The next few days, nothing special transpired. But the nxt day after that, a near castastrope occurred. We had just come within visual range of the star Pellucid, when it---rather spectacularly---went supernova.
I instructed our helmsman, Mr. Turnbucle, to take evasive action in an effort to get away from the exploding star. To my right, I heard Mr. Arrow bellow, "Everyone fasten your lifelines!"
As we sped away, large fragments of star matter began to hole our sails. A few at first, but with greater size and frequency as the shower of matter continued.
"Mr. Arrow, secure those sails!" I commanded.
"Secure all solar sails! Brace them down, men!" Arrow yelled and the frightened crew did their level best.
I gasped as an enormous star shard---easily ten times the mass of my Legacy---tumbled toward us on an imminent collision course. I grit my teeth in frustration, and silently urged my engines to greater speed.
I looked up as our lookout, a Mr. Onus, called out, "Captain…the star!" As I leveled my gaze back, the Doctor came up beside me, and announced with a gasp, "it´s devolving into a …black hole!"
Mr. Turnbucle was having great difficulty with the ship's wheel, and called out, "We're bein' pulled in!" The helmsman was then flung away as the wheel spun uncontrollably.
"Oh no, you don't!" I cried angrily, and without really thinking, I stepped over to the wheel, and exerting all my strength, barely regained control of my ship.
A pressure wave then overtook us and shook my poor Legacy quite thoroughly. "Blast these waves! They're so deucedly erratic!" I complained, struggling mightily to keep us on course.
"No, Captain…they´re not erratic at all!" Doctor Doppler corrected me. He then shouted an addition, "There´ll be one more in precisely forty-seven point two seconds, followed by the biggest megilla of them all!"
That's it! "Of course," I cried ebulliently. "Brilliant, Doctor! We´ll ride that last megilla out of here!"
Arrow
then yelled up to me,
"All sails secured, Captain!" He gazed
at me with trust, waiting for my next command.
"Good man," I congratulated him. "Now, release them immediately!" If we were going to have a chance of outrunning this spacial anomaly, we'd need every erg of power we could muster!
Arrow, not comprehending at all, looked at me in surprise, but complied with my wishes. "Aye, Captain," he returned, the wheeled and yelled up to the men in the rigging. "You heard her, men! Unfurl those sails!"
This order wasn't universally received with much enthusiasm, I'm afraid. But, I didn't need their enthusiasm…just their compliance with my orders!
Realizing that this idea of mine was most likely going to prove dangerous, if not suicidal, I wanted to make certain precautions.
"Mr. Hawkins," I bellowed to be heard. "Make sure those lifelines are secured…good and tight!" The cabin boy thankfully sprang into action, testing and tightening the crews' crucial lifelines.
"Aye aye, Captain!" he yelled as he worked. After he'd made the circuit around the mainmast, he yelled to me, "Lifelines secured, Captain!"
"Very good!" I returned loud enough to be heard over the din. Another pressure wave overtook us from astern, and I lost my grip on the wheel. Struggling to my feet, I reclaimed the wheel and returned us on course.
"Captain! The last wave…here it comes!" roared Doctor Doppler, his brown eyes wide in fear and excitement.
"Hold on to your lifelines, gents! It´s going to be a bumpy ride!" I ordered, taking a firm grip on the wheel.
I must say that is was blasted eerie for the next few moments. The Legacy was inexorably drawn into the oncoming event horizon of the newly born black hole, and as we slipped into its maw, it became dark…dark as a sunless day. Then, the biggest wave of all exploded at our stern, spitting my poor ship out of its influence like a pea through a straw. The solar sails flared with all that excess power and we safely broke away and into free space once more. We did it! Of course, I maintained my calm demeanor…I was the Captain, after all.
I was secretly pleased when the entire crew applauded me, stamping their feet and cheering. I smiled down beneficiently at them, and then picked up my sextant to ascertain our position. As I walked by to the starboard flying bridge, Doctor Doppler, who was currently extricating himself from some once-coiled lines, exclaimed, "Captain! That---oh, my goodness! That was---that was absolutely--- That was the most---"
Excitable fellow, I silently observed, but simply replied---around shooting the nearby star with my sextant, "Oh, tish tosh. Actually, Doctor, your astronomical advice was most helpful."
He blinked, obviously surprised. "Thank you. Thank you very much!" He smiled, then added in a rush, "I have a lot of help to offer anatomically---uh, anenomically, as-astronomically." He then blushed, and slapped his forehead in response to his fit of being tongue-tied. Actually, I found it rather amusing, and charming, really.
I decided then to make my way to the main deck, and noticed a grinning John Silver, who was talking to young Jim Hawkins.
"Well, I must, uh, congratulate you, Mr. Silver," I told him, making sure the boy heard too. "It seems your cabin boy did a bang-up job with those lifelines."
Silver and Jim grinned at one another, and began to gently push each other in the strange fashion of men. Be that as it may, I had other things to worry about.
"All hands accounted for, Mr. Arrow?" I called out. Strangely though, he didn't answer my question. I do believe my heart faltered as that scurilous wretch, Scroop, made his way toward me very reluctantly, holding what could only be Arrow's hat in his claws.
"I'm afraid that Mr. Arrow has been lost," Scroop declared in a soft voice. He then looked over at Mr. Hawkins askance and added, "His lifeline was not secured."
I blinked, realizing that Mr. Hawkins had been responsible for securing the crew's lifelines. Feeling betrayed by fate, I'm rather afraid I was quite angry with Mr. Hawkins.
"No!" Hawkins protested vehemently, dashing to the mainmast. "I checked them all! They were all secured," he declared, his blue eyes running around to the still secured lifelines…until he came to one that was missing. His face paled in shock, and then he looked back to me. "I swear."
I looked down to Arrow's hat in my hands, and tried to say a few words about my best friend, now dead. "Mr. Arrow…was a fine spacer." I had to swallow hard to keep from crying, so great was my sorrow at that moment.
But I had to continue. "Finer than the most of us could ever hope to be." That was a fitting statement about the fine man Arrow had always been. "But…he knew the risks, as do we all."
I wish I could of said more, but to me, grief is a private thing, not to be shared with strangers.
"Back to your posts. We carry on," I declared, and turned and headed woodenly up the stairs to my stateroom. I went to my stateroom and made the following entry in my log:
Captain's Log. Day 5. The 22 of September.
Today we reached the star Pellucid, which quite unexpectedly went supernova. We unexplicably escaped with minimal damage. Only one man was lost. My First Officer and dearest friend, Mr. Arrow.
Also, today is also my 30th birthday…
As I looked down upon my writing, my vision began to blur, and I put my face in my hands. Captain that I was, I couldn't seem to stop it. I began to softly cry.
"Why?" I asked myself and Fate. "Why Arrow? You were one of the best, old man."
Every year on this very date he had given me a cake, as well as a present. Last year, he had given me a lovely pin that closely resembled my ship. I had just gotten up to go to my locker, when I heard a rather timid knocking upon my door. Now, who in blazes could that be? I was not in the best of moods, I'm afraid.
"May I come in, Captain?" came a voice that could only be our Doctor Doppler's.
"A moment, please," I replied, and wiped my hot tears away, and tried to compose myself as befits a Captain. "Permisson granted," I called. "Come in, Doctor."
The Doctor opened the door, and looked in rather timidly. Surprisingly enough, his coming and his shy expression did much to shake off my funk. He entered and made his way to just before my desk.
"H-How are you, Captain?" he asked, his hands clasped before himself, his brown eyes sorrowful and compassionate.
"I'm afraid that I have had better days, Doctor," I replied, taking my seat.
"I'm sorry about poor Mr. Arrow," he told me, his voice sympathetic.
"It's quite all right, Doctor. Plying the Etherium is a risky business," I told him.
"No. No, I'm afraid it´s really not all right," the Doctor replied, while directing his soft gaze my way. "I know that Mr. Arrow was one of your closest, if not best, friends. Am I not correct?"
I had to nod in agreement with that. Then, quite to my surprise, I then said, "If I had known what would happen this day, I never would of had asked him to come with me on this voyage."
"True," Doppler replied, but then spoke softly to me. "But, he would of most likely of come anyway, wouldn't he?"
"Yes," I replied, turning away as a lump grew in my throat. I would simply not allow this man to see me cry, much as I might like to.
"Come, Doctor. Join me for some tea, if you would," I said, not really believing I said that. The Doctor simply nodded his head, and followed me into my stateroom proper.
"Now, give me a moment and I will---" I began, and opened my wardrobe. As I did, a bevy of brightly colored balloons spilled out into the room.
I'm quite afraid I sniffed back a tear just then, and murmured, "Arrow, your old spacedog…"
Doctor Doppler was puzzled. "May I ask what all these balloons are for?" he inquired.
"It's my thirtieth birtday today," I somehow managed, and saw a small immaculately wrapped box on the shelf within.
"Congratulations, and Happy Birthday then, Captain," Doppler commented with a smile.
I smiled back at him, and then looked at my birthday present. I opened it and inside was a necklace in gold with a pendant of panthigers (a animal that is half Panther, half Tiger) dangling from the chain.
"Oh, Arrow," I murmured, forcing that confounded lump back that was growing in my throat. "He knew that I always loved panthigers," I informed the good Doctor. It was then, looking at Arrow's present, that my resolve broke, and I began to softly weep again. I was ashamed of my behavior, and turned away. Really! Here I was, sniffing and weeping like some school girl.
I felt a warm, gentle hand softly laid upon my shoulder. "There is nothing wrong about weeping for your friend. He was a good man, and deserves your grief," the Doctor said very gently.
Sniffing back tears, I could only look back at the gentle Doctor. As I truly began to cry, the Doctor came and took me gently in his arms and hugged me to him. I know that I wept like a child would for a deceased parent, and I have no idea how long that went on. When I again was myself, I found myself lying on my bed, with a warm blanket laid over me, my pillow beneath my head.