Chapter 7

Akima brought Kenji's steaming food pack to her. It wasn't often that they ate warm food on the Valykrie. As she sat down on the bench next to her, grinned inwardly. It wasn't often that they used the dining hall either. She looked around, pleased that everyone hadn't used an excuse to stay away from the table. She tore open the food pack and handed it to Kenji, who grabbed it greedily and started consuming incredibly fast, faster than she thought possible for someone who was blind. It was almost comical the way she did eat, using her hands instead of her fork more often than not. Then again, it was probably more comfortable using her hands, the way she held her fork looked painful and primitive. It was clutched in her hand the way she might hold a dagger, and some of her fingers bent out at odd angles. Akima hardly suppress a laugh when Kenji stopped, her jaw dropping open, letting some food spill out of her mouth.

Akima was at least glad to notice that she wasn't the only one observing Kenji's eating habits. Stith was gripping her stomach, laughing uncontrollably, Korso was chuckling, wiping his eyes, Gune was cackling with his odd squeaks in between, and even Preed cracked a true smile. Only Lanzer showed any disgust.

"Is – everything all – right?" Akima questioned in between bursts of chortling.

Kenji wrinkled her nose. "There's potatoes in this. That's disgusting," she added with further expressions of revulsion.

The metal walls reflected the peals mirth as the tension between the crew of the Valykrie and the two newcomers decreased.

Lanzer looked thoroughly revolted. "Don't encourage her," he muttered, leaning over his food packet. He elbowed her in the side. "At least we get something to eat," he muttered under his breath.

Kenji visibly sobered, and continued to eat her food with a little caution, lest she find another piece of potato. But she would never find one, Akima picked through Kenji's food packet, eating the rest of them.

Korso placed his fork down onto the galvanized table, leaning back against the wall. He intertwined his fingers on the table in front of him, and locked a cool steady gaze at Kenji. "Whom did you work for?" he inquired.

"Ourselves." Kenji continued to eat, refusing to feel threatened.

Korso leaned forward, realizing that this would be more of an interrogation. "I can see a hacker doing that, but an assassin? I think not," he answered himself. "I want specifics, names. Who hired you to kill whom. Those kinds of things."

Kenji sat straighter, locking her eyes in his direction. "It doesn't fucking matter who I murdered, and all you need to know is that I don't reveal my employers."

"The UIA's going to be hot on our tails because you stole something of theirs, and I want to know exactly why you're their target." Korso rarely lost his cool, but he seemed on the verge of it now.

"If you tell them, who cares if they try to turn us in," Lanzer began. "No one's succeeded in that yet."

Kenji gave a slight nod of resignation. "Lanz and I have been trying to make our way through this galaxy ever since we left the drifter colony. Whether that was hiring ourselves out to whoever had the heaviest pocket, or just simply taking it. The UIA is a good for nothing piece of shit, so Lanz and me were helping ourselves to its funds, killing any officials who got in our way. But that's not why they're trailing us. We know of some secret deals they have with another species that wouldn't exactly benefit the people they work for." Though the last statement was specific enough, it was as vague as Kenji had wanted it to be.

Ignoring the shocked stares form the others, Lanz stood up, following Kenji out the door.

"Holy shit, but I thought you were going to tell them everything," Lanzer commented, running his hand through his coal, wind blown looking hair.

"Why, they only need to know a few things." Kenji grasped his shoulder, letting him lead her around.

"Yah, but when you started talking about the UIA, I thought you were going to," he stated.

Kenji nodded her head knowingly. "So where are you taking me?"

Lanzer turned down another hallway. "Well, while Korso was trying to get me to give him a little detail on us two, he said that Akima would be more than willing to share her room. That is, with you." He gave a small chuckle.

Kenji smiled ruefully. It faded quickly, and she said in an undertone, "What do we have as far as transportation goes?"

Lanzer immediately understood her meaning. "I tried checking the computer, but they never leave me alone for more than a minute. I can't find any escape pods or other ships. The only one in the docking bay was ours, and like it's going to get us anywhere. I'll keep looking, but I doubt there's anything here for long distance travel." He was silent for a moment as they walked down the echoing hallway. A constant hum filled his ears. Probably the circuits, he thought. He glanced right and slightly up. It was hard to imagine that Kenji was really blind. She walked confidently with her eyes wide open and staring ahead, as if she could see everything. He studied her features, wondering how it was possible that she was his mother. He looked nothing like her. He'd never seen his father, but he knew that he was more like him than Kenji let on. When Kenji first met Lanz, she obviously avoided looking at him.

He glanced ahead thinking about the first time they had met…

He sat at the table. Annie put a food packet in front of him. It smelled of Alfredo, pasta, and tin. The rumbling pains in his stomach forced him to open the packet and devour the contents.

Annie walks away. She mutters, "…Ought to be home now… …Hope she hasn't… Not a good impression…"

The door buzzes. Annie jumps. He looks up from eating.

"It's okay, nothing to worry about." She walks to the door and wrenches it open. Two lawmen in green suits nudge someone inside. He hears muted conversation. He keeps his eyes locked on his packet. Why him? Of all the people science had to meddle with, why him?

"Who the hell is that?" The voice is resonating. It is cold. It is without reason.

He strains to keep his eyes on the table. Two hands plant themselves in front of him on the silver top. The wrists are covered in black bands. The fingernails are short and black. Fishnet covers the arms. A silver ring on her right forefinger glints in the fake light. He blinks. A hand clutches his chin. The hand lifts it. He stares into chocolate eyes. They are outlined in black makeup. They are frigid, unremorseful.

"He's your son, Kenji." Annie's voice quivers.

The eyes narrow. "Stop shitting, me Annie. I was never pregnant."

He keeps his eyes steady. Kenji glares back.

"No, you never were pregnant. You only provided the DNA. You and Vash Taolini."

The last sentence strikes hard. He thinks he sees tears in those brown pools of frost. They break away. The hand releases his chin. Kenji disappears around a corner. Her hoarse, pained scream echoes through the residence.

And through his memory. Lanzer glanced at Kenji. Her eyes were no longer covered in black makeup, and there was one long scar down the side of her face from a past flying piece of debris. Lanz smiled ruefully. It took Kenji a while before she accepted him as her son. He was only four years younger than she. She never did actually see him as a son, but mostly as a younger brother.

Seeing the hatchway, he stopped. "This is it. You need help inside?" he asked as she walked inside, her hands searching for a nearby object.

She touched a sleeping palette, and immediately lay down, characteristically stretching out. "No thanks. I think I figured it out."

Lanz shut the hatch. Looking past the solid wall, he whispered, "Don't dream too much."

He watched as she moaned, twisting and turning on the palette. He was so close that he could see the individual beads of icy sweat roll off her forehead. She mouthed words, incoherent sentences.

She mumbled something, a name.

"What?" he asked out loud, hoping to enter her sleep encased world. "Speak up, I can't help."

As if emboldened by his statement, she spoke louder. "They've taken him away." It seemed odd that she was capable of sounding so panicked. So helpless.

Knowing who the 'they' was, he asked another question. "Whom have they taken?"

She mumbled something else, but it was lost in her thrashing against invisible foes.

"Whom have they taken, Kenji?" he asked, a little more insistently.

"Vash," she answered.

Satisfied with the answers she provided, the blue glow filling the room disappeared for a moment. He stood, turning to face the screen, waiting for them to come back. He listened closely, for any telltale sign of anyone walking past the slightly ajar door. He visibly jumped when the image reappeared on the screen. The speaker rattled a few, machinated phrases, pausing as it expected an answer.

Preed paused by the door. He had heard shouting, and had come to investigate. The human shouts were interjected by another sentence of groaning and rattling.

"I told you, I don't know who she's looking for! Only that this person disappeared right after an attack by your kind."

"……………………………"

"Alright, alright, I'll do it. But it will mean extra compensation. I'm not that willing to get mixed up with her."

The blue glow vanished after another few words, and the door before Preed slid open more.

Ready with his laser pistol in hand, Preed reached for the throat of whoever came out of the room first. Throwing his prey to the floor, he rested his foot on the throat and pointed the pistol down at the captain.

"So captain, making illegal dealings with a common enemy?" Preed inquired without hesitating.

"What're you gonna do about it?" Korso eyed the gun warily.

Preed unexpectedly smiled. "Absolutely nothing," he replied, replacing the gun with his hand.

"How long have you known?" the Captain asked.

"Since I signed on with this ill-fated mission. Saving all of humanity didn't seem your style.