Plain of Sorrows

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Earth 2 doesn't belong to me, but you can blame the ghosts on me.

Rating: PG-13

Author's notes: I suspect this is the chapter a lot of you have been waiting for…


Chapter Twenty-Two

The room was filled with corpses.

Even the near-darkness couldn't hide them from John's new, improved vision. There were about three dozen all told, laid out side by side across the floor of the immense chamber. They'd become mummified; he could make out details of fur – and devastating injuries – despite the fact that they had to have been dead for decades, if not centuries.

John took a hesitant step into the chamber. Something crunched underfoot; the remnant of what must have once been a beautiful carpet actually cracked in pieces at his touch. He glanced upward, surprised at the dome that arched over his head. It had been someone sort of transparent material, but now dirt and grass kept the long-dead cat-people hidden from sun, moons, and prying eyes.

The first breath he took in this hallowed place was the driest John had ever tasted, sucking the moisture from his lungs. It was even harder to breathe in here than in the rest of the ship.

There was no smell, though, and for that John was eternally grateful. Only the musty scent of ages long gone tickled his nostrils and made him stifle a sneeze.

Once the horror was gone, Danziger allowed himself to drink in the peace in this chamber. And it was peaceful…the peace of the grave. He wondered vaguely if this was what death was like: this ultimate silence, which nothing living could ever disturb.

The dead themselves had been consciously positioned, their limbs – at least those who still had limbs – straight, hands at their sides and legs pointing toward John's direction. He realized someone must have done this; if the ship had actually crashed here these bodies would have been all jumbled together.

You are correct, John Danziger.

He recognized the mental voice; his cat-girl, N'Merra, and her people now stood on a balcony that seemed to circle the entire room. D'Lorrak was next to her, is anger radiating from him in waves, almost drowning out N'Merra's intense sorrow. John could see tears glistening in her vibrant green eyes. "What happened?" he asked, his voice hushed in respect.

These are my people, she answered. The ones who chose to follow me, and not the mad ones who would have destroyed us.

"Pardon me, but it seems like that's what they did." He indicated the bodies with a sweep of his arm.

There is a difference between death and destruction, John Danziger. Death is the cessation of life, while destruction would have meant damnation. Do you now see the wisdom of our choice?

John did see it. His eyes traveled among the mummies, knowing what their choice had meant: dying in agony, bodies being ripped and torn apart because they'd wanted their souls to be free.

He admitted to himself, he didn't know if he would have had the strength for such a decision.

Do not sell yourself short. Your strength is what drew me to you in the beginning. And not just your physical strength; the strength of your convictions and your ability to stand up for what you believe in. Plus the strength of your love...for your daughter, for those who travel with you. These are indeed wondrous gifts, and you should be rightly proud of them. Do not doubt for a moment that you would have been here, among us.

Danziger knew just how much of a compliment he had just been paid, even though he thought himself completely unworthy of it.

N'Merra sighed. Be that as it may, this is how I see you. I will say no more, as this subject apparently embarrasses you.

John was grateful for that.

Suddenly, she was beside him. He could feel the pain and sadness flowing from her like water from a fountain. And he hadn't been at all startled by her sudden appearance.

We come from a world far from this one, she began. We were a predatory race, before civilization caught up with us. Once that happened, we advanced quite quickly, becoming a starfaring races in mere centuries, as counted by your time. Perhaps we were too hasty, and moved ahead far too fast, but only history can judge that. All I know is that our very drive to succeed, our predatoriness – if there is such a word — is what we believe to have caused our downfall.

Her sad voice faded out for a moment, then John heard, --they called it the Change, and it began to affect our people randomly, without reason. Whole families would suffer from it, leaving others alone. In other cases, just single members of entire clans would succumb and the rest would be untouched. It also seemed to be communicable, but the person had to accept it wholeheartedly, without reservation. One couldn't be affected if one didn't want to be.

"That…that sounds like a really strange sickness."

She actually smiled slightly. Even having lived – and died – through it, I cannot argue with you. Scientists were divided as to what caused the Change; some though it was a genetic predisposition; while others thought it was conscious choice to become something that we already were, and had simply buried it under centuries of civilization. As it was, the Change brought out in those affected the traits we'd gone to so much trouble to leave behind: the very carnivorousness of our natures.

What I mean by that is, we reverted to our ancient ways; of hunting, of killing those weaker than ourselves. Unfortunately, those Changed thought the ones who wouldn't become like them were weak, and were therefore undeserving of life.

Millions of innocents died…my mother among them.

Danziger felt a stab of sorrow for her. His thoughts traveled to Elle, lying in that hospital back on the Stations. He was suddenly very glad that he'd told True about her…

I was only a child at the time, so my memories of events are understandably dim. But what I know comes from those who were witnesses, and experienced first-hand the hell our lost world became.

He glanced up at the cat-people standing on the balcony above him. His gaze went to D'Lorrak, who nodded at his unspoken question…yes, he'd been one of the witnesses. John nodded back in understanding.

That was when a group of us decided to build this ship, and take the untouched away from the only home we'd known. We hadn't yet gotten to the point of colonization, so this was as much a danger as what staying, but we really had no choice. It was escape, or be killed.

My father was appointed commander of our expedition. He had been a great leader on our world, and was one of the last of our government to be unChanged. It took many years, but this ship was completed in record time. They held a lottery, to determine who would be on board when it left. Of course, I was on board simply because of my father's rank, and not because I had anything to offer such a party.

John smiled at that. "They had no clue what they were in for, did they?"

N'Merra smiled again. Danziger decided he liked seeing it; her face wasn't meant to be sad. Indeed not, my friend. I grew up quite…precociously. Then her voice faded out again. The next word he heard were, --happy, but that was not to last. Little did we know that, instead of leaving the Change behind, we had brought it with us, hidden within the one person we would never have suspected.

Danziger shuddered. How horrible it must have been, to suddenly realize that what they'd been running from was actually stalking their steps? These people had been trapped aboard this vessel, unable to escape from it once it had made itself known.

The cat-girl's sadness was stronger than ever now. Yes, I can see that you truly sympathize with our plight. I did choose rightly, when you came into our territory.

"But I don't understand one thing…why was it necessary to choose anyone? I mean, forgive the bluntness, but you're all dead. Was this just so you could tell me your story?"

If that were the case, John Danziger, then you and your people would have had no knowledge of us at all. Believe me when I say it was very necessary.

"I do believe you. Please, go on."

Thank you for your patience. Ours isn't a short tale, and we have done nothing to make you comfortable.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." Actually, John was itching with curiosity. He wanted to know everything.

Thank you again. I assure you, I will tell you all I know.

"I know."

N'Merra stretched out a hand, obviously wanting to touch him, but stopped herself. I shall continue, then…when it was discovered that there was one among us who had accepted the Change, it was far too late to do anything. He had learned from his people's mistakes, and chose to work among the shadows, until he had gained quite a following among the ship's personnel. When the number of Changed outweighed the number of the unChanged, he struck. We…had practically no warning at all.

We were gathered here, in this place, to face our fate. We were offered the Change, and those you see lying here would not accept. We were trapped here for many days before…well, as you see, we did not survive our trial.

John glanced around the room, at the corpses laid out at his feet. "How many were on this ship?"

Over two hundred.

"And only these held out?"

There were others, however they died beyond this room, and in different ways. She stopped, then glanced up at D'Lorrak. The male was speaking, but John couldn't make it out, could only hear a soft buzzing in his brain.

N'Merra shrugged, turning her attention back to Danziger. I apologize for D'Lorrak; he is very impatient, and reminds me that time is passing. He is perhaps the only one among us still with a sense of time; although why it should survive in him I do not know. But my story is indeed long and he will have to wait a little longer.

"I don't understand."

You will, John Danziger. And when you do I hope you will forgive me for taking so long…well, we shall see, shan't we? To continue…

As I said, we had almost no warning. But there were those among us who guessed something was happening, and made preparations. D'Lorrak was one of our engineers, and one of the first to realize that things were not as they should have been. His own daughter was seduced by their leader, and accepted the Change; D'Lorrak told us that it was her own strange behavior that betrayed her.

So, he made preparations. He sabotaged the ship's engines, in a way that no one would suspect until it was too late. Fortunately for us, the engines were actually shut down for a time; that just exacerbated the damage. The Changed were unable to bring them back on line. And, since they were responsible for murdering the one who'd actually did the deed…well, as you see, the ship is no longer in space…

"He did an excellent job, then." Danziger nodded to the male, one engineer to another. D'Lorrak grinned fiercely in reply.

Indeed, he did. Although none of knew just how excellent a job he'd done until after our…deaths. As I said, we had all been gathered here. It is evident that we were cold-bloodedly murdered by those who had once been family, friends, lovers…the Change did things to them, turning them into monsters. D'Lorrak's own daughter was responsible for his death.

"I'm…sorry…" Danziger couldn't understand what would turn a daughter against her own parent. Obviously this was the source of his anger.

I thank you. It was D'Lorrak who spoke, although his voice was almost a whisper inJohn's brain.

What happened next is…well, none of us truly recalls anything, until we suddenly were standing among our own corpses, and the ship had crashed. I remember the two moons, one nearly full and the other just a crescent, their light streaming in through the observation dome…we wandered throughout the ship for a while, where we found the bodies of those who had been Changed. There were no survivors.

However, as we had somehow become separated from our bodies and cut off from the afterlife, so had the Changed. We fought them as best we could, but we knew we would be beaten in the end.

That was when the Dreamers came.

John was confused for the second it took him to realize what N'Merra meant. "You mean the Terrians?"

I do not…ahh, I see. Yes, these Terrians were what we named the Dreamers. Apparently we…disturbed them with our presence. They came to investigate.

"They took your side, then."

They did, in an way. Although they would not actively fight with us, they taught us ways to defend ourselves on the dream plane. We were eventually able to find a way to block the Changed from the dream plane, and thus from the world of the living. You see, we have somehow become trapped between life and death. We can access the dream plane, however in a different way than the Dreamers do. Unfortunately, I cannot explain it. It comes as naturally to us as breathing does to you.

Once the Changed were banished, the Dreamers returned. They laid us to rest, out of respect for ridding them of the Changed. That is why our bodies are as they are; it was due to the Dreamers. They were grateful, for if the Changed had been allowed to run loose, it would have eventually endangered them, as well.

"But I see more bodies here than the number of spirits. What happened to the others? Did the Changed do something to them?"

To some, yes. You see, we, too, can be banished from the dream plane, although the Changed didn't appear to realize what they were doing, For most, though…after the fighting was done, they simply faded away. We hope that they have gone to their final rest, but we cannot be certain. We also do not know why we haven't faded ourselves, but something keeps us here. The Dreamers don't come here anymore. We are alone.

Danziger felt her pain deeply. Something was keeping these few here, and here they would stay. "Believe me when I say I'm sorry about what happened to you and your people. But I still don't understand why you appeared to me."

N'Merra looked in directly in the eye. Because some of the Changed have been able to break their banishment, and they walk the dream plane again. Some of us think that's why we're still here: in case they did escape. They have. The problem is, we cannot find them.

"You mean you lost them?" Danziger was incredulous.

Yes, and it could not have come a worst time. It happened just before your people arrived here. We all felt it happen. Then, of course, you arrived. We hope this was simply a coincidence, although some of us suspect otherwise. I doubt we will ever know for sure.

But we had to watch you, had to warn you. However, our minds have been, up to this point, incompatible with yours. It was D'Lorrak's precipitous actions that prompted me to do the one thing I didn't want to: to become like the Changed, and to Change you into someone my mind could communicate with. For this, I am sorry.

"It had to be done. You had to warn us. But, if you aren't compatible, what makes you think these Changed can harm us?"

Because they are not like us. They are more adept at insinuating themselves into other's minds, often without their knowing until it is too late. This we learned the hard way; it was the main reason the Dreamers refused to aid us any more than they did. The Changed can affect the dreams of the unaware.

John's heart began to race. "You mean they can get into our dreams?"

I am afraid so. Perhaps it is already too late.

"At least you warned me. What else can you tell me?"

Only that we suspect one of the escapees is their leader. Beware, John Danziger, for he is the most powerful of all the Changed. He will be difficult to find, let alone stop.

"I have to get back." Danziger took one last look around, saying a silent prayer for those who had died in this room.

Of course, we are with you in this. Follow me, and I will lead you out.

He did as she asked, hoping it wasn't already too late…