Experienced Outlaw Star fans:
Allow me to beg your forgiveness. This is my first OS fanfiction, and as of yet, unfinished. The characters are as I see them, having only watched the series twice through. If you don't like the way I spell the names, that's your problem.
This is a alternate time line fic, which means it does not follow the time line set by the actual series. Actually, it follows a similar time line, but at some point it breaks off into a paradox and becomes a different story entirely.
---
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the pictures in my head. Original characters do belong to me.
Warning: As of yet, this is an alternate time line fic, with yaoi (m/m), het (m/f), and humor. Small dashes of sap, language and angst thrown in for good measure. Pairings--wouldn't you just like to know? This fic reaches into the very edges of lime, but do not expect any lemons. If you don't know what that means, email me and expect to be embarrassed. Underage people are drinking--don't try this at home!
Author: Kasey
Archive: Not unless I send it to you.
Status: Incomplete, self-edited.
Key: /italics/ and *emphasis*
---
"At a Minute or Two 'Till Two, Today"
---
-Part Six-
---
"Jim?"
"Morning, Melfina! I made breakfast, since you were asleep."
"Jim, where's Gene?"
"Isn't he here? He must not have come home last night."
"I hope he's okay..."
---
Gene grumbled. He could feel sunlight on his face, but refused to open his eyes. A parakeet that had seen far more than it should have earlier that morning, was chirping near the window. Gene *harumphed* and turned over.
"Mmm..." Fred scooted closer to the warm body that was protecting his face from the evil rays of the late morning sunlight. He sighed as a hand ran down his shoulder, side, and hip, stopping to pull him even closer.
It was about twenty more minutes before Gene finally opened his eyes. When he did, he decided that it wasn't worth it, and buried his nose in Fred's hair.
"...Gene?"
"Mhm?"
"...I've got a hangover."
"...Me too."
"Aspirin?"
"Mhm."
"I'll go get a glass of water."
Fred groaned as he sat up. As if the pounding in his head wasn't enough, the strain on his body from his night with Gene made the rest of him sore, too. He rolled off of the bed and slowly made his way to the bathroom, not bothering to grab a robe.
By the time Fred returned with two small glasses of water and the aspirin tablets, Gene had managed to sit up on the soft, rumpled bed. The red-haired man was holding his temples, trying to figure out how ten hippopotami managed to get licenses to drive semi-trailers through his head.
"Here." Fred handed Gene a glass and two tablets, and there was silence as both men took the pills and finished off the water. Fred took Gene's glass and set it with his own on the bedside table. He sat down. "Better?" he asked.
Gene smiled. "Much better."
"Mm-mm," Fred said, crawling closer to Gene and hugging him. "I meant better than the other man."
Gene groaned and lay back down, taking Fred with him. When they had readjusted under the covers, Gene nuzzled Fred's hair. "Absolutely. Not even comparable."
Fred ran a hand down Gene's back and started massaging the muscles there. "Good."
Gene closed his eyes. "Oh... that feels good, Fred."
Fred pressed harder, digging his fingers and thumbs into the tight muscles in Gene's back. "Want more?" he asked.
"Mm... yeah." Gene flipped onto his stomach and rested his head on a soft pillow. Fred straddled Gene's hips and started kneading away slowly and evenly, earning soft moans and gasps to fall from Gene's lips.
"Did you really enjoy last night... this morning?" Fred asked.
"Mmmm.... Very much." Gene smiled against the pillow. "'M glad I let you talk me into it."
Fred reached up to massage the base of Gene's neck, causing the other man to groan softly. "Thank you..." He was quiet for a minute, listening to the soft pleased noises Gene was making as he worked the knots out of his muscles. "Gene?"
"Yeah?"
"Will... will you ever want to do this again?"
Gene turned his head so that he could look Fred in the eye. This meant turning his entire body, and soon Gene was sitting up with Fred straddling his lap, each holding the other close and looking into bright eyes.
"Fred..." Gene began, "...I've had women who were better." Fred's face fell. Gene went on. "But not many. Only one or two. And it was all one-night slam-bam, thank you, ma'am. And I've had a lot of women." Fred was still unsure of where Gene was heading with this, and it showed on his face. Gene pressed his head forward, and his lips met Fred's.
"...Gene," Fred whispered as they pulled apart. "I don't--"
"You," Gene cut in, "Just gave me one of the best nights of my life, *and* you're my friend, and if you even *think* I'm not going to take advantage of that... you must not know me as well as I thought you did."
Fred laughed. Then he groaned and held his head. "Oh... my head!!"
"Don't laugh, it makes it all ten times worse," Gene advised. "Here." He used the tips of his fingers to rub at Fred's temples. Fred sighed and let his hands fall down onto Gene's shoulders.
"...Thanks. Feels better."
"Good."
"Gene?"
"Yeah?"
"Wanna move back in with me?"
"Mmm... can't. We're already set up back at home..."
"Damn."
---
"Gene!!" Jim attacked his friend the minute he walked through the door. "Where *were* you?! We looked everywhere. Suzuka's gone to train, she said... she left this morning right after breakfast... And we had *three* calls with job offers come in from people who saw the /Outlaw Star/ at the space port... And Asjia got a job at some sports arena, so she'll be out until late."
"Jim, little buddy," Gene said. "Let me tell you something." He knelt down so that he could look Jim in the eye. "Every now and then, grown-ups have to do something called, 'go out and get stone drunk.' I've taken care of that, and as soon as I get some clean clothes, I'll be ready to work, okay?"
Jim blinked, frowning. "What do you mean? Where'd you spend the night, Gene?"
"I met Fred at the bar. His chauffeur took us back to his place." Gene carefully omitted anything involving his actions with Fred, because he was unsure of how the boy would take it.
"Okay." Jim sighed. "Well, go get changed, then. Two of the jobs are delivery only, high prices to make sure the packages don't get broken... and the other one is a tugboat operation. There's a cruise ship broken down right outside of Hayfong, and all the normal tugboats are either busy or broken down."
"...Swell."
---
Two days later, Melfina was ready to remove the virus from Harry's shoulder. Jim and Gillium were standing by to help with technical aid, and Gene stood by Harry, in case the firewall broke during the removal.
"Ready?" Jim asked.
"Yes," Melfina said. She pressed her hand against an apparatus they had set up, a sort of scanner. A moment later, she was floating in her virtual domain.
"Melfina!" Harry exclaimed, smiling. "I was wondering when you would come back." He stopped as his noticed the girl's concentrating expression. "Melfina? What's wrong?"
"I'm going to remove the virus, now," she replied. "I need you... to relax. Just relax. And don't fight."
Harry smiled and closed his eyes. "I'd never fight you, Mel."
Melfina blinked at Harry's use of her nickname. She circled around Harry for a moment, before stepping behind him and resting her hands on his shoulders.
Immediately, she was flowing along Harry's wiring, stopping occasionally at tiny chips and circuit boards. She stopped as the virus probe came into view.
"That's it," she whispered. A firewall was holding it in place, but she could see the virtual evil pulsing through, trying to break free. She acted quickly. A command programmed by Jim saved a copy of the virus in a heavily guarded file. "I've got it, Jim," she said.
In real time, Jim nodded. He pulled a small disk out of the computer. "Got it, Mel," he responded. "Go ahead and trash that thing."
Melfina nodded. Using the command of her domain, she shrunk the firewall, crushing the virus. When it became small enough, she used a simple delete to get rid of the virus once and for all.
Harry groaned. If it weren't for the firewall holding him in place, he would have been thrashing around in pain. As his direction of energy flow reversed to the correct alignment, his nerves tensed and pinched.
Melfina gasped. The virus had not gone when she used the delete command. "Jim!" she called, "It's still here."
"Break it up," Jim recommended, typing away at his keyboard to see what was causing the hold-up. "See if you can break it down into its component parts, file, commands, and database."
"Okay," Melfina said. "I'll try."
"How's it going?" Gene asked. Harry was still immobile.
"The virus didn't go when Mel tried to delete it," Jim answered. "Not much I can do except keep the firewalls in place."
Gene frowned, and turned his attention back to Harry.
In Melfina's virtual domain, Harry was nearing the breaking point of his restraints. The pain from Melfina's battle against the virus was spurring him into insane action, and he struggled against the firewall.
"Stop fighting, Harry!" Melfina cried. "I can't concentrate!"
"Mel...fina," Harry moaned. "I can't..."
Melfina bit her lip, trying to pull the compacted virus apart. She let out a small breath of relief as she hit on the file, and a command fell out. She crushed it quickly. The virus flared and tried to bite back at her, but she moved out of the way, and started on another side of it.
Harry squirmed. He was starting to break the firewall. "Melfina," he gasped. "The firewall..."
Jim saw the red flashing on his screen just as the firewall splintered. "Gene! He's out!!"
Gene growled and tensed, ready for Harry to break loose. The young man's body arched against the bolts holding him down, and he opened his red eyes wide, screaming.
Melfina shrieked as she felt Harry destroy the firewall. The backlash shot through her head, and she stopped her attack on the virus, falling to her knees momentarily. Then she launched herself at the virus again, determined to break it before it broke through, as well.
"Melfina!" Harry yelled. "No, Melfina! Let go!!" He was starting to stretch the bolts around his wrists and ankles. "Get out of there, please... Melfina..." His voice trailed away into a despairing moan.
"Jim!" Melfina called. "I need a wedge, anything!"
"Use a radio wave," Jim said. "I'm stabilizing the firewall right now."
Melfina saw the firewall around the virus crackle and strengthen. "Thanks, Jim," she panted. "I'm going in, now." She aimed a radio signal directly at the heart of the virus probe, and let it go.
Harry roared in pain. He wrenched his right arm free of the bolt, and clapped his hand against his shoulder. Gene leapt forward to pull him back down. However, he reached for Harry's right arm, which was completely bionic, and much stronger than a normal arm. In reflex, Harry flung Gene across the room.
Melfina gasped as the virus probe crumpled before her eyes. The virus flared briefly, and disappeared. The firewall disappeared almost as quickly. "Jim!" she called. "What happened?"
"I think Harry killed the probe," Jim replied. He licked dry lips as he searched through Melfina's domain for any signs of the virus. "I can't find the virus anywhere. You got it!!"
"How's Harry?" Melfina asked quickly. In the main net of her domain, she let go of Harry's shoulders, disconnecting her access to his circuitry. She could see him again. He was curled into a ball, clutching his shoulder.
"Not good," Jim said. He was studying the play-by-play virus scans Gillium was running over Harry. "His wiring's all rerouting itself. He's gonna have one heck of a headache. His nerves are shot, and he's blown two programming chips, a connector, and a fuse."
Melfina knelt next to Harry, drawing him into her arms. "Harry, Harry," she whispered. "It's gone, now. Calm down. The virus is gone."
Harry refused to relax. His shoulder was throbbing both in real time, and in Melfina's domain. Melfina held him close, softly rubbing his wounded shoulder.
Gene watched as Harry's real body slowly un-tensed. Eventually, Harry's right hand fell away from his left shoulder, and he closed his eyes.
Minutes later, Harry leaned his head against Melfina's arm. "...Thank you, Melfina," he managed to whisper. "Thank you."
Melfina smiled. "You're going to need some time to recover," she said softly. "I'll stay here with you."
"Mel..."
"Jim," Melfina said, "I'm going to stay here for a while. Is everything okay out there?"
Jim looked around. Gene was putting new restraining bolts on Harry's real body, and Melfina's real body was sitting comfortably in a soft chair nearby, her hand still on the scanner. " Yeah, it looks okay. Harry's shoulder is a bit bruised, and Gene took a bit of a blow from him when he trashed the firewall, but other than that, everything looks pretty calm."
"Calm," Gene muttered, rubbing his back where he had hit the wall just minutes earlier. "Bull."
Jim snickered. "I'm setting the firewall back in, okay?"
"Jim?"
"Yeah, Mel?"
"Can you make the firewall a bit bigger?"
Jim blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Make it large enough that he can move around, but only a little," Melfina said. "So he can get comfortable."
"Comfortable?" Jim repeated. "Okay, I guess..."
Harry looked up into Melfina's face as she conversed with Jim. "Mel?" he asked. "Why are you..."
"Shhh," Melfina admonished him. "You should rest. And you can't rest unless you're comfortable, right?" As Jim adjusted the range of the firewall, Melfina stretched it, until it formed a sort of box around Harry, large enough for him to move around and lie down. She was inside.
"I can pass through the firewall," Melfina said, smiling. "This will make it a little easier on you, I think." She used more commands to make a virtual bed for Harry to lie on, and helped him onto it. "Sleep," she said.
"Thank you, Melfina," Harry said, gingerly lying down. He winced as his shoulder touched the bedding. "I... I owe you so much."
"Jim helped," Melfina said, tucking him in. "And Gillium. And Gene--Don't get mad!" she cried, suddenly. "I hate it when you get mad at him!"
Harry shook his head. "I won't get mad. He helped. I have no reason to be mad at him, Melfina. I want to thank him." He smiled. "And your other friends."
Melfina tilted her head. "You mean it? You're not going to yell about him?"
"Of course not!" Harry laughed. His laughter turned into a grunt of pain, and he stopped quickly. "I have no reason to yell at him. He hasn't done anything wrong."
Melfina pressed her hand against Harry's forehead. "How do you feel?" she asked.
"Except for my shoulder, I've just got a headache," Harry replied. "And I think I blew a connector in my arm." He lifted his right arm and flexed his hand. His fourth finger did not move. He grimaced. "Thought so."
"Jim said you've lost two programming chips and a fuse," Melfina said, frowning. "I think we can help replace them..."
"Don't worry about it," Harry said, smiling. "My nano's are always replacing the chips, and when I got my new arm, the scientist upgraded me, so the fuses are just extra. I don't use them at all."
Melfina's face brightened. "Really?"
"Yeah..." Harry's smile widened. "You're beautiful, Melfina," he murmured after a moment. "Here, and out there," he said, comparing Melfina's domain to real time. "I've never seen anyone more beautiful than you. Your eyes..."
Melfina blinked, her eyes wide. "Do you... do you still...?" she asked warily.
"Love you?" Harry finished for her. "Of course! Why wouldn't I? You're the most amazing girl I've ever met. Even if I don't know the first thing about you--"
"Wait!" Melfina cut in. "...I... I thought you said you understood?"
"Understood?" Harry asked. "Understood what?"
Melfina frowned. "You always insist you know... who I am. Why I am." She lowered her eyes sadly.
"Melfina..." Harry reached up with his right arm, and stroked the black hair that fell down over Melfina's shoulders. "Ron told me you were designed as part of a navigation program to reach the Galactic Leyline. The Kay pirates gave the scientist Gwen Khan a bunch of ancient information, and told him to make a ship that could reach the Leyline. But he couldn't decipher all of the information, and couldn't leave it in the computer. The computer had to be sentient in order to communicate with the outside world. It took him years, but he managed to create you and Gillium..." He watched as Melfina slowly took in this information. "Then Hilda stole the ship, and you. Ron and I were there when it happened. And we sell information. That's... that's all I know."
Melfina was quiet for a few minutes. "Thank you... for telling me," she said slowly. "I guess... I guess you did know more than we did."
"Mel..."
"Yes?"
Harry was still stroking the lock of hair on Melfina's shoulder. He rubbed the strands of hair between his thumb and forefinger. "Khan... he had to use a bio-android to make the sentient navigation system." He gave Melfina a soft smile. "Bio-androids are people, too. You're not *just* a navigation system, Mel," he said. "It's extra programming. Like the way Ron and I fight. You weren't programmed to fight, but you can, if you have to. I'm not programmed to navigate, but I can. I just don't have the extra details you do."
Melfina smiled. She put her hand over Harry's. "Thank you." Harry turned his hand to gently squeeze Melfina's. Then he closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
---
---
Allow me to beg your forgiveness. This is my first OS fanfiction, and as of yet, unfinished. The characters are as I see them, having only watched the series twice through. If you don't like the way I spell the names, that's your problem.
This is a alternate time line fic, which means it does not follow the time line set by the actual series. Actually, it follows a similar time line, but at some point it breaks off into a paradox and becomes a different story entirely.
---
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the pictures in my head. Original characters do belong to me.
Warning: As of yet, this is an alternate time line fic, with yaoi (m/m), het (m/f), and humor. Small dashes of sap, language and angst thrown in for good measure. Pairings--wouldn't you just like to know? This fic reaches into the very edges of lime, but do not expect any lemons. If you don't know what that means, email me and expect to be embarrassed. Underage people are drinking--don't try this at home!
Author: Kasey
Archive: Not unless I send it to you.
Status: Incomplete, self-edited.
Key: /italics/ and *emphasis*
---
"At a Minute or Two 'Till Two, Today"
---
-Part Six-
---
"Jim?"
"Morning, Melfina! I made breakfast, since you were asleep."
"Jim, where's Gene?"
"Isn't he here? He must not have come home last night."
"I hope he's okay..."
---
Gene grumbled. He could feel sunlight on his face, but refused to open his eyes. A parakeet that had seen far more than it should have earlier that morning, was chirping near the window. Gene *harumphed* and turned over.
"Mmm..." Fred scooted closer to the warm body that was protecting his face from the evil rays of the late morning sunlight. He sighed as a hand ran down his shoulder, side, and hip, stopping to pull him even closer.
It was about twenty more minutes before Gene finally opened his eyes. When he did, he decided that it wasn't worth it, and buried his nose in Fred's hair.
"...Gene?"
"Mhm?"
"...I've got a hangover."
"...Me too."
"Aspirin?"
"Mhm."
"I'll go get a glass of water."
Fred groaned as he sat up. As if the pounding in his head wasn't enough, the strain on his body from his night with Gene made the rest of him sore, too. He rolled off of the bed and slowly made his way to the bathroom, not bothering to grab a robe.
By the time Fred returned with two small glasses of water and the aspirin tablets, Gene had managed to sit up on the soft, rumpled bed. The red-haired man was holding his temples, trying to figure out how ten hippopotami managed to get licenses to drive semi-trailers through his head.
"Here." Fred handed Gene a glass and two tablets, and there was silence as both men took the pills and finished off the water. Fred took Gene's glass and set it with his own on the bedside table. He sat down. "Better?" he asked.
Gene smiled. "Much better."
"Mm-mm," Fred said, crawling closer to Gene and hugging him. "I meant better than the other man."
Gene groaned and lay back down, taking Fred with him. When they had readjusted under the covers, Gene nuzzled Fred's hair. "Absolutely. Not even comparable."
Fred ran a hand down Gene's back and started massaging the muscles there. "Good."
Gene closed his eyes. "Oh... that feels good, Fred."
Fred pressed harder, digging his fingers and thumbs into the tight muscles in Gene's back. "Want more?" he asked.
"Mm... yeah." Gene flipped onto his stomach and rested his head on a soft pillow. Fred straddled Gene's hips and started kneading away slowly and evenly, earning soft moans and gasps to fall from Gene's lips.
"Did you really enjoy last night... this morning?" Fred asked.
"Mmmm.... Very much." Gene smiled against the pillow. "'M glad I let you talk me into it."
Fred reached up to massage the base of Gene's neck, causing the other man to groan softly. "Thank you..." He was quiet for a minute, listening to the soft pleased noises Gene was making as he worked the knots out of his muscles. "Gene?"
"Yeah?"
"Will... will you ever want to do this again?"
Gene turned his head so that he could look Fred in the eye. This meant turning his entire body, and soon Gene was sitting up with Fred straddling his lap, each holding the other close and looking into bright eyes.
"Fred..." Gene began, "...I've had women who were better." Fred's face fell. Gene went on. "But not many. Only one or two. And it was all one-night slam-bam, thank you, ma'am. And I've had a lot of women." Fred was still unsure of where Gene was heading with this, and it showed on his face. Gene pressed his head forward, and his lips met Fred's.
"...Gene," Fred whispered as they pulled apart. "I don't--"
"You," Gene cut in, "Just gave me one of the best nights of my life, *and* you're my friend, and if you even *think* I'm not going to take advantage of that... you must not know me as well as I thought you did."
Fred laughed. Then he groaned and held his head. "Oh... my head!!"
"Don't laugh, it makes it all ten times worse," Gene advised. "Here." He used the tips of his fingers to rub at Fred's temples. Fred sighed and let his hands fall down onto Gene's shoulders.
"...Thanks. Feels better."
"Good."
"Gene?"
"Yeah?"
"Wanna move back in with me?"
"Mmm... can't. We're already set up back at home..."
"Damn."
---
"Gene!!" Jim attacked his friend the minute he walked through the door. "Where *were* you?! We looked everywhere. Suzuka's gone to train, she said... she left this morning right after breakfast... And we had *three* calls with job offers come in from people who saw the /Outlaw Star/ at the space port... And Asjia got a job at some sports arena, so she'll be out until late."
"Jim, little buddy," Gene said. "Let me tell you something." He knelt down so that he could look Jim in the eye. "Every now and then, grown-ups have to do something called, 'go out and get stone drunk.' I've taken care of that, and as soon as I get some clean clothes, I'll be ready to work, okay?"
Jim blinked, frowning. "What do you mean? Where'd you spend the night, Gene?"
"I met Fred at the bar. His chauffeur took us back to his place." Gene carefully omitted anything involving his actions with Fred, because he was unsure of how the boy would take it.
"Okay." Jim sighed. "Well, go get changed, then. Two of the jobs are delivery only, high prices to make sure the packages don't get broken... and the other one is a tugboat operation. There's a cruise ship broken down right outside of Hayfong, and all the normal tugboats are either busy or broken down."
"...Swell."
---
Two days later, Melfina was ready to remove the virus from Harry's shoulder. Jim and Gillium were standing by to help with technical aid, and Gene stood by Harry, in case the firewall broke during the removal.
"Ready?" Jim asked.
"Yes," Melfina said. She pressed her hand against an apparatus they had set up, a sort of scanner. A moment later, she was floating in her virtual domain.
"Melfina!" Harry exclaimed, smiling. "I was wondering when you would come back." He stopped as his noticed the girl's concentrating expression. "Melfina? What's wrong?"
"I'm going to remove the virus, now," she replied. "I need you... to relax. Just relax. And don't fight."
Harry smiled and closed his eyes. "I'd never fight you, Mel."
Melfina blinked at Harry's use of her nickname. She circled around Harry for a moment, before stepping behind him and resting her hands on his shoulders.
Immediately, she was flowing along Harry's wiring, stopping occasionally at tiny chips and circuit boards. She stopped as the virus probe came into view.
"That's it," she whispered. A firewall was holding it in place, but she could see the virtual evil pulsing through, trying to break free. She acted quickly. A command programmed by Jim saved a copy of the virus in a heavily guarded file. "I've got it, Jim," she said.
In real time, Jim nodded. He pulled a small disk out of the computer. "Got it, Mel," he responded. "Go ahead and trash that thing."
Melfina nodded. Using the command of her domain, she shrunk the firewall, crushing the virus. When it became small enough, she used a simple delete to get rid of the virus once and for all.
Harry groaned. If it weren't for the firewall holding him in place, he would have been thrashing around in pain. As his direction of energy flow reversed to the correct alignment, his nerves tensed and pinched.
Melfina gasped. The virus had not gone when she used the delete command. "Jim!" she called, "It's still here."
"Break it up," Jim recommended, typing away at his keyboard to see what was causing the hold-up. "See if you can break it down into its component parts, file, commands, and database."
"Okay," Melfina said. "I'll try."
"How's it going?" Gene asked. Harry was still immobile.
"The virus didn't go when Mel tried to delete it," Jim answered. "Not much I can do except keep the firewalls in place."
Gene frowned, and turned his attention back to Harry.
In Melfina's virtual domain, Harry was nearing the breaking point of his restraints. The pain from Melfina's battle against the virus was spurring him into insane action, and he struggled against the firewall.
"Stop fighting, Harry!" Melfina cried. "I can't concentrate!"
"Mel...fina," Harry moaned. "I can't..."
Melfina bit her lip, trying to pull the compacted virus apart. She let out a small breath of relief as she hit on the file, and a command fell out. She crushed it quickly. The virus flared and tried to bite back at her, but she moved out of the way, and started on another side of it.
Harry squirmed. He was starting to break the firewall. "Melfina," he gasped. "The firewall..."
Jim saw the red flashing on his screen just as the firewall splintered. "Gene! He's out!!"
Gene growled and tensed, ready for Harry to break loose. The young man's body arched against the bolts holding him down, and he opened his red eyes wide, screaming.
Melfina shrieked as she felt Harry destroy the firewall. The backlash shot through her head, and she stopped her attack on the virus, falling to her knees momentarily. Then she launched herself at the virus again, determined to break it before it broke through, as well.
"Melfina!" Harry yelled. "No, Melfina! Let go!!" He was starting to stretch the bolts around his wrists and ankles. "Get out of there, please... Melfina..." His voice trailed away into a despairing moan.
"Jim!" Melfina called. "I need a wedge, anything!"
"Use a radio wave," Jim said. "I'm stabilizing the firewall right now."
Melfina saw the firewall around the virus crackle and strengthen. "Thanks, Jim," she panted. "I'm going in, now." She aimed a radio signal directly at the heart of the virus probe, and let it go.
Harry roared in pain. He wrenched his right arm free of the bolt, and clapped his hand against his shoulder. Gene leapt forward to pull him back down. However, he reached for Harry's right arm, which was completely bionic, and much stronger than a normal arm. In reflex, Harry flung Gene across the room.
Melfina gasped as the virus probe crumpled before her eyes. The virus flared briefly, and disappeared. The firewall disappeared almost as quickly. "Jim!" she called. "What happened?"
"I think Harry killed the probe," Jim replied. He licked dry lips as he searched through Melfina's domain for any signs of the virus. "I can't find the virus anywhere. You got it!!"
"How's Harry?" Melfina asked quickly. In the main net of her domain, she let go of Harry's shoulders, disconnecting her access to his circuitry. She could see him again. He was curled into a ball, clutching his shoulder.
"Not good," Jim said. He was studying the play-by-play virus scans Gillium was running over Harry. "His wiring's all rerouting itself. He's gonna have one heck of a headache. His nerves are shot, and he's blown two programming chips, a connector, and a fuse."
Melfina knelt next to Harry, drawing him into her arms. "Harry, Harry," she whispered. "It's gone, now. Calm down. The virus is gone."
Harry refused to relax. His shoulder was throbbing both in real time, and in Melfina's domain. Melfina held him close, softly rubbing his wounded shoulder.
Gene watched as Harry's real body slowly un-tensed. Eventually, Harry's right hand fell away from his left shoulder, and he closed his eyes.
Minutes later, Harry leaned his head against Melfina's arm. "...Thank you, Melfina," he managed to whisper. "Thank you."
Melfina smiled. "You're going to need some time to recover," she said softly. "I'll stay here with you."
"Mel..."
"Jim," Melfina said, "I'm going to stay here for a while. Is everything okay out there?"
Jim looked around. Gene was putting new restraining bolts on Harry's real body, and Melfina's real body was sitting comfortably in a soft chair nearby, her hand still on the scanner. " Yeah, it looks okay. Harry's shoulder is a bit bruised, and Gene took a bit of a blow from him when he trashed the firewall, but other than that, everything looks pretty calm."
"Calm," Gene muttered, rubbing his back where he had hit the wall just minutes earlier. "Bull."
Jim snickered. "I'm setting the firewall back in, okay?"
"Jim?"
"Yeah, Mel?"
"Can you make the firewall a bit bigger?"
Jim blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Make it large enough that he can move around, but only a little," Melfina said. "So he can get comfortable."
"Comfortable?" Jim repeated. "Okay, I guess..."
Harry looked up into Melfina's face as she conversed with Jim. "Mel?" he asked. "Why are you..."
"Shhh," Melfina admonished him. "You should rest. And you can't rest unless you're comfortable, right?" As Jim adjusted the range of the firewall, Melfina stretched it, until it formed a sort of box around Harry, large enough for him to move around and lie down. She was inside.
"I can pass through the firewall," Melfina said, smiling. "This will make it a little easier on you, I think." She used more commands to make a virtual bed for Harry to lie on, and helped him onto it. "Sleep," she said.
"Thank you, Melfina," Harry said, gingerly lying down. He winced as his shoulder touched the bedding. "I... I owe you so much."
"Jim helped," Melfina said, tucking him in. "And Gillium. And Gene--Don't get mad!" she cried, suddenly. "I hate it when you get mad at him!"
Harry shook his head. "I won't get mad. He helped. I have no reason to be mad at him, Melfina. I want to thank him." He smiled. "And your other friends."
Melfina tilted her head. "You mean it? You're not going to yell about him?"
"Of course not!" Harry laughed. His laughter turned into a grunt of pain, and he stopped quickly. "I have no reason to yell at him. He hasn't done anything wrong."
Melfina pressed her hand against Harry's forehead. "How do you feel?" she asked.
"Except for my shoulder, I've just got a headache," Harry replied. "And I think I blew a connector in my arm." He lifted his right arm and flexed his hand. His fourth finger did not move. He grimaced. "Thought so."
"Jim said you've lost two programming chips and a fuse," Melfina said, frowning. "I think we can help replace them..."
"Don't worry about it," Harry said, smiling. "My nano's are always replacing the chips, and when I got my new arm, the scientist upgraded me, so the fuses are just extra. I don't use them at all."
Melfina's face brightened. "Really?"
"Yeah..." Harry's smile widened. "You're beautiful, Melfina," he murmured after a moment. "Here, and out there," he said, comparing Melfina's domain to real time. "I've never seen anyone more beautiful than you. Your eyes..."
Melfina blinked, her eyes wide. "Do you... do you still...?" she asked warily.
"Love you?" Harry finished for her. "Of course! Why wouldn't I? You're the most amazing girl I've ever met. Even if I don't know the first thing about you--"
"Wait!" Melfina cut in. "...I... I thought you said you understood?"
"Understood?" Harry asked. "Understood what?"
Melfina frowned. "You always insist you know... who I am. Why I am." She lowered her eyes sadly.
"Melfina..." Harry reached up with his right arm, and stroked the black hair that fell down over Melfina's shoulders. "Ron told me you were designed as part of a navigation program to reach the Galactic Leyline. The Kay pirates gave the scientist Gwen Khan a bunch of ancient information, and told him to make a ship that could reach the Leyline. But he couldn't decipher all of the information, and couldn't leave it in the computer. The computer had to be sentient in order to communicate with the outside world. It took him years, but he managed to create you and Gillium..." He watched as Melfina slowly took in this information. "Then Hilda stole the ship, and you. Ron and I were there when it happened. And we sell information. That's... that's all I know."
Melfina was quiet for a few minutes. "Thank you... for telling me," she said slowly. "I guess... I guess you did know more than we did."
"Mel..."
"Yes?"
Harry was still stroking the lock of hair on Melfina's shoulder. He rubbed the strands of hair between his thumb and forefinger. "Khan... he had to use a bio-android to make the sentient navigation system." He gave Melfina a soft smile. "Bio-androids are people, too. You're not *just* a navigation system, Mel," he said. "It's extra programming. Like the way Ron and I fight. You weren't programmed to fight, but you can, if you have to. I'm not programmed to navigate, but I can. I just don't have the extra details you do."
Melfina smiled. She put her hand over Harry's. "Thank you." Harry turned his hand to gently squeeze Melfina's. Then he closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
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