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[ZERO DAYS BEFORE THE [DATA_EXPUNGED]]
In the end, what was loyalty when your best friend raped someone? There were no other options for Curly once he found out. He couldn’t find the gun, so he got the utility axe back from Swansea and confronted someone who he once trusted.
“Jimmy, I need to talk to you,” Curly said, opening the door to his quarters. They weren’t too messy or clean, just the right amount of stuff on the floor and scattered on the desk. Jimmy was sitting on his bed, staring into space like he’d do whenever he thought someone wasn’t looking. It was one of the many things that Curly’d gotten used to, being around him for so long.
Jimmy looked up and smiled. The axe was resting just out of view in the hallway, where Curly could grab it at a moment’s notice. He knew that Jimmy was prone to fits of anger in the past, but they were usually resolved quickly, or at least, never came to blows.
But apparently Curly didn’t know Jimmy as well as he thought he did.
“What’s up, Curly?” Jimmy smiled, the kind he did where it didn't reach his eyes. It never bothered Curly before.
“What did you do to Anya?” Jimmy’s expression turned angry for half a second, but he quickly schooled his features.
“I did nothin’ to her,” said Jimmy, “Captain.”
“Jimmy, why are you lying to me?”
“I’m not lyin’, Curly! I’ve never even been in her quarters-”
“I never said anything about her room, Jimmy. I know when you’re lying- you get a twitch in your eye. What did you do to Anya?” Curly stared Jimmy down. He wondered if Jimmy had ever done something on a previous trip, and the victim never told Curly about it. The thought made his stomach turn.
“Say it, Curly! Fuckin’ say it. What did I do to her?” Jimmy stood up, approaching Curly with a look of fervor in his eyes.
Curly placed a hand on the axe, still leaning against the wall.
“You raped her.”
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[SEVEN DAYS BEFORE THE [DATA_EXPUNGED]]
Curly held the paper in his hands, re-reading the words over and over again. How could the crew ever forgive him if he told them about the Tulpar being shut down? How could the crew ever forgive him if he waited until they were near their destination to tell them?
And was all of this worth it for some fucking mouthwash?
A knock echoed at his door.
“Come in,” Curly acknowledged, quickly folding the paper and shoving it into his pocket.
The door opened, and Anya was on the other side. She held a clipboard in her hand, looking rather concerned.
“Hey, sorry, but do you have Jimmy’s psych eval?” Curly couldn’t help but notice that her voice stuttered on Jimmy. There was something going on between the two of them, but he couldn’t figure out what. “You didn’t give it to me earlier, but I’m supposed to have it by the end of today…”
“Oh, shit, sorry Anya. I left it in the cockpit,” said Curly, standing up. The top of his jumpsuit was tied around his waist instead of around his shoulders, and the red and orange tank top he wore under his uniform was in full view. It was actually kind of embarrassing- a graphic tee of Polle the Pony saying “Giddy up Galaxy!” He would never tell anyone, but he had all of the posters in tank top or t-shirt form.
“You can stay here if you want. I know you’ve been having trouble sleeping recently, and I know where the cockpit is,” Anya said, but she stepped out of Curly’s way.
“I’m gonna be honest, I wasn’t getting much sleep anyway.” Curly slid the door shut behind him, smiling. He just wished it wasn’t fake.
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[ZERO DAYS BEFORE THE [DATA_EXPUNGED]]
Jimmy shoved Curly into the hallway. He lost his grip on the axe, sending it tipping onto the ground as he fell. A series of loud clangs resounded through the hallway of the crew's quarters, one for the axe, and three for Curly’s back, and then his head bouncing on the unforgiving metal grate. His vision swam in and out. Above his head- Polle Says “Rise and Shine!”
“I’ve done nothing wrong, Curly! Whatever happened to loyalty, you piece of shit?” Jimmy brought his boot down into Curly’s stomach, knocking the wind out of him. His eyes flicked to the axe, lying on it’s side, the handle pointing down the hall. Curly tried to get a breath into his lungs, but Jimmy just pressed down harder.
“Did you bring that axe here? Because you thought I assaulted her? You’re a fucking joke, Curly, you’re a shit captain. Couldn’t even keep the Tulpar from going under,” Jimmy said, reaching to the side to grab the axe, hefting it into his grip.
Curly opened his mouth to try to speak, but Jimmy just stomped on his chest again. He felt his eyes watering and his chest seizing with the simple effort of staying awake.
“You wanted to escape us, right Cap? Wanted to get away?” Jimmy raised the axe over his head, “You’re getting your fucking wish.”
He brought the axe down.
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[SEVEN DAYS AFTER THE [DATA_EXPUNGED]]
Anya sat with her back towards the cryo pod he was in, head between her knees. She couldn’t see it, but she could hear the sparking wires in the vent that she nearly fell into. The Utility room was never silent- even the deactivated cryo pods made a low humming noise.
The door slid open and Anya looked up, not knowing who she’d see.
“It’s not your fault, Anya. Nothin’ he did was your fault,” Swansea said, coming to sit down on the cold concrete floor next to her.
“Feels like it, ‘s all,” Anya mumbled, putting her head back onto her knees.
“Look, Anya, what’s done is done. We can’t get him out of Cryo without the captain’s code, and the Captain sure as hell isn’t gonna let him out.”
“I’m sorry, Swansea-”
“There’s no need to apologize. It’s not your fault.” Anya didn’t reply to that. Everything felt like her fault recently- her inability to be a good nurse, the conflict between Jimmy and Curly. She wished she never told him anything. Maybe it could’ve been avoided.
Swansea put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t stay in here forever, okay?” With some difficulty, he stood up and left Utility, the door sliding shut behind him with a clank.
Anya brought her hand up to her face and pushed the tears off her cheeks, blinking heavily.
Maybe Swansea was right. Not about everything- but… well, she really couldn’t stay in there forever.
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[ZERO DAYS BEFORE THE [DATA_EXPUNGED]]
Someone slammed into Jimmy, sending him sprawling to the ground. The axe fell down, narrowly missing Curly’s head as it slammed into the grate. He rolled to the side, bringing his hand to the back of his head where it had hit the floor. His hand came away slightly red.
“What the fuck were you doing, Jimmy?” Swansea shouted, pinning Jimmy to the floor with his body weight.
“Curly’s a fuckin’ liar! He was trying to fuckin’- fuckin’ sabatoge me. I never touched her, I never fuckin’ did that!” Jimmy screamed, clawing at Swansea’s arms.
A hand gently touched Curly’s shoulder. He startled, realizing he was still struggling to breathe. He opened his mouth to speak, and to his surprise, blood trickled down the side of his face.
“Stay still, Curly. You bit your tongue when you hit the ground,” said Anya, sounding anxious. Metal against metal echoed through the room as Anya kicked away the axe, sending it sliding down the hall.
“What did you do to Anya, you fuckin’ piece of shit?” Swansea yelled, ignoring Jimmy’s flailing.
“Nothin’!”
Swansea hit Jimmy on the temple. Curly’d never heard a sweeter noise.
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[ONE DAY AFTER THE [DATA_EXPUNGED]]
“Do you think we’ll regret it?” Curly asked, sitting in the cockpit and waiting to see if more asteroids would threaten the ship.
“Regret putting him in that cryotube?” Swansea responded, arms crossed over his chest.
“What other regrets could we have, Swansea?” Curly replied, self-deprecating.
“Gettin’ on this ship. Lettin’ Jimmy on this ship. But I know what you mean. And no, I think we did the right thing. If nothin’ else, Anya will be able to sleep easier. I think that’s worth it.”
“I think you’re right. But he- he was my friend. For years.”
“We don’t always know who our friends really are, Captain,” Swansea said, “‘Sides, you can always make new ones.”
Swansea clapped a hand on Curly’s shoulder and turned to leave.
“Hey Swansea?” Curly said, glancing back at him.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks. You’re a good man.” Curly really meant it.
“Don’t worry about it, Cap.”
The cockpit door slid open, and slid closed.