Chapter Three – Veronica
There was a little plaque at the entrance to the museum that orbited the grey-brown orb that had once been Earth. The plaque read that the displays were being updated based on new information about humans. Veronica didn't know what that meant, nor did she much care. She didn't know how long she'd been in the ship with the two T'shav twins, but it was enough time for her to finally accept that this was real.
She had been abducted by aliens and was now billions of years in what she had known as the future. There was no going back home because home was long dead. Along with everything and everyone she knew.
Her lip wobbled as she walked through the museum halls. Images of humans with skin every color of the rainbow were everywhere, along with small bits of pieces of technology and garbage that were crusted over and in various states of decomposition.
Veronica stared at what might have once been a plastic bag. Her hand pressed to her mouth. Chapec put an arm around her shoulder and she leaned into him unconsciously.
"My family is all gone."
The T'shav held her a little tighter.
"My parents. My brothers." A lump choked her as tears burned her eyes. "Everything I knew is gone. My friends. My job. My home. My parents had just gotten remarried. They divorced when I was little, but they had always remained friends until they decided to try dating again. Their wedding was just last month. They looked so happy…."
"T'shav don't marry, at least not usually," Chapec said, squeezing her gently. "We take mates and stay with each other for as long as seems right. It's quite common to be monogamous. But our culture isn't one where some elaborate display of commitment is required."
"Yeah, I was never a huge fan of the big white wedding." It helped a little, to learn more about his people. It made him less alien. "But my parents had this simple ceremony, just close family and friends. There were only about twenty people there. They didn't want fanfare, they wanted to share a special moment with those they loved the most."
Her voice cracked, and the next thing she knew, she was crying. She almost pulled away from Chapec, but when he put his other arm around her as well, she couldn't help but give into his strength. She usually wasn't the type of girl to lean on others, but this was a unique situation.
"I need to go make sure we have time left at the docking port," Dievca whispered. "We can't afford another fine." She slipped away, but Veronica hardly noticed.
Everything was crashing down on her. She clung to Chapec, sobbing. What was she going to do now? Even if there was a colony of humans out there, what was she going to find? Well, at least they'd be familiar… At least she would have help to navigate the alien world she had been thrust into. The T'shav twins might look like the old cartoon devils on Earth, but as far as she was concerned, they were angels. They'd saved her from the aliens that pulled her from her stasis pod and were taking her to a place she'd be safe. What more than that could she ask for?
"I lost my parents, too," Chapec said, stroking her hair. "My father was murdered when I was young, and my mother died just five standard years ago."
So he had an idea of what she was going through. Veronica sniffed. "I'm sorry."
"She was sick, but we couldn't afford the treatments. We sold off all our land, our home, everything, and took her to the corporations begging for help, but they all turned us away. If my father was alive, he would have been able to save her. But they're both gone. I know it's not the same, but I want you to know you're not alone."
Veronica felt a surge of gratitude towards the massive alien. Even if the sight of him killing those first two aliens haunted her, she now knew that Chapec and Dievca were on her side. And as she looked up at the T'shav warrior, feeling a kinship with him through their shared grief, she felt an almost overwhelming desire to kiss him.
Whoa, what are you doing?
She pulled away from him, ducking her head. Here they were in a museum dedicated to the long-extinct human species, and she was wanting to kiss not only a complete stranger, but an alien? There had to be something wrong with her. Maybe it was the treatments she had been undergoing to increase her fertility so it would be more likely for her to conceive with the artificial insemination… That had to be it. It was just her hormones going crazy.
Still, she couldn’t stop a well of guilt rising in her. This was wrong, wasn't it? It was disrespectful to her family, her friends. Or was it just a coping mechanism?
"I think I'm ready to go now." She looked at the floor to avoid seeing the wrecks of what had been her culture – or at least, the culture of her species from some time and some place on Earth.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. If there's a place with living humans I can go to, that's a better place to be, isn't it? Rather than here among the long-dead memories of Earth."
Chapec nodded. He took her hand in his as they headed back towards the ship. They had only gone little ways before Dievca ran around the corner. Her face was lit up with a mischievous expression, her sword drawn. Several tiny-sounding voices came from the corridor behind her, calling her to stop.
Chapec pushed Veronica behind himself and drew his own weapon. "What did you do?"
"I decided since we needed to refuel soon, we might as well borrow some funds from the donation box. I may have a couple guards on my tail."
Veronica's jaw dropped. Had she just robbed the museum?
Chapec growled. "Dievca!"
"They're robotic. It's not like we're going to hurt anybody! Besides, this place won't miss a few double helixes."
Chapec grunted. "Veronica, I need you to—"
Half a dozen robots wheeled around the corner. They all had gun-shaped attachments pressed to their bodies, and small silver orbs attached to their chests. One of them started to say something, but before Veronica could even process the sight, Chapec had jumped forward. He drove his sword clean through the robot's body.
Dievca quickly joined him. She sliced a robot in half, laughing as she did so. There was no place to hide, so Veronica threw herself onto the floor, her hands covering her face as she curled into a ball. Loud blasts of energy ricocheted down the corridor. The screech of tearing metal drowned out Dievca's laughter and Chapec's grunts. Veronica curled as tightly as she could, wishing that she was anywhere but there.
When the noise died, she looked up to see the twins standing in a circle of ruined, smoking robots. Dievca grinned while Chapec looked furious. He jumped over the remains and grabbed Veronica. She pushed against him instinctively.
"I'm sorry you had to see that," he said, his voice low. "But we have to go."
Veronica wet her lips but couldn't think of anything to say. She allowed him to pull her with him.
"There will be more coming. Come on!" he shouted at his sister, running down the corridor. Dievca rolled her eyes and followed.
***
Veronica didn't stop shaking until they were well away from what had once been Earth. Chapec spent that time in the cockpit, checking to see if they were being followed, and making sure their plotted course was safe. Dievca made up a sandwich of some sort for Veronica, grinning broadly.
"Did you see what an excellent fighter my brother is?" she asked. "He took down two of those robots in one stroke! Amazing, isn't it?"
Veronica stared at her. "It doesn't bother you at all that you robbed that place and destroyed their security?"
"Robots are easily replaced, and that place brings in enough every standard week to buy a brand new warship. Most of it goes to corporations that don't need it. All I did was take enough to be able to pay our way to the Sanctuary. We want to get there as quickly as possible."
The explanation didn't placate Veronica, but she ate without saying anything else. Were the twins more criminally-inclined than they had led her to believe?
Chapec entered the kitchen. His eyes were narrowed, his fists clenched. "What were you thinking?"
The laughter died from Dievca's face. "As I was just telling Veronica—"
"You could have ruined everything! You could have gotten us killed or imprisoned. Our faces could be getting broadcast everywhere right now!"
"Chippy, stop overreacting."
"Overreacting?" Chapec slammed his hands on the table, making both women jump. "Dozens of corporations could realize we have an unregistered human with us. She doesn't have her citizenship. She could be taken as a slave!"
Dievca's eyes narrowed. "They aren't going to broadcast our faces anywhere. The people that run the museum like to advertise it as a holy shrine. It would ruin their reputation if it was robbed."
"And what about Veronica? Those guards could have hurt her!"
"Her?" Dievca got to her feet. "Might have hurt her? But not me? I understand you're mad at me, but are you seriously saying that you were more concerned for her safety than that of your own sister?"
"My sister is the one that acted like an idiot!"
"Don't fight!" Veronica jumped to her feet and grabbed Chapec's arm. "Don't fight. Come on. Let's just go calm down, okay?"
Her heart thumped as she tugged him away, but there was also a great deal of relief. Dievca may have acted criminally, but Chapec didn't condone it. That was a good thing. Especially since now that the adrenaline from the fight was wearing off, her previous soul-crushing realization that everything she knew was gone was coming back. She wanted comfort. She wanted something to distract her.
"I don't know about her sometimes," Chapec muttered as they went into Veronica's room. "She just doesn't… I don't know. She's smart, so I can't say that she doesn't think. But the way she thinks… I don't understand it. She does this sort of thing all the time, getting us into terrible situations while saying that it'll help us in the end. It drives me crazy. She's my sister. I want to protect her, but she makes it damn hard."
He dragged a hand through his black hair. Veronica stared at him. It was totally the wrong time again, but she was feeling heat swirl through her at his closeness. And if she wanted a distraction…
Well, maybe Chapec needed a distraction as well. She caught his face in her hands and kissed him. His eyes widened, but his arms wrapped around her waist. He pulled her flush against him and she gasped. Her eyes drifted closed as the kiss deepened.