Let it breathe, let it breathe, let it breathe for the space cadets

Emergency Academy Control operating

The lights in the academy turned off section by section with a few night lights remaining in the campus. Smith was in a small temporary room covered by five layers of blankets turning to his side as the light in the room went out as did several other rooms. For the first time in seven hours, the halls were empty except for several large rooms in the campus holding on to several thousands of people. For the first time since the attack launched by Dragos, there was peace that swept through the asteroid. The campus was almost silent if not for the snores that disturbed other civilians enough that they tuned it out.

Professor Cocupine was sound asleep in her quarters, now cramped by freshmen in sleeping bags. Privacy was a non-existing thing for people used to spacious rooms now invaded by other people. Teams blue, red, and yellow were sound asleep. Some of the civilians were visibly having nightmares with beads of sweat coming down their skin while tossing and turning compared to the well sleeping ones. Sunseed observed the solar domes, more aptly called the biodomes, one by one taking a stroll making sure that the plant life were in good condition for being planted and harvested then replanted. Sunseed's quarters were taken up by cadets. He decided to sleep in the emergency academy control with Fracture. It felt unnatural for Sunseed to be wide awake when everyone wasn't. They were more used to stress and sleeping under it as most of them had attended the academy during their youth. Sunseed, however, hadn't.

Sunseed had Fracture's cage in one hand that was covered by a small blanket.

He came to the emergency academy control then slid Fracture into the cage.

"Professor Sunseed, what brings you here?" Tee Gar asked.

Sunseed looked up.

"Ah, Doctor Soom," Sunseed said. "I didn't realize that you volunteered to stay awake."

"I didn't volunteer," Tee Gar said. "Professor Parsafoot's starfire is likely to crash land at some time."

"Maybe not today, kiddo," Sunseed said. "If it were to crash land sometime this hour, I will come over and wake you up myself."

Tee Gar nodded, smiling appreciatively.

"Professor Allen volunteered to stay up," Tee Gar said. "I told him that it should be my shift first. . . I am in charge of every person assigned to this campus. Professor Parsafoot is one of those people and every minute counts when it comes to crash landing a starfire. I know where every cadet nurse is sleeping on this campus. You don't." he gestured toward Sunseed. "Professor Parsafoot has a chance of crash landing earlier than anyone expects and unprepared medical staff getting to the scene too late lead by a doctor who is barely awake."

"Unlike you?" Sunseed asked. "You seem really tired."

"I do," Tee Gar asked. "Do I?"

"Awake to me," Sunseed noticed the man's baggy eyes. "You don't want to lose another patient."

"Three people have died because of Dragos," Tee Gar said. "On this campus." he sighed. "That has never happened before." he looked down toward the panels lowering his gaze down closing his eyes then reopened them gazing up toward the view screen. "I can stop from this potential patient from dying."

Sunseed paused, thoughtfully, before replying.

"But cadets dying of science phenomenons has happened," Sunseed said. "And weird accidents with machines."

"Yeah," Tee Gar said. "I want to be prepared for this," his voice then became full of amusement from Sunseed's last comment. "This is something that I can be prepared."

"And not getting some rest is prepared?" Sunseed asked, raising a brow.

"Prepared rest, sqauwk!" Fracture waved his wings. "Rest!"

"I will happily hand it over to the other medical staff when they are awake," Tee Gar said.

"Crash landing and just being thrown out without getting fatally hurt," Sunseed said. "He could be fine and make his way to the academy."

"And be lost," Tee Gar said. "Which makes my point."

"Point is, Doctor Soom?" Sunseed asked. "Not to let Professor Percyfoot think that he is alone?"

"I have to stay up for that emergency signal," Tee Gar said. "Someone has to wait for him."

"That is kind of you," Sunseed said. "Would it bother you if I slept here? There's not many rooms available for me to sleep in."

"Go on right ahead," Tee Gar said, nodding. "I like to have some company."

Sunseed dropped the sleeping bag along the side of the room then took out the pillow, crawled into the sleeping bag, and fell asleep against the wall alongside the cage.