Back in the conference room, Gani began to tell his tale. "Two months ago, my wife Beth learned that my best friend Rick harbors feelings for her. We didn't know that he took it hard; he confronted her, and when she still refused, he hanged himself later that day." He paused for a while to compose himself before continuing with his story. "We thought that was the end of it, but last month it started as sightings and sounds, then it became a full-fledged haunting. Then last week it became more and more physical, until he pushed me off the balcony of my house."
Chris leaned forward. "Did you or this Rick fella ever become a medium or adept in any spiritual abilities?" he asked, wondering if this person was like Saori.
"Not that I know of, he said he played with a Ouija board once or twice as a child, but that's it," Gani answered, his voice confident with his answer
Chris leaned back in his chair with a sigh. Cecilia noticed the skepticism in his eyes. "Is there a problem?" she whispered to him.
"I'm not so sure about what he said, if it is true," He whispered back to her
Cecilia's eyebrow shot up. "What do you mean, you're not sure?"
"A ghost can show itself to a human with no problems, but to touch a corporeal form is near impossible unless the human has supernatural abilities or the ghost itself has supernatural abilities when they were still alive." He whispered, explaining what he knew, "So it means that this Rick person had those abilities when he was alive; otherwise, he would not have the ability to touch a human."
"Should we make similar preparations like what we did with Saori?" She asked, and her nerves started to falter when she remembered how she was possessed.
Chris nodded, "It would be prudent to prepare for something like that."
The briefing has ended, and everyone has returned to their respective stations. Cecilia ran after the archangel, determined to clarify something. "Mister Triple-A, sir? Excuse me"
Triple-A ceased its march to turn and address the young lady, "Yes, my dear? What is it?"
"I would like to ask if I could just sit this one out?" Sheepishly asking the archangel.
Sensing her hesitations and fear, Triple-A answered with a question, "Why is that, dear? Are you worried that you might get possessed again?"
"Well…not just that, sir, I feel like I'm just a nuisance to the captain." Initially explaining, "It feels like I'm just getting in his way…just like last time," Thinking about the event where Chris got hurt because she was possessed. Cecilia nods, then lowers her head.
The archangel smiled at her, "You are not a nuisance and you are not getting in their way," he said, making Cecilia shyly smile. "You are there, my dear, to make sure that the captain is reminded he is human."
Cecilia's eyebrows shot up from the cryptic answer. "What?" she called to Triple-A, "What do you mean by that? Excuse me? Sir?" The archangel vanished into a swirl of mist, without answering her queries.
Preparations for the ritual of soul sealing were made as instructed by Chris. Martinez carried the kamidana, the onusa, and the miko robes. "Come on, be honest…I look ridiculous in this getup, don't I?" Frowning as he donned the Shinto robes under Chris's instructions.
Chief Murillo almost rolled on the deck laughing. Chief Bustamante could only close his eyes to keep himself from bursting into laughter. "You look…dignified," Chris answered
"Thank you, Captain," He smiled, seeing the captain's serious face.
"Chief Bustamante, I left the bridge to the Chief Engineer. You are coming with us." Chris then leaned towards Cecilia, "It's so hard keeping a straight face." This made her giggle.
Cecilia turned around to see the pouting face of Martinez. She stifled her laughter and sauntered after Chris. "I knew it…I look like a dork," he followed the five, shaking his head.
"Captain? We are still in the middle of our voyage. How can we go to the world of the living without the ship docking?" Cecilia wondered
The captain winked at the human but did not reply just yet. He led the other four to the communications room. They entered the room, and Chris explained to Cecilia what it was for. "The name of this place is a misnomer, in cases of emergency, where one needs to be in the mortal realm while the ship is still in the Kasanaan. We can teleport using this room's equipment."
"Can't we teleport using your ability?" She wondered if they could not use the captain's ability.
"That is different, Miss Bermudez," Chief Bustamante interjects. "That ability can only be used if we are in the same realm, mortal realm to mortal realm, or spirit world to spirit world. But it can't be used to cross the veil."
"That is why we have this," Chris continued to explain, gesturing to his group to proceed to a black metallic door at the far side of the room. Cecilia glanced at the operators, the first sitting in front of computer screens flashing, displaying number sequences and graphs. The other with a communication headset over her ears, while turning a big dial on a HAM radio. "Are we clear?" Chris asked the two
The lady with the headset quickly glanced at the computer screen before giving a thumbs-up to Chris. "Aye, Captain, RST reports RS59, and S-meter is at S9+15. We are ready to transmit to your desired location," the communications crew confidently reported.
"Transmit!" Chris ordered, and he opened the black door and closed the door upon entering. One by one, the other three crew members and Gani followed the captain. When it was Cecilia's turn, she was in awe when she opened the metallic door; the room was filled with a blinding white light.
She squints to avoid the glare of the light. "It's okay, miss, don't be scared," The communications crew assured her. With an awkward smile, she entered and closed the door behind her.
When the white light vanished, Cecilia opened her eyes and found herself inside a washroom cubicle. "What the? Why am I here?" She peeks outside, and when the coast is clear, she exits the cubicle and out of the washroom.