Westward Bound

Westward Bound (part 1) Setup: Takes place immediately after All About Eve. Devon is still in a cryo chamber. The rest of the members of Eden Advance, under Danziger's lead, are heading to New Pacifica. Builds on top of "Start of something good" but can be read independently. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Voice of Ulysses Adair "Yesterday we left the ship, we left my mom. I can't believe that we've left her. Mr. Danziger told me my mom asked him to look after me. I don't want him to; I don't want anyone but my mother. Mr. Danziger told me that we would find a cure for mom. That we would be back for her. He spoke so confidentially that I know he believes it. I just don't want to be without her"

The Eden Advance crew slowly headed west to New Pacifica. The usual banter was gone. Each member quietly contemplated the previous day. Each wrestled with the decision, the group's decision, to leave Devon behind. In their minds they knew it was the correct decision, there was nothing that they can do for Devon. She was safe. They needed to get to New Pacifica; they needed to set up the colony. They needed to be there for the other families. It is what Devon would want, what Devon would do if it had been one of them. They knew all this, but they were all still unhappy. The decision was particularly hard on Uly, Yale, Julia and John.

Uly quietly sat on the back of the transrover. True, who was sitting beside him, asked, "Is there anything I can get for you, do for you?"

"Yeah, leave me alone" True let it slide. She was only trying to help. She couldn't imagine what Uly was feeling; she didn't even want to try. She knew what it was like to grow up with only one parent. She knew how scary it was when something happened to that parent. What she didn't know was what it was like if they didn't get better. Her mind drifted back to yesterday morning when the group had voted about moving on. Her dad had stood in the center of the group and put forth the facts.

"Listen everyone. It has been a week since we put Devon in cold sleep. Julia is no closer to finding out what is wrong with Devon today then she was when we put her in there. If she doesn't know is wrong, she can't cure her. We still have a long way to go to New Pacifica. We still have a colony to prepare. New Pacifica isn't getting any closer and the longer we stay; the more unlikely it is that the colony will be ready in time for the other families. Those families were counting on Devon setting things up. She can't right now. We can't help Devon but we can move on. We can start the colony. We can give those families a better start then we had. We can fulfill Devon's promise." As he spoke, Danziger tried to make eye contact with his fellow travelers. It was a trick he learned from Devon.

When no one spoke, Danziger continued. "Look Julia has samples. We can download all of Elizabeth's information. Julia can continue to do research. If she finds something, a possible cure, she can come back and try it out. The rest of us will continue on to New Pacifica. Julia, Devon and a driver will catch up."

"Why don't I just stay here while the rest of you go onto New Pacifica", Julia offered.

"No, you're our only doctor. We need you in case anyone else gets sick or hurt." After a brief pause, Danziger added, "OK, are we ready to vote?"

Glancing around he noticed a few heads bob up and down. "Anyone in favor of continuing on the New Pacifica?" Several hands slowly went up.

"Ok, all in favor of staying here?" Three hands quickly shot up, Uly, Yale and Julia.

True recalled she was confused. She didn't want to leave Devon behind but she wanted to leave the place that had brought so much unhappiness. She decided that she would follow her father's lead. Her dad never raised his hand. He hadn't voted so she hadn't voted. Even without their votes the majority had elected to continue their journey.

"OK, let's break camp." With that everyone dispersed and started to pack up. All were deep in thought and the camp was quiet. Those that had voted to move on felt guilty. It had been a difficult decision, probably the most difficult decision of their lives. They cared for Devon; they were scared that without her leadership that they wouldn't make it to New Pacifica and even if they did, they wouldn't know how to set up the colony. Some just wanted to do something productive as opposed to sitting around camp feeling helpless. All felt setting up the colony was the only thing they could do for Devon now. They weren't going to let Devon down. New Pacifica would be ready when the families arrived. All knew that there would be times that they would regret their decision.

True thoughts returned to present and she glanced at Uly. "Uly", she tentatively said. "If I could do anything to make your mom better, I would."

Uly glanced at True, he said nothing.

"Honest Uly. Dad and I will look after you until your mom is better. Julia will find a cure. Don't worry, your mom will be fine."

Finally Uly spoke, his voice filled with the despair and sorrow he felt. "Thanks True. I feel so helpless; I don't know what to do. I don't know how to make my mom better. I have to help her."

"We'll think of something. Maybe Yale could dig up some records from old Earth illnesses and we could go through them. Ya know, find out what is making your mom sick. Then Julia could make her better."

"That's a great idea! Let's ask him now." Uly suddenly didn't feel so hopeless. He could do something. He could help cure his mother.

The children jumped off the transrover and rushed to Yale. When told of their plan, he enthusiastically agreed. He didn't mention that he and Julia had gone over those records a thousand times since Devon had fallen ill. This would give Uly some hope. Bring him out of the shell he had erected around himself since Devon had become sick. Yale himself was experiencing a grief like he never had before. He loved Devon and Uly like his own, they were his family, the only family he had ever known. He had watched Devon grow up. He had always been able to help her, or at least ease some of her pain. Now he was grief stricken that he couldn't help. When Devon needed him most, he was helpless. Further causing him pain was the fact that he couldn't console Uly. He knew that however bad he was feeling, Uly was feeling worse. Yale had lost countless nights sleep since Devon had fallen ill. He had exhausted every possible avenue. He could do nothing to help yet he couldn't bear to leave Devon.

He glanced over and saw Julia riding in the ATV. She was exhausted. Like Yale, Julia hadn't slept. She drove herself hard to find a cure. She was genetically engineered to be a doctor. Why couldn't she find a cure? She and Devon had started off at odds and things had only gotten worse when her involvement with the council was discovered. In time, Devon had come to trust Julia and the two became friends. For both women, friendship had always come hard but once they had begun a tentative friendship, it had quickly blossomed. Next to Alonzo, Devon was the closest person to Julia. How could she not save her friend? She vowed that she would do whatever necessary to cure Devon. She was angry with Danziger for asking to press on to New Pacifica. Deep down she knew it was the right decision, but she didn't care. She would stay up nights to run and re-run the experiments. No stone would remain unturned in her quest to cure her friend. Just then Uly contacted Julia over gear.

"Julia, True and I want to help you research old records to help you find out what is making mom sick."

Even over gear, Julia noticed the look of hope in the young boy's eyes, in his voice. She smiled for the first time in an eternity. "Thanks Uly. That will help a lot. I'll tell you what, when we stop for a break, we can go over an approach."

"Great Julia! Don't worry we will find a cure", Uly signed off and began to walk with a purpose. He knew that a cure would be found. He hoped that he would help find it quicker. He had been very lonely since his mother had become ill. There had only been the three of them, Uly, Yale and his mother. Yale was great but he couldn't replace his mom. No one could. He knew that he would have to help the other Syndrome children, whether his mother was better or not. It would be a lot easier if his mother were there. Until this planet, he had always known that life was short, unfair. But it never occurred to him that his mother would die before him. It never even occurred to him that his mother would get sick. Syndrome children grow up with the knowledge of death, their deaths. Not their strong, healthy parents. His mother had always been strong for him, now he would be strong for his mother.

True walked up to her father. "Dad, guess what? Uly and I are going to research old files to help Julia find a cure for Devon!"

Danziger smiled at his daughter. "That's great, True-girl. I'm sure that Julia will be glad of the help. Just be sure that she doesn't tire herself out."

"I will Dad, I'll keep an eye on her"

"I know that I can count on you"

True ran off towards Uly. Danziger watched her go. She was growing up so fast, he thought. He also realized how much he asked of her. She had a lot of responsibility for a girl her age. He had to be careful not to put to many burdens on her.

He had inherited Devon's job. He had to get the colony setup and ready for the Syndrome families. He wasn't sure he had the skills for that kind of job. Sure, any of the mechanical stuff but layout and planning was never his thing. Yet he welcomed the challenge. It would keep his mind off Devon. He hadn't felt so helpless since Ellie's accident. If it wasn't for True, he's not sure how he would have survived. In order to provide for his infant daughter and the support of Ellie, he had taken on a lot of extra work. That had taught him that by pushing himself he would be too tired to think. He didn't want to think. He and Devon's relationship was unsettled and he didn't like things unsettled. He was attracted to Devon, what red-blooded man wouldn't be. Not even a month ago, he and Devon had made love for the first time. With the advent of spring and leaving winter camp, they had been hard-pressed to find time to explore their relationship further. But had managed to steal away for brief interludes, never discussed the future; they took things one day at a time. He tried not to analyze their relationship, but often found himself doing so. He enjoyed their verbal spars and admired her intelligence and determination, even though it annoyed him to no end. Beyond that he wasn't willing to admit. The Elder had thought that he was in love with Devon; he tried pushing it off as romantic musing, even though he didn't think the Elder was the romantic kind. The sense of loss he now felt supported the Elder's claim but still he fought against acknowledging his feelings. Concentrate on True, concentrate on Uly, concentrate on reaching New Pacifica, concentrate on his fellow travelers. He often repeated the mantra hoping that he wouldn't have time to think of Devon. So far it hadn't worked. He still fought to keep her imagine from his mind. He was pushing the team he knew that. He thought that they, like him, welcomed the grueling pace. He also thought that in time, his leadership would come in question. He hoped that by then he would have proven his capabilities, to himself at least. He was a good mechanic; some even said a great mechanic. He was a good Ops chief, he treated people fairly. He wasn't a diplomat that wasn't a skill he needed much in the past since his technical qualifications often over rode any of his limitations. He had his work cut out for him. He just hoped he wouldn't let anyone down.

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END OF PART 1