Chapter 16: Chasing a Dream

The next day, Silver called for Jim and Rose to come with him. He guided them down to the launch bay where the longboats and skiffs were kept. Rose stood by, with Artemis perched on her shoulder, and watched the boy and cyborg work together. They moved the boat back by the rope and Jim smiled at him.

Silver gave another order and Jim leaped across the gap. After landing he untied a rope and lowered the longboat down to space. Rose joined Jim and watched Silver giving them a salute and flew the boat away in space. The auburn-redhaired girl looked over to see Jim's smile turn to a frown. The girl realized that the boy was thinking about the day his father left him and his mother. Rose placed her hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

Then Silver came back and motioned for the teens to jump in the boat. Jim's smile returned and he jumped in. Rose stepped back and grew fearful that she would miss the boat and fall into space. Jim and Silver called for Rose and promised that they would catch her. Artemis took one of the girl's laces and tied it around her middle.

The petite girl took a deep breath, counted to three, and jumped off. Thankfully, Jim managed to catch her and she safely landed on the boat. Rose sat across from them while Silver explained to Jim on how the controls worked. Being a fast learner, Jim gave a smirk, pressed a few buttons, and yanked down a lever, and shot the boat off!

"Whoa!" Silver exclaimed and Rose yelped in surprise, digging her nails deep into the wood of the boat and her braid flew back. Jim drove the boat towards a flying comet and ended behind the tail. The redhead's turquoise eyes widened in amazement as she reached her hand out to touch the tail of the comet and stardust filled her palm.

Then Jim steered the longboat through the tail and pulled off a bunch of stunts, spins, and flips. Rose held onto the boat with all her might; she was terrified and didn't want to fall off. Silver held onto his hat and landed back on the boat after a spin.

The teenage boy steered the boat out of the comet and the trio had stardust covering their bodies. The auburn red-haired girl looked at her braid to see it dusted with star dust and decided to leave it in. Jim, Rose, and Silver smiled at each other and were all very happy.


After a few hours of flying, they returned to the R.L.S. Legacy, and it was already night. Jim and Silver rose the boat up and grabbed the cables to haul up the boat, Rose sat down in the center to watched them tie the boat up. Morph flew in and watched his master and cabin boy using their strength to pull on the ropes. Jim pulled up on his side faster, causing both Silver and Rose to stagger.

"Oh!" Rose exclaimed, holding on to the rails, but gave a giggle.

"You having a little trouble there? Jim asked, jokingly.

"Oh, get away from me," Silver teased. They pulled up evenly and tied up their knots to secure the longboat in midair.

"Oh Jimbo! If I could maneuver a skiff like t'at when I was yer age, they'd be bowin' in the streets when I walked by today," Silver exclaimed, plopping down into the boat.

Morph turned into a miniature Silver. "Bowin' in the streets," he mimicked and plopped down like the cook.

"I don't know," the boy grunted as he tied his end. "They weren't exactly singing my praises when I left home."

When he finished, Jim plopped down on the boat and relaxed, Rose came up to the boy and sat next to him on his right side. Silver removed his hat and pulled out a rag to dry his forehead and sighed along with Morph. The auburn-redhaired girl crossed her legs and Artemis crawled down from her mistress's shoulder and sat on her lap and sighed.

"But I'm gonna change all that," Jim added.

"I'll admit, back at home, I wasn't thrilled when Mother and Mr. Arrow offered me to come with them on this voyage," Rose said. "But right now, I'm glad that I made the choice to go, discover myself, and met you guys. I'll make changes for myself."

"Are ya now?" Silver asked, petting Morph. "How so?"

"Uh… I've got some plans," Jim said, leaning back on the boat, putting his arms behind his head, and smiled. "Gonna make people see me a little different."

"Me too. When I get home, I'm gonna show Lorraine, Hazel, Willow, and others that I've changed, and conquered my fears for good," the auburn-redhaired girl added.

"Oh, sometimes… plans go astray," the cyborg said, frowning.

"Not this time," the boy said, confidently.

Silver hummed and looked away sadly. The cyborg lifted his robotic leg and pulled up a pant leg and attempted to adjust a bolt with his organic fingers. Morph chirped with concern and transformed into a wrench.

"Oh, t'ank ye Morphy," Silver took the 'wrench' and tightened the bolt to fix the problem.

Jim and Rose's smiles disappeared as they looked at Silver's robotic limbs curiously. Silver never got around to tell them how he lost the right side of his body.

"So, uh… how'd that happen, anyway?" Jim asked.

Silver examined his metal arm solemnly and the fingers opened revealing his palm. Rose suspected that the cyborg wasn't going to answer. "Yeh give up a few t'ings," he answered, closing his fingers. "Chasin' a dream."

"Was it worth it?" Jim asked, softly.

Silver looked at the teenagers, smiled and chuckled. He moved over and sat between Jim and Rose. He draped his left arm over the boy's shoulder and his right on Rose's side. The girl didn't flinch from the cyborg's metal arm and leaned on him comfortably.

"I'm hopin' it is Jimbo and Rosie. I most surely am," the cyborg answered, pulling his hat on his head and covered his eyes, leaning back to relax.

The trio leaned back into the boat, closed their eyes, and were all content. Rose smiled and looked at Silver and Jim. She had never felt this happy to be with her close friends. Remembering talking with them about her past and Jim telling her about his issues, helped her trust them.

As they were all content with their thoughts, a loud crash was heard causing the ship to rock violently and the longboats swerved causing the trio to flung forward. Morph shrieked and turned into tiny blobs. Rose gave a small scream from the jolt and shot up her head. Jim, Rose, and Silver realized that something wasn't right.