Neutral Space(4)

I lay in bed that night lost in thoughts of her. I’d hoped I was over all this. I found myself on Micea again as I closed my eyes. The cool lake breeze blew through the trees as I stared at the foreign stars. The woman sat up with a jolt and said something in Kelsairan. Then, she passed out from the pain. I rearranged the sleeping bag around her before trying to catch a nap in my chair. When I woke again, it was morning, and the fire was nearly out. I built it up and dug out my translator. She woke again as I made another pot of coffee. “Who are you? What am I doing here?” she demanded.

“My friends call me Jeep. You crash-landed, and I pulled you out.” She sat up and fell back in pain. “Lay still I have your med kit, but I can’t read Kelsairan I didn’t know what to give you.” I brought the pack over and showed it to her. She pulled out a syringe and administered a dose of painkiller. She sighed appreciatively before putting it away.

“Why would you save me?”

“Honestly, I thought you were human. Why were you in a human ship?”

“It’s a hobby of mine, to fix old crafts whether human or Kelsairan. Obviously, I’m not as good an engineer as I thought.”

I couldn’t help smiling. “What’s your name?”

“Kheda,”

“Kidda,” I repeated, and she laughed.

“Kidj-ya,” she said more slowly, and I got it right then.

“So what brings you here?”

“Vacation.” She looked around. “You, too, I suppose.” She sighed and sat up a little. Then, she finally looked at her clothes; my clothes, to be exact. “What is this, what am I wearing? Did you do this?”

“Sorry, you were wounded, I had no choice really.” She looked in her shirt and down her legs until she noticed the bandage. I tossed her the shrapnel “I dug that out of your leg last night.”

“You didn’t… do anything did you?” She was angry and fought to get up.

“No, despite what your government tells you, we humans aren’t animals.”

“No, but you are a man.”

I folded my arms over my chest as I stared down at her. “Not all men are animals, either.” She smiled then more at ease. “Come on, you can have my chair for a while.” I offered her my arm for support, and she got to her feet. The pain meds were in full effect, and she managed to hobble to my chair. She watched as I heated some of the rations I’d brought in case fishing was bad. She took the bowl of oatmeal questioningly. “It’s good for you,” I took a bite.

After a few bites, she looked at me. “You’re military, aren’t you?”

“I am.”

“Then Jeep isn’t your real name.”

“No.” I continued to eat. She was worried then, and I should have guessed why sooner. I thought she was the pampered daughter of some official though. I finished my breakfast rather quickly knowing I needed to rest. “I was up most of the night. I need sleep. Will you be all right for a few hours?”

“You trust me?”

“Is there a reason I shouldn’t?” She shook her head. I retrieved my sleeping bag and headed for my tent “Oh and Kheda, I sleep with a gun under my pillow.” It wasn’t just her. I trusted no one and was always ready for a fight.

She was still in my chair when I woke hours later. She was meditating, and I didn’t want to disturb her, so I went to the lake to fish. When I came back, she seemed surprised that I’d caught anything. “What’s that?”

“Lunch.” I showed them to her.

“You eat those?” She wrinkled her nose.

“Of course.”

“But they’re gross.” She waved her hand at the smell.

“Sorry, but I don’t have enough rations; this will have to do.” She nodded then still skeptical. At least she was willing to give it a try. “I’ve been thinking, being down a ship poses a problem. My ship is short range only, my unit is supposed to pick me up in a week. I don’t think they’ll be happy if I bring a Kelsairan on board. But, I can’t leave you here. I could take you to a commercial vessel but not dressed like that. Perhaps I could deliver a message to your family, and they could come get you.”

“There’s no one.”

“What do you mean, no one?”

“Are you dumb? I have no family.”

Ok, that was a sensitive subject, but I still had no idea how to get her off the planet. We didn’t talk the rest of the afternoon. She’d found a book in her medkit and left me in peace. At least I was enjoying part of my vacation. Or was I? I couldn’t help but think about her.

We still had plenty of fish for dinner. I began to heat them over the fire as she spoke: “I’m sorry. You didn’t know, and I shouldn’t have yelled at you.” I nodded not knowing what to say. “What about you? Do you have a family?”

I sat down on a log. “My parents are farmers on Sirus Seven. I have a sister, but my kid brother was killed in the war last year.”

“Sorry.” She looked away.

“I told him not to join the army, but he didn’t believe me when I said it wasn’t as glorious as the government said it was.” I threw a stick in the fire distracting myself. I never liked talking about Seth. “My sister Sarah has twin boys, and I’m hoping to keep them as far away from this as I can.”