"It all started in the year 2021, ring-shaped hyperspace gateways were constructed across the solar system, allowing easy interplanetary travel.
Unfortunately, the gate network contained a fatal instability that was ignored by the contractors who built the system. The instability grew until a gateway near Earth exploded, releasing a powerful burst of energy that cracked the Moon.
In a cataclysmic disaster referred to as "The Gate Accident", meteoric debris from the devastated Moon rained down on the planet, destroying much of Earth's surface. The death toll was by far the most catastrophic in recorded history; around 4.7 billion lives were lost in the initial incident alone.
Decades later, debris from the disaster still falls on Earth with the same frequency as rainstorms, forcing those remaining on Earth to live mostly underground. Most left Earth after the Gate Incident and spread out across the solar system, living in colonies on Venus, Mars, some habitable asteroids, Saturn's moon Titan, and the Galilean Moons of Jupiter as well as many space stations and a penal colony on Pluto.
After the advent of space travel, the bounty system of the Old West was reinstated by the government to help curb growing crime levels. Bounty hunters are encouraged to capture criminals and return them, alive and relatively unharmed, to the authorities for monetary rewards," an old Indian woman explained to the children surrounding her. The small Earthlings took in everything the woman was saying as if it were water, their eyes wide and begging for more.
In the corner of the room stood a woman about twenty-five. She was leaning against the wall, her arms crossed and her lengthy red hair tossed carelessly over her left shoulder. With a cigarette placed in the corner of her mouth she looked upon the small group with red eyes depleted of emotion.
"Have you ever met a bounty hunter before Lady Heidi?" one of the older children (about sixteen or seventeen) asked.
"I'm sorry to say, but no I haven't little Rakesh," the woman named Lady Heidi laughed. She smiled sweetly at the children around her and then looked up, catching the white smoke out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes settled upon the woman in the corner and her sweet smile turned into a small frown.
"Well, that's enough for today children," Lady Heidi concluded turning to look at the group before her. Ignoring the chorus of groans and moans the old woman stood to her feet and limped towards the woman, her frown forever deepening.
Noticing the lady headed towards her, the mysterious woman let the cigarette fall from her mouth and burn out on the Earth's dirt ground. Dusting herself off she stepped from the shadows and looked down at the elderly woman that stopped before her.
A soft gasp escaped Lady Heidi's mouth when she saw who the mystery woman was. Acting without thinking Lady Heidi pulled the tall woman into a hug, breathing in her scent.
The mysterious woman was taken back with surprise when she felt the woman's body against her own. She really had not forgotten her as she had hoped, this would make telling Lady Heidi even harder.
"Where have you been child?" Lady Heidi asked pulling the girl away from her round body so she could get a good look at her. "My child you haven't changed a bit, wait until Vikrama knows that you've returned!" Lady Heidi trailed off when she saw the blank look in the woman's eyes and the nonexistent smile on the woman's face. "You haven't returned have you child?" She dropped her hands to her side when she saw the woman shake her head.
"You always were smart Lady Heidi," the woman said, her usually relaxed voice shaking slightly. "I need to tell you that you need to forget about me now. The old Haruka is gone so I need you to get on with your life and stop worrying about me." The woman named Haruka stared into Lady Heidi's eyes with determination, the tears begging to fall locked away deep inside her.
"Why child? What has happened since the last time you visited?" Lady Heidi asked. The old story teller felt like she should know. She had raised Haruka since she was a small infant and now that she had finally returned she says that she (Lady Heidi) must forget all about her and think of her as dead! The old woman wanted an explanation.
"Just trust me when I say that you are in great danger if you continue to wait for me. If somebody comes looking for me you must say that I died a long time ago and that's all you know, understand?" This was the best for Lady Heidi and everyone else that had ever known her on Earth, Haruka did not want her past to kill off anybody else she cared about, she just hoped that Lady Heidi would understand.
Lady Heidi understood what Haruka was trying to say but she did not want the poor child to carry this on her own! Such a burden should be split and shared with her loved ones but she knew that once Haruka ordered someone to do something she expected them to follow what she said. She always was looking out for others even if she did get a little bossy at times.
"Alright child I will obey your wishes but when this settles over please, come visit, it was so good to see your face again." The elderly woman looked up at Haruka with a pleading gaze, hoping that this was not the last time she would see the young woman.
Not promising anything Haruka hugged Lady Heidi one last time and walked off. Taking in a last glance of her childhood home Haruka headed up to the surface towards her ship, the Bumblebee.
The Bumblebee was what its name foretold, it was black and yellow (the reason for the name) and was long, sleek and pointed at the end. The ships' engines were located under the spacecrafts' wings, humming a little as they cooled down. The ship's windowpane was tinted in a black color to where nobody could look in and see what was inside. On top of the ship was a latch that one could turn and pull hard enough to locate a door.
Climbing on to the ship's top Haruka turned the latch and pulled, opening the door that blended in so cleverly with the ship's paint. Jumping into the ship's center, she closed the door behind her and settled into the only seat in the ship.
The control board was filled with tiny, multicolored buttons and gadgets, some setting off their own glow in the darkness. Flicking one switch the cockpit was washed in a yellow light. Pressing another button Haruka heard the engines come alive and the wheels keeping the ship from touching the ground retracted into the ship, disappearing into a hidden compartment until called upon again. Flipping on another switch the radio blasted an old rock band from the early 21st century, drowning the cockpit in male screaming and guitars solos. Reviving the engines Haruka shot into the air, bobbing her head in time with the music.
Breaking the Earth's atmosphere quickly she disappeared from a certain someone's gaze, their curious brown eyes filled with tears as he was only left with memories of the occupant within the ship.
Farther off another pair of eyes watched the boy, their eyes filled with sympathy. 'Please come back soon Haruka, you do not know how greatly you have been missed.' the second person thought, calling for the first person to come home for supper.