Part VI
Danziger placed another log onto the morning fire, whistling cheerfully. After all, it was a good day to be alive. It was a cool spring summer morning, Cameron had gotten a good fire going, Devon Adair was back in charge of this blasted group, and all seemed well with the world.
Though Danziger wouldn't admit it to himself he was glad Devon was back for more reasons than just because now she was back in her role as leader of the group. For then, though, he was happy just deluding himself that he was glad she got to deal with corralling them all together, dragging them across the planet, and trying to keep things as democratic as possible so no one whined too much.
His daughter sat beside him, nibbling on her spirulina, grinning away at the idea of getting out of this camp. They'd been there for too long, now. It was getting to be just as bad as the old winter camp. They were constantly reminded of things gone wrong, and couldn't leave because of some major crisis going on. Now, though, they could move forward. To New Pacifica.
Danziger grinned. This New Pacifica was sounding better and better to him. Once they were there they would no longer be walking day after day. True, there'd be lots of other work to do, but it'd be more hands-on, the kind of stuff Danziger lived for. No more trekking along to a seemingly unreachable goal . . . But for now it still remained unreachable in his mind. But it was nice to dream.
Speaking of dreams . . . he'd had a strange one last night. He'd dreamed about True's childhood, except he hadn't been raising her on the Stations, he'd been raising her on G889. He remembered that in the dream he'd been chasing her, a five year old girl, across the sandy beaches of the Sea of Antius, listening to her joyous laughter as he pursued her. Then he'd catch up with her, and she'd fall to the ground giggling where he'd once again notice that she had her mother's same glittering eyes . . .
Except that True had *his* eyes. The strangest thing. And the girl in the dream had auburn hair. But he could've sworn she had True's same smile. It was all very strange. But then, he'd gotten used to strange things on this planet.
Meanwhile, his real, blond-haired True girl was finishing off the last of her spirulina, and once again inquiring if she could poke the fire with the stick, just to watch it burn. "Hey, why not," Danziger patted her on the back, "You only live once. Just don't burn down the camp."
* * * * * *
Bess Martin gathered up all of the dirty laundry that sat in a crate in the corner of her tent. The way she saw it, Devon would have them moving any day now, and it was a good idea to get the laundry out of the way before their old schedule resumed.
She ducked beneath the flap of the tent and headed across camp, bound for the small spring a ways off. On her way she passed by the campfire, where True Danziger was waving a flaming stick a little too close to Danziger's face for the man's comfort.
Yale, she saw, had the old maps spread on one of the tables, doing some calculations. Bess would have to talk to him later, to see how far off New Pacifica was now. Her path led her past the food tarp and beyond several of the EA's tents. It wasn't till the very edge of camp that she came across Julia's med tent.
It was with surprise that Bess overheard voices from inside.
"What do you mean, Devon? That's not possible," Julia was saying, "Listen, I don't mean to embarrass you, but come on."
Bess didn't want to pry, but her feet refused to move as Devon replied, "Julia, I don't think you understand. This is *completely* impossible. Why, I . . . " She lowered her voice, though Bess could still hear her. "I haven't been with a man since before Uly was born."
This caused a rather curious expression to flicker across the eavesdropper's face. She inched closer to the tent, careful not to make any noise. "Maybe there's something wrong with your glove. There *Has* to be something wrong with your glove" Devon offered anxiously. It was obvious she was worried about something.
"Well, I ran the diagnostic twice . .. Devon, are you sure you're being completely honest with me? What about Sheppard?"
There was a silence. Then, "Yes, I'm being honest. Why would I lie?"
"Well . . . I don't know." Another pause in the exchange, until Julia continued, "You don't suppose . . . " she mused.
"Suppose what?" Devon asked.
"The Terrians?"
"The Terrians?!"
"Yes, the Terrians. You don't suppose they, well . . . We *did* promise them something . . . "
Devon apparently knew what Julia was getting at, though Bess was at a loss. "The Terrians had *better* not have anything to do with this."
"Well, it *would* explain why you're pregnant."
Bess yelped in surprise, accidentally dropping her laundry on the ground. She cursed softly, and then quickly began snatching up garments and throwing them back into the crate. Seconds later Devon and Julia emerged to investigate, and were rather surprised to find the young woman fumbling to pick up her laundry.
"Bess?" Devon questioned instantly.
Bess stopped collecting the clothes and looked up at Devon with an apologetic smile. "Oh, Devon, sorry to disturb you, I . . . I just tripped and . .. my laundry fell all over the place . . . " she trailed off.
Julia and Devon exchanged glances. However, neither commented. "I'll just be on my way to the spring now . . . You two can go back to whatever you were doing." She was then off on her way.
Julia sighed and turned back to her patient. "Listen, Devon, I'll talk to Alonzo about it, if you don't mind. He could ask the Terrians if they know anything about this." Devon nodded slightly. She'd turned several shades paler in the past few minutes. "And," she added, "I'll get Danziger and Yale to check out my glove."
* * * * * *
Alonzo was naturally a bit surprised by the request Julia had made of him. After his initial shock wore off, he agreed. After all, he could see how Julia could be right. Devon didn't wish to wait for the sun to go down to get her answers, so Julia administered a two hours sedi-derm, and Alonzo fell asleep immediately.
Without skipping a beat, or so it seemed, he appeared in the familiarly dreamlike Dream Plane. A lone Terrian was already "there"--or as there as you could get in a dream. It greeted him with a fluting trill.
"You have returned," the Terrian would have said, had it spoken English.
"Yeah, I've got a few questions for you," Alonzo said matter-of-factly. He paused for a moment, wondering just where to begin. "Devon, the boy's mother. You healed her."
"She is whole now," the Terrian acknowledged.
"And you expect something in exchange for what you've done, don't you?" he questioned.
Had the Terrian been human, it would have nodded. "We have taken what we need."
Alonzo frowned. "'What you need'? What do you mean by that? Is that what you've done? Taken something from Devon?"
"We have given more than we have taken."
"Is that what you mean? That you've given her a child? Was that the promise? Is that what you wanted?"
"One will be more. We will continue."
"I don't understand . . . Help me understand . . . " And they did.
* * * * * *
"I think we should discuss some options," Julia opened carefully. Devon, whose gaze had previously been fixed upon Alonzo's fluttering eyelids, looked up at the doctor.
"What sort of 'options'?" she asked warily.
Her friend took a deep breath. "Listen, Devon, I'm going to tell you the same things I told the Martins. This isn't the most desirable environment in which to bring a child, but it can be done. After all, the American pioneers got by with far less equipment than I have. So it's your decision."
Devon blinked, unsure of just what the doctor was trying to say. "My decision on what?"
"Whether or not you want to keep it," Julia said carefully.
Devon's expression became defensive. "Well, of course I am." A million thoughts swirled through her head. This was not at all what she'd expected today. Now, suddenly, she was going to end up a single mother of two . . .
A relieved smile crawled across the doctor's face. "Oh, good."
But Devon continued. "Well, with Yale and Uly around to help, I imagine I could do quite well. I guess . . . I guess that's right."
"So . . . when are you going to tell Yale and the others?"
This caused Devon to frown. "I don't know, I guess--"
Just then Alonzo's eyes fluttered open. "He's awake!" Julia exclaimed. Alonzo looked up at her, with a silly, rather dazed smile.
"Oh, look, the lovely Doc Julia's here to steal me from my dreams . .. " he babbled softly.
"He's not lucid yet, though," Devon groaned.
"Mmmmm. Must be the sedative. They do make you a little wonky. Alonzo," Julia agreed, running her glove him, which both Danziger and Yale had earlier given a clear bill of health. "Alonzo," she waved her hand in front of his face. "Can you hear me?"
"I hear you . . . " he drawled, "But all I see is an angel . . . "
Julia turned beet red, but continued to try and fully wake him.
"Alonzo!" Devon exclaimed, "Snap out of it!"
Alonzo immediately blinked, sitting bolt upright on the cot, looking around in confusion. Julia shot Devon a curious glance. She shrugged. "It's a gift."
"What have they got to say Alonzo?" Julia asked immediately.
"Uh . . . " Still a bit dizzy, he rubbed his head. "Long story."
"Well, tell us, what is it?"
This prompted a deep breath from the pilot, and then he jumped right in. "It seems the Terrians are dying."
"Dying?" Julia interrupted. Devon shot her a silencing look.
"Yeah. Remember that Terrian who came when Uly was healed the second time?" Both women nodded. "He said that all Terrians were males. At the time I just assumed they didn't know what I was talking about. It seems they did. I don't know what happened to all of the females. Seems to me some kind of disaster wiped them out. So now the Terrians can't reproduce."
Devon didn't like the direction this heading in. "You don't mean they--"
"No," Alonzo answered before she even finished the question. "It's not that. The Terrians have several more centuries before the problem becomes very urgent. But they realize the planet will need new guardians. So they practiced with Uly, and Mary, and some penal colonists, trying to make a connection between our people so that *we* can guard the planet once they're gone."
"Us?" Devon asked in surprise.
Alonzo nodded. "As we've seen, they taught the penal colonists to use the Dream Plane, and Mary actually thought she *was* Terrian. But that's not what they wanted. They need a permanent bridge, so other cans follow. Devon, your son was the first, and now you'll be the second. The Terrians can see from Uly that it's working. The Syndrome is the bridge. There's something missing from both of you, and the Terrians have given it back. But the Terrians aren't sure if it will be successful in the end. They need it to be passed down through families, or it's of no use."
"So is that what they're doing," Devon mumbled.
Alonzo nodded on concurrence. "The Promise."
"Who's the father, then?" Julia asked.
The man looked from Devon to Julia, and back again. "Danziger."
Devon fainted.
Devon Adair: //Look into your heart. Those had been Elizabeth Anson's dying words. Though I'm sure she was referring to something else altogether, I can see how they relate to my situation as well. Though I do resent this responsibility being thrust upon me by the Terrians--as rearing a child is no small matter--I will always love and cherish them, looking to my heart to find the strength to fulfill my group's promise, and to help the Terrians to survive.//
THE END
Danziger placed another log onto the morning fire, whistling cheerfully. After all, it was a good day to be alive. It was a cool spring summer morning, Cameron had gotten a good fire going, Devon Adair was back in charge of this blasted group, and all seemed well with the world.
Though Danziger wouldn't admit it to himself he was glad Devon was back for more reasons than just because now she was back in her role as leader of the group. For then, though, he was happy just deluding himself that he was glad she got to deal with corralling them all together, dragging them across the planet, and trying to keep things as democratic as possible so no one whined too much.
His daughter sat beside him, nibbling on her spirulina, grinning away at the idea of getting out of this camp. They'd been there for too long, now. It was getting to be just as bad as the old winter camp. They were constantly reminded of things gone wrong, and couldn't leave because of some major crisis going on. Now, though, they could move forward. To New Pacifica.
Danziger grinned. This New Pacifica was sounding better and better to him. Once they were there they would no longer be walking day after day. True, there'd be lots of other work to do, but it'd be more hands-on, the kind of stuff Danziger lived for. No more trekking along to a seemingly unreachable goal . . . But for now it still remained unreachable in his mind. But it was nice to dream.
Speaking of dreams . . . he'd had a strange one last night. He'd dreamed about True's childhood, except he hadn't been raising her on the Stations, he'd been raising her on G889. He remembered that in the dream he'd been chasing her, a five year old girl, across the sandy beaches of the Sea of Antius, listening to her joyous laughter as he pursued her. Then he'd catch up with her, and she'd fall to the ground giggling where he'd once again notice that she had her mother's same glittering eyes . . .
Except that True had *his* eyes. The strangest thing. And the girl in the dream had auburn hair. But he could've sworn she had True's same smile. It was all very strange. But then, he'd gotten used to strange things on this planet.
Meanwhile, his real, blond-haired True girl was finishing off the last of her spirulina, and once again inquiring if she could poke the fire with the stick, just to watch it burn. "Hey, why not," Danziger patted her on the back, "You only live once. Just don't burn down the camp."
* * * * * *
Bess Martin gathered up all of the dirty laundry that sat in a crate in the corner of her tent. The way she saw it, Devon would have them moving any day now, and it was a good idea to get the laundry out of the way before their old schedule resumed.
She ducked beneath the flap of the tent and headed across camp, bound for the small spring a ways off. On her way she passed by the campfire, where True Danziger was waving a flaming stick a little too close to Danziger's face for the man's comfort.
Yale, she saw, had the old maps spread on one of the tables, doing some calculations. Bess would have to talk to him later, to see how far off New Pacifica was now. Her path led her past the food tarp and beyond several of the EA's tents. It wasn't till the very edge of camp that she came across Julia's med tent.
It was with surprise that Bess overheard voices from inside.
"What do you mean, Devon? That's not possible," Julia was saying, "Listen, I don't mean to embarrass you, but come on."
Bess didn't want to pry, but her feet refused to move as Devon replied, "Julia, I don't think you understand. This is *completely* impossible. Why, I . . . " She lowered her voice, though Bess could still hear her. "I haven't been with a man since before Uly was born."
This caused a rather curious expression to flicker across the eavesdropper's face. She inched closer to the tent, careful not to make any noise. "Maybe there's something wrong with your glove. There *Has* to be something wrong with your glove" Devon offered anxiously. It was obvious she was worried about something.
"Well, I ran the diagnostic twice . .. Devon, are you sure you're being completely honest with me? What about Sheppard?"
There was a silence. Then, "Yes, I'm being honest. Why would I lie?"
"Well . . . I don't know." Another pause in the exchange, until Julia continued, "You don't suppose . . . " she mused.
"Suppose what?" Devon asked.
"The Terrians?"
"The Terrians?!"
"Yes, the Terrians. You don't suppose they, well . . . We *did* promise them something . . . "
Devon apparently knew what Julia was getting at, though Bess was at a loss. "The Terrians had *better* not have anything to do with this."
"Well, it *would* explain why you're pregnant."
Bess yelped in surprise, accidentally dropping her laundry on the ground. She cursed softly, and then quickly began snatching up garments and throwing them back into the crate. Seconds later Devon and Julia emerged to investigate, and were rather surprised to find the young woman fumbling to pick up her laundry.
"Bess?" Devon questioned instantly.
Bess stopped collecting the clothes and looked up at Devon with an apologetic smile. "Oh, Devon, sorry to disturb you, I . . . I just tripped and . .. my laundry fell all over the place . . . " she trailed off.
Julia and Devon exchanged glances. However, neither commented. "I'll just be on my way to the spring now . . . You two can go back to whatever you were doing." She was then off on her way.
Julia sighed and turned back to her patient. "Listen, Devon, I'll talk to Alonzo about it, if you don't mind. He could ask the Terrians if they know anything about this." Devon nodded slightly. She'd turned several shades paler in the past few minutes. "And," she added, "I'll get Danziger and Yale to check out my glove."
* * * * * *
Alonzo was naturally a bit surprised by the request Julia had made of him. After his initial shock wore off, he agreed. After all, he could see how Julia could be right. Devon didn't wish to wait for the sun to go down to get her answers, so Julia administered a two hours sedi-derm, and Alonzo fell asleep immediately.
Without skipping a beat, or so it seemed, he appeared in the familiarly dreamlike Dream Plane. A lone Terrian was already "there"--or as there as you could get in a dream. It greeted him with a fluting trill.
"You have returned," the Terrian would have said, had it spoken English.
"Yeah, I've got a few questions for you," Alonzo said matter-of-factly. He paused for a moment, wondering just where to begin. "Devon, the boy's mother. You healed her."
"She is whole now," the Terrian acknowledged.
"And you expect something in exchange for what you've done, don't you?" he questioned.
Had the Terrian been human, it would have nodded. "We have taken what we need."
Alonzo frowned. "'What you need'? What do you mean by that? Is that what you've done? Taken something from Devon?"
"We have given more than we have taken."
"Is that what you mean? That you've given her a child? Was that the promise? Is that what you wanted?"
"One will be more. We will continue."
"I don't understand . . . Help me understand . . . " And they did.
* * * * * *
"I think we should discuss some options," Julia opened carefully. Devon, whose gaze had previously been fixed upon Alonzo's fluttering eyelids, looked up at the doctor.
"What sort of 'options'?" she asked warily.
Her friend took a deep breath. "Listen, Devon, I'm going to tell you the same things I told the Martins. This isn't the most desirable environment in which to bring a child, but it can be done. After all, the American pioneers got by with far less equipment than I have. So it's your decision."
Devon blinked, unsure of just what the doctor was trying to say. "My decision on what?"
"Whether or not you want to keep it," Julia said carefully.
Devon's expression became defensive. "Well, of course I am." A million thoughts swirled through her head. This was not at all what she'd expected today. Now, suddenly, she was going to end up a single mother of two . . .
A relieved smile crawled across the doctor's face. "Oh, good."
But Devon continued. "Well, with Yale and Uly around to help, I imagine I could do quite well. I guess . . . I guess that's right."
"So . . . when are you going to tell Yale and the others?"
This caused Devon to frown. "I don't know, I guess--"
Just then Alonzo's eyes fluttered open. "He's awake!" Julia exclaimed. Alonzo looked up at her, with a silly, rather dazed smile.
"Oh, look, the lovely Doc Julia's here to steal me from my dreams . .. " he babbled softly.
"He's not lucid yet, though," Devon groaned.
"Mmmmm. Must be the sedative. They do make you a little wonky. Alonzo," Julia agreed, running her glove him, which both Danziger and Yale had earlier given a clear bill of health. "Alonzo," she waved her hand in front of his face. "Can you hear me?"
"I hear you . . . " he drawled, "But all I see is an angel . . . "
Julia turned beet red, but continued to try and fully wake him.
"Alonzo!" Devon exclaimed, "Snap out of it!"
Alonzo immediately blinked, sitting bolt upright on the cot, looking around in confusion. Julia shot Devon a curious glance. She shrugged. "It's a gift."
"What have they got to say Alonzo?" Julia asked immediately.
"Uh . . . " Still a bit dizzy, he rubbed his head. "Long story."
"Well, tell us, what is it?"
This prompted a deep breath from the pilot, and then he jumped right in. "It seems the Terrians are dying."
"Dying?" Julia interrupted. Devon shot her a silencing look.
"Yeah. Remember that Terrian who came when Uly was healed the second time?" Both women nodded. "He said that all Terrians were males. At the time I just assumed they didn't know what I was talking about. It seems they did. I don't know what happened to all of the females. Seems to me some kind of disaster wiped them out. So now the Terrians can't reproduce."
Devon didn't like the direction this heading in. "You don't mean they--"
"No," Alonzo answered before she even finished the question. "It's not that. The Terrians have several more centuries before the problem becomes very urgent. But they realize the planet will need new guardians. So they practiced with Uly, and Mary, and some penal colonists, trying to make a connection between our people so that *we* can guard the planet once they're gone."
"Us?" Devon asked in surprise.
Alonzo nodded. "As we've seen, they taught the penal colonists to use the Dream Plane, and Mary actually thought she *was* Terrian. But that's not what they wanted. They need a permanent bridge, so other cans follow. Devon, your son was the first, and now you'll be the second. The Terrians can see from Uly that it's working. The Syndrome is the bridge. There's something missing from both of you, and the Terrians have given it back. But the Terrians aren't sure if it will be successful in the end. They need it to be passed down through families, or it's of no use."
"So is that what they're doing," Devon mumbled.
Alonzo nodded on concurrence. "The Promise."
"Who's the father, then?" Julia asked.
The man looked from Devon to Julia, and back again. "Danziger."
Devon fainted.
Devon Adair: //Look into your heart. Those had been Elizabeth Anson's dying words. Though I'm sure she was referring to something else altogether, I can see how they relate to my situation as well. Though I do resent this responsibility being thrust upon me by the Terrians--as rearing a child is no small matter--I will always love and cherish them, looking to my heart to find the strength to fulfill my group's promise, and to help the Terrians to survive.//
THE END