***Disclaimer: I don't own Outlaw Star or the characters…
Hi everyone! I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter up! Since it took so long, I decided to make this chapter longer than the others. I hope you like the story so far, and please review!
--
Chapter Eight
Hanmyo jumped onto her ship in the spaceport, along with Kemi and Mata, her friend cats. She put her key into the ignition, causing the engine to rumble. The lights and computers turned on with loud beeps.
"Systems are green," Mata said. "Take off systems are ready."
Hanmyo took in a deep breath as the spaceship slowly took off. As the ship got into the air, she thought about Jim. She hated leaving him without saying good-bye, but this was more important. This was her mission and she had strict orders not to screw it up or she would be destroyed like all the others who failed. She just wished she was strong enough to pick Jim over her assignment.
"Good-bye, Jim Hawking," she whispered, watching the blue sky turn into dark space. "We'll see each other again."
--
Jim hurried onto the Outlaw Star and ran into the cockpit. Gene was already sitting in the pilot's chair, starting the engine. Suzuka and Aisha were in their chairs that were on each side of Gene, and Melfina was already in her tube.
He stood there, staring off into another world. He wanted to see her again. He wanted to feel her sweet kisses lingering on his cheek. He wanted to feel those feelings again. But now they are all lost. He'll never feel them or see her ever again. And that makes his heart spew with burning tears. He could only see her in his dreams and even then, the burning tears don't go away.
Gene turned to him. "Why are you standing there gawking, Jim? Get in your seat. We have to go right now."
He nodded and quickly sat down in his chair. He turned on his computer and set up the radar system. The Outlaw Star took off into the unknown sky with clouds of smoke trailing behind it. It soon broke the atmosphere and was in deep space in the matter of minutes.
Jim sulked in his chair. He missed Hanmyo. He couldn't believe that she left before he even got a chance to tell her how much he liked her. And now, she'll never know. Neither will he.
As he stared blankly at the screen, he noticed a small red dot blinking on the screen. It was coming closer and closer to the ship with violent speed. It was only three miles away, and in space, it only seemed like three feet.
"Gene," Jim said, pointing at the dot. "I'm picking up something on the radar system… It appears to be a ship."
Gene looked at the screen and then quickly out the windshield. He saw nothing but desolate space, but there still stood a chance of threat. "Melfina, are the boosters ready?"
"They are, but not enough to be used at this moment," she replied. "I'm very sorry, Gene."
"Damn," he muttered under his breath.
The dot on the screen was gaining on them very quickly. And they couldn't go any faster, sine the boosters aren't fully functional due to the debris that had ruined parts of the main controls when they landed on Blue Nexus. They were like a boat with no motor with a shark circling around them. They were at a complete loss without any luck to wish for.
"Gene!" Melfina's voice shrieked, it echoed like the wind from a tornado. "They're off the map… They've disappeared into thin air. I don't see them anywhere."
"What?!?" he asked loudly. "How can they just disappear? It's not possible. It defies all the laws of physics."
"It's true, Gene," Gilliam said. "I don't detect them on my scanner and it can scan anywhere up to a five hundred mile radius. So they either disappeared or they could fly faster than the speed of light."
Jim quickly looked at his blinking monitor. He didn't see anything, not even a single asteroid floating on the radar. He didn't understand it. He didn't comprehend how they could disappear so quickly without him noticing them. But then, he remembered something: Not everything makes sense at first glance, especially in space.
"Gene, I think there's more to it than them just disappearing," Jim said, turning to him. "Maybe they didn't vanish at all. Maybe they just made it appear so, sort of like a magician trying to make a famous landmark disappear."
"I'm not following you," Gene said, bewildered.
Suzuka grunted in irritation. "For the thinking-impaired, he means that they've created an illusion. They simply made themselves camouflaged by their surroundings. Like a hunter wearing camouflage while hunting."
He nodded. "Oh, now I get it. So they think they can trick us? Well they have another thing coming to them."
Jim rolled his eyes. "They did trick us, well at least you anyway," he said, and smiled. "But that's all they're going to be successful in."
"Right," he replied, and flipped on the main computer. A green grid appeared on the windshield, showing their coordinates and the surroundings around them. But unfortunately, it didn't show the other ship. "Gilliam, is there any way you could possibly detect the other ship?"
"Well, I could use my heat sensors to scan the area, but it may not work that well, since other objects will be detected with it," Gilliam replied. "But I'll do my best to find it."
"I wish I could use my Catarl Catarl powers to help," Aisha said thoughtfully, clenching her fist. "I'm sure they would be powerful enough to destroy that ship."
"Yeah, then maybe you would be useful for something," Gene murmured with a smirk.
"Shut up, Gene," she hissed, and held up her hand with her claws projecting out. "You don't want me to claw you to death."
"I don't think this is the right time to fight, you guys," Suzuka said.
--
"Hanmyo," Mata said, running the scanner. "The Outlaw Star is exactly a hundred miles away from us. They still don't suspect us."
She nodded. "Good. Very good. Now an attack from us will be unexpected and they won't be able defend from it."
Kemi purred in satisfaction. "Hazanko will be pleased, Hanmyo, since the others weren't nearly as successful as we are. Maybe he'll even give us back our freedom, like he had promised."
Hanmyo smiled at the thought of being free. Even the idea of it made her whole body simmer in happiness. She can't even remember the feeling of being free, but she knows that it's everything that it's said to be and more.
She remembers living with her cats in a small apartment in the outskirts of Heifong 5. Life was easy then. Nobody ordering to do things or making her to hunt people down with important spaceships. Everything was simple and less demanding. But that was when her parents were killed a couple years after by a group of outlaws. She found them on the floor of their apartment, dead. On the walls, there were symbols of the outlaws written in her parents' blood. Not only did her life change at that moment, but hers did, too. It was too bad that they both changed for the worse.
After their death, her and her cats roamed the streets, since they couldn't pay the rent for their apartment anymore. They stole clothes and food when ever they needed it, which was every day. They would go for days without taking a shower or having a half decent meal that wasn't stolen or taken from a dumpster. Life was hard, and it kept getting harder. It seemed as if there was no ray of hope for them.
But after a couple months of living on the street, help finally came to them. Hazanko offered them a better life if they served him faithfully. They agreed and became his loyal servants. They hunted outlaws, which was Hanmyo's favorite part, since she hated outlaws for what they had done to her parents. She slaughtered so many that she stopped counting after the number reached three digits. She wasn't proud of what she was doing, but she wanted a better life for herself and she would do anything in order to get one.
"Are the missiles ready?" Hanmyo asked.
"Yes," Kemi replied. "Should we send one at them as a warning shot?"
Mata disagreed with a grumble. "No, we should send one straight towards them. No mercy."
Hanmyo nodded. "We can't let them get away," she said, and flipped the missile switch. She aimed it right at them and fired it. "Missile launched!"
The missile spun, twisting with ferocity. It hit the Outlaw Star with a loud explosion that echoed through the galaxy.
--
The Outlaw Star shook and the lights flickered. The explosion took out one of the engines, but they were still able to keep the other two intact, so they were fine for now.
Aisha climbed back onto her seat. "What the hell was that?"
"A missile," Suzuka said, still sitting in her seat. "I encourage to wear your safety belt, so the next time we're hit, you won't fall onto the floor."
She rubbed her head, laughing. "I'll take that into consideration."
"Damn it!" Gene shouted, trying to keep himself from falling out of his chair due to the ship's rocking. "Jim, are the missiles ready?"
He nodded, bringing the data on the screen. "Yeah. But we only have two that weren't damaged in the blast."
"I can't believe this!" he shouted.
Jim stared at his computer screen and turned the radar system. As soon as he turned it on, a beeping sound started to go off. A red dot was blinking on the screen, just like it had before the ship disappeared.
"Gene, it's back!" he shouted in excitement. "The ship is on our tail. Try to turn around so we could hit it with our missiles."
He nodded and used the throttle to turn the ship around to face the other one. After a few minutes, both ships were facing each other, like two cowboys in a duel to the death.
Suddenly, an image appeared on the windshield. A girl with a helmet that covered her face developed on the screen. "Members of the Outlaw Star, give up, or I'll destroy you in the name of the great Hazanko."
Gene smirked in a amusement. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that. This is my ship and I will not give it up to whoever the hell Hazanko is."
"Then die a most painful death," she said, and cutoff transmission.
He rolled his eyes and aimed a missile towards the ship. "Target locked," he said, and pressed the blue button before him. "Fire!"
The missile hit the ship, but didn't do enough damage to stop the ship from moving. It recovered it's damages and sped away. The Outlaw Star followed after them, twisting and turning, trying to avoid hitting any obstacles in its way. They were in a rat race for their lives.
They raced for a couple of minutes, dodging he missiles the other ship sent towards them. Every missile came faster than the last, and it got harder to avoid them. It was like playing dodge ball with laser beams flying at you at deadly speeds.
"Target locked," Gene said.
Hearing Gene, Jim quickly jumped from his seat and stopped him from pressing the button. "No! Gene, don't press it! It's the last one we have."
"Well do you have any better ideas?" he asked. "Because I'm out of them."
Jim nodded, grinning. "Yes, I do. But you have to trust me."
"I trust you, kid. I just don't trust them," he said.
He smiled as if he wanted something from him. "Well, you're gonna have to let me drive in order for it to work correctly."
Gene's eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he just asked him. Jim actually asked to drive the ship. That was something he never thought he would hear from him. But he trusts him well enough to let him drive it.
"All right," he said, getting out of the pilot's seat. "But if you wreck it, I kill you."
"It's a deal," Jim agreed, and sat down in the pilot's chair. He put on the safety belt and the headset.
Gene turned to him. "Good luck." He stuck up his thumbs. "Try not to kill us."
Jim gripped tightly on the throttle and stared to chase the ship. He accelerated past them, hoping they would follow him. And like he had predicted, they did, though they did send missiles after them. He swayed the ship back and forth, trying not to get by the artillery. When he got to an asteroid field, he swept past the asteroids quickly, nearly hitting them.
"Watch out, Jim!" Gene snapped. "You're gonna hit an asteroid by the way you're steering."
Jim smiled. "That's my intention."
"What?!?" Aisha shouted. "If you hit one, we're dead!"
"You'll see. Just sit back and enjoy the ride," he said.
He noticed the other ship coming extremely close to each asteroid they past. He knew he would have them very soon. So he increased his speed and his closeness. The ship replied with more speed and sending more missiles towards them.
He noticed the other ship coming extremely close to each asteroid they past. He knew he would have them very soon. So he increased his speed and his closeness. The ship replied with more speed and sending more missiles towards them.
He then headed toward a huge asteroid. He was going straight for it, without letting up speed. He came closer and closer. Then at the last minute, he shifted right, missing it by a sharp inch. He stopped and quickly turned. He saw the ship crash into it, separating into a million pieces of metal and electrical wires. Jim's plan worked, more than he thought.
--
In space, a single pink rose floated adrift in the far reaches of the universe…
--
To Be continued…
Please Review!
Hi everyone! I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter up! Since it took so long, I decided to make this chapter longer than the others. I hope you like the story so far, and please review!
--
Chapter Eight
Hanmyo jumped onto her ship in the spaceport, along with Kemi and Mata, her friend cats. She put her key into the ignition, causing the engine to rumble. The lights and computers turned on with loud beeps.
"Systems are green," Mata said. "Take off systems are ready."
Hanmyo took in a deep breath as the spaceship slowly took off. As the ship got into the air, she thought about Jim. She hated leaving him without saying good-bye, but this was more important. This was her mission and she had strict orders not to screw it up or she would be destroyed like all the others who failed. She just wished she was strong enough to pick Jim over her assignment.
"Good-bye, Jim Hawking," she whispered, watching the blue sky turn into dark space. "We'll see each other again."
--
Jim hurried onto the Outlaw Star and ran into the cockpit. Gene was already sitting in the pilot's chair, starting the engine. Suzuka and Aisha were in their chairs that were on each side of Gene, and Melfina was already in her tube.
He stood there, staring off into another world. He wanted to see her again. He wanted to feel her sweet kisses lingering on his cheek. He wanted to feel those feelings again. But now they are all lost. He'll never feel them or see her ever again. And that makes his heart spew with burning tears. He could only see her in his dreams and even then, the burning tears don't go away.
Gene turned to him. "Why are you standing there gawking, Jim? Get in your seat. We have to go right now."
He nodded and quickly sat down in his chair. He turned on his computer and set up the radar system. The Outlaw Star took off into the unknown sky with clouds of smoke trailing behind it. It soon broke the atmosphere and was in deep space in the matter of minutes.
Jim sulked in his chair. He missed Hanmyo. He couldn't believe that she left before he even got a chance to tell her how much he liked her. And now, she'll never know. Neither will he.
As he stared blankly at the screen, he noticed a small red dot blinking on the screen. It was coming closer and closer to the ship with violent speed. It was only three miles away, and in space, it only seemed like three feet.
"Gene," Jim said, pointing at the dot. "I'm picking up something on the radar system… It appears to be a ship."
Gene looked at the screen and then quickly out the windshield. He saw nothing but desolate space, but there still stood a chance of threat. "Melfina, are the boosters ready?"
"They are, but not enough to be used at this moment," she replied. "I'm very sorry, Gene."
"Damn," he muttered under his breath.
The dot on the screen was gaining on them very quickly. And they couldn't go any faster, sine the boosters aren't fully functional due to the debris that had ruined parts of the main controls when they landed on Blue Nexus. They were like a boat with no motor with a shark circling around them. They were at a complete loss without any luck to wish for.
"Gene!" Melfina's voice shrieked, it echoed like the wind from a tornado. "They're off the map… They've disappeared into thin air. I don't see them anywhere."
"What?!?" he asked loudly. "How can they just disappear? It's not possible. It defies all the laws of physics."
"It's true, Gene," Gilliam said. "I don't detect them on my scanner and it can scan anywhere up to a five hundred mile radius. So they either disappeared or they could fly faster than the speed of light."
Jim quickly looked at his blinking monitor. He didn't see anything, not even a single asteroid floating on the radar. He didn't understand it. He didn't comprehend how they could disappear so quickly without him noticing them. But then, he remembered something: Not everything makes sense at first glance, especially in space.
"Gene, I think there's more to it than them just disappearing," Jim said, turning to him. "Maybe they didn't vanish at all. Maybe they just made it appear so, sort of like a magician trying to make a famous landmark disappear."
"I'm not following you," Gene said, bewildered.
Suzuka grunted in irritation. "For the thinking-impaired, he means that they've created an illusion. They simply made themselves camouflaged by their surroundings. Like a hunter wearing camouflage while hunting."
He nodded. "Oh, now I get it. So they think they can trick us? Well they have another thing coming to them."
Jim rolled his eyes. "They did trick us, well at least you anyway," he said, and smiled. "But that's all they're going to be successful in."
"Right," he replied, and flipped on the main computer. A green grid appeared on the windshield, showing their coordinates and the surroundings around them. But unfortunately, it didn't show the other ship. "Gilliam, is there any way you could possibly detect the other ship?"
"Well, I could use my heat sensors to scan the area, but it may not work that well, since other objects will be detected with it," Gilliam replied. "But I'll do my best to find it."
"I wish I could use my Catarl Catarl powers to help," Aisha said thoughtfully, clenching her fist. "I'm sure they would be powerful enough to destroy that ship."
"Yeah, then maybe you would be useful for something," Gene murmured with a smirk.
"Shut up, Gene," she hissed, and held up her hand with her claws projecting out. "You don't want me to claw you to death."
"I don't think this is the right time to fight, you guys," Suzuka said.
--
"Hanmyo," Mata said, running the scanner. "The Outlaw Star is exactly a hundred miles away from us. They still don't suspect us."
She nodded. "Good. Very good. Now an attack from us will be unexpected and they won't be able defend from it."
Kemi purred in satisfaction. "Hazanko will be pleased, Hanmyo, since the others weren't nearly as successful as we are. Maybe he'll even give us back our freedom, like he had promised."
Hanmyo smiled at the thought of being free. Even the idea of it made her whole body simmer in happiness. She can't even remember the feeling of being free, but she knows that it's everything that it's said to be and more.
She remembers living with her cats in a small apartment in the outskirts of Heifong 5. Life was easy then. Nobody ordering to do things or making her to hunt people down with important spaceships. Everything was simple and less demanding. But that was when her parents were killed a couple years after by a group of outlaws. She found them on the floor of their apartment, dead. On the walls, there were symbols of the outlaws written in her parents' blood. Not only did her life change at that moment, but hers did, too. It was too bad that they both changed for the worse.
After their death, her and her cats roamed the streets, since they couldn't pay the rent for their apartment anymore. They stole clothes and food when ever they needed it, which was every day. They would go for days without taking a shower or having a half decent meal that wasn't stolen or taken from a dumpster. Life was hard, and it kept getting harder. It seemed as if there was no ray of hope for them.
But after a couple months of living on the street, help finally came to them. Hazanko offered them a better life if they served him faithfully. They agreed and became his loyal servants. They hunted outlaws, which was Hanmyo's favorite part, since she hated outlaws for what they had done to her parents. She slaughtered so many that she stopped counting after the number reached three digits. She wasn't proud of what she was doing, but she wanted a better life for herself and she would do anything in order to get one.
"Are the missiles ready?" Hanmyo asked.
"Yes," Kemi replied. "Should we send one at them as a warning shot?"
Mata disagreed with a grumble. "No, we should send one straight towards them. No mercy."
Hanmyo nodded. "We can't let them get away," she said, and flipped the missile switch. She aimed it right at them and fired it. "Missile launched!"
The missile spun, twisting with ferocity. It hit the Outlaw Star with a loud explosion that echoed through the galaxy.
--
The Outlaw Star shook and the lights flickered. The explosion took out one of the engines, but they were still able to keep the other two intact, so they were fine for now.
Aisha climbed back onto her seat. "What the hell was that?"
"A missile," Suzuka said, still sitting in her seat. "I encourage to wear your safety belt, so the next time we're hit, you won't fall onto the floor."
She rubbed her head, laughing. "I'll take that into consideration."
"Damn it!" Gene shouted, trying to keep himself from falling out of his chair due to the ship's rocking. "Jim, are the missiles ready?"
He nodded, bringing the data on the screen. "Yeah. But we only have two that weren't damaged in the blast."
"I can't believe this!" he shouted.
Jim stared at his computer screen and turned the radar system. As soon as he turned it on, a beeping sound started to go off. A red dot was blinking on the screen, just like it had before the ship disappeared.
"Gene, it's back!" he shouted in excitement. "The ship is on our tail. Try to turn around so we could hit it with our missiles."
He nodded and used the throttle to turn the ship around to face the other one. After a few minutes, both ships were facing each other, like two cowboys in a duel to the death.
Suddenly, an image appeared on the windshield. A girl with a helmet that covered her face developed on the screen. "Members of the Outlaw Star, give up, or I'll destroy you in the name of the great Hazanko."
Gene smirked in a amusement. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that. This is my ship and I will not give it up to whoever the hell Hazanko is."
"Then die a most painful death," she said, and cutoff transmission.
He rolled his eyes and aimed a missile towards the ship. "Target locked," he said, and pressed the blue button before him. "Fire!"
The missile hit the ship, but didn't do enough damage to stop the ship from moving. It recovered it's damages and sped away. The Outlaw Star followed after them, twisting and turning, trying to avoid hitting any obstacles in its way. They were in a rat race for their lives.
They raced for a couple of minutes, dodging he missiles the other ship sent towards them. Every missile came faster than the last, and it got harder to avoid them. It was like playing dodge ball with laser beams flying at you at deadly speeds.
"Target locked," Gene said.
Hearing Gene, Jim quickly jumped from his seat and stopped him from pressing the button. "No! Gene, don't press it! It's the last one we have."
"Well do you have any better ideas?" he asked. "Because I'm out of them."
Jim nodded, grinning. "Yes, I do. But you have to trust me."
"I trust you, kid. I just don't trust them," he said.
He smiled as if he wanted something from him. "Well, you're gonna have to let me drive in order for it to work correctly."
Gene's eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he just asked him. Jim actually asked to drive the ship. That was something he never thought he would hear from him. But he trusts him well enough to let him drive it.
"All right," he said, getting out of the pilot's seat. "But if you wreck it, I kill you."
"It's a deal," Jim agreed, and sat down in the pilot's chair. He put on the safety belt and the headset.
Gene turned to him. "Good luck." He stuck up his thumbs. "Try not to kill us."
Jim gripped tightly on the throttle and stared to chase the ship. He accelerated past them, hoping they would follow him. And like he had predicted, they did, though they did send missiles after them. He swayed the ship back and forth, trying not to get by the artillery. When he got to an asteroid field, he swept past the asteroids quickly, nearly hitting them.
"Watch out, Jim!" Gene snapped. "You're gonna hit an asteroid by the way you're steering."
Jim smiled. "That's my intention."
"What?!?" Aisha shouted. "If you hit one, we're dead!"
"You'll see. Just sit back and enjoy the ride," he said.
He noticed the other ship coming extremely close to each asteroid they past. He knew he would have them very soon. So he increased his speed and his closeness. The ship replied with more speed and sending more missiles towards them.
He noticed the other ship coming extremely close to each asteroid they past. He knew he would have them very soon. So he increased his speed and his closeness. The ship replied with more speed and sending more missiles towards them.
He then headed toward a huge asteroid. He was going straight for it, without letting up speed. He came closer and closer. Then at the last minute, he shifted right, missing it by a sharp inch. He stopped and quickly turned. He saw the ship crash into it, separating into a million pieces of metal and electrical wires. Jim's plan worked, more than he thought.
--
In space, a single pink rose floated adrift in the far reaches of the universe…
--
To Be continued…
Please Review!