile.
Baines said, "Is this what you want on the vid?" Walman laughed dryly, "My friend, a vid has a plot and every plot has at least one conflict. Well, here's a conflict. Course I want it."
Baines sighed, "You are worse than the media back on the stations." Walman gave him a stung expression and then grinned. The two men quickly went into a trot and intercepted the angry young pilot who was about five step from the Med-Tent.
"Hey, Solace, you don't look so good." Walman said, putting his arm around the pilots' neck and steering him away from the tent. Alonzo tried to shake him off but the presense of Baines on his left made him give in. He didn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out what they wanted.
"Look, "Alonzo said tiredly, "Everything is okay. Julia and I, well, we just need to work it out."
"I agree completely," Baines begun. His tone implied that more was to come. He looked at Walman for a tag-team and walman nodded. Alonzo didn't see the exchange.
"But, "Walman began," You storming into the tent looking like Dirty Harry ain't gonna make things easier. You're only gonna fight more. You need to calm down."
Baines nodded, "He's right. Women are unreasonable. You can't expect them to react well to you being completely honest with you emotions. You really need to shelf a little bit of that anger so that when you go in and talk to Julia, you can be logical and reasonable."
Alonzo replied, "You're right, okay." Baines looked at Walman and then said, "So, uh, what's the fight about?"
Alonzo thrust up his hands, "What it's always about. Me being a pilot. She's so damn sure that as soon as I get to New Pacifica, I'm gonna leave with Sheila and go back to the stations."
"Well are you?"
Alonzo looked up in suprise and then said, "I don't know...I guess I just don't know yet. I mean, I really care about Julia...""Care?" Walman asked, his eyebrow rising. Alonzo sighed, "Alright, you wanna know the truth, I don't think I've ever felt so strong about anyone in my life and that's kind scary cuz I don't want to lose her but...but I think I'm scared of falling too much in love. You know..." The two men nodded sympathetically.
"Concider the alternative, 'Lonz, you could be like John and Devon and refuse to admit your mad, animal-like cravings for each other." Baines said. Walman shot him a look which Alonzo caught but said nothing about.
Alonzo shook his head and then rose to his feet, 'I think I'm gonna take a walk and cool off. Thanks guys." He ran his hands through his dark hair and then started towards the dome so as to retrieve his snow-shoes.
Walman turned towards Baines, "Animal-like cravings?"
"My grandfather liked Devon for awhile. He was real protective of her. So was John though. I think the whole group was. If anything had happened to her or anyone for that matter, oh man, retribution just wasn't the word. I know my grandad really liked Devon though but when she and John finally got together, he was happy for her. They make a good couple even at eighty years of age." Jamie said, his eyes focused on the blue screen in front of all the explorers. Their group was eight members large with several members being off-spring of someone from the original Eden group.
Someone said, "Keep it playing." Arik leaned forward and the screen filled again with Walman's image. Someone snickered.
The two men strolled into the Bio-dome where the Eden Crew leader, Devon Adair was sitting, hunched over her gear. A few feet away, Yale and Morgan Martin sat. lazily watching the computer screens which were surveying the camp. On one screen, they could see Alonzo leaving camp. He waved to Danziger as he went and then disappeared behind a spray of snow-capped, half-dead trees. Walman said, "He took his walk." And then he muttered, "Animal-like cravings."
"Get over it." Baines laughed. He peered over at Devon, "Whatcha doing, Dev?"
Devon looked up quickly, her dark hair whipping to the other shoulder. She looked more than vaguely suprised, "Huh? What? Oh! Oh! I..I was just doing a crossword puzzle in VR." She smiled and Walman smiled back.
Baines gave Walman a look and then said in an almost conspiratoral whisper, "Hey, you know what's gonna down with the two love-birds?"
Devon frowned and lifted her eye-piece. "Kinda. They had another fight about Alonzo leaving. Julia is very insecure about that." She bit her lip and then said, "Acutually, it's none of our business and I feel kinda bad for talking about it. I don't think we should."
Baines allowed his shoulders to sag. He was without doubt, the king of gossip around camp. He knew the details of every fight and every impending romance before it occured. He knew who liked who and who did what to who and how and why. And yes, a four letter word for him would have been nosy but he didn't care. That was his way. Besides, Bess was as bad as he was.
Walman walked towards Yale and Morgan who were testing the perimeter cameras. They showed Danziger still on one screen, a small cut above his eye. He looked like he was cursing and Walman found himself laughing at some of the words. True and Uly were on another screen, racing around each other and yet looking like they were pretending to be adults. Baines said, "You got cameras in peoples' tents?"
"No, Baines, no one needs to give you any more gossip. It's bad enough you know everything already. It'd be awful if you knew anymore." Walman laughed.
"That's not fair." Baines protested. "Oh yeah? I bet I'd come in here one night and you'd be settled back against that there seat with a cup of coffee and you'd be watching 'Lonz and Julia."
Baines allowed to his mouth to fall open in mock shock. "Would not!" He saw Adair's eyebrow go up as if to challenge him and then she went back to her game, "Besides, "Baines muttered, "don't need to watch to know what they're doing on a screen, I can see it through the shadows and I can hear it too."
Walman laughed. He leaned over and whispered to Baines, "You know, when I said I wanted a vid of the whole group perfectally natural, I didn't mean embarassing poor 'Lonz. If he or Julia ever sees this, they'll scalp us."
Baines said, "Too late now." And as he was turning to leave, Morgan Martin yelled:
"Devon, we've got a problem."
There were several murmurs in the group as the screen went black. "Didja turn it off, Arik?" Jamie asked, gazing at his friend. Arik returned the perplexed look.
"No, I..."
Another voice broke in, it sounded like Walman's, "Hey Baines, something is jamming my visual feed. I'm only getting audio.""Well, go with it. Describe what you see." "Okay, okay, we are uh, surrounded by Terrians. Alonzo isn't around so we can't quite contact them. I think Uly is trying to talk to them. You know, in that high-pitched trilling language."
"Walman, what the hell are you doing?" A voice barked, presumably John Danziger's. This scene had to look strange to the other colonists. Walman was describing what he saw and the others had no idea what the perfectlly logical explanation for it was and Walman wasn't offering it.
"Uh I'm just talking to myself, Danziger, is that alright?" Walman replied defensively.
"Hey, hey, relax." Adair said. "Someone contact Alonzo on gear. Tell him we need him back here at once."
"You won't be able to get him, "Uly said, his voice quiet and old, "Alonzo is hurt and unconsious."
Just then, video cut back in and the group looked on as both Devon and Danziger took a step towards Uly who was standing, arms at his side next to a Terrian. Walman spun around to look at Julia, whose face was pale. Her saphire eyes were wide with fear.
"Uly, what do you mean?" Devon questioned. She went down to her knees so that she could look her son in the eye. Uly didn't flinch and instead looked over at Julia.
"He went off for a walk...uh to think and he got attacked." Uly said. He looked back at his mother. "The Terrians are telling us this because the dream-link is lost and that scares them. They are unable to make a connection."
Baines looked at Walman,"Here's your conflict, buddy." Walman nodded and swallowed.
Julia stepped forward and said to Devon, "Alonzo would never purposely prevent himself from dreaming with the Terrians. He told me that it sometimes gives him peace."
Danziger said, "So what do you think is wrong?" "Well, just from guessing, I'd have to speculate that somehow or another, he's suffered brain damage which means we need to find him immediately." Julia looked like she was about to cry and Walman could hear the break in her voice.
Danziger clapped his hands, "Alright then. Morgan, you and Yale set up your comm devices so that you will be able to receive video and audio feeds from our gear. The rest of us are going out looking. Julia, you, me, Walman and Baines."
Devon said, "I'm going with you, John." Danziger opened his mouth to protest, thought better of it and nodded, "Everyone else, you're in group. If you see anything or hear anything you don't think is right, you call in immediately, ya hear?" The others nodded and Cameron reached for a mag-pro.
The groups split and Walman and Baines walked slowly in back of Danziger, Devon and Julia. Both Walman and Baines had grabbed mag-pros. Julia was standing in the middle and Danziger was talking to her in a low voice but Walman was pleased to discover that his vid was picking up their converstaion.
"It's gonna be alright," Danziger assured her. "John, he wouldn't have run off if we hadn't argued. About the same thing we always argue about too. I don't know why I can't believe him when he tells me that he isn't going to leave me. I don't know why." Julia replied, looking not at Danziger but off towards the mountains. They could have taken a vehicle but Alonzo hadn't disappeared more than thirty minutes earlier which meant he was relatively close by. Thanks to the perimter video cameras, they even knew what direction he had gone.
"Julia, I've known 'Lonz for awhile now. He and I have worked other missions. We were never real close but close enough. I know that he is a hot-tempered guy. He believes what he says and it hurts him when someone doubts his word, especially someone he loves. For a man like Solace, his word is the most important thing. If he says he'll stay with you, I get the feeling he means that from the bottom of his heart."
Julia nodded slowly but still didn't lock eyes with Danziger. He must have realized that because he stopped suddenly and so did Julia. She looked up at him questioningly and he said,"Has 'Lonz ever held anything back from you? Has he ever been less than truthful about his feelings for you?"
She shook her head, "No."
"If you knew him before this, you'd call him a player but a very closed-off young man. You are the only person that he wears his emotions on his sleeve for. I don't need to be Einstein to figure out the man is crazy for you. And that you're crazy for him. You gotta believe him when he says to you that he'll stay with you because it's the doubt and insecurity that is causing the problems."She looked up at Danziger. That was true. Things had changed a lot since she'd arrived. These people were her family. They'd die for her and she for them. She had nothing but the past to be insecure about. Alonzo said the past meant nothing to him and all that had ever mattered was there future. As she walked towards the spray of trees which Alonzo had passed not forty minutes earlier, she made a resolution to believe. All the vid showed was Julia closing her eyes, smiling and then saying, "We've got to find him."
Devon, who'd remained quiet, looked up, "I got a report from Cameron, no footprints to the North." She flicked something on her gear, "Morgan, what do you got?" There was a pause, "Okay." She shook her head.
Walman looked through his jumpers and said, "Hey guys, I think I see something." Everyone turned and looked at him, anxious expressions on their faces. "Footprints."
Devon clicked her gear again, "Morgan, do you have the visual link-up coming from Walmans' gear?" Another pause. "Yeah, magnify it. He thinks he sees footprints. Yeah, alright, we're moving in. Stay on it." She looked at the others, "Affirmative."
The group moved quickly and recklessly up the snowy bank. Julia slid back once against Baines and Devon and Danziger chirped in unison, "Be careful." They shot each other annoyed looks and then managed to avoid eye contact for a few long moments. Once again, Walman muttered, "Animal-like cravings." Baines laughed and shook his head.
"Alonzo!" Julia yelled suddenly. Walman spun and gasped at the grisly picture of the young pilot lying unconsious in the snow. The snow beneath him was stained maroon and his body was crumpled. Julia and Devon were at his side instantly. "Careful," Julia said, "I don't yet know the extent of his injuries." Shaking, she ran her diaglove over the pilots' chest. A moment later, she sighed in relief, "No broken bones." Then she frowned, " It looks like he's been bitten by something. We need to get him back to camp. " Devon nodded.
"Morgan, send one of the vehicles out here with a stretcher, huh?"
Devon turned to look at John but as she did so, she heard a low growl. The dark hairs on the back of her neck rose and she swallowed hard, "Bitten...you say?" She said in a low, shaking voice.
Danziger stunned in horrified awe as a large toothed creature which best resembled an warthog climbed down a tree and growled. Julia wrapped her arms protectively around Alonzo's torso and looked up at the tree. There was a brunch next to his head and from the gash over his eye, she guessed that it had been the branch which had knocked him cold. That probably meant he'd been fighting with the creature and managed to escape with his life when the creature had taken his unconsiousness for death. The creature moved towards Julia, snarling and drooling.
"Julia, move!" Danziger cried as the creature broke into a trot. "No, I'm not leaving him and I can't move him!" She screamed, tightening her hold on her hurt lover.
Devon's eyes widened as John took flight and slammed into the creature, knocking it off it's intended path. He held the snarling beast on tope of him and at arm's length. "Shoot it, Baines!"
"I can't, I might hit Danziger!" The creature snapped again at Danziger, this time just missing the burly man's shoulder and Devon looked over at Baines in fear. Baines swallowed hard and then unstrung his mag-pro.
Moments later, a shot rang through the air and all there was, was a deadly silence. Julia clutched 'Lonzo closer but no one else breathed, let alone moved and then Danziger rolled the creature off him and muttered, "Dinner."
Devon let her breath and studied the big man who was covered in the creature's blood, "Oh thank God, are you alright." Danziger grinned.
Baines crossed over to Walman, "This is what you want people to remember the Eden crew for?"
"Sure," Walman said solemnly and thoughtfully, "We take care of our own. We'd die for each other but we won't let each other down. Look at that Baines." Walman pointed in the direction of Julia, Danziger and Devon. Julia had rested Alonzo's head in her lap. The large, ugly gash above Alonzo's left eye was still dribbling blood. "You see the love and affection there, Baines. It can't be synthesized or duplicated. It's pure and real and it's part of this group, this Eden Crew."
Baines sighed and conceded the point. "Hey Baines, give me your jacket, "Danziger cried out. Baines grimaced but did so immediately. He walked over and handed the jacket to Danziger who tossed it over Alonzo's torso.
Just then, the rail arrived and Cameron got off. "What the hell happened to you? He asked.
"Long story." Danziger replied. "I'll tell you when we get back to camp and get some coffee, huh?" Cameron dipped his head in acknowledgement. He and Danziger loaded Alonzo's body onto the rail and then Julia crouched next to him. Baines went on the other side. Julia nodded to Cameron and the rail purred to life and then sailed smoothly down the snowy bank with Julia saying, "Please, drive your best."
Walman walked in back of Danziger and Devon who were holding the animals' carcass in a black bag, "You think things will be alright?" He asked.
Devon nodded, "Somehow or another, they always turn out to be alright. Julia thinks maybe the knock upside the head put him into a light coma which is why he isn't dreaming. She's pretty sure she can bring him out. She's a little more worried about the bite from that creature getting infected." Then she laughed, "Besides, it wouldn't be a normal day in the life of the Eden Crew without some kind of tragedy, now would it, Walman."
Walman blinked, "Excuse me?"
"Lemme think. Oh, while I was talking to Morgan earlier 'bout gear feeds, he told me that he had a signal that one of us was recording. And after you sat there describing the events with the Terrians, well, I pretty much figured it out."Walman laughed nervously and then said, "I'm glad I made it though, Dev."
In a more serious tone and while locking eyes with John for just a minute, she said, "So am I."
The screen blurred for a moment causing the eight to protest again but Arik reminded them to stay calm. And then, as expected, the screen came to life again with Walman looking back.
It was night and several of the colonists were in the Med-Tent. Alonzo was lying on the cot. He looked like his normal self with the only exceptions being a white gauze bandage covering his forehead and the tape across is chest covering the bite. Julia was holding his hand and sitting next to him. Above them was Danziger and Devon chatting quietly about who should do guard duty. To their side was Morgan who kept repeating, "I did it last night." Danziger just waved him off like he would an irritating bug.
Walman looked at Baines, "Well, I'd say this went well. Here's the scoop y'all. Julia brought Alonzo out of his coma. Now fly-boy is fine and frisky..."
"And full of animal-like cravings.." Walman shot him a look and the others all gave Walman a strange look. They'd all been filled in but who really knew how to act when leaving a message for eternity.
"In any case. They're made up. Everything is good and fine. Julia poured an entire bottle of 100 proof alcohol into the bite earlier and so we're pretty sure he's gonna live. True, we have no idea where the creature that attacked Solace came from but it made a damn good dinner. Alonzo can't remember much of it, as in, any of it and so one of those little beasts may one day come out of nowhere and kill us all but that's alright because Solace is alright and so are we all for the time being. Well, it's been fun doing this but it's time to say goodbye because even though everyone knows what I'm doing, they still keep looking at me like I'm crazy."
"You are crazy," Baines laughed. " If anyone sees this up the road," Walman continued with a smile, "This is the Eden Crew and I'm Walman."
"And I'm Baines!' He yelled.
Danziger said, "Oh for God's sakes, shut it off." And the screen went blue.
"That's it," Arik said. "That's the Eden Crew. Hey, how many of them are still alive?"
"Most." Jamie replied.
"I think we should go back and show this to them. How they were fifty years ago in their primes. I think they'd like that."Arik nodded in agreement and wondered what it would have been like to be one of the colonists. They'd had been the best of strangers and then the best of friends. They would have died for each other. There was no greater love than the one they all shared for each other.
-The End-
FIRST DRAFT:August 10, 1995
3:21 P.MFINAL DRAFT: September 4, 1995
2:01 A.M//From Earth 2 Mailing List on 5 Sep 95
This text file was ran through PERL script made by Andy. Original text file is available in Andy's Earth 2 Fan Fiction Archive.