Here Comes Earth: Emergence by William Lee Gordon Page B

bubbling just below the surface of my consciousness. It took me
a few moments to place it but I finally realized it was a bone-deep fear. I
wasn’t in any way, shape, or form even remotely in control of my destiny and
that thought scared the shit out of me. I was suddenly very cold and only in my
innermost thoughts would I ever admit that panic was a tempting mistress.
     
    I
later learned it was called culture shock and I had never in my life
experienced feelings like that. I really think the thing that pulled me through
was the realization that if I was having this much trouble, with all the
training I’d had, my team might need me now more than ever.
     
    I
made the rounds until late in the evening. I talked to everyone in my platoon
that would talk. Some, including a surprising number of my hardened military
specialists, were taking it hard. They’d get over it but I‘m glad I’d made it a
point to check in with them. Others were less affected; the Ito twins were
inscrutable, and Dr. Mom was her normal cheery self and seemed an unvoiced ally
in my attempts to make everyone feel secure. Most of the scientists fell
somewhere in the middle of the two extremes and I finally got a glimpse perhaps
of why General Nesbit thought so highly of my second in command, Captain
Antonio Silva. With a slight build and a skinny frame he’d never be mistaken for
one of my Special Forces but that night he put his team first and was making
the rounds without any instruction from me.
     
    The
person that surprised me the most though, was Dr. Julie Schein.

Chapter 17
     
    Dr. Julie Schein
     
    Julie
had taken a seat in the common living area or hub of their squad and laid her
head back – it was still early evening and she was so tired. All she wanted to
do was sleep but how could anyone sleep with everything that was going on? They
were in space!
     
    What
a weird, long, incredible day! Their shipboard accommodations were unreal and
the look on Anzio’s face when Suzi, their Noridian escort, had demonstrated the
shower – it was priceless. Of course Mark had been wearing a silly grin ever
since. It was ironic that out of a group of scientists it was Captain Hiromi
who had asked all the questions.
     
    For
a moment Julie seriously wondered if she’d been drugged.  It wasn’t normal for
her to be fatigued like this, and then she started noticing the other people
around her…
     
    Dr.
Tony Decker was sitting on another sofa-like chair, leaning forward with his
head in his hands massaging his temples. On the outer edge of the area close to
one of the hallways the Ito sisters stood quietly conferring with each other. Kamiko’s
arm was on the shoulder of a third woman from her Blue Squad (Jennie?) and it
was obvious that the scientist had been crying. Across the squad hub you could stare
straight into the conference room (apparently the wall could be made
transparent) and see Anzio leaning back in a chair with his eyes closed. The
only way you’d know he wasn’t asleep was the slow movement of the chair
swiveling from side to side.
     
    “How
are you feeling Julie?” the voice of Dr. Mom interrupted her thoughts.
     
    “Toni,
(yawn) I didn’t hear you sit down. I’m just a little tired. Why do you ask?”
     
    “Oh,
I’m just thinking with all the stress everyone’s been under that it’s amazing
there isn’t more anxiety or depression to deal with; my husband died of a
stroke and everyone was convinced it was because of stress. And while I’m sure
the Noridian’s didn’t mean to do it right at the point when everyone is most
stressed about leaving home and what we might find, they bring us into this
magical environment. I feel kind of like an ant in the food court of a tap
dance studio,” said a smiling Dr. Mom.
     
    “That’s
actually a great analogy,” Julie responded thoughtfully.
     
    “Tell
me Julie, as a Psychiatrist, if the pressure were to start getting the better
of me what symptoms should I look out