Starship For Rent, page 17
“It’s very, uh…”
“Pink,” Tyler finished for her.
“It’s very pink,” Ally agreed.
“I hope you like Barbie,” I said.
“Have I ever come across to you as someone who might like Barbie?”
“No, but we don’t know the real you, remember?” Tyler said.
Alyssa pressed her lips together, caught red-handed. “Touche, damn it. No, I don’t like Barbie. The pink will take some getting used to.”
“I’m sure Meg would be willing to change it if you ask,” Ben said. “She’s understanding like that.”
“From the look in your eye and the tone of your voice, you’re speaking from experience,” Tyler said.
“We were together for a few months,” Ben admitted, “before we decided we’re better as friends.”
“Only one bed though,” Alyssa said, moving to the threshold. “That’s different.”
“Meg doesn’t take up much space.”
“You’ve never shared your bed with anyone before?” Tyler asked.
Alyssa whipped her head toward him, flashing her dagger eyes, cheeks darkening. “What are you trying to suggest?”
Tyler’s face flushed as he took a flinching step back. “Uh. I…uh…nothing.” He waved his hands in front of him as if he were warding off the devil himself. “I swear, it was an innocent question.”
“Uh-huh,” she replied. “That’s something zero people on this ship need to know the answer to.”
“Matt, why don’t you teach Ally how to use the assembler while I show Tyler and Noah to their room?” Ben suggested.
“Sure,” he answered, winking at Ally.
“Yeah, I’m not…really hungry,” she said hesitantly, her face reddening further.
“Besides, we already met Asshole,” I said, figuring I’d rescue her. “Matt already showed us how to order food.”
“You met Chef Asshole,” Ben said. “That’s like a mini-assembler. You haven’t seen anything yet.”
“Follow me,” Matt said. “We’ll get you set up with some fresh clothes and whatever else you think you’ll need.”
“Okay,” she hesitantly replied, giving Tyler one more dirty look before trailing Matt back down the passageway toward the lounge.
“I think saying the wrong thing might be my superpower,” Tyler said once they had gone.
“Been there, done that,” Ben answered. “This way.”
He did a one-eighty in the corridor to open the unlocked door across from Meg’s room.
“Wait,” I said before he could open it. “Please don’t tell me there’s only one bed in there.”
“Okay, I won’t tell you.” Ben opened the door.
Looking at its drab gray walls, I was instantly reminded of the hospital. And then I saw the bed. Not a queen like Meg’s bed. It was a single-sized bunk. Considering I kept getting whiffs of Tee’s stinky gym clothes, not to mention he probably snored and farted a lot, I definitely didn’t want to share anything beyond the room, let alone a single bed, with him.”
“I know it needs some work, but—”
“There’s no way in hell we can both sleep in that.” My now steady finger pointed directly at the tiny bare mattress.
“I know it’s not much to look at right now. But you’ll have a chance to make it your own with the assembler, and—”
“It’s not even big enough for me to sleep in, let alone both of us,” Tyler complained.
“Unfortunately, the assembler isn’t big enough to make an entire twin mattress, let alone a bigger one, so for now, you’ll have to make do with a mat on the floor.”
“Of course, I get the floor,” Tyler griped as he moved through the doorway.
“It’s better than sharing,” I pointed out. Ben remained behind us, in the doorway.
“We can get a second bed in here later,” he said, closing his eyes. He swayed a little, reaching for the doorframe to keep his balance.
“Ben?” I moved closer to him, just in case one of us had to catch him before he hit the deck. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he replied. “I’m just exhausted.”
“Why don’t you sit?” I said, motioning to the bed. “I’d love to hear more about Sigiltech.”
“Maybe another time. You can make a mat, some blankets and pillows, and just about anything else you want to decorate your room, even some new threads to wear, with the assembler. Just head down to the first level. I’m going to collapse in my bed for a few hours. Again, I’m very sorry for everything that’s happened.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Tyler said before I could. “We’ll figure it out. As my granny always said, at least we have our health.”
Ben’s weak smile suggested only partial agreement with the statement. “Yeah, maybe. I’ll see you two in the morning. Try to get some rest.”
“Goodnight,” I said as Ben left our room, closing the door behind him.
“He’s thinking it, too,” Tyler said.
“Thinking what?”
“The bitter pill. We have no idea what it is, or what it will do to us. Just that the Warden said he could kill us with it whenever he wants. But how do we know he won’t trigger it as soon as he gets bored?”
“We don’t.”
“I think Ben’s worried about it, and so am I.”
“I’m not. The Warden didn’t keep us alive just to poison us on a whim. Maybe Ben’s worried about something else? He didn’t exactly have the best day today.”
“Neither did we. Especially you.”
“No, and I’m going to lose it again as soon as things get calm. So let’s decide what color sheets we want before that happens.”
Tyler laughed. “I definitely didn’t wake up this morning thinking I’d be having a sleepover with you.”
“That makes two of us. I should be home right now. In my own bed. With my parents asleep in the room next to mine.” I sighed, lowering my head into my hands and fighting back a wave of emotion.
“I’ve always wanted black sheets,” Tyler said, pulling me away from my darker thoughts.
I lifted my gaze. “Black? That’s horrible. How about tan or gray?”
“Congratulations, you’ve cornered the market on boring. Come on, Noah-san. Live a little.”
“Fine, we’ll do black. I don’t really care that much.” I moved to the edge of the mattress and sat, sudden exhaustion threatening to overwhelm me, too.
“That’s the spirit,” Tyler joked, sitting next to me. “So, on day one we rented a starship, were ambushed by a UFO, crossed through a hole in spacetime, were attacked by cyborg ogres, and wound up toys for an alien madman. Does that sound about right?”
“Pretty much. ”
“Dorothy’s definitely got nothing on us,” he chuckled, elbowing me playfully in the ribs. “I wonder what tomorrow will bring?”
“Are you sure you want to find out?”
He smiled. “Hell, yeah. It still beats sitting around, feeling miserable, right? I’m going to find Ally and Matt and get a look at the main assembler. You coming?”
“It beats sitting around, feeling sorry for myself,” I replied.
“See, now you’re speaking my language.”
CHAPTER 26
By the time we found Matt and Alyssa inside the assembler compartment—directly across from the galley—Ally was already holding a folded yellow flight suit with red stripes down the legs. She had several scrunchies for her hair circling her left wrist and calf-high white boots with chunky soles. Magboots, Matt called them, explaining that they were a necessary piece of apparel on a starship for those moments when gravity went by the wayside. Slide-stepping to move across the deck beat the hell out of being tossed head-first into the overhead. She also had a small stack of neatly folded undergarments near the door.
“So, just to clarify,” Tyler said. “You throw whatever kind of extra stuff you have lying around into a receptacle, and Asshole breaks it down to its component molecules to make new, useful stuff?”
“Exactamundo,” Matt replied.
“So why is it called an assembler, instead of a re-assembler?”
“Which one rolls off the tongue more easily?”
“Good point. So what if you only threw, say, gummy bears into it, and then asked it for a shirt? Would you get a gummy shirt?”
Matt stared at him like he had two heads. “You know, we never thought to try that. Asshole complains when he needs materials to make an item. He’ll say something along the lines of, ‘Yo, jabroni, I need some hydrogen and iron if you want me to fill that order.’ So my guess is, no.”
“That’s too bad. It might be fun to wear a gummy shirt. Especially if you get hungry and Asshole’s out of raw materials to make more food.”
“Very funny.”
“I try.”
“Try harder.” I watched as the wall in front of us moved aside, revealing a larger compartment. A second folded flight suit, this one orange with white stripes, rested on the floor.
“This is so awesome,” Alyssa said, entering the compartment to retrieve it. “If you get tired of an outfit, you literally throw it away and make a new one.”
“You look like you’re all set for hop racing,” Tyler said.
“I just wanted something I couldn’t find at Macy’s,” she replied. “I think I saw Taylor Swift wear something like this.”
“If anyone can recycle one thing to make another thing, does that mean there aren’t any stores in the Spiral?” I asked. “Or do they only sell recipes and raw materials? Or what?”
“There are still stores,” Matt replied. “Most people in the Spiral can’t afford a medium assembler like this one, never mind an industrial version. For the most part, businesses use them to make the products they sell to customers. They have specialized recipes that they guard with Coke-level secrecy, meaning only they can provide the specific, authentic item. Mini-assemblers like the one in the galley are more common, but for personal use, they might only hold enough material for a few meals at a time, so people need to be more aware of what they’re tossing in.”
“It’s incredible.”
“Two outfits and some intimates are enough for me right now,” Ally said. “I’m sure you’re both eager to try the assembler out. Especially you, Noah. You could use some clothes that fit.”
I looked at Tyler’s hand-me-downs. I needed new threads. “You don’t want to stick around to see what I make?” I asked.
“Tempting, but it’s way past my bedtime. I’m hoping once I lie down, I’ll wake up and realize this was all a bad dream.”
“Do you hate us that much?” Tyler asked.
“Only you,” she replied with a smile. “Seriously, do you actually want to be stuck in this scenario?”
“Point taken. Right now, the bad outweighs the good. But who knows, maybe that’ll turn around.”
“Or maybe I’ll just wake up in my own bed. Wish me luck.”
“Good luck,” I said, waving to her as she vanished out the door.
“And there she goes,” Tyler said. “So, Matt. What do you think of our All-red?”
“What do you mean?” Matt asked.
“She has a bit of a crush on you,” I said, “if that wasn’t obvious.”
Matt nodded. “I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I’m kind of used to that. She seems nice.” He shrugged, looking away from us. “Asshole, scan a new user, filed under Katzuo.” He winked at me, though I didn’t know if it was because of his use of my handle or the way he changed the subject, or both.
“What?” Asshole replied. “You got another mouth to feed? Geez. I’m already underpaid as it is.” He let out a deep sigh. “Fine. Which one of these two unidentified meat sacks is Cat Suo?” The synthetic voice separated the word like it was a first and last name.
“I am,” I replied.
“Okay. Hold onto your assets, Cat Suo. Here we go.”
A trio of green lasers appeared at the top of the rear bulkhead, creating a triangle that slowly descended over me. I closed my eyes when it hit my face, and then waited while it finished the scan.
“All done. You’re a scrawny little chicken, aren’t you? I barely need any materials to cook up an entire wardrobe. What’ll it be, Mac?”
Tyler cracked up. I ignored him and frowned at Matt, who shrugged again. “Hey, don’t look at me. Ben programmed the voice.”
“I’m not really that picky. Just give me something similar to what Ben and Matt wear.”
“Fugly duds comin’ right up,” Asshole announced.
“I suddenly feel like I made a big mistake.”
“You’re fine, as long as you don’t mind blue jeans, hoodies, and rock band t-shirts.”
“Yeah, it’s all good. That’s the least of my worries right now. As long as it fits better than this.” I tugged at the loose material of my current attire. “And smells better.”
“So, about Ally,” Tyler tried.
“Give it a rest, T-bone,” Matt answered.
“Let me ask you a serious question,” I said. “When we talked to Ben before, he seemed worried about something. Tyler figured it was the pill the Warden made us swallow, but I got the impression there was something more to it.”
A ripple of tension swept across Matt’s face before vanishing. “That’s not for me to say. I think the pill is worrisome enough on its own.”
“Any guesses what the pill does?”
“Beyond the toxin the Warden’s using as an incentive?” Matt answered. “A tracking device of some kind, at the very least. Maybe something that wires to the optic nerve and broadcasts what we see back to his ship.”
“That’s terrifying,” Tyler said.
I snorted. “Says the guy who live-streamed himself break-dancing. You can’t make a bigger fool out of yourself than that.”
“That video got over a thousand views,” Tyler replied. “And you’re wrong. I can totally make a bigger fool out of myself.” He turned to Matt. “You said all that like it’s no big deal.”
“It’s not my first rodeo,” Matt answered.
“Ding dong, order up!” Asshole shouted before we could ask him to expand on the statement.
The front of the wall slid open, revealing my fresh clothes dumped in a disorganized pile.
“Hey, what gives?” I asked. “You folded Ally’s clothes. Why not mine?”
“She has manners,” Asshole replied. “Please and thank you. You just make demands. That’s what I think of your demands.”
I scowled as I scooped up the two sets of clothes. They were well-made, and I could tell the fit would be good without putting them on. A couple of pairs of boxer briefs and magboots waited underneath the clothing, and I picked those up, too.
“Asshole, scan a new user,” Matt said. “File under T-bone.”
“Like the steak?” Asshole replied. “Oh baby, you’re makin’ my mouth water. Hold onto your assets, T-bone. Here we go.”
The assembler repeated the same scanning process. Tyler chose clothes that matched his current outfit, leaving us waiting for them to complete. He didn’t repeat my mistake, making sure to ask nicely so Asshole would fold them for him. When that was done, he ordered a mat, blanket and set of bed sheets, along with two pillows for us and linens, which I’d forgotten for myself, all in black.
“Geez, are you two planning on whacking someone?” Asshole asked.
“No, why?” Tyler replied.
“Black hides bloodstains. Comin’ right up.”
“I never thought of that,” I said, glancing at Tyler.
“Don’t get any ideas,” he replied.
The assembler spit out his order, everything nicely folded. Tyler collected them, and we followed Matt back up to berthing.
“You two should get some rest,” he said. “And try not to worry too much. We’ll figure out how to get you home.”
“It’s not me I’m worried about,” Tyler replied. “But I appreciate the positive attitude.”
“Thank you, Matt,” I answered. “I’m sure you’ll do your best for us.”
He nodded and headed to the captain’s quarters. I closed the door to our room and helped Tyler make up his pallet on the floor before putting my sheets on my bed. We turned the light out and lay down, too tired to even strip down to our underwear.
“You should do something about your bandages in the morning,” Tyler said. “You don’t want those cuts to get infected.”
With everything going on, I had nearly forgotten about my physical wounds. My strained muscles were hurting more than my cuts. A good sign. “Yeah, I’ll mention it to Ben. They have a sick bay, so they must have fresh bandages. Right now, I just want to close my eyes and pretend that everything is wonderful so I can fall asleep.”
I don’t know if Tyler answered me. Exhaustion took over the moment my head settled on the pillow. I didn’t even have enough energy to think about my parents before I drifted off...
A shrill alarm jolted me awake, I don’t know how much later, leaving me disoriented while I struggled to wake up. Tyler stood beside the bed, roughly shaking my shoulder.
“Noah, get up!” he shouted. “We’re under attack!”
CHAPTER 27
Alarms blaring all over the ship, my heart instantly racing, I scrambled out of bed. “How the hell can we be in trouble again already? It’s been five minutes.”
“Try four hours,” Tyler shouted back. "I don't know what’s going on, but Levi said there are new contacts incoming. We need to get to the flight deck."
“Contacts?” I asked. “As in more than one?”
“That’s what Levi said.”
I couldn’t believe we were in trouble again so soon. It was as if I had become a black hole of mayhem, pulling it every shred of nearby strife. I also couldn’t believe I had been sleeping for four hours. When my head hit the pillow, I felt certain my parents would haunt my dreams. Instead, it had seemed as though there had been no time to dream.
“Let’s go,” I snapped, eager to do whatever I could to help and grateful Tyler had reacted the same way.
We rushed out into the corridor, nearly colliding with Ally as she exited her room. Tyler adjusted his momentum to avoid her, winding up with his arm around her waist, spinning her around as though they were on a dance floor. They settled with their faces only inches from one another.
