Edra rubbed her now-free wrist.
"So is this how greetings work here?" she asked. "You strap people to tables and question them?"
"No, it's not," Lucienne said. "And I apologize again. It was more of a safety precaution."
Rafael spread his arms as if presenting something grand.
"That is why we're treating you to our best food as an apology," he said. "And trust me, it will be excellent."
Edra looked toward the door, puzzled.
"How did you get me in here through that?"
She gestured at the doorway.
"We carried you in here," Rita said.
Edra looked around the room.
"Really? You did? Surprising. So where's the other person who helped? Surely you don't mean you carried me all the way in by yourselves."
A vein popped in Rita's forehead.
"What exactly are you getting at, ceiling-scraper?"
"I was just thinking about how I got in here," Edra said. "And how I'm supposed to fit back through a doorway that looks more your size."
Another vein appeared, somehow larger than the first.
"Do you have a problem with me?" Rita asked.
Edra tilted her head.
"Yes. A list of them."
Lucienne closed her eyes for a moment.
"Moving on," Edra said, before anyone else could. "How tall is that door? Because from where I'm standing, it looks like I cannot just walk through it."
Rafael waved a hand dismissively.
"I don't know. You should be fine. You're not that tall. Come on, let's go."
"If you say so," Edra replied.
She approached the doorway like an old friend she no longer trusted.
She paused and looked over herself.
"Who cleaned my outfit? Last I checked, it was covered in mud and blood."
"It was Rita who fixed your outfit," Lucienne said. "Thanks are in order, yes?"
Edra hesitated.
"I… thank you," she said.
Rita glanced at her.
"Didn't know you could say that. Fine. No hard feelings anymore. For now."
"Now that you two have made up, let's get some food," Rafael said.
Edra ducked through the doorway, hunching over to avoid hitting her head any more than she already had.
"A little cramped in here, isn't it?"
"No," Rafael said. "I think you're just too big for my ship."
"After we get this amazing food, you can sit in the cargo hold. That might be the only place with enough space for you to stand up properly."
Edra looked at him.
"So I've been downgraded from person to cargo."
"No," Lucienne said calmly. "You may still move around the ship. You simply won't fit through most of it comfortably."
They continued down the dark corridor, and Edra's many eyes wandered over her new surroundings.
The walls were a deep jet black, smooth in some places and scratched in others. Many of the marks clustered low near the floor, layered over each other like the ship had been scraped, dragged, and lived in for years.
They made their way to the galley
As they entered, Edra looked around.
A layer of dust coated every counter clearly meant for cooking.
"So this is the place," she said. "Looks a little worn down, in my opinion."
"What an understatement," Rita muttered.
"Don't worry about that area," Rafael said quickly. "You see these small packs over here, set aside in this wonderful box? This is where the best food is."
Edra stared at the packets.
"So what you're saying is… you don't actually cook?"
"Well, who has time to cook?" Rita said. "The meals are already prepared for us, so why bother?"
"They also contain the correct balance of nutrients and vitamins we need," Lucienne added.
Edra looked at all three of them with the expression of someone witnessing a crime against all of cooking.
"So you don't cook. You eat out of bags. Or… whatever those things are."
"They're not that bad," Rita said. "You're making it sound much worse than it actually is."
Edra folded her arms.
"Do any of you actually know how to cook?"
She looked between them.
Only Lucienne raised her hand.
"I can cook," Lucienne said. "It's just been a long time."
Edra exhaled.
"All right. Fine. Let me try this amazing food the fish-man keeps bragging about."
Rafael pointed at her at once.
"For the last time, I am not a fish. Well—technically—"
He straightened.
"And my name is Rafael. Captain Rafael."
He stepped over to the heating station, opened one of the chrome packs, poured water into it, sealed it again, and gave it a firm shake.
Edra watched the whole process in silence.
Minutes passed.
Finally, Rafael placed the heated chrome package in front of her.
Edra looked at it as if it might bite.
"Go on," Rafael said. "Eat up."
The others all looked at Edra with open anticipation.
Edra examined the inside of the package.
What could this possibly be? What am I even looking at?
As she peered down into it, the first thing that came to mind was canned cat food.
She stared at it for a long moment.
I really do not want to eat this. It feels like it's staring at me.
Then she looked up.
All three of them were staring at her.
Edra's expression flattened.
Oh, great. They're staring at me.
She slowly looked back down at the food.
"Oh. Actually, I can't eat this," Edra said. "I don't have any utensils."
Rafael blinked.
"Oh, right. Silly me. How could I forget?"
He quickly handed her a spoon.
Edra took it and stared at the utensil in silence.
Damn it. It's fine. I'm going to eat it. I'm going to be fine.
"All right," she said at last. "I guess it's time to dig in."
She raised a spoonful toward her mouth, bracing herself for the worst.
The spoon touched her tongue.
Edra froze.
From across the table, Rita frowned.
"Why is she just sitting there with the spoon in her mouth?"
A beat passed.
Then Edra tipped sideways out of her seat and hit the floor with a loud thud.
"Is she going to be okay?" Rafael asked.
"I think she just overreacted. The food is not that bad," Rita said.
Lucienne knelt beside Edra and gently pulled one of her eyelids open. A bright medical light flashed across her eye.
"Well, she's still alive," Lucienne said. "Just unconscious."
Rafael looked down at Edra.
"So do we leave her here, or take her back to the medbay?"
Lucienne let out a quiet sigh.
"Pick her up," she said. "And watch your heads."
They hurried back toward the medbay.
When they reached it, they lowered Edra onto the table for a moment.
Almost immediately, her eyes snapped open.
She lunged up just enough to grab Rafael by the front of his clothes.
"That food," she said weakly, "is not fit for consumption."
Then her grip loosened.
Everything faded to black once more.