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Akihiro's normally tanned complexion looked pale as he lay motionless on the cramped bunk. Misaki brushed strands of dark brown hair away from his forehead. His skin felt clammy and she worried inwardly about what could be wrong with him. Feeling restless, she began to adjust the straps that held Aki in place. To go through all of that and then fall unconscious at the last moment to some unknown ailment just didn't seem fair.

With his gravity boots activated, the pilot walked over and stood beside her. He looked down at Aki with obvious concern.

"What was your name?" Misaki asked realizing they had never been formally introduced.

"Bernard.. Bernard Lutz. It's a pleasure to meet you," he said with an eager smile and reached out his hand to shake. She reciprocated and was surprised to see how vigorous his grip was considering his otherwise mellow personality.

Suddenly, a look of grief crossed his face. "I would probably be dead if it wasn't for Aki breaking me out of that place.” He paused for a moment, looking Akihiro over with quiet consideration. “You know... It could be the lack of gravity on the ship since we're coasting causing complications with his bleeding. We should get him to a doctor soon."

"I agree," Misaki said somberly. "But, how..." she began to say until she was interrupted by Aki's stirring.

Relief washed over her face as Akihiro opened his eyes and attempted to sit up. He winched sharply as the nylon straps held him in place and eventually rested back into his original position. Rushing to offer him some comfort, she loosened the belts and grabbed the pillows from the above bunk. As gently as she could manage, she pressed the extra cushions behind his back so that he could sit up more easily.

"Are you OK, man?" Bernard asked anxiously with his brow raised in distress.

"Y-yeah," Aki replied shakily. He seemed to have a slight shiver and Misaki found herself pulling the blankets up around his shoulder like a mother might do when doting over a sick child. He smiled at her kindly and continued. "Sorry to give you both a scare. I'm not sure what happened there. I'm just really cold and my leg hurts like hell. Do you have any more of those painkiller shots, Bernard?"

Bernard nodded adamantly, “Yes, I believe so!” He said quickly before hurrying off to retrieve one.

"I was so afraid," Misaki said, trying to ward off the tears that threatened to flow. She tenderly brushed the backside of her fingers down the side of his cheek. “Bernard says we should get to you a doctor, but I don't even know where we're going let alone if we'll be able to stop at a hospital.”

“I know,” Aki said recoiling from another jolt of pain as he tried to move his wounded leg. “Have you thought about what you want to do? I can't imagine you'd want to return to the Legion.”

“Ugh! Why on earth would I!?” she said shrilly as though it were the last thing she would ever actually desire. “I just don't know what the options are. Is there a way for us to desert and not get caught?”

“We'll have to talk with Bernard about it. He's really the only one who can corroborate any story we could come up with,” Aki said still trying to keep a straight face while obviously fighting with some serious pain.

Misaki regarded him with an uneasy expression as Bernard entered the room with a capped syringe in his right hand and a pair of surgical scissors in the other.

“Let's get these pants cut off so we can see what's going on with the injury, hrm?” Bernard said calmly. Even though he wasn't a doctor or a nurse, he had a very good bedside manner that many lacked.

She watched as Bernard carefully placed the blunt tipped scissors in through the torn fabric and began to cut around the circumference of Aki's shin. When Bernard lifted his leg slightly in order to reach underneath, Aki grunted loudly.

“Sorry, mate,” Bernard apologized as he meticulously cut down the length of the pant leg and removed the clothing.

She could already see what the problem was without anyone saying a word. Akihiro's calve was incredibly swollen with blood. It must have been immensely painful for him to tolerate for any length of time, let alone hours.

“Ok, man. This is going to hurt, but the pain should ease up almost immediately,” Bernard warned as he readied the shot. Misaki watched as he placed the injection slightly off center of the injury. “Good news is that the Quikclot is still holding. Bad news is that the lack of gravity is causing the blood to pool in an unnatural way. It's just not flowing properly. Your likely clotting below the surface, Aki.”

“You seem pretty well versed in this sort of thing. Have you had medical training?” Aki asked grimacing slightly as Bernard took the opportunity to inject the local anesthetic.

“Yeah, we're required to have first aid training as pilots. I just took more of an interest in it than most I guess.” Bernard smiled as he removed the syringe and quickly covered the site with his gloved finger. He replaced the plastic cap and slid it into his jacket pocket, then fished out a bandage and quickly dressed the small injection site.

“Now,” Bernard continued. “We need to get you out of zero G and quickly. If I had the fuel, I'd turn the thrusters on until we arrived to give us some gravity. Sadly, I don't. The closest space station is Hana-sora. Since you were out cold, I took the liberty of setting the course.”

Misaki and Akihiro exchanged a nervous glance between each other, but didn't say anything in response.

Bernard flattened his lips as he looked them over and finally spoke. “So, I couldn't help but overhear you two talking on my way back from getting the shot. I want you to know that I have no vested interest in returning you guys to the Legion. I'm just a contractor, so I'm not even with them officially.”

“A contractor? Really?” Akihiro asked with a baffled look on his face.

“Yes, and they sure as hell didn't pay me enough for this bullshit!” Bernard smirked before his countenance became more grave. “And... I know I wouldn't have made it out there if you hadn't have freed me, Aki. I know it was mutually beneficial to us both, but it still counts in my book.” Bernard was the epitome of gratitude as he smiled warmly in Aki's direction.

“I appreciate it, Bernard. I truly do. But, what do you have in mind?” Akihiro asked seeming confused at the gesture. “Anything you do for us will just drag you into the problem.”

“Not if I say I never saw you. Or better yet, I can just tell them you both died at the spaceport,” Bernard's voice was confident as though he was sure he could pull the deception off.

Misaki ran through all of the possible outcomes in her head. “Aki, that could work,” she said looking back to him. “I just don't know what we'd do for identification. The moment we scanned in, we'd be picked up by the Legion.”

“The mechas,” Akihiro said seriously as though heavy in thought. “We sell them... we'll have a lot of money to work with. We could buy new identities from any black market dealer. Best thing about it... is that the mechas can't be traced back to the Legion. They would have no way find us. That's if they even looked for us in the first place.”

“Hrm,” Misaki said considering all that he had said. “Can we truly broker a deal like that under the counter?”

“Of course! It happens all the time! Honestly, the bigger the deal, the more likely it is to go under the table so nobody has to pay taxes on it!” Aki said laughing as a look of hopeful optimism crossed his face.

“But what about your leg?” Misaki asked apprehensively. “They'll scan you in the moment you enter the hospital.”

“I can find you someone,” Bernard interjected. “I'll do some digging around the station when we get there and find someone who's willing to take care of you off the books. There's always a lot of transients at space stations anyway. They're basically the truck stops of the universe. Lots of people looking to disappear as well as avoid the law.” Bernard grinned happily and then gave them both his best thumbs up. “We can do this, guys!”

“Bernard, I can't thank you enough,” Akihiro said with an appreciative smile.

“We can't thank you enough, “Misaki added as she grabbed Bernard's hands in her own.

He pulled back and shook his head as though it were nothing. Misaki could see the telltale blush of red in his cheeks that proved his embarrassment. “It's nothing, ma'am,” he uttered looking off to the side so he could avoid making eye contact.

“Bernard,” Aki called somberly and they all returned their gaze to him. “There's one more thing I need to tell you about. Something I need you to report for me.”

Misaki listened as Akihiro explained what they had found down in underground lab. He recounted how the Iron Badgers were experimenting on human beings to make the next generation of slaves who couldn't disobey. A look of disgust was present on Bernard's face as he took in the horrifying story.

“I need to know you'll tell them. Tell the Legion. Tell the media. Tell anyone who will listen... so at the very least those bastards won't be able to operate under their same business anymore.” It was clear Akihiro had a strong conviction to see justice served.

“I'll make sure they listen, Aki. Besides, I'm pretty sure the Legion will want payback for the losses they suffered on Midori no Mori. The media always loves a juicy story too. I'm sure they'll be all over it,” Bernard agreed.

Akihiro reached forward in order to shake Bernard's hand and he gladly accepted it. “Thank you, friend,” Aki said appreciatively.

“Sure thing, man,” Bernard said before turning his head in order to wipe an errant tear away. “I know you two went through a lot of shit to get here, but I'm glad to be able to help you going forward.” He stood up and cleared his throat in an attempt to swiftly change the subject. “We'll be there within a couple hours. So be ready for it.”

They both watched as Bernard left the room and then turned to smile at each other.

“Can you even believe this?” Misaki said feeling exasperated that everything was working out so well.

“It's too good to be true and that makes me a little weary, but we can at least see where this path takes us. It sure beats the idea of being stuck on that fucking planet, huh?” Akihiro replied with sardonic humor.

“Yeah, it does,” Misaki replied as the belief that they might actually get away from the Legion set in. “To start over again. It just doesn't even sound real.”

“I know. Believe me, I know,” Aki said rolling his eyes with exaggeration.

“Do you think we'll get a chance to pick our new names?” she asked curiously. “Or will we have to accept someone else's existing identity?”

“I have no clue, Misaki,” he said as he grasped her hand across the blanket that covered his lap. “All I need... is to be with you. The rest doesn't really matter.” He rubbed his fingers gently along the tender skin of her palm.

She felt a tear run down her cheek as she leaned over Akihiro and kissed him. Against all odds, they had made it out of this ordeal alive. Misaki felt like they could do anything so long as they were together.

Misaki sat up right before standing. “Let's get you changed now that the painkiller has set in. I found some jumpsuits back in the storage lockers,” Misaki said merrily as she pulled down a couple piles of folded clothing from the top bunk.

“Can I call you Nurse Misaki?” Akihiro asked playfully as he shot her a wink.

“Only if you want me to be rough with you,” she answered with a laugh as Aki scowled.

Misaki felt some apprehension in what the future might hold for them both, but overwhelmingly she found herself cheery with hope. As long as we're together her thoughts reverberated in her mind as she helped Akhiro out of his mangled clothing. As long as we're together.