Fracture

Physician Taren Sune is not a student any longer. Assigned to her first mission, she isn't stationed at the circuit hospital she'd imagined, but hurtled through space to a prison colony she knew better from rumour than from fact.

Armed with informational packets and a charge to aid the sickening populace, she does her best to keep to every protocol. Yet the longer she serves, the more she sees what the guards try to hide: failed experiments, spreading sickness, and a system that values silence more than survival.

Then there's him.

Phin is a prisoner with too much charm, too many secrets, and an infuriating ability to make her question every rule she's sworn to uphold. He's reckless, self-serving-and the only one who warns her that something inside the prison walls is shifting.

Taren nodded. Then I do not feel comfortable discharging you.

His expression changed so quickly she did not feel right in qualifying it as relief. But it was near enough, and she was satisfied she had done right by him. I will speak to your supervisor. Explain my expectations when you are discharged.

She nodded to herself. Demyan might argue that went beyond her purview, but she disagreed.

You sure about that? Phin hedged, plucking at an errant thread on his blanket.

Yes, Taren insisted. Waited for him to expound and was frustrated when he did not. What am I missing? It was not his responsibility to educate her. But she hated the feeling of not-knowing. Of walking into a situation and fumbling about, likely making a fool of herself in the process. She shouldn't trust his opinion on the matter. He could lie just for his own amusement. To watch her trespass into something dangerous. Or simply get her into trouble just for the sake of doing so. She hated doubting a patient. Having to approach them with suspicion rather than a trust she very much hoped was mutual.

He swallowed, then turned his attention back to her. Don't take any unnecessary risks, he insisted. Not for me and not for anyone. Keep your head down. Then go home and try not to think about this place once you get there.