Chapter 5

The RLS Legacy

Author's Note: Ohmygods, I'm so sorry. I just uploaded the chapters and posted, I didnt even bother to edit them. So there's no page breaks in the previous chapters and they look horrible and it's making me angry.

Anyhoodle.

Thanks for reading! Special thanks to those who reviewed x

Kisses and cumshots,

Melanie

Starla was feeling good. Her medium brown hair was dry and flowing out behind her, her brand-new jacket fit perfectly, accentuating the curves she'd never noticed she had, and she was headed to the ship that would take her to Treasure Planet.

All in all, a pretty good day so far.

She followed Silver's hastily written instructions, down to a small berth with a truly impressive and grand ship, that which she assumed to be the RLS Legacy. She looked up in awe at the ship, never having been on such a beautiful vessel. She couldn't help but let out a small laugh as she looked up, studying its fine paint and sails. The wind whipped her hair into her face and she pushed it away impatiently as she gazed up longingly; she was in love. Soon the sense came back into her, and she shook herself. Forcing herself to look ahead instead of up, she began to walk closer to the Legacy, heading towards the stepladder which lead onto the ship. Lost in thought and still staring up as opposed to ahead, she didn't notice she'd walked into anyone until she fell.

Starla was still mesmerized by the fine detail of such a ship, so she didn't pay attention to where she was walking. She could have walked straight off the edge of the port, and wouldn't notice a thing. She stared up at the Legacy, and suddenly felt herself crash into a warm, living thing. Taken by surprise, she jumped back by instinct, but lost her balance, and fell down on her bum. She reached back in panic to make sure her father's gun couldn't be seen, and let out a breath when she could feel it safely hidden under her shirt. Starla looked up to see who she had walked into, and felt herself gasp. Wide blue eyes bored into her own brown ones, as she and Jim Hawkins stared at each other in shock.

Jim held his hand out to help her up, and Starla gratefully took it, needing the leverage to help pull herself up. Instead Jim pulled her up, hard and fast, and she caught her footing quickly but nearly lost it again when Jim pulled her into a hard hug. Starla's eyes widened in shock at first, but she let her arms move to hold him tight, her face buried in his neck.

"I - I thought you were killed, at the Benbow," she heard -felt, really- Jim say quietly. Oh. Starla closed her eyes and gave him a quick squeeze, pulling back and smiling at him.

"Can't get rid of me," she said, and he smiled back at her. She looked over at Delbert, who was staring at her with wide eyes. She raised an eyebrow at his metal suit, pursing her lips in amusement.

"Good heavens, Starla!" Delbert began, "How ever did you escape those blaggard pirates?!" This was the time to turn on the charm. She looked down, letting an upset look flash across her features. She saw Jim reach out a hand, as if to touch her shoulder, but he pulled back. That was a bit odd, Starla thought to herself. She shook her head and looked up, giving Delbert and Jim a sad smile.

"I ran down the stairs, and distracted the pirates. Made them chase me to the back of the Benbow, where I barred the door from the outside. They could only get out through the front, then. And then, well. I ran," she let out a shaky laugh, shrugging. "I ran to the nearest house. Next day, I came here, to the Spaceport. Needed to find some work. But I'm glad you two are safe. And Sarah?" She asked, eyes widening. She didn't need to pretend to be worried. But Jim just smiled.

"She's fine, Starla. We all got out safely." She smiled at that.

Delbert looked to be thinking through something. Starla was about to warn him not to think too hard now, he might break something, but he looked up at her. Oh no. Did he see a hole in her story? She was preparing a dozen different lies in her mind when Delbert pointed at the Legacy.

"You're not - Are you coming on this voyage?" He asked her. She let out a breath and gave them both a huge smile.

"Yes! I got hired for the crew this morning," Starla told them, still smiling. Jim looked excited, and for a moment, she was too. It didn't even cross her mind that Jim would be coming too; she was too focused the past few days on Delbert. As she stood there, she realized she was quite happy that Jim would be there too.

She stepped through Delbert and Jim, and faced them with her back to the Legacy.

"Well, don't just stand there looking at it. Let's go!" Starla said, grinning as she grabbed Jim's hand and pulled him towards the stepladder. Jim smiled at her and she felt a bubble of nervousness flutter in her stomach. She was reminded of the kiss they shared, in those final moments before he ran off to his mother and Delbert. It didn't mean anything, she told herself. It was only to get him to leave. But, another voice whispered to her in the back of her mind, there are a dozen other ways to get someone to leave. She shook her head and ignored the fluttering in her stomach and her errant thoughts, as she and Jim made their way to the ship.

Jim reached the ladder first, and Starla let him climb up ahead of her. She could almost feel the excitement emanating off him in waves. She smiled lightly to herself as they climbed up, excited to finally be getting back on a ship. Jim climbed over the edge of the railing, and she followed suit.

"How cool is this?" Jim asked, spinning in a slow circle to take it all in. Starla rolled her eyes and chuckled. Must be his first time on a ship. Suddenly, there was a loud squishing noise, and Starla saw that Jim had stepped on Mister Snuff.

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean -" Jim began, but was cut off when Snuff started to make angry…squishy noises. Starla giggled as Snuff blew into Jim's face. She walked up beside him, still chuckling, and attempted to fix his hair for him. He looked confused about Snuff but smiled when she walked over.

"Allow me to handle this," Delbert began, before making noises identical to Snuff's, apparently communicating. There was a small smile growing on Jim's face, and Starla couldn't help but laugh at the whole situation. Delbert ended his half of the conversation, and Snuff began to laugh. She had no idea what just went on, but Starla learned long ago to just go with it.

"I'm fluent in Flatula, Jim. Took two years of it in high school. Pffft," Delbert said, ending with a goodbye to Snuff.

"Flatula?" Jim said, looking at Starla with a smile. "Cool," he finished, and the young woman rolled her eyes as they followed Delbert to where he had walked off to.

She recognized Mister Arrow instantly, but of course didn't show it, as he hadn't met her yet.

"Good morning, Captain," Delbert began when he walked up to Arrow, "Everything shipshape?" Arrow placed his hands behind his back and nodded in greeting at the three newcomers.

"Shipshape it is, sir. But I'm not the captain. The captain's aloft," he ended, gesturing up towards the mast. Climbing down in an acrobatic way and clearly showing off, Starla recognized the distinctive form of the feline she'd seen before - Captain Amelia. She grinned when she heard a distinct 'meow' coming from her general direction, just before she landed on her feet -cats always do, I hear- just in front of them. Delbert and Jim shared a looked and Starla just grinned. She liked this woman already.

"Mister Arrow, I've checked this miserable ship from stem to stern, and, as usual, it's… spot on. Can you get nothing wrong?" She ended with a shared grin with Arrow, and he tipped his hat to her.

"You flatter me, Captain." Amelia walked forward, nearly crashing into Delbert. They stared at each other for a moment, but soon Amelia was grinning.

"Ah. Doctor Doppler, I presume," she teased in a loud voice.

"Well, uhm, yes. I -" Delbert began, but was cut off.

"Hello? Can you hear me?!" Amelia asked loudly, banging on the front of Delbert's helmet.

"Yes, I can! Stop that banging!" Delbert said, clearly flustered. Jim and Starla shared a quick look of amusement. Delbert began to try and lift the helmet off, but Amelia grabbed the front of the suit, distracting Delbert, turning around the power source welded to the front. She turned it around, and plugged it in, where it was supposed to be, in the back of the suit.

"If I may, Doctor, this works so much better when it's right-way up and plugged in. Lovely. There you go," she said to him as she adjusted the suit. Beside her, Starla could hear Jim chuckle.

"If you don't mind, I can manage my own plugging!" Delbert said, unplugging the suit and holding it out as he addressed Amelia. She grabbed his hand for a shake, forcing him to let the plug go and send it whizzing back to its original position.

"I'm Captain Amelia, late of a few run-ins with the Protean Armada. Nasty business, but I won't bore you with my scars. You've met my first officer, Mister Arrow. Sterling, tough, dependable, honest, brave, and true," Amelia said, giving Arrow a wry grin.

"Please, Captain," Arrow replied, closing his eyes and smiling.

"Oh shut up Arrow, you know I don't mean a word of it," Amelia replied.

Delbert coughed and intruded on Amelia and Arrow's moment. "Ahem, excuse me. I hate to interrupt this lovely banter, but may I introduce to you Starla Montgomery, a new and valiant member of your crew." Starla walked up to Amelia and bowed her head in respect, smiling.

"Pleasure to meet you, Captain," she said to her as Amelia gave her a small smile. Delbert continued on.

"And this is Jim Hawkins. Jim, you see, is the boy who found the treasure -" Delbert was cut off once again by Amelia, who reached up to grab his cheeks, stopping him from talking.

"Doctor, please!" She said, giving a pointed look at the nearby crew members. A large and simply frightening alien with rippling muscles and four arms growled lightly at Amelia and Delbert. Starla gave them a pointed look, and the three crew members wandered off. She gave Jim a quick wink before addressing Amelia.

"I should be getting about my duties, Captain," she said to her, walking backwards towards the sleeping quarters. It was time for her to find Silver, and find out more about the plan. Amelia waved her off before looking back at Delbert and Jim. "I'd like a word with you in my stateroom."

Starla stepped lightly off the small staircase, looking about at the number of hammocks. She noticed one near the back corner, and decided that would be the best bet for her, seeing as it didn't have any other hammock near it, and with her being the only woman. She walked over to it and shrugged her pack off, setting it down in the middle of her new bed. She took her new jacket off, and folded it to resemble a pillow at the end of it. Pulling her father's gun carefully from her waistband, she hid it carefully underneath her jacket.

She stretched her back and arms before changing quickly into a different pair of trousers, and her regular sleeveless red shirt. Shaking out her hair, Starla pulled it up into a ponytail, letting the strands tickle her bare upper back. Smiling to herself as she tightened her boots, she made her way up and out onto the deck.

Now, Silver told her that he was going to be the cook on this voyage. So, logically, Starla headed over to another opening, another doorway leading down beneath the deck of the ship. She could smell food and hear voices, so she knew she had the right place.

To prove her right, she heard Arrow say loudly "Mister Silver?" And she smiled to herself and made her way down the steps, and stepped up behind Arrow, Delbert, and Jim. She walked up beside Jim and ran a hand down his arm, giving him a smile. He looked up at her in surprise, a small blush working its way up his neck. Starla felt her own cheeks warm slightly, as they both remembered the kiss. Starla dropped her hand from his arm, and focused back on the conversation going on around her.

She heard Silver whistling a simple tune, and saw him wearing much simpler clothes than usual, even an apron. Starla held back a chuckle as he came into view.

"Why, Mister Arrow, sir. Bringin' in such fine lookin', distinguished gents to grace my humble galley. Had I known, I'd have tucked in me shirt," he said, laughing and tucking his shirt -and apron- into the waistband of his trousers. Starla rolled her eyes and walked over to the circular kitchen, pulling herself up to sit on the wooden countertop. She could see Jim study Silver's mechanical assets, his eyes wide. She thought she saw him mumble something under his breath, but she wasn't close enough to catch it. Silver looked over his shoulder at her, sending her a wink. She smiled in return.

Arrow gestured to Delbert, who walked forward as he was introduced. "May I introduce Doctor Doppler? The financier of our voyage." Delbert bowed lightly to Silver, giving him a light smile. Silver brightened his mechanical eye, studying Delbert's suit from top to bottom.

"Love the outfit, Doc." Delbert reached down to cover his more personal bits, coughing nervously.

"Well, thank you. Uhm… Love the eye." To deflect the attention from himself, Delbert reached behind him to bring Jim forward by his arm.

"Uh, this young lad is Jim Hawkins." Jim stepped forward, ahead of Delbert. Silver walked forward and extended his mechanical arm, but the hand that was discharged was that of different weapons.

"Jimbo!" He greeted him, already conceiving a nickname, before realizing what hand was out and quickly changing it to metallic fingers. Jim gave him a cool, mistrusting look, but Silver paid no mind. He walked back over to his side of the counter, as Starla was still sitting on the opposite.

"Aw now, don't be too put off by this hunk o' hardware," Silver said to Jim as he began to prepare some sort of shellfish.

Silver used his hand to gut the shellfish quickly, throwing each one directly into a pan. He pulled up an assortment of vegetables, chopping them all quickly. Starla rolled her eyes when he 'cut off his hand.' She'd seen that trick too many times to enjoy it. But she did recognize what he was making, and her stomach began to grumble in excitement.

"These gears have been tough getting used to," Silver was saying, "but they do come in mighty handy from time to time," he finished as he cracked some blue eggs into the pan. He continued to hum his little tune, roasting the pan with an open flame from his mechanical arm before pouring its contents into a large pot in the center of the kitchenette. Adding spices and giving it a taste, Silver finished his stew. He poured three bowls, tossing one to Starla before going up to Delbert and Jim.

"Here, now, have a taste of me famous bonzabeast stew," Silver said, handing each of them a bowl. Starla brought her own up to her mouth and gulped some of it down, loving the salty warmth sliding down her throat; the heat warming her all the way from her stomach to her fingertips. She took a moment to think back on the last time she'd eaten. Not remembering, the woman shrugged, taking another swig of her stew.

Delbert sniffed his before giving it a taste. But he gave an 'mmm' and smacked his lips. "Delightfully tangy, yet robust." Silver smiled, saying "Old family recipe." Delbert moved his bowl up to have another taste, but the eyeball now floating in it most likely turned him off from it. Delbert gave a horrified look and let out a small "Aah!" as Silver came up beside him, putting an arm around his shoulder.

"In fact, that was part of the old family!" He said to the doctor, laughing. "Oh ho, I'm just kidding, Doc," Silver said after wiping his eye. He reached into Delbert's bowl and grabbed the eye, tossing it into his mouth.

"I'm nothin' if I aint a kidder," he continued, going over to Jim and winking at him. He placed a hand on Jim's shoulder and pushed the bowl closer to his mouth.

"Go on, Jimbo. Have a swig." Jim brought a spoonful up for inspection, a look of wariness plain on his face. Starla's eyes followed his, and she gazed at the spoon he held. But… Oh no. Silver hadn't given Jim a spoon…

Suddenly the bowl end of the spoon took on a bright pink colour, forming a mouth and two eyes. Jim gave a small gasp at that, and Starla rolled her eyes as Morph began to giggle and beg for more.

"Morph!" She said to the blob, scolding but smiling.

"You jiggle-headed blob of mischief!" Silver said, plainly amused. Morph turned himself into a straw, and sucked up the rest of Jim's stew for himself.

"So that's where ya was hiding," Silver continued as Morph turned back into his regular form, chattering before he let out a belch. Starla giggled and finished off her own stew, tossing the bowl -gently- into the metal sink. She looked up to see Morph cuddling against Jim's face, and she smiled at them, leaning up against the doorframe that separated the kitchenette from the tables.

"Wha - Ha! What is that thing?" Jim asked as he poked Morph. The blob mimicked Jim before shuddering into a dozen different pieces.

"He's… a morph," Silver replied as Morph turned himself into a tiny version of Jim, staring at the real one. "I rescued the little shape shifter on Proteus 1," Silver continued as Morph cooed at Jim, before flying over to Silver and snuggling into his neck. "Aw, he took a shine to me. We been together ever since." Starla rolled her eyes.

"And you just forget all about me as soon as you get a new pet, eh?" She teased Silver playfully.

She saw Jim and Delbert look up at that, confused and curious. Starla smiled and shrugged at them.

"Remember the uncle I was looking for? Well, I found him. Just yesterday," she told the pair, gesturing at Silver. He smiled and winked at her, while she smiled back. Jim looked at her with disbelief.

"What? Really?" He asked. She just laughed and shook her head.

"We're not actually related. Silver took me in a long time ago. We got separated a few weeks ago at a different port, thank the Gods he came to this Spaceport like I did. When I found him, we both got hired for this crew," she said, shrugging once again as she ended her little tale.

She saw Jim nod his head in understanding, and she let out her breath. He didn't see any holes in her story. Starla couldn't help but smile when Jim looked up at the sound of the bell, signaling that the ship is ready for launch.

"We're about to get underway," Arrow began, addressing Delbert. "Would you like to observe the launch, Doctor?" He asked him, gesturing to the door leading to the deck.

"Would I?" Delbert began, sounding excited. "Does an active galactic nucleus have superluminal jets?" Everyone was silent for a moment. Jim looked almost embarrassed for his friend. Starla raised an eyebrow. Delbert looked as if he were deflating before pointing at the door. "I'll follow you," he said to Arrow.

"Mister Hawkins and Miss Montgomery will stay here, in your charge, Mister Silver," Arrow said, giving Starla a stern look and holding Jim back from leaving the room. Silver, having a mouthful of stew at the moment, coughed and spluttered, choking on the stew.

"Beggin' yer pardon, sir, but -" He was cut off by Arrow, turning to give Silver a look.

"Captain's orders! See to it the new cabin boy…and girl, are kept busy."

Jim and Silver starting arguing at once. It was quite hilarious to be honest, coming from Starla's standpoint at least. She chuckled when they both sighed and face palmed. Silver looked up at Jim first.

"So… Captain's put you with me, eh?" He said, attempting a conversation, as he walked past Starla and over to the counter.

"Whatever," Jim said, clearly not happy with the decision. Silver only smiled.

"Well, who be a humble cyborg, to argue with the Captain?" Silver said, rolling up his sleeves as he began to prepare the next meal. Jim, never taking his eyes off Silver, walked back to the barrel of purps, grabbing one.

"Yeah… You know, these purps… They're kinda like the ones back home… On Montressor," Jim began, walking through the kitchenette, tossing the fresh purp between his hands. Starla eyed him warily… what was he getting at? She walked over to sit on the nearest table, watching him.

"You ever been there?" He asked Silver, walking closer to him.

"Eh, cant says I have, Jimbo," Silver replied, busying himself with his cooking, but he looked up a fraction, sharing a quick look with Starla.

"Come to think of it," Jim continued, taking a bite from his purp and hopping up onto the counter. "Just before I left, we met this old guy," Jim motioned to Starla before continuing, "- who was uhm, he was kind of looking for a cyborg buddy of his." Her eyes widened a fraction as she understood what Jim was getting at. She mentally smacked herself on the head; of course Jim wasn't that stupid. Get a warning about a cyborg from a salamander, also get map from aforementioned salamander, suddenly a cyborg appears on the ship to a destination from the aforementioned map. She tuned back into the conversation.

"Is that so?" Silver was saying, giving Starla another quick look.

"Yeah. What was that old salamander's name?" He asked, looking at the girl. She tried to look innocent.

"Bones. Billy Bones," she said, and looked curiously at Silver.

"Bones? Bones? Mm-mmm, t'aint ringin' any bells," Silver said to Jim, carrying his large bowl over to where Jim sat. He looked up at Jim, with an airy expression.

"Must have been a different cyborg. There's a slew of cyborgs, roamin' this port." Jim looked suspicious still, but was distracted by the soup Silver had set down. Jim looked absolutely disgusted, and Starla held in a laugh.

She looked up with Jim and Silver at the sound of the whistle signaling the cast off, Arrow shouting at the crew to prepare. Silver smiled at Jim.

"Eh, off with ye, lad. Watch the launch," he said, pushing Jim off the counter and towards the door. "Ya too, lass!" He called to Starla as she smiled at Jim and motioned towards the door. She gave Silver a hard look to his back as she and Jim made their way out.

"There'll be plenty of work a-waitin' for ya afterwards," he called to the two teenagers. He turned around to share a quick look with Starla, and she nodded. She placed a hand on Jim's back, smiling up at him as she led him towards the exit. Her small hand placed against his spine gave him shivers, and he grinned down at her. She smiled lazily back, refraining from offering up a wink.

She understood that look of Silver's well. Distract him, make sure he doesn't … Sniff about.