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latenightskid · 6 years ago

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One Third

Kathryn walked down the hallway with a small backpack over her back. Ethan passed her in the hallway, having to look back at her at the sight of the backpack.

“Where are you going,” he asked. She stopped and turned to him.

“Uh,” she started, taking a quick look down the hallway. “Day trip.”

“Day trip? Alone?”

“Yeah. I need a break from all of Mark’s ‘heroism’.” The two of them let out chuckles, though neither were entirely convincing.

“I mean, I could come too.” Ethan’s tone had changed, and Kathryn could see it. She let out a sigh, followed by a sympathetic smile.

“Ok, you caught me. I’m heading out for the day to collect some new parts for Amy. She’s been saying she needs some, so I’m going to surprise her.”

“So why can’t I come?”

“Because I need someone to distract her from the fact that I’m gone. You know she’ll keep asking.” A large grin formed on Ethan’s face, and he saluted.

“I’m on it.” They shared a small chuckle and said goodbye. Kathryn made sure not to run into anyone else as she exited the ship into a travel pod. She dropped her backpack beside her in the chair, and typed the coordinates into the screen.

“Alright Mortriare,” she whispered, pressing a button. “Bring me the glory.”

Mortriare was a short trip, but she needed the time to execute her plan. She was only a few minutes away when a beeping noise came from her dash. Curious, she answered the call. Jack’s face appeared on the screen. It quickly changed into confusion.

“Why are you alone,” he asked.

“I’m going on a day trip,” she replied, leaning back in her seat. Jack tilted his head to either side, looking for the rest of the crew.

“By yourself?”

“I’m getting parts for Amy. It’s a surprise.” She gave him a small grin, but he seemed unconvinced.

“Clever, but you and I both know that if Amy wanted parts she wouldn’t send someone to go alone unless she physically couldn’t do it alone. Where are you headed?” She let out a defeated sigh and crossed her arms.

“I’m taking a day trip to Mortriare. I do it once a year.” Jack’s eyes went wide, and the corners of his mouth formed a devious grin.

“Mortriare you say. You drink?”

“I don’t drink. I play.” His smile formed wider. Kathryn didn’t like the look in his eyes.

“So… say, a friend of yours happened to tag along with you, how much would a beloved, trusted friend- no, family member- get in terms of credits.” Kathryn shrugged.

“I guess a third.” Jack’s grin widened the largest she had seen so far. She could see his tail excitedly flick into the air.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I don’t play for the money. I play to see the hope and determination drain from their eyes. I like to see their strategies crumble and hear the curses under their breath. The feeling of reigning victorious.” Jack’s eyes were wide, but not with excitement.

“You’re ruthless.”

“It’s a ruthless game.” Jack and Kathryn shared small grins. “Mind if I hop on board your ship?”

“Come on in.” Jack thanked her quickly and hung up the call.

Black clouds covered every inch of the planet. It looked like a puffy, black ball floating in space. Jack pressed his hand against the back of Kathryn’s chair as he looked at the planet. His tail was flicking wildly behind him.

“So many credits,” he mumbled. “So much loot.”

“Please don’t get the GLE on us,” she replied. “I know they don’t patrol the planet, but they have ways of finding things out.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m here for the money you’re going to win me at Veila.” Kathryn glanced up at Jack.

“Win us you mean?” He glanced down at Kathryn.

“Oh, right. Yeah… well… whatever. You know what I meant.” Kathryn shook her head with a small grin. Their ship pierced the clouds, and they rode through it for a couple of seconds before the neon lights of Mortriare came into view. Every building was covered in neon lights of plasma. Black ore roads ran through the blocks with neon lining the sides to bikes and other small vehicles. Kathryn steered the ship toward a large lot of ships of all sizes, similarly marked in neon lining. She parked it in one of the lots beside two larger ships. They exited the ship and started walking. Jack’s eyes quickly scanned the area. Sam floated beside Jack’s head, his own tail flicking in the air. They entered a large group of people, the smell of alcohol and damp bodies encasing them. The buildings all seemed to follow the same theme. Bars, nightclubs, and casinos. Every block had about five of each, all with different themes of their own. Every visitor of Mortriare had their favorite places, and each building had their own handful of regulars.

“Where are we headed,” started Jack, walking beside Kathryn. “Mortriare Star 5? Night of Stars? The Vegas?” He excitedly listed off the most popular places he knew from his couple of ventures here on… totally legal matters.

“Actually,” she started, “we’re heading to Veila Quantum.” Jack’s eyes grew.

“You have access to Veila Quantum?”

“Yeah, a couple of years ago they saw me win round after round at, well, Mortriare Star 5, one of the workers asked me if I wanted a pass. Of course I said yes.” Kathryn gave him an excited smirk, and he returned it.

“Imagine all the money we can get out of those rich snobs.” She rolled her eyes as they continued. After a few minutes, the building came into view. A red and gold sign sat above the double doors in a language neither of them recognized. Most of the signs were in different languages, but Kathryn had gotten most of them translated into common over the years. They walked up to the door guarded by two buff pig-like men, prashu’s. They stopped Kathryn before she walked in.

“Torro, Corva,” she started. “It’s me, Kathryn.”

“The velm,” Torro replied, his voice gruff and low. Corva pointed a finger at Jack, who looked back and forth at them.

“This is Jack. He’s my friend, and he has my pass.”

“Velm are thieves.”

“I’ve brought people in here before with me, ones whose species have a history for stealing. Have I ever brought in a thief?” They gave each other a glance. The doors finally opened.

“Keep an eye on him,” stated Torro as they walked in.

“Don’t worry about him.” They walked in, and Jack let out a sigh.

“Thanks Kathryn.” She shook her head.

“Those guys are great, but they’re a little too stuck in stereotypes.” The room was full of large circular tables surrounded by pristine looking aliens. They all looked like they had a lot more money than Kathryn and Jack combined. They could’ve lived there. Jack scoffed.

“Look at them,” he grumbled. A couple of people looked over at them. They immediately grew smiles on their faces and waved. Kathryn waved back with a similar smile. “You seem to know everyone here.”

“I know a lot of them,” she replied, “but trust me. All they do is talk about their big ships and lots of money. Not to mention the parties that they have with all their money.” They shared a small chuckle. Kathryn walked up to one of the medium sized tables surrounded by a group of aliens.

“Kat,” called a nikocage, quickly wrapping an arm around her. “Good to see you!”

“Please, Rofi,” she chuckled, “call me Kathryn.”

“Ok Kat. So, we’re starting a new round. Is it champions tonight?”

“As always.” The rest of the group chuckled and filled with chatter. The nikocage held his hand up, sending out a small electric charge that loudly interrupted the room. Everyone from all other tables turned to look.

“Attention everyone,” he began. “Tonight, ninkain Kathryn Knutsen is in the building! Tonight, we play champion takes all!” A cheer sent out through the building that Jack didn’t fully understand. The card deck sat in the middle of the table, and they were all dealt seven cards. Each of them got five blue belts, all worth 100 credits. The game began, and Jack used Sam to watch over Kathryn’s shoulder. In the screen, he could see Kathryn’s face. He had never seen such determination in her. Her eyes rapidly scanned her hand as well as the cards placed in front of them. The game was slow moving, so Jack decided to move. All he needed to do was not to get the GLE on his tail, and he wasn’t about to. He grazed past groups of fancy looking aliens, stealing any amount of physical credits he could get his hands on. Sam nudged his face, making him jump as he dropped a bag of credits.

“Sam,” he whispered, quickly picking it up from the floor and shoving it into his bag. “Careful. What is it?” Sam nodded in the direction of the bar. “I can’t be drunk when we leave. I need to get on the ship and-” Something caught Jack’s eye. He looked up over the bar to see a safe. He recognized the safe from casinos over the year. Each casino had one they kept all the credits when people cashed in their belts. He smirked up at Sam. “Nice call buddy.” From the other side of the room, he saw Rofi lift Kathryn’s hand into the air as everyone groaned.

“Kat wins the first round of Veila with 1,000 credits worth of belts!” 1,000? That wasn’t a lot, but she still won. He saw the vicious smile on her face and chuckled. It was going to be a good night for both of them.

Kathryn had won her third game and 15,000 credits before she walked up to the bar. Everyone else was talking or playing practice games for the next round. Jack quickly walked up to her, almost knocking her over.

“Woah, Ja-”

“I need your help,” he interrupted. She looked over at him and squinted.

“Jack…”

“I know I know, but if you help me we could walk away with more money than either of us could’ve even imagined.” She sighed and leaned back on the counter.

“I don’t care about the money. I want to play.” The gear’s in Jack’s head turned, and he mumbled under his breath.

“Fine. We’ll do it legally. Any ideas?” Kathryn looked at her next playing table, then back at Jack with a smart smirk. Jack glanced at the table and then back at Kathryn.

“No way. Not with those rich assholes.” Kathryn patted Jack on the shoulder.

“Oh come on Jack. You know how to play, you want the money. Besides. You can show all the racists what velm can really do.” He looked around at some of the other table. A couple people looked over at them, then whispered and laughed to each other. Jack let out a sigh.

“Fine.”

“And you have to be on your own team.” Jack recoiled quickly.

“What?!”

“Break’s over,” come Rofi’s voice. Kathryn reached past Jack and grabbed the water bottle the bartender gave her. “Everyone to the table!” She walked toward the table and waved to Jack.

“Good luck!” Jack let out an exasperated sigh as she left. He and Sam glanced at each other, and Sam nodded toward the table.

“I hate doing things the legal way,” he groaned, walking toward the table. The cards were dealt as soon as he arrived. With his arrival came disgusted looks from those around him. Kathryn stood at the side of the table, not directly across from him. A small, sympathetic smile sat on her face, followed by a confident nod when he looked up at her. He picked up his hand and looked at it. Not a great hand. He let out a small sigh, and Sam floated by his head. There was a robotic squeaking as someone grabbed Sam straight out of the air. Jack almost dropped his hand as he quickly spun around to see Corva holding Sam in his large hands.

“Hey,” yelled Jack, his fangs showing.

“No bots in the game,” snapped Corva.

“Jack,” called Kathryn. Jack realized they had everyone’s attention now. He looked at Kathryn who seemed worried. She glanced up at Corva, then back at Jack. “It’s alright Corva. Please be careful with it. Right Jack?” Jack looked at everyone else, then back at Corva. Corva gave Jack a smart smirk as Sam squirmed in his grasp, his iris rapidly moving. He walked away, leaving Jack to their game of Veila. As Jack turned back to the table, everyone’s whispering conversations quickly stopped. He gave Kathryn a look of pure anger for the situation, and Kathryn gave him a sympathetic smile.

“Can we start now,” asked Rofi, holding back an annoyed snap. Kathryn rolled her eyes and nodded. The game began.

Jack had never seen such a ruthless player. Kathryn was silent, playing cards like it was her job. She was right. Jack could see the hope drain from their eyes, replaced with rapid panic as they tried to make a strategy. She was close to winning, reversing the order, playing wild cards. The pile was full of red and blue belts, along with dots of yellow and green. Jack looked at his hand, and like a lightbulb going off above his head, he had a strategy. He just needed his turn. Kathryn was at Veila, and Jack was only one card away. Kathryn couldn’t play, could she? There was no way she had another card of the color. Finally, Kathryn laid down her last card. A collection of annoyed and exasperated sighs filled the table as Rofi lifted up her hand.

“Winner, of round four,” he called with a chuckle. “We’re halfway through the champions. Who’s still in?” Due to Jack’s close to Veila, he still had a shot. Kathryn walked over to him before they organized more players.

“You did awesome Jack,” she told him.

“I had a strategy,” he replied, crossing his arms. “And I would’ve won if you’d only gotten more cards.” The two of them laughed together.

“We have four more rounds. I hope to see you at finals.” Jack nodded and went to turn back to the table, but Kathryn grabbed his shoulder. She pulled him in closer. “Besides, everyone is getting mad at how good you were.” When she pulled away, a large grin was spread across Jack’s face.

“See you at finals,” he told her. They clasped hands into a bro-handshake before dispersing back to the table. The group was smaller than before as some people were bailing, but the pile was only getting bigger. Kathryn had to have had about 50,000 credits in the pile alone, and it was only getting bigger from there. Four more matches, four more chances.

One, two, three. The belts got more expensive, the credits got higher. Every time, Kathryn won and Jack got second. Every time, people only got increasingly angrier at the idea that Jack was so close to winning. The last match held with only Rofi, Kathryn, and Jack. Everyone was ushered away so no biased cheating could happen, but a couple moderators watched to make sure the players themselves didn’t cheat. Everyone was in their zones as they played. Kathryn and Jack kept giving each other excited glances, which raised suspicion from the moderators, but upon further investigation, they concluded it wasn’t cheating. Rofi kept taking glances at the moderators with his own grin, and they would return a grin, just hoping he’d look away.

Finally, everyone had Veila. What they did with it, none of them knew what the others would play. Finally, Jack’s eyes widened. He slammed his hand down on the deck.

“Yes,” he cheered, throwing his hands in the air. Rofi suddenly let out a frustrated grunt, throwing his card as it floated down onto the pile.

“He cheated,” he yelled, pointing a finger at Jack. Jack looked at everyone around the table. They were all whispering angrily to their companions.

“No I didn’t, I played fair and square! Everyone saw it! It was monitored!” Rofi quickly stormed round the table and up to Jack.

“He has a robot eye!” Everyone gasped, and Jack’s fangs quickly came into view.

“It doesn’t work without Sam, the floating eye, which you took from me!”

“Oh, like we’d ever believe a velm!” Kathryn quickly walked in front of Rofi, her tail whipping behind her in anger.

“He’s not lying,” she snapped. “I’ve worked on Sam personally to fix him sometimes. I know how he works. Jack didn’t cheat.”

“She’s just covering for him,” someone called. Everyone yelled in agreement, beginning to chant ‘liar’ across the room. Jack was ready to bite the smug grin off of Rofi’s face. Suddenly, Sam flew in, running into Jack’s face.

“Sam, what are you-“ Sam quickly displayed a playback of the game, and everyone went quiet. It zoomed in one of the faces of the moderators as they walked around the table, stopping in between Jack and Kathryn. They mouthed the word “no red”. A quiet gasp fell through the crowd as it cut to Rofi’s small grin. He glanced back down at his cards. His next play changed the color from of the deck from blue to red. Both Kathryn and Jack’s faces sank slightly, but went back to determined. The holographic screen fell again, and Sam floated beside Jack’s head.

“Rofi, you cheated,” asked Kathryn, disappointed but not surprised. Rofi looked around at all the angry faces of the participants.

“I wasn’t going to let a velm win,” he snapped. “What would that look like if a velm won at Veila Quantum?” Kathryn stepped up to him.

“It would look like you don’t discriminate, which would attract more visitors, maybe even some with a lot more money, here.” Jack walked up beside her, his newly earned bag of 1,200,000 credits over his shoulder. The bag was the size of two adult dulcosi’s. “Guess what, Rofi? You just lost your two best players.” Kathryn turned to Jack who gave her a confident nod. They started out, but were quickly stopped by Corva and Torro. Kathryn looked up at them, her face quickly changing as she gave them a glare. A low growl escaped her throat. Their eyes widened, and they moved to the side. She walked out, and Jack proudly walked out beside her.

Kathryn docked Jack’s ship and opened the door.

“That was fun,” she started as he stepped out, “and… I’m really sorry about all of them. I’m never going back there again.” Jack smiled at her.

“Ah, it’s alright,” he replied. “Besides, you scared two of the biggest dudes in that place. That was awesome.” She chuckled.

“I’ve done bouncer work for them before by myself. They know what I can do.” They shared another laugh.

“Thank you Kathryn. Do you mind if I come with you next year too?” Kathryn smiled.

“We can make it our annual thing, a secret just between us.” Jack chuckled and nodded. He grabbed his bag and turned. Just before the door closed, Kathryn noticed his bag seemed slightly lighter than before. It closed finally, and she looked in the back to check the ship’s status. In the chair Jack had been in was a brown bag. A small note was attached, and she opened it.

⅓ - Jack

Kathryn walked down the hallway with the bag over her shoulder. Ethan turned a corner and quickly ran to her, excitedly bouncing in place.

“Did you get it,” he asked. “What’s in it? Can I see? Is she going to love it?” Kathryn chuckled.

“I didn’t,” she replied. “This guy ripped me off for faulty parts, so someone was able to get me a refund.” Ethan stopped bouncing.

“Aww, that sucks! Can we go buy some parts?”

“Maybe tomorrow. I’m hungry and tired from the day trip.” Ethan nodded rapidly.

“Got it.” Kathryn turned and walked down the hallway, a small grin on her face.

#canon side story #spaceiplier #space au #lazy writer #kathryn knutsen #jacksepticeye

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