{"id":163,"date":"2012-04-29T00:00:29","date_gmt":"2012-04-29T04:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=163"},"modified":"2012-04-27T11:42:07","modified_gmt":"2012-04-27T15:42:07","slug":"chapter-eighteen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=163","title":{"rendered":"Chapter Eighteen"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

I maintain that sending three individuals, two of which are untrained in covert operations and a third whose talents have atrophied thanks to years of disuse, is quite possibly the most egregious misuse of resources that this Council has ever contemplated and I cannot and will not support this effort with an open heart.\u00a0 My conscience will not let me rest for fear of failure, which I believe that this effort is wholly doomed to.<\/h3>\n

— D\u2019Arcy Morgause, speech to the Rose Council, 22 Octem 5249<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

6 Novem 5249 PD<\/strong><\/p>\n

For a few agonizing moments, nothing happened.\u00a0 Brendan listened to the blood pounding in his ears and thought that he\u2019d been betrayed, that any second a cadre of military police and shock troopers would be down here to take him into custody.<\/p>\n

Then the door locks slid open with a soft click, the clamps holding the door shut releasing with a clunk, like an airlock.\u00a0 With not a small amount of trepidation, Brendan shouldered the door open.<\/p>\n

His heart slammed back up into his throat.<\/p>\n

Damn.\u00a0 She looks like Lindsay.<\/em><\/p>\n

The woman lay on a narrow slab, body hunched into a protective curl, knees drawn to her chest and head bowed slightly.\u00a0 Plastic ties secured her wrists and ankles, binding them so tightly the flesh around the bonds was as bright white as the bonds themselves.\u00a0 Silent tears leaked from her eyes that seemed to almost glow in the dimness of the room, meeting his gaze with an intensity that startled him.<\/p>\n

Her jaw tightened around the gag in her mouth as Brendan crossed the floor in three quick strides, digging his utility blade out of a pocket of his jumpsuit.<\/p>\n

\u201cLay still,\u201d he hissed, sliding the narrowest blade of his knife beneath the bindings on her wrist, sawing at them and forcing panic down.<\/p>\n

If we get caught, we\u2019re screwed.<\/em>\u00a0 In the shadows to his left, he could see the bare outline of medical equipment.\u00a0 He swallowed bile again, willing his stomach to stay where it was.<\/p>\n

He rocked backward as the bindings on America Farragut\u2019s wrists snapped.\u00a0 Now for the\u2014<\/em><\/p>\n

She tackled him, fingers clawing at his throat until her hands closed around it.\u00a0 Brendan bucked, eyes popping wide.<\/p>\n

What the hell?\u00a0 What the hell is she doing?\u00a0 I\u2019m here to rescue her!<\/em><\/p>\n

Alternating black and bright spots danced at the edges of his vision.\u00a0 Frail as she looked, her hands were like metal bars linked to pneumatic steel cables.\u00a0 She was crushing his throat.<\/p>\n

\u201cStop,\u201d Brendan gasped, hands scrabbling weakly at her wrists.\u00a0 His body was already going sluggish.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to be murdered by my wife\u2019s mother who doesn\u2019t know I\u2019m here to save her life.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cMarshal Windsor sent me,\u201d he wheezed, the words barely making a sound.<\/p>\n

America\u2019s eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n

Not Marshal Windsor.\u00a0 She wouldn\u2019t have known him as Marshal Windsor.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAdam Windsor,\u201d he mouthed, no longer able to make discernible sounds.\u00a0 \u201cAdam Windsor sent me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTell her Adam Windsor sent you and she shouldn\u2019t try to kill you when you cut her loose,\u201d<\/em> Marshal Windsor had said before he\u2019d left.<\/p>\n

I should have remembered that sooner<\/em>, Brendan thought as darkness closed on him.<\/p>\n

A sharp slap brought him back to his senses and he gasped in air.\u00a0 The pressure on his neck was gone, but his breath still came in raspy.\u00a0 America sat next to him on the floor, breathing heavily herself and looking vaguely mortified.\u00a0 The gag lay in her lap, spotted here and there with blood from where it had dug painfully at the corners of her mouth.\u00a0 She wiped her face with the sleeve of her thick gray jumpsuit, staring at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could have killed you,\u201d she said, voice breathy and horrified.\u00a0 \u201cYou look like one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to be,\u201d Brendan said, wincing at how much his voice sounded like a frog\u2019s croaking.\u00a0 \u201cThen I screwed my head on straight.\u201d\u00a0 He groped for his knife so he could free her ankles.<\/p>\n

\u201cGru\u2014Adam sent you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan nodded as his fingers closed around his knife.\u00a0 \u201cMore than just him, though.\u00a0 We won\u2019t have much time to get out of here.\u00a0 Can you walk?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you get me loose, I think so.\u201d\u00a0 She swallowed hard as he slid the knife down beneath the binding around her ankles.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was stupid. \u00a0It\u2019s not your fault.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat year is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

He froze, heart starting to hammer again. She doesn\u2019t know?<\/em>\u00a0 He looked at her sidelong, meeting her pained eyes.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s 5249.\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded slowly, swallowing hard as she rubbed at her wrists.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve lost a lot of time, then.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure who \u201cwe\u201d is, but I\u2019m guessing the answer is yes, yes you have.<\/em>\u00a0 Brendan set his jaw as he dutifully sawed through the thick plastic tie.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow are you planning on getting me out of here?\u201d\u00a0 America asked as Brendan rocked back, the tie finally snapping loose.<\/p>\n

He shook his head as he pocketed his knife and rolled to his feet.\u00a0 \u201cJust stay with me and you\u2019ll see for yourself.\u201d\u00a0 He reached down and pulled her to her feet, increasingly aware of how small she actually was, how thin.<\/p>\n

Bloody hell, what were they doing here?<\/em>\u00a0 He pulled her arm around his shoulders and pulled her out of her torture chamber, into the hall.\u00a0 She winced, even in the dim light of the corridor.<\/p>\n

\u201cDamn,\u201d she whispered, eyes tearing.\u00a0 \u201cI must have been in there for longer than I realized this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan opened his mouth to ask a question, then snapped it shut again. Now isn\u2019t the time to ask what they were doing to her, or why.\u00a0 Get out of here first, get home, then you can ask any goddamned question you want.<\/em><\/p>\n

Just get out of here first, and then you\u2019ll all have all the time in the galaxy\u2014for anything and everything.<\/em><\/p>\n

At least until the war comes.<\/em><\/p>\n

America leaned against the wall as he yanked the door shut behind them.\u00a0 The locks and clamps reengaged with a thunk and he felt his heart start to beat again.<\/p>\n

If it looks like nothing happened, then that\u2019ll buy us some time.<\/em><\/p>\n

The puddle of vomit on the floor would probably give them away, though.\u00a0 America was staring at it until he hauled her arm back across his shoulders.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d she whispered.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t realize\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all right,\u201d he hissed.\u00a0 \u201cShields are up again, so I\u2019m not feeling a damned thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

She choked on a weak laugh.<\/p>\n

He dragged her down the corridor toward the darkened access hall, dreading\u2014expecting\u2014with every step to hear alarms sounding or footsteps pounding down the hall.<\/p>\n

They\u2019d almost made it to the hall when Brendan heard the footsteps.<\/p>\n

Damn and damn.<\/em>\u00a0 He started moving faster.<\/p>\n

America stumbled, almost fell.\u00a0 Brendan swallowed a curse and picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of grain.\u00a0 She made a strangled sound, then went silent as he made a silent, mad dash for the hallway.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey!\u00a0 Hey, what are you\u2014\u201d\u00a0 The man that had come around the curve of the main corridor was slightly taller than Brendan, dressed in a bright white labcoat and sharply pressed slacks. \u00a0There was an almost predatory gleam to his eyes that melted into hate when he caught sight of who Brendan had been carrying.<\/p>\n

Zaki<\/em>, Brendan realized with a jolt.\u00a0 It had to be.<\/p>\n

Brendan stopped thinking.\u00a0 He dropped America unceremoniously to the deck and launched himself at the man.\u00a0 He dropped low, shoulder catching Zaki in the stomach.\u00a0 The taller man folded down over him.\u00a0 Brendan straightened abruptly, using his momentum to flip Zaki up and over him.\u00a0 Zaki somersaulted over him and crashed to the deck, landing on his shoulders.<\/p>\n

Brendan spun in time to see Zaki scrabbling in his coat for something.\u00a0 The pilot drew his leg back and kicked Zaki as hard in the temple as he could.<\/p>\n

Zaki went still.<\/p>\n

Breath burned in Brendan\u2019s throat, his chest moving like a bellows, the sound rasping.\u00a0 He stumbled back toward America, who got to her feet shakily.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the lead scientists?\u201d Brendan wheezed.\u00a0 \u201cI assumed as much.\u00a0 Come on, we don\u2019t have much time.\u00a0 Someone\u2019s going to find him sooner rather than later if he hasn\u2019t already raised an alarm.\u201d\u00a0 His hand closed around America\u2019s wrist and he half led, half dragged her to the dark hallway a few meters from where Zaki lay.<\/p>\n

The shakes hit once they were in the elevator, heading back up toward the deck where his ship was docked.\u00a0 Brendan glanced at the lift controls, noting the time on the tiny computer display.\u00a0 He swallowed convulsively.<\/p>\n

\u201cPray that we\u2019re not going to walk into shift change,\u201d he muttered to America, trying to bring himself back under control.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you all right?\u201d she asked, touching his hand lightly.\u00a0 He shivered at the fear bleeding through the touch but managed to smile at the tendril of reassurance she tried to send to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWill be,\u201d he said, straightening up.\u00a0 \u201cJust stay close.\u00a0 We only get one shot at this and we\u2019re going to have to make it count.<\/p>\n

The lift doors opened onto a silent hallway, dark on the graveyard shift.\u00a0 Brendan stepped out, drawing America slowly with him, shielding her from sight with his body as he slowly looked up and down the corridor.<\/p>\n

The ship should be that way.<\/em>\u00a0 He headed left, moving at a light jog.\u00a0 The girl had done well\u2014the lift was damned close to his docking port.<\/p>\n

Had she known that somehow?<\/p>\n

A shiver shot down his spine.\u00a0 That was another thing he\u2019d have to ask America about, but later.<\/p>\n

After we make it out of this alive.<\/em><\/p>\n

He came to the end of the corridor and peeked around the corner, looking up and down the line of docking ports.\u00a0 There were some techs at the very far end, but their backs were to them.\u00a0 He took a deep breath, exhaled it slowly, then hustled America across the hall and down a few ports, heart beating so fast and so loud he was terrified those techs would hear it and look to see what had snapped loose back here.<\/p>\n

They ducked into the airlock and Brendan kicked his implant active again, transmitting the command to open the hatch.\u00a0 He gave America a little push inside before the hatch was fully open, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up on end.<\/p>\n

Turning slowly, he saw another pilot standing at the end of the airlock.<\/p>\n

The other pilot was middle-aged, brows knit over dark eyes.\u00a0 Brendan slowly drew his sidearm.<\/p>\n

\u201cHands away from your link,\u201d he instructed in a rough voice, stepping away from the hatch, which cycled closed behind America with a pulsed command from Brendan.<\/p>\n

The other pilot hesitated for a bare second.<\/p>\n

Brendan snapped off the safety and powered up his weapon.\u00a0 The man slowly lifted his hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not authorized to take anyone off-station,\u201d the pilot said slowly, keeping his hands were Brendan could easily see them.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course I am,\u201d Brendan said quietly, his rock-steady voice belying the maelstrom gripping his stomach and the fact that his heart was trying to pound its way out of his chest.\u00a0 \u201cGeneral Hatchii ordered me to escort my charge to the ground.\u00a0 He said that Katsuana\u2019s people might offer resistance.\u00a0 Are you offering me resistance?\u00a0 I\u2019m authorized to respond with deadly force.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pilot hesitated again.<\/p>\n

Not good.<\/em>\u00a0 Brendan\u2019s finger tightened against the trigger, but he didn\u2019t pull it.\u00a0 Not quite yet.\u00a0 I\u2019ve made it this far.\u00a0 I\u2019ll kill you if you make me.\u00a0 Don\u2019t make me do it.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cAnswer me.\u201d\u00a0 He pulsed a command to the airlock controls, hoping that it would work.<\/p>\n

The station-side hatch gave a quiet hiss, almost too quiet to be heard, and began to ease closed.\u00a0 The other pilot didn\u2019t notice, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to check your authorization.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWrong answer.\u201d\u00a0 Brendan pulled the trigger, squeezing off a single shot.\u00a0 It sounded far too loud to not be noticed, even as the airlock hatch clanked shut.<\/p>\n

The other pilot\u2019s eyes widened at the hole that suddenly appeared in his chest.\u00a0 He dropped inelegantly to the airlock\u2019s deck, a tangle of limbs and clothing.<\/p>\n

Brendan swallowed bile, willing himself not to finally give in to his nausea and puke all over the body\u2014not that there was anything left in his stomach to bring up.\u00a0 He holstered his sidearm, tearing his gaze away from the dead man and ordering the ship to cycle the hatch open.<\/p>\n

Jaw set, he marched in as soon as the hatch was open enough for him to get inside.\u00a0 He slapped the manual override as soon as he was inside, sending the hatch cycling shut again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened?\u201d\u00a0 Ezra asked.\u00a0 He was getting America situated on one of the bunks, medical kit already open on the floor next to him.<\/p>\n

Brendan shook his head, sliding into his chair at the console.\u00a0 \u201cSomeone got a little too curious and didn\u2019t give me the right answers.\u00a0 Splash one Corp pilot.\u201d\u00a0 He could see Ezra\u2019s wince reflected in the window.\u00a0 He shook his head slightly.\u00a0 There was nothing he could do.<\/p>\n

The man had made his choice.\u00a0 And I made mine.<\/em>\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t time to question the morality of the choice\u2014it was done.<\/p>\n

At least he\u2019s going to be floating out in space, probably not noticed for a day or two\u2014and he\u2019ll never be able to tell anyone what he saw.\u00a0 Of course, I have to hope those techs didn\u2019t hear the shot.<\/em><\/p>\n

If they did, we\u2019re screwed.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBuckle up.\u00a0 Hopefully, this won\u2019t be a bumpy ride, but you never know.\u201d\u00a0 He breathed a prayer and unclamped from the docking port, nudging his ship away from the station.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I maintain that sending three individuals, two of which are untrained in covert operations and a third whose talents have atrophied thanks to years of disuse, is quite possibly the most egregious misuse of resources that this Council has ever … 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-163","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-2D","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163","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=163"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":166,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163\/revisions\/166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}