Treasure Planet

Taking the Helm

Summary: Set during the movie-voyage. Feelings of guilt and frustration are weighing heavily on Jim, and his frequent clashes with the Legacy's crew (Scroop in particular) are soon to put his life in great danger. But at least he knows he can trust Silver to look out for him. Or can he?

AN: This was originally going to just be a one-shot focussing on Jim's feelings after the scene where Silver comforts him (I've always loved that scene).

But now through the wonders of inspiration this is turning into a proper story set within the movie.

So basically the arrival at Treasure Planet will be delayed for a day or two for this story to take place, my intention here is to let the situation get to its absolute worst before the mutiny even breaks out, so yes I'm afraid some of our favourite characters may be harmed in the making of this. You can expect plenty of Jim angst.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own Treasure Planet

Chapter 1: You're Only Human

"Now you listen to me, James Hawkins

You got the makings of greatness in ya

But you gotta take the helm and chart your own course

Stick to it, no matter the squalls,

And when the time comes you get the chance

to really test the cut of your sails and show what you're made of…

Well, I hope I'm there, catching some of the light coming off you that day…"

Jim Hawkins was wide-awake, lying listless in his hammock and gazing absently into the darkness of the crew's quarters. It had been several hours since their encounter on deck. Silver's words had crept back into his mind again and allowed a faint smile to play across his lips. Whether he had slept at all that night, Jim wasn't sure. It was a wonder that the old cyborg's words had had such an affect on him. Even though he wasn't sure if he fully understood their meaning

"Take the helm…" he mused silently "…and chart my own course?"

The fact that Silver truly believed in him, for some reason he couldn't quite place, made Jim feel warm and content, a feeling which Jim was dimly aware that he hadn't felt since…well, god only knew

But then before he could stop himself his thoughts had wondered back to earlier that evening and his smile faltered as another simple fact brought his contentment crashing down. Mr Arrow was dead, nothing would change that. And no matter how much he wished he could deny it, it was he, Jim, who was responsible. It made him angry to think about it, as he kept trying to replay in his mind exactly what had happened once the Captain had ordered him to secure all the lifelines...

He remembered he could hear nothing except the deafening sound of the crashing waves as the ship approached the black hole. He remembered it being unbearably hot, as there were sparks and explosions all around him. He remembered struggling to keep his balance against the turbulence but forcing himself to concentrate as he swiftly went from rope to rope; fastening, looping tying knots, double knots (like Silver had taught him), tugging on one after the other until he was certain each rope could hold the weight of the entire crew put together

So then… what happened? Did he just miss one of them out by mistake? It seemed to be the only logical explanation. And now Mr Arrow was lost because of it. Could it really be as simple as that?

"Of course it is." he thought to himself, frowning "Everyone makes mistake. You're only human remember?"

Jim winced as another memory resurfaced, the images replaying vividly in his mind.

The loss of Arrow had just been announced by Scroop. "His lifeline was not secured" he hissed in an accusing tone.

Jim's eyes had met with those of Captain Amelia's. But there was no anger in her expression, which Jim couldn't understand. Arrow's death surely would've affected her most of all. So why wasn't she angry with him? Jim almost wanted her to be contemptuous, enraged even, to shout at him for his folly, anything! But no, instead he received that… look, a look that could only be described as a mixture of sadness and disappointment. It scared him a little, not to mention it brought back countless memories of his mother.

It was just his luck. The Captain hadn't exactly been fond of him from the start, and now this had to happen. "Well, there's not much you can do about it now" he thought dismally "No use wishing you can change the past, because you can't"

As Jim continued to stare blankly he noticed the room gradually beginning to grow lighter. Morning must've been approaching. Jim sighed. Pretty soon it would be back to the same-old daily routine; get up, help prepare breakfast, do the washing and cleaning, then getting started on the deck. He wasn't sure if he could face it, going back to his regular chores like nothing had ever happened.

And how was everyone else going to see him now? Well, to be honest he was far beyond caring about what the crew thought of him. But with the Captain it was an entirely different matter…

After a few moments he sat up suddenly

"Wait, what am I thinking? There is something I can do…"

Some kind of logic in Jim's mind seemed to have fallen into place. He quickly slid out of the hammock, pulled on his boots, grabbed his jacket and headed for the stairs to the main deck. An idea had occurred to him. It wasn't exactly ingenious. In fact, though it was rash decision, it was a pretty obvious solution. Yet it was one of those solutions which seemed simple yet impossible at the same time. What he did know for sure was that it was the right, honourable thing to do, and that it had to be done sooner rather than later.

Jim stepped out on to the open deck and figured it must've been the break of dawn. The mood of the Etherium was particularly calm, the dull grey clouds suffused with a swirl of pale blue. He was also aware of how deathly silent it was without the crew's stomping and scrambling whilst going about their work. Right now all he could hear was the distant humming of the engine. He looked towards the upper deck where he could see the door to Captain Amelia's stateroom.

"Probably too early to go barging up there now" he thought. After considering it for a moment he decided it would be politer to wait for her to arrive on deck

He made his way over to the rigging hanging over the main deck and climbed up to his usual seating place where he liked to sit and watch the Etherium when he was taking a break from mopping the deck. In this quiet empty space he tried to clear his thoughts and prepare himself for what he was about to.

He hadn't exactly thought his plan through. But essentially what he had in mind was an honest apology, plain and simple…. right?

No, he knew this wasn't going to be easy by any means. But it had to be done and it had to be done right. He would explain himself sincerely. It was the least he could do, since the Captain was probably more hurt by the death of her first mate than Jim could have known, and it was his fault that he had been lost.

The very thought made him shudder involuntary and he found it difficult to repress a momentary feeling of hopeless injustice. He hunched up and put his head in his hands

"Get a hold of yourself. The sooner you accept this as your own mistake the easier it will be to clear things up with the Captain."

He wasn't gonna kid himself by thinking that saying sorry would fix everything, but it might just make things easier for her if he took full responsibility for what happened to Mr Arrow. And besides, to leave things as they were would be almost unbearable, he wanted to face the consequences of last night as soon as possible. It felt right this way.

Although Jim had to admit it also felt different. Perhaps he wasn't used to feeling such remorse for all the bad stuff he did back on Monstressor, and he felt slightly guilty now as he could barely recall a single occasion when he actually apologised to Sarah for any of those things.

Jim sighed and returned his gaze to the Etherium once more, allowing the morning breeze to play gently across his features as it slowly drifted by

But on the other hand, by going on this expedition he had promised Sarah that things would change, that he would make her proud. He scoffed. Yeah okay so things hadn't exactly gone smoothly up until now, but it wasn't too late to change that was it?

It was like Silver had said; he had to stick to his course no matter the squalls, and that's what he was going to do.

Starting today he was going to make things right