Chapter 6

Setting Sail

As Jim and Starla stepped onto the deck and into the bright light of day, the latter looked up to see Onus in the crow's nest, calling down to Amelia. "We are all clear, Captain!" She heard him shout. Starla looked below him and could see Amelia standing with Arrow and Delbert, as well as Turnbuckle at the wheel. Suddenly she heard Arrow shout "All hands to stations!" and everyone was flitting about. Since she and Jim would be working with Silver, she wasn't really sure what there was to do on deck. So instead, Starla wandered over to the edge of the ship, leaning on the railing and watching the Spaceport beneath them.

She soon felt Jim standing next to her, and she turned to smile at him, as she heard Arrow shout "Loose all solar sails!" Starla looked up above them to see the crew doing just that, and sighed. A part of her wished she was up there, helping them; feeling the wind through her hair… She couldn't hold in the grin that made its way to her lips as she felt the ship beneath her shift, and she leaned back down over the railing to watch the Spaceport slowly get smaller. She felt at her throat for her necklace, finding solace in its constant presence. She looked over at Jim, who watched the Spaceport as she did, with an amazed look on his face. He looked over at her just then, and the two grinned at each other like children. Starla was first to drop her gaze, shaking her head lightly once. Her thoughts kept drifting back to that kiss…

Arrow was still shouting orders at the crew, but Starla barely heard him. She was focused on the wind hitting her face as she leaned over that railing, and she closed her eyes. Starla smiled in pleasure, loving the feeling she got when the wind whipped her hair around her, not caring that it would become an unruly mess. Opening her eyes, she noticed Jim wasn't beside her anymore. Turning around so that her back was against the railing, she spotted Jim quite easily; he was standing by the mast, watching the preparation power lights illuminate in turn, signaling they were almost ready to cast off. Jim walked over to her when they were lit up, excitement plain on his face. He laughed happily and Starla rolled her eyes, chuckling with him.

And then they were floating. They were no longer within reach of the Spaceport's gravity, it seemed. Starla was lifted a few good feet from the surface of the deck, and could see her pant legs swishing about. She looked at Jim and he seemed to be in quite a similar position; with his arms lifted and his jacket floating around him. She smiled at his look of shock, and he looked up at her, chuckling at how she looked, she assumed. She could feel her hair drifting unnaturally around her, and she stuck her tongue out at Jim. But as soon as it had come, it was gone. Artificial gravity had been activated, it would seem, and Starla landed crouched down, on the soles of her feet. She stood up in one swift movement, and looked to see Jim looking down once more.

Hearing the revving of the engines, she walked to Jim, grabbing hold of one of his arms.

"Brace yourself," she told him, knowing full well they were about to cast off. She shifted the weight to her right leg, out behind her, as she felt the all-too-familiar jump the ship made, as it flew forward. She smiled as the wind whipped her hair into her face, but brushed it impatiently aside. Starla looked to her right to see Jim, standing in the shrouds beside her. She smiled and pulled herself up, holding on to one of the ropes as she stood at the top of the railing. Jim saw her and smiled; she could see how happy he was to be here.

A flock of flying space gulls flitted past the ship, and Starla looked up to see Jim with a content expression on his face, eyes closed. She looked around at the crew doing their duty, before averting her eyes back into the empty space around them. She leaned out as far as she could, her arm completely stretched out, still holding her secured to the ship; her feet firmly planted at the top of the railing. Her eyes closed for a moment, enjoying the feeling of weightlessness in this void, but Jim's exclamation of "Whoa!" made her open them.

Right there beside the ship, dozens upon dozens of Star Whales. Starla smiled in exhilaration; she'd only seen one in her whole life. One passed directly beside the ship, just inches from where she and Jim stood. She reached out her free hand to pat the whale, feeling its rubbery skin and smiling. She could see Jim move down the shrouds, walking at level with the whale's eye. From behind her, Starla could heard Delbert exclaim his shock and excitement and, looking back, could see he had gotten himself a face full of the whale's defecation.

Hearing the distinct sound of Silver's mechanical arm from behind her, Starla jumped down from the railing and walked over to him. He was shouting up at Amelia, it would seem.

"Ah, 'tis a grand day for sailin', Captain. And look at ya! You're as trim and as bonny as a sloop with new sails and a fresh coat of paint," he said to her, flashing a smile up at her while tipping his hat and bowing. Starla leaned up against the mast, watching. She chuckled when Amelia was having none of it.

"You can keep that kind of flim-flammery for your spaceport floozies, Silver." His shoulders drooped in defeat, and Starla grinned as Morph changed himself into Amelia, mimicking her by saying "Spaceport floozy!" over and over. Silver smiled nervously, enveloping Morph in his hat to shield him from view, sticking the hat on his head.

"You cut me to the quick, Captain. I speaks nothing but me heart at all times," Silver said. His hat began to float up as Morph once again began to mimic, this time saying "Nothing but me heart." Silver chuckled nervously a couple times, before slamming the hat back on his head. Starla merely shook her head, before walking over to her previous position, and leaning against the railing once more. Amelia raised an eyebrow at Silver, before speaking.

"And, by the way, aren't those your cabin boy and girl, aimlessly footling about in those shrouds?" Starla looked up to see Jim climbing down to the bottom of the shroud, still looking at the stars. She heard Silver sigh, and turned to see him raise his hands in surrender.

"Ah, a momentary aberration, Captain. Soon to be addressed." He turned to face Jim and Starla, hands on his hips.

"Jimbo!" He yelled at the boy, giving the girl a look. She rolled her eyes and stood up straighter.

Jim looked over as Silver walked over to him, hands behind his back.

"I got two new friends I'd like ya to meet," Silver was saying, and Starla sighed quietly. Jim looked from side to side, happily trying to meet his 'new friends.' Starla sighed once more as Silver grinned at Jim.

"Say hello to Mister Mop," a mop was thrown in the teens' general direction, Jim caught it in one hand, " - and Misses Bucket." This time a wooden bucket was thrown, and Starla had to jump to the side to avoid being smacked in the head. Raising an eyebrow and flitting her hair over her shoulder, she gave Silver a look as he laughed. She heard Jim mumble a sarcastic "Yippee," and couldn't keep from smiling.

"Yeah, I got your Mister Mop," Starla heard Jim say from her spot, perched atop the rail of the ship, one foot brought up to sit there on top and keep her steady, the opposite leg hanging down loosely. Silver had told her to keep an eye on Jim as he swabbed, and so that was what she was doing, as she practiced tying knots in a spare bit of rope.

She looked up when Jim nearly fell into her, and had to grab on quickly to avoid falling over the edge. She looked up with annoyance to see the alien who'd growled at Amelia earlier.

"Watch it, twerp," he said to Jim, and Starla raised an eyebrow at the pirate. Jim looked taken by surprise, but he looked up at her with a small smile and an apology. She smiled back and continued her knot tying, watching Jim from the corner of her eye as he began to mop once more. But he wasn't paying attention to it; he was looking at three crewmembers standing nearby, whispering to each other. Jim gave them a suspicious look, and from behind him, Starla waved an arm in warning at the three, finally catching one's attention. She pointed quickly down at Jim, and the pirate whose attention was now hers slapped one of the others in the arm, abruptly stopping their whispers. She rolled her eyes. Subtle.

Jim looked at the trio, studying them. The alien with the blonde dreadlocks and black cap -whom Starla knew to only be a head and not connected to the body it perched atop- sneered at Jim, saying "What are you looking at, weirdo?" as the alien beneath him crossed its arms. The first alien climbed off the second, as the larger one moved its arms to reveal a face in his midsection. He smiled at his companion before looking at Jim.

"Yeah, weirdo." Starla could almost see the look on Jim's face. She shot the three aliens a quick glare, before hearing a hiss coming from somewhere above her.

She looked up just in time to see Scroop, a spider-like alien with annoyingly deadly pincers, climb down from the shrouds and onto the deck of the ship.

"Cabin boysss should learn to mind their own businesss," he hissed at Jim. But the latter only looked intimidated for a moment, before fiddling with his mop and giving a small grin.

"Why? You got something to hide, bright eyes?" He said, antagonizing Scroop more. His eyes widened a fraction before dissolving into yellow slits. If looks could kill…

"Maybe your ears don't work ssso well," Scroop said, grabbing Jim by the collar and pulling him up. Starla jumped up to stand quickly, getting ready to move in were anything to happen. She groaned internally as Jim only made the situation worse, the smart arse.

"Yeah, ahem. Too bad my nose works just fine." She could have killed the kid herself.

Scroop gave an angered hiss. "Why you impudent little -" He said, throwing Jim up against the mast. Jim tried to wriggle from his grasp, but couldn't come free. Starla ran forward, her hand shooting for the gun in her waistband, but remembered they weren't to have weapons, and therefore didn't have it with her. She grunted unintelligibly to herself, before coming up beside Scroop, giving him a hard look. The crew had gathered around, shouting for Scroop to finish him off.

"Let him go, Scroop," Starla said, warning in her voice. He just gave her a sideways glance and a chuckle. She'd been in many fights, too many to count, and yet most of the crew still think she's a novice little girl. The thought made her grind her teeth. Scroop directed his attention back to Jim, glaring at him and bringing one of his claws up under Jim's neck.

"Any last wordsss, cabin boy?"

And then Scroop made a sound of shock and pain, and Starla moved to the side, looking under the arm holding Jim to the mast, to see what had happened. Silver had his mechanical arm, squeezing the life from the arm held to Jim's throat. Starla let a small, relieved sigh escape from her throat. She looked up at Jim, checking to see if he was alright.

"Mister Scroop," Silver began, carelessly chewing on a purp. "You ever see what happens to a fresh purp, when you squeeze real hard?" He asked, squeezing ever harder on Scroop's arm. He dropped Jim, now using his free hand to rub at his now-injured one. Starla smiled gravely as she kneeled down beside Jim.

"What's all this then?" She heard Arrow shout, as he came walking towards the gathered crew.

"You alright?" Starla whispered to Jim. He looked up at her and nodded, and she held the underside of his arm, helping to pull him to his feet.

"You know the rules," Arrow continued, "- there'll be no brawling on this ship." Most of the crew had gathered to form a small line, and Arrow walked down it, staring at each crew member in turn. He continued. "Any further offenders will be confined to the brig for the remainder of the voyage." Arrow turned to face Scroop directly, their faces inches apart. "Am I clear, Mister Scroop?" He asked. Starla could tell Scroop was about to hiss something impolite in his face, but just then a bright light shined in his face, and she looked over to see Silver, sending him a not-so-subtle hint. Scroop looked as if he internally sighed, the anger still written on his face.

"Transparently," he replied to Arrow, still seething.

Arrow gave one last look at the crew, before walking off. The crew muttered behind his back, but Starla's eyes were on Scroop. He gave Arrow a harsh look, and she gave Scroop his own, though he didn't see it. The crew began to disperse, and she could hear Silver shouting at Arrow's retreating figure.

"Well done, Mister Arrow, sir! A tight ship's a happy ship, sir!"

Starla sighed and looked back at Jim, who was leaning against the mast. She walked over and began to dust off the sleeve of his jacket.

"Don't mess around with these guys," she whispered in his ear, shooting him a quick look. Jim looked as if he were about to reply, but was interrupted by Silver.

"Jimbo! I gave you a job!" He said, holding up the discarded mop and pointing to it. Starla almost smiled at Jim's reaction. He's a defensive little thing, isn't he? Jim came suddenly to life, making wild arm gestures.

"Hey, I was doing it! Until that bug thing -" But he was soon interrupted by Silver.

"Belay that!" He shouted, coming close to his face. "Now, I want this deck swabbed spotless. And heaven help ya if I come back and it's not done," Silver said, gesturing to the heavens before pointing at Jim. The latter looked like he itched to shout something back, but held his tongue. Starla sighed quietly to herself at the tangible testosterone around her. She began to walk back over to her previous perch as Silver instructed Morph to keep an eye on Jim, but Silver's voice distracted her.

"Starla! Don't think ya can walk away from me, lass. Get over here." Starla sighed and spun on her heel, eyebrow raised at her adopted guardian.

"Yes?" She asked, giving a small smile.

"I need ya in the kitchen for now. Come down there," Silver said to her, flashing a wink. Meeting been called? Starla thinks so.

She sighed as Silver stalked away, before turning back towards Jim. He looked miserable and angry as he began to mop again. Morph had shifted himself to have a gigantic pair of eyes, watching Jim very closely. Starla smiled at that before waving goodbye to Jim, not noticing how he watched her until she disappeared from view.

Author's Note: This one's really boring, I'm sorry. And yes I named them Star Whales because Doctor Who. Anyhoodle. Thanks for reading this and I promise it will get livelier … Soon.