Sigma/Star

Chapter 27: Grimsley's Adventures

It turned out that Grimsley was not going to be psychologically screened by the young man who led him down to the medical ward. In fact, as soon as Grimsley arrived outside the door his escort bowed at him then hurried away down the hall in the same rush he had been in when he had first come up to Grimsley. That left the soldier from the country alone at the door to a room marked "PSYCHOLOGY."

He went to knock but the door slid open automatically as soon as he got close to it and he chose to awkwardly step inside. The room was rather large and was mostly being consumed by a medical table for someone to lie on and a large machine hanging from the ceiling above it, with multiple mechanical arms and screens dangling down. Other than that centerpiece, there was a small metal desk to the left that was nearly pressed up against the wall, with twin bookshelves adorning it.

There was also a small chair beside the desk and bookshelves for a patient to sit in but Grimsley's eyes never got that far. They were glued to the person sitting behind the desk in a cushioned chair. A female person.

She had long, blonde hair that fell down to her shoulders and curled towards the bottoms, framing a thin face inlaid with icy-blue eyes and a pert little nose. Her lips were a light pink and were a thin line drawn across her face. It all came together to form the second most beautiful female face Grimsley had ever looked upon (in a tie with Raven's. The first spot was reserved permanently for Miss Easley of last year who went on to win Miss Enia later).

Unknown to Grimsley, this blonde bombshell was actually a native woman from the northern lands whose family had immigrated all the way down to Narrius when she was a little girl, and so she blended in with the average citizen, other than her remarkable looks, something common to many tribal folks. Ochenkov had been quite a handsome man in his prime years but had always been on the large side.

Grimsley read the nameplate sitting on her desk: Dr. Alice Kostinev. She looked up at him once the door shut behind him with a serious look to her face. Regardless of her beauty, it was all business with her, all the time. Without introduction or words she motioned for Grimsley to sit and he obediently followed, entranced by her looks.

"Mr. Aeroth-"

"Grimsley. You can call me Grimsley. Nobody ever calls me mister anything." He gave her a goofy smile as he sat on the edge of the medical table and bent his neck so that he was avoiding the machinery overhead.

"Right, Grimsley then." Her voice sent a cool tingle through his body. It sounded like the jingle of crystal icicles ringing against each other as wind rustled through them. Or at least that was how Grimsley imagined it would be since he had never been in that kind of situation; Easley never got cold enough for snow. "I need you to undergo a psychological screening to check if your brain is functioning at a normal capacity and-" She paused and looked up from the folder she was examining, which contained Grimsley's record. "Mr. Aeroth, it is not necessary for you to be naked for the machine to work."

"Oh." Grimsley's face went red. He was down to his underpants as she had said that, just finishing pulling his pants off. "I thought it was like a medical examination-type of thing."

Dr. Kostinev rolled her eyes at yet another patient stripping in front of her. At least this one seemed sincere and naive about it. Most of them were doing it as part of an excuse to get naked and show off their military bodies to impress her. "Yes it is a medical exam but I'm only going to be looking inside your head. Just put your clothes on, lay back, and this will be over in just a few minutes."

Thoroughly embarrassed, Grimsley hurriedly did everything he was asked and was soon staring up at numerous blank screens that returned his gaze with the cold capacity of a machine. Alice pushed a few different buttons at her desk and began fiddling with them as the device started. Grimsley's vision became filled with bright lights flashing by in an array of fantastical colours and he started to feel his consciousness ebb away into the swirl of rainbows.