Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Treasure Planet (Jim,
Sarah, Leland, Doppler, Amelia, B.E.N., Silver, Morph, etc.). All alien
species names have come from
.
Authors Note: I got to thinking after I saw the movie what would happen if Jim got married after he graduated from the Interstellar Academy. What would his wife and children be like? No other story I've read (I haven't read them all, mind you) talks about Jim's children. This story focuses mostly on his son and daughter from his wife's perspective. Reviews are appreciated.
A Navigator's Story
I was raised to be a navigator. My mother and father were both navigators and taught me everything I know. When I was three, my parents let me observe their instruments (the sextant, of course, was my favorite). The fact that they were shiny and new didn't fascinate me. It was how they were used. I begged my parents if they would teach me to be like them. Each time, Momma and Daddy always said, "Of course, sweetie."
I was born on the mining planet of Montressor in the little town of Kingston. I went to elementary school there and enjoyed everything except for the fact that the "in crowd" always mocked me: a Terran (human) named Bridget, another Terran named Clair, and a Creeothrodean (a blue skinned species with tentacle-like extensions coming from the head) named Anna. I never kept up with the fashions of the day, and that was the source of the mockery. I was relatively short for my age, my hair was light brown like my eyes, my clothes were pretty plain, and my eyebrows were heavier than most girls' were.
I sometimes asked Momma if I was ugly. Every time she would say, "Laura Andromeda Williamson! You have a delicate beauty they only wish they had. Besides, think of your intelligence level compared to theirs."
You know mothers. They're supposed to say that. Fortunately, I didn't worry much more about my looks and focused on navigation studies. I was being trained by the best. My father was the famous Philip Williamson, and my mother was the notable Rebecca Morris Williamson. They were navigators who seemed to never make mistakes. They had connections with famous spacers that everyone in the Etherium knew or at least heard of. They loved me and did everything in there power to make sure I had a happy life.
Being a navigator in training, I went with my mother or father on voyages to practice my skills from the time I was six. My father and I boarded the RLS Splendor to navigate the merchant vessel. On it, I met an affable old rouge of a galley cook, John Silver. He was a cyborg. I had never seen one before and was both fascinated and a bit intimidated by the machinery on his body. Daddy knew him from previous voyages. Silver was nice enough to me and always made me laugh a little when I saw him.
One night, I was helping Daddy observe our position using the stars when Silver came over and asked if my father would take a break. Although Daddy was a diligent worker, he figured it would not be a bad idea. He agreed and told me to get to bed. Before I went, I watched Daddy and Silver walk down into the galley. When I reached the navigator's quarters at the stern of the ship, I remembered I had forgotten a compass back near the galley. As I ran back to get it, I saw the horror of all horrors. Silver had just shoved my unconscious father over the side of the ship. I rushed to Silver to try to stop him, but it was too late. Silver pushed me firmly against a wooden wall and told me that if I uttered a word about this to anyone, he would kill my mother and me. I was scared out of my mind not only by this threat but also by the flintlock his cyborg arm had become. I could do nothing but whimper. When he let me go, I ran to the navigator's quarters. I should have run to the captain but was too afraid of Silver's menacing threat. I swear that I did not sleep at all that night. I tossed and turned in my hammock with my pillow soaking wet in salty tears. I was scared. What would Momma say? What would we do?
The captain held a brief memorial service for my father on the deck the next morning. I stood out there with my little legs like gel. Apparently, Silver had told them that my father had tried to fix a loose knot somewhere on the bowsprit and slipped off. What a liar! I would never forgive him! I'd never be the same...
When I got home, my Momma was waiting for me at the Splendor's docking area at Crescentia. I ran to her welcoming arms and didn't say a word. The captain broke the news to her. She sank to her knees and hugged me. We knelt there crying for an eternity. The word of Daddy's death spread like wildfire. Whenever anyone saw Momma or me, they gave us their "greatest sympathies." Sympathies. Sure.
Over the next few years, we slowly got back on our feet. Momma finished up my navigation training, and I navigated a ship on my own when I was ten. My parents had planned on sending me to the Interstellar Academy when I was seventeen, and I looked forward to it immensely. I still never told anyone about Silver's horrid deed and never planned on doing it. I didn't know why he did it and didn't care. All I could ask was "Why..."
Authors Note: I got to thinking after I saw the movie what would happen if Jim got married after he graduated from the Interstellar Academy. What would his wife and children be like? No other story I've read (I haven't read them all, mind you) talks about Jim's children. This story focuses mostly on his son and daughter from his wife's perspective. Reviews are appreciated.
A Navigator's Story
I was raised to be a navigator. My mother and father were both navigators and taught me everything I know. When I was three, my parents let me observe their instruments (the sextant, of course, was my favorite). The fact that they were shiny and new didn't fascinate me. It was how they were used. I begged my parents if they would teach me to be like them. Each time, Momma and Daddy always said, "Of course, sweetie."
I was born on the mining planet of Montressor in the little town of Kingston. I went to elementary school there and enjoyed everything except for the fact that the "in crowd" always mocked me: a Terran (human) named Bridget, another Terran named Clair, and a Creeothrodean (a blue skinned species with tentacle-like extensions coming from the head) named Anna. I never kept up with the fashions of the day, and that was the source of the mockery. I was relatively short for my age, my hair was light brown like my eyes, my clothes were pretty plain, and my eyebrows were heavier than most girls' were.
I sometimes asked Momma if I was ugly. Every time she would say, "Laura Andromeda Williamson! You have a delicate beauty they only wish they had. Besides, think of your intelligence level compared to theirs."
You know mothers. They're supposed to say that. Fortunately, I didn't worry much more about my looks and focused on navigation studies. I was being trained by the best. My father was the famous Philip Williamson, and my mother was the notable Rebecca Morris Williamson. They were navigators who seemed to never make mistakes. They had connections with famous spacers that everyone in the Etherium knew or at least heard of. They loved me and did everything in there power to make sure I had a happy life.
Being a navigator in training, I went with my mother or father on voyages to practice my skills from the time I was six. My father and I boarded the RLS Splendor to navigate the merchant vessel. On it, I met an affable old rouge of a galley cook, John Silver. He was a cyborg. I had never seen one before and was both fascinated and a bit intimidated by the machinery on his body. Daddy knew him from previous voyages. Silver was nice enough to me and always made me laugh a little when I saw him.
One night, I was helping Daddy observe our position using the stars when Silver came over and asked if my father would take a break. Although Daddy was a diligent worker, he figured it would not be a bad idea. He agreed and told me to get to bed. Before I went, I watched Daddy and Silver walk down into the galley. When I reached the navigator's quarters at the stern of the ship, I remembered I had forgotten a compass back near the galley. As I ran back to get it, I saw the horror of all horrors. Silver had just shoved my unconscious father over the side of the ship. I rushed to Silver to try to stop him, but it was too late. Silver pushed me firmly against a wooden wall and told me that if I uttered a word about this to anyone, he would kill my mother and me. I was scared out of my mind not only by this threat but also by the flintlock his cyborg arm had become. I could do nothing but whimper. When he let me go, I ran to the navigator's quarters. I should have run to the captain but was too afraid of Silver's menacing threat. I swear that I did not sleep at all that night. I tossed and turned in my hammock with my pillow soaking wet in salty tears. I was scared. What would Momma say? What would we do?
The captain held a brief memorial service for my father on the deck the next morning. I stood out there with my little legs like gel. Apparently, Silver had told them that my father had tried to fix a loose knot somewhere on the bowsprit and slipped off. What a liar! I would never forgive him! I'd never be the same...
When I got home, my Momma was waiting for me at the Splendor's docking area at Crescentia. I ran to her welcoming arms and didn't say a word. The captain broke the news to her. She sank to her knees and hugged me. We knelt there crying for an eternity. The word of Daddy's death spread like wildfire. Whenever anyone saw Momma or me, they gave us their "greatest sympathies." Sympathies. Sure.
Over the next few years, we slowly got back on our feet. Momma finished up my navigation training, and I navigated a ship on my own when I was ten. My parents had planned on sending me to the Interstellar Academy when I was seventeen, and I looked forward to it immensely. I still never told anyone about Silver's horrid deed and never planned on doing it. I didn't know why he did it and didn't care. All I could ask was "Why..."