Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own Outlaw Star or Bleach or anything affiliated with said shows.
"Speaking"
'Thoughts'
"Ether drive engaged, prepare to jump!" Melfina called out from inside her link-tube. "Destination, Blue Heaven space port."
"Are you sure they won't follow us there?" Jim asked, looking up from his computer and glancing over at Gene. "I know it's neutral territory, but when have the Kei pirates ever abided by the Space Forces Guidelines? They don't give a damn about laws, you know that."
Now that Gilliam had taken over the controls for the ship, Gene sat back and stretched before answering the question. "I don't." He replied simply. "However, even the Kei pirates have to know that starting a fight right outside of Blue Heaven is a stupid idea. With all the outlaws and bounty hunters that use that port as a hideout and rest area, opening fire anywhere near there will cause an all out battle. I don't think the Kei pirates are willing to risk that, they'd be at too much of a disadvantage."
Jim, Aisha and Suzuka all stared at their captain with wide eyes and they were speechless for several seconds. Aisha was the first to regain her voice. "…wow, he actually thought out his plan for once." She said in shock. "Somebody pinch me, I must be dreaming." When Jim began to move, she narrowed her eyes. "I didn't mean it literally." She growled.
"Damn." Jim muttered, sitting back down and crossing his arms over his chest.
Ignoring the two children, Suzuka checked her radar screen once more. "Not only did he actually think things though, but it seems he was also right in his assumptions." She said slowly. "It appears the Kei pirate ships have all left."
"See, and you guys were worried." Gene said haughtily. "When are you going to learn that I'm a genius?"
The crew was silent for all of about five seconds before they all began to laugh. Even Melfina was chuckling quietly. "You, a genius? Ha, that's hilarious." Aisha said between chuckles. "I may not be the smartest person around, but not even I'm stupid enough to buy that load of shit."
Gene frowned, but before he could say anything Jim spoke up. "Yeah, it was a real stroke of genius when you got us stranded on a distant planet, and when you lost the Outlaw Star while gambling. Absolutely brilliant ideas there." He said sarcastically. "It's too bad we're not as smart as you."
"Oh, and don't forget, the only reason we're running from the Kei pirates now is because he picked a fight with them to begin with." Suzuka added.
As his crew all turned glares towards him, Gene sunk lower into his chair and crossed his arms with a frown. "Fine, be that way. But you guys had better remember, this was all my ide-."
"WARNING!"
"WARNING!"
"WARNING!"
"Yep, definitely all your idea." Jim muttered as Gilliam blared warnings over the speaker system.
Glaring at Jim, Gene sat back up and looked at his screen. "What the hell's going on Gilliam, I don't see anything outside the ship?" He asked. "Are your sensors malfunctioning or something?"
"That is precisely the point of the warning." Gilliam replied. "We seem to have entered a vortex of some kind and now we are…according to my sensors, nowhere."
"What do you mean nowhere?" Gene asked in confusion.
"It appears we've ended up in some sort of empty space." Melfina replied. "And when I say empty I mean empty. There's nothing out there at all. No stars, planets or even other spaceships. Nothing."
"That's impossible, how can there be nothing outside?" Jim questioned. "It defies all laws of physics."
"I'm aware of that, but according to the Outlaw Star's sensors and outside cameras, that seems to be the truth. There is nothing outside of this ship." Melfina said, her voice relaying her confusion.
"WARNING!"
"WARNING!"
"Ok, enough of the warnings Gilliam. We already know there's nothing out there, no need to keep repeating yourself." Gene said in annoyance.
"COLLISION ALERT!"
"COLLISION AL-."
"Holy shit!" Gene shouted, turning the Outlaw Star sharply to the right and narrowly avoiding plowing directly into a building. "I thought you said there was nothing out here! If that's the case, then where the hell did that place come from?!"
Aisha and Jim tightened their seatbelts and closed their eyes as another building came into view. "We're going to die!" Aisha cried, gripping her seat so hard her fingers turned white.
Suzuka took a deep breath and calmly began to chant a short prayer. She never used to be very religious, well actually she's still not, but after flying with Gene and the rest of the crew, praying for her safety quickly became a habit.
"Gene, there are several more buildings appearing ahead of us." Melfina called out. "Go over them and you'll see a small clearing, we should be able to set the ship down there."
"You want me to land here?!" Gene asked dumbfounded. "We don't even know where here is!"
"I'm afraid it'll be even more dangerous if we continue to fly about without having any idea where we're going. It'll take Gilliam and I a little while to adjust our sensors so we can figure out where we are, in the meantime, it will be safer for everyone if the ship is on the ground." Melfina said. As soon as she finished talking, the buildings came into view and Gene had to do some fancy maneuvering to avoid several tall towers.
"Alright, alright, I'll land." Gene muttered before Mel could say another word.
Five minutes later, the Outlaw Star was on the ground Melfina and Gilliam got straight to work, which unfortunately left the rest of the crew with nothing to do. Jim had tried to help, but getting yelled at by both the ship's A.I. and Melfina had him back in his seat instantly.
"So, um, what exactly are we supposed to do while you're figuring things out?" Gene asked bravely.
"Leave." Melfina replied promptly. "You'll only distract us while you're here."
"…ok, I guess I'll go and grab some food then." Gene said slowly, standing up and heading towards the doorway. "I'm sure there's something in the kitchen I can whip up."
Aisha, however, smiled widely. "Yeah, you go do that. I'm going to go out and explore." She said, and before anyone could stop her, she disappeared out of the cockpit.
"Wait, you don't know what's out there!" Gene called after the Ctarl-Ctarl. With a sigh, he dropped his hand to his side. Looking over at Suzuka he opened his mouth, then closed it with a snap when she leveled him with a glare.
"Don't even think about it. I watched the brats last time, now you can suffer." Suzuka said in a voice that dared Gene to argue. When it looked like he might do just that, she placed her hand on the hilt of her bokken and smiled evilly.
Gene gulped and took several steps away from the frightening woman. "Fine, I'll go after her this time." He grumbled. Then glancing over at Jim, he smirked. "Come on Jim, you can come too."
Jim looked up from his computer and froze. "Why do I have to tag along?" He asked in annoyance. "I don't care what happens to her."
"It's not like you have anything better to do. Besides, you know you're curious to see what's out there." Gene replied. "So grab that computer of yours and let's get going. There's no telling how much damage she's caused by now."
"Whatever." Jim said as he stood up and followed after Gene. "But if it's not interesting out there I'm coming straight back to the ship."
"Yeah, sure." Gene said dismissively as they both walked out of the cockpit.
"Now, I think I'll go make myself a nice cup of tea." Suzuka said, standing up and heading off to the kitchen.
"Ok Gilliam, let's run those scans again. We've got to be missing something." Melfina said once all the distractions had left. "According to the data we're in the middle of nothing, but buildings can't exist in nothingness so the results must be wrong."
"Running all scans again." Gilliam announced.
