{"id":350,"date":"2013-04-14T00:00:01","date_gmt":"2013-04-14T04:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=350"},"modified":"2013-04-13T21:39:37","modified_gmt":"2013-04-14T01:39:37","slug":"fifteen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=350","title":{"rendered":"Fifteen"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Red skies at morning, sailor take warning\u2026<\/h3>\n

— ancient mariner\u2019s proverb<\/i><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u00a010 Decem, 5249 PD<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She could feel the low hum of tension and hear the faint buzz of thoughts that weren\u2019t hers, a buzz she tried to force out of her mind.\u00a0 The Council was on edge.<\/p>\n

Of course they\u2019re on edge.\u00a0 Why wouldn\u2019t they be on edge?\u00a0 There\u2019s a war brewing and I\u2019m sure half of them know that the Speaker\u2019s stepping down today.\u00a0 The other half have no idea why we\u2019re having this meeting but they know that it can\u2019t be good.<\/i><\/p>\n

Lindsay closed her eyes for a moment and sucked in a deep breath.\u00a0 How much worse is it going to be when <\/i>everyone finally gets here?\u00a0 This isn\u2019t even the whole of the Council yet.<\/i>\u00a0 Brendan squeezed her hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cSteady,\u201d he murmured in her ear, his breath tickling it.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m right here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thank heavens.<\/i>\u00a0 She nodded slightly and squeezed his hand back, tugging him with her toward her seat.\u00a0 A few of the other figures in the room looked at them askance, though not nearly as many as she might have expected.\u00a0 Brendan squeezed her hand again.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re not looking as surprised as I\u2019d expected,\u201d he murmured as he sank into the chair that sat just behind hers and slightly to the right\u2014her aide\u2019s chair, most recently occupied by Frederick Rose.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat, because you\u2019re here?\u201d\u00a0 Lindsay\u2019s nose wrinkled as she sank into her chair.\u00a0 \u201cBastard D\u2019Arcy outed us.\u00a0 It was only a matter of time before he decided to take offense, of course, but he picked the worst possible time to do it.\u201d\u00a0 She sat sideways in the chair so she could look at him, wrapping one arm around the back of her chair.\u00a0 \u201cHe was trying to undermine my position.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t have anything to do with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be so sure about that,\u201d Brendan said, his eyes narrowing slightly.\u00a0 \u201cIt might have a lot more to do with me than either of us want to think about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindsay shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cIt didn\u2019t.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure of it.\u201d\u00a0 Of sure of it as I can get when it comes to D\u2019Arcy, anyway.\u00a0 He\u2019s up to something, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s some kind of vendetta against Brendan.\u00a0 There\u2019s something else going on that he doesn\u2019t want uncovered.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it seems he is<\/i> alive.\u00a0 Rumors of your demise have apparently been greatly exaggerated, Commander Cho.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindsay smothered a smile as she turned toward the sound of her uncle\u2019s voice and Brendan answered.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeems so, even if I still feel like death warmed over.\u00a0 When would you like me back at work, sir?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNot until Dr. Grace clears you, which I\u2019m thinking will be another week or so.\u00a0 If you want to program some more simulations during your continued downtime, however, I don\u2019t think any of us would argue with you about it too much.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled wryly and inclined his head toward the figure lurking in his shadow.\u00a0 \u201cIntroductions will have to wait until later, I\u2019m afraid.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t want to cause an uproar.\u201d<\/p>\n

She could see Brendan\u2019s brows knit out of the corner of her eye and she reached back to squeeze his knee.\u00a0 \u201cOf course not, Uncle.\u00a0 You can introduce your aide at the house after the meeting.\u00a0 We\u2019d love to come over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour aunt was hoping so.\u201d\u00a0 Adam smiled at them both and gave Brendan a firm nod.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll talk about your new array of duties, too, when you\u2019re feeling up to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

New array of\u2026?<\/i>\u00a0 Lindsay smothered a frown and glanced back at Brendan, who looked as surprised as she felt, but there was a tightening around his eyes that implied he suspected he might not like all<\/i> of what Adam had in store for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe tonight, sir.\u00a0 Thank you for the heads-up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded and he and Frederick walked away, across the chamber to Adam\u2019s seat with the other Marshals.\u00a0 Daci glanced at Frederick as the pair joined she and Aiden, the ghost of a tremulous smile crossing her lips.<\/p>\n

Lindsay smothered her own smile.\u00a0 \u00a0I guess she\u2019s getting used to the idea of Frederick rejoining the world.\u00a0 I just hope that we\u2019ll be able to pull this off in a way that prevents us from having to continually save his life from assassins and crap like that.<\/i><\/p>\n

Brendan leaned forward.\u00a0 \u201cLin\u2026I\u2019ve seen him before.\u00a0 I saw you knock him down when I had those visions after I touched Rachel.\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded slightly, looking at him, their noses almost touching.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll explain who he is later.\u00a0 This\u2026really isn\u2019t the place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan\u2019s brows knit, but he nodded slightly.\u00a0 \u201cAll right,\u201d he murmured.\u00a0 \u201cI can handle that.\u201d\u00a0 A shiver went through him and he took her hand again, squeezing tightly.\u00a0 His chair scraped against the stone floor as he eased it nearer to hers, further forward.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not liking the feeling I\u2019m getting right now, though.\u00a0 Regardless of what\u2019s about to happen in here, everything still feels wrong<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFeels wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I said.\u201d<\/p>\n

She frowned, looking away from him and at the Council.\u00a0 She could feel the tension, almost taste it, but there was nothing that struck her as truly wrong<\/i>.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s okay,\u201d he said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m probably just paranoid.\u00a0 It\u2019s been a long time since I was at a Council meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n

The last was before you left, when the plans were made and you got roped into all of it.<\/i>\u00a0 She squeezed his hand again.\u00a0 \u201cThis won\u2019t be so bad,\u201d she whispered.\u00a0 \u201cJust watch D\u2019Arcy.\u00a0 That\u2019s all we need to do\u2014watch D\u2019Arcy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor what?\u201d\u00a0 Brendan asked, traces of his rueful smile leaking into his voice.\u00a0 \u201cShenanigans?\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked at him in shock, choking back laughter.\u00a0 \u201cWho the hell taught you that<\/i> word?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour uncle,\u201d he said, smiling.\u00a0 \u201cIs that what we\u2019re watching D\u2019Arcy for?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re watching for shenanigans.\u201d <\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\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

 <\/p>\n

\u201cStand by to drop out of jump in ten\u2026nine\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs this your first trip this far out, Inspector?\u201d<\/p>\n

Everyone keeps asking that question.\u00a0 Is it somehow obvious?\u00a0 <\/i>Tim nodded, eyes not moving from the tactical displays on the hauler\u2019s bridge.\u00a0 \u201cIt is.\u00a0 Not many Inspectors end up out on the Rim or the Fringe, let alone at the edge of the Reaches.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, brace yourself.\u00a0 Even dead, the Whispers is a sight to behold.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cold shot through him, but Timrel managed to smile at the hauler\u2019s captain.\u00a0 \u201cOf course, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

He knew why the captain said it, of course.\u00a0 The system was a longtime home for the Wanderers, a binary system with one star near and one flung far, far out, just near enough to cause a wobble in the orbits of a few of the worlds and to be a navigation hazard.\u00a0 The second planet in the system had been the world that had taken the name of the system\u2014or perhaps given the system its name\u2014and had once been home to millions of Wanderers at any given time, whether they were stopping there on pilgrimage to the Weeping Caverns, Starlight Falls, or any of the other half-dozen sacred sites on the world.<\/p>\n

Now they were all gone, blasted to bedrock.\u00a0 The planet, according to reports, was nothing more than tomb.<\/p>\n

His lips thinned as he concentrated on the tactical display.\u00a0 They weren\u2019t expecting any threats, but it never hurt to be vigilant.<\/p>\n

The whole ship shuddered as they dropped back into realspace.\u00a0 The tactical screens went bright white for the barest moment and Tim reeled back with a curse, dazzled for a few seconds before he shook his head and returned his attention to the display.\u00a0 The sound of tiny bits of debris against the hull echoed through the ship.<\/p>\n

\u201cTac clear?\u201d the captain asked.<\/p>\n

Tim swallowed twice, scanning over his boards.\u00a0 \u201cTac is\u2014\u201d\u00a0 What the hell is that?<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cWait one, Captain.\u00a0 I think there\u2019s something out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The captain jerked around to face him, brow furrowing.\u00a0 \u201cThere shouldn\u2019t be anything out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know there shouldn\u2019t be, but there is.\u201d\u00a0 Tim peered closer.\u00a0 \u201cBigger than us, but they\u2019re running scramblers.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what its designation is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHas it seen us?\u201d\u00a0 The captain glanced toward the communications officer.\u00a0 \u201cAre they hailing us?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re maintaining their course,\u201d Tim said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo chatter on standard frequencies,\u201d the communications officer said.\u00a0 \u201cBut I am picking up some tight-beam transmissions back to New Earth space.\u201d<\/p>\n

The captain scowled.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t like this.\u00a0 Marcias, come about.\u00a0 Let\u2019s jump out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are we headed, sir?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEridani Trelasia,\u201d the captain said.\u00a0 \u201cAnd step on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShouldn\u2019t we find out who\u2019s here before we bolt?\u201d\u00a0 Tim asked, turning away from the tactical displays.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a hauler, not a warship, Inspector.\u201d\u00a0 The captain\u2019s eyes narrowed.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll have forty-eight hours to figure out who\u2019s giving the orders to that ship out there before we drop you off at E-557.\u00a0 After that, as long as we don\u2019t get blown out of the sky, you\u2014and it\u2014are no longer my problem.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Red skies at morning, sailor take warning\u2026 — ancient mariner\u2019s proverb \u00a010 Decem, 5249 PD \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She could feel the low hum of tension and hear the faint buzz of thoughts that weren\u2019t hers, a buzz she tried to force … 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-350","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-fifteen","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350","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=350"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":351,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350\/revisions\/351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}