Rebeka peered at the child. He stared back at her with wide blue eyes. The skin under them was a bruised lavender. He tore his gaze away, flitting from face to face. The boy's head was hairless, whether because of some genetic anomaly or because someone had shaved it before he went into stasis, she couldn't tell. His skin was a pallid blue-grey, and blue blood vessels were visible underneath. His ashen lips pressed tight together.
Rebeka had sent Tink to continue repairs to the power systems, and Ish had gone back to the bridge. Although she didn't want any surprise visitors, she expected them to arrive at any minute — the ship needed someone on watch. That left her in the cargo bay alongside Severn, Alek and Kandi, who'd returned with her med kit.
Kandi came with her when she stepped forward again. She realized she might be insane, but a part of her had expected a different result than the last few times she'd tried to get closer to the boy. But his response was exactly the same: he flinched and started a toneless, droning scream that went on and on until she stepped away.
"Kandi." Rebeka shook her head. "Leave it for now." Kandi appeared relieved to retreat behind her, coming to stand beside the two men.
The kid sat on the grating in front of the crate, gently rocking, silent and staring now that they'd stepped back. He was dressed in what she could only describe as silver pyjamas, damp after coming out of stasis. He shivered, and she realized he must be cold, waking up on a ship running only the most basic life support. And that was on top of being in shock. It was just another reason why people weren't put into stasis anymore — the shock to the system on emerging was too much. That's if they weren't driven crazy by being in stasis in the first place.
"Are you cold?" Rebeka took a step forward, and the boy pressed back, clawing at the metal of the crate. She stopped then inched forward, the lights dimming in time with her movements. She pressed her lips together in a hard line. "Who are you?" she asked, keeping an edge to her voice. She was tired of this contract and wanted to get it over with stat.
"He's afraid," Alek said, and she felt him creep up behind her. She didn't respond, and instead kept her eyes on the boy, who'd glanced at Alek but stopped the scrabbling.
The boy's eyes flashed back to her, and then he started whispering. Rebeka inched forward, trying to hear what he was saying, but that movement made him stop and press further back.
She slid another few inches closer until she had to tip her head to peer down at him. He glanced around, eyes wild like a trapped animal. She ignored it. He was a threat to her crew that needed to be managed. Or neutralized.
"Captain, maybe he needs some time," Kandi said, placing her hand on Rebeka's arm. "The shock of coming out of stasis...."
Rebeka turned her hard gaze to the other woman, then shrugged her arm away. She returned her attention to the kid. "What...who are you?" she asked, stepping closer to him. "Why were you put into stasis?"
The boy started speaking again, louder this time. Something about the cadence stirred a memory in Rebeka's gut, even though the words still made no sense. The tempo of his rocking increased as he became even louder.
"What's he saying?" Severn asked, his voice slow, though she wasn't sure if it was curiosity or to keep the kid calm.
Rebeka tipped her head sideways, unfocusing her eyes to focus on the sounds. The niggling familiarity bothered her, even though the meaning remained hidden. She glanced over her shoulder at Severn, who'd stayed by the stairs and was casually cleaning under his fingernails. "I have no idea. Cass, translate the boy's words."
It took a few seconds before Cass' voice drifted into the cargo bay. "I cannot, Captain."
Rebeka's eyebrows scrunched together, and the niggle returned: Cass had a thousand languages and countless dialects stored in her data banks. Rebeka turned to Kandi, then Alek. "Do any of you know what he's saying?"
Alek shook his head. "Maybe we should leave him alone for a bit. He's just a scared little kid."
"Not that little," she said. She judged the boy to be about eleven. "Don't you want to figure out what's happening?" she glared at Alek, hands on her hips.
"Captain!" Kandi's tone was sharp.
Rebeka turned to her, then followed her gaze back to the boy, who'd started hitting his head with clenched fists. The flow of sounds got louder, faster, more staccato. She crouched down in front of him, grabbing his hands to stop him from injuring himself. "Stop hurting yourself." Her frustration crept into her voice against her will. His arms strained to pull out of her grip, but she didn't let go. "Why are people trying to kill us?"
He stopped babbling, and his lips rounded as his eyes widened. Rebeka braced herself for another droning scream.
"Iiiii...don't know." The words were spat out of the boy's mouth as his body went rigid. Then his eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed in a heap, his wrists still held in Rebeka's hands.