Chapter Text
C&A Express Long-Haul Space Freighter: Bubble
Crew: 6
Planned Shipment Duration: 382 Days
Elapsed Transit Time: 0 Days
No hard feelings, okay?
ONE MONTH BEFORE THE CRASH
A desk job with a decent paycheck, that’s all Penny Li has ever wanted in her life. She’s never been able to understand people who treated the idea like some miserable fate- given most of the other positions available for people growing up in the space colonies, a career puttering away at a keyboard is basically a life of luxury. She doesn’t think it’s so wrong to want a quiet, boring life.
So imagine how thrilled she was to land a job at C&A Express. She couldn’t give a damn about long-haul space shipping, but not only did her position mean she’d have a nice cushy job sending emails and making polite phone calls, but she’d get to be on Earth! She’d never been to her native planet- most people in the colonies never made it back- so the past few months of life as a desk jockey on this cozy little planet has been a dream.
Then they told her they were putting her on a ship.
Oh, Penny wanted to argue. Wanted to say she refused to go back to space. Wanted to claim she absolutely wasn’t fit to be a project representative on a haul with no in-between stops that was going to last a little over a year. They wanted her on to ‘supervise the C&A Express team and report on performances’, which was basically just spying on a bunch of people she’d be unable to get away from and who know what she’s doing. Nightmarish.
But Penny isn’t a fool. She knows what the job market is like right now, both here and in the various solar systems currently inhabited by human beings. She’s young, relatively inexperienced, never going to get anything as good as this ever again, and it’s only going to be one flight. One year of her life on a ship for a secure and comfortable job for the rest of her days, that’s what her superiors are promising her. They all did the same thing when they were starting off, too.
So she gritted her teeth and signed the paperwork, and now two weeks later, she’s unpacking her things in her dingy-looking bedroom on this space freighter. The ship had a name- the Bubble- but Penny’s just not going to call it that. It’s far too cheerful for a vessel that has absolutely seen better days if the rust and outdated furnishings are any indication. There’s no windows in the whole ship- supposedly to help maintain the crew’s circadian rhythms while in the neverending black night of space- and even if the giant telescreen she’d seen in the ship lounge has images of the sun and moon depending on the time of day, it’s not the real thing, and Penny suspects she’s going to have a miserably fractured sleep schedule here.
Her one-woman pity party is interrupted by a knock on the door, echoing through the metal of the ship. “Hi, Penny? Are you there?”
It’s a voice Penny’s never heard before, which isn’t surprising given she knows nothing of the other five crew members other than… well, that there’s five of them. Going to open the door, Penny is briefly startled to find that there’s no lock, but she’s already waited too long to open up- she doesn’t want to make a bad first impression given that she’s about to be trapped with these people for over a year. She’ll fret about the lock later, and open the door now.
Penny’s a little bit surprised when she opened the door- a lot of the actual shipping crews she’d met before now had been grizzled men old enough to be her father, so the sight of a woman who can’t be more than thirty is genuinely surprising. Bouncy red curls frame her pale face, and the big smile she wears is almost bright enough to distract from the drab C&A Express coveralls everyone (Penny included) has to wear while on the clock. The woman beams, extending out a hand for a shake. “I was wondering if you were here yet! I’m Agatha Ragland, and I’m the co-pilot around here! Nice to meet you.”
Even though she doesn’t care for bodily contact, Penny’s trained herself to tolerate handshakes given that they were just sort of a part of office culture, so she’s quick to return the handshake. Agatha’s hands are so soft that Penny almost comments on it before realizing that might make her sound a little serial killer-ish, which is not really the introductory vibe she’s aiming for, so she instead gives a wavering smile in return. “Uh, yeah, you too. I’m Penny- ah, but I guess you know that already, huh?”
Agatha chuckles a bit, nodding and bringing her hands up to fiddle with her collar. She’s obviously got some sort of Peter Pan-style blouse on under the coveralls, which everyone (Penny included) is supposed to wear with only C&A Express polos underneath, but Penny really doesn’t think she’s going to aggravate relationships this early by reporting something before the damn ship even takes off. “Hehe, yep! You’re a project representative from corporate, right?”
She is indeed. Penny’s smile becomes a little more forced. “Yep. Just here to make sure it, uh, all runs smoothly.”
A very nice way of saying she’s here to be the eyes of the company. If Agatha understands that, she’s doing a very good job at keeping her face friendly regardless. “I read the paperwork as soon as they told us we’d be bringing you on board. It was pretty last minute, but luckily the Bubble has six private quarters, so we didn’t have to carve you out any extra space elsewhere. It would be no good to have you sleeping in the lounge or something.”
If she’d had to do that, Penny thinks she might actually just up and quit, consequences be damned, so thank god for small miracles. Before she has a chance to respond, there’s the sound of clanging footsteps down the grates making up the floor, and then a voice calling out. “Agatha? Do you have your cockpit keys on you? I need to do a system check and I can’t find mine.”
A man comes into view, tall with bulging blue eyes and blonde hair that looks like it’s just starting to go grey. Agatha rolls her eyes, though there’s no real annoyance in her expression as she unhooks a set of keys from the carabiner looped through her coveralls. “We haven’t even taken off and you’ve already started misplacing them? You’d lose your head if it wasn’t screwed onto your neck.”
Despite her words, Agatha’s voice is filled with genuine affection as she hands over her keys. Nodding in thanks, the man’s big blue eyes now land on Penny, seemingly just realizing she’s there now. “Oh! One of the new faces. You don’t look like one of the mechanics, so are you the project representative?”
Penny doesn’t know what a mechanic is supposed to look like, but pushes that aside and nods. “Yeah. I’m Penny Li. And you’re…?”
“This here is Ken Kingsley! He’s the captain! A real C&A Express veteran, too.” Agatha smiles, putting a hand on Ken’s shoulder. “This is going to be the fifth long-haul flight I’ve ever worked, but I’ve been his co-pilot ever since I started out. You’re in good hands!”
Even if the low number is initially alarming, Penny reminds herself that all those flights would have been at least a full year in duration. It’s not the pilot team she’s concerned about- that would be how she’s going to manage a full year on a ship in the deep reaches of space. But there’s plenty of time for that later, and Ken is speaking again. “Well, I’m sure we’ll have a great three hundred and eighty two days together. I’ve got to do the systems check, but can either of you let me know if you see a spare ring of keys lying around?”
“Uh. Sure.” Okay, maybe Penny is a little nervous if the captain is already losing cockpit keys before they leave Earth, but like so much else, she just can’t worry about it right now.
Ken waves as he wanders off, and Agatha sighs, though once again, it all seems quite affectionate. “He’s a great captain, he’s just a bit of a scatterbrain. Anyways, do you want to come with me to the medical bay? I’ll introduce you to our nurse.”
Penny isn’t done unpacking, and what she actually wants to do is go lie down on the unmade bed and stare at the bland ceiling for a bit while feeling sorry for herself. Still, those damned first impressions need to be considered, so she does her best to hold back her mild irritation. “Sure. Lead the way.”
Best to just get this over with. She’ll have all the time in the world for quietly stewing very soon, after all.
The med bay is a decent enough place. Clinical, yes, but there’s a bit of life in here via the potted plants and colourful posters on the wall (luckily not the same weird company propaganda that could be found in most places around the ship). And, well, from the actual person in here.
The woman raises her head from where she looks to be sorting a medical drawer out. Once again, Penny is taken aback by her age- this one is even younger than Agatha, probably very close to Penny herself. Her skin is mostly very dark, excluding large patches of vitiligo over her face that are a milky white. She cocks her head, box braids decorated with red ribbon falling over her shoulders. “Ah- hi, Agatha. Good to be back on board with you. Oh, and this is…?”
“This here is Penny Li!” Agatha puts a hand on her shoulder, which Penny really doesn’t care for, but she knows how bad it would look if she jerks away, so she bears it for now. “She’s the project representative I told you about!”
At the mention of the title, the woman’s face changes to one of surprise, and then worry. See, that’s more of the response Penny was expecting. Sudden alarm at the realization that she’s in the presence of someone with the power to completely screw her over. She coughs, nervously adjusting the red turtleneck under her coveralls (god, does everyone on this ship break dress code?). “U-Um, right. The project rep. I’m Gabriella Tye. I’m, um- I work in here. As the nurse, I mean. I’m the nurse.”
“And what a great nurse she is!” Agatha pops in with cheer that is now seeming just a little forced, seemingly covering up for Gabriella’s sudden meekness. “Gabbie’s been on our crew for the past two hauls! It’s always a comfort knowing we’ve got her around in case anything happens.”
Despite Agatha’s puff piece, Gabriella still looks terribly anxious in Penny’s presence, seemingly unable to keep her hands busy as she chews at her lower lip. Oh, god, is this gonna be the whole trip?
Before any real feelings can form over the fact that she’s apparently someone to be feared, there’s a rattling from the far right corner of the room. All three women turn to look, the source of the sound quickly becoming apparent as a large vent on the floor starts to shake before the grate abruptly pops right off. Penny and Gabriella let out a synchronized gasp of shock, Agatha following suit, just before a head pops out.
Another young person- a man this time- inspects his surroundings before his eyes lock on the stunned occupants of the med bay. A wide grin forms, stretching out what would otherwise be a handsome face with nice features over umber skin. “Oh, so the vent leads into the infirmary or whatever. Good to know. How’s it going, ladies?”
He hoists himself up and out of the vent like he didn’t just slither out of the ground like a complete weirdo, stretching his arms and adjusting the hair tie keeping his dreadlocks in a ponytail. Agatha picks her jaw up off the floor in time to sputter out a confused few words. “I-you- where did you come from?!”
“Uh. The vent?” The man points down towards the vent in question. “Anyways, I guess I’ll introduce myself first. Jake Lapin, mechanic, yada yada yada. Just checking out some of the secret routes around the ship for no nefarious purposes whatsoever.”
Jake has barely spoken and Penny has already decided she doesn’t like him one bit. Gabriella actually speaks next, sounding both bewildered and ever so slightly miffed. “Um… next time can you use the door if you want to come in here?”
“I’ll think about it.” He dismissively waves Gabriella off before an especially loud stomping sound from outside draws everyone’s attention to the opening of the med bay door.
The person in the doorway is yet another young person (why is Penny still surprised after everyone else?), facial piercings and hot pink undercut making everyone else on this ship look like a stickler for the dress code. Penny quickly gets an answer as to why that stomping was so loud- a glance down reveals one pant leg of the coveralls is rolled up, revealing a heavy-looking prosthetic leg.
Their eyes scan the room before landing on Jake and narrowing in irritation. “Idiot, I told you not to go through that! What if it led somewhere dangerous?”
“Well, it didn’t! So we’re just fine.” Smiling again, Jake looks around the room once more. “Well! Looks like the gang’s all here except for that captain guy. You all still haven’t introduced yourselves yet, by the way. Super rude of you.”
That’s rich coming from the guy who came in via vent. Agatha sighs, rolling her eyes. “I’m Agatha Ragland, the co-captain. Over there is Gabrielle Tye, our nurse. And right here with me is Penny Li, the project representative.”
Right away, Penny can feel a drop in the mood of the room, which already wasn’t doing so hot to begin with. The edges of Jake’s smile twitch, but he says nothing. The person in the doorway, however, isn’t going down the same route. They narrow their gaze in on Penny, who wants to shirk away from the intensity of it all. “Great. So you’re getting paid to be a snitch. Really, that’s great.”
A part of Penny wants to take offense to that, but how can she? They’re right. That’s basically entirely what she’s meant to do. Not like she’s going to acknowledge that, though, especially in front of almost the whole crew (and definitely not with Jake snickering in the corner). Instead, Penny inhales and exhales, getting her composure back before speaking. “I don’t think I caught your name.”
“… Zofia Borowska. Also a mechanic.” Zofia looks like they want to continue, but they say nothing, painted fingernails drumming against the doorframe.
God, this is awkward. Agatha does her best to improve the situation, clearing her throat. “Ah, so! I heard you two just finished your first haul?”
“It was only a four month haul, but yeah.” The seeming disdain Zofia has for Penny doesn’t appear to apply to Agatha, which isn’t surprising. She’s doing actual work around here. “This is our first long-term job.”
“Well, happy to have you!” The cheer in Agatha’s voice is only a little forced, which Penny finds quite impressive. “I’ve never had two mechanics on board at once before. We’re lucky to get you both!”
Zofia and Jake exchange a look that Penny can’t quite read, but seems… off. Like they know something they aren’t sharing. But it’s gone just as quickly as it came, and Jake flashes another smile. “You sure are. Or at least, you’re lucky to have me. I can tell you from personal experience that Zo is a total bore.”
“Get fucked.” Even though Zofia’s words are openly hostile, there’s really not any actual anger behind them. It’s the total opposite of how they’d spoken to Penny. “I can’t believe I’m gonna be locked in for a full year with you.”
Though Zofia is only talking to Jake, as Penny looks around the room of people- her crewmates, she supposes she should think of them- she realizes she’s thinking the exact same thing. She’s entering a group of people where everyone knows at least one other person already. Not only is she the stranger, she’s the snitch. The stuffed shirt sent from corporate to breathe down their necks. They all know it, too.
God, this is gonna be a long year.
The actual takeoff had been smooth and easy, which was kind of a surprise given how questionable the quality of the Bubble was in general. Penny’s seeing a whole lot of rust around here. She makes a mental note to report it, though it’s not like anything can actually be done until their final destination is reached. Cool. So cool.
She’s finally finished her unpacking (it took her a really long time considering she didn’t actually bring many clothes aside from the standard coveralls- she was just moping around for a lot of it) and is making her way down to the dining area- which is in the same place as the lounge, more or less, so at the very least she’ll have a nice view of that giant telescreen with a nice sunset. Something to look at while she avoids eye contact with the rest of the crew.
Her walk isn’t going to be a solo one, it seems, not as a voice from behind her calls out. “Penny, hi! Headed to dinner?”
Agatha again. Not surprising, given the other options. Ken was probably busy with getting the autopilot function up and running, Gabriella seemed scared of Penny, Zofia instantly disliked her, and Jake just seemed like an all around douchebag. So of course it was Agatha hurrying from behind, footsteps echoing on the ground as she comes to walk beside Penny. For her part, the smaller woman slows slightly to allow her to catch up. “Yeah. Is the food on the ship any good?”
The expression on Agatha’s face tells Penny everything she needs to know, even as it’s quickly covered up with a smile. “It’s… well, nobody’s ever gotten sick eating it! So don’t worry about that.”
“So it’s awful.” The negativity gets out before Penny has a chance to hold it back, and she feels a pang of guilt as Agatha shrinks into herself a bit. “… You don’t need to hype everything up. I know this is gonna be a hard year.”
“W-Well, I think it’ll be good!” God, Agatha is trying so hard. “Everyone except Ken is around the same age, which is super rare on these hauls! I’m almost always the youngest and the only woman, so this is kind of a nice treat for me! I bet we’ll all have lots to talk about.”
Maybe everyone else will, but Penny knows she’s unlikely to be included in a lot. How could she be when her presence could mean a report back to the company? She knows the crew on this flight have a collective pay packet- if any one person breaks a rule, that’s a deduction from the packet, which means less money for everyone. It’s just good teamwork to avoid the one who could lead to a docking of the whole crew’s pay. Agatha probably knows that too, so what she’s doing right now is a risk in and of itself. Penny just… says nothing, walking along quietly.
It’s an extremely awkward silence that Agatha can’t seem to stand, coughing nervously. “So… I know long-haul space shipping isn’t for everyone. I kind of got the vibe that you were a little bummed to be here.”
“It’s that obvious, huh?”
“Just a little. Or a lot.” Agatha smiles weakly. “The best advice I can give is to keep your mind on something aside from the length of the trip! We’ve got a ton of books, movies, hobby kits- we even have a board game night once a week- and the internet works most of the time!”
That’s all very nice, and Penny wants nothing to do with it. Nothing to do with anything on this damn ship full of weirdos who voluntarily spend almost their entire lives trapped in here shipping god knows what (seriously, what’s in the cargo hold?) to distant systems. But it’s all in service of a greater purpose. That comfortable, nice job on Earth that she wants so badly- already has, technically- is only going to be hers forever if she can make it through the year. Penny’s done tough things before when she lived in the colonies. What’s one more crappy job?
“… Alright, Agatha. I’ll keep that all in mind.”
A long and tedious journey awaits. Penny’s already counting the days.