There Be Treasure Await'n

Early Morning Meetings

Jim delicately lit the lamp on his desk as Onyx closed the door to the stateroom. Silver pulled curtains over the windows behind them, leaving no room for anyone to look in. After Anna left, Jim told the cyborg everything, as well as his half-formulated plan. They wasted no time returning as swiftly as possible to the Adventurer.

"Alright. We know that there's at least a slave trade here, in Truro," Jim said, pointing at the city on a map. "The mines are here, just North-West of Town Hall, about three leagues from the villages. To our knowledge, that's where most of the slaves are now. We need to figure out how many there are, and where any others might be. Anna said she used to do housework, so it's likely there are people doing that too, elsewhere. She and the others work at the Inn, and we know that they'll be there for another few weeks or so at least."

Jim looked at Onyx. "We need to send word to any Naval ships near us, I don't care who they are or what they're doing, we need help and lots of it. This entire planet needs thorough investigation from the Federation, but for now we need to focus on getting these people out of slavery."

Onyx nodded. "Aye, Captain," the cragorian murmured, pulling out parchment and a quill. Jim looked at Silver. "Tomorrow, you and I will meet with the others, they can give us any other information they have that we might need. Before we take any serious action, we need to know more about who's running this business and how." Silver nodded.

Jim looked down at the map laid out on his desk. "After we meet, Anna can take me up to the villages, see if that lead turns up anything. I don't want to be there long, we have little time here, the dock guards are going to be suspicious if we stay much longer."

Onyx cleared his throat. "I'll have Mr. Ogden deliver these to the nearest off-Calypso spaceport," he said, holding up a few letters. Jim nodded. "Thank you. We'll be back after we talk with Anna tomorrow. You're a life-saver, Onyx," he said, taking some pistol clips from a drawer. Onyx nodded. "Of course, Captain. Good luck," he said, standing from his seat. Jim opened the stateroom door and walked out, his first-mate at his side. "Please, be safe out there Captain," Onyx said quietly as Jim approached the dock-ramp. "I'll do my best," the boy replied, a half-grin on his face. 

Silver walked with him down back to the foggy streets. Jim placed the clips in his pockets, securing them as they headed down the road. The cyborg glanced at him as he did this, an eyebrow raised. Jim caught his look. "You can't be too safe, especially not now," the brunette said quietly. Silver nodded. "No, ye can't. Smart lad ye are. Took me a lot longer ta figure such things out."

Jim nodded. 

Especially not when there's so much on the line. 

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The next morning, Jim hurriedly walked down the stairs. For once, he had gotten up earlier than Silver, aggressively shaking the cyborg awake before day had even broken. He doubted he had gotten more than a few hours of sleep the night before. Even Morph was groggy. 

The boy put a hand on the knob to the stage entrance, impatiently waiting for Silver who was still maneuvering around tables to reach him. He tapped his foot urgently until the cyborg finally reached him. He pulled the door open, walking determinedly down the dark hallway until they made it to the lounge. He knocked. Victoria was there to open it, looking rather tired, her red hair wild and untamed.

"You're early," she said in a morning voice. Jim nodded. "We have important stuff to do," he replied. She nodded, yawning as she pulled the door open to let them in. 

The room had been rearranged slightly, a large table brought in and placed in the center of the room with armchairs and couches around it. Maps were spread on it with random items scattered over it to mark various landmarks. Jim spotted Anna sitting on a battered-up scarlet armchair, Andrew asleep on the couch next to her, his head on his chest.