Dragon Star Battleship

Chapter 3

Morrigan breathed in a pile of fluff. She tried to open her mouth, finding it equally filled with the stuff. Her eyes shot open to darkness, with flickers of light around the edges. She threw her hands up to her face, connecting with the soft body of Flick. She gripped tight into his scruff and tossed him aside, listening for his claws scrabbling on the metallic floor as he landed.

"Do you have to do that?" Morrigan asked, spitting fur out as she spoke. She tugged at some that jutted out of the corner of her mouth. She knew she could never get it all out. "You can't tell me it's some cat thing, because I know you're not really a cat."

"I feel like a cat," Flick replied, before trotting over to her desk and leaping up. He gazed out the window, tail swishing back and forth. "I thought you might want to be presentable for the crew when we arrive."

Morrigan tried to stand up but a rush of blood hit her hard and she sunk back down. Her forehead started to pound with each beat of her heart. That woman they had brought on board, Akasha, could take out any of them in a drinking game. She partied like no pirate Morrigan had ever met and put veteran bar crawlers to shame.

"We're outside Corin?" Morrigan asked, trying to look upwards at her map but failing as the pain would spike every time.

"No, I woke you up three systems over just for fun."

"Sounds like you." Morrigan finally caught a glimpse of the map over her head. They really were three systems over from Corin. She glared at the cat. He looked over his shoulder at her, his whiskers twitching, before turning back to stare out the window. "The hell is this?"

The cat didn't turn to address her, fixated by the space outside. "Something is coming, you'd best be prepared."

Morrigan didn't stay to continue the chat. She quickly changed into new clothes and grabbed her jacket out of the closet. She left her hat behind, more concerned with the pressing notion of something coming for her out in space. Flick didn't usually stop her unless he thought it was urgent.

She trotted over to the bridge. The halls of the ship were empty, quiet. People were sleeping off a rowdy night of partying from before. Only the odd person would go by, tending to themselves and their own work. The bridge door slid open, revealing the glittering stars through the transparent ceiling. Down below the floor dropped down a level, where empty chairs sat in front of different screens and operations equipment.

At the far end, leaning against a railing and staring out into space, was Akasha. She rubbed at her head as Morrigan watched, a habit the captain was picking up on. She must've cut her hair recently. Or somebody did, at least.

The woman had finally changed from her original clothes and had gathered up some of the spare pieces that were laying around the ship. Some black, baggy pants that were tied tight by a rope to her smaller waist. A white tank top, covered in spots from grime and oil. And a brown jacket on top of it, thrown over her shoulders with the top button clasped together to keep it attached since her arms were free. It was like a bizarre, makeshift cape. But Morrigan wasn't about to question the fashion choices of her crew.

"You're up early from last night." Morrigan spoke sternly, trying to tread the line between being an authority figure and a welcoming person. She usually just stuck to authority though, screw what other people felt. They could come find her on their own time if they wanted the welcoming version.

"Am I?" Akasha didn't turn to address the captain, her eyes fixated on what lay beyond. "How do you know this is early? Or late? What's night in this space?"

Morrigan ignored the question and shifted her own gaze up to the space around them. She still had Flick's actions on her mind and was convinced that something was coming for them shortly. "I just meant you recover quickly, considering how hard you...partied."