some people can't be rescued (Untitled Sci Fi book scene)

We walked back to the elevator and waited. When it arrived, Soup gave me a long look, sighed, and then pushed a button on the control panel.

"Think of it this way," I said. "Maybe saving the ship will be an adventure! You'll be a hero!" Soup nodded. But he clearly liked the idea of adventure more than being a hero. He really wanted the ship to fly off into the abyss.

Mitchie was not happy when we arrived on the captain's floor. 

He started squirming in my arms like crazy. 

"Hey, hey it's okay," I said. I squeezed his butt to comfort him.

Beside the elevator there was a janitorial supply cart, but no janitor in sight. The walls were clean and dry. The floor didn't even have mud tracked on it. It was like nobody had been here all day. I set Mitchie down on the floor, and opened the supply cart door. There was an adjustable tool that should be the perfect size for the wall panels. It would allow us to access a cabin door's manual release. 

It was important to have the right tool for the right job. And, let's be clear, neither of us had the skills to hack anything.

I closed the cart and followed Soup and Mitchie.

"I think this is it," Soup said in front of one of the cabins. He pushed the spaceship intercom thing, and a man's face appeared. 

"Finally," the man said. "I've been going crazy. I'm locked in here. That's a form of torture. Solitary confinement. Did you know that?" He looked at us. "Who are you?"

"We're heroes," Soup said. "You're saved."

"Did you find the woman that did this?"

Mitchie scrambled behind my legs, whining.

"No, we'll probably never find her," Soup said. "She is some kind of super genius. Our security experts said we should all just count ourselves lucky to be alive and not even look for her."

"She was old," the captain said. "I can identify her if I can get access to the passenger manifest. None of my computers are working though." Mitchie let out a bark at him. He growled. And then he whimpered again and hid his face behind my leg. There was a small pool of pee spreading out from underneath him.

"Hey," I said, crouching down. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Is that Mitchie?" the captain said. "Why do you have my dog? Let me out of here."

"We have some questions about the ship first," Soup said.

"Your dog?" I said. "He doesn't seem to like you very much."

"Let me out."

"I told you, we just have a couple of questions," Soup said.

"Is that why you locked me in here? Because of the fucking dog? Why is everyone so willing to believe a doctor who clearly has ulterior motives? You don't even know all the facts. Why are people so stupid? You refuse to hear both sides of a story before you make your judgement."

"Both sides of what story?" I asked. I tried to keep my voice calm, but I could feel anger growing inside me. Had this piece of shit hurt Mitchie? If he hurt Mitchie I would drag him by his hair to an airlock myself. Let's see how cool his captain hat looked in the vacuum of space. 

"Oh please. Maybe educate yourself before you ask stupid questions. Did you know that she decided Mitchie was abused before she even did a bone scan of him? I have proof. Just so you know. I have the recording if you want to hear it. She already decided he was abused. Because he hurt himself a couple times before. It wasn't going to matter what the scan said."

Soup and I listened to him rant in silence. Mitchie wouldn't let me pick him up.

I didn't know what to do. I wanted to throttle the captain, but at the same time I just wanted to wrap my whole body around Mitchie so that he wasn't scared anymore. He was soaked in pee now. 

"What did the scan say?" Soup asked the captain, all friendly-like.

"It said whatever she wanted it to say. That's what I'm telling you. And for the record, the scan showed exactly the kind of rib fracture he would get from jumping off the bed. Which is what I told her. He hurt himself jumping off the bed. He only has three legs. Of course he's gonna fall sometimes. But she already knew what she wanted to see. And you just locked me in here anyway. Because you don't do your research. You just take some woman's word over your captain's, and steal my dog and lock me in my cabin? You know how many crimes you're committing right now?"

"Three?" Soup asked.

"God, you can't even see how ignorant you are. Let me out of here. Do you even realize what closed minded assholes you sound like? You have no context for any of this at all. If you knew me you'd know that I would never hurt Mitchie. I love him. He's my dog not yours. He belongs to me. You idiots. I give everything to this ship, and this is the thanks I get? I'm actually heartbroken right now."

"Turn him off," I said. And Soup nodded.

"Okay, you have yourself a nice morning," he said to the captain. 

"It's the middle of the night."

"Well, it's morning somewhere," Soup said. CLICK. He turned the screen off. "You know," Soup said. "I don't think that guy is going to be much help in figuring this out."

The adjustable wrench was the perfect tool after all. It is satisfying when you have the exact right tool for the job. I smashed it against the intercom and the display screen again and again, until the whole panel was broken and useless. I hoped that he could hear me, in there. Soup was crouched down with Mitchie, patting him. Trying to calm him down. 

I hated to make so much noise when Mitchie was already upset. But our captain wouldn't be bullying his way out of that cabin any time soon. If I couldn't throw him out an airlock, I could make damn sure he stayed in that cabin.

After I finished smashing the console I was out of breath. I had somehow cut my hand on the display while I was smashing it. I must have lost control there for a moment. I sat down heavily on the floor, and Mitchie came over to lick at my hand. Soup was looking at me with concern.

"Are you okay, Charles?" he said.

I nodded, and I scratched Mitchie behind his ears. I dropped the tool on the floor with the broken debris. Then I pulled my dog up onto my lap, pee-soaked legs and all.

"It's okay," I told him. "It's okay." He was still shaking. I squeezed him again. "I guess we'll have to think of a new plan, huh?" I whispered in his ear.