CHAPTER THREE: DISCOVERY

PART ONE…Break the Rules

"Really, Vash, is this such a good idea?" Vanessa whispered. It was during the dead of sleep hours, and she found herself plodding along at a snail's pace while Vash attempted to hurry her down the dimmed hallways. She held her arm about her stomach, though her only gain was minimal there. Her insides growled with a ferocious hunger, echoing off the smooth walls they passed, or so she thought. Gritting her teeth, her persuasions became more urgent. "Whatever it is, I don't want to. I'm…um…tired and I don't-"

"Trust me, it's worth it," Vash interrupted, continuing to lead her along by the hand patiently. He hadn't heard her stomach's complaints, but knew nevertheless that her motives were hunger-based.

Hunger was an immense presence in their lives. They spent so many waking moments wondering how intense the need would be, since they could never find enough food to appease them. Vash sacrificed nearly all he had for her, and despite the circumstances, Vanessa wasn't acting anything like a human mother might. Vanessa's food intake was four times that of a grown man, yet it seemed to go nowhere. Her weight remained steady, limbs thinning as her belly grew just slightly. Morning sickness had been a temporary thing, so there was no doubt of nutrition loss that way. It defied logic, but somehow Vanessa's body was storing it all away.

Though usually they were too tired to pursue activities, Vash always planned trips to various sites on the ship, and Vanessa occasionally felt a surge of energy that floored Vash. Tonight, he wished to show her the last item of interest he could think of.

"Why at night?" she whined, yearning for the safety of their room.

Vash smiled, ignoring her pleas. "Because it's too crowded in the day hours. And besides, the clothes we're supposed to wear for it would show our scars," he added.

Vanessa's eyebrow rose, but before she could speak, they were there.

The ceiling was quite high, and the entire room was foggy with humidity. Drips of water echoed throughout, casting eerie patterns of sound at all seconds. In the center of the room was a huge rectangular pit, filled with clear water.

"Is this it?"

"Yes," he answered, a bit hurt by her lack of enthusiasm.

Vanessa stepped forward and knelt beside the water. "Well, there's nothing living in it, it seems. So this is drinking water?" she asked, voice soft and quieting in response to the echoes.

Vash sat just behind her and began to unfasten his boots. "No, it's different. Not like your pond or a well. This is special."

Suddenly, a stray spray of water pelted Vanessa. She held in a shriek as she realized through hazy vision that he had jumped into the water.

His head popped above water and he grinned. Spitting water, he regained his breath and attempted to remain above the surface.

"What should I do?" Vanessa hissed urgently. "You'll get in trouble, ruining the water like this!"

"No, it's for swimming!" Vash explained, growing confident in his new water treading skills. "This pool is an exercise device. By moving through it and even by just staying afloat you can get a cardiovascular workout without harsh resistance on the joints. I've watched the classes before and I think I understand the basic strokes. But like I said, they make you wear these suit things that show off too much skin. It feels great in here, you should try it now that we're alone," he suggested, spouting off the information in his genial, lecturing tone of voice. "Just close your eyes, take a deep breath, and hold your nose shut. I'll help you."

Vanessa dipped her hand in, testing the warmth. "On Gunsmoke, we pined for water reservoirs with every bone in our bodies. On Earth, they would willingly waste them for sport. Interesting." Waiting for a reply and getting none, she slowly breathed in and plopped deliberately into the water as instructed. After flailing a little to right herself, she found Vash before her, holding her up.

"Calm down," he choked, finding it hard to breath with his head bobbing underwater. "Relax."

She calmed, and her trust led her to begin treading water with him, hiding her fear as she obeyed his instruction. Swimming wasn't so much fun for her as it seemed for Vash.

He held his grin for the duration of their clumsy swim, hoping that her mind was off of the hunger. There was little he could do, and this seemed it.

OOO

Stepping silently with bare feet, they both shivered, clothes drenched. The ship was cooled to a frosty 72 degrees at all times. The one towel Vash had found was about Vanessa's shoulders.

An official stopped them. He did not look amused. "Identify," he demanded, holding out a fingerprint recognition card.

Vash hesitated, and placed his finger upon the outline, watching the man scan the received information. "Are we in trouble?" he asked innocently, using his best angel face to seduce his way out of the dilemma.

The man's eyes remained transfixed on his info screen. "Trespassing in a dangerous area without safety personnel present? And your wife here, considering her medical situations…Your outright disregard for our rules and social order is disheartening to say the least." Tucking the screen under his arm, the official continued to address only Vash. "Professor Saverem, I find that many of you insolent refugees, once having attained a higher position, begin to feel that the rules and regulations do not apply. But they do, and at this rate you'll have accumulated a negative record before we even reach Earth soil."

"We promise, we'll never do it again; we're sorry," Vash apologized genuinely, putting his arm round Vanessa and holding onto his expression. "We're very sorry."

"What do you mean by 'at this rate'?" Vanessa asked warily.

"Hoarding rations, rejecting prenatal care, failing to enforce the education guidelines…you have a record of negative behavior," the man explained to Vash, ignoring Vanessa's unsteady gaze. "We have only so much to feed you, yet you behave so greedily. On Earth, no religions rejecting medical care exist anymore, yet you hold fast to some dead religion and deny the unborn the right to health. And pregnancy is no excuse for lax studying."

"I'll pass the exams before landing, and that's all that matters," Vanessa interjected, growing angry. "Plus, you can't blame us for our metabolism or our beliefs. We have rights."

Vash gulped, but hid his fear. "Besides tonight, we really haven't broken the main list of rules. The other things we've done go against suggestion, and we're sorry, but-"

"Don't argue with your superiors," the official snarled, pointing a finger uncomfortably close to Vash's nose. "You may feel like a king now, but on Earth, rebellious punks like you will be scum to us. Shape up now, for your own good, because a negative record will result in full loss of the housing and labor package back home!"

"Save the condescending speeches and cut to the chase," Vanessa growled protectively. "We're not to break the rules again, and what else? Hmm? May we leave now, or would you have to waste more of our time?"

The man narrowed his eyes, face growing red while he maintained his professional tone of voice. "Well, certainly, Mrs. Saverem. Go home, and stay there! From now on, the both of you are banned from all use of the pool facilities, as well as the zoological and botanical wards. Troublemakers such as you don't deserve our luxuries. If you're caught on these premises, during any hours, or are caught breaking curfew in any way, you will be reprimanded and your records adjusted. Do you understand?"

Vash nodded solemnly and the man marched away. He felt Vanessa's muscles relax as she came to realize that displaying anger could only make matters worse.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, holding her belly. "I'm too tired, and he was dreadful." She turned and kissed him apologetically.

"I know. It's okay. We'll survive it," he whispered back, smiling optimistically as they hurried to their quarters.