Westward
Bound (part 5)
When
Morgan returned two weeks later, he was surprised at how far the construction
had progressed. All remains of the ship
were gone. Most had been melted in the lava flow and reshaped for use in the
bridge. Some had been used to make repairs and spare parts. The remainder,
which no one could find a use for, was burned as to not leave litter behind.
Bess
had taken upon her self to beautify the area of the first construction. She
started by enlisting the children's aid in planting small trees and bushes in
the area. She had also made markers for
the crash site, as well as one for the bridge. Both markers were made of metal
remnants that were identified as too weak for the bridge. She had enlisted
Morgan's help to set up the marker at the crash site. The marker identified the site as the location of the Jupiter
class ship crash. It also indicated the 3 unknown crewmembers and stated that
Eden Advance had used the ship in construction of the bridge.
Fortunately
the area was abundant in nuts and berries. Food and water have not been a
problem. We also discovered a plant that produced grain. Bess and Gomez were able to grind the grain
and make a tortilla like bread. We are taking some grain and seeds with us on
our journey to New Pacifica.
Now,
weeks later, the bridge has received its finishing touches. We moved on yesterday, leaving the marker
simply stating the start and end dates of the bridge, along with the words
"Eden Advance was here". I know that others, besides Uly and I, had
hoped the Devon, Alonzo and Julia would have returned by now. I am confident
that they, all three of them, will join us soon. I also look forward to telling
Devon about the bridge and it's construction. It brings me optimism for the
construction of the colony. I have been very impressed with John Danziger since
the start of our adventure on this planet. He skills have proven invaluable
time and again. Although I will admit that sometimes his hot-headedness has
caused problems. With the construction of the bridge, I now understand how he
achieved such as good reputation as Ops chief. He has been very inventive, fair and patient. I now also understand why
sometimes the Ops Crew backs John when he and Devon disagree on a subject. He
is their boss, yet he is still one of them. He will be a great asset to the
colony. I hope that True and John stay when the colony ship leaves. The colony
needs them, Uly needs them and Devon needs them."
"Looks
like the sun is bouncing off of something metal up ahead" Alonzo stated.
Devon
grabbed the jumpers and carefully stood to have a look. "It is a
bridge!" she exclaimed. Julia and
Alonzo shared Devon's excitement.
Alonzo
headed towards the structure as Devon panned around looking for additional
signs of settlement. She noticed 3
grave markers. "Oh no, bear right. I see something up ahead." She
tried to keep the concern out of her voice but her companions could tell she
was upset.
The
dune rail pulled up near the grave markers. The occupants slowly exited the
vehicle and Julia walked over to the large marker. "Its not anyone from
our group" she stated with much relief, then continue "Looks like
there was a crash here. These graves belong to the crew of the 'Star Quest'. No
information regarding the nature of the voyage. But that beautiful structure in front of you is the 'Eden Advance
Bridge'!"
"What?
Our group built this? When, how?" Devon asked.
"One
way to find out, let's take a look at that bridge" Alonzo suggested with a
grin.
Early
the next morning, the dune rail was able to make gear contact with the rest of
the group. Devon spoke briefly with Uly and Yale and was able to assure them
that she was well and eager to see them again. The larger group stopped and
prepared for a celebratory lunch. There was a sense of joy that surpassed even
the joy felt at the completion of the bridge. The group would be whole again.
True and Uly, for once did not make any comments about gathering fire wood or
doing their chores. True was glad that the others would be joining them. She
was also a little sad at the thought that Uly would be returning to his own
tent. At first she was a little resentful of sharing her father with the
younger boy. She had her father to herself for her whole life. Even on this
planet, where privacy was at a premium, she and her father had time to
themselves. At night, in their tent, she would have her father's undivided, or
mostly undivided, attention. It had taken some time to adjust. She now got one
arm hugs and shared the limelight of the tent but she didn't mind Uly as much
as she thought she would. This was like what it was like to have a brother, not
that she would admit that to Uly.
The
subject of her thoughts interrupted her. "True, I want to thank you for
sharing your dad with me. I also want to let you know that if ever you want,
you can share my mom."
"Thanks
Uly, but I don't think that I will be needing a mother. I am almost 11 you
know." True replied in a somewhat superior voice. Then she asked,
"How does a mother compare to a father". Both children had only ever
known one parent.
"Well,
your dad is great but not quite the same as my mom. " True nodded her
understanding and Uly continued. "But there are a lot of similarities
between the two. Both are bossy, both never let you do what you want; both will
take care of your no matter what. Trust me True, you may one day want to take
me up on the offer of sharing my mom."
"I'll
keep it in mind. Do you think that your mom's going to take over control right
away?"
"No
reason why she shouldn't if she is all better. Do you think that your dad will
have a problem with that?"
"Naw,
well at least no more problems with your mom being in charge now then before
her illness. My dad has always had a problem with bosses."
"You
know True, when your dad is on scout or guard duty, you can stay with my mom
and me in our tent if you want." Uly had also grown accustomed to having
True around and didn't want to lose that closeness. "I'm sure my mother
wouldn't mind."
"Thanks,
like I said before, I'll keep it in mind. Come on, we better get back with this
firewood." Then casting a look behind her at Uly, she shouted, "Race
you!"
Uly
arrived back at camp just behind True. Glancing around he noticed John setting
up the mess tent and decided that he should go thank the man for taking care of
him. Wandering over to the mechanic, Uly stopped and solemnly held out his hand
and stated "John, I would like to thank you for all you've done for me. "
The
big man took the small boy's outstretch hand, and in a solemn voice replied,
"No problem, that's what friends are for. You know if ever you need me or
just want to talk, I'll always be there for you. "
"Thanks,
and if there is ever anything I can do for you, just ask." Suddenly Uly
threw his arms around John and embraced him in a large hug which was returned.
"Come
on, give me a hand with this tent. We don't want your mom to get here and this
place to be in chaos. I'll never hear the end of it. As it is, she'll probably
give me grief for not being further ahead then we already are."
"Don't
worry, I'll talk to her" Uly promised.
Just
then Cameron shouted, "I think they're coming!"
At
sight of the dune rail, many began to wave their arms franticly to greet their
missing friends. Soon the dune rail was
in camp and enveloped by everyone. Hugs were exchanged and more then one tear
had to be wiped away. Finally the trio were allowed to take a seat in the
center of camp. Devon had Uly on her lap with her arms wrapped around him while
Yale sat close by with his arm around her shoulders. Danziger, who had greeted
Devon in the same manner as Alonzo and Julia, addressed Devon, "Dev, you
like tried. Are you completely well?"
"Yes! I'm as good as
new," Devon enthusiastically stated.
Julia
interjected "Well, I wouldn't go that far. While the toxin has been
neutralized and there has been no organ damage, Devon has not completely
regained her strength." When Devon looked like she was going to deny the
statement, Julia continued, "The trip has taken more out of her then she
is willing to admit. So for the time
being, Devon is to take it easy. Ride for most of the day, no guard duty and
minimal stress." As she delivered the last line, she shot Danziger a
warning look.
Danziger
managed a hurt look. "Stress? When have I ever caused anyone any
stress?" This elicited a laugh from everyone. Then to Julia, Danziger asked, "So how long do we camp here,
the night, a couple of days?"
"A
couple of days! Why would we camp here for a couple of days?" Devon asked.
"Oh,
I don't know, I vaguely remember hearing something about taking it easy,
minimal stress. Besides I need to check
out the dune rail and I just need to know how long I am going to have to do it."
Before
Devon could answer, Julia stated, "I think that we should rest here for
the remainder of today and tomorrow. There is plenty of water near by. This
will give me a chance to see how everyone is doing. And give Devon a chance to
regain some strength." Devon conceded.
Lunch
was a very jovial affair. Stories about the trip to and from Elizabeth's ship
and the building of the bridge were exchanged. Finally Julia persuaded Devon
that she should take a rest. Uly and
True had already set up the tent. As Devon moved towards the tent, she quietly
asked Danziger if he could stop by so that she could talk about Uly.
When
Danziger entered the tent, Devon was sitting on her cot admiring the drawings
that Uly had made for her. "So did they tell you how you got sick?"
Danziger asked.
"Yes,
does anyone else know about it?"
"I
don't think so. Julia and Alonzo left
right after we figured out. So how
impossible were they?"
"Not too bad. I think
that they are waiting for me to regain some strength. So, how do you like
running the group? "
"Wasn't
too bad. For a good portion of the time that you were gone, we worked on the
bridge. So it was very similar to jobs on the stations. You know, that is some
kid you got there. You should be proud at how well he did."
Devon
beamed, "Uly seems to have handled the separation between the two of us
better then I did. Not that I didn't think that he would be well cared for
but.. "
"Yeah,
I know what you mean. I think that True deals with us being separated much
better then I do."
"John,
thanks for taking such great care of Uly."
"Don't
worry about it. You never know when I'll need to have you watch out for my kid.
So how do you really feel? And don't lie to me."
"Honestly, I am a little tired but otherwise I feel fine. I actually feel
better then before I collapsed. Although I guess that is not hard to believe,
especially since I was slowly being poisoned. You know it never occurred to me
that my illness was any different then the rest of yours. I had completely
forgotten about the thorn until Julia mentioned it."
"So
did I. I feel rotten about it. If only I had insisted that you see Julia then
or when we got back to camp, none of this would have happened."
"John,
this is not your fault. Besides how would we have explained to Julia?"
"We could have just told her that you brushed up against a bush. I don't
think that Julia would have thought that I pushed you into it."
"Someone
thought you pushed me?" At Danziger's nod, she continued, "Who
would... it was Morgan wasn't it?" Again Danziger nodded.
The
two had remained on separate sides of the tent as they had their conversation.
Devon got off the cot and slowly walked to Danziger. "So did you miss me?" she asked.
"Well
I have to admit, it took a while to get use to the quiet." Before Devon
could respond, Danziger reduced the remaining distance between them.
"There might have been one or two things that I missed."
"Such
as?" Devon slowly raised her hands
to his shoulders.
"Hi
kids" Danziger stated.
"Hey,
what's the rush? Don't you want to know what's happening?"
"Isn't
it obvious. Didn't you ever hear the old saying that 'Absence makes the heart
grow fonder'? While your mom was sick,
they realized how much they really like each other."
"It
was just a kiss."
"It
was like a kiss that Julia and Alonzo would have. Or Bess and Morgan. Not like
a kiss friends would have. Don't you get it? They could fall in love and then
you and I could have both a mother and a father."
"Really? I thought
that you didn't need a mother?"
"I
don't but it might be nice to have a woman around to talk about things.
Besides, my dad deserves to be happy. Don't you want your mom to be happy like
the Martins and Julia and Alonzo?"
"Sure,
I would. It would be great if your dad and my mom fell in love. So how can be
help?"
"I
don't know, I have never tried to get two people to fall in love before."
"We could ask Yale. Or maybe Bess, I am sure she would know what to do."
"No!
We can't ask Bess. Sure, she would know what to do but she would but in. And I
know that would surely send my father in the opposite direction."
"How
about Yale?"
"I'm
not sure. Let me think about it for a while. Let's not mention it to anyone
just yet."
Later that evening, Devon
asked Uly, "Uly do have any questions about what you and True saw this
afternoon?"
"Well, do you like
John or was it only a kiss to thank him for taking care of me?"
"I like him. Is that OK with you?"
"Yes,
I like John and True a lot. Do you think that you and John will get
married?"
"Married? I don't know about getting married. But we like each other and
we like to spend time together. Would you mind that?"
"I
don't think so. Do you only want to spend time with him alone or with me, True
and John?"
"Both.
Sometimes I would like to spend time alone with just John. But other times I
would like to spend time with the three of you. I will also want to spend some
time with just you."
"How about with just True?"
"Sure,
I would like to spend time with just True. I'm not sure how much she would like
it."
"Well, she said it might be nice to sometimes have a woman to talk to
things about. So I don't think that you would mind spending time with just you.
I know that I will probably want to spend some time with just John. You know
guy stuff."
"OK,
but I don't want you or True to think that just because I kissed John that we
are going to be one big happy family. I honestly don't know what is going to
happen, maybe we will, and maybe we won't. I just don't want you kids to get
hurt."
"Don't
worry Mom. It's not like we are going to try and make you two fall in love or
anything". Uly reasoned with himself that since he had his fingers crossed
behind his back it wasn't a big lie, just a small one.
A
similar conversation was going on in the Danziger's tent.
"Don't
worry Dad, Uly and I won't tell anyone we saw you two kissing. If you want to
spend some time alone, maybe we could run interference for you." True
offered.
"Thanks
sweetheart. Are you sure it's ok with you?"
"Yeah Dad, I'm sure. You know I like Devon. She's a lot nicer then some of
the other women you've dated. Not that
they were ever mean to me but they always just saw me as your daughter and
never tried to get to know me. Devon already knows me, maybe it's because she
wants to know whom her son is playing with but she has always treated me
fairly. We have a friendship that is separate from yours and hers. If things
don't work out between the two of you, Devon and I will still be friends."
Even
though she made it out as a statement, Danziger knew his daughter wanted his
confirmation. "Yes, no matter what happens between Devon and me, you and
Devon will always have your relationship, just like Uly and I will always have
ours. "
"So
how long are you two going to keep it a secret?"
"I
don't know True. I'm not sure what's going to happen between Devon and me. You
know that we are still going to argue. Maybe what we have together won't be
strong enough to overcome that. In that case, I'd just as soon not have the
whole group know about us. You know whenever Devon and I have an argument of
any kind some of them will be in there trying to patch things up between us. "
"Yeah,
you're right. But just because you argue doesn't mean that you two are going to
break up."
"Not
every argument means a break up. But I can't promise you a fairy tale
ending."
"Don't worry Dad, I am not dreaming of a happy ever after. I want you to
be happy and I think Devon could make you happy. I just wanted to point out to
you that couples have arguments. You and Devon will just need to figure out how
to work through them. If things don't work out then fine but I just hope that
you both give it a chance."
"Wow,
when did you get so smart? How do you know so much about this stuff?"
"I
am a great observer. You know the Martins have had their problems and Julia and
Alonzo had theirs. They also work through them. Just give yourself a chance to
be happy."
Hugging
his daughter tightly, Danziger asked, "What did I do to deserve such a
wonderful child?"
"Probably
not enough but you still have time to rectify that" was the smart-alecky
response.
The
next morning as Danziger was working on the dune rail Devon approached him.
"So how did things go last night?"
"OK, True wants me to
be happy and she thinks that you might be able to do that. She also wanted some
reassurance that no matter what happens to us, you and her will still be friends. How about Uly."
"Similar.
He wanted to know if you and I would always want to be alone or include the
kids. I'm glad that the kids are taking this OK but I am a little concerned
that maybe they are reading more into this then there is."
"What is there?" Danziger asked.
"A
beginning, a promising beginning to something that could be wonderful. I just don't know where it will lead. We
have agreed to take this one day at a time but can we still do that now that
the kids are involved to."
"What else can we do? Neither one of us can predict the future. Do we give
up now because things may not work out later."
"No!"
"So
we continue to take things one day at a time. As True pointed out to me, we
have to figure out how to work through any problems and give ourselves a chance
a being happy."
"Wow, she is very smart. She must get that from her mother." Devon
replied with a laugh.
"Oh
sure, sling insults when I'm under doctor's orders to not cause you stress.
Never took you as a dirty fighter Adair."
"OK,
OK, no more insults until Julia gives you the go ahead to cause me stress
again. Just wait until I am back to full strength."
"I
can hardly wait"
Bess
was walking nearby with Magus. Neither could make out the whole conversation.
"I don't believe this! She nearly dies, they are separated for months,
they finally get back together and nothing!"
"What
did you expect? A vow of undying love, a wedding, what? Come on Danziger didn't
seem like a man pining away for a woman while Devon was gone. Face it Bess,
Devon and Danziger aren't exactly the ideal couple."
"Don't
you want them to get together?" Bess asked.
"To
be honest, I'm not sure. It's not that I have secret desires on Danziger. He is
a great guy and deserves to be happy just like Devon is a great woman that
deserves to be happy. I am just concerned that if the two of them were to
become a couple, then we no longer have two strong leaders with opposing views.
That one of them or both of them will hold back on what is best for the group
in favor of what is best for them. I know that neither one is selfish or weak
willed but I'm still concerned."
"Haven't
thought about it like that. I just figured they would continue to come to blows
but they would just have more fun making up. OK, you don't have to be in favor
of them getting together but I am still going to see if I can help Cupid with
those two."
"OK,
I won't interfere. Good luck, you're going to need it. Because if they haven't
gotten together by now, I don't see it happening."
"Maybe
they are aware of people's concerns and are waiting until we get to New
Pacifica to get together."
"Maybe
but I've known Danziger for a while, he isn't the patient kind. If he wanted to
be with her, he would be."
"Maybe Devon is holding back?"
"Like I said, Danziger isn't patient, I think
that he would try to persuade her. That actually might be something worth
seeing." Magus replied with a laugh.
Just then, one half the subject of their
discussion wandered over. "How are you both doing?" Devon asked.
"Great, how about you?" Bess replied.
"Fine, thanks. So Bess, I'm told that you
have become Julia's assistant. That is great news. I am so happy that Julia
will have some help and I also want to thank you for taking on the task."
Bess beamed. "No problem, I am glad to help.
I am just very glad that no one got seriously hurt during the bridge."
"That was quiet an accomplishment. Magus, I
hear that you were a major reason that bridge was completed in such a timely
manner. I also want to thank you for that."
"Hey just doing my job."
"No, you weren't. Your job was to deliver our
supplies and us to New Pacifica. Building a bridge was not part of the job. I
really appreciate it."
"Well, like Bess said, no problem. You know
it was Danziger's idea and he was really the driving force behind the
bridge." Magus stated as Bess nodded her head in agreement.
"I get around to thanking him later. Probably after he stops annoying me so it will be a while." All three women laughed and then Devon left to speak with Julia.
"You know, the longer I am around Devon, the
more I like her. Which is really surprising, she is rich, she is intelligent,
she beautiful. She is exactly what I wouldn't expect to like. But she isn't
what I would imagine someone in her position to be. She works just as hard as
everyone does, she seems to really appreciate what people do to help out."
"Yeah, I like Devon too. Is that why you
decided to help me with my Cupid scheme?"
"I wasn't helping with the Cupid scheme. I
just don't like to take credit for someone else's ideas or effort."
That day passed quietly. Devon had made sure that
she spoke with everyone and thanked them for their efforts. She had already
thanked Alonzo and Julia so often for their help in bringing her back to the
group that Alonzo would see her coming and just say 'Your welcome'.
The next day, shortly after sunrise, the group
resumed their trip westward to New Pacifica. Once again a united force.
