I wandered around the barren ship for hours, and still I found no trace of a secret chamber. Hell, I didn't know if there was a chamber. This old Kai Pirate ship crashed a few years back and was last seen with Melfina, as recorded. No one was sure if she was still here, or if she had gone by now. It was worth a look.
I then took an elevator down to the first floor. It was red glass and black metal, with a yin and yang symbol on the door as you walked in. As I reached the bottom, I glanced towards the exit. Mission: failed. Fuck, Jim was going to be pissed. Speak of the devil, he was waiting right where I'd left him, leaning against the wall, arms crossed and concentrating on absolutely nothing.
"How did it go?" His white teeth flashed in a devious smile. He wore a pair of brown leather pants and a white t-shirt. His black boots were nearly invisible with the ship's floor, and the matching black jacket was slung casually over one shoulder like some male model. I made a laughing snort.
"What's so funny?" I shook my head as he followed me, straight blonde hair hanging over his shoulders and blue eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses.
"The ship only had traces of broken metal parts and other mechanical crap that I know you'd have a field day looking at, but no sign of Melfina."
"Shit," he muttered.
"You're telling me."
We both stared at each other for a minute. I then looked down and brushed a few dust particles off my black slacks. I was wearing a white tank top and a pair of boots similar to Jim's. Silver studs raced up my ears and a tiny crystal drop fell softly in between my breasts. The gesture was simple and plain.
"I have to make a call, Lucy. Get on the ship and start us on the way to Blue Heaven. We're not far." He commanded me, so I was going to do it. I trailed off a few feet behind him into our ship.
The Schizophrenic was the name of Jim's ship. It was a grappler like the famous Outlaw Star that he so fondly speaks of, only a midnight blue color. Only we piloted it instead of having someone like Melfina doing so. We continued through the echoing halls and I glanced into a nearby metallic wall, which cast my reflection, while Jim continued into his room, shutting the door behind him.
I saw a slightly tinted vision of my entire body. I had gray eyes with flecks of brown, well, more like tiny slivers of brown. My thick, black hair held itself in a straight line on my back and shoulders, not much lower than my neck. Bangs hung thinly above my bushy eyebrows, which were neatly plucked into a shape that only said wicked. I was pale-skinned with a mole on my left cheek.
"Is Gene Starwind available?" It was Jim on the phone. His deep voice thrummed through the door, and I silently strode over to the room, pressing my ear gently to it.
"Gene? Guess who!" And a silence with just breathing filled the area.
"Yep, your old partner. I have to ask you a favor, a big favor." Another silence.
"Look, I need everyone's help to find Melfina. Not just for our sake and reason, but she's been gone for almost three years. You and Suzuka live together, and I'm sure Aisha won't be hard to find. And I have someone I'd like you to meet. She's been working with me for a year now. She's an explorer and an outlaw. Her name is Luceille, or Lucy for short." Wow, he managed to mention me; and somehow that kind of made me happy.
"You'll meet us at the ship's docking? Great. I'll see you in less than thirty, Gene." With that, he abruptly hung up and I left to the control room.
I sat down in the big, comfy chair and set the course for Blue Heaven, like Jim had asked me to. The timer read nineteen minutes and began counting down, as the jerk of the ship seemed to bring Jim into the room.
"Gene agreed to help us find Melfina. I didn't tell him why you were an outlaw either. I figured you should tell him; it's your ass on the line."
"We'll be in Blue Heaven in an hour, Jim. Get yourself ready." I turned around in the chair and glanced in his eyes. They were a crystal-like blue and shone like glass and a hint of experience and the stars in space. I didn't know everything about him, but I knew he didn't have much of a family and I also knew that Gene and the others were like his family.
I'd heard stories of their travels. Good times, hard times. I'd heard just about every story in the book from the time he and Gene had been partners to the time they went their separate ways, just a year or so after finding the Galactic Leyline. The only thing he hadn't mentioned was exactly how he met Melfina.
Jim relaxed in his chair and looked out to the night sky, not saying much more. Ever since I'd met Jim, he'd always taken time out to look at the stars, no matter how rough it got. It was probably a comfort mechanism. I had my own, and it was through him.
I, too, began to look into the wide, open space of stars. We had left the planet long ago and Blue Heaven was right ahead, the neon sign bleaching out the darkness. Jim was in utter awe, like a small child glancing at Christmas lights for the first time. He was in his early twenties, but even an adult can have the quality likings of a five-year-old.
"We are now docking in Blue Heaven," the computer announced. Jim snapped out of it and stretched while standing up. He came to stand beside me and sighed.
"First time in eight years, I'm home."
I stood up beside him and walked to the entrance of the ship, grabbing my long black coat and pistol. The coat was warm and reached my ankles, while managing to hide the gun. It wasn't anything special, just a gun. Jim started ahead of me and we exited the ship, watching three silhouettes gather in front of us.
Aisha stood in front of Gene and Suzuka. From the picture I'd seen, she had long hair and some Ctarl-Ctarl get-up. Now she had short hair that curved under her ears and a black, leather business suit. She looked like corporate material. Wow. Gene looked and dressed exactly the same, only his hair was long and held back into a ponytail. He had one of those elaborate space guns at his side and an arm around Suzuka. Suzuka wore a long black robe with crimson trim along the edges. Her hair was long and black, but was down as a red headband encircled right above her forehead. She still carried her wooden sword, and was as pale as I was, but somewhat gentler than previous photos.
Jim ran down the stairs from our ship as I walked, taking my dear, sweet time, hugging each of them twice over. They reconciled, and I finally made my way to the bottom, shading my eyes with a pair of black sunglasses from my pocket. They all stared up to me and Gene came forward, an expression of half humor, half wonder in his face.
"Now then, what makes you an outlaw exactly?"
"I don't classify myself as an outlaw. My sister seemed to give me that reputation all on her own without my doing."
"Now who is this bad-ass sister of yours?" I hesitated momentarily as the rest looked at each other in mere confusion, aside from Jim, who never seemed to blink at me. I took a second, then breathed a single word.
"Hilda."