“Ummm sure, but how long does that thing stay closed? Itseems a little claustrophobic. As in a coffin type of claustrophobic.” Poppywas apprehensive and braced herself. She was being silly. At some point shewould need to get over using their medical devices.
Tamin hit a button that opened the pod up, and motioned forPoppy to lie down.
“It should only take thirty seconds for it to gather thereadings and then it will open automatically. After opening it will give us theinformation within five minutes of a standard exam. When we have to heal bonesor injuries, it can take hours to finish a treatment. The patient will fallasleep shortly after they enter depending on the diagnosis and wake as if theyhad 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 abit and by default would need more space, it seemed much roomier than she’dexpected once she stretched out. Judging the size to be similar to a twin bedbut 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 theinside of the white tube. She lay wide-eyed inside, listening to the tones themachine was making. Was she supposed to stay absolutely still? Would it zap herif 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 ithadn’t had a chance to do its futuristic mojo on her.
“Yes,” Rodin said with a smile, helping her sit up. Hebrought her shoes over so she could slip them back on before stepping down ontothe cool white floor. “Let us show you the supplies we acquired while we waitfor 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. Wheatoncontacted me and he has a break in meetings so he is free for a small amount oftime. He would like to speak to you.” Dathrow nodded at the two doctors.
Poppy noticed the disappointment on their faces and felt badthat their time was cut short. On the other hand, she was grateful that she wasable to successfully dodge the wings conversation.
“It was so nice to meet you both.”
“Likewise, Poppy. Please come back when you can. We coulduse your assistance, if you have the time to spare,” Tamin said, and held hishand out to shake.
“Yes, please come back. We would greatly appreciate yourinput on what other items we may need to acquire for your comfort, and wouldlove 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 gesturedback to the room she had just left.
“Not yet. It is still working on the report. I can contactyou if we have concerns regarding your vitals once it is finished. We have thestandard chart for where humans should be reading at so we will know ifsomething is a concern as soon as it is printed out.”
Poppy grimaced. Hopefully their charts didn’t include theBMI 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 thatshe 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 movingshowed 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 payattention to the doors and where the elevator was located. The sliding doors tothe lift and the doors to the other rooms were all the same size and shape. Shewas going to make it a priority to learn the standard symbols for the areas shewanted to visit. She asked Dathrow if he could make her a guide for the symbolsshe needed, including the symbols for numbers. At least she assumed the strangehieroglyphics 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 beable to lunch with you instead of the Council, but I am unsure how much time hewill have before his meetings continue,” Dathrow said before he bowed andturned to walk away.
“Dath?”
When he turned back and looked at her, she continued, “Thankyou so much for keeping me company this morning and showing me around. I trulyappreciate it.” She reached up to give him a hug.
Hugging Dathrow was like hugging a tree. She must havestartled 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 thenotification light on the door blinking. Dreading that it was Wheaton callingto cancel her lunch, she jogged over to listen to the message.
“Poppy, this is Tamin. We received your readouts from theregen bed and we need to speak to you about the results. Please come back tothe med center as soon as you are able.”
Well crap. Maybe the regen bed wasn’t as familiar with humanbodies as the doctors had expected. Or maybe they had questions about herdental fillings. Did aliens have fillings? A tone at the door sounded. She wasso anxious to see Wheaton that she practically ran to the opening, trippingover 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,
