I don't own these characters or profit from them.
Family business
By, Clayton Overstreet
In our last episode, there was a new member added to the crew: Nita, Gene and Melfina's daughter. Aging at a phenomenal rate she is now full grown and after a brief scuffle with the military and her grandmother, she is now a full member of the family. Now if only she had something to do...
Nita sat on the couch, picking lint off her clothes. It had been a week since she had been born and while she was enjoying getting used to the world, she was getting bored. There just didn't seem like there was anything for her to do. Her father and Jim ran most of the business, while Aeka and Suzuka took care of the muscle work and their own projects. Melfina took care of most the chores and the ones Nita had tried hadn't exactly caught her attention.
The others were trying to help. In their free time Suzuka taught her the few martial arts techniques that she hadn't learned from the computer when she was born and Aisha exercised with her. But even still, she still had a lot of free time and needed something to fill it.
"Gilliam, do you have any suggestions?" She asked the small pink robot.
It looked up at her. "As a matter of fact, Jim and Gene have been avoiding some repairs and upgrades."
She shook her head. "I don't know how to do that."
"If you want to, I could instruct you."
Nita bit her lip and looked around. She really had nothing else to do and she loved trying new things. "All right, I'll do it. Just let me tell my mom where I am going."
She walked into the kitchen where Melfina was making lunch. "Hey mom?"
Melfina smiled at her. "Yes Nita, do you need anything?"
"I was wondering if it would be all right if I went over to work on the ship. Gilliam said he'd show me how."
"Are you sure that is a good idea Nita? Maybe you should wait until one of the others can take you. What if those military people are still after you?" Melfina said.
Nita smiled and shook her head. "Mom, you know I can't just hide out forever. Besides with Aisha and Suzuka both training me, what could possibly happen?"
Melfina smiled and put her hand on Nita's cheek. "You are way to much like your father." Nita looked at her hopefully. "You can go, but take some sandwiches and your caster with you."
Nita smiled and hugged her. "Thank you mom! I love you so much." She turned and ran out of the room.
"I love you too Nita. Now if you are going to be late please have Gilliam call so we know you are all right." The door slammed and Melfina giggled. "She's just like Gene."
Gene grunted as the pirate hit him in the stomach with his cybernetic arm. They had spent the entire day tracking him down, while Suzuka and Aisha had taken their own contract to prove that a local casino owner was rigging his games. He'd have liked to complain, but if Aisha was paying for her own food, it was worth it.
He dodged to the left as the pirate took another swing at him. "Hold still damn you."
"I don't think so." Gene said, kicking at the pirate's legs, tripping him. "Jim I could use some help here!"
"I'm working on it!" Jim yelled back. He typed furiously at his computer until he got all the data. "He's a number seven. The power core is in his left shoulder."
Gene ducked under another punch and swung upwards into the pirate's armpit. They both froze in place for a moment until the pirate's arm started beeping. Gene turned and ran, diving behind some barrels. Seconds later the pirate let out a scream as his arm exploded.
Once the dust cleared Gene stepped out from behind the barrels, brushing himself off. "What's the bounty on this guy Jim."
"Black Pete... he's worth twenty thousand. Not bad at all." Jim said.
Gene rubbed his arm and kicked the body. "Good. I'd hate to think he wasn't worth it."
Jim smiled and shook his head. "Hey if you think we don't have enough, Fred has been dying to get us back into debt."
Gene laughed. "After the money we made him and the way he gypped us last time? He'll give me whatever I need when I ask for it."
"He'd find some way to charge us. Now come on, we have to turn this guy in or we don't get paid." Gene grunted as he lifted the larger man's body up onto his shoulders. Jim smirked. "What's the matter Gene? Getting old now that you're a father?"
Gene frowned at him. "You try lifting this thing and see what noises you make. If your girlfriend were here we could make her do this."
Jim shook his head. "Aisha isn't some pack animal Gene. Besides she's paying her part of the food bill so what are you complaining about?"
He tossed the body into the back of the car. "I would just like to know what it is they are doing is all."
Suzuka blew on the dice in her hand and smiled as she threw them across the table. The feeling she got from gambling was better than sex in her opinion... though she did envy Melfina and even Aisha even though Jim wasn't old enough for that. Having someone to love above all would be nice... too bad Gene was taken. But as she watched the dice roll over the table she forgot all about it.
"Seven again!" The man in charge of the table said enthusiastically. Suzuka let out a little cry of joy, but quickly stifled it as she noticed the man glance at someone behind her. He nodded and then passed her the chips and dice.
Suzuka took the dice and a quarter of the money, leaving the rest there. If she took too much, they might not fall for it and she would have put on this disguise for nothing. Suzuka threw the dice again, making sure to angle her wrist so it was almost certain to land on eleven. She never did this when she came to a casino for fun... almost never.
The dice bounced against the side of the table and started to settle. Then they gave an almost imperceptible jerk and both landed on five.
"I'm sorry young lady, but at least you kept some money." The man said.
A shadow passed over her face and she almost reached for her sword, but at the last moment she simply scooped up her chips and walked away. She had been doing similar things at the other games and with the same results. She would start to win big and then someone just out of her range of vision signaled and she would lose most of it.
Suzuka couldn't take any more and turned to leave. She never wanted to see this place again. She almost felt physically ill as she walked out the spinning glass door. Turning the corner into an alleyway she began peeling the latex mask off of her face.
A few minutes later Aisha joined her holding the video camera. "I got all of it Suz. They were definitely cheating."
Suzuka nodded. "I know. And don't call me that."
"You know, we could probably pool our money and buy this place when they close it down. It might be fun to own a casino." Aisha said absently.
Suzuka actually considered it for a moment. The desire for her own kingdom of bright lights and neon signs had always been there and probably always would, but not now and definitely not here. "I never want to see this place again."
"That can be arranged." Said a voice behind them. They turned and saw some of the bouncers from the casino. "The boss doesn't like people butting into his business."
The girls frowned and turned away. Suzuka really didn't care what their boss liked. Cheaters only earned her contempt. The two men ran towards them and as one Aisha and Suzuka twisted around, kicking them across their faces.
As the two men fell Aisha looked at her and asked, "Want to get something to eat?"
Nita stared at the short in the engine for a long time, then at the replacement wires. So far she had managed all the repairs and upgrades, sometimes without Gilliam's instructions. The pieces just fit together in her mind. But for some reason they didn't this time.
"Gilliam, how often does this section short out?" She asked the computer.
"Approximately once per month. This is odd because according to the information I have it is always wired perfectly."
Nita rubbed the back of her head, then reached in and ran her fingers along the wires. When she reached the point where they entered the engine however, she noticed a small bump connected to one of the wires. Tugging on it there was a tiny snap and it came loose. She pulled it out and looked closely. There was a tiny red light blinking on it and a sliver of metal sticking out.
"Gilliam, what is this?"
A drone dropped to take a closer look. "I do not know. It is not listed in my data base."
Nita thought about it. "Maybe it's that tracking device my father told me about. That one planted by that professor Kahn guy."
"That is a distinct possibility. Such a device would require extra power and may have shorted out the wires."
Nita felt a sense of accomplishment. Her first time working on the ship and she'd found something the smartest guy in the universe had hidden. She quickly replaced the wires.
"Anything else you want me to do Gilliam?" She asked.
The pink drone dropped down into her hand. "Not at the moment Nita. I must say you are the most competent mechanic I've ever had."
Nita smiled and looked around for something else to do. "Hey, I know. I'll build myself a chair. Otherwise I'll have nowhere to sit on my first trip into space."
"The materials you would need for a functional chair are in the cargo hold." Gilliam said. "But if I may ask where do you plan to put it? There is no room in the cockpit."
Nita rubbed her head again. "I don't know. Where would be the best place for a mechanic to sit?"
Gilliam paused for a moment before saying. "I would say it depends on what needs immediate attention. Without the engines we would not be able to move, but if we lost the guns during a fight that would be a mute point, and if the power went out..."
Nita held up her hand. "I get the point Gilliam. I guess I'll just have to make it mobile. Can I hook it up so that you can move me where I need to be on the ship?"
"That should be no problem, provided we don't have to make any sudden departures."
Nita smiled broadly. "In that case, lets get to work."
Harry McDougal came running into the living room where Ron was laying on the couch flipping through channels. "Hey Ron, it looks like they finally found the professor's tracking device."
Ron looked up. "Who?"
"Melfina's friends, who else?" He yelled.
Ron smirked and shook his head. "Harry, this obsession you have with Melfina is unhealthy. She's married Harry. You just got a new body and that took half the money we got for working for Fred Loa. Besides it's probably not even them..." He shut his mouth quickly.
Harry looked at him suspiciously. "What exactly do you mean?"
Ron sighed. "Well according to my sources in the military, there was a plan to take Melfina's new daughter. They probably grabbed the entire ship too."
"No the signal was still on... Melfina has a daughter?"
"Yeah, but she's fully grown." Ron noticed the gleam in Harry's eyes. He smiled and said, "I'll get the ship ready. We can be there in two days."
Harry grinned. "Thanks Ron."
Gene and Jim arrived back at their offices at the same time Suzuka and Aisha did. Gene and Jim had gone out and bought some gifts for the girls with the money they didn't need for the bills. Suzuka and Aisha had gone grocery shopping and bought enough food to last the humans a month, which meant about a week's worth of food for Aisha.
"So how much did you two end up with?" Gene asked.
Suzuka frowned. "After picking up the food Aisha owes me about half of my share because she just had to have twenty pounds of cookie dough."
"Oh lay off Suzu, I said I'd share." Aisha said indignantly. "We Ctarl-Ctarl need complex carbohydrates and sugars."
Jim shook his head and opened the door. "Well we picked you up a few things while we were out."
Gene handed Suzuka a jar of wax for her sword and gave Aisha a catnip mouse. Suzuka smiled while Aisha took a sniff and began purring. "Thanks."
"Melfina! Nita! We're back!" Jim yelled.
Melfina smiled as she stepped out of the kitchen. "Dinner should be ready soon."
Gene smiled and walked up to her, giving her a quick kiss. "You work too hard. That's why we got you and Nita some new bathing suits."
"Bathing suits?" She asked, peeking into the bag.
Gene nodded. "Yep. Our schedule is clear so if everyone wants to we were going to suggest a trip to a resort on Sentinel."
Melfina laughed. "That sounds great Gene!" She looked over at Aisha and Suzuka. "Are you two coming?"
Suzuka nodded. "It might be interesting."
"And I could really use a new tan." Aisha said.
Gene smiled and nodded. "All right then it's settled. Where is Nita? I want to tell her the good news."
"Gilliam talked her into agreeing to do some repairs and upgrades earlier. She called back a while ago and said she would be back later." Melfina said.
Gene looked at the Gilliam drone on the table. "Gilliam, what is Nita doing now?"
"After completing her final upgrade on the seating arrangements, she has fallen unconscious." Gilliam responded.
The others looked up worriedly. "Is she all right?"
"I am unable to make such a determination at this time." Gilliam said.
Gene and the others headed towards the door. "I'll drive." Jim yelled.
Fifteen minutes later they arrived at the spaceport and got out of the car. Once they got to the elevator they all piled in and rose up to the airlock.
"Gilliam, open up." Gene said. The airlock slid open and they piled in. "Where is she?"
"Nita is currently in the engine room." Gilliam said.
When they got there, they found Nita slumped over a chair that hadn't been there before. Melfina bent down and shook her shoulders. "Nita... Nita wake up."
Nita yawned and opened her eyes, smiling softly. "Hi mom... dad. What are you doing here?"
"We were worried about you." Melfina said.
Nita shook her head. "I'm fine, I just needed to get some sleep." She stood up and stretched. "How do you like what I've done?"
Jim examined the chair. "Hey this is pretty neat. It can go all over the ship?" She nodded. "Impressive."
"She also found professor Kahn's tracking device in the engine panel that was always getting the short circuits." Gilliam added. "The ship is now running at maximum efficiency."
Suzuka smiled. "It seems we have found our new mechanic."
Nita looked up at Gene pleadingly. "Can I please? It was so much fun and it was easy too."
Gene smiled and nodded. "All right, but next time you feel tired, stop working."
Nita smiled and hugged him and Melfina. "Thanks dad! You two are the best."
"Your father has some more good news." Melfina said.
Nita looked up at him. Gene smiled. "You are going to get to go into space sooner than you thought."
"That's right, your cheapskate dad is paying for us to go to a resort." Aisha said.
Gene frowned at her. "Shut up Aisha!"
"Really? Oh this is so cool!" She hugged her parents again.
Nita dug her fingers into the armrests of her chair as the ship took off from the planet. She was too scared to do anything but sweat. When the ship finally cleared the atmosphere she looked outside and saw nothing but empty space. She could just see herself getting sucked out of the ship and floating away.
As weightlessness took over she held onto the chair even tighter. Nita let out a tiny squeak and huddled up into her chair.
"Nita, is something the matter?" Gilliam asked. She nodded her head quickly, unable to talk. "Gene, there is something wrong with Nita."
A few minutes later Gene and the others were there with her. "Nita, what's the matter?" Melfina asked.
Nita sniffed slightly and shakily replied. "I'm... I'm going to get sucked out. I just know it!"
Gene nodded and turned to the others. "Could you give us a minute alone." They nodded and left quickly.
Nita cried some more. "I'm so sorry dad. You must be disappointed that I couldn't handle this."
Gene smiled and ran his fingers through her hair. "It's all right Nita. I'm the same way. Space scares me like you wouldn't believe."
Nita snorted. "Yeah right. You're like the bravest guy ever."
Gene shook his head. "Only in this ship Nita."
"That's because this is the most advanced ship in the galaxy." Gilliam said.
"Shut up Gilliam." Gene said. He turned back to Nita. "When I was younger my dad took me into space. Ron McDougal attacked us and to save me, he put me into the escape pod and shot me into space. I was out there for two days before I crashed on Sentinel."
"How did you stand it? How can you even be on a spaceship after that?" Nita asked.
Gene closed his eyes. "I didn't. I refused to even set foot on a spaceship for twenty years after that. It wasn't until I met Hilda and was forced to leave because of some pirates. And then I peed on myself while I was holding your mother's hand."
Nita giggled, loosening her grip on the chair. "Bet that was embarrassing."
He grinned and nodded. "Yeah, it was. But since then I've had to spend a lot of time in this ship fighting people a lot worse than those military guys who came after you."
"I remember you telling me about that." She said. "Does it really get easier?"
Gene smiled and rubbed her cheek, then pulled it to the side. Nita's hand shot out and grabbed his ear, tugging his head down. Gene smiled and let her go. "I am sure you can get used to it Nita. You are my daughter."
Nita smiled and let him go. "Thanks dad."
"No problem now lets go to the kitchen. Your mother was making lunch for everyone." Just then the ship rocked under them, causing Nita to scream and clutch the chair again. "Gilliam, what's going on?"
"We appear to be under attack by a pirate ship Gene." Gilliam said.
Gene cursed under his breath. "I'll be right there." He looked at Nita and smiled. "Now you are really going to get scared. Think you can handle it?" Before she could answer he floated out the door and up to the cockpit.
The ship continued to shake as Nita sat there, wondering what was going on. 'Think you can handle it?' Her father's words rang in her mind. Slowly her hand went to one of the buttons on her chair. "Time to see how much like my dad I really am."
TO BE CONTINUED...
Hey, it's me Aisha. Looks like Nita is going through a very tough time at the moment. Don't worry about it. With me around what could go wrong? After we deal with this pirate bozo we're going for a trip to a nice resort on Sentinel for a vacation. It's too bad that the McDougals have to show up, but we can handle them. Don't miss the next Clayton Overstreet fic, Past adversaries.
Author's note
Yeah, I left you in the lurch. I just hope you liked it. Tell me what you think at clayton_n@hotmail.com
Family business
By, Clayton Overstreet
In our last episode, there was a new member added to the crew: Nita, Gene and Melfina's daughter. Aging at a phenomenal rate she is now full grown and after a brief scuffle with the military and her grandmother, she is now a full member of the family. Now if only she had something to do...
Nita sat on the couch, picking lint off her clothes. It had been a week since she had been born and while she was enjoying getting used to the world, she was getting bored. There just didn't seem like there was anything for her to do. Her father and Jim ran most of the business, while Aeka and Suzuka took care of the muscle work and their own projects. Melfina took care of most the chores and the ones Nita had tried hadn't exactly caught her attention.
The others were trying to help. In their free time Suzuka taught her the few martial arts techniques that she hadn't learned from the computer when she was born and Aisha exercised with her. But even still, she still had a lot of free time and needed something to fill it.
"Gilliam, do you have any suggestions?" She asked the small pink robot.
It looked up at her. "As a matter of fact, Jim and Gene have been avoiding some repairs and upgrades."
She shook her head. "I don't know how to do that."
"If you want to, I could instruct you."
Nita bit her lip and looked around. She really had nothing else to do and she loved trying new things. "All right, I'll do it. Just let me tell my mom where I am going."
She walked into the kitchen where Melfina was making lunch. "Hey mom?"
Melfina smiled at her. "Yes Nita, do you need anything?"
"I was wondering if it would be all right if I went over to work on the ship. Gilliam said he'd show me how."
"Are you sure that is a good idea Nita? Maybe you should wait until one of the others can take you. What if those military people are still after you?" Melfina said.
Nita smiled and shook her head. "Mom, you know I can't just hide out forever. Besides with Aisha and Suzuka both training me, what could possibly happen?"
Melfina smiled and put her hand on Nita's cheek. "You are way to much like your father." Nita looked at her hopefully. "You can go, but take some sandwiches and your caster with you."
Nita smiled and hugged her. "Thank you mom! I love you so much." She turned and ran out of the room.
"I love you too Nita. Now if you are going to be late please have Gilliam call so we know you are all right." The door slammed and Melfina giggled. "She's just like Gene."
Gene grunted as the pirate hit him in the stomach with his cybernetic arm. They had spent the entire day tracking him down, while Suzuka and Aisha had taken their own contract to prove that a local casino owner was rigging his games. He'd have liked to complain, but if Aisha was paying for her own food, it was worth it.
He dodged to the left as the pirate took another swing at him. "Hold still damn you."
"I don't think so." Gene said, kicking at the pirate's legs, tripping him. "Jim I could use some help here!"
"I'm working on it!" Jim yelled back. He typed furiously at his computer until he got all the data. "He's a number seven. The power core is in his left shoulder."
Gene ducked under another punch and swung upwards into the pirate's armpit. They both froze in place for a moment until the pirate's arm started beeping. Gene turned and ran, diving behind some barrels. Seconds later the pirate let out a scream as his arm exploded.
Once the dust cleared Gene stepped out from behind the barrels, brushing himself off. "What's the bounty on this guy Jim."
"Black Pete... he's worth twenty thousand. Not bad at all." Jim said.
Gene rubbed his arm and kicked the body. "Good. I'd hate to think he wasn't worth it."
Jim smiled and shook his head. "Hey if you think we don't have enough, Fred has been dying to get us back into debt."
Gene laughed. "After the money we made him and the way he gypped us last time? He'll give me whatever I need when I ask for it."
"He'd find some way to charge us. Now come on, we have to turn this guy in or we don't get paid." Gene grunted as he lifted the larger man's body up onto his shoulders. Jim smirked. "What's the matter Gene? Getting old now that you're a father?"
Gene frowned at him. "You try lifting this thing and see what noises you make. If your girlfriend were here we could make her do this."
Jim shook his head. "Aisha isn't some pack animal Gene. Besides she's paying her part of the food bill so what are you complaining about?"
He tossed the body into the back of the car. "I would just like to know what it is they are doing is all."
Suzuka blew on the dice in her hand and smiled as she threw them across the table. The feeling she got from gambling was better than sex in her opinion... though she did envy Melfina and even Aisha even though Jim wasn't old enough for that. Having someone to love above all would be nice... too bad Gene was taken. But as she watched the dice roll over the table she forgot all about it.
"Seven again!" The man in charge of the table said enthusiastically. Suzuka let out a little cry of joy, but quickly stifled it as she noticed the man glance at someone behind her. He nodded and then passed her the chips and dice.
Suzuka took the dice and a quarter of the money, leaving the rest there. If she took too much, they might not fall for it and she would have put on this disguise for nothing. Suzuka threw the dice again, making sure to angle her wrist so it was almost certain to land on eleven. She never did this when she came to a casino for fun... almost never.
The dice bounced against the side of the table and started to settle. Then they gave an almost imperceptible jerk and both landed on five.
"I'm sorry young lady, but at least you kept some money." The man said.
A shadow passed over her face and she almost reached for her sword, but at the last moment she simply scooped up her chips and walked away. She had been doing similar things at the other games and with the same results. She would start to win big and then someone just out of her range of vision signaled and she would lose most of it.
Suzuka couldn't take any more and turned to leave. She never wanted to see this place again. She almost felt physically ill as she walked out the spinning glass door. Turning the corner into an alleyway she began peeling the latex mask off of her face.
A few minutes later Aisha joined her holding the video camera. "I got all of it Suz. They were definitely cheating."
Suzuka nodded. "I know. And don't call me that."
"You know, we could probably pool our money and buy this place when they close it down. It might be fun to own a casino." Aisha said absently.
Suzuka actually considered it for a moment. The desire for her own kingdom of bright lights and neon signs had always been there and probably always would, but not now and definitely not here. "I never want to see this place again."
"That can be arranged." Said a voice behind them. They turned and saw some of the bouncers from the casino. "The boss doesn't like people butting into his business."
The girls frowned and turned away. Suzuka really didn't care what their boss liked. Cheaters only earned her contempt. The two men ran towards them and as one Aisha and Suzuka twisted around, kicking them across their faces.
As the two men fell Aisha looked at her and asked, "Want to get something to eat?"
Nita stared at the short in the engine for a long time, then at the replacement wires. So far she had managed all the repairs and upgrades, sometimes without Gilliam's instructions. The pieces just fit together in her mind. But for some reason they didn't this time.
"Gilliam, how often does this section short out?" She asked the computer.
"Approximately once per month. This is odd because according to the information I have it is always wired perfectly."
Nita rubbed the back of her head, then reached in and ran her fingers along the wires. When she reached the point where they entered the engine however, she noticed a small bump connected to one of the wires. Tugging on it there was a tiny snap and it came loose. She pulled it out and looked closely. There was a tiny red light blinking on it and a sliver of metal sticking out.
"Gilliam, what is this?"
A drone dropped to take a closer look. "I do not know. It is not listed in my data base."
Nita thought about it. "Maybe it's that tracking device my father told me about. That one planted by that professor Kahn guy."
"That is a distinct possibility. Such a device would require extra power and may have shorted out the wires."
Nita felt a sense of accomplishment. Her first time working on the ship and she'd found something the smartest guy in the universe had hidden. She quickly replaced the wires.
"Anything else you want me to do Gilliam?" She asked.
The pink drone dropped down into her hand. "Not at the moment Nita. I must say you are the most competent mechanic I've ever had."
Nita smiled and looked around for something else to do. "Hey, I know. I'll build myself a chair. Otherwise I'll have nowhere to sit on my first trip into space."
"The materials you would need for a functional chair are in the cargo hold." Gilliam said. "But if I may ask where do you plan to put it? There is no room in the cockpit."
Nita rubbed her head again. "I don't know. Where would be the best place for a mechanic to sit?"
Gilliam paused for a moment before saying. "I would say it depends on what needs immediate attention. Without the engines we would not be able to move, but if we lost the guns during a fight that would be a mute point, and if the power went out..."
Nita held up her hand. "I get the point Gilliam. I guess I'll just have to make it mobile. Can I hook it up so that you can move me where I need to be on the ship?"
"That should be no problem, provided we don't have to make any sudden departures."
Nita smiled broadly. "In that case, lets get to work."
Harry McDougal came running into the living room where Ron was laying on the couch flipping through channels. "Hey Ron, it looks like they finally found the professor's tracking device."
Ron looked up. "Who?"
"Melfina's friends, who else?" He yelled.
Ron smirked and shook his head. "Harry, this obsession you have with Melfina is unhealthy. She's married Harry. You just got a new body and that took half the money we got for working for Fred Loa. Besides it's probably not even them..." He shut his mouth quickly.
Harry looked at him suspiciously. "What exactly do you mean?"
Ron sighed. "Well according to my sources in the military, there was a plan to take Melfina's new daughter. They probably grabbed the entire ship too."
"No the signal was still on... Melfina has a daughter?"
"Yeah, but she's fully grown." Ron noticed the gleam in Harry's eyes. He smiled and said, "I'll get the ship ready. We can be there in two days."
Harry grinned. "Thanks Ron."
Gene and Jim arrived back at their offices at the same time Suzuka and Aisha did. Gene and Jim had gone out and bought some gifts for the girls with the money they didn't need for the bills. Suzuka and Aisha had gone grocery shopping and bought enough food to last the humans a month, which meant about a week's worth of food for Aisha.
"So how much did you two end up with?" Gene asked.
Suzuka frowned. "After picking up the food Aisha owes me about half of my share because she just had to have twenty pounds of cookie dough."
"Oh lay off Suzu, I said I'd share." Aisha said indignantly. "We Ctarl-Ctarl need complex carbohydrates and sugars."
Jim shook his head and opened the door. "Well we picked you up a few things while we were out."
Gene handed Suzuka a jar of wax for her sword and gave Aisha a catnip mouse. Suzuka smiled while Aisha took a sniff and began purring. "Thanks."
"Melfina! Nita! We're back!" Jim yelled.
Melfina smiled as she stepped out of the kitchen. "Dinner should be ready soon."
Gene smiled and walked up to her, giving her a quick kiss. "You work too hard. That's why we got you and Nita some new bathing suits."
"Bathing suits?" She asked, peeking into the bag.
Gene nodded. "Yep. Our schedule is clear so if everyone wants to we were going to suggest a trip to a resort on Sentinel."
Melfina laughed. "That sounds great Gene!" She looked over at Aisha and Suzuka. "Are you two coming?"
Suzuka nodded. "It might be interesting."
"And I could really use a new tan." Aisha said.
Gene smiled and nodded. "All right then it's settled. Where is Nita? I want to tell her the good news."
"Gilliam talked her into agreeing to do some repairs and upgrades earlier. She called back a while ago and said she would be back later." Melfina said.
Gene looked at the Gilliam drone on the table. "Gilliam, what is Nita doing now?"
"After completing her final upgrade on the seating arrangements, she has fallen unconscious." Gilliam responded.
The others looked up worriedly. "Is she all right?"
"I am unable to make such a determination at this time." Gilliam said.
Gene and the others headed towards the door. "I'll drive." Jim yelled.
Fifteen minutes later they arrived at the spaceport and got out of the car. Once they got to the elevator they all piled in and rose up to the airlock.
"Gilliam, open up." Gene said. The airlock slid open and they piled in. "Where is she?"
"Nita is currently in the engine room." Gilliam said.
When they got there, they found Nita slumped over a chair that hadn't been there before. Melfina bent down and shook her shoulders. "Nita... Nita wake up."
Nita yawned and opened her eyes, smiling softly. "Hi mom... dad. What are you doing here?"
"We were worried about you." Melfina said.
Nita shook her head. "I'm fine, I just needed to get some sleep." She stood up and stretched. "How do you like what I've done?"
Jim examined the chair. "Hey this is pretty neat. It can go all over the ship?" She nodded. "Impressive."
"She also found professor Kahn's tracking device in the engine panel that was always getting the short circuits." Gilliam added. "The ship is now running at maximum efficiency."
Suzuka smiled. "It seems we have found our new mechanic."
Nita looked up at Gene pleadingly. "Can I please? It was so much fun and it was easy too."
Gene smiled and nodded. "All right, but next time you feel tired, stop working."
Nita smiled and hugged him and Melfina. "Thanks dad! You two are the best."
"Your father has some more good news." Melfina said.
Nita looked up at him. Gene smiled. "You are going to get to go into space sooner than you thought."
"That's right, your cheapskate dad is paying for us to go to a resort." Aisha said.
Gene frowned at her. "Shut up Aisha!"
"Really? Oh this is so cool!" She hugged her parents again.
Nita dug her fingers into the armrests of her chair as the ship took off from the planet. She was too scared to do anything but sweat. When the ship finally cleared the atmosphere she looked outside and saw nothing but empty space. She could just see herself getting sucked out of the ship and floating away.
As weightlessness took over she held onto the chair even tighter. Nita let out a tiny squeak and huddled up into her chair.
"Nita, is something the matter?" Gilliam asked. She nodded her head quickly, unable to talk. "Gene, there is something wrong with Nita."
A few minutes later Gene and the others were there with her. "Nita, what's the matter?" Melfina asked.
Nita sniffed slightly and shakily replied. "I'm... I'm going to get sucked out. I just know it!"
Gene nodded and turned to the others. "Could you give us a minute alone." They nodded and left quickly.
Nita cried some more. "I'm so sorry dad. You must be disappointed that I couldn't handle this."
Gene smiled and ran his fingers through her hair. "It's all right Nita. I'm the same way. Space scares me like you wouldn't believe."
Nita snorted. "Yeah right. You're like the bravest guy ever."
Gene shook his head. "Only in this ship Nita."
"That's because this is the most advanced ship in the galaxy." Gilliam said.
"Shut up Gilliam." Gene said. He turned back to Nita. "When I was younger my dad took me into space. Ron McDougal attacked us and to save me, he put me into the escape pod and shot me into space. I was out there for two days before I crashed on Sentinel."
"How did you stand it? How can you even be on a spaceship after that?" Nita asked.
Gene closed his eyes. "I didn't. I refused to even set foot on a spaceship for twenty years after that. It wasn't until I met Hilda and was forced to leave because of some pirates. And then I peed on myself while I was holding your mother's hand."
Nita giggled, loosening her grip on the chair. "Bet that was embarrassing."
He grinned and nodded. "Yeah, it was. But since then I've had to spend a lot of time in this ship fighting people a lot worse than those military guys who came after you."
"I remember you telling me about that." She said. "Does it really get easier?"
Gene smiled and rubbed her cheek, then pulled it to the side. Nita's hand shot out and grabbed his ear, tugging his head down. Gene smiled and let her go. "I am sure you can get used to it Nita. You are my daughter."
Nita smiled and let him go. "Thanks dad."
"No problem now lets go to the kitchen. Your mother was making lunch for everyone." Just then the ship rocked under them, causing Nita to scream and clutch the chair again. "Gilliam, what's going on?"
"We appear to be under attack by a pirate ship Gene." Gilliam said.
Gene cursed under his breath. "I'll be right there." He looked at Nita and smiled. "Now you are really going to get scared. Think you can handle it?" Before she could answer he floated out the door and up to the cockpit.
The ship continued to shake as Nita sat there, wondering what was going on. 'Think you can handle it?' Her father's words rang in her mind. Slowly her hand went to one of the buttons on her chair. "Time to see how much like my dad I really am."
TO BE CONTINUED...
Hey, it's me Aisha. Looks like Nita is going through a very tough time at the moment. Don't worry about it. With me around what could go wrong? After we deal with this pirate bozo we're going for a trip to a nice resort on Sentinel for a vacation. It's too bad that the McDougals have to show up, but we can handle them. Don't miss the next Clayton Overstreet fic, Past adversaries.
Author's note
Yeah, I left you in the lurch. I just hope you liked it. Tell me what you think at clayton_n@hotmail.com