{"id":82,"date":"2012-01-22T00:00:51","date_gmt":"2012-01-22T05:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=82"},"modified":"2012-01-02T00:48:05","modified_gmt":"2012-01-02T05:48:05","slug":"chapter-four","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=82","title":{"rendered":"Chapter Four"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Compact started out as something that seemed like a good idea.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t take long for the solidarity to turn into something alien, something monstrous.\u00a0 No one within the Eurydice Compact will admit to that, though.\u00a0 Everyone who managed to escape, however, tells a different, perhaps more true story.<\/p>\n

— Erich Quizibian, Foundations of the Congloms of New Earth<\/em>, c. 5070 PD<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

 <\/p>\n

Alana sat with her chin propped up on her hand, watching Rachel make eggs.\u00a0 Why\u2019d I let her talk me into leaving them last night?<\/em>\u00a0 She tried not to sigh.\u00a0 She tapped the fingers of her metal-sheathed right hand against the tabletop, more out of habit than real irritation.<\/p>\n

Rachel glared at her over her shoulder, spatula poised over the eggs sizzling away in the pan.\u00a0 \u201cStop that, Alana.\u00a0 Do you have any idea how annoying that sound is?\u201d<\/p>\n

Alana smiled sweetly.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s why I do it, Rachel.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older woman shook the spatula at her.\u00a0 \u201cYou can be miffed with me for dragging you down here all you want, Alana.\u00a0 There\u2019s no way, however, that you\u2019re going to convince me that I did the wrong thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

She wrinkled her nose.\u00a0 \u201cOf course not, Rachel.\u00a0 Once you\u2019ve made up your mind, there\u2019s no changing it.\u00a0 Ever.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s how Brendan and Lindsay ended up Bonded.\u00a0 There was no way I could convince you that it shouldn\u2019t happen once you decided that it should.<\/em>\u00a0 Alana suppressed a sigh, fingers stilling against the table.\u00a0 She stared at her hand for a long moment.<\/p>\n

It had been a sore point between her and a lot of people the past few years, since she retired from working with the defense forces.\u00a0 If she was retired, why not take the final step away from what the Compact had done to her as a child and have the cybernetics removed and her arm rebuilt?<\/p>\n

She stared at her hand for another long moment, the hand that had killed more men and women than she could count.\u00a0 Should I do it?\u00a0 Finally get it done?<\/em>\u00a0 Dr. Grace had been after her for months to have her right arm decybered, the latest in the long line.\u00a0 It was more than certainly time.\u00a0 The servos up near her shoulder seized up when the weather got cold, and she didn\u2019t carry neurotoxins anymore to fuel the injectors.\u00a0 It would be strange, though.\u00a0 Her hand hadn\u2019t been fully flesh and blood since she was fifteen years old.\u00a0 Twenty-three years was a long time to live with cybernetics coating a primary limb.<\/p>\n

Rachel noticed her look.\u00a0 \u201cHave you made the appointment with Ezra, yet, or am I going to have to do that for you, too?\u201d<\/p>\n

Alana glared at her, blue eyes narrowed at the slender, dark-haired woman.\u00a0 \u201cIf you do, I\u2019ll find some neurotoxin to load and you\u2019ll be the last victim of this hand, Rachel.\u201d\u00a0 She slumped back in the chair, not really angry despite her words and the glare.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll make the appointment when I have the time to have it done.\u00a0 He said my recovery time could be as long as three weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat depends on how atrophied the synapses are.\u00a0 If they\u2019re in good shape, it won\u2019t be nearly as long.\u201d\u00a0 Rachel turned back to the eggs.\u00a0 Alana sighed.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwenty-three years says my synapses are probably fried, which means he has to rebuild them, which means three weeks.\u00a0 I can\u2019t afford to leave the Oracle unguarded for that long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel got down some plates.\u00a0 \u201cLindsay\u2019s a big girl, Alana.\u00a0 She can take care of herself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened yesterday would suggest otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel took the eggs off the burner and scraped some onto one plate, then the rest onto the other.\u00a0 She brought both plates to the table, setting one down in front of Alana.\u00a0 \u201cYou couldn\u2019t have stopped what happened to her yesterday, Alana.\u00a0 That was beyond anyone\u2019s control.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCommander Cho seemed to have matters fairly well in hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel ignored the baleful look Alana was giving her, shoveling a mouthful of eggs in before carefully phrasing a response.\u00a0 \u201cBrendan and Lindsay are Bonded, Alana.\u00a0 They have a connection that goes in both directions.\u00a0 Of course he was able to anchor her and draw her out of the fugue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you certain he didn\u2019t plunge her into it?\u201d\u00a0 Alana savagely stabbed at her eggs, glaring at her plate.\u00a0 The vitriol toward Brendan was irrational and she knew it, but it was hard to shake, even after eleven years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s cruel, Alana.\u00a0 I\u2019m not even sure how you could begin to suggest something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alana drummed her metal fingers against the table again.\u00a0 Rachel looked like she was about to stab her with her fork.\u00a0 She stopped with a sigh.\u00a0 \u201cI swore I\u2019d protect her, Rachel.\u00a0 From anything and everything.\u00a0 Especially<\/em> when I retired.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe you should unretire.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alana just stared at her.\u00a0 \u201cUnretire?\u00a0 What\u2019s that supposed to mean?\u201d\u00a0 She leaned closer, brow furrowing, eyes narrowing.\u00a0 \u201cWhat did she see, Rachel?\u00a0 Did she tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a war coming, Alana.\u00a0 Recruits could use your expertise in making things dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alana shook her head firmly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m retired<\/em>.\u00a0 I\u2019m too old for the soldiering crap.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd yet you still haven\u2019t gotten fully decybered.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shut up, Rachel.<\/em>\u00a0 She bit her tongue and shoveled in some more eggs, chewing and swallowing before even daring to respond.\u00a0 \u201cSomeone has to keep an eye on your niece.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike I said, Alana, Lindsay is more than capable of taking care of herself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alana tried not to sigh.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t want to go back to that, Rachel.\u201d\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t entirely a lie.\u00a0 While part of her liked being deadly, the ability to kill so easily, the rest of her was afraid of that part of herself.\u00a0 The only thing that let her sleep at night was the knowledge that she\u2019d turned what the Eurydice Compact had done to her toward good use when she\u2019d come to E-557 and found Rachel and Lindsay here.\u00a0 Protecting the girl was her life\u2019s work, and her greatest work.\u00a0 She owed her benefactor that much, at the very least\u2014perhaps more.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the survival of everyone here depended on it, Alana?\u201d<\/p>\n

The former soldier looked down at her half-eaten plate.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d do what I had to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Brendan filled both mugs with the herbal brew that had been marked \u201ctea\u201d in Lindsay\u2019s handwriting, assuming that it was the latest attempt at coming up with something like what Madeline Potter mixed up on the east side of Nova Spexi.\u00a0 It smelled good, in any case.\u00a0 He just hoped it would taste as good as it smelled.<\/p>\n

He had a patrol in a few hours and had been considering seeing if someone else could cover it, mostly so he could stay home with Lindsay.\u00a0 He was fairly certain she wasn\u2019t going to let him get away with that, though.\u00a0 She usually didn\u2019t.\u00a0 She\u2019d been convinced for a long time that his work with the air corps was more important than anything she did at home, or anything she needed him for at home.<\/p>\n

Of course, with any luck, Ezra Grace would convince her to take a sedative and sleep through most of the day.\u00a0 Whether Brendan stayed or went, at least he wouldn\u2019t be fighting with her about the decision.<\/p>\n

Brendan settled down with his mug at the kitchen table, glancing back through the wood-and-glass back door at the herb garden outside.\u00a0 He\u2019d have to take a couple days off to help her pot some of them, soon, so they could bring them inside through the winter.\u00a0 They\u2019d done it the past few years and it had worked well\u2014they\u2019d had enough to cook with and then had enough to replant after the thaw.\u00a0 Those days off would be a welcome break, quiet time together when they wouldn\u2019t have to talk about her visions or about anything at all.\u00a0 They\u2019d just work, side-by-side, and be together in an ordinary way that felt painfully rare these days.<\/p>\n

He took a sip of the brew and blinked at it, staring at the mug.\u00a0 It was very good, which was a very pleasant surprise indeed.\u00a0 He smiled, glancing toward the bedroom.\u00a0 Good call, Lin.\u00a0 This one\u2019s a keeper.\u00a0 <\/em>He\u2019d have to tell her later, when she woke up.<\/p>\n

Ezra slipped into the kitchen not a minute later, setting his kit down next to the doorframe.\u00a0 Dark-haired, he was taller than either Brendan or Lindsay with pale skin and light eyes.\u00a0 He shared his older sister\u2019s statuesque nature, with a chiseled jaw and aquiline nose, though the severity of his features was often softened by a faint smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cI gave her a sedative,\u201d he said quietly, sitting down at the table with Brendan.\u00a0 He pointed to the extra mug.\u00a0 \u201cThat for me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan nodded.\u00a0 \u201cShe going to be okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra frowned for a moment, then nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI think so.\u00a0 It\u2019s not really my area of expertise, Brendan.\u00a0 Elbridge didn\u2019t recommend anyone?\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cIf he did, I never knew about it.\u00a0 I really don\u2019t think he expected to die so quickly.\u201d\u00a0 Elbridge Baxter had been ancient<\/em>\u2014at least ninety, probably a decade or more older still\u2014but he\u2019d been Lindsay\u2019s doctor for years, and had been a leading expert on psychic medicine.\u00a0 He\u2019d died the month before, somewhat unexpectedly, though he\u2019d been sick on and off for the past year.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll have to do some homework.\u00a0 See if there\u2019s anyone whose research is on par with his.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra nodded, taking another gulp of tea.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s going to be any ill effects beyond the occasional nightmare.\u00a0 Have you<\/em> been sleeping okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cWhen she\u2019s been sleeping, I\u2019ve been sleeping.\u00a0 I usually wake up when she does.\u201d\u00a0 He rubbed his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s been a long summer, Ezra.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish I could say it was going to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

He swallowed hard.\u00a0 \u201cI know.\u00a0 If what she\u2019s seen is right, it\u2019s only going to get worse.\u201d\u00a0 He squeezed his eyes shut, leaning back in his chair.\u00a0 \u201cI just wish there was more I could do<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all wish that for the people we love, Brendan.\u00a0 Sometimes there\u2019s just not anything else we can<\/em> do for them.\u201d\u00a0 Ezra leaned back in his chair.\u00a0 \u201cKara told me something interesting at dinner last night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan made a face.\u00a0 \u201cYou had dinner with her and Gabe last night?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou sound surprised<\/em> by this, Brendan.\u00a0 She\u2019s my sister.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, I know.\u201d\u00a0 He leaned back in his chair, scrubbing his hands over his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cI just\u2026I don\u2019t know.\u00a0 I guess I didn\u2019t think that she\u2019d talk about what went down at the meeting, I guess.\u00a0 I\u2019m assuming that\u2019s what you\u2019re talking about.\u201d\u00a0 The look on Ezra\u2019s face confirmed it.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019d she tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n

He swirled tea around in his mug.\u00a0 \u201cSaid they called the Council meeting early because of Lindsay\u2019s visions, for one.\u00a0 They only kept talking for about fifteen minutes after you and Alana took her out of there.\u00a0 She was pretty sure Alana was going to snap someone\u2019s neck.\u00a0 Kara laid odds on D\u2019Arcy being a likely target, but she wasn\u2019t going to take chances, either.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t put it past her.\u201d\u00a0 Brendan stared down into his mug.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeither would I,\u201d Ezra admitted.\u00a0 \u201cEvery time she whines about getting old, I should start reminding her that she could still snap someone\u2019s neck with a couple of fingers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan shuddered.\u00a0 \u201cDo me a favor and don\u2019t.\u00a0 She\u2019ll start trying to find ways to snap my<\/em> neck and make it look like an accident.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra rolled his eyes.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cShe cannot possibly hate you that much, Brendan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d be surprised, Ez.\u201d\u00a0 Brendan leaned against the table.\u00a0 \u201cSo when\u2019s she getting her arm fixed?\u201d<\/p>\n

He groaned.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s looking like as soon as I strap her down to a table and sedate her.\u00a0 I keep telling her it\u2019s no big deal, I\u2019ve done it a thousand times\u2014well, maybe not a thousand, but enough<\/em> times\u2014nothing\u2019s going to go wrong.\u00a0 She\u2019ll be able to actually feel<\/em> things with that hand again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike what?\u00a0 The blood of her enemies as she rips their hearts out of their chests?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood god, Brendan.\u00a0 You\u2019re morbid today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan sighed, massaging a temple.\u00a0 \u201cIf you\u2019d seen what I saw last night\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe showed you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan winced.\u00a0 \u201cShe didn\u2019t have a choice<\/em>.\u00a0 I touched her and got flooded.\u201d<\/p>\n

His friend\u2019s brows went up.\u00a0 \u201cYou what?\u201d<\/p>\n

He swallowed, feeling suddenly uncomfortable, as if this was something he maybe shouldn\u2019t have told him\u2014and Ezra was his closest friend.\u00a0 \u201cI grabbed her.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t thinking.\u00a0 I just grabbed her.\u00a0 I had to snap her out of it, out of the fugue.\u00a0 I had to snap her out of it.\u00a0 So I jumped the wall and grabbed her.\u00a0 When I touched her, I started seeing what she was seeing.\u201d\u00a0 He swallowed again, trying to force down bile.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know how she handles it sometimes, Ez.\u00a0 I just\u2026I don\u2019t.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra shook his head, frowning.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever heard of anything quite<\/em> like that, but a Seer and psychic of her magnitude\u2026\u201d\u00a0 His voice trailed away as he tapped a fingertip against the side of his mug.\u00a0 \u201cIs it true that they think her parents are still alive out there somewhere?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve got intelligence that says they\u2019re alive out there somewhere.\u201d\u00a0 Brendan rubbed at his eye with the heel of his hand.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s her visions that\u2019re telling us exactly where, but intelligence can\u2019t confirm what she\u2019s seen yet.\u201d\u00a0 Supposedly.<\/em>\u00a0 He sighed.\u00a0 \u201cWe thought it was just a dream, when she saw what she saw about them.\u00a0 A nightmare.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA nightmare?\u00a0 I\u2019d have thought seeing her parents would make it a good<\/em> dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan licked his lips.\u00a0 \u201cNot when you\u2019re seeing your parents being tortured.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra winced.\u00a0 \u201cIs that what she saw?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what she told me she saw, anyway.\u201d\u00a0 He sighed, taking a long swallow of his tea.\u00a0 \u201cShe didn\u2019t want to describe too many details.\u00a0 I made her describe one of the rooms to me, though.\u00a0 Well, she asked me if it sounded familiar.\u00a0 And it did.\u00a0 I swear, I was in the room she described to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore you came here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight<\/em> before I cam here, Ez.\u00a0 Right before I came here.\u201d\u00a0 Brendan rubbed both eyes with the heels of his hands.\u00a0 \u201cExcept for the slab she described, it was exactly<\/em> the same.\u00a0 We thought she\u2019d gleaned it from my mind or something and created the nightmare out of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMan.\u201d\u00a0 Ezra drew the word out, shaking his head slowly.\u00a0 \u201cKara said something about her parents being alive.\u00a0 She also said that Rachel was about to tear D\u2019Arcy a few new holes.\u201d\u00a0 He frowned.\u00a0 \u201cNot that I\u2019d blame her for doing it.\u00a0 He needs to be taken down a few pegs.\u00a0 He asked me once if I\u2019d studied any of the technology I\u2019ve taken out of refugees.\u00a0 I wanted to know why he was asking and he had the nerve to tell me it was none of my business.\u00a0 Because it doesn\u2019t matter that I\u2019m their doctor and it could possibly be unethical for me to tell him anything<\/em> that could be used to do violence against anyone with implants or cyberware, since I\u2019m pretty damn sure that\u2019s where he wanted to go with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan winced, bracing for the tirade.\u00a0 Ezra was perhaps the most brilliant man he\u2019d ever known\u2014which probably didn\u2019t say much, since Brendan didn\u2019t get out that often.\u00a0 They\u2019d met when Ezra was a very young doctor and Brendan was still recovering from having his implant removed after his somewhat inauspicious arrival on E-557.\u00a0 The doctor had a tendency to go on rants about ethics and what he should do with the research he did.\u00a0 Brendan didn\u2019t care either way.\u00a0 The advances his friend had made in his research on various forms of cyberware had helped more than a few people, and that was important above everything else.<\/p>\n

Ezra watched his face and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t want to listen to me go off again, do you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot really.\u00a0 Is it one I haven\u2019t heard yet?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you\u2019ve heard them all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen definitely not.\u201d\u00a0 Brendan smiled.\u00a0 \u201cNo offense.\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled wryly.\u00a0 \u201cNone taken.\u00a0 I know I probably do it too much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe go overboard a little.\u201d\u00a0 Brendan leaned back in his chair.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019re you doing this afternoon?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy schedule\u2019s clear.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 You want me to stay?\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan winced.\u00a0 \u201cAm I transparent or something?\u201d<\/p>\n

He shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cYou mentioned that you had a patrol, and I\u2019m sure Rachel\u2019s busy.\u00a0 She\u2019s always busy these days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doing what?\u00a0 God only knows.<\/em>\u00a0 Brendan shook his head, smiling sheepishly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d just feel better if someone was here with Lindsay, y\u2019know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about Alana?\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t ask.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra shrugged again.\u00a0 \u201cSure, I can stay.\u00a0 We\u2019ll play cards or something and swap stories about stupid things you do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not leaving you here so you can conspire against me with my wife.\u201d<\/p>\n

He laughed.\u00a0 \u201cOh, I know you\u2019re not, Brendan.\u00a0 It\u2019s not like it\u2019s going to amount to anything, anyway.\u00a0 She\u2019ll probably sleep most of the day and I\u2019ll read one of your books and that\u2019ll be that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich one?\u00a0 Quizibian\u2019s Foundations of the Congloms of New Earth<\/em> is a particular favorite of mine.\u201d\u00a0 Lindsay slumped into the chair between them unexpectedly, rubbing her eyes and looking like several miles of rough roadway.\u00a0 \u201cWhat are we talking about?\u201d\u00a0 She reached over and stole Brendan\u2019s mug.\u00a0 She was in her pajamas, a tank top and knit pants that tied with a drawstring at her waist, and hunched over the cup as she took a long swallow.\u00a0 Brendan blinked.<\/p>\n

Then he looked at Ezra.\u00a0 \u201cI thought you said you gave her a sedative.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cIt wore off.\u201d\u00a0 Lindsay rubbed her eyes and scooted her chair closer to Brendan\u2019s.\u00a0 She looked at him, still a little bleary-eyed.\u00a0 \u201cSo you\u2019re going on patrol today after all?\u201d<\/p>\n

He winced.\u00a0 Was hoping I wouldn\u2019t?<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cI can find someone to cover it if you want me to stay home, Lin.\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cNo, it\u2019s okay.\u00a0 It\u2019s your job.\u00a0 Someone\u2019s got to do it.\u00a0 Go out there and make sure that no one shows up down here to hurt anyone.\u201d\u00a0 Her smile was watery, though, and it put to lie the sentiment of her words.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my job, too.\u201d\u00a0 His fingers brushed along the curve of her jaw.\u00a0 \u201cDo you need me to stay home?\u201d\u00a0 He emphasized \u2018need.\u2019\u00a0 It was an out, and she\u2019d recognize that.\u00a0 No guilt attached if she fibbed and said she needed him.\u00a0 He\u2019d believe her.<\/p>\n

She smiled, leaning into his fingers.\u00a0 \u201cI love you,\u201d she murmured.<\/p>\n

Ezra leaned back in his chair.\u00a0 \u201cShould I go?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindsay kissed Brendan\u2019s fingertips.\u00a0 \u201cNo, Ezra, stay.\u00a0 Brendan\u2019s got a job outside of this house, and he\u2019s going.\u00a0 He won\u2019t be gone that long, anyway, and if I\u2019m making sense out of anything that I saw, I\u2019m going to have to get used to him not being around.\u201d<\/p>\n

He felt cold, pressing his lips together tightly as he stood, mechanically moving to get a third mug and fill it with some of the now-cooling tea.\u00a0 He went to reheat it.\u00a0 \u201cLin\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBrendan, I\u2019m not going to tell you to stay home.\u00a0 If you feel like you need to stay here with me, then stay.\u00a0 I\u2019m not going to back you into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He sat down heavily, staring at her, then looked at Ezra.\u00a0 Ezra shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t look at me, Brendan.\u00a0 I told you she\u2019d live, but it\u2019s not my specialty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindsay smiled lopsidedly at Ezra.\u00a0 \u201cThen why\u2019d you come?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra pointed at Brendan, as if that answered the question completely.\u00a0 Lindsay laughed a little.\u00a0 Brendan\u2019s face flamed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI asked him to,\u201d he said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cIt made me feel better to have you checked out, y\u2019know?\u201d<\/p>\n

She took his hand and squeezed it.\u00a0 \u201cI know.\u00a0 And I love you for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He sighed a little.\u00a0 \u201cI guess you\u2019ll be okay without me, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked away, blushing a little.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t get me wrong, I\u2019d love for you to stay home and play hooky with me.\u00a0 I\u2019m just not sure that it\u2019s justifiable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan shook his head a little.\u00a0 \u201cYou almost collapsed at a Council meeting.\u201d\u00a0 It sounded more like a protest than he\u2019d intended.\u00a0 \u201cMy boss was there.\u00a0 I think that it\u2019s understandable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindsay smiled faintly.\u00a0 \u201cThen stay home with me today?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGladly.\u201d\u00a0 He kissed her forehead.<\/p>\n

Ezra\u2019s chair scraped a little against the slate floor.\u00a0 \u201cWell.\u00a0 I think I\u2019ll leave you two lovebirds to nest, then.\u201d<\/p>\n

She grinned.\u00a0 \u201cBeautiful analogy, Ezra.\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled.\u00a0 \u201cI like to think so.\u00a0 Call if you need anything, Brendan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI will.\u00a0 Thanks, Ez.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPfft.\u00a0 No problem.\u00a0 I\u2019ll see you for cards this weekend.\u00a0 Assuming a war doesn\u2019t break out between then and now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindsay shivered and Brendan shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI hope not.\u00a0 But if it does, I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll be the first to know.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Compact started out as something that seemed like a good idea.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t take long for the solidarity to turn into something alien, something monstrous.\u00a0 No one within the Eurydice Compact will admit to that, though.\u00a0 Everyone who managed … 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-82","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-1k","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82","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=82"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82\/revisions\/84"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=82"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=82"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=82"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}