Chapter Fourteen
Jim landed quietly a few meters into the trees beside Alex's longboat. After shutting down the power on his longboat silently, he only spent a few moments by the longboats before moving quietly into the shadows of the tree line that bordered a small meadow.
". . . you outdid them all, even that Hawkins," Alex chuckled to himself. His back was to Jim, but he could see Alex's arms moving as he held something in front of him. The meadow was small and quiet, with soft light shining into the perfect green.
And Alex wants to destroy all this, Jim thought darkly. He took half a step out, then thought, No. He might give something away while he's talking to himself – something that will give me a clue on how to disable that bomb.
". . . and that was real genius. Ah, they never saw it coming!" Alex laughed again to himself, then began to whistle. A moment later, he said darkly, "There. All done."
Guess not, Jim thought. As Alex bent down to the ground, Jim stepped out of the trees. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Straightening up, Alex turned and smiled. "Hawkins, you couldn't have picked a better time to come. This way I can get rid of you, and the government at the same time."
"Don't be so sure of that!" Jim yelled, throwing himself down and rolling to the left, taking out his laser guns as Alex's shot narrowly missed him. Straightening, Jim let off a few shots, sending Alex to one side and leaving the bomb unprotected.
Seizing his chance, Jim started forward, but Alex shot at his feet, and Jim went careening to the side. They both stood, guns trained on each other.
"It doesn't have to end this way, Hawkins." Alex laughed to himself. "Well, actually – it does."
But before Alex could let off a shot, Jim began to shoot at Alex's feet, causing him to move awkwardly from side to side. Quickly, Alex took aim and let off a shot that knocked one of Jim's guns out of his hand. Then Jim let off two in succession, and then Alex's guns hit the grass several feet away.
"Hands where I can see them!" Jim ordered, getting closer.
Alex glanced at his guns, and Jim stopped. "You go for those guns, I'll shoot."
When Alex didn't move Jim quickly went over, and pulling out handcuffs, pulled Alex's hands behind his back in a strong grip. Holstering his gun, he snapped a cuff closed around one of Alex's wrists, then suddenly both hands were wrenched from his grip.
Alex stood a few paces away from him, holding the gun that had formerly been Jim's.
"Well, how about we just put down the guns and negotiate?" Jim grinned, then after half a second, he threw himself to the side and rolled to where he had knocked one of Alex's guns to the ground. Half a second behind him, blazing laser balls were scorching the ground as Alex tried to catch Jim, but he couldn't. After quickly noting the feeling of something in his boot, Jim snatched up a gun and again, he and Alex were at a standstill.
"You'll never win," Alex smirked. "There's no way I'll let you. You and your band of renegade pirates will never . . ."
Jim had been in a crouched position, and while Alex had been gloating, he had slid one of his hands into his boot and pulled out a deep blue square, only a few millimetres deep.
From my suitcase, the one Amelia packed, Jim remembered. But what –
"What . . . no! How did you get that?"Alex's face was now contorted with fear and anger, and he had gone even paler than usual. "No, it's impossible, it's can't be . . . but I'd know one anywhere! No, get it away, don't go near that bomb!"
Jim stood up slowly, and holding his gun in one hand and his new treasure in the other, took a slow step towards the bomb.
"No! No, don't you dare!" Alex's was fumbling with his gun now, holding it with both hands, but seeming unable to hold it steady or up.
Jim, in wonder, took another step.
"I – I'm warning you!"
Alex was frozen in place, still facing where Jim had been before moving closer to the bomb. Now that he was at an angle, Jim shot Alex's gun, knocking it out of his hands without hurting him.
Turning on Jim, Alex charged with both hands outstretched, the handcuffs still dangling from one of his wrists. Catching him, Jim quickly finished handcuffing the pirate.
Like walking in a dream, Jim came to the bomb.
"No – don't go near that!" Alex's weak voice let out one last cry.
Slowly, Jim placed the small square on top of the bomb.
At once, he stumbled backward – the bomb was now emanating searing, bright white light that filled the clearing. Jim covered his eyes, and heard Alex moan. What - Jim thought, but in a moment, it was over.
Daring to look up, Jim saw nothing where the bomb had been. Moving slowly closer, he saw the small blue square lying atop a little pile of still-smoking ashes.
Picking up the blue square and pocketing it, Jim began to question. But then something on his wrist beeped loudly, and Jim remembered the communicator that Silver had given him.
"Jim, Jim! Are you there?"
"Silver! What happened?"
Jim could hear the sound of gunfire in the background of Silver's transmission, and a chill settled over him.
"Silver. Silver!" Jim yelled, fear gripping him. Then, struggling to control himself, he began to walk quickly back to his longboat. "What happened!"
"Jim, we were doin' fine, Diana leading against the pirates – we were getting the upper hand. Then she collapsed, but not like yesterday – not like she was sleeping. She's being guarded now, but it don't look good lad – there's somethin' in her that we can't guard against. Is the bomb destroyed?"
"Yes, it's gone. I'm coming back now Silver. Hold off Alex's men as best you can."
Jim quickly raised his longboat into the air, and hurried back to the ship. The journey back to the battle seemed even longer than the one from, and a long and terrible one for Jim. He pushed the longboat to its full speed, and hurried to throw off all extra supplies in the longboat to occupy him, and to feel like he was doing something useful. After what seemed like a lifetime, the ships came into view – and it didn't look good.
Both ships had sustained heavy damage, but Silver's ship looked worse, with holes in her sails and one less mast than Jim had seen when he had left.
Flying the longboat alongside Silver's ship, Jim jumped over the side and hit the deck with a roll. As soon as he was on his feet, his heart beating fast with more fear than exertion, Jim yelled, "Silver! SILVER!"
Suddenly, he was grabbed from behind, and dragged into a dark cabin. Fighting hard, Jim stopped when a voice said, "It's me Jim, stop fighting!"
Hearing Silver's voice, Jim stopped fighting and was let go.
"Where is she Silver, if you try to tell me that it's better not to see her, I swear I'll –" Jim began murderously.
"Quiet lad! She's just through there, but be quiet – loudness makes it worse, I think. After she collapsed, if an extra loud shot went off, she would get worse, so we brought her in here! She's just through there." Silver finished somberly, and pointed to a door to the left of where they had come in.
Jim quickly hurried through the door, and then stopped. There were three pirates in the room, two with their heads bowed, and one with his hat off. They both moved aside, and what they revealed made Jim's heart almost stop.
For a second it looked like she was gone. Eyes closed, sprawled on a blanket, her skin was paler than Jim would have thought possible. Then suddenly, she took a weak, shuddering gasp, and her eyes opened wide.
Jim rushed to her side, and called, "Di – Diana!" But the deep eyes he saw were glassy and unseeing, and her breath came fast and frantic, and her body thrashed weakly. Jim thought for a second that her breathing sounded stronger, then Silver spoke in a way Jim had never heard before.
"Oh no. Lads, look at this."
Jim hadn't noticed the cabin before, but when he whipped his head around, he saw that it was a bright stateroom with large windows.
"What is it?" Jim asked, rising quickly, alarmed by Silver's voice that was, for once in his life, etched with defeat.
"It's a Government galley – twice the size of either of our ships."
They might have medicine then! Jim thought quickly, and then he saw the defeat in Silver's eyes.
"They've come for us." Jim realized. "They'll capture us all. I left Alex on the planet, handcuffed and without a working longboat, but he'll get away. He'll get away and build another bomb. And we'll all be sent to prison, and Alex will be able to bomb the government and all those people without anyone knowing he'll do it. And Diana will – Diana will die." Jim spoke the last part quietly, but his voice was lined with horror.
"They're almost upon us." Silver said quietly. He nodded for the other pirates to go. When they had left, Silver turned to Jim. "This is it then, Jim. How would you prefer to die? On your feet, on the front lines, or protecting your lady love? I won't begrudge you your choice lad. We're all going today, it seems. But there also is one more longboat, we can buy you time if you and Diana –"
"Silver, I'm not going to leave without you." Jim's voice was a little stronger with acceptance now. "Come on. Carry Diana please – and come with me."
Silver nodded, and followed Jim into the fray, as he turned calmly, walked up the steps, and stood behind the wheel of the ship.
"Pirates!" Jim yelled. A few looked up, but the fight continued.
"IF ALL YOU SCALLYWAGS DON' LISTEN UP NOW AND STOP FIGHTING EACH OTHER, THERE'LL BE NONE OF US LEFT TO FIGHT THE GOVERNMENT TROOPS COMING FOR US! NOW STOP FIRING OFF YOUR BLOOMING GUNS AND LISTEN TO THIS MAN!"
In an instant, Silver had quietened the ship – for everyone was fighting on Silver's ship now. Jim surveyed them, then stepped around the wheel, and stood on the wooden side panel that surrounded the upper deck.
"Everyone!" Jim yelled. "Less than two weeks ago, I wouldn't have believed that the things that are happening now could. Less than two weeks ago, I was studying at the Interstellar Academy."
A loud yell came from the crowd, but Jim held his hand for silence, and amazingly, silence settled.
"But in this time that I have been on a mission that quickly turned into one that was to save the galaxy, legally or not, incredible things have happened – I have been attacked by the son of a Pirate Lord, and escaped from a fortress of a ship. I have learned about a plan to kill billions, and plunge the galaxy into chaos! I have been searched for by legions of Government troops – and those aren't even the important things!
"You see that girl behind me?" Jim turned around, and beckoned Silver closer. "She's the granddaughter of a Pirate Lord. Do you know what else? She only found out about it last night. And she only learned that she was a pirate at all a few days before that. She's the reason all of us are here!"
A few of the pirates looked angry, but Jim continued.
"She's the reason we escaped Alex to find help and save the Government. She's the granddaughter of a Pirate Lord, and she's saving the lives of billions of people. Now, she's poisoned because of Alex, and he's the only person who has the cure, or knows what it is. Now, we're going to be captured by the government, and she's going to die. She's going to die for trying to save the lives of all those people down there on that planet."
Jim pointed, and suddenly felt at a loss for words. Then in the crowd, one of silver's men brandished his gun, and said, "I'll fight to save Miss Diana!"
"A will too!"
"An' us!"
Suddenly, the crowd was full of people yelling their commitment. After they quieted, Silver nudged Jim and, holding out his tricorne hat, said, "They're waiting for your orders, Cap'n."
Captain? Jim thought. Then his mind clicked, and, taking the hat, yelled out, "They'll be upon us soon! I want everyone to do what they do best! Gunners, in the back for a while. Whoever's good with Artillery, gather up the cannonballs we have left, and –"
Before Jim could continue, he was cut off with a large cannonball crashing into the deck. "Ready yourselves!" Jim shouted, then jumped off the railing and turned back to Silver, but was interrupted by a weak tug at his sleeve.
Turning around, Jim met Diana's eyes, and her pale, weakly smiling lips. He hand fell, and she mouthed "Thank you," her whispery voice lost in the sound of shouting and cannons.
"Silver, get Diana somewhere safe!" Jim yelled, and launched himself into the crowd of pirates.
We'll still die, Jim thought helplessly as the Government soldiers began to board the ship. There are too many.
Pulling out his gun, Jim was about to fire it as a loud, commanding voice shouted "STOP!"
Everything grew very silent as the boots of a captain clicked as they boarded the ship.
It's all over. Jim thought. We have no friends left, no one else to help us –
"Who is the captain of these united ships? Who had dared to counter me?"
"I have." Jim called, pushing through the crowd to get to the other captain. I'm going to die on my feet.
As he broke through the last men, Jim looked up into the commanding face of his opposing captain with a calm finality.
But as he looked up, something expected happened. The voice, no longer muffled by the crowd of pirates, said softly, "I should have known."
"Jim! Oh, Jim, you're safe!"
From behind Amelia, Dilbert came past and hugged him, then as soon as he let go continued talking. "Oh Jim, I'm so glad you're safe! Your mother has been so worried, you gave her such a fright, and –"
"Diana's hurt!" Jim exploded, and immediately Dilbert went silent, and his face paled.
Amelia came past Dilbert, and asked with more emotion in her voice than Jim had ever heard when she was in her role as a captain, "It's close to her heart, isn't it? Where is she? We'll take her to the nearest spaceport at once."
Jim turned to his ragtag team of pirates, and called, "This is Captain Amelia! She's a friend, here to help us. Silver, where's Diana?"
"Here she is!" Silver's gruff voice called, and he almost immediately pushed through the crowd, carrying her.
"Alright, whose ship is fastest?" Amelia asked. "Mine is 420 hydro-K's.
"Ours is only 380." Silver replied.
"Ours is 450!" a pirate from Alex's ship called.
"Very well, we'll take that one then." Amelia consented. Turning around, she said, "You four, come with us. You, you're in charge of the ship." Turning back, Amelia surveyed Silver. "Captain Silver, despite our past disagreements, I believe we'll settle for a truce at the moment. You're the only one who can manage all these pirates. They had better be here when I get back." She finished threateningly.
The pirates parted in silence for them, and Amelia, taking Diana in her arms, led the team to Alex's galleon, which was alongside the opposite side of the ship.
They all boarded in silence, and sped away quickly in the same manner. Jim sat numbly, hearing Diana's moans and occasional weak cries of pain. He wanted to go to her, but Amelia was at her side, softly singing. She only said one word the entire way, when she was asked which spaceport they should set a course for. She had replied "Lagoon", and gone silent.
Lagoon, was Jim's only thought. The spaceport where Diana's mom died.
The journey to the spaceport was silent and tense to the point of breaking. No one spoke. They knew that any words of consolation would do no point to stay, so they just silently sat, and tried to help each other as much as they could.