Starhoppers

03 - What Kind of Man You Are

I stared tiredly into the darkness behind my eyelids as Ralph snored loudly on the opposite side of the room. The man had woken me up several times throughout the night; somehow, over the past half hour or so, his snoring had amplified seemingly tenfold.

I groaned softly, my eyes peeling begrudgingly open as I rolled over onto my side, struggling to discern Ralph's sleeping form on the other side of the dark bedroom. An obnoxious snore escaped from the man's throat with each gradual rise of his chest, a deep wheeze of an exhale following soon thereafter.

I slid my legs off the cot. Ralph rolled over in his bed as I hobbled through the doorway, yawning. The thick metal frame of the door cut off the sound of Ralph's snoring as it closed behind me, my feet carrying me drowsily in the direction of the living quarters.

Serena's orb of light appeared on a small table in front of me as I walked. "Good morning, Zachary," the AI said, stifling what sounded like a chuckle. "Sleep well?"

I scoffed quietly, patting the table as I stepped past. "Good morning, Serena."

The scent of bacon entered my nostrils as I neared the kitchen, a quiet chattering coming from somewhere around the corner up ahead. I entered the room and spotted Ellie, her black hair disheveled and hanging down to her shoulders as she stared down at the pan on the stove. I frowned as my gaze drifted towards the woman standing beside her, a pot of coffee gripped tightly in one hand and a steaming mug resting in the other.

I remained silent for a moment before speaking, stepping further into the kitchen. "Good morning."

The two of them peered over their shoulders as I spoke. Ellie smiled. "Oh, hey Zach! I was starting to think you were planning on sleeping all day."

I smiled politely at the woman standing by the coffee machine, raising my hand meekly as I approached. "It's nice to finally meet you, Dr. Palmer."

The woman narrowed her eyes, dark bags resting beneath them as she glanced curiously between the two of us. She hummed softly, stepping quickly past me in the direction of her office with her mug still firmly in hand. "The pleasure is all mine."

I leaned against the countertop as Dr. Palmer exited the room, her door closing swiftly behind her. "She seems like quite the conversationalist."

Ellie shrugged. "She is... once you get to know her, at least. She just keeps to herself, that's all."

I nodded, glancing down at the girl's legs as I approached the cupboard. "You're not wearing any shoes?"

Ellie raised her eyebrows. "Astute observation, detective."

I rolled my eyes, grabbing a mug of my own and heading for the coffee pot. "While you're cooking, I mean. My mom taught us to keep our lower halves covered while working at the stove when we were kids."

"Yeah, well, in case you hadn't noticed, I'm an adult," she laughed, flipping the bacon in the pan. "I think I can handle myself at the stove just fine, thanks."

I shrugged, pouring coffee into my mug. "Hey, suit yourself. Just don't come crying to me when you hurt yourself."

Ellie scoffed quietly, smiling. "I appreciate the concern, though. You're the only person to ever warn me about that kind of thing."

I took a seat at the counter. "Don't mention it. If you hurt yourself, who do think is going to pick up your slack?"

"I get it. But I'm not afraid of a little bacon."

"Hey, as my mom would always tell us - 'burns, drops, slips, and cuts.' Those are good enough reasons for me," I said, taking a sip of my coffee and wincing as the liquid burned my tongue.