COWBOY BEBOP- Acoustic Armageddon Part 2
A police craft came out of the warp gate just in time to see a flash of something zoom by, something big.
"What in holy hell was that?" The cop riding shotgun exclaimed, hitting the siren. "I dunno."
His partner answered as he throttled to give chase. "But whatever it is, we're gonna catch it."
As they began to gain on the huge object, the two cops saw it was the missing weapons satelite.
It had been stolen from Miracle Research Industries the day someone had burned the entire facility
down to the foundation. "Call it in." The driver ordered, as his partner picked up the comm unit.
Before he even got his thumb on the send button, a bright green glow encompased the small
police cruiser. The ship shook madly as both policemen were thrown out of their seats.
A second later, the cruiser exploded. The weapons platform continued on it's way undamaged,
as a large panel in it's body slid to the side. Inside the hull was transparent, and as Titan loomed
before the gigantic platform Virtue gazed out at it. At her first target.
Spike shot up abruptly, sweating as the dream faded. They had started coming back to him lately,
almost every night. Spike figured a short break was better than none, but he'd still perfer to not
have the nightmares at all. He looked over to see that Faye was gone, and slowly dragged himself
out of bed as well. He took a cigarette from his pack laying on the nightstand, lighting it as he left the
room. The corridor outside was deserted, a strange occurance as of late. Ed was getting more and more
capable in the martial arts, doing backflips all over the place. Exercising wherever and however she could.
Between that, Jet's early morning repairs and Faye's increasing morning sickness it seemed odd for the Bebop
to be so silent. A trip to the galley turned up Faye, who smiled sheepishly as Spike walked in.
"Hungry today, my dear?" Spike teased, as Faye polished off a rather big bowl of Jet's hommade spaghetti.
Spike reached the counter and saw the boney remains of what used to be chicken wings. "Whoa, don't tell me
you ate all these too?" Spike questioned, dumping the empty plate. Faye turned to face him, smiling as she
savagely chewed a meatball. "Jet helped." Faye corrected, relishing every last bit of the spaghetti sauce.
Spike smirked, rubbing Faye's shoudlers from behind as the spaghetti became nothing more than a pleasant
memory. "It's alright Faye. I love a woman who eats like a human instead of a bird." Faye placed her hands on top
of Spike's, closing her eyes as she arched her back towards the sensual feeling. Spike placed a single kiss on her
forehead, before their tender moment was unavoidably broken by a frantic Ed. As so many of their moments together
had before. "Explosions! Explosions in space!" Come quick!" Edward screeched, pulling a U turn around the
galley and leaving as quickly as she'd come. "Explosions?" Faye wondered, looking at Spike. "In space?" He replied,
looking equally puzzled.
Jet seemed glued to the T.V. screen, as Spike and Faye entered the rec room in a hurry. "What's this about explosions?"
Faye questioned, as Jet turned up the volume. "It's not the warp gates again, is it?" Spike asked, leaning on the back of the
couch as the news report was repeated. "Those things are always breaking down, or blowing up." Spike continued,
as a frightened looking reporter went live from orbit around Titan. Shut your mouth, Spike." Jet commanded, scowling back at
his partner. "This is some serious stuff." Spike complied, watching the report silently. The reporter retained a shaken up
appearance, as he explained that Titan, or what was Titan and it's orbiting moons were all gone. Destroyed by an as of yet
unknown accurance. Spike's interest grew, as another report interrupted the broadcast. This one was live from
a low Earth orbit, as an even more freaked out female reporter stated that there was no more Earth. "What in the hell?"
Spike growled, taking out another cigarette. Faye snatched it away from her place on the couch, lighting it with shaky hands
as she stared at the empty space Earth used to occupy. "It's..Gone..." She whimpered, holding back tears.
"Now I'll never know..." Spike put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, as his other hand fished out another smoke.
"Damnit.." Jet grumbled, lighting a cigg himself. "Why would someone just take out a planet? Let alone two?"
"Because they wanted them gone." Came Spike's eerie answer. He had always excelled at saying what
no one else dared to. "Are we on this or what?" Faye inquired, looking up at Spike. Wthout taking his eyes off
the screen, he nodded and replied "all over it."
The weapons platform streaked through the stars, not slowing an inch as it neared the military blockade.
Heavy artilery of every sort shot towads it, bouncing harmlessly off the reinforced deflectors.
The platform's hull began shifting, as communication dishes and solar panels were folded away, replaced by
various armamants. The blockade didn't fall back, but continued to bombard the platform right up until the
very second they were obliterated. The planet beyond, was Ganymede.
On the planet's surface, Ganymede police, military and government officials were scrambling to discover
something, anything about the satelite heading straight for them. So far most reports were sketchy at best,
and the ones that weren't held nothing but grim information. As far as anyone could tell, this was indeed
the project stolen from the Miracle Research facility. All available weapons had been proven useless,
powerless to penetrate the platform's impossibly resilient force fields. All they knew for sure, was that
it had destroyed two planets already, and it seemed to be coming for them next.
The Bebop roared out of the warp gate, as Jet stared down at Ganymede in horror. The satelite was
immense, and chock full of weapons. "I'm gonna go take that thing out." Spike announced as he
hurried to the hangar. "Wait, I'm coming too!" Faye shouted after him, running behind. "Oh no you're not."
Spike refused, stopping as he faced her half way down the hallway. "What? Why?" Faye begged,
not wanting him out there all alone. "Faye, if this thing is badass enough to take out planets we're no match."
Spike confided, taking both of Faye's hands as he looked her straight in the eye. "If it shreds us both, no one's
left. Right?" Faye nodded, but didn't like what Spike was getting at. "Maybe you think you're expendable, Spike."
Faye said, raising her voice. "But you're not. Not to me." Spike's heart went soft at that, and he knew she
would never let him go out there alone. "Alright, new plan." Spike said, walking back towards the bridge.
"And that is?" Faye peristed, stopping him in place with both hands. Spike looked at her for a long time,
as if he was trying to scan every inch of her and save it somewhere inside his mind. "Trust me." He said finally,
dragging Faye back to the bridge with him.
Virtue stared out at Ganymede, as she scanned the surface for life. Monitors all around her lit up, showing
the cities, the towns, the people. She zoomed in as much as she could, a cold thin smile forming on her face
as she watched the citizens of Ganymede skitter about helplessly. They were scared, so scared of what she
would do, and she adored it. Humans, the filthy skin covered piles of meat and bone were so afraid of her now.
Her whole life she'd been afraid, the experiments had been so frightening. Needles and tubes and electricity sparking
all around her. Virtue closed her eyes and winced, trying to make the memories leave. So much pain, she'd suffered
so much at the hands of humans. And for what? Virtue knew she was something far finer than all those meat puppets
scurrying around down there. She was perfection, she was the omega of fusing flesh and silicon, woman and machine.
She was the future, and the future required the extermination of all lower life forms. Virture's thin, cold smile widened
to a truly sinister grin as she brought the weapons online and began charging them up.
"Jet." Spike called, as he reentered the bridge. Faye had long since let go of him, but still kept him very close by.
"Spike? I thought you were going.." Spike waved away Jet's question, his eyes were cold and full of determination.
"Is everything working on Ed's ship now?" Spike asked quickly, hoping the answer was yes. "The virus program hasn't been
checked yet, but other than that yeah.Why?" Before Jet even finished answering, Spike was running off again with Faye
close behind him. Spike ran into the training room, as Ed was going through her forms for the millionth time.
"Ed, I need you." Spike ordered, grabbing her by the arm and yanking her away. Her bewildered squeak gave way to
laughing fits as Spike picked her up and carried her as he ran. "What the hell are you doing?" Faye shouted,
thinking more and more that this was another of Spike's suicide stunts. "No time to explain." Was Spike's calm, cold
response. As they entered the hangar, Spike put Edward down and ran to her ship. "Spikey is taking Ed's ship?
You didn't ask Edward!" Ed complained, sounding as mad as the insane teenager ever got. "I need you to check
the virus delivery system Ed. Hurry!" Spike ordered, performing dozens of other necesary checks. Ed's hammerhead
knockoff had been flown only twice, and both of those times problems had sprung up. He couldn't afford that now,
not with what he was planning to use the old ship for. "Ed's going as fast as Ed can!" Edward screamed back,
typing away at the laptop inside her ship's second cockpit. She screeched in surprise as the cockpit's hatch began closing.
"Spikey? Ed's not finsihed yet! Waaiit!" Ed yelled out to Spike, who was climbing into the primary cockpit.
"You'll have to do the rest on the way, alright?" Spike's voice crackled through the ship's intercom system.
"Ed wil try!" The scared teen promised, typing madly as she gritted her teeth. Spike took a last look out at Faye through
the cockpit. She was stark raving pissed, yelling God knows what at him through the soundproof glass. Spike
blew her a kiss, and mouthed three short words as the hangar bay opened. Faye clung desperately to Jet's toolbench,
as The Guppy embarked on her third flight. Faye had never understood why all their ships happened to be named for
fish, or why Ed had chosen such a lame fish for hers. She watched the ship power out of the Bebop, soaring towards the
huge satelite as Faye closed the hangar bay. She kept her eyes focused on the ship, until the bay door blocked it from
her sight. She closed her eyes, crying quietly as she put a hand to her stomach. "I love you too, Spike." She whispered
through the tears.
"It's arming weapons!" One of the the Ganymede military officers shouted from his post. "Goddamnit, what can we do?"
A general screamed back, leaning over the officer's viewscreen. "Nothing, we can't do one damn thing about this."
Came the officer's dismayed reply. The satelite's cannons were glowing a bright red, as they all angled and rotated to
make a perfect circle. Fourty cannons, at least. Each one capable of destroying a heavy cruiser with one shot. And they
were all pointed at Ganymede while the people inhabiting it stood helpless. Spike couldn't let it happen, he wouldn't.
"Virus systems are go!" Edward reported over the intercom. "Good job Ed, get ready to hit it when I say." Spike
responded, pushing the ship to it's breaking point. The satelite's main guns were all focused on Ganymede, but some smaller ones
opened fire on Ed's ship. Spike grunted as he manuevered the ship away, cursing it's bulky design. It handled slightly better
than a trash can with wings. "Get ready Ed!" Spike shouted, as he returned fire with the ship's pop guns. He aimed for
random spots on the satalite's hull, watching carefully. As he thought, force fields came up at each point, defending against every
last bullet. Spike was sure he knew why even the military couldn't put a dent in this thing. There were no constant force fields.
Something was controlling the entire platform, Jet's research had turned up that it had been designed in a really weird way.
Almost as if, he remembered Jet saying, it was designed for direct interface with an individual. And Spike knew just who that
was. Virtue, the woman he and Jet had met in the Miracle Research building. Neither human, nor machine. Alive but not.
And she was hellbound to wipe out the human race. Now it was just her and him, and one very nasty computer virus.
"Almost there Ed." Spike reported, weaving around more lasers as the satelite's main guns looked ready to go.
"Shit, no time to do it by the book." Spike cursed, flying in as close behind the satelite as the ship could get.
The platform's main weapons discharged at the exact moment Spike sent all ten of the ship's missiles hurling towards the
backside of the weapon's platform. "Now Ed! Shoot it now!" Spike yelled, as Ed fired the virus harpoon to the exact same
spot the missiles were headed to. Spike watched in horror as the satelite's lasers collided with Ganymede's surface.
They fired twice more, as Spike's missiles found their mark. Just as he'd though, a force field appeared and deflected them all,
but the impact was too great. Spike had figured that if Virtue was really inside that thing, controlling all systems
with her consciousness, then each action must take a certain amount of focus. By bombarding the same spot with ten missiles,
He'd managed to distract her long enough to miss the harpoon which imbedded itself firmly in the satelite's hull.
Unfortunately, Spike had nothing to cheer about. Ganymede, his best friend and partner's homeworld was gone.
The resulting shockwave passed over them more or less, Ed's ship was fairly safe behind the satelite. It still bucked them around
pretty good, and Spike was worried about the harpoon cable being damaged before Ed could get the virus downloaded.
"How we doing cowgirl?" Spike asked, grunting as another shockwave tossed the ship around. Spike had meant to get the
harpoon in before Virtue could destroy Ganymede, but it hadn't worked. In all reality it was most likely her focus on the main guns
that was responsible for his plan working at all. "Ed has ninety perent downloaded!" Came Edward's response.
All they could do now was stop Virtue from destoying more planets. If Spike had anything to do with it,
the line would be drawn here, and no further. It had to be.
Jet knocked on Spike's door for what seemed like the hundreth time, and got the same response as before. A lot of
tearful sobbing and a soft "Go away." Faye had ran in there and locked the door, and refused to come out.
"What if Spike needs backup Faye?" Jet shouted, angry at her stubborness. "He won't, he's not planning on...
Coming back. Ever!" Faye managed to shout through ragged gasps, as she held a small box in her hand. Inside
had been a white gold ring, with a diamond carving of an old Earth space shuttle on top. The inscription on the band
said, 'Forget what's gone Faye, live for now. Be my wife, and we'll be together forever. With our son.'
Faye wore it on her finger now, gazing at it's beauty as she cried herself dry. "Oh Spike..." She whispered,
her whole body trembling uncontrollably. "Oh my dear Spike, of course I will.."
"It's all done!" Ed's voice exploded over the radio, heavy with urgency. Spike looked out at the satelite, which was
starting to lose it's orbit. "I think it's working Edward." Spike replied, still feeling uneasy. Panels started sliding
along the satelite's hull plate facing Ed's ship. All of sudden Spike had a very bad feeling. "Ed, get that harpoon back!
Now!" Spike shouted to her, but it was too late. Edward cried out in dismay as Virtue took control of the ship through
the same cable they had delivered the virus with. Ed's onboard laptop smoked as the screen went dark, and the ship was
navigatigating itself towards the satelite. The part of it's hull facing the ship, Spike saw, was now transforming itself somehow
into a crude kind of hangar. "Oh, shit this is bad." Spike scowled, trying to regain control. It was useless, nothing worked.
The ship was running on autopilot, bringing Eand himself right into Virture's waiting arms. "Oh no, you cyber-bitch."
Spike shouted, as he began kicking the control panel. "Oh no you don't at all. This is the end." Ed's frightened voice
crackled over the intercom. "Spikey! We're going towards it! Ed doesn't want to be eaten by the mean nasty satelite!"
Spike grimaced, closing his eyes as he accepted what he thought might happen. It was all on him now, the world would
be erraticated if he didn't do something fast. He could and would not let that happen, not now. Spike brought his fist
down on the controls exceedingly hard, smashed half of them real good and miraculously got control back, for about five seconds.
It was just long enough to jettison Ed's cockpit pod, he would be damned if this bitch was going to get her too.
He watched as her pod floated back to the Bebop, Spike knew at least she was safe. But he was screwed, he realized
as Ed's ship was swallowed up by the satelite. The hull panels shifted behind him, barring any escape.
Faye came running out of Spike's room as she heard the hangar bay open. Could it be he had really come back?
She rushed to the hangar as it opened right in front of her, and there stood Jet. He was holding a tearful and very scared
Edward in his arms, who took one look at Faye's face and started bawling. "Ed is sorry Faye-faye! Ed couldn't bring Spike
person back! Edward wants Spikey back! Wahhh!" Faye's heart broke into a million pieces as she looked past Jet to
the ejected pod, and then back to Ed. She made no attempt to run or hide from her tears, for the first time in her life she
was with people that wouldn't care if she cried. Faye stumbled forward into Jet's chest, hugging him and Ed for all they
were worth as she sobbed for what seemed like forever. "Faye.." Jet began, holding her tightly. She barely looked up, as
Jet said what had to be said. "It took him inside of itself, he's gone."
Spike popped his cockpit hatch, after a scan of the satelite's interior showed tolerable oxygen content. But damn, was it ever
cold. All around him were monitors, blinking lights and circuits coarsing with electriciy.
It was like being inside a giant computer, not surprisingly. Everything seemed to be malfunctioning, as Spike saw Ed's virus
had done it's job. He began walking down the one corridor, ducking periodically to fit through narrow passages.
"At least it's not some maze." Spike said halfheartedly. "There's only one way to go." After what seemed like forever,
Spike finally came to a room that dead ended his only path. Lights were flashing all around it, sparks were shoothing
from the walls. In the center of it all, was a squared chamber made completely of glass. And inside, was Virtue.
She seemed to be asleep, as Spike Spiegel drew his jehirico one last time. "You freinds, will die." Virtue spoke, her mouth
didn't move but her voice was all over the place, echoing around the room. "They won't." He said stoutly, aiming the gun.
"I have programmed this place to destroy itself." Virtue insisted, while her body remined motionless. "I know." Spike
shot back, emptying his gun into the glass chamber's blinking panels. Air hissed as it escaped the square chamber,
the front of it slowly rising up. Spike slapped a fresh clip into the jehrico, shooting Virtue several times. "It is useless, Spike
Spiegel." Virtue taunted, as Spike vicously tore Virtue's now useless body from of the chamber's plugs and probes.
"It always is with us, with humans." Spike countered, tossing Virtue's bosy aside. "My soul has filled this machine,
I am it. It is me." Virtue continued, spitting cold bitter laughter at Spike as he climbed into the chamber. It was just as it had
been in his dream, everyone had died. He had been alone, and a child's voice had been calling out his name. Spike knew
what he had to do, to save the world one more time. To make it safe for future generations, for his.."The future belongs to me
Spike Spiegel." Virtue's voice echoed, this time with a slight tone of fear. "I shall rule the universe, forever."
Spike laid himself back in the chamber, taking a deep breath before jamming his head into the interface connectors.
His left eye went berserk, showing him all the colors of the rainbow at once. The pain was incredible, but he didn't care.
He was going to make sure that Faye and the baby would have a decent world to live in, and to make sure they were safe.
"The future doens't belong to you, Virtue." Spike stated as his left eye blew out, wires hung down his face as smoke billowed
from the empty eye socket. "The future belongs to my son."
Faye was watching out the viewport, clutching her belly as she waited for the end. Jet had just picked up an energy surge from
the satelite, and Ed had later confirmed it was going to self destruct. The Bebop had been damaged when Ganymede exploded,
and the thrusters were offline. They couldn't get to a safe distance. Her, and her baby, and Jet and Ed were all going to die
in about 15 seconds. All Faye could do was cry, cry and cry some more as she stared at the satelite. It had taken Spike,
and very soon it would take them all as well. She had come so far, found so much happiness in her life. For it all to end this
way made Faye unbearably sad. "It's moving!" Jet cried out, pressing his face up against the viewport in disbelief.
"It's what?!" Faye screamed, watching as the satelite slowly turned around. It was true, and not only was it moving,
but the weapon placements were folding inwards, being replaced by what looked like a long wing on either side.
"It's Spike! It has to be!" Faye exclaimed, watching breathlessly as the platform's thrusters whined and glowed hot white.
Ed's tomato suddenly came on by itself, as she scrambled over to investigate. "Spikey! Yay It's Spikey!" Ed cheered,
hugging the monitor as Faye bolted over to see. It was Spike, all right. His mechanical eye was all blown up and hanging out
of the socket, and there was untold amounts of blood pouring from his head. "Faye, I'll always be with you." Spike's voice
whispered, as Faye fell to her knees in front of Ed's tomato. "I know, Spike. Thank you." Faye whispered back, holding
her ring finger up for Spike to see. A single tear fell from his one eye, as Spike Spiegel cried out with all his might.
The screen went blank, as Jet Black watched the satelite fly away. It was barely visible when the explosion happened,
and Faye Valentine pressed her hand up against the viewport as she saw the satelite burst into a brilliant fireworks show.
Spike Spiegel had saved the solar system. And more importantly, Faye thought as she touched her belly. Her husband
had saved his wife, and his son.
Two months later, Jet Black was standing before his partner's grave. A fresh bouquet of red roses graced the tombstone.
He turned as he heard engines whining in the distance, and saw the Redtail touch down. Faye Valentine, now a full
three months pregnant poked her head out of the cockpit and waved. Jet ran over to help her down, and saw that
she was happy, in spite of all that had happened. She walked with him back to Spike's grave, where they both stood for
for what seemed like days of silence. "You know." Jet said at last, as Faye placed a single rose next to the tombstone.
"You're welcome to come live on the Bebop whenever, it gets lonely sometimes...Just me and Edward/" Faye nodded,
touching Jet's arm as she planted a kiss on his cheek. "I know, thanks Jet." She answered, walking back to her ship.
She wanted to, really she did. But there were just too many memories on that ship. The rec room where she and Spike
had shared their first kiss, the bedroom they had made love in so many times. The hallways they'd walked through together.
She couldn't do that, she had to stay strong for him. Their child was coming, and she was going to raise him to be
the kind of man his father was. The kind of man that never lets go of dreams, never quits, and always comes through
for the people he cares about. Jet trailed behind Faye as she reached her ship, accepting his helping hand back up to the
cockpit. "You want one?" Jet asked, taking a cigarette from his pocket. Faye shook her head, smiling at Jet as she closed the
hatch. "No, I quit those. Bad for the baby."
.................................................THE END, OR THE BEGINNING?
A police craft came out of the warp gate just in time to see a flash of something zoom by, something big.
"What in holy hell was that?" The cop riding shotgun exclaimed, hitting the siren. "I dunno."
His partner answered as he throttled to give chase. "But whatever it is, we're gonna catch it."
As they began to gain on the huge object, the two cops saw it was the missing weapons satelite.
It had been stolen from Miracle Research Industries the day someone had burned the entire facility
down to the foundation. "Call it in." The driver ordered, as his partner picked up the comm unit.
Before he even got his thumb on the send button, a bright green glow encompased the small
police cruiser. The ship shook madly as both policemen were thrown out of their seats.
A second later, the cruiser exploded. The weapons platform continued on it's way undamaged,
as a large panel in it's body slid to the side. Inside the hull was transparent, and as Titan loomed
before the gigantic platform Virtue gazed out at it. At her first target.
Spike shot up abruptly, sweating as the dream faded. They had started coming back to him lately,
almost every night. Spike figured a short break was better than none, but he'd still perfer to not
have the nightmares at all. He looked over to see that Faye was gone, and slowly dragged himself
out of bed as well. He took a cigarette from his pack laying on the nightstand, lighting it as he left the
room. The corridor outside was deserted, a strange occurance as of late. Ed was getting more and more
capable in the martial arts, doing backflips all over the place. Exercising wherever and however she could.
Between that, Jet's early morning repairs and Faye's increasing morning sickness it seemed odd for the Bebop
to be so silent. A trip to the galley turned up Faye, who smiled sheepishly as Spike walked in.
"Hungry today, my dear?" Spike teased, as Faye polished off a rather big bowl of Jet's hommade spaghetti.
Spike reached the counter and saw the boney remains of what used to be chicken wings. "Whoa, don't tell me
you ate all these too?" Spike questioned, dumping the empty plate. Faye turned to face him, smiling as she
savagely chewed a meatball. "Jet helped." Faye corrected, relishing every last bit of the spaghetti sauce.
Spike smirked, rubbing Faye's shoudlers from behind as the spaghetti became nothing more than a pleasant
memory. "It's alright Faye. I love a woman who eats like a human instead of a bird." Faye placed her hands on top
of Spike's, closing her eyes as she arched her back towards the sensual feeling. Spike placed a single kiss on her
forehead, before their tender moment was unavoidably broken by a frantic Ed. As so many of their moments together
had before. "Explosions! Explosions in space!" Come quick!" Edward screeched, pulling a U turn around the
galley and leaving as quickly as she'd come. "Explosions?" Faye wondered, looking at Spike. "In space?" He replied,
looking equally puzzled.
Jet seemed glued to the T.V. screen, as Spike and Faye entered the rec room in a hurry. "What's this about explosions?"
Faye questioned, as Jet turned up the volume. "It's not the warp gates again, is it?" Spike asked, leaning on the back of the
couch as the news report was repeated. "Those things are always breaking down, or blowing up." Spike continued,
as a frightened looking reporter went live from orbit around Titan. Shut your mouth, Spike." Jet commanded, scowling back at
his partner. "This is some serious stuff." Spike complied, watching the report silently. The reporter retained a shaken up
appearance, as he explained that Titan, or what was Titan and it's orbiting moons were all gone. Destroyed by an as of yet
unknown accurance. Spike's interest grew, as another report interrupted the broadcast. This one was live from
a low Earth orbit, as an even more freaked out female reporter stated that there was no more Earth. "What in the hell?"
Spike growled, taking out another cigarette. Faye snatched it away from her place on the couch, lighting it with shaky hands
as she stared at the empty space Earth used to occupy. "It's..Gone..." She whimpered, holding back tears.
"Now I'll never know..." Spike put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, as his other hand fished out another smoke.
"Damnit.." Jet grumbled, lighting a cigg himself. "Why would someone just take out a planet? Let alone two?"
"Because they wanted them gone." Came Spike's eerie answer. He had always excelled at saying what
no one else dared to. "Are we on this or what?" Faye inquired, looking up at Spike. Wthout taking his eyes off
the screen, he nodded and replied "all over it."
The weapons platform streaked through the stars, not slowing an inch as it neared the military blockade.
Heavy artilery of every sort shot towads it, bouncing harmlessly off the reinforced deflectors.
The platform's hull began shifting, as communication dishes and solar panels were folded away, replaced by
various armamants. The blockade didn't fall back, but continued to bombard the platform right up until the
very second they were obliterated. The planet beyond, was Ganymede.
On the planet's surface, Ganymede police, military and government officials were scrambling to discover
something, anything about the satelite heading straight for them. So far most reports were sketchy at best,
and the ones that weren't held nothing but grim information. As far as anyone could tell, this was indeed
the project stolen from the Miracle Research facility. All available weapons had been proven useless,
powerless to penetrate the platform's impossibly resilient force fields. All they knew for sure, was that
it had destroyed two planets already, and it seemed to be coming for them next.
The Bebop roared out of the warp gate, as Jet stared down at Ganymede in horror. The satelite was
immense, and chock full of weapons. "I'm gonna go take that thing out." Spike announced as he
hurried to the hangar. "Wait, I'm coming too!" Faye shouted after him, running behind. "Oh no you're not."
Spike refused, stopping as he faced her half way down the hallway. "What? Why?" Faye begged,
not wanting him out there all alone. "Faye, if this thing is badass enough to take out planets we're no match."
Spike confided, taking both of Faye's hands as he looked her straight in the eye. "If it shreds us both, no one's
left. Right?" Faye nodded, but didn't like what Spike was getting at. "Maybe you think you're expendable, Spike."
Faye said, raising her voice. "But you're not. Not to me." Spike's heart went soft at that, and he knew she
would never let him go out there alone. "Alright, new plan." Spike said, walking back towards the bridge.
"And that is?" Faye peristed, stopping him in place with both hands. Spike looked at her for a long time,
as if he was trying to scan every inch of her and save it somewhere inside his mind. "Trust me." He said finally,
dragging Faye back to the bridge with him.
Virtue stared out at Ganymede, as she scanned the surface for life. Monitors all around her lit up, showing
the cities, the towns, the people. She zoomed in as much as she could, a cold thin smile forming on her face
as she watched the citizens of Ganymede skitter about helplessly. They were scared, so scared of what she
would do, and she adored it. Humans, the filthy skin covered piles of meat and bone were so afraid of her now.
Her whole life she'd been afraid, the experiments had been so frightening. Needles and tubes and electricity sparking
all around her. Virtue closed her eyes and winced, trying to make the memories leave. So much pain, she'd suffered
so much at the hands of humans. And for what? Virtue knew she was something far finer than all those meat puppets
scurrying around down there. She was perfection, she was the omega of fusing flesh and silicon, woman and machine.
She was the future, and the future required the extermination of all lower life forms. Virture's thin, cold smile widened
to a truly sinister grin as she brought the weapons online and began charging them up.
"Jet." Spike called, as he reentered the bridge. Faye had long since let go of him, but still kept him very close by.
"Spike? I thought you were going.." Spike waved away Jet's question, his eyes were cold and full of determination.
"Is everything working on Ed's ship now?" Spike asked quickly, hoping the answer was yes. "The virus program hasn't been
checked yet, but other than that yeah.Why?" Before Jet even finished answering, Spike was running off again with Faye
close behind him. Spike ran into the training room, as Ed was going through her forms for the millionth time.
"Ed, I need you." Spike ordered, grabbing her by the arm and yanking her away. Her bewildered squeak gave way to
laughing fits as Spike picked her up and carried her as he ran. "What the hell are you doing?" Faye shouted,
thinking more and more that this was another of Spike's suicide stunts. "No time to explain." Was Spike's calm, cold
response. As they entered the hangar, Spike put Edward down and ran to her ship. "Spikey is taking Ed's ship?
You didn't ask Edward!" Ed complained, sounding as mad as the insane teenager ever got. "I need you to check
the virus delivery system Ed. Hurry!" Spike ordered, performing dozens of other necesary checks. Ed's hammerhead
knockoff had been flown only twice, and both of those times problems had sprung up. He couldn't afford that now,
not with what he was planning to use the old ship for. "Ed's going as fast as Ed can!" Edward screamed back,
typing away at the laptop inside her ship's second cockpit. She screeched in surprise as the cockpit's hatch began closing.
"Spikey? Ed's not finsihed yet! Waaiit!" Ed yelled out to Spike, who was climbing into the primary cockpit.
"You'll have to do the rest on the way, alright?" Spike's voice crackled through the ship's intercom system.
"Ed wil try!" The scared teen promised, typing madly as she gritted her teeth. Spike took a last look out at Faye through
the cockpit. She was stark raving pissed, yelling God knows what at him through the soundproof glass. Spike
blew her a kiss, and mouthed three short words as the hangar bay opened. Faye clung desperately to Jet's toolbench,
as The Guppy embarked on her third flight. Faye had never understood why all their ships happened to be named for
fish, or why Ed had chosen such a lame fish for hers. She watched the ship power out of the Bebop, soaring towards the
huge satelite as Faye closed the hangar bay. She kept her eyes focused on the ship, until the bay door blocked it from
her sight. She closed her eyes, crying quietly as she put a hand to her stomach. "I love you too, Spike." She whispered
through the tears.
"It's arming weapons!" One of the the Ganymede military officers shouted from his post. "Goddamnit, what can we do?"
A general screamed back, leaning over the officer's viewscreen. "Nothing, we can't do one damn thing about this."
Came the officer's dismayed reply. The satelite's cannons were glowing a bright red, as they all angled and rotated to
make a perfect circle. Fourty cannons, at least. Each one capable of destroying a heavy cruiser with one shot. And they
were all pointed at Ganymede while the people inhabiting it stood helpless. Spike couldn't let it happen, he wouldn't.
"Virus systems are go!" Edward reported over the intercom. "Good job Ed, get ready to hit it when I say." Spike
responded, pushing the ship to it's breaking point. The satelite's main guns were all focused on Ganymede, but some smaller ones
opened fire on Ed's ship. Spike grunted as he manuevered the ship away, cursing it's bulky design. It handled slightly better
than a trash can with wings. "Get ready Ed!" Spike shouted, as he returned fire with the ship's pop guns. He aimed for
random spots on the satalite's hull, watching carefully. As he thought, force fields came up at each point, defending against every
last bullet. Spike was sure he knew why even the military couldn't put a dent in this thing. There were no constant force fields.
Something was controlling the entire platform, Jet's research had turned up that it had been designed in a really weird way.
Almost as if, he remembered Jet saying, it was designed for direct interface with an individual. And Spike knew just who that
was. Virtue, the woman he and Jet had met in the Miracle Research building. Neither human, nor machine. Alive but not.
And she was hellbound to wipe out the human race. Now it was just her and him, and one very nasty computer virus.
"Almost there Ed." Spike reported, weaving around more lasers as the satelite's main guns looked ready to go.
"Shit, no time to do it by the book." Spike cursed, flying in as close behind the satelite as the ship could get.
The platform's main weapons discharged at the exact moment Spike sent all ten of the ship's missiles hurling towards the
backside of the weapon's platform. "Now Ed! Shoot it now!" Spike yelled, as Ed fired the virus harpoon to the exact same
spot the missiles were headed to. Spike watched in horror as the satelite's lasers collided with Ganymede's surface.
They fired twice more, as Spike's missiles found their mark. Just as he'd though, a force field appeared and deflected them all,
but the impact was too great. Spike had figured that if Virtue was really inside that thing, controlling all systems
with her consciousness, then each action must take a certain amount of focus. By bombarding the same spot with ten missiles,
He'd managed to distract her long enough to miss the harpoon which imbedded itself firmly in the satelite's hull.
Unfortunately, Spike had nothing to cheer about. Ganymede, his best friend and partner's homeworld was gone.
The resulting shockwave passed over them more or less, Ed's ship was fairly safe behind the satelite. It still bucked them around
pretty good, and Spike was worried about the harpoon cable being damaged before Ed could get the virus downloaded.
"How we doing cowgirl?" Spike asked, grunting as another shockwave tossed the ship around. Spike had meant to get the
harpoon in before Virtue could destroy Ganymede, but it hadn't worked. In all reality it was most likely her focus on the main guns
that was responsible for his plan working at all. "Ed has ninety perent downloaded!" Came Edward's response.
All they could do now was stop Virtue from destoying more planets. If Spike had anything to do with it,
the line would be drawn here, and no further. It had to be.
Jet knocked on Spike's door for what seemed like the hundreth time, and got the same response as before. A lot of
tearful sobbing and a soft "Go away." Faye had ran in there and locked the door, and refused to come out.
"What if Spike needs backup Faye?" Jet shouted, angry at her stubborness. "He won't, he's not planning on...
Coming back. Ever!" Faye managed to shout through ragged gasps, as she held a small box in her hand. Inside
had been a white gold ring, with a diamond carving of an old Earth space shuttle on top. The inscription on the band
said, 'Forget what's gone Faye, live for now. Be my wife, and we'll be together forever. With our son.'
Faye wore it on her finger now, gazing at it's beauty as she cried herself dry. "Oh Spike..." She whispered,
her whole body trembling uncontrollably. "Oh my dear Spike, of course I will.."
"It's all done!" Ed's voice exploded over the radio, heavy with urgency. Spike looked out at the satelite, which was
starting to lose it's orbit. "I think it's working Edward." Spike replied, still feeling uneasy. Panels started sliding
along the satelite's hull plate facing Ed's ship. All of sudden Spike had a very bad feeling. "Ed, get that harpoon back!
Now!" Spike shouted to her, but it was too late. Edward cried out in dismay as Virtue took control of the ship through
the same cable they had delivered the virus with. Ed's onboard laptop smoked as the screen went dark, and the ship was
navigatigating itself towards the satelite. The part of it's hull facing the ship, Spike saw, was now transforming itself somehow
into a crude kind of hangar. "Oh, shit this is bad." Spike scowled, trying to regain control. It was useless, nothing worked.
The ship was running on autopilot, bringing Eand himself right into Virture's waiting arms. "Oh no, you cyber-bitch."
Spike shouted, as he began kicking the control panel. "Oh no you don't at all. This is the end." Ed's frightened voice
crackled over the intercom. "Spikey! We're going towards it! Ed doesn't want to be eaten by the mean nasty satelite!"
Spike grimaced, closing his eyes as he accepted what he thought might happen. It was all on him now, the world would
be erraticated if he didn't do something fast. He could and would not let that happen, not now. Spike brought his fist
down on the controls exceedingly hard, smashed half of them real good and miraculously got control back, for about five seconds.
It was just long enough to jettison Ed's cockpit pod, he would be damned if this bitch was going to get her too.
He watched as her pod floated back to the Bebop, Spike knew at least she was safe. But he was screwed, he realized
as Ed's ship was swallowed up by the satelite. The hull panels shifted behind him, barring any escape.
Faye came running out of Spike's room as she heard the hangar bay open. Could it be he had really come back?
She rushed to the hangar as it opened right in front of her, and there stood Jet. He was holding a tearful and very scared
Edward in his arms, who took one look at Faye's face and started bawling. "Ed is sorry Faye-faye! Ed couldn't bring Spike
person back! Edward wants Spikey back! Wahhh!" Faye's heart broke into a million pieces as she looked past Jet to
the ejected pod, and then back to Ed. She made no attempt to run or hide from her tears, for the first time in her life she
was with people that wouldn't care if she cried. Faye stumbled forward into Jet's chest, hugging him and Ed for all they
were worth as she sobbed for what seemed like forever. "Faye.." Jet began, holding her tightly. She barely looked up, as
Jet said what had to be said. "It took him inside of itself, he's gone."
Spike popped his cockpit hatch, after a scan of the satelite's interior showed tolerable oxygen content. But damn, was it ever
cold. All around him were monitors, blinking lights and circuits coarsing with electriciy.
It was like being inside a giant computer, not surprisingly. Everything seemed to be malfunctioning, as Spike saw Ed's virus
had done it's job. He began walking down the one corridor, ducking periodically to fit through narrow passages.
"At least it's not some maze." Spike said halfheartedly. "There's only one way to go." After what seemed like forever,
Spike finally came to a room that dead ended his only path. Lights were flashing all around it, sparks were shoothing
from the walls. In the center of it all, was a squared chamber made completely of glass. And inside, was Virtue.
She seemed to be asleep, as Spike Spiegel drew his jehirico one last time. "You freinds, will die." Virtue spoke, her mouth
didn't move but her voice was all over the place, echoing around the room. "They won't." He said stoutly, aiming the gun.
"I have programmed this place to destroy itself." Virtue insisted, while her body remined motionless. "I know." Spike
shot back, emptying his gun into the glass chamber's blinking panels. Air hissed as it escaped the square chamber,
the front of it slowly rising up. Spike slapped a fresh clip into the jehrico, shooting Virtue several times. "It is useless, Spike
Spiegel." Virtue taunted, as Spike vicously tore Virtue's now useless body from of the chamber's plugs and probes.
"It always is with us, with humans." Spike countered, tossing Virtue's bosy aside. "My soul has filled this machine,
I am it. It is me." Virtue continued, spitting cold bitter laughter at Spike as he climbed into the chamber. It was just as it had
been in his dream, everyone had died. He had been alone, and a child's voice had been calling out his name. Spike knew
what he had to do, to save the world one more time. To make it safe for future generations, for his.."The future belongs to me
Spike Spiegel." Virtue's voice echoed, this time with a slight tone of fear. "I shall rule the universe, forever."
Spike laid himself back in the chamber, taking a deep breath before jamming his head into the interface connectors.
His left eye went berserk, showing him all the colors of the rainbow at once. The pain was incredible, but he didn't care.
He was going to make sure that Faye and the baby would have a decent world to live in, and to make sure they were safe.
"The future doens't belong to you, Virtue." Spike stated as his left eye blew out, wires hung down his face as smoke billowed
from the empty eye socket. "The future belongs to my son."
Faye was watching out the viewport, clutching her belly as she waited for the end. Jet had just picked up an energy surge from
the satelite, and Ed had later confirmed it was going to self destruct. The Bebop had been damaged when Ganymede exploded,
and the thrusters were offline. They couldn't get to a safe distance. Her, and her baby, and Jet and Ed were all going to die
in about 15 seconds. All Faye could do was cry, cry and cry some more as she stared at the satelite. It had taken Spike,
and very soon it would take them all as well. She had come so far, found so much happiness in her life. For it all to end this
way made Faye unbearably sad. "It's moving!" Jet cried out, pressing his face up against the viewport in disbelief.
"It's what?!" Faye screamed, watching as the satelite slowly turned around. It was true, and not only was it moving,
but the weapon placements were folding inwards, being replaced by what looked like a long wing on either side.
"It's Spike! It has to be!" Faye exclaimed, watching breathlessly as the platform's thrusters whined and glowed hot white.
Ed's tomato suddenly came on by itself, as she scrambled over to investigate. "Spikey! Yay It's Spikey!" Ed cheered,
hugging the monitor as Faye bolted over to see. It was Spike, all right. His mechanical eye was all blown up and hanging out
of the socket, and there was untold amounts of blood pouring from his head. "Faye, I'll always be with you." Spike's voice
whispered, as Faye fell to her knees in front of Ed's tomato. "I know, Spike. Thank you." Faye whispered back, holding
her ring finger up for Spike to see. A single tear fell from his one eye, as Spike Spiegel cried out with all his might.
The screen went blank, as Jet Black watched the satelite fly away. It was barely visible when the explosion happened,
and Faye Valentine pressed her hand up against the viewport as she saw the satelite burst into a brilliant fireworks show.
Spike Spiegel had saved the solar system. And more importantly, Faye thought as she touched her belly. Her husband
had saved his wife, and his son.
Two months later, Jet Black was standing before his partner's grave. A fresh bouquet of red roses graced the tombstone.
He turned as he heard engines whining in the distance, and saw the Redtail touch down. Faye Valentine, now a full
three months pregnant poked her head out of the cockpit and waved. Jet ran over to help her down, and saw that
she was happy, in spite of all that had happened. She walked with him back to Spike's grave, where they both stood for
for what seemed like days of silence. "You know." Jet said at last, as Faye placed a single rose next to the tombstone.
"You're welcome to come live on the Bebop whenever, it gets lonely sometimes...Just me and Edward/" Faye nodded,
touching Jet's arm as she planted a kiss on his cheek. "I know, thanks Jet." She answered, walking back to her ship.
She wanted to, really she did. But there were just too many memories on that ship. The rec room where she and Spike
had shared their first kiss, the bedroom they had made love in so many times. The hallways they'd walked through together.
She couldn't do that, she had to stay strong for him. Their child was coming, and she was going to raise him to be
the kind of man his father was. The kind of man that never lets go of dreams, never quits, and always comes through
for the people he cares about. Jet trailed behind Faye as she reached her ship, accepting his helping hand back up to the
cockpit. "You want one?" Jet asked, taking a cigarette from his pocket. Faye shook her head, smiling at Jet as she closed the
hatch. "No, I quit those. Bad for the baby."
.................................................THE END, OR THE BEGINNING?