functions. She slid on the robe, grabbed the packet of toiletries, and stepped out just as Shan swept in, his gaze scanning the room, both hands wrapped around his drawn weapon, which was pointed at the ground, but at an angle that could be raised easily.
Ashe froze, not anxious to get shot again, particularly without the deflective properties of her suit in place, not to mention Lurch hadn’t been able to erase the pain from the last shot, because he was as out of juice as she was.
“Why did you discharge your weapon?” he snapped at Calendria.
“My uniform’s release mechanism was stuck,” Ashe put in before Calendria could speak. He half frowned, and then he got it. She saw it in the slight widening of his eyes, followed by a sharp narrowing. Note to self: don’t underestimate this guy. His gaze slid past her, to the dressing area she’d just left. He wanted her suit all right. What would he do when he didn’t find it? It wasn’t a happy thought, so she decided not to dwell or wait around to find out, not with his weapon still deployed. She pointed to the sanitation cubicle. “If you’ll excuse me?”
Shan stared at her for what felt like a long time before giving a sharp nod. With impressive restraint, he didn’t look at Calendria, who was smart enough to stay put until Ashe closed the door between them. Ashe ignored the pad of footsteps crossing to the changing space, Calendria’s, she decided. Too light to be Shan’s, though he didn’t clomp around.
Would she be baffled? Frustrated? She was a scientist. A little mystery would be good for her character. And Shan? Probably good for his, too, though she had a feeling he wouldn’t agree.
She visited the commode while she still could and found it much like the ones of her time. Interesting? Or predictable? She thought for a moment and decided it was predictable. Not a lot to work with there, even for a family in love with plumbing. Eager to get clean, she shed the robe, hanging it on a hook, then activated the cycle, shocked when real water sprayed out the nozzle. Even on the Time Base, which was surrounded by water, they used a cleaning mist for sanitation. It also explained the need for the bar of soap. She stuck her arm in, water beating against her skin like a heavy—though warm—rain. The feel of the warm water felt surprisingly good when she eased under the stream—though it was also a painful reminder of how far she was from everything familiar.
Her situation was precarious, but nothing could be done until Lurch repaired her suit, assuming it could be repaired. And if they did get it online, could she navigate the time stream without her time senses?
Others do it all the time. As far as we are aware, no one else in the Service has senses like yours. It is also possible, if your senses recover, that you could enter the stream without your suit fully functioning.
Not for long. The Service had developed the suits because time in the stream without protection was dangerous. And could she find her way home without the beacon sniffer built into her suit? Lurch had no answer for that, nor did he have a theory about how Shan might react when he failed to secure her suit. Even if he took a more forceful approach, he couldn’t get the suit without her cooperation. A pity he didn’t know that. She now had a much better understanding of the meaning of the ancient saying about rocks and hard places.
* * * *
“She is a valuable acquisition.”
Bile rose in Shan’s throat. Did she really feel this way or did she test him? He breathed in and out, and again before turning to meet her gaze.
Calendria—who understood the parameters of his dilemma as well as he did—knew better than to show pity, but he caught a whiff of it from her despite the privacy distance between them.
“She is—”
A living, breathing human? He did not speak the words, though he’d known Calendria for many seasons. Her family and his had partner claimed many times,
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