Neutral Space(6)

“Damn, why didn’t you tell me?” My heart started to race as my adrenaline kicked in.

“Would it have made a difference?” She softened slightly

I raised my gun ready to shoot but I couldn’t. She could have left me there. She could have taken my ship and let whatever those things were, eat me. “No,” I said finally defeated. I put my gun away and picked her up. She showed me the way inside then led me to rooms that she looked to have used before. I set her down on a cot and went back for our med packs. I found her wearing only my shirt and her underwear when I returned to her room. She was tearing my shorts into a bandage. Somehow she couldn’t have looked more beautiful than she did at that moment.

“You can’t seem to keep your clothes on around me.”

“Bring that here.” She ignored my comment. I handed her the bag, and she dug around in it for something. She pulled out what looked like a small gun and handed it to me. Then she gave herself a dose of pain meds. “Use it on me.”

“What is it?”

“It will bind the flesh.”

“Why didn’t we do this before?” I was confused.

“Because it was healing on its own.” She retorted, then cringed. “and it hurts like hell. Please, I can’t see it to do it right. Put the tip in the wound and pull the trigger start at the deepest point and work your way up moving back and forth. Even with the painkiller, I’ll probably pass out. Just don’t stop. All right?” I nodded then got up to find more lamps. The base still had power at least in this corner.

I still hear her screams sometimes when I’m sleeping. It’s no different now, even the hammering of metal on rock can’t drown them out. She passed out thankfully after only a few minutes. I wanted a cold beer then, more than I ever had in my life. The flesh was swollen and irritated, so I used what used to be my shorts as a bandage and pulled the cover over her. I found a cot a few doors down and went back to sleep with my gun clutched to my chest. I woke the next morning to a steaming bowl of stew. Kheda managed to get a food replicator working and wobbled in with it proudly. She was freshly bathed and dressed in a tan t-shirt and pants. Her blonde hair was slicked back and somewhere she’d scrounged up perfume. She smiled knowingly. “I keep a few supplies here in case of trouble. My refuge if you will.”

“That’s why the base has power?” she nodded. “How’s the leg?”

“It will be as good as new soon enough.” She moved to leave. “Thank you, Jeep. That’s twice you could have done something, and I would have been helpless to stop you.”

She left before I could say her thanks was not needed or anything else. After breakfast, I went to the lake to wash up myself. She’d scrounged up clothes for me, and a bar of soap then disappeared. As I stepped into the lake, though, I could feel her watching me. She came out of the base when I was on the beach with my pants on. “Do you think you could catch some fish for lunch?”

“I thought you said they were gross.” She shrugged. I pulled on my shirt and saw her watching me. Huh, wasn’t that interesting. She sat by me as I dropped my line in the water. Luckily I kept my pole in my ship.

“What happened to your family, Kheda?”

“I renounced them when I joined the army.”

“Why would you do that?”

“All of us do. We fight for our families, but they cannot be held accountable for our actions in war.”

“Held accountable by whom?”

“Our god.”

I was astounded but didn’t dare question her belief system. I’m sure mine would seem just as crazy to her. “Is that why there is no man in your life?”

“Women in service to their people are not allowed to marry. It is too hard to face the enemy if you are worried who will care for your children.” She told me.

“Isn’t it the same for the men though?”

“Women raise the children on Kelsair.”

“Why did you join then?” I was confused. Why would any woman want to join their army?

“To save my brother. On Kelsair, one child from every house must serve their people. My brother was a gentle soul a singer and poet. This life was not meant for him.” She shrugged.

“Why do you speak of him in the past tense?”

“He is dead to me.”

“But he’s still alive?”

“A very successful singer. Somehow I inherited everything he did not. Tell me about you humans. You said you simply had no time. Could you marry if you wanted?”

“Of course I could. As a matter of fact, many of the men and women in the army are married. They travel from base to base with their spouse, so they’re never far apart. It certainly makes the transport vessels less lonely.”

“There are civilians on transport vessels? Why would you do that?”

“To transport people.” I was confused. I knew the Kelsairans attacked transports, but it seemed they didn’t know the truth in what they were doing. “You didn’t know, did you?”

“No, you must stop your people from doing that.”

“They don’t do it often, but sometimes they have to. Try scanning for civilians next time.” My line caught then, and she helped me reel in lunch.

“It’s my fault.” I gasped.