Chapter 4: Processing

Davy sees Maddie and Jesse off, before going through processing himself. He gets a new name as he starts his new life.

The next day I skipped out early from work to see Maddie off. There wasn't any point in working �" what could they do, fire me? I only had two more days before my processing day, and I wasn't going to waste them.

Maddie was leaving her rooms for the last time when I arrived, a small bag over her shoulder. It was mid-afternoon, but I could hear loud snoring coming from the room. Maddie gave me a sheepish smile as she closed the door.

“I told him I was leaving today,” she said in way of explanation, “but I don't think he understood. He'll figure it out soon enough, or at least when he runs out of food.”

Her eyes shone brightly as we took the lift up to level ten. If she was nervous at all, she didn't show it. Hell, I understood: what she was going to couldn't be worse than what she was leaving behind.

Level ten was busy, and would be for the next few days. With almost eight hundred families on the station, there were probably a good four to five hundred people to process. As it was, the line was about fifty people long, snaking out into the hallway �" we were waiting for an hour before Maddie made it to the front of the line.

I wasn't the only person seeing someone off. The hallway was crowded with families saying goodbye to whomever they were waiting with; the mother of the family in front of us was sobbing, inarticulate in her grief. The mood was dark on the entire floor, and everybody kept their voices low. In each group waiting in line I could tell the one who was leaving: some were crying, some were staring, and still others were muttering to themselves and anybody around them, but they all had one thing in common. Each of them had a look of steely determination on his or her face, through the tears and the anger. No one could fight the process.

* * * * * * * *

“Next.”

“Madison Daniels, floor seven, room seven-thirty-four.”

The lady at the desk checked her screen. “Daniels... wait a sec... ah, you're on the list. Sheet please.” She sounded bored, as though she was nearing the end of a long shift. Maddie handed over the yellow sheet that came with her letter. “Do you have any personal effects?” When Maddie nodded, the desk lady handed her another form and told her to hand her bag to the third security guard standing off to the side. Five long tables were set up nearby for the purpose of checking bags, with a guard at each, and number three was the only one open.

We moved over to the guard and Maddie handed over her bag. Unlike the desk lady, the guard looked cheerful as he started putting the contents of the bag out on the table. “On the list, huh?” he asked, giving us a cocky smile. He looked familiar...

“You!” I said to the one called Sin, pointing at him in surprise. He was wearing a black uniform this time, instead of the worker's outfit I last saw him in, but it was unmistakably him.

He gave a small laugh. “Nice to see you too, Watson,” he said cheerfully, “Although I don't think we've been properly introduced. The name's Rho Cincinnati, but my friends call me Sinbad.” I wanted to ask him why, but he had just finished searching Maddie's bag and handing it back to her. Taking the form, he put a stamp on it and said, “Go to room ten twenty-three. Ask for Arizona �" he'll be giving you a physical. It'll take a couple hours, just so you know,” he told me, “but she'll be back out before she leaves. You can either wait in room ten-oh-two, or come back.”

He ushered Maddie out of the way for the next person coming through. I started for the waiting room, but then turned around again. “Do you know where the volunteers are being processed?” I asked Sinbad.

“What, thinking of signing up?” he asked. No one had been sent to him yet.

I laughed. “No, I'll be back here in a few days for processing myself. A friend of mine was enlisting today for Raider Corps; I was wondering if he was gone yet.”

“Raider?” he asked, “From a refugee station? Kid, there're only two volunteers coming from here for Raider. You sure you don't mean the United Military?”

“No, I'm pretty sure it's Raider.” I'd never known that there was a difference. “His name's Jesse Zairian. Do you know what time they're leaving?”

Sinbad grinned. “Oh, him. Yeah, I know the case. Raider doesn't usually take volunteers, you know? But with his brother...” he trailed off, seeming to remember my question. “He's getting his physical now, but he should be back out soon. He and your friend Daniels won't be leaving until twenty-one hundred.”

“Wait, Maddie too? I didn't know she'd already been selected.”

“She was on the list, wasn't she?” he asked, “She's been pre-selected for Raider, then.” Another person came up to get their bag checked, so I couldn't ask him to elaborate. I thanked him and went to the waiting room.

* * * * * * * *

“Davy?”

Jesse came out a half an hour later, but I almost missed him: his hair was cut short, almost to his scalp. He was the one who spotted me, having to call my name a second time before I realized who it was.

“Davy!” He came over to where I was sitting and plopped down beside me. I was used to seeing him in overalls or jeans, usually covered in grease and dirt from the engine room. The guy in front of me was clean, dressed in a black uniform similar to Sinbad's, except that the collar was a bit higher on Jesse. He was holding a manilla envelope in a grease-free right hand.

“Hey, Jesse, what's with the buzz-cut?”

He grinned. “'Name's not Jesse anymore,” he answered, “It's Jersey now.” I gave him a questioning look. He pointed to the folder. “From the time we join, we belong to Raider Corps for a specified amount of time,” he recited, fingering what I now saw to be a thin metal collar around his neck. “Even volunteers. They give us new names to keep track of us.”

Thinking back, it made sense: 'Cincinnati' and 'Cal' could hardly be real names. Even so, I didn't think my friend would be anyone but “Jesse” to me. “Okay, but what's with the hair?” I repeated.

“Standard for all new recruits,” he shrugged. “We have the option of growing it back out, but they told me that it tends to get in the way.” He looked around, surprisingly unemotional about the new direction his life was turning. “We waiting for Maddie?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I hesitated, then asked, “They said you were leaving this evening. Is that true?”

“Not quite,” Jesse looked taken aback, “We're supposed to report back here, but we aren't leaving 'til the end of the week. They send all recruits out at once, saves time and such. Wonder where Maddie's going?” he added to himself, not looking at anything in particular.

I had the answer to that one. “She's in Raider Corps with you, didn't you know?” I told him, “She was 'on the list,' but hell if I know what that means...”

“It means they pre-qualified her,” my friend told me, “I told you last week, they've been watching us for a while. Raider Corps looks for special qualities in candidates; Ryan was on the list too, that's how they knew about the accident so quickly.”

A thought nagged at the back of my mind. Put him on the list and be done with it. That's what Sinbad told Cal when I first met them. Did that mean I qualified, too? But Cal and Sinbad worked for COR, whatever that was. I pushed the thought aside as wishful thinking.

“It'd be cool if we all ended up together, though,” I muttered, half to Jesse and half to myself.

Jesse gave me a funny look. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but he was interrupted by Maddie's arrival.

“Davy! Jesse!” she squealed, running over to where we sat and pulling us into a hug, “Can you believe it?”

When she let me go, I saw her new appearance for the first time. In her hand was a manilla envelope like Jesse's. She was wearing an outfit and collar like his, but she had on a black beret. Her hair had been shaved off, too.

“They got you tested that fast?” Jesse asked quizzically.

Maddie shrugged. “Health test is done at least. They said they'd be doing skill testing tomorrow �" something about too much overflow.”

“And they shaved your head?” I liked her hair.

She whipped off the beret, not in the least embarrassed. Sure enough, her head was covered in red fuzz, but nothing else. Her size and stature, along with the buzz-cut, made her look like a boy. I was careful to not mention it.

“Do you have your name yet?” Jesse asked.

“Yep. It's Kansas now, trainee of Raider Corps.” She was practically hopping with excitement. “We're finally getting off the station, guys!”

Jesse didn't look as excited at the prospect. Out of the three of us, Maddie was the only one who wasn't leaving anyone important behind. More to change the subject than anything else I asked, “Should we go get dinner?”

We went to the station cafeteria, where we had gone so often together. I never thought I would get nostalgic over the station, but the conversation was mostly “Do you remember when...” and “Remember that time...” This would be the last time we would come here like this; I couldn't help myself.

They left for level ten again after dinner. I wouldn't be allowed to see them again, unless by some miracle we ended up together.

It's funny how life works out sometimes.

* * * * * * * *

Two days later I said goodbye to my sisters, sort of nodded at my brother, then took my turn for processing. Adam had work and the girls had class, so I stood in the line by myself. It was shorter for me than it was for Maddie; I don't know whether it just seemed that way or if it really was shorter. Either way it was no time before I made it to the desk.

“Name.” A different guy was at the desk this time, but he had the same bored expression as the lady who'd processed Maddie.

I handed him my papers, along with my ID. “David Watson, floor 07 suite 706.”

“Watson...” There was a screen on the desk in front of him, just like last time, that showed a list of names. He scrolled through that one and said, “We only have an Adam Watson on here. Same room.”

“He's my brother. The waiver's in there.”

The guy looked back on the screen. “Huh,” he said, as though something caught his attention. I had to ask in order to find out what. “There's a flag by the room number.”

“Is that good?”

“Depends on what you call good,” the guy explained, “Anyone coming from that room is on the list.” He handed me another form, asking if I had any personal affects, as hope grew in my mind. When I showed him my bag he said, “Table three then. Next!”

The big Arab from the other day, the one with the false eye, stood at the table waiting to check it. He dumped out my stuff, poked the contents with a stick-like sensor, then shooed me off without a word. I clumsily put my bag back together and headed off down the hall for my physical.

I've never liked doctors. I even have memories from Abeona of kicking and screaming when my mom took me in for check-ups; I'm a bit ashamed of that, but there you have it. My hatred for medics only got stronger as I got older, probably because doctors tended to show up whenever anything went wrong. It's important that I say this because even though this moment was the turning point in my life, and even though this was the last time I remember being just Davy, this was the first time in my life that I walked calmly to the medic of my own free will.

Right then, though, the only thing I was really thinking of was, I'm on the list! I was going with Maddie and Jesse �" whatever happened next, it would still be us against the world, like old times. The prospect of leaving suddenly didn't seem so alarming.

I walked into room ten twenty-three less nervous than I should have been, given the circumstances. There was another clerk at a makeshift desk, who took my form and pointed me to a waiting barber's chair. A man stood by, holding an electric razor. When I sat down, nerves returning, he quickly threw a towel around my neck, took a bunch of quick swipes at my head with the razor, rubbed my now-bald head to make sure he didn't miss any, whipped the towel off and sent me on my way. The whole thing took less than five minutes.

Next, they shuffled me to a weighing station. A nurse there recorded my height and weight, took my blood pressure, checked my temperature, looked at my tonsils, eyes, and ears, then sent me to a waiting area where I spent the next hour wondering how much of me they could possibly check.

Finally a man came in and called my name, along with two other guys. We followed the man to another room across the hallway. He told us that Arizona, the medic, would be with us shortly, and that we needed to change. Then he left the room, leaving me and the other two feeling as though we were back in grade-school gym as we pulled on hospital gowns.

It was another fifteen minutes before the medic came in, and when he did it was a shock; Arizona was none other than Doctor Chase. “Alright boys, this next part's easy,” he said, not even looking at us but scribbling something on his clipboard, “I just need to listen to your hearts to make sure there's no problem. Then we'll give you your uniforms and orders.”

He put his stethoscope to our chests in turn, asked for a few short breaths, then moved on to the next. When my turn came around, I took the opportunity to ask a few questions.

“How's Ryan?” was the first.

He looked slightly taken aback that I'd spoken, and looked up at me for the first time since he came in. “You're that Watson kid Cal was going on about, right?” he asked back.

“Yeah. Wait, was she really going on about me?”

“Don't mind her too much. Cal can get a bit... overenthusiastic at times,” he explained, “and to answer your first question, Zairian's fine. The operation was a success, and he'll make a complete recovery. Now let's get you checked.”

I was so relieved that I didn't press him. He took my pulse and moved onto the last guy. Once he'd finished, he moved to the door and called out for something. An orderly came in carrying three sets of black uniforms for us, along with three of those thin metal collars I saw on Jesse and Maddie. Chase let us get dressed, then told us to stand in line as he snapped a collar on each of us in turn.

“These are only temporary,” he told us, “They'll be replaced with something a bit less bulky when you get to the base. If you'll please follow Jacobs, we can finish the first part of your processing.” He gave our files to the orderly, who then led us out.

The three of us followed the orderly back to the clerk, who took the files and matched them up with our records. They took our pictures, and made us stand there for five minutes as they laminated ID cards. The clerk then gave us each a manilla envelope and pointed us to another waiting room, where we were to wait until they called us for skill testing.

* * * * * * * *

My envelope contained a copy of my health report, a holographic identification badge with my photo on it, a bunch of other documents that I couldn't make heads or tails of, and a letter. I stared at my photo for a minute, wondering if my ears really looked that big without my hair. My name wasn't on it yet; there was just an identification number. I kept it palmed in my hand while I opened the letter.

Recruit,

This envelope contains the forms you are to present upon your arrival at Aurora Base, as well as certain documents you are to keep for your own records. The white copies of your health form, skill list, and designation form will be processed upon your arrival.

You should keep your identification card with you at all times; this will be used to access facilities on base, as well as serves as your meal ticket on base. This card uses a form of credit for the base shop, for purchases of toiletries and spare uniforms as well.

The reverse side of this sheet details a departure schedule for Aurora. New recruits from Indigo Station will take Shuttle 7 at 08:00 on 12.08.36.10. In the meantime, sleeping arrangements have been provided.

Puerto Rico,

Quartermaster

Recruitment Office, Aurora Base

I put the ID in my pocket and closed the envelope. There were still five days before they shipped us out; it made me wonder what the rush was for getting us processed. I didn't wonder long, though, before they finally called us for skill testing.

* * * * * * * *

Skill testing was the most strenuously dull time I've ever had in Raider Corps. First, they put us on a bunch of exercise machines while they recorded our strength, speed, and endurance level. Then, we had to run a short obstacle course that I assume was to test our dexterity. Lastly, once we were completely wiped, they sat us down at a desk to take a written knowledge test. I don't know if anyone could have passed it at that point �" I could barely hold the pencil. Once they collected the tests, they left us in the room to wait some more.

The next person to come get us led us to a large waiting room. There were ten cots set up for us throughout the room, six of which seemed to be claimed. This was the first bright point of my day: Maddie and Jesse were there.

“Davy!” Maddie cried, tackling me in the tightest hug I'd ever had, “You did it! We're all in Raider together!”

“Big surprise,” Jesse muttered. Still, he was grinning as he held his hand up for five. “All right, man?”

I wearily gave him the five, saying, “I think so. Should my body hurt this much?”

They both laughed in response. “So, what do we call you now?” Maddie asked eagerly.

“Sassy here's been asking everybody,” Jesse, or I guess Jersey now, told me.

“Sassy?”

“Her name's Kansas, right?” my friend explained, “Well, it's a nickname she's earned for her ever-running mouth.”

Maddie, or Sassy, pushed him as I laughed at her expense for once. “Call me that and die,” she growled good-naturedly.

“We could always call you Can.”

“On second thought,” she reconsidered, “I think I like Sassy. It has a ring to it.”

Our humor was broken up by Arizona returning with a clerk, who held three new folders. “Our last three recruits arrived today, so our departure schedule has been pushed back,” Arizona told us as the clerk handed me and the other new guys thin file-folders. “We'll depart tomorrow, shuttle ten, at oh-eight-hundred. Reveille is at oh-five-hundred, so I suggest you get to sleep early tonight. For the newbies, you have a half-hour past reveille to get ready for the day, then meet us in the exercise room. Breakfast will be given to you on the shuttle. We should arrive at Aurora at thirteen-hundred hours.” He turned and walked out without another word.

I looked at my friends. Sassy shrugged. “He's been like that this whole time. Says what he needs to and then leaves.”

“We really should get some sleep, guys,” Jersey said, looking at his watch. “Davy, there's food in the corner fridge. Bathroom's through that door.” He pointed to a side door to my right. “They're serious about waking us up at five.”

We said our good nights and got ready for bed. Getting my toothbrush out of my bag, I checked my pockets for my new ID. The writing had changed. Above the serial number was now a single name: Washington.

* * * * * * * *

Author's Note

I thought this chapter was dry, so does anyone have suggestions on how to make it more interesting?