Disclaimer: I do not own Treasure Planet

First Voyage

For Shining Petals

Cassandra glanced on occasion across the table at James Hawkins wondering whether she had seen him somewhere. She had never been to the Academy with her father so it certainly wasn't from there. Perhaps she had seen him on one of her walks? No, the places where she walked were too far out for him and probably wouldn't bother coming out that far for a walk. Maybe it was when she had once been out in town with Gina. Still, if he had this affect on her she surely would've remembered where she had met or seen him. It was infuriating her that she couldn't remember where they had met and even attempted to try to convince herself that she was mistaken. However he seemed so familiar it was undeniable that they had met before that day. Helen, who had noticed her sister's sudden interest in the first mate and glanced between the two who seemed to be exchanging glances when the other wasn't looking. Cassandra was never the type to swoon over any man who walked through the door, she hadn't done so far with the many young, handsome men their father brought home. In fact, she was the one who scolded Helen for doing so on the odd occasion. She then turned to Captain Richardson who was frowning at them for their behaviour. It was rather unusual for Cassandra to behave this way. He had been inviting graduates from the Academy for years now and she had never behaved this way before.

"Mr Hawkins." He began, which made Jim snap to attention. "Tell me about your family."

Jim cleared his throat, self-consciously glancing at the young woman across from him. "My mother runs an inn. The Benbow Inn and my father no longer lives with us."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. When did he pass?"

Jim stared at him for a moment and turned back to his food. "I'm not sure whether he's passed, sir. He walked out on my mother and I when I was young. So I'm not sure about his whereabouts or whether he's still living for that matter."

Captain Richardson shook his head. "It's shameful to hear that. He doesn't exactly sound like a responsible nor a respectable man. Unlike you, Hawkins. No, I know you to be a very different man."

Jim smiled. "Thank you, sir."

Xavier wiped his mouth with the napkin once he was finished and Gina came into to take the plates. He waited until she was finished to turn to his daughters.

"Now, my dears. As you know I'm to go out on a voyage to the Coral Galaxy which Hawkins will be serving as my first mate but that isn't the only thing we're celebrating this evening. Since you are now both of legal age you will be accompanying me also."

A week later...

Helen and Cassandra stepped off the transporter staring up at the open sky with space ships taking off into atmosphere. As she watched them launch off Cassandra felt as if her heart was soaring off with them. Since she had last came here the Montressor Spaceport seemed more bearable place to be. This day was brighter than the one which Cassandra had tried to forget. The day when she watched her father fly out into the sky without her, abandoning her and the memories of her mother. For her that wasn't a good day. Except for the young man she spoke to. For some reason, despite her coldness she felt some...happiness spark within her at a time when feeling that emotion was impossible. When he spoke to her everything seemed to be alright for just a moment. Now when she had returned she felt like anything was possible. She had never confided this to anyone but over the years she had been thinking about what she wanted to be in the future. She certainly didn't want to be one of those girls who went to a finishing school and sought a husband as soon as she stepped out the door. She was a free spirit not a canary to be confined to a cage. Instead she wanted to take the profession her father and brothers had taken. Ever since she was a little girl she dreamed of going with her father on his space voyages. She wanted to venture beyond the open sky which she always stared out at.

She looked around for her father and instead she came across James Hawkins. A split second later he seemed to feel her presence and nodded in her direction. She nodded back a bright smile creeping across her face. She was never one to notice men any more than she would notice the presence of a woman in the room but because James Hawkins was so familiar she suddenly grabbed her attention when he walked into her life again. The more she thought about the more she began to develop feelings she never had for another person. She found that his facial features had become somewhat appealing. His bright blue eyes sucked her into their deep pools. She thought about him more than any other person at the moment. Helen noticed her friends sudden changed demeanour once she saw what it was which had grabbed her attention, knowing what it was and chuckled to herself. She never thought that Cassandra would be the one to swoon over the first mate of her fathers ship. She could only imagine how awkward a situation that could turn out to be. She certainly didn't want to imagine what the consequences might be if it was taken any further since she had noticed that he was behaving in the same way.

Jim stepped towards the two young women. "Miss Arkwright. Miss Richardson. I'm glad you were able to make it here safely."

"Thank you, Mr Hawkins. We knew our father had to be here earlier and we didn't want to inconvenience him."

"Still, I would have been happy to come down and accompany you both here." He assured her. She met his gaze with a challenging glare.

"Mr Hawkins, we are both quite capable of looking after ourselves." She replied evenly. She narrowed her eyes and thought for a moment. "I remember you now." She murmured.

Jim leaned forward slightly. "I'm sorry?"

"I had a feeling I met you before and now I finally remember. I suppose you probably won't remember." She laughed breathlessly.

He shook his head. "No please."

"Well, when I was about nine years old, so about six years ago, I was waving my father off on another voyage. I suppose you noticed that I looked a little sad and you came and talked to me. I was going through a really bad phrase at the time and you made it a little bearable."

After she finished he blinked. "Really? Wait- you were the girl who had lost her mother. Well I'm glad that I help you with that."

She nodded and glanced round to Helen only to find that she was gone.

"Don't worry, Dr Dobler helped her onto the ship. I think they both got bored with us talking." She giggled.

"Oops. It was nice to talk to you again. And again."

"Why and again?"

"Well we talked 'again' at the dinner and now is the 'and again'." She explained. She walked past him leaving him there grinning. He hesitated and called over his shoulder.

"Is there going to be another again?"

She smiled to herself and turned round. "Maybe."

Jim smirked and went about his duties. As he walked away his shook his head having not known any woman like her save one. She was certainly had the right stuff for a Space Captain. By this point Cassandra had reached to the top of the ramp. Her heart thudded and her breaths quickened. She was now standing, for the first time, on her first ship. Something which she had dreamed about ever since she was a little girl. She inhaled the air deeply. It was so fresh, so pure. When she closed her eyes and craned her head back she felt the soft breeze brush against her skin and dance in her hair. She opened her eyes to see the wide sky staring down at her it was so immense, so large it almost seemed to be threatening to crash down upon her. But she was not afraid. She was going to go to meet her destiny and she knew that it was beyond the horizon. In the worlds which had not yet been discovered.