Author: Milady Dragon
Disclaimer: Not mine unfortunately
Rating: PG-13
Author's notes: If I'm calculating this right, we're heading into the stretch and toward the end. Gonna miss it when it's over…
Chapter Twenty-Six
It felt right, that John was walking beside her.
Devon wanted to grin like a maniac, but the gravity of their current situation wouldn't let her. Who knew how many of the so-called Changed had infected her people? Would the unChanged be able to fight them?
When would John turn back into his normal self?
When the cry went up that John was back, various members of the crew, all grateful to have him back, besieged them. John smiled and made the right noises, but Devon knew all he wanted was to see his daughter.
To see if his daughter had been Changed.
Devon knew how she'd feel if it were Uly. When he'd been healed by the Terrians, she's been willing to promise them anything to bring him back to her. Her son was all she truly had.
It was the same for John and True Danziger. All they had were each other.
They made their way to Julia's tent, and it wasn't because John was interested in being poked and prodded. True was the only person on his mind, and nothing would keep him from her any longer.
Devon noticed how closely Morgan watched them as they passed. Bess stood next to her husband, watching as well. However, her expression was very different from his; where she was glad to see the engineer, Morgan was cold and aloof, and it was an expression Devon had never seen on his face before. It made her shiver uncontrollably.
Julia and Alonzo were waiting for them at the entrance to the doctor's tent. Part of the medical paraphernalia had already been packed, and Alonzo had obviously been getting ready to leave on the trip north, judging from the Mag-Pro that rested against his shoulder.
"Hope that's not for me," John greeted mildly, jerking his chin toward the weapon.
"Only if you piss me off," the pilot answered, just as mildly. Then he grinned widely, clapping John on the shoulder. "Welcome back, my friend."
"Thanks, 'Lonz."
"True's inside," Julia told him, getting to the point immediately.
"Thanks for taking care of her."
Julia smiled. "It was my pleasure."
John pushed past them, entering the tent. Devon followed, and she knew Alonzo and Julia would be behind her.
True was absently helping pack. Devon had never really seen her look so tired, or so dejected.
That changed, though, the moment the girl looked up and caught sight of just who was coming into the tent. Her jaw dropped, then she practically screamed, "Dad!" She had to have flown across the space to get into his arms that fast.
"Hey!" he grunted, "take it easy! You're not as little as you used to be, True-girl!"
She didn't answer; she just put both arms around his neck and held on.
Devon didn't want to intrude; she ushered the other two out in order to give the father and daughter some privacy. Besides, she had things to tell them, and she didn't want True to hear…
"When did he get back?" was Alonzo's first question.
"Early this morning," Devon answered, "and it was quite a shock to see him standing over me in my tent, I'll admit."
"Did he tell you what happened?" Julia stood with her arms crossed, in full doctor mode.
Devon hesitated. She and John had discussed this, whether or not to tell the two of them what was going on. After all, what if one of them had been touched by the Changed?
Yet they had to have allies, besides the unChanged. According to N'Merra (interpreted through John) only a few of the Changed has escaped their prison. Morgan had been infected; and it was possible that True had, as well. Could they risk giving away what they knew?
Devon had pointed out, that if the Changed had been watching, they would have known that John had been approached by the ghosts. With his return, they would also have to suspect that he knew everything about them. Would sharing with Alonzo and Julia truly be such a risk? Besides, they'd been acting like their normal selves; with Bess's information about how Morgan was behaving, they could reasonably guess that these two were still untouched.
At least, that was Devon's rationalization.
She hoped it was a good one.
So Devon explained some of what John had told her. She didn't go into detail, she didn't feel it was necessary, and besides they didn't have all day. They needed to be moving, and soon. John's reappearance in camp had already stopped the progress they'd been making in packing up.
"So the thing that Uly sensed was their spaceship," Alonzo mused, after Devon was finished.
"And you say John's change is only temporary?" Julia added.
"Yes on both counts. But I think the important thing is, these beings have been at war for a very long time. Now, we're caught in the middle of it. I don't know about you, but this really pisses me off, especially since the Terrians didn't seem to find it necessary to warn us about this place."
"Devon, the Terrians would have said something if they'd thought there was real danger here," Alonzo replied. "And you know that."
"They have a…proprietary…interest in Uly," Julia added. "I don't think they would have let us bring him here if they'd known."
"Plus, didn't Uly say they hadn't been here in centuries?" the pilot persisted.
Devon held up a hand, to forestall further discussion. "I know. You're both right, of course. It's just that…never mind. I'm just frustrated."
"That's to be expected," the doctor sympathized.
"Do we have a plan?" Alonzo asked.
"The unChanged are trying to find out just who's been affected," Devon sighed. "Then they'll try to get them to leave."
"Then what?"
"Then they fight, as they've fought for hundreds of years…"
"And if the Changed don't want to leave?" Julia wanted to know.
Devon shivered. "That's where the plan…falls apart…"
