Takes place after the series ends. It will have 4 parts when completed. -N
BEFORES AND AFTERS
Part 1: After
"Sex! That's what it's all about!" Faye declared, and stabbed at the overburdened ashtray with her cigarette. From the day she woke up from the cold sleep it was all about sex. That was the first lesson she learned about this world she found herself in: sex, or at least the promise of it, was a commodity.That promise was even more powerful than money because it could get you money. Yep, that's what Whitney had taught her.
The barkeep leaned over the counter towards her and smirked. "You don't believe in love, baby?" he asked, his eyes dropping down to her neckline. Faye reached down to her boot while looking at him with all the vehemence which the memory of Whitney brought up. The barkeep stumbled back under her glare, as well as the influence of the Glock which now materialized in front of his face.
"Love," she said witheringly, "is just a four-letter word for sex!" Faye angrily kicked over her stool and holstered the gun as she rose from the bar. Shit! What had her musing on love in the bowels of a TJ dive anyway? This kind of drunken musing never did her any good. It was time to go do something productive . . . like gambling.
Five hours, and a couple thousand woolongs later, Faye was sitting in the Redtail debating her next move and feeling decidedly sorry for herself. Out of money, out of luck and out-of-her-mind drunk. Again. Some things just never change, she sniffed in self-pity. Like the Bebop. It was still out there in orbit; she had checked. Not that it mattered or anything. She did not want to go back to the Bebop. That was just out of the question after what happened.
Faye sighed. There it was again, the big "What Happened." Right there in the front of her mind screaming, "Think about me! I happened and you have to think about me!" Well she wasn't going to think about it, dammit! She was going to puke, and then go to sleep. 'Sounds like a plan,' she thought.
The fierce banging on her hatch cover did little to muffle the parking attendant's cursing. "This ain't no damn hotel, lady!" he screamed amidst the curses. Bleary-eyed, Faye smoothed her hair and replaced her headband, then slowly stepped out of the Redtail, hoping she looked more graceful than she felt. The attendant continued his tirade, demanding extra money for not calling the cops on her, and then threatening to impound her ship for nonpayment. She ignored the attendant and spent some time strategically adjusting and smoothing her outfit. She gave a pull to her collar, settled her shorts further down on her hips, and turned to bend over and adjust her boots. There, that little performance shut him up. When she finished, Faye leaned over to look the attendant in his pockmarked face, smiled her most seductive smile and said, "Bite me!" Jumping back into the Redtail she gunned it skyward, pausing just a moment to pulse the jets in the air over the weasel's head for good measure.
"Now see, there's a guy who does what he'd supposed to," Faye said to herself. "Hey, look! Boobs!" she said sarcastically, and he was hers to manipulate or ignore. She had never bothered thinking of sex as much more than a tool. It was useful for getting her way, but only when that was the only way. Over the years she had found that she was just as good a con-artist as Whitney had been. The mere hint of getting laid made most men she encountered do as she wished. Sometimes, if the guy seemed interesting enough, or the favor had been big enough, she rewarded him. Most times she just left them hanging. And if the guy had other ideas, well . . . that's when her Glock came in handy. It was a pretty good system. Faye had even enjoyed some of her experiences. But no one had ever made her want to come back for more, and she had never sought out sex for anything other than selfish reasons. Now she wondered what was going on in her own head.
Faye took the Redtail into orbit and cut the jets. She looked toward the gate and could see the Bebop in the distance. Why did she give a shit what Jet thought? He wasn't the only one who was hurting after what happened to Spike! What had happened. There was another one screaming to be thought about. Well, it was easier to handle so she decided she'd think about it. Spike was dead. She tested that thought out, repeated it a few times to see how it felt. Spike. Dead. It felt like . . . nothing. What was she supposed to feel? Should she be screaming, raging, breaking stuff? Hadn't she been in love with him? Well, no. She hadn't ever really thought she was. It had just seemed like she should be. He had seemed so very much like her that it made sense if she was in love with him, so for a while she had told herself she was. But now she realized that while she did love him, she hadn't been in love. Not that she knew exactly what the difference was. But maybe it was like he was a brother? Yeah, that seemed right, like it fit. After all weren't brothers and sisters supposed to fight all the time?
The dashboard of the cockpit suddenly swam before Faye's eyes. She put her hand up to her face and realized she was crying. She heard a choking sound that was her own sob, and finally just let go.
For the second time in less than twenty-four hours Faye was awoken rudely and found herself decidedly worse for the wear. The difference this time was that what roused her was the beeping of the comm, and her swollen eyes were not the result of too much alcohol. She checked the signal and found it was a bookie's auto-advertiser trying to get her back down to the races before post time. How the hell did those things get her number anyway? Of course, with her record of losing bets, every bookie in the solar system would want her in their dialer database. At least I'm a hot commodity for someone, Faye thought bitterly. Yeah, it was back. That other What Happened thing. And this time she was sober so every little detail of the humiliating memory was crystal clear.
She was spared any more serious reflection by catching sight of the Bebop passing through the gate into. Faye shook her fist and yelled, "What the hell does he think he's doing! Leaving me here in this dump of an asteroid? Didn't he see me sitting out here?" She huffed indignantly and hastily brought the Redtail's jets online so she could go give him hell for leaving her here on her own. Again. Faye's fingers stilled. "Fine. JUST FINE, YOU SHIT!" she screamed at the now-disappeared Bebop. "I don't need this crap! I did just fine on my own before and I will again!"
