"Well, Tristan, your résumé checks out fine. It's rare to find a person from Charon who hasn't indulged in a few immoral business transactions," Atem said.
"I'd like to ask some questions about the job first, captain," Tristan said. "First of all, what's Skydragon all about? I know that Fireflies are transport vessels, but could you be a little more specific?"
"We are fairly versatile," Atem said. "We'll transport pretty much anything if it pays. I believe that we transported a herd of cattle once." Tristan chuckled. "But we try to stay in the Alliance's good graces, which means that we avoid illegal contraband."
"Can I meet the rest of your crew?" Tristan asked. "I'd like to see who I'd be living with for the next couple of years."
Atem smiled. This boy was savvy. "Of course. Actually, I think that they're just sitting down to dinner. Would you care to join us?"
Tristan nodded, and Atem and Tristan entered the mess hall together. Three people were bustling around a table full of food. One of them, a blonde, had piled his plate up so high it looked like it was about to topple over. The girl was eating little—Tristan suspected that she was trying to watch her weight. The other boy looked very much like the captain, and he was eating his food with chopsticks.
"Everyone, this is Tristan," Atem introduced. The three people turned around and stared. "He wants to see how much you will annoy him before he decides to take the job." Atem motioned for Tristan to have a seat, and Tristan plopped down next to Joey. Atem took a seat at the head of the small table.
"Hi, Tristan. I'm Tea," the weight-watching girl said warmly. "This is Yugi." She pointed to the boy on her left. "And that's Joey," she said, pointing to the blonde.
Yugi waved, and Joey hmphed through his mouthful of food. "So, who made the meal? It… looks great," Tristan lied.
"I made it," Tea chirped happily. "I'm glad you like it."
"And…. Yugi, you're Captain Atem's second-in-command?" Tristan asked.
Yugi looked up from his food and raised his eyebrows. "How'd you know?" he asked.
"Yugi, you are sitting to my right," Atem whispered softly.
"But… didn't Tea sit to your right during lunch?" Yugi wondered, popping a dumpling into his mouth.
"Traditionally, whoever sits to the captain's right is the second-in-command," Atem said.
"Oh. Okay," Yugi said. He looked confused, but he just went back to eating.
"Our ship is anything but traditional," Atem said amusedly. "There isn't any use for that sort of thing out in the black. We take care of each other, and that's all that matters." The rest of the crew nodded heartily.
Joey took a gigantic swallow and looked on at his empty plate with sorrow. "So, Tristan," he said, "I hear ya come from Charon. I grew up there too. I used ta get in a lotta trouble when I lived there. I bet da captain gave ya da whole spiel about this bein' an honest ship, huh?"
"So you were one of the bandits, weren't you?" Tristan asked. "Do you know how hard it was for my grandfather to build a successful business when bandits were robbing it every other day?"
Joey recoiled. "Dude, I did what I had ta do ta get by. I don't got that many skills, and I had ta take care o' my little sister. Ya get that, right?"
Tristan sulked. "Well, at least you cleaned up your act," he said finally. He bravely took a bite of the meal. With effort, he managed to swallow. Was all ship food this bad? The others seemed to enjoy it. Maybe it was an acquired taste.
They finished their meal pleasantly and Yugi disappeared behind the counter to wash dishes. "Uh, Captain Atem?" Tristan asked. "It would be great to be a part of your crew."
Atem smiled. "It would be great to have you."
Joey, Tristan, and Atem watched closely as Weevil and Rex examined their cargo. They saw Weevil and Rex's faces grow more and more disappointed. Atem wasn't unhappy. He had warned them.
"Is there any way that I can see your engine room?" Weevil asked. "It would be an honor to see the inner workings of a Firefly."
"I don't see why it would be a problem," Atem mused. "Joey, take Weevil to the engine room and show him around." Joey nodded and led Weevil into the heart of Skydragon.
Weevil's eyes flashed with intrigue when he saw Skydragon's engine. "I haven't seen one of these since I was in trade school," Weevil breathed. "Could I get just one close look at it?"
"Sure," Joey said cheerfully. "Just be careful. Tea's gonna kill me if you mess up her engine room."
"That's very kind of you," Weevil replied. Joey furrowed his eyebrows. Had Weevil's voice grown darker, or was it just his imagination? Weevil walked over to one of Skydragon's compression chamber and looked at it lovingly. In a few moments, he backed up.
"You done in here?" Joey asked. Weevil nodded, and they returned to the cargo bay.
"How did you like it?" Atem asked.
"It was wonderful!" Weevil exclaimed.
"Have you or Rex found anything of interest yet?" Atem asked.
Rex shook his head. "There's not much down here except water and a couple of weight machines."
"Those aren't for sale!" Joey and Tristan yelled simultaneously.
Yugi and Tea entered the cargo bay. Tea looked furious, and Yugi looked like he was happy to be back on his own ship again. "No auto-pilot or compression catalyzer," Yugi admitted sadly.
"It's alright. We wouldn't have had anything to trade them for anyway," Atem replied. He turned to Mako. "It was a pleasure doing business with you. Perhaps when we next meet, we will have more to offer each other."
"It was a pleasure doing business with you also, my good friend," Mako said warmly. They shook hands again, and Mako and his crew returned to their own ship.
Atem patted Yugi on the shoulder. "Get some sleep, Yugi. We can set off for Osiris again after a good night's rest."
Yugi loved meeting new people. Sometimes a ship needed fresh blood to keep it alive. But no matter how thrilling a trade could be, Yugi hoped that he wouldn't get another beacon as he collapsed into his bed and fell asleep in an instant.
Yugi wandered out into the mess hall for breakfast. Breakfast usually consisted of a protein bar, as did lunch. Dinner was the only cooked meal on Skydragon. He grabbed his brick-like meal and trudged off to the bridge. It was the start of another twelve-hour day.
Usually, Yugi loved flying more than he loved doing anything else. But ideal flying consisted of nothing more than a few course corrections as Skydragon did all of the real work, or even doing complicated evasive maneuvers while being chased by enemy ships. Sitting behind the wheel all day with his eyes on the stars and his foot on the gas was tiresome.
Soon, Yugi hoped, they would be able to afford a new auto-pilot. He powered up Skydragon's engines and prepared to take off, but the ship suddenly lurched, shuddered, and powered down with a melancholy purr.
"What happened?" Yugi exclaimed. Skydragon had never done that to him before. It couldn't have been Yugi's piloting. Was something wrong with Skydragon's internal parts? Yugi turned on the intercom and called Tea. "Tea, I think something's wrong with Skydragon's engine," he said.
"I'll check it out, Yugi," Tea replied. She got herself out of bed and headed down to the engine room. Almost as soon as she peeked under the engine, she realized that something was wrong. "Somebody's messed with Skydragon's engine…" she realized. "Stopped her dead in her tracks."
She called Yugi. "Did something happen when you tried to start Skydragon up?" she asked.
"Yeah," he answered. "What's…?" He trailed off, and Tea heard another voice over the intercom.
"Greetings, Yugi," a man said. Tea knew that voice belonged to Mako. "I see that you're having some trouble powering up your ship."
"Mako! You were the one who did this!" Yugi said accusingly. Mako chuckled.
"You're helpless, Yugi," Mako said. "A fish in a barrel. Surrender your ship to us without resistance, and we'll drop you off on the nearest planet. Should you try to foil our plans…" Mako brought a large laser rifle into sight. "We have other things in store for you."
