Chapter two. I've been lazy. My bad. Hopefully the next chapter will be
longer.
This one's mainly a bridge, kinda sets up for what's going on. Don't worry,
we catch a glimpse of Faye in this one. You just have to wade through a few
more OCs.
For this chapter's title, I tweaked the name of a song, "My Man's Gone
Now," by George and Ira Gershwin, and DuBose Heyward. I mainly decided to
change it a 'cause I don't consider Spike and Faye to love each other that
way- more like Brother and Sister, you know?
Broken Hearted Melody
He's Gone Now
"Right here," Reilly announced, pointing to the parking lot of a small harbor. "This is where the ship's at." He and Kathryn hadn't exchanged words for the rest of the short trip. The silence they had settled in was beyond uncomfortable. Kathryn was still pondering him, wondering who he really was. It was something eerie, but something she loved about meeting new people- every new face had an old history behind it. Tragedy, sad it sometimes was, could always make the past more interesting.
"What now?" Kathryn inquired, shaking herself out of her thoughts and pulling her car into a vacant space.
Without answering, Reilly pulled a video phone out of his pocket and speed dialed the first number on his list.
"Yeah?" a male, suddenly flashing onto the screen, answered.
"Hey, Nev. I've got a paying passenger here. I can introduce you two later. Can you come around and pick up her car?"
"Ah... You know, Reilly..." the other man sighed, static overlapping his discontent. "That's the third odd job you've picked up this month. I'm done with 'em."
"Eh?" Reilly answered, as if he wasn't paying attention.
"You heard me. We're fishermen. Not a delivery service, not an airline- I don't have time for this anymore."
"Ah, come on, Nev..." he pleaded in a low voice. "She's desperate."
Nev didn't reply.
"Name your price!" Kathryn interjected, grabbing the phone. "Please, please, I just want to find someone! No one else will take me, and you're my last chance!"
All of them were silent for a while.
"Yeah, alright," Nev finally replied, intentionally gruff. "I can't believe this..."
Kathryn slumped back in her seat and exhaled relief.
"I'll be there in five minutes," Nev went on, "be ready."
Reilly snapped off the video phone and shoved it back into his pocket. "See? That's Nev for you. He seems harsh, but he's a good guy. Just listen to what he says, and you'll get along fine."
"I thought you said were the captain..." Kathryn said suspiciously.
"Well... Kind of. It's really an equal partnership. I run the schedules, Nev actually owns the ship. Everyone else helped contribute to start the business."
"Really? How much does it cost to start something like that?"
He shrugged. "Wouldn't know. I came on late."
Their conversation was stopped by a loud rapping on the window.
"There's Nev."
Nev was of medium height, a thin man with scruffy blonde hair and an even scruffier five o'clock shadow. He wore torn up jeans and a greasy t- shirt.
"You'll have to excuse my appearance," he grunted to Kathryn, "but the engines on the fritz again and we've been working hard to get the kinks out. We still haven't fixed the supporter that blew out last run."
Kathryn turned wide eyed to Reilly.
He smiled innocently and shrugged. "Just a little worn around the edges... So can we still fly?"
"Oh yeah, definitely. But we won't hit anywhere near top speed, and our acceleration will be shit."
"That's good enough for me," Kathryn responded.
"Well then," Nev opened the door his planet-level transport ship. It contained a small hangar, originally designed for hauling crates to cruisers, big enough to fit Kathryn's car and take it up to the ship.
On the deck of the trawler, Nev immediately returned to the engine, promising Kathryn they'd be ready to leave by early morning. Reilly showed her to her room, then retired to his own with a wide yawn. She dragged her luggage from the trunk of her car and dumped it all at the foot of her bed. She could already tell her roommate wasn't much for cleanliness, which suited Kathryn perfectly.
After changing into sleeping clothes, she climbed into her bed, exhausted. Just as she was settling in, the door opened, a silhouette stepped in, and then it closed again.
"Kathryn?" a voice whispered in the dark.
She sat up. "Yes? That's me."
"Oh good. You're awake. Can I flip this light on?"
"Go ahead. It won't bother me."
The light fixture overhead flashed on, revealing a woman who had clearly been working with Nev on the engine. She wore a pair of well used overalls, with a haggard old long sleeved shirt beneath. Her brown hair was tied behind her head in a ponytail, streaked with grease. Her face, as well as her entire body was covered with grime and oil. A pair of oval glasses rested on her nose.
"Absolutely filthy, aren't I?" she asked with a laugh. "I should shower, but I'm way too tired. Eh, I'll just wash my sheets tomorrow. Oh!" She snapped her fingers. "We'll be up and running in a few hours. Nev is setting a course for Mars, is that alright?"
"Mars..." Kathryn ran it over in her head. "Yes, that sounds fine."
"Cool! I'm glad to have a new roommate, actually. Kathryn, right?"
"Yep. And you are?"
"Hannah Trin. Obviously the mechanic."
"Pleasure. Is the crew just the three of you?"
"Yes. We used to have one more, but she left. Got into a big argument with Reilly, and just up and went. We left her on Mars, so we're going back to check on her. I suspect she'll want to come back."
"An argument about what?"
"Oh, I don't know. With Reilly, you never know. Don't get me wrong, he's generally a real nice guy, but he can be so disagreeable sometimes. Especially-" she shifted her eyes and dropped her voice, as if making sure no one else heard. "Especially about his past. We don't know anything about him before he came to us. You know..." she sat on her bed, removing her glasses, setting them on her dresser and looking rather smug, "I bet he was a criminal, or something."
"You're kidding!"
"I know, I could never picture it. But what other explanation is there?"
"Well... I asked him about bounty hunting, and he seemed very uncomfortable after that."
"Ahh... Good thought..." Hannah gave a wide yawn, switching off the lights. "Oh well. It's none of our business." Distinct sounds of her covers rustling suggested she was getting comfortable. "If you like I can show you around the ship tomorrow. For now... goodnight."
Kathryn mumbled a similar well wishing and drifted off to a peaceful sleep, more restful than any she had in quite a while.
* * * * *
Faye Valentine lay on the couch, her feet dangling off the edge, puffs of smoke slowly drifting away from her face, as usual. This was how she spent her days, just lounging around, waiting for a bounty head. Occasionally she would pick up a magazine, but mostly she just sat and thought. Jet moped around most of the time, performing some meaningless task- trimming his bonsais, fixing up the ship... Anything unimportant. She guessed it was hard for him, being Spike's partner for so long. What was with that guy anyway? When he was around, nobody could stand him. When he was gone, everybody wanted him back. He was a damn fool. He was a poofy- haired idiot who couldn't wait to run out there and get himself killed. That thought forced an old memory to surface-
...Spike looked at his hand, flexing his fingers, as if he was clutching something very important.
"Maybe this is the one," he said gravely. "The one I won't come back from. The end."
Faye raised her head, looking alarmed.
Spike smiled. "I'm just playing with your head," he teased.
She turned back, trying to raise her nonchalant mask again, but tears already stung at the corners of her eyes.
"Would you rescue me if it were true?"
"...Lunkhead," she replied bitterly...
Faye wondered why she had remembered that just then. By all means, he should've died that night. He got lucky, that was all. He got lucky loads of times- when it came to fighting, at least.
"He took one too many risks," she assured herself aloud, as flick away her cigarette and slowly closed her eyes.
Broken Hearted Melody
He's Gone Now
"Right here," Reilly announced, pointing to the parking lot of a small harbor. "This is where the ship's at." He and Kathryn hadn't exchanged words for the rest of the short trip. The silence they had settled in was beyond uncomfortable. Kathryn was still pondering him, wondering who he really was. It was something eerie, but something she loved about meeting new people- every new face had an old history behind it. Tragedy, sad it sometimes was, could always make the past more interesting.
"What now?" Kathryn inquired, shaking herself out of her thoughts and pulling her car into a vacant space.
Without answering, Reilly pulled a video phone out of his pocket and speed dialed the first number on his list.
"Yeah?" a male, suddenly flashing onto the screen, answered.
"Hey, Nev. I've got a paying passenger here. I can introduce you two later. Can you come around and pick up her car?"
"Ah... You know, Reilly..." the other man sighed, static overlapping his discontent. "That's the third odd job you've picked up this month. I'm done with 'em."
"Eh?" Reilly answered, as if he wasn't paying attention.
"You heard me. We're fishermen. Not a delivery service, not an airline- I don't have time for this anymore."
"Ah, come on, Nev..." he pleaded in a low voice. "She's desperate."
Nev didn't reply.
"Name your price!" Kathryn interjected, grabbing the phone. "Please, please, I just want to find someone! No one else will take me, and you're my last chance!"
All of them were silent for a while.
"Yeah, alright," Nev finally replied, intentionally gruff. "I can't believe this..."
Kathryn slumped back in her seat and exhaled relief.
"I'll be there in five minutes," Nev went on, "be ready."
Reilly snapped off the video phone and shoved it back into his pocket. "See? That's Nev for you. He seems harsh, but he's a good guy. Just listen to what he says, and you'll get along fine."
"I thought you said were the captain..." Kathryn said suspiciously.
"Well... Kind of. It's really an equal partnership. I run the schedules, Nev actually owns the ship. Everyone else helped contribute to start the business."
"Really? How much does it cost to start something like that?"
He shrugged. "Wouldn't know. I came on late."
Their conversation was stopped by a loud rapping on the window.
"There's Nev."
Nev was of medium height, a thin man with scruffy blonde hair and an even scruffier five o'clock shadow. He wore torn up jeans and a greasy t- shirt.
"You'll have to excuse my appearance," he grunted to Kathryn, "but the engines on the fritz again and we've been working hard to get the kinks out. We still haven't fixed the supporter that blew out last run."
Kathryn turned wide eyed to Reilly.
He smiled innocently and shrugged. "Just a little worn around the edges... So can we still fly?"
"Oh yeah, definitely. But we won't hit anywhere near top speed, and our acceleration will be shit."
"That's good enough for me," Kathryn responded.
"Well then," Nev opened the door his planet-level transport ship. It contained a small hangar, originally designed for hauling crates to cruisers, big enough to fit Kathryn's car and take it up to the ship.
On the deck of the trawler, Nev immediately returned to the engine, promising Kathryn they'd be ready to leave by early morning. Reilly showed her to her room, then retired to his own with a wide yawn. She dragged her luggage from the trunk of her car and dumped it all at the foot of her bed. She could already tell her roommate wasn't much for cleanliness, which suited Kathryn perfectly.
After changing into sleeping clothes, she climbed into her bed, exhausted. Just as she was settling in, the door opened, a silhouette stepped in, and then it closed again.
"Kathryn?" a voice whispered in the dark.
She sat up. "Yes? That's me."
"Oh good. You're awake. Can I flip this light on?"
"Go ahead. It won't bother me."
The light fixture overhead flashed on, revealing a woman who had clearly been working with Nev on the engine. She wore a pair of well used overalls, with a haggard old long sleeved shirt beneath. Her brown hair was tied behind her head in a ponytail, streaked with grease. Her face, as well as her entire body was covered with grime and oil. A pair of oval glasses rested on her nose.
"Absolutely filthy, aren't I?" she asked with a laugh. "I should shower, but I'm way too tired. Eh, I'll just wash my sheets tomorrow. Oh!" She snapped her fingers. "We'll be up and running in a few hours. Nev is setting a course for Mars, is that alright?"
"Mars..." Kathryn ran it over in her head. "Yes, that sounds fine."
"Cool! I'm glad to have a new roommate, actually. Kathryn, right?"
"Yep. And you are?"
"Hannah Trin. Obviously the mechanic."
"Pleasure. Is the crew just the three of you?"
"Yes. We used to have one more, but she left. Got into a big argument with Reilly, and just up and went. We left her on Mars, so we're going back to check on her. I suspect she'll want to come back."
"An argument about what?"
"Oh, I don't know. With Reilly, you never know. Don't get me wrong, he's generally a real nice guy, but he can be so disagreeable sometimes. Especially-" she shifted her eyes and dropped her voice, as if making sure no one else heard. "Especially about his past. We don't know anything about him before he came to us. You know..." she sat on her bed, removing her glasses, setting them on her dresser and looking rather smug, "I bet he was a criminal, or something."
"You're kidding!"
"I know, I could never picture it. But what other explanation is there?"
"Well... I asked him about bounty hunting, and he seemed very uncomfortable after that."
"Ahh... Good thought..." Hannah gave a wide yawn, switching off the lights. "Oh well. It's none of our business." Distinct sounds of her covers rustling suggested she was getting comfortable. "If you like I can show you around the ship tomorrow. For now... goodnight."
Kathryn mumbled a similar well wishing and drifted off to a peaceful sleep, more restful than any she had in quite a while.
* * * * *
Faye Valentine lay on the couch, her feet dangling off the edge, puffs of smoke slowly drifting away from her face, as usual. This was how she spent her days, just lounging around, waiting for a bounty head. Occasionally she would pick up a magazine, but mostly she just sat and thought. Jet moped around most of the time, performing some meaningless task- trimming his bonsais, fixing up the ship... Anything unimportant. She guessed it was hard for him, being Spike's partner for so long. What was with that guy anyway? When he was around, nobody could stand him. When he was gone, everybody wanted him back. He was a damn fool. He was a poofy- haired idiot who couldn't wait to run out there and get himself killed. That thought forced an old memory to surface-
...Spike looked at his hand, flexing his fingers, as if he was clutching something very important.
"Maybe this is the one," he said gravely. "The one I won't come back from. The end."
Faye raised her head, looking alarmed.
Spike smiled. "I'm just playing with your head," he teased.
She turned back, trying to raise her nonchalant mask again, but tears already stung at the corners of her eyes.
"Would you rescue me if it were true?"
"...Lunkhead," she replied bitterly...
Faye wondered why she had remembered that just then. By all means, he should've died that night. He got lucky, that was all. He got lucky loads of times- when it came to fighting, at least.
"He took one too many risks," she assured herself aloud, as flick away her cigarette and slowly closed her eyes.