Jim walked along the dock, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and yawning. He shifted his bag higher up on his shoulder as he walked, gripping something in his pocket with the other hand. He made his way closer and closer to the center of the Space Port, looking around for his ship. He had to stop and ask for directions a few times, but eventually made it. He looked at the shining new hull and smiled to himself, glad he would soon be back in space.
He walked up the gangway onto the deck of the ship. He stopped and looked around, seeing that the crew was busily running around to get the last of the supplies in place. He was about to continue forward when he was tackled from behind. Stumbling forward, he dropped his duffel bag on the deck, trying to catch his balance. He tried to turn around but found himself caught in an iron grip.
"Jimmy! Jimmy, I'm so glad to see you. It's been too long, much much too long. How are you! Good, good. I've been fine. Been living with the Doctor all these years. It'll be so good to get back into space. Are you exited? I am. Can you tell I'm excited? Because I really, really am!"
Jim couldn't help but laugh. "It's good to see you too, Ben. Speaking of Doppler, where is the Doc'?
"Somewhere fiddling with his scientific stuff. All these instruments that I've never even heard of before. Whosits and whatsits galore!" explained the robot, releasing Jim from his death-grip.
"Well I should go see him." Jim said.
"Yes, and right away, too. He seemed anxious to talk to you. But who wouldn't be? He wants to make sure you have the…"
Jim tensed up, ready for the robot to blurt something out.
"The… you know." He said, lowering his voice.
Jim sighed and relaxed. He was relieved that the navigator had learned to hold his tongue in the five years Jim had been gone. "Yes, who wouldn't be anxious?" He said, more to himself than to Ben.
"Toodle-loo, Captain Hawkins." spoke the navigator, emphasizing Jim's new title.
"Don't go getting yourself into trouble!" Jim said, turning around.
As he walked through the door to the captain's cabin, he heard a crash. He shook his head, betting anything that the noise had come from the clumsy robot. Shaking his head again and sighing, he entered into the dark doorway.
Looking around, he inspected the room. It looked like an average office, complete with a desk, a couple of comfortable looking chairs, bookshelves with glass doors, and a large, gloomy looking safe. Behind the desk sat an alien that looked more like a dog than anything else. His large floppy ears and round snout looked quiet out of place compared to his glasses and prim clothing. He was running one of his stubby fingers over some text in a book, bending down quiet low over the small print. He didn't seem to notice Jim for a moment, but seemed to go on with his reading. Jim cleared his throat, not wanting to be rude to the Doctor.
Looking up, Dr. Dilbert Doppler smiled, showing his large canines. "Jim! Oh, how are you? We were wondering why you were late."
"I got lost. How are you, Doctor?"
"Fine, fine. Just reading up on some… information. Ah, and don't you look spiffy in your new uniform!" he commented.
"Thanks Doc. Where's the Captain?" Jim asked, referring to Captain Amelia, the Doctor's wife.
"You'll have to start calling her Amelia, now that you two are equals." Doppler said. Continuing on he answered, "She's not coming with us. She has to stay home with the pups and take care of them. We are also expecting more pups on the way and she's in no condition for spacing. Besides, she's enjoying her temporary retirement, even if she won't admit it."
Jim nodded, his face expressionless. He was still a little disturbed at the thought of the Doctor and Captain having children, though he never had really figured out why it should be so strange. He reasoned that it was probably because Amelia bore such an uncanny resemblance to a cat. Shrugging off the topic, Jim looked around some more, reading a few of the book's bindings on the shelves. One caught his eye, and he pulled it down.
Flipping through the pages, he remarked, "So, Doctor, what exactly are we venturing this time? You just wrote me to tell me to bring it, and wouldn't say me anything else. What's going on?"
"Jim, I think it would be best if we, umm…"
"Went somewhere where we would less likely be heard?" Jim asked, finishing the Doctor's sentence.
"Yes. Why don't we go into your office."
"My office? I thought this was my office."
"Why no dear boy," the Doctor said, smiling, "this is my office."
Good gods, how big is this ship! Jim wondered to himself.
Following Doppler farther back through the ship, they came to a large round room. Every square inch of the walls was covered in tall bookshelves, and the doors were only visible as square holes in the unceasing rows of books. Jim walked around to the large cherry desk that sat in front of two long oval windows that looked out onto the morning sky. He glanced out, thankful that it would not be stormy that day, then turned back to face the room. He pulled out the large leather desk chair, admiring how well it glided on its hidden wheels. Sitting down, he folded his hands together and laid them on the desk. Jim looked up at Doppler, who was looking at him curiously.
"What is it, Doctor?" Jim inquired.
"Nothing. I just remember you when you were a young vandal down on Montressor. My how you have grown since then. You're mother is very proud of you."
"You saw my mother?" Jim asked, brushing off the fact that he would not be able to see her until the voyage was over.
"I talked to her briefly after the graduation ceremony. She was telling me how she never thought you would graduate ahead of the other students, yet there you were, with your own personal promotion. She was crying when they made you a captain."
"And I never even got to see her…" Jim mumbled to himself, jealous that the astronomer had seen his mother when he had not spoken to her in more than a year.
"Well, the first thing we will have to do it to fix that then." Doppler said, smiling.
Jim looked up, suspicious. "Why are we going down to Montressor?"
"We aren't. Your mother is vacationing on a planet in the Jaunerooka galaxy. Her physician told her she was too stressed, so she decided to take a much deserved break from the inn." The Doctor replied.
"Well, why are we going to the Jaunablahgity galaxy?" Jim said, stumbling over the foreign word.
"It's on the way and I thought you would like to see your mother."
"What, in case I die? Or we get lost? Or a combination of the two?"
"Jim, do you have to be so obnoxiously suspicious of everyone?" Doppler asked, not at all harshly.
"Well, isn't it my job to question the intentions of anyone on my ship?" Jim asked.
"Yes," Doppler said after a pause, "I suppose it is."
"You still haven't told me where we're going, Doctor." Jim said after a moment's silence.
"Well, that's because I'm not quite sure yet. We know what we're looking for, we know the general area, we just don't know the exact coordinates." The Doctor explained.
"Does this mystery place have a name by any chance?" Jim asked.
"Yes, but it's in a language that I, nor anyone else in this region, can speak. We'll call it Decorus Plagiarius if you'd like."
"That's quite a mouthful, Doc. I never was that good at Latin." Jim said sarcastically.
Doppler sighed. "I'm sorry, Doppler. I'm just a little on edge. It'll be nice to be back in space, but until then I'm still my old self. You know I'm always a little uneasy when I'm on solid ground." Jim said, smiling apologetically.
"It's okay, Jim. It is a hard name to wrap one's mouth around. We'll just call it the Beautiful Planet, then."
"Works for me. So, I'm guessing you want to use the map to find it?"
Doppler chuckled, "Hit the nail right on the head, as always. Well, let's see if we can't get it opened again, hmm?" Doppler said.
Jim nodded and pulled a fist-sized golden orb from his pocket. He hadn't let go of it all day, keeping it firmly grasped in his hand all day. Last time he had let go of it, it had caused a world of trouble. He had quickly learned from his mistake. He brushed if off, tracing the intricate engravings with his fingers. He just looked at it for a few moments, marveling at the power the little orb contained within it. And the trouble it's caused Jim thought to himself.
Sensing that Doppler was becoming impatient, Jim fiddled with the golden orb a bit, pressing various depressions and twisting its hemispheres this way and that. After a while, it opened. Jim noticed that it had taken him longer to open it than before and grumbled to himself. He quickly forgot about this as the room was bathed in greenish-blue light. Latitude and longitude lines raced across the bookshelves, covering them in eerie markings. After the large sphere had filled the room, stars sprung into bright existence around the room. Next came various planets, followed by their moons. Asteroid belts and comets came last, making the room almost blindingly beautiful.
"Still so amazing, Flint's map of a thousand worlds and more." Doppler spoke in awe.
Jim just nodded, entranced by the dancing lights. To him, it was a deadly beauty. No matter how he tried, he could not shake the feeling of doom as he watched Doppler trace the constellations. For some time the friends just stood there, both of them thinking about their journey from over five years ago. Now, with the prospect of another adventure, both were excited. Yet Jim had mixed feelings. He was glad to be doing something besides schoolwork, but he knew it wiser to not think that the voyage would be all milk and honey.
"Ah, here is the general area." Doppler said, breaking Jim's train of thought.
Turning around, Jim looked to where the astronomer was pointing. "Gods! That must be over a million miles from here!" Jim exclaimed.
"A little over 860,530 leagues, to be precise." Doppler replied, looking very nonchalant about the immense distance.
Jim paced in front of the desk, running his fingers along the smooth surface. "Well, when are you hoping to get there by?"
"As soon as possible. It shouldn't take over three months I should think." Doppler replied casually.
"Oh, no small feat, then." Jim replied sardonically, pacing faster, his hands no clasped behind his back. "We will hope for fine weather then, Doctor, to fill our sails as full as they may stretch."
"Don't worry, Jim. I have another trick up my sleeve yet."
"Well, I wish you would empty your shirt of its miracles, because I'm not sure if we could make half of the distance in three times the time."
"Well, now, we have that Door, don't we?"
Jim stopped his pacing to stare at the doctor. "The mechanism what destroyed. You above all people should remember that." replied Jim.
"Was it now? I just remember the planet being blown to bits, not the Door."
"All of Treasure Planet was the Door!" Jim said, becoming slightly irritated.
"No, dear boy. The planet was a large machine, yes, but it was built to guard Flint's treasure. The Door itself was only a receptor of that map of yours." Doppler explained.
Jim leaned against the desk, his expression pensive. Finally, his face broke out with wonder, a small smile creeping to his lips. "You've thought about this quite a lot, haven't you Doctor?' he asked.
"Yes, I have when it comes down to fact. All we have to do is find the bit of planet that the map fits into and we can have a door to anywhere, any time and any place! It would be wonderfully useful."
"Not to mention it would save a lot of time for certain explorers." Jim said, shaking his head that he himself had not thought of it. It was so bold, so impossible, so inane! And it just might work.