Page 6 of Cops in Space
“Are they related to the Tai-Kok?”
“No.”
The image of an ogre straight out of a fairy tale formed in my head. The hairy brutes had long, crooked noses, red eyes and razor-sharp teeth. Huh?“I guess once upon a time, they traveled to Earth too.”
Kaelen grimaced.“Earth seems to be a popular world to visit.”
“Lucky us. So, these Sasnomm made war on the Askole?”
“They did until only a hundred thousand were left alive. Desperate to save their people, the Askole scientists mutated their genome, making their race faster, stronger, and harder to kill. By accelerating a baby’s growth rate, they doubled the number of warriors able to fight. In his first year, Jaxor will grow to the size of an eight-year-old human.”
Holy shit!“What happened to the Sasnomm?”
“The war with the Askole had drained their resources. The Tai-Kok took advantage of the situation and attacked their home world. Few survived.”
“Karma’s a bitch,”I replied.
Kaelen nodded.“Askole High Commander Zayn hunted down and killed the surviving Sasnomm.”
“So, no more Sasnomm?”
“None have been found in the last five hundred years.”
I grimaced as nausea roiled my stomach. The skunk stench was horrendous.“Where’s that shower?”
“The second door.”He held out his hand.“Give me your belt and I’ll decontaminate your armor. Put your clothing down the disposal chute.”
I gaped at him in horror.“But this is my favorite T-shirt.”
“I will replicate you another shirt. Askole baby urine is used as a bioweapon against their enemies. The longer you breathe in the fumes, the faster it damages your lungs.”
“Gotcha.”Fighting down the urge to vomit, I hurried into the bathroom and stared in dismay. The closet-sized room had an eight-foot-tall transparent tube, and a round fishbowl toilet doohickey. There was no soap, no towels, no toilet paper, and no running water.
I drew on Kaelen’s knowledge and groaned. Well, fuckadoodledoo. The tube was the shower except no water was involved. Warships had a limited supply of water, and they used ultrasonic waves to clean away all the blood, dirt and sweat.
Putting Jaxor on the floor, I quickly stripped down and reluctantly put my contaminated clothing down the disposal chute. Tears welled in my eyes. The shirt was a birthday gift from my mother. The Tai-Kok had destroyed our home, and I treasured the few things we had managed to save.
A ghostly hand stroked my cheek.“You still have your memories. Treasure them.”
“I do.”
Jaxor bit my big toe.
“Dang it! Stop that!”I picked Jaws up. “No chewing on Momma Lexi.”
His tentacles drooped and he stared at me with big, sad eyes.
Well, hell. Did Askole moms let their kids chew on them? Maybe, but I didn’t have armor-plated skin. I kissed Jaxor’snose.“We need to get you a teething ring. Time for a shower little guy.”
He gurgled happily.
Here goes nothing. I opened the shower door, stepped inside, and studied the controls. Huh?
“Blue button starts the shower, the yellow button stops it,”Kaelen volunteered.
I pushed the blue button.Clang.Hell’s tornado spun around me, making it hard to breathe. I was about to run for my life when it stopped. “Oh, thank God.”
Jaxor squealed loudly.
