by B.J. Keeton
***
“I can’t today,” Easter Harlo said. “I’ve got too much going on. Can we do it next week?”
“Harlo, you know better than that,” Doctor Howser said.
“Yeah, I do. But what’s so important that I have to stop when I’m in the middle of my clinicals? I’m going to have to start them all over, ma’am.”
“No, this is going to continue them, Harlo. Think of it as a relocation more than anything else.”
“I don’t know,” Harlo said.
“They’re your Rites, Harlo. You have to do them, and there’s always the chance that this might be easier than your clinicals. If you can keep the team patched up well enough—and if this team isn’t exactly stupid—you might not have to work half as hard as you would to finish clinicals.”
“I wouldn’t learn as much, either.”
“Field work is a different kind of educational experience. You need it just as much as you need to wander the halls, treating the sick and making rounds.”
Harlo sighed and reattached the tablet she had been reading to the end of the patient’s bed. “I guess I can. What am I doing?”
“I’m sure you heard about the incident this morning?”
“Vaguely,” Harlo admitted. “I was in here, but I couldn’t step out.”
“Of course,” Howser said. “The Sigil has lost its connection to Erlon. Your team is being sent to find a way to either restore that connection—an outcome Roman does not see as being likely—or to find a way back to Erlon so that we’re not floating in dead space anymore.”
“That’s it?”
“The Instance you’re going to is unmapped. We’re not sure what’s there. Roman hinted the Untouchable’s influence might be there somehow. He was pretty vague about that, actually.”
“Well, that sounds fantastic.” Her voice was monotone.
“Doesn’t it?” Howser replied. “You and your team are going to investigate what you can and see if you can find anything that would lead us to the Untouchable on Erlon. I think Ceril Bain is going to be responsible for that.”
“I don’t know him. Heard of him, though. Wasn’t he the one who killed that boy a few years ago?”
“Yes, but he’s your leader on this one, Harlo. You follow his orders, okay?”
Harlo held her hands out, palms up. “What else would I do?”
“I know you, Harlo, and when you get something in your head, you can’t let it go.”
“Some people say, doc, that’s a good thing.”
“And others call it unhealthy and obsessive.”
“Hey!”
“That mindset will likely get you through this safely, though. Just make sure you take care of your people, okay? Everything else is secondary. I know you haven’t been in the field much, but this is big, Harlo. I need you to bring everybody back, okay? Everything else aside, all other mission directives aside, you bring these people back.”
Harlo sobered up at her mentor’s words. “I got it, doc. I do.”
“Easter Harlo, you have permission to act as a fully Rited agent of the Charonic Archive for the duration of this mission. Do you have any questions?”
“Do I get to keep my sleeve, then?”
Howser nodded. “Yes, and the rest of your team will have one, too. You’ve had the most experience with one, though, so if they need any help making theirs work, it will fall on you to explain it, okay? They might have had a few hours working nanites before, but not nearly as much time as you have.”
“Got it. I can do that.”
“I know you can, Harlo. Now, a bag has been packed for you already, and it’s waiting for you in the Instance chamber. Your team should be about ready to go. Finish up what you’re working on, and meet them there in half an hour.”
“Can do. You want me to finish my rounds this morning, doc?”
“No, I’ll cover them, Harlo. Stop worrying so much.”
“Yeah, sure,” Harlo said. “Quit worrying with my Rites starting in half an hour. That’s going to happen.”
Doctor Howser smiled. “Get out of here, Harlo.”
