Without a Front by Fletcher DeLancey

Author:Fletcher DeLancey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ylva Publishing
Published: 2015-11-20T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 37:

Counting heartbeats

Vellmar had seen and done a great deal in her career, including taking part in the heaviest fighting of the Battle of Alsea. She prided herself on being cool in any situation. But her jaw nearly came unhinged when Lancer Tal dropped to her knees and lined up the energy points on Colonel Micah.

The colonel was dying. Vellmar knew it, and Lancer Tal definitely knew it. She couldn’t possibly be considering—

Oh, shekking Mother, she was. Vellmar felt a chill as Lancer Tal lowered her head to complete the Sharing.

Her oath holder was insane.

She bent down to Dewar and whispered, “Is that safe?”

Dewar was already pulling a second medical scanner from her pack. “Was anything about this mission safe?” She held the scanner to the Lancer’s exposed wrist and swiveled her head back and forth, checking first one patient and then the other.

Vellmar was about to request a more specific answer when Raiz Opah joined them.

“Dear Goddess, I didn’t know it was this bad. I was hoping she was reacting that way because it was Colonel Micah.”

“It’s not good.” Dewar didn’t take her eyes off the scanners. “I don’t know if she can hold him. She may not have enough time.”

“I didn’t even know this was possible. How can she Share if he’s not conscious?”

Something had caught Dewar’s attention on Micah’s scanner. Frowning at it, she said, “Until the Return, everyone has some part of consciousness, even if we can’t see it on this side. She’s looking for it now.”

“When will we know she’s found it?” Vellmar asked.

“When her heart rate and blood pressure start dropping.”

A dead silence fell over everyone within hearing range.

“Guard Dewar,” said Opah in a clear and too-precise voice, “Exactly what did you mean when you said she might not have enough time?”

Dewar had a flawless front, but when she looked up, the nervousness showed on her face. “No one knows precisely how this procedure works. Somehow, the connection of the minds translates to a connection of the bodies. Lancer Tal is using her own strength and health to bolster Colonel Micah’s. Theoretically, if she stays too long, she could drain herself past the point of recovery. But I’ve never heard of that happening. And the Lancer knows her limits.”

“Do you mean she’s done this before?” Lancer Tal’s caste record, or at least the parts of it that Vellmar was allowed to access, hadn’t been nearly detailed enough for this.

Dewar checked the readouts again. “Yes. Once that I’ve personally witnessed, and—”

A gasp from the Lancer startled all of them, and her body stiffened before slumping.

“She found him,” Dewar said. “His pulse is steady again.” She waited, watching his numbers. “And it’s slowly climbing.” She turned to the Lancer’s scanner.

“Well?” Opah’s voice was unnaturally calm. “Is she sliding?”

Dewar nodded.

“Can you extrapolate the rate and predict whether she has enough time?”

“I think so. But I’ll need to watch the rate for another two ticks.”

Opah settled onto the floor just behind the Lancer, closed her eyes, and visibly relaxed.

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