ALWAYS IN OUR HEARTS
By
Cathy F. Bolton
Timeline: Years after
Author's E-Mail: Cathyfb@aol.com
ALWAYS IN OUR HEARTS, Part 1
by Cathy F. Bolton
Alonzo woke to an empty bed. He reached for Julia but she wasn't there. Then he remembered what day this was. It was the day he was leaving G889.
They had finally reached New Pacifica. After all the hardships and almost losing Devon out there....He refused to think of it any more. It would be hard enough to say good-bye to all of them. His mind was made up. He packed his few belongings.
The main group had landed and unloaded the new colonists and the supplies. There was a ship taking the crew back to the stations and he was going to be on it. He didn't belong here anymore. Too many families and kids. Better to be hoping the stars. He wondered if he would have to adjust to cold sleep again. He had it down pat before G889.
On the way to the transport, he stopped to see Devon. She was so busy with administrative work, he hardly saw her anymore. "Alonzo." She came over and hugged him." I hoped you'd stop by before you left. I was going to go to the transport if you didn't. I want you to know, we would never have made it here without you. It was your link with the Terrians that made so much possible." He smiled as her, "Well, it was Uly they were really interested in. I'm glad it all worked out."
He seemed suddenly embarrassed. "You know Devon, John is a good man." Now it was her turn and she colored slightly. "I know. I'm glad he decided to stay." He grew uneasy, not knowing how to end this. "Yea, well, I guess I'd better be going." She searched his face. "Did you..." He cut her off. "I figured I'd save my good-bye to Julia for last." She came to him and hugged him one last time. "If you ever decide to come back, you know you can. We all love you." He nodded and turned to leave but not before she saw his eyes fill.
He wandered through camp, seeing so many unfamiliar faces. A new life and beginning for so many of them. He silently wished them well. He said his good-byes to the people, who over time, had become his friends. Baines, Campbell, Walman, and Magnus had all decided to stay. The Martins' were going back with him. Danziger made him promise to stop by if he was ever in this part of space again. He kidded him back saying, Danziger would be an old man with grandchildren by then.
He put it off as long as he could. There wasn't much time left. He climbed the hill that overlooked the sea where he knew she waited. He picked a few of her favorite flowers along the way. This day, the sea was the color of her eyes.
"Julia.." he began and his voice broke. He took a deep breath and smiled the little boy smile he always used to disarm her. "You know it's funny, before I came to this planet I could never dream." The smiled faded. "Now that's all I seem to have left." He looked away for a moment. "I hope you know why I can't stay. It's just too hard."
There was only silence. Tears rolled down his face. "Julia... I'll always love you."
Then he knelt down and gently placed the flowers by the small wooden marker that said,Dr. Julia Heller... Always in Our Hearts.
ALWAYS IN OUR HEARTS, Part 2
by Cathy F. Bolton
He reached down to straighten the marker and his hand rested on it. Closing his eyes, he thought back and his memory returned him to the day she first brought him here. He remembered;
The grendlers had been harassing them since they reached New Pacifica. A particularly hostile group, they were not interested in trading. Given an opportunity, they would raid the camp and steal whatever they could lay their hands on. It may have been that they were just territorial and resented the fact that Eden Advance had settled down to stay in an area they considered their own. Whatever the reason, there was no peace.
Devon had divided the watch. Half took the day, the other half the night. Unfortunately, they still had to prepare an area for the main part of the expedition, Eden Colony. They had been left behind as Eden Advance prepared the way. Now they would be arriving shortly. With so much to do and little time for sleep, tempers grew short and mistakes became more frequent.
Alonzo had stopped for a water break. He had been clearing an area with some of the others. The sun was warm and he wiped the sweat from his face. He saw Julia coming toward him. She seemed to radiate energy even though she should have been as tired as the rest of them. As the group's only doctor, she was always busy.
"Can you spare a minute?" she asked him. He looked to see if Danziger, who was in charge of the work detail, was watching him. "I guess so. Why, what's up?" She grabbed his hand smiling, "I have something I want to show you."
He allowed her to lead him a short distance from camp. The alarms were only used at night and they just waved to the guard. It was only when she began to climb a steep hill that he balked. "Wait, where are you going." She looked up, "It's not much further."
He resisted. "Can we do this some other time. I don't feel much like climbing.""I promise it will be worth your effort." she told him. He looked at her wearily, "I don't think I have the energy for even *that*. She blushed. "I didn't mean it THAT way. Please!
It just seems so perfect right now that I wanted you to see it. We never seem to have the time for each other anymore.He gave in and climbed behind her until they reached the top. She turned in triumph and looked out. He followed her daze. What he saw was an impressive view of the Sea of Antius. Surf crashed on the rocks below and birds flew invisible currents where sky and sea met.
She looked at him with expectation. "Well?" He looked back at her. "Well, what?"
She persisted, "What do you think?" Still watching her, he asked, "What do I think about what?" She grew impatient, "About this spot, the view." He looked out again, "Very pretty. Is that it?" He was thinking that Danziger was proably wondering where he had gone."No." she sulked. He was puzzled. "Julia, what's this all about?" She struggled with the words. She was suddenly unsure of his reaction. "It's about us. I asked Devon if we could have this ground...for a home." She added softly, "It's as close to the stars as I could find."
"Oh," Then he knew that the serious, logical, former citizen of the council, Dr. Julia Heller was nest building. He smirked. "What's so funny?" she asked. He tried to wipe away the smile as he pretended to assess the land. "Might be windy up here." He looked around seeing a solid piece of land, clear of brush. Only a few trees had managed to stake a claim.
"I guess we could plant more trees to serve as a break but it would spoil the view." He saw her planning the future and it sobbered him. She caught his expression as she turned back toward him. They looked at each other aware of the tension, unsure of each other's motives.
He looked out again, watching as the gulls effortlessly caught the wind and soared. He thrilled at their freedom and longed to join them. He thought about what he would have to give up.
"How would you feel if you could never be a doctor anymore?" Unaware of his thoughts, she was puzzled by his question, not knowing where it was leading. "I don't know. I never thought about it. You know I was chromo-tilted toward medical science. What are you trying to say?" He looked at her. "What I'm trying to say is, maybe in my own way, in a natural sense, I'm chromo-tilted to be a pilot. "Just as you never thought about being anything other then a doctor, maybe I never thought about being anything other then a pilot."
He watched the transformation of her face as it began to crumble under his words. She bit her lip, trying to keep back the tears that threathened. Her voice shook slightly as she said, "I know we never really talked about whether you would stay. I guess, I just hoped you would." She decided to lay her cards on the table. "Alonzo, I want a home. I'm tired of sleeping in a tent."
Home, he thought. Home had never been more then the next ship, the next cold sleep capsule. Always new worlds, people, beautiful women for brief affairs before he was gone again.
"Alonzo, I want to have a home, a family, someone to grow old with."
He remembered his conversation with Lydia on the Dream Plane. He had meet the older version of his former lover and asked what had happened to her. She had told him, that while he was suspended in cold sleep, she had married, had childen, had a life and grew old. He remembered what he had said. "I'm not ready for that part of life." "What part?" she had asked him. "The growing old part." he told her. She smiled, "That's all there is, the seconds, the minutes, the hours, the years. It's a beautiful ride. Better then any you have ever taken."
He had not really believed Lydia. Now Julia was saying the same thing. Troubled he told her wearily, "Julia, right now I feel as old as I ever want to be." Right away he knew he had said the wrong thing when he saw the hurt in her face as she quickly turned away from him.
"Look, I'm just tired. Nothing is coming out right. I keep saying all the wrong things and I'm sorry." He put his hand on her shoulder asking forgiveness." Let's talk about this later in bed tonight. OK?" He turned her and lifted her chin trying the smile he knew she loved and he saw her give slightly. "Come on, let's go back. Danziger is going to have my hide for being gone this long."
She wouldn't look him in the eye yet. "You go ahead. I want to finish planting some seeds. I only came down because...Just go." He wanted to break the ice he could feel forming between them."What seeds?" She pulled a packet from her belt pouch. "I've been collecting them along the way since the crash. Some are for food and medicine. These are just flowers. I thought they were pretty.
"Julia, with the grendlers up in arms, I don't think it's a good idea for you to be here by yourself." She looked at him defiantly." I've been here all morning by myself. It's perfectly safe." Then she added sarcastically, "Don't worry, if a grendler comes along I'll just ask him to marry me. That should scare him away." And he thought, that in her present mood, it proably would."
He had laid down on the bed dressed in the clothes he would wear during his night watch only hours away. He tried to stay awake as he waited for her to finish her treatment of someone who was sick. He wanted to talk her about their earlier conversation but he began to doze off.
"Alonzo?" she asked softly sometime later. "Umm,... I'm awake." but he didn't move and she knew he had been asleep. "It's ok, go back to sleep." She climbed in to bed and settled herself. He felt the warmth and comfort of her body next to him. She kissed him softly on the cheek and he smiled alittle before he feel deeply asleep..
ALWAYS IN OUR HEARTS, Part 3
by Cathy F. Bolton
He was on the Dream Plane. Standing atop Julia's hill. He looked out toward the sea but in place of the ocean there was a valley and a river which ran horizontally across it. At one point, the river split and went in two directions. On one side it grew turbulent. He could see rapids where the water leaped high in the air before crashing back and where it dove deep into the riverbed, it scooped up sediment which darked it's color. The other branch of the river ran parallel but it's currrent was slow, the water clear and sparkling in the sunlight. Eventually, both branches megered further downstream. The river became one again.
He heard crying and turned to see an old women standing by a newly dug grave. Her back toward him. As he approached to comfort her, she turned. It was Lydia. She looked at him sadly and said, "Alonzo, I tried to tell you. Why didn't you listen? Now it's too late." A bird screamed about him and he looked up for a moment. When he looked back, Lydia was gone. In her place, he saw a wounded bird on the ground. He knelt down, gently picking it up and saw it's blood run down his hand.
Something distured him. He lay listening to muffled voices outside. The sound irritated him because he was tired. He yearned for the peaceful oblivion of sleep.
There was a shout, "GRENDLER IN CAMP!" and the alarms "Perimeter Alert". Alonzo jumped out of bed and was out the tent flap in seconds with Julia right behind him. Ahead, they saw Baines had cornered a grendler. It's hands were full of supplies. It paniced when it saw them and charged Baines knocking him to the ground. The MagPro fell out of his hand and the grendler grabbed it and ran off.
Alonzo chased after it. They couldn't afford to lose the gun. Julia yelled to him. "Alonzo be careful." Then she went to Baines to see if he was hurt. "Are you ok?", she asked. Baines looked up at her from where he sat. "Yeah. Damn grendlers!" She reached out her hand to help him up.
Alonzo heard voices ahead. Someone must have circled and cut the grendler off. There was a flash as something struck the lasers. The gun discharged. Alonzo stopped aware of his danger as the blast from the MagPro barely missed him.
As Baines started to get up, he heard the gunshot. He felt something warm and moist splatter him. He looked up and saw Julia fall toward him. As he caught her in his arms, he could see where the blast had carved a large hole in her back. Staggering under her weight, he yelled. "Oh Shit, HELP.....SOMEBODY HELP ME!
Alonzo ran up and took Julia from him. He lifted her in his arms and raced for the medical tent. Looking down at her, he kept calling her name. Eyes closed, her head rested limply against his chest. She did not respond to his voice. After he entered the tent, he laid her on the bed. He knelt beside her, took her hand in his and talked to her. He told her to hang on, that she would be all right.
Devon arrived first. She seemed momentarily stunned at what she saw. Then she turned and began grabbing anything she could use for a dressing. Danziger entered next. Looking at the scene before him, he felt helpless. Julia was the one with the medical knowledge. None of them had her ability. He thought of all the times she had helped them and now he knew they would be lost with no idea about what they should do to help her.
Devon opened Julia's shirt to reach the wound. It didn't seem that large and yet Alonzo was covered in blood. She thought maybe he was hurt also and asked, "Alonzo, were you hit too?" He sounded bitter. "No, it missed me." She looked again and noticed that blood was beginning to pool under Julia's body. "John, help me turn her." With Danziger's help, together they turned her on her side. Their eyes meet as they saw the enormity of the entrance wound in her back. Danziger's eyes held Devon's and she saw him slightly shake his head ....No Hope.
Danziger glanced at Alonzo. In a flashback, he saw himself years before in a similar situation, when the woman he loved had suddenly lay dying before him. His heart ached for his friend. He thanked God for his daughter. Although Elie was gone, a part of her would always live on in True. Alonzo would not have that help to sustain him.
Danziger turned away, there was nothing more he could do. Devon followed him with her eyes until she saw Yale standing with the others at the doorway. She called to him. "Yale, I need you to access your medical files. We have to stop this bleeding." As Yale came forward, he exchanged a look with Danziger. All three of them knew he had nothing in his files that could help in this situation. Danziger thought Devon was wrong to offer Alonzo false hope. His expression said as much.
Later, Yale would explain to him that Devon continued to fight, despite the hopelessness, because she needed to believe, and more importantly have Alonzo believe, that they had done everything possible to save Julia.
Now as John herded the others from the tent, his thoughts were on finding out just how this had happened and what he could do to prevent it from happening again.
ALWAYS IN OUR HEARTS, Part 4
by Cathy F. Bolton
She never regained consciousness. Her face grew paler, her body losing warmth as a weakening heart continued to pump blood through severed arteries. Alonzo wrapped her in a blanket vainly trying to protect her from the cold that grew within her. In the end, for a brief moment, her body stiffened as death touched her.
When he realized she was gone, he gathered her to his chest and held her tightly. He felt someone touch his shoulder and heard Devon say how sorry she was before she left him. Alone, he broke down. He had never known how much he loved her until this moment. There were so many things he had never told her. So much he wanted to say.
Now it was too late.During the remaining night, the group paired off. They had found the dead grendler by the camp perimeter. It had died when it ran into the lasers. The gun lay near by. It must have discharged when it stuck the ground. Although they checked and rechecked the system, they couldn't determine how the grendler had entered the camp.
At dawn, Devon and Danziger went back to the tent. They stood outside and Danziger called Alonzo's name. He appeared and drew back the flap to let them enter. Devon was touched as she saw Alonzo had cleaned and dressed Julia in fresh clothes. Her face was peaceful and she looked as if she was sleeping.
Danziger began, 'Lonz, if you have a special place in mind, I'd be glad to..." Alonzo held up his hand stopping them. "I'll do it. I know where she would want to be." Devon reached out and touched him, "Let us help you." He was firm, "No, this is the last thing I can do for her. I want to do it alone."
He saw their concern at his exhausted appearance. He looked ready to drop from the physical and emotional beating of the night. He numbly moved past them and went outside. Picking a shovel from the tool area, he retraced his steps along the path he had taken with Julia just hours before.
The memory was still fresh in his mind and he struggled to comprehend the fact that she was really gone but reality remained the shovel in his hand, her blood on his clothes.
As he walked, he replayed the moment she had been shot in his mind. He tried to think if there had been any way he could have prevented it. He had no answers. Death had simply slipped from behind life's shadow and claimed her.
He reached the summit and picked a spot with care. The morning's warmth was just a promise. The night's chill remained. He felt nothing except the weight of his task. As he began to dig, he felt grief crush his heart, it moved upward gripping his throat before spilling from his eyes. He stopped and wiped them. Looking at the grave, he sadly realized, the only home she would have now was made of cold walled dirt and in it, her dreams would turn to dust before they ever grew old..
Later, they all came with their own memories of her and left flowers on the grave. They tried to comfort him but he was locked behind the door of his own private sorrow. Walman had carved a marker with her name and a message they had all agreed on. Alonzo placed it in the ground and his hand rested on it.
His mind returned to the present and the lateness of the hour. He rose and tried to tell her one last time why he had to leave but all he could say was, "I'm sorry Julia."
He left, never looking back. He knew he was running from his pain but he couldn't bear it any longer. Everyone was gathered at the shuttle saying good-bye to friends. He didn't want to prolong the moment any longer, so he just nodded at them and entered the craft. He had said his last good-bye.
One of the pilots asked him if he wanted to take the ship up. He told him "No" and went back to wait. As the engines lifted the craft, he felt only emptiness. The Alonzo Solace who first came to G889 was not the same person who left it. A large part of him was buried on a hill below.
MANY YEARS LATER
Alonzo sat by himself in a station bar staring at a drink in his hand. The amber liquid in the glass held no answers but it helped to console him. He had just been rejected for a job because he had failed the physical. In fact, the doctor had told him his physiology was so irreparably damaged from the effects of repeated cold sleep missions that one more might kill him. With that on his record, he would be blacklisted and never fly again to the remote places of the galaxy.
He had known something was wrong, there were the tremors and dizziness, the cold that was a constant companion, but he had ignored the signs. He just existed until the pain of the past grew too great. Then he would sign up for another mission, burying himself in the work of flight preparation, knowing in the end, cold sleep would take his consciousness and pain away for awhile.
An older man came into the bar scanning the crowd, seeing Solace he walked over and sat down beside him. "Hey 'Lonz mind if I join you?" Alonzo recognized the voice of Jack Hudson, the station's mission specialist, his job was the scheduling of all flights and the staffing of their crew. "Be my guest, I'm sure no one will fight you for the seat."
Jack looked around. It did seem that the crowd was steering clear of this end of the bar. Alonzo just said. "Word travels fast." Hudson looked at Solace. He had liked and admired Alonzo since they had first worked together. Over the years, he grew to believe there was no better pilot in the station's history. Jack had just taken over an administration job because he was tired of being a sleep-jumper and wanted to settle down. Now he would have to tell Alonzo that they could no longer hire him because of his health. He tried to think of a way to tell his friend the bad news.
"I just heard about the physical. I wanted to find you and tell you how sorry I am. I guess it happens to all of us eventually. Maybe it's time you settled down and had a family. Your sure have your pick of the station's prospects." he teased. Jack had noticed on more then one occasion, that women seemed to drawn to Alonzo. Beside his dark good looks, there was certain mystery and challenge about the fact that no woman had been able to find a special place in his heart, although many had tried.
Alonzo seemed lost in thought and Jack wasn't sure he even heard him. Then Solace turned to him and said with intensity, "Jack, we've been friends a long time. I know I'll never work as a pilot again, I have only myself to blame for that. But right now, I need a favor. I need to know if there are any flights going in the direction of G889? Hudson looked at his friend suspiciously. "Just what did you have in mind?" Alonzo went on," I need to go back to G889. I have plenty of credit weight, I'm going to buy a small transport. If I can hitch a ride most the way on a larger ship, I could make it back."
"Alonzo, why would you want to go to G889? No one goes there any more. Hell, we don't even know if there is anyone left alive, there's been no word for years from that planet." He saw Alonzo was not going to give up the idea. "Look I know what the doctor told you, give me one good reason why I should help you to commit suicide?"
Alonzo downed his drink and began to tell Jack the story of the Eden Project.
Twenty-one years later, following programmed instructions, a small ship seperated from it's larger counterpart. With a flare of it's rockets, it bid a silent farewell and began a seperate journey that would last over a year.
The first sound in over 22 years began with the lights of a terminal display. In a precise even tone, a computerized female voice began a systems check.
Artificial Gravity Restoration-ACTIVE
Atmospheric Repressurization-ACTIVE
Automatic Pilot-self check-IN PROGRESSWhen the ship had returned itself to the conditions necessary for human life, it began the next phase.
Artificial Life Systems-CHECK
Cryosleep Chamber One-SOLACE-ALONZO-CAPTAIN Neural Activity-HIGH
Core Temperature-NORMAL
Alpha Risen-POINT FOURAlonzo opened his eyes. The sleep capsule had opened. Although he felt like shit, he was alive. "Maybe I'll prove that doctor wrong yet. Guess he'll never know, I probably outlived him," He sat up, swinging his legs over the side and the sudden movement caused an intense vertigo. Grabbing the sides, he waited for it to pass. "Don't get too cocky Solace, you ain't there yet."
Later, in the cockpit of the ship, he saw G889 again as he had seen it so many years before. A beautiful blue miracle against the blackness of space. Feeling a tighting in his throat, he remembered Devon's words from long ago. "If you ever want to come back, you know you can." He smiled, "I hope so Devon, I sure hope so."
It was while he was in the final system check that he suddenly felt ill. Stomach cramps, dizziness and joint pain swept over him, doubling him up. His hands grew numb and he began coughing.
Gradually, the worst of it passed. Although he still felt weak and cold there was a new sense of urgency about getting the craft down to New Pacifica. "Must be some sort of compression sickness, maybe the old Doc' knew what he was talking about after all." Wondering if 22 yr. old medicine would still work, he swallowed a few of the capsules the doctor had given him.
"One last ride." Tightening the restraints, he dropped the ship from orbit. Vibration grew as the outside shields heated from the friction of the ship's entry into the planet's atmosphere. Last time, he had battled a damaged ship, crashing in an escape pod. This time, he was battling his own damaged body. Re-entry was causing him to feel sick again and he talked to himself. "Think good thoughts....., soon I'll feel the wind again.... see the sunrise and set, the sky ablaze with color...watch the moons rise above the Sea of Antius.... ....wonder if Dev and Danz ever......"
The blare of sirens and flashing red warning lights contradicted the calm of the computer voice which was announcing the ship was just meters from impact. "Shit!......I must have blacked out...Shit!" Trying to shake the fog from his head, he threw the thrusters on full to gain altitude but not before he heard the sickening screech of metal as the ship hit something. The space craft dipped to one side and as the thrusters caught, it's trajectory took it into a heavily forested area, mowing down everything in it's path before coming to rest in a smoking heap.
ALWAYS IN OUR HEARTS, Part 5
by Cathy F. Bolton
Smoke from smoldering circuitry filled the cabin. The door was jammed. He added multiple bruises to his body's list of complaints as he used a crowbar on the door handle. He pulled with all his strength, afraid the craft would become his tomb. Spots danced before his eyes and blackness closed in as he strained. Then he began to cough. The added effort of trying to pull air into lungs already partly filled with fluid proved too great and he collapsed on the floor. "So close....."
Sunlight cut a path across the cold metal surface of the floor to where he laid. He woke to the sight of trees framed by the doorway. The door was hanging open. It looked to be late morning from the angle of the sun. Starting by pushing himself up slowly with his forearms, he tested each part of his body as he rose, waiting if the pain grew too great. The goal was the medical kit, where he could administered heavy doses of pain blockers to the worse areas. After that he might be able to function well enough to find his way to the colony.
The medication had stopped the pain but it left him groggy. He tried another scan of the area before deciding the equipment must have been damaged in the crash. According to the coordinates, he was sitting in the middle of the New Pacifica colony settlement. He banged on the case with his fist, the gauge never moved.
His first steps on G889 were unsteady as he looked around. There were trees in all directions except those taken down by the crash. The whole area was dense with vegetation. The equipment had detected no human life signs in the area but that didn't mean it was accurate.
He felt uneasy. Maybe it was all the drugs but what he saw seemed unusual.. The bushes and vines all appeared to be growning in too regular a pattern. When he investigated, he found the reason. The plant life was simply following it's foundation, the remains of a building. He had found New Pacifica, the gauge was right.
He explored the immediate area, finding small bits of civiliazation the planet had not fully reclaimed. Late in the day, he found a clearing. Rows of rectangular shadows clued him to the presence of an overgrown cemetery. Vines had climbed and covered the surface of the upright slabs. Pulling them away, he found inscriptions carved on the wood. The owners names were unfamiliar but the words EDEN COLONY told him all he needed to know. Everything was gone, the colony, the people, and Devon's dream.
He was exhausted, the pain blockers were wearing off but he still had one more place to go if he could find it. Taking a light and enough drugs to last him through the night he went in search of the hill. It almost dark by the time he found his way. The climb seemed beyond his strength but he drove himself knowing time was growing short. He was coughing up blood.
There were no trees on the summit. Grass rippled in a wind blowing in from the sea. The light searched but found nothing upright. The marker was gone. He gave himself over to the desolation that had been growing all day, finally confronting his fear.
After coming all this way, what had he really expected to find? Despite his best efforts back on the stations, he was never able to track down any information on what had happened to the colony. Somewhere in his mind he must had planted the idea that they were all safe. Was it guilt that made him want to believe that? If he had stayed here, would it have made any difference? Maybe Elizabeth had been right after all, the planet had rejected them.
It didn't matter any more. The only thing he knew for sure was that he belonged here. Something had reached reached across time and the universe and brought him back..
Looking up, he saw there were no moons tonight. The sky was black, dressed in an array of stars. They winked down at him still trying to share a secret he had never learned.There was one more way to find an answer, he had waited not sure of his reception. Placing his hand on the ground, he lowered his head and felt the Terrians respond, in dreams they welcomed back the dreamer. They knew he had returned, it was his time for "Going in" He asked them why the planet would accept him when it had rejected the others?
The Terrians trilled softly, "The planet had not rejected the others, it embraced them. Death had broken the shell that encased their spirit, setting it free to find the way to a greater understanding. Life was not measured with time but by the fullfillment of it's purpose. They laid not in graves but in a cradle of rebirth. Now they would move with the wind and the tides, and their unrest would move the mountains. The planet could not reject them. They had become a part of it. Their message touched his soul and he found peace as the circle of his own life began to close.
He went to the area where he had buried Julia. He hoped somehow she knew that he was here and lay close by her. As his dying body shook with fever, delirium lead him to some dark corridor of his mind between reality and illusion. He thought he saw his friends again. Devon, Danziger, Yale, Baines, Walman and all the rest, they were walking ahead of him as they had on their journey to New Pacifica. Turning around, they smiled and waved for him to catch up. He saw Julia leave them and come toward him. She held out her hand to him. She knew at last he had come home to her.
-The End-
This text file was ran through PERL script made by Andy. Original text file is available in Andy's Earth 2 Fan Fiction Archive.