The messhall was dark. Overhead lights flickered as the ballast pumps kicked on, emptying the tanks. The vessel surged upward, and the sudden shift in inertia pressed the two crewmen deeper into their chairs. Beer bottles clinked against the metal table as the men steadied them, bracing for the change in direction.
“Fockin’ Gainsbloom’s lost it, mate! He ain’t makin’ it to Trelenje! We oughta take charge now - ’fore he starts screamin’ or tries to drown us all,” said Bassiv, the skinnier of the two. “He’s been standin’ in there fer hours. Ain’t gonna make it twelve more.”
He took a swig from his bottle.
The man called Emmy just nodded, grunted, and drank in turn.
“Fuckin’ hell… ain’t like this one bit. Who’s- y’know- who’s gonna…” Bassiv muttered, before being cut off by the vessel lurching again. The lights flickered as the ballast tanks refilled. The engine whirred, and the submarine shifted, now moving forward. The men steadied their bottles again.
Emmy broke the silence. “It’s gonna be Cecil. Ain’t no discussin’ that. Daniil’s runnin’ the helm, and tides know it ain’t gonna be you.”
Bassiv stared blankly at the table as Emmy drained the rest of his beer and gave another grunt.
“It don’t matter anyway. Ship ain’t ours- it’s Gainsbloom’s. We’s all gonna need new crews. All o’ us.”
“And what about the girl? It’s hers now, right? What if she-”
“Fockin’ hell, Bas… she’s twelve. She ain’t no hydronaut. And it ain’t goin’ to her anyway. Jim’s ex-, or the dockyard’ll claim it - pawn it off fer dockyard fees after we get our cut. Or… somethin’,” Emmy said, tossing the empty bottle into the disposal unit with a hollow clunk.
“Then what about the girl?” Bassiv repeated, whining. “We just… droppin’ her off at the dockyard, then?”
The bulkhead whined and swung open. A tall, bearded man stepped into the messhall, wearing a striped shirt and bandana. Slung over his shoulder was the small, curled figure of a crying girl.
“Cecil! Welcome back. We were just talkin’ about who’s gonna-”
“Not in front of the girl, you fuckin’ halfwit,” Cecil snapped, his glare cutting into Bassiv like a blade.
He gently lowered the shivering bundle into a chair and crossed over to the foodstock, retrieving a wafer of hardtack and an apple. He set them on the table in front of her.
She had stopped sobbing but didn’t touch the food. Instead, she pulled her legs up into the chair and buried her face in her knees.