- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
“Yes ma’am, just felt a little woozy for a second,” Johnson remarked, mentally shaking the cobwebs from his mind. “I was about to say, I’ll volunteer to go with the company of Marines.”
Keyes looked at Johnson for a moment, visibly debating his request.
“All right, but I expect you to keep me abreast on the situation.”
Johnson smiled lightly.
“Will do.”
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Ugh, how could anyone actually get used to this stuff?
Jan shifted uncomfortably as the thick material of the scrubs she had donned after discovering a female changing room started to chafe her thighs. After getting changed, she had silently made her way back to the waiting room of the hospital, and taken one of the very few empty seats. The hospital was busy, and Jan was certain if she could just keep herself from causing anyone to notice her, she could wait out however long she’d need to stay at the hospital inside the waiting room.
Glancing around, Jan saw that the majority of the people sitting around were families, mainly young children with their mothers. There weren’t many men, something Jan immediately took notice of.
Guess the UNSC is more interested in conscripting males. Not that its much of a surprise.
With a sigh Jan slumped back, letting her head fall against the wall located behind her. Closing her eyes she tried her best to block everything out; the war, the noise, the memories…all of it.
After a few moments she realized the futility of it, and was about to sit back up when she felt something tugging at her leg. Cracking one eye open, Jan peered down at the small girl beside her. The girl’s dark auburn hair and black eyes were a sharp contrast to the brightly colored clothes she was wearing.
“Umm,” the little girl released Jan’s pant leg when she saw that she had Jan’s attention. The child fidgeted slightly as she suddenly appeared nervous.
“Can I help you?” Jan asked, careful to keep her tone light, and not let her fatigue seep through.
“Umm,” the girl said once more. “Big sis, do you work here?”
Eh? ‘Big sis’? Jan thought, confused. She stared back at the girl for a moment before she realized what the child meant. Its just a way of addressing me, like how I used to call Dad’s friends ‘Uncle’.
“
I sure do,” Jan lied with a smile. “Is there something I can do for you?”
Oooh boy, here’s hoping she doesn’t blow my cover.
“My mom got in an accident yesterday, and my neighbors brought me here, but I went to go get some juice and now I can’t remember what room she’s in,” the girl explained quickly, her eyes earnest as she stared into Jan’s face.
Jan smiled softly at the girl as she patted her lightly on the head. Without any preamble she got to her feet, reaching one hand down to lightly grasp the girl’s left hand within her own as she began to lead her out of the waiting area.
I may regret this, but I just can’t say no to a face this cute, Jan thought as she approached the front desk.
“So, can you tell me what your name is?” Jan asked.
“Shiratori Kozue,” Kozue said, her voice small as the girl fidgeted with shirt. Jan felt a smile grace her face once more, and she turned to speak with the nurse managing the desk.
“Could I get the room number for Shiratori? Her daughter wants to see her,” Jan said as confidently as she could.
The nurse looked up for only a moment before accessing the terminal situated in the main nurses station.
“Shiratori Yuki, Room C34.”
Giving a quick thanks to the nurse, Jan steered Kozue away from the desk and down the first corridor she saw, hoping to find some kind of indication of where an elevator might be.
“So, Kozue, what happened to your mother?” Jan asked absently, scanning a distant hallway.
“She…she,” Kozue hesitated, and Jan looked down at her, puzzled. “She got hurt.”
Jan sensed there was far more to it than that, but wisely kept her mouth shut as she finally located the elevator that would take them to the third floor. They waited in silence as the elevator made its way to the ground floor. Once they were boarded Jan hit the icon that would take them to the third floor, mindful of the looks she was receiving from the other occupants of the elevator.
The moment the doors parted to reveal their stop, Jan moved off quickly, pulling Kozue with her. After a few minutes of wandering, they came to a halt outside the room bearing the indication of C34. Jan rapped her knuckle lightly against the door and, hearing no response, opened the door.
While Jan wasn’t one to believe in premonitions and visions, she would have found it hard to disagree that the room automatically gave off the feeling of death and gloom. The drag olive white color seemed to only accentuate the depression the room seemed to be radiating with. Slumped on the medical bed was a woman that couldn’t have been more than thirty years old, yet her face seemed aged beyond her years.
Kozue slipped her hand free from Jan’s and quickly moved next to her mother, who gave no indication that she had noticed the girl.
“Mom, you didn’t eat your dinner,” Kozue pointed out, and Jan’s eyes were drawn to the full hospital tray lying on the table next to the unmoving woman. Kozue’s mother turned on her side, away from her daughter, and clutched a drawn blanket to her body. The sight of the bandages on the woman’s wrists automatically changed Jan’s attention away from the food, and she felt a growing sickness develop in her stomach.
Confirming her suspicions, the utensils on the food tray were made of plastic, and there were no other medical instruments in the room. Even the woman’s IV tube was shortened, so as to not allow one to wrap the tube around a vital area.
Swallowing roughly, Jan cleared her throat to get Kozue’s attention. The child shouldn’t see her mother like this.
“Kozue,” Jan said, and waited for the girl to turn around. “How about we go get some food from the cafeteria?”
Kozue looked at Jan for a moment before turning to her mother, uncertainty written across her face.
“Kozue,” Jan urged. “I’m sure your mother needs her rest, lets leave her alone for awhile.”
“Okay,” Kozue finally relented, and walked towards Jan, dejected. Jan quickly took the girls hand once more and lead her from the room, closing the door behind her.
Oh God.
Jan looked down at the child next to her in astonishment. Her mother had obviously tried to take her own life, but how could she do that when she had a child to take care of.
Trying to stem her thoughts, Jan led Kozue from the hospital ward and back to the elevator they had previously used. Once they reached the ground floor again, Jan followed the navigational signs that eventually led them to the hospital cafeteria. It was large enough to accommodate almost all of the patients and staff, so finding seats away from the crowd was easy. Jan used the last of the credits that Commander Keyes had lent her to pay for Kozue’s food, and watched the child in silence as she ate.
“Kozue?” Jan asked, and the girl looked up from the hamburger she was devouring. “Where’s your father?”
The question was hard to ask, as Jan knew that more than likely her father had been pressed into service, and perished, which would explain why her mother had decided to end her life.
“He went away, that’s what Mama always said,” Kozue responded, her voice light. “The aliens came while he was away though, so we had to leave.”
“You’re not from Earth?” Jan asked. Kozue shook her head in response.
“Nope, we used to live on Sigma Octanus IV. Papa went away to fight the aliens but they came and they attacked our town. Me and Mama hid with our neighbors, and we thought they might find us, but then the robots came.”
“Robots?” Jan questioned, confused.
“Uh huh,” Kozue said, nodding earnestly. “They were big, and covered in green armor. They spoke like robots and moved very fast. Some of them took Mama and me to a big spaceship that flew us away. That’s how we came to Earth, they put us in these camps, but then Mama got hurt so we came to the hospital.”
“I see,” Jan said. “You’ve been through a lot haven’t you?”
“I guess so,” Kozue responded, uncertainly, and returned her attention to the food.
Robots in green armor huh? Jan smiled to herself, before remembering that three of the ‘robots’ were inside the very hospital she was in.
I wonder if I could persuade the guards to let me see them?
The gentle silence that had overtaken the two girls was shattered as twenty or so Marines suddenly poured in.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I need your attention please!” the Marine up front shouted. As Jan stared at him, she recognized the twin silver bars of a 1st Lieutenant on his epaulettes. He climbed up onto one of the cafeteria tables so that those at the far end could see him.
“A Covenant capital ship has just touched down a few miles outside of Sydney. ONI has set up an evacuation transport group that will get you all out of the area. Please remain calm. I ask that you drop everything. You are not permitted to take any material possessions. Just the clothes on your back. If you have any family members in this facility that are capable of being transferred, I ask that you bring them with you.”