Stiff and slow, Lih rose to his feet. He walked across to Dorian and then stood at his side, facing Nox and Ivan. His mind felt as numb and pinched as his body. He flexed his gloved hands in front of his face. Sense was slowly returning. He was dreaming.
He saw his lenses fill up with blood, and saw the world through blood; only blood, over and over.
He chilled with sweat. His limbs quivered. He had to touch his own face, bare and lenses-free, to believe there was no blood upon it.
Suddenly his legs went numb, without feeling. He bent down, hands braced against his thighs, panting hard and trying not to be sick from the effort.
Lih closed his eyes, paused, opened them again. He was standing at the back of the room, leaning against the wall to recover his breathing and his wits. Dorian’s kidnapping. Lih did not ask and had not been told. If it helps, it seemed news to Ivan and Nox too.
Lih was silent for a while. Why was Dorian only telling them this now? He would support Dorian, and trust the other to work him as hard as possible. As such, he nodded urgently at his senior officer’s words. In terms of necessity alone, Dorian was making a sound decision. And he would obey, even if his duty was hard.
He sighed and straightened the front of his uniform jacket, pulling his slender frame upright his cap clutched in his gloves. He didn’t want Dorian to risk his life or to lose his partner. For all the dishonor his open admission would be, he wanted the other two to know he was ready, willing and able to take Dorian’s place in the tunnels.
“I also have a condition,” he called out, his voice was hoarse and full of alarm. He’d never negotiated before, but Ivan’s request showed him of the way forward. He admired Ivan for not being afraid of questioning the demands of command.
“Um, Nox I…” Lih said, slightly embarrassed to be mentioning it. “I’ve used crossbows in training a number of times. Against terrorists, as we were taught. But... my eyes… my accuracy isn’t good. Please consider all our options and let me carry the automatics, too.”
He turned and gazed imploringly at Dorian. “after the disaster at Boda’s, I’m thankful to you for this mission, sir and I’ve admired how you’ve made command choices that would have been beyond lesser men. I’m sorry that … non channelers like us are caught in this mess. But what you’re doing is right, and I just wanted you to appreciate the whole picture. I don’t want the others to shoulder the burden to cover for my own lack of ability.”
He looked around at Ivan, and then his gaze returned to Nox, wondering what kind of man the atharim was. “Don’t I deserve a chance to prove myself, Nox?”
This was a technique the CCDPD favored, mixing veteran officers— in this case, men like Dorian and Ivan—in cases with newcomers. The recent officers like Lih and Costa would receive invaluable experience as a result, and the veterans would overcome any complacency by compensating of the fact that some of the men around them were relatively inexperienced. It was an alloy that often brings out the best in a team. He thought it'd be good if Nox would take the time to reconsider and change his mind.
He saw his lenses fill up with blood, and saw the world through blood; only blood, over and over.
He chilled with sweat. His limbs quivered. He had to touch his own face, bare and lenses-free, to believe there was no blood upon it.
Suddenly his legs went numb, without feeling. He bent down, hands braced against his thighs, panting hard and trying not to be sick from the effort.
Lih closed his eyes, paused, opened them again. He was standing at the back of the room, leaning against the wall to recover his breathing and his wits. Dorian’s kidnapping. Lih did not ask and had not been told. If it helps, it seemed news to Ivan and Nox too.
Lih was silent for a while. Why was Dorian only telling them this now? He would support Dorian, and trust the other to work him as hard as possible. As such, he nodded urgently at his senior officer’s words. In terms of necessity alone, Dorian was making a sound decision. And he would obey, even if his duty was hard.
He sighed and straightened the front of his uniform jacket, pulling his slender frame upright his cap clutched in his gloves. He didn’t want Dorian to risk his life or to lose his partner. For all the dishonor his open admission would be, he wanted the other two to know he was ready, willing and able to take Dorian’s place in the tunnels.
“I also have a condition,” he called out, his voice was hoarse and full of alarm. He’d never negotiated before, but Ivan’s request showed him of the way forward. He admired Ivan for not being afraid of questioning the demands of command.
“Um, Nox I…” Lih said, slightly embarrassed to be mentioning it. “I’ve used crossbows in training a number of times. Against terrorists, as we were taught. But... my eyes… my accuracy isn’t good. Please consider all our options and let me carry the automatics, too.”
He turned and gazed imploringly at Dorian. “after the disaster at Boda’s, I’m thankful to you for this mission, sir and I’ve admired how you’ve made command choices that would have been beyond lesser men. I’m sorry that … non channelers like us are caught in this mess. But what you’re doing is right, and I just wanted you to appreciate the whole picture. I don’t want the others to shoulder the burden to cover for my own lack of ability.”
He looked around at Ivan, and then his gaze returned to Nox, wondering what kind of man the atharim was. “Don’t I deserve a chance to prove myself, Nox?”
This was a technique the CCDPD favored, mixing veteran officers— in this case, men like Dorian and Ivan—in cases with newcomers. The recent officers like Lih and Costa would receive invaluable experience as a result, and the veterans would overcome any complacency by compensating of the fact that some of the men around them were relatively inexperienced. It was an alloy that often brings out the best in a team. He thought it'd be good if Nox would take the time to reconsider and change his mind.
Viktor Lih
Officer of CCDPD
Officer of CCDPD