Chapter Text
Pony Express Long-Haul Space Freighter Tulpar
Crew 5
Lifeforms 6
Planned Shipment Duration 382 Days
Elapsed Transit Time 140 Days
I hope this works
~~~
Captain Curly had just finished a psych eval with his co-pilot, Jimmy.
Usually it would be Anya doing this.
But Jimmy had been misbehaving recently, more than usual. So Curly had to take on yet another responsibility. So predictable, it drained him. Curly felt like a sponge sometimes. Absorbing all of Jimmy’s mistakes and negativity, then being squeezed dry by everyone else around him. It was far from pleasant, but Curly had to keep a smile on his face for the sake of his crew. The majority always took precedent over the individual.
But when it came to Jimmy, Curly had no problem cutting corners with his belief system.
Curly wasn’t afraid to criticize Jimmy, not at all. But he never cut too deep, lest he hit a vein and Jimmy is forced to look at everything that oozes out of him. Curly's criticisms were never any worse than mere flesh wounds. Gentle suggestions and calming solutions, nothing too radical. It was important that Jimmy’s ego was cushioned, even if it came at the expense of others.
Propping his friend up was a common occurrence in their relationship. In fact, Curly was doing it right now.
“Hey, hey, hey. You know I believe in you.” Curly said to Jimmy, the two of them idling in the cockpit. Curly gripped the clipboard with the attached psych eval form tightly as he gazed into Jimmy's eyes. “Here. On Earth. Doesn’t matter.” It was the honest to god truth. Curly just wanted the best for his friend. But with the recent string of complaints concerning Jimmy, all stemming from Nurse Anya, it didn’t make Curly’s job any easier.
Jimmy couldn’t help but laugh. “You should write that on the psych eval.”
‘Yeah. Maybe I should.’ Curly thinks to himself. A subtle resentment was bubbling within him, but the captain was none the wiser. It was only a matter of time until he snapped. Like a rubber band stretched too thin. Curly couldn't fit in all of Jimmy's problems, no matter how flexible he tried to be.
Their conversation was interrupted by the automated jingle of the fax machine. Text began to flash across the navigation screen.
MESSAGE INCOMING!
MESSAGE INCOMING!
MESSAGE INCOMING!
“Oh no, the big guys themselves.” Jimmy says as he rolls his eyes, and the fax machine starts to print out a message. “Guess that’s my cue.” Jimmy picks himself up from his chair and pats Curly on the shoulder. "I'll see you later."
Curly waves him off and as soon as Jimmy is out of the cockpit, Curly takes the mail from the printer. He straightens out the piece of paper and begins reading the message.
__________________________________________________________________
FOR THE CAPTAIN’S EYES ONLY!
Congratulations, [CARLING, ORION]! Your freighter has been nominated out of a select few to receive the coveted Recurring Annual Pony Express award! As a part of this nomination, your freighter will also have the privilege to be one of Pony Express’s prototype teleportation delivery technology beta testers.
You are eligible to receive a promotion of upwards to 120,000 credits on your next shipment if the following conditions are met:
-The current shipment is completed within the allotted time frame.
-Rations are evenly distributed with food to spare.
-No employee complaints or misconduct reports.
-No elicit employee relationships.
-Excellent synergy between all crew members- NO EXCEPTIONS!
-Employee cooperation in beta testing of teleportation technology.
Subordinates are eligible to receive a promotion of up to 1,000 credits on their next haul.
This offer is not valid towards internships or employees reaching the retirement age within the next year.
In order to accept this offer, please send back “Y” for YES or “F” for FAILURE TO COMPLY.
________________________________________________________________________
Curly squinted at the piece of paper before him in disbelief. Nominated? Teleportation delivery? 120,000 credits? He had to read it one more time to completely understand what was going on. A lot of information was being thrown at him at once. This was completely out of the blue, Pony Express never hinted at anything like this in the works. For a moment, Curly thinks he’s being pranked.
Curly lets his eyes scan the paper one more time, making sure he has everything correct. A bonus payment of that much money would really help him. Hell, he could even take an entire year off of work with that kind of cash. He could travel Earth, and actually see the world up close instead of from thousands of miles away. Maybe he could even travel with Jimmy. The opportunity was too good to waste.
Just when Curly thought there was nowhere else left to climb. It was as if the heavens themselves answered his prayers. He thought he hit the end of the corporate ladder, but it seems as if they added in a few more rungs to climb, specifically for him. Who was he to deny the challenge presented before him?
Curly pressed the Y on the ship's keyboard. More paper began to rapidly print from the fax machine. It looked familiar- it was a long, long waiver Curly had to read through in full and sign when he first started working for Pony Express. The machine keeps printing out more and more pages until it slows down to a taper. Curly is overwhelmed, it practically produced an entire novel’s worth of words before him.
Curly sits down to begin reading the small text on the multi page waiver. There were rules, regulations, and instructions on what Curly would need to accomplish as a captain under this new regime. New quotas to meet, more synergy meetings… more potential fireable offenses. Curly read that part over a few times for Jimmy’s sake.
God, he was such a good friend. Always looking out for Jimmy. Did that selfish piece of shit even acknowledge or care? Of course he didn’t. For a moment, Curly relishes what Jimmy’s like would be like without his influence. He wouldn’t have this job, that’s for sure.
Curly’s eyes roam the text and take in all the information he needs, but his mind is occupied with bubbling feelings of resentment. Of course he didn’t mind performing the psych eval. It wasn’t like he was being pulled in four different directions already. What was a fifth one to be unnecessarily tacked on? Surely no harm would come from that.
As Curly reads through the waiver, his subconsciousness drifts to Daisuke. His presence was a detriment on the ship from day one. Now he was just another liability, another life to worry about. This ship was too small for five people. Now he had to worry about incorporating Daisuke into all of this.
At the end, Curly found the script that he would have to read to the crew. There was a lot of lying involved, and plenty of information omitted. Curly didn’t look forward to reading it. But it wasn’t like he hadn’t lied to his crew members before.
~~~
Curly’s heartbeat felt more intense than usual as he made his way down to the lounge. He had mixed feelings about all of this. Surely they’d resent Curly if they found out the discrepancy between their promotions. Not to mention Swansea coming close to retirement…
What the crew didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them, right? Curly tried to reason with himself. He’s lost in thought as he enters the lounge, and is bombarded with the birthday party thrust upon him. Curly is greeted by falling streamers and helium balloons populating the airspace. Anya, Daisuke, and Jimmy are all clapping. While Swansea stands in the background looking unamused.
“Surprise!” Jimmy shouts, bringing his hands together and clapping.
“Surpriiiiiiise!” Daisuke sang out loud. “Look at your face!” He grinned.
“Heheh, gotcha!” Anya chuckles softly.
“Cheers.” Swansea states.
“Huh?” Curly is laughing. A genuine laugh. “What’s the occasion?” He reluctantly accepts a stringed balloon from Daisuke.
“We only get one communal birthday per haul.” Anya says.
“Yeah, we did Swansea last time. Don’t you remember?” Jimmy raises an eyebrow. “How long have you been working for Pony Express? You still don’t know this by now?”
“Huh. Guess I don’t.” Curly rubs the back of his head, allowing the balloon to float up to the ceiling. “These things always slip my mind. But I do know for a fact that I’m the only one with clearance to make a cake.” He turns to Anya and winks. “I’ll hop right to it.”
Curly heads off to prepare the cake, while the rest of the crew mingled and lingered around the lounge. Swansea's playlist was on at full volume, much to Jimmy's chagrin.
Daisuke pulls Swansea to the side to rant about their shared music taste. Meanwhile, Jimmy lurks near Curly and makes degrading comments about him baking in a kitchen.
Anya finds herself on the couch alone. She puts on a sad smile as she watches the festivities unfold before her. She wants to enjoy the party to its fullest, but finds herself distracted.
The bright blue sky screen illuminates the lounge, bathing everyone in sunny artificial daylight. There was a single, miniscule dead pixel all the way in the far right corner of the screen. It ruined the illusion for Anya entirely. There were no clouds, no blue sky, and definitely no sun. The ship passed by blackholes much more often than they would a star bright enough to be called a sun.
Despite how big that screen was, Anya couldn’t ignore that one tiny black mass in the sea of blue. There was so much space for Anya to focus on. So much opportunity for her to relish in the computer generated mockery of mother nature. She could have easily ignored that pixel, but she was too stubborn.
Curly kind of reminded Anya of the screen sometimes. He was big, bright, in your face, always alert. Except for the times when he wasn’t, like how the screen would flicker out on random occasions. They wasted so much battery power keeping that thing working. No wonder it fizzled out more than once. It wasn’t exactly dependable. That was when it reminded Anya of Curly the most.
The night sky used far less energy, it never stopped working. That’s why Anya liked it. But even when the screen was a deep obsidian, Anya could still locate that dead pixel. It was much harder to find, but it was still there. It was just one shade darker compared to the rest of the inky black expanse of the screen.
When did Anya first notice that dead pixel? She liked it better when she didn’t know it existed. She wanted to go back to that time. It must have been two months ago. Anya hadn’t had her period in two months.
~~~
Elapsed Transit Time 80 Days
Curly wanted to have a special game night. It was a Friday, the opening to the weekend with plenty of opportunity to relax. Or, at least as much relaxation one could hope to achieve while aboard the Tulpar.
Anya tries to remember that fateful night. The details were still fuzzy in her mind. They were all playing a board game, Jimmy was sitting out because it only took 4 players. Anya was waiting for Daisuke to finish his turn. She caught herself staring at the sky screen, watching the clouds float by. Her eyes roamed the vastness of the screen, until she caught something she couldn’t look past. A single, tiny black dot. It didn’t move along with the lazily floating cirrus clouds. No, it remained in place, unnaturally so.
As Anya looked at the dead pixel, she felt a tap on her shoulder.
“Hey guys. I made drinks while you were playing.” Jimmy presents a tray full of mocktails to the crew. He hands them out one by one.
“I added in extra sweetener for you.” Jimmy says as he hands a glass to Daisuke.
“Awesome, thanks Jimmy!”
“Here y’go, old man.” Jimmy gives one glass to Swansea and another to Curly.
“Ah, isn’t our co-pilot so considerate?” Curly grins as he raises his glass in the air. “You’re the best, Jim.”
“Don’t patronize me.” Jimmy rebuffs his compliment and Curly wilts like a flower. Jimmy then turns his attention to Anya and winks at her. “And one for the lady. I saved the pink umbrella for you.”
Anya smiles as she accepts the drink. "Such a gentleman." She takes a sip, then makes a face. The drink tasted a bit off. But Anya just assumes that Jimmy gave Daisuke the sweetener meant for her drink.
The night went on, and Anya began to feel woozy as she drank from her cup. She tries to ignore the looming feeling in her gut. But it becomes impossible to ignore when the deep, sinking feeling travels from her stomach to her brain. Anya’s head feels heavy and her mind goes faint as she goes through the motions. She rolls the dice, moves her player piece, picks up a card, and forgets what she’s doing.
"Anya?" Daisuke asks. "Why do you keep zoning out? Are you scared you'll lose?" He playfully nudges her from across the couch.
“...Sorry guys, I don’t feel so good.” Anya announces, placing the palm of her hand to her forehead and rubbing it. “I don’t know what’s wrong with my head all of a sudden. I think it's a migraine.”
“That’s awfully convenient, Anya.” Daisuke raises a suspicious eyebrow. “Can’t you take your defeat with grace instead of making up excuses?” He pokes her shoulder, but it only serves to make Anya feel more nauseous.
“Yeah Anya, don’t be such a sore loser.” Jimmy joins in on Daisuke’s friendly teasing of her. He moves in closer to Anya as well, his intentions were far less innocent when he began rubbing her thigh.
“She actually looks pretty out of it. Lay off her, guys.” Curly reels both Daisuke and Jimmy in. The two other men share a look with each other and smirk.
“I’ll help you get to bed.” Curly offered Anya. He took her by her wrists gently, guiding her out of the lounge. Anya felt much warmer all of a sudden with Curly so close to her. He walked her down the ship’s corridor, escorting her to her bedroom.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Daisuke began to sing. “Captain and Anya, sitting in a tree!-”
“Stop right there.” Jimmy places a single finger to Daisuke’s lips. “Don’t sing anything else, so help me.”
"Good thing you stopped him before he could hit the high notes." Swansea remarks. "Kid sings like a dyin' cat."
Meanwhile, Curly helped Anya as she hobbled down the hallway. "Watch your step." He says as he opened the door for her. Anya's entire world was spinning, she was too dizzy to even thank Curly. He helped her into bed, tucked her in, and left. Not overstaying his welcome one bit. The perfect gentleman.
“Good night, Anya.” He said before shutting the lights and closing her door. “Feel better, okay?”
Anya was grateful to be put down to rest, but her mind was still reeling from the effects of what she drank. She tossed and turned, clutching the pillow over her head. She was eventually able to fall asleep, albeit not peacefully.
She was rudely awoken when she heard the door to her room opening again, her head was too heavy for her to lift it and see who it was. She assumes it’s Curly. Maybe he dropped something when he helped her into bed.
“Curly?” Anya mumbles for confirmation. She receives no answer. She felt hands on her body, rough and calloused. Gently stroking her, swiping messy bangs away from drowsy eyes. Anya fluttered her eyes open, she didn’t see the intruder, just his silhouette. Anya foolishly assumes it’s Curly paying her a late night visit.
“Curly?” Anya asks again. The figure does not reply, but it doesn’t alarm her. Anya smiles, stretching her arms above her head. She’s still in a drug-addled stupor. Maybe if she were in the right frame of mind, she could have saved herself.
“Curly, it’s late. What are you doing here?” She drunkenly giggles. There’s a part of her that hopes this will escalate.
The shadowy figure leans in close to Anya. She can feel his stubble scrape against her cheek. For a moment, Anya flinches. She didn’t expect him to feel so prickly. Curly had facial hair, but it looked much neater and more groomed compared to how it felt.
Anya’s mind is being pulled and twisted in several different directions. She can’t keep up with any logical discrepancies. She can barely comprehend the gravity of her situation. It wasn’t abnormal for a captain to come into a crew member’s cabin at night. No, this was definitely normal. Nothing to worry about.
“Curly.” Anya hiccups. “I think he might have put something in my drink.” She speaks as if it were humorous. She hadn’t even processed the horror of her own statement. The man beside her ignores her, pulling her in close to his chest instead.
The shadowy figure plants kisses on Anya’s neck, sucking and nibbling. He leaves little hickeys, small enough to go away within a few hours.
“Ah! Curly!” Anya gasps. “Not so rough!”
The man on top of her ignores Anya’s requests. He bites down hard on her lip.
“Curly!” Anya whines.
The man growls, sucking on Anya’s bloodied lip. He has his arms wrapped tight around her waist.
“C-curly!” Anya attempts to push the man off.
The man drags his mouth to her ear and snarls directly into it:
“My name’s not fucking Curly.”
Anya sobers up quickly when she hears Jimmy’s threatening, grizzled voice against the shell of her ear. Her vision was stunted, she could barely see anything in the darkness of her room. But she felt his rough, stubbled face against her cheek. She smelled his rotten breath. His overgrown fingernails scraped against her skin. She could hear him breathing, moaning, whispering her name.
She weakly struggles against him, unable to put up a fight when it mattered most. Anya didn’t see who raped her that night, but she knew who it was. She was reminded of it every single day.
~~~
And now, here she was, two months later. Sitting right next to her rapist. Jimmy was at the head of the table. Ironic, considering it was supposed to be Curly’s birthday party.
Curly placed the cake in the center of the table, equidistant from each of the crew members.
Daisuke rubbed his hands together as he licked his lips. “You gotta give a speech!” He tapped the table excitedly.
“Can’t argue with that.” Jimmy agrees.
“Speech! Speech! Speech!” Daisuke begins to chant.
“Alright, alright.” Curly motioned his palms downward in an attempt to calm the crew. “You guys want a speech? I’ll show you a speech.” Curly chuckles as he removes the message from his front pocket. Jimmy notices that it’s not the same mail that came from the fax machine.
“How’s this for a birthday gift? Check out what corporate sent us.” Curly cleared his throat and began to read from his script. “Attention members of the Tulpar!” Curly paused to look at the crew. “…That’s you guys.” He whispers, then turns his attention back to the paper. “Your freighter has been selected for a coveted nomination!” Curly paused reading again to wink at the crew. “Your ship will have the privilege to be used as a beta tester for Pony Express’s brand new up and coming teleportation delivery services.”
Curly pauses to do a dramatic effect with his arms. He waves them around in an attempt to dazzle.
“Teleportation?” Swansea cuts in. “That’s impossible. We’re years away from achieving that kind of tech.”
“Well, maybe you’ll believe it if you see it!” Curly points to the kitchen, right to the food machine. “Come on guys. I’ll show you how it works.” Curly waves the crew over to follow him.
Swansea, Daisuke, and Anya follow Curly over to the kitchen. Jimmy trails behind, lurking in the shadows as he peers over Anya’s shoulder.
Curly is reading the instruction manual with squinted eyes. “Alright, so it says here… that we just… hm.” Curly scratches his chin. “Swansea, maybe you can help translate this for me?” He hands the manual to Swansea. The older man accepts it, skimming a few paragraphs.
“Oh. This should be easy.” Swansea says. Curly steps out of the way, allowing Swansea access to the food machine. Swansea opens up the panel on the back, rearranges a few wires, and closes it. He then dials in a number, and the machine doors close. A moment later, the food machine makes a *Ding!* noise, similar to the sound the fax machine makes.
Daisuke gasps loudly, hands on the sides of his head. The entire crew turns to face him.
“We don’t even know if it worked yet, kid.” Swansea says.
“Yeah, but it’s still exciting!” Daisuke’s eyes don’t leave the food machine. The doors open to reveal a large gift basket. It’s filled with canned foods, trinkets, candy bars, Pony Express branded merchandise, and strangely enough, alcohol.
“Whoa!” Daisuke exclaims. “That is so cool!” He grips his hands into fists as he stares at the assortment in front of him, stars in his eyes. “The machine’s never made anything like that before! This is crazy, man!”
“So that came all the way from Earth?” Anya asks, bewildered.
“That’s right!” Curly nods with pride, as if he were the one responsible. “And if we go along with testing this tech, we can get a nice bonus payment for the next shipment. We just need to follow the company’s instructions.”
"Instructions? Like what?" Jimmy asks. He doesn't like the sound of any extra work.
"We need to give feedback on the quality of the items they send us. We're also going to have a lot more group synergy meetings. I know how much you like those, Jim." Curly winks, while Jimmy rolls his eyes.
On top of the gift basket is a card. Swansea plucks it off and begins reading from it.
“For our valued crew members on the Tulpar.” The older man pauses to scoff. “Please enjoy this assortment of goods as a token of our gratitude. Your loyalty to the company has not gone unnoticed.” Swansea turns the card around to read the back. “None of the edible items in this assortment are to be consumed by pregnant or nursing women. Before consumption, all employees must sign a waiver. This indicates that they are aware of the potential risks of consuming teleported food.” Swansea flips the card in his hand and grumbles.
“So, they’re using us as guinea pigs to see if this is safe to eat?” Jimmy takes hold of one of the cans and examines it suspiciously.
“Don’t be so negative.” Curly says defensively. “It’s something new. It’s exciting!”
“I don’t like the sound of this either.” Swansea folds his arms and stares at the alcohol sitting in the gift basket. Curly takes notice.
“I’m sorry about that, Swansea. If I had known, I wouldn’t have asked you for your help.” Curly takes a hold of the alcohol. “I’ll stash this in my room for now.”
“Swansea, can I see that card?” Anya asks. He hands it over to her, and she rereads the line about pregnant women. “What kind of potential risks do you think they’re talking about?” She asks nervously.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it made us all sick.” Jimmy says. “You can keep it, Curly. I’m not interested.”
“Same here. This whole thing has ‘suspect’ written all over it.” Swansea agrees. “I’m stayin’ out of this.”
“Guys…” Curly sighs. “Are you forgetting what I said before? In order to get this promotion, we all need to be cooperating.” Curly picked up one of the candy bars. “Here, Daisuke. I’m sure you’d like to try this?”
Daisuke nodded, his eyes transfixed on the candy bar’s colorful packaging.
“And Jimmy, I know you wouldn’t mind trying just one can of beer?” Curly tries to tempt the co-pilot by gesturing to the alcohol.
“And Anya, look! They sent us ketchup!” Curly handed the bottle to her. Anya held it for a few confusing seconds before placing it back onto the counter.
“And Swansea! Don’t you want to try the… um…” Curly looks back into the basket. He rummages around before he produces a jar of pickles. “The pickles?”
The four crew members all shared a collective stare with each other, as if mentally communicating.
“I’m down for whatever!” Daisuke says with a thumbs up.
“Alright. Only for the paycheck.” Jimmy agrees.
“There’s a backscratcher in that basket.” Swansea points out. “Give me the backscratcher, and I’ll comply.”
Everyone looked at Anya, awaiting her response. “Um…” She kept staring at the warning on the card. “I’m not really hungry, right now.” She says uneasily.
“That’s fine, Anya. But we need to submit reports on the quality of the food by the end of tomorrow.” Curly nods then turns his attention back to the rest of the crew. “Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it. In the end, this will all be worth it.”
~~~
The party came and went. The crew members retired to their respective sleeping quarters. All except for Anya and Curly. Curly was sitting on the couch, rereading the terms and conditions of the manual from corporate. Anya was cleaning up the plates and food left behind by the rest of the crew.
When she finishes, she approaches the Captain. “Curly. I need to talk to you.” Anya steps into his line of view. She takes a deep breath as if to steady herself.
“Sure Anya. What do you need?” He puts the booklet down, then takes a quick look at the ship’s clock. “Insomnia been eating you up again?” He chuckles.
“I wish.” Anya sighs. “That would be better than what’s really going on.”
“Why, what’s going on?” Curly motions for her to sit down.
“I would have told you sooner if I knew we would be getting an assignment like that in the mail.” Anya rubbed her arm as she took a seat next to Curly, putting some distance between them.
“…Anya, what’s the matter?” Curly frowned.
“If there was a way for me to fix this on my own, trust me, I would.” Anya’s voice becomes more shaky with each word.
“Anya, whatever it is, just tell me already. You’re making me a nervous wreck.” Curly laughs uncomfortably.
“I’m pregnant.”
“...You’re, what? Who would you-”
“Captain.” Anya trembles as she speaks, but she speaks with conviction. “I told you.”
‘God fucking damn it.’ Curly thinks to himself. He wants to throttle Jimmy right now, but he remains his composure for Anya’s sake.
“How long have you been pregnant?” Curly manages to ask.
“I don’t know.” Anya looks down to the floor, unable to handle Curly’s intense stare. “I think I missed my period at least twice.”
“So you’ve known for that long, and you haven’t told me? Why?” Curly sounds more distressed than sympathetic.
“I was afraid of how he’d react.” Anya admits. “I was scared, Curly. I’m sorry. I was scared and confused and I didn’t know what to do.” She’s shaking her head frantically, and tears begin to stream down her cheeks.
“Don’t be sorry.” Curly reassures her. “Look. I- I’ll talk to him.”
“You’ll talk to him?” Anya’s voice is shaky. She wipes at her eyes with her sleeve. “What will you talk to him about?”
“I’ll talk to him and figure out a way for all of us to come out of this unharmed.” Curly places a hand on her shoulder, but Anya moves away from his touch.
“Unharmed?” Anya mutters. “How? The damage is already done.”
“There’s no irreparable damage, Anya. Please!” Curly tried to calm her down, but his words came as more of a command than a soothing comfort.
“It feels irreparable.” Anya’s lips tremble as she speaks, she had never felt so weak and pathetic. “He, he raped me-“
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let’s reel it back in a little bit, Anya.” Curly chuckles uncomfortably. “I’m sure both you and Jimmy regret what happened that night. We don’t need to use such vulgar language to describe what happened.”
Curly’s words are a hammer, and Anya feels her heart being split clean in half. He didn’t even notice that the light from her eyes was completely gone by now. He continued to speak:
“I am positive I can help both of you. I was reading the company policy, and there’s a loophole. We can get out of this mess if you and Jimmy work together.”
Anya nods and wipes a tear from her cheek. “Okay. I trust you, Captain.” She really didn’t. Not at all. Curly offers Anya one final sympathetic look before retreating from the lounge and heading off to find his friend.
Anya thinks about what Curly just said. ‘We can get out of this mess if you and Jimmy work together.'
What a joke. As if Jimmy would ever be willing to work with her. He hadn’t done it before, what would convince him now?
~~~
Curly bangs his fist on the co-pilot’s door. He doesn’t stop until he hears Jimmy’s haggard voice on the other side.
“Alright, alright! I’m coming!”
“I bet it’s not the only time.” Curly mutters under his breath.
Jimmy swings open the door, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. “This better be fucking important-” Jimmy is interrupted by Curly, who pushes himself inside of the room and slams the door shut behind him.
“Hey, hey, hey!” Jimmy stumbles backwards, catching himself on the wall before he falls back entirely. “What the hell is going on, Curly?!”
“Anya told me she’s pregnant.” Curly says, deadly serious.
All the color drains from Jimmy’s face. “What?” He grasps at the wall for support. “She told you just now?”
“Yes. And I’m assuming you had no idea?”
“No.” Jimmy shakes his head. “I- I didn’t!”
“Makes sense, considering she told me that she was afraid of how you’d react.” Curly is scowling. It was an unusual sight for Jimmy.
“She’s just playing the victim.” Jimmy tries to convince Curly, but it doesn’t work.
“Jimmy. You fucked up, big time.” Curly says sternly.
“I didn’t fuck up!” Jimmy defends himself. “I didn’t do anything wrong! It was all her-”
“Listen!” Curly placed his hands on Jimmy’s shoulders, gripping tightly. “If you want my help, you’re going to have to follow my orders.”
Jimmy begins to see red. “Help? You want to help me?” Jimmy had never felt so offended. “Why, so you can have one more thing to lord over me? Another instance where I fuck up and you come to the rescue?” Jimmy hisses and backs away like a feral cat. “Not happening.”
“ Someone has to come to the rescue.” Curly frowns. “And I know it isn’t going to be you!”
“Fuck you!” Jimmy shouts. “I don’t need your fucking help, you pretentious piece of shit! I can fix my own problems!”
“No, you can’t.” Is all Curly says. “You and I both know that you can’t, Jimmy. Not this kind of problem."
Jimmy mumbles under his breath. He looks down to the side with shame.
“There’s a way we can end this with all of us walking away from it with our jobs still intact.” Curly tries to bring his friend out of his rut. “I have a plan. Please.”
“Jobs? That’s all you’re worried about right now?” Jimmy continues to back away from Curly. “She’s lying and saying I raped her! I could go to prison, Curly! And you're worried about your damn job?”
“I can help you if you just let me explain!” Curly grows more irritated. He couldn't believe how ungrateful his friend could be sometimes.
“How?!” Jimmy demanded. “How the hell are you going to help?! I’d really like to see you try to-”
“Jimmy!” Curly thrusts his hands towards Jimmy’s neck and lifts him by the collar. “Listen, you piece of shit!” Curly is throttling him back and forth like a ragdoll. “I have let you fuck up my life for far too long! I am not going to let you ruin this for me! Do you understand?!” Curly is raging, his face flushed pink with anger.
Jimmy feels himself go limp as Curly takes hold of him and rocks him like an earthquake. “What the hell are you talking about?!” He asks, clawing at Curly’s arms.
“I’m always fucking cleaning up your messes!” Curly throws Jimmy to the wall, and he lands with his back splayed against the metal. “Always! I’m always-” Curly pulls Jimmy towards him, then pushes him back against the wall again. “Dropping everything to come help you! I’m fucking sick of it!”
Jimmy groans in pain. He’s smart enough to not fight back against Curly.
“So I do not want to hear you whining! Got it?” Curly inhaled and exhaled intensely as he refused to take his eyes off of Jimmy. Jimmy peeled himself off of the wall. He was used to roughhousing from Curly, but not like this.
“Tch. Whining.” Jimmy rolled his eyes. “She’s the whiner.” Jimmy straightens his shirt out and ignores the pain developing in his spinal cord.
Curly takes a step back to give Jimmy space. “I have the power to fix things, but you’re going to have to trust me, alright?”
“Yeah. You have all the power.” Jimmy didn’t look up at Curly. He felt nothing but festering hatred towards the captain at that moment. This was just another hole Jimmy dug himself into, and another rope for Curly to throw down for Jimmy to come climbing back up. Another smug look on Curly’s face as he expected a ‘thank you’.
“I do.” Curly affirms.
“Yeah, yeah. I know.” Jimmy says begrudgingly. “So, what’s the plan?”
“Earlier, when I got that promotion, I had to read some legal documents. And when I was reading the part about employee relationships, I found a loophole.” Curly explains.
“Loophole." Jimmy repeats. "What of it?”
Curly nods. “If we follow this protocol, we can keep our jobs, keep our promotions, and walk away from this with no consequences.”
“I find that very hard to believe.” Jimmy sighs, but relents anyway. “What kind of loophole are we talking about?”
Curly steadies himself. He takes a deep breath before answering. “You and Anya need to get married.”
“Married?!”
“Correct.”
“How the hell would that solve anything?” Jimmy raises his voice. “I don’t want anything to do with that woman!”
“Oh!” Curly sounds genuinely surprised. “Really? Nothing to do with her, huh?” Curly waits for Jimmy to speak before he continues.
“We-”
“I guess that explains why you can’t keep your damn hands to yourself whenever she’s around-”
“Curly!” Jimmy blurts out. “This is the stupidest idea you’ve ever come up with.” He grimaces. “I was expecting a logical solution from you. Not this.”
“Oh, okay.” Curly says. “I wasn’t aware that I was speaking with the lord of logical thinking and rational decision making. My bad. I should have known better, considering your credentials.”
“Curly.” Jimmy tries to interrupt him, but Curly continues.
“Afterall, you never make impulsive decisions. You haven’t impregnated a woman on a year long freighter haul. No, I must be confusing you with the other Jimmy who fucked the nurse without a condom!” Curly moves his face closer to Jimmy and shouts right at him. “Have you seen him around?!” His blue eyes bulge with anger, it looks like they could pop out of his head at any moment.
“Alright, alright! For fuck’s sake!” Jimmy shoves Curly roughly on the shoulder. “You have to admit though, this is insane, right?”
“I don’t have to admit anything.” Curly glares at Jimmy, maintaining the deranged look in his eyes. “You’re the one who fucked up. You’re the one who got yourself into this mess, and now you’ve dragged me down with you.” He snarls, nose flaring.
“You know what? Fuck you!” Jimmy raises his voice. “This is why I didn’t want your fucking help! I’m tired of your bullshit martyr complex!” Jimmy pushes Curly away. "Get the fuck out of my room!"
“You raped her, Jimmy.” Curly bears grit teeth. He was losing patience rapidly. “You raped her and I let you get away with it because I thought you were smart enough-” Curly advances towards Jimmy and grabs him by the scruff of his neck. “To wear a fucking condom!”
“That is bullshit! I did not rape her- I did not!” Jimmy tries to defend himself, but soon sees that was an unwise choice. Curly is grabbing him by the shirt collar again and lifting him up. Jimmy’s feet no longer meet the ground.
“You-” Curly delivers a swift uppercut to Jimmy’s jawline. “Are going-” He grabs Jimmy by the back of his hair, pulling hard. “To take-” He slaps Jimmy on the right side of his face. “Responsibility!” He slaps Jimmy on the left side of his face.
Jimmy falls to the floor, sputtering. He places a hand to his forehead and begins to rub it, but his self soothing is short lived.
“When will you learn?!” Curly sucker punched Jimmy as the other man struggled to pick himself up. “When will you learn?” Curly repeated, picking up Jimmy by the collar. “That your actions-” He slapped him with an open palm strike. “...Have consequences!” Curly's voice cracked as he yelled right in his friend's face.
“Alright, alright!” Jimmy gagged as he tried to catch his breath. “Let me the fuck go, Curly! Are you out of your mind?!” Jimmy manages to release himself from Curly’s grasp. “You’ve made your point. Fuck!”
Curly is breathing heavily. “Sorry. Got carried away.” He wipes the sweat from his brow. “But this is fucking serious, Jimmy.”
“You think I don’t know that?!” Jimmy yells. “Last thing I need right now is to have the shit beaten out of me!”
“Plenty of people would disagree.” Curly rubs his neck. He could still feel his veins bulging with anger.
Jimmy scowls. “So, how exactly do you plan on carrying out this circus? We don’t have a chapel on the ship. I don’t see any priests around either. How is a wedding supposed to happen?”
“Actually, as the Captain, I have full authority to officiate weddings.” Curly places a hand on his chest. “I’ve always had the power invested in me to do so.” He says with irritating smugness.
“You’re kidding.”
“No, I’m not.” Curly smiles, a sense of confidence renewed on his features. “I’ll be at the altar with the both of you. Anya gives birth a few months later. Then, once we get back to Earth, you two can have the marriage nullified. Anya gives the child up for adoption, and neither of you have to see each other ever again.”
A moment of silence hangs in the air as Jimmy considers what Curly just suggested.
“Alright. So this is your plan.” Jimmy states. “I’ll go along with it. I’ll do whatever the hell you want. But what makes you think she’ll want anything to do with it?”
“I’ll be able to convince her.” Curly responds.
“What if you can’t?” Jimmy shoots back.
Curly smiles. “I’m pretty confident in myself. But if she refuses, I can just do what you did.”
“And what exactly is it that I did?”
“...Force her?”
~~~
The next morning, Anya sat in her office feeling defeated and hopeless. Curly said he would think of a way to fix things. Anya sincerely doubted that promise he made. She ruminates at her desk, going over her options. Not that she had many options when she was stuck in this floating tin can.
Curly knocks on the door to the medical bay. “Anya? Can I speak to you?”
Anya is quick to let him in. She can feel her heart skipping a beat. “Curly- I mean Captain. Good morning.”
“Morning, Anya.” Curly walks over to her desk. “How are we feeling today?”
“I’ve been better.” Anya admits.
“Great.” Curly responds, not even processing her answer. “When you’re done with what it is that you’re doing, can you come meet me in the cockpit? I’d like to discuss our game plan for what the future holds.”
Anya nods her head. “Okay. I’ll come over soon.”
“Great.” Curly smiles. “Remember, we’re all in this together, Anya.”
Curly leaves and Anya takes a deep breath. She needed to compose herself. She couldn’t cry in front of Curly. He’d comfort her out of necessity, sure. But Anya knows that he’s already being stretched thin emotionally by Jimmy. She can’t afford to burden him with anything else.
Anya rubs her stomach, fearing the worst to come on the delivery day. She’d have no midwife to help guide her. No doula, no board certified obstetrician. The worst case scenario flashes through her mind. Anya is laid out on the operating table, buckets of her own blood decorate the medical bay. Mother and child dead on arrival. Anya wonders how Curly would even begin to fix that.
Would Curly be the one to help her with the delivery? She supposed out of all of them, he was the one she trusted the most. The more she thought about it, the more nervous it made her. Anya pushes the thought to the back of her mind and begins her arduous journey towards the cockpit.
It’s a long walk. She’s haunted by possible negative outcomes the entire time.
When Anya arrives at the cockpit, she knocks on the door and is greeted by Curly. He allows her inside, and she freezes when she sees Jimmy casually lounging in his chair. When Jimmy catches sight of Anya, he winks coyly and grins.
“Morning.” He says lazily, more honey than vinegar in his voice.
“What is he doing here?” Anya asks Curly.
“He’s just as much of a part of this as you are.” Curly keeps himself in between the two of them. "C'mon, Anya. We have to keep up the positive synergy. I can't be the only one trying, here." His voice almost cracks under the pressure.
"I'm not in the mood to be positive, Captain." Anya replies with a frown.
“This situation is difficult enough already. It would help a lot if you could work with us, Anya.” Curly tries to reason with her halfheartedly.
“Yeah, Anya. Work with us.” Jimmy teases. Curly scowls at him.
“Come here, Anya. I want to show you something.” Curly motions for her to join him at his spot at the navigation table. Curly points to a paragraph in his waiver. “I highlighted the important parts. I want you to read it.”
Anya reluctantly accepts the waiver and begins to read.
_____________________________________________
Pony Express HR Polle-cy Rule 34
Article A
Subgroup B
Paragraph C
In regards to employee pregnancy, immediate employee termination is the next step. Pony Express has zero tolerance for illicit extra marital affairs that produce bastard offspring. As a shipment company, we take all forms of delivery seriously!
If the crew members are engaged or already married, the company will derive a stipend from their pay package for the birth of the child. Maternal and Paternal pay decrease and increase will be issued as well. Any evidence of a sham marriage will result in termination from the Pony Express company. At Pony Express, we believe that true love conquers all.
_________________________________________________
Anya reads the highlighted section. She looks at Curly, then at Jimmy, then reads it again.
“Curly. I’m confused.” Anya places the paper down. “I really hope I’m misinterpreting what you’re showing me.”
“Anya, this is the best course of action.” Curly places his hands up defensively. “Before you get upset, just hear me out, alright?”
Anya nods. “Alright. I’ll ‘hear you out’, captain.” She looks up at him with unexpectant eyes.
“It’s nothing permanent.” Curly speaks barely above a whisper. “It’s only temporary.”
“What’s only temporary?” Anya asks. Jimmy groans with impatience.
“Just rip the bandage off already, Curly.” Jimmy snaps. “He wants us to get married.” He says to Anya.
Curly cuts back in before Anya can say anything. “It’s more like a civil union. You can get it nullified once we return to Earth.” Curly tries to cushion the blow, but the damage is already done.
“No way. I’m not marrying him.” Anya shakes her head violently. “If this is some kind of sick joke, then it isn’t funny, Curly.”
"I think it's funny." Jimmy grins.
“Anya, please, settle down.” Curly ignores Jimmy.
“Settle down?!” Anya gasps. “Curly, he raped me! In my sleep!” She points at Jimmy, but refuses to look at him.
Jimmy scoffs, rolling his eyes and folding his arms over his chest.
“Anya!” Curly shouts through gritted teeth. “I thought I told you to lay off using the r-word to describe what happened?” He tries to approach her, but Anya gets up from the chair and backs away from Curly before he could touch her.
“Curly.” Anya speaks through tears. “I can’t do this. You can’t make me do this! How can you possibly expect-”
“I’m not saying it’s ideal, Anya.” Curly interrupts her. “But it’s the only option we have. You need to put on a facade for corporate that you and Jimmy are a couple who planned to have this baby. Okay?”
Anya looks at Jimmy. He’s shooting her a wretched glare. "Curly... do you even realize what you're asking me to do?"
Curly takes a deep breath and stands tall. "I know it's not easy. I know. But you have to-"
“Curly, I can’t. Not with him.” Anya speaks despite the lump in her throat. She wanted to run out of the cockpit right then and there, but Jimmy’s presence was paralyzing.
“It won’t be just him, Anya. I’m here for you every step of the way.” Curly said in his gentle, calming voice. “I’ll ensure that Jimmy lives up to his duty to provide for you and be a good husband. That is, until the time comes to dissolve the matter.”
“Curly…I can’t. It feels like I’m betraying myself. Like I’m going against everything I’ve ever believed in and worked for.” Anya sniffles, she's holding back tears. Oh god, it was one thing letting Curly see her cry. She couldn't let Jimmy see her cry. Not again.
Jimmy laughs. “You’re doing a great job convincing her, Curly.”
“Anya, I promise I won’t let any more harm come your way.” Curly ignores Jimmy’s snide remark.
“Yeah, he’s already done such a great job protecting you already.” Jimmy snickers. Curly scowls at him, then pulls Jimmy by the shoulder.
“In fact, Jimmy has something he wants to say to you, Anya.” Curly pushes Jimmy forward. Anya immediately takes a step back as he comes towards her.
“I do?” Jimmy turns to Curly. Curly mouths two words to Jimmy silently. Jimmy then nods as if understood.
“Go on, Jimmy. Tell her!” Curly encourages him to speak. An awkward bout of silence passed before Jimmy finally complied.
“...Mm’sorry.” Jimmy grumbles, looking right past Anya.
“Excuse me?” Anya says.
“...Don’t make me say it again.” Jimmy snarls.
Curly elbows him in the gut. “Jim! Say it loud enough for her to hear!”
Jimmy takes a deep inhale. “I’m. Sorry.” He finally fixes his gaze on Anya, and Anya recoils in an instant. If looks could kill…
“You’re sorry for…?” Curly prompted him to continue.
Jimmy sighs. “I’m sorry...” He takes a deep breath before starting again. “I’m sorry for, ugh, ‘raping’ you.” Jimmy goes out of his way to do quotation marks with his fingers.
“Alright, great!” Curly claps his hands together. “Now, Anya, is there anything you want to say to Jimmy?”
“Seriously?” Anya balks at the audacity of the question. “What do I have to apologize for?”
“I wasn’t asking you to apologise.” Curly lowers his tone. “I was asking if you had anything to say.”
“Yeah, a lot. I have a lot to say, Captain. I’m not sure I can get away with saying it, though.” Anya replies bitterly. “I don’t want to ruin any employee synergy, after all.”
“Anya…” Curly placed his hand to his forehead, rubbing his temple. “Jimmy is being a team player. Do you think you can be one too?”
“Asking me to marry a rapist is far beyond being a team player, Curly!” Anya snaps, much to Jimmy’s amusement. The co-pilot snickers into his palm as he watches her get all riled up.
“Hey!” Curly yells. “Anya, Jimmy is a human being. You can’t just dehumanise him like that. He has a name.”
“Yeah. And soon that name will be yours, too.” Jimmy is grinning, and positions his hands and fingers into a heart shape. He purses his lips as if he were blowing her a kiss.
The thought of severing her family name and joining Jimmy under one surname made Anya want to gag. She ignores him to the best of her abilities. She tries to focus on Curly, big, bright, and imposing. Instead Anya finds herself anchored and chained to the tiny dead pixel.
“Mr. And Mrs. Jimmy.” Jimmy laughs as he says it out loud.
“Cut it out, Jim.” Curly grunts. “Anya, this is for your own good.” He says to her. “Please. I know what I’m talking about- I’ve worked for this company for a long time. They have ridiculous standards, so unfortunately we have to play by their asinine rules. I know it’s easier said than done, but…”
Anya’s breath hitches over itself. She’s at a loss for words.
“Captain…”
“It’s for your own good.” Curly repeats.
Anya sighs in defeat. “Okay.” She can’t help but feel Jimmy’s intense stare all over her. "Only if it's temporary."
“Alright, perfect.” Curly claps his hands together. “Later today, we’ll get in contact with corporate and I’ll do most of the talking, alright?”
Jimmy nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
“Right…” Anya said uneasily.
“Good. I’ll break the news to Swansea and Daisuke. They need to be in the loop now too.” Curly looks at the clock on the wall. “Anya, why don’t you head back to your office and finish what you were doing. We’ll meet you in the lounge for lunch when the time comes.”
Anya nods and heads out of the cockpit. She leaves feeling more despair than when she first entered.
“I’m not too concerned about Swansea. I just hope Daisuke isn’t thrown off by this turn of events.” Curly says to Jimmy.
“So we have to keep up this charade around them too?” Jimmy asks.
“It’s not a charade, Jimmy.” Curly folds his arms. “I fully expect you to play your part earnestly.”
“Play my part? So you admit, I’m acting? This is just one big farce?”
“I don’t want you to act. I want you to treat her like any other husband would treat their wife.”
“Curly. You’re kidding me.”
“No, I’m fucking not, Jimmy.” Curly shakes his head. “You treat her well. That’s an order.”
~~~
A few hours later, it was time for the Tulpar crew’s daily lunch break. Curly is the first to arrive in the kitchen area. His entire body is covered with goosebumps. He has no idea how to break the news to the others.
As he paces around the dining table, he notices Swansea making his way in.
“Swansea.” Curly nods in the mechanic’s direction. “We need to have a very important conversation. Where is Daisuke?”
“Slacking off.” Swansea replies. “Why, what’s going on?”
“Nothing to worry about. Just some more big news to tell you all.”
“Seems like there’s a lot of big news lately.” Swansea folds his arms unenthusiastically.
“Believe me. I’m just as caught off guard as you are.” Curly sighs.
Daisuke eventually comes in, along with Jimmy. Daisuke walks as if he doesn't have a care in the world, and Jimmy still looks burdened by the knowledge of last night. His eye bags are worse than usual.
“Alright, everyone’s here.” Curly nods, ignoring Anya’s absence. “Swansea, Daisuke, as members of the crew, it’s only fair that you two know what’s going on.”
Daisuke and Swansea share a look with each other.
“Why, what’s going on, Captain?” Daisuke asks.
Curly takes a deep breath. It would be so much easier if it was just Swansea here. Explaining this situation to Daisuke was just another headache Curly wasn’t looking forward to.
“Daisuke, can I trust you to be mature about this? It’s a serious issue.” Curly asks, and Daisuke nods on instinct.
“Hell yeah!” Daisuke grins, then wilts when he sees Swansea glaring at him. “I mean, uh, yes sir.”
Curly inhales. “Alright. A few months ago, Jimmy and our nurse had a one night stand.” He exhales, keeping watch of Swansea and Daisuke’s facial expressions. Swansea looks taken aback, while Daisuke is furrowing his brow, still processing the statement.
“…This relationship led to a pregnancy.” Curly finished, closing his eyes and too scared to open them. But he opened them anyway. Swansea and Daisuke both were shocked. Swansea especially so.
“A pregnancy?!” Swansea repeats. “What do you mean?”
“Boss… I think the Captain means that Jimmy and Anya had sex.” Daisuke is blushing. “Damn. Good for you, man!” Daisuke offers Jimmy an open palm for a high five but is left hanging.
“This is not a good thing, kid.” Swansea grunts. “All our careers are on the line because of this. You think Pony express won’t question the extra human being on board?”
“Oh, snap. You’re right.” Daisuke looks down sheepishly. “Anya and Jimmy really did… wow.” Daisuke says it out loud to try and come to terms with it. “No way…”
“I can’t believe that she went and got herself pregnant…” Swansea looks over at Jimmy. “With you of all people?”
“Hey, she couldn’t keep her hands off of me.” Jimmy smirks with a shrug.
Curly clears his throat. “Thankfully, we don’t have to worry about our jobs, Swansea. Although a pregnancy on board isn’t optimal, we can get through this unscathed if we follow the Pony Express company policy.”
“Policy? What policy?” Swansea asks. “I’ve worked under them the longest outta all of us. I never heard of no policy for situations like this.”
“I found it in the fine, fine, fine print.” Curly explained. “Also, they call it a ‘polle-cy’ instead of a policy. Which made it really inconvenient to actually do any research on it…” Curly trailed off, waving his hands. “But that’s besides the point. We can save our jobs if Jimmy and Anya get married aboard the ship.”
Daisuke blinks with confusion, while Swansea’s mouth hangs open. They’re both speechless.
“Now, I need both of you to work with me on this, alright?” Curly says to the mechanic and intern. “None of us expected this. So I need you guys to help out when the time comes.”
“Elaborate. I don’t like where this is going.” Swansea grumbles.
“Well, the marriage part will be my duty. I can officiate their wedding as soon as corporate approves of it.” Curly gestures to the sky screen. “We’ll have the ceremony here. But what I want from you two…” Curly motions back to Swansea and Daisuke. “Is for you guys to help assist Anya during the childbirth.”
“Childbirth?!” Daisuke does a double take.
“Out of the question.” Swansea blurts out.
“She can’t help herself deliver the child! She needs at least two people at her side.” Curly argues. “I’ve decided that it will be you two.”
“No way, not happening.” Swansea stubbornly shakes his head. “Not in a million years. That is not my responsibility! Can’t you get daddy to help her with the delivery?!” Swansea jerks a thumb towards Jimmy. “He couldn’t pull out the first time, so he should be the one to pull it out 9 months down the line!”
A scoff from Jimmy. “I am not going to be anywhere near it when that thing comes out.” Jimmy refuses the scenario, violently shaking his head. “No way in hell.”
“Jimmy!” Curly shoves his friend on the back. “That’s your child!”
Swansea lets out an apathetic, humorless laugh. “Go figure.”
“You think I wanted this either?” Jimmy lashes out. “One mistake and now I have to turn my entire life upside down. That thing means nothing to me. I have no kid. End of discussion.”
“So he gets to reject fatherhood, but we have no say in the matter?” Swansea shoots a look at Curly.
“Jimmy’s already making a sacrifice, guys. He’s marrying Anya.” Curly weakly tries to defuse the situation.
“Ah, what a sacrifice.” Swansea snorts. “Daisuke, fetch the crucifix. Jimmy’s volunteering to die for our sins.”
“Well, I mean…” Daisuke looks back and forth between the three other men before him.
“What, what’s wrong Daisuke?” Curly sounds so tired when he asks. He’s running on empty.
“I kinda feel bad. Neither of you want this kid?” Daisuke asks Jimmy. “I know it was a mistake, but... But the kid never asked to be born, man.” Daisuke frowns, but then turns to Curly with a more determined look. “I’ll try to help, Captain.”
“Alright. Thank you, Daisuke. I appreciate that.” Curly is nodding his head with approval. “Maybe having you on board wasn’t such a bad thing after all.”
Daisuke nods back. “Haha! Yeah- Wait, what?”
“Ah, there you are Anya.” Curly turns when he sees Anya entering the kitchen. “Glad you could finally join us.”
“Guys?” Anya is nervous to see them all crowded around, as if they were speaking in secret. They all pause to individually look up at her. A chill runs down Anya’s spine. “What were you talking about?” She asks hesitantly.
“You.” Jimmy states bluntly.
“Congratulations. We heard all about your bun in the oven.” Swansea folds his arms over his gut and shares a judgmental glare at Anya.
“Anya!” Daisuke exclaims. “I’m here to support you! I won’t leave your side!” He rushes over to her, taking her by the hands. “Jimmy is a deadbeat, but I promise to take responsibility!”
“Huh?!” Anya pulls herself away from Daisuke immediately. “Curly, you told them without me?!”
“It had to happen eventually, Anya.” Curly sighs. “Sorry Anya, but on a freighter this small, everything is everyone else’s business.”
“Yeah, we’re here to take care of you, Anya!” Daisuke is beaming. He seemed to be the only person happy about this arrangement.
Swansea doesn’t say anything, he only shares an icy stare with Anya. Jimmy doesn’t even bother to look her in the eye.
“Now that everyone on board knows, it’s time to let corporate know.” Curly unfolds his arms and lets them sway at his side. “C’mon, guys. Let’s get this over with.” He motions for Jimmy and Anya to follow him.
“And you’re sure we won’t get fired?” Anya asks nervously, chewing her lip. “I still haven’t thought about this in full…”
“I’ve done all the thinking for both of you.” Curly answers. “I am one hundred percent certain, Anya. This is the best course of action.”
~~~
“I can’t believe you managed to talk the both of us into this.” Jimmy is groaning, pinching the skin between his eyebrows. “This is going to be such a fucking disaster.”
Anya remained quiet. She had a lot on her mind, but kept it to herself. The trio were all in the cockpit, awaiting their video call with the Pony Express HR department.
“It’s not going to be a disaster.” Curly says sternly. “Don’t listen to him, Anya. He’s just being negative.”
“I don’t know. I can’t help but be worried.” Anya mumbles.
“There’s no need to worry.” Curly tries to calm the both of them down. “Relax. I’ll be the one doing all the talking, alright?”
"Yeah, you usually are..." Jimmy mumbles.
“Here Anya, you can sit in my chair.” Curly gets up from his seat and offers it to Anya. She's reluctant to sit right next to Jimmy.
“Remember guys, you aren’t in trouble. You didn’t do anything wrong. If you go in with that mindset, you’ll be fine!” Curly gives them one final pep talk.
Jimmy lets out a sigh. “I feel like we’re kids about to go to the principal’s office…”
A jingle begins playing throughout the cockpit, signifying the looming video conference.
“Alright, showtime.” Curly clears his throat. “Just act natural. Okay?”
INCOMING TRANSMISSION
PONY EXPRESS HEADQUARTERS
HR CONSULTANT: HACKNEY, MORGAN
SUBJECT: PONY EXPRESS RELATIONSHIP VERIFICATION
The screen fizzled from coordinates and constellations to pure white. Within seconds the visage of another human came onto the screen.
For Anya, Curly, and Jimmy, it was utterly bizarre. They had been looking at the same four faces the entire trip. Seeing a brand new person was a bit jarring. They were beginning to forget what other humans looked like.
It was a middle aged woman sitting in an office. She had brown hair combed into a neat bun that sat atop her head like a beehive. She wore angular glasses and a yellow blazer, the Pony Express logo adorning her right breast pocket. She adjusted her glasses as she backed away from the camera, squinting the three crew members into her vision.
“Ah, there we go. Now it’s working.” She was still adjusting her glasses, looking confused. “Can you hear me?”
Curly cleared his throat. “Yes, we can hea-“
“Can you hear me?” The woman asked again.
“…Yes, we can hear you!”
“Okay, okay, Good. I can’t get used to this new technology they have us using.” The woman leaned back into her seat. She was in what looked to be a cubicle, and just in the peripheral, there was an open window. Anya craned her neck to get a better look at it. It was raining on Earth. Anya missed the rain.
“So, first of all, I’d like to say congratulations on the newest member of your crew!” The woman clapped her hands together. “Always exciting to know we have a new potential Pony Express employee somewhere down the line.”
“We’re plenty excited too.” Jimmy says sardonically, arms folded over his chest.
“I can guess who the mommy is. Which one of you two lucky fellas is the dad?” The worker asks.
Jimmy extends his arm and waves unenthusiastically.
“Great. Nice to meet you. My name is Morgan, but feel free to just call me Mrs. Hackney.”
Anya, Curly, and Jimmy all share hesitant looks with each other.
“Now, before we can dive into any of the fun stuff, there are some basic questions I need to get out of the way.” The HR lady straightened out her blazer.
“Yes, of course.” Curly nodded.
“Full names of the crew members involved in the relationship?” She asked.
“Jimmy- I mean, James Zafiris and Anya Musayeva.” Curly answered for both of them.
Jimmy and Anya share a look with each other. This was the first time they ever heard the other’s last name.
Morgan continued to write on her clipboard. “Ship name?”
“Tulpar.” Curly replied with the utmost confidence.
“No, no. I mean like, their ship name.” The HR worker corrected Curly. “What is their relationship name?”
Curly faltered. “I...I’m sorry. I don’t follow. Relationship name?”
“You know… JimAnya? AnyaJim? JimYa?”
“I like the first one.” Jimmy chimes in. “JimAnya. Let’s go with that.”
“Why not AnyaJim?” Anya asks.
Curly senses a potential argument. He needed to circumvent that. “Maybe we should have a discussion before we make any major decisions.”
“Actually, I was going to ask for you to leave, Captain.” The HR lady says.
Curly is taken aback. “Huh? But, why?”
“This is a personal matter. I’m sure the couple would appreciate their privacy.” Morgan lowers her glasses to leer at Curly. “After all, it’s their wedding, as well as their child. Your presence is redundant for this meeting, Captain.” Morgan is thousands of miles away, but Curly can feel the icy sting of her words penetrate his heart.
“...Oh.” Curly’s voice cracked. “Okay.” Curly reluctantly backs away from the screen, rubbing the back of his head. “Well, good luck, guys.”
Jimmy’s stare doesn’t leave Curly until he leaves the cockpit. ‘Fucking hell, Curly. What have you gotten me into?’ He thinks to himself.
Anya feels her nerves racing as soon as the door shuts behind Curly. She is left alone with Jimmy. Curly promised that he’d help her, that he’d fix everything. But Anya can’t help but feel like she’s the punchline of one big cosmic joke.
“I’m sure you two are looking forward to your little bundle of joy arriving.” The woman speaks, snapping Anya out of her train of thought. “Pony Express has taken the liberty of sending over a care package for the expectant parents. You can find it in the kitchen where we have the teleportation device set up using your food machine. I assume your captain familiarized the both of you with it?”
“Yeah, he taught us how to use it.” Jimmy confirms.
“What kind of supplies are in the care package?” Anya asks hopefully. “We don’t have any medical equipment on board that would help during childbirth… so anything like that would be very helpful.”
Morgan chuckles. “No, nothing like that. Unfortunately we won’t be able to send over anything that could be used for such a major medical procedure. The technology is still in its beta stages of testing, and the risk is too great.” The brunette woman shook her head.
“Oh. So, what will you be sending over?” Anya asks.
“Baby bottles, a blanket, diapers, and of course a Pony Express onesie! Doesn’t that sound cute?”
“...Adorable.” Anya deadpans.
“So, I will need to take a few notes.” The HR worker clicked her pen. “Approximately, what was the date of conception of the child?”
Both Anya and Jimmy tense up. They share a look with each other. Possibly the only moment of solidarity they will ever have.
“Uh…”
“It doesn’t have to be the exact date. You can just give me an estimate.” The woman said.
Anya chewed her lip. “Well… it was over two months ago. So…” Anya looked at the electronic calendar on the cockpit’s wall. “September… 26th?”
“It was later than that.” Jimmy says with folded arms. “October. October, something.”
Anya shakes her head. “No, I’m positive it had to be September.”
“And I’m positive that you’re wrong.”
The HR worker clears her throat. “I’ll just put October 1st.”
Jimmy smirks at Anya.
“And what do you plan on naming the child?” Is the next question Morgan asks.
“I’m still thinking about it.” Anya answers. She places a hand on her stomach and strokes it. “We don’t even know if it’s a boy or a girl. I guess we’ll pick a name when it’s born.”
“Let’s hope it’s a boy!” Morgan says cheerfully. “Girls can be so much drama!”
Jimmy holds back a snicker, while Anya remains silent.
“Oh, and, this is just a formality, but I have to ask everyone this...” Morgan looks down at her clipboard. “This was a consensual sexual encounter, correct?”
Anya’s palms feel clammy. She involuntarily clenches her thighs together. She can feel Jimmy inside of her all over again.
“Yep.” Jimmy answers. “Definitely consensual.”
“Alright. And can I get a verbal confirmation from you as well, Anya?”
There is a lump in Anya’s throat. Jimmy is staring a hole right through her. Anya considers her options. What would happen if she told the truth?
‘Actually, no. It wasn’t consensual. I want it in writing that my coworker drugged me, raped me, and the captain is trying to hide the evidence.’ As if she could ever have the bravery to say that.
“Anya?” The worker asked from the other side of the screen. “Can I get a confirmation from you?”
“Yes.” Anya nodded her head.
“Yes, it was consensual? Sorry, I just need to record it for the form.”
Anya takes a deep breath. “Yes, it was consensual.”
“Great! And who was the one who initiated sex?”
Jimmy can’t help but smile. “Oh, that would be her.” He leans over in his seat and pretends to whisper to the HR worker. “Between you and me, she wanted it a lot more than I did. I had to peel her off of me.”
“Okay…” Morgan types away at her computer. “Anya, since you were the one who initiated the relationship, the credits used to purchase the care package will be docked from your pay.”
Jimmy immediately snorted, covering his mouth and trying to hold himself back from bursting into a fit of cruel laughter.
“And James, as the father, you will be receiving an additional paternity bonus.”
Jimmy perked up. “Really?”
“Correct. As an expectant father, you are entitled to a bonus of 5,000 credits to care and provide for your child.” Morgan read from her clipboard.
“...Do I get a bonus?” Anya asks meekly.
“No. Motherhood is already a gift.” Morgan replies quickly.
Anya slumps over in her chair. She flinches when she feels Jimmy’s hand on her shoulder. He’s rubbing it, and offering her a sympathetic look. He smiles at her, but Anya can see the condescension behind those hazel eyes. Anya scoots away from Jimmy. He lets his hand drag down from her shoulder to her arm, squeezing gently.
“So, Anya. You were the one who initiated the relationship…” Morgan looks up from her clipboard and shares a cheeky grin with the nurse. “What was it that drew you to Jimmy?”
Anya feels like gagging. She hesitantly looks over at Jimmy, who still has her arm in his grasp. He locks eye contact with her and smirks.
“Um. Well, it’s hard to say.” Anya looks away from Jimmy. “I guess I realized that looks aren’t everything, you know?” Anya replies to the HR worker. Morgan laughs.
“Ha! You are too funny.” The middle aged woman pushes her glasses back up the bridge of her nose as she cackles. “And what about you, Jimmy? What is something you like about Anya?”
Jimmy looks Anya up and down. He’s cradling his fist in his other hand, and begins cracking his knuckles. “She’s loyal. Like a dog.”
“Aw, and you’re using pet names. How adorable.” Morgan chuckles. For a human resources worker, she was terrible at picking up on any red flags. “Anya, can you describe your first meeting with Jimmy? Was it love at first sight?”
Anya hesitates to answer. Love at first sight? Couldn’t be any further from the truth.
“Well, I don’t remember the first time we met exactly… but the earliest memory I have of us would be when I bumped into him in the hall one day.” Anya sways in her swivel chair slightly. “He helped pick up my book, so that was nice.”
This was all true. He bumped into her while she was walking down the ship’s corridor. Granted, Anya had her nose buried deep in a book. She shared some of the blame.
~~~
“Hey!” Jimmy shouts when Anya collides with his shoulder. “Watch it!”
Anya tumbles to the floor, dropping her book in the process. “Ah!” She gasps, sputtering. “S-sorry!” Anya looks for the textbook she just dropped, but Jimmy is already picking it up for her.
Jimmy looks at the cover, First Year Nurse. He reads the title out loud, then shares a look of disdain with Anya. “First year, huh?” He smiles as he hands the book back to her. “How reassuring.”
Jimmy kept walking down the corridor, leaving Anya alone to stew in the aftermath of his condescending remark.
~~~
Back in the present, Jimmy nods his head. “Yeah. Think I remember that.”
“And you, Jimmy? What did you notice about Anya when seeing her for the first time?”
“I didn’t notice much.” Jimmy shrugs with cold indifference. “...Because I was distracted by how beautiful she was.” He winks at Anya. Anya feels bile rising in her throat, and the HR worker coos over Jimmy’s supposed charm.
While Morgan fills out her form, Jimmy and Anya sit next to each other in a deep, uncomfortable silence. Jimmy stares her down, and for just a moment, he wonders what is going on inside Anya’s mind. The curiosity dies as soon as it is born. He couldn’t care less about her.
“Alright! I have everything I need!” Morgan sets her pen to the side as she reviews her notes. “Oh, and this is just another formality…” She puts her clipboard down, folding her hands together neatly. “The final step in the relationship verification process- I need to see physical confirmation of your love for each other.”
“Physical confirmation?” Jimmy repeats, shooting Anya an amused look. “Can you be more specific?” He’s holding back a snicker as he asks.
“Just a kiss for the camera will do.” Morgan replies.
“A kiss?!” Anya yelps. “You want us to kiss? Right here? Right now?” Anya is mortified at the suggestion, but the HR worker nods her head vigorously in response.
“Yes, we need a photo of you engaging physically as a couple. It’s mandatory for your Pony Express Relationship Verification.” Morgan readied her finger to take a screenshot. “So whenever you two are ready, let me know…”
Anya felt like she was going to melt into a puddle of nerves. She gripped the sides of her chair, sweat dripping from her brow. Anya considered her entire life up until this point. Family, friends, career. All of it led up to this moment? One big cosmic joke. Kiss the man that violated you in your sleep if you want to keep your job.
Anya is too busy worrying, that she doesn’t even realize Jimmy is reaching for her. He grabs her by the chin, pulling her in for a rough kiss. Anya’s eyes flutter open and a tear rolls down her cheek. Jimmy is staring right at her as his tongue invades her lips. His eyelids are low, and his tongue is stretched out so he’s exploring the furthest depths of her mouth. He's moaning, and the sound makes her stomach turn upside down.
Anya squirms under his grasp, but he holds her firmly in place, and is sure to silence her by crushing his lips against hers.
Anya can’t breathe. It’s like he’s literally stealing her oxygen. His tongue is so big, it’s as if it is suffocating her. His lips form a vacuum seal around hers, and Anya can feel him sucking the life force out of her.
Finally, Jimmy releases her. A sloppy string of saliva is all that connects their open, breathing mouths. He still has his hands cupped around her cheeks and he’s staring at her intensely.
“...Oh, did you guys kiss? I didn’t catch that.”
Jimmy and Anya turn to the computer screen. Morgan looks like she was caught off guard. “Do you guys think you can do it again?” She asks sheepishly.
Jimmy breaks out into a disturbing smile. “Sure!” He gently embraces Anya, placing a chaste kiss on her cheek. Morgan takes the photo.
“Aw, how sweet!” Morgan begins typing at her keyboard. “Alright. Copies of your official Pony Express Relationship Verification badges are being sent to your ship’s fax machine. Relationship code of conduct manuals will be printed out as well. If either of you have any questions, and I mean any at all- please hesitate to ask!” Morgan waved before cutting the feed to her camera.
“...Please hesitate to ask?” Anya repeats to herself.
*Ding!*
The fax machine caught both of their attention. Jimmy picks himself up and heads over. Usually, it was Curly who was the one to retrieve messages from corporate. It felt good to be the one getting it for a change. He picks up the fresh badges that the printer had just produced.
Anya lurks behind him. She has to hold back a gasp when she sees what Jimmy is holding in his hands.
Just like any other ID card, but there was the candid photo of Jimmy kissing her. It was almost comical. He was holding her so gently, his eyes shut with parted lips barely brushing against her cheek. He looked so serene and calm. Meanwhile, Anya’s eyes were wide open, so much so that it looked like they would pop out of her head. Above the photo read the caption: 'Jimanya' in swirly cursive font.
Alongside the two ID badges, is a sheet of paper with instructions, labeled ‘Code of Conduct’.
“I think I’m gonna be sick.” Anya announces.
“Yeah. That makes two of us.” Jimmy hands Anya her badge and manual. The two of them return back to their chairs. There was a moment of silence as they read the guide on what was expected of them. Anya’s eyes felt so drowsy as she looked over everything. Just more rules for her to memorize.
“Well, this was the weirdest fucking day of my life.” Jimmy shuts his manual in his lap. He decided he’d read it all tomorrow.
“…Yeah. Mine too.” Anya agrees.
“I’m gonna head to bed.” Jimmy stands, stretching his arms high up in the air. He moans softly when he feels a bone pop. “Good night, honey.” He winks at her with all the charm of a sewer rat.
Jimmy shuts the door behind him and Anya is left alone in the cockpit.
She places her face in her hands, and begins to sob.