Chapter two

First thing that a first mate had to do was let the captain know you're there. Since the captain had greeted him upon his arrival, he felt comfortable to set his things down. Now that he had, the next step was to ask for the first duty. Normally, the second in charge would be there much earlier, and would already know what was going on at this point, but because his mother was opening an extension to the Inn, he had wanted to be there. Business had been blooming over the last two years. Jim was practically a celebrity on Montressor, everyone stayed there for the chance to meet him and hear, first hand, the exciting adventure of James Hawkins: The Boy who Found a Legend. Also, there was only one shuttle ship up to the station that day.

"Captain," Jim called out, taking the stairs two at a time to the quarter deck. "What's left to do before take off?"

She turned to him, her six eyes, stretching from the front to the back of her head evenly, focused on him for a moment. "Jim," She addressed. "You're later than I expected," she clicked. Jim shrugged apologetically. "Make sure everything's been stacked below deck properly, and we're scheduled for departure in an hour. Make sure every spare set of hands is on deck." She turned her eyes away and continued with her checklist. "Moriarty," she spoke to someone else while Jim started away. "I can see everything, you know."

One of the deck hands looked up, eyes wide and teeth digging into a purp. Quickly, he trotted off to do whatever he was meant to do.

Jim smirked, and headed for the other end of the ship.

There were three levels to this ship, not including the state room under the quarter deck. The front half of the second level and the bottom level were dedicated to storage, food and fresh water.

The first level was the galley, and Jim saw Myst moving crates of food into the refrigerator under the instruction of the cook, a plump humanoid with a tentacle-like tail and a soft trunk-like nose. He took the stairs down again. The next room was storage, though not as neatly packed as he would have hoped for. It was already roped down though, so it would have to be adjusted once they'd turned the artificial gravity on.

The third level was still being sorted, and there was a good handful of crew members still organizing crates and barrels so that everything fit.

"Heya," Jim's academy friend, Shanti appeared next to him. Her hair waved above her head like snakes and her blue-grey skin was already streaked with dirt. "Long time since we met," she grinned. Her Common was rough, but she got her point across.

Jim grinned. "It's good to see a friendly face," he said in perfect Ovii. She battered him playfully, rolling her eyes. Shanti was small, even for her race. She stood, not including her hair, at his hip but she was faster than anyone he knew. She also had the logistical smarts behind her to get admiral, or higher, in the future, if only people would take her seriously. She was as tough as she was smart, but she had what she called the 'cute factor', no matter how much eye-liner and dark clothing she wore.

He turned his attention to the rest of the crew. "Hey everyone," He figured it was a safe why to start. "My name is Jim Hawkins, and I'm going to be your first mate for this trip." Somebody up the back cheered. "We're going to be spending a lot of time together over the next six months, so we'll have time to get to know each other later. First thing's first, Captain wants us launched within the hour. So, let's not be slow about it."

With moral a little higher, Jim took a stroll around the bottom deck. He pushed corners back into place, helped align crates and moved barrels with the rest of the crew. In forty-five minutes, everything was tied down and they were ready. Jim double checked everything on each floor and finally dismissed every one with five minutes to spare. The crew made for the galley for a drink and anything quick to eat, and Jim followed them. Myst was taking a breather sitting on and upturned crate, sipping water and watching the activity.

"Hey," Jim stepped up next to her, a metal mug in his hand. "Been working hard?" He took a mouthful and watched the crew getting along already. Most of them had been on ships together before, and Jim could almost guarantee everyone knew at least someone on the ship.

"You know it," Myst replied, smirking a little.

Jim was about to ask what was so funny when Shanti stepped up to him. "You know, the last time I saw you, you were still supporting that silly little half-shaved look." She said in Ovii.

Jim laughed, thinking back. "That had to be at least.. a year ago then. I shaved it all off at the start of my second year and let it grow back naturally." he replied.

"Pity," Shanti giggled, her hair floating around her face. "I liked it like that." She walked off then, to talk to someone else.

"Old friend?" Myst looked up at him, initiating a conversation.

"Yeah. Shanti was on my first voyage with the academy. She wants to study, but she can't afford it right now."

Myst nodded. "I want to study someday too."

"Oh yeah?" Jim's interest was spiked. "What do you want to study?"

Just then the bell rang out, calling all the crew to the deck for launch. The crew started up the stairs excitedly, Jim and Myst hanging back so as to not be in the throng of it all.

"I want to be a doctor one day." Myst said leaning in so he could hear her. "Either that or a writer."

"That's really cool," Jim said as they stepped onto the main deck.