Prequel
Jim Hawkins had it all. He had come a long way from that scrawny teen who haphazardly had managed to blow up an entire planet filled with treasure. He was still scrawny and had not grown old yet – only a few days ago turning twenty-seven – but he most certainly had changed. He was in possession of a mansion on the outskirts of The Capitol in which he lived with his beautiful, kind and devoted fiancée named Jessica and the tiny shapeshifter Morph who persistently followed Jim wherever he went.
He had worked for several years as a captain aboard a variety of different ships and had also served as an interplanetary police officer until Jessica opened her heart and asked for a child. He sold his ship and left Montressor Spaceport the day after, his love for Jessica far greater than his yearning to soar among the stars. Mere days after quitting his job he was offered a different one, as Executive Officer of the Interplanetary Trade Company (ITC) which he accepted without a doubt. The job itself was as dull and uninspiring as the name might suggest but he did not care, for it meant he had no more than fifteen minutes to travel between his home and his job.
That was seven months ago. Jessica's stomach grew slowly and persistently. Unfortunately, as did Jim's longing to travel, to set sail towards horizons never before seen. Almost every night Jessica caught him staring blankly up toward the stars. When she did, she always leaned down; putting her head on his shoulder, taking his hand and placing it on her stomach. When she did he always startled, looked at her, smiled faintly and placed a kiss on her lips. "Aren't you happy?" She had asked one day. He looked her straight in the eyes, confusion and disbelief in his eyes,
"I am, believe me. I love you, I really do, and I love our son. I love him to bits and you know I do. I'm just being stupid. Forgive me?" He smiled again. She sat down in his lap and put her arms around him and he put his head on her chest, inhaling her scent. Jim's hands carefully stroked her swollen belly, pressing very lightly to feel the being that grew inside. She leaned down and kissed him again, passionately as only she could and Jim sighed, forgetting completely all about stars and dreams of the life he once gave up.