Time. It was a simple enough concept. Seconds turn into minutes, which turn into hours, which turn into days, which turn into weeks, and then months, years, decades and so on. Time was a constant, unstoppable source of joy, pain, and every other human emotion. At this point in time, Jim understood just how fragile time could be. Time now seemed surreal to him, and time, along with everything else, passed without notice from him. His gaze, his mind, his feelings, his life was only concentrated on one thing right now. That one thing was his best friend, his brother-in-arms, his mentor, and his safety line: Gene. Somewhere, deep in the bowels of the Outlaw Star this man that was so much to him and everyone else, whether they chose to admit it or not, was laying still fighting for every breath to sustain him just one second, minute, hour longer.
Truth be told, Jim was still in shock. He couldn't believe that someone had finally defeated his Aniki. Sure, he had joked many a time that 'women would be the death of him', but he never actually expected it come true. It was unreal, and Jim's subconscious would not accept what facts lay plainly in front of his face. In an effort to make himself accept the truth, Jim went through the proceedings of the previous day with horrified attention to detail. That fateful day when someone had finally been able to take down the legendary Gene Starwind.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I guess it sounds Ok, but I'll have to make sure it's alright with Gene. How much does it pay?"
"Well, from me you'll get 250,000 wong plus all the expenses for the ship. Whatever Santa Verde gives you is extra. I would think that since you'll get paid directly from the state treasury, it has the possibility to be a hefty sum." Fred raised his eyebrows. "Interested?"
Jim nodded enthusiastically. "I am, and I'm sure Gene will be too. Just give us in info and we'll get on it."
"Thanks Jim, you're a lifesaver, tell Gene I said hi!" Fred chirped as the transmission terminated. Jim was sure that this little jaunt would be a uncommonly boring way to earn some money to live off of, not to mention pay back Fred with. He knew that Gene might not exactly like the fact that Fred had come up with the job, but Jim didn't see any reason that Gene even had to find that out.
"Hey Gilliam, can you contact Gene so I can tell him to get his lazy butt back in the ship so we can pick up this thing and get it delivered. I want to go and pick it up now, but I'd rather Gene know about it so that we can leave right after. For all I know he could be halfway across the planet, so by the time that I got our cargo he would still be on his way here. That moron, I swear." Jim rolled his eyes. "Sometimes I wonder why I put up with him the way I do."
"I have been able to establish a comlink with Gene. Would you like me to patch you in now, Jim?" Gilliam prepared for the expected answer.
"Yeah, put me through. I wonder how much drunk reasoning I'm going to have to do this time? I'm really not in the mood to reason with a drunkard right now. "Oh well." Jim sighed; it was a necessary evil.
"I have contact, you may proceed at your discretion." Gilliam instructed.
Jim squared his shoulders sub-consciously and prepared to try to talk some sense into his partner. "Gene? It's Jim. I need you to come back to the ship right now. We have a good job, and it's not for chump-change, I swear. Now come back would ya?"
"Jim! Oh God! Jim you were right! Get down here quick! I need your back up! Hurry Jim!" Gene's voice, shouting over a plethora of explosions in the background startled Jim.
"What? Gene! What's going on?! Aniki! What's happening?!" Jim jumped into action, answering the urgency in his best friends voice. "Gilliam, track Gene's signal right now, contact Aisha, Suzuka, and Melfina if you can and tell them what's happened. I'm going on ahead. Tell Gene I'm on my way."
"Just what is going on?" Gilliam inquired as he began to comply with the youngster's requests. "I'm sorry, but the link that I had with Gene has been severed at the source. I can't relay your message."
'Oh no. I knew something was going to happen today. Something bad. I just knew it! I wish I hadn't been right….' Jim thought as he ran to his car and started it up. He fumbled briefly with the controls. He had to get a hold of himself, calm his frayed nerves, or he would be no good for his Aniki.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
By the time Jim had arrived on the scene, Gene was in a sorry condition. Bruised, broken and on the verge of death, it was a wonder that he had been able to make the call that Jim had received just a few minutes before. When Suzuka, Aisha, and Melfina arrived on the scene within seconds of Jim, they found him deep in shock. They would have undoubtedly had the same reaction, except Aisha and Suzuka decided to take out their aggressions on the few enemy warriors left. From what Jim could piece together, the girl that Gene was going to meet must have suggested that they go to a secluded spot so they could be together. Knowing how Gene thought, Jim knew that his partner would have automatically agreed.
From there, it was anyone's guess how the fight actually started. The girl must have had at least a group of 10-15 depending on the number of still figures that lay immobile on the ground and not taking into account the number that might have run when their comrades started to fall under Gene's castor.
The castor in and of it's self was intact, lying several feet from it's owner. When Jim moved to examine it he realized what the main inequality in the match had been. The castor was totally empty, indicating that Gene had long before run out of shells. Physical strength could only go so far against top-of-the-line guns.
Melfina had maneuvered so Gene's head lay cradled in her lap, and as she cried, she repeated his name over and over again.
"Gene, Gene, don't leave, you made a promise. Gene, Gene, Gene…." After making short work of the remaining pirates or whoever they were, Suzuka and Aisha also had major reactions to the carnage and devastation.
A single tear ran down Suzuka's face.
At first Aisha couldn't tell what had happened. Mel's body was shielding most of Gene, and she therefore didn't know how extensive the damage. It was only when she turned to ask Jim what the big idea was, and saw the look of a crushed soul on his face, did she understood what had really happened.
"H-how bad is it?" she asked fearfully. Melfina looked up and gave them a teary-eyed report.
"He's alive, but just barely. I wish I knew more that I could do…" she trailed off helplessly. Jim stood up from where he had collapsed in shock only moments before and tried desperately to keep his voice as level as possible.
"We need to bring him back to the Outlaw Star. Aisha, could you do that for me?" Aisha nodded without commenting. "Then we need to find out how bad Gene's really hurt and see where to go and what to do about it. Come on, just standing around here is going to only make it worse." With out any other words exchanged between the group, they headed back to the ship in sorrow-sodden silence. No one knew what to do next, or even if there was anything they could do.
All that Jim knew was that he was going to make sure that the credo that Gene lived by was carried out. Outlaws never go down without a fight.