A/N: (Author pokes her head out from behind the curtain to make sure no one has a gun. She smiles and is just about to speak but a large tomato knocks her down) Okay…I guess I deserved that. Sorry about keeping you guys waiting so long. I really am. It's just that I'm working on another Treasure Planet fic at the same time, I have school, My family came down to visit, I have algebra homework every night, and unfortunately I have to find time to sleep and breathe. So, here is chapter 6!!! (Walks off stage but trips on the tomato juice and falls down again)

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Christine was swabbing the deck and cleaning up the mess left by the ambush. She didn't even notice that she had been cleaning that same spot for half an hour. So many other things were going around in her head. She had shot someone. Christine surprised herself for feeling so sorry for the pirate. She didn't even know who he was. But, still the first shot she ever took was not meant for him she was saving it for someone who she knew deserved it. She glanced over to see Morph playing around in the bubbles in the bucket. He dove into the water and came out covered with suds. He looked like one big clump of snow flakes. He sneezed and the bubbles flew of him in all directions. He playfully chased after the bubbles, squealing in delight. The sight of his innocence tore at her heart. His silly games and pranks reminded Christine of her brother, Sam.

Like the morning of the day he was abducted from the Benbow. He had come into her room, yelling excitedly, and jumping up and down. The image of her brother with his home-made pirate hat and wooden sword popped into her head. A sad smile tugged at the corner of her lips. She wanted so much to have her brother back in her arms again safe and sound. She fought back the tears and replaced the thoughts of the past with thoughts of the future. She knew Donovan was tricky and heartless. He would do anything to get rid of her, Sammy, and everyone else in order to keep the treasure. How she was going to go about doing this was a mystery to her and the rest of the crew.

Jim came up from below deck to get to his watch duties bit stopped dead when he saw Chris. Her back was turned to him, but he knew that her face was sad and upset. He remembered that morning she hadn't said anything to him. She wouldn't even make eye contact with him. Jim knew that she was still shaken by the fact that she had taken a life. In the academy he was told that sometime in his life as a spacer he was going to probably end up killing someone. But, Christine wasn't. He took a deep breath and walked over to her.

Christine was so lost in thought she didn't even notice him coming up behind her. Jim carefully reached out and tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped and yelped in response. With out looking at who it was, she took the mop and whacked Jim over the head. She dropped the mop when she saw it was Jim and the apologies started up.

"Jim!" she said sitting down the mop, "I'm so, so, so sorry. I was thinking about pirates and Donovan and..."

Jim shook his head. "Deja vu." He stated.

A smile lit up her face and Jim was happy that he had mad her smile. "You know, you are very good at sneaking up on people."

"I should really try to remember that." Jim said, wringing out the water in his hair from the mop. "Sorry 'bout that. I didn't mean to scare you…again."

Morph came up and changed into a miniature of Jim with soaking hair. Christine giggled and Jim gave him a threatening sidelong glance. Christine loved it when Jim tried to make her feel better because every time, just for an instant, she forgot about all the bad things happening. Jim opened his mouth to say something but he seemed to be hesitant about what he needed to say. But, she could already predict what he needed to know.

"Uh…Chris?" Jim finally said. "Are you doing alright?"

Christine looked down onto the deck. She wanted to forget about shooting the pirate. But, she knew that that was impossible. She wasn't mad at Jim for asking her. In fact, she wanted to talk about it. She wanted to tell him how guilty she felt. Christine looked back up at Jim and smiled. "A little. Can I ask you something?"

Jim shrugged. "Sure."

Chris pressed her lips together. "Is it considered a crime to kill someone in self-defense?"

Jim's expression became soft and thoughtful. He placed his hands on her shoulders and took a step closer and looked her in the eye. Christine could feel her face turning red again. She could barely feel his breath on her face. Why did she always do this? She didn't like Jim that way. So, why did she always become so flustered around him? But, of course, she never did too well around guys before. Except for…

Jim interrupted her thoughts. "Chris, what you did was not a crime. If you hadn't of pulled that trigger, I wouldn't be alive right now."

Christine turned away from Jim and walked over to the railing. She looked out at the stars but they became blurry from the tears that she had been fighting back. Half of her knew what Jim said was right. "If you weren't in serious danger, Jim, I would have never shot him." He voice had become cracked and soft, "I knew I would probably be faced with something like this when we started this voyage. But, I never thought that it would really happen. Not now. I wanted to save that shot for Donovan. The man who I knew deserved it and maybe even worse punishment."

Jim understood. The only person that she wanted revenge on was Donovan. He wasn't sure exactly what that pirate did to make Christine's life so miserable before he met her. But, he would do anything in his power to help. He walked over to Christine and wrapped his right arm around her shoulder. Christine caught her breath and then relaxed. She leaned a bit over towards Jim to rest her head on his shoulder. The cool calm etherium winds blew across the ship, filling the solar sails.

Suddenly, Jim had an idea. It was a long shot idea. But, it would probably help Chris. "Hey, Chris." He said.

Christine took her head off of his shoulder and looked at him with curiosity. "What?"

A smirk played across Jim's lips that made Christine take a step back. "Have you ever been in a fight before?"

She scratched her head. "A fight? Well…there was this one time. But, before anything could happen the teacher came out and put an end to it. Why?"

Jim smiled. "Maybe I could teach you a few things that they taught us in the academy."

Christine gave him a look. "Jim, in case you haven't noticed, I am physically incapable of fighting."

He chuckled. "No, you're not. Besides, if something like this happens again, you'll be ready. I know you don't want to take another life. But, if you want to protect yourself and the people you care about, then you have to know what you can do. I bet you are capable of doing anything. You just haven't tried." Christine knew Jim was right. If she was ever going to get her revenge, she would have to fight back as hard as she could without shedding anymore tears.

She rubbed the trails left by the tears off of her face. "Alright, Jim Hawkins. Teach me what you know." Jim's smile lit up and he picked up the mop and bucket to set them aside out of the way.

"Okay, first of all," Jim started, "You need to know how to predict your enemy's moves. This is especially crucial when you're unarmed." Christine had found a barrel to sit on while she listened closely. "Learn from your mistakes. If they get you with a punch or kick then keep that move in mind so that you will know to dodge it next time. Also, don't get scared even under the most dangerous conditions. If you keep your cool then you won't do anything stupid that could get you killed. And it doesn't matter if the enemy is ten feet tall and really muscular. Those guys are all brawn and don't have the agility to keep up."

Christine was making sure to make mental notes of all the information Jim was giving her. He also showed her how to quickly whip out your weapon before the enemy could react in time, how to use her head, and even showed her some moves. He would kick the air and she would do the same thing. He would punch an invisible enemy and she would too. He did some other moves and she did the same but after a kick and a punch she posed into a matrix position, crouching tiger, and messed up her hair and pouted out her lips and pretended to hold a gun.

Jim smiled and rolled his eyes. "Ha-ha. Very funny. Really…really cute."

Christine became serious again and they began practicing some more. Morph curled up in pile of rope and fell asleep as they practiced for about another two hours. Finally, sleep began to beckon them both and they agreed to wait till tomorrow to continue. Christine told him that he could go on and that she just wanted to watch the stars for just a little while longer. Jim nodded and went below deck. Christine's arms and legs were achy and she pulled a muscle from practicing kicks. But, she didn't tell Jim. She searched the sky and found a star. It was a blue looking star that was flickering in the etherium sky. She lifted up her shirt sleeve and glanced down at the blue star tattoo on her arm. She smiled sadly and she covered it up again. Christine looked back at the star. The glittering blue star. Her blue star.