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"Anyone else would do the same thing."
"We aint touching the damn cargo. The hold is locked down for a reason. The only thing worse than dyin slowly is not gettin paid."
"But it could be something useful. I think-"
"Could be what? Hopes, dreams and marzipan? Hah!"
"You don't have to..."
"If it helps us survive it's worth it."
"Anything's worth it if you're resourceful enough."
"Man. Pony Express bosses really aren't chill at all, huh?"
Lune chuckled a bit.
"C'monnn. A quick look won't hurt."
"Yea."
"How exactly is this group therapy commitee planning on gettin in there?"
Lune mumbled something uninteligible.
"Oh, right here, boss! You're looking at the meanest swing swing of the regional junior baseball team!"
"Not sure if that means much, Daisuke..."
"Straight up nearly CORKED a kid once! I can take the utility axe and-"
"You were goddamn born fully corked!"
Lune chuckled again. She really couldn't take anything seriously, could she?
"That's enough, Swansea. There has to be an 'in case of emergency' way inside."
"If i remember correctly from the safety protocols... The doors should have an alternative access code. But it can only be uncovered using a code scanner device."
"And only the captain has access to the code scanner."
"Well, shit..."
"Of course! Go ahead and ask him all about it, then. Maybe he'll sing ya the blues too."
"We don't need him if we find the scanner, get the code, and open the hold. For better or worse, I'm captain now. I'll figure it out."
"Right on!"
"Woah, woah, woah. Slow your roll, Jimmy. If we're having a new captain, we should hold a vote."
"And who else would be captain?"
"Me. Swansea. Anya. Daisuke, even? Don't mean to be rude, but you're kind of a dick sometimes."
"I'm the captain now."
"For now. We'll hold a vote later, but y'all know damn well I'm not going through all that trouble for a code scanner."
-As you get up to search for the code scanner, you take a quick glance at the "Polle the Pony" posters on the wall. They look like motivational posters at first glance, but when you look at the fine print, they're basically just telling you that you're liable for your own mistakes. You take a quick glance at the vending machines, realizing that the food you once despised is now your only saving grace, then walk over to Daisuke, who's sitting on the couch.
"Looks like it'll be soup again for dinner. You wanna rock paper scissors for chicken noodle?" Daisuke offers.
You wonder aloud, "How much food do we have left?"
"I'd say like 4 months-ish."
"Damn. Not a lot, huh?" Lune remarks from across the common area. You ignore her.
"Hmm. Less than the remaining air supply, but we can make it last. In theory. We'll be poking new holes in our belts pretty soon to pull that off."
"Wait, do you guys actually wear belts?" Lune asks.
You ignore her once again, but Daisuke responds, "Yeah," then pauses in thought for a couple seconds.
"Man. My mom will straight up stuff me when I get back. I'll look like Swansea!"
Lune laughs at his remark, annoying you a little.
"We'll have a rad story to tell though. They might even write articles about us. We could be on TV!"
There's an awkward silence for a few seconds before you add, "uh, It'll impress the laidies too."
"Hell yeah!"
Lune cackles at the thought that ladies would like malnourished men. She's really getting on your nerves, but you manage to ignore her.
"...The real problem is us running outta toilet paper. Fatal stuff, man. We should leave that part out for the press."
"Don't think they'd leave that in anyways..."
-You walk away from the conversation and into the nearest hallway to retrieve the code scanner. You decide to check the Medbay before actually grabbing the code scanner. The stench of the captain's burnt flesh immediately hits your nose as the door opens, reminding you of his state after the crash.
"He doesn't want to keep still anymore," Anya tells you.
"What about the painkillers?"
"He- It just hurts him so much. I can't stand the noise."
You mentally roll your eyes at her weakness. If she wants to be a doctor, then she needs to be able to handle stuff like this.
"...You did make it through nursing school, right? Pony Express sure does know how to cut corners, if nothing else."
She ignores your question entirely, saying, "um, I was thinking... we never went back into the cockpit after we dragged him out."
You decide to leave it be, responding, "It's almost entirely foamed up. Kind of a miracle Curly didn't end up fossilized. But it could still be unstable."
"I just think, well, it's the only place the code scanner could still be."
"Otherwise we're shit out of luck. I'll take a look."
"I know you'll figure it out, Jimmy. You're so capable! oh, Also... well, uhm. I was hoping you could help me with the Captain-"
"Curly."
"Right, sorry... w-With Curly's medication?"
"People have to be worth their titles. Don't you think, nurse Anya?"
"y-Yeah. Forget I asked."
"I'll take care of it."
You move over to the remainder of the painkillers, then take some. You have to open Curly's mouth to feed them to him, creating a gut-wrenching noise. You ask him to hold still, adding, "You know what they say. Pain is how we know we're still living."
"i-I can't bear to listen. Exuse me, sorry!"
Curly doesn't seem to enjoy having the painkillers shoved down his throat, and reacts accordingly. Once you finish, you take a glance at the broken vent of the floor of the Medbay. According to Swansea, it's been broken forever. Likely BEYOND repair now. You gp back to the common area to check on Anya.
"We don't have a whole lot of painkillers left," you inform her. "But you still want to keep-"
"Why do you think he did it?" she asks out of the blue.
"Does it matter? What answer would make you feel any better?"
"I have to believe that our worst moments don't make us monsters, Jim. ...I have to. Even in his case."
"He tried to take us all down with him, Anya. The way I see it there's two reasons to keep it alive at this point. Guess the important bit is that we all agreed to it. For one reason or another."
"...I'm still feeling nauseous. I need a minute."
She vanishes off to somewhere with Lune to comfort her, and you finally go to the cockpit to find the code scanner, although getting lost and talking to Swansea. He tells you that he's been working on getting the foam out of the Utility room so that he can grab out something useful, and that not even Daisuke is allowed in. When you finally reach the cockpit, you find the code scanner almost immediately. You then almost immediately find the code and open up the door to the storage room.
7 days before the crash"...Are you listening?"
"Yeah, yeah, damn. I'm so sorry. Couldn't sleep agian. But i passed the psych eval?"
"Well, you gave the same answers as last time. I do wish you'd open up a little more, Captain. These evaluations aren't just about you."
"As long as I'm fit to fly in your eyes, Anya."
"Oh, stop it. Guess that means I only have one more eval left to do." She paused.
"Jimmy?"
"He acts as if I do these things for fun. Then I have to make a report with things like... 'I have found myself sexually excited at the sight of cartoon horses.' "
"Hah! Well, I could take it off your hands. Plus, I could help get Lune a little more expirience."
"Really?"
"I've known him a long time. He won't try any bullshit with me."
"...I suppose you are the captain."
"I am the captain."
"Thank you! What a relief. Oh, before i forget, Swansea asked me to give you this."
She hands you a crumpled note that reads, "THEY CAN'T EXPECT ME TO PREFORM MIRACLES!!!"
"Not sure what it means but... sounds like fun! Good luck Captain!"
-You leave, walking through the halls a bit before you find your friend, Jimmy, right in front of the utility room.
"And Pony Express said they don't provide on-board entertainment."
"Feels like there's always something broken in that room. Tulpar's starting to show her age," you respond.
"Passed inspection, right? Shouldn't be an issue."
"Mm. Plus they added Daisuke last-minute. Didn't account that there'd be five of us now. I really should have make a bigger stink about that."
"Maybe you should intervene. Or we could just close the door. Your call."
-You walk into the Utility room to find Daisuke, embarrassed and stuck in a large chunk of foam, Lune, trying to help him out, and Swansea, staring in dissapointment.
"The kid was brought on just to make me suffer! Intern my ass."
"He's trying his best, Swansea," Lune comments.
"Course it's you sayin that."
"Wh-"
Before they could fully ask, Daisuke interrupts with, "I was just trying to fix the vent! How did that trigger the emergency foam?!"
"Because yer talented in all the wrong ways!" Swansea turns to you before continuing. "I woulda dealt with this, but only you can unlock the axe case. Every goddamn thing has to go through you."
You reply, "I'll handle it. Hang in there, Daisuke."
As you make your way to entrance of the utility room for the axe, you spot a wiring board. it looks like Swansea's teaching Daisuke the basics, but he's still got a long way to go. You grab the axe and cut him out, trying not to hurt him in the process.
"Yeowch! Oof. Strong stuff, huh?"
"Get it through your goddamn skull! That vent is strictly off-limits! Fully fuckin collapsed inside! You lookin to get impaled, electricuted and cooked?!"
"Yeah, but like. You can't fit in there to fix it, right?"
"So I can totally handle it-"
"Captain. Give me the axe."
"Swansea," you reply. "This could've damaged the pods. You can't let somehting like this happen again."
"Yeah, yeah... I got it. Loud and clear," he responds.
"Keep the axe until you've cleaned this all up, yeah?"
-You start to walk out of the room, but Jimmy catches you on the way out.
"I take it Anya diagnosed you with 'being sane' then?"
"Just off center, but it's what keeps me on my toes. I said I'd you yours. I want to hear all about those cartoon horses. Is that something you were born with or a recent develop-"
"Alright, alright. Shut up," he cuts you off. "Let's go to the cockpit."
You're making your way to the cockpit, but reality distorts around you. You enter a long, steep stairway that leads to a wire ledge on the other side of a door. You then walk off into the darkness, landing in an ocean of blood. Slowly, you begin to see a starry sky, then signs reading 'EMERGENCY', then bent ladders, and your vision starts to distort. the sun rises as you walk towards it, constantly getting larger. you enter a white void with merely a door leading to the cockpit. You sit down beside Jimmy.
"You can't just make something up for this? It's not like these evals ever go anywhere when we get back."
"We'll power through it. 'Have you been able to complete your mandated tasks as co-pilot efficiently and to your fullest capacity?"
"Urgh, let's see..."
-"That's all of them. Done and done. ...How are things otherwise? Off the record."
"I like it," he responded. "We're in control here."
"Didn't think you'd ever take to being a freighter pilot as well as you have. What with how you struggled back on Earth."
"Sure. All I ever hear is how great of a leader you are. Honestly, it's kind of annoying," he said disrespectfully. You could honestly see where Lune was coming from with them always calling him a dick. "So what is it?"
"Hm?"
"How come it always seems like you're standing on the edge of a bridge with your feet in cement?"
"...Lately I've just been thinking. Is this enough? Should i just stay here because I've been successful at it? A good long haul freighter Captain."
"And that's bad?"
"That's what I'm saying," you answer, "it's not. But... It's terrifying. I think, 'Am i all figured out? Is this all I'll ever be? Or do I take the risk and try something new? Even if I'm bad at it.' "