{"id":57,"date":"2012-01-08T00:00:27","date_gmt":"2012-01-08T05:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=57"},"modified":"2012-01-01T22:42:04","modified_gmt":"2012-01-02T03:42:04","slug":"chapter-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=57","title":{"rendered":"Chapter Two"},"content":{"rendered":"

The fifth of Octem 5249 post-Diaspora seemed like the beginning of some kind of end for some of us.\u00a0 Would we survive to see another year?\u00a0 Would anyone?\u00a0 Or would humanity be dead, finally slain by its own hand?\u00a0 We just didn\u2019t know.\u00a0 In the end, I\u2019m not sure any of us really wanted to.<\/p>\n

— Kara Grace-Forester, member of the Rose Council (5245-5250)<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

5 Octem, 5249 PD
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cBrendan!\u201d\u00a0 She sprang up from the couch in their small living room as soon as he opened the door.\u00a0 Lindsay Farragut filled his arms and buried her face in his chest even as he stumbled fully inside the house.<\/p>\n

\u201cLin, what\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Council wants to talk<\/em>,\u201d she said, her voice muffled against his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cThey said they needed me to come.\u00a0 Aunt Rachel couldn\u2019t convince them it wasn\u2019t a good idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

He exhaled slowly, lacing his fingers through her honey-blonde hair, one arm sliding around her small waist and drawing her tightly against him. \u00a0\u201cThen you\u2019ll have to go, Lin.\u00a0 They\u2019re not going to take no for an answer if the rest of them have made up their mind about it.\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s just a vote or something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a vote and you know it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Let me have my hope, Lin.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cI can hope, Lin.\u00a0 We<\/em> can hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

She laughed weakly into his chest.\u00a0 \u201cSometimes it\u2019s all we\u2019ve got, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight.\u201d\u00a0 He smoothed her hair and slowly took a step back, rocking against his heel and looking down at her.\u00a0 \u201cYou going to be okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindsay glanced toward the door, which stood slightly ajar.\u00a0 Alana had the good grace to wait in the skimmer.\u00a0 \u201cWere there lots of people around while you were coming back from base?\u201d<\/p>\n

He considered her question for a moment, brow furrowing.\u00a0 \u201cEnough you\u2019ll get a migraine, I think.\u201d\u00a0 Or worse, possibly.<\/em><\/p>\n

She nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThat answers that question.\u00a0 You\u2019ll stay with me, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Leaning down, he kissed her forehead gently.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019ll have to tranquilize me to get me away from you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood.\u201d\u00a0 She squeezed one of his hands, then disappeared deeper into the house.\u00a0 He shut the door and sank down in an easy chair for a few long moments, waiting and trying not to think of the possible outcomes of this meeting with the Rose Council.<\/p>\n

I hope they don\u2019t know.\u00a0 God, I hope they don\u2019t know.<\/em>\u00a0 He closed his eyes, leaning back in the chair, unbuttoning his jacket slowly.\u00a0 He dug his notes out of his pocket and tossed them on the table.\u00a0 His communications link joined them a minute later, clattering and sliding into the pile of notes.\u00a0 He wouldn\u2019t need those until tomorrow at the earliest.<\/p>\n

Brendan lingered in the chair for a moment, then stretched, stood up, and headed back into the bedroom where Lindsay was changing her clothes.\u00a0 He left his link on the table with his notes.<\/p>\n

\u201cNever seen you so spooked about a Council meeting, Lin.\u201d\u00a0 He slid his arms around her waist and kissed her neck gently, interrupting her in the process of changing her shirt.\u00a0 She exhaled a sigh, leaning back into his chest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll ask what I\u2019ve been seeing, Brendan,\u201d she murmured softly.\u00a0 \u201cAnd by god, they don\u2019t want to know what I\u2019ve been seeing.\u00a0 Not really.\u201d\u00a0 She nuzzled his cheek and finished pulling her shirt on, sighing.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re the Oracle, Lin.\u00a0 They value your gift.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a curse, Brendan, not a gift.\u201d\u00a0 She turned toward him, cupping his face between her palms.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a curse I didn\u2019t do anything to deserve and never asked for and god knows, I wish I could be rid of it sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut only sometimes.\u201d\u00a0 He brushed some hair back from her face and smiled at her gently.\u00a0 \u201cOnly sometimes, Lin.\u00a0 And then you think about all the good you\u2019ve done, and how many people look to you, need<\/em> you to be there to reassure and guide them\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

She hugged him, then, burying her face in his neck.\u00a0 \u201cWhy do you have to be right<\/em> about this all the time, Brendan?\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled wryly.\u00a0 \u201cSomething about being wrong almost getting me killed, I guess.\u201d\u00a0 He kissed her temple, rubbing her back for a moment before letting go.\u00a0 \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t keep them waiting.\u00a0 Last thing any of us need is for the Council to be ornery when we get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot caring about that all that much comes to mind,\u201d she admitted ruefully, stepping away from him.\u00a0 She went to the dresser and picked up the small case that contained her blackout glasses, rondelles of blackened glass that would protect her from visual stimulate\u2014from seeing anything that could spark another set of visions.\u00a0 \u201cWhat are you making for dinner?\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled wryly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll figure that out after we see how fried your nerves are at the end of this meeting.\u00a0 Something soothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head, sighing softly as she slid the glasses into place and shrugged into a hooded sweatshirt.\u00a0 \u201cAre we walking?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 Alana\u2019s waiting in the skimmer.\u201d<\/p>\n

She winced as she drew up the hood, tucking her hair back into its shadows.\u00a0 \u201cYou didn\u2019t tell me that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t ask, sweetheart.\u201d\u00a0 He kissed her temple and then locked an arm around her shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cCome on.\u00a0 She hasn\u2019t been waiting that<\/em> long.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019ll be angry with you.\u00a0 I hate<\/em> it when she\u2019s angry at you.\u00a0 She seethes and I can\u2019t\u2026I just can\u2019t tune it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could walk,\u201d he offered.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not that far.\u201d\u00a0 She shook her head quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 You\u2019re right, we\u2019ve kept them waiting long enough.\u00a0 She\u2019s got the skimmer, we might as well use it.\u00a0 She\u2019d follow us all the way down anyway.\u00a0 Why prolong the suffering?\u201d\u00a0 She managed to smile.\u00a0 He sighed and gave her a squeeze.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Lin.\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t be.\u00a0 You can\u2019t help the way she feels.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe still doesn\u2019t approve of me, does she?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBrendan, she wouldn\u2019t approve of anyone.\u00a0 Don\u2019t delude yourself into thinking that it\u2019s you in specific she doesn\u2019t approve of.\u201d\u00a0 Lindsay smiled up at him as they headed out the door.\u00a0 Brendan paused to lock up and set the perimeter alarms.\u00a0 Lindsay shook her head, continuing toward the skimmer, where Alana was waiting, studying the nails of the hand that was nothing but flesh.\u00a0 \u201cYou act like someone\u2019s going to actually try to do something to our house, Brendan.\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cForce of habit, one I\u2019m really not keen on breaking.\u00a0 Besides, you never know what those cadets of mine might do.\u201d\u00a0 He climbed into the skimmer with the pair of women.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat took so long?\u201d\u00a0 Alana\u2019s voice was flat, her gaze lingering on Brendan for a moment, even though the question was clearly directed at Lindsay.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to change my clothes,\u201d Lindsay said quietly.\u00a0 One hand found Brendan\u2019s and squeezed as she leaned against him, pressing her face against the side of his neck.\u00a0 Her voice came slightly muffled.\u00a0 \u201cDrive fast, Alana.\u00a0 I think the Council would appreciate me in a coherent state by the time we get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alana nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYes, ma\u2019am.\u201d\u00a0 Lindsay was the only one that rated a \u2018ma\u2019am\u2019 anymore from Alana.\u00a0 Even Rachel Farragut, who\u2019d raised Lindsay, didn\u2019t rate a \u2018ma\u2019am\u2019 anymore.<\/p>\n

Brendan glanced off toward their right, not looking at Alana as he squeezed Lindsay\u2019s hand back.\u00a0 He hoped that there would be fewer people on the streets now than there had been half an hour before.\u00a0 For her sake.<\/p>\n

\u25cf\u00a0 \u00a0\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0 \u25cf<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Local stone had built the building that housed the government of E-557\u2014housed the Rose Council and the offices of the Guardians, the colony\u2019s military commanders.\u00a0 It was bluish gray, flaked smooth, but still clearly natural.\u00a0 Like most of the architecture on E-557, it looked like it belonged<\/em>.\u00a0 It all felt like it belonged.\u00a0 It must have had something to do with the Foundation\u2019s assertion that their colony on E-557 should be sustainable\u2014that this world would not follow others down the dark path that had claimed Old Earth, Telluria, and now was slowly claiming New Earth and a few surrounding worlds that humanity had overtaken.\u00a0 This world would survive.\u00a0 Somehow.<\/p>\n

Despite the speed at which Alana had gotten them through, Lindsay was shivering and looked tired by the time they arrived at the steps of the building.\u00a0 There had been more, not fewer people in the streets by the time they\u2019d passed through, and she hadn\u2019t been able to fully block the wash of impressions and thoughts from them all.\u00a0 Not everyone lived with a psychic.\u00a0 Not everyone knew how to keep their thoughts to themselves.<\/p>\n

Brendan helped her out of the skimmer, ignoring the dark looks Alana gave him.\u00a0 Lindsay pressed her lips together in a tight line, so hard her lips had turned nearly white.\u00a0 Her fingers tangled in his as she steadied.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know that I can do this, Brendan.\u201d<\/p>\n

He drew her tightly against his side, his arm firmly and protectively locked around her shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cDo you want to go home?\u201d<\/p>\n

She shuddered and shook her head quickly, almost convulsively.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 This meeting will probably run into the night.\u00a0 Fewer people out and about when we go home, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

I hope so.<\/em>\u00a0 He gave her a squeeze and moved toward the doors.\u00a0 Alana brought up the rear, keeping a wary eye on the surroundings.\u00a0 He still marveled, sometimes, at the woman\u2019s paranoia.\u00a0 No one was coming to E-557 to hurt Lindsay, and no one already here was going to harm a hair on her head knowingly.\u00a0 But there was no convincing Alana of that.\u00a0 He\u2019d tried, and failed.<\/p>\n

The corridors were quiet, and they made their way from the large foyer toward the centermost room of the building, down the short flight of steps to the doors to the council\u2019s meeting chamber.\u00a0 The room was circular, sunk underground\u2014\u201cnestled in the bosom of the earth,\u201d was what one of the early colonists had said of it.\u00a0 In truth, about half the room was actually underground and the tiered seating for most of the members of the Rose Council had them sitting at ground level or higher.\u00a0 The chamber\u2019s floor, the circular expanse ten feet wide with its entries marked with the four stations of a compass, however, was underground.\u00a0 It was said that the stone mosaic that created a compass rose across the floor of the chamber had taken five years to finish\u2014and that the early meetings of the Rose Council had taken place at the Mulcahey farm ten miles away.<\/p>\n

Urban legends in a barely urban landscape.<\/p>\n

Alana held the door for Lindsay and Brendan.\u00a0 Lindsay took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.<\/p>\n

The full Council was in attendance, including the two of the three Guardians.\u00a0 Lindsay slowly pushed back her hood.<\/p>\n

The grandmotherly Amelda Watson smiled, though Lindsay\u2019s eyes were still covered.\u00a0 Watson was from old, old Pyschean Guard stock, though she\u2019d been born on E-557.\u00a0 Born at a time when there hadn\u2019t been open war amongst the congloms in living memory.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re glad you could come, Oracle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindsay flinched at the title.\u00a0 She cleared her throat softly quietly and nodded a little in Watson\u2019s direction.\u00a0 \u201cThank you, Sister.\u00a0 Pray it always be so.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was an old ritual.\u00a0 Brendan had heard it a few times before, when he\u2019d accompanied Lindsay to Council meetings.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t come often, even though she held one of the permanent seats on the Council by virtue of her gift\u2014or despite her gift.<\/p>\n

Lindsay climbed the few steps and found her seat, sitting down slowly.\u00a0 Brendan lingered near the steps, his existence unacknowledged\u2014also part of that old ritual.\u00a0 He and Lindsay had been together for nearly seven years, but still he was all but invisible to the Rose Council.\u00a0 Only Rachel Farragut and the Guardians acknowledged his presence.<\/p>\n

The door clicked shut behind him.\u00a0 Alana hadn\u2019t entered the chambers, like he had.\u00a0 She almost never did.\u00a0 That was fine with him.<\/p>\n

Let her seethe outside and leave Lindsay in peace.<\/em>\u00a0 He closed his eyes as he leaned against the wall that separated the entryway from the seats, glancing upward toward Lindsay.\u00a0 She still hadn\u2019t removed her glasses.<\/p>\n

Is she afraid of what she\u2019ll see?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Rose Council has requested me, and so I\u2019ve come,\u201d Lindsay said simply, voice quiet.\u00a0 She looked delicate and demure, sitting behind the long, curved table in her seat next to the more imposing Marshal Aidan Church, one of the Guardians.<\/p>\n

The big, dark skinned man smiled at her, and the warmth of his smile bled into his voice.\u00a0 \u201cYour seat stands empty too often, Oracle.\u00a0 You\u2019re often missed in these halls.\u201d<\/p>\n

She managed to smile.\u00a0 \u201cThank you for saying so,MarshalChurch.\u00a0 I wish it wasn\u2019t so painful to get here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Across the room, next to the Speaker\u2019s chair, Kara Grace-Forester shook her head slowly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry it\u2019s gotten more difficult rather than easier these past few months, Lindsay.\u201d\u00a0 Some of the other consuls looked askance at the woman, a statuesque beauty at just past thirty, questioning the familiarity of address.\u00a0 Kara didn\u2019t seem to notice, or care.<\/p>\n

It was just too damned hard to be formal with a woman you fished out of millponds when you were twelve.\u00a0 Never mind having been witness to her Bonding.<\/p>\n

Lindsay shook her head again.\u00a0 \u201cIt is what it is, Kara.\u201d\u00a0 She smiled weakly.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s get to business, shall we?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Speaker, Sergei Petremoore, nodded.\u00a0 \u201cAs well we should.\u00a0 Consul Farragut told us something that the rest of us felt we should discuss further in your presence.\u00a0 You have been Seeing again, correct?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindsay winced again, but nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThey come strongly and I have no control when they do.\u00a0 That\u2019s why the Council hasn\u2019t seen me in two months.\u00a0 I can\u2019t go out in the street without running the risk of being overwhelmed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHence the glasses today, then?\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Speaker.\u00a0 I had assumed you\u2019d appreciate coherence rather than the potential alternatives.\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled wryly.\u00a0 \u201cRightly so.\u00a0 Consul Farragut also mentioned that you had seen something in particular.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindsay tilted her head slightly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot of things, Speaker.\u00a0 If any of it was important, I would have appeared before now to tell you about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s he playing at?<\/em>\u00a0 Brendan frowned slightly.\u00a0 There had been more than a few sleepless nights that summer, finding them huddled in the starlight streaming through their back window, the one that faced the woodlands and the valley, him cradling her in his arms.\u00a0 Many, many sleepless nights with her sobbing bitter tears, cursing the gift she couldn\u2019t seem to control anymore, trying to convince themselves that what she\u2019d seen were only nightmares, nothing more.\u00a0 Her ability to control her gift hadn\u2019t been this bad since before they\u2019d met.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t understand what was happening or what it meant.\u00a0 Rachel hadn\u2019t been able to figure it out, either.\u00a0 Brendan was at a loss.\u00a0 And Alana\u2026<\/p>\n

If Alana had any theories, she was keeping them to herself.<\/p>\n

The Speaker nodded again, leaning forward slightly and steepling his fingers.\u00a0 \u201cOne vision in particular is of interest today, Oracle.\u00a0 We\u2019ve had some intelligence reports reach us through unconventional channels, and\u2026\u201d\u00a0 He let his voice trail away as he considered his words.\u00a0 Finally, he shrugged and said simply, \u201cWe think your parents are still alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

All the color drained from Lindsay\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

Oh bloody<\/em> hell.<\/em>\u00a0 Brendan barely stopped himself from reaching up and taking her hand.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t do it.\u00a0 He stayed invisible, outside of their notice.\u00a0 A silent observer.\u00a0 A sentinel.<\/p>\n

Her voice was small, like a child\u2019s, but somehow flat, devoid of emotion.\u00a0 \u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s still a little sketchy, I\u2019m afraid.\u201d\u00a0 The Speaker glanced toward D\u2019Arcy Morgause.<\/p>\n

D\u2019Arcy cleared his throat.\u00a0 \u201cPreliminaries have them in the hands of the larger congloms in N-E space.\u00a0 We\u2019re sorting through other data to confirm our suspicions as to which of the two they are in actuality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf my aunt has told you what I saw, then you already know who has them.\u201d\u00a0 There was a slight tremor, but more steel in her voice, now, less child-like.\u00a0 She was shaking off the initial shock of the news quickly, then.<\/p>\n

A shiver worked its way down Brendan\u2019s spine.\u00a0 He<\/em> knew one of those places.\u00a0 After all, he\u2019d told her what it was.<\/p>\n

But we didn\u2019t think that one was real.\u00a0 We were sure that one was a dream.\u00a0 A nightmare.\u00a0 A dream.\u00a0 Both all at once.\u00a0 They were alive, but somehow out of reach, and in pain.\u00a0 And in those places\u2026<\/em>\u00a0 He suppressed another shiver.\u00a0 How could there be hope?<\/p>\n

Rachel Farragut wasn\u2019t looking anywhere but her hands.\u00a0 D\u2019Arcy cleared his throat.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re certain of the places you saw?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not as certain about Eurydice Compact.\u00a0 But I\u2019m very certain about Chinasia Corp.\u00a0 Commander Cho was able to confirm that what I saw was, in fact, a Chinasia Corp facility.\u201d\u00a0 She licked her lips, hesitating a moment.\u00a0 \u201cWe thought it was a nightmare.\u00a0 Something that I\u2019d gleaned from his mind at some point, from his<\/em> nightmares.\u00a0 He\u2019d been<\/em> there, Consul Morgause.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marshal Windsor leaned forward.\u00a0 \u201cHow long ago?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindsay bit her lip.\u00a0 \u201cAlmost twelve years ago.\u00a0 Before he crashed here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Windsorglanced toward the shadows that hid Brendan.\u00a0 \u201cThat was right<\/em> before he crashed here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d\u00a0 Lindsay took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.\u00a0 Her voice had normalized, now, steadied despite the news she\u2019d been given.\u00a0 \u201cYes, it was.\u00a0 But he never saw anyone there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich is why you thought it was a nightmare?\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded slowly.\u00a0 \u201cYes, sir.\u201d\u00a0 It was hard to not<\/em> call Adam Windsor \u2018sir\u2019 when he got that tone of voice.\u00a0 The man commanded respect.\u00a0 Most of the Guardians did.\u00a0 They had to.\u00a0 But it was the kind of respect that they earned, and easily.\u00a0 They were good at what they did, and they gave a damn.\u00a0 About everyone.\u00a0 They had to do that, too.<\/p>\n

Windsorglanced toward D\u2019Arcy.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do your preliminaries say to that<\/em>, Oh Great Spymaster?\u201d<\/p>\n

D\u2019Arcy flinched at the title more than the sarcasm that laced Windsor\u2019s voice.\u00a0 It was entirely possible he hadn\u2019t noticed the latter.\u00a0 \u201cPreliminaries point to Chinasia more solidly than they point to Eurydice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan felt his heart sinking.\u00a0 She\u2019ll never see either of them again.<\/em><\/p>\n

Rachel looked sharply at him.\u00a0 He winced.\u00a0 He was thinking too loudly again.\u00a0 He withdrew deeper into the shadows by the door and took a slow, deep breath, finding calm and his center\u2014and shoring up mental defenses that he\u2019d been letting flag.<\/p>\n

As he worked on those defenses, he prayed that Lindsay wouldn\u2019t need him to get through the rest of the conversation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs there anything the Foundation can do?\u201d\u00a0 Of course, Lindsay knew the answer to the question before she ever asked it.\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t anything the Foundation could do.\u00a0 The Foundation had withdrawn from New Earth space, from that sphere.\u00a0 They only contact they had with New Earth and its satellite settlements, the conglomerates of New Earth, was mostly to sell them food.\u00a0 Limited resources, too, but mostly food.\u00a0 And to quietly smuggle any surviving members of the Psychean Guard still in hiding to E-557 where they could be safe.<\/p>\n

Safe.\u00a0 Once upon a time, the Psychean Guard had been considered the only \u2018safe\u2019 place for a psychic.\u00a0 Now, being Guard and being back in New Earth space would get you killed, or kidnapped, or any number of worse potential outcomes, despite the supposed protections that the New Earth Commonwealth claimed to enforce.\u00a0 Brendan had little doubt that they did try<\/em> to enforce their own laws, but he suspected that law enforcement was stymied by the congloms and other factions.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom where our agents are?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 From here\u2026\u201d\u00a0 D\u2019Arcy looked toward the Speaker, then the Guardians, then back to the Speaker.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll have to see what we can come up with.\u00a0 We can\u2019t do anything until we can confirm locations, though.\u00a0 That\u2019ll take at least another week.\u00a0 Maybe two.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel Farragut finally cleared her throat, forestalling comment by Kara and another consul, Mugabe Zenak.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s unacceptable, D\u2019Arcy,\u201d she said quietly, though her tone brooked no argument.\u00a0 \u201cAnd you know all too well that\u2019s unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand that she\u2019s your sister, Consul Farragut. But that doesn\u2019t mean that her rescue\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBullocks, I\u2019m not talking about her rescue<\/em>, Consul Arigato.\u00a0 If America and Grant have been captured by any of the congloms\u2014but especially<\/em> one of the Big Five\u2014they pose a strategic threat to all of us.\u00a0 To all of us<\/em>.\u00a0 To this world.\u00a0 To the colony.\u00a0 To everything that the Foundation set out to do when they sent the first settlers here.\u00a0 Hell, to everything the Foundation thought and believed four hundred years ago when they came up with this idea.\u00a0 They know<\/em> things, Daichi.\u00a0 We can\u2019t afford to leave them where they are for very long, now that we have leads on them.\u00a0 We can\u2019t.\u00a0 It\u2019s an unacceptable risk to take.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arigato Daichi leaned back in his chair, dark eyes wide as he stared at her.\u00a0 Rachel Farragut had never been considered a powerful force on the Rose Council.\u00a0 She was docile, quiet, listening more than speaking, a mediator.\u00a0 She wasn\u2019t often assertive like this.\u00a0 It was a shock.<\/p>\n

Brendan smothered a smile.\u00a0 The Council had just gotten an eyeful and earful of the woman who\u2019d raised him.<\/p>\n

The Speaker looked toward Lindsay.\u00a0 \u201cDo you see why we needed you here, Oracle?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSpeaker, they\u2019re my parents<\/em>.\u00a0 I can\u2019t necessarily trust anything I see regarding them.\u00a0 I just\u2026I just don\u2019t know.\u00a0 Whatever I might see could be dreams and imaginings.\u201d\u00a0 She hadn\u2019t seen her parents since she was very small, since they gave her to Rachel and told her to get her to E-557, where she could be safe\u2014where she could be happy.\u00a0 America Farragut and Grant Channing had a war to finish, and a people to avenge.\u00a0 They have been part of the Inner Collegium of the Psychean Guard.\u00a0 Most of those that had lived through the attacks that killed Mimir had vowed to finish the war they had been sucked into against their will, to avenge their fallen brothers and sisters, even as they ordered most of the survivors to flee, to find their way to the safety of E-557.\u00a0 To the safety of the colony.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour visions are the only ones we know<\/em> we can trust, Oracle, regardless of whether or not they\u2019re fantasy.\u201d\u00a0 The Speaker sighed not quite dramatically, shaking his head slowly.\u00a0 \u201cThere has not been a Seer such as you since LeSarte.\u201d<\/p>\n

He left it unsaid that her bloodline ran directly back to Ryland LeSarte.\u00a0 That was an open secret in the colony, though a bare handful of those living on E-557 that were not in the Council\u2019s chambers knew that the tiny, almost frail Lindsay Farragut was, in fact, the rumored, fabled Oracle.\u00a0 No one off-world knew her identity.<\/p>\n

The entire population of E-557 aimed to keep it that way.<\/p>\n

Lindsay cleared her throat.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not sure I\u2019m comfortable with the insinuation, Speaker.\u201d<\/p>\n

He sighed.\u00a0 \u201cThen let me be clear.\u00a0 We need your visions now, Oracle, now more than ever.\u00a0 We all know that something must be coming.\u00a0 Whatever it will be has been building since the congloms exhausted themselves in their infighting seventeen years ago, since we blocked their last attempt to colonize Etrasia nine years ago.\u201d\u00a0 Etrasia was on the other side of the world, rich in mineral deposits, and only lightly settled.\u00a0 The land was largely pristine.\u00a0 That was all part of the plan.\u00a0 The Speaker folded his hands.\u00a0 \u201cAnd we need them right now.\u00a0 If that is something you cannot do, I beg of you, look me in the eyes and tell me that you cannot do this one duty for the people who look to you for guidance and the world that is your home.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was guilt, and they all knew it.\u00a0 They also knew it would work.<\/p>\n

Lindsay swallowed hard.\u00a0 \u201cPray I don\u2019t enter a fugue state, Speaker.\u00a0 I can\u2019t control my visions these days.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you\u2019ve said,\u201d the Speaker said softly.\u00a0 \u201cConsul Oronoko is prepared to record anything that may be said.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindsay nodded slowly and reached up to remove her glasses. \u00a0Brendan held his breath.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve got a bad feeling about this.<\/em><\/p>\n

Me, too, Brendan.\u00a0 Me too.<\/em><\/p>\n

He winced at the pain in her thoughts.<\/p>\n

She folded the arms of the glasses in and set them down gently in front of her and stared at the smooth wood of the table for a few long moments. \u00a0After a few deep breaths, she lifted her gaze, taking in the faces of the rest of the Council, faces she\u2019d seen rarely these past few months.<\/p>\n

For a moment, it seemed like all the fear had been for nothing, that everything would be fine.<\/p>\n

Of course it didn\u2019t turn out that way.\u00a0 The visions hit her like an avalanche coming down the slopes ofMountQuartermain.<\/p>\n

She went rigid, then started to shake as words tumbled from her lips in a semi-coherent stream describing what flicked past her mind\u2019s eye, her Seer\u2019s eye.\u00a0 \u201cSky is purple, sky is purple, mushrooms light the dark sky, no stars, no stars, no stars, dying, dying, they\u2019re all dying, everyone all around me the plains are burning the plains are burning the sky is burning it\u2019s dying it\u2019s dying it\u2019s dying pain, oh the pain, it hurts so much\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan was already moving.\u00a0 He dashed around the wall and up the three short steps toward where Lindsay was seated.\u00a0 Her hands were squeezed into fists, knuckles white.\u00a0 Her eyes were open wide, but she wasn\u2019t seeing anything but what was going on behind her eyes, nothing but the visions.<\/p>\n

\u201cAcid, burning, fire, pain.\u00a0 Starships and fighters fall like snowflakes, like rain.\u00a0 Storms and swarms and ow, ow, ow\u2026it hurts, it burns, it consumes<\/em>\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

I have to snap her out of this.<\/em>\u00a0 He knew it in his gut.\u00a0 He knew<\/em> it.\u00a0 Something was going on here, something more than he could tell, could perceive.\u00a0 He knew<\/em> something was wrong.\u00a0 Brendan swung around behind her, grasping her by her arms and starting to haul her up and out of her chair.\u00a0 She was limp, but somehow heavy, dead weight in his hands.\u00a0 His arms closed around her and he crushed her against his chest, heart pounding.\u00a0 Snap out of it, Lin.\u00a0 Snap out of it.<\/em><\/p>\n

His world exploded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The fifth of Octem 5249 post-Diaspora seemed like the beginning of some kind of end for some of us.\u00a0 Would we survive to see another year?\u00a0 Would anyone?\u00a0 Or would humanity be dead, finally slain by its own hand?\u00a0 We … 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":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-last-colony"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p25yjF-V","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57","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=57"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57\/revisions\/71"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=57"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=57"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=57"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}