Once Emma left Xion, she tried to remember the route to get back to Doctor Salas" clinic. She wanted to see Haoran and calm down her heart. Her mind was a mess, and it felt like she wanted to either cry or break something ...She didn"t want to unleash her rage or her sadness in front of the crews who were pa.s.sing by.
"Excuse me, can you please let me know where Doctor Salas" Clinic is?" Emma asked when she saw a female staff walking past the corridor in front of the training room.
The woman in the brown uniform glanced at Emma"s clothes, and then nodded respectfully. "Of course, Miss. I will take you there."
Emma did not realize that her being part of the few people who were not wearing uniforms in this s.h.i.+p showed her high position. Most people around her were wearing either blue or brown uniforms, and some even wore military getup.
Therius did not need to announce to anyone about Emma and how the crew should treat her. They would immediately show respect because they knew she was an esteemed guest.
"Is there something on my clothes?" Emma asked in astonishment when she noticed the woman looked at her clothes attentively.
The staff smiled and answered shyly. "No. I just don"t remember seeing you before. There are only a few people on this s.h.i.+p who are not wearing a uniform. I am wondering who you really are."
"Oh ..." Emma nodded in understanding. "I"m a guest here. Sir Therius is the one who invited me. My name is Emma."
Emma decided to play along and tried to find out more about this s.h.i.+p, the people in it, and Therius himself. That"s why she intentionally used honorifics when she referred to him.
She must find all this info herself. She knew she could not get anything from Xion. The man was clearly on his best friend"s side.
"Oh ... h.e.l.lo, Miss Emma. My name is Loria. I am one of the engineers in this s.h.i.+p."
"Engineer?" Emma asked in surprise.
"Yes, we are responsible for carrying out maintenance and repairs to this s.h.i.+p," Loria explained.
"Oh, I see." Emma nodded.
"Come this way," Loria signaled that Emma followed her into the elevator and went down to the lowest floor. After they got out of the elevator, Emma began to recognize the route she had taken along with Therius when she left the clinic. She felt that she would be able to find the clinic herself.
She touched Loria"s shoulder and signaled that the engineer didn"t need to take her all the way to the clinic.
"Thank you for your help, Loria. I think I already know the way," Emma said.
"Hmm .. okay, Miss. See you around."
After Loria left, Emma hurried to the end of the corridor and knocked on the door to her right.
"Doctor Salas, h.e.l.lo. It"s me again," Emma said.
Not long after, Natan opened the door for the girl. His face looked surprised to see Emma coming alone.
"h.e.l.lo, Miss. Are you here to see your friend again?"
"Friend? He is my..." Emma took a deep breath and then nodded. "Yes. I am here to see him."
She remembered that she had agreed to work with Therius. No one in this s.h.i.+p now knew Emma"s real ident.i.ty. However, after they arrived in Akkadia, Therius would certainly announce who Emma was. And they would pretend to be engaged.
Of course, no one could know that Emma was actually married and her husband was now lying in a coma in this clinic.
Emma must fulfill her role for Haoran"s safety, and also her father"s.
She walked after Natan and entered the room where Haoran was being treated.
"Uhm ... can you please leave us alone, Doctor?" Emma asked Natan.
"Well, of course. I will do my job at the clinic. Please call me if you need anything."
Natan left Emma in Haoran"s room and closed the door behind him. Emma sat next to the capsule where Haoran was treated and looked at his face with tears welling up in her eyes.
"Oh .. Haoran. I really don"t know what will happen to us in Akkadia. Right now, I"m forced to cooperate with Therius to buy time to escape from all this chaos ..." she whispered dejectedly.
Haoran"s eyes were still closed. Emma knew Haoran could not hear her, but she continued to talk to her husband as if Haoran was only sleeping and would wake up soon. Emma felt very lonely.
An hour later, there was a knock at the door and Natan called Emma"s name respectfully.
"Miss Emma, Doctor Atila is here looking for you," he said.
Emma remembered Natan told her earlier that Doctor Atila was a female doctor who treated her. The girl immediately rose from her seat and opened the door.
She saw a graceful woman in her 30s standing beside Natan and smiling at her.
"h.e.l.lo, Miss. I"m Atila Haru. You can just call me Atila."
Emma nodded. "Dr. Atila."
"Uhmm ... don"t call me Doctor Atila. You make me feel old. I"m not as old as Natan," Atila said, laughing. Her friendly face and relaxed expression made Emma immediately feel that she like the female doctor.
"Hm ... alright, Atila."
"I came here to talk to you. Sir Therius told me to help you while we are in this s.h.i.+p. I will be your personal a.s.sistant for the next six months. Right now, I want to give you a short introduction about everything going on in the s.h.i.+p, how you can maximize your time and be productive. A lot of people find intergalactic travels to be very dull, I can understand that."
Emma nodded again. "You are right."
In her heart, she felt grateful because Therius said he would give unlimited access to Emma. He seemed to keep his words since Emma could go anywhere in this s.h.i.+p.
No one was guarding her and blocking her path. Now, he even gave her an a.s.sistant to help her find her way around here and make the best out of her situation.
Emma did not know this s.h.i.+p at all, and it would be very troublesome if she had to learn everything by herself and got lost many times in the process.
"Can we go back to your room? We will discuss your schedule and everything you need to know," Atila asked respectfully.
Emma turned her head to Haoran once more and finally nodded at Atila. "Okay. We can go now."
"Very well."
Atila invited Emma to follow her, and so, they left the clinic.