Lieutenant Doyle saluted as Fraser walked in.

"At ease," the major replied. "I saw the video of your chat with Belessar."

"It was necessary, sir."

"I'm not faulting your intentions, I'm admiring your courage. There are few soldiers in the world who've told off an ultra the way you just did and survived."

"Belessar's not like that, sir. He's reasonable. Just needs reminding of where the boundaries are from time to time."

"Did you know, the original protocol for handling ultrahumans was taken from the protocol for handling senators?"

"No, sir."

"Well. Nicely handled, though. In a while, I'm going to give him a call. We'll see if he complains."

"If he does, sir, then…"

"Relax, Lieutenant. Your unit won't be affected. What I want to understand is, what kind of man is Belessar? Today proved that he can listen to reason…. at least for a while. Does he dwell on slights, though? It's a test of his character, not yours."

“Understood, sir. Is he really healing our men for free?”

“Completely. A lot of men are walking today who wouldn’t have been earlier.”

“That’s … a good thing.”

“Yes, and you still told him off when he overstepped his bounds. Again, nicely done.”

----------------------------------------

Half an hour later, Fraser sat in his own office, waiting for a call.

The screen lit up with the craggy face of General Walter Xavier. “Doug,” the General began.

“Good evening, sir.”

“I read your report. Belessar’s new ability has made quite an impact.”

“Not a new ability, sir. He’s always had the skill - he just volunteered to do a solid three weeks of intense work for us.”

“And the results?”

“Two thousand men treated in the last week alone. Four hundred with spinal injuries or acute burns that would otherwise invalidate them from the service. The director at Bethesda wants to nominate him for the Civilian Award for Humanitarian Service.”

“I’d approve that, frankly. At the right time, make sure he gets it.”

“Will do, sir.”

“Is he willing to continue this indefinitely?”

“He’s promised three weeks. We’ve covered the seven biggest facilities in one. I’m running out of hospitals to take him to.”

The General laughed. “It’s a nice problem to have. You’ve covered the Navy and Coast Guard hospitals as well? Medical ships?”

“Everywhere, sir. Unfortunately his abilities don’t work on the long-term cases - organ damage, kidney failure, the like. Mostly they cut down recovery time for cases from years to seconds.”

“Still makes enough of a difference. And all he wants is the rapid transport? Nothing more?”

“I asked for the aircraft, sir. If we only have him for three weeks, I’d rather he spent more time healing and less time commuting.”

The General nodded. “Any limits on his power?”

“He needs some time to recharge after each use, sir, but it’s of the order of seconds.”

“Can he do brain damage?”

“Injuries, yes, but nothing to fix the memory or cognitive loss. Basically his power just restores cells to what they’re supposed to be.”

“And he wants to help civilians also, I understand.”

“The doctors at virtually all civilian hospitals have turned him down. No medical certification.”

The General cocked his head. “Has he asked us to address that?”

“No. If he really wants one, though, I can speak to the Medical Corps.”

“If he asks, do that. What’s this about the pets?”

“He’s volunteering two hours a day at an animal shelter as well.”

“What’s your assessment of this sudden intense desire to treat people?”

“I think, sir, he’s discovered - or developed - some resource that makes him more effective at healing. Something that has a limited shelf life, and he wants to get the most use out of it before it expires.”

“Do you believe it’s related to his visit to Field Office Six?”

“Likely, sir, especially considering the amount of material he consumed. However, it’s not certain.”

“He was to share anything he learnt.”

“That’s why I’m not sure. If it was reproducible, he’d share it. It may be completely unrelated, or something he saw there gave him a breakthrough on some other long-term project he’s been working on. All of this is guesswork.”

“Should you ask him?”

“I would advise against that, sir. We’ve been scrupulous about respecting his boundaries; we want him to respect ours.”

The General nodded. “I’ll defer to your judgment in this matter. Just - be careful with your ultrahuman. We don't want another Pakistan."

"Belessar is no King Shah, sir, and I'm not General Duraid."

"Be that as it may, it's only been ten years. Tread carefully."