This is the fourth and final story in the "New World" series of vignettes. Needless to say, it won't make sense unless you're a fan of both E:FC and TP, and have read the previous three. It does take place post-Joining, and is an alternate-universe view.
Boone leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head. Belman had cleared him for light duty, so he was catching up on some paperwork that had accumulated while he had been in the tank.
That had been a strange experience. It had seemed like he had been there forever, or only for a moment. He could recall the woman he'd talked to, Jade, although he wondered if she really existed. It wasn't impossible that he had taken what he knew about psychic abilities and imagined her voice. He hoped not.
Someone had been taking care of his house. It could be her. Nobody had said anything about who had been doing it. If she had been there, she had left no clue.
Two people came into the office. "Can I help you?" he asked. His CVI identified the man as being one he regularly saw when he went to the Liberation headquarters, but had never met. He didn't know the woman at all. The two stood awkwardly, glancing at each other. Finally, the woman spoke. "I wanted to meet you. In person, I mean. I'm Jade."
Same accent. Same personality. Same wary stance. She had to be the woman he'd heard in the tank. He got up. "Jade. It's nice to finally meet you."
"How are your orchids? And did you find the teas I brought?" Jade asked rapidly. Boone looked her up and down. She was a decade younger than him, blonde, nondescript. Not somebody that you'd notice on the street.
He was lucky to have met her. She'd been his only glimmer of reality in the tank. And to think, that he had almost written her off as a figment of his imagination. "They're fine. You did a good job with them. Thank you. I didn't notice the teas, but I don't drink tea anyway."
The woman nodded. "I saw some, so I thought I might as well bring some extra."
"Thank you, Jade," Boone said. "You helped more than you know."
"I had to," she replied, shrugging. "I'm glad that I could. And I'm glad that you're okay. Now I can stop worrying about you."
The man with her grinned, and she glared at him. "Anyway, I couldn't hear you anymore, so I came to make sure you were okay. Before I went home."
"I think I will be," Boone said, smiling reassuringly at her.
"Good," she said. "Goodbye, Will."
With that, she hauled her friend out the door, and then they were gone.
-End