The sound of water and wind slapping the exterior of the ship synchronised with the violent back and forth. Most of them had been in plenty of storms like this one, knew how to ground themselves and sway with the motion seemingly unfazed. When it was as bad as this the best thing to do was huddle in the most secure cabin, which on the Regulus was the mess hall, and wait it out. Set the controls to cruise and let her do her thing.
Some of them had gone to their prospective corners; Yael and Dieter conversing in hushed tones in one, Wes cackling as Nym voided her stomach contents into a bucket in the other and, Zae drunkenly shouting vulgarities as she was elbow deep in Vex’s innards. Those who had gathered together at the tables were swapping stories of the wildest storms they’d ridden through, each more unbelievable than the last.
“That’s nothing,” Sari spoke up after some time, the burly woman standing up to her full height as she chugged the rest of her pint slamming it onto the table. “You want to hear about a storm - I’ll tell ya bout a storm.
“Hilea Galaxy, onboard the Morning Star. I was a wee one still, but a cabin boy.” Sari adjusted her pants as she rounded the table, gesturing low to show how small she’d been at the time. “There was a storm that lasted 5 nights, torrential downpour. It came down so quickly the weight of it began to wear at the wood, each drop drilling just a bit deeper at every impact….”
Sari had spent a lifetime on the boat and in the 3 years Wes had known her, he’d heard every story she had enough times to tell it himself. She loved the theatrics, and while he had no doubt she’d seen some shit it grew tiresome. Nym began to gag beside him again, Wes rolling his eyes.
“If you miss, you’ll be the one cleaning it up.” He kicked Nym’s foot to get her attention, her head hanging over the bucket.
He waited until no one was looking to smile, couldn’t let anyone see him going soft on the kid. Sure cabin boys were meant to be shit, that’s why they were a dime a dozen and on a rotation. Admittedly despite spending years trying to find who he was outside of their home planet, Wes still felt that tug of duty and obligation that made given him initial caution to treating Nym like just another cabin boy. He didn’t expect her to make it so easy, it was shamefully entertaining to antagonize.
“...then on the fifth day.” Sari had finally reached the climax of her story, leaning in to lower her voice to lean into the table. Those who hadn’t heard the story before stared at her wide eyed, wonder reflecting in their eyes. “I looked up...and I saw -”
“A fucking ghost boat, we know. You’ve told this story a thousand times,” Zae shouted from the corner, Sari glaring at her from across the room. If there was one thing Sari didn’t enjoy being denied it was her theatric. Zae rolled her eyes, taking a swing of her drink before turning back to Vex gesturing over her shoulder and shaking her head. “For fucks sakes.”