Thanks to DD7990 for beta-reading! *hugs* ^_^
Chapter 2
“Jim, come
on, I don`t wanna miss the ferry!” yelled Dolphy as she stood in the door of
their room.
She was
having a big dark blue traveling bag in her hand and carrying a black shoulder
bag. With a vigorous breath, she blew away a strand of hair that was hanging
into her face and tapped her fingers on the door frame.
Jim let out
a deep sigh.
“We still
have over an hour and the ferry will be landing right in front of the academy.
So don`t worry.”
He
continued packing the rest of his clothes with such composure that it almost
made her crazy.
“Couldn`t
you have done that after the party yesterday?” she said reproachfully.
“You mean
at 1 am? Like you?” he asked matter-of-factly while he put some shirts into a
black travelling bag without looking at her.
“Yes, at
least I had my stuff ready for today!” Dolphy retorted.
“Yeah, too
bad you forgot to leave something to wear for today and had to unpack the whole
bag to get some clothes.”
His back
was turned at her but she knew that he was grinning mischievously.
“Haha, very
funny, now stop making fun of me and finally get it done.” she said feeling
rather aggravated.
Despite her
words, Jim suddenly let go of his baggage and stepped towards her. He took the
traveling bag out of her hand and put it on the floor before closing the door
behind her.
“Okay, now
please tell me why you`re so nervous.” he asked with a calm voice.
“I`m not
nervous, I just don`t wanna be too late.”
“I`ve been
knowing you for 3 years, so I should realize when you`re nervous…and now you
definitely are.”
Dolphy
sighed and dropped her shoulder bag on the floor.
“Yeah,
you`re right. I`m…worried about what will happen on Crescentia. I somehow have
this weird feeling.” she said anxiously.
There was a
short moment of silence between them before Jim laid his hands on her shoulders
and looked her into the eyes.
“What
should happen? We`re together and that`s all that matters.” he smiled and
gently removed the strand of hair that was hanging over her face again.
Dolphy
smiled in return as he took her in his arms. She cuddled against his chest and
put her arms firmly around him. It was still a wonder to her that all of her
worries and fears seemed to have been blown away the moment she was close to
him. Every time her problems were driving her insane he just had to hug or kiss
her and everything seemed to be not nearly as hopeless as it had been before.
Just like now.
“Nothing
bad will happen as long as we`re together.” said Jim softly.
Dolphy
embraced him tighter.
“Yes…as
long as we`re together.”
***
Later that
morning Jim and Dolphy stepped out of the space ferry that had taken them to
the Spaceport of Crescentia. They had been there a few times already but each
visit was still a breathtaking experience for both of them. While the ferry was
launching they took in the countless new impressions.
There were
ships which seemed to be from far away galaxies since they differed in
appearance and technology from those which Jim and Dolphy had known till then.
There were
also aliens who were speaking in foreign languages that neither of the two
could assign to a particular race, let alone understand.
The smell
of exotic meals that rose into their noses, made Dolphy and Jim wonder what the
heck the mealsconsisted of and, more importantly, what they tasted like.
There were
so many new things to see that Jim and Dolphy stood there as if in a trance,
staring at the frisky bustle which surrounded them.
A loud
bugle from one of the disembarking ships made them snap back to reality.
“Guess we
should go to our Inn now.” said Jim and pulled a small piece of paper out of
his pocket.
“I hope
Amelia has written down the right directions.” said Dolphy sarcastically.
Everybody
knew that the captain was a perfectionist who seemed to be incapable of making
mistakes.
After
taking a short glimpse at the notes, Jim pointed to the street in front of
them.
“We gotta
go that way.”
They
followed the wide street which was surrounded by pubs and stores on the left
side, whereas the right side was literally fenced in by several stalls. Aliens
from all over the etherium yelled at potential customers to come closer and
praise their wares. Dolphy stayed close behind Jim since she didn`t want to
lose him in the crowd around them. As if he was thinking the exact same thing,
he turned around, reached for her hand and smiled at her before looking back at
the street.
A while and
several branch-offs later they finally stood in front of the inn they had
sought. It was a small building squeezed between a pub and a map-store, in no
ways comparable to the Benbow Inn.
“Well, at
least it doesn`t look too expensive.” said Jim, shrugging his shoulders.
“Yeah,”
said Dolphy ,”guess that`s why the captain suggested it.”
Jim was the
first to step in and hold the door open for Dolphy to follow. The inside was by
far better than the outside. Right in front of them was a nice little bar which
seemed to be manufactured from a mahogany-like wood. Behind it were shelves,
which were mounted on a mirror wall, with all kinds of different
alcohol-bottles standing on them. Some tables and chairs of the same color were
filling the rest of the room, whose brighter wooden walls gave it a pleasant
atmosphere.
“Okay, I
recant what I have just said.” whispered Dolphy as she realized why Amelia had
sent them to this inn.
While Jim
was talking to the brown elephant-like alien behind the bar, who seemed to be
the owner of the inn, Dolphy eyed her surroundings a bit more. Next to the bar
was a stairway, most likely leading to the rooms on the upper floors. Since it
wasn`t midday yet there were only a few customers sitting at the table and
eating a late breakfast. Most of them looked like spacers who were spending
their shore leave here until they would have to go back to their respective
ships. The scenery was rather peace, except for an already drunken alien that
appeared similar to some kind of ugly lizard.
Dolphy
turned her attention to Jim, who had finished his conversation with the
innkeeper and was approaching her now. He was holding a small silver key in his
hand.
“I`ve rented
a room for two days, it`s really value for money.” he smiled at her.
“Woah,
comfy.” said Dolphy as they entered their room.
The
sunlight shone through a big window which was rimmed by bright curtains. At the
wall to their left was a big double bed with white pillows and dark red
blankets. On the right a big mahogany-colored wardrobe stood next to a small
round table and two chairs.
The room
wasn`t big, but it was nice and it was enough for them.
Dolphy went
to the opposite side of the room and stared out of the window from which she
had a perfect view over the spaceport and the ships in front of the inn.
After
unpacking the most necessary things for their short stay, Dolphy`s tummy
rumbled, which made them notice that it was already lunch time. Since the food
at the various stalls, which they had passed on the way to the inn, had
appeared rather promising they decided to eat outside.
The
afternoon was spent strolling through the streets and enjoying the last bits of
spare time they would have until their traineeship started.
When night
fell they lay together in their bed, exhausted from running around in
Crescentia all day long. Dolphy tried in vain to fall asleep; instead, she
tossed and turned on her side of the bed. This didn`t work however, so she sighed
defeatedly.
“Can`t you
sleep?” asked a soft voice behind her.
She turned
around to face Jim, who was looking back at her. He appeared to be very tired.
It was late at night, but the light from the lanterns outside the window shone
weakly through the curtains, so Dolphy could at least see to some extent in the
darkness.
“There are
so many thoughts spinning around in my head that I just can`t make ´em stop.”
she explained quietly.
“Come
here.” he said softly and opened his arms for her
Dolphy
smiled and gladly accepted his embrace as she cuddled against him. His fingers
wandered soothingly through her hair while he gave her a gentle kiss on the
forehead.
“Everything`s
gonna be alright, you`ll see.”
Some
moments later Jim fell asleep again. However, Dolphy was still awake, thinking
about his words.
“Yeah, I do
hope so.”
There were shadows. Red light shone threateningly from the sky. It was cold. Very cold. Dolphy looked around her in panic. Nobody was there. Yet why did she feel like she was being stalked? Footsteps followed behind her. She quickly turned around but there was noone to be seen. Another black shadow crossed her way. What was going on here? Suddenly the wind became stronger, blowing around her severely. She was standing in the middle of an arising storm, not knowing where to go. More shadows were encircling her. She was trapped. A fierce lightning dashed from the sky as all of the shadows jumped towards her with a horrible cry.
“NOO!!!”
She let out
a yell as she was striking out wildly asleep, turning hastily from one side to
the other one.
“Dolphy?
DOLPHY, wake up!”
This
voice…she knew this voice. She could feel hands on her shoulders, shaking her
carefully.
“W-What?”
she mumbled, feeling confused as she opened her eyes.
Her heart
was still racing. Where was she? What had just happened? She glanced around her
bewildered.
“You had a
nightmare.” explained the familiar voice.
Her gaze
stopped at Jim, in whose arms she was lying. Once more she looked at her
surroundings. They were still in their room at the inn, so much was sure.
Judging from the sunbeams shining through the window, it had to be morning. As
she finally realized what had been going on she grabbed the collar of Jim`s
shirt and pressed her face against his chest.
“Sshh, it`s
okay, it was just a bad dream.” said Jim reassuringly and embraced her tightly.
“It`s okay.”
When she
had calmed down, Dolphy backed away from him and sat on the edge of the bed,
staring at the ground.
“What`s
wrong? It`s not just the nightmare, is it?” he asked.
Jim waited
patiently for her answer. She kept looking away from him and sighed.
“No.”
“You`re
still nervous, right?”
He could
see her nod her head slightly. Dolphy noticed that he was getting out of the
bed and wanted to see what he was going to do as he said :
“Don`t turn
around, I`ve got a surprise for you.”
She averted
her gaze from him while he was apparently searching for something in his
traveling bag. She could hear the rustling of his clothes and the other things
he had packed.
“I had planned to give this to you on our
anniversary next week, but I think you need something to cheer you up now.”
smiled Jim and sat next to her.
He was
holding a small black jewel case in his hand. Dolphy took it and opened it
slowly, as if to increase the suspense for herself. In the case was a silver
necklace with a diamond-shaped pendant that had an engraved eight-pronged star.
In the middle of it was a ruby, in the same shape as the pendant. Dolphy knew
that it was more than just a pretty piece of jewelry. The eight-pronged star
was the Etherial symbol for eternity, and the ruby was the precious stone of
love. There was also something engraved on the back of the pendant :
“For Dolphy. I love you.”
She looked
at Jim and flung her arms around his neck, knocking him over onto the soft
sheets of the bed and kissing him passionately. He smiled at her.
“So, I
guess that means you like the pendant?”
Dolphy
kissed him once more and stared deeply into his eyes.
“Yes,
you`re the best!”
She put the
necklace around her neck and took another fascinated look at the silver shining
pendant. Jim grinned and rolled his eyes mockingly.
“Give a
woman some jewelry and she`s happy.”
“Hey! It`s
not that simple!” said Dolphy trying to justify herself, albeit not too
seriously.
“Yeah,
suuure.” said Jim, that wide grin still on his face.
He couldn`t
help but laugh loudly as she started to tickle him without mercy.
“NO!
Don`t!” he gasped, but it was no use.
She
straddled him so he had no chance to escape. Jim had to be one of the most
ticklish people of the whole Etherium and she pitilessly took advantage of it.
“P-Please!
Do you wanna kill me!?” he yelled between laughs, with tears already in his
eyes.
Dolphy
stopped her tickle-attack, bent down to him and gave him a soft kiss.
“No, I
still need you.” she whispered in a seducing manner.
Jim smiled
and tried to get up, but was soon laughing again as she pushed him down and
continued to tickle him.
After they
finally managed to leave the bed, they changed into their casual clothes and
went downstairs to get some breakfast. Not many customers were in the room.
This was no surprise at all, it was 10.21 am and most of them were likely to have eaten already in order to catch
their outgoing ships. As they passed the bar the elephant-like innkeeper waved
towards them and gestured for them to come closer.
“Are you
Mr. James Hawkins and Miss Susan Dolphers?” he asked in a husky voice.
They
exchanged a quick look. Jim had told him his name when he had rented the room
yesterday. What people said about elephants having a good memory apparently
didn`t apply to this one here.
“Yes, Sir,
what`s the matter?” asked Jim.
The old
alien rummaged about under the bar and made a triumphant grunt as he found what
he had been searching for.
“This is
for you.” he said and gave Jim a small sheet of paper.
“What is
that?” asked Dolphy, looking curiously over his shoulder.
The
innkeeper turned around, took some dirty glasses and began to wash them up.
“Some guy
came here in the early morning and said I should give that to you. Don`t know
who he was but he said it was kinda important.”
Jim
unfolded the paper and quietly read it to Dolphy.
Dear
Mr.Hawkins and Miss Dolphers,
As you
may know, the launch of the RLS Defiance is scheduled for tomorrow in the
morning. Since we just heard about unexpected breaks in the weather, I`d like
to have a word with you and discuss the further proceedings.
I would
be very grateful to you for coming as soon as possible.
RLS
Defiance
South
Dock 138
Embarkation
point 4
Sincerely,
Captain
Alexander Smollett
“Okay, that
means gulping down breakfast and rushing to the Defiance.” sighed
Dolphy. How she hated having to hurry in the morning. Jim, however, was more
enthusiastic about it.
“Hey, we`re
gonna see our ship today already! Ain`t that cool?” he grinned from ear to ear.
It had no
use, she simply couldn`t resist being infected with his anticipation.
“Yes, it
is…” she said and looked at him with big eyes. “But there`s still time for
breakfast, isn`t there?”
Jim smiled,
oh what a question! Everyone who knew Dolphy knew that it would border on
sadism to not give her something to eat in the morning. She would be in a bad
mood all day long.
“Of
course.”
About an
hour and several bread rolls later, they stood in front of the RLS Defiance.
Jim was fascinated as he stared at the huge ship. It was at least a third
larger than the Legacy, with four masts rather than the common three
masts. The upper half of the wooden hull was painted black and red , with
filigree golden lines and ornaments which made it appear all the more
impressing.
While an
excited smile formed on Jim`s face, Dolphy stood in awe of the huge ship
hovering above them. The impressive size and magnificence were rather
intimidating. She was ripped from her thoughts when Jim grabbed her hand and
dragged her towards the narrow staircase that led on board. The sailors, mainly
alien species whose names she couldn`t think of, were busy climbing in the
shrouds and checking the sails. Dolphy could feel the glares of some of them as
she and Jim entered the ship. A squid-like creature whispered something to an
eight-eyed one next to him. The distance to hear it was too far, but she knew
that it wasn`t anything nice. Suddenly, there was a deep voice coming from
behind them.
“Mr.
Hawkins and Miss Dolphers, I presume?”
They both
turned around to see who had addressed them. In front of them stood Captain
Smollett, easy to recognize because of his blue captain`s uniform. He was at
least 6”7’ tall, with broad shoulders and a sturdy body-build in general. The
short maroon hair was mostly hidden under a captain`s hat in the same colour as
his jacket. His face, which resembled a lion`s face, added to his awe-inspiring
appearance.
“Yes, Sir.”
answered Jim politely.
“Thank you
for coming so quickly, I was a little worried that my cabin boy delivered the
note at the wrong inn. It´s his first time here on Crescentia, but I`m glad
that he finished this task successfully.”
The captain
smiled almost unrecognizably but soon became serious again.
“Now, I
don`t want to quibble about unimportant details. The reason why I wanted to
speak with you is the weather, as I already mentioned in the note you got.
There`s a stellar storm announced for tomorrow, fortunately just in the
surrounding area of the spaceport. You see, I can`t permit delay to the launch,
so I thought it would be the best to tell you personally that we`ll leave
Crescentia at 8 a.m. instead of 10 a.m..”
Jim and
Dolphy exchanged a questioning look between each other.
“But…what
about the storm?” she cautiously asked.
“We`ll be
out of reach by the time it starts.”
“Sir,
excuse me, but…that`s not the only reason that you wanted to talk to us, is
it?” asked Jim suspiciously.
Captain
Smollett stared shortly at him, a hint of a smile forming in his face.
“I see that
what Captain Amelia has told me about you is true. It`s not easy to conceal
something from you.Yes, I admit there is something else.” he said, casting a
fleeting doubtful glance in Dolphy’s direction, which she noticed.
“You are
aware of the fact that it is not common for women to become spacers on Etherial
ships. Of course, I have to accept that a lot of things changed since my time
at the Interstellar Academy. There weren`t many women around, maybe 3 or 4 on
the whole, but those few were extraordinary exceptions, I have to say. As you
may know, Captain Amelia was one of them.”
He took a
shallow breath. Dolphy knew where this was leading to.
“Miss
Dolphers, in my 20 years as spacer and captain of the RLS Defiance I have never
admitted women, let alone couples as trainees on my ship. Captain Amelia
assured that I wouldn`t regret it. But nevertheless. I have to point out that
this is no holiday excursion. I expect the exact same things from you as I
would expect from any male spacer, so don`t think I will handle you with kid
gloves only because you`re a woman.”
Jim wanted
to defend her but he knew that this would have shown weakness on both of their
sides. He looked worried at Dolphy who gulped heavily.
“Yes, Sir.
Of course.”
“Fine then.
I`m going to see you tomorrow.”
With that,
the captain said goodbye and turned away from them to go back into his
stateroom.
They
stepped down the stairs and off of the ship without saying a word. Only when
they were back on solid ground did Dolphy let out a deep sigh.
“He hates
me.”
“No, he
doesn`t.” reassured Jim and lay a comforting arm around her shoulders.
“He`s
just…kind of strict.”
“Oh, Jim,
face the facts. He and his whole crew hate me. They think I`m just here because
a friend of their captain has persuaded him to let me on board! And you know
what? They`re right!”
Dolphy
hated to admit, but if Amelia hadn`t put in a good word to Captain Smollett,
Dolphy would have had to pass her traineeship on some mediocre ship, far away
from Jim.
“Don`t let that guy bawl you out! He`s got an
old-fashioned attitude, yeah, but we`ll prove him wrong, okay?”
There was
really no point in arguing with Jim. Dolphy stared at the ground and nodded
weakly, feeling anything else but confident.
“Hey, we`ll
do it.” said Jim encouragingly and gave her a gentle kiss.
”I
promise.”
***
Dolphy
couldn`t sleep…again. The previous night was bad enough but after the meeting
with Captain Smollett, she couldn`t think about anything else other than his
stern look and his strict words. Also, the fact that she would spend the next
few months on board of HIS ship didn`t make her feel any better. At least she
would be together with Jim. Dolphy gazed at the sleeping form next to her and
had to smile. He looked so cute when he was asleep. Not that he wasn`t cute
while he was awake, but she loved to see him so relaxed. How she wished to be
able to sleep as soundly as he did. After moving closer to Jim she put her arms
around him and cuddled against his chest. The warmth of his body and his steady
hearbeat surely had a calming effect on her. His sheer presence was usually
enough to make her feel better. She closed her eyes. Maybe it would work now…
A while
later she was still turning from one side to the other one. It didn`t work.
There was no way she would fall asleep anytime soon. Sighing defeatedly she got
out of bed and changed into her casual clothes. Perhaps a short walk and some
fresh air would help. Making sure that she didn`t wake Jim, she quietly sneaked
out of the room.
“I`ll be
right back.” she whispered, more to herself than to anyone else, as she took
one last look at Jim and closed the door behind her.
She didn`t
know yet how wrong she was.
There was
not much going on downstairs. Due to the late hour not many customers were
sitting at the tables, There were only a few people, including the always
drunken lizard they had seen when they had first entered the inn not too long
ago. The innkeeper was talking, or rather yelling, at three strange looking
aliens at the bar. Dolphy didn`t pay attention to what was going on, she just
wondered if that guy ever slept or spent 24 hours a day serving his guests. She
also didn`t notice that they suddenly ceased from arguing with the innkeeper
and followed her shortly after.
“Brrr, it`s
colder than I have expected!” said Dolphy to herself as she strolled along the
main street near by the inn.
It was as
if life had disappeared from Crescentia. Judging from the dull bellows coming
through the lit windows of the pubs you could tell that there was still a bunch
of drunken spacers inside, but the streets itself were almost completely empty.
Once in a while somebody crossed her path, not caring to look at her since they
were busy enough with trying to find their way back home…not easy with an
alcohol level that seemed to be very high.
She heard
steps behind her but didn`t bother about it. Most likely some more guys who had
had too much rum and were staggering to their ships. When Dolphy realized that
she had gone away quite far from the inn she decided that it was time to return.
Maybe this walk had been enough to finally let her fall asleep. Just as she had
stopped and wanted to turn around she was grabbed by several strong hands and
tentacles. She tried to scream but a hairy hand was put on her mouth and she
was dragged into a dark narrow backstreet. She looked frantically around her but could only see the outlines of her
captors because of the lack of light. It was three aliens. A rather tall alien
with four tentacles instead of arms and a smaller but nonetheless strong boar-like
one were holding her arms firmly behind her back. The third one, looking pretty
much like a human except for his bat ears and long muzzle, stood right in front
of her. The very weak light from the lanterns on the main street was reflected
on something he took out of his pocket. A knife.
“Damn.” was the only thing Dolphy could
think at that moment.
“Now, be a
good girl and give us all your money. And don`t try to run away or scream, or I
swear you`ll regret it. ” said the bat-like alien in a steady yet menacing voice as he came closer and pointed
the knife at her throat.
The boar
put his hand away from her mouth and she looked at the gang`s leader in fear.
“I-I have
no money. I swear! I was just taking a walk and…“
“Shut up!”
yelled the alien with the tentacles and bent her arm even more violent, making
her wince in pain.
“Yeh tell
me you have absolutely nothing yeh can give us!? We`re not gonna leave with
empty hands!”
Dolphy
raised her head slightly and the bats attention was drawn to something shimmering
hanging down from her neck.
“Well, what
do we have here?” he said greedily as he grabbed the silver pendant and ripped
it away, tearing apart the necklace by doing so.
“No!”
screamed Dolphy.
Suddenly
anger arose inside her, making her forget her fear and also any bits of
rational thinking. She wouldn`t admit those jerks to steal the pendant that Jim
had given to her!
With a blow
of her elbows which none of her two captors had expected she somehow managed to
get free and threw herself at the third one in front of her, pulling the
pendant out of his hand.
“You stupid
bitch!” he yelled furiously and pushed her harshly against the wall.
A short cry
of pain escaped Dolphy`s lungs as her head made contact with the hard metal and
she sank to the ground. Everything around her went blurry. But she still
managed to see a big man appearing out of nowhere and saying something
threatening to the criminals. The bat-like alien tried to attack him with his
knife but was taken aback as his opponent transformed his obviously not human
arm into a huge sword. In the next moment the gang was running away and her
rescuer knelt down to her. His mechanic eye glowed in the darkness and looked
concerned at her. The last thing Dolphy realized was that she was picked up
from the ground.
Then she
couldn`t fight the dizziness which was creeping upon her anymore and blacked
out.
To be
continued…