Chapter 3

            Over the next month, my father worked hard to get everyone in as an upstanding crew. He somehow did it and our whole crew would begin working on the RLS Legacy. On the day of the launch, I could hardly keep from grinning as I worked in the back of the kitchen. At one point, I heard my father talking to the new cabin boy in the main part of the galley.

 

“Ya know, I got myself a pup about your age,” he said. “Em, come out here.”

 

I set down the dishes I was cleaning and ran through the door, a smile on my lips. The person I saw made me stop in my tracks.

 

“Jim,” I asked in shock.

 

“Ember,” he replied in the same way.

I’d known he’d had the map, but I never expected him to join a crew and sail across the galaxy.

 

“Ah, so you two know each other,” my dad said.

 

“That’s your dad,” Jim asked, pointing to my father.

 

I nodded and turned to see what the source of the wonderful aroma in the room was. I found my answer in the large cauldron above the fire.

 

“You made bonzabeast stew? Awesome,” I exclaimed and grabbed a bowl for myself.

 

I sat on the counter and began eating as Jim pulled a fresh purp out of a barrel.

 

“You know, these purps, they’re kinda like the one’s back home, on Montressor. You ever been there,” he asked my father.

 

“Ah, can’t says I have, Jimbo,” my dad answered.

 

“I had to travel alone when I came last month. Dad was coming back from another voyage at the time,” I added, taking another bite from my stew.

 

“Come to think of it, just before I left, I met the old guy who was, um, kind of looking for a cyborg buddy of his. Ember helped me bring him back to the inn,” Jim continued. “What was that old salamander’s name? Oh, yeah. Bones. Billy Bones.”

 

I ate more of my stew, trying to hold back my anger at the boy’s accusations. Of course, he was right, but he certainly shouldn’t have thought of us. I gave Morph the rest of my lunch, suddenly having lost my appetite.

 

“Bones,” my father asked. “Bones? T’ain’t ringin’ any bells. Must have been a different cyborg. There’s a slew of cyborgs, roaming this port.”

 

I high-pitched whistle could then be heard from on-deck.

 

“Eh, off with you, lad, and watch the launch,” Dad said, carefully pushing Jim out of the way. “There’ll be plenty work a-waitin’ for you afterwards.”

 

Jim disappeared up the stairs and I turned to my dad.

 

“He’s the boy I told you about,” I said and he nodded. “Can I go up and watch, too?”

 

As many times as I had worked on a ship, I still loved the launch most of all.

 

“A’course, Em! Do me a favor and keep an eye on him. I don’t want him strayin’ into things he shouldn’t.”

 

“Aye, Captain,” I answered with a smile and ran up the stairs.

 

I went up on-deck and soon found Jim, right after a working crew member ran into him. I grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him towards the main mast, out of the way. He stumbled from how quickly I’d pulled him and ran into me. I was pressed with my back against the mast; Jim only inches in front of my face. I pushed him back before standing up straight.

 

“Try to keep out of the crew’s way, rookie,” I said with a smirk.

 

“Whatever,” Jim answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

 

The ship started rising and I could feel myself levitating. I looked over at Jim to see him flailing his arms, trying to stay upright. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight. I did that same thing my first couple of times taking off, before my dad got me used to it. The artificial gravity was activated and I landed easily on both feet. Jim fell and landed softly on all fours. He quickly stood up, hoping no one had seen his blunder.

 

“You’ve got better balance than I did when I started out. How many times have you been on a ship,” I asked.

 

“This is the first,” Jim answered, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

 

I raised an eyebrow at him.

 

“Really, now? You’ve got good balance, Mr. Hawkins.”

Jim glanced up at me with a slight smile.

 

“Thanks. I go solar surfing a lot back home.”

 

“I noticed.”

 

“Wait, you weren’t there when the-”

 

“Yeah, I was. Brace yourself,” I interrupted and the ship took off.

 

“Whoa,” Jim called as he struggled to keep his balance on the moving ship.

 

It soon slowed to an average, steady pace and I grinned back at Jim.

 

“Come on,” I called and ran towards the shrouds, climbing into them.

Jim hoisted himself up and walked along the ropes, staring around at the sights.

 

“I love the launch,” I whispered breathily and Jim chuckled.

 

Soon after, a group of space orcas floated around us. Jim was awestruck, watching as they drifted along. One came so close that Jim and I could see the lines of its iris. Some time after the whales were gone, I glanced back to see my father talking to Captain Amelia.

 

“Jimbo! Ember,” he called.

 

I jumped down from the shrouds and ran to stand in front of my dad; Jim stayed where he was.

 

“Yes, sir,” I answered.

 

“Meet me in the galley, lass.”

 

I nodded and ran downstairs while Jim was given his assignment, swabbing the deck. I chuckled as I made it to the kitchen and leaned on the counter. My father came downstairs soon after and walked up to me, the gears in his mechanical parts whirring.

 

“Ember, I got a job for ya,” he said.

 

“Aye, Captain. What’s the job,” I asked.

 

“I want ya to make friends with the new cabin boy, get him to trust ya. Keep him off our trail.”

 

“I think I can manage that.”

 

“That’a girl,” my dad said with a laugh, ruffling my hair.

 

He began working in the kitchen and I helped pull out the things he’d need to make dinner. About ten minutes later, he sent me upstairs with a bowl of scraps.

 

“Go check on Jimbo, will ya? And throw these out while you’re up there,” he said.

 

I nodded and walked upstairs with the bowl in my hands. As soon as I was on-deck, I saw Mr. Scroop lift Jim by the collar of his jacket. Jim said something to anger the spider-like man and he slammed the boy against the mast. I dropped the bowl of scraps and ran forward, pushing my way through the crowd of crew members.

 

“Mr. Scroop, release him,” I ordered, a harsh look in my eyes.

 

Mr. Scroop ignored me and raised a claw to Jim’s throat, looking for blood.

 

“Any last words, cabin boy,” he asked.

There was a look of fear in Jim’s eyes. I jumped onto the ledge of the metal stand holding the mast up.

 

“Let him go,” I yelled, working to pry his claw off of Jim’s jacket.

 

The next thing I knew, my father had put a clamp on Mr. Scroop’s other claw.

 

“Mr. Scroop, you ever see what happens to a fresh purp when you squeeze it real hard,” he asked, doing so to the captured claw.

 

Mr. Scroop cringed in pain, dropping Jim to the floor. I jumped down, landing beside him, and helped him up.

 

“What’s all this, then,” the first mate, Mr. Arrow, called while coming down the stairs.

 

I hated him for taking my title and making me a kitchen maid.

 

“Compose yourself,” I mumbled to Jim, standing tall beside him.

 

“You know the rules. There’ll be no brawling on this ship. Any further offenders will be confined to brig for the remainder of the voyage. Am I clear, Mr. Scroop?”

 

I glared venomously at Mr. Scroop, as did my father.

 

“Transparently,” the spider answered.

Arrow walked away and everyone disbanded. Before Mr. Scroop could go too far, I grabbed him by the arm and forced him to look me in the eyes. I made sure Jim was out of earshot before I spoke.

 

“Don’t defy me like that again, Scroop. Always remember who the real first mate on this ship is,” I whispered darkly before walking back over to where Jim and my father were.

 

“Jimbo, I gave you a job,” Dad yelled, holding up the mop.

 

“Hey, I was doing it until that bug thing,” Jim started.

 

“Belay that! Now, I want this deck swabbed spotless and heaven help you if I come back and it’s not done. Morph, Em? Keep and eye on this pup and let me know if there be anymore distractions.”

 

“Aye, sir,” I answered as my father walked back downstairs.

 

Morph’s eyes grew larger, following Jim around and I chuckled. I began picking up the scraps I had dropped and threw them over the side of the ship.

 

“Hey, uh, thanks for what you did back there,” Jim mumbled.

 

I looked over at him with a small smile.

 

“No problem. And don’t worry about Mr. Scroop. He’s always in a bad mood,” I answered, causing Jim to chuckle.

 

I climbed into the shrouds and watched him as he worked.

 

“You’re on ships all the time, aren’t you,” he asked after a few silent minutes.

 

“Yeah. I usually go with Dad and, since he’s a cook, he’s always on voyages. It’s a lot of fun, really.”

 

“What’s it like living on a ship?”

 

“Honestly, I love it. It’s the only thing I’ve ever known. The crew taught me everything I know. They’re like family to me.”

 

“You’ve never lived anywhere but on a ship,” Jim asked.

 

“Nope, but that doesn’t bother me any. I find more fun in it,” I answered with a smile.

 

Jim continued his work, occasionally holding small conversations with me. I was actually surprised when I got him to laugh a few times. It seemed like Dad’s plan would go off without a hitch.