Change Horizons: Three Novellas Read Online Free PDF

voice.
    “If you are the last person my eyes see, your beauty will be my bliss on my way to the Gods of Gantharat.”
    “As lovely as that compliment is, sir, I would like to think I’m able to help you feel much better.” Gemma smiled reassuringly.
    “You are a doctor,” the man said, his voice reverent.
    “Yes, I am, and we’re going to take good care of you.” Gemma ran her scanner over his weak body. “And our first action will be more fluids.” Turning to the nurse next to her, Gemma began issuing orders.
     
    *
     
    Ciel pushed the errant strands of her hair out of her face. The sun was relentless and she had worked for nine hours without interruption. Now she was about to oversee the last brew of the day. She pushed a mug into the boiling water and scooped up a sample. Tasting it was the only way for her to judge its medicinal qualities.
    “How does it taste, really?” Gemma stood at her side suddenly, looking pale and exhausted. Ciel hadn’t seen her take a break either.
    Ciel tasted the brew. Perfect. “Here,” she said, holding out the mug to Gemma. “Careful. It’s boiling hot.”
    Gemma carefully sipped from the opposite edge of the mug. Closing her eyes, she sighed. “Oh, that’s actually very nice. Sweet, sort of.”
    “Yes. And you look like you need it too. It’s no wonder, the way you’ve gone from one patient to another today.”
    “I’ve only carried out my duty like I always do. Nothing more, nothing less.”
    “Normally, though, you don’t work in such primitive circumstances under the blazing sun. Not to mention that backup only arrived less than two hours ago. What the hell happened to delay those transports?”
    “Some of the Gantharian council members in the interim government are trying to be mindful of costs. I had to get back to my headquarters twice and remind them that people would start dying in great numbers if they didn’t get here soon. I finally got hold of the protector. She made sure my orders went through instantly.” Gemma sipped the brew. “Mmm. I wonder what the active ingredient is. It rejuvenates almost instantly.” She drank some more and then rubbed her temples. “I think we have the situation under control. Evacuation has been going on for the last two hours, and the Security Council has deployed officers to interview and document the refugees’ stories.”
    “Stories.” Ciel sounded cold. “That makes it sound as if you think they exaggerate what they’ve been through.”
    “Don’t put words in my mouth.” Clearly angry now, Gemma pushed the mug into Ciel’s hands. “I made no such statement, nor would I ever presume so. Just because you’re highly suspicious of everything I stand for—”
    “I am not!” Ciel raised her voice, something she rarely did. When you’d spent the last twenty-five years working in stealth mode, you learned how to keep your voice, and your head, down. Now she was far too angry to do either. “I know how much these camp stories are being regarded as exaggerations. As if the atrocities never occurred, and if they did, they were exceptions.”
    Gemma opened her mouth but closed it again, her eyes suddenly darker and her lips softer. “Is that what you’ve been told? That you exaggerated?”
    Ciel grew rigid, her shoulders nearly creaking as she squared them. “I didn’t say that.”
    “You didn’t have to.” Gemma rubbed the back of her neck. “Listen, I used the word ‘stories’ as in ‘their history,’ not as anything they would fabricate. Do you understand?”
    Ciel’s heart rate began to slow and she relaxed marginally. “H’rea dea’savh, I usually handle it better than this. I apologize.” She grimaced, uncomfortable. “You’re right. Of course. Their history will need to be recorded and archived with their personal data. Some of them have been in different camps for more than twenty years. That’s a damn long time.”
    “It is.” Gemma motioned toward the area where their escort