The Sparrow and The Princess

Chapter 4: Welcome Aboard

Oriole couldn't believe what he heard. The woman in front of him had never left her home planet. That would at least explain the crash, but it didn't explain how she was able to navigate a ship to the desolate planet. The only other planets that seemed to be around was the planet of the Royals, which was supposedly a richly cultivated planet, and a few other lesser planets. The ship she landed in didn't seem like it could come from the lesser planets. Their economy was poor despite being near the best economic planet. They consisted of the working class and the poor class. Their ships looked like scrap pieces welded together and running on luck.

"Your flying skills could use work," he said, giving her a look over. Whether she liked it or not, she was a fugitive. She needed to lay low and let the police forget about her. And if she was going to lay low here, he was determined to put her to work. Everyone pulled their weight on his ship. He had his fair share of chafed hands and bruised knuckles pulling his weight around hauling cargo and cooking for his crew. The ship housed at least thirty rag tag people, all with their own story.

"Kinda stuck the landing didn't I?" she replied to him, a dazzling smile on her face despite the dirt and the cuts. He grabbed a few things out of the ship they were in and started walking towards the door leading into the ship. He was amazed that she would even try to joke about something that had landed her in deep s**t not even a meer few hours after. He couldn't wait to get into a shower and get a scrub down. Dirt clung to him from the run and rescue and a shower in his room was probably the best thing. But where to put the fugitive. There were few rooms left in the craft, any more people and they'd have to bunk up.

He glanced to make sure she was following him, and was glad to see she was. He wasn't even sure what her name was, not thinking it important in the moment. He had to look away though, as she was taking a lot of her attention. Ben went off on his way and left the two of them alone though. He probably had plans with Abby, seeing as they had decided to become a thing before this mission.

"We have no extra rooms at the moment so you'll have to bunk with someone." Oriole said to the girl. He really needed to get her name if she was to work here and pull her weight around. It's not like life on a ship was hard, but it definitely depended on the crew.

"I'm okay with that. I'm not sure how long I'll be here, anyways." she responded, fidgetting with the hem of her dirty shirt.

"What is your name?" he asked as he lead her down to the residental quarters of the ship. He hadn't planned on it but he was taking the familiar route to his own room, her in tow. He looked over at her and noticed she was quiet, as if hesitant to give her name to him.

"It's.. uhhh... It's Laura." she finally said. He questioned why she didn't say her real name. She must be in worse trouble than he thought. But before he questioned it, he had pressed the keypad to open the door of his personal room. What was he thinking, bringing her to his room. She could have bunked with one of the other girls, Abby, Synth, Carlye. They all were roommate-less and would be more than welcome with sharing their room with someone.

"Wow." she said, looking in. Oriole liked to think that his room was modest. A small bed shoved to the side, a few book cases laden with books and a desk and computer. He wanted to lead by example and not flaunt that he was captain of the ship. He wanted the others on the ship to see him as a comrade and friend. His room almost didn't seem personalized, lacking photographs or any sort of decorations. He could blame it on his military training. You don't fight in the army without learning to keep things in top shape. He was glad he did his tour for the galactic coalition and was honorably discharged.

"It's not much but the shower is through that door. I can have one of the ladies on the ship get you some clothing." He said, suddenly self consious of his own room. He excused himself from the room and let her go and shower on his own. He had to make a few stops, getting her a change of clothing was one of them, and a status update on the abandoned job they had done was the second. He made his way to Synth's room, seeing as he figured Abby might be predisposed with Ben.

"Synth." he said as he knocked on the door of her room. It opened shortly after revealing a woman with short spiky blonde hair, a scar on her face, and mechanics clothing on. She leaned on the door frame and gave him a smirk. He was always sure she was a lesbian but was surprised every time she seemed to hit on him.

"How's my dove doing? Can I help you with anything?" Synth asked. He hated that she called him dove, playing off his obvious bird name. He had incorproated the image of a sparrow into all the uniforms on the ship, a black sparrow in flight. He let out a growl at her.

"I've got a new recruit on board. She's showering in my room and needs a change of clothing. See to it," he commanded, trying not to lose his head. Betraying any sort of emotion would ruin his image as a competant captain.

"She, huh. Have you moved on from me so quickly?" Synth asked. She chanced to drag a finger up his chest, trying to act coy and largely failing.

"Synth, you know there was no us. Just get her some clothing. I expect her to have some by the time I get back from my job update." He said. He plucked her hand off his chest and flung it down before turning to go to the command station on the ship. He heard a loud sigh and a grunt of disapproval as the door to Synth's room closed. He had estimated that Laura was the same size as Synth, but with that altercation, he wondered if he should have just gone to Abby and been a cockblocker.