Mark was used to being summoned by the Captain. After all, he wasn’t just the head engineer of the Invinciable II but also the trusted advisor and the closest thing to a friend the Captain has on this ship. So it wasn’t uncommon for the Captain to call Mark because he wanted his opinion or needed a different perspective on something.
But being called into the private chambers of the Captain was definitely a first.
The Captain's room was hidden and could only be found by someone who knew the layout of the ship. Mark knew the way because he knew the layout like the back of his hand and yet he didn’t remember ever being in this part of the ship. Usually the Captain would wander around and it was quite easy to run into him. Even in the case of him being needed he would always show up.
No one ever had to wake him up in case of an emergency because the Captain was always awake then he was needed. It was a well known rumor that the Captain never slept. If only they knew the truth behind it.
The head engineer stood in front of the door to the room he never set foot in and he felt awkward. Should he knock? It would be the polite and respectful thing to do but he and the Captain always got into each other's spaces without asking. The Captain was still his boss and this was his bedroom after all.
Mark lifted his arm and was about to knock but got interrupted by the Captain yelling from the inside.
“The door is unlocked! Just get in!”
Mark froze up for a second before using the touchpad to open the door.
Behind that door he found the Captain standing in the middle of the room with his hands on his hip and an annoyed expression on his face. His cold grey eyes were frantically scanning the room.
“Don’t tell me you were actually about to knock?” asked the Captain without even looking at Mark. “I always walk into your room unannounced and you can do the same with mine.”
“I just never been to your room before and therefore didn’t know what the proper etiquette was” Mark replied. “We never talked about boundaries.”
The Captain seemed to think for a moment.
“Huh!” He was now crossing his arms in front of his chest. “We really never talked about this…I schedule a one-on-one meeting after I come back so we can talk about it.”
“I don’t think that this is necess- …what do you mean by ‘after I come back’?”
The Captain was now looking at Mark for the first time since he stepped through the door.
“This is why I called you here. I have to leave the ship for a few hours because of reasons I can’t really disclose right now and I need you to make sure that the crew doesn’t know about it.”
“What? Why?”
“Because they are too noisy for their own good. Do you really think I don’t know about the rumors?” The Captain walked over to a small table that had a large bowl containing fruit on it and grabbed an apple. “What do you think they would assume if they heard that their beloved Captain had to leave them for multiple hours for an unknown reason? Gossip will turn into worry and worry will turn into hysteria. Do you remember the last time I was gone for a few hours without telling anyone?”
Mark remembered it very well. Not only was that now exactly a month ago but also because he still had nightmares about it.
“So what do I tell them if they ask where you are?”
“Tell them that I’m not feeling well and that I retreated to my room to take a nap. You can even pretend to check up on me and hide here if it gets too much.”
Mark looked at him skeptically.
“I doubt that they are going to believe me…”
“Why not?”
“You said that you heard the rumors about you. Like ‘the Captain never sleeps’ or ‘the Captain is never sick’. People are going to get suspicious if suddenly both things are happening!”
“Well tell them that their rumors are stupid and that every normal human needs sleep or gets sick!”
“But you’re not-” Mark began but got cut off when the Captain threw the apple at him and he had to catch it before it could hit his face.
“They don’t know that!” Countered the Captain, turning away from him.
Mark wanted to protest but realized that he couldn’t win this discussion and just kept quiet.
The Captain collected his long red hair in a low ponytail before putting on his captain's hat. Wherever he had to go it was obviously very important because he put way more effort into his appearance than usual. Mark watched him pick up his reading glasses and put them into the inner pocket of his coat. This small detail made Mark a little worried. The Captain always forgets his glasses and sometimes just refuses to get them out of pure spite. But him making sure that he actually had them on him meant that important documents must be involved. He could just press him about it until the Captain finally tells him about this trip but on second thought it might be better to just wait and see.
“Also, please do me a favor” the Captain said over his shoulder. “Could you please eat the fruit in case this thing takes me longer than expected? I don’t want rotting fruit in my room.”
“Yeah sure…wait, how long could it possibly take you? You said you will be gone for a few hours!”
“Well, I personally believe that this will just be a quick check in with some talking and me leaving shortly after but only if luck is on my side and no one starts an argument. In that case this could take a few days.”
“A FEW DAYS?” Mark yells out. “What am I going to tell the crew if you still haven’t shown up?”
“I caught a cold and decided to stay in my room because I didn’t want the crew to get sick as well! They love hearing how selfless and considerate their captain is!”
Mark rolled his eyes. “Of course.”
************************************
The Captain had left and thankfully no one had asked about him. Mark was wandering the halls of the Invincible II just so he could avoid the others. He was still holding the apple the Captain threw at him and was just staring at it.
He appreciated the Captain for trusting him with such information but he was also aware that not everyone liked the fact the two of them were this close. Well, he and the Captain went through a lot during the whole warp core debacle. Being stuck in a loop. Getting chased by U. S. A.. Dying over and over again. Almost destroying the universe.
These events forced a bond that couldn’t be achieved through any other means no matter how hard some tried. And many just didn’t or couldn’t understand. After all they only saw The Captain – a man who achieved greatness in a short period of time – being friends with Mark the Head Engineer.
Could someone else even be this close to the Captain like Mark is? Through their journey together he learned many things about him. Things that shattered the rose-colored glasses and his whole view on the Captain changed. And even though he got to know him better it still felt like it’s only the tip of a much larger iceberg. Mark was only able to understand and process the information he got because he was given the opportunity to see some of it for himself and the rest was just puzzle pieces that added to a much larger unfinished picture.
But the worst part about this is that the Captain keeps dropping facts about himself in random conversation and he would look at Mark just see him go pale with the realization of what it implied and how it expanded the picture while everyone else laughed. They always laugh at the Captain's weird jokes but nobody else actually took the time to actually think about it. If they did then they would realize that the rumors might have been true all along.
At this point Mark was sure that the Captain started some of them on purpose.
“Mark!”
The call came from far behind him. If he just kept walking and turning the corner without reacting they might believe that he just didn’t hear them. He really didn’t want to have the conversation that might come out of this.
Unfortunately for him he heard running footsteps that were coming closer and closer.
“Mark! Wait!”
The voice was closer now and Mark recognized who it was which also meant that he couldn’t ignore him anymore without looking like an asshole.
He turned around and saw Mack now standing right behind him.
“Yes?”
“Do you know where the Captain is? I haven’t seen him today.”
“He wasn’t feeling so well and decided to take a nap in his room.”
Mark had repeated that sentence many times in an attempt to make it sound as natural and casual as possible while still lying to his crewmate's face.
“So the Captain does actually sleep…”
“Did you actually believe these rumors?”
“Well, no…I mean it’s obvious that he sleeps. Everyone needs sleep to function but if you keep seeing him around no matter the time you do start wondering…”
“Do you need something?”
“Pardon?”
“Do you need something from the captain? I can let him know once he wakes up” offered Mark. “Unless it’s an emergency. Then I can go and wake him up and bring him to you.”
The idea of Mark disturbing the Captain's rest left Mack with terror on his face.
“No, no, no. It’s not that important. I just wait until he wakes up!”
Mark gave Mack a thumbs up and the latter turned and left.
Well, this went better than expected. At least now it’s in circulation that the Captain isn’t feeling well and won’t question his absence but it also means people are going to ask questions about his condition. Better hope that the Captain comes back soon.
******************************
It’s been four hours since the Captain left and Mark somehow managed to avoid everyone on this ship. He was currently hiding in the far back of the Invincible II.Sitting in the dark, staring at the wall trying not to think too much. This was easier than trying to keep a fake story straight.
If only he could ignore the hunger…oh wait. He still had the apple.
Mark looked down at the deep red fruit in his hand. He really has been carrying it around this whole time. Mark slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. The sound it made echoed through the empty room. Didn’t the Captain say that he should eat the fruit in their room? And that he could hide in there if he wanted? Why wasn’t he doing that instead of wandering around?
The head engineer got back onto his feet and was about to bite into the apple until he heard a crashing sound not far from him.
He looked out of the room he was hiding in and noticed that lights were pulsing in a strange way and the air felt electrically charged. Some he knew all too well.
Looking around he tried to determine the direction the sound came from. The sound of something falling down could be heard coming from a corridor to his left and Mark immediately followed it in hopes of finding the source. If this is what he thinks it is, he has to deal with it immediately or at least lock it up until the Captain is back. Just keep it away from the crew.
Mark followed the sound of slow dragging footsteps that were occasionally interrupted by something heavy hitting the floor followed by a few seconds of silence before the steps continued.
It wasn’t hard to catch up with whatever or whoever this thing was but what Mark saw made him freeze in terror.
A man of similar height and stature was leaning against the wall. His breathing was heavy and the small sounds he let out made it clear that he was in pain. But the thing that both shocked and disturbed Mark was the fact that this man was covered from head to toe in something that looked suspiciously like blood. It even took a while for him to notice the obviously missing arm because blood was so distracting.
He was facing Mark but he was closed and it seemed like he was trying to catch his breath. This gave Mark enough time to recover from the shock and to slowly approach the other man.
“Hey…” Mark began but the moment the word left his mouth the eyes of the other man snapped open and the intensity of his gaze made Mark swallow the rest of what he wanted to say.
“Stay back!” The man growled and tried taking a more defensive stance but the pain seemed to be too much and he had to support himself with one hand at the wall to not lose his balance.
“I don’t…I won’t hurt you…” Mark tried again. “I want to help you.”
“I don’t want your help! I just want the freedom I was promised!”
“What do you mea-...listen you are obviously hurt and in a lot of pain. Let me bring you to the med bay and patch you up!”
“So you can send me back down there?”
“What are you talking about?”
“The moon? The blood ocean? The Iron Lung?”
This combination of words was highly concerning and something he really needed the Captain to deal with but unfortunately he was on his own.
“Listen, it appears that you got sucked in by a wormhole and it spit you out here on this ship. There are no Iron Lungs, the next moon is lightyears away and there definitely no blood oceans anywhere…wait is that what your covert in?” Mark looked him up and down again. “Is this actual blood or something else?”
The man was about to say something but something caught his eye. Mark followed his gaze to the apple he was still holding.
“Are you hungry?” Mark asked while holding out the apple to him. “You can have it.”
The man's eyes flickered from Mark to the apple and then back to Mark.
“Is this some kind of trick?” he growled and stepped back but his legs betrayed him and he fell hard. He tried to stand up but it seemed that the blood loss finally caught up to him and this combined with both malnourishment and general tiredness made a deadly mixture.
Mark moved without thinking and helped the other to sit up and lean against the wall.
“Listen, you are in terrible shape and probably on the edge of dying so please let me help you!” Mark pleaded while he was still conscious. “What is your name?”
“Si…Simon,,,”
“Alright, Simon. I’m Mark. I’m the Head Engineer of the Invincible II, the ship we are currently on, and I promise you that you are safe here. Nothing is going to happen to you!”
Simon was close to passing out and barely registered what Mark was saying.
“Simon?...Simon, can you hear me?....SIMON!”
Simon's eyes fell shut and this was the moment Mark started to really panic.