Anew

1. Karys Landing and Street Food

It had been a few weeks since I got on the flight that took me to the strange yet interesting planet of Othanai. I'd never been on a plane much less a flight where passengers took showers, changed clothes, slept and ate on a spacious airship. I was nervous on the first day and kept looking out at the outer space I could see from the windows but Sang's calmness helped me keep my composure.

We'd flown business class. I had a reclinable seat and a tiny office space next to my tiny cubicle of living space. I felt like I was already working for the Department of Community Protection along with almost everyone else in the business class. Just as I was getting used to temporary life on an airship, we reached our destination.

After landing and disembarking the airship, I was immediately hit with a rush of excitement. It could've been the nervousness, but the air was buzzing as we started through the space portal in Sahir, the main capital of Karys.

We exited the space portal and boarded a rather fancy-looking bus-train thing to Baxat, the next city over. I couldn't stop pressing my face to the glass to look at the passing scenery. I had stopped myself from imagining what Karys would look like because I didn't want to be let down or led astray by my wild imagination. It was like a different dimension. The vehicles didn't look the same, the trees were at least two times the size I was used to, the buildings were artfully sculpted and domed, and the strangely dressed people looked just like humans but didn't at the same time. Even the sky, lit up by two suns was different, but it was all so amazing to look at.

The corporate housing we were to stay in was a multistory building full of dorms for DCP employees that included communal spaces and even a café on the ground floor. Dorms went up to fit three people, but Sang had a double dorm and Aubyn had a single. The single dorm was a small, loft-style room with just enough space for one person to live comfortably.

I couldn't even be bothered to put my things away when I entered Aubyn's dorm. I nearly forgot to take my shoes off as I rushed to look at everything. As expected of his room, it was exceptionally tidy. I went to the bedroom to throw open the window and look outside again. I hadn't gotten my fill of the new world, but the excitement must have gotten to my head because that was all I remembered before collapsing.

When I woke up, I was under blankets with a damp towel on my forehead. Aubyn said I'd been out for a day and Dr Stanley had come to check on me to make sure I was alright. My body was adjusting to the different atmosphere. Milan had gone through it as well, coming down with something akin to a cold after being brought to Othanai.

It was like a sudden onslaught of the flu. I was cold, but sweating buckets, my fever was at an all-time high, my entire body ached, I could barely get out of bed by myself, and my appetite was nonexistent. To make sure it wasn't contagious, Coen had to stay with Sang and Milan in their dorm a floor above us while I recuperated on Aubyn's couch.

I started to feel better soon. Within a few days, I had healed enough that Aubyn felt at ease leaving me to go back to work with Milan coming over every now and then to check in on me. Milan would come over the second Sang left for work. I had a feeling he was either worried about me or didn't want to be lonely. Or he was bored.

I was relieved that I'd slept so much that I didn't have to try to get used to the difference in time. I automatically adjusted once I wasn't so sleepy all the time. Due to feeling better and Aubyn and Sang going back to work, I mustered up my strength to be somewhat productive because otherwise I'd be stuck at home with a babysitter doing nothing.

Aubyn, after reassuring my new boss, Siele, that I was recovering smoothly, brought back a list of things that needed my attention before I could officially start my new job as Siele's assistant. There was training, Alunai language classes, accommodations since I couldn't keep sleeping on Aubyn's couch, and then there was my uniform to be bought. It all seemed like too much, but then I hadn't left everything and my best friend behind on Earth for nothing.