Chapter 3: First Contact with Sera Dohn

The injury was minor. He had documented it himself on the standard incident form — right-hand laceration, knuckle joint, sustained during equipment maintenance drill, depth insufficient to require surgical intervention. The infirmary was required to log it regardless. That was the procedure.

He went on the third day of his second week at the Bureau, during the mid-cycle break, so as not to interrupt his log completion rate.

The infirmary on Level Seven occupied a narrow corridor of rooms behind a frosted partition. The medical orderly took his hand, examined the cut, applied a binding strip, and entered the notation into the duty log. The whole process took eleven minutes. Kael thanked the orderly once, which was appropriate, and was directed to keep the binding dry for forty-eight hours, which he would.