Oh, man! I completely forgot the copyright stuff in my other chapters!! PLEASE DON'T SUE
ME, DISNEY!!! I SWEAR I DIDN'T MEAN TO!!! All characters (even Aaron; you can have
him! just don't hurt me!) are copyrighted to Disney and they are the creative masterminds, not
me! I suck! Really! *bows to the corporate machine that is Disney*
*****
"HEEEY, it's the doc! How ya doin', Doc?" cried B.E.N. as he opened the door of the
Benbow Inn. He continued quickly, "So, where're the kids, Doc? Got 'em with ya?" He poked
his head out the door as Doppler tried to babble out a response. B.E.N.'s neck extended to an
absurd length as looked around either side of Doppler.
"Eh, no, not today, B.E.N.," Doppler finally managed to get out. "I just came by to speak
to-" He suddenly saw Sarah Hawkins back further in the room. "Sarah!"
"Aww, no playtime, today, huh?" asked B.E.N.. He glanced sideways at Morph and
whispered dramatically, "Doc's gettin' cranky in his old age-"
"I beg your pardon?!"
Sarah came up quickly behind B.E.N. "B.E.N.! Why don't you go see if there's anything
for you to do in the kitchen?"
As B.E.N. shook his head, Sarah and Doppler both noted an audible rattling sound
coming from the robot's cranium. "NOPE! I got all the dishes cleaned, the pots scrubbed, the
floor swept-"
Sarah cut him off quickly. "Alright! Okay, *thank you*, B.E.N.! Delbert and I are just
going to have a talk and-"
"Oh, I'd LOVE to stay right here and listen in, Mrs. H!"exploded B.E.N. happily.
"Thanks so much for the offer! You're always so polite!" He turned to Doppler and said, in a
conversational tone, "That's what I like about Mrs. H! Always got a smile on her face and-"
"B.E.N.!" shouted Sarah. She then forced that smile he had been talking about, though
through her clenched teeth it appeared to be more of a grimace. She managed to press out,
"Thank! You! B.E.N.! You've been *wonderful* help, but now I think that you deserve a bit of a
*rest*!" She looked at him pointedly.
B.E.N. looked at Sarah, thoughtful. He rubbed his chin in concentration, then replied,
"THERE YA GO AGAIN, BEIN' SO *NICE* AND SO *SWEET*!!!" He suddenly clasped
both hands together and looked upward, his eyes quickly filling with 'tears'. "Awww, it's so
GOOD to feel LOVED!" He then wrapped his arms around Sarah's shoulders and began to sob
uncontrollably. She looked up at Doppler, exasperated.
"This is the third. . . time. . . today. . ."
***
A few moments later, B.E.N. had been calmed down and Sarah and Doppler sat at the
usual table near the window. The holo-blinds were left turned off, due to the fact that it wasn't
currently too terribly dreary. Doppler spoke solemnly to Sarah.
"Now, Sarah. . . this is about Jim." Sarah's face showed no emotion at his mention, so
Doppler continued. "He's doing fine in school; magnificently, in fact! But a problem has arisen."
Sarah's face still showed nothing. Doppler squinted at her, wishing for some sort of
reaction. Well. . . he could do that. . . "Sarah, Jim found out that the cyborg cook and pirate that
he had befriended on the voyage to Treasure Planet is now in prison and they're most certainly
going to have him hanged if we don't break him out of said prison so Jim has asked me and
Amelia to ask you to let him leave school so that we can go on a possibly futile and certainly
dangerous rescue mission that may likely land us all in jail." He gasped for breath as soon as he
had finished (and was somewhat amazed that he hadn't stumbled at all during his little speech).
Sarah simply stared at him.
"Good GOD, Sarah, what do I need to say to get a response out of you?"
Finally, Sarah responded, "Amelia sent me a letter last week, Delbert. I've already
agreed." She struggled to keep a straight face, but couldn't quite conceal her laughter.
Doppler slapped his forehead in exasperation. "Of course you have. . ."
***
Bonhomme stared up at Amelia, something of a scowl on his face. "And you're taking the
boys out of school. . . why?" To show how little he thought of her, he continued scrawling
aimlessly on a sheet of parchment, only glancing up at her every now and then.
"Well, *Reggie*," answered Amelia, purposely using the nickname that Reginald
Bonhomme had despised ever since their days together at the Academy, "Family emergency, I'm
afraid." She smirked at him, triumphant. "And you really can't *keep* them in school, if their
legal guardians feel that they should be taken out." She tapped the forms signed by Sarah
Hawkins and Aaron's parents on his desk knowingly. Bonhomme frowned at them, then up at
Amelia.
"Listen, *Captain*," he said with a bit of a sneer, showing an entirely different side of
himself than he presented to Doppler a few weeks before, "I am the boys' headmaster. If I should
choose not to excuse them-"
"-Then you will be inspected by the school governors," finished Amelia matter-of-factly.
"No question about it." She leaned down with her elbows on his desk simply to annoy him.
"Wouldn't want *that*, now would we?"
Bonhomme stood up, quite angry, as well as frustrated, due to the circumstances. He and
Amelia had been rivals of the most intense sort when they had both been attending the Interstellar
Academy, constantly battling it out in academia and in physical contests. Neither had won a clear
victory, but Amelia had gotten the profession that *both* of them had wanted. Bonhomme glared
at Amelia for a moment, then finally muttered, "Excused." And with that, he turned around to
face the opposite wall and, Amelia supposed, to stare at his diplomas for some childish sort of
comfort.
"Oh, and Reginald?" she said quietly, as she opened the door to leave. Her tone was so
different that he turned around and stared at her inquisitively. She smirked again. "Can't *wait*
to see you at the next reunion!"
"OUT!"
***
"Well, boys, we're meeting the doctor halfway between here and Montressor, at a small
spaceport just outside of the Nomadic Straight," explained Amelia as both Jim and Aaron carried
their packs slung over their shoulders, both slightly disbelieving. It was hard to accept that this
was actually happening, and that they were actually doing something about Silver's arrest.
Amelia continued, walking slightly ahead of them towards the dock, "We will meet him
in three days. From thence we shall be continuing on to the Madrigal Nebula, in which we will
dock the Legacy, discharge the crew for the interim, and obtain a small, fast vessel." They
reached the Legacy in dock and Jim could hardly believe he was seeing it again. It had some new
additions, likely bought with a bit of 'help' from Doppler. The engines and thrusters had
increased in size considerably, and the sails gleamed, obviously new.
Amelia looked up at the Legacy and smiled approvingly. "We shall discuss the remaining
plans once we have reunited with the doctor." She began to walk up the gangplank and Jim and
Aaron followed behind, quite excited.
"Why does she call him 'the doctor'?" whispered Jim.
Aaron shrugged. "Guess it makes her feel more. . . authoritarian. At least right now.
When I visit them at their house she always calls him 'Dear', 'Darling', or 'Delbert'. I go crazy
with all the D-names flying around." He laughed a little. "They are the *weirdest* couple, I
swear. . ."
Amelia turned around to face them suddenly. "This will not be a luxury voyage,
gentleman! You are to report to the first mate immediately for your assigned positions."
Jim and Aaron gaped. Jim finally managed to find his voice. "What?! You can't be
serious! Look, Mrs. Do-"
"On this ship, Mr. Hawkins," interrupted Amelia, "you will refer to me as 'Captain' or
'Ma'am'." She smirked. "As I'm sure you remember *perfectly*."
Jim sighed, even now reluctant to obey the order, which he considered a bit outdated.
"Yes *Ma'am*." He stood up straight. Aaron, watching him, copied his posture. Amelia nodded
at them both approvingly and walked into the stateroom. Jim and Aaron slouched casually again
as soon as she was gone.
"So I guess we find the first mate," said Aaron, looking around, distracted by the crew
preparing for launch. The riggers and ropers were hard at work on the sails, and the specialists
were milling about their posts, checking equipment diligently.
"Guess so. . ." replied Jim, looking around. He soon spotted a somewhat official-looking
alien, standing tall as he observed the crew. He had several medals pinned to his chest and had an
all-knowing air about him. What threw Jim, however, was his species.
The first mate hired by Amelia was of the same race as Jim's worst enemy thus far in life,
Scroop. Judging by the medals that Jim had noticed, he was a perfectly respectable spacer, honest
and admirable as they come, but still, the subconscious fear was there. Aaron noticed Jim staring
at the mate and then looked in the same direction. "So there he is, huh?"
"Yeah. . ." muttered Jim. "Yeah, there he is."
"Alright then!" said Aaron, excited to find out what his assignment was. "Let's get to it!"
He walked toward the first mate eagerly, doing his best to look ready for whatever the mate threw
at him. Jim followed behind quietly.
The first mate looked down at the both of them, not saying a word. Jim and Aaron stared
up, both uncomfortable. He was quite intimidating, standing at least nine feet tall and dressed in a
crisp, navy-blue uniform. Suddenly on his face a small smile appeared. "I take it you two fine
ladsss are Mr. Hawkinsss and Mr. Doppler?" His voice was deep and raspy, just as Scroop's had
been, but it held all the warmth that Scroop's had lacked.
Aaron relaxed, but Jim was still reluctant to warm up. Aaron replied, "Yeah! That's, uh,
that's us!" He looked at Jim, and saw that he was refusing to look the arachnid-like officer in the
eye. He nudged him. Jim looked at Aaron, then slowly up at the officer. "Yup," was all he said.
The first mate seemed to take no notice of Jim's cold attitude. "Well, boysss, I've heard
quite a bit about both of you! Essspecially you, Mr. Hawkinsss!" He smiled at Jim. "Both of you
appear to be fully capable of handling yourselvesss aboard a sship! Ssso, you will both be
asssisting the specialistsss whenever they may need anything. For example, you may be assked to
read off coordinatesss or clean the laser cannonsss." They both nodded at him and responded
with a 'Yessir' each. The first mate nodded approvingly.
"You may call me 'Ssir', or 'Mr. Merriss'," he said to both of them as they stared up at
him "Though, in all honesssty," he added, "I prefer the latter. Much friendlier, don't you think?"
Both of the boys nodded. Jim was still a bit cautious, but this Mr. Merriss really did seem alright,
despite what any other members of his species may have been like.
Suddenly Amelia's call sounded from the bridge. "Mr. Merriss! Please prepare the crew
for launch!"
Merriss nodded and replied, "Aye, Cap'n! Asss you please!" He turned to Jim and Aaron.
"You boys bessst be keeping out of trouble during the launch. Ssstay near the bridge and asssist
anyone who asssks you." He then scuttled toward Amelia on the bridge and shouted to the whole
crew, "PREPARE FOR CASSST-OFF! ALL CREW, TO YOUR SSSTATIONS!"
Aaron and Jim watched while keeping out of the way as much as possible. Suddenly one
of the riggers, a dark-red lizard-like alien, shouted at Jim in a thick accent from his position up
on the cross-mast. "'Ey! You zere! You tie off zat rope, ya? No, zee long one! Ya!" Jim quickly
tied down the rope to its particular notch and looked up at the rigger, who nodded approvingly,
and then continued about his work.
Jim looked at Aaron. "I think I'm starting to get this." Aaron nodded, but was suddenly
called away to help lock one of the laser cannons down into its below-deck position. Jim's
excitement from his first launch on the Legacy had returned. As he stood on the deck watching
Aaron attempt to pry down a huge latch for the cannon, his thoughts drifted to Silver, and how
they were going to go about getting him out of prison. It was only a-
***
"-matter of time until his sentence is carried out," said one guard solemnly to the next that
was coming in to take his shift. Silver listened forlornly. His spirits had fallen considerably after
the trial a few days ago. The trial had hardly even been necessary; it was obvious that the jury had
already decided Silver's fate before he had even stepped into the courtroom.
"If on'y I had just kept *movin'*," he muttered to himself. One of the guards looked at
him sternly, but there was also a fair amount of pity on his face. That guard, Silver had taken a
liking to. Name was O'Malley and he hardly had a cruel bone in him, bless his heart. Unlike the
cook that had ratted Silver out a short while ago. . .
Silver had been up to his usual mopping after the other employees had left. All of the
employees except (of course) that blasted cook, who was adding some spices to a huge slab of
meat that he would be using as the special on the menu tomorrow. The stuff looked about a week
past its prime, but Silver wasn't about to make a comment after his small suggestion about
pepper had almost cost him his job. As Silver made his way around the kitchen with the mop,
humming to himself, he noticed the cook's newspaper lying on the counter near the bag
containing his change of clothing for when he left for the night. The headline horrified Silver.
'Inquiry About Perilous Pirate Silver Made At Constable HQ'. There was a small picture
of Silver, his golden mechanical eye flashing (though it was silver in the black-and-white print),
on the front page. Silver gaped in horror at it. He was about to dump the thing in the nearest
wastebin when suddenly the cook's voice came from behind him.
"Oh, yes, see that headline?" The cook walk past the mortified Silver and picked up the
paper in two of his tentacled hands as the third rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Apparently this
pirate, Silver, and two of his chums had been giving the constables quite the trouble! Then they
just seemed to disappear. Huh!" Silver couldn't believe that the news had reached this little
outskirt planet. The central planets of the empire were a few weeks' ride away from here, and the
only ships that ever came out seemed to be a few lonely groups of spacers looking for a place to
put up for the night or a solitary supply ship. Well, the supply ships obviously supplied the news,
as well as food. Silver's thoughts were broken as the cook continued. "This was quite the rough
lot, it seemed! They had a big arachnid fellow as the muscle, apparently. . . That whole species is
trouble, if you ask me!"
Silver chose to withhold the comment that he had not, in fact, asked the cook anything of
the sort. He simply nodded and added his, "Mm-hm"s to the conversation as they were needed.
He kept his face blank and turned away from the cook; he also made sure to keep his cybernetic
eye shut tightly. He only hoped that the cook wouldn't notice that-
"Now wait a minute!" said the cook suddenly. Silver winced at stood up a bit straighter,
still attempting to hide the obvious. "You two. . ." continued the cook, "Seem quite similar!" He
looked down at the paper and then back up at Silver, who was standing there doing his best to
keep his nervousness hidden. The cook continued. "In fact. . ."
Silver suddenly prepared to switch his arm into the flintock, should the need arise. If this
bloody nearfight was about to say what Silver thought he was. . .
"In fact. . . you could almost be *brothers*!" exclaimed the cook. Silver could have
laughed out loud with relief. So the idiot couldn't even piece it together with all the evidence
right in front of him!
However, Silver forgot about his cybernetic eye for just a moment. Long enough to open
it as he smiled in relief and replied to the cook, "Well, now, seein' as I ain't havin' any brothers
of me own. . ." He trailed off as the cook stared at his face curiously. He stared back down at the
picture and looked about to speak. Silver, however, was faster. "All done with the moppin' fer
t'night, sir! Look forward to seein' yer chipper face in the morn'!" He was out the door and
around the corner with his coat on in a matter of seconds. The cook had hardly had time to react.
*****
I'm suggesting my personal favorite TP fic as of late, 'Dark Corner of the Etherium', by
WeAsLeYkid8, because it is REALLY GOOD. It is funny and well-written and GOOD. It
deserves more reviews than it's getting! Please go read it! I'ma get down on mah knees and BEG
if I have to! That's how good it is! Over and out!
ME, DISNEY!!! I SWEAR I DIDN'T MEAN TO!!! All characters (even Aaron; you can have
him! just don't hurt me!) are copyrighted to Disney and they are the creative masterminds, not
me! I suck! Really! *bows to the corporate machine that is Disney*
*****
"HEEEY, it's the doc! How ya doin', Doc?" cried B.E.N. as he opened the door of the
Benbow Inn. He continued quickly, "So, where're the kids, Doc? Got 'em with ya?" He poked
his head out the door as Doppler tried to babble out a response. B.E.N.'s neck extended to an
absurd length as looked around either side of Doppler.
"Eh, no, not today, B.E.N.," Doppler finally managed to get out. "I just came by to speak
to-" He suddenly saw Sarah Hawkins back further in the room. "Sarah!"
"Aww, no playtime, today, huh?" asked B.E.N.. He glanced sideways at Morph and
whispered dramatically, "Doc's gettin' cranky in his old age-"
"I beg your pardon?!"
Sarah came up quickly behind B.E.N. "B.E.N.! Why don't you go see if there's anything
for you to do in the kitchen?"
As B.E.N. shook his head, Sarah and Doppler both noted an audible rattling sound
coming from the robot's cranium. "NOPE! I got all the dishes cleaned, the pots scrubbed, the
floor swept-"
Sarah cut him off quickly. "Alright! Okay, *thank you*, B.E.N.! Delbert and I are just
going to have a talk and-"
"Oh, I'd LOVE to stay right here and listen in, Mrs. H!"exploded B.E.N. happily.
"Thanks so much for the offer! You're always so polite!" He turned to Doppler and said, in a
conversational tone, "That's what I like about Mrs. H! Always got a smile on her face and-"
"B.E.N.!" shouted Sarah. She then forced that smile he had been talking about, though
through her clenched teeth it appeared to be more of a grimace. She managed to press out,
"Thank! You! B.E.N.! You've been *wonderful* help, but now I think that you deserve a bit of a
*rest*!" She looked at him pointedly.
B.E.N. looked at Sarah, thoughtful. He rubbed his chin in concentration, then replied,
"THERE YA GO AGAIN, BEIN' SO *NICE* AND SO *SWEET*!!!" He suddenly clasped
both hands together and looked upward, his eyes quickly filling with 'tears'. "Awww, it's so
GOOD to feel LOVED!" He then wrapped his arms around Sarah's shoulders and began to sob
uncontrollably. She looked up at Doppler, exasperated.
"This is the third. . . time. . . today. . ."
***
A few moments later, B.E.N. had been calmed down and Sarah and Doppler sat at the
usual table near the window. The holo-blinds were left turned off, due to the fact that it wasn't
currently too terribly dreary. Doppler spoke solemnly to Sarah.
"Now, Sarah. . . this is about Jim." Sarah's face showed no emotion at his mention, so
Doppler continued. "He's doing fine in school; magnificently, in fact! But a problem has arisen."
Sarah's face still showed nothing. Doppler squinted at her, wishing for some sort of
reaction. Well. . . he could do that. . . "Sarah, Jim found out that the cyborg cook and pirate that
he had befriended on the voyage to Treasure Planet is now in prison and they're most certainly
going to have him hanged if we don't break him out of said prison so Jim has asked me and
Amelia to ask you to let him leave school so that we can go on a possibly futile and certainly
dangerous rescue mission that may likely land us all in jail." He gasped for breath as soon as he
had finished (and was somewhat amazed that he hadn't stumbled at all during his little speech).
Sarah simply stared at him.
"Good GOD, Sarah, what do I need to say to get a response out of you?"
Finally, Sarah responded, "Amelia sent me a letter last week, Delbert. I've already
agreed." She struggled to keep a straight face, but couldn't quite conceal her laughter.
Doppler slapped his forehead in exasperation. "Of course you have. . ."
***
Bonhomme stared up at Amelia, something of a scowl on his face. "And you're taking the
boys out of school. . . why?" To show how little he thought of her, he continued scrawling
aimlessly on a sheet of parchment, only glancing up at her every now and then.
"Well, *Reggie*," answered Amelia, purposely using the nickname that Reginald
Bonhomme had despised ever since their days together at the Academy, "Family emergency, I'm
afraid." She smirked at him, triumphant. "And you really can't *keep* them in school, if their
legal guardians feel that they should be taken out." She tapped the forms signed by Sarah
Hawkins and Aaron's parents on his desk knowingly. Bonhomme frowned at them, then up at
Amelia.
"Listen, *Captain*," he said with a bit of a sneer, showing an entirely different side of
himself than he presented to Doppler a few weeks before, "I am the boys' headmaster. If I should
choose not to excuse them-"
"-Then you will be inspected by the school governors," finished Amelia matter-of-factly.
"No question about it." She leaned down with her elbows on his desk simply to annoy him.
"Wouldn't want *that*, now would we?"
Bonhomme stood up, quite angry, as well as frustrated, due to the circumstances. He and
Amelia had been rivals of the most intense sort when they had both been attending the Interstellar
Academy, constantly battling it out in academia and in physical contests. Neither had won a clear
victory, but Amelia had gotten the profession that *both* of them had wanted. Bonhomme glared
at Amelia for a moment, then finally muttered, "Excused." And with that, he turned around to
face the opposite wall and, Amelia supposed, to stare at his diplomas for some childish sort of
comfort.
"Oh, and Reginald?" she said quietly, as she opened the door to leave. Her tone was so
different that he turned around and stared at her inquisitively. She smirked again. "Can't *wait*
to see you at the next reunion!"
"OUT!"
***
"Well, boys, we're meeting the doctor halfway between here and Montressor, at a small
spaceport just outside of the Nomadic Straight," explained Amelia as both Jim and Aaron carried
their packs slung over their shoulders, both slightly disbelieving. It was hard to accept that this
was actually happening, and that they were actually doing something about Silver's arrest.
Amelia continued, walking slightly ahead of them towards the dock, "We will meet him
in three days. From thence we shall be continuing on to the Madrigal Nebula, in which we will
dock the Legacy, discharge the crew for the interim, and obtain a small, fast vessel." They
reached the Legacy in dock and Jim could hardly believe he was seeing it again. It had some new
additions, likely bought with a bit of 'help' from Doppler. The engines and thrusters had
increased in size considerably, and the sails gleamed, obviously new.
Amelia looked up at the Legacy and smiled approvingly. "We shall discuss the remaining
plans once we have reunited with the doctor." She began to walk up the gangplank and Jim and
Aaron followed behind, quite excited.
"Why does she call him 'the doctor'?" whispered Jim.
Aaron shrugged. "Guess it makes her feel more. . . authoritarian. At least right now.
When I visit them at their house she always calls him 'Dear', 'Darling', or 'Delbert'. I go crazy
with all the D-names flying around." He laughed a little. "They are the *weirdest* couple, I
swear. . ."
Amelia turned around to face them suddenly. "This will not be a luxury voyage,
gentleman! You are to report to the first mate immediately for your assigned positions."
Jim and Aaron gaped. Jim finally managed to find his voice. "What?! You can't be
serious! Look, Mrs. Do-"
"On this ship, Mr. Hawkins," interrupted Amelia, "you will refer to me as 'Captain' or
'Ma'am'." She smirked. "As I'm sure you remember *perfectly*."
Jim sighed, even now reluctant to obey the order, which he considered a bit outdated.
"Yes *Ma'am*." He stood up straight. Aaron, watching him, copied his posture. Amelia nodded
at them both approvingly and walked into the stateroom. Jim and Aaron slouched casually again
as soon as she was gone.
"So I guess we find the first mate," said Aaron, looking around, distracted by the crew
preparing for launch. The riggers and ropers were hard at work on the sails, and the specialists
were milling about their posts, checking equipment diligently.
"Guess so. . ." replied Jim, looking around. He soon spotted a somewhat official-looking
alien, standing tall as he observed the crew. He had several medals pinned to his chest and had an
all-knowing air about him. What threw Jim, however, was his species.
The first mate hired by Amelia was of the same race as Jim's worst enemy thus far in life,
Scroop. Judging by the medals that Jim had noticed, he was a perfectly respectable spacer, honest
and admirable as they come, but still, the subconscious fear was there. Aaron noticed Jim staring
at the mate and then looked in the same direction. "So there he is, huh?"
"Yeah. . ." muttered Jim. "Yeah, there he is."
"Alright then!" said Aaron, excited to find out what his assignment was. "Let's get to it!"
He walked toward the first mate eagerly, doing his best to look ready for whatever the mate threw
at him. Jim followed behind quietly.
The first mate looked down at the both of them, not saying a word. Jim and Aaron stared
up, both uncomfortable. He was quite intimidating, standing at least nine feet tall and dressed in a
crisp, navy-blue uniform. Suddenly on his face a small smile appeared. "I take it you two fine
ladsss are Mr. Hawkinsss and Mr. Doppler?" His voice was deep and raspy, just as Scroop's had
been, but it held all the warmth that Scroop's had lacked.
Aaron relaxed, but Jim was still reluctant to warm up. Aaron replied, "Yeah! That's, uh,
that's us!" He looked at Jim, and saw that he was refusing to look the arachnid-like officer in the
eye. He nudged him. Jim looked at Aaron, then slowly up at the officer. "Yup," was all he said.
The first mate seemed to take no notice of Jim's cold attitude. "Well, boysss, I've heard
quite a bit about both of you! Essspecially you, Mr. Hawkinsss!" He smiled at Jim. "Both of you
appear to be fully capable of handling yourselvesss aboard a sship! Ssso, you will both be
asssisting the specialistsss whenever they may need anything. For example, you may be assked to
read off coordinatesss or clean the laser cannonsss." They both nodded at him and responded
with a 'Yessir' each. The first mate nodded approvingly.
"You may call me 'Ssir', or 'Mr. Merriss'," he said to both of them as they stared up at
him "Though, in all honesssty," he added, "I prefer the latter. Much friendlier, don't you think?"
Both of the boys nodded. Jim was still a bit cautious, but this Mr. Merriss really did seem alright,
despite what any other members of his species may have been like.
Suddenly Amelia's call sounded from the bridge. "Mr. Merriss! Please prepare the crew
for launch!"
Merriss nodded and replied, "Aye, Cap'n! Asss you please!" He turned to Jim and Aaron.
"You boys bessst be keeping out of trouble during the launch. Ssstay near the bridge and asssist
anyone who asssks you." He then scuttled toward Amelia on the bridge and shouted to the whole
crew, "PREPARE FOR CASSST-OFF! ALL CREW, TO YOUR SSSTATIONS!"
Aaron and Jim watched while keeping out of the way as much as possible. Suddenly one
of the riggers, a dark-red lizard-like alien, shouted at Jim in a thick accent from his position up
on the cross-mast. "'Ey! You zere! You tie off zat rope, ya? No, zee long one! Ya!" Jim quickly
tied down the rope to its particular notch and looked up at the rigger, who nodded approvingly,
and then continued about his work.
Jim looked at Aaron. "I think I'm starting to get this." Aaron nodded, but was suddenly
called away to help lock one of the laser cannons down into its below-deck position. Jim's
excitement from his first launch on the Legacy had returned. As he stood on the deck watching
Aaron attempt to pry down a huge latch for the cannon, his thoughts drifted to Silver, and how
they were going to go about getting him out of prison. It was only a-
***
"-matter of time until his sentence is carried out," said one guard solemnly to the next that
was coming in to take his shift. Silver listened forlornly. His spirits had fallen considerably after
the trial a few days ago. The trial had hardly even been necessary; it was obvious that the jury had
already decided Silver's fate before he had even stepped into the courtroom.
"If on'y I had just kept *movin'*," he muttered to himself. One of the guards looked at
him sternly, but there was also a fair amount of pity on his face. That guard, Silver had taken a
liking to. Name was O'Malley and he hardly had a cruel bone in him, bless his heart. Unlike the
cook that had ratted Silver out a short while ago. . .
Silver had been up to his usual mopping after the other employees had left. All of the
employees except (of course) that blasted cook, who was adding some spices to a huge slab of
meat that he would be using as the special on the menu tomorrow. The stuff looked about a week
past its prime, but Silver wasn't about to make a comment after his small suggestion about
pepper had almost cost him his job. As Silver made his way around the kitchen with the mop,
humming to himself, he noticed the cook's newspaper lying on the counter near the bag
containing his change of clothing for when he left for the night. The headline horrified Silver.
'Inquiry About Perilous Pirate Silver Made At Constable HQ'. There was a small picture
of Silver, his golden mechanical eye flashing (though it was silver in the black-and-white print),
on the front page. Silver gaped in horror at it. He was about to dump the thing in the nearest
wastebin when suddenly the cook's voice came from behind him.
"Oh, yes, see that headline?" The cook walk past the mortified Silver and picked up the
paper in two of his tentacled hands as the third rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Apparently this
pirate, Silver, and two of his chums had been giving the constables quite the trouble! Then they
just seemed to disappear. Huh!" Silver couldn't believe that the news had reached this little
outskirt planet. The central planets of the empire were a few weeks' ride away from here, and the
only ships that ever came out seemed to be a few lonely groups of spacers looking for a place to
put up for the night or a solitary supply ship. Well, the supply ships obviously supplied the news,
as well as food. Silver's thoughts were broken as the cook continued. "This was quite the rough
lot, it seemed! They had a big arachnid fellow as the muscle, apparently. . . That whole species is
trouble, if you ask me!"
Silver chose to withhold the comment that he had not, in fact, asked the cook anything of
the sort. He simply nodded and added his, "Mm-hm"s to the conversation as they were needed.
He kept his face blank and turned away from the cook; he also made sure to keep his cybernetic
eye shut tightly. He only hoped that the cook wouldn't notice that-
"Now wait a minute!" said the cook suddenly. Silver winced at stood up a bit straighter,
still attempting to hide the obvious. "You two. . ." continued the cook, "Seem quite similar!" He
looked down at the paper and then back up at Silver, who was standing there doing his best to
keep his nervousness hidden. The cook continued. "In fact. . ."
Silver suddenly prepared to switch his arm into the flintock, should the need arise. If this
bloody nearfight was about to say what Silver thought he was. . .
"In fact. . . you could almost be *brothers*!" exclaimed the cook. Silver could have
laughed out loud with relief. So the idiot couldn't even piece it together with all the evidence
right in front of him!
However, Silver forgot about his cybernetic eye for just a moment. Long enough to open
it as he smiled in relief and replied to the cook, "Well, now, seein' as I ain't havin' any brothers
of me own. . ." He trailed off as the cook stared at his face curiously. He stared back down at the
picture and looked about to speak. Silver, however, was faster. "All done with the moppin' fer
t'night, sir! Look forward to seein' yer chipper face in the morn'!" He was out the door and
around the corner with his coat on in a matter of seconds. The cook had hardly had time to react.
*****
I'm suggesting my personal favorite TP fic as of late, 'Dark Corner of the Etherium', by
WeAsLeYkid8, because it is REALLY GOOD. It is funny and well-written and GOOD. It
deserves more reviews than it's getting! Please go read it! I'ma get down on mah knees and BEG
if I have to! That's how good it is! Over and out!