AWAKENING
By
Doc Heller
Timeline: After "First Contact" (Days 0-4)
Author's E-Mail: DrHellar@aol.com
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Okay all--
This story is not, at least at this point, supposed to center in on one certain character. But knowing me, it'll probably turn into a Julia story. :) Anyways, I always thought that the writers for 'First Contact' left a lot to be written about. So this story is about what the crew did after awakening from cold sleep, before they reached G 889. Enjoy and send all feed back to Dr Hellar@aol.com. -Heller
Awakening
She was laughing. She was laughing with a man. They were in a beautiful clearing--one that no VR program could come close to replicating. She was having such fun. She didn't want it to end. Couldn't she just stay here forever; in this place, with this man?
Julia Heller was dreaming--as she had been for the past several years. Not always dreaming, but sleeping. This dream was the most pleasent dream yet. But it was starting to fade...
"Cold Sleep Capsule 3. Heller, Julia. Doctor. Beginning cycling up process." The cool neutral female voice paused. "Heartbeat: normal. Breathing: normal. Heller, Julia. Doctor...."
Julia Heller blinked and forced her eyes open. Oh God did she feel awful. Sure she had been through the cold sleep training, but that was nothing. All she wanted to do was continue sleeping. Unfourtunately her chromosomes got the best of her and she slowly began to regain partial consciousness. She lay there for a few more minutes before finally swinging her legs over the side of the crib and standing. She walked to where all the cold sleep capsules were being monitored and was pleased to see everyone was still alive.
She sighed as she realized her next job. Waking the pilot, Alonzo Solace. She keyed in the correct sequence and heard the start up cycle. What happened next was somewhere between amazement, awe, and...envy. Alonzo Solace blinked a couple of times, but quickly swung his legs over the edge of the crib and got up. He looked up and gave her a smile, and Julia felt part of herself turn to jelly. He was good. Julia tried to regain herself and managed to pull herself together somewhat before slipping on her diaglove and examining him. He was, of course, in perfectly good health--maybe even a little too perfect. "Well, so far everything looks fine, but I'll be stopping by the cockpit in an hour to see if you are still alive," Julia told him, avoiding his gaze at all costs.
Alonzo nodded and smiled again before heading off to the showers. Julia watched him go and soon after keyed the rest of the cycles, save the one of a young Syndrome child named Ulysses Adair.
True blinked. She hated getting up. She liked sleeping. She liked everything about sleeping except for getting up.
"True, can you hear me?" A strange voice, obviously female, called out to True. True resisted the urge to strike out at where the voice was coming from.
True opened her mouth and felt like someone had stuffed some pretty bad tasting cotton in her mouth. "Yea...yea...I'm up." "Well, you scan fine so I will just let you lie here for now. If you have any problems just contact me or try and find me. My name is Doctor Heller," the woman told True.
True half nodded and was relieved to hear footsteps going away from her crib. So much for continuing to sleep. That Doctor Heller person had woken True up. Now where was Dad?
The first thing Devon Adair thought of when she awoke was if Uly was all right. That thought alone got her out of her cryo sleep crib and over to the monitor. Well, Uly was still alive; at least in cold sleep. "Ms. Adair?"
Devon spun around to face a very sleepy Dr. Heller. She pulled her surprise under control and innocently answered, "Yes?" "I..ah..just wanted to check your vitals. Make sure you were healthy," Julia told her boss quietly.
"Of course," Devon stated flatly. "Scan away." Julia tapped a few buttons and ran the glove up and down Devon's chest. "Your heartbeat's a little high, but besides that you're fine." Devon nodded and turned back to the monitors. Uly was the only person still in cold sleep...his vitals were easy to find. Devon prayed that Uly would survive on this new planet. That she hadn't just uprooted him from his only home to see him die on some distant planet.
John Danziger walked into the men's shower area to see Alonzo Solace shaving. Alonzo was humming some sort of chipper tune and it made John sick. He didn't even have any coffee near him. John, on the other hand, had his fifth cup in hand.
"Hey Danz...you owe me," Alonzo said to John, his back still to the mechanic. Of course, John could see Alonzo's huge grin from the reflection in the mirror.
"Yea, yea Solace; ya don't have to hassle me about it. Wait until we get back onto the Stations," Danziger told the pilot with a slight amount of disgust.
"Okay, okay...just reminding you. You sound like you'll be happy to be back on the Stations," Alonzo told, rather than asked, the mechanic. "Yes, I will be glad to get back to my life back on the Stations. Hopefully I'll finally be out of debt," Danziger told Alonzo. "Your life? Buddy by the time we get back I doubt a woman will even remember me. We're going to be gone for close to half a century," Alonzo told Danziger with a I'm-not-nearly-as-young-and-stupid-as-you-think-I-am tone. "Besides, who knows? The Council's might have taken away all your belongings and sold them after we supposedly blew up. We might all just be a statistic whose bank account was added to the government's a long time ago." John stared at Alonzo, angry at him for bringing up such an awful point. Alonzo put the last of his things in a small locker and began to walk to the exit. "I'd love to stay and chat Danz, but I got a ship to fly." And with that Alonzo Solace left.
"Alonzo!"
Alonzo turned to see Julia Heller, a much more awake Doctor Heller, at a brisk walk to catch up with him. Alonzo not only slowed down, but stopped. He hadn't given up on her yet.
"Hey Doc. What's wrong?" Alonzo asked her, making sure to give her one of his knee weakening smiles.
"Nothing. I just needed to check you once more before we landed on the planet," Julia explained in a hurry.
Alonzo nodded and motioned for her to scan away. As her hand reached up to his neck, he once again thought about how much he would enjoy feeling her warm hand there without the glove. His thoughts were interrupted by her cool professional voice.
"Well, I you check out fine. If you have any problems just call down to the medical area for me," Julia told him. She began to turn around and walk away, but Alonzo stopped her.
"Yes?" Julia asked, obviously annoyed. "Listen, I was wondering if you wanted to...I don't know...do something when we got to the planet," Alonzo found himself stuttering whenever he looked into those cool icy eyes.
Julia stared at him for a moment but soon cleared her throat. "Do what? G 889 won't have any bars or restaurants on it. It's completely uninhabited. Even if we wanted to we couldn't do anything." Alonzo nodded and decided not to press any further. He knew the planet was uninhabited; he had brought along a VR program just in case he did meet someone, which he had. But he could tell she wasn't interested and so he didn't press any further.
What was another 22 years without a date? No big deal, after all he'd be in cold sleep for most of the time. But still....
"Yale, when I'm better do you think I'll be able to run?" Yale looked down at his charge and gave him a warm smile. "Of course you will
Ulysses. You just have to remember not to overexert yourself." Uly nodded and seemed happy at the promised prospect. He frequently wondered what it would be like to run and even walk without he immuno suit. What it would be like to breath...
Ulysses Adair couldn't wait to get to his new home.-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.