Erik was busy moving freight around the cargo hold again. It didn't really make sense to him why it was so necessary to move things around so frequently when they'd never sold or bought new freight, but that's what he was told to do, so that's what he did. He was just shoving the large crate into position against the wall again when the foreman showed up to check his work.

The smaller human walked around, inspecting the crates, while Erik caught his breath. Suddenly, the human stopped, pointing at one of the crates. "What's this? Did you damage my merch? Didn't I tell you to be careful moving this stuff around?"

Erik leaned over to see what the man was talking about. "Oh, that? That's just a scratch on the crate. I can buff that right out if you want!"

The foreman didn't seem appeased. "Oh, you're just gonna buff that out, are ya? Don't you know that'll shorten the lifespan of our hardware? Not to mention, if you're as half as clumsy with those tools as you are with my merch, you'll just end up breaking something! I think I'm just gonna have to file a complaint. The captain will take it out of your pay!"

Erik felt his tendrils shake in agitation as his hands reflexively spasmed as if ready to strike out with his claws. But he reminded himself that the ship was already in space and needed this job to hold out at least as long as it would take to get to the next port. Instead, he forced himself to smile. "Sorry about that boss! I guess I'll have to try and be more careful."

But, of course, Vanessa, who'd apparently overheard everything, wasn't going to let this drop so easily as she stalked forward. "Human, is your problem with our performance...or with us?"

The foreman turned to Vanessa, surprisingly not intimidated the way most humans were. "My problem is with subpar work! I don't like new blood coming into my cargo hold and thinking they can get away with lazing about and being sloppy when they do work!"

Erik was trying to diffuse the situation. "Vanessa, this isn't worth fightin' over..."

But his voice was easily lost behind Vanessa's rising tone as she began to push herself up on her legs, easily towering over the smaller man. "Lazing about? That's ridiculous! You have my mistress and I constantly moving your freight around for no reason while the rest of your crew watches! You obviously have a problem with us, and I, for one, won't..."

A moment later, there was a shout. "All right, everyone, just calm down for a moment!"

Surprisingly, Alen walked in between the slightly larger foreman and the much larger Vanessa, putting a hand on each party and pushing them back, which only worked because both parties complied. He then turned to the foreman and spoke in a reasonably quiet tone while passing something off to the man. "Listen, they're new around here, obviously, and don't know how things work, but I'll cover them this time. There's even a little something extra in there for your trouble, okay?"

The foreman grunted and pocketed whatever it was he'd been handed. "Fine. But see to it they know the rules from here on out. I'm not in the business of making exceptions!"

Alen nodded. "Of course, of course! I'll have a word with them right now! It won't be a problem again!"

As the foreman walked away, Alen turned toward Erik and Vanessa. "Listen, guys, I'm sorry about that, but that's how things are done around here. He wasn't picking a fight just to pick a fight. He was looking for a bribe. Now, it's my fault for not explaining it to you, but I'll tell you what, I'll see if I can't negotiate a little extra for you both to cover any future 'misunderstandings.'"

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Erik could tell Vaness wasn't too pleased. "This is ridiculous! My mistress and I work harder than anyone else around here, and we have to pay extra?"

Alen shook his head. "It's just because you're the new blood. They don't know or trust you yet, that's all! We all go through it. Hell, I'm still new blood myself!"

That surprised Erik. "Just how long have you been with the crew?"

Alen smiled sheepishly. "Well, I kinda joined up the port before you."

Vanessa didn't seem pleased with that revelation. "So what you're saying is you've got no authority."

Erik tried to calm down his partner. "Listen, we don't have to stick with this ship long. Just until we get to the next port. If things haven't settled down by then, we can always start over. No problem for the likes of us!"

Vanessa didn't seem pleased. "We're always 'just starting over.' I grow tired of humans' short-sightedness and stupidity."

Erik grinned at Alen. "Oh, I don't know. They're not all bad!" though judging by the smaller man's widening eyes at Erik's teeth, he didn't take comfort in the gesture.

Suddenly, the captain's voice rang out over the speakers. "All hands to your stations! Looks like we've got some action headed our way, boys!"

-

As Carter shuffled around the empty deck, he mused to himself how childish the insane AI running this ship must be if they thought a little peace and quiet was gonna force his hand. Ever since showing him the "chair," they'd left him alone to roam the empty halls of the ship. He had to admit, in the dim lights without anyone else to interact with, the place was kind of spooky again, but after the last few days he'd had, he'd take a little spookiness if it meant he could relax for a minute or three.

One of the first things he'd done was go back to the dining hall, get himself a bowl of minty bug goo, and prop his feet up on a bench with his back against a wall while he ate. Apparently, his tiredness had gotten the better of him because, at some point, he passed out like that.

With a jolt, Carter awakened, only to realize he had no idea how long he'd been asleep other than it had been long enough to make him sore in places he didn't know could hurt. He slowly and carefully eased out his aching muscles and stood up, looking around as he stretched. The dining hall looked the same as when he'd passed out. Nothing had changed. Somehow, that just drove home just how alone he was. But of course, he wasn't alone, not really. He could practically feel the cameras that must be in place watching his every move.

Carter had always been a loner, but this was different than the quiet of running his small little ship by himself. This quiet felt hungry, like it could swallow him up at any moment. Unable to bear the quiet any longer, Carter spoke out. "Hey, us, Sybil. How long was I out for?" There was no answer.

Carter chuckled to himself before trying again. "Oh, come on! Are we really playing the 'I'm not talking to you' game? What do you take me for?" Still no answer.

Carter sighed. "Alright. Have it your way. But this isn't exactly winning me over!"

As the silence dragged on, Carter debated going back to his room and taking a real nap. Or maybe it was late enough to call it a night? But he didn't feel particularly tired after that nap on the bench. Maybe he'd go for a jog through the halls? But running on the hard plating didn't sound particularly appealing either. At least on his ship, he'd had his computer and data slates with plenty of entertainment, but the pirates had taken all those. Maybe he'd see if he could make his way back to his escape pod and see what he could find in there that he hadn't already gone over a hundred times while he was lost and drifting. On the way, he could even scope out more rooms to see if anything was worth digging into.

Carter had gotten through a half dozen rooms when suddenly, an alarm pierced through the ship's quiet. It might not have been too loud normally, but after the void of sound he'd been stuck in for who knows how long, it seemed ear-shattering.

Covering his ears, Carter growled into the empty room. "Really, resorting to this kinda bull shit now? You know what? To hell with you! I'm done playing your little games!"

Suddenly, the alarm cut off, and the girl appeared before him. "Sorry, that wasn't for you. However, it looks like you're in luck. That was the proximity alarm. We're about to have guests. You might just get a pass on the whole captain thing."

Carter's eyes narrowed. "What kind of guests?"

The girl shrugged. "What else? Pirates!"