Page 59 of Across The Stars
“Makifi il’shat.”
“Makifi il’shat.”
“Asholtha.’
“Acholta.”
“Asholtha.”
“Asholtha.” I paused to repeat the words once more in my head and then said, “Ifrik makifi il’shat asholtha.”
Vahko was gawking and after I repeated it one more time, he nodded with a soft smile like he was now the one in awe. Why that look made my chest tight was beyond me, but I was beginning to think everything Vahko did was going to cause some kind of reaction in my body. It was torture.
“You pick up words fast,” he said. “Perhaps linguistics is not such a far-fetched prospect for you.”
I felt bashful and dropped my eyes. “Maybe someday. It didn’t work the first time, though.”
“So you performed visually sexual entertainment for money?”
“Yeah.”
“We have places that cater to those things on Valer. They’re like your nightclubs, I think. And the men and women who perform in them are well respected.”
“Really?”
“Are they not where you’re from?”
I scoffed. “No. I think the only way I’d get lower was if I was waving down cars in the red-light district.” Vahko furrowed his brows. “It’s where women take money to performactualsexual acts. You know. Prostitutes. It’s very illegal and yet very popular.”
“So selling sexual favors is frowned upon.”
“Well, yeah. It’s considered dirty. I mean, there are safe places to get those services. The virtual places. Places where you don’t actually touch. Is it not frowned on for you guys?”
“It depends. Our situation in that department is vastly different from humans. A result of wartimes. So, courtesans andescorts are needed to relieve the stresses of those effects and some of them do it charitably and without charge.”
I nodded, a little confused about his meaning. “What do you mean by that? I mean, about your situation?”
“Valerians have not been able to reproduce outside of laboratories for many cycles. The gek saw to it that the act would be very difficult in order to prevent our numbers from growing.”
“Wow. The gek sound like assholes.”
“They’re formidable. But in war, there are always two sides. As a species, we’ve both dealt damaging blows.”
“You don’t sound like you hate them.”
“I did. It’s the duty of all military men and women to study both perspectives, though. To understand, to the best of our ability, why we’re fighting. No one fights for something they don’t believe in, so you must always understand that your enemy believes in what they’re doing as much as you do. It’s the curse of most fallen leaders to underestimate their enemies.”
“That’s…” I hesitated. “That’s really interesting. I’ve never really studied war, but I guess you’re right. It must be hard to have to put yourself in your enemy’s shoes. So, why do you hate each other then?”
“Many, many cycles ago, we were allies. We thrive in similar environments and we began to share planetary control for resources. But our laws and values began to clash. Over time, our differences created a rift until we could no longer be civil over it. Advancement is often the downfall of any great civilization. It was ours.”
“Wow. That kind of makes Earth’s problems seem small. What your people are going through can’t be easy.”
“Nothing about war is easy,” he said under his breath. “In the end, you accept hardship is a pattern. I grew tired of fighting. And then I grew numb to it. And then I grew angry. Whether youunderstand your enemy or not, losing crushes you. It crushed my people.”
His words were like poetry and somehow, they made me feel shame. Shame for being such a meaningless number to my own people. I was nothing and sitting in the presence of a man who did so much made me feel so incredibly tiny.
“You sound like a really good guy, Vahko,” I sighed. “A guy who’s been through a lot. I know I’m just a nobody, but I think that you’re strong. And admirable. And you saved our asses when you didn’t have to so… thank you.”
