{"id":291,"date":"2013-01-01T00:00:09","date_gmt":"2013-01-01T05:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=291"},"modified":"2013-01-01T00:02:51","modified_gmt":"2013-01-01T05:02:51","slug":"prologue-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=291","title":{"rendered":"Prologue"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

We must look to the examples of the greatest among us, those who have always placed the lives of others above their own lives, whether in pursuit of justice, truth, liberty\u2014those things that are the greatest of virtues that we as human beings can aspire to.\u00a0 We must look to oftentimes the tragic memories of men and women who gave their lives for the sake of these things in order to find the greatest heroes of our modern times.\u00a0 They are what we, as fellow men and women, should aspire to become when we talk about becoming better than what we are today.\u00a0 My husband was an ordinary man who believed in truth and justice.\u00a0 The pursuit of both killed him.\u00a0 I pray that his sacrifice will not be in vain.<\/h3>\n

— Daciana Mason Rose, 25 Duodecem 5237 PD<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

\u201cSephora.\u201d<\/p>\n

She froze, eyes widening at the sound of a voice she hadn\u2019t heard in twelve long years.\u00a0 Her heart began to beat a little faster as she slowly looked up from the files in her lap and at the flickering image of a man twelve years dead.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrederick,\u201d she breathed.\u00a0 He\u2019d been everything then\u2014friend, mentor, idol.\u00a0 She had said more than once that without his tutelage, she\u2019d never have become Chief Inspector for the New Earth Commonwealth.\u00a0 Hell, the Office of the Inspector General might not exist anymore if he hadn\u2019t become the legend\u2014and the martyr\u2014he had back then.<\/p>\n

The image didn\u2019t smile, but she wasn\u2019t sure why she\u2019d expected it to.\u00a0 She caught her lower lip between her teeth, staring at the image as he paused for another beat and spoke.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis message is meant for you and your eyes only.\u00a0 I knew that eventually you\u2019d go looking through our old case files for old time\u2019s sake, especially if something happened to me.\u00a0 If I\u2019m not there with you, odds are something did.\u00a0 Maybe it was a case that killed me.\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s the one I\u2019m about to tell you about.<\/p>\n

\u201cOr maybe I was wrong and they didn\u2019t catch up with me and I\u2019m showing this to you just to watch the look on your face.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got no way of knowing.\u00a0 Either way, just in case the worst happens, I\u2019ve got something you need to know.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still can\u2019t quite be sure if it wasn\u2019t more of them, but I know that there was an alliance between Idesalli, Chinasia, and the Compact that plotted what happened on Mimir.\u00a0 That\u2019s not the worst of it, either.\u00a0 Someone in the Commonwealth knew, Seph.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know who and until I know who, I can\u2019t be sure why they didn\u2019t stop it, but I\u2019m positive that there was more than one person that knew this was coming and didn\u2019t raise a finger to stop it from happening.\u00a0 That\u2019s the worst of it.\u00a0 All of those lives\u2014millions\u2014are on their head.\u201d<\/p>\n

His holographic image glanced away for a moment before it turned back to her.\u00a0 \u201cI wish I had more to tell you.\u00a0 Find the green case.\u00a0 In the lining is a chip that\u2019s got a copy of all my research up until the night before I left for Eldas.\u00a0 It\u2019s everything, Seph.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I haven\u2019t done it yet, use it to bury<\/i> them.\u00a0 No one\u2014no like me, anyway\u2014is going to be safe until it\u2019s all unraveled.\u00a0 I knew there was hate inside the Commonwealth, I just didn\u2019t think it was enough to cause something like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

A shiver worked its way down her spine and she exhaled a shaky breath.\u00a0 Freder\u2026what did you unravel?\u00a0 Why didn\u2019t you tell me back then?<\/i><\/p>\n

Maybe they wouldn\u2019t have killed you.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cGood luck, Seph,\u201d Frederick\u2019s voice said softly.\u00a0 \u201cBe careful and good luck.\u00a0 You always were a good friend and a sharp investigator.\u00a0 You\u2019ll do fine.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood-bye.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hologram sputtered and died.\u00a0 Sephora swallowed against a lump in her throat.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood-bye, Freder,\u201d she whispered softly.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t worry.\u00a0 I\u2019ll figure it out even if it kills me.\u201d\u00a0 Even if I have to burn the Commonwealth to the ground to get to the bottom of this, I\u2019ll figure it out.\u00a0 You deserve that much from me.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2022<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cTelly, has Winston already headed out?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her communications coordinator jerked his head toward her, blinking owlishly through his visor.\u00a0 \u201cThe First Grade?\u00a0 Yes, ma\u2019am.\u00a0 You told him immediately.\u00a0 He\u2019s already on his way to the far reaches.\u201d\u00a0 He reached over and tapped a few controls.\u00a0 \u201cLeft this morning on the Tiana<\/i>.\u00a0 He\u2019ll be making it out there by end of next week.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDamn,\u201d she muttered under her breath.\u00a0 \u201cHave they cleared the system yet?\u201d<\/p>\n

Tellaris tapped a few controls, brow furrowing.\u00a0 \u201cMade the jump an hour ago.\u00a0 Do you need a tight-beam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTight-beam, direct line, maximum encryption.\u00a0 Headset?\u201d<\/p>\n

He handed her one, still frowning.\u00a0 \u201cEverything okay, Seph?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot since Frederick Rose died,\u201d she muttered, fitting the headset on, frowning darkly.\u00a0 How do I tell Winston everything I need to tell him and make sure it doesn\u2019t get back to someone in the Commonwealth who\u2019ll find my words suspect?<\/i><\/p>\n

Hellfire and damnation.<\/i><\/p>\n

Tellaris eyed her for a moment, then shook his head slowly.\u00a0 \u201cRight.\u00a0 Well, you\u2019re rigged.\u00a0 Go ahead and hit that green button there to record the message.\u201d\u00a0 He hesitated.\u00a0 \u201cYou want me to stick around or beat feet?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBeat it,\u201d Sephora said after a moment\u2019s hesitation.\u00a0 I don\u2019t need anyone else getting deeper into this than needs to be.\u00a0 Right now, Winston and I need to be\u2014and whoever he finds to help him when he reaches E-557 is going to end up knee-deep in this, too.<\/i><\/p>\n

Damn, what was the name of that friend of his?\u00a0 Windsor?\u00a0 Something like that.<\/i><\/p>\n

She waited until Tellaris was gone and the door was closed behind him before she touched the control he\u2019d indicated.\u00a0 \u201cTim, this is the Inspector General.\u00a0 Listen carefully and destroy this message once you\u2019ve listened to it.\u00a0 Trust no one inside the confines of the Commonwealth.\u00a0 Rose knew more than he ever told anyone here.\u00a0 He had his reasons.\u00a0 Find his friends on E-557.\u00a0 They should help you.\u00a0 You\u2014and they\u2014might be our only hope.\u00a0 Find the man named Windsor.\u00a0 Shoot a tight-beam to my personal line when you make contact.\u00a0 Out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sephora cut the transmission and slumped in her chair.\u00a0 She squeezed her eyes shut, knuckled her eyes and wished the stinging would go away.<\/p>\n

Why didn\u2019t you tell me that sooner, Frederick?<\/i><\/p>\n

And why the hell didn\u2019t I go looking at the files before now?<\/i><\/p>\n

She\u2019d just sent her best investigator out into what was about to become a warzone, she had no doubt.\u00a0 All she could do was hope that Timrel Winston kept his head\u2014and his life.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, that hope was all she had.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We must look to the examples of the greatest among us, those who have always placed the lives of others above their own lives, whether in pursuit of justice, truth, liberty\u2014those things that are the greatest of virtues that we … 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":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-two-ashes-to-ashes"],"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\/291","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=291"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":295,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291\/revisions\/295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}