Chapter 2
To the Spaceport
Alice could not believe her eyes as she pressed her face against the window and gazed upon the vast star field. For the first time in her life she was not merely observing the sky, she was actually taking part in a living, breathing mass known to all of the galaxy's inhabitants as the Etherium.
It was an open vacuum filled with atmosphere. Alice could barely contain her rising excitement and was so focused on the stars that she did not notice a massive shape coming closer and closer until it was blocking her view of the cosmos.
It was a crescent moon glowing white with vibrant life. Alice knew immediately what it was. Montressor Spaceport: the planet's moon. She understood why it was also called Crescentia. The moon was not a full moon giving off an illusion that it was crescent shaped, no; it truly was a crescent moon!
As the ferry drew nearer Alice saw how the buildings seemed to bend with the steep incline of the moon's curve. The stars disappeared as the radiant glow of life coming from the moon's surface seemed to create its own atmosphere.
Alice was mesmerized. She had never seen so many ships in her life! There were large ships, small ships, skinny ships, fat ships, cargo ships, passenger ships, and every ship in between. Some ships were taking off into the galaxy, others were preparing to land after a long voyage. There were crooked houses and many, many shops and vendors. Beside each pier there were tall cranes lifting and stacking heavy barrels and crates on or off of the vessels.
The spaceport also seemed to be made up entirely of metal or man-made substances. There was no indication that it was natural at all which made it all the more fascinating to Alice who couldn't contain her excitement.
In the center point of the moon were two enormous domed buildings with tall stain glass windows and banners on the walls advertising the Intergalactic Administrations Office: Crescentia. The creatures also caught her attention. There were so many different races! She had never seen such a pulsating place with so many divergent groups rushing about.
The ferry flew toward a small metal pier where another ferry had already docked. Alice read the words: Montressor Express engraved on the side. The ferry powered down as the conductor grabbed his microphone.
"Montressor Spaceport," he drawled and opened the doors. Alice's fellow passengers began to file out. Hurriedly, she grabbed her bag and stepped out into the sunlight on the heavily crowded dock. She kept her knapsack close as she attempted to maneuver through the crowd. How was she ever supposed to find Doctor Doppler and Mr. Hawkins if she didn't even know what they looked like?
Her gaze flicked toward the other ferry and she smiled. She could begin her search there, at least.
"Excuse me," Alice muttered as she pushed politely past people. She felt almost claustrophobic with so many people around her when she was used to being alone most of the time. As she pushed past another peculiar looking man, her foot stumbled over someone's leg and she lost her balance.
Just before she hit the ground she felt herself fall against something warm and alive sending her and the other flying.
"Ouch," she groaned, sitting up and realizing who she had knocked over. It was a boy probably as old as Alice. He had brown hair that stopped at an even line near his ears with the rest pulled back into some sort of braided rat tail. His eyes were a captivating cerulean color but seemed to be shaded from his long bangs that had fallen into his face.
All in all the boy looked rather sloppily dressed and heavily guarded. His left ear was pierced with a golden band earring. His body adorned a black coat that seemed far too big for him which gave the illusion that his frame was very scrawny. His pants were a baggy olive green secured around the waist by a loose brown belt that cut off just above his black boots while his shirt was colored earth yellow.
The boy sat up and grabbed his bag, coming to realize who had knocked him over. Alice was terrified. She had no idea how to react in this situation. She was so used to being alone, not having to deal with people, especially boys. She shrunk back as if pulling into an invisible shell.
"Um, hey," the boy cleared his throat. He looked away making Alice flush with embarrassment.
"I'm sorry," she managed to squeak out.
"No problem," the boy shrugged, getting to his feet as Alice got to hers. "Just watch where you're going next time, okay?" he grunted, brushing the dirt off his pants.
"I will," Alice replied. The boy made to move on when Alice called him back. "I was wondering," she began, biting her lip, a habit she had acquired when nervous. "If you knew where I might find two men known as Doctor Doppler and Mr. Hawkins."
The boy froze and turned to face her, his mouth slightly ajar, but before he could answer another voice joined the party.
"Jim! Oh, Jim! Wait for me." Alice and the boy looked up to see a peculiar canine alien coming toward them in the most ridiculous space suit ever. The suit itself looked like it should have been in an antique store. It was a round metal suit with a strange button and plug on the front while an outlet was fixated on the back.
The headpiece wasn't much better. It was a metal globe with a glass piece to see out of. When the dog-like creature pressed a button on the side of his mustard yellow suit the glass piece opened to allow breathing room.
The man took a deep breath of air and Alice, at last, was able to get a good look at him. He had a rather long snout ending in a big brown nose. On the edge of his snout was a pair of fine spectacles that shimmered in the sunlight. Putting a hand on the young lad's shoulder, the canine began again.
"You know I received that letter from my old…colleague Mr. Haney, so our first goal is to find a young girl named Alice," the man smiled, before he suddenly noticed the young girl gaping at him. "Ah, hello there young miss. What can I do for you?" he inquired.
"Are you Doctor Doppler?" Alice asked.
"Indeed I am. Oh! You must be Alice then, am I correct?" the Doctor grinned. Alice enjoyed his mood. He was a very cheerful sort of guy. A little clumsy on the side with a horrible sense of fashion, but not at all someone Alice would avoid.
"Yes," Alice smiled back.
"Excellent! Well as you know I'm Doctor Delbert Doppler and this is Jim Hawkins who discovered the map to Treasure Planet, of course," Doppler boasted. Alice couldn't remember a time she had smiled so much. It shocked her to think Jim Hawkins was just as old as she was. She turned to Jim, expecting the same cheerful mood, but Alice quickly realized she would not receive a similar greeting.
She offered a kind smile.
"Hello, Jim." Jim's mood had seemed to sour the moment he realized she was the girl, Alice. His face was shaded and brooding as he looked at her. Alice had the sense that he was trying to figure her out as if calculating a difficult puzzle. It made her rather self-conscious and her heart sank several inches. He was just like the others kids at her boarding school.
"Hi," he murmured at last and turned away. Alice felt her stomach drop already despising the voyage about to come.
"Well I suppose the three of us should find the ship, eh? Wouldn't want to keep our crew waiting," Doppler smiled, not seeming to notice the stiff exchange as he led the two teenagers through the crowded streets of the spaceport. Alice kept her eyes locked on everything else but the boy beside her.
Their odd trio took a few wrong turns as the Doctor tried to keep up a steady conversation with Jim who didn't appear to be listening at all. Alice found this rather rude but kept quiet as at last Jim suggested stopping for directions. He took the initiative by approaching a rather short, furry alien man holding a ladder up to a window a thin, cream colored robot was attempting to fix.
"Excuse me. Do you know where we might find dock 225?" he asked. The robot stopped in the midst of his repairs and looked down at Jim as Alice came to stand behind him, Doppler taking up the rear.
"Second berth on your right," the robot instructed in a very mechanical voice.
"You can't miss it," the alien man added. Jim gave them a wave.
"Hey thanks," he replied and stepped down a small stairwell leading onto a different street. Alice dodged a woman close by trying to pull her back and offer her a necklace in a stall she had set up for herself.
"It's the suit isn't it?" Delbert finally demanded, seeming fed up with Jim's lack of response as well. Alice saw the boy roll his eyes but remain silent as they headed up the street. "I should never have listened to that pushy two-headed saleswoman," he complained, continuing his rambling as they approached the second dock to their right. The street had opened up a lot more now revealing a wide expanse of a metal pier. "This one said it fit. That one said it was my color. I didn't know what to do! I get so flustered."
Doppler had been so immersed in his own argument, he had failed to notice Jim and Alice sliding to a halt as they laid eyes on their ship for the very first time. The bumbling doctor ran right into the teenagers and pulled back. Jim sent him a glare but it was wiped away when he turned back to face the vessel with a smile on his lips. Alice's eyes bulged, not seeming to notice Jim or Delbert's presence at all.
"Jim, Alice this is our ship!" Delbert exclaimed, lifting a hand to gesture toward the miraculous craft before them. "The RLS Legacy!"
Alice and Jim's eyes widened to the size of saucers as they gaped up at the wooden structure. The Legacy was neither too small nor too big. It was an imperial Heavy Scout, meaning is was leaner than most other vessels, tall with masts almost reaching the skies. The ship, as did every other ship, hovered about 30 feet off the ground as if floating on an invisible current. As Jim, Alice, and Delbert moved below the belly of the ship toward the staircase that led up to the regal vessel, Alice noticed several things.
The first was the color. The ship was a mixture of many beautifully sanded types of wood and along the edge just below the railing was a delicate violet blue. The Legacy's main thrusters were aligned along the perimeter of the lower decks while several additional thrusters were housed in articulating winglets just below the stern of the ship. Alice even noticed the long hatch on the underbelly of the craft.
"Whoa," Jim grinned, staring up at everything as well as the three of them made for the staircase. Alice, who realized she had paused to examine the ship further, scrambled after Delbert and Jim, feeling a sense of elation washing over her. "How cool is this?" Jim asked to no one in particular as at last they stepped up onto the deck of the RLS Legacy. Alice didn't respond. How could she? She had been numbed from head to toe the minute she set eyes on their ship that would take them to the stars and beyond. As she turned back to Jim she noticed him bumping into a large alien accidentally. The alien looked like one big gassy balloon. Alice later realized the word gassy was the perfect way to describe him.
The alien man had ten tentacles on his back and five little trunks for his mouth. He had a pink, fleshy color and wore a brown vest with a black sailor hat.
"Sorry about that I didn't mean –" Jim began but was immediately cut off as the man inflated and deflated making fart noises and snorting air into Jim's face. Alice let out a little giggle as Jim reopened his eyes and blew a strand of his, now untidy, hair out of his face. Delbert, who had snuck up behind the two of them, tapped his lips for a moment as if calculating a confusing equation. At last he smiled and turned to Jim who still looked peeved.
"Allow me to handle this," Doppler said and turned back to the alien as he began to spit, puff up his cheeks and make as many farting noises as he could. Alice and Jim's eyes lit up in amazement as they watched the Doctor go to town. At last he concluded with an armpit fart causing the alien to stop and release several noises as if he were laughing.
It made Alice wonder just what the Doctor had said.
"I'm fluent in Flatula, you two. I took two years of it in high school," Delbert chuckled as he saluted the alien and spit before walking away.
Jim and Alice caught each other's eyes and smiled in amusement before they both realized what they were doing and scrambled after Delbert.
The Doctor had wandered up to another man who looked to be completely made out of rock save for his beady eyes above his square jaw. His frame was well built and stern as he towered over all three of them. He wore a red button up coat with gold fringes on the shoulders. When he spotted Doppler he turned to face him.
"Good morning, Captain!" Delbert greeted. "Everything ship-shape?" The man seemed to smirk as a twinkle entered his eye.
"Ship-shape it is, Sir, but I'm not the Captain. The Captain's aloft!" he called, gesturing to a feline woman high above them. Alice watched in awe as a slender woman in a blue, button up vest and high-heeled black boots ran across the mast, grabbed a rope, and swung down but not before doing an aerial flip and landing on her feet right in front of them. Alice stumbled back while Delbert's glass piece closed on his face. Jim shared a curious look with the Doctor who returned the awed expression.
"Mr. Arrow I've checked this miserable ship from stem to stern and as usual…it's spot on, can you get nothing wrong?" their Captain smiled, strutting up and down in front of Mr. Arrow who stood at attention and saluted.
"You flatter me, Captain," he grinned, embarrassed by the attention as the exotically beautiful cat-like woman with short, red hair smiled and turned to face Delbert. Her pointed ears stood straight up as her sharp, green eyes widened. Delbert looked much the same.
"Ah," she chuckled, tapping her lips with a white-gloved finger. "Doctor Doppler I presume," she began in a heavy accent. Delbert seemed lost for words as he fumbled under his helmet.
"Uh – er – well – yes – I mean –"
"Hello! Can you hear me?" the feline smiled, knocking upon his helmet rudely. Alice tried to hide her snicker. It seemed to her their Captain was messing with the poor Doctor who waved her away in annoyance.
"Yes I can! Stop that banging!" he ordered, attempting to pull off his globe.
"If I may Doctor, this works so much better when it's right way up –" she easily twisted the button on Delbert's suit with the plug attached, "– and plugged in!" she concluded, pulling out the plug and shoving it into an outlet on the back. "Lovely there you go." Alice and Jim both snickered simultaneously.
"If you don't mind, I can manage my own plugging!" Delbert grumbled, finally getting his helmet off revealing long brown hair tied back and a pair of floppy ears. Their Captain wasted no time in introductions after that. She grabbed Delbert's hand and began to shake it.
"I'm Captain Amelia. I've had a few run-ins with the Procyon Armada. Nasty business but I won't bore you with my scars. You've met my first officer Mr. Arrow. Sterling, tough, dependable, honest, brave, and true," she smiled, nodding to Arrow who chuckled.
"Please, Captain," he blushed.
"Oh shut up, Arrow, you know I don't mean a word of it," Amelia joked when Delbert indignantly cleared his throat.
"I hate to interrupt this lovely banter, but may I introduce to you Miss Alice here first?" he inquired, pulling Alice forward. The young girl bit her lip and met Amelia's interested gaze.
"No last name?" their Captain asked.
"No, ma'am," Alice responded with as polite a tone as she could muster.
"What brings you on this voyage, Miss Alice?"
"Mr. Haney, my boarding school principal, sent me here," Alice explained. Amelia nodded as she processed this information before turning to Jim in interest.
"I suppose this is Mr. Hawkins."
"Yes, the boy who found the Treasure map –"
"Doctor, please!" Amelia suddenly growled, grabbing his muzzle in a death grip. Jim and Alice looked around and spotted several of their new crewmates listening in. At Amelia's stern look they growled and returned to their work. "I'd like a word with you in my stateroom," she concluded as she pulled back and led all of them toward the helm and into her stateroom behind the wheel. All three of them and Mr. Arrow shuffled into the nice room while Amelia shut and bolted the door.
Alice looked around the room. It was a nice looking place. The area was spacious with a cabinet against one wall and a map of the galaxy against the other. A globe stood on a golden pedestal beneath the star chart. There were a set of glass windows behind Amelia's mahogany desk also spread out with graphs and rulers.
"Doctor," Amelia began as she walked toward Delbert. "To muse and blabber about a treasure map in front of this particular crew demonstrates a level of ineptitude that borders on the imbecilic, but I mean that in a very caring way," Amelia smirked.
"Imbecilic did you say? Foolishness I would –" Delbert began when he was rudely cut off by their Captain.
"May I see the map please?" she asked, turning toward Jim who looked to Delbert for guidance. Although the canine did not seem pleased to acquiesce to their Captain's demands, he nodded toward Jim who pulled his hand out of his pocket and tossed Amelia the map.
"Here," he grunted. Alice watched it fly through the air in awe as Amelia caught it and held it up to the dim lighting. It was a simple golden ball with bizarre circles and lines etched into the surface. The map was the strangest Alice had ever seen, not that she'd seen many maps, only pictures. Still, how did one operate it?
Amelia seemed to voice her thoughts.
"Fascinating," she mumbled before turning her sharp gaze back on Jim. "Mr. Hawkins," she continued as she walked over to her cabinet and opened it. "In the future you must address me as Captain or ma'am, is that clear?" she asked. Alice snuck a peek toward Jim to see him rolling his eyes toward Amelia's turned back. "Mr. Hawkins?" Amelia growled, emphasizing her point.
Jim did not look at all happy to be addressing their witty Captain as such but he did as he was told.
"Yes, ma'am," he finally responded. Amelia closed and locked the cabinet door.
"That'll do," she said. "I'm pleased at least one of you two has the decency to address me formally." She caught Alice's eye and gave her a tiny smile which Alice returned, glad she had made a good first impression. "Gentlemen, ladies, this map must be kept under lock and key when not in use. And Doctor, again with the greatest possible respect, zip your howling screamer," Amelia snarled in Delbert's face before sinking into the chair behind her desk.
Delbert looked furious.
"Captain I assure you –"
"Let me make this as monosyllabic as possible," Amelia cut him off once more. "I don't much care for this crew you hired. They're – oh how did I describe them, Arrow? I said something rather good this morning before coffee," she smiled, tracing a line on the map with her ruler.
"A ludicrous parcel of driveling galoots, ma'am," Mr. Arrow responded.
"There you go, poetry," Amelia smirked. Alice was beginning to believe their Captain enjoyed rubbing her know-how in people's faces. Delbert did not look pleased to have been told his choice of a crew was a chancy one for in the next moment he had slammed his hands down on Amelia's desk.
"Now see here –!"
"Doctor, I'd love to chat. Tea, cakes, the whole shebang but I've got a ship to launch and you've got your outfit to buff up," she concluded, standing up and clasping her hands behind her back as she addressed her first mate. "Mr. Arrow, please escort these three neophytes down to the galley straight away. Young Alice and Jim will be working for our cook, Mr. Silver."
Alice gave a small sigh of relief. She would be working as cabin girl. That was fine for her so long as she wasn't expected to know anything she didn't know already. Jim, on the other hand, who had been spinning the small globe around looked up in shock.
"Wait what?" he demanded. "The cook?"
A/N: I'm just going to upload all the chapters I am now so you don't all have to wait. I might delete my other stories too until they're done being edited…I don't know yet. So keep reading if you like the story :D