Chapter 7

A Mutiny in the Making

Starla walked down the steps and into the galley below deck, wondering what was to be discussed. She noticed nearly all the crew was there, excluding Silver and a few others who remained above, doing their duties. Walking to the front of the dimly lit room, she reached to grab a purp from the barrel that contained a pile of them. She took a small bite, wiping the juice from around her mouth. She then moved to sit at an empty table, sitting on the top and letting her feet sit atop the bench. The crew talked amongst themselves as she sat in silence, lost in thought.

The purp had just been finished when Silver walked into the room. She looked over her shoulder at him, and could see he had an absent-minded smile. Oh no. Not a good sign. He reached to clasp his hands behind his back, before gesturing at the crew.

"So… We're all here then," he began, just as Onus, the many-eyed short little alien, rushed into the room, walking past Silver and moving to sit on a bench.

"Excuse me," he said quietly as he passed, before looking up at Silver with a grin. Miraculously, Starla didn't roll her eyes.

Silver walked over to the alien that was only a head, and his companion, fiddling with the small alien's dreadlocks. The handful of crew members around there looked quite nervous, and rightfully so. Starla swallowed a lump in her throat, watching Silver as he continued to straighten the alien's hair.

"Now, if ya pardon my plain speakin', gentleman. Are ya all -" Silver began calmly. One of Starla's hands fisted against her knee, waiting for Silver to continue. Quick as a flash, his mechanical arm switched into a sword. "- stark-raving, totally blinking daft?!" He shouted, waving the sword about and making many of the crew members tremble.

"After all me finagling, getting us hired as an upstanding crew, you want to blow the whole mutiny before it's time?" Silver went on, a small bit calmer, ending his rhetorical question at Scroop. The pair stared each other down as Scroop hissed.

"The boy wasss sniffing about," he said to Silver, and Starla felt her heart rate quicken. She didn't want them to kill him. She - Wait, no. I shouldn't care. I don't care. Kill the twit. Starla shook her head of its errant thought, focusing her attention back to Silver and Scroop.

"Ya just stick to the plan, ya bug-brained twit," Silver was saying to Scroop, glaring at him. "As for the boy," he continued, looking at Starla over his shoulder. She gave him a nod, and he continued. "I'll run him so ragged he won't have time to think. And if he still has energy, well..." He chuckled then, sending the girl a knowing smile. She smiled back, though she felt it didn't quite reach her eyes. "… I have a secret weapon," Silver finished, gesturing to Starla. She stood, smiling her half-smile, as the crew around her chuckled ominously. But for the first time in a very long time, she didn't think what Silver told her to do, was the right thing.

Their first day aboard the Legacy was coming to a close. Silver had given Starla some work to do in the kitchens -inventory, mostly- and she had just finished. Stretching her arms above her head, she was glad to be finally climbing out from below and coming into the fresh air of the deck. She smiled when she saw Jim, still mopping away. She looked down to see Morph had turned himself into a miniature mop, cleaning Jim's shoes. Starla chuckled, walking over to the pair.

"Well this has been a fun day," she said, coming up behind Jim and taking him by surprise. He jumped slightly as he turned, but smiled when he saw who it was. She placed a hand lightly on his shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze. Jim smiled slightly before leaning on his mop. Starla dropped her hand and instead ran it through her hair.

"Making new friends," Jim said, gesturing to the mop. "Like that spider psycho," he added, smiling. Starla laughed as Morph turned himself into a smaller version of Scroop, mimicking Jim's "Spider psycho, spider psycho." Jim and Starla both chuckled at that.

"Little uglier," the latter said with a grin, and Morph looked thoughtful for a moment before changing his face to be a little maniacal, laughing evilly to go along with it.

"Pretty close," Jim said with a smile. He ran a hand back through his fringe, before looking up at Starla through his lashes. She was lovely, anyone could see that. Tall and slim, with big brown eyes and waist-length hair only a few shades lighter. She had a lock of hair twirled around her finger, her other hand playing at that silver star around her neck; her eyes were focused on his. When he saw that she had caught him staring, he looked away, mumbling an apology. Starla strode over, and placed a hand on his shoulder once again.

"Was there something you wanted to say?" She asked, and Jim looked into her eyes. He took a breath, his heart pounding. Yes, there was definitely something he wanted to say. The way she kissed him… He liked it… And wouldn't mind doing it again. But, no. That's stupid and creepy. So he wasn't going to say that. But, knowing him. That was exactly what was going to come out.

"Well, Starla. I wanted… About that kiss. I want -" But he was cut short, by Silver of all people.

"Thank heavens for little miracles," They heard from behind them. Turning, Starla could see Silver climbing the steps up to the upper lever of the deck where she and Jim stood.

"Up here for an hour, and the deck's still in one piece," Silver said jokingly. He had a great metal bowl in his hands, and moved towards the edge of the railing to dump food scraps over the edge. Morph had turned back into his regular blobish form, and jumped right over the edge after the food, hoping to get a taste. Starla smiled and rolled her eyes, leaning against the railing, looking up at Jim and Silver. She wanted desperately to know what he had been about to say, but probably wouldn't. There was an obvious blush rising on his neck, and his attention was focused on Silver. She deduced that he had worked himself up to mention their kiss, and she'd have to wait for him to work himself up once again.

"Uhm, look… I, uh -" she heard Jim mumble, and raised an eyebrow. He took a breath and continued, looking up from his mop to Silver.

"What you did…" Jim tried again, looking for a moment at Starla before returning his gaze to Silver.

"Thanks," he finished, smiling at Silver. Starla smiled at Jim, and could see Silver look momentarily surprised.

"Didn't your pap ever teach ya to pick your fights a bit more carefully?" He asked Jim. But he had stiffened, and Starla groaned internally. She remembered hearing Sarah and Delbert's conversation back at the Benbow… Jim's father had left, and Jim hadn't recovered from it.

Jim had turned away from Silver's gaze, and busied himself with the mop. Starla shot Silver a quick look before walking up behind Jim, placing a hand on his shoulder for comfort. Silver caught on, and continued.

"Your father not the teachin' sort?" He asked. Jim stopped his mopping for a moment to look at Starla quickly, before vigorously mopping the deck within an inch of its life. She stepped away from him, not wanting to crowd.

"No," Jim was saying, "he was more the taking off and never coming back sort."

Starla bit her lip lightly before rubbing the back of her neck, watching the tighten of Jim's shoulders.

Silver was looking unhappy at having brought it up. "Oh," he said, trying to diffuse the tension by giving a small chuckle. He walked up beside Jim, leaning on the railing. "Sorry lad," he added, looking at Jim.

"Hey, no big deal," Jim said. He gave an obviously fake smile, before leaning against the railing next to Silver. Starla hopped up to sit atop of it, watching Jim.

"I'm doing just fine," Jim finished, looking out at the stars. Silver gave a calculating look, before looking up at the young woman. She saw him look to her, but for once, didn't look back. She was watching Jim, trying to figure out what he was thinking.

"Is that so?" She heard Silver say as he rubbed his chin. She looked sharply at Silver then, because she recognized that tone in his voice. Sure enough, Silver was smiling.

"Well, since the captain's put ya in my charge, like it or not, I'll be pounding a few skills into that thick head of yours to keep you out of trouble," he began, still grinning, as he poked Jim in the forehead. Starla rolled her eyes, smiling, as Jim began to protest. She remembered getting a similar speech when she first met Silver.

"From now on, neither me nor Starla is letting' ye out of our sight," Silver continued, and Jim whipped to look back at the young woman. She grinned wickedly, shrugging her shoulders.

"You can't do th-" Jim began, but was cut off by Starla's chuckle and shake of her head.

Silver went on, "Ya won't so much as eat, sleep, or scratch your bum without our say-so." He ticked off his fingers for each point, and slammed a fist on the railing as he finished, still smiling.

"Don't do me any favors!" Jim huffed, looking between Silver and Starla mutinously. She laughed at that, winking at Jim.

"You can be sure of that, darling. You can be very sure of that."