{"id":20,"date":"2012-01-01T00:00:14","date_gmt":"2012-01-01T05:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=20"},"modified":"2012-01-01T21:11:16","modified_gmt":"2012-01-02T02:11:16","slug":"chapter-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=20","title":{"rendered":"Chapter One"},"content":{"rendered":"

We planned for four hundred years to do what we did.\u00a0 Four hundred years is a very long time to wait, a very long time to plan.\u00a0 But we did, and we waited, and we planned.\u00a0 We picked the right moment, and then we left them all behind when we found the right place, the right world.\u00a0 I pray every day that the sacrifices of yesterday will not be for naught.<\/p>\n

— Anthony Shaw, Rose Foundation, circa 5210 PD<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n


\n5 Octem, 5249 PD<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The eighth month on E-557 saw the fading days of summer and saw the second summer harvest, of the early cereals and yet another round of fresh fruits, some of which hadn\u2019t been cultivated anywhere else in the five thousand years since Earth died.\u00a0 In a few weeks would come autumn, with leaves of trees that once grew on Old Earth changing their colors, dropping to the ground to tumble and roll in the winds that came off the waters and fields or down through the mountain passes.<\/p>\n

By the time summer turned fully to autumn, another cadet cadre would have completed basic training and would move on to more specialized, advanced training.\u00a0 They would become the problem of a mix of full-time and part-time instructors, away from the watchful eyes of their drill sergeants.<\/p>\n

They would fill the chairs in the small lecture hall where Brendan Cho was standing, mulling over what he\u2019d make for dinner when he got home.\u00a0 He only had one more lecture to give before that happened.\u00a0 This one had gone smoothly enough.<\/p>\n

Better than the last one.\u00a0 No one fell asleep this time.<\/em>\u00a0 He scrubbed a hand roughly over his eyes, glancing down at his notes, now strewn haphazardly across the lectern.\u00a0 Must be finally getting the hang of this.<\/em> It had only taken several years.<\/p>\n

This batch of students wouldn\u2019t be his problem anymore in another six weeks\u2014not that they had been a problem thus far.\u00a0 It was only week four, though.\u00a0 Things didn\u2019t tend to get dicey until he started teaching advanced combat maneuvers, which came during week five.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t help that most of these kids\u2014and most of them were<\/em> kids, sixteen or seventeen years old\u2014god, that was a lifetime ago<\/em>\u2014didn\u2019t think they would ever need to use<\/em> the maneuvers he taught them outside of the simulators.\u00a0 He glanced at his watch, then eyed the dozen of them that were still loitering, chatting amongst themselves.\u00a0 They had to be in the simulators in twenty minutes.\u00a0 Let Rymer yell.\u00a0 They\u2019ll figure it out soon enough.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cCommander?\u201d<\/p>\n

His gaze jerked toward the source of the voice.\u00a0 She was maybe seventeen\u2014probably barely that, unless he missed his guess\u2014with dark hair cropped short, her eyes large and green.\u00a0 Her uniform was crisp and starched, unlike that of many of her fellows.\u00a0 She was serious about what she was doing there, training.\u00a0 It was a calling for her, and it showed in her appearance, how she carried herself.\u00a0 She\u2019ll do well,<\/em> he thought.\u00a0 She blushed a little.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad you think so, sir.\u00a0 It\u2019d be thanks to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPardon?\u201d\u00a0 He looked at her uniform again.\u00a0 There it is.<\/em>\u00a0 Next to her flight bars was a smaller bar, about the size of his pinkie nail, blue and green enamel swirled together in a distinctive pattern.\u00a0 Guard stock.\u00a0 Psychic.<\/em><\/p>\n

She smiled a little, almost shyly.\u00a0 \u201cYour simulations, sir.\u00a0 The ones that you put together?\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t have been able to pass basic flight without those.\u201d\u00a0 She fidgeted a little, scuffing an immaculately polished boot against the stubby carpeting of the lecture hall.\u00a0 \u201cTruth be told, sir, most of us wouldn\u2019t have made it through basic flight without those simulations.\u201d<\/p>\n

And if they\u2019d been born in the congloms, most of them would be dead.<\/em>\u00a0 Brendan returned her smile, stacking his notes together and sliding them into the breast pocket of his flight jacket.\u00a0 \u201cGood.\u00a0 They\u2019re designed to help you learn.\u00a0 I\u2019m glad that the hell I lived through did someone some good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSir?\u201d<\/p>\n

He waved off the question.\u00a0 He kept forgetting that a lot of them were too young to remember when he rode a dropship into the shallows off the coast of Andalusia, what had happened in the minutes and hours after.\u00a0 Most of the refugees these days were Psychean Guard, after all, when refugees arrived at all.\u00a0 They weren\u2019t common.\u00a0 Not anymore.\u00a0 The Foundation had been here for over one hundred and fifty years now.\u00a0 Anyone they\u2019d left behind in New Earth territory was long dead.\u00a0 The Psychean Guard, however, still had thousands of men and women out there, and every so often they trickled to E-557, the only safe haven they had.<\/p>\n

Brendan glanced toward the seats.\u00a0 Most were empty.\u00a0 Two cadets were deep in conversation up at the far corner.\u00a0 He looked back at the girl.\u00a0 \u201cHow are you finding Commander Rymer?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPermission to speak freely?\u201d<\/p>\n

This ought to be good.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cGranted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a hardass, sir, and frankly I already don\u2019t like him.\u201d\u00a0 She scratched at the back of her neck, then winced, letting her hand drop away.\u00a0 \u201cWhen do we get to start having our sim-time under you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNext week.\u00a0 Implant still tender, Cadet\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked a little sheepish.\u00a0 \u201cTomasi, sir, and yes.\u00a0 How\u2019d you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou winced, that\u2019s all.\u00a0 I remember what it felt like, back when they put mine in.\u00a0 I wore a bandage over it for as long as I could so I wouldn\u2019t pick at it.\u201d\u00a0 He shuddered at a memory that floated up unbidden, of one of the boys in his cadre who had scratched himself bloody, almost down to the bone.\u00a0 That boy had disappeared one day and he\u2019d never seen him again.\u00a0 \u201cTrainers didn\u2019t like it, but they didn\u2019t say much.\u00a0 I was near the top of the curve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tomasi smiled again, nodding.\u00a0 \u201cGot it put in last week.\u00a0 There was a hold-up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan nodded knowingly.\u00a0 \u201cTesting and background checks.\u00a0 How are you adjusting?\u201d<\/p>\n

She shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cNo buzzing.\u00a0 I still pick up stray thoughts\u2014I\u2019m sorry, by the way, for reading you like that.\u00a0 I\u2019m usually not that sensitive to surface thoughts.\u201d\u00a0 A flicker of fear passed through her eyes.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026could that be because of the implant?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot to my knowledge.\u00a0 Last I checked, that wasn\u2019t a side effect to the wetware.\u00a0 I was probably just thinking too loud.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled wryly.\u00a0 \u201cI was distracted.\u00a0 I don\u2019t usually think that loudly, but it happens sometimes.\u00a0 Usually when I feel something strongly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad you did, sir.\u00a0 Thinking loudly, I mean.\u00a0 It\u2019s been\u2026rough.\u00a0 The past few weeks.\u00a0 I was afraid that they weren\u2019t going to clear me to get the implant.\u00a0 You can\u2019t be a pilot without it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan winced.\u00a0 Is that what they\u2019re telling them these days, or is that just what they think?<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s not entirely<\/em> true.\u201d\u00a0 He leaned against the lectern.\u00a0 \u201cYou can still be a pilot without the implant, it\u2019s just harder<\/em>.\u00a0 But if your genetics bar you from having wetware implanted, then usually you\u2019re pointed toward other pursuits as a matter of course.\u00a0 You\u2019ll end up less frustrated with the whole enterprise with an implant.\u201d\u00a0 He shoved his hands into his pockets.\u00a0 \u201cNot all of your instructors or your future commanders will have the piloting implants.\u00a0 Some of us elected to have them removed.\u201d<\/p>\n

It took a moment for what he was saying to really sink in.\u00a0 He tried not to smile as realization began to dawn in her eyes.\u00a0 Hard to believe, sometimes, that as smart as they all are, they don\u2019t realize that just because something is common doesn\u2019t mean that it\u2019s a universal truth.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have an implant, sir?\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head slightly.\u00a0 \u201cNot for the last eleven years, no.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEleven years<\/em>?\u201d\u00a0 Her eyes widened a little.\u00a0 \u201cDid you react badly to it?\u201d<\/p>\n

He chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cYou could say that.\u201d\u00a0 He glanced at his watch.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t you have to be in a simulator pod in five?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShit.\u201d\u00a0 She slapped a hand over her mouth.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan stifled more laughter, shaking his head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve heard far worse, Cadet.\u201d\u00a0 Hell, I\u2019ve <\/em>said far worse.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cGo on, get out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n

She snapped off a quick salute and was gone.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t let that hero worship go to your head, Cho.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan glanced toward the tall, slender woman standing in the shadows near the back of the lecture hall, shaking his head slightly.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you want, Alana?\u201d<\/p>\n

From a distance, Alana Chase might have been beautiful.\u00a0 Once upon a time, in another world, another life, she might have been beautiful close-up, too.\u00a0 She wore her white-blonde hair longer since she\u2019d retired from the colony\u2019s small cadre of commandos, and it cascaded down to her shoulders in a line curved slightly inward at her chin.\u00a0 She hid a lean, athletic form in baggy clothing\u2014better to hide a few extra weapons, she\u2019d once told him with a feral smile.\u00a0 Her eyes were like blue ice and colder than the poles.\u00a0 The nearer you got to the woman, the more frightening, almost disturbing she became.\u00a0 Mostly, it was her eyes, and the cold expression on her face.<\/p>\n

Here was a trained killer, as sharp as any razor.<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t straighten from her lean, just watched him as he walked toward the exit.\u00a0 \u201cShe sent me to get you.\u201d<\/p>\n

His heart froze in his chest.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing\u2019s wrong<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 Alana straightened, raking a metal-sheathed hand back through her hair.<\/p>\n

I thought Ezra had convinced her to get that removed.\u00a0 Guess she changed her mind.\u00a0 Again.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cThen what did she send you for?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Rose Council summoned her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

Alana\u2019s brow furrowed.\u00a0 \u201cAre you deliberately trying to annoy me, Brendan?\u201d<\/p>\n

He barely prevented himself from pinching the bridge of his nose.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got some kind of headache coming on, I just know it.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cNo, I\u2019m trying to understand what you\u2019re telling me.\u00a0 The Rose Council summoned Lindsay and she sent you to come find me?\u00a0 Did she say why?\u201d\u00a0 It has to be about what she\u2019s been seeing.\u00a0 Rachel must have slipped and told someone.\u00a0 That must be it.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cShe wants you with her.\u201d\u00a0 Alana shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cShe seemed nervous.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t say why.\u00a0 She just kept telling me to come get your sorry arse.\u201d<\/p>\n

He exhaled.\u00a0 Great.\u00a0 Just great.\u00a0 Because we need this.\u00a0 They\u2019re just nightmares, right?\u00a0 Right.\u00a0 And now the Council\u2019s involved.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cDo you have a skimmer?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReady and waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cGood.\u00a0 I\u2019ll leave a note with the commandant about my afternoon lecture.\u00a0 Then we\u2019ll go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMake it quick.\u201d<\/p>\n

His voice dripped sarcasm she\u2019d make him pay for later.\u00a0 \u201cYes ma\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We planned for four hundred years to do what we did.\u00a0 Four hundred years is a very long time to wait, a very long time to plan.\u00a0 But we did, and we waited, and we planned.\u00a0 We picked the right … 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-20","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-k","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20","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=20"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20\/revisions\/67"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}