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Sins of a Future World: Chapter 8
After the council had adjourned, Ryn and Jace returned to Ryn's quarters. Ryn's two guards came with them but stayed by the elevator. It had taken some convincing, but with the help of Ryn and eventually Kel-Amath and the Light Mother, Jace had managed to persuade the council to agree to his plan.
Jace sat down on the sofa and urged Ryn to come sit next to him. Ryn looked hesitantly up at his guardians but then joined Jace on the couch. Neither one spoke for a while. It was the first time they had seen each other with any amount of privacy since that night. Eventually Ryn looked up at him.
"Jace I... I am so sorry. I know how much it must have hurt."
Jace frowned. "Forget about that. What about you? Are you alright? And what happened to our connection? I can't feel you anymore. At all."
With a sniff Ryn nodded. "I just... Thought I had more time. I am blocking the connection. It is still there but just too weak for you to recognize it consciously. If it were open and I were to have another... episode..." Ryn shook his head, ready to cry. "You likely wouldn't survive. And if you did your mind would be irreparably damaged."
"More time? You mean you knew this was going to happen?" Jace asked.
"It was very likely." Ryn admitted. "My power as an Archon makes me uniquely susceptible to this malady. Though most of us do not fall victim to it until at least our late teens."
"Alright..." Jace did not like where this was going. "So it happened a little early for you. But there's treatments and stuff right? Things that will help you?"
Sadly Ryn shook his head. "There is nothing. No treatment. No cure. No escape. It is the fate of my people."
Jace's heart was breaking inside him, but he forced himself to hold a straight face. Not trusting his voice he swallowed the heavy lump in his throat and took a moment before saying anything. "Alright... so... how long?"
Ryn shrugged. "Days. Weeks at best. The fits will continue and will increase in frequency and intensity until I..." His voice caught as he sniffled. "Until my mind is destroyed."
Feeling tears pooling in the corners of his eyes, Jace pulled Ryn close to him and held him tightly. He had never felt so helpless in his life. He had an urgent need to comfort, to console, to make it better somehow, and yet he could do nothing.
Eventually Ryn spoke again. "Now that we are aware that it has started, my guardians will contain the fits so that they do not affect the anima or anyone nearby. Since we are connected you are still at some risk but it should be very minor compared to what you experienced the first time."
"I don't care about that." Jace mumbled, still holding Ryn close. "I don't want to lose you."
Ryn was not crying. He was just sniffling once in a while as he cuddled against Jace. Jace figured he must have done his share of crying in the previous days.
Jace suddenly pulled back as something occurred to him. "What about the thing you found on Glenar? You told me about it, that first day."
"It is just a piece of a larger puzzle." Ryn shook his head. "It is a part of a formula that we believe was designed by our predecessors to help our minds bear the weight of the Light's gifts. But it is all but useless without the entirety of the formula."
Feeling the tiniest spark of hope lighting up inside him, Jace pressed. "What about Varros? Are there ancient temples or something that might have other parts?"
Ryn sighed and looked up at him with his slightly dim but still beautiful blue eyes. "Jace... Please..."
"No!" Jace stood up suddenly. "If there's even a chance of finding what you need on the planet then we need to get down there."
"Jace, it's not as simple as that." Ryn said imploringly. "Even if we could get down to the planet surface without being shot down, the temples were sealed by powerful psionics. They take a great deal of energy to open."
"Can you do it?" Jace asked pointedly.
With a sigh, Ryn met Jace's eyes. "Maybe. But it is a very slim chance, and I am needed here."
"You need to survive." Jace stated. "You can stow away with me when I return to the Lograin. Once the plan is in motion, all we can do is wait anyway. We have to try!"
Ryn looked back at his two guardians. "There won't be enough room to sneak three of us aboard. If I were to have a fit while we were down there, you would be exposed. It could kill you."
Kneeling down in front of Ryn, Jace put his hand on the side of Ryn's face. "I don't care. We're going to get through this. No matter what."
Finally Ryn smiled softly. "I love you." He whispered, not loud enough for the guardians to hear.
Leaning in Jace gave him a discreet peck on the cheek. "I love you too." Even though the secret was out, it did not seem right to be completely out in the open about it. "Is there more than one temple on Varros?"
"There were two." Ryn said. "But one of them is deep underwater now. The other is buried beneath the capital. If we can find the entrance, it should be well preserved."
"How will we find it?"
"Leave that to me, Ambassador." Calae interjected. "If it remains undisturbed then my sensors should be able to locate it without a problem."
"Perfect." Jace grinned. "When will the shuttle be ready?"
Ryn stood up, looking almost hopeful for the first time since that night. "It will be ready within the hour. Calae, inform the council members that I will be accompanying Jace to the Lograin and then to the planet surface. Leave out the bit about unsealing the temple."
"As you wish Archon."
The shuttle to the Lograin was smaller than the one Jace had ridden in when he had left that first time. It felt quite cramped, even though there was more than enough room for him and Ryn. It took them several hours to come within range of the Lograin, and they did not speak much during the trip. Jace was nervous and could tell that Ryn was too. He reached over and squeezed Ryn's small hand comfortingly.
"Approaching shuttle. State your destination and intent immediately." The communication console suddenly buzzed, causing Ryn to jump a bit.
Jace pressed a button and spoke into his headset. "This is Jace Marron, ambassador of Varros, requesting permission to dock aboard the VCS Lograin in preparation to return to the planet."
There was silence for a moment. "Hold, Ambassador."
Ryn looked at Jace with concern.
"Don't worry." Jace assured him. "It's all standard."
Ryn did not seem convinced, but after almost five minute of silence, the voice returned. "Any other passengers aboard?"
"No." Jace lied calmly.
"Hold course and proceed to docking bay F."
"Thank you." He turned back to Ryn. "See. All good."
Ryn smiled softly but then grimaced and put a hand to his temple.
"You alright?" Jace asked, concerned.
Eventually, Ryn nodded. "Headaches will be quite common from now on. It is nothing I am not prepared for."
Jace put a hand on Ryn's shoulder and squeezed affectionately.
Returning to the Lograin was strange for Jace. It had never felt like the most friendly place, but even after such a short time aboard the Luminous Hand, the hard industrial appearance of the Coalition ship seemed clunky and foreign.
They were able to dock without incident, but as Jace emerged from the ship, armed troops surrounded him.
"What's going on?" Jace asked, trying to remain casual.
"Come with us, sir." One of the Marines ordered calmly. "The admiral wants to speak with you."
Jace winced. Hicken again. He had a sinking suspicion that the man was the type to hold a grudge. With a sigh and a shrug, he allowed himself to be led toward the bridge where it all had begun.
Hicken looked as unpleasant as ever, Jace noticed as he entered the bridge. His sour face grew even darker when he saw Jace.
"Have a seat." He commanded roughly.
Jace did as he was asked. It was, he supposed, a marked improvement from their last encounter. And it put him very close to where he needed to be.
"I don't like you." Hicken said bluntly; taking the seat opposite Jace. "No point in pretending. If I had my way we'd fire you out of the airlock for the kind of stunts you've pulled."
The only thing about the interaction so far that surprised Jace was that Hicken managed to say all of this without shouting.
"But you're considered an "ambassador" now. For some reason those freaks took a liking to you, and all the politicians tell me I can't just shoot you. To me, you're nothing but a traitor. So why would you come back?"
Jace gave the admiral a second to be sure he was done then cleared his throat. "I have an important message for the Varros Senate that I've been asked to deliver personally. I came to the Lograin to get permission to go down to the planet."
"What message?" Hicken demanded. "Your new friends spend all their time talking and passing notes?"
"It has to do with our approaching reinforcements." Jace said calmly.
Hicken immediately turned red and his eyes narrowed. He planted his palms on the table aggressively. "What did you tell them?" He demanded. "You damned traitor! I'll kill you myself if you don't give up your informant!"
Jace could almost have laughed at the absurdity of it all if his life were not in very real danger. "They told me." He replied, trying to remain calm. "They have sensor arrays far more advanced than anything we have access to. They saw us coming and are preparing to deal with it. The Senate has to know immediately."
Hicken scowled at him but said nothing.
"I could contact Senator Targan directly." Jace pressed his advantage. "But I came to you first out of respect for the chain of command."
The admiral grumbled but his scowled softened slightly. After a moment he replied, "We will allow you to return to the planet surface." He paused, then added, "If you've gone traitor, then there's nowhere you can hide that I won't find you. Not on Varros. Not anywhere."
"Understood." He appealed to the admiral's ego. "I know I'm not the ambassador anyone expected or wanted. Almost anyone would have been a better choice. But believe me, I'm doing my best to keep everyone safe."
"Your "best" had better be good enough."
"I'll need to relay a message to Varros and the Luminous Hand." Jace told him, slowly moving to stand.
Admiral Hicken waved over two of the guards. "Keep an eye on him while he sends this message. Anything suspicious, shoot him."
Jace shared a look with one of the guards that immediately told Jace that neither one of them was particularly fond of the admiral either. They accompanied him to the terminal where Jace quickly recorded the innocuous message he had drafted earlier. He was easily able to accomplish his ulterior motive without being noticed, and with that the first part of the plan was set into motion.
He was escorted back to the ship and was given clearance to launch without further incident. Even though he had only been gone a little over an hour he found that Ryn was asleep when he returned. He looked so serene and perfect that Jace did not wake him.
"Ambassador Marron, we will need to locate the temple quickly." Calae told him as they launched out into space. "Once the battle begins, my faculties will be unavailable to you."
"Hopefully there won't be a battle." Jace mumbled. "But we'll find it. We have to." He looked back at Ryn, resting peacefully in the cabin. "I won't have it any other way."