Lockdown On Planet Sem

Sem Lockdown, Day 3

Waking up bright and early on the third day of the lockdown, Tristan Kearney sat with a pen and paper ready to write the script for that evening's radio show.

There was a knock on his door. Startled, he got up. The person standing down the corridor was Kain Douglas, holding a cup of coffee.

"Kain, what's up?" He said, the faint Irish twang appearing in his accent.

"Top of the morning to ya," the other man mimicked, "Thought you might like a coffee."

"Oh. Thank you."

"No problem," he left it on the rough grey carpet in front of him for Tristan to pick up. The Captain appreciated that his crew were taking the military's measures on board but, he remembered,

"Oh wait, Kain, I prefer tea."

"Okay then, your Majesty, tea it is," he picked the coffee up with a smirk and walked away.

"Thank you very much, peasant," Tristan laughed.

******

"Good evening, fellow citizens. This is the Rising Star Battalion back with another daily broadcast. Hope you're all doing okay.

With a spike in calls to mental health lines across the globe, we've decided to include some tips from each member of the team at the end of today's show."

Tristan looks across to Akira to check she approved of the slightly more familiar opening. She smiles and gives him a thumbs-up.

"With the daily news, here's Kain Douglas."

******

"Thank you, Captain, and good evening to you all.

An update on the Sterculian cheese situation: expect the worst. We believe there will be a great amount of cheese arriving in our airspace tonight... Apologies, Akira has just given me a note... Tomorrow. More Sterculian cheese is likely to arrive in our airspace tomorrow.

In other news, we recorded a slightly smaller increase in crāpulavirus cases in more isolated regions of the planet today. Hopefully this good news will continue.

Thank you to those of you who heeded our CO's advice yesterday. Many late night parties were brought to an end by music from a much disliked Earthling group. I can't quite remember the name... Pennyside? Anyway, please continue to use the military's lockdown awareness and support line if your neighbours are disobeying lockdown rules.

I must say, it is nice to be able to avoid some of the current chart music, that tune someone made out of doorbell voices and hovercar horns was really beginning to grate on me.

Anyway, here's Miles with the latest medical guidance."

******

"Hello, hope you are all having a nice enough evening.

There haven't been many developments today, so I'll re-iterate the current guidelines.

Most importantly, stay indoors unless you have a justifiable reason to be outside. Do not have any late night parties. If you are experiencing a bouncing fit, try to make sure you are in as safe a place as possible. Clean your surfaces regularly and make sure to take as many precautions as you can not to spread the disease. Wash your hands.

For more information and advice, as always, have a look on our website. Tomorrow I shall also be joined, over call, by a medical official from the military's health research department. She will hopefully be able to give us more information on the origin of the crāpulavirus.

Here's Akira with the weather."

******

"Good evening, Sem.

Tonight there are going to be many more meteor showers. Hence why I had to tell Kain to change his report. It is highly unlikely that any airships will fly anywhere near Sem tonight but, we could see the return of more gravely funky cheese tomorrow during the lull.

Back in the realm of our own atmosphere though, the weather remains more or less unchanged. The North and South Poles will be a bit colder than the West Pole still and the weather at all three Poles should be pretty dry. Light snowfall could be seen North and South in the coming days.

Thank you for the feedback on temperature measurements last night. I shall proceed to give readings in Celsius and those who prefer betareadings can half the results.

Secat will experience a brief shower between 1500 and 1600 hours but, other than that, it will be dry with a temperature of 14 degrees centigrade. Piscanturia will experience a few showers over the course of the day with a temperature of 16 degrees centigrade. Simul Santu will be a bit warmer than it was yesterday with a temperature of 14 degrees centigrade. There won't be as much precipitation but it will still be cloudy.

Back to you, Captain."

******

"Thank you, Akira.

The last segment today will be a pre-recorded mental health message from all of us and it will be followed by a heartwarming song from Miles to play us out. Thank you very much for your co-operation and continued listening, people of Sem. I am sure we will make it out of this crisis a strong and united force.

Goodnight, and stay safe."

******

"Being Captain of a military air fleet can be an difficult task. When I feel overwhelmed, I take a moment for introspection and focus on myself for a moment. If I'm not feeling a hundred percent, then it becomes difficult for me to boost my teammates. If you're a parent at home, understand that you need your own time as well, and that taking that time is definitely essential to the happiness of the rest of your family too. We're all in this together."

"I definitely agree with Tristan there," Kain speaks, "I have a tendency to get frustrated easily. Sometimes stepping back and doing a little exercise helps me calm down."

"As a strategist, it's really helpful to look at the whole picture with a clear head. If I'm worried about a situation, I'll pull out of it for a while and focus on something else. Books often help."

"I'm on the same page as Miles," says Akira, "When you're flying and things start to get a bit scary, it helps to remember that, for the moment at least, you are safe and all you need to do is keep faith in your ship. Finding five things I can see, four things I can hear and three things I can feel often helps me to keep my awareness and focus on the moment, instead of jumping to what ifs.

Also, don't be afraid to reach out if you're struggling during a stressful time. It will get better, we promise."