NEED

Chapter Two

The sky was still dark when Micha woke up that morning. She knew it wouldn't be an easy day, but she had to try to remain positive about it. Despite the fact that she knew she could hold her own against any of these pirate men except maybe the Captain himself, she couldn't help but wonder if she was really safe on this ship.

She saw some of the eyes the pirates were giving her, and she couldn't blame them. She was the only young, reasonably attractive person, heck, woman, on board with a beating heart and warm skin. She wondered what any of them would give for a chance at her. She didn't care to know in the end, but curiosity had always been one of her strong points.

As she stood at the helm, Captain Warrick joined her. "Y'miss your family, kid?"

"I don't have any," she muttered. "Parents died when I was younger."

"What took you so long to run away?" he asked, looking at her sideways.

"I didn't have a plan," she replied after a moment of thoughtful silence. "Finding Silver seems to be the only thing that makes sense."
"Well, I have to say that if you're going to be a pirate like us- at least until we find yer friend, yer definitely going to have to be like us."

"I can fight like you," she said, glancing at the captain with a frown.

He nodded. "Oh, I don't doubt that, missy. But you can't be all high an' mighty no more. It isn't what we're like. We're not to treat ye any different because yer of a different gender."

"I understand that, sir. Go ahead and treat me like a normal member of your crew."

Captain Warrick was unsure how to answer that. "You'll have to be fending for yerself when it comes to the men. It's…been awhile since-"

"They've had fresh meat, yeah, I figured as much." She smirked. "I can take care of myself," she added. The captain nodded faintly. "I hope so, miss."

"You got kids or something?" she asked, changing the subject. The pain that flickered past his eyes for a moment confirmed any lie he was about to deliver, if he was going to.

"A daughter…probably yer age by now, I imagine. Doesn't even know she has a pirate for a daddy," he said quietly, his voice far away.

Micha sighed. "Does she know you exist?"

"Yeah, I saw her a bunch when she was a mite of a kid, but…"

"Things change," Micha said, colder than she'd intended. Of course things changed. Things weren't solid forever. She had to have known that her mother and father weren't going to be around for the rest of her life…she just wasn't prepared to have them taken from her so early in her life. For goodness' sake, she wasn't even twenty years old and she was an orphan already!

The two were silent for a very long time.

Captain Warrick broke the silence nearly ten minutes later. "Tell me about Silver. I've heard stories about him…but I want to hear about him from you."

Micha smiled fondly, her eyes sparkling with warmth. "He's like a grandpa to me, actually. He's a cyborg, like you may know. His right leg and arm are both cybernetic, and he has a laser in place of an eye. It's quite a sight to get used to, actually. But…he's been around, or …was around, from when I was born, so I was used to him right away."
"How? He's a pirate, wouldn't he have been on the run for quite a time?"

"Yes, but he took some time to stay with me on Montressor," she said quietly. "Me and my family…"

"He knew yer family?"

"Jim Hawkins was my father," she said. Warrick frowned. "James Hawkins, the boy who found Treasure Planet?"

"Aye, Captain," she replied, little emotion in her voice.

"I'll be Davey Jones," Warrick breathed. "The kin of James himself. I'm honored!" He was bewildered for a moment. "Where should we start looking for Silver, lass? I'm more intrigued as time ticks by."

Micha glanced at him and sighed. "Start at Kinapis."

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