Pioneers: Creation

The Birth of the Quicksilver

The Birth of the Quicksilver


         Lieutenant Lyle Yenshin was not a stupid man.  He had passed with flying colors in college.  He was at the top of his class during his MPG training.  He could have gone anywhere, done anything.  But now he was stuck watching the back of Aiston Malcom.


         It's not like Yenshin wanted things this way.  At the time it seemed like a good idea.  He had been a rookie, still green out of training when he received the offer to be Malcom's head bodyguard - a seemingly good starting job considering Aiston was the 11th crown prince of the Midolloni Royal Family.  What Yenshin discovered, unfortunately, was that guarding Aiston Malcom was a dead-end job with no way out.


         Malcom had a way with getting into one form of trouble or another then pointing fingers at the nearest bystander...namely Yenshin.  This kept Yenshin from receiving a promotion and, in fact, had demoted him a few times.  His job had been threatened four times in the past five years he'd worked for the prince and all four times were put in hack by those under Malcom's influence.


         Despite it all, Yenshin, 31, knew he was probably the best and most experienced bodyguard working for the Royal Family.  Aiston often found himself in trouble and Yenshin was usually the one to pull the prince out.  Anyone smart that was close to the prince knew Yenshin was the only reason he was still alive - including Aiston - but none really cared, knowing Yenshin was just doing his job.  Either that or they didn’t want to get mixed up in the bad side of Malcom’s politics.


         It was tempting to quit, or even look the other way sometime when Malcom was in trouble, but Yenshin had two major weaknesses: honor and pride.  He would never allow harm to come to his employer while he was still alive, no matter how annoying or twisted the man could be.  Besides, with his record, no one else would ever dare to take Yenshin as a bodyguard.


         And that's why Yenshin stayed silent and kept his eyes wide open as Aiston led him through the dark halls of whatever sub dimension they were in.  Neither said a single word in their silent fear of their surroundings - Aiston thinking it below him and Yenshin too busy keeping watch for the both of them.


         The fear was unreasonable, he knew, but the entire area radiated a dark aura.  It seemed that evil itself was seeping through the tall black walls and long floors of this strange place.  It was unsettling.  Everything was pitch black and yet everything could be seen just fine.  Where the walls met the floor, where a few separate corridors started, even the distant ceiling hundreds of feet above them.  It was safe, he knew.  Aiston had a close partner here which both knew wouldn't dare a double-cross.  At least not until the man had received his side of the bargain...whatever that may be.


         Aiston and Yenshin continued their way at a steady pace down the winding black corridors of the sub dimension.  Time was lost to the silent fear either held, but sooner or later they came to a giant domed opening as strangely black as the corridors.


         Malcom signaled Yenshin to stay put and continued forward to the center of the room, his shoes tapping and echoing off the dark floors.  The prince stopped and waited for a moment, looking around nervously while trying not to show the emotion.


         "Come out, Sevantes.  I know you are watching me," Aiston called out loudly, his voice echoing easily throughout the room.  The noise bounced back and forth a few times before a sickly green portal of what seemed to be made of some sort of fire appeared right in front of the prince.  The man which stepped out was tall, robed in black, grey and gold cloth, finely cut and worn with an air of dignity perhaps matching even the prince’s.  His face was a distinct contrast to the room around him with unnatural alabaster skin, long, lean features and hair a snowy white.  From behind his narrow sockets two golden eyes stared fiery holes into Malcom.


         "You are late, Malcom.  I do not appreciate accomplices being tardy."  The voice sounded well educated and soft, but it had a cold edge to it that made Yenshin want to shiver.


         "It was difficult meeting with the pirate behind Midolloni's eyes.  Be happy that I am here and not in some prison right now."  Yenshin saw Sevantes sneer widely.


         "If you cannot so much as arrive on time what allows me to trust you with tasks of more importance?"


         "I will have done what needs to be done.  Something as petty as arriving two minutes late does not worry me."


         "Two days.  I do not like waiting."  The edge got a little sharper and even Yenshin could make out the sweat on Aiston’s brow from his distance.


         "Is everything on schedule?" Malcom asked, trying to change the subject.


         "Construction on the titan will begin immediately as soon as you bring me it's blueprints.  Our schedule will be short once construction begins, so if you want your weapon in it's best condition you will be wise to continue sending the desired materials on time.  If not, I will substitute another available metal.  I will not risk stopping construction."


         "What metal could possibly substitute Kindathium?  It is one of the lightest known metals."  The smile Sevantes gave was chilling.


         "Aluminum."  Aiston widened his violet eyes.


         "Kindathium supplies will be made on regular intervals.  I will need to convince my suppliers to quicken their gathering."


         "Do whatever is necessary.  We will meet again when you have the blueprints."


         "Two weeks.  I arranged Ruki to meet with me again in two weeks."


         "She has already completed her task."  Aiston's eyes widened again.  “Meet with her sooner."


         "It has barely been a half day since we met.  How could she have possibly finished already? How is it you would know?"


         "Until next time, Malcom."  And with that, Sevantes disappeared into the same green fire in which he arrived.  Aiston stared stupefied for a moment before heading back toward the entrance.


         Neither Yenshin nor Aiston said a word as they left, but both were doing the same thing: trying to suppress the shivers in their spines and thinking about how fast they could fly back to Haqnen II.


-------------------------


         It had been five hours since the great getaway aboard the Titan.  Five hours since the escapees had started off toward anywhere but the massive ship and now two of the three escapees were asleep inside Kenshi’s own ship.


         The Terran had thrown everybody out of the cockpit and locked the hatch soon after changing out of his scorched uniform.  Neither woman couldn’t really blame him seeing as how he was obviously afraid of Ruki escaping and he didn’t want the pirate hijacking the ship.  Since then the only sound coming out of the room was a strange but pleasant music muffled by the thick door leading into the room.


         Ruki had searched through the ship for the first hour before settling herself inside the bedroom.  She had made herself comfortable under the heavy blankets of the bed and gone straight into a deep sleep without any worries.  That left only Quinn.


         Quinn couldn’t get to sleep.  It’s not that she wasn’t tired - far from it, in fact.  Being held hostage and kidnaped was exhausting, though the fear negated that a good bit.  The fact of the matter was she was excited beyond all else.


         Kenshi’s ship was quite the piece of technology.  Everything from the couch to the cockpit was top-of-the-line.  All of it expensive, most of it rare and the rest unheard of.  It was heaven to a technology nut like Quinn.  The only problem was the fact that just about every single door to the place was locked with a number code.  Not that it was something difficult to get around for someone like Quinn, but she didn’t have the equipment needed to get past the devices without damaging them and the last thing she wanted was to have Kenshi kick her out.


         ‘I can’t wait to see the engine of this ship.  I bet he’s got something incredible.  And the cloaking system he uses...  Oh, I can’t wait to examine that!’ she thought as she fidgeted excitedly.  ‘If I had it my way, I’d never leave this ship!’


         That single innocent thought sent a number of darker thoughts racing through the mechanic’s head.  Maybe she didn’t have to leave.  Maybe she could steal the ship.  To have a piece of technology like what was before her was Quinn’s dream.  There was no way she would just let it pass her by.


         It was funny, really.  Quinn had joined production of the Titan to get her hands on prime technology and suddenly she found herself under the care of one of the most hated pirates in the galaxy and she couldn’t think of a place she’d rather be.


         She wasn’t really angry with Kenshi.  She didn’t hate him or anything.  The man seemed a touch cold, but he hadn’t done anything to hurt her.  She had been rightly scared when held at gunpoint in his arms and threatened by her superiors, but it’s not like she could really blame Kenshi.  He’d only wanted to survive and seen Quinn as his best opportunity.  But he did still kidnap her.


         Quinn was going to make him pay his dues whether he liked it or not.  And it wasn’t about revenge.


-------------------------


         Admiral Giznek was awakened by the sound of a muffled beeping going off on the nightstand beside him.  On his other side, Giznek’s wife mumbled in her sleep and rolled her pillow over her head.


         The aging Admiral reached groggily to his beeper and picked it up, turning off the loud noise as he did so.  He squinted hard at the illumination the object created before sighing deeply and rolling out of bed.


         ‘Why do they always need me at night?’ Giznek thought, annoyed at the late-night call.  He stumbled his way out of his room and into his office.  After making himself comfortable in the leather chair, Giznek flipped a switch beside the vid phone.


         “Giznek here,” the Admiral said in a crotchety tone.  On the other end a young woman appeared looking as energized as Giznek felt tired.


         “Running a security check, sir.”  The Admiral nodded and waited while the woman completed a bug check on his home office.  It only took ten seconds before the woman was talking again.  “Commander Hozantas is requesting an urgent call with you, sir.”


         “Tap him in,” Giznek said tiredly.  A second later and the weasily-looking Midollonian was on the screen with an expression that was nervous, worried and afraid all at once.  It made him look like the snitch you would see in a cliche law story.


         “Ichero.  What seems to be the problem?”


         “I have bad news.  Are you sitting down?”


         “Yes, now get on with it.”  Admiral Giznek was not a morning person.


         “Pirates Ruki and Kenshi Tamaki just raided the Titan and stole all information from the blackbox computers,” Hozantas said quickly.  Giznek shook his head as if clearing it.  He was suddenly very awake.


         “How could you let this happen?  Is there any way to track them?”  The Commander shook his head.


         “The two left in an unknown ship with one hostage.  We have found Ruki’s ship, the Reaper and a separate, unknown ship, but neither the pirates nor the information was found.  That’s not all of it, however.”


         “There’s more?” Giznek said, gritting his teeth.  He was pissed.  Hozantas was definitely up for a demotion.


         “The guards said Ruki and Tamaki had been fighting inside the blackbox room before they arrived.  When our engineers looked over the damage most of the data stored within the room had been destroyed from a few well-placed shots with a sonic blaster and a hail of plasma bolts.”


         “So you’re telling me two famous and recognizable pirates boarded your ship, stole extremely classified information, destroyed the only other remaining copy and escaped with a single hostage.”  Hozantas looked sick by this point.


         “Yes sir.”


         “And why, pray tell, did you let one hostage get in your way?  You have well over 2000 men stationed there.  Are you saying they couldn’t handle two pirates with a hostage?”


         “While one of my officers was negotiating Ruki pulled out the sonic blaster.  Since the pair mostly stuck to corridors during their escape my men never had a chance of taking them out without being in extreme danger of being killed by the blaster.”  Giznek closed his eyes, running a hand over his face.


         “Because you couldn’t handle two pirates with a couple thousand men at your disposal blueprints which could literally determine the lives of billions, if not more, has fallen into the hands of two massacrists and we don’t even have copies of that information any longer.  What have you to say for yourself, Lieutenant?”  Hozantas looked near tears with those last words.  Likely he had worked hard to reach the station of Commander.


         “I-I’m s-s-sorry, sir.  I-If I c-could be g-given the chance t-to redeem myself in some way...”  Giznek ignored the plee.


         “Have nearby MMC units been alerted?”


         “Y-yes sir.”


         “And do they know the full extent of what has happened?”


         “No sir.”  Giznek didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing.  To keep people from being properly informed or to let everyone in the universe know of this blunder...


         “I don’t give second chances, Hozantas.  You have proven that you are unreliable and I refuse to put important matters into unreliable hands.  Your second is in command pending reassignment of a new Commander.”  And with that sentence the connection was cut.


         Giznek cracked his neck, angry and frustrated.  He had many calls to make and little time to make them.  He would need to find Ruki before she sold the info and that in and of itself would take an act of God.


         The admiral thought for a long moment before searching through his desk papers for a certain phone number.  When he finally found it, the officer dialed it in as fast as his thick fingers could manage and waited for the person to answer.  He didn’t wait long.


         “Hello?” a deep voice asked as a dark-haired Terran appeared on the screen.


         “Commander Burlai, I presume.  I need to speak with you about something most urgent.”


-------------------------


         There were only four hours of sleep for Ruki that ‘night’.  It wasn’t that she wasn’t tired - with all the negative emotions going through her mind right before sleep she had been exhausted - it was more the fact that with her advanced system she usually only needed three or four hours of sleep each night.  So in her own right Ruki had slept a full night’s worth.  Even still, she laid in bed for another hour or so before finally sitting up and kicking off the blankets.


         ‘I need to start figuring out how to escape.  If I can slip that bracelet away from Kenshi he won’t be able to dock his ship without me getting away,’ she thought, briefly looking over to the scorched uniform lying in the corner which she had already searched through.  With a mission in mind, Ruki rolled out of the bed and onto her feet.  She went to the nearby dresser, hoping to find something that might even remotely fit her - the fight on the Titan had left her tank top, jeans and shoes little more than black rags to peel from her body.  A little sifting around and she came up with a plain white button-up shirt and a pair of jeans so large she had to roll the legs up and tie the waist of the shirt just so she didn’t trip over her own feet or have the blue cotton fall down.  Barefoot and wearing clothes made for a man practically twice her size, Ruki made her way out of the bedroom.


         Ruki found the girl - Quinn, Kenshi had called her at one point - lying asleep on the couch, curled up nice and cozy.  At the sight of the blonde Ruki felt a few of her old urges come back, but did her best to ignore them and walk past the girl.


         ‘No use getting Kenshi even more pissed with me.  That’ll just make my job all the more difficult.’


         Walking quietly into the ship’s only corridor, Ruki turned toward where she knew the cockpit to rest and pulled out the last device on her person.


         ‘Kenshi should have frisked me before he locked himself away,’ Ruki thought as she held up a large, square device.  ‘Thank you Ally!’


         The device was a sort of a skeleton key, used to open most any door.  Besides the hacking device, two plasma swords and the small subspace pocket she hid it all in, Ruki always brought the key as a ‘just in case’.  There was a time for force and a time for silence, as Ruki had discovered only a short two centuries earlier.  Of course force typically suited her more.


         As Ruki approached the thick cockpit door she heard the muffled sound of some strange music playing quietly inside.  It was very low, probably turned down so Kenshi might sleep or think, but it wasn’t all that unpleasant.


         ‘Hopefully he’s asleep.  All I need now is Kenshi catching me breaking into one of his more secure rooms and I may not get a chance to escape,’ Ruki thought while holding up her key to the numbered keycode panel.  It only took some careful placement and a correct nine-digit number and the thick doors of the cockpit were sliding open with relative silence.


         It was then that the music was finally heard.  It was old, for sure.  Maybe from decades ago when the Terrans were still in seclusion or even centuries ago when they were still searching for life outside their own planet.  It was pleasing to hear, much different from the usual quick-paced loud music of the present, but still fast and loud in it’s own right.  The words to the music were lost on Ruki, unfortunately.  The language was strange, like nothing she had ever listened to before, but it was still made good.  The instruments, too, were unrecognizable, though some did sound familiar.


         She walked in slowly, almost jumping at the quiet sound of the door sliding shut behind her, toward the front of the cockpit where she knew Kenshi would be.  The cockpit wasn’t large, but the oversized pilot and navigator chairs blocked most of the view to the very front of the ship.


         Ruki stopped walking when the song ended and switched to a different track, fearing that Kenshi might hear her footsteps during the brief interlude.  When a new song come on she started taking a step when a thought came to her.  Nearly slapping herself for her stupidity, Ruki willed herself into the air and started floating slowly and silently forward.  A few feet went by and Ruki finally caught sight of Kenshi’s sleeping form resting quietly in the pilot’s chair.  Her tail started to sway slowly in anticipation.


         Ruki came to a stop inches away from the sleeping Terran , trying to find where the thin silver bracelet was hidden.  Finding it was nowhere in view, she resorted to leaning over and carefully frisking Kenshi’s newly changed flannel shirt and jeans.


         ‘I almost wish he would wake up.  This could turn into something funny,’ Ruki thought with a playful smile and a swallowed giggle.


         Her fingers felt swiftly and carefully above the numerous pockets of the shirt and pants, finding nothing but the muscles underneath.  Ruki forcefully repressed a growl of frustration and instead started searching through each and every pocket, fingering through them all carefully.


         She almost had a heart attack - which she wasn’t entirely sure was possible - when Kenshi turned in his chair and mumbled quietly before relaxing again on his side.  Releasing a deep breath she didn’t know she was holding, Ruki finished her search, coming up with nothing but lint.


         “Shit!” Ruki said as low as she could.  “What’d you do with it Kenshi?”  She started pacing in the air, floating back and forth while trying to think of what the sleeping man did with her bracelet.  ‘He must have set it down somewhere in here.  Maybe it was uncomfortable to sleep with.’


         Ruki took this new idea and went back to work, searching under the seats and control stations and through every nook and cranny of the small room.  When it was over, she came up with nothing but growing frustration.  Ruki half-sighed and half-growled as she threw herself into the navigation seat.


         ‘Looks like good ol’Kenshi won his second round in a row.  Bastard.  This is getting annoying fast.’


         She heard a strange noise like the sound of a door sliding open.  Thinking it was just the strange music, Ruki ignored it and closed her eyes.  Then she heard another strange noise: a drink can opening.  That’s when Ruki jumped up and spun around.  She told herself that it was Quinn.  She tried to believe it was Quinn.  She knew it wasn’t Quinn.


         There, in front of the closing cockpit door, stood Kenshi with an open soda in hand and a smirk on his face.  Ruki spun around once more and looked around the navigation panel toward the pilot seat only to find empty space.  She turned to face Kenshi once more.


         “How...”


         “I was thirsty.”  Ruki blinked.


         “But...” she looked back at the chair then to Kenshi once more.  “You...”


         “Training,” was all he said.  Kenshi walked back to the pilot’s chair and sat down, putting the drink to his lips.  Ruki never took her eyes off him, half expecting he would disappear.


         “You used my bracelet, didn’t you?”  Kenshi shook his head and took another sip from his drink.


         “Couldn’t if I wanted to.  I didn’t have it in here.”  Ruki’s brow wrinkled in confusion.


         “Then where’d you hide it?”  Kenshi’s smirk grew into an evil grin and Ruki noted absently that this was the first time she’d seen any semblance of a smile on his lips.


         “I figured you’d find a way in here while I was sleeping and try to take it back, so I hid it earlier.”


         “Where’s that?”


         “Under the bed mattress,” Kenshi said, resting his head back against the seat.  Ruki’s jaw dropped.  She just about took off toward the bed, but decided against it.  Kenshi almost definitely grabbed it on his way back.


         “So...you were awake that entire time?” Ruki asked, trying to make conversation and hopefully gain some leverage over Kenshi.


         “Since about an hour ago.”  Here comes the leverage.


         “Then I guess that means you were awake while I was frisking you,” she said, her voice starting to turn seductive.  Kenshi tensed up considerably, but managed to keep himself composed.  “Have fun allowing me to fondle you?”  The hair on the back of Kenshi’s neck bristled and, if she didn’t know any better, Ruki would have sworn he was made of stone.  “I mean, you could have stopped me any time.”  His form nearly trembled in rage.


         “I just felt like fooling you.  Believe me or not, it’s the truth.”  Kenshi’s muscles relaxed once more and Ruki glared into his back.  “Gonna be stuck out here for a week anyway,” he mumbled so low she barely picked it up.


         ‘Never likes to play along.  Oh well.  I guess I shouldn’t have expected him to give me much slack.’  The two sat in silence for near ten minutes, Kenshi staring at the stars while listening to his music and Ruki staring into the back of Kenshi’s head while thinking what to do next.  Finally she broke the silence..


         “Why won’t we be landing for a week?”  Kenshi tilted his head back.


         “Hmm?”


         “Why won’t we be landing for a week?”  She grinned as a thought occurred to her.  “Want to take advantage of being alone with two beautiful women?  Hm.  We think more alike than I imagined.”


         “MMC patrols will be more alert.  I don’t want to risk docking anywhere right now.”


         “You could land on the largest space, kick out the bitch and take off before anyone knows what’s going on.”


         “I don’t want anybody to know what my ship looks like yet.  And don’t be a hypocrite.” Ruki grinned.


         “Feeling witty today, are we?”


         “No.  I’m just saying you’re a bitch.”  This time she scowled and crossed her arms.


         “What’s your problem?”


         “What do you think my problem is?” Kenshi snapped.


         “Me?  I hate to tell you, but the most I’ve ever done to you is defend myself from you.”


         “You’re saying you’ve been playing defense against me?  What about the people you’ve killed and lives you’ve ruined?  Defense also?”


         “You’re not angry with me about what I’ve done to others, Kenshi.  You just blame me for your little fall from grace.”


         “Because you are to blame.”


         “NO I’M NOT!!!”  Ruki said, exasperated.  She quickly caught her breath and tried to relax herself.  “You know all I ever did to you was run away.”  Kenshi paused for a few moments in which she was sure he was about to jump up and attack her, but instead leaned back into his chair and started speaking again.


         “Whatever...  What’s it matter whatever revenge I want.  Any way it goes you deserve to be behind bars or under a grave.”  This time Ruki did not argue.  She knew well enough that she’d never convince Kenshi otherwise with some heated argument.  Hell, he could have been right.  Instead she started a different conversation.


         “Nice music.”  She heard a grunt and nothing more.  “What is it?”


         “Terran.”


         ‘Someone doesn’t want to talk.  Too bad for someone.’  “It sounds old.”  There was a long pause where Ruki thought he wouldn’t answer followed by a heavy exhale.


         “Most of it is.  I’ve got stuff from 1200 years ago up until a year ago, though most of it’s from around 850 years ago.”


         “Really?  And you like it?”


         “My father did.  I guess it got passed to me.”  She reeled back at that.  Kenshi had never spoken a word of his personal life, not that he’d ever had a reason to.


         “What are they speaking?”


         “An old Terran language.  It’s called English, but most people know it as American since the prime Terran nation since our inclusion to the galaxy was the U.S., a.k.a. America.”


         “You can understand it?”  Kenshi nodded slowly.


         “Yeah.  During the war most everyone learned it.  We often used it as code because so few MMC took the time to learn it.  Only about 1/4 of their ships had a translator and any grunt who bothered to learn instantly became an officer.”  There was a minute of silence.


         “It’s good music.”


         “That’s why I listen to it.”  Another pause.


         “What are they singing?”  Kenshi stayed silent for a moment while he waited for the current song to end.  The next song started and he began translating in a monotone voice.  For minutes on end he spoke more to her than he had in any three of their encounters, even if it was in a foreign language, his quiet rasp barely heard over the not bad music.  When he was finished.  Ruki let out a whistle.


         “Well I’d say you’re fluent.”


         “ELO.  Showdown.”


         “Good song.”


         “That’s why I listen to it.”


         Another long moment of silence.


         “I never meant for things to happen the way they did, Kenshi.”  He gave off a snort.


         “What, is that an apology?  You don’t care.  You would never have said that if I didn’t catch you.”


         “Well it’s true just the same.  It’s not like I framed you.”


         “Then who did?”  Ruki gave Kenshi a surprised look.


         “That’s why you’re so obsessed!  You think I framed you!!!”  She laughed loudly.  She’d always figured he blamed her for starting the whole situation.


         “And you didn’t?” Kenshi asked in a skeptical voice.


         “Why the hell would I frame you?!  How would I frame you?!?!” Ruki asked, barely containing her laughter.


         “For shits and giggles.  You wanted to play your little game so you screwed me over.  You’ve got your contacts.  What’d you do?  Blow an admiral and ask to rewrite the story just so you could play cat and mouse whenever you wanted?”


         Ruki stopped laughing.  She gave Kenshi a killing glare and launched herself over the seat toward the scowling ex soldier with a single raised fist.  Kenshi never had a chance.  With a single punch to the head, Kenshi crashed into the control panel behind him, cracking it’s outer shell and revealing the wires and chips underneath.


         “I’m not some slut, asshole!  You’re just pissed because your life got screwed and you’re confused at who to point fingers at.”  Kenshi reached up and took a firm grip on her forehead.  With all the strength in his arm he pushed her back, sending her slamming into the rear seat.


         “No, I just figured the insane pirate was responsible.  And you know what?  I haven’t seen any proof otherwise.”  Ruki stood up and rubbed her head slowly.


         ‘How does he not know who framed him?  It was all over the news,’ Ruki thought, confused.  “How long were you knocked out after Orlius, Kenshi?”  He looked at her just as confused and with as much hatred as she’d ever seen on a man.


         “What do you care?”


         “It was all over the news about who framed you.  Or at least who said you were responsible.”  He blinked a few times.


         “What?”


         “Yeah.  The only surviving MMC pilot, beside yourself, framed you.”


         “What?” he repeated.


         ‘He really doesn’t know.  How does he not know?  Then again, it may explain why he eluded capture for so long.  He only heard that he was in trouble and not why or who put him there.  He just went straight after me and avoided anyone who got in his way.  No one even got the chance to tell him.’  Ruki crossed her arms and stood proud.  “Look at any of the old news reports.  They all show the same interview over and over again.  So do I get an apology?”


         Kenshi stared blankly.  He opened and closed his mouth a few times, but made no sounds.  Ruki watched this for awhile before finally leaving.  Kenshi was in no mood to play, but at least they had gotten that problem out of the way.


         ‘I’ll play with him again when he has his thoughts in order,’ Ruki thought as she twirled a silver bracelet around her finger.


-------------------------


         Kenshi had been in a pretty fair mood when he woke up.  Of course, his life as he knew it was ruined, but at least he had caught the one thing that he’d been chasing after for the last three years.  Three very long years.  And as a bonus he’d prevented what would have probably been a second Battle of the Titan.  Then the cockpit door opened.


         ‘Must be Ruki,’ he thought, figuring Quinn wouldn’t likely try breaking in.  ‘What mischief is she up to now?’  The music changed and Kenshi heard a small, startled gasp and had to stop himself from smiling.  ‘She’s trying to sneak up on me.’  He pushed back the grin on his lips.  ‘Perhaps I can surprise her for a change.’  Warning bells went off in his mind, but the thought of getting the upper hand of Ruki was enough to muffle them.


         He didn’t hear Ruki’s approach so much as feel it.  Like a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.  Suddenly two hands were working their way softly over his clothes, feeling over every nook and cranny of his body.‘Either she’s searching for that bracelet or Ployer underestimated her liking toward me,’ he thought disgustedly as Ruki’s frisking became more intense and she started searching through individual pockets.  Unable to take the attention for long, Kenshi turned lazily onto his side, muttering a quick, “Bitch,” under his breath.


         The move allowed him a small reprieve from the dexterous hands, but they were back again a second later with even more intensity.  Kenshi was just about ready to jump up and beat the woman to a pulp when she suddenly backed away.


         “Shit!  What’d you do with it Kenshi?” she said so quietly Kenshi had to strain his ears to hear it.  Peaking one eye open, he saw Ruki pacing back and forth quietly, deeply in thought.  A small frown crossed his lips when he realized she was wearing his clothes.  He closed his eye again when she turned suddenly toward him, some sort of resolve sketched onto her face.


         When he felt her hand on his leg he nearly kicked the mercenary, but another quick peak told him she was merely holding on so she might check under his seat and control panel more easily.  She moved on after a few seconds of searching, going to the rear seat to start again.  The damn woman was so concentrated it seemed she’d forgotten she was trying to keep from waking him.


         The idea hit Kenshi so hard he nearly started laughing at the thought of it.


         Checking quickly to make sure Ruki was down far enough under the rear seat, Kenshi stood up and started walking as silently as possible toward the exit.  He passed slowly by the crouched form of the killer, toe touching down softly just before the heel.  The door slid open quietly before him and Kenshi checked back to make sure Ruki didn’t hear, but the pirate was still wrapped up in her search.  Kenshi shook his head and walked out, letting the door slide close behind him.


         Forgetting silence, Kenshi walked quickly into the living quarters, stopping only to grab a can of soda from the materializer and check on Quinn’s well-being - Ruki hadn’t gotten along with her, after all.  He stopped in the bedroom and reached under the mattress to grab the small silver bracelet Ruki must have been looking for.  Giving a quick smirk at the object she was trying so intently to find, Kenshi walked back to the cockpit.


         When the thick metallic door slid open once more, Kenshi couldn’t help but think, ‘Too perfect.’  Ruki sat back in the rear seat, obviously frustrated in not finding her strange little bracelet and, more importantly, not noticing Kenshi had left the room with the large navigational panel blocking the front seat.


         Allowing a smile to tug at his lips, Kenshi opened the soda and saw the beauty of a surprised Ruki for the second time in less than a day.  The dread pirate jumped up and spun around, looking reluctantly at the ex-SEALS with an expression akin to that of the proverbial kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.  She glanced around the navigational panel as if double-checking Kenshi wasn’t still in the piloting seat then looked back toward him, an innocently stunned and scared expression still plastered across her face.


         “How...”


         “I was thirsty.”  She seemed to grow even more confused at that.


         “But...” she looked back at the pilot seat then to Kenshi again.  “You...”


         ‘Comical.  She looks like a child.  Never would have thought that about someone like Ruki,’ Kenshi thought, feeling the smile tug a little more at his lips.  “Training,” he said simply.  Kenshi walked to the front seat and sat down, bringing the sweet cola to his lips as he did so.  He could feel Ruki watching him the entire way, moving to keep her eyes on him.


         “You used my bracelet, didn’t you?”  Shaking his head no, Kenshi took another sip from his drink.


         “Couldn’t if I wanted to.  I didn’t have it in here.”  He could almost feel the confusion seeping off her.


         “Then where’d you hide it?”  Kenshi allowed his grin to grow into a small smile.


         “I figured you’d find a way in here while I was sleeping and try to take it back, so I hid it earlier.”


         “Where’s that?”


         “Under the bed mattress,” Kenshi said as he rested his head back.  He half expected her to take off there and then to tear apart his bedroom, but the pirate proved she had some reasoning ability in her and stayed beside him.  It took awhile for her to start talking again.


         “So...you were awake that entire time?”


         “Since about an hour ago,” he replied, half wondering where this was going.


         “Then I guess that means you were awake while I was frisking you,” she said, her voice becoming noticeably huskier.  Kenshi felt his muscles become tense and he grit his teeth against what he knew was coming.  “Have fun allowing me to fondle you?  I mean, you could have stopped me any time.”  Kenshi scowled, determined to end her game before she could take it any further.


         “I just felt like fooling you.  Believe me or not, it’s the truth.”  That said, Kenshi relaxed back against the chair once more.  “Gonna be stuck out here for a week anyway,” he muttered to himself.


         The two sat in silence for a seeming endless amount of time.  Kenshi stared at the stars and listened to the ancient music he had fallen in love with when he was so young, trying to ignore the fact that a murderer unlike the universe had previously ever known was staring at his back.  The thought sent a shiver down his spine and in his suddenly darkened thoughts he didn’t hear what she said next.


         “Hmm?” he asked.


         “Why won’t we be landing for a week?” she repeated.  The grin she formed next made him nervous.  “Want to take advantage of being alone with two beautiful women?  Hm.  We think more alike than I imagined.”


         “MMC patrols will be more alert.  I don’t want to risk docking anywhere right now.”


         “You could land on the largest space, kick out the bitch and take off before anyone knows what’s going on.”


         “I don’t want anybody to know what my ship looks like yet.  And don’t be a hypocrite.”  She grinned wickedly at him.


         “Feeling witty today, are we?”


         “No.  I’m just saying you’re a bitch.”  Now she scowled and crossed her arms.


         “What’s your problem?”  Kenshi felt his temper rising at the question.  Was she really so thick as to not know the answer to that question?


         “What do you think my problem is?” he shot back at her.


         “Me?  I hate to tell you, but the most I’ve ever done to you is defend myself from you.”


         “You’re saying you’ve been playing defense against me?  What about the people you’ve killed and lives you’ve ruined?  Defense also?”


         “You’re not pissed with me about what I’ve done to others, Kenshi.  You just blame me for your little fall from grace.”


         ‘For the love of...’  “Because you are to blame.”


         “NO I’M NOT!!!”  Ruki caught her breath and tried to relax, strangely enough.  “You know all I ever did to you was run away.”  Kenshi was sorely tempted to jump up and beat her into the floor, but calmed himself.  As good as that would feel, it wouldn’t change anything but her current mood.  Better to not live with an upset psychopath for a week.


         “Whatever...  What’s it matter whatever revenge I want.  Any way it goes you deserve to be behind bars or under a grave.”  And that was the end of that...or so he wanted to think.


         “Nice music.”  She said moments later.  Kenshi just grunted, not feeling like speaking.  “What is it?” she continued.


         “Terran,” he replied, hoping she would take the hint.  She didn’t, of course.


         “It sounds old.”


         ‘She can’t leave me alone.  Bitch takes sadistic pleasure from annoying the hell outta me.’  Kenshi sighed, knowing the only way to end her talking would be to answer her questions.  “Most of it is.  I’ve got stuff from 1200 years ago up until a year ago, though most of it’s from around 850 years ago.”


         “Really?  And you like it?”


         “My father did.  I guess it got passed to me.”


         “What are they speaking?”


         “An old Terran language.  It’s called English, but most people know it as American since the prime Terran nation since our inclusion to the galaxy was the US, a.k.a. America.


         “You can understand it?”  Kenshi nodded, somewhat surprised at her apparent interest.


         “Yeah.  During the war most everyone learned it.  We often used it as code because so few MMC took the time to learn it.  Only about 1/4 of their ships had a translator and any grunt who bothered to learn instantly became an officer.”  A tense minute of silence passed.


         “It’s good music,” she said, still trying to make conversation for whatever reason.


         “That’s why I listen to it.”  Another pause.


         “What are they singing?”


         ‘She’s really interested in all this.  Funny.  I never figured her to have a mellow side.’  Kenshi waited for the current song to end before beginning to speak the verses.  That’s how they continued for the next few minutes, him translating his music and Ruki, strangely, hanging onto his every word.  When the music finally faded out Ruki whistled appreciatively.


         “Well I’d say you’re fluent,” she said.


         “ELO.  Showdown.”


         “Good song.”


         “That’s why I listen to it.”


         Another long moment of silence passed.


         “I never meant for things to happen the way they did, Kenshi.”  He snorted.


         “What, is that an apology?  You don’t care.  You would never have said that if I didn’t catch you,” he said.


         “Well it’s true just the same.  It’s not like I framed you.”


         “Then who did?”  Ruki shot him a strange look.


         “That’s why you’re so obsessed!  You think I framed you!!”  She tilted her head back and laughed.


         “And you didn’t?” Kenshi asked, wanting to hear her excuse and strangle her at the same time.


         “Why the hell would I frame you?!  How would I frame you?!?!” Ruki shot back on the verge of another fit of laughter.  Kenshi felt his anger rising fast.


         “For shits and giggles.  You wanted to play your little game so you screwed me over.  You’ve got your contacts.  What’d you do?  Blow an Admiral and ask to rewrite the story just so you could play cat and mouse whenever you wanted?”


         The laughter stopped and Kenshi knew he went too far.  With a glare that could kill, Ruki launched herself over his seat, throwing a single powerful punch across his face and sending him crashing hard into the control panel.


         “I’m not some slut, asshole!  You’re just pissed because your life got screwed and you’re confused at who to point fingers at.”  Gritting his teeth and angry beyond reason, Kenshi grabbed Ruki’s forehead and shoved her back with surprising force into the rear chair.


         “No, I just figured the insane pirate was probably responsible.  And you know what?  I haven’t seen any proof otherwise.”


         “How long were you knocked out after Orlius, Kenshi?” she asked, strangely.  Kenshi stood up, tense and alert in case the fight went further, and looked toward the pirate.


         “What do you care?”


         “It was all over the news about who framed you.  Or at least who said you were responsible.”  He blinked a few times.


         “What?”


         “Yeah.  The only surviving MMC pilot, beside yourself, framed you.”


         “What?” he repeated, his mind suddenly swirling as his stomach twisted.  She looked at him with something between pity and victory.


         “Look at any of the old news reports.  They all show the same interview over and over again.  So do I get an apology?”


         Kenshi didn’t know what to say.  Someone he had trusted with his life had betrayed him?  Someone he would have laid his life down for spit on his name and turned away?  That was it?  Or was the pirate just trying to throw him off?


         Ruki turned away then and left, finally providing an end to the conversation, but Kenshi hardly noticed.  His mind was a swirl of mixed anger and confusion over the past four years of his life.  But then there was the decision of what to do next hovering over his head, seemingly becoming more and more complicated every second that passed.


         There was the matter of Ruki and Quinn to deal with first, of course, but once they were gone Kenshi had to decide on his next course.  Whatever happened he would never have his old life back.  It was something that couldn’t be denied by that point.  The question was, though, what to do about the person who had framed hm?


         Was it another game Ruki was playing or had somebody else actually framed him?  Not that research on the subject would be difficult, but Ruki played mind games simply for the fun of it.  But if she was telling the truth - which he suspected she was, for once - he had a whole new hunt going as soon as Ruki was behind bars.


         He cursed himself at that moment.  Cursed himself for assuming it was Ruki, for not double-checking.  It should have been common sense, but Kenshi hadn’t been keeping up with the times.  One more thing to change.


         Kenshi snapped himself out of his thinking process and looked around his ship.  ‘I really need to get a few nights rest.  I haven’t had any decent sleep for years,’ he thought as he stood up and stretched his arms.  His eyes rested on the broken control panel.  ‘That is, after I get this mess fixed up,’ he thought with a sigh.


         Sitting down, Kenshi examined the broken plastic and metal.  It would take awhile to fix manually, but Kenshi remembered the little bots Ally had pointed out to him during his initial tour.  It would be interesting seeing how the things worked.


         He looked around the control panel a moment more before his eyes settled onto a small green light above a single switch.  It was one of the new things Ally had thrown in, Kenshi remembered, and he struggled to figure out what it was.  It only took a moment for his mind to single it out as his stealth controller.  His ship was visible, both physically and on radar.


         Kenshi shrugged his shoulders and flipped the switch off, not wanting to take the chance of someone finding the ship even this deep in space.  The green light didn’t go off.  Kenshi flipped the switch a few more times.  The green light stayed on.


         ‘Shit.  I’m a sitting duck right now.’  Kenshi walked quickly out of the cockpit and down the hall toward the engine room.  He stopped just outside in front of the repair panel and pressed the single grey button.  The tiny screen flashed once and announced in little green characters: ‘REPAIRING.  ESTIMATED TIME REMAINING: 93 MIN, 17 SEC,’and started slowly counting down.


         ‘An hour and a half?!  God help me if this thing gets more than a fucking scratch,’ he thought in exasperation.  It was probably mostly the area which was damaged, but that didn’t help speed things up.  Kenshi grunted his impatience and walked back toward the living room to gather lunch.


-------------------------


         To say Burlai was surprised about Tamaki was a major understatement.  Three years ago Terrace had risen to fame.  He was the hero of the Orlius Massacre, the greatest battle since the end of the Terran War, and all it had cost him was the slandering of a dead man’s name and a slight changing of the overall story.  Or rather, the man was supposed to be dead.


         When Tamaki had run off with Ruki, Terrace had carded him as dead without question.  After all, who had honestly ever faced off against the killer and lived?  The list was short and most of those people couldn’t even tell their story because of death of another sort, a coma or, in one case, plain muteness.  Therefore it had been a surprise when, three weeks after the incident, Tamaki had been in a close scrape with a MMC patrol who caught sight of him in the middle of nowhere.


         Of course by that point Terrace couldn’t simply say, ‘Whoops!  My mistake!  You see, Kenshi here is completely innocent and I only framed him to help boost my career.’  Instead Terrace just ignored the incident altogether and continued working through officer training and up the ranks.  Currently, he was one of the youngest Commanders in the MMC, though he would be the youngest Captain if he got another promotion within the next two years.  Tamaki was forcefully forgotten and ignored by Terrace while the rising officer looked to capturing major pirates, Ruki included, and further boost his popularity.


         Then Admiral Giznek called.


         “Commander Burlai, I presume.  I need to speak with you about something most urgent,” the Admiral said in his gruff voice.


         “Yes, sir.  What do you need?” Terrace asked, his voice even gruffer.


         “This must be quick so forgive my shortness.  You know of Ruki and Kenshi Tamaki, correct?”  Terrace nodded, suddenly nervous as to where this was going.  “A few hours ago they stole extremely classified information and disappeared in an unknown ship.  I know you have some previous experience with both pirates and I also know you’ve received first rights in finding and capturing Ruki.  This is a delicate situation and one which must be handled in all haste.  Both pirates must be captured and the information recovered.”  Terrace nodded once more.


         “I will need more details of the entire heist, sir,” he said carefully.


         “I’ll have the... Lieutenant responsible send you all the details.”  Terrace raised an eyebrow, but didn’t ask.


         “Yes sir.”


         “Good.  Now remember: there is little time to be spared.”


         “Yes sir.”  And then the connection was cut.


         ‘Talk about unpleasant surprises,’ Terrace thought.  He honestly never thought he’d hear about Tamaki again.  He was a good man.  He was also a smart man and Terrace had thought he’d simply lay low for the remainder of his life.  It was a rare day to hear about a Tamaki conflict, but now it seemed the silent ex soldier was going along with his image.


         ‘Sorry partner,’ Terrace thought regretfully.  ‘Should’ve kept low.’


-------------------------


         Quinn was just letting out a stretch and a wide yawn when she heard the corridor hatch slide open.  Fearing Ruki might be stepping in, she suppressed the remainder of any grogginess and spun around.  She sighed with relief when Kenshi walked in, only a short glance her way showing he recognized her presence.


         After watching Kenshi fumble with the food materializer for a minute Quinn decided it was time to try and whittle some information out of the “pioneer” as Ruki called him - she was still trying to figure out the story behind that one, but it was near the bottom of her list of questions.


         “Good morning, Kenshi.  Have a nice rest?”  Kenshi glanced back at her for a moment before turning back to the materializer.


         “Sure,” he said quietly in his raspy voice, setting her somewhat off balance.  Quinn had expected more out of the man she had gotten along with so well, however briefly, only a few hours ago.


         “Well I had a nice sleep - all things considered, of course.  You have a surprisingly comfortable couch, Kenshi.”


         “I wouldn’t know.”  She gave him a confused expression.


         ‘What’s that supposed to mean?  Is he upset with me?’ Quinn thought desperately.  She’d need to be on Kenshi’s good side to take his ship.


         Kenshi turned around to see Quinn’s confused expression and sighed.  He walked over to the couch and set down a tray full of pancakes, bacon and orange juice on the coffee table, but hesitated in eating.


         “Sorry.  I haven’t exactly had any friendly conversations in a few years.”  Quinn blinked at this.


         “You haven’t talked to anyone in years?  What about Ruki?”  Kenshi scowled at that and Quinn instantly regretted her words.  Obviously he and Ruki hadn’t been as friendly with each other as people thought.


         “Ruki’s a psycho.  To me she’s a chronic problem.  That’s the way it’s always been.”  Quinn’s curiosity was too much to keep in.


         “What abou...”


         “I was never her partner.  I was never a traitor.”  Quinn’s curiosity was higher than ever by now, but she could tell from Kenshi’s tone that it wouldn’t be the greatest idea to continue the current conversation.


         There was a long moment of silence in which Kenshi started downing his breakfast.  When he finished his first pancake, Kenshi swallowed heavily and took a deep breath.


         “So...tell me why you became an engineer.”  Quinn turned her head to look at Kenshi, but the fugitive only ate his food and waited silently for an answer.


         “Well... I...I always had an interest in technology.  I wanted to know more about how everything worked so I studied mechanical engineering.”


         “Why’d you join the MMC?” Kenshi asked.  Quinn thought on her answer carefully for a moment before responding.


         “When I finished my studies I became hard-pressed to find anything of much advancement.  I joined up to be closer to the most advanced technology available.”  There was a few seconds of silence in which Quinn wracked her brain for something more to say.  “I would do just about anything to be allowed to study a new piece of technology,” she added and immediately regretted.  ‘Stupid!  Stupid!  Stupid!  He’ll catch on!!!  Don’t hint at it anymore!’ Quinn berated herself harshly.


         “You must be good at what you do to have been assigned to the Titan.”  A simple nod was the only response she gave to the compliment, but in her head Quinn was tearing apart her brain to find out what to say next.


         Was he flirting?  If so, should she flirt back?  Was he just making conversation for her sake?  If he was, should she really drag it on?  Was he being sincere?  Should she thank him?  What to do?  What did he think of her?


         She looked at his face, but it was a blank slate.  No emotion whatsoever.  Quinn tensed herself unconsciously and asked the first good question that came to her mind.


         “Why did you join the MMC?” Quinn asked.  Kenshi did look at her now.  His head turned slowly and his eyes rested straight on her own.  She wanted to turn her head away from the intense stare, but she kept herself in check, not wanting to show how afraid she really was of the man.


         “I’ve been trained as a soldier since I was old enough to listen.  Once the war ended many of us became bodyguards and SEALS operatives for the MMC.  We tried to stick to our own for awhile, but we slowly gave in and joined the normal ranks.  I was one of the first.”


         “I didn’t think you were just a normal grunt.  I mean, you fought well back in the Titan.”  The Terran took a drink while thinking of an answer to that.


         “I joined the SEALS after six years in the Army division.”  He paused.  “But that hardly counts for why I won out on the Titan,” he added quietly.  Then even quieter he said, “If you can say I won out.”  Quinn finally looked away and nodded in acceptance.  Kenshi must have taken it as the end of the conversation and continued eating.


         ‘I wonder what happened to him to make him such a pessimist?’ Quinn asked herself.  The rest of the meal was spent in complete silence.  Kenshi never turned from his plate and Quinn continued staring at him, trying to figure out why he was how he was.


         Kenshi had just finished his orange juice when she asked, “How are you not a traitor?” thinking that if he wasn’t a traitor he was likely falsely accused and that might be the cause of his negative outlooks.  Kenshi almost spit out his drink and took a moment to shove down the mouthful he’d just taken.  The next minute after he was in a coughing fit.  When the coughs died down he looked Quinn straight in the eyes again, this time with a much harsher glare.


         “I never abandoned anyone.  I never warned the pirates back at Orlius.  All I did was try to get Ruki and someone took advantage of it.”


         “But Ruki was present during the battle.  They say you ran away together.”  Kenshi snorted.


         “She ran away.  Lured me away is more like it.  She ran and I chased.  Planned it to get me alone so she could play her damn games.”  Quinn nodded.  The conversation had come to another halt and now Kenshi looked angry.  The pirate/pioneer/ex soldier stood up and grabbed his used tray, setting it in the materializer a few feet away.  “We’ll be out here for another week or so so make yourself comfortable,” Kenshi said as he headed toward his room.


         Neither had noticed the bedroom door close seconds earlier.


-------------------------


         As soon as the bedroom door was closed Kenshi leaned up against it with yet another deep sigh.  The conversations with Quinn and Ruki during the next week would drive him nuts if they kept going so deep into his past.  He started to take off his shirt, but hesitated when a thought came to him.


         “Get out from under the bed,” he said sternly.  There was a few seconds of silence in which Kenshi waited patiently, followed by a short giggle.  Ruki rolled out from the under the bed and picked herself up.


         “You ruin all the fun, Kenshi.  I wanted to watch you change,” she said with her usual mischievous smile.


         “Too bad.  Get out.”  A pout crossed over her smile, but it didn’t last long.  Ruki floated into the air, trying and failing to suppress her smile at his surprised expression.  “I thought I took that bracelet away.”  Her smile grew and she started to make her way slowly to where Kenshi stood.


         “You did.  But the bracelet doesn’t have anything to do with this nice little talent.”  Kenshi thought of inquiring further, but decided he only wanted to freshen up for now.  No need to get into another depressing conversation.


         “Just get out.”  Another pout crossed her face and Ruki floated slowly toward the door.  Unfortunately for Kenshi he realized too late he was still standing right next to said door.  Ruki’s smile held as she passed Kenshi, as did her predatory gaze on him, and as soon as he lost sight of her two arms entangled themselves around his neck, followed immediately after by two legs around his waist.  Two round, soft objects pressed themselves firmly into the Terran’s back on either side of his spine while a warm blast of air connected with his ear and, as a final touch, Ruki wrapped her tail seductively around his leg, letting the tip slither up and down.


         “No,” she sang sweetly into his ear.


         Kenshi felt his face grow red and angry and a deep growl develop in his throat.  “Get the fuck off me,” he said menacingly.  Ruki only tightened her holds.  Kenshi grabbed her arms and started to pry them off, causing Ruki to begin laughing into his ear.  The arms gave little and managed to hold tight despite Kenshi being the stronger.  Trying a new tactic, Kenshi started spinning back and forth, attempting to throw the pirate off.  She held firm, however, and the only result was a deeper laugh.


         “You can’t make a pirate do anything, Kenshi.  It’s just not the way it works!”  Kenshi’s response was a little more violent and he laid a punch over his shoulder, trying to catch her face.  The laughter increased once more - this time into the other ear.


         He soon gave up swinging the pirate around, instead positioning himself in front of the door and ramming Ruki’s back into the thick metal.  He heard a soft cough followed up with a series of giggles, infuriating the ex soldier even more.  For near a minute he continued to crush the pirate between the door and his back, but the only sense of pain he received from her was an occasional cough and a tightening of her limbs.  Finally, Kenshi just growled and reached an arm behind his back.  As he guessed, the pirate moved her head over to his other shoulder, but Kenshi still managed get a firm grip under her arm. 


         “Really, Kenshi, you should just relax,” Ruki giggled.  “I’m not letting go and you should feel honored to have such a beautiful woman willing press herself against you.”  The tail slid dangerously high.  Kenshi tugged, managing to unhook one of the pirate’s arms, but her legs and other arm held firm.  With one arm out of the way, however, Kenshi was able to use his other arm and grab the slender limb around his neck.  “What now Kenshi?  You gonna pry my legs off with your teeth?”  She laughed.  He seethed.


         With all the strength he could muster, Kenshi bent over and tried to flip Ruki over his head and onto the floor.  The pirate’s legs stayed tight around him, however, and only slipped up his waist a few inches.  Kenshi’s momentum couldn’t be stopped, unfortunately, and he tripped forward, rolling his shoulder to keep from landing on his face.  The end result was the pair lying on their backs, Kenshi on top of Ruki, with their arms tangled and her legs wrapped tightly around his waist.  Ruki had her best laugh in months while Kenshi didn’t think it was possible to be so annoyed.


         “Are...are you finished now?” Ruki asked, trying to stop laughing.  Kenshi didn’t move or speak and Ruki took that as a cue to continue.  “You know, I really am surprised.  I didn’t expect you to recover from our last conversation so quickly.”  Now he did respond.


         “Not much to recover from,” he lied.  “Besides, the ship controls are damaged.”  He didn’t see Ruki wince.


         “I guess that’s my fault, huh?  Oh well.  So tell me Kenshi...” she paused for a moment, probably trying to word her question.  “How?” was all she could come up with.


         Kenshi genuinely thought of telling the pirate everything that had happened the past two days, but in the end didn’t feel like going over the details of his encounter with Ally, not to mention he didn’t really know what Ruki’s relationship was with the nutty scientist.  Instead, he said the same two words Ally had told him in a similar situation.


         “Trade secret.”


         “You can’t hide secrets from me, Kenshi,” and he felt a certain fuzzy object move up his leg, across his stomach and rub his navel.


         “Oh.  Well, you should have told me that, because I just did.”  Ruki laughed again and tightened her grip.


         “There’s one more reason I like you.  You get beaten and you can still stand up for yourself.”


         “Just like Ployer said.”  Kenshi grinned evilly.


         “That’s Right!  You talked to Ployer.  Did you boys get along nicely?”


         “You’d be surprised how much that man likes gossip.  I wonder when he talked to Donnely...”  ‘If I can only get her off guard.’


         “That sonofabitch!  He told me he stopped telling stories!”  Her arms tightened in annoyance and Kenshi realized he had unintentionally made his situation worse.  Shaking his head, Kenshi stood up, taking Ruki with him, and went to sit down on the bed.


         Ruki purred in contentment when she noticed Kenshi give up his struggle.  “That’s it.  You just relax.  You keep this up and I bet we could be real close,” she soothed into his ear as she nuzzled his neck.  Kenshi tightened his lips and tensed up considerably.  Ruki noticed immediately for she loosened her arms and started to massage his shoulders.  “You know, Kenshi, with your situation sealed and all, it wouldn’t be that bad an idea in keeping a few allies.”  Kenshi thought of throwing her off while her arms were free, but he knew her legs were too strong.


         “And why would I trust...”


         “A psycho?” Ruki interrupted.  Kenshi threw a startled look over his shoulder, giving Ruki good chuckle.  “Well what can I say?  I may be insane and I may be a killer, but I’m sure you’d just love to be my partner if you gave me a chance.”


         “Why’d you call me a pioneer?” Kenshi asked, trying to change the subject. It was Ruki’s turn to shoot a startled look.


         “What?”


         “Back on the Titan you called me a pioneer.  Why?”  Ruki paused a moment before answering.


         “It’s what you are.  I guess you don’t hear that term much anymore, but it’s what you are.  It’s why you and I are the same.”


         “What the hell are you talking about?”  Ruki laughed.


         “Everything is seen from a certain point of view, Kenshi.  I’m sure you could figure mine out if you tried.”


         “I’m not sure I’m crazy enough to see the point of a person who just happens to be completely insane, a ruthless killer and, to top it all off, a woman.”  Ruki might have had the greatest laugh of her long life at that moment and, to Kenshi, it seemed to prove her insanity beyond a shadow of a doubt.  It took an entire eight minutes for her to quiet down, and when she did she just nuzzled closer.


         “You’ll figure it out,” she cooed quietly.


         She never even saw the fist connect with her eye.


         Ruki fell back and hit the bed with a groan and Kenshi took the moment to pry off her legs.  He jumped away and spun around, fists up and ready to fend off any attacks the pirate might make.  What he didn’t expect to see was Ruki curled up in a ball, nursing her wounded eye.  Kenshi put his fists down and backed up, expecting some kind of trick, but the pirate lay still, breathing heavily.


         “Get out,” was all he said.  Ruki complied slowly and silently.  She still held her eye, effectively covering her face and didn’t make a single move toward Kenshi.  She didn’t even say a final word as the door closed behind her.


         ‘What?  Did I hurt her feelings?’ he asked himself.  ‘Whatever.  She’s nuts.  Just trying to screw with my head.’  With that thought, Kenshi started preparing for a much needed shower.


-------------------------


         Davnick Cecile yawned widely as he stepped out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist and hair and a woman following close behind him with a skimpy towel of her own trying in vain to cover her curvy body.  The woman rung out her long blonde hair and laced her fingers through the strands as a makeshift comb while Davnick made his way into the kitchen for a quick snack.


         “Can you get me a beer, Dav?” the woman called out from the bedroom in an annoyingly high voice.


         “Sure thing, hun,” Davnick called back, rooting through a refrigerator for a beer and a pre-made sandwich.  He might have called the woman by her name if he knew it, but as it was he could only guess.  Things like that happened when you switched between four women you had only met the day before.  ‘Thinking of which, I still have to call...the brunette back before she leaves the station.’  As soon as he had the food secure, Davnick made his way back to the bedroom where he found Blondie - as he called her in the meantime -  towel-less and reclining comfortably on the large bed, now using an actual brush to comb through her hair.  He dropped his own towel to be on even ground.


         “Did my wittle Dav get me a drink?” she asked sweetly.  Davnick put on his best grin and threw her the beer, earning an impossibly wide smile from Blondie.  “Thank you!”  She popped the cap open and guzzled down half the drink in a single go before setting it down on the nightstand beside her.


         “I see you’ve already prepared for the rest of the day,” Davnick said wryly, eyeing up the curvy woman before him.  She smiled and spread her legs slightly.


         “Anything for my wittle Dav,” she replied, starting to massage her breasts.


         ‘Next time she calls me that I’m faking an orgasm and going to find Blackie,’ he thought, but outwardly he widened his grin and jumped on top of the woman before him.  She giggled and wrapped her legs around him while he kissed her deeply, reaching over to grab a condom while her attention was drawn elsewhere.  She broke the kiss first.


         “So how’s our little friend doing today?” she asked, her hips grinding against his own.


         “Well I’d say he’s a happy camper.  And after last night he’s all the more anxious.”  She giggled again.


         “Now that’s good to hear.”  She kissed him this time and Davnick slipped the condom on.  Placing his hands on either side of her hips, he broke the kiss and looked laughingly down at her.  She pouted and tried to position herself better beneath him, but Davnick backed off just enough so she couldn’t find her relief so easily.


         “Come on, Dav!  Don’t play with me now!”  Davnick just smiled and used his hands to tickle her sides.  She burst into a fit of high-pitched giggles and Davnick reminded himself to try and keep her from laughing anymore.  “No more foreplay Davy.  We had enough of that in the shower,” she whined, her lower half doing it’s best to rub up against him.


         “There can never be enough foreplay, babe.  You should know that.”  Despite his words, Davnick positioned himself and gave Blondie a quick peck on the lips.  “Now...say ‘ello to my lil’...”


         The phone rang.


         “God dammit.”  Davnick groaned and stood up, unwrapping Blondie’s legs as he did so.


         “You don’t have to answer it,” she pleaded, but Davnick continued his short walk to the phone.


         “That’s probably work.  I have to take the call or else I may lose a big job to a rival.”


         “It’s probably nothing big if it even is your work.”  He felt a pair of arms wrap around his neck. “Come back to bed Dav.”  He checked the phone.  It was work.


         “I need to answer this.  Can you go into the kitchen, hun?”  She looked angrily at him.


         “Why?”  She sounded annoyed.


         “It’s a confidentiality thing.  I hope you understand.”


         “I can keep a secret.”


         “They don’t know that,” he replied, pointing at the vid phone.


         “They won’t even know.  Hey!  You think they’d notice if I was going down on you while you talk to them?”  Davnick looked at her awkwardly.


         “Yes, they probably would.  Can you step outside now?”  She looked pissed, now.  He guessed she probably wasn’t told off too often.


         “Fine.  If you need me I’ll be in a real man’s bed.”  She walked out the door.


         “And I’ll have a prettier woman in mine,” he called over his shoulder, annoyance starting to take it’s toll on him.  Once he heard the door slam shut, Davnick answered the phone, pushing a few stray locks of hair out of his eyes.


         “What’s up, Chase?”  A small man with an excited expression appeared on the screen.


         “Dav!  What?  Did I wake you?  You’re still undressed.”


         “Worse.  Just about to nail a nice little blonde.”


         “This early?  Geeze, man.  You’re insatiable.”  Davnick grinned.


         “You got that right.  What’s the deal?”


         “Big contact called, Dav.  Said he wanted the best so I’m giving you the line.  He said he normally didn’t do this type of thing so he doesn’t know anyone in this line of work.  Don’t get pissed if he doesn’t recognize you.”


         “Fine, fine.  Put him on.”


         “Just a sec.  I need to tell you: this guy is big.  Popular MMC guy.  You do this right and you may be set up with one hell of a contact.”


         “Really?  Well don’t keep him waiting!”  Chase nodded once and disappeared from the screen, being replaced a second later by a dark-haired man that was either Terran or Frentan - like himself.  The man stared emotionlessly at Davnick, waiting for him to say something.


         “You’re the contact Chase was talking about?”  The man nodded.  “Well then, I’m Davnick Cecile, but you can just call me Dav.  Excuse me for not knowing your name, but Chase was a little too anxious to get you on the line,” he partially lied, realizing his blunder.


         “Commander Burlai.  I’d prefer you not telling anyone about this call.”


         “No problem.  Can’t go anywhere in business these days without a little confidentiality.  So what do you need?”  The commander paused and stared hard at Dav before nodding his head.


         “Last night valuable information was stolen by a pair of pirates.  I need you for reconnaissance.”


         “What was the information?”


         “That will have to remain a secret.”


         “Very well.  Who are the pirates?”


         “Ruki and Kenshi Tamaki.”  Davnick’s jaw dropped.  “That’s why I say reconnaissance.  I am not foolish enough to have you take down two pirates the likes of them by yourself, but I do need information and there has been much...shall we say bad luck in undercover recon from the MMC.  I want somebody from outside our influence.”  Dav tried to speak once, but was only able to move his mouth wordlessly.  Burlai was patient, however, and allowed Davnick to regain his composure.


         “What...what do you need to know?”


         “An up-to-date showing of where they are, who they have been meeting with, an id on transportation and any information you might feel important.”


         “Wouldn’t they be traveling in Ruki’s ship?  The Reaver, or something?”


         “We found the ship deserted at the scene of the heist.  We think they might be traveling in an updated version of Tamaki’s old CTG-45 II, but we do not know.”


         “Where were they last seen?”


         “Pernian Quadrant six hours ago.  They could be anywhere by now.”  Pernian was a section of space with over three dozen systems.  Which one they had been spotted in was likely tied in with some sort of military installation or he would have been given a considerably more detailed location.  Davnick let it slide and asked the next question.


         “What about payment?”


         “You’ll recieve $500,000 for every report you deliver, if it has information I deem valuable, with a bonus when this is finished.  Keep in mind, the bonus will be larger the sooner we get the intel back and neutralize the pair.”  Davnick’s jaw dropped again.


         “I accept.”


         “Good.  Remember, if I am not satisfied with your work I will replace you and refuse to pay.  Understand?”


         “Got it.  You won’t be disappointed,” Dav reassured, but Burlai had already hung up.


-------------------------


         It was another twenty minutes before Kenshi made it back into the cockpit.  When he arrived he was glad to find that the break in the control panel had closed up, but frowned when the green light still stayed on.  He estimated there to be another 55 minutes until everything would be working properly.  Kenshi sat down in the pilot’s seat with a grunt.  He made himself comfortable and let the thoughts flow.


         ‘I just know she’s going to take that punch out on me later.  She’ll start telling stories to Quinn or try screwing with my head again.’  That brought a whole new thought to his head.


         ‘Pioneers.  Damn.  That woman won’t stop until she takes my sanity with her.  It’s not just something you come up with, though.  Why does she think we’re alike?’  This ran through his mind a dozen times over before Kenshi ran his fingers across his face and sighed deeply.  ‘What the hell.  She’s insane and that’s all there is to that.  The things she says don’t have to make sense.’  He massaged the bridge of his nose lightly.  ‘What am I supposed to do now?  After things have settled down a bit where do I go?  Where do I drop Quinn off?  Where do I turn in Ruki and how?  It has to be a place with heavy security or she’ll bust right back out.  What about...’


         Kenshi was thrown out of his thoughts by a loud beeping.  He looked around the control panel and noticed on his radar the presence of a blip separate from the one representing his own and at fairly close distance.  Cursing a few choice swears in his head, Kenshi found the beeping coming from the radio and turned it on, only to repeat the curses out loud when nothing happened and the beeping continued.


         ‘They’re hailing me.  If I don’t find a way to answer there’s a good chance whoever’s out there may try to board.’  With that thought, Kenshi leaned over the control panel and pried off one of the side covers.  The damage inside wasn’t noticeable at first, but after a few seconds of extensive searching he found a pair of cracked boards where the controls were disconnected.  ‘Damn.  I don’t have the equipment to fix that and even if I did it would take at least a three hours of good concentration.’


         With a growl of frustration, Kenshi pushed the panel siding back into place, creating a sizeable dent in the process with his modified strength.  He stomped quickly out of the room and toward the engine room.  There he read the repair panel and how much time his ship had left to repair.  ‘REPAIRING.  ESTIMATED TIME LEFT: 43 MIN 53 SEC.’


         ‘Shit.  If whoever’s out there decides to check on me he can be in here within ten minutes.’


-------------------------


         Quinn was about as confused as she’d ever imagined.  One minute Kenshi walks into the bedroom.  The next, Ruki storms out and disappears into the hallway.  Minutes after that and Kenshi walks into the bathroom where he comes out a new man, dirt and ash scrubbed from his skin and hair.  Another few minutes and Kenshi storms back into the bedroom and back out with two pistols and a scouter.


         “What’s going on?”she asked, afraid Ruki might be trying something.


         “We might have company.”  He walked toward the entrance and turned around.  “Come on.  If Ruki shows herself when this guy boards, if he boards, we’ll need to keep her aboard this ship.”


         “You’re giving me a gun?”


         “Not the wisest decision for a hostage taker to make, but I don’t think you really want to risk Ruki getting out.”  Quinn nodded in response and they made their way to the weapons hatch.


         ‘Perfect.  All I have to do is wait until Ruki breaks out or is turned in then I can just use the gun and say goodbye to Kenshi.  Precious ship, you’ll soon be mine.’


         Quinn paid special attention as Kenshi punched in a button beside the almost invisible weapons panel.  The panel - or door, really - lead into a long hallway stacked with weapons of all natures and sizes.  Kenshi walked in and did a quick search before pulling out a small pistol.  He cocked the weapon and turned the safety off before handing the tiny weapon over.


         “All you need to do is point and pull the trigger.”  Quinn nodded and took the weapon carefully.  Together they walked back to the living quarters where they found Ruki waiting, a silently angry expression clearly plastered across her face.


         “I see you got the twit a gun.  You think that’ll protect her from me?” she asked icily.


         “Maybe, maybe not, but it’ll give her a better chance,” Kenshi replied just as harshly.  “Get in the bedroom.”  Ruki gave an evil grin, but there was little humor to be seen.


         “What?  You change your mind now?  No, Kenshi, I don’t like you that much anymore.”  Kenshi pointed the larger of his two pistols at the pirate.


         “Get in the bedroom or you won’t be recovering from the next shot.”


         “Cute.  Real cute.  That the worst threat you can...” Ruki flinched back and held her shoulder tightly before the gunshot was even heard.


         “I’m aiming higher next time.”


         “I dare you to...” the next shot barely nicked her ear, but the velocity of the bolt still tore off the piece of skin and cartilage.  “DAMMIT KENSHI!!!  I’M MOVING, ALRIGHT?!?!?!”  Ruki backed away quickly into the bedroom and closed the door, Kenshi’s pistol tracking her the entire way.


         ‘What happened between these two that Kenshi would shoot her twice, no questions asked?’ Quinn thought with a raised eyebrow.


         “If she tries anything shoot first, alright?  You do not know how dangerous that woman can be when she wants to be.”  Quinn recalled when Ruki first entered the blackbox room inside the Titan and realized why Kenshi was being so strict with the pirate, going so far as to give his hostage a gun; the safer of two mistakes.  “You stay here.”


         And with those final words, Kenshi left the room to monitor the incoming ship.


-------------------------


         Ruki nursed her wounds carefully as she felt them heal under her hands.  She was pissed.  Unbelievably pissed.  Murderously pissed.  She’d kill the girl, but she knew Kenshi would never spare her if she did.


         She had tried to make peace and he punched her.  She had tried to stand up to him and he had almost killed her.  Now she was just going figure out how to escape.  Escape and let whatever was up Kenshi’s ass slide back out before she started making trouble for herself.  The only good thing was that it would be simple to escape now that she had the bracelet back.


         That’s when she felt it.  The ship rumbled slightly as if something had just impacted alongside of it and suddenly Ruki wasn’t so mad anymore.


         ‘He just wanted to lock me up before we docked with whatever it is we’re up against.  At least that explains the temper.’  Ruki didn’t have to think twice before phasing right through the door and speeding toward the exit hatch.  She needed to be quick if she was going to escape and she was frustrated and hurried enough to kill at the moment.


-------------------------


         There was no way Kenshi could have ever prepared himself in time to stop Ruki if it was even possible to stop her.  He only caught a glimpse of the pirate before she literally rushed straight through him and into the ship on the other side of the hatch.  He heard Quinn run up behind him, but Kenshi ignored her and opened his side of the hatch just in time to see the other ship close it’s own.


         “She came out of nowhere.  Just went right through furniture and walls like they didn’t exist.  I couldn’t stop her,” Quinn tried to explain, but Kenshi just held up a hand and signaled her to stop.


         ‘She must have slipped the damn bracelet off me at some point.  I should have frisked her.  Should have knocked her out, dammit,’ Kenshi berated himself.  He worked fast to open the weapons panel and grabbed a cutter.  If he could make a hole in the other ship’s outer hatch the computers might not let it disconnect from his own ship.  With everything but the door, the cutter and Ruki being ignored, Kenshi set to work.


-------------------------


         For an MMC patrol in the middle of the Hassong system, nothing could be more boring than work.  There were no criminals.  There were few civilians.  There was just the sweet emptiness of space...until a ship only slightly smaller than the average gunship appeared out of nowhere without any sort of identification.  Now the eight-man crew of the patrol ship, Silenz, was as excited as the day they graduated boot camp and were working with unheard of vigor to identify, contact, and dock with this unknown ship.


         Kurt Ockan and Rilev Adders stood in front of the outer hatch of their ship, weapons ready, while they waited to dock.  Soon the sound of metal clashing with metal was heard and Kurt opened the hatch.


         “What do you think we’ll find?” Rilev asked in his musical voice.  The man was a part of the Saugin, a race of blue-skinned, shark-like, amphibious creatures.  He was a rare find in the MMC, but he could shoot with the best of them.


         “No idea,” Kurt replied, his voice slightly deeper and much less melodious.  Midollonians were known for fair skin, clever minds and long lives, not exotic features.


         “Think it’s a pirate?”  Kurt shook his head.


         “Naw.  Probably a recent derelict.”  Rilev was about to respond when suddenly a woman appeared before them.  Both men jumped back and raised their weapons instinctively, but the woman was too fast and had half her arm inside Rilev’s stomach before either could even cry out.


         “Wh-what?” the blue-skinned man said, navy blue blood dripping down his chin, just before he slumped over.  Kurt was too frightened to move by this point and the woman took the chance to close the hatchway.  She spun around as Kurt regained composure then grabbed his assault rifle with one hand while lifting the Midollonian up by the chin with the other.


         “Take me to the bridge.  Now,” she said menacingly and dropped him.  Kurt took a moment to rub his throat and think of what to do, but the fiery glare of the woman’s eyes got him moving quickly enough.


         Kurt led her down a long hallway leading to the bridge at a quickened pace. It was dimly lit, showing off dark halls lined with light grey doors leading to the various equipment and living rooms required for eight men to live off of for years. As they rounded their first corner they came face-to-face with the gunship’s mechanics.


         “Whoa, man.  Who’s the...” one of the men tried to get out, but a spray of plasma brought him down stiffly.  The other mech tried running, but he to was caught under a hail of plasma, his head starting on fire and melting away as he slumped down a wall.  Kurt found himself standing against the wall to avoid the woman, though once she was finished shooting she grabbed him and pushed him forward.


         ‘Think, man, think!  I can’t just let this bitch kill us.’ he thought.  He wracked his brain for ideas, however once they rounded another corner and he saw the woman take a quartet of shots to the chest and stomach without flinching he knew there was nothing he could do.  ‘I just hope she does me in painlessly,’ he thought depressingly.  He watched as the woman cooked out the torsos of the two armed guards with a pair quick bursts before pushing Kurt back into the lead.


         “Why are you doing this?” he asked, hoping to know something about his killer before his death.  To his surprise, the woman laughed.


         “You’d be surprised how many times I’ve heard that question.  I wonder why everyone always needs to know about their killer,” she said in a sweet, husky voice.


         ‘This lady’s nuts.  Goes from deathly angry to joking with a snap of the fingers.’  Kurt was now very afraid of this woman.  His death would be quick and precise or slow and painful depending only on the woman’s current mode, which could switch at any time.


         “Who are you?” he asked this time, still feeling the need to know his murderer.  She giggled.


         “I’m Ruki.  Pleasure, I’m sure.”  Kurt didn’t know if it was possible for skin to turn completely white, but he was pretty sure his skin was as close as any man’s had ever gotten.  “I’ll take by your stunned silence you know of me.  Now please hurry.  I’m in a rush you wouldn’t believe.”  Kurt nodded and started to jog, hoping his willingness to help would let him off easier.


         It was only moments before they arrived at the cockpit.  Ruki entered first, motioning him to stay put, and Kurt only dared follow when the muffled screams and gurgling had died down.  Upon entering a warm and fuzzy something wrapped tightly around his neck, cutting off all oxygen.  He felt a gentle hand caress his face lovingly.


         “Know that you’ve been killed by the greatest murderer of all time,” Ruki whispered kindly and squeezed her tail around his neck tightly.  Kurt coughed a few times and spit out blood before his neck gave way and a crack echoed around the room.  His fogged mind couldn’t tell if the last thing he saw was a beautiful angel or a seductive demon.


-------------------------


         Kenshi was just about finished with the hatch when a loud alarm interrupted his cutting and he swore.  Quickly backing from the door, Kenshi closed the hatch just as the other ship disengaged with his own.


         “Sonofa bitch!” Kenshi yelled as he kicked the wall.  He had been so close...


         Holstering his weapons, Kenshi ran toward the repair panel where he saw that another half hour remained until his ship was in complete working order.  He ran back toward the cockpit where he arrived just in time to see a patrol ship jump into hyperspace.  Kenshi fell into the pilot’s chair with a long, deep sigh.


         “Are you alright?” Quinn’s voice asked timidly from the doorway.  Kenshi paused to take a deep breath before answering.


         “I’ve been chasing her for three years.  She killed thousands - untold thousands - and she’ll do it again.  I had her and I let her slip through my fingers.”  Quinn paused in responding.


         “I’m sure someone will get her someday.”  Kenshi let out a hollow chuckle.  “What?  What did I say?” she asked haughtily.


         “Nothing.  It’s just...she got what she wanted.  Ruki escaped with the Titan’s information.”


         “But I thought...”


         “I never took it back.  She took it before and I didn’t ask for it back.  Didn’t think she’d have any way to escape until we docked somewhere.”  There was a long pause in which the pair stared into the stars.


         “What now?”


         “The controls are busted.  Once they’re repaired I’ll drop you off by the closest city.”  Quinn nodded and silently left the room, allowing Kenshi to replay the last few minutes over and over again in his mind.  30 minutes later a loud beep signaled the ship was finished repairing and Kenshi immediately accelerated, steering toward the desert world of Boragar.


-------------------------


         Quinn got her first look at the outside of Kenshi’s ship once they landed.  It was beautiful to her.  Sleek and silver, perfect in all it’s splendor.  She admired the great ship for a full minute while Kenshi took note of the surroundings for her with his scouter.


         “You should name her,” she said.  Kenshi stared at her questioningly while the scouter’s display flickered.  “The ship, I mean.  You should name her.”


         “Never thought about it.  I never much cared for ship names.”


         ‘He doesn’t deserve her,’ Quinn thought spitefully.  “How about Quicksilver?”  Kenshi tilted his head and looked at his ship.


         “Fitting, I guess,” he said.  “Maybe I’ll call it that from now on.”  He went back to studying while Quinn continued to admire the beauty before her.  After a minute he started talking once more.


         “The nearest town is nine kilometers that way.”  He pointed behind him.  “You should make it before dark if you don’t stop.  I have water in case you need it.”  Quinn nodded and Kenshi turned toward where the town was.  “I guess this is it.  I’m sorry for this all, but...well...you know.  I should be taking off now.”


         “No.”  The word surprised the Terran and he cocked his head and turned around.  This saved his life as the plasma bolt whizzed by, only nicking the left side of his forehead instead of blowing it to pieces.  Unfortunately for him the velocity of the bolt was extreme and, even though it had barely touched him, it still tore off a good portion of his face.


         Kenshi growled in pain and fury and grabbed for his AC pistol.  As he looked into her pale blue eyes, Quinn’s heart skipped a beat at the pure rage and hatred portrayed in his own eyes and torn face.  She paused for a moment like a deer caught in headlights, but the AC pistol leveling with her head finally kicked her instincts into action.  Quinn fired her second shot, luckily hitting him in the shoulder and sending his aim wide while almost tearing off the entire arm. A third shot had Kenshi leaning over and grabbing his stomach, trying to stop the pain, blood and disembowelment.  Kenshi growled and stumbled forward a step in pain before finally falling to the desert floor, unmoving.  Quinn stared at the body, surprise and shock making the hand holding the gun tremble violently.


         “I’m sorry, Kenshi, but I love my technology and your ship is just too advanced for me to leave behind,” Quinn said quietly, her lips quivering.  Quicksilver was hers, but she had just killed a man.  Even she could hardly believe she had done it, and as she looked at the dead form of a man she had no real quarrel with she felt as if she were in some sort of dream.  “I know you wouldn’t understand, but this is my life’s calling,” she whispered to the bloodied prone form of Kenshi.


         Quinn backed up into the ramp of the Quicksilver and slowly climbed in, her quivering eyes and gun never straying from the body.  Once she was safely inside she closed the hatch reluctantly and walked to the cockpit.  As soon as she put her hands on the controls, Quinn relaxed,  smiled and forgot about her act of murder.  The Quicksilver took off seconds later, leaving the torn body of Kenshi behind.