CHAPTER 8

FRIENDS LOST,

FRIENDSHIPS STRENGTHENED

Over the next month, I took lessons from the Captain on how to fire pistols. Eventually I got rather good at it, to the point I could accurately aim and fire two pistols at the same time. After about a month in space, we moved on to Hand-to-hand combat, and then, as we entered the third month, I was taught how to fence. As well as this, Mr. Arrow also helped me with nautical expertise when I wasn't assisting the Captain, or being taught by her, and when he had the time to do so. By the third month, I was able to ably sail the Legacy quite well, as well as know how to furl and unfurl the Solar sails, and as well as how the engines worked, and how to secure a lifeboat when not in use, as well as a whole list of other things I could mention, but would take up to much time.

Jim meanwhile was learning new skills every day from Silver, who had been true to his word.

I had seen him do such things as washing the deck by hand, to flying the Longboats, a skill, I had to admit, was intriguing. His attitude towards Silver had changed also, from distrustful to a friend. I had to admit, I trusted the Cyborg a little more than I had when I first met him, though there was still something about him that I couldn't shake off, something, that didn't feel right.

I thought this blissful little world I lived in could go on forever, but, as they say, good things don't always last.

It was about a week before we found Treasure Island. Jim and Mr. Silver had taken out one of the Longboats to go and investigate a comet that was seen nearby. I myself was on my way to visit the Captain, she had requested my presence to help her with the map.

I gazed out as the Skiff shot out into the darkness of the Etherium, hoping that they would be safe.

Sighing to myself I made the afternoon coffee for the Captain, before heading up to the Stateroom.

I found her standing behind her chair, her Coat hung over the back of it, her back facing me. On the table in front of me was a Rapier, or to be more precise, my Rapier.

"Lieutenant," she acknowledged, "Please put the coffee down on the table,"

Fearing what might by coming next, I gently set the coffee down in front of the chair, as I always did.

"Now then," I noticed her hand was resting on her own Rapier at her side. It was in that split second I realised what was going to happen.

"En guard!" with a sudden cry, she suddenly whipped around, un-sheathing her weapon as she did so.

In the same second, my hand shot towards my rapier I was borrowing from the Captain, and swung it up to meet hers, resulting in a clash of metal.

She smiled wickedly at me, "Very good Lieutenant,"

I returned the smile, "Learnt from the best Ma'am,"

I pushed off her blade, and a resulting clash was met as we exchanged blows.

"I see," Amelia commented as we paused briefly, "Remind me to find this exceptional fellow so I can meet him or her."

Suddenly she lunged at me, followed by the sound of steel on steel as he continuous blow after blow as she slowly backed me against the wall.

"Tsk, Tsk Mr. Dearing, that was far to easy! I was expecting more of a challenge from you!"

She now had me fully backed up against the wall, our swords crossed, her face a hands breadth away.

"Do you surrender Lieutenant?" she asked innocently, a glint in her Emerald eyes.

I smiled evilly at her. "In your dreams...Ma'am!"

In one swift move I forced her blade off my own, before releasing my own attack on her, catching her completely off guard and forcing her into retreat.

Suddenly I made my final lunge at her, intending to finish this duel once and for all.

In order to dodge this attack, the Captain was forced to take a step back. Unfortunately, in her haste to get away from my blade, she suddenly tripped over her own feet.

Out of instinct I quickly dropped my Rapier and rushed to catch her. I just got to her before she hit the floor, barely.

The Captain appeared stunned at the sudden stop. She had expected to hit the floor, not be caught in my arms.

I myself was a little stunned. She regarded me with surprise.

It took me a minute to realise just how close we actually were. The only part of her I could see clearly was her eyes.

Being this close to her, I could now see her eyes weren't just Emerald green, but had small flecks of lighter and darker greens mixed in, her eyes were...deep. Very deep.

Suddenly my eyes widened as I realised what I was thinking.

Quickly I closed my eyes and turned away, the heat prickling up in my cheeks.

"Why Lieutenant," I heard the Captain say, the amusement evident in her voice, "I do believe your blushing!"

"Well...with all due respect Ma'am, I don't exactly hold...um," I paused, unsure of what to say that would get me thrown off the ship, "B...beautiful women in my arms on a daily basis..."

I suddenly clamped my mouth shut as I realised what I had just said.

I closed my eyes and braced myself for the strong reprimand that I was bound to about to get.

Instead what I heard was the sound of giggling.

"You seem embarrassed Lieutenant, tell me, why are you embarrassed? Here you are, a 'beautiful' woman in your arms, and your all shy!"

Is she had been anybody else I would have dropped her there and then. However, she was the Captain, and I was being played by her wit. So I sighed, and brought her to her feet again, if anything to stop myself from feeling embarrassed.

"You do realise that if I hadn't caught you would have fallen on your butt...Ma'am." I said mildly as I tried to detach my hands from around her waist.

She said nothing, just gazed into my dark eyes, not letting me remove my arms.

"Oh, I don't think you would let me fall Lieutenant," she said mildly, the twinkle in her eye making me realise she was playing with my feelings, "Your far to gentlemanly for that!"

I was about to answer when suddenly the ship rocked violently and a bright white light suddenly poured through the back windows.

Amelia suddenly returned to her Captain stance and ran to the window, with me in pursuit.

Out side the window, we could see what appeared to be a mushroom cloud blasting out in two directions.

"My God," I whispered.

"I have to get to the Bridge," Amelia muttered as she grabbed her Coat and headed towards the Stateroom door, with me following behind her, my hat left forgotten on the table.

"Good heavens," I heard the Doctor from above as the Captain and myself got up on deck, "The Star Pelusa.

IT'S GONE...SUPERNOVA!!!"

"EVASIVE ACTION MR. TURNBUCKLE!!!" the Captain cried as she ran up the stairs to the bridge, the shockwaves of the original blast coming up fast.

"Aye Captain!" the Helmsmen cried as he spun the wheel to the right in order to try and evade the upcoming waves.

I knew what to do, Mr. Arrow had told me what to do in a storm.

"ALL HANDS, FASTEN YOUR LIFELINES!" I bellowed as I followed the Captain onto the bridge.

From there I watched as the crew made their ways to the main masts, grabbing a rope coiled there and tying it around their waists, making sure the line was securely tied to the mast. I was glad to see Jim and Silver were among the crew, I would hate to see what would happen to a Longboat in the shock wave of an exploding star.

I turned in horror as I saw the first shockwave loom behind us, obscuring everything in a wall of bright orange light.

I watched as it came closer, before it overtook the ship, encasing her on a fiery cocoon, debris smashing into the ship as it did so. Even up on the bridge, I swore I could hear the windows of the Stateroom shatter.

Most of the Crew were still fastening their lifelines, save for the Captain, Mr. Turnbuckle and myself, who were on the Bridge.

"Gunners, Man your Stations, keep as much Debris as you can from hitting us!" I shouted over the deafening noise of the pieces of star stuff screaming overhead.

A few of the crew nodded at me, and ran to the Laser Cannons on the starboard side of the ship.

I looked up as I heard the sound of tearing material as small chunks of Pelusa the size of my fist shot through the Solar Sails.

"MR. ARROW!" I called to my friend, "SECURE THOSE SAILS IF YOU WILL!"

Arrow looked like he was going to tell me not to order him about then changed his mind, instead giving me a nod and bellowing over to the crew.

"SECURE ALL SAILS! REEF THEM DOWN MEN!"

Now another half of the crew began to scale the rigging and bringing down the sails. I watched for a moment as Jim and Silver ran to the bowsprit of the ship to secure the jib, but then something caught my eye, a rather large something. A chunk of Star stuff, bigger than our own moon, hurtling towards us at an incredible rate!

"Um, Captain," I warned, "I think we have a problem,"
She looked where I was pointing and her expression became stony and hard.

"Oh, Blast it all!" she cursed as I joined her on the starboard side of the Bridge.

"There's no way we can out run it," I thought aloud desperately.

"I know," the Captain sighed in defeat as the Gunners tried and failed to blast the large chunk to smaller pieces, "I guess we won't find Treasure Planet after all."

She turned to me and held out her hand. "It was an honour to serve with you Lieutenant."

I was about to convey the honour back to her, when I looked back at the molten hunk of star coming towards us, it's surface bubbling and steaming threateningly. At the last moment, when it was what felt like metres away, the heat radiating off it, it slowly rolled, before going back the way it had come.

I glanced at the Captain, who looked back, the fear not evident on her face, but the thought of what had caused the Star stuff to make a hasty retreat evident on her features.

I looked out grimly as the molten ball began to pick up it's retreat, thus stopping it from obscuring our entire line of sight.

As Doppler joined us on the Starboard Balcony I heard Onus, the Ships lookout, cried out: "Captain! The STAR!!!"

Amelia and I exchanged dark glances as the Doctor gasped out what we were all thinking.

"It's Devolving into a..." his voice suddenly caught in his throat, "A Black Hole!"

"We're Being Pulled In!" Turnbuckle screamed as the pull of the Wheel suddenly threw him off the Bridge entirely.

"Oh, No you Don't!" I suddenly made a grab for the spinning wheel, bringing the ship to a would be straight line.

I suddenly felt something warm against on top of my hands.

On glancing down, I realised that the Captain had managed to sneak under my arms, and was now helping me steady the wheel.

She glanced up at me, and flashed a bit of a cocky smile.

"Thought you could use a hand Lieutenant! "she shouted over the noise, "Or maybe two!"

I returned the smile, "Thank you Captain!"

The ship was being tossed and turned like a bottle in a stormy ocean. Suddenly I saw a large wave of yellow and orange flare up from the Black hole, throwing everyone on deck to the floor.

"Blast these waves!" The Captain cursed as we tried to steady the Legacy, "They're are so deucedly erratic!"

"No Captain they're not erratic at all!" Doppler called from the Navigation console, "They'll be one more in precisely 47.2 seconds...followed by the biggest magilla of them all!"

Amelia's eyes widened with realisation.

"Of course! Brilliant Doctor! We'll ride that last magilla out of here!"

"All sails secure Captain!" I heard Arrow call from below.

"Good Man!" She shouted back, "Now, release them immediately!"

Arrow hesitated, before saluting. "Aye...Captain."

"You heard her Men!" He bellowed across the deck, "UNFURL THOSE SAILS!!!"

I watched as the unruly crew, still complaining from having just tying down the sails, once more scale the rigging, this time Mr. Arrow joining them.

"Mr. Harkins!" she called as she spied Jim about to scale the rigging, "Make sure all lifelines are secured good and tight."

"Aye Aye Captain!" came the reply.

"Captain," I called over the howling as the Black Hole continued to suck in everything around it, "If this insane plan doesn't work we're all dead!"

"And if this does work, we'll be the first ship in the history of the navy to have escaped a Black Hole!" she called back.

"Lifelines Secure Captain!" I heard Jim's voice through the winds.

"Very good!"

As we sunk down into the eternal darkness of the Black hole, another wave rammed into the ship, throwing myself and the Captain away from the Wheel, Amelia slamming me against the mast.

"Oh, Mr. Dearing!" I could here the genuine concern in her voice and felt a hand against my face as she made sure I was conscious, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I muttered as I got up, ignoring the mild pain in my back, "Come on, this ship isn't going to get out of this without someone at the helm."

She gazed at me intently, the worry in her eyes severely indenting her Captain's Façade. Finally she nodded and helped me to my feet and together we once again took up the wheel.

"Captain, The last Wave!" Doppler cried out in fear, "HERE IT COMES!!!"

"HOLD ONTO YOUR LIFELINES GENTS, IT'S GONNA BE A BUMPY RIDE!!!"

As we made our final decent into the dark abyss, I felt Amelia's hands tighten over mine. Instinctively I tightened my arm muscles around her, as if to protect her from the hole. As we continued to fall, the Captain and I swung the ship so the Bow faced towards the opening, to the Open Etherium.

For a few seconds there was nothing but darkness, then.

BANG!

A bright light flashed behind us, flowing out of the Black Hole like water out of a narrow glass.

The Solar Sails were suddenly filled with power and I felt the ship lurch forward was we rocketed upwards out of the Hole.

The crew was thrown to the back of the ship, the Doctor got caught in a tangle of rope, but we all had survived, that's what counted.

I closed my eyes and heaved a sigh of relief as the crew yelled and catcalled in delight.

"Well done Lieutenant," I heard the Captain say, the relief evident in her voice.

"Thank you Ma'am," I replied, as she ducked under my arm and took out a piece of navigation equipment from her coat.

"Captain! Oh, oh my goodness," Doppler started to ramble as he attempted to detangle himself from the rope. After watching him for a few seconds, I realised he was getting no where so decided to help him.

"Oh, thank you Daniel my boy," the doctor gazed about for a moment looking for Amelia.

"Oh, Captain! That was absolutely...that was the most... that was the..."

"Oh Tish Tosh," the Captain waved it off mildly as she gazed into the instrument, "Actually Doctor your astronomical advice was most helpful."

She gave him a small smile over her shoulder, before handing me the instrument and heading down the stairs, leaving the Doctor with his mouth hung open in surprise.

"Hey, she gave you a compliment!" I said, mildly amused.

"Well...uh...Thank you! Thank you very much" Doppler finally found his voice before going back to his usual tone of voice, all high and mighty, "Well I have lot of help to offer anatomically...amanamonically...As...astronomically."

He slapped his forehead at his slipping of the tongue. Feeling totally and utterly stupid.

"Having problems are we Doctor?" I asked innocently as he peeked through his fingers.

"Well I must err...congratulate you Mr. Silver," The captain said in her usual commanding voice as she got to the foot of the stairs, "It seems your Cabin Boy did a bang up job with those lifelines."

I smiled as Silver nudged Jim light-heartedly, who proceeded to shove the Cyborg's immense bulk back. After a few minutes I caught his eye and gave him a wink.

After watching the two of them for a while Amelia got back to business.

"All hands accounted for Mr. Arrow?" she called to the first Officer.

She was greeted with silence.

"Mr. Arrow?"

She glanced up at me, a questioning look in her eyes.

I shrugged at her, I didn't know where he was.

At that moment I heard the sound of hissing that could only mean one person: Scroop. And where there was Scroop, there was trouble.

He came up to the captain, his yellow eyes shining with what I thought was feigned sorrow. Then I saw Arrow's hat in his claws.

"I'm afraid...Mr. Arrow has been lost," he said sadly as he handed her the hat.

I felt my heart lodge itself in my throat. No, he had to be lying.

I could see the look in her Amelia's eyes, and knew that she was thinking the same thing as she took it.

"His lifeline was not secured." The Rigger continued as all eyes fell on Jim.

"No I checked them all!" Jim barged through the crew to the main mast, as if to prove his point, only to find that one of the ropes was indeed missing.

"I...I did...I checked them all," he said in disbelief, "They were secure, I swear."

He looked at the Captain, who showed nothing in her narrowed eyes, then to me.

I was inclined to agree with him. But I had been busy piloting the ship with the Captain, and so had not actually seen him securing the lifelines. I gazed back at him, knowing there was nothing I could do to say in his defence.

I heard the Captain through my thoughts as she said her final words about her First officer, and friend.

"Mr. Arrow was a..." she tried to clear her throat as her voice got caught in it, "Fine Spacer. Finer than most of us...could ever hope to be."

I exchanged a dark glance with Doppler as she continued, "but he knew the risks, as do we all. Resume your posts...we carry on."

I watched as she turned around to go up the steps as the crew went back to their duties, only to stop halfway up, Closing her eyes and hiding her face.

"Lieutenant Dearing!" she finally called out to me, louder than she had anticipated, "The Bridge is yours...I will be in my Stateroom...do not disturb me."

I nodded as she walked as calmly as she could to her Stateroom, slamming the door behind her.

The Doctor glanced at me sadly.

"It...is a great shame," he said softly.

I didn't reply. A whole lot of different thoughts were wiring through my mind. Thoughts of anger, hate, suffering sadness, I felt like throttling Scroop and making him tell me what happened.

I sighed and gazed out as the remnants of Pelusa was flung into deep space, the rest being sucked up by the Black Hole that had taken it's place.

Closing my eyes I leaned heavily on the railing, knowing what she must be going through right now. I had lost relatives that I had held dear to my heart, now all dead. The rest, as I said before, didn't want to know about me and my disgraced mother.

Slowly I walked towards the stairs and slowly headed for the Galley.

"Hey, where do you think your going?" the Doctor asked curiously, "The Captain left you command."

I sighed as I reached the bottom of the stairs, looking up at the Doctor, before looking at the Helmsmen.

"Mr. Turnbuckle, will you have the Bridge for a while...There's something...I have to do."

"Aye Aye, Lieutenant." came the reply.

"What is it you have to do?" I heard the Doctor ask as I came to the top of the stairs leading to the galley.

"Something I turn to whenever I loose someone I hold dear."

I said with a sigh as I gazed forlornly at Doppler,

"Lemon Tea."

Five minutes later, I was outside the Captains Stateroom, a cup of the nearest thing I could get to Lemon tea on ship in my hands.

As I approached the door, I wondered if I was doing the right thing. She said she wanted to be left alone, but it was at times like these you shouldn't be alone.

Holding a cup and saucer in one hand, I rapped as loudly as I could before peeping through the door, which, to my surprise, was unlocked.

The room was a mess.

The back windows had almost been totally smashed, black scorch marks marked the edges of the back wall.

Small chunks of star stuff littered the room, and it wasn't until I almost stepped on it did I realise my own hat was charred and burned beyond repair.

Sitting in her chair, a desolate empty look in her eyes, was the captain.

Her face was pale, her hair seemed dishevelled slightly, as though she had been running her hands through it. In both hands sat Mr. Arrow's hat, as though it was something sacred.

At the sound of the closing door she looked up suddenly. Realising it was me she quickly put the hat to one side and tried to smile, managing it only half heartedly.

"Oh, Lieutenant," she sniffed before noticing the cup in my hands, "Is it time for afternoon coffee already?"

I smiled as best I could, placing the cup and saucer in front of her.

"No Ma'am, I'm afraid you missed coffee. This is something I usually drink at such a time as this. It's called: lemon tea...or rather, the best thing I could come up with on ship. It's actually Purp Tea, but you'd be surprised how much it tastes the same."

She tried to smile again, before pushing the tea away.

"Thank you for your concern Lieutenant, but I'm fine. Tip-top in fact."

I raised an eyebrow from retrieving the tattered remains of my hat from the floor. When she pushed the tea away, I just pushed back.

"With all due respect Ma'am. If your fine right now, then I've been sailing Solar Ships since the dawn of time. Now drink up, you'll feel better."

She glared at me, trying to outstare me, but in the end gave up and took a sip from the cup.

After a minute she finally set the cup down.

"Now am I supposed to feel better?" she asked.

I smiled, "No. Now you talk."

"Talk?"

"When one of the relatives I held dear to me died, I would usually head over to my optician. There I would just sit and talk. I would shout, I would scream, I would sob, and I would cry. But afterwards, I felt a whole lot better, and I moved on."

She looked at me sadly, then slumped in her chair.

"There's nothing to talk about Lieutenant. Arrow is dead and under my command. I should deal with it on my own. No one should share the burden I am going through right now."

She glared at me suddenly, "We went through thick and thin together. We were everything together and nothing alone. Now he is gone, and I am alone. I alone will mourn for him. No one else. Just me."

She held her head in one hand, clearly wanting to be left alone, but I wasn't going to let my Captain fall into a pit of depression for the rest of her life.

I grabbed her shoulder and turned her to face me, forcing her to listen.

"Now you listen to me, Amelia." I growled, emphasizing her name slightly, "You think you were the only person on ship that cared for Mr. Arrow? Without him, I don't think I would have had the knowledge to pilot this ship out of that Black Hole. He was my friend also, and while I only knew him for a few short months, I considered him, like you," I poked her in the chest, "one of the best friends I ever had. And one thing else: I knew him well enough to know that he would not want you to be sitting round here, moping your head off for the rest of the voyage. He would want you to go out there, find Treasure Planet, and get on with your life, and if you cared for him as much as you say you do, then you would honour him by doing that much."

She gazed at me angrily, before getting up from her chair and squaring off to me.

"If you were any other man Lieutenant," she began, "I would have you thrown in the Brig, for talking to me like that,"

Her face faltered and she looked away from me, "But your not any other man. You're a man...that's right."

I looked at my Captain, the woman I had come to respect and stand by on this voyage, now a wreck, broken by the fall of her First Officer.

Slowly, tentatively, I gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

She looked down at it, then up to my face.

I watched as the Captain's Façade that she put on in front of the crew, now crumbled and fell in my eyes, as one single tear slowly rolled down her cheek.

She then collapsed onto my shoulder and started sobbing into my tunic.

I held her tight in my arms, soothing her quietly and rubbing her back to calm her.

"I...I can't do this," she whispered in my ear between sobs, "I can't do this without him,"

"Yes you can," I murmured back, "I'm here for you. I'll stand by you in your time of need."

She said nothing after that, she just continued to cry her sorrows away. I held her close to me, rubbing her back with my right hand, my other firmly clasped in her own.

How long we stood there I didn't know. After what felt like half an hour I heard her ragged breathing slowly become calmer and more rhythmic. I also felt her lean more heavily on me than before. It took me a second to realise that she had finally fallen asleep, and I was glad. A good night's sleep would do her good. Gently, I slowly detached my hand from hers, and slowly hooked my arm under her legs, taking her quietly to her bedroom.

I was glad to see that her quarters had remained unscathed, the only damage being the windows were blacked by soot. As I laid her down on the bed, I realised she might feel uncomfortable, sleeping entirely in uniform. As gently and as quietly as I could, I took off her Coat, gloves and boots, before bringing the sheets up to her shoulders.

I took a moment to gaze fondly at her sleeping form, her chest slowly rising and falling like before, her face now looking calmer then when I had come in.

Hesitating only for a moment, I gently leaned down and brushed a bit of hair out of Amelia's face, before turning to the door, and closing it softly behind me.

The Next day, Amelia woke up to the sound of her Stateroom door being closed, a quick glance at her clock told her it was 8:30, She had over slept!

She sat up quickly, only to realise that she was still in partial uniform. Just then the moments of last night came flooding back to her, the 'lemon' tea, the talking to the...

She put her hand to her mouth as she realised what she had done, she had cried in front of Mr. Dearing! No, worse, she had broken down on his shoulder! Her Captain's Façade was now lost on him! But instead of feeling despair, she surprised herself in feeling relived.

The young Lieutenant had come to her in her time of need. When Arrow was no longer around, he had come to her aid.

Suddenly, a particular scent suddenly wafted under the door, a scent she loved to wake up too.

Coffee.

Gently slipping out of the door of her quarters, she found to her surprise that the Stateroom had been cleaned and repaired to the best use of the ships facilities, and sitting on her desk, directly in front of her chair, sat a hot cup of coffee. She smiled herself as she approached it and settled down in her chair. Suddenly she realised that there was something underneath the cup.

It was a note.

Her curiosity now peaking, she read the note as she drank her coffee

Dear Captain Amelia

I hope you slept well after your ordeal last night, and I hope you don't mind I let you sleep in late.

As you can see I had the Stateroom completely repaired, and your coffee, waiting for you, as always.

The main reason I am writing this is to tell you that I am here for you should you need me. I know I am not Mr. Arrow, and I know that I could never replace him, but I do want to help you, and I will be there for you, no matter what, should you need me.

Yours faithfully,

Lieutenant Daniel K. Dearing.

She sighed happily as she read the note through again. It was good to know he cared. It made her feel...happy inside.

When she finished her coffee, she went back into her quarters, before taking a quick shower and changing into a fresh uniform.

She sighed again as she read the note through again as she headed for the door.

Instead of throwing it away as she past the waste basket, she instead put it in her pocket, before opening the door onto the deck, and stepping out into the light, ready to face the challenges of the day.