The Bebop floated through empty space in the vast area over Mars. It had been several weeks since Spike had died on planet, but Jet still hadn't had the heart to pick up and move on quite yet. Every time Jet or Faye looked down on the red planet, its color reminded them of their friend's blood. Only recently had they really learned anything significant about his past, and just as suddenly he was taken away from them. Neither could quite believe what had happened. Even the normally oblivious Edward and Ein were more subdued than usual.

A loud crash resounded through the ship from the hangar, breaking the silence. "FAYE!" Jet's bellow woke the seemingly young woman from a restless sleep. Grumbling quietly as she rose, Faye worked her way into the rotating section of the ship and from there to the small bay which held a red, one-man ship and a rather angry Jet.

"What is it now?" Faye asked irritably.

"I can't fix this damn thing totally by myself you know. Spike and I had a hard enough time keeping it in shape as it is. Helping out a little couldn't kill you."

Faye looked at her annoyed partner. Partner? When did I start thinking of him like that? She knew his leg still bothered him from when he'd been shot by a Syndicate hit man shortly before Spike's death. Still, no way he's getting off that easy. "It was your idea to bring Spike's ship back aboard, so that makes it your responsibility…"

"Damn it Faye, I—"

"Where do you want me to start?" she asked, picking up a random tool as she walked toward the ship, knowing it was the wrong one for the weapon systems repairs Jet was making.

"—Huh?" His confused expression was priceless. They needed a little banter to keep their minds off of things, and they both knew it. Finally a smile broke through. "Recalibrate the targeting system, I think it's a little off. It'd be easiest from the cockpit."

"Sure thing, partner."

* * *

After the death of Vicious, and partially due to the attention brought on by the amount of destruction Spike had brought along on his final visit to Mars, the Syndicate quickly splintered into several rival groups. Each of the groups was led by individuals who felt they had the right to succeed Vicious as the organization's new leadership. In mere weeks what amounted to an interplanetary gang war erupted. What had been a strong, ruthless criminal force had degenerated into a shattered entity battling with itself and destroying everything and everyone that dared interfere.

A man known only as Mr. Nokugawa stood in a large office overlooking one of Mars' smaller cities. He was planning, scheming, and deciding what to do next in his bid for control of the Syndicate. He was already in control of one of the most powerful factions, and he was slowly laying plans to solidify his power.

Nokugawa was an aging man of oriental descent, much like the late Mao Yenrai. The only difference was that he would never let his guard down like Yenrai had. He knew he was up against people who could be just as ruthless as Vicious, the man who killed Yenrai. He would never let them slip past his defenses.

"Mr. Nokugawa," his aide said from behind him, there is a Mr. Rigel Krait to see you, sir."

"I don't know the name. What does he want?"

"He wants to speak with you about a possible alliance with one of the other factions."

An alliance? That is certainly odd. Who could he be representing? After a brief internal debate, he decided to see what Mr. Krait had to offer. "Let him in. And then leave me with him, this could involve sensitive information. I will call for you if necessary."

"Of course, sir."

The aide opened the door and exited, closing it behind him. Still facing away from the door, Nokugawa barely heard Krait's footsteps as he approached the large wooden desk. "Mr. Nokugawa, I presume?" The quiet, almost whisper of a voice was hauntingly familiar. Almost nervously Nokugawa turned to see the slim, pale face and long white hair of a man dressed all in black. The man's features barely registered before Nokugawa felt himself almost starting to faint.

"Vicious…"

* * *

Jet lay on the small couch that was frequented by all aboard the Bebop, trying to sleep after finishing repairs on the Swordfish II, but not doing a very good job of it. Edward came bounding into the room, chasing a playful Ein. The young hacker girl babbled some more of the totally nonsense phrases Jet had come to expect from her while the Corgi barked and panted. After making several circuits around the cramped room, Ein jumped up onto Jets lap.

"Ein, no!" Jet shouted but too late to avoid Edward landing on him as well, and the two jumping back off almost in unison. "Ed," Jet groaned, "Didn't Faye want to see you about doing her toenails or something?"

"Don't know," she smiled back before running off again after the dog.

"Why me—" The Bebop was rocked by an explosion. "Faye what the hell are you…waitasec, that was outside. Faye, move it!"

Jet sprinted to the cockpit, hoping that the ship would hold up until he got there. Once set in place, he opened a comm link to the Redtail Faye's personal ship, ready to yell at her again if she was not there already.

"What's up?" she asked before he could say anything.

"Not sure. Some idiot just blasted us with a low-grade missile. We're lucky it wasn't any stronger or we'd have been gone by now. Just get out there and get him off my tail."

"Figures I get the hard work."

Faye's ship blasted away from the Bebop, and headed toward the enemy. "Whoa hold on, that looks like police!"

"What?!"

As if on cue, the ship contacted Jet. "Jet Black and Faye Valentine, surrender yourselves now or we will have no choice but to use deadly force."

"What the hell?" he heard Faye shout, "We're bounty hunters, not criminals. What are you after us for."

"Just following orders ma'am." With that, the cop opened fire on her. She threw her ship into a downward turn, barely avoiding the shots.

When Jet thought the situation could not get more confusing, he got a call from an old police contact. "What the hell's going on?!" he yelled at the cop while trying to draw fire away from Faye.

"Jet, we just got word that a police ship was stolen. Word is it was one of the Syndicate factions, and we think they might be after you."

"You couldn't have told me this five minutes ago? Faye, that's not a cop, it's a Syndicate thug."

"Bastards, now it makes sense. Alright, he's mine." As suddenly as she could manage, she threw her ship into a one-eighty and attacked the phony-cop head on. She weaved through the rain of fire, keeping her trigger depressed all the while. A shot just barely missed her cockpit, and then she was practically on top of the assassin. She slipped to the right and swung around, firing as she went. She was right on target, blowing out the other ship's engines. To be careful, she fired a few disabling rounds into her opponent's weapons.

"Alright, now we get some answers." Faye maneuvered her ship so that she could look directly into the other's cockpit. "Okay guy, what…"

"Faye, what's up?"

"He's dead Jet. Shot himself," she had the sudden unshakable feeling that something was very wrong, even more so than the assassin would imply. "Jet, what the hell's going on?"