Voyage to Treasure Planet

R.L.S. Legacy

Jim and I exited the shuttle side by side. The ride was cramped but short, we managed to get Delbert to sit away from us, I felt bad for the unfortunate soul that had their ear talked off the whole time. People chattered in different tongues all around us. All the passengers as eager to disembark as we were. I took in the sights and sound of our new surroundings. The spaceport had less color than I thought it would. All of that color I wanted to see came the dress of the people around us. Mostly people wore vibrant coats, often in blues or reds, at least sailors did.

"Jim! Echo! Oh, kids! Wait for me!" Delbert hollered, his voice echoed in the bus.

We both sighed. Jim took a deep breath and looked at the deck laughing silently to himself. Delbert's space suit clanked and squeaked as he walked. We wouldn't know if Delbert over prepared or under prepared until this voyage was over, I had my suspicions of the former. Delbert pressed a button on the suit and the face screen lifted. He sniffed the air around him. 

"Well, kids, this should be a wonderful opportunity for the three of us to get to know one another." He clasped his hands together.

Jim tilted his head back to look at him before rolling his eyes. 

Delbert continued rambling, "You know what they say, familiarity breeds, erm, well contempt, but in our case..." 

"Look," Jim interrupted, "let's just find the ship." Jim gestured with the hand holding his bag. "Okay?"

It didn't take long for Delbert to get us lost. We asked different folks for help and got brushed off. Eventually I approached a short, hairy, ginger man holding a ladder for a robot.

"Excuse me, do either of you know where dock nine is?" 

The ginger man looked from me to his companion. The robot looked down at us and pointed.

"Second berth on your right!" The it shouted from it's place on the ladder.

"You can't miss it." The short man said.

"Hey, thanks." Jim said. He pulled his bag higher on his shoulder holding it with both hands. He lead us away from them. We trucked on, following the minimal directions we were given.

Delbert thumped after us, "It's the suit isn't it? I should have never listened to that pushy two-headed saleswoman."

I half-listened to Delbert ramble.

"This one said it fit, that one said it was my color." Delbert went on.

We looked up at a stellar blue ship before us. Crates were being lowered onto it. We both stopped in our tracks. I admired every part of the ship, from bow to stern. It was absolutely massive and the crew aboard were hard at work.

"I didn't know what to do. I get so flustered." Delbert bumped into us. "Oh."

Jim looked back at him, annoyed. Delbert looked at Jim, then up at the ship before us.

"Oh, Jim, Echo! This is our ship! The R.L.S. Legacy!" He exclaimed, gesturing to it.

"She's a beauty." I mumbled.

"Mhm." Jim agreed, smiling.

We made our way up the ramp and onto the deck. As we did a man, who looked like he was made of rock, wearing a red tailcoat yelled, "Stow those casks forward! Heave together now!" through cupped hands.

"How cool is this?" Jim said, eyes everywhere but where he was walking. I was too distracted to notice until he bumped into someone. My ears caught the commotion and I saw that Jim had stepped on the tail of a slug-like person. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean..."

The man interrupted him by jumping and putting his hands, tubes? Arms up. I didn't know what he was saying but I think he wanted to fight. He blew a raspberry at Jim, and through the many tubes along his back.

Delbert recoiled at what the slug said before taking charge, "Allow me to handle this." Delbert blew raspberries with his mouth and other limbs.

The slug man backed down and started laughing. I think Doc made a joke.

"I'm fluent in Flatula, Jim. Took two years of it in high school." Delbert blew another raspberry and carried on to the man in the red tailcoat.

"Flatula? Cool." Jim said fixing his hair. I laughed and he looked at me shrugging a little bit, smiling.

"Good morning, Captain. Everything shipshape?" Delbert asked him.

The rock man clasped his hands behind his back. "Shipshape it is sir, but I'm not the captain. The captain's aloft." He gestured to a woman in a blue tailcoat running along the beams of the main mast.

She leapt down and landed on her feet, smiling to herself. I heard the mask of Delbert's helmet fall down. I turned my head to check on them only to see him and Jim looking at each other.

The captain walked to the man in the red tailcoat, he stood at attention. "Mister Arrow, I've checked this miserable ship from stem to stern and as usual," she said, pacing in front of him, "it's spot on. Can you get nothing wrong?" 

"You flatter me, Captain." Mr. Arrow said, tipping his hat to her.

She carried on to Delbert, a look of amusement on her face. "Ah." She smiled holding her chin, cat ears pointed forward. "Doctor Doppler, I presume?" She pointed at Delbert with the same hand.

"Uh, um... Yes. I..." Delbert fumbled.

"Hello! Can you hear me?" Captain asked, knocking on the doctors helmet.

"Yes, I can! Stop that banging!" He shouted shooing her hand away.

Captain looked at his suit. "If I may, Doctor," she grabbed part of his suit and spun it the other way, "this works so much better when it's right-way up," she spun him around and plugged in his suit, "and plugged in. Lovely. There you go." She smiled.

It took Delbert a moment to take off his helmet, he unplugged his suit, and turned back to face her. "If you don't mind, I can manage my own plugging!" He waved the plug at her.

The captain shook his hand, "I'm Captain Amelia, late of a few run-ins with the Proten Armada. Nasty business, but I won't bore you with my scars." She let go and gestured to Mr. Arrow. "You've met my first officer, Mister. Arrow. Sterling, tough, dependable, honest, brave, and true."

"Please, Captain." He said, still standing at attention.

"Shut up, Arrow. You know I don't mean a word of it." 

I gave a look to Jim, he returned my look with a similar one and a shrug.

"Ahem. Excuse me." Doctor said.  "I hate to interrupt this lovely banter, but may I introduce to you Jim Hawkins and Echo Chambers? Jim, you see, is the boy who found the treasure..."

Captain grabbed his face. "Doctor, please!" She said through gritted teeth, ears back. Jim and I both glanced around, looking at all the deckhands, they were watching, listening.

"I'd like a word with you in my stateroom."