Chapter 6

Rise of the Wolf Rayet

"Okay, I'm sick of this," Dalia sighed, slamming down her fork one evening at dinner. Ray, Doug, and Jim all looked at her curiously. She pointed to Jim menacingly. "It's been two days, Hawkins, you need to make this right with Alice!"

A glare appeared on Jim's face as he stared down at his food.

"It's about team work! Not doing the job mindlessly! Come on, Jim, how could you do this to her? So she got in a fight with Josephine, but personally the girl acts like a Uropian Saddlefuzz at times. We all know Alice shouldn't have picked a fight, but she did have the right to stand up for herself," Dalia argued.

Jim didn't respond, looking away.

"Talk to her, please? You two miss each other, I know you do and it wasn't right for you to shut her down like that. Heck you didn't even stand up for her!"

"What do you want me to do, Dalia? Apologize? What about her, she hasn't been making the effort either!" Jim snapped.

"Jim Hawkins, I never thought I'd say this, but you're a great big coward," Dalia retorted icily. There was a long moment of complete silence. "At least go talk to her, even if you're not going to stand by her side when people make fun of her."

Jim blinked as her words seared into his brain before letting out a sigh of defeat.

"Alright," he agreed, standing up and depositing his plate in the sink. Jim jammed his hands in his pockets and slowly headed up the stairs onto the main deck. He wasn't sure what to say. He felt guilty. He'd felt guilty ever since he found Alice asleep in the galley the morning after their fight, but he just couldn't find the nerve to apologize. The more he'd ignored a confrontation with her the more he began to realize how he had been a jerk to her. A small smile appeared on his lips when he thought about the defensive nature Alice had learned from him.

He should have stood up for her.

He had been a coward.

Their ship was so small he spotted Alice almost instantly. She was sitting on one of the shrouds near the bow, staring at the stars silently. Jim flashed back to the night he'd sat in a similar position on the RLS Legacy as they ventured to Treasure Planet. He stuffed his fists in his pockets nervously and stood below her.

If Alice had heard him approach she didn't show it.

Jim cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Alice?" he began.

"I don't want to talk to you," she whispered.

"That's too bad, because I was hoping to talk to you," he smiled weakly, hoping she'd catch on to his teasing like she normally did. Alice remained silent. "I guess all I wanted to say was I'm sorry. I was trying to be…" he trailed off, unsure of what to say. "I'm not a good captain, okay? I admit it. I was so worried about being a bad leader on this expedition that I ended up doing just that. I should have stood up for you, Alice. I shouldn't have yelled at you. There are a lot of things more important than a stupid grade. One of those things is my girlfriend's feelings."

Alice still didn't say anything, but Jim knew she was listening.

"I'm sorry," he repeated, studying his tall, crisp boots in interest. For a moment he wished they were his old boots that he'd use to solar surf with. He even almost wished he could burrow into his old black jacket and hide away in shame like he used to, but his academy jacket was form fitted as if it was forcing him to stand up and take responsibility.

"S'okay," Alice finally mumbled, still not looking at him. "I shouldn't have started the fight. I was angry."

"I know, but I don't blame you for defending yourself. If anything, she deserved it," Jim chuckled. He saw the corners of Alice's mouth twitch upward. "Do you want to come down?" Jim asked softly. Alice's head bobbed once as she climbed down the shroud and stepped down next to Jim. He gave her that familiar half smile as the two of them automatically fell into a hug.

"I kissed the right Jim Hawkins," Alice said, her voice muffled by the folds of his shirt. Jim chuckled, thankful she had forgiven him as they remained in each other's arms for a long time. Jim closed his eyes tiredly, just enjoying being next to her again when an excited cry interrupted the silence.

"Ship ho! There's a ship up ahead!" Josephine called from the crow's nest. Jim and Alice pulled back and leaned over the wooden rail as Dalia, Douglass, and Raymond ran up from the galley.

"That's a ship all right," Jim nodded. "Josephine, can you see the flag?" he called up to her.

"No, it's too dark!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the flag is black – oh no!"

"Oh no is right!" Alice gasped, seeing the familiar skull and crossbones flapping in the breeze. "Pirates!"

"Josephine, get to the guns! Raymond we need maximum fire power and fast!" Jim ordered, running to the helm.

"I've got the weapons ready!" Doug called, equipping himself with two loaded pistols. Josephine slid down the shrouds and sat down in the cannon's seat.

"O-o-o! I love target practice," she grinned wickedly. Alice ran to Doug's aid and grabbed a cutlass and her own laser pistol. Dalia came to Jim's side at the helm as she immediately began charting the fastest course around the pirates judging by their route.

"Do you think they've spotted us yet?" she asked, holding a compass in one of her hands. Jim saw the pirate ship begin to turn, its degraded sails catching the Etherium wind as it set its sights on the VESA Magna.

"Oh yeah," Jim nodded. "But our engines are built for speed we can outrun them."

"I sure hope so," Dalia replied. Douglass and Alice helped toss pistols and swords around just in case the pirates boarded the ship.

"Keep her steady!" Jim told his friends as he kept his thumb and forefinger against the green switch. If the worst happened they had a backup plan. Dalia told him where to go as Jim spun the wheel hard, watching their ship maneuver out of the pirates' way quickly.

"They're turning away!" Alice announced excitedly, seeing the pirate ship begin to turn so its side was exposed. Jim let out a silent breath of relief when out of nowhere their ship rocked precariously. He was thrown backward, hitting the wooden deck hard. Jim shook himself and jumped to his feet, seeing the pirates' cannons trained right on their ship.

"They're moving in for the kill!" Jim gasped. "We can only outrun them! This ship wasn't built to attack!"

Another boom interrupted him as a laser ball nearly missed the deck.

"Jim, what do we do?" Doug cried.

"We fight!" Dalia answered firmly, looking at Jim. "There's something aboard this ship that will help us, isn't there?" she asked, a knowing look in her eye. Jim didn't respond as he stared back at the pirates with a calculating expression.

Down in the engine room, Raymond was doing all he could to keep their ship's engines running at full speed. The tiny room was sweltering as the boy grabbed levers and yanked them forward, closing valves and opening new ones. He read the small screens displaying information on the engines' capacity. One of the thrusters was blinking wildly. Raymond wiped the sweat from his brow as he grabbed a wrench nearby and ran to one of the quivering pipes. He tightened the bolt before slipping the wrench in his pocket.

Just as he ran over to one of the levers to push the ship back into high gear four of the main pumps containing solar energy exploded in a burst of fire and steam. Ray was lobbed forward with so much momentum he slid into the far wall before leaping back to his feet. Raymond had been interested in mechanics ever since he was a boy, and he had learned very quickly that an emergency fire extinguisher was not a bad thing to have on hand. He quickly grabbed his small tank, aimed the hose at the flaming pipes and sprayed them down. Once he was sure nothing else was aflame he turned back toward the tiny monitors.

The pictures depicting the engines were all blinking rapidly and when Raymond checked the other screen he saw that the thrusters were at 0% capacity.

"Shoot!" he hissed, toggling a few switches and pulling several levers to kick start the engine, but it remained lifeless.

Back on deck Jim and the others were recuperating quickly. Jim grabbed the wheel to keep the ship from doing a complete three hundred and sixty degree rotation.

"What just happened?" Alice demanded. Jim bit his lip, feeling anxiety building up. He had a bad idea. As if to voice his unspoken fears Raymond came running up from the boiler room frantically.

"Jim! Jim, they got our engines!" the boy gasped. The cold truth slowly washed over Jim as he caught Dalia's eye.

"We have to fight!" he announced. "Raymond, grab a weapon. Josephine train the guns on them, Douglass take the cannon on the starboard side!"

"On it!" Doug cried, firing up the cannon on the other side of the ship. Douglass Vance was not exactly a pro guerilla shooter. In fact he hadn't done very well in his artillery class, but he trusted Jim. Doug couldn't help but smile at the way Jim's leadership skills kicked into action right away, and if Jim wanted him to man the guns than he would do it. The boy was strategic, that much Doug figured out rather quickly.

He powered up the cannon that made a loud humming noise as a laser ball was transported up from lower deck and loaded into the cannon using some sort of air-tight tube. Once the laser ball was loaded, Doug aimed the cannon toward the pirates and fired. He realized he would miss even before it happened.

His beak turned red in slight embarrassment before he fired again and again and again, but no matter how much Doug tried, he barely nicked the ship. Josephine, on the other hand, was hitting each of her targets with ease. The pirates seemed to realize who the better gunner was for they kept their engines away from Josephine's cannon in case she decided to aim there next. Doug felt his feathers bristle. He was letting his friends down and he knew, but he never gave up. His eyes narrowed as he tried again.

Jim watched the pirates steadily getting closer at the helm. He kept his fingers firmly pressed against the green switch on the control panel, knowing the pirates were having a difficult time striking their tiny craft. The only way to do serious damage would be to get closer, and that's exactly what they did. Jim kept the ship at an angle so they would remain as small of a target as they could.

"Steady, steady," he said. Jim watched as the pirates pulled up right alongside their ship. They shook their fists and let out loud cries of delight, waiting for the opportunity to board.

"Jim," Dalia said nervously as the ship pulled closer. Jim was now able to make out the name painted on the bow. Wolf Rayet.

One pirate actually had the nerve to swing over. Alice quickly set her laser pistol to 'stun' so the man would be hit with an electric discharge strong enough to knock him out. Cocking her pistol she shot him from point blank range the minute the man's feet touched the deck. "Jim!"

Jim grabbed the green switch and toggled it three times. Immediately four large metal appendages shot from the hull. There were two hooks, a drill, and a saw. The hooks dug into the pirates' deck and before any of the ruffians knew what was going on, the drills and saw went to work. Jim watched in amazement as the drill went right through one of their cannons while the saw dragged itself across their deck, slicing the wood like sushi in a fish market.

The pirates had no idea what had just happened as they ran around frantically, trying to pull the ship back, but the hooks kept the two ships locked together. Alice and the others actually smiled triumphantly.

Jim enjoyed watching the pirates scramble about in confusion, but their luck didn't hold.

A new person had joined the party. Their features were fox-like with a long pointed snout. The fur was a flaming orange and a long bushy tail with a blackened end poked out from the pirate's pants. Jim didn't have to be told the man's rank. He knew immediately this was the man in charge. Even from his place at the helm Jim could see the ferocity in the man's grey eyes like two steel swords piercing his heart.

A woman followed behind him shouting orders as she pushed her long blonde hair out of her face. The pirates were grouping together now, teaming up as they hacked at the drills and hooks clinging to their ship.

"Jim, mate, we got trouble!" Ray called as he saw grappling hooks being flung over and latching onto the shrouds.

"Don't let them swing over!" Jim ordered, taking out his pistol and shooting one of the ropes as a pirate tried to swing across. The man let out a scream of horror as he fell between the two ships and was lost in space. Alice grabbed her sword and ran across the rail of the ship, slicing through the rope of any grappling hooks that were attached there.

Jim set his pistol to stun as the second pirate managed to swing over. He was about to shoot when Dalia knocked the man out with her own laser pistol.

"Thanks," Jim smiled breathlessly.

"Don't mention it."

They were holding them off for now, but it wouldn't be much longer. Jim could see that the captain of the pirates' ship was training his last undamaged cannon toward the metal hooks and drills sawing away at his ship. With a sickening explosion the metal hooks weakened and with two more shots fired the hostile appendages broke off completely tumbling into the starry field below.

"We've got to fight!" Jim called as more pirates began swinging over.

"No duh, Sherlock!" Josephine retorted coldly as she shot a pirate who jumped down in front of her. Jim wasn't sure who Sherlock was but he ignored it as he loaded his weapons and tried to hold off the oncoming mass of pirates.

Alice, on the other hand, found herself in a tight situation. She felt comfortable using a sword rather than a gun, but she wasn't ready to dice anyone! Her heart pounded when the first pirate landed in front of her with a sinister smirk. It let lose a low growling noise as she grasped the hilt of her sword tightly.

The pirate laughed as it took out its own sword.

"Swordplay, eh?" he snorted, turning his head to the right and spitting. Alice stumbled back, perspiration dotting her forehead. The man took another threatening step forward, and just as he was about to swing a sense of complete and utter calm washed over Alice. Her eyes narrowed, watching his muscles bunch and where his small beady eyes were located.

It all happened so fast Alice was unsure if any of it was real. She felt her muscles strain against the weight as the pirate's lethal weapon connected with hers. She raised her green eyes to stare into his shocked expression, but a smirk quickly grew in its place.

"A worthy opponent," he sneered, pulling his sword back and slicing the air in front of him. Alice jumped back and held up her sword as their blades crossed once more, but this time her opponent did not hesitate.

Within seconds the two of them were locked in a heated battle. The pirate continuously tried to throw Alice off balance, but the girl surprised him by countering each attack. Alice had always been afraid to try new things. She had been afraid of the longboat ride on the RLS Legacy with Jim and Silver, she had been afraid to climb the shrouds, she had been afraid to open up to Jim, she had been afraid to leave her boarding school, she had been afraid of entrance exams, and she had been afraid of solar surfing for the first time.

But when Alice tightened her hold on the hilt of her sword it was as though she had fenced her entire life. Her arm directed itself. She felt like someone was right beside her, guiding her parries and counter-attacks and keeping her safe in the heat of battle. She felt unusually calm, and Alice wasn't sure if that was a good or bad feeling to have in this situation.

At last Alice feinted right and cut the man's left shoulder.

The pirate howled in rage, clutching his wound as Alice pointed her sword as his throat. The man lowered his sword right as Douglass knocked him out with the butt of his gun.

"Thanks," Alice panted, wiping sweat from her brow.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Douglass gasped, staring at the girl in shock. Alice didn't reply as more pirates joined their scruffy comrades. Alice pulled out her sword, getting ready for her next bout. It wasn't long before she was beating back her rivals.

As the girl pushed another pirate to the ground she couldn't help but grin. She was preforming advanced moves even the academy hadn't taught her. A gruesome pirate landed in front of her, but Alice flipped her sword and jammed the hilt into the man's face knocking him out and leaving the rogue with a growing bruise.

"Ha! How do you like a sword to the face?" she smirked, feeling a bit on the cocky side. In fact Alice felt almost powerful. There was nothing she couldn't accomplish with her sword. The girl was seeking out another adversary when two clammy hands wrapped around her throat from behind.

"Augh!" Alice gasped as she felt her sword ripped from her grasp. The arms secured her tightly, before pulling her pistol rudely from her belt and shoving her forward into a tight circle. Her back slammed into Jim and Douglass' and when she shook off the suddenness she realized what the pirates had done. There were too many of them.

She and her friends were completely surrounded. The pirates sneered and spat, crying out delightedly and still others salivated as if the academy's students were an inviting meal.

"Got any ideas?" she whispered to Jim as they stood back to back. Jim still had his weapons raised but one shot and their bodies would be mutilated by all of the pistols, cutlasses, and muskets pointed at their hearts.

"Not at the moment," he replied. The pirates seemed to naturally part as the fox-like man Jim had seen earlier stepped forward. He was even more intimidating close up.

"Drop your weapons," he ordered. All of them shot each other wary looks. "Now!" he barked. There was the sound of metal hitting wood as their weapons were dropped onto the deck. "Where is your leader?"

Alice met Jim's nervous gaze.

"Alright then," the man grunted, grabbing Josephine and pulling her close as he pressed a sword up against her throat. The girl let out a shriek. The fox took a deep breath as Josephine trembled against him. "Tell me little girl," he smirked evilly, adjusting his sword against her neck. "Who is your captain?"

"Him! He's the captain! He's in charge!" she sobbed pointing a shaking finger toward Jim. The fox nodded toward the pirates as three of them reached forward and grabbed Jim by the arms.

"Let go of me!" Jim snapped. Alice started forward defensively when three muskets and two cutlasses were pointed at her heart, nudging her back in line. The men dragged the squirming boy over in front of their captain who had released Josephine and allowed her to press back into her group of friends. Alice held her breath as the fox-like man examined Jim in interest. Jim glared back defiantly.

For a long moment nobody breathed as the two of them penetrated the other with their steely glares. At last the fox pulled back and began to laugh loudly. His laughter became hysterical as he threw his head back in sheer delight. The other pirates followed his example by letting out their own nervous laughs, but the minute the captain put his hand up they stopped abruptly.

"You're a devilish little thing aren't yeh? You put a lot of holes in my ship," he said, staring at Jim in cold amusement.

"I'd be happy to do it again," Jim responded darkly. The captain let out another laugh.

"We got ourselves a spitfire mates!" The crew hooted and snickered accordingly.

"Can we just raid the ship and be done?" a voice spoke up coldly. The pirate captain and all of his cronies turned to stare at a tall woman behind them. She wore a dark black vest over a cream colored shirt that looked like it had seen better days. She was taller than most of the pirates with long, straight blonde hair falling down her back and a three corner hat on her head.

But Jim's attention was drawn immediately toward her hardened expression and her icy blue eyes that seemed to radiate malice and contempt. If Jim hadn't looked away he had a feeling she could have made him jump right off the ship just by staring him down.

"Leah, Leah, Leah," the fox man tutted, slinking toward her like he was stalking prey. "My beautiful accomplice in crime," he smiled.

"This isn't a game, Dancer! We're here on a mission, not to terrorize academy students!" she spat, pushing him back. The captain's, Dancer's, features darkened.

"It became clear to me your plan was not well-thought out when we ventured to Montressor."

Jim looked up in shock, his ears ringing.

Had the man really said –?

"Why not hold the students for ransom? That way we won't leave completely empty. Heck, if the academy doesn't want them, we could sell them on a slave market somewhere in the Coral Galaxy," Dancer said.

The pirate named Leah grabbed Dancer's arm in a vice like grip.

"The treasure I'm offering you is larger than the queen's armada," she muttered so Jim had to strain to hear.

"The treasure you offer me is a legend, and if you don't provide a reliable lead soon, the next dead body will be yours," Dancer whispered, pulling away and walking back toward Jim whose arms were beginning to go numb from the pirates' tight grasp.

"Throw them in the brig for now, these brats still have to pay for wrecking my ship," Dancer chuckled as Jim and his friends were shoved forward. Jim dug his heels into the deck, but it was no use. No matter how much each of them struggled they could not free their limbs long enough to escape, and if they were able to, there was nowhere to run anyway.

Just before the pirates managed to tow them aboard the Wolf Rayet a nervous man with mouse-like qualities jumped forward.

"Hang on a second! Isn't he Jim Hawkins? Isn't she Alice? Aren't they the kids that found Treasure Planet?" he stammered nervously as Dancer held up his hand to stop his mates from locking them up just yet.

"By Neptune! It is! That's where I recognized them!" another pirate cried. Jim and Alice were thrust in front of Dancer who reached forward and grabbed Alice's face in his grimy palm. She tried to pull back but he held her face firmly in his grasp, turning it from side to side.

"She does look like the girl in the papers," Dancer agreed, excitement evident in his expression. He then turned to Jim who remained rigid as he was looked over. "Ladies and gentlemen we have ourselves a couple of heroes!" the fox called out mockingly. "Toss their petty friends in the brig, but these two tie 'em up and keep them in the galley until I'm ready," Dancer ordered as the pirates cheered and laughed. Jim and Alice watched their friends being dragged off helplessly before their arms were twisted behind their backs and double knotted with weathered rope.

"Destroy the ship. Burn the evidence," Dancer ordered his comrades as he stalked off toward his stateroom. Alice struggled in vain as she and Jim were each tied to opposite tables in the musty galley. A guard was posted at the top of the stairs, but no matter how hard each of them twisted and turned and tried to gain some sort of reaction from their captors, the galley remained empty and silent save for their pointless shouting which eventually died down as the ship took off into the stars.

All that was left of the VESA Magna was the crumbling frame in a lonely starry sky, and no matter what Jim thought to convince himself otherwise the cold truth bit into his skin.

They had been kidnapped by pirates on their very first assessment.

And Jim knew, without a shadow of a doubt, it was entirely his fault.

A/N: Okay so I finally got this chapter up! Like I told many of my readers I had a lot of homework this week and didn't have time to post this. I now have a three day weekend break so I'll try to get the next chapter up by Monday, maybe even tomorrow or Sunday. Whenever I finish it. This chapter was a lot more adventurous and the plot is now in motion. It's going to get more epic and more epic and more awesome as we go along now :D

So everyone get ready!

Oh, and the blonde woman and Dancer…did you guys recognize them? Yes they were the two in the Prologue if you recall. See? I tie everything back in! You're going to find out why they were on Montressor shortly.

Special thanks to all my readers and reviewers!

lazyX1000, dragonmaster12, PartofYourWorld-ArielMermaid, delphigirl689, Jess036, and Ryadai!

You guys are so awesome! You're the reason I continue to write! And Happy Late Valentine's Day! You all get chocolate hearts! :D