He understood her feeling of longing for such a home. Almost all Crayterians felt the same, Erik included. He was truly proud of their achievement to build cities in the middle of the ocean, but he knew that if his nation was to truly grow... Yuma must be tamed entirely. And he was hopeful about it, since he believed in the Republic's perseverance. Seeing Doreen share the same hope though, it made him confusingly happy. He just looked at her with a kind smile and replied softly "Some day, indeed."
The ship began descending slowly and steady, coming closer to the water but not too much. Erik chuckled as he realised what it meant. He gave Doreen a devious grin and commented "The show's about to start."
"Ahoy then! arrhhh" - Peter replied gleefuly while jumping a few steps back from Ben. He took a quick look around the room they were in and found a stick-like plastic decoration, fit for a sword. He picked it up and pointed it at Ben while asking "We be hunting for loot, captain?"
Their game went on from deck to deck, with both of them waving their "swords" around, acting as if they were fighting rival pirates. It didn't take long for the theatrics to reach the deck where Erik and Doreen were, right in the middle of their conversation.
She turned and looked at him, smiling. Seeing Yuma from this level, seeing parts unsettled, she began to understand why it's conquest was so important. Domed cities were nice enough and rather advanced but to live on real soil in such a tropical environment would be so preferable. She was in thought as she looked out. How to control the flora? How to do it without ruining the soil? It definitely escaped her as it wasn't her line of work.
"To bad I never became a botanist," she quipped as she looked out. She turned to Erik, her chin resting on her hands as she leaned on a rail, "that is a research project I would love to get involved with."
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"Loot indeed, Laddie," replied Ben in a growly type voice, "but from who do we steel it from?" Then he got close to Peter, keeping an eye shut as if it was missing, "And then.......and then someone will have to walk the plank."
They fought off a couple of make believe enemies and looked for a victim.
"To bad I never became a botanist, that is a research project I would love to get involved with." "I know what you mean. But... the best we can do is make sure we excel in our chosen lines of work." he argued, while straightening himself. He moved closer to her and rested his back on the same rail, next to her. "Who else is going to take care of the people working on this flora issue?" - he snickered while facing Doreen.
Moments later, the boys entered the balcony, their pirate demeanor still on-point. "Ye be ready for a fight?!" Peter exclaimed at his father, coming forward with his sword at the ready and Ben close behind. Erik quickly picked up on their game and took a few steps to the side. He took off his glasses with haste, placing them neatly in his shirt's pocket, then held his hand towards the boys and replied in a funny voice "Ay! But are you ready to become fish food?" As luck would have it, he managed to time his comment almost perfectly, for just five seconds later... a few magnificent Skewer Sharks jumped out of the water, offering a unique display of Yuma's oceanic life and splashing the ship's windows.
"Who else is going to take care of the people working on this flora issue?"
"Very true," she replied. "I've heard that some of the flora can be toxic. Someone may have to develop anti-toxins."
With the boys near them, they all got to see the Skewer sharks. Never had she seen wild ocean life anywhere. She was astounded. Benjen dropped his pirate act and got close to his mother.
"Mom!" he exclaimed while pointing, "Look!"
She smiled, talking into his ear, "Amazing!" Then she joked to him, "Be careful it doesn't eat you." She then grabbed him and gave him a tickle before they returned to looking at the sea life.
She then looked to Erik and merely gave a smile of approval.
While she watched, she thought back to Gran Canaria and a couple of the wild life tours she took of what was still a wild planet. Some of the life was rarely seen and beautiful. In a way, it reminded her of Yuma in that it was all so new and relatively unexplored. It was also a bit reminiscent of the mountains of Hamburg.....to see some of the rare life, one had to climb to find it. For now though, she enjoyed the moment with Ben, Peter and Erik.
There's no such thing as getting tired of seeing a child being happy, especially not for those who know parenthood. Erik couldn't stop smiling as he just watched Ben and Peter awe over the sea creatures' appearance. Of course, the animals had no interest in the nearby flying vessel and instead were simply going through some sort of instinct-based ritual. That, however, didn't make it any less interesting. Erik just exhaled deeply, completely content, and relished the moment as the Skewer Sharks kept bouncing above the azure waters that glistened under the sun... all of which entertained the group.
After the "show" ended a few minutes later, the ferry regained some altitude and kept on flying towards the main continent on Yuma, which was now barely entering visual range. Erik stood away from the window and invited everyone for some refreshments on the ferry's dining deck - sodas and lemonade, some tonics and 'Greek' wine.
After pouring everyone a glass of their preferred beverage, Erik, still up on his feet, rose his glass of wine upwards and toasted "To Benjen!" - he then looked at the boy and said kindly "I hope you'll grow into a proud, noble and hard-working man."
Benjen wasn't versed in drinking etiquette so he followed suit. Noticing Erik and his mother raise their glass, he did the same. When they drank, he did so as well. He smiled as his soda was quite refreshing and said to Erik, "Thank you, Dr. Corvin. I will be a hard-working man, I promise."
Doreen was looking at the contents of her glass. She loved Gallic wine but the Greek wine was quite good. "What is this?" she asked Erik. "I like it." When it was explained to her what it was, she smiled and finished the contents of the glass. It was good and it went down smooth. It was the type of wine that would be easy to over indulge oneself in. Knowing this, she held off on a refill for the time being. It was, after all, Ben's day and for the moment, Ben and Peter were chatting again. Standing close to Erik, she took the moment to speak to him softly.
"I didn't get him much," she said, "I figured this whole thing would be better than what I could give him. Still, he will like it. One day, he'll get his citizenship here and he'll finally have a sense of belonging......" She turned and looked at him again playing with Peter before turning back to Erik, ".....if he doesn't feel that way already.
When she turned back around, she didn't realize how close he was to him. With her left hand holding the now empty wine glass, her right arm was holding a rail, right behind Erik's back. Realizing it at the last second, she chuckled, apologized, and pulled back a bit, "Sorry."
Erik smiled at Ben's promise, somehow feeling the boy would keep it. At the same time, Peter, while partially clumsy in his attempt to join in the toast, managed to spill a few drops of lemonade but nobody minded. He was genuinely happy for his friend, so after the glasses were put away, he hugged Ben tightly and exclaimed "Happy BiLthday, Ben!" The two then went on talking about games and stories, giggling slightly farther from their parents.
"I figured this whole thing would be better than what I could give him." Doreen commented, to which Erik quickly replied "He's a good lad. I'm sure the very presence of his mother is the best gift he could receive anyway." He then kept listening to her remarks, up until she turned towards him again, yet this time almost so close he could feel her breath.
She offered a shy sorry and pulled back, but he didn't react in any sudden manner. He just offered her a soft smile and then, with his glasses by chance still forgotten in his shirt's pocket, he looked into her eyes. He didn't let out any words, he just allowed his smile to grow bit by bit for a few more moments. Soon enough he stopped staring and diverted his eyes to the boys for a second, if only not to appear as weird, but remained silent. Somehow this entire celebration started to feel as if it wasn't a gift just for Benjen.
Quietly, she enjoyed the sensation of him being around. It felt........nice. She hadn't felt that type of presence from a man before. She just smiled back and took a couple of steps in the direction of the boys before finding a rail to lean on and look. She was enjoying the view. Such a lovely planet yet so little of it was seen. She leaned a bit and stretched her back before settling and enjoying the view.
"So what else is out there?" she asked Erik, knowing he was behind her. "Tell me more about this planet.....the flora....the potential to develop. If there is toxic flora then well, a doctor will need to make anti-toxin. She turned and leaned against the rail as she looked at him, "Samples. Give me samples and I might be able to figure that out with a good botanist."
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Ben was making a search for the captain of the ship. A good pirate, after all, would take the ship.
"Come, Peter," he ordered, "let's take command of the ship. We must loot and plunder." He was searching for the command center door but upon finding it, he found it locked.
"Peter," he growled, "it would appear that we have a problem." He was tapping the door with his stick.
Doreen's sudden burst of questions was quite cute in a way, Erik thought. He carefully placed his glasses back on his nose, then smirked and allowed his eyes to wander about the room for a moment, pondering how to reply. Going for some sort of detailed explanation with numbers and whatnot... might've been reminiscent of work, and he didn't want to break today's atmosphere of relaxation. "There's quite a lot, really..." - be began, as if trying to tell a story - "We've managed to explore about half of the dozen islands on Yuma and just as much from the mainland. It's all a lush jungle, covering valleys, mountains, rivers. And somehow, every plant - big or small - is... almost undying. Not literally, of course."
He paused and breathed, but quickly resumed his tale, so as not to lose his train of thought "You know, the first few expeditions we sent down on the planet had no trouble with the flora, until they tried setting up camp. The second a plant was cut down, another rose in its place in a matter of hours. It's ironic, I think... " - he chuckled - "... how the flora here is just as unrelenting as the Crayterian people. Maybe it's a sign that this is meant to be our home. But either way, that's what it shall be. I can only imagine how it'll look like..." - he drifted off, his face showing a kind of daydreaming.
He stopped and thought about Doreen's last comments, then snickered and added "Uhm, and I think there already are people working on the flora-related medical issues. Maybe someone from Yuma Medical, or from the 53rd, could tell you more..."
"it would appear that we have a problem." "Aye... we need to find anotheL way in." - Peter replied to Benjen, while scanning his surroundings. Nothing of use was in sight... but his mind sprouted an idea. He motioned for Ben and darted back on the corridor, up until the lobby. "Aha!" the boy exclaimed while picking up another decoration, this time made of metal. It was supposed to be a fluorescent tile, but in Peter's mind this, along with their sticks, was the perfect noise device. "This should get the attention of our rivals."
"Gah!" she said, "I need to keep my mind off of work and enjoy this." It was obvious, she was lost in the moment. She stopped asking questions of subject matter she had little knowledge of. She was just enjoying being around Erik. He was relaxing to her and his kindness was something she wasn't used to. She was literally lost for words as she just enjoyed his company.
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Ben grinned. "It shall, Laddie," he growled. "Now, let's flush dem out!" Between the shouting, banging and whatever other assorted noise they could make, they were trying their best to stir up whoever would respond.
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Doreen stood up and looked in a direction with a perplexed look, "What is that all about?" A little more listening and they heard Benjen and Peter creating a ruckus. She turned and grinned at Erik. She found a couple of sticks nearby and handed one to Erik, "I say let's go get them!"
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