Disclaimer: Treasure Planet and all affiliated characters belong to Disney. However, Lightoller is my own original creation. This is written solely for pleasure and not monetary gain.

Chapter 1 – Isn't It Romantic?

As the night sky hid behind heavy clouds, an occasional ray of moonlight escaped through, illuminating the barren courtyard. Heavily-fortified, large granite walls surrounded smaller buildings which were sporadically positioned across the grounds. Another beam of moonlight broke through, quickly revealing two figures huddled beneath a small awning, one kneeling as they stood in front of a gate, the other vigilantly scanning the area surrounding them.

"I don't think this is such a good idea," Delbert Doppler cautioned as he looked around nervously. "What if we get caught?"

"Well my dear, then I'll suppose we'll have to spend our anniversary inside a Denobai prison facility," his companion responded dryly, still fiddling with the magnetic lock.

"Amelia!"

With a sigh, Amelia Doppler stopped what she was doing and favored her husband with an exasperated look. "Sarcasm, Delbert. That was sarcasm. I would suggest you look into its many incarnations, but somehow, I rather imagine you'd find a way to bumble through it much like the rest of your speech." The sly smile she tacked on the end of the comment helped to dispel some of the sting the barb would have otherwise delivered.

"Oh." Delbert thought for a moment, watching his wife as she returned to her task, before conceding to her logic. "You're probably right."

"Of course I am, darling. Haven't you learned that by now?" There was a gentle buzz and then a click as the lock sprang open. "Aha! There we go."

Straightening, she reached inside her parka and dropped the tool into an interior pocket. When she removed her hand, Delbert saw that she had traded the lock pick for a blaster. He winced.

"Do you think we're going to need that?"

Amelia shrugged. "I certainly hope not, but one can never be too certain. Besides, you know my motto."

"Blast first, questions later?" he offered with a practiced look of innocence.

"Oh honestly, Delbert. It was one time, and I have already admitted that that particular lapse in judgment was one of my less-than-stellar moments." She sighed and brought two fingers up to rub the bridge of her nose. "Seeing as you've mentioned it – yet again – am I to presume that you plan on reminding me of that moment for the duration of our foreseeable future?"

Delbert cocked his head in thought and carefully considered her question. "It's a distinct possibility. After all, you said it yourself: How often do you have a lapse in judgment?"

Amelia narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm beginning to think I made a rather grave one approximately one year ago."

Delbert chuckled and gave her a fond look. "And a year ago, I might have believed you, but I know better now." He leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially. "You've taught me too well, darling; however, if I promise to not mention it any more, may I still sleep in our bed when we return home?"

Amelia favored him with a level stare while Delbert waited expectantly.

"I'll consider it."

Delbert grinned and shook his head in amusement, quite aware that consideration was far better than what she would've done six months ago. Amelia took a moment to return the smile before turning back to the door and palming her blaster. Reaching in to his own coat pocket, Delbert pulled out a smaller version of the blaster Amelia carried, and clutching it tightly, began to follow her into the darkness. The courtyard was once again steeped in blackness, but Amelia, with her keen Felid senses had no difficultly in navigating. She could hear Doppler creeping softly behind her and had to admit to being impressed with his ability to maintain near silence. Not too long ago, that would have been asking for the impossible.

They had been married for almost a year now. One year. Amelia shook her head in disbelief as she quickly reflected on the past two years of her life. If Arrow had told her that the bumbling academic in the sardine-can outfit would end up being the man she loved more than life itself, she would've recommended that he be considered for Bedlam.

But, love him she did. It still took her by surprise when she recalled how he had slowly worked his way into her heart. The small tokens of his affection – flowers, books, carriage rides along the canyon as the moon slowly rose into the sky. She had to give the man credit. He had taken his time in wooing her, and it had worked. Now, one year later, here she was, trespassing about on some heavily fortified planet with husband in tow, blaster at the ready.

How utterly romantic, she thought with a silent laugh. She was going to have to make sure to thank the blasted smuggler for effectively ruining her first anniversary. Perhaps some nice blaster fire across the top of his head or maybe a good, old-fashioned blow to the jaw was in order. Whatever she did, she would have to do it quickly if she hoped to retrieve the documents he had inadvertently taken when he'd chosen her ship and her cargo to transport his Rivellian chocolates.

Why Denobai simply wouldn't lift its embargo on Rivellian delicacies was beyond her, and under normal circumstances, the foreign trade policies of two lesser planets wouldn't have bothered her in the least. However, this particular smuggler had decided to sneak the confections in with a particularly fragile shipment leaving on the RLS Legacy. The temperature-controlled cargo made the perfect hideaway for the heat-sensitive chocolates. Unfortunately, the perfect container which was specifically climate-controlled had been do so for several very important and extremely antique documents which had been drawn when Montressor had first been established 300 years ago.

It had been an honor to be asked to transport them to a nearby museum on one of the outer-lying planets. But that honor had quickly morphed into shock when she realized the cargo was missing only moments after docking at the spaceport. Fortunately, fast thinking on Lightoller's part had allowed them to quickly trace where the cargo had found its berth. Unfortunately, it was in the heavily-fortified compound of the well-known Raul de la Vega, a most notorious Denobian businessman who was said to have ties to the planet's crime syndicate. It came as no shock to Amelia to consider that the man was also engaged in smuggling.

Reaching into her other breast pocket, she retrieved a small communications device and brought it to her lips, pressing the communication button.

"Mr. Lightoller, can you hear me?" she asked in the barest of whispers.

"Aye, Captain."

"Report."

"I dispatched the nearby 'help' and am coming up on your position." There was a pause. "I can see you now."

Amelia peered into the darkness, scanning the blackened area behind them. Shaking her head, she spoke into the receiver again. "I don't see you."

"Look to your left. See the dashing figure swathed in black near the trash disposers?" came the dry response.

The corners of Amelia's mouth lifted into the slightest smile. "I see no dashing figure. Merely the form of one former First Officer." She cleared her throat and brought the slightest touch of command to her voice. "Well then, now that we've engaged in the obligatory light-hearted banter that always accompanies these adventures, do you think you could join us, Mr. Lightoller? I rather dislike the idea of spending the entire night out in this blasted cold."

A serious note crept into his voice. "Duly noted, Captain. I'm making my way to you now."

Amelia turned to Delbert and gave him an appraising glance, her mood turning somber as she asked, "Are you ready for this, Doctor? There's an overwhelming chance that this could turn nasty."

Delbert returned her gaze levelly. "Short of tying me up and gagging me, there is no way that I will allow you to continue this mission without me."

Amelia nodded thoughtfully for a moment. "Now there's an intriguing idea my dear, but I think we'd best leave that for home behind closed doors, don't you?"

Delbert's eyes widened in surprise and opened his mouth to reply but stopped short as Lightoller appeared behind them. In less time it took to take a breath, Amelia was once again all business and turned to her First Officer outlining her plan for gaining entry into the compound and access to the control room.

To be continued …