Chapter Ten
The Cards in Play
Captain Amelia
The RLS Legacy - 0600
Amelia could tell the Legacy was coming up upon the infamous Treasure Planet from the growing brightness of light seeping through the gallery windows of her cabin. The heat emanating off the far star warmed her back from the nights chill. The darkness slowly faded away, every shadow stretched until it had nowhere else to hide before suddenly it vanished like it was never there in the first place.
For hours now, Amelia had been anticipating at the foot of her divan, legs crossed beneath her. Sleep had been removed from the playing cards the moment she agreed to meet with Silver the previous evening. Amelia had to keep sharp and centered on what she needed to do, calculating every possible chance, every outcome, she could not afford mistakes … not with the lives of young Hawkins and Doctor Doppler hanging in the balance. Listening to both the snoring of the pirate captain and the faint ticking of her clock. Neither sound changed. Neither sound disturbed. Amelia turned only her head to take a glance at Silver – having been a bit since the last time she did so – making certain he was still comatose. Breaths drawn in by loud snorts to be released in heavy exhaled sighs. Arm draped over his eyes, blocking the brightening light from disturbing his rest. Leg twitching every few moments. Amelia was satisfied that Silver was very much deeply knocked out. She was safe to move.
Alright, this is it, Amelia. Every second is crucial from this point on.
She kept her head turned passed her shoulder, maintaining an eye for any sudden or slight motion, while she slipped herself from the dressed mattress of soft green. Thankful the mattress' springs did not whine in protest upon her departure.
Don your clothing. Escape the cabin without waking Silver and get underway to Delbert as quickly as possible.
Amelia kept light on her feet. Walking backwards from her bed towards the screen where she had left her clothing the night before. She placed her palms out behind her to warn if she were about to bump into anything, but being exceedingly familiar with her cabin, she knew the layout enough to successfully maneuver beyond the dressing screen. She released a breath, disturbing a stay lock of hair fallen out of place above her eye. Brushing it back, Amelia nearly ripped off her bathing robe, carelessly dropping it to the deck in a wrinkled pile about her feet. She snatched for her trousers, wishing she could gather fresh clothing from her dresser, but knew that was a risk not worth taking. Her sharp ears caught the rustling of fabric against her fur as she yanked up her legs. She reached for the shirt Delbert loaned her, a quick shove of the arms and a tuck of her head, the shirt flowed over her midriff to nearly her knees. Fastening the button of her trousers with one hand as the other finished tucking in the extended material. Amelia gathered her boots from the corner. She took a brief second to listen to the space of her cabin, waiting to hear if any of her movements awoke Silver, but it was as silence as it had been all night. With a calming and confident deep breath to collect herself, Amelia crept across the small space to the dense door of oak that would lead her away from the room.
She reached for the latch, thankful Silver did not bother to lock it last night and pulled against the cold metal to open her gateway to freedom. When the door opened a few centimeters a drawn creak of the wood perturbed the silence. Amelia immediately halted her motion, tensed her shoulders and tucked her chin to her chest with a look of dreadful pleading. Her ears slumped into her hair, allowing her auburn locks to tickle along the edges. She waited. Waited a little more until the familiar snort of Silver rang across the space. Amelia relaxed her stance and carefully finished opening the door, but only enough to allow her nimble form to slip passed the threshold. With an eye of Silver's podgy body, Amelia closed the door as fast as she dared.
The stairwell leading to and from her cabin was only a narrow space between two walls, electric lanterns luminating soft flicking light of yellowing-orange. The planks of dark timber cut into the sharp steps deeply thunked from her bare feet descending one after the other. Bringing her to the second door at the bottom, the door that stood between her and the open decks of her ship. Clutching her fingers around her boots, causing the leather to protest and wrinkle, Amelia reached for the latch then slowly opened the door. She peeked out with a single sharp eye. Scanning the paint of ivory and navy blue.
The light reflected off the planet helped to bring everything out. Every coiled rope, every crate and barrel, the sway of the surging sails – drawing in the solar energy to store in the power chamber down near the engines -, and the way the wood of the masts seemed to reflect.
Mr. Hawkins must have been kept busy most of the night to make that happen. Amelia commented.
She opened the door a bit further which allowed her a greater visibility. To scope out how many pirates where skuttling about. Surely Silver kept a watch schedule … right? He would have been an utter berk to not. She dared to slip her head passed the doorframe, increasing her view, only to dart back the instant after. Standing just behind the Legacy's wheel was Mr. Hands – a massive four-armed alien deckhand, extremely dense and strong – busy flipping through the Bridge Logbook without a care. Amelia would not be surprised if he hadn't bothered writing anything that changed through the course of his watch. Like the adjustment of their heading or the change in wind speed if any had occurred. She held back the roll of her eyes, casting her glance back around to see if there were any others. From what she saw, Mr. Hands was the only pirate about the decks. Really, it wouldn't be much of a problem for her to get below to the officer's cabins … where it not for the fact Mr. Hands was stationed on the bridge and facing the direction of the door she stood behind.
Amelia stepped back, moving herself so her spine touched the paneled walled. Bringing her finger and thumb to her lips while in thought.
Mr. Hands' position makes this a bit tricky. Facing the way he is, I can't make my way below easily.
Amelia turned her eyes back through the cracked door. Looking about until she spotted the starboard steps leading to the main deck.
Suppose I could make my way down those stairs, round the gravity generator beneath the bridge, and get to the door that way.
Her plan was foiled when a figure further off the starboard side near the forecastle railing walked into view. Amelia watched the dumb as dirt rigger run into the navy blue and ivory painted barrier before stopping his steps. Dogbreath, both physically and mentally uncoordinated, looked utterly confused about what just happened to him. Finger raised to scratch around his mouth, large eyes empty of … anything. Just stared beyond the ship to the clouds of grey steel that were quickly left behind as the ship moved forward.
Just … ideal.
Amelia dropped her ears in irritation. She held out hope that Silver wouldn't bother having watchmen, but it seemed Silver was a more … attentive pirate captain than every other lowly educated one she's crossed paths with. She sighed. It seemed her only chance of getting to Doppler was to sneak her way along the quarterdeck, passed the bridge with Mr. Hands, and slip down the port staircase.
Let us hope these feline characteristics don't fail me now.
Amelia knew what she would end up doing was quite a risk take. Mr. Hands was more than twice her size and could surly over-come her when charging his target. If he spotted her while trying to slip by, he could effortlessly put a halt to her plan, alert the crew, and Silver. Things would not look good for Amelia if Silver caught her before she was able to round up Doppler and Mr. Hawkins. Everything about last night would be for not. Though, if she didn't move from where she was everything would turn that way anyhow.
With a slow, deep breath to gather her bearings, Amelia tightened her grip on her boots before crouching low to the deck. Fingers slipping over the thick oak to widen the passage, only enough to slip her form through. Heeding that the top of her head wasn't visible above the railing, she pulled the door closed to erase the evidence that it had been disturbed and crept across the small space to press her backside against the ivory painted wall outlining the edge and around the bridge. She kept herself beneath the curved edge, her ears lowered but vigilant to the sounds, long legs stretching out to scoot herself along while her arms rubbed laterally on the wooden surface to ensure balance. It was only a couple steps to reach the point where the railing outlined about the bridge to the other side.
Amelia tucked her knees into her chest, resting her weight on her toes when leaning over to give her eye a clear enough view of Mr. Hands still flipping through the Bridge Logbook. Holding his weight on the callused knuckles of his three remaining hands, back hunched, and an ever-present scowl that never seemed to be absent from his features. The long whisp of hair dangling from his chin swayed in the breeze that blew over her cheeks. Amelia turned her head to the mizzenmast bolted to the bridge. It was not a large distance to cross on either side, but if Mr. Hands were to happen to glance out the corner of his eye right when she took the two steps to slip by, it would all be over. After telling herself she couldn't waste any more time, the clock was ticking dangerously quick, Amelia brushed the annoying strands of hair from her eye then moved across the open gap.
Her second step caused an old board to creak under her weight near the mast, sending an unwanted echo through the area. Every muscle in her upper body strained, scrambling to press herself as much as she could against the wide, rounded structure upon hearing the confused grunt of the large Densadron. She pressed her hands against the smoothed, polished wooden frame, determined to shrink her already slender curves as flat as she could get herself. The boots in her hand pushed them against her thighs, keeping the sharp, two-inch heels away from the solid, towering wooden mast, she didn't need any more sounds to give herself away.
Amelia felt the timbers beneath her bared feet vibrate. They shook. They creaked violently under the weight of heavy footsteps … footsteps that were headed in her direction. Her shoulders lifted towards the outline of her jaw, tension building the closer those steps became. Was it just her minds trick or were the boards of timbers reducing from the intense load of the Densadron? Amelia wasn't allowed much time to think that thought through, for the massive form of a spanish grey skin tone, melting into a deep burnt red moved past her peripheral. Her breath stuck in her throat when Mr. Hands walked passed her hidden form to look towards the sideboard side, down the quarterdeck. Amelia watched him bring a finger up to scratch around the top of his head.
Taking her bottom lip between her teeth, clutching her boots to her body, she slowly extended her leg around the mast to scoot herself along the rounded structure of wood. Moving as little of her body as possible, Amelia was carefully able to get herself around the mast to where she was hidden once more. Facing out towards the loose floating asteroids covered in patches of grass or moss, she wasn't sure, that got left behind as the ship passed them.
She heard Mr. Hands grunt in confusion.
Her teeth began to chew the bits of cracked skin of her lip. She knew she couldn't stay there much longer. She needed to get down to Doppler, get off the bridge, and away from Mr. Hands. Releasing her lip, she turned her head enough to glance back at Mr. Hands. His large, muscled form was still turned to where she was hiding. This was her chance. Amelia glanced around her, spotting two possible ways of getting past the pirate. She could try to slip along the rest of the railing, down the stairs to the main deck and get to the door that way, but that led to a great chance of Mr. Hands spotting her. Amelia looked for another way, and she stopped at the curved railing about the bridges edge. Heart pounding just a bit, Amelia stepped up to it, and looked down. It wasn't that far of a drop, would barely feel it in her legs, but what if Mr. Hands heard the sounds drop?
The pirate grunted again, this time in annoyance.
Her head snapped around. She was given an unrestricted view of the massive form turning back to head for the front of the bridge. Without another moment of thought, Amelia gripped the red painted top and vaulted herself over the bridge railing. Her shirt rippled in the short disturbance of her descent. Her bare feet brushed the oak timbers, her knees bent upon impact with the main deck. A loud clap reverberated through the air. The thudding footsteps followed a growl from the Densadron right after. Amelia dove under the lip of the bridge, a few inches out over the structures frame that covered the artificial-gravity generator. Pressing her back into the wooden frame, her tender wounds along her shoulder blades protested the presser, but Amelia found them much more tolerable than the previous day.
Doppler might be a clumsy fool, but he sure knows how to patch up nasty abrasions.
The footsteps grew louder until they were right above her head. The stars reflected light casts Mr. Hands shadow out, distorting over the formation of the stairs opposite her. She watched it carefully move. The torso leaning over the railing. The head turning every which way to get a good look about.
"Dogbreath!" Her shoulders tensed at the unexpected sound of his threateningly deep voice. "Are you hearing things like I am?"
Amelia held her breath.
Mr. Hands snorted in annoyance and muttered. "That useless dipshite."
Amelia looked up to the underside of the bridges lip. Listening and waiting as the footsteps retreated, fading some until she deemed it safe to move. She moved to the dark polished door that would lead her to the guest cabins and deeper down into the mechanism of the Legacy.
"Dogbreath!" Mr. Hands shouted as she pulled the door open. "Didn't you hear me?"
Amelia pulled the latch closed, and allowed herself to exhale in relief, but that was all she allowed herself to do. Turning away from the door, she jumped from the top of the four steps to the hall floor. Passing the staircase to the lower level that led to the engines and launch bay, Amelia made her steps quick but quiet. She wasn't sure if any other pirates were awake and lurking about the ship. Someone could very well be near the engines. She won't risk being careless now, so while her steps were quick, they were also silent as she came upon the cabin she had briefly shared with the doctor.
The cabin door was still closed when Amelia approached it, and the presence of the stained cane still jammed into the handle and lock gave her some pleasing reassurance that the pirates hadn't bothered Doppler since she had been marched away to Silver. Removing it with care, mindful of the need for silence, Amelia eased the door open and closed it immediately once she slipped through. Aware of the need for haste, given that the removal of the cane would be a plain clue to even the dimmest of pirate who happened to glance at the door, she looked around the room. She spotted Delbert, curled upon the cot he had claimed in the beginning, still asleep, despite the light now pouring through the port hole above it, the blanket pulled up over his head as he lay.
Amelia approached him cautiously, and with a certain regret about what she was about to have to do. He had to be woken, but quietly, and part of her was certain that he'd cry out at being disturbed suddenly. She gingerly reached her hand and moved it to hover over his mouth, prepared to muffle any sound he might make, even as her other hand took his shoulder to shake him awake.
"Doctor?" Her lips near his ear so she wouldn't have to speak too loudly. But Doppler only moaned and shuffled his body on the bed. Amelia rolled her eyes and shook him harder. "Doctor!"
"I – mmmf!" Amelia's suspicion was immediately confirmed as Delbert's eyes opened, then shot wide and he gave a yell of shock muffled only by the palm of her hand pressed over his lips. Amelia locked eyes with him before hissing her next words.
"Quiet. Stay quiet and I can get us out of here. Understand? Quiet."
Delbert paused, staring back at her, then nodded. Amelia nodded back and uncovered his mouth.
"Amelia!" He whispered in a surprised tone. "You're back! Are you alright? What happened? What did he say? Did he do anything to you? What's going to happen now? Are we at Treasure Pla-"
Even though he was whispering, the waterfall of concerned babble almost wished she'd kept his mouth shut, but she held up a warning hand instead. "I said quiet, Doctor. The pirates … most of them … are asleep. Now is our chance to get out of here."
"But -"
"I'm alright. And we'll talk about the rest later, once we're safe. Alright?" Amelia raised an eyebrow. "But we do not have the time at this present time."
Delbert opened his mouth and for a moment looked like protesting. But then he closed it again and nodded as they both stood upright, Doppler tossing the blanket aside. "Alright. What do we do?"
"We need to go and find young Hawkins," answered Amelia. "Then get to my stateroom, arm ourselves, and make it to the longboat bay."
Doppler nodded, clearly nervous, but Amelia noticed a shine of adrenaline in his eyes, whether it was from bravery or fear, she hoped it'd keep him sharp. "I – I'm right behind you."
"Good. Take this."
Amelia handed him the cane while she made her way to sit atop the spare bunk to don her boots. It wasn't much of a weapon, especially if they came up against pirate firearms, but she longed that having something in his hands would be a comfort to him. And that it might occupy his hands so that they didn't cause any accidental problems along the way by fumbling with anything. He took it gratefully, gripping it like a club. She stood to finished pulling her boots up her thighs. Flexing her toes within the tight leather and shimmying her heel into place. Feeling the circular shape of the copper map tucked into the hidden pocket against her thigh.
"Lead the way, Captain."
Amelia nodded, adjusting her left boot last minute. They wouldn't help for stealth, but she was compromising on that already by bringing Delbert along, and if things went south – as she suspected they surely would – then the sturdy boots would more than pay for themselves.
"Then … let's go."
She took the lead. Stepping up to the door first, Doppler close behind her. His hot breath able to brush over the fur of her neck and even bother strands of her hair. With a tightening of her lips at the untimely proximity, Amelia pulled the latch to open the door and peeked out. She scanned the narrow hallway for any signs of pirates sulking about, but she was pleased to find it as dead as when she walked it previous. Opening the door wider and beckoning Doppler to follow behind as she slipped through, not bothering to even close it after the threshold was crossed. They were both quiet, something Amelia was thankful for – seeing that Doppler understood the gravity of their situation and the importance of silence – her heel the only soft echo off the naked walls.
"Do you know where James is, Captain?" Doppler spoke softly, only loud enough for her ears to hear. They flexed into her hair. Three steps. They had only gotten three steps before the doctor opened his mouth to ask questions.
"I believe him to be in the galley." She answered in the same volume. "I don't imagine him wanting to sleep in the same place as the pirates. It's the only place I could think to look."
"And … if he's not there?"
Amelia didn't miss the worry in his tone. "I'm sure Mr. Hawkins is there, Doctor."
"I hope you are right, Captain. I don't want to leave him behind." Doppler seemed to be speaking more to himself than to her. "Where shall we go once we find him?"
"My stateroom, as I said earlier. To arm ourselves." Amelia stated. "These pirates, if they notice we are escaping, will surely use flintlocks to try and stop us. We need something more than that cane to aid in our departure."
"What if we run into a pirate before then?"
Amelia remained silent, thinking that question out, but if she were being truthful … she hadn't a clear idea what she would do. "Let us hope we don't before there is a rifle in my hands."
Amelia glanced down the staircase that led to the depths of the Legacy. Looking for casted shadows, but thankfully not finding any.
"How do we get off the ship?" His voice came a bit behind her, not near her ear while he had glued himself as close to her as he possibly could without tripping them both in the hall. Amelia let a frustrated sigh out before turning back around to face the nervous Canid. His large hands gripping the cane like it was a lifeline.
"I thought we could maybe walk, Doctor." Her eyes rolled upward.
She watched Doppler's eyes widen in surprise at her reply, but then his lips parted before his gaze dropped to the floor. His teeth taking hold of his bottom lip and his cheeks brightened. Amelia prided herself in thinking she finally got him to stop asking questions. Her feet jumping up the short four steps to the door. Pulling the latch and parting the door from its frame. When she let her eyes gaze out, she couldn't see Dogbreath nor Mr. Hands.
"You mean … you haven't … you can't seriously say you haven't thought of that part yet?"
Amelia pulled the door as close to the frame without connecting the locks together, spinning on Doppler and grabbing his face in a single motion. Her brows lowered themselves until her eyes were mere slits. Dangerous and threatening. Her lips pulled back to bare her teeth, the pointed fangs she usually hid, with a hiss. "Listen carefully, Doctor. Of course I have thought of that. I've thought of everything. Once we have Hawkins, our arms, we are headed to the launch bay where we will require a longboat. Now …" Amelia pressed herself so close their noses brushed. "Zip your howling screamer before I do it for you. Are we clear?"
She studied his features. Cheeks crushed together to look like balloons. Glasses askew from her harsh grab. His eyes – warm pools of dark brown – looked frightened at her threat. Doppler didn't speak, a smart decision in Amelia's books, and simply nodded his head in a heated rush of acceptance to her question. His ears flopping about his neck. Moving in odd ways, like a dancer that had no rhythm.
"Well then. Glad we could come to a … civil agreement, Doctor." It was only when she spoke again did his head stop bobbing up and down. Her arm no longer vibrating from his movement, and she finally released him. "Now. Keep close to me from here until we reach the galley. There are two pirates about the deck keeping watch. Dogbreath isn't an issue with his dumb-witted, fog brain, it is Mr. Hands we need to be cautious about. I had a few close encounters on my way to you from him. If he is still about the bridge then we should be able to slip below to the mess right under his nose if we time our motions right."
"Following your lead, Captain." Doppler gave a single nod in acknowledgement.
Amelia took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and hoped it would be as simple to get to Hawkins as she spoke it. Motioning Doppler to follow, she widened the door and gave a quick glance over before stepping back out to the main deck. After closing it in silence, Doppler and she followed along the wall under the lip of the bridge. Moving until their backs were against the cool metal of the generator, bending her knees near the face of the machine, her hand against it to offer leverage as she looked beyond it. The deck was still as empty as it had been when she saw it minutes ago. Dogbreath stationed in the same place – before the starboard railing, except his finger was in his nose instead of scratching his head. Amelia grimaced at the display. She shook her head and turned back to Doppler – motioning for him to wait there – then moved herself closer to the ship edge. Only enough until her eyes could see up on the bridge. She spotted Mr. Hands had remained there. She scowled. The towering humanoid was leaned against the engine console, two of his four arms crossed, with his eyes closed, sleeping on his watch. If the situation were anything but it was, she would have him hanging from the yardarm by his toes, but she had to let it go and count it as a blessing. Him sleeping and Dogbreath's back turned to them only made it easy for them to slip into the galley and possibly make it to her cabin before anyone awoke below and caught sight of them.
"Captain?" Doppler whispered when she made it back safely under the bridge.
"We have a clear shot, Doctor. But we must remain quiet. Mr. Hands is … napping on the bridge, so he won't spot us. Dogbreath," Amelia tucked her hair back into place, "well let's just say he is occupied."
"Understood. Quiet."
"Now, come on. Mr. Hawkins should be through there in the galley." Amelia pointed with a jerk of her head towards the grated opening in the main deck.
Waving Delbert to follow her as she made her way across the short distance, leading cautiously forward, nearly diving below when she reached it. The crew's mess deck was empty, the tables and benches vacated and bare, but she was acutely aware of the vulnerability of the position. The grating overhead offered ample opportunity for them to be seen by an alert lookout above, if one decided to pay attention, and if they were caught now … there was no way out. The galley was a dead end.
"Wait here." Amelia whispered, stopped Delbert halfway down the galley steps. She peered inside around the edge of the doorway, taking in the scene. Pots and pans were stacked high – the pirates had evidently celebrated their triumph with a dinner as lavish as the Legacy's remaining stores permitted – and she was pleased to see several empty bottles lying around the place. Her eyes spied a dark shape on the other side of the cooker – Jim, asleep on a low stool, head pillowed on his arms folded on the benchtop, highlighted by the low light slipping in from above.
"Mr. Hawkins?"
It was too much to ask that he'd wake at that, seeing it would be the same outcome as with the doctor. Amelia crept further into the room, around the cooker, attempting to avoid the plates and cutlery on the floor. She reached out a hand to the boy's shoulder to shake him awake as quietly as possible.
"Mr. Hawkins, wake –"
"Yikes! Owowow!" A shrill voice suddenly pierced the silence. Amelia glanced down as a blur of movement caught her eye, and she saw an amorphous pink cloud flowing out from under her foot – that idiot Morph, Silver's brainless pet who had taken an unaccountable shine to Hawkins – it must have turned itself into a towel to help wash the dishes, fell sleep last night on the floor next to Hawkins without bothering to turn back. She'd trodden on it, thinking it harmless.
"Huh? Wha -" Jim's eyes shot open. "Morph? What the hell are you –"
He made a grab for the squealing Morph, landing on the floor, then looking up Amelia's legs and spotting her. Amelia was faintly impressed at how quickly the teenager changed mental gears and realised that something was afoot.
"Captain? What's happening?"
"We're getting out of here, Mr. Hawkins," answered Amelia. "Or rather, we will if you can shut that damned blob up before he wakes the ship -"
Morph, careening around wildly, ran headlong into a pile of plates, bouncing off it – but not before dislodging the ones at the top – the fine porcelain ones Silver had used for their uneaten dinner last night. They shattered on the floor, pieces flung around young Hawkins and her own feet, and Amelia hissed a curse even as Jim finally got hold of Morph, wrestling the struggling thing into his pocket. Amelia snapped her head up to the grated ceiling when muffled voices came from above them. She uttered another curse.
"Right behind you, Captain!"
Amelia turned and darted through the mess hall, calling to Doppler - who was still waited on the steps - to follow. He did so willingly, eyes alight with fear and alarm.
"C – Captain, I think -"
Amelia didn't need to be told. She could hear the footsteps on the deck above, the coarse bellowing of Hands and answering shouts from the crew quarters. They probably had only moments in hand. She turned to Delbert and Jim.
"You two, head to my stateroom. As quick as you can, and don't look back."
"What? What are you going to be doing?" Delbert stared at her, concern at what she was planning, if it was anything like giving herself to Silver's hands as the night before. His hand reached out to rest atop her shoulder – a bit of a desperate grip to his fingers.
"Leading the way." Amelia nodded to Jim when she tore her gaze from the doctors. "Come on, then! Quickly now!"
They raced back out onto the deck, Jim sensibly grabbing Delbert's arm and practically dragging the Canid towards the cabin door. Amelia silently thanked Hawkins for taking charge of the distressed doctor, who didn't look to wish to leave her to do what she needed. Amelia glanced around, taking the scene in. Hands was leaving the bridge, roaring orders as he stomped towards the starboard deck stairs. Dogbreath turned to face her, apparently failing to recognize her. The same could not be said for the other pirates, who were beginning to emerge from the crew quarters on the forecastle.
"Damn it!" She hissed beneath her breath.
They were reacting faster than she'd hoped. With all those bottles littering her ship, she was sure the pirates would still be a bit out of sorts … but then again, pirates. Glancing behind her, she spotted Hawkins and Doppler on the port side staircase. The poor teen trying to pull the Canid further up, but the canine was refusing to move. His hand locked on the carved rail, eyes torn between watching her and the pirates closing in on her. Glancing up, she saw a loose rope dangling from the mainmast rigging, probably a buntline – even in the midst of the current situation, part of Amelia still spared the time for a dismissive sneer at the sloppiness of the pirates without proper supervision. Deciding on a plan, seeing Hands was coming at her from the stern and the others from the bow, she set off towards the crew in a feint, causing them to step back and prepare to grab her. With a quick invocation into the cosmos that her wounded back wouldn't interfere, Amelia – at the last minute – she doubled back, somersaulting into a leap which took her into the starboard shrouds.
"Come on, you blackguards!" She bantered. "Come and get me!"
At least some of them took up the invitation, lurching forward to try to grab her as she climbed a little higher into the shrouds and swung around to hang from the inner side of them, the deck below her back. A moment later. With the pirates fully and unimaginatively committed to following her, she sprang off the ropes, flipping in mid-air to grab that same loose buntline and set it swinging around the mast. She released it on the port side, dropping neatly to the deck and leaving most of the crew stranded halfway up the shrouds on the wrong side of the ship. Grinning to herself, she set off after the retreating figures of James and Delbert – who finally deemed himself to move – springing up the port deck stairs three at a time to the bridge deck. She thought she'd made it when a shadow fell across her after the other two crossed the border into her stateroom.
"Why, Cap'n, and here I was thinking we'd been getting on so well …"
Silver glowered at her, artificial eye flashing laser-red with anger. He was approaching from starboard, having come down from her private cabin.
"I told you once before to keep your flimflam for your spaceport floosies. Whatever you thought was wrong, you treacherous oaf," Amelia spat. "We're leaving. And the map stays with us."
"Not happening,' Silver snarled. "And you'll be payin' for this once you're back in me hands."
He lurched forward, attempting to tackle her. Amelia, seeing that he was still unsteady on his feet with fatigue and alcohol, moved faster, grabbing the front of his coat, pirouetting, and throwing herself backwards. She rolled on the stairs, stopping herself just over halfway down. Silver, his bulk propelled by his own redirected momentum, went over the top of her – but not before her knee slipped between his legs to offer a bit of hard pressure – landing in a heavy heap on the deck and blocked the path of the quicker-thinking of his crew who were preparing to mount the stairs in pursuit. Silver growled in both frustration and pain as he tried to scramble clumsily to his feet. Amelia flashed him a grin, execute an elaborate, mocking bow then turned to leap up the stairs. Following James and Delbert into her cabin, both were ready and waiting, Jim slamming the door shut behind her and wrenching the lock into place.
Slightly out of breath, boots skidding to a halt, Amelia found herself bent over with her hands atop her knees, holding herself up as she caught the loss in her breathing. Her heart pounding beneath her breast, she found it both from the adrenaline and the trilling maneuvers she had just displayed.
"Ca – Captain." Doppler's voice filled the cabin. "What were you – how could you just – were you thinking -"
Amelia snapped her head in the doctor's direction, chuckling despite herself – finding she felt like her old self after so long of holding back her fighting instincts – spotting the Canid struggling to get up from the floor, his burgundy coat wrapped about his legs. Hopping from foot to foot as he pulled the dusty fabric free of the entanglement.
"Not the time, Doctor." Amelia straightened herself out, heading for her desk chair, grabbing her coat and gloves draped over the back to slip them on in three fluid motions, having that part of her identity returned. "Now, stop fooling around. Mr. Hawkins, keep an eye on that doors lock."
Her fingers slipped the three buttons closed as she made her way to her locker, pulling the key from her pocket to free the latch.
"What are we going to do, Captain?" Hawkins voice spoke in a panic.
She yanked the doors open, immediately grabbing for a flintlock. "I'll see them all hang."
"I mean, we are we going to do now?"
Amelia released the safety, opening the power cell – taking a quick look at the charge level – twisting it to open the plasma bullets to the barrel, activating the weapon, ready to use. "Doctor, familiar with these?"
Ignoring Hawkins rising panic to toss the charging weapon over her shoulder to the doctor, who had just finished adjusting his coat back on his shoulders, barely able to catch it. Amelia quickly did the same with another flintlock, stuffing it on the outside of her left boot and reached inside that very boot for the map sphere. Finding herself falling into thought as she stared at her reflection in the copper metal of lines.
"Oh, I've seen – well, I've read –"
Doppler didn't get to finish his sentence for the pistol fired. She had turned her head just in time to watch the line of bluing-purple plasma beeline and shatter the globe to her right. For a moment she was shocked that the doctor pulled the trigger, barely missing her own head.
"Ah, no. No. No, I'm not." He looked ashamed … or embarrassed at the admission.
Amelia couldn't help the deep roll of her eyes. Bloody perfect. The useless blob of transparent pink flew up to her hand, eyeing the sphere with an exclaim of chatter before she swiped him away with a single jerk of her arm. All three pair of eyes looked towards the cabin's door, more importantly, the lever and lock which began to glow an orange as the metal began to heat. Amelia knew the crew were using the electric laser from the stole weapons they had to try and get the door open.
"They're cutting through the door!" Young Hawkins exclaimed, twisting himself back to look at her.
"Mr. Hawkins, defend this with your life." After a careful consideration – meaning part of her knew Silver suspected she had the map but was assured James did not – thought it would be better off with him … if she didn't manage to escape the ship for whatever reason.
She tossed the heavy object to the teen, ready to grab her own weapon, when the blasted oaf of a pet grabbed it in its mouth, flying around their heads.
"Morph!" James reached above him to grab the map from the creature. "Give me that." Yanking it from its mouth and stuffing it into the pocket of his overly size trousers. His eyes going back to the door as the buzzing continued from the other side while Amelia reached inside the locker for the only rifle she stored there. Preparing the weapon as Doppler stepped forward towards Hawkins, taking hold of the teens shoulder.
"They're going to get through any moment." James spoke. "There's no other way out. Are we supposed to just wait here until they catch us?"
"Captain!" Doppler's voice finally rang again, nearly as panicked as the tempered teen.
Once the power pack in her rifle came to life, the high-pitched charge of the bullet cells finally finished, she aimed the weapon to the floor. Not bothering to send a warning to the two males with her before she pulled the trigger. A single light of plasma shot free and connected to the planks, leaving behind a hole, one large enough to jump through, after the smoke cleared. Both Delbert and James turned their torso to face her direction, watching her sling the rifle's strap to rest across her chest. Staring in silent confusion.
"Well don't just stand there you gormless nitwits. Unless you want to wait around to welcome them, I suggest you follow me." Without delaying to hold their hands through the hole she had created, Amelia slipped herself through. Landing on her feet in the hallway of the guest cabins below.
James and Delbert were close behind her. Landing much clumsier than she had. Amelia didn't give either of them much time to catch their footing before she was beckoning them to follow her down the hall, to the narrow staircase leading to the machinery of the Legacy. Doppler gave a rather high-pitched yelp when a brassy explosion vibrated from above them, hearing heavy thudding entering her cabin. Amelia swung herself around the wall, not slowing her paced sprint, skipping the steps two at a time until she simply jumped the rest. Turning immediately to the left, headed for the longboat bay just a bit down the hall. Amelia's feet adjusted to the change from honest, strong timber to the metal grating that lined the underbelly of her ship. She ducked under a few low-lying pipes, leading the way of the party, listening to the other running steps of her companions. Catching the doctor flailing his arms about him from the corner of her eye, nearly losing his foot when he passed beneath the very same piping. His panicked cries bouncing around the narrowed space, Morph imitating the very sounds to double them. Amelia was the first to enter the launch bay, James hot on her coats tail, and Delbert fallen to the floor halfway into the space after jumping the stairs.
Amelia glanced up the sloop. Listening to the sounds of the pirates chasing behind, closer and closer, knocking over whatever supplies stored against the walls. The rebounded roar of Hands came from just around the corner. Doppler seemed to be frozen in fear at the sound, moving much too slowly to get himself from the floor, out of the way of the doorframe. She reached down to grab a handful of his burgundy coat, lifted him from the floor and basically tossing him further into the room.
"Thank you!"
She felt her wounds protest. Biting down on her teeth as the skin split on one of her deep lashes. She forced herself to ignore the sharp, throbbing pain to get the door closed. Pulled the level to her right just in time as Mackriki, Dogbreath, and Hands were rushing their way down the steps, slamming the door in their face. Giving a satisfied smirk at hearing one or two of them smack into the hard metal at full force.
"To the longboats quickly!" She ordered, removing her rifle from her back to send a continuous, electric current of plasma to the lock's gears, melting them and making it almost impossible to open.
She slung her rifle back over her shoulder, watching James and Doppler scurry down the wooden dock to the portside longboat idle in the hanger. Hawkins flung himself over the edge, helping Doppler struggle over and into the body as she raced herself over to the switch that would open the launch bay door at the keel of the ship. It was difficult to pull the lever down, the muscles she used where in her upper back and the new ache escaped her lips in a grunt when she finally pulled it down. The launch bay sprang to life with a loud whistle from the door opening.
Amelia turned her upper body around at the sound of sizzling metal, finding a display of sparking fire flying off the melting door, glowing in a show like fireworks exploding in the atmosphere. The longboat moved against the cables and pully mechanisms, getting the longboat into position to be lowered and dropped through the center. Amelia set off to join her companions, both waiting for her, staring widely at the sparking door behind her. It was only a few strides before she was hoisting herself from the back, flipping a few times to land on her feet near the bow, right besides Doppler sat on the forward most bench. Readying her rifle. Readying herself to blast her way off her ship. The pirates were going to get through that door before the longboat was released, she would have to hold them off until then, and pray nothing else would go wrong.
Until she thought too soon.
"Morph!" James cried in desperation, catching her attention in time to see the thorn of a pet grab the copper sphere in its mouth from Hawkins pocket. "No!"
"Jim! Don't!" Doppler tried to grab for the teen who dove off the boat to capture the pink creature, but Amelia shoved the butt of her rifle before him.
"Stay put, doctor. I can't have you jumping off as well." She locked her eyes with his own, but also keeping an eye on everything else. The pirates melting the door open and the cabin boy flailing for the playful irritation.
"But, Captain, we can't leave -"
"No one is getting left behind, but right now, we have a bigger problem."
The door was busted through thanks to the massive arm of Hands, allowing the pirates to flood into the launch bay.
"Doctor!"
Amelia pushed herself to the longboats mast, using the thick, rounded structure as cover for the blasts that fired immediately on the pirate's entrance. Amelia pushed against Delbert's head to lower him to the floor, saving him from a blast of heated plasma to his nose and going over his head, maybe scorching a hair or two.
"Chew on this you pus-filled boils!" Bracing her right foot against the stern of the longboat – Doppler's nose near her ankle – sending a few volts of her own in retaliation.
The pirates, dimwitted as they are, were clever enough to use the mainmast to shield themselves from her returned fire. That didn't stop her from squeezing off a few more to hold them back near the door and pressing herself against the mast again to give her a moment to calculate where to aim next. She had to hold them off a bit longer, enough time for Hawkins to get the map – get back on the longboat as well – and for them to be let out into the atmosphere of Treasure Planet.
Doppler surprised her with a sudden movement. Standing himself up, holding a finger in his left ear, and aiming the pistol she had given him with his left. If he was trying to help in keeping them distracted, she noticed a flaw: he was aiming too high. If he fired, then the bullet would merely hit the ceiling above. But Amelia wasn't quick enough to say nor stop him from pulling the trigger. His body was shifted off balance after the bullet left the barrel. Amelia looked around her hiding spot to see where it would land. Right above the port dock to their longboat was one of two astral gravity anchors – invisible force fields used to moor the ship in ports – and Doppler's bullet hit it straight on. The thick, several cables that held it in place exploded from the plasma shot and dropped. Landing right on top of the thin planked dock, breaking the timbers in front of the three pirate's feet. Amelia moved to look over the stern of the longboat with Doppler as Hands, Dogbreath, and Mackriki fell to their death through the opened keel.
Amelia snapped her head to Delbert, her brow raised, and lips turned upward in admiration. "Did you actually aim for that?"
Doppler looked stunned and lost at what just happened until she spoke. "You know actually I did?"
Her smile dropped when new shots were fired in their direction from the remaining pirates in Silver's crew. Amelia shoved Delbert's head beneath the edge of the stern, the hot plasma fire scorching the red paint of the longboat. She shot up, despite the ammunition zooming past her, when she heard the gears of the launch bay door move again. It was closing. Her head found where the lever was … and Silver who had pulled it back up.
"Oh! Blast it!"
What the hell are we to do now? Amelia's claws gripped the boats edge as she quickly racked her brain. I can't go charging to Silver to switch the lever again and dodge the flintlock fire. How the hell can I-
Her eyes moved all around as she took in everything around her … and that's when she locked her green eyes on the pulley and cables moving the longboat back into idle. No more time to waste, Amelia moved back to Delbert's side, the Canid cowering beneath the stern.
"Doctor!" She shouted to catch his attention. "When I say now, shoot out that forward cable. I'll take this one." She used her head to motion what she was meaning, and he acknowledged it with a nod of his own. Satisfied, Amelia glanced around to locate Jim, spotting him on the catwalk. To her shock, Silver was there too – the big man had recovered quicker than she'd hoped – but the two seemed to be engaged in a battle of pleading with Morph, still carrying the map sphere and hovering between them. Amelia rolled her eyes.
"That blasted blob is going to be the death of us," she muttered.
The one blessing was that even the pirates had stopped shooting and were also fixated on the tableaux playing out between Jim and their leader. As Amelia watched, Morph dived into the middle of a coil of rope, Jim and Silver both leaping after him, the boy grabbing the map sphere and then turning to race back to the boat before Silver could lumber back to his feet.
"Finally!" Amelia raised her rifle. "Ready, doctor?"
Doppler nodded, bringing up the pistol. "R-ready, Captain!"
Amelia watched Jim approaching, aware of the need to get the timing exactly right. The pirates would surely be taking up their weapons again if they knew that they'd lost the map, and she wasn't keen on another firefight. "Now!"
She shot the back cable out seconds before Doppler disconnected the front one. The longboat jerked and quickly began to fall. Delbert yelped an exclaim at being thrown onto his back. Amelia made her way to the longboats controls but was tossed aside when the keel smacked into the closing door of the launch bay. Young Hawkins managed to jump to the boat just as it began to slide backwards and finally into the open atmosphere of the large planet, descending downward at high speed.
"Jim!"
Amelia caught a glance at Doppler grabbing hold of Hawkins – desperately holding the side of the boat as he dangled on the outside – yanking his ward back to safety inside. She yanked the line to release the sail manually, since the boat was not dropped how it should have been. When the sail caught in the plunge, it caused the speed to decrease in a harsh tug, making them all lose their balance, but Amelia landed right where she needed to be. In the seat to take control of the longboat.
"Parameters met. Hydraulics engaged..."
Her fingers pressed the necessary buttons to start the engine and wake the longboat. Taking hold of the tiller and maneuvering them away from the Legacy, away from the pirates, and away from Silver.
"We need to find cloud cover, get out of the pirate's line of sight." She moved the tiller to the right a bit. "Mr. Hawkins, head for the bow and see if you can spot an adequate place to land. Doctor, keep an eye out on the sky and make sure they -"
"Captain!" Doppler's sudden voice shrieked out, finger pointing towards the sky behind her. "Laser Ball at twelve o'clock!"
We have one last chapter left in Commandeered ... excited, but also a bit disappointed it is finally nearing the end. I hope you all enjoyed this final chapter and I shall see you in the epilogue!