Loss of Hope

[Ethan Hawke 0]

Hope… What a rare commodity. How precious. How fleeting. And once lost, how devastating. Ethan had clung to that spark of hope for the last three weeks. But that spark had been crushed under the agony of defeat. They would not succeed this time. She could see it in T’Loren’s eyes… All their attempts, all the effort, all the pain… wasted, worthless. They had and would fail… not from lack of optimism or effort, but because it was an impossible task. With two memories now affected, so separated in place and time, the cancer that was embedded in them was able to spread. The ‘katra’, for lack of a better term, left in her mind by her dying enemy was too strong, it’s grip too firm.

 

 

 

It was night now… It seemed fitting for what Ethan knew she had to do. She had no choice. The alternative was a living nightmare from which there could be no escape. The alternative meant the destruction of two lives. No, this was the only way out. Ethan remembered Nick once saying that if his choice was lose his empathic abilities or death, he would choose death.

 

 

 

At the thought of him, a tear overflowed and slipped silently down her cheek. She hadn’t really told him how much she cared about him… loved him. She hadn’t let herself get closer… Inside, the voice in her mind laughed; ecstatic that she was miserable. It was that laughter that steeled Ethan’s resolve. She knew she had to work quickly, before the sentry made his next patrol. T’Loren should be asleep… Ethan hoped the adjustment wouldn’t be too difficult for her bond-sister.

 

 

 

Ethan moved to the panel, digging her fingers in, and prying it off. It wasn’t designed to be removed, but Ethan was determined. Behind it were the power conduits for the base. Ethan was no engineer, nor doctor, but she knew enough to know that a few seconds exposure to the current coursing through those lines would be enough to stop her heart. A few more seconds and her brain’s electrical pathways would be hopelessly scrambled. Death would follow before T’Loren could reach her.

 

 

 

It was the only way out… She couldn’t live like this. Taking one last deep breath, she whispered, “I’m sorry, Nick. I do love you.” Then, she reached in, and yanked the conduit open, feeling the current start to surge through her. “I’m sorry…” was her last thought.