Scrapper

«No. Captain put it on, while I was unconscious. It made his tech revolt, but…»

The woman stopped, remembering how the Captain blew his team-mates brains out. It was the first thing she learned – never to disobey the short-tempered Captain.

«I have to find something… otherwise he will get mad.» Serena pleaded, looking into the blue eyes of the dark-haired man.

«Don’t think about your pitiful scrap.» the blond man spit on the floor. «We have more important business you have to help us with.»

«I can’t.» Serena shook her head. «The Captain won’t…»

The gun barrel rose to her face, making her fall silent.

The dark-haired man thought for a moment, then slowly forced the gun down, making the blond man grunt with disapproval.

«Let’s start again, shall we?» the dark haired man pressed his palm on his chest. «My name is Hunter, this is Pher…»

Serena heard someone scrambling nearby and looked that way, finding a dark-skinned, long-haired man leaning over the wall and pressing a palm to his side. He looked obviously wounded and barely strong enough to walk, but he still carried the heavy gun, ready to engage in a gunfight.

«And that is Cipher.» Hunter showed at his wounded comrade. «We need a way out of this place. And you have a ship.»

«It’s not my ship. It obeys the Captain. The only way it will obey me, is if this collar is off my neck and the captain is dead.» Serena shook her head.

She glanced at the blood, trickling down Cipher’s side, and slowly opened her belt bag. The man, called Pher tensed up, but when Serena took out a pack of first-aid wound patch, he grabbed it out of her hand and headed to his friend, leaving Hunter and Serena alone.

Hunter met Serena’s gaze again and sighed:

«Look, all we need is a way off this planet. The sooner, the better.» he flicked her collar. «You need this off. We can help each other, so how about we make a deal?»

«I told you, the only way the ship will obey my commands is if the captain is dead. And that is a hard feat to do.» Serena shook her head once more.

«How so?»

«He installed a special protocol. The ship has cameras inside and outside. So if he is murdered there – I am stuck. The ship will shut down, sending a signal of a murder that occurred. If he’s killed anywhere else, his personal implant will send a signal back to the ship with the recording of how he was killed. The only way to kill him is by accident and not involving me.» Serena looked away, realising she had spent more than enough time thinking about all this.

Hunter chewed his lower lip in thought, then glanced at his friends.

«Alright… so… what if he breaks his neck falling off a staircase?» he asked.

«That would be a plausible way to make his system make me the captain in charge.» Serena swallowed a lump. «But…»

She didn’t finish her sentence, as her earpiece shot an electric charge into her ear, making her twitch from pain.

«Report!» the captain’s voice sounded in a bark, obviously drunken from whatever moonshine he already drank on the ship.

Serena clasped her palm on Hunter’s mouth, in an unconscious way stopping him from making a sound.

«I haven’t found anything yet, captain.» the woman said, wincing from the pain that he delivered when switching her earpiece remotely.

He loved tormenting her, and this faulty radio was one of those ways.

«We won’t leave, until we find what we came for!» the captain growled. «Keep searching!»

«It would be easier if I knew what exactly you’re looking for.» Serena felt sweat beads forming on her forehead.

She wasn’t supposed to talk to him this way – he could punish her for such attitude. She heard the Ol’ Fart sigh in irritation and grumble:

«I got a hint there’s some precious metals here. Look for anything worth our time, and stop asking questions!»

«All I found so far is a bit of copper wiring and a silver plate. Any details you can spare?»

«Gold, you dim witted whore! I’m looking for gold!»

«Gold?» Serena met Hunter’s gaze and noticed him frown. «Got it.»

«Report when you find anything!» the captain signed off.

Serena felt the pain subsiding, as the earpiece shut down again. She felt her fingers starting to tremble, when she realised she prevented Hunter from speaking all this time, and slowly lowered her hand, understanding that this could mean the man becoming angry at her.

But, on the contrary, he seemed calm and unaffected by her gesture.

«He’s searching for gold?» he asked quietly.

Serena nodded, nervous that she was surrounded by three armed men, but it was not as strong of a fear for her safety and life, than the fact that her captain was drunk, irritable and agitated, searching for something that could as well be elsewhere.

Hunter stepped closer, making the woman press against the wall even harder.

«And how would he know there’s gold here?» his voice grew lower, sounding like a growl.

«He said, he got a hint. I would assume it was from one of his informants.» Serena felt Hunter’s breath on her neck.

The man stepped back, falling into thought. He looked at his friends – the wounded one looking a bit better, being patched up by the first aid pack Serena gave them.

«Stay here.» the man growled and walked up to his friends.

Serena looked at her hands, realising they trembled even harder. She knew that if she were to help these deserters, she would need to calm down, before returning to the ship. The Captain was dangerous when he was drunk, and if he was searching for something as valuable as gold, he would be furious if he will notice her nervousness.

She took a few moments to breathe in and out, calming her nerves, but felt that any outcome, really, would be not in her favour. The three men could shoot her and that was probably the easiest way to go. What the captain could do was something else entirely.

The woman heard steps approaching, and looked up just as Pher pressed her to the wall again, his palm grasping her ass in an obvious sign of his lustful thoughts towards her.

«You’ll help us, girl. And I’ll reward you with the best few nights of your life, pretty thing.» Pher grumbled into her ear.

Serena dared not to move or push him away, too familiar to such advances and knowing what could happen if she were to fight it. She felt his hand caressing her body and closed her eyes, forcing down any remnants of dignity she had left.

It was too long since she could allow herself to object to something like this.

She felt Pher rubbing his body against hers, but a second later he was jerked back and Serena heard him crashing onto the floor. She opened her eyes, seeing broad shoulders in front of her – Hunter closed her with his body from his friend.

«Touch her again, Pher, and I will break your arm!» Hunter growled.