Shoshone Station: The Galactic Consortium season 2

Episode Two: To Be or Not To Be #17

"Excited?" Dhanvin asked Sophia the next day.

Sophia nodded. She was excited. And terrified. She alternated between the two emotions. It was a great opportunity, but a big responsibility. The others had all been excited for her last night when she told them about the new job. But she wasn't sure she was up to it. Liaison, it sounded like a big title. And her job duties were so vague.

"We are sixteen below," Dhanvin was saying as the two entered the main lift going down. "Local," he added to the stewardess, who nodded. "We figured long term that's best. Once the bottom court is open it will be convenient."

Sophia nodded. They got off on their floor and walked a long way towards the rim, through empty halls. They came to a long circular hall that ran the diameter of the station on this level.

"In time, we can expand that way, if we need. I've already commissioned that block of apartments. They'll be mostly my job. Mental health cases. Many have chronic dopamine syndromes. You call it schizophrenia. We have maybe fifteen cases. They show up because of delusions about aliens or something."

"Can you cure that?"

A healer joined them. He was broad, wearing a tight fitting white shirt and leggings. "We can control it," he said. "The dis-regulation that is, we can prevent them from having delusions and hallucinations. But we don't dare send them back to the surface. Their condition is partly genetic and might reoccur."

"A few would take their chances," Dhanvin said. "But many were homeless down below, with little reason to go back. They are adjusting. I'm finding them jobs, helping them settle. It's a struggle sometimes, but I can handle it. Bankim here will be our chief healer," he gestured at the man. "And Sophia," he gestured back towards her to complete the introductions.

Bankim bowed to her and then offered his hand, Earth style. She bowed and took it.

"This will be your domain," Dhanvin said as they followed Bankim through a door and into a wide open lounge. The lounge was a wide, mostly rectangular space with curved corners. To the far right was an open kitchen area with a long counter separating it from the rest of the space. The back left had a large viewscreen and benches. Closer at hand was a dining area with round tables. Three hallways went off the sides of the room.

"That way," Bankim pointed to the right, "is our primary healing area. We've got up to twelve tanks, though I doubt we'll use that many at once. Down straight ahead is our main living area for patients." He pointed to the left. "That's patient overflow, plus staff quarters. We want to have at least a token number of healers and staff here at all times."

"In time I want to have more staff," Dhanvin said. "To have shifts working. For now I thought we could take turns, one of us staying, just in case they need something at night."

"Yeah, I can do that," Sophia said.

A clacking caught Sophia's attention and there was Randy, the man in the wheelchair. Only he wasn't in a wheelchair anymore. He was walking with two canes, a slow painful shuffle. His hair was wet from a shower and he wore pants and a shirt in brown.

"Here is our star patient," Bankim joked. "Of course we only have two at the moment. But this is the kind of problem we are going to start taking on. We fixed his spine the first day, no problem. But his legs were horribly atrophied. Slowly they get better. Soon he'll be able to walk by himself."

"Then what?" Randy asked, flopping into one of the chairs in the dining room.

Bankim just shrugged. "Get a job." He voiced it with a casual disregard, not noticing Randy's scowl.