The morning came and Donna awoke refreshed, renewed, loving Edward. I remained as an astral spectre in their quarters to observe if my psychic extraction of the nefarious surfer had taken effect. Throughout the day, the twinkle in Donna’s eye never waned.

“What’s gotten into you?” Edward happily inquired, almost afraid to accidentally change her mind.

“I don’t know,” Donna said. “I woke up feeling lighter, like some weight had been lifted. I’m sorry that I have been so standoffish lately. I honestly don’t know what had plagued me.”

“I’m glad you’re back.”

Later in the evening, the crew came together as they did each day for family dinner. Everybody was there but the Captain. I hung in the shadows of the well lit dining table, a ghost still. Donna and Edward had done well alone all day, but I had to make sure they’d survive in their group setting.

All the crew sat round a large, circular dining table lit up by the fluorescence of a chandelier hanging overhead. Donna and Edward sat next to each other, as if they were high schoolers again in love. The crew immediately noticed the change in their demeanor.

As food passed, family-style, round and round, exchanging hands…

Rachael: “Wow, Donna, you and Edward seemed to have buried the hatchet.”

Crew laughter echoed about the lively chamber, rich with warm scents of delicious chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn on the cob, rice pilaf. Half of me desired to drop back down into the physical to indulge.

Ron: “Yeah, get a room you two.”

More laughter.

Donna: “I don’t know what’s gotten into me. I can’t keep my hands off of him.”

Keith: “Ed, have you been eatin’ a lot of oysters, mate?? You back to bein’ a wild man in the sack?”

The laughter erupted into a roar. The whole crew was in on it now.

Edward: “I honestly haven’t done anything differently since yesterday. The change is completely coming from Donna.”

Donna: “Yes, it’s as if someone or something visited me in my dreams last night. I’ve been going over it all day, and that’s the best explanation I can muster.”

The utterance of “dreams” piqued Ron’s interest, who had taken to shoveling mashed potatoes into his mouth after delivering that one quip a minute ago.

“You know, I had a similar experience a few nights ago myself,” chimed Ron, gulping down mashed goodness. “Rachael and I had been going through our own troubles, and then… not. It was as if some spirit had entered my mind one night and cured me of whatever was driving me to drink. Haven’t touched a drop since.”

“Yeah, it’s been fantastic,” Rachael corroborated her partner’s recount.

Jacob had been sitting silent this whole time, listening. I could tell, though, that he had a theory.

“Dimensional leaping, you know, isn’t just limited to physical realities,” he said.

The crew all began to look into each other’s eyes, shifting to see if they all were thinking the same thing. Then, Kitty built off of Jacob’s thought.

“Do you think it could be Bill?” she said.

“It’s entirely possible,” said Gabriel, almost always in agreement with his colleague, Jacob.

The crew then looked at Sully, who’d been the only one who had felt the adverse effects of my unbridled powers at this point. He felt pressured to respond.

“I have been training day-in and day-out to regain my flightworthy status,” Sully said. “I could take the test again soon. Maybe a passing grade would prompt the Cap to release Bill?”

With that, the crew resounded, “Fuck yes!” After all, I had been in the brig long damn enough.

Even as an astral body, the warm, fuzzy feeling of acceptance washed over my soul. And my heart felt full. In that moment, these crew felt like my family.

***

NEXT UP: Bill’s released. He starts taking crew on leaps. Let the fun begin.

***

Convincing the Cap was another story. She was not so easily swayed into releasing me, Kitty would later tell me after that revelatory family dinner.

She had resolved to visiting me once again, in my supply closet, after that night. Other crew would also slink down, under the Captain’s nose, to inform me of what was happening on the upper decks. Having healed Ron and Rachael’s and Donna and Edward’s relationships so that all the crew could pass Danny V.’s psych test had me relieved from visiting their dreams. And I decided to concentrate on meditating in my Drop.

Then, there came the day that Sully had to pass his flight test. It was the only roadblock standing in the way of the Cheshire gaining clearance to fly missions again. Kitty snuck down to my cell to let me know. She was also holding potentially good news.

“We talked to the Cap,” she said. “After several hours of negotiation from the crew, we finally got her to agree to let you go, if Sully could pass his flight test.”

“That’s outstanding, Kitty!” I said. “How did you get her to change her mind?”

“Well, you won’t be allowed to go on missions with us. She doesn’t want what happened to Sully to happen to him or any other crew again. I think she’s going to make you like the ship’s janitor or something.”

“Anything’s better than this. It will be great just to be able to go up to the rest of the ship again and even get to venture out into Grand Akashic city with you and crew sometimes.”

“I know!” Kitty was just as excited as me. “It’ll be awesome to have you back…” Then, Kitty’s eyes shifted, and I could tell she had moved onto another thought. “I’m still a little worried about Sully’s ability to fly the ship, though. The deal was he has to pass in order for you to be freed. And I’m just not sure if he’s ready yet. Is there anything you can do, the way you helped those other crew?”

“The work I performed with them happened mostly in their dreams. It was a little easier to navigate that ethereal space. I can at least be there in astral spirit with Sully, as he pilots. I’ll see what I can do, in the moment.”

“Good!” she said. “We all want you back. The test is today at 2:30. Don’t be late!”

***

After she left, I dipped back down into my Drop to undergo a deep meditation. And when the test time approached, I projected into my astral self, floating up to the Cheshire’s bridge.

All crew, including Cap, and Danny V. were there. Sully reluctantly sat himself in the pilot’s chair, readying his body and mind for the crucial flight exam. The crew stood in support behind him, yelling out reassurances, until they were silenced by Mr. V.

“Alright, guys,” Danny V. always got right down to business. “Today’s the day. Sully here has to pass this test. If he doesn’t, you guys can’t fly. And that’s bad. So don’t mess up, buddy boy.”

Sully looked up at him, pensively. V went on to explain the parameters of the comprehensive exam to determine if the Cheshire’s pilot was fit to fly. Essentially, it involved effectively firing up the ship’s dimensional oscillator, navigating to several designated destinations, successfully landing and dropping a flag marker on said places and then efficiently taking off and returning to their Lagrange point homebase about this Earth and Moon. Sully had been shook those many months ago by his dimensional departure and this test would determine if he could fly steady.

I resolved to help him.

In a flash, the pilot took off. From a higher plane, I tethered to the spaceship as it entered the interdimensional realm. So far, Sully had expertly operated the interdimensional oscillator and was steering smoothly.

Just in case, I formed a large bubble of electromagnetism that completely surrounded the ship, as it plummeted through the murk of movierain—which is what I had nicknamed the Dew between realities. Each dimension, or drop of reality (like falling rain) pelted the ship in turbulence, as Sully strained to fly straight. As I flew alongside the Cheshire, I could also peer into the cockpit where pilot, crew, Cap and Danny V. held on. I could see sweat forming on Sully’s brow, and the ship began to shake. It was too hectic for me to enter his mind and assure him he could fly well. So I instead fortified that electromagnetic bubble about the ship. I let its energy absorb the spattering droplets of turbulence so that Sully could focus on flying.

The smoother path the bubble produced sure enough calmed Sully’s nerves and he righted the ship. He landed soundly at the first destination that Joey Photo had plotted on the 4th-dimensional map. They planted the flag and moved onto the next. The bubble held up between each destination. Sully completed the test in record time. He sat back in his pilot’s chair and breathed a monumental sigh of relief. Danny V. remained stoic while delivering this announcement:

“OK, well, looks like you passed. Glad to see we’re back online.”

The whole crew erupted in elation and congratulations toward their accomplished pilot. I relegated back to my Drop, awaking from deep meditation as my astral self re-entered my physical body, and I climbed back up into the supply closet. In quiet excitement, I sat on my cot and awaited the Cap to come down and deliver her good news.

***

A whole day and night passed. No Captain. No Kitty or crew came down for that matter, and I began to worry that the Cap had reneged on her deal. A desire burned in me to astrally float up to the upper decks and see what was going on—maybe the crew had just decided to take Sully out for celebration, maybe they had been immediately assigned a new mission by Danny V.—but whatever the case, I had to remain physically present in case the Cap ventured down to greet me.

My patience proved fruitful. Sure enough, about 48 hours after Sully’s victorious flight, I heard those heavy and pointed footsteps approaching my quarters, as only the Captain’s feet could make. She unlocked and opened my door without so much as a knock. Perhaps she was trying to catch me in the act of something mischievous. The door swung open and the Captain’s dominant silhouette stood there as the shadowy authority that had kept my physical body captive for what seemed like a small lifetime.

“Do you know why I’ve kept you down here for so long?” the Captain still hadn’t entered my supply closet, but stood by the threshold with her hands on her hips like a swashbuckler.

“Um, because, Sully couldn’t fly the ship anymore and I had something to do with that.”

“That’s right,” she said. “But now he can again. So I don’t see any reason to keep punishing you. From now on, you’ll be free to leave your quarters and join the rest of the crew for the day-to-day stuff on the deck. No missions, though. Far too dangerous.”

“I-I understand. Thank you,” I said. She made no mention of the crew’s campaign to release me. My gut said that she didn’t want to reveal that any other person could sway her decision. It was important for her to represent to me that she had come to this decision on her own.

“While in the upper decks, you’ll perform basic functions on this ship—janitorial duties and whatever other grunt work we can muster that the rest of us don’t have time for. I need to know you’re cool with that.”

“I am.”

“OK, then, it’s settled. Your first shift begins tomorrow at 0900. See you then.” She swung my door closed as quickly as she had opened it. I waited for her foot patter to dissipate before I checked to see if she had locked my door once again. Much to my relief, the door opened slowly with a creak as I turned the knob.

I was finally free.

I didn’t visit any of the crew quarters immediately. It was late. And I sure as shit didn’t want to piss off Cap so early into my parole. Instead, I slept soundly.

The next morning, I arrived on the bridge 15 minutes early. Sully and Joey Photo were already up in the wheelhouse setting course for a new mission. The whole ship was a din, alive with activity after so long lying dormant. As I stood there, not knowing what to do with myself, crew whisked by me whispering congratulations at my newfound freedom, as they went to fulfill their morning duties. Last to arrive was the Captain, who promptly delivered commands to her crew, not so much as acknowledging my existence. Once her crew had received all of their marching orders, her gaze fell upon me.

“OK, as the Cheshire crew set sail for their first mission in many moons, I’m going to need you to go down below deck and mop the floors. Can you handle that?” the Captain’s eyebrows raised at the word that.

“Yes, sir,” I said, and swiftly retreated down below.

The whole day went fairly smoothly. The crew enjoyed completing several successful tagging missions, as dictated on down by Danny V. And I swabbed the deck. As I moved through my blue-collar functions, I couldn’t wait to join the crew for dinner. We had so much to catch up on. Nighttime was also our only opportunity to hang out.

***

Nothing against the Captain—she had her reasons for remaining stern with me—but it was honestly great that she didn’t join us at dinner time. Not only could the crew be more themselves, they could ask me questions that would otherwise get me in trouble.

Right as we were all sat down to eat, Sully had placed all his culinary delights down on the table, Ron looked me square in the face.

“That was you in my dream, wasn’t it?” he said. The whole crew chuckled.

“Um, yeah,” I said, a little embarrassed.

“We’re all glad to have you back and I couldn’t wait to thank you for what you did for me and Rachael.”

“Us too,” Donna said, gripping Edward in a lover’s embrace. “We don’t know how you were able to enter our dreams, but we’re so thankful that you did.”

“I thought it necessary,” I said. “We needed to pass those psych and flight tests, right?”

“You ain’t kidding,” Keith said.

I stole a glance at Kitty, who had been sitting quietly this whole time, but I could tell she was equally as happy to see me in the above decks, and that we didn’t have to sneak around anymore. I couldn’t wait to show her how I had improved my Drop, later that night.

***

NEXT UP: Bill and Kitty meet in the Drop. There’s far less pressure now, since it’s OK for Kitty to be there. The newfound relief provides the two opportunity to further explore dimensional leaping. And Bill wants to take Kitty to the Thunderbird Order. He also wants to teach her how they can land upon alternate Earths, particularly the two Earths of Ron/Rachael and Donna/Edward. He’ll tell her it requires a couple and their connection to make those worlds real, providing them a reference point to drop in. Bill also needs Kitty as his tether, since they won’t have access to the Cheshire engine. No, their ship is the Earth/Moon/Sun trinity. A much older and more powerful vehicle.

***