NEED

Chapter Eight

--

In another part of the Etherium, a raggedly-dressed, long-haired Andrew was standing at the helm of a small merchant ship. Holding something small in his hand, he would glance at it from time to time, smile, and look over the skies again, hoping to see some sort of clue, anything, that would lead him closer to his sister.

It was time to find her. It had been a few years since they'd lost contact and Sarah Hawkins, his 'grandma' had told him Micha had left Montressor to pursue Silver.

Andrew hadn't stumbled across the old cyborg, nor had he heard anything about Micha. But that small glimmer of hope that she was still alive hung in his heart heavily, and he wore that glimmer with pride.

---

Silver was getting restless. The last port had told him nothing about Micha, and had told him that only a gang of pirates and their old captain had stopped by to pick up supplies.

Stopping at the next planet, a small region a few light years east of the Coral Galaxy, Silver told his men to tie the boat down and go into town for a few nights.

"We cast off on Monday, men. Be back here or I'll be leavin' without ye."

The men had gladly run into town to burn off their restlessness. A few men had almost gone mad being held on the ship for so long and were finally happy to return to their sanity when their feet touched firm ground. Silver stayed in the port, seated on a crate at the foot of the stairwell that led back to his ship. His flesh arm was bent at the elbow, his hand providing a hold for his chin as he thought deeply. His mechanical arm was in its hand form and his fingers were clenching and unclenching into a fist. He was frustrated.

A young man a few feet in front of Silver noticed the cyborg's apparent frustration and headed his way.

"Can I help you, sir?" Silver looked up. The boy didn't seem to be asking for trouble. In fact, he was a clean-cut boy, probably one of the port's helpers for loading. Almost like a cabin-boy. This boy reminded Silver of Jim and a pang of heartache throbbed in his chest. He needed to find Micha. She was the last shred of Jim there was left in this Universe…

"Aye, lad. Ye can help me if ye've been around here in the last while." Silver didn't stand, lest he tower over the boy and become intimidating. Intimidation almost always got nothing out of a subject.

"Aye, sir, I've been here for a few months, helping out with loading the ships." An uneasy pause. "Why?"

"I need ye to tell me if ye've seen a ship with a girl on it go by in the last while."

"Sir, begging your pardon, but a lot of girls are on ships these days…"

"Aye, lad, but…here. Lemme show 'er to ye."
Silver produced a small photo of Micha from his coat pocket. Fingering the picture tenderly, a small smile framed Silver's face before he handed the photo to the boy. "Seen 'er?"

The boy studied the photo for a long while before frowning. "Haven't seen her before, no. If I do see her, should I tell her something?"

"Aye, lad. Tell her John Silver's looking for her. An' 'er name is Micha, ye hear?"
"Will do, sir."

"Thank ye, lad."

The boy went off to do some more work and Silver slumped back onto the crate. So much for the boy's help. The picture of Micha was getting a little bit tattered from Silver's constant musings over it. He often took the picture out. Just looking into her eyes brought his heart to happiness. The smile on her face took his cares away, even if only for a little while. He missed his Micha, and he wanted to find her. He needed to find her. It was his greatest need.

---

Micha snuck Adrian some food that night, late into the evening when the crewmen had settled into their hammocks. Adrian hadn't made any sudden moves on her, nor had he made any threats towards her or the captain's safety. She was surprised, but Adrian explained to her that he wasn't interested in harming anyone. "I just want to be sure that I can get out of here if necessary…I might just leave at the next port," he told her that night as she sat on a crate outside of his cell. He sat on another crate, eating his food, which consisted of stale bread and old ale right next to the door, as close to her as he could have gotten.

Micha frowned. "Why do you want to leave?" she asked. Adrian looked at her blankly, raised an eyebrow and looked around his cell. "Well, now that you mention it, this is rather cozy…"

Micha rolled her eyes and smirked. "Cute."

"Thank ye, Miss Pirate." Adrian set his plate down on the ground and leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. "So tell me a bit about yourself, Micha. Where are you from?"

Micha paused. Did she dare share a bit of her past with this…stranger? He'd killed a man, escaped from his prison…if he knew too much, she could be in danger. She decided to tread softly.

"Well, I was born and raised on Montressor…" Adrian nodded. He'd never heard of the place.

"So…I lived there for about seventeen years…my parents died and…well, I ran off to find my friend who'd left awhile earlier. So…basically, when my parents died, I had no one left on my home planet so I figured I should go find whoever I could."

Adrian nodded faintly. "Who are you looking for?"

"My…mentor." Her hesitation made him smile. "Older or just old enough?" Adrian asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He's old enough to be your grandfather, Townsend." Adrian nodded, his smile growing. He wanted to hide his blush.

Changing the subject, Adrian met Micha's eyes. "So, what do you tell Warrick when I break out of here? Or do we have to kill him?"

Her eyes grew wild. "You wouldn't." A smirk. He'd been joking.

"I wouldn't."

---

Warrick brought the ship into port and set the anchor. It was time to rest.

He whistled to his crew. "Land ho, lads! Get yourselves some rest now, y'hear?"

Micha looked up with a start. "We're here!" she cried. She stood from the crate and grinned. "Don't go anywhere, Townsend."

Adrian smirked from where he sat on his crate. As she left the room, he chuckled. "I'll wait right here."

Micha was happy to see some land, and finally, more people. Stepping onto the dock, she grinned and stretched. "Ah, this is bliss!" she cried. A young boy was bringing supplies and setting them at the foot of the steps to her ship. "G'day, ma'am."
"Indeed, boy, it sure is!"

The boy continued stocking when a strange expression crossed his face. "Say, miss, you look kind of familiar."

Micha frowned. This boy had to be…fourteen or fifteen. What was going through his head? Stare at a pirate? The boy grinned and nodded, but his look of concentration quickly returned. "Miss, if you don't mind me saying so…is your name Micha?" She froze. Who had he seen?

"Was it the cyborg?" she asked, all manner of joking leaving her immediately.

The boy paused. "Mechanical arm, large man…?"

Micha nodded stiffly, her eyes widening. "When…? When did you see him?"

"Two days ago, miss. Right here, in this spot! He was asking about you…had a picture of you in his pocket!" The boy was trembling. He really hoped she wasn't angry with him…

Micha's eyes flooded with tears, to his relief. "Did he say which way he was going…?" she asked, her voice cracking. One chance to find him…this was it.

"Aye, miss, he said he was taking his men to look for you up north. They ain't in a real quick ship, but if you want to catch them, you have to leave now."

All manner of sense had left Micha by this time. She hugged the boy. "Boy, you have no idea how wonderful you are." She raced up the steps and tore the door of the captain's quarters open.

"WARRICK!" she cried. The older man jumped, startled. "Aye, love? Something the matter?"

Her eyes were wild and she was panting. It was no doubt he was worried that something was wrong.

"We have to leave NOW," she said. "That stock boy told me Silver was here two days ago! He's going north, he asked that boy if he'd seen me! He gave me a description, it HAD to have been Silver, Warrick, we have to leave!"

"But me men, love, they're scattered over the planet!" Warrick was frowning. Micha frowned harder. "I don't care, Warrick. We have to leave now!" Her tone was demanding and her eyes were full of fire. Warrick didn't dare wait to see what was going to happen. He stepped out of his quarters and onto the deck.

"Prepare to cast off, men!" he called over the deck. Strange looks and questions were shot his way, but he raised his hand to ward them off. "No questions asked, lads! Get us up and going! Any man that isn't here is left behind!" Micha smiled. Now, to tell Warrick about Adrian…