“Tell me more about your time with my grandfather.” Kyle said.

Valentine poured himself another glass of scotch and took a long drink before responding.

“He was my commanding officer. My opinion he should have been running the whole damn Central Authority, but instead they had Clark leading beast suppression teams. In the early days it made sense to have that kind of power out in the field, but by the time I joined his squad it had been over twenty years since a mid or upper E Grade beast had been spotted.”

Valentine got a faraway look in his eyes, and Kyle wondered what kind of memory he was experiencing.

“He still took the job seriously. He had us training hard every day, and no matter how simple the extermination was he made sure that we were clean and efficient. It’s funny, people always assumed that our unit was effective because Clark was out handling the monsters. Reality was that we were successful because he made us put in the work. In the five years we had in the field together he only ever had to step in once or twice to save our hides.”

With a smile, Kyle responded.

“That sounds like him. Grandpa was always trying to bring out the best out in everybody. I’m glad I met somebody who worked with him before he retired. By the time I came along he’d been living the civilian life for years.”

At that, Valentine snorted.

“He didn’t retire, he was pushed out. His methods didn’t mesh well with the Central Authority, that’s why he was left on the outside. Sure, they paid lip service to everything he’d done, but by this time they’d forgotten what the world was like before. They’d lost sight of how fragile their peace was. Clark didn’t. He made sure we were prepared. He let us choose our skills, he let us develop in the ways we wanted to, because that’s how the Originators did it.”

The man’s eyes lit up as fire entered his voice, growing more passionate by the word.

“Those morons in Administration finally picked up on our levels and relative skills and tried to put a stop to us. Clark shielded us from the worst of it by resigning, but the old group still got split up. As the years wore on, more and more of us ended up dead. Can’t prove it, but I think that bastard DeRosa may have had something to do with it – it was his work in Administration that brought this up in the first place. I knew the writing was on the wall for me when he got promoted, so I got out. Went underground with some other like-minded awakened, after paying a visit to your grandfather. I wouldn’t have made it this long without the advice he’d given me back then.”

Kyle sat in silence, digesting everything he’d just learned. It was no secret that his grandfather’s opinions had landed him in hot water a time or two, but what this man was involved in was full-blown insurrection. Valentine’s eyes had a faraway look again, and from what Kyle could tell he had no reason to lie. Still, he wasn’t naïve enough to take all this at face value. The man was up front enough that he wanted Kyle to work for him, but that didn’t mean he was being forthcoming about everything.

“Thank you for sharing those stories. I have to ask though – what are you doing now? It looks like you and your group have done a good job establishing a settlement and have things well in order. I’m honestly not sure how much I could help beyond what you’ve already accomplished.”

“Can you ever have enough Healers on staff?”

“No, you can’t. Except you and your organization had no idea I was a Healer until I showed up here with Cornelius.”

“Damn, got me there.”

Valentine chuckled, then continued.

“Truth is, I’m looking for other awakened who have good reasons to be disenchanted with the Central Authority. We had nothing to do with this disaster, but it created opportunities we’d be fools to ignore.”

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“What kind of opportunities?”

“Opportunities to get out from under the thumb of the Central Authority. Opportunities for people like us to push the boundaries of our own development. Opportunities to create paths all our own. That’s what Liberation has always stood for.”

Kyle had to admit, the idea was appealing. He’d been rejected wholesale from the Central Authority in Nierburg, and even after all these months of helping refugees they still had made no effort to even open up a line of discussion. What’s more, with C.H.A.D.D.’s condition deteriorating having access to more resources and technicians would help his companion significantly. Kyle knew he was out of his depth to try and repair the damaged arrays, much less recovering the aspects of his code that had been damaged.

He was about to ask another question when the door to the room burst open, and a stocky man burst through wearing what Kyle now identified as the Liberation uniform.

“Mr. Valentine, sir!”

Gregory looked up and met the man’s eyes. There was a cold intensity to his voice when he spoke.

“I asked not to be disturbed while I was with our guest. This had better be important.”

Kyle found himself shivering at the tone. It wasn’t loud, it wasn’t a blustering threat, but it carried with it the promise of violence if the answer was found wanting.

The new arrival clearly thought so as well, as Kyle could see him visibly sweating as he stammered out his next words.

“Yes, sir, Mr. Valentine, sir. Uh – It was Tucker’s group, they were on their way to support Cornelius’ squad, and they found bodies. They reported that there didn’t appear to be any survivors from the excursion, sir, and Tucker wanted to make sure you knew.”

There was a moment of silence as the man gulped, and almost as an afterthought he added

“Sir.”

Valentine stood up as he turned his gaze to Kyle.

“Sorry you had to hear all that, son. Unfortunately, this is a mess that’s going to need some of my attention before it gets worse. If you’d be willing to indulge me, there’s somebody else I’d like you to meet. She’s one of the other awakened here, though she’s been struggling with an injury she’d received months ago. If there’s anything you can do for her while I sort this out, I’d count it a favor.”

Kyle nodded slowly as the pieces started falling into place. So Cornelius did have soldiers with him, and it sound like they didn’t make it. No wonder Valentine is so upset with him. Kyle’s thoughts were cut short as Valentine barked at the man.

“Tell Tucker to hold his position. I’m on my way to clean this up personally.”

With that, Gregory Valentine strode out of the room. The stocky man who was frozen in place let out a deep exhale, and turned to Kyle.

“Come on, Susan’s room is this way.”

Opening the door, the scent hit him like a physical blow. Kyle was shocked at the sight. The woman lying in the bed was unconscious and pale, with sweat covering her brow. Her frame was skeletal, and most notably her right leg was missing a few inches above where her knee should be. He saw fresh blood soaking through the bandages, and he held C.H.A.D.D. up to get a better understanding of what’s going on.

[DR. MAYHEW, IT APPEARS THAT THE INJURY WAS CAUTERIZED, BUT NOT BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF AN INFECTION. AT THIS POINT THE INFECTION HAS SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE BODY – PROGNOSIS WITHOUT TREATMENT IS LIKELY DAYS AT MOST.]

Kyle nodded in understanding as he began to remove the bandages. He finally got to the burned flesh beneath, and he could tell that whoever had cauterized this didn’t do it with any sort of professional tools or precision. He sighed as he went to wash up. This is why people without medical training shouldn’t attempt things like that. Looks like they nearly burned off her whole leg.

Returning to his patient’s bedside, he instinctively began to ask C.H.A.D.D. to project a scan of the patient with the infection highlighted. He stopped before the words got out, and thought better of it. Without C.H.A.D.D.’s ability to show him scans of where the infection was most prevalent, he wouldn’t be able to treat nearly as efficiently. Fortunately, efficiency doesn’t mean nearly as much as it used to Kyle thought bitterly.

The massive growth he’d experienced meant that he could move larger amounts of mana with less strain – and in a case like this one he could run mana through the patient’s entire body without a significant risk of draining himself. He was about to lay his hands on the burned stump, when a nagging thought came back to the forefront. Pulling his hands back, he turned to his silent chaperone.

“This injury wasn’t caused by beetles or any other type of wildlife. What happened to her?”

The man seemed almost startled at the question, and for a moment Kyle wasn’t sure if he’d answer.

“Sorry, sir, didn’t expect you’d have any questions I could help with. She lost her leg when we took the town, cut clean off by one of the awakened defending it. Thought they got it cauterized in time but she’s been getting worse every day.”

A pit formed in Kyle’s stomach as he started to place the déjà vu he felt before. Trying to act nonchalant, he asked:

“Does this town have a name?”

“Duilleag, sir.”