<\/p>\n
19 Decem, 5249 PD<\/strong><\/p>\n The world flared bright and the ground heaved.<\/p>\n Lindsay and Kara sprawled and rolled as the field bucked beneath their feet, their mad dash toward the downed aircraft abruptly aborted.\u00a0 Lindsay gasped for breath as she came to a stop in a shallow furrow between rows of grapevines, all the wind knocked from her lungs when she\u2019d been thrown from her feet.<\/p>\n She tried to orient herself, tried to figure out what had just happened.\u00a0 Her head was ringing, but her vision was clear.<\/p>\n Did they just fire on us from orbit?\u00a0 Is that what just happened?<\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How is that even possible?<\/i><\/p>\n She felt sick, wanted to puke up everything that was in her stomach at the thought.\u00a0 The worst part about it all was that she knew<\/i> it was possible, she knew<\/i> it could happen.<\/p>\n She\u2019d seen<\/i> it happen.<\/p>\n \u201cLin!\u00a0 Lin, we\u2019ve got<\/i> to get under cover.\u201d\u00a0 Kara scrambled toward her from the next furrow over, ducking beneath one of the arbors, keeping low as she moved.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not sure what they were targeting, but I can see fires burning in the city proper.\u00a0 They\u2019re firing from orbit.\u201d<\/p>\n Her blood ran cold and a shudder ran through her.\u00a0 No.\u00a0 No, it\u2019s too soon.\u00a0 It has to be too soon.<\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We were going to <\/i>stop this from happening.<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cGet up!\u00a0 We have to move.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe only cover is where\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know it.\u00a0 Get your feet under you.\u201d<\/p>\n Lindsay swore and fumbled to her feet, stumbling a step as her ankle tried to fold underneath her.\u00a0 She grimaced, gritting her teeth as she fought through the pain.\u00a0 Must have twisted it when I went down.\u00a0 Damn it all.<\/i><\/p>\n Kara tucked her arm beneath hers shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cStay low,\u201d she warned.\u00a0 \u201cJust in case.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re softening us up before they send landers,\u201d Lindsay said, suddenly breathless.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s got to be it, Kara.\u00a0 That\u2019s got to be it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRight,\u201d Kara said, her tone anything but reassuring.\u00a0 \u201cA repeat of the Whispers won\u2019t do them any good if they want our trees and our farmland.\u201d<\/p>\n Lindsay shuddered.\u00a0 There were thousands upon thousands of miles of undisturbed forest and plain beyond Nova Spexi.\u00a0 The enemy\u2014whoever was attacking them\u2014could destroy the city and everything in a two mile radius around it without significantly hurting their ability to use the world\u2019s available resources.<\/p>\n \u201cYou had to say that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Kara glared at her.\u00a0 \u201cSunshine and rainbows doesn\u2019t exactly strike me as the proper reaction to our current situation.\u201d<\/p>\n Lindsay caught a flash out of the corner of her eye and twisted back toward the city.\u00a0 Something exploded there and the ground moved beneath them again.<\/p>\n This time, the pair was ready for it, expecting it, and they kept their feet.\u00a0 It was less than a dozen yards to the fuselage.\u00a0 They just needed to make it there and then maybe, just maybe, they\u2019d be able to find something like shelter from the bombardment.<\/p>\n Brendan, are you still with me?<\/i><\/p>\n His pain clawed at her again, forgotten in the midst of sudden heart-pounding panic and surprise.\u00a0 Barely,<\/i> came the reply that accompanied the agony.\u00a0 What\u2019s happening up there?<\/i><\/p>\n She sucked in a breath.\u00a0 Orbital bombardment.\u00a0 That\u2019s what\u2019s happening out here.<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cFrak me,\u201d Brendan groaned, his voice weak.\u00a0 Frederick startled at the sound, looking toward the pilot.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re awake.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cStill, and barely.\u00a0 Lin\u2019s in my head.\u201d<\/p>\n Frederick swallowed, a shiver shooting down his spine.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDid she tell you what\u2019s going on topside?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t want to know,\u201d the pilot muttered, his eyes squeezing shut.<\/p>\n \u201cI may not want to know, but I\u2019m fearing that I might need to.\u201d<\/p>\n Brendan exhaled.\u00a0 \u201cBombardment.\u00a0 They\u2019re firing on us from orbit.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBloody hellfire,\u201d Frederick said, feeling light-headed.\u00a0 \u201cIt really is<\/i> happening all over again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMimir,\u201d he said, forgetting that Brendan hadn\u2019t been entirely conscious for their last discussion.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s Mimir all over again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExcept they didn\u2019t want Mimir\u2019s resources when they came there, right?\u00a0 They wanted something else.\u00a0 Something worse.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe extermination of a race,\u201d Frederick whispered, staring blankly at the cellar wall. \u00a0\u201cThe destruction of psychics.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMore than that,\u201d Brendan rasped.\u00a0 \u201cI can see it, now.\u00a0 Listening\u2019s done me good\u2014reading Lin\u2019s books has done me good.\u00a0 Knowledge, Inspector Rose.\u00a0 They wanted to destroy what Mimir knew<\/i>.\u201d\u00a0 His eyes fluttered shut again.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do we know that they knew?\u201d<\/p>\n His blood went cold, ice tumbling through his veins as he stared at the semi-conscious pilot, the Sarah Farragut to Lindsay\u2019s Ryland LeSarte.\u00a0 Frederick\u2019s heart was in his throat as he whispered, \u201cHow did you come to that conclusion?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt just fits,\u201d Brendan mumbled.\u00a0 \u201cIt all fits.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFreder!\u00a0 Brendan!\u201d<\/p>\n Lindsay\u2019s voice echoed quietly, barely penetrating the debris above them.\u00a0 Brendan opened his eyes again and stared at the earthen ceiling and the shattered fuselage that blocked access to the cellar.<\/p>\n \u201cThey came looking for us,\u201d he mumbled.\u00a0 \u201cThey shouldn\u2019t have.\u00a0 It was stupid.\u00a0 They did it anyway.\u201d\u00a0 The ghost of a smile touched his lips.\u00a0 \u201cThe fact that she\u2019s stubborn is part of why I love her so much.\u201d<\/p>\n Frederick heaved himself to his feet, limping toward the sound of Lindsay\u2019s and Kara\u2019s voices, barely audible.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re down here!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow many?\u201d\u00a0 Kara asked.<\/p>\n \u201cThree,\u201d Frederick said, glancing at Brendan and Inspector Winston.\u00a0 \u201cJust three.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHold on.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to try to get down there with you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat about getting us out<\/i>?\u201d Frederick asked.<\/p>\n \u201cToo dangerous!\u201d\u00a0 Kara called back.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re joining you.\u00a0 Safer down there than it is up here.\u00a0 City\u2019s on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n Bile crept up in Frederick\u2019s throat, sickness threatening.<\/p>\n Just like the last time.<\/i><\/p>\n Could Brendan be right?\u00a0 Was this about something they knew, not about the resources they controlled?<\/p>\n Bloody hell.\u00a0 That\u2019s something I never thought about.<\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Or did I? Have I just forgotten?<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cOh Seph,\u201d he whispered. \u00a0\u201cI hope you\u2019ll be able to unravel whatever I left behind because god knows that I can\u2019t.\u00a0 I can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 19 Decem, 5249 PD The world flared bright and the ground heaved. Lindsay and Kara sprawled and rolled as the field bucked beneath their feet, their mad dash toward the downed aircraft abruptly aborted.\u00a0 Lindsay gasped for breath as … Continue reading