Chapter Text
The ship wasn’t meant for four people. Hell, it probably wasn’t even meant for one. It was like flying around space in a tin can. Four small bunks, a control console, a wall full of monitors, and a toilet with a curtain around it; that was the extent of their furniture. There wasn’t even a set of chairs. The majority of the small space was used for holding the loot they collected and for storing what little equipment the company provided.
The company that was forcing them to take on a fifth crewmate.
Swansea scowled at the thought, and at the sight of the loot counter off to his right. They’d arrived a few hours ago and had already managed to unload their meager findings for the tentacled creature to collect. It hadn’t seemed happy, if the tremors it’d caused were anything to go by, but it hadn’t killed them.
They must have met their quota.
Or it just needed them alive to train this newbie.
Five people on a ship meant for four; on a ship meant for no one. The message they received told them it was non-negotiable. They had to take him on. After all, someone had to train the kid before he went on to be the mechanic of his own crew. Before he went on to be a great asset for the company. They were just the unlucky ones who’d been chosen.
And Swansea was the unluckiest of all, considering he was the one who had to do the training.
Five people, four bunks.
Hell, five people and only four flashlights too. The company only provided four per ship.
Swansea’s shitty job was about to get even shittier.
“It won’t be for forever,” Curly tried to console, staring sheepishly at Swansea’s scowl. “Just a few cycles. Until he’s trained and can join his own crew.”
“If he lives that long,” Jimmy said, spooning some sort of goo into his mouth. The sight of slop all over his face made Swansea nearly as sick as his words.
“Don’t joke about that,” Swansea grumbled. After all, if something happened to the kid, it would be on him. Swansea scowled even harder. It was times like this that he missed drinking the most.
Actually, with this job, it was nearly all times that he missed drinking the most.
“Just trying to make you feel better,” Jimmy said, finally swallowing his mouthful.
“I’m sure it will all go smoothly,” Curly said, clapping Swansea on the back and making him grunt. “Now, chin up, crew. His transports about to land.”
And sure enough, the captain was right. It wasn’t even a second later that Swansea heard the infernal jingle that the company’s tiny supply ships made, but surely they wouldn’t send the kid in one of those, right? Forget their ship not fitting five people; a supply ship probably couldn’t even fit one. But sure enough, Swansea glanced up just in time to see the small, conical ship coming in for its landing, thunking hard against the metal of the company dock.
Its cheerful jingle played even once its engines had died.
Swansea stared at the craft, his eyebrows raised. He’d only ever seen the things deliver rations and other supplies, never a person. He was just wondering how a human would even fit when the four doors on either side all popped open at once and a young man who was curled into a small ball tumbled out.
Fuck, was the kid even alive after that?
Swansea took a step forward to check, to be a mechanic and maybe try to fix the problem, even though medical was really Anya’s territory, when the kid suddenly unfolded. He groaned, rolling out of his ball and stretching his arms out to all sides like a star. He was taller than Swansea had guessed, lankier too.
And far younger than Swansea had expected, even though the report had said he was young. He looked like just a kid and this job wasn't the place for kids.
It wasn't the place for anyone.
But before Swansea could cram him back in the tiny supply ship, its engines restarted, flames shooting out from the bottom of the cone and just barely missing the kid as its jingle ended and it flew back into the sky, leaving the kid there with them.
Leaving them with a five person crew.
Fan-fucking-tastic.
Curly took a step forward, his arms outstretched to help the kid up, only for the kid to pop up himself. He stood like his body was a spring, only to wipe the dust off of himself. He wasn’t wearing one of their space suits yet, which probably wasn’t good for him, but honestly, what part of this job was? Instead, he had on a pair of tightfitting jeans, a yellow t-shirt, and the most ridiculous pink Hawaiian shirt that Swansea had ever seen. It was so bright, he almost felt like shielding his eyes.
Or maybe that was the kid’s smile.
“Hi,” the kid said, practically prancing over towards them with his hand extended. Though whose hand he was trying to shake, Swansea wasn’t sure. The kid looked like a hyper dog, rapidly turning to face each of them with that huge smile still on his face. Swansea couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen someone smile that big.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen something so bright.
“I’m Daisuke,” he said, finally getting close enough to them for Curly to take a step out and stop the kids momentum by grabbing his searching hand. “Thank’s for taking me on as part of your crew.”
Part of the crew? Of this ship? At this job? Someone this young? Someone this bright?
To hell with that.
Swansea didn’t bother to stay for introductions or to give his own. He just turned and climbed back aboard the ship. He’d have plenty of time to get to know the kid in the next few days.
If he lasted that long.
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The ship really was too small for five people.
But Swansea already knew that. The new kid, Daisuke, wouldn’t stop talking; yammering away about himself and all the things he wanted to do and achieve. Swansea didn’t really mind the sound of his voice, it was nice to hear something other than the same three people and the sounds of monsters every once in a while, but he did mind the things the kid was saying.
All those hopes, all those dreams. Those weren’t the kind of things people who worked for the company had.
At least, they weren’t the kinds of things people had for long.
Swansea wanted him to shut up, but he was also scared of exactly that.
Curly turning the lights out at least put a pause on the kid’s words, but Swansea could still hear his breathing. After all, there were only four bunks, and Swansea’s was the one closest to the floor.
The floor that the kid was laying on to sleep.
The captain, being the saint that he was, offered to give up his bunk during the kid’s stay, but Daisuke had turned him down. Waving away all of Curly’s attempts to get him to sleep in his bunk. Daisuke had just patted the floor, saying he’d be more than fine sleeping there.
And for some reason the kid had been looking straight at Swansea when he said it.
But Swansea was probably just tired. He hadn’t said two words to the kid, and he certainly wasn’t the kind of guy people wanted to sleep next to based on looks.
Unfortunately for him, Daisuke was.
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“I know we’ve got a higher quota to meet this time, but we’re going to head to Assurance for our first planet this run,” Curly said, his fingers typing away at the console even as he gave Daisuke a reassuring smile.
One that the kid eagerly returned.
Swansea had to look away, both from the sickening sight of the kid’s eagerness, and from the brightness of his smile. If Swansea wanted to see the sun this much, he would have stayed on earth.
Which is exactly where Daisuke should have stayed.
“Assurance is a good idea,” Anya said meekly, twirling her fingers. “A good planet to start out on.”
“None of the planets are good,” Jimmy said. “And Assurance is ass, like we all know.”
Swansea chuckled darkly at the joke, but quickly stopped. Daisuke’s smile had only grown brighter at the sound of his laugh, regardless of how dark it’d been. He frowned at the kid, which finally made him look away, his cheeks coloring in embarrassment.
Or at least, Swansea figured it must be in embarrassment.
“We’ll have to do our best there. No slacking,” Curly said as he finished setting up the ship’s autopilot. “Or else we won’t meet the quota. And we all know what happens then.”
“What happens?” Daisuke asked, tilting his head like an innocent little puppy.
Jimmy opened his mouth to respond, but Swansea cleared his throat loudly, stepping between the man and Daisuke before he spoke.
“Do your job right and you won’t find out,” he said. He wasn’t sure why he didn’t want the kid to know what happened if they failed. After all, if he was working for the company he’d find out sooner or later. But Swansea didn’t want to be there when that happened. He didn’t want to see what it looked like when that bright smile left the kid’s face.
Unfortunately, there were a lot of things on this job that could prevent someone from smiling; that could stop someone from smiling forever. Whether that be from the trauma, or death. Swansea would just have to keep an eye on this kid. He would have to train him right.
He would have to do everything to make sure he kept smiling that bright, bright smile.
That he lived to keep smiling.
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“So the point of our job is that we collect scrap that’s left behind on abandoned moons. We go back to the same moons, and go to different facilities on them until they’re all cleared out. Each crew has a captain, a medic, a guard, and a mechanic. I’m the mechanic of our ship, so I’ll be the one training ya.”
“I’m looking forward to it!”
Swansea scowled, eyeing the kid’s genuine, still bright as the sun smile.
“Don’t be.”
The smile vanished, just like Swansea had feared. Only it was replaced by something much worse.
An adorable little pout.
Swansea was too old to be finding pouting adorable. He was too old to be finding Daisuke adorable too. He needed to focus. Otherwise, he’d get them killed. And all over a pretty face.
A pretty pout.
The doors opened before they reached the ground, just like usual, and Swansea stood where he usually stood; near the back of the ship, well away from the doors.
Or, that’s where he would have stood, had Daisuke not rushed forward as soon as the doors opened, nearly falling over the ship's front railing as he leaned over it to look down. And with how tall he was, he probably would have fallen over it; just toppled over and died before the ship even landed.
But the tight grip Swansea had on the back of his spacesuit kept him onboard. Kept him alive, but it didn’t make the kid panic. No, instead, he just turned and gave Swansea that bright smile again, his whole face shining with excitement.
Swansea swallowed.
Swansea used his grip on the spacesuit to haul Daisuke back, and then to shake him in time with the landing of the ship, the rumbling of its breaks engaging provided a satisfying sound effect.
“First lesson,” Swansea grumbled once there was no longer a chance of Daisuke falling to his death. Not from the ship anyway. “Don’t run on the ship. And definitely don’t run and then nearly toss yourself over the railing. Got that?”
“Yes, Boss!” Daisuke said, giving him a little mock salute. It made Swansea scowl. Not because it was insolent, it somehow wasn’t, but because the kid sounded so sincere.
He was still smiling that same smile.
Jimmy and Curly pushed past them, both of them holding a flashlight, and Jimmy holding a shovel as well. “We meet back here before nine,” Curly said as he jumped down. “Good luck on your first day Daisuke. You're in good hands with Swansea.”
Swansea scowled even harder at that, but Daisuke smiled even wider.
“I’m sure I am.”
Damn kid.
Swansea moved back into the ship to collect his own flashlight, as well as his walkie-talkie. He nodded at Anya as she moved past. She was the ship's medic but she still had to help them bring loot back to the ship. They wouldn’t survive if they didn’t have all hands helping out. Especially with a quota as high as theirs on a planet like Ass.
There was a reason they nicknamed it that.
“Where do I find my gear?” Daisuke asked, peering into the now empty cupboard.
“You don’t. Ships only meant for four people. Four beds, four flashlights, four walkies.”
“Guess that means I’ll have to stick with you then,” Daisuke said. He didn’t look disappointed, or even nervous, like he should. He looked excited, and eager, and he was directing all of that look straight at Swansea.
Was there something wrong with this kid?
Was he crazy?
He didn’t really look crazy…just happy. But being happy while working this job was crazy in itself. It was kind of refreshing to see. It almost unknotted something tight in Swansea’s chest. Or it would have, if he wasn’t so worried about keeping the damn kid alive.
And worried about being the crazy one himself. After all, Daisuke’s smile was distracting him a lot more than it should.
“We’ll take turns using the flashlight. We need to conserve its battery anyway. But I’ll keep the walkie on me.” Swansea said as he tucked it into the breast pocket of his space suit. It didn’t really matter if Daisuke had one of those anyway. They were mainly used to call for help, and with this job, help was hard to come by. Even with a crew of four, it was every man or woman for yourself out there.
And even with a crew of five, it would probably be that way as well.
Swansea had his own life to live. He couldn’t risk it for a young, fresh, puppy-faced kid. But as he looked at the kid’s face, still decorated with that sunshine smile, he wondered if he couldn’t not risk it either.
Daisuke was dangerous. Maybe as dangerous as some of the monsters they were about to face.
Maybe even more.
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“Jimmy, Curly, and Anya went to the main entrance of this facility,” Swansea said as he trudged across the sand, Daisuke keeping pace with him. “So me and you are going to take the fire exit. Let’s hope we get lucky.”
“Oh, I hope we do,” Daisuke said, his words more teasing than before. And it was only then that Swansea realized the innuendo in his own words. And felt the flush appear across his own face.
“You know damn well what I mean, kid.” Swansea hissed. He wanted to yell, but he knew that was a bad idea, for many reasons. He wasn’t used to being teased, and he wasn’t used to the little suggestive smile on Daisuke’s face being directed at him either. At least, nothing like that had been directed at him in recent years.
Or maybe thirty.
“I’m, uhh, actually not sure what you mean,” Daisuke said, dropping the flirtatious smile in favor of cocking his head to the side, looking like a curious puppy. “What are we meant to do?”
Swansea stopped walking, all thoughts of the flirting and embarrassment leaving his mind in favor of sheer disbelief.
“Did they not tell you what a mechanic in this job does?”
“Nope, they just told me I was hired and was being sent to be trained,” Daisuke said with a little shrug.
“Fucking hell,” Swansea rubbed a gloved hand over his face. “Well, I guess there’s nothing like first hand experience. Did you at least read the bestiary?”
“The what?”
Swansea wanted to groan. They were doomed.
They better hope they got lucky.
“All right, I’ll train you as we go, but long story short, a mechanic for The Company has one very important job that the rest of the crew doesn't have. We go into the facilities, and we search for a room with a big ass light bulb in it.”
“A big light bulb?”
“Keep yer trap shut while I’m talking.”
“Yes, Boss.”
“So we find the room, and then we unscrew the light bulb from the wall in the way detailed in the employee manual. And if we do it right, the radiation doesn't instantly kill everyone.”
“Wow!”
Swansea let that one go. Their job was very ‘wow’, and that certainly wasn't said enough. The mechanic was never appreciated enough. All the glory went to Curly for bringing back expensive loot like gold bars and cash registers. Or to Jimmy for using his shovel to fight off Nutcrackers and Thumpers. Really, it was a team effort, but still. Swansea wouldn’t mind a few more ‘wow’s every now and again.
Especially from Daisuke.
“We detach it and bring it back to the ship. We need to locate and detach one for each facility we visit and plug them into a device at the company building. All while collecting and retrieving any small-sized loot we find.”
“Sounds easy enough,” Daisuke chirped, taking a step forward. He looked like he was eager to do the job. A little too eager. Swansea grabbed him by the back of the suit again, stopping Daisuke in his tracks before he walked ahead.
“That’s ‘cause I made it sound easy for ya, but let me tell ya, it's the furthest thing from easy. And I’ll show you all about that.” Swansea expected Daisuke’s eagerness to wilt, for some nervousness to finally show, but the kid just fell into step beside him again, his smile bright once more.
“Awesome!”
What was wrong with this kid?