{"id":231,"date":"2012-08-19T00:00:09","date_gmt":"2012-08-19T04:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=231"},"modified":"2012-08-18T20:21:01","modified_gmt":"2012-08-19T00:21:01","slug":"chapter-thirty-three","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=231","title":{"rendered":"Chapter Thirty-three"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

My father\u2019s greatest strength\u2014the greatest strength he passed on to me and my children, perhaps the greatest legacy he\u2019s given to the Farragut family is his stubborn streak.\u00a0 It\u2019s possibly also the worst.<\/h3>\n

— Ian Farragut, circa 4901 PD<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u00a016 Novem, 5249 PD<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thwack.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cDamnation!\u201d\u00a0 Adam\u2019s hand closed around the inch-thick shaft of wood that had thumped against his arm and shoulder, glaring through the dim at Frederick, who stood at his bedside, holding the other end of the cane.\u00a0 \u201cWhat are you doing up, Freder?\u00a0 And why the hell are you hitting me with your cane?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShaking you didn\u2019t work.\u00a0 Get up and get dressed.\u00a0 Lindsay needs you out by the cliffs, and quick-like.\u00a0 Daci\u2019s already getting dressed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMmph.\u00a0 Adam, what\u2019s the matter?\u201d\u00a0 Rachel pushed herself up on an elbow, eyes full of sleep and hair in disarray.\u00a0 She studied Frederick with a slightly puzzled expression.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething crashed out beyond the cliff,\u201d Frederick said.\u00a0 He was the very picture of calm\u2014it was easy to see how he had risen so far, so fast within the Inspector General\u2019s office all those years before.\u00a0 \u201cLindsay is there.\u00a0 She sent me back to get you, but I can only run so fast.\u00a0 Get up, both of you.\u00a0 She needs our help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot our<\/em> help,\u201d Daci said from the doorway, backlit by light from the hall.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re staying here, Frederick.\u201d<\/p>\n

He barked a laugh.\u00a0 \u201cNot a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019ll be too many people.\u00a0 You\u2019ll be seen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s dark,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cAnd I\u2019m twelve years older.\u00a0 There\u2019ll be chaos.\u00a0 No one will notice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel and Adam exchanged a look.\u00a0 Adam just shook his head and threw the covers back.\u00a0 He rolled out of bed, trying not to listen to husband and wife argue behind him as he started yanking on clothes.<\/p>\n

Then it hit him.\u00a0 Something <\/em>crashed out by the cliff.\u00a0 What kind of something?\u00a0 And from where?<\/em><\/p>\n

He swore under his breath when he couldn\u2019t find his shoes in the darkness.\u00a0 Rachel was up, now, getting dressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re over here,\u201d she said, knowing what he was looking for.\u00a0 She tossed him one and then the other.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks,\u201d Adam grumbled, shoving his feet into the shoes and lacing them up.\u00a0 \u201cFreder, do we know where it\u2019s from?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot sure,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cBut she said someone aboard was screaming.\u00a0 She heard them when they were still a couple miles up and a lot of miles out, if I\u2019m any judge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDamnation,\u201d Adam muttered again, then headed out into the hall.\u00a0 \u201cRachel, use my comm and get two squads scrambled from headquarters if you can.\u00a0 We\u2019re taking the skimmer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll follow on foot,\u201d she said, groping around in the darkness.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t let her do anything stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never known that girl to do anything stupid.\u00a0 She\u2019s been raised too damn well.<\/em>\u00a0 Adam just nodded, taking Frederick by the arm.\u00a0 \u201cIf you\u2019re coming, move fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frederick choked on a laugh and limped along with Adam as if his life depended on it.\u00a0 Daci muttered a few choice words behind them and hurried to keep up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat if it\u2019s an invasion force?\u201d\u00a0 Daci asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cLindsay wouldn\u2019t have heard screaming if it was,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cMore than likely some kind of refugees.\u201d\u00a0 And Ezra Grace is still out in the wilds of space.\u00a0 Damn.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cRachel!\u201d\u00a0 Adam yelled as they reached the door.\u00a0 \u201cCall Dr. Vilenauva, too!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOn it!\u201d she called back.<\/p>\n

Then he was out the door, crossing the dark, dew-damp yard toward the skimmer.\u00a0 He threw himself into the driver\u2019s seat and waited just long enough for Daci and Frederick to make it into the backseat before he sent the skimmer hurtling down the roadway toward the cliffs beyond the north side of Nova Spexi.<\/p>\n

He could see the faint glow beyond the cliffs and felt bile rise in his throat.<\/p>\n

Not raiders.\u00a0 Something worse.\u00a0 Always something worse.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Victims.\u00a0 Refugees.<\/em>\u00a0 His stomach dropped.<\/p>\n

He drove faster.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

 <\/p>\n

Lindsay plunged from the darkness beyond a line of brush and into the hellish glow of the crash site.\u00a0 She could hear the moans and cries, the screams of the trapped and injured over the sound of crackling flames.<\/p>\n

Please come quick, Kara.\u00a0 Please get here fast, Uncle Adam.\u00a0 These people need more help than I can give alone.<\/em><\/p>\n

Still, she moved toward the nearest cry, one mingling with the moan of someone wounded.\u00a0 The sound came from beneath a sheet of metal that once might have been part of a bulkhead.\u00a0 It seared her fingers as she seized the edge and tanked with all her strength to move it aside.\u00a0 She felt faint pressure from the other side.\u00a0 Someone was trying to aid in their own rescue.<\/p>\n

That’s a good sign.<\/em><\/p>\n

The metal twitched free and Lindsay quickly sidestepped to avoid becoming trapped beneath it herself.\u00a0 Tucked into a hollow space between the bulkhead and a row of seats were two teenage girls, the elder of them wounded, and a younger girl of maybe eight or ten.\u00a0 The little girl took one look at Lindsay and burst into tears.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you an angel?\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn’t the primary tongue of the Commonwealth that the little girl used, but thanks to Alana, Lindsay was fluent in the corporate tongue of the Eurydice Compact.<\/p>\n

So that’s where they’re from.\u00a0 <\/em>\u00a0Lindsay answered the girl, also in the Compact’s primary language.\u00a0 \u201cNo, but I’m here to help you all the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the teenagers reached out and drew the smaller girl against her chest.\u00a0 Her eyes filled with fear as she heard Lindsay speak in that tongue, arms tight around the child who must be her sister or cousin.\u00a0 \u201cWhere are we?\u201d she asked.\u00a0 \u201cWho are you and where are we?\u201d<\/p>\n

Does she think they never made it out of Compact space?\u00a0 How could she believe that?\u00a0 They must have been in jump for days.\u00a0 Weeks, if they were on the far end of Compact space.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cMy name is Lindsay,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cYou made it to the colony.\u00a0 You\u2019re in Foundation space.\u201d<\/p>\n

The teenager sucked in a deep breath, tears welling up in her eyes.\u00a0 She swallowed hard.\u00a0 Lindsay touched her arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on.\u00a0 Help me with your friend.\u201d\u00a0 She nodded to the injured teenager and started to maneuver around smaller pieces of debris so they could carrying her clear of the wreckage.\u00a0 The teenager scrambled to help and the child moved a little ways away, standing in a clear patch of grass, hugging herself.\u00a0 Together, Lindsay and the teen lifted her injured companion and carried her over to the girl.<\/p>\n

\u201cLindsay!\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked over her shoulder toward the voice as she and the teenager lowered their burden to the ground.\u00a0 Relief flooded through her as she saw Kara racing through drifting smoke toward her, half a dozen others at her back, most of them already starting to fan out amidst the wreckage to dig out other survivors.\u00a0 \u201cKara.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kara wrapped her arms around her friend, then looked around, jaw firming up.\u00a0 \u201cWhat the hell happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA ship crashed,\u201d Lindsay said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can see that<\/em>,\u201d Kara said, glancing at the two teenagers and the little girl.\u00a0 The younger pair were hovering over the elder.<\/p>\n

They must all be sisters or cousins or something,<\/em> Lindsay thought, watching them.\u00a0 Her attention snapped back to Kara as the elder woman\u2019s fingertips dug into the flesh of her arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you see it before it happened?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

Lindsay shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t sleep.\u00a0 Took a walk and I started to hear the screams while they were crashing.\u00a0 I saw the ship come down and ran.\u201d\u00a0 Her gaze flicked toward the road back to town.\u00a0 \u201cUncle Adam should be coming, and Marshal Rose.\u201d\u00a0 And Aunt Rachel and whoever else they\u2019re going to drag along.<\/em>\u00a0 Lindsay took a deep breath and then coughed on the smoke.\u00a0 \u201cDamnation,\u201d she swore under her breath.\u00a0 \u201cI never realized how vile a crash smelled<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know,\u201d Kara murmured, then shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cCome on.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how many survivors there are, but there\u2019ll be less unless we get to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindsay nodded firmly.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re right.\u201d\u00a0 She dried her hands on the seat of her pants, then glanced sidelong at Kara even as she turned away.\u00a0 \u201cI think they\u2019re from the Compact.\u00a0 Does anyone else speak their corp tongue?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust you and me, I think,\u201d Kara said grimly.\u00a0 \u201cAt least until the Marshals show up.\u00a0 They\u2019re both fluent, aren\u2019t they?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAunt Rachel, too.\u201d\u00a0 We\u2019re going to have to stay available, I guess.<\/em>\u00a0 She turned toward the girls she\u2019d helped out of the wreckage, looked at the teenager.\u00a0 \u201cDo any of you speak Standard?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA-a few,\u201d the girl said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cBut most of us, no.\u00a0 No one wanted to teach us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why would–<\/em>\u00a0 Lindsay\u2019s lips thinned as she began to realize why she\u2019d been able to hear the screams from so far away.<\/p>\n

Psychics.\u00a0 They\u2019re all psychics.<\/em><\/p>\n

Suddenly, why they were all so frightened made even more sense.\u00a0 She looked at the girls again.\u00a0 \u201cHow many of you escaped?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were twenty-five of us on the ship,\u201d the teenager told her quietly.\u00a0 \u201cBut I don\u2019t know if we\u2019re all still\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Her voice trailed away.\u00a0 On impulse, Lindsay reached out and hugged her tightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll do everything we can,\u201d she promised fervently.\u00a0 \u201cEverything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre we safe here?\u201d<\/p>\n

As safe as any of us can be, <\/em>Lindsay thought.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t say that, though.\u00a0 Instead, she mustered up a gentle smile and nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYeah,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, you are.\u00a0 You\u2019re safe here and no one\u2019s going to hurt you anymore.\u201d\u00a0 She didn\u2019t know how she knew that someone had hurt them, but she knew it just the same.\u00a0 The thought turned her stomach.<\/p>\n

The Cullings, she feared, would pale in comparison to what was coming in the next war, the one that would soon engulf them all.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

 <\/p>\n

\u201cTwenty-three,\u201d Rachel said wearily as she stepped onto Kara\u2019s porch, shaking her head and staring toward the cliff.\u00a0 The wreckage still smoldered, but the worst of the fires had been put out during the night.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo dead,\u201d Lindsay said, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.\u00a0 She rested her chin on her knee and stared out beyond the porch rail, watching the play of light on the cobbles as the sun came up over the houses across the street.\u00a0 \u201cDid we find their bodies?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA detail\u2019s seeing to the burials right now,\u201d Adam said quietly, leaning against the railing.\u00a0 He stared at his niece for a few long moments.\u00a0 Soot and dirt smudged her face; her fingers were stained with dried blood.\u00a0 She\u2019d done as much as anyone\u2014probably more\u2014than anyone else who\u2019d been on the scene that night.\u00a0 \u201cYou should go home and get cleaned up, Linny-pie.\u201d<\/p>\n

She almost winced at the nickname, instead she turned her head, resting her cheek on her knee and staring at him.\u00a0 \u201cDid they die on impact?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam concealed a wince.\u00a0 \u201cYes,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s what it looks like.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m no doctor, but that\u2019s certainly what it looks like.\u00a0 And that\u2019s what we\u2019ll tell the rest.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lindsay pushed herself to her feet.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s probably best,\u201d she said softly.\u00a0 \u201cThat we tell them that.\u00a0 We\u2019re not going to send them back, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Silence met her question and her gaze hardened as she turned her eyes to her aunt and uncle, to Kara and the rest gathered on the porch.<\/p>\n

The girl called the Oracle pulled herself up straighter.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re staying,\u201d she said firmly. \u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t care what the Council says or thinks, they\u2019re staying.\u00a0 Make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

She marched off the porch and into the street.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are you going?\u201d\u00a0 Rachel asked as she sank down into a chair.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo check on them,\u201d Lindsay said.\u00a0 \u201cThe refugees.\u00a0 That\u2019s what they are.\u00a0 Someone\u2019s got to reassure them and it might as well be me.\u00a0 I\u2019m not that much older and I speak their language.\u201d\u00a0 She smiled weakly.\u00a0 \u201cAnyhow, it\u2019ll keep me busy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam stared at her for a moment, then nodded.\u00a0 \u201cAt least get yourself cleaned up first.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n

He sank into the seat she\u2019d vacated as they watched her walk away.\u00a0 Rachel\u2019s fingers twined with his.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s that stubbornness,\u201d he murmured.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe comes by it honestly.\u201d\u00a0 Rachel rested her head against his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cDid Daci take the skimmer back?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.\u00a0 He\u2019d sent Frederick with her when the sun started to come up.\u00a0 The man had been a shadow, unseen by most but seeing everything.\u00a0 I\u2019ll be interested to hear his insights later.\u00a0 Twenty-three refugees from the Compact, coming here.<\/em>\u00a0 If he was any judge, the ship they\u2019d stolen to come here with had been an older one, possibly in poor repair, but they wouldn\u2019t know until they analyzed the wreckage.\u00a0 Regardless, the teenagers and children\u2014because that\u2019s what they were, only three of the refugees were older than twenty\u2014had been desperate to escape the Compact.\u00a0 It was a desperation he could understand to a certain extent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re all psychic,\u201d he said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cAren\u2019t they?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll except for two,\u201d Rachel said softly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt all makes sense, then,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n

Kara frowned, crossing her arms.\u00a0 \u201cWhy now?\u00a0 It feels sudden.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does,\u201d Adam agreed.\u00a0 \u201cWhich means things are getting worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next to him, Rachel shivered.\u00a0 Kara swallowed and stared out at the street.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to get bad,\u201d she said quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Adam confirmed.\u00a0 \u201cYes, it is.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My father\u2019s greatest strength\u2014the greatest strength he passed on to me and my children, perhaps the greatest legacy he\u2019s given to the Farragut family is his stubborn streak.\u00a0 It\u2019s possibly also the worst. — Ian Farragut, circa 4901 PD \u00a016 … 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-231","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-3J","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231","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=231"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":232,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231\/revisions\/232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}