At one o'clock, 1:03 to be precise, Amelia and John Arrow, stood on the deck of the R.L.S Legacy. There was no moonlight to guide them, for the spaceport that they were on was the moon. But they had amelia's eyes, and that was enough. It was just the two of them moving all the heavy cargo. But they had John's strength, and that was enough. It was very...lonely, with everyone else gone home. But they had each other, and that was enough.
"Well, John, I think the ship is ready for the new crew Tomorrow," I said, coiling the last bit of rope.
" Yes Amelia," said John, "It certainly is. And you're the one who did it." he smiled lovingly.
"Oh, don't turn that mushy flibber-flobber on me." I said teasingly. "Remember the restaurant lady who thought we were in love? Preposterous scandal, if you ask me."
"It Wasn't that bad," he protested. "All she did was tell half of montressor"
"All she did? ALL?" I snorted with laughter. "Oh yes, but you fancied her. I remember you holding me back from using her as a punching bag, just because she had big bosoms, that, if I recall, were ridiculously revealed by her shirt" I laughed some more.
John blushed. " Well... Um..." he stammered. "arrgh, Amelia, you always beat me in these arguments. I give in. He pulled a rope from his pocket and dangled it it front of me. It was sooo hypnotizing. My ears, twiched. I narrowed my eyes. I had to kill that string. I jumped, and John pulled away the rope. I fell flat on my face.
"John, you pulled the string trick again" I said, laughing.
" Well, It sure makes you look like an idiot" he replied
I squealed and ran over to tackle him him, and for a moment, rolling around the deck, we were children again. But, As always, we remembered that we did have responsibility now,(not to mention reputation, what if someone saw a grown hybrid and rockal, in the middle of the night, at the spaceport on the deck of a ship, rolling around and acting like children?), so we both got up, sighed, and went back to inspecting the last small bits of the ship. It had been three days since we had signed the agreement with Doctor Delbert Doppler, and we were expecting his crew to come tomorrow, along with him and Jim Hawkins.
Wait, I think I should go back and explain. This whole thing started when someone named Jim Hawkins found a map (and managed to burn down his mother's inn in the process). This map happened to be the map that showed the way to the legendary Treasure planet. Or, everyone thought it was a legend. So, he and his friend, the aforementioned Dr. Doppler, decided to go looking for it. Their only problem was: they didn't have a ship, crew, or captain. So, John and I had volunteered. The regular crew of honest, loyal spacers could have gone, too. But, that blasted Dr, Doppler had insisted on choosing the crew himself. They were arriving tomorrow, and I didn't know what to expect. So, John and I had made the ship look perfect. Little did we know that this was our last normal day together.
The new crew was awful. They came in at three o'clock instead of five, which was the first bad omen. Then, when I'd finally gotten dressed, John had come in and said, " Amelia, Whatever you do, don't look outside" I looked. The new crew had obviously had some accidents and problems while getting into our ship, because everything was messed up. " They must've attempted to climb the walls, instead of using the ramp" said John.
I snorted. " What are they, pirates?". The idea was so absurd that, for a moment, John and I laughed together. Then, we walked out together to meet the crew.
I will state this plain and simple, with no fancy words to describe it. The crew was creepy. Now, I must admit that, Of all the aliens, 75% of them are creepy. I was lucky not to be a creepy alien ( well, I'm actually a hybrid, but really, what's the difference?). I am very nice looking, even beautiful( According to every fellow who crosses my path, Including John). I am human,except for the catlike ears that almost constantly move, long fingernails ( so long and sharp that I had to cut little slits in my gloves for them to poke through), two slightly pointed front teeth near the front of my mouth, and abnormally large eyes with catlike pupils. I am also very small, light, and agile. Anyway, back to the crew. It looked as though someone had looked for the creepiest aliens in the galaxy, and put them together to make this crew.
John Introduced me. "This is captain Amelia, and she will be your captain for this mission." I slapped my forehead in despair. John could be so dimwitted sometimes "captain Amelia is your captain?" How much more dimwitted can you get? I thought. Then it occurred to me. John wanted me to say something to the crew. I didn't know what to say. I hadn't given a crew speech in years! damn, i thought. I'm acting like a child. Pull your self together Amelia!.
" well," i said to the crew. " you heard Mr. Arrow. I'm your captain, and i expect your behavior to be appropriate, and no fighting or gambling at anytime is allowed on this ship." They all told me their names. I swear most of them were Rusinian, because there were only six members of the crew who spoke proper Montressian. Mr. Scroop, a slimy-looking insectoid alien, Mr. Turnbuckle, the pilot, Mr. Patricia, who had only two chickenish limbs and a head, spoke like an old granny, and was a girly, Gay guy, Mr. Turnbuckle, the navigator, and Mr. Sams, who was a kind if two-in-one alien. I was so disgusted with the crew that I was about to open my mouth to dismiss them. Then, another figure stepped forward from the shadows.
" pardon our earliness, cap'm, the crew was exited 'bout gettin' here, cap'm" he said.
I gasped as I saw that he had a mechanical arm and leg, as well as a mechanical ear and eye. He was a cyborg.
" Pard'n me cap'm" he said, noticing my staring. I blushed a little, knowing i should have acted more captain-like " I hope me mechanical parts arn't startlin' yeh, many a cyborg are the tough kind, but me, I'm always happier a'way down in the gally, I'm the cook, cap'm, Mr. Silver at yer service cap'm" he bowed respectfully. I was flattered. " that's quite allright, Mr. Silver" I said politely. I turned to the rest of the crew. " if your all the same as Mr. Silver, here, then we'll no doubt have a very pleasant mission." the crew all stared at me. " Now that the rules are clear, you can go off to your assorted jobs, which i hope you know. You are dismissed". I said. They all left, Silver with a bow and a, "greatest apalogies, cap'm". John and I headed back to my stateroom. "well, that was unexpected, John" I said.
"it was," he agreed
"i wish we could have used our own crew" i complained, for, as nice as silver might be, the crew was disgusting.
"yes, curse that stupid Doctor Doppler, whoever he is" said John.
At precicley 12:01, Mr. Jim Hawkins and Dr. Doppler walked onto the ship. I wasn't there to greet them. I was inspecting the ship , as i always do before takeoff. I inspect the ship in a very strange way. I usually climb up the mast, and use the ropes to swing around the ship, inspecting everything. And if you happen to be the unlucky sailor that has one speck of dirt in their area, then may god have mercy on your soul.
I didn't pay much attention to them as they walked onto the deck. Then I noticed John talking to Hawkins and the Doctor. I heard him say "the captain's aloft. As much as i would have liked to, i knew i couldn't leave John all alone with them. So, with a ginormous, over exaggerated sigh, i swung down on a loose coil of rope. I was done inspecting anyway. As I swung through the air, I thought to myself, act calm, unconcerned, brave, tough, and official. I landed what john calles my "captain pose", which is just planting your feet about one-and-a-half feet apart, putting your hands slightly behind your back, and putting your chin up, just enough to make you look slightly arrogant (which, belive me, took hours of practice in front of either the mirror or John). I heard a clanging sound, and saw it was who i guessed was the doctor's face clanging shut. Wait, no, not his face, i realized. He was wearing a freakish, yellow, fatish-looking space suit ( by the way, all space suits all went out of style about a million years ago), and it was the visor of the completely round helmet that was clanging shut. I internally gasped. Whom i guessed was Hawkins, was a regular human teenager, rebellious looking, but normal. But the doctor.. he was..oh god...oh hell.. he was a hybrid. I had thought I was the only hybrid in the universe. I was shocked, but I didn't let it show. I had to be in control. Still, I went up to him, looking at him curiously, " Doctor Doppler, I presume". He didn't reply. Thats when i realized that he probably couldn't hear me through his thick helmet. "hello, hello, can you hear me?" i tapped on the glass of his visor. He struggled to pull his helmet off. I guessed he could probably hear me. " You know Doctor," I said, as sweetly as i could, " This works much better when this is right-side-up," I turned the nectrorion square on his spacesuit, " and," I picked up a cord from the ground, " plugged in". I immediately did so.
" Excuse me" said the Doctor, unplugging his cord( once he had taken his helmet off). "I can handle my own plugging," he held out his hand to me in which he thought was a threatening gesture, and it would have been, except he was still holding the plug. That's when I realized the obvious. The doctor was an idiot.
"yes,yes, nice to meet you too," I said, Ignoring his rude gesture by knocking the plug out of his hand and shaking it.
John introduced me. "welcome aboard the R.L.S. Legacy. this is the captain".
"hello, I'm Capitan Amelia," I said, not wanting to go through the embarrassing scene that had happened that morning. "late of a few run-ins with the Procyon armada, Nasty business, but I'm not going to bore you with my scars right now." They both looked shocked. As in "how could this perfect body have scars?" I paused a moment to enjoy the flustered looks on their faces. "and this," I added, turning to John, " is Mr. Arrow. Sterling, tough, honest, brave, and true"
"thank you Ma'am" said John. I hated it when he called me Ma'am.
" Shut up Arrow, you know I don't mean a word of it" I said in a half whisper. Then I looked at the doctor. He was staring at me. Not at my face. At something else on me. With a start of shock, i realized he was staring at my ..um...well...boobies. "what is the matter with you?" i yelled.
"oh, um..nothing" he stammered. " so, are you ready to go on this adventure?" he asked me, oblivious to the fact that i was NOT impressed with him. "oh, and this is Jim Hawkins, the boy who found the map to the treasu- -" I cut him off from finishing the word "treasure"by grabbing him by the mouth. Good thing i had gloves on.
" I'd like to have a word with you in my stateroom" I whispered angrily, pulling his face closer to mine so he could hear without me moving toward him. When you're a captain, sometimes you have to get up close and personal.
In my stateroom, a richly adorned room, complete with a wooden safe that currently held a few guns in case of emergency, a table with five chairs, all mahogany wood, and various rugs and pictures. " now, Doctor Doppler" i began, cooly, but letting my anger show just a bit. " Talking about the treasure in front of this particular crew displays a level of ineptitude that borders on the imbecilic." I pushed up his chin with my fingernails. " and I mean that in a very caring way"
"borders on the imbecilic, did you say?" the doctor said, outraged, " now see here-"
" Now, Mr, Hawkins, the map please" I demanded, looking at the boy.
the Doctors jaw dropped at my formal but rude interruption. Then, trying to be important, held up his finger with a wise expression on his face, but when he turned to face Jim, his face went back to normal. The boy, after a moments persuasion from the doctor, took the map out of his pocket and tossed it to me. Perhaps he hoped for me to miss it, I do not know. But my cat reflexes made it possible to catch the awful throw that he sent me. I studied the golden orb in my hand with interest. Then I remembered: Hawkins and the Doctor were watching, and I'd let my guard down. I quickly covered my look of interest with a look of disdain. I then turned around and locked the map in my wooden safe.
" now doctor." I said, "I'll make this as...monosyllabic as possible. I don't care much for the crew you hired. They're-" I turned to John "what did I say this morning? I said something rather good, I recall" I made my fingeres walk up Doppler's nose, making him wince. I felt very in control. Good.
"A ludicrous parcel of driveling galoots, Ma'am" John said.
"there you go," I said to an astounded looking Doppler, "poetry"
the Doctor began to protest "you know, I simply can't see why..."
"now doctor," I said, once again interrupting the idiot, " I'd love to talk, tea, cake, the whole shebang, but I've got a ship to launch, and you've got your outfit to buff up," the doctor looked as if I had slapped him in the face.
"Mr. Arrow, take Mr. Hawkins and the doctor to their quarters." i said, resisting the urge to slap the doctor. " and Doctor, with the greatest possible respect, zip your howling screamer. That's all," I said, right into their surprised faces, " You're both dismissed. John herded them out the door. I hoped he'd be able to handle their anger when he told them that Hawkins was working for the ship's cook.
In a few minutes, John was back, sniggering.
" what's so funny, John?" I asked.
" the Doctor" John said, " he was angry with you, and the best thing he could think of to do was call you a feline behind your back"
" A feline?" I said, also sniggering, " that must've taken all three of his brain cells
as much as i would have liked to skip the launching, I had to go anyway. I am the captain. Everyone seemed ready. Well... except for the doctor, in his ridiculous spacesuit. "all clear?" i called to the alien in the crows nest, Mr. Onus , a Rusinian alien with an incomprehensible Rusinian accent, and an equally incomprehensible Rusinian last name.
"all clear captain," he called. But, with his accent, it was more like " Ahll c-hleeahr capeetahn". I went and took my respective spot next to John.
"Well my friend, are we ready to raise this creaking tub?" I asked. That was a nickname Trevor had given the ship.
"My pleasure captain" John replied. "All hands to stations!" he yelled, "Loose all solar sails"
the sails came loose, and filled with solar energy. It was amazing to see, but you get bored of it after your first few journeys. A few seconds later, the ship took off. We all started floating, because, there was no gravity anymore. John and I stood strait, with our arms crossed, which you can learn to do after much practice. The doctor, on the other hand, floated upside down, his limbs flailing uselessly.
" put on the artificial gravity". I said to the alien operating the switches (whose name i can't even begin to pronounce, because he was flatulan). The artificial gravity came on, and John and I landed perfectly on our feet. The doctor, however, landed headfirst on the ground. I fought back laughter. "Full speed ahead Mr. Arrow, if you please!" i ordered.
" TAKE HER AWAY!" John yelled down the tube which led to the engine room.
The doctor pulled himself back into a standing position. "brace yourself doctor" i said. He straitened his back and tried to plant his feet firmly. The ship shot forward. John and I, along with the rest of the crew, stood firm. The doctor went shooting backward past me and hit the back of the ship. I probably would have felt pity for him, but i was trying too hard not to laugh.
After the launch was over, John and I were free to go back to our stateroom, which we did. As soon as I closed to door, we both burst out laughing. " the...idiot...big fat blob...zooming by.." i was gasping for breath.
" floating...upside down... gravity crash" said John, also gasping for breath. We started laughing hysterically. I was on the floor, with tears of laughter streaming down my cheeks. After what seemed like a half an hour of laughing, we got up and pulled ourselves together.
" wine, John?" i asked. ( by the way, we grew up drinking wine, so we drink a lot, but neither of us are addicted.) " of course, of course" he said. I poured us both glasses of Rusinian Goldson ( very expensive). As we started talking, I found my mind drifting to the oddest subject. The Doctor. I wondered who he was going to talk with tonight. No one, probably. Why did i care, anyway?
"...And, Amelia, what do you think of the doctor?" John interrupted my thoughts.
" I think he is the biggest idiot i have ever seen" I replied. "Like you .You've got rocks for brains John! I don't think disintegrating your head would hurt you at all!" I said teasingly.
" well, I don't think that disintegrating your bra would do you any harm, either" he countered calmly.
I faked an offended gasp. "Are you insulting my cleavage, John?" I asked. That did it. We both started laughing really hard again. Every time one of us stopped, the other would say "gravity crash" or "cleavage", and we'd both be laughing again.
That night, My wine cabinet had diminished by four bottles. I started to feel high spirited. "John," I asked " Do you want to play Truth or Dare?".
"Well, yes, actually". He said, looking a bit high spirited himself.
"all right, I'll go first. Truth or Dare" I said.
"truth"
" would you like to get married, if you had the choice right now?"
"no, not really, I get all the love i need from you." John said, which made me feel really good. "My turn" he said.
"Dare" I replied.
We kept playing Until midnight. We decided to do one more round. It was my turn.
"dare," I said.
"Kiss me" John said. I was shocked. But, were brother and sister (even if I am adopted), and I was high spirited, so I pulled him close, so i could feel his body touching mine. It felt good, even if I only went up to his lower shoulders. Then our lips came together. His lips felt good, too. Rough, in a gentle way. Our nice moment ( it wasn't really romantic), was ruined by a clearing throat noise. We turned to see the doctor standing in the doorway, with his bedclothes on.
"Excuse me" he said. "Your talking is keeping me up, It's very loud" . He could have added "and vulgar" but he didn't have to. His tone said it all.
"Oh" I said, embarrassed. "we were about to go to sleep, anyway". The doctor left
" That was embarrassing" said John.
" yes, now lets get some sleep" i replied. I pulled off my coat, and crawled into bed, To tired to even change into bedclothes.
The next day, I woke myself up by rolling out of my hammock at 5:00. I had a splitting headache. Cursing myself for drinking so much and staying up late, I pulled my coat on. I walked into my stateroom to have breakfast, and I saw The doctor and John sitting at the table, eating. "what is he doing here?" I asked John.
"he is a guest, a gentleman, and the patron of our voyage, so is eating with us" said John, sounding a lot more formal than he had last night. I swear, the man (well, Rockal, to be percise) could never get a headache.
"All right" I sighed. John didn't seem to be bothered with the Doctor at all. Probably because he was more focused on eating what looked the doctors' spacesuit. So, I focused on my food as well, nibbling on it.
" Are you eating bacon?" the doctor asked in disgust.
"Yes, I am, do you have a problem with that, doctor?" I asked, lazily, as if I couldn't care less.
"Well, It's just that I find bacon entirely revolving...uh...revolting." he said.
"you're one to talk, look at what you're eating." I said. It was true. He was eating what looked, ( and smelled) like wet dog doctor turned a dirty look on me, but kept eating, as if that was more important to him. But I wasn't fooled. I could see his eyes darting towards me every few seconds.
After breakfast, we went up on deck. (I was also hoping that the fresh air would clear my awful, atrocious head ache). Just then, a herd of Orcas passed by.
"upon my word!" gasped the doctor. "An orcus galacticus". He leaned down to take a picture.
"Doctor, I wouldn't stand there if I were you" I warned. Just as I said that, the Orca that the Doctor was trying to take a picture of sprayed out It's crap-colored spray. Right onto the unfortunate doctor. I giggled.
Later that day, I was, I would like to say. Ambushed by Mr. Silver, the ship's cook.
" Ahh, tis' a fine day fer salin'," he enthused. I glared him. He seemed not to notice. " an' look at yeh!, trim an' bonnie as a sloop with new sails an' a fresh coat o' paint!" he leered at me.
" you can save your flim-flammery for spaceport floozies, Silver" I said. His eager look melted. His pet morph, (I'm not sure where he got it) morphed me.
" spaceport floozies, spaceport floozies" It said. Then, overcome by the foolishness of it all, I turned and walked into my stateroom. Later, John told me that Mr. Hawkins had gotten into a fight with Mr. Scroop, and he'd had to break it up. " Scroop wasn't too happy about that," he laughed.
The next two days passed without much happening,( unless you include moving the furniture in my stateroom " move the table over there, John, not in the center, people will trip on it,") the doctor and I kept building our enimity, having formal-seeming but cold jabs at each other. For example, " Doctor, do you have trouble hearing, your ears seem to be abnormally shaped". To which he would respond,
" you're one to talk, you, with the triangular prisms atop your head."
Then something happened, which, I like to say, Started the real adventure.
The fourth day of our voyage was unusually and obnoxiously loud and busy. A little too loud and busy for me and my sensitive ears. (especially with John yelling for everyone too be quiet at the top of his lungs, he's never been very bright). So, I decided to take a little boat ride. After telling John where I was going, ( I'm not sure he heard me), I ran down to the docking bay, got into my favorite ship, and prepared to take off. If I had known what was going to happen after that, and the chain of events it would set off, changing my entire life more than the death of Trevor Arrow, than, trust me, I would not have even considered going anywhere near the docking bay. But, call me a fool if you like, I didn't know what was going to happen, so I took off, not knowing what the damn hell I was getting myself into.
