6. An Unexpected Guest

The bridge controlsmade no sense, but Auren had found the command chair was the most comfortable seat on the entire ship. He'd spent most of the morning lazing in it, staring at his hand, awed by how real he felt. It confounded him that right under the surface of his artificial flesh was a lattice of titanium and ceramic, servos and bolts making up all of what he now was. And yet, the experience of being was entirely convincing. The technology was incredible.

"Nice to see you've made yourself at home." Lupo's voice from behind the command chair startled him.

"Do you want your chair back, Captain?" Auren said half-jokingly.

Lupo chuckled.

"No, I think I'll stand for now. Would you like a coffee?"

Auren realized the man was handing him a steaming beverage in a little pink cup.

"Coffee?" Auren puzzled.

"It's an old Terran drink. Try it," Lupo suggested.

"Thank you."

Auren gingerly took the mug and sniffed. It was brown, and the smell was roasted and nutty. He took a hesitant sip. The liquid scalded his mouth and burned his tongue. It was bitter and savory and quite delicious. He took a second, more eager sip, repeatedly burning his quick-healing mouth as he consumed the sensation repeatedly, his appreciation growing with each iteration.

"You know, we should name her," Lupo murmured between his own sips.

"Name who?" Auren asked.

"Why, the ship, of course."

They had entered a part of the galaxy where light was scarce, stars few and far between—and what had been a blinding field of starlight streaming past the day before was now eerily dark and quiet, and Auren tried not to think too hard on how very far from anything at all they were right now.

"Speaking of… don't you think someone will come looking for this thing?" he asked.

"Oh, undoubtedly." Lupo grinned. "Now, a name."

"I'm not good with names," Auren groaned, setting his empty coffee cup down and wishing he had another.

"Come on, something from home, maybe. A place. A lover, perhaps?" Lupo teased, his broad mouth stretched into a grin.

"No lovers," Auren laughed bashfully.

It was true. He'd been so preoccupied with surviving that he'd never once bothered with romance. Or at least that was his best excuse. The truth was that the feelings just weren't there, not for anyone—and it was another way in which he'd always felt alone.

"Aw, come on, a handsome guy like you?" Lupo pressed.

Auren blushed, feeling ashamed for not being able to share a wild tale of love or conquest. But there weren't any. He had nothing to share. The line of questioning was beginning to fluster him.

"I know, it's hard to imagine, isn't it?" he said evasively.

Were they flirting? The thought flashed through his mind like a plasma bolt. But Lupo's grin and warmth were infectious. And for some reason, Auren desired more of it—more of him. His usual mistrust of others seemed to dissolve in the presence of his surety.

"Take your time with the name. But it's on you to come up with one. Co-captain," Lupo said after a time.

* * *

After coffee, the pair parted ways. Currently, Lupo was fussing about in the engine room, and Auren had lost himself in one of the two cargo bays. The bays were the most prominent spaces on the ship. One was empty, save for some spare fuel rods and an old loading mech, but the other was a veritable treasure trove of oddities, neatly stacked floor to ceiling on built-in racks.

It would take weeks to dig through all the crates and storage containers, so Auren contented himself with wandering along the aisles and peering into what was easily accessible at ground level. He found all sorts of things: crates of ore, old weapons, an inexplicable box filled with seashells… He could discern no rhyme or reason to any of it. And he had nearly grown bored of wandering when he came to the final aisle and saw it: a cryopod.

The viewing pane was frosted over, and as he approached, he realized with horror that someone was suspended within. He fought the urge to free them instantly. The pod's holo-display had turned on when he'd approached, but for all he knew, the tank contained the ship's true owner… or worse. Auren hurried from the bay, heading to the rear of the ship to retrieve Lupo.

The engine room was as sleek as the rest of the craft, the Alcubierre drive a noiseless chrome sphere. Auren knew it worked by folding space around the ship and allowing it to travel many times the speed of light. As far as he was concerned, the invention might as well have been magic, and he eyed it skeptically as though it might explode as he passed near it. Lupo was kneeling on the floor, tapping through data screens distractedly, fiddling with the drive.

Auren cleared his throat to get his attention.

"Everything okay?" Lupo asked, finally noticing him.

"I think you're going to want to see this," Auren replied, grimacing at having to share his discovery.

He found he'd been enjoying the quiet the big ship had afforded the pair; they'd had plenty of space to themselves, and the idea of a third person joining their dyad felt unwanted somehow. He worried it would get in the way of getting to know Lupo more.

"Okay…" Lupo said cautiously, clicking from his screens and following Auren wordlessly back to the cryopod. The two walked in silence.

"What in the stars?" Lupo gasped when they reached the pod.

"Did you know this was here?" Auren demanded. Before he'd been decanted, Lupo had surely had access to the ship's cargo manifests.

"It wasn't listed, I swear," Lupo said, cupping his hands and attempting to view the pod's occupant through the frost. He clicked away at the screen, trying to identify the occupant that way, only to grumble that the data had been purposefully omitted.

"What could be so secret that the pirates would leave it off of their own manifest?" Auren asked, genuinely curious.

"Maybe a hostage, like ourselves?" Lupo mused.

"If that's the case, shouldn't we open it? It's what I'd want if I were on ice. If we get blown up when we fall out of hyperspace at Thestle, whoever that is deserves to at least be awake for it."

"And what if it's one of the pirates' enemies? What if it's some gangster who owed them money or something?" Lupo queried, looking at him like he already knew where this was going.

Auren pressed the command for "decant" before Lupo could stop him.

"Auren, I really hope that was a good idea," Lupo warned sharply.

The pod began to glow a harsh, pulsing red. Warning screens and alerts populated the display.

"Warning: class-five biohazard, maximum caution required," an alert chimed.

The ice crystals receded from the glass as the temperature within equalized with the bay. As the occupant became visible, Auren knew with a sinking feeling that he'd made a terrible fucking mistake.