"Agent Sandoval? What are you doing here?" A surprised Dr. Belman met him at the door. "I'm not sure that you have clearance to be here anymore."
"I came to see about Liam. Please…." He nodded slightly, trying to show his good will. Dr. Belman had always been suspicious of Implants. He could understand that all too well, she knew exactly what they were capable of. After a few seconds, she relented and let him into the room. "How is he?"
"Not well. I'm afraid his condition has worsened."
"Can I see him?"
She hesitated, uncertain. "Why not," she said finally and led him into a back room. "Just for a few minutes," she warned him.
He smiled. "I can try, but it is probably going to take a lot longer than that."
Dr. Belman looked at him oddly. "I think I'm going to stick around for this 'visit.'" She went to stand against the wall.
Sandoval didn't bother to argue with her. He took a deep breath and placed a hand on Liam's forehead. The man didn't move. "That's it," he said softly. "Just sleep. This will be much easier on you if you sleep through it. Just sleep."
***
"What?" Sunlark groaned as a sharp whistle sounded through the room. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes. Serous sat perched on the headboard of his bed. "Stupid bird. Why do you insist on bothering me. I am not your bonded. Go find him."
"That is why we came. Sandoval didn't come back to his room last night."
Sunlark stirred at Vanyel's voice. "I told you he wouldn't."
"But he's not in the garden."
"Ask Yfandes," he said, putting the pillow over his head.
"Why?"
"Because she promised to keep an eye on him," Sunlark mumbled through the pillow.
:Fandes?:
:Finally, beloved. I wondered when you were going to ask where he was. He went inside early this morning, and I wasn't sure what he was up to. But Da'an's sitting down here with me…. At least he thought to bring me breakfast, because by Haven my Chosen can't remember to feed me. Just because I'm stuck out here in one of the gardening sheds and you're inside in a nice warm bed….:
:I get the picture. Sorry, 'Fandes. I figured you were eating grass.:
:This immaculately preened lawn? I think not. The gardeners would kill me!:
:But about Sandoval?:
:Oh, yes. Da'an came down and brought me breakfast and was telling me how he had to call the Embassy security off Sandoval.:
:Where?:
:Where else? Med sciences. He's with Liam. And he could probably use a little help.:
"Thanks, Sunlark." Vanyel turned to leave.
"No problem." Sunlark pulled the pillow off his face. Serous chirped. "Hey, wait! Take his damn bird with you!"
***
The room was dark and quiet. Sunlark paused just inside the door to let his eyes adjust. Across the room, Sandoval lay on the bed, Vanyel sitting at his side. Trying to be as quiet as possible, he made his way over to them. "How's he doing?" he whispered, putting a hand on Vanyel's shoulder.
"He's tired, but that's to be expected. He's well trained, but he really didn't have the experience for something like that. It took a lot out of him."
"I think he was more prepared than you give him credit for. He's been on the other end of that situation. Besides, the Healing comes naturally to him when he lets it. Can I talk with him for a bit?"
Vanyel brushed a wisp of hair from Sandoval's forehead. "I wanted him to sleep some more…."
"I promise, my friend, I will not be long. If I begin to tire him, I will stop."
Reluctantly, Vanyel gave in. "Alright." He nodded slightly and excused himself from the room.
Sunlark sat down in his place. "Wake for a little while, Sandoval." He reached out, putting a hand on the Healer's shoulder. Sandoval stirred slightly, opening his eyes. "That's it, wake up."
"Sunlark?" Sandoval reached up, touching his arm as if uncertain that everything was real. "I didn't expect to see you here—not when you were so mad at me."
"Not mad." Sunlark squeezed Sandoval's shoulder. "I am not certain that the Goddess gave kestra'cherns the ability to be mad."
"Either way, you were right. I still don't know all the answers to your questions, but…."
"It's alright," he assured Sandoval. "In truth, I owe you an apology. I pushed you too hard. Such are natural doubts and fears. I had seen the signs and knew they would come up in time. In fact, though you did not realize it, we have spent much time laying the groundwork for such questions. Unfortunately, you chose a poor time to doubt yourself. I couldn't let you allow Liam to die, a choice that later on would haunt you. You have enough to deal with without that. And so I pushed you. I am sorry."
"Don't be. Thank you."
"That is the first time someone has thanked me for causing them pain. It is an interesting twist on the matter. As for the rest of…things, I will help you find the answers you need." He took his hand from Sandoval's shoulder and fingered the feather at the Healer's temple. "To all but one question. That one only Vanyel can help you answer."
***
"Thanks for coming, Bud." Liam rose to greet the man as he entered the office.
"No problem, sir…ugh…I mean, Liam. No need to rise on my account." Bud took a seat and Liam sat back down. "Hear you been under the weather."
"Unfortunately, that's correct." Liam glanced back behind him to Sunlark, as if unsure exactly how much to say.
"That there one of them people we found that night?"
"Yes, this is Sunlark. Sunlark, this is Bud Kinsey, an ID technician for the Taelons."
"That's me, the man behind your interdimensional. What can I do for y'all today?"
"That night you said there had been similar disturbances about a year previously. How similar?"
"Almost identical. No more 'an a .001% difference."
"Are you certain?" Sunlark asked before Liam had a chance to say anything.
"A'course I'm certain. I know my signals."
"And the difference, was it in the temporal field?"
"Are you a techie? I ain't heard of a Sun Lark. I think I'd remember some one named after a bird."
Sunlark shook his head. "Not a tech. I just haven't had much to do, so I've been reading. And I'm only partially named after a bird."
"I wondered, 'cause the only lark I know is a meadow lark. Though with such a bright yella belly as he's got, he could be a sun lark. And I tell them people that my job is no more than readin', writin', and 'rithmitic. Well, more a' the readin' and the 'rithmitic—they don't let me write much. That reminds me of my ol' school days…."
"Bud," Liam interrupted, afraid he was losing control of the situation. "Could you cause an identical disruption in ID?"
"Ugh…" he hesitated. "I suppose. Kinda."
"What do you mean, 'kinda'?" Liam prodded.
"Well, it would be 'xact. Close, but…. Not even the originals were 'xact. I havta run a reiterated alog…ugh, for simplicity's sake, let's just call it a 'quation…on the temporal disruption and calculate a probable value for that there section. I can possibly correlate that temporal disruption with our own time values and find a marker there.
"Well…Sirs…. ID is like space an' time mixed. Kinda. It's like concrete, ever seen someone mix and lay concrete? Space and time are them rocks an' when ya mix 'em together, they form one thing—concrete. Separate, but one. For ID, ya wanna bend that concrete, but concrete don't like ta bend. See…we bend it so that the two spots ya want to jump between are as close ta one another as possible. But like I say, concrete don't like ta bend. It like to stay however the layer put it. Which, with ID, was God. And the Lord Almighty, he chose a kinda curve shape. Now, my job is ta bend the concrete. But…though I only wanna play with the space rocks, I have to take the time rocks with me 'cause they all mixed up together. So I put in markers that tells my concrete just exactly what rocks I wanna play with. Two space rocks, but just one time rock. Which is where that temporal marker come in. It tells them rocks what time it is, so that both space rocks have the same time rock. Which is why ID portals are instantaneous.
"Now shuttles, thems a little different. We have a formula to tell us what to put for one of their temporal markers. They get about the 'quivalent of seven minutes. 'Cause them big. Harder for somethin' big to jump through concrete."
"That's great, Bud, but all I really need to know is whether you can find the right temporal marker." Liam rushed through the question, before Bud could start in on how shuttles were like locusts or some such thing. "Yes or no?"
"Yeh."
Liam nodded. "Sounds great. Get on it." With that, Bud left.
"Do you trust him?" Sunlark asked once he was gone.
"Trust him? Of course. He may sound like some backwards woodsman from Arkansas. But he has an IQ higher than most people in this Embassy. Graduated from an Ivy League college. And probably the only one that can get you guys home, Meadowlark."
***
"I cannot accompany you back to your world," Da'an said as Sunlark entered his audience chamber.
"I know. I'm sorry."
"I do not think that I am." Da'an blushed. "I did not fit there. Here, at least, there are people of my kind. While I do not always agree with them, they are here."
"And you'll do much good here, Da'an. You can teach them many things," Sunlark assured him.
"Yes, I must show them where they are wrong. What about Sandoval?"
"I do not know. He will be free to make that decision on his own."
"You have not told them?"
"No, not yet. Bud will have the temporal marker by tonight. Then I will tell them. Regardless of what Sandoval decides, it will be best if the result comes quickly. And if I told Vanyel, he would attempt to sway Sandoval's decision in his favor."
"I see your reasoning. It was a pleasure to spend time with you, Sunlark."
"And the same with you, Da'an."
***