{"id":265,"date":"2012-10-21T00:00:14","date_gmt":"2012-10-21T04:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=265"},"modified":"2012-10-20T21:06:30","modified_gmt":"2012-10-21T01:06:30","slug":"chapter-forty-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=265","title":{"rendered":"Chapter Forty-two"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Change, though painful, is often necessary.\u00a0 We often fear it, though, simply because it hurts too damn much sometimes.\u00a0 I speak from experience\u2014volumes of it.<\/h3>\n

— attributed to Ryland LeSarte, circa 4856 PD<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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

\u201cSo that\u2019s home,\u201d America said softly as she stared out through space, down at the blue and green and white ball that was E-557.\u00a0 There was a storm swirling through the southern ocean and a weather front was sweeping east toward the more heavily populated areas of the main continent.\u00a0 It was hard to tell where the cities might be from up here.\u00a0 If Ezra didn\u2019t already know where they were, he\u2019d be hard-pressed to tell from this altitude.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d he said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have Brendan secured, Ezra?\u201d\u00a0 Alana asked without looking up from the controls.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust about,\u201d he said, crossing his arms and leaning with one hip against the back of Alana\u2019s seat.\u00a0 \u201cAre we going to run into any of that weather?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0 She didn\u2019t bother to look up.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re landing on the coast, so we should be able to avoid it.\u00a0 I\u2019m not very experienced with the wind sheering here, though.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra squeezed her shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks for the vote of confidence,\u201d she muttered, jaw tightening for a moment.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d still rather be safe than sorry.\u00a0 Make sure he\u2019s strapped in tight.\u201d<\/p>\n

America chuckled weakly as she looked at Ezra.\u00a0 \u201cSeems she\u2019s not going to leave you alone until you do it.\u00a0 Do you need help?\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo, I can handle it just fine.\u201d\u00a0 He glanced at Grant as he headed back toward the bunks.\u00a0 The older man was slumped in one of the observation seats, arms crossed, staring broodingly out at the planet that spun lazily below them.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot much in the way of defenses, is there?\u201d Grant said as Ezra passed.<\/p>\n

It was Alana that answered.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s a few orbitals, but they\u2019re cloaked.\u00a0 Isolation has been our greatest defense for the most part, and vigilance.\u00a0 The planetary sensor net is very much\u00a0 like the systems employed at Mimir.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grant made a disgusted sound low in his throat.\u00a0 \u201cMuch good that did us.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t see them coming until it was too late\u2014and even then, we couldn\u2019t tell who it was.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere have been some upgrades to the old systems,\u201d Ezra said as he double-checked Brendan\u2019s vitals and then started to fasten an extra layer of crash webbing over his friend.\u00a0 \u201cA couple dozen of the best minds the Foundation and the Guard had worked on the project.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also built redundancy into the system,\u201d Alana said, tone dry.\u00a0 \u201cConstant air patrols, small but effective.\u00a0 Brendan flies them, like most of the other pilots in our flight corps.\u201d\u00a0 She exhaled, her voice dropping to almost a mutter.\u00a0 \u201cAt least they have flight hours logged even if they\u2019re not combat hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra swallowed the thin trickle of bile that welled up at the back of his throat.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe it won\u2019t come to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKeep hoping, Dr. Grace,\u201d Alana said.\u00a0 \u201cKeep hoping\u2014keep praying\u2014and maybe something will have mercy on us.\u00a0 For my part, I\u2019ll keep right on worrying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra bit back stubborn denial and looked down at Brendan, his jaw tightening painfully for a moment.\u00a0 \u201cRight,\u201d the doctor muttered.\u00a0 \u201cKeep on worrying.\u00a0 I\u2019ll keep praying.\u201d\u00a0 He fell silent as he slid the last few fasteners home, securing Brendan in a cocoon of crash netting substantial enough that Ezra was fairly certain if the ship did<\/em> crash, Brendan would survive even if the rest of them didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Comparatively, we\u2019re all expendable.<\/em>\u00a0 He barely kept himself from wincing at the thought as he straightened up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are we landing, anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n

Alana hesitated for the barest moment before she said, \u201cHalo Ridge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

America and Grant both looked at him askance.\u00a0 America tilted her head to one side.\u00a0 \u201cIs there something wrong with this place where we\u2019re landing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Alana said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a perfectly lovely landing zone. I\u2019ve seen it.\u00a0 And if we somehow accidentally overshoot, we\u2019ll end up in the water.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra could have throttled her.\u00a0 His breath caught, throat tightening painfully.\u00a0 \u201cNo one\u2019s landed at Halo Ridge since Mom died.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alana shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cAll I know is that I was told that\u2019s where we\u2019re landing, Ezra.\u00a0 I have my vectors and it\u2019s way too late for me to ask them to reroute us now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra clamped his mouth shut so tightly his jaw hurt.\u00a0 America\u2019s gaze flicked between him and Alana as he stiffly made his way to another of the observation seats and dropped into it.<\/p>\n

Kara must know we\u2019re coming home.\u00a0 None of the Marshals would have come up with us landing at Halo Ridge.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think any of them realize that it\u2019s still the way Dad left it the last time.<\/em><\/p>\n

He closed his eyes. Five years had done little enough to soften the blow of two deaths only weeks apart.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow long has it been since you were there?\u201d\u00a0 Alana asked after a few minutes of aching silence.<\/p>\n

\u201cHalo Ridge?\u00a0 Not since we found out that Mom was never going to land there again.\u00a0 Been to the house a few times, but I could never live there.\u00a0 Too many memories.\u00a0 Too many ghosts.\u201d<\/p>\n

The way she exhaled said that she understood.\u00a0 He managed a weak smile as he turned to America and Grant.\u00a0 \u201cMy father set up a landing field at Halo Ridge for my mother.\u00a0 They died five years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

America glanced at her husband.\u00a0 \u201cQuite a gesture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra smiled faintly.\u00a0 \u201cYeah.\u00a0 I guess it was.\u201d\u00a0 His smile faded.\u00a0 \u201cWhen will we be there, Alana?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cForty-five or less,\u201d she said as she nosed the ship down toward their reentry vector.\u00a0 \u201cKeep on praying.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t,\u201d Ezra said quietly, staring at the planet growing larger and larger in the windows.\u00a0 \u201cI promise I won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

 <\/p>\n

The ride out to base had been too short for the conversation Daci clearly wanted to have with him, but he didn\u2019t have the same luck on the trip between the base and the old Grace house overlooking the water.\u00a0 Daci sat next to him in the skimmer, back ramrod-straight.\u00a0 For a few moments, he thought that maybe, just maybe, she wasn\u2019t going to say anything.<\/p>\n

Then she took a deep breath and said, without preamble, \u201cI cannot believe the risk you took with his life.\u00a0 He is your best friend<\/em>.\u00a0 You have almost as much interest in keeping him breathing as I do and you bring him to a fragging Council meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOstensibly, we\u2019re supposed to be able to trust the Council,\u201d Adam said, though he believed it as much as she did and it was audible in his voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t trust D\u2019Arcy Morgause.\u00a0 Don\u2019t pretend that even Speaker Petremoore does.\u201d\u00a0 Daci grit her teeth.\u00a0 \u201cThe only thing that saved your life in there was the fact that I don\u2019t think that anyone recognized Frederick.\u00a0 Believe me, if anyone had recognized him, I would have shot you on the way to base and disappeared with him again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou wouldn\u2019t have,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cIf you did, he\u2019d never forgive you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019d forgive me eventually,\u201d Daci said.\u00a0 Her hands tightened into fists on her knees.\u00a0 \u201cWhat the hell were you thinking, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was already there, Daci.\u00a0 He decided that he was coming when Rachel and Lindsay left the house.\u00a0 He said he was coming to the meeting.\u00a0 Was I supposed to tell him no, make him wait in the skimmer?\u201d<\/p>\n

Daci stayed quiet, staring at trees as they cut out of town and up into the wild beyond Nova Spexi, out toward a rocky spate of shoreline that jutted out into the ocean north of town.\u00a0 A quarter mile later, she said, \u201cYou guys should have found a way to talk him out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce he sets his mind to something, there\u2019s no talking him out of it.\u00a0 You know that, Daci.\u201d\u00a0 Adam shot her a rueful smile.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s why he\u2019s here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a true statement on a lot of different levels,\u201d Daci murmured, eyes focusing distantly for a long moment.\u00a0 \u201cAdam, when they land, everything\u2019s going to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

The abrupt subject shift startled him so badly he nearly swerved off the narrow, two-lane roadway.<\/p>\n

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

Daci snorted.\u00a0 \u201cAre you trying to get us both killed?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 What the hell are you talking about now?\u201d<\/p>\n

Daci gave him a long, hard look.\u00a0 \u201cOnce they land.\u00a0 Then we\u2019ll know the truth.\u00a0 Everyone will know the truth about what happened at the Whispers.\u00a0 We\u2019ll know whatever the Compact and Chinasia are planning because America and Grant will be able to tell us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey might not,\u201d Adam said, heart sinking.\u00a0 She\u2019s right.\u00a0 Damnation, she\u2019s right.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cPrisoners or not, Adam, they\u2019ll know something.\u00a0 We both know that it\u2019s probably not going to be good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d he agreed.\u00a0 \u201cProbably not.\u201d\u00a0 Certainly not.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cBut then, where Chinasia and the Compact are involved, things are never good, are they?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTypically not.\u201d\u00a0 Daci exhaled.\u00a0 \u201cWe need a new spymaster.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI know.\u201d\u00a0 I want Freder for it, but you won\u2019t go for it\u2014and I have to convince him first.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll sort it all out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore we can oust D\u2019Arcy, we need to have someone we can install in his place.\u00a0 It could be Alana.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam made a noncommitmental sound.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll sort it all out,\u201d he said again.<\/p>\n

Ahead of them lay the perimeter that Aidan\u2019s people had arranged.\u00a0 Adam took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly.<\/p>\n

Within the hour, everything would change.\u00a0 It was just a question of how\u2014and how drastically different their world would be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Change, though painful, is often necessary.\u00a0 We often fear it, though, simply because it hurts too damn much sometimes.\u00a0 I speak from experience\u2014volumes of it. — attributed to Ryland LeSarte, circa 4856 PD 20 Novem, 5249 PD \u201cSo that\u2019s home,\u201d … 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-265","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-4h","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265","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=265"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":267,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265\/revisions\/267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}