A Wrench

3: Questions

The next time you wake up, you're laying down in a narrow bed. Groaning, you roll over, feeling disoriented, looking around the cabin. You notice the kid is in the little hammock above you, his breath even and a little loud. You scoot under him to get out, and when your feet touch the floor, you realize you're barefoot. You haven't been barefoot since before you were in that cell.

You look down at the rest of you, and nothing is out of place, Mando only took your shoes off to get you more comfortable. Then you really frown, looking around the dark hull. Your eyes look toward the ladder, trying to imagine Mando carrying you down it. But that can't be right, he can't really be that strong, not weighed down with armor.

Then everything comes rushing back. You look down at your wristcomm, pulling up a holocall and going to the other end of the room so you don't wake the baby, turning the volume down low.

"It's about time!" your father practically shouts your name, "what happened?"

"Pirates." You breathe.

"Oh, shit. Did you get yourself hurt?"

"Um..." tears start to bloom at the memory. You wish you could cry less, it's such a useless response to stress. "I'm not hurt. Just sat in a cell for several hours."

"It's been four days, kid." he snaps at you.

You blanch, your body stiffening. "What? Dad, are you okay?! I'm so sorry I didn't know it's been so long!"

"Don't bother worrying about me, I've got supplies."

"Okay, I'm sure we're headed there, now. Mando is in the cockpit I think. I'll send you a message as soon as I get an update."

You say your goodbyes and hang up the phone. After a pitstop at the refresher, you climb the ladder to the cockpit. But you hesitate outside the door, listening for signs of the two men. What you hear makes you freeze. You realize instantly that Mando must have dropped Mayfield off somewhere. From inside the cockpit, you hear faint snoring. Un-modulated, un-dampened snoring.

You back away as quickly as you can, terrified to get caught. Practically tumbling down the ladder, you rush back to the bed, slinking back in and trying to steady your breath. You don't understand why he left the door open to the bed if he was going to be helmetless. You feel like an intruder, though you know you haven't actually intruded.

The kid's breathing shudders a little, and you see him readjust in his hammock. You try to shut your eyes and go back to sleep, but your stomach is churning with hunger. After mulling it over for a good ten minutes, you slide back out of bed, and go toward the part of the room where you think food would be.

As quietly as you can, you start to open compartments and peer inside, hoping to find a stash of ration bars or more instant oats. After opening several on one side of the ship, you move to the other side, sure that he would keep his food down here and not up in the cockpit. At first, you pause every minute or so to listen, nervous to wake Mando or the kid. But you don't hear anything and start to focus on your task after several minutes.

Finally, you pull open a cold storage box. Inside the compartment is several large bottles of what looks like beer, and a small pile of fruits and vegetables. Your mouth waters at the colorful sight, but you know better than to take a fruit. You're just a guest, a hitchhiker really, no way would you ever ask for more than just an instant ration. But your eyes still roam the cold shelves of fresh produce, just smelling the fragrance.

"Help yourself."

You jump out of your skin, yelping and slamming the door shut. Turning around, you see Mando standing in the middle of the room, his helmet looking at you. Your hand clutches your heart as you try to steady your breath.