Chapter 26

The setting sun was bright on his face. Jim's eyes scrunched, slowly rolling open. He blinked blindly in the sunlight, pulling himself upright in the bed he'd been placed in.

Where was he...?

A woman slept with her head down in a chair beside him. Wearing dirty, oil drenched overalls and boots she looked visibly uncomfortable as her head lolled downward.

Wait... he knew that woman...

"Mom?"

The woman snapped awake, clutching her cramped neck. Her glance fell upon Jim and she had to gasp, one hand clasping her open mouth.

"Jim!"

And in an instant she was on her feet, grabbing her son up into a hug that verged on back breaking.

Through tears they reunited before finally Jim pulled back.

"This is going to sound nuts, Mom, but Dad says hi."

The woman could only smile at her son, unable to resist squeezing him again.

Sarah allowed Jim the privacy to dress before they both headed together back up to the main deck.

Jim glanced about the strange, oil smelling ship that chugged and churned despite the fact that they were idling in space.

His eyes locked onto a sad and lonely figure leaning upon the rail, puffing at his pipe. An image already well ingrained in Jim's mind.

Jim's shadow fell upon him and the old pirate spun, his eyes wide with surprise and relief.

"Jimbo."

Silver's embrace was warm and inviting, a smile on his face as bright as the sun.

"We were afraid you'd be feeding the Galaxy Fishies, lad."

Jim chuckled, letting his old mentor go.

"It takes a lot more than a swim in space to get rid of me. It's good to see you again, Silver."

He half smiled before the impact of Elizabeth's gunshot hit him. Quickly, Jim reached a hand under his shirt but all there was to show for it, was a tiny scar barely visible in the fading sunlight..

"My crew," he went to say but the bleak look on the captain's face as he approached stopped him.

"By the looks of it, Elizabeth has taken them all down to the planet. We found your ship adrift in space but no sign of them. We may already be too late."

"There has to be a way to reach them-" Jim fought but Jaka cut him off.

"Elizabeth's men are brutal and come in hoards, in case you haven't noticed. We'll be slaughtered before we even reach them."

Jim however, wasn't convinced. He bolted for a life raft, untying one of its ropes.

"What are you doing?" Jaka came bounding up to him, going to pull him away but the Cyborg's hand slammed down upon Jaka's shoulder.

"Let him be, Jaka. Do what you have to for your crew, I'm going with him."

The cave was winding and endless. Part rock and part machine, it seemed to press in on them from every direction. Single file and bound in fetters Defiant's crew stepped slowly through this horrible passage from hell. Then to make matters worse, the tunnel widened suddenly and became a thin ledge that seemed to overlook a bottomless pit beside them. One slip and... well...one could only imagine the consequence.

A loud wind howled up through the chasm, sending chills and shivers down spines. They began to walk at a gradual, downward slope.

Edmond gripped the hand of Suzie in front of him, ever afraid of losing her. He swallowed, blinking away the stars in his eyes. He couldn't believe this was possibly the end of them... and Jim... and what of Suzie? Was this how they would be spending their final moments together?

"S...Suzie?" his voice was a hoarse whisper, ever afraid of rousing the interests of those that lead them.

The girl's head turned to the side, an eye glancing in his direction.

"Suzie, I love you."

The girl smiled, her eyes sad and empty.

"I love you too, Edmond."

They walked... more silence.

"Suzie?"

"Yeah?"

"If we get out of this..." Edmond smiled. "And I manage to kill that pirate who stole the ring off of me. Will you marry me?"

The girl fell silent and moments passed. Edmond's heat skipped, now making its way into his throat. He couldn't see her expression... it was too dark.

Her head turned again, this time with tears in her eyes.

"You really feel that way?" she asked him. "Even though I'm... I can't..."

"I don't care that you can't walk without your gears. I love you Suzie. I want to spend forever with you."

Shackles and fetters couldn't stop the girl from spinning and diving into the arms of Edmond, she kissed him with the passion of their possible last moments together.

"Of course I'll marry you."

Pirates stopped, pulling their swords at this new commotion and the girl quickly spun, getting back into line... but yet she couldn't seem to wipe that smile from her face...

Jim's feet landed lightly on the deck, careful so as not to waken the pirate who snored loudly at his post. Not that it mattered anyway because the moment Jaka's heavy form landed, the pirate was reeling to his feet. That was when Jaka pulled his pistol.

Bam!

The pirate hit the deck.

The rest of Elizabeth's security soon followed after him as pirates found themselves ambushed by Silver and Aidee.

In the meanwhile and with the help of young Pell, Jim found his way into Elizabeth's private cabin.

It was a mess, which Pell had to stick her nose at. "The woman looses me for a little while and this is what happens?"

Jim smirked, making his way across to the captain's desk but only stopped short as he watched the Atlantian make her way to a locked cupboard and blast it open with a pistol from Elizabeth's collection.

All at once, the room seemed to illuminate a deep blue, as if they'd left the darkness of space and splashed down into the ocean.

The girl pulled a bracelet from the cupboard, placing it lightly onto her wrist. Its single stone was what caused the strange lighting before, as if to recognise its master, its light faded and settled.

"Is that a-"

"An Atlantian stone? Yes. And it's mine." Pell finished Jim's sentence for him.

Jim was mystified. Those stones were only things he'd read about in story books. Mermaids were bound to them to protect them. If taken, well then that meant you had yourself your own personal slave.

"Elizabeth used it to control you." His statement was a-matter-of-fact. "I do know you. I remember you. We have met before. I was drowning and you saved my life."

The girl nodded, her lips finally cracking into a half smile. "You were my first kiss... so to speak."

But before he could dwell on that any further she directed Jim back to his mission by pointing him to Elizabeth's desk. There on it sat a sphere not unlike the map he used to get to Treasure Planet originally.

"My map replica." Jim's eyes scrunched as he picked it from the table, inspecting it carefully.

What did Elizabeth want with this?

There was a book full of names alongside plans and diagrams of the planet from the inside out.

She was planning on rebuilding the planet?

"But that's impossible," he exclaimed to no one but himself. "It took thousands of slaves to build the original planet and hundreds of years. Flint had them all buried alive when he was finished with the slaves."

"Well it looks as though Elizabeth is starting her collection with your crew," said Pell. "It wouldn't surprise me for her to at least attempt something like that. She lives to make her father proud. Even if it means taking on an endeavour as insane as this."

Jim toyed with the map in his hands, the words of his father coming to mind.

"She wants me to rebuild her map," he whispered. "Just like my grandfather."