"Bode, relax. It's not that bad; please come out." Tommy urged, "No, everyone is gonna laugh at me!" The door muffled Bodi's voice. Tommy again tried to reaccess the panel for the 200th time, and it chirped in denial. The door refused to actuate open. "Bodi, I know you're scared. But you've got to have an inauguration ceremony, or you're not officially the Chancellor. Now suck up your tears, put on this sash so you can read the stupid speech." Tommy growled, and he put his mouth closer to the door. Howie held the sash, which Bodi would don upon crossing the 'stage' as many Chancellors before him did, "If I were you, I would've just slipped into the cracks. You're made of goo, do you know that?"
"Haven't you ever heard of privacy, Howie? He just needs time." Howie scoffed and then put on the sash; he got comfortable with it immediately. "Well. I'm not going to hold this forever. Either you change Bodi's mind or pick someone else to be Chancellor."
"Like you?" Tommy asked, raising an eyebrow, "I wouldn't refuse it." Howie smiled in a way that freaked Tommy out... he forgot that he was talking to a mental health patient. "That'll be the day. Why don't you just hold that instead of wearing it?" Russell showed up an hour later with the robes; they were multi-colored, splotches of all the common Omeocoon colors: teal, pink, white, yellow, and some shades of blue. All swirled together in a pretty wave on a silk woven garment with oversized sleeves; it looked like a very long nightgown. And it was sure to make Bodi look like he was drowning. But that was the point, and they had no other sizes. "Tommy. Why are you outside of this door instead of inside of it?" Russell approached, holding the garment with both hands.
"Bodi's having second thoughts," Howie commented. Russell rolled his eyes and glared at the door. "You said that this would work." Russell's eyes lowered at Tommy. "I know. It's just anxiety. He'll get over it— Bodi." Tommy turned away from Russell and Howie and pounded on the door again. If he'd done this on the day of the actual ceremony, the crowd of over 400 people would've been waiting there for hours. "I wish Cam were here to give him a sedative. I learned that drugs work very well." Howie spoke wickedly. Tommy stepped a foot away from Howie as if he were going to catch whatever disorder he possessed. Howie's tenacity only further enhanced Russell's bad mood.
"Why don't you put your arms up? Like this." Russell demonstrated the maneuver by raising his arms high up in the air as if he were about to touch the ceiling. Of course, that looked harmless— but after a minute of doing it, it was bound to teach Howie a lesson. Howie looked at Tommy, shocked. Tommy shrugged; he'd had enough of Howie's mouth. "The punishment is justified. I can't protect you, Howie." He knew the drill. Howie whimpered and then put his arms in the air in defeat. "Have you tried using your powers? Or is that beyond your skill?" Russell asked condescendingly as he glared at Tommy. Quickly looking him up and down. Tommy groaned at the suggestion again, growing annoyed at the proposal, just as he'd done earlier.
"Why do you always have to get an attitude?" Tommy asked. "Are you having hormones or something?" Russell maintained an annoyingly calm demeanor as he responded, "You shouldn't say that. It's offensive. But yes, Cam says that expecting parents often have certain behaviors that they wouldn't normally have. Instead of fighting them, I've succumbed to them."
"So you like having mood swings?" Tommy questioned. Russell snarled and turned his attention to the control panel on the wall; he keyed in a few commands— leveraging his clearance as the security officer, overrode Bodi's passcode, and the doors hissed open. Russell held out the gown fully extended, like a straight jacket or a dress, "Bodi, come here," Russell invited Bodi to insert his arms into the gown. "No—!" Bodi held his hands up and backed against a wall. "Bodi, I've had it with you. Now, you'll wear this stupid gown and practice your little speech. One way or another, and then after that, we're gonna do it for real." Tommy trailed in after Russell, "Erm... I don't think forcing him to put it on will help."
"Well, he isn't really trying to get into it willingly. We don't have time for this. Why don't you want to be Chancellor? Hm?" Russell demanded a response from Bodi as he took a step closer. Bodi shuddered at Russell's brashness. "It's scary. Can you blame me for being afraid? If you want a Chancellor so bad. Why don't you do it?" Tommy and Russell looked at each other, and then Russell returned his attention to Bodi. "Because it wasn't meant to be us. It was meant to be you."
Bodi shook his head, and Russell stomped his foot as his temper began to rage. "That's it! If you don't put on this gown. I'm gonna take your silly Tamagotchi." Russell threatened, slipping the garment under his arm and angrily pointing at Bodi. "No... please don't take him. I like my piggy!"
"Yeah..." Russell smirked. He'd finally struck a nerve. "That's why I'm gonna take it. Because you're being ridiculous, and I promise you, you won't get it back until you come to your senses and do this stupid rehearsal. It's for your own good. Trust me." Russell's stern tone echoed through the room, his frustration palpable. Bodi felt a spasm of anger at that; Russell and Tommy were starting to remind him of Kai; the thought of losing his beloved Tamagotchi to something so stupid was... stupid. Who would change his batteries? Water him? And ensure he was fed every day? Not Russell. Russell would probably put it inside a desk and let it collect dust. "I-I can't do it," He stammered, his voice trembling. "I'm not ready."
Tommy stepped forward, his expression gentle. "Bodi, no one expects you to be perfect. It's okay to feel scared and unsure. But you have to try, even if it's just a little bit at a time. Do you think that Kori was ready to be Chancellor?" Bodi thought about that. Although he'd never met Kori, it was well known that he was mostly improvising after being thrust into the position. Still, even Kori had years of experience in the Chancellor's office before taking the position. That thought was never far from anyone, including staff and the general population. Russell refused to soften his gaze. He was very stern. "Bode, we're not asking you to be fearless. We're asking you to be brave. To face your fears head-on, even if it's hard. That's what Tommy and I did two years ago, and we'll continue to do it until our people are back and we need a Chancellor."
Bodi's resolve wavered, torn between his fear and the desire to please his friends. Taking a deep breath, he reached out and reluctantly raised his arms with trembling hands. Russell and Tommy began to ease him into the garment, and Bodi felt the weight of its fabric settle around him like a heavy burden.
Russell zipped the gown closed around him, and Tommy took the sash from Howie. (Who was still standing with his arms held high.) And put the accessory around his body. Russell and Tommy stepped back, "Huh... it looks big on him... the sleeves are too long, so's the bottom." Tommy commented, rubbing his chin. "It's meant to be like that. It's a metaphor for responsibility." Tommy bit the inside of his cheek and thought for a moment before responding. "No... it's not."
"I think it makes me look like a princess. Can I sleep in this?" Bodi inquired... he wasn't expecting it to be so soft and cozy. "I don't see why not. You're Chancellor. You can make whatever rule you want." Russell shrugged. He guided Bodi to a mirror, where he helped him straighten his sash. "Bodi... are you upset because Kai left..? It's okay to miss him. I miss him, too. I miss them all." Tommy said, attempting to localize the source of Bodi's anxiety. That gave Bodi pause. He squared his shoulders in discomfort as Tommy talked to him, and Russell continued to fix his garments. It'd been two weeks since the crew left on their trip, and there wasn't a day that went by Tommy didn't think about his missing friends. But they were on a dangerous and vital mission. They had to be out there. "He's gonna miss my formday..." Bodi expressed sadly. Tommy stepped off and approached Bodi's pack, which was resting on a chair in the corner. He opened it and felt around for Bodi's virtual pet.
Tommy returned to Bodi and offered him the device. Hoping that would cheer him up. "Any idea what you'd want? You're about to be 14... so you're two years away from being ascension age!"
"But—" Russell cut him off, "No. Your journey through the skimmer doesn't count. You're still 13."
"You know... I'm really starting to not like you Russell. You're mean." Bodi glared at Russell; of course, he was kidding, but Russell shrugged, taking it seriously. "Oh well. Kipp and Maxion say the same thing. But I prefer to think that's just my tough love taking effect."
"Do you treat Ollie and Kody the same way?" Tommy asked, primarily out of curiosity. They were inside holding cells about two weeks ago until Russell released them and became their legal guardian... now he and Maxion were fathers of four, including their unborn child. "Do you like being a dad..?" Tommy asked more seriously. "Hey. You had your chance to be Ollie and Kody's father. You can't take it back now." Russell explained quickly. Tommy jumped in surprise and then raised his hands in defense, "No... I don't want them. I'm just curious, that's all!"
"Sure," Russell smirked. Bodi cleared his throat obnoxiously. "Uh? Excuse me? I don't know about you two. But I'd like to get out of this thing as quickly as possible if it's all the same to you." Russell shoved a tablet in Bodi's face. "Read." He ordered firmly. Bodi sighed and snatched the tablet. "Why do I have to do this anyway?"
"Because it's step 58 of my 150-step plan." Russell raised an eyebrow, confused. "Wait? How can you be on step 58? We're not even done with the Eclectus mission yet. And when did 150 steps become 250?" Russell asked; about three months ago, after the explosion in the power core, Tommy and his friends wrote a complex book of instructions that, when completed, would result in an Omoecoon that is better than it is today. But it was Russell's understanding that it was only 150 steps. Obviously, Tommy made a few additions without letting anyone know. "Well, I was brainstorming last night and added a few things."
"A few?" Russell articulated dramatically as Russell and Tommy got distracted. Bodi paused his line reading and swiped through other applications on the tablet, particularly the additions to the plan mentioned before. "What's 'reintegration?' That looks fun," Bodi commented. Tommy looked over. "That's the one I amended last night. I've had to alter the plan a little; after I learned that the planet was dying, The plan is to bring the Omeocoon people back together when Maxion and the others return with this... opus of a starship." Tommy explained.
"Oh... so basically, we'll need to convince our people to rejoin... our people?" Bodi questioned, "Yes. That's why you must do this, Bode if you can convince a mob of 400 worried people that you're the right person to be the man in charge. You can convince 60,000 people." Tommy said with a smile that he had complete confidence in his cousin, and it showed. Bodi exhaled another shuttering breath; the taxing thoughts returned to him. He didn't think it would be so daunting.
"Can I please put my arms down now?" Howie whined from outside the doorway. They'd forgotten all about him. Russell jumped in shock, "Oh yeah. What are you doing? You can stop now." Russell was horrified. Howie had been doing that for about 30 minutes, and as soon as he was given permission, he exhaled in exhaustion. He finally dropped his arms, sweat drenching his body. "You're out of shape." Russell said bluntly, and Howie resisted the urge to retaliate, "You only had your arms up for 30 minutes. Maybe that's a sign that I have to include you in Ollie and Kody's physical training. If you're going to spend the rest of your life in solid form, you might as well be able to do a pushup. Come on."
"Wait, you're leaving? What about..?" Tommy gestured toward Bodi, and Russell shrugged. "I'll be back later. I swear. But I must now attend to my fatherly duties."
"But you'll be doing that all day. Just stay for five more minutes; you're obligated. We're still playmates." Tommy urged, stepping closer to Russell as the bunny slowly backed out of the room, "Raincheck." He turned on his heels and gestured for his Yeoman to follow. The doors closed behind them, and that left just Bodi and Tommy. "He reminds me of my dad a little bit; he was kind of strict but funny. I miss him." Bodi commented, he didn't often mention his father, nor did Kai. Tommy beamed at that. He took that as a sign that he and Bodi were getting closer.
"Oh, I found out what I want," Bodi said. He took a while to think about it. But Tommy nodded along, and his smile reduced to a subtle grin. "Name it. Anything you want."