Hearts of Gold
“I don’t know how you get used to that…” Darcy stepped into the small yet luxurious bunk where Natasha was patching up her own small wound. She had declined to let Temple work on it and then disappeared. Darcy followed behind her a few moments later.
Tasha glanced up at the princess and she smiled, “You don’t really. But that’s been a way of life for me since I was little.”
Darcy sat down next to her. Most people left a goon three foot barrier around Natasha where they didn’t cross but Darcy had either not been affected by that bubble or simply chosen to ignore it. Darcy watched as Natasha finished patching up her side.
“You know if you’re scared you can stay with me.” The pirate blurted out.
Darcy grinned at her, “I’ll take you up on that offer.” There was a pause, then the princess continued. “I’m not going to lie, this isn’t exactly what I imagined when I escaped your ship.” She gestured around the ship.
“Were you expecting grand adventure, fleeting glances and nights on fire?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I was. And to be honest, I just expected those things with you. Like, it would just be us on a hunt for the past.”
Natasha raised an eyebrow, “Well, I hate to break it to you but that’s not the way it is out here. There’s no hearts of gold and makeshift families, there’s only what you can do and if you can survive. You’re looking for life, they’re looking for power and riches.”
“And why are you here, then?” Darcy looked the redhead over curiously, her big brown eyes hypnotizing the pirate.
The pirate huffed, “I’m here because you pulled me into this. If I die in the process, well, that’s just a bonus.”
Darcy’s face dropped, and her voice lowered to a whisper, “You know, I think you’re wrong.”
“How so?”
“I don’t know if it would be worth it if you died, and I have seen hearts of gold out here. I’m thinking that maybe you’re just not looking close enough.”
There was a pause and then Natasha shook her head, “Why the hell do you seem to like me so much? I don’t get it, everyone else gets it but just goes over your head, princess. One of these days that spirit is going to get you killed.”
“Not if you save me.”
“What makes you think that I’m the hero here? If you’re looking for some dashing superhero to sweep you off your feet, you’re barking up the wrong tree.”
“I just know some things, and one of the things that I know is that when I look at you I see a raging fire. I see a forest fire, a goddamn natural disaster and I can’t take my eyes away. I trust that if I fall, you’ll catch me. You won’t be able to stop yourself,” She poked Natasha in the arm to emphasize her point.
The pirate scoffed at that, “That’s rich, princess but don’t hold your breath. There’s no love and glory here, there’s just will to survive and a bad attitude.”
Darcy wrapped her arms around the pirate’s body, including her arms and hummed into her shoulder, “Hmmn, whatever you say.”
Natasha rolled her eyes as the princess clung onto her and didn’t let go. She had the distinct feeling that this woman had no intention of letting go anytime soon.
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“What even happened down there?” Clava had pulled America into a corner and was now whispering to her out of ear range of the doctor and Maria.
America sighed, “I had to kill a prisoner, okay? And then everything just got out of hand.” She rested her hands on her hips.
The small pirate continued to watch her expectantly, “And?”
“And what? Shit happens, we move on.”
“Why did you kill a prisoner? You were supposed to be undercover, how do you screw up that badly?” Clava kept a hand gripped onto the edge of the young pirate’s shirt.
“He started boasting about what he had done, okay, and about the fact that he was getting out in a couple of months. I didn’t want that to happen so I just killed him.” She explained calmly.
Clava shifted her weight, “You, you just killed him? Just like that?” She made the motion of switching off a light switch.
“Yes! But it’s over now and we can move on.”
“Look, M.A.C, I’m not sharing the treasure with anyone and that’s just the way it is.”
America put a hand on her smaller comrade’s shoulder, “We’re not sharing it with anyone, trust me, by the time we get there it’ll only be us.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I am, don’t worry about it.” And then she patted her friend’s shoulder and led her back into the sitting area.
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“Sir, Foggy Nelson’s coordinates are currently moving towards us. Sir. Sir.” A nasely AI nagged through a small, dark ship’s halls. The ship, “The Daredevil” was currently cloaked on the moon Neith, close to Venus.
“I heard you the first time. Linda.” A man in a crimson red uniform rolled out of a covered bunk and into the hallway. He wore dark glasses and he carried a red walking stick that was able to be turned on and off. It also doubled as a taser.
“I thought our transport wasn’t supposed to be coming through here until tomorrow morning? He made his way expertly to the cabin of the ship. The controls were specifically designed so that he would be able to fly and fight without the need for vision.
On his planet, this was a common design but in this area of the galaxy, you would be lucky if someone had even heard of such a design. Most species would consider his blindness a disability and they had created ways of reversing blindness, however, his people were born blind and they had evolved beyond that of other species.
“It wasn’t. This ship looks like a class three. It’s clean but it looks like one of Fury’s shuttles.”
“And Foggy’s on that ship?”
“Yes.”
“Then someone broke him out before we did.” A holographic image of the ship appeared in front of him and he felt the characteristic’s of the ship, including the designation.
He sighed, “That’s definitely one of Fury’s ships. What have you gotten yourself into, Foggy?”
“Foggy is not here, sir. He is on the pirate vessel.”
Murdock closed his eyes, his ship may have been state of the art but maybe his AI could use a few updates. “I know that, Lin, thank you.”
“What do you want to do, sir?”
Murdock thought about it for a moment and then he shrugged, “We’ll get him from the ship. That’s all we can do, let’s move out of orbit and wait for them to approach. Maybe we can confuse their sensors.”
“On one of Fury’s designs?”
“Good point, let’s hail them when they get close enough. Maybe being diplomatic is the best way to go here.”
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“Is this more what you were imagining?” Natasha asked with a hint of sarcasm.
Darcy was currently half asleep curled around the pirate’s torso, her face buried in her neck. If Tasha wanted to get up she wouldn’t be able to because at first Darcy had just laid next to her but once she had drifted away, Natasha realized that she was the type of sleeper who pulled in everything and everyone around them.
Darcy hummed, squeezing her tighter, and the pirate tried to shift slowly away only realizing after that she wasn’t going anywhere without a fight. She sighed and dropped a hand onto the princess’s shoulder, laying her head back.
From the other side of the wall she could hear Maria and Claire talking. Temple had made it perfectly clear that she didn’t like Hill or the dirty pirates but when asked why the hell she was helping them she responded with a sharp “Because I’m too good a person and I hate it.”
“Rain…”
Natasha looked down at the princess, “Huh?”
“The rusty robot stole my earring..”
Natasha raised an eyebrow; Darcy was talking in her sleep. This was going to be great is all she thought.
Darcy moved her head in a little circle and snored suddenly and loudly, “The Cardivan’s in the puddle… So pretty..” The princess snorted and shifted closer to Natasha. A little drool spot was becoming evident on her shirt and Natasha sighed, slightly annoyed, slightly curious, and slightly happy.
The alarms in the ship suddenly started going off and both Natasha and Darcy st straight up in their bunk.
"Fish are friends!" Darcy cried out, still talking from her sleep as she sat up and Natasha rubbed her back lightly until she caught onto what was going on. A moment later Hill was in their doorway apparently choosing not to acknowledge the fact that they were in the same bed.
"We've got company, ladies."