He looked at K again, trying to concentrate on something else—anything other than his worry. In repose her delicate features looked relaxed and at peace, unlike the stern expression she always seemed to wear while she was awake. She was quite tall for a little, though her height seemed strange considering her underdeveloped body. “Like a little girl who somehow grew to massive proportions”, Loki had said and Boone tended to agree although not with the massive part. Despite her lean adult-sized frame without an ounce of fat on it, K looked like she had never even gone through puberty. Her chest was completely flat and her hips were narrow and boyish.
Boone was actually glad for his prisoner’s asexual appearance. If she hadn’t looked like a little girl he might have embarrassed himself last night when he held her close. But everything about her seemed to scream, Don’t touch. It made it much easier to be lying next to a naked woman, especially considering it had been eighteen solar months since his last relationship.
K stirred against him, making a soft, kittenish sound in her sleep. Her skin was pale, contrasting vividly with her hair which was long and black and braided into a thick cable at the back of her head. Wisps of it were escaping to frame her face and neck with tiny, delicate curls. Boone resisted the sudden urge to stroke them away from her cheek, knowing his touch wasn’t wanted. Besides, this girl was the enemy—a trained killer, not a tame kitten, no matter how harmless and peaceful she looked while she was asleep. You’d do best to remember that, he told himself firmly. She wants you dead, as dead as Krill and Chall.
The memory of the two dead crewmembers, both of whom had flown with himself and Loki before on different research missions, was sobering. Boone still felt guilty for asking them to help but he’d had no other choice. The government of Colossus had a strict no-contact policy with the Purists. Even during the Pan Wars they had refused to get involved, a grave mistake in Boone’s opinion.
Now that Pan was subjugated, the Purists seemed to be turning their attention toward Eros. Who was to say that Colossus wouldn’t be next? There was no reasoning with insanity, no arguing with fanaticism. But his home world continued blithely on, trusting in their superior physical size and strength to keep them safe. Though as Loki often pointed out, “Nobody can see how big your dick is from the outside of your spaceship so you better fly right.” Whatever that meant.
Enough interstellar politics. Time for breakfast. And since it was his turn to cook, he’d better get going. Gently, Boone dislodged the sleeping girl from his arm and sat up. K sighed and snuggled into the warm spot he’d left in the covers, looking even more innocent and harmless.
He wanted a quick shower but he hesitated to leave her. Suppose she was faking? She was a soldier, shouldn’t she be instantly alert to any change in her environment? Then again, maybe she was getting the first good night’s sleep she’d had since she put on that damn suit. Her body probably needed the rest after the constant barrage of drugs, hormones, and emotion-dampers it had been pumping into her continuously for years.
Boone remembered the neat rows of white needle tracks that ran up the inside of both her forearms. He’d seen them when he’d first cut the black webbing off her and hadn’t understood their origin until he’d almost stabbed himself with one of the suit’s hollow spikes. The thing had dripped its witch’s brew of chemicals like venom, obviously still trying to inject even when its victim was gone.
A shiver of disgust went over him as he pictured the thick whitish droplets oozing from the pitch black mesh. K seemed to think she had a symbiotic relationship with the suit she craved so badly but to Boone the damn thing was nothing but a parasite.
He looked down at K again, her face smooth and peaceful in sleep. She’d put the suit on when she was nine cycles old and though it was difficult to place her age, Boone put her somewhere in her mid twenties now. How had she lived so long in that thing? It was amazing she wasn’t in severe withdrawal right now. The very fact that she wasn’t worried him. Made him wonder if a bad reaction was coming somewhere down the line. He had a feeling that it was going to take quite awhile for all the meds to be flushed out of her system and that K would be dealing the side effects of her forced addiction for some time to come.
Deciding to let her sleep, Boone headed toward the small fresher at the far end of his quarters. Even if she woke up before he was done there wasn’t much K could do. The door was voice-locked to him and he’d been careful about removing anything that could be used as a weapon. The suit was hidden in a stasis tube at the far end of the ship where she would never find it. He would get her up when he was done and let her take a quick rinse herself. In the meantime, he had to hurry before the rest of the crew got up and started bitching about breakfast being late.
* * * * *
“Rise and shine, darlin’. It’s our turn for kitchen duty and we’ve got a hungry crew to feed.”
The strange words held no meaning for her but they penetrated K’s consciousness anyway. Where am I? She opened one eye groggily, peering at the unfamiliar surroundings. Why hadn’t her skinsuit woken her? Usually the sharp pain of needles digging into her arms was her wake-up call, followed by an instant jolt of adrenaline. It was strange to be awake and yet not feel instantly alert, to be caught in the foggy half-dream state she found herself in.
“K? You up?” That voice again…Boone!
Everything came back in a rush. K sat bolt upright, immediately on the defensive but he was just standing there, towering over her in that annoying way of his. Why does he have to be so tall? she thought, scrambling to her feet. Back home on Athena she was one of the tallest people she knew and her height gave her a distinct advantage, especially when it came to commanding troops. But she got no advantage with Boone—the top of her head barely came up to the giant’s shoulder, making her feel short for the first time in her life.
“What do you want?” she demanded, putting her hands on her hips and wishing for the hundredth time that she had her suit. Boone was dressed in the same tight black flight pants she’d seen him in earlier and a dark blue shirt with short sleeves that clung to the flat planes of his chest and left his impressive arms bare. Not that K noticed things like that.
“For you to get up. Do you want a shower? You have time for a quick one if you hurry.”
“A shower?” K had a sudden memory of her childhood—the time she mostly thought of as before-the-suit. The shower room…the sound of frightened crying echoing off the metal walls… cold and wet and scary… “No,” she said looking up at Boone. “I do not want a shower. Absolutely not.”
He looked a little startled at her vehement refusal but then just shrugged. “All right then, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. But we do have to get you some clothes. We can’t have you, uh, running around like that.” He cleared his throat. “So here.”
K took the garment he handed her which was white with thin gray stripes running down it. “What’s this?”
“It’s one of my dress shirts. Mom is the only other female on board and there’s no way you’ll fit into her clothes—you’re too tall. You and Loki are about the same size but he’s not going to be giving you anything but hard looks for the foreseeable future. So this is it.” He nodded at the garment. “I thought you might be able to wear it as kind of a dress.”
“A dress?” So many words in his vocabulary seemed to have no meaning for her. Life on Colossus must be very different from what she was used to on Athena.
“Yeah, uh…how do I explain this? Oh, hell. Just put it on and I’ll show you.”
K struggled with the unfamiliar fabric which hung limply from her hands and bunched awkwardly when she tried to pull it over her head, unlike her suit which had flowed as smoothly as water to cover her of its own volition.
“Here, wait.” Boone stopped her. “It’ll be easier if you unbutton it first.” Then, obviously seeing the confused look on K’s face he took the shirt back from her. “I guess you don’t have any buttons on your suit, do you? And since that’
s all you ever wear, how would you know what the hell I’m talking about? These are buttons.” He slipped the flat metal disks that ran down the front of the shirt out of their tiny holes and then held it open for K. Then, he buttoned it back up again, going slowly so she could see what he was doing.
It was exceedingly simple, K saw, though also incredibly slow and inefficient. Why bother with clothing you had to struggle into when you could have something that would cover and protect you with no effort on your part? Purity, but she missed her suit!
When she had the shirt-dress on and buttoned up, the uneven hem fell to the tops of her thighs and the sleeves were too long. Boone rolled them up for her so that her hands were free and then stood back with his arms crossed over his chest frowning.
“Well, it’s a hell of a lot too big for you. I’d give you something to belt it with if I didn’t think you’d try to hang yourself with it.”
K raised an eyebrow at him. “And if I give you my word not to attempt to purge myself?”
“Now why would you do that?” Boone looked skeptical. “You were all gung-ho to go into the light last night. What changed your mind?”
She lifted her chin. “I have decided I do not wish to die without my suit. I have a much better chance of killing you once I regain it. After that I can purge myself and know that the one who contaminated me is dead.”
Boone surprised her by laughing. “Blood-thirsty little thing, aren’t you?”
K gave him a cold stare. “I am not making an idle threat. You will die by my hand.”
He sobered at once. “You’re hard core, aren’t you darlin’?”
“If by that you mean dedicated to my purpose, then yes.”
Boone sighed. “All right, if that’s the way you want to play it. But I’m telling you, even if you could find the damn thing—and I promise you won’t—but even if you did, it’s too damaged for you to wear right now.”
“Because you cut it.” It still made K feel like he’d cut off a piece off her body.
“I had to,” Boone said patiently. “I’m not going over this with you again. But here’s the deal—I can tell you’re an honorable person, that your word means a lot to you and you won’t break it.”
“That’s true.” K nodded.
“Okay, so if you give me your word that you won’t try to harm me, yourself, or anybody else until you get your suit back, you get to come out and play with the rest of us. If, however, you keep reciting from the homicidal handbook, I’m going to feel the need to keep you tied up in here like a real prisoner. So what’s it gonna be, darlin’?”
K lifted her chin. “You’re safe from my retribution until I get my suit. But only because it will be much easier to kill you with it on.”
“Well, thank you,” Boone said dryly. “I’ll consider myself reprieved for now. Here.” He handed her a long, soft piece of deep green fabric that had one wide triangular end. “That’s my best tie. Try not to abuse it too much.”
K took the tie and knotted it around her waist in silence. Though she tried not to let anger cloud her judgment, inside she was fuming. She wasn’t used to having her threats laughed at. Well, she would make Boone pay as soon as she found her suit. It had to be hidden somewhere on the ship and as soon as she could get away from him she would make a thorough search for it. One blast from her gauntlets and he’d be fried from the inside out. The thought gave her a grim satisfaction, especially when he insisted on inspecting her leg before they left his quarters.
“Just want to make sure the stitches are holding up,” he murmured, kneeling on the floor in front of her to examine the long row of black threads that marred the pale flesh of her inner thigh. He probed lightly and K shivered at the sensation of his bare flesh touching hers. No matter how much he contaminated her each touch was somehow new. “Does it hurt?” Boone asked softly.
“I feel nothing,” K said, wishing it was true.
He looked up at her, frowning. “Are you sure? Your skin is all broken out in goosebumps.”
K could feel her cheeks getting hot and was sure he could see the blush creeping into her pale cheeks. Purity, how she hated having emotions! “I’m just…I’m not use to being touched,” she blurted. “Every instinct I have says I should kill you right now for daring to even come near me, let alone putting your bare skin against mine.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Well I’m glad you’re controlling yourself, K. But I’m afraid with your Erian DNA touching is going to be an integral part of your life from now on.”
“Only until I get my suit back. And I will get it back.” She glared at him.
“In good time.” Boone appeared unperturbed. “Well, the stitches look good for now. I hated to resort to something so primitive but I didn’t really have any choice. If I’d been back home at a med-center on Colossus I could have used adhesive wound sealant.”
“If you were back home on Colossus where you belonged, I wouldn’t have this wound at all,” K pointed out. “And I wouldn’t be contaminated and condemned to death.”
“Hey.” Boone looked up at her again, his hand still warm on her thigh. “There’s nobody here who says you have to die. I mean, Loki might want to kill you but there’s nobody from the Purist High Council standing over you and demanding your death. That decision is on you, darlin’, so who’s to say you shouldn’t choose to live?”
“Live and do what?” K demanded. “I can never go back now. Even if I didn’t wish an honorable death—which I do—my commanding officers would still think me fit only to be purged.” She imagined the High Sentinel, his black-on-black eyes filled with absolutely nothing as he gave the order for her death. Oh yes, she would be purged the moment she dared set foot back on Athena.
“Make a life away from them,” Boone said, rising at last. “There are always plenty of ships looking for battle-trained mercenaries. Or if you don’t want to leave your old way of life completely, isn’t there a group of ex-Purists with a base not far from Midas?”
“The Tainted?” K could scarcely believe he would make such an insulting suggestion. The group he had named was comprised of Paladins who had become contaminated and then gone rogue, refusing to purge themselves. Joining the ranks of those dishonored scum had never even crossed her mind. “You want me to join the Tainted?” she said again.
Boone shrugged. “Sure. They still wear the suit, don’t they?”
“Yes but I’ve heard that they’ve perverted their skinsuits somehow—changed them into something wrong and Impure.”
“I don’t think that damn suit could get much wronger than it already is, K.”
“That’s your opinion,” she snapped. “Besides, the perversion of their skinsuits isn’t the only reason they are called the Tainted. They also contaminate each other and reproduce without cloning.”
“So they have sex, huh? Oh, the horror.” Boone shook his head. “I have news for you, darlin’, the entire rest of the solar system has sex. It’s all that’s on the majority of most everybody’s mind at any given minute—especially if they’re male.”
K looked at him in disbelief. “Truly? You spend your time dwelling on such a disgusting subject?”
Boone grinned at her. “Hell yeah—it’s a basic biological urge. And it can be wonderful if you’re with the right person. Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.”
K crossed her arms over her chest and shivered. “Allow myself to be penetrated? Another’s body inside my own? It would be the ultimate contamination—the very idea is repugnant.”
Boone sighed. “Well, to each their own. But look, just think about it—living instead of killing yourself, I mean. We’re going to Midas to get my sister. You help me get her out and I’ll give you back the suit and drop you off with the other ex-Purists.”
“The Tainted,” K emphasized. “Those who are too cowardly to purge themselves.”
“It’s not cowardly to want to live, K,” Boone said quietly. “Or to want to make a home for yourself with people like you. Find someone t
o love and settle down with. Somebody you can not have sex with every damn day if you want.” He grinned. “Now come on and let’s go make breakfast. I told you, it’s my turn for kitchen duty and since we’ve got to stay close to keep you healthy, you get to help. Door, open,” he added as he headed for the exit.
* * * * *
K frowned as she followed him out the door. “What is breakfast?”
Boone glanced back at her. “The first meal of the day—what do you call it on Athena?”
“Meal?” She looked confused.
“It’s like we’re speaking a different language,” Boone muttered to himself. To K he said, “You know—food? Eat?”
K was looking more and more frustrated. “No, I don’t know. What are you talking about?”
Boone stopped in the middle of the metal corridor and turned to face her. “Come on now, I’m speaking Standard the same as you. Surely you know what food is—you put it in your mouth, chew it, swallow it. It fills you up and gives you energy. You know, food.”
“You chew it?” K frowned. “Is it some kind of solid nutrition drink?”
“A solid nutrition drink? Holy shit.” Boone put a hand to his forehead and stared at her in disbelief. “You mean to tell me you’ve never had anything to eat before?”
“My suit fed me nutrients hourly,” K said stiffly. “It could sustain me in even the most extreme conditions. Other than that, I drank protein nutrient drinks several times a day to gain anything I lacked.”
“You have got to be kidding me! Paladins really never eat?”
“We have no need of solid sustenance while wearing our skinsuits. A full belly slows you down in a combat situation.”
Boone still couldn’t quite believe it. “What about when you were a kid? You said you didn’t put on the suit until you were nine cycles old.”