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Ever since he was a little kid, Jim Hawkins dreamed of the stars in the Etherium. The dream changed every time: sometimes it was Jim sailing through the stars, going to distant planets and conquering new worlds. Sometimes it was his just crossing a new found nebula, with all its striking colors and magnificent shapes. And sometimes, it was just him staring at the stars; with his mom, with his dad or just by himself.
It wasn’t just the stars though. Of course it wasn’t. It was the adventure of being a spacer; the solar ships, the long journeys across the Etherium. The fights against fearsome pirates and solar storms. The secret treasures and uncharted worlds.
Sarah Hawkins would always snicker at her kid’s antics, as he would talk to her for hours about the adventures he would have if he were a spacer. Ever since he had discovered her old pirate books he had been obsessed with every single story involving the Etherium. He had insisted on hanging all his different ship models across his room and painting colorful stars on it’s ceiling.
But of course, nothing could ever beat watching the actual stars at night. Montressor was a small and mostly uninhabited planet, only housing small miner villages scattered throughout the globe. Benbow itself was a relatively small town, even if once it had been a fruitful and busy one. That meant nothing but bad news for the majority of people actually living there, but for Jim, that just meant clear skies and wonderful views to the wonders of the Etherium at night.
When he had been a kid, he had somehow found his way to the roof, much to Sarah dismay. Ever since then, whenever needed time alone, after a particularly hard day at school, or during one of his parents' screaming matches, the boy would climb up the rusty old pipes and just… lie down on the dirty roof floor and look up. Wondering what kinds of worlds and planets he could find amongst the stars. What kinds of people. What kinds of lives they would leave.
On that rooftop, he promised himself that one day, he would visit them all. He would live all the adventures and he would discover uncharted worlds.
But for now, he was content with just stargazing.
Leland Hawkins is a spacer, and a fine one that is. He may not have become a legend quite yet on his own, but his reputation precedes him and he never has any troubles finding a job. Which means of course, he has traveled far and wide throughout the Etherium. Jim thinks this is the coolest thing ever.
Leland is not home often. Journeys on cargo ships are long and usually include transporting merchandise to the other side of the galaxy, but the man doesn’t mind it much. The pay is better that way. But even if the journey takes up months, every time he returns Jim is always waiting at the door, just bursting out with questions. Where had he been? What places had he met? Had there been storms? Had he met weird people? What did the Orca whales look like?
Once upon a time, Leland would’ve answered all those questions gladly, but as time went on, the trips became longer and the shore leaves became shorter. And his patience to answer his son’s questions ran thinner.
But Jim didn’t care. Well, he did care. He did care that his father was almost never home, and he did care that he never had time to answer his questions or to listen about his new pirate book. But while he was home, he soaked all of the time and listened intently to every single word he said about his trips.
He remembers sitting on the floor of the kitchen as his father drank a dark cup of coffee, talking loudly to those rowdy friends of his about some nasty spacers with rude manners headed towards the Coral galaxy, or about the beautiful women on the cross constellation.
He tried to ignore his mother’s pained expressions and instead imagine the wondrous worlds his father talked about. Trying to come up with the different faces the people must have had. The huge and fast spaceships on which his father had carefully omitted the details.
Even if it’s always hard when he leaves, Jim is grateful that Leland comes back home after all of his adventures.
He wonders if one day they would space together towards the stars in the galaxy.
Leland leaves. Of course Leland leaves. Because there are men that can sacrifice the stars for their family, and they can give everything to be with them, to see them happy, to see them thrive. But Leland isn’t that kind of man.
He is the kind to work for himself and to chase the stars and visit other worlds, but never worry about what he is leaving behind. About who is leaving behind.
And it's… hard. It is really hard. For a while every thought of the stars is darkened by the thought of what they are going to eat that day. If they have enough money to pay for their electricity. Whether or not Jim really needs new boots, because his are already torn and tight, but he is sure he can make them last just for another season.
Leland wasn’t completely cruel when he left. He left a hefty amount of money that could theoretically last them for a few months, but Sarah’s single salary as a waitress was not going to cut it for them both when the money was gone, so she instead invested every penny on turning their house into an inn.
The transition hit Jim like a wall of bricks. Suddenly, it isn’t just him and his mom at home, but so many other strangers in their rooms and in their house. The visitors respect their rooms of course, but those are the only parts of the house where strangers are not everywhere around them.
Perhaps many years ago, the boy would’ve loved living in the inn, talking to so many different and strange people from all over the galaxy. He would’ve died just to talk to the guests, and learn all the names of their planets and the wonderful worlds they must hail from. But Jim is not that kind of boy anymore. And all of the other guests just feel like pests to him, crawling all over their space.
Sarah is always working too. Cooking, cleaning, preparing rooms, counting their money. There isn’t a single day when she doesn’t work herself to exhaustion. There isn’t a single day in which he doesn’t hear her cry through the thin wooden walls.
It is now almost everyday that Jim climbs up to their dirty room, his mind plagued with questions. Where are you now? In which galaxy sector? If I look straight ahead, am I looking in your direction? Why did you leave? Was our home not good enough for you?
Was I not good enough for you?
All pointless questions, same as the ones he asked himself as a kid. Only a stupid child asks questions to the stars. He should know better by now than to look at the Etherium with wonder.
Jim gets arrested. He is only fourteen and he has already been arrested. Apparently sailing his solar surfer through an abandoned mining outpost is illegal and a punishable offense. Something about personal safety and danger of landslides additional to the breaking of entry, the judge said. Which is something absolutely stupid, considering that there were no people around and he wouldn’t have even gotten caught if it were not by that stupid camera.
It’s dumb. The guards confiscate his precious solar surfer which he had spent months building. It’s not that big of a deal, he says to himself. Although it is a mark on his record, it is just a small infraction. He is more angry at himself for getting caught than at the system. But the same can’t be said for his mom when she arrives in the middle of the night with deep shadows under her eyes to bail him out.
When the guards take him out of the cell and with his mother, he notices teartracks going down her cheeks. She doesn’t look at him and he doesn’t say anything, while trying to avoid thinking how much of their little savings had she taken out for the bail.
Sarah avoids his gaze the entire way back. When they finally arrive to the inn they silently wander into the house, standing still in the dining room. Her back faces him, her disappointment thick in the air. He desperately wants to say something. Anything. To try to explain himself to her or to beg for forgiveness, but she just looks at him with a grief stricken expression and leaves to her room.
He tries not to feel like she is abandoning him too.
He goes to school and fails to deliver any assignments. He spends hours washing dishes at the inn. He rebuilds his solar surfer with scraps of sails picked up from the trash. Sarah doesn't speak to him and he doesn’t talk to her either. He wonders if it would be better for her if he just left on a random ship and never came back. The stars no longer offer him confort, but instead just some sort of sick relief.
And then Billy Bones arrives at the inn. Jim brings him home, and then… everything changes in just a few seconds. Pirates come flooding through the door, the doctor pushes them out the window and from afar they watch their home burst into flames. The boy tries not to think to hard on his mother’s silent sobs as they go to Delbert’s house. He tries not to think too hard on how everything is his fault.
Well, his and old Billy Bones with his oddly shaped sphere.
It’s not until much later, when they are in the doctor’s cluttered house that he actually gets to see the sphere properly. And it is not just some golden sphere to be used as a paper weight. It’s a stellar map. A map to the Treasure planet.
It’s like a switch has been pulled. All the fear and the uncertainty of the future has vanished into a sparkling joy and hope for something better. For all the stories of adventure and discovery he used to love when he was a kid. The ones he still daydreams now. With the promises of something different than the tiny planet of Montresor, and for a treasure beyond the realms of imagination. For a new life, for him and his mum.
Of course, Sarah refuses. She yells and shakes her head furiously at her child, who now wants to go to the stars in a wild goose chase across the galaxy for something dangerous. For something that might not even be real.
But in the end, she can’t say no to her son’s pleas, nor Delbert’s convincing arguments. She knows she can't keep Jim home. Her boy is growing restless and everyday is getting worse. She knows Jim needs help that she can’t give him, and perhaps the doctor is right. Perhaps a journey to the Etherium is just what he needs: new people, new places, a different scenery than the gray life at Montresor that Sarah can offer him.
The brilliant smile that paints across her son’s face when she agrees to the journey tells her she has made the right decision. She just hopes she won’t lose another person to the Etherium. That she won’t lose what matters the most to the stars.
Montressor’s spaceport is a whole new world to Jim. There are so many people. And so many markets. He remembers going to port with his father once when he had been a kid, but seeing it with new eyes, with the eyes of an adventurer, of a spacer, makes everything different. Makes everything seem like a sea of opportunities.
And of course, all the wonder from the port doesn’t compare to the beauty and splendor from their ship. The R.L.S. Legacy. Jim looks in awe at the main mast, with its enormous solar sails and the crown flag on top. The professor really went all out with his choice of ship.
The professor also really was, admittedly, quite terrible at his choice of a crew. They grumble and glare at their backs, as if they couldn't feel their burning eyes on the back of their head. Probably the only comfort is that their captain, Captain Amelia Smollet, hates them just as much as they do. It was a very small confort.
Jim gets assigned to kitchen duty. Which means he was promoted from Benbow’s best dishwasher, to the ships best dishwasher. Not exactly the kind of upgrade he was expecting, But alas, without his map the captain’s words are to be followed and he gets stuck with John Long Silver. The cook. the cyborg. And throughout their entire conversation in the kitchen, Jim can’t help but feel intimidated by him. He just hopes this will all be worth it.
His answer is given to him the moment the launch begins and the ship blasts full speed ahead into the Etherium. Jim can't help but to stare wonderstruck at its beauty while hanging from the shrouds. The vibrant colors of space, the thousands upon thousands of stars painting the sky around them, the magnificent beasts that fly calmly through the abyss, oblivious to their presence.
They move forward in the darkness of the Etherium, sailing to the promise of treasures and adventures. The cold air engulfs him like a gentle hug or like a cold wave. There is nothing that is stopping him from the unknown. This is what freedom feels like. Jim closes his eyes. Surrounded by stars and on a rocking ship, he knows. His position or work on the ship doesn’t matter. This is his place. This is what home feels like.
Surprisingly, the illusion of being aboard the RLS Legacy doesn’t die out once the day is over. Hell, it’s surprising the wonder doesn't die out at the end of the hour.
Soon enough he learns just exactly what being the cabin boy means, and it doesn’t exactly mean something good. The work is rough. Hours upon hours on different tasks that need to be accomplished on the ship. Mopping the floor, scrapping astro barnacles off the hull, repairing the sails, storing the ropes, moving around crates and all other kinds of exhausting and thankless jobs. On top of that he is also the cook’s apprentice, which means extra hours cleaning tables, chopping vegetables, peeling fruit and most importantly, washing dishes. Lucky him.
It would be one thing if he were doing all of this back home, where his works would be appreciated, but he learned quickly that life on the Etherium is much rougher than he imagined. He is left mostly to his own devices: the crew ignores him at best and is actively hostile at worst. So he works and works and works and his only reward is the chance to sleep at night and start again the next morning.
Yet still, even with all the hard work and the endless hours, there is still a part of him that is so grateful that he gets to be here, on this ship. Just to be one step ahead of his dreams.
It is also, well, nice that he gets to spend time with his new found mentor, Silver.
Now of course the old ursid is tough on him. Everyone on this ship is. He works him for hours and expects nothing less than perfection on the various tasks he set’s him up for, whether those tasks being kitchen related or have more to do with taking care of the ship in general. There isn’t a day where Jim doesn’t end up with blisters on his hands or with his head hurting from all of the different kinds of knots the man has been trying to teach him.
But soon enough, he starts feeling like all those endless tasks have started working their magic. Of course, there is nothing new or particularly interesting about washing dishes under the cold soapy water, but he can feel himself starting to learn from all the different tasks on the ship. In just a couple of days he has the whole ship mapped out on his head, and in a couple of weeks he can name every single part of it. By the time they arrive to the first port for resupplying he feels comfortable enough to know the basics of the rigging and the solar flares no longer make him feel dizzy.
And even if the Ursid yells at him and works him to the bone, Jim can tell that the man is slowly warming up to him, as he tells him the wildest stories from his youth as a daring spacer. He starts giving the boy tips on how to manage life onboard, and some of them don’t even have anything to do with his duties as cabin boy. He laughs with him, but never at him. He stands with him smoking his wooden pipe as they both lean on the ship’s railing, staring at the ocean of stars in silence.
With every single day that passes on the ship he feels more and more safe in his own skin, and more confident on his abilities to move on the ship. Hell, he even gets to show off to Silver his talents on one of the lifeboats. Jim feels his skiing toughing up and his heart as well. He finally starts feeling like a spacer. Or at least the beginning of one. He feels like nothing can stop him at all.
The supernova explodes and the blackhole engulfed them all. Jim secures the lifelines and he and Silver survive. Mister Arrow doesn’t. And it’s his fault.
Jim sits on the shrouds, twisting a scrap of rope between his fingers, going through the safety knot over and over again. The stars don’t offer any confort, and he doesn’t seek it. He doesn’t deserve it.
It is honestly not a surprise that he lashes out so badly when Silver comes to the ship deck to… he doesn’t know. Talk to him? Console him?
It doesn’t matter anymore, because the moment the Ursid starts to talk to him about the events that happened earlier in the day, he sees red and yells and screams and tries to stop the tears from falling down his face; because it was his fault, his fault, his fault… But the old cook doesn't look appalled at his sharp words, and instead he grabs him by the shoulder, forcing him to look him in the eyes.
And even through blurry eyes, he can see the man talk to him the way no one ever had talked to him. Not the cops, not Dr. Delbert, not even his mom. No one had ever seen anything more to him than what meets the eye, and yet Silver talks about the greatness he sees in him, about the future he sees in him. The Ursid looks at him like there are stars in his eyes and in his heart.
He can’t stop himself from leaning on the man and accepting his embrace.
When the old cook sends him to the barracks, Jim looks back at him and he sees the spacer engulfed by stars and kindness and hope and a small part of him believes him.
He was lying. He was lying. He was lying. He was lying. He was lying.
There is no time to think about it now. The pirates were after them and if he wasn’t quick they were all going to die here. He guesses that it wasn’t such a bad thing he was hidden in that plum barrel, at least it meant he had enough time to warn the captain and the doctor.
The trío ran through the underbelly of the ship, turning on sharp corners and ducking to the deafening sounds of the blasts behind them. More than once Jim feels the blast graze his skin and he wonders if this is the place where he is going to die.
They were almost out when Morph decided to act out, because of course he would do so right now. He jumps out trying to catch him and attract his attention, just as Silver tries to do the same. In the end, Morph doesn't choose and Jim gets the map in time. Silver could’ve shot him. He was right on sight, the perfect target. He even heard the sound of his blaster charging. But he didn’t. Why didn’t he?
They leave the ship before he can properly think on it. They don’t leave unharmed.
It was senseless. The actual map is back in the ship and they have been shot down. Captain Amelia sends Jim ahead to scout for a safe place. He tries not to think too much about the terrible odds he is fighting here. They are stuck in an unknown planet with no aid anywhere near, the captain is hurt and the doctor is, well, the doctor. And of course their ship was taken by pirates.
Suddenly the adventures in his childhood books don’t sound as enthralling now.
He makes his best to focus on the terrain and on finding a suitable place to lay low. He does his best to avoid thinking about how Silver betrayed him. Betrayed them all.
He finds B.E.N. Who is… quite the character. But he has an ideal hiding spot, so it works well enough for him. The pirates find them soon and he is then talking to Silver again. He waves a white handkerchief, but Jim knows better than to think he is being honest.
The Ursid goes on a long ramble about how the others would tear them out if they thought he cared about him. About the lies he had to say. About the treasure that could be theirs. Ha! At least he learned one thing from Silver. They fight. Jim drives him away. He wonders whether to believe in the old man’s angry words or in his pained eyes.
The boy sneaks back into the ship and almost loses his life. He has no doubt that he is worth more to the pirates dead than alive, but the Spider psycho had always had a weird thing. It doesn’t surprise him that he tries to kill him.
As his screams vanish in the darkness of the Etherium, the boy feels a small spark of hope.
The pirates have the captain and the doctor at gunpoint. They are surrounded in the darkness. Silver grins in pure glee as he points his blaster to him and orders him to open the map. Jim has no choice. But that doesn’t mean that he has no way to bargain. He came all this way and crossed half the Etherium and he isn't planning on leaving it all behind. He will get to see what he came here for.
The doors to the treasure are the first surprise and one that leaves Jim awestruck. The doors that can open to anywhere. To any place and to any galaxy.
But what's hidden in the core of this planet is even more impressive. The title “Loot of a thousand worlds” doesn’t even begin to cover the actual magnificence of the treasure hidden. Miles over miles of gold and silver coins. Exquisite fabric draped over wooden chests filled to the brim with precious stones. It’s everything and more than what he had imagined.
The pirates jump in glee towards the treasure, totally forgetting the boy left in the entrance. Big mistake.
Jim strides over to the big broken ship away from them, jumping over the railing and finding himself face to face with the man from the Legends. captain Nathaniel Flint. He locked himself up with all the treasure away from the world. And he locked himself up with B.E.N.s memories.
His terrible and gruesome memories.
All the wonder and the joy of the treasure vanishes into thin air as the world explodes in dreadful glow and explosions rattle the air. Suddenly the treasure chamber has become an inescapable prison and one by one the pirates start falling.
There isn't much time and starting up the ship starts as a last minute decision to try to save the treasure. To try to save himself. At least that is what he is telling himself in the longest minutes of his life trying desperately to restart the vessel. He has to make it.
Which is of course, the moment that Silver climbs up his ship as well, with a charming smile and a voice full of poison. He is only here for the treasure and Jim would be an idiot to let his guard down. After all, he is just another obstacle to him in the way to his dreams.
But when the ship is struck by the cannons and he hangs to his imminent death. Silver has to make a choice. Silver chooses him.
They run back to the Legacy where the doctor and the captain are already making their best to leave the blasted planet before they end up dead. The sails are fully powered and they are so close to leaving the atmosphere.
And then they get hit. They lose power. They won't make it in time.
Jim jumps to action. The idea to use the doors seem suicidal, they surely don’t have enough time to make it back to them, but it’s their only plan. The old cyborg helps him build an improvised sailing board. There are so many words in his eyes, but there is not enough time to say them.
The boy jumps to the sky and flies.
This time feels more daring than any other time he had ever solar surfed, and not only because of the imminent destruction or the weight of responsibility on his shoulders. This time he is sailing not just for himself, he is sailing for Doctor Delbert and Captain Amelia. For Silver. And so he twists and turns like a comet on the Etherium, with not a single second to loose.
His heart drops to his shoes when the surfer stops working. He feels the tears streaming down his face in the desperation, but he isn’t going to die here. Not today.
He blasts on full speed towards the dark skies and shooks forward towards the gates of fire. On the last possible second he hits the map.
The brilliant doors open up and they are blasted forward towards Montressor’s spaceport. There are no words to describe the joy and the triumph at their survival. At his victory over their deaths. There are yells and cheers on the deck of the Legacy, where the smiles are not missing, not even from the pirates tied up in the brig.
As he lands his surfer he can see the brilliant grins on the captain and the doctor’s faces as they congratulate him. But none of their words feel as amazing as the feeling of triumph on his chest. He knows they are alive because of him, and he feels like a starburst galaxy, glowing and shining.
The pink nebula drifts slowly below them as Jim confronts the cyborg in the underbelly of the ship. He wants to laugh as he pretends to secure the longboat. He is such a bad liar, and he folds immediately under his gaze.
And even after… everything, he knows Silver cares for him. And he knows what he has to do next.
There is no doubt at all as he opens the gates, soft light filling the entire space. Silver laughs and puts his arm around him, persuading him to join him in the skies, promising a life of travel and adventures. The life he would’ve died to have just a few months ago.
But as he stares at the glowing skies, he knows that is not the path for him anymore.
He can tell Silver is proud of him. He tells him so, calling him a glowing star. Deep inside, Jim knows he is right.
Before jumping into the wild unknown, the Ursid gives him two gifts. Morph, his closest friend, and a handful of jewels to fix their inn. He winks at him on the longboat and Jim can tell he’ll be alright. There are no powers in this galaxy that could possibly stop him.
The stars have never looked as bright as they promise a way home.
It is not easy, starting over and rebuilding. The new inn takes all of their days and studying takes all of his nights; but it is all worth it to see his mother’s smile at the grand reopening of the Benbow’s inn, and at seeing him with his Academy uniform.
It will take time. Not all wounds heal with a life threatening journey to the stars, but it is a big step. And step by step, he knows he will reach the stars.
It has been so many years since the incidents in Treasure planet. Captain Jim Hawkins is a man now, almost old enough to forget the legends. Almost.
He smiles at his crew, rigging the sails and climbing up the mast. They are good people, and their journey was worth it, but it was time to get home. The men are excited to have shore leave and visit their families. He is excited too.
He still feels more at home in the Etherium surrounded by the stars, his truest companions, but he doesn’t need them to stay by his side. He can return home and rest just fine. Of course he will miss them, but he can just stare at them from his dirty corner of the roof.
After all, the truest and brightest stars that he would find are the ones glowing inside his heart. What else could he possibly need?