“Hey, what’s the sad face for?” the matte glass office door slid open and she saw Paul in the doorway.
“I’m not sad, just tired. The new Tarian government refused to fulfil some terms and conditions under our agreement…”
“No wonder! They can’t wait for the day they get rid of us!”
“You can say that again.”
Lora’s UCD beeped quietly and a green light of an incoming call flashed.
“This is Doctor Borshchevsky,” Lora explained taking the call, “Yes, doctor, what can I do for you?”
“Good day, Miss Merion! Great news! Our patient, the only one left in the hospital, has regained consciousness! Would you…”
“I’m on my way!” Lora jumped from her seat, her fatigue disappearing instantly.
“I’m waiting for you,” replied the doctor and the green light died.
“What did he say?” asked the captain curiously. The communication device transformed voice messages into a number of electric impulses and transferred them directly to the hearing nerve of the receiver.
“The rescued man has come around!”
“I’m coming with you,” decided Paul in a flash, leaving the premises together with Lora.
“It’s been three weeks since we found out about the civil war on Taria,” noticed the young man on the way to the closest teleport. “You̓ve been working very hard from dusk till dawn ever since. You need some rest.”
“Well, yes,” said Lora. She was still walking very quickly, barely escaping a collision with the passers-by and not being able to tame her growing excitement.
“Did you even hear what I was saying?”
They entered through the teleport glass door.
“Yes?”
“Hello! Please state your destination,” announced the ever-polite voice of the local teleportation programme.
“Central hospital,” answered Paul quickly, still piercing a confused Lora with his stare.
“Thank you,” uttered the electronic voice and the doors closed shut.
Just then, through the whirlpool of her own thoughts, Lora understood what he meant by that.
“Look, I’m not so tired to need an urgent vacation. The evacuation is in full-swing and I’d like to be a part of it.”
“Welcome to the Central Hospital,” announced the programme and the doors slid open, revealing a spacious brightly lit hall to their view.
“What about this story with Earth? It also requires a lot of your energy and attention. You’re risking losing all that if you continue working at such a pace.”