Looking over at Mo, I called him over to me and held up my backpack. He was currently wearing the utility skin my uncle had given me. His body was now a much larger sphere, with two retractable servos on each side. The utility skin came a small storage compartment in the front of his body that was just large enough to fit a datapad and possibly a few other things if they were small enough. Mo also had a small retractable hook under his body that I could attach things to, like my backpack which I gave him to carry for me.
Taking one last look around my room, I smoothed down the skirt of my new cadet uniform and made my way out into the main room. I was reluctant to wear the dress at first, and it had been my uncle who first convinced me to wear it. I only agreed to do so when he offered me a tour of the nearby base. I didn't understand why he was so insistent at first, but it soon became clear as he escorted me around the base. My mother always wore the fleet’s dress style uniform, and with my similar looks I could easily be mistaken for her at a distance, if you failed to notice my younger age, shorter hight and the lack of embellishments on my uniform. It was a little amusing to see the reaction of those on base, and I had been the recipient of more than one confused salute.
We ended up in Vice Admiral Delaney's office, where my uncle had been severely reprimanded for his joke and sent to run laps around the base. Extremely worried I would get into trouble myself, I been near tears thinking my uncle had just gotten me kicked out of the academy before I'd even began my first year, but once we were alone, the admiral had simply laughed at my fearful expression. He then took me to meet some other high-ranked officers on base for lunch before escorting me home. As it turned out, the vice admiral was a close friend of my grandparents, having served on the same ship with them for many years. I may have avoided formal punishment, but my grandfather had confiscated my hoverboard. I would need to wait until after initial training before getting it back. I didn't bother complaining, as I knew I had gotten off lightly considering the circumstances.
Seeing me enter, my grandmother hugged me tightly before discreetly handing me a few foil-wrapped snack bars and a beverage pouch. I had Mo stash them in his compartment and grinned at my grandmother as she winked. I then moved to the lounge area where my grandfather was sitting and he looked up, shaking his head in exasperation at my outfit.
"Little one, please do not torment your instructors," he said with a sigh, and I grinned.
"Grandpa, I'm insulted you think me capable of such a thing," I said, giving him a hurt look.
Shaking his head, my grandfather muttered my uncle's name under his breath as he walked towards the dining table. He was right. My uncle was a bad influence, and I had been dragged into his jokes more than once, but he was not the reason I was wearing the dress today. I had noticed most of the female cadets wore the dress uniform, and after talking with Hunter’s girlfriend Katie, I learnt it was preferred due to the high temperature and humidity on Velante. While my home planet had been hot as a desert planet, it had not been as humid as the tropical Velante was. The dress uniform was knee length, and the alternate uniform options of a jumpsuit or tunic and trousers were all ankle length. As Katie had said, the dress was far cooler to wear in the midday heat than any of the other uniform options and as we would not be doing any physical training today, Katie had recommended I wear the dress.
"Your mother sent this for you. It arrived this morning," my grandfather said, walking back over to me and handing me a small black box.
Nodding in thanks, I took the box from him and looked it over. It had a digital lock which I connected to with my implant. When the lock registered my identification details, it opened. Frowning, I looked at the small foil packet inside, along with a data chip and a strange looking device.
"Grandpa, I am not sure what this is."
Walking closer, my grandfather looked inside the box. With a frown, he took the box from my hand and inspected the foil packet.
"Aurora, would you come here a moment?" he called to my grandmother who was in the kitchen cutting up fruit. Putting down her knife and washing her hands, my grandmother made her way over and took the box from my grandfather.
"Grandpa? Do you know what it is?" I asked, watching as my grandmother looked over the small sliver device.
"Yes, it is an optical display device,” my grandfather explained. “It works similarly to your wrist display. It’s essentially a small lens that can be directly placed into your eye, just behind your iris. It will project a holographic display onto the lens which would be visible only to yourself. The wrist displays are more commonly used as they are less expensive and can display more data. The optical lens only has a small ‘screen’ size, so the information that can be displayed is limited. Many who use a lens use it in conjunction with a wrist display. Julian and a number of the fleet pilots have recently begun using them." As he finished, my eyes widened.
I had heard of optical lenses, but they were very expensive and had to be custom made for the wearer. It didn't just sit behind my iris, the lens had tiny microscopic wires that would connect to my implant through my eye socket. Lt Logan on the FSS Scorpia had one and had told me about it when I had noticed he sometimes had strange tiny lights showing in his left eye.
"Lt Logan from the FSS Scorpia has one, he told me a little about it," I told my grandfather, who nodded, looking thoughtful.
Looking over at my grandmother, I watched as she put the box down on the bench before turning towards me.
"Aristeia, I have not performed the procedure to insert an optical lens, but Chief Wilson will be able to do so. If you wish, I can contact him, so he can insert it. It is up to you if you wish to use the lens," she said, smiling softly at me.
"Are there any risks in using the lens?" I asked, glancing down at the box uncertainly.
"Yes and no. If not inserted properly, it can cause damage to the eye. You will also need to use a specific eye drop in your eye for the first several days until the eye heals. Using the lens will take time and practice, and you may find it difficult to adjust to the visual displays. Some are never able to properly adjust and must have it removed," she informed me, and I nodded slowly.
Taking a moment, I contemplated what she had said and what I had learned about the lens from Lt Logan. He had used it to help him monitor the ship’s various sensors and had it set up so that he could also stream his drone’s and the ship’s external camera display into that eye. I was sure that if my mother had sent it, then it would be because she thought it would benefit me and help me be a better pilot.
"I want to use the lens. How long does it take to insert? Will I need to wait until we have a break from training?"
"I will message Chief Wilson. We can probably do it this morning, as you don't need to be at the gates until zero nine hundred. We will need to numb your eye, and after that he will use the device in the box to insert the lens. Then you will need about thirty minutes to allow the anesthetic to wear off."
I nodded in response and looked at my wrist display. It was currently zero five forty, my grandparents woke at zero five hundred every morning and I had started following their routine to prepare for academy life. The cadets would have to be awake and at the morning training by zero six thirty every morning.
After a quick breakfast, I followed my grandmother to the medical clinic, holding my lens box in one hand, with Mo carrying my bag behind me. My grandmother’s drone flew alongside Mo and was wearing a utility skin designed for those who worked in the medical sector. It was basically a big flying med kit that carried all the basic equipment my grandmother might need. The drone also had an advanced scanner and medical programs that helped it assess a patient’s health and could aid the medical officer in their tasks.
Entering the clinic, we were greeted by various doctors and nurses as we made our way to the chief's office. The medical clinic was the main care facility for the academy and the base nearby. It was also where the cadets who were enrolled in the medical program trained from their third year
and up. After they graduated, they would then be paired with a senior medic for one or two years, depending on their chosen medical profession.
Chief Wilson was a tall slim man who was completely bald, with piercing blue eyes. I felt like he was trying to look through me as though his eyes could see past my skin in the same way the medical scanner he held could.
"Ah, Lt Harra, so this is the granddaughter I have been hearing so much about. Such an interesting genetic composition," he said, his reedy voice holding a note of interest as he looked me over. I tensed as his eyes roamed me and settled on my hair. "Cadet Kelras, would you be willing to provide me with a genetic sample? My focus of study is the evolution of human genetics. I would very much like to compare your genetic markers to those of your mother and grandmother," he said.
I hesitated for a moment, glancing to my grandmother.
"The choice is yours Aristeia, Chief Wilson will not force you," she said, giving me a reassuring look.
"Of course I won't force her. I simply wish to examine her genetic markers and compare then to my other samples. Every piece of data is important," he said, looking a little offended.
"Sir, I will allow you to take the sample. I only know a little about genetics from my basic education module but would like to learn more about it," I said, causing the tall man to smile brightly at me before he began quickly leading my grandmother and me down a hall towards a treatment room.
"Excellent, come. We will take the sample, and then we can insert your lens," he said and directed me to sit.
I watched closely as he grabbed a small case and began tinkering with a needle and injector device, talking as he worked.
"Over time, the human population has evolved in some small ways due to our changed lifestyle. On Earth, there is higher gravity then most of our currently inhabited planets and space stations. The changes in our population’s environment is what caused our genetics to change and evolve. Those whose ancestors lived for long term in colony ships are more likely to develop a taller and more slender form with less muscular density. Those who are descended from planetary colonists will have different genetic characteristics and variants.
“Take the inhabitants of Telson, for example. The planet of Telson has a natural gravity of 1.9g. Those that live on the planet who have descended from the original colonists have greater muscle density and tend to be smaller in stature. We have observed many similar evolutionary variations," he lectured, and I listened with interest.
"Thank you, sir. You explained that a lot better than the module did. So, my hair color is due to a genetic variant inherited from my mother?" I asked, flinching at the sight of the rather large needle he held.
"Indeed, though I have not yet been able to locate its source. Your mother and grandmother along with yourself are the only ones I have found naturally possessing this unique coloring. I was able to determine that the variant was inherited from your grandmother, though your uncle does not possess the silver coloring. It would seem it may only present itself in those with XX chromosomes," Chief Wilson said, his voice trailing off into low mutterings as he fiddled with the needle.
"Now, it looks scary, but it won't hurt as much as you might think. It will numb the area as it collects the blood and tissue sample," he said, standing beside me. I shifted slightly on the bed, my stomach churning uneasily as I watched the hand with a needle.
"Why do you need to take a tissue sample? Can't you check my genetic markers from saliva or blood?" I asked, frowning slightly as I tried to recall what my learning module had said regarding genetic samples.
"The tissue sample will provide more in-depth information on your genetic history. Using only saliva and blood samples provides suboptimal results."
"Alright. Where are you going to injec—ow!" I cried out in pain as the man jabbed the needle into the fleshy part of my upper arm.
I glared at him through tear-filled eyes. He’d lied. It did hurt as much as I thought it would. He pulled the needle out slowly and my grandmother moved forward to cover the small bleeding hole he left in my arm with a clear gel, she then placed a bandage on my arm and wrapped it tightly.
"You can remove the bandage later tonight, it will be healed by then. If you have any issues with it or if the wound pulls open before it heals, come back to the clinic and a nurse will redress it," Chief Wilson said as he extracted the tissue sample into a tube and sealed it. My grandmother gave me a cloth to wipe the tears off my face and patted my back to console me.
"Sweetheart, I'm sorry. I know how much you don't like needles. The numbing agent should have taken away the pain by now. Does it still hurt?" she asked in a soothing tone.
"No, it doesn't hurt anymore. That was really mean though, I wouldn't have said yes if I knew it was going to be like that," I whined, resting my head against my grandmother’s shoulder.
"Alright Cadet, let’s take a look at this lens,” Chief Wilson said, ignoring my sulking. “I'll need to do a scan of your eye and check that it’s sized properly before we insert the lens. I will also need to calibrate the insertion device. The lens will sit here in this part of the device, and when I insert it, this tiny flexible needle here will pierce through all the way to the back of your eye socket.
“This will allow it to integrate with your neural implant. Fortunately, you have an M2V. Most standard implants don't have a connection for an optical lens. Now which eye would you prefer?" Chief Wilson asked.
"I'm not sure," I said, still a little nervous about getting the lens inserted and starting to think maybe it wasn't such a good idea.
"Hmm, you are in the pilot program, correct?” he asked. “Most of our fleet pilots use an optical lens in their left eye. Your primary systems are generally on the right side, so they prefer the left. This allows them to directly monitor the primary displays," he told me, and after thinking for a moment, I decided I would do the same. If they all used their left, then it must be the best choice. Lt Logan's was on his left as well.
"Okay, left then," I said and took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves.
"Alright. I'm going to put these drops into your eye. The drops will numb your eye and widen your pupil. Tilt your head back.” I did so, and he let a couple of drops fall into my eye. “Good. You can lay back on the bed while we wait for the drops to take effect and I preform the needed preparations," Chief Wilson said.
Laying back on the bed, I closed my left eye, which had become blurry, and waited. Ten minutes later, chief Wilson stepped up to my side and told me to open it.
"All right, Cadet. I'm just going to take a look at your eye. Hold still for me," he told me.
I opened my left eye but saw nothing but a blur. I could see movement from my right eye, but before I could see what was happening. The chief’s hand covered my right eye, and held my head still. He kept his hand in place for only a moment before he stepped back.
"There we are, Cadet. All done. You will need to wear this eye patch for the next thirty minutes. I will return after that, and we can run the necessary checks to ensure your new lens is operating as it should. Don't try to connect with it until then," he said and I glared at him through my right eye in response.
He had tricked me again. He said he was only checking my eye, but instead he inserted the lens. I would have to remember not to trust this man in the future.
Thirty minutes later, I was sitting up on the side of the bed as Chief Wilson removed the eye patch. My eye felt a little strange, but I could see perfectly clear again. After preforming a quick scan, Chief Wilson had me install the programming for the lens through my implant. Connecting to the lens, I flinched as half my vision filled with a blur of bright colors, and I quickly closed my eye. It didn't help much as I could still see the display, but it allowed me to focus only on the display and not on everything else around me.
"You will need to optimize your lens display, removing anything you don't need and redirecting it to your wrist display instead," the chief advised.
"Arist
eia, I have sent your uncle a message about your lens,” my grandmother said. “He is going to send you a base copy of his own standard display protocols. This will help you clear up the display. He has his implant set up to automatically display certain information on either his lens or wrist display. Check your messages sweetheart, see if he has sent it through yet."
I nodded and focused on the display with my eyes still closed. I saw that I did have a message. It simply said ‘optical protocols.’ There was a large data file attached and after a security scan, I downloaded and installed the data onto my implant. My optical display cleared instantly. The only thing that showed in my vision was a line of text that held the current time and date. Opening my eyes, I looked around. I could see normally again, but at the very top of my vision was still that little line of text. I found that if I didn't directly focus on it, then the text would fade to the point that it was barely visible.
"How's your vision, Cadet? Any blurriness or blind spots?" Chief Wilson asked.
"No, it all looks normal. The protocols from my uncle helped clear up the lens. I can just see a small time display now. I'll have to look at the protocols properly later," I said, noticing that it was fast approaching zero eight thirty, and if I was going to reach the gates before zero nine hundred then I needed to be leaving soon.
Chief Wilson took another ten minutes to run a few more tests before he allowed me to leave. Giving my grandmother a quick hug goodbye, I left the medical clinic at a jog.
Chapter 22
Arriving at the gates with five minutes to spare, I saw Lt Moore standing with a few other officers. I walked over to them and I saluted him and the others, receiving nods in return.
Striving for the stars (The Kelras Chronicles Book 1) Page 16