THREE

There's a buzz in her head that won't seemingly go away. Tossing and turning, Lydia grimaces and throws the blanket off in a huff. She opens the pod bed door with extreme force, causing the entire bed to rattle. Jac'Quill's eyes gently wake up after being disturbed and they roll over to the side. She puts on her socks and anti-gravity boots as she mumbles to herself. 

"Is everything alright?" they ask. 

She stops and leans her head back against the metal lip of the upper frame. Sighing, she begins to unbutton her nightgown. 

"Sorry, I just can't sleep. I didn't mean to wake you" 

"Do I have the gravity settings in the pod too high?" they ask. 

Lydia shakes her head with a firm 'no' and stands. Slogging across the floor in her boots, she finally reaches the dresser. Getting used to walking in them was difficult, even when sleeping in a gravity pod. She reaches towards one of the drawer handles and pulls, revealing an assortment of jumpsuits. She grabs the first one she sees and puts it on, grabbing the metal zipper in the front and sliding it up. It fits well, not too tight but not baggy anywhere either. Jac'Quill sits up too quickly and bangs their head on the inside of the pod. They bite down hard and let their head fall down on their pillow.

"Ow! Why are humans so short?" they holler. 

"How many times are you going to do that before you learn?" Lydia smiles, "I kind of need you to not be braindead for this mission." 

Jac'Quill stares at her while the skin around his eyes and mouth tugs downward. Sighing, Lydia pulls her hair into a bun and sticks two pins into it to keep it in place. 

"It was a joke, love," she says. 

 "I know." 

Lydia smooths out the bumps in her imperfect bun with her metal hairbrush. Pulling through the blonde waves, she clears out a lump that's forming in her throat. 

"I'm going for a walk," she says, leaving. 

In the corridor it is dark and eerily quiet. Everyone is probably asleep now. On a station it's easier to tell time than on a small cruiser since the lights dim to mimic the night and day cycle. She hears the echoing of her boots against the carpeted walls as she walks. Towards the elevator shaft she finds a snack machine and her stomach rumbles. She gazes at the thing for a minute, trying to figure out how it works. 

"Coins? Are you serious? I forgot how much I hated that about Earth –" 

There's a loud bang from one of the rooms. Lydia jumps back, her heart beats faster and faster. There's quiet for a moment, until more noise comes again from the same room. Nervous, but concerned that someone might be in trouble, she slowly walks in front of the shaft. She feels the cold breeze cut through her jumpsuit as she reaches for the door on the other side. Her hand wobbles as she presses the button beside it. As she holds her breath the door slowly creaks open, and she sees a man sitting on the floor of what appears to be a closet with a cleaning bucket on his head. At first she's confused, then amused. 

Lydia snorts, "how did you even do that?"

She grabs the metal handle under his chin and pops it off his head. Com glances at her with a sheepish smile. 

"Thanks," he says. 

Lydia's eyes widen as she looks at him curiously. Com flinches as she reaches for his hand and helps him to his feet. She's not upset at all, if anything she's happy to see him. 

"No way – I – she kept you all these years?" Lydia asks, "she always did have a soft spot for you though. Can't blame her, she was just a little kid I guess." 

Com swallows and nervously shuffles. Lydia eyeballs him with a childlike wonder. It was the happiest she had ever been to see him, that's for certain. She wondered if he remembered anything about her at all. If he was even capable of that. 

"You must be what? 16 years now?" 

"19 actually," Com corrects. 

"Holy crap. She must take good care of you." 

Com pauses, and leans back on his heels. The silence is strange enough that Lydia needs to fill the silence. 

"Why does Debbie keep you in a closet? I mean, it doesn't seem like her." 

"I doubt she did, she's in the holding room right now. I'm sure of it." 

Lydia frowns, "what's she doing in there for?"

Com stands there awkwardly and shrugs. His eyes don't meet Lydia's as he curls his lips upward. With a twitch of her lip, Lydia shoves him with her hand. She rolls her eyes and clenches her jaw. 

"Don't act stupid, I can't stand that shit. I know Terry and Debbie ate it up back then, but I'm not a child. You know why she's in there, so spill it." 

"She takes after her mother I guess." 

Lydia's nostrils flare, and she takes her fist up towards his face. She trembles as she holds herself in that exact position. With her fist almost touching his nose. 

"Lydia? Darling, why are you in the closet?" Jac'Quill asks. 

She pauses and pulls herself away from Com. Her hands bunch as she forcefully smiles. 

"What are you doing up?"

"Who are you talking to?" 

"No one just —"

Com peeks his head out from the side and stares directly at Jac'Quill. Eyes lighting up, Jac'Quill leans to the side with a childlike wonder. 

"Is that a companion bot?"

"Unfortunately yes..." 

"I've never seen one, it's so interesting — the way it looks so human except for the numbers on the face. What a technological feat!" 

Com bashfully rubs his hands against the numbers inked into his flesh. Jac'Quill watches curiously, like one watches an animal at the zoo. Completely ignoring Lydia's angry scowl they reach their hand towards his hand. 

"Do you know how to shake hands?"

 "Do I look stupid?" Com asks. 

Taking Com's hand in his, they gasp and begin feeling the inside of his palm. 

"So realistic!" 

"Can you stop? This is really weird…" he says. 

Suddenly, the smile on Jac'Quill's face disappears. They look concerned. 

"This can't be ethical, spontaneous emotional response? That's not right —"

"They wanna make him seem as realistic as possible. Makes it feel like you aren't playing with a toy, you know?"

"That's wrong. If he's capable of that much, isn't that a humanitarian issue?"

"You think too much," she scoffs, "thinking doesn't do much of any good when it comes to humans." 

"It works with you," they say. 

There's an awkward pause. Damnit. She hates when they use that against her. Shoving her hand into Jac'Quill's pocket, she reaches for a single sliver of metal. A coin. A goldish teal slice of metal. What good was that in exchange for food? You couldn't eat it. So why did it determine whether you got to eat or not? 

"The hell are you doing?" they ask. 

She slides the coin into the machine and hears it tick. Opening the touch screen pad she presses down on a bag of seasoned rice chips. 

"What does it look like? I'm hungry."

"You could ask before taking my coins, you know."

The bag doesn't materialize. She presses the touch pad again. And again. It doesn't do anything. What a pile of junk, she thinks to herself, beginning to slam against it with her fist. 

"Give me my quarter back at least! Useless machine. Can't even do one thing right."

Com hesitantly peaks around the corner of the door as if she's talking to him. He gazes at Lydia standing there shaking the vending machine. She never liked him much. If it wasn't wrong there would've been a few occasions she would've spoken to him that way. It was complicated. She didn't exactly blame him, since she didn't see him as really being alive. It was more like he was a scapegoat for a family on the verge of falling apart. 

"Enough Lydia, you are going to break it," Jac'Quill says. 

"Immaitu!" she exclaims. 

"You swear like a toddler, let's go back to bed."

Jac'Quill places their arm around her shoulder and lightly squeezes. They pat her gently as she falls into their embrace. Grumbling, she clenches her fist and releases. 

"I know, I know, I'm the worst," they say. 

"Where am I supposed to go?" Com asks. 

Jac'Quill turns towards him and shrugs. Lydia sighs and in a huff buries her head in Jac'Quill's chest. 

"Wherever you usually go to sleep I don't know," she says. 

"But all of Debbie's things are in here — I think she's been kicked out." 

Lydia pushes away from Jac'Quill. Her nostrils flare and her eyes widen. 

"What do you mean kicked out?"

"She's been in trouble, The President said if there were any more issues she'd be gone." 

"…Debbie can't take care of herself, she's never had to. She'll die out there," Lydia shutters. 

"I thought she hated you," Jac'Quill says. 

"The feeling isn't mutual. She's my sister — I won't let this happen. It's not going to. We aren't going to let it slide. She's family." 

"And what are we going to do about it?" Com asks. 

"You'll find out," she says. 

Lydia takes another swing at the vending machine with her right hand. Immediately Jac'Quill tries to soothe her with his embrace. She glares at the machine with a mischievous grin.

"I might hate humans, but I still know how they operate. Their stupid coin machines, obsession with things, power play, greed. I'm sure I can persuade her otherwise." 

"You aren't gonna hurt her are you?" Jac'Quill asks nervously. 

"No — this machine on the other hand… has it coming." 

"So…where am I going to spend the night? In the closet?"

"You can stay with us," Jac'Quill says.

Lydia gives them a weird look but says nothing. She sighs as they squeeze her harder and start leading her down the hall. 

"I didn't agree to this, you know," Lydia pouts. 

"You're picking fights with vending machines, I think I'm the only one making rational decisions right now alright?" 

As they begin down the hall, Com follows. He looks around as if something might jump out at any time. 

"You really aren't what I thought you'd be like, you're so…" Jac'Quill starts.

"What?" Com sharply asks.

"Alive."