Chapter 9.

"No!" Jim desperately grabbed at David's coat. Lawhead clasped the irons around David's wrists and moved to open the door. Jim wrapped his arms around David's shoulders and pulled him back against his chest.

"Jim," David tried to calm him, but Officer Lawhead pulled David out by one of his arms toward the door. Jim held on tighter, planting his heels into the floor as best as he could. "Jim, please don't do this." David pleaded gently.

"Hawkins, remove yourself at once!" Captain Vlow shouted from her desk.

"Shut up!" Jim shouted at her and held on; crying hot tears into David's coat. The Captain watched as the young Lieutenant had apparently gone out of his mind. Clinging to the Commander, Hawkins was attempting to drag them both back into her office for a retrial.

"Lieutenant I will see you discharged for insubordination and demoted to cabin boy!" Jim didn't respond, but continued to hold on to the older man. Seeing that nothing she could do could pry the men apart, she gave up. Exhausted, the captain slouched in her chair with her head in her hands.

Lawhead dragged David out of the office, with Jim scraping on his heels behind them. Members of the crew watched the strange display with curiosity. David told Lawhead to wait a minute and stood still. Jim sniffed into his back and hugged him tighter.

"Jim-"

"No! I won't let you do this!" Jim yelled. "You know it's not true!" He moved to David's side and wrapped both of his arms around one of David's. "You know we were in this together!" He looked up desperately into David's face, searching for any acknowledgement that he had even been heard. But David was standing tense before him, showing no signs that he even knew what Jim was talking about.

"No, Jim." David calmly retorted. "I lied to you when I said we could be together, and I'm sorry. I should never have led you astray and put you in so much danger."

"Shut up!" Jim shook his head and hid his face in David's shoulder.

"I didn't want this to happen- but there is nothing you can do. I've made my bed with my mistakes- and now I have to lie in it." The word 'mistakes' stuck like a dagger in Jim's heart. Could it be that David had been just playing with him? No, it couldn't be- not after all this time- not after last night. A dark frown crossed Jim's face and he loosened his grip. "You see, Jim? I tricked you. And I'll never forgive myself for that." Lawhead grabbed his arm and pulled him away, leaving Jim standing on the deck surrounded by confused crew mates.

Captain Vlow came out of her quarters and stood on the quarter deck. Clearing her throat- she addressed the crew. "Gentlemen, I'm sure this may come as a surprise to you all," Almrez, who was swabbing behind one of the masts, looked over at Jim. "but Commander Lieutenant Mogtrevo has deceived us. It has come to light that he has been acting out on his homosexual tendencies- an action which- as you all know- earns him the death penalty. You are to no longer address him as a superior officer, or to speak to him in any manner. Is that understood?" The crew replied with nods and "Yes, ma'ams.". Jim, however, ran down to the galley. Distraught and unsure of what to do, he paced around until he saw some half-peeled fruit sitting by a barrel in a corner. An idea came to mind…

Sitting in the dark, surrounded by straw and a blanket, David sat alone. The brig was cold and drafty- but David didn't notice. He had been visited earlier by a large group of the crew, who came to tell him a very specific message about how much they hated "faggots" in the Navy. One of the group had stolen the keys for the cell and they had come in to tell David about how much they hated "his kind." So now the Lieutenant Commander, once one of the most respected officers of his time, was sitting, covered in dirt, alone in the dark.

A loud creak caused him to turn his head, and a bright light made him squint to see who was coming down to see him. He could hear a voice at the top of the stairs, but he had become so sensitive to the silence that he couldn't make out the words. A pair of black boots descended the stairs, followed by an unmistakable jacket. David crawled from his seat by the wall and wrapped his hands around the bars. "Jim…" he whispered hoarsely.

The young Lieutenant got to his knees in front of the cell, and the two grabbed each other's hands. Jim rubbed his thumb along David's hand, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dark. As they did, Jim could make out bruises and a few cuts on David's face and neck. "For fuck's sake," he whispered and pressed his cheek against David's hand. "Why can't they just leave us alone?" David pressed his forehead against the bars and squeezed Jim's hands.

"Jim…" the young man didn't look up. "Jim." This time he got two blue eyes staring at him in the dark. "Jim, I'm so glad you came down here. For what I said- on the deck- I didn't mean a word of it. I was just trying to save your skin. Honest!" He pulled Jim's fingers to his lips and kissed them gently.

Jim looked down at his knees before sighing. "I'm not your toy, then?" he looked up with hope in his eyes. He knew David was telling the truth, but he needed to hear it. Sadness pooled around the irises of David's green eyes.

"Oh, Jim…" he whispered and tried scooting closer. "you're my boy…" Jim chuckled softly. A smile broke out on David's face and he looked down at their hands, entwining their fingers. "I'd sink like an anchor without you, Jim. Lost at sea, dead in the water. You're my 'land ahoy.'"

"You're a fucking sap." Jim sniffed and pressed his forehead against the bars. David closed his eyes and smiled. "Your pretty words and your romantic notions to win me over."

"Is it working?"

"Yes." Jim shuddered a whisper. David broke out in a hearty laugh- it was like music in the dirty jail around them.

"Then, I'll keep talking." David looked up at Jim- who was still smiling at David's laugh. "What else can I say," he raised a hand. "all truth, swear to the gods." He thought for a moment, rolling his thumbs over Jim's knuckles. "I could say," Jim looked up at his green eyes, filled with thought and regret and sadness. "that your laugh is contagious, and your lips taste like spiced rum when you're drunk- no matter what you've had." Jim smiled, watching the man as he leaned his head back and looked up. "Your face when you blush makes me want to make you blush more- like last night." He smirked.

"Yours is pretty entertaining when you want something." Jim retorted, mimicking the face with a lip bite and a mischievous expression. It was David's turn to blush, which sent Jim into a small fit of laughter. "And-" he thought for a moment. "you've got a nice piggybacking technique."

The non-sexual compliment sent David roaring with laughter, falling onto his back. He couldn't fathom why he was laughing so hard, but he was interrupted by the opening of the brig door. "Five minutes is up, Hawkins."

"Okay." Jim called up the stairs and the door slammed shut again. When the door was locked, he reached through the bars and pulled David's hand through them. He pulled a small metal key out of his waistband and folded it into David's fingers. "They're flying over the Sumbardi Ocean to make you walk the plank tonight." He swiveled his head to make sure the door was still shut. "When you have your time to say your last words to the crew, make sure to say them loud and strong." Jim shoved David's hand back toward his chest.

"Wait-what?" Jim pulled David close by his shirt collar and kissed him between the bars. David tried to push deeper into the kiss, but Jim pulled away after just a moment and got up to leave. "Wait!" David grabbed Jim by the wrist. Jim looked down at him and grinned. David looked at him, completely puzzled.

"Loud?" Jim started.

"And…strong." David reluctantly released his lover's hand and watched him rush up the stairs. He was once again sitting alone in the dark- waiting for his death.

It felt like hours since he had seen Jim- or had it only been minutes? David couldn't tell; his thoughts were too jumbled. What he did know was that Delge was coming down the stairs with the keys to his cell, and taking him up to the deck. David stared directly ahead, no shame in his admitted crime. He stood firm in his silence as his previous crew mates jeered and taunted him. They had flown to a particularly deserted ocean- no land for hundreds of miles anywhere on the planet; a perfect place for a drowning. David silently scanned the crowd; among the jeering, angry faces; but Jim was nowhere to be seen. David was led to the edge of the plank and gently stepped on. The ruckus died down as Captain Vlow recited the charges from a paper in her hands.

"Commander Lieutenant David Icarus Mogtrevo," she began. "you have been condemned by your own words of the crime of sodomy. You have pled guilty to this offense against His Majesty's Royal Navy, and have admitted to endangering the souls and morals of these good men. By order of the law this vessel abides by, you have been sentenced to death, by drowning." She held the paper down at her side. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

David opened his mouth to speak, when the sound of a mechanical whirring made him pause. When the sound disappeared, he cleared his throat and began to speak. "It is true, I have admitted to the things she has said- but as you watch me fall to my death, remember this; that you murdered a man whose only crime was acting in the name of love!" The crew began screaming jeers and insults at him, swarming the end of the plank and pushing him forward. David walked out toward the end, and turned around once more- looking for Jim. He was not there among the faces, or in the crow's nest, or peeking out of a doorway. Feeling distraught- David turned back to face the ocean and took his last three steps off the plank.

The jeers faded into silence, as they all waited for a splash. All of the men leaned forward to listen, thinking maybe the water was father down than they first anticipated. But a splash never came. Instead, a mechanical whirring came from under the rudder, roaring louder as it approached the port side.

Jim was driving one of the long boats- its solar sail glittering in the sun. Dumbfounded, some of the crew began looking over the side of the ship, not seeing a single ripple. A brown-haired man's head popped up over the side of the longboat. Sitting beside Jim was David, beaming from ear to ear. The crew erupted in an outraged cry.

"Hawkins!" Captain Vlow screeched. She reached for her gun but found it was missing; locked up in her office. She barred her teeth and shook her fist up at the treacherous pair. Jim saluted them once more before turning the joysticks to the right and driving away from the ship. "I'll report you to the Admiral! You're dead, Hawkins! Mogtrevo!" Jim and David couldn't hear them as they sped off into the distance.