This is my first Treasure Planet story, although I have loved the story line ever since it came out. It's a beautiful mix of old and new.
Disclaimer: I own nothing Treasure Planet, or Treasure Island related...but I do love pirates!
It was an amazing place, the Montressor Spaceport. All kinds of people, aliens and some down-right weirdos all together. Jada surveyed them from her cat-like perch on the R.L.S. Legacy's mainmast. She had been to many Spaceports before, but she loved this one. It was so busy! She noticed that Captain Amelia was walking towards the mast, a look on her face. Jada gasped, then leaped. Her purple hair flew behind her as she dropped down to the deck, avoiding several deckhands and dropping neatly next to the Captain.
"Everything's ship-shape, Capt'n." she said, smiling sunnily and saluting.
"I will still check. I like to make sure everything is spotless." said Captain Amelia, leaping up into the rigging herself.
"Show-off." muttered Jada, making her way down to the galley. As she entered, she smiled at the song that Silver was singing. It was an old pirate ballad from Jilcon 4. She shook her head, and sat down at one of the tables. She picked up her book that she had left there, and continued to read from where she had left off. It was one of the older books, one of the word ones. Sure, it was harder to get used to, but it was still just as thrilling as one of them 3-D books that were going so fast.
"Jada!" cried Silver from his place in the galley. "I didn't hear ya come in, sweet-'eart! Here, have one of these purps. Real juicy they is." He tossed her a real fresh purp, just come from the docks. She bit into it with relish. It wasn't often that you got a real ripe, fresh purp. And these were gold.
"That-that woman! That...feline! Just who does she think is working for whom?"
"It's my map, and she's got me bussin' tables?"
"I won't tolerate a cross word against our Captain. There is no finer officer in this, or any galaxy."
Three people had just come down from the deck, two of the voices were new, but the third was Arrow. She didn't like Arrow, he scared her slightly. So she didn't look up from her book, preferring to keep low in the shadows.
"Why, Mr. Arrow, sir. Bringing such fine and distinguished guests to my humble galley. Had I know, I'd-a tucked in me shirt."
Jada snorted. That Silver!
"May I introduce, Dr. Doppler, the financier of our voyage?"
"Love the outfit, doc."
"Yes...um...love the eye." Jada snickered, Silver was lasering him with that eye of his! Haha!
"This is Jim Hawkins." Jada looked up from her book, at the boy that was staring at Silver. She could only see his back, but even his back was cute!
"Put 'er there, Jimbo!" Silver stuck out his mechanical hand. Jim didn't shake. O-o, a delinquent. thought Jada. Even better... Jim's head suddenly turned, and his eyes looked at Jada. She started, then as quick as lightning, returned to her book.
"Aw-w don't be put off by this hunk 'o hardware." said Silver, going back and starting another dish in the kitchen. "These gears take some gettin' used to, but they do come in mighty handy from time to time." There was a pause, then Silver said some really welcome words. "Here, try my famous bonasbeast stew."
"Your stew?" shouted Jada, leaping up. "I want some!" Silver laughed, and got her a bowl too. Dr. Doppler was lapping up a bit.
"Mm-m. Delightfully tangy yet robust."
"Old family recipe." Dr. Doppler gasped. A fake eye had popped up in his bowl. "In fact, that was part of the old family!"
He and Jada laughed as Dr. Doppler looked slightly disgusted. "I'm just a-kiddn' with ya, doc. I ain't nothin' if I ain't a kidder." He gave Jim a friendly elbow dig. "Go on, Jimbo have a swig."
Jim looked apprehensively at the spoon in his hand.
"Afraid it'll turn into a finger?" whispered Jada as she passed him to get more stew. He glared at her just as the spoon turned into Morph.
"There you are Morphy!" cried Jada, as Morphy sucked up the rest of Jim's stew and started exploring who Jim was. Morph astounded Jim by turning into a small Jim figure. Jada went back over to her book, which had fallen on the floor in her rush to get some stew. As she picked it up, she heard the whistle blow.
"We are about to set sail. Care to watch the launch, Doctor?" The Doctor asked a rhetorical question, then sheepishly followed Arrow out of the hold.
"The boy stays here. He is your new cabin boy, Silver." said Arrow, sending the Doctor up.
"WHAT?" yelled Jada, outraged. Nobody else was Silver's help! She was his permanent cabin-girl!
"Captain's orders!" snapped Arrow, following the Doctor. There was much protesting from Silver, Jada, and Jim. Arrow didn't turn around.
Disgusted, Jada snapped, "I'm going aloft, Silver." She started to storm off.
"Stupid giltron." muttered Jim, glaring after her. With a snarl, Jada leaped on him, dragging him to the ground. Once there, she punched him in the stomach, then slapped him in the face several times. He managed to grab her wrist, flipping her over and smashing her into the floor. With a grunt of pain, she flipped over, rolling until she could get to her feet. Jim stood in the center of the room, massaging his jaw. When he saw her up, he put his hands into a ready stance.
She flew across the boards, fists raised. One fist managed to collide with Jim's face before Silver grabbed Jada and hauled her off of him.
"Jada!" he reprimanded, setting her down a few meters away from Jim, who was holding his nose and blinking. "I thought that Mr. Arrow said no fightin'."
Jada wiped blood from her busted lip, then turned and actually flew off. She stopped next to the mast and started to sulk, leaning against it and growling at the memory of the insult.
"Well, my friend,"The Captain said to Arrow, "Shall we raise this creaking tub?"
"With pleasure, Captain," Arrow replied, drew in a deep breath and boomed, "All hands to stations!"
As the crew hurried to comply with his orders, Jada wriggled with excitement. She loved launches. Arrow bellowed again, "Smartly now!" Once the spacers had settled in, he called out, "Loose all solar sails!" Jada gasped. She loved seeing them unfurled for the first time on a voyage.
The spacers and riggers readily complied, and the Legacy's fan-shaped sails furled and bellied in the solar breezes. After a moment, Arrow thundered to the deckhands who held some lines, "Stand by on the braces! Brace up!" The solar sails rippled with light as their energy feed the engines of the light ship. The power lights clicked on all the way down the mast. Jada touched the closest one almost reverently.
As they raised above the Space port, they had moved out of the influence of the space port's gravitational fields. This caused the crew to begin to float into the air. Jada made swimming movements, laughing. Then, she spotted Jim, and all of the fun went out of the launch.
Captain Amelia called out sharply to a spacer nearby, her feet two feet off the deck. "Mr. Snuff… engage artificial gravity!" The Flatulan spacer saluted, Flaulated, and threw the appropriate lever. This established the ship's artificial gravity fields, and Captain and crew came down safely back to the deck. Jada growled, looking at Jim, who was floating in a dream-world, clinging to the rigging.
"South by southwest, Mr. Turnbuckle! Heading 2100!" Jada heard the Captain shout, over the noise of the engines starting.
The Legacy heeled over as we assumed the new course. Her blood was humming in her veins. Launches were such fun! Even Jim couldn't ruin this experience!
"Full speed ahead, Mr. Arrow, if you please," Jada heard the Captain say. She braced herself, her blood zooming so fast through her body that she almost lifted from the floor.
Arrow leaned over to the speaking tube on the bridge, calling to Engineering, "Take her away!"
The Doctor had finally made it back on his feet once more. A hellish racket suddenly sounded as the Legacy leaped into open Space. Jada gazed around her, always thrilled by the expanse of stars and planets. Once out in open space, the Legacy sailed by a flock of mantabirds, and the Doctor finally seemed to be in his element.
"Upon my word!" he observed in awe, "An Orcus Galacticus!" The excitable fellow pulled a camera up from his spacesuit, and aimed it at the space-going leviathan.
"Smile!" he called and tried to snap a picture of one of them. Jada looked away, only to look back a few seconds later. The Orca that the doctor had tried to take a picture of had sounded, producing a spume of spatial mucus that spattered the good Doctor from head to toe.
Jada laughed openly, ready to ridicule anyone connected to Jim."Tis a grand day for sailing, Captain," She recognized that voice. Laughing still, she turned and saw Silver bowing before the Captain, who was rolling her eyes as though she had seen this a million times before."And look at you," he continued, "you´re as trim and bonny as a sloop with new sails and a fresh coat of paint." He bowed, again.
"You can keep that kind of flim–flammery for your spaceport floozies, Silver." she snapped, obviously not pleased.
Morph, well, morphed into a little version of the Captain, and mimicked her last comment twice.
Jada quickly slapped her hands over Morph, hiding him. Silver put on an injured expression "You cut me to the quick, Captain," he stated, to which she simply rolled her eyes again. "I speaks nothing but me heart at all times," Jada giggled as the Captain ignored that last statement, and pointed out the bane of her existence.
And, by the way, isn't that your cabin boy aimlessly footling about in those shrouds?"
Silver looked up in dismay, but recovered very quickly. "A momentary aberration, Cap´n. Soon to be addressed. Jimbo!" he yelled and Jim looked over at him, smiling foolishly.
"I got two new friends I´d like you to meet," Silver said pleasantly. Jada grinned. he always pulled this one on the new boys. Jim looked about for these two new "friends", but saw nothing.
Silver got a clever look on his face, before he continued, saying, "Say hello to Mr. Mop…" he tossed him a mop.
"And Mrs. Bucket!" Jada finished, throwing him a bucket that he instantly caught. At Jim's crestfallen expression, they began to laugh.
"Yippee." said Jim, glaring even harder at Jada, whom he now considered an enemy.
So-o-o...how is it? Totally horrible? I knew it!