Starlight A story by David R. 'Nutzoide' King Chapter 04: New Prospects? The last leg of the trip was clouded by the fact that, like it or not, Angelica had a way of infusing the atmosphere with her mood, and after the last few days her mood was not good. As far as Jei was concerned though it was a tradeoff. The outlaw now had free roam of the ship again, but a moody Angelica meant a quiet Angelica, and that was enough for her. However, for Sylvie at least, there was a small ray of sunshine lighting up the trip. The empathic link with her friend of twelve years was slowly but surely losing the gloom that had suffused it since she had had to break her heart almost a fortnight ago. And it wasn't due to them having a job to be working on either. Since entering the trade lane that would take them to the Kalceti Major station Yae had had nothing but free time. The autopilot, limited as its capabilities were, was enough to get them there now. No, the reason seemed to be a new friend. Whether Yae had consciously realised it or not, Sylvie knew that having Tataku around was what was keeping her from her introspective depression, and she was gradually getting back to being the same energetic person she had always been. Yae needed a shoulder to cry on - someone who would listen as she poured out all the thoughts and feelings that had gradually filled her head until it couldn't take any more. Tataku, for her part, was happy to be the one to listen and was glad that Yae had taken her up on the offer of someone to talk to. She had found that, despite her boyish and confident demeanour, Yae could be very emotional when she opened up, and it gratified her that she was willing to trust her enough to do that. Unusually for a Kai Reithan Tataku had been a very solitary girl, more interested in her books and the wildlife than in playing with the other children. As if to compensate, her eccentric and over-emotional father had gone out of his way to make time for her, and she was very used to that kind of company. She found Jei and Crow hard work to talk to, as all three of them tended to keep to themselves. She found herself avoiding Angelica if she could just because she was too pushy and invasive, but Sylvie and Yae were willing to talk without invading what Sylvie called 'personal space'. And on top of that Yae needed help, and Sylvie was sure that the shy student felt a sort of protectiveness towards her tomboy friend. Maybe Tataku liked feeling needed. She could definitely feel Yae's friendship towards the green haired girl and couldn't help but wonder whether it might just lead to something. She hoped she was right, because Yae deserved it. Sylvie's train of thought was derailed when the entire troupe marched into the cockpit. She herself had been manning the radio since they were now coming up to their destination. "Okay then 'fearless leader'," Angelica sniped half-heartedly, "what now?" "I'm making sure we all know what we are doing now," Jei replied. "Tataku, you will make the necessary purchases. Crow will go with you as bodyguard, and to make sure you have some force behind you should anyone try to rip you off." The idea of Crow as 'force' brought a raised eyebrow from the bounty hunter in question, but he knew what she meant. "Sylvie, you go with them to oversee the loading of the merchandise. Yae, you get any supplies you or Crow need as far as the ships go. I need to make some inquiries of my own. Angelica..." "Goes with you," Angelica said before she could finish, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Your business is my business, remember?" Jei looked at her levelly. "I had assumed you would also have business of your own given the situation." Angelica said nothing and crossed her arms, giving her a pointed stare. "It's your choice." Before she got any further Sylvie leaped in. "Maybe Yae should go with Tataku and Crow. She's stronger than me and could back them up, and I'm used to resupplying." It also meant the two girls could find out a bit more about each other off the ship. She had to suppress the urge to giggle. Cloak and dagger matchmaking was kind of fun. Jei nodded. "All right." She looked over to the three in question. "Fine by me," Yae said, wondering why Sylvie had made the suggestion. She very rarely actually spoke up to voice her opinions to a client. Crow and Tataku both agreed, and Crow was glad he wouldn't have to put on the pretence of a tough guy and could just be his quietly menacing gunslinger self. "You won't need more protection?" Jei asked Sylvie. Jei knew Kalceti Major could get rough if you didn't stick to the main streets, and some of the better or more interesting materials were hidden in the back alleys. "I'm a soldier too. Don't worry about little old me." Sylvie might have been very thin and only just above five foot tall, but it would have been a mistake to underestimate her. *** "Okay then Jei, what're these 'inquiries' of yours?" Jei turned to the outlaw, who was now once again decked out in her full ivory outfit and striding along like she owned the entire station. Kalceti Major was the hub of all trading activity in the system, built around a small asteroid that orbited the planet that shared the station's name. Curiously, the planet itself was an uninhabitable mess of venomous foliage, but being a strategic point in the trading lanes meant that it simply *had* to be exploited, and if they couldn't man it 'on world' then they'd simply sit right next to it. It was also one of the largest solely commercial stations any human organisation had ever built, and - as was usual with human work - managed to be both insanely complex and seemingly idiot proof at the same time. Most people nowadays conceded that the Gauoli were the masters of space station construction, but that didn't stop everyone else from trying, largely because the Gauoli were slowly breeding themselves into extinction and just didn't want to admit it yet. "The inquiries are just that, inquiries," Jei replied. Now Angelica had stopped trying to verbally rip her apart nerve by nerve she had got used to her hanging around and poking her nose into their work. "Check for potential work for later, replace my lost possessions. I will also be getting a new ship soon. I won't have my work relying on others, as dependable as they have proved to be." "What, you mean Yae and Sylvie?" She nodded, thinking about it. Yae had certainly delivered on her promise. The Gal's Army was fast and the pair knew what they were doing. "Yeah, they make a good team. Need more people though. Why don't we just join up with them? We'd be unbeatable." Jei stopped to check out a tool set in one of the store fronts. Her gut reaction was just to say she worked alone, but that would just piss Angelica off again. The little voce inside her urged her to do it, just to see the frown again. It was strange how her sensible side had developed a malicious streak recently. "I value my independence." Angelica nodded. After all this time it was pretty obvious that the other woman was the solitary type. "Well, guess that means we're off ship shoppin', huh?" Jei could practically see her 'partner's' eyes light up at the prospect as she moved off. Time to set some ground rules. "When I get a ship it will be *mine* and you will serve on it until you are satisfied justice has been done. Until then you will follow the orders I make or leave." Angelica glare at her. "I know what a chain of command is, Jei. I captained my own ship, remember?" Jei didn't answer, but just headed into another shop. Angelica stood outside, her left eyebrow twitching. "Movies? We're shoppin' for *vid carts*?" Inside the store Jei handed the owner a slip of paper and he headed into the back. Angelica walked through the isles of cartridge boxes, feeling that she was most definitely being made a fool of. "Please tell me you just asked for something other than your favourite movies." "Yes," Jei nodded and Angelica relaxed. She started to browse the titles while they waited. This place seemed to have a little of everything, and she would have been willing to bet they could get their hands on absolutely any film they wanted if they asked. When she got her own ship she would have to remember to get a cartridge player and come back there. When the store owner returned he handed Jei a bag and gave her the price. Apparently several of 'them' were hard to come by. Jei just handed him her credit pad lead and he plugged it into the port in the counter, debiting the price from her pad. "So," whispered Angelica conspiratorially as they headed back out to the street, "what d'you get?" Jei handed her the bag and Angelica quickly peeked inside. A second later she looked up at Jei wearing a very annoyed expression, the eyebrow going again. "Hey! I thought you said you WEREN'T gettin' movies!" "That's what you asked me to say." Jei looked very pleased with herself in her not-really-caring sort of way. Angelica just sighed and handed the bag back as she plodded along. "Please tell me you're goin' to do something worthwhile here." Jei had to feel a little sorry for her. She was trying after all. Jei frowned at herself. "Hey, Jei, you still with me here?" Jei realised Angelica was waving a hand in front of her eyes. Something in Jei's rational, solitary side snapped and she lashed out a fist, sending Angelica reeling backwards, totally unprepared for the hit. "WHAT THE FUCK? I..." she said, slowly walking forward "am *sick* and *tired* of gettin' hit FOR NO GOD DAMN *REASON*!" She swung out her own fist and caught Jei right in the jaw. However, as Tataku could testify, Angelica was far stronger than Jei herself, and the blow sent her staggering back and over a bench, tipping it as she fell. Angelica watched angrily as the bench toppled and Jei fell head over heels into the metal floor, her head making a resounding *thunk* as it hit, followed by the muffled clatter of her legs and a pained whimper. Through her haze of red Angelica felt a pang of concern and slowly walked over, ignorant of the crowd that had built up around them. "Hey, you all right down there?" Jei slowly pulled herself off her front, shaking her head a little to clear it. "I'm fine." She got unsteadily to her feet, trying very hard to ignore the pain in her head, leg and bloodied lip. "I deserved that." Angelica's anger fade instantly as Jei began to hobble off again. "Hey, wait up, what's wrong?" "Nothing," Jei lied. "Bullshit nothin', you're limpin' like a damn cripple! I'm gonna get you to a doctor." She ran after her and took the taller woman's weight on her shoulder, ignoring her futile struggles as she began to lead the way. *** Twenty minutes later Jei was sitting on a hospital bed, her scaffolded leg once again exposed. "I... don't know why I did that. I'm sorry." That was the truth, and it actually scared her a little. Her self control was one of the few things she had thought she could depend on to hold her through. Now she wasn't so sure. "Yeah, well, sorry I busted your leg again," Angelica replied. "Guess I've got a habit of gettin' people hurt. Least it ain't too bad eh?" Jei nodded. It felt very tight after the extra work and was going to be very uncomfortable for a while, but there wasn't any real damage that wasn't there before. "Anyway," said Angelica, wanting to change the subject, "while they were goin' over you I got my new credit pad, but they want authentication, and they said you'd do. Just need to send a credit to me and they'll pick up on it and okay me." Jei nodded, fished her pad out of her pocket and passed it to her. Angelica was in for a bit of a shock. "Oh my god!" Jei looked up puzzled as Angelica started hyperventilating and found a seat before her legs gave way. "What?" "'What?' What do you mean *'what'*? Jei, you're a bloody multimillionaire!" "A million isn't that unusual." Angelica boggled. "Maybe, but *seven*? Seven million credits Jei, and for a single person! You could buy a small outpost for that!" Jei quirked an eyebrow. "Why would I want an outpost?" Angelica decided a little more boggling was in order. "Jei, I don't think you quite understand here. Seven, okay? *Seven*... *million*... *credits*. You do realise how much money that is, don't you? How the hell did you get it all?" Jei shrugged noncommittally. "I don't spend much, and I managed to find some profitable jobs. It's legal, if that's what you're thinking." Angelica was beyond caring about that though. She had an idea. "Look at this. It's advertised all over the place." She brought out a flyer from her bag. For Jei one look was enough. "No." "Aww, come on. We can do it! Okay, you don't need the cash, but I sure do, and us lot could pull it off." "No." "You say that now, but once you've thought it over you'll want to." Jei gave her an unconcerned look. "Neither of the ships we have is capable of attempting it." "So buy one," Angelica beamed. "Seriously, you need a new ship anyway, and what you've got's more than enough for a top of the line custom job." Jei however wasn't biting. "Drop it Angelica." Angelica pouted cutely. "Fine, but you'll see I'm right." She crossed her arms and looked at the door. "Top heavy killjoy," she muttered under her breath. "Do you have a problem with my bust now?" asked Jei, starting to get exasperated with Angelica's argumentative nature. Angelica gave the breasts in question a glare. Simply put, she was jealous, but wasn't going to admit on her life. "Maybe you should ask for a bigger gown next time, unless you're happy lettin' the docs get their jollies like that." Jei looked down to see that the gown did in fact look tighter than she had thought it was. Without warning she got up and stripped it off before heading for her clothes in the corner. "Damn Jei, you know anythin' about modesty?" Angelica said as she blushed beet red and turned away from the suddenly nude woman. Jei just rolled her eyes as she pulled on her oversized T-shirt and trousers. "The door is shut and there aren't any windows." "Whatever," Angelica huffed. "What are we doin' now? You can go right?" "Yes," Jei said as she brushed her hair out of her eyes. "I'm done." Angelica let out a breath and turned round again to see Jei in her normal attire again. "So, what now?" "I sign out of here, then I need to get some more replacements and check the station work boards. Are you finished with that?" She asked, motioning to the credit pad on the table. "Oh, yeah." Angelica disconnected the pads and handed Jei's back. "Here. I'm gonna get some stuff for myself too, so I'll meet you back at the ship. And don't you dare leave without me," she finished in a no nonsense voice. "We'll wait." Angelica smiled as they headed out to the reception, Jei still limping slightly, and the scruffy woman signed herself out. She knew Jei could buy her a squadron of ships for what she had, but she also knew she was better off staying put. Jei could make them all very comfortable. Outside the pair split up and Angelica headed for a tailors while Jei slipped off into a back street to see if she could hunt up anything useful. Unseen by both of them a man casually slipped out of the crowd and down the alley after her, one hand on the knife in his pocket. *** Sylvie stood watching from the bridge as Tataku, Yae and Crow supervised the loading of the massive chemical barrels. It had never occurred to her before just how much the academy must get through in a year. She allowed herself a smile as she watched the pair of young women chat and chastised herself for wishing she could listen in. Down on the loading floor Tataku nodded to Yae. "But I still wish I could fly. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't pass the test." "Come on, it's not that great." Yae pulled off her cap and let her bang of hair fall back over her eye. "Like you said, it's tough. Sure, I can fly, but that's about it. I was lucky I finished the military course at all. I was terrible at pretty much everything else." "But you can be proud of it. You're a pilot. Only one in ten people can say that." Beside them Crow was wondering how long it would be before they started to make everyone diabetic. Not that he actually minded positive thinking, but they seemed to be going around in circles. "And that's why you shouldn't be ashamed if you can't," Yae said with an air of pleased finality. "So you're one of the nine, just means you're good at other stuff. I mean, what's your IQ?" Tataku hung her head a little and blushed slightly. "I... I never took that test." "What about the General Comprehension exam?" Crow asked, wondering with amusement what the girl had to hide. He knew she must know the conversion charts for it, and if she didn't he did. Finding out how smart the enemy is was important in his line of work, wherever they were from. Yae looked at them in confusion as Tataku's cheeks reddened further. "What's that? Syl and me never took that one." "Kai Reithan equivalent. They take it at eighteen, right Tataku?" She nodded. "Seven, four, eleven, eight, ten." Crow gave a slight grin. "Need the decimals too, but I think you can work the maths out yourself, right?" "Hey, hold up," Yae cut in. "What's a Kai Rethan, or whatever?" Tataku tensed up while Crow just shrugged. "It's what she is. One of the more amenable humanoid races out there I must say. They tend to keep to their own space so most people just think they're human when they come across one." Yae looked back to the girl in surprise. "What, you're not human?" She was even more shocked to see the real fear in Tataku's eyes as she nodded, looking for all the world like a cornered mouse. "Hey, it's okay," Yae soothed as she walked over to Tataku. "What's wrong? You don't think it matters, do you? I mean it's not like it changes anything." Tataku nodded timidly as a small smile formed across her face. For a moment there she had really been afraid the other woman would just walk away, thinking her some lying thing beneath her notice. Still, she was glad how far she'd come since she first met a human. She had only been ten, but she'd broken into tears at the way he had looked at her. Now she had been more afraid Yae would have rejected her for deceiving her all this time. "So, you silly thing," said Yae, as she gave Tataku a brief, comforting hug, "how smart are you?" Tataku blushed deeply this time, her modesty getting the better of her. "About, um, two hundred and eight." "There, you see, and you think you've got something to worry about." Yae sighed dramatically. "And poor old me with one twenty four. Barely above average." Crow brought a halt to the conversation when he saw Jei walking in. She cast a hasty eye over the ship as the last of the drums was loaded on. "Is Angelica back yet?" Crow was taken aback by the harsh tone. "Yes, she got back ten minutes ago." "She's feeding that cat of hers," Yae supplied, looking at the pair with a little worry creeping into her. "Get on board. We're leaving now." "What's up? You're limping again." Crow noted. "I said we're leaving." The taller woman turned to Yae. "How long do you need before takeoff?" "Uh, we need to check we got everything on, but about fifteen minutes. More if we need to wait for clearance." "Check it. *Now*. Tataku, tell Sylvie to prep for departure. Crow, deal with your ship. We link it as soon as possible once we're out there. I'll radio for clearance." Yae saluted and ran into the cargo bay as it was being lifted back into the ship while Tataku scuttled hurriedly off with no small amount of worry in her face. *** Angelica was worried by Jei's sudden turn, but no amount of wheedling had managed to get anything out of her, and she'd been trying for a full four days. Matters weren't helped by Crow's professional attitude not liking being left out of the loop either, and since Jei wasn't about to open her mind any time soon that left him with Angelica as his information source. Needless to say he hadn't been happy with the answers he got, especially when she owned up about the leg incident. Thankfully he'd finally been satisfied that she'd told him everything she could and was back to walking around and finding odd things to do since his role as guard was currently rather unneeded. Angelica found it rather interesting that he was helping out with Tataku's studies when she wasn't in the cockpit with Yae. For such a young guy he was pretty knowledgeable, and the way he told it made it sound like learning from experience rather than being taught. She could admire that. She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling above her bunk, listening to Sylvie and Jei sleep across the room from her. The pair of would-be soldiers had a shift rotation system that always meant the eight man ship was running at pretty much top efficiency, and none of the others were even casually asked to help out with it. The longer she spent there the more she grew to respect them for it. In a calm twenty four hour stretch they only had eight hours for themselves, and that was for food and any leisure time they wanted, but what did they do? They just chatted with each other over a bowl of something from the mess hall while the other was on shift. The only time Yae had ever been alone was when she was depressed, and even at those times she now had someone talking with her in the form of a green haired alien. That had been another eye opener. Tataku, the extraterrestrial, although considering the way the universe had ended up most people were technically extraterrestrial now. Still, she was nice enough, even if they didn't exactly talk much. Jei on the other hand was annoying her greatly. Angelica thought that maybe someone had tried to attack her after they had split up. Up until that point she thought they had started to get on pretty well as a team and then, just like that, Jei clams up and starts moping around again. If anything she was more tight-lipped than when they were still at each other's throats. She was pulled from her thoughts when she felt Tangalo jump onto her stomach and meowl plaintively, padding his feet into her chest to get her attention. "Yeah, yeah, I'm up," she groaned as she tried to sit, tipping the black people magnet into her lap and setting him off purring like a land train. "Least you're still with me on this thing." Tangalo just purred louder as she stroked him. "*Mreow*." "What d'you think? Jei's had enough time to think, right?" Tangalo meowled back almost like he actually knew what she was saying and she gave him a smirk, shifting him so she could wriggle out of bed. "Yeah, only one more day to go 'till we're done anyhow. She knows she wants to and nothin' gets anyone goin' like a good race!" She hurriedly pulled on her clothes and started to rouse the other two, much to their chagrin and the confusion of Tangalo, who was wondering why she'd stopped with the affection so soon. "Hey Jei, get up, get that ass out of bed." Jei didn't move a muscle. That was enough of a tip off for the outlaw. She leaned down and gently blew across her 'partner's' eyelids, smirking when they fluttered slightly. "Okay, I know you're up you slacker so get in gear. My turn to give a talk now." Jei opened her eyes slowly and glared at the object of her aggravation. "One day I just might remember who is responsible for the now constant ache in my leg." "Whatever, just get up. Hey Sylvie-chan, important business." Sylvie rubbed her eyes as she slowly sat up, wondering whether she had managed to oversleep. "My shift already?" Angelica shook her head. "No, but I got the best deal you ever heard of." From behind them Jei got out of bed with a great deal of effort, not having slept well for a while thanks to that asshole on the station. "Sylvie-*chan*? You do realise she's straight right? I mean Yae already did that routine." "Yeah yeah, funny, I'd almost think you actually had emotion for a second there. Come on, she's shorter than I am! And you try not saying it to a girl like her who sleeps with a stuffed panda." Sylvie just tried not to draw attention while Jei replied. "You're not *that* short Angelica, people just look down on you." Angelica whirled around, very pissed off at Jei's apparent humour transplant. "Just get out that damn door Jei. And for God's sake put some bloody clothes on!" Sylvie smiled as sympathetically as she could as Angelica stormed out of the room, her face burning while Jei pulled on her clothes behind them. *** "I said no." Angelica glared at the brown eyed rock sitting across from her and gave her a withering glare. "Jei, we have the means, the money, and the time. All we gotta do is do it! There's no reason not to and you know it!" She slapped the flyer down on the table. This was their ticket to fame and fortune, or just fortune for the more modest ones, and she was convinced that they could pull it off if it weren't for Jei's stubbornness. "The Chaosis?" Tataku wondered aloud, suddenly very nervous at the idea of racing. "Y-you want to try that?" The tremor in her voice was enough to worry the soldiers. "You know it?" Yae asked. Angelica only just managed to prevent a facevault out of her chair. "Does she know it!?! Don't *you*? It's one of the biggest space races there is!" Sylvie just shook her head blankly. Racing had never been a thing for either of them. "None of us have racing ships." Angelica sighed. "Look, it's simple. Like I said, Jei is a goldmine on legs who needs a ship, so we *buy* a high end ship, knock out what we don't need inside so there's a decent cargo space and we enter the race. We get a go at it and the ship's still a hauler afterwards." Jei's expression didn't crack. Now she was fully awake she had shut herself down again. In some ways Angelica had preferred the dark humoured early morning version. At least then there was some indication of a person behind the eyes. Tataku on the other hand was very nervous about the idea, and with good cause. "It's dangerous though. At least one ship has been lost in every race. People died." Jei nodded. "And I'm a hauler pilot. I'm willing to bet you have no racing experience either, and over-enthusiasm will get you killed." Angelica's smile turned vaguely feral. "Oh that's no problem, right Yae?" Yae looked up surprised. She'd never had any experience, or even interest come to that, in racing. She had never even heard of this race, and they wanted her to fly for it? "What, me?" "No, I'm talkin' to Andy... Of *course* you! Who else?" The outlaw stood up and fixed her right in the eyes. "I've seen you fly, and you handle this thing like it was nothin'. I'd put money on you bein' one of the.. top five maybe, in this galactic sector. You got a chance of pulling this off, and we can crew for you." She turned and gave Jei an expectant look. "And you gotta admit I'm right about this." Jei stared at her levelly for a long time before answering "...I wouldn't be betting against you." "HA!" Angelica slapped her hands together in triumph and took the seat next to her. "What about you Crow, time to say your bit." All though the meeting Crow had been silent, but something on the flyer had caught his eye. "I'm going, but I won't participate." "Eh?" Angelica blinked audibly. Crow gave her a crooked smile. "Racing isn't my thing, but I'm sure I can find something to do there while you're gone." Angelica decided she wasn't going to be deterred, despite the fact the race wasn't what he wanted in this deal. "I'll take that as a yes." "Yae hasn't accepted." Jei knew however that she wouldn't be able to fight it if she did. The only reason she had to refuse was the exposure. Exposure was the last thing she wanted. Yae really had no idea about what she was signing up for. If they thought she could do it then she would believe them, but... "Syl, what do you think?" Sylvie gave a small shrug and a smile. "If you want to do it then I'm with you. You're the one who'll be doing the hard work." "Right," Yae gave a long sigh. "What about you Tataku?" "Well, umm, I..," Tataku started. Although she didn't like the idea of the race itself she did want to stay with the group for a while before the academic year started again. But whether she would have taken it or not, she never got the chance to say why as Angelica took up the slack she had let out. "We're nearly at the academy again anyway, so she can just stay at school if she's scared." Yae glowered at her. "It's her choice." Somewhere inside her though she wanted it to be her choice instead. Tataku looked up to her with appreciation in her eyes. "I don't have to be back until school starts again, so... I'd like to come. Daddy worked hard to pay for my education. I'd like to be able pay him back." Angelica turned her attention back to Yae. "So, you're in?" At Yae's nod she broke into a magnificent smile. "Great! So Jei, we're in, what about the benefactor?" Something in Jei's eyes collapsed, and her whole body seemed to deflate just a little at whatever inner battle she had just lost. "All right." Angelica knew that whatever she had just done to her was more than just get her the chance at some big money. Jei had already said money didn't interest her much. Whatever it was she was going to make sure that Jei didn't regret it, and slowly, to everyone's surprise, Angelica put an arm around her, trying to lift her spirits. "Thanks, partner." *** That evening Yae sat at the controls wondering what she had just let herself in for. In just under twenty four hours she would be heading for the opportunity of a lifetime if what Angelica had said was true, but she found it hard to get the idea to sink in. It had been a spur of the moment thing, if the others did it then she'd go along with it, but actually sitting down and thinking about it brought a twinge of doubt into her mind. She'd never trained for anything like this. She was a soldier, even if she'd refused a real military career, and that was pretty much all she knew. She was mature enough to admit it. Even so, the idea of the race did hold its own appeal. The only time she could ever usually sit still (one of the few things that people constantly pointed out about her) was at the ship's controls. She was focused on the act, keeping her mind from wandering as it was wont to do. Space races were little more than competitive obstacle courses run at speeds verging on the ridiculous, and there was a slight thrill to the prospect of such a challenge. Where else would you risk taking on an asteroid field faster than 120kph. In any normal ship it would be suicide, but in a racer it was both manageable and expected. It would be fun - provided she didn't get them killed. Still, she hadn't seen the course, so she would believe in herself and her friends' confidence in her until Crow got the course map for her, then she could see what she would be up against. She didn't think for a moment they would win, but she would give it her best, and her best was *very* good. She was brought back to reality when Sylvie returned to take her shift and let the official pilot get some sleep. "Yae, my turn. Has Crow been back yet?" Yae shook her head. "Nah, he's still on his ship." Andy appeared and his owner managed a good impression of furtive searching with him. "He gets creepy when he's being secretive." The pilot managed a tired smile. It was strange how Sylvie only really let herself speak her mind like that, but Yae couldn't imagine her without the funny toy. It was as much a part of her as anything else. "I'll call you for docking when we get there," Sylvie said as she took her seat. "'kay." Yae wandered back to their bunks, her mind still whirling with the race and everything else. She also wondered where Jei had vanished off to. He hadn't seen her since they had left her and Angelica after the meeting that morning, but Angelica had gone back to bed a little while later. She gave a thought to going looking for her, but fatigue scuppered that idea. The room was about as empty as she expected, Tataku being the only other one there unless you counted Tangalo, looking like a furry foot warmer at the bottom of the girl's bed as she slept. Yae shrugged off her jacket and got slowly into her pyjamas, or the oversized shirt and loose pants that passed for her pyjamas, and flopped onto the bed. The crackle of her head hitting the pillow brought her up short. Pillows didn't crackle. She reached up and grabbed the paper from under her head. Paper didn't belong on people's pillows. She unfolded the sheet and gazed at the small neat script in surprise. [To Yae, [I know this isn't really the way you're supposed to do it, but when I tried to say this in person I found that I couldn't. I'm not very experienced in such matters, but there was another reason I wanted to come on the race. [Over the past two weeks I have greatly enjoyed both my time onboard your ship, and the time we have spent talking together. I was hoping that we could spend an evening before the race together. I know one of the restaurants at the race is very good if you wouldn't be averse to going with me. [I do understand your feelings and if you don't want to then I will understand. I'm sorry I couldn't ask this in person. [Tataku Moniko] Yae spent a quarter of an hour reading and re-reading the note as she sat on her bed. True, she had enjoyed being with her too and she definitely considered the green haired girl a friend, but she'd never had any indication she was attracted to her like that. She looked over to her as she slept, her hands curled up in front of her and a peaceful expression on her face. Yae had to admit she was a very attractive young woman. The question was could she be more than a friend. Right now she just didn't know, but she had sworn to herself to get on with her life. She and Sylvie could never happen, no matter how much she loved her, and here was Tataku, a smart, attractive, cutely shy girl who was saying she wanted to get closer to her. Yae screwed up her courage and grabbed a pen from Jei's bedside table. When she was done she walked quietly over to the girl's bed and tucked the note gently into her curled hands. *** Crow sat scanning his computer screen that night, printouts and plans scattered around him like a paper snowstorm. Had anyone seen him, illuminated only by the green-blue of the screen they would have sworn they were seeing something from another world. Despite his anaemic condition Crow was an accomplished bounty hunter, but it meant he had to adapt to what he couldn't overcome. Much of his money was made on the stupid and the careless, but every now and then fate put him in the position to make a real catch. Even on the easiest catch he had to think his way into the capture, and these few fortunate opportunities meant days of research, planning and tactical supposition. He was cautious by necessity, but that didn't mean he had no ambition. Over the years since getting his Hunters license he had been collecting information on the big names, their ships, personnel, criminal and personal profiles, right down to what they did on a dull Friday night. It was almost a hobby. And now another opportunity was coming up, and it was a real killer. The owner of an entire planet, clean record and unconvictable. Everybody knew she was behind every murder, racket and criminal organization within that system's space, but it was never her the proof was found for. Her people were loyal to the extreme, and whether from desperation, fear or zealous faith no one had managed to discover. Her ship alone was a virtual fortress. And she was going to be at the race. The chances were she had at least one of her own people competing, and it was the perfect chance. On a bounty he always worked alone, and whether one man or a hundred, if you go in die hard style on any real threat you end up dead. One man in, one man and a bounty out, minimum casualties. After all if they never know you're there, they can't kill you for it, and no security system is completely flawless. Crow rubbed his eyes and glanced at the bounty sheet again before going back to the schematics. It was going to be tough to say the least. [#Bounty of plausible suspicion: [#Murder - Extortion - Racketeering - Conspiracy to Murder - Conspiracy to Treason - Sedition - Crimes Against Sentience - Possession of Illegal Weaponry - Arms Smuggling - Criminal Trespass - Destruction of Property - Grievous Bodily Harm - Drug Trafficking - Kidnapping - Fraud - Perjury - Perverting the Course of Justice. [Name: Unknown - Alias: 'Pandora'. [Bounty reward: For capture & evidence capable of conviction for l life sentence minimum - 5,000,000 credits] *** To Be Continued... *** Author's notes: Pandora, although she hasn't appeared in person, is used with thanks to Mr. Toasty.