THE JOURNEY'S END
By
Lizzy
Timeline: At New Pacifica
Author's E-Mail: heckercw@voicenet.com
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Just a little note from Lizzy: This is *my* version of what happens when they arrive at New Pacifica. It's a little different than anything else I've read, so I hope you enjoy it. All standard disclaimers, etc. apply. Another thing, this story comes after "If You Give Me A Chance". Thanks to everyone who expressed how much they enjoyed my stories (I'm the only one other than you all and Leigh that has ever read them). I just love getting mail, especially nice mail.There are four parts to this story, but the sections I think may be a bit long, so the end might get lost. I'll fix it if it does. It's all finished, so don't freak on me. I may send out one section per day, but I am rarely that patient.
So, enjoy!
The Journey's End, Part 1
by Lizzy
It was a cold afternoon on G889. The Eden Advance team wearily weaved their way between large stands of trees that Devon Adair feared would soon turn into a full-fledged forest. Most of the members of her team were chilled to the bone; it was what would correspond to November on Earth, and it was only thirty nine degrees Fahrenheit. A thin layer of snow blanketed the ground, making Devon's feet feel like a solid block of ice in her worn-out boots.
She had hoped they would reach New Pacifica before winter, but no dice. They seemed to be near the coast, though, since the winter was far less severe than it could have been, far less severe than last year's. The others loped along behind her, as she was at the front of the caravan with John Danziger, some riding in the vehicles, others traipsing through the snow.
They had sent Alonzo Solace off ahead to scout, in case there was a forest. That way they could stop and find a way around it without wasting too much more time. A lot had already been lost, as they had to cross a mountain range a month or two before, and Devon was sick for awhile, and she was scrimping and saving whenever she could.
Devon's son, Ulysses, was racing alongside the Transrover after True Danziger, grabbing up the snow and tossing it at her, which caused her to retaliate. The two were such children. They were best friends, being the only children in the group, but got along about as well as brothers and sisters. Which, Devon supposed, was appropriate, since she and Danziger had been maintaining a relationship of a personal nature since the fall.
So now Devon walked along, just as tired as the rest, but no less determined to reach their goal as she had been a year ago. Her estimates showed that the coast could be no more than a few days off, but if there was a forest . . . it could take a long while to go around.
She tossed a glance to Danziger, his blond curls sticking out around his jacket's collar, which was brought up high around his face to keep warm. His eyes were set straight forward; he was concentrating on moving ahead, just like everyone else. They were weary, bedraggled travelers, awaiting the turn out for their far off hotel. Their food supplies were running low, and in the winter that was even worse. It reminded Devon of their last winter, at Mary's Garden, when they were faced with the same problem. It was lucky spring had come in time, or they'd all be dead.
Uly and True had abandoned their snowball fight and were now galloping up after their parents. Devon turned around and continued to walk, backwards, until Uly ran into her arms. "Hey, Uly," she said, "What are you doing?"
He shrugged, looking up at her. She noticed that his coat was unzipped, and she scowled and pulled it back up. "You'll catch your death of cold doing that," she scolded.
"Oh, but I get hot with all this walking!" he complained, but then protested no further.
True had also run up to her father, and was holding his hand and asking questions rapid-fire, mostly about when they were going to arrive. His answer was always, "You'll have to ask Devon, 'cause I don't know." So then she asked him all sorts of things about what might be there, which he happily answered from his experience at the ocean at the eastern end of the continent.
"So Mom, when's Alonzo going to get back?" Uly asked her, taking her gloved hand in his and looking up again. Even though he'd grown a lot in the past year, he had yet to be at eye level with his mother.
"I don't know," Devon said, "It depends on whether or not he finds anything." Uly nodded in acceptance, and stared straight ahead at the great white vista, with its scattered trees and other vegetation. How Devon longed to see a golden beach stretched out before her, waves crashing gently against the sand . . . but even when they did reach New Pacifica, odds were that it wouldn't look that way anyway, since it was winter. But who knew? Maybe her probe data wasn't even correct. Maybe the Council had tampered with *that*, too.
Then True had finally finished drilling Danziger, so she turned back to Devon. "Mom," (she had been calling her that for a month now) "When do you suppose we're going to get there?"
Devon sighed and said apologetically, "Just like I've told all the others, I'm not sure if we're going to get there anytime soon, True. *Maybe* within three days. That's according to my map."
True nodded. Then she tapped Uly on the shoulder. "Hey, c'mon, let's go talk to Yale. He said he had something to show me."
"Ow!" Morgan Martin exclaimed, hopping up and down on one leg. His wife, Bess, looked at him, rolling her eyes. A complaint was coming. "Stupid boots must have worn a hole through them!" he moaned. "My feet are numb! I can't feel them! I'm going to lose circulation. Bess, honey, go get Julia!"
Bess sighed, and took Morgan by the arm, guiding him away from the group to keep his embarrassment to a minimum. "Morgan, dear," she said as softly and calmly as she could, "I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to put up with it, because there isn't much I can do about it. Now if you just keep moving, eventually we'll--"
"But don't you see, Bess! I can't keep going, I'm not going to make it! My foot's going to fall off. Can't you ask Devon to stop?" he continued his ranting.
"We can't stop now, Morgan, we're making good progress!" She put an arm around him, as he was limping in what was obviously false pain and didn't want him to twist his ankle. "New Pacifica could be a day away, who knows?"
Morgan shook his head, his cheeks red from the cold, his breath misting in front of him. "I wouldn't trust maps given to us by the Council, if I were you. That's Adair's problem. She has too much faith in those damn maps that might not even be accurate! We could be heading in the complete wrong direction!"
Bess sighed, speeding up and forcing him to walk the same pace. "I'm not going to listen to this Morgan, I'm just going to pretend you're not talking and just keep moving, because--"
At that moment she became aware of the sound of shouting coming from up ahead. The ATV, with Alonzo onboard, wheeled towards them, him waving his arms, trying to get their attention. Those on foot began rushing towards him to hear what he'd seen, but the TransRover loped along at the usual slow pace, Baines grimacing at its leisurely progress.
Bess let go of Morgan and dashed off after them, leaving Morgan to stand there, looking confused and saying, "Hey, Bess, what are you doing?"
Danziger was the first to reach Alonzo, Devon a close second, and all thirteen others running after them. Alonzo leapt out of the ATV and joined them, saying excitedly, "Dev, you're not going to believe what I found."
"What is it?" Devon asked him hurriedly, anxious to hear the news. "This is . . . this is fantastic."
"Did you find New Pacifica?" True exclaimed from the back of the group that had encircled Alonzo, all faces turned to him in curiosity.He shook his head, but said, "No, but I did find passenger pod #4. I didn't go inside, but it's pretty banged up. Hit in the middle of a bunch of rocks. I don't know if anyone survived."
Devon's jaw dropped open in astonishment, and Danziger put an arm around her, squeezing her. "That means there could be others!" he exclaimed. Devon was speechless, it seemed. She stared blankly at Alonzo, gaping. She couldn't seem to find the words.
"Let's go," she finally uttered, and grabbed Danziger's hand, taking off back towards the vehicles.
It was an hour drive to the location that Alonzo had found pod #4. It looked just the way Devon recalled their own pod looking once they'd abandoned it; like a strange artifact from a lost civilization. Though this one was buried into the ground, vines growing around it and making it look like it had been abandoned there a million years before.
Alonzo showed them the words EDEN ADVANCE stenciled on the side, and it was with great tenacity that they pried open the pod's door. It creaked with rust from the weather it had encountered on the planet, and they all peered inside.
It looked like the aftermath of a plane crash. Things were scattered all over the floor from the storage racks above the seats; it was apparent they'd had a hard impact. Only a few of the seats were empty, but most contained the corpses of the passengers that had made a vain attempt at escape from the sinking Advance Ship, still buckled into their seats. It appeared that the passengers aboard pod four had all perished.
Devon took a step back, reeling. One second there were others . . . the next second they were all dead. A bit in shock, knowing that it had been her that had brought those people to the planet, that she was the reason they had never been able to take their seatbelts off, she nearly bumped into Yale. After a mumbled apology, she stood there, overwhelmed.
"I'm sorry," she heard Danziger say, dismayed, but she wasn't listening.
He took her by the arm and escorted her to a log that had been downed by the impact and sat her down. She sat there, bland, expressionless. How she hated seeing death, no matter how many times she encountered it.
He took a seat beside her, and Uly and True flanked her on each side, looking a bit stunned themselves. "There might have been survivors, Mom," True suggested, trying to make her feel better.
Devon nodded sullenly, accepting a hug from Uly. "The pod's capacity wasn't full, was it? It seats twenty. There were only about eight bodies." Danziger reminded her, "Maybe they're around here somewhere. Maybe they're at New Pacifica, who knows?"
"What are the odds . . . " she muttered, "Of them surviving . . . without a cargo pod . . . ?"
"Well, maybe there were some around here," True offered. Devon nodded, but didn't think there was much of a chance.
Danziger wished he could give her more time to grieve the loss of the people aboard, indeed, he probably had known a few of them, but he knew how imperative it was they keep moving, since their supplies were low. "Look, Adair, why don't we get some of the survival food from the pod, and keep moving towards New Pacifica."
Devon nodded, and got to her feet, dusting the snow from the log off her gloves. "I . . . I'm sorry John," she said in apology, "Just . . . I don't like death. Especially if I'm the reason they were here. Besides, that could have been me, if I'd gotten into that pod . . ."
"Don't dwell on it," he told her, steering her back in the direction of the pod where everyone was still poking around. "All right! Let's, um, let's get some of those survival packs from the compartment, and get a move on." he ordered, and Walman moved over to the compartment and punched in the release code. The panel slid open and revealed the inside.
It was bare. Once again Devon's mouth hung open. "It's gone . . . " Walman said, looking up at his leaders in confusion. Danziger just stared back.
Linda Magus frowned, "If it's gone, then that must mean . . ." "That they're alive," Yale finished for her. Everyone nodded in agreement, but he added somberly, "Or were."
They continued on that day, traveling until the sun went down. They then set up camp in the dark, and went to bed. They couldn't even make a campfire because the ground was covered with wet snow. As Uly shivered beneath his heavy sleeping bag he couldn't help but wonder whether or not anyone had survived from pod four.
It was an exciting prospect. Who knew what they could have accomplished while they were trekking across the planet. Maybe they were already at New Pacifica, had a thriving colony on their hands. Well, not thriving, just doing well. After all, it had only been a year.
The sounds of the adults moving about outside had long ago died out when Uly finally stopped thinking, and shut his eyes, letting a cold, dreamless sleep take him.
The group traveled for two more days. True was beginning to lose faith in Devon's prediction of them arriving within three days. She saw no sign of the sand, the water, the waves, that her father had told her so much about.
She walked in silence by the Transrover, next to Uly. They were listening to Yale's monologue on ancienct species of bryophytes. Though True usually found science fascinating, now all she could do was stare at her feet as they plowed through the light cover of snow.
The entire team had grown restless, doing whatever they could to keep their anticipation of arrival at their destination to a minimum. Doing that would only distract them from the tasks at hand, make them clumsy. So at any given time there were people walking back and forth from the Transrover to wherever they'd chosen to walk, constantly checking supplies, making sure nothing was loose or falling off. It was very annoying to watch.
Devon seemed to have lost her enthusiasm, or perhaps that was just because of pod four. Most were taking her usual stance, optimism, in the case, saying that the others probably had found a way to survive. Perhaps they'd even stumbled upon some of the reformed penal colonists, like Sheppard's group. That was what True preferred to believe.
Uly was just as distracted, shuffling his feet in the snow to create one, long trail. It was a bit warmer than the day before, and the snow was getting a bit slushy, but the change in weather allowed them to travel with their coats unzipped, which was a relief. It was nearly lunch, and most were getting hungry, including True.
Soon Devon called for a stop from the front of the group, and they did so with misgivings. They wanted to reach New Pacifica as soon as possible. They didn't want to bother stopping to eat. But Devon was adamant, as was Julia. They saw no sense in letting the group wither away and die on account of not stopping to eat. Not to mention the fact that a few days before they had been moaning over going to half rations.
So they stopped and unloaded the food crates, and everyone crammed their lunch in their mouths, eager to continue. As usual, True and Uly shared the two-seated Dunerail during lunch, and their parents sat on one of the canvas tarps that had been laid out to make a dry place to sit. Lunch went normally, and the children once again resumed their lessons with Yale, this time doing a little math. Devon and Danziger moved up to the front of the group again, only now they were both riding in the 'Rail.
"Quiet time", she called it. Had been doing it for years, apparently. John had never given it a good deal of thought until that one evening by the riverside a month or so back, the night she fell in, and the two of them discovered their true feelings for each other.
"Being introspective" was what he liked to call it, and it had been the butt of many jokes these past weeks. Whatever you called it, Devon certainly enjoyed it. She was quiet a lot of the time, not big on conversation, but that Danziger didn't mind in the least, since it gave him time just to sit and watch her.
Devon was deep in thought, staring straight ahead at the white snow, which was now turning into a muddy wet slush as the temperature rose to midday. Either that or the air was just warmer where they were headed, which was quite an inviting concept. Whatever it was, it was causing the thin layer of snow to melt away quite quickly, despite the dusting they'd received the night before.
Danziger noted this even though he was busy keeping an eye out for any rocks or trees that the Dunerail needed to avoid. Driving was something he enjoyed, especially with Devon, as it gave them some time alone, and the engine made such a racket (it was wearing out) that they could say pretty much anything they wanted and no one in the caravan behind them could hear.
It seemed that today Devon wasn't in much of a mood for talking, though, taking her quiet time early. She usually reserved it for those hours after the campfire was wearing down, when most had wandered back to the tent, and it was just the two of them, lying in the grass, staring up at the stars, sometimes kissing, sometimes just enjoying the silence . . . He couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking about, and he often did. However, he decided long ago that Devon's thoughts were something one best not get entangled in. If she could deal with them herself, then let her. If not, she'd come to him.
After a good hour or two of driving, Danziger's rear was growing tired of sitting; his legs need a good stretch and his foot hurt from being clamped down on the accellorator. The group was a few hundred paces behind them, also growing tired. It was well past noon, but there was still several hours of light left, so it was not time to stop. But the thought was tempting.
Danziger had been staring ahead, the blotchy brown-white landscape cast before him like some great, unending panorama, going on forever and ever and ever . . . He longed for something else to look at. Anything was better than this view. And then, it seemed he had gotten his wish.
As they crested the last of a number of low-lying hills, he found that the *ground* stopped abruptly, a number of yards in front of the 'Rail. And before him lay the vast, blue-green waters of the Ocean Pacifica.
The Journey's End, Part 2
by Lizzy
It's me, Lizzy again. I promised I'd send this today . . . but like I said, I have little patience and so, at least where I am, it is *early* today. And we're talkin' early. It is 10:02 in the morning!
Anyway, enjoy.
The other vehicles pulled to a stop behind Devon and Danziger, people popping out of the Transrover's doors, off its top, out of the ATV's seats, and from their flanking positions, all dashing over to see what it was they had run into.
It was a cliff alright. A cliff up above some rocky bluffs that dropped straight down a good fifteen feet to the sandy, rocky shores at the edge of a great ocean, spread before them like a tablecloth. Its tumbling, roiling waters crashed against it, leaving behinds shells of innumerable shapes, sizes and colors.
True Danziger gasped in awe, involuntarily clutching Uly's shoulder, making the boy yelp and pull away, giving her a dirty look. Yale stepped up behind the children, placing a hand gently on each of their shoulders. He said softly, a bit of awe in his voice, "So *this* is New Pacifica."
True dropped down to her knees, inching towards the edge of the cliff and looking down. "Don't fall now, True," Uly giggled from behind her, putting a hand up to her back as if to push her.
"Stop it, brat," she growled, looking down at the white sands on the beach. "This is so cool." Uly knelt beside her, his gloves in the now drying mud, peering over the side.
"Ulysses H. Adair, what the hell do you think you're doing so close to that cliff!" He heard his mother shout frantically, but he ignored her.
True heard her father groan something like, "Not cliffs *again*!" but after that their parents caused no interference, for Devon soon became busy in her Danziger's arms, saying over and over again, "I don't believe it, I don't believe it." She couldn't see, but True would bet anything there were tears in her eyes.
"It won't be so bad, getting there," her father quoted Devon's words with amusement in his voice. Many of the others chuckled in agreement. Bess hugged Morgan ferociously, and Yale kept watch over the curious children peering over the edge with a hawk's eye.
After the group had finished staring in bewilderment at the beach and the vast ocean that lay before them, they returned to thinking rationally. Devon decided that they all should celebrate that night, and everyone immediatly began to set up camp so they could run out on the beach.
Julia Heller made sure everyone knew not to run into the water, as it was winter and, despite various rumors that were circulating in the group, the ocean was still cold. As she unloaded the Transrover and set up her tent, she kept shooting excited glances to Alonzo Solace, who only grinned suavely, and did that thing with his hair. Julia shook her head and returned her attention to her work.
Once her tent was set up, and the food was laid out, everyone grabbed an early dinner, and several pairs of people went off in search of a slope that would allow them to reach the shores. Julia and Alonzo were one of these, and the two of them walked in silence, hand in hand, surveying the scene.
"Well, I must admit," Alonzo said, "That Devon sure can pick her places."
Julia grinned in agreement, listening to the lulling sound of the surf against the sands. It was a lovely sound, and it was nice to hear it again. The last time she'd seen an ocean, and indeed, the first, was a year ago, almost to the day, when they'd gotten messed up in all that spider business, which, to this day, no one had even attempted to explain to the children.
"I sure hope there aren't any spiders here," she quipped, looking at Alonzo and smiling warmly.
"Yeah, that would be terrible," he commented, raising his eyebrows at the memory and rubbing the side of his face thoughtfully. "Just hope I don't get bit again, because good ol' Danz sure can hit."
Julia chuckled, shaking her head. Then they heard Alicia Denner and Sean Cameron yell from up ahead, "Hey, 'Lonz, Julia! We found a path!" They waved to indicate that the couple should follow them.
Julia got a better grip on Alonzo's hand and took off after them, jerking him along behind her.
After Denner and Cameron discovered the path down to the shore, a narrow trail cutting into the cliff, probably left by kobas, they radiod back to the base camp, letting everyone know. So everyone started off in the direction of the path, leaving Baines behind, since he'd volunteered to watch over their things while the others were down on the beach, saying he'd go in the morning.
Yale stood solemnly on the beach as the others dashed about around him, the whole lot of them acting like children. He kept a close eye on True and Uly, making sure that neither of them ventured too close to the roaring waves that crashed on the beach. The two were running around, digging their hands into the sand, and then shoving them into their pockets, as it was still a bit nippy out. They were laughing, and shouting, and talking with the adults that frolicked with them.
He noted that Manya Bogdanov, even though this was a momentous occaision, did not seem to share the excitement of the others. That was probably because of the events of the previous days. Her husband, Arkady, hadn't come down in the pod with them, and she had hoped that he had ridden down in four. But the discovery of the bodies had to have made her wonder . . .
Many of the couples in the group, like Alicia and Sean, Julia and Alonzo, Morgan and Bess, and Devon and John had settled down on the beach, probably to watch the sunset, as the fiery red ball of flame that was G889's sun was beginning to sink below the horizon.
*Ah, Devon . . . * he thought, watching her as she laughed at Danziger's jokes, grinning ear to ear and leaning against him. She looked happier than Yale had ever seen, and that made him feel happy as well. The two made an endearing pair, she with her shoulderlength auburn hair, pleasant, although premature, smile lines and slender figure, him with his mop of blond curls, engaging smile and large frame. He watched them like a father watched his daughter and her first true love. Which was pretty close to true.
After the sun sunk below the horizon, he gathered up the two children and marched them back up the cliff, Devon and John following behind. All in all, this had been a pretty good day for the Eden Advance. They'd finally arrived at New Pacifica. Now they just had to start work on the entire colony.
Well, there was still a lot ahead of them, but for now they were doing okay.
Devon ducked under the low tent flaps and into the tent that her son now shared with True. The two had agreed with the arrangement only because they didn't want their parents to feel like they had no privacy, as it was very difficult for them to find time during the day to be alone together. As a result True had forfeited her space in her father's tent and agreed to share with Uly. But *only*, she had stressed, until they reached New Pacifica and set up the hospital.
Uly, who was quite sleepy after all the excitement of the day, eagerly climed into his sleeping bag, and after Devon had tucked him in and kissed him goodnight, and wished True sweet dreams, she left the tent, promising that they could do more exploring in the morning.
She then went nextdoor, where she and John had set up their tent. He was already lying on his cot, having said goodnight to True and Uly already, and motioned for her to lie down next to him. She did so, curling up against him for warmth. Though it had been warmer during the day, it was rather cool that night. She sighed contentedly, and brushed a hand against his cheek.
"I'm so happy . . . " she murmered softly. "New Pacifica is . . . beautiful. Even in the winter." Danziger nodded in agreement, closing his eyes, taking a deep breath and running his hand down the side of her body.
"Yeah, very scenic. Nice place to build I house, I think," he said. Devon just snuggled closer, she was very tired. And to think she had to wake up early in the morning, too! There were many things that needed immediate attention. They had to scout for any surviving cargo pods, and if they found some begin construction with whatever they found. If not . . . well, Devon didn't want to think about that contingency. It was a frightening one, indeed, for winter had just begun, and spring was a long ways off.
John's hand moved up to run his fingers through her hair. "Tomorrow, I guess we'll have to do a little work . . . " he sighed, "Shame. Too bad you couldn't have gotten us here in summer."
Devon opened her eyes and looked at him teasingly and said, "Hey, not even *I* am perfect, John Danziger."
At that he moaned softly and mumbled, "Thank God . . . "
She crept silently through the bushes, shining her light at the ground, so as not to be seen. In her right hand she weilded a Lumalight, in her left, a mag-pro. She tossed a glance backwards to her partner, who was taking every care she was not to make a sound. Their mission was as imperitive as it was clear: investigate the newcomers, and find out who they were.
She pushed her way through the last of the tall bushes, to the clearing where the newcomers had apparently set up camp. She decided it best to continue no further, and signalled her intentions to her companion.
They both came to a stop, and squatted close to the ground. "What do we do now, Bas?" he whispered softly to her. She waved for him to keep quiet, but then replied. "Just hang on a sec, Ross. You've got to be patient." He fell silent, and slowly Basil raised her light, and quickly shined it on the nearest of the tents.
Her breath caught in her throat. "Oh my God . . . " Ross uttered. "The Eden Advance," Basil read off the side. "It's them." he said. "So what do we do now?"
Alonzo Solace hated having the night watch. Not only did it mean that he had to stay up late, not to mention missing time with Julia, but he was also exhausted the next day. There was also the seemingly endless hours of boredom, loneliness, etc.
Luckily tonight Julia had volunteered to stay up with him, and the two were having a rather simple conversation over a cup of coffee. They were sharing thoughts on what they thought New Pacifica would be like once the Colony Ship arrived, if they'd be able to set things up in time.
It was about half past eleven, and everyone else in camp had already fallen asleep, when Julia told him she thought she had heard something moving in the bushes. Alonzo snatched up his mag-pro from beside him, and was getting up when he heard someone exclaim from the direction of the bushes, "Alonzo Solace? Is that you?"
Alonzo's jaw dropped. The voice was vaguely familiar . . . but who else was on the planet? "Who goes there!" he bellowed. He peered at the bushes. He could've sworn he saw a light. Julia stood up beside him, looking rather confused.
The light moved upwards, until it shone of the grinning face of its owner. The light reflected off of her red curls, illuminating a freckle-faced woman of little over twenty. "'Lonz, it's me, Bas! We thought you were dead!"
Alonzo snorted in disbelief and amusement, but Julia still frowned. "Alonzo, who is that?"
"It's Basil Sherwood," he explained, moving forward to intercept the woman, who was now moving in their direction. Alonzo shined his light on her, and revealed that there was someone inching after her.
"Who??" Julia stared, following after him, "Are they from pod four?"
"Basil Sherwood, my pilot-in-training!" Alonzo was now trotting towards Basil. Basil had been assigned to watch Alonzo at work as part of her training as a cold sleep mission pilot. She had been on the Advance Ship when they escaped. Apparently she'd survived the crash of the pod, along with her friend.
This seemed to satisfy Julia, but she clutched his shoulder and breathed, "They *survived*?"
"Damn straight!" Basil laughed, coming to a stop a few paces away and studying her old friend, as if to be sure he was really there. The man behind her stopped also, looking on as if he didn't quite fit in. Alonzo didn't recognize him from the bridge, and assumed he must have come from Operations.
"Someone should tell Devon," Julia reminded him. He waved her off, "Yeah, yeah Julia, you'd better do that." She nodded and went off to Devon and John's tent to wake their leader. Alonzo still couldn't believe what he was seeing. "So how'd you survive? And are there any others? Did you find any cargo pods?" he asked excitedly.
Basil held up a hand to silence them. "I'd better wait until Adair gets up. If I remember correctly, she'll want to hear this, too."
"Devon, Devon!" Someone was standing outside the tent calling, not too loudly, but loud enough to wake Danziger. He wearily lifted up his head, noticing the lantern light shining against the side of the tent. He felt Devon stir beneath his arm, and she mumbled, "What is it?"
The person outside, who John supposed was Julia, by the sound of her voice, was silent for a moment, then she said. "Devon . . . Dev, you're not going to believe this, but they're from pod four."
Devon jerked upright in the cot, looking Danziger in the eyes, bewildered, even though she was speaking to Julia. "Survivors?"
"Yeah."
She pushed aside the sleeping bag, a cold blast of air making Danziger shiver. He sat up groggily, blinking to clear his vision. Devon, however, seemed wide awake, grabbing her coat from where she'd left it on the ground and quickly zipping it up. Once she was finished, she looked back to him. He had only just slipped his boots on."Come on, John," she urged him.
He waved her forward, "You go, Dev, I'll be right out." She nodded curtly and dashed out the door, leaving him to get himself ready.
"So you've already got the hospital built?" Devon could hardly believe what she was hearing. According to Basil Sherwood and Ross Parker, there were ten survivors of the pod four crash. Since they were so close to New Pacifica, and had found three cargo pods, two with the major components of the hospital, they'd begun to set up the colony. They had also located *three* zero units, which had helped them to construct a barn for the animals in embryonic freeze. They hadn't known if the others were dead or alive, so had gone on as if they were the former.
The eight others were living less than a mile away, and the radar they had set up had detected the vehicles. Ross and Basil had been sent to investigate, in case they were penal colonists or some unknown troublemakers. Basil was the one in their group who dreamed with the Terrians, though they didn't speak much to her. Perhaps, she supposed, that was why Alonzo had never heard anything about them.
Basil nodded, taking a sip of the coffee that she had been given. "And Nick Fonseca, you know, the zoologist, he had us construct a barn for the animals we found in embryonic freeze. We just planted a crop last spring and had a nice harvest in the farm. Doing quite nicely."
Devon still couldn't believe that there had been survivors from the crash, let alone that they'd built half the colony by themselves. Apparently Basil caught that look and said, "Well, the hospital isn't quite complete yet. It's only two and a half floors. We're running ourselves ragged, and sure could use a hand."
Everyone had been woken up, even the children, and were now gathering around a makeshift fire circle, listening to Ross and Basil's tale. "This is fantastic!" Magus exclaimed.
But Manya Bogdanov, who seemed to know Basil, probably since she, too, was on the bridge crew, asked tentatively, "Is Arkady there?" her voice was choked with emotion, yearning for news of her husband.
Basil nodded slowly. "Yes, Arkady is just fine." Manya burst into tears of joy, mumbling some prayer in Russian, and leaning against the sympathetic shoulder of Bess Martin.
"Can we go now?" True asked, impatient to see this barn they were speaking of. The girl was quite fond of animals. Devon could see her pet koba peeking out from inside her jacket, blinking at all the commotion.
"I . . . I don't think so, True, it's too late now. It's past two in the morning!" Devon said apologetically. "Tomorrow, definately. I . . . I still can't believe it!" She squeezed Danziger's hand with joy, and he cringed in pain at the grip.
"You're welcome to stay with us," Danziger offered. Ross nodded, "Yeah, we'll have to contact the others and tell them it's okay. I bet Charlie is gonna freak."
"Charlie?" Linda Magus said, her voice seeming to fill with hope, "Charlotte O'hara?"
Ross nodded.
"She's my cousin," Linda explained, "This was sort of our big adventure, out here. My grandfather, actually, suggested we take the assignment, Devon."Devon raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Who else is there?" Walman asked, probably wondering about the welfare of his friends."Well, me, Ross, Charlotte, Nick Fonseca, Winfield Raymond, Arkady, Nancy Perlman, Mary Trent, Everett Calhoon and, uh, Nebula Sanchez." Basil ticked off the names.
Several people began chattering, others looked dismayed when their friend's names were not announced, but all in all the news relieved Devon. Real people, still alive. They hadn't *all* died because of her. It was with great satisfaction that she crawled back into bed beside John at three AM to catch another three or four hours sleep.
The Journey's End, Part 3
by Lizzy
It seemed dawn wouldn't come fast enough for Ulysses Adair. He couldn't wait to see the colony he would call home for the rest of his life. His head was full of images, ideas of what it would be like. He imagined them holding a grand festival, after the Colony Ship arrived, and there were other children there, lots of them, and the Terrians were there, too. Only the children weren't afraid of the Terrians, because Uly was there, and he told them there was nothing to fear.
But finally the dawn came, the crashing of the waves stirring him to wakefulness. It was just past sunrise, but the adults were already up, the sounds of packing up could be heard. True was already up, too, her cot having been abandoned and her sleeping bag rolled up.
Uly slipped out of bed and did the same with his, pulling on his heavy socks and zipping up his coat. He ducked under the flaps and blinked in the sunlight. Everyone was loading crates onto the Tranrover, as well as Basil and Ross. The two had brought a Dunerail, though it was parked a ways back in the bushes. The trees did indeed thicken into a forest, but it could easily be circled until they came to a path that the team had cleared.
His mother was talking with Basil, while Danziger was assisting Baines in the dismantling of one of the tents. Everyone was so eager to get a move on that no one cared if they were doing a chore assigned to someone else.
Everyone else's tent was down, or at least coming down, except his, so Uly decided to get True back there to help him out.
Once they were done, and had helped the adults pack the vehicles, and the two of them had clambered onto the top of the Transrover, True exploded with chatter, talking about how much she wanted to see the farm, and how Basil said there were horses and cows and ducks, and this and that and this and that . . . Uly soon lost interest and began to just watch the land ahead of them.
It was but a half hour drive to the road that Basil had spoken of, and the children were forced to get off of the lumbering vehicle, since the branches were relatively low-lying and Devon didn't want them to get hurt.
He walked along beside them, holding his mother's hand as they walked in silence, anticipation of their arrival growing within him by the second. After a year on the road, it would be so nice to have a permanent place to stay, a place to call home, and end to their long journey.
Glancing up at his mother and smiling, he said, "This is gonna be *so* cool."
Bess Martin watched the children rush forward as they pulled into view of a long, squat structure that appeared to be still under construction, and couldn't help but feel the same joy. It had been so long since she'd stayed in one place for more than a day or two, since last winter, in fact, and the idea of having a home, a place to live was very inviting.
She wrapped an arm around Morgan's shoulders, and he gladly returned her embrace. He was undoubtedly just as relieved as she to finally have reached their destination. The young woman named Basil waved and gave a shout as they approached, and a number of people filed out of the building, jumping and yelling as well.
A number of the members of their team went towards the building to meet them, apparently being aquainted with some of them. Hugs were exchanged, and a number of, "I can't believe I'm seeing you"'s passed lips.
Manya Bogdanov spotted Arkady, and dashed forward to be swept off her feet by her weeping husband. The two began to talk excitedly in Russian, Manya refusing to release her grip on them. *How awful,* Bess thought, *to be separated from the person you loved for so long, to think they were dead.*
Devon was clinging to John's arm, overjoyed beyond belief that so many who had been thought dead were actually alive. Danziger didn't seem to mind in the least, and he had his arm around her, which drew several odd looks from the assembled pod four folk, though no questions were asked.
The Transrover rolled to a stop, its engine chugging, probably on its last legs, and Baines hopped out of the cab, joining the rest of the group at the double doored entrance to the hospital. After everyone had finished their greetings, and the Bogdanov's tearful reuinion had subsided, a woman with short, blond hair announced, "So, who wants to see the *inside* of our hospital?" Everyone expressed a wish to see, which was no surprise, and the woman pushed the door open, allowing the people to pass.
Bess was in the middle of the crowd, and her jaw dropped in awe at what she saw. Apparently they'd recovered quite a lot from their three cargo pods. They entered into a spacious lobby which, while simply decorated, gave off an air of elegance that Bess hadn't experienced since the Stations. To the left and right of her they had lined up a number of seats, apparently for the waiting room. Directly ahead was a desk, though it didn't look like it belonged in a lobby. More like in an office. She supposed they couldn't find the one *meant* for the lobby, and had borrowed this one instead.
There were some plants there, also, pulled from the soil of G889, no doubt. Watering cans lay on the floor beside them, as apparently chores were dropped when the news arrived. To each side a hallway branched off, with rooms along the walls and a stairwell at the end of each, and straight ahead were two swinging double doors that evidently led to the hospital's cafeteria.
At the thought of food Bess's stomach rumbled. They'd left in such a hurry that morning no one had gotten anything to eat but a cup of coffee, which Bess had refused since she wanted to catch up on the sleep she'd lost the night before.
However, their guide did not stop there, and she said, "We have about forty rooms as it is now, and that's definitely enough for us. You say there are sixteen of you?" Devon, who was at the front of the group, nodded. "Well, there are only ten of us. So, you can all pick a room and hey," she said, almost sternly, "You've gotta stick with it." Some of the people, including the children, disbanded and went down the hallway, peeking into rooms out of curiousity. Devon, Danziger, and Julia, however, stayed behind to ask the woman questions.
So Bess took Morgan by the hand and began to walk down the hallway after the others.
Devon hung back with Danziger and Julia as the others went ahead. She indicated to Yale to keep an eye on the children, and he nodded, walking off. Then she turned back to Charlotte O'hara, who was beaming at the newcomers' reaction to the hospital.
"So, Ms. Adair, do you like it?" Basil Sherwood asked. Devon hadn't noticed her, standing behind Danziger.
Devon nodded absently, but had her eye on the desk that was being used as a reception desk. She pointed at it, and raised an eyebrow, looking at Charlotte.
"Oh, um, I . . . " Charlotte stuttered, "I'm sorry, I just . . . that is, we found it in one of the cargo pods, and thought that it would be okay if we just . . . borrowed it."
She had recognized the desk the moment they walked through the door. It had been in her office back on the stations, where she worked on all her designs. It was a family heirloom, and had been with them since they arrived on the space stations. She had had it packed into a cargo pod, since it would've been nice to have in her office in New Pacifica. But when it all boiled down, she didn't really need to be reminded of her life on the Stations. Devon waved her off, saying, "No, it's okay, I wouldn't have used it anyway." Then she headed in the direction of the hall, where most everyone had already entered a room and staked a claim.
When she noticed John wasn't following her, she waved for him to catch up, and he quickly ended his conversation with Basil (they were talking about one of the others in the group, apparently) and dashed after her.
Uly flicked on the lightswitch (power!) and stepped into the small room. It was no bigger than one might expect to find in a cheap hotel, with nothing but a bed, a simple dresser, and a door that apparently led to the bathroom.
Shrugging, he hopped onto the bed, noting how it sank slightly beneath him. *A mattress!* he thought with joy, *An actual, real mattress!* It felt good after spending a year on nothing but a cot. Pulling off his boots he stood up on the bed and began to jump up and down.
The door to the room he had chosen opened just enough for True to stick her head in. "What *are* you doing?" she asked, eying his activity. His jumping slowed to a stop, and he placed his hands on his hips and sneered:
"What are *you* doing?"
True rolled her eyes and stepped into his room, taking a peek into his bathroom and looking at his dresser, as if to be sure he hadn't gotten anything she hadn't. The bathroom was small, like one on an airplane, with nothing but a small sink and a toilet. This made Uly frown, since he was looking forward to taking a bath, since they hadn't done anything but bathe in lakes and rivers for the past year. A little warm water had sounded ever so nice . . .Once she was satisfied, she took a seat on his bed. "Where're you gonna be?" Uly asked her. True pointed to the right and said, "Right next door." "What about your dad and my Mom?" he asked. "Mom . . . Mom and Dad are sharing a room right above us, on the second floor."
Uly sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I thought they said-"
"All they said was that *we* wouldn't have to share a room together," True reminded him, getting up off the bed and looking at him as a teacher would look at a young child. "I told ya Uly, this isn't anything temporary. Mom and Dad are together *for good*. I can't believe you haven't gotten used to it by now. It's been two months." She gave him a pitying look.
He snorted at her. "I've gotten used to it, alright. I let you move into my tent, didn't I? I'm trying to help them work. After all, my Mom has never been this happy the entire time I've been alive. It doesn't even *matter* if I'm used to it." Then he said between bared teeth, "*But I am*."
True shrugged, as if it didn't really matter to her. "Whatever. I'm gonna poke around a little until they decide to feed us," she said, and turned to leave.
"Just don't break anything, True," Uly said to her back mockingly. She didn't even whirl around to scowl at him.
The moment Devon entered the tiny room, she was immediatly struck by how quaint, how simple it seemed. It was everything her mansion back on the stations hadn't been. It was just a room, but it felt like a home. Though certainly she'd have to build a house sometime. Uly would need more space, as would True, and surely privacy was a commodity in a place that would soon become crowded with a thousand new colonists.
She flopped down on the bed that sat in the corner, sinking into the mattress and the cool sheets. She pushed off her boots and unzipped her jacket. The hospital was already heated, and Devon hadn't yet had time to ask how they'd managed it, since she didn't hear the telltale hum of air circulators and there were no heaters in the rooms.
Sighing deeply, she shut her eyes and listened to the sound of silence. Her feet ached unforgivingly; even after hiking for a lot of their 5,000 mile trip they still grew sore at the end of the day.
She heard the door to the room open, and then John said, "Nice accomodations, Adair."
"Thanks, but I didn't design them," she said, "I have an interior decorator that picked out the furniture." She opened her eyes and looked at the very utilitarian dresser. It was obviously picked for its use for holding clothes, not its aesthetic value.
He chuckled, and she felt the bed sag beside her as he helped himself to a seat. "Ah, who cares. Knowing you we'll have a house in a couple of weeks."
"I already have some designs back on the 'Rover, if you'd like to take a peek," she joked. "Nah, it'll take longer than that. We have to make sure everything around here's set up for the colonists, I imagine they'll come up with something for *you* to do. At any rate, building a house is last on my list of priorities right now . . . " she murmured.
He leaned down next to her, propping his head up in his hand. "So what is on the top of you list of priorities?" He smiled suggestively.
Devon smiled back, and said softly, "On the top of my list is . . . Checking out what these people have done to my colony," she poked him on the nose with her forefinger and sat back up, running a hand through her hair to straighten it out. A little bit of disappointment flickered through his eyes, but he got up gamely. "I don't know about you, John, but I'm starved," she said, "And I think that Charlotte O'hara may have a thing or two to tell me."
Devon got off the bed and pulled her boots back on, then headed towards the door. "I hear Charlotte runs a tough kitchen. Maybe she'll get some *real* food out of this place."
After Julia was finished talking with Charlotte about the medical facilities at the hospital, she went to find Alonzo. She passed him in the hallway; he was on his way to the cafeteria where Charlotte had said that breakfast was being prepared. Since they'd gotten such an early start, it was still morning.
Not even bothering to check out the accomodations, trusting that Alonzo had good taste, she headed back to the lobby with him.
"It's amazing how much they've accomplished," Julia told him, "I talked to Charlotte O'hara, and she says they found a lot of the medical supplies, the animals, and the materials to build the hospital. Oh, and they've got some communications equipment, too." She shook her head at the marvel. "And only in three cargo pods. I guess since they didn't get much survival food, they had to grow most of it from seeds, there was a lot more stuff that was useful."
Alonzo nodded, and they left the hallway and went back into the lobby. No one was there, but many voices could be heard from the cafeteria. Julia pushed open the double doors and stepped into a large room that reminded her of nothing more than hospital cafeterias back home. That was probably where the design came from. It was very practical, nothing to make the atmosphere fun or romantic, or even interesting at all. The walls were a dull gray, and Heller couldn't help but notice that the tables were mismatched. They clearly weren't meant for the cafeteria; they looked like they belonged in a meeting hall. It seemed a lot of the furniture meant for the hospital had been lost, and was replaced with whatever they could scrounge up.
Most everyone had taken a seat at either the long meeting table or one of the small circular tables scattered about. Before them lay plates covered with fresh food; salads, fruits, breads. No meat, since Charlotte had explained that only four viable cow embryos had been recovered and couldn't be used for butchering. There were also hard boiled eggs and tall glasses of milk.
Julia's stomach rumbled hungrily, especially at the sight of *real* food. There was a line at what appeared to be a cafeteria counter, where Basil Sherwood and several of the others were passing out whatever foods were requested to the other team members.
She and Alonzo did not hesitate to get at the end of the short line and grab a plate, piling it high with food. Before Julia was finished getting through the line she'd already picked off half her salad and eaten half of a fruit that appeared to be native. She couldn't help but wonder how they had such an abundance of fruit in the middle of the winter; perhaps they'd refrigerated it after their fall harvest. She made a mental note to ask Charlotte or Basil later. The two seemed to be the ringleaders of the group, the others content to listen to what they said.
She thanked those on KP duty and took a seat at the meeting table, beside Alonzo and across from True and Uly. The two were attacking the food with vigor, the first real fresh food in a year an irresistable temptation.
Once everyone had received the food and most had taken seats, the KPers began to clean up, and Basil took a seat to answer any questions that the rest of the Advance Team might have.
Gregory Walman had grown weary of listening to Devon Adair's endless questions and wiped his mouth on his napkin, sliding his chair away from the table and getting up. In his opinion, all this joint needed was a little spice. He began to visualize what he could make it into, using his experience as a waiter/bartender at a diner back on the Stations as a template.
While he was doing this he wandered over to the counter where the food was passed out. *Too functional, too boring,* he mused, *This place really, really needs me.* Charlotte O'hara, who had been wiping the counter off with a rag, raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is there something I can help you with, Mr . . . ?"
"Ah," Walman said, pasting a friendly grin across his face, "Walman, but you can call me Greg. This . . . this is a nice place you've got here."
Charlotte rolled her eyes and went back to her scrubbing. "Are you kidding?" she said, "It's a dump. I wish I could fix it up, make it more lively, but I've just got so much to do . . . "
Walman's eyebrows jumped in unison with his smile. "Well, you know, I used to work at a diner that was pretty classy back on the Stations . . . " he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "All this place needs is a little paint," he eyed the gray walls, "and maybe . . . maybe a bar," he made his hands into a picture frame and peered through. "Yeah, that's right. Where this counter is."
Charlotte tossed down her rag and leaned against the counter. "Odd, I've been thinking the same thing. But I've been putting a lot of time in down at the barn with Nick lately. My horse is pregnant. But if you were to help me . . . " She seemed to ponder the thought for a moment. "Hey, maybe we could fix this place up. All it needs is a little style, after all."
"Well, and a good name," Walman put in. She nodded. "Like . . . something local, something unique to G889 . . . "
"Terrians?" he suggested. She shook her head. "No, no. The Terrian Diner just isn't . . . well, you know." Walman shrugged. "The Koba Cafe?"
"Nah. How about the Grendler Grille?" Charlotte's eyes lit up at the idea."Yeah! That's it." But then he paused for a moment. "No, The Grendler *Bar* and Grille."
Charlotte grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "That's perfect!" "So, Charlotte, partners?" Walman offered his hand to her. She took it. "Partners. Oh and, call me Charlie. Everyone else does."
"Charlie, then." And then he turned back to the group at the table, still listening to Basil Sherwood speak. This was going great for him, now. He had a project, and a partnership. A partnership with a *beautiful* woman, no less.
Beaming, he began whistling a happy tune and went to take a seat in the corner of the cafeteria. *The Grendler Bar & Grille,* he thought, *Owned by Greg Walman and Charlie O'hara.*
The Journey's End, Part 4
by Lizzy
Oh, <g>, <g>, <g> people! I am having such a good day . . . not even going to school for *six hours* (45 min of which I spent sitting in the Counseling office waiting for a schedule change *which I never got*) could spoil my day! I got only one mail message this afternoon (from Andy, as you all must know) but hey, that's nothing to judge a day by! I'm just feelin' good . . .
So (to get to the point) here's part four of m'story. It's the end, and if you don't like the end, well, I warned ya yesterday.
Anywho . . .
John Danziger munched on his breakfast while Devon sat beside him, asking Basil Sherwood question after question about how they'd gotten this and that to work, since she had noticed that a lot of imperative things were missing. It was interesting to listen to, but he had no interest in becoming part of the conversation itself.
The most interesting was the defense system. They'd set up perimeter beacons in a five mile radius surrounding the colony and the beach that sloped down from the area where the hospital sat. It kept away the Grendlers, but the Terrians had slipped through once in their first month on the planet. After that, they hadn't heard much from them. The fence also served to keep the colony's two dogs, Flit and Sandy, from straying out of the boundaries.
The building was heated by the hot springs in the caves surrounding the beach. Ducts funneled the air into the rooms, and they could be closed during the summer. Apparently something had happened to the air conditioning unit and all they'd had during the summer to keep off the deathly heat was the ocean's waters and a couple of fans. Danziger enthusiastically offered to fix it for them, though.
They were still growing fresh foods in a biodome in back of the hospital. Arkady Bogdanov, though his specialty was communications, had taken an interest in botany, and spent a lot of time there tending the plants. The barn was strictly commanded by Nick Fonseca, the rather gruff, fifty year-old zoologist Devon had hired to tend the animals. They had six horses, four cows, and many ducks. All the horses had been named and "adopted" long ago, and one of them, Charlotte O'hara's horse, Sasquatch, was pregnant with the first animal of their group to bear any offspring, aside from the ever so prolific ducks.
Danziger noticed True's eyes light up at hearing that there were ducks. Yale had been showing the children holos of them awhile ago, and she had commented at how adorable a little duckling looked.
"So, how did you manage your first few months here?" Bess Martin posed the question. Basil immediately turned her attention from Devon to the other woman, apparently used to conducting conversations in large groups.
"Oh, it wasn't easy," she explained, "We had the survival packs from the pod, and there was some bread and a little dried meat, as well as some freeze dried stuff in the cargo pods. Since we landed in the fall we couldn't plant outside, we had to use the biodome." She paused for a moment to nibble on a carrot, and looked to Bess to see if she had any more questions.
True, who had been squirming impatiently at the table beside Uly, finally asked, "Can we go down to the farm?"
Basil smiled at the little girl's enthusiasm, and then shrugged. "Hey, why not. We've got forever to catch up on these things. Who wants to go on a horseback ride?" Grinning, she slid out of her chair, the others following, a number of them stuffing some of the greens into their pockets and fruit into their mouths.
Though Morgan wasn't all that interested in seeing the barn--he wasn't as into animals as the others--Bess persuaded him that it would be worth his while. Charlotte, who had finished cleaning up the kitchen, explained that the farm was a mile away, out of the forest, and that it would be necessary to ride in vehicles.
They piled into the Dunerails, since there were three more that Charlotte's group had recovered, and the ATV and were off on their way. In a half hour's time, they had pulled up at the end of the dirt road and before them stood a rather large building constructed completely of wood. Basil explained that the Terrians had condoned the use of the trees after a bit of cajoling.
Everyone hopped out and began to mill around outside, until Nick Fonseca opened the fence's gate and allowed them to walk through. He explained that all the animals were in the barn (the ducks had been moved to a pond in the biodome) and that they could come and take a peek if they liked.
"C'mon Morgan," Bess waved to him from the gigantic doorway to the stable. Rolling his eyes, he loped after her, his cheeks burning with the cold. True Danziger shot past him through the door, eager to see the animals.
Within the barn were a number of stalls, each with an animal inside. Wooden plaques were in front of each. As he walked through he read them: "Fly", "Cassandra" (he noted that particular horse was a stunning animal, pure white), "Lightening", "Thunder", "Nadezhda", and "Sasquatch". Charlotte O'hara paused in front of Sasquatch's stall, True tagging along behind her. A kindly-looking animal, brown with a black mane, extended its neck and head out of a Dutch door to except a pat from her owner.
"Hey, guys," she said, apparently referring to the group as a whole, "I'd like you to meet Sasquatch."
"Is she the one that's going to have a baby?" True asked, curiously. Charlotte nodded, rubbing the animal's muzzle. "Yeah." Morgan moved on, wondering how people could like furry, fuzzy creatures. Or any creatures at all, for that matter. They couldn't *talk* to you, after all, and the certainly had nothing to offer you in exchange for the care you gave them.
The cows were kept outside in a large, fenced-in corral. They were milling about, the big bull making an impressive sight. *Now that's my kind of animal,* Morgan thought, *Them you can eat!*
Bess walked up beside him, linking her arm in his. "So, Morgan, what do you think of those horses? Oh, that Cassandra is a beaut! You should see how True fawns over her. And Basil, I swear that horse has got her *trained*." Morgan nodded absently, fantasizing about what a nice, rare steak might taste like. After all those veggies for lunch and a life of survival packs for the past year, a slab of meat would hit the spot.
"Want to go for a ride?" Bess suggested brightly, "I know True is. Arkady said I could ride Nadezhda. He calls her Nadia. She looks like a sweetheart." Then she noticed that Morgan wasn't paying any attention.
"Morgan!" she exclaimed, "Have you been paying attention to a word I've said??"
Morgan snapped out of his dreamland, returning his attention to his wife. "Oh, yeah, right Bess. Ride the horses . . . " She nodded, smiling, and then turned back in the direction of the stables. Then Morgan's eyes bulged as he realized what he'd just said. "Wait a minute, ride the horses? *Ride the horses*? What the--wait a minute Bess, hang on!"
Devon relaxed, leaning against the rail to the corral, behind which the cows were loitering, and watched as Alonzo and Julia exited the barn, riding on a horse. The two of them seemed to be having a good time, though Alonzo was having a little trouble 'piloting' the animal.
She smiled with amusement as the two of them headed off in what was obviously the wrong direction, Julia nearly falling off the horse she was laughing so hard, insisting he hand over the reigns. Many of the others had decided to ride the horses, and there seemed to be some sort of waiting list, there being only six (that and Charlotte had forbidden everyone from riding Sasquatch).
They'd been at the barn for nearly an hour now, and it was a little past noon. The sun was high in the sky, and Devon was beginning to crave some lunch right about then. She cast a glance to the open field, where True pranced around on Cassandra, giggling her head off as Uly looked on, standing beside Yale and looking just a little jealous.
Basil and Ross stepped out of the barn, after saddling the most recent of the waiting people onto one of the horses. The two stopped for a moment and watched the newcomers riding around on the horses, having a great deal of fun. Ross said something to her, and she began to laugh, taking his hand in hers and planting a kiss on his lips. Devon couldn't stop herself from thinking what a cute couple the two made. Which surprised her, since she'd think that was something that would go through *Bess's* mind, not her own.
"Looks like we're not the only people who found each other," Danziger commented, watching the two younger people as Ross continued to entertain his lovely companion. The certainly acted like an established couple, alright.
Devon smiled, leaning closer to him and wrapping her arms around his neck. "Well, I'm glad I found *you*," she said, giving him a kiss.
Danziger couldn't complain about that, and when the two broke away he said, "Yeah, I hear that Basil and Ross are planning on getting married sometime soon. It seems the moment they landed on the planet," he snapped his fingers, "Like *that*. A fly to honey, was Charlie's metaphor."
Devon giggled and shook her head. "These young people are funny, aren't they?" Though Danziger didn't find it too funny. "Oh well, not that we're *that* old," Devon covered quickly, "I . . . I was just saying that, you know, compared to us--"
"Dev," John put a hand up to silence her, "I don't know what you upper-class folk are like, but I could care less if I were old. Just as long as I had you."
Devon cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, really?" He nodded. "Aw," Devon sighed, "Now who can resist such an honest confession?"
At about three hours past noon, much to True's chagrin, Alonzo noted, the group trooped back to the hospital for yet another delicious meal. Everyone was becoming acquainted (or re-acquainted) with those who were on pod number four. Arkady and Manya were getting on like any normal married couple, no one would've guessed they'd been separated for over a year.
Charlotte and Walman were talking about wallpaper (Alonzo wasn't asking), and Basil's charm was, you guessed, charming everyone. True had become enraptured in Nick's one-sided conversation on the care of horses, and Devon and Everett Calhoon were talking about the design of the hospital.
Alonzo was having a rather relaxed conversation with the vivacious Basil and her soft-spoken suitor, his arm around Julia's shoulder and his patented fly-boy grin on his face. She was talking about the ride down, and how helpless she had felt, as well as her distress when the Advance Ship first began to malfunction.
It was apparent Julia had little interest in the conversation, and she was nibbling on a piece of lettuce. Basil had just finished her explanation of how she had directed the construction of the hospital, when the usually-silent Ross came right out and asked, "So what's the story on Danz and Adair?"
"Uh . . . " Alonzo blinked, surprised at the straightforwardness of the question. He supposed that being in a close knit, small group for so long could make you forget what privacy was. Though even the sixteen members of *their* group had managed to respect each others' privacy.
"I mean," Ross continued, "I just kind of noticed that they were a little . . . "
"Friendly," Basil finished for him, and Ross nodded. Julia turned her attention away from her salad and said, "Bess Martin likes to explain it by saying 'There's something in the air', but it's really up to you."
It was obvious Ross didn't know what to make of that. "So you mean they *are* together? John "The Bear" Danziger and Devon Frige-Adair?" he let out an amused chuckle. "Who'd of thought, eh Basil?"
Julia pursed her lips at Ross's nickname for Devon. "I think you'll find that Devon has changed a great deal, as has John. It's true they started out very different at first, but after a year or so on the road, they found out they had more in common than they thought."
"I think Ross knows what it's like to be changed by someone," Basil shot a mischievous glance at Ross. "When I met Mr. Parker over there he was the most belligerent, overbearing, *loud* person I'd ever met, and I fixed him good."
"That is not true, Bas," Ross objected, "And you know it." She shrugged, looking away. Then she looked back as a thought struck her. "Hey, anyone in the mood for a shower?"
As the words "anyone in the mood for a shower" passed through Basil's lips, every fork was dropped to the table, and all eyes turned to her.
"There are showers here?" Julia asked her. Basil nodded, looking at her oddly. "Of course. How do you think we keep clean?" Everyone continued to stare, so she explained further. "Nancy just got the plumbing and everything finished a few weeks ago. It's pumped up from the hot springs and into pipes. The greatest thing you ever felt, I promise you."
"Where are these so-called showers?" Bess wanted to know. "At the shower house, of course," Charlotte said, swallowing the last of a slice of bread. "What, you think we're going to outfit every room with a shower? Yeah right."
So it was decided that immediately after dinner that night they were all going to the shower house and taking a much-deserved hot shower.
The rest of the day, much to Ulysses' chagrin, consisted mostly of tours of the surrounding *natural* area. They showed them where the Lower Morgan River (as they knew it) emptied out into Trumbell Bay, and with the help of the Jumpers got to look at some islands called the Trumbell Bay Archipelago. Basil said she and Ross had built a small dingy in the hopes they could someday row out to one of the islands, but hadn't found enough time.
True took much joy in showing off her koba, Kitty, to Basil and Charlotte, who were apparently just as fond of animals as she. They marveled at how the small creature mimicked their actions.
Once they were back at the hospital, they unloaded all their clothes and other essentials from the Transrover and put it in their rooms. Then they went out onto the beach to watch the sunset. Since it was winter the sun set early. Instead of the cliff that Uly's group had at first encountered, there was a gently sloping incline that went down a mere five feet to the sandy beach.
Uly longed to pull his boots off and sink his feet into the sand, but it was much too cold. Instead he dropped down on the ground beside True and watched their second beach sunset in as many days.
After that was done, they all shuffled back to the hospital, laughing and talking about all they'd seen, and then his mother told him the bad news.
"Guys," she said, referring to him and True, "Charlotte, Basil, Arkady, Nancy, Everett, Ross, Nick, and the others have been fixing us meals all day. I think it's only fair that we take KP duty for dinner."
They tried to object, but Devon would hear none of it, and they trooped off to the kitchen. Charlotte gave them the tour of the large kitchen and supervised the preparation of the various salads and fruits and the cutting of the bread. It wasn't as bad as they had expected, but it was still a mind numbing task. Then, of course, they had to serve it to those standing in line.
When he and True *finally* got their own dinner, they took a seat in the corner of the room, munching in silence. The adults weren't having as much conversation during dinner as they had during lunch. There were only a handful of people at the long meeting table. Most had broken off into pairs or small groups and taken seats at the scattered tables and were having their own private conversations.
They were so hungry after the day's tours and their KP duty that they ate it in silence, only stop to utter requests like 'pass the salt' or 'are you going to eat that?'. By the time they finished eating, so had the adults, so everyone got up from the tables and vacated to the lobby.
Then Charlotte announced, "Who would like to take a shower? I've got some towels in one of the store rooms." There were many exclamations of approval, so she continued, "I'll just let Everett here show you the way, and I'll bring the towels in a few minutes." Calhoon sarcastically gave her a smile of thanks, and led them back out the door and around to the back side of the hospital. There was a small building which they entered. Within were about two dozen showers and even a tub that was apparently used for a bath.
Devon gave Uly his toothbrush and clean clothes which she had fetched before leaving the hospital and sent him on his way.
"Oh, and by the way," Charlotte said after she'd put the towels on the row of sinks for everyone to grab, "This bath house is not segregated, so I'm trusting that all you men will behave yourself, eh?"
Julia had discovered that there was a small changing area beside every shower stall and gratefully shed her clothes, hopping into the showers. She turned the water on and a surge of joy washed over her as she was deluged with hot water. Her skin tingled delightfully, and she couldn't help but let out a giggle, which was echoed all over the bath house.
"There's plenty of hot water," Charlotte called over the noise of running water, "But I still wouldn't waste if I were you!"
To that statement there were a number of "okays", "sures," and even one or two sarcastic, "yeah rights". Julia shook her head and raised her cold hands up beneath the spray of water, feeling them tingle as they warmed up. It had been well over a year since she'd last taken a nice, hot shower, which made her appreciate it far.
Basil had passed out a few bottles of shampoo, since everyone's hair looked rather "dull and lifeless" as she had put it, so Julia rubbed it in and rinsed it out, enjoying the feeling of the hot water running over her.
When one is having so much time, it is quite normal to lose track of time, as Julia did, until she heard Devon shout through the curtain, "Julia, is that you? It's nearly eight o'clock, you ought to be getting out soon. Everyone else has."
Julia hadn't noticed the lessening of shower noise until then, and when she listened closely, hers was the only one she heard. "Okay, I'll be out in a few minutes," she told her friend, and it appeared that she had moved on.
She heard the bath house door swing open and closed a number of times, and suddenly realized she was all alone, that they had all gone back to the hospital. She glanced down at her hands and realized they had turned red from the heat. *Ah well,* she thought, *I guess I'm gonna have to get out.*
She reached up and shut off the water, grabbing the towel from above the curtain and wrapping it around herself before exiting to the changing cubicle. She put on her clean clothes and then decided she ought to take a look in the mirrors and brush her hair.
Grabbing her brush, she pushed aside the curtain and walked on the tiles floor, her bare feet splashing in puddles of water, over to the row of sinks and began to brush it. As she was doing this, she noticed Alonzo approach behind her. "'Lonz!" she exclaimed as he stopped and put his arms about her waist, "What are you doing still in here? I thought Devon shooed everyone out?"
Alonzo shrugged, grinning at their reflection in the mirror, "Why are you still in here?"
Julia didn't answer that, but said, "So, did you enjoy your shower?" Alonzo let out a soft moan of ecstacy, "Oh yeah, you bet." Julia couldn't help but snicker at him. He could be so funny sometimes.
"Are you enjoying your stay at Casa de Charlotte?" he joked. She shrugged, continuing to brush her hair despite his embrace. "It's okay, I suppose. Better they've got it built than we have to build it. It saved us a great deal of time. We're *almost* running on time now for the Colony Ship."
Alonzo dropped his arms to his sides and began to pace back and forth on the wet floor of the shower house. "Yeah, uh, Julia, I was thinking about the Colony Ship and everything. Like, you know, how I was always planning on going back on it."
Julia nodded slowly, wondering if she really wanted to know where this conversation was going.
"Well, I was thinking about you and me, and we've been together for a long time," he said, "And I *really* don't want to leave you behind and go back to the Stations." A smile flickered across Julia's face as she leaned back against the sink. Alonzo stopped his pacing and came back to stand beside her and take her hand. "Julia, I love you."
"I love you too, 'Lonz," Julia smiled. Alonzo smiled back, and then took a deep breath, "And that's why I wanted to know if you would be my wife."
To Be Continued . . . In Another Story
-The End-
There it is, ladies and gentlemen (and Grendlers, too. Oh, and we can't forget the Terrians, and the kobas and <oh, I'll just shut up now>). Possible the *crappiest* ending in all of E2 ff history. Oh well.
heckercw@voicenet.com
This text file was ran through PERL script made by Andy. Original text file is available in Andy's Earth 2 Fan Fiction Archive.