Author's Note:

Well, we all knew it had to happen sometime.

Rebecca opened her eyes, squinting as sunlight filtered into the room. She slowly became accustom to her surroundings and to the fact that she was in a bed that was not her own without clothes. She looked at the floor, seeing her clothes haphazardly tossed to the floor alongside someone else's. Rebecca looked beside her in the bed and saw John, peacefully asleep. The pieces began to come together as the foggy bits of last night's events cleared up. A sudden pain was brought to her attention, not doubt a hangover kicking in from the large amount of alcohol she had consumed the previous night.

The young woman slipped from under the covers, grabbing her clothes from the ground and clothing herself in only what was absolutely necessary. She then tiptoed to the door of John's quarters, glanced back at the slumbering young man, and left.

John's eyes flickered open and the first thing he thought about was Rebecca. The young man sat up in his bed and looked around him. An empty bottle of rum was rolling about on the ground and an empty tumbler was set on his desk. He tried piecing together what had happened last night, but the only thing he could seem to remember was that Rebecca had a lovely singing voice.

The young man's mind went back to Rebecca. Had she left already? Were they ever going to see each other again? John darted out of bed and pulled on a pair of trousers before rushing out of his quarters.

He hurried to the door to Rebecca's room and stopped when he saw a piece of paper stuck between the doorjamb and the door. It had Rebecca's neat handwriting in black ink.

John pulled out the piece of paper and read it.

John,

Jim, Henry, Martin and Scroop returned this morning and we've gone out to stock the ship's provisions. We'll be back around noon. Still haven't heard from either Juanita or Jarred yet. Scroop's concocted something that really helps with the hangover; it's in the galley next to the barrel of purps.

-Rebecca.

John sighed. She had left, but not forever. He then made his way down to the galley to try out what the young arachnid had made up, being an age-old recipe of purp juice, powdered yuppi pits, a few ground up astro slugs and crusted potato rinds. Once the concoction began to kick in, John made his way back to his room to get fully dressed.

"Rebecca?" Scroop skittered alongside the young woman through the market while the three other males searched the streets for a bulk shop.

"Yes?" Rebecca looked down at Scroop.

"What are you going to do now?" The young arachnid asked.

Rebecca sighed. "I don't know." She stated. "I should dismiss my escorts, stay here and live out my life but…" She cut herself off, examining a barrel of imported solara seed.

"But?" Scroop prodded.

Rebecca chewed on her bottom lip. "But I could also go after Bones and avenge the deaths in my family." She sighed. "But that would be crazy."

"Crazy enough to become a reality?" Scroop enquired.

Rebecca paused for a moment and smiled. "Well… we are getting a good deal more provisions than we would need for a trip to and from Los Terrano."

"Where are we heading to, Rebecca?" Scroop asked.

"Alpha Diego." Rebecca stated. "It's the closest merchant planet in this section of the galaxy and I doubt Bones would pass up an opportunity to raid it."

"Then we should probably tell everyone else this." Scroop stated.

"Tell us what?" Martin enquired as he, Henry and Jim returned with a small packhorse and a carriage in tow.

"Alpha Diego?" John exclaimed when his companions returned with the ship's provisions. "That place is nothin' but a wasteland."

"Yes, but its also a mining planet, and a high source of Acturian sora crystals." Martin explained. "Very rich merchant ships come off of that planet."

"Yeah, and there's no way that Bones would pass up an opportunity to raid each and every one of them." Jim pointed out.

"The planet's three month's sailing from 'ere!" John stated. "An' with that portal thing on his ship, Bones will 'ave already gotten there an' raided the planet clean before we could get there."

"Not if he's not expecting us." Rebecca cut in. "When Bones captured me, I heard him arguing about a map of some sorts that was responsible for the portal maker. He said that without the key Giles had stolen, it was at risk of malfunctioning. He also said that the map has to be kept under lock and key to prevent it from getting severely damaged."

"But Flint used that map, no doubt." Henry stated.

"Flint built the map." Jim pointed out. "He knew how it worked. I doubt he would've told everything to Bones."

John sighed. "So we're gonna risk our lives -on a hunch that Bones isn't gonna be expecting us- teh avenge the lives of Rebecca's family?"

"He killed your best friend, if you remember." Jim stated.

"Getting back at Bones isn't gonna bring back anyone back teh life." John retorted.

"But it will stop more lives from being lost." Rebecca pointed out.

"So, what say you, Captain Silver?" Martin asked.

John sighed after a spell, feeling all eyes on him. "We must be barking mad… let's do it."

"You know, I'm quite nervous about the whereabouts of Juanita and Jarred." Martin stated as he climbed the ratlines up to the mainsail.

"Hey, they're both mercenaries like you, right Marty?" Jim unfurled the solar sail. "Don't worry about them, they'll be fine."

"All the provisions are in place and secured, Captain." Henry called from the main deck to John. "We're ready to launch when you are."

"Hey!" A familiar voice called.

Juanita Jones untied one of the ropes that held the HMS Aurora to its dock in Port Hastings and climbed up it to the main deck. She hopped over the railing and landed lightly on the main deck.

"You can't go sailing without a lookout." She stated.

"She's right, Johnny." Jim stated, climbing down from the ratlines.

"That she is…" John smiled. "Teh yer station Miss Jones."

"Aye Captain!" Juanita scurried up the nearest ratline to the crow's nest.

"Wait for me!" Jarred's voice came from the dock. The male Shikaran haphazardly made his way to the dock, leaping off of it to grab onto the rope dangling from the side of the already moving ship. He climbed up the rope and inelegantly flopped onto the main deck. "You can't… get going… without… a mechanic…" He said through pants.

"Nah, we'd probably be able to keep the ship in good repair without you, 'Red." Jim stated with a wide smirk.

Jarred glared at his companion. "What, so you could mess up the ship's engine? Nuh-uh."

"All right yeh two… quit yer squabbling an' get back teh yer stations." John called with a laugh from the helm of the ship.

"Aye captain!" The two young males saluted and then hurried to their stations.

"Thrusters ready for launch, captain." Rebecca answered from the control panel at the helm of the ship. She had caught on quickly to working the controls of the ship ever since the asteroid incident near Shikari.

John chuckled. "Fire Away, Miss Clarke."

"Aye." Rebecca activated the controls and launched the ship out of Port Hastings.

Author's Note:

Hurray for Whisperwings, who's been betaing all of these crazy chapters in this story with great finesse. Thank you!

MG#6