DISCLAIMER: I don't own Treasure Planet, or any of its characters.

Please review! The story is actually finished, and I'm going to put up as many chapters as I can soon.

Part One – Mission

One

From his position, Jim Hawkins spotted his enemy's longboats searching the caves that jutted along the outcropping of the cliff. Unbothered by the height, he looked down. Between him and the river rushing several hundred feet from where he was perched on the ledge, there were two patrols. With his solar surfer, which came without the guns that longboats were equipped with, they would hit him before he could move. There were five boats in total, and four of five spacers to each. The gears in his mind spun wildly as he thought. The package is the first objective. If I can get past them to headquarters, it'll be safe. If you could have listened to Jim's mind, you would have heard furious whirring, until all of a sudden, it clicked to a stop. His eyes narrowed, and he smiled a wicked half-grin.

"Hey boys!" He yelled, and all eyes were on him as he continued, speaking too quickly for them to have a chance to knock him out of the sky. "Would you mind telling me where the real pirates are, I think they lost me!"

From his position, Jim could see the head of the attack operation's eyes narrow, and bellow, "Gun him down!"

Laughing to himself, Jim didn't go straight up, or collapse down, as most other spacers would do. The enemy was between him and his objective already, and instead of giving them the time to block his way more thoroughly, without waiting for the order to shoot him, Jim collapsed his sail and quickly gunning his engine, twisted himself out of the way as fist-sized orange-yellow laser balls were shot at him from all sides through the blue sky.

Jim flew right below the first boat, and spun to the side of the second. In a moment, the next two were on him. Jim grinned as he flew between the two of them, and he looked back for a fraction of a second to see the burning holes the shots meant for him had made through the sides of the opposite longboats. He easily dodged the shots from behind him that were from the four boats, now in hot pursuit.

Now there was only the fifth boat left. He was in sight of the docks of the headquarters, coming around the curved edge of the cliff face. As the fifth boat arose, he saw the fuming anger in the enemy leader's eyes. Quickly shooting off a few shots behind him from the small laser gun in his hand, Jim put it away and he cradled his package as he flipped backwards over his enemy's head, and using his free hand, snatched his opposition's laser gun.

"Nice meeting you too!" He called behind him, grinning as he sped up, and as their leader fumed, trying to turn their longboat, Jim opened his sail, forty meters from being home free. Coming fast now, there was only one large outcrop in the now lowered cliff edge between him and the headquarters, and as unconsciously as he had evaded all other obstacles, he began over it, and had almost cleared it.

To Jim's shock, another longboat rose in front of him. There were only five, even from the beginning . . . he went over his memories of the mission in his head, pictures flashing, as he slowed down, and he knew he was right. If there were only five, whose side is he on then?

Now two meters away from the longboat, Jim slowed, and conscious of the now out of range longboats that he had cleared vainly trying to catch up, he saw the face of the boat's occupant.

"Care for some backup?" she called with a grin.

Conscious no longer of the longboats behind him, but only of the eyes of the girl in front of him, he tossed her the package, and grinned.

The young woman, deftly catching the small package, saw the challenge in his grin, and turned to race towards the docks.

In the few moments left of the ride, Jim didn't even feel his usual exhilaration from flying. In his head was only Who is she? I think I've seen her before, but I would have remembered those eyes . . . Inside his head, a vivid picture was plastered to Jim's brain. It was her. The same dark eyes and hair, delicate features, rosebud lips, and face touched with olive tan.

As they landed a few meters away from each other on the white dock, and almost immediately Professor Xiggins came up with his clipboard. From the planet Zargutha, he was rather short and stout, with a face that would have been squirrel-like, except for the two dark rolls of skin where his cheeks would have been, four brown tentacles, and spats in two shades of brown.

"Very good Jim," he warbled, "rather unorthodox, admittedly, but very affective." He laughed his gurgling laugh as the five enemy parties, or rather five longboats of fourth-year Interstellar Academy spacers, tired from the three-hour simulation, landed and began returning their boats to the boathouses. Jim turned around and vainly tried to find the dark eyes of the girl he had met, but turned around impatiently as his favourite teacher continued speaking.

" . . . As my best student, however, I wouldn't think you so prone to being surprised." He said with a twinkle in his eyes. All of a sudden, the package Jim had thrown the girl landed in his hands, but the deck was now so full of students, including the younger years who were observing the simulation, he could barely even see what direction she had thrown it from.

Mildly frustrated, Jim began, "Thanks Professor, but I really should be going, I –"

"Oh Jim, apparently you were unaware. That surprise addition, another best fourth-year of mine, she wasn't on your side." His eyes twinkled as the truth began to dawn on Jim's face. He chuckled, and continued. "My, my, Mr. Hawkins! Not what I was expecting! That will certainly bring your mark down a little from your flawless mission completion, but I daresay, though I will never understand it myself, you humans, you were sufficiently distracted. But in the future," he chuckled again, "remember that when I say you are alone on a mission, you are alone."

Turning red, Jim opened his mouth to speak as the crowd on the dock began to thin, and he handed the 'package' – really a Zorrellian fruit wrapped in packing paper – back to Professor Xiggins.

Patting Jim fondly on the shoulder, Xiggins interrupted his not-yet-begun question, and said, "Now Jim, you should really put away your solar surfer. But after that, be sure to come to my office. I have a favour to ask – I have a student who needs tutoring."

"Sure Professor, see you soon." Jim replied distractedly, and quickly scanned the crowd, his heart sinking as he realized that there was no mystery spacer there. Sighing, he collapsed his solar surfer and walked to the private boathouse, a place for student's own vehicles, not the school's practice or mission ones. After locking it up, the dock was almost empty, aside from the usual first-years trying to advance their flying, and older students tutoring or going out for joy rides. Irritated, Jim turned and walked back into the main building, his dirty boots on the deep crimson and gold carpets, and his eyes not noticing the high ceilings with their patterns of gold and royal blue, the Academy's colours, and the awards and framed pictures of graduates on the walls.

He sighed angrily. Even with the incredibly selective admissions to the Academy, spacers from all across the galaxy came there – it was massive. I'll never see her again, even if she does manage to be in the same year as me. Surprisingly, this thought made Jim feel strange, and as he walked through the entrance hall, up the stairs to Professor Xiggins' room in the east wing, he didn't notice his dark boots getting dirt on the floor, and the tiny cleaning robot who followed him. Professor Xiggins wasn't an enforcer of their off-white and gold uniform while doing fieldwork; only in the classroom was it mandatory to wear the uniform.

Before he knew it, Jim was inside the Professor's door, and at Xiggins' plain desk that sat in front of a large, clean, white auditorium with long, high windows on the side that let in the shining sun.

"You wanted to talk to me sir?"

"Oh, yes, Mr. Hawkins! I have a student I want you to tutor. Top of the class, there was only a mission for the past few months that kept . . ."

Inside, Jim groaned. Tutoring? He thought. Why was I so distracted that I agreed to this? It'll probably be some second-year who can barely fly, I don't have time for this between classes and field assessments and missions, and I haven't seen mom in months . . .

". . . was top of all the classes, did I mention that? I daresay she might have even topped you, if you hadn't come in to the second year and she hadn't headed so many missions, she has already a double dozen offers for once she's graduated, most of the same places as you . . ."

Jim was barely listening, but soon enough the door swung open behind him and a voice called out, "Sorry sir, but you wanted to see me about making up that EFR course?"

Jim turned around, but the girl had dropped one of the half dozen books she was carrying, and she had bent to pick it up. Instinctively, Jim went to help, as Professor Xiggins continued to speak.

"Yes Mr. Hawkins, this is your tutee. Marvellous student, but she's returned as the last of my courses in Emergency Field Rebuilding have finished, and I'm not teaching any more until next year. There are no other teachers for that subject at this level. She missed eight vital lessons, but then she'll be ready to take the exam. Will you agree to tutor her, Jim?"

Jim picked up the book the girl had dropped, interrupting her bending over. They stood up together, and their eyes met – blue and a dark brown that was nearly black. The girl stood up, grinned, and shifted her books to her left arm. Sticking out her right hand jauntily for Jim to shake, she announced, "Miss Diana Roberts. I don't believe I've had the pleasure?" there was a wry smile on her face, and an unmistakeable shine in her dark, dancing eyes.

Jim took her hand and shook it, and as her books tilted precariously, he took them from her and put them on a nearby desk. "Jim Hawkins," he announced. "But I do think I've had the pleasure. Of course, being tricked out of having a successful mission isn't the same as an introduction, so I could be wrong." He smiled as he spoke, and Diana laughed.

Professor Xiggins cleared his throat loudly, and both spacers instantly turned to their teacher, but they couldn't hide their grins.

"Now, Mr. Hawkins, here are the outlines and points for the lessons. It would be good for you to read these as well before the lessons, Diana, and here's the textbook so you can reread the content for the first part of the course for references." Xiggins paused to hand her a thick textbook. "Now, I will leave it up to you to find time to make up these lessons, and Miss Robertson, you may take the exam whenever you and Mr. Hawkins deem that you are ready." He paused again to clear his throat, and having the distinct impression that he was intruding on something, he finished, "Very well. Go on now, and Miss Diana, I will also expect an essay on all you have learned, once you have learned it."

"Yes Professor." She smiled, and together the pair walked out the door, and closed it quietly, leaving Xiggins in his slowly shadowing classroom.

He sighed, and waddled to his window to see the sun which was beginning to set.

"My," he sighed. "I feel like asking myself, 'what have I done', but it seems that only time can tell." Smiling a little, he continued, "They will either be the biggest rivals, the biggest enemies, or the best team our galaxy has ever seen."