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Despite many beliefs, Swansea is not stupid. Grumpy and angry almost 24/7 would be more appropriate. But who will stop him? For several years he had to work in a low-paid job where the management treats their employees worse than animals. Huh, it would be quite fitting, seeing that their "mascot" is a fucking cartoon horse who is treated better than them anyway. So yes, Swansea have every right to be constantly grumpy and angry. Especially when it comes to repairing a ship. How this metal can be called a ship still functions after so many years of use is beyond human understanding. Well, maybe it's because he's a mechanic here, but that doesn't change the situation they find themselves in.
Swansea is not blind.
He sees how Anya behaves when she's in the same room as Jimmy. That damn bastard. Actually, Swansea has many words to describe Jimmy, but none of them would exactly fit the scumback who decided to call himself a captain. But even before all this, Swansea got to see who Jimmy really was. A fucking brat who got everything on a golden platter even though he never achieved anything in his life. He only got this job thanks to Curly who is his best friend. Something he can't fully forgive his former captain for. Although Swansea would probably prefer to continue calling Curly captain rather than Jimmy. Just the thought of calling Jimmy a captain makes him want to puke. Jimmy doesn't deserve to be on this ship, he can't do anything right and all he does is complain about everything. Daisuke already fits better as a co-pilot, even though this kid still doesn't know how to tie his shoelaces, but at least he would do his job properly.
Swansea is not deaf.
He hears perfectly what Jimmy is doing to Curly when he thinks no one can hear "I'm doing my job" my ass. Swansea realizes that Jimmy is abusing their former captain and it’s making him sick. Despite what happened, Swansea still believes that Curly deserves equal treatment like everyone else on this ship. Even though his body is now inside out and looks more like a large newborn who can't even feed himself or use the bathroom, Swansea still believes that Curly deserves to be treated like a human being. Even if it's his fault that they're trapped here now…
Something that Swansea deeply disbelieves. He and Curly had a difficult relationship with each other, most of it was due to Jimmy but Swansea respected him and considered him a good person for becoming their captain. So the moment Jimmy announced that Curly was the one who crashed the ship was the biggest bad lie he could have heard in years. But what can he do when he is alone with his suspicions?
However, everything started to fall apart a few months later. Swansea isn't sure what his final straw was. Is this Anya who tells him what Jimmy did to her? Or maybe the fact that he managed to overhear Jimmy telling Curly that no one would find out the truth while imitating Curly's voice what made Swansea feel a nasty shiver down his spine. But whatever it was, Swansea had enough.
Swansea don't think he is a good man.
Especially when he hit Jimmy with the axe several times until he was sure his body stopped moving. Today Anya almost committed suicide. She was so close to locking herself in the Medbay with Curly and taking her own life. But Swansea managed to catch her in time. Somehow he resist the urge to grab another bottle of mouthwash and check on Anya. Daisuke was close to death too. God... Swansea doesn't want to think what damage Daisuke would have gotten if he had entered the vent. He's not sure they even had any supplies to save him if that happened.
He killed Jimmy.
For some reason, he doesn't feel as bad about it as he thought he would. Jimmy didn't even stand a chance against him, he ran away from him like the little rat he was and tried his best to get away from him. Daisuke tried to stop him, but after he shouted at the top of his lungs that Jimmy was trying to kill them all one by one, he fell silent and was left with Anya, who was crying on the floor. Swansea has no intention of giving up on him so quickly. When he finally caught up with him, Jimmy tried to find a gun, but it was a futile attempt as he quickly hit him in the shoulder with an axe. Blood splattered the walls and his face as Jimmy fell to the floor screaming.
"W-wait I can still fix it all I-I'll fix it" Jimmy slurred as he tried to cover himself with his hands but Swansea had had enough of it, he had ignored this little shit's behavior for too long and now there was a consequence for his actions. Swansea swung the ax a second time, then a third time, then the fourth time, and when he stopped counting.
Swansea is not the captain.
Swansea is by no means a suitable candidate for a captain. He knew it from the moment he took the first step on that damn ship, and he knew it when he was chosen to be a captain. More broadly, the fact that he is the only person capable of being captain here is quite ridiculous if you forget the details. Curly is unable to take on the role of captain as his body is too injured to be able to make decisions for all of them. Anya is too traumatized after seeing Jimmy's dead body when she wanted to see what was going on left her in such a state of shock that Daisuke had to calm her down for at least a few hours until she finally calmed down. Daisuke is also not fit to be captain, he is too confused about what is going on and he doesn't seem willing to become captain, and Swansea would rather sacrifice himself than have one of them take the baton. So, despite his reluctance, he officially became captain.
“So what's the plan?” Daisuke sat at the table as Anya stared at him with her brown eyes straight at him. Swansea feels awkward, under his nails he can still feel Jimmy's dried blood. Which, despite his best attempts, he still hadn't managed to scrape it all out. Reluctantly, he sits down at the chair in front of them. He knows they are in a bad situation. Their rations are gone or so he thinks, who knows how many more things Jimmy has been hiding from them. They have no contact with anyone and, worst of all, they don't even know how far they are from the nearest inhabited planet. And even if they did, their ship wasn't fit to be restarted. Especially since the engine most likely fell off a long time ago and is probably floating somewhere in space until some scrap metal thieves finally find it and take it. Maybe if they were lucky these scrappers would have looked at the engine tag and reported it but Swansea knows better than to believe in luck. Anya and Daisuke continue to look at him as if expecting him to say something. Fuck he isn't really good for this sort of thing. The urge to just grab some mouthwash now seems too tempting to forget about this mess for even a moment. But Swansea knows he can't. Not when he's become captain and the kids are counting on him to somehow get them out of this nightmare. His chest rises and falls as he takes a deep breath and lets it out through his nose.
“We'll search the entire ship” This seems like the most logical thing they could do. After all, many things are still covered with foam and Jimmy no longer stands in the way of them searching the entire ship without his constant insistence and complaining. "Um didn't we already do this the first week since the crash Swansea?- oops I mean Captain?" Swansea feels his left eye twitch slightly. "Call me Captain again, and you will have an order to clean all the bathrooms in this ship." Daisuke seems silent after these words and turns his head to Anya. "Well... We haven't checked everything, maybe there's something that will help us survive... a little longer" Anya's voice isn't helpful, it's like she's already given up that any of them will survive here, but Swansea is going to grab any rope that can help them survive even an extra minute in this cosmic void.
Without further conversation, they began searching the ship again. None of them dare to approach where Jimmy's body lies. This is now their forbidden zone, an unwritten rule that everyone has silently agreed upon. No one should see the body of someone who spent their entire life pretending to be human. Strangely enough, Daisuke managed to find what seemed to be a room they could enter if they removed some of the foam. Swansea know they have to be careful with this one, one wrong move and they would all be floating dead in space. The ax easily cuts through the foam, destroying it and allowing further passage.
"Oh my-" Anya covers her mouth when she sees a medium-sized room with boxes. Swansea is silently praying there is no mouthwash in any of them. They slowly lift and open the boxes. Around the corner, he can hear Daisuke crying with happiness.
There is food in the boxes.
"There are also medical supplies and things that will allow us to survive for six months, maybe a year if we are thrifty." There is a smile on Anya's face that none of the crew has seen for a very long time. “There's even water too!” Daisuke shouted, grabbing the water bottle like it was a trophy. Swansea can't help but roll his eyes at the loud cheers of Daisuke grabbing him in a hug and then Anya who seems to be a lot more calm now that Jimmy is no longer alive on board with them. “There's something else!” Daisuke adds as they continue searching through the boxes. In his hand is a strange metal box that Swansea recognizes immediately. "It's an S.O.S.," Anya beats him to an explanation as she stares in disbelief at the black box that could save their asses sooner than they could have thought. Swansea doesn't comment on how Daisuke wipes his eyes with his shirt as Anya pats him on the back. The communicator lands in his hands and without any additional considerations, he presses the button that will send the signal. Maybe they'll survive all this after all.
Swansea is not a doctor.
Swansea had never been and never planned to learn the basics of being a doctor. All he needed was how to disinfect the wound and, in emergencies, how to sew it up enough to continue working. Helping seriously injured people is not on his CV. But someone has to do it. Despite the fairly good medical care Anya was able to give Curly, she doesn't seem very comfortable with giving him pain medication. Swansea doesn't blame her, after all, it's quite a traumatic process. And that's why he can't ask Daisuke to do it, it would be irresponsible of him. So, despite his hesitation, he enters the Medbay. Curly is lying in the hospital bed as usual. His wounds reopened, but thanks to Anya's earlier help, he shouldn't have gotten infected. Swansea takes the bottle of medicine that's on the table, and out of the corner of his eye, he sees Curly flinch as much as his body will allow. Swansea takes a deep breath as he turns to him.
“I'm not him, Curly. Jimmy can't hurt you anymore" Swansea isn't sure whether to tell his former captain what actually happened to Jimmy, although deep down he knows that Curly already knows. After all, he witnessed Swansea chasing Jimmy around the ship with an ax when everything happened and Anya almost locked herself in the Medbay. Curly seems to be a little calmer when Swansea helps him lean against him to take some painkillers. Swansea notices that despite missing four limbs, Curly is lighter than he should be. It's partly their fault, he says to himself as he feels Curly's bones under his fingers and tunic, and they feel like they could break like sticks under slight pressure. From the beginning of the crash, none of them fed Curly well. Is it because of what happened or maybe because Curly is unable to eat solid food in this state? No one is 100% sure but Swansea feels half guilty for how Curly looks now. Maybe if he spent time with him, maybe if he tried to ask him questions about what really happened that day when everything went to fuck. Maybe if he didn't prefer to ignore everything and enjoy the days they had left by drinking themselves to death. Maybe he would see what was coming. Swansea shakes his head, this is not the time to think like that. In one hand he holds a small cup of water while in the other he holds a pill.
“Okay, let's do this quickly” Reluctantly, he parts Curly's lips and places the pill before pouring the small amount of water into his mouth and watching Curly swallow hard. Swansea tries not to think about how the pill is moving through Curly's body, which he can feel under his fingers as he continues to hold him upright so he doesn't choke. How Curly managed to survive like that without drinking water is something that Swansea doesn't even want to know. And that gives him another thought he didn't want to think about just yet.
Killing Curly would be a mercy. No one with such wounds should suffer for so long, especially after the nightmare he and they had to endure. Ending Curly's suffering would probably be the best option that Curly himself wants. But Swansea can't do it. Not after he already has blood on his hands. A few weeks ago he probably would have done it, but now. Swansea doesn't even know if he could pick up the ax knowing what he would have to do. So despite all this, he is still a pathetic drunk man who couldn't stop himself from his old habits. Telling others to do it is also out of the question. There's no way he'd tell any of the crew to do that. So the only thing left for them is to keep Curly alive even though Curly himself doesn't want it.
"uUhghhh…" Swansea just shushes him as he puts him back on the mattress. The painkillers should be starting to kick in any minute now, all that's left is to wait until Curly's body relaxes enough for Swansea to leave him alone. "I know you want to die Curly..." He says quietly as he stands next to him. "But I don't have the strength to dirty my hands again..." Swansea leaves the room but before he does he turns back to Curly who is staring at him.
"I hope one day you forgive me"
The days pass. Swansea managed to count that a week had passed since their S.O.S. Their situation on the ship was more peaceful now when they didn't have a five-wheel with them anymore. Anya seems more cheerful, but there is still something that worries her very much. Swansea knows what it is, but they don't say it out loud. He knows it's not his place to speak his mind. However, he gave Anya a non-verbal message that if she needed his help, all she had to do was grab his sleeve and he would know what they had to do. His fork digs into a piece of cake, something he didn't think he would experience again. Sitting next to him on the sofa is Anya, who has barely moved her cake piece. Swansea turns his head to look at what Daisuke is doing.
He's with Curly.
He shows him something on his game box. Normally Swansea wouldn't waste batteries on something as insignificant as a box in which to play some video games, but considering how much everyone here has gone through. Swansea thinks Daisuke deserves something for himself.
"He seems happy" Anya says quietly as she looks in the same direction as him. “What Daisuke? He always tries to be happy” Anya just shakes her head slightly “No, I mean Curly, he seems calmer than usual” Swansea narrows her eyes and looks back to where Daisuke is sitting next to Curly's bed. In fact, despite the distance, Swansea may notice that Curly is more lively than usual.
“Huh,” Swansea shrugs as he goes back to eating his cake. Anya, however, seems to still be staring towards the medbay. "It's a miracle he's still alive," Anya whispers. "It's not a miracle, he's alive because of you, Anya" Swansea says as he takes the last bite of his cake. “I know you don't want to think about it, but you did a great job. The other doctors wouldn't even be able to save him with just a first aid kit.” Anya seems happier and maybe a little embarrassed when she hears this. "I-I was just doing my job, I didn't think that anyone would care-" Swansea just shushes her as he taps her plate with his fork. "Instead of talking, maybe you should start eating. This cake won't go away on its own” Anya just smiles adjusts her grip on the fork and takes a piece of cake into her mouth.
They managed to find the TV.
Swansea still didn't know what to think when Anya was helping Daisuke plug the TV into the electrical socket in the Main lobby. However, something in him said that it would be a good idea to hold a small film screening like it used to be. To relax the situation that has been bothering them for so long. Even Curly is here, sitting on the couch where they placed towels to make Curly feel somewhat comfortable.
“Just a moment aaaaaannnd done!” Daisuke adjusts the TV and is happy when the screen is on. They don't have a lot of movies here, most of them are propaganda fed to them by the Pony Express, but they managed to find a few movies that should keep them busy for a while. “Okay, everyone, ready for the best show of your lives!” Daisuke sits on the couch next to him. Anya decides to sit between Curly and Daisuke when the movie starts.
The movie doesn't seem engaging enough. Swansea is sure he's seen much better movies than this. But he doesn't let it be said out loud when he sees the rest of the crew watching the movie like it's the most interesting thing in the world. They look a bit like children seeing TV for the first time. A small smile appears on his lips as he goes back to watching the movie. Just a few months ago, he didn't think that he would spend his free time this way. In fact, he expected that he would be a piece of frozen meat flying through space. But this seems a lot better than he imagined.
They managed to watch three and a half movies after all of them fell asleep. Well almost everyone, Swansea gets up from the couch and takes Curly into his arms, he is still too light but everyone is trying their best to get Curly back to his normal weight. Which isn't easy, but they're trying and that's enough for now. Walking quietly so as not to wake anyone, Swansea enters the medbay that recently underwent a small makeover. Christmas lights are hanging on the wall, and there are three chairs next to the bed, while the bed itself has been given a few additions to make it more comfortable for Curly. As gently as possible, he puts him on the bed and covers him with a white blanket. During this, he takes another drip, which they found in one of the boxes. And just like Anya showed him, he stuck it in Curly's arm. For a moment, Swansea looks to see if everything is connected correctly, and when he doesn't see any problems, he turns around and quietly goes back to the rest.
It was truly a miracle when they found those boxes, or more of a miracle it was getting Curly as captain. It didn't take them too long to realize that the boxes weren't from Pony Express. These bastards would never spend that much money on boxes in an case of emergency. But Curly could, he spent as much money from his own pocket as he could to buy these boxes in an emergency to survive until help came. Swansea doesn't even notice him smiling when he turns off the TV. When this is all over, Swansea hopes he will be able to show his crew a real good movie.
Anya grabs his sleeve.
For a brave moment Swansea thought it wouldn't happen, but Anya, who has her head down, says otherwise. That's right, they've already waited too long. "This is going to hurt, isn't it?" He speaks quietly to her and she just nods. Daisuke and Curly are in the medbay so they don't see as Anya and Swansea leave the Main lobby and go to a more private place.
Swansea used to be the father, well in theory he still is. And he never wanted any of his children to have to go through the same pain as Anya. The painkillers barely worked as Anya tried to get rid of the semen that the horse fucker had shot into her without her consent. Just the thought alone makes Swansea want to go back to where Jimmy is lying and hit him with another axe. Anya's screams are deafened by the door which Swansea leans on. He doesn't know how long he'll have to stand here, but he doesn't care at the moment, not when he hears Anya crying as she seems to finally finish what she started. "Okay Anya, I'm coming in" He says to her as he knocks on the door three times, and when there is no answer he enters the dark room. Anya is sitting on the floor, her legs are dirty with dark blood, and at the end of the corner, there is something covered with a cloth. Swansea has no intention of seeing what is inside the cloth and only gives Anya the medical supplies she asks for. They are both very quiet as they do this and when Anya finally seems to finish what she was doing, she rests her head on his shoulder and begins to cry. Swansea just hugs her and lets her cry.
"Everything will be fine now"
Anya is not allowed to leave the bed, which is probably his first order as he becomes the captain. Anya is weak but recovers quickly, Daisuke is not sure what happened but can only suspect as he saw a snippet of what Swansea was burning in the furnace. The days began to pass slowly again. However, none of them complains. The food will still last them a long time and the electricity doesn't seem to be running out any time soon. However, there is still something at the back of his mind. “Ummm Swansea?” Daisuke asks nervously as a puddle of vomit appears on the tiled floor.
"Yes, Daisuke I see this" He says a little flustered as he still holds Curly so he doesn't get his vomit all over himself. Recently, Curly's stomach stopped digesting the painkillers, ending with most cases where they had to repeat this painful process several times until Curly's body finally broke down enough to digest half a pill. “That's not a good sign, is it?” Daisuke says quietly as he wipes away the green puddle. No, this is not a good sign at all, Curly needs professional medical care with equipment, but they lack the equipment and Anya is too weak to take care of it right now. Swansea bites the inside of his cheek as he puts Curly back on the bed, at this rate he will lose all the weight they were trying to get him to regain. “Do you know when help arrive?” Daisuke asks quietly as Swansea just shakes his head. There is only one solution he can think of, but first, he has to ask someone with experience.
"Do you think Curly could survive in a cryopod in this state?"
Swansea can see the blanket Anya is holding tighten as he says this. "Well... his body has gone through a lot of burn injuries, the chance of him surviving is low but with good preparation…" Anya says the last sentence low and takes her eyes off him. "Could you prepare it?" Swansea speaks softly. He knows it's a bad and probably crazy idea that Curly of all the people here would use a cryopod, but they don't have anything better. Help could very well come in the next week or month and Swansea doesn't know if Curly could handle it. Anya seems hesitant, her face is still pale from losing so much blood, but she seems strong enough to be able to stand up on her own if she had to. "I can try but please... don't expect too much from me" Swansea just nods.
It took Anya half a day to prepare Curly for the cryopod and despite Curly's loud protests, which could probably be heard throughout Tulpar, none of them stopped as Anya finished bandaging him. "I know you don't want this, but we have no other choice." Actually, that's is a lie. Swansea knows it too well as he takes him in his arms and walks to the room where the cryopod is already prepared. They might as well let him die but neither he nor Anya and Daisuke want to do or see that. It's bad enough that one innocent being had to die on this ship, there's no way they would burn another body in a furnace. Curly is carefully placed inside the cryopod and the door is immediately closed. Daisuke places his hand on the glass and smiles slightly.
"It's okay Curly, when this is all over I'll show you all the levels you missed" Daisuke, as always, tries to cheer everyone up, out of the corner of his eye he can see Anya turning on the cryopod. Swansea steps up to the glass.
"I'll take care of everything" He says as Curly's body freezes.
The days pass quickly again and Anya has made an almost complete recovery. Although Swansea would rather see her continue to rest. Daisuke could often be found with Curly, even though he and Anya told him that Curly couldn't hear him, Daisuke still stayed with him and talked about new things he found in the game. Of course, Swansea can't blame the kid when he's been spending a lot of time in the same room lately. Even Anya accompanies them. Usually, they both stay silent when Daisuke's voice echoes around the room, but sometimes they catch themselves saying something to Curly who is currently in a very deep sleep.
"What do you think he's dreaming about?" Anya asks him one night when the three of them decide to play the cards they had recently found. "Probably about something nice, or that I'm about to beat Swansea" Daisuke laughs, showing his cards. "Kid, you don't even know what we're playing," Swansea grumbles under his breath, but there's a smile on his face. "Swansea you didn't answer the question" Anya says gently showing her deck of cards. Swansea just shrugs. “Whatever it is, it's certainly nicer than sitting here with you guys.” Laughter echoes throughout the room. In the end, Curly (who wasn't playing cards anyway but Daisuke thought it wouldn't be fair so he handed him some of his cards) won their little game. Swansea can only sigh with the kind of people he is playing with but honestly, he wouldn't trade them for anything else.
A week later, the rescue team finally finds them.