Authors: Leora Gonzales
The med center visit was a success. Meeting Tamin and Rodin,
two of the Brakken warriors, had been very interesting. Both men were just as
tall as Wheaton and Dathrow but they had shorter hair and small tattoos on
their upper temples that ran up their foreheads and traced their hairlines.
Noticing that their tattoos were identical, Poppy figured they were a warrior
designation. The pair wore leather pants similar to what Wheaton had in his closet
but they wore tops shaped like a tunic or loose-fitting sets of hospital
scrubs. Each was equally muscled so she assumed that in addition to patching up
those banged up from sparring, they spent just as much time on the mat.
Apparently the men had wanted to meet the human brides on
the ship but none of the husbands had brought them by so far. As doctors they
were curious regarding any physical differences—even though their research had
shown that everything was compatible, they wanted to see it firsthand.
Declining a physical exam, she did try to answer all the questions they had.
When they started asking questions about her monthly cycle, Dathrow made a
point to excuse himself for a couple minutes and check on a message waiting for
him in the system. The questions they asked her about her period did make her
realize she was going to be needing “supplies” fairly soon and wondered how she
could go about asking that.
“Tamin, are you technically my doctor or will a human doctor
be brought up from Earth if I need one?” Poppy asked curiously.
Rodin chose that time to pop into the conversation that had
been led by the other doctor until then.
“We will be your doctors while on Squadron One if you need
medical assistance. As of right now, we are too far from Earth to get a human
doctor even in an emergency,” he said.
Not wanting to be left out, Tamin spoke next. “Also, the
Council decided that any Phaeton children will need to be monitored by our own
race so all pregnancies would be seen to by either Rodin or myself while you
are here.”
“Why? Are you feeling unwell? Do we need to summon Wheaton
for you?” Rodin asked.
“Ummmm…no. I just wasn’t sure who I should talk to about
getting supplies when I need them—to deal with feminine issues,” she said while
trying not to feel embarrassed. Talking to these two hunks about her period had
not been on her mental to-do list today. Poppy had a male doctor at home but
Dr. Stevens was about sixty years old with twenty grandchildren. He wasn’t
anything like these two babes in front of her and she wasn’t quite sure how
much they knew about periods or the supplies that were needed when they came.
“Of course, of course,” Rodin answered with a nod,
understanding what she was asking.
“We had planned on having a human nurse here to assist the
brides when the time came but our ship was called away before we could finish
the interviews. We did get enough ‘supplies’ though, for your stay to be
comfortable, if needed. I can show you the supply closet next where those items
are kept. You can choose what you need and let us know if there is something
specific you would like. We can make notes for future orders regarding your
preferences,” Tamin finished.
Following Tamin down the small hall that led to the exam
rooms, Poppy peeked around the rest of the small medical center. Walking past
the open exam rooms, she glanced around in awe. Instead of normal hospital beds
they had long pod-like structures in the center of the room. Pausing outside
one of the doors, she was bumped by Rodin, who was following close behind.
“Oomph. I’m so sorry, Rodin,” she said as she was jostled by
the big body behind hers.
“No, I am sorry, Poppy. I admit, I am anxious to hear your
questions and hopefully have you explain some of the supplies that we received.
After studying the packaging we were able to understand what the purpose of
some of them were but we are confused about an item that has wings. It does not
make sense to us why wings would help during your menstrual cycle,” Rodin said
as he backed up a few paces.
Oh great
. Poppy was not looking forward to explaining
tampons or pads with wings to this big guy. His expression became similar to
that of a kid in a candy store the more he spoke to her. He seemed as if he
were soaking up every word she said. She had a flashback to her sixth-grade
health class, when all the girls were separated from the boys and had “the
talk” about menstruation. Picturing herself standing in front of a white board
holding up various objects and explaining how they were used caused her to grimace.
Deciding now was a good time to distract the doctors, she gestured to the open
room.
“What are those?” Poppy asked, pointing at the weird pod
objects that were where she expected exam tables to be.
Gesturing for Poppy to enter the room, Tamin and Rodin
followed and walked to the center of the room.
“This is your standard regen bed,” Rodin explained with a
sweeping motion of his hand.
“Sugar, nothing you guys have up here is ‘standard’ to me. A
regen bed? As in, regeneration?” she asked, walking up to the white pod with
bright blue buttons. It appeared as though someone would lie on it and the
sides and top would close when it was turned on. The result was something that
resembled a space-age coffin.
“Exactly. When a warrior seeks our services, this is the
quickest way to diagnose the problem. It takes vitals, searches for injuries
and can provide a diagnosis within minutes as to what the problem is. When we
have medical screenings, we use it to generate information for medical
records.” Tamin hit a button so the pod closed in a
hum
.
“It can also heal broken bones and most internal injuries.
The duration it takes to heal different injuries varies depending on what it
needs to fix or regenerate. The more complicated the injury the more time it
may require.” Rodin was leaning against a cabinet that held medical instruments
more familiar to Poppy than the sci-fi bed in front of her.
“I would actually like to get a baseline on you if we could,
Poppy. That way we will have your stats on file in case you need future care,”
Rodin said, nodding toward the pod.
“Ummm sure, but how long does that thing stay closed? It
seems a little claustrophobic. As in a coffin type of claustrophobic.” Poppy
was apprehensive and braced herself. She was being silly. At some point she
would need to get over using their medical devices.
Tamin hit a button that opened the pod up, and motioned for
Poppy to lie down.
“It should only take thirty seconds for it to gather the
readings and then it will open automatically. After opening it will give us the
information within five minutes of a standard exam. When we have to heal bones
or injuries, it can take hours to finish a treatment. The patient will fall
asleep shortly after they enter depending on the diagnosis and wake as if they
had been taking a nap. There really is nothing to be frightened of.”
Poppy hopped up onto the bed after slipping off her shoes.
It was actually quite comfy. Since the warriors were bigger than her by quite a
bit and by default would need more space, it seemed much roomier than she’d
expected once she stretched out. Judging the size to be similar to a twin bed
but longer, she held her breath as Tamin hit the button for it to close.
Cocooned in the pod, she appreciated the calming blue glow that lined the
inside of the white tube. She lay wide-eyed inside, listening to the tones the
machine was making. Was she supposed to stay absolutely still? Would it zap her
if she moved? Crazy thoughts flew through her head as she stiffened her body,
freaking out a bit. Before she knew it, the door and sides slid open on a
hum
.
Well, that was anticlimactic.
“That’s it?” she asked, not wanting to move in case it
hadn’t had a chance to do its futuristic mojo on her.
“Yes,” Rodin said with a smile, helping her sit up. He
brought her shoes over so she could slip them back on before stepping down onto
the cool white floor. “Let us show you the supplies we acquired while we wait
for the regen bed to make a report.”
Dathrow chose that moment to walk into the exam room.
“Poppy, we need to head back to your quarters. Wheaton
contacted me and he has a break in meetings so he is free for a small amount of
time. He would like to speak to you.” Dathrow nodded at the two doctors.
Poppy noticed the disappointment on their faces and felt bad
that their time was cut short. On the other hand, she was grateful that she was
able to successfully dodge the wings conversation.
“It was so nice to meet you both.”
“Likewise, Poppy. Please come back when you can. We could
use your assistance, if you have the time to spare,” Tamin said, and held his
hand out to shake.
“Yes, please come back. We would greatly appreciate your
input on what other items we may need to acquire for your comfort, and would
love to have your help here,” Rodin agreed when it was his turn to shake hands.
“Oh wait, my regen report… Is it done yet?” She gestured
back to the room she had just left.
“Not yet. It is still working on the report. I can contact
you if we have concerns regarding your vitals once it is finished. We have the
standard chart for where humans should be reading at so we will know if
something is a concern as soon as it is printed out.”
Poppy grimaced. Hopefully their charts didn’t include the
BMI portion. She knew for sure that result wouldn’t be within the “standard”
reading for a woman her height. Maybe she should make use of the rec room that
she had toured earlier. Following a fast-moving Dathrow drove that point home.
Poppy breathed heavily as she hurried to catch up. The speed he was moving
showed her that maybe a little jogging wouldn’t be out of the question also.
Apparently, he was as anxious for her to see Wheaton as she was.
Walking down the gleaming halls, she again tried to pay
attention to the doors and where the elevator was located. The sliding doors to
the lift and the doors to the other rooms were all the same size and shape. She
was going to make it a priority to learn the standard symbols for the areas she
wanted to visit. She asked Dathrow if he could make her a guide for the symbols
she needed, including the symbols for numbers. At least she assumed the strange
hieroglyphics in the elevator were supposed to be numbers.
Reaching her apartments, Dathrow turned to her.
“Wheaton messaged that he should be here shortly. He will be
able to lunch with you instead of the Council, but I am unsure how much time he
will have before his meetings continue,” Dathrow said before he bowed and
turned to walk away.
“Dath?”
When he turned back and looked at her, she continued, “Thank
you so much for keeping me company this morning and showing me around. I truly
appreciate it.” She reached up to give him a hug.
Hugging Dathrow was like hugging a tree. She must have
startled him, because he stood stock-still with his arms hanging at his sides.
She wasn’t giving up on him, she decided. His cheeks had turned a little red.
Smiling at him, she waved and turned to go into her quarters.
Deciding not to waste any time, she prepared a quick lunch.
As she moved around the kitchen to get their food ready, she saw the
notification light on the door blinking. Dreading that it was Wheaton calling
to cancel her lunch, she jogged over to listen to the message.
“Poppy, this is Tamin. We received your readouts from the
regen bed and we need to speak to you about the results. Please come back to
the med center as soon as you are able.”
Well crap. Maybe the regen bed wasn’t as familiar with human
bodies as the doctors had expected. Or maybe they had questions about her
dental fillings. Did aliens have fillings? A tone at the door sounded. She was
so anxious to see Wheaton that she practically ran to the opening, tripping
over her shoes on the way. Knowing that her smile was gigantic, but not caring,
she signaled for the entry to open—and felt her smile fall.
“Hey, Dathrow, what are you doing back?” she asked him.
“Poppy, I received a message from Wheaton once I reached my
quarters. I am sorry but he is unable to escape the Council for the noon meal.”
He cringed as he broke the bad news to her.
“But why didn’t he call here to leave me a message?” she
asked.
“I am assuming that he thought I was still escorting you
back when he called. My band alerted me that I had a message waiting but I
assumed it was regarding another matter so I did not check it until I was back
in my own quarters,” he explained. With a sad smile, he gestured to the
countertop where the lunch she’d made for Wheaton sat.
“Do you mind if I join you or would you rather have some
time alone?”
“Well, sure, Dath. I could actually use the company now so I
don’t dwell on my disappointment too much. Once I go down that rabbit hole
nothing except for an obscene amount of ice cream can lure me back out.” She
sighed. “I hope you like hamburgers.” She tried to smile even though she wanted
to cry a bit. She’d never thought she was a crybaby and usually couldn’t stand
whiners. But dammit, she had wanted to see Wheaton and talk about last night’s
no-show, as well as the fact that Hellacious Hannah was able to go to the
Council meetings.
Lunch ending up being quite pleasant with Dathrow’s company
and he had time to answer questions that Poppy had from the morning tour.
Between bites, Dathrow was able to draw her up a legend of all the symbols on
the doors she would need to remember when walking around on her own. He laughed
and almost choked on his burger when she mentioned going around and placing
sticky notes everywhere.
Poppy picked up their plates. “Thank you for the cheat
sheet. Hey, I don’t want to just wait around until Wheaton calls. Can you walk
me back up to the medical unit? Tamin called and said he needed to go over my
regen bed reading with me,” she explained.