(Before writing the story) For this week I was ‘given’ (read; bugged someone until they gave me one) a prompt. ‘The man who is going to kill me is cooking me dinner first’.
I decided to use this with Carina, and our Space pirates. I dunno if this is going to end up as a chapter in the story, or just a little one shot to give me an insight into the mind of Carina, but it will be worthwhile no matter what.
(After)... well that didn’t turn out as planned... got a little carried away and accidentally wrote the first draft of Chapter Two instead.... Sorry?
Also for those that read the Character Creation for Carina, I think I might end up changing that a little bit too... not too sure, let’s just see where this shooting star takes us shall we?
Carina’s head felt fuzzy, lifting it up from where it slumped against her own chest. She knew she wasn’t on her own ship, even through the fog that clouded her mind she could hear the difference. Metal that creaked, the loud cry of engines didn’t hum softly through the walls. Rough voices and heavy footsteps over grated corridors.
Mother had warned her what to do if ever she was taken hostage, drilled protocols into her until she was certain Carina could do them in her sleep. But this, this was different. She wasn’t in this situation because of who her parents were and the work they did. No, she had put them in this situation, it had been her fault that their ship was attacked. They knew her name.
Carina had begged ever since the mission had crossed their radar to avoid it, let someone else run errands to a planet she never meant to see again. She’d always known running from him wasn’t a smart idea. He’d owned her since he found her on one of his ships, forcing her to work for him. She’d hoped he would have forgotten her, the stowaway he turned into a beggar girl on the streets, earning money for him to pay off the debt she owed. Another cog in his empire of servants.
“Thought you could just escape Desi, did you?” Carina flinched when she heard his name, biting back the moan that accompanied the jolting of her head. “Foolish child, you never should have come back here.” A calloused hand gripped her chin, lifting her head and forcing her to look at a leathery face full of crooked teeth and gold flecks.
“I have no idea who you’re talking about.” Carina lied, his fingers dug into her jaw bone as she tried to wrench her jaw from his grasp. “My name is Carina, my mother is a commander of the Alliance, you should return me to them while you have a chance.” She tested the bonds that held her wrists behind her back, trying to figure out how easily the ropes would break.
The man before her laughed, releasing her chin and taking a step back. A hand motion to the men behind her had her lifted off her feet, manhandled up the corridors towards the ship's bridge. Every crew member they passed stopping to gawk at her and the colourful markings that danced up her bare arms. The same thing that singled her out no matter where she travelled to.
“The Alliance has nothing against the power of my armada.” The gold-toothed man grinned, waving his arm towards the huge windows and the hundreds of ships that lay beyond. From what Carina could see they were in worse state than the ship she was on was. Some relying on the slipstream of others to stay on course, drifting through the sky on the galaxies faint tide.
“And yet you still bow to a Master,” Carina smirked, knowing the jibe would get under the captain's skin. His ‘armada’, although impressive in number, was barely anything compared to what the Alliance had. The Alliance had just completed a complete refurbishment of their fleet, her family's ship was one of the few remaining of the outdated style, and it was on its last mission before it was to join the rest in retirement. All that truly meant, was the advantage the armada had clawed in numbers was lost, the Alliance had double the amount of ships it usually would have had.
The captain's anger had his hand wrapping around her throat at the insult, lifting her up off the grated floors. Carina held onto her smirk, suppressing the urge to gasp for the air her lungs begged for, she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction he sought.
“Captain!” The crew rushed forward, tugging on his arms until he dropped her, taking as step back as Carina landed in a crouch and looked out the windows once more. She prayed to gods she never believed in for a glimpse of her parent's ship, hoping they were safe after the attack.
“Looking for your pretend parents, Rat?” The Captain spat, his hand catching her under her arm and hauling her to her feet. He barked orders for the ship to be spun one-eighty degrees, pointing at a smouldering wreck the second it came into view. “Because you’ll never see them again.”
This time Carina couldn’t stop her cry of pain, tears streaming down her face as she collapsed. She’d recognise her ship anywhere, the place that had become her home when she never thought she’d get another chance. Visions of her parents danced in her mind, memories that she tried to force away.
“Fire on them again.” His grip was tight around her arm, hand on her chin, forcing her to watch the smoking wreckage.
“Captain?” Hesitance, a shake in the crew members voice as he questioned the orders.
“I said fire on them again!” The hand tightened around her, a glare focused behind them. Carina stayed silent, listening to the click of fingers against a screen, the whir of the lasers starting up. She bit her lip as a beam of light flashed across the windows, keeping her eyes locked on the ship she’d been taken from so violently.
“You happy now? Proven that you're the boss rather than Desi’s little servant?” Carina spat the second he released her chin, She expected the backhand that accompanied her words, thrown back and crumbling. Physical abuse she could take, she’d faced it all before, anything to get her mind off what she’d just seen. Her parent's punishment for daring to care for her.
Carina spat the blood that had been filling her mouth onto the floor, watching it drip through the floor. Hands attempting to lift her back up despite still being tied behind her back.
“Captain! Desi said-” One of the crew tried to calm the captain down as he stomped towards her. Carina smiled, he clearly didn’t know who she had been to Desi. Death at his hands would spare her ever having to face him again.
“I don’t care, I’ll teach this little-” The Captain's hands were once more around her neck, brushing off the attempts to stop him.
“Captain.” His voice cut through the air like a hot knife would butter. Everything seemed to stop all at once, the crew keeping quiet and huddling back as though it would make him just ignore them. Carina was dropped instantly, the captain turning to face the man.
“I can explain-” A low growl cut him off, causing the Captain to flinch back, head bowed and hands tucked behind his back as he rocked nervously.
“Your orders were clear, Captain.” She’d never been able to explain the effect his voice could have on those who he meet. Not to her father as he shook her awake after another nightmare filled with just his voice. Not to the therapists that pretended to understand what she’d been through.
“Sir-” He tried to explain again, Carina smirked, hiding it behind her hair, the longer she stayed down the worse things would be for the man who ordered the death of her parents.
“You alright, Carina?” Deceptively soft, full of concern as her new name rolled off of his tongue, as he tainted her new life with three syllables.
“Never been better.” She spat, lifting her head as blood rolled down her chin. He chuckled, knowing her far better than she would have ever liked.
“I’ll be there soon, and Captain, keep your hands to yourself.”
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