{"id":364,"date":"2013-05-19T00:00:25","date_gmt":"2013-05-19T04:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=364"},"modified":"2013-05-18T23:02:08","modified_gmt":"2013-05-19T03:02:08","slug":"nineteen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=364","title":{"rendered":"Nineteen"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Only in the Inspector General\u2019s office do we send our best and brightest out into the field with full knowledge that they may never make it back to us\u2014and if they do return, they won\u2019t be the same.<\/h3>\n

— Sephora Damerian, date unknown<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u00a014 Decem, 5249 PD<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThis is as far as we take you, Inspector.\u201d<\/p>\n

Timrel glanced up from the console, brows knitting.\u00a0 \u201cAlready?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI warned you it wouldn\u2019t be long.\u201d\u00a0 The captain nodded to the console.\u00a0 \u201cSolve your mystery?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot quite,\u201d Tim said quietly, edging a little closer to the console.\u00a0 He pressed the data crystal secreted in his palm into a port on the console, hoping that it\u2019d download what he\u2019d been working on without further intervention like it was supposed to.\u00a0 This was a mystery he had no interest in leaving behind just because he was leaving the ship.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s possible,\u201d he lied.\u00a0 \u201cWe really didn\u2019t get a good look, did we?\u201d<\/p>\n

The captain shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo, and I don\u2019t regret it, either.\u00a0 Come on. If you don\u2019t hurry, you\u2019ll miss the shuttle out to the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n

They were out in the further-flung regions of the Eridani Trelasia system, near the asteroid belt, on one of the few Mission Systems installations that had already been moved.\u00a0 Tim wasn\u2019t quite sure what to expect when he stepped through the airlock, but that was part of what made his heart beat a little faster, made his throat tighten just a little bit.<\/p>\n

This<\/i> was what he\u2019d signed up for when he\u2019d joined the Inspector General\u2019s office.\u00a0 Investigating the unknown\u2014digging deeper into thing he didn\u2019t understand, things that needed to be known, understood.\u00a0 Investigated, revealed.<\/p>\n

He killed a smile and shucked the crystal out of the port, pushing away from the console.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll get my bag, then, and meet you at the airlock.\u201d<\/p>\n

He felt the captain\u2019s eyes on his back as he left the bridge and headed for his cubbyhole of a cabin.\u00a0 I wonder if he suspects something?<\/i><\/p>\n

If he did, it probably didn\u2019t matter.\u00a0 As the captain himself had said, the minute Tim was off his ship, he\u2019d stop being his problem.<\/p>\n

With a faint smile, he tucked the crystal into his pocket and ducked into his cabin.\u00a0 Gathering his things didn\u2019t take long since he\u2019d just been living out of his duffle the whole trip from the station.\u00a0 He slung it over his shoulder by the straps and headed out into the narrow corridor toward the airlock.<\/p>\n

The captain was the only one waiting for him there, and the older man studied the young inspector as if seeing him for the first time.\u00a0 Tim arched a brow.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

The captain grunted and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cLikely not.\u201d\u00a0 He slapped the airlock controls.\u00a0 \u201cHave a safe trip to the Colony,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll settle for an illuminating one,\u201d Tim said with a smile, then stepped into the airlock.\u00a0 Behind him, the captain shook his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re an odd one, Inspector.\u00a0 Step lightly. Carry a big stick.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hopefully,<\/i> Tim thought as the airlock cycled closed behind him and then irised open in front of him, I won\u2019t need one. <\/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

The smell of pine and the sea hit him as he disembarked from the lander.\u00a0 He walked a few paces along the smooth surface of the tarmac, eyes widening as his gaze swept over the field, the stone walls and the trees and mountains beyond.\u00a0 As the engines spun down, he could hear the ocean\u2014probably not far away from the sound of things.<\/p>\n

\u201cTakes your breath away,\u201d a voice said from his left, \u201cdoesn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2014yes.\u201d\u00a0 He turned toward the woman who\u2019d spoken, blinking rapidly.\u00a0 She was somewhere north of thirty-five, hair dark and curling, dressed in heavy cotton slacks and a fitted shirt.<\/p>\n

\u201cI reacted the same way when I first came here,\u201d she said, one hand on her hip.<\/p>\n

Tim swallowed.\u00a0 \u201cHow long ago was that, Miss\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFarragut.\u00a0 Though, it\u2019s actually Speaker.\u201d\u00a0 She extended one hand.\u00a0 \u201cRachel Farragut.\u00a0 And you\u2019re Inspector\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n

He tried to cover the jolt of surprise.\u00a0 \u201cTimrel Winston,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cInspector First Grade with the New Earth Commonwealth Inspector General\u2019s office\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been expecting you,\u201d she said as he shook her hand.\u00a0 \u201cWelcome to E-557.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou knew that I would come asking about the Whispers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course.\u00a0 We\u2019re the closest world to it, aren\u2019t we?\u201d\u00a0 She stepped back and nodded toward the edge of the field.\u00a0 \u201cI have a skimmer waiting for us.\u00a0 We made arrangements for you to stay at Halo Ridge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arrangements, hm?\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure if I should trust those arrangements or not.\u00a0 Could they be trying to keep me from seeing something they don\u2019t want me to see.\u00a0 <\/i>Tim\u2019s brow arched.\u00a0 \u201cSounds impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBest vantage on the whole city, to be honest,\u201d Rachel said as she led him toward the waiting skimmer.\u00a0 A dark-eyed man of possibly Chinasian extraction was at the controls and he regarded Tim with a long, measuring look, even though they were still well outside of earshot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think your driver likes me,\u201d Tim observed, eyeing the man right back.\u00a0 Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rachel smirk.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommander Cho is inherently suspicious of anyone from the Commonwealth suddenly showing up on-planet, announced or otherwise.\u00a0 It\u2019s a level of paranoia that does tend to keep him out of enemy hands.\u201d\u00a0 Her smirk blossomed into a grin.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll see that you\u2019re properly introduced when we\u2019re within earshot.\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u2019s a lot more genial than I expected.\u00a0 Then again\u2026<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cI was led to believe that the current leader of the Foundation was Sergei Petremoore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly.\u00a0 \u201cWith everything changing as quickly as it is these days, Sergei has made the decision to step down from his position as Speaker for the Rose Council and nominal head of the Foundation.\u00a0 He passed the mantle to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you, Inspector?\u201d\u00a0 Rachel stopped walking and rounded on him, halting his forward process as she studied him with a stare so intense he could have sworn she was looking through<\/i> him.\u00a0 \u201cDo you understand what that means?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps you could explain it to me, Speaker,\u201d he said quietly, meeting her gaze-head on and hoping that she saw as much steel in his spine as he could see in hers.<\/p>\n

Tread lightly.\u00a0 You need their respect, but you also need their cooperation.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cI could,\u201d she agreed.\u00a0 \u201cBut here isn\u2019t the time nor is it the place.\u00a0 Our skimmer is waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n

She spun on her heel and started walking again, leaving him bewildered in her wake.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Only in the Inspector General\u2019s office do we send our best and brightest out into the field with full knowledge that they may never make it back to us\u2014and if they do return, they won\u2019t be the same. — Sephora … 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-364","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-nineteen","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364","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=364"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":365,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364\/revisions\/365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}