The council chamber was already in an uproar when they arrived. Unlike the spacious assembly hall where larger community gatherings were held, the council room was a cramped space repurposed from what might once have been a temporary storage area. Seven chairs arranged in a semi circle faced a small central platform where speakers could present concerns. Tonight, all seven chairs were occupied by the current council members, with elder toman at the center position.

  The usual protocols had been abandoned in light of the situation. And nearly two dozen people crowded the space-Chasers, security, and various observers with enough gossip to gain entry.. The air consisted of recycled breath and was filled to the brim, thick with angst.

  At the center of the chamber, lying on a hastily arranged medical cot made from a flat piece of sheet metal, was their intruder. Roan pushed forward with Bole, who didn’t need to use her authority to clear a path. When he saw the figure on the cot, he stopped, Frozen in shock.

  It was a young woman, her face partially obscured by the red dust and dried blood from gash along her temple. But there was no mistaking her identity. Even in this state. It was the Scarborn commander from just outside the Fall site.

  “This is the intruder?” bole asked, her voice inflected neutrally as she knelt beside the makeshift cot. She used the newfound space to examine the woman.

  “YEP….Found er’ tryin’ to scale the south wall during the wors’ of the storm” Jevin, head of security reported. “Possible she was electrocuted, would have been killed had my patrol hadn’t spotter ‘er and pulled to safety.”

  Bole moved her hands, Checking vital signs. She examined the woman’s head wound. “Probably internal bleeding from the serious electric shock, she needs proper medical attention.”

  “Concussion too” Jevin once again reported. Everyone in the room looked over at him. His eyes were still focused down at the body. After a moment he looked up to meet the rest of the room’s eyes. Who were looking at him to explain how it is he knew that the intruder had such an injury.

  “Well,” He said “I hit ‘er over the head myself” he chuckled.

  “What she has is information,” Elder Toman interjected. “Information is what we need, She’s obviously some raider scum infiltrator. That insignia on her equipment all but confirms it.” He pointed to the items laid out beside the cot: a more advanced breathing apparatus that any in the settlement, goggles with what appeared to be enhanced vision capabilities. Roan looked over at Nima. Her hand was fingering the inside of her pocket. The council obviously didn’t know about the Scarborn disk.

  “What she needs is interrogation,” Elder Seff, Toman’s most loyal supporter on the council yelled out.

  Bole straightened, Facing the council leader directly. “She’s unconscious and badly injured. She’ll be lucky if she survives the night, Interrogation will have to wait until we can get her stabilized.”

  “Protecting her like shes one of your own, Bole?” The accusation came from Elder Seff “First you lead our Chasers into a Scarborn trap, and now you advocate for some random bitch whos most likely a spy?”

  Roan felt that familiar anger flare within him at the wild accusation, but before he could speak,

  “That’s nonsense,” Gabe said loudly. “If you’d spent your time with the rest of the settlers instead of personally wiping Toman’s dusty ass, You’d know Bole has served Thirty-Two for decades. How dare you accuse her of being a damned Scarborn.”

  “Mind your place, young man,” Toman warned. “No one is accusing Bole of being one of them” He flashed a look to his right, it was obviously directed at Seff. “This is a council Matter.”

  “She should be executed” another council member interjected and the room erupted again.

  “With respect, Elder,” another voice cut in- it was one of the most experienced Chasers, Lin, “this concerns all of us, if the Scarborn are sending infiltrators to Thirty-Two during storms, when our perimeter security is at its weakest, and when our supplies at at their lowest, we need to know why.” She gestured to the unconscious woman. “And that means keeping her alive for questioning.”

  Toman considered the opposing views. Finally, he nodded curtly. “Very well, Bole will stabilize the prisoner. But she remains under guard at all times, and you will report directly to me on her condition and Once we’ve extracted what information we can from her.” His cold gaze swept the room, “We kill her.”

  For the next hour, the council chamber became a battleground of competing voices and strategies. Water rationing dominated much of the discussion, with grim projections by the water rationers suggesting that even with severe cuts, the settlement had perhaps two weeks of reserves remaining at most.

  Throughout it all, Roan remained unusually quiet, his attention divided between the heated debates and the unconscious figure. What drove her to attempt something so dangerous; alone in the storm? Was she really alone?

  “-Which brings us to the more important manner” Toman was saying as Roan tuned out the council discussion. “The Scarborn threat can’t just be ignored anymore. We have no choice. I propose we form defensive alliances with the surrounding settlements.

  “Such unity would provide the strength we need,” Toman replied. “Something the Scarborn seem to understand better than we do.”

  “What about a surprise strike to one of their outposts?” Seff suggested.

  “We don’t even have half the numbers,” Jevin replied, “It would leave us too vulnerable” Roan was surprised that such suggestions were being entertained after Toman’s typical philosophy of avoidance. They may as well stick their heads deep into the dust. Through it all, Roan watched the council members, seeing them use authority to mask their fear. It was too obvious. Has anyone else noticed it as well? Or were they oblivious to the desperation they masked by procedure. Perhaps it was that these were the leaders who had treated him with so much suspicion his entire life- Not just because he was really an orphan in their eyes, Or maybe they knew more about the Doomed Chase that they let on.

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  The scarborn woman’s fingers twitched, the sound drew Roan’s attention back to the medical cot. Her eyelids fluttered slightly. She was gaining consciousness. Roan glanced around quickly- everyone else in the room was still focused on Toman’s current pronouncement. Roan returned his eyes and noticed Nima had also noticed the change in the prisoner's condition, and her eyes widened as she looked over at Roan’s direction.

  He moved casually so as not to raise any suspicion, and positioned himself as closer to the cot, using the crowd as cover. He leaned down pretending to check on the medical equipment. Her eyes opened just slightly-enough for him to see the unusual reddish tint again. Her lips parted, and she whispered something so faintly that he had to lean even closer just to hear it.

  “Warn…Bole,” she breathed “Not…What…She…You.”

  Her eyes closed again, but Roan couldn’t tell if it was genuine weakness or a calculated retreat. He straightened slowly, mind racing. Warn Bole? The council members were rising, the session apparently had concluded while Roan had been distracted. The crown began to file out, expressions grim.

  “Help me transport her to the medical bay,” Bole said, nodding towards the Scarborn woman. As they carefully lifted the sheet metal cot, the woman's body remained limp, giving no indications of her brief moment of lucidity. Four security personnel, including Jevin fell into step around them as they made their way through the corridors toward the small medical wing,

  Bole’s medical bay was one of the few areas with reliable light and relatively clean conditions. Bole directed them to place the woman on one of the three examination tables. The four security guards took up positions inside the room, two by the door and two near the prisoner.

  “I need space to work,” Bole said, beginning to unpack her medical supplies.

  “Our orders are to remain with the prisoner at all times,” Said Jevin, standing firm. “Elder Toman was explicit.”

  Bole frowned first, then her lips slighted, “I can’t properly treat her with an audience. Besides, are we going to just ignore a patient's right to privacy.”

  “Not for alleged Scarborns,” Jevin countered, “I’m sorry, Bole, I was the one who found her, and for the day we’ve all had, we can’t take chances.”

  Roan exchanged a brief glance with Bole, he could feel frustration in her eyes. They needed to speak with the Scarborn woman privately, but the guards wouldn’t be so easily dismissed.

  Just then, Gabe appeared at the doorway, followed by Nima who was carrying additional medical supplies. Roan hadn’t expected to see his friend here, but Gabe had a knack for just appearing like this.

  “Excuse me,” Nima said , her voice unusually loud as she pushed past both sets of guards. “We need to set up a containment protocol.” The guards exchanged uncertain glances. “Containment protocol?” Jevin asked.

  “Standard procedure for anyone potentially exposed to concentrated Scarfog, which Scarborn are known to interact with.”

  “Yes,” Bole Chimed in, catching on immediately. “The advanced breathing apparatus she was wearing-it’s designed for Scarfog environments. There could be residual particles. Everyone not medically trained should clear the room until decontamination is complete.”

  It was a blatant exaggeration, but delivered with enough confidence to plant seeds of doubt. Jevin Frowned, looking to Bole for confirmation.

  “How long were you exposed to her equipment?” she asked sharply.

  Jevin’s face scrunched. “What?”

  “Did you handle it directly? And what about her arrest-how close were you when the dust lightning struck her?”

  “I-we all helped carry her here,” Jevin said, his confusion more evident. “Why?”

  Nima, stepped forward. “Look at their eyes, Bole.”

  Bole moved closer to Jevin, peering at his face with intensity. “Slight conjunctival inflammation.”

  The guards exchanged another round of nervous glances

  “Early stage exposure” Nima shot back.

  “exposure..Scarfog exposure?” one of the guards asked.

  “Electrical discharge can activate any dormant particles,” Bole said this with a deadly tone.” then turned back towards Nima, who was now standing wide-eyed by the supply cabinet. “Nima, these four need immediate decontamination, and should be screened for early Scarfog sickness. Take them to your examination room please.”

  “But our orders-” Jevin protested. Though his voice had now wavered and was rich with uncertain.

  “Your orders won’t matter if you’re developing Scarfog sickness,” Bole countered. “I’ve seen it before-starts with eye inflammation, then respiratory distress, untreated it moves to permanent nervous system damage.” She gestured to Nima. “Go with her now.”

  Roan admired the performance- not a word was technically a lie, though the implication and severity were slightly exaggerated. The guards were visibly unsettled, one was touching their face with concern and whilst doing so locked eyes with gabe who was shaking his head side to side mouthing the words ‘do not do that’.

  “What about the prisoner?” Jevin still wouldn’t let up even as his resolve crumbled.

  “She’s a primary source of contamination- and she's heavily saturated,” Bole said. “I have special exposure training. We’ll ensure she receives proper treatment.”

  “And what about me? Gabe asked, still playing along perfectly.

  “You’ll need to assist us, the fewer people we have moving about, the better.” Bole shot back.

  The guards looked around, the fear of disobeying Toman’s orders now insignificant to the horror of exposure.

  “Fine,” Jevin finally said, “But this doesn’t leave this room. And if she tries anything Bole…I mean anything…” he let the threat hang.

  Bole didn’t assure Jevin, instead she asked “Nima, do a full ocular rinse and respiratory scan.”

  “This way, please. We need to move quickly.”

  The urgency in her voice was genuine. She respected Bole. the guards followed her out, with jevin pausing at the door.

  “We’ll be right across the way, any trouble, just shout.”

  As soon as the door closed behind them, Gabe quickly moved to ensure they were gone.

  “That isn’t gonna keep them out for long”

  “But it gives us a few minutes” Bole turned to Roan, “Did she say something?”

  Roan wasn’t sure if Bole meant during the attempt to clear the guards or when they were back in the council closet.

  “I’ve raised you for fifteen seasons,” Bole said without a hint of impatience. “I know when you're hiding something.” Roan wondered how Bole always knew. What gave it away? He thought. She walked around so that she was now facing Roan and was only one step away.

  “I saw you lean down to her, Did she say anything? Anything that might help us understand what's-” Roan didn’t hesitate this time. “She said to warn you. Then she just said the words. Not. What. She.” Roan purposely left out the last word that she had whispered. The word ‘You’. She meant him. He wasn’t entirely sure why he omitted this final word. But it felt like something he needed to find himself.

  Boles' face paled slightly. She glanced at the Scarborn woman. Then moved to check that the door was securely closed before continuing in a lower voice. Then ran her hand through her short graying hair. She paced for a moment. Gabe had moved to the opposite side of the woman. He was studying her. All three were studying her. Roan finally broke the silence.

  “Okay…she’s obviously here as an agent. She's still working for the Scarborn but maybe just maybe she’s defying him by being here.”

  “That doesn’t explain her trying to warn us, that's the opposite of what a Scarborn would do?”

  “It still doesn’t make any sense,” Gabe said “She already warned us near the Fall site.”

  “It was more of a threat, than a warning. And that first threat didn’t feel as personal” Roan said and turned to Bole “ She said ‘Warn Bole’ Do you trust her?”

  “I don’t know her,” Bole replied honestly. “But I do know who shes working for, and If he’s become what I fear.”

  “Once she's awake, Toman will insist on moving forward with an interrogation.” Bole said grimly “And given the level of fear everyone’s feeling, it likely won’t be gentle.” She finished inspecting the woman's head wound and then checked her vitals again. “Which means we need to get her to speak to us first