Chapter 10

"Can I call you Archie?"

Archangel's eyebrow quirked upward, "Why would you want to do that?"

Nariko stifled a giggle. She, Calum, and the Qiin officer had started out speaking Japanese and drifted into what the trainer had told her was known as the language of the progenitors. She still didn't know who the progenitors were, but she'd learned to speak their language in what had felt like a month-long immersion course, but had apparently taken only minutes of real-world time.

She understood the principle of time distortion, but not the math or science behind it. Her orientation had seemed to take three days. Twice, the sun had set and she'd gone off to her room inside the dojo and slept. But, she'd learned far more than could possibly have been explained to her in three days. She could remember hundreds of lessons as clearly as if she'd just had them. Trying to remember how they had progressed one from the other made her head hurt.

The look on Archangel's face was priceless. Consternation, annoyance, and amusement passed in quick succession. Calum shrugged, his face open and seeming guileless, "It's just easier to say than 'Archangel' which, honestly, sounds more like a title ... or a superhero than a real name."

Archangel's back stiffened a little, "I was told that it was a good name for a warrior—one that would make humans more comfortable around me. Aren't angels good spirits from one of your mythologies?"

"They are." Calum twirled a fork in his pasta. "And, it's a good name. People certainly aren't going to forget it. 'Archie' would be like a nickname."

Archangel frowned, "Nicknames are meant to connote familiarity or affection. We are by no means familiar with each other. Have you developed a bond of affection towards me? I was under the impression that humans took longer than we've had to form such bonds."

Calum laughed. It wasn't a nervous or frightened laugh, but a show of honest amusement. After she'd come out of her orientation, Calum had sat and talked with her. It had taken a while for her to come to terms with time passing normally again. He'd been like an anchor, talking to her about nothing of consequence until the world had felt real again. He was the most easygoing person she'd ever met and didn't seem like anything frightened him.

"You seem likable enough," said Calum. "Sometimes, a nickname is an overture towards the possibility of friendship, offered before the actual bonds of affection are formed."

Calum spoke like he was used to explaining basic human concepts to aliens. Nariko wondered if that came from growing up around vat-grown clones. He'd told her several stories about that.

Archangel considered him with a measured glance. After a few seconds, she shook her head, "No. Too much familiarity at this stage would be unwise. If my name is too difficult for you to pronounce, you may refer to me by my rank."

Nariko winced at the implied rebuke, but Calum's grin didn't fade, "As you wish, Ahqiar."

"If you do find yourself developing affection for me," Archangel went on, "you might be a worthy warbride."

That made Calum's grin fade for a moment. He put his fork down and cleared his throat, "Your consideration honors me, Ahqiar. If I were seeking ... such a bond, I would be ... pleased to know you found me worthy." The grin was back, "I understand that very few humans are chosen for such an honor."

"As do I." Archangel looked distracted, "It's all very theoretical to me. I've spoken to less than a dozen humans so far."

Calum's eyebrow rose, "You haven't served with humans before?"

Archangel shook her head, "Qiin and humans generally don't serve together. We have our missions and you have yours."

"How does it work to have a human warbride, then?" Calum asked. "Do they serve in Qiin battalions?"

"Not as warriors." Archangel seemed to be trying to think of a word, "I believe the correct term would be 'camp followers.'"

Calum's face fell, "I see."

Nariko watched the contrails of Archangel's shuttle extend out of sight before turning to Calum, who was also watching, The rain had cleared up and they'd walked as far as the front gate of the station with the ahqiar as she returned to her shuttle.

"She's very strange," Nariko offered.

"I suspect they all are," offered Calum. "It would be a mistake to think the Qiin are like us just because they sort of look like us."

Nariko considered that statement. She'd never had trouble thinking of Archangel as an alien. Even without the wings, she didn't look like any human Nariko had ever seen. She was too tall, too blonde, too curvy. Beyond that, her behavior from the moment she walked into the secure holding area had marked her as alien. She showed no deference to anyone.

What made her thoughtful was the assumption behind Calum's statement—that he was somehow less alien to Nariko than Archangel was. He might be human, but the similarity ended there. Like Archangel, Calum spoke freely and without deference. Even the men in Nariko's life had someone they deferred to. Her father had once been a great chef and lived in a mansion where he cooked for one family, but he'd deferred to the family's patriarch. That had been so long ago that Nariko remembered the patriarch only as an impossibly imposing figure, almost like a god. Perhaps he never had to defer to anyone. Nariko had to defer to everyone except perhaps her little sisters.

Again, the idea that she would have to command soldiers laid heavily on her chest. She tried to imagine telling a man to do something and expecting him to do it. She'd been taught in the orientation how the Qiin military was supposed to work. That knowledge had done nothing to relieve the visceral fear that caught in her lungs and made her breath come out in short gasps.

"Should we get a good look at the base while we're still at liberty?" Calum asked, laying a hand firmly on Nariko's shoulder.

Nariko looked at the hand on her shoulder, then up at Calum. As she made sense of his words, the panic receded enough for her to catch her breath, "Would you like to?"

"I would," said Calum. "I've never seen Brazil before."

Nariko laughed, "I've never seen anywhere besides Tokyo."

"Really?" Calum seemed inquisitive, not mocking.

"It's a big city," said Nariko. "I still hadn't seen all of it."

Calum laughed, "I suppose you wouldn't have. I lived in Denver, which is a lot smaller than Tokyo, and I'm sure I never saw more than a fraction of it." He looked up at the sky, "I imagine we're going to see a lot of things neither one of us expect. Still, I wouldn't have minded seeing more of the Earth before I have to leave it for a decade or two."

"You think the Qiin will let you come back?" That was a new idea to Nariko. Treaty troops didn't come back to Earth ... certainly not enough of them to matter.

Calum shrugged, "They will if we win the war for them ... probably. Anyway, there's no point in planning to die. Maybe we will. But, I'd hate to get to the end of this, come back, and have absolutely no plans about what to do next."

Nariko kept silent. Calum might find the idea of planning to die pointless, but that was exactly what Nariko was planning. She wondered if Archangel wouldn't understand her better than Calum would.

They walked along the inside of the wall surrounding the station. Once they passed the perimeter of the old mission, the buildings changed over from the architecture she was starting to get used to. The new buildings were Qiin barracks and administration. They were nearly featureless cubes and domes made of poured concrete. Calum seemed to be considering each in turn. Finally, he turned to Nariko, "What do these buildings tell you about the Qiin?"