Opet and the Tales of Heroes

"Which way is sickbay?" he asked her.

"This way," Oniya gestured as she pointed towards the stern of the ship. "You are going to meet our doctor."

"Alright," he replied as he followed by her side. They began their walk down the passageway.

"I think you look very handsome," she told him. "I like that beard of yours. Not too much, but not too little."

"Yeah, I keep thinking of shaving it from time to time. I never like to keep the same thing all the time."

"Mmm.....," she remarked as she nodded her head. "I imagine you will have plenty of time to alter your looks. Besides.....I know that you will like it here."

They walked for a little bit as they reached the nearest set of sliding doors. On the door was a display that was written "Sickbay" in English. As they came to a stop, the doors would shift to Chinese that would depict the same word before it would flip back to English again.

"Qing is our doctor on this ship. If you ever feel unwell or need help, she can help you out," Oniya said.

"Is that spelled with a K or a Q?"

"Q"

The door opened to reveal the layout of sickbay. As Raavi and Oniya stepped inside, Raavi could see that the room was spacious and pretty. It had the same white format to it as the passageway. The floor was a smooth silk carpet that the bottom of his bare feet could feel. It felt comfortable and easy to walk on compared to the solid tile floor of the passageway. The interior consisted of a couple of white cushioned beds that jutted out of the deck. Two tables and numerous chairs lined the area. The colored spectrum of lights would radiate throughout the room. A clear plastic or glass sheet lined that separated an office with a small cabinet and desk where the doctor was sitting at.

Raavi could see that this Qing person was a woman of Chinese descent. She had a pale complexion to herself and wore a white medic outfit as her long flowing black hair would flow down to both sides of her shoulders. She seemed to be young, looking much like Oniya. For Raavi, sickbay appeared to be a cozy place, but it was odd in its appearance. It seemed too comfortable for an area where people were medically treated.

"Hello," Qing said in a thick Chinese accent. "This must be our new quest."

She stood up as she walked around her desk and up to the two.

"Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào Raavi," he greeted her in Chinese.

"You don't have to speak Chinese for me," Qing remarked as she put her hand to her chest. "My English is quite good."

"I admit my Chinese is a little bit rusty anyway. Chinese is a second language, but I could be better at it."

"It is the thought that matters, though," she said as she extended her hand. "My name is Doctor Qing. It is a pleasure to meet you, Raavi."

He could notice that Qing, even though she was friendly, had a somewhat arrogant personality. Perhaps it was merely in how she looked or behaved. Her inflections said one thing, but her words and communication didn't exactly show it though. He wondered if she was repressing these feelings but still acted in a professional manner.

"This is your sickbay?" he asked. "It doesn't feel like it."

"In what way?" she replied with a skeptical look.

"I mean that it looks more like an office with a couple of beds. It feels more like a hotel room."

"Hmmm.....typical reaction." She looked at Oniya and gave a brief nod to her before looking back at him. "So tell me....Raavi. Have you had any symptoms or suffering from any pain?"

"Well...." He said as he moved his arm around. "I ended up landing on my arm by accident when I came aboard. I didn't anticipate that this ship had gravity."

Qing stood up as she walked towards him. She put her hand to her mouth and chin as she was watching him pivot his arm and shoulder around. He could notice some sort of purple wristbands that were beneath the sleeves of her white overshirt. She seemed to be analyzing him closely.

Raavi cringed a little bit as he felt some sharpness of pain in his arm. A noticeable bruise could be seen that Qing noticed. She reached out her hand to his arm. Oniya seemed to note everything as she observed both of them.

"Hmmm.....let me look," Qing said as she began to use both of her hands to feel the tissue. Her fingers began to need and prod the areas. Her fingers eventually reached near the bruising as Raavi momentarily winced in pain. "There.....Hmmm.....nothing broken that I can tell. Slight swelling that I can see." Her eyes looked at Oniya briefly.

"Qing has been my ship's doctor since I got the Opet," Oniya said. "I always have absolute trust in her abilities as a physician and a healer."

Raavi turned his head to look at Oniya. "Well, I can't question that," he replied. "I know that the physicians on Aphadus are pretty good at taking care of any injuries."

While he was distracted, Qing had her hands near the bruise. She closed her eyes for a short moment as a small glow from her fingers appeared. The bruise discoloration began to fade a little bit. The light only lasted for a second before it quickly dissipated. Qing opened up her eyes as Raavi turned to look back at the doctor.

"Hmmm.....you will be fine," Qing said as she patted his arm.

Raavi watched as Qing let go of his arm before turning around and putting her hand to her mouth and chin. He began to move his arm a little bit more as he could feel no form of discomfort. The pain seemed to be gone. He looked at the bruise, and it seemed to be not as bad as he saw it before.

"Huh.....strange," he commented. "I don't feel any pain anymore. Whatever you did, Doctor, it certainly helped."

"Did what?" she asked him.

He gave a strange look to Qing. She seemed to provide him with a stoic look in response. Oniya smiled as she put her hand to his shoulder.

"You don't feel any pain?" she asked him.

"No....it's gone," he replied. "I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought it was."

"Raavi," Qing asked him. "Do you suffer from any ailments, allergies, or any other form of discomfort?"

"No. I have no allergies. I don't suffer from any illness. Besides my arm.....or at least what was there, that was it."

"Any augments?"

"My feet. Both feet, I have a Leren Model 14 Augmented Feet instead of typical normal feet."

He looked down at his shoes as Qing seemed to nod about it. "Hmmm....I have seen many augmentations, but I have never seen augmented feet before."

"It looks just like the rest of my body."

"Oh, I am sure of that. My question is, why did you get it?"

"Rock climbing. Everyone gets augments nowadays. I figured that I got it where I needed it the most."

"You like to rock climb?" Oniya asked.

"Yes," he answered. "I climb the mountainsides of Aphadus. These feet are perfect for the job. They grip the rocks and stone better than even the best rock climbing gear. I can do it all barefoot. It can even keep me anchored if the gravity for this ship is gone. I was almost expecting that when I stepped aboard, but I was wrong, obviously."

"Wow. I will have to keep that in mind."

"Any issues with the augments and your body?" Qing asked.

"No. The doctors on Aphadus were pretty good with the job. Everyone kept telling me to get augmented lungs. I told them no."

"The laws prevent you from getting the lungs?" Oniya asked.

"I can't have both. It would surpass the 10% rule."

Raavi briefly thought about what he said. The rule of not having more than ten percent of your body augmented was often considered to be necessary to prevent humanity from doing too many modifications to their own bodies. While somewhat unfair, he remembered the stories about the rule. It was strictly enforced with the only exception of the few that either manages to get away with it illegally or those that legitimately suffered a loss of body organs and limbs due to some horrific accident or disease. Even then, those that lost a large number of limbs and organs were given ordinary non-special augments to replace them. Those that illegally tried to augment large portions of their body risked severe punishment by the UWA. Most of the time, those caught were ensured that only 10% of their body was augmented, even if it meant losing the rest of the limbs or organs in the process. The rule was strict and aggressive but ensured that humanity didn't try to gain an edge over another because of some overzealous person that wanted to have better than ordinary hardware. Anymore could risk severely altering the body to the point of non-recognition.

"Ah, I see," Oniya nodded. "Still find it interesting that you augmented your feet. Of course, I have heard of a person that had an augmented tongue."

"A tongue? Really?" Raavi asked.

"Yes. Somebody I knew awhile back. A friend of a friend. Apparently, he got the tongue because he was a taste tester for a food company. There was some speculation that he got it for some other means too. We can only imagine......"

He seemed to get the hint of what she said. Qing seemed unfazed by the conversation, but she started to get a little bit impatient.

"If you are ever in need of any help, feel ill, or have discomfort, you can come to here," Qing said. "I am always available. I even have my own quarters that connect to this room."

"That seems convenient," he noted as he looked at another set of sliding doors in sickbay. This must have been the entrance of her quarters. "Talk about being ready to work whenever needed."

Qing gave a brief nod. She then focused her attention on Oniya. "Captain, may I have a word with you.....in private?"

"Of course," she replied. She looked over to Raavi as he got the gesture that the captain and the doctor needed to talk in alone. "You mind stepping outside as I talk with Qing, my love?"

"Sure," he said as he turned around and proceeded out of sickbay. The doors slid open as he stepped out and into the passageway. This left Oniya and Qing to speak to each other alone.

"Captain....." Qing addressed Oniya. "How much does he know?"

"Nothing yet," Oniya replied. "He just got on board this ship."

"Has Aegus had a chance to check him out yet?"

"No.....I don't want to bring him in yet."

"I am sure that he can tell if this Raavi is telling the truth or not."

"You worry too much about it, Qing," Oniya said. "He poses no threat to us. I wouldn't have brought him on board otherwise."

"I understand your feelings. You feel lonely. Most of the New Olympian women have to search outside of New Olympia to gain companionship with the opposite sex. I am sure that he may be the one for you, but I still advise you to be cautious."

Oniya sighed. "I know....I have to eventually take the risk."

"Each day, the human mortals are getting closer and closer to figuring out the truth about us. Even if we moved to New Olympia, they will discover us, and when they do, the rest of humanity will know about us. Our very life may be at stake."

Oniya looked down for a little bit. She seemed determined with her thoughts and plans as Raavi had to know the truth eventually. He was already on board the ship. She could only hope that he was not some interloper or spy. The reaction from the New Olympians would have to be swift when it came to them. He was going to know the truth, and it was going to be soon.

Chapter 3: Shall Set You Free

Raavi stood outside in the passageway, looking towards the stern direction of the ship. He was still amazed by the layout and experiences of the vessel so far. To finally see Oniya up close seemed to make his heart flutter. He noted that she so far seemed interested in him. To learn that she was the ship's command was shocking but one that he seemed happy to be with. He was still amazed that such an enormous vessel only had a crew of eight. The workforce for a ship like this should be more than that, at least with his line of thinking.

"I wonder how a small crew can operate a ship such as this?" he asked himself out loud. "Only one doctor.....a leader to order everyone around......a security and maintenance person.......so far that is only three of the eight."

"That is because it can," a young male voice appeared behind him.

"Yes, yes. It can because it can," a young female voice replied.

Raavi was somewhat startled as he turned around to look upon two children. At least, that is what they appeared to be. One was a boy in a blue UHN jumpsuit, while the other was a girl wearing a red jumpsuit. It was odd enough to look at these individuals. The UHN jumpsuit alone was a particular color of red and blue together, but each child had only one color. The children looked like they were the age of ten years old. They were almost half of his height alone. Both of them had dark skin complexions virtually as if they came from Oshun and were descended from Africa of former Earth. The boy had short black hair as the little girl had her hair braided and going down to her shoulder.

"Wha?....." Raavi replied. "How? You are wearing UHN uniforms, but you are kids. Am I mistaken? If I misjudged you two, then I apologize."

"No need to say you are sorry," the little girl said as the two starred at Raavi.

"Yes, yes. No apologies are required," the boy added.

"You are from the outside," the girl said.

"The outside is from where you come from," the boy added. "What is your name?"

"Raavi.....," he answered to the children. "Raavi Aarnikash, and your names?"

"This is my sister Kehinde," the boy answered, using his hand to gesture to the girl.

"This is my brother Taiwo," the girl answered, using her hand to gesture to the boy.

Their voices had the Oshun accent, but it was slightly different. It was almost as if English was a second language to them, but it was still fluent enough to understand it easily. Their sentences seemed to be words that reflected cohesion. Raavi seemed a little taken back from the scene.

"You seem so young," Raavi remarked. "Are you helping Oniya and her ship operations?"

"Yes, yes," Kehinde answered. "Help we provide."

"Provide the help. The UHN Opet flies without us," Taiwo replied.

"How old are you?" Raavi asked them.

"Hmmm.....you are new to this ship," Taiwo answered.

"Yes, yes. You are a stranger learning this ship. Care we must partake," Kehinde said.

Both of them smiled together that had Raavi even show some signs of unease. The boy and girl both seemed to be severe yet playful in their personality. Both of them appeared to be around the same age, but it didn't make much sense that they seemed to be children, at least with him.

The door opened up as Oniya stepped out of sickbay. The doors closed behind her as she looked at Raavi.

"Now that you had a chance to talk to our Doctor, I think it is time for you to see the bridge," Oniya said.

"There are two other crew members that I am talking to," Raavi remarked as he turned his head to look at the captain. "I would like to get to know them."

"What do you mean?" Oniya asked with a smile on her face. Her head was looking in the direction that Raavi was.

"Them....the boy and girl....." Raavi tried to say as his head turned back to look at the passageway. "The......they're gone!"

He had only turned his head away for a few seconds as his head scanned the passageway. It was devoid of anybody but him and Oniya. The two children were gone like they never existed.

"What the hell?" Raavi commented. "I was speaking two individuals.....a brother and sister. They were two kids......"

"There isn't anybody there," Oniya replied.

"I swear to you that I was talking to somebody here. They looked young and wore UHN jumpsuits."

"Heh...." Oniya remarked. "I guess being on this ship can make you see strange things."

"Ugh......" Raavi grunted as he put his hand to his forehead. "I have no idea. I saw what I saw."

Oniya simply shrugged. "I believe you."

"Are you just saying that for my benefit?"

"Yes," Oniya said with a smile.

Raavi simply couldn't fathom what had happened. The ship was filled with its oddities. More and more things were appearing that he couldn't explain.

"Oniya......my love, what is going on here?" he asked her.

"Raavi," she addressed him as she put her hands to his arms. "It's alright. Here....let me take you to the bridge."

He shook his head. "Fine......you lead the way."

With that, she gently gripped his arm as she walked with him down the passageway to the bridge. "Many wonders exist on this ship. There are important questions that I need to ask of you."

"Sure, go ahead."

"Do you like this place?" she asked.

"Well, I have only seen sickbay and the hangar bay so far. I can't say too much about it."

"No.....I mean this ship. Do you like it so far?"

"It is nice with what I saw. I can't believe you almost have an entire ship to yourself."

"Yes.....it is a.....lonely way to live," she remarked as she looked down for a little bit.

Raavi turned his head and looked at her. He could see the sorrow in her eyes before she seemed to cheer up a little bit.

"I feel the same way," he added. "Despite the weird things that have been happening so far, I feel more has happened to me in one day than a lifetime."

"Same here. To finally have you up close," she paused as she smiled. "It fills my heart with joy."

He went and took her hand as they held them together. "Together, finally at last," he said.

"Together at last. I felt it the moment that we started chatting to each other online that you wanted to commit to this. Two months couldn't come soon enough for me."

"I felt the same way. It's funny that we didn't meet sooner."

"Are you still sure that this is what you want? Do you want to be here? You want to be with me?"

He didn't seem to hesitate at all. Her beauty was radiant to him. Her voice alone was soothing to him and her status on the ship, even for a crew of eight, was still significant. In all cases, he could feel a sense of belonging to the place. He would occasionally look out of the porthole windows and see the outside space environment. They passed a couple of doors on their left. He could see that the passageway that led to the ship's stern was coming to a close if they kept walking forward.

"Despite the.....unusual things I have seen so far, I do like what I see. I am ready to discuss our future together."

"What about your parents?" she asked. "How did they respond?"

"It wasn't easy for them. They know that I am an adult and can obviously make my own choices but what you ask is a lot."

She looked down. "There are many reasons as to why it will be hard to see them. I promise we will do what we can so you can see them, but there are some things that you need to know about me."

"And here I thought seeing you as a Captain wasn't enough," he joked.

She pointed past the rooms that they walked by. "That room past sickbay is the dorsal railgun room. It is one of the guns that we use to defend the ship in case.....you know.....pirates or something."

"I can imagine that is the case. Thankfully, most of the transports never even have to worry about anything out there. Unless you are in the asteroid field of the Paloran system."

"Perhaps....., we live in a vast universe."

"Have you ever had to worry about pirates?"

She shook her head. "No......far from it. We never went to Palora. New Olympia likes to keep things close. Our ships rarely leave orbit.....although.....that may change soon."

"What do you mean?"

"Let us just say that we are in a good position together. You might get a chance to explore things by my side.....depending if you are still sure of the things that you want."

They reached the end of the passageway as there were two doors. There was a door that was ahead of them and the other on the left.

"Here we are," Oniya said. "The door in front of us is the dorsal starboard engine room. The door next to us is the bridge. Let us head in."