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1-9

The Aegis

Saturday, 24th of October, 198 A.C, 23:05

“Moving on to our next story, Leftovers have been detected in a sector just north of city limits. Due to the close proximity to Spark, President Hapley has authorized the employment of couriers to scout them out and bring back anything of value. As usual, all couriers are advised to watch out for shades, and to back down if confronted by any Veiled working in the area.” - Spark News Network report

The van hit a pothole, sending a jolt of pain through my chest. I winced and pressed down harder on the hastily bandaged wound. The Heister was definitely doing that deliberately.

The Scrapper and the Duelist were chatting away behind me.

“Okay, but did you *see* that move I pulled on that bandit outside?” The Duelist made a small approximation of the move in question as he spoke, or at least the closest he could manage with a seatbelt on.

The Scrapper grinned wryly. “Of course not, you were marbled! And besides, I was too busy flitting around dodging *bullets* to pay attention anyway.”

The Heister slung an arm over the side of the driver’s seat. “Alright kiddos, city limits coming up. Quiet down back there.”

We were approaching one of the more permanent sections of the city limits. This part was a concrete rampart about 15 feet tall with a heavy metal gate in the middle.

The Heister brought the van to a stop as we approached the gates. A watchman exited from a guard station installed into the side of the rampart and made his way over to us.

When the watchman finally finished sauntering up to the driver’s side window, he adjusted his belt. The handgun holstered on it glinted off the light of the car.

The Heister *slowwwwly* rolled down the window. Not slow enough to give the watchman a justification to get aggressive, but enough to send a message.

The watchman must’ve noticed the Heister’s Veil, but started as if he hadn’t. “And who are you all, passing through this late?”

“Veiled,” said the Heister. “Coming back from a mission. You got a problem with that?”

The watchman didn’t back down. “And how do I know you’re not just a bunch of cosplayers? ID, please.” Crap.

The Heister began reaching for her bat, but I reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder.

“Coming right up,” I called. I opened the passenger door and climbed out carefully, so as to not reopen my wounds.

As I crossed over I fished my student ID out of my pocket. As with all Veiled IDs, it featured a drawing of me with my Veil on in lieu of a regular photo. Digital imaging wouldn’t work because of the scrambling effect Veils had that gave them their name.

“Here you go.”

The watchman studied it for a second, then handed it back. “Proof for you, yeah. But what about your friends here?”

I glanced back at the van. Casey gave me a joking look and glanced ‘surreptitiously’ at her bat.

I lowered my voice. “Alright, I didn’t want to have to pull this out, but here.” I turned away from the van and took out a silver badge in the shape of a shield. Engraved in it was an eye with beams of light shooting out from it.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

The watchman’s demeanor changed instantly. “Oh, my apologies ma’am,” he said quietly, “Sensitive business, I’m sure?” I nodded. “Say no more. I won’t waste any more of your time. Have a nice night now, you hear?”

I smiled. “Of course, you as well.”

As the gates opened and we drove into the city, the watchman straightened up and saluted. The Heister turned back to the Scrapper and the Duelist and pretended to gag, which made them laugh.

I sighed. My Veil must’ve been getting to me. I was seething.

***

As we rolled into our hideout’s garage, Beck, Kai, and I stowed away our Veils. Casey raised her hand to do the same, but paused just before grabbing it. A brief flash of anger danced on her face, but it vanished quickly, replaced with a chuckle.

The Surgeon was there to greet us. “I heard you hit a few bumps but were otherwise highly successful?” The excited babblings of Kai and Beck gave him everything he needed to know. “That’s excellent to hear. I’ll just patch up any of your scrapes and we should be good to go.”

The treatment of the other three was very quick. Casey and Kai were hardly dinged up at all, and the injuries Beck had sustained were nothing that the Surgeon couldn’t handle.

He must’ve noticed my condition though, because he had the others clear the room before he started work on me.

“Pretty good bandaging all things considered.”

I smiled sheepishly. “Thanks, I’ve been practicing.”

I sat down on the table the Surgeon had set up and took off my Veil, cloak, and breastplate. I shifted uncomfortably, as I always did without loose enough clothing.

“Ah,” remarked the Surgeon. “Gunshot to the left shoulder as well?”

“Yeah. Shot to the forehead wasn’t *too* bad since the bullet bounced off. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case with my shoulder.”

“Alright then, let’s see what we’re working with.”

The Surgeon began carefully unwrapping my bandages, talking as he worked. “You’re looking a bit thin. Have you had to use your Veil a lot recently?”

I felt an urge to grab my cloak, but held myself back. “I - Yeah, probably.”

The Surgeon took out some wipes and rubbing alcohol and started cleaning my wounds.

“I know you just want to help people,” said the Surgeon, “but I really have to ask that you try to take it easy for a while. You won’t be much help if you work yourself to the bone. Quite literally in your case, I suppose.”

I gave a tired smile. “Yeah, you’re right, you’re right. It’s just so hard to sit around, you know?”

The Surgeon kept working, but smiled warmly. “Of course.” He paused. “Alright, I’ll get started on taking this bullet out and stitching you up, alright? I’ll be using my Veil, so it shouldn’t hurt at all.” I nodded.

The Surgeon’s aura flared to life, a light blue glow on his fingertips that left a wispy trail behind as he worked.

The Surgeon made a grasping gesture with his left hand. A retractor manifested by my shoulder, seemingly made of light, and held open the gunshot wound. He made a pinching motion with his right hand and similarly-fashioned forceps appeared and gently worked the bullet out of the wound.

After placing the bullet gently on a tray beside him, the Surgeon got to work on an intricate series of hand movements. A suture needle appeared and followed alongside the Surgeon’s motions, leaving threads of light crisscrossing down the length of the wounds on my shoulder and forehead.

The threads pulled tight and dimmed. The needles disappeared. One final motion from both of the Surgeon’s hands spread a warm glow over the wounds which slowly faded away. If you were looking for it you’d still be able to notice a slight glow to the threads, but to most it would just look like a regular stitching job.

The Surgeon’s aura faded away from his fingertips. He took off his gloves and set them on his tray.

“Alright, that should heal up in a week or two. Shouldn’t be any scarring, as long as you don’t get too active in the meantime.”

I sat up and quickly slung on my cloak. “Thanks. I’ve got some pretty busy shifts coming up though. I’ll try, but something could come up.”

“Well, make sure it doesn’t!” The Surgeon snapped. He froze a second, then lowered his gaze. “Oh, sorry.” He gestured towards his face. “Veil.”

I picked up my own Veil and slid it, collapsed, onto my forehead. “That’s alright, no hard feelings. I’m a bit out of it myself.”

“Thank you.” He walked around and handed me my cloak. “You know what you four deserve? A bit of celebration at Alcove. Have everyone get changed, then we can head down for some drinks, my treat. You’ve done good work today.”

“You know, that sounds really good right about now.”