{"id":108,"date":"2012-02-19T00:00:23","date_gmt":"2012-02-19T05:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=108"},"modified":"2012-02-18T09:30:30","modified_gmt":"2012-02-18T14:30:30","slug":"chapter-eight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=108","title":{"rendered":"Chapter Eight"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Sometimes you come up with these insane ideas.\u00a0 Most of those ideas never end up being put into practice\u2014they\u2019re just too out there<\/em>.\u00a0 But sometimes, with a little work, those ideas become so crazy they just might work.\u00a0 That\u2019s the feeling we got when we started to talk about Operation: Quebec.\u00a0 Rescuing Grant Channing and America Farragut was something that needed<\/em> to happen.\u00a0 Sending three men in to do the job?\u00a0 That was the crazy part.\u00a0 We had no idea if it would work or not.\u00a0 All we could do was hope.<\/p>\n

— Kara Grace-Forester, member of the Rose Council (5245-5250)<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

17 Octem, 5249 PD
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cRachel, I need your help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra Grace was standing at the edge of her garden, where Rachel was elbow-deep in the dirt, potting some of her plants to start the process of slowly moving them inside for the winter\u2014though there were a few she was probably planning to give away, lined up at the far end of the garden, near her small skimmer.\u00a0 She raised an eyebrow at him, not bothering to stand.\u00a0 \u201cShouldn\u2019t you be helping other people right about now?\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t have any appointments today and if base needs me, they know how to find me fast.\u201d\u00a0 He gestured vaguely to the headset dangling around his neck.\u00a0 \u201cI need your help with something.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older woman stared at him for a moment, then nodded, going back to her work in the garden.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s up?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlana and Kara and I have been working on something.\u00a0 A plan.\u00a0 But I\u2019m going to need your help convincing a couple of the principals it\u2019s a good idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA plan for what, Ezra?\u201d\u00a0 Rachel frowned at the stalk between her hands and gestured.\u00a0 \u201cHand me that pot, would you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra scooped up the pot that looked like it had been made by one of the other Consuls\u2014Yvgeny Tarasavich was a potter of no small skill\u2014and eased between the wild tangles of greenery to hand her the pot, being careful to not step on the tomato plant especially, spidery and sprawling as it was.\u00a0 It was full of small green tomatoes, each about the size of the last joint of his thumb.\u00a0 \u201cTo rescue your sister and her husband from the congloms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel almost dropped the pot but recovered quickly, scooping some dirt into it and giving him a hard look.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re being proactive about that, are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra frowned.\u00a0 \u201cKara told me about what happened at the meeting a couple weeks ago.\u00a0 Brendan\u2019s been worried about Lindsay ever since.\u00a0 There\u2019s pretty much nothing <\/em>I can do about that other than try to solve one problem by solving a related problem.\u00a0 Kara said the Council agreed that Grant and America can\u2019t be left in enemy hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEnemy hands.\u201d Rachel murmured, almost to herself.\u00a0 \u201cWe never really talked about them that way before, did we?\u00a0 Not here.\u00a0 Not since before\u2026\u201d\u00a0 She stared at her dirty hands for a long moment, seeing a time other than the moment they were living in.\u00a0 She sighed quietly and looked at him.\u00a0 \u201cYou said you needed my help.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI think I\u2019m going to.\u00a0 D\u2019Arcy hasn\u2019t come up with any bright ideas, has he?\u00a0 For how to get them out of where they are alive?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 He\u2019s dragging his feet a little.\u201d\u00a0 She glanced toward the house briefly.\u00a0 \u201cAdam is going to pay him an unpleasant visit sometime today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam?\u00a0 Who\u2019s Adam?<\/em>\u00a0 He decided not to ask.\u00a0 It was probably safer that way.\u00a0 \u201cWell, then, it\u2019s even better that we\u2019ve come up with the plan we\u2019ve started to come up with.\u201d\u00a0 He almost moved toward her, but then remembered the tomato plant practically tangled around his feet and held still.\u00a0 \u201cWe think that one ship, with a three-man team, might have a shot at pulling them out.\u00a0 It\u2019s really cloak and dagger special ops kind of stuff, but Alana\u2019s been helping me hammer out the details and we think it\u2019ll work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel sat back against her heels.\u00a0 \u201cAnd what, exactly, is<\/em> this amazing plan of yours?\u00a0 And what part of it do you need my help with?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need Brendan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel arched a brow.\u00a0 \u201cWhy do you need Brendan?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChinasia Corp and the Eurydice Compact have them, right?\u00a0 And Brendan knows the facility where one of them is being held, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel frowned.\u00a0 \u201cHow did you\u2014did Brendan?\u2014oh.\u00a0 Kara.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cWe wouldn\u2019t have about half the intelligence we have on the situation without her.\u00a0 She\u2019s been keeping me abreast of what goes on at Council meetings.\u201d\u00a0 He scratched his nose a little, nervously.\u00a0 \u201cWe need someone who speaks the corporate and tactical languages of Chinasia Corp.\u00a0 He\u2019s the only one on the freaking planet<\/em> who does.\u201d<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t disagree.\u00a0 She looked back to the pot, scooped some more dirt into it, then started to settle the plant she\u2019d been preparing to pot into the loose soil.\u00a0 \u201cHow are you going to handle the Compact end of it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s where Alana comes in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel arched a brow, looking up at Ezra.\u00a0 \u201cShe agreed to go?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s been helping me plan.\u00a0 It took me two days to convince her that I should be the third person on the team going in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m shocked you talked her into leaving the planet.\u00a0 She hasn\u2019t been off-world in eighteen years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra licked his lips.\u00a0 \u201cShe said she\u2019d do anything to help Lindsay\u2019s parents, Rachel.\u00a0 Anything<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

She sat back against her heels, looking distant for a moment, brow furrowing.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s interesting,\u201d she murmured softly.<\/p>\n

He raised a brow at her.\u00a0 What\u2019s interesting?<\/em><\/p>\n

She shook her head slightly.\u00a0 \u201cBrendan and I had been talking about Alana\u2019s attachment to Lindsay.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t shared my theories on it with him yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you going to share them with me?\u201d\u00a0 I knew she was very attached to Lindsay.\u00a0 But if even Rachel doesn\u2019t <\/em>know why\u2026<\/em>\u00a0 The mystery that was Alana Chase had suddenly deepened.<\/p>\n

Rachel smiled wryly up at him, then went back to potting the vegetable plant she\u2019d dug up out of her garden.\u00a0 \u201cAre you sure you want to know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t I?\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head a little.\u00a0 \u201cJust checking.\u201d\u00a0 She scooped another handful of dirt into the pot.\u00a0 \u201cI think she may somehow be connected to Grant.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLindsay\u2019s father Grant?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel nodded, staring at the plant under her hands.\u00a0 \u201cI would know if she was connected to my sister, which she isn\u2019t.\u00a0 A connection to Grant\u2014to the Channing family\u2014is the only thing that I can think of to explain her devotion to Lindsay.\u00a0 She\u2019s been taking orders from her since Lindsay was eight.\u201d\u00a0 Rachel snorted humorlessly.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s how Brendan\u2019s still alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra raised a brow.\u00a0 He\u2019d never gotten a straight answer out of Brendan, how he\u2019d managed to be the only<\/em> survivor of his dropship.\u00a0 \u201cReally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel did<\/em> laugh this time.\u00a0 \u201cLindsay told her not to kill him.\u00a0 She was about to pull the trigger on him, too.\u201d\u00a0 She shook her head slightly.\u00a0 \u201cShe gave him a concussion instead.\u00a0 That\u2019s why he doesn\u2019t remember the particulars of those last few moments before he woke up at the base hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra shook his head.\u00a0 Never imagined the reason he didn\u2019t tell me was because he didn\u2019t <\/em>remember what happened to him.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cThat why she hates him?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel winced.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t think she actually hates him, Ezra.\u00a0 I really don\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0 She exhaled, standing up and handing the pot to him.\u00a0 She dusted off her hands, her knees.\u00a0 \u201cI think she pretends she hates him because she doesn\u2019t think that he and Lindsay were a good match.\u00a0 Or something like that.\u201d\u00a0 She smiled wryly.\u00a0 \u201cOf course, it didn\u2019t matter what she thought about the match, because they\u2019re the ones that get to choose.\u201d\u00a0 She shooed him out of the garden.\u00a0 He stumbled back, narrowly avoiding crushing something that might have been a carrot, back into the grass.\u00a0 She followed him out of the garden, picking her way carefully but easily.\u00a0 She took the pot from him and set it down in the grass.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo let me make sure I\u2019m clear on this.\u00a0 You need my help convincing Brendan that this plan is a good idea and that he should come along.\u00a0 Yes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the long and short of it, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel nodded.\u00a0 \u201cHave you given any thought as to how you\u2019re going to convince Lindsay<\/em> to let him go?\u201d\u00a0 She dusted a little more dirt off her pants and then headed for the house.<\/p>\n

Ezra blinked, following her toward the house.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026it\u2019s her parents.\u00a0 We\u2019d be going out to rescue her parents.\u00a0 Why would that take a lot of convincing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re the one that\u2019s asking for my help talking Brendan into this.\u00a0 Why do you think he\u2019d say no?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause he wouldn\u2019t want to leave Lindsay alone.\u00a0 He worries.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you think that Lindsay would worry any less about him if he went flying back into New Earth space with you and Alana?\u201d\u00a0 Rachel turned toward him, leaning in the doorframe of the exterior side door that led into her kitchen.\u00a0 \u201cFirst of all, she\u2019d worry about Alana deciding to kill Brendan by tossing him out an airlock or something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou said that Alana didn\u2019t actually hate Brendan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did say that.\u00a0 But that\u2019s not necessarily what they<\/em> think, or what they<\/em> fear.\u201d\u00a0 Rachel rubbed her nose with the back of her hand.\u00a0 She left a bit of dirt on the tip.\u00a0 \u201cSecond, Brendan is the only person that can help her control her visions right now.\u00a0 Contact with him is the only thing that\u2019s been anchoring her lately, I think.\u00a0 It could be dangerous for them to be apart for very long, especially in the face of an impending war, which is going to make her abilities go a little haywire.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra frowned.\u00a0 How does she know all this?\u00a0 Or is she guessing?<\/em><\/p>\n

Rachel shook her head at his puzzled look.\u00a0 If she was doing a surface read of his thoughts, he didn\u2019t notice it.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m writing a book on Ryland LeSarte, Ezra.\u00a0 When war broke out during his lifetime between the Guard and the Compact, it almost killed him, and not because he saw any sort of military action.\u00a0 His oracular ability threatened to completely overwhelm his senses.\u00a0 Journals and reports say that the only reason he didn\u2019t end up in some sort of vegetative state was because of Sara Farragut and later their son, Ian.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026I didn\u2019t know that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody outside the family knows that, Ezra.\u00a0 Not yet, anyway.\u201d\u00a0 Rachel shook her head slightly.\u00a0 \u201cThere are some\u2026things<\/em>\u2026in place that make me think that she\u2019ll be all right if he goes\u2014if you and I and possibly Adam can convince him to go of his own free will.\u00a0 If the Guardians like the plan, they\u2019ll order him to go even if he doesn\u2019t want to.\u00a0 That\u2019s the way these things work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019d be better if he agrees to go on his own.\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded.\u00a0 \u201cMuch better, don\u2019t you think?\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded in agreement.\u00a0 \u201cI think so.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I came to you.\u00a0 You\u2026helped raise him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did<\/em> raise him, after he came here.\u201d\u00a0 She smiled wryly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d like to think he looks at me like a second mother.\u00a0 Or at least a favorite aunt.\u00a0 It took a lot of work to unknot him, after what Chinasia Corp did to him for sixteen years.\u201d\u00a0 She leaned against the door, now.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll talk to him for you, Ezra.\u00a0 You should try to talk to him yourself, first.\u00a0 See how he reacts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlone, you think?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDefinitely alone.\u201d\u00a0 Rachel frowned, shaking her head.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t think that Lindsay\u2019s going to like the idea at all.\u201d\u00a0 There was a voice calling Rachel\u2019s name from inside.\u00a0 A man\u2019s voice.\u00a0 \u201cKeep me posted on how it\u2019s coming together\u2014and when you\u2019re going to present it to the Council.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra nodded, brow furrowing even as he tried to smother the curiosity suddenly rising.\u00a0 Who\u2019s in there calling for her?<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cI guess I\u2019ll go, then, since you\u2019re not going to invite me in for tea.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled wryly.<\/p>\n

She laughed.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t think ill of me for it, Ezra.\u00a0 We\u2019ve both got our work to do.\u00a0 Take one of the pots of beans to your sister and Gabriel, will you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSnap peas?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t think you knew the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra blushed.\u00a0 \u201cJust because I don\u2019t have a big garden doesn\u2019t mean I don\u2019t know what snap peas look like on the vine, Rachel.\u00a0 The pot on the end okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll talk more later.\u201d\u00a0 The voice inside was still calling for her, starting to get a little insistent.\u00a0 Ezra thought<\/em> maybe it was familiar.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure.\u201d\u00a0 He backed away, waved a little, then went and got the indicated pot.\u00a0 For a moment, he regretted walking rather than taking a skimmer up.<\/p>\n

The exercise will do me good, I guess,<\/em> he thought.\u00a0 Kara and Gabe didn\u2019t live that far away, anyway.\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t take long to bring them the peas.\u00a0 Maybe he and Gabe would play some checkers while he and Kara discussed the plan further.\u00a0 Of course, they\u2019d have to round up Alana.\u00a0 That shouldn\u2019t be too hard.\u00a0 She\u2019s probably at home, or lurking around Lindsay and Brendan\u2019s.\u00a0 One or the other.\u00a0 Either way\u2026easy to find.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes you come up with these insane ideas.\u00a0 Most of those ideas never end up being put into practice\u2014they\u2019re just too out there.\u00a0 But sometimes, with a little work, those ideas become so crazy they just might work.\u00a0 That\u2019s the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-last-colony"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p25yjF-1K","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=108"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":110,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108\/revisions\/110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}