General Hospital, New Thessalonica, Planet Yuma, Coronado
morning of 14 Aug. 824 A.S.
When Doreen spoke his name, he didn't know where the sound came from, considering the general activity and movement in the hallway. He raised his eyes from the holo-pad and searched for her voice's source. As he saw her, he smiled and replied softly "Doreen, I thought you'd be on New Hippocrate." He placed his holo-pad down on his lap.
After explaining to her about Peter's check-up and receiving her response, Erik just chuckled. "You look anxious. What's up?" she asked. "Uhm... nothing much." - he replied, a bit uneasy. "Today's..." - he continued, but was cut off as Peter exited the pediatrician's office. "Oh, all done, son?" - he asked while rising from the chair.
Peter nodded and smiled when he noticed Doreen was here as well. The young boy greeted her kindly as he took his father's hand. Erik explained,
still somewhat restive "Well... I took today off. Peter and I will be spending the day with the relatives... Do tell Ben I'm sorry he won't be seeing Peter today."
In reality, two years today was the day Peter lost his mother, Erik's beloved Cynthia. And Erik didn't want to show it, but it affected him to think about it - to think he never had the chance to say goodbye... not to mention her body was never recovered.
Moments later, the pediatrician came out the office with a pad in his hands. "Everything seems to be in order, mister Corvin. The boy's in excellent condition. I won't keep you any longer." he noted, then greeted doctor Naggar and went back inside the office.
"Doreen, I thought you'd be on New Hippocrate."
"I was supposed to be," she answered, "but they needed a surgeon today. I'll be heading back shortly."
She smiled and waved at Peter when he came out, "Hi, Peter."
"Well... I took today off. Peter and I will be spending the day with the relatives... Do tell Ben I'm sorry he won't be seeing Peter today."
She nodded, "I'll let him know. I'm going to take him out for some dinner later so it'll be off of his mind."
She didn't suspect anything so she kept it short. "I'll be on New Hippocrate after this....unless they need me here again but I think they're set now."
With that, she gave a smile, a wave and said, "Auf Wiedersehen! Sie später sehen."
After visiting the Memorial of the Fallen, in order to honour his wife, as well as quite a few other family members - whom all died in battle - Erik spent a day with the remainder of his family.
The following week went on without incident, with Erik taking care of his work as usual. Teaching mostly in the mornings, then handling Yuma Robotics issues and working on the nanite project. All the while, Peter and Ben would find themselves together one way or another, be it under Doreen's supervision or under Erik's. Erik would sometimes try to join the fun the kids were having, while on occasion he'd leave the boys to their own devices, but he always made sure they'd be safe first. One of these days he also got the chance to call his contact who works at Hephaestus Constructions, with regard to the Rejuvenator.
New Dalphin, Planet Yuma, Coronado
22 Aug. 824 A.S.
"Get that buoy placed properly!" - a man screamed in his communication ear-piece, while standing on the edges of New Dalphin, a hospital island. The strong winds would form large waves, which made it hard for a small shuttle pilot to find the right moment for a buoy placement just above water-level. Erik was just now exiting the station's dome and coming outside, on the edge, with Peter's hand held tight in his own. The boy was instantly awed by the sight, since he had never been so close to a floating island's literal edge before.
Before he'd get hit by the winds, Erik took his pad and sent a transmission: "Good day, Doreen!
I thought you might want to know. After the recent failed tests with the Rejuvenator linked to New Thessalonica's power-grid, mister Desay and I came with a new idea. I'm on the island of New Dalphin now and we're putting things in motion. Feel free to drop by if you have time, we could show you the plans."
Peter waved to the camera and yelled, interrupting his father, "Ben should come too! The view is awesome!"
"Right. We'll be here all day." - he ended the transmission.
The invite was accepted. She was enjoying the new planet on which she now called home with her son. Settled into a regular routine and a mostly normal work schedule, time was made for New Dalphin. The islands intrigued her. It was no secret of her intentions to live on one but that was for another day. Upon reaching the island, Ben took off running at the site of Peter as the two boys had become inseparable. She greeted Erik with a big smile.
She then grimaced a bit, "I kind of figured your team would have power issues with that. Not due to incompetence mind you but just because of what it is. Med Force Enterprises still has problems with it."
In looking at the plans, she liked what she saw although admittedly, she was a medical and science person, not a technical one so some explaining would help for understanding.
"So, what exactly is the plan to make this work right?" she asked.
"So, what exactly is the plan to make this work right?" "Well..." - he began to reply "As an afterthought of our initial attempts, it became clear that plugging the Rejuvenator into an existing power-grid is pointless, since none of our cities' were built for it. That's when we figured we need to construct an entirely new power production facility, meant specifically for the Rejuvenator."
He brought up his holo-pad and opened a file showing a detailed schematic, portraying New Dalphin's initial circular shape, with three large attachments that lead to an even larger ring structure. He held the pad for Doreen to examine the picture, while he kept explaining.
"I thought about it a bit and then it clicked. As you've probably learned by now, New Dalphin is the smallest of our three man-made hospital islands. This also makes it the best choice for further expansion. What we plan to do is create a large power-plant around the island, which will make use of the ocean's waves to produce energy. It's ring shape will provide increased efficiency and we get to set up the Rejuvenator right in one of our top notch hospitals."
He paused, smiling, then gestured with one hand towards the man who was conducting the buoy placement.
"I've contracted Hephaestus Constructions already and mister Desay helped with finalising these schematics. If all goes well, the expansion should be done in three weeks."
With a finger on her lower lip as she read the schematic and listened to Erik explain things, she nodded her understanding and approval. She was getting mildly excited about it. Then she quipped, "Hard to believe that I bring some technology here to Yuma and I've created a project in the process but then, I did say the power demands were.......problematic."
She had never heard of Hephaestus Construction but if Erik hired them to do the job, they must be good. Three weeks sounded overly optimistic to her being how much trouble they still had at Med Force Enterprises to get the power working on it without shutting down half a ship.
"Three weeks," she commented to Erik, "that's pretty optimistic. But, being that you can dedicate even a small land mass to it and it's own power system not restricted to the confines of a large ship, I guess it makes sense."
"I'll have to come by here more often," she stated. "Since this is yet another hospital site and the Rejuvenator will be here, it makes sense."
She then looked at Erik and sweetly smiled, "I look forward to it."
"I look forward to it."
Erik returned the smile and replied with excitement "So do I! The Rejuvenator is an amazing piece of technology and it may change hundreds of lives for the better, all thanks to you bringing it here." He leaned over the railing that ensured nobody falls over the edge, resting on his elbows, but still looking at Doreen.
His short hair was continuously being thrown around by the strong wind currents passing one way then the other. He turned his sight to the boys, a few meters behind Doreen, who were now clinging to the railing and pointing at the water, chatting joyfully. He sighed with content and commented "It's getting harder to separate the two." - he paused for a second, then joked - "Maybe we should get them their own place." The grin on his face soon turned to a silly laughter, while his eyes slowly moved to look into Doreen's.
She just smiled at the praise given by Erik about the Rejuvenator. It seemed praise was coming more often since making Yuma her home. It was something she appreciated. Leaning on the rail beside him, she just smiled at his praise and replied with a simple, "Thanks."
"It's getting harder to separate the two......Maybe we should get them their own place."She snickered at the latter but answered with, "Yes, it is getting harder. They get along better than most siblings do. It's so cute," she stated.
Then she thought a moment on their own place and snickered again. "Can you imagine though. If they had their own place how much of a mess it would be? I mean seriously! Unless they had drones or one of us to clean up, it would be a disaster," she joked.
She looked out over the technology and of New Dalphin. Everything she saw on Yuma amazed her. The ingenuity of the Crayter Republic amazed her. People who could settle a planet with little land, fight off the Outcasts, lose said planet to the advancing Gauls only to re-settle another planet just like it spoke a lot about the character of the people. It brought a smile to her face as she leaned on the railing and a deep sigh, her hair gently blowing in the breeze.
"Can you imagine though. If they had their own place how much of a mess it would be? I mean seriously! Unless they had drones or one of us to clean up, it would be a disaster,"
Erik let out a loud chuckle and replied, his tone still showing amusement "Hehe - that's entirely true." As he managed to temper himself, he continued with a neutral, relaxed voice "It's a good thing though. One needs friends in life to make it worthwhile."
His mind drifted for a moment, and though he didn't realise it, he was sliding on the railing just a bit closer to Doreen. He gazed at the furious waves that were hitting the island's edge and went on "I think that's what keeps some of going in the end. A desire to make things better... for our nation, for our friends, for our family..." - he paused, turning to Doreen again, then asked in the same relaxed style - "Come to think of it... what is it that drives doctor Doreen Angela Naggar?" A partial smirk formed on his face at the end of his question. He looked at her intently, hoping he didn't pry too much and expecting an interesting answer from someone like her.
"What is it that drives Doctor Doreen Angela Naggar?"
Still leaning on the railing, she thought a moment. What did drive her? She was never about herself nor was she tight with her family through no fault of hers. She smiled, sighed and leaned a little more on her arms, on the rail and with her eyes, looked toward Ben playing with Peter.
"He does," she answered, "that little boy has been the one constant I've had." She sighed again before continuing, "It took me awhile to realize it but he was the greatest gift I ever received." She shook her head once slightly and took a deep breath, "it was never about me. If there was no Benjen, well, I don't know where I would be."
Her head turned slightly toward Erik and she gave a light smile before turning her torso on the rail toward him. She was smiling. "How about you? What drives Dr. Erik Corvin? Something tells me that our answers are quite similar."
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