AUTHOR'S NOTE: The
characters that belong to Landmark, namely biomechs, Dr. Taggart and
Jennifer Chase do not belong to me. No infringement intended, not
worth suing me really. I seem to have a thing for "before"
and "after" stories, so enjoy this one.
A TWIST OF FATE48.1 Mark1 (New Year's Day) Overunit Palmer was walking down what used to be corridor 321 of Volcania, before the satellite had demolished that section. Worker drones were busy at work trying to rebuild the shattered portion of the structure. Overunit Palmer felt the anger rise in her. How dare those filthy terrorists do something like this? She shook her head. How could those insane organics not see the obvious? The Biodread Empire and the New Order were the only ways to go. Why fight the inevitable? As she passed some Underunits, younger ones who had recently graduated from the Dread Youth, she caught the tail end of their conversation. ".....just heard it over the rebel radio waves. They say Power wasn't in the base, he's still alive somewhere, but the base is gone and so's that traitor Chase..." Overunit Palmer froze in her tracks and looked back. The Underunits saw her and immediately stood to attention. She walked over and addressed the one who had been talking. "What did you say? Did you just say the Powerbase was destroyed?" Nervously, the Underunit answered. "Um, yes sir, Lord Blastarr took a whole battalion in this morning. Only one rebel was in there though, that former Dread Youth, traitor. The one called Jennifer Chase. She was alone but managed to blow up the whole works before anything could be salvaged. Lord Blastarr's totally destroyed, so's the base, but so's Chase. That's one less rebel...." The Underunit broke off. Overunit Palmer swallowed. "So the one they call Pilot, she's, well, she's dead?" The Underunit looked at his comrades before answering. "It's believed so sir. We won't know for sure until they salvage Blastarr's databanks." Overunit Palmer turned on her heels with a nod to the Underunits and strode off. She walked quickly, seemingly with purpose until she was out of sight of everyone and the cameras. She stepped outside into the night air and made sure the door was closed firmly behind her. Then, for the first time in years, she allowed herself to feel the humanness that still existed within her. Why? She asked herself. Why should she care? She had made a decision years ago, and she stuck by it faithfully. She had been the role model as a servant to the machine, never letting organic emotions cloud her duty. Even when the rumors had come about an exceptional Dread Youth named Jennifer Chase, first in her class, exceptional mechanic and potential pilot. She had maintained her cool resolve even after hearing the impossible, that the girl had defected to the Organic Rebellion. That she was involved with Captain Power, the most hated enemy of the Biodread Empire. News of her apparent death should be met with joyous relief. But Palmer was having trouble breathing. She told herself she must stop, if it were ever discovered she had reacted this way to the news, Lord Dread would certainly question her. She could even be severely punished, maybe even denied her role in the New Order. She was fast approaching forty, in a few years, the age when most Overunits were digitized awaiting new mechanical bodies on the glorious day of the New Order. Perhaps she would simply be executed, not digitized, for her reaction. She forced herself to fight back the tears threatening to come. But she couldn't force back the memories..... June 13, 2129 Fifteen year old Gwen Palmer barely heard her mother's voice calling her down to breakfast. She barely noticed the sunlight flickering through the lace curtains of her room. She didn't hear the birds singing outside. She curled up into a ball on her bed, looking through the doorway at the counter of her bathroom, where sat a small strip that had turned blue. A damning color, blue. With that small strip, her fate was sealed. She was pregnant. Her mind could barely accept it. What was she going to do? She had to tell Jacob. What would he say? What would her parents say? A chill ran down her spine. Her father was going to flip out. But that was not the worst of it. Gwen was an only child, the center of her parents' world. She was the best dancer in her ballet class, popular at her exclusive private school, and girlfriend of the cutest boy at that private school, the captain of the football team who was going to college on a football scholarship and who wanted to be a fighter pilot. With news of her pregnancy, all of that would change. Jacob would probably deny he was the father in order to save his own butt. He had a scholarship and a future, he didn't need to get thrown out of school his senior year. She, on the other hand, couldn't escape that easily. The rules of their school were very clear, anyone who got pregnant or got someone pregnant was expelled, without question. She would have to go to Port Haven Public school, where all the chemical pushers hang out in the parking lots and gangs shoot each other in the halls. How could she ever face her friends or her mother's friends going to Port Haven? Forget about ballet, she couldn't dance being pregnant. There went her dream of being a ballet dancer. And what about her life? With a baby, she could forget about school dances and the senior prom. Forget about hanging with her friends and doing whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. And her parents would be so disappointed. Her father was going to lecture her for a year and her mother would probably disown her. She cried and cried, but the baby was still there, it wasn't going to go away. Her mother opened her door. "Gwenivere Leigh, didn't you hear me calling you? Come on, your breakfast is getting cold." She turned and walked out. Gwen's stomach turned at the though of food and she hoped she wasn't going to be sick again. Reluctantly, she dragged herself into the kitchen and tried to force down some eggs. Her father was watching the news on the vid panel in the table. For the past two days there had been nothing on the vids except the latest news story. Some scientists had created a supercomputer that could control every mechanic army on the planet. It's purpose had been to shut them down to deter war. Except one of the scientists went nuts and now the computer was controlling the armies all right, at his command and they were decimating cities all over the globe. So far there hadn't been any major incidents in the USA, but Europe was almost completely flattened. The news caster was talking as a video of a man with blazing blue eyes and a beard walked past reporters, followed by a boy of about seven. Gwen eyed the kid. Lord he looks so serious, totally out of character for a kid that age. The boy had the same blue eyes as the man, but darker hair and wore an expression of total control and seriousness. The newswoman's irritating voice was reporting. ".....Dr. Power was unavailable for comment, although sources say he may be the one man capable of bringing this nightmare to an end. His partner in research, Dr. Lyman Taggart, still refuses to answer any transmission, while armies of biomechs continued to trample Paris and Cairo this morning...." Gwen was starting to feel sick again. She managed to choke down her food then escaped outside. She was heading next door to Jake's house. Biomechs taking over Europe was beyond her at the moment, right now she had her own war to fight. Later that day Jacob sat down hard on the tree stump and stared at Gwen with his laser blue eyes. He wanted to make sure this wasn't some kind of prank she was pulling on him. He was 17, soon to be 18 and would be a senior this year. He had known Gwen since they were babies, although she was 2 1/2 years younger. He had always felt that they would end up together, she had seemed just perfect for him. Now his dream world was shattering with her news. The sunlight seemed to make her honey blonde hair glow with an unearthly glow, almost as is he was dreaming and he pinched himself to make sure. Nope, he was awake. Damn. Suddenly he realized she was talking to him again. "Huh? What did you say?" he asked. "I said what do you think? What should we do?" she repeated. To her surprise, he grinned and jumped up and pulled her into a hug. "I can't believe it!" he said with a smile. "I'm going to be a dad! And you're going to be a mom! We're going to have a baby!" He was breathless with excitement as he paced back and forth. "Wow, I hope it's a boy. I'll teach him how to play football and baseball, and oh everything! And I'll be right there when you have it. I promise. And he'll never want anything as long as he lives. I'll make sure of that. Well, if it's a girl that should be cool too. Maybe she can be a dancer like you, or maybe she'll...." Gwen cut him off. "Jake, I'm NOT having this baby. Are you out of your mind?" Jacob froze. "What do you mean you're not having it? Of course you are. Aren't you?" Gwen felt anger surge inside her. How dare he just assume she was going to give up everything? "I don't want a baby you jerk!" Her eyes flashed at him. "I'll get kicked out of the Academy for sure, and so will you! Kiss that football scholarship goodbye. And I'll never be a dancer, I'll never get to do everything I want to do. And my parents will kill me, AFTER they kill you. No way! I'm only 15, I'm no one's mother! Uh uh, I'm getting rid of it as soon as possible, BEFORE the school year starts. And you're going to pay for it since it's your fault I'm in this mess." Jacob felt the anger rise in him. "Hey wait a minute, I didn't hear any complaints from you, it takes two to tango. And what are talking about? An abortion? Those are illegal. And so what about the football scholarship, I want to go into the air force anyway. That should cover us and a baby. You can't be serious." "I am serious," she said firmly. "What's more, I know of some doctors in Seattle who still do abortions. We can go there tomorrow. Make a day trip out of it, be back tomorrow night, nobody will ever know." "You're not killing my kid," Jacob said firmly. "Well I'm going with or without you. That's easy for you to say, YOU don't have to carry it. YOU don't have to get fat and bloated, YOU don't have to walk down the halls with people staring and whispering." Gwen's jaw was set. Jacob sighed. He knew she was probably right. Was he ready to be a father? Probably not but did that justify an abortion? He felt in his heart that that was wrong. But she was going to do it with or without him. They argued for an hour, before he finally gave in with a heavy heart. As they walked back to their houses, having made plans for the following day, he prayed God, and his unborn child, would forgive him for what he was about to do. June 14, 2129 9:00am As Gwen and Jacob climbed into his car, Jake's dad came running out. "Where the hell do you two think you're going?" he asked. They both froze. Did he know? How could he know? Jake looked up at his father. "We're just, um, going to the mall and stuff dad." Jake fidgeted. Gwen sighed. The guy couldn't tell a lie if his very life depended on it. Jake's dad reached in and grabbed the keys. "No you're not. Didn't you hear the news this morning? The armies flattened New York and Washington D.C. this morning and are trashing Atlanta right now. They'll probably hit Seattle by tomorrow. We need to start thinking about packing and moving out of here." Jacob looked at his father stunned. "Why dad? We don't live in a major city." "No but we do live less than 10 miles from the string of power plants that power this entire state," he said. "No one's going anywhere. Probably nothing will happen here or even in Seattle by tomorrow. We have a good air force that's holding them steady now, but we just don't know. No, both of you are staying here. No questions." He turned and walked back inside with the keys as Gwen and Jake just stared at each other with their mouths open. They spent the rest of the day watching the news broadcasts. The robot armies seemed to be moving more slowly, but they were still moving. Jacob watched as the vids showed Dr. Power and his son again. Like Gwen, he stared at the boy. He didn't know why, but he felt the kid looked like someone he should know. What was so special about that boy? Jacob couldn't place it, but he felt somehow that that boy was going to be important. But that was crazy! He didn't even know those people. He sighed and tried to find something else to watch, but every channel was the same. June 15, 2129 5:00am Gwen carefully closed the window to her room and slipped across the backyard to Jacob's house. With as little noise as possible, they started up the car and slipped out of the neighborhood before the sun came up. By sunrise, they were on the crowded freeways heading towards Seattle. Gwen was nervous, she didn't know what to expect and she was pretty sure it was going to hurt. But better that than the alternative. To pass the time on the hour long drive, she chattered away about anything. Jacob's silence was making her even more nervous than she already was. "...and Carlene and Joey are probably going to break up, since everyone knows he's still carrying a thing for Laurie, but Laurie's still got that crush on your teammate, Robert. So what do you think, do you think Robert likes Laurie? I think he does because he..." Jacob was beginning to wonder how come he never noticed how shallow Gwen was. How could she prattle on endlessly about their friends' relationships while on the way to murder her own child? His child. It was beginning to wear on his nerves and he felt an overwhelming urge to reach over and slap her. Gwen was still going on. "...Rachel said Michael was probably going to dump her, but she hopes he at least waits until after senior prom, since she's still a sophomore and can't go unless she's with a senior. I'll have to get a new dress, maybe a blue one this time. All those other dresses I have won't work for a winter dance, and I think a nice deep blue would match my eyes.." Suddenly Jacob couldn't stand it anymore. He pulled over to the side of the road and whirled on her. "Damnit Gwen what is wrong with you??" Gwen was stunned. Jacob was always so easygoing. She had never seen him mad before, especially at her. "What are you talking about?" she asked. "C'mon, Gwen. You're rattling on about stupid stuff, about who's dating who, who's dumping who, dances and school crap while we're on our way to murder our unborn baby. In the meantime there's mechanical monsters taking over the world. We probably won't even HAVE a senior prom this year you idiot! We'll be lucky if we still have school!" he raged. "Don't call me an idiot!" she yelled. "And it's just a clump of cells, Jake. Not a baby." "Oh yeah? Then why is it growing? If it's not human how does it become human just by getting older? It's a baby, and we're off to kill it." He took a raged breath. "Look Jacob...." She started. But she never finished. At that moment, a blinding flash blew the sky apart and roar like a huge sonic boom blasted the vehicle sideways. Gwen screamed and Jacob threw himself over her as a shock wave buffeted the car and the sky turned red, then black. The ground shook as if tearing itself apart and fire shot through the sky. After what seemed an eternity, they both peeked up and looked around. The day had turned to dusk and the once blue sky was now black and on fire. "Wha-...what happened?" Gwen asked shakily. Jacob looked around. "I think it was a sonic bomb. I think the war just arrived in Washington state." He looked at her, feeling the panic she was showing. He shook himself. "We have to get to Seattle. We're closer to it. Have to get somewhere and find out what happened." She only nodded. Jacob eased the car back onto the highway and drove as fast as he dared. They were only 20 minutes from Seattle, but he knew what they would find once they got there. They drove in silence until they reached the city limits. Only there was no city. They stopped the car and got out. Where Seattle once stood, there was now a giant black hole in the earth. The city had been totally flattened. They stood in utter shock in silence for nearly ten minutes. It was unbelievable. Watching on the vids had somehow made the war seem far away. But this was reality. Slowly, they turned and got back into the car. There was nothing left to do but get home as fast as possible. Their parents were probably having fits. Looking back later, Gwen always wondered how come she never noticed that her comm had never buzzed with her parents looking for her. She was in too much shock to even notice that their signal had gone dead from the vehicle comms. They drove in silence, wondering what they would find, wondering what they would say to their parents. They didn't have long to wait. As they pulled up to their town limits, the same scene greeted them as they had found in Seattle. Jacob jammed on the brakes and stared with a small cry. Their small town had been decimated when the biomech armies had targeted the power plants. There was nothing but burned out shells of buildings and ash. Gwen choked on her own cry as Jacob eased the car down the streets to what had once been their neighborhood. They jumped out of the car as they pulled to a stop on their street. They stood staring in horror. Their houses, and their parents, were gone. Later that day, 6:00pm Jacob straightened up and took a deep breath. Sweat dripped off his forehead and his shoulders ached. He surveyed his handiwork. Two 5 foot trenches in what used to be his backyard. He sighed. This had to be the most gruesome thing he ever had to do, digging graves for his parents and Gwen's parents. They were going to be shallow graves, but it was the best he could do. They couldn't stay around here forever digging graves. It was going to be all he could do just to get them buried. Finding their lifeless bodies had been traumatizing enough, he would never forgive himself unless they were buried. In the meantime, he tried not to think of his other neighbors lying unburied in their homes, people he had known all his life. Old Mrs. Stubin, the widow down the street, who had been a grandmother to every child in the neighborhood, especially. He had cut her lawn nearly every Saturday of his life. He fought back tears as he finally finished digging. He looked over at the cloth covered bodies nearby and swallowed hard. He couldn't do it, not just yet. He had to check on Gwen. He found her where he had left her six hours earlier, curled up in a ball in the car rocking back and forth. He sighed. He didn't know whether to be sympathetic or angry. On the one hand, he could appreciate the shock and grief she was feeling, especially being pregnant. On the other hand, he could use some help here. He had been busting his butt all day to bury their families and she had done nothing but sit in the car and cry. He decided enough was enough. He reached into the backseat and grabbed their schoolbags that had been left there since summer break had begun. He dumped them all out on the floor. Gwen looked up. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked. "We need these bags, not what's in them. We'll never need those books again. Come on, get up. I need you to take these bags, go through our houses and see what you can salvage. It's all about survival now, nothing else. We need food, anything you can find that will keep a while. We need blankets, and canteens. And if you have a sleeping bag, we'll need that too. And extra shoes, since we'll be walking a lot I figure. Oh yeah and socks..." he broke off. She was just staring at him like he was nuts. His temper snapped. He shoved the bags into her arms. "Come on Gwen!" he shouted. "Crying isn't going to change anything. Do you want to live or do you want to die? You want to starve? You want to freeze? Because that's what's going to happen if you don't help me! Sure it's summer now but it won't always be. We're not going to be able to keep the car forever, it only has two days worth of charge left in it and I'm willing to bet the electricity is out for a while. We'll have to walk and we can't stay here, it's not safe. Now I'm burying our parents, I'm sparing you that, but the least you can do is get off your butt and start packing some useful stuff. You're not some little pampered princess anymore." He strode off in a huff. Gwen was furious. Pampered princess? How could he be so insensitive? Didn't he care that she was upset at all? Didn't he care that in the midst of all this madness she was still pregnant with his child, a child she didn't want? She resented him treating her like a baby. She'd show him. She got up and grabbed the bags. She'd show him she could be useful, then maybe he'd get off her back. Jacob wasn't too proud of the way he had handled her, but at least she was doing what he needed her to. He knew she would, if he said the right thing. She wasn't helpless, at least he didn't think she was. She was spoiled, true, but so was he. He was an only child and he wasn't going to cry about the situation. At least not until they were both safe. He missed his parents terribly, especially his dad who always seemed to know just what to do. But he wasn't going to let grief overwhelm him just yet. He couldn't afford to. By the time he was finally finished covering the graves, Gwen had returned with what she had salvaged. She had found another tote bag and had filled it with canned food. The backpacks had been filled with tattered blankets, clothes and shoes and other things. After an extensive search of what was left of the houses on their street, they had added a tent, camping gear and tools to their cache. After loading everything into the car, they stopped by the unmarked graves of their parents and looked down. Gwen was afraid to cry, afraid Jacob would get mad at her again. To her surprise though, he put an arm around her. She looked up. He had tears in his eyes. For a second, she realized that for all his attempts at being a man today, he was still a kid, just like her. But from that morning, the world as they knew it was gone. Even as the car pulled away from the shattered ruin of their small town, both of them knew that the time when they were once considered children was past. A week later They had had a hard time deciding where to go. They had managed to agree that it would be a good idea to stay away from the major cities, which would be targets for the robot armies. But they also wanted to be around other people. Gwen was going to give birth in a few months and Jake had absolutely no idea what to do. They needed help, that was for sure. The car had only lasted about three days running on only essential systems. Now they had been walking for four days following the road heading south. Gwen had wanted to go north, but Jacob had pointed out that winter was coming and there was no guarantee as to what kind of shelter they would have. So they were heading south to Los Angeles or nearby, hoping at least some of its couple of million residents had survived and hopefully a doctor would be amongst them. It took around two weeks to travel the distance to what was left of Sacremento. It was there that the two ran into a caravan of vehicles heading south. They were so happy to see other humans it was like a miracle. Within another week, they had made it to the Los Angeles valley, or rather it's burnt out shell. But as Jacob had suspected, a settlement of people was hiding in the hills. He and Gwen were accepted in and to their relief, found two doctors amongst the people. For the first time in nearly a month of hellish travel and living in a surreal nightmare, they could finally rest, and grieve. March 1, 2130 Nearly nine months had passed since that terrible July, and Gwen and Jacob had settled down into a sort of rhythm. Their settlement of families had relocated twice in the past few months, avoiding the machines' sweeping patrols. They lived in tents and lived off of what food they could find. Currently, they had moved from southern California to northern California following winter's end, hoping to find some fresh plants and animals in the woodlands in the north. They were also in the process of building log cabins deep in the forest. Two had been built already and the women and children slept in them away from the elements. Gwen especially was receiving a lot of attention. Nine months pregnant, she had filled out like a ball. Jacob still couldn't believe it, watching her sometimes. He still kept expecting to wake up at any time. But he threw himself into his duties along with the other men, hoping to etch out some kind of living for Gwen and their baby. To her credit, Gwen had calmed down enough to join in with the other women in relearning old pioneering ways of survival. But it was on a cold, blustering day that the true test came. Although it was spring, there was a chilling wind and frost was on the ground. Gwen and two other women were bringing water to the men who were chopping trees for more cabins. Gwen was looking for Jacob when she felt the searing pain tear through her. She cried out and fell to her knees. Instantly, three other women and Jacob were by her side. Jacob was frantic as he picked her up off the ground. "Gwen, Gwen are you OK?" He was scared. For the past nine months it had been purely about survival. Despite the fact that she had been showing for several months, and despite the fact that he had wanted the baby from the start, with all the commotion he had had to deal with he had almost managed to put the impending birth out of his mind. But all of a sudden it was here, she was in labor and there wasn't a damn thing he could do to help her. But luckily he didn't have to. Two of the women, Lucy and Margaret, instantly took control. They hurried back to the cabins and laid Gwen on one of the pallets. Then the real trials began. Gwen was scared to death. She knew it was going to hurt, but how much? That first contraction hadn't hurt that much, but it had caught her by surprise. But several hours later her worst fears were confirmed. She felt like someone was splitting her in two. She was lost in a sea of pain. She screamed in agony so that Jacob couldn't stand it anymore. He almost walked out until Gwen called his name. He ran over to her and grabbed her hand. She felt a surge of some relief. He was the only connection she had to her former life, her next door neighbor, her friend, her....husband? Boyfriend? Either way, she wanted him near. She felt the blackness coming over her, felt herself drowning as Lucy yelled at her to push, keep pushing. As night fell, and with one final push, Jacob heard the most miraculous sound, a baby crying! Lucy held up the squalling baby and said "It's a girl! It's a beautiful little girl!" Jacob felt himself laughing and crying at the same time as Lucy handed him the crying baby. Jacob looked down. She was so tiny! How could anything so little be alive, and a human being? She stopped crying and looked up at him with unfocused cloudy blue eyes. She had tiny hands and feet that were only the size of the end of his thumb, each with perfectly formed fingers and toes, and miniscule nails. She had a wisp of light blondish brown hair and a perfect little nose He was totally captivated. He had done this, he and Gwen had made this perfect little human being. He handed the baby to Gwen and she looked down, and had to admit she was awestruck. Had she really done that? And the baby was perfect, she was beautiful. Gwen wished her mother was here, more than anything. Sure, she would have yelled, she would have lectured, so would her father. But if only they could have seen their grandchild, they would have been as captivated as she and Jacob were. But even as she looked down at the little girl, Gwen started to wonder what she was supposed to do now. She still considered herself to be a kid, a kid practically alone in a world turned hostile to all humans. And now she was supposed to take care of a baby and she didn't have the slightest clue how. What kind of future was there for this little girl in such a terrible world? And what about herself? Gwen felt despair wash over her and fought back tears. Jacob put his arm around her and the baby, still glowing. The Next Day Deciding on a name for the baby wasn't as easy as they had thought. They had pretty much decided on Jacob Jr. if it had been a boy, but faced with the prospect of naming a girl, Jacob didn't want it to be just any old name. They couldn't agree on naming her after any of their mothers or female relatives lost in the war. Finally Jacob suggested the name Jennifer. Gwen wasn't too sure. "Oh come on Gwen, it's perfect!" he said. "Think about it. You're name's Gwenivere. That's the Old English form of the name Jennifer, so it's like naming her after you. And it starts with a "J", like my name does. I like it!" Jacob grinned. Gwen sighed, "OK but her middle name is Leigh, like mine." Jacob nodded. He wasn't going to argue the point, since Gwen had agreed to give the baby his last name. Besides, Jennifer Leigh was a good name. He held her up and bounced her until she giggled. Jacob smiled at his daughter, "Welcome to this insane world, Jennifer Leigh Chase." As time went by, Gwen and Jacob soon discovered that raising a baby, especially in a war torn world, wasn't at all easy. There was hardly enough to eat and with the baby breastfeeding, Gwen was hungry and weak all the time. Jacob found himself often giving Gwen most of his share of rations to sustain her and the baby. And little Jenny, as Jacob called her, often cried in hunger or when she was cold. Jacob spent most of his nights pacing the floor with her, since she seemed to be calmed by the deeper timber of his voice. Gwen was starting to suffer from postpartum depression, taking care of the baby and trying to keep up with her duties in the community. When Jenny started sleeping through the night they both breathed a little easier. As she grew, despite all the hardships of their lives, everyone in the community agreed that Jennifer Chase was a fairy child. Her whispy blonde hair and facial expressions were her mothers, but her penetrating blue eyes were her father's. She had a sweet laugh and friendly disposition, and Jacob couldn't be prouder. September 12, 2132 Tragedy struck their small settlement one autumn morning when biomech soldiers came crashing through the settlement. Gwen grabbed Jenny and ran for the trees with Jacob running to meet her. They ran through the forest dodging the laser blasts and their friends all ran in opposite directions and disappeared from view, most forever. Gwen cried as she ran, for once again she had lost friends and a home. And for god's sake, didn't that kid EVER stop crying? Jennifer was crying pitifully and Gwen was fast losing her patience. Quickly Jacob reached over and took her in his arms. Together they walked on through the night. As time passed, they managed to hook up with various caravans travelling in different directions. With the loss of their community, they really had nowhere else to go and it was disconcerting, especially with a two year old baby. That winter was especially brutal with nothing but a cloth tent for shelter and very little food. One night Gwen, Jacob and Jenny were sitting around a fire listening to some old men talking about some rumors they heard from a caravan farther south. "So that crazy scientist who took over the computer, he's setting himself up as ruler of the world or something. A whole bunch of folks are joining up with him. Like that old dude, Hitler or something. He's even got this army of kids, some youth group he calls it. Anyway, they're all in that huge pyramid of a place they built near Denver, Volcania it's called. One thing's for sure, them folks are all a lot better fed than us. Got clothes and warm shelter too. Hell if I wasn't as old as I am, I'd join up with him. At least we get a hot meal out of it." The old man sighed and pulled his tattered rags around him. Later that night, Gwen sat alone by their small fire watching Jacob sleeping on the other side, with Jenny curled up asleep next to him. She was scared and desperate. Jacob couldn't seem to see the horror of their situation. They were starving and winter would be here any day now. They had nothing but tattered rags for clothes and absolutely no future. Their baby required food they didn't have and would probably die from the cold this winter. Gwen felt like screaming at the unfairness of it all. She was still longing for the world that had been, and would probably never be again. She just wanted this nightmare to end. She didn't want to be here, alone and cold and hungry and responsible for a child when she could barely be responsible for herself. She looked up. Jennifer was awake, but surprisingly not crying. She was lying down, looking at her mother with those eyes that seemed to see right through walls. Her expression was unreadable. Gwen felt a small chill. It was strange, having her three year old child look at her this way, almost as an adult would. But then, Jennifer closed her eyes and the moment passed. Gwen began to think of any way out of this horrible life that didn't involve suicide. Then she began to remember what the old man at the fire had said. The next morning "NO NO NO! Absolutley not!" yelled Jacob. "We are NOT joining up with that madman who started all of this!" he stood firm. "Look Jacob, you have never listened to a thing I have ever had to say, but listen to me now. You heard what that old man said. Warm shelter and FOOD. Take a look over there at your kid. Look at her. She's hungry so she cries constantly, she'll probably die this winter, don't you see that? We have no choice. And they take kids, you heard him." She shook with desperation. Jacob was torn. He knew Gwen was probably right. But he also knew that joining the enemy was the last thing he wanted to do. He was heartbroken. He held Jennifer close to him and looked down into her eyes, so much like his own. She spoke up, "Daddy cwy?" He smiled sadly. "No baby, no, daddy's not crying." He wiped away the tears and looked up at Gwen, standing firm. With a heavy heart he nodded. The journey to Volcania took two weeks and they were received with heavy suspicion. After several interrogations, they were finally led into the main control room where a man dressed in black regarded them coolly. He spoke with an accent as he described for them the duties of joining his militia. Several vagabonds had come flocking to his door, he explained, but those who did not serve the machine willingly were cast out. Jacob began to feel a chill creep down his spine as the man talked and for the first time realized they had walked straight into serious trouble. But it wasn't until the man, Dr. Taggart, started outlining what their behavior would be and how their child was to be raised that Jacob's red flags went up. They were to behave as machines, with no emotion. The males slept in one dorm, the females in the other which meant they would hardly ever see each other. There was to be no fraternization, no sex, no emotion. They were to serve the machine willingly and without question. And their child would be raised in the youth group, taught to be a machine and a soldier for the empire. Jacob's heart caught in his throat. He'd never be able to see his child, ever hold her, show her affection, nothing! She'd be raised without emotions, as a machine! That was not living! He'd rather see them all dead, even his little girl, rather than this! Gwen looked over in horror as Jacob shouted his defiance at the man. Couldn't he see that this was the only way out? And Dr Taggart's eyes were slowly narrowing. "NO!" yelled Jacob, "We're not staying. I'm taking my child and going, this is no kind of life for her or me." He turned to Gwen, and said "You can either stay or come with us. But I'm going and I'm taking Jennifer with me. This is insanity!" Gwen was thunderstruck. She didn't know what to do. He was ruining everything! Didn't he want to eat? Didn't he want their baby to eat? Dr. Taggart could see that the young man would not be swayed. He said evenly, "Then go. Go along then. But at least let the child say goodbye to her mother. It will be the last show of emotion I will allow." Jacob looked over in surprise at Gwen. She was not budging. She was going to stay. He felt his heart sink. He loved Gwen, there was no doubt about that, but he loved Jennifer. He would not damn her to this life. The choice to stay was Gwen's. He handed Jenny to her mother and Gwen held her close in a goodbye hug. Suddenly there was a flash of light as a laser bolt hit home. Jacob looked up in surprise at Dr. Taggart, who was now pointing a gun at him. He looked down at the hole that had been burned right through his chest. At first he thought nothing had happened, and then he felt the pain. He hit the ground as Gwen screamed and he heard Jennifer's agonized wail. "Daddy! Daddy!" she cried and struggled to get away from her mother to get to her father. Gwen fought to keep a grip on her. As Jacob's world turned dark, he kept his eyes on his daughter and his last thoughts were to God. "God, please, save my little girl. Don't let this be her life." Gwen was floored as she watched Jacob's eyes close, his last gaze on Jennifer. Then he lay still. Trembling, she looked up at Taggart who now pointed the gun at her. "What will it be Ms. Palmer?" he asked evenly. Gwen was no fool. "Long live the machine," she said. At that moment the door opened and a woman dressed in a uniform entered and held out her arms to Gwen. "Give her the child, she'll be taken to our youth facility, and you will be escorted to our training facilities." He said. Gwen hesitated for a moment and looked down at her daughter. This was the only way. She handed the girl to the woman who began to walk away with her. Jennifer was terrified. She had seen her father shot down, now she was being taken away from her mother. Gwen forced herself to turn her back and ignore Jennifer's plaintive cries as they rounded the corner down the hall. "Mommy! Mommy! Momm...." The doors shut closed. That was the last Gwen saw of her daughter. Over the years, Gwen had wondered what had happened to her child, whom she now referred to as the machine would, her offspring. Occasionally, she had passed a youth group in the halls and caught sight of a blonde haired girl and wondered if that child could be hers. She had passed some Youth Leaders once and overheard one refer to the other as "Chase." Overunit Palmer had looked back quickly to see the retreating back of a young woman with sandy blonde hair just like hers. But it wasn't until Jennifer Chase had defected and joined the Powerteam that Gwen had gotten any real information on her, including a good look at the woman she had grown in to. The security tapes of several trashed facilities showed Captain Power and his team in their gold armor blasting away at everything. In several of these tapes, a young woman could be seen. Jennifer Chase, now nicknamed Pilot since she was the team's ship pilot. Fitting, especially since her father had wanted to be a pilot himself. She was beautiful, and if one looked close enough, one could definitely see a resemblance between her and the young girl. But it was her eyes that Gwen was captivated by. Her eyes were Jacob's, no question at all. Overunit Palmer was glad no one knew of the relationship between herself and the former Dread Youth turned terrorist. She gritted her teeth. The kid had always been trouble, constantly crying, demanding attention. But most of all, there was no doubt in Gwen's mind that Jacob had cared more for that kid than he had about Gwen. But despite her resentment, part of her still longed to see her child, to hold her. Because although she was never able to admit it, the part of her that was still a mother loved her daughter. But it was a part that was well buried. Now, sitting there outside Volcania, Gwen Palmer allowed those emotions to surface just once for the life she had created that was now gone, just like her father. Her daughter, her baby, her beautiful fairy child, so smart, so strong. Now gone, and in quite a stand. Single handedly took out a Biodread.Gwen had to admire that kind of grit. There had been more to her kid than she had ever known. She pulled herself together and straightened up. Slowly, Overunit Palmer turned and walked back into Volcania, into the life she had chosen, as a machine. But somewhere in the back of her mind, she could hear a child laughing, a child with blonde hair and blue eyes. THE END |