Andy's Fan-Fiction Archive

LOYALTY AND DUTY
By
Paula Sanders

Timeline: Before Pilot
Author's E-Mail: paula.sanders@shawnee.org

AUTHOR'S NOTES:
This is a pre-G889 story about Julia Heller and how she ended up on the Eden team. Julia is a fascinating character and I have enjoyed Jessica Steen's portrayal of her. And judging from most of the fan fic here, I'm not alone. This is a piece of amateur work not meant to infringe on any copyrights held by anyone. ENJOY!
I would like to credit Tara O'Shea's story "Eye of the Beholder" as inspiration for the final scene of this story. Thanks pal.
Here's to a long life for Earth 2. Let's keep plugging away to get our voices heard.
Earth 2 Foundations.

Loyalty and Duty
by Paula Sanders
Copyright 1995
"The Council owns your ethical choices."
Citizen Reilly to Dr. Julia Heller

MID-2192:
Julia Heller impatiently paced the plush study of her mother's home. This was not her home. She had never really had a home here. Nothing was more important to her mother than the Council, not even her daughter. Consequently, most of the young woman's life had been spent in schools, studying and being groomed to take her mother's place on the Council's Board of Regents. Her father's early and unexpected death had left the two of them alone and they hardly spoke of anything other than the Council. Julia did not know how to love her mother, appreciate and respect her, maybe, but not love. She was not even sure she knew what love was; there had been so little of it in her experiences. As soon as Julia was able, she had found her own quarters and had gotten away. Her mother rarely called her now, and when she did it was invariably about the Council. Today was probably no different.
Julia had received a call from her mother earlier today, saying there was something very important she needed to talk to her daughter about. She would not say what it was about; which told Julia that it must be Council business and confidential business, at that. And, since the elder Heller had never shared confidential business with her daughter, Julia was anxious. Julia had been raised to respect the importance of the council's goals and she had never questioned them. But, the younger woman did not want to be involved in the Council. She never understood why her mother could not let her alone, to be a doctor. It was all Julia had ever wanted to be; what they had made her and all that she was. Her mother had gotten what she wanted; a doctor for a daughter and a good one. Why was it also important to make Julia a Council member? Wasn't it enough for her to be a patriot to the Council?
The sound of the door opening broke into the young woman's thoughts. Julia turned to see her mother standing in the doorway.
Citizen Catherine Heller was ever inch of perfection; her blond hair neatly pulled off her face and wrapped up at the nape of her neck, and wearing an impeccable navy blue suit. She was a striking woman, no taller than her daughter but her carriage made her seem taller, more imposing. Julia's heart began to pound in fear. She had always been intimidated by her mother.
"Hello, Julia," she greeted as she entered the room.
"Hello, mother. I came as soon as I could," Julia told her, apologetically.
"As soon as you could. I called you this morning. It's past evening meal already." Julia shrank beneath her mother's harsh words. Wimp! she chided herself. Why did she need to fear this woman? Julia squared her shoulders and took a deep breath.
"Doctor Vasquez has been keeping me very busy," Julia said, defending herself. "He wants to broaden my experience." Catherine Heller nodded. The older woman had never approved of her daughter's choice to go to work for Dr. Vasquez. Julia had chosen an internship with Dr. Vasquez because he was one of the few doctor's who acknowledged the existence of what he called The Syndrome, an immune system defect which affected a small number of children. Julia had always heard stories and read reports of the children who suffered from it and her heart ached for them; defenseless, helpless children. She had gone behind her mother's back to join Dr. Vasquez's team. When she had seen the children it was worse than any of her imaginings.
"So, what did you call me over here for?" Julia asked, impatiently.
"I have some exciting news to tell you," Catherine said. Julia gazed at her mother impassively, folding her arms over her chest. "The Council has chosen you for a mission." The young woman's arms fell limp at her sides and her eyes grew wide.
"Me," she asked, bewildered. "Why me? What mission?" God, what has mother done now?
"Have you heard of the Eden Project headed by Devon Adair?" her mother asked.
"Yes." Julia had heard about the Eden Project from Dr. Vasquez. It was a controversial project that not many people knew about and had been in the planning stages for six years. The young doctor had met Devon Adair a few times. Ms. Adair was on a quest to save her sick little boy, Ulysses and she was a tenacious woman with a certain amount of power because of her position in the community. Her father had designed the space stations they now inhabited. But that power only went so far and the Council was against her plan to resettle on planet G889. It was unclear why, but they were doing everything they could to stop her.
"Ms. Adair is busy putting her team together and arranging for transport, right now. And you are going to be a part of that team." Julia stared at her mother in disbelief.
"What?" she fairly shouted. "I know that Dr. Vasquez is going but he never said anything to me about going."
"I know. He doesn't know anything about this," her mother told her.
"Why?" Julia asked.
"Julia, this is a delicate situation. The less people who know the better." Her mother took a step closer to her and the young woman tried hard not to flee to the other side of the room. Giving up, Julia began to pace the room again.
"Why me?" Julia asked.
"Because the Council knows they can trust you. That they can put their trust in your loyalty."
"What does my loyalty have to do with the Syndrome children?" she asked.
"You are going to be working for the Council." Julia's jaw practically hit the floor.
"Me, work for the Council?" Like a shock Julia understood. "Are you telling me that the Council wants me to spy on the Eden Project for them?"
"Yes," her mother stated, flatly. "You will be reporting back to the Council everything you see and hear."
"Mother, I'm not an operative and I don't want to be." Julia's heart was beating so fast her throat hurt.
"Julia this is your chance to make a mark. To show the Council your worth," her mother said. "The Council needs someone to keep an eye on the Eden team. Someone who would be beyond suspicion. Someone they would trust with their very lives. A doctor is the perfect choice."
"Why not Dr. Vasquez?" Julia asked.
"Julia, I went out on a limb for you. The Council was not happy with your decision to go to work for Dr. Vasquez. But since you are my daughter they are giving you another chance to prove yourself."
"Mother, I. . ."
"Don't argue with me, Julia," her mother reprimanded, cutting her off. "Remember who you are. You are a product of the Council. You are a Heller. If you refuse it will be considered an act of treason against your name, your family. And especially the Council. Remember where your loyalties lie, daughter."
"Of course, mother," Julia said, meekly. She wanted to cry, to sink into the floor and disappear. All her attempts to run away from the Council, to get as far away from its influence as she could had been futile. She knew there was no escaping it. It would follow her until the day she died. Just as it followed her mother.
She barely registered her mother saying, "You have a meeting with Blalock tomorrow morning. Make sure you clear your schedule. Don't be late for that meeting as well."

Julia Heller waited in the outer office of Council board member Dyson Blalock. She felt sick. She had not slept all night as she tried to rationalize what she was doing. Her mother had informed her of the Council's plan to settle a distant planet; to give humanity a second chance to survive. Planet G889 was one of five candidates and the most promising one. Devon Adair's Eden Project was just what they needed to find out more about this planet and it's habitability. So, they were sending Julia with the Eden team to monitor them. Julia had chosen to work with Dr. Vasquez and the Syndrome children and she agreed with everything he was doing. These children needed the chance to survive that planet G889 would give them. How could she justify turning spy and betraying them. She tried to tell herself that that was not what the Council was asking her to do. All they wanted was to know what happened to the colonists. Still, a little voice inside her kept saying there was something more happening here.
The door opening made her jump. Blalock stepped through the doorway.
"Ah, Citizen Heller," he greeted, as she stood up. He ushered her into the office. "We're glad to have you on board."
"Glad to be on board," she said, not really meaning it. She found herself repulsed by Blalock. He made her skin crawl. No one had ever had that effect on her.
"I suppose your mother has explained what you'll be doing for us," he said, offering her a seat before his desk. She nodded and took the seat.
"Yes, a little. She said I am to join the Eden team and report to the Council on the happenings on planet G889." She watched him as he walked around the desk and gazed out the window, down on the dying Earth.
"Good." He spun around to face her. "I guess I should elaborate. Let you know exactly what we expect of you."
"Please do," she requested.
"We need someone to let us know what life is like on G889. Is it suitable for resettlement and so forth. You will be stationed on the colony ship which will travel behind the Advanced ship. What we need you to do is keep tabs on the colony and report on it's progress to the Watcher, a man named Reilly," he explained. "It's just a safety precaution. We don't know a whole lot about this planet and there is a lot of concern for the safety of those families."
"But, I'm just a doctor. Why not get one of your government liaisons to report to Reilly?" she asked, still trying to worm her way out of this mission.
"We need someone who understands the Syndrome. Someone who can report on the health of the children." Julia nodded, distrustful.
"My mother said, you needed me because I would be above suspicion. Why do you need that?" Blalock shifted uneasily, at her confrontation.
"She must have misunderstood," he returned. Now, Julia knew he was lying. Her mother understood everything that went on in the Council. "None of us wants these children to suffer any more. We are just afraid that, being out there beyond our influence, they will be in danger."
You're just being paranoid, Heller, she told herself. Julia forced herself to relax. She had no reason to mistrust the Council, just certain members of it.
"Mr. Blalock, I am just out of school, my experience is limited. You'd be better off with someone else." she told him.
"Dr. Vasquez will be on the Advance ship. There will be other doctors there with you. Don't think we would leave you alone to treat all those children. You'll be one of many." he assured her. She tried to read his face, judge if he was being completely straight with her, but he was a mask of calm politeness.
"It's very simple Dr. Heller," he said, smiling. "You report to Reilly. He is already at G889 and will be there to help you. You contact him as soon as you reach the planet. He's your safety net."
"Very well," Julia said. "Is that all?"
"Just about all. The details can be worked out later. But we haven't got much time. The Eden Project is due to launch in less than a month."
Less than a month, she thought. That did not give her much time, and no time to think about it and change her mind.
She left Blalock's office in a haze of confusion and fear. She had no choice but to put her faith and trust in the Council. They had never failed her, never done anything to make her fear them. Still, with every concession made, she felt as if a little pieces of herself were being torn away. How easily she had given in to the Council. They had sucked her in and she had no choice but to do as they said. All because of her Heller name. The Council had such power over her. They owned her and everything she did. The loss of control was frightening.
Julia thought of planet G889 and what awaited her there. She had only ever known the stations. What did she know about life on a planet? Yet, in less than a month she would be leaving everything she knew behind to go into an unknown. The thought occurred to her that maybe she could disappear on the planet, forget her Council heritage and Heller name. Loyalty and duty were a tricky thing, though. She could not turn her back on the Council. She shook off her doubts about the mission, thinking of the Syndrome children who needed her. She would do her duty, but for the children, not for the Council.
25 DAYS LATER:
Blalock was awakened out of a dead sleep, at the summons of his communicator and someone shouting at him; something about Devon Adair and the Eden Project. They had unscrambled the broadcast, with the news of the explosion of the Eden ships. Damn, he grumbled. There would be hell to pay if he let them get away. Six years Devon had been doggedly pursuing this mission to save her son and six years of his life had been ruled by it. His job was to stop her from succeeding. What the Council had not realized when they had assigned Blalock to this project was how determined a woman Adair was. All the red tape the Council ever had would never stop Devon. She had forced him to take this fight to the next level. Violence was not his way but she had pushed him too far.
"Calm down," he shouted back at the person on the other end. "Do you think they have discovered our little surprise?"
"I don't know, sir," the man replied, shaking his head.
Blalock thought for a moment trying to decide what his next action should be. He had to try to talk Adair down. She could not make it to the planet, could not discover the secrets of Planet G889. It would be his head if she did.
"Get me Adair. I want to speak to her," he ordered. "And contact Dr. Vasquez. I want him off that Advance ship." If Eden was going to try and make a run for it he was not going to give them the benefit of having proper medical care once they reached G889. If they reached it.

Dr. Julia Heller had followed Dr. Vasquez to the Eden Advance ship. He had asked her to join him when he went to prep Ulysses Adair, the only Syndrome child on the Advance ship, for cold sleep. The boy would need to be put down for hibernation in a little over twenty-four hours and they needed to keep a close watch on him. No Syndrome child had ever lived past nine years of age and Ulysses was already eight. It was a big risk putting him into cold sleep for such a long time. Julia liked the little boy, he was sweet, but the mother, Devon, she did not like. Devon was demanding, overbearing, and single minded. She could not see past her mission to save her son's life. Julia was glad she would not have to spend much time with the woman. In a few hours the young doctor would be leaving for the colony ship, before they launched.
She was checking on the medical equipment and supplies to see that everything was in order when she saw Dr. Vasquez hurrying down the corridor.
"Dr. Vasquez," she called out to him. He stopped and turned with a smile. "Where are you headed in such a hurry?" she asked, returning the smile.
"I'm on my way to the colony ship to make a final check on the Syndrome children," he said. Julia took note of his agitated state. The pulse point at his throat was jumping, wildly.
"I can take care of that for you. I should be over there anyway," she offered, thinking she was being helpful.
"No, that's all right. I want to see for myself how things are going." He told her with a forced smile. He was acting very strangely. He was usually such an even tempered man. She had never seen him this agitated. "You stay here and keep an eye on Ulysses," he told her.
"Okay," she said. He patted her arm, as he walked past her. Turning, she watched him scurry off down the corridor.

22 YEARS AND 51 DAYS LATER:
Julia Heller clung to Alonzo Solace. He could feel her trembling against him. She sagged and he gripped her tighter, supporting her. There were no tears but her fear and pain were plainly seen in her crystal blue eyes. He had come back for her. The group had taken a vote; one Alonzo had refused to participate in. His feelings for Julia were so jumbled up in his head that he could not bring himself to vote either way. But he had left with the group. They had traveled a full day, with the thought of the young doctor alone out there haunting him, before he turned the ATV around and went to bring her back. He could forgive her for what she had done and give her chance to redeem herself even if the rest of the group could not. She deserved a chance to explain herself; to explain why she had betrayed them. He had to know.
"Julia," he whispered into her ear. Her fingers loosened their grip from his arms and she wrapped her arms around his torso, her face buried in his shoulder. She felt so good in his arms that he never wanted to let go. "Julia, it's okay? I'm here. Everything is gonna be all right," he soothed.
"No, it's not," she whispered. "It'll never be all right, again."
"Yes, it will. Trust me," he reassured. Abruptly, she pulled away from him. Her eyes were practically shooting daggers.
"Trust you!" she shouted. "You left me behind. Here, in this god forsaken place." She circled around encompassing the clearing with a gesture of her arms. "Alone!"
"Julia, I came back for you," he told her.
"Why?" she asked. "Why did you come back for me. I saw the look in your eyes before you walked out of my tent. That was disgust. So, why did you come back?" She confronted.
"Because I thought you deserved a chance to explain yourself," Alonzo told her.
"Yah, right," she scoffed. "You all made it quite clear you didn't want to know why."
"Julia." He reached for her again and she backed away like a skiddish animal.
"All you want is to know who. It doesn't matter to you that I did everything I could to protect us."
"You were protecting us?" This was the first he had heard of this. If he had known he would never have let them leave her behind.
"They wanted Uly and they would have done anything to get him. But, I wouldn't give him our location. I wouldn't let him have the boy." Her speech was rushed and she had begun pacing and waving her arms about. "They don't understand what he is; what the Terrians did to him."
"What did the Terrain's do to him?" Alonzo asked, digging for answers.
"He's one of them. They altered his DNA, Alonzo," she explained. "The Watcher wanted me to remove Uly's pineal gland, thinking that was where the changes occurred. They want to be able to recreate what the Terrian's did so that they can control this planet."
Suddenly, Alonzo was struck with a strange memory of a dream. He had not had a Terrian dream in weeks, so where was this memory coming from. //It's his heart. He'll die.// he remembered saying. //If you remove it he'll die.// He had help Julia to understand what she was happening to Uly.
"Uly's just a boy. He doesn't even understand, himself, what he's become," she continued. "That maniac wanted me to butcher him. But I wouldn't do it."
"So, what did you do?" he asked, prompting her.
"I took a sample of his DNA and introduced it into my own system," she told him. "And it was working. I could feel the changes."
"Are you nuts?" he shouted.
"It was the only way to protect Uly. They wanted him because of his link to the planet. They think he is the key to controlling and resettling this planet. The only way to protect Uly was to make myself the bridge between the Terrians and Humans. So, I took a chance. I had to see if it would work. And it would have worked. It was so exciting and frightening." Alonzo remembered the night he had entered his tent and found her waiting for him. He understood now why she had been acting so strangely.
"So, when you were waiting for me in my tent, that was all a reaction to the foreign DNA?" he queried. She nodded.
"I'm sorry, Alonzo." He put up his hands.
"Forget it," he told her, turning away, a little embarrassed. After a moment to collect himself he turned back to her. "Why did you spy on us for the Council?" he asked directly.
She began pacing again and Alonzo thought he had lost what ground he had gained.
"Julia, please talk to me. Help me to understand why you did what you did."
"You wouldn't understand."
"Hey, Heller. Don't underestimate me." The words came out harsher than he had intended. "I can be pretty understanding guy, if given half a chance." Her eyes were shining with the tears she was holding at bay. It was painful for him to see her hurting so much. "Please, Julia. Talk to me. You don't have to tell me who you were reporting to. I just want to understand why you did it." After a moments thought and pacing she stopped and turned to him.
"I had no choice," she said simply, as if that would explain everything.
"Everyone has a choice," he stated.
"Not if you owe your loyalty and everything you've become to the Council."
"Julia, I've told you before that no matter what they did to your genes you are your own person." He stepped closer to her and she stiffened. "No one owns you."
"The Council owns me. They made me, Alonzo. Every opportunity I had they made possible," she said, staring at him levelly. "You said that I have to take credit for who I am no matter what they did to my genes." He nodded. "Then you obviously don't understand chromotilting. My mother was a member of the Council's Board of Regents. It was her life and she raised me to respect the Council and put its goals above all else. She wanted her daughter to be a brilliant doctor, so she had my genes skewed towards the medical arts. All my life medicine has come easily to me. Being a physician was all I ever wanted to be. But that wasn't enough for her. She wanted a daughter who would be loyal to the Council and take her place on the Board of Regents, one day."
"But you don't want that," he pointed out. She stared at him stunned. "If you did you'd have done everything your contact told you to do, without question." She resumed her pacing.
"He pointed out, at every opportunity, that I was a product of the Council and that my choices weren't my own. They forced me into this mission. I never wanted to come. But I had no choice."
"You did have a choice once you got here. You could have given up our location at any time."
"Yah, and they would have come down on us with every weapon they have at their disposal," she growled. "I trusted them. All my live they asked for my loyalty, support and trust. To me the Council meant safety and security. I was a fool to trust them." She had stopped pacing again and stared past him. "They caused the crash. They would kill us all if they knew where we were. And I know they would not even spare me. I'm nothing but a tool to them."
"You're not a tool to me," he told her, as he took careful steps towards her. "You are a beautiful, bright, caring woman, who would do anything to save lives. And I love you." She stared at him for a long moment, stunned. His heart was beating furiously. He had never hidden his feelings from her, but he also knew that for her to open up to him he needed to give her a not so subtle nudge in the right direction. He saw a hint of a smile on her lips.
"Alonzo, I don't know what to do," she admitted. He place a hand on her shoulder.
"Come back to the group with me. Tell Devon everything you told me," he advised. Julia immediately tensed.
"She will never trust me again," Julia told Alonzo.
"Give her a chance," he said, then, taking her hand, added "I promise I will be there right beside you the whole time." Releasing her hand from his, Julia disappeared into the tent. When she came back she was holding her VR gear and a small gold cylinder in her hand. She held them out to Alonzo.
"This was how I was communicating with the Watcher. I promise you that I will never report to him again."
"Hang on to it and give it to Devon yourself," he advised.
"I would rather you did. She's less likely to kill you on sight," she said. Though there was sarcasm in her words he could hear the hurt behind them. Julia had suffered so much, been manipulated by people who were supposed to care about her. He hoped the group would take her back in and trust her, again. Julia needed to see that there were people worthy of her trust. He knew that he did not care who she had been only who she could be. That was all that really mattered.
"Let's just wait and see," Alonzo said. Julia nodded and shoved the gear into her jacket pocket. "We'll stay here tonight, give the ATV a chance to recharge and leave at first light." She nodded. He clasped one of her hands. Julia was shaking from the release of her pent up emotions. He could see her exhaustion in the way she carried herself. Slipping an arm around her shoulder, Alonzo lead her into the tent and to the cot. She sat down and swung her feet up, laying down, all without letting go of his hand. Her action pulled him down to sit next to her. He brushed her temple and down the side of her face with the back of his hand, in a gentle gesture. She smiled up at him, the one person who believed in her. She shifted over, silently offering him space next to her. He stretched out and wrapped his arms around her. Comforted, Julia slipped into a deep sleep.
-The End-

Send all comments and feedback to paula.sanders@shawnee.org
//Loyalty and Duty received by e-mail on 6/5/95 from paula.sanders@shawnee.org

This text file was ran through PERL script made by Andy. Original text file is available in Andy's Earth 2 Fan Fiction Archive.