Author's Note: I AM SO SORRY FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT ACTUALLY LIKED THIS ONE! I got so caught up in my other one that I forgot this one! D: Please forgive me! I want to live. T^T

Chapter One: Fifteen Years Later

"LEANNE! LASS, YE BEST BE GETTIN' YER BUM 'ROUND AND HELPIN' YER OLD MAN IN THE GALLEY!" Silver hollered as he stirred a thick soup in a deep bowl.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" A soft voice shouted back.

A young girl of sixteen came rushing down the stairs, tying her long, bright blond hair into a ponytail. Her clothes were a little less ragged than her foster father's, and less dirty. The girl raised her large blue eyes up to his and smiled.

"You called?" She asked, already grabbing dirty dishes and shoving them into the sink, getting some water going.

"Yea. If ye can get them dishes done and get little Morph here fed, I'd much appreciate it," Silver said as he rapidly chopped up some ingredients for the stew.

"Got it." She said, dumping soap into the huge wooden tub and wiped her hands on a towel.

The little pink blob of protoplasm wasn't anywhere to be found, so the blond simply shrugged her skinny shoulders and set to doing the dishes again.

The day lapsed into afternoon as the two worked in the galley, not even seeming to notice that there were some new guests aboard. Leanne glanced over at her father, who was pulling some ingredients together for his famous bonza beast stew. Leanne sighed as she scrapped more dishes clean. They'd been here for quite some time now, ever since a Dr. Doppler hired the crew. Most of the day had been spent getting to know the ship and getting supplies around, or trying to find something to pass the time until the launch. Leanne caught herself wondering about the men that had hired them. What were they like? Where were they from? Why did they choose her father's crew over the others at the port?

"Hey, daddy?" She asked softly.

"Yes, luv?"

"Do you think the guys financing the tri—"

"That FELINE!" A man's voice suddenly interrupted, "Who does she think is working for whom?!"

"It's my map! And she's got me busting tables!" Another voice said, obviously younger than the first.

Startled and suddenly overcome by her fear of strangers, Leanne quickly ducked behind some of the pillars that supported the upper deck above the galley. She did her best to make sure she wasn't seen.

"Mr. Silver!" A deep, rough voice suddenly demanded.

Leanne blanched when she recognized the voice of Mr. Arrow. She knew he was kind enough, but he was scary-looking, and it didn't take much to upset the giant rock.

Her father seemed calm and cool enough, having taken to whistling when Mr. Arrow had called to him.

"Why, Mr. Arrow, sir!" He exclaimed, wiping his hands on his apron with a wide, goofy smile, "Bringing such fine and distinguished gents to grace my humble galley?" he asked with a low bow, "Had I known, I'd a tucked in me shirt!"

As he started to stuff his shirt and apron into the belt of his pants, Leanne peeked out. Two gentlemen stood with Mr. Arrow. A dog-looking man in a strange-looking space suit made of silver and yellow, his hair slicked back into a ponytail. The other was a boy two years older than her, in rather ragged, slouchy clothes and sporting a rather interesting haircut, a gold earring shining out from underneath. The boy seemed transfixed a moment by her father's cyborg parts, as if startled.

"May I introduce Dr. Doppler," Mr. Arrow continued as the dog-man strode forward, bowing, "The financier of our voyage."

"Lovely outfit, doc," Her father said with humor, his laser eye roaming across the suit.

The doctor seemed obviously uncomfortable as he tried to cover himself, "Well, thank you, um….love the eye," he said, managing a nervous smile.

He suddenly grabbed his younger counterpart, shoving him forward, "Um, this young lad is Jim Hawkins."

Her father thrust out his hand, purposefully exposing the cooking implements.

"Jimbo!" He exclaimed with a grin, before he jokingly returned his hand to normal.

The youth only glared at his hand, before turning his glare up at the giant's face. Silver remained cool, obviously used to strange reactions to his cyborg hardware.

"Oh, don't be put off by this hunk of hardware." He said, moving to chop up some things for the stew.

Leanne peeked around the pillar again, staring at the newcomers. The doctor certainly seemed like he'd be nice. Maybe she could convince him to teach her what he knew, as she always wanted to learn more. She'd hardly ever been away from her father's side since he'd found her, too afraid to be on her own.

The blond turned her attention back to the boy. As she stared at him, she couldn't help but notice that he had the prettiest eyes she'd ever seen. A pretty light blue, with the slightest tint of a sea green to them. Neither of the gentlemen or Mr. Arrow seemed to see her peeking out from behind the tall pillar of wood, so she continued to study their appearances, nibbling her lip shyly.

"Here, have a taste of me famous bonza beast stew!" Silver exclaimed, shoving bowls of the lumpy liquid into their hands.

Doppler sniffed at the stew with his funny-looking nose, and lapped at it delicately. He smiled widely and licked his lips.

"Mmm, delightfully tangy, yet robust," he observed.

"Old family recipe."

Just as Doppler was about to take a few more laps of it, an eyeball floated to the top, startling the doctor.

"In fact, that was part of the old family!" Silver joked, bursting into laughter as he slung a heavy arm around the man's shoulders, before popping the eyeball into his mouth. He moved over to the younger man, Jim, and tried to coax him into taking a bite, "Go on, Jimbo, have a swig."

Jim looked at him suspiciously a moment, before raising a spoonful of the stew. He eyeballed it a moment, before it started to morph into a mouth and turn pink, eyeballs popping up. Jim appeared startled as the little shapeshifter changed into a straw and slurped up his stew. Leanne had to stifle a giggle as she watched. It always entertained her to see people's reaction to the little morph. While Silver explained the existence of the little mischief-maker, Morph flew from his beefy finger and straight towards the pillar Leanne was hiding behind. She gave a startle squeak as he threw himself against her face, purring and burbling lovingly.

"Ah, so that's where ye disappeared to, lass!" Silver exclaimed when she peeked around the pillar nervously, "Come and meet our guests, Leanne."

Timidly, with the little pink blob in her hands, Leanne edged over to her father's side, unsure of how she felt about having the two strangers staring directly at her.

"This is me daughter, Leanne. Found her as a baby on the outskirts of a colony a few systems away. She's been with me ever since," He said, slinging an arm proudly around the girl's narrow shoulders.

The pale blond glanced up through her eyelashes shyly, briefly meeting only Jim's brilliant eyes, before she cast her gaze back to the dirty wooden floor.

"H-hello..." She said softly, wringing the corner of her apron.

Dr. Doppler greeted her enthusiastically, while Jim simply nodded once at her. A whistle sounded above and Mr. Arrow glanced up for a moment.

"We're about to get underway. Would you like to observe the launch, Doctor?" the giant asked, motioning towards the steps of the galley.

"Would I?! Does an active galactic nucleus have superluminal jets?!" he stated.

Leanne wasn't sure what he was talking about, but it sounded interesting. Mr. Arrow simply gave him a stern and yet withering look. The doctor seemed to shrink in on himself, embarrassed.

"I'll follow you…" he stated quietly, moving past the alien.

"Mr. Hawkins will stay here…in your charge, Mr. Silver."

Silver spat out a mouthful of soup and Leanne blanched. They would have to be near each other for the entire voyage? Leanne was already unnerved about being on a completely different ship, but to be working with a complete stranger—and an honestly very attractive stranger—would do her in.

"Beggin' yer pardon, sir, but, uh…" Silver started.

"Captain's orders!" Arrow barked, "See to it the new cabin boy's kept busy," He said with a glare, before turning away and ascending the steps.

Both Jim and Silver babbled their disapproval and tried to argue, but the first mate was already gone. Both men sighed and rubbed their faces, while Leanne tried to busy herself washing dishes, her cheeks red. Maybe her father would be overprotective and make sure they stayed at least twenty feet away from each other. Or he'd be evil and play on her fear of people and make them work together.

Leanne did her best not to listen to their conversation, but, as always, her curiosity got the best of her as she listened in.

"You know…these purps are kind of like the ones back home…on Montresor," Jim said as he picked one out of the barrel, moving behind the cyborg. "Ever been there?" he asked, like he was testing the cook.

"Eeehhh, can't says I have, Jimbo," Silver answered nonchalantly as he sliced a vegetable.

Leanne paused in her washing, glancing over her shoulder at the two, though neither seemed to notice her. She knew that was a lie, but she kept silent. She wasn't supposed to talk about her dad's business. Not even to him. She carefully continued her duty, trying to keep her mind on her task, but now she was interested.

"You know…come to think of it," Jim said as he sat up on the counter not far away, eating a purp, "Just before I left, I met this old guy who was, um…kind of looking for a cyborg buddy of his."

"Is that so?" Silver asked, continuing to cook, as if this were simply a light conversation.

"Yeah. What was that old salamander's name…?" he mumbled loudly, rubbing his forehead. Leanne's eyes flicked in his direction, scrubbing a knife, "Oh yeah. Bones. Billy Bones."

"Bones? Boooooones?" Silver asked, straining some liquid. Then he shrugged, "Tain't ringin' any bells. Must have been another cyborg."

As he moved to the counter next to Jim, Silver glanced at the blond. He saw her vigorously scrubbing a carving knife and a quick flash of his cyborg eye was all the answer she needed. She rinsed it off and sat it in a drainer to dry, still a bit uneasy.

"There's a slew of cyborgs roamin' this part…"

Above them, another whistle went off and the faint voice of Arrow shouting, "Prepare to cast off!"

Silver smiled and pushed Jim off the counter, "Eh, off with ya, lad, and watch the launch. There'll be plenty of work waitin' for ye afterwards."

The two watched the young man go. Silver's expression turned serious as he handed Morph a biscuit-looking treat.

"We best be keepin' a sharp eye on this one, eh, Leanne?" the cyborg asked as he walked up next to her, "We wouldn't want him strayin' into t'ings he shouldn't."

The big man looked down at her as she dried her hands silently on her apron, feeling a bit more at ease now that the boy was gone.

"Leanne, I need ye to do yer old pap a favor. Go up and keep an eye on the pup. Make sure he stays out of trouble, eh?"

The blond nodded, setting the dish in her hand back in the sink and hung her apron up, before bounding up the stairs to keep up with the young man.