Opal 77: Skewed Space (Jerrie)

Part 20

They were making good time, the blonde thought. They were a couple Sol's away from Earth. Saying "they" was actually incorrect though, because Perrie had dropped the pigs off at a nearby inhabitable planet the Sol before. She knew they wouldn't survive on earth, most likely getting captured and eaten because of the density of the population. There wasn't any place for the pigs to live. So she dropped them off on Malcarri, a sparsely forest planet with a low people to acre ratio. It wasn't along any trade routes and had a weird seasonal pattern. But the pigs would be very happy there. Now if only Perrie could be happy.

It was as if the unlocking of her memories triggered an onslaught of bad dreams. Maybe this was because she dreamed about the bad things she regretted, and the most prominent thing was almost killing her friends. Was Jesy okay? Did earth have the technology to heal a fatal wound like that? She was well aware of the medical advancements the Plantation had. She tried reassuring herself that earth wasn't so far behind.

But rational thinking didn't stop the nightmares about Jade.

They were insanely realistic, somehow transporting Perrie into a different dimension where her senses were multiplied. She could taste the metallic scent of blood on her tongue, burning her throat as she almost choked on it. There was always an unnecessary amount, and it stuck to her clothes and hands like glue. The worst part about each dream was the beginning, it was always the same. She never realized it was Jade until after she had struck the fatal blow. She was always left to stare forlornly at the work of her hands, sometimes being too far away to reach Jade before she died. But when she did, Jade would curse her, telling her that she was a monster. It was a forced torture that destroyed Perrie each time her memories were reinstated. Usually she didn't have as much time to process it as she did now. It was an unknown that she didn't know how to cope with. So instead she stayed awake, studying the workings of the machine she had stolen, ripped from the dead hands of those sent to kill her.

Did that make the culling okay? This thought briefly crossed Perrie's mind when she was surveying the wreckage of the bounty hunters campsite. They had torn through it like a tornado, planning a strategic psychological attack to unnerve them. Using the pigs to create beastly noises while Perrie crept through the shadows. It probably wasn't the smartest idea, but over throwing the multitude of hunters with fear was the only thing Perrie could think of. By the time backup was there, all that remained were the corpses of the hunters, no doubt arranged in a haunting picture. Death followed subject 77, and her pursuers were likely going to be deterred.

At the moment, Perrie was sitting in one of the circular window seats gazing out across the expanse of darkness. She had found clean clothes; a baggy shirt and boy shorts combo for while she travelled through space, and plenty of options to choose from. With a loud sigh, she slipped off the cushions, her bare feet slapping on the hallway floor as she made her way to the kitchen.

It was surprisingly clean for a hunting ship. When Perrie had investigated it after they took off, she was surprised to find not even a dish in the sink. Every cupboard and spice was labeled, boxes in the huge freezer had names of the old crew members, with warnings not to touch. The plates and cups were stacked precisely, without chips or scrapes or small bits of food sticking to them. Whoever was responsible for this kitchen did a fantastic job at keeping it organized, despite the size of the crew that used it.

Perrie was quite thankful for this since she was near starving by the time she found it. It took hardly any time to figure out where things were. She continued to uphold the standard, reminding the pigs to watch their manners when they entered.

But now she was alone, which was glaringly obvious with the lack of noise. This didn't bode well with her paranoia from not sleeping, so after she made her cup of coffee she decided to see what this ship had to do for fun.