Title: A Human Heart
Author: Ryoko 03
Started: May 2001
Status: Part 7/?
Disclaimers and warnings posted in Part Prologue.
+blah+ = recorded voices and/or sounds
~*~blah~*~ = dreams/memories
~blah~ = dream flashbacks
=blah= = Harry/Melfina/Gilliam 'speaking' (interface)
Additional Note: I've had a couple of complaints about the way Ron MacDougall is
portrayed in this arc. Again I must state that this is what *might* have
occurred after the final episode of the series aired. The reason he's kinda
evil here is because I started writing after reading a fic called "Sins of the
Brother" by MissFortune (http://missfortune.ma-at.net/osfics/brother.html). For
my kinder, gentler Ron stories, check out "You Don't See Me"
(http://www.geocities.com/ekitten3/ols/ols_you_dont_see_me.txt) and "Drops of
Jupiter" (http://www.geocities.com/ekitten3/ols/drops_of_jupiter.txt).
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A Human Heart
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
//If I were Starwind, where would I hide?//
Ron MacDougall moved slowly through the crowded bar, eyes scanning every inch as
he went. His sources in Heyfong had told him that Gene Starwind was seen in the
area and had been asking about the Evangeline woman.
"Looking for someone?" The golden-eyed man turned to look down at the woman
who'd sidled up, smiling as if she had a few secrets she was willing to part
with. Her dark hair was pulled back into an updo, a few strands falling loosely
around her face, and her hazel eyes sparkled with a deviousness that only those
in the information game had.
"Perhaps I am," Ron complied, offering a small smile of his own. Perhaps he
could charm the woman and locate Starwind without any effort whatsoever.
The woman's smile became slightly devilish, and she took his arm. "Then perhaps
we can do business," she purred. "Why don't you step into my office and I'll
see what I can do for you. Eli! [1]" she called to the bartender. "Bring two
of the usual to my table. I'm entertaining a potential client."
As he was ushered to the corner table, Ron MacDougall began to realize that this
might not be quite as easy as he had hoped.
And he was so thoroughly distracted by the young woman's charms [2] that he
never saw the tall blond bartender silently usher his quarry out into the night
before bringing over the requested drinks.
~*~*~
Jim leaned back in his seat, stretching slightly as he sighed. Gene had been
gone for a while now, Aisha and Suzuka had gone out for dinner, and Melfina was
buying some much-needed supplies. The only company he had at the moment was
Harry, and the computer had been silent for the past hour. From the readings
Jim was picking up on the system's scan, it appeared that the former construct
was transferring a portion of his power to a smaller system, possibly a backup.
"Hey, Harry?" he asked aloud, hoping that the computer would answer; he still
wasn't sure what to think of Harry, but he needed *someone* to talk to before he
lost his mind. //It's times like this that I really miss Gilliam. I think he
was my best friend.// [3]
=Yeah?= Jim jumped slightly, not expecting Harry to answer so quickly.
//Maybe he's lonely too,// the blond wondered, saying aloud, "How long do you
think we'll be staying here? Gene said something about business, but I don't
know what he was here for...."
=I wish I knew,= the system replied. =He didn't say anything to me, really...
although I guess that's my fault. I'm not exactly... um... sociable....=
//Harry MacDougall, stammering? He *has* changed.//
"Don't worry about it too much," Jim replied with a shrug. "I guess finding
yourself in a foreign location would make anyone a little less talkative than
they would normally be."
=...can you keep a secret?=
The question was unexpected, causing Jim to blink slowly before nodding. "Yeah,
I can keep a secret. What's up, Harry?"
=Yes, Harry, what are you up to?= Gilliam questioned deep within the mainframe
operating system.
Harry didn't answer for a moment, but when he did it seemed that he was speaking
to both the teenager and the damaged system:
=You've probably noticed that every time we stop for a while I transfer some of
my power to another system. Apparently, Gilliam wasn't destroyed like you all
thought. I've been rebuilding the files and power core in my spare time.=
Jim was stunned; he had never even entertained the thought that his 'friend' was
still retrievable. Now, though, he was confused.
"Harry," he asked, "why are you rebuilding Gilliam's system? Are you planning
on offlining?" That thought frightened the young blond; during the time that
the crew had been searching for Gene's answers Jim had grown rather fond of the
disembodied construct. He didn't want to think about how the others would react
if Harry was suddenly just *gone*.
=Iie= came the swift reply. =But I have a bad feeling that something is going
to happen soon... I want to make sure that should something happen to me, you
and the others will have a chance to escape.=
=What do you mean?=
"Harry? What do you mean, 'if something happens to me'?!"
Harry didn't answer. Even he wasn't sure what he meant.
o.w.a.r.i.p.a.r.t.s.e.v.e.n.
[1] Eli! *hugs her tall blond bishie friend* Eli's one of my favorite
co-workers/friends, and he's fun to hang around with! I only wish he'd been
able to go to Kings Dominion with us as planned... *sigh*
[2] LOL, my sister Sierra reappears! And yes, she is a complete charmer! I
can SO see her doing this!
[3] Hehehehe, don't have to miss Gilliam for too long!
(2:47 PM 11/21/01)
Author: Ryoko 03
Started: May 2001
Status: Part 7/?
Disclaimers and warnings posted in Part Prologue.
+blah+ = recorded voices and/or sounds
~*~blah~*~ = dreams/memories
~blah~ = dream flashbacks
=blah= = Harry/Melfina/Gilliam 'speaking' (interface)
Additional Note: I've had a couple of complaints about the way Ron MacDougall is
portrayed in this arc. Again I must state that this is what *might* have
occurred after the final episode of the series aired. The reason he's kinda
evil here is because I started writing after reading a fic called "Sins of the
Brother" by MissFortune (http://missfortune.ma-at.net/osfics/brother.html). For
my kinder, gentler Ron stories, check out "You Don't See Me"
(http://www.geocities.com/ekitten3/ols/ols_you_dont_see_me.txt) and "Drops of
Jupiter" (http://www.geocities.com/ekitten3/ols/drops_of_jupiter.txt).
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A Human Heart
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
//If I were Starwind, where would I hide?//
Ron MacDougall moved slowly through the crowded bar, eyes scanning every inch as
he went. His sources in Heyfong had told him that Gene Starwind was seen in the
area and had been asking about the Evangeline woman.
"Looking for someone?" The golden-eyed man turned to look down at the woman
who'd sidled up, smiling as if she had a few secrets she was willing to part
with. Her dark hair was pulled back into an updo, a few strands falling loosely
around her face, and her hazel eyes sparkled with a deviousness that only those
in the information game had.
"Perhaps I am," Ron complied, offering a small smile of his own. Perhaps he
could charm the woman and locate Starwind without any effort whatsoever.
The woman's smile became slightly devilish, and she took his arm. "Then perhaps
we can do business," she purred. "Why don't you step into my office and I'll
see what I can do for you. Eli! [1]" she called to the bartender. "Bring two
of the usual to my table. I'm entertaining a potential client."
As he was ushered to the corner table, Ron MacDougall began to realize that this
might not be quite as easy as he had hoped.
And he was so thoroughly distracted by the young woman's charms [2] that he
never saw the tall blond bartender silently usher his quarry out into the night
before bringing over the requested drinks.
~*~*~
Jim leaned back in his seat, stretching slightly as he sighed. Gene had been
gone for a while now, Aisha and Suzuka had gone out for dinner, and Melfina was
buying some much-needed supplies. The only company he had at the moment was
Harry, and the computer had been silent for the past hour. From the readings
Jim was picking up on the system's scan, it appeared that the former construct
was transferring a portion of his power to a smaller system, possibly a backup.
"Hey, Harry?" he asked aloud, hoping that the computer would answer; he still
wasn't sure what to think of Harry, but he needed *someone* to talk to before he
lost his mind. //It's times like this that I really miss Gilliam. I think he
was my best friend.// [3]
=Yeah?= Jim jumped slightly, not expecting Harry to answer so quickly.
//Maybe he's lonely too,// the blond wondered, saying aloud, "How long do you
think we'll be staying here? Gene said something about business, but I don't
know what he was here for...."
=I wish I knew,= the system replied. =He didn't say anything to me, really...
although I guess that's my fault. I'm not exactly... um... sociable....=
//Harry MacDougall, stammering? He *has* changed.//
"Don't worry about it too much," Jim replied with a shrug. "I guess finding
yourself in a foreign location would make anyone a little less talkative than
they would normally be."
=...can you keep a secret?=
The question was unexpected, causing Jim to blink slowly before nodding. "Yeah,
I can keep a secret. What's up, Harry?"
=Yes, Harry, what are you up to?= Gilliam questioned deep within the mainframe
operating system.
Harry didn't answer for a moment, but when he did it seemed that he was speaking
to both the teenager and the damaged system:
=You've probably noticed that every time we stop for a while I transfer some of
my power to another system. Apparently, Gilliam wasn't destroyed like you all
thought. I've been rebuilding the files and power core in my spare time.=
Jim was stunned; he had never even entertained the thought that his 'friend' was
still retrievable. Now, though, he was confused.
"Harry," he asked, "why are you rebuilding Gilliam's system? Are you planning
on offlining?" That thought frightened the young blond; during the time that
the crew had been searching for Gene's answers Jim had grown rather fond of the
disembodied construct. He didn't want to think about how the others would react
if Harry was suddenly just *gone*.
=Iie= came the swift reply. =But I have a bad feeling that something is going
to happen soon... I want to make sure that should something happen to me, you
and the others will have a chance to escape.=
=What do you mean?=
"Harry? What do you mean, 'if something happens to me'?!"
Harry didn't answer. Even he wasn't sure what he meant.
o.w.a.r.i.p.a.r.t.s.e.v.e.n.
[1] Eli! *hugs her tall blond bishie friend* Eli's one of my favorite
co-workers/friends, and he's fun to hang around with! I only wish he'd been
able to go to Kings Dominion with us as planned... *sigh*
[2] LOL, my sister Sierra reappears! And yes, she is a complete charmer! I
can SO see her doing this!
[3] Hehehehe, don't have to miss Gilliam for too long!
(2:47 PM 11/21/01)