Prologue: 'Silent Night'
"The snow..." he sighs softly, his round shoulders rising and falling. Black eyes gaze skywards, and his hand idly strokes a soft sable head. "It always makes me feel nostalgic."
There's a snort and the head that rests beneath his mittened hand shifts and antlers gently prod his shoulders. He chuckles softly, tilting his head down, as his rosy cheeks grow rounder with the shift of his lips, and his eyes crinkle. But there's a sadness that continues to dwell in his coal eyes.
"It's alright, Comet. I'm alright. But you must be hungry," he turns to lift the bucket from the ground, and the reindeer shifts forward a step and begins to eat from the bucket. "That's right boy."
As the reindeer placidly eats away he turns his head skywards and his coal black eyes slowly stare upwards, Jupiter seems to be within reach, its large storm swirling amidst the drifting snow.
"It's just not the same anymore, Comet."
There's a soft snort of agreement.
Chapter 1 'O Come All Ye Faithful'
"Foodafoodafooda," comes a nasally whine, and Ed comes swimming through the hair, her red hair sticking up all over the place. Following at her heels is Ein, just floating placidly along, although his grey eyes stare imploringly at the greedy three beneath himself and Ed, poised around the view screen.
The three ignore the red-headed sprite idly floating above the air, all three of them poised, and listening to the tinny sound coming from the tv.
"Aloha amigos!" Comes the cheerful voice of Punch, and everyone moves a little closer.
"It's time for your favourite program, bounty hunters?" Comes Judy, appearing on screen next to her co-star, her voluptuous bosum displayed to its best advantage.
"BIG SHOT!" They chime in together. Faye nervously taps her foot, waiting for them to get to the point, muscles twitching ever so slightly with her graceful movements. Her fingers itch and the growling in her stomach abates only long enough for her to hear the show.
"Today we have a real doozy of a Bounty for you! Worth 20,000,000 wulongs!"
"REALLY?" Judy chimes excitedly, clasping her hands before her chest. "With that much money I could buy myself a really pretty horse!"
"You could buy yourself a stable with that much money." Punch offers in his ever cheerful voice. His ditzy co-star bounces on her feet, allowing all the world to watch, hypnotized, as her breasts bounced through her clothes.
"Who is it, Punch? Tell me!!!! I want to know! Oooooooo, I'm so excited!" she squeels delightedly, pausing long enough to clasp her hands at her waist, to squirm and twist her nubile body.
"It's this man, Judy. One Kris Kringle. He's wanted for Breaking and Entering.....numerous counts of it!" Their faces disappear as a vague picture of a red blur and white is placed on the screen. 'No previous picture' flashing along the bottom, and on the top is the amount of the bounty.
"OH NO! But so much for a petty thief?!?!" Judy gasps over the picture, and it withdraws to be placed at the bottom of the picture.
"He's broken into some very famous peoples houses, but apparently he hasn't taken anything. It's what he's LEFT behind that matters."
"A bomb?"
"Nope."
"Naked pictures of himself?"
"Nope."
"THEN WHAT, Punch? Tell me!!!!" Like an impatient child she implores her co-star, her hands clasping beneath her chin, her blond hair swinging and glowing like a golden sheet attached to her heat, twirling contently with curls.
"Now that's the thing. We aren't allowed to say! But it's gotten people pretty worked up!" He tips his hat up, and he glances at the camera somberly.
"Good luck amigos!"
"GO GET...." Judy's cheerful departure is halted as the screen flips off and the blurry picture of this 'Kris Kringle' is flipped up.
"20 million wulongs!" Faye breathes softly, and she drops back against the back of the chair, draping her arms along the back. On either side of her sit her 'partners', the ever 'cheerful' Jet Black, with his balding head and his hard body he was not a man she would want to be on the opposite end of a gun from. She was grateful that she'd chosen to take them on.
And on her other side the enigmatic Spike Spiegal, ditz and pain in her posterior. Although he had saved her life a few times, she was confident that had she been given enough time she could have handled herself. There was also something about him that.....well it took more than one encounter to fully understand him.
"Ed....see what you can find on this 'Kris Kringle' guy." Jet calls out to Ed, and he watches the shapeless child float over to her laptop. She lands nimbly upon it, and Ein joins her. She slips the goggles into place and her hands hover up at chest level.
"Kris Kringle. Kris Kringle. Let's-a-Mingle." She chimes in her light cheerful voice, the tone rather sing-songy and carefree.
"There's something about that name...." Spike muses in his deep voice, and a long-fingered hand lifts and he strokes his chin, staring off into space.
"What is it, Spike?" Jet turns to his spiky, green haired partner, a black eyebrow arching. His metallic hand hovers over the tv screen, fingers curled casually.
"Just thought that I'd heard it before." Is all that Spike can offer, as he sits back.
"Peek-a-boo! Ed find youuuuuu!" Comes the triumphant chant from the red-headed girl. The three join around their youngest crew member.
"Aliases: Santa Claus? Old Saint Nick? What kind of names are those?" Faye reads out, incredulous, her eyes skimming over the information.
"Does it say anywhere where his last sightings were, Ed?" Jet asks, his metallic hand rested upon her slender shoulders and he shoved his face closer, the light reflecting off the piece of metal that curled beneath his one eye.
"Edda-find! Edda-find!" Is all she says, bobbing and swaying where she sits. A picture of the Universe appears upon the screen, and it begins to flash. A familiar solar system appears, and then one especially large gaseous planet is placed upon the screen.
Spike merely watches silently, that thoughtful, perplexed expression still upon his face.
"Callisto? That's a pretty frozen, quiet planet." Faye suddenly interjects as the 'last know sighting' is brought up. "I....don't think he'll be there."
"But it's a lead. We'll have to follow up on it." Jet informs her sternly, as he stands up. He rolls his shoulders and stretches.
"Well count me out of it then!" She shrills at him, standing up herself. Her hands come to rest upon her hips, and she thrusts her face towards Jet, her yellow clothes clinging to her lithe, curvaceous frame.
"You don't do work and you don't get any money!" Jet booms back, his blue eyes glittering in a challenge that Faye's green eyes can't help but see.
She pivots upon her heel, flipping back her purple hair, and she storms out of the lounge, heading for her room, leaving Spike to slowly turn around and look at Jet, perplexed.
"So we're going to Callisto?" Spike asks casually, his hands moving to tuck casually into his pockets. He begins to walk towards the hatch that led to the front of the ship.
"Yep," Jet offers monosyllabically, leading the way.
"You do know that they farm reindeers there, right?"
"Yep."
"And there's a high crime population?"
"Yep."
"Just checking." And Spike splits ways with his partner, whistling idly as he goes, walking with that gangly grace of his.
Jet shook his head, and the Black Dog rubs a hand across the back of his neck, not understand what the reindeer comment from Spike had been about, and Faye's outburst.
It didn't change anything though; they were going to Callisto to chase this 'Kris Kringle'