Chapter One

Consciousness was slow to return to the pain-wracked brain of Saber Rider, but when it did, he was disoriented. He was lying on something soft, and something cool and wet was on his forehead. He could hear someone humming in the background, but he couldn't recognize the voice. With much effort, he opened his eyes, blinking when the artificial light of the ship's living area struck them.

"So, you're awake." The woman's voice said, as she entered Saber's line of sight.

"Aye………………but barely……..Where am I?" Saber asked, wincing slightly when his throat protested against being used.

"You're on board the Bebop. We picked you up when we found you drifting unconscious in space. I patched you up." The woman said, her eyes alight with a fire Saber had only seen in his friend April.

"I am in your debt, to be sure. Where's the rest of the crew you'd mentioned?" Saber asked, curious as to what these people were like.

"Jet's cooking dinner, Spike's in another part of the ship, sulking. Ed is trying to hack into another forbidden site, and the mutt is somewhere. By the way, my name is Faye, what's yours?" the woman asked, equally as curious about him.

"My name is Saber Rider. Did you by any chance see anyone else out there?" Saber asked, worried about his comrades. Faye shook her head.

"Unfortunately, no. You were the only one we found." Faye replied, noticing when Saber's expression fell.

"I see. So they didn't make it. Now that makes it four people that the Red Dragons have taken from me." Saber said, gloomily.

"Four?" Faye asked, confused.

"Never mind. When will I meet the rest of the crew?" Saber asked, changing the subject so he wouldn't become depressed.

"When dinner's ready, I suppose." Faye said, looking down with a chagrined when the 'mutt' came over to take a closer look at Saber.

"A Welsh Corgi! I haven't seen one of these since I left the U.K.! What's his name?" Saber asked, his demeanor brightened by seeing the dog. Faye rolled her eyes.

"His name is Ein." Faye muttered, her expression deadpanning when Saber scratched the dog's ears, smiling as he did so.

"Ein seems to like you, stranger-person." Ed said, as she entered the living area, her golden eyes glittering with youthful enthusiasm.

"I used to have a dog like this before I joined Cavalry Command." Saber said, his eyes soft with remembrance.

"Ah, so you're a lawman. That would explain the sheriff's star on your uniform." Jet said, as he entered the room, carrying several plates of food with him.

"Aye, that I was." Saber said, as he pushed himself up into a sitting position, wincing as he did so.

"What do you mean, 'you were'? Aren't you still a lawman?" Faye asked, confused by that statement. Saber shook his head.

"I can't go back. If I turned up alive now, then my family would be in danger and I don't want to risk that. They would be better off if I remained dead." Saber said, somberly. Jet sighed and shook his head.

"Why do you say that?" Spike asked, as he finally emerged from where he'd been hiding.

"Well, look at who's decided to join us! Have a good sulk, Spike?" Faye asked, with a smirk.

"Shut up, Faye. So, what's for dinner tonight?" Spike asked, as he glanced at the table.

"The usual." Jet replied, getting a rolling of eyes from Spike.

"Bean sprouts again, Jet?" Spike muttered, deadpanning as he said that.

"What do you expect? We haven't exactly had the best of luck on bounties, Spike." Jet said, giving the younger man a chagrined look before handing him a plate of that night's meal. Saber chuckled and shook his head; he had the feeling that things were going to be very interesting from then on.

Weeks later, Saber found himself hot on the trail of the newest bounty head.

"Gone from being a sheriff to a bounty hunter. Quite a change." Saber thought, as he closed in on the bounty, confident in his abilities. Since he had become a part of the Bebop's crew, he had bagged at least three bounties, and, to the surprise of his crewmates, split the money evenly between them.

"Sorry mate, but you've got to come down now." Saber said, as he shot down his target's space-fighter, bringing it down so the pilot would survive the crash. With some of the money he had gotten from his previous hunts, Saber had bought a sleek new Swordfish III to help in his hunts. He still missed Steed, but he figured it was for the best that he didn't get a new mecha horse. Also, he was an ace pilot, so it more than made up for it. He smiled when he heard Spike curse over the radio, a sure sign that things weren't going his way on his end.

"Having trouble, Spike?" Saber asked.

"No more than usual. Tell Jet I might be a little late comin' back, okay?" Spike said, before disappearing from view.

"Sure thing, mate." Saber said, grinning when Spike grumbled something about his accent and being called 'mate'. After Saber had cashed in on his bounty, he decided to take a break and look into one of the few bookstores on Mars. As he entered one dusty store, he could see that he cut an unusual figure; a young, up-and-coming bounty hunter in a bookshop? His doubts were washed away when the shop owner greeted him.

"Good afternoon, young sir! I don't get many visitors your age nowadays! Have you come to see about buying some books? I have many good ones here." Th elderly bookkeeper said, turning her wizened face to Saber and smiling happily.

"Aye, that I have. Do you have any about the early days of Scotland?" Saber asked, pleased that he could act, more or less, like himself in this place.

"I'm pretty sure I do. Hold on, let me check." The bookkeeper said, as she stood and walked into the back of the store.

"You're of Scottish descent, aren't you, sonny?" the bookkeeper asked.

"Aye. Clan Rider, to be exact." Saber replied, honestly.

"You don't say. Wow, there aren't very many people who can trace their ancestry so far back; in fact, there aren't very many who are that curious to even do so, anymore." The bookkeeper said, as she emerged with several very old, very dusty, tomes in her arms.

"'Tis a sad thing indeed. What about you? Have you done any research about your background?" Saber asked, interested in making conversation with the old woman.

"Ah yes. The farthest I was able to get was to a settler in Old America. Nothing special." The bookkeeper said, looking a little envious that Saber had a rich history behind him.

"Don't say that. Every person, whether dead or alive, is important. Everything that you can find out about their lives can make an impact on your own." Saber said, wisely. The old woman smiled.

"You have a gift of saying the right things at the right time. Don't you overlook it." The bookkeeper said, as Saber glanced at the covers and reached for his money to pay for the books.

"And don't you forget that sometimes, the past is just as important as the present and the future." Saber replied, as he paid for the books and went on his way. He arrived at the Bebop just as Spike and Faye were dragging themselves back, looking a bit put off with one another.

"I take it that yours' got away again?" Saber asked, getting grumbled responses from both of his colleagues for a response.

"Saber-person's back!" Ed shouted, as she barreled into him, giving him a bear hug while she was at it.

"Good to see you too, Ed me lass!" Saber said, his accent deepening for a moment as he greeted the over-enthusiastic hacker. He laughed when Ein came to greet him as well.

"Hello and well met, Ein!" Saber greeted, getting barks in response from Ein.

"You sound pleased with yourself, Saber. Did your hunt go well?" Faye asked, finally speaking to the Scotsman.

"Aye. 'Nother hundred woolongs to add to the fund. And of course it will be split evenly; just don't go and blow it on gambling like you did last time, Faye." Saber said, sternly, earning himself a flying raspberry for his remark. Dinner that night was a fairly quiet affair; of course the meal was better than what it had been when Saber had first come, but Saber would be the last to comment on that.

"You know, for a former Star Sheriff, I didn't think bounty hunting would come so naturally, yet you bag your bounty head every time! How the hell do you manage that?!" Spike asked, finally broaching the subject to his Scottish colleague. Saber shrugged.

"I guess I have a little luck on my side, that's all. You and Faye are equally as skilled as I am, so you should be able to do just as well." Saber said, honestly.

"Well, whatever it is, you're keeping this ship running and keeping us fed. Don't wear yourself out, kid." Jet warned, his tone almost paternal.

"I won't, Jet. Besides, I have to earn my keep in order to stay here. You'd said that yourself in the beginning." Saber said, getting a nod from the other man in response.

"Yeah, I know. I just hope that you don't end up doing all the work." Jet said, giving Spike and Faye a look that said 'don't you dare make him do it all'.

"I appreciate your concern." Saber said, then stood and stretched.

"Might as well go and make some final adjustments to the Swordfish III. Tomorrow's a new day." Saber added, before leaving the room.

"What was that look for, Jet?" Spike asked, with his usual deadpan look.

"Yeah, what was that look for?" Faye added, as she also gave Jet the same look.

"You know full well what that look was for, so don't play innocent." Jet said, stubbornly.

"You know I won't mooch off of the Scot." Spike muttered, moodily, as he lit a cigarette and inhaled. Then they both looked at Faye.

"Hey! Don't look at me! I'm not gonna mooch off of him, either!" Faye said, irritably.

"Yeah, well, you're still mooching off of us." Spike said, his expression never changing even as she got right up in his face.

"Oh shut up, why don't you?!" Faye shouted, furiously, launching them into yet another explosive argument. Later that evening, Saber found himself taking a cold shower. Not that the cold water bothered him, but it reminded him of so many other showers he'd had to take after April or Fireball had taken all the hot water.

"So alike, yet so different. I miss them, I really do." Saber thought, as the cold water cascaded down his face, hiding what could have been tears sliding down his cheeks.

"Hey! Let someone else have a chance to get a shower!" Spike's voice shouted, impatiently.

"Sorry!" Saber said, collecting himself quickly, then shutting off the water so he could step out and get dressed. When he'd reached his room and closed the door behind him, he couldn't help but collapse to his knees, the pride he was known for melting away into fathomless grief. He silently cried for his friends, and for one more person. The person whose picture he carried close to his heart.

"Again. I have to go through this pain again. I went through it once when those Dragons took my twin sister from me, and now I must mourn for my friends as well. What did I do to deserve this? What?" Saber wondered, jumping when he heard the door open behind him, and looking surprised when he saw Ed and Ein come in.

"Ed thought Saber-person seemed sad tonight, so Ed came to give Saber-person this." Ed said, as she hugged the Scotsman again, this time gently, showing genuine sympathy for him. Though surprised, Saber managed to gather himself enough to hug the girl back.

"Thank you, Ed. I needed that." Saber admitted, as the young girl smiled at him, happy that she had lifted his spirits somewhat.

"If you ever need Ed or Ein, just look down the hall. Nighty-night, Saber-person." Ed said, before she departed, leaving Ein behind.

"Don't you want to go with her, Ein?" Saber asked. The dog shook his head, jumped on Saber's bed, and lay down close to where Saber would lay.

"I guess that would be my answer." Saber said, as he lay down, and the dog settled his chin on his shoulder. As he drifted into slumber, Saber wondered what the next day would bring, and what he might find that would bring him closer to finding out what had really happened to his friends, and to his sister, whom he missed dearly.