An Unlikely Friend. part 1

Chapter 3: Isis B.

Isis

A young Erohsian lieutenant in the standard light gray uniform stands stiffly in front of an officer’s desk in an immaculately clean office. Light scintillates off small beads of sweat on his forehead and the only sound is the ranking officer’s fingers pitter-pattering over her glass keyboard. The lieutenant shifts awkwardly and looks out at the immensity of the Erohsian capital of Sunta from midway up the 90 floor military head quarters. In the far distance, at the heart of the city, glass and cement sky scrappers of incredible height reach up towards the sky like slender stalks of prairie grass.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” The ranking officer’s voice stabs through the silence. Her eyes remain focused on her paper-thin computer screen.

The young man instinctively winces away from her but quickly regains the little amount of composure he has. “Yes ma’am!” He squawks with a shocking amount of vigor that triggers a reddening of his face.

Isis finishes a thought and looks up at the standing officer with an unexpected fire in her pale blue eyes. “Then shouldn’t you start already?”

The man stares back at her, eyes wide, jaw slack, and knees on the verge of buckling from under him. “Oh… yes, right away!”

Isis shakes her head and begins to type again. Pathetic… and command wonders why we have problems.

The man looks over a holographic display emanating from a band on his wrist. “I have details from the latest report you requested on the new born ailment,” the shaking man announces. Isis looks up at him with daggers shooting from her eyes, and the man hurriedly continues while Isis goes back to typing. “In the heart of Sunta newborns for the month have reduced even further, which puts us down 18% from the average 5 years ago. The ailment is now measureable in some of the smaller sections of Sunta as well.”

Isis presses her fingers hard into her keyboard, causing her fingertips to turn white. “Lieutenant, do you happen to have any useful information? Even the human cattle could have predicted that,” she says without looking up.

“Yes ma’am, I was getting to the interesting part.”

“Do you feel my time is unimportant?” She looks up at the man and he shakes his head rapidly. “Well then maybe you should consider that next time you speak. Stop wasting my time and leave me to decide what’s important. Now please what was this ‘interesting’ information?” She finishes with a mocking tone.

The man swallows quickly. “The Nesivians are showing the greatest reduction, followed by the Borukins in Kiats, and the humans continue to show the most resistance. There seems to be a strong connection with the population density and the natural Aether abilities of the race to the effect of the aliment.”

“Wow and they’re just figuring this out? Perhaps you have some ideas on what is causing it?”

The man averts his eyes from her. “No…”

Useless… “What else? Anything new on the Havityn?”

“The latest havityn model confirms that Havityn Kasi won’t hit the city and there’s only a 20% chance of it actually collecting itself. We are making the proper precautions just in case.” Isis continues to type on her computer, the young man stands in silence awkwardly.

Finally Isis looks up. “Is that all?”

“Uh no, sorry ma’am.” The man looks at the holographic display and feathers several different views with flicks from his trembling fingers. “Oh yes! The high royalty of the Borukins, King Ramas, has confirmed his visit in nine months!”