\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The sun was just creeping up over the horizon in the east, the sky blood red, promising another storm in the very near future.\u00a0 Arilyn lay in bed, awake and sweat-soaked, staring at the view outside her window without quite seeing it.\u00a0 The dreams had come again.\u00a0 They always came.\u00a0
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She wasn\u2019t sure what time it had been when her mother had headed for base, but it had been early–sometime south of 0400, when she\u2019d seen Tag\u2019s speeder pulling up in front of Arin\u2019s house.\u00a0 She\u2019d watched two figures climb out and head around the back side of the house, toward the garden door to either the house or Arin\u2019s armory, one or the other.\u00a0 Arilyn hadn\u2019t bothered to reach out to see who it had been.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t matter.\u00a0 Either she\u2019d find out soon enough, or she wouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019s Tag and Les?\u201d<\/em> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Arilyn squeezed her eyes shut, even though that wouldn\u2019t stop the visiosn from coming.\u00a0 How could her mother stand it?\u00a0 How could Davil<\/em> stand it?\u00a0 How had her mother withstood it for so long?\u00a0 Half the visions didn\u2019t even make sense.\u00a0 Others vanished from her memory before she could grasp their meaning, leaving only jagged fragments.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Johnny held a datapad out toward Indy, expression grim.\u00a0 \u201cHe sent you the GDF Marines and anyone spared from the last holding action.\u00a0 All the people we used for the evac.\u201d\u00a0 The young Marine swallowed hard.\u00a0 \u201cHe thought you\u2019d be able to use the extra hands.\u201d<\/em> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Arilyn wet her lips and stared sightlessly at the window.\u00a0 So much pain…so much <\/em>suffering…and this is why I\u2019m fighting to live?\u00a0 To be a part of <\/em>that?<\/em>\u00a0 She took a deep breath and slowly sat up in bed.\u00a0 Because I don\u2019t want to be alone.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want them to be alone.\u00a0 That\u2019s why.<\/em> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat about the <\/em>Legacy?\u00a0 Have we heard anything?\u201d<\/em> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAri?\u00a0 Are you okay?\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Air burned in her lungs.\u00a0 She gasped, eyes coming open, a shudder wracking her.\u00a0 Alarms were wailing.\u00a0 \u201cDavil!\u00a0 What–?\u201d<\/em> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Arilyn shivered, grasping the arms of the chair and staring blankly for a few long moments.\u00a0 Her heart started to beat faster.\u00a0 A few deep, slow breaths calmed it.\u00a0 She rubbed at her eyes and stood up slowly.\u00a0 Somehow, she was going to find a way to stop these visions.\u00a0 She was going to have to. ~ Erin<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Indy shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cNot sure yet.\u00a0 Last report had them <\/em>en route to Kartuiin to hook up with Alek there.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019ll never make it in time, if they are.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t underestimate those two.\u00a0 If it\u2019s possible, they\u2019ll find a way.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Indy took the datapad, her face the mask of a calm, collected commander, the mask of ice that Tag Rendar and Kingston Taylor both perfected long before Indiana Bridger had.\u00a0 The emotion, the pain, still showed in her eyes, though, big and real and heavy.\u00a0 \u201cI accept your service in the spirit in which it\u2019s been offered to me, Mr. Playbird.\u00a0 On the behalf of the Aurora Force and Governor Dargan, welcome to Xenen.\u00a0 Welcome to the Aurora Force.\u201d\u00a0 She cleared her throat as her voice thickened near the end of her speech.\u00a0 \u201cColonel Bridger will see to your billeting across the board.\u00a0 You..you and I and the rest of the staff officers will meet at Operations at 0700 tomorrow to discuss integration.\u201d\u00a0 For a moment, it looked like she intended to reach out, to take the hand of the man she\u2019d known when he was only a lost little boy adopted by her best friend, the little boy she\u2019d chased away from cookie jars and scolded along with her own children.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Johnny Playbird snapped to attention and saluted her.\u00a0 Admiral Bridger saluted him back as she fought the tears rising in her eyes.\u00a0 She let her hand drop after a few long, agonizing moments.\u00a0 He relaxed a little more slowly.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSeventy-two hours, Admiral,\u201d Johnny said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cHe said he\u2019ll see you when his duty\u2019s done, or else we\u2019re at your command permanently.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.\u00a0 All she could do was nod.<\/em><\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Besides, if something happened to her, who would keep Davil from going completely<\/em> over the edge?\u00a0 Neither Mary nor Mikey could do it, and Cait and Innis didn\u2019t have a prayer.\u00a0 No, it had to be her.\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t anyone else.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She waited for a sudden dizziness to subside before she climbed fully out of bed and wrapped herself in her robe.\u00a0 She padded through the silent house to her mother\u2019s study, where the holocomm sat silently, dormant, asleep.\u00a0 She wouldn\u2019t mind, would she?\u00a0 No, of course not.\u00a0 Cay?\u00a0 Well.\u00a0 He might<\/em> mind…but not for very long.\u00a0 Arilyn slid quietly into the chair in front of the holocomm and punched in the code for the Legacy<\/em>.\u00a0 She got a voice-only transmission first, a voice on the bridge inquiring about who she was trying to reach.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI need Lieutenant Bullian, please,\u201d Arilyn said softly, leaning back in the chair.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOne moment, ma\u2019am.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A few moments later, the holo emitters hummed to life and a tired-looking Davil was suddenly before her, brow furrowing.\u00a0 \u201cAri?\u00a0 What\u2019s the matter?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cCan you come home for a few days, Dav?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Her brother\u2019s image blinked at her, as if startled.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026what?\u00a0 Ari, I can\u2019t come home right now.\u00a0 These maneuvers…half the reason we\u2019re doing them is so I can figure out whether or not these engineering teams can run their ships with the modifications we\u2019ve made to them.\u00a0 I\u2019m the only one that an assess that and help the folks that\u2019re unclear.\u00a0 Hell, I\u2019m the only one that can identify it when something\u2019s going wrong half the time.\u00a0 I can\u2019t leave.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But I need you, big brother.\u00a0 <\/em>She was quiet for a long moment, brow furrowing slightly.\u00a0 \u201cThen I guess I\u2019m going to have to come there for a few days.\u00a0 Would that be okay?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Davil grimaced.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019d have to ask Cay.\u00a0 You\u2019re not military and it\u2019s his ship.\u00a0 He\u2019s got to authorize it.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWell, then get him so I can tell him he\u2019s authorizing me to come aboard.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s not here, Ari.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Then where the hell is he?\u00a0 Not with Mary.\u00a0 Mary\u2019s with Eagle at Aten-Re.\u00a0 They can\u2019t possibly be back yet.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cLet me get this straight.\u00a0 You can\u2019t leave, but the group commander can play hooky during maneuvers?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWell, yeah.\u00a0 Part of that\u2019s to get Dorrin used to running things if he ever has to, in case something happens to Cay…but like I said, these maneuvers are mostly for me and the engineering crews.\u00a0 Y\u2019know, that whole backbone thing.\u00a0 If they fry out their systems now, they need to figure out how not<\/em> to do that in a combat situation and more importantly, I need to show them how to fix<\/em> it in a combat situation if they\u2019ve got to.\u201d\u00a0 He frowned.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026what\u2019s wrong, Ari?\u00a0 You\u2019re not usually like this.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI know.\u00a0 They\u2019re getting worse, though, Dav.\u00a0 I can\u2019t…I can barely sleep because of them, and I\u2019m exhausted.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c…did you take something?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She shook her head a little.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 I really don\u2019t want to, y\u2019know?\u00a0 Afraid I\u2019ll sleep what\u2019s left of life away if I do.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He winced and nodded. \u201cAll right.\u00a0 Cay\u2019s on Wayfarer.\u00a0 Auyn business, he said.\u00a0 Molly\u2019s pretty pissed, so Xander Drake\u2019s probably involved.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Arilyn nodded.\u00a0 Auyn business, huh?\u00a0 Well, maybe I can scrape myself together enough to not frak that up for them.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cI guess I\u2019ll just have to go see him in person, then.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBe careful, Ari.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAlways am, Dav.\u00a0 I\u2019ll see you in a day or two, okay?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou seem pretty confident that he\u2019s going to let you come.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re not?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Davil shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cYou never know these days.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kingston grimaced and shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cNothing yet, Mary.\u00a0 Believe me, you\u2019ll be the first person I call after I get word on that one.\u00a0 Hell.\u00a0 Karen might call you before she calls me.\u00a0 You\u2019re married to her captain.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI just want him to be all right.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI know,\u201d the older pilot said softly.\u00a0 \u201cBelieve me, Mary, I know.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t raise her without him.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kingston grasped Mary\u2019s shoulder and squeezed.\u00a0 \u201cYou could if you had to.\u00a0 But none of us want you to have to.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She swallowed hard, tasting bile, and nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m okay.\u00a0 They\u2019re just…they just keep coming.\u00a0 Waves, almost.\u00a0 I can\u2019t stop them.\u00a0 He has<\/em> to let me come, Dav.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He flinched.\u00a0 \u201cAri, you\u2019d have more control if–\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not having this fight again, Dav.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAll right, all right.\u00a0 You be careful, okay?\u00a0 Bring a co-pilot if you\u2019re iffy on flying.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 At least he realizes that there\u2019s no way I\u2019d take a shuttle up.\u00a0 <\/em>\u201cI\u2019ll borrow Fielder or something from Mom,\u201d Arilyn said.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t mind a droid as a co-pilot.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAll right,\u201d Davil said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cI gotta go.\u00a0 Love you, Ari.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLove you, too, Dav.\u00a0 You<\/em> be careful.\u00a0 Don\u2019t be getting jumped by anything out there.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He laughed weakly and nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI promise, we won\u2019t.\u00a0 I\u2019ll talk to you soon.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She nodded.\u00a0 The transmission cut off from his end and she leaned back in the chair in front of the holocomm, staring at the space where her brother\u2019s face had been.<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Her brother was slumped in his seat, pale, but breathing.\u00a0 She uttered a curse and snapped her attention back to her boards.\u00a0 \u201cOh <\/em>shaavit!\u201d\u00a0 Vong all around.\u00a0 How the hell were they going to get out of <\/em>this one alive?\u00a0 Her blood burned, but she could breathe again, felt strong again for the first time in at least three years, if not longer.\u00a0 Almost one hundred percent, a stark contrast to ten minutes ago–was it ten minutes ago?–when she felt like she couldn\u2019t breathe, when she felt like she was just barely clinging to life by her fingernails.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She yanked on the steering yoke, twisting the ship out of one skip\u2019s line of fire.\u00a0 A string of curses echoed through her brain that she didn\u2019t bother to give voice to.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She didn\u2019t want her last words to be some curses in a dozen languages as the Vong fried them both.<\/em><\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure I can live with them for much longer.<\/em><\/p>\nShare this:<\/h3>