NEED

Chapter Nine

He remembered watching her that night as her hair swung gently around her waist. Her eyes had been laughing at him, happily, excitedly. They'd just discovered they were expecting a child. Jim knew nothing about raising children, and was scared, whereas his wife had already given birth years earlier. The location of her first born was uncertain, but each day she hoped and prayed for his safe return. Jim Hawkins, faithful husband and father of one, adoptive father of another, was presumed dead by all who had known him. When his ship had exploded on impact by a meteor, he had feared the worst. Many went to his funeral. His wife and children were exempt, for, his wife had died as well. In the hospital with an incurable terminal disease, she had died while he was in space. Why had he gone? Why had he gotten on that boat?

Jim wrung his hands in anger, anguish gripping at his heart as usual. The same anguish gripped him each time he thought of her and how much he missed her. Her laugh, her touch…that same person who had brought him out of the mire. And she was dead. She'd died years ago. Now he needed to find his children. Andrew, his oldest and adopted child, was probably by now unruly and hard to control, far from home and living his own way.

Micha, Jim's own, was like her mother, stern and commanding, yet soft and caring. He feared the worst for her. Without Raven at her side, Micha must have been out, angrily vanquishing the foes within. Jim figured she was most likely a pirate, leading a band of brutish men.

Staggering on his makeshift wooden leg and leaning on a cane, Jim hobbled to the local pub where he was a regular customer. He went each night after a hard day of labor at the pipe factory to drown his sorrows under mugs of ale.

Helen, the bar maiden, greeted him with a smile. "Evenin', Mister Hawkins! Can I get you your usual?"

"As always, Helen." He sat at the bar, leaning his cane up next to him as he slouched on the stool. She put a large mug of the brew before him and he drank eagerly as she watched. As soon as the mug went down onto the counter, he'd get that same look in his eyes like he always did. He was thinking about something. There was something out there…in the universe…that he was after.

"Well, are ye gonna finally tell me what's up today, Mister Hawkins?" Helen asked, putting her hands on her hips.

Jim sighed. "I can't stay here much longer…but I have no will to go."

"Where do you want to go? And why?"

"It's the anniversary of her…our death tomorrow," Jim muttered, glancing at his wedding band. "And…I…don't know what I can do about it."

Helen took a moment and nodded her sympathies. Jim often drowned his deceased wife under glasses of ale, but never to the point of getting drunk. He was past that stage in his life by now.

"Well, stayin' here ain't gonna do ye any good."
"Where am I going to go?" he asked, meeting her eyes.

"Ye have children, don't ye?" she asked him, taking a rag from nearby to wipe the counter and look busy while her boss passed by.

"Yes…two. And I don't know where they are."
"Well, there's yer new purpose. Go find them. They think yer dead, don't they?"

Jim nodded. "There's no point going to find them if they already have it set that I'm dead. It's like saying their mother's alive too…they saw the articles…" Everyone had seen the articles. Jim's face had been all over the news. But when that cleanup crew had found him…barely breathing…

Glancing at his wooden leg, Jim smiled. It made him think of Silver, just walking every day with such a handicap.

Helen stopped wiping and leaned forward. "Mister Hawkins, ye gotta go find yer kids. It's yer last chance for happiness. Why do I say that? Because I see how ye stare blankly at the wall behind me. Ye need to go somewhere." She took his hands and turned them over to look at the scars on his palms. "Besides, that pipe factory is no good for your health." With a smile, she put his hands on the counter gently and winked. "Let me know how it all turns out."

Jim looked at his hands, his eyes returning to his wedding ring. It's what Raven would do…no doubt she'd be worried about their children. So why had he run? Why had he not gone home when he'd discovered he was still alive? He thought of his new look. He wasn't himself anymore. A freak. No one would want him…they'd call him a ghost, a demon of sorts. Who would accept what they'd come to know as dead?

Helen looked up one last time. "You'll never know until you go," she called. Jim nodded. She was right. He stood.

---

Micha entered the hold where Adrian was being held. She thought he was sleeping so she went into his cell and knelt next to him. "Adrian? Wake up," she said, poking him on the shoulder. He shook his head. "I'm not sleeping," he muttered, rubbing his eyes.

Smiling as he looked up, he met her eyes and she grinned. "We found someone who saw him," she whispered. "Silver. He was seen at this port recently…so we're going after them!"

Adrian grinned. "So…are you going to let me out any time soon?"

She shook her head. "Not until Warrick says it's okay."
"I think we need to get him out of this, Micha. He's…always in my way."

"Of what?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as she stood, placing her hands on her hips.

Adrian licked his lips nervously and grinned. "Nothing, he's just…He doesn't like me because he thinks I'm a murderer."
"But…you technically did kill Reiyll."
"Technically. That's the key word. I didn't kill him on purpose! It was self defense!"

Micha looked at the ground and frowned. "Still…" She moved her gaze to the bars behind him and eventually moved her stare to the ground. "We're…leaving soon. So…"

"Talk to Warrick about it. Please?" There was so much urgency in his voice, so much longing…why did he want to be free so badly? Perhaps the bars were beginning to drive him slowly mad.

She nodded faintly. "I'll…talk to him." He smiled. "Thank you."

She left the cell and locked it behind her, trying with all her might to hide the fact that violently, her hands were trembling.

----

Warrick slept soundly that night as the night crew swabbed the decks and Micha stood at the helm at watch. The old captain's gear was hung next to his bed, his hat tipped over his face as he slept. He slept so soundly he didn't hear the door creaking as it opened. He didn't even wake up until he felt the hands grabbing at his wrists and tying them behind his back. A gag was forced into his mouth and he could emit no sound save for muffled grunts. That would not earn Micha's attention.

He couldn't see who his captors were in the darkness, but he knew that they were intent on having him silent and bound. Leaving him on the floor on his side, Warrick was left without a way of escape as the men who'd bound him left the room as quickly as they'd come. Warrick knew, in fear, that they'd be back for him later. He only wished he could get Micha's attention.

---

Micha boarded the ship after asking around the docks of the newest port. Her heart was heavy, but the hope still remained. The townsfolk had seen nothing. No cyborg, no pirates, nothing.

She bit her lip and thought as the men cast off and they were again on their way.

A few hours into their journey to the next planet, Micha was tapped on the shoulder by a scrawny pirate. "'Scuse me, miss, but…we need to speak to ya," he said. She frowned and turned around, one hand on her hip. A few men were lined up in front of her. They tipped their hats. "Ma'am," said one, "We have no idea where we can find the Cap'n. He's disappeared…but he left you dis." The pirate held out a small sheet of paper.

"Micha, it read, Don't worry, because I've gone off to bigger and better things. I'm leaving you in charge of my ship. Take care of it…and I hope you find your friend.

Yours truly, Captain Warrick."

Micha frowned, narrowing her eyes at the men. "Where did you find this?" she asked. The pirate who had given it to her shrugged. "Was in his cabin, miss."
"Which you're not allowed to go in, am I right?"

"Miss, he wasn't answering when we knocked, we was worried!"

Micha licked her lips and thought. "Get out of here. I need to think about this."

She frowned as she thought. Where was Warrick? A better place? He hadn't killed himself…and this letter…was so out of character. What was going on? Micha snapped her fingers. Adrian. He'd know.

---

"Let's go." She opened the cell and Adrian stepped out, bewildered. "Finally, I can breathe some fresh air?" he asked. She nodded and led the way. "Go, you're free." He grinned and took her hands and kissed them. "Thank you so much, Micha! You're an angel, really."

Her face remained expressionless and as they came up from the hold, Adrian frowned. "What? What is it?"

"Warrick's missing." Adrian's eyes widened. "What? Missing? What do you mean?"

She showed him the letter. "Dunno. But…I'm taking control of this ship. Round up the men. I need to make an announcement."
As the men gathered that afternoon on the deck, Micha took, with a heavy heart, complete and full control of the R.L.S. Hangman. Their goal: find Silver.

----

On the last planet, Warrick lay against a garbage dump, cold and shivering. His stomach grumbled. Cursed pirates, he thought. Mutiny. He'd pay…if he ever found them.

----

That evening, Jim boarded a boat to Montressor. It was time to go home and see if his children remembered him.

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