GAMBLE

Chapter Two : A Stop On The Way To Hell

Hellhole

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Lucas tried to focus on flying.

They had been enroute for an hour already, yet behind him Bianca still sat on the cool steel floor of the bridge.  

She cried quietly for what seemed forever until her throat was raw and it burned.  At times she felt ashamed because with her despair was mingled the overwhelming pain of thirst and hunger. 

Her throat burned with fire that needed quenching.

The pain in her screams from earlier chilled Lucas, the sounds of her sobbing, and for a moment – just for a moment – he thought of leaving her in Nebulon and letting her find her way back home. And if his father were a different man Lucas would have done just that; but he couldn't because his father was Ras Adrien, and his father was cruel when he was owed something, and he could not be reasoned with, and Bianca would have begged for a death that would never save her if Ras was forced to come back for her.

And come back for her father.

She wouldn't understand, but in a sense, this was the safest thing for her now.  In a few hours, if they didn't run into any problems on their route, they would be back in Proteus, and Lucas would decide what to do with her then.

Bianca sat on the floor in her blue gown, feeling drained and tired. Her long legs tucked under her. She stared at Lucas in the pilot seat, his eyes looking straight ahead into the night sky ahead of them. He sat relaxed, looking almost bored.

She didn't fly often, if ever, and despite herself she became curious about the process, and she stood up slowly and wordlessly she went to sit in the passenger seat next to him. 

The glare from the screens and console lit up Lucas's face, his grey eyes bright as he gazed ahead. 

Her own eyes scanned the console full of blinking lights and switches and screens that controlled the ship, all of this new to her. In Nebulon not many people flew, it was rare, and the lack of ships in their airspace meant they kept the immaculate skyline of their city clear and the air quality clean. 

The light in the cabin of this ship was dim, provided by the console and mostly by the light that came from the full moon and Bianca could only gaze into shadows beyond the windows, the unknown surfaces barely illuminated in the soft silver that streamed in from the night sky.

The floor hummed gently beneath her feet, and Bianca heard the steady consistent working of the engine. The sound was steady, a push and pull of iron and machine, and it would have been comforting if she were not in this predicament.

"What's the name of your ship?"  She asked quietly.

Lucas turned only slightly, "Vela Lux." He replied and leaned forward to key in some instructions on the console, and the ship suddenly dropped in altitude.  "I have to make a stop on the way to Proteus."  He commented.

Bianca gripped the arm of her seat as the ship continued its descent; she stared out of the windows and only saw night and darkness.  "We're landing?"

He heard the panic in her voice, and he looked at her, "Are you afraid?"

She looked at him, "No." She lied.

Lucas glanced away, "Don't worry.  It'll be fine."

Bianca saw the lights of a small city rise to meet them as they flew lower.  She didn't know how long they had been traveling and what city stood between Nebulon and Proteus, and she didn't want to ask Lucas.  She just craned her neck to see the beauty of it, lights like stars scattered below them, getting brighter every second.