Yvonne
“Dax-is! Dax-is! Dax-is!”
Their name was all you could hear echoing down the corridors that night. Night: as if the sun made its way that far down to help us tell it apart from the day. Most of Judas 5 was asleep, the time was 01:23am, and the Engineer’s Ward was still wide awake. Most of the hoity-toity engineers themselves were asleep however, tucked away in their gourmet bedroom compartments, but down in the cargo bay, we mechanics were having yet another of our many drinking contests. Daxis told Carmen they could neck an entire gasoline can’s worth of kelpshine (our quite foul, yet pleasantly numbing homebrew) in two minutes. Carmen said they couldn’t. Daxis aimed to prove otherwise.
“Dax-is! Dax-is! Dax-is!”
The kelpshine had started to leak from the corners of Daxis’ mouth, their face bright red, eyes wide open, and the gasoline can nearly upturned. Amidst the cheers of encouragement, Carmen sat arms crossed opposite them, looking altogether annoyed that she was quite likely about to lose her bet.
With a final, triumphant gulp, Daxis chucked the can away, bouncing across the floor to the grace of a thunderous cheer, kelpshine spilling on the floor from the many raised cups. They raised an eyebrow to Carmen before slurring to her with a smile “Who’s the best drinker on the station?”
Carmen sighed reproachfully.
"You, Daxis."
“That’s right!” They stood, staggeringly, “and I will drink any of you under the table!”
And with that, they collapsed. Carmen pulled a surprised smile.
“C’mon, Dax. Up ya get”, I said, lifting them up from the floor. They were out cold, so I had to carry them over my shoulder, but it wasn’t a problem for me. Heavy lifting was not new to me.
As I took them from the cargo bay, our fellow drinkers patted Daxis on the back, some benignly, some mockingly. Carmen stepped up and barred our entrance. She cleared her throat and stuck out her hand. I sighed, remembering what she wanted, and reached inside Daxis’ jacket pocket, retrieving a wedge of paper credits. She frowned.
“This isn’t even a hundred!”
“Take it up with them in the morning.”
On cue, Daxis threw up a small mouthful of bile down my shoulder.
“Urr, better make that tomorrow morning.” I said, pushing Carmen out of the way.
“I want my money, Yvonne!” She yelled behind me.
“It ain’t my money, Carmen.”
I chucked Daxis in their compartment, made sure to wipe the sick off them and me and threw a blanket on them.
My room was quite barren. This wasn’t because of my recent move, more so because of my lack of possessions. There was little I needed; the room comprised of my bunk, a pile of folded clothes, all of which were the same: heavy, thick trousers and white tank tops, a mirror and sink, and a single plant I kept to help me forget that this metal box was all there was. With little to distract me, sleep came quickly. I fell asleep with a single thought on my mind as I did every night and the echoes of sounds from a time not so long ago:
‘Thank fuck I’m not on a warship.’