Title: Pirate Law

Chapter Word: 2,401

Rating: T For Eventual Romance and Mild Language

Author: QuikkSilver

Disclaimer: O.O GRR.

~Chapter Four: Distrust~

"I have been a conspiritor so long that I mistrust all around me." - Gamal Abdel Nasser

She descended down the creaky, dim steps into the hold. It was almost like immersing in water – the sound melted away, replaced by an elusively spicy scent that tickled the inside of her nose. The darkness was punctuated every so often by a digital globe of light hanging in a sconce on the wall, and the hallways were narrow and cramped. Several hallways branched off, but at the end of the hallway was a large room, with more of that thick, spicy scent. She heard a rumble of laughter coming from inside it, and as she approached, she saw the homey yellow glow of a fire. A real fire, not a digital one – a rare thing in this day and age.

The kitchen she found herself in would have been spacious if not for all the clutter. A brazier in the middle of the room held a huge black pot suspended over the flames, a broth bubbling away inside it. Pots and pans clung to the walls, and barrels of foodstuffs took up one half of the room. A barrel of glossy, shiny purps were stacked invitingly next to a dented metal stove, and she saw that there were crates of vegetables standing sentry near the scarred black pot. Ropes of spices and herbs hung from the ceiling, perfuming the air with a subtle cacophony of smells and aromas. Mr. Arrow was standing stiffly near the door, and she nearly bumped into him as she entered. Delbert and Jim were hovering cautiously around the large black pot in the middle of the room, and Rose came up behind them. She stopped suddenly, mouth slightly open as she stared at the hulk of a man in front of her.

He was tall and broad. Broad shoulders, waist, thighs, and hands. A dingy white tunic was rolled halfheartedly to the elbow, exposing a pair of thick, tanned forearms. He seemed rough and a little unpolished, but his face seemed pleasant enough. His features were blunt and roguish, and from this angle he seemed an exceptionally large human being. But when he turned, his chiseled brow raised, she saw he was more machine that man. His right leg, arm, ear, and eye had been replaced by intricate machinery that continually whirred and clicked quietly in the background. His right eye was mechanical, and it scanned her with a rather knowing golden twinkle that she simultaneously liked and hated. He grinned, exposing a gold tooth, and he bowed dramatically. "Why, Doc, yeh didn't say yeh brought a lady wit' yeh!" He bellowed, his voice layered thickly with a pirate brogue. His voice was a deep chocolate rumble, his namesake etched into gravel. "Ida tucked in me shirt!"

"She's my sister," Jim said aggressively, suddenly feeling protective. He didn't like the way that cyborg was looking at her. It was almost ... cold. And calculating. "Rose. Rose, this is Silver."

Rose suddenly felt her hand swallowed by a calloused palm easily the size of a catcher's mitt, but his grip was gentle. "Aye, pleased as anythin' teh meet yeh, lass."

"Likewise," she said, swallowing. He made her nervous. Everything made her nervous, but this man was huge. The sheer size of him was enough to set anybody on edge. And coupled with the fact that he was a machine made it even worse. Silver caught her wary glance to his cybernetic arm.

"Ah, naow, don't be too put off by t'is hunk o' hardware," he said, limping over to one of the counters and plucking several stalks of vegetables from the ceiling and slicing them thinly. His mechanical hand cleverly changed from a cybernetic hand to a cleaver, and he began tossing items into the soup pot. Several pinches of spices and a few sprays from overly ripe purps had the whole kitchen smelling insanely delicious, and Rose felt her mouth watering in spite of herself. "'Ere, naow, have a taste of me famous Bonzabeast stew," Silver said, ladling three portions of stew into bowls. Rose cupped the wooden vessel in her hands and breathed in the fragrant aroma. Delbert lapped curiously at the stew and looked thoughtful.

"Hmm. Delightfully tangy, yet robust. I detect a hint of solara seed?" He said, smacking his lips. Silver turned away from him, a little smirk curving the corner of his mouth.

"Ole family recipe," he said sagely.

Delbert yelped as an eyeball suddenly surfaced in his stew. "Ahh!"

"And t'at was part o' teh old family!" Silver said and laughed. His laughter was a lion's growl, rumbling up from his chest in a thunder as he slapped Delbert on the back. "I'm on'y kiddin', Doc," He assured him, snatching the eyeball out of the stew with surprisingly deft fingers. "I'm nothin' if I ain't a kidder."

He caught Rose's eyes for the first time and noticed they were round brown orbs, dark in color but with hundreds of tiny sparkles that caught the light and reflected a subtle gold undertone. They were fringed thickly with dark lashes, and she narrowed her eyes, creases appearing between her slender brows, as he evaluated her. She was nervous and apprehensive, untrusting. Not nearly as bad as the boy, however. The boy was giving him the surliest look he had seen on a lad since Silver himself had been a nipper. There was something distinctly off with both of them, and he planned to find out what. "Go on, lad, have a swig," he told Jim, and Jim gave him a glare. Hesitantly, Jim scooped a spoonful of stew and raised it to eye level, examining it dubiously.

The spoon changed into a fat pink blob who was munching on his spoonful of stew. With a little cry of surprise, Jim dropped his spoon, only to have it wholly morph into a pink blob of proton which swam through the air. Two large white-and-black eyes blinked cheerily at him, and he swirled into a miniature Jim as easily as one would blink. "Morph! So t'at's where you was hidin'!" Silver said, and the pink blob cuddled up to his cheek.

"What is that thing?" Jim asked, intrigued in spite of himself. Morph flew circles around his owner and chirruped happily.

"'E's a morph," Silver explained as the pink creature began eating the remainder of Jim's stew. "I found teh little blighter on Proteus One. We've been together ever since, right Morphy?"

He noticed the girl watching him with detached amusement, a little smile teasing the corner of her mouth. She really was quite pretty, if a bit plain, with a short, rounded figure and a heart-shaped face. The similarities between herself and her younger brother were miniscule, but he wasn't surprised to see they were related. There was something about the way their eyes glanced at you sideways, an unsure look that lit their hearts.

None of them trusted each other.

Mr. Arrow cleared his throat. "Would you like to observe the watch, Doctor?" He asked officially. Delbert, who had only recently recovered from his eyeball scare, perked up instantly.

"Would I? Does an active galactic nucleus have superluminal jets?" He asked. Arrow raised his gravelly brow. "Ah, um, I'll follow you," Delbert said sheepishly, following Arrow up the stairs. The First Mate turned as he left. "Mister Silver, the captain would like a word with you later. In the meantime, see to it that your new cabin boy is kept busy."

"What?" Silver said, dropping the ladleful of stew he had been tasting.

"You can't!" Jim protested.

"Captain's orders!" Arrow barked. "Keep a close eye on him, Mister Silver." Arrow glanced at Rose. "Are you joining us, Miss Hawkins?"

There was no mistaking the little quiver of fear that shook Rose, and Silver picked up on it. "N-no," Rose said, a little too quickly. "I think I'll stay down here with James."

For a long while, there was nothing but the creak of the ship and the faraway sounds of aliens casting off. Then, Silver spoke up. "So, Cap'n's stuck yeh wit' me, eh?"

"Guess so," Jim said, eyeing Silver closely. He meandered over to the purp barrel and withdrew one thoughtfully. Silver shrugged and pushed up his sleeves a little farther, immersing his large hands in a pile of soapy dishes. Rose noticed with a little flare of familiarity that there was a dishwasher in the corner, but Silver also chose not to use it.

"Well, who be a humble cyborg teh argue wit' a cap'n?" Silver said with a shrug. Jim watched him closely, circling the kitchen restlessly.

"Y'know, these purps are kinda like the ones back home...On Montressor," he said, stressing the last word. He watched Silver's wide back closely for any signs of recognition. "Ever been there?"

"Eh, can't say I 'ave, Jimbo," Silver said, easily overstepping the boy's clumsy interrogation. Inwardly he was fuming and his mind was going haywire. What did the boy know? He was acting so suspiciously...Rumors had it that he had been the one to find the map. Had that damned Bones said something to him?

"Come to think of it, there was this guy..." Jim said, taking a bite of purp. He almost spat it out, surprised at the taste. It was nothing like the purps back on Montressor – those had been sweet and mellow. These were bitingly sharp and acidic, but tantalizingly tasty in the very back of his throat. He took another bite, and then wiped his mouth. "He was, uh, kinda looking for this cyborg buddy of his."

Rose made a face at Jim. She had no idea what he was doing, but he was probing at the old seadog, and no doubt making him uncomfortable. "James, there are a thousand, um, cyborgs out there," she said, tripping over the word cyborgs. She evidently had never said the word before.

"Yer sister's right, lad," Silver said with an easygoing chuckle. "There's a slew o' cyborgs roamin' t'is port!" He hesitated for a split second, and then took a gamble. "Fer fancy's sake, w'at was yer friend's name?"

"What was his name...?" Jim said with mock concentration, kneading his forehead with the remains of his purp. "Oh yeah," he said unconvincingly. "Bones. Billy Bones."

"Bones? Bones?" Silver said, cocking a brow. "T'aint ringin' any bells. Ah, off wit' yeh lad, an' watch teh launch." He said, pushing Jim out the door. He waited until the boy had left, and then turned to Rose, who was still standing there, watching him. "Still 'ere, lass?"

She looked at him very queerly for a moment, her rosebud mouth downturned and her eyes quiet. "I'm sorry," she said, and then fled the kitchens. For a long moment Silver just stood there, trying to figure out what she meant.

What the devil was she sorry about?

He stroked Morph, and then fed him a piece of Bonzabeast haunch. "We best be keepin' a sharp eye on t'em, eh Morph? We don't want 'em strayin' intah things t'ey shouldn't."

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter! My brain is flatlining right now...But anyway, tell me what you think!

~Special Thanks~

Day-Of-The-Dead-TattooGirl: Here you go! :)

katamis: Well, you'll have to wait and see! Although, wouldn't it be nice to have Silver be the knight in shining armor? ;)

TMNTdisneyfan2013: Yeah, Amelia and Arrow came off to me a bit cold in the first part of the movie. Still, this will be rectified in later chapters, when Amelia's and Rose's relationship deepens.

KaseyKay10: WOW! I am so honored to be your FIRST EVER Treasure Plant fanfiction! Hopefully you'll stick around with us for a while longer!