Spears of Uu'kata

Chapter 48 - Thank You, For Your Service

Emiko arrived late.

Vasquez had brought her favorite noodles, but they were cold. He sat at her small table, leg bouncing for hours in anticipation until she finally walked through the door.

Then he was on his feet, watching her expectantly as she trudged toward him.

He expected her to take the seat across from him. Instead, she sat in his lap and curled up against him, pressing her face between his neck and shoulder.

Vasquez held her in silence. He tried to take comfort in the closeness, but she'd never done this before. Never come to him for physical comfort. As much as he cared for her, this should have made him happy.

It didn't. It scared him, twisted him with dread. But he said nothing and waited while the air purifiers hummed overhead.

"Six days," she finally whispered.

"What?" he asked softly.

"The experiments will be rudimentary and non-invasive for six days," she said.

"What happens on the seventh day?" Vasquez asked.

"The Brenton finally arrives, and the tests will become invasive."

"What... What does that mean, Emiko?" Vasquez asked though he thought he knew.

"He's going to take her apart, Xo. And General Reicher has approved all of it."

Vasquez leaned back and looked down into her face. She didn't meet his eyes.

Shaking her head, she said, "I-I don't know how to stop it."

With a grimace, Vasquez clenched his teeth and shook his head.

"I'm not gonna let him do to her what he's done to his other test subjects. I will blow holes through that ship and this station to save her life if that's what it takes," he vehemently said.

Emiko finally looked up at him. She reached up a hand and cupped his cheek, her fingers soft and warm.

"How have you managed to keep your soul?" she asked. "The binding drugs take at least thirty days to wear off, you've fought battle after battle, and yet you still... how do you do it?"

"I remember the moments in between the drugs. The moments of passion and laughter, even the sadness. I may not feel those things all the time, but I remember them," Vasquez said. "Also, the binding drugs bind differently to a body with long-term Ossium Metallum enhancement. I'm an Earthling, Emiko."

He shrugged. "Do you know how many times Charlotte saved my life?" he asked.

Emiko shook her head.

"Fourteen times," he said. "You see, I'm the kind of dumbass who rushes in headfirst without looking where I'm going. As such, I take the brunt of attacks. I always think that I'm doing it for the team, but she always came to my rescue. I've seen that woman take an Uu'k'asht axe to the chest to keep me from being split in two. I've seen her beaten within an inch of her life to hold the line so the rest of us could get out."

Vasquez took a breath. "This time, I'm gonna save her."

"We're going to save her," Emiko corrected.

Vasquez smiled down at her. "That's right," he said. "We."

Then he kissed her soft lips and let himself get lost in the smell of her hair and the feel of her in his arms.

***

Ahnekk had been on a space fairing ship before and had decided then that it wasn't for him. He didn't like the way it made his body feel. On land, he knew the limits and weaknesses of his body. But in space, every step he took launched him into the ceiling.