MY STOWAWAY
18 Jul 2019GuruTez82
Right so Simione:He's a strange little fellow. When I first met him a few weeks back he was so pathetic it almost hurt. There he was in the middle of my cargo bay just sprawled out like gravity had pummelled him to the floor. His skin had been so pale it was almost translucent and he stank to high heaven. He always seemed to be making some sort of noise, moaning, whimpering or sighing. Never made eye contact, always had his head down. His slightly delayed flinches away from my movements let me know he had grown used to physical abuse.
He had seemed genuinely shocked when I told him I wasn't gonna hand him over to authorities. There was a very awkward period after that where he was sure I wanted some sort of payment from him, but I assured him not, we cleared that up and he started to put his clothes back on (again I asked myself where in the void had this poor creature been held before he found his way onto Gormongander). Before he was fully dressed though I said one thing he could do for me was go into the decontamination showers, set them to heavy soiling and stay in there for about 15 mins, I mean the smell made my eyes water. We agreed he would sanitise at least once every day cycle.
I had asked him where he wanted to go? After looking at his blank stare for a few minuets I tried again "Where should I drop you off?" and once again blank confusion. This was going to be a tedious endeavour. Again my brain piped up "would have been easier to eject him when we first met him, I'm just saying." So we decided to lay low for a while keep off anyone's radar. Contacted some old friends to help keep us incognito and let time pass.
It was about this time that I came to the realisation that he was gonna have to stay on the ship and I immediately hated myself for realising this. It was the first time I ever saw him smile when I told him he was going to have to get used to calling Gormongander home. His smile was.... I cant really... ah forget it!.... It's just... ah fuck it, no words.
He stands 5 feet tall or around 1.52 meters. His skin has got some colour back but it doesn't help much with its dull ashy grey/brown hue. He holds his head a little higher now which let me see that his eyes are huge, ok they are not that big but his pupils are. His pupils being massive make his eyes look much larger. It seems a short while on some decent food and nutrient supplements have really helped. Hes bright and responsive, quick and agile, but the thing i notice the most is he's quiet now. No wheezing, no moaning. I always used to know exactly where he was cos he always made some noise, but now silence.
I had thought the man (yes i'm gonna call him a man from now on) was hairless but in the last week or so I'v seen some sort of growth along his brow and down his neck. I soon found out these growths also went down the back of his arms and legs and vertebrae. They are more like spines than hairs but still flexible. He told me the previous owners plucked them and gave him and the others drugs to prevent their growth (I had so many questions but thought better to wait). He trims them himself now with pliers simply because they play havoc with the suit i printed for him. I always leave the room when he does this, the velocity they ping around the cabin could cost me an eye.
Ahem, so I told you he was strange right, ok remember I told him he could call Gormongander home, well he does literally! While he talks to her all the time. I mean ok I kinda talk to her as well but he like pauses and listens and replies. He says she talks back to him, as he tried to explain in his bumbling way I sort of picked up that the noise a ship makes mean something, yes yes we get that we can all tell there is a problem when an engine doesn't sound right and things. But he hears an actual language in there somewhere. The way I figure it he's been experimented on, tortured and Raxlar knows what else, the guys allowed a little crazy. Could be much worse, and i never once felt a drop of threat from him, so fine talk away little man.
He loves the ship, knows more about her now than I think I do. I gave him a bunk but iv only ever seen him in it twice. He's forever disappearing into a service shaft and reemerging in another part of the ship hours later. He can travel through Gormongander much quicker than I can. He learns like a sponge through his eyes, show him an action once and he's got it. Ideas and concepts not so much, he does get them but after a long time. He seems to be visually based not so much audio. With this information i gave him a visual, touch utility, data pad and he now pretty much sorts himself out. He started to do ship maintenance without my prompting, I'm not gonna thank him, i mean he should find a way to earn his keep, but the Lady is purring like a kitten. Have to admit he's the best crew iv ever had on the ship. He even started to cook, not great the first few times, but after i explained that quantities in the recipes were to be thought of as a rule not a suggestion, he quickly improved. It was so good to have cooked food ready when you woke on the floor with a hangover.
But supplies run low especially booze and chems, and iv got alot of money to make so I told him we were going to work and explained the way I was planning to make money doing those million credit data runs to Hutton Orbital. I saw the fear in his eyes at the mention of that platform and assured him we were going to find another plan, and then he astounded me. He stiffly stood up and talked for about 5 mins straight. I cant remember exactly what he said but the jist was; I've been looking at trade maps and system statuses, and I may be wrong but I think we could make alot of credits running trade in and out of the MAIA system. Then he sat down like nothing had happened.
So ok lets check out MAIA. Just got to check in with Commander Tigertirger first. Has he got my Asp YAMATA yet?