{"id":501,"date":"2014-04-22T00:00:59","date_gmt":"2014-04-22T04:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=501"},"modified":"2014-04-21T20:06:45","modified_gmt":"2014-04-22T00:06:45","slug":"thirty-seven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=501","title":{"rendered":"Thirty-seven"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Even when hope fades, there must always come light after the darkness.\u00a0 Believe in the light and it will come\u2014hope finds a way.<\/h3>\n

— From the personal journal of Ryland LeSarte<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

 <\/p>\n

The debris above their heads moved, shifting slightly.\u00a0 Dust drifted down onto them and Frederick swore, struggling to haul Brendan and Winston deeper into the cellar.\u00a0 His ribs ached fiercely, pain pulsing with every heartbeat.\u00a0 Brendan swore\u2014loudly\u2014as Frederick moved him, and the pilot\u2019s curses found a twin in those of his lover aboveground.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you doing down there?\u201d\u00a0 Kara yelled.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoving them in case something shifts wrong.\u00a0 Haven\u2019t kept them alive this long so they could get crushed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan choked on a laugh at Frederick\u2019s gallows humor.\u00a0 The laugh ended in a fit of coughing and a pained moan.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust hang tight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWould have been helpful if they\u2019d brought her brother along,\u201d Brendan muttered, his eyes fluttering shut.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not doing so hot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frederick grimaced.\u00a0 I\u2019m thinking we both know that\u2014they probably know it, too.<\/i><\/p>\n

The debris grated above them.\u00a0 Frederick squinted at the sliver of light that grew larger, first by inches, then a foot and another.\u00a0 Lindsay slid through the gap first, landing in a crouch and scrambling toward Brendan.\u00a0 His breath rasped in his throat as his eyes came open, watching her.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou look like hell,\u201d she said as she dropped to her knees next to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like hell,\u201d he answered before his gaze drifted toward Frederick.\u00a0 \u201cBut I\u2019m still breathing.\u00a0 That\u2019s something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kara came next, swearing as the ground shuddered around them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re savaging the south of the city,\u201d she said with a shiver.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know what kind of intelligence they\u2019ve got, but that\u2019s where they\u2019re hitting.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t look like they\u2019ve turned the base into a crater yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s only a matter of time,\u201d Frederick said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s no doubt about that.\u201d\u00a0 He stared at Lindsay.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s Mimir, Lindsay,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s just like Mimir, all over again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindsay\u2019s lips thinned and she shook her head hard, her fingers curling around Brendan\u2019s hand.\u00a0 \u201cIt won\u2019t be,\u201d she said with no small measure of conviction.\u00a0 \u201cWe won\u2019t let that happen.\u00a0 It can\u2019t happen.\u00a0 It won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kara touched her shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause we both<\/i> know,\u201d Lindsay whispered, glancing down at Brendan and then up toward her friend again.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve both seen too much for everything to end here.\u00a0 Haven\u2019t we?\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan\u2019s eyes slid shut again.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to save your life,\u201d Lindsay said, her eyes meeting Frederick\u2019s.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve seen it.\u00a0 You\u2019re giving a speech and someone\u2019s coming after you and you get knocked out of the way just in time to save your life.\u00a0 It happens.\u00a0 I know it happens.\u00a0 There\u2019s so much…\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan\u2019s fingers flexed.\u00a0 \u201cEnough,\u201d he whispered.\u00a0 \u201cHow\u2019s Inspector Winston?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStill breathing,\u201d Frederick said, his voice grim.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t say much\u00a0 more than that.\u00a0 Unless this ends soon…\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve learned a thing or two from Ezra,\u201d Kara said, carefully moving around Brendan\u2019s prone form to kneel alongside Winston.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll see what I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s bad,\u201d Frederick said.\u00a0 \u201cHe hasn\u2019t said anything in a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTalking hurts,\u201d Winston whispered. \u00a0\u201cBut I\u2019m still here\u2014barely, but still here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, let\u2019s see if we can\u2019t keep you with us a little longer,\u201d Kara said with a reassuring smile and a gentle touch to the younger man\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cJust yell if it hurts, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll try.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s all I ask.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThey haven\u2019t fired on us yet,\u201d Tomasi whispered.\u00a0 \u201cSir, why haven\u2019t they obliterated the base yet?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCould be that we have something here that they want,\u201d Adam said quietly, staring at the video feeds.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got no idea what it could be, but maybe they think we\u2019ve got something here that they\u2019d want.<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cWhere have they hit?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo locations near city center, non-military targets.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSouth of the city\u2019s burning, too,\u201d Tomasi added.<\/p>\n

\u201cMimir,\u201d Adam murmured, half to himself, gaze fixed on the screens.\u00a0 Hate and terror.\u00a0 That\u2019s all they cared about.\u00a0 Sowing terror and their hate.<\/i><\/p>\n

Tomasi gave him a confused look.\u00a0 He shook his head slightly.<\/p>\n

The comm crackled.\u00a0 \u201cControl, new contacts, big ships, coming hard and fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s heart dropped to his boots.\u00a0 That\u2019s why they haven\u2019t opened up yet.\u00a0 They were waiting for the heavy hitters.<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cGet out of here,\u201d he said quietly over the comm to the lingering fighters, the ones that had disobeyed orders and stayed behind as a final line of defense.\u00a0 \u201cSave yourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

He closed his eyes and waited for the sudden barrage to begin.<\/p>\n

\u201cSir!\u00a0 Control, they\u2019re opening fire on the black ships.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tomasi\u2019s voice was an excited shout.\u00a0 \u201cMarshal, we\u2019re getting a hail from the lead ship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam sucked in a breath, his eyes coming open, his heart beating at three times its normal speed.\u00a0 \u201cPut it through.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBetter late than never, huh, Marshal Windsor?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s eyes widened and he began to laugh.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Even when hope fades, there must always come light after the darkness.\u00a0 Believe in the light and it will come\u2014hope finds a way. — From the personal journal of Ryland LeSarte   19 Decem, 5249 PD   The debris above … 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-501","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-85","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501","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=501"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":502,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501\/revisions\/502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}