Chapter 12
Defending The Map
There was a sudden noise at the door, and Jim and Starla snapped their heads up to see Silver climbing the steps down into the galley. The young woman opened her mouth to speak, but Jim silenced her with a quick look over his shoulder at her. He pushed her behind him, shielding her from view. She peeked her eyes over Jim's shoulder, shooting Silver a pleading look.
"Jimbo," Silver said, before taking the last couple steps down, and smiling at Jim lightly. "Playing games, are we?" He asked Jim, moving ever closer. Jim walked back as well, and Starla dropped his hand, walking out from behind him. Silver barely glanced at her, eyes trained on Jim.
"Yeah," Jim began, anger evident in the low drop of his voice. "Yeah, we're playing games," he finished, leaning back against a table. Starla looked between the two men, heart pounding.
"Oh, I see," Silver began, rubbing his chin. "Well, I was never much good at games. Always hated to lose," Silver finished, crossing his arms behind his back. He looked at Starla then, sending a disappointed and somewhat apologetic look. Faintly, she heard a click sound behind his back, and she looked hard into his eyes, recognizing the sound. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Jim reach behind him to grab for something on the table. He picked up a small and pointed silver can opener, and she felt herself raise an eyebrow.
"Me too!" Jim said loudly and, quick as a flash, he grabbed Starla's hand before running past Silver, reaching down to stab at his mechanical leg as the two teenagers went past. Starla gasped lightly and looked back at Silver as they ran up the steps, seeing him clutch his leg as steam swam in the air from his wound.
She could hear Morph following behind them as Jim led her to Amelia's stateroom, dropping his silver gadget somewhere along the way. They ran into the brightly lit room and both leaned hard on the door, shutting it. Breathing hard and trying to gather her thoughts, Starla leaned back against the door, faintly hearing Silver shout at the crew that it was time to move.
She ran a hand through her hair, feeling that it had escaped from its ponytail and fell limply down her back. Just like that, she'd jumped from her own crew to the next, without even thinking. She shook her head, and jumped quickly from the door when she heard shouts coming directly behind her. Starla stared at the door for a moment, before walking over to Jim, giving him a quick warning look.
"Pirates on my ship? I'll see they all hang," Amelia was saying, pulling a couple of guns from her unlocked cupboard. Starla felt herself look down in shame.
"Doctor, familiar with these?" Amelia asked Delbert, throwing a charged laser gun in his direction, which he caught at an odd angle.
"Oh, I've seen - Well, I've read -" He said, holding the gun out from him uncomfortably. The gun discharged then, just missing Amelia and hitting the globe next to her. Starla heard Jim sigh beside her, and she chuckled silently.
"Ah, no. No. No, I'm not," the Doctor said, and Amelia gave an exasperated look. At that moment Starla remembered her father's gun, hidden away at her cot. There was no way she would be able to get it without getting shot first, and felt a moment of sadness before shaking herself and holding her head high.
Amelia looked up at Starla then, studying her as a distrustful look came over her. "Why did you bring her? She's one of them, is she not?" She asked Jim, still looking at Starla. She felt a heat creep up her neck, and looked down, unable to meet her gaze. Starla could feel Jim looking at her, but still did not raise her eyes.
"She's not part of the mutiny. I trust her," Starla heard him say. Everyone was silent for a moment, and she could feel all eyes on her.
"Very well," Amelia said after a moment, and looked up in time to see her look away. Jim walked over to Amelia as she pulled the map to Treasure Planet out of the cupboard, holding it carefully as Morph flew over to inspect it.
"Mister Hawkins, defend this with your life," Amelia said as she tossed the sphere at Jim. But instead Morph caught it in his mouth, and flew past Jim.
"Morph! Give me that!" Jim shouted, jumping up to grab the map from Morph. They wrestled with it for a moment, and Starla looked nervously towards the door. She saw the handle glowing red hot, and turned to address Amelia.
"Captain," she said, nodding towards the door. Amelia gave it a sharp look, before aiming a laser gun at the floor, shooting a hole into it. She placed a small pistol in her waistband, throwing a longer rifle over her shoulder by its strap. The doctor grasped his as they jumped, one by one, down into the belly of the ship.
Amelia leading them on, Starla ran just behind Jim through the long twists and turns. She could hear Delbert behind her, and looked over her shoulder to see him panicking. Hearing the loud click of Amelia's heels, she looked up to see they had made it down to the longboats. Starla all but jumped down the final flight of stairs, nearly falling into Jim. The two teenagers looked at each other a moment before Starla's attention was caught by the sound of an "oof!"
Turning around, Starla saw that Delbert had fallen right at the door. Hearing the pirates closing in on them, she saw Amelia grab him by his collar, pushing him out of the way and shutting the door. The doctor let out a quick "Thank you!" Starla let out a small smile. Using her laser gun, Amelia quickly fused the lock of the door.
"To the longboats, quickly!" The captain shouted at them. Running with Jim, Starla climbed up into a longboat behind him, before reaching down to pull Delbert up. Starla looked over to see Amelia had unlocked the large door, and watched it open slowly beneath her. Looking beside her at Jim, they shared a lingering look before her attention was caught to the entrance. She could hear as well as see the pirates attempting to break through the metal, as Amelia jumped up into the longboat, cocking her gun. Starla looked back at Jim, only to see Morph had decided to make things difficult. Opening his mouth wide, the pink blob grabbed the map from Jim's pocket, floating down back to the catwalk below.
"Morph! No!" Starla shouted, as Jim jumped out of the boat to chase after him. "James!" She yelled to his back, jumping out after him.
Her heart raced as she heard the door slam down, and looked to see the pirates had arrived. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she continued after Jim, trying to catch Morph as he flew between them. She could hear Amelia and Delbert fighting off the pirates, but tried to focus on the matter at hand.
Hearing shouts, Starla looked down to see the pirates had fallen through the catwalk somehow, down to the planet far below. Her hair blew in her face as she watched them fall, eyes widening as the large door began to close beneath them. Starla looked up to see Silver, a smile on his face as he pulled the control up. She bit her lip as he began to walk slowly towards Jim, who was still busily chasing Morph.
"Don't you dare," Starla called to Silver, walking up to him, closer to the older man than to the younger. He gave her a hard look, but merely pushed past her, pushing her down to the ground to get to Jim. She looked up to see Silver calling Morph over, who still had the map.
"Morph! Morphy, come here," he called to his pet before whistling to him.
"Morph. Morph. Bring it here. Morph, come here," Jim called, beckoning the blob over. The two continued this for a moment, as Morph began to get confused, finally dropping with the map into a pile of rope.
Silver fell onto his good leg, his mechanical one still obviously sore after Jim had injured him in the galley. Starla stood, sprinting right past Silver and towards Jim, as the latter reached the pile of rope first, holding the map close. Starla reached down and grabbed his hand, dragging him back towards the longboat containing Amelia and Delbert. She heard the powering up of Silver's gun, and her heart beat ever faster as she pulled Jim quickly around a corner. But no shots came.
Jumping simultaneously into the longboat, Amelia and Delbert shot at the cables holding the longboat up, releasing it from its rigging and sending them quickly down, just slipping through the door. They fell quickly towards the planet below, and Starla's breath caught. Looking down to see Jim barely holding on to the side of the boat, she and Delbert reached quickly to heave him up, shouting "Jim!" together. Amelia pulled the sail, slowing and steadying their fall. She began to fiddle with the controls, powering the boat up.
"Parameters met. Hydraulics engaged," she said, grabbing onto the steering bar and leading the boat towards Treasure Planet.
Starla looked down at the murky clouds beneath them, pushing her hair from her face. Her heart was racing, and she jumped slightly when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Jim giving her a quick look. Starla gave him a quick nod, assuring him she was alright.
"Captain!" Delbert called from behind the two teenagers. "Laser ball at 12 o'clock!" He reached up to cover his head, leaning down. Starla instinctively leaned down as well, felling Jim's arm across her back as he shielded her from view. She felt the boat shift sharply to the right beneath her; Amelia had tried to move them out of the way in time. But she wasn't quick enough, and Starla lurched to the side, smacking right into Jim as the laser ball caught the longboat at the rear. Starla sat up and turned to see the sail had burned up, and the back end of the boat was gone. Her stomach somewhere in her throat, they hurdled down to Treasure Planet, holding on for dear life. Her hand found Jim's, and she squeezed as tight as she could.
They suddenly jerked down into strange looking trees, losing speed before crashing to the ground. Starla let out a soft scream as the boat upended and slid across the vegetation, ripping her hand from Jim's. All four were thrown upside down as the boat dumped them, leaving them all momentarily mystified. Starla's eyes were squeezed shut, and she coughed out a breath, trying to lift her head from the ground.
All was still, and Starla could hear the boat creak before light burned her eyelids, signaling someone was lifting it up. Opening her eyes, she could see Jim holding it up. Letting out a soft groan, Starla sat up slowly, careful not to bump her head. Jim lifted the boat and it sat at an angle, keeping itself up. Delbert stood first, adjusting his glasses.
"Oh my goodness," he began with a small groan, "- that was more fun than I ever want to have again."
Starla had to smile at the doctor, before lifting herself up to stand, hunched over as her hands gripped her knees, catching her breath. Somewhere along the fall, she had unluckily crushed her injured against the side of the boat, and it once again was throbbing. Starla bit back a groan.
Amelia chuckled as she stood, straightening her coat. "Not one of my gossamer landings," she said, before groaning and gripping her ribs, obviously in pain. Starla gasped as she fell to her knees, still holding her torso tightly.
"Captain!" Delbert said in shock, kneeling down beside Amelia and placing a hand on her shoulder. Jim ran over to assist Delbert in helping her stand as Starla stood back, unsure of what to do.
"Oh, don't fuss," Amelia said, sounding strained as she stood with the Doctor's help. Once on her feet, she lost her balance, and Delbert had to grab hold of her arms to keep her steady. "Slight bruising, that's all," Amelia went on to say, "- a cup of tea and I'll be right as rain." She finished, fixing her now-messy hair. Starla didn't believe one word of it, and her opinion on the matter was proved to be correct when Amelia looked at Delbert, calling him "Mister Hawkins."
Noticing their faces and inspecting Delbert closer, Amelia looked to the younger man, and gestured to him. "The map, if you please," she inquired of him, holding out her hand. Jim, holding his arm in a way that made Starla worry, suddenly smiled and went into his pocket. Starla smiled with him as he pulled the map from his pocket, holding it for all to see. As they all watched, the spherical map suddenly levitated up from where it rested on Jim's palm, and began to spin. It then proceeded to change into many different parts, turning pink. Suddenly Morph was floating in the map's place, giggling wildly at his own little joke.
Starla's heart sank as Jim yelled Morph's name. "Morph! Morph, where's the map?!" He yelled at the shapeshifter. Morph then proceeded to turn himself into a pile of rope, and the map, miming that the map was inside the pile of rope. Starla fumed.
"Are you serious?! It's back on the ship?!" She yelled, and she and Jim both began to grab for Morph. Amelia's voice could be heard a moment later, calling their attention to the Legacy's other longboat, currently being flown above them.
"Stifle that blob and get low. We've got company."
Jim grabbed Morph between both his hands and looked up, before his gaze settled on Starla. She looked over at him, her eyes sad, as she placed a hand on his shoulder.