Jim's appetite truly had been lost, and he couldn't bring himself to finish the meal. Silver had pushed him to try it, but in the end he had to eat the lad's food. Not that it was an issue, but he felt Jim needed to eat something. They'd figure it out tomorrow, he decided. It's not like Jim was starving.

By this time, the two other patrons in the bar, Joshua and the horse, had left drunk as could be. The night was getting old, the time was late. Silver thanked his old friend for the meal and arranged for a room upstairs.

"I'm sorry Long John, afraid we're full tonight," Durst had said.

Silver narrowed his eyes, then pulled out three pieces of eight, dropping them on the counter with a loud clang. The emptiness of the bar only intensified the sound, and ended up making Jim's ears ring slightly. The treasures made the warthog's eyes light up, and he snatched it up, saying that a room just became vacant. Upstairs, the second door to the right.

"Generous with our money, eh?" Jim scoffed as they walked away.

He smiled that signature smile at the lad. "Easy plunder, easy go."

Jim couldn't help but smile back. "You're gonna make us broke."

Their room wasn't as bad as Jim figured it'd be. It was almost as nice as the rooms at his own inn; almost. It was clean or one thing, and the walls were bare but not chipping away. There was a single large window on the wall adjacent to the door. The curtains has been pulled back and the window opened just slightly, letting in a refreshing breeze. There were two single beds (which Jim was very thankful for) and a nightstand in between them with a brightly lit lantern resting atop it. A small bathroom was also connected, separated by a closed door as the closet was. The rest of their room was completely empty, save for a large armchair, making it feel open. At the same time though, a tad lonely. It was alright for Jim; he had Silver.

Speaking of whom, the first thing the cyborg did when he entered was sit down at the edge of one of the beds, sighing in relief to be off his feet. He started to tinker with some of the parts of his mechanical leg whilst Jim plopped down in the armchair.

"Finally, I can take this gay-ass thing off." Silver glanced once to the window, then the door, then remained silent, letting Jim take off his cloak. "It was freaking hot under there, too," he said as he threw it on the floor. "At least I don't have to worry about it much longer."

Silver mumbled something under his breath, something that Jim didn't catch all the way. He did hear one word, though - sabotage. Jim frowned. Before he even thought about his words, he blurted out, "What was that? Sabotage?"

The cyborg looked up from his tinkering and smiled. "Oh, nothing, lad." Then went back to work.

Jim continued frowning. His previous deduction had led him to believe this was nothing but paranoid instinct the pirate was showing. These mysterious words drove him off course. Silver was worried about something in particular. But what, exactly? Were they being watched? Was Silver expecting to meet someone, or trying to avoid them? Who, even? Jim hadn't the slightest inkling. He took a long minute or so of silence, caught in an internal heated debate between himself on whether to ask the cyborg what was up or not. There's a chance he'd brush him off, or he'd feed him some lie. There's also the possibility that he'd tell Jim the truth. Or get mad at him for asking a second time. Right there, that's a three to one chance he'd get a remotely satisfying answer. Jim was about to loose the debate, and just try to not notice what Silver was doing, but then he was suddenly filled with a sense of pride. If he'd already been through so much with this man, and had agreed to go through this agonizing adventure all over again, doesn't he have the right to know? Jim clapped his hands together.

"Okay, what's up? For real."

"What do ye mean, Jimbo?" He didn't look up.

"That shit right there - cut it out. You know what I'm talking about."

"'Tis just routine for a space dog to be cautious."

Jim mocked his speech. "'Tis just routine for a space dog to mention being sabotaged."

Silver glanced at him, visually warning him, then continued fiddling. "It'd only scare you, lad. One of us has to be sane."

"Scare me?" He managed to puff out his chest while sitting. "Please! I'd rather like to know what we're up against."

The cyborg stopped working completely. He sat up straight and faced the boy across the room. He was silent for a moment, looking over Jim's face. He was about to start off slowly, opening his mouth with the intent to speak, but never did. The door to their room suddenly opened, without even a warning of a knock. It hadn't flew open, slamming against the wall, but opened wide enough for a person and fast enough that neither had time to react.

Standing in the doorway was Nikiita, looking first at Silver with an apologetic gleam in her eyes, but then her gaze flickered over to the other person in the room. All was still, all was silent, then Silver mumbled a curse word, and Nikiita sprang.

Her face turned into a hideous scowl as she leapt at Jim, using her own form to topple the boy from his chair. She grabbed his shoulders as they tumbled and shoved his chest against the windowsill, his head neck and shoulders out the window. In this time, Nikiita had managed to pull a personal dagger from her shoe, and had the item now pressed against the back of Jim's neck. She heaved her upper body against his back, pushing the air out of his lungs as he held him down, using her free arm to hold his behind his back at a painful angle.

"John, go! I've got it!" She shouted.

"F. . .fuck!" Jim hissed as he tried to get out of the hold.

Nikiita kneed his ass, shoving the blade harder against his skin. "Stop squirming!" She turned around and looked at the cyborg desperately. "Why aren't you running?"

Silver stood up and said casually, "Well, because there be no need to."

"No need? W-what're you-!" Then she stopped, realizing something. Nikiita took the blade of the human's neck and handed it to Silver. "Are you going to finish it off?"

He didn't take the knife.

"Why not? This thing ate your daughter! I see her cloak right there!"

"Lass, that thing. . ." he cleared his throat. "Is my daughter."

Nikiita slowly moved off the human. "Um, what?"

Jim shoved himself off the windowsill and against the wall, gasping for air. "She nearly killed me!" He yelled, rubbing the back of his neck.

It hadn't taken Silver as long as he thought, but there was still some trouble convincing Nikiita that not all humans are evil, and that they certainly don't eat other bipedal intelligent beings like she'd been brought up to believe. This might seem like a sudden and unrealistic change of heart, but keep in mind two things: Nikiita was still cautious and doubtful of the cyborg's words even after she'd tried to grasp the concept, and even though this was how she was raised, there was that part of her that sympathized and truly didn't believe the words. Besides, it was not just strictly the human species. She was raised to think that all those who weren't like Herritikans were evil. She wasn't Herritikan; they hated her. Was is so just for her to harbor hate for the human? Paranoia and caution, perhaps, but anger? Maybe if she'd actually been born there and told to hate others, instead of being brought and catching on.

Silver had been able to calm Nikiita, and had decided it best to stay in the room and speak instead of moving downstairs, where Jim would have to wear the cloak and hardly speak. Silver explained the story to Nikiita about the rumor of Captain Flint's lost treasure. He didn't dare mention the "loot of a thousand worlds" for fear that story would take up too much valuable time. Jim still caught the cyborg glancing at the window as he told the story. When he finished, he gave her a moment to let it sink in. It took her a long time to find the right words, glancing between Silver and Jim and then back to he ground. Finally, her head tilted slowly up, looking over at the older man.

"Why do you need me? Why not just find my dad? I'm sure he knows more about it than me."

Silver bit his tongue. He had no time to explain the mutinous bastard's evil deeds and how he'd been shot down by Long John himself, eventually landing on Jim's front porch and perishing in his house. The boy was watching the cyborg intently, and picked up on his nervous hesitation. He glanced down at his lap, standing, then slowly moved towards Nikiita. For reasons of personal composure, Silver allowed the lad to continue.

Jim cleared his throat, and Nikiita turned in his direction. "Nikiita, I'm not sure exactly how to say this. . .but. . ." He paused, kneeling down next to the armchair she sat in. As he did this, something popped into his brain. "There's something B-, your dad, wants you to know. He wanted me to tell you. . .that he wished he could've been with his daughter more. He says that he's sorry, and that he loves you. He said that he loves his little girl and regrets every second he missed of you growing up. He wants to be with you right now, and said it was his own greedy, stupid mistake he couldn't."

Nikiita stared at him. Her eyes were getting red; she'd alluded to what he was trying to say, but didn't think i was true. "How do you know this?"

He swallowed. "Because I was the last person your father was with before he passed."

Her lip quivered as she registered, then she slowly started to cry, with only a single tear rolling off her cheek.

"He says he misses you." She looked away. "He wants you to know he loves you."

"Stop," she whispered. "Just. . .stop." She stood up and excused herself, saying she needed a moment. Nikiita left the room, closing the door behind her. Jim turned to Silver and shrugged.

"That was brilliance, Jimbo!" He complimented. "Got any more of them magic words to get her to agree?"

He stood and leaned against the wall. "What makes ya think she'll say no? It's a way of. . .keeping her father's legacy alive!"

Silver chuckled, shaking his head. "Ye really do strive in ev'ry department, eh?"

"What can I say?"

"Everyt'ing right, apparently!"

He gave Silver a troubled expression. "Not as often as you'd think."

The metal hand waved. "Oh, I know t'at, lad."

A little while later, Nikiita came back into the room, opening the door slowly so they knew it was her. Her eyes were more red and puffy than before, but neither said anything, and allowed her to speak. She began once she sat back in the armchair, looking down with her elbows on her knees.

"Dad left me here when I was still so young. I know that. He made Durst my godfather, and put him in charge of me. I know that too. He was a pirate, a wanted fugitive. I know that. I know these things because I was told them." She tilted her gaze up towards the back wall. "I can't remember what he looks like. I don't know what he sounds like. I didn't even know his name. Nothing." She bit her lip. "He's my father. Not even my real one, but he was the closest thing I could call my dad."

"Does that mean you'll help us, lass?" Silver asked.

Nikiita nodded.