A few minutes had passed since the children started to assault Meica. Turns out, It didn't take much for the children to leave Meica alone. Despite Abyssal's effort in getting them to leave her alone, they only really left after E came back having unleashed her rage upon the children who pranked her. The girls immediately stopped and went over to have fun with E and the other kids instead.
*Ding *Ding *Dong *Dong
It was only at this moment that a weird ringing sound was heard all over the place. And then, with two thumps over the mic, a familiar male's voice came out of the hidden speakers in the area. It was the voice belonging to the captain of the ship.
"Attention everyone. Ship time is now 19:00. We will now enter the ship's night cycle. All residents are to immediately head back and adhere to curfew. Ship crews who are taking night duty, I need you to gather at bridge number three for a short briefing. That is all," said the captain. The announcement ending was followed by the same weird ringing sound as before.
*Ding *Ding * Dong *Dong
As soon as the announcement was made, the entire area slowly went dark— the artificial skies slowly dimmed and turned into the nighttime sky. The streetlamps all over the park started to lit up one by one. The skies were filled with the sight of stars and even came with a moon, but Abyssal knew it was all fake. It was a very detailed replica of Earth's skies if she ever saw one though. She could see one bright star, in particular: the north star shining brightly in the distant fake skies.
"Alright, nighttime's here. Go back to your homes kids. This adult needs to work. Shoo Shoo," E chased them away after the announcement.
The children then gave E another hug before leaving the place. Each one of the kids going their separate ways. Each one of them also gave E words of farewell.
"Bye Enty! Come again soon!"
"See ya, Enty! I'm eating steak for tonight!"
"Tch, what adult, you're just the captain's favourite! Bu bu,"
"She thinks she is an adult, but she's still wearing white! Kuh Kuh!"
'Aren't some of these kids a little bit too mean to her?' Abyssal thought to herself. She looked towards the soul of the supercarrier smiling and waving at the children, but one could see veins popping out of E's head.
Once E confirmed that the kids had left, she turned around to face her 'guests'. "Sorry 'bout that. They can be quite rowdy sometimes. You guys doing okay?"
"Yeah, we are alright," Abyssal replied. She then turned around to look at Meica. "Can't say the same for her though."
On the floor, almost to the verge of puking, was a Nekomi on her fours, one of her hands near her mouth, trying her best to hold it in.
E saw this before letting out a small laugh. "Space sickness to a whole new level, huh. She'll be fine! Come on, the infirmary is this way," E said before moving away.
"For goodness sake, just hold it in a little bit longer, will you?" Kuon said to Meica before gently holding her up. "Come on."
"Uuuu… thanks…" Meica groaned.
Abyssal gave Meica and Kuon a soft internal smile. 'I guess these two can get along sometimes.'
* * * * *
The residential area of the carrier was much larger than Abyssal first thought. The place was a small city with hundreds of people moving about their daily lives. There were no cars or automotive of any sort but rather automated walkways that everyone would use to move around the area. There was also the sight of humans and children taking rides on drones to get to places, as well. It seemed that they are currently rushing back to their homes for the night curfew.
The place was filled with shops selling all kinds of items and in the middle of the city was a large plaza filled with restaurants and cafes— though all of them were either closed or closing for the day. One could also see civilians and what looked to be the ship crew members hanging about, doing small talks as they enjoyed the night away. The area was filled with street lights and the artificial night sky glow gave the place a rather serene and calm feeling.
As E moved around the area, Abyssal could see various people giving E salutes and bows. E replied by nodding and giving the occasional thumbs up to the people. Whatever E was to the people, at the very least, she seemed to be respected around these parts.
Still, Abyssal couldn't help but feel that something was wrong with the whole thing.
'This all… just feels so organic…' She thought to herself.
She kept the feeling to herself as she continued to follow E around the city. Abyssal, Kuon and Meica followed her through the plaza where she suddenly stopped in front of a building.
"Well, we are here, smack dab in the middle of the whole place," E turned around and said to the trio.
'This is the place?'
Abyssal stared at the building and started to analyse it. The building in question was an old small building with the logo of a red cross on it. The windows were cloudy and looked to have gathered quite a bit of dust, probably because no one had bothered cleaning it. Looking closely, Abyssal could see that one part of the window was cracked. The wooden door to the place looked worn out and looked like it was about to break apart. On the door was a sign that says clinic, and another sign that says closed. There were street lights near the building but looked to be poorly maintained as the bulb flickered on and off repeatedly giving the place an eerie feel.
E called it an infirmary, but no matter how Abyssal looked at it, the place looked like an abandoned house; or rather, some weird clinic in some sort of apocalypse setting. She wondered if this was the best medical facility for a ship of this size or there was some other place. Surely, this place couldn't be where all the sick crew goes to, right?
"Now, now, don't give me that look. I know this place looked a bit worn out, but…" E said before stopping suddenly, unable to find the words to explain herself. "And there is that. Let's go in!"
She said with a carefree tone before opening the door. Abyssal only gave her a blank stare before following her inside.
Once inside, she could see a lobby that looked just as horrible as the outside. Small pieces of trash were all over the floor— some of the trash on the floor included: small pieces of torn paper, cans of what looked to be liquor and cigarette butts. The various furniture in the place was scattered and unorganized. There was paint peeling off the walls of the so-called infirmary, as well. The place was rather cold and brightly lit though which was a small redemption for the place.
Near the counter, lying on her back on a large office chair looked to be a person. It was a female wearing casual clothing with a white robe on top of it. She had a book, flipped open, lying on her face and her hands were just dangling about. She didn't seem to be a rather clean person as her clothes were in tatters, signifying that she didn't even bother to dress up properly. On her modestly sized chest was a stethoscope that looked to be tied to her neck. Listening closely, Abyssal could hear small snores coming out from the person's mouth.
'Is she… a doctor?' Abyssal thought to herself.
"Hey, Julia! I got a patient for ya!" E yelled out to her.
There seemed to be no response as the woman continued to sleep in her comfortable looking chair. E's loud high tone voice wasn't enough to get the woman to wake up. E let out a sigh before moving to the counter and pressed on the counter bell that was on it repeatedly.
*Ding *Ding *Ding *Ding
She tapped the thing without mercy, trying to make as much noise as possible. That noise definitely made an effect on the woman as she soon let out a groan.
"Urghh… Keep it down, you are making my head hurt…" the woman said out loud before removing the book that was on her face.
What revealed was the face of a respectable-looking woman, round cheeks with blue eyes. She was blonde and had short wavy hair. Below her lips was a mole. There were eyebags below her eyes but it was hidden very well by the large framed glasses that she was wearing. On one hand, she looked to be one of those polite and caring doctor types, on the other hand, her actions made her look like some delinquent.
'Hmm… She looks kinda familiar… Where have I seen her before? Abyssal thought to herself. There was something inside telling her that she saw this person before but couldn't exactly place her fingers on it.
She massaged her temples before looking at the people who entered her dwelling.
"What do you want?" She asked in a gruff voice, the kind of voice a person would have if she hadn't drunk for a while.
"I got someone that needs your attention, captain's orders," E pointed behind her.
The woman brought her eyes towards the only other person in the room, towards Meica. She brought her hands out revealing a watch on her right wrist. She took a small glance at it before clicking her tongue.
"I'm closed for the day. Come back some other time," she said before laying back on her chair.
"What kind of doctor are you, Julia? There is no such thing as close time for people like you, ya know?" E said to the woman, named Julia.
Julia clicked her tongue again before groggily getting up from her seat. She walked over towards Meica like someone drunk. It was as if she never walked before. Her balance was all over the place and it looked like she was about to fall at any moment. Eventually, after some struggle, she managed to reach where Meica was. She then took the stethoscope that was hanging from her neck and started using one end of it to press randomly on Meica's chest.
"She's okay. No problems here," Julia said.
"Aren't you supposed to put that thing in your ears first?" Abyssal asked Julia, looking at her with a blank stare.
"Tsk. What the hell is this? Some sort of toy?" Julia asked.
"I'm not a toy!"
"Whatever...." Julia said as she put on her stethoscope for real. Just like before, she started pressing the apparatus randomly on Meica's chest. It was clear that she didn't even bother to listen for a pulse or whatever it is that doctor was supposed to be looking for.
It didn't take long for her to have another response. "She's fine. No problems that I could see."
"No problems you couldn't see or problems you refused to see?" Kuon said to her with a sharp tongue.
"Kuon! Shh!" Abyssal whispered loudly to her first maid. Kuon only responded by giving an apologetic bow.
"Urgh… This is so troublesome, can't you bring them to the medical bay instead? Why do you have to come all the way here," Julia turned around and looked towards E.
E wasn't amused by her behaviour. She folded her arms and gave her a displeased look. "Do your job properly, Julia."
Julia let out a sigh before finally giving up. "Fine. Come this way."
"We need the kid on a bed before she starts puking all over the place. I think I might have some bismuth subsalicylate for her," Julia said before walking over towards a certain door at the back of the lobby.
'And here I thought I was the weird one…' Abyssal thought to herself before following Julia.