AN This story may not seem that original if you are a well read Outlaw Star fan. I am not a well read Outlaw Star fan. I have read very little stuff from it's corner of Fanfiction.net. If this has been done before I would just like to say, I did not steal your idea! So please don't, umm, do whatever it is you do at Fanfiction.net if someone copies your fic.

Oh yeah, italics are for thoughts, I don't really use them that often except for that one part down there. You'll see what I mean.



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Ghosts and Constructs
By Areku

Chapter 1
My World
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"Hey Gene," Jim looked over his seat at the captain, "why are we stopping here, the Outlaw Star doesn't need any repairs?"

Gene just smiled, "Mel and I haven't really gone out anywhere since we left the Leyline."

Melfina had already left the bridge to get ready. She would be waiting for him at the entrance to the docking bay. The Outlaw Star had stopped at a station on the way to the Arasian system.

"You didn't take her out on Sentinel 3?"

Gene's face twisted at the thought. There were too many other people on Sentinel 3. People whom he shared certain 'experiences' that were better left alone, especially with Melfina around.

"You didn't even take her to Clyde's?"

Didn't he do anything but ask questions? At Clyde's there was Iris. As soon as they entered she would run up, throw her arms around Gene's waist, and nuzzle against his chest. Such a display of affection wouldn't be good, or encouraging in front of the woman he had pledged to stay with. Not only would it be uncomfortable, it would be damaging. "No." He spoiled the mood of the whole conversation with his tone.

Then follows an uncomfortable silence of shifting back and forth.

"Is there anywhere I could take her here?"

"Probably, let me check." Jim typed for a while. "Here, there's a park with a fountain." (Ahhem, Jim fans, remember?) "And then nearby there's a new restaurant. Since it's new the drinks are probably cheaper."

"Do you have to be so budget conscience ALL the time."

Jim smiled, "I can't afford to be anything else."

As Gene turned to walk out, "Alright, then I guess I'll take her there. Thanks for your help."

Jim had just one more question, "Hey Gene, since when do you need help with a date?"

Without turning around he answered, "Melfina's different." After a pause, "I want to make her happy."

****************

"So Gene, where are we going?" She had that happy but quizzical look plastered all over her face. She always looked so beautiful like that. It was an improvement to the continual sad look she had formerly adopted.

"I thought you and I could go out, and um," (being a bit unsure of his position he didn't dare say 'date), "and grab a bite to eat. That is okay with you, isn't it?"

Melfina nodded, leaned against his arm, and closed her eyes contently, "As long as I'm with you, wherever we go is fine."

Come on, did he really deserve this? Was he that good a person? "Alright then." Slightly red, he turned his attention to where they were going.

*********************

Then they go to the park, and spew a bunch of sappy stuff. But that's boring, so I'm not going to go through all that. Not to mention EVERY Gene/Mel fan does it in EVERY fic.

Angry Gene/Mel fans jeer at Areku.

Okay fine, I'll give you a brief summary but you can't expect anymore out'a me.

"I love you Melfina."

"I love you Gene."

"You are the only one Melfina."

"You are my world Gene."

"I'll always love you."

"Oh Gene..."

Areku jumps through her computer "Okay, we get the picture!" Now screaming at them, "We love you two, but your going to make me sick." She/I start propelling them toward the restaurant. "Just go and 'eat' so something interesting can happen!" Areku jumps back through her magic portal and sits down

*********************

They went to the restaurant, which was actually a bar. 'Jim's idea of cheep.' They proceed to order, but before they start eating...

Gene gets in a big fight with another customer... The other customer did provoke him somehow, I'm sure you can think of a way yourself. The fight that nisus, isn't a verbal fight, it's a one of those physical kind of fights, the ones that really mess up the surroundings.

You know I was going to write this part out, but it really doesn't have anything to do with the plot of the story. What's important are the events that followed. Come on, why should I have to write this? If I do, it'll take ten times longer before I post this because I'm completely uninspired.

Wow, now why did I write all that? Okay, uh, sorry for the interruption we will now return you to your regularly scheduled programs. Okay? Is that okay with everyone? Um, hello???

********************

Gene leaned over and murmured to Melfina, "We better go back to the ship. Why don't you wait outside while I see about the damages."

Mel nodded, and with no hesitation- left.

There was a peal of laughter. Some one must have been holding it in for a long time. It came from the direction of the bar.

Now a good question for the audience would be- what does Gene do that's so entertaining? Why is it that people at bars are always the most entertained? If they are your questions even before I wrote this you are very smart, because that's just what Gene was thinking too. Now I'll have to leave both questions unanswered, for there are much more important things to write.

He turned around. His mocker had short hair, a man. But when he went down from the face any thought of him possibly being a man flew away. 'His' outfit was white with red edging; the color and design did not suit her at all except for the places it was left open. And it was left open, blushes, in all the places you'd expect it was gratuitously open.

Years of experience surfaced in Gene's mind. They bubbled and boiled up. They were tugging, no, dragging him toward the Strange Lady. People like that tend to scream 'Man'. He had to answer that cry; these were his natural instincts. He had to respond.

Don't think for a moment that his feelings for Melfina changed, or faded. But when you are in the presence of these kinds of instincts, all you can do is forgot the world around you. (Try stopping an anime fan from writing fanfiction or drawing fanart.) The pot was boiling over, and there was no lid to stop it.

Eyes closed, he smiled, and moved toward the bar.

**************

Outside, a dog immediately greeted Melfina; he came up to her tongue out, and tail wagging. It looked up at her in greeting.

"Hello there," she bent down to pet him, "Are you lost?"

**************

Gene dropped onto a stool next to her at the bar.

When he was seated she tilted her head slightly toward him and smiled. "Well I'm impressed."

With a show of casualness he said, "What's a hot babe like you doing in a place like this?" As I said before, he was very experienced. He knew what approach would work best.

**************

Melfina continued to pet the dog as she talked, "I was lost once too. Then he found me, and 'took me under his wing' so to speak." A far off look came to her eyes; her hand froze for a moment. She could remember every moment- every look, every touch, he was there.

The dog looked at her, lopsided. Maybe he was wondering what her problem was. Or he was trying to read what she was thinking. Most likely he wanted to know why her hand had stopped moving.

*************

She laughed, "I should ask you why you came here. I'm sure the answer would be- to pick up a 'babe'."

She was adventurous for a first meeting. Barely trying her ground before jumping out. Like jumping out on ice. He could do that too. "Hey, when they scream take me, what else am I suppose to do?"

"Or maybe," she seemed to ignore his statement, "you just come here to cause trouble, in which case you'll have to be arrested." She sounded too lighthearted to pull off that statement...

What was she trying for? Oh well, shoot high "My experiences say that when you cause trouble women find you more attractive."

The Lady leaned forward, still laughing slightly, "Are you trying to pick me up?" The prey must know that the best defense was to throw yourself in the hunter's face. That usually confuses them, and they can't say anything. But this one, this show of casualness, always leaning closer, lowering her voice. Playing into his hands, but never jumping in. She didn't really want a defense at all.

Gene, now leaning forward resting his chin on his folded hands and whispered, "What do you think?" Sometimes when approaching the prey that is as experienced as the hunter it is best to play it cool.

*************

Melfina was still off in her own world, but her hand was moving over the dog's fur again. She was still talking, "When I first opened my eyes I saw him. The first words I heard were him calling my name." The dog licking her hand brought her back to reality. "You like that don't you."

************

She closed her eyes; their noses were almost touching. Gene was approaching her face/neck, closer, slower. Savoring the sweet taste of victory. Then she murmured with a smile, "I think, you should watch your girlfriend more closely." The hunter jolted back, and in a still quiet tone she continued, "It's not safe for constructs here."

Gene's lopsided smile twisted down to a frown. The ice just cracked and he fell in, while the prey ran off. But that wasn't the real problem. He just had his hunter's license revoked, and a sign put up saying 'stay off the ice'. Or in other words...

Melfina! How could he forget her? How dare he forget her? Idiot! What if she saw all that? He could see her tear stained eyes, her lip quivering. She would try to smile, but then it would all fall apart and she'd run away. He would have lost her. Shattered all the progress she had made from the Leyline. He briskly stood up and walked out. That's right, not even paying the fees.

Gene stumbled out onto the street. He looked around she wasn't there. Okay, just calm down, breath slowly. That's right, now you have to find Melfina. The crowded streets yielded no clue. She was suppose to wait outside, so she must be here. There were tourists, locals, vendors etc. all going about their business. None of them looked familiar. Come on look closer! He looked from face to face she wasn't there.

Where is she? The second half of what the Lady said came back to him.

'It's not...'

Could she have gone back to the ship? Or maybe she's looking at some of the vender's wares.

'...safe...'

His mind was in a warp, being sucked down. The crowd hummed and swayed. But where was she?

'...not safe...'

She better be all right.

'...for constructs...'

A casual comment made by someone who was probably drunk shouldn't go this far. But she looked so serious...

"Melfina!" He cried out.

'...here.'

"Over here Gene." She was right next to the entrance, scratching the dog's chin.

Gene sighed. She was here. She was fine. His voice came out gruffer than he would have liked, "Let's get back to the ship."

"Can we take him with us," she indicated the dog, "He seems to be all alone."

She was so oblivious, so offbeat. After he just got a death threat, how could she talk about those things? Who could care about a dog at that moment? The answer was simple, Melfina. To get her in the same frame of mind as him, he would have to tell her what happened. Would he really want her to know about his little 'conversation' anyway?

He did consider some of that, probably the first half. But he just wanted to leave. "No he'd have to go through Quarantine at every station, and dogs don't like staying in ships." While talking he put his arm around Melfina's back propelled her toward the docking station. There was a bark, and she twisted around to see that the dog was gone.


To be continued



AN If you liked that there is more to come. I have the entire story written out, but I'll only post it if I know there will be an audience. So respond!

It seems like there are two schools of thought as far a Gene goes. There are the Gene/Mel fans, who have them saying all that sappy stuff and Gene staying with her and only her. Then there are the other fans, writing... whatever, the humor, and all that other stuff, they tend to say 'when Gene brings a girl home...' more in the feeling of the first two episodes. You know what I mean. In this fic I'm trying to fall between the two. Because it seems like both extensions of Gene are too extreme. He isn't quite the same as the first episode, I don't think he'd go to that hotel place anymore. But he isn't all gushy now like all us romantic people tend to paint him. Do you know what I mean?

The whole idea for this chapter came from an idea for a fic that my beta reader (and first reviewer) mentioned. So the whole Strange Lady stuff kind of came from her. I think she'll be finishing her fic soon, I hope... I'd give you her name if she were registered with FF.net...

Disclaimer- Outlaw Star is owned by Sunrise, Bandai, Anime Village and the edited version- Toonami. I'm not making any money off this (unfortunately) so please don't sue me.