THE LANDING
By
Nicole Mayer
Timeline: On way to New Pacifica
Author's E-Mail: destiny@bluesky.net.au or destiny@wwdg.com.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
This one's been on my fanfic site for quite a while (http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Vault/8356/fanfic.htm). For some reason, I forgot to post it here until now. Thank you to the members of the "Earth 2" mailing list who answered my questions about the Roanoke.I hope you all enjoy "The Landing".
DISCLAIMER:
The characters and situations contained within are the property of Universal/Amblin Entertainment. No copyright infringement is intended.
The Landing.
By Nicole Mayer (destiny@wwdg.com)
January 1998
They stared at the sky in wonderment. There it was, a small pinpoint of light moving with near-infinite velocity. It had all the ethereal qualities of a shooting star, yet this one would not burn itself out as it entered a planet's atmosphere. It was nowhere near a planet, it was still alone in the inky blackness of space.
But it was coming closer.
And they stared at it in awe.After so many months, endless days and nights on an eerie new world, it was time for the landing. Devon Adair could scarcely believe it. The colonists and their children - the future of G889 - had almost arrived and once they did, *everything* would change. Their hopes, their dreams, even the most fundamental of their beliefs would be tested to limits unthinkable anywhere but this planet.
No one knew what to expect from the Terrians for there were no guarantees that all of the Syndrome children could be healed. This worried Devon upon occasion but she had gradually accepted that this, at least, was beyond her control. The loss of control had been one of the most difficult lessons Devon Adair had learned. Now she could recognise the change within herself and accept it as a necessary - and good - part of existence.
The planet had changed all of them. Now the imminent arrival of the colonists would add even more chaos to G889's mixture of life. Devon shivered with sudden apprehension of the days that were to come.
"Everything is about to change," she mused aloud, the first of Eden Advance to break the eerie, expectant quiet. No one appeared to have heard her words, so focussed on the sky were they, yet Devon was confident her friends were listening, if only a little. "Once the Roanoke touches down..."
"We begin a new phase of our lives," John Danziger interrupted quietly. He was seated beside her on the blanket covering the dewladen grass. His closeness was a necessity rather than a contrived circumstance; however, each had long put the prejudices of the past behind. These days, Devon enjoyed Danziger's company more than anyone else's. It was yet another example of the drastic metamorphoses of their lives.
Devon managed to tear her eyes from the bright dot coming closer in the night sky and let her gaze drift to a more natural level. She could see the beautiful valley spread around her, the green hues of day obliterated by the dancing shadows of the night. Wispy moonbeams scattered in amongst the sparse groves of trees and the occasional misty plume rose from the ground. If she looked hard enough, Devon could even make out the river through the dark, its water flowing slow and deep so that only the faintest rushing sound was audible.
It was one of the most beautiful places she'd ever seen. Devon was so glad that all of her friends had gathered in this one spot simply to watch the arrival. Later, there would be movement and talk - for there was so much to be done! - but for the moment they sat and experienced the wonder of the night along with the promise of a new dawn.
Devon's thoughts returned to the arrival and what it would mean for all of them. "Do you think they'll be ready for it?" She was whispering now, not wanting to disturb the tranquillity of the scene, and only Danziger could hear her.
"Ready for what?" He answered her with a question of his own. "Ready for life, here, on this planet. It's so different from the world they know."
"I'm sure they'll be alright. We coped, didn't we?" Devon smiled, her face half obscured by the moonlight so it appeared a secretive expression. "Yes, we did cope."
"And the colonists have so much more to begin with than we did," Danziger continued. "I'm pretty sure that the Roanoke isn't gonna crash. The colonists won't be stranded in the middle of nowhere without any supplies."
"But-"
"Shhh." Danziger mischievously placed a finger on her lips to quiet her. "No more worrying. Okay?" His voice was light and teasing yet his words were serious. Devon nodded, knowing that he was right. There was nothing more they could do to prepare for the arrival. They should all be content to watch, and already, Devon's heart was pounding with excitement in anticipation of the spectacle she knew was to shortly come.The shining light was clearly visible in the pre-dawn sky well before they heard the crack that indicated the breaking of the sound barrier. It suddenly slowed, and although Devon knew that the braking process had begun billions of kilometres from G889, this final stage of deceleration was all the more profound.
Unlike the Advance Ship, the Roanoke would not cruise into a gentle orbit. With its greater mass, more drastic measures were necessary and to effectively slow down, therefore the ship was to almost 'skip off' of the planet's atmosphere during the first pass.
It sounded frightening, but in actual fact, it was the most effective braking measure possible, unless, of course, the Roanoke entered a lengthy orbit around the G8 sun. Such an idea had been vetoed long ago and instead, the ship plunged through several layers of atmosphere before emerging once again into empty space, turning sharply to achieve orbit.
Devon held her breath, but the spot of light above did not waver from its course even momentarily. Sheila was truly a great pilot. The Roanoke then disappeared from view, swinging around the planet and preparing to enter the atmosphere for the second time. It would continue in a slow orbit until full daylight covered the landing site - extra insurance to make sure the descent went perfectly.
Eden Advance sat quietly, watching the sky lighten and smiling at the shining star that soared above them every few minutes. The slowing wasn't noticeable for quite some time yet for some reason, no one was bored. Even True and Uly, the youngest and therefore the ones with the shortest attention span, did not appear to be weary or restless.
Devon watched her son for a few minutes, wondering what thoughts were running through his young mind. She herself had a great many doubts and worries in her head, wondering how would he cope with the knowledge of the arrival, and could he accept other children being changed by the Terrians? Uly could very well lose his unique status as a bridge between the two species.
However, Devon knew her son well enough to realise that he wouldn't be unduly upset at the changes. The boy possessed a wisdom that frightened Devon upon occasion, for her son also now belonged to the planet. It had been a difficult thing for her to accept.
There would be mothers on the arriving ship, those who might also 'lose' their children to the metaphysical realm of the planet. Devon fervently hoped that parents would be able to tolerate the events as they unfolded, for G889 was ultimately a life-changing experience.
A barely audible hum began to permeate the crisp morning air - the Roanoke was now sufficiently close for Eden Advance to hear the strong thrum of her engines. Next time the ship passed overhead, Devon knew it would be low enough so that the watchers could make out its general shape. If they were lucky enough, they might even see some markings. Devon hoped they would.
"Did you see that, Mom?" exclaimed Uly excitedly after the Roanoke had again disappeared over the horizon. "It's getting so close...I bet we could nearly touch it next time!"
Smiling at her son, Devon said, "Maybe, Uly, maybe." She didn't want to diminish his excitement. The last few months had been long and hard with little reason for enthusiasm over something new. Devon hoped that the landing would long remain in Uly's memories - it was a reminder of the past and the world they had left while bringing hope for the future.
Once again the group drifted into silence, although both Uly and True had clambered to their feet, straining to catch the next glimpse of the ship as it came around again. Soon, soon, it would land.
And in those moments, Devon quietly said goodbye to the knowledge that they were the only true colonists seeking out a new existence away from the stations. Now there would be others who thought like them, lived like them, and would be a source of comfort. The great unknown would somehow be diminished by the landing yet, Devon decided, the potential for good far outweighed the sense of loss they all felt. It was time for the new to take hold.
Ever so gently, the Roanoke glided to the ground, firing powerful engines to stabilise. No more than a gentle thud was heard as its landing pads finally touched dirt - the dirt of G889, the first dirt for most of the colonists. It was a moment of profound significance.
Wary travellers exited, not unlike the first cautious arrival of Eden Advance two years earlier. They stopped to smell the air, almost overcome by the immense range of scents unique to planet life. The sounds - essentially a cacophony of rustling leaves mixed with the distant surge of ocean waves and the intermittent calling of alien birds. And the laughter of children.
"Look, Mommy! Daddy, over here!" They shouted with joy and pointed at everything new they could see, mesmerised by the morning sunlight across the land.
"It's more beautiful than I ever thought it would be!" enthused the parents, tentatively following their children out of the Roanoke and onto the crust of a planet, a feeling so foreign to their station-bred feet. And then came the more serious words of their leader. "We have landed on G889. I can't promise you an easy life here, but I guarantee that we will make it."
And near-half a continent away, Devon Adair lifted her face to the horizon where the flare of the landing lights had now diminished, and smiled sadly. The colonists had arrived. Eden Advance had failed.
"This wasn't your fault," Danziger said quietly, knowing implicitly what she was thinking because every member of Eden Advance had experienced similar feelings. "We tried our hardest to get to New Pacifica on time, but with two winters, and everything else we've run into on this planet, we're lucky to still be alive."
"I know." Devon idly picked up some dirt in her hand, wondering if the new arrivals would be exclaiming over it as she once had. If she closed her eyes, she could see the vision so clearly. Devon had imagined the time of the landing a thousand times, yet the actual event was far different from even her wildest speculations. She wasn't there to greet them, or to promise that things would work out. There wasn't a thriving colony and hospital awaiting the colonists. They were alone.
"They're completely on their own, you know. We're out of communications range, there's nothing we can do..."
"Don't," interrupted Danziger. "No recriminations, no regrets. We just have to keep heading towards New Pacifica and maybe we'll be welcome there someday."
Devon looked around. She saw her crew, thin, pale, tired from travelling endlessly. The thousand times they'd been stopped by weather or some other phenomena, the kilometres they'd backtracked to round yet another natural formation, and the weeks spent to allow herself to recover - Eden Advance was exhausted after two years of travelling. And there was still so far to go. So far to go...with no purpose at the end. Their quest was over.
The two remaining vehicles - dirty, old, and constantly breaking down - caused Devon to sigh as she thought of them. The transrover had been lost down a ravine several months earlier. Their supplies were always low, for how could they possibly set up a renewable food source whilst always travelling? Suddenly, it all seemed pointless.
And then Devon looked at the flowers. The brilliant field of flowers in the low lush valley through which a blue river ran, sparkling in the morning sunlight. She saw her friends, seated in the meadows, content with this day off. And she made her final decision as leader of Eden Advance and the expedition across G889.
"Let's stay here."
And they did.
-The End-
This text file was ran through PERL script made by Andy. Original text file is available in Andy's Earth 2 Fan Fiction Archive.