She glanced at the blood, trickling down Ciphers side, and slowly opened her belt bag. The man, called Pher tensed up, but when Serena took out a pack of first-aid wound patch, he grabbed it out of her hand and headed to his friend, leaving Hunter and Serena alone.
Hunter met Serenas gaze again and sighed:
«Look, all we need is a way off this planet. The sooner, the better.» he flicked her collar. «You need this off. We can help each other, so how about we make a deal?»
«I told you, the only way the ship will obey my commands is if the captain is dead. And that is a hard feat to do.» Serena shook her head once more.
«How so?»
«He installed a special protocol. The ship has cameras inside and outside. So if he is murdered there I am stuck. The ship will shut down, sending a signal of a murder that occurred. If hes killed anywhere else, his personal implant will send a signal back to the ship with the recording of how he was killed. The only way to kill him is by accident and not involving me.» Serena looked away, realising she had spent more than enough time thinking about all this.
Hunter chewed his lower lip in thought, then glanced at his friends.
«Alright so what if he breaks his neck falling off a staircase?» he asked.
«That would be a plausible way to make his system make me the captain in charge.» Serena swallowed a lump. «But»
She didnt finish her sentence, as her earpiece shot an electric charge into her ear, making her twitch from pain.
«Report!» the captains voice sounded in a bark, obviously drunken from whatever moonshine he already drank on the ship.
Serena clasped her palm on Hunters mouth, in an unconscious way stopping him from making a sound.
«I havent found anything yet, captain.» the woman said, wincing from the pain that he delivered when switching her earpiece remotely.
He loved tormenting her, and this faulty radio was one of those ways.
«We wont leave, until we find what we came for!» the captain growled. «Keep searching!»
«It would be easier if I knew what exactly youre looking for.» Serena felt sweat beads forming on her forehead.
She wasnt supposed to talk to him this way he could punish her for such attitude. She heard the Ol Fart sigh in irritation and grumble:
«I got a hint theres some precious metals here. Look for anything worth our time, and stop asking questions!»
«All I found so far is a bit of copper wiring and a silver plate. Any details you can spare?»
«Gold, you dim witted whore! Im looking for gold!»
«Gold?» Serena met Hunters gaze and noticed him frown. «Got it.»
«Report when you find anything!» the captain signed off.
Serena felt the pain subsiding, as the earpiece shut down again. She felt her fingers starting to tremble, when she realised she prevented Hunter from speaking all this time, and slowly lowered her hand, understanding that this could mean the man becoming angry at her.
But, on the contrary, he seemed calm and unaffected by her gesture.
«Hes searching for gold?» he asked quietly.
Serena nodded, nervous that she was surrounded by three armed men, but it was not as strong of a fear for her safety and life, than the fact that her captain was drunk, irritable and agitated, searching for something that could as well be elsewhere.
Hunter stepped closer, making the woman press against the wall even harder.
«And how would he know theres gold here?» his voice grew lower, sounding like a growl.
«He said, he got a hint. I would assume it was from one of his informants.» Serena felt Hunters breath on her neck.
The man stepped back, falling into thought. He looked at his friends the wounded one looking a bit better, being patched up by the first aid pack Serena gave them.
«Stay here.» the man growled and walked up to his friends.
Serena looked at her hands, realising they trembled even harder. She knew that if she were to help these deserters, she would need to calm down, before returning to the ship. The Captain was dangerous when he was drunk, and if he was searching for something as valuable as gold, he would be furious if he will notice her nervousness.
She took a few moments to breathe in and out, calming her nerves, but felt that any outcome, really, would be not in her favour. The three men could shoot her and that was probably the easiest way to go. What the captain could do was something else entirely.
The woman heard steps approaching, and looked up just as Pher pressed her to the wall again, his palm grasping her ass in an obvious sign of his lustful thoughts towards her.
«Youll help us, girl. And Ill reward you with the best few nights of your life, pretty thing.» Pher grumbled into her ear.
Serena dared not to move or push him away, too familiar to such advances and knowing what could happen if she were to fight it. She felt his hand caressing her body and closed her eyes, forcing down any remnants of dignity she had left.
It was too long since she could allow herself to object to something like this.
She felt Pher rubbing his body against hers, but a second later he was jerked back and Serena heard him crashing onto the floor. She opened her eyes, seeing broad shoulders in front of her Hunter closed her with his body from his friend.
«Touch her again, Pher, and I will break your arm!» Hunter growled.
«For fucks sake!» Phers voice sounded irritated and coarse. «I was only having a bit of fun!»
«Stop it, both of you!» the third man finally spoke up, his voice deep, but pained. «Shes our ticket out of here, not your entertainment, Pher!»
Mumbling and cursing, the blond man got up, stepping away. Serena thought if the wounded man was their high in command or not he definitely looked the part. But, then again, so did Hunter.
«Are you okay?» Hunter turned to Serena, and she noticed his soft, comforting gaze.
«Im fine!» she slapped his hand away in a sudden irritation to his concern. «Nothing Im not used to.»
The woman noticed a deep frown on Hunters face. But before he could say anything else, the wounded man Cipher stumbled up.
«So» he said, leaning with his arm on the wall to keep himself up. «Your captain is looking for gold?»
Serena nodded:
«At least, thats what he said.»
«Lets take a short walk, shall we?» Cipher gestured to the dark arch of a doorway at the end of the room.
Serena dared not to object, heading that way and feeling the men following her behind. She stepped through the arch, seeing the staircase, leading down deeper into the building. Stepping down the steps, she was thinking if she would be of any help to these men and if it will guarantee her safety after.
The stairs took them to a small corridor, which was dim and slippery from all the stagnant water that accumulated there over the years. Serena walked on, stepping cautiously and noting the slippery green algae, which grew all over.
The corridor led them to a single room with a heavy door, which was slightly ajar. Serena stopped in front of it, wondering if she would be strong enough to swing it open.
Hunter stepped up and grabbed the door, his muscles bulging under his clothes. The woman swallowed hard, realising how strong he was and that he was definitely one of the soldiers the Company had. All three men were quite muscular, but not all Company soldiers were so only those, who went on constant missions to capture, hunt down or retrieve people who ran from the Company.
As the door screeched quietly, Serena gasped, seeing the two stacks of golden bricks.
Her mind started calculating the potential profit they could get from selling such a find. With this they could easily replace their old ship and purchase all the needed devices to become a higher level scrapper crew.
She snapped herself out of shock, realising that even if she were to report this to the Captain he would do nothing to help her, forcing her to load all this all on her own. And, after they deliver this to one of the sales representatives, she would get nothing from all this treasure.