Disclaimer: I do not own Treasure Planet

Meteor Shower

For Starlight Lone-Wolf

It all happened so fast. It was almost like a dream. No it was a nightmare. It was all a blur of fire, screams and explosions. It was worse than the day that her mother died. It was more diabolical than the horrors which she saw on that day. It was total chaos, there was no control she couldn't blame the crew or Mr Hawkins for things to have ended up as they had done. No one could've put a stop to it. She had never seen anything more uncontrollable in her life. She turned to Helen who was looking away from the floating wreckage. Cassandra could deal with such a disaster however Helen didn't take to such things very well. Her eyes were wide-eyed and shaking all over. Her hair was dishevelled and wild from running frantically from danger and her dress had been lazily thrown onto her. Cassandra stretched out her hand and grasped it tightly. It was so cold and she was shaking like a leave in the midst of a storm struggling to hold onto its branch. She knew Helen was in more need of comfort than she. Cassandra as strong than she. She had lost her parents but she had never witnessed their deaths. She was lucky in that respect. She never had to endure to witness that suffering and bloodshed. She was strictly kept away from them when they lay dying in their beds and quite rightly so. She turned back to her from the fiery chaos and saw her petrified expression on her face. She drew her face and buried it in her shoulder. Poor Helen...

An hour earlier...

There was an eerie presence in the air as if it were a moment in a novel where it had reached that moment of one of foreboding or epic foreshadowing to how the rest of the plot was going end up. Out in the cold space winds Cassandra felt hauntingly alone. She knew that there would be someone else nearby but that didn't stop her from having these strange feelings. She felt like something bad was going to happen...She didn't know what...But she was scared that it was going to happen to someone she loved. She remembered that old saying 'It's bad luck to have a woman on board'. She had a feeling that once she broke this rule this was going to lead her father's voyage to encountering something rather terrible...She looked up at the stars, her own personal guardian angels. She would take her little sister up to the roof and point some of them out to her. Whenever their father would come home she would brag about the new things her older sister taught her and she would see the little twinkle of pride in her father's eyes when he would glance at her. She felt so separate from them, she had lost that sense of connection with them.

That night she felt like she was so far away from them. They sparkled maliciously like they were about to watch a comic play where she would be the main protagonist. She turned away dismissively and shivered against the cold night air. She heard something approaching the ship from afar and shook it off as superstition. She thought that maybe that old saying was getting to her head now. She turned away from the side and looked away from the sky and the scenery outside the little secure sphere she felt so safe under. She had been acting strangely ever since Mr Hawkins had left her waiting for another again. She smiled at that memory and found herself twirling a strand of hair around her finger. She felt her cheeks redden whenever she looked at him. Her heart quickened whenever she thought about him. She stuttered whenever she talked about him and almost became a different person when she spoke to him. Every time she had spent time with him she felt something stir within her. Something she couldn't name or identify. It was like the way the woods had changed with each passing season. She folded her arms as she pondered on this and tried to concentrate as hard as she could. However, this was still been clouded by the blotted images of his bright blue eyes, his handsome face and soft voice polluting her mind. She brought her hand to her forehead and frowned to herself.

"Miss Richardson." His voice.

She turned round slowly, still hesitant as to how she should approach him or even converse with him.

"Mr Hawkins." She replied formally.

Mr Hawkins frowned and blinked. "Miss Richardson? Is there something the matter?" He asked in a concerned voice.

She held up her hand and shook her head soon returning it to her forehead and looked down. She wasn't sure she could risk looking him in the eyes. "I-I'm fine. I was just..."

"Thinking?" He offered still looking concerned. She looked up and nodded solemnly.

Jim stepped forward with a frown ceasing his forehead. He was concerned by what she said. He couldn't help it. What she was saying just made alarm bells go off in his head. He knew it was never good when people said just 'thinking' rather than indicating to what they were thinking about. He knew that she was troubled by something and knew that it was his duty to look out for her. There was a part of him which was screaming at him that he was crossing that line into that boundary which should never be explored into. He knew that he was doing something which may put everything he worked for at risk but then there was that other voice...That other voice which was stronger than the other which was telling him that she needed his help. To be fair, that was one of the first orders her father had issued to him on the voyage but then again he knew that he would've done it anyway even if he hadn't been ordered to do so. He had never seen Cassandra Richardson behave in such a way. He didn't know her that well but...She wasn't being herself. Even he could see that. She was always happy and with a smile on her face. It would make anyone laugh or dismiss any saddened emotions lingering in their thoughts. He remembered that afternoon when he first came to Captain Richardson's house. She was so happy he doubted any angel in heaven could've been happier than she was in that moment with the sunshine raining down on her.

He glanced up again to see if he could find any signs as to what was troubling her. The expression on her face made him want to reach out and smooth her wrinkled forehead. It was just wrong for her to wear such an expression on her face. He could remember having such a frown on his forehead when he was her age. He was usually thinking about the time when his father walked out on him and his mother. Or how he was failing school and was continually getting into trouble with the authorities. However as this was a woman that he was dealing with he was sure that there would be other things on her mind. It seemed decades ago when he was feeling these emotions. He frowned to himself when he stumbled upon this thought. It made him feel so old. Yes, he was only twenty one but the mere phraseology of it was so...old. He shook his head and turned back to Cassandra who now had her back to him and turned back to the stars. He smiled affectionately, knowing that he could empathise with her all too well in this respect. He remembered- in fact he still thought that if no one could provide any answers or couldn't find any within himself, the stars always could. However, you could never help but feel so far away from them. It was difficult to gain answers from something which seemed so far away.

He stepped forward and stood beside her. "They're beautiful aren't they? They're mysterious too. They're amazing creations as well. Sometimes when too many things are mixed together they make a huge mess and turn into something not so attractive. But stars are different."

"Yes. I suppose so." She smiled to herself and looked away. "Is that a line you use with all the women you try to court, Mr Hawkins?"

He chuckled but stopped trying to put on a serious face. "You have to admit it works. The line."

She gave him a shocked look and looked away. "Well did it?"

"No." She shot back still laughing.

"Oh I think it did." He teased. She pushed him away and they both returned staring up at the stars again. "So what's wrong?"

She sighed and was about to give him some excuse but felt that this was wrong. "Nothing that you should concern yourself with." She replied in an exhausted voice.

She was about to walk away by Jim took her by the arm. "No. No tell me what's wrong." He said softly. He stared down into her eyes but she looked downwards.

"Sir. You're my fathers first mate, I'm sure you have other matters to attend to."

"Nothing more urgent than this." He replied gravely staring down intently at her. She scrunched up her face into an uneasy expression.

"Mr Hawkins, I really don't think you should be-"

"Why? Don't use my occupation as an excuse. I'm sure that whatever I've been through is nothing I haven't experienced." He reasoned. He took her by her hands. "So tell me."

She glanced at him and attempted at a joke. "You're not going to let me go are you?"

He shook his head. "Never."

She hesitated until she looked up and saw how sincere he was. She couldn't tell so well even when she looked at him when she saw the light flashing back and forth over his face. There was still that doubt in her mind because she knew it was more sensible to doubt a man in any situation than the believe him entirely. Or perhaps he may take this well. She wasn't going to rest her hopes on him returning her affections but at least he may be able to take it well. Both Jim and Cassandra saw a infernal, red cloud hovering towards them. Cassandra stepped forward slightly to see abominable rocks shooting out of them into an area which the ship was about to enter into. She quickly looked behind her and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw someone was already at the helm trying to divert the ship away from it. However still a meteor shoot out in the direction ship and almost hit Cassandra if Jim hadn't pulled her back and pressed her against the door which went below deck. She had to admit she found that moment a little bit exhilarating and not just because the near-death experience...He opened the door and was about to shove her down the stairs until a crew member caught his attention.

"Mr Hawkins!"

"What?"

"A meter hit the gravitational support. We've only got a few moments before the ship begins to shut down!"

Jim went white and knew that there was only one course of action to take: abandon ship. "Get the lifeboats ready. Send out the order for every crew member to go to the lifeboats immediately." He turned back to Cassandra and took her by the shoulders. "Cassandra go find your sister and get yourselves to the lifeboats. You know where it is?" She nodded. "Good. I'll meet you there. Or your father. Wait for one of us. Promise me."

"Yes."

She had no time to think and flew to her room and found Helen reading. She looked at her for a moment wondering why she was sitting there reading. Had she not heard what was going on outside? Did she not feel the ship amongst topple onto one side? None of that. With no time to explain she took her by the wrist and dragged her down to the lifeboats. She shouted something at her which completely slipped Cassandra's mind. She didn't want to have an argument right now when she knew that her main goal was the get off the ship as quickly as possible. She was already in a corridor where the crew members were clamouring down the corridors to get to the lifeboats. Most were being practical and trying to get as many as possible into one, something she was rather glad of since she knew that panic was the worst element to throw into a situation such as this. However others were panicking and took off when some lifeboats were already half full. She looked up the stairs to see if Mr Hawkins or her father were arriving. Still nothing when it came to the last lifeboat she began to panic. Helen gripped her sleeve.

"Where's father? Or Mr Hawkins?"

"Miss." It was another crew member addressing her. "You best get on. We've only got a few more moments."

She shook her head but she felt someone push her into the lifeboat. "TAKE OFF!"

"Where's father?" Jim looked back at her and said nothing. He didn't have to. His eyes told her enough. She took him by his jacket and shook him.

"Why?" Her voice was shaking. "Wh-"

The lifeboat shot off away from the ship. "WHY?" She screamed.

"Someone needed to keep the ship afloat while the lifeboats could take off! Believe me I tried to convince him otherwise!"

"But there's none left!"

Jim stared back at her with an expression that said 'I know. I tried.' It then occurred to her that her father was willing to throw his life away for the rest of the crew. For her and Helen. Maybe if they hadn't come he wouldn't have made this sacrifice. No. He would have given up his life for his crew. He was that kind of man. She turned back to the ship which had now been set on fire. It was lit up like the fireplace in those cold winter evenings that from a distance she could still feel the heat of the flames burning against her skin. Space was cold. She couldn't even feel this great fire from such a close distance. She stared at it knowing that her father was still on board in that chaos made her heart ache even more. She imagined him still holding onto the helm, his hands shaking as he waited for the meteor that would end his life in an instant. That was all it took. He was just waiting for his death now. He was waiting for the moment when he would be leaving his children and the reunion with his wife. She sank down in her seat and stared at the flames unaware of the tears streaming down her face. She felt so numb that she couldn't even feel the tight grip on her arm which she would begin to feel later. She leant against Mr Hawkins who wrapped an arm around her. She had no energy to howl. She had nothing left in her now. She just stared at her father's death. Just as she had done with her mother.

~ (***) ~

The woman picked on the small piece of wood that was sticking out of the table as she slowly drank her rum. She took another swig and felt the dark liquid burn her throat and wrinkled her nose in disgust. She needed something to take the edge off...She glanced down at the glowing, ruby red substance and sighed. She didn't feel like drinking tonight. She could feel it in her bones. She had been drinking since she was fifteen and ever since she hadn't been able to stop. Not to the point where like some other regulars in here were running into debt as a result of this habit but something which made her forget about all those things that she did...All those people she had to give up. There were some nights where she still dreamt about her...For some reason she just didn't have it in her right now. Usually she was always looking forward to her regular visits to the tavern but now she had a feeling that there was something wrong. There was something out there that had...Something bad had happened. Before she could banish this thought from her mind someone came barging into the room. He had a dirty face, ash blonde hair which hadn't been washed in weeks and a coat which had been repaired so much that it probably consisted of twenty different coats. She wondered why his wife even bothered. Especially with the amount of arguments those two had.

When he caught sight of her he came running over which made her roll her eyes and take in a deep breath...

Here we go...

"Marianne!"

"Yeah?"

"I heard- I heard-" He panted. He gave himself a moment to catch his breath before he would continue. She waited patiently and took another sip while she was at it. "There was an explosion."

"Where?" She asked in disinterested voice.

"Out in space. I thought you might be interested because of the Captain who was killed..."

She blinked. That was interesting...How would he know if there were any Captain's she was particularly interested in? There weren't many, in fact there was only one...

Her eyes widened and she grabbed him by the collar. "Who?"

"Captain Richardson." He wheezed. He fell to the ground when she let him go and coughed dramatically.

Her head was spinning. Xavier was dead? Was there anyone else...

"Reed. Was there anyone else on board?"

"Anyone of interest? Not really. Except for his two daughters which he took with him. But they were able to escape before the ship went down."

"Do you know whereabouts they are now?"

"They're at some planet a few doors from ours. They're probably going to return to Monstressor since that's where they were from."

Marianne nodded, she remembered Xavier mentioning something about him being from there...She always wondered whether there was his wife waiting for her there as well...

"Reed?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know anything about his wife? I mean...Since you've got such a talent for hearing about things that concern such important people." She inquired with a little sarcasm in her voice.

Reed scratched his head (probably because of the flees). "Er...Well I do remember hearing some news about her dying. Oh yes, I remember now she died giving birth to the younger daughter. She's still a little thing now I suppose. Gosh, now they've all lost both their parent's now..."

Marianne gripped her cup and looked away. She knew more than Reed. She didn't want to come across as her being connected to someone like Xavier but how did he know...?

"Reed, when have I ever said that I was interested in Xavier Richardson?"

Reed chuckled. "You really don't remember that night do ya? You got really drunk once and we exchanged stories about the War and what we were doing and you said that you worked with a little bit."

She almost breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "Yeah, of course."