Her Last Look at Newhall

Posted on Mon May 25th, 2020 @ 5:27pm by Karen Dawson MD
Edited on on Mon May 25th, 2020 @ 5:38pm

Mission: The Milk Run
Location: Newhall's Hikalla Resort, and Train
Timeline: -4 Hours Before Lift-Off

The thing about staying in a beach resort built for people with a lot of money is that you had to dress the part just to be admitted. So while Karen loved the three days of beaches and pool-sides her rented beach house had to offer, she did not like having to dress all shiny just to eat at the fine restaurants and bars of the resort.

That said, her short vacation from the insanity that was Fortune's Echo, was still rather relaxing. She had managed to network with a few local doctors. Trading skills for medical equipment they would normally not trade to her with money.

Civilian doctors of the Alliance, by a majority, were trained to remove tonsils, mend broken bones, fix blown hearts, and deliver babies. A trained army doctor who learned both on the front, and at Ariel's finest medical school was a rare commodity since she was trained to repair something from little-to-nothing and often on-the-fly.

So at the train station, she had a new suction system, a plasma fridge, and new 3D bio-imaging tech ready to be set up in the infirmary. Not to mention she also learned about new illnesses found on Newhall, and how to treat them.

Weird, that half the day she spent on a beach, swimming. And the other half in a medical clinic soaking up information. That was how it worked, though. Network and pimp yourself out so that favors could be exchanged in the medical world.

"Checking out?" Asked the receptionist at the main lobby of the resort.

The golden hall and waiters with wine glasses spelled out finery.

"I am," Karen nodded with a huge grin. She wore a fine navy-blue silk qipao to fit in with the rest of the high-dollar guests. "Have to get back to the joys of real life."

The male receptionist smiled with full understanding, accepted her money, and bid her farewell.

At the train station, she checked the cargo in the waiting hold to make sure everything was there. New surgical tools, plasma (though not a large amount), bandages, and her parents even sent her a fresh load of scrubs with a medical display monitor.

After she changed into a pair of jeans and her matching jacket, she waited and then oversaw her cargo loading before she boarded the train. A two-hour ride, but a some-what lovely one.

Karen rode in second class. So less noisy and more enjoyable. With a cracked window, she could hear, smell, and see the ocean's waves crash against sea stacks and cliff faces. It was sad that most of the people who lived on Newhall were either fishermen or briners.

The landscape was breathtaking. Cruise ships lined a travel port halfway to Brinertown - where Fortune's Echo was docked.

It was the little things she noticed more, about the shipping ports. The little folks heaving luggage onto cruise ships. Dockworkers using mechanical lifts to load heavy cargo containers onto massive cargo ships. There weren't many space ship ports on the planet, so most of their cargo went through seafaring ships, first.

Karen, in many ways did not want to leave the planet when she saw young teens working docks by selling odds and ends. Anything to get by in the glorious Alliance. Once she got back to the ship, she'd have to tell Alden about the poor conditions some of the seaport towns were in.

It seemed the closer her train got to Brinertown, the least appealing the planet was. Smell-wise, strong scents of near-bad fish hit the air. And the town itself smelled of brine - which Karen never liked much. Not even for pickles.

When the train reached its destination Karen was only too glad to get her things and head to the ship. It angered her to see how little the planet's governor cared for the working towns. How very few wealthy people of this planet saw as she did.

Desperation. Poverty, and yet a bit of hope lingered. Karen prayed one day, she'd be able to help those poor kids.

It was then she heard the ATV pull up. When she turned, it was Alden who had come to meet her. She helped him load the medical supplies off the train toot-sweet with very little small-talk. Her vacation was over, and already she felt guilty for living a life most on this planet only dreamed of.