Chapter Text
[𝟕𝟏-𝑮𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒐𝒏]
[𝒙𝒙/𝒙𝒙/𝟐𝟑𝟎𝟎]
The storm was getting stronger and stronger as the rain poured down, and still, the streets were crowded, those narrow streets lined with markets surrounded by factories and huge buildings, the smoke coming out of the factories was the air you breathed every day. In the streets, people were crowded, all kinds of voices could be heard, some shouting for people to move or trying to sell something, others just asking for some money and sometimes you could hear lost children crying. Pushing, shoving, insults and so on were the norm on the streets, that was the daily routine.
Among the crowd of people, there was a girl walking at a fast pace, not because she was in a hurry, but because if she didn't move, they were going to run over her. She was wearing a kind of robe that covered her face. She had managed, thanks to a contact, to get a meeting with the head of the highest paying company on the moon: Halden Electronics.
After a few minutes walking and being jostled by quite a few people, he arrived at the meeting point, stopping and looking at that small fast food place, he would take out of his pants pocket a crumpled paper which he opened to see what was written and then the name of the place, confirming that it was there.
“Move, scum.”
She was pushed from behind causing her to stagger, barely turning to look at the man who did so before sighing and turning her gaze back to the front. The place was a simple bar with four chairs in front and a bowl of “tips” in plain sight, but the merchant and his kitchen were hidden behind a metal curtain, as were all the locals. He walked over to one of the stools and took a seat, looking to the side, resting both hands on the counter. He looked at his somewhat damaged fingers, with gunk under his fingernails and the occasional blister on his palm, which made him bite his lower lip.
"Mother would kill me if she saw me in this state.... " She whisper mournfully.
"𝑀𝜄𝜏 𝑠𝑧𝜀𝑟𝜀𝜏𝜋𝜀 𝑟𝜀𝜋𝜕𝜀𝑙𝜋𝜄?"
"Huh?"
She looked up to watch as a small, slimy, mucousy sort of hand would come out from under a small window, stretching out what appeared to be a menu. She looks at the menu and then at the hand to take it as she shook her head slightly.
"Oh, n-no, I'm not ordering yet, I'm waiting for someone." She smiled nervously.
She only got a few grunts in response before the “hand” returned inside, closing the window. She pursed her lips and looked down for a moment, tapping her fingers gently against the counter, she was a bit nervous, as the person she was supposed to meet still didn't show up and that made her even more uneasy, causing her to look sideways constantly.
She sank into her thoughts for a moment. What if she had been late? No, it was the right time - or was it? Besides... What would she do if he couldn't get the job? No, it was impossible, it's the job that anyone could get into, even for a while she remembered it being advertised as “The company where even a dog could get in” although it made her curious to think how every year they grabbed more than 100 people, that certainly was rare.
"Lake Müller?"
She heard that husky, almost metallic voice speak to her and turned to see a man dressed in a round top hat and a trench coat that covered much of his body and part of his face. Lake swallowed saliva and straightened in her seat, removing her hood to reveal her badly cut hair, as if she had done it herself, having her hair a reddish color with a few blonde locks standing out.
"Yes, it's me."
"... Your brother said you want to work for our company. Is it true?" He took a seat next to her, listening to the creak of the seat.
"... Yes, that's right."
"... The Müller family is of great power, our company would not have prospered had it not been for your great-great-grandfather, and to this day we share a strong business relationship. No Müller needs a real job to maintain his power status, he just has to pretend to do something.... Why would a Müller want to come down from her pedestal for such a miserable job?"
Lake was speechless at that explanation and question, pressing both lips together as her fingers gently tapped the bar. The subject remained silent, waiting for an answer, his reddish eyes fixed on the young woman's figure.
"I... I want to be the first Müller to get an important position and name without having to depend on my family, yes, that's right. That's right! I want to... I want to do something on my own." She brought a hand to her chest as she looked down, somewhat nervously.
There was a somewhat awkward silence after she said that, with Lake looking up and staring at the guy, now clenching her fists against the bar as she waited for an answer. The window of the store suddenly opened and that mucous hand came out again, and an unintelligible noise was heard.
"... Well, welcome aboard Miss Müller, order whatever you want, just because it's you, I'll buy the food."
The man extended his metallic and somewhat oily hand towards Lake. The girl made a slight grimace, shrinking a little in her seat before finally shaking his hand, being able to feel the cold metal that caused her to shiver. But then the man squeezed the young Müller's hand a little, who let out a pained whimper at that.
“Don't disappoint us Miss Müller.”
Hearing those words from the guy made the air cut off and her body paralyze with fear, no doubt those were words that reminded her of horrible things to Lake, things she wished she could forget.
[...]
[𝟕𝟏-𝑮𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒐𝒏]
[The Company]
The waves were hitting the port hard while the thunder rumbled and the rain poured down, the gray clouds covered the sky completely while the noises of machinery, ships and lots of voices sounded, being able to see behind the port a huge building: The company.
Inside the building a dirty, dimly lit and leaky room could be seen, with a few chairs and about 80 people sitting there. A few murmurs could be heard among all those present, in the middle of all of them sat Lake, who was just looking around seeing everyone present, all of them were new in the company.
"Hey, I like the way your hair looks."
She heard Lake next to her, making her come out of her thoughts and look to her right, seeing there a fairly young person, maybe her age, with pale skin, dark and spiky hair, shaved on her sides, with some of her hair falling on one side. They had very noticeable dark circles under they eyes and rather nice makeup.
"Ah... Thanks, I don't really have it very good." She looked down a bit embarrassed.
"Don't say that, you look great, it screams “rebellion” all over the place, and that's great!" They laughed a little while waving they hands.
Lake looked away at that comment, smiling slightly, it had been a long time since anyone had complimented her, at least honestly. Lake looked at them again, straightening up in her seat as she raised an eyebrow.
"Thank you, I like your hair too..... I'm Lake, it's a pleasure." She extended her hand toward the person.
"Tristan, Tristan Vik. I had seen you before, when we were all boarded on the ship, I wanted to talk to you, but.... My nerves were getting the better of me and my anxiety wouldn't let me get close." Them laughed lightly, shaking her hand.
"Well, now you have the courage to talk to me, that's what matters." She gave them a gentle smile.
Before Tristan could respond, there would be the sound of a door opening, with everyone falling silent and seeing a woman and two men entering. The woman would stand at the front, raising her glasses to look at all the freshmen present, narrowing her eyes and clearing her voice to finally speak.
"My name is Emily Campbell, a representative and spokesperson for Halden Electronics. We are glad that you have all decided to join the company voluntarily and are eager to do an excellent job, we are sure that you will meet the company's expectations and strive to become the best employees a company can have." She smiled slightly as she spoke, keeping both hands behind her lower back.
Emily would then give a snap and the men would start moving towards the freshmen, beginning to pass out a few papers. Lake would just watch with some curiosity, watching as everyone passed the papers around until they would get to Tristan and they would pass one of the papers to her, with Lake having to pass the rest. Lake would look at her sheet to see what it was some sort of contract, in a.... Rather strange, almost unintelligible language. She raised an eyebrow, confused, narrowing her eyes and squeezing it a bit.
"Pss... Do you understand anything?" Tristan whispered.
"Nothing at all..."
"Damn, I don't even recognize what language this is. -He scratched his head slightly.
"Please, everyone, please sign the contract, there is no need to read it or try to see “fine print” that does not exist. We assure you that the contract contains everything we have told you and you have heard about the company." Emily smiled as she closed her eyes.
Lake strongly questioned Emily's words, looking at her with some confusion and now genuine curiosity as to what the hell that contract said. She looked to her side, wanting to know what Tristan thought, but saw how the other person next to they handed Tristan a pen with some ink to sign, both remained silent and Tristan bit they lower lip, worried.
"I... I can't go back to my life." They whispered to themself, signing the contract.
Lake raised both eyebrows as she watched they sign, and now the pen was being passed to her? What would she do, was she really going to sign that contract? Her hand shook a little, if she signed it, God knows where she was getting herself into, but if she didn't sign it? It meant two choices: go back to the streets or crawl back to the Müller family's properties, and in both cases, she would die.... She narrowed her eyes, she was not fully decided, but she signed the contract anyway.
"There is no turning back now." She whispered to herself.
Lake would pass the pen to the next and looked at the contract again, she would surely regret her decision in the future, but it was better than her other options. Tristan put a hand on her shoulder, trying to be supportive, which made Lake look at them and a small smile tugged at her lips.
A few minutes passed until finally all the contracts would be signed, no exceptions, these being taken by the same men who would return to Emily, who clapped her hands slowly.
"Excellent! We are glad to see your commitment and excitement to work for the company, you are all welcome to this new family who will embrace you and pat you on the back for being great employees. Now, in line and without fuss, you will all be admitted to the next control room, you will be asked a few questions and given the necessary vaccinations so that you can do the job without any risk. " She smiled almost from ear to ear, holding up her thumb.
"Wait. What kind of vaccines are they?"
It was suddenly heard from the background and Lake turned to see, as did the rest, the person who did it. He was a somewhat tall boy with dark blue hair and was wearing a somewhat torn pink jacket, his hair also looked a mess and Lake could swear he could see a scar under his left eye.
"No need to specify sir..." Emily narrowed her eyes, remaining silent for a few seconds. "Hamilton! Besides, your contract has been signed, and clearly the contract says “Questions will be answered as soon as all protocol is finished.”
"But, the contract can't even be read...."
"No questions until the end of the protocol! Now, everyone follow orders, please." Emily smiled forcibly as she waved her hand towards the door at the side of the room.
And as ordered, everyone in the room began to stand up from their places and move to the side to try to line up as instructed. Lake and Tristan also obeyed, with Tristan going in front of Lake, with Tristan rubbing they right arm nervously at the situation.
"Ah... What do you think the control room is?" Tristan look sideways at Lake.
"I just hope it's nothing bad..."
It would be almost half an hour in line before it would finally be Lake's turn to get through, Tristan had already gone through about 5 minutes before her, she just hoped they was okay. The line had advanced to a poorly maintained corridor, with poor lighting and the ceiling leaking, Lake would swear that about 20 drops of water fell on her head during all that time, plus the floor was full of dirt, Lake was really starting to regret her decision a little...
When it was her turn to enter, is that the huge door opened automatically, with Lake stepping forward, surprised to see a white room, quite clean and acceptable lighting, in the same there was a table with an empty chair on each side, and behind it a huge window that reflected Lake. The door closed behind him, and Lake then walked over to the table, a little uneasy about the silence.
" Welcome to the control room, we are glad you have decided to work for the company. Please answer the following questions with complete honesty in order to do a 100% effective job, in case of lying or omitting one of the questions, the company will give you a penalty to be paid in the short or long term depending on it. " Said a robotic voice on the other side of the window.
Lake took a seat, shrugging her shoulders slightly as she rested both hands on her lap, nodding.
"Okay..."
"For convenience, we will use a hologram of a person of your choice to make you feel comfortable answering the following questions, please name a person or entity you would like to have in front of you."
"Oh, ah... Well, I want to choose my favorite novel author Mildred Havok, her writing inspired me to want to practice and do my own writing, it's not as good as hers, but I hope someday I can publish it and inspire someone like she did in me." Lake smiled, somewhat emotionally, bringing a hand to her chest and clenching her fist.
"... We're sorry! But due to some technical glitches, it has not been possible to register the name you mentioned, in compensation, we will put not so recognized and cheap artist: Alessio Castelli."
It was then that the hologram of that man made an appearance on the chair in front of Lake, which made the girl narrow her eyes and make a slight grimace, because she didn't like the man's art very much and she only knew that her older brother adored him.
"First question, what is your full name? " The robotic voice now had a more muffled voice with a noticeable Italian accent.
"Ah... Lake Müller."
"Age?"
“E-Eh... 18 years old.”
“Current marital status?”
“Single.”
“Blood type?”
"A-positive..."
"Height?"
"6´1"
"Weight?"
"Ah, I don't know... 121 lb, approximately."
"What is your greatest fear?"
"My biggest fear? Uh... I think my parents." She scratched the back of her neck, uncomfortable.
"Name 5 things you like and 5 things you dislike."
"... What kind of “interview” is this?"
"Please don't ask, just answer."
"Ah... Five things I like, ah.... Books, art, chocolate ice cream, roses that bloom in protected areas, and animals, especially dogs, I used to like penguins until I heard about their extinction.... "She sounds a little sad when she says the last thing.
"Please leave the regrets for later, continue with the answer."
"And five things I don't like... Idiots who just want to touch me, my brothers and their constant abuse, energy drinks, selfish people and.... Ah... I don't know, spiders? " She look somewhat uncomfortably at the hologram.
"The spiders, interesting creations, give them all the space they need and they will create the greatest and most beautiful work of art the human being will ever see.” A quote from Alessio Castelli on June 27, 2995, at the ancient art conference." The robotic voice would say.
"Ah, yes..."
"Define yourself in three words"
"I would say... Intelligent, creative and... Uh... Studious?" She put a finger to her chin.
There were a few seconds of silence until a part of the wall on one side of the window opened, letting out gloved hands with a vaccine, which made Lake swallow a little saliva, she wasn't afraid of needles, not at all, but.... If they gave her anything at all.
"Please stand up and move closer to the wall to receive your injection. Stay perfectly still and do not make any sudden movements, you will feel a little dizzy 3 minutes after receiving your injection, but it won't be anything serious."
Lake then rolled up the long sleeve of his shirt to expose his arm, revealing some bruises and slight cigarette burns. One hand firmly grasped Lake's arm, while she stared at the hologram of Alessio, who was staring at her.
"Don't be afraid of the unknown, sometimes, the best things come from that which we have not yet tasted or known" Alessio Castelli said the day-"
"I know what he said, my brother used to make me listen to his silly talk." Lake rolled her eyes in annoyance.
She felt a prick that made her shiver, closing her eyes as it actually hurt a little. Lake looked down at her arm and saw a band-aid put on by those hands, with one of them holding up a thumb before they went back inside the wall. Lake rubbed the injected area a little before pulling down her sleeve.
"Now, proceed to the door on the right, go through the window and you will be given the ship where you will work and live. Welcome to the company, welcome to your new family and welcome to your new life."
Lake could not help but shudder when the robotic voice said that, and noticed how the hologram disappeared. The girl simply obeyed and walked towards the door on the right, which opened automatically to give way to a hallway cleaner than the previous one, with lights illuminating the entire path and a window on one side. Lake would approach towards it at a somewhat slow pace, looking to the sides, seeing some posters of company advice for the job.
She reached the window, stopping and looking at it before seeing the small bell at the bottom, pressing it and waiting a few seconds until the window opened, revealing on the other side of the grille a bearded man, covered entirely in hair, wearing glasses and a hat, holding to one side an old and somewhat broken doll.
"Name?"
"Ah... Lake, Lake Müller."
"Oh! A Müller! Did you hear her Marcus? When was the last time a Müller enlisted in our ranks? About 200 years ago?" The doll looked at the man with a "smile"
"Nina, don't shout, you'll scare the new..."
Marcus began to press some buttons under the window, listening to the noise of a machine in the background. Lake just stood there, a little uncomfortable, not only because of the man's haggard appearance and the doll's stare, but also because of the putrid smell they gave off. After a few seconds, Marcus then handed her a piece of paper.
"Ship 245. Good luck, young lady."
"Ah... Thank you, sir." She took the paper with some caution.
"Yes! Let's hope it doesn't happen to you like the fellow who was eaten by his companions for lack of food!" The doll exclaimed with laughter.
"What?" Lake looked at her in horror.
"Don't listen to her, she likes to tell jokes."
Before Nina could say anything else, Marcus closed the window. Lake stood there, somewhat disturbed and looking at herself, she didn't look very appetizing to be eaten. Or did she? She shivered and started walking towards the end of the corridor, looking at the paper in her hand that indicated the ship she had been assigned to.
Upon leaving, she would now find herself on the outside of the company, the port, receiving the cold drops of water from the heavy rain, as well as the wind that was blowing through the area. She could hear the sound of the waves hitting the lower part of the structure, as well as several voices, as too many people could be seen in the surroundings, moving from one side to the other, talking or just sitting on some of the containers. Lake began to walk towards one side of the port, towards the area of the ships, seeing there a few parked ships, they were bigger than Lake imagined.
"Lake Müller, welcome!"
Hearing her name being called she turned around, now meeting two elegantly dressed men, with one of them carrying an umbrella while the other held a clipboard. The dark-haired man adjusted his glasses before looking at Lake and smiling slightly.
"We got word that you'd be around, everyone in the department is talking about you. A Müller in the company! Can you believe this Trevor?" He looked at his partner with an amused smile.
"Oh, I can't believe it! A Müller doing a real job? It's something to frame. Take us a picture Derek!"
Trevor would then move to Lake's side and wrap his arm around her neck, pulling her into an awkward embrace. Derek would pull his phone out of his pocket to take a picture of the two of them, pressing the screen to display the picture in front of them in a hologram.
"Lovely! We're going to frame it in our office."
"Ah... Who-Who-Who are you?" Lake turned away from Trevor, clearly uncomfortable.
"Oh. Us? We're just the managers of the place, you know, we're in charge of making sure everything runs smoothly here." Derek raised his hand to point around the place.
"That's right, we make sure everything is right and in place, and that's what we'll do with you, Miss Müller." Trevor returned to Derek's side to cover him with his umbrella.
"Which ship did you get?" Derek pointed to the paper.
"Ah... 245, sir."
"245? Trevor, remind me who's on the 245."
"Pff, all idiots, good for nothing. None of them up to the level of a Müller! That's for sure Derek." Trevor shook his head, sounding indignant.
"Exactly! We can't have the golden princess sleeping on a ship full of assholes, no, no. You deserve the best, Müller!" Derek pointed at her.
"But it's not necessary-"
"It's necessary! You're not just anybody like 99% of the people who work here. You're a Müller and you'll be treated as such!" Trevor exclaimed.
"That's right, that's why we assigned you to ship 398, in the lower part of the port." Derek took a piece of paper out of his pocket to hand it to her.
"The newcomers with the most potential were sent to that ship, believe us, you'll fit right in." Trevor laughed a little.
"Now go, and don't catch a cold."
Lake just looked at the two of them with some hesitation before taking the paper that was handed to her, frowning upwards to see Derek and Trevor smiling almost mockingly. Lake turned around to start walking to the stairs that led down to the lower part of the dock, feeling the gazes of both men on her at all times.
[...]
Lake was now in the lower part of the harbor, seeing other ships parked there, as well as some people outside their ships introducing themselves and so on. Lake was feeling a little nervous, glancing sideways before looking at the paper Derek had handed her, clenching it a little. Why did they always have to give her benefits like that just because of her last name? But she was pulled out of her thoughts when someone caught her attention.
"Lake! Hey!"
Lake looked up and saw that it was Tristan, causing a smile to play on her lips. Tristan approached, being completely drenched from the storm.
"Tristan, hey, ah.... Which ship did you get?" She look at they with some curiosity.
"Oh, ah... It touch me..." Took the paper out of they vest pocket, looking at it with narrowed eyes." The... ¡398! I was told it would be down here somewhere."
Suddenly Lake's eyes lit up when she heard that, and she couldn't help but smile with excitement, for at least she would be with someone she knew on the ship. Lake showed they the paper, and she could tell how Tristan's eyes sparkled.
"We're going to be on the same ship!" Tristan exclaimed with excitement.
"Yes! That will be great." She laughed lightly.
"Yeah. You know, I was a little worried about having to travel with so many strangers, at least with you I already talked for a minute." Tristan laughed, feeling calmer.
"I say the same thing, it's better to have someone you know than no one.... Come on, let's go look for the ship."
Tristan nodded and began to walk along with Lake through that low area of the port, looking to the sides and also feeling a little dizzy from the effect of the injection as well as from the crash of the waves against the structure. Tristan looked to the sides, observing one of the ships with a few guys inside, hearing loud laughter and also shouts of excitement, which made Tristan smile a little, maybe they would find good friends there...
Lake for her part did not pay much attention to the rest of the ships, only to the signs on the sides that indicated the number of each ship. It was then that Lake centered her gaze on two men sitting outside the ship, both of them sitting on buckets with a box in the middle as an improvisation, having some chips on top and both of them holding cards.
"HAHA! Look and cry child! Let's see if you learn to control your expressions and not be so obvious." Said the older bearded man, putting the cards on the table.
"Tsk, I told you, it's my first time playing..." The other dark-haired boy rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Ah... Excuse me." Lake approached, raising his hand slightly.
The two turned to look at Lake and Tristan, the older man looked at them reluctantly, seeming annoyed that they had been interrupted, while the other boy smiled, standing up and adjusting the lock of his hair.
"Hey, they sent them to this ship too, didn't they?" He pointed with his thumb at the ship behind him.
"Ah, yes, ship 398..... I'm Lake, and this is Tristan." Lake pointed to Tristan with one of her hands.
"He-Hey..."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Hunter." He extended his hand to both of them.
Lake was the first to shake his hand and then Tristan did so, with Hunter stepping back a bit so they could get a good look at the other man.
"This big guy here is Ted, don't play poker with him, he's already ruined me and we barely knew each other." He folded his arms, frowning.
"It's not my fault that you're easier to read than a kindergarten book, come on, don't make that bitter face." He stood up, adjusting his suit a bit. "Nice to meet you, ladies."
"Ah... Actually, I'm... I'm not a girl... " Tristan put a hand to the back of they neck, uncomfortable.
"Oh. You're a boy?"Ted raised an eyebrow, curious.
"Ah... Ne-Neither."
"Oh, you're one of those..." Ted folded his arms.
"Do you have a problem, Ted?" Hunter scowled at him.
"No, no, not at all, we're in the 2300's, please Hunter, it's more normal to see non-binary people than anything else." Ted looked back at him, somewhat annoyed.
"Ah... Maybe we should go inside and see the ship. Yes?" Lake shrugged a little.
"Oh, yeah, come on in, inside are Alec, Ellie and Logan, they're setting up some things." Hunter took his seat again.
"Just watch out for that Alec, they confiscated some bottles of alcohol from him when we got to the port, I saw him, he might be a little upset and grumpy." Ted rolled his eyes.
"Understood captain." Tristan smiled, more relaxed, holding up both thumbs.
Both now headed towards the side of the ship, with Lake going up first to be followed by Tristan. They both walked towards the entrance of the ship, already hearing some noise inside, and when they looked out they could see the central area of the ship, the huge computer in the front part, a closet where to keep their things, or so Lake supposed, a coat rack with the work suits, a small window on one side of the computer, a strange machine attached to the wall and finally another door that led to another part of the ship. In front of the computer were Alec and Logan talking.
"So... Do you think this computer has games on it? Because that would be great." Logan said with a smile.
"I doubt it, this company would kill us before they'd let us enjoy anything." Alec rolled his eyes in annoyance as he went through some files.
"Come on, you're just saying that because they took away your beer, but you don't need alcohol to enjoy a super special trip with new friends!" Logan shook his fists before raising them in the air.
Alec just looked at him in annoyance before rolling his eyes and continuing to check the computer. Logan would then notice Lake and Tristan, smiling and raising his arms to approach them both.
"Welcome to the ship of friendship! I'm Logan, a pleasure."
"I'm Lake, nice to meet yo-"
But before Lake could finish speaking is that Logan would give her a tight welcoming hug, lifting her off the ground a little making her squeal a little from the squeeze. When he released her, Logan turned to Tristan, who smiled and opened they arms.
"I'm Tristan, come on that hug, man!"
Logan would then hug Tristan, laughing a little as Tristan reciprocated and laughed just as much, with Logan lifting they up a little before pulling they down and away. Tristan would laugh lightly as nodded.
"Hmmm... A big, warm, welcoming hug, I like that."
"I hope you have a good time here, oh. And here's Alec! He's kind of... Busy, looking at computer files." Logan pointed his thumb at him.
"The company has vaguely explained something to us, we have to inform ourselves, or at least I will." Alec said without looking at them.
"Ah... Hey Alec, it's nice to meet you." Lake raised one of his hands a little, smiling awkwardly.
"Hey man." Tristan also raised they hand.
"... Hey." Was the only thing Alec answered.
There was a slightly awkward silence in the air, with Logan wiping off his smile and looking somewhat worriedly at Alec and then looking at Lake and Tristan. The silence was interrupted when the other door opened, and a girl with orange hair came out of it, it was Ellie, who raised both eyebrows when she saw the newcomers.
"Ah... Hey." Ellie raised a hand to her chest.
"Heeeeey. What's up?" Tristan smiled slightly, raising they hand.
"So... That's all of us already?" Logan raised an eyebrow, curious.
"No, not yet, according to the computer, we're at least three crew members short of starting this thing." Alec grunted a little, giving the computer a slight kick.
"Hey, don't be so hostile to the computer." Ellie joked, crossing her arms.
"Ah... Can I go to the bathroom?" Lake raised her hand a little.
"Sure, it's the door on the right, surprisingly it's the only clean thing in this dump." Ellie rolled her eyes as she walked toward the door of the ship.
Lake nodded and shrugged her shoulders is she would walk past Ellie and enter another area of the ship. It was a very small hallway, too small, barely two or three people could fit in there, and there was only one window and on each side two doors, one was the bedrooms and the other was the bathroom. Lake made her way to the bathroom door, touching the button on the side to open the door and enter.
The bathroom was a small cubicle, a sink, a toilet, a shower and a mirror, no more, no less. Lake takes a deep breath and sighs, the door closing behind her. She walked in front of the sink to look in the mirror, bringing a hand to one of her cheeks to lightly touch one of her dark circles under her eyes. Her face looked a little thinner than she remembered and her hair was looking increasingly disastrous, especially since the dye hadn't completely covered all the strands.
"Agh... What a mess." She looked down, almost sinking her head against the sink.
She pulled away, stepping back a bit to take a seat over the toilet, remaining seated there as she rested both hands against her legs, somehow beginning to reflect a bit on her decisions and how she ended up there.... She grunted and brought both hands to her face, leaning down and staying there for a few moments, closing her eyes and raising both hands to her head to thereby tug on her hair a bit, shaking her head a bit before pulling backwards slamming her back against the toilet backpack, starting to tug at her hair as her breathing hitched, remembering Trevor and Derek's words, even even even when she walked away from her family and all that shitty life, people still treated her like a helpless little girl, a golden goose, someone who should have the best of the best just because. .. Being a Muller, and that... That wasn't what she wanted.
Lake found herself there, in total silence, with her head sunk in her hands. She heard some knocking on the door that made her jump a little, looking at the door a little nervously and with small tears in her eyes.
"He-Hey! Lake? Are you okay? You've been in there for like 20 minutes, ah.... Did something happen?" Tristan spoke from the other side.
"A-Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I just.... I had a stomach ache, it's nothing..."
Lake quickly stood up to walk to the sink, looking to the side to see the shower, which was a square with glass walls around it, having soap, conditioner and shampoo on the side. Lake would take the soap and quickly wash her hands and then dry them and open the door, finding Tristan.
"Oh, hey! -Ah... Are you all right? You look a little-"
"Yes, I'm fine, don't worry." She wiped the sleeve of her blouse over her eyes for a moment.
"... Well, ah... I was just worried..." They brought they right hand to they left arm, nervous.
Lake was silent for a few seconds before she sighed heavily, ducking her gaze for a moment until she heard more voices on the other side of the door, lifting her gaze and glancing at the door before seeing Tristan.
"Did more people arrive?"
"Ah, yeah, more people arrived.... I think we're finally all here, heh.... Do you want to go meet them?" Pointed towards the door.
"... Yeah, I guess I could use a little distraction." She sketched a faint smile.
Tristan smiled a little as heard that answer and gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder so they both headed for the door that went to the main area of the ship.
The ship was quite crowded now, with Lake standing next to Tristan almost in the corner of the ship, watching the rest. Alec was still in front of the computer, now that Hamilton guy was there, seeming to indicate something while Ellie stood on the other side to indicate something else, causing there to be a brief discussion.
On the other side, Ted, Hunter and Logan were on the outside of the ship, on the porch, talking to each other with Hunter and Logan laughing somewhat loudly. In front of the business suits, stood a girl with dark hair pulled back, wearing a white short sleeved shirt and over it a black top, having an orange sweatshirt tied around her waist and dark shorts with leggings. Tristan smiled, giving Lake a gentle nudge.
"Look! That's Tess over there, she came in, she said 5 words. and she's great! Look at that style, she clearly knows what she's doing. -Tristan laughed a little as he brought a hand in front of his lips.
"I see, yeah... I like her style too, it looks.... Good." She shrugged, looking sideways at Tristan.
"Agh! How are we supposed to live in this dump! I've seen public toilets much cleaner and more capable than this filth! How do they expect me to live comfortably here?" The asian complained, coming out of the room area.
"Can you keep your voice down? All we've heard you do since you got here is bitch and moan." Ellie turned to look at him, clenching her fists against the computer.
"I'll complain all I want! I can't live in this dump! My stupid father should kill himself for sending me to this space junk!" The asian exclaimed loudly as he growled.
Lake remained silent as she watched the whole thing, squinting her eyes as he watched Yul and then opened her eyes wide and raised both eyebrows, pointing at Yul.
"You're Yul Kim! A Kim! One of the most powerful families in the last 80 years, controlling much of the territory in Gordion, until...."
"Until Mr. Kim's father made a deal with a dog food company that turned out to be a fraud, they lost millions, and could never recover, and now, they don't even own 30% of what they owned just 10 years ago." Ted entered the ship, smiling mockingly.
"Agh! Quiet, quiet! They don't know shit!" Yul covered his ears, shaking his head.
"I heard that because of that many lost their jobs and decided to commit suicide.... The lawsuits and investigations brought the Kim family down." Hunter commented as he entered the room together with
Hearing those words from Hunter is that Lake would notice how Hamilton had a small shiver, which caused him to raise an eyebrow. But before anyone else said anything is that some loud footsteps were heard outside the ship, along with Emily's voice.
"Ship 398! Get down and form up. Now!"
[...]
In front of the ship, there were the ten crew members of that, all of them were again being wet by the water dripping from above due to the heavy rain, besides the water splashed by the strong waves, some of them were even shivering because of the wind. They were all standing next to each other, while Emily was standing at the front with a clipboard in her hand and some men fully covered with some boxes.
"Well, ship 398, for the next 5 months you will live on the ship, travel to the various moons in our system and collect as much scrap metal as necessary to pay the charity fee. Once a month, you must return to the company to sell all the scrap metal you find on the different moons they travel to in order to sell it." Emily explained as she walked in front of the crew.
"Are there any dangers we should be aware of?" Hunter questioned, crossing his arms.
"The danger you will face is minimal, 99% of the moons are currently uninhabited, it would be a miracle if you find anyone there." Emily laughed a little.
"What about the 1%?" Ted raised an eyebrow as he placed a hand on his waist.
"You don't have to worry about it, it's ridiculous to think you'll get to a moon with inhabitants. Any other questions?"
"When do we get paid?" Ellie raised one of her hands slightly.
"The pay will depend on the amount of scrap you bring in, once the journey is over, the company will deposit the money into your accounts which you will be able to access once your 5 month journey is over."
"I have a question!" Yul raised his hand high. "Don't you have a better damn ship? This thing won't even get off the ground!"
"Believe us, mister Kim, this ship can take you anywhere in space without any problem, you don't even need to fly it, the autopilot will do all the work."
"Will you give us an instruction manual or something?" Alec raised his hand, frowning slightly.
"The instruction manual is in the computer, you can read it there at your leisure." Emily explained.
It was then that the woman stopped right in front of Lake, staring at her. Lake raised both eyebrows and narrowed her eyes, shrugging her shoulders as she watched the woman, feeling as if she was analyzing her somehow.
"Do you have any questions, miss?"
"A-Ah... No, none."
"... Perfect! In these boxes here, you have everything you need to survive, in case you need anything, you can use the computer to buy the materials you need."
Emily would step back to let the two men approach, leaving a total of 4 boxes in front of the crew. Logan would watch his companions and then step forward to take one of the boxes and lift it, Hamilton followed suit and also lifted a box, looking at it with a raised eyebrow. Tristan picked up one of the boxes, a little lighter, trying to guess what was inside, and finally, Hunter picked up the last one.
"How will we know which moon we should go to?" Tess asked, with a bored look.
"The ship will pilot close to the moons and the computer will indicate the necessary data of the nearest moon so you can descend, you just have to pull the lever to land or just use the seeker and move the ship to another moon. Any other questions?"
Everyone remained silent after that, sharing glances between concerned or indifferent. Emily nodded and would finish writing something down on her clipboard and then look at the crew.
"Get into the ship and make yourselves comfortable, you will take off in 10 minutes. The company will give you 100 credits to buy the necessary things to carry out your work. Good luck!" She laughed a little as she tilted her head to one side.
Emily turned around and together with those two covered subjects she started marching towards the next ship. The 398 crew stood there, silent and seeming to be all processing Emily's words. It was Ted who finally broke the silence
"All right, get off your asses, let's go! Let's get in the ship before we get sick and can't earn a damn credit for this."
Ted turned around and started walking towards the ship, being quickly followed by Logan and then Hunter. Slowly, everyone began to make their way towards the ship, until only Lake and Tristan were left standing there. The former turned to look at the ship, watching her companions enter the ship, still not feeling entirely sure about doing this.... It was one thing to travel to other inhabited planets with her family, with her guards and going to safe zones. But now? Traveling to inhospitable planets, with strangers, not even knowing if she would return? Lake hugged herself for a moment, but was snapped out of her thoughts when Tristan gently grabbed her shoulder.
"Hey... It sure is scary, isn't it?" Tristan smiled slightly.
"Eh? Oh, a little..."
"I'm kind of scared too, to be honest.... I've never left Gordion, I've always been here, but now... I'm stepping into the unknown, and I think I'd rather go there than go back to where I was before." Tristan laughed lightly with some sadness.
Lake raised both eyebrows at that, but quickly frowned with concern and looked down, she didn't want to go back to where she was before either, no matter where she was going to end up in the future, it was better to travel to the unknown than to go back... She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and sighed, opening them again and standing firm.
"Tristan, thank you."
"It's nothing, I know it's not much help, but..."
"Hey! If you're still out there, the ship will go with you and you'll stay here until we get back. Are you coming up or not?"
It was Hamilton, who stood on the porch and looked with a raised eyebrow at the two of them, then turned around to go back inside the ship. Lake and Tristan looked at him and then at themselves and quickly began to laugh, both hurrying to the stairs so they could go up to the ship, ready to start a new life in the unknown...