NEW HORIZONS

By Nic
May 1997

I present to you this...a tale of two souls, as suggested by the 
esteemed ORHM herself.  Yale and Denner, this is your story!!!


***NOTE***  The name Elisha Denner is not mine, I 'borrowed' it
from A.j.  (Hope you don't mind!  :)  )

STANDARD DISCLAIMER STUFF :  The characters and situations
contained within are the property of Universal/Amblin
Entertainment.  No copyright infringement is intended.


 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


                          NEW HORIZONS
                          ------------


     Ulysses Adair cautiously dipped the gleaming tiny piece of
metal into the water as he leaned out over the deep pool.  He
watched with fascination as the fine line trailed behind it,
catching rays of sunlight and reflecting light back up at him.  He
smiled through his puzzlement.  
     "I don't get it, Yale," he said again.  "How am I supposed to
catch a fish with this?"
     The old tutor smiled wisely.  "Patience, Ulysses.  Watch the
water closely, and perhaps you will be surprised."  
     Sighing, Uly shuffled backwards until he was lying comfortably
on his stomach, positioned on a rock overhanging the deep pool.  He
played out a little more of the line, then stared deep into the
waters, hoping to again catch sight of one of the things Yale
called a fish.  
     He'd seen fish before, of course, in the great canyon where
the colonists had met Terrians who could fly.  But never had he
seen creatures quite like this, small, silvery things that seemed
to dart in and out of the light as if they were only in this world
momentarily, and then retreated to another dimension.
     Uly looked at the pool again, watching his small lure spin in
the deep waters that were so clear.  A sudden reflection made him
jump, but it was only Yale treading closer to observe the boy's
motions.  
     "Look, Ulysses.  To your right - a whole school of fish
swimming this way."
     Captivated, Uly almost forgot to breath as they approached his
lure, until finally, one of them took the bait.  "I got one!" he
shouted excitedly, pulling up the line.  But in his excitement, he
leaned too far forward and tipped into the pond with a resounding
splash.
     Coughing and spluttering, the first sound Uly became aware of
when he broke the surface was laughter.  True Danziger's laughter,
to be more precise.  He groaned, realising that once again, True
had one up on him.  Someday, he vowed, he would get even, and then
*he* would be the one laughing.  
     But not today.  Yale's strong arms reached down to pull Uly
from the water, help that the boy willingly accepted.  That water
was *cold*!  
     "Your mother's not going to be too happy about this," Yale
said gravely, taking off his own coat and placing it around the
shivering child.  Eden Advance were high in the mountains, the
final range before they reached New Pacifica.  Yale surmised that
once the last peak was reached, they would be able to see the path
that lay ahead all the way home.  It would seem like a miracle.
     "I can't believe you fell in the water!" taunted True from the
other side of the pond.  "You're so dumb sometimes, Ulysses Adair!" 
     "And you're so stupid," he shot back.  True only laughed.  
     "Ulysses, True, that's enough for now," Yale warned gently,
inwardly sighing.  It was the thousandth time he'd had to break up
a dispute between the group's only two children (although Bess was
expecting her first child any week now).  
     Idly, Yale wondered if he'd end up responsible for the new
baby as well.  It seemed as if all he'd done, ever since the crash,
was watch out for Uly and True.  Look after them.  Teach them.  Or
occasionally plot new maps for the group.
     He'd never even had the chance to truly explore his past.  He
remembered a few things of the life of Braydon Croix, but in actual
fact, these had little meaning to him.  He was Yale, and he was
part of the Eden Project.  He just wish the other members of the
group would realise that and treat him more like a person rather
than a resource.
     Although they weren't really that bad.  Devon always had time
for him when she wasn't in one of her bossy moods.  Julia too could
empathise with him in a way, for her genetic make up had also been
tampered with by the Council.  But everyone else, well, they
generally behaved indifferently towards him.  Except for one person
- Elisha Denner.  She always seemed tto have a kind word for him,
and they'd had several quiet conversations by the fire at night
when the nights were cold.  And then there was her beautiful
smile...
     Yale shook his head at the foolish notion.  He was a cyborg,
and a tutor.  He had no business being interested in someone in
*that* way.  He had children to watch.  And one of them was soaking
wet right now.  
     "We had better hurry back to camp," Yale told Uly, starting
down the leafy green path.  "Are you coming, True?"  She skipped
across the natural rock bridge and joined them.  The forest was
even cooler than the air by the sunlit pond, the green light having
a chilling effect on everything.  It was so different from the dry
plains they had once traversed.
     As Yale shepherded Uly back to the camp amongst the trees, he
reflected on the past year and a half.  The endless travelling had
become second nature to him now, and he really couldn't imagine
settling down somewhere.  How would people like Alonzo deal with
it?  It would be interesting when the time came. 
     He held aside some branches as the children passed before him. 
The forest was tough going, especially for the vehicles.  It was
taking them days to make very little headway, for not only did the
dense foliage cause a problem, but the steepness of the terrain did
as well.
     Still, it was a strikingly beautiful place, and another wonder
of the new world they were on.     

     Yale winced, hearing Devon Adair's cry well before he saw her. 
"Uly!  What happened to you...come here, you have to get out of
those wet clothes or you'll get sick again.  Now!"  It seemed that
Devon's instinct to treat Uly as a delicate child would never fade. 
     "Yale!" she snapped as he entered the clearing.  "How could
you let this happen?  When you said fishing, I didn't know he'd end
up half freezing to death!"
     "Devon, it's only a little water," Yale began, hoping to
placate her.  "I'm sure he'll be fine."
     But Devon ignored him, and took Uly to their tent.  Yale
sighed.  
     "Don't worry, Yale, it wasn't your fault," sympathised True,
but there was a mischievous gleam in her eyes.  She'd enjoyed
seeing Uly's fall and was very glad that Yale had taken them to the
pond.  She hoped they'd go there again before they moved on.
     True skipped off, leaving Yale alone in the centre of the
clearing.  He looked around - most of the colonists were out in the
forest either chopping aside vegetation or gathering food while the
vehicles recharged.  Devon had remained in camp to compile charts
from the scouting reports, and Bess, who was in no condition to be
cutting down trees, was busying herself by sewing baby garments. 
Yale himself had taught her that skill when it became obvious that
someone would need to make small clothes!
     Yale decided that perhaps he, too, should join the others in
making a path for the vehicles.  Or...he could head for the top of
the ridge.  In the interests of survey, of course.  Yale was
actually surprised that Devon hadn't yet charged ahead to get the
first look at New Pacifica.  But then again, maybe she had.  She
and John Danziger had been gone an awfully long time the previous
day when they claimed they were out looking for edible berries that
Julia had identified.
     Glancing again around the empty clearing, Yale noted that True
had joined Bess, intrigued by the new concept of sewing.  Possibly,
Yale noted, True might develop wider interests beyond mechanics. 
     In any case, True was taken care of, and Yale suspected that
Uly wouldn't be allowed out of Devon's sight until she was positive
he wasn't going to get sick.  That meant that Yale could go - if he
wanted to.
     So he did.  He skirted around the work groups, not because he
wanted to avoid them, but more because he didn't want to be
distracted.  He needed to concentrate on the path ahead if he were
to climb the correct peak.  
     Yale pushed through dense foliage for what seemed hours,
reflecting that there was no way the vehicles were going to be able
to follow this path.  They would need to find a shallower slope. 
He listened closely to the alien cries of forest creatures, and
once even stumbled across a family of kobas.  There was so much
they still didn't know about G889, and it would take more than a
lifetime to even begin to understand the planet.
     Finally, Yale broke through the trees into sunlight.  He was
panting heavily from the climb, but now, now he felt rejuvenated. 
It was only a few more meters to the top.   
     Excitement growing within him, Yale virtually sprinted to the
top.  And gasped when he saw the scene.  
     Spread literally beneath his feet was an awesome sight.  A
beautiful, green landscape, a flowing turquoise river that cut
straight through the grassland and forest, and finally, not too far
away, a new strip of blue.  Something Yale never dreamed he'd see. 
An ocean.  
     Even though Yale had been watching tapes of oceans for years,
nothing prepared him for the true sight of endless deep blue,
extending all the way to the horizon and beyond.  He let out a sigh
of appreciation.
     "It's incredible, isn't it," came a quiet voice from somewhere
to the left.  Yale jumped.  
     "Elisha?"
     She stepped from behind a rock, she hadn't really been hidden,
it was just that Yale had not anticipated *anyone* else being up
here.
     "Is that really it?" she asked softly, pointing towards the
universe beneath their feet.  "Is that New Pacifica?"
     "Yes," confirmed Yale.  A smile began to tug at the corners of
his mouth, despite his reservations.  "I believe we are actually
going to get there!"
     "You didn't think so all along?"  Elisha's face suddenly
showed confusion.  She had trusted Yale for so long, for he seemed
wise and calming, the kind of presence she needed in her life.  He
had always been so strong, and so confident, and now she was
surprised to hear that he had doubts, just the way she did.
     Yale turned to face her, and realised she was standing barely
a meter away.  "I feared for a great many things on this journey,"
he admitted.  "There are times I did not think any of us would make
it to New Pacifica alive."
     Elisha slowly took in his words.  How true they were.  She
remembered the early days, of quarrels and suspicions.  Their
desperate searches for supplies and water.  The virus, when her
dear friend had Eben died.  And the flood, when none of them
thought they'd ever see dry land -or sunlight- again.  
     "But we did make it," she said softly in response to Yale's
words.  "It's more beautiful than I ever dreamed."
     Yale understood perfectly, and met Elisha's eyes.  They stood,
frozen for a moment by the power of connection that surged between
them, heightened by the wonder of a tangible dream.  
     "What will we do when we get there?" Elisha suddenly asked,
breaking the mood because the intensity of Yale's gaze had unnerved
her.  Behind the trusted eyes, she'd caught a hint of something
else, an emotion that was yet to be defined.  "Do you think we'll
be able to set up the colony in time?"
     "I am positive we can," replied Yale.  "Look at what we've
accomplished so far, a group of only a few people against a
continent.  What will be more interesting to me is who stays."
     "Who stays?"  Elisha repeated his words, curious as to what he
meant.  She began to push a rock with her foot, and watched in
fascination as it soared over the edge of the cliff, downwards into
eternity.  
     "Yes, who stays."  Yale began to explain, "The colonist ship
is going back to the stations once its mission is over.  And all
members of Eden Advance have the option to go back as well."  A
sudden worry came over Yale.  What if Elisha was planning on
leaving?  Yale realised right then that he didn't want to see her
go.  She was beginning to mean more to him every day.
     Yet Elisha's question startled *him*.  "You're not going, are
you?"  There was more than a hint of worry in her voice.  
     "I cannot go back," stated Yale.  "My kind are outlawed."
     "Your kind?"  Elisha was surprised by the terminology.  She
didn't think of Yale as anything less than a living, breathing,
human being.  It didn't matter to her what had happened to Yale in
the past.  She trusted him implicitly, as both a friend and a man. 
     Perhaps she should tell him that.  "Yale, you're a person. 
Not a cyborg, no matter what the Council thinks."  She reached out
and caught his hand to make her point.  His palm was softer than
she'd anticipated.  
     "Nonetheless, I cannot go back," Yale continued, trying to
avoid the strange sensation creeping up his arm from the simple
touch.  "Besides, I promised Devon a long time ago that I would
stay with her and help her."  
     "For the rest of your life?"  Elisha's tone was
uncharacteristically sharp.  "She doesn't own you, Yale.  No one
does."   
     Yale was silent.  He owed so much to the Adair family, and it
was true that he loved both Devon and Uly dearly.  But when it came
to ownership...he did feel obligated to stay with Devon as long as
she needed him.  He tried to explain this to Elisha, yet she
ignored his words.  Instead, she pulled him closer to her and
turned them both to face the ocean.
     "Look out there, Yale.  That's the future.  That's *our*
future.  It's up to each of us to make it whatever we want.  Things
don't have to stay the same forever - look at Bess and Morgan. 
They took a step to have children here.  They're thinking of the
future, and Yale, I - I..." and it was here Elisha began to
stumble.  
     "I care about you, Yale," she finally admitted.  "I don't want
to see you trapped by events of the past."
     Yale had forgotten to breathe ever since Elisha said she cared
about him.  She cared?!  
     "I want you to have a future, maybe even...us...a future
together..."  Her voice grew quieter with every word, but Yale
understood her perfectly.   
     "Elisha," he said softly.  "I never knew, I never even thought
about it..."  
     "Shhh," she replied, placing a finger to his lips.  "Don't
think about it.  Just act.  There is a universe of promise out
there."
     Ever so hesitantly, Yale reached out and placed his arms
around her small frame.  She accepted his embrace, and suddenly,
they were united above the future, and on the brink of a new future
themselves.   There were so many possibilities...and New Pacifica
was right there.  It was a new horizon for both of them.


END.

--------------

So what did you think?  I apologise for the characterisation - as
I was writing this I realised I didn't know Yale or Denner very
well at all.  But I tried!  (And now I can get back to writing D&D
to my heart's content!  Or maybe I'll give Alonzo and Julia a
go...)

You know what?  This story is missing a traditional 'Nic'
ending.  So here you go...

As Yale bent in to kiss Elisha, he felt the cliff beginning to
crumble beneath his feet.  A look of horror crossed his face, one
that Elisha missed as she leaned forward into his embrace, and
suddenly...there was nothing but emptiness...

Yale and Elisha Denner fell off the cliff as New Pacifica watched
and laughed.

                               ***