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It had happened so quickly; one moment, Jane was staring at the stars from the side of her spaceship, eager to explore the alien jungle she was heading to, when a neighboring ship had rammed into them.
They pillaged and robbed them of all their gold and supplies and destroyed the ship entirely, leaving the young woman, her father, and her crew for dead on a nearby planet.
She floated through the streets of Crescentia, the spaceport orbiting Montressor. She wasn't sure what she was searching for; a new crew? A new ship? Neither of those would bring her back to her state of excitement, not necessarily, anyways.
Still, she somehow found what she was looking for in a Felinid captain that stood on the docks, staring out at the endless sea of space. Jane hadn't been paying attention and had bumped into the woman, nearly knocking her down off the docks, but the woman naturally caught both herself and Jane.
Her face flushed and her eyes twinkling, Jane stared up at the captain and gave a small, awkward smile before straightening herself up.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bump into you, Miss..."
"Captain Amelia," the Felinid woman spoke, eyeing the yellow-clad human closely. "And you are?"
"Jane. Jane Porter. Not a captain," she awkwardly replied.
"Are you searching for an expedition?"
"Something like that. You see, I was on one, but pirates destroyed my ship and dropped my father and what's left of our crew off here." She explained, a solemn look on her face. "We were on our way to explore the planet Saltu Insula. We are Extraterrestrial-life biologists and conservationists, so we were wanting to see if we could try and view the wild Groginla species, to try and find ways to preserve their population."
"Groginla?" Amelia raised a curious eyebrow. "That sounds like commendable and dangerous work, Miss Porter. My crew is heading on a hunt for treasure that I'm not sure exists," she explained, her ears standing up at attention, "if you would like, I could take you and your remaining crew to Saltu Insula. As long as your crew can offer something to us, of course."
Jane perked up at the idea of getting to see her beloved planet of her dreams after all. "O-of course! I've been told I'm a natural navigator, and my father can read ancient maps fairly well. And we have a few guards left in our crew, like our lead guard Mr. Clayton!"
"Sounds like a plan, then. We will load up your crew and what's left of your supplies and set course tomorrow." Amelia announce, and Jane fought the urge to hug the strange captain, instead opting to reach her hand out for a handshake, which Amelia graciously took.
"It'd be a pleasure! Thank you, Captain!"
"The pleasure is all mine. I am interested in seeing these Groginla creatures. I've heard they are a more primitive species, but are still oddly intelligent. I'm sure you've had some intriguing journeys before this, as well."
Smiling widely, Jane could tell that this was going to be a unique and fun-filled adventure.
The next day they set course for the so-called Treasure Planet, planning to stop at Saltu Insula on the way there.
Jane told Amelia stories of her past explorations of islands, of how she had studied several different feral alien species in the past -- she told about the amphibian-like species of endangered Kaijus that she had helped bring back from the brink of extinction using a new form of cloning, and she told about the now extinct winged Dondillos that she had gotten to interact with on the prehistoric island of Arkth.
In return, Amelia told Jane about her charming adventures that she had been on across the galaxies - she had been to Plorgonar and Quelte Quan, where she had met their royal navies and explored their prisons, recruiting aliens for her previous crews.
She had helped hunt down a Kweltikwan who had created genetic alien experiments, and with the help of the Galactic Federation she was able to imprison him.
Jane listened to the stories with wide, eager eyes and a huge grin, imagining the details in her mind as she did. Amelia even seemed fond of her father's ramblings about the Groginla species and their unique diet and abilities, which only warmed Jane's heart further.
She found herself falling hard for the Felinid, and had to remind herself that after this expedition she would likely never see the captain again to distance herself from her feelings.
Before the crew could reach any of their targeted planets, they ran into a storm, which tilted and twirled the ship dangerously. At some point, Mr. Arrow, the first mate, had fallen off of the ship and to his death.
Jane found her heart breaking as she saw the hurt written on the usually confident captain's face that night. She heard that it was all because of the young cabin boy making a mistake, or from a cut rope, or something -- but that wasn't what mattered. What mattered was they had lost a valuable part of their crew, and Captain Amelia was heartbroken.
She knew she was probably overstepping, but Jane made her way into the captain's quarters that night, and without any words she sat down next to the Felinid and reached her arms out, holding her tightly.
While the captain didn't audibly cry, Jane could feel her body shivering with emotion, and knew it was appreciated.
The next day, the captain stood in front of the crew and announced they would be continuing the expedition as planned, and Jane found herself even more amazed by the perseverance she showed.
Just as planned, they made their way to Saltu Insula first, and it was as amazing as Jane had dreamed.
She sat quietly among the Groginlas and the feathery Parrogas, their colors of bright green and red and gold shimmering in the starlight.
As they neared the end of their stay, however, everything around them began to crumble.
Clayton, the head guard of Jane's dismantled crew, revealed his true colors and intentions; the human had joined forces with the chef of the ship, Long John Silver, and the two had decided to capture the harmless Groginlas as they slept.
The creatures had woken up the captain, and within a few shots being fired, the majority of the crew and it's captain were thrown into the jail cell of the ship as Clayton and Long John crated the Groginlas.
For the first time on the journey, Jane let herself weep openly now.
Everything that could go wrong had, and even with Captain Amelia's arms holding her while she sobbed, she felt helpless.
Captain Amelia pulled a small stick of wax one of the crew members had hidden away, and using one of the alien's fire powers, it was lit and centered in the middle of the jail cell. It was partially to fight the harsh cold of space, but also to lift the spirits of the broken.
Jane stared up at Amelia and felt her heart melting into a puddle. She couldn't see the stars above her; she couldn't see what her future held anymore, or the future of the rare Groginlas that she had promised to help protect, but she could see the deep greenish-grey pools of color that had shadows flickering over them in the dimly-lit room, and for a moment, she felt her hope returning.
Just before the candle could burn out, Long John's cabin boy had a small change of heart and let them out of the cell. He quickly joined their side vowed to fight for them.
While Amelia fought with Clayton for his musket, Jane released the head Groginla, watching as the massive feral alien raced forward and lifted up Clayton with ease, tossing him over the ship in a violent fit of rage.
With the crew's help, Long John was tied to one of the ship beams and the Groginlas were released back onto their home planet.
Jane lifted the burning candle out of the jail cell and set it on the side of the ship, watching the light flicker as her tired mind tried to register everything that had happened on her journey; she didn't even flinch when Captain Amelia wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed, staring out at the sea of space together.
The crew made their way prematurely back to Crescentia to turn Long John and his criminals into the authorities and to rest and regroup before the second half of their expedition.
Jane felt her heart aching as she realized her journey was almost over; she had no obvious reason to go to Treasure Planet with the captain, despite her heart wanting to follow her to the end of the earth.
Upon reaching the space port, Jane found herself hesitating to leave as everyone talked on the port, but she found herself oddly quiet. "Miss Porter?" Amelia cleared her throat in a polite manner, shocking Jane back to reality.
Jane grinned weakly at the captain, knowing this was going to be their final goodbye. "Yes, Captain?"
"I've been thinking, and... I have no first mate anymore. And with your ability to navigate and your father's ability to read the ancient maps that even I cannot decipher, I was hoping you would join me on my endeavors. Permanently. We would be able to explore more of the primitive planets, and you wouldn't need to --"
Before the captain could finish her proposal, Jane launched herself forward and kissed her passionately, her arms wrapping tightly around her for support.
She pulled back quickly, her face burning upon realizing what she had done. "O-oh, Miss Amelia, I'm sorry about that."
Clearing her throat again, the usually confident captain appeared flustered as she shook her head, "No need to apologize, Jane. I assume this means you will say yes to my offer?"
"Well, of course! As long as my father says it's alright, and if he will agree to join us..."
Archimedes grinned widely up at his daughter and the captain, his heart swelling with pride. "As if I'd let my daughter experience exploring the world without me!"
And with that, fate was sealed, and Jane had to worry no more about feeling lost in space; she had found her place, right next to Captain Amelia.