Chapter 4.8 : The Doctor’s Visit

Scene Three — Eyes Above

The doorway into the Hídaska compound does not open immediately.

Virel remains seated while the quiet discussion continues outside. He studies the entrance, the cords displayed around it, and the manner in which the two Hídaska receive Tavek and Ziyótl. Nothing in his expression suggests more than ordinary curiosity. When Dr. Shone prepares to disembark, Virel gives him a slight nod, offering reassurance without intruding upon the physician’s judgment.

During the journey, Virel had noticed that each escort change occurred at a recognizable division within the city. Ziyótl’s explanation about roads, doors, and water belonging to different peoples now gives those exchanges a clearer meaning.

Each change represents a transfer of responsibility, not merely a replacement of guards. Every group accepts temporary accountability for the visitors while they cross its jurisdiction. The procession has not simply been escorted through Balac Pontli. It has been passed through a succession of recognized keepings.

Dr. Shone steps down with his medical equipment and joins the others before the entrance. He waits without complaint, casually observing the walls, the recessed doorway, and the Hídaska positioned outside. The guards do not challenge his attention, but neither do they relax while the visitors remain in the street.

Far above Balac Pontli, the same journey is being reconstructed from several different angles.

At least one of the Harrier satellites maintains coverage over the city at all times. As one satellite moves toward the limits of its useful observation angle, another assumes the stronger position. The Azure Voyager supplements that coverage and maintains the laser communications data link connecting the orbital network with the team at the starport.

Bohdie assigns persistent track files to the medical party, their vehicle, the successive Alejia escorts, and the runner who separated from them at the water crossing. The software does not place a physical device upon any of them. Each "bug" is a continuously updated identity model assembled from height, gait, clothing, temperature, pace, movement habits, and every other distinction the sensors can resolve.

When an individual disappears beneath an awning, bridge, or connected building, the track file becomes predictive. The system evaluates possible routes and compares them against every Alejia emerging from the obscured area. Continuous satellite coverage allows Bohdie’s systems to reacquire the procession repeatedly without losing the larger pattern.

At the cutter, Chaala rewinds the record of each escort transition. She watches the movement before the vehicle arrives, the exchange itself, and the dispersal afterward. At her direction, Bohdie isolates every window, rooftop, balcony, and covered walkway with a view of the handoff points.

JEEM coordinates the search with the Azure Voyager. The ship’s small orbital crew cannot devote every system to Balac Pontli. Someone must still maintain the ship, monitor the planetary approaches, and watch the other merchant vessels. Instead, JEEM divides the collection work among the available platforms. The Azure Voyager maintains the broad picture and processes the combined data, while the Harrier satellites provide continuous coverage and additional observation angles.

"Keep the primary track passive," JEEM advises. "If we illuminate a specific building or follow one individual with an obvious active sensor, we may tell someone exactly what interests us."

The first transition is replayed again.

No radio transmission immediately precedes the escort change. No recognizable burst follows it. The local spectrum is crowded, but the traffic associated with the surrounding buildings continues in its ordinary patterns.

Chaala does find movement above the intersection.

Shortly before the replacement escort steps from the arcade, an Alejia appears behind a screened opening on the third level of an overlooking building. The figure exposes a narrow object to the street, changes its angle twice, and withdraws it. The motion is too deliberate to dismiss as chance. It may be a reflective signal, a displayed marker, or confirmation that the expected vehicle has arrived.

The second boundary produces the same absence of radio traffic. Again, no conventional transmission corresponds to the handoff. This time the observers are easier to identify. One Alejia watches from a roof garden overlooking the bridges. Another stands beneath a shaded upper balcony on the far side of the water. Neither follows the procession after it crosses.

Chaala orders the computer to plot every transition, observer, escort, and jurisdictional boundary along the route. The resulting pattern confirms what Virel has begun to understand from the ground.

The journey itself is creating a witnessed chain of custody. If anything happens to Dr. Shone or Virel, responsibility can be traced to the group holding that portion of the route. This protects the visitors, but it also records their compliance with Alejia procedure. No later participant can easily claim that the offworlders entered a district improperly or passed outside the agreed terms.

The exchanges are not being coordinated by radio as they occur. The route and handoffs were most likely arranged in advance, while observers positioned along the way confirm that the permitted procession passes each point as expected.

Bohdie’s marked runner presents a more demanding target.

The Alejia remains beneath connected buildings long enough for the initial track to divide into several possible routes. Bohdie assigns additional computing power to the problem. JEEM feeds revised orbital geometry into the model while the Harrier satellites maintain uninterrupted coverage of the surrounding district.

The system compares projected pace, body proportions, gait, route choices, thermal traces, and the timing of every figure emerging from the adjoining passages. False candidates are eliminated one by one.

The original runner is reacquired with high confidence.

He does not move directly toward an obvious destination. He pauses at a public water point, enters a covered market, changes streets beneath an overhead structure, and briefly joins a larger group moving toward the central districts. These actions would make him difficult to follow from ground level.

They do not defeat the orbital sensor network.

The runner eventually enters a narrow courtyard shared by several adjoining buildings. Another Alejia departs through the opposite side less than a minute later. Nothing visible changes hands, but the timing, route, and behavior confirm a deliberate relay.

Bohdie immediately establishes a new track file.

The second Alejia passes the message to another contact, who proceeds into the older central quarter. The network does not lead toward the Wiyá’hka districts. It leads into a cluster of older buildings used by attendants, messengers, and other Alejia whose precise affiliations remain unknown.

The surveillance does not show who ultimately receives the report or who ordered it sent. It does, however, demonstrate that information about the doctor’s visit is moving through an organized relay network toward the older central quarter.

Bohdie’s systems preserve the identifying patterns of the couriers, their routes, and the exchange locations. If parts of this network operate again in the same manner, the orbital systems will have a much better chance of recognizing them.

The discovery leads Bohdie into a wider comparison.

He and JEEM search the accumulated electronic-surveillance data for signs of NMTC observation. They examine transmissions around the starport, the procession route, the Hídaska district, known commercial facilities, and the older political quarter.

The absence becomes noticeable precisely because the search is so thorough.

No active NMTC surveillance system reacts to the procession. There is no shift in identifiable corporate transmissions, no sensor illumination, no change in routine communications, and no detectable effort to follow the Hídaska relay.

For a large offworld corporation operating inside a politically unstable megacity, that silence is out of place.

Bohdie broadens the analysis rather than accepting the absence at face value. The resulting model reveals boundaries within the city’s electronic environment. Around several areas associated with offworld commerce and NMTC activity, local communications are unusually orderly. Some transmissions stop at consistent physical limits. Others take indirect routes around particular buildings. Small portions of the spectrum are not empty, but cleaner and more regular than the surrounding city should naturally produce.

The evidence does not reveal a specific device or listening post. It supports a more cautious conclusion.

The NMTC is not electronically absent. It is electronically quiet.

Its surveillance may depend upon passive receivers, wired connections, optical links, brief transmissions hidden within ordinary traffic, human informants, or equipment disguised as local infrastructure. Whatever method it uses, the corporation appears to have deliberately limited the active electronic footprint by which its intelligence network could be discovered.

The analysis identifies several candidate areas for later investigation, but none provides proof of a particular hidden sensor or informant.

Bohdie’s consolidated display presents the findings:
At the Hídaska compound, the cord across the doorway is finally lowered.

One guard steps aside. The other indicates that Dr. Shone, Virel, Ziyótl, and Tavek may enter. Sera is directed toward a shaded waiting place across the courtyard, close enough to remain beneath Hídaska protection but separated from the formal visit.

Dr. Shone is permitted to carry his medical cases inside.

Behind them, the patterned cord is raised across the entrance once more.

The team at the starport now knows that the visitors are protected by a documented Alejia chain of responsibility. They also know that word of their arrival has passed through an organized relay into the older central quarter, although the final recipient remains unknown.

Above it all lies a third discovery. The NMTC appears to be doing nothing. The precision of that silence suggests otherwise.

"I'd say that NMTC has moved up the suspect list on the 'how did we get in this mess' category. Let's allocate a little more resources to monitoring them for the return trip. If we can crack any of their comms, we might be able to establish that some of this obligation really belongs to them. The goal isn't to make them lose, but if we can take some burden off our people it would be good. Once we untangle this mess, we'll be out of their hair and I doubt the Scouts will be eager to send anyone new for a while." Chaala observes, "Everyone else is being very aboveboard, though the lack of signals compared to the last trip may be saying something, too."

Virel motioned for Dr. Shone to lead the way and followed as his witness. His movements were open and unhurried, giving no indication that he was there for anything beyond observing.

"Agreed. I’d also like to ask JEEM to start pulling together all the low-angle observations. I suspect that there is another aspect to communication between the Alejia that we are not factoring in.". Bohdie signs the rest of his thought in Scouting Service Standard Non-Verbal. ’We know this method and have already likely used it too much. I suspect they use visual, and perhaps scent-coded communication to enhance their communication.’

Bohdie breathes deep. It was a longer string of signals he’d just past. Switching back to voice, "We need to be more observant. The low-angle video might help us establish at least some understanding beyond what we have already observed. Additionally, I think we need to be a bit more careful about our uplink. It’s your call, but we might should set up an EMCONN protocol."

He makes several taps and moves virtual sliders thoughtfully on his surveillance screens before adding, "I am already setting up a database for each Alejia we’ve either met…" he points to an image from this evolution’s surveillance, indicating the ‘messenger/runner’, "… or have had under observation. I suggest JEEM do the same up there. And then we can set the two databases to reconcile 2-3 times a day. I suggest each update should either add or subtract 42 minutes from the schedule of the system’s next reconciliation."

Bohdie looks up, "Thats all I have for now."

"It's not a bad idea. Low angle is going to be limited in a town of ten story buildings pressed close together, but any angles we can get of visual signalling is important. I don't want to risk drones, yet, but I'd consider the option if you can put together a plan. As long as things continue moving forward, we continue with the plan of keeping the boat steady, but someone caused the ambush that put us in the situation and whoever that is, NMTC or local factions, won't want us unravelling it all."

Scene Four — Kade’s Place of Keeping

The entrance opens into a long interior hallway rather than a courtyard. The exterior door closes behind Dr. Shone, Virel, Ziyótl, and Tavek, muffling the noise of the street. Sera has been directed to a recessed waiting area near the entrance, where several Alejia sit beneath the observation of one of the Hídaska guards.

The hallway is broad enough for two handcarts to pass. Its walls are finished in pale plaster, repaired in several places but kept clean. Doors open from either side, each marked with cords, painted symbols, or small carved plaques. The air carries the mixed smells of cooking, worked cloth, machine oil, and the many Alejia living inside the building.

This is not solely a place for holding captives.

An older Alejia carries a covered bowl from one doorway to another. Two workers maneuver a cart loaded with folded fabric through the hall. A child watches the offworlders until an adult guides the child onward. Somewhere behind one of the closed doors, several voices rise in conversation before being drowned out by the rhythmic sound of machinery operating on another level.

The building does not appear heavily fortified, but security is present. Two Hídaska remain beside the street entrance. A third occupies a small station halfway down the hall, positioned where the guard can observe both the entrance and the elevator at the far end. None holds a weapon openly, although each carries the same short, heavy tool at the waist.

Tavek presents the four-knotted permission cord to an older Hídaska waiting beside the elevator. Náhri’s clothing is plain but carefully arranged, and several narrow cords are bound around Náhri’s left forearm. Náhri examines the temporary ties added during the inspection of Dr. Shone’s equipment before acknowledging Ziyótl.

Ziyótl listens as Náhri speaks, then turns to the visitors.

"This is Náhri Továl. Náhri holds the inner door and accounts for what enters and leaves Tomas Kade’s keeping."

Náhri looks first at Dr. Shone’s medical cases and then at Virel.

"Náhri understands that one of you will examine the body and one will witness the meaning carried between us," Ziyótl continues. "Náhri asks that you remain within those places."

Náhri removes the permission cord from Tavek’s hands. The transfer is deliberate. Tavek’s responsibility for carrying the visitors through the city has ended. Náhri now holds both the cord and responsibility for what occurs inside the building.

Virel recognizes another link in the chain of keeping.

Tavek is directed to remain near the elevator. Náhri, Ziyótl, Dr. Shone, and Virel enter it together.

The elevator is old but well maintained. Its interior panels have been replaced at different times, leaving several shades of metal and composite material around the compartment. There are no controls labeled in Anglic. Instead, a vertical sequence of graphical symbols marks the floors.

Virel and Dr. Shone independently study the arrangement. Repeated divisions, position markers, and the illuminated symbol at the bottom allow them to reach the same conclusion.

The building has sixteen occupied levels.

Náhri touches the highest symbol.

The doors close, and the elevator begins to rise. Its motion is steady, accompanied by a faint vibration through the floor. Symbols illuminate one after another as they pass each level.

The elevator stops twice during the ascent.

At the first stop, an Alejia carrying a basket of folded clothing waits for the doors to open. The Alejia sees the formal cord in Náhri’s hand, steps aside, and allows the elevator to continue without attempting to board.

At the second, two maintenance workers enter with a narrow case of tools. The workers acknowledge Náhri, glance briefly at the offworlders, and stand quietly near the doors. They leave three levels later and immediately begin examining an open wall panel in the adjoining corridor.

Nothing about the building suggests that its residents have been displaced because Kade is here. Ordinary life continues around his keeping.

The uppermost symbol illuminates.

When the elevator doors open, they reveal another hallway. This one is narrower and quieter than the passage below. Light enters through screened openings at the far end, and the distant sound of Balac Pontli reaches them from somewhere beyond the wall.

Several doors line the corridor. An Alejia sits on a low stool repairing a length of woven material. Farther along, another tends a row of containers positioned beneath one of the screened openings. Both look toward the arriving party, but neither interferes.

A Hídaska guard waits beside the elevator. Another stands near the first door on the right. Their placement is unobtrusive but deliberate. Anyone reaching this floor must pass between them before approaching Kade’s room.

The door on the right bears three cords.

One is pale and newly woven. Another is darkened by age and repeated handling. The third is red-brown and tied around a small flat token bearing several shallow cuts.

Náhri touches each cord in sequence while speaking.

Ziyótl translates.

"The first says that the one within is fed beneath this roof. The second says that his body is being kept from further harm. The third says that his accounting is not complete."

The red-brown cord is the only one Náhri removes. Náhri retains it while opening the door.

The doorway opens directly into Tomas Kade’s room.

The space is larger than a cell but smaller than ordinary living quarters. A shuttered window admits air and muted daylight without providing easy access to the exterior. A low table holds covered water vessels, folded cloth, and several sealed containers. Colored cords identify each container, and none has been left carelessly open.

A covered bowl rests near the sleeping platform. Beside it are a cup, fresh cloths, and a dark medicinal paste in a shallow dish.

Tomas Kade lies beneath layered blankets and woven coverings. His clothing is clean, but it no longer fits him as it once did. He has lost considerable weight. His face is drawn, and his beard has grown unevenly around cheeks that have become too hollow.

The Hídaska have not abandoned him.

The room is clean. Fresh water is present. Someone has changed the bedding and washed him recently. Food has been provided, although part of the last portion remains untouched. Everything is arranged carefully enough to suggest repeated attention rather than neglect.

Their care has not been enough.

Kade’s skin is pale beneath the effects of the local sunlight. Sweat dampens his forehead despite the coolness of the room. His breathing is shallow and slightly too rapid. One hand rests above the blankets, its fingers trembling faintly even while still.

The sound of the door brings him awake.

His eyes move first to Náhri, then to Ziyótl. When he sees Virel and the medical cases in Dr. Shone’s hands, his expression changes. Recognition comes slowly, followed by an effort to push himself upright.

The attempt produces a sudden tightening around his eyes. His breathing catches, and he stops before rising more than a few centimeters.

Náhri takes one step toward him but does not touch him.

Ziyótl addresses him in Anglic.

"Tomas Kade, the healer Victor Shone has been permitted to examine you. Virel Kilmire is present as witness. Questions may concern pain, illness, food, sleep, injury, and the proper maintenance of your body."

Kade looks from Ziyótl to Virel and finally to Dr. Shone. His voice is rough and quieter than it should be.

"They found you, then."

Ziyótl hesitates only briefly before translating the statement for Náhri. Náhri watches Kade closely but offers no objection.

Kade lets his head settle back against the folded support beneath it.

"I was beginning to wonder."

Náhri replies at greater length. Ziyótl listens carefully, and again, Ziyótl translates everything.

"Náhri says Tomas Kade has eaten less during the last eleven days. He sleeps for short periods and wakes with pain. At times he is hot, and at other times he shakes beneath the coverings. The medicines provided here reduce the heat, but it returns."

Náhri indicates the lower right side of Kade’s body without touching him.

"Náhri says the pain was once near an old injury. It has moved and become greater. He has refused some food because it returns after he eats. Yesterday, he could not cross the room without assistance."

Kade closes his eyes for a moment.

"That is mostly right," he says. "Their medicine helps for a while."

Again, Ziyótl translates everything, including Kade’s acknowledgment that the Hídaska treatment has provided some relief.

Náhri places the permission cord upon the low table where everyone can see it. Náhri points to the first three knots and then deliberately covers the fourth.

Ziyótl gives the meaning in Anglic.

"You may examine him. You may ask what the permitted knot allows. If delay places his life in danger, you may act. If treatment may wait, you must first explain what you intend, what change you expect, and what must be provided afterward."

Náhri moves to the far side of the room. Náhri is giving Dr. Shone access to Kade but is not surrendering responsibility for him.

The Hídaska guard remains outside the open doorway. Ziyótl stands near the foot of the sleeping platform, ready to translate every question and answer. Virel positions himself where he can observe Dr. Shone, Kade, Náhri, and the permission cord at the same time.

For the first time since entering Balac Pontli, no more doors stand between the doctor and his patient.

Kade looks toward Dr. Shone.

"Well, Doc," he says, attempting a tired smile, "tell me how much trouble I’m in."

GM Comment: What are Dr. Shone’s and Virel’s actions?
Dr. Shone may examine Kade and ask questions permitted by the third knot. Virel may observe the examination, the Hídaska response, and how the visit is being incorporated into the chain of keeping. Please make any appropriate skill checks after describing your actions.

After entering the room Victor looked all around it examining everything before resting his eyes on Kade. When he looked at him he gave a practiced warm empathetic smile, "Scout personnel Kade, it is nice to meet you finally in person." He then turned to the Alejia members present and looked at Ziyótl and Náhri saying, "Thank you for taking care of Tomas Kade. All the information is insightful and now I will begin my examination."

He unpacked his personal medscanner and started his work while conversing with Kade, "So Kade, can you tell me what injuries are causing you most pain right now? I know that you have recurrent fever so there is probable infection of some sort in your body. Apart from your fever, loss of appetite and injuries, what other symptoms is affecting you?"

The Examination of Tomas Kade

Victor pauses after entering the room.

Before approaching the sleeping platform, he studies the space around it. His attention passes over the shuttered window, the water vessels, the covered bowl, the medicinal paste, the folded cloths, and the colored cords identifying the sealed containers. He notes the cleanliness of the room and the care taken with Kade’s bedding. He also notices how much of the last meal remains untouched.

Only then does Victor rest his eyes on Kade.

He gives the Scout a practiced, warm, empathetic smile.

"Scout personnel Kade, it is nice to meet you finally in person."

Victor turns toward the Alejia present, looking between Ziyótl and Náhri.

"Thank you for taking care of Tomas Kade. All the information is insightful, and now I will begin my examination."

Ziyótl translates Victor’s words carefully. Náhri listens without interrupting. At the mention of the care already given, some of the tension leaves Náhri’s posture. Victor has acknowledged that the Hídaska preserved Kade rather than accusing them of allowing his condition to worsen.

Victor places his medical case beside the sleeping platform and unpacks his personal medscanner. The instrument is compact and unmistakably advanced, but he handles it without ceremony. Every movement is slow enough for Náhri to follow. He allows Ziyótl time to explain each unfamiliar action before continuing.

As he begins the initial scan, Victor keeps his attention on Kade rather than burying himself in the instrument’s readings.
Kade takes a shallow breath before answering.

"The worst is down here." He moves his right hand toward his lower abdomen but stops before pressing against it.

"Started near the old wound. Thought I’d pulled something. Now it feels deeper. Sometimes sharp, mostly like something is pressing from the inside."

Victor asks when the pain began, whether it moved, what makes it worse, and what happens after Kade eats. The questions come in a deliberate sequence. He asks about nausea, vomiting, bowel movements, urination, dizziness, chills, and whether Kade has felt confused or unable to remain awake.

Kade answers as well as he can.

The pain began near the center of his abdomen before settling lower on the right. Eating makes the nausea worse. He has vomited twice during the past several days and has taken very little water since the previous night. He alternates between sweating and violent chills. He has become dizzy whenever Náhri helps him stand. During the worst periods of fever, he loses track of conversations and cannot remember how long he has been awake.

Náhri adds details when Kade’s recollection becomes uncertain. Ziyótl translates each answer, preserving both the information and its source.

Victor listens without rushing either of them.

For a brief moment, the room and its watchers stir an older memory. Victor remembers being a captive during the Fifth Frontier War, held by the Sword Worlds and dependent upon people whose intentions he could not control. He remembers the uncertainty of every opening door and the effort required to judge whether a stranger had entered to question him, move him, or help him.

Kade is not merely a clinical problem awaiting diagnosis. He is a fellow captive who has been forced to endure pain while strangers determined what could be done with his body.

Victor does not allow the memory to interfere with the examination. It makes him gentler.
He waits for Kade’s consent and for Ziyótl to translate the explanation to Náhri.

Náhri looks toward the permission cord, then gives a deliberate acknowledgment.

Victor begins away from the site of greatest pain. He checks Kade’s temperature, pulse, breathing, blood pressure, hydration, pupil response, skin perfusion, and mental clarity. He examines the old injury before carefully palpating the abdomen. Kade’s muscles tighten involuntarily when Victor reaches the lower right quadrant. The pain is severe, but its location is not quite where an ordinary examination would predict.

The medscanner explains why.

Victor studies layered internal images, repeats the scan from a different angle, and compares the results against Kade’s vital signs. Scar tissue from the earlier wound has displaced part of the surrounding anatomy. The old injury did not cause the illness, but it changed the apparent location of the pain and made the condition harder to recognize.

The appendix has perforated.

The body contained the rupture rather than allowing immediate widespread contamination, forming a walled-off abscess. That containment kept Kade alive, but it is beginning to fail. Infection is spreading beyond the abscess. His dehydration and electrolyte imbalance are placing additional strain on his circulation, and the fever, rapid breathing, tremors, and episodes of confusion mark the early stages of sepsis.

Victor checks the findings once more before setting the scanner where Kade cannot easily see its most alarming displays.

Virel watches the examination from near the foot of the sleeping platform.

To an untrained observer, Victor’s work might appear calm and almost conversational. Virel can see the discipline beneath it. Each question narrows the possibilities. Each physical examination confirms or rejects something shown by the scanner. Victor repeats the most important measurements before accepting them. When the diagnosis becomes clear, his manner does not change, but the sequence of his preparations does.

Items needed for immediate treatment move closer to his hand.

Virel also notices the difference between professional detachment and indifference. Victor never treats Kade as an object being inspected. He warns him before causing discomfort, allows him time to answer, and directs explanations to him even when Náhri’s permission is required. Something in Kade’s captivity has touched an experience Victor understands personally, although Victor does not explain that history aloud.

Náhri watches just as carefully.

The medscanner’s images mean little to Náhri, but Victor’s conduct does not. Náhri observes that he began by recognizing the care already provided. Victor has neither removed nor disturbed the Hídaska medicines. He asks permission before touching Kade and stops whenever Ziyótl needs time to translate. Most importantly, his concern becomes more focused as the examination proceeds. Whatever the device has revealed, Victor is not exaggerating illness merely to create a pretext for taking Kade away.

Ziyótl watches Victor’s face, the order in which he lays out the medical supplies, and the increasingly urgent figures displayed by the scanner. Ziyótl does not understand the measurements, but Ziyótl understands that the character of the visit has changed.

Victor looks first at Kade.
He allows Kade a moment to absorb the explanation.
Kade looks toward the equipment beside Victor.

"How bad?"

Victor answers honestly, without abandoning the warmth in his voice.
Victor turns to Ziyótl and Náhri.
Ziyótl translates slowly. Náhri looks toward Kade and then toward the three visible knots on the permission cord. Náhri asks several short questions.

Ziyótl gives them in Anglic.

"Náhri asks whether delay now places Tomas Kade’s life in danger. Náhri asks what must be done immediately, what change the treatment should produce, and whether he must be taken from this keeping now."
Ziyótl translates the answer in full.

Náhri does not look toward the guard or withdraw the permission cord. Instead, Náhri uncovers the fourth knot and moves the cord closer to Victor’s equipment.

The gesture is small, but its meaning is plain.

Ziyótl translates "Náhri accepts that delay threatens the life being kept beneath the Hídaska roof.

Victor turns back to Kade and begins preparing the first treatment.
Kade manages the faintest smile.

"That’ll do, Doc."

For Virel, the exchange settles the immediate question. Victor has not demanded that the Hídaska surrender Kade, nor has Náhri attempted to use the chain of keeping to obstruct necessary care. The doctor has defined the danger truthfully, credited the care already given, and placed immediate treatment within the permission already granted.

The larger negotiation remains.

For the moment, however, everyone in the room is working toward the same end: keeping Tomas Kade alive.

Virel watched the professionalism of Dr. Shone’s examination and, just as closely, the Alejia reaction to it. He waited for the point where a few careful words might be needed to prevent misunderstanding, but none were. Only when it became apparent that Kade would require treatment beyond what could be provided here did Virel speak.

"From Dr. Shone’s examination, it appears that Kade will need to be moved somewhere his condition can be properly treated. That requires facilities and equipment that are not available here."

His tone remained measured.

"We are not asking that he be removed from Hídaska keeping. We are asking what must be done so that he can receive the treatment he needs while the obligations of all involved remain properly recognized."

Virel’s words pass through Ziyótl into Alejia. Náhri listens without interrupting, one hand resting beside the permission cord. When the translation is complete, Náhri looks first toward Kade and then toward the medical equipment Victor has prepared.

Náhri answers at length. The response is deliberate, with several pauses during which Ziyótl asks for clarification before rendering it into Anglic.

Ziyótl turns toward Virel.

"Náhri says that you have spoken correctly. Tomas Kade does not cease to be beneath Hídaska keeping because his life requires treatment elsewhere. Keeping is not the place where a person lies. It is the responsibility carried for that person."

Ziyótl glances toward the permission cord before continuing.

"Náhri may permit movement when remaining here threatens the life entrusted to the Hídaska. Náhri may not release the obligation, declare its settlement, or place Tomas Kade beneath another keeping without witness."

Náhri speaks again, making a small circling gesture that takes in Kade, Victor, Virel, and the room around them.

"If your vessel contains what the doctor requires, Tomas Kade may be carried there for treatment. Náhri, or another named keeper of the Hídaska, must accompany him. The Hídaska keeping will travel with him. Your doctor may direct the treatment, but the responsibility for the person will not be severed merely because he passes beneath your roof."

Náhri uncovers another portion of the cord, revealing a short length beyond the fourth knot. The cord is not surrendered. Instead, Náhri holds it between both hands and speaks directly to Virel.

Ziyótl’s translation comes more slowly this time.

"Before Tomas Kade is moved, the doctor must say what place is required, what equipment will be used, who will touch the patient, and what danger may follow the movement. The path must be witnessed when he leaves this room, when he passes between those who hold the streets, and when he enters your vessel."

Ziyótl pauses. Náhri adds a final statement.

"If Tomas Kade survives because he is carried to your vessel, the Hídaska will recognize the doctor’s preservation of the life in their keeping. If harm comes through haste, concealment, or an act not explained, that also must be recognized. Nothing done to preserve him will be hidden from the accounting."

The answer is not a refusal. Náhri has accepted that Kade may be moved to the Scout cutter and that Victor must control the medical treatment. What Náhri will not accept is a transfer that makes the Hídaska responsibility disappear without acknowledgment.

Ziyótl looks between Virel and Victor. The young envoy’s expression shows that he understands the importance of the distinction, even if he is still working through how it must be expressed to the other Alejia authorities.

"Náhri asks whether the doctor can make Tomas Kade safe enough to travel. If he can, Náhri will begin the words that open the path. Those who accepted responsibility for bringing you here must then witness the return passage."

Náhri moves the permission cord closer to Victor’s medical case but keeps one end within Náhri’s hand.

The meaning is plain enough even without translation. Victor has authority to stabilize Kade. Virel has found a way to request movement without demanding surrender. Náhri is prepared to let the Hídaska keeping travel with its patient.

The next decision belongs to the doctor.

Victor kept an eye on the medscanner readings while listening to all the negotiations that were taking place regarding Kade.

He turned to Náhri and gave a polite and empathetic smile, "Mr. Kilmire is right regarding the responsibility that you carry and have kept until now. However, the life of Tomas Kade is very much in a delicate condition right now. I can describe you what I intend to do and how much can be done here. You see our patient's body is in early stage of sepsis and needs immediate antibiotic treatment. However, due to his worsening condition and lack of appetite along with dehydration Kade's body doesn't have the required amount of nutrients to support his immune system. He is currently immuno-compromised and needs nutritional infusion along with fluid channels to fulfill what his body is lacking. I will add the antibiotics along with the infusion but these are broad spectrum drugs and it will target everything in his body that can further deteriorate his already delicate situation. Finally the situation regarding the perforated appendix along with internal abscess containing the pus needs to be drained because it is probably the source of the infection. This procedure needs surgery conducted in a sterilized environment with proper automated medical help if needed. The problem is the current deteriorated state of Kade which is not in ideal condition to face the strain of surgery. However if it is not done immediately or soon the sepsis from internal infection might begin. Also to conduct this surgery I need anesthetic support and even after successful completion of surgical procedure, there is a chance that secondary infection might commence which will further be traumatic for the already immuno-compromised body of our patient. So, I implore you to take Tomas Kade to our vessel where I can do this procedures in a much controlled and sterilized environment and you can also accompany me and watch the procedure. Once the surgery is done and his body is stable without any threat of further infection, Kade can return here as Hídaska carries the keeping."

The Keeping Must Travel

Ziyótl listens to Victor’s explanation without attempting to translate it sentence by sentence. The medical terms are too closely connected, and interrupting the doctor would risk separating the danger from the treatment intended to prevent it.

When Victor finishes, Ziyótl remains silent for several moments. He looks toward Kade, then to the equipment laid out beside the sleeping platform. Finally, he turns to Náhri and begins translating.

The translation is not literal.

Ziyótl preserves Victor’s explanation of the infection, dehydration, failing abscess, and need for surgery, but replaces unfamiliar medical terminology with descriptions Náhri can understand. Kade’s body has enclosed a source of corruption within itself. That enclosure is failing. The corruption has already begun to pass into his blood. Victor can strengthen Kade and slow the spread here, but the source must be opened, emptied, cleaned, and closed again in a place where neither the air nor the instruments will introduce new corruption.

Ziyótl also preserves the most important part of Victor’s request.

The Scouts are not asking the Hídaska to surrender Tomas Kade. They are asking that the place of his keeping move to the cutter because the means of preserving his life are there.

Náhri listens closely. Once, Náhri interrupts with a brief question. Ziyótl answers, then asks Victor to confirm that Náhri may accompany Kade aboard the vessel and remain present while the treatment is conducted, except where the doctor determines that entering the surgical space would endanger the patient.

Victor confirms it.

Ziyótl translates the answer and adds something of his own. He explains that a person may witness an act without placing a hand upon it. Náhri may witness Kade entering the medical compartment, see the preparations, receive explanations, and observe through the vessel’s instruments. The Hídaska need not enter the sterile enclosure to confirm that the act has occurred properly.

That distinction matters.

Náhri looks toward Virel. There is no hostility in the expression, but there is now a question of greater weight than medical permission.

Náhri speaks.

Ziyótl gives the answer in Anglic.

"Victor Shone has shown that the life beneath this keeping is already threatened. What must be done here may begin now. What cannot be done here must not be delayed merely because the proper place lies beneath another roof."

Náhri takes up the permission cord. Four knots remain exposed. Náhri draws out a further length but does not uncover another knot.

"The Hídaska will not oppose the movement. Tomas Kade may be carried to your vessel so that the doctor may preserve his life. I will travel beside him, and the keeping entrusted to me will travel with us."

The answer is favorable, but Náhri does not yet rise.

Another exchange follows between Náhri and Ziyótl. This one is quieter. Ziyótl asks two questions, listens to the answers, and then turns toward Virel and Victor.

"There must be another Hídaska witness."

Ziyótl glances toward the open doorway, ensuring that the guard outside has heard the instruction Náhri is about to give.

"Náhri bears the immediate keeping of Tomas Kade. Náhri may carry that keeping from this room because remaining here would endanger his life. But Náhri cannot also be the only witness that the keeping remained unbroken while its place changed."

Náhri gives a short instruction to the guard. The guard acknowledges it and departs down the corridor.

Ziyótl continues.

"The Hídaska will summon Máren Tlohái, the Bearer of the Closed Knot. Máren does not replace Náhri and will not direct the doctor. Máren will witness what leaves this room, what crosses each boundary, and what enters your vessel."

The title requires further explanation.

Among the Hídaska, the Bearer of the Closed Knot is called when an obligation must pass through places where ordinary witnesses may not follow. Máren’s presence will allow the Hídaska to state that Kade entered the cutter without being released, concealed, exchanged, or taken beyond recognition. Máren is important enough that the route-keepers and the Xá’kai at the starport will treat the movement as a formally witnessed act rather than an attempt by the offworlders to reclaim a captive through emergency.

Máren will accompany Náhri aboard the cutter. Náhri will remain responsible for Kade. Máren will witness the terms under which that responsibility is carried into an offworld vessel.

Ziyótl allows Victor and Virel a moment to absorb the distinction.

"This is support," Ziyótl says. "It may not sound like support because more witnesses are being added, but it is. If Náhri wished only to delay you, Náhri would send for someone empowered to question whether movement should occur. Náhri has instead sent for someone whose presence will make the movement difficult for others to oppose."

Ziyótl looks toward Kade.

"There are now two things that must be done, and they may be done at the same time."

Victor must stabilize Kade sufficiently to survive the journey to the cutter. The fluids, electrolyte replacement, antibiotics, fever control, pain management, and continuous monitoring can begin immediately under the permission already granted. Victor does not need to seek another Alejia decision before providing that care.

While Victor works, Virel must help establish the words under which Kade will be moved.

Ziyótl turns toward Virel.

"I can translate the words, but the choice between them is important. If we say that the Hídaska give Tomas Kade to the Scouts, the keeping ends. Náhri has not agreed to that. If we say that the Scouts take him, it may be heard as a demand made stronger by your doctor’s knowledge."

Ziyótl places one hand close to the cord without touching it.

"If we say only that Tomas Kade is moved, then no one has said who remains responsible for him. That absence will cause questions at every boundary."

Ziyótl then offers the formulation he believes will succeed.

"Tomas Kade travels beneath Hídaska keeping to the place where Victor Shone can preserve his life. Náhri carries the keeping. Máren Tlohái witnesses that it remains unbroken. The Scouts provide the place, instruments, and protection required for treatment. When the danger has passed, the place of continued keeping will be determined by those who carry the larger obligation."

The final sentence is deliberate. It does not promise that Kade will be carried back to this room immediately after surgery. It also does not allow the Scouts to claim that successful treatment automatically returns him to their custody.

Ziyótl explains the expected result.

"If those words are accepted, the Hídaska will send notice ahead of us. The route by which we came will be opened again. The keepers at each boundary may still witness our passage, but they should not stop the litter or reopen the decision. At the starport, the Xá’kai will be asked to recognize that Náhri and Máren enter your vessel as keepers and witnesses, not as visitors surrendering their authority at the hatch."

He then explains the risk.

"If the words are incomplete, the movement will probably still occur because Kade’s life is in danger. But each boundary may ask what has been transferred, and who accepted it. That could delay us. It may also cause someone later to claim that Náhri surrendered the keeping or that your people removed Kade without a witnessed agreement."

Ziyótl looks directly at Virel.

"I believe I know the proper Alejia words. You understand how obligations may remain intact while control of a place or act is temporarily given to another. Help me make the declaration carry both meanings."

From the corridor comes the sound of the returning guard and another set of measured footsteps.

Náhri rises.

Victor has permission to begin stabilizing Kade. The Hídaska support the movement to the cutter. The remaining task is not to persuade them that Kade must be treated, but to establish a witnessed agreement that can carry him through Balac Pontli without breaking the chain of keeping.

The Bearer of the Closed Knot is coming to hear those words.

GM Comment: Dr. Shone’s next skill task is to stabilize Kade for transport. Make a medical average task roll for this.

Virel’s next task is to help Ziyótl frame the witnessed agreement. (Liaison or Diplomat average task)

The two tasks may be undertaken at the same time. Please describe your characters’ actions and make any appropriate skill checks.

Meanwhile at the Cutter Ad Hoc Signals Intelligence Collection cell...Fifteen Minutes of Noise

Inside the cutter, the quiet of passive surveillance ends without warning.

JEEM does not sound an alarm. Instead, a new display opens beside the continuing orbital view of the Hídaska building. The system has detected a change in the volume and distribution of local electromagnetic activity.

Chaala, Bohdie, and JEEM have received no communication from Dr. Shone or Virel since they entered the building. They do not know what the doctor has found, what has been said inside the room, or whether the visit is proceeding as expected.

The first indication is a brief, low-powered transmission from somewhere within or immediately adjacent to the building. It lasts less than two seconds and uses an ordinary Alejia communications band. The signal is too short and weak for the cutter to recover its contents, but its timing and direction are recorded.

Less than a minute later, another transmission appears several blocks away.

Then another.

The individual signals are unremarkable. Taken together, they form a pattern that was not present during the previous hour.

JEEM places the current activity over the established baseline. The volume of short-range traffic in the surrounding district has increased sharply. Most transmissions remain brief, local, and low powered. Several originate near locations already marked as jurisdictional boundaries or probable route-control points.

A narrow-beam update from the Azure Voyager adds orbital observations to the cutter’s display. One satellite has detected changes along portions of the route previously used by Dr. Shone and Virel. Shutters open. Hanging panels are turned or replaced. Reflective markers appear briefly above two intersections. None remain visible for more than a few moments.

Bohdie’s Alejia identification database begins comparing every visible person against individuals recorded during the earlier journeys.

Something has changed inside the Hídaska building.

The sensor team does not yet know what.

JEEM marks the first detected transmission as Minute Zero.

Minute Zero to Minute Three

The initial transmission from the Hídaska building is followed by three additional low-powered signals. Two terminate within the surrounding district. The third cannot be traced beyond its first probable relay point.

A Hídaska guard leaves the building at a brisk walk. The guard is not running and displays no visible sign of alarm. The route is direct, with no apparent effort to avoid observation.

A second person departs through another entrance less than a minute later. This individual carries a short covered staff or bundled object and travels in the opposite direction.

The database does not identify either person as one of the previously tracked Alejia.

No armed group converges upon the building. No crowd gathers. The visible guards do not close the entrance or change to weapons-ready postures.

Those absences are recorded, but JEEM does not assign them meaning.

Minute Four to Minute Seven

Activity spreads outward from the Hídaska district.

At one boundary, two Alejia who had been standing apart move together and briefly compare cords. At another, a suspended panel is reversed to display a different color. A reflective object appears above an intersection, changes angle twice, and disappears.

The electronic traffic does not resemble a conventional command network. No single transmitter sends instructions to every location. Short messages appear to pass from one limited area to the next.

The activity could be a relay. It could also be several separate responses to an event the cutter cannot observe.

At Minute Six, one directed transmission travels toward the Xá’kai-controlled starport. The cutter determines its general bearing, but not its recipient or contents.

JEEM marks several possibilities without favoring one. The Hídaska may be reporting the progress of the visit, requesting another official, preparing the route for the party’s return, or informing the Xá’kai that something has changed.

None of those possibilities is yet supported strongly enough to be called an assessment.

Sera Notices the Street

Near Star’s Mercy, Sera notices the change before Verik calls her attention to the ship’s communications display.

She has spent enough time dealing with the Alejia to recognize when ordinary movement acquires purpose. People who had been lingering near the edge of the starport district are no longer watching the offworld ships. Their attention has turned toward the streets leading into Balac Pontli.

One Alejia crosses the edge of the apron and speaks briefly with a Xá’kai functionary. Another moves to a position from which both the approach road and the starport checkpoint can be seen. Neither appears hurried, but neither is behaving casually.

The checkpoint guards are not closing the entrance. No weapons are brought forward, and no additional barriers are placed across the approach. Instead, one guard inspects the open passage while two workers move a handcart away from it.

Sera returns aboard Star’s Mercy and gives Verik a concise account of what she has seen.

Verik has already detected the transmission directed toward the starport. The merchant vessel cannot read its contents, but its communications equipment provides a second bearing independent of the cutter’s collection. The signal appears to have originated from the same general quarter of Balac Pontli in which Dr. Shone and Virel are visiting Kade.

What appears as a short Xá’kai acknowledgment follows. Additional messages pass between starport control, the checkpoint, and personnel responsible for the apron access lanes.

Verik opens a channel to the cutter.

"Chaala, Verik. We’re seeing a change in local signal traffic. We caught a directed transmission into Xá’kai starport control about six minutes ago. I cannot read the content, but our bearing places its source in the same general quarter where your people were taken."

He pauses long enough to make clear where observation ends and interpretation begins.

"Starport control acknowledged it. Since then, we’ve seen short traffic to the checkpoint and the apron access detail. That part is confirmed. We do not know what they were told."

Sera joins the channel.

"Something is changing on the street as well. Alejia near the edge of the field have turned their attention toward the city approaches. One spoke with a Xá’kai functionary, and another has taken a position overlooking the checkpoint."

Her tone remains practical rather than alarmed.

"The Xá’kai are not closing the entrance. They are clearing the passage and watching the road. From what I have seen of them, it looks as though they expect someone to come through. It does not look like they are preparing to stop an attack or seal the field."

Sera leaves room for uncertainty before adding her conclusion.

"I would call it controlled preparation, not alarm. I cannot tell you whether that is good for your people, but no one out here is behaving as though violence has started."

Verik confirms that Star’s Mercy will continue monitoring the starport channels and the physical approach.

"If the Xá’kai transmit again, we’ll give you the time, direction, and recipient if we can establish them. Sera will keep watching the checkpoint. We’ll tell you what we observe, but we won’t guess at what is happening inside that building."

The channel remains open for monitoring, but Verik does not press Chaala for an answer.

Minute Eight to Minute Eleven

Verik and Sera’s report gives the cutter two independent observations.

The cutter and Star’s Mercy both detected traffic traveling from the city toward starport control. Sera’s observations show that the Xá’kai responded by clearing and watching the approach rather than closing it.

This supports the assessment that the starport is preparing to receive an arrival. It does not identify who is coming or explain why.

The city does not erupt into general activity. Most streets continue their normal pattern. The increase remains concentrated around the Hídaska building, the previously traveled route, several jurisdictional boundaries, and the Xá’kai starport approach.


JEEM highlights the selectivity of the pattern.

This does not resemble a public warning or general alarm. Whatever information is passing through the city appears intended for particular recipients.

At Minute Nine, a hanging marker appears from an upper level along a street previously associated with the unidentified fourth Alejia. The marker remains visible for eleven seconds.

The cutter’s direct view of the observer’s earlier position is obstructed. Orbital coverage provides an oblique angle, but part of the location lies beneath an overhang.

Bohdie’s identification database begins searching nearby exits and walkways.

Minute Twelve to Minute Fifteen

At Minute Twelve, the system identifies a probable match.

An Alejia emerges from a recessed passage approximately sixty meters from the observer’s last known position. Facial identification is impossible at that range and angle, but body proportions, gait, clothing distribution, and the placement of several visible cords are consistent with the fourth Alejia.

The identification confidence rises, falls as the individual passes behind pedestrians, and settles at seventy-four percent.

The Alejia does not join either of the visible Hídaska messengers. The individual crosses their route, pauses briefly beneath a covered walkway, and turns into a narrower street leading away from the formal path toward the starport.

No electronic transmission can be attributed to the individual.

No exchange or handoff is observed during the first fifteen minutes.

The individual’s destination remains unknown.

JEEM keeps the track marked in amber.

"The communications increase is verified. Its connection to the Hídaska building is supported by timing and distribution. Star’s Mercy independently confirms a transmission from the same general quarter into Xá’kai starport control. The Xá’kai acknowledged it and issued local instructions. Message content remains unknown."

The probable Alejia track appears beside the communications record.

"One individual may match the previously designated observer. The identification is not confirmed. No connection between that movement and the communications activity has been established."

Three layers appear on the central display.

The first contains only recorded events: transmission times, bearings, visual changes, departures, the Xá’kai responses, Sera’s observations, Verik’s independent collection, and the probable Alejia track.

The second contains working interpretations: an organized Hídaska communication relay, preparation along the previously traveled route, and an expected arrival at the starport.

The third contains unanswered possibilities. The visit may have concluded. Another Hídaska authority may have been summoned. The party may be preparing to return. The Xá’kai may have been asked to receive additional Alejia. The unidentified observer may be reacting to the same event, or the movement may be unrelated.

Chaala, Bohdie, and JEEM have no basis for concluding that Kade is being moved. They do not know that Dr. Shone has diagnosed a medical emergency. They do not know that Náhri has summoned an important Hídaska witness.

They know only that the Hídaska building has become the center of an orderly and selective response, and that the Xá’kai appear to be preparing the starport approach for someone’s arrival.

Task Resolution

No roll is required to detect the communications increase, receive Verik and Sera’s report, or observe the probable movement of the unidentified Alejia. Those are products of the surveillance arrangements already in place.

Analyze the Communications Activity

Electronics (comms) using INT or EDU, Average (8+)

This task determines what the team can establish from the timing, direction, duration, and relay behavior of the transmissions. It does not reveal their contents.

Interpret the Starport Response

Streetwise, Recon, or Investigate using INT, Average (8+)

Sera’s observations and Verik’s independent communications bearing provide DM+1.

This task determines what the Xá’kai’s physical and electronic responses most likely indicate. Even a strong result produces an assessment rather than certainty because the originating message remains unread.

Maintain the Alejia Track

Electronics (sensors) or Recon using INT, Difficult (10+)

Bohdie’s identification database provides DM+1.

This task determines whether the moving individual is the previously tagged observer and whether the track can be maintained through covered streets and obstructed sight lines.

Separate Evidence from Assumption

Investigate using INT, Average (8+)

The communications, starport-response, and tracking tasks may provide task-chain modifiers.

At the end of the first fifteen minutes, the proper distinctions are:

Confirmed Facts

• Traffic increased around the Hídaska building.
• Star’s Mercy independently detected traffic from the same quarter.
• The Xá’kai received and acted upon a directed transmission.
• The checkpoint passage is being cleared and watched.

Supported Assessments

• The Xá’kai expect someone to approach from the city.
• The activity is controlled rather than openly hostile.
• The moving Alejia may be the previously tracked observer.

Unconfirmed Possibilities and Hypotheses

• The medical party is preparing to return.
• OR Something happened with the Medical team
• Another Alejia authority has been summoned.
• Kade is being moved.
• The observer is carrying a report.
• The report is intended for a third party (NMTC or an Alejia??).
• NMTC directed any of the activity.

GM Comment: Chaala, Bohdie, and JEEM know that an orderly but significant change has occurred around the Hídaska building. Verik has independently confirmed signal traffic from that quarter into Xá’kai starport control. Sera reports that the Xá’kai are clearing and watching the approach rather than closing it, which she judges to be controlled preparation rather than alarm.

The sensor team still does not know what happened inside the building or what the Alejia intend.

Please describe how Chaala and Bohdie direct the continuing collection, including whether they prioritize the Hídaska communications, the Xá’kai response, or the probable movement of the previously tagged Alejia. Make any appropriate skill checks.

Virel listened to Ziyótl’s words and gave him a slight nod of understanding before closing his eyes, one finger resting briefly against his lips in thought.

The pause lasted only a moment. When he opened his eyes again, he spoke carefully.

"Yes, I understand the distinction. What is being proposed requires no change in the existing obligation. Dr. Shone accepts responsibility for Kade’s treatment, but not for his keeping. The Hídaska keeping travels with us and remains with Náhri, witnessed by Máren, while we provide the place and means necessary for treatment."

He paused briefly.

"When the immediate danger has passed, the proper place of Kade’s continued keeping can be determined by those who hold obligation. Nothing about the treatment itself changes that obligation."

Chaala acknowledged Verik's transmission and thanks him, "Looks like someone is moving. Maybe just our people, maybe more. Xa'kai are acting like they expect to receive, not to defend, which is hopeful."

As the information continues to accumulate, Chaala speaks just to those aboard the cutter. "Multiple avenues of communication may mean redundancy and assurance of signal transmission, or it could mean additional parties signalling what they can intercept or interpret. NMTC continue to remain silent, so we continue to keep an eye that way, but we watch the return path more carefully. If they take the same track, maybe we spot any danger before they get there. I don't know what we do with that information but I'd rather have it than not."

"Bohdie, you're doing an excellent job with the tracking, keep it up. JEEM, same with the signals intel. See if we can crack those bursts or at least figure out the encryption or encoding."

When the permission was given, Victor immediately started to work on Tomas. He unlocked his carrying case and started unpacking his trauma pack and medikit. He had the infusions he needed but they were not combined in perfect ratios. Consulting his medscanner he started to combine the infusions and prepared the vials that would be given at specific timeframes. He then smiled at Kade and said, "Don't worry Kade, you will be fine. I will see to it. You just have to believe and hold on to yourself."

Once all the infusions were prepared he started injecting the medicines and created a portable channel for fluid infusions that he kept attached close to Kade's arm. Then he continued to monitor his health as the drugs started entering Tomas Kade's body.

The Promised Change

Victor begins as soon as permission is given.

The medical case opens beside the sleeping platform, its orderly compartments replacing the few cleared spaces in the room with a temporary treatment station. The infusions Victor brought are suitable for emergency care, but they are not prepared in the exact ratios Kade now requires. The medscanner continues measuring his circulation, hydration, electrolyte imbalance, temperature, respiration, and the developing stress upon his organs while Victor calculates the necessary combination.

He does not attempt to correct everything at once.

Kade’s body has been deprived of fluids and proper nutrition for too long. Restoring them too rapidly could place new strain upon his heart and kidneys. Victor divides the treatment into stages, preparing separate vials and programming their delivery for specific intervals.

He looks toward Kade and offers another reassuring smile.
Kade’s answer is little more than a tired nod, but he keeps his eyes on Victor as the doctor works.

Victor establishes the portable infusion channel close to Kade’s arm and secures it against movement. Fluids begin first, followed by the carefully measured electrolyte replacement. Victor draws diagnostic samples, administers medication to control the nausea and rising fever, and begins broad-spectrum antimicrobial treatment. Pain relief follows in a measured dose, enough to make Kade more comfortable without concealing a dangerous change in his condition.

Náhri watches every step.

Victor does not remove the Hídaska preparations from the room or dismiss the care already given. He makes room for his equipment beside theirs. When an unfamiliar instrument must touch Kade or introduce something into his body, Victor pauses long enough for Ziyótl to explain its purpose.

Ziyótl does more than translate the names of the medicines. The young envoy explains the sequence of Victor’s actions in terms Náhri can place within the permission already granted.

The first liquid replaces what Kade’s body has lost. The next restores what the body requires to move strength through itself. The medicines restrain the corruption already passing beyond its enclosure. None of these acts removes the source of the illness. They are intended to make Kade strong enough to survive the journey and the greater treatment that must follow.

The first few minutes produce little visible change.

Kade remains pale and feverish. His breathing is shallow, and the medscanner continues to warn of systemic infection. The antibiotics have not had time to control the infection, and the abscess remains untouched.

Victor does not promise that the danger has passed.

He monitors the response, adjusts the fluid rate, and changes one part of the electrolyte mixture when the scanner shows that Kade’s body is accepting the correction more slowly than predicted. His attention moves constantly between the patient and the readings, but his work never becomes hurried.

After approximately eight minutes, the first measurable improvement appears.

Kade’s blood pressure begins moving away from the dangerous lower range. His pulse remains rapid, but its rhythm strengthens. The tremor in his hand diminishes. His breathing becomes deeper and less labored.

Victor continues the treatment without drawing attention to the change too early.

At twelve minutes, Kade opens his eyes without being prompted. His gaze finds Victor more quickly than before, and when Náhri asks him a short question, his answer is immediate rather than delayed by confusion.

At fifteen minutes, the difference is visible even without the medscanner.

Kade remains seriously ill, but he is no longer declining from one measurement to the next. His temperature has stopped rising. His circulation has improved, and the fluids are beginning to correct the worst effects of dehydration. The infection remains active, but its progression has been slowed enough to create a controlled window for movement.

"I don’t feel good," he says, his voice still weak, "but I feel less like the room is drifting away from me."

Victor’s medscanner supports that assessment. Kade is stable enough for careful transport. The infusion must remain connected, and Victor will need to monitor him throughout the journey, but a moderate delay or complication along the route is no longer likely to produce immediate collapse.

Náhri looks from Kade to the medical display and then to the permission cord.

The numbers and symbols on the scanner remain foreign.

The promised change does not.

Victor had described what he intended to do. He had explained what each intervention should accomplish. Náhri has now watched Kade’s breathing ease, seen awareness return to his eyes, and heard him answer without losing the thread of the exchange.

Náhri speaks quietly to Ziyótl.

Ziyótl listens, asks one question, and then turns toward Victor and Virel.

"Náhri says the doctor named the danger before acting. He named what he would place within Tomas Kade, and he named the change that should follow."

Ziyótl looks briefly toward Kade.

"The change has begun as the doctor said it would."

Náhri adds several more words.

"The Hídaska recognize that Victor Shone has strengthened the life within their keeping. Náhri will support carrying Tomas Kade to the vessel where the remaining danger can be removed."

This is more than permission to continue treatment. Náhri is now prepared to testify that moving Kade is necessary and that Victor’s medical judgment has been demonstrated rather than merely asserted.

Ziyótl understands the value of that testimony.

"When Máren asks why the keeping must leave this room, Náhri will answer. The Hídaska will not need to rely only upon our explanation of the doctor’s knowledge. Náhri has witnessed his words become an act, and the act produce its promised result."

Footsteps approach from the corridor.

The Hídaska guard appears first and takes position outside the open doorway. Another Alejia follows at a measured pace.

Máren Tlohái wears no visible weapon. The clothing is finely maintained but not ostentatious. Several cords cross the chest, each gathered and closed beneath a dark clasp. One cord is thicker than the others and bears a series of knots concealed beneath fitted coverings.

Máren enters without greeting the visitors immediately.

The Bearer of the Closed Knot first looks toward Náhri, then toward the permission cord, the medical equipment, and finally Tomas Kade. The examination is brief but exacting. Máren notices the infusion line, the change in Kade’s breathing, and the fact that Náhri has remained beside him throughout the treatment.

Náhri rises to meet the witness.

The two Alejia begin a formal exchange. Náhri speaks first, recounting what Victor said would happen, what treatment was permitted, and what change has now been observed. Ziyótl does not interrupt the exchange to provide a running translation. Instead, the envoy listens closely, preserving the terms and sequence for Virel.

When Náhri finishes, Máren asks a single question.

Náhri answers by placing one hand beside Kade and the other upon the still-covered portion of the permission cord.

Only then does Máren turn toward Ziyótl.

Ziyótl translates for Victor and Virel.

"Máren accepts that remaining here may now endanger the life carried beneath Hídaska keeping. Máren is prepared to hear the words under which the keeping will travel."

Victor has completed his immediate task. Kade is stable enough to be moved, and Náhri’s support has become part of the witnessed record.

---

OCC: The next task belongs to Virel and Ziyótl.
GM Comment:
Together, they must frame an agreement that allows Kade, Náhri, and Máren to pass through Balac Pontli, enter the Xá’kai starport, and board the cutter without allowing any party to claim that Hídaska keeping was broken, surrendered, or secretly taken.

Virel gave Ziyótl a slight nod of understanding, though inwardly he felt a flicker of irritation that the earlier words had not been enough and another step was required. Outwardly, none of it showed.

"Yes, of course."

He paused briefly to collect his thoughts.

"Kade travels beneath Hídaska keeping to the place where Dr. Shone can provide the treatment necessary to preserve his life. Passage through each boundary does not transfer or surrender that keeping. Entry aboard our vessel does not place Kade beneath our custody."

Virel glanced toward Máren before continuing.

"Máren witnesses that it remains unbroken. When the immediate danger has passed, the place of Kade’s continued keeping will be determined."