Jack woke up in his makeshift bed, a small, uncomfortable air mattress lying on the concrete floor. It was hard to tell when morning was anymore, considering that they were out in the black void of space. When his eyes finally opened, he noticed the bed next to his was empty. Katrina must’ve gotten up during the night.
He walked around the ship, noticing that there wasn’t much in the way of decor on the ship. The concrete sarcophagus was quiet, the ship’s loud engines the only white noise in his ears. No one else was around, so he sat in the middle, just listening to the sounds around him.
He stared out the window for a moment, the fact that he was in space still a surprise to him. Everything had seemed so sudden, one day he was just a normal kid, went to school and everything, the next he was a fugitive running for his life, but he guessed that was the nature of the empire. Jack saw an empire ship and quickly ducked, not knowing if they had his face or not. As he laid flat as a board on the ground, the clattering of tools made its way towards him, the smell of engine oil entering his nose, burning the insides like a gasoline fire.
“Why’re you laying on the floor?” Asked Katrina, standing over him. Her blonde hair was up in a loose ponytail, her clothes smudged and dirty from the work she had done.
“Oh, sorry, I saw an empire ship. Thought they were after me.”
“Trust me, they’re after all of us. You aren’t the only one.”
Jack stood from his place, “What did you do?”
“Me? Well, it’s a long story, y’know?”
“I killed a soldier.” Jack said bluntly.
Katrina’s eyes dropped, “I know what you did.” She sighed, “I guess I should tell you. I was fixing an empire ship, and I guess I messed something up. Ruined a fuel line or something, just a little accident. The commander thought I was sabotaging his ship, so he put a bounty on my head. That’s how I got here.”
“Man, they really are assholes.”
“Petty is what they are.” She said, her voice in a scoff. “You should go back to bed, it’s early.”
“I don’t know what time it is.”
“Y’know, neither do I. I just woke up and started working.”
Jack was confused, “On what?”
“Everything, I guess. This old thing is a chunk of nuts and bolts. Apparently, if you listen, this thing was Tyson’s fathers.”
“Huh.”
Katrina fiddled with the screwdriver in her hand, “Yeah.” She took a deep breath, “Well, it was nice to talk to you. I gotta get back to work before the big guy starts screaming.”
“See you later.” Jack waved as she walked off, returning to the dark room she came from. He wondered how many rooms there were in here, and why he didn’t have his own room. Then, another presence made its way into the room.
“Stupid rookie, just standing there aimlessly like a deer in the headlights.” Amber spoke up, her voice filled with unnecessary venom.
“Oh, hi.” Jack answered sheepishly.
“That’s it? You don’t even know my name?!”
“No, I don’t. Do you know mine?”
“I don’t need yours! You're just a kid who got lucky!”
He became confused, “Lucky? What the hell do you mean? My father is dead, my mother was taken by soldiers, I have nothing.”
“You got to kill a soldier! I never got to do that!”
Jack shook his head, taken aback by spontaneity and narcissism in her voice. “I didn’t want to. Why are you complaining anyway? Why are you here?”
“Me? I’m the greatest criminal in the seven realms! You should already know my accomplishments.”
“But… I don’t even know your name.”
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Her flaunting stalled, eyes bulging. “Fine, I shall introduce myself.” She cleared her throat, then stood over an air vent so her hair would blow in the wind. “I am Amber Callahan, the perpetrator of the greatest heist in Earth’s galactic history!”
“What did you steal?”
She gave him a mean look, an over exaggerated motion throwing her arms at her hips. “Must I explain everything to you?!”
“I have no clue what you’re talking about!”
“Well, get a clue! You stupid rookies are all the same!” She scoffed melodramatically, “Oblivious as always!
Jack groaned, “I’m sorry.”
“Ugh!”
She rolled her eyes and turned around to walk away, but she rammed directly into the revealed abs of the ship’s purveyor.
“Why are you screaming?” He asked coldly.
“Oh… Tyson, I was-“
He looked down at Jack, “And what are you doing awake?”
“Uh…”
“If you two are going to be awake and screaming, you might as well do some goddamn work.” He picked up a box of supplies that seemed pretty easy for him to lift, but when he put it into Amber’s hands, she almost collapsed under its weight. He gave Jack a box of similar size, and he almost collapsed as well. “Put them in the coffers. And god forbid I hear a peep.” He then turned around, and slammed the door to the bedroom he occupied.
Amber opened a trap door, and led Jack down to the dark, hidden spiral staircase that laid under their feet. There was a tense silence between them, and he got the occasional dirty look from the woman’s hazel eyes. She flicked on the one light in the room, a shoddy lightbulb hanging from a string, and sat her box down on the floor, an exhausted groan leaving her throat.
“That asshole…” she muttered.
“We wouldn’t be here if you didn’t start yelling at me.”
“Shut up, rookie.” She got up from her rest, walking back up the stairs.
“I didn’t do anything.” Jack responded, yelling as she made her way up the steps.
“All the more reason to shut up, y’know, so you don’t do anything that makes me wanna rip your little legs off.”
Jack let out a sigh, then flicked the lightbulb off. He walked up the dark stairs, peeking his head through the small trap door the stairs were hidden under before going back into the main room. He got back up there to find everyone awake, including Luci sitting in the middle of the room, smoking a cigarette.
“Oh, hey kid.”
“Hi.”
“Whatcha doing down in the coffers?”
He sighed, “Tyson made us put boxes down there.”
“Ah… I heard the girl banshee scream about something, but I didn’t really know. I was half-asleep.”
“Something about how I didn’t know what she did.”
Luci took a puff, “Sounds about right. I woulda kicked her ass, but I guess you’re a bigger man than me.”
“Yeah… I didn’t really have that option.”
“I guess.” She shrugged, “Serpent almighty, I got a headache.”
“You should get some ice or something.”
“Nah, I’ll be fine. I’m a big girl. Hand me that little water thing, will ya?” Jack gave her a small bowl of water, where she put her cigarette out. The smoke made the room reek of burning paper. “Thanks kid.” She said, her voice guttural from the smoke.
“No problem.” He responded awkwardly, concerned for her well-being. Jack wandered around a little bit, just exploring the ship a bit more so he didn’t feel lost in the concrete structure. He walked by the cockpit of the ship, seeing Tyson sitting on a folding chair next to Barrett, who was flying the thing. He overheard the end of their conversation.
“What do you think they’d do to us?” Asked Barrett, his fatherly tone replaced by a serious one.
“Feed us to the snake. That’s what they do to everyone.”
“I’m a little concerned for those kids, y’know?”
Tyson scoffed, “That kid Luci brought is the only kid, Amber just acts like one.”
“That doesn’t make me any less concerned. I lost my livelihood to these assholes, losing my life would be a kick in the balls that I don’t want.”
“I’d rather not be fed to a false idol either.”
Barrett gave him a glare, “Careful what you say about that stuff, alright? I know you don’t believe it but other people do. You’ve already pissed off the wrong people.”
“You’re right. I’d just like to chop that bitch’s head off.”
“We all do. Don’t think you're the only one.” The fatherly man said with a laugh.
Tyson stood from his chair, causing Jack to quickly walk away to avoid any sort of conversation. He walked back into the main room, sitting down on one of the boxes. Luci still sat in her spot, and Katrina had entered, wiping sweat from her brow.
He took a quick glance out the window, letting a small smile purse his lips for just a moment. It was the first time a glimmer of hope flowed through him, like a wave on a calm ocean. Tyson walked into the room, rubbing his head as he headed back into his bedroom. He stood in his doorway, “We’re stopping for gas tomorrow.” He said bluntly, then returned to his quarters.
There was a tense silence in the air, one brought on by a fear of the unknown. Katrina snickered a little, “We’re stopping for gas tomorrow.” She spoke in a pastiche of his gravelly voice, barely holding a straight face while doing it. They all shared a laugh, the first time that’d happened while they were here. It made Jack feel a little more comfortable in his own skin.
Maybe everything wasn’t as bad as he thought.