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.

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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*

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"At a Minute or Two 'Till Two, Today"

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-Part Eight-

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Ronald MacDougal sat in an old apartment, thinking. He was sprawled across a very comfortable day-bed. One he would never have bought. Harry's.

"Gene Starwind..." Ron pressed a few keys on the computer he had nearby. A picture of Gene and Jim came up. Ron glared at it. "I'll get you..."

A few more keys were pressed. A picture of a young man with bright eyes and long, sea-green hair appeared, to cover the first. He was posing for the camera and smiling seductively. Always vain.

"...For what you did to Harry!!" Ron growled. He clenched his fist against the keyboard, crushing two keys. He sighed, and typed in another command.

"Hey, Ron! Here I am! How's it going, big brother? Another perfect mission?" Ron settled back and listened to the recording Harry had made years earlier. "You know I hate it when you're gone so long. Yeah, okay, I miss you. Are you taking care of the /El'Dorado/, for me? Don't scratch the paint job. And don't get into any fights without me. I fixed up the /Shangri'la/ for you, real nice. Are you coming home soon? Make sure to call first, so I'll know to clean up and do the dishes. Yeah, I know. 'And chill a bottle of wine.' I'll see if I can find a nice one for you. Well, I'd better let you off the hook. See you later, big brother!"

The message was punctuated by another picture of Harry, grinning and holding up two fingers in a "V-for-victory" sign. As independent as outlaws were, the two MacDougal brothers were very close. Sometimes they even missed each other. Harry had made the recording and sent it to Ron after the elder brother had been gone for almost four months. Ron, normally unsentimental, had kept the file and played it back whenever he was away.

Ron gazed at the picture for a few minutes.

"I'm sorry, Harry," he whispered. "I shoulda gone with you. I shouldn't have even let you come... Damn!!" he cried, hitting his hand against the bed. He let his head fall into his other hand and he closed his eyes. "So sorry, Harry..."

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"Melfina suggested... that I ask you for a job," Harry said nervously, standing in front of Fred's desk.

"Well," Fred said, sitting back and rubbing at the lobe of his right ear, "I might be able to arrange for something. What can you do?"

Harry raised an eyebrow, fidgeting slightly. He was still unsure of what to think of Fred, or of trying to settle into a respectable lifestyle. The fact that Gene was hovering protectively behind Fred's chair was not helping, either. "...Do?"

Fred smiled. "What skills do you have? Computers? Mathematics?"

"Computers." Harry nodded. He looked around the room as he thought about what specifically he *knew* how to do. "Um... I cook. I'm good at hacking. What are good skills?" he asked. "I don't know!"

"Hm." Fred thought for a moment. Then he leaned forward and typed away at his computer for a few seconds. He looked back at Harry. "How are you at communications? Transferring messages?"

"Communications?" Harry's face lit up. "Great! I can set up a messaging system from here to Cygnus and back again!"

Fred nodded. "And at what sort of price?"

"How far do you want it to go? And how detailed?"

"How about to twenty of the largest ports on this side of the Centauri system? And all of the area in between." Fred stretched his neck and clasped his hands in front of him, on the desk. "Business transactions, Harry," he said. "I want to be able to conduct quick meetings, and send and receive papers in the same amount of time it would take to do the same thing, here on Hayfong."

Gene shook his head slightly. What Fred was asking was a logistical nightmare. People had been trying to set up such a system for years. However, the cost of the set-up, and the later cost of transactions was more than it was worth, so the idea had been scrapped.

Harry ran the figures through his head. "It would take about five hundred thousand wong for materials, another two thousand for programming, and a then lot of travelling."

"How long?" Fred asked.

"About four months, including travel time. Six at the very most."

Fred grinned triumphantly. "If I were to hire a professional to set up such a system for me, it would cost over three million wong, and take nearly a year." Behind him, Gene raised an eyebrow, surprised. Fred sat back. "So, you're hired."

Harry gaped. "I-I am?"

"Absolutely. I'll give you a thousand wong to start off as a new employee, plus five hundred wong per week until you're done." As he spoke, he was typing commands into his computer. "I'm opening an account and placing seven hundred thousand wong in it for the expenses of the operation. You can pull out the money as you need it. The account password is..." He spoke as he typed. "M-e-l-f-i-n-a. Melfina."

"Oh!" Harry's eyes went wide. He blushed and looked down at the floor.

Fred glanced up at Gene smugly, who nodded.

"...I'll expect constant reports on your progress," Fred went on. "I wish you good luck."

"So... so that's it?" Harry asked. "I walk in, I get a job? Don't I have to sign a commitment, or something?" He frowned. "You know who I am. Why don't you think I'll take the money and leave?"

Fred smiled. "The account password is 'Melfina,'" he said. "Use it wisely!"

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"He gives me the creeps," Harry mumbled, chopping onions.

Melfina turned to him and tilted her head. "Fred?"

"Yeah. Him and Gene."

Melfina thought for a moment. "Well, you got the job..."

"But... it's such an easy job!" Harry exclaimed. "I used to set up stuff like this for Ron, all the time..." He stopped. "Ron..." Melfina put her hand on his shoulder softly, and gave him an understanding smile. Harry sighed. "And it's only four or five months... and then I'm out again."

"Maybe by then, Fred will have a more permanent job for you," Jim said, walking into the kitchen. "Or you can hire out to set up communications for other companies. Wow! It smells good in here."

"It's Harry's recipe," Melfina said. She cracked open the oven door, and the aroma of roasting chickens in spices came wafting out.

Jim sighed, breathing in the scent of their dinner. "Gosh... you're a good cook. How's the arm doing?"

"Just great," Harry replied. He flexed his bionic arm. "Feels like new."

Jim hopped up on the counter, away from where Harry was now mincing garlic. "Whatcha making now?"

"Pasta," Melfina answered. "With onions, garlic, and mushrooms. Harry says it's very good."

Harry fidgeted at being creditted with all of the recipes. "...Ron always likes eating gourmet food, so I picked up a little stuff..."

"Hey," Jim cut in. "*Anything* is better than what we eat when Gene or Asjia cooks. We should be thanking you."

Harry shook his head. Melfina smiled.

"I ran some tests on that virus," Jim went on. "Actually, I managed to create a sort of anti-virus, so if it ever shows up again, we can get rid of it."

"So what was it?" Melfina asked.

"It was the basic 'conquer and destroy' virus," Jim said, shrugging. "Only a lot stronger than the kind you find being passed around through cyberspace. After it 'conquered' Harry's system, it turned him onto the 'destroy' mode, so he went crazy. Nothing much else."

Melfina glanced over, and noticed that Harry had stopped moving. "Harry?" she asked quietly.

Harry turned his head to look at her. "Am I bad, Melfina?" he asked her. "Or is Ron bad? Can I blame it all on the virus? Or are either of us bad? Me and Ron?"

Jim watched, confused by Harry's words. Then he realized that Harry was feeling guilty for some of the things he had done before the virus was removed. Jim nodded to himself. It made sense.

Melfina shook her head. "I don't know," she said softly, placing her hand on top of his. "Maybe he doesn't either. It's up to you." She looked up, and brown eyes met violet.

Harry looked down into Melfina's eyes. "Ah, Melfina," he whispered. "Mel..."

Jim raised an eyebrow. This was something new!

"Jim!" Gene's voice rang out from the doorway. "I'm back!"

Melfina and Harry broke away from each other and resumed their tasks quickly, both blushing furiously. Jim jumped off the counter.

"I'm right here!" Jim called back, running out of the kitchen. "How'd the job go?"

"Like clockwork," Gene yawned, stretching. He handed an envelope to Jim. "Two hundred wong, plus a bonus for getting the job done early. Makes me wonder when our luck's gonna run out."

Jim snorted. "As soon as we get back on the road to the Leyline. Maybe we should just give it up."

"Give up the Leyline?" Melfina asked, walking out to join them. "Don't... Don't do that!"

Gene lay a hand on her shoulder. "We won't, Mel. Don't worry."
"Oh, that's right!' Jim exclaimed. "Sorry, Mel... I forgot about you, and Gillium..."

"That's okay," Melfina said. "I'm just curious, that's all. I don't even know how to get there."

"Neither does anyone else," Gene said. "Fred couldn't find anyone with a lead on the coordinates."

"To the Leyline?" Harry asked, wiping his hands on a dishcloth as he walked out of the kitchen. "I know."

"You know the coordinates to the Galactic Leyline?!" Gene and Jim shouted together.

Harry blinked. "Well, no... but I know someone who does."

---

"This is the place, huh?" Gene asked, looking up at an old mansion. "This guy knows the coordinates of the Galactic Leyline?"

"*She*," Harry corrected. "*She* knows the coordinates."

"Great. What should I expect when I ask her for them?"

Harry shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. Ron told me she's a witch."

"Like the Kay pirates?" Jim asked.

"Sort of." Harry looked up at the mansion as they walked to the door. "It's the same sort of Tao magic... except it's more of a hobby than a lifestyle."

"I hope you're right," Melfina said softly. Harry offered her his hand, and she accepted it. Behind them, Asjia giggled and Gene grumbled.

As they stepped towards the door, it swung open. "Come right in!!" came a smooth, cheery voice. "I'll be right there!"

Harry nodded to Gene, and led Melfina inside. The mansion was dark, and smelled like spices. The only light came from near a stairwell to their left. Jim followed. Then Asjia, and finally Gene. The door closed softly behind them. Gene tested it, and found that it did not lock.

"Of course it doesn't lock," said the same voice. "Why would I want it to lock? If I went outside, and forgot my keys, I might not be able to get in again!"

"Who's there?" Gene demanded.

"I am." They all turned in the direction of the voice. Standing by the stairwell was a blond girl no older than Melfina, smiling at them. "Welcome to my house," she said. "My name is Saffron. Why are you here?"

Gene frowned. This girl couldn't possibly be a Tao master, could she?

"Of course I can," she said. Gene gulped. She could read his mind!

Harry stepped forward, into the light. He bowed. "Pleased to meet you," he said, remembering what Ron had told him about addressing Tao magicians.

"Oh!" Saffron exclaimed, templing her fingers. "You must be Harry MacDougal, Ron's brother! How wonderful!"

Harry straightened. "How do you know that? I didn't--"

"Think it? Say it?" Saffron asked. "No. But you look just like him. And your eyes are the same color. Violet-red is such a rare color, especially among bio-androids, but so pretty... He was here just a day ago."

"Then he really is out of jail!" Jim exclaimed. "No way!"

"Are you looking for the coordinates of the Galactic Leyline, too?" Saffron asked, blinking large, yellow eyes.

Melfina stepped forward to join Harry. "Yes."

Saffron clapped her hands together. "Oh! And you must be Melfina! It's so nice to meet you!" she laughed. She jumped forward and clasped Melfina's hand. "Do you really plan to go to the Galactic Leyline? Do you really?"

Gene joined them. "Yeah," he said. "And we need the coordinates."

Saffron frowned and held up two fingers. "Do not ask," she said firmly, "Or I will not tell."

"Huh?" Gene snorted. "What does *that* mean?"

Harry realized that Gene was going to ruin their opportunity any moment. He stepped forward. "Saffron, I would like to talk to you," he said quickly. "About my brother."

Saffron's face brightened again. "Of course! Please come upstairs, and we will all talk!" She turned and ran up the stairs. When she got to the landing, she turned around again. "Hurry!"

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