My wife chuckles, the first time I've heard her do so in days. "We've decided to go ahead and do the test."
I set down the data pad I desperately need to read and focus on my mate. "Now? You want to do the test now?"
She nods. "I know we're just outside of Risda and blah blah blah, but Ruthie and I have finally come to terms with it. We want to move forward with clear heads, and we want to get this done before we land on Risda, because Ruthie might be staying there."
I glance over at the female with the shorn hair. She's taken to outlining her dark eyes with even darker eye pigments, and I suspect Kazex helped her pierce her ears. They're studded almost as much as my own. It's like she's determined to carve out her own self, which is understandable. My Ruth has kept her appearance exactly the same, though, and it makes me proud that she's so settled in who she is. She's the original. I'd wager my favorite robes on it.
Even so, her timing is deplorable. "Right now," I state again. "As in this very moment?"
Ruth frowns at me. "Yeah? Does that interfere with your schedule, Lord Control Issues?" She reaches over and snatches the data pad from in front of me, which is cute, considering she can't read it. "When is a good time for you then? Tonight? Tomorrow?"
I pluck the data pad back out of her grasp. "Now is fine. I'm just…amused at your timing." Well, irked, but it's hard to stay irked at my lovely wife, especially when she flutters her lashes at me. I set the data pad down, marking my place in the reports, and get to my feet. "Sakkar wouldn't do the test for you?"
She hesitates. "He would. I just…wanted you there."
My heart feels tight with pride and affection. I hold my hand out to my mate. Even now, after being married for three months, it still surprises me when someone wants me around. To think that my presence is comforting for my female. "I'll always be there for you. Let's go. We'll get you the answers you need."
86
RUTH
Poor Sakkar looks wary when we all pile into med-bay. "Now?" he asks. "You want to do this right now?"
I ignore the fact that Straik had the same response and hop up on one of the tables. "Now's the perfect time for an answer. Me and Ruthie are both ready to get this over with." I'm nervous and feel like throwing up again, but Ruthie looks calm as she sits next to me and takes my hand. That small gesture reassures me, as does the fact that Straik is in here, with us. He's always got my back.
Sakkar shrugs and pulls out a monitor. "Suit yourself. If it's all right with the captain, this shouldn't take long." He glances over at Straik, who nods, his gaze on me the entire time. "Put your finger in here, Ruthie. We'll do you first, since you're newest to the crew." He looks up and frowns behind us, and I glance over to see Kazex hovering in the doorway of the small med-bay. "Can you give us a moment?"
"I'd like him to stay," Ruthie says mildly. "I asked him to be with me."
Sakkar rolls his eyes. "Tech save me from a male in love. Fine." He clips the monitor to the end of Ruthie's forefinger. "This is going to jab you and extract your genetic information. We should know in a few moments exactly what it says. Ready?"
She nods, her face carefully blank. Her nose twitches when the monitor jabs her, and then the screen behind Sakkar fills up with data. He turns toward it, his back to us, and Ruthie sucks on her lower lip as she watches me. I give her an encouraging smile and squeeze her other hand. It's going to be okay, whatever the test says.
"Your genetic markers are cloned material," Sakkar says in an emotionless voice. He points at the screen. "I don't see a laboratory record imprinted into your genetic information like a standard clone would have. Both Kazex and I have a unique identifier lodged in ours. But there's no mistaking the readouts. See these lines? This is a map of your mitochondrial DNA. Genetic markers, if you will." He points at the information scrolling across the screen in rapid bursts. "Whenever someone is cloned, the markers are unnaturally even. The records are too clean. Normal markers would be jagged, with hills and valleys in the information readouts. Yours have been perfected by a computer somewhere."
Ruthie says nothing, her fingers tight on mine. She just nods.
"I'm sorry," I whisper. I should be gleeful, because it means that I'm the real thing and she's the copy, but I mostly feel sad. I like Ruthie. Strangely enough, it's like we're twins and I'm starting to enjoy her presence instead of feeling threatened by it.