The pirates took Jim to a subterranean stonewalled prison, dragging him down the cracked steps and shoving him into a dark, cold, damp cell that smelled like mildew. The bars were thick, and the cell door shut with an audible click. One of them spat at him through the bars. He sat down on the dirt floor without a word, barely moving his head. More pirates traversed the stairs, bringing with them more and more slaves. Jim heard one of them mention 'the pit', and noticed that the elves in the cell next to his went quiet. As soon as the pirates left all eyes in the dungeon were on him. They began shouting at him, spitting at him. A clod of mud flew threw the bars and hit him in the face. Others began to throw small rocks, sometimes bits of broken clay. Jim did nothing but sit there, a ringing noise in his ears. His eyes stung, and as tears began to slip down his face someone else spoke up, a woman's voice barking something in their native language that made them all shut up. One last stone flew through the bars and caught him in the cheek, but the elves had settled for dark, menacing glares and mumbled curses.

Jim waited. He knew he couldn't get out, that he couldn't escape. So he sat crying in silence, eyes trained on the dungeon steps, praying that no one would come for him.

Silver clenched his jaw as he inspected the wreckage that was the Legacy. The ship could be repaired, that wasn't a concern. Rather the hull was almost empty. With his cyborg eye he turned to the chasm, but even his telescopic lens couldn't penetrate the black void. The treasure was gone. Some of it, he corrected himself. There was still an entire planet of gold. This was small change compared to the rest. No, his worries centered more around his crew. Pirates were nothing if not greedy, and his men were no different. They'd spent years searching for Treasure Planet, and he wasn't sure how they were going to react when they found out they'd just lost a fortune overnight.

"A Vashti clan attempted to flee Keres." One of the aliens told him. "Their ring leader was a rebel who had extensive knowledge of how to operate navigational systems. She was executed by the sentries." There was a large dark stain on the deck where her blood had dried.

"An how in blue blazes did they get away w'it my ship?" Silver asked.

"There was only one watchman at the docks, and the Vashti set fire to one of the lookout towers. He ran when he saw the smoke, to see what had happened." Silver rubbed his head, remembering the soul-piercing toll of the alarm bell that had ripped him from his peaceful sleep. A clever distraction.

"Where's my crew?" He asked, leaning heavily on his crutch to climb back into the skiff.

"Asleep. The casks that were taken to the brothel were drugged. One of mine thinks the Vashti who set the blaze also tampered with the drink. There are herbs that grow here that can be brewed into a sleeping draught. They should awaken in the morning." Silver heaved a sigh. He'd thought better of the drink, and while he'd sipped at the cup most of his drink he'd poured into the cups of other men. He'd hoped his crew would've figured out for themselves to do the same, but they'd let him down before and Silver had no doubt they would do so again. Useless brigands. He'd tear into them in the morning. The cyborg gave a single nod and began to limp toward the gangplank, when the pirate spoke again.

"What would you like us to do with the boy?" Silver hesitated. Surely he didn't mean...

"What boy?"

"When our sentries reclaimed the ship and searched her they found the terran boy your crew brought with you. He's locked up with the rest of 'em." Silver frowned.

"Bring him to me."

Before dawn Silver was waiting in a barely used chamber of what had once been a great hall, seated before a long stone table carved with symbols he couldn't read. The heavy double doors were pushed open and three aliens came in, one holding the door, one leading Jim behind him with a length of rope, and one at the back with a wicked looking dagger drawn. When Jim looked up Silver noticed a bruise forming under one eye. He dismissed the aliens, an eery pall hanging over the room as they left without a word. The moment the door closed Jim began to stutter.

"I-I didn't mean to help them, I didn't know they were coming, I j-just wanted, I wanted-"

"Jimbo, easy lad." Silver hushed, wrapping his good arm around the boy's shoulders. Jim leaned into him, his body trembling, and Silver felt a sudden rush of guilt. Jim was shivering, his clothes were torn, damp and tattered. His hair, which had been long at the beginning of their voyage, badly needed to be cut. His skin was pale, his face gaunt under the dirt, and though he was putting most of his weight against Silver's gut the kid felt much too light. When the boy had finally calmed down, Silver cut his hands free, feeling a rush of anger when he saw the angry red lines around his wrists. He helped Jim to a chair, then draped his trench coat around his shoulders. Jim rubbed at the marks around his wrists, hissing in pain as the blood began to flow back into his hands.

"Lad I had no idea-"

"I want to go home." His voice was hoarse. Silver sighed, leaning back in his own chair.

"I know, Jimbo." They sat for awhile, Jim's sniffling the only noise interrupting the tense silence. When he'd regained his composure, Jim pulled the coat around him tighter, resting his head against the back of the chair. His eyes closed.

"How did ye get on t'e ship?" Jim shrugged, not opening his eyes.

"Everyone was asleep. I just left." Silver nodded slowly, his plan coming together.

"Where's everyone else?" Jim asked.

"Damned drunks got themselves poisoned last night."

"Are they dead?"

"No, just sleepin'."

"Oh." It was impossible to miss the note of disappointment in his voice.

"Have ye eaten lad?" Jim was quiet. He shook his head. Silver stood, hobbling toward the doors, and Jim sat up, his eyes wide.

"Where are you going?"

"Relax boyo. Just to see about gettin' you cleaned up."

"Can I go with you?" Silver stared at him, slack-jawed. He'd spent the better part of their four month voyage dealing with a sarcastic, brooding teenager, and never once had Silver heard that tone in his voice, never once heard him beg for anything. He was begging now, his eyes pleading with Silver not to leave him alone. The sight unnerved him, felt unnatural. He nodded and the boy stood up as quickly as he could manage without falling over, Silver's coat still around his shoulders. They left the great hall and headed for the harbormaster's home. All around them pirates were working to clean up the wreckage of the tower, small crews were coming to and leaving from the docks to set about bringing the Legacy back. No one paid them any mind, but Jim was never more than a half a step behind Silver the whole way.

Silver had, of course, known that Jim had to be suffering some form of abuse from Scroop. He'd sailed the etherium with the arachnid long enough to know the spacer had a twisted sense of fun. He also had a lot of pride, and Silver had witnessed too many times how Scroop would put people in their place should the need arise. But no matter how many men had suffered at his claws, he would eventually get bored and leave them alone, and while his victims were a little jumpy after the ordeal Silver had never witnessed so strong a change in them. He hoped Jim was no different. He tilted his head down to speak into the boy's ear.

"Listen ta me, Jimbo. Here's what we'll do."

An hour later and Silver had convinced the harbormaster that Jim hadn't been trying to escape with the Vashti, but that he'd been trying to stop them. Jim played his part, nodding and shaking his head whenever he was asked a question. When the alien was satisfied that Silver's charge wouldn't cause him any more trouble, he agreed that from then on he would be treated as a member of Silver's crew. Nothing less.

Silver had been given a room in what B.E.N called Flint's palace. The massive stone structure was further back from the town, backed by a dense forest and surrounded in ruins.

"It used to be an actual palace." The robot continued. "But that was before the Domid came. And before Flint, obviously, but then Keres wasn't Keres then." Jim kept a wary eye on Silver, but walked beside B.E.N. He knew the robot tried his patience, but he'd had him reassembled(again) without hesitation. Jim was suspicious but he'd remained quiet. Whatever he'd done to get back into Silver's good graces, he wasn't about to question anything. No way was he going back to...whatever circle of hell his life had been.

"When did Flint come here?" He asked now.

"Mmmm I think it was about three hundred and forty-six years ago. Maybe. Probably closer to four hundred. Wait." He stopped suddenly and Jim crashed into him. B.E.N placed a finger on his metal mouth in thought. "Was that before or after Barry?" Jim hurried around him and jogged to catch up to Silver, the robot clanking behind him.

"Why is there a castle here?" Jim asked.

"Well, the Vashti elves are native to Keres, and in their early history the planet was divided up among three clans. I think there's another castle somewhere, but one of them was destroyed in the battle."

"What battle?" B.E.N's eyes flickered, blue to green then back.

"When Flint first came here, he was seeking refuge. He was young then, not much of a pirate. More a smuggler, I think. Anyway, they refused, and a decade later Flint has a fleet of ships and the sigil of the forefathers. We pass by, and he notices there's a battle going on. The Domid aren't from Keres. They're from somewhere beyond the Terran border, and I think he said something about how their people survive by dominating new planets." The palace was coming into view, large piles of rubble along either side of the road hinting at what may have once been a town.

"So Flint makes a deal with the Domid. They're losing, staring death in the face. If he can help them take over the planet, then he'll always be welcome here. And you can tell how that went."

"You said they treated him like a god."

"Yep, worshiped him and everything. There's a gold statue of him somewhere."

"How did he win them the planet?"

"The portal. The Vashti had no warning, a great portal opens up and a fleet of heavily armed pirate ships just started pouring through. The Vashti surrendered, and Flint mercifully allowed them to live."

"Is that what he told you?" He snipped. B.E.N frowned.

"Sorry, Jimmy. That's just how it went." Growing up Jim had never idolized Flint, despite what the gossiping old women liked to tell his mother. He'd grown up knowing that pirates were bad people. He'd only ever been interested in the treasure, and the adventure it promised. Jim wondered, had he known as a child what he did now, if he still would've loved those stories so much.

The palace was a massive square-shaped structure, made of polished stone that had long since gone neglected. The front steps were cracked and broken, with weeds pushing their way through. On either side of the steps was a large slab of stone with tall iron sconces in the middle, rusted and falling apart. Past the entrance there was a courtyard, with an empty stable on the right and a large patch of dead plants to the left. A large heavy wooden door loomed ahead of them, one side propped open with a lance. Inside were tables pushed together before a massive fireplace, barrels stacked against the walls and the tantalizing smell of something being cooked. Jim felt his mouth water. There was music, several elves playing instruments Jim had never seen before, their sour faces betraying their lovely tune. An elf woman sang, and others danced for the pirates, who added to the din by chanting along with the words and stomping their feet.

Silver led the way, past the merrymaking and up a stone spiral staircase, then down a hall to a room guarded by two Domid pirates, armed to the teeth. The nodded at him as he entered, but Silver ignored them.

The room was quite large. There was a small sitting area with a fireplace, a table with four large overstuffed chairs, and a door that Jim assumed was a bathroom. A large bed sat next to the window, covered in thick blankets and pillows. Silver waved Jim toward the fire.

"Put yer feet up, lad."

"I'm ok." Silver gave him a look and Jim ducked his head, going over to the fireplace and sitting in one of the armchairs. He stripped off his jacket, and almost immediately the heat began to sink into his skin. He shivered and sneezed, snuggling deeper into the chair with a sniffle. Silver pulled a pillow and a few blankets off the bed and laid them over the window seat, making a bed for the boy. He half thought Jim was asleep, but when he moved for the door the boy jumped up to follow him. Silver shook his head.

"Ye need t' stay here Jimbo."

"But-"

"Won' be long." Silver interrupted him. "No one will bother wit' ye." He left before Jim could argue, ignoring those damned sad eyes. Jim sat back down, only half listening as B.E.N went on and on about Keres and Flint. He didn't really care, but the sound of another friendly voice was soothing. He fell asleep in front of the fire.

"Ye half-witted, good fer nothin' band of useless bilge rats!" Silver roared. Half of his crew winced from the sheer volume of his voice, the others took no note, busy as they were vomiting their intestines out. Scroop and Turnbuckle stood attentive, further back from the rest. They'd been the first to awaken from their drugged slumber, and had set about rousing the rest of the crew. Onus was still asleep, and no amount of prodding or shouting would disturb him. He was one of the smallest members of the crew and undoubtably had gotten a much bigger dose than the others. Crex hadn't faired much better, his eyes cloudy and his normally orange-hued skin a sickly peach, but at least he was lucid. Birdbrain Mary was perched on a barstool, her makeup running and her nose bleeding. She was fine but for the scowl on her face.

"What th' devil were ye thinkin'!" Silver continued. "Ye make port at some out of the way planet with a ship full of gold an' ye get heavy wit' drink?!"

"'S not what you were sayin' when we got here," Mary pointed out.

"There's a difference between negotiatin' peace and puttin' yer feet up while there be a fortune in gold sittin' about where anyone in the damned port can take what they please!" He had their attention now, their faces suddenly pale as his words sunk into their drug-addled brains.

"What are you saying?" Grewnge asked, and the cyborg wanted to laugh at the fear in his eyes. Silver glared back at them- now came the tricky part.

"T'ain't any gold left." Now they were pissed.

"What?!"

"Who took it!"

"Why the fuck didn't you say something!"

"Quiet!" Silver shouted again, and his crew reluctantly obeyed. "Harbormaster says some slaves tried to run away, took the Legacy thinkin' they'd make off with the gold. Says the sentries chased them down, but the ship was damaged. Ripped the hull open, an' dumped everythin' into a gorge."

"The cabin boy," Scroop growled. The others turned to him. "He ran away in the night. He ssstole the ship, led them to it. Lossst our gold." The others began shouting in outrage.

"Kill 'im!"

"Burn the fucker alive!" In a trice Silver had bashed Scroop over the head with his mechanical arm, grabbing his throat in a vice. The others went silent, and Scroop even looked surprised.

"An who let 'im out?!" He demanded. "You said you could keep an eye in him, that ye'd make sure he stayed out of th' way!"

"I was poisssoned."

"Ye were a lazy sack o' shite," Silver spat. "An' now I've got t' clean up yer mess. Since ya can't seem t' keep up with a child, ye can go lend the rest of 'em a hand wit gettin' the ship back to the docks." Grewnge hid a grin by feigning an itch behind his ear, but Mary laughed outright. Scroop glared at her, wanting nothing more than to rip her in half. When Silver threw him into the wall, he steadied himself with a hiss and slunk back to Turnbuckle's side. Silver addressed the others. "We can't kill the brat. He's th' only way we can open th' map, and until we've moved every gem and every coffer off tha' planet, he stays where I can keep him under my thumb." No one argued, not even Scroop.

When he felt he'd spoken with them long enough, Silver left his crew to see to whatever needed to be taken care of. Now, he needed to find a tailor.

By the time Silver returned, Jim had woken, bathed, and now sat on the window seat, staring outside. The window offered a much better view than the Legacy had, and he could almost see the town in the distance. In his hands was a small pebble that he continually turned over and over again, a task to occupy his nerves. He looked up as Silver walked over to him.

"Thought ye might wan' t' get out of those rags o' yours." He set a brown paper parcel down on the bed, and took a seat at the table with his back to Jim as he pulled out his pipe. Jim tore away the paper to reveal a dark shirt and pants of the same color. They fit him, though they felt a bit loose, but he wasn't about to complain. When he was dressed he sat back down on the window seat, hugging his legs to his chest. Silver glanced over at him, and frowned.

"Are ye alright Jimbo?" Silver regretted the question the second he'd asked. The boy had been abducted and tortured by pirates- of course he wasn't alright.

Jim felt the back of his neck and nodded anyway, his dazed stare not moving from its fixed spot of the wall in front of him. Silver wasn't convinced, but he didn't want to press Jim either, so he fell quiet. The clothes seemed to fit him well, so for now he was satisfied.

B.E.N sat in one of the armchairs, his eyes closed as his systems recharged. Silver grimaced when he noticed the robot. Jim must have noticed, because he spoke up.

"He can't hurt anyone. You don't have to...shut him down."

"How Cap'in Flint put up with all tha' noise I'll never know." Silver scoffed. The boy walked over to sit on the hearth.

"I'll keep him quiet." Jim offered. "He won't bother you." Silver highly doubted that.

"We'll see." There was a pause.

"I'm sorry." Silver looked at him, bewildered.

"What fer?"

"Your eye." He spoke so softly Silver barely heard him. "Your leg. What I said."

"T'ink nothin' of it lad."

"Are you gonna...is Scroop going to-"

"No." Jim winced. Silver tried again. "He won' be botherin' ye anymore. None of 'em will." Jim shook his head.

"You don't know that."

"I know ye've been goin' through more 'n yer share of..." He couldn't force the words, and Jim didn't correct him. Silver coughed. "But ye won' have to worry about tha' anymore. I made sure of it." The boy stood, electing to pace the carpet.

"Please, please tell me you didn't," Jim muttered. "Every time you try to help it gets worse." Silver bristled.

"What would ye have me do then? Let my crew eat you alive?"

"You really think they won't? You know the first time I got my ass handed to me all he had to do was corner me in the goddamn kitchen?!"

"You just let me worry about tha'." Silver said with a heavy sigh. "They need ye."

"And how do I know that?"

"Yer not dead." Silver said shortly. Jim met his hard stare and ducked his head, fiddling with his sleeve. "Long as yer good fer somethin, th' crew won' touch ye. I can promise tha' much." Jim's shoulders slouched, but he offered no argument.

Silver met with his crew again later that evening, this time with Jim in tow. The pirates gathered around, all eyes on Jim. The boy was careful to avoid Scroop's heated glare, but just as Silver had said the pirates gave him a wide berth. Once they'd all assembled, Silver cleared his throat.

"Now. Ye all know what happened to the treasure. Almost all o' that gold is at the bottom of a ravine. It's good as gone, 'less you wan' to climb down there and bring back every single coin." Of course no one volunteered. Silver held up the map. "Soon as the Legacy is fit to sail, we're goin' back to th' planet."

"The doctor and the felidae will have found their way back by now." Turnbuckle spoke up.

"We won' be alone. Our new friends here've offered t' send some ships of their own. We'll be careful. Won' be easy, but with what little gold we've got left we'll be armed t' the teeth." Two Domid men stepped through the door, and Silver gestured at them. "This here be Cog an Vel. Th' two of them have several ships, says they'd be more'n happy t' help." The taller of the two stepped forward.

"Pardon me, Captain Silver. But we'd like to see this 'map' for ourselves. If you don't mind." Silver gestured to Jim. The boy opened the map, watching as the green otherworldly hologram scanned the room and began projecting their location. There was Keres, with the two moons hovering nearby. The Domid men stared at the projection in awe, one of their mouths hanging open.

"Strange magic," one of them muttered, tracing some kind of symbol over his chest. Silver reached out and touched the replica of Keres, sending the map spinning away from them, past Cornelius, to...

The crew began to murmur and whisper. Jim climbed off of the barrel, slowly edging for the door. Silver felt the blood drain from his face.

"What th' devil..."

Amelia could only stare off the bow of the Valiance, her eyes searching the empty void. Her mouth hung open in a silent plea.

"No, no that's impossible. The coordinates are exact, I should know!" Delbert was insisting behind her. "I studied them for four months, they never changed!"

"How do you explain this then?" Blake sighed. "I don't doubt you for a moment Dr. Doppler, but look for yourself." He gestured at the vast emptiness of space that lay before them. Where the legendary trove had been just months before, there was now only an asteroid field.

"There's nothing here." Blake stressed. "We've nothing else to go on." He put a consoling hand on the doctor's shoulder. "I'm sorry." He meant it, Delbert could see that, but it did nothing to quell his outrage.

"We've waited too long already!" He shouted at Blake. "Who knows where they could be by now? And you're not even willing to look for them?!"

"Where would you have me look?" Blake asked, a stern look in his eye. "I can't very well tear apart the galaxy looking for a single band of pirates. The Etherium is infested with them. You could spend your entire life searching and never find them. We'd be better off leaving the matter to the Intergalactic Alliance." Delbert glared at him.

"Somewhere out there, an innocent child is at the mercy of ruthless monsters, and you want to run back home and play soldier?" His felid eyes widened, the slit pupils dilating. There was a growl in his voice when he spoke.

"Doctor I'd advise you to hold your tongue. I will not tolerate insubordination on my ship." Delbert rolled his eyes in the most sarcastic fashion he could manage.

"Fine. Have it your way." He spat, and stormed back to his cabin. Blake sighed, and turned to Amelia.

"I'm sorry, Captain Smollett, but there's nothing more I can do." Amelia blinked, coming out of her reverie.

"Yes, of course." She cleared her throat. "You've done all you can. But we won't stop searching."

"I don't know what happened on the Legacy, but-"

"I've told you what happened. Multiple times." She shook her head. "I don't blame you for your skepticism. Pirates after fairytale treasure, I wouldn't believe it either if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes." She inspected her nails. "Nevertheless, I must implore you to take us to the closest outpost. This area is our best chance of finding clues to the planet's disappearance." She nodded to him and walked away before he had a chance to refuse, the heels of her boots clicking against the deck.

Delbert slammed the door shut behind him. Rage boiled his blood, and he saw red. How was this possible? How could an entire planet just vanish into thin air? The portal was one thing, he understood how Flint had used it to dart all over the Etherium, but the planet itself was a fixed mechanism, there weren't any jets the size of mountains, nothing. It shouldn't have been able to move, but now it was gone.

Another thought presented itself, souring his mood even further. They still couldn't go home. His family had distanced him since he'd chosen to pursue a career in astrophysics, and Sarah's were in another star system entirely. Where could they go? Nowhere, he realized. There was nothing they could do, and nowhere they could hide. Never before had he felt so helpless. Not even when Amelia had been injured on the accursed planet.

With an outraged yell he swept his arms across the desk, sending everything flying. He grabbed the water pitcher from the wash basin and threw it, smashing it against the door. Books were kicked away, the bed was shoved with such force that the wood gave an alarming snap from somewhere. Delbert tripped over a discarded bowl that had once held fruit, toppling to the floor and smacking his head. He forced himself to take a deep breath, pushing his spectacles up onto his forehead and rubbing his tired eyes. There was a noise, like something choking.

Delbert froze, listening. Another muffled sputter. Slowly, he got to his feet, pretending he hadn't noticed. Another giggle. He turned his head just in time to see an inkwell quiver. He sprang at it, grabbing it in his hands. Instantly the silver and ceramic pot melted in his grasp, turning pink and growing two large eyes before it burst out laughing. Delbert saw red.

"YOU!" He shouted, and Morph stopped giggling, his eyes flying open wide as he screamed and slipped through Delbert's fingers. A frantic chase ensued, Delbert shouting obscenities as he tried to snatch the shapeshifter out of the air. Morph cooed, trying to apologize for whatever he'd done, zipping from one corner of the room to the next. Finally Delbert had the foresight to grab a pillowcase and netted the alien blob. He listened to the frantic cooing and other noises as Morph calmed down. Delbert forced himself to do likewise. Morph was, at the most, a pet. He was clearly an intelligent life form, but the shapeshifter could hardly be called a pirate himself. It would be wrong to treat the creature as one.

Delbert sat at the desk, and opened the pillowcase. Morph slowly peered out of it, chirping softly with inquisitive eyes. Delbert removed his spectacles and rubbed his face.

"I'm sorry." The blob sat on the desk, cocking it's head to one side. "How did you get here?" Morph formed himself into a replica of Delbert's coat, and a miniature version of the blob poked his head out from the pocket. Delbert shook his head. "No. the last time anyone saw you was..." He tried to think back, but the events of the past few months blurred together. "I don't even know." Morph chirped again, cautiously edging closer to Delbert's face. With a coo he rubbed his head against Delbert's chin, the way he'd done to Jim so many times. He pushed the blob away with a gentle hand and sighed.

"It's gone, Morph. The planet, the treasure, the Legacy, all gone. Jim too." Morph seemed to understand, forming a tiny replica of the boy. Delbert winced at the sudden ache in his chest. Mini Jim mopped an invisible deck, just as he had so often during their voyage.

"We were so stupid," Delbert lamented. "I should've stayed behind. Thrown those damn pirates off, given Amelia and Jim a chance to get away. We never should've left him there."

Morph dissolved, reforming into a tiny skiff, complete with both Amelia and Delbert in miniature. Delbert frowned. Morph must've seen them escaping. Why hadn't he alerted the pirates? Instead, a tiny version of Morph flew after them, unnoticed. As mini Amelia leaned over the edge and touched the holographic sphere, Delbert watched as a replica portal appeared. The skiff passed through the door, followed by the tiny pink blob. Mini Morph brushed past the globe, and something odd happened. The globe flashed three times, pulsing. Tiny morph panicked and flew through the door seconds before it closed. Just before it did, a series of tiny symbols appeared in the center. Delbert squinted, putting his spectacles back on and peering closer at the scene playing out before him. Morph took this as a sign Delbert wanted to play, reforming into himself and licking the doctor's cheek. Delbert brushed him off, making a face.

"No, no, stop that!" He sputtered. "What was that? In the portal?" Morph looked up at him, confused. Several agonizing moments of desperate charades later and Morph finally got the idea, replaying the scene. Scrambling for a pen and a scrap of paper he began to copy the symbols in a frantic scribble. When he was done he stared down at the page. The symbols weren't letters or numbers, or at the very least not ones that he recognized. But they looked familiar. He'd seen markings like these before somewhere, but where?

Then it clicked. Inside B.E.N's home, engraved all over the walls. The symbols on the map, why hadn't he recognized it sooner? There was a short horizontal line separating the symbols into two groups. Coordinates. Delbert facepalmed as he remembered B.E.N's words.

"You mean the miles and miles of machinery that run through the entire course of the inside of this planet? Not a clue."

Miles and miles of machinery. An artificial planet, constructed to house an ancient treasure trove. A holographic globe that could locate other planets thousands of miles away and open a portal to them. And finally a key that could find said planet from anywhere in the galaxy. A location system. Treasure Planet hadn't disappeared- it had moved.

And Delbert had an overwhelming suspicion he was looking at a set of coordinates.

Sorry it's been awhile, life shit happened. Also i just wanted to reassure everyone reading this that no, there hasn't been any sexual contact or rape of any kind. If and when somebody has sex, it will be readily apparent and probably mentioned, not just hinted at. Unless, like...plot reasons.

For the sake of simplicity, I've named the two alien races on Keres, the elf-like aliens are Vashti and the troll-like aliens are Domid.

Also points to anyone who noticed Morph was missing the whole time.