So this chapter is a little bit of fun. It gives you a bit of background on Mia as well as a first glimpse into the close relationship she is starting to form with Shepard. I'm also trying to add in the maturity that Mia lacks in this, but more of that will be in the next chapter.
Chapter 2 of "The Lost Girl"
I sat on the bed for a moment, but I was way too curious to sleep. I glanced at the time on my omni-tool. 20:15. Hell it was even too early to sleep, yet for some reason it felt later after such a long, interesting day.
My life had been threatened multiple times, yet the creature that held me tightly with a gun pressed into my back was the one I feared. When I closed my eyes I could still see the strangely dark creature as it hissed its demands into my ear. Groaning I accepted the image and fell back on to my bed. I searched my memory of the character, trying to give light to a shadow, but nothing came. After gun fire and more, a shadow frightened me enough to haunt my waking state.
In moments like these, a certain wave of energy came over me. It was usually the wave I needed to get me back on my feet and fight, but sometimes it made me feel violent, like I needed to hurt something. Finally I rolled off the bed and went to the door.
Crew members were around cleaning, working on data, a few even relaxing after a hard day's work. Carefully I stepped towards a man standing behind a counter.
"Is there a training area?" I asked curtly, not meaning for it to sound as harsh as it did.
The man raised his eyebrow at me. I could tell he was ready to comment on my attitude, but decided against it. "Deck 5," he said simply.
I turned away from him, ready to head for the elevator. "The name's Rupert by the way," he called in almost an annoyed tone. It was obvious to me why I received the twinge in his voice, and I did deserve.
Slowly I turned back around and thought for a moment. Manners and formalities were not my strong suit. "I apologize," I murmured, testing the waters of this approach. "I'm Mia, I just got here."
Rupert smile, and I took it as a sign of forgiveness. "Remember kid, be nice to the crew. They can make life easier for you, or not."
I smiled in return about to comment on how they already seem quite curious about me, but out of the corner of my eye I saw Shepard exiting a room. There was a satisfied expression on her lips, but she also seemed to be deep in thought. Her clothes seemed to be more for comfort than fashion but she still looked beautiful in them. In fact for a military woman she was extremely beautiful. She had a well toned athletic figure, but definitely a woman's, and her soft red hair went perfectly with her lightly freckled skin and big blue eyes.
She beckoned for me to follow her and without a second thought, or a farewell to Rupert, I did.
A smile laid plainly on her lips, but the seriousness in her eyes was evident. Part of me wondered if it ever went away. "Figured you may want to blow off some steam," she said simply.
Immediately I nodded, that was exactly what I wanted.
"Good, I want to see how you hold up with sparring. Jacob's waiting and Miranda will join us soon." She wrapped her hands with some sort of black cloth as the elevator lowered.
The sparring area was well laid out with mats as well as a punching bag and the firing range was on the opposite side of the ship. Protective gear was hung on the wall but I could tell it had never been touched. In a way that made me like these people even more, they weren't afraid of getting hurt.
Jacob was stretching on the mat without his shirt. The female inside me immediately noticed his well toned body, and I hated to admit it but I was a bit more attracted to him than I wished to be. His lips twitched upward into a smirk. "You must really like the new girl to invite her to spar, that or really hate her."
I felt myself grin smugly. Part of me liked being underestimated. But he saw me in battle, I could definitely hold my own. "Who first?" I asked pulling off my jacket and stretching my shoulders.
Both of the adults exchanged humorous glances. Jacob stepped forward as I adjusted my tank top and cargo pants. They weren't the best fighting clothes but they would do fine.
When I didn't reach for the protective gear Jacob raised an eyebrow.
"Any injury I take I deserve," I responded quoting from a memory in my past.
I could feel Jacob prepare to argue but Shepard just shook her head. Jacob stood on the other side of the mat and got into position.
"Ready?"
I got into stance and nodded.
Jacob stepped forward aiming his first shot at my gut. Without hesitation I grabbed his hand and pulled him forward shoving my knee into his stomach. I could hear the commander chuckle at the grown man's grunt.
I expect Jacob to stumble, but he didn't. A hard fist came up and nailed me underneath the chin. Damn, I tasted blood. I swallowed hard blocked the next blow to my face with my left arm and went in hard with my foot to his chest throwing him backwards. He came back quickly. I caught another blow to my jaw before finally landing Jacob three hard kicks: chest, chin, stomach. His body hit the mat with hard plop and I immediately rolled him to his stomach and locked both his hand behind him as my knee burrowed deeper into his spine.
Several moments passed with only the sounds of my heavy breathing and heart beat in my ears but I could feel Jacob's scattered breaths below my knee. "Umm, I would tap out but…"
Shepard laughed and offered me a hand as I released the large man from my hold. For the first time I realized Miranda had arrived and was also laughing at the sight of a hundred pound girl taking down a soldier.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and ignore the amount of blood that appeared. Jacob groaned as he stood up. He rubbed his head warily, but he seemed to be smiling. "Not bad kid. Next time I won't go so easy on you."
I only nodded. He probably wasn't giving it all, but I could tell by the sweat beading on his brow I had given him a run for his money.
The bitter taste of blood annoyed me as I searched my mouth to be sure I still had all my teeth. I had realized I had bitten through my bottom lip while fighting. Damn, biting my lip was a habit I really needed to kick.
A hand fell on my shoulder and I looked up to see Shepard. She gently grabbed my jaw and examined it. She reached for one of the fresh towels and dabbed away the blood. "Ouch, kid."
Miranda rolled her eyes. "She should have paid more attention. Every hit she took was because she was distracted."
My eyes turned to hers and met them with a harsh glare. I really hated this princess.
Shepard just ignored us and stepped onto the mat, Miranda quickly joining her. The way the commander moved as she fought was almost artistic. It was graceful and beautiful. Like violent ballet.
Miranda hit hard against the mat with a loud thud.
And any wish to ever dance with the commander was over.
Miranda tapped out and grumbled something about genetic modifications, nothing I particularly cared about. Yet, Shepard did look out of breath and seemed to have taken a pretty good beating herself.
Next Miranda and Jacob were up. The commander stood beside me pointing out small mistakes and openings, as the sparring continued. Miranda seemed to be winning, even if it was just barely.
Just as she stopped, my stomach growled loudly. As if to muffle the sound, I clasped both hands over my stomach as my cheeks heated up. My mind wandered back to the last time I ate. Yesterday? The half of sandwich I found outside of Afterlife.
The strongest part of me cowered, afraid I was going to be punished for my stomach growling. I kept my eyes down, watching the commander's shadow, preparing for the harsh movement that would send me to the ground. But it never came.
"How about we get your face cleaned up and get something to eat?" she offered giving me a reassuring smile.
As she led me to the bathroom on the deck with a towel in hand, I was rather shocked by the amount of blood that was covering my chin. It kind of reminded me of one of those zombie movies.
"Ouch," I muttered looking into the reflection. Shepard only laughed.
"It wouldn't have happened if-"
"I didn't bite my lip when I fought," I finished for her. "I've done it since I started fighting."
As I finished and the bleeding finally stopped with the help of a little medi-gel. Part of me wondered if the commander was always this way towards her crew members, but I decided not to ask.
It had been so long since I had actual hot food. Even longer since I had food with a real taste. Never in my life could I had imagined, cheese covered noodles could possibly taste so good. The moment Rupert laid the bowl in front of me I struggled to keep myself from completely inhaling it.
There I sat, across from Shepard, stuffing my face like a starving stray dog. Not that I was much better than such.
"So, where'd you learn to fight?" she asked casually, but I knew what she was doing. She was trying to put together pieces of my life to make sense of who and what I was. Was I damaged goods, too dangerous to trust, or was I just scared enough to benefit them? I didn't blame her, I would have done the same thing.
I thought for a moment on how I should respond. Finally I decided honesty was the best policy. "Poli Carr. He was a pirate."
Her facial expression didn't give away her surprise, but I could feel it. I heard her unasked question.
"My parents were killed when I was four and I was taken by pirates. They were going to sell me to the traders like they did the others, but they changed their minds." Eight years of constant abuse flashed in my mind just mentioning the pirates. "They said I was beautiful. Instead of going off to God knows where, they decided I should stay on the ship as entertainment. Poli was the only one who saw me differently."
The rest went unsaid as silence hung in the air. Years of abuse; sexual, physical, emotions, all ran through my head. I had only eaten half the bowl of my food, but my appetite had left me at the memories. Damn, and I was really hungry. Shepard watched as my hands balled into fists. Her eyes on me didn't matter at the moment, I was too angry.
"I remember so little about my parents, almost nothing. Hell, I don't even know their names." The sound of my voice was shaky, but more frustrated than sad. Somewhere in my head there were memories of them, but they seemed to hide from me. Only flashes of images of my parents could run into my mind. They were people I barely knew. In all reality, I wasn't even for sure the images were my parents or some kind picture my mind cooked up to keep me sane.
Yet the faces of every single pirate that I was passed to were forever grained into my skull.
Finally I looked up at Shepard, meeting her gentle gaze straight on with a determination. Anger fueled my like it had for so many years before. "I will fight by your side until the death, no questions asked, if you help me. I want those pirates that killed my parents dead."
The ice in my words earned no emotion from Shepard. All expressions remained calm as she studied me even more closely. "First we need to finish gathering our team, then we'll see what we can do."
In an instant she earned my respect and loyalty. I knew she wouldn't use me and drop me off like all the others in my past had. She was willing to give me something in return.
I stood abruptly, emotion threatening my exterior but remaining hidden, and took the first steps to my bedroom. With only a few steps in, I stopped.
Without turning around I squeezed my eyes shut and spoke slowly. "Commander," I bit my lower lips as the first tear slipped past the flood gates. "Thank you."
My legs continued forward without waiting for a response and I quickly disappeared into my room.
Immediately I threw myself on the bed and buried my face in my pillow. Soft, painful sobs escaped me as scolded myself for weakness. I knew tomorrow I would wake up casting the memory of today off as a second chance. Though so many things had been given to me that day, chances and ideals I would have never dreamed of, I still knew what I really was. The name the pirates teased me with as my identity of truth. "Mia, the lost girl."
So what do you think? Please review! Chapter 3 will be up very soon. Originally I was going to combined them but I figured a ten thousand word chapter might be a little much for just chapter 2. Love always, Marilynn.