{"id":213,"date":"2012-07-29T00:00:26","date_gmt":"2012-07-29T04:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=213"},"modified":"2012-07-28T20:26:25","modified_gmt":"2012-07-29T00:26:25","slug":"chapter-thirty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=213","title":{"rendered":"Chapter Thirty"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Sometimes, I wonder what it might have been like to be with Sarah sooner than I was, what it would have meant for us\u2014for me.\u00a0 Would we have suffered as much?\u00a0 Would it have been as painful?\u00a0 Would my burdens have been as heavy?\u00a0 In the end, though, I always decide that it was best that I shouldered my burdens alone, because it meant that she had more nights of unbroken sleep.<\/h3>\n

— Journal of Ryland LeSarte, circa 4861 PD<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

15 Novem, 5249 PD<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ezra leaned against the console next to Alana, staring at the control boards.\u00a0 \u201cI still don\u2019t fully understand how it happened,\u201d he murmured.\u00a0 \u201cHow did he know they were trying to pull a dump from his implant through the ship\u2019s systems back to the station?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe probably felt it.\u201d\u00a0 Alana leaned back, her gaze sliding toward him for a brief moment.\u00a0 \u201cYou work with this kind of bioware, Ezra.\u00a0 You don\u2019t know that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I know about how it feels to have it I learn from patients, and all I know about how they really work in practice, not in theory, is from tech specs and what they tell me.\u00a0 I\u2019ve never encountered something like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope you never have to again,\u201d Alana said.\u00a0 She crossed her arms and watched him for a moment, watched his face as his brows knit, his jaw tightened.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s the matter?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat if I\u2019ve killed him, Alana?\u201d\u00a0 Ezra whispered.\u00a0 \u201cWhat if I\u2019ve killed my best friend because I didn\u2019t know enough?\u201d<\/p>\n

She turned to face him fully.\u00a0 \u201cHow were you supposed to know that he\u2019d tap into Lindsay\u2019s brain from a thousand light years away?\u00a0 I didn\u2019t even know he could do<\/em> that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt shouldn\u2019t be possible,\u201d Grant Channing rumbled from the bunk.\u00a0 He sat up slowly, looking down at his wife for a moment, who still slept.\u00a0 He ran a rough-fingered hand over her hair tenderly, then tucked their blanket up over her shoulder before he abandoned the bunk.\u00a0 He studied both the doctor and the commando for a long moment.\u00a0 His gaze settled on Ezra.<\/p>\n

Shit.\u00a0 Am I about to get some kind of lecture he\u2019s thinking I\u2019ve got coming?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe pilot,\u201d Grant said.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s Bonded to my daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYes, sir.\u00a0 My sister and I stood witness.\u201d<\/p>\n

The elder psychic\u2019s gaze sharpened and narrowed, then he glanced at Alana, who shrugged slightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cRachel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grant made a sound in his throat that betrayed neither surprise nor concern.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t like him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t,\u201d Alana admitted.\u00a0 \u201cBut Brendan\u2019s good for her, sir.\u00a0 I can see it now even if I never wanted to before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grant nodded slowly, still studying them both.\u00a0 Ezra suppressed a shiver.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s her uncle, and she calls him sir.\u00a0 What\u2019s up with that?<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cHe didn\u2019t want to come,\u201d Ezra said, swallowing against sudden tightness in his throat.\u00a0 \u201cHe didn\u2019t want to leave her, but this wouldn\u2019t have worked without him.\u00a0 He\u2019s the only person attached to the Foundation that knows Chinasia Corp inside and out.\u00a0 If he hadn\u2019t said yes\u2026\u201d\u00a0 If he hadn\u2019t said yes, we wouldn\u2019t be having this conversation.<\/em><\/p>\n

Grant nodded, crossing his arms tightly against the pale gray of his borrowed shirt.\u00a0 \u201cI think I follow.\u00a0 And my daughter\u2019s still back in the Eridani Trelasia system?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Nova Spexi,\u201d Ezra said.\u00a0 \u201cBrendan spoke to her when we dropped out of hyper for course correction before we rescued you.\u201d\u00a0 Rescued.\u00a0 We did rescue him, didn\u2019t we?\u00a0 From what, though, I wonder?<\/em>\u00a0 He frowned to himself.<\/p>\n

Alana\u2019s fingers brushed his and the expression melted as his heart gave a little stutter-step.\u00a0 He tried not to let either of them notice the reaction, covering it with a head-shake.\u00a0 \u201cThat was a few days ago, but I can\u2019t imagine she\u2019d go anywhere else.\u00a0 She stays pretty close to home most of the time.\u00a0 Easier on her, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only place she\u2019d go is out into the woods,\u201d Alana said softly.\u00a0 \u201cAnd without knowing when we\u2019ll be back, she\u2019ll stay close to home.\u00a0 She\u2019ll want to be there.\u201d\u00a0 She glanced at Ezra and he nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know she\u2019ll want to be there to meet us.\u201d\u00a0 Not so much to meet us, but to meet Brendan.<\/em><\/p>\n

Grant began to pace.\u00a0 \u201cInteresting,\u201d he murmured.\u00a0 \u201cAre you sure he was able to reach her?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m positive,\u201d Ezra said.\u00a0 \u201cI know the look.\u00a0 He had to destroy his implant because Chinasia was getting strange readings because he was using his ability.\u201d\u00a0 Ability either his implant couldn\u2019t pick up when he was young, or ability he didn\u2019t know he had.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cThey don\u2019t let psychics fly where he\u2019s from.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChinasia,\u201d Grant said.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t a question.<\/p>\n

Ezra nodded.<\/p>\n

Grant stared at his sleeping wife for a moment, his jaw tightening briefly as his lips thinned.\u00a0 After a long moment, he shook his head, murmuring, \u201cIt still shouldn\u2019t be possible, Bonded or no.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0 Alana\u2019s fair brows knit as she leaned toward Grant.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe distance,\u201d Grant said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cHow long have they been together?\u00a0 Bonded?\u201d<\/p>\n

Alana looked at Ezra, a brow arched almost delicately.<\/p>\n

Ezra glanced at his feet.\u00a0 \u201cSeven years.\u201d\u00a0 He caught Alana\u2019s wince out of the corner of his eye and winced himself.<\/p>\n

She must have suspected it was that long.\u00a0 They\u2019ve been living together that long.<\/em><\/p>\n

Grant began to shake his head again, opening his mouth to speak, but Alana interrupted him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve lived together since he came to E-557.\u00a0 Rachel took him in, raised him with her.\u00a0 Twelve years.\u201d\u00a0 She stared at Grant, watched his face.\u00a0 His brows knit and he shook his head, starting to pace.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt still doesn\u2019t make sense.\u00a0 How can the bond be that strong?\u00a0 The distance is\u2026\u201d\u00a0 He stopped, hands curling into fists, and cursed under his breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d\u00a0 Ezra asked, heartbeat starting to quicken.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeSarte,\u201d Grant said.\u00a0 \u201cThe only time I can ever remember two psychics connecting over such vast distances are the stories about Ryland LeSarte and Sarah Farragut.\u00a0 Rachel\u2026\u201d\u00a0 His voice trailed away and he swallowed before he continued.\u00a0 \u201cRachel was doing research on them, on their lives, when all it started.\u00a0 She\u2019d confirmed it, found the documents, journals in LeSarte\u2019s own hand confirming that the legends were true, that the stories were real.\u201d\u00a0 The bear of a man knuckled his eyes and cursed again.\u00a0 \u201cHow can it be possible for my daughter to be doing the same thing?\u201d<\/p>\n

Alana\u2019s voice was a hushed whisper, as if she was half afraid to speak.\u00a0 \u201cLindsay is the Oracle.\u00a0 Did you hear of her?\u00a0 Of the Oracle?\u201d<\/p>\n

Grant grew pale, fumbling his way to one of the other seats along the console.\u00a0 Ezra touched his shoulder lightly and to his surprise, the older man didn\u2019t shake off the touch.\u00a0 \u201cYes,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI heard whisperings about a prophet the Foundation had.\u00a0 I never dreamed it could be my daughter.\u201d\u00a0 He stared at nothing, blinking slowly.\u00a0 \u201cMy little girl is a prophet,\u201d he murmured.\u00a0 \u201cThe<\/em> prophet.\u00a0 The Oracle.\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man buried his face in his hands.<\/p>\n

Ezra looked at Alana.\u00a0 She looked stricken, jaw slack, eyes bleak.\u00a0 She heaved herself up from the pilot\u2019s seat and came to kneel on the floor in front of Grant, putting her hands on his knees.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommander\u2014Uncle<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 Alana\u2019s hands tightened.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s all right.\u00a0 She\u2019s all right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t tell me,\u201d he said, his tone faintly accusing, muffled by his hands.\u00a0 \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you say something?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCould be because she didn\u2019t want you thinking of your daughter like that,\u201d Ezra said quietly, his hand still resting on Grant\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve known Lindsay all my life, Commander.\u00a0 The fact that she\u2019s the Oracle just meant that we tried to avoid being around crowds, not that she was much different than any other kid.\u00a0 My sister and Alana were still fishing she and Brendan and I out of swimming holes and the bay.\u201d\u00a0 Ezra smiled.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s just another woman, Commander, one with a gift she didn\u2019t ask for that she\u2019s handled with grace and poise beyond any I\u2019ve ever seen before.\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man took a few ragged breaths.\u00a0 Alana\u2019s knuckles were white as she squeezed his knees.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter, Uncle,\u201d Alana whispered.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s the only thing I\u2019ve never been able to protect her from, but Brendan does it for me.\u00a0 She\u2019s fine\u2014or will be, once we bring him home to her again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt almost killed LeSarte,\u201d Grant said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeSarte didn\u2019t have Farragut as early as Lindsay had Brendan,\u201d Ezra said even as his stomach twisted.\u00a0 What if he\u2019s right?\u00a0 What if it\u2019s Farragut and LeSarte\u2019s life for them?<\/em>\u00a0 Ezra glanced over his shoulder at the pale-faced, unconscious Brendan.\u00a0 He watched his friend\u2019s chest rise and fall, rise and fall.\u00a0 He bit his lip.<\/p>\n

No.\u00a0 We\u2019ll make certain of that.<\/em><\/p>\n

When Ezra looked back at Grant and Alana, he saw them staring at each other.\u00a0 He swallowed hard.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe I should go check on Brendan,\u201d he mumbled.<\/p>\n

Alana nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYes,\u201d she said in a bare whisper.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe you should do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he turned away, he saw Grant lean down and hug his niece albeit briefly.\u00a0 Not for the first time, Brendan wondered at the family dynamic and decided that maybe, just maybe, he\u2019d understand it someday.<\/p>\n

Then, he turned his attention to another branch of the family, a part that he was afraid he\u2019d have to fight desperately to keep alive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, I wonder what it might have been like to be with Sarah sooner than I was, what it would have meant for us\u2014for me.\u00a0 Would we have suffered as much?\u00a0 Would it have been as painful?\u00a0 Would my burdens … 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-213","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-3r","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213","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=213"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":215,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213\/revisions\/215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}