The dimly lit lab gently rocked as Jason set down a large wooden crate. He sat down on a stool and placed a cigar in his mouth. The other man grabbed a crowbar from the table and shoved one end into the lid of the crate. It wedged open with a crack and Jason heard a sharp inhale of breath.

"Captain? Come take a look at this."

"Steve, I just sat down. What is it?"

"Sir, it's… a girl."

"What?" Jason exclaimed, standing up as he dropped his unlit cigar.

"And the crystals are gone!" Steve said loudly.

The girl twitched, her sleeping form curled up in a ball inside the crate. Steve tossed aside the crowbar as he frantically dug through the straw around her.

"Shit." Jason swore as he peered down into the crate. Those crystals were beyond important, with it he could revolutionize weapons technology and with it make a huge fortune.

As Jason was trying to hold back his fuming expression and many, many curses, the door to the lab was flung open.

"Jason! The crystals are in the loading bay!" A woman exclaimed as the sliding door slammed into the frame. Tools were knocked to the floor and the woman entered, stepping over pliers and clamps. In her arms were half a dozen glowing blue crystals.

"Val!" Jason said excitedly as he recognized her. "Where were those?"

"By the second docking anchor. Who's the girl?" Valentina asked.

Jason looked back at the crate and saw that the girl had woken up, likely from the slam of the door. She was rubbing her eyes as she sat up. Her bleary eyes rose above the edge of the crate then widened as she saw the large assortment of weapons each person was carrying.

"I don't know," Jason said after a moment. "She must have snuck aboard during the loading."

"What are we going to do with her?" Steve asked softly.

"She can't stay here," Jason said firmly.

The girl looked at the revolver at Jason's hip and gulped.

"Christ Jason! We can't kill her!" Valentina yelled.

"I never said kill her," Jason said defensively.

"Where else is she supposed to go?" Valentina shot back. "We are three thousand feet in the bloody air!"

"We could just slap a parachute to her back," Jason replied.

"She is a kid, we are not tossing her out the cargo hold," Valentina said firmly.

"I agree with Valentina," Steve said meekly.

"Shut it," Jason said, not breaking eye contact with Valentina.

"That's not what you pay me for," Steve said with sudden courage.

Jason looked back at Steve just in time to see him try to rearrange his face into a more composed expression.

"Fine," Jason said after a moment. "She can stay until we finish crossing the Atlantic."

"We can't just ditch her in America!" Valentina said.

"Yes we can."

"Jason!"

"We can argue about this later, I need to go get my crystals," Jason walked to the door then turned back and pointed at the tools scattered on the floor. "Steve, pick these up. And keep an eye on that girl."

Jason spun on his heel then stormed out of the room.

Another blasted trip just to be able to maintain funds and now he had a stowaway to deal with! This was shaping up to be the worst week of the year.

Jason muttered and grumbled as he made his way to the loading bay. He slid open the door and began looking around. He spotted a dim glow coming from behind some boxes and rushed over to it. Just as Valentina had said, the precious cargo was by the crank for the second docking anchor. The crystals were piled haphazardly on the floor. Jason knelt down and began collecting the crystals.

"Two. Four. Six…" He counted as he picked them up. "Eighteen. Twenty-two. Twenty-four. Twenty-eight. Thirty." He paused as Valentina walked in with a bag.

Jason shoved the pile of counted crystals toward her and then resumed counting as she put them in the back.

"Forty. Two. Three. We are one short." Jason said, disgruntled. "You only picked up six?"

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"That's right," Valentina replied.

"Shit," Jason swore softly.

"It's fine," Valentina said, equally softly. "We still have forty-nine."

"These cost me an arm and a leg, Val," Jason said, massaging his temples. "I barely have enough to pay the crew for another cycle."

Jason sat back against the wall and sighed.

He stood up with a groan and then strode out of the loading bay, weaving around boxes. Valentina followed him, carrying the bag. He walked back into the lab and looked at the girl. In her arms was a small backpack. Jason grabbed the backpack from her, ripping it out of her hands. He quickly undid the buckles and dumped the contents on a table. Out fell a couple trinkets, a small set of clothes, and a glowing crystal, brighter than the rest.

Jason stared at the crystal. He turned and looked at the girl.

“Sorry,” she said quietly.

“This doesn’t belong to you, does it?” Jason asked her.

She shook her head and turned her head toward the floor.

Jason sighed and put the crystal in the inner breast pocket of his vest.

“Keep her here for a while longer,” Jason said to Steve as he left. Valentina followed close behind him and they quickly made their way to the captain’s quarters on the second floor.

Jason slid open the door to his room and sat down on his bunk. Valentina unbuckled her gun belt and set it down on the desk with the bag of crystals. She undid the buckles and laces on her boots and took them off, then crawled onto the bed and lay down behind Jason.

“I am happy you are here,” Jason said, turning towards Valentina. He had missed her so much. He glanced down at the wavy locks of dark hair that framed the gentle curve of her right cheek.

“There is nowhere else I would rather be,” She replied.

“You copied my tattoo,” Jason said, looking at her face. She had a simple sigil sketched onto her left cheek, just like his. It seemed to glow against her tanned skin, vibrant and purple as a plum.

“It’s only monochrome, not like yours,” Valentina said, reaching up towards Jason’s face. “You copied my earring.”

She brushed her fingers along the curve of his ear and down his jawline. Jason brushed aside Valentina’s hair, exposing her ear. She had the same earring, made up of two half-circles, one gold, one silver, fused together into a single small circle.

“What are we doing?” Jason asked suddenly.

“I don’t know, you were the one that sat down.”

“Alright then, let’s get back to work.”

“Fine then,” Valentina said, disappointed. She pushed him off the bed but he deftly stood up before he could fall. “In that case, let’s go talk to the stowaway.”

She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and began putting her boots back on. Jason straightened his vest and leather chaps then adjusted his knife and pistols on his hips. Jason stepped out of his room and marched down the hallway back to the lab. He slid the door open and stepped inside. Steve was quietly explaining to the girl what some of the tools on the shelves were, trying to calm her down.

The girl looked up as Jason entered, fear visible on her face.

“Can you fix your face?” Steve asked. “You’re scaring her.”

“Fine,” Jason said, kneeling down on one knee. His armor and weapons clanked and scraped against each other as he removed his peaked cap. Jason attempted to soften his face then cleared his throat.

“What is your name?” he asked, trying to be gentle, yet stern.

The girl mumbled something unintelligible.

“What was that, kid?” Jason said, gruffer than he meant to.

“Emily,” the girl said quietly.

“Where are you from?” Jason asked.

“Manchester,” She answered sadly. “But I don’t live there any more.”

Strange, that is 200 miles away… Jason thought.

“How did you get into the crate for the crystals?” Jason asked.

“I snuck on board.”

“Yeah. How?”

“I don’t know, I just kind of wandered on board.”

She is lying. It would have been nearly impossible for a girl of her size to open that crate, she cannot be older than 12 years. I will have to keep an eye on her.

Jason silently sighed and decided to pretend to not notice the absurdity of her sentence.

“Do you know what this is, Emily?” Jason said, pulling out the crystal from his pocket.

The crystal’s color had faded a little bit from the piercing glow it had possessed earlier, but it was still very bright. The lights in the lab reflected off the curved and crooked faces of the crystal. Emily looked down at its unrefined shape and shook her head.

“I have no idea,” She said blankly.

Another lie.

“This is not just a regular crystal, Emily,” Jason explained. “It has a strange property where it can release energy without producing any heat. It is a battery which only radiates light energy. If that can be harnessed, it is a perfect power supply.”

Jason was looking at Emily’s eyes as she tracked the crystal in his hand. He saw something strange, almost a smugness.

Something is off about her. She knows something that she is not telling me. Her presence aboard the ship is certainly strange, but how can I make use of it? I will have to treat her like a guest for the time being I guess, and that would probably make Valentina happy.

Jason looked down at Emily’s clothes, her clothes were torn and worn, covered with a layer of dirt and grime that wouldn’t quite wash away. One might have mistaken her for a fugitive.

“You know what kid? I can get you some new clothes that fit you better.”

“Please, sir, can I have something to eat?” Emily said, a little friendlier.

“Call me captain.”

Emily nodded.

“Follow me,” Jason said. He left the lab and went to the mess hall, closely followed by Valentina and Emily.

“Val, can you find some spare clothes for Emily?” He asked.

Valentina nodded then disappeared down the hallway. Jason gestured for Emily to sit and then brought out some bread and chicken legs. Emily dug in and soon she had devoured the whole meal.

Geez, she must not have been eating properly. Jason thought as he stood up. He then took Emily to the bathroom for her to change into the new clothes Valentina had gotten. After waiting outside for what felt like too long, Emily exited and Jason then made his way to the bridge.

The clothes were a little big for Emily, but it would fit alright. Valentina had pulled out an extra jacket, vest, and hat from an old crew member’s cabin. It’s not like she would be using it after all.

In the time it had taken Jason to take Emily to the mess hall and then for her to change clothes, the crew had already guided the ship out to sea. The shining blue waves glimmered far below as he stepped into the bridge. Emily followed close behind, with Valentina bringing up the rear. Emily stared out the windows with awe. Her jaw dropped as she looked down, down, down towards the waves five thousand feet below.

“Welcome aboard the Serenity,” Jason said proudly.