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Dutiful Passage

Colemeno Orbit


“Well,” Shan said, opening his eyes, “that was embarrassing.”

“Aside being covered over with rue,” Lina said, from somewhere in the vicinity of his left shoulder, “how do you feel, old friend?”

Well, that was the question, wasn’t it? Shan thought. He took a breath, and reached for Healspace.

It bloomed around him in misty swirls of teal and peach, cool, and refreshing. A thought brought his pattern forward, and he smiled to See it; the links that had been broken, reformed; the evidence of abuse faded, and overgrown with vibrant color.

“Shan?”

The mist pirouetted, and Shan opened his eyes to find Lina’s face bent above him.

“I feel perfectly well,” he told her. “What’s more, I am perfectly well.”

“I agree,” she said, and her smile was wry. “As a Healer, I find you in astonishingly good health. Still, you know, fainting in the hallway is not the done thing, and Keriana would have you stay here until she arrives.”

“Priscilla,” he said, then, and of a sudden recalled it. The two of them, having debarked, walking from the shuttle docking toward the main hall. He had felt a moment of lightheadedness, and before him had seen Priscilla falter, straighten—and falter again.

He had leapt to catch her, and had somehow contrived to hit his head.

“I didn’t faint,” he told Lina. “Priscilla fainted.”

“If you will quibble, then, yes—Priscilla fainted. You only lost your balance, and knocked your head. You will wish to know that you succeeded in cushioning Priscilla’s landing, and that no harm was done to the decking.”

“And why did Priscilla faint?” he asked, though he could feel the links that bound them, vibrant and strong, and heard her voice whisper inside his ear, I’m fine, love.

“It would appear that Priscilla fainted as a result of a sudden drop in her blood pressure. She is, as you may be aware, pregnant.”

“I did know that, thank you,” Shan said, evenly, and felt Priscilla smile.

“Keriana has initiated a suite of tests,” Lina said, impervious to irony. “After all, you both wished thorough checkups.”

“Thus, the plan goes forth. Am I allowed to sit up, do you think?”

“I think you had best remain lying down until Keriana has done her checks,” Lina said.

Shan sighed.

“Since you are here, amuse me,” he said. “Has my Gift been replenished?”

“Largely so, to my mind,” Lina said. “I gather that you have Colemeno’s effervescent atmosphere to thank for this.”

“That was another thing that we hoped to discover by returning home. Colemeno’s ambient conditions are—remarkable. I felt that I had recovered myself almost immediately we came onto the dock, and made the decision not to shield.”

“That was impetuous,” Lina said, and raised her hand. “Not that I am surprised, you understand.”

“Impetuous to a fault,” Shan said mournfully. “It has always been so.”


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