It was several hours before Charlotte saw anyone again. She'd felt the launch, rose off the bed a bit when gravity had failed and crashed back down onto it painfully when the artificial gravity had been instated. Her head started to clear slowly, the pain fading to a dull ache under her left temple.

With her eyes closed she heard the stomping sound of someone approaching the cell bars.

"I need a heading, Charlie." Marks said, sounding frustrated but much calmer then when he'd left earlier.

"Ask someone else." Charlotte growled without opening her eyes. Marks sighed in aggravation and something soft landed on top of Charlotte. Her eyes flew open and she grasped at the thin fabric on her side. It was a weather worn white tunic. A bit thread bare, but long and loose. Charlotte looked at Marks skeptically but slipped the shirt over her head. The bottom hem just rubbed on Charlotte's thigh and she was pretty sure you could see through it, but it was better than being naked in front of this man.

"You can bribe me with clothes and food all you want but I don't have a heading to give you. I don't know how to get to Treasure Planet. Besides that, it isn't there anymore. It exploded, in case you didn't hear me the first time." Marks glared at her through the bars.

"I don't think you understand. I'm done being nice. Tell me how to get where I want to go, or I will break you." His voice dropped low and dripped with malice. "But before I break you, we're still close enough to Montressor that I could blow that inn to microscopic bits." He looked serious. But that meant nothing.

"You're lying." Charlotte said through her grit teeth, trying to call the pirates bluff. Marks stared her down for a second and then threw the cell open. He came forward and grabbed Charlotte's arm before she could think to move away and dragged her painfully up the stairs to the deck of the ship. The boat was about as big as The Legacy had been, but with a slightly smaller staff from what Charlotte took in as Marks dragged her up to the top deck. The pirates on board all hooted and whistled at the half-naked woman as she passed, shouting obscene things at her. When they reached the deck, Marks spun her so that she could see her planet of the starboard side.

The planet seemed to glow, the sun on the far side of it giving it a halo of light. Marks hadn't been bluffing, they could be back at the inn within a few hours. Using his vice like grip on her arm, Marks tossed Charlotte at the railing of the ship painfully. There was going to be no convincing this man. There was only going to be doing what he told her to and making sure he needed to keep her alive. But right now she needed to get them far enough away from Jim and his family that the only person Marks could hurt would be her.

"When we launched, it was summer and we headed the same direction as the Orcus migration." Charlotte spun around and pointed to what she could figure was north. When she turned around she could see Marks smiling again, that dark smile.

"And?"

"And, that's all I can remember right now. I'll try to remember more." She said, tugging at the hem of the tunic.

"Fine." He grabbed her once more and lead her down to the brig, shouting out the new heading as we went.

When Jim scaled the gangplank to The Venus he could see the crew bustling around in preparation for an unknown mission. Alec Thomas, Jim's best friend though out the academy stood up on the top deck with Amelia, looking weary of the presence the cat-woman struck. Amelia had donned her old uniform, and once again looked intimidating for her size. Beside her, the broad young man looked more like a child than a naval officer.

"Mr. Hawkins. Glad you could join us. May I speak to you in the stateroom?" With a curt nod, Jim joined Amelia into the captains quarters, leaving Alec looking puzzled. Once the door was closed, Amelia faced Jim. Her posture sagged a bit to show the informality, but Jim stood straight.

"What did you find?" She asked, her ears perked a bit, showing her interest.

"A ship left port this morning, The Baron. Captained by Jonathan Marks. They landed in port last night and left early this morning. While most inventory was logged, the port master did see them carry something covered in a tarp on board without logging it. They then proceeded to leave port without proper clearance." Amelia nodded through his lead.

"And you're sure this is them?"

"Not 100%," Jim admitted. "but it's the best lead we have."

"Alright, Mr. Hawkins. They went?"

"North, after orbiting for a while."

"North is a vague heading..." Amelia's ears drooped a bit and she leaned back against the desk behind her.

"There was another thing. One of the spacers at the port said they knew of The Baron. Said they spent a lot of time on Kinapsis at a pub run by an old cyborg." Jim stared at Amelia unflinchingly as her head snapped up at the mention. Her eyes narrowed.

"Silver?" She spit out.

"I don't know for sure. Sounds like it." Jim steeled his shoulders "I want to stop there."

"What? Absolutely not." Amelia yelled.

"Just hear me out. I know you don't like him. But I have a feeling in my gut that this has something to do with him. I need to talk to him, see if he knows this pirate. If we don't get a more specific destination we could be drifting through space forever." Jim took a deep breath. "Please, Captain."

"Fine." Amelia sighed after a few tense minutes. "We stop, you and your Quartermaster can go and check it out. I'll give you one hour. Just one." Jim nodded. "Now let's go address your crew.

"Ladies! Gentleman! Assemble on the deck for briefing." Jim bellowed to the crew and within a few moments the small crew was standing in a line across the main deck. Jim observed them as they stood straight and orderly.

Alec was first, one of the few in his uniform, the red jacket clashing with his ginger hair. Beside him was Rose McIntosh, the navigator and pilot. She was small but held a sharpness in her yellow eyes that was startling. Her skin was tinted a pale pink and her short pixie hair seemed to be more fur than hair and was only a few shades darker than her skin. She didn't wear her uniform, just a short tank top and shorts with ankle boots. Beside Rose was Rory and Laira Smith, the Doctor and Mechanic. Brother and Sister, they resembled each other in features, both having long dark green dreads that hung down their back. Rory had his tied back tightly and was wearing his white uniform while Laira let her tentacle like dreads lay spread across her shoulders and back with her red and white stripped tee showing under her jumpsuit, the top half of which was wrapped around her waist.

Beside the friends and crew members that Jim knew were a five men and woman who Jim had seen at the academy but did not know personally. The had been assigned to the crew and Alec must have contacted them at the hearing of Jim's call to arms.

"Thank you for coming so quickly. I understand what an inconvenience this is, having just graduated." Jim started, standing before them authoritatively. Amelia stood beside him and observed the crew. "I should tell you that this is not a mission requested or sanctioned by the Intergalatic Navy." Jim swallowed hard. "After hearing my request, you are welcome to leave if you are not comfortable with the mission." Alec caught Jim's eye looking confused and motioning to Amelia with his eyes but Jim shook him off.

"This morning, Charlotte Collins was kidnapped from her apartment." Jim's voice broke as he said it.

"Wait, your girlfriend?" Laira chimed in and Jim nodded. Everyone's faces shifted to concern and Jim faltered, sadness washing over him again.

"Mr. Hawkins." Amelia interrupted. "Go inspect the vessel, see that we're prepared to take off." Jim nodded and headed up to the top deck to do some inspections. He could hear Amelia's voice carry through the air.

"Mr. Hawkins has pulled up some strong leads and plans to follow them, but due to his emotional connection to the victim he as asked me to step in as Captain for this voyage. I'm Captain Amelia Doppler of the Intergalatic Navy and I will be leading this voyage with the assistance of Jim Hawkins as my first mate." The crew nodded, dumbfounded. "Mr. Thomas, you will act as Quartermaster and second mate, stepping in when Jim is unavailable."

"Yes, Captain."

"I do hope that you will all be understanding of Jim's current situation." Amelia added a bit softer, but Jim could still hear her. "I will be give him a bit of leeway, but that means that those of you that stay will have to step up to the challenge."

"Yes, Captain." The crew chanted in unison, some of them glancing up at Jim where he stood watching.

"Does anyone wish to remain at port?"

"No, Captain." The group chorused.

"Very good. Mr. Hawkins are we prepared to depart?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Very well. Ms. McIntosh, set the heading to Kinapsis Port. Mr. Hawkins, take us out."

Charlotte stared at the ceiling of her cell for a while. When Marks had first returned her to the brig she'd searched for any sort of weakness in the cell. Unfortunately, Marks must have anticipated having a prisoner, based off of the spots of fresh repair on the cell walls, floor and ceiling. With a frustrated curse, Charlotte had given up, laying down on the cot to try and rest. Before she could fall asleep her thoughts turned to Jim. Was he okay? Did they hurt him when they'd taken her, or killed him? No, Jim would be alright.

"I bet," she whispered to herself, "that he's on his way to find me right now. Leading a fancy boat to the rescue." The thought filled Charlotte with pain instead of hope. Marks struck an intimidating figure and this crew would easily be five times Jim's. They stood no chance. Finally laying her head down, she forced her mind to quiet and she attempted to sleep.

"So much for our weekend alone." Charlotte whispered to herself as she drifted off.

It was a restless sleep, Charlotte rolled and dreamed most of the night, waking up regularly just to stare at the ceiling again. It was cold in the brig with nothing but her tunic to keep her warm, but she refused to call for anything.

Finally, sometime in the early morning, a burly man with a snake head slid a plate of food and a cup of water into her cell. The plate held nothing but a dry biscuit and a purp.

"Thanks." Charlotte called disdainfully up the stairs at the man. When did she last eat? Breakfast at the inn with Jim and Sarah. She'd worked through lunch and dinner had been... skipped. Her captures had brought her nothing yesterday. Though she did not trust the crew, Charlotte knew that she needed the food. Scooping it up off the floor, Charlotte quickly devoured what little she'd been given. It wasn't enough to make her full, just enough to remind her that she was hungry. Frustrated, Charlotte threw the plate and cup back at the cell door and moved to lay down again.

"Good morning, Charlie." Charlotte's lip twitch as Marks came down the stairs calling her nickname.

"What do you want, Marks?"

"Is that any way to treat your captain?" Marks leaned against the bars of the cell, smirking maliciously at Charlotte.

"You're hardly my captain." She spat back, sitting up to face her capture.

"Right, right. Navy boy." The hair on the back of her neck stood up on end. "What's his name again? Jim." Charlotte's eye narrowed at the sound of Jim's name coming from the pirate. "Yeah, Jim. He can't possibly be too worried about you. Wasn't even there when we showed up." Charlotte's glare let up, a questioning look slid across her face for just a moment before she forced composure. "Watched him walk away in the wee hours of the morning. Is the sex that bad?"

"Fuck you." Charlotte spat at the pirate, refusing to look away from him.

"Easy now, girlie. No need to use such language. I just came down here to get some directions from you. Tell me what I want and I'll leave you alone." Charlotte had racked her brain for something to tell the pirate. If she gave him too much, they'd get too far away from rescue but if she didn't tell him enough she's suffer for it.

"We sailed past a star." She said, grudgingly, "it went supernova as we passed."

"I'm supposed to know a specific star that went supernova four years ago?" The hint of frustration was back. His dark eyes got darker and creases between his eyebrows deepened.

"If you bring me some charts I could figure out which one it was. I'll compare the old charts with the current ones." It was the star Pelusa, in the Naxian galaxy. It was also now a blackhole. But Marks didn't need to know the details.

"Compare charts..." Marks said contemplatively, "You wouldn't be buying time, would you Charlie?" He opened up the cell, storming in and grabbing Charlotte by the arms tightly. The grip hurt and this sudden charge surprised her. Marks lifted the girl off the bed, slamming her back against the side of the cell. Charlotte felt the impact throughout her body, the stars danced across her vision once again. Dangling in his grip her feet kicked wildly, trying to find ground but he held her eye level with him, a good foot of the ground.

"Tell me the truth. Tell me how to get to the planet. No stalling, no lies." Each sentence he slammed her back against the wall again and Charlotte cried out.

"It doesn't matter! It's not there." She cried, trying to clear her head. With a wild kick, Charlotte hit Marks between his legs with desperate strength. He cursed and dropped Charlotte, her knees splitting as she hit the rough wood floor. Marks sat clutching himself and Charlotte took the opportunity, rushing for the door of the cell. She reached it before Marks could gain his composure, slamming it closed as he cursed.

"Come back here, you fucking whore!" He bellowed and Charlotte made her way up the stairs. She turned, heading to the stairs near the aft where the life boats would be held. As she jumped down the steps she stumbled and rolled down the last few, knocking what little breath she had out of her. Fighting for breath she pushed herself up and ran for a boat. She could hear Marks yelling and the sound of footsteps coming to his aid.

Maneuvering the boat over the opening Charlotte opened the hatch and began lower the boat down until she was out of the ship. As she descended the last few feet she started adjusting the controls to open the solar sail and prepare to take off. The pirates were now yelling over her head, shouting and firing at her.

"Just fucking hit her!" She heard Marks yell over the crew and looked up just in time to see him take aim at her. Flicking her eyes back to the controls she rushed to get the boat started, her fingers fumbled and shook and she was having trouble hitting the right button when she heard the shot.

Immediately there was a blinding pain in her right shoulder. The force of the shot sent Charlotte flying forward toward the bow of the life boat. Her head hit the wood and she started to fade into the darkness that swirled into her vision. Above, she heard Marks shouting.

"Well, don't just stand there, go get her."