“Most explorers in the Age of Sail were practically slaves, constantly on the brink of death from starvation or disease, and only saw a fraction of the fortunes they made for the masters who never left port. What made you think it would be better on a starship?” Shouted Captain LaRan as he stood over the lowly slave.
“Well, Sir,” replied the slave. “I did presume we wouldn’t have to row the damn thing,” he said as he pulled on the oar in front of him, his chains rattling against the bench he was tied to with each and every tug.
“Nonsense!” Scoffed LaRan, as he waved a hand in the air. “You think the company can afford enough fuel to send this tanker outside the galaxy? We have a profit margin to maintain after all!”
“And hiring eighty thousand people to row isn’t impacting that at all?” Replied the slave, groaning as he pulled the oar once more.
“You do work out cheaper. Anyway! It isn’t rowing! You are at the forefront of new technology! The kinetic drive is one of the most cost-efficient methods to traverse the stars!” Continued LaRan, seemingly missing the sarcasm in the slave’s voice.
“But we were not hired, we were enslaved!” Shouted the slave, missing an oar stroke as he did. Suddenly he let out a yelp as electricity coursed through his chains.
“You are interns, this is a wonderful opportunity to learn how a modern starship works and prove your work ethic, then you can advance up the ladder!” Smiled LaRan, adjusting his hat as the slave twitched in his chair, trying to get back in rhythm with the other slaves.
“Fargin has been an intern since he was eighteen,” coughed the slave, slowly falling back into the rhythm.
“Then he shall soon be due for a promotion to senior drive engineer and I’m sure when that day comes you shall support him!” Nodded LaRan, pulling out a small computer and tapping on it.
“Fargin is now ninety-eight,” replied the slave, only to slip out of rhythm again and get another shock.
“Still, at least you don’t have scurvy! That was a common killer of the historical sea dog! Our food prevents that, so you do have a few things to be thankful for!”
“Our food is a liquid, and it didn’t stop those parasites eating Jenkins!” Shouted the slave, his frustration growing with how oblivious LaRan seemed to be.
Suddenly the computer let out a small ringing noise and LaRan smirked. “Well, today I have wonderful news for you! You are to be promoted!” He exclaimed as he ran his hand over the chains, causing them to unlock.
“Promoted? Me?” Mumbled the slave, groaning as he got up off the bench for the first time in days.
“Yes! You are now weapons supervisor!” Smiled LaRan, grabbing the man by the arm and dragging him out of the gloomy engine room.
As they wandered through the halls the slave saw that every screen was displaying a bright red warning message, as the people operating then ran around in pure panic.
“What is going on?” Asked the slave, their voice wobbling.
“Nothing to worry about! Just moderate vagabonding, nothing more than a perfect routine day!” Laughed LaRan as he dragged the man through another airlock before pushing him forward into a crowd of people.
“What, sir, please tell me,” started the slave, only to be cut off as the men lifted him up and shoved him in a tube which quickly sealed.
“As a weapons supervisor, it is your job to penetrate the enemy hull and destabilize their high command. If you do well there are an extra two credits in it for you!”
“How do I do that?” Shouted the man from inside the tube. “Don’t we have torpedos for this?”
Suddenly the tube reopened and LaRan looked in, laughing. “Have you seen how much torpedo payloads cost? It would bankrupt us! Here, this will do!” He smiled as he pushed a blunt sword into the hands of the man before sealing the door once more.
The man tried to work out what was going on, but suddenly a loud bang rang out, echoing in the tube as a wave of force hit him hard and winded him. From the glass front, he could see that the launcher had ejected the whole tube into space, sending it flying towards a large battleship that was currently firing wires into the hull of the ship he had come from.
His heart pounded as he regained his breath, watching as his tube flew towards the other ship. He braced, expecting to be blown out of the air at any moment, only for his tube to suddenly decelerate, throwing him back a little.
As he looked out, trying to work out what had happened, a helmet peered into the glass from above. A hand came down next to the face, making an ok sign before it started to fiddle with the front of the capsule.
“Hello!” Came a crackly voice, almost like it was vibrating through the tube itself. “I am Captain Astaria of the SC Seraphim. Sit still, we’re going to take you on board, have you ever considered a career in space piracy?”
As the voice finished, a wire shot out of the main ship, grabbing onto the tube and pulling it towards the docking bay. The man’s eyes went wide. Maybe it was time for a career change?
Jonathon Greenall is a freelance writer, artist, and tabletop roleplaying game designer who has written for CBR, Polygon, Nintendo Life, Gayley Dreadful, Enbylife, and many other publications. They have also published several popular and highly-praised tabletop roleplaying games including “You Have One Ability….The Ability To Fuck This Up,” “Macarons, Milkshakes, And Magic,” and “Wander Wizards.”
Jonathon has always been fascinated by media, from the big hitters to the small, obscure, and often overlooked titles that linger on the sidelines, capturing both the on and off-camera stories that make these shows so fascinating.
Jonathon is also a major anime fan, having been exposed to the medium through shows like Sailor Moon and Revolutionary Girl Utena. Since then, Jonathon has maintained a passion for anime, watching most new shows each season and hunting down overlooked gems from previous ones.