{"id":334,"date":"2013-03-10T00:00:50","date_gmt":"2013-03-10T05:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=334"},"modified":"2013-03-09T16:26:27","modified_gmt":"2013-03-09T21:26:27","slug":"ten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=334","title":{"rendered":"Ten"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Sometimes, the choices we make are not the ones that are necessarily the best for us, but the best for everyone around us.\u00a0 Those are the hardest choices, but at the same time they are the choices that often shape the world.<\/h3>\n

— Ryland LeSarte<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

\u00a07 Decem, 5249 PD<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

She looked up from the dirt and plants of her garden toward the sound of Sergei\u2019s voice.\u00a0 She hadn\u2019t heard him come up the walk and mentally scolded herself for it.\u00a0 We\u2019re practically at war and you\u2019re not paying attention to anything but the garden and your thoughts.\u00a0 Dangerous, Rachel. Adam and Grant would yell at you more than a little for this.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cSpeaker.\u00a0 Something the matter?\u201d<\/p>\n

He stopped at the edge of her garden and surveyed the plants.\u00a0 The summer\u2019s bounty was already gone, leaving the autumnal fare still growing.\u00a0 She was starting to gather the more delicate of those back in already as the days and nights turned colder.\u00a0 He was silent for a long moment before he said, \u201cI\u2019m retiring.\u201d<\/p>\n

A shiver shot down her spine.\u00a0 \u201cIn the middle of a war?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore the pre-war becomes the true war,\u201d Sergei said with a faint, wry smile.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m an old man, Rachel.\u00a0 War is the game for younger men and women.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how much time I\u2019ve got left, but I\u2019d rather spend it with my grandchildren than D\u2019Arcy Morgause.\u201d<\/p>\n

She gave a humorless snort and rocked to her feet, careful not to crush any of the plants in her garden.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s not a surprise.\u00a0 The man\u2019s useless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sergei made a noncommitmental noise and waited as she picked her way out of the tangled mass of vine and foliage.\u00a0 \u201cFor what we need him to do, perhaps, if not for anything else.\u201d\u00a0 His gaze met hers, eyes seeming ancient beyond measure for the briefest moment.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re wondering why I\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably written all over my face.\u201d\u00a0 Rachel wiped her hands on the seat of her pants and shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cBut at the same time, I\u2019m terrified I already know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want you to take my place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s exactly what I was afraid of.\u201d\u00a0 Rachel sighed and crossed the gravel path alongside the garden to sit on the kitchen stairs.\u00a0 Sergei drifted after her, crossing his arms as he regarded her with a long, measuring look.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would that make you afraid?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t it?\u201d\u00a0 Rachel stared at the trees, at the garden\u2014at everything and nothing all at once.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve never done something like that before.\u201d<\/p>\n

He gave a derisive snort and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve only been the driving force behind the Council for the past three seasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot at all,\u201d she said simply.\u00a0 \u201cI just spoke my mind and acted in the ways I thought were best.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cModest,\u201d Sergei said with a faint smile.\u00a0 He began to pace.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d hoped that I wouldn\u2019t have to convince you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, that\u2019s what you\u2019re going to have to do,\u201d Rachel said quietly, watching him.\u00a0 He seemed thinner than he had been a year ago, his hair now gone completely to gray and white where there had once been dark strands amidst the snow and stone.\u00a0 The lines around his eyes were deeper, the shadows darker.\u00a0 She caught her lower lip between her teeth for a moment.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve been thinking on this for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot do the job as ably as I once did,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cD\u2019Arcy runs roughshod over us all because I cannot leash him.\u00a0 The younger Consuls\u2014you included\u2014are the strongest voices now.\u00a0 It\u2019s time for you to lead, Rachel.\u201d\u00a0 The ghost of a smile touched his lips.\u00a0 \u201cIt was perhaps time long ago, but you weren\u2019t ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m too hot-headed,\u201d she murmured.\u00a0 \u201cToo impetuous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cNot now.\u00a0 The last few years have changed you.\u00a0 I can see it.\u00a0 You\u2019re far different than you were a decade ago, when I first started to think about walking away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her gaze snapped up, eyes widening.\u00a0 He gave her a gentle smile and shrugged.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis moment has been a very, very long time in coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not my parents,\u201d she said, guts roiling, stomach bursting with a thousand fluttering butterflies moving at the speed of light.\u00a0 \u201cYou can\u2019t\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t,\u201d Sergei said.\u00a0 \u201cI only ever knew your parents by reputation, Rachel, I never met them personally.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut your father\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour grandfather was a good friend to him and the Foundation,\u201d Sergei agreed.\u00a0 \u201cMy decision is not based on who your family was, but on who you<\/i> are.\u00a0 I\u2019ve known you for quite a long time now, remember?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d she muttered, leaning back against the steps.\u00a0 \u201cYou were the first one to welcome me when Adam brought me here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd never once have I regretted it.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled.\u00a0 \u201cYou are my choice to succeed me, Rachel Farragut, whether you like it or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

And I don\u2019t like it, but how can I say no?\u00a0 That\u2019s the problem.\u00a0 If I\u2019m elected, I can\u2019t turn it down\u2014not in the face of everything that\u2019s about to happen.\u00a0 Dammit, I almost\u2014almost\u2014hate it when Adam\u2019s right about this kind of thing.<\/i>\u00a0 She knuckled her eyes and exhaled noisily.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know that I can get elected to the job, Sergei.\u00a0 You can suggest, but you can\u2019t<\/i> name.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll be elected,\u201d he said with a confidence she didn\u2019t feel\u2014a confidence that frightened her.\u00a0 \u201cKara Grace will vote for you without question, as will the Marshals\u2014your husband\u2019s position within their number nonwithstanding.\u00a0 If I name you, Amelda will give you her vote as well, and given Mugabe\u2019s apparent alliance with Marshal Windsor of late, I imagine his vote will be for you as well.\u00a0 Then there are of course myself and your niece.\u00a0 You will have an easy majority within the Council\u2014you need no one else, though I daresay you\u2019ll win more votes than that.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled faintly.\u00a0 \u201cBesides, who else would vie for the position?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cD\u2019Arcy might,\u201d she murmured.\u00a0 Of course, he\u2019d try and lose, which would make him an even bigger political enemy than he already is\u2014then again, he was never a friend to any of us to begin with, was he?<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not half the man his father and grandfather were,\u201d Sergei said.\u00a0 \u201cI hope by all the stars in the heavens that he knows it, too.\u00a0 If he doesn\u2019t and he stands against you, he deserves the rude awakening he\u2019ll get.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll only hate me more than he already does if he loses to me, Sergei.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen we arrange things so he cannot run.\u00a0 I imagine you and your allies are clever enough to arrange something along those lines.\u201d<\/p>\n

She laughed bitterly.\u00a0 \u201cWithout it seeming contrived?\u00a0 I doubt it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHave more confidence in the abilities of those around you,\u201d Sergei said.\u00a0 Then he smiled.\u00a0 \u201cThink on it.\u00a0 I\u2019ll be announcing my retirement from the Council within the next two weeks, before the next crisis hits, I dearly hope.\u00a0 You\u2019ll also have to consider who should be named to my seat, if you are to be elected Speaker.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another shiver inched down her spine.\u00a0 \u201cHell.\u00a0 I don\u2019t even know who I\u2019d name.\u201d\u00a0 If I take the job.\u00a0 If I win the job.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThink on it,\u201d Sergei repeated with a faint smile, then tipped the cap he wasn\u2019t wearing.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll leave you to your greens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again, the words evaporating before they reached her lips.\u00a0 She nodded.\u00a0 \u201cHave a pleasant afternoon, Sergei.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou as well, Rachel.\u201d<\/p>\n

She watched as he headed own the gravel pathway down toward the main road.\u00a0 It already seemed like some kind of great weight had been lifted from his shoulders even as it settled on hers.\u00a0 Her lips thinned.<\/p>\n

Can you afford to turn him down, Rachel?<\/i><\/p>\n

Can the Foundation?\u00a0 Can the Guard?\u00a0 The Colony?<\/i><\/p>\n

Can any of us afford for you to say no?<\/i><\/p>\n

She squeezed her eyes shut.\u00a0 In her heart of hearts\u2014deep where she kept the little voice that told her things she didn\u2019t want to hear\u2014she knew the answer was no.<\/p>\n

Like it or not, she would be Speaker and lead the Council\u2014lead the Foundation\u2014and hopefully manage not to doom their world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, the choices we make are not the ones that are necessarily the best for us, but the best for everyone around us.\u00a0 Those are the hardest choices, but at the same time they are the choices that often shape … 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-334","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\/s25yjF-ten","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334","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=334"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":335,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334\/revisions\/335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}