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Mark padded his way to the Medical Bay, and saw Sulath as she was heading down the hall to her office. "Sulath," Mark said, catching up to her. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure Mark," Sulath replied, punching in a code on the keypad beside her office door. "Come on in, and talk to me." Mark followed her into her office, and when she gestured to a chair in front of her desk, he sat down. "What's going on? I heard you ran into some trouble down on the planet. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Mark replied, nodded. "I was just wondering if there was actually something that could be done so I don't have to have this stupid thing in my mouth all the time." Sulath laughed.

"First off, that's what she said," she replied, pointing. Mark frowned, and then realized what he said. "Second, yes, there's a procedure that can be dozne, although I don't have the equipment here to do it. You'd have to go to headquarters, and have an appointment with the head surgeon there, Doctor Ursine. Unfortunately, under normal circumstances, it takes anywhere from one to three months to get an appointment for the procedure." Mark frowned, and swore, but Sulath shook her head. "I said under normal circumstances. I happen to have the good doctor on speed dial, and I am also an old friend. Give me a minute, I'll call him. He should still be in."

She picked up the phone, and punched in a six digit extension. A moment later, someone picked up on the other end, and Sulath began to speak. "Barry, hey, it's Su. How are you doing? That's good; yeah, I'm doing good. Hey, I was wondering, can you pencil in an advanced package for me sometime soon? Oh, come on Bear, can't you do it any sooner then that? Yeah, I know I am certified to do it, but I wouldn't feel right not sending them to you; after all, you are the expert." Sulath looked at Mark, and winked. "Tomorrow at 0800? You're the best, Barry; thanks. His file's online, if you want to take a look at it. Thanks, Barry. Yep, I miss you too; my love to the wife and kids. Alright, I'll talk to you later." Sulath smiled, and hung up the phone.

"Everything go okay?" Mark asked.

"Yeah, it went fine," Sulath replied, smiling. "You have an appointment tomorrow at 0800, at HQ's medical center."

"Alright," Mark replied, smiling back. "Just one question. Where do I go?"

"That's a good question," Sulath replied. "I don't like to do the procedure, so I'm sending you to see Doctor Ursine. He's on the fifth floor of the Medical Building, at HQ. I'll have to send someone with you, since you don't know where it is. Hold on a second." Mark nodded, and she picked up the phone once more, punching in an internal extension. Someone answered on the other end, and Sulath began to speak once more. "Joel, can you spare someone to show Mark around HQ tomorrow? He has an appointment, and he doesn't know where anything is. Can he? Alright, I'll tell him. Thanks, Joel." Sulath hung up the phone, and turned back to Mark. "Arath will go with you tomorrow. He has something he has to do at HQ, so he has to go anyway."

"Great," Mark said, standing and clasping his paws together. Sulath also stood, and held out a paw for the wolf to shake. When they had said their goodbyes, Mark walked out, and went to his quarters to get some sleep before he had to leave tomorrow. He lay down on the bed, and wondered once more what he was going to do. He set the alarm on his phone to wake him at 0645, and fell asleep.

When he woke, it was 0700, according to the clock on the wall, and he looked quickly at his phone, only to realize that it didn't operate correctly here, nor was the time the same. It was confusing, knowing that it should be a different time then it was. It made Mark's brain hurt, so he stopped thinking about it, and swung out of bed, realizing he needed to get cleaned up some time soon. He walked out to the common area, and found that he was up earlier then most everyone else. Joel wasn't even out yet. Arath was awake, and waiting for him.

"Hey," the dragon said, when Mark walked over to the table.

"Hey," the wolf answered, sitting down across from him.

"You should probably avoid eating anything," Arath replied. "You're not required to, but it's probably a good idea."

"Alright," Mark replied, nodding. "So what do you have to go to HQ for?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," Arath replied.

"That's cool," Mark said, holding his paws up, "if you don't want to talk about it, it's alright."

"So, are you ready to go?" Arath replied.

"Yeah, I guess," Mark replied, standing

"We're required to teleport onto the designated pads there, so we have to depart from ours here, or we'll get in trouble," the dragon explained, as he walked down the hall to the pad. He and Mark both stood on the same pad, and, at Arath's instructions, Mark pushed the button on his wristband, and thought of the word Headquarters. That abnormal feeling of being yanked through space hit Mark once more, making him nervous. He landed on a pad ten seconds later, and Arath was still beside him. "Good, you made it," Arath replied. "Alright, let's go." the dragon quickly moved off the pad, and motioned for Mark to do the same. The reason for the brevity was apparent a moment later, when another group of people materialized on the pad, just after Mark stepped off. The wolf followed his escort, who walked down a hall, and up to a door, which had a large sign on it, stating, "AIRLOCK: BREATHING APPARATUS REQUIRED PAST THIS POINT" Mark checked to make sure he had his in, and when he found he realized he did, he followed Arath through the door.

The dragon pushed the open button for the outer door, and the inner door automatically closed, before the outer door opened, and allowed in a flood of sunlight. Mark's eyes adjusted to the bright light, as Arath walked out onto the stone walkway. Mark was shocked at how large everything was. He walked far enough away from the building they were in to get a good look around, and found they were in a large open courtyard, complete with picnic tables, and benches, scattered around the various trees, plants, and water features. It was an impressive sight, indeed.

Arath led Mark across the courtyard, to a five story building that dwarfed the one they were in before. They walked in, past a receptionist, and into a waiting glass elevator. Arath was closer to the button, so he pushed the number five, and Mark held on to the rail as the elevator lurched upward rapidly. When it stopped, the glass doors opened, and the pair stepped off, as a voice rang out, "floor five, outpatient medical facilities." Outside of the elevator, Arath turned a right, and led the way to a section of the building with a sign overhead that read, "Outpatient Surgical Services".

"Here's your stop," Arath told the wolf. "Go in, and check in at one of the desks. I'll be back to get you when you're done."

"Alright," Mark said, walking through the thick set of double doors.