Plain of Sorrows

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Only things that have never been mentioned in E2 before are mine.

Author's Note: Spank me now; I'm such a bad girl…


Chapter Twenty-Eight

"Adair."

Devon turned at Danziger's voice. He was catching up to her, as she walked a little distance away from the Trans Rover. Not for the first time, she wished that John was back to his normal self; he moved more like a predator than a human, and it disturbed her. "What is it?"

He matched her stride. "Look, I've been thinking, and I have a plan."

"About the Changed?"

"Yeah. I don't think we can count on the ghosts to take care of business."

Devon let her surprise color her words. "But I thought you were behind them – "

"I was, but that was before N'Merra dropped a little bombshell on me."

"What do you mean?" What could've happened to change his mind like this?

"I mean, the head bad guy – the commander of the Changed – is her father."

Devon stumbled. Danziger grabbed her arm to keep her from falling flat. "You've got to be kidding me…"

"Afraid not."

"But you said she's fought him before. Yes, I understand this puts a whole new spin on things, but she seems to know what she's doing."

"She's trying to convince me of that right now. But, Adair, we have to do something about this on our own. Even if she hadn't confessed her secret to me, I think I would've come to the conclusion that we can't rely on a group of dead people to handle this. N'Merra wants to clean this mess up because she feels responsible. I get that. But we can't sit still and let them do this. We don't even know if they'll succeed. Hell, they don't know, either."

Okay, John was speaking sense. If Devon were honest with herself, it grated that they were letting someone else take care of their own problems. "I don't blame the UnChanged for what's happened, John. They couldn't have known about this."

"That's what I keep telling her and D'Lorrak, but they just keep trying to convince me otherwise."

"You do have a plan, then?"

"Sure do. We need to talk to Alonzo, too."

"I'll get him." She pulled her gear up from around her neck. As usual, Danziger wasn't wearing his. "Alonzo," she called to the pilot.

"What's up, Devon?" He was taking a turn driving the Dune Rail; Devon could see the roll bar above the tall grass, about twenty meters ahead.

"John and I want to have a word."

"No prob." The Dune Rail slowed enough to allow them to catch up.

Julia was sitting with Alonzo, and she looked up with interest as Devon and John began walking alongside. "Are you all right?" she asked Danziger.

"No crazier than usual, Doc. It's your boyfriend I need to talk to."

Julia ducked her head, but not before Devon saw her furious blush. She wanted to reach out and smack Danziger for teasing the doctor, but decided she might enjoy it too much and want to do it again.

Alonzo, though, looked thoroughly unrepentant. "What can I do for you guys?"

Danziger repeated what he'd told Devon. When he was done, the pilot was nodding. "Yeah, I understand how you feel. Never really been one to sit on my hands, if you know what I mean."

"Gotcha, buddy. That's how I feel, too, and I'm pretty sure Adair feels the same way." He looked at her, to confirm it.

Devon nodded. "I've never gotten anywhere just by standing to the side and letting someone else handle a situation."

Danziger suddenly chuckled, and all three regarded him. "Sorry, but N'Merra just said something I don't dare repeat. I don't even use language like that."

It had to have been something really vile, if it wasn't in Danziger's vocabulary. Devon grinned, keeping that thought to herself.

"What have you got in mind?" Julia asked.

"Well, we know from the unChanged that the Terrians were able to show them certain tricks on the dreamplane, so they could imprison the Changed away from the world," Danziger began. "We also know that, somehow, these couple of Changed escaped. They've done something to…our people," his voice stammered slightly, but he went on, "and they've done it through their dreams. What I want to know is this: what's stopping us from accessing the dreamplane on our own, so we can help ourselves?"

Alonzo looked intrigued. "Wish I'd thought of that myself."

Devon's respect for Danziger just went up another notch. "We were so wrapped up in the ghosts' story we didn't see the obvious answer."

Danziger shrugged. "I know the feeling, Adair. Do you think you can do it, 'Lonz?"

"I don't see why not," the pilot answered. "But, you know there's one person in this group who knows the dreamplane a lot better than I do."

"You mean Uly." Devon put a hand on the roll bar to keep herself from stopping in shock.

"Yeah. Sorry, Devon."

"No. It's fine. You're right, Alonzo, as much as I wish you weren't."

"Wait a sec," John put in. "I don't know if using the kid is necessary…"

"I'm not saying that," Alonzo deferred. "I'm just saying we ought to bring Uly into this discussion, to get his opinion. He's got a lot more smarts concerning the Terrians than I ever will. And that includes their methods."

Devon released the breath she hadn't even been aware she was holding. The very idea of bringing her son into this…intellectually, she realized he wasn't the small, sick boy he'd been when they'd arrived here. But her heart still saw him in that terrible immunosuit. "I don't think it would hurt, John. Uly would want to help, you know that."

"I know, Adair." The mechanic sighed. "It's just…well, one kid is already affected…I'd want to keep that from happening to another."

Devon appreciated Danziger's position. Even she didn't want to have her son getting involved in something like this. But she also knew that, if the unChanged couldn't do anything, then every one of them was in potential danger.

"Let's do this," she said.