“Good. Very good.”
Bane could hear the satisfaction in Jaron’s tone regarding his Chosen and relaxed. “The Unit?”
“All is well. Team Three is due to return from their mission today.”
Team Three was his team. They were working short-staffed since his Unit Leader, Torkel Alonson, refused to consider replacing Bane and giving his position to another. The list of soldiers waiting for a chance to be assigned under Torkel’s command was well over a dozen.
Bane closed his eyes and spoke the most painful words ever. “Perhaps the placement process should begin, Jaron.”
“Have you received a new diagnosis? Did the medics discover something else hindering your recovery?” Jaron fired back.
Bane let out a broken chuckle and stared around his room with its array of medical equipment. “Nothing like that. I’m just not sure there’s hope.”
There was a telling pause, then Jaron stated, “I was able to get a hold of my friend. Hunter’s on his way after he clears a few things from his schedule and gets someone to watch his bar. Estimated arrival less than two weeks. Maybe sooner.”
The tight sensation in his chest unfurled, releasing Bane from fear’s brutal grip. Hunter, a former Jutak warrior, had the same version of cybernetic enhancements as the ones used on Bane. After his injury, Jaron had been adamant Hunter could help.
Still. “If things do not work out, know that I am honored to have called you all teammates.”
“Save it, Bane. If any of the Chosens hear you speak that way, they will descend on that military research facility like a horde.”
Unexpected laughter exploded from Bane. The Earth women and Jaron’s Argoran Chosen were a bold group, vocal and protective of those they considered family. Bane was fortunate to be included in that intimate circle. For so long it had only been his maman and him.
“Give Hunter a chance,” Jaron added when Bane’s laughter died down. “Don’t give up yet.”
Hope was all Bane had to cling to. Then he remembered something he’d wanted his friend to follow up on. “Were you able to access the background on Caris Tiloh?”
If Bane had his own comps at his disposal, he could have run the scans himself and cracked the government privacy codes for the information. Due to his limitations and access, Jaron was the next best thing.
“Records from her maturation at sixteen annals and under are sealed. Everything after is in order.”
Bane rubbed at his temple. Unusual. Unless she had criminal activities listed as a youth, there was no need for someone in the medical field to have their personal history blocked. “Thoughts?”
“I’ll expand the search measures if you believe it’s worth it.”
It was probably nothing. There was truly no cause for why Bane wanted the background other than a worrying itch in the new medic assistant’s presence. He tended not to ignore his itches but in this instance. “Leave it. I’m sure its nothing.”
A pause as the comm line hummed between them. “I can pursue it without interfering with my other work, Bane. She has unlimited access to you. Is there a perceived threat?”
The nature of their job required secrecy, allowing a select few an awareness of their identities. Any documentation requiring holo images of them was sealed and only those with the highest clearance were deemed privy to those details. The goal was to minimize the dangers they faced to a certain extent, but nothing was perfect.
“I’ll let you know if anything warrants you to dig deeper.”
“Agreed,” Jaron gave in with reluctance. “And comm your maman. She left a message this morning.”
Running a hand through his hair, Bane blew out a breath. He’d been avoiding contact with his maman. After the life-threatening wounds he’d sustained during his last mission, he’d started sending her his death chant telepathically. It was only performed when a Ceraton expected to die and reached for their loved ones.
She’d raced to his side, the event reigniting dark memories for her. Bane was an only child and her Chosen, his papan, had died many years ago, but the pain never left her. Now, she was pressuring him to leave the Jutaks. And he couldn’t. Not even for her.
Unless the decision was taken out of his hands.
A knock sounded against the door before it opened. Bane groaned, recognizing it was time for his appointment. “I will speak with you later, Jaron.”
“Ready?” The medic assistant asked in a feigned chipper voice.
To his disappointment, it was Teyla and not Dharma. Bane wanted to refuse the hover-chair she guided to the side of his bed. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any other recourse. With a grunt, he heaved himself to the side and concentrated on making his lower limbs move.
Nothing.
“I can get behind you if you want to slide into the chair.” Teyla’s voice wobbled as she made the suggestion.
Bane glared and placed his palms down on the bed and pushed upward. The view changed and he was on his feet. Sweat dotted his forehead as he swiveled about and crashed into the hover chair. Teyla reached out, catching his arm and Bane landed in the cushioned seat.
The possibility of leaving this facility without recovering was daunting. He put his hand on the palm sensor located on the right side and the chair rose a few inches above the tiled floor in the hover position. “Let’s go.”
Teyla kept pace on his left side, her shoes making an obnoxious squeak with each step. She was dressed in the same blue uniform all the staff members wore but none of them as appealing to him as Dharma.
At the end of the hall, she held the automated doors open to the shaft. He moved forward with a press of his palm on the pad. Throughout the trip to the lower level, she attempted awkward conversation, but Bane remained stoic. She dropped him off quickly and vanished when the rehab specialist opened the door to the spacious room used for individuals relearning basic physical tasks.
Weights were propped along one wall in size order by color, machines for building stamina across from them and on the other side of the room behind a glass door was a huge hydro pool with gel-like liquid known to aid those with spinal injuries.
Bane followed the specialist to the numerous sets of parallel bars mounted in rows in the center of the space. She stopped between the first set of two that formed a neat row about six feet in length.
Reika Mitar smiled when she spotted him. She’d removed her blue uniform top and wore a simple black shirt held with straps over her shoulders instead of sleeves. Her lean figure was sleekly packed with muscles, her arms capable of lifting males and females twice her weight.
“Good to see you, Jutak Hardusho.” She lowered the data pad she’d been reading and set it on the table at the side. “Let’s see how we do today.”
***
“How is our guest in the blue room today?” Dharma asked as soon as she completed her assessments of the patients on her roster for the morning.
Teyla groaned and rolled her blue eyes. She tended to be more dramatic in her reactions to varying patients’ behavior. “I know this facility handles a lot of soldiers, but I swear none of them could be more difficult than Bane Hardusho, Dharma.”
Dharma bit her bottom lip. The Jutak warrior was becoming more disagreeable. Tao had left a message for her to look into any anomalies on his case. When she arrived on shift, she’d reviewed the notes.