Free City Without Suns by Wade Andrew Butcher

it sure does feel good to let them out, like a good stretch in the morning after waking up stiff.)
    I flapped my wings in the weightless space.  With each passing movement, I built speed through the tunnel.  As quickly as I had begun, I slowed to reach the end.  My heart rate was barely elevated from the short sprint.  I placed my hand on the wall to feel the warmth generated from the propulsion system in the distance on the other side.  I did not understand how it worked and envied our mechanics who did.
    I kicked off the wall and headed the other way.  I pushed hard, trying to see how fast I could reach the top end situated under the Ward, the Lander, and the Bridge.  As I reached full speed, the figure of a woman came into view in the distance.  I groaned. I hated slowing down when I was just starting to enjoy myself.
    I could count on my appendages the number of times I encountered anyone in the center corridor.  As I slowed to a stop, I tried to recognize the one who had seemingly followed me there, but her identity evaded me.  She was young, about twenty years old, obviously born on the ship.  I saw no insignia that authorized her to be there. She held up her hand.
    “Salazar, a word please?”  The unfamiliar person addressed me by name, but I did not acknowledge as I used my wings to stop. I tried to briefly give her the benefit of doubt and a chance to explain what she was doing in a restricted section of the ship.  “Excuse me, sir, …” she continued with a little bit of a stutter.
    Oh, what I would give to just have a conversation with someone that considered me normal.  “Spit it out,” I said.
    “I was wondering, sir, I am a new genetic engineer, well trained. I was wondering if I could get a sample of some kind.  Hair, skin, blood, …doesn’t matter.”
    “Do you know this is a restricted area?  Water tanks are off limits except for maintenance,” I stated.  Unlike some of my overzealous colleagues, I had no intention of punishing her, but I was annoyed at her brazen approach.
    “No, no I didn’t.  I just really wanted to talk to you,” she said with uncommon lack of remorse.  I concluded she must reside in the upper levels by the Ward, not in the lower levels where most people shy away from interaction with patrols.
    “You are kind of young.  Did somebody else send you?  Usually there are committee decisions where to invest energy in our cloning plans.  And it’s usually approved by…” I hesitated.  The Commander usually approved under counsel from the Chief Medical Officer, but he has known about me for a very long time.  A study of me was never previously suggested.  Maybe Leonidas relented knowing that my secret was out.
    “Nobody, I just really think you could help our work,” she said.  Either she was lying, or she was an ambitious scientist doing an investigation on her own.  I did not discount either possibility and decided to play along, although it was an unorthodox conversation to have with a stranger.  It was an even more unusual time and place.  I was on-duty.  She was in a restricted area tethered to the interior of the weightless space. 
    I drifted around her controlling my movements with my wings, but I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable, at least not immediately.  I was curious and tried to put her at ease.
    “Tell me, what is your name?”
    “Erika.”
    “Erika, why would anyone want to create another person like me?  I am not well-suited for space travel.”
    “Umm, you seem pretty well-adapted to me.  But, I don’t want to recreate you with an exact clone.  I’m more interested in the composition of your bones.  I hear they are flexible.”  Erika was no longer stuttering, and the volume in her words had increased a little bit.  I was impressed by her confidence.
    “How do you know about my bones?” I asked.
    “I heard people talking about you.”
    “Interesting, what did they say?”  I questioned with a smile.
    “I