After Topaz left for her meeting, Kiana decided to look around the ship. Compared to the Hyperion, this place was definitely smaller. But for a personal ship, she couldn't exactly call it small either. Everywhere she turned, she found tiny creatures lying around, playing, sleeping, or munching on something. And despite all of that, there was still plenty of space for her to walk without kicking anything by accident.
Numby walked ahead of her like a guide showing off its home. From what she had seen so far, the ship had fifteen rooms, including the one she had stayed in. There was a surprisingly spacious lounge with a large leather sofa, a wide window, and a small fridge. Perfect for chilling and admiring the stars drifting past.
Around what felt like lunchtime, Kiana noticed people suddenly pouring out of several rooms, all of them walking in perfectly synchronized lines straight to the cafeteria. Thirty minutes later, they marched back into the rooms they came from with the same robotic precision.
Curious, Kiana stopped one of them.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
"Ahhh! Don't talk to me! Do you want to reimburse my paycheck if they cut it!?" the worker yelped before darting back inside.
"S-sorry!" Kiana flinched, startled by the dramatic reaction. She really hadn't expected everyone passing by to be such extreme workaholics.
Seeing this, Numby shook its head and nudged her forward with its snout.
"Okay, okay. I'll go," Kiana muttered, walking again as Numby refused to give her time to think and instead continued leading the way.
"So, where do you want to bring me next?" Kiana asked. With no one else willing to talk to her, and expecting the same reaction as before if she tried. Numby was her only company.
Numby only glanced back at her, gave a small squeak, and suddenly took off running.
"Hey, wait!" Kiana ran after it, even though she had no idea why Numby bolted like that.
"What's wrong, Numby?" she called out, trying to get some kind of explanation. "Are you in the mood for playing?" she joked breathlessly.
Numby shook its head hard while still sprinting. The way it looked. Tense, almost frightened, made Kiana's body tighten in response. Something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong.
Numby slipped through a door fitted with a small pet flap, disappearing inside and leaving Kiana standing outside alone.
"Numby!?" Kiana banged on the door, anxiety spiking at the creature's sudden panic.
She kept pounding, ready to kick the door down if she had to. Suddenly, it slid open, and Topaz stood there, catching her at the perfect moment.
Realizing the door in front of her probably belonged to Topaz's room, Kiana scratched her head awkwardly, suddenly embarrassed for interrupting her and banging like a maniac.
"Sorry, I thought it was an empty room…and I got worried about Numby," she said, trying to explain herself.
Instead of getting angry, Topaz simply smiled.
"It's okay. Thank you for playing with them."
"No, no, I didn't do anything. Numby was the one walking me around the ship, so I should be the one thanking you. But then it suddenly ran off, so I got worried. Is it okay?" Kiana asked, wondering if maybe Numby had a stomachache from stealing some of her lunch earlier.
"Ah, that…"
Before Topaz could continue, a calm voice echoed through the speakers.
"We will land momentarily. Please take your seat."
"There you go. That's why Numby started running." Topaz let out a small laugh. "They're easily scared creatures. Whenever it's time for takeoff or landing, they always dash back to their bed, or to me." Her smile softened as she pictured it squeaking and trembling. "Why don't you come in first? It's dangerous to stand right now." She stepped aside and gestured for Kiana to enter her office.
"But weren't you in a meeting earlier?"
"It's fine. The meeting already ended. I'm just talking with my…friend?" Topaz paused, unsure how to label the person on the other side of the call. "Anyway, we're almost done. Just sit quietly and wait until we land."
"Okay then…" Kiana obeyed, stepping inside and settling onto the luxurious sofa across from Topaz's desk, while Topaz returned to her call.
Left to herself, Kiana looked around Topaz's office. Right beside the desk was Numby's small bed, perfectly placed like a tiny personal nook. Three tall bookcases lined the wall, filled with books that looked more for decoration than actual reading. Beside the sofa was a wide window, just like the one in the lounge. Showing the endless scenery outside.
Seeing it, Kiana couldn't help but think, 'Topaz seems to really like looking at space. With how big her windows are… maybe it's one of her hobbies?'
A polished coffee table sat in front of her, and to the right, she noticed a door that was probably Topaz's bedroom.
Not long after that, Kiana nearly jumped when Topaz suddenly spoke to her.
"I forgot to ask you this before. But what's your plan right now?"
"I… don't know," Kiana admitted. She had forgotten to think that far ahead, too mesmerized by Topaz's ship and the shockingly workaholic subordinates who walked around like robots.
"If you want," Topaz began, her tone slipping into something suspiciously similar to a practiced sales pitch, "you can join me temporarily as my subordinate until you find your way back. If you decide to join, you can keep using the bedroom you stayed in earlier, eat in the cafeteria, live aboard this ship…and you will be paid. The rates are good. I can assure you of that. And if you want, I can help you search for your planet too."
"You would do that!?" Kiana blurted out, eyes wide. The offer sounded almost too good. She didn't need much time to think. After spending time here, she didn't believe Topaz was a bad person, and she definitely needed a lead to find her way home. It felt like a huge win.
"Yes," Topaz confirmed, "but I need to test you first. It's nothing major. I just want you to help me with an event I'm planning."
She immediately launched into a detailed explanation, too detailed. Kiana tried her best to keep up, but Topaz's words began to sound like the same overwhelming formulas she used to hear in class. Except this time, she couldn't whine, and Mei wasn't here to save her. She couldn't afford to look incompetent or give a bad impression that might make Topaz take back her offer.
So Kiana kept quiet, listened as hard as she could, and tried to summarize everything in her head, hoping she understood at least the important parts.
After Topaz finally finished explaining the purpose of the event and every step she intended to take, Kiana repeated it back slowly, trying to make sure she wasn't misunderstanding.
"So…basically, you want me to supervise everything as your right-hand man while you're busy in meetings?" she asked, hoping she got it right.
"Yes. Exactly." Topaz nodded. "Here is the list of tasks that need to be handled."
She handed Kiana a clipboard.
Kiana took one look at the very thick list… and internally screamed. 'Isn't this way too hard for my first job!?'
"Don't feel pressured," Topaz said gently, almost as if she could hear the panicked cries inside Kiana's head. "Just do what you can. I'll help you as soon as I'm done with the boring parts."
"I-I'll do my best…" Kiana said, forcing a smile even though her hands were already trembling around the clipboard.