Sunlight
02: Super Nova
After a night out in a solar boat, Jim and Silver return to the ship, giddy from their adventure.
They had a short conversation, at which point they got comfortable in the little dingy, Jim's head resting on Silver's shoulder.
Then the Legacy rocked violently, sending Jim almost flying forward.
"What the devil!"
Jim and Silver rushed up the stairs, looking around to find the culprit of the ship's sudden rocking.
"The star Pellucid… it's gone supernova!" Doppler hollered.
"Evasive action, Mr. Turnbuckle!" demanded Amelia.
"Aye-aye, Captain." Turnbuckle attempted to turn the ship the other direction.
Asteroids began shooting out from the star, slicing through the sails to Amelia's shock and dismay.
"All hands, fasten your safety lines!"
"Mr. Arrow- lower those sails!"
"Aye, Captain. You heard her, men! Lower all sails!"
Jim and Silver climbed up to assist the other crewmates in fastening the sails down. An asteroid launched at Silver, almost sending him plummeting below. Jim, in a matter of panic, grabbed hold of the bigger man's line and pulled him up again.
"Thanks, Jimbo."
Suddenly, a force made everyone stop in their tracks, as the star was rolling toward them, almost hitting the ship…
But for some odd reason, it was launching itself backwards.
Until everyone realized that a black hole had taken its place.
"We're bein' pulled in!" Turnbuckle yelled, releasing the wheel in a futile attempt to keep the ship from being sucked in.
"Oh no we don't!" Amelia shouted, shoving past the man in order to take control.
Wave upon wave hit them, causing the ship to rock sporadically this way and that.
"Blast these waves! They're suffusedly eratic!"
"No, Captain! They're not eratic at all," Doppler argued. "There's another one in precisely fourty-one-point-two seconds, followed by the biggest magilla of them all!"
The Captain's eyes widened as an idea occurred to her. "Of course! We can ride those waves right out of here! Brilliant, Doctor!"
"All sails secured, Captain!" Arrow shouted up to her.
"Good! Now lower them again!"
Confused, he simply answered, "Aye," before turning back to his crew. "You heard her- lower those sails!"
The crew mumbled and grumbled, but followed with the orders.
"Mr. Hawkins," Amelia called. "I want you to make sure all lines are secure!"
"Aye, Captain!" Jim set off to do his duty, hoping to get this one thing right.
"Here it comes!" hollered the Doctor. "Everyone hold on!"
Silver held Jim close, pressed against a pillar, closing their eyes for impact.
And as the black hole exploded, they flew in the opposite direction into the safety of space.
Amelia met with Jim and Silver, followed by Doppler, to congratulate Jim on a job well done.
"Head count, Mr. Arrow?"
The ship stayed quiet as they waited for the Officer's roll call.
"Mr. Arrow?"
Scroop wheedled through the crowd, Mr. Arrow's hat in his hands. "I'm afraid… Mr. Arrow… has been lost." He handed the hat to the captain. "His lifeline was not secure…"
The crew glared at Jim, he muttered, "No! I checked them all!" He ran back to where the lines lay, noticing one was missing. "I swear, I checked them all…" He looked back at the captain, who only looked grief-stricken and disappointed.
"Arrow was… a fine spacer… finer than ever us could ever be…" She turned toward her stateroom, head lowered.
Jim simply ran off, embarrassed and disappointed with himself.
Silver, pipe in hand, found Jim sitting in the rigging, fiddling with loose rope.
"It weren't your fault, you know?" Taking a hit, he continued, "why if it weren't for you, half the crew would be spinnin' in the black abyss-"
Throwing the rope, he jumped from the rigging and glared at Silver. "Don't you get it? I screwed up!" He stomped away in his rage. "I mean, I thought for two seconds I could do something right! But-" Running his hand through his hair, frustrated, he simply said. "Forget it… forget it…"
Silver reached over and forced Jim to turn around, noticing his face was slightly swollen from tears. "Now, you listen to me, James Hawkins!"
Jim stared up at Silver, tears brimming his eyes.
"You got the makin' of greatness in ya. But ya gotta take the helm and chart ya own course! Well, I hope I'm there, catchin' some of the light comin' off your sails."
Emotional, Jim leans his head against Silver's big belly, as if in defeat. Silver wrapped his arms around the boy briefly before shoving him away. "Jim, I better be gettin' about to my watch. And you, to bed." He shoved Jim away toward the galley below.
"I want to stay up just a little longer." Jim turned back one last time to smile at Silver before going up one more level of the deck, leaning against the rail, feeling better.
And that's when he saw it.
At first, it looked like a slow moving shooting star. Then, upon close inspection, he saw a shape- of a person.