{"id":167,"date":"2012-05-06T00:00:31","date_gmt":"2012-05-06T04:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=167"},"modified":"2012-04-27T11:48:25","modified_gmt":"2012-04-27T15:48:25","slug":"chapter-nineteen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=167","title":{"rendered":"Chapter Nineteen"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

There is very little a man or a woman would not do for love\u2014this is a truism that humanity must be reminded of time and again.\u00a0 When it comes to psychics, however, there is even less that one half of a Bonded pair would not do for the other\u2014but instead of hoping that the other side will understand, we realize that our other half will feel our pain, or, more terrifyingly, the absence of pain.<\/h3>\n

— Sarah Farragut, circa 4855 PD<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

The comm crackled.\u00a0 It was a different woman\u2019s voice this time, speaking in the Corp\u2019s tactical tongue.\u00a0 \u201cCho five five seven four three niner two one, Xiangaou Prefecture Control.\u00a0 Interrogative purpose of debarkation and destination?\u201d<\/p>\n

He exhaled.\u00a0 \u201cXiangaou Prefecture Control, Cho five five seven four three niner two one.\u00a0 I have orders from General Hatchii to report to the surface immediately.\u201d\u00a0 He forced himself to breathe slowly, willed his heart to settle down.\u00a0 They\u2019d be able to read his vital signs if they wanted to.\u00a0 He was banking on the controller not doing that.\u00a0 Calm down.\u00a0 Calm down.\u00a0 Nothing\u2019ll happen as long as you settle down.\u00a0 All you have to do is clear the station and then everything will be okay.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAffirmative, Cho five five seven four three niner two one.\u00a0 Do you have the beacon?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Control.\u00a0 My thanks.\u201d\u00a0 He killed the voice pickup and exhaled a sigh of relief.\u00a0 He reached for Lindsay through their bond.\u00a0 We did it, Lin.\u00a0 We got her.<\/em><\/p>\n

He felt warm and could almost\u2014almost\u2014hear her voice.\u00a0 Now come home safe.<\/em><\/p>\n

Do you want to see her?<\/em><\/p>\n

God!\u00a0 You have to ask?\u00a0 More than anything, Brendan.<\/em><\/p>\n

He grinned and glanced back toward America.\u00a0 \u201cSmile for your daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

America Farragut looked confused for a moment, then seemed to catch on and smiled.\u00a0 It was a little difficult, but Brendan thought<\/em> that he\u2019d let Lindsay see through his eyes.\u00a0 He\u2019d never done it before over such a vast distance\u2014they\u2019d done it over miles in the past, not light-years.<\/p>\n

A faint pounding rose in his temples and behind his eyes.<\/p>\n

Won\u2019t be doing that again,<\/em> he thought.\u00a0 Not anytime soon, again.<\/em><\/p>\n

The comm crackled again.\u00a0 \u201cCho five five seven four three niner two one, we\u2019re getting some strange readings.\u00a0 Please return to hard-dock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shit.<\/em>\u00a0 Lindsay was still there, sensing his sudden panic.\u00a0 He toggled on the voice pickup again.\u00a0 \u201cSay again, Control?\u00a0 You\u2019re breaking up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRepeat, Cho five five seven four three niner two one, return to hard-dock.\u201d<\/p>\n

His mind reeled.\u00a0 Oh <\/em>shit.\u00a0 The implant.\u00a0 They\u2019re sensing psychic activity through the implant.\u00a0 God<\/em>damn it all!<\/em>\u00a0 He jerked the ship around in a loop, breaking off from the beacon and aiming toward the nearest jump point out-system.<\/p>\n

\u201cCho five five seven four three niner two one!\u00a0 Respond now<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 He could feel something in the back of his mind.\u00a0 They were trying to do something through his implant.<\/p>\n

Either they\u2019re trying to shut me down and take over the ship, or they\u2019re just trying to take over the ship.\u00a0 Either way, we\u2019re screwed six ways from the end of the week.<\/em><\/p>\n

There weren\u2019t any options left.\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t an off switch for these kinds of things.<\/p>\n

He shut down the voice pickup with a thought and grabbed his combat knife.\u00a0 There was little time for delicacy.\u00a0 \u201cAlana!\u00a0 Get over here!\u201d\u00a0 He roared before he jammed the knife into his implant.\u00a0 He jerked it free, took a breath, then stabbed at the implant again.\u00a0 The buzzing in his head died abruptly as he jerked the knife free a second time.\u00a0 Pain began to explode in his brain.\u00a0 The knife fell from his nerveless fingers even as Alana shoved him out of the chair and to the deck.<\/p>\n

Brendan groped blindly for the wound, gasping at the pain as he pressed his hand over it as hard as he could manage.\u00a0 He knew he was bleeding freely.\u00a0 The pain was coming in waves, like it had the last time.<\/p>\n

Like it had the first<\/em> time.<\/p>\n

Alana had the controls.\u00a0 They\u2019d get out of here all right.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t feel Lindsay anymore, and that frightened him.<\/p>\n

Ezra was yelling at him, though it took a moment for him to understand the words.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou idiot<\/em>!\u00a0 What were you thinking?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were trying to take control,\u201d Brendan answered through gritted teeth, fingers tightening against the wound.\u00a0 His heart was pounding so loudly in his ears he could barely hear what was going on around him.\u00a0 \u201cWhat else could I do?\u201d\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t sure if he was upright or on the ground.\u00a0 Ezra didn\u2019t seem inclined to enlighten him.<\/p>\n

\u201cBloody hell<\/em>,\u201d Ezra swore, tearing open a pressure bandage.\u00a0 \u201cYou could\u2019ve killed yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWasn\u2019t going to kill myself,\u201d Brendan mumbled, consciousness already starting to slip away.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t exactly want to hold onto it at that point; he just hurt too much. \u00a0\u201cDone it before.\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t kill if you do it the right way.\u00a0 Just hurts like a sonofabitch.\u201d\u00a0 Ezra pried his fingers away from the wound and slapped the bandage on\u2014a temporary measure, for certain.\u00a0 He looked like he was going to say something even as Brendan\u2019s vision began to dim.<\/p>\n

Anything Ezra or Alana might have said to him was lost on him as he tipped over the edge and spun down into blackness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0 \u25cf\u00a0\u00a0 \u25cf<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The mug cracked in half when it hit the floor, fallen from suddenly nerveless fingers. \u00a0Lukewarm tea puddled at Lindsay\u2019s feet on the stone floor.\u00a0 Her eyes were wide in shock, her mouth open in a silent scream.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t good, <\/em>Adam thought in the split second before he reacted.\u00a0 He grasped her arm, leaning forward from his seat on the couch toward her.\u00a0 \u201cLindsay?\u201d\u00a0 His fingers tightened.\u00a0 \u201cLinny-pie?\u00a0 Can you hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d she whispered, not in answer to him, though it might as well have been.\u00a0 A shudder ran through her and the rigidity began to fade as her eyes came back into focus.\u00a0 \u201cS-something\u2019s happened,\u201d she said in a shaking, broken voice.\u00a0 \u201cSomething\u2019s happened to them.\u201d\u00a0 Her gaze met Adam\u2019s.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t feel<\/em> him anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

His mouth went dry.\u00a0 He looked at Rachel.\u00a0 She got up and moved to Lindsay, kneeling in the puddle of spilled tea.\u00a0 \u201cWhat does it feel like, Lin?\u00a0 Like something snapped, or like someone dropped a wall between you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindsay stared uncomprehendingly at her aunt for a moment, then slowly answered.\u00a0 \u201cL-like a wall, I think.\u00a0 I was seeing through his eyes, then there was pain and panic and then nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two couples exchanged looks.\u00a0 \u201cUnconscious, then,\u201d Daciana said finally.\u00a0 Rachel nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he\u2019d made it to the ship.\u201d\u00a0 Lindsay rubbed at her eyes, which had begun to tear.\u00a0 \u201cWhat would make him pass out there?\u00a0 He said they were safe.\u00a0 What happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

Daciana looked at Adam.\u00a0 \u201cHypercomm?\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re not equipped.\u00a0 Alana\u2019s insistence.\u00a0 She said if they had to ditch the ship it\u2019d be better if it didn\u2019t have any technology the congloms don\u2019t already have access to.\u201d\u00a0 Hypercomm was an innovation made by a joint Guard-Foundation team shortly before Mimir fell.<\/p>\n

Adam stood slowly, looking at the puddle Rachel was kneeling in, then started for the kitchen to get a towel.\u00a0 What happened?\u00a0 They didn\u2019t get shot out of the sky.\u00a0 It sounds like that would feel different\u2014he\u2019s not dead.\u00a0 Or are they just telling her that so she doesn\u2019t go into a complete panic?<\/em>\u00a0 He didn\u2019t think they\u2019d do that to her.<\/p>\n

Something had gone wrong, though.\u00a0 He pressed his lips together, hard, as he got a towel out of a drawer.\u00a0 Whatever had happened, Lindsay wasn\u2019t going to let him rest until he found out.\u00a0 Of that, he was certain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is very little a man or a woman would not do for love\u2014this is a truism that humanity must be reminded of time and again.\u00a0 When it comes to psychics, however, there is even less that one half of … 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-167","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-2H","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167","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=167"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":169,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167\/revisions\/169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}