The Rookie Pirates (Parts 1-6)

03. Mr Compass

The loud screech of a tortured soul caught the attention of Kirk's First Mate, Cain Reed. Immediately, he folded his hand of cards onto the table and stood up, knocking his chair over with a bang.

His shipmates, Morgan and John, both complained at his abrupt actions. They had not heard the scream, but he knew he had, and it had come from the direction of the docks. Swiftly, he made his way to the ship, his mane of blond hair and open white shirt rippled behind him in the wind as he ran as fast as he could. He made it to the gangplank in no time at all, and then he heard his captain curse under his breath.

His captain's voice sounded angry from what he could tell, and it was never good to have Kirk on a mad rampage. The ship usually ended up taking the impact of his wrath. The crew couldn't afford any more conflicting damage, so he needed to stop whatever was happening up on deck before there was no deck left to stand on.

Cain made it to the top of the gangplank and was surprised to find the captain holding an unconscious red-haired girl in his arms, the same girl that had danced with silk ropes on stage the other night and had played poker with him: Jessica Red. However, what surprised Cain more than anything was the concerned look for the girl held limp in his captain's arms that was on Kirk's face.

It intrigued Cain; he had never seen such an expression on Kirk's face before, and he didn't know what to think of it. It left him dumbfounded, un-moving and speechless. He shook his head; now was not the time to be awed by such an unusual moment.

"Captain, what happened? More importantly, what are you doing?"

Kirk looked up, finally realising his first mate was on deck. He blinked a couple of times before realising he was cradling the girl in his arms. His heart pounded. Kirk had no idea what he was doing. All he remembered was the look of fear on the girl's face as he strangled her, and the heart-piercing scream that had made him take pity on the girl. She must have a tortured past, one Kirk had inadvertently caused her to relive. He felt guilty, something he hadn't felt in a very long time.

Even though he had intentions on getting revenge on Jessica, he wasn't necessarily going to kill her, unless the mood took his fancy, which it now didn't. Jessica had saved him, after all, and this is what he'd done in return. He soon realised what he had felt; he had felt guilty. Kirk didn't know what it was, but something about the girl in her weakened state got to him. He decided he needed to help her. Maybe then he wouldn't feel so irked with Jessica for saving his life; he wouldn't be indebted to her anymore. Kirk looked back up at Cain, who waited for an answer to his question.

"I don't have to answer to you," Kirk grumbled and stalked off to his quarters, Jessica held protectively in his arms.

Cain chuckled. His captain never was good at coming up with excuses to his actions; his fists were made for that. He sighed as he looked over the broken yard of the mast scattered across the deck. They were going to be on a tight budget this month.

Meanwhile, Kirk gently placed Jessica down onto the soft covers of his bed and frowned as he waited for her to respond. He didn't know what to do with himself but stare at the girl. His hand ran through the tips of her wavy red hair. It was softer than anything he had ever touched before, and its feather-like texture brought a smile to his face.

The shade was so close to his own hair that they could be mistaken for siblings. He'd always wondered what it would be like to have a younger sibling; he already knew what it was like to have an older one.

Kirk's smile soon started to fade when Jessica's lips trembled. Her eyes drifted from side to side from beneath her eyelids, and sweat began to form on her temples as her body shook. She was having a nightmare. Kirk didn't know what to do. For once in his life, he felt helpless and disconcerted. Jessica's cries grew louder with each passing second. He attempted to nudge the girl awake, but his actions came with no response.