In the depths of outer space, time is difficult to discern. It loses meaning apart from the man made measurements. So when he peeled open one eye and rose to squint at the clock Vicar Max was expecting it to be the wee hours of the morning because his sleep was rather lousy and off anything resembling a normal schedule. Normally he rose before everyone else- before Parvati, the sweet young lady from Edgewater who joined to be the engineer of this motley crew. Long before Nyoka, the loud and boisterous huntress whose alcohol tolerance was inhuman or even Ellie, the crew's sawbones. Definitely longer than Felix who often stayed up late watching serials and would be going to bed around the time Max had his annoying no reason wakings. But the clock read 9:48 AM. He'd overslept. Dressing, he peered to one side of the ship to see that the captain's quarters were open. That usually meant she was awake. The low hum of voices in the cargo hold reached him as they rose and fell in deference to Max, having not seen or heard him yet they were assuming he was still in dreamland. Immediately he recognized the Captain laughing, a sound that brought joy to his heart in every note. He heard the low, slow drawl of Nyoka, probably relating some story or amusing anecdote for the laughter rose and fell before an admonishment to keep it down, Max is still asleep. "OH Is the VICAR still SLEEPING?" Ellie's voice rose above the rest. "Well I HOPE he's SLEEPING WELL." Max groaned. Some things never changed. "Why, I DID sleep well,THANK YOU, doctor." he called down and a chorus of laughter was his answer. Well maybe today wouldn't be so awful after all.
The Unreliable would have been a perfect vessel had it been possessed of more than one bathroom and at least one shower. The Captain had considered installing one of these but the water supply would have to be enlarged, and the time and cost to make these arrangements, they might as well get a new ship. Plus they could make do. Instead every visit to port meant everyone rushed to the nearest shower, except Felix, at first. Felix's odor after a disastrous trip to Monarch had so irritated the Captain and the rest of the crew that she declared if he did not wash up immediately she would personally scrub him as though he were a child and use the girliest of scents on him. His masculinity and adult status thus affronted, Felix diligently cleansed himself. They, that is the menfolk of the Unreliable, did so in shifts though Max was used to communal showers. Felix
still valued his privacy. Made sense, he probably never got much. However when it was the womenfolk's turn, they went as a pack, talking and laughing, toting baskets of soaps, scrubs, shampoos, lotions and towels the size of small countries. "What do you think they do in there?" Felix once pondered aloud as he waited with Vicar Max at the Lost Hope. Max looked up from his drink. "Shower." he said evenly. Felix snorted. "Oh you know what I mean." This was the first time Max ever acknowledged an attempt for male bonding from the kid in the form of 'locker room' talk. Max rolled his eyes. "Keep your juvenile fantasies to yourself, please." Felix scoffed and waved a hand "Why do they all go together, though? You know?" Max hadn't thought about that. Women were funny creatures-pack minded and unconcerned about the implications of them in shared spaces. Strength in numbers? But both Gladys and Chief Tennyson had guaranteed they would not be disturbed. "I don't think they even know." It could also be so Dr. Fenhill can look at wounds without worrying about someone blundering in, Max thought. Nyoka clocked the kid pretty good for getting a peek when the doctor tended to a gash on her back. Felix swore up and down he didn't see anything but he'd knock next time. He had better, Ellie warned, or he'd be eating with a straw from now on. Dr. Ellie Fenhill was the last to join the tight knit group of women but soon they were inseparable. In spite of her independent spirit Ellie came to enjoy their company. Sometimes it was difficult. Were men and women really all that different? Yes and no. But with two thirds of the crew being women, even the pilot and navigation system AI having a female personality Max needed some cameraderie in this fucking hen house or he would go insane. But he was stuck with Felix, a manchild who constantly badgered Max about the corrupt nature of the church and the corporations it ultimately served. Felix seemed to see himself as a revolutionary but he was just a kid looking to get noticed in any way possible. Max had been there. Architect, had he been there. Felix was, however, regulated to the role of little brother. Max tried -the operative word being 'tried'- to be a guide for Felix and the others but as always they did as they wanted. Sometimes Max felt like an outsider- he'd placed himself as the 'adult' of the group and unintentionally isolated himself as 'the crew member who wasn't any fun.' The laughter died when he entered a room but after a while the Captain invited him. He didn't hate fun, he just had different ideas of fun. Piles of junk food and binge watching serials was not one of them. Nor was the asinine games they played to pass the time such as hiding crackers on each other's person.
Or when told to be quiet for a call with Dr. Welles they'd all start howling or making sexual noises. Dr. Welles - with the patience of a saint- would smile and wait for them to calm down and comment about how the Captain's friends were in fine form. Still, Max managed to wedge himself into that tiny environment but everyone except Parvati called him out on his previous behavior. He had been a heel, Max knew that. But he got better. Probably. The four ladies filed in and grinning, Felix waved them down. "Hey we saved seats for you! Well damn." He sulked as the others sat down. "I was hoping folks would buy rounds for us. I mean we are the crew that saved Dr. Welles!" "What you mean is we're the crew who broke into a high security prison and broke out a wanted criminal." Vicar Max corrected. Nyoka returned with a round of drinks and sat down doling out the beverages. "You wanna keep that information on the down low? But by all means announce it." "It's all over the news." Ellie pointed out at the aetherwave monitor which had been broadcasting the news since. She turned to The Captain. "Have you heard from him?" The Captain shook her head. "Not lately. He went straight to the Hope to start working." "He's a fanatic." Nyoka put in, taking a handful of cashews and popping one into her mouth. Max added "But a good man." Eating the slice of mock apple off the tiny plastic saber that garnished her drink, Ellie pointed the little sword at Max. "He shut you up good." Chuckling she munched her apple slice. "Nobody likes a tattle tell." He stared at her, in no mood to fight. Ellie frowned in disappointment. "So now what?" The question hung in the air. "Well, "Parvati started. "This colony is in need of fixing. And it's gonna take everyone to do it." Nyoka nudged Felix "Hey don't look so glum. It takes all kinds." Felix raised his glass "To friends! And the future of Halcyon!" The others raised their drinks. "To Halcyon!"