The journey back to Montressor Spaceport took less time than Jim predicted, but it was a welcome relief. At every stop they made, his crew was overwhelmed by journalists and reporters, all eager to hear about what happened on Calypso, and so he was in more of a hurry to get home than he usually was. The captain made careful surety to keep in his stateroom during these stops-the last thing he needed was a barrage of questioning from over-sensationalized newspapers.
Jim ran a hand through his hair, setting his captain's hat on his brow as he stepped to the balcony outside his quarters. Silver was standing at the rail already, observing the crew as they dropped one of their sails, preparing for descent down to the Spaceport.
"Hey, Silver," the boy sighed tiredly, trying to blink the growing sleep from his eyes. The cyborg peered at him, a small smile turning his mouth as he nodded in reply. "We'll be ready ta dock soon Cap'n," he reported.
Jim acknowledged the ursid's comment, eyes turning down to the main deck where Onyx was keeping an eye on his crew whilst simultaneously speaking with Anna and Victoria. Both girls had done well in their new jobs-Vicky was apt in the kitchens and Anna's eloquent writing made her a perfect fit for the ship's reporter.
Jim had been keeping a close eye on the girl the past few weeks...Andrew's passing had obviously brought her an intense amount of anguish. Even with her new freedom, the girl seemed to have lost part of her light since his death. Jim could only hope that time would give it back...eventually.
"Clear to dock, Mi-ster Onyx!" One of the crewmates called from the mizzen mast.
"Prepare for landing!" The cragorian boomed, cupping his hands around his rocky jaw. The two girls next to him grimaced, covering their ears, but the first mate didn't seem to notice as he began calling out orders.
Jim watched, eyes narrowing as light began pouring onto the deck from the bright spaceport. He turned, walking back into his office to finish packing his sack of items for what was sure to be a brief stay on Montressor. He took a tool from his desk, along with some documents and a jewl-piece for Sarah, pulling closed his bag as he made to leave.
As he walked by his chair, his foot connected with the edge of his desk roughly, causing one of the lower drawers to jump open. The man groaned momentarily at the throbbing in his foot, bending to push the drawer closed when an object atop a stack of files glinted at him. Jim tapped the solar-crystal inside as it seemed to wink at him. He still had no idea what it was...he wanted to consult with Charlie about it before turning it over to the Federation. He was knowledgeable with such things. But until then, all he could provide was that it was found among the treasure trove hoard on Calypso.
Jim took one last look at it, deciding to retrieve it before sliding the drawer closed. Curious little thing, he contemplated as the gem slid into his pocket.
Silver, Onyx, Victoria, and Anna were on the main deck, obviously waiting for him as only a few crewmates remained on-board. "'Ello lad," the cyborg greeted as the boy approached them. The Captain smiled in return as he neared the group. "Hey, Silver. Almost ready to go, just have to get this recorded," Jim spoke, showing the stack of records in his hands.
"Is the checking officer here yet?"
"Yes, Captain. Admiral Barlow is waiting for you in the keep room," Onyx answered swiftly, motioning past Jim towards the south side of the ship. The man nodded. "Thanks Onyx," he nodded, quickly stepping away from the group, tightening his grip on the documents. "I'll be just a few minutes."
Jim grabbed the handle of the doorknob, knocking once before entering the room. His eyes immediately caught his canine superior who was studying the chests of gold secured against the far wall. Barlow's head quickly turned at his entry.
"Ah-there you are, Jim!" The man said hurriedly as the captain approached. "Hey there, you old sea dog," the boy smiled. "I didn't expect you to be my supervisor for this trip's collection."
"Yes, well, I was in the area..." Barlow trailed off, eyes turning to the documents in Jim's hands. "All recorded, I presume?"
The boy nodded, extending the papers towards the canine, who took them delicately, flipping through them with eyes occasionally glancing back to the chests. "Well, this all looks in order. I'd like to ask-is there anything you'd like to notify me of that was out of order?"
Jim's eyes narrowed in thought. "Uh..." he said, thinking to the heavy gem in his pocket. "Actually, we found this," he said, pulling the item out for the canine to see.
As soon as its crystal met the golden light illuminating the room from the lantern above them, Barlow's eyes seemed to flash with momentary surprise. It died almost instantly, and Jim almost didn't catch the look as his fingers subconsciously tensed around the object.
"It's not like any solar crystal I've ever seen, and the designs look pretty old-but it seems practically brand-new, condition wise," the boy said. Barlow gingerly extended a hand, fingers gracing its surface. "Yes, it is quite... peculiar..." the Admiral murmured, almost entranced by the sight. He suddenly cleared his throat, eyebrows furrowing as the effect seemed to be suddenly lost from him. He straightened, adjusting his coat.
"Well, Jim, perhaps I should just take it back to the Confederacy, I'm sure they could get one of their experts to examine it for you," he spoke curtly, holding his hand out expectantly. Jim couldn't place his finger on it, but he didn't really feel like giving the crystal away...at least not until he knew more about it. He tightened his hand around the star-shaped item, withdrawing.
"Actually Barlow, I was going to have Mr. Watson appraise it. I'll let you know what he can find out about it," the boy stated, a polite but firm edge in his tone. Barlow's eyes lingered on him for a moment, seeming to consider the Captain's response before he nodded once. "As you wish, Captain," he said, voice slipping back to its normal, friendly cadence.
The admiral stepped past him, documents tucked under his arm. "Well, I must be off Jim. Have some things to mail off before I record all these for you. Thank you for your time, I'll have my men take care of our share, don't bother your crew about it," he said, pulling open the door as he took one last look back at the boy. "Be safe out there lad," he winked, walking briskly back to the deck.
Jim watched him go as he slid the crystal back into his pocket. His eyebrows narrowed in thought as he began walking out of the keep room towards the mizzen mast. "Ready ta head down lad?" Silver asked as the man stepped out of his stateroom. Jim nodded. "Definitely. Let's get out of here."
As Victoria and Anna engaged in excited conversation, all walking off the deck, Jim's eyes examined the spaceport. No cameras. So, the media hadn't caught onto them quite yet. Perfect, in the boy's mind as he and the others started towards the shuttle-ports.
"So, your mother owns the place we're staying at?" Victoria asked as the group stepped into one of the rickety buses, each moving towards one of the more empty areas where they could sit together. "Yeah," Jim replied. "She cooks great-could probably give Silver a run for his money," he grinned teasingly, peering at the cyborg.
"Now lad, yer mother's a wonderful cook, no doubt about that," the ursid began, following the joke. "But I don't have the luxury of four ovens now, do I?" He eyed with a smile.
"Is that a request Mr. Silver?" Jim prodded, grinning wider still. "Well, it'da be a nice t'ing fer the ship, doncha think?" The cyborg answered. "But we probably don't have much room ta add such niceties."
"Mmm," Anna chimed in coyly. "I think I hear excuses now, is that just me Vicky?" She smiled, looking at the girl next to her. The redhead nodded with a giggle.
"Ah, you lasses laugh all ye want, just be lucky I ain't yer chef-they have all da power on ship. Good food's a good crew, ain't it Jimbo?" The cyborg said, flashing a mischievous smile at the boy. Jim shook his head once, exhaling heavily. "Never get on the cook's nerves ladies, that's what I've learned. You'll find plenty of... surprises in your next stew."
The girls both laughed at that and Jim felt Silver's large hand clap his back jovially as the ursid joined them while the shuttle pulled to a stop. "We're here, Captain," Onyx spoke.
The group began standing from their seats, Onyx politely taking Anna and Victoria's bags as they began filing out of the car onto the dusty road. Jim walked ahead while the four behind him chatted together cheerfully, watching as the Benbow Inn came closer into view. He jumped slightly as Morph, flying out of his pocket, nuzzled into the crook of his neck with a content chirp.
"Yeah, I'm happy to be home too bud," the boy spoke, tickling the alien. It let out a series of happy giggles as Jim ran his fingers lightly over its nose. "Hey, we're here," he called back to the others behind him.
They approached the entrance as a light breeze blew at some of the wind chimes in the garden, carrying an ear-tickling tune. "Wow, Hawkins, this is really pretty!" Victoria commented with a grin. Anna nodded in agreement. "You're lucky to have a mother with such good tastes," she added, hand touching the polished wood outside the door as Jim reached out to take the doorknob.
"Definitely," the boy smiled. "Come on," he said, pushing open the heavy wooden barrier. As soon as it was open, light poured in from the dining room as well as light sounds of chatter and the din of dishes. Jim's eyes noticed some guests in the lounge room, some reading, some talking with one another while the tables were largely empty. Which made sense as dinner wasn't for another few hours, but there still remained a canine alien sitting at a window spot, trying to manage four children.
"Tillie, please, leave your brother alone-no, Matey, it isn't four yet, mother wouldn't be home anyway-oh dear me..." Delbert sighed in exasperation, trying to pry Tillie and Sunny away from each other while Jib pulled anxiously at his jacket sleeve, pointing at a page in a book open on the table. Matey, who had been trying to read the watch on her father's wrist huffed, head tipping onto her shoulder in boredom, and as she did, her blue eyes caught sight of Jim.
"Uncle Jim!" She squealed, sprinting the man's direction in wild excitement. Her siblings immediately stopped what they were doing with mouths agape in surprise before they pulled themselves from their activities to follow their sister in a tackle hug with little screams of elation.
Jim let out an "oof" as suddenly three more bodies barreled into his midriff, taking him swiftly to the wood floor. All four children were chatting excitedly at him, and he couldn't make out a single thing any of them were saying as he tried to raise himself into a sitting position-which was difficult to do, considering each child was determined to be on top of his chest. "Hey, guys," he smiled, blinking as he shook his now askew hair out of his face, hands bracing himself behind him as he sat up.
"Oh my goodness!" Delbert rushed, standing from his seat to pull some of his children off the boy. "Jim, I'm so sorry for that, they've just been so stir-crazy today-and we didn't expect you back until at least next week, but it's good to see you-"
"Good to see you too," Jim managed roughly as a determined Tillie pulled herself from her father's arms, resulting in her falling back onto the man's torso. He could hear hushed laughing behind him, and even a low, quieted chuckle from Onyx mixed in with the girl's giggling and Silver's mischievous snickers. "We got back earlier than what I told the press. Didn't want to be bombarded," he continued, pulling himself to sit cross-legged on the floor while Tillie nestled happily in his lap.
"Yes, I can understand that completely. Speaking of which, have you read the papers on your little voyage lately?" Doppler spoke, setting Matey and Sunny down to go sit with their sister while he curled an arm around Jib, allowing her to hold onto him contently.
"I haven't read anything since we left," Jim answered. "Hey, Silver, can you show the girls to the guest rooms?" He asked, twisting to look behind him.
"Sure t'ing lad. Right this way," the cyborg said, gesturing to the stairs as Anna and Victoria gave a wave back to Jim before following up to the private wing of the inn. "I'll go mail our report Captain," Onyx added, holding up a neatly folded letter. "Thanks," the boy spoke, and the cragorian gave a nod before turning back out of the inn, closing the door gently behind him.
"So, is there something I missed?" Jim questioned, turning back to Delbert, slowly raising to stand, holding Tillie in one arm and Sunny in the other as he walked them back to their table, Matey at his heels.
"Oh, yes, I'm surprised you didn't end up getting ahold of any papers on your way back-but that's alright, I've been keeping a close eye on things, here..." the canine said, balancing Jib on his chest as he reached into one of his jacket pockets, pulling out a stack of snipped news articles.
Jim, with both children on his lap, reached one arm around Sunny and took the small stack of papers from the table. Eyes scanned the various titles with curiosity, each more strange than the last.
"SLAVE TRADE UNEARTHED AT CALYPSO, SOURCES INDICATE UNDERGROUND TRAFFIKING..."
"NAVY DISCOVERS ILLEGAL SLAVERY BUSINESS ON CALYPSO"
"NUMEROUS SLAVE-HOLDERS AT CALYPSO CAUGHT, MORE TO BE FOUND AS INVESTIGATION CONTINUES"
"UNDERGROUND NAVY OPERATION BRINGS TO LIGHT THE SECRET TO CALYPSO'S LUXURIOUS MINING INDUSTRY"
"THOUSANDS OF CALYPSO SLAVES FREED, OFF-PLANET SLAVES AND SLAVEOWNDERS BEING FOUND"
Jim scanned the articles with narrowed eyes, noticing the numerous flaws within each one-it seemed that because many of the publishers didn't have the full story, they decided to fill in the holes with embellishments, be it ones that portrayed the crew as heroes, or blaming the Navy for the ludicrous slave market in the first place. It was all quite bizarre.
"What the..." the boy murmured as he read over one of the newer papers. "UNDERCOVER CAPTAIN UNEARTHS ONE OF THE GREATEST SCANDALS SINCE MOONDUST EXPORTS"
Jim read on, already fearing the content of the article from its title.
"Undercover Captain James Hawkins discovered one of the greatest scandals this nation has seen since the Moondust trade exports twelve years ago-a slavery business based in Truro, Calypso. Already one of the youngest graduated spacers from Interstellar Space Academy as well as one of the primary sailors on the Treasure Planet voyage, Captain Hawkins has added yet another historic achievement to his repertoire.
Noted in recent papers on the operation, Hawkin's crew arrived at Calypso as an undercover smuggling ship and exposed the ludicrous (hidden) slavery practices happening on the metropolitan planet. Its discovery now explains the prolific mining exports from Calypso, as the laborers consisted of these slaves. Captain Hawkins, Edward, and Clark (others who Hawkins recruited) secured major slave-owners from the planet who are now awaiting trial, most notably Silas Evermore, who had been on her Majesty's most-wanted list for black market trade for over a decade.
Since this discovery, numerous Navy fleets have conducted operations on the planet to perform health examinations on the recently freed slaves as well as make reparation plans for their lives following. The Navy is also doing a deep-sweep of Calypso, where undercover criminals and illegal businesses have already been unearthed..."
Jim stopped reading, letting out a sigh. "Well, it's probably the most accurate one out of all of these," he spoke, scanning the rest of the article. "Apart from all these weird embellishments. They're making me out to be some sort of hero."
"Aren't you?" Delbert questioned with a raised eyebrow, stirring his (probably now cold) tea.
"I'm a mandated reporter. It's my job," Jim answered honestly. The canine shrugged lightly. "It is. But I doubt you'd have left them there if you weren't," he added, dark eyes flicking up to the captain's.
"No, I guess I wouldn't..." the boy trailed off in agreement. "Well, there you have it," Delbert nodded. "You posses qualities and virtues associated with heroes and done what a hero would have in your situation. Besides, I'm sure those girls upstairs regard you as such."
Jim didn't have a reply to that, his modest temperament still seeing it only as what anyone else would have done. But he supposed the candid had a point.
"Hey, where's mom?" He asked, realizing he hadn't seen her since his arrival. "Sarah is in town at the grocer's, but she said she'd be back in time to start dinner. So I assume she'll arrive in a quarter of an hour or so," Delbert answered, pulling his pocket-watch from his jacket.
Jim nodded, looking down to see that both children in his custody were sleeping soundly on his lap. "Well Doppler, I think your kids were tired," he said as the candid got to his feet. "I'm not surprised...goodness, I'm glad they finally dozed off," he said, cradling a sleeping Jib in his arms. Only Matey was awake, but she remained quite in courtesy of her siblings.
"We can let them sleep in the living room," Jim said in a hushed tone, standing with the two children in each arm. Delbert nodded as the two men quietly made their way through the kitchen to lay the three kids on the couches near a slowly burning fireplace.
"I'll watch them," Matey whispered, taking a seat in one of the armchairs. "Thank you lass," Delbert smiled, kissing the girl's head lightly before walking out with Jim.
The two re-entered the dining room just as the entrance door opened, allowing in a soaking cragorian. Jim laughed as Onyx tried to rid himself of the water without making a mess, wiping his muddy boots on the doormat. "Started raining just as I got back..." the first mate grumbled, shaking out his hat.
"This came for you, Captain," Onyx added, extending a rocky hand which held a miraculously dry letter. Jim accepted the crisp envelope, noticing the Navy stamp emblem on its back as he pulled a sheet of parchment paper from its folds. His eyes scanned over the letter in confusion. "Onyx, its from Admiral Riker-he wants us on an expedition to the Andromeda Galaxy in two days-"
The cragorian paused in draining out his boots, leaning over the boy's shoulder to read the letter, minding the water dripping from his suit. "He wants us to leave so soon? And didn't we tell them B.E.N. instructed us to the Caryan Abyss?"
"Yeah, I sent them a letter a week ago..." Jim trailed off. He felt his heart sink somewhat. He had wanted to spend more time at the Benbow... he missed the Dopplers, his home, and most importantly, Sarah.
"Duty calls," he grumbled, sliding the letter back in with a little more force than necessary.
"Shall I alert the crew of our change in plans?" Onyx questioned. The boy nodded reluctantly. "We'll stay the night. If we're a little late, then fine. They gave us short notice."
The first mate nodded once, sighing as he realized he had to go back out into the rain, rendering his drying efforts pointless. "I'll see you at dinner, Captain," the cragorian said, opening the door to step back out into the wet. Jim waved half-heartedly as Onyx disappeared from view.
The boy felt Doppler clap a hand lightly on his shoulder. "Cheer up, chap. We'll make the most of your..." the candid said, pausing as he looked at his pocket-watch. "Eighteen hours." At that Jim chuckled once, mouth turning upward into a smile.
"Sounds good to me, doc."