Tales from the Stream Ch. 08

"Of course, I didn't have any stock at that point. The executives made out like bandits. But I was still too new. And after Yutani got swallowed up by Weyland, the Yutani patent went in the vault while the Yutani employees got tossed out onto the street."

Lúcia reached for Emily's hand and wove their fingers together. "I'm sorry," she said.

Emily flashed her a tight smile.

"Fuck Capitalism," said Amaliya.

"I was young," said Emily. "I had high hopes. For a while. Then basic assistance cut back to fifty-percent. That's when I signed on with the Kobayashi. I should have known something wasn't right, but I was too naive. Didn't know people like them existed."

Lúcia squeezed Emily's hand.

"I thought I was signing up as a domestic. Sort of a combination tech support, housekeeping, dish washer, fluffer sort of a thing."

"Fluffer?" Lúcia cocked her head.

"A pretty girl to get the man excited," said Amailya. "That's the best I can do without getting gross."

"Oh," said Lúcia. "Eww."

"Yeah, well," said Emily, "I was pretty much flat broke by then. And I really figured the fluffer duties would be minimal. But it wasn't him, it was her. And not in a nice way, either.

"She let me fluff him, alright. Insisted on it. Then she'd take it out on me later. 'Who did I think I was trying to seduce her husband?' and all that. And at the most random times. One minute she's sugar talking, like, 'Look at her ass, honey, isn't it lovely?' and the next minute it's the third degree and the back of her hand.

"I wish I'd known that when I had the wrench in my hands," said Jade.

"You were splendid, Captain," said Emily. "And Amaliya, if you hadn't recognized the signs... I might still be on that ship now. I owe you both a debt I can never repay."

"Happy to have you aboard, Em," said Jade, reaching out. "And on The Black Prince, all debts are canceled as soon as you clear the airlock."

"God has delivered you into our care," said Lúcia. "And in that task, we will not fail you."

Emily wiped under her eye with the back of her hand. "Thanks," she said. "That means a lot."

Amaliya leaned in and kissed Emily on her forehead.

No one said anything for a while.

It was Jade who finally spoke. "So, Lúcia," she said, "I imagine those nuns were pretty strict, huh?"

Emily popped her head up to shake it vigorously and make a zipper motion over her lips.

"Sorry," said Jade, her cheeks reddening. "I shouldn't have—"

Emily was still shaking her head, knitting her brow.

"No," said Lúcia. "You deserve to know, Captain. You took me in. Invited me into your home. You have been nothing but kind. And yet you know so little about me. I have been remiss."

"You don't have to," said Jade. "We love you anyway."

"My mother was a comfort woman," Lúcia said. "I believe that is the name for the profession when terminating employment is not an option. I was less of a child than an unfortunate consequence of her workplace conditions."

Jade's face fell. Emily reached out with her other hand and was now caressing the shoulders of Lúcia as well as Amaliya. Jade laid a hand on Lúcia's arm, as did Amaliya.

"I understand now I should have been a ward of the state. That is the law. But for those who remain unseen in society, the law often looks the other way.

"I was in the market. Having been sent there by the woman I called mother. It was there that I first met Sister Jane. She was lost and stopped to ask me for help.

"I often think it was God's hand at work that day. The market is a busy place. To think, of all people, Sister Jane would choose a child to ask for directions. It seems so implausible and I can think of no other explanation.

"Sister Jane explained how she had come to purchase one-thousand kilos of rice. Such a quantity was unheard of to me. Over fifty sacks. I asked her about it and she told me of her sisters and her ship. She explained how their gardens were not producing as well as expected."

Lúcia paused for a moment and bowed her head. No one said a word.

"After some time and some grown-up talk I was not privy to, Sister Jane asked me if I would like to accompany her to her ship."

Lúcia paused again.

"Sister Jane took me to her ship. The rice did not come with us.

"In my life I have seen plenty of people who have been forced to do without. I've seen the haunted look in their eyes. You can count the time by their ribs. Never in my life had I met someone who would actually choose to do without.

"For the next several weeks, an entire shipful of women went to bed with that same look in their eyes, and that same rumbling in their bellies. All because Sister Jane brought me home that day instead of fifty sacks of rice.

"I have never felt so ashamed."

Lúcia swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

"And so loved."

Amaliya sniffled. Jade squeezed her hand and Lúcia's.

"I spent every waking hour learning about gardens and plants. Tending to them, coaxing them to grow. Learning how to recognize when they were sick and what remedies I could use to make them well.

"It's all I did for years. Praying and raising plants. Thanking God for delivering me and asking for her guidance so none of my sisters would ever go to bed hungry again.

"I believe I served my sisters of the Hildegard von Bingen well in this respect. Our meals were simple, but satisfying. Mother Bertilda even complained that she had to take a few stitches out of her habit.

"Captain Jade. Amailya. Emily. I only hope I can serve you as I served them. For I have come to regard you as my sisters. And I hope you feel the same about me."

Amaliya and Emily leaned in close on either side of Lúcia. Jade encircled them all in her arms.

"I never expected a few s'mores would lead to this," said Emily. She wiped under her eye again, with a finger this time.

"It was good to get it out," said Amaliya. She looked at the faces of Lúcia, Jade, and Emily. "I can't think of anyone I'd rather have shared it with."

"Nor I," said Lúcia. "I did not realize how burdened I had become by holding it in."

"I love you," said Emily. "All of you."

"Agreed," said Jade. "I love you all."

"Sisters," said Lúcia.

"Sisters," echoed Jade, Emily, and Amaliya.

Afterword

As we fade out on the scene of our favorite pirate crew snuggled up together in front of Emily's holographic campfire, turn to your favorite streaming service and play Generate, by Eric Prydz for the closing credits. Find the seven minute one, not the radio edit. (Real pirates don't do radio edits.)