FACE TO FACE
By
Linda FFF
Timeline: On way to New Pacifica
Author's E-Mail: Lindafff@aol.com
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Hey everyone,I have enjoyed the fiction on this list for a while now, and of course felt it was my turn to contribute. Typical of me, I couldn't start off with a short story. This one has 13 parts, and I will try to post one each day. No need to fear, the whole thing is written so I should not leave anyone hanging *too* long. I am merely using my days for proofreading. I really owe Vicky, Lia, Deb, Cathy, Nancy and all others who have encouraged me with this project o' mine, not to mention sent me feedback on much rougher drafts. As usual, the lion's share of the credit goes to all who assisted me. The mistakes are my own. And the characters and premise of Earth 2 belong to those who created them. I welcome all feedback of any kind at Lindafff@aol.com. Enjoy.
Linda
Face to Face, Part 1
by Linda
Voice of Yale:
"Each day we follow the same routine. We get up, get moving, go as far as we can and make camp. But somehow the pattern does not get us down. For miracles have helped bring us this far. New Pacifica looms ahead, perhaps just past the next set of mountains. Devon is back among us, strong and healthy. Ulysses is healed. And somehow, perhaps when we were not looking, Eden Advance became a family--rather than a group of autonomous individuals. Perhaps that is the biggest blessing of all for 15 individuals who have none other."
"I want you to marry me, Julia."
The efficient blond doctor turned to look at the dark-haired, one-time flyboy proposing to her from the just across the speeding Dunerail.
"Alonzo, this is a scouting expedition, not a date. We're supposed to be finding our way around this mountain. If we don't, Devon might hand us our heads on the proverbial silver platter." She gave him a carefree grin, at least as carefree as Julia Hellar ever got. "And who wants a headless bride and groom."
Alonzo looked at her carefully, keeping his hands to himself with an uncharacteristic show of restraint.
"Was that a yes?"
Julia reached over and ran her hand quickly down his thigh. "That was most definitely a yes." She glanced out at the scenery as they whizzed by. "I'd kiss you, but we might crash."
"Keep doing that and we might crash. Actually I should just stop this thing so we can have a real private celebration."
"Do that you guys and Adair *will* have your heads. Oh, by the way, congratulations. And next time you want to propose, 'Lonz, you might want to turn off your gear." Danziger's hearty laughter rang in their ears.
Alonzo's face turned a deep pink under his sun-drenched tan as he quickly checked his gear. "I can't believe I left the audio portion on," he muttered, mostly to himself. "I meant to just keep it on tracking."
"Yeah sure." Danziger's skeptical voice could be heard through the wonders of the minute machine. "You just wanted the happy moment to be shared."
"Actually," Alonzo paused. "I just wanted to give you and Devon some ideas before we have to just lock you in a room together until you give in and say 'I do'."
"Ha Ha." As Alonzo switched the small knob that gave him access to the visual component of the communication equipment, he saw Devon smiling at him -- despite the sarcasm in her tone. "Congratulations from me, anyway. It couldn't have happened to a nicer couple. Unfortunately, you've got lousy timing, Alonzo. There's something we need you to check out. We've picked up some sort of strange radio signal coming from a point about 15 kilometers southeast of you. Yale thinks it might be one of our cargo pods, if the transmitter was somehow damaged in the crash."
"Whatever you say, boss." Alonzo smiled back at his friend and one-time employer. "Hey, maybe we should give you and John the next scouting trip. Maybe you'll follow us to the altar."
Devon and John laughed.
"Yeah, right. Whatever. Hell, maybe we'll even beat you there." Danziger smiled somewhat sarcastically at them. "Meanwhile go check out the radio signal. And be careful."
As Alonzo and Julia changed the direction of their travels and began to work their way carefully up the steep side of the mountain toward the radio signal, John put down his gear and looked at Devon, who also discarded her headset.
"I'm really happy for them," the auburn-haired authoritarian busied her hands organizing and reorganizing the paperwork Morgan Martin had left scattered across the com console, her eyes darting between the stacks of crumpled papers and the broad-shouldered man beside her.
"We need to talk." Danziger was tired of playing games about his feelings. The group was almost to New Pacifica and he had some decisions to make in the next few months. He had finally admitted to himself that a big part of the decision-making process could hinge on one very stubborn redhead. He wanted to be as straightforward and honest about his feelings as Alonzo -- even if it killed him. And he suspected it very well might. Or she would. He paced back and forth across the communications tent. Never had the piece of weather-worn canvas seemed as small as it did at this moment.
"About what?"
"Y'know."
"We'll talk when we get to New Pacifica." Devon looked deep within herself to find the courage to look the handsome mechanic in the eye. She wanted to do more than that, not that she would. And he knew that. She prayed he wouldn't push her. She wasn't ready to start talking about any type of relationship. Hell, she was barely willing to admit to herself the way she felt when she found time to think about John Danziger. She forced her hands to continue playing with the papers Morgan had disseminated in his wake.
"What if I don't wanna wait?" Surprising himself and even more so his partner, Danziger stopped his nervous marches directly in front of Devon, took her by the shoulders and pulled her into a kiss.
Startled, she kissed him back, her fingers letting a few crumpled papers fall to the ground as they moved of their own volition to entwine themselves in the unruly curls at the base of Danziger's neck. But then Devon found the iron self-control she had honed over the years, and used that strength to force her wandering hands to do her cautious mind's bidding and push away the object of her own desires. Her emotions warred within. "What do you think you're doing?"
"We're getting close to New Pacifica." Danziger grinned nervously, his body protesting the loss of physical contact even as his mind tried to absorb Devon's unexpected passionate response. He had imagined kissing her like that, although he hadn't really thought it would happen outside the wonders of his private, middle-of-the-night dreams.
"We're not there yet. And getting there, setting up the colony, those have to be my first priorities. I promised the people on that ship a place to live."
Unwilling to let him see the deep crack he had caused in her calm artifice, Devon abruptly turned from John Danziger and left him alone with the communication gear to go off and help Bess get a jump on cataloging an extra supply of herbs. John looked after her thoughtfully, wondering if that kiss was a one-time phenomenon or whether they would have the opportunity to test those passionate waters once again. He definitely wanted more, he admitted to himself as he turned to go disassemble the Transrover and the ATV. At the same time, he feared more, for he knew that nothing he could share with Devon Adair would ever be casual or simple in nature. And with the group stuck in camp, it was the perfect time to tackle some long-procrastinated repairs. While he didn't like leaving the group without a vehicle, it was more efficient to handle both vehicles at once since Adair wanted to hit the road first thing in the morning. And despite his earlier actions, getting to New Pacifica was just as much a priority for him as it was for Devon Adair.
As Danziger balanced thoughts of Devon with wrenches, nuts and bolts, True and Uly crawled out from behind the supply boxes lining one side of the com tent. The dynamic duo had been trying to avoid responsible adults who would tell them to do their history lessons. As they peered through the cracks between the boxes, they had seen an interesting show.
"Yuck, I can't believe they did that." Uly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, as if his own mouth had been the one to offend his delicate young sensibilities. He couldn't take his eyes away from the spot where his mother had just been standing while she kissed Mr. Danziger.
"Me either." True looked around the tent, a look of disgust evident on her 10-year-old face. "Do you think they've done it before?"
"No way." Uly's protest came quickly and adamantly, brooking no opposition. It was the voice of an Adair, filled with righteousness and knowledge.
"Why not? Julia and Alonzo do it all the time."
"No way." Uly was insistent. "You heard them."
"What if they're in love? What if they get married?" True looked at Uly with sadness, her imagination functioning by leaps and bounds, each jump a light year larger than the last. "They wouldn't want us any more. They could have a new baby and get rid of us."
"My mom wouldn't do that." If there was one thing Uly was certain of, it was that he was the most important person in his mother's life. Otherwise, the group wouldn't be on this planet, far away from the stations Devon Adair had once designed. Uly decided in his mind True was being a stupid girl again and he went off to watch her father fix the Transrover. Even history lessons were better than True when she got started on a stupid idea like this one. Despite the gross kiss, Uly liked watching the mechanic work and learning about machines.
As Uly perched next to John, listening to explanations of how the Transrover functioned, True watched them from the shadows of a tree at the edge of the camp site. In her mind, she pictured John with another kid, a boy, teaching him all the tasks she had learned. Her father wouldn't need her any more. He would have Devon and his new son, who would take her place as his trusted assistant. Devon wouldn't care about her, her dad wouldn't care about her, even Uly wouldn't care. No one would care about her if Uly's Mom married her Dad.
"So when do you want to get married?"
Julia looked up at the very attractive rear end of her intended as they climbed up a steep, brush-filled mountainside. Brushing aside some thoughts that would have made her blush not long ago, she accepted his hand as he turned to help her over the steep, somewhat dangerous edge onto the even plateau above. Once she was safely at the top, he pulled her into a very close hug, molding their bodies together in the sunlight and stroking her golden hair. "As soon as possible," he smiled. "This is for now and forever."
The two began walking along the rocky plateau as they continued their conversation, simultaneously looking around for any signs of a cargo pod or anything else that could emit a radio signal. Alonzo carried a Magpro, just in case. Although there was no reason to anticipate trouble, G889 had taught all the members of Eden Advance the value of caution.
"I'm not sure Devon's going to go for another on-the-road wedding, especially now that we're so close to New Pacifica." Julia smiled at the thought. "How about a wedding at the ocean?"
"I don't want to wait that long. As a matter of fact, I think we've waited too long already. How about you let me try and work some magic on our fearless leader? Maybe I'll get Danziger to help me talk her into a one-day wedding break."
"If you can talk Devon into it, you've got yourself a bride," Julia was about to continue when she spotted something in the distance that appeared to be a kind of dwelling. She put her hand on Alonzo's arm to quietly stop him. "Looks like we may have found our radio transmitter."
The two decided to get a little closer, and as they moved forward they saw an old-fashioned wood cabin, the kind Julia had once read about in stories back on the stations. It was one story, and the wood seemed weathered, as if the dwelling had been resisting nature's strongest elements for several years. Around the cabin, plants appeared to have been grown in a type of garden, which thrived despite the altitude and the rocky nature of the soil beneath their feet.
"Not very high-tech, is it?" Alonzo looked at the house, as they stood a prudent distance away. "I can't imagine whoever lives or lived here has much in the way of weaponry. I think we can get a little closer and look around."
The pair approached the cabin, looking for signs of life. Everything appeared very neat and well-kept, if not fancy or technologically modern. Circling the cabin, they peered in the windows and did not see any signs of an occupant.
"It doesn't look very dangerous. I think I should go in and take a look around, see if I can find a clue as to who's place this is." Julia looked at her new fiancee. "You can hang out here and keep watch."
"OK, but be careful. This could be the home of a penal colonist."
"If so, it's a very neat penal colonist." Julia gave a small laugh, but then Alonzo's worried expression caused her to speak solemnly. "I promise." She kissed him and stepped into the house, which was sparsely furnished with goods that appeared homemade. Julia wandered in a circle, wondering if she would find anything of interest. There was a table and a chair, and a set of shelves off to one side. Julia was on her way to check out the contents of the shelving unit when a pile of pictures lying on top of the cabin's old-fashioned bed caught her attention. She redirected her attention there and scooped the photographs up from the covers. The top one was of a baby, and something about the child struck a familiar chord in the doctor. She decided to go through the pile, and as she did she felt like she was watching the child grow, from youth to adult. With each step, the child became more familiar to the doctor. As she reached the last photograph, she realized who she was staring at.
"Alonzo, I think you had better get in here. I've got something you have to see."
Face to Face, Part 2
by Linda
"Alonzo, I think you had better get in here. I've got something you have to see."
Julia's call drew Alonzo into the wooden cabin they'd found. He looked at her shocked expression, for Julia was unable to take her eyes off the photograph gripped in her uncharacteristically shaky hands.
"What have you found?" he asked, concerned by her sudden silence and her aura of confusion.
"Take a look for yourself." Julia simply handed the top photograph to Alonzo and together they stared silently and motionlessly down into the face of a much-younger Devon Adair.
Back at the makeshift camp, Devon had just shared the joyous news of Julia and Alonzo's engagement with Bess, as they began the work of putting together a meal for the crew. Normally Denner was the one to help Bess with the food preparation, but every once in a while Devon liked to take a turn -- at least she liked the idea of it, until she actually started having to listen to Bess not-so-subtly play matchmaker as they chopped vegetables.
"How wonderful. It's about time they took the plunge." Bess grinned, letting the thought of a wedding inspire her. "Now maybe you and Danziger will follow in their footsteps."
"Maybe," Devon replied noncommittally, keeping her eyes on the food in front of her. She had long ago figured out that denial only spurred Bess' imagination onward in her efforts to put Devon and John together. 'Heaven forbid she should find out about that kiss.' Devon's mind defied her will as it brought back memories of that moment shared only a few minutes earlier. She tried to squash them, praying that the kiss would not become public knowledge. Devon Adair knew that she still had much work to do, commitments to keep, promises to honor. And she was a woman of her word.
"I've got a wonderful idea." Bess smiled at her oblivious cooking partner, who had lost track of Mrs. Martin's ramblings some time ago. "Let's throw them an engagement party.....Before you start with your practical objections, remember that we've stopped already for the night and they're gone on the scouting trip. We could easily get some sort of shindig together before they get back."
Meanwhile, Devon had looked up and spotted Danziger across camp, and once again her body sent her mind reeling in another direction. He was busy analyzing the Transrover, trying to figure out a way to coax the ramshackle machinery the rest of the way to New Pacifica. Devon could not help but watch him and remember for the second time in just as many minutes what it had been like to really lose herself in his arms, if only for just a second or two.
"Devon!"
Bess' voice suddenly drew Devon out of her daydream and back to reality, causing her to blush as she realized she had missed the last portion of Bess' words. "What were you saying?"
"The party?" Bess smiled knowingly as she watched Devon's cheeks color and her eyes quickly avert from the direction of the Transrover.
"Sure, why not? Everyone could use a little fun." She smiled at Bess' surprised expression, hoping the party would distract the woman from her interest in Devon's own love life. She then glanced down at the pile of vegetables she had reduced almost to smithereens in her distracted state. "Listen, since we're about done here, I'm going to go take a walk. I have some things I need to think about."
As Devon headed off into the shadows of the woods, she didn't notice True's eyes following her from the base of a tree, where the youngster was once again hiding out from Yale and her studies. The young Danziger watched as Devon left camp on her own with one last wistful glance at her father.
"Dad wants Devon and Devon wants Dad," the young girl mumbled to herself. "They're going to be all mushy in love like Julia and Alonzo. They'll spend all their time together and share a tent. Then no one will want me."
True reached down into her pack and pulled out her only photograph of the mother she had never known -- Ellie. With tears in her eyes, she whispered to the photo. "If you wanted to be my mom, than you would have come back to me. You didn't want me but it was OK, 'cause I had Dad. But now he wants Devon. So no one wants me." She wiped away her tears and a note of steel crept into her voice. "Fine, if they don't want me, I don't want them."
"True." Yale's voice pulled the youngster our of her solitary thoughts. She quickly hid the photo, furiously wiped some more tears from her eyes and forced a smile to her face. "Coming," she called back, knowing the tutor was looking to begin the lessons she and Uly had earlier tried to avoid.
"I have been looking all over for you." Yale said, smiling at his charge as she emerged from under the tree with a false expression of happiness plastered to her face. "We have a history lesson to finish."
"Why don't I ever learn my lesson?" Devon was surprised to see Laura Magus sitting in the exact spot she had marked out earlier as a great spot to do some lonely thinking. Surrounded by the shady leaves of the forest, the sun peeking down at her from above, the blonde Ops expert was lost in her own world, repeating that one question over and over in a monotonous tone with tears nestled in the corners of her eyes.
"What lesson is that?" Devon asked bluntly.
Magus jumped and then furiously wiped at her eyes. "I didn't see you there. Sorry," she paused. "I guess I have a bad habit of talking to myself."
"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude. But if there's something I could do to help, I'd really like to. Or if you just want someone to talk to." Devon bit down on her lip nervously. She and Magus weren't enemies, but they weren't the closest of friends. Devon admired the woman, but was skeptical about her own friendship abilities given the small number of real friends she had trusted in her lifetime. But perhaps Magus' problems could help distract her from her own.
"I don't think you could help." Laura gave Devon a thorough once over. "I don't think you've ever had the problems I have."
"You're probably right. We each have our own problems, and I doubt you've had mine either. But sometimes talking helps."
"Yeah, right. Look at you. You've got John Danziger, a man who hasn't looked twice at any woman in the past decade, mooning over you whenever he thinks no one is looking. Aside from that, you're just plain gorgeous."
Devon thought for a moment and decided not to pursue the Danziger angle. She had enough problems on that front herself without bringing anyone else into the dynamic. "I've always thought looks were a matter of opinion. When I was growing up, I would have killed for blond locks like yours. As a matter of fact, I tried to get them once, with peroxide." Adair laughed. "My hair was a mess for months and my mother nearly skinned me alive. Anyway, back to the point, you're definitely far from unattractive, Laura. Besides, I don't think you're crying to yourself over whether or not you like the way you look in the mirror."
Magus eyed Adair uneasily and replied defensively. "Then what do you think I'm crying about?"
Devon paused for a moment, wanting to help but not wanting to offend -- and knowing that while she wanted to help, she certainly wasn't ready to exchange confidences. "How some man thinks you look in the mirror," Devon replied, pausing and looking at Magus intently. "And if I had to wager a guess, I'd predict that man was Baines."
Baines himself was winning a grumbling contest with Danziger as they labored to set up a banquet table for the planned festivities. Bess had coerced them both into helping with the promise of superb culinary delights, although they noted that Morgan was nowhere to be seen, which was usually the case when there was any work to be done. Still, they both admitted -- although only when Bess was out of hearing range -- that they were happy for the engaged couple.
"So when are you going to follow in their footsteps?" Bess came back into the designated party area with some simple decorations she had thrown together on the spur of the moment. Lumalights and some paper streamers to hang from the trees circling the camp area were her decorating scheme this time around. Each time Eden Advance threw a party, Bess felt she had to rack her brains to find something to make the occasion special.
"Who me?" Danziger asked, giving her an innocent smile. "Or maybe you're talking about our good friend Baines here?"
Baines looked up to protest quickly. "She couldn't be talking about me," he declared. "I wasn't the one kissing some beautiful if overly bossy redhead in the com tent this morning."
"You know about that?" Shocked that the kiss was common knowledge, Danziger forgot to restrain his temper, giving Bess occasion to smile at what she saw as proof of his real feelings for Devon Adair. "How the hell do you know?"
"We have our sources." Bess jumped in, distracting Danziger's attention away from the hapless Baines. "It's really about time you know."
"Don't start your matchmaking. It was a one time thing." Thinking on his feet, Danziger tried to do some damage control, although he feared it was too late. Bess Martin had been matchmaking since the moment she and Morgan joined their group, not long after they all crashed onto the planet.
"Yeah, whatever." Bess smiled, thrilled that the pair who had most resisted all her efforts had finally started to get past their homemade barriers. Realizing Danziger was probably eager to kill her, she turned her attention to Baines, smiling sweetly. "But if you just opened your eyes, Larry Baines, you wouldn't have to be a peeping tom watching other people kiss." She left to go check on her culinary masterpiece, leaving behind simmering tempers as she went to taste her simmering vegetables.
"What did she mean by that?" Truly puzzled, Baines looked after the departing Martin with a quizzical air.
"Beats me." Danziger smiled, knowing full well how oblivious his friend was to Magus' obvious interest and grateful the subject had been changed. However, he was still angry that someone had seen him kissing Devon Adair and felt the need to share his and Devon's private moment with the entire group. He knew Devon would be even less happy about that situation when she found out.
"Why would someone living here have a picture of Devon?" Still in the simple cabin looking down at the snapshot Julia had handed him, Alonzo maintained a perplexed expression on his handsome face.
"Not picture, pictures -- plural," Julia replied, handing Alonzo the rest of the stack. Each picture showed Devon Adair in a different stage of life from baby to young adult. In most of the pictures, Devon was alone, although in two she was standing next to a tall, bearded man, her hand tucked in his. "We should probably look around and see if we can find anything else that will give us a clue to who's living here." Julia began re-exploring the room as Alonzo stood staring at the rest of the pictures.
"This must be her father." Alonzo was repeatedly drawn to the pictures of the twosome. "Maybe we should call camp, let them know what we've got. Maybe our fearless leader will be able to explain what we've found here," Alonzo's joking tone didn't mask his serious concerns.
"Just what exactly have you found here?" Alonzo and Julia turned to see a woman pointing what appeared to be a gun made of clear plastic directly at Julia's head. "And more to the point, who are you and what are you doing here?"
Face to Face, Part 3
by Linda
"Answer the questions. Who are you and what are you doing in my home?"
Alonzo carefully appraised the woman who was steadily holding a gun, albeit plastic, pointed directly at Julia's head. The woman looked to be about in her late 50s, with naturally gray hair cropped close to her head in a practical style and tanned skin that spoke of much time outside in the sunlight. She was wearing a pair of baggy pants and a T-shirt, both of which appeared -- like the cabin -- to be homemade rather than of the preformed, cookie-cutter style found in station-made garb. Her T-shirt was unevenly dyed a shade of blue that highlighted the color of her eyes. Slim and physically fit despite her advancing age, she appeared competent, even comfortable, with the weapon in her hands and she had a determined stare that made both Alonzo and Julia uncomfortable, although neither was sure exactly why. Alonzo glanced down at the Magpro he had placed on the bed while looking at the pictures of Devon and wondered if he should attempt to go for it. But a rash move might cause the woman to shoot and Alonzo wouldn't do anything to risk Julia's life.
"Do I have to repeat the questions again?" The woman kept her weapon steady, as she appraised the slim blond woman she had as a possible target and the dark-haired male who accompanied her. "I haven't seen you around this area before. Are you penal colonists?"
"No." Despite the weapon aimed at her, Julia kept her calm. Her instincts said this woman didn't want to hurt her, but merely was reacting to the presence of strangers in her domain. Given some of the strangers Eden Advance had run into during their time on G889, she could understand the woman's apprehension. Besides, Julia wanted to find out the connection between the woman and the pictures she had discovered, and more importantly her friend Devon Adair. "My name is Julia and I am a member of Eden Advance. This is Alonzo. We didn't mean any harm."
The women stared at her intently, trying to judge Julia's intentions, but never releasing her confident grip on her weapon. "What is Eden Advance and why are you in my home?"
This time it was Alonzo who fielded her queries, deciding to be as truthful as possible while trying to find out about this strange woman. She appeared unlike any one else the group had met on this planet, but experience had taught them to be wary of strangers. Like Julia, he was curious about her connection to Devon but he did not want to reveal his own.
"Eden Project is a group that plans to make their home on this planet. It consists mostly of families of Syndrome children who believe the youngsters can be cured if they are taken off the stations. Eden Advance is made up of those who came ahead to prepare a settlement for the families and their children. Unfortunately we crashed far from our intended destination, and many of us did not survive our rough beginnings on this planet. In addition, many people who were planning to return to the stations were forced to evacuate the ship with the settlers. So we are a rather mixed group of people, although there are only 15 of us now. We are moving quickly. We came here because of a radio signal. We thought it might be one of our missing supply pods or some of our cohorts. Instead we found your cabin."
"So you decided to make yourselves at home?" The woman's tone had a sarcastic bite, which seemed to echo in Julia's and Alonzo's ears.
"Since we've gotten here, we've found various humans that we didn't know about. Penal colonists. ZEDs. We're always interested in other humans." Alonzo grinned, trying to put the woman at ease so perhaps she would lower the gun. She was still staring intently at Julia, making Alonzo nervous. "Although we have to admit, we prefer to avoid the ZEDs."
"I can understand that. There's a reason why I don't keep any metal here." The woman smiled briefly, but as she looked at Julia the smile metamorphosed into a grim frown. "Do you work for the Council?"
"No." Julia took a step toward the woman and looked her directly in the eye, attempting to exude the truth of her statement, even as she recalled all the times she had lied about her Council connections.
"You lie." The woman remained calm. "You see, I know who you are, Julia Heller. It's been a long time, but you look just like your mother, the cursed Council goddess herself. And everyone who's anyone knows that Katharine chromotilted her kids and trained them in her own image."
"How do you know my mother?" Julia asked, wondering at the shocks that seemed to come one after another on this planet. She quickly regained her equilibrium and looked the woman straight in the eye, a flood of relief spreading over her that the woman hadn't shot her the instant she identified Julia as a Council operative. "I did work for the Council." Julia continued to wonder silently where the woman had obtained her information. Neither her status as a chromotilt nor her mother's activities for the Council were common knowledge on the stations. "And yes, my mother probably still works for them, if she is alive. But I do not. I joined Eden Advance as a spy, but I gave that up long ago in exchange for something much better -- a family and friends."
The woman laughed. "You say that so easily, but I know better. You don't just give up being Council. You do that and you're dead. Or worse. And believe me, there are worse things than death."
Alonzo felt that perhaps he should jump in. "You sound as if you speak from experience."
"If you're asking me if I ever toiled for the Council, the answer is no. My conscience is clean, at least in that respect."
"So what are you doing here?" Nervously Alonzo tried again to find some explanation. He stood in one place, but he couldn't help shifting his weight around periodically as he worried about the woman's obsession with Julia's Council connections. He hoped he could find a way to distract her, before she did something foolish or dangerous with her weapon.
"I want some proof that you're not Council."
"There is no proof." Julia continued to look her steadily in the eye. "You're going to have to accept my word."
Just then the gears both Alonzo and Julia were carrying began to beep.
"I'm really happy for Alonzo and Julia." Magus had decided to confide in Adair after all. Like Devon, she hadn't had a lot of female friends in her life and she wasn't too sure about starting with someone who had been a station princess. But there weren't a lot of choices around and at least she respected Devon -- most of the time. She kept her seat on the ground and nervously played with some of the fallen leaves that had begun to accumulate on the ground. "But hearing about their engagement just reminded me how alone I am. There's no guy shooting me longing looks from across the campfire.... When I first started working as Ops, I tried so hard to be one of the guys. I wanted to be noticed for my skills, not for my hair or my legs, not that they're that noticeable in the first place. But I wanted to be the equal partner, another member of the team. Now I'm stuck that way. Larry Baines wouldn't give me a second look if I walked up to him naked. He'd probably just continue whatever he was doing and go, 'Hand me the number 4 wrench, would ya' Magus?' "
Devon tried to stifle a laugh at the image in her head, grateful to Magus for distracting her from her own worries. "So Baines is a little oblivious. Sometimes," she paused, not wanting to give away too many of her own insecurities, "I think that that's a cover for fear. If he doesn't deal with his attraction to you, if he keeps you as just another of the Ops guys, then he isn't as likely to get hurt. But I'm sure we could wake him up with a little teamwork." Devon grimaced as she realized that she was beginning to sound like Bess Martin.
"What do you have in mind?"
"Bess and I were talking about a surprise engagement party for Alonzo and Julia when they got back. Let's see what we can do about making that environment work for you." Just then Devon's gear began to beep at her. She glared at it, realizing she was never going to get her opportunity to think in solitude, and then she put it on. "Adair here." Denner's face appeared before her. "What's going on?"
Denner appeared worried. "Alonzo and Julia haven't called in since going up to check on that radio signal. We just tried to reach them and they haven't responded yet."
"Do we have a tracking signal on the gear?"
"Yes." Denner replied. "I think you ought to get back to camp. We'll keep trying to reach them. Denner out."
Adair took off and stowed her gear, and then turned to Magus to relay what was happening. The women moved briskly back toward the camp together, brainstorming ways to wake up Baines, mostly to keep their minds off their missing friends. As they walked into camp, they noticed most members of the group milling about near the com tent, waiting to hear any news about Julia and Alonzo. They didn't see True Danziger leaving her tent and the camp area with a full backpack of supplies.
"OK, guys. There's no reason to panic just yet. Remember we are talking about a newly engaged couple." Devon forced a smile for her gathered friends as she went into the com tent to talk to Danziger and Denner, who had continued to page the scouting team.
Bess took her cue from Devon. "All right, guys. You heard her. We have an engagement party to get ready for when the lovebirds get their behinds back to camp." As she heard Bess begin to give orders, Devon smiled gratefully in the tent and then attempted to reach the absent twosome yet again.
As the gear beeped at them for the umpteenth time, Julia and Alonzo played a waiting game with the woman who had built the cabin on the mountain with her own two hands. On one end of the cabin, the gray-haired woman exuded calmness and reasonability until one noticed the gun deftly aimed to kill Julia. She appeared to be listening, although nothing she had heard thus far had changed her mind. But then, she thought to herself, she had never been known for having flexible opinions. Across from her, Alonzo was getting more agitated by the moment. He would have been fine had the piece of plastic been pointed at his head, but he could not bear to see the woman take aim at Julia. He watched Julia's composed mask maintain its predominance on her face, but he knew that underneath she was as frightened and worried as he was.
"I don't know what I can say that will convince you that I'm not Council," Julia said, barely a hint of exasperation in her voice. Although she had not learned yet the woman's connection to Devon, Heller was sure that there was one. So she decided to play her trump card. "If you don't believe me and you don't believe Alonzo, perhaps you will believe someone else."
"Like who?" The woman was curious about the group called Eden Advance. If half of what the pair had told her about the Council trying to blow them up and thwart their plans for settlement was true, they could be her chance at a life with other humans rather than a hermitage alone on a mountain. But she had to be careful. She knew that anyone halfway connected with the Council would still kill her -- given just half a chance. And she was still enough of a fighter that she wasn't willing to give them even one quarter.
Alonzo and Julia exchanged a glance, mentally agreeing to name the woman in the pictures.
"Devon Adair."
The women started laughing hysterically, her gun still pointed at Julia's head. "I have to admit you're good," she said as she calmed down. "I almost bought it -- that 'the Council tried to blow us up' routine. But naming my daughter was a critical error. Only a fully briefed Council operative would try to get at me that way."
As the woman stepped closer to Julia and prepared to shoot, she declared, "I know better than to believe you now. I won't allow you or anyone else to use my memories of my daughter to destroy me again."
Face to Face, Part 4
by Linda
"I know better than to believe you now. I won't allow you or anyone else to use my memories of my daughter to destroy me again."
Mouths dropping, both Julia and Alonzo took a small step toward the woman holding them at gunpoint and stared at her intently, her words still ringing in their ears. Julia put a hand on the shelving unit to steady herself. She thought she had heard everything by this point, but life on this planet never failed to shock her.
"Your daughter?" They echoed her in unison.
"Wow. They're recruiting better and better actors for the Council these days." The woman looked grim, shifting position to gain even more control of the situation and flexibility of motion. "But don't bother to pretend you don't know who I am. After all, the Council knows all -- right?" She finished by resorting to sarcasm.
"Look. I don't know who the hell you are, but I do know that you are not Devon's mother. Cynthya Adair died a long time ago on the stations. Devon told me so herself. Who are you?" Julia's focus was no longer on the gun pointing at her head, but instead on the one real female friend she had developed in her lifetime. Devon had given her a second chance, had become her best friend -- heck, her only real female friend -- and she was not about to let some woman claiming to be her mother cause Devon any grief. Of course, it didn't escape Julia that she needed to make sure she came out of this alive if she wanted to help her friend. But somehow that plastic gun seemed a heck of a lot less dangerous than it had moments earlier.
Meanwhile, Alonzo took advantage of the woman's focus on Julia to shift the knob on his gear that changed it from tracking to audio reception. While they couldn't respond, at least he and Julia might be able to have a clue about what the rest of Eden Advance was doing. All of the sudden, Danziger's voice filled the room. "Base to away team. C'mon Julia, Alonzo. Look guys, this is no time for a romantic tryst. I'm warning you. Adair's standing right here and she's going to tear your heads off with her bare hands if we don't hear from you any minute." The joking tone Danziger affected did little to mask the gruff concern underlying his words.
In the communications tent, Danziger turned to Devon. "I'm sorry but I think we'd better send a search party -- just in case. I'm not that worried since their gear appears to be functioning, but on this planet...."
"I know. I know. Better safe than sorry. Besides, I don't think Julia'd be so irresponsible as to stop and make out in the woods without calling in for hours. After all, the last time anyone had contact was when we told them to check out the signal. How about you, me, Magus and Baines?" The woman sighed, figuring at least she could try to use the situation to help out Laura.
"Playing matchmaker, Adair? Bess was just trying to set up the same couples, with the subtlety of a sledgehammer."
"Look, I just set up a practical search team, one that can move quickly on foot since the vehicles appear to be out of commission. If you have a problem with it, you fix the search team." Devon glared at him, defensively raising her voice. The last thing she wanted was John Danziger thinking she was trying to construct ways for them to spend time together. "Better yet, fix the vehicles. And I am nothing like Bess Martin...."
"And fortunately, she's nothing like you." Morgan Martin's voice interrupted them. "The natives out here are getting restless. Have you made contact?"
"No." Devon turned to face him. "We were just talking about a search party. Fortunately it doesn't look like they're that far away. We should make it to them by nightfall."
"Yeah, right." Morgan raised one eyebrow. "Who do you want to go? Do you have recent coordinates?"
"Adair, Magus, Baines and I. We still have coordinates on their gears. Hopefully their gears are still with them. Anyway, could you handle the com tent 'til we get back?" Danziger didn't wait for an answer as he determinedly stepped out the door. Devon followed him, calling out to Baines and Magus. Before long, the four -- armed with weapons and medical supplies they hoped they wouldn't need, as well as enough gear in case they had to stay out overnight -- left camp on foot in search of their missing mates. Before leaving, Devon asked Yale to check on both True and Uly, since they didn't come out to see their parents off.
Yale found Uly in his tent, engrossed in a game of VR. He told his tutor that he didn't even realize Julia and Alonzo were missing. He was too busy saving a small town in the Old West from a short, but evil, gunslinger named True. But he assured his tutor that he didn't know where the human embodiment of that desperado might be.
As Yale searched for True, the young girl was making her way through the forest, careful to go neither in the direction Eden Advance was supposed to head nor in the direction from whence they came. Hurt, angry and confused, she was not about to wait for her father to reject her in favor of Devon Adair and her gross kisses. In the wisdom of her youth, True figured that she would leave first. Once she was gone, they'd be sorry. They might miss her but they'd never find her, 'cause she didn't need them and she didn't want them if they didn't want her. And her dad had made it clear in the com tent that it was Devon he wanted.
So engrossed was True in these thoughts that she did not see the small creature that followed her on her path through the crowded woods. But she did feel it, when it sank its small, sharp teeth through her trousers and into the soft tissue of her left leg. As True yelped in pain, she spun around and watched the six-legged neon orange creature scamper up a tree. It looked like nothing she had seen ever before, but that wasn't exactly a new experience for True since coming to G889. The small girl bent down, pulled up the leg of her trousers and saw the teethmarks in her leg. But the wound didn't look bad or hurt much, and she decided to continue on and find a safe place to spend nightfall. As the sun set, she knew from experience, the woods became dark and shadowy, like a place out of those horror stories her father liked to tell when they were all sitting safely around the campfire.
"It'll be getting dark soon." Magus made her observation as the foursome moved across the land toward the spot at the base of the mountain where Alonzo and Julia had abandoned the Dunerail in favor of continuing on foot. "If Julia and Alonzo are off on some passionate encounter, I may murder them with my own two hands."
"I think Adair reserved that honor," Danziger quipped, one eyebrow raised for emphasis.
"I just hope we find them soon." Ignoring Danziger's provocation, Devon put her matchmaking plans on the backburner as her worries about Alonzo and Julia grew.
"Don't worry, we will." John had worries of his own, but figured there was no use getting excited until they knew what was going on. "Besides have you ever known Alonzo to miss any party? There's no way he'd skip out on his own engagement fiesta, even if he doesn't know about it."
"I really wish we could have taken the Transrover," Baines groused as the group moved slowly on foot across the difficult terrain toward the coordinates tapped from their friends' gear. "These packs are getting heavy."
"Well, geez. I wouldn't have taken either the Transrover or the ATV apart if I had known the dynamic duo were going to pull a disappearing act," Danziger replied. "I thought I had until tomorrow morning to get them up and running again. Besides we can walk faster than the Transrover on terrain like this. Traveling tomorrow is going to be a nightmare."
"They both certainly were in bad need of repair." Magus jumped into the conversation. "I don't think they were meant to take the kind of abuse we're giving them."
"I'm going to call Morgan to see if he's heard from them yet." Devon's worries grew with each step she took. She put on her gear.
Danziger bit his tongue to refrain from pointing out that Morgan would have contacted them if Alonzo or Julia had called in. Then again, he remembered who was manning the communication system. Maybe Adair had a point. For once.
"Morgan, have you heard anything?" Devon asked.
"No." Morgan Martin appeared to Devon. "But I have discovered that Alonzo's gear is no longer set to tracking. He switched it to audio."
"On purpose?"
"I don't know." Martin was puzzled. "If he did it on purpose, wouldn't he have called in?"
"So basically you're saying that wherever he is, he can probably hear us but not respond." Devon wanted to make sure she understood. "So should we try reaching him again?"
"I don't know. I'm just telling you what the technology's telling me. I don't know why Alonzo would set it that way."
"Thanks, Morgan. I'll try calling him." Devon groaned with frustration and switched the frequency of her gear to align with Alonzo's. "Alonzo Solace, this is Devon Adair. Can you hear me?"
The gray-haired woman looked at the gear from which Devon Adair's voice was emitting. "Nice trick," she said. "But I've played in virtual reality before. You can get that machine to play whatever voice you want."
Alonzo was getting frustrated. He was sick and tired of watching this woman hold a gun to Julia's head. Time was passing rather slowly and it felt like they had been playing the same game for days, although in reality it had only been a few hours. If there one thing Alonzo was sure of, it was that neither he nor Julia represented the Council -- at least not any more. It seemed as if the woman wanted to believe them, but just couldn't bring herself to trust. On the other hand, he didn't trust her much either, between the gun she was carrying and her claims of being Devon's mother. But he was beginning to think the only thing that would convince this deluded woman to let them go was Devon Adair herself.
"It's not a trick." Julia was still attempting reason.
"See for yourself." Alonzo jumped in.
"In your little VR plaything?" The woman laughed. "Don't think I would trust anything that came out of that piece of machinery."
"How about in reality? We could go back to our camp and you can see Devon for yourself."
"I'm not going to walk into a Council trap like some sort of dimwit."
"You don't have to. You have the gun. We'll just go down the mountain and toward camp. We can approach quietly so you can see for yourself."
"Let's look at this logically." Julia interrupted Alonzo, shooting him a powerful look that told him to stay quiet. "The fact of the matter is that if we were Council operatives, then you would be dead. If we had come up here hunting you, then you would be dead. We certainly wouldn't have been caught off-guard by you and your plastic weapon. And even if you had managed to catch us unawares, the Council teaches that the mission is more important than the individual. Alonzo could have reached the Magpro while you were pointing your gun at me. If we were Council, he would have sacrificed me to achieve his objective -- either killing you or wounding you to bring back to our leaders."
The woman studied Julia intensely. She wanted to believe this woman, even if she was Katharine Heller's daughter. But she also remembered how well Katharine had faked sincerity. After several moments of silence, she decided to take the risk.
"OK, this is the deal. Alonzo, I want you to give me your gun. If you do that, we'll all walk down towards your camp together," she paused. "However, if I have any reason to believe this is a trap, then I will make sure that Heller dies -- even if that means I die as well. Is that clear?"
Alonzo and Julia exchanged a look and then Solace slowly took the weapon off the bed and slid it across the floor to the woman. As the evening grew dark, the threesome made their way down the mountain toward the Dunerail, in which hours earlier Alonzo had proposed. They reached the spot at the same moment as the foursome who had set out from camp to track their missing friends. Danziger, Baines and Magus pulled out weapons and pointed them at the woman who appeared to have their friends held captive. Devon Adair simply stared in shock at the woman, who in turned stared back at her. With Alonzo and Julia's eyes focused on her, Devon finally managed to open her mouth and utter just one word.
"Mother."
Face to Face, Part 5
by Linda
"Mother."
At the hollow sound of Devon's voice, John Danziger dropped his Magpro in shock, the piece of metal noisily crunching leaves and branches as he, Magus and Baines turned to stare first at Devon and then at the gray-haired woman accompanying Alonzo and Julia. Mother and daughter stared at each other for several long moments without speaking.
"Devon, sweetie, I can't believe it's really you."
Devon looked at the woman she had for so long believed dead, felt unwanted tears begin to fall from her eyes and then jumped into the parked Dunerail and took off without another word -- dirt and leaves flying from beneath the wheels of the vehicle as she took it to its highest speed in an astoundingly short period of time.
The others silently watched as she expertly maneuvered the vehicle in a direction that was neither toward camp nor toward anything else the colonists were familiar with. As Danziger finally regained some control over his senses, he went chasing after her on foot, yelling her name. But whether Devon Adair did not hear him or chose to ignore him, he wasn't sure as the Dunerail pulled out of his sight. Realizing that his chase was hopeless, he turned and walked silently and slowly back toward Julia Heller, Laura Magus, Larry Baines, Alonzo Solace and Cynthya Adair -- all of whom were still standing around silently, amazed at the events of the preceding minutes. Then the members of Eden Advance turned and stared at the woman their leader and friend had addressed as mother. Cynthya Adair stared after her daughter's trail, hands on her hips. Nervously, she ran her fingers through her short hair and sat down on the ground to think.
"We could try calling her on gear." Julia was the first to come up with a statement.
"If Devon wanted to talk to any of us, she would have invited us along."
Julia and Alonzo exchanged a look, knowing instinctively that Danziger was feeling rejected and left out, not that the mechanic would ever admit it aloud. Of course, judging from Devon's initial reaction to Cynthya Adair, whatever collage of feelings he was experiencing was probably a pale shadow of the demons Eden Advance's leader had chosen to face alone.
"So what do we do now?" Baines looked first at Danziger and then at the woman Devon had addressed as mother and then back at Danziger.
"I don't know," Danziger snapped in frustration, running a hand through his unruly blond hair as he averted his face to avoid the sympathetic gaze of his friends. "Who died and left me in charge?"
"No one." Magus couldn't help empathizing, although she knew that was the last thing John Danziger wanted. "I'm sure Devon will be back to put you back in your mechanic's place in no time. In the meantime, we should probably call the camp and tell everyone what's going on."
Just then numerous gears started beeping in unison. As Magus, Julia, Alonzo and Baines simultaneously put theirs on, Danziger moved toward one lying on the ground, left behind in Devon's haste to escape the situation. "Great," John mumbled to himself. "Now she's taken a page out of my book. She's going to be hell to track without gear."
"At least she still had that overnight pack with her," Magus mumbled, before turning her attention to the message.
"John, I'm sorry but I think you'd better hear this." Baines spoke, but all four of his friends looked at him, praying they would not have to be the one to tell him directly.
"What?" Danziger donned Devon's gear and looked into the serious face of Yale.
"I am sorry to have to tell you this John, but we cannot find True. Apparently, no one has seen her in several hours. We have searched the camp and she is not here."
"What do you mean she's not there?" John shouted into the gear, his anger, fear and frustration all more than doubled instantly.
"Devon asked me to check on both children when they did not appear to see you off," Yale explained patiently, understanding the father's reaction. "Ulysses was in his tent playing in virtual reality, but no one can find True. We all have searched the camp area and she is not here. I think you should return to camp as soon as possible."
"We're on our way." Danziger turned off his gear, picked up the Magpro and started walking back toward camp.
"John?"
Danziger turned at the soft sound of Julia's voice.
"C'mon, we gotta get back and find True."
"What do we do with her?" The doctor gestured toward Cynthya Adair.
"I'm not leaving until I get a chance to talk to my daughter."
Danziger glared down at her. "Haven't you done enough damage already?"
"Is Devon still stubborn?"
The five Eden Advance crew members looked at the woman in stunned silence. One by one, first Baines, then Magus, then Alonzo nodded their heads. Julia and John merely looked at her impassively.
"Well, I'm twice as stubborn," Cynthia Adair asserted. "So you are not getting rid of me. You might as well take me with you."
Danziger frowned and then glanced at his gear. "I don't have time to argue with any Adair right now. Just stay out of the way," he growled.
As he marched off toward camp at a rapid pace, the other Eden Advance crew members followed quickly on his heels. Cynthya Adair got up, brushing off leaves and dirt with quick, sure motions. With one last look over her shoulder in the direction Devon had taken, Cynthya struck off behind them.
As the six figures silently made their way toward the camp, True Danziger entered a cave she had found near another smaller mountain in the dense woods. It looked like rain as the sky darkened for the night, and she was tired. True figured her exhaustion was due to the burdens of traveling alone; she didn't usually carry such a heavy pack. So she laid out her sleeping bag on the dusty floor of the cavern, but she was not yet ready for sleep. She sat on the bedding, ate an energy bar from the stash she had removed from Bess' stores, and pulled out once again the picture of her mother. Using one finger, she traced the stranger's face. Alone, the young girl recalled what her father had shared with her. She recalled his sad expression as he explained that he loved Ellie and wanted to marry her, but that she would never accept his proposal. She also heard her father's words in her head as he admitted that Ellie had never told him she was pregnant, that it had been the doctor who shared the news after Ellie's accident in space, that it had been his decision to keep the baby alive. She knew in her heart that her mother hadn't wanted her. Otherwise why would she have been a secret? But she knew her father had wanted her -- at least 'til they got to this planet, 'til he started kissing Devon and giving Uly machine lessons. She remembered all the times she had disobeyed him. She remembered her misbegotten friendship with Gaal. She remembered her father kissing Devon and telling Uly about the Transrover. So her mom didn't want her, and her dad didn't want her now that he had Devon. Decisively, the 10-year-old ripped her only picture of her mother into shreds so small there was no way to tell what the picture once was. Then she walked out of the cavern and threw the shreds to the wind, which scattered them throughout the dark shadows of the forest. She was on her own, but she knew in her heart she could handle it. Then True returned to the bed she had made herself, curled up and fell into a deep sleep -- traces of some fallen tears evident on her face.
While the young girl's eyes were closed, another hurt child continued her run through the woods. As the rain began to fall, it roused Devon from her thoughtless chase. What she was hunting, she wasn't sure. What she was escaping was the frightening unknown and a past returned. As the rain drenched her, she wondered if Uly was OK and that thought alone made her stop the Dunerail. She turned and looked around her, uncertain where she was, uncertain if she could even retrace her steps to return to her friends and family. Briefly she wondered what had happened once she left. She also wondered what her mother had been going to say, where she had been, how she had gotten to this planet, why she had let her daughter and her husband mourn her as dead. She recalled how her mother had aged, her hair turned gray, new wrinkles lining the familiar eyes and smile, a tan demonstrating a life far different than the one she had once lived as a member of the station royalty. She decided that it made no sense to try and return to camp tonight. Her rage, anger and pain had taken her too far in the vastness of the woods. She thought of Uly and then briefly of John, who had chased her to no avail, and she decided to call the camp and let everyone know she was all right. But as she searched the Dunerail, she could find no trace of her gear. Knowing how worried people would be, she felt guilty. But Devon acknowledged to herself that there was nothing she could do safely until morning. She urged the Dunerail underneath a ledge on the mountain, deciding she might as well be as dry as possible while waiting out the onslaught of water. As she left the Dunerail to create a makeshift bed on the rocky ground, Devon gave thanks that she at least had some provisions with her. She thought first of Uly, then of Yale, then of John and his daughter. In a way, she wished Danziger were with her, but she had made her own choice for solitude. And she was grateful he and Yale were there for Uly. And if he was with her, she would probably have to deal with the issue of that kiss, something that struck terror -- among other feelings -- into Devon Adair's heart. As the rain pounded, she finally thought of the woman she had seen for the first time since her 18th birthday. And then she thought of a funeral and of her own tears. As the past began to haunt her, Devon curled up and tried to block it out. She fell into an uneasy sleep, pursued by visions of the past and the fears for her future that accompanied them.
"Where is Devon?"
Inside the com tent, Yale directed his question at John Danziger as he surveyed the wet group of returning crew members, who resembled a pack of drowned Grendlers.
"Beats me," the mechanic growled, unsure who he was angriest at but willing to direct the rage at whomever happened to be convenient.
"Yale, is it really you?"
The cyborg's face more than adequately displayed his shock at the visage of Cynthya Adair. "Ms. Adair." The words escaped his lips, almost involuntarily. As he stared at her, his concerns for Devon grew. Ignoring her query, he asked a couple of his own. "What happened to Devon? Is she all right?"
"Have you found True?" Danziger's question erupted through clenched teeth.
Watching the scene, Julia decided to step in and add a note of organization and rationality, despite the unsettling rivers of her own emotions. "One thing at a time. Yale, when Devon saw this woman she said 'mother', jumped in the Dunerail and left. She left behind her gear, so we cannot contact her and we don't know where she is."
"We thought you were dead." Yale directed his comment at Cynthya, who was about to respond when John Danziger jumped back into the conversation.
"Now tell us what you know about True?" His words were more a demand than a query.
"We think she took some supplies and went out on her own. No one has seen her since her history lesson with me this morning. But Bess found some food missing and a sleeping bag is gone as well. Perhaps John should check his tent and see what else is missing."
"Are you saying she ran away?" Danziger's worries for his daughter were warring with his worries for Devon. As the tutor nodded, Danziger growled, "Boy I seem to have a knack for chasing off the women in my life." He stomped off toward his tent, without realizing that he had publicly admitted his feelings for Devon for the first time.
Julia looked at the remaining group. "The fact of the matter, and I am positive John already knows this, is that we are not going to make any progress finding Devon or True tonight. All we can do is get dry, warm and fed, and prepare to send out search parties for both of them first thing in the morning. Hopefully the rain will have let up by then."
As the crew members scattered, with Julia going to check on John and the remainder attempting to follow her instructions, Yale and Cynthya remained, staring at each other until another entered and broke the silence.
"Yale, I know the group came back. Where's my Mom?"
Face to Face, Part 6
by Linda
"Yale, I know the group came back. Where's my Mom?"
A child's voice disrupted the staring contest between Yale and Cynthya Adair. The wise cyborg immediately turned his attention to Uly. Cynthya looked at the child, her mouth ajar, unable to conceal her shock.
"Ulysses, your mother had some things she wanted to think about alone, so she decided to stay away from the group tonight," Yale said, his voice calm and comforting.
"But doesn't she know about True? We need her to help find True." The child looked confused.
"No, Uly. She accidentally left behind her gear, so we could not tell her. But we will find both your mom and True tomorrow, and we will all be together."
"True's lost." Uly looked at the gray-haired woman for the first time. "Is my Mom lost too? And who are you?"
"Ulysses, your mother is not lost, because I am sure she knows where she is and will come back to us. But we will send someone to catch up with her, so she comes back sooner," he paused, frowning as he looked at the boy's grandmother. "This is Cynthya. Say hello, and then I want you to go to the tent and get some sleep. Tomorrow may be a very long day."
"Hello." The curious boy analyzed the newcomer for a minute, then turned back to his tutor. "Can I sleep with Mr. Danziger since we're both alone tonight?"
"If he says it is all right, you may. But please remember that he is scared and worried about True." The tutor smiled as the youth gave him a good-night hug and then raced out of the com tent. Then he turned back to the woman. "Where were we?"
Cynthya sat down, as if the weight of the world were suddenly on her shoulders. "That's my grandson," she said, with a sense of wonder. "I never even knew I had one."
Across camp, Julia Heller stuck her head into the Danzigers' tent and saw the mechanic crying as he sat on his daughter's cot. She debated leaving, and then decided he needed a friend more than solitude. 'Too bad Devon didn't feel the same way,' she thought to herself, before entering the tent and sitting next to him on the cot.
"She's all alone out there in the storm." Danziger had one of True's sweaters in his large hands. His fury given way to sheer intolerable pain, the mechanic appeared to be holding onto it with all that was left in him, fingering the patches that he had painstakingly added to it each time his adventurous offspring ripped a new hole. "Why?"
Julia wished silently that she had answers but instead put her arms around her friend, leaning her head on his back. "I don't know, John. But I do know that we will find her." Julia silently wished for the man who had been threatening Yale's life minutes before. An angry John Danziger was a known quantity; she had never seen the man like this -- not even when the Grendler had True. But then she never pictured Devon Adair running away either.
"Why would she leave me? Why do they all leave?" John was too heartbroken and scared to put on a brave face for Julia.
"I don't know why True disappeared, but we will find her." Julia hoped her repetitive words were reassuring, although they sounded somewhat hollow to her. "And as for Devon, she had some things to deal with. But you and I both know Devon well enough to know that she'll be back. There's no way she would go anywhere for long without Uly." She paused, weighing her options, and finally decided to voice her beliefs. "Or you."
John Danziger looked her in the eye, wishing he could believe every word leaving her lips, terrified that they were false and that he would never see True or Devon again.
"Mr. Danziger...." Uly poked his head into the tent. "Can I stay with you tonight?"
Far away, yet nearby, another child watched as a handsome man with light brown hair glared at the thin, flame-haired, blue-eyed woman putting on her coat. "Where do you think you're going tonight?" A small child, clutching a doll dressed as if for a tea party, peered at them from her hiding place behind the apartment's stairwell. The man was a head taller than his mate, and therefore appeared to be looking down on her as he chastised her.
"I have important things to do."
"Nothing's as important as your family. We miss you. Hell, we love you."
"But I'm doing this for you." The woman glared a look of frustration. "I'm doing this because I love you and I love our daughter. I want a better life for her, where she has freedom."
"How much better will her life be without you in it?"
"That's not going to happen."
As the woman slammed out of the apartment with a loud bang, the man went and sat in a reclining armchair, picked up an antique book -- with the hard cover and real paper pages -- and stared at it without seeing. The child hidden in the stairwell never took her eyes off him, and two figures, within yet outside the apartment's scene, never wavered their glance from her.
"Mom, do you love me?" The child had suddenly grown a few years larger. She looked up at the flame-haired woman, whose face now boasted a batch of wrinkles and whose hair hinted of the subtle dyes used to retain its original brilliance. The beloved doll, no longer carried constantly, still lay not so very far away on the child's bed.
"Of course I do, sweetie. You and your dad are the most important things in my life."
"Promise me you're never going to leave me again." The child was remarkably serious for one still so young. She didn't know what it was that her mother did on her frequent business trips, but the child remained terrified she would not return. When asked, she couldn't state a reason, but the fear lurked in the back of her mind.
"Silly...." The woman gathered the child into the comfort of her arms. "I only go away for a few days at a time. I am back before you know it."
"But what if you don't come back?"
"What would ever make you think a ridiculous thing like that? I'm not going anywhere. At least not for more than a couple days," she paused. "You know you really worry too much. Who do you think you are, my mother?" She began to tickle the child in her arms, eliciting a rare burst of genuine laughter.
"Stop, please stop." The child tried to catch her breath.
"Only if you tell me all about your lessons with Yale. What did you do while I was gone?"
The girl's smile turned upside down. "I hate lessons."
"Why would you do a silly thing like that, my pumpkin? Lessons are how you are going to get all the skills you need to do anything you want." The woman hugged her daughter close. "I always want you to remember that you can do anything you want, be anything you want. You have no limitations. You are the best and the brightest and the spunkiest...."
The girl's frown metamorphosed into a smile, which seemed to brighten with each of her mother's words. Then, as the figures watched, the smile turned to tears as the child aged once again.
"Sweetheart, I wish I could tell you something else. But there's no way your mother could have survived the explosion."
"You're wrong." The girl bristled at her father's words. "She's going to be here. She promised me she would never leave. You heard her."
"I know she didn't want to." The man tried to hide his own grief to help his child. "But even your mother couldn't control the hand of death. Knowing your mom, she probably tried. But no one has that power."
"She told me she would help me with my speech." The girl's tears began to fall as she thought of the graduation ceremony that was to come. Her mother had always told her she could do it, had encouraged her to enter college early after studying hard to finish her lessons with Yale. Now the woman wouldn't be there to see her daughter's triumph over her loneliness to achieve the university's highest academic honor at the young age of 18.
As the teenager slumped on her bed and cried, she clutched the doll her mother had once given her, now slightly ragged and worn from too much childhood devotion, and vowed that she would never forgive her mother for leaving her behind. And she vowed that she would never make the same mistake with those she loved. She would never leave them behind. And the two figures watched.
And then there was one. Rising up from the ground, it watched the child, older once again. It watched as the child slept fitfully on the ground, tears from the pain in her mind rushing down her face and falling eventually to the ground, where they would at some point mix with the raindrops falling from the sky and with the tears of another hurt child dreaming different dreams, nightmares fostered by the venom in both her mind and her body.
"Mom."
Another figure watched her as the petite young girl in practical coveralls watched.
Meanwhile, two chubby five-year-olds ran across the town's central square to their mother. One child was a girl, with ringlets of reddish-blond curls. Dressed in a frilly dress, she embodied the old Earth saying that little girls were sugar and spice and everything nice. Her brother looked like he had just jumped out from underneath a Transrover, covered with grease with a scratch on his left arm. His hair was a darker shade of red than his sister's, and he had a carefree smile that would begin to charm the girls as soon as he realized that females had more appeal than Grendlers.
Devon Adair, a few years older and wiser than the first watcher remembered her, gathered the twins in her arms, mindless of the mess her son was leaving on her attire. "You look like you've been having a busy day? Lose your Dad on the way back?"
"He's coming."
As her son informed her, Devon spotted John Danziger coming toward her across the square, a beautiful red flower in his hand.
"I saw this and I couldn't help but think of you." Danziger took his wife in his arms and kissed her passionately. "Happy anniversary."
"I love you so much, John. I'm so glad we've had these years together, the five of us."
"Where is Uly, by the way?"
"He's meeting us at home. He said he's planning a family surprise."
"Then don't you want to include me?" The watcher stepped forward, no longer able to hold herself back. This was her father, too, and she wasn't going to let him forget it.
"Who are you?" Danziger turned and stared at her blankly.
"True, your daughter, remember?" The words came out in a rush.
"Oh yeah. I don't need you any more. I have a real family now." As Danziger hoisted one twin over each shoulder, the little girl squealing that the boys could see her underwear, he headed off towards home.
Devon hung behind, waiting 'til her husband was out of earshot. "I told you it was you or me, True. There was only room for one of us in your Dad's heart. If I were you, I'd just get lost. Find some other family to bug." She turned and left the young girl standing in the middle of the square, another watcher watching as she fought a battle against her tears.
Lying on the ground, the young girl lost the battle, the drops of saltwater falling down her face as she twisted and turned and tried unsuccessfully to wake herself from the feverish dream. One lone being rose from the ground and held watch.
Thus, as two children slept, two tales of tears were carried through the ground, tracing roundabout trails through the minds of many which were simultaneously the mind of one. Emotions that provoked disruption and confusion through each single mind of the unified many continued to pass through the tribe as the Terrians tried to process the images witnessed during the storm. As the night passed, a decision was made and the sentinels held watch over two asleep yet restless children until morning dawned.
Face to Face, Part 7
by Linda
Morning began to dawn. The two children tossed and turned through the landscape of their dreams until one of them, feeling the sun begin to shine, awoke to face the day.
Devon Adair looked around at the rain-drenched land, at the trees that surrounded her through the night. She thought again of her son, of John Danziger and the rest of Eden Advance, and then of her mother. Despite strains of fear, she resolved to return to camp to face both past and future, to find answers to the questions that had destroyed her peace of mind in the last day. Walking around the Dunerail, she examined the ground to try and figure out from which direction she had come, but her tracks had vanished in the night's flowing waters. She looked at the sun to judge direction, climbed in the Dunerail and began to drive in a direction she believed would take her back to those she loved.
Devon had driven no further than 20 feet when a lone Terrian rose from the ground in front of her. Devon stopped the 'Rail, wondering what was going on. She attempted to drive around the figure, but another Terrian rose from the ground and blocked her way. Devon's frustration mounted, and she wished for Alonzo -- or even her son -- to help her understand what the Terrians wanted, for the creatures of the Earth would not let her pass. Once more, Devon attempted to drive around them, to go back from whence she came, but the Terrians did not allow her to make any progress. The first Terrian trilled at her, and Devon sighed in frustration, for she had no idea what she was being told. She listened intently to the sounds, certain they would give her some information if only she could unravel their mystery. After a while, the Terrian stopped his communication, but Devon still had no comprehension of what the Terrians wanted. She made one final try at circumventing the figures in her way, but more Terrians arose from the ground, forming a line obstructing her path completely.
"I need to return to my friends." Devon watched as the Terrians stood impassively in her way. She wondered if they understood her at all. "I need to go back to my son, to Uly."
The first Terrian trilled at her once again, and then one of his mates lifted his staff and pointed in another direction.
"But my camp is that way." Still Devon was uncertain of her directions after her careless flight and the night's rains. She looked in the direction of the staff, and wondered if they were trying to help her home or had some other purpose for their instructions. Frustrated, she decided to follow their lead, for she had no other choices besides standing still or running over the Terrians with the Dunerail. And while she might temporarily wish to follow the latter course, doing so was not a viable option if she wanted to continue human life on this planet. Silently, she turned the Dunerail and began to move slowly in the direction the Terrian had indicated.
"Did you hear from the diggers?" John Danziger growled at Alonzo the moment the pilot walked into the grub tent. He had unhappily asked Solace to try to contact the Terrians to see if they would help find his daughter.
"They didn't talk to me." Alonzo looked at his friend, the worry etched across both men's faces.
"Why not?"
"I'm sorry, John. I don't know. Maybe they don't know anything. Maybe this is a problem they feel we have to solve ourselves."
During the men's exchange, all of the remaining members of Eden Advance had slipped into the tent to consume their morning meal. Behind John's back, numerous glances of concern were exchanged until Cynthya Adair walked in and all eyes focused on her. The woman stood straight and erect, trying to avoid confrontation but at the same time unwilling to back down from what she saw as the challenge in the eyes of her daughter's friends. Yale had lent her some of Devon's clothes, and the tan pants fit her snugly, while the blue shirt pulled out the bright color of her eyes.
"Ulysses, could you go and check on...."
"It's OK, Yale. I explained it to him last night. I figured he was going to find out sooner or later." John cut off the tutor.
"That was not your place. I believe it belonged to Devon."
"Well, she's not here. Is she?" John growled the last two words through clenched teeth, his anger and fear threatening to emerge from every pore of his body. "And I wasn't going to let him overhear it when someone made a careless remark."
"It's OK, Yale." Uly tried to be grown-up, although he was scared for his mom and for True. He went over to hug his tutor, his real link with his mother, but he didn't want them to hold up the search because of him. "I'll talk to Mom, too, when she gets back." From within the comfort of Yale's embrace, he glanced unhappily at his new grandmother, silently but clearly blaming her for his mother's disappearance.
"OK, every one. Let's get started." Julia was unwilling to wait until someone gave John the excuse he needed to hit someone. While she was glad to see he had left behind the inactive despair of the previous night, the doctor figured she had handled enough broken bones already during this adventurous and unexpected journey. "Baines and Magus, you guys take the ATV and go after Devon. John fixed it early this morning." Julia figured she might as well join in on the matchmaking, as well as send a good team to find her friend. "She's on the 'Rail so you'll need a vehicle to catch her. I'm worried where she might have ended up with the rains and everything else. But you were there yesterday and know where she started off, so you'll have a good chance of finding her."
"I want to go, too." Cynthya Adair spoke the words calmly, with threads of steel running through them that reminded her audience of her daughter's determination. Cynthya glanced at Uly, aware he would have nothing to do with her as long as she was associated with his mother's vanishing act, desperately wishing to get to know him as well as to reacquaint herself with the daughter she had once given up hope of having in her life.
"No." Julia's voice was equally firm, backed with the full support of all of Eden Advance. "Devon will talk to you when she returns, but you've already ambushed her once. Besides, the ATV only takes two and they need to move quickly."
After a pause, Cynthya nodded her assent, unwilling to do battle with a group that was clearly anxious about their members, certain in the knowledge that she would somehow see Devon again and find a way to explain the unexplainable. Julia glanced at Magus and Baines, and the twosome slipped from the tent to begin their search.
"The rest of us are going after True. She's on foot, so she couldn't have gotten very far. We'll team up in twos."
"Uly and I will stay back in camp in case either of them return," Bess volunteered. "We'll get some food prepared and monitor communications."
As Julia nodded her agreement, Cynthya looked at John Danziger's concerned face. She remembered when her daughter was True's age, a parent's worry and fear always just beneath the surface.
"I'd like to help search for your daughter, since you have been such a help to mine." As Cynthya spoke, John could see traces of Devon in her face. "I know the area well and I wouldn't be any use to anyone sitting here."
After staring at her for a moment, John nodded his assent and Julia continued her instructions. "Mazatl and Yale; Alonzo and Morgan, John and Cynthya, Denner and I. OK?" As everyone nodded and began shuffling their feet to the door, Julia felt compelled to add something more. "I know at this moment Devon's in no place to be reminding us all to have our gears with us at all times, but we really don't have the manpower to search for anyone else right now. So please follow the rules. Keep in touch. And be careful."
Two by two, eight individuals left the security of camp to search the great unknown for one small girl.
As they searched for her, True tossed and turned, her body shaking with chills while drenched with sweat. When morning arrived, she briefly opened her eyes and saw a Terrian standing guard over her. She felt pain in her stomach and closed her eyes once more. When she briefly considered the Terrian, she figured she was still caught up in her universe of nightmares. It was an understandable mistake since she quickly returned to that unhappy dream world once more, sustained by the combination of loneliness, fear and an illness unlike any the youngster had ever known.
"Dad." Alone, True wandered through trees looking for her father. She wandered and wandered, with no sign of the man who had loved and raised her. After a while she sat down to rest her tired legs before resuming her search, calling out for her father every few seconds. Soon, she crossed a ridge and looked down, seeing before her not only the end of the dark forest, but the sandy shores that marked the ocean of New Pacifica. Playing in the water were her father and Devon Adair. They were splashing each other and laughing, giddy with the knowledge that they had finally arrived at their destination. Excited to see her dad, the young girl took off at a run, launching herself into the water, practically plowing into her father.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Danziger yelled at her, a frown coming to his face as he shifted his attention from Devon to True.
"I couldn't find you, but now we're all together here. And now, I can have a pet." True was as excited as the adults. "A cat, right Dad?"
"I don't know what you're thinking. We left you behind on purpose. You're old enough to be on your own now, True." Danziger snarled at his daughter. "I wasted enough years of my life on you. Now there's only room in my life for one woman. And that's Devon. Go find yourself a new home."
With that, John pulled Devon into his arms for a long, passionate kiss, and then the pair walked off, leaving her behind once again. Slowly True walked out of the water, sat down on the sandy shores all alone and began to cry.
Suddenly, the child shifted from one dream to another and was returned to the middle of the woods, alone with a few supplies in her backpack. Sadly she looked around once again and finding herself solo, she began to search for her father and the rest of Eden Advance. "Dad! Devon! Uly!" The young girl called out in the feverish dreams of her mind.
As True dreamed, Devon traveled. Every once in a while, a Terrian would rise from the ground and force her to shift directions. Devon prayed that the Terrians were guiding her home and not into some bizarre adventure, for she had enough on her mind without pondering the consequences of too many dealings with the Terrians without Alonzo's assistance. At least their interference meant that Devon no longer worried about what direction she should follow, leaving her mind free to examine the previous day's events, from Danziger's unexpected kiss to her mother's far more unexpected appearance on G889. "Well, no one can ever say my life has been boring lately," Devon muttered to herself.
"Devon!"
Lost in her thoughts, Adair almost didn't hear her name. But when the weak voice repeated it, she stopped the Dunerail in its tracks.
"Who's there?" She didn't hear any response, but a Terrian once again rose from the ground and pointed his staff. Unwilling to take the Dunerail any further, lest she lose that voice, Devon climbed out and began walking in the direction the Terrian had indicated. In a few seconds, she spotted the cave.
"Dad! Devon!"
Although the voice was weak, this time Adair had no trouble identifying its owner. She broke into a run as she headed into the cave, where she found the young girl tossing and turning, caught in the beginning stages of her thematically repetitive nightmare. When Devon touched her hand to True's forehead, she felt the child's fever burning through her brain. Quickly, Adair searched the girl's gear for communication equipment. Finding none, she grunted in frustration, then went outside to talk to the Terrians, but they had disappeared, their mission accomplished. As she pondered her options, she heard True cry out once again.
"Devon, no. Please, don't take my dad away from me!"
Face to Face, Part 8
by Linda
OK, everyone. Since I'm a really nice person (no comments, please, Vicky) and a couple people have mentioned that they will be leaving for the Con on Wednesday, I have decided to post two sections each day for through Wednesday to finish off this story. I am doing this out of the goodness of my heart, despite my bitter jealousy toward those who are traveling to New Mexico. Remember, all comments and gratitude <g> to Lindafff@aol.com. Linda
"Devon, no. Please, don't take my dad away from me!"
Hearing True's cry, Devon turned. Recognizing that the girl was caught in a nightmare, she was not angered, but shocked. She would never dream of doing anything to separate Danziger from his daughter, and she thought True knew her well enough to believe that. But Devon realized that True's dreams were spawned by her illness, and healing her was the woman's first concern. Weighing her options, she decided that she would try to break the fever with cool compresses, since she felt the girl was probably too sick to move. Even if True was well enough to travel, after her early morning run and the Terrians' guidance to this spot, Devon didn't have the foggiest idea which direction she should choose to travel. And apparently her guides had left her stranded. Fortunately, as Devon looked around, she found plenty of puddles of cool rainwater to use in the compresses. The water may not have been as clean as Julia would have liked, but it would have to do since Devon could locate no other.
"Keep it together, Devon." She mumbled to herself as she tried to make her sick charge more comfortable with the blankets she had in the Dunerail. "Let's look on the bright side. True's on foot, so she can't be that far from camp. And I know every one's probably out looking for her. So my priority is getting her well, 'cause if anything happens to True, John Danziger will murder me." She paused and laughed to herself. "Hell, at this point, he'd probably do that anyway."
"When I get my hands on both those stubborn females, I'm going to wring their necks," Danziger muttered to himself.
"What was that?" Cynthya couldn't tell who the broad-shouldered blond man was talking to, but she was curious. It was obvious from the way everyone was acting that he had some kind of special relationship with her daughter, and like all moms -- even ones who had been exiled for a couple decades -- she was curious about her daughter's love life. She certainly had never imagined Devon with a man like John Danziger.
"Just threatening to kill your daughter and mine."
"Oh." Cynthya paused. "You must love them both a lot."
Danziger turned and glared at her, not missing her implication, and then merely picked up the pace, calling out his daughter's name.
In another part of the forest, Magus and Baines arrived at the spot where they had first met Cynthya Adair the previous day. They hopped off the ATV to take a rest and a closer look around, before continuing their hunt for Devon.
"Using the ATV, we certainly made better time than on foot." Magus smiled at Baines.
"Yeah, next time Danziger has an idea to repair vehicles, I think we should shoot him," Baines grinned. "Meanwhile I guess we'd better look for Devon."
"She went in that direction yesterday." Magus pointed out the natural path their friend had taken on her flight. "There's no tracks; I guess the rain washed them away."
"Hey Devon!" Baines yelled out in the vain hope their friend was close enough by to respond. When silence followed, he turned to Magus. "Guess we'd better take off in that direction and pray we're lucky."
"Yeah, I don't want to be in John's line of sight if we come back without her." Magus wished silently that Baines cared half as much for her as John so obviously did for Devon. Of course, the next trick would be getting either man to admit it freely.
"He really loves her. Y'know they finally kissed yesterday?"
"Nope." Magus briefly recalled her conversation with Devon. "How'd I miss out on that little tidbit of gossip?"
"I don't know. I wouldn't mention it to Danziger, though. He nearly took aim at Bess and me with a Magpro."
"Maybe we should create some gossip of our own...."
"Huh?"
"It's now or never," she muttered to herself. Magus mustered up her courage, walked over to Baines and kissed him on the lips, leaving the Ops man completely stunned.
"What was that?"
Magus climbed into the ATV's driver's seat, unwilling to answer his question. "We should get going. At this rate, we're never going to find Devon."
Baines wondered whether he should push the issue, and then decided he wasn't sure where he wanted it to go. So he climbed on the back of the ATV and the duo headed where they hoped they might find their friend and leader.
"Bess, do you think my Mom'll come back?" Uly looked at his lone camp companion with a worried gaze.
"Of course, she will, sweetie. Don't you worry about that."
"But what if she hates her mom so much that she never comes back?"
"Oh, Uly." Bess gave up the pretense of work to put her arms around the young boy. "Sometimes adults have to deal with things that are difficult for them, that they want to avoid. And that's why your mom probably left. She didn't want to deal with your grandmother. But part of being an adult is dealing with things that you don't want to even think about. And your mom's good at that. Look at how she's dealt with all the things that have happened to us since we got here. Your mom always has a solution or an idea; it's just sometimes she has to think about the problem for a while. That's all she's doing. But she would never, ever leave you."
"True did."
"Yes. But as grown-up as you guys like to think you are, True's still a child. Something must have happened to make her want to leave and so she did." Bess noticed Uly's gaze suddenly drop to the ground, where he became very interested in his shoes. "Whatever it is, hopefully we'll figure out what's bothering her or she'll share it, so John and the rest of the group can help her once we find her. Running away is not a solution."
"It is if the ship's about to crash!" Uly smiled.
"A little crash humor, huh? I guess that's true." Bess grinned back, making a mental note to have Devon try and get True's problem out of Uly when she returned. "I think that's what's called the exception that proves the rule."
"Hey, Morgan, can I ask you a question?"
Morgan merely grunted at Alonzo. Not a morning person, he was still angry his beauty sleep had been interrupted at an even more unconscionable hour than usual to look for Danziger's brat. "Irresponsible little twit," he mumbled to himself.
"Morgan!"
"What do you want?"
"What's marriage like?"
Morgan grinned, for despite his bad humor, he found the idea of a married Alonzo pretty funny. Despite his devotion to Julia, the man had a reputation galaxies wide. If the news ever spread, there would be women on several stations in mourning. Of course, Morgan thought to himself, given the wonders of cold sleep, those devoted masses were probably already dead.
"Morgan! Tell me."
"So the great Alonzo Solace, a man revered by women on at least seven stations not to mention those on planets I've probably never heard of, is asking little old me for advice."
"Morgan!" The name was barely distinguishable from the pilot's groan of frustration.
"What irony. What bliss." Morgan waved his arms around as if he were making a speech to the invisible masses. "Loverboy himself asking Morgan Martin how to handle his love life. I have to wonder why."
"Well, you're the only one I can ask." Alonzo was not amused by Morgan's antics and it more than showed on his face. "It's not like we have a run on married men."
Morgan smiled. "Does this mean you consider me a marital expert?" As Alonzo glanced down at the Magpro he was carrying, Morgan wondered if he was pushing the other man to the limits of his patience. "Well, um, I love marriage. There's an amazing certainty in knowing that you and someone else belong together forever, or at least however long your contract is. How long a contract did you guys agree to?"
"Uh, we didn't talk about that." A frown of concern entered Alonzo's face.
Morgan raised an eyebrow. "Well, at some point, you probably ought to. How long do you want it to be?"
"I should probably talk about it with Julia, huh?" At Morgan's nod, Alonzo picked up his pace, quickly outdistancing his companion. As Morgan grumbled and began to move slightly faster, Alonzo pictured Julia in his mind and mumbled one word. "Forever."
"We could search for her forever, and I don't think that we're going to find her. She doesn't have gear and we have no tracks. I don't think that there's any way for us to catch her."
Hours had passed, and Magus surveyed the territory around her in frustration. The pair had already taken several forks, guessing which way they thought Devon might have traveled without the benefit of any clues other than instinct.
"I hate to say this, but I think we'd better just call it a day. It's getting dark." Baines was equally frustrated and worried, although his thoughts would occasionally wander back to that surprise kiss his blond partner had bestowed on him. But he would tuck those thoughts away. Right now Devon's safety was their first and only priority.
"John's going to kill us."
"For what? We didn't run away."
"I don't know that he's exactly rational at the moment."
"We're just being safe. Plus we have no idea where she is. Maybe Devon's found her way back to camp on her own."
"Bess would have called us. I don't think they've found True either."
"What a rotten day."
The skies began to darken once again, foreshadowing yet another stormy night, while the pair called Bess to let her know their plans and then turned around their ATV and began the journey back to camp.
As the day changed into night, Devon sat in the cave with her young charge. Feeling the scalding temperature of True's forehead, Devon worried and fretted. She wondered what had caused True's illness and why the restless young girl was away from the watchful eyes of Eden Advance. True tossed and turned on the makeshift pallet Devon had created for her, and Devon carefully kept the cold compresses coming, praying she could break the fever without Julia Heller's medical expertise.
"Devon, I love Dad, too. Please don't take him away from me."
Devon walked back over to her charge and drew her into a hug, mindless of the risk she could be taking in terms of catching the unknown illness. She held True close to her, rocking her and remembering her own fears of abandonment, her tears when her mother finally did leave her in death.
"True, honey. Your Dad's not going to leave you, and neither am I. I love you, sweetheart." She repeatedly whispered the soothing words, stroking the young girl's hair, tears falling down both faces. "True, I love you and your Dad loves you, so we're just going to have to get you well and take you home. You know Danziger's never going to let you out of his sight again."
"We've got to keep searching."
All of the remaining members of Eden Advance were using their gear but Danziger couldn't bear to look any of them in the eye. He didn't want to see those quietly sympathetic looks, those exchanges that meant, 'Humor him, he may have lost everything.' He remembered those looks from when Ellie died, and he wasn't willing to endure them once again. So he switched his gear to audio. He would only have to hear the sympathy in their voices, rather than look them in the eye.
"John, it's going to storm again. I'm not saying we should stop searching forever, just for the night." Julia was getting really, really tired of her new role as group's sensible leader. She made a silent prayer for Devon's quick return. In the meantime, Danziger was her biggest concern. "True's smart. She's probably holed up somewhere herself to wait out the storm. We should do the same. We'll resume the search first thing in the morning."
"What about Devon?"
Magus and Baines exchanged a glance before Laura spoke into the communication system.
"It's hopeless, John. Devon has a far better chance of finding her way back to us than we do of finding her. All of her tracks were washed away by the rain. We would take paths and then double back, never knowing if we were getting closer or further away. The fact is, she's on the Dunerail and could be anywhere by now."
"So we're just going to give up?"
"Look, pal." Baines grieved for the pain Danziger was going through. They had been friends a long time. "Devon's as stubborn as they come. I don't think waiting for her to come back on her own steam is giving up. In the meantime, we'll redouble our search for True in the morning."
"You guys do whatever you want but I'm going to keep searching." Danziger cut off his gear before any of them could voice their objections, switching over to tracking so they could find him if they needed him. He turned to Cynthya. "You can go back to camp if you want. It's probably going to storm badly."
"Are you continuing the search?" Cynthya watched as the man nodded. Determined, she added, "Then so am I."
Face to Face, Part 9
by Linda
As raindrops began to fall from the sky, John Danziger made his way through the night, his path guided by a lumalight, pausing every few minutes to yell out his daughter's name. Every half hour or so, the monotony was broken by the sound of his gear beeping, but Danziger was an expert at ignoring that annoyance. Only the thought of having to fix it later kept him from trashing the damned thing. He knew his friends only wanted to convince him to take a break, and that was something he could not do, not as long as True was out there somewhere on her own.
Cynthya followed him in sympathy, feeling his pain and remembering her own.
"True-girl, where are you?" John wondered aloud. They had been searching all day, covered a lot of territory, yet there was no sign of the 10-year-old.
"We'll find her, Mr. Danziger." Cynthya Adair tried to comfort the man, but his worries were beyond her reach.
"What if it's too late?" He growled, half-swallowing the words, for he feared that she may have met up with a Grendler or some other creature that could easily kill a small thing like True. One thing he had learned on this planet was that even the apparently inocuous creatures could be dangerous as all hell, as witnessed by True's favorite Koba.
"If she's half as determined as her father, she'll be fine," Cynthya smiled. "Remember that she set out with the purpose of making it difficult for you to find her. I remember when Devon did the same thing once as a child. Her father and I had to search half the station to find her. It took us a day and a half. We were frantic. One thing our little girl was, was determined."
"Yeah, well I guess she's done it again," Danziger growled. He had momentarily forgotten about the other part of himself that had disappeared, and now the dull ache that represented Devon's absence was at full throttle once again. "Clearly, some things never change."
"Everything's changed and I don't know what to do."
Walman looked over at his pal Baines and thought about laughing at the man's predicament, but remembered the Magpro the man was carrying (since he was just off guard duty) and merely smiled instead.
"So what exactly is your problem, Baines?"
"She kissed me."
"So?"
"Why'd she do that?"
"Probably to wake you up. She's been sending out signals for a while and you've been too dense to pick up on them. Believe me, I've been jealous."
"Why?"
Walman groaned in frustration. "Look around you, Baines. There's not exactly many opportunities for a love life on G889. Bess' married. Julia's taken. Devon and John belong together and everyone knows it, except them. No competing with that, although I've thought about it. True's a kid. Laura's basically one of the few remaining women and she's made up her mind she wants you. Besides," he grinned. "I've always had a thing for blondes."
"Oh." Baines was still having trouble dealing with the situation. "I don't know what to do."
"What do you want to do? She's not Cecily, you know. Not all women drive you crazy and take you to the cleaners." At Baines' disbelieving look, Walman frowned. "Look, I know the witch hurt you but that doesn't mean you should be celibate for the rest of your life. Since it happened, you've had your head in space, oblivious to women. And I understand that. But you realize you're letting her win. She's still running your life and you haven't seen her for five years -- not to mention a bunch of light years. Heck, she's probably dead by now."
"Thanks. That's exactly what I wanted to hear -- reminders of all the mistakes I've made." Baines stormed off toward his own tent where he could try and sleep to forget this mess and everything having to do with Cecily Simon.
From the mess tent, Magus could see his angry walk across camp, and she sighed to herself.
"A cup of coffee for your thoughts?"
Magus turned around and smiled at Yale as he poured them both steaming hot mugs full of Bess' latest coffee substitute.
"I don't know." Magus sighed.
"I am a good listener." Yale gave her an encouraging smile.
She looked at him for a minute, assessing his fatherly appearance, before posing a question. "Why are men so complicated?"
"I believe we often ask the same thing about women. It is all a matter of perspective."
Magus gave a short laugh and then smiled. "I guess you're right."
"Is there anything specific on which I might be able to enlighten you?"
"I doubt it. Is this in confidence?" Yale nodded as Magus grimaced. "I kissed Baines today and he freaked out. I guess he wasn't interested."
"I would not assume anything. Perhaps he is merely trying to wrestle with his own feelings."
"Since when is 'wrestling' defined as getting so far away from the cause that you can't even see her any more? Since we got back to camp, he's been as far away from me as he could get."
"Perhaps you should give him some time. Emotions are complicated."
Magus smiled wanly at Yale. "Mine, as well as his."
"What do you think you're doing, Alonzo?"
Magus and Yale looked up, silenced, as Julia followed Alonzo into the mess tent.
"I can't sleep, anyway. I might as well go out there and see if I can help John and Cynthya. Either that, or convince them to take a break while I search."
"We all agreed. We need to rest. We're not going to do True, Devon or anyone else much good if we're suffering from exposure and exhaustion."
"All the more reason I should get out there and try and get John to come back and dry off for a while. You know he's not going to do that if no one's out there searching for True. And Devon will be spitting angry if she comes back to find he has pneumonia."
Julia nodded unhappily, feeling trapped somehow by her own arguments.
"I will go with you, Alonzo."
"Thanks, Yale. See, I won't be alone, Julia. Yale'll take good care of me."
Together the two men gathered some supplies and set off into the rain. As they left the mess tent, Heller and Magus exchanged a look.
"Men." Julia sighed in frustration.
"I completely agree." Laura laughed.
In the cave in the woods, Devon held True to her as they both slept. Earlier Devon had gone out and brought back wood to keep the fire going, but she had to keep it small because the wood was wet, and therefore didn't burn very well. She couldn't tell if the cold compresses were working, and every time True cried out in fear from her nightmares of loneliness, an ache went through Devon's heart. Tired from her worries and unwilling to let go of the frightened young girl, they slept together -- the warmth of Devon's body acting as an extra blanket for True.
Suddenly, Devon found herself alone in the woods. She could hear True calling out to her, but she could not find her. She searched behind trees, in caves, taking different paths but she couldn't find her. "Devon. Devon." She could hear the young girl's cry. "True." She called back, but there was no sign of the voice's source. "I love you, True. It's going to be OK," Devon promised, although she was frightened and scared herself at the surreal nature of the experience and her inability to find John's daughter. Once in a while she would hear True's call, but as she searched she could never find its source.
All at once, the scenery changed and Devon was on a beautiful beach. She took two steps forward and saw the small group on the beach. She saw herself in John Danziger's arms and she was stunned speechless. She stood stock still on the beach, taking in the very unexpected sight until she heard his unkind words to his daughter, telling her to get lost, that he and that duplicate of herself were happy as a couple and didn't need her. Those words got her past stunned and into furious.
"True, that's not right. It's not real," Devon called out. But the girl did not hear her. Devon tried to advance closer, although each of her feet felt like it was dragging a 50-pound weight. "True, I love you and your dad loves you. This isn't real."
"You're just a foolish little girl and we don't want to take care of you anymore." Devon was shocked at the words coming out of her double's mouth and she wanted to cry, for she shared True's pain and anger. "Go away and find your own way in life. We don't want you. We don't love you."
"True, listen to me." Unable to bear any more, Devon called out once again and suddenly the threesome on the beach turned toward her.
"What's going on?" John asked, although Devon was unwilling to think of this stranger as John. "Who are you and why do you look like my beloved Devon?"
"Who are you?" Devon replied defiantly. She kneeled down and looked True in the eye. "Sweetheart, I don't know what's going on here, but this is not me and this is not your Dad. We both love you and Uly more than anything else, and we would never leave you behind."
"But we saw you." True looked from one Devon to the other with an expression of confusion.
"Saw me what?" Devon's focus was the little girl.
"Look, this is ridiculous," the other Devon spoke up. "Who gives a flying fig? We're here in New Pacifica and we don't need any of you. We've got each other."
"Shut up!" Devon spoke sharply to her other self. "True, honey, what'd you see?"
"You kissed him in the comm tent." The girl spat out the words and took off at a run up the beach.
"I'm getting too old for this," Devon mumbled to herself before she went chasing the 10-year-old, leaving behind the mysterious doubles who went back to frolicking in the sea's froth, unable to care about anyone other than themselves. It took her only a few minutes to catch up with True, although neither was used to running on the shifting surface of the warm sand.
"True, yes, we kissed. Yes, we care about one another." Devon once again looked the youngster in the eye. "But that doesn't mean that we will ever stop caring about you. You are your Dad's number one priority. You're pretty high up there on my list, too. And that will never change."
"But what if you get married and want to get rid of us?" True eyed her suspiciously.
"That won't happen. We would never want to get rid of you. If your Dad and I were ever to decide to do something like that, and I'm not saying we are, than you and Uly would be a big part of that. We would be a family. We would all love one another."
"But what about them?" True looked back at the other Devon and her Dad, who were still kissing without a care in the world.
"They aren't real. C'mon," Devon grinned. "Can you really picture your Dad calling my something like 'his beloved Devon?' I don't think so, True. He would have said something like 'You look like that crazy Adair woman.' "
In spite of herself, True laughed.
"True, there's something important that you have to know. The heart's a big thing. And there's room in it to love lots of people. I can love you and Uly and Yale and a lot more people besides. And it doesn't make my love for any one of you less than it was. There's always room for more."
"Like my Dad." True said, suddenly matter-of-fact in her attitude.
"Yeah, I guess so." Devon tried to be noncommittal, although she knew the girl spoke the truth.
As the two women slept, a Terrian rose from the ground to survey their physical figures and then sunk back into the Earth, and reported the results of the efforts the tribe had sanctioned for the two lost souls.
Face to Face, Part 10
by Linda
I swear that parts 8 & 9 were actually mailed out late Monday night, even if they didn't appear (courtesy of AOL and the list) until sometime mid-Tuesday. My apologies. Here's the next two, and only two more to go.....Enjoy. Linda (Lindafff@aol.com)
All of the sudden, the scenery surrounding Devon Adair changed once again. "Not again," the woman muttered to herself as she looked around. For once, she was indoors. The room appeared to be the center of a familial dwelling, with a table and chairs for eating, bookshelves and space for relaxation. It wasn't the neatest dwelling Devon had ever seen, but then she figured she was probably the last person who should make first impressions on a neatness quota. The only reason she was neat nowadays was that she moved once a day, and didn't have many possessions to strew around the campsite. As Devon surveyed the new territory, she felt someone slip a hand through hers.
"What is going on? What are we doing here?" The young girl looked around much as Devon had just moments earlier. "By the way, where is here?"
"Funny, but I was just going to ask you the same question." Devon smiled down at True, relieved that she didn't have to hunt for Danziger's stubborn youngster this time around and doubly relieved that True didn't seem lost, alone, angry or upset with her this time.
"Mom, look what True and I found."
The duo watched in amazement as Uly came racing through the door, followed not long thereafter by True.
"Neat, there's two of me," the True holding her hand whispered to Devon, as they both continued watching the scene playing out in front of them. Devon smiled down at her before returning her gaze to the scene at hand.
"Hush, guys. I managed to get the twins down for a nap, so I've been finishing up the plans for the addition to the hospital. Let's try and keep them quiet for a little while longer." Yet another version of Devon talked to the kids as she entered the room. "So what did you find?" she asked after hugging both Uly and True.
"Aren't they cool, Devon?" the teenage True called out, holding some pink and purple flowers in her hands. "I haven't seen any like them before."
Devon took a step backward, until she felt the supporting comfort of the wall behind her. "Did she just say 'twins'?" she muttered.
"Actually, I think you just said 'twins'," True grinned mischievously, as she glanced from the Devon holding her hand to the one helping the older her and Uly examine the strange herbs that they had brought back from their explorations. Suddenly her father entered the room, bringing both observers' attention back to center stage.
"Aha, looks like someone brought dinner." One Devon smiled as she left the kids to give John a hand with the food.
"Of course, I brought dinner. I want to eat. And even the Grendlers know better than to try and eat your cooking, Adair." Danziger smiled as he gave Devon a quick kiss. "I don't know why we even bothered to put a kitchen on this place."
"Don't you complain to me, Mr. Fixit." The observer Devon was glad to see that her other self was still more than capable of giving what she got. "The only way a skillet is useful for you is when someone hits you over your stubborn head with it."
"John, did anyone ever tell you that you were stubborn?"
The search groups had all changed partners for the morning, and Julia had assigned herself to John because she was worried about his health after searching all night through the storm.
"Adair tells me that all the time." John tried to reassure Julia with a smile. "I'm sure when she gets back, she'll do it again. There hasn't been any sign of her, has there?"
"I'm sure we would have heard the second anyone found out anything." Julia frowned. "To be honest, I'm getting worried."
"Me, too," John admitted quietly. "But if you ever tell her I said that I'll feed you your diaglove for lunch."
"It's too late," Julia smiled. "I think she already knows how much you care about her."
"Yeah, and look how she responded. She fled into the night."
"That has nothing to do with you!"
"How do you know?" Danziger sped up once again, and didn't hear Julia's quiet response.
"I just do."
"Do you mind if we switch partners?"
Larry Baines posed the question to Magus, Walman and Cynthya Adair. They had started off the morning paired along gender lines. Truth be told, Baines hadn't been much company for Walman since he was lost in his own thoughts, and when they ran into the other search party, he decided it was time to deal with the women haunting his life.
"I promise Walman's not bad company most of the time." Baines tried to keep the conversation light, not to let anyone know how much he needed to talk to Magus, who was standing less than 10 feet away from him. She hadn't spoken a word since the two groups met. "He does have this tendency to fall asleep on watch, but if you keep him moving you should be fine."
"I don't mind." Cynthya Adair smiled politely. It had obvious to her that the silent young woman she was partnered with had more than just the search on her mind. She wondered if Baines had anything to do with it, but she certainly didn't want to be in the midst of a lover's quarrel, if that was the case. 'Boy, this certainly is an incestuous little group,' she thought to herself before saying aloud, "It'll be a good chance for me to get to know one more person from Eden Advance."
"Maybe we should get going, then." Walman had a better idea than Cynthya what was going on, and four was definitely a crowd. "We'll search this way," he said, pointing northwest from their position.
Baines and Magus watched as their companions headed off into the distance. Every once in a while, they would hear a call for Devon or for True, always without response. Not until they were surrounded by the noisy silence of the forest did either of them speak.
"We have to talk." Baines tried out a smile on Magus, but Laura wasn't buying.
"I think you've already said plenty." The woman picked up her Magpro and got ready to resume the search.
"I haven't said anything."
"My point exactly," Magus said. "Now we have a search to conduct."
"We can search and talk at the same time," Baines said, as they began walking in the opposite direction of Cynthya and Walman. "Actually you can just listen, and I'll talk."
Magus merely glared at him before calling out, "True, can you hear me? Devon, where are you?"
Baines waited until the lack of response became deafening. "OK, this is the deal. Yesterday kind of came out of nowhere for me. I...."
"I don't need to hear this." Magus cut him off. "I got the picture. You're not interested. I was pushing things. I don't need to be humiliated."
"Will you shut up?" Baines was having a hard enough time without Magus' misreading of the situation. "You obviously don't have the picture 'cause I am interested."
"Really?" the blonde head swiveled around so she could look him in the eyes and judge his demeanor.
"Really." Baines nodded his head for emphasis. "But there are some things you have to know about me first."
"Like what?"
"Like once upon a time, I was married."
As Magus looked at Baines in shock, Devon rubbed her eyes and began the movements that signified awakening from a deep sleep. The Terrian that had been periodically watching over her and True's sleeping forms sunk once more into the ground. As Devon got up and stretched, she tried to be careful not to disturb the child with whom she had shared her somewhat rocky night. As Devon began to remember the events that had occurred in the dream world, she blushed. But she authoritatively decided to put the dreams out of her head for the moment, and turned her attention to True. Devon had just placed her hand to the youngster's forehead to judge her temperature when the 10-year-old opened her eyes.
"Devon, you're really here!" True looked up at the woman, startled to see that not everything had been a dream.
"I sure am." Devon smiled with relief to see True awake. "How are you feeling, True?"
"OK." The girl sat up and was overcome with a wave of dizziness. "Or not so OK," she admitted.
"Just lie down for a minute. You've been pretty sick."
"How did you get here?" True asked the question though her eyes were closed to combat the dizziness.
"The Terrians showed me the way. I could ask you the same question?"
"I ran away."
As Devon tried to figure out how to respond, True fell back to sleep. After feeling her forehead again to determine if the fever had truly broke, Devon decided that real sleep was probably the most helpful thing she could give True for the moment. She pulled out a nutrition bar from the girl's stash to appease her own growling stomach and wandered out into the late morning sunlight to check on how the Dunerail had weathered the storm. As she saw the vehicle coated with leaves and branches, she laughed to herself, "Danziger's going to kill me when he sees this vehicle," she said. "Of course, that won't matter unless True knows how to get back to camp."
Back at the camp, Julia walked up to Alonzo.
"Are you hungry?" she offered him one of the two bowls of stew she was holding.
"Do I want to know what's in this?" He grinned.
"Probably not." Julia smiled somewhat shyly. "It's one of Bess' creations."
"Why do I get the feeling there's something more than Bess' ingredients on your mind?" Alonzo asked.
"I was just thinking that this was the first meal we've sat down to have together since you asked me to marry you. Any regrets?"
"Only that it's going to be a short meal. I see John getting antsy to start searching again."
"Why do I get the feeling there's something more on your mind as well?" Julia gave him one of her best doctor's appraisal glances.
"It's just that we...."
"Julia, are you ready to get going again?" Alonzo's quiet statement was cut off by Danziger's cross-camp yell.
As Julia turned her gaze from Alonzo to John, she could hear the panic in the latter's words. "I'm sorry, Alonzo. I guess this is going to have to wait. Is that OK?"
Alonzo nodded his assent, but his gaze held more than a hint of concern as he watched Julia leave the camp and him behind.
Face to Face, Part 11
by Linda
The late afternoon sun shined, but Devon did not see it as she sat in the cave and watched True sleep. "What in the world possessed you to run away?" Devon asked in a whisper as she stroked the young girl's hair. "You have to know that you are the most important thing in your dad's life, and whatever does or does not happen between him and me, that will never change." Silently, Devon gave thanks for True's recovery, that the child was no long feverish, and she prayed that she would soon be reunited with the rest of Eden Advance. Then her thoughts turned to her mother and Devon recalled parts of her childhood that had not been covered in that first night's dreams. She remembered her mother helping her with schoolwork, encouraging her to do whatever she wanted and needed to be happy. Alone, Devon wondered who Cynthya Adair was now and how she had ended up on G889.
"Devon."
So lost in thought was the woman that she did not hear True's first call, though she was sitting right next to the youngster.
"Devon!"
Startled Devon looked up and was relieved to see that not only was True awake, but that her natural coloring was beginning to return. Devon smiled as she stifled the thought that both she and True could use a good bath, as well as a night in a real cot.
"Are you mad at me?"
"Of course not, True. Why should I be mad at you?"
"I ran away."
"Actually, so did I."
True looked at Devon in confusion. "What do you mean you ran away?"
"You want the whole story?" True nodded as she pulled herself into a sitting position. "Well, your Dad, Baines, Magus and I were out looking for Julia and Alonzo. It seems that while they were out finding this signal, they ran into a woman who just happens to be my mother."
"You have a mother?" the 10-year-old's eyes went wide in disbelief.
"I thought she died a long time ago in an explosion. But I guess she's been here."
"You guess?"
"I didn't exactly stick around to find out. I took the Dunerail and went flying off, leaving everyone behind. I was trying to get back to Eden Advance the next morning when the Terrians directed me to you instead." As True mouthed the word 'Wow' silently, Devon decided to turn the tables. "So how about you, kiddo? I'm going to guess that your quick flight had something to do with this kiss you saw." True nodded her head very slightly, avoiding Devon's gaze. "I know we seemed to cover some of it while we were sleeping, but I think we should talk about it some more."
"Are you going to marry my dad?" True decided she wanted some straight answers while awake.
"What?" Devon blushed and dropped her head so she could hide for a moment behind the curtain of her hair.
"You heard me. Answer the question." True demanded a response in a calm voice. "I can take it. I promise I won't run away again."
"Oh, True. How can I answer that?" Devon sighed in frustration. "Your Dad is very special to me. So are you. And, yes, we kissed. And at some point, to be very honest -- and if you tell your Dad I said this, you're a dead woman -- I have a feeling it will happen again. But I'm not ready to think past getting to New Pacifica and getting the other Syndrome kids settled in. That's got to be taken care of and it's my responsibility. I can't turn my back on that. Do you understand?"
True nodded her head. "But you could get married and still do that."
"Two days ago you were running away because you were mad that your Dad and I kissed, and now you seem to want us to get married tomorrow. What gives, True?" True looked down at the ground beneath her. "After everything we've been through in the past couple days, c'mon you can tell me."
"It's just....well....that last dream was pretty cool."
"Pretty cool, huh?" Devon smiled at her would-be stepdaughter. "Well, how about if I make you a deal? Why don't you and I try and spend some time together while we're traveling, just as friends. And I promise to keep you up to date if and when anything changes between your dad and me. I think we all just need to be honest and take things one day at a time, because we still have a lot to do without any added pressure." True nodded and Devon got up and began brushing remnants of the cave floor off herself. "Now we have to worry about getting back to camp. I have this feeling that there are a few people worried about us. Please tell me you know how to get back, because I have no idea where we are at this point."
"At this rate, I'm beginning to feel totally lost."
Magus grimaced as she rubbed her calves. Even after months on G889, her legs had not gotten used to the grueling exercise that had become daily routine. She looked around and wondered what True and Devon must be feeling at this point. If she felt frustrated, tired and alone, then they must be going out of their minds. She was also curious about Baines' earlier revelation that he had been married. She had been shocked and suggested he put off telling her the whole story until they found True.
"Maybe we should take a short break." Baines looked at Magus and realized he felt as tired as she looked.
"We're probably going to call it a night soon, so we should probably keep going."
"Just five minutes, Laura." Baines smiled briefly. "If we keep going at this rate, we're going to have no soles on either our shoes or our feet by the time we reach New Pacifica."
"So are you going to tell me about your mysterious past?" Magus decided to bring up the subject that had been lurking in her mind all afternoon, despite her best efforts.
"I thought you didn't want to talk about that while True and Devon were still missing."
"You're the one who suggested the break." Magus tried to turn the tables. She forced a smile. "Besides, y'know, curiosity killed the Koba."
"Well, it's not all that mysterious. More like painful." Baines grimaced as he avoided looking Laura in the eye. "Once upon a time, I was married to this woman. But she wasn't happy with me. And she left before the contract was up. And she left me with some wonderful debts to pay off. And here I am on Eden Advance. End of story."
"A man of few words?"
"Huh?"
"Why do I get the feeling you're leaving things out?"
Unwilling to answer, Baines looked at Magus and saw past her to the ghosts of his past. As he resolved to banish them, one dark-haired haunt in particular, he reached for the woman who could become his future and he returned the kiss she had bestowed on him the previous day. They looked into each others' eyes and touched lips, but both still felt something simultaneously drawing them together and pulling them apart. As the latter impulse won out for the moment, they resumed their search with nary a word.
Silently, Cynthya Adair surveyed the forest around her as she returned with Walman to the edges of camp. Neither of them was much for talking. Cynthya's habit of silence had grown out of her many years of solitude. But silence had always given her the opportunity to think, and now, like many times in the previous days, her thoughts turned to her daughter. She had long imagined what Devon might look like as a adult, never imagining she would actually have the chance to see her daughter once again -- however briefly. Now, though, her gratitude for the chance to once again feast her eyes on the child she loved more than life itself warred with her guilt over driving the woman away from the family she had created for herself. She hoped and prayed for yet another chance -- to explain, to comfort and especially to love her child -- even as her concerns and her realism cast an unhappy shadow in her mind.
Julia and Danziger were the last scout group out that night. Danziger would have kept going, in fact argued to keep searching, but Julia threatened to sedate him if he didn't voluntarily get a good night's sleep. Of course, John didn't think even the strongest drug at the doctor's disposal would allow him to sleep with his daughter missing but he realized that arguing with Julia wasn't going to solve his problems.
So together the members of Eden Advance gathered silently around the campfire to consume their evening meal. As Cynthya surveyed the group, she was impressed by how much they all cared. Although she remained something of an outsider, she had come to know the strength of the bonds that connected this group of 15. She only hoped her daughter was all right to come back to her newfound family, which appeared to be in mourning with the absence of one stubborn redhead and an equally stubborn 10-year-old child.
Yale, who she had depended on while raising Devon, was acting as a kind of houseparent, filling people's plates and trying to force them to eat. It was obvious he was trying to stay busy to keep pessimistic thoughts at bay. Uly was sitting at the foot of John Danziger. Neither had spoken more than 10 words since the search parties returned, but they seemed to draw some kind of strange comfort from the sharing of their pain and from the crackling flames of the fire. Every few seconds, Uly would shift his gaze to Yale, as if reassuring himself that there was still at least one person in his life on whom he could depend. Julia and Alonzo sat near but apart, burdened with new responsibilities of leadership, concerned for the future of the group as well as their missing friends. Alonzo's worries about their marriage contract seemed piddly in comparison with what John was going through, and he couldn't help but staring at his friend every once in a while. Across the camp fire from one another, Magus and Baines exchanged the occasional glance, which contained a promise to talk later. They had let the search come first twice during the day, but the absence of some at the campfire made them realize the importance of what they could have together. Magus was still recovering from Baines' sparse rendering of his history and she had decided that she badly wanted to hear a more detailed version of the story when they could find time to be alone together. Walman was technically on guard duty, but he kept getting drawn back to the silent discomfort of the group. Bess and Morgan sat intertwined, unwilling to say anything to break the silence. Even cheerleader Bess appeared to be losing hope. The group, collectively and individually, was absorbed in their fears for their friends and themselves, in the pain of loss and the growing faintness of their hopes. They were preoccupied with worries for the future. Visions of an unhappy New Pacifica without its true founder danced in their heads. Pictures of a child, lost, alone, perhaps hurt, were conveyed in the wistful looks on their faces.
"What a sad looking group of people!"
Face to Face, Part 12
by Linda
"What a sad-looking group of people! Do you think they missed us?"
At the sound of Devon's voice, every single person in the campsite turned and feasted their eyes on the sight of their missing comrades, positioned less than 10 feet away. Devon was standing straight and tall, some smudge marks on her face and exhaustion combined with mirth and relief etched in her eyes and smile. Next to her, but only about a head smaller, True smiled more cautiously as she once again tucked her hand in Devon's. Although Devon had not been angry about her running away, she was terrified of what her Dad would say. For a second, every one stood stock still, as the remnants of wind from the storms of previous nights made Devon's and True's hair fly in every direction and the shadow of the moon bathed them in light, making them appear more like phantoms than humans.
After letting out the breath he had been holding, Danziger looked from one to the other and then ran to True, picked her up in his arms and twirled her around and around in relief. He held her close, so she could never get away again -- until True muffled something at him.
"What is it, True-girl?"
"I couldn't breathe." She gasped for breath. "I love you, Dad. I'm sorry."
True's words seemed to break the spell for the rest of Eden Advance and suddenly Devon had Uly in her arms, and the Danzigers and Adairs were surrounded by the rest of their friends. The questions shouted at Devon and True could barely be heard over the din of chaotic happiness and relief. There were hugs and words, as every one in the camp embraced each other and then Devon and True -- often more than once.
Only one woman hung back, watching the love and friendship engulf her daughter as she returned home where she belonged. Filled with regret for what she had lost, Cynthya Adair's mind filled with memories of the past for the umpteenth time since encountering her daughter Devon at the base of that mountain. But now, it was that moment she remembered, the pain and shock that had sent the young woman flying from the comfort of her family into the dangers of the dark and stormy night. Cynthya resolved to herself to cause no more pain and, in the midst of the celebration, she slipped from the camp to return to her solitary home where memories reigned supreme and regrets could be hidden under the business of daily routine. As she walked out, she turned around at the edge of camp and feasted her eyes one last time on the sight of her daughter hugging her grandson, creating food for the imagination which had helped her survive so many years on her own. Devon had returned to where she should be and now it was time for Cynthya to do the same.
Only minutes later, the shock and revelry slowly winded down. All 15 members of Eden Advance were beginning to settle themselves once again around the fire to hear Devon's and True's stories when Yale looked around, scrutinizing the whole camp.
"Where is Cynthya?"
At Yale's words, every one glanced around once again.
"I did think I saw her when True and I walked up." Devon looked perplexed. "Why would she have left now?"
"Geez, not another runaway," Morgan muttered to himself. Only Bess heard and she elbowed him quickly and effectively in the ribs.
"Who's Cynthya?"
Glancing at Uly whose nod appeared to indicate that he already knew, Devon responded. "My mother, remember I told you in the cave, True."
"Oh yeah, you and I both ran away from our parents."
At True's words, Uly started laughing. It was the kind of laugh that was contagious and began to affect every single member of Eden Advance. Soon 15 people were laughing out of control as the flames of the campfire danced in front of them. When she finally regained her composure, Devon returned to her old self and began dealing with practical matters.
"Julia, I want you to check out True, please."
"What? What happened?" Danziger looked from his daughter to Devon in a flash of panic, as Julia merely nodded and began to approach the little girl.
"When Devon found me, I was pretty sick." True frowned at the memory of her nightmares. Pushing away from the memories and from her father's embrace, she got up and walked over to Devon first, whispering in her ear. "Do we have to tell Dad everything? It's too embarrassing. I don't want to talk about it. I'll die from the humiliation. Uly'll tease me forever."
Devon smiled and gave the young girl a hug. "How about if I take care of talking to your Dad and telling him the story? But he'll probably want to talk to you afterward."
True nodded and then followed Julia over to the med tent, her father's eyes following her every step of the way.
"What was wrong with her? Why did she run away? Why'd she leave me?"
Devon took a look around at the crowd, as her heart felt the sharp pain of Danziger's words. She sat back down by the fire, giving Uly one more hug.
"Time for bed, isn't it sweetheart?"
Taking Devon's hint, most of the members of Eden Advance drifted off to their own tents, realizing that they would have plenty of time as they traveled to hear the whole tale of True's and Devon's adventures. Right now, the important thing is that they were both safe and home.
"Promise you'll be here when I wake up?" Not quite ready to leave yet, Uly's questions and confusion put a pained expression on Devon's face.
"Listen to me. I love you more than any one else in the whole wide world. Nothing is going to change that. Sometimes I may be gone for a day or two, but I am always coming back to you. You know that, right?" Devon felt relief flow through her when Uly hesitantly nodded, but then heard the echoes from the past of her mother saying almost the exact same words to her and her lying nods of agreement. "I may go see if I can find your grandmother, but I promise you I'll be right back."
"Why would you go see her now if you ran away from her before?"
"Sometimes every one makes mistakes. I ran away when I was upset and angry. But now I've had some more time to think and I want to hear all about how she got here."
"Are you mad at her for leaving you?"
"A little." Devon nodded hesitantly. "But if there's one thing we've all learned on this planet, it's that many things are out of our control. Maybe, she couldn't help but leave me. Just like I couldn't help leaving you when I was sick in the cold sleep chamber."
"That wasn't your fault." Uly looked perplexed.
"And until I hear about why she left and how she got here, how can we know if any of this is my mother's fault?" Devon gave Uly one more hug and then let him go off to bed. As Yale walked with Uly to the tent, she watched them intently until she became aware of John Danziger's eyes, which had never left her as he watched her care for her son.
"I'm so glad you're back." John finally reached inside himself to find the courage to speak, despite the massive conflux of emotions and thoughts that were running through his head and body. In one moment, he wanted to reach for her and pull her into his arms the way he had just days before. But there was so much lying between them, unanswered questions, confusion and doubt. And she had said she wasn't ready. Truth be told, neither was he, despite the dreams he would never admit to that visited him in the middle of each night. "I guess we have a few things to talk about."
As Devon stared at him, the dreams of the night before came back to her in a flood. All of the sudden, she started laughing once more, unable to control her memories, humor and emotions, biting her tongue to try and keep from speaking the one word on the tip of her tongue. "Twins," the word escaped her as exhaustion overcame her self-control and the stress of the previous days came out in another hysterical laughing fit.
"What did you say?" Danziger had no idea what was going on with Adair, but he was beginning to fear he might have to have her committed -- if there was such a thing as a loony bin on G889. Truth be told, he thought most people here were loony, so it would truly be a case of the inmates running the asylum if such an institution did exist.
Devon finally regained control, grateful that Danziger had not understood her. She put her calm mask back in place. "I'm sorry, Danziger. I guess I'm just sort of losing it after the events of the past few days. I'm really exhausted."
"I can understand that. I felt the same way while you and True were missing. How did you find her anyway?"
"The Terrians." John frowned at Devon's response. "The morning after I took off, I was trying to get back here and they forced me to go in another direction and I found True in a feverish sleep in a cave."
"Why didn't you bring her back here? I was terrified for her."
"I know, but by that point I was so turned around that I had no idea where camp was. The Terrians, I guess, took me in some bizarre circular pattern to get there without cutting through camp. I didn't realize you were so close. Plus, I thought True was too sick to move. So I used cold compresses and prayed, and fortunately her fever broke and she knew how to get back here. By the way, the Dunerail's parked that way." Devon pointed back toward the woods. "I know you're going to kill me when you see what kind of shape it's in."
"I don't care about the friggin' Dunerail!"
"Mark the day!" Devon mustered a smile. "John Danziger said he doesn't care about his precious vehicles." After a second, the two of them began laughing in friendly camaraderie.
"Why do I get the feeling there's a couple of things you're leaving out, Adair?"
"You haven't asked me yet why True left." John went silent, forcing Devon to continue nervously on her own. "She saw us kissing in the com tent." She watched as John Danziger's eyes became suddenly absorbed in the fire, and then she shifted her eyes away, afraid to go on but knowing she must for True's sake. "She was worried you wouldn't want her any more if we fell in love."
"She told you that?" John looked over at Devon in shock, but her eyes were the ones on the ground this time as her hands nervously played in her lap.
"She didn't have to. I had the supreme pleasure of sharing her nightmares."
"How?" John was in shock. It was one thing when Alonzo started sharing dreams with the Terrians, another when it was his daughter and Devon. He blushed as her remembered some of his own dreams, grateful that no one had been sharing those. Fortunately for Danziger, the changing colors of his face were obscured by the darkness of the night.
"I don't know. Maybe it was the illness. Or the Terrians. Or both? But anyway, she was pretty frightened."
"Hey True, we were pretty scared for you." Alonzo joined True and Julia in the med tent, where the doctor was running her diaglove over the dirty little girl.
"I'm sorry." The girl's downcast gaze made Alonzo feel guilty for chastising her and he quickly exchanged a glance with Julia.
"True, you look exhausted, but other than that no worse for wear. It looks like the virus you had pretty much worked itself out of your system." Julia smiled, and couldn't keep from using her free hand to caress the youngster's face. "But you need to go get some sleep -- doctor's orders. And while you're at it, you better see if you can't get your Dad to get some real rest, too."
"Did you tell her the big news?" Alonzo smiled.
"What big news?" True's curiosity instantly ran amuck.
"Should we tell her?" Alonzo directed the teasing question at Julia, but True's expectant face got the best of him. "I asked Julia to marry me."
"Really?"
"Really. And I even said yes." Julia couldn't keep her happy smile off her face as she watched the youngster's eyes light up with excitement. "Now go find your Dad and get some sleep -- both of you. And would you send Devon back here, please, so I can check her out too?"
As True left the tent, Alonzo pulled Julia into his arms and gripped her tightly.
"What's wrong, Alonzo?" Julia pushed away just far enough so she could look him in the eyes. "Cold feet?"
"Never." He tried to muster a smile. "It's just that we never talked about one thing."
"I want a big wedding -- 300 guests and a three-tier wedding cake."
"You think you're so funny." He pulled her close again. "We never talked about a contract."
"Oh." Julia frowned, grateful he couldn't see her face. "I guess I just assumed...." her voice trailed off as her nerves took hold.
"I want forever." Alonzo could feel the tension in his body as he waited for her response. He issued a silent prayer in the millisecond that seemed to take forever in and of itself. Then he heard her reply.
"We're going to have forever, Alonzo."
"How could she think I would ever leave her because of a kiss?" Danziger agitatedly paced around the campfire, digging up the earth below with the hefty emotion in every step. "And why would she come back with you if that was the reason she left?"
"Children are just like us. They have fears and concerns that aren't necessarily based in reality." Devon found herself grateful for the dark as she remembered True's version of the relationship between herself and John. On top of those uncomfortable memories, her heart reached out for the pain John was feeling as they talked. "And we managed to work things out, both in the dreams and then in a talk we had after she woke up. I think True now realizes that nothing is going to come between you and her. You guys have an unbreakable bond and I would never dream of trying to come between you."
Danziger was still trying to absorb his daughter's fears when True returned to the fire. John gathered True in his arms and hugged her to him, unwilling and unable to let go. He glanced at Devon over his daughter's shoulder, grateful she had brought his little girl back and feeling more than just that gratitude.
"Devon, Julia says I'm fine but she wants to see you in the med tent." True felt like the words were almost squeezed out of her as her father hugged her close.
John waited until Devon departed before pulling far enough away from True to see her face.
"Hey True-girl, right now it's time for bed. But tomorrow we're going to have to talk about some stuff."
Face to Face, Part 13
by Linda
Breathe a sigh of relief for this is the last segment. For those going to the Con, have fun. Comments, compliments or complaints to Lindafff@aol.com. Linda
"Thanks for coming with me, Julia."
The doctor almost slipped and fell down the rocky mountainside from the shock of hearing Devon speak. Since they had set out early that morning to visit Cynthya Adair's mountainside abode, Devon had spoken nary a word, lost in her own thoughts. And Julia hadn't wanted to pry. Of course, she had thoughts of her own to keep her mind occupied. Cynthya Adair clearly had some kind of past relationship with her own mother, and Julia was both eager and frightened to hear of that. It might shed some light on her own past history, yet perhaps that was a light better left dimmed. Both John and Alonzo had objected to their making the trip together, but Devon merely set her shoulders, hugged her son and led the way out of camp. Julia resolutely followed her, with one last glance back at Alonzo. "You're welcome," Julia finally said, pausing as her mind returned to the present. "Look, I know you have a lot on your mind but if you want to talk, I'm here."
"Thanks." Devon gave Julia a smile as both woman pulled themselves onto the flat mesa above. But she didn't take the doctor up on her offer. As they moved forward, Devon quickly spotted her mother's home. As the women entered the cabin, they discovered no one at home. "I guess we wait," Devon said, beginning to look around. The place was as unlike her home back on the stations as night was from day. Here there was no evidence of money, of influence, of power. Everything was simple, hand-made, unlike her childhood memories of her glamorous mother -- a wealthy member of station royalty. As Devon lost herself in thought and memory, Julia was the first to turn and see Cynthya Adair standing in the doorway.
"I guess we're basically the last people you expected to see."
"You could say that." Cynthya Adair's eyes drank in the unexpected vision of her daughter as she leaned against the doorjamb to steady herself. "What are you doing here?"
Devon slowly shook her head back and forth, her eyes never leaving her mother's face. "You didn't really think I'd leave before talking to you, did you?"
"Hey True-girl. We've gotta talk."
The youngster squealed as her dad sneaked up behind her and lifted her up into the air as he spoke. He twirled her around as he carried her over to the Transrover, where they both found perches among the packed supplies. The caravan had started moving that morning, despite Julia's and Devon's trip up the mountain. The women had promised to meet up with them at their next camp, taking the battered Dunerail to allow them to move faster and their gear to keep in touch. But now, John Danziger's attention was on his little girl, who snuggled between the rolled up tents to make herself comfortable as the much-repaired Transrover slowly inched its way across the rough terrain, lurching through ditches and crushing the branches in its path.
"Why'd you run away, True?" Danziger's smile disappeared as he remembered the terror of the previous days.
True suddenly became very interested in the tent roll beside her, averting her head to avoid her father's gaze. "Devon said she was going to tell you."
"She did. But I want to hear it from you."
"I was scared." The words came out so quietly that John Danziger could not make them out as they wafted into the softness of the tent True had buried her face in.
"True?"
The call of her name was soft but insistent and True raised her head and admitted in a slightly louder tone, "I was scared."
"That you were going to lose me?" Danziger reached out and stroked his daughter's head with his large hand. He felt like grabbing her to him and never letting go, but his better judgment told him that was the wrong choice. And he let his judgment overrule his feelings. True merely nodded and John forced himself to continue. "That is never going to happen."
"But you wanted Devon." Even though True had talked through this with Devon, her fears came back now that she was actually facing her father. What if he really didn't want her? She knew now the thought was silly, but she couldn't seem to keep from worrying and her doubt showed up in her expressive young face.
John felt his stomach lurch, but tried to keep his expression calm, exuding confidence and self-assurance intended to assuage his daughter's doubts. "Whatever happens, True-girl, I love you. And that is never, ever going to change. Not even if I learn to love someone else. Heck, not even if I learned to love a Grendler."
"Dad, that's gross!" True wrinkled her face in disgust even as she let out the breath she had been tensely holding. She paused and grinned. "Are you saying Devon's like a Grendler?"
In response, Danziger jumped off the Transrover and pulled True into his arms where he began to very deliberately and very precisely tickle her until she begged for mercy. "Uncle. Uncle." The girl screamed, with tears rolling down her face from laughing too hard.
The girl's laughter carried through the wind, bringing smiles to the faces of those who had helped search for her for so many hours. Walking several feet behind the Transrover, Magus fell into step with Baines, her legs having to work a wee bit harder to keep up with the taller man's lanky stride. But she smiled, feeling the effort was worthwhile, when he took hold of her hand. Together they walked, enjoying the relatively stress-free day and each other's company, confident in the belief that they had begun a new journey together while still more than a little uncertain of their destination.
"I guess I want answers, Mother. That's why I'm here."
"It would have been better if you hadn't come." Cynthya shook her own head, nervously ran her fingers through her hair and then sat down, hoping the stable ground would help to ground her own nerves. "Devon, haven't you learned yet that there are no easy answers?"
"Then let's start with the questions. How did you get here? And why?" Devon voiced the most basic of her questions as she and Julia both sat down on the edge of the bed, each wondering where in their pasts Cynthya's story might carry them.
"And how do you know my mother? And so much about the Council?" Julia added to the list of queries.
"You guys certainly don't throw softballs." Cynthya leaned her head against the wall as she began to recount tales of her own past. "If you're wealthy enough, you know about the Council. You know they exist, that they have a lot of power -- most of it behind the scenes, that the appearance of reality is often merely something contrived by the Council to control the stations and the lives and thoughts of every person on them. To most people, the Council is a little-heard of government organization that has no real purpose. In reality, it controls almost everything. That's not something you learn instantaneously. The Council is like a web. It grows around you, until it encircles and traps you, depriving you of your freedom. You deny the reality of it until something happens to make the realization hit you like an old-fashioned sledgehammer. You might say, Julia, that your mother was my sledgehammer."
"That's certainly one way to describe her." Julia recalled the toughness her mother had always exuded and her devotion to the Council. "So how did she awaken you to the wonders of the Council?"
"She threatened to kill Devon if I didn't go to work helping the Council weave their control over the stations. It wasn't very subtle, but it was effective -- at least for a while. I knew she could do it, or at least make sure it was done. I'm not going to go into the stuff she had me do. It's too painful to remember. But I have a stubborn streak and from the first time Katharine tried to use me, I used her back."
"How?" Julia was skeptical, and as she glanced at Devon she saw that her silent friend was trying to deal with the shock of her mother's story.
"There were anti-Council underground groups on the stations. I'm not sure if you were aware of that but I was, and from time to time I had donated money or supplies surreptitiously to them. When Katharine approached me, I approached them." Cynthya looked at Devon. "Your dad was so angry with me. He was worried I was going to get myself or all of us killed, but I couldn't help myself. I believed in what I was doing, and I was naive enough and secure enough from my cushioned wealthy life to feel that I was immune to danger. But then one day, I had a meeting with Katharine in which she informed me that she knew all along what I was up to. She had my friends in the resistance arrested and killed. But for me, she said she wanted a more fitting punishment. So she stuck me on a ship of Council prisoners and we were all dumped here. I think Katharine saw this planet as the closest thing to hell she could think of. I know you were told I died in an explosion."
"Two questions." Devon kept her voice flat and calm, afraid if she began to let her emotions out she would be unable to turn them off. "Why did Julia's mother choose you? And how did you survive here? There were some pretty nasty prisoners dropped here who wouldn't hesitate to rape or kill you. Oh and one more, why don't you have the tattoo that most of the penal convicts have?"
"It wasn't easy. There were a few other political prisoners, one of whom I happened to know. We all banded together in the hope that we could survive. Unfortunately, they are all dead now. One was killed by a Grendler; two died of starvation. Life on this planet has never been easy and I have learned to do things I never even contemplated on the stations." She gestured around her. "Like building this cabin or making my own clothes. I guess I survived through a combination of dumb luck and rapidly acquired skills. As for why Katharine chose me, I guess she would be the best person to ask that question. But if I had to wager a guess, I would say that I had some connections and skills she thought would be useful and that Katharine always loved doing anything that would take the upper class down a notch in her estimation. In my opinion, she was a very jealous, power-hungry woman. As for the tattoo, I don't know. I often wondered about that myself."
Devon shot Julia a sympathetic glance, but the young doctor was lost in her own thoughts about the Council and her mother. An uncomfortable silence reigned the room for a few moments while each woman tried to come to grips with the haunts of the past, until finally it was Devon who reached a decision and broke through the heavy atmosphere. "Mother, I would like you to come with us to New Pacifica."
Julia looked up and nodded her agreement with her friend's request.
"I don't know." The woman shook her head. "I left your group so you could all go on with your futures, not be mired in the past."
"What about you?" Julia asked. "Don't you want a future?"
"Of course I do. But I lived alone up here for so many years." Cynthya shook her head, "I don't know if I could handle being part of a group. You guys seem to have become a family, while I've become a loner."
Devon smiled at her rational. "But you are family. And we've already lost so many years. You have a grandson who you haven't spent any time with." She got up and walked to her mother, reaching out a hand. "We'll help you pack. It's time for a new beginning for our family. I won't promise it'll be easy. but we can make it happen."
Voice of Ulysses Adair:
"Yale says there's always room for one more in a family. And we just got one more because Mom called in to say that she and Julia are bringing Cynthya back with them. I know I probably should call her Grandma, but I don't really know her. I think it's weird to have a grandmother you never met. But then I guess it's not weirder than not having a father at all, like me, or not having a mother, like True. And I once heard Julia say she hated her mother. Alonzo said he didn't have parents. None of us have families like the Swiss Family Robinson that Yale was making us read about.
Yale says Eden Advance is a family, and that we proved it by taking care of each other while Mom and True were missing. I don't know. I guess that means Cynthya's part of us 'cause she helped look for True. But I don't love her. Not like I love Mom or Yale or even Alonzo. So I guess I just don't understand. Mom says family is who you care about and want to care for, the people you know you can count on when things are difficult. But then mom never counted on anyone but herself, and sometimes Yale. Now she occasionally uses Mr. Danziger. I guess her family's not very big then. Maybe True said it best when I talked to her a little while ago about our history lesson about ancient Europe. She said, 'Isn't this confusing?' I guess that applies to my whole life."
-The End-
As promised....all feedback to Lindafff@aol.com. Enjoy.
Linda
This text file was ran through PERL script made by Andy. Original text file is available in Andy's Earth 2 Fan Fiction Archive.