Tripp snapped out of his daydream and saw that Emily wasn’t impressed with the armory.
“Hey, thanks, Jaycee,” he said. “I think we’ll move on, now. Time is of the essence.”
“Any time.”
“Follow me,” Tripp pressed his palm against the panel on the wall. The door slid open, allowing him and Emily through.
Jamie approached the door and turned back to look at Jaycee. He placed his left boot on the workbench and tied his shoelaces.
“He looks really sad,” Jamie muttered.
“So, this is the main passageway that connects all the different areas of the ship. We call it the hub?”
Tripp pointed at various protrusions coming from the corridor walls.
Pipework.
Fuse boxes.
Connected strip lights that shot into the foreground, illuminating the shiny linoleum-esque flooring.
“What is a hub?” Jamie asked.
“It’s like a central point for people to meet. No point showing you that as it’s just a big meeting room. Pretty boring.”
Tripp turned a corner and made his way to the medical facility.
“Okay, this one is cool,” Tripp approached the door. “This is Wool’s office. You remember her, right?”
“Yes, the brown lady?”
“Yeah,” Tripp spat. “The brown lady. Jelly’s new carer.”
The three of them made their way into the area.
“It’s like a hospital in here,” Emily said, sniffing around.
“Welcome to Medix,” Tripp looked around the tables and beds for his colleague. “USARIC has some of the highest-trained medicians on the planet. Wool is the best one we have.”
He moved forward and looked over at her computer desk. “Wool, are you here?”
Jamie was fascinated by the beds. One in particular, a much smaller structure, sat at the far end of the room. A drip lay next to it, along with a small monitor on a metal tray.
“This looks like an animal bed?” Jamie said. “It’s too small for a person.”
“Yes,” a familiar voice came from behind Jamie. “It’s exclusively for Jelly.”
Wool ar-Ban approached the trio with a great big smile.
“Hi, Wool,” Jamie said.
“Hey, Jamie,” she said, “Hello Ms Anderson.”
“Hi.”
“Before we go on, I’d like to apologize for what happened yesterday,” Wool said, shaking Emily’s hand. “It was very unfortunate, but I can assure you that it’s not symptomatic of USARIC’s usual handling of things.”
“That’s okay,” Emily said, “It’s not for my benefit. It’s for my son. He loves space and spaceships and stuff like that.”
“Yes, so I hear,” Wool smiled at Jamie and held out her hands. “So, this is my area of the ship.”
Jamie looked around, impressed. “You’re a doctor?”
“No, I’m a medician.”
“You do magic tricks and stuff?”
“No, not a magician. I’m a medician.”
“What is that?”
“I’m a veterinarian and general practitioner for human beings.”
“Why are you brown?” Jamie asked in his infinite naivety. “Are you Indian?”
Wool burst out laughing and shook her head. “Gosh, no. Whatever makes you think that?”
“You’ve got brown skin like an Indian.”
“No, I’m half Iranian,” Wool said in her perfect American accent. “My father was Iranian and my mother was American. And you’re English, right?”
“Yes.”
“And where’s your father?”
Jamie shrugged his shoulders and lifted Jelly’s case into the air. “He’s in heaven, now.”
Emily looked away from Wool and bit her lip. Her son’s somewhat emotionless remark hit her right in the gut. It wasn’t the woman’s fault she’s asked such an unfortunate question.
Wool caught on immediately and turned the emotional tables around. “I’ve heard her name is Jelly?”
“Would you like to meet her?” Jamie asked.
“Sure. Put her on her bed and we’ll take a look.”
Jamie plonked the cat’s carry case on the little hospital bed and unclipped the locks.
The cage sprung out, inviting Jelly to freedom. She wouldn’t come out of the case. Wool ducked her head down and looked the cat in eyes. “Hey, girl.”
Jelly ducked her head and looked at her paws.
“C’mon, let’s get you out of there,” Wool reached in and grabbed Jelly under the arms. The cat fought back at first. Once she was in the arms of her new carer, she purred and rather enjoyed the comfort.
“I think she likes me,” Wool said, cradling Jelly in her arms. “Who’s a good girl, then?”
“She likes you, Wool.”
“Yes,” she said, stroking the cat’s chin with her knuckle, “She looks very happy. Evidently feels safe with her little engine running.”
“Great stuff,” Tripp approached his colleague and held her shoulder. “We don’t have much time, and I’d like Jamie to meet everyone.”
“Oh, sure,” Wool offered Tripp Jelly to carry. “You want to take her, commander?”
“Sure, hand her over.”
Tripp took Jelly into his arms and observed her face. “Wow, she really is special, isn’t she?”
“She’s one in a million. Quite literally.” Wool winked at Jamie, who grinned back at her. “Jamie, don’t worry. She’s in safe hands. My job is to look after her, and I intend to do just that.”
“Will you feed her and make sure she gets lots of exercise?”
“Of course, sweetie,” Wool walked back to her computer desk. “Have fun checking out the ship. I’ll make sure you get some screen time with Jelly once we’re out of hyper-sleep, okay?”
“Okay.”
Tripp, Jamie and Emily made their way to the other end of the corridor. A silver screen door lay at the very end.
Tripp crouched down and allowed Jelly out from his arms. “Go on, girl.”
“Wait. Is it safe?” Jamie asked.
“She can only go forwards or backwards. She’ll probably reach the next room before us, anyway. It’s good for her to have a bit of a run around. Get her used to the ship.”
Jelly reached the door to an area named Botanix. She scratched at the glass, excited at the playground that lay behind it.
“Where are we going now?” Jamie asked.
“Botanix,” Tripp explained, “It’s the part of the ship that provides us with oxygen and fresh water.”
“How does it do that?”
“You’ll see.”
They reached Jelly, who butted her head against the door. He placed his palm onto the panel on the wall. “Open up.”
It slid open and offered a full view of what Jelly had seen moments ago.
Rows and rows of plants, too varied and numerous to mention. Two powerful lamps shone over them. Silver foil lined the soil as far as the eye could see.
Jamie and his mother were taken aback by just how clean the air was. As expected, Jelly ran up the rows and explored the place for all it was worth.
“Haloo?”
“Hello?” Jamie asked. “What?”
“No, Haloo,” he said, “My colleague.”
A young woman hosed the second row of plants and spotted her new visitors entering the room. She saw the cat weaving in and out of the plants.
“Hey, guys. Is that our winner poking around my geraniums?” Haloo asked.
“Yes, that’s Jelly.”
“Huh,” Haloo watched her rummage away at the soil. “Gonna have to keep an eye on her, then.”
“My name is Jamie Anderson. I’m Jelly’s human,” he said, offering his hand.
Haloo smirked and took the kid’s hand in hers. “Nice to meet you. I’m Haloo Ess. Opera Beta’s botanist.”
“Botanist?”
“Yes, I look after the plants.”
“Cool,” Jamie threw her hand away and ran after Jelly. “Hey, girl, come back here.”