Galaxy (GIVEN UP)

Chapter 7

"Bam, on the gold!" Virgil yelled, making Roman jump. He slipped the mess of wiring into his bag carefully and crawled out onto the hood of the X-Wing, trying to avoid the shards of broken glass.

"So... what's a snick?" Roman asked. Virgil looked up at him like he'd forgotten he was there.

"Well," Virgil perched on the folded nose of the X-Wing, "they're these little critters from my planet." Virgil felt along the bonds in the metal as he spoke. "And they're buggin' delicious but they multiply like..." He trailed off, trying to think of a comparison.

"Rabbits?" Roman suggested.

"What's a rab-it?"

"I'll explain after I find out what a snick is." Roman said. Virgil shrugged and pulled out his cutting tool. He drove it into a bolt on the side of the ship and turned the blade off.

"Anyway, yeah, they multiply like rab-its." Virgil explained, sitting back on his heels. "So they ain't worth much. One snick is a credit, half a colony is three credits and a full colony's six. Snick breeders can get rich off the little buggers but they ain't worth much on their own."

Virgil slipped his fingers under the hole in the X-Wing and started trying to rip it open. "So," he gritted his teeth and gave the sheet of metal another wrench. The metal gave, curling up in his fingers as he fell backwards.

Virgil shook his fringe out of his eyes and sat up on his heels. "So," he repeated, "a snick is somethin'that's worth about as much as a credit. And a snick shit-"

"Isn't worth even that." Roman finished.  Virgil shot a finger gun at him.

"Bam." He said before looking at the engine. His mouth dropped a little. "Damn." He whispered. "Whatcha say this ship was called, Roman?"

"Kaboom Raa 15." Roman said, confused. A smile made its way onto Virgil's still-open mouth.

"What a beauty." He murmured admirably. "This engine's prolly gonna get us off this rock."

"Really?" Roman asked. Virgil nodded. "Well, what're you waiting for? Grab it!"

Virgil raised his eyebrow at Roman. "It's gonna take time, Princey." He said.

"Princey?" Roman repeated. Virgil nodded once.

"Yeah. It's a name we give annoyin' friends on my planet." Virgil explained. "Ya're a 'Princey' cause ya're annoyin' but ya decent at the same time."

"Um... thank you?" Roman guessed.

"No prob." Virgil said, grabbing a selection of tools again. "Anyway, this'll prolly take a while so, tell me, what's a 'rab-it'?"

Virgil laughed. "Tha' is the stupidest name for an animal I ever heard!" He said, still giggling weakly. He noticed Roman staring at him and hunched his shoulders. "What?"

"You can laugh." Roman said.

"Yeah, and?"

"I was seriously beginning to think that was impossible for you." Roman said and Virgil laughed again at the stupidity of it all.

"Ya're stupid, Princey." Virgil said, smirking slightly. "Anyway," he looked back at the engine, "why's this beauty called the Kaboom Raa 15? I mean, why 15?"

"Cause it's the 15th ship of its kind." Roman said.

"Ya mean the Resistance made 15 Kaboom Raas?" Virgil asked, tucking a bit of lose hair behind his ear.

"No." Roman said. "It's just the 15th ship I've had."

Virgil stared at him. "Ya've had 15 ships?!" He yelled. Roman nodded sheepishly. "By Genar, Princey! What happened to the other 14?"

Roman laughed awkwardly. "Why d'you think they're called the Kaboom Raa?" He asked, emphasising the 'Kaboom'.

"Ya mean they..." Virgil made an exploding motion with his hands.

"Yeah, they blew up." Roman said frankly. He tilted his head back and blew out a breath. "It's a wonder the Resistance didn't kick me out earlier."

"I mean, they need all the help they can get, don't they?" Virgil muttered.

"What d'you mean by that?" Roman asked. Virgil shrugged.

"Well, the Empire, ya know?" He said vaguely.

"The Empire was destroyed." Roman said, his voice wavering slightly. "They're just... rounding up the stragglers."

Virgil shook his head. "The Empire's always gonna be there." He said dismally. "Long as there are ambitions to mislead... they'll always be there. Plannin'." Virgil shivered slightly and returned his attention to the engine. "This beauty's nearly out." He announced and his tone was changed. Happier, lighter. "Then we can hopefully get off this Genar-forsaken rock."

"If you don't mind, who's Genar?" Roman asked. Before Virgil could reply, there was a shout from across the junk yard.

"Hey!" Both Roman and Virgil looked up. About five men, three in Resistance uniform, all with guns.

"Oh, shit." Virgil hissed. He grabbed his gun and threw it at Roman. "That's loaded. Gimme time."

"What am I meant to do with this?!" Roman asked in panic, holding the gun like it was a dead thing.

Virgil rolled his eyes. "Aim and shoot!"

We finally got to the action! Yee!
Bye,
Blaize