PERSPECTIVES

[Teaser]

Displeased by the view Devon murmured something unintelligible and looked back the way they had come. Far behind, tendrils of smoke poking at the gray clouds overhead gave away the location of their camp and spoke of a fire being fed with damp wood. It had been raining non-stop for the past four days; today was the first day the constant downpour had let up, although dark clouds still threatened. The endless rain had frayed tempers to snapping point and Devon called a few days' break when they came upon the swollen river.

"There has to be a way across," she thought aloud.

"No doubt there is," Danziger replied and shifted in his seat. "But we won't find it today. If we don't head back now, we'll be caught out in the dark."

"Just a few miles more," Devon said. "So we can see what's behind the bend there." She pointed ahead at the river that made a sharp turn to the right before disappearing behind a tall copse of grayish-brown rocks.

"Devon, we've been at it all day--" Danziger began when a sharp look made him swallow the rest of his protests. With an exaggerated sigh and a shake of his head in lieu of further objections he started the Rail forward again.

They didn't get far; a few hundred yards of bouncing across the rough terrain and they came upon a muddy stream that had cleaved a deep gully in the hillside. Danziger halted the Rail. "Okay, Adair, that's as far as it goes."

Devon eyed the stream intently. It wasn't very wide although it surged down the hill in its haste to join the river below. "I think the Rail can manage. Come on, Danziger, let's go," she told him firmly. Danziger hesitated. "The sooner you move, the sooner we can go back," she added in an attempt to persuade him.

Muttering below his breath about stubborn women, Danziger set the vehicle in motion again. He cautiously steered it down the steep slope and into the gully. The muddy ground was slippery and despite Danziger's deft handling the Rail lurched violently when they reached the bottom. With a loud squeal the wheels spun in place, creating a fountain of yellowish slop and the Rail refused to move any further.

"Damn," Danziger swore.

"We're stuck," Devon said, a surprised note in her voice. It was half announcement, half question.

Danziger didn't comment. "Take the wheel," he said instead and climbed out of the vehicle. He sank nearly to his ankles in the mud and rolled his eyes in disgust. Feet squelching sloppily he made his way to the rear of the vehicle. Devon moved into the driver's seat.

"Power up when I tell you."

The scene was eerily reminiscent of an earlier time they had been stranded, Devon thought and allowed herself a quick smile. Except their circumstances were quite different now, she added in her mind.

Danziger tore a couple of dried branches from a nearby brush and pushed them underneath the rear wheels as far as he could. "Now," he ordered and pushed with all his might. Devon threw back the handle and the engine whined shrilly. But the Rail didn't budge.

"Stop! Stop!" Danziger shouted behind her. Devon powered down and turned to look at him. She couldn't help it; when she caught sight of him she burst out laughing. He was splattered with mud, from the top of his head full of unruly curls to the soles of his feet half submerged in the slush. He glared at her and she tried to stop laughing. "Oh God, John, you should see yourself..." and she couldn't suppress another bout of chuckles.

A reluctant half-smile broke on Danziger's mud-splattered face. "I suppose it is sort of funny," he admitted grudgingly, wiping his brow and glaring at the smear of goo it left on his fingers. "But we're still stuck here."

Devon nodded, her face serious again. "We need more branches to put under the wheels, or some rocks," she said and climbed from the Rail to help him search. They tramped, half slipping and sliding, through the undergrowth, twigs snapping beneath their feet.

Devon bent to pull at a particularly promising branch. It tore loose with a rustle of dried leaves and almost as if the noise were a starting sign, the floodgates of heaven reopened and another downpour started. "At least we don't have to worry about our water supply," she commented sourly. Danziger didn't reply and she turned around. "John?" But he was nowhere in sight. Danziger was gone.

By: Sarah Watkins

"Yes, very funny, John," Devon said, hesitantly. "You can come out, now."

There was silence, but for the constant roar of the rain smacking down on the Rail, into the mud, and into her face.

"John? This isn't a game, damn it!" Devon was becoming agitated, afraid, even, as she trudged through the sludge, calling his name.

Nothing. No sign of the man. "This is ridiculous," Devon thought aloud as she took her Gear from her pocket and began to put it on.

"Yale, are you there?"

"Yes, Devon - is everything all right?"

"I don't know." She sighed and looked around. "Danziger's... gone. One second he was here - the next... he just..."

Devon's voice trailed off.

* * *

"Devon? Devon!" Yale called, but there was no reply, only static through the Gear. The teacher swore softly under his breath and pulled the Gear from his head, turning to Magus, who stood beside him. "I think Devon and John are in trouble," he said. "Get the others, quickly. We need to send out a search party."

Outside, Magus scowled as the torrential rain worked its way down the collar of her coat and trickled down her back. God, but she hated this weather. She was convinced that the snow was better - at least it didn't trickle so. She shivered and crossed the camp, looking initially for Alonzo. The first person she encountered, however, was Bess Martin, who stood at the entrance to her and her husband's tent, staring out at the rain, a strange, faraway look on her face.

"Bess." Magus touched her on the arm. Bess started, then looked at the other woman and smiled. "Magus, good evening."

"Not so sure about that." Magus relayed the news of Devon and Danziger's disappearance and Bess' eyes opened wide.

"Yes, yes--we must find them," she said, immediate concern flickering across her face. "We can't leave them out in this awful weather for too long--they'll get so ill. I'll get Morgan." She paused at the look that crossed Magus' face. "What's wrong with that?"

"Oh, Bess." Magus sighed. "I'm sorry. Morgan's... uh... he's so... well, you know--he never really thinks of anything useful to add to the conversation. He just questions everything all the time."

"I see." Bess sighed. "I know what you mean, Magus... just lately he's been so picky and pedantic about everything... He'll probably just shout at Yale for letting them go. You're right. Let's find the others first."

Magus cocked one eyebrow. It was very unlike Bess to agree with any criticism about her husband, but there was no time to contemplate the reasons why she was doing it now. Magus was just relieved that they didn't have to endure another one of the bureaucrat 's tireless tirades.

Together, the two women soon had everyone rounded up and Yale explained what had happened.

"Obviously," he said, "we need to send someone out to find them. I think that maybe I should go. Julia... do you think they may need medical assistance?"

The doctor frowned. "It would seem highly possible," she said. "If Devon's transmission just suddenly cut off... it would imply that either the Gear was faulty, or that she'd fallen, maybe, and broken it... I guess I should go along too - just in case."

"Go along where?"

All faces turned at the voice. Morgan stood in the tent doorway, glaring at the meeting that was being held without him. He moved to his wife. "What's going on?" he whined. "Why is there a meeting going on without me being involved?"

Magus and Bess exchanged glances and the former rolled her eyes in exasperation. Bess, ever the diplomat, patted her husband's arm gently. "We had to get together quickly, Morgan," she said. "It wasn't that we didn't want you here... it's just that... well... we, uh, we couldn't find you."

Placated, Morgan nodded and asked for a quick summary of what had happened, which was duly delivered to him. He opened his mouth to comment.

* * *

Devon stared at the Terrian that had erupted from the soggy ground and now stood in front of her.

"What is it?" she asked, urgently. "What do you want?"

By: Maggie Czarney

As Morgan started to speak, Julia suppressed a groan. They didn't have time for this. Danziger wasn't one to play hide and seek, something had happened to him. And now Devon wasn't replying to her gear, either. "Morgan, maybe we should--" she started, but Morgan wouldn't be cut off.

"Well, I suppose we should go look for them. At least the ATV's back, now. Where were they, anyway?" he asked Yale.

Yale blinked. A pertinent question from Morgan? "They were quite a ways from here. It will take a few hours to get to them."

"And the rain will slow us down," Alonzo said. "We should get going."

"Has anyone tried calling Danziger on gear?" Morgan said. Everyone stared at him. "Well, on the off chance he has his gear with him?"

"That's a good idea, honey," Bess said. "We should do that."

"What about Devon? Was she cut off because of the rain or something else?" Morgan asked.

Yale looked around before answering him. Magus' mouth hung open, and many of the others stared at Morgan in shock. Even Bess was surprised by Morgan's helpfulness. "I'm not sure. If it is the storm, though, we won't be able to keep contact with camp."

"So who's going to collect them, anyway?" Magus asked, ready to volunteer, even though she wasn't eager to go out in this rain.

"Well, I have to go," Julia said.

"And I'm going too," Yale said.

"Are you sure you won't short out or anything?" Morgan commented.

Yale glared at him. "The rain won't bother me anymore than it would you. I'm going along. Since only two people will fit on the ATV, it will just be Julia and I going." Some people looked unhappy with the decision, especially Alonzo, but no one objected.

"I'm going to collect my gear," Julia said, standing.

"I'll give you a hand," Alonzo said, walking out with her.

They dashed across the compound, hurrying to avoid the rain. When they were inside the med tent, Julia paused and looked at Alonzo. "Did that really happen or was I imagining things?"

Alonzo smiled at her. "What, you mean Morgan being helpful during a meeting? Yep, it happened." He went over to where her bag lay on the cot and brought it over to her. As he handed it to her, he smirked and said, "Whether it'll happen again, now that's the question."

* * *

Devon stared at the Terrian. The Terrian stared back at her. "What do you want?" Devon tried again. Nothing. The Terrian just stared at her. She pushed her sopping hair back. "I lost someone. You wouldn't happen to know where he was, would you?" The Terrian cocked his head to one side. Devon shook her head, frustrated. "Can I help you with something or not? Because if not, I have to go look for my friend."

That got a response from the Terrian. He trilled at her and extended a hand. Devon chewed the inside of her lip and considered her choices. Stay out here in the rain and try to find Danziger on her own or go with the Terrian and find out what they wanted. She closed her eyes briefly and then extended her hand and grasped the Terrian's.

Devon held her breath as the Terrian moved them through the earth. She felt something pushing against her, as if something was weighing her down from every direction, and then it was gone. She opened her eyes to find herself underground. She released her grip on the Terrian's hand and looked around, pushing her wet hair back. "Devon?" She froze, then spun around. She hadn't imagined it, he was there.

"John?" She rushed over to him and stopped herself short of hugging him. "Where the hell have you been?"

"I've been here," he replied. "I got dragged here, the same way you were, apparently. I tried to leave, but they didn't like that much." He nodded at the two Terrians, holding their staff weapons at the ready.

"What do they want?" Devon asked,

"I have no clue," John said. The Terrians raised their staffs, the energy crackling. "What the--" He pushed Devon behind him, hoping to protect her, but the energy that shot out of the staffs engulfed them both and they fell to the ground, unconscious.

By: Nicole Mayer

Several hours later, Julia and Yale finally stumbled across the waterlogged Rail. It was half-buried in mud; obviously, there'd been a recent mudslide. Exchanging dark looks, they both began to scan for heat signatures and gear signatures, hoping that their friends hadn't been buried underneath several tons of wet dirt.

"I'm not detecting anything," Julia finally said, her tone a mixture of worry and relief. "Yale, if they're not here, then where could they be?"

"We do not know that they stayed near the Dune Rail," said Yale. "Perhaps Devon had been travelling on foot, searching for Danziger."

"Maybe," Julia agreed darkly. "But we have no idea what direction they might have gone. We could spend days out here and walk within meters of them without finding them!" She sighed, the rain hadn't let up one bit during their journey and now it seemed as if the deluge was steadily increasing. Yale had remarked earlier that perhaps they had entered the summer monsoon season. Julia was still finding it hard to believe that so much water could be dumped from the sky in such a short space of time.

She lifted her luma-light high, but the weak glow barely penetrated the murky grayness. "Which way do you think we should go?" she asked Yale, really not having any idea of where they should begin their search.

Yale turned a slow circle, and Julia wondered if he could see more than she could. Uphill would be the safest solution, provided that the ground stayed stable beneath their feet. However, it was more than likely that both Devon and Danziger had been taken unawares by a landslide and knocked downhill, possibly even into the great river that was rushing nearby.

And if that was the case, there was a good chance they would never find them. Julia shivered, suddenly realizing that perhaps their leaders were gone, forever. Who would be in charge? Her thoughts drifted to Morgan, and his strange new confident attitude. As Yale began gesturing downhill, Julia shook her head. She had more important things to worry about than Morgan's change.

* * *

~Wake up~ came the voice, from far, far away. It sounded like Uly, or maybe it was Alonzo. Whoever it was, it was someone Devon felt intimately comfortable with; she knew this voice and she trusted it, perhaps with her life.

So she followed its bidding, opened her eyes, and woke up.

She was still deep underground and Danziger was beside her, blearily shaking his head as he, too, gradually awoke. And before them was a semi-circle of Terrians, heads tilted to one side, looking (and Devon couldn't think of any other way to describe it) apologetic.

"What do you want?" Devon asked, trying to keep all hints of aggression from her voice, but she'd already been shot once and didn't want to repeat the experience. Her toes were still tingling and she expected to be feeling residual twinges of pain for days, if the tellings of others were anything to base fact upon.

The Terrian at the forefront of the group trilled, and for the hundredth time, Devon wished she could understand their language. Danziger moaned and Devon put a comforting hand on his arm. He'd absorbed most of the blast and was probably in a lot more pain than she was.

"It's okay, John, they seem calmer now. Just don't make any loud noises or sudden movements."

"I don't think I could anyway," Danziger returned weakly. Devon tenderly brushed a lock of hair away from his eyes.

"Don't worry, John, I'll get us out of this," she promised. Slowly getting to her feet, Devon held out her hands in the universal gesture of peace, one she hoped translated into Terrian communication. "I don't know how much of our language you understand, but please believe me when I say that we mean you no harm."

The Terrians continued staring.

"If you could somehow tell us what you want - what do you want us to do? Why did you bring us here? Why did you shoot us?"

A new voice entered the cave, echoing eerily. "They were testing you."

"Morgan!" Devon gasped as he stepped into the light of the Morganite which was scattered at odd intervals in the cave walls. "What are you doing here? How did you get here?" She fired questions rapidly at him, not giving him a chance to reply.

It was Danziger who managed to catch Morgan's attention. "What do you mean, testing us?"

Morgan sat down beside them, completely ignoring the Terrians. "They were testing you to see if you were real."

By: Sue Sadler

"What the hell are you talking about, Morgan."

Morgan looked at him with a confused expression. "I'm really not sure. They came to me while I was away from the camp. Brought me here and then shot me with that damned lightning staff. After that they seemed a lot friendlier."

"So what did you mean by they wanted to see if we were real?"

"I'm no sure. After I recovered enough to walk, they took me to another cavern and put me into this pool of mud." Morgan's voice trailed off and his whole body seemed to quiver.

Devon covered his hand with hers. She'd seen Morgan scared on more than one occasion but she'd never seen him like this. Not scared exactly, more as if whatever had happened had shaken him down to his soul. It was his eyes, she realized. Before there had always been a distance in them as if he were calculating the percentage gain to him of being friendly helpful or undertaking what was being asked of him. Now there was just Morgan. The one that probably only Bess saw.

"Just take it slowly Morgan." Beside her she could feel Danziger's impatience.

"I can't explain. There are just no words in our language to cover this. The best explanation I can come up with is that the pool acts like a VR experience in your mind. Except that it's using a language that you don't understand and a set of references that are so alien that you can't comprehend. Oh God and the pain was incredible."

"So how do you know they were testing us?"

The man shook his head. "I just knew."

"How?" Danziger was becoming more frustrated be the minute.

"That bit just seemed clear when they spoke to me."

"So you understood them." Devon was excited.

"Yes. But in a distorted was. As if you're trying to hear a gear message through interference. I only have a partial understanding because believe me, I didn't hang about in that mud. So that's why they brought you."

"Why didn't they just speak through Uly?"

Morgan shrugged. "There's something going on and they're scared of going to the surface."

Devon stood, her whole body protesting the movement. "I guess you've got your volunteer." "Damn it Adair. What the hell do you think you're doing?" The mechanic made a valiant attempt to stand before being caught by Morgan as his body crumpled under him. Sometimes willpower was just not enough.

"One of us has to find out what's going on. Just think of it as an opportunity to learn our host's language. "

The excited tone in her voice stopped any further protests. Not that it ever did any good to protest; the woman always did exactly as she pleased anyway. He watched as she walked away with the Terrians.

"She'll be OK John. She's probably the only person I know that would be."

* * *

Devon entered the cavern Morgan had described. In front of her the Terrians stepped to the side and indicated the pool. She took a deep breath and walked into it. It was warm and pleasant, almost soothing. Within a few steps she was up to her neck. There was a noise she could barely hear, almost like a heartbeat. Then she was pulled under the surface; as if a giant hand were gripping her and there was nothing left in her existence but the overwhelming pain.

* * *

At the camp, Bess walked into their tent with two plates of food.

"I thought you'd be hungry so I...." Bess tilted her head quizzically. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Morgan smiled at her. Predatory. Threatening. "You'll find out in just a second."

By: Sarah Watkins

Bess moved back slightly. "Morgan, you're scaring me." She stared at her husband. He seemed almost unrecognizable to her, with that look of hunger in his eyes.

"There's no need to be scared, Bess," Morgan said in a low voice. "It will all be fine in the end, believe me."

He moved towards her and, with a movement so fast she barely perceived it, his hand clamped around her and then they were sinking... sinking into the earth in true Terrian fashion.

* * *

Danziger paced the small cavern. He was aware of Morgan's eyes on him and was, not surprisingly, somewhat startled when a second Morgan descended into the chamber, with Bess, who was trembling with fear.

"Ok. This is too weird," muttered the mechanic as the new Morgan shot upwards through the earth again. He rubbed his eyes, hoping against hope to clear them from what was obviously a dream.

Bess meanwhile was staring at the original Morgan. "What... who... how..." she spluttered, some might think uselessly. Morgan stepped swiftly to his wife, wrapping his arms around her. "It's Ok, Bess," he mumbled, sounding more as if he was trying to convince himself than her.

"What are the Terrians doing, Morgan? What's going on?"

Danziger, having watched the exchange, spoke up.

"I think I'm getting an idea of what's happening."

Two pairs of eyes turned on him expectantly.

* * *

"Damn this mud." Julia slid against Yale with an almost sheepish apology. "It makes getting around so difficult!" She put her hands to her mouth and shouted into the wind. "Devon! John! Can you hear me?"

"It is pointless, Julia," Yale said. "If they are underground, they will not hear us. I think."

"I can hear you."

The voice was Devon's, but the inflection was not. Julia and Yale turned slowly and were stunned to see Devon Adair standing before them. She had seemingly appeared from nowhere. Julia took a step forward, but Devon held her hand up to stop her.

"Don't come any closer," she said. "I am not who you think I am."

"What..." Julia's eyes opened wide. "Devon, have you hit your head or something? What's going on? Where's Danziger?"

Silence. Devon cocked her head on one side in a gesture that seemed oddly familiar to Yale and Julia. A gesture that was oddly reminiscent of...

"You are most aggressive in your questioning," Devon said. "You are indeed an interesting species."

Yale furrowed his brow. "Species? What are you?"

Devon shook her head. "Do you not know, Learned One?" Her face began to shift its appearance. One second she was Devon, the next...

Julia began to back away. "Yale..." she said, her voice full of urgency. "I think we should get out of here."

Yale shook his head. "If you are not our Devon," he said, "then where is she? What have you done to her?"

The Devon-thing smiled wryly. "Do not worry," it said. "'Your' Devon is perfectly safe. We would not harm any of you. We were... curious."

"You are Terrian," Yale breathed, having finally caught on.

* * *

"Terrians becoming human?" Morgan shook his head. "It all sounds so unlikely. But..." He cast his mind back to the moment he had been immersed in the mud. He had experience memories that hadn't been his own. He had been alternately Morgan Martin, Government Liaison and a peace-loving Terrian. He had lived on the Stations and under the ground. He began to realize that Danziger's theory did indeed sound plausible.

"But why?" he asked.

"A very good question," Danziger said, grimly. "And one which I intend to have answered right now."

* * *

"Correct." The Devon/Terrian nodded at Yale. "I am a Terrian. The monsoon season here on our planet brings forth some very special abilities in our kind." Now that Julia and Yale were aware of the situation, they noticed the odd way that the Devon/Terrian spoke. Brokenly, hesitantly. "We have communicated with you through the manchild and the Star Strider. Our curiosity has long been aroused. In order to fully understand you and your kind we have to become your kind."

"So you're using Devon's body to learn more about us as a species?" Julia was fascinated and horrified at the same time. But, she slowly realized, that might explain. "You've already taken over one member of our party, haven 't you?"

"The one you call Morgan." The Devon/Terrian nodded. "Yes. We found him particularly fascinating. His head is full of..." A pause, whilst the Terrian checked Devon's memory banks for the correct phrase. "Full of paranoia. An interesting specimen. But harmless." Julia couldn't help but smile. A perfect description of him.

The Devon/Terrian's face hardened. "But we looked deeper into the human subconscious. And even with this mind--" here, it gestured to Devon's head--"there is a deep-seated need to destroy, to kill or be killed. Your kind worry our kind." It took a step towards Yale and Julia. "If we are to live in harmony, we must come to understand one another."

The Terrian was interrupted by an agitated Danziger, who sprung up through the earth along with Bess, Morgan, a seemingly catatonic Devon and three Terrians. It turned and looked at them.

"You may have your kind back," it said, "but take heed. We know that of which you are capable. And we will not tolerate it."

So saying, the Terrians raised their lightning staffs and the entire party knew no more.

* * *

EPILOGUE: Devon's voice.

We were returned to the Rail, which the Terrians had obligingly freed from the mud. The rains subsided a week later and it is wonderful to see the sun again.

We have learned something valuable through this experience. We came to G889 to build a future for our children. But the human race... the human race as a species will ultimately destroy that future. We have been given a chance to redeem ourselves. It will be a long process, but for Morgan and myself at least... well, we have shared Terrian memories, shared Terrian peace and maybe - just maybe - we can pass that on.

--END--

Write a review for PERSPECTIVES or read what others had to say.