{"id":274,"date":"2012-10-28T00:00:23","date_gmt":"2012-10-28T04:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=274"},"modified":"2012-10-27T15:57:31","modified_gmt":"2012-10-27T19:57:31","slug":"chapter-forty-three","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=274","title":{"rendered":"Chapter Forty-three"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The humans who began the Diaspora and the generations preceding them made many mistakes.\u00a0 They are mistakes we continue to make today, with our rapacious use of resources, the bleeding of our worlds dry ecologically.\u00a0 If we do not learn from these mistakes, we are doomed to repeat those of our forbearers.\u00a0 This is not a lesson we can afford to ignore.<\/h3>\n

— Erich Quizibian, Roots of Disaster: Predicting the Death of the Human Race<\/em>, c. 5073 PD<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

\u201cLin?\u00a0 Are you going to be okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

She turned toward the sound of Kara\u2019s voice and smiled a weak, watery smile as she laid a roll of gauze down in the pile on one of the side tables.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll be fine as long as he\u2019s going to be okay.\u201d\u00a0 Her shoulders rose and fell in a slight shrug.\u00a0 \u201cAnd that\u2019s what this is designed to ensure, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her friend nodded slightly.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, yeah it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kara smiled lopsidedly and came over, enfolding the younger woman in a hug so tight that Lindsay wasn\u2019t sure if it was shared worry or the strength of the embrace that made it hard to breathe.\u00a0 She hugged her friend back, clinging for a long moment as her eyes stung.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m scared, Kara.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all scared, Linny.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindsay took a deep, steadying breath as their arms loosened.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t keep being me without him.\u00a0 He\u2019s my rock.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s your Farragut,\u201d Kara said quietly, looking down at her.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo my LeSarte,\u201d Lindsay whispered.\u00a0 Her hand strayed unconsciously to her middle.\u00a0 Kara\u2019s eyes widened.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd to your Ian<\/em>,\u201d her friend breathed.\u00a0 \u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt must have been right before he left,\u201d Lindsay said as Kara\u2019s arms closed around her again.\u00a0 She leaned against her friend and squeezed her eyes shut.\u00a0 I can\u2019t lose him now.\u00a0 I just can\u2019t.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cHe doesn\u2019t know.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t even know until a few days ago, but I know it.\u00a0 I can feel it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid anyone confirm it?\u201d\u00a0 Kara asked softly.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoctor V did yesterday,\u201d Lindsay said quietly.\u00a0 She took a deep breath and straightened, pulling away and looking up at Kara.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s here to help Ezra with him, isn\u2019t she?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess he asked for her,\u201d Kara said, her brows drawing together as her lips tightened into a thin, white line.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindsay managed a smile.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s okay.\u00a0 You can\u2019t scare me any worse than I already am, Kara.\u201d\u00a0 She squeezed her friend\u2019s arm and turned away, peering out the window at the endless blue of the sky.\u00a0 They\u2019re up there, out there, on their way home.\u00a0 It won\u2019t be long.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cDid you see Uncle Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Marshal said it\u2019ll be another half an hour, twenty minutes,\u201d Renee Vilenauva said quietly from behind them.\u00a0 Her gaze met Lindsay\u2019s as the younger woman turned.\u00a0 \u201cHow close can I expect you to be hovering while Dr. Grace and I are working on him?\u201d<\/p>\n

She caught her lower lip between her teeth.\u00a0 \u201cDepends on how bad it is,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cAnd the look on Ezra\u2019s face when he sees me.\u00a0 That\u2019ll tell me everything I need to know.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019ll be close, regardless.\u00a0 Probably not in the room, but close.<\/em>\u00a0 She closed her eyes for a moment and forced herself to exhale slowly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll stay out of the way.\u00a0 I promise.\u201d\u00a0 After I see him once, anyway.\u00a0 After I touch him and know that I haven\u2019t lost him.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Not yet, anyway.<\/em>\u00a0 She swallowed the bile that suddenly bubbled up in her throat and shivered.\u00a0 Kara\u2019s arm slid around her shoulders and squeezed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be okay,\u201d her friend breathed in her ear.<\/p>\n

Lindsay nodded.\u00a0 \u201cOf course it is,\u201d she murmured back.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s got too much to live for to die.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s an impressive view from up here,\u201d Rachel murmured to Adam as he came up beside her and put a comforting arm around her shoulders.\u00a0 From the edge of the ridge, they could see the sea in the distance.\u00a0 The tides were coming in, the waters rising against the pale sand and dark rocks of the shore.\u00a0 \u201cBut I can feel why Kara and Ezra stay away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of memories,\u201d Adam agreed, his voice as quiet as hers as he squeezed her close.\u00a0 \u201cThe Graces lived a full life, though, both of them.\u201d\u00a0 He kissed her jaw gently.\u00a0 \u201cA spirit healer could cleanse the place and it wouldn\u2019t be bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wouldn\u2019t be home, though.\u201d\u00a0 Rachel took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly.\u00a0 \u201cBut you\u2019re not talking about it as a place for us, are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDaci and Freder are going to need a place.\u00a0 So are Meri and Grant.\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s a bridge to cross another time.\u00a0 Besides, aren\u2019t Daci and Freder going to eventually go back to Urgarthe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe not.\u201d\u00a0 Not if I get my vote.\u00a0 Not if I can talk him into it.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re scheming,\u201d Rachel said, her tone only vaguely accusing.\u00a0 Adam chuckled softly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWas there ever a time when I wasn\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her gaze flicked up to him even as her free hand lifted to stroke his jaw.\u00a0 It was rough with a day and half of stubble; he\u2019d forgotten to shave that morning.\u00a0 One corner of her mouth quirked upward in a faint smile.\u00a0 \u201cNo,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cNot ever, I don\u2019t think.\u201d\u00a0 Her free arm slid around his waist.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s good to know some things don\u2019t<\/em> change.\u201d<\/p>\n

He drew her against his chest and stared out into the distance, resting his chin on top of her head.\u00a0 \u201cEspecially on the eve of everything being different.\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked up, blinking.\u00a0 \u201cYou think so?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour sister and her husband are coming home,\u201d Adam said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019ve been prisoners of two of the conglomerates for almost two decades.\u00a0 Tell me that they\u2019re not going to have horror stories.\u00a0 Tell me that they\u2019re not going to tell us something that\u2019s going to make war even more inevitable than it already is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam,\u201d Rachel said his name quietly, firmly.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re only going to war because they\u2019re going to bring it to us.\u00a0 What happened to the Whispers made it inevitable.\u00a0 Lindsay\u2019s visions of the war coming to us made it inevitable.\u00a0 My sister and Grant coming home aren\u2019t going to make the war that\u2019s coming happen.\u00a0 It\u2019s just going to confirm who our enemies are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich is almost everyone,\u201d Adam breathed, brushing hair back from his wife\u2019s face.\u00a0 \u201cEveryone with the power to make us hurt.\u201d\u00a0 His jaw tightened.\u00a0 \u201cWhat if they tell us that the Cullings are coming again, Rachel?\u00a0 What will we do then?\u00a0 Leave every psychic that\u2019s not already here to suffer?\u201d<\/p>\n

She sucked in a sharp breath and jerked away, turning toward the cliff and staring blankly at the ocean.\u00a0 \u201cNo,\u201d she said after a long moment of silence.\u00a0 \u201cNo, of course not.\u00a0 How could we?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll be a fight with the Council to get them to approve it,\u201d Adam warned.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe not.\u201d\u00a0 A shudder ran through her and Adam put his arms around her again, this time around her shoulders as he stood behind her.\u00a0 She leaned back into his chest and shook her head slowly.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll have to see,\u201d she said, her voice barely audible over the wind coming off the water.\u00a0 \u201cFear is a powerful motivator.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor both sides,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 D\u2019Arcy and anyone loyal to him will dig in their heels.\u00a0 They won\u2019t like anything that brings more psychics to this haven.\u00a0 But it\u2019s all we\u2019ve got\u2014it\u2019s all any psychic has left.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This is where the last vestiges of the Guard are safe.\u00a0 The Foundation and the Guard might as well be the same thing, but they\u2019re not.\u00a0 People like D\u2019Arcy make sure that\u2019s the case.<\/em>\u00a0 His jaw tightened and he knew that Rachel sensed his sudden shift toward tension.\u00a0 She turned to look up at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cCuore dell\u2019anima mia<\/em>,\u201d she whispered.\u00a0 \u201cAdam.\u201d<\/p>\n

He closed his eyes.\u00a0 She hasn\u2019t called me that in a long time.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u00a0 Morbid thoughts.\u00a0 They\u2019re the last thing either of need right now, I know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially if Lindsay picks up on them,\u201d Rachel said, stroking his face gently with both hands.\u00a0 She smiled weakly.\u00a0 \u201cAll the bridges we have to cross are ones we\u2019ll cross when we get there.\u00a0 We can\u2019t afford to make assumptions at this point.\u00a0 Everything\u2019s changing too fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right,\u201d he said, resting his forehead against hers.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re right.\u201d\u00a0 It was a lie, but he let it pass and so did she.\u00a0 There were some things they should<\/em> be prepared for because they were<\/em> inevitable.<\/p>\n

It was just a question of what was going to happen no matter what and what they could mitigate or prevent.<\/p>\n

His comm trilled an alarm.\u00a0 He swallowed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it time?\u201d\u00a0 Rachel asked softly.<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s time.\u201d<\/p>\n

They turned back toward the house.\u00a0 His arm settled around her shoulders and together, they walked toward the edge of the landing field that once upon a time, Zephaniah Grace had built for his beloved wife, the mother of his twin children.<\/p>\n

Kara and Lindsay emerged from the house a few moments after Adam and Rachel reached the edge of the field, trailing behind Daci and Frederick.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019s Aidan?\u201d\u00a0 Adam asked, gaze flicking to his fellow Marshal.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing to the perimeter,\u201d Daci said.\u00a0 \u201cI was going to stay with him, but he sent me up here instead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded absently.\u00a0 His eyes drifted toward his niece.\u00a0 Kara Grace-Forester had the younger woman\u2019s hand in a death grip.\u00a0 Both women were white-knuckled.\u00a0 He barely suppressed the urge to shake his head and stepped away from Rachel.\u00a0 He cupped Lindsay\u2019s chin gently in one rough hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll be fine, Linny-pie,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe better be, Uncle Adam,\u201d she said.\u00a0 A bare trace of a smile flickered across her lips, through her eyes.\u00a0 \u201cOtherwise, I get to hurt you, remember?\u201d<\/p>\n

He laughed and nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI remember.\u201d\u00a0 I might let you hurt me anyway for what I sent them into.\u00a0 Depends on how badly he\u2019s hurt.<\/em><\/p>\n

Rachel caught his hand and squeezed.\u00a0 He squeezed back and moved away, joining the others in a ragged line facing the field.<\/p>\n

In the distance, a dark speck grew bigger, more defined as it glided toward the field, toward Halo Ridge.\u00a0 Out of the corner of his eye, Adam saw Daci wince.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t like that wobble,\u201d she said, squinting against the sky.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlana will bring them in safely,\u201d Adam said with a confidence he didn\u2019t quite feel.\u00a0 He squeezed Rachel\u2019s hand again.\u00a0 Having her here somehow helped him steady himself, steel himself to tell the lies he had to tell\u2014to his colleagues, to himself.<\/p>\n

She\u2019ll bring them in safe.\u00a0 Don\u2019t underestimate Alana Chase.\u00a0 That\u2019s how you end up with a dagger in your spine.<\/em><\/p>\n

Gradually the ship became clearer.\u00a0 Adam winced as he saw evidence of damage, some apparently from lasers, others the normal\u2014or almost normal\u2014evidence of close encounters with space debris.<\/p>\n

No wonder there\u2019s a wobble.\u00a0 Looks like half a stabilizer sheered off.<\/em><\/p>\n

A few seconds before the ship settled onto the pad, Dr. Vilenauva joined them with three corpsmen and a stretcher.\u00a0 She exchanged a look with Rachel and nodded slightly.\u00a0 Whatever silent exchange had just happened, Vilenauva\u2019s nod meant she\u2019d do what Rachel had asked.<\/p>\n

He closed his eyes for a moment.<\/p>\n

The shuttle touched down in a wash of hot wind.<\/p>\n

The moment of truth was at hand.<\/p>\n

Later, he would only remember the moment in fragments, snatches of images.\u00a0 Alana shepherding America and Grant off the ship and to the ground.\u00a0 Shaking his old friend\u2019s hand again as Rachel embraced her sister for the first time in decades.\u00a0 Ezra Grace emerging from he ship\u2019s dark interior only to be engulfed in his sister\u2019s arms.<\/p>\n

Laying his hand on Lindsay\u2019s shoulder and squeezing as Ezra led the medical team back into the ship and carried Brendan out.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt least let them get him to the ground, Linny-pie.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The pain etched on her face and the heartbreaking tenderness of his niece\u2019s touch as she brushed hair away from her husband\u2019s forehead and kissed him gently before Ezra and the rest whisked him away, into the house.<\/p>\n

And Alana grasping his arm, jaw set grimly as she laid a data card in his hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Whispers is dead, Marshal.\u00a0 God help us all.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The humans who began the Diaspora and the generations preceding them made many mistakes.\u00a0 They are mistakes we continue to make today, with our rapacious use of resources, the bleeding of our worlds dry ecologically.\u00a0 If we do not learn … 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-274","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-4q","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274","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=274"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":275,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274\/revisions\/275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}