-Author's Note-
Finally, Christmas break! It can only mean more chapters to come. Thanks for reading.
)2)
The next day, I sat in the ladder-like rope rigging beneath one of the sails, thinking. However tiny the planet of Mirandus was, it had still been big enough for me to avoid Marko most of the summer. But on the Celerity, he seemed to be everywhere I turned...
"Whut shall we do wiv a drunkin spacer!" I groaned. Here came Marko's loud, off-key squawk as he swung aimlessly from mast to mast. "Whut shall we do wiv a drunkin spacer!" He looked and sounded as if he'd been soaked in a barrel of rum. "Whut shall we do wiv a drunkin spaceeeeeeeerrr - !" And he was murdering the chanty. " - Er-lye in the mowrnin'! Hello, Aaren." he finished.
He'd stopped on some rigging a few feet from where I sat. He grinned stupidly and hung by his right foot and arm hooked around the rope, spinning around a few times. I kept my face blank but hoped he'd fall. "Good morning, Marko," I replied curtly. "Have we been drinking?"
His expression changed back into his regular cold snarl, and I knew that moment that he wasn't drunk. I tensed and moved backward up the riggin a step. Immediately afterward I cursed myself, because from the gleam in his eye I knew that he sensed I was nervous. He looked me up and down. "I see you've changed out of your uniform, Aaren."
"This is a work uniform, Marko." I frowned and returned his look of appraisal. "I see you've gotten rid of yours." For there he was, in a Mirandus man's sandals instead of spacer's boots; his black trousers were rolled up to his knees and the sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up to his elbows. His menacing long black coat gone, Marko had unbuttoned his shirt completely, and it flapped in the breeze, exposing his torso, as he hung from the ropes.
He only laughed at my remark and leaped onto my ropes. It shook the ladder formation, and I almost lost my grip and fell. He laughed again and stared up at me as I recovered. "My, aren't we clumsy today, Cadet Hawkins?"
"Shut up, Marko," was all I could say.
He laughed and shook his head. That laugh was beginning to get on my nerves. "Shouldn't you be dining with the crew?" he asked, changing the subject. I clenched my teeth. He was infuriatingly calm, putting me at unease.
"I wasn't hungry," I answered. "And shouldn't I ask the same of you? Or is it beneath you to eat with the commoners?"
He raised an eyebrow and grinned evilly. "Aaren," he replied, "nothing is beneath me."
I shivered; I didn't like the way he'd said that. He was up to something. He casually turned over to sit on the rigging as I did, shaking the ropes again. This time, I was holding on more tightly. He leaned back and rubbed his chin in thought. Then he looked up at me over his shoulder and smiled. "What comes next, Aaren?"
What? I stared blankly at him, without replying, and wished that he'd just go. I wished that the crew would come out of the mess area and occupy the deck again; I didn't feel safe with just the two of us aloft...
"What comes next in the song?"
Of all questions to ask. I looked at him quizzically, and he laughed and shook the ropes. "Come on, Aaren! What shall we do with a drunken spacer?"
And he shook and wheedled until my blood boiled and I blurted out - "You put 'im in the longboat till he's sober! Happy?"
At finally getting an answer, Marko laughed and gave the ropes one last shake before leaping off to the first rope he'd hung onto... "That's right, that's right, Aaren," he answered. He grinned evilly at me and added, "You did think I was drunk when I came up here, didn't you?" I didn't answer. I could only glare at him, because his being up here, this conversation, and his teasing were only pointless. "Off to the longboats with me, then!" he crowed.
I froze. He boldly let go of the ropes and fell, catching onto some loose rigging and landing neatly on his feet. He made for the longboat bay. There was no one around to stop him - except me.
"Marko, wait!" I croaked. More cautious, I slid down the ropes as quick as I could and tailed him. "Stop!"
Once I got below, all I could hear were the eerie echoes of his cackle. This was not good. Some little bit of me screamed out that this was not good, that he was only leading me into something worse - but I had to stop him.
I got there just as he'd opened the hatch and loosened the ties. I stood on the edge of the opening as he winked and gave a mock salute. The engine fired. At the last moment, just before the boat could fully pull away, I jumped... and missed.
"Marko!" I screamed, hanging onto the edge of the longboat by the tips of my fingers. The boat dipped, and I abruptly lost my grip. I was floating, just beginning to realize in terror that I'd be lost in space, when I saw the boat go round. Marko reached out a hand and easily pulled me in.
I scrambled out of his reach, to the other end of the boat. "Are you crazy?" I yelled, gasping, trying to collect myself. I stared at him incredulously, and he threw his head back and laughed.
He didn't answer my question. Instead, he asked another one: "Do you remember when Captain Baewong used to take us out in one of the Javelin's longboats, and I threw her into a squall on purpose?" The light from the stars put a sinister twinkle in his eye, and I shivered. "You think I can do it again?"
My mouth dropped open in horror, and I shook my head. I was crying from the fear of getting lost again, and I'd lost the voice and words to plead with him. No, Marko, please, don't do this... He gave a whoop of triumph as he tossed the little boat into high gear. My stomach churned with every turn and drop of the longboat, and I felt as if I was going to choke.
My eyes were blurry with tears, but I could still see Marko. I lay crumpled on the floor of the boat and looked up at him from the corner of my eye... Marko was there, at the controls, his eyes ablaze. Bathed in the light of the nearby red nebula, with the wind in his hair and the deep, sinister laugh escaping his throat, he looked like a monster.
The boat looped suddenly, knocking me into the side. I blacked out.
--
All was still, save for the gentle rocking of the longboat. It creaked from side to side, like a cradle, and I slowly opened my eyes. I was stretched out beside the controls of the longboat, back in the bay. Marko was nowhere in sight. Groggy, I rubbed my eyes and slowly sat up.
"There she is!" he called suddenly. I looked around, and Marko stood on the platform. Behind him were Captain Lakan and a few others. He was pointing up at me, his face like stone. "She took the longboat for a ride. Guess she was bored." My eyes widened, and I opened my mouth to protest. Marko interrupted. "I tried to stop her. But she wouldn't listen."
He stepped back so that Lakan could give me a piece of his mind. But I blocked out the sound of his voice and the rest of the room. I could only see Marko in the back, arms crossed, shaking as he laughed to himself.