Sirna found herself mindlessly pacing back and forth before the locked metal door that led to the Hostigos Paratime Transposition Depot.
"Stop that infernal pacing, Sirna," Professor Lathor Karv said. "You're going to wear ruts in the floor stones! How will we explain that to the Foundry workers?"
Sirna bit back a sarcastic rejoinder. She wasn't sure in her own mind why she was so concerned about Chief Verkan, except that she liked him. To her he'd always been the most competent and strongest man in any room. To know the Chief was lying in the depot with a sucking chest wound only demonstrated how vulnerable all the timeliners were, trapped in the middle of a war, on a time-line millions of parayears from First Level. Not only was outtime work hard and messy-but dangerous, too.
The only other member of the University Team who seemed concerned about the Chief was Aranth Sain, who had pulled up a chair and was waiting for news patiently. She wished she shared his First Level mental discipline.
Finally, Captain Skordran Kirv-the latest Paratime Police babysitter- came through the door. Colonel Ranthar had taken Eldra with him when he'd left for his secret mission for Kalvan in Hos-Bletha. Sirna was convinced the only reason Eldra had gone along was that she'd been exiled by Chief Verkan for approaching Kalvan at the University party and trying to seduce him in public. It was a stupid thing to do, especially with Rylla waiting in the wings. She missed Eldra, but not the air of danger the older woman carried around with her like a scarf.
"How is our Chief?" Sain asked, finally breaking the silence.
"Dalon saved his life. Quick thinking on his part to use the monocell membrane to cover Verkan's chest wound. He wouldn't have lasted long without it."
Sirna saw the wince that Aranth made upon hearing about the mono-cell treatment. It was supposed to be very painful; she wondered if he had direct experience with it during his military days.
Kirv continued. "We just sent him back to the Fifth Level Police Terminal for treatment. He should be back in two or three days."
They'd probably graft him a new lung and use cellgrow to repair the tissue damage, she thought. His wounds must have been serious or he would have been back in a day. Now they were really alone.
"Is he badly hurt?" she asked.
"Yes and no. They're mortal wounds for Aryan-Transpacific. Minor for First Level; he wants to stay at the Terminal and study the battle reports, as well as catch up on some of his backlog, until the battle's settled. It's too soon for him to make an appearance in Hostigos-win or lose."
"What about Kalvan?"
Captain Kirv looked at her thoughtfully.
"I mean, what's the Chief's cover story?"
"Badly wounded and left for dead. We'll leave some pretty nasty 'scars' to show the locals and Kalvan when the war is over. There's tremendous variability in trauma survival where medicine's in its infancy. Here one can just as easily die from a rusty wire as a chest wound. 'It's all up to the gods,' is the local healers' disclaimer. I don't think anyone here will be suspicious unless the Chief returns too soon."
"When do we leave?"
Talgan Dreth, the Study Team Director, who'd just entered the foundry looked at her as if she were one of Styphon's minions.
"Only when-and if-Kalvan evacuates Hostigos Town. Otherwise, we'll stay put. I'll not be made a laughingstock by the media again!"
Sirna suspected one of the Paratime Police had smuggled out a recording of the original Study Team hastily deserting the Foundry based on false reports of a Hostigi defeat from some Ulthori deserters. Most of the Team had come off as amiable idiots-at best-as they struggled to conduct a chaotic evacuation. Sirna, Eldra and Aranth Sain had received all the good press, since they had stayed behind and helped to aid the Hostigi wounded. Neither Lala nor the rest of the Team had expected their hasty exit to be viewed on Yandar Yadd's news show. Lala had been livid, letting off a stream of curses that any of Kalvan's troopers would have been proud to claim as his own.
She hoped Talgan's pride wouldn't get in the way of an orderly evacuation, if things got grim.