Captain Bayne (The Deep Black Book 2) by James David Victor

Author:James David Victor [Victor, James David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fairfield Publishing
Published: 2018-11-24T22:00:00+00:00

9

Even the medbay. Especially the medbay. It was the singular aspect of the Esper that outshone the Royal Blue in every way.

The ringing in Bayne’s ears had died down only slightly, but enough that he could hear the doctor ask if there was any pain in his back. There wasn’t, just the pain in his head.

He asked about Hep. The boy hadn’t regained consciousness by the time Hix’s people brought them back on board. They had to pry Bayne’s hands off him in order to get Hep to medbay. Bayne hadn’t realized how tight he was squeezing. He relented, releasing Hep and whatever else he was holding on to.

The Esper was underway immediately, before Bayne made it to medbay. Once he arrived, the doctor examined him.

“Some bruising,” the doctor said, looking at Bayne’s back. “But nothing that won’t heal given time.” Then he licked his lips—which Bayne found to be an unsettling tic for a doctor—and left without a word about Hepzah.

Once the nurses had finished poking at him and let him be, Bayne left his room in the med wing in search of Hep. He was dizzy, his equilibrium rattled. Moving about the wing took longer than he liked, and the frustration bubbling in him only made his movements clumsier. There were no other patients aside from a few nursing a stomach virus. The Esper had yet to see real combat, so its medbay floors were blood-free.

After opening what seemed like the hundredth crisp, clean curtain, Bayne heard the muted sound of voices. They were mumbles and garbled syllables, but the tones came through clear. Tense and full of worry. Verging on combative.

Bayne could see only one set of feet under the bottom edge of the curtain though he could make out two distinct voices. Shiny black boots. Not a scuff. A unique design, not standard issue. If he got any closer, Bayne was sure he could see his reflection in them. He inched closer, moving slowly as a means of approaching silently and not falling over when hit with a sudden wave of concussion-induced vertigo.

The voices grew louder, more volatile. He felt like he was wandering through a minefield again. The curtain hiding the angry voices ruffled, moved by the force of their frustration. The shiny-shoed feet turned on their heels. Bayne rushed to the side, behind another curtain, and climbed into an empty patient’s bed. The click-clack of hard soles on tile faded into the distance. He peeked out from behind his curtain in time to catch barely a glimpse of someone’s back. Blue uniform. That was all he saw. Not even enough of a form to tell if it belonged to a man or woman.

Bayne slid off the bed, the floor cold beneath his feet. The quiet was more unsettling than the hushed rage. He had only caught a glimpse of the other voice’s back, but he was sure who the second one belonged to. He brushed the curtain aside to see Hepzah lying on his bed.

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