the orphan king

the volunteer

In the depths of space, in a glorified lifeboat, in a room that wasn't supposed to be occupied, a group of people gathered for inauspicious reasons. This group of people consisted of the lowest and yet highest on a self-imposed caste system. Men, women, boys and girls screamed in communion as they formed a circle around two brave lads who fought for the pride of their stations, the love of the people, and of course for currency or anything of equal value. In this circle were two teens on the cusp of manhood who circled each other bare chested and shoeless as to rule out any chance of foul play. One boy was taller and barrel chested and radiated a sense of confidence that comes from being bigger than anyone else since birth, this boy was named Christopher and he was a son of the Factory Station. His opponent seemed to be the opposite, the teen was lean but obviously fast and he danced on his feet to make up for his lack of height and muscle, this boy was named Drake Knight and he was an orphan.

Christopher made the opening move and threw a right jab which connected with Drake's face and Drake naturally took a few steps back and reevaluated his opponent as he wiped the blood from his now split lip. Christopher, despite his size closed the distance and let out a flurry of punches that would have cut down a man twice the size of Drake but Drake had experience and speed so he moved just enough to dodge a punch but not in exaggerated movements that would have tired him out.

A smart man would have placed a hefty wager on Christopher as he seemed to be running at peak efficiency and preformed like a champion race horse of old. A wise man; however, would have went all in on Drake as he met Christopher head on and seemed to just disappear every time Christopher threw a punch. After a full two minutes of throwing punches Christopher stepped away from his opponent sweating and panting as he kept his guard up and tried to catch his breath while Drake continued to move from one foot to the other.

"What now? Tired already? That's what happens when all you do is pull a wrench all day bolt jockey." Drake goaded and although Christopher was incredibly gifted in the physical department he was not equally gifted in temperament and he roared in frustration and swung with a reckless right hook and Drake seized the opportunity.

With almost contemptuous ease Drake grabbed Christopher's wrist and pulled him using his own momentum forward while simultaneously side stepping and punching with his own right hand. The blow was like running into a metal wall and Christopher fell down unconscious with blood dribbling out of his mouth. The fight was over and tomorrow Christopher would have an accident where a piece from the assembly line had somehow flown off the track and hit him in the jaw hard enough to break it.

The winners cheered, the losers grumbled, and money exchanged hands. Drake quickly pulled on his thin shirt and went to the bookie to collect his earnings from the fight. Sam "Four Fingered" Flint nodded and handed him a pouch full of food chips and Drake nodded in thanks. He didn't bother counting it as they had known each other for a long time and Drake had earned Sam quite a lot of money so trust between them was solid. One by one the crowd dispersed through the corridors of the forbidden section that ran throughout the whole length of the Ark. Drake had been exploring them since he was but a babe and was intricately familiar with the maze. It was this knowledge that allowed him to avoid the guards, the ones that could be bribed and especially the ones that couldn't.

Drake was thankful his frame had remained lithe and small as he climbed through the air vents. Within an hour he had reached his housing unit. With care he pulled the air grate out of the ceiling and lowered himself through the small opening before landing quietly on the metal table right below. Looking around to make sure he had woken no one he went on his tip toes and pulled the grate back to its original position. He climbed off the table and made sure that his movements had not moved it in the slightest before finally breathing a sigh of relief as he looked around the room filled with sleeping children.