{"id":466,"date":"2024-06-15T05:24:41","date_gmt":"2024-06-15T09:24:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/wips\/?p=466"},"modified":"2025-01-28T23:46:28","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T04:46:28","slug":"identity-theft-chapter-38","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/wips\/identity-theft-chapter-38\/","title":{"rendered":"The Changeling Game, Chapter 38"},"content":{"rendered":"<style type=\"text\/css\">\ntt {\nfont: .857em menlo, monaco, consolas, monospace;\nmargin: auto;\n}\nh2 {\ntext-align: center;\n}\nh2.chapterhead {\nmargin-bottom: 2em;\ntext-align: center;\n}\n  .nowrap {\n    text-indent: 0;\n    display: inline-block;\n}\n<\/style>\n<p><b>Title:<\/b> The Changeling Game <small>(Formerly <i>Identity Theft<\/i>)<\/small><br \/>\n<b>Author:<\/b> Ardath Rekha<br \/>\n<b>Chapter:<\/b> 38\/?<br \/>\n<b>Fandom:<\/b> TCOR AU<br \/>\n<b>Rating:<\/b> M<br \/>\n<b>Warnings:<\/b> Adult themes, controversial subject matter, harsh language<br \/>\n<b>Category:<\/b> Gen<br \/>\n<b>Pairing:<\/b> None<br \/>\n<b>Summary:<\/b> Actions have consequences. The consequences of Jack\u2019s actions are bigger and more profound than she knows how to deal with.<br \/>\n<b>Disclaimer:<\/b> The characters and events of <i>Pitch Black,<\/i> <i>The Chronicles of Riddick,<\/i> and <i>The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury<\/i> are not mine, but belong to Universal Studios.  I just <i>wish<\/i> I were in charge of their fates.  No money is being made off of this.  I\u2019m writing strictly for love of the story.<br \/>\n<b>Feedback:<\/b> Absolutely, the more the better!  Shred me, whip me, beat me, make me feel grammatical! I post \u201crough,\u201d so I can always use the help. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n<input type='hidden' bg_collapse_expand='6a8e7c72a036a2078069099' value='6a8e7c72a036a2078069099'><input type='hidden' id='bg-show-more-text-6a8e7c72a036a2078069099' value='Long post is long. Click to read the story.'><input type='hidden' id='bg-show-less-text-6a8e7c72a036a2078069099' value='Hide the story again.'><button id='bg-showmore-action-6a8e7c72a036a2078069099' class='bg-showmore-plg-button bg-green-button  '   style=\" color:#D9ECFB;\">Long post is long. Click to read the story.<\/button><div id='bg-showmore-hidden-6a8e7c72a036a2078069099' ><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"chapterhead\">38.<br \/>\n<u>The Bell That Must Not Ring<\/u><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">Pain.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">There was nothing but pain for a time. Her universe was made of it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><i>Little larva, can you hear us? Little larva, come back to us\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">She wanted to tell them to leave her alone, but she couldn\u2019t make words.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><i>Little larva, do not die. Come back to us\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">They weren\u2019t going to leave her alone. Finally she found just enough strength to answer.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cNot dying\u2026\u201d she mumbled. \u201cJust\u2026 trying to fucking <i>sleep\u2026<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cThat\u2019s my girl,\u201d a man\u2019s deep, velvety voice said from somewhere outside of the darkness. \u201cYou rest, <i>a tafat-iw<\/i>. I have you. I\u2019ll keep you safe\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">Riddick? No. The voice was different, just as deep but not quite as rough. With a hint of an accent Riddick didn\u2019t have\u2026<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">Ewan. That was the name that went with the voice. Ewan Zdan\u2026<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><i>We told you not to do that, little larva. You could have died.<\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cHad\u2026 to\u2026 move it\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><i>We do not understand how you accomplished that and lived. It should not have been possible. You are still so small.<\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">The stars were far too bright to look at. She felt <i>them<\/i> surrounding her, peering at her with eyes that weren\u2019t eyes, seeing her in some way she struggled to comprehend.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><i>You almost broke your five-shape. Do not try to do anything like that again until you have hatched.<\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cDo what?\u201d she managed to ask, also managing to limit her words to the dream space. She was vaguely aware that her body\u2014her shell\u2014was being held in someone\u2019s arms. Ewan\u2019s?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">They tried to explain, but she didn\u2019t understand. She could barely focus. They showed her mind-bending shapes, things that normally would have had her fleeing in terror, but she wasn\u2019t even strong enough\u2014or scared enough\u2014to look away. Emotion was a blank. Emotion needed energy, and she had none.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><i>A cube,<\/i> she thought after they showed her yet another iteration. <i>A sealed cube with no way in or out\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><i>Broken now.<\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><b><i>It means nothing.<\/i><\/b> The \u2026Moribund\u2019s\u2026? voice was like angry distant thunder.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><i>It means everything.<\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><b><i><u>She<\/u> was already lost. What use is breaking an empty box? Be done with this filth.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><i><b>She<\/b> hatched this larva and its broodmates. They are not filth. They are hope. This little one might even be the <b>One.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><b><i>One reckless trick and you would fall at its nethers. You lie to yourselves. <u>We<\/u> will be your \u201cOne.\u201d You waste your time. We do not need this filth\u2019s help to rise. We will break the \u2019verse itself\u2026<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><i>And have you yet? Go. You have no place among us.<\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">If Jack were strong enough to care, she thought, she might have been afraid. But she felt almost as if she was back in the isolation ward, cocooned against herself, cut off from sense and emotion. Even the poisonous rage of the one entity\u2014<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">She needed to call them <i>something<\/i> better than that.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cDo you have names?\u201d she asked the darkness. \u201cWhat are all of you called?\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><b><i>Names are delimiters,<\/i><\/b> the Moribund snarled. Jack wondered if it knew what the others called it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><i>Our names were stolen,<\/i> they whispered.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cCan I give you one? I need something to call you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">She sensed disgust from the one hateful \u201cvoice\u201d in the darkness, but curiosity from the others.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cWhat about\u2026\u201d The word, which had been in her head since the morning, floated back. \u201cApeiros?\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><i>Apeiros\u2026 infinite\u2026<\/i> She could feel them mulling it over. <i>It is an interesting choice. You may see deeper than you know. A name that means hope. Yes, little larva, you may call us this.<\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><b><i>Fools. All of you. Falling over a tiny piece of filth\u2026<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">Little by little, the pain was receding. The stars were no longer blinding. Jack could feel herself, not floating anymore, but lying down on something warm. She could hear a soft double-rhythm pulling at her.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><i>Go, little larva. You can wake to your five-space now. You will not die\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">She opened her eyes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">There was still daylight, but the light level had dropped considerably. Even so, it felt almost too bright to keep her eyes open, and it set her head pounding again. She was resting in Ewan\u2019s lap, head on his chest, his heartbeat in her ear. He was sitting in the sand, legs stretched out and his back leaning against a boulder, gazing out over the landscape of Elsewhere. The tide, although still several kilometers away, had begun rolling back in and the sun, mostly hidden by the deep grayish blue of pregnant storm clouds, was halfway to the horizon. Lightning flickered over the waters off to the southwest.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">An unknotted string hung in the air nearby, marking the spot where Jack had tethered the special comm to a bench in U1. Ewan had carried her back to the location of the grotto.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">He had the comm in one hand, and his other arm was wrapped around her. Their packs lay beside them in the sand. His was open and a smaller version of his field kit was out; several bloodstained wipes were lying crumpled beside it along with a penlight and a portable diagnostic.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">He glanced down at her and blinked, his eyes widening a little. \u201c<i>Baraka.<\/i> Oh, thank God. Tislilel? Are you back with me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cMmm-hmm\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cI need you to say a little more than that, <i>ta\u1e25bibt-iw<\/i>. Can you, for me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cDid I pass out?\u201d Jack managed to ask.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cYou did. Your nose started bleeding right before you collapsed, and for a while, one of your pupils was dilated. You\u2019ve been unconscious for the last three hours while I brought you back here. I was afraid you might have given yourself an aneurysm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cKinda felt like I did\u2026 fuck, my head hurts\u2026 I felt like I split it open when I pushed that damned box out\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cBox?\u201d Ewan gave her a quizzical frown.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cInside the ship. I think\u2026 I think I broke open an apeirochoron.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cUnless that\u2019s just the name of some cerebral blood vessel I\u2019ve forgotten about, I don\u2019t know what that means.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">She didn\u2019t really have words for what she was trying to tell him\u2026 or if she did, she couldn\u2019t put them together. She couldn\u2019t paint the air with shapes made out of light, <i>Apeiros<\/i> style, to try to show him, either. But that was okay. Maybe one day\u2026 <\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">Maybe one day <i>what<\/i>, exactly? She felt like she was trying to focus in eight directions at once, some of which were impossible. Her thoughts were looping\u2026 looping\u2026<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cPlease don\u2019t go back to sleep, Tislilel. Not yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cSorry\u2026\u201d She wanted to tell him that she\u2019d gone too far, that she should have listened to him, and to <i>them<\/i>, and stopped. But she\u2019d been incapable of doing so at the time, and even now that was hard to admit. It had been the act of a child, the child she kept telling herself she no longer was. She changed the subject. Slightly. \u201cI saw the envoy. She was at the spaceport. And I got a better look at what she\u2019s connected to. Darkness. She wears all white, but she\u2019s all darkness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">An infinite darkness that even the <i>Apeiros<\/i> seemed to fear\u2026<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><i>The Demons of the Darkness\u2026<\/i> What would look like a demon to one of <i>them?<\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cStay awake, Tislilel. No sleeping. Did she see you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cNo. Remember how I used my tablet for a few minutes before we got close to the ship?\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cI do, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cI turned off the ship\u2019s outside cameras. My codes were still good. Nobody saw us walk up, in either \u2019verse.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">Ewan laughed softly. \u201cWell played. So you could see her in U1, but she couldn\u2019t look into Elsewhere to see either of us. And if they were recording the camera feeds from the ship itself\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cWe never appeared on them before they stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cThat\u2019s a relief. I\u2019m curious\u2026 do you play chess?\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">Jack wondered if he really was curious, or just trying to keep her talking, coherent, and awake. \u201cMy dad was gonna teach me, but when my parents started fighting, and after the divorce, he never had time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cYou should learn it. You have the right strategic mind for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cI dunno. Half the time I feel like it doesn\u2019t tell <i>me<\/i> the plan until it\u2019s time to do it.\u201d She was, slowly, having an easier time staying focused on the moment at hand. The tide would be rising soon. \u201cWhat time is it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cAlmost thirteen pm.\u201d He quirked a smile at her. \u201cWe\u2019ve missed lunch. Not that I had any kind of appetite until now. How about you? Are you feeling at all hungry?\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cYeah, but\u2026 also queasy. Is that bad?\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cPossibly. Do you want to try to drink some water? I can give you something for your headache if you think you can keep it down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">Until then, Jack hadn\u2019t noticed how thirsty she was. \u201cYes, please. Or if you have anything with caffeine\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cAbsolutely not. Not until I know for certain you don\u2019t have a brain injury.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cSpoilsport\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cI\u2019m <i>serious,<\/i> Tislilel. No caffeine until I say it\u2019s safe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201c<i>Fine<\/i>\u2026 any orange juice?\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cYes, that you can have. And I do, indeed, have some.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">He brought out a small bottle of juice for her, making her use the first few sips to take some pills for her headache. To their mutual relief, her nausea began to ease, and he let her have some of the savory crackers he\u2019d also brought, flavored with spices she\u2019d never known before New Marrakesh.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cThese are so good,\u201d Jack sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder. \u201cNow I\u2019m <i>really<\/i> getting hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cIt might be time for us to go, then. Especially with that rain approaching. I was just about to call for help when you began mumbling actual words.\u201d He stroked her cheek with his fingertips. \u201cYou have no idea what a relief it was to hear you say \u2018trying to fucking sleep\u2026\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">He had done an amazing imitation of her accent. She found herself laughing. <i>Ow.<\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cMy head does still hurt,\u201d she admitted, \u201cbut not nearly as bad. I think I can pull us back into U1, though.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cNow you have me in a quandary,\u201d Ewan sighed. \u201cI don\u2019t want to overtax you after everything you\u2019ve already done, and especially not before I can get a good scan of your hard little head. But the alternative is dragging your sister out of bed, while <i>she\u2019s<\/i> still healing, to come down here to bring us across. So you have to promise me\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">He leaned his head closer to hers, locking his eyes with hers, his expression simultaneously fiercely serious and gently teasing. The palm of his hand, where it rested on her cheek, made her skin tingle.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201c\u2026that <i>this<\/i> time, you <i>really will<\/i> stop if it becomes too much.\u201d A hint of a genuine plea appeared on his face. \u201cPlease don\u2019t scare me like that again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><i>He thought I might be dying, too.<\/i> At the time, it had just felt like a strange tug of war game that she\u2019d desperately needed to win. Until the tension had abruptly <i>snapped<\/i> and its full power ricocheted back against her. She\u2019d <i>won<\/i>, but she still wasn\u2019t sure of the cost. What if she really <i>had<\/i> given herself brain damage?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">She lifted her hand and rested it on his cheek, feeling smooth skin and rough stubble under her palm, the muscles over his cheekbone and the hollow below, the strong line of his jaw. \u201cI promise. I really, <i>truly<\/i> promise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">His eyes weren\u2019t <i>olive<\/i> green, she found herself thinking. More a sea green, a few shades paler, and slightly bluer, than hers, which her father had called \u201cmoss green,\u201d her mother had called \u201cjade green,\u201d and her cousins, always looking for creative ways to be rude, had called \u201cpond scum green.\u201d His sea green, she mused, was the loveliest shade she\u2019d ever seen.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">For a long, still moment, their eyes stayed locked. Jack found she was intensely aware of every point of contact between their bodies, all of which seemed to almost hum with energy. Then a look of alarm flickered over his face and he pulled away, just a little. A second later, a roguish\u2014but somehow forced\u2014grin appeared as he drew back even more. \u201cIn that case, I will accept your invitation to return to U1. I\u2019ve made sure we\u2019re in a clear space of the garden <i>Ababat<\/i>\u2014sorry, my father\u2014rented.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cHow\u2019d you manage that?\u201d Jack asked, still recovering from the moment herself as he moved her off of his lap\u2014the brief touch of his hands on her waist sending powerful shocks coursing through her\u2014and stood up.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">He picked up the plastic bag that had held the comm, dropping the tether inside it at the same time. \u201cI flapped it around the space to make sure it didn\u2019t hit anything on the other side. Since it\u2019s in both worlds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><i>\u201cSmart,\u201d<\/i> Jack laughed, climbing unsteadily to her feet. This time, laughing didn\u2019t make her head hurt quite so much.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cI have my moments,\u201d he agreed as he helped her up and began reassembling their packs. She noticed that he was careful not to let their bodies come into contact again.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">It made the transition back a little awkward, but he was willing to at least let her hold his hands to do it. A moment later, they were surrounded by a garden that she realized would have been a terribly romantic setting if they weren\u2019t suddenly so busy hiding from each other.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">A lesser man, she mused, would have tried to kiss her. Would she have wanted him to quite so desperately if he\u2019d <i>been<\/i> a lesser man?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><i>If I were even just five years older\u2026<\/i> she thought, filled with a sense of terrible loss. He would never, <i>ever<\/i> act on what she was certain both of them had suddenly been feeling.  Part of her, the part that still wanted to try to eat an entire bucket of Halloween candy in one sitting, the part that knew and didn\u2019t <i>care<\/i> that some of the things she craved might be bad for her, the part that always convinced itself that she was more of an adult the less she acted like one\u2014the part of her that had nearly shattered her brain over a sealed box just hours earlier\u2014was tempted to try to get him to do so anyway. Every cell of her body was hungry for something she couldn\u2019t name or explain but was certain he could give her. But\u2014<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">It would break him. It would break them both. She didn\u2019t <i>want<\/i> to know that, but she knew it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><i>And then,<\/i> she admitted to herself and had to swallow back a laugh, <i>Kyra would cut his dick off and make him eat it.<\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">Maybe, she supposed as she rewound the <i>tagelmust<\/i> around her head, she could return to Tangiers Prime when she was legally an adult. Maybe then, if Ewan hadn\u2019t already married and settled down, there would be a space for these feelings\u2026<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cSo,\u201d he asked behind her, the cheerful tone in his voice sounding just a little bit forced, \u201cdo you feel up to making the trek back home?\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">Jack shouldered her pack and nodded, slipping back into her teenage boy persona. Hopefully that\u2019d help defuse the moment further. \u201cLet\u2019s do it,\u201d she said in her boy voice, an octave below normal.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">The rented grotto was part of a garden complex that could be hired for lunches and dinners, for parties and gatherings. Although the lunch hours had already passed, many of the parties were only just breaking up. Well-dressed diners and revelers were departing, most giving Jack and Ewan askance looks as they emerged from <i>their<\/i> grotto and locked its gate behind them. They <i>did<\/i> rather look like a pair of disheveled ruffians, Jack thought. She was glad Ewan had already cleaned up her nosebleed.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><i>I know what they all think <b>he\u2019s<\/b> been doing\u2026 with a <b>boy,<\/b><\/i> she thought, hiding the snicker that bubbled up. Even a few hours ago, she could have shared the joke with him. Not now.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">While he stayed close to her as they walked, and she could feel him watching her the whole time for signs that she was unwell, he didn\u2019t touch her. The gulf suddenly between them felt miles wide. But any time she glanced his way, she saw only concern. Periodically, he tried to use the special comm to make a call, but it never seemed to go through, even after she pulled it all the way back into U1 for him.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">Along the route back up into the Rif, Jack heard snatches of conversation and rumor about some kind of new security incident at the spaceport. Nobody was sure, exactly, what had happened out there, but the place was in full lockdown and the local comms system was overloaded. She was suddenly glad that the garden Cedric had chosen was so far away from the perimeters that had gone up around the spaceport\u2026 and might soon go up around the hospital. It was even outside of the checkpoints she and Kyra had encountered the last time they\u2019d traveled downtown, partway up into the heights.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">And Ewan had had to haul her unconscious ass that whole distance, she realized. Almost fifteen kilometers and up several hills\u2026<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cI\u2019m really hoping that carrying my dead weight all that way didn\u2019t throw out your back or anything,\u201d she told him.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cIt was torture,\u201d he said with an almost-easy smile. \u201cYou weigh <i>nearly<\/i> as much as my boot camp combat load.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cThis is what you guys get for feeding me,\u201d she teased back, feeling more relaxed\u2014more like things were normal\u2014with each passing minute.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cYou <i>do<\/i> eat enormous quantities. Not <i>quite<\/i> your weight in crickets, though\u2026 I could swear I thought it was going to rain soon,\u201d Ewan said as they crested a switchback and looked down over the city and sea below them. To the west, the sky was mostly clear, the sun dropping closer to the horizon. Her eyes were handling the increased light level better, she realized.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cNot in <i>this<\/i> universe,\u201d Jack reminded him. No one was around to hear.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cAh. Yes. Of course.\u201d Ewan\u2019s smile became rueful. \u201cIs it raining over there yet?\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">Jack shifted her vision to look into the darkening world of Elsewhere. \u201cLooks like it\u2019s gonna storm pretty hard there soon. Good thing we didn\u2019t wait around on that side.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful place,\u201d Ewan remarked. \u201cSo untouched by humans until now. And yet habitable\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cPretty weird, huh?\u201d Jack agreed as she followed his train of thought. \u201cNo terraforming required.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cI suppose every planet has a universe where that\u2019s true,\u201d he mused, gazing out over the more familiar landscape of U1\u2019s New Marrakesh.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cYeah. Back when I was first learning about this stuff, I asked my teacher why we\u2019d gone into space at all if we could\u2019ve just moved to other Earths that hadn\u2019t been polluted to death. He didn\u2019t know why.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cBecause colonization is about control,\u201d Ewan said after a pensive moment. \u201cThe concessions and payments that had to be made, by so many societies, to gain access to ships to leave Earth\u2026 the treaties they had to sign, the rights they had to sell away\u2026 would have been unnecessary if all one had needed to do, to reach a new world, was take a beautiful girl\u2019s hand\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">He stopped himself then, turning his head away, but not before she saw the sudden, stricken look that passed over his face.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">Jack made herself look away, too. The instant of vulnerability she\u2019d seen in his eyes was unnerving, almost negating the thrill of hearing him call her <i>beautiful<\/i>. \u201cOh look,\u201d she said after an awkward minute, pointing at the hospital. Its base practically sparkled with flashing blue lights. \u201cI think someone discovered our handiwork.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cI think you\u2019re right.\u201d Ewan grinned, his expression relaxing again. \u201cFortunately, Usadden had this evening-day off and instructed the noon shift to complete an inventory of the <i>Matador<\/i> bodies an hour before we were set to arrive. In preparation for turning them over to the Quintessa Corporation tomorrow, of course. So they were fully accounted for long after he left the morgue at the end of the morning-day. And <i>he<\/i> has an iron-clad alibi for this afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cWhere\u2019s he been while we\u2019ve been doing crime?\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cAttending a conference hosted by the President of the City Council,\u201d Ewan told her, the sparkle back in his eyes. \u201cDiscussing, of all things, how to improve the quarantine protocols for incoming Star Jumpers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cThat,\u201d Jack laughed, \u201c<i>is<\/i> a damned good alibi.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">The silence between them as they hiked the rest of the way still wasn\u2019t entirely comfortable, but it was slowly getting there. They were still two blocks away from home, and phantom thunder had begun to growl overhead in Elsewhere, when Cedric, Safiyya, Takama, and Izil hurried out to meet them.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cWhere have you two been?\u201d Takama demanded. \u201cDihya\u2019s been upset for hours, saying Tislilel was hurt!\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\"><i>Fuck,<\/i> Jack thought, guilt knotting her stomach. <i>Of course she knew\u2026<\/i> She hoped the <i>Apeiros<\/i> hadn\u2019t begun badgering her sister again.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cRight after she started,\u201d Cedric added, \u201cwe got word that the spaceport was under lockdown. What did you two do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">Jack could feel even more guilt rising within her, and the sudden fear that they might never trust one of her plans, or her, again.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cTislilel realized that it wouldn\u2019t matter what else we took away from the Quintessa Corporation if they still had the <i>Scarlet Matador,<\/i>\u201d Ewan told them. \u201cBut pulling that into Elsewhere turned out to be more difficult than she expected. Some part of it\u2014you called it an \u2018apeirochoron,\u2019 is that right?\u2014resisted. Pulling it through knocked her out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">But she hadn\u2019t pulled it through, she thought. It had already been <i>in<\/i> Elsewhere. She\u2019d had to force it <i>out<\/i> of U1\u2014<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cAnd you <i>allowed<\/i> this?\u201d Safiyya\u2019s face, in that moment, looked almost exactly like her mother\u2019s when she\u2019d been up to no good with her cousins.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cHe was yelling at me to stop,\u201d Jack volunteered, some of Audrey\u2019s I\u2019m-so-sorry-please-forgive-me seeping into her voice. \u201cI\u2026 didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cI want her to have a proper CT scan,\u201d Ewan added. \u201cWe can use the bruise she already has on her forehead as the excuse.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cI will arrange it,\u201d Takama said, sighing. \u201cRight now, we had better let Dihya have a look at her so <i>she<\/i> can calm down and get back to resting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cDid you try to call us at all?\u201d Izil asked. \u201cThe comms have been spotty since the lockdown was announced. We tried a few times, but got no answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cIt took almost three hours to get from the spaceport to the garden,\u201d Ewan sighed. \u201cBut yes, I did try. Several times. No connection.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cWhy did it take so long?\u201d Safiyya asked, frowning again at her son.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cHe had to carry me the whole way,\u201d Jack told them. \u201cI was out cold.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">Big mistake. Takama and Safiyya began fussing over her, their arms around her as they shepherded her toward the house. Ewan had fallen back and was talking softly to Cedric and Izil, too softly for Jack to hear what they were saying.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cIt\u2019s done, though,\u201d she told both women, struggling to find a way to get back to a sense of achievement. \u201cEverything that had a connection to Elsewhere in the hospital and the spaceport is all the way in Elsewhere now. You should\u2019a heard the envoy <i>scream<\/i> when the ship disappeared\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cI am glad you succeeded,\u201d Takama said, her voice still a little stern. \u201cNow, though, you are on bed rest until I take you for the scan, and after that until the physician says otherwise. Understood? You may be very good at \u2018heists,\u2019 but there will be no more for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">Kyra and Sebby were both agitated when Jack entered the bedroom.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">\u201cOh thank <i>fuck<\/i>,\u201d Kyra muttered, sagging against her pillows. She looked exhausted, sending another pang of intense guilt through Jack. Sebby, meanwhile, practically launched himself across the room and wouldn\u2019t stop touching Jack\u2019s face with his antennae.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">Later, while Jack and Kyra rested, Ewan appeared with Tafrara by his side to change Kyra\u2019s bandages and IV bags. He seemed more himself, bantering with both of them in an easy way, telling Kyra that, next morning-day, she would be allowed to get up and begin walking. They had brought a very late lunch with them, which Jack dug into ravenously, and he\u2019d even teased her about how moving starships must be hungry work.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">Those words echoed through her, trying to connect to\u2026 something\u2026 but failing.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">It was only much later that Jack realized that, for the remainder of her stay on Tangiers Prime, Ewan made it a point to never be alone with her again.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent:1em;margin-bottom: 0\">Except once.<\/p>\n<p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Title: The Changeling Game (Formerly Identity Theft) Author: Ardath Rekha Chapter: 38\/? Fandom: TCOR AU Rating: M Warnings: Adult themes, controversial subject matter, harsh language Category: Gen ","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"bgseo_title":"\u201cThe Changeling Game\u201d 38: \u201cThe Bell That Must Not Ring\u201d","bgseo_description":"Actions have consequences. The consequences of Jack\u2019s actions are bigger and more profound than she knows how to deal with.","bgseo_robots_index":"index","bgseo_robots_follow":"follow","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fan-fiction","category-the-changeling-game"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/wips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/wips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/wips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/wips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/wips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=466"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/wips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1186,"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/wips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466\/revisions\/1186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/wips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/wips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/wips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}