Jim didn't speak much at dinner that night, but he was sure nobody really noticed, considering how much was going on at the table already. Amelia came in a few minutes late, having gone overtime at work (where she was currently taking up a part-time training job for young spacers), and her arrival stirred some excitement in her children. The girls and Sarah were engaged in conversation at one end of the table while Silver and Onyx did the same on Jim's other side, and despite being between the two groups, he didn't speak much to either.

After supper and some tea and sweet rolls, most everyone dispersed to their own activities. Onyx went to his room for an early bedtime, Victoria and Anna were sitting in the living room talking (or, rather, Victoria happily chatted at Anna while she just relaxed and listened). Jim had planned to make a trip into town to pick up some supplies for their morning trip, but Silver, seeing how tired the lad still was, offered to do it instead.

The boy looked up from the board game he and the Doppler children were playing on the floor to see Delbert reading with his wife at his side, her head resting on his shoulder as she slept. He didn't know how the two of them managed their four rascals all the time; it was seriously impressive.

Realizing it was his turn to roll the dice pieces, he reached to pick up the tiny items when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Jim. Could I see you for a moment?" Sarah asked gently. "Uh, yeah," the boy said, standing. "I'll be back in a minute, guys," he added, looking at the kids still on the ground. "You can go ahead and skip me."

"Okay!" Tillie answered back excitedly, reaching for the dice. "Hey, it's not your turn!" Matey protested.

Jim grinned, shaking his head as he followed Sarah out of the living room and into the kitchen, walking away from the growing sound of high-pitched arguing.

"Did you need something?" He asked, putting his hands in his pockets as he took a seat on the counter next to where his mother was standing.

Sarah didn't reply for a moment, looking down at her clasped hands. "Jim... I'm a little worried about your expedition tomorrow. It's not like the Admiral to send you out on missions with so little time in between."

The boy's eyes widened slightly at her words. Sure, that was a little out of character for his higher-up, but nothing else really seemed to be amiss. And nothing about the location request was out of order-the Andromeda Galaxy was one of the places B.E.N. had detected a treasure trove. He didn't really see cause for worry.

"Mom, it'll be okay... I've got Onyx and Silver with me. We know what we're doing," he assured, putting a hand on his mother's shoulder. Sarah sighed. "I know. Motherly instincts I guess... or maybe I'm just turning into a full worry-wart," she said with a singular chuckle.

Jim hopped off the counter and wrapped an arm around the woman's shoulders in a hug. "I'll be alright. I've gotten out of plenty of rough spots, and this mission looks harmless." Sarah nodded. "I know," she whispered. "You're so strong. I'm so proud of you," she said, looking up at her son. The boy smiled. "I had a good teacher."

The woman's mouth turned upwards slightly. "And I just want the best for you sweetheart. I want you to be safe... just promise me you'll be careful on this one?"

A mischievous expression dawned the boy's face. "Aren't I always?" Sarah shook her head, not able to help the smile on her face. "On this one especially."

Jim nodded. "Yeah, mom. I'll be careful." His mother sighed in seemingly relief as she gave her son's hand a squeeze. "Thank you," she spoke. Suddenly, a little figure ran briskly past the kitchen doorway, heading the direction of the lounge room, followed by two others, all shouting. The boy could make out a vague "Give me back my sword, Sunny!" as the children all continued through the house.

"Better go round those rascals up," the lad chuckled. He began making his way out of the kitchen before his mother called again. "Oh, Jim?" She spoke.

"Yeah?"

"I wanted to tell you that you've made a very good friend," she said with a light smile. "Friend?" The boy replied in confusion.

"Anna. She speaks of you often-all good things, of course. It's obvious you've been very good to her, and she's grateful for it," Sarah answered. Jim thought for a moment. He'd never really considered her as a friend, seeing as a lot of their more carefree interactions ceased after he confessed he was a Captain... but maybe if she thought of him that way, then-?

"Maybe you're shy about talking to her," Sarah said with a smile, seeming to pick up on the boy's thoughts. "Don't be. You two really have a lot you could learn from each other-and I could see that after only an evening speaking with her," she said with some motherly mischievousness. At that Jim smiled. "Yeah. Maybe I will," he spoke with a nod. "Thanks, mom."

"Of course, sweetheart."

Jim sighed, placing the gem back into his office desk. Another dead end. Doppler couldn't decipher anything with the thing, other than the markings on it implied it had been around for a long, long time. But, just like Charlie, that was about all he could dig up on it. He supposed it was about time to contact Admiral Barlow.

The captain stepped out of the stateroom and rounded up to the helm where Silver was calling liftoff orders. "Ahoy, Cap'n," the cyborg said, one hand still cupped around his mouth. "We're 'bout ready ta launch."

"Great," Jim replied, folding his arms behind his back as he observed the crew hurriedly unfurling sails and securing stray items on-deck. "You have your coordinates, men?" He asked, looking to where his helmsmen and B.E.N. stood at their posts. "Aye, Captain!" The robot called back enthusiastically.

"Good," Jim spoke to himself under his breath as Morph suddenly made an appearance on his shoulder. "Hey, there," he smiled, stroking the pink blob. "Finally decided to wake up?"

The alien purred in response, sounds turning to excited chattering as Anna approached them from the steps. "Captain," she nodded in greeting. "Ms. Deering," Jim replied with a smile as she came up to stand beside him and Silver.

"I've finished the launch and supply reports... would you like me to file them with the others, or do you want to look over them first?" She spoke, holding a small stack of papers and a quill in her hand. "Hmm... probably should look over them, shouldn't I?" Jim considered. The girl shrugged. "I'm not the Captain, I wouldn't know," she said with a grin.

The boy half-smiled, looking up in thought. "Ugh-paperwork. Better do it anyway. You can just leave it on my desk," he decided. The woman nodded, turning to go to the stateroom when Onyx, approaching them, inadvertently blocked the stairwell. "We're ready to launch, Captain," he spoke with a salute.

"Great, we can liftoff in a few-" Jim started, stopping as he caught sight of a group of reporters hastily pushing through a crowd at the spaceport to get to the docking pad. "On second thought, we can go now," he amended hurriedly. "Mr. Silver-"

"Got it," the cyborg said, catching onto the boy's worry as he turned to the solar-phone. "Full speed, Mr. Alley!" He called loudly. A whirring sound suddenly started resounding in the sails as the ship lifted slightly and the crew braced themselves on shrouds and masts. The boat stopped its ascent, suddenly shooting forward away from the spaceport.

Jim braced his stance, putting one foot behind him as the force of their movement tried to knock him backwards. He caught sight of Anna reaching to hold onto the rail, keeping her head tucked over the papers, and without thinking, he reached forward to grasp her arm. She stole a glance behind them as they moved farther and farther away from Montressor until the ship's momentum finally slowed.

Once stable, the girl gave her head a shake, flipping her now-frizzy hair back behind her as she tried to smooth it over. "Thanks," she said to Jim, still scattered as she straightened her stance. "I'll never get used to that," she added.

"You'll get the hang of it. Just takes a few goes," the boy smiled. The girl returned the gesture, before counting through her papers to make sure she still had them all. "I'll take this to your office, then," she nodded, straightening the parchment.

"Sounds great. Thanks, Anna," Jim spoke. The girl smiled, finally turning to descend down the stairs. He watched her go with a light smile as they approached a particularly bright star whose light cut around the sails and masts and shone down brightly at them. He had to admit, despite having felt so homesick the last few weeks, sailing was a domain he'd always love...

A few days after launch...

"Navigation points in order now," the helmsman spoke from his station as Jim peered over the dock interface.

"Thank you Mr. Watson," the captain nodded, looking at Charlie as the lad finished sorting his tools. "Sure thing, Captain. Shouldn't go haywire now," he said, giving the thing a tap as he turned to the stairs. "I'll be in the hull if you need me again," the boy waved. Jim nodded, watching as the redhead left the deck.

"Alright, seeing as that's fixed, we'll resume our original course," he said, turning to leave back to his stateroom before B.E.N. waved to get his attention.

"Oh, but uh-Captain," the robot cut in, looking anxiously at his tablet. "We've actually been taking a detour, I received word from the Navy that there's been Protean sightings at the Trailada Nebulae!"

The boy looked at the helmsman for confirmation, who nodded. "Aye, Captain. We notified Mr. Onyx of our re-route, and he gave us the okay to take the Fisherman currents around the bay until we could reach a turning point to round back to Andromeda."

"Mr. Onyx did briefly tell me about our navigation change, but he didn't mention Proteans..." Jim trailing off. "Hey, B.E.N., where'd you get that update?" the captain questioned in confusion. "I haven't heard anything on an obstruction."

"One of the Admiral's letter-boys dropped by a note the night you all were at the Benbow!" The robot answered. "I have it right here," he continued, pulling out a slightly crumpled envelope from one of his carrier pockets. Jim took the paper, eyes scanning the letter. It looked legitimate enough, but he still found it somewhat odd that there hadn't just been an open announcement at the spaceport.

"Thanks, B.E.N.," the boy spoke, tucking the envelope into his coat pocket. "And-you didn't tell me about this when we launched, why?"

The robot chuckled nervously, kicking his foot anxiously on the deck. "I uh, forgot," he answered sheepishly. "Okay... well, thank you all the same," Jim said with a nod. The android, seemingly relieved, saluted him before turning back to his post to eagerly type away on his tablet.

The captain's gaze moved to the deep Etherium in front of them, eyes narrowed in thought. "Everythin' alright, Jimbo?" Silver, just arriving at the top deck, asked in concern as he caught the boy's expression.

"Yeah, I just... I've got a strange feeling," Jim replied in a low tone. "What kind of a feelin'?" The cyborg questioned.

"I dunno. This development just keeps getting stranger and stranger..." the captain trailed off. Maybe he should have listened to Sarah and requested a re-route, or at least postponed the trip. It was too late then, though... but still.

Through the deep purples and blues and violets of the space around them, Jim couldn't help but feel like they were telling him the obvious about his voyage. This whole thing was... ominous.

And as the ship navigated around a nebulae cloud, an unfamiliar ship, not a merchant or navy one came into view. Its deep scarlet sails caught the boy's eyes first as well as a strange flag atop its mast, and it was then that Jim pin-pointed what feeling had been growing inside him.

Dread