Chapter III

We have been settled on the Mockingjay, or M-Jay as the crew seems to call it, for a few days. It has been pleasant. Thresh is a genuine fellow, I've really enjoyed his friendship. Marvel is standoffish at best, he always seems to be sneaking around. I'm not so sure he is a trustworthy gent. Finnick and Annie are wonderful people, however the more time I spend with them the more I envy the love they share. Clove is both frightening but pleasant. Gale is brooding all the time, especially when Johanna is around. They argue constantly if they are in the same vicinity. You'd think that the Captain would attempt to stop it but she just smiles and chuckles.

The Captain, Katniss, boy she is a piece of work. She is beautiful but fierce, and incredibly aggravating at times. She is brash and often abrasive. Yet she has captivated me completely. I dare say I am falling for her, quickly. If my mother saw me now she would be furious, enraged.

…:::…

"Cap'n!" Annie's voice rings in my ears. She is screaming into my bunk, "Katniss! I'm bein' serious! You need to get yer ass up to the bridge right now. I dare say this is an emergency." I jump up my ladder and race to the bridge.

"Now Annie you tell me what the hell is goin' on round here." Annie is frantically pressing buttons. "Cap'n someone sent a transmission to the Union. I scrambled it but I don't know how much may have leaked." Shit. With all these smuggled goods on board, bent on going to the outer planets, this ain't a situation we want to be in. "How much could they know? And don't you lie to me Annie." "I dunno Cap'n they could know nothin', they could know everythin'." Shit.

"Verdammt!" I exclaim, "Well let's go find our mole." I grab the intercom and press the button. "I'll need everyone in the cargo bay. Immediately." With that I storm down to the cargo bay with Annie in tow. Shortly after arriving everyone else trickles in.

"Seems we got our selves a mole. Annie intercepted a Union transmission. Now we's got ourselves a problem. And one of you is that problem." I turn to look at the people assembled in front of me. The passengers look nervous. Suspicious. "Well boys, let's see what you've got to hide." Thresh immediately looks panicked. I think I've found our mole. I'd noticed him hoverin' over a crate in the corner. "Finn. Grab me that there crate!"

Thresh tries to jump in the way but Gale grabs him. When Finnick sets the crate in front of me I pull a few latches, and press a few buttons and the top of the crate pops open. "No! You can't do that!" Thresh pulls himself from Gale's grasp. But Finnick regains a hold on him. I kick off the lid and it flies across the bay. Steam rises from inside the crate before it dissipates to reveal a small and unconscious girl.

Shocked expressions cover almost every face. "She wasn't supposed to wake up for another week! Please I need to check on her." Thresh pleads.

"Oh, that's just dandy. Poor thing was gonna wake up in a week and found out she'd be sold to some arschloch old fart. Yea big surprise that'd be wakin' up to be someone's slave!" Thresh looks mortified, maybe he wasn't intendin' on sellin' her. "Oh I'm sorry…was this one for you? Is it true love cause I gotta say you look a might bit old for her." Thresh is bout to speak when the screaming starts.

I whip around behind me to see the wispy girl sittin' straight up usin' all the lung capacity she damn well has. "Aw hell Thresh would you shut her up!" Gale bellows. Thresh struggles out of Finn's grip and towards the screechin' girl.

"Rue." Thresh' voice is gentle. "Rue it's me." He gets close enough to hold her close to his body. He whispers soothingly into her ear. He looks up at me in all seriousness. "What the hell is goin' on here Thresh?" My voice is cold, hard, and stern. "She's my sister." Silence.

"My my that is a predicament." I finally manage to say. "So then what are ya doing sendin' messages to the Union?" Thresh looks at me again. "I didn't send that message. I snuck my sister out a medical facility in a crate…does that look like a person wantin' to contact the feds to you?"

"Well if you didn't then who the hell did?" Damn I don't have time for all this. I stalk over to the pretty boy doctor, his deep blue eyes stare earnestly back at me, ain't no way in hell it was him. "Nah, sorry pretty boy, it wasn't you." I lightly slap his face, three quick taps, before I turn to Marvel. "That just leaves you now don't it." His eyes go cold. His arm flinches at his side, drawing his gun.

…:::…

Marvel stares coldly at Katniss his hand twitches towards his gun, and faster than any of us can react the barrel of his gun is flush with Katniss' forehead. My heart is beating in a panic. My face still tingles from the contact of her hand.

"Yes that just leaves me Captain Everdeen. You aren't as dim as you seem. No you see those two there are wanted fugitives, and I ain't about to let them escape. Got a hefty reward on their heads. And I wouldn't feel to bad about puttin' some petty smugglers like yourselves away neither. Don't think I didn't notice the illegal Union goods hidden in those secret compartments."

The gun is still pressed tightly to Katniss' forehead. Marvel's finger is on the trigger, ready to put a bullet through her head at a moments notice. "Now let's not go doin' somethin' brash now." Katniss tries to reason, her hand slowly inching to the gun on her hip. If Marvel notices he is sure to pull that trigger.

"Oh I ain't doin' anything brash Captain Everdeen. But I'd suggest you try to stop reaching for your gun or things will certainly get more than a little messy." Katniss raises her hands slowly, indicating her surrender.

Alarms begin to wail and the faces of the crew members fall. "Union." Is all Annie mumbles next to me. Marvel smiles triumphantly.

"No! We need to turn and run! Please! I can't let them take her!" Thresh pleads.

Marvel pulls another gun and points it at Thresh. "You stay put." Tensions are rising; if something isn't done to diffuse it then things will soon go to hell.

Gale appears suddenly behind Marvel, a gun of his own trained on the back of Marvel's head. "I'd suggest you remove the barrel of that there gun if I were you."

Marvel's eyes are glowing red with rage, "Gale if you don't back the hell down I'm gonna shoot your dear Captain here. Then where will you be?"

"We need to run!" Thresh yells. Marvel turns his gaze on Thresh and Katniss uses this distraction to thrust a knee into Marvel's gut. In his fury Marvel begins to open fire. Before too many shots are fired Gale pulls the trigger on his own gun and Marvel falls dead.

I immediately look to Katniss who seems to be unscathed. "Jo?" Annie's voice worriedly sounds behind me. She is knelt over Johanna's body, a bullet wound to the stomach. She's not looking good. I rush over to her and begin to assess the situation.

"Shit Cap'n. We got us a dead fed, a couple of fugitives and Jo's been shot. What are we gonna do?" Finnick asks.

"We run." Thresh stands tall. "I can't let them take my sister. We run."

"Now hold on there a second bud." Katniss steps in front of Thresh. "This is my ship and I make the decisions. Not some fugitive. Now we don't really have much choice here. The Union may already know all about us. I don't think we can just turn tail and run."

"Well you're going to have to. I won't let them take her again." Thresh's voice comes closer. I feel his arms wrap one around my torso, pinning my arms at my sides, and one around my neck. "She's dying. If you want me to release the doctor then turn this boat around!"

Katniss sits contemplatively. She is obviously not happy about being told how to captain her ship. But Johanna's pained groans interrupt her.

"Annie. Let's make a run for it." Katniss concedes.

Annie bolts up to the bridge and the engines accelerate. Thanks to the artificial gravity we don't feel the crazy maneuvers she must be pulling.

"Ok. We're runnin'. Now why don't you go releasing the doctor so he can go bout savin' a life." Thresh's arms are immediately free from my neck. I dash to Johanna's side and with help from Gale and Finnick bring her to the infirmary.

…:::…

After the doctor, Finn, and Gale get Jo to the infirmary and situated on the bed I grab Gale and pull him with me. "You go hold Thresh. He's got a whole heap of explainin' to do. Hold 'im in the dining area." Gale nods and leaves.

I head up to the bridge. "Little Annie you tell me what's goin' on?"

"We be in the clear right away here Cap'n. Should be touchin' down on Shadow right away now. Union ain't gonna look for us here." I pat her on the back.

"Good job. The minute we land you meet us in the dining room, ja?"

"Ja Cap'n." And with that I return to the infirmary.

"How's it lookin' in here pretty boy?" The doctor is bent over a very still Johanna. Bloody pieces of bullet are layin' on a tray with a bunch of fancy tools.

"Just about finished. I am completing the stitching as we speak. She's going to be fine." With the last line he looks up and smiles at me. A warmth rushes quickly through my veins, only to be extinguished when I am free from his gaze.

"Clear. Soon as you boys is done down here I want ya to meet up in the dining room." With that I return to the cargo hold. Clove is still watching the smallish girl. I stride forward till I'm standin' right in front of her. I bend down so I am at eye level with her.

This ship jolts slightly signaling we have landed, Annie's voice sounds over the intercom, "Touch down Cap'n."

She's got chocolate skin and thick brown hair, just like her brother. Where her brothers are so dark they is nearly black, hers have a golden hue to 'em. "What's yer name kid?" She cocks her head to the side, "Rue." Her voice seeps with intelligence far beyond her years. "And how old are you, Rue?" "Fourteen." Reminds me greatly of Prim when she was that age. "Alright. Well you mind comin' with me? Seems your brother got us in a whole heap of trouble and we are gonna need to do some sortin'."