Scrapper. Book 2. Book 2

But she wasn’t exactly unconscious – her mind kept slipping out and under, making her see flashes of what was happening before her. Hunter – raging and beating the Gruud, overpowered the alien, eventually grasping his jaw and ripping it off, finishing the alien’s life.

She then saw him hurrying to her and cautiously rolling her to her back. His cold metallic palms helped her grasp at reality, swimming out of the maddening void that she was about to slip under once again. For a couple of long moments Serena could barely hear him talking to her, before she started to understand the words coming out of his mouth:

«…Please, please, Serena, stay with me…» Hunter whispered, checking her for injuries. «Don’t close your eyes, I’m begging you… stay with me…»

She reached out her hand and caught his face, making him freeze in shock.

«Hunter…» her voice sounded extremely coarse and pained.

The man felt her hand slipping down and saw her eyes rolling as she finally lost her consciousness.

«Shit!» he glanced aside and saw Wolfin and Lindon running towards them.

Picking her up, he darted towards the ship, where Lyssa could aid the woman best.

«The fuck happened?» Lindon stopped for a second, glancing at the dead Gruud, and started running next to Hunter, seeing Serena passed out in his arms.

«The fucking Gruud almost strangled her!» Hunter growled, jumping into MSS Lyssandra and hurrying into the medical bay.

As soon as the woman was placed into the medical pod and the scanner ascertained her condition, Lyssa reported:

«A minor concussion and bruising on her throat. Give her half an hour and she will be on her feet again.»

Hunter breathed out, sliding to his knees next to the pod, feeling relieved that Serena wasn’t very injured after encountering the Gruud.

«Who the fuck thought it was a good idea to let her go on her own?» he growled angrily.

«Wolfin and Lindon didn’t know she left to scout out the surroundings.» Lyssa said. «So they are not to blame for this.»

«And if I hadn’t decided to look around, our Captain would be dead, Lyssa!»

«I obey her orders. Don’t blame me for what she decided to do on her own. You might have gotten into the same situation yourself. Or should I have stopped you?»

Hunter glanced up at Serena, who flinched and began to regain consciousness. Jumping to his feet, he leaned over the pod, watching her open her eyes and look around.

«Serena?» he called her.

The woman took a few moments, before turning to look up at him.

«Hunter…» she rolled to her side and grimaced, trying to push herself up.

The man offered her his hand and she grabbed it, accepting his help. When she finally sat up, wincing at the faint aching in her back, she looked at his hand, still grasped in hers, and seemed to freeze for a couple of seconds. Hunter wanted to pull away, understanding how she might see this, but saw her grasp becoming tighter.

Lindon walked up, studying her face and she shook her head, as if gathering strength before stepping down to the floor. With Hunter’s aid she straightened up and took a deep breath:

«That hurt.» she rubbed her aching neck and then looked at Hunter. «Thank you. You came just in time.»

The man smiled awkwardly, feeling conflicted to see her touching him at all, even though the new artificial skin was taken off for the time being, as Laneth was working on it, making some adjustments.

«What were you thinking?!» Lindon frowned at the woman. «Going out there all alone?»

«I just wanted to get some fresh air, honestly. I didn’t think I’d be…» Serena winced again, feeling her throat aching just a bit harder. «…attacked by some rocky bastard.»

«Why didn’t you ask Lindon to accompany you?» Hunter asked, looking down at his fingers that were still held by the woman.

«I wanted… a bit of time alone.» she stepped towards the sink, finally releasing his hand, and leaned in to get a few sips of water.

The men saw her spitting out blood into the sink and exchanged glances. When she finally straightened again, wiping her mouth, she turned and looked at both of them with a strange expression.

«I’m sorry. I really wanted to be left alone with my thoughts… I…» she shook her head slowly.

«Is it because of last night?» Lindon asked, watching her attentively.

«Yes… and no…» Serena closed her eyes with her palm. «I don’t know… I’m…»

Hunter noticed a stray tear running down her cheek:

«Is it because of me?»

He saw her shake her head:

«I don’t know… I really can’t understand why I’m so…» she slipped down to the floor, grasping at her hair. «I’m sorry.»

Hunter and Lindon exchanged glances again and kneeled next to her, reaching out. They touched her shoulders from both sides and she leaned with the back of her head against the counter under the sink, avoiding looking at them and aiming her gaze at the ceiling. She lowered her hands down and shook her head again:

«What the fuck am I supposed to do?» she closed her eyes for a second. «How am I supposed to know what to do?»

She looked at the two men in front of her.

«What you’re going through right now is an impossible thing, Serena…» Lindon shrugged. «I don’t think many people anywhere would know what to do in a situation like this.»

«I’m not even sure if people would stay sane after something like this…» Wolfin’s voice sounded from the entrance and the three turned to look at him. «I mean… we all thought Hunter was dead… then he turned out to be alive… barely… changed into a half-machine that was taken over by Falana…»

Hunter looked down and suddenly felt Serena’s palm on his cheek. Raising his eyes, he met her sad gaze and forced down everything he wanted to say.

«And Lindon… a man, who fell for Serena long ago and wanted to make her his wife ever since. Can any of you blame Serena for not being able to comprehend what to do?» Wolfin sighed. «As a Veluthian, raised in a society where people could have many lovers, I would just suggest her to have you both. Yet I understand the fact that she would hesitate to do that.»

Lindon looked at Serena and felt her palm on his face, even though she was looking at Hunter.

«I am not going to push you, Serena.» Hunter slowly shook his head. «Never. I’m fine with you being with Lindon. He’s the best man for you.»

He wanted to pull back and get up, but Serena’s palm wrapped around his neck and pulled him closer. The woman looked at Lindon and did the same, pulling them both in for a hug. The men didn’t deny her this, carefully embracing her from two sides.

Hunter heard Serena’s nails scratching against his metal shoulder and felt a pinch of regret that he couldn’t offer her the warmth of a human body instead.

«Help me up, you jerks…» Serena exhaled a few moments later.

Lindon and Hunter leaned back and saw her trying to regain composure after a couple of stray tears running down her face. They helped her up and the woman pat them both on their chests, pushing past them.

Chapter 19. Exile

Serena sighed, looking at Cipher:

«You’re sure Falana is nowhere around?»

«I am sure, Serena. We checked all the villages and the main colony on Belladonna. Whatever the pirates are doing here, they seem to be alone.» the man replied with a slight tension in his voice. «I’ll be looking out, of course, but for the time being, I can’t tell you any good news, I’m sorry.»

«Keep us informed, Cipher. Thank you.» Serena nodded to the man.

When the screen went black, the woman closed her face with her hands, thinking what to do.

«Are you alright?» Lindon walked onto the bridge.

«No. We can’t find Falana.» Serena shook her head, lowering her hands. «And it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have…»

She grimaced and squeezed her fists.

The Veluthian walked up and kneeled to her, tilting his head:

«Don’t do that, Serena.» he pleaded. «You’re blaming yourself, when in reality…»

«In reality I was the one who spooked the bitch!» Serena hissed angrily. «If it weren’t for my actions, none of this would have happened! And we would have already caught her!»

Lindon sighed heavily, seeing her eyes filled with aching and guilt, and couldn’t help but take her hand in his:

«Please, stop.» he asked her.

Serena took a very deep breath and tried hard to calm herself down. For a few minutes she grasped at his hand, feeling the warmth and gentle touch, until she could finally get her emotions under control again.

«If it’s anyone’s blame, it’s mine…» they heard Hunter say quietly.

They turned to the door and saw Hunter standing there, head hung and looking at the floor.

«If I wouldn’t have clung to life so hard, none of this would have happened.» he sighed, too afraid to look up.

Serena stood and walked up to him and when he looked up at her, she slapped him.

«Don’t you dare say that!» the Captain hissed angrily.

Hunter stood there, shocked to receive this blow, and looked at her with his eyes wide open. He saw her breaking down again, and her eyes filling with tears.

«Never say that.» Serena’s voice gave out and she turned her back to him, closing her face with her palm.

Lindon sighed once again and approached the woman, embracing her and glancing at Hunter:

«She’s right. However angry I am at you for trying to kill her back then… you’ve proved your love for her again and again. And now you’re undermining it, by saying… this.»

Hunter looked at Serena, who was trying to calm down, and didn’t know what to say.

«You came here for a reason…» Serena said a couple of moments later, seemingly recollecting her bearings. «What did you want?»

The cyborg exchanged a quick glance with Lindon and cleared his throat:

«We’re ready for the memory extraction.»

Serena leaned back, meeting Lindon’s gaze for a second, and freed herself from his embrace:

«Good. Give me five minutes.» she headed out.

Lindon sighed once more, worried for the woman, and switched his earpiece on:

«Wolfin, get back to the ship. Leave the drones to keep watch. We need you here.»

When he received a reply, he nodded to Hunter:

«Go, we’ll be right there.»

The cyborg decided not to meddle and walked off, feeling hurt after seeing Serena being so distressed.

Lindon took his time going to the medical bay, but when he got there, everybody was gathered already. Hunter was strapped down in the pod, ready to have his memories extracted, and Serena stood in the corner, sipping on some Berulian vodka, seemingly indifferent, even though her eyes were filled with dim flickers of anger.

Laneth double checked the bindings, before leaving with Kayla, so that the child won’t be subjected to the torture of memory extraction. Wolfin, though silent, kept glancing at Serena, who was not even looking at Hunter or the medical pod he was lying in.

«Commence memory extraction.» Serena finally said, taking a big sip. «Lyssa, the time period we discussed previously.»

«Yes, Captain.» the AI replied, and Hunter closed his eyes, trying to relax as much as it was possible.

When the procedure began, Lindon saw the man tensing up, and his teeth gritting, but unlike the last time, Hunter seemed to be tolerating this procedure better. And even though his bindings screeched when he flinched, they still held him in place.

A few minutes passed, and the ship’s AI reported:

«Memories extracted.»

Serena glanced at Hunter, seeing him relaxing, and the medical pod clicked the bindings open, putting them away. The cyborg lay there for a few moments, but then sat up and slipped off, standing up.

«Strange…» he whispered. «It felt easier than last time.»

«Show the memories, Lyssa.» Serena looked away from the man, glancing at the screen.

As Hunter’s memories started unfolding, she saw how he was carried by the chimera – first on the ship, then off it, as Falana was chuckling at the man who was still alive – barely.

Serena couldn’t understand how a Terran would be strong enough to keep himself from dying after such an extensive blood loss. Then she saw him lying on a medical table, with Falana operating on him. Time passed as she was adding, extracting, cutting and altering the man. Hearing his painful screams, Serena almost looked away, unable to bear the sound of his voice calling out in vain.

And then she saw Falana leaning in with a smile:

«Serena, yes…» she murmured to the delirious man, who was already altered so vastly he could no longer be called human. «Show me how much you love her…»

The woman climbed atop the cyborg lying on the operating table and sat on his groin, chuckling and rubbing against him.

«Oh, I am certainly going to keep that bit of you on.» Serena heard Falana say. «Such a…»

The woman gasped in excitation, as she helped him enter her loin.

Hunter watched in shock and silence, incapable of remembering this, but Lindon squeezed his fists, becoming angry.

As they watched Falana pleasing herself on the man, Serena felt her mind suddenly wandering somewhere else.

«You asshole!» Lindon growled.

Hunter looked at him and saw him stepping up. Before anyone could do anything, Lindon landed a heavy blow to the cyborg’s face. Wolfin sighed heavily, not approving of what was happening, but kept silent, glancing at Serena.

And their Captain stood frozen with the bottle of alcohol in her hand. A few moments passed, as Lindon hit Hunter again and again and the cyborg tried his best not to let him land another blow, when Wolfin suddenly heard Serena calling out:

«Stop!» Serena pleaded, seeing the men fighting. «Please, stop it!»

The men were so deep into their scuffle that they didn’t even hear her say anything.

«I said STOP IT!» Serena screeched, throwing the bottle she had in her hand.

The bottle crashed above the two men and they finally acknowledged her being there. Slowly stepping away from each other, they tried catching their breaths.

«I want you off my ship!» Serena growled, her voice cracking.

Lindon glanced at Hunter:

«You heard…»

«NO!» Serena shouted, making him fall silent. «I want you BOTH off my ship! Get off my ship now!»

Wolfin stepped up to Serena, wishing to calm her down, but she met his gaze.

«Escort them both to SS Growler now!»

«Serena…» Wolfin tried to reason.

«You were given an order!» she shouted. «Escort them both off my ship now!»

«But…»

Serena walked up to the man, making him fall silent just by looking angrily into his eyes:

«Escort them both to SS Growler until further notice, or all three of you will be thrown off my ship and you will never see me again!»

«Please, listen…»

«Lyssa! Set timer to ten minutes! If Hunter and Lindon are escorted off my ship before the timer runs out, Wolfin is allowed to stay on board. If not – whichever compartment these three are in will be modified to render them unconscious and have them dragged off my ship. Activate timer now!»

«Timer activated!» Lyssa replied. «Helper bots on standby.»

Wolfin stood silent, looking into her eyes with a grim understanding that she was serious. The woman looked at Lindon and Hunter, then turned and walked off.

The next time Wolfin saw her was hours later – after he escorted Lindon and Hunter to SS Growler, explaining to them that it would be best for the time being for him to stay and try and talk to Serena about it to get them back. Knowing how harsh Serena could be, both men agreed, stopping their arguments and leaving the ship, even though feeling guilty for what happened.

As dinner time came and Wolfin was sitting in the dining area, sharing his meal with Laneth and Kayla, Serena walked in, not looking at anyone and got only a bottle of alcohol and nothing else, occupying a seat away from them. Sitting alone and drinking, she seemed to be deep in thought, but Wolfin noticed that something in her composure changed. She seemed a bit more collected, less stressed, but her mind obviously wandered.

Kayla jumped off her seat before anyone could stop the girl and she walked over to Serena, holding a piece of candy in her palm.

«Captain Serena!» the girl stopped next to the woman, saluting her.

«At ease.» Serena replied not even glancing at the child.

«I noticed you’re not quite well, so take this pill.» Kayla placed the candy on the table. «Doctors’ orders.»

Serena looked at the girl, and saw her determined look – the child was looking so confident and collected that it made the woman smile a bit.

«Alright… so what’s this pill? What does it do?» she unwrapped the candy, glancing at it.

«It helps brighten the mood.» Kayla smiled wide. «Come on! Take it! I promise it will make you feel better!»

Serena threw the candy into her mouth and felt the soft outer shell melting, gifting her with a pleasant chocolate taste that soon became mixed with some salted caramel that was hidden inside.

«M… interesting.» the woman smirked. «Got any more of those pills?»

«I do. But you can’t rely on pills to make you feel better. I have other ways to help my patients.» Kayla reached her hand out. «I can show you, if you follow me, Captain. Doctors’ orders.»

The woman chuckled, seeing how ready the girl was to set aside anything she was doing just to help Serena dive out of the heavy thoughts that weighed upon her. Taking the girls hand, Serena stood, grabbing the bottle.

Kayla pulled her over to Wolfin and Laneth and showed at the empty seat:

«Sit, Captain.»

Serena tilted her head, but took a seat without arguing. Wolfin met her gaze and the woman shrugged:

«Doctors’ orders.»

«Yep!» Kayla jumped onto the table and sat next to Serena, catching her gaze. «And here’s another order for you, Captain. You can’t hide all alone in there. We’re your crew and we are here to help. But we can’t help if we don’t really know what’s happening.»

Serena frowned and tilted her head once again:

«You are way too smart for a child, you know that?»

«So it’s a good thing I’m on your crew!» Kayla returned with a giggle. «You need smart people around. Now get your head out of your ass and tell us what’s wrong!»

«Language, young lady!» Laneth gasped.

Serena couldn’t hold in a chuckle – the child already learned more than enough from being around them. And the way Kayla brought some semblance of family to their crew was welcoming and held deeper emotional warmth whenever someone interacted with the girl.

«She’s right, you know…» Wolfin sighed. «We can’t help if we don’t know what’s happening. And you’ve distanced yourself…»

«I just don’t know what to say. I started accepting the fact that Hunter was controlled by Falana. I was ready to see something like… that…» Serena nodded aside, talking about the memories they’ve seen from the extraction. «I was trying so hard to accept all of it and… I don’t want to see my crew fighting. If Lindon and Hunter won’t be able to deal with whatever they have now between them… I don’t think I’ll be able to have them on my ship. We need to find Falana. And if I can’t trust in my crew… who can I trust?»

Kayla sat silent, but then reached out and squeezed Serena’s shoulder with her small palm:

«You can trust me, Captain.»

«Yeah, and you hadn’t given Hunter a hard time even once, huh?» Serena smirked at the child.

«Uh… well… yeah… a bit. But we settled.» Kayla seemed shy all of a sudden. «He’s… a good man. And he really feels guilty for what happened.»

«I know.»

«I know that if I could forgive him, and Laneth could too… Lindon can.» Kayla glanced at Wolfin. «And Uncle Woofy too.»

Serena burst with a cackle – the single time that she slipped in front of Kayla, the girl caught onto her pet name for her mentor and utilised it.

«I told you not to call me that, young lady!» Wolfin frowned, making him look intimidating, but the smile that kept jumping his lips made it hard to look at him with a serious face.

Kayla showed the Veluthian her tongue, teasing him, and Wolfin cackled, incapable of being frowning at the child.

«But I am serious, Captain…» Kayla looked at Serena again, seeing her smile fading. «I know we can get along. I know Hunter messed up, but… you kept Pher around, didn’t you? And I’ve been told he did some messed up stuff…»

«Yeah, he was an asshole, that’s for sure.» Serena sighed, taking a sip.

«But we’re kind of all assholes around here.» Kayla showed her tongue to Laneth, as she was about to scold the girl for cursing again.

«You’re not.» Serena slightly poked the girl in her side. «You’re just about the nicest one among us.»

Kayla made a funny face that said all about how caught she was:

«Yeah… about that…» she cleared her throat. «I’m an asshole too.»

Serena frowned:

«I’m sorry?»

The girl reached to the little bag she was always carrying around with her that now lay on the edge of the table, and took out a very familiar pillbox.

«I… uh… sneaked into your rooms and found this.» Kayla handed the box to Serena.

«Lyssa, if I could… I would have grounded you like a rowdy child.» Serena sighed.

«I’m sorry, Captain, there was nothing I could do. Laneth showed Kayla how to open latched doors and the child needed training.» the AI replied.

«I saw the note…» Kayla said. «Why aren’t you taking these pills?»

Serena exhaled, looking at the box:

«I’m not worthy of carrying long hair that I used to have. I’m too weak.»

«But that’s not true!» the child squeezed her hands into fists. «Even when you thought Hunter was dead… you held on. I saw what weak people do in grief… and you’re definitely not weak.»

«Weak people run, Kayla. I ran.» Serena shook her head.

«You didn’t run, Captain. You were just… looking for some peace and quiet.» Kayla sighed. «I told them they shouldn’t have poked you so much. I told them to leave you alone… They didn’t listen. Because I’m just a child.»

Serena looked at Wolfin and saw him pursing his lips:

«She’s right, Wolfin… I wouldn’t have run if you would stop bothering me…»

«I’m sorry, Scorpi.» the Veluthian sighed heavily.

Kayla opened the pillbox and took out one pill, offering it to Serena:

«Take it, Captain. You are worthy.»

«I can’t, Kayla.» Serena sighed heavily. «I lost a fight… twice.»

The girl took a very deep breath and then leaned in, catching her Captain’s gaze:

«How could you have lost if you never fought Hunter?» she asked. «Laneth said you never hit him once. You didn’t raise your hand at him. You weren’t fighting. And if you weren’t fighting… you never lost.»

Serena felt her lips quivering and tears trying to fill her eyes and forced them down, looking at the pill in the girl’s hand.

«Doctors’ orders.» Kayla said, bringing the pill closer.

Serena glanced at Wolfin and Laneth, sighed and took the pill, throwing it into her mouth and watering it down with a large sip of alcohol.

Chapter 20. Drunk

Cipher growled under his breath, hearing everything from Hunter and Lindon.

«You are… both unbelievable!» the man said. «I can’t believe you would be so darn stupid!»

Lindon scowled and threw an angry glance towards Hunter.

«Hey, at least she didn’t punch you so hard you lost a couple of teeth!» Pher filled everyone’s glasses.

Cipher sighed heavily and shook his head, taking another sip:

«I think it would have been better for the two of you.» he said and saw them looking at him. «Maybe you’d have your heads out of your asses afterwards! I mean, Lindon, come on! Did she even want to punch Hunter at all then? No! Yet you decided for some reason she was offended and needed your defence. I get it, you are looking after her. We all are, but… really? Instead of supporting her you made the call to make it all worse!»

The Veluthian slouched, taking a large sip from his glass.

«Never thought I’d be scolded by a Terran.» he grumbled.

«Well, you’d better listen to what this Terran has to say, otherwise you’re bound to lose Serena for good!» Pher smirked.

«Whatever it is between you, you’d better sort this out here and now.» Cipher nodded, taking a sip of alcohol. «She’s not going to let this slide, that’s for sure. And if you don’t want to end up like Pher ended up once… I suggest you start thinking, and not acting out like some teenagers in testosterone rage.»