Ayame couldn't believe her eyes. The table that she and the others sat at was packed with food to the point that it almost overflowed. Everything looked delicious: barbeque ribs, grilled chicken, smoked salmon. The list went on and on. There was even Mexican food, sushi, and lobster! Her three favorite foods! She had a hard time choosing what to eat. Her appetite had never been very large, but right now, she was determined to fill up on as much as possible.
"Geez," she heard Connor say with an amazed whistle. "These guys go all out when it comes to their meals, don't they?"
"Considering the value of dragonium, it really shouldn't be that big a surprise," Anthony pointed out. he had already stacked his tray up high with an assortment of mouth-watering foods. "But you're right, kid. It really is quite a spread."
They heard the captain's laughter behind them. His own tray was piled with barbeque and fish. "Y'all eat as much as ya like! We got plenty to go 'round!"
Ayame grinned as she picked gathered as much as she could carry. At this point, she didn't even care what she got. Her hunger for something beyond freeze-dried food quickly got the better of her. When she had her food, she and the others joined Buck at the captain's table. There, they started eating. It was all Ayame could do to keep herself from forgetting her manners and just wolfing down everything. Still, she couldn't stop herself from eating faster than usual.
Buck laughed heartily as their meals disappeared. "Y'all musta been starvin' out there! I ain't seen nobody eat like you three since the last guy we picked up!"
"Last guy?" Ayame said as she licked some barbeque sauce off of her chin.
"That's right, little lady. We ran into an alien fella just yesterday. Poor guy was just about half starved. You shoulda seen him eat! He was like a livin' food dump! He even got into an eatin' contest with some o' my boys! Not one of 'em could beat 'im!"
"Could we meet this guy?" Anthony asked.
"I don't see why not," he stood up and went off to find their first guest. As they waited for him to return, the trio talked about who or what this first passenger could be. Connor and Anthony actually made bets about it. Soon, Buck returned, the guest following. "Here he is in all 'is glory!"
Ayame's eyes widened when she recognized the alien. "Garnak?"
The Gorast looked at her with wide eyes, showing clear surprise. "Miss Ayame?"
Buck looked between them with a raised eyebrow. "Y'already know each other? Talk about a small universe, huh?"
"Yeah," Ayame muttered in amazement at the huge coincidence. "Garnak, what are you doing here?"
"I could easily ask the same of you," he replied with squinty eyes. "But since you asked first, I suppose I shall answer. I am currently going through my Marg'nath."
"Marg'nath?" Connor asked. He had already been told about this Garnak guy. He was actually pretty eager to meet the dude.
"That is correct," Garnak said with a nod. He sat down with them. "Marg'nath is a rite of passage for my people. When a warrior-to-be comes of age, he is sent to explore all he can. It is a way for us to learn of various cultures and philosophies. It gives us a wider understanding of those around us, and teaches us how this world works. I came of age two days ago, and have been wandering the galaxy since."
"And we actually ended up meeting again," Ayame said with a light giggle. "Talk about unexpected."
"Yeah," Connor said with a smirk. "Didn't think I'd get to meet you." He put his hand out. "I'm Connor Mercer. I'm a friend of Ayame's." Garnak nodded and shook his hand, doing the same when Anthony introduced himself.
"It is an honor to meet the friends of Ayame," the Gorast said. "She risked her life for my people… as did Samus Aran." He said the last part quietly, as if in an attempt to spare Ayame the pain of losing her mother. It only barely worked. The girl hung her head and squeezed her hands into fists on her legs. Garnak realized his mistake a little too late. "I… I am sorry, Miss Ayame. I did not mean to bring up any distasteful memories."
"It's all right," she lied through her teeth. She got up and began to walk away. "I'm going to go take a look around. Is that okay?"
Buck nodded. "Don't be shy to ask for directions here. It's easy to get lost in this thing if ya dunno where your goin'." Ayame nodded and left.
"Nice going," Connor said with a little bit of bite in his tone. Garnak hung his head in slight shame. He hadn't meant to hurt his friend.
-o-
Ayame walked slowly down the hallway, with no destination in mind whatsoever. Garnak's words and struck her a little. They brought back the memories of that horrible day. The day her life had been destroyed. Again.
She soon found herself in a large hallway, which looked like it might've been the main hall of the ship. She figured that this would be the main place for crewmembers to relax and just hang out when their duties for the day were completed. She quickly spotted a bench with a large window above it off to her left and took a seat. She just needed a few minutes to sort out the whirlwind of thoughts in her head before she did anything else.
She thought of something: if they did find Samus, how would they save her? It's not like they could just waltz up to a Space Pirate and speak on Samus's behalf. The pirates weren't just galactic bandits; they were an entire military force! Ayame and her friends were three ordinary humans and a giant mosquito-man. The odds were WAY out of their favor. It was as though fate itself was against one Ayame Miyamoto-Aran.
"What do I do?" she mumbled to herself, not caring who heard. "What can I do?"
"You can't give up," said a voice she easily recognized. She turned to see Connor standing there before her. He took a seat next to her, and gave her a reassuring look. "I know that look on your face. You're ready to just quit, aren't you?"
"Well… I…" She couldn't think of anything to say. He had seen right through her. She really was thinking about giving up on this quest that was clearly going to end in inevitable failure. She clenched her fists over her legs again. Her eyes felt wet. "I just… I don't know what to do. There are so many ways that all of this can go wrong. So many ways that we could fail. I'm not like Samus. I'm no galactic hero! I've never been in true fight before! I…" She looked up at her friend, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm scared, Connor."
Connor just looked at her in shock. He had never seen Ayame cry before. That hopeless look on her face, the salty liquid pouring from her hazel eyes, the obvious desperation. It practically wasn't even Ayame anymore. He didn't know what to do or say. After several seconds of him being silent, Ayame just put her head on his shoulder, crying her eyes out.
Soon, Connor said, "Ayame…" He paused to think about what he was going to say. "I can't say that I can understand how you're feeling right now. And I can't help you deal with your emotions. It's not my place to try. But… as your friend, I also can't bear seeing you in such pain." Ayame looked up at him again. "Listen, Ayame; I'm no emotional counselor, and I can't really speak on another person's behalf, but… do you think she would've given up if it was your life that was in the balance?"
Ayame's eyes widened at his question. He had spoken the truth. Her heart was willing to surrender to the turmoil in her mind. She was ready to simply give up. But would Samus have given up? Ayame wiped the tears away from her eyes as best she could, and gave Connor sad but grateful smile. "You're right, Connor," she said with thanks in her eyes. "Samus would never have given up on me. And… I won't give up on her. Thank you, Connor." She leaned her head on his shoulder, that small smile still on her face.
Connor looked at his childhood friend with no surprise. Considering Ayame's current emotional status, she really needed a shoulder to lean on. He suddenly cleared his throat nervously, making Ayame look up at him once again. "Ayame… I… I kind of have to… tell you something."
"Really?" she asked curiously.
Connor gave her a look that was almost shy, a trait that was completely out of character for him. "Well, you see… we've known each other for a while now, right?" Ayame nodded affirmatively. Connor took a deep breath. "Well… I kind of… what I'm trying to say is… I-" Before he could finish, an explosion was hear, followed by the blaring of an alarm.
"Warning," blared a computerized voice throughout the ship. "Space Pirate warship within the area. Ship is under attack."
"Pirates?" Ayame said in shock. Forget meeting Garnak again; this was an example of a small universe! She immediately got up and made her way toward where the explosion was heard.
"Ayame?" Connor called to her. She stopped and looked over to him. "What are you doing?"
Ayame immediately answered with, "Those pirates might know where Samus is! Better yet, it could be the ship that Samus was taken aboard on! We can't pass up an opportunity like this!" With that, she took off.
Connor watched her with an amazed look on his face. She had been an emotional wreck not even thirty seconds ago, but now she was ready to fight to find her missing mother. Connor actually chuckled at that. Women can be so fickle, he thought as he ran off to catch up to her.
-o-
To all my female readers, I may need to apologize for Connor's last thought. In my experience, most women are fickle, and are usually hard to predict. If you don't take offense though, great! I would like to think that I didn't do something stupid that would hurt my readership.