Part 1: The Contrivance

Chapter 1

False Accusations

Jim lowered the newspaper with shaking hands as he tried to contain his rising anger. The seventeen year old young man found himself sitting at a corner table that cloudy afternoon inside the Admiral Benbow Inn on the mining planet of Montressor. Jim had never been one interested in reading newspapers, but ever since his and Alice's latest adventure to the Eternity Star where they had crossed paths with the cruel Procyon Admiral Amos Morgan, he'd been checking the papers for any updates on dangers in the Empire. That particular morning the title of an article splashed across the front page had caught Jim's attention.

TREASURE PLANET: TRUTH OR LIE?

Upon studying the article further Jim had discovered that the author was none other than Maximillian White, the columnist who hadn't quite gotten over the fact that Jim had rejected his 'talents' a year earlier when he and Alice had returned from their very first voyage to Treasure Planet. When Jim had refused to recount the tale to White, the man had threatened to taint Alice's name in the papers, but with very little evidence to go on he hadn't been able to write much. Now it appeared he was back in business and receiving quite the attention since his latest work had made it to the front page.

The more Jim read of the editorial the more it sparked his rage. Within every line it appeared White was bent on criticizing Jim and the rest of the Legacy's crew by claiming their voyage was nothing but a hoax meant to gather attention and to allow Jim and Alice free, very undeserving, access to the Interstellar Academy, one of the most prestigious spacing schools in the galaxy.

"What?" Jim cried as he continued to read, startling several customers nearby who were enjoying their breakfast. The boy could hardly believe the lies White was fabricating with each new sentence in his column.

While inquiring after some of the details to their voyage to Treasure Planet, Mr. Hawkins astounded me with his uncivilized behavior. There were sure signs of violence in his actions which can only further prove the voyage is nothing but a scam meant to garner very undeserving attention from the general public and to allow Mr. Hawkins and Miss Alice – now known as Miss Perez – full access to a future neither of them deserve. As several of the local police put it,

"Mr. Hawkins has been caught breaking common traffic laws on his solar surfer numerous times. His record clearly shows that if any such stunt is pulled again we will have no choice but to send him to Juvenile Hall."

Little is known of Miss Perez's background as well beyond the fact that she too attended the voyage to Treasure Planet and returned to live with Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins, but, as such, rumors have spread of her family being directly linked to a lineage of bloodthirsty pirates.

"That girl is nothing but trouble," stated a civilian when asked about Miss Perez's presence in the town. "Why, just the other day I caught her attempting to smuggle some of my apples from my food stall. She was brought up all wrong, and I'm sure her parents, wherever they may be, have taught her very well how to act like the ruffians they are."

As for the other members of the voyage, they too refuse to contribute their accounts. Whereas the crew of the Legacy was revealed to be none other than pirates, not all of the pirates that began the journey were accounted for especially concerning the renowned Long John Silver who mysteriously escaped the Legacy just before making port on Crescentia. The prestigious Captain Amelia (recently married to Doctor Doppler, the financier of the voyage) has been unable to hold these pirates accountable. Though one can hardly begin to wonder how Mr. Silver, as well as two other wanted criminals, escaped her clutches again during her latest voyage to the apparent Eternity Star. Several other commanding officers of the navy are beginning to suspect Captain Amelia may not be all she's claimed to be due to her willingness to capture and later release these fiends back into the galaxy to terrorize other innocent men and women –

Jim could hardly stand to read any further. He crumpled up the paper in fury and slammed it down on the table. How could anyone in town believe such tales? Jim hated to boast on being famous for discovering Treasure Planet, but to have someone claim it was all a lie infuriated him. Morph, his protoplasmic pet, slipped out of his pocket and sent Jim a worried warble. Jim sighed and stroked the blob as Morph settled on his shoulder curling into his neck.

"I just don't understand, Morph," he breathed. "I just don't understand."

Just then Jim's mother, Sarah, came out of the kitchen, passing out plates to the desired customers. Upon noticing Jim's distressed countenance she tucked the tray under her arm and approached her son.

"Is it the papers again?" she asked him. Jim nodded and got to his feet as he clutched the paper tight in his fist.

"I can't believe they would make up these lies about us, though," he grumbled. "Obviously Treasure Planet was real, how else would we have rebuilt the Benbow?"

"Just ignore the columns, Jim," she told him. "What matters is that you and I and everyone else know the truth. No one else matters," she told him with a caring smile. Jim rubbed his face.

"I just…it just stings, you know?"

"That's it, I am confiscating all papers from falling into your hands after today," Mrs. Hawkins chuckled as she took the paper from Jim and placed it on her tray. "Now, we're running low on some groceries. How about you go into market and buy some more? I'm sure it will do you good. Heck, after that, take a ride on your solar surfer for all I care," Mrs. Hawkins threw up a hand. Jim laughed.

"Mom, you're actually giving me permission to ride my solar surfer?" he asked incredulously. "Are you sure you're my mom?"

"Oh stop it," she smiled as the two of them laughed with Morph making his own chirping noises. "Here are some coins. We're going to need more flour, bread, eggs, purps, and apples," she told him. Jim nodded as he mentally jotted down the list.

"Got it, anything else?" he asked, pulling on his black jacket that was resting over the back of his chair.

"Just have fun, Jim. It's your last week of summer vacation before you're back to the Academy. I don't want you to spend it in a moody stupor," she replied. Jim cracked a smile and squeezed his mother's hand.

"I will, Mom, thanks," he chuckled before calling to Morph and leaving the inn. The frigid autumn air had Jim pulling his coat tighter around his shoulders as he walked into town. He tried to forget about Maximillian White and his lies and for a while he did, but that moment ended when he trudged down the muddy streets of Benbow. Jim could feel their eyes burning into him as Morph followed after, cooing and examining the many different vendors and shops. Jim looked down, trying to pretend he didn't hear them whispering and pointing in his direction.

"Do you see any flour or bread, Morph?" Jim asked the pink shape shifter to keep his attention occupied elsewhere. Morph transformed into a miniature bag of flour with a floating question mark beside it. Jim smiled. "Let's keep looking then." As they walked Jim had an uneasy sense that someone was following him. He turned around but was met with only the busy streets of Benbow. Shaking his head he took another few steps before the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Jim whipped around just in time to realize what was happening.

The boy had no time to react as a fist slammed into the side of his face knocking him to the ground when he felt two sets of hands grab him beneath the armpits and drag him down an alleyway out of the crowded streets and away from prying eyes. As the dizziness subsided, Jim came to realize what was happening. Ripping his arms out of the persons' grasps he spun around to see Robert, or Rob the Slob, a boy who had bullied Jim all throughout his days at the Benbowian high school before he had joined the Interstellar Academy.

"Rob!" he panted, trying to ignore the throbbing on the side of his face. Rob laughed.

"Miss me, Slim Jim?" Jim let out a grunt as Robert's two cronies grabbed Jim's arms and slammed him against the alley wall as they held him there despite Jim's struggling. Morph, who had hid in Jim's pocket, attempted to protect his friend by zooming out of his cozy sanctuary and biting one of Rob's friends. The boy cried out in pain and slapped at his hand, but Morph ducked out of the way, giving a mischievous smirk as he flew in to bite him again.

"Get it off of me!" the boy cried. Jim grinned and pushed against their hold, throwing the boys back before he reached for Rob's shirt collar and pulled him close.

"What's the matter, Slob? Scared?" Jim taunted when he heard a squeak behind him. Morph had returned to his pocket. The boys grabbed Jim back and once again pressed him to the wall, securing him there despite Jim trying to fight back.

"I ain't scared of you, Slim Jim," Rob sneered and grabbed a fistful of Jim's hair. "I just came to talk. Heard what they said about you in the papers, Slim."

Jim jerked, trying to get away, but the boys held him firm. The young cadet glowered at Rob.

"Put two and two together, Slob. Where do you think I got the money to rebuild the Benbow inn?" he retorted. Rob frowned as if struggling to answer that before he shot Jim an irritated look.

"I think the only thing that matters is that the famous Jim Hawkins ain't so famous anymore," Rob snickered. His friends followed suit. Jim rolled his eyes.

"Forget it, Slob. What sort of satisfaction does this give you? I'll be back at the Academy in a week anyway, and who will you terrorize once I'm gone?" Jim retorted. Rob laughed.

"See, here's the thing, Slim, you're not going to get away from me that easily. I'm off to the Academy in a week as well." At this Jim visibly froze, unsure of how to respond. He stared at Robert with an open mouth, trying to figure out if the boy was yanking his chain. "That's right, got accepted there," he snickered, pulling a letter out of his pocket and showing Jim. Jim did a double take.

"What?" he whispered, struggling to find his voice.

"Didn't you hear about my father's mining business booming, Slim?"

"Yes…" Jim answered, wary of where Rob was going.

"He and my mom can finally afford the tuition. Now that the Empire is rallying weapons for another war that, oh yeah, you started, it looks like the Montressor Mining companies are back in business," Rob said.

"What are you talking about? I didn't start a war," Jim said. Rob laughed again.

"You're so ignorant, Hawkins, it's a wonder you even made it into the Interstellar Academy."

"Well it's apparent that they're letting any moron walk through the doors now," Jim shot back just as quick. Robert's eyes flashed as he landed another fist, this time to Jim's abdomen knocking the breath out of him as Jim gasped for air. He clenched his teeth and tried not to let the pain show. "Still can't take my insults, Slob?" Jim taunted when another fist hit his stomach. This time Jim's knees buckled and he collapsed as Rob's friends laughed and released him so he landed on the packed earth.

"Not so tough, now, eh Slim?" Jim slammed his fist into the ground as he let out a shout of anger and got to his feet, punching Robert in the nose sending the boy sprawling. Jim reached for him again when one of Rob's friends threw Jim back, but Jim was ready. He summersaulted backward before rolling onto his feet and sweeping his leg out, tripping the first boy that tried to approach him. One thing Jim had learned over the course of his first year at the Academy was how to physically protect himself when going up against another opponent with no other weapons. The second boy ran for Jim, but he was too quick. Rolling out of the way, Jim gripped the boy's ankle, also sending him to the ground.

His victory, however was short lived when he felt someone haul him back to his feet and swing a punch that made Jim see stars and fall back into the alley wall. Dizzy, weak, and bloody, Jim tried to hold himself together, but he didn't have enough skill to take on Robert and all three of his comrades. Robert fisted Jim's hair and pulled his head up so they were face to face. Jim looked away, breathing hard through his bloody nose as thunder crackled in the stormy skies overhead. It would rain soon.

"Listen to me, Slim. You may have filled out a bit over your year at the Academy, but that doesn't mean any of this is over. I know you lied about Treasure Planet. And thanks to you, another war is brewing. You think you're going to make it at the Academy? Once everyone finds out what you and the rest of your stupid friends did, they're going to crush you. No one will want to be associated with a loser," Robert whispered in a dark voice before releasing Jim at last and calling to his friends. Jim tried to catch his breath as he watched them scamper away, more than likely out of the rain that was just beginning to fall. Jim's body visibly sagged as he sucked in sharp gasps of breath while trying to still his trembling hands.

How could Robert have possibly made it into the Interstellar Academy? The boy said it was because his parents had the money to pay and if that were the case Jim realized that his days of being bullied were far from over. Yet, something else nagged at the back of his mind. It was what Robert had said about him starting a war. Jim frowned as he began the journey home, the rain quickly soaking his clothes. No doubt his mother would be displeased when she found out he had gotten into another fight. Jim wiped away the blood from his nose as Morph cooed at him from Jim's pocket. The boy gave the pink protoplasm a weak smile, but remained silent as he managed his way up the earthen slope to the inn. Jim didn't wait to think up a cover story. His stomach and face were throbbing. All he wanted was to make his way up to his room and collapse on his bed.

Pulling open the door, Jim stepped, sopping wet, inside. He saw a family of Loppytonians (frog-like aliens) give him an astonished look. Jim realized he probably didn't appear too inviting. He was covered in dirt, rain water, and blood. Not exactly a pretty picture when you were sharing lunch with your family.

"Er – hi," he greeted with a lame wave and hurried back up the stairs right as B.E.N and Alice left the kitchens to serve the guests. Alice was carrying a plate of steaming food while B.E.N swerved off to another table. The young girl approached the table with a smile as she gave the family their lunch.

"There you go," she said as they took their food and began to dive in. "Is there anything else I can get you?"

"Yes, I'd like to give an extra tip to Mrs. Hawkins," the lady told Alice. The seventeen year old smiled.

"I can take it to her."

The woman arched an eyebrow.

"I would prefer to give it to Mrs. Hawkins myself, dear girl," she replied with a squeaky voice. Alice let out an exasperated sigh. Ever since White had published the column on her being related to pirates people all around town had refused to trust her with anything personal.

"Mrs. Hawkins is busy, ma'am. I can assure you this money will make it into her hands," Alice answered in as calm of a voice as she could muster. The woman shook her head and crossed her arms. Alice almost threw down the tray she was holding. "Fine, Mrs. Hawkins will be out in a moment. I have tables to buss." Turning on her heel, Alice marched over to another table closer to the stairway as she began to stack the dirty dishes onto her tray to be brought back to the kitchens. As she worked something peculiar caught her eye. Upon closer inspection she realized that there was a rather undesirable puddle of mud and rainwater in front of the door.

She frowned and abandoned her table when she noticed the boot prints traveling all up the stairs. She had a sneaking suspicion that Jim had returned, but she didn't understand why he wouldn't have brought the groceries back to the kitchen. Something was wrong. Alice left her dishes behind as she raced up the stairs and followed the tracks to the private living room away from the other guest rooms and up to Jim's door. She knocked and awaited an answer. She heard a muffled 'come in' and pushed her way inside to see Jim lying on his bed, his clothes soaking, his muddy boots kicked off on the floor. The boy was pinching his nose as Morph curled into his neck.

"Jim, what happened?" Alice asked. "Why didn't you bring back the groceries?" It was only when Jim moved his hand did she notice the massive bruise on his nose and around his left eye. "What happened?" she gasped, taking up a seat on the side of his bed.

"I'm fine," he laughed and tried to sit up when he let out a hiss of pain and squeezed his eyes shut before sucking in a deep breath and lowering himself back down. Alice gave him a hard stare when she realized there was more to his injuries than met the eye. She gripped the edge of his shirt and began to lift it when Jim caught her wrist. "Don't," he ordered. "I'm fine."

Alice put her hands on her hips.

"You seriously expect me to believe you're alright with caked blood all over your bruised face?" she scoffed. Jim gave her a sheepish look and didn't protest when she rolled his wet shirt up to see the growing bruises on his chest. "Stars," Alice gasped as her hands flew to her mouth. "Jim, who did this to you?"

"Robert," he grunted, petting Morph who was beginning to fall asleep, already worn out from the rush of the day.

"You mean -?"

"Yeah."

"But why?" Alice asked, touching his stomach making Jim inhale a sharp breath. She withdrew her hand at once. "Sorry."

"No, it's alright. I don't know. He's delighted in giving me black eyes ever since I started attending the Benbowian high school," Jim replied as he slowly sat up and stripped off his wet shirt. Alice leaned back as he tossed it over her head into a hamper across the room. "And, I hate to say this, but he's attending the Academy this year." Jim's expression was glum as Alice blinked in confoundedness.

"How did he make it into the Interstellar? To be frank, I don't think he's very bright."

"Now that the war is starting with the Procyons, Montressor's mining industries are booming again. His parents racked up enough tuition to send him to the school," Jim replied as he settled back onto the bed. "Stars above, I'm in trouble."

"You're not in trouble. If Robert is going to survive at that school he's going to have to follow the rules, and that means he can't run around and beat you up like he did in high school," Alice replied, taking Jim's hand that was resting on his chest.

"I know," Jim gave her a weak smile. "I don't know. The whole thing creeps me out." Alice laughed.

"You're afraid of a thick-headed bully?"

"What? No, I'm not afraid of him." Alice gave Jim a teasing look. Jim relented. "Okay, maybe a little. It's just that if he comes after me again I'm going to fight back, you know? I don't want him to get me into trouble. I've worked too hard to screw this up. This is our second chance, Alice," Jim squeezed her hand. Alice nodded before she smiled.

"Well, he won't bother us. Not if we're around our friends."

"Maybe…" Jim muttered, looking away.

"Okay, what now?" Alice demanded, reading his emotions with ease. Jim let out a breathy laugh.

"It was something Rob said. He told me we were the reason the war with the Procs started. He told me everyone in the school will hate us for it. I don't get it. We didn't start any war. I mean perhaps the necklaces were our property and they were stolen, but we couldn't help the fact that they outnumbered us," Jim replied before he let out a tiny groan from jostling the bruises on his stomach. Alice stiffened at this information and she began to chew her lip, a sign that she was nervous, as she looked away. Jim noticed. "What?"

"Hmm?" she mumbled, her eyes meeting his once more.

"What's wrong, Alice?" Jim asked again.

"Nothing's wrong," Alice swallowed hard.

"You're chewing your lip. Something's up," he pointed out. Alice blushed when he mentioned that.

"Oh, you notice that?" she stammered. Jim laughed.

"Alice, you're my girlfriend. I notice a lot more than you realize," he said. "So what is it?" Alice hesitated before her fingers snuck into the pocket of her tan cargo pants.

"I, um, found this newspaper clipping about a week ago. I didn't want you to see it so I hid it, because you just seemed so stressed about all the rumors that had been circulating about us," Alice sighed as she passed him the newspaper clipping and Jim scanned the article.

CREW OF THE LEGACY TO BLAME?

The look on Jim's face made Alice want to shy away from him. His hands shook with rage and a not-so-gentlemanly curse flew from his lips.

"Jim!" Alice scolded as the boy handed her the article again. It was taking all his willpower not to shred it.

"I see White's started digging his filthy hands into this as well. Whatever, I can handle people looking at me strange. They used to do it all the time, but really I don't see how this will circulate around the Academy, unless Rob spreads the lies, which I'm sure he intends to do," Jim scowled. Alice hesitated.

"That's just it though, Jim," she began, her fingers knotting with his in unease. "White didn't write this." Jim gave her an odd look.

"Then who did?"

"Someone by the name of Bancroft T. Thatcher. Only God knows how he got his hands on this information."

"Yeah, but it's still only in the Montressor Tribune," Jim pointed out.

"Well…" Alice trailed off. Jim's eyes widened as he set his head back and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Oh stars no."

"Thatcher writes for the Galactic Press, not the Montressor Tribune." All Jim could do was close his eyes and let out a soft moan.

"This isn't good."

"No, it's not. That means everyone in the school will more than likely have read it."

"It wasn't our fault!" he exploded sitting bolt upright in bed. "Yeah we were in possession of the necklaces, but -" Jim stopped short when his stomach throbbed and the breath was stolen right out of him. Alice clutched his hand and put a gentle hand on his shoulder to push him back down.

"You need to rest," she gave him a look. "Forget about the stupid articles. Let's just focus on getting you cleaned up.

"Yeah, wet pants aren't exactly a joy ride," Jim grunted, still struggling to maintain his breathing.

"I'll go get you a towel and some ice to clean you up. And I'll let your mom know," Alice replied, going to stand up when Jim tugged her back, his hand still in hers. Alice gave him a curious look when he forced himself back into a sitting position and leaned in to give her a kiss. Alice melted against him when she felt his warm hand against her cheek and neck holding her in that position making. It was a very tender kiss, one Alice had not expected at all, and yet there it was. She had to smile against his lips. There was no knowing when Jim would decide to sweep her off her feet. The suspense was what made her fall deeper under his spell.

"You're breaking the kiss," he whispered, starting to smile as well. Alice giggled.

"You're breaking it too."

"Okay, on the count of three let's both stop smiling."

"That's not very romantic." Jim pulled back letting out a low laugh.

"I'm sorry, I can't do this with you when we're laughing," he snickered. Alice joined in before both of them attempted to calm down. The second kiss was sloppy, both of them trying hard not to grin. When they pulled away at last they were both smiling like fools.

"I, um, I'll go get you those things."

"Sounds good," Jim waved as Alice left the room and the boy turned to face Morph still snoozing on his pillow. "Ah, Morph, you sleep through everything."

Back in the hallway, Alice headed down the stairs to discretely find some ice and a towel. But when she entered the kitchen Mrs. Hawkins looked up from where she was cooking beside B.E.N who was scrubbing some dishes.

"Hey, Ally!" the robot greeted enthusiastically. "Where's Jimmy? I didn't see him bring back the groceries. Do you think something happened?" he gasped. Mrs. Hawkins calmed him down and told him that Jim was upstairs. "Oh. Funny, I didn't see him come in."

"So, do I want to know how bad it is?" Mrs. Hawkins then turned to Alice with a cautious expression. Alice started to speak before she stopped herself and squinted while cocking her head as if contemplating how to phrase her answer.

"Uh…no, probably not," she responded at last.

"Here's some ice and a towel. Oh, and here's a wet rag in case he has any blood or dirt," the young mother sighed and handed the items to Alice.

"How did you -?"

"Dear, I've seen Jim get into more fights than I'm sure any other mother this side of the galaxy has," Sarah Hawkins rolled her eyes. "I will never know what to do about that."

"He didn't start this one," Alice argued. "Robert beat him up."

"After what they've said about the two of you in the papers it's hardly surprising. Don't take those lies to heart, Alice. Those writers look for the best story, it just so happens that at the moment it's the crew of the Legacy," she told her. Alice gave Mrs. Hawkins a small smile.

"I know, thank you, Mrs. H," she waved as she left the room with the materials. Alice let out a silent breath as she climbed the stairs back to Jim's room. She hesitated on the top of the landing to glance out at the rain pelting a window. Her gaunt expression was reflected back at her. There was a storm roiling on the Etherium's horizon. A storm Alice knew the Empire wasn't yet ready for. She shook her head and turned away. All the young girl hoped for was that the start of their second year at the Academy wouldn't be as problematic as Rob threatened. Little did Alice know, but it would be just that.

A/N: Woo! So first chapter up! I meant to post this earlier, but I didn't so sorry heh. So yes, this is only the beginning to all of Jim and Alice's troubles. Now the papers are all lying about them, which means everyone no longer respects them which is going to prove very problematic in their upcoming year at the Academy. We'll just have to learn how they cope with it all :o

And do you guys remember Maximillian White? The reporter in the first book? Yeah, haha he's coming back into play. I always swing everything back around! And Captain Amelia and Delbert are married! Yay! This takes place the week of August before September 1st which is when another year of the Academy begins. To get a feel for the time period, The Eternity Star left off the first week of January – because that was their January break – so Alice took that time off to visit her parents' graves. Now, we're skipping ahead. Jim and Alice are both now seventeen and are about to begin their second year at the Academy after their summer vacation. I hope that helps.

Also, I suck at writing face newspaper articles, so forgive me if that was awful.

And I added in a sweet moment between the two of them ^^

Hope you all enjoy!

Special thanks goes to: lazyX1000, PartofYourWorld-ArielMermaid, and zerkon2002!