LEGENDS 1 - LEGENDS OF LOSS
By
Nicole Mayer
Timeline: Years after
Author's E-Mail: destiny@bluesky.net.au or destiny@wwdg.com.
LEGENDS I : Legends of Loss
by Nicole Mayer (destiny@wwdg.com)
August, 1996
Revised June, 1998Jerry stared at his computer screen and groaned. Whose dumb idea was this anyway? They were all stupid questions and he had no idea of the answers.
"Jerry, please keep your comments to yourself," warned the teacher. Jerry ducked his head and scowled. He didn't like Ms. Baines. She had some weird idea that school was important.
'Question 1: What is the common name for G889?' ~G889?~ Jerry repeated in his head. ~What's that? C'mon, Jerry, think!~ he coached himself. This was a quiz about their history, their planet, so, maybe G889 was the catalogued name for New Terra. He punched in the answer, eliciting another glare from the teacher for pounding the keyboard with unnecessary force.
'Question 2: Who led the first colonist expedition to G889?' 'Some dumb lady,' typed Jerry. He didn't care. The past was the past, and it had no usefulness for the present day.
'Question 3: Who founded Devon?' ~Someone called Devon,~ Jerry supposed. No, that wasn't right. It was a man who established their city. An old, crazy man who was a local legend - what was his name again?
'Danzig,' Jerry keyed. He knew he was going to fail this test, even though it didn't really count for anything. Ms. Baines had decided it would be nice to have a quiz on their general history knowledge, considering that tomorrow was Commemoration Day.
'Question 4: Who was the town's First Administrator?' That one Jerry knew, at least. It would be hard not to, considering that half the country was named after the man! 'Martin,' he typed with satisfaction. His family lived by Martin Creek, near Morgan's Meadow in the province of Martin.
But the next question was just as obscure as the first one: 'Who was the first to undergo the Transformation?' Jerry frowned again. He didn't like the kids who were Transformed. They were stuck up and thought they were so good, just because they could communicate with the Terrians and the planet!
Jerry looked around the room. Most of the other kids were typing furiously, but there was one other face with a distressed expression. The new kid, Lukas. His family had arrived on planet three days ago and Jerry wasn't sure if he liked Lukas yet or not. But if Lukas also couldn't do this dumb test, then maybe they could be friends for life.
Jerry read the next question, and almost gave up. 'What year did the reformation of the Council take place?' No idea. The history books went on and on about how important that was, but what relevance did it have now?
'Question 11: Give the date that G889 was declared a free planet.' Okay, time to show this teacher exactly what he thought. 'New Terra is NOT a free planet because kids like me have to go to school!' he typed with satisfaction. Smiling triumphantly, he met Lukas's eyes and decided to get to know the new kid.
"Hey, Lukas, wait up!" called Jerry across the courtyard.
Lukas looked around, confused. He didn't know anyone yet.
"Hi, I'm Jerry. Wanna go do something fun?"
Momentary indecision crossed Lukas' face. He knew he should wait around for his older sister Gillian, but this was the first gesture of friendship anyone had extended to him since coming to planet G889, or New Terra, as the locals called it.
"Okay!" he replied.
"Cool," said Jerry, and dashed off towards the trees. "My friends are waiting!"
Lukas adjusted the straps on his school bag, and took off after the boy. He joined the small group - some of the roughest looking kids at school, he noted. But Lukas was so desperate to make friends that he didn't care who they were!
"Let's show Lukas the sights of Devon!" announced Jerry, who was obviously the leader. This began a crazy race through the streets as they ducked through drains and slipped under fences. Jerry laughed with wild abandon, and Lukas felt a guilty thrill run through his body. He'd never behaved like this before, and he liked it.
The afternoon wore on, and eventually the group paused by a statue. It had once been a prominent landmark, but few people stopped at it these days. It was just something that was *there*, a dilapidated tourist attraction, and nothing more.
Jerry picked up a rock, and hurled it. It bounced off of the statue with a resounding thunk.
"Let's see if we can chip its nose off!" he challenged. The boys began raining rocks in quick succession, all but Lukas. He didn't want to do anything really bad that could get him into trouble.
As the game wound down, Lukas stepped closer to the statue, curious. It had obviously once been very special, as the image of a proud, beautiful woman wasn't diminished by the years of wind, rain and sun. Tarnished, yet still ornate, lettering decorated the base, and Lukas strained to make out the words.
"This monument erected in memory of Devon Adair, leader of the Eden Project and visionary of the future. She will not be forgotten."
Lukas read the words with a sense of sadness. People had forgotten her, whoever she was and whatever she did. And now, little boys were making a mockery of her.
"Hey, Lukas, have you heard about the ghost?" said Jerry wickedly, sensing that this was an opportunity for some fun.
"What ghost?" asked Lukas.
"The ghost of this statue." Jerry lowered his voice ominously as the afternoon grew darker. "They say that she's still out there, buried alive in the desert. And her spirit walks the planet, trapped forever because everyone forgot where she was...."
A chill wind whipped through the small clearing, and Lukas shivered. The shadows seemed to lengthen menacingly, yet Lukas also sensed a sadness in the air.
He cleared his throat, and attempted to look brave. "How could someone be buried alive? No one would be stupid enough to do that!"
Jerry laughed, loving every minute of his power. "Her friends did it, they took her and shoved her away in a frozen coffin. She thought they'd come back, but they never did! So now, every night when it gets dark, her ghost comes into the houses of little boys and searches for her son that left her behind. Has she visited you yet?"
Lukas shook his head. He didn't really believe in ghosts, not him...there were enough creepy things on this planet without spirits to worry about!
"You even look like him," snickered one of the other boys. "You'd better watch out tonight!" Just then, the low moaning sound of the wind filled the air. The ground rumbled beneath their feet.
"That's just the Terrians, right?" Lukas asked, his voice quavering. Even Jerry looked a little spooked right now.
"Lukas..." a voice seemed to come out of the darkness. "Are you there?...."
"IT'S THE GHOST! RUN!!!" hollered one of the boys, and the group split off in several directions at once. All but Lukas. He was frozen in place, petrified.
"Lukas!" the voice came again, but sharply this time. It was his older sister, Gillian.
"Over here, Gill," he called weakly. He was angry with himself for getting so spooked by the tales of the other boys.
"Lukas, you know you were supposed to come home with me straight after school!" she admonished. Then she stopped, and did a double-take.
"The statue..." Gillian whispered, her attention drawn to it. A flash of memory washed over her, a momentary feeling of recognition, and with it came a sense of sadness. Slowly, Gillian stepped forward and stared at the woman's face, etched in marble for eternity. The features were strong and commanding, yet also gentle. Whoever had fashioned the monument had obviously cared for the woman a great deal.
Undoubtably, image reminded Gillian of something, of someone. She read the inscription at the bottom. "So that's it," she mused aloud, attempting to convince herself that the creepy feelings related to the statue were nothing of consequence.
"That's what?" asked Lukas.
"Why the statue looks so familiar. There's a girl in my class, someone Adair, who looks a little like this. I think she was the one who was bragging about her great-great-grandfather being the first of the Transformed." Gillian frowned. "Or maybe that was great-great-great grandfather...."
"Well, I think it's a spooky statue."
"Spooky? It's beautiful! Why do you say that?" Gillian asked her brother. He explained to her the story the boys had told him and Gillian was immediately fascinated. Unlike Lukas and their father, Gillian had been ecstatic when she found out they were moving to planet G889. It had something of a reputation amongst the colonized worlds for being, well, weird. People didn't think it was natural to communicate with a planet, and there were rumours that if you stayed there long enough, you, too, would become Transformed.
But after arriving here, Gillian didn't think that would be such a bad thing. She'd met both Transformed humans and Terrians who were perfectly nice and normal (if she could overlook the underground travelling). G889, the first of humanity's new homes and a legend among the stars, was now her home. She wanted to find out all she could about it.
"Let's go," whined Lukas, as his tiredness caught up with him. He decided that even though Jerry was fun, he didn't like Jerry's friends much. Maybe he would meet someone different tomorrow.
"Okay," answered Gillian, taking one last look at the statue. For a moment, the world seemed to whirl around her and the image wavered into life. Ice-blue eyes looked into Gillian's soul as the woman whispered, "Don't leave me...."
Gillian gasped aloud, and a tugging on her arm brought her back to reality. Bewildered, she allowed Lukas to pull her into the night.
Gillian sighed as she brought up yet another historical account of G889 on her computer. Boring, dry, dull. Where was the drama of the ghost story Lukas had told her? The facts of the Eden Project were there, as were details of the advance ship's crash, but then nothing more than a list of names. Devon Adair, leader of the project. Commander Broderick O'Neill, deceased shortly after planetfall. John Danziger, mechanic and eventual founder of the city Devon. Morgan Martin, level 4 bureaucrat and First Administrator of G889.
The list went on, but Gillian was bored. No mention was made of the trek across the planet, something that had thoroughly piqued her interest. She was especially curious as to what had happened to Devon Adair, but there was no mention of that either. Not even a death date, but then again, many of the records of the original settlers were incomplete.
Frustrated, Gillian leaned back in her chair and yawned loudly. She was spending her lunch break in front of the library computers and the building was quiet and dull. Gillian knew she had to make some friends soon, but it was so hard being new. Especially since everyone already had their little cliques and would never tolerate an outsider.
"Is there something I can help you with?" asked a kind voice behind the girl. She swung around, startled.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was so loud..." Gillian began, but the woman smiled.
"That's quite alright. It gets boring in here with it being so quiet anyway!" Leaning over Gillian's shoulder, the woman studied the computer screen.
"History of G889? I wish I could get my class so interested in the history of our planet!"
"But it's fascinating stuff!" enthused Gillian. "Well, it should be. I just can't find any real accounts. Do you know what I mean?"
The woman smiled. "I think I do. I'm Ms. Baines, by the way."
"Gillian Brody," she replied. "My brother and I just moved here a few days ago."
"Oh, so you're Lukas' big sister! Nice to meet you. He's a very well-behaved little boy, and I think he'll be a great asset to the class."
Gillian smiled politely. She hated it when teachers began their traditional speeches. But Ms. Baines noticed the look on the girl's face, and smiled knowingly.
"I'm sorry, that's the sort of boring comment I should save for your parents! Now, where were we? That's right, history of G889." Ms. Baines typed rapidly on the keyboard, and brought up a new file.
"If you're really interested in this planet, I recommend this." Gillian looked at the screen. "It covers the early history of G889, but it's written in such a beautiful way that it makes wonderful reading. I think my great-grandparents knew the woman who wrote it. There was something of a tragedy attached to the whole incident, but I won't spoil it for you."
"Thank you," replied Gillian. This file was long! She scanned the file information - autobiographical novel by Bess Martin. Suddenly, the school bell rang and it was time to return to class.
"See you later," said Ms. Baines and Gillian headed off for another afternoon at school.
It was night before she had a chance to look at the file. Gillian had visited the statue for the second time that afternoon, and was once again haunted by the sense of sadness surrounding the image. Gillian wondered if the sadness was her own imagination, and could not shake the impression that she *knew* Devon from somewhere. Hoping to find the answers she sought, Gillian began to read.
I don't know why I'm writing this, maybe for myself, maybe for my friends, or maybe for our children. I just believe that our story should be recorded somehow for the future so that we are not forgotten. So many friends have been lost during this quest for our freedom, and the freedom of millions of others, that I have to keep reminding myself that it was all worth it.
It seems a lifetime ago when we boarded the ship for planet G889. It was a lifetime ago. All those people who have become so important to me - I barely knew them back then.
Even Morgan, my husband, was still something of a mystery to me. I knew I loved him with all my heart, but since we left Earth and the space stations, he changed. Or maybe he just revealed more of his inner self. Either way, I'll never forget the excitement on his face when he announced that we would be part of this mission - the beginning of the future.
My first meetings with the others are not so clear. I barely remember anyone from the first few terrified days: our perilous departure, then the crash, the loneliness as Morgan and I realised that we could be the only two human beings on an unknown planet, stranded....
But I'm getting ahead of myself. I remember meeting John as I first came aboard the doomed Advance ship. He introduced himself as Danziger back then, but he's been John to me so long that I can't think of him any other way.
I was immediately impressed by his sense of purpose, and strength. He knew what he had to do in life, and nothing would stop him getting there. He wanted the best for True.
Yet the John I knew later was...changed. This planet, so good for many of us, in essence destroyed the man that he once was. Was that a good thing? Would it have been better for him to have never known love again after True's mother was taken from him? Or, to quote a famed Earth saying, "'Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all." I don't know if that's true in John's case. His heart caused him more pain than any living soul should ever have to endure.
If I were to lose Morgan, I would not regret our time together. Every moment of every day of every year has been worth the pain I know I will one day face. Together, we have faced that same pain many a time. But one day, either he or I will be alone.
Sacrifices...life is all about sacrifices. The sacrifices of dear friends - Devon, Julia, John - I will never forget any of them. They built a better world for us all.
So maybe I'm writing this for them, my dearest friends throughout time. They shall always be remembered.
Gillian read deep into the night, the wonderful, haunting tale tinged with sadness and fear. Of their struggle to reach her new home planet, of their adventures crossing the vast wilderness. And finally, to the place where they began to die.
Eben was dead. We buried her and said our goodbyes, heartfelt from everyone. We had become so close during this trek, that to lose even one brought sadness upon us all.
Little did we know that she would help save us, and we would return. Only to face an even worse horror....
END Legends of Loss.
This text file was ran through PERL script made by Andy. Original text file is available in Andy's Earth 2 Fan Fiction Archive.