The chaos on JYP—or T9 as she now knew it was called—was different to that on the other one. Everything was so bright, oversaturated by advertisements and shop names. Even the prices were lit up, something rare back home, especially on the moon. 

“Any allergies among you?” The vender glanced back at her. 

“Fish—” She paused. That probably wasn’t the right thing. 

That crooked smile appeared. “No worries of getting any of that here. I should have probably said, we try to get the healthy variants of food packs, but you’ll mostly find the heavy carbo types.” A pause. “But we did get a discount on meats. Still good for a few weeks. So there’s another week’s stock on the ship, plus I can get us yet another now.” She nodded. “We’ll do that.” 

Sana only followed, not having any idea where she was going. Mina and Momo were bound to be on edge. They’d also hate the amount of trust she was putting in this person. What if she lead her someplace else? What if she handed her over to another? 

But she needed to see this place and actually know the type of person the vender was. She’d also be able to get free if this went wrong. She hoped so at least. Her weapon was within her grasp and the vender didn’t move like she knew how to handle a fight. Unless she was hiding that. Or the clunky block at her side was one of the best guns in this system. 

They entered the vast supplies store. Sana was overwhelmed by the variety. There seemed to be at least ten of each food pack or drink, each within the same price range. The vender was purposeful in which ones she took, amassing them in a metal net bag. 

“You see anything, go ahead. Right now there’s no budget.”

They passed a family of four. The parents and the children wore masks and hoods. She hadn’t seen one person without one here. In the top levels, she knew this wasn’t the case. Two different worlds in one single station. They were only on the most commercial area of this level. What was it like if you went further in? She was torn between wanting to find out and staying as far away as possible. 

She gathered Momo and Mina’s favourites, making sure to get a few fruit-based packs so they wouldn’t be completely deprived. 

The vender smiled at her then. It wasn’t blinding like her saleswoman one, but still bright. “For the friends too? Or just a big appetite.”

“For my friend’s appetite.” Momo had been getting that look in her eyes for the past few days. If she didn’t get something with meat, she’d snap at all of them. 

A small laugh. It was a nice sound. “So I’ll have competition.” She took more from the meat section. “Do you also like Earth’s Asian foods? We only have synthetic versions out here, but they’re pretty good.” The pack she held to had a bundle for rice, tofu, and ramen. Its sign said: Only three signals!

Sana wondered what that would do to your body. She hoped she didn’t look too disgusted. 

“I like them.” On Earth, she thought. 

“Great!” She put it back. “We make our own, still with syn-type stuff, but one Martian we had on said it was three-fifths to Moon quality.” A grin. “So not poisonous, if you were worried ‘bout that.” 

The two of them went to the fluids section. 

“Why don’t they just call it drinks?”

“Gets people excited that there’s alcohol,” she said. “Actually, I don’t know why.” The vender grabbed a tall bottle of rum. Yeast apparently wasn’t an issue to find ‘out here’. “I hope you’re not also rejecting of a drink now and then.”

This girl was clearly unaware of the inner system gossip. Well, the gossip that revolved around her. Momo had a drop of it compared to Sana, Mina even less. 

“No.” 

“Great.” She took one of vodka, another of gin. “And while you’re at it, don't hesitate to grab those spices you've been eyeing." 

Sana didn't think she'd been that obvious. Most of the food she'd had here, even on the higher levels of T9, was usually flavourless. Unless it was from the Earth-like planet, but most didn't bother going to those extremes of expense.

They were out of the store, several bags in hand, within minutes. Automated service really made this part simpler. When it worked. 

“How far along do you think the ship is?” A part of her really couldn’t wait to find out what this person looked like. Also what the whole crew looked like.

“An hour, I’d say,” she replied. Then she lowered her voice. “Someone’s buying and filling the spare fuel cells. I need to make those tweaks still. If we still are good on time, those’ll be done.” A shrug. “I’m not great at it, but if we can’t stop for the rest of the way, I can fill the tanks while out there.” 

“How?” Sana’s upbringing was shining in her face as strongly as those other signs. They had people for that. And to carry shopping bags. Her shoulders were so sore. She hoped they’d get back soon. 

“With courage that I don’t have, plus patience that I, thankfully, do have.” A smile. “And good tethers too, which Cha—someone is also getting.” 

“But if it scares you, can’t someone else do it?” Her arms were aching from carrying these bags. She only held two. The vender was holding at least three, but she didn’t look like she was struggling.

She shrugged. “We’ve divided up jobs. Refuelling falls under my duties and I’m not about to swap any time soon.” 

“You like doing that?” Her voice sounded strained. Another clear sign of her upbringing. Momo had made sure she wasn’t unfit, but strength training hadn’t exactly covered the weight of these bags. 

“It’s kinda cool.” She rounded a corner. It wasn’t the route they’d came through. The music was louder over here. “Empty space all around you. Just you and the ship,” she sighed, “if you don’t think too hard about the dangers, it’s really cool.” Then she laughed. “Cold too.”

Sana smiled at that. The conversation, her lugging around bags that nearly tore her shoulders off, it was all so different than what she was used to. Some of it she could do without, namely the fact that she was on the run and if she revealed her face, chaos would ensue. Yet this, not being exempted from a simple shopping trip, learning about someone's life without it being part of a pitch for marriage—it was something she wanted more of. That is, if this girl didn't throw her off their ship, a prospect that was actually legitimate. 

They reached the ship. Finally. One that flew and wasn’t too slow at that. Despite its interior and exterior being almost primarily the spare part of other ships, nothing rattled, not even when the boosters were on. That was a good sign. The only problem was that she felt like they'd been caught in a massive turbulence whenever they took off. Something which was impossible in space. At least where they were. 

“You remember where the kitchen is, right?” She glanced at her. “As you know where the storage area is, it’s on the same level.” A small smile. 

She felt her face warm then. They’d had to look around, yes, both to know their way around the ship and to see if they could find anything. The gun was out of its box. She’d had to take a look. What she'd seen was confusing. Not quite a forgery, but not original either. The girl had used a heavier material, a scope that dealt with an even farther range, and a bigger magazine. None of it would feel as smooth as the original or be as easy to carry around with you, but was that the point? Those improvements didn't fit their image, especially not that of the line the rifle was a part of. But they were improvements, nonetheless. One's Sana would want in her own personal weapon. 

The doors opened to reveal the girl with the cast on her arm. Also in a mask. They were really taking this seriously. Was she naive to be surprised about that? That they didn’t trust her, maybe even less than she trusted them (which wasn’t much, but it was enough to have showed her face to them). 

A broad grin appeared. The girl had a deep dimple on the side of her face. “You are amazing, D—captain.” 

Captain? She wanted to ask about it, but the vender just strode up the ramp. 

“I try,” she said. “Did they get you what you needed? Or do I need to do a run?”

The doors closed behind them with a resounding thud and then a hiss. 

Sana couldn’t take it. She set the bags on the floor and wrung out her arms. 

Standing in front of her, this other girl really was a giant. With the free hand, she took one of the mesh bags from the vender–mechanic–captain. Whose name started with a ‘D’. “We’re set for the—”

“If you say worst, I’m returning the frozen stuff.”

The smile vanished. “We’re all set.” Then she laughed softly. It was a lot like Mina’s. “And it’s ice cream, you heathen. Get it downstairs.” She went to the ladder thing and placed the bag beside the opening. 

The vender knelt down and attached the bag, as well as two others to the carabiner clip attached to a wire. The bags were lowered down gently. She repeated the process for the ones Sana was carrying, taking them with an ease that was almost insulting. Then she began the climb down.

The one with the cast was retreating to another room. Was that the sick bay? The door closed before she could get a good look. 

“Need a breather?” The helmet peered at her. “Sorry, we probably should have gone in a bigger group. Buying for nine is very different than for six.” 

Sana shook her head and went to the ladder. Her arms felt so light after dropping the weight. 

“Someone help us with the food!” the vender called. 

There was a groan, but a door opened and someone appeared. She wasn’t wearing a mask. She had long flowing black hair. It was wavy. Her face broke into a toothy smile when she took in the bags. 

“You two were busy. Hungry too.” She grabbed two with ease. It was the one they'd all assumed was the captain. Did they have two? They’d have to explain that to her. She glanced up at Sana. “Amazed by my beauty, princess?”

She’d been staring. It was the surprise of seeing a face without a mask. A friendly one at that. 

“Or disappointed,” the vender chuckled. “These masks are helping our mysterious factor. Sets expectations high.” 

The girl gave Sana a look. “So just you wait ’til you see our Dubu’s little mug.” Then she was off to the kitchens.

On their way Momo appeared, a relieved smile on her face. She reached for the one bag Sana was carrying. 

She shook her head. “I’ve got it.” She also didn’t need these girls to think she was weak in addition to pampered. Was she being ridiculous thinking like that? Maybe, but they’d be on this ship for a while. 

“Any search parties?” Dubu had to be a nickname. Also because the vender didn’t freak out at the potential slip up. Or maybe she was just loosening up about the anonymity. Sana found herself hoping for that last part. 

“People wanting a spare part or ammunition,” the other girl replied. “Got a hundred fifty signals.” 

The two started to stock the kitchen. The vender had a specific system in the fridge, while the other one just whatever into whichever shelf. 

“Jihyo picked up a good shipment.” She raised an eyebrow at the vender who’d just whipped their head in her direction. “I took off the mask. We’ll be fine with names at this point.” 

She clicked her tongue. “Fine.” 

Not okay with abandoning anonymity then. 

“And I said they’re banned now, so,” she waved a hand at them both, “helmets off. Both of you." 

Sana did, but she looked right at the vender afterwards, barely taking the time to enjoy how her skin cooled in the open air. The girl’s movements were hesitant. Several moments passed.

The face underneath was not what she expected, but it also wasn’t surprising. The harshest thing on her was a slightly crooked nose. Broken? As for the rest, she had dark eyes. Definitely Asian descent, but her hair was ash blonde and held up in a bun. It was black at the roots.

Then she laughed, her eyes crinkling as she did. It caught her further off guard. “Told you, expectations were high.” And then the girl proceeded to fill the fridge with the foods they’d bought. 

Sana knew she’d been staring again. This time not just because of surprise. 

____

Author's Note

Next part on JYP/T9 station finished! It's a bit like a skyscraper complex (but instead of floors you have the disks). The crew will be leaving soon, however, hopefully with the three inner-system girls. 

I'm really curious what your thoughts are for how this might play out, as well as any other speculations of yours. See you next chapter!