Spears of Uu'kata

Chapter 53 - The Warthog

A deep womp, womp, womp vibrated through the floor of the Warthog's central column.

The spin gravity was awkward and nauseating this close to the spin motors. But it had never affected Charlotte as harshly as it did now.

No sooner had she stepped off the lift her equilibrium flipped on its head and she stumbled, stomach churning.

The Uu'k'asht weren't doing any better.

Chelling had to put Annie down and Joktath fell to his hands and knees and puked.

Normally this was a busy section of the ship, with people traversing from ring to ring. But with the alarms going off Command would have issued a rest-in-place order.

Annie giggled. "Ha-ha! Furries can't hold their liquor!" she said in a playfully mocking, sing-song voice before grabbing Chelling by the hand and patiently saying, "Come on."

She pulled him toward another lift and Charlotte realized the woman was actually walking straight. It was as though the Coriolis effect was somehow canceling out her drunken stagger.

As quickly as they could manage, they piled into the lift to the center ring and rode it, once again subject to the annoying elevator music.

Davidson cleared his throat. Vasquez was still messing with his terminal while Dr. Himura clung to him. Her expression was placid but her knuckles were white. Charlotte glanced at Nichols to find him staring at her.,

"What?" she asked.

"You look like something outa one of them fucked up slasher movies," he said.

Charlotte frowned and looked down at herself.

The white johnny she wore was not white anymore. She shrugged and said, "Meh."

"You really gonna have alien babies?" he asked.

"Looks that way," she said.

"Do you think the alien dad will be a good alien dad?" Anerudo asked.

"Dads," she corrected. "Uu'k'asth are polyamorous. And yes, I think... I think they might be good alien dads."

Ben turned to her slowly, lip curled in disgust. "You really fucked more than one?"

"If you start slut shaming me again, Ben, I'm gonna tell everyone about that thing you did in the kitchens that one time, and who you did it with," she threatened.

"Oooooh?" Vasquez, looking up from his terminal at Ben.

Ben cleared his throat. "I never really saw you as the mom type," he said.

"Me neither," she admitted, wishing this fucking elevator ride would end. This conversation was not fun.

"You gonna... go through with it?" Ben asked.

Charlotte clenched her jaw. Was she? The thought of being a mother was terrifying.

She shrugged, noticing how intently Tasha watched her.

"I'm actually trying not to think about it," Charlotte mumbled. "Besides, we could all be dead in the next fifteen minutes anyway."

Blessedly, the doors opened. Charlotte made to escape but Tasha blocked her and stepped out first.

The smell of rubbing alcohol and cleaner hit her hard as she exited the elevator into a brightly lit corridor of med bays.

After experiencing the sickening Coriolis effect of the central spin column the smell hit Charlotte's gag reflex like a shot of Dover's homebrew engine moonshine.