Sem Lockdown, Day 14
It was a colourful day in Alpha Radio Station 1. The Pasqual decorations were in full bloom and the team were in high spirits.
Miles whistled as he worked on his script, Kain was finding more and more alternative ways to exercise, Tristan was productively scrubbing away in the bathrooms and Akira was cooking up a festive meal in the kitchen and putting her own creative touches to it.
Then the buzzer went off.
Given they were meant to be in isolation, this was not a sound anyone in the RSB was used to. Prior to this, the only time they'd heard it was when the technician had arrived after the Sterculian interception.
Everyone came through to the hallway, in a less than orderly fashion. Akira was still brandishing a spatula, Kain was still holding two cannisters he had been using as weights, Tristan was still wearing his cleaning gloves and Miles had run through with his pen nib still set on standby. They stopped and stared at each other for a moment and then turned to look in the direction of the flight of stairs which led down to the door.
"Were we expecting anyone?" Kain asked the Captain.
"Nope."
They edged round the corridor towards the stairs as a unit, momentarily forgetting that they were meant to be distancing themselves from each other. One by one, starting with Miles, they each realised and took a step back.
Tristan separated himself from the group and snuck round the corner and took a glance down to the glass door.
Turning back to his team, he said, "It's the CO."
Oh poop.
There was an aggressively repetitive knocking. The Captain went down to answer it.
"What are we meant to do when we all look like this?" Akira asked, gesticulating with the spatula.
"Fair point," Miles said, twisting the pen nib back inside the pen and tucking it behind his ear, "I think we're best just staying here." The others nodded in agreement.
"Hello! Is anyone in there? Don't keep me waiting," said a gruff voice from outside.
"Good afternoon, Commander," Tristan opened the door and the man stood back, "How are you?"
"What are you wearing, boy?"
Tristan looked down at his arms, "Whoops! Still wearing my cleaning gloves. We weren't exactly expecting you, sir."
"I decided to surprise you all with a visit during my daily exercise. It's been a while since I last checked in, and it would only be right for me to wish you a good Pasqual."
"Erm, sir? Isn't that against the rules of the lockdown?"
"Goodness, boy, I don't intend to come inside! Where are the rest of your crew?"
Tristan glanced upstairs, he could just about see Kain gesturing at him in his peripheral vision. "You know, they're all busy doing work just now."
The other man spotted him, "Kain, I hope you're doing a good job of cleaning up there. You should know better than to try to hide from me, you know."
"I assure you I wasn't doing anything of the sort, sir. I was just..." Akira passed him the spatula, frantically miming with it, "Dusting the wall." He raised only the handle and showed it up for approval.
"I'm not sure dusting should be at the top of your list of priorities right now, Private. Are there not surfaces needing cleaning?"
"You haven't seen the state of this wall, sir. I fear a spot of dusting is long overdue."
"Very well then. While you're here though, I'd like a word."
A look of fear spread to Kain's eyes. Miles and Akira shook their heads in sympathy. "Hold on a second until I put this down please, sir." He got rid of the implement and stood at the top of the stairs. "What's up?"
"I just want to say, your manner in your daily broadcasts is just, well, quite unbelievable."
This raised alarm for both men, who turned to give each other a concerned look. Tristan scratched the back of his head before asking, "In a good way or?"
"Your tone is impeccable, full of clarity and so easy to understand, exactly what the people of Sem need right now. Despite your age and lack of experience, you have absolutely excelled in fulfilling your roles."
"Wow, really?" Kain asked awkwardly, "I thought we were getting a lecture just there."
"Thank you very much, sir. We've been putting a lot of effort in, "Tristan smiled.
"Well, it has certainly paid off. I'll be getting back to my run now, keep up the good work and I shall see you all very soon, once this mess has all blown over. Keep up the good work and wish the others a happy Pasqual from me."
"Shall do. Thank you, sir!"
Miles whistled as he worked on his script, Kain was finding more and more alternative ways to exercise, Tristan was productively scrubbing away in the bathrooms and Akira was cooking up a festive meal in the kitchen and putting her own creative touches to it.
Then the buzzer went off.
Given they were meant to be in isolation, this was not a sound anyone in the RSB was used to. Prior to this, the only time they'd heard it was when the technician had arrived after the Sterculian interception.
Everyone came through to the hallway, in a less than orderly fashion. Akira was still brandishing a spatula, Kain was still holding two cannisters he had been using as weights, Tristan was still wearing his cleaning gloves and Miles had run through with his pen nib still set on standby. They stopped and stared at each other for a moment and then turned to look in the direction of the flight of stairs which led down to the door.
"Were we expecting anyone?" Kain asked the Captain.
"Nope."
They edged round the corridor towards the stairs as a unit, momentarily forgetting that they were meant to be distancing themselves from each other. One by one, starting with Miles, they each realised and took a step back.
Tristan separated himself from the group and snuck round the corner and took a glance down to the glass door.
Turning back to his team, he said, "It's the CO."
Oh poop.
There was an aggressively repetitive knocking. The Captain went down to answer it.
"What are we meant to do when we all look like this?" Akira asked, gesticulating with the spatula.
"Fair point," Miles said, twisting the pen nib back inside the pen and tucking it behind his ear, "I think we're best just staying here." The others nodded in agreement.
"Hello! Is anyone in there? Don't keep me waiting," said a gruff voice from outside.
"Good afternoon, Commander," Tristan opened the door and the man stood back, "How are you?"
"What are you wearing, boy?"
Tristan looked down at his arms, "Whoops! Still wearing my cleaning gloves. We weren't exactly expecting you, sir."
"I decided to surprise you all with a visit during my daily exercise. It's been a while since I last checked in, and it would only be right for me to wish you a good Pasqual."
"Erm, sir? Isn't that against the rules of the lockdown?"
"Goodness, boy, I don't intend to come inside! Where are the rest of your crew?"
Tristan glanced upstairs, he could just about see Kain gesturing at him in his peripheral vision. "You know, they're all busy doing work just now."
The other man spotted him, "Kain, I hope you're doing a good job of cleaning up there. You should know better than to try to hide from me, you know."
"I assure you I wasn't doing anything of the sort, sir. I was just..." Akira passed him the spatula, frantically miming with it, "Dusting the wall." He raised only the handle and showed it up for approval.
"I'm not sure dusting should be at the top of your list of priorities right now, Private. Are there not surfaces needing cleaning?"
"You haven't seen the state of this wall, sir. I fear a spot of dusting is long overdue."
"Very well then. While you're here though, I'd like a word."
A look of fear spread to Kain's eyes. Miles and Akira shook their heads in sympathy. "Hold on a second until I put this down please, sir." He got rid of the implement and stood at the top of the stairs. "What's up?"
"I just want to say, your manner in your daily broadcasts is just, well, quite unbelievable."
This raised alarm for both men, who turned to give each other a concerned look. Tristan scratched the back of his head before asking, "In a good way or?"
"Your tone is impeccable, full of clarity and so easy to understand, exactly what the people of Sem need right now. Despite your age and lack of experience, you have absolutely excelled in fulfilling your roles."
"Wow, really?" Kain asked awkwardly, "I thought we were getting a lecture just there."
"Thank you very much, sir. We've been putting a lot of effort in, "Tristan smiled.
"Well, it has certainly paid off. I'll be getting back to my run now, keep up the good work and I shall see you all very soon, once this mess has all blown over. Keep up the good work and wish the others a happy Pasqual from me."
"Shall do. Thank you, sir!"
******
"Good evening, fellow citizens. I hope you are all doing well. Congratulations are most certainly in order to you for managing to stay in lockdown for a fortnight now. Keep going and stay inside over the course of our celebrations, we will see the other side of this soon.
Speaking of which, I'd like to thank you for the amazing reception we got from last night's special segment, I'm really glad you all enjoyed it. We even had a compliment on our broadcasts from our Commanding Officer today. Thank you very much, sir!
There has been a request for the rest of us to share a story or tradition of our own from the celebration of Pasqual so, Akira, Miles and I would love to share ours with you. While we're here though, let me just remind you all of the origin of the name Pasqual as, despite the festivities being global, we are liable to forget it.
Pasqual was the name of the first spaceship which landed here during our arrival on this planet. It was called after Blaise Pascal, a French philosopher, mathematician and inventor from back on Earth. Trouble was, the name was actually a misspelling, caused by an astronautical mechanic who accidentally painted the wrong name on the side of the ship. There was controversy around the ship's naming in the first place, as it turned out the name was chosen more so for the pun of being called 'Blaise' instead of honouring the memory of the man whom it was named after. The ship fell into disrepute and was not to be used, but there wasn't much choice in the matter once the meteor struck Earth. Hence, our first ancestors used the condemned ship to get here.
Ironically, the ship's landing mechanisms were botched in manufacture and, by the time it finally got here, it actually set ablaze once our ancestors had safely made it outside.
To get back to my own tale though, my family and I live in a suburb around one of the main cities in Simul Santu. When I was growing up, my parents would ask my sister and I to strike up conversations with people and find a new story about our short history every year. When I was seven or eight, I chose the story behind the name of our festival, which I have just told you now.
I shall now pass over to Kain with the current news updates.
******
"Good evening, Planet Sem. Hope you're all doing well.
There isn't too much to report by way of news. However, a military official has taken up argument in a meeting today with regard to issues caused by the Sterculian cheese we now have sitting in our ports. The man in question is suspicious that Sterculians may have tampered with the goods and that this could cause harm to people. He has been criticised by some for potential xenophoia but others say there could be some truth to his claims. I shall report more as this story develops.
That's all from me, I shall now pass over to Miles with the latest crāpulavirus updates.
******
"Thank you, Kain.
There isn't much to report by way of medical advice either, but please do continue to stay indoors. I know that we've been in lockdown for two weeks now and that this is a festive period for us all, but we need to hang in there.
If you wish to communicate with the outside world, get in touch with loved ones from the comfort of your own home or greet a neighbour in passing when doing your daily exercise. Make use of alternative points of contact where you can.
In terms of my own tale of Pasqual, I usually spend it drinking aloofplant tea with my family in Secat. This year we have planned to do our tea-drinking in front of a screen, which I'm sure will be just as enjoyable, if not slightly awkward... Remember to make sure you're actually in range of the microphone, mum. Or get a wireless connection!
Here's Akira with the weather.
******
"Thanks, Miles.
The weather tomorrow will be vastly different tomorrow depending on which part of Sem you're hearing us from.
The North Pole will experience the beginning of a major snowstorm as of the early morning, potentially affecting the North of Secat and the North of Simul Santu in the days to come. This means that there is a 100 percent chance of precipitation in Secat tomorrow, whether by way of snowfall or rainfall. The temperature is also due to drop again by at least 5 degrees centigrade. For those of you still using betareadings, the temperature will be at most 2.5. Simul Santu will be a bit windy tomorrow with a possible chance of rainfall and a temperature of 10 degrees centigrade. Piscanturia will be significantly warmer than elsewhere with sunny weather and a temperature of 20 degrees centigrade. The South and West Poles could see a minimal amount of snowfall tomorrow, but will be otherwise dry.
Lastly, my Pasqual tradition is cooking. My father is a fisherman so, we would normally spend all day cooking up a delicious traditional meal from inasushrimp and rice from the padi fields in the mountains surrounding our village. I hope whatever traditional meals you manage to cook up this year are delicious.
Back to you, Captain."
The North Pole will experience the beginning of a major snowstorm as of the early morning, potentially affecting the North of Secat and the North of Simul Santu in the days to come. This means that there is a 100 percent chance of precipitation in Secat tomorrow, whether by way of snowfall or rainfall. The temperature is also due to drop again by at least 5 degrees centigrade. For those of you still using betareadings, the temperature will be at most 2.5. Simul Santu will be a bit windy tomorrow with a possible chance of rainfall and a temperature of 10 degrees centigrade. Piscanturia will be significantly warmer than elsewhere with sunny weather and a temperature of 20 degrees centigrade. The South and West Poles could see a minimal amount of snowfall tomorrow, but will be otherwise dry.
Lastly, my Pasqual tradition is cooking. My father is a fisherman so, we would normally spend all day cooking up a delicious traditional meal from inasushrimp and rice from the padi fields in the mountains surrounding our village. I hope whatever traditional meals you manage to cook up this year are delicious.
Back to you, Captain."
******
"Thank you, Akira, and thanks to all of you in your continued co-operation in combatting this virus. We will manage it, I assure you.
To play us out tonight, here's a song from me.
Goodnight, fellow citizens."
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