Jim yawned completely exhausted. He could barely keep his eyes open.
He finally struggled on his feet in pain. The deck-swabbing and sliding around on the knees took their toll.
His back was tensed, his knees were grazed, his shoulders and arms hurt from overstraining.
He had never in his life wished so much for a quiet place to sleep.
At that moment John Silver, the old cyborg, came on the deck.

"Still not finished?!" he asked unfriendly.

Jim could only shake his head tiredly, trying to restrain a yawn.

"Well then hurry! A few sacks of cardurian meat-potatoes are waiting for you to get peeled" he said with a more friendly tone. Slowly, Jim got the feeling that the cyborg enjoyed to torture him this way.
Whenever Jim was almost done with his work, Silver came along and gave him an even more strenuous job, or let him do the same again. The more Jim took on with the Cyborg, the more he had to slog in the end.
But not this time.
He had needed very long to swab the deck, but only because he had peeled these weird potatoes already, while the cyborg was busy in the galley. As long as the old cook wouldn't enter the cargo hold, he would think that Jim was at work. Just in perhaps one or two hours, he would take a look after him again.
When Silver went below the deck again, Jim had to smile inevitably. He felt pleasant anticipation, when the thought came to his mind, that he had finally time to catch up on some sleep now.

"Hey, cabin boy!" hissed a nasty voice behind him. Jim jerked and turned around. Above him stood Scroop and glared at him with his yellow insect eyes.

"You missed something over there!" he continued, and spat a dark, viscous mass right next to Jim on the floor.
In the meantime Jim was clever enough not to mess with this mean spider-psycho, so he remained silent and only returned his evil glance. Scroop only laughed his raspy, nasty laugh, and went below deck.
After he had disappeared, Jim dared breathing a sigh of relief. He could thank his stars that Silver took him under his wings and made clear to that rascal to leave the boy alone.
But Jim didn't hold up with this thoughts. He was too tired.
He quickly swabbed the rest of the deck and then sneaked quietly below deck. But he didn't go into the crew quarters - there Silver would find him immediately - but in the hangar to the longboats..
Exhausted, he nestled in one of the vehicles and fell asleep instantly.

When John Silver went back into the galley, he made a detour in order to get some new oil for the furnace.
When he entered the cargo hold, however, he was aback. In two large barrels, the freshly peeled potatoes were stacked neatly.
Silver laughed silently when he remembered how annoyed he was because the boy didn't make any progress up there.
He couldn't take it amiss and decided to let the matter rest for the moment.

Jim was awakened by a loud squeak.
When he opened his eyes, a pink blob flew wildly around on him, squealing happily.

"It's okay, Morph ... I'm awake," Jim said sleepy and grabbed playfully for the little shape shifter.
However, his movements were quite clumsy so short after waking up and so he didn't catch him.
Morph chuckled satisfied and then shot through the door out of the hangar.

Jim rubbed his eyes. Fortunately Morph had wakened him. He had no idea how long he had slept. Silver would surely tear off his head if he found him down here sleeping --
He stopped short. On the hallway from the machine room down to the hangar he heard Morph's squealing and the characteristic steps of a healthy leg and a cyborg prosthesis.
Jim made a face. The only way up was blocked.

Morph, you betrayer ...

"Didn't I give you a job?" Silver cried when he found the sleepy cabin boy squatting in one of the longboats.
Jim's thoughts were quite cumbersome after the little nap and he felt even more tired than before.

"I ... erm .. I just wanted to take a look at the longboats," he said and knocked on the console of the longboat. However, he had barely finished the sentence, he needed to deny himself from yawning, which hardly succeeded.

"I see ..." Silver replied, and gave him a skeptical glance. Jim drooped his head sheepishly. Now he was in trouble ... probably he would get even more work and extra night shifts.

"Get out!"

Jim climbed clumsily out of the boat.

"So, you wanted to take a look at the longboats..." silver repeated strictly and put his hands akimbo. Jim just nodded and prepared himself inwardly for a rubdown.

"Have you ever rode such a thing?"

The severity had completely vanished from Silver's voice.
Jim was totally unprepared for that question and he didn't really understand how it was meant at all.

"No ... erm, yes. Just once or twice."

"Well, since I currently have no job for you anyway, I could tell you a few things that every sailor should know"

Jim groaned inwardly. Not story time again. He hated that! He would rather swab the deck again, rather than listening how the Cyborg explained him every single screw of the longboat here in the hangar. He knew all that already and he was tired enough...

"Then show me what you can!" Silver said, and opened the hatch of the Legacy by pulling off a lever, so that the light of the ending day filled the hangar.
First Jim looked outside into the depths of the Etherium completely surprised, then he looked at Silver with wide eyes. Silver just grinned in return.

"Well, come on! Take that rope and help me to let the boat down"

"Aye, Sir!" Jim replied with a smile, and did what he was told.