Work Text:
It's almost comical, the laughter that threatens to escape him battles with his need to scream until his throat is raw and his anger leaves him.
Curly clenches his bandaged hand as hard as he can. He feels the stitches pull at swollen skin, it sends shocks of pain that makes his whole arm tremble.
Anya had told him to stop doing that, that the wound would only take longer to heal if he kept putting strain on it.
It was stronger than him thought. He needed to feel it. Feel the pain to not spiral into a pit of guilt, he almost hoped it got infected, that it would fester and hurt more... Just so he could feel justified in his grief.
Corporate had finally answered after the report he sent them. He provided proof of injury for Anya and himself. Provided with the transcript of the black box. Offered solutions, even told them he would resign to not cause them further problems...
But.
The Captain gets up from the ground, shaking the numbness off his legs from the half hour he spent crouched with that fucking message in his hands.
He leaves the cockpit. Ignores Jimmy's screams as he passes his room.
It was emptied from everything that could be dangerous and chosen as his temporary holding cell.
Daisuke was on guard duty. He barely notices him, too engrossed with his console.
Finally, he reaches the main room, you're playing some guessing game with Anya.
He hates to take you away from the seemingly delightful time you're having, managing to make the nurse smile and laugh.
He calls your name anyway.
It might be selfish but... You're a team. You said so yourself... And he really needs his teammate right now.
Your carefree smile drops when you see his solemn expression. You tell Anya you will be right back before jumping over the sofa to join him.
Once you're by his side, you reach for his hands, your eyes are once again filled with worry. He hated that it had become such a common sight these past days.
You finally notice the crumpled message he was crushing in his good hand. The telltale colour that signified a message from Corporate. You take the offending paper from his hand without resistance.
Once his hand is free he takes you by the shoulder to an empty room.
"You can read it..." He finally announces.
You unfold it.
It's difficult to read from the creasing caused by your husband's grip on it. But you manage.
Dear Captain Curly; We are deeply sorry to hear about the issues you and the crew are experiencing aboard. HR has been informed and the transcripts have been copied. Unfortunately we cannot authorise the use of criopods as a restraining method as their use is strictly intended as a last resort in case of emergency, any misuse of the equipment will be met with legal action.
PONY EXPRESS does not authorise any sort of punitive action that goes beyond the complete deduction of credits for this particular scenario. You are therefore being asked to release the hostile employee and mediate the crew until authorities review the case and the affected employee is back on earth. Failure to do so will result in fines and legal action.
LIST OF AFFECTED EMPLOYEES:
Co-pilot Jimmy
We also regret to inform you that the company Pony Express has officially shut down as of XX.XX.XXXX. Please ensure you maintain crew morale after delivering news of employee contract termination. Questions and concerns can be referred to HR once the active contract period is concluded. Crew is still expected to complete the remainder of the haul to PONY EXPRESS standards....................
You don't bother reading the rest, it's all corporate bullshit anyways.
Your hands are trembling by now and you end up crushing the paper yourself.
"They can't be serious..." You don't want to believe it.
Curly only shrugs, disappointed, tired, hurting
"I... we can't just let him... walk around like that. He's, unstable. And Anya..." The weight of it all sits at the bottom of your stomach. You want to puke. You would do anything so Anya didn't have to cross his path again...
But what was there to do?
"He's staying confined. I deem him a security risk. I'll deal with the consequences when we get back." Curly looks resigned.
It's been only a week since he has lost his co-pilot. The lack of sleep and stress has left purple eye bags and dimmed eyes behind.
You go to hug him, he drops his head on your shoulder, the tip of his nose tickles your neck as he takes a deep breath. You begin combing his hair the way you know he likes.
"We will deal with the consequences. Together. We'll figure it out. I promise."
He almost crushes you in his embrace, you let him. You can't do much apart being there for him.
"We need to tell them" You whisper after a while, when his grip around you has finally loosened.
"Not about the fact we're supposed to free him. We tell them everything but that. I don't want to risk them getting roped into all of this... Not more than necessary"
You nod. At least, he wasn't doing all of this alone.
As expected, the crew's reaction was a mixture of all the emotions you both had already gone through. You keep the current arrangement, you join your husband in the tedious task of evidence compilation and other soul sucking paperwork caused by the contract termination.
Despite your dislike for the task, it's your turn to bring Jimmy his rations.
You used to be anxious holding the gun, but Curly insisted you stay armed when interacting with the captive. Now it was only another reality you had begun to normalise.
You open the door.
The way Swansea managed to craft a lock for a previously un-lockable door truly amazes you, the mechanic was a master in his craft.
Jimmy raises his head to look at you through greasy strands of hair with dead red eyes, most likely a vein had burst, it made him look more monstrous than ever.
You lay the rations on his table. Avoiding further eye contact.
"You must ecstatic" His voice is rough, barely audible from the hours of cursing and throwing tantrums.
You ignore him.
"Finally got rid of me hm? Now you can leave the trash behind and get knocked up in peace right?"
The walls are barren, the furniture toppled, papers are scatter all over the floor. You do the routine check to see if everything is normal, that no escape is possible from this room.
"Tell me. When where you going to let me know about the lay off?"
You freeze.
Your grip on the gun tightens, cold metal pressing into your palm.
He wasn't supposed to know that.
"Don't worry sunshine. It wasn't you. I got my ways... I'll fix it, all of it. Don't you even worry."
His smile sickens you.
How easy it would be to put a bullet between those slimy eyes... you slam the door shut behind you when you leave the room. You wished there was alcohol on this ship. You really need a drink...
He tsks.
The food was disgusting, as always.
Jimmy pokes around it with the plastic cutlery he was allowed to have. It's not the first time that he's been locked up, far from it. But it was the first time he was being supervised by people he knew. It was a fact he could take advantage of. Except... this was no prison, it was an old piece of junk travelling through space, nothing outside. Nowhere to run.
Not like it mattered.
He lost.
He drops the lukewarm noodles into his trash, no longer hungry. They smell, that cheap fatty smell that stuck to the back of his throat.
He couldn't even open a window to let air in.
He lost, this time for good.
There was no way to get out of this one.
The one time he feels in control and he ruins it, because of one, single, mistake.
He rubs his eyes forcefully, colours dancing under his fingers.
One mistake and his life is ruined. It makes him livid. Curly was supposed to be his friend. To have his back. It's not like he was going to find a job after what he let happen here... right?
The thought of Curly going back to earth a hero sickens him.
He gets up, breath rising in speed as he paces rapidly.
He was going back.
Back to that slump.
Back.
Curly would be happy.
Carefree.
A future ahead of him, bright like his hair.
Curly was OK.
But not him.
And he would.
Go to the way it was.
Dark.
Same fucking hole of drink and smoke.
Same slippery slope, now not even close to where that taunting idiot would be.
He grips the hair that falls on his face with both hands, tight and desperate as a feeling of dread begins to consume him.
His eyes are frantic, looking from one corner to the other, the ground the ceiling, the table the bed, the door, the door, the door, the door.
He lunges for it in a panic, fear grips his throat like it wanted his death, cold and unforgiving dread fills his lungs as he realises how bad he fucked up.
"CURLY!!" He screams at the door, voice broken and terrified.
The sense of unavoidable destiny, of inevitably.
He can't breathe right. It's too sharp.
"CURLY!!!!! PLEASE!!!"
He has no time to think about how pathetic his calls are.
He only screams and shouts for the one he loathes above all, for the only one left to mourn him... Or at least he was.
The only answer he gets is from Daisuke who is once again guarding his door.
"Oh my God, shut up man! He doesn't want to see or hear you OK?! And neither do I!"
The sound of his console starts anew.
Jimmy drops to the ground, ugly burning tears fall across his face.
He really was alone.
For good.
Why? WHY? WHY HIM?
Dread begins to mix with anger.
A bitter mix that makes him nauseous.
Why, why could Curly choose to not see him?!
Why could the oh so great Captain choose to not be captain anymore right before the company crashes?!
Why was he so obediently catered to, why did no one question his orders when it was clear he was the aggressor?!
Why could he get to go back victorious?!
As a hero?!
IT'S NOT FAIR!
Why could anyone go back home?!
They didn't do anything more than him!
Nothing that would make them holier than him!
If he was done.
If he was doomed.
Then so should they.
Because the thought of those bastards going on with their lives, going back to loving families, to futures... While he had NOTHING!
It was too unfair.
So he gets up.
He stares at his faint reflection on the metal door.
He could get out.
Easy...
This wasn't the first time he had left a closed room before. He just had no idea what to do when outside. It was one against five and he had no access to any weapon.
But now he had a goal...
Red lights and loud blaring wake you up in a panic.
Curly, who had finally managed to fall asleep, jumps up. He pushes you off him and jumps out of the bed.
"Curly!" You call out, following right behind. Not caring about your lack of footwear.
He turns for a moment only, grabs your hand. His eyes are wide with fear even if he tries to hide it behind his captain confidence.
"Check on the crew! I'm going to see what's going on!"
You nod. He seems to appreciate it.
You both run in opposite directions.
Curly runs towards the cockpit.
You see Anya in the infirmary, she latches onto the hand you offer and go looking for the others. Swansea is next he is axe in hand, running towards Jimmy's room. He calls for Daisuke, panic evident even with the loud emergency sirens in the narrow corridors. To your horror, you don't see the young man anywhere.
Before you can go look elsewhere, Swansea opens the locked door.
Daisuke is laying there. On the ground. Hands around his head and grimacing in pain. The older mechanic drops to check on him.
No Jimmy in sight....
The door to the cockpit is locked. Curly begins to swear. He punches the panel next to the door open. The emergency mechanism that only the captain knows about is there for cases like this one.
He thinks about how he hoped he never had to... he thinks about all the times he hoped it would only come in handy if the door malfunctioned. But reality is not his hopes.
The cockpit is submerged in red. Jimmy has just disabled the autopilot, his hands are turning white with the force he exerts on the wheel.
"What the fuck are you doing?!" He runs to him, pulling him away from the console with all the strength and adrenaline he has. Jimmy screams. Anger twisting his face into raw emotion as he launches for the wheel again. It's a struggle. Curly finally reads what the screens where saying.
WARNING
CRASH IMMINENT
He has little time to understand every information that flashes on the monitors. Only registering that he had to turn right, that he had to keep right, even if Jimmy was pulling his hair hard enough to rip it. Even if his ribs were punched and nails dig into his wounded hand to get him to release the wheel. He screams putting all of his weight on his right arm to force the ship into a sharp turn. Jimmy shiuts at him, pleading almost, fingers dig into his wound and shirt, clawing at him, dead weight. "Let me fix this!!" He wails.
The sirens blare all around as you make your way to the cockpit. Swansea and Anya are taking Daisuke to the infirmary where you ordered them to stay locked until all was cleared.
You stumble as the ship shakes, fear dampen your hands in cold sweat, it makes it difficult to push against the pipes of the walls. To push forwards. You can hear him, that bastard, he screams incoherently. Finally you can catch a glimpse of the cockpit. A previously unknown panel is open, the door lets out a blinding red light.
"PLEASE TAKE EMERGENCY POSITIONS" The robotic voice of the tulpar rattles through your ears.
"CURLY!" You scream.
Trying to be heard above all of the warning emitting from the system.
"CURLY!!!" Your call is visceral, shaking your throat and chest. You fall. You reach for the door. Stumble pathetically. Try to stand again.
A shock wave sends you flying against the metallic pipes of the corridor you just came from.
Your whole head lights up in pain at the impact. Your vision goes white for a moment. The sirens are still blaring. You feel a warm air reaching your face.
Amidst the mess that has become of your senses, you try and stand. You rely on the tube's protruding from the walls. Using them as a handrail. They are hot, almost burning. You wail at the feeling but keep going towards the cockpit.
"Curly..." Your mouth is dry, you must've bitten your tongue because it feels slow and the telltale metallic taste of blood blooms on it.
Finally, you drop at the entrance of the cockpit. You don't truly know what you're seeing. It's mostly foam expanding. Red lights. Foam. Hair. Blonde hair.
With one last effort you crawl to the body slumped over the foam.
"Curly!" You call again.
He's knocked out.
Must be...
Panic rises anew in your chest as you struggle to check on him. His body falls into your arms and you start crying.
He is breathing.
He's hurt but he's breathing.
His hair is a mess, foam has stuck to some parts of it, meaning it will have to be cut. He won't like that you think.
His face is red from the heat, some places are beginning to form blisters, the blood dripping from his forehead covers the right side of his face. His clothing is charred and cut on many places. You do your best to take it off him so it won't burn him any further.
You begin thanking any being that could hear you as you check his body over.
Then you hear another moan of pain.
You hadn't seen him before. Right under the console, bleeding from a head wound. Jimmy stirs.
You hug Curly's head to your chest protectively.
You can't move. There is no point in trying. Your husband is way heavier than you and you already had trouble crawling to this point.
The monster shakes, he props himself up onto his elbows.
You reach around with one hand. Hoping to find anything to defend yourself with. You cut your fingers on glass, you cut your palm when you take the biggest shard you find.
He groans, tries to sit up but fails.
You try to point the shard towards the threat as best as you could.
Arm trembling from over exertion.
Dark eyes find yours through a mess of brown hair.
Your body shakes, cold and afraid.
"Stay down!"
An axe appears right in front of you, separating you from the rising man. You look up to see Swansea. The relief you feel could make you cry. It does actually.
A pair of hands reaches for yours, gently getting you to drop the glass.
"It's OK. It's OK... Come on, we're safe." Anya's gentle voice only worsens your waterworks.
You try to speak but only sobs escape you and the odd call for your wounded husband.
Once Jimmy has been hog tied again. The mechanic helps Anya lift the unconscious captain and take him to the infirmary. You're left with the gun to make sure Jimmy doesn't move.
"Did you really just try to crash the ship?!" Your disbelief is barely audible through the murderous rage cursing through you.
Jimmy doesn't even look at you.
"What?! Can't even kill yourself on your own?! You wanted to bring us down with you?!" You really wanted to shoot. Really wanted to.
But that would be too easy. That would be the easy way out for him. That would be giving him what he wanted.
"If you want to die so bad. Do it without bringing others into it. For once in your life get something done by yourself. For once in your life take responsibility for your actions"