When Pick entered the kitchen, the usual casual chatter had been replaced by a heavy silence. Pick sat at the table and took in the assembled crew, with only Skye and Rex missing. He assumed Skye was still flying the ship, though this deep in space he didn’t think she’d have to be at the helm. Rex’s absence was a bit stranger.
Rex, formerly known as Brawny, was usually right next to Gage like an oversized shadow. Gage leaned against the far walls, picking at her fingernails with the tip of a knife. The chk-chking sound of her scrapping crud out from under her nails made Pick shiver. The stoic woman still made him uneasy. Whenever he thought about getting to know her better he remembered the look on her face when she swung that baton at him on Myero and thought it was best to do something else. She shot him a cold glare and he turned his eyes elsewhere in the kitchen.
Somehow, they had managed to drag Wrench out of the engine room. During his few days on the ship, Pick had only ever seen the grizzled old man in the engine room or the kitchen eating. He wasn’t even sure Wrench had a room of his own for all the time he spent tinkering and talking to the engine of the Fortune’s Feat. He hadn’t spent much time trying to get to know the old man since Pick barely knew the difference between a hammer and a capacitor. Plus, every time he got near the engine the old man scowled at him and he felt the sudden urge to be anywhere else.
Vince was another face Pick rarely saw. The clean-cut man looked like he belonged in an advert in Myero rather than the Fortune’s Feat. His clothes were well-tailored and immaculately clean. Pick wasn’t entirely sure what the man did to earn his share, but it wasn’t anything that got him dirty. He was another one Pick rarely saw, choosing to spend most of his time in his room or chatting up Skye at the helm.
Ash entered the kitchen and everyone straightened up and at attention. Not knowing what else to do, Pick steepled his fingers and tried to look as serious as everyone else, though the effect was lessened when his elbow slipped off the table with a bang.
Ash looked out at everyone before speaking, “I’ll make this brief. Skye found something on the scanners that she thought was just debris. She called me up and we determined it was a derelict ship. No signs of power, engine function, or life. She’s trying to get us close enough to board and see what’s what right now.”
Pick felt a surge of fear and excitement and couldn’t help but smile. At the sight of everyone else’s face, he removed it just as quickly.
“Gage, Rex is prepping suits for the two of you. You’ll be the first on the ship. Make sure we’re secure and there’s nothing hinky just past the door. Wrench, you and the kid will go in next. See what you can secure as far as spare parts and necessities while Rex and Gage search for shinies.”
Pick raised his hand, “Am I supposed to be the kid?” he asked, trying to break the tension.
Ash ignored the sarcasm and said, “Yes. Are there any other rhetorical questions?”
Feeling sufficiently scolded, Pick lowered his hand and sank back into the chair while the captain continued, “Vince, you and I will go in last and hold the door while the others do the searching.”
“You expect me to put on one of those filthy exo-suits?” Vince asked.
“Yes, and with significantly less griping.”
Vince mimed the captain’s serious expression but otherwise remained silent.
Ash met everyone’s eyes, “Stay alert and keep an eye out for anything strange. This could be an easy payday for us but don’t get lazy out there. We don’t know what condition the ship is in or how it got that way. Watch each other's backs and come back in one piece. Understood?”
Everyone muttered something that sounded like affirmation and Ash nodded, “Get to it then.”
The crew got into motion, each person heading to their assigned task with a single-minded purpose. As Pick stood up to follow the others, a thought nagged at the back of his mind—what kind of ship just drifts out here with no sign of life? Guess there was only one way to find out.
To be continued…
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