They made it to Kinapsis in two days, hunting down the pub in a matter of hours. As Jim and Alec walked off the ship, Amelia stood frowning at the wheel, the rest of the crew taking some time to relax on the deck.
"How far to the pub?" Alec asked casually.
"Little more than a mile. Won't take long." Jim said, staring straight ahead. His mind wandered once again to Charlotte. She'd been gone for almost three days.
"You worried about her?" Alec interrupted his thoughts.
"Just thinking strategy." Jim lied
"Bull. Man, come on, don't lie to me." Alec said, staring at the side of Jim's face. Jim refused to turn. "You've hardly said a word these past few days. You refuse to rest when Captain tell you to. You haven't eaten."
"Of course I'm worried about her!" Jim spat frustrated. "Charlotte was kidnapped by pirates!" Saying it out loud made it that much more real. Jim shook his head.
"We're going to find her, Jim." Alec said, still staring at Jim.
"I have to." Was all he could say, his hand once again gripping the ring box in his pocket.
The rest of the walk was quiet and when they reached the pub they could tell that it had just opened up. The Inside was dark, old rotted wood made up most of the tables and the bar. Although it had just opened there was a good deal of old gritty looking spacers sitting around the room. None of them looked up as the boys entered the pub, but the bartender called over his shoulder.
"Help yer selves to a table." Jim knew the voice, the lit of his accent. Before Alec say anything, Jim had marched off to the bar.
"Silver." Jim said, fighting between being happy to see him and suspicious.
"Jimbo?" Silver turned around. Although it had been four years, he didn't look any older. He was still space-worn and full of metal parts, but he looked cleaner and happy. "Well look at 'cha! All grown up and distinguished!" Silver called, ambling around the bar to hug Jim. His grip was tight and Jim returned it gladly.
"And who's this one?" Silver motioned to Alec.
"Alec Thomas." Alec threw out his hand but hesitated when Silver responded, pulling out his cybernetic arm.
"Nice to meet'cha lad! Jimbo, how's Charlie? You two still a pair or no?" Alec cleared his throat and Jim stared at the floor uncomfortable.
"Silver I need to ask you a few questions?" Jim said, pulling Silver to a table behind them, but Silver wouldn't sit, so the three men stood.
"Questions, Jimbo?" Silver asked, sounding jovial but Jim knew better. He was suspicious too.
"Silver, I wish I was here on a social visit." Jim said, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "But do you know a Captain by the name of Jonathan Marks?"
"Johnny? The ol' Shape-shifter from the Proteus system? Of course, 'e's a regular." Silver said, looking at the pair calculatingly.
"What does he come here for?" Jim was trying to control is excitement.
"'e comes to drink, Jimbo, 'tis a pub."
"Does he come here for anything else?" Alec asked, now curious.
"'e likes to listen to my stories, the ones about... well ye know." Silver dropped his voice.
Marks was interested in Treasure Planet? Jim's mind spun. Could this really be about Treasure Planet?
"Is he interested in Treasure Planet?" Jim was nearly shouting.
"O' course 'e is! Who isn't. I don't tell people the part about the booby trap, though. Takes away from the legend." Silver laughed. Jim lost control, He grabbed Silver by the shirt and shook him a bit.
"Did you tell Marks about me, about Charlie?" Jim yelled in Silver's face.
"Well, I mentioned ye went with me, that she worked for me." Jim's fist released Silver's shirt, flying and making contact with his jaw instead.
"Jimbo! Shit, what're ye doin'?" Silver yelled, pushing Jim away from him at the same time that Alec grabbed Jim's arms and pulled him back.
"He took her! He fucking took her. You told him about her and he fucking took her from her bed." Jim was yelling, pulling and straining against Alec's grip while Alec pulled Jim out of the club. Silver had been the reason that this man had taken Charlotte. He was after Treasure Planet and he was using her to get there.
"Sorry, we'll go." Alec called as other spacers stood to defend the pub owner but Silver was pushing them back down. Soon Alec had Jim outside, sitting him down on the bench in the front.
"You've got to calm down, mate!" Alec said standing in front of Jim so that he couldn't get up. But Jim didn't want to, he dropped his head into his hands and tried to breath. All of this was because of that stupid planet. He'd almost lost her once there and now he was losing her again because of the same place.
"Jimbo?" Silver was standing there now, but Jim couldn't bring himself to look up at him. "Jimbo, what do you mean 'e took her?"
"I left her for an hour or so that morning, almost three days ago, and when I came back she was gone. Marks and his crew broke into her apartment and took her out of her bed while I was gone."
"Aw, Jimbo..." Silver sighed, but Jim could hear the aggravation in Silver's voice. Charlotte had worked for him for far longer than Jim had. Silver would be worried about her too. There was a long silence, and Jim finally looked up from his hands. Alec was standing there awkwardly while Jim and Silver stared blankly.
"If Johnny took 'er, ye can bet 'e thinks she knows how to get ter the trove."
"I thought there was no trove." Alec added looking confused.
"There isn't." Jim said.
"But Johnny don't know that." Silver grimaced.
"They headed north, so Charlotte must have told them something." Alec added. Jim nodded but he couldn't figure out what she would have told them.
"Charlie never knew the way, what would she have told them?" Silver questioned. Thinking back to that launch day, Jim remembered the take off, watching Charlie climb the shrouds, the Orcus above the ship.
"The Orcus migration!" Jim said, surprising both of the other men. "We watched them over the ship, heading in the same direction as us."
"So the pirates are chasing space whales to Treasure Planet?" Alec asked, still confused.
"We should go. We might still catch them." Jim stood up, turning to look back at Silver. "I'm sorry."
"Go get 'er, Lad. Bring her back. I'll be in touch." Jim nodded and hugged the old cyborg. Turning Alec and Jim headed back to the ship.
"Jimbo!" Silver called and Jim turned to face him. "I know Johnny, and I know how 'e gets information. If Charlie told 'im a heading, it's not because 'e asked nice." Jim nodded, hold down his fear and turned, picking up the pace.
When the crew had retrieved the long boat and Charlotte, Marks had grabbed her out by her injured shoulder. The pain revived Charlie and she'd woken up screaming in pain. Although a laser pistol shot would cauterize instantly and there was little blood, there as still a gaping wound on Charlotte's right shoulder and Marks was using it to lead her back to the brig. Charlotte stumbled along beside him, trying to relieve the pressure of his grasp but the pain kept her from catching her footing. She could feel the hot tears pouring down her face as Marks threw her in the cell, she hit hard against the metal cot that stuck out of the wall, screaming again.
"You shouldn't have done that, Charlie." Marks was kneeling before her, pure rage in his eyes. Outside the cell, ten or so of the crew that had retrieved her from the life boat stood watching. "I told you that I would break you." Charlotte tried to look away from him but he grabbed her jaw painfully in his hand, tugging her back to face him. "You're going to tell me how to get to the trove. And then, maybe afterward, I'll put you out of your misery." He released her face sharply, grabbing the neck line of the tunic and pulling a knife out with the other hand. Slowly he dragged the knife across the tunic, and the skin of Charlotte's chest. The blade slide down and Charlotte whimpered as it left a cut down between her breast, over her ribs and down to her belly button. Once the tunic was completely split, Marks stood and left the cell, leaving the door open.
"Have at her." He called over his shoulder to the crew that stood behind him and climbed the stairs. The crew moved into the cell.
Jim stood against the railing of the deck, staring into the etherium. The crew had picked up the pace after Alec and him had gotten back. Laira assured him and the Captain that they could close the gap in a day, maybe two. After that Amelia had ordered Jim down to the quarters to rest, but Jim didn't feel like sleeping.
As he stood there, Jim pulled the ring box out of his pocket and opened in. Laying in the box was a simple white gold band with one small diamond. Some would think that it was too simple, but it was all Charlotte would want. He stared at the ring, his mind once again picturing what it would look like on Charlotte's hand, the look on her face when he asked her. He could see her so clearly in his mind.
"I thought you'd be asleep." Rory said from his spot suddenly behind Jim. He had a been in the galley cleaning up from dinner when Jim had been excused. Jim rushed to close the ring box, tucking it away in his pocket.
"You were going to propose." Rory stated, shock evident in his voice. "I knew you two had been together a while, but I hadn't realized." Jim shrugged his shoulders, staring out in to space. "When?"
"I went for a walk because I wasn't sure that I should, I wanted to think." Jim said, finally telling the whole story. "If I'd hadn't gone out, I would have been there to protect her. This never would have happened." his voice shook with the effort of holding back his guilt. "This is my fault."
"No, it couldn't be your fault." Rory patted Jim's shoulder. "They probably would have taken you both." Rory said awkwardly, trying to help but Jim laughed darkly.
"At least if they had, I could have protected her from what ever torture they're using. I actually know the way to the where they want to go. Charlie never did. She always just gets caught up in the trouble I create." Rory looked down at his hands, while Jim spoke. "And I want to ask her to marry me so that I can take off and leave her unprotected." Jim shook his head. "No, I'm going to get her back and I'm going to make sure she's safe, and then I'm going to leave her alone so that I can't cause her pain anymore." Jim pulled the ring box out of his pocket and moved to throw it off the railing.
"Jim!" Rory yelled, moving to stop him but he was too slow. As Jim moved to release, the ring box disappeared from his hand.
"Mr. Hawkins, what on earth are you doing?" Amelia was behind him, the ring box in her gloved hand.
"Give me that Amelia." Jim growled. Rory looked shocked as Jim addressed the Captain so informally, and Jim watched him turn and head back to the galley. "You don't understand-"
"I understand that girl loves you. I know that she doesn't blame you for what happened." Amelia said, moving to lean on the railing. "I know that you don't want to let her go." Jim couldn't stay angry, his shoulders dropped and the sadness came back.
"We're going to get her back, Jim. And if Silver is right, she's going to need your help to get through this. You need to stow your overwhelming need to blame yourself and just be there. And I need you to get actual rest. I know you've been ignoring me when I tell you to."
"I'm sorry." Jim said, looking down at her.
"I need you to prepare yourself. Marks is going to have a much larger crew than us, it's not going to be easy getting her out of there. If you're not 100% we don't stand a chance." Amelia was being honest.
"Yes, Ma'am." Jim said, heading off to bed.
"Wait." Amelia caught up to him, took his hand and placed the ring box back into it. "Hold on to this." And before he could say anything else, she was gone.