Space Cowboys
Star Wars/Cowboy Bebop crossover: An Astral Gate malfunction sends the crew of the Bebop spiraling into the distant galaxy. Stranded on Coruscant, Spike managed to land the Bebop crew a job as the bodyguard of an illustrious Senator, but Spike doesn't like her Jedi bodyguard and Anakin doesn't like him either.
I think it's time to blow this scene, get everybody and their stuff together, okay 3, 2, 1 let's jam!
I'm sorry people; I have to have my Anakin/Padmé/Spike love triangle! Spike trolling Anakin all day is hilarious!
Edward is the hardest character for me to write, because she's crazy! UGH!
Desperate Times, Desperate Measures
Captain Gregor Typho wasn't happy at all, even with Senator Padmé Amidala being guarded by two Jedi, he was still wary. He wanted to make sure no one would harm her, especially with the Military Registration Act vote coming up.
He knew she didn't want any more guards, but he was desperate.
Captain Typho made his way to a seedy Coruscant bar. He walked inside and saw a small group of people gathered around a table.
"Spike, we can't just sit around," Jet pounded the table, "We need to go out and get a job! Did you check with the local authorities about bounties?"
"Yeah, turns out this Republic doesn't really hand out bounties. That's up to planets' individual governments."
"Well it's not like a job is just going to walk in the door," Faye Valentine smirked.
"Ed found it!" Ed shouted excitedly as she pointed to Captain Typho, he was surprised…she? He couldn't tell which gender they were, Ed sounded like a man's name, he was very confused.
"What'd you find Ed?" Faye asked.
"A job job Faye Faye!" Ed exclaimed, glancing at Typho, who had been staring at the odd group.
"You're all bounty hunters?" Typho asked.
"Just a cowboy sir, a humble bounty hunter," Spike answered, he took a breath of his cigarette and exhaled.
"You do protection work?" Typho prodded.
"Not really, but we could, for the right price," Jet Black nodded. "Just who are we protecting?"
"A Senator, she doesn't want any more guards, but I'll pay you to protect her."
"Politicians," Spike smirked. "If she pays well, I'm in."
"C'mon Spike, we need the money!" Faye snapped, "Of course we'll take the job. Since that hyperspace gate accident, we've been unable to buy any food because they don't take Woolongs and they didn't believe me when I tried to exchange currency."
"I've been looking over these holomaps, our solar system, it's nowhere to be found, can't find Venus, Mars, Jupiter's moon Ganymede or Earth. It's like they don't exist here," Jet added.
"I'll pay you people whatever you want," Typho told them. "Name your price."
"Two million," Jet told him. "No more, no less."
"Fine," Typho conceded. "I'll do anything to protect her."
"Must be some girl," Faye laughed.
"Senator Padmé Amidala is a very good person. Follow me," Typho walked out as the ragtag bunch followed him.
They made their way into the lavishly furnished Senate apartment building and up to her quarters.
There Spike saw two men dressed in strange brown robes waiting for them.
"Welcome back Captain, we're just getting ready to start night shift," Obi-Wan Kenobi told him. "Who's this?"
"Bounty hunters I've hired as extra security."
"Spike, Jet, Faye, Edward and Ein," Jet told him.
"But this Ein is a dog," Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow.
"Ein is a data dog, very smart!" Edward piped up. "He helps Edward hack hack!"
"So who are you guys?" Spike asked.
"This is Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Apprentice Anakin Skywalker," Typho introduced them to the Jedi.
"So you guys are part of that peace keeping force we keep hearing about," Faye noted, "Interesting."
"Listen; put Ed and Ein in the security room with the cameras, Ein's a data dog, smart, hacks computers. Ed's a genius hacker, can get into anything. Faye and I will take the other spots in this building," Jet told him, glancing over the floor plans.
Spike slouched as he began walking down the hallway. Padmé opened the door, expecting to see Anakin Skywalker standing before her. Instead she saw a young man, who could be older than her, with a strange hairstyle and wearing black, he seemed utterly inattentive and bored with what he was doing, she saw a weapon at his side, Typho must have hired extra protection despite her protests.
The young man had black, fluffy hair with a slight greenish tint to it. He wore strange clothes and something was tied around his neck. He was smoking a cigarette.
"Oh, who are you?" Padmé asked.
Spike was rather stunned at how beautiful she was, and involuntarily swallowed his cigarette. He gulped quickly, regaining his composure.
Padmé raised an eyebrow at him, surprised by his strange hair, clothing and mannerisms. But there was something easy-going and naturally charming about him.
"Just a humble bounty hunter, Ma'am," Spike replied, bowing quickly. "Captain Typho hired our crew to protect you. Said he'd pay us. Also said you didn't want more guards."
"Don't worry about a thing Senator, between Faye and Jet, and my Jericho 941, nobody's getting in here."
He held up his gun, Padmé noticed it resembled a blaster, but it was different somehow, in a way she couldn't place.
"What's your name?" Padmé asked curiously.
"You won't remember my name after tonight, after we catch this assassin, we'll get paid and my crew and I will split."
"It doesn't matter to me; I always want to know the names of people who work for me, even if they're just a humble bounty hunter."
Padmé smiled at him, and Spike was painfully reminded of Julia. He really shouldn't think about Julia right now, especially since she…
"Spike Spiegel, Senator Amidala. Just call me Spike."
Padmé took his hand in hers. "It's nice to meet you Spike."
"Is something your mind? You seem worried," he noted the distracted expression on her face.
"You're far more observant than I give you credit for Spike. I'm sorry, I lost a friend today, she was my decoy and bodyguard."
"That's too bad," he said sympathetically. He noted that she seemed very close to the people who worked for her. It was like these people were her friends and family and not just her bodyguards and decoys.
"Do not fear death. Death is always at our side. When we show fear, it jumps at us faster than light, but if we do not show fear, it casts its eye upon us gently and then guides us into infinity."
"Who told you that?"
"A man named Running Bull, back on my home planet of Mars," he told her. "He told that to Jet, because I was going off to die. Funny, it's the second time I've been killed, by a woman."
Padmé laughed, "Literally or figuratively?"
"Literally, figuratively, maybe both."
"Well, I certainly hope you don't get killed tonight Spike, and thank you."
"Thank me, what for? This is just a job, don't care about you personally or anything," Spike shrugged. "I'm here for the money."
"You might not care about me, but I care about everyone who works for me, because this isn't the first time I've been in danger."
"I'm sure you've got better things to do than talk to me. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm getting back to work," Spike walked off.
He frowned, "Now I know why everyone dotes on her protectively, like she was their kid or something. She's nice, too nice. Heh. She's a pretty face I'll give her that."
"Why are you here?" Anakin asked.
"I was talking to the client, and that shouldn't bother you kid. You jealous?" Spike smirked.
Anakin didn't say anything and left.
He found Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi standing a short distance away from her room.
"Skywalker, Kenobi, yo!" he greeted them. They were puzzled by his use of the word "yo" as greeting but said nothing.
"Anything happen yet?" Spike queried.
"All's quiet," Kenobi answered him.
"In that case, I'm gonna smoke," Spike slumped down against the wall, removing a cigarette from a pack he lit it and inhaled the nicotine.
"As part of her security detail, you should take this more seriously?" Anakin glanced over at him.
Spike shrugged his shoulders. "Watch me be serious."
He continued smoking, ignoring the Padawan, this kid was too fun, so easy to rile up. Of course Spike was serious, two million credits, of course he'd do his best; he didn't have to stand stiffly at attention if he didn't want to.
"You remind me of this guy. He was just all alone. He couldn't enjoy a game with anyone else. Like living in a dream... That's the kind of man he was..."
"And who was this man you're talking about?" Anakin glanced at Spike.
"He was a bounty head I went after, a terrorist worth 300 million Woolongs."
"Woolongs?" Obi-Wan wondered.
"Our currency back home, we called it Woolongs."
"I see, did you catch him?" Anakin wanted to know the end of the story.
"No, but he was the most dangerous man I ever fought. He died, so we didn't get the money."
"I see," Anakin decided the conversation was over and he and his Master returned to discussing politics, something Spike had no interest in. Soon they started talking about Senator Amidala's safety.
"She doesn't like me watching her," Anakin admitted.
"Could it be that you got bored and lonely kid?" Spike teased, "Could it be you're just dumb and horny?"
Anakin didn't understand the word he used, but he had a few guesses, he shot him a quick glare.
"Anakin, we're not here to pick fights with her security!" Obi-Wan Kenobi reprimanded his Apprentice.
Anakin Skywalker scowled, this Spike Spiegel, he was different from anyone he'd ever met, and it annoyed him, he was naturally charming, charismatic and easy-going, and the fact that Padmé seemed interested, or at least curious about him, made him unhappy.
Spike didn't like Anakin Skywalker much, he was headstrong and brash, very much like he was, but he was a little too possessive of the Senator, it was very clear that the young man had feelings for her, and it was getting in the way of him doing his job.
"She programmed Artoo to warn us if there's an intruder," Anakin insisted, the conversation turned to Anakin using Padmé as bait to catch the assassin.
They chaged topics to Anakin's mother, and the dreams he'd been having.
"I'd much rather dream about Padmé," Anakin told Obi-Wan, "Just being around her again is…intoxicating."
"Kid you are so unintentionally creepy; you have no idea how to talk about a woman do you?"
"Like you'd know something about that," Anakin taunted.
"Yeah I would," Spike smirked. He let Obi-Wan lecture Anakin about his loyalties to the Jedi Order, and he ignored the rest of it.
Spike never understood mystical mumbo jumbo, and he thought Running Bull was cryptic, compared to this Force stuff, Running Bull's words made sense.
"Don't worry. No harm will come to her. I can sense everything going on in that room. Trust me," Anakin insisted.
Spike rolled his eyes, whatever kid. "Whatever happens happens."
"We're going to catch the assassin, I promise you."
They continued talking about politicians and stuff that Spike didn't care about, they were so busy talking that they ignored him.
Spike ignored him and pressed his ear to the door. There was something wrong with the glass; he could hear it. Spike pushed buttons quickly opening the door.
The Jedi sensed the danger just as he did and Anakin rushed forward to slash the first Kouhun he saw, he was about to slash the other they entire room came to a halt as there was a loud sound like thunder as something exploded.
"What was that?!" Anakin shouted.
"You people have never heard a gunshot before?" Spike asked, surprised.
"Blaster shots aren't nearly that loud," Anakin added, "or that messy!"
Padmé, Anakin and Obi-Wan looked at the Kouhun, or what was left of it, there was blood, gore and pieces of it splattered against the wall.
Padmé was shocked at what it had done to the Kouhun, she shuddered to think what this gun of his could do to a sentient being.
"Well it looks like I've earned my pay," Spike said to himself, twirling his gun on his finger and holstering it quickly.
"Droid!" Obi-Wan shouted, running, he took a leap out the window, breaking glass as he went.
Jet Black and Faye Valentine came running in, "Spike, you killed the dough by breaking the window didn't you?!"
Jet glanced around.
"Jet I'm standing right here!" Spike smirked. "But Obi-Wan does have the right idea. Jet, summon the Bebop!"
"I'm on it!" Jet summoned the Bebop, a large ship that looked very used and rather ordinary.
The bounty hunter rushed aboard to get to his ship, the Swordfish II.
"Spike, wait for me!" Faye shouted, she started rushing down towards her ship.
"Stay with the Senator, Faye, I'm getting this guy!" Spike shouted. He noted that Anakin had already run off, telling one of Padmé's handmaidens to "see to her!"
Without another word, Spike Spiegel launched his red ship, the Swordfish II from the Bebop. He wasn't about to ruin this two million credit job, and once he got paid, he'd get someone to make him bell peppers and beef, with real beef this time.