Chapter 3
My face must have been a picture as I stood there staring at our new guests. Dr. Anibo gently nudged my shoulder and I snapped out of my trance. I turned to him and he had a grim look on his face so I didn't ask the question that was burning on the inside of my mind. He guided me out of the medical wing and we walked slowly next to each other. We stopped just short of my classroom and he turns to me, places a finger on his lips, indicating to be quiet about the ordeal, and then left me. I turned around and entered my classroom. The class was halfway through a surprise test, and everyone stared at me silently when I entered. I muttered a “Sorry” to Mr Strauss and trying to hide my now bright red face, I scuttled back to my desk and sat down. After a few seconds of silence, everyone turned back to their tests. I then sat, staring at the test paper for the remaining time. Mr Strauss sounded a buzzer when the time was up and the class gave off a collective sigh. Risa pretty much pounced on me as soon as Mr Strauss had collected the papers, though he said I could do mine later. Holding me by my shoulders she demanded answers. A crowd had gathered around me;
“It - it- it was an impromptu exam, one of the maintenance divers had his legs broken when a turbine fell on him, when I finished, I was told that I had passed my training!”
My classmates cheered and gasped in unison, Risa basically screeched at me.
“Tonight, we must celebrate!” She declared, luckily the test was the last lesson of the day and Mr Strauss dismissed us a few minutes early to celebrate my promotion. We briefly stopped by our room to grab our ration cards before promptly trundling off to the food court. It was the beginning of the dinner rush so it was packed, the concoghany of cutlery on plates was almost deafening. We managed to find ourselves a place to sit, nestled on the long benches between a family of four and a crew of divers. We pulled up the menu panel from the table, navigating the screen. The icons were laid out in an easy to read manner, designed so that even children could use it. The items were sorted into different sections; Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Dessert, Snacks and Childrens meals. I was just thinking about what I was gonna get when a giant tower of ice cream was placed down between us, I felt my jaw drop.
“Risa? Is this your doing?” I asked
“Mhmm! Yep! Thought I’d treat you for getting that promotion!” She beamed at me
“Oh, Risa, you shouldn't have! These cost like four stamps don’t they?!” When she had said ‘celebrate’ I hadn’t imagined this! One stamp alone was enough for a meal! At this point the children next to me were starting to bu their mother for one, I felt sorry for her, as I would have done the same.
“Ah, don’t worry about it Ollin! I had been saving for something like this!!” She smiled that sweet smile of hers, that smile that always got to me.
“Fine, let dig in then! I can’t eat it all by myself!” I laughed at her as she obliged and we started excavating the pile of ice cream.
We were a good, two thirds through, both the family and the divers had left and been replaced by more people. Many had stopped by to see us eat the tower, for it was not seen often. Word of my promotion had spread as a result and more came to congratulate me, I tried to just keep busy with the ice cream. To say the least I was enjoying the “Celebration” Risa had prepared, but before we finished Dr. Anibo tapped me on the shoulder, he said “Sorry to interrupt your ‘celebrations’ but I need to speak with you.”. I wiped my mouth with a napkin, “Where you off to?!?!” Risa demanded, I felt bad again, for not finishing the ice cream she bought me, but she looked over me and saw the stern face of Dr. Anibo and fell silent, “I’ll see you back in the room, Ollin,” she said, having lost much of her signature bubbly attitude. Dr. Anibo had a habit of doing that to Risa, I guess he did not approve of her going into the pilot’s school. I nodded to her before getting guided out of the food court, Dr. Anibo stopped me just outside the hall in a secluded section of the hallway.
“Now, you haven’t told anyone have you?” He said, his face so close I could feel his breath on my face.
“N-No, I haven’t sir, Just about my promotion….Risa was just treating me….” I replied,
“Yes...Alright, well, I’ll take your word, for now, but I need you to come with me for a bit, it’s about your ‘patient’…” He was careful with his words, and then guided me back to the medical wing.
There were guards posted outside the recovery ward, they nodded as I approached with Dr. Anibo, and stepped aside to let us enter. Once the door was closed, Dr. Anibo turned to me and said;
“I’m sorry for all the secrecy but you must understand, that no-one must know about our new ‘guests’, Overseer’s orders, you see,” I nodded, one must never disobey the Overseer. I looked beyond Dr. Anibo, into the recovery ward, the long corridor flanked with medical-bed-pods. The only personnel I could see were the other senior medical staff, I was by far the youngest in the room. There was one figure who was not dressed in medical gear, it was the Overseer himself!
He was talking to one of the ‘guests’ as Dr. Anibo had said, who was sitting up on one of the beds, it having slid out from its bay in the wall. Dr. Anibo walked down the ward, heading for Lord Foxwell, I, not knowing what to do, just shuffled along behind him, trying to be as small and inconsequential as I could. Being around this many senior staff would be enough, let alone the Overseer and the ‘guests’ !
We both bowed to him as we arrived, and he nodded in return, he spoke in his usual, calm, strange accent;
“Ah, Dr. Anibo, this is the one?”
I looked at the ‘guest’ and recognised him as the one I operated on, his wounds apparently giving him very little grief. Dr. Anibo spoke differently to the Overseer, the sense of superiority in his voice lost;
“Yes sir, this is Ollin Sakamoto, she is the one who operated on this gentleman, sir.”
The overseer peered at me from behind his spectacles, his blue eyes studying me,
“Hmm, you also gave that great speech at the ceremony yesterday, right?” his question was asked kindly, I hadn’t expected him to have even noticed me;
“Y-yes sir,” I tried to say in my clearest voice, but I think it was little more than a mumble. Lord Foxwell smiled;
“Well, this man is the captain of our ‘guests’ and wanted to thank you personally for saving his life! Plus you are one of the few who know about our ‘guests’ and there is to be a briefing of sorts to those who know. You can go about your business Dr. Anibo, I’d like to have a few words with Miss Sakamoto here,” his command was not forced, but conveyed force, and Dr. Anibo immediately bowed and wandered off into the rest of the ward. I looked to the captain and he smiled at me, waiting for Dr. Anibo to be out of earshot.
“Miss, Sakamoto was it?” he asked, his Japanese was broken and disjointed, but it served well enough, “Thank you, for saving my life young girl, your Lord Overseer was just telling me about how it caused your promotion!” I blushed, and nodded in response, my gaze returning to my shoes.
“Oh, and by the way,” the captain said, “My name is Captain Parchenn, of the U.S.S Thunderbug.”
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