CHAPTER 6
COMMAND, FRIENDSHIP AND
SPIDER PSYCHOS
I tugged down on my tunic as I gazed into the mirror in my room. I had to say, my uniform was actually more comfortable than I had thought it was going to be.
It was comprised of a Dark Blue tunic, similar to the Captains, in the form of the gold Lining of the collar and the gold shoulder pads and buttons, but it only went as far as my thigh. Underneath this I wore a white roll-neck Long sleeved shirt, almost exactly like the Captains, only made for a male figure. The tight trousers were a lighter colour than Amelia's also, a more dry dirt colour than her grey coloured ones. These were tucked neatly into a pair of Black, Knee high boots, made of leather. To complete the uniform was a three-pointed black hat with gold lining, which was now hanging on a hook by the door.
I sighed as I took a final glance around the my new home for the next six months. It was small, no larger than my old room I had at home.
In one corner was a small one man bed, along with a desk and chest of drawers on the opposite side. A small room off to the side led to the Shower room, as well as the necessary facilities.
I took another glance in the mirror, before finally grabbing my hat from the desk and heading out on deck.
Outside it was eerily quiet. A bit to quiet for my liking. There didn't seem to be anyone around.
"Maybe your earsssss, don't work sssso well."
I spun around, finding the reason why the deck was quite, and, not to my surprise, Jim was in the middle of it.
He was being held by the collar of his shirt, clearly having offended the crew member who was holding him above the deck.
The figure was spidery in looks. He appeared to have the back end of a spider, but he had the chest and arms of a man, clothed in only a open blue sleeveless jacket and cloth belt, he was totally black, save for his face, which was red and narrow, as well as the bottom half of his spider part.
His head was narrow and long a straggle of long grey hair peeping out from underneath his skull cap on his head, ending in a mouth full of pointy teeth.
His eyes were his most predominant features, for they were bright yellow, with two darker spots for pupils
"Yeah, too bad my nose works just fine," Jim gasped, his legs dangling a good two feet off the ground.
The spider, who I realised was a character named Scroop, narrowed his yellow eyes in rage.
"Why you impudent little..."
Suddenly he threw poor Jim against the main mast, the crew jeering and cat calling, and that for me was the final straw.
As fast as I could I ran up to the stairs that would lead to the main deck, only to find Silver at the scene first.
As soon as he saw the scene unfold, his large face went a pail colour. As quick as his large body would allow he quickly turned his artificial hand into a clamping utensil.
Then, just as Scroop was about to slit Jim's throat, he found his claw caught in the clamp.
I watched in amazement as the Spider glanced down at the arm, then to Silver in disbelief, as the Cyborg casually took a Purp from his pocket with his good hand, and began to examine it.
"Mr. Scroop?" he said casually, taking a bite out of the purple fruit, "have you ever seen what happens to a fresh Purp?...when you squeeze...real HARD!"
He suddenly pulled Scroop's arm back on itself, making the Spider yelp in pain, dropping Jim in the process, before clutching his arm to his chest.
I finally decided to take action.
"What the Hell is going on here?!" I yelled as I ran down the steps to the main deck.
Nobody looked at me, they all just gazed at Silver, who was throwing Mr. Scroop a dirty look.
"Go get yerself a mop Danny-boy, you should have been here an hour ago, helpin' Jimbo," the cook grunted, not taking his eyes off of Scroop.
My eyes narrowed at the Cyborg's back. As I approached him, some of the crew turned to throw me a look, only stare in disbelief at my uniform, before lowering their heads in respect.
"You know the rules Mr. Silver," I continued as I approached, "There will be no brawling on this ship. I suggest you head down to the galley to prepare dinner. The Captain likes to be prompt with things like that."
Silver's eyes widened in disbelief as I spoke to him in such a commanding manner, which, I might add, surprised myself.
"Now See Here Danny-boy!" he roared as he spun around to face me.
"THAT'S LIEUTENANT DEARING TO YOU MR. SILVER!!!"
Silver turned pale again as he heard Mr. Arrow's booming voice behind me. He then looked me up and down, realising I was wearing a uniform.
I gave him a smug sort of smile as I heard the familiar clumping sound of The First Officer coming down the stairs behind me.
"As of the moment the Captain promoted Mr. Dearing, he now has authority over you. From this moment on, you will refer to him either as Lieutenant, or Sir, are we clear?"
There was a few mutterings of "Yes sir," was muttered around the crew as Arrow walked up the line, eyeing each one in turn.
"Lieutenant Dearing is correct in his statement though. There will be no brawling on this ship. I would hasten to add, that any more offenders, shall be confined to the brig for the remainder of the voyage."
He suddenly caught Scroop rolling his eyes, and leaned towards the rigger menacingly.
"Am I clear...Mr. Scroop?"
The Spider seemed to think about saying something rude to the First Officer, but one glance at Silver and, for a reason unknown to me, he sighed and faced Arrow.
"Transparently," he muttered.
Seeming to be satisfied with the answer, Arrow pulled back, nodded at me, before clumping back to the Bridge, an angry stare from Scroop following him.
There was a silence after he had gone, everyone looking at each other in confusion. I decided to bring them back into reality.
"What are you all standing around here for?" I said, glaring at each of them in turn, "This isn't a Cruise ship, So get back to work!"
The crew looked at each other, then began to split up to their duties, each giving me a mutinous look before leaving.
"Well done Lieutenant Dearing, Sir!" I heard Silver perk up from behind me, "You know what they say: a tight ship's a happy ship...sir,"
I sighed to myself and turned to face this pestilent Cyborg, just in time to see him give me a mocking salute that I wasn't supposed to see.
"Oh, keep your clap-trap for someone who cares Silver," I sighed, putting a hand through my hair under my hat as I did so, "I know a suck-up when I see one."
Silver looked at me in with a hurt expression on his face.
I sighed, I had been up on deck in uniform for 3 seconds and already I had had to try and sort out a brawl and try and get rid of a cook who was quite frankly getting on my nerves.
I gave Silver a stern look, to which he gave me a sheepish grin with puppy dog eyes.
"To put it in words the captain might use: Save it for your Spaceport Floozies Silver." I smiled at him wickedly as the Cyborg looked at me in disbelief, before turning towards the Bridge, only to stop again when a thought popped into my mind.
"Oh, Jim?"
I noticed the young boy look up at me, a small smile on his own face.
"While I know you like to stand up for yourself, I would suggest you try to keep out of the way of Mr. Scroop for a while if I was you."
The cocky smile returned to the Cabin boys face, before he saluted, "Aye Lieutenant,"
I smiled back and gave him a wink over my shoulder, before turning back to the stairway. Hearing Silver Rant on about giving Jim a Job as I left.
Two hours later, Amelia sat at the head of the table of the Captains dining room, eating what she presumed to be food.
On her left sat Mr. Arrow, while on her right sat
Dr. Doppler, who was just mindlessly prodding the stew, from what Arrow had told her, he had met before.
Finally, Doppler sighed and pushed his bowl away.
"If you don't mind Captain, I'd like to turn in early tonight."
Amelia smiled as best as she could and gestured to the door.
"Oh no Doctor please, we won't stop you." she said calmly.
The Doctor hesitated, before finally standing up and heading for the Door, saying only a brief goodnight to the Captain and First Officer before he left.
Arrow sighed as he watched the Doctor leave, "I don't think I'll ever understand that man,"
"No," Amelia agreed, not actually listening to Mr. Arrow, actually thinking about something else.
Arrow noticed this, and kept wondering why she kept glancing above them, towards the bridge.
Suddenly he realised what it was she was thinking, and decided to bring it casually into the conversation.
"I saw Lieutenant Dearing deal with a brawl today," he said mildly, deciding to ignore the fact the Captain's ears had defiantly perked up at the sound of Dearing's name.
"Oh, really?" The Captain coughed slightly, as a piece of Bonzabeast stew slid down her throat, "how did he do?"
"He did rather well, if I may be so bold." Arrow smiled as he remembered hearing Dearing's last remark after he had left, "although the crew weren't expecting him to be in Uniform, so I thought I'd give him a bit of a boost."
"I see," she finally withdrew her gaze from the stew and focused on her old friend, "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were developing a soft spot for the young man,"
Arrow merely raised an eyebrow, a small smile on his rocky lips.
"I could say the same thing about him towards you, Captain."
Her eyes widened, and she turned her face to hide the blush that crept onto her cheeks.
"I thought as much,"
Finally, Amelia pushed away her half eaten dinner, before standing up straight.
"That, was out of line Arrow," she said with a small smirk, as if trying to gloss over the whole event.
The rocky man shrugged, "Just pointing out the obvious Ma'am. It's obvious you like the man. He has no expertise with a ship such as the Legacy, yet he's up on the Bridge, hands behind his back, looking like he's done it for years."
Arrow watched as his Captain looked away from him before continuing, "He seems a nice enough fellow. As gentlemanly as you can get with a wit to match your own when he wants too. Seems like a fair match to me."
Amelia glared at her First Officer with narrow eyes as he sat there, a big smirk evident on his face.
She sighed in defeat, she didn't want to have this conversation, and began to walk toward the door.
"Captain," Arrow's voice echoed over to her as she laid her hands on the door lock, "Give the man a chance. I know you've only just met him, but you obviously trust him enough to give him the temporary rank of lieutenant, surly that's an incentive to get to know the man a little better?"
Amelia didn't move from her spot. She knew he was right. The man was a gentleman, through and through. It couldn't hurt to get to know him, a little better...could it?
"Be aware that the Lieutenant has no one out here that he knows, save for Mr. Hawkins and Dr. Doppler, but their only people he just met, Nether does he have anyone waiting for him when he gets back. Perhaps...you could help him though this time?"
Amelia's shoulders slumped at the last comment.
"I will think about it," she said quietly, before opening the door and heading up to the bridge.
She gazed up at the dimly lit bridge, no one but Mr. Turnbuckle and...him...standing there,
She gazed at the young lieutenant as he watched over the Etherium, hands clasped behind his back, looking as though he belonged there, just as Arrow had said.
She smiled to herself as she watched, a slight breeze brushing over his hair not covered by his hat.
She began to muse over Arrows words. Perhaps...she could...teach him...a few things to help him through the voyage. Yes, that's an idea. In no time at all she suddenly found herself at the Bridge, which surprised her somewhat.
She gazed at the Lieutenant for a moment, his back to her, before she finally cleared her throat, letting him know she was there.
"Good evening Lieutenant,"
I turned slightly at the sound of the Captains voice behind me, before smiling at the Feline commander.
"Good evening Ma'am,"
She nodded and stood beside me, not daring to look me at me directly.
"Everything ship-shape up here?"
I nodded silently before turning back to the Etherium.
"Good, Jolly good. Mr. Arrow informed me of your little endeavour with the crew today, good job."
I tilted my head towards her in respect, "Thank you Ma'am."
I swore I saw her give a small smile, but as quickly as it had come, it was gone.
We stood there for a few moments, the only sound was the groaning of the shrouds and the flapping of sails.
Finally Amelia turned to me, a side-ways smile on her face.
"If I'm not mistaken, shouldn't you be having dinner right now?"
I chuckled slightly, "I think I've had enough trouble with Bonzabeast stew Ma'am. No, I think I'll go and check up on Jim...err, Mr. Hawkins. Just to make sure he's ok."
As I gazed out over the ship, I noticed that the Captain's ears seemed to drop slightly, "Unless...that is, you want me to stay on the Bridge?"
"Oh, no. I won't stop you seeing Mr. Hawkins. Carry on, Lieutenant, I'll see you in the morning: 0730, with my coffee."
I nodded and touched the brim of my hat, "Aye Captain."
I had a feeling Jim might be on the front deck, so I headed for the stairs. As I left, I could feel the Captain's gaze on my back.
As I had thought, I found Jim on the front deck near the bow of the ship, mopping away hard, a little miniature of a mop, which could only be Morph, doing the same thing around his feet. I smiled at the scene as morph seemed to see me, before changing back to his original shape, hiccupping out a few bubbles as he did so, causing a smile to creep onto Jim's face as well, before he began to orbit my head.
"Well, this had been a fun day for you, eh Jim?" I asked innocently as I approached the cabin boy, who threw me an evil look, "Making new friends...like that Spider Psycho!"
Jim tried to stifle a laugh as Morph changed into a smaller version of Scroop, emitting the last two words I said on that squeaky voice of his.
"I little uglier," Jim said to the blob.
'Scroop' looked thoughtful for a moment, before enlarging his head slightly, and emitting a high pitched, evil laugh.
"Pretty good likeness," I said with a smile.
Jim returned the smile, "Pretty close anyway."
We laughed together as Morph shrugged. My laughter however, was cut short by Mr. Silver's large voice behind me.
"Well...Thank goodness for little miracles," he proclaimed loudly as he proceeded to tip the remnants of the stew over the side, "been up here for two hours and the Decks still in one piece,"
He noticed me and nodded respectfully, to which I returned curtly.
Jim stopped mopping for a moment, before finally deciding to say something to the Cyborg.
"Um, look, I...what you did," he paused for a moment as if to think about what to say, before sighing and giving the most simple of answers, "Thanks,"
Silver sighed and glanced at me and Morph, to which we glanced at each other.
Finally Silver sighed and laid the bowl against the side of the ship.
"Didn't your pap ever teach you to pick your fights a bit more carefully?"
Jim shot him a look, before going back to his mop.
"Your father not the teachin' sort?"
Jim sighed and turned his back on us, "No, he was more of a taking-off-and-never-coming-back sort."
"What about you Lieutenant?"
I glanced at him angrily, before answering, "mine was the Running-off-with-another-woman...sort."
"Ahh," Silver sighed and walked up to the railing, before leaning on it heavily, "Sorry lads,"
"Hey, it's no big deal, I'm doing just fine," Jim muttered leaning the mop on the railing.
"Ditto," I added.
"Is that so?" Silver rubbed his grey 3-day stubble chin in thought, before an evil look crossed his features.
"Well, Jimbo," he began, ignoring me, "Seeing the Captain has put you in my charge, like it or not I'm going to be pounding a few skills into that thick head of yours!"
Jim looked at up from his thoughts, "Wh, What?"
"From now on I'm not gonna let you outta me sights!"
"You can't do that!" Jim yelled as Silver continued.
"You won't so much as eat, sleep, or scratch your bum, with out my say so!"
"Don't do him any favours," I muttered, a small smile gracing my features.
Silver looked at me, a twinkle in his normal eye.
"Oh, you can be sure of that, Lieutenant," he said with a smile, as Jim looked at him mutinously, "You can be sure of that!"