Jim's Folly

Eee! Mia, my darling girl you had a wonderful date, I read! ^_^ Keep me posted, hey? ;)

Angel, darling. You know I'll always take your suggestions...considering that was already in my plans. Yes, readers, Angel, the awesome, mind-reading reader, said in her review something along the lines of "Oh, is Andrew going to get kidnapped?!" unknowing that I already had that in my plans. Way cool. J

Chapter 25

She was right. Jim wasn't going to let her fall. He did his best to ensure that she was secure, involving only one of his arms on the safety bar, the other around her.

She was holding on tightly, but her stance suggested she knew how to ride on of these things. He also figured she probably wasn't giving her all because she was wearing a skirt.

They caught up with the robocops and by the end of the day, they'd found nothing. Setting heavy security at the docks and anywhere someone could leave from, Raven waited impatiently all day for a phone call alerting her that her son had been found.

To her sadness, no such call came and she returned home that night to an empty house. Not even the cats came to greet her and she found herself lying in Andrew's tiny bed that night, holding his stuffed animals, blankets, and anything that smelled like him close to her.

She wasn't crying; she'd cried enough. She was past her tears.

Sighing and looking at the dark ceiling, she thought of what else had happened that day. Towards the end of the day, before school's release, Jim had been notified that he was wanted for an interview on a nearby planet for a possible captaining position. That had lightened the two's day up somewhat.

Jim left the following morning, stopping at Raven's apartment quickly before his departure. He hugged her close to him, reassuring her. "We'll find him, okay? Take care of yourself while I'm gone." His eyes spoke worlds of care into her heart and she knew he would return to take care of her.

She was sick of caring for herself. It was time to stop being strong.

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Two years had passed.

Raven had become hard, cold and almost unfeeling. Her favorite students had long since graduated, and Jim was now a captain on a ship that sailed on journeys from Aventasia, a planet close to Montressor.

Raven talked to him once every two months, but each phone call was hours long.

Sometimes they wouldn't talk but sit and listen to each other breathe.

His absence took her life from her. She was miniscule, lifeless, unapproachable.

Her students were afraid of her, and she liked it that way. Her cats had long-since died, she rarely cleaned the house anymore, but she kept herself presentable. Her hair was still long, but she'd been thinking about cutting it off for something different.

Perhaps she'd surprise Jim one day and chop all her hair off.

As she sat in her office that afternoon, staring out the window lifelessly with her arms crossed over her chest, she occasionally glanced at her photos of Andrew and smiled faintly.

"I wonder where you are, my boy…" she whispered. He had to be ten years old by now. He must also be getting handsome, she realized.

The thought made her chuckle and she continued to stare at the city as it closed down for the night. The large star that gave their planet light was beginning to start its revolution on the other side of the small planet, but it was getting darker nonetheless.

She never heard from Amy anymore. Amy had become a First Officer for some planet's captain in the Coral Galaxy.

Raven hoped she was doing well and thought of her from time to time.

Standing alone in her office, she wondered what life would be like had the Admiral not been killed and her son not kidnapped. Where would she be? Where would Jim be? Where would she and Jim be?

She shook her head. She didn't want to think about it.

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Jim, now twenty-two years of age, was standing at the top of the mast, overlooking the vast skies before him. He loved his job. Decked out in captain's garb, he felt high in authority, though his shipmates knew he felt just like one of them.

His crew loved working for him because he made them all feel like equals, even to himself.

Jim never shorted himself of his share of the work and was always ready to lend a helping hand when he wasn't hollering orders at his crew.

He kept a small picture of Raven in his front pocket. He wished he had one of Andrew, but she'd not parted with her pictures, which was understandable.

Thinking about her often made him smile. There were a few girls his age on the ship that obviously were interested in him but he never made it more than a professional relationship. They didn't catch his fancy.

Sighing that evening on the mast, he noticed that there was a small ship approaching theirs. Frowning, he wondered what a tiny merchant ship such as that was doing.

Sliding down the pole, he alerted a few of the men to be on the lookout. The ship wasn't suspicious, but they did have to be careful. They'd not run into pirates for a year and a half now.

It was late before the ship and Jim's ship met.

Jim called to the ship's captain, "Friend or foe?"

"Depends who's side yer on!" replied the captain.

Jim frowned. "What is your business on this side of the galaxy?" he asked.

The captain, a large man in casual clothing, shrugged. Jim couldn't see him fully: he was standing with his back semi-towards Jim. He didn't want to be seen. "We're just passin' through, that's all!"

Jim's frown grew deeper. That man…

"What's your name, Captain?"

"You tell me yours first, lad, and then I'll give ye mine!"

Jim gritted his teeth. That voice was so familiar…

Jim stepped on to the side of his ship and leaped to the other ship, approaching the captain. The captain had his back to Jim, but that didn't stop Jim from stopping in his tracks.

As the captain turned to face Jim, Jim felt his eyes starting to sting. It had to be…but it couldn't…could it?

The large body was almost a give-away but still… The fat body grabbed Jim's attention second to the large, mechanical arm, leg and right side of the captain's face…

"Silver…?" he whispered, tears brimming in his eyes.

The cyborg chuckled. "Jimbo! How good it is to see ya, lad!"

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