THE LAST OF EDEN ADVANCE
By
Lizzy
Timeline: Years after
Author's E-Mail: heckercw@voicenet.com
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Well, this'll be my first finished story since October 31st, and I'd say it's about time = ) This story is a product of me staying up too late chatting, listening to my E2 soundtrack, and being all around way too tired = ) I wrote it last night in a half an hour, proofread it, and zapped it to a friend of mine. Well, after she threatened me bodily harm if I didn't post it ::winks to Elizabeth J.:: I decided I had better, so here it is...The Last of the Eden Advance, by Elizabeth Heckert.
The Last of the Eden Advance
by Elizabeth HeckertIt was just after sunset on G889, the landscape surrounding the city of New Pacifica illuminated by the dim glow of twilight. The lights reflecting in the pool before the Great Monument, situated in a secluded area set off aways from the rest of the city, danced in strange and mysterious patterns before Devon Adair's eyes.
It was such a beautiful night, as were most on G889; the two great moons hung above her in the sky, casting their own reflection in the pool which Devon sat beside, gazing up at the Great Monument. It had been erected just a few years before, with a great ceremony and celebration following. It was a tribute to the Eden Advance, those who had founded this colony, made it all possible. In memory of those who had made it, and those who were lost along the way. It seemed to stand for everything that represented what Devon was; her hopes, her dreams, her entire life was represented in this beautifully carved statue.
It depicted a Terrian, standing tall and proud over the land it overlooked, down the hill to New Pacifica, its staff held straight, seeming to crackle with the energy that the glowing veins of morganite inset in it contained. Beside this Terrian stood a small boy, a curiously shaped walking stick in his hand, gazing straight ahead towards the horizon, where the Sea of Antius bordered what was now the great city of New Pacifica. Ulysses Adair, at eight years old, the time of his Transformation by the Terrians.
And below the sculpture, were the names. The names of all the members of the Eden Advance crew, even those who had perished before reaching the planet's surface, and those who had never been accounted for. Devon got up from her seat beside the reflecting pool to examine the delicately engraved names of the crew.
Julia Heller, Alonzo Solace, Morgan Martin... to some school children in New Pacifica, they were just names. Historical figures, names in books, they meant nothing, absolutely nothing. But to Devon they were friends, perhaps friends close enough to even be considered family. Indeed, over the years, the Advance had become maybe even closer than family. They had experienced both life and death together, and that was something that could never be forgotten. And so the bond had remained, even as one by one they had all passed on from the world they had known, leaving sometimes as abruptly as they fled their homes on the Stations decades before. Others has simply faded away gradually, become like the distant speck of light in the heavens that represented Earth, and the life they left behind so long ago.
Devon gently brushed her finger against the cool stone of the monument, feeling each of the names carefully, as if doing so would bring back the memories that had begun to fade over the years, some of which had been long lost. Eben Syngh, Alicia Denner, Bess Martin, John Danziger... Devon smiled slightly when she saw that name, running her fingers against the monument where it was ingraved lovingly. John... he had been a good man. Quite stubborn, but a good man. And an even better husband...
With a sigh, Devon once again looked up at the statue that sat atop the names. Uly looked so young in the statue, so small, not at all the tall, handsome man he had grown to become. He had been a child then, sure enough, but now he had children of his own. Mairi and Audrea... every time Devon saw her grandchildren, she couldn't help but think how much they reminded her of herself. Actually, they reminded her of many things, as everything having to do with this planet had a habit of doing.
But now it was getting late, and Devon's frail body was growing tired. Uly had always warned her--warned her not to go out this late at night; it would be the death of her, he'd said. But Devon still had one more stop to make before calling it a night.
Arriving at the large clearing on the bluffs overlooking the Sea of Antius, Devon slowly knelt down to the ground, casting her eyes to the sky, where the stars were now shining brilliantly. She then bowed her head to face the ground, as was the custom of the Terrians--a culture she had grown to know well over the years--and mumbled softly, "G889, for years you have been home and sanctuary to myself and my family, but now I must ask that it end. The others are gone, each having left when the time was right, and even my son and daughter-and-law have now passed on. I do not question your reasons for taking them, nor do I feel wronged by your doing so. All that I ask is that you let this end now. I am the last of us; the last of the Eden Advance."
Pressing her palms into the earth, Devon closed her eyes and trilled softly, in the Terrian way that her son had taught her, and then, with a soft sigh, she took her last breath.
And then she awoke. It was dawn, the sun rising up over the waters of the Sea, the people of the city waking to a new day. Devon slowly raised her head to look about her surroundings. She was in the burial grounds, sure enough, where all the others had been buried, where she had shut her eyes the night before. But what was going on? She had asked the planet to take her back, so why hadn't it?
She was momentarily confused, until she felt a hand on her shoulder. Immediatly on her feet, she twisted about to see what it was. Her jaw dropped in awe as she realized it was John, his image defined from pure light cast by the sun of G889 down onto the planet, smiling at her, and offering his hand.
"What, John? But you died, years ago, in the accident... " "Shhh, Devon, it's all right," he said, and motioned about them. It was then that she realized they were not alone. They were surrounded by their family, the Eden Advance members, all shimmering beings of light, all welcoming her. Devon anxiously accepted John's hand, and a sudden feeling of peace spread about her. Then, the entire group bowed their heads, and receded into the earth.
G889 had taken them back.
-The End-
Okay, well, that's it! Gotta run now, there's a lot of talk going around on the main list, and I've got to defend what I stand for = ) Also, this story is now on my story page http://www.voicenet.com/~heckercw/stories.html or http://www.voicenet.com/~heckercw/nopics.html, as are 11 or so poems that I never posted.
Elizabeth
This text file was ran through PERL script made by Andy. Original text file is available in Andy's Earth 2 Fan Fiction Archive.