Chapter 4.8 : The Doctor’s Visit

Scene One — The Summons

Morning comes to the ad hoc starport beneath a pale, cloud-filtered sky. Beyond the earthen berm, Balac Pontli is already awake. The distant city presents itself first as sound rather than detail: machinery working somewhere beyond sight, the intermittent rise and fall of traffic, and the low, layered murmur of a population too large to ever become entirely quiet.

Inside the cutter, the preparations made the previous evening remain visible. Dr. Shone’s medical equipment has been separated into carefully considered groups: essential diagnostic instruments, treatments likely to be accepted without argument, and more advanced devices whose purpose may prove difficult to explain across both language and custom. Virel’s notes concerning Ziyótl and the petition procedure rest nearby. Elsewhere, JEEM and Bohdie continue refining the information passed down from the Azure Voyager, though the orbital team’s work has not yet produced anything resembling a complete picture of the city.

The first indication of visitors comes from the cutter’s external sensors. Two Alejia are approaching the vessel from the direction of the starport checkpoint. Neither is accompanied by the larger escort used during the visit with Dominicus.

Ziyótl Toha’kai walks in front. The knotted cords identifying him as Speaker Under Knot hang openly across his clothing. Several paces behind him is Tavek, the Alejia who previously guided the group through the market. Tavek carries no visible cargo and does not approach the cutter’s ramp until Ziyótl has announced them.

Sera, who had come over to the cutter after breakfast and was sharing coffee with the crew, sets her cup aside as she watches the two Alejia approach. She glances toward the waiting team. "They did not send witnesses," she observes quietly. "That means this is probably not another accounting. Not yet."

When the cutter’s ramp is lowered, Ziyótl waits at its foot rather than attempting to board. His Anglic is as precise as before, though this morning he speaks more slowly, making certain that every word carries the intended meaning.

"The request for sight of Tomas Kade has been answered. Those who hold his keeping will allow the healer called Victor Shone to look upon him and judge whether his body remains properly maintained."

Ziyótl pauses before continuing. "They have allowed one other from your company to accompany the healer. I suggested Virel Kilmire."

His attention settles briefly upon Virel. "He has stood within the petition and understands witnessed speech. He has also accepted responsibility for helping me carry meaning between your people and mine. Those who hold Tomas Kade’s keeping have accepted my suggestion."

The selection is revealing. The Hídaska did not independently choose Virel or impose a companion upon Dr. Shone. Ziyótl used his limited standing as Speaker Under Knot to recommend him, and the Hídaska accepted that recommendation. Virel is therefore being admitted as a recognized participant in the exchange rather than as a medical assistant or guard. It is also the first indication that Ziyótl is beginning to exercise judgment of his own within the proceeding.

Ziyótl shifts slightly, allowing Tavek to step forward. The guide produces a short length of dark cord bearing four distinct knots. He does not offer it to anyone. Instead, he holds it where the humans can see it while Ziyótl explains.

"The first knot permits the healer to examine Tomas Kade. The second permits treatment only where delay would place life in danger. The third permits questions concerning pain, illness, food, sleep, injury, and the proper maintenance of the body. The fourth closes all questions concerning placement, transfer, obligation, or the acts that brought him beneath Hídaska protection."

Tavek turns the cord once and then returns it to a pouch at his side.

"If the healer wishes to provide treatment that is not required at once," Ziyótl continues, "he must first state what will be done and what change he expects it to make. Those holding Kade will decide whether that treatment changes the accounting attached to his keeping."


Sera’s attention moves from Ziyótl to the prepared medical equipment. Her voice remains low enough that it does not carry beyond the ramp.
"They are giving the doctor access, but they are protecting their claim. If he improves Kade’s condition, someone will want it recorded who caused that improvement—and who becomes responsible if it goes badly."

Ziyótl appears to catch at least part of the exchange but does not object. Instead, he adds the remaining conditions.

"No instrument may speak beyond the place of examination. No image or voice may be preserved without permission. Nothing belonging to Kade’s place of keeping may be removed. No marked hollow, container, cord, wall-space, or covered object may be opened or touched."

That final prohibition is delivered with unmistakable emphasis.

"The healer may carry what is necessary for healing. Virel Kilmire may carry what was permitted during the previous witnessing, except that no writing instrument will be admitted. Sera Vorn may travel with us as far as the Hídaska boundary because she has previously carried words between your company and the city. Beyond that boundary, whether she proceeds will be decided by those who hold the way."

Sera gives a small nod. She seems neither surprised nor particularly pleased by the limitation.

---

Ziyótl then looks past Dr. Shone and Virel toward Chaala.
"There is one matter that must be understood before we depart. Sight of Silvia Dominicus was granted beneath the first petition. Sight of Tomas Kade is being granted because the healer expressed concern for another of his people. This is not yet permission to join their accounts, nor is it acknowledgment that their obligations are the same."

For the first time, there is a trace of discomfort in Ziyótl’s delivery. The distinction may have come from the Hídaska, from the petition witnesses, or from someone advising them beyond the visible proceeding.

"Tomas Kade is kept separately. What is learned of his body may be returned to your people. What he says of other matters may remain beneath witness until it is called before the accounting."

Tavek steps aside and looks toward the checkpoint. The visitors are evidently expected elsewhere, and the permission has been granted for a particular time rather than as an open-ended invitation.

Ziyótl does not hurry the team, but neither does he leave the timing ambiguous.

"We should depart when the healer is prepared. The way is not short. Before we cross from Xá’kai keeping into the ways held by the Hídaska, the healer must show what he carries and say which things may enter the body."

What the PCs can gather is that the summons is genuine but narrowly constructed. Dr. Shone has been granted access to Kade. Virel has been accepted at Ziyótl’s recommendation as the doctor’s companion and a participant in the witnessed exchange. Sera may accompany them for only part of the journey. Chaala and the remainder of the team must remain at the starport unless they choose to challenge the terms before the party departs.

The immediate question is no longer whether the Hídaska will permit the visit.....It is how much the team is willing to accept—and what Dr. Shone and Virel will carry into Balac Pontli.

GM Comment: WHat are your actions currently and did the PCs prepare anything before hand??? Do you have any OCC questions?

Victor took the same instruments that was allowed during the visit to Silva Dominicus. Too much of this customs were complicated for him to keep in mind. Instead he kept his thoughts on the possible scenarios that Kade was probably in. He mentally reharshed what he will do and what he will suggest this Alejia faction. After setting up all the instruments he turned to Virel and gave a nervous smile, "Well, lets go then. I hope we don't complicate it."

Chaala nods, "Not ideal, but not unexpected or unacceptable. Take care to not increase any obligation or ask unwarranted questions, but listen carefully for anything Kade says. Do not act on it, but we will let it inform us when the accounting of obligation procedes further." She looks at Dr. Shone, "If he needs further medical attention, confer with Virel on how best to present it, but your judgement on that is the deciding factor. We want to avoid increasing our obligation, but if he sickens further that is on the Hidaska, especially if you have made it clear what he needs. I don't want that to be a point of negotiation because I want Kade and the others home safe."

Virel gave Chaala a slight nod, then turned to Dr. Shone.

"We will stay within the boundaries they’ve given us. They’ve already told us a great deal by placing those restrictions, and we’ll learn more from what they choose to show us."

He paused briefly, his expression becoming more stern.

"For now, we’re concerned with Kade’s health. One step at a time, we unravel the knots and bring them all home."

"We will await your return, hopefully with good news." Chaala does not say what she's thinking about keeping an eye on them all the way.

Bohdie works from a console from within the cutter, working and orbital eyes they may have over the Starport and city. While he is watching, best as he is able, the path of the Dr and Virel, it is not his only concern on the ground. He sets multiple monitors and algorithms to watch the general traffic patterns in the city with sensitivities set to alert if patterns change significantly. His first priority is the path taken by the medical "knot", but he keys several secondary thresholds on vectors and masses. He also make sure to watch the areas around the city…

"I've got a crawling sensation, boss. Nothing I can put my finger on at the moment… just that the Alejia aren’t the only thing we are facing down here… or the only mystery… or something like that."

Scene Two — The Journey into Balac Pontli

Dr. Shone makes no attempt to alter the equipment already prepared. He takes the same instruments permitted during the examination of Silvia Dominicus, preferring familiar ground to another negotiation over unfamiliar technology. The restrictions, obligations, and distinctions of Alejia custom remain difficult for him to hold together, but the possible condition of Tomas Kade is not. As the final cases are closed, his attention remains fixed upon the medical problems he may encounter and what he may need to recommend to Kade’s custodians.

Chaala’s instructions follow them to the ramp: do not increase the obligation unnecessarily, do not press Kade for information beyond what has been permitted, but listen carefully to anything he chooses to say. If further treatment is needed, Dr. Shone is to confer with Virel on how it should be presented—but the medical judgment remains his.

Virel’s task is less tangible. He carries no medical equipment and has been denied anything with which to write. He accompanies the doctor as a participant in the petition, a witness to what is said, and the person most able to recognize when a medical statement begins to acquire a second meaning within the accounting of obligations.

Chaala remains beside the ramp as they prepare to leave.
She does not mention the orbital surveillance, nor the effort already being made to follow their route from above.

Bohdie remains at his console within the cutter. One display holds the best orbital image available of the starport and the surrounding districts. Others track traffic density, unusual gatherings, changes in movement around the berm, and the routes by which larger bodies might approach the ad hoc port. The Azure Voyager can provide position and movement, but not intention. Buildings, covered passages, thermal clutter, and the sheer density of Balac Pontli turn much of the city into overlapping uncertainty.
Whatever else may be hidden in Balac Pontli, Bohdie sets the departing medical party as his first priority. Secondary routines begin watching the districts around them even before the group reaches the checkpoint.

Ziyótl and Tavek lead the way across the packed ground of the starport. Dr. Shone and Virel walk together behind them, while Sera follows far enough back to avoid appearing part of the formal knot. No armed escort accompanies them within the Xá’kai enclosure. The knotted permission cord carried by Tavek appears to be sufficient authority—at least here.

At the checkpoint, they are taken beneath a fabric awning erected against the pale daylight. The same guards who watched the party’s earlier passage through the starport now examine them with greater care.

Dr. Shone places each medical instrument upon a low table and explains its purpose through Ziyótl. The examiner does not attempt to understand the science. Instead, each object is placed into one of three practical categories: something that looks, something that measures, or something that enters the body.

The instruments already accepted during the Dominicus visit pass with little dispute. Greater attention is given to the medicines and injectors. Ziyótl translates every explanation precisely, while Tavek marks the permission cord with small temporary ties. Nothing is confiscated, but the number and type of treatments are counted before the cases are closed again.

Virel’s permitted possessions receive only a brief inspection. The absence of a stylus, recorder, or visible transmitter appears to satisfy the guards. His role is not to preserve an account in an offworld device. He is expected to remember it.

Beyond the checkpoint, a local ground vehicle waits in the road. It is narrow enough to pass through the crowded streets, with a covered passenger compartment and open sides screened by patterned latticework. Its exterior bears old repairs in several different materials, but its electric drive is quiet and well maintained.

Tavek takes the forward position beside the driver. Ziyótl sits facing Dr. Shone and Virel. Sera boards last, remaining nearest the open rear of the compartment.

The vehicle pulls away from the starport and passes through a break in the surrounding earthen berm.

Balac Pontli does not rise gradually beyond it. The city closes around them.

The outer streets are broad enough for cargo vehicles, handcarts, draft animals, and dense streams of foot traffic, yet every available space appears occupied. Tall, earthen-colored buildings stand shoulder to shoulder, many of them ten stories or higher. Their lower levels are windowless or protected by heavy shutters, while the upper floors lean over the roadway behind latticed openings and patched awnings. Bridges connect some structures above the streets, turning entire blocks into continuous masses of habitation.

The buildings are not uniform. Old walls of packed earth and masonry have been repaired with cast panels, salvaged metal, poured compounds, and pieces of manufactured siding whose colors no longer match. Water pipes, power cables, drainage channels, balconies, and suspended walkways have accumulated across their faces in layers. What might once have been a planned district has become a vertical record of generations adding whatever space they could secure.

Between these crowded structures grow the signs of the fertile plain upon which the city was built. Flowering grasses push through cracks in drainage beds. Thick bushes grow in protected courtyards and along raised water channels. Vines spread across walls wherever they are not cut away. Their colors soften the city without making it less crowded.

The deeper they travel, the more difficult it becomes to understand where one neighborhood ends and another begins. There are no signs declaring tribal jurisdiction. The distinctions appear instead in repeated colors, woven patterns, doorway markings, and the cords displayed by those responsible for the street.

Ziyótl watches Virel studying them.

"Balac Pontli has many ways," he explains. "A road may belong to all who walk upon it, while the doors beside it belong to one people and the water beneath it to another. To cross the road is not always to cross the same boundary."

Sera glances through the latticework at a group of Alejia watching the vehicle pass.

"And sometimes," she adds, "the person who knows which boundary matters is the person who controls the journey."

Ziyótl considers the observation but does not dispute it.

At the first major junction, the vehicle slows. Two Alejia wearing the colors that have accompanied the party since the starport step away from the roadside. Another pair approaches from beneath a covered arcade. Tavek shows them the knotted cord. There is a brief exchange—formal, quiet, and apparently expected.

The original pair remain behind. The newcomers take up positions ahead of the vehicle.

From orbit, the change is almost invisible. Bohdie’s systems can distinguish four bodies becoming six, then four again as the vehicle clears the intersection. The movement does not resemble an ambush or a growing escort. It looks like responsibility being handed from one group to another.

The route turns away from the wider commercial avenues and enters a district where motor traffic becomes uncommon. The vehicle passes workshops opening directly onto the street: metalworking, fabric production, food preparation, repairs, and trades with no immediately obvious offworld equivalent. The smells of heated oil, spice, damp earth, smoke, and too many Alejia mingle in the confined air.

The inhabitants do not react to the visitors with one shared response. Some stop to watch. Others deliberately turn away. Children follow the vehicle until an elder calls them back. A few adults study Dr. Shone’s medical cases rather than the offworlders carrying them.

What draws the most attention, however, is the arrangement of the party: Tavek carrying the permission cord, Ziyótl wearing the knots of a recognized speaker, the healer and his witness seated together, and Sera behind them without any visible place within the formal structure.

To the Alejia along the route, they are not merely foreigners passing through the city.

They are a proceeding in motion.

At a second boundary the vehicle stops completely. Here, the transition is marked by a shallow channel of running water crossed by three narrow bridges. The escort confers with an older Alejia waiting beneath a flowering canopy. The knotted cord is shown again, but this time the discussion lasts several minutes.

Sera leans slightly toward Dr. Shone and Virel.

"This is as far as I was promised," she says quietly. "Whether they let me cross will tell us something. Do not argue for me unless you are prepared for them to ask why I am necessary."

Ziyótl is called forward. He listens, answers, and then turns toward Sera.

"You may cross the water, but not enter the place where Tomas Kade is held. You may wait beneath Hídaska protection until the healer and Virel Kilmire return."

Sera accepts the limitation without protest. It keeps her closer to the visitors than the original terms guaranteed, but leaves the final approach entirely in Hídaska hands.

As the party crosses the bridge, one of the previous escorts does not follow. Instead, he moves rapidly into a side passage and disappears beneath the upper stories.

Bohdie’s orbital tracking loses him almost immediately.

Several minutes later, a second Alejia emerges from another covered passage more than a block away. There is no visible meeting between them, but the second figure begins moving across the flow of traffic rather than along the medical party’s route. Bohdie’s software marks the motion as a probable relay and continues following it whenever the city allows.

It does not travel toward the districts associated with the Wiyá’hka.

It turns toward the older central quarters—the same broad political circle from which Ziyótl and the petition intermediaries emerged.

The observation proves nothing by itself. Messages undoubtedly cross Balac Pontli every moment. Yet its timing is exact: the party has entered Hídaska keeping, and word of that passage is already moving elsewhere.

Beyond the water, the streets narrow again. The buildings are older, taller, and more carefully maintained. Doorways bear layered cords and small objects worked into the surrounding plaster. Armed Alejia are visible, but none display weapons openly in their hands. Their presence feels less like a patrol than a reminder that every entrance belongs to someone.

The vehicle stops before a high-walled compound set back from the street. The entrance is not grand. There are no banners, guards in ceremonial armor, or public signs of authority. Only a recessed doorway beneath a row of dark wooden beams and a patterned cord stretched across the threshold.

Two Hídaska wait outside.

Tavek steps down and presents the four-knotted permission cord. Ziyótl follows. Dr. Shone, Virel, and Sera remain within the vehicle while the first quiet exchange begins.

Somewhere behind those walls is Tomas Kade.

The journey has brought them into Balac Pontli, but it has also carried them through a chain of hands, witnesses, and unseen reports. The Hídaska control the doorway before them.

Someone else is already being told that they have arrived.

Chaala watches the monitors as the movement is tracked. At each transition, she rewinds slightly and looks for any radio signals just before or just after the exchanges. She looks for anything moving or signalling in the buildings overlooking the exchanges. She coordinates with Bohdie and the others as she does so.

During the journey, Virel sat back and watched the surroundings, taking particular note of Ziyótl’s explanation when Ziyótl noticed his attention. Nothing in his manner suggested anything beyond ordinary curiosity, but inwardly he filed away every detail in case it became useful later.

When they arrived, he said nothing. He gave Doctor Shone a slight nod, more reassurance than instruction, then settled in to wait quietly and allow the Hídaska whatever time they required.

Victor tried to remain calm throughout the journey by observing whatever was inside the vehicle and what was visible outside. He silently listened to Ziyótl when he talked or gave any explanation. As the journey came to an end he disembarked with others and patiently moved with Ziyótl and others wondering how this visit will turn out. In front of the doorway he stood silently while casually eying the surroundings and the Hídaska guards that were posted there.

Bohdie silently tracks the procession using noninvasive means, mostly by visual but he tasks extra computing power whenever visual tracking becomes difficult, using intelligent systems to project movement if it becomes occluded.

When the Alejia ‘runner’ sets off, he sets a tracking ‘bug’ on the figure to keep track of any approach that may indicate who might be receiving information. He makes sure Chaala is aware of both the development and the tracking routine.

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."

Continuation

Máren listens while Ziyótl renders Virel’s words into the more exact language of keeping, passage, and witnessed responsibility. The translation takes longer than Virel’s original statement. Ziyótl repeats the distinction between the place in which keeping is exercised and the person or group beneath whose obligation that keeping remains.

Máren asks one question. It concerns the final sentence and whether passage to the cutter determines where Kade will remain after the danger has passed.

Ziyótl answers carefully. The present words govern the preservation of Kade’s life. They do not close the older obligation, surrender Hídaska responsibility, or decide the place of his later keeping. That determination will require its own words and witnesses.

Máren looks toward Náhri and speaks. Ziyótl translates the exchange for Victor and Virel.

Náhri places a hand against the covered permission cord and confirms what was witnessed during Victor’s treatment. Kade was failing while he remained in the room. The doctor named the danger, acted within the permission given, and produced the change he had promised. Preserving the life within Hídaska keeping now requires movement.

Máren turns back toward Ziyótl and gives a measured reply. Ziyótl, in turn, translates it for Virel and Dr. Shone.

"Let the words stand."

The tension in the room does not disappear, but its purpose changes. The Hídaska guards are no longer waiting to learn whether Kade may leave. They begin preparing to carry him.

Máren steps beside the sleeping platform, places one hand upon its frame, and begins speaking while Ziyótl translates.

"Kade travels beneath Hídaska keeping. The boundaries crossed will not divide it. The vessel will not take it. Náhri will carry it, and I will witness that it remains unbroken."

Máren then looks toward Victor and continues speaking. Ziyótl translates:

"The doctor will preserve the life held beneath that keeping. Where the keeping rests after the danger has passed has not been spoken here."

Ziyótl then adds quietly:

"The agreement is accepted. Máren has given it words that can be carried through the other jurisdictions."

Máren begins directing the guards. One is sent ahead to confirm the route while Ziyótl translates the instructions. Another examines the sleeping platform and determines the safest way to carry it without disturbing Victor’s infusion line. Máren will accompany the movement as its formal witness, while Náhri remains beside Kade.

Ziyótl explains that Victor retains practical authority over Kade’s treatment during the journey. If the party encounters a delay, a jurisdictional challenge, or a question at the Xá’kai checkpoint, Máren may answer without requiring the agreement to be negotiated again.

The movement to the cutter can now begin.

The Keeping Moves

The Hídaska guards work quickly, but nothing about their preparation appears hurried.

Two remove unnecessary coverings from the sleeping platform while another brings narrow carrying poles fitted with wrapped grips. The poles slide into channels beneath the frame, transforming the platform into a litter without requiring Kade to be lifted from it. A fourth guard checks the corridor and elevator while the others prepare the equipment needed to secure the litter inside a vehicle.

Náhri remains beside Kade throughout the preparations. The covered permission cord is secured across Náhri’s chest where it can be seen without being handled. Máren stands near the foot of the platform, watching the guards and Dr. Shone’s unfamiliar medical equipment.

There is no intravenous bag or tube to protect during the movement.

A thin induction patch adheres to Kade’s upper chest. Its surface changes color in subtle patterns as embedded sensors continuously map his circulation, cellular hydration, endocrine response, organ function, and the spread of infection beneath the skin. A second medical wafer near his abdomen monitors the perforation and abscess.

The hydro-osmotic micro-gels administered by Dr. Shone have already begun restoring cellular pressure without overloading Kade’s weakened heart or kidneys. Programmed nanomedical agents circulate through his bloodstream, identifying and dismantling infectious organisms that have escaped the abscess. Engineered metabolic precursors supply the proteins, electrolytes, and concentrated nutrients his body has been unable to obtain during captivity.

The treatment required only minutes to administer. The greater difficulty now is maintaining Kade’s physical position and preventing movement from worsening the damaged tissue inside his abdomen.

The TL15 medical kit can stabilize him, control the spreading infection, and reverse the immediate effects of dehydration and malnutrition. It cannot remove the perforated appendix or drain the abscess under these conditions. That requires the surgical facilities aboard the cutter.

The Hídaska make no attempt to direct the medical arrangements. Within the agreement just accepted, those decisions belong to Dr. Shone.

Ziyótl remains close to Virel. The young envoy listens for changes in wording, watches how the guards handle the permission cord, and quietly explains the meaning of the preparations.

"Náhri carries the keeping. Máren carries witness of it. The guards carry Kade, but they do not carry the obligation. That distinction will matter when we pass through the other jurisdictions."

When the litter is ready, Máren places one hand against its frame. Náhri does the same near Kade’s shoulder. Together, they establish that the movement begins with both keeper and witness present.

Máren speaks, and Ziyótl translates.

"The life beneath keeping leaves this place because remaining would place it in greater danger. The keeping goes with it. Those who see the passage will know that it has not been abandoned."

At Máren’s direction, the guards lift.

Kade does not awaken. Exhaustion, illness, and the controlled metabolic suppression initiated by Dr. Shone’s medical kit keep him unconscious during the movement. The induction patch registers a brief increase in pulse and stress hormones as the litter rises. It immediately adjusts the circulating micro-gels and pain-control agents without suppressing the warning signs Dr. Shone still needs to monitor.

Within moments, Kade’s readings settle.

After Dr. Shone confirms that he can be moved, the procession enters the corridor. Náhri walks beside the litter while Victor remains close enough to read the medical patch through his handheld scanner. Máren leads by several paces, with Virel and Ziyótl following inside the witnessed party.

The room where Kade had been kept disappears from view.

The Descent

The elevator is built for Alejia proportions and accommodates the litter, though the guards, Náhri, Dr. Shone, and the medical equipment make the car crowded.

Náhri descends with Kade. Máren and the remaining members of the witnessed party follow in the second descent.

Ziyótl explains the arrangement before the doors close.

"The keeper does not separate from the keeping. Máren may follow because the witness has already been established."

At the lower level, Kade remains inside the entrance hall until Máren rejoins the group. Dr. Shone checks the shifting patterns across the induction patch and confirms that the treatment continues to hold.

Kade remains seriously ill, but his circulation is stable. Cellular hydration is approaching a safe range, and the nanomedical agents are slowing the systemic infection. His body is receiving enough metabolic support to prevent further organ deterioration during the journey.

The abdominal injury remains unchanged. The medical system repeatedly marks it as the unresolved source of the emergency.

The outer doors are drawn aside.

The Hídaska Vehicles

Two Alejia vehicles wait in the street.

The first is a long-bodied Hídaska transport with a covered passenger compartment and broad side doors. Its interior has been cleared to receive the litter. Low mounting rails cross the floor, and woven restraints are positioned to secure the platform without placing pressure upon Kade.

The second vehicle carries the remaining Hídaska transport personnel and guards, along with the cords and markers needed to identify the movement at jurisdictional boundaries.

Neither vehicle displays an emergency signal. Each bears a temporary arrangement of Hídaska cords where drivers, boundary representatives, and observers can see them. The markings identify a movement under keeping rather than an armed deployment or seizure.

The guards carry Kade to the larger vehicle. Dr. Shone supervises as the litter is secured to the floor rails. Because the treatment requires no external fluid container or tubing, Victor needs only enough space to reach Kade and maintain contact with the medical patch.

Náhri takes position beside Kade. Two Hídaska transport guards sit opposite the litter. Máren boards near the side door, where the witness markings can be displayed whenever the vehicle stops. Virel and Ziyótl travel in the same vehicle so that the agreement can be explained if challenged.

The remaining Hídaska guards board the second vehicle.

The doors close, and the vehicles begin moving toward the starport.

Movement Through Balac Pontli

The streets have not been emptied, but a route has been prepared. Hanging markers have been turned outward at several intersections. Messengers wait where one Alejia jurisdiction gives way to another. Pedestrians move aside when they recognize the Hídaska cords displayed upon the vehicles.

High above, the surveillance systems aboard the cutter and the Azure Voyager register the convoy’s departure.

JEEM identifies the vehicles as an organized Hídaska movement toward the Xá’kai checkpoint. Virel and Dr. Shone are confirmed within the larger transport when its side door briefly opens at the first boundary. Ziyótl and Máren are identified shortly afterward.

The patient remains partially obscured, but body measurements are consistent with Tomas Kade. Brief emissions from Dr. Shone’s medical scanner provide further confirmation that someone inside the vehicle is undergoing advanced treatment.

Elsewhere within the surveillance display, the probable fourth Alejia track remains marked in amber. The individual may be moving parallel to the convoy, or the apparent connection may result from incomplete coverage through the narrow streets. No transmission or handoff has yet been attributed to the individual.

With Bohdie preparing to leave the cutter, JEEM assumes direct coordination of the surveillance picture. The shipboard systems continue recording the convoy, the starport approach, and the uncertain Alejia track.

At the first jurisdictional boundary, the vehicles stop long enough for Máren to display the witness cords. Náhri remains beside Kade and confirms that the keeping has not been surrendered.

Ziyótl translates for Virel and Dr. Shone.

"No surrender was made. The place changes because the life would fail if it remained. The keeping travels whole."

The representative looks past Máren toward the unconscious Kade. Dr. Shone’s induction patch attracts attention, particularly when its surface changes in response to the examination, but the device is not challenged.

The representative steps aside.

At the second boundary, Máren explains that the armed Hídaska aboard the vehicles are transport personnel preserving the witnessed passage. Their weapons remain secured, and their authority will not extend onto Xá’kai-controlled ground.

The answer is accepted. A messenger moves ahead while the vehicles resume their journey.

Verik Anticipates the Question

Near Star’s Mercy, Sera sees the Hídaska vehicles enter the final approach toward the starport.

She reports the movement to Captain Verik, who compares her observation with the communications traffic passing between the Xá’kai checkpoint and starport control. The pattern is enough for him to recognize what will happen next.

The Hídaska agreement has carried Kade through Balac Pontli. Before the Xá’kai allow the keeping to pass onto the field, they will want the Scout vessel to acknowledge that the arrangement continues aboard it.

Verik opens a channel to the cutter.

"Chaala, Verik. The Hídaska convoy is approaching the gate. Your people appear to be with them, and they are carrying someone under advanced medical care."

He pauses as another transmission passes between the checkpoint and starport control.

"The Xá’kai will want more than confirmation that the patient may enter the field. They will want the Scout vessel to acknowledge that Hídaska keeping continues aboard it. That acknowledgment should come from the person commanding the vessel."

Verik then offers his recommendation.

"I suggest you and Bohdie meet us at the gate. You can speak for the cutter. Bohdie can observe the acceptance and maintain the record. Sera and I will be there as independent offworld witnesses if either side finds that useful."

JEEM confirms that surveillance and communications can be maintained from within the cutter. The AI will keep the channel open, record the acceptance, coordinate with the Azure Voyager, and continue tracking the uncertain Alejia contact.

At the Gate

Chaala and Bohdie reach the gate before the Hídaska vehicles arrive. Captain Verik and Sera join them from the direction of Star’s Mercy.

The senior Xá’kai functionary waits inside the checkpoint beside two guards. One holds a set of cords received from the city. The other carries a writing board and several narrow markers. The central passage remains open, but no one signals the waiting offworlders to cross it.

The first Hídaska vehicle slows and stops outside the gate. The escort vehicle halts behind it.

The Hídaska transport guards dismount first. Their weapons remain secured. Two take positions near the larger vehicle while the others open its side doors and prepare the litter for removal.

Máren steps down and presents the witness cords. Ziyótl follows, then Virel and Dr. Shone. Náhri remains inside beside Kade until the transport guards are ready.

The litter is carefully withdrawn.

Kade remains unconscious beneath the coverings. No tubes, fluid bags, or external life-support apparatus surround him. Only the thin induction patch across his chest and the medical wafer near his abdomen reveal that active treatment continues. Subtle patterns move across their surfaces as they regulate hydration, infection control, pain, and metabolic support.

Dr. Shone’s scanner confirms that Kade remains stable enough to cross the field. The perforation and abscess remain urgent, but the TL15 treatment has kept them from overwhelming him during the journey.

Náhri walks beside the litter as the guards carry it forward and stop outside the Xá’kai boundary.

The full witnessed party is assembled at the gate.

Dr. Shone remains beside Kade. Virel stands with Ziyótl near Máren. Náhri maintains physical contact with the litter. The Hídaska transport personnel hold it steady. Chaala and Bohdie stand on the starport side with Captain Verik and Sera. JEEM listens and records from within the cutter.

The senior Xá’kai functionary examines the Hídaska cords, Máren’s position as witness, Náhri beside Kade, the nearly invisible medical technology, the offworlders returning from the city, and the representatives of the vessel waiting inside the gate.

Máren speaks first.

Ziyótl translates.

"Kade travels beneath Hídaska keeping so that the doctor may preserve his life. The boundaries crossed have not divided that keeping. Máren has witnessed that it remains unbroken."

The Xá’kai functionary listens, then looks toward Chaala and the distant cutter.

A question is put to Ziyótl. He listens carefully before turning toward Chaala, Bohdie, and the other offworld witnesses.

"The Xá’kai acknowledge the Hídaska agreement and the medical need. Before they admit the keeping onto their ground, they require the Scout vessel to accept that the keeping continues aboard it."

Ziyótl pauses before clarifying the distinction.

"They are not asking the vessel to take custody of Kade. They are asking whether the vessel accepts Kade, Náhri, Máren, and the witnessed Hídaska keeping together. The doctor’s authority over treatment remains as already agreed."

The gate remains open, but the litter does not cross.

Kade lies unconscious between the two jurisdictions, stabilized by medical technology beyond anything the assembled Alejia can fully interpret. Náhri keeps one hand upon the litter. Máren waits with the witness cords displayed. Verik and Sera stand ready to observe. Bohdie has a clear view of every participant while JEEM records from the cutter.

The final acknowledgment must now come from Chaala on behalf of the Scout vessel.

"We welcome and accept Kade and the Hidaska keepers and witnesses. I have not witnessed what has happened out of our sight, so I accept that Dr. Shone and Virel have been witness to Hidaska's keeping of their obligation and that it continues while Kade receives treatment aboard our vessel." Chaala keeps her tone professional, suppressing her concerns about Kade's condition if he needs treatment straightaway and her concerns about crowding aboard the ship.

The Gate Opens

The senior Xá’kai functionary waits without repeating the question.

Kade remains unconscious upon the litter between the two jurisdictions. Náhri keeps one hand against its frame while Máren displays the witness cords. The Hídaska transport guards stand beside the vehicles with their weapons secured. Virel and Dr. Shone remain on the city side of the boundary, while Chaala, Bohdie, Captain Verik, and Sera wait within the starport entrance.

Ziyótl stands where everyone can see him.

JEEM listens through Chaala and Bohdie’s communications equipment, recording the exchange from inside the cutter. The AI maintains the surveillance link with the Azure Voyager and continues following the uncertain movement of the fourth Alejia.

All attention settles upon Chaala.
Chaala keeps her tone professional, suppressing her concerns about Kade’s condition if he needs treatment straightaway and her concerns about crowding aboard the ship.

Ziyótl listens to Chaala’s words without interrupting. When she finishes, he turns first toward Máren and renders the acknowledgment into the formal language of keeping and witnessed responsibility. He then repeats it for the Xá’kai functionary, adjusting the form without changing its meaning.

Chaala is formally extending those accepted terms aboard the Scout vessel. The Xá’kai functionary asks Ziyótl to repeat one part of the acknowledgment, and Ziyótl does so carefully.

"The Scout vessel does not take Kade from Hídaska keeping. It receives Kade, Náhri, Máren, and the keeping together. The doctor may act to preserve Kade’s life, but the older obligation has not been closed or transferred."

Máren listens to the translation and places one hand upon the displayed witness cords. Ziyótl again translates carefully.

"The words carried from the room remain whole."

Náhri answers from beside Kade through Ziyótl’s translation.

"The keeping has not been divided."

The Xá’kai functionary looks from Máren and Náhri to Chaala. After a final pause, the functionary turns toward the guard holding the cords received from the city. Two narrow lengths are removed from the set. One is fastened to the front of the Hídaska medical transport. The other is secured to the escort vehicle. The cords do not place the vehicles under Xá’kai authority. They indicate that the Xá’kai have witnessed and accepted their temporary passage across the starport. The Xá’kai functionary steps aside, and Ziyótl translates the formal declaration.

"The Xá’kai accept the passage. Hídaska keeping may cross onto their ground and continue aboard the Scout vessel under the words witnessed here."

The gate opens fully.

Passage onto the Field

The Hídaska guards return Kade’s litter to the larger vehicle. Dr. Shone checks the induction patch before the transport doors close. The cellular hydration correction remains stable, and the nanomedical agents continue containing the systemic infection. The medical wafer over Kade’s abdomen still marks the perforation and abscess as the unresolved source of danger.

Kade has survived the journey from the Hídaska building without further deterioration, but the stabilization window is not unlimited. Surgical intervention remains urgent. Náhri boards beside him. Máren takes the position nearest the door, where both the Hídaska witness cords and the temporary Xá’kai passage cord remain visible. Virel and Ziyótl enter behind them. Dr. Shone stays within reach of Kade throughout the short journey across the field. The Hídaska transport personnel resume their places. They are guards, but their immediate duty is now the movement of the life beneath keeping. Their weapons remain secured. Chaala and Bohdie return toward the cutter ahead of the vehicles. Captain Verik and Sera remain near the gate long enough to witness the entire Hídaska convoy pass onto Xá’kai ground.

"That is the part they needed," Verik observes in passing to Chaala and Bohdie, "No one can later claim the Xá’kai admitted an unrecognized transfer or that your people carried Kade through the gate without the Hídaska."

Sera continues watching the road beyond the checkpoint. Her attention remains upon the streets and the positions from which the arriving vehicles might have been observed. Neither she nor Verik interferes with the movement.

JEEM Prepares the Cutter

Inside the cutter, JEEM has already converted the sickbay and its small lift from examination readiness to surgical readiness. The compartment’s sterile field is active. Diagnostic systems have been linked to the readings transmitted by Dr. Shone’s medical patch. The surgical cradle has adjusted itself for Kade’s physical condition and the expected abdominal procedure. Nanomedical reservoirs, tissue sealants, replacement fluids, metabolic support compounds, and broad-spectrum Panacea variants stand ready for the doctor’s selection. JEEM does not attempt to make the medical decisions, as those remain Dr. Shone’s responsibility.

The route from the cutter’s entry ramp to the medical compartment is cleared. Nonessential systems along that path are closed or secured. Visual indicators mark the areas through which the Hídaska may pass. Internal sensors are set to record the movement without projecting intrusive scanning fields across Náhri or Máren. The litter lift is lowered from the second floor to the ground, or first floor. Then JEEM opens a channel to Chaala and Bohdie.

"The medical compartment is prepared. Doctor Shone’s treatment data are being received and remain consistent with a stabilized surgical emergency. The Hídaska party can be taken directly from the ramp to the surgical compartment."

A second report follows, with JEEM stating:

"Surveillance of the city approach continues. The probable fourth Alejia remains unresolved. No confirmed transmission, exchange, or approach toward the starport has been observed."

Arrival at the Cutter

The Hídaska vehicles cross the field at a controlled speed. The temporary Xá’kai cords remain fixed to their fronts. Starport personnel watch from a distance but do not approach or redirect them. The larger transport stops with its side door aligned toward the cutter’s lowered ramp. The escort vehicle halts several meters behind it. Chaala and Bohdie reach the cutter first. JEEM opens the outer hatch and extends the ramp before the transport guards dismount. Captain Verik and Sera arrive shortly afterward, remaining outside the immediate path between the vehicle and the vessel. Their presence completes the chain of offworld witnesses from the gate to the cutter.

Máren exits first and examines the open ramp. The Scout vessel is not merely unfamiliar ground. Under the accepted agreement, it is about to become the place in which Hídaska keeping continues. Ziyótl remains beside Máren and explains what JEEM has prepared. He then turns to Chaala and Bohdie and gives the translation:

"The vessel has opened a path directly to the place of treatment. No other claim is being placed between Kade and that place."

Náhri steps down next but remains close to the open vehicle. The Hídaska transport guards release the litter from its floor mounts. Dr. Shone positions himself where he can monitor the medical patch as they begin withdrawing Kade from the vehicle. Kade remains unconscious. The induction patch continues its subtle pattern across his chest, synchronizing treatment with his changing metabolic condition. The nanomedical agents have prevented the infection from accelerating during transport, but the abdominal wafer now shows increasing pressure around the abscess. The journey has succeeded, but the medical emergency has not ended. Máren places one hand upon the cutter’s ramp and speaks, and Ziyótl translates:

"The keeping enters the vessel under the words accepted at the gate. Náhri carries it. Máren witnesses it. The doctor acts within it to preserve the life."

The guards lift the litter and begin carrying Kade up the ramp. Náhri enters beside him. Máren follows as witness. Dr. Shone accompanies the litter toward the sickbay lift. Virel and Ziyótl follow within the accepted party while the Hídaska transport guards carry Kade aboard. For the first time since his capture, Tomas Kade crosses the threshold of an Imperial Scout vessel.

He does not cross it as a released prisoner, but crosses beneath Hídaska keeping, under a witnessed agreement that has carried him from the room, through Balac Pontli, across the Xá’kai boundary, and into the place where only Dr. Shone’s expertise can save his life. The guards guide the litter into the lift. The doors close around Kade, Náhri, Máren, Dr. Shone, Virel, and Ziyótl. The lift rises directly to the second-floor sickbay, where the medical compartment waits ahead with the expertise that only the Doctor can provide.

GM Comment: The Doctor now must make a Medical make an average task roll with +2 DM for the sickbay and appropriate EDU and medical skill.

Once he reached the sickbay, Victor changed to surgical uniform and sterilized himself under decontamination vapor. He then entered the sickbay and started monitoring the vitals of Kade first. Localising the particular area of the appendix and absces cavity in Kade's abdomen using heightened scanning, he started marking the areas which will be pierced by the varies microsurgical arms of the surgical craddle. Adjusting the anaesthetic dose, Victor started the operation.

First went in the suction arm that created a channel to aspirate the pus filled tissue fluid. Then the other surgical arms went in, holding the cavity intact before it collapsed into itself. Where there was advance necrosis, micro-cauterization followed, where there was inflammation patch, a healing biogel mesh was weaved in. The appendix was checked for its structural integrity next and washed with antimicrobial gels. Then where it could be repaired, biomesh weaving was done again. Approximately 30 minutes in, the absces was aspirated, the appendix repaired or cauterized and the body cavity checked for further infection or absces generation or necrosis. Once everything was completed, Victor checked the vitals again with a thorough scan.

What Was Remembered

The sickbay doors close behind Dr. Shone, leaving Náhri, Máren, Virel, and Ziyótl outside the active sterile field.

A display beside the surgical compartment presents a simplified image of Kade’s abdomen. It shows the infected cavity, the damaged appendix, and the signs of contamination spreading through the surrounding tissue. The medical system suppresses unnecessary detail, allowing those outside to follow the operation without interfering with it.

Náhri studies the display with immediate interest. The technology is unfamiliar, but the purpose of the procedure is not.

As the first microsurgical instrument enters the abscess, Náhri quietly explains in Alejian what is happening to Máren and Ziyótl. The infected fluid must be removed before the cavity closes. Its boundaries must be held in place so the corruption does not spread into healthy tissue. Dead tissue must be separated from tissue that can still heal. Ziyótl listens closely. At first, the young envoy appears to assume that Náhri is interpreting only what can be seen on the display. As the procedure continues, however, Náhri anticipates several of Dr. Shone’s actions before the surgical cradle performs them.

When the cavity is stabilized, Náhri explains that the doctor will next search for tissue that can no longer be restored. When the micro-cauterization begins, Náhri identifies its purpose before the medical system provides an explanation. When the regenerative biomesh is woven across the damaged tissue, Náhri describes it as a more advanced form of a procedure once used by Alejia healers.

Ziyótl looks away from the display and studies Náhri. A question passes between them. Náhri answers at greater length than before. Ziyótl begins to translate for Virel, then stops after only a few words. Ziyótl eyes move toward Máren.

The older witness considers Ziyótl for several moments. Máren finally makes a small gesture toward Virel. Ziyótl translates with permission.

"These words may be carried. The names beneath them may not."

Náhri attention returns to the surgical display and continues speaking in Alejian. Ziyótl translates.

"Before the Unbinding, when Ziyótl was young, the Alejia possessed places where such injuries could be treated. Our instruments were not these instruments, and they did not act with such speed or precision, but the purpose was known."

Ziyótl takes longer than necessary to translate the statement. His attention repeatedly returns to Náhri, as though hearing the words matters as much as carrying them into Angelic.

Náhri continues.

"There were healers who could see within the body without opening it widely. They could drain corruption, remove what had died, and bind living tissue so that it might become whole again. Such treatment was not found everywhere, but it existed."

The surgical display changes as Dr. Shone’s instruments complete the aspiration and begin repairing the perforated appendix. Náhri gestures toward it.

"The doctor preserves what can live. The Healer Shone removes what cannot. Healer Shone closes the path by which the corruption entered the body. That much is not strange to me."

Náhri pauses as the display marks the medical nanobots redirecting themselves toward two smaller pockets of infection.

"That is strange to me."

For the first time, something approaching wonder enters Náhri’s expression.

"The doctor’s smallest servants move within the blood. They seek what the Healer's instruments cannot touch and destroy only what threatens the life. We did not possess such servants."

Ziyótl translates, but the fluency briefly loses its practiced rhythm. Ziyótl watches the infection markers contract, then looks toward Dr. Shone beyond the sterile field. Máren notices his reaction, and speaks directly in Angelic. Máren words come slowly and with deliberate pauses. Some sounds are difficult to pronounce, but their meaning is clear. It is the first time Virel has heard another Alejia speak Angelic rather than rely entirely upon Ziyótl.

"So you were told."

Ziyótl gaze respectfully lowers before answering.

"I was told that such places existed before the Unbinding. I thought the stories had grown in the telling."

Náhri’s response is patient rather than critical. Ziyótl translates it into Angelic.

"You were young. You remember the shelters, the warnings, and the years after. You do not remember what stood before them."

Ziyótl is silent for several moments. Ziyótl carefully preserves the distinction between what Náhri remembers and what he learned through guarded stories. He then adds something of his own.

"That was before. We have the now."

Ziyótl glances toward Máren before continuing, but Máren speaks first. Using Angelic, choosing each word before attempting to pronounce it.

"The ways we follow now are slower. They divide authority. They require witnesses, permissions, and the carrying of obligations across every boundary. They can appear burdensome to those who did not survive the Unbinding."

Máren’s eyes return to Kade’s medical display.

"But those ways prevent one hand from gathering enough power to bind every other hand beneath it. They make us speak before we act. They make others witness what is carried and why. The Alejia accept those burdens so that the Unbinding will not come again."

Máren pauses, with a look that is strange. Could that be concern or something else? Virel is unsure. Chaala notices the odd expression, but does not know what it means.

Ziyótl understands the limit immediately and explains it to Virel.

"The causes and names are not permitted to cross. Only that the Alejia remember what was lost, and that many of our present customs exist to prevent its return."

The exchange reveals more than any of them intended. Náhri and Máren remember an Alejia world that possessed advanced hospitals, trained specialists, and medical procedures recognizable beneath the sophistication of Imperial technology. Ziyótl inherited only fragments of that world through childhood memories and guarded stories. The elaborate customs of keeping and witness are not simply ancient traditions. At least some were preserved, strengthened, or created after the Unbinding to prevent authority from again concentrating without restraint.

Ziyótl tries to recover their usual composure, but Ziyótl amazement remains visible.

VIREL Make an Average task roll: Liaison or Investigate skill as DM plus INT DM. Use a DM of +1 due to the trust and working relationship he has developed with Ziyótl.

Chaala make a Difficult task roll: Diplomacy or Investigate skill as DM plus INT DM.

Bohdie make a Difficult task roll: Diplomacy or Investigate skill as DM plus INT DM.

The Operation Concludes

The final medical scan finds no uncontrolled bleeding, untreated necrosis, or remaining pathway through which the repaired appendix can spread infection. Dr. Shone’s surgery has succeeded completely.

Kade remains unconscious under controlled anesthesia, but his temperature is falling and his organs are stabilizing. The surgical cradle projects no requirement for further intervention.

Náhri watches the last infection markers disappear. He speaks in Alejian, and Ziyótl translates.

"The doctor named the hidden danger. He opened its enclosure without releasing it. He removed what was dead and returned strength to what could live."

Máren studies the medical display before answering. This time she speaks in slow, careful Angelic.

"The life carried beneath keeping has been preserved."

The statement is not a release. It is a witnessed declaration that the purpose for bringing Kade aboard the cutter has been fulfilled. No Alejia present may later claim that the movement weakened Hídaska keeping or that Dr. Shone acted beyond the permission granted to him.

Kade should regain consciousness within one or two hours. After a full sleep cycle, he should be able to eat, speak, and move with assistance. His prolonged captivity and weakness will still require recovery, but the infection will not kill him, and no additional surgery is expected.

For the first time since Dr. Shone examined him in the Hídaska room, Tomas Kade is no longer dying.

Bohdie listens with great interest, especially everything that deals with the Alejia’unbinding’. But he remains silent throughout, understanding that any questions would be beyond the knot’s authority. Still, he is very interested in what was before and what caused the unbinding. He studies the way Máren speaks and any gestures or other nonverbal cues he can, taking special note when Máren speaks in Angelic and how the Ziyótl is mildly chastised.


Investigate Roll +INT mod (2d6+4)

Chaala is also intrigued by the discussion of the unbinding and the current traditions that have evolved from it. The cords and knots had struck her as an ancient technology and it's current adaptation suddenly made more sense.

Virel listened closely, nodding at the appropriate moments but otherwise allowing little to show on his face.

Inwardly, however, the references to the Unbinding began connecting with everything he had learned of Alejia custom. Patterns were beginning to form into something more coherent and perhaps, with them, some sense of how they might proceed from here.

Victor breathes a sigh of relief as the operation is concluded. He checked Kade's vital one more time to be sure and then slowly rose from his seat near the surgical cradle. Coming out of the room he gave a last glance at Kade's sleeping form and then exited through the decontamination vapor door. Once outside he told Náhri and the other Alejians that the operation was a success, "The procedure is done. The perforation of the damaged organ is treated as best as I can. The abscess is cleared and internal tissue patched up while the systemic infection is currently being dealt with. Kade should begin emerging from anaesthesia within approximately thirty minutes. The internal repair will require at least six hours before ordinary movement no longer threatens it. I request twenty-four hours of observation so I can confirm that there is no postoperative bleeding, renewed infection, or failure of the repair. After that examination, I can tell you whether Kade may safely be transported. Recovery from the infection, malnutrition, and prolonged weakness will take several more days, even with our medical technology."

The Healer’s Path Closes

The surgical cradle completes its final scan before withdrawing the microsurgical instruments. No uncontrolled bleeding remains. The repaired tissue holds beneath the regenerative mesh, the abscess cavity has been cleared, and the nanomedical agents continue seeking the remaining infection.

Dr. Shone studies Kade’s vital signs one final time before leaving the surgical compartment. Decontamination vapour passes across Victor’s uniform and exposed skin as the inner door seals behind him.

Náhri rises immediately. Máren waits beside the witness cords while Ziyótl takes a position from which the doctor’s words can be carried clearly.

Victor explains that the operation succeeded. The perforation has been repaired, the abscess cleared, and the damaged internal tissue reinforced. The remaining systemic infection is responding to treatment.

Kade should begin emerging from anaesthesia within thirty to ninety minutes. The internal repairs require at least six hours before ordinary movement will no longer threaten them. Even then, Kade will remain weakened by infection, malnutrition, dehydration, and prolonged confinement.

Dr. Shone requests twenty-four hours of observation before deciding whether Kade can be transported safely. That period will allow Victor to check for renewed infection, internal bleeding, another abscess, or failure of the repair. Full recovery will require several more days.

Ziyótl translates most of the report directly. When the explanation reaches the possibility of returning Kade to Hídaska holding, Ziyótl renders the phrase as returning Kade to the place where Hídaska keeping rests. The adjustment avoids suggesting that Dr. Shone has declared Kade a criminal prisoner or accepted the permanent authority of any particular place.

Náhri asks several questions about the repair. The questions concern the strength of the biomesh, the possibility of contamination remaining beyond the cleared cavity, and the signs that would warn of renewed danger.

The knowledge behind the questions is older than the technology surrounding Kade, but the medical reasoning remains sound.

After hearing Dr. Shone’s answers, Náhri places one hand against the sealed sickbay door.


Ziyótl carries the statement into Angelic.

Náhri continues. Náhri looks toward the medical display, where the first stages of tissue regeneration are already visible.
Máren considers the medical display before speaking in slow, carefully chosen Angelic.



"The doctor asks for time before claiming certainty. This is proper."

Each word requires deliberate pronunciation, but the meaning reaches the offworlders without translation. Máren then continues in Alejian, allowing Ziyótl to carry the more formal decision.



"Kade will remain aboard the vessel for one full turning of the day. Náhri remains beside the keeping. The doctor will speak when Kade wakes, when the inner repair has bound, and when the turning is complete."

Máren touches the witness cords.



"If movement remains dangerous, the keeping will remain where the life can be preserved. New words will be witnessed for the additional time. No promise made here will require the life to be endangered merely because the appointed turning has ended."

The twenty-four-hour period is therefore accepted as a point of medical review, not a deadline for Kade’s departure.

Hídaska keeping continues aboard the cutter. Náhri will remain close to Kade. Máren’s witness remains attached to the agreement, although Máren need not occupy the sickbay passage continuously. Dr. Shone retains complete practical authority over Kade’s treatment. Kade has not been released, but neither can Kade be removed from necessary medical care without violating the purpose of the agreement. Behind the sterile barrier, the surgical cradle changes Kade’s condition from surgical emergency to monitored recovery. For the first time since the search began, one of the missing Scouts is located, alive, and no longer dying. The Healer’s Path has reached its conclusion.

What the Crew Understands

While Kade sleeps, JEEM combines the communications record with the observations made by Chaala, Bohdie, and Virel. The transmissions surrounding Kade’s movement no longer resemble confused local traffic. Each burst corresponds approximately to a boundary crossing, a change in escort, the acceptance of a witness, or the opening of another part of the route. No central Alejia station commanded the entire movement. Each jurisdiction acknowledged only the portion of the passage falling beneath local authority.
Bohdie’s Findings

Bohdie’s attention to Máren and Ziyótl reveals details that would otherwise be easy to overlook. Máren’s limited use of Angelic is deliberate. Máren possesses enough command of the language to intervene when the precise words matter, but ordinarily allows Ziyótl to perform the work of translation.
Máren’s statement to Ziyótl, "So you were told," was a measured correction rather than a rebuke. Máren distinguished Ziyótl’s inherited understanding from Náhri’s living memory of the time before the Unbinding.

The pauses, glances, and gestures during the exchange also marked the boundaries of what could be translated. The Alejia permitted the offworlders to hear what had been lost and why present customs divide authority. The names, causes, and accusations beneath that history were withheld. Bohdie also recognizes that the prohibition may involve more than painful memory. Old names and old causes may still create claims, blame, or obligations among present Alejia groups. The communications record supports another conclusion. The probable fourth Alejia did not move with the recognized messengers, did not join the witnessed route, and did not appear within the chain of jurisdictional acknowledgments. The unidentified observer followed the event from outside its formal structure.

This does not establish any connection to the NMTC. It does indicate that another interested party watched the Hídaska agreement being carried to the starport.

Chaala’s Findings

Chaala understands that the cords and knots are not merely ceremonial survivals. Together with spoken declarations and witnessed communications, the cords form a working system for controlling authority.

A cord may indicate:

• Who carries an obligation.
• Who has witnessed that obligation.
• What authority has been granted.
• Where that authority ends.
• Which boundary may be crossed.
• Whether keeping has continued, transferred, or closed.

The forms may be ancient, but the present system appears to have been preserved, expanded, or deliberately reshaped after the Unbinding.

Chaala recognizes the operational consequence. Recovering the remaining Scouts probably will not require persuading one Alejia ruler. The crew must construct a compatible chain of agreements among the groups that control the Scouts, the routes, the vehicles, and the boundaries between them. The crew succeeded with Kade because every affected authority could accept a limited part of the movement without surrendering every other claim.

Virel’s Findings

Virel recognizes that Ziyótl’s hesitation was not caused by difficulty translating. Ziyótl was hearing firsthand testimony about a world known primarily through childhood fragments and guarded stories. Ziyótl’s defence of present Alejia customs was also more than an explanation for the offworlders. Ziyótl was reconciling Náhri’s memory of what had been lost with the warnings taught after the Unbinding. Máren deliberately permitted part of that history to cross into Angelic. The permission followed Dr. Shone’s preservation of Kade, Virel’s careful framing of the agreement, and Chaala’s acknowledgment at the gate. The confidence remains bounded. Questions about how present obligations function may be answered. Questions seeking forbidden names, blame, or causes would threaten the trust the crew has earned.

Recovery due to Doctor Shone - The First Hours of Recovery

Kade begins emerging from anaesthesia within the period predicted by Dr. Shone. Awareness returns unevenly. The surgical cradle suppresses pain and prevents sudden movement. Kade may recognize familiar voices and answer one or two simple questions, but exhaustion and medication prevent a useful account of the capture. Dr. Shone permits reassurance and identification, not an interrogation. During the following six hours, the biomesh becomes secure and the nanomedical treatment continues eliminating infection. Kade sleeps through much of that period. Short intervals of consciousness become clearer, but even a brief conversation produces visible fatigue. At the twenty-four-hour examination, Dr. Shone expects to determine whether Kade can be transported safely. A successful examination will not mean that Kade has recovered. It will mean that supported movement is unlikely to reopen the injury.

Even with TL-15 treatment, the expected recovery remains:

• Two to three days before Kade can sit upright and converse for extended periods.
• Three to seven days before Kade can walk with assistance and function outside the sickbay.
• At least one to two weeks before limited duty becomes medically reasonable.
• Longer before full strength returns after the prolonged captivity.

Dr. Shone’s exceptional surgical result means no complication is expected. The remaining time reflects the recovery of Kade’s entire body rather than uncertainty about the operation.

The Next Decision

While Kade rests, the crew gathers in the cutter’s common compartment. Náhri remains near the sickbay. Máren and Ziyótl stay in the Kitchen/galley area within reach but cannot intrude upon the offworld discussion, as the discussion occurs in the Cutter's module office on the second floor.

JEEM presents the time-sensitive intelligence first.
This is the Intelligence Path. The crew may prioritize locating the fourth Alejia and determining whether the observer represents another Alejia interest, the NMTC, or an unknown party.

Ruiha turns attention toward the cutter.
Ruiha recommends establishing controlled access, maintaining watches at the ramp, securing the communications link with the Azure Voyager, and preparing peaceful and emergency departure plans. This is the Readiness Path. The crew may consolidate the cutter’s security and ensure that neither the medical agreement nor the orbital support network can be disrupted.

Captain Verik and Sera were consulted via holographic ship-to-ship communication.

What Captain Verik proposes is building upon the precedent created by Kade.
Verik recommends requesting a witnessed accounting of the remaining Scouts. The request would not demand immediate release. It would ask:

• Where does the keeping of each Scout presently rest?
• What obligation is attached to each Scout?
• Who witnessed the creation of that obligation?
• What danger, debt, or unfinished act prevents closure?
• Which Alejia jurisdictions must accept a future passage?

This is the Witnessed Accounting Path. It offers the clearest diplomatic route toward locating and recovering the remaining Scouts.

Sera advises allowing the consequences of Kade’s movement to become visible. Sera recommends watching the approaches to the starport, changes in local traffic, unfamiliar visitors, and alterations to the cords or markers around the gate. The fourth observer may become easier to identify after reporting that Kade survived.
This is the Counter-Surveillance Path. It risks losing some diplomatic momentum but may expose interests that have remained concealed.

---

Harlan Voss looks toward the sickbay passage. Voss recommends waiting until Dr. Shone permits a short conversation.

The first discussion should establish only immediate facts:

• Where Kade last saw the other Scouts.
• How the Scouts were separated.
• Which Alejia accompanied each captive.
• Whether anyone mentioned the missing vessel.
• Whether Kade recognizes the description of the fourth observer.
• Whether any Scout faced an immediate danger when Kade was taken away.

This is the Testimony Path. The first answers may be fragmentary, but even one name, location, warning, or remembered image could identify the crew’s next objective.

---

JEEM places the options together on the common-compartment display.

---

Outside, the Hídaska vehicles remain beneath the temporary Xá’kai passage cords. Within the cutter, Náhri watches over the recovering Scout. Somewhere beyond the starport, an unidentified Alejia may already be carrying news of what occurred.

The crew now possesses something that was absent before entering Balac Pontli. Not merely a survivor, but a method.

Player Decision

The crew may choose one primary course:

1. Seek a Witnessed Accounting: Use the Kade agreement as the model for locating and recovering the remaining Scouts.
2. Investigate the Fourth Alejia: Attempt to identify the observer before the surveillance trail disappears.
3. Prepare for Kade’s Testimony: Organize a medically limited first interview and allow Kade’s information to determine the next objective.
4. Consolidate the Cutter: Secure the vessel, communications, orbital support, and contingency plans before taking further action.
5. Watch for Reactions: Allow Sera and the crew to observe how local interests respond to Kade’s survival.

GM Comment: JEEM can maintain passive surveillance during any selection. Ruiha can supervise routine security preparations. Dr. Shone retains authority over when Kade may speak and how long any conversation may last.

Bohdie receives DM+2 on the next task to reacquire, classify, or determine the affiliation of the fourth Alejia.

Chaala receives DM+1 on the next Leadership, Liaison, Diplomat, or Admin task used to organize a multi-jurisdictional Alejia agreement.

Virel receives DM+1 on the next Liaison task involving Ziyótl, Máren, Náhri, or the interpretation of present Alejia obligations.

As the disposition of the Alejia aboard ship becomes clear, Chaala addresses them. "I recognize that the witnessing and maintaining of the obligation remains of formost importance, and the comfort of the witnesses and bearers may be secondary, it is our tradition that, to the extent possible, we make comfort available to those who will spend time beneath our roof. To that end, without creating new obligation, we would welcome such comforts as could be secured for your use, in the recognition that our temporary home is not ideal for the resting of the Alejia body."


With the crew assembled; "This remains a primarily diplomatic mission. We have made significant progress on that front and I'm inclined to keep working in that direction. Those who hold obligation for the remaining crew have been cooperative and if we continue to work with them we can make it clear that our obligation aligns with theirs if a third party tries to interfere. I welcome everyone's expertise before we commit to a path, and we don't ignore the other paths to the extent that we have resources and they don't risk worsening our diplomatic position. If they take me up on bringing in comforts, we can observe who tries to take advantage of that and how."

Still turning over the patterns he had seen and trying to anticipate what might come next, Virel listened to Chaala’s instructions to the crew. He gave her the briefest nod of agreement but said nothing further.

Instead, he made himself quietly available to the Alejia aboard the Cutter, should any of them wish to speak. He did not initiate another discussion or press for information, simply remaining present in case they needed anything.

Hospitality Without Obligation

Once the arrangements for Kade’s observation become clear, Chaala addresses the Alejia aboard the cutter.
Ziyótl translates Chaala’s offer carefully. Particular attention is given to the distinction between comfort freely made available and a gift that might create another obligation.

Náhri remains beside the sickbay entrance while listening. Máren studies Chaala for several moments before answering.



"The offer has been spoken with its limits. Comfort placed within the vessel will not purchase gratitude, alter the keeping, or become part of what must later be returned."

Ziyótl translates the answer, then listens as Máren continues.



"The Hídaska vehicles carry resting rolls, food prepared for Alejia bodies, and coverings suitable for a long watch. Those things may be brought aboard. They will remain Hídaska possessions used within the place you have opened."

Máren indicates the route leading back toward the cutter’s ramp.



"The Xá’kai witnessed the passage of the vehicles and the keepers. Additional persons or possessions crossing from the field must also be made visible to the Xá’kai. Nothing should enter by an unspoken path while Kade remains beneath witnessed keeping."

Chaala’s offer is therefore accepted, but the acceptance is carefully bounded. The Hídaska will provide the unfamiliar items. The crew will provide space, access, environmental adjustments, and ordinary hospitality. Neither side will treat those accommodations as payment or debt.

Náhri looks through the sickbay entrance. Dr. Shone has already lowered the lighting around Kade and adjusted the medical compartment for recovery. Náhri asks for no further change within the treatment area.

Instead, Náhri indicates the adjoining passage where the Hídaska watch will spend much of the coming day.

"The doctor has prepared the place of healing for Kade. That should remain as the doctor requires. If the light in the place of waiting may be softened when no work is being done there, the watch will rest more easily."

Náhri pauses to listen to the ordinary vibration and ventilation sounds moving through the cutter.

"The vessel should continue sounding as the vessel normally sounds. A sudden silence would tell the resting body that the place has changed."



Ziyótl explains that the request applies only to the adjoining watch area. The Alejia do not require complete silence while resting. Familiar surrounding sounds help establish that a place remains occupied, watched, and safe.

JEEM can soften the passage lighting and reduce unnecessary alerts without changing Dr. Shone’s recovery settings or concealing the cutter’s ordinary sounds.

Máren gives a small movement of acknowledgment toward Chaala.



"You have made room for the keeping without attempting to possess it. Now you make room for those who carry it. The difference is understood."

A Place for Virel

Virel does not press the Alejia with further questions. Virel remains nearby, quietly available should Náhri, Máren, or Ziyótl require assistance.

For a time, none of the Alejia speaks to Virel.

The silence is not rejection. Máren and Ziyótl both recognize what Virel is attempting. The intent is considerate, but the action does not fit neatly within Alejia custom.

Among the Alejia, remaining near a place of keeping without declaring a purpose is not entirely neutral. Continued presence may imply witness, a claim to hear what is spoken, readiness to carry a message, or responsibility for something expected to occur.

Ziyótl eventually approaches Virel.



"In your custom, a person may remain near another so that help is available without requiring the need to be spoken beforehand."

The statement is offered as recognition rather than a question.



"We understand that this is what you are doing. Among the Alejia, a person who waits near a keeping would normally make known what the waiting carries. Otherwise, those present must determine whether the waiting is witness, claim, service, or expectation."

Ziyótl glances toward Máren before continuing.



"Máren understands that you do not yet know which words would define your place. Máren also understands that you chose not to invent those words."

Máren speaks from beside the witness cords. The Anglic is slow and carefully pronounced.



"Virel waits so need does not cross the room searching."

Máren pauses before selecting the remaining words.



"Virel carries no keeping. Virel claims no witness. Virel waits to receive a request."

Ziyótl renders the statement into Alejian for Náhri, formally defining Virel’s presence without attaching Virel to the Hídaska obligation.

The effect is subtle but important. Virel now has a recognized place aboard the cutter. The place creates no authority over Kade and no duty beyond anything Virel later agrees to carry.

A short time later, Náhri makes use of that availability.

"The resting rolls and food may be brought from the larger transport. Two Hídaska guards know which items belong to the watch. The Xá’kai should see the items pass, and the vessel should know what enters."

Ziyótl translates the request for Virel.



"This is a small matter, but small matters show whether the words spoken for greater matters remain true."

Virel’s patient presence has given the Alejia a way to request assistance without disturbing Chaala’s command discussion or drawing Náhri away from Kade.

For the moment, the Alejia aboard the cutter have accepted the crew’s hospitality without creating another obligation.

Virel has also gained something less visible but equally useful: a place from which to remain present without claiming authority, witness, or keeping.

GM Comment: I am still awaiting for @Packratt66 and @Stalker05 to post for their characters on the pathway forward.

Chaala says:

"... I welcome everyone's expertise before we commit to a path, and we don't ignore the other paths to the extent that we have resources and they don't risk worsening our diplomatic position."

As a reminder the pathway consisting of:
Seek a Witnessed Accounting: Use the Kade agreement as the model for locating and recovering the remaining Scouts.
Investigate the Fourth Alejia: Attempt to identify the observer before the surveillance trail disappears.
Prepare for Kade’s Testimony: Organize a medically limited first interview and allow Kade’s information to determine the next objective.
Consolidate the Cutter: Secure the vessel, communications, orbital support, and contingency plans before taking further action.
Watch for Reactions: Allow Sera and the crew to observe how local interests respond to Kade’s survival.


Or the pathway can be something else, after all it is up to the players to decide.

Victor periodically checked on Kade regarding his vitals even though he was more or less confident that nothing wrong will happen. However his mind followed his usual habit as he came to check on the patient status. He was also intrigued to see that the Hídaska members and other Alejia was currently staying within the cutter. For once he thought about having a conversation with Náhri who seemed to belong to the medical profession among the Alejian but he didn't want to take any risk because he was least prepared to deal with their customs.