Chapter 2: Reunion
Jack finally awoke from his deep sleep, now able to walk and breathe easily. He sat up to observe his surroundings. He noticed clearly he was on the Outlaw Star. Gene must have carried him inside. When he got up, he could barely walk, but could manage. 'What the hell happened to me?' he thought. He put his hand over his face and rubbed his eyes. Then he began looking for the crew of the ship to ask what exactly was going on. He was able to find Jim working in the back. "Jim!" Jack yelled. Jim was startled a bit, and was surprised to see Jack walking again. "Jack! I didn't know you were up again already." Jim said, whipping the grease from his hands with a damp rag. "Ya. That's me. Mr. Indestructible." Jack said, then gasping for air. "Jim, can you tell me what happened to me?" Jack asked. "No. I can't tell you. But Melfina can. She was there when it happened." Jim said, having a sudden concerned look on his face. "Was there when what happened?" Jack asked. He took the expression as if he didn't even believe it. "You were captured along with Melfina when you tried to go in by yourself and get her out. Stupid, stupid, stupid." Jack sighed, and then responded to Jim's remark. "Yeah, I know." Jack said, easing a smile on his face. "Can you tell me where she is though?" He asked. "Yeah. In her room." Jim said, pointing behind Jack. "Thanks." Jack said. "But can I give you a crutch or anything? You look limp." Jim said. "Yes. A crutch would be good." Jack said. Jim pulled one from a metal storage cabinet. "I kept this in case one of our legs were blown off." Jim smiled. "You're real romantic Jim." Jack commented. "Yeah." Jim replied, and Jack began to walk off. "Oh, and Jack!" Jim yelled at him. "Yeah?" Jack yelled back. "Don't ask Mel too many questions. She's a little emotionally broke down about it all." Jim said. "I think I can fix that." Jack replied with a bit of hope in his voice. "Whatever you say." Jim muttered to himself. Jack found Melfina's door, and opened it up. She was asleep. Jack moved inside, limping to her bed. He pulled out a chair, and yanked in backwards. He moved it beside her bed, and sat. She'd have to wake up sometime, but it didn't take long. She was roused when Jack had entered her room. When she opened her eyes halfway, she saw Jack in a chair looking at her. She then sat strait up and opened her eyes fully. She was surprised to see Jack up and around, but noticed he had a crutch so he wasn't healed all the way. "Wha, wha, wha, what are you doing up?" Melfina stuttered. Jack put his hand on her shoulder and looked at her. "Melfina, what happened to me?" Jack said, suddenly looking concerned. Melfina looked depressed at the moment. Jack's expression changed at the sudden look in her face. "Mel." Jack said sternly and cold. Melfina looked up at him. She was almost to tears. Jack got up and sat next to her. 'Jim told me about this.' Jack thought. 'Let's just play it cool.' Melfina suddenly burst out in tears and threw her head into Jack's lap. Jack put his arm over her head and sighed. Jack grabbed her shoulders and sat her up strait and looked at her hard this time. "Mel, what happened to me? I have to know." Melfina stopped crying, and wiped the tears from her eyes. "It started when you came to get me. The Pirate's took me away, and you were suddenly enraged. Gene and Jim pulled you back, and had to drag you onto the ship. But then you broke out and came after me. They were able to capture you, and threw you into a cell. Soon after, you were due for execution. They decided to poison you with a type of drug that can kill you with the right amount. They were pumping into you for about eight hours. If one more hour had passed you would have been dead by now. Gene, Jim and Chris came and destroyed the facility, and got you out. You had just about enough strength to fight off the drugs." Jack slapped his head with his hands. "It was all my fault Jack." Melfina said, burying her head in her hands. Jack held her. "No, no it's not. I was too reckless." Jack was thinking whether he should go back to bed or stay on the bridge. He was still weak from the drugs, and they made him go brain dead. Jack was a little stirred by the emotions Melfina was putting out. Although he couldn't comprehend the real feeling she was hiding, he had enough thought to realize that she was hiding something that he needed to bring out. Jack looked at Melfina's face. He dried her tears with his fingers, and lifted her head up. "I need to go see Gene on the deck. I'll see you later. But Mel, do me a favor and think about everything that happened and write it down and then give it to me. If this is a trap, I'll need all the details." Melfina didn't answer him. She kept her head low. Jack sighed and left her room. On his way to the bridge, he thought about why the Pirates would not kill him immediately after they captured him. He had already killed thousands of them and caused so much damage that it would be imperative for them to shoot him on the spot. He was thinking that they intended to let Gene recapture him. He'd have to look himself over in case they put something on him like a homing device of some sort. When the doors opened, Gene whirled around to see Jack on a crutch staggering onto the bridge. "Well, I see your up." Gene said smiling, making a joke of not caring the least bit. "Yeah." Jack said, taking a spot by him in a chair. "So, I take it your the one who got me out?" Jack asked him, looking sly. "Yeah. But it's not like I owe you anything. You've saved my ass more then once." Gene said, putting his head back. "Hey, Gene..." Jack asked. "Yeah?" he responded, shifting his eyes toward him. "Do you know what's up with Mel? She seems like she's on the verge of an emotional breakdown or something." Jack said. "Well you know how she is." Gene said, returning his eyes to the ceiling. "Yes, I know, but not like this." Jack said. "It's as if she knows something we don't and she's hiding it, even from me." "Don't be too hard on her." Gene responded. "She's had it rough. Being kidnapped on a regular basing can take it out of you to where you sometimes have no feeling at all." Gene said. "What would you know?" Jack whispered to himself. Jack sat up and stuck his feet on a table in front of him. He watched as the crews made final repairs on the ship, and departed from their stations like little ants. "So, this is how it is." Jack said, his eyes half open. "Get drugged, go to sleep, wake up, go to sleep." he was almost mellow to the point of sleeping. "Whatever." Jack said, falling backwards and out of the chair. "Whoops." Jack said, easing a smile on his face. Then he looked out of the windows. "Now isn't that, nah. It couldn't be." Jack said, as he saw what appeared to be a familiar figure finishing repairs and reloading. "But he does have a resemblance to...no, no. It can't be him." Jack said, giving up and lying on his bed. "I'm tired. I'm going down." Jack said, then finally falling asleep. When Jack awoke, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. They had already blasted away from the station, and were heading to where he had no idea. When he got up, he left his room and dragged himself down the halls of the ship. He got to the deck and took his usual place on the left. "Well you're finally up." Chris said, throwing a paper ball at Jack's head. "Yeah whatever." Jack drowsily said, and started tapping the controls and setting up his station. As he sank in his seat he looked to his right to see everyone was too busy to see what was going on with him, or for that matter, even care. When he saw Melfina he bet she was thinking of his request from yesterday. 'Somehow I know she's in on something.' Jack thought to himself. 'I'll get it out of her.' Jack smiled, as he thought. He knew he could get the information he wanted. He could read people so well. But for now the matter of getting to where ever was the problem. "Say Gene, where are we going anyway?" Jack questioned. Gene looked at him as if he was shocked at what Jack said. Then Gene smiled widely. "Earth." He said. Ah yes. Time to go home. Jack looked relaxed suddenly. But the relaxation would change to panic very soon. "Gene, unidentified vessels dead ahead." Melfina said, looking at the view screen in front of her. Gene squinted trying to get a better view of what was in front of him. All he could see was black, until an explosion erupted with a blinding flash. More followed, leaving large trails of explosions in every direction. "What the hell is that?" Gene yelled over the noise and shaking. "We appear to be caught in the remaining results of a supernova! It's going to tear the ship apart!" Melfina said. The fire and space dust were created everywhere in instances. They couldn't tell left from right or the other way around. They were blindly hurtling into unknown space. Soon everything just went white, and all Jack or anyone else could see was their hands in front of their faces. Jack couldn't stand the brightness any longer. He shielded his eyes and hit the floor. He was able to move but his leg hurt tremendously. He crawled to the door, which seemed to be miles away from the way things were looking. "Damnit!" Jack yelled as he lost strength and fell flat. Everything from there on was a haze. Jack awoke still on the same spot on the floor. When he sat up, he saw everyone was still unconscious. Gene was lying across one of the panels, Jim was sprawled on the floor, and Chris had his head on the bottom step of a three-step pair of stairs. Melfina's tank had busted open and she was lying on the floor with a piece of glass in her side from the tank's remnants. It was bleeding badly, and when Jack looked to see if anyone else was as bad off as her, he had only one thing set on his mind. Jack gasped, and tried to get up again. "Damn." he said. "She needs my help." Jack looked himself over to see if anything had happened to him. He noticed that the control panel he was operating at had fallen on his leg. He couldn't move. He hadn't felt it, due to the fact that his legs were numb already. He couldn't get it off himself. Gene and Chris were the closest people next to him, ranging about 2 or 3 meters away. Jack spotted a piece of metal that had been burnt off of a steel beam. He grabbed it and threw it at Gene's head. Gene only rolled over and moaned. Jack then reached for another piece and threw it at Chris, hitting him in the chest. Chris rolled over and opened his eyes. He sat up slowly afterwards, surveying the scene and wondering what hit him. He looked to his left to see Jack waving at him to get over there. Chris slowly got up to his feet, and rubbed the back of his neck. He had gotten banged around a lot, and staggered over to where Jack lay. "Chris, help me get this thing off!" Jack complained. "Hold on." Chris said, and lifted the control panel off of Jack's leg easily. Jack was able to stand up and hobble to a chair. He sat down, exhausted. "Hey Chris, look at Mel." Jack said pointing. He turned his head with a dramatic sway, and saw that her side looked as if it had been stabbed by a large knife. "Good god. How are we going to." Chris stuttered. "Bring her over here. I think I can get it out." Jack reassured him. She lay sprawled on the cold, metal floor, breathing normally, but looking pale. Jack didn't like the scene. Chris lifted her by her arms and drug her to where Jack sat. "Ok, sit her up Chris." Jack ordered, and Chris gave him a sour look, and propped her up against Jack's legs. Jack grabbed under her arms and picked her up to rest on his lap. "What are you gonna do?" Chris asked. "I think I can edge it out. I am going to need your help." Jack replied with a bit of concern spread all over his face. "Oh." Chris said. He stepped back. "Chris, try and find a cloth somewhere around here. I need to stop the bleeding." Jack said, and concentrated himself on Melfina. He felt for how far the glass went down. Not too far, but enough to where you couldn't just pull it out. Jack had to find some different way to get it out. When Chris returned with the rag that Jim was using earlier, only Chris had cleaned it off, Jack dampened it up, and wiped the blood that was already coming from the cut. Jack would have to inch the glass blade out of her little bit at a time. He couldn't yank it out. He put the towel on the glass and his other hand on the cut area. Jack was sweating. He was nervous about what might happen if it didn't work. He started pulling it out slowly, little at a time, but still a lot more to go. When he had gotten three quarters of the way done, Melfina was starting to wake up. She tossed her head and moaned in pain. When she halfway opened her eyes, Jack was looking at her side deeply. "Jack." Melfina whispered. "Mel, whatever you do, don't move." Jack said. "What's going on?" she said softly. "Just don't move." Jack said. Chris stood watching the whole thing unravel. When Jack was almost done, he took his hand and placed it on the end of the glass. "Clench everything Mel." Jack said to her. "What--ah!" Melfina yelled as Jack yanked what was left out of her and dropped it to the ground. Melfina was breathing heavily now, and looking around. "Chris, give me that cloth!" Jack said, and Chris bent down and grabbed the rag and tossed it to Jack. Jack held it to Melfina's side as the rag turned red. "Chris, have you seen any bandages around here?" Jack asked. "Sorry." Chris said. "I was lucky to find that rag you got there." "Damn." Jack said, and looked around. "Chris, hurry and run to my room and get my large white T-Shirt out of the closet! Hurry!" Jack yelled. Chris jumped and ran as fast as he could out the door. Melfina's eyes were closing slowly, and her hands that were holding Jack's were loosing their grip. "Mel, hold on. Hold on. Chris, hurry up." Jack said. In about 15 seconds Chris was back with the requested T-Shirt. Jack quickly lifted Melfina up and wrapped the T-Shirt between her chest and thighs. Melfina felt her side. When she pressed her hand against the cut, it hurt badly. Her hands returned to resting on her stomach. "Chris, I need you to watch Melfina while I scout the ship." Jack said. "Hey, I don't think you're in the right condition for that." Chris protested. "Cmon, you know me." Jack winked. "Wake the others as well. I need to assess the damage." Jack said, and set out. "But why cant I?" Chris asked. "I can't look at what is going on here." Jack said, waving his hands back, and pushing the door open. There wasn't too much structural damage. Some beams had fallen down, and some of the doors wouldn't open, and the floor was pretty torn up, with some things scattered all over it. Jack found that the engine room was littered with tools and parts of the beams supporting the roof. It was stable, but it wouldn't last forever. Next he had come back from the engine room and was now checking the weapons locker room. He hoped his Plasma Rifle had survived the crash. When he saw everything was in one piece, he headed inside. He checked the lockers. When he saw that they were all pretty much ok, he opened #19 up and took out the handgun resting inside. "You can never be too careful when you're here." Jack said to himself, and continued to check the other rooms for damage. What wasn't destroyed was either burnt or had lots of things stuffed next to it. "Hm." Jack said. He put his crutch down and bent down to see some nuts and bolts and a little bit of scrap that didn't come from the ship. "What the." Jack said to himself. It didn't match his surrounding at all, and some of the metal appeared to be armor, and had an insignia on it. It was a strange symbol that he didn't recognize. "Ah" Jack said, shaking his head and getting up to look around some more. But he couldn't get that thought out of his head. "This is really weird." he said to himself as he looked around. Jack checked most of the other parts of the ship. Most of them had only things scattered around on the floor or the beds and furniture were overturned. Jack decided to head back and check on the rest of crew. Especially Melfina. When Jack got back, Chris had awakened everyone, and Melfina was still hurt and not very active. "So, what happened?" Gene asked, sitting up at Jack's sudden arrival. "Most of the ship is all right except for some debris and some fallen beams." Jack said, and then diverted his attention to Melfina. "How is she?" Jack asked Gene. "She's, well, ok. I don't think she'll die, but she's really tired. She needs a place to sleep man. Hey, lucky you saved her when you did. I wouldn't have known what to do." Jack nodded in agreement and picked her up. "Need any help?" Gene asked. "No. No thanks." Jack said, and continued to Melfina's room. When he had gotten there, the only things that needed to be fixed were her overturned bed and a lot of things lying around. Jack set her against the wall, and began working on her room. He managed to flip the bed over and push it back against the wall, and then put some things back, and left the stuff that he didn't know where to put against the wall. Melfina had woken up, and her eyes were open just enough to see. "What happened to me?" she asked intently to Jack. "A piece of glass was caught in your side. I had to get it out or it would have become more serious." Jack said looking over his shoulder. "Thanks." Melfina said smiling. "No problem. I've did things for you bigger than that." Jack explained. "I suppose." Melfina smiled. When Jack had finished straitening everything up, he turned around. "Can you stand up?" he asked. "I'm sure I can manage." She said, and pressed against the wall and pushed her way to her feet. "How about walking wise?" Jack asked. "I'm sure we're both in the same situation." She said. But she could walk nonetheless. She walked across the room slowly and sat down on her bed, tired enough to just collapse. "Do you want to get dressed?" Jack asked. Melfina was so tired she hadn't noticed she was still naked. "Oh.um, not now. I think I'll just lie down." So she pulled the covers out and tucked herself under them. Jack sat down next to the bed. "Aren't you going back to the bridge?" she asked. "No. I'm staying here to keep an eye on you." Jack replied. "You really don't." Melfina said. "I want to." Jack said. He got up and sat on her bed. "If you know me then you know that is something I would do." Jack said, brushing his hand against her cheek. She took his hand and held it. "Thanks again." She said, and turned back to face the wall again. Jack laid down next to her and wrapped his arm around her waist. She moved a little bit to adjust, and then brushed up next to him. "Hey, um..." He remarked with a bit of a quiver. "I know." Melfina responded, and fell asleep. "Do you think Jack will come back?" Jim asked. "I don't think so. If I know him, he'll stay with Melfina." Chris responded, and sat down in a broken chair. "Well ok then. So now what do we do, seeing how the ship's trashed and we have no means of repairing it in this condition?" Gene asked, leaning against the almost snapped-off console. "We look around." Jim commented. "This planet is clearly breathable." "I dunno, doesn't it look a little, well, hostile?" Chris asked. Jim shook his head in disagreement firmly. "Well why not?" Chris asked. "Well why so?" Jim replied. "Never mind." Chris said. Gene Chris and Jim had run to the end of the almost destroyed ship, looking for a means to get outside and deal with any intrusions. "Is the locker room still in one piece?" Gene asked, sticking his head through the crack Jim was able to squeeze through. "Barely." Jim said, and came back to the crack. "Head to the door. I should be able to boost some power to it and open it up." Gene and Chris walked to the door half bent and torn. But there was something on the wall next to the door that caught Gene's attention. "Look." Gene said, pointing to the wall. "What?" Chris asked, turning around, and saw that there were some specs of blood and a few bolts in that certain spot. Gene got on his knees and looked at it closely. "Looks like something, or someone else was here already." Gene said, picking up some of the bit of blood and rubbing it between his fingers. Jim opened the door and Gene stood up. "What?" Jim asked, looking at Gene's concerned look. "Look at this." Gene told him. Jim squatted down, and surveyed the splotch of blood. "What." Jim said to himself. "I can't tell what it is, or what it is, but I have a feeling it's Kei." Gene said. "How do you figure?" Chris asked, looking at him. "Check the mechanical parts laying next to it." Gene said, pointing at half of a scrap heap, lying next to it. "That could be anything though." Chris said. "No it can't. Do you see any black or anything that looks like this around here?" Jim asked him. Chris looked around. "I'm guessing that when our ship was shaking, he hit the wall hard, and it knocked the stuffing out of him. His blood where he hit, and the parts that fell off when he stood up." Jim said. "Hm." Gene said, and turned into the room. Gene opened the locker door. "Good. The weapons weren't damaged in the process." Gene said, taking out his pistol and snapping a clip into it. "Hm. Are you sure that this place looks real dangerous?" Jim asked Chris. "There's no grounds suggesting that." "Well it was just a guess." Chris said. "Because everywhere we have landed we have gotten captured or shot at." Chris responded. After they had made sure they were full up on ammunition and gear, they scavenged the ship. "Looks pretty bad." Jim said. "You said it. It may take months to repair all of this." Gene exclaimed. "Hey guys! Come check this out." Chris yelled from a distance. When Gene and Jim got to the spot, Chris pointed out a large hole that had been made in the wall. "What happened here?" Gene asked. Jim walked up, and noticed the burnt and smoldered edges of the wall. "It was either blasted or burnt through." "Outside?" Gene asked. "No. Inside." Jim said. "What the hell is going on here?" Gene asked. "I don't know, but I suggest we check the outside and head for the nearest city." Jim said. "Nearest city? They'll kill us!" Chris said. "We can sneak around or get some of their clothes." Jim said. "All right." Chris said. He looked to Gene. "Sounds like a plan." He said. "But are you sure we should leave Jack and Melfina here?" Gene asked. "Jack can handle himself. Right now we need to get into town." Jim said, and they jumped out from the hole and continued on. Jack had woken up a little after 2 hours of sleep. He sat up, and then stood up. When he realized he could stand, he tried walking around a bit. When he realized the drugs had worn off completely, he started stretching his legs out because they were so sore from not being used enough. He was about to lie down again when he heard someone clanking through the halls. He sat back up and walked slowly to the door. He stood next to it. "If I know Gene he wouldn't be back yet." Jack said. He then opened the door. Jack peeked his head out from the door and walked slowly to a pile of crates in the hall and peeked out. He saw a shadowy figure coming from down the halls. But it wasn't from the direction of the bridge. He looked closer and saw it wasn't anyone he knew, but he couldn't tell who or what it was at all. Jack drew the 9mm from his pocket that he had picked up earlier. The person was getting closer. Jack saw that he was approaching the light. He was going to enter its glare range soon. When the figure finally entered the edge of the brightness of the light bulb, Jack jumped out from behind the stack of boxes and pointed his gun in the direction of the figure. "Freeze!" Jack said, holding the gun to the person who was less than 4 yards away. The person stopped dead in his tracks. "Hands over your head, now." Jack said. The figure lifted his hands above his head and surrendered. "Step into the light so I can see you." Jack ordered. The figure then pulled something from his back pocket and rolled it onto the floor into the light. Jack looked curiously at it. Then, a blinding flash emitted and the room went completely white. Jack shielded his eyes and jumped back behind the crate. Jack leaped back out when the flash had disappeared. He pointed his gun in all directions, looking for the stranger that had entered the ship. Jack's thoughts were soon interrupted by an exploding box to his left. The figure had begun shooting at him from behind his own cover; a metal chunk that had fallen from the wall was now obscuring the character from Jack's line of sight. Jack quickly jumped back behind the boxes and continuous gunfire pelted the walls and crates. The person then jumped out into the light and looked around. Jack did the same and jumped from atop of a nearby piece of metal and leaped out, holding the gun with both hands directly in front of the character's face. The stranger was doing likewise, one hand on the weapon and then other going for another clip. The person was masked. He had a black headpiece on and holes in it so he could see. Jack gasped as he slowly lifted his free hand onto the person's mask, and lifted it off his head, only to see Trowa was the gun-wielding intruder. Trowa clicked the trigger and Jack flinched as the barrel jutted out notifying him it was empty. Jack stood up with the gun still pointed at his head. Trowa raised his hands and stood up himself. "I know who you are." Jack said. Trowa's expression didn't change. Jack stepped back a couple of time more, and kicked down some of the boxes so they couldn't be used again. "Get against the wall.Trowa." Jack said slyly. Trowa's expression changed when he said his name. He shifted nervously. "Do it." Jack said, raising his gun again. He silently stood with the front of his body against the wall. Jack came around and looked at him to see if there was a lump in case he had any concealed weapons in his pockets. He wasn't about to frisk him. "Ok." Jack said. He backed away again. Trowa came out of his position, and stood in almost the exact same spot, hands raised. Jack looked at his gun, and then back at Trowa. "I'm going to trust you with this, because I trust you'll make the right decision. And also because I know who you are." He said, and bent down and rolled the gun over the floor to Trowa's feet. Trowa looked down and with his eyes still fixed on Jack, picked up the weapon, and placed it in the holster on his waist. 'He isn't going to trust anyone.' Jack thought to himself. "I now have no weapon. You can trust me too. I hope you will." Jack said. "Now lets try answering some questions." "Why are you here?" Jack asked. "I came to investigate." Trowa said slowly. "Investigate what?" Jack asked. "That's confidential." Trowa replied. "I thought so." Jack said, shifting uneasily at the thought of not having a gun. "And since you are a witness to my mission, I'm afraid I can't let you live any longer." Trowa said, pulling the gun back out. "But I thought." Jack yelped. "You thought wrong kid. You can't trust anyone around here." Trowa said firmly. Jack hesitated, and when Trowa was just about to shoot him, Jack closed his eyes and heard a crash and looked up. Melfina was holding a broken wine bottle in her hands and had a look of despise on her face. She looked at Jack, and lightened up. "Melfina! You saved my life!" Jack yelled. She looked back at him and smiled widely. Jack ran up to her and she dropped the bottle. Jack tightened his arms around her and she did the same. "My god. How did you find me? I thought you were still asleep." Jack said. "I woke up at the sound of some shots, and when I peeked out the door, I saw you holding a gun. So kind of went around and when he was about to shoot you, I, you know, found a bottle and, well, hit him on the head." Melfina looked kind of sheepish. "Hey, no one saw us and I ain't saying anything. Anyway, help me get him tied up." Jack asked. "Hey how is your side? Does it hurt at all?" Jack commented. "A little, but not enough so that I notice it." Melfina responded. "Ok. Oh, and, do me a favor and get some clothes on." Jack said. She looked at herself and went back into her room. By the time Trowa was strung up and still unconscious, Gene, Jim, and Chris had made it to the city. Gene peeked around the corner of the nearest building. "They don't look armed." he said. "Wouldn't think so." Jim said slouching. "I could have been wrong." Chris admitted. "Come on. I think it would be safer if we found a clothes shop and blended in." Gene whispered. The city was a rather large place. There were more trees then there needed to be, and the streets had pedestrians walking back and forth, stopping occasionally to shop or chat. The sky was ominously dark, but not threatening. A tall infrastructure stood in the middle of the metropolis. Probably the town center, a court, or the center of the high council of the city. It's existence was undetermined by even the citizens of the city itself. No one was seen going in or out.
When the three of them had managed to sneak into the nearest clothes store, they weren't very surprised to see that the clothes they already had were just about the same as what they were selling there. "Find something you like that's no to pricey." Gene said, and they split up. Chris found a red shirt and blue jacket with a pair of jeans his size. Jim found just about the same thing, only he found a green shirt with a black, light see-through jacket. Gene found a black shirt and black jeans with a dark blue trench coat. When they all met at the checkout counter, they looked each other over. "Ok whatever." Gene said. The total amount came to $47.89. Gene laid down some of the wrong currency. "Excuse me sir, what is this?" the clerk looked surprised. "It's cash man. What else does it look like?" Gene retorted. "Oh. You must not be from around here." the clerk said with relief. Gene hesitated. "There's a cash exchangement machine out front. Place you're money in there and it will determine how much your money is worth." Gene sighed with relief, and looked at Jim. But he thought to himself, 'Why the hell do they need cash exchangement? This is the weirdest thing since what happened to the ship when that large explosion went off.' "Hey Jim, go put this in that machine outside and bring in $47.89 back with you. Nothing less." Jim grabbed Gene's wallet and ran outside. "Hope this works. 'Place Here.' Simple enough." Jim said. He slipped a bill in, and the machine spit it back out saying, 'Currency does not register. Please try again.' "What the hell? Jim said to himself. He walked back into the store and tapped Gene's shoulder. "Uh, Gene? We have a problem." Gene looked surprised. "It doesn't have our money in its memory banks." The clerk cocked an eyebrow. "I suppose I could let this slip..." the clerk said unwarily. "All right then..." Gene said smiling. As soon as the transaction was complete, Gene, Jim, and Chris walked out of the store and proceeded on ward to see what they could discover about the city and it's mysterious background. "Hey Jack, do you know where everyone went?" Melfina asked. "Probably to look around." Jack answered, and continued to walk back from the bridge where they left Trowa. Jack went back into the weapons locker room and opened the crooked door. "Let's see. Locker 12, 13, 14, 15, ah, 16." Jack counted the numbers until he found his dear Plasma weapon. He took the strap and slung it around his shoulder. Then he selected another handgun and placed it in his pocket, and took another out. "Jack, come here quick!" Melfina yelled from the bridge. Jack jumped over the debris and ran down the hallway. He stopped dead in his tracks when he arrived. "What's wrong?" he asked hesitantly. "Listen." she said. Jack listened around, and then he heard the sound of a radio attached to Trowa's side. "Trowa, come in. Can you hear me? Trowa, respond. He's not answering." the voice sounded awkwardly familiar. "Fine. I'll head down there then." Another familiar voice on the radio. "Shit." Jack said to himself. "What?" Melfina said, turning her head to look at him. "Mel, is there any other opening then the one that was cut through on the far end of the ship?" Jack asked worriedly. "Not that I know of." she said. "Come on." Jack said. "What is it?" she asked. "I think someone else is coming." Jack said, and walked down the hall with his gun ready to be pulled out any second.
Jack finally awoke from his deep sleep, now able to walk and breathe easily. He sat up to observe his surroundings. He noticed clearly he was on the Outlaw Star. Gene must have carried him inside. When he got up, he could barely walk, but could manage. 'What the hell happened to me?' he thought. He put his hand over his face and rubbed his eyes. Then he began looking for the crew of the ship to ask what exactly was going on. He was able to find Jim working in the back. "Jim!" Jack yelled. Jim was startled a bit, and was surprised to see Jack walking again. "Jack! I didn't know you were up again already." Jim said, whipping the grease from his hands with a damp rag. "Ya. That's me. Mr. Indestructible." Jack said, then gasping for air. "Jim, can you tell me what happened to me?" Jack asked. "No. I can't tell you. But Melfina can. She was there when it happened." Jim said, having a sudden concerned look on his face. "Was there when what happened?" Jack asked. He took the expression as if he didn't even believe it. "You were captured along with Melfina when you tried to go in by yourself and get her out. Stupid, stupid, stupid." Jack sighed, and then responded to Jim's remark. "Yeah, I know." Jack said, easing a smile on his face. "Can you tell me where she is though?" He asked. "Yeah. In her room." Jim said, pointing behind Jack. "Thanks." Jack said. "But can I give you a crutch or anything? You look limp." Jim said. "Yes. A crutch would be good." Jack said. Jim pulled one from a metal storage cabinet. "I kept this in case one of our legs were blown off." Jim smiled. "You're real romantic Jim." Jack commented. "Yeah." Jim replied, and Jack began to walk off. "Oh, and Jack!" Jim yelled at him. "Yeah?" Jack yelled back. "Don't ask Mel too many questions. She's a little emotionally broke down about it all." Jim said. "I think I can fix that." Jack replied with a bit of hope in his voice. "Whatever you say." Jim muttered to himself. Jack found Melfina's door, and opened it up. She was asleep. Jack moved inside, limping to her bed. He pulled out a chair, and yanked in backwards. He moved it beside her bed, and sat. She'd have to wake up sometime, but it didn't take long. She was roused when Jack had entered her room. When she opened her eyes halfway, she saw Jack in a chair looking at her. She then sat strait up and opened her eyes fully. She was surprised to see Jack up and around, but noticed he had a crutch so he wasn't healed all the way. "Wha, wha, wha, what are you doing up?" Melfina stuttered. Jack put his hand on her shoulder and looked at her. "Melfina, what happened to me?" Jack said, suddenly looking concerned. Melfina looked depressed at the moment. Jack's expression changed at the sudden look in her face. "Mel." Jack said sternly and cold. Melfina looked up at him. She was almost to tears. Jack got up and sat next to her. 'Jim told me about this.' Jack thought. 'Let's just play it cool.' Melfina suddenly burst out in tears and threw her head into Jack's lap. Jack put his arm over her head and sighed. Jack grabbed her shoulders and sat her up strait and looked at her hard this time. "Mel, what happened to me? I have to know." Melfina stopped crying, and wiped the tears from her eyes. "It started when you came to get me. The Pirate's took me away, and you were suddenly enraged. Gene and Jim pulled you back, and had to drag you onto the ship. But then you broke out and came after me. They were able to capture you, and threw you into a cell. Soon after, you were due for execution. They decided to poison you with a type of drug that can kill you with the right amount. They were pumping into you for about eight hours. If one more hour had passed you would have been dead by now. Gene, Jim and Chris came and destroyed the facility, and got you out. You had just about enough strength to fight off the drugs." Jack slapped his head with his hands. "It was all my fault Jack." Melfina said, burying her head in her hands. Jack held her. "No, no it's not. I was too reckless." Jack was thinking whether he should go back to bed or stay on the bridge. He was still weak from the drugs, and they made him go brain dead. Jack was a little stirred by the emotions Melfina was putting out. Although he couldn't comprehend the real feeling she was hiding, he had enough thought to realize that she was hiding something that he needed to bring out. Jack looked at Melfina's face. He dried her tears with his fingers, and lifted her head up. "I need to go see Gene on the deck. I'll see you later. But Mel, do me a favor and think about everything that happened and write it down and then give it to me. If this is a trap, I'll need all the details." Melfina didn't answer him. She kept her head low. Jack sighed and left her room. On his way to the bridge, he thought about why the Pirates would not kill him immediately after they captured him. He had already killed thousands of them and caused so much damage that it would be imperative for them to shoot him on the spot. He was thinking that they intended to let Gene recapture him. He'd have to look himself over in case they put something on him like a homing device of some sort. When the doors opened, Gene whirled around to see Jack on a crutch staggering onto the bridge. "Well, I see your up." Gene said smiling, making a joke of not caring the least bit. "Yeah." Jack said, taking a spot by him in a chair. "So, I take it your the one who got me out?" Jack asked him, looking sly. "Yeah. But it's not like I owe you anything. You've saved my ass more then once." Gene said, putting his head back. "Hey, Gene..." Jack asked. "Yeah?" he responded, shifting his eyes toward him. "Do you know what's up with Mel? She seems like she's on the verge of an emotional breakdown or something." Jack said. "Well you know how she is." Gene said, returning his eyes to the ceiling. "Yes, I know, but not like this." Jack said. "It's as if she knows something we don't and she's hiding it, even from me." "Don't be too hard on her." Gene responded. "She's had it rough. Being kidnapped on a regular basing can take it out of you to where you sometimes have no feeling at all." Gene said. "What would you know?" Jack whispered to himself. Jack sat up and stuck his feet on a table in front of him. He watched as the crews made final repairs on the ship, and departed from their stations like little ants. "So, this is how it is." Jack said, his eyes half open. "Get drugged, go to sleep, wake up, go to sleep." he was almost mellow to the point of sleeping. "Whatever." Jack said, falling backwards and out of the chair. "Whoops." Jack said, easing a smile on his face. Then he looked out of the windows. "Now isn't that, nah. It couldn't be." Jack said, as he saw what appeared to be a familiar figure finishing repairs and reloading. "But he does have a resemblance to...no, no. It can't be him." Jack said, giving up and lying on his bed. "I'm tired. I'm going down." Jack said, then finally falling asleep. When Jack awoke, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. They had already blasted away from the station, and were heading to where he had no idea. When he got up, he left his room and dragged himself down the halls of the ship. He got to the deck and took his usual place on the left. "Well you're finally up." Chris said, throwing a paper ball at Jack's head. "Yeah whatever." Jack drowsily said, and started tapping the controls and setting up his station. As he sank in his seat he looked to his right to see everyone was too busy to see what was going on with him, or for that matter, even care. When he saw Melfina he bet she was thinking of his request from yesterday. 'Somehow I know she's in on something.' Jack thought to himself. 'I'll get it out of her.' Jack smiled, as he thought. He knew he could get the information he wanted. He could read people so well. But for now the matter of getting to where ever was the problem. "Say Gene, where are we going anyway?" Jack questioned. Gene looked at him as if he was shocked at what Jack said. Then Gene smiled widely. "Earth." He said. Ah yes. Time to go home. Jack looked relaxed suddenly. But the relaxation would change to panic very soon. "Gene, unidentified vessels dead ahead." Melfina said, looking at the view screen in front of her. Gene squinted trying to get a better view of what was in front of him. All he could see was black, until an explosion erupted with a blinding flash. More followed, leaving large trails of explosions in every direction. "What the hell is that?" Gene yelled over the noise and shaking. "We appear to be caught in the remaining results of a supernova! It's going to tear the ship apart!" Melfina said. The fire and space dust were created everywhere in instances. They couldn't tell left from right or the other way around. They were blindly hurtling into unknown space. Soon everything just went white, and all Jack or anyone else could see was their hands in front of their faces. Jack couldn't stand the brightness any longer. He shielded his eyes and hit the floor. He was able to move but his leg hurt tremendously. He crawled to the door, which seemed to be miles away from the way things were looking. "Damnit!" Jack yelled as he lost strength and fell flat. Everything from there on was a haze. Jack awoke still on the same spot on the floor. When he sat up, he saw everyone was still unconscious. Gene was lying across one of the panels, Jim was sprawled on the floor, and Chris had his head on the bottom step of a three-step pair of stairs. Melfina's tank had busted open and she was lying on the floor with a piece of glass in her side from the tank's remnants. It was bleeding badly, and when Jack looked to see if anyone else was as bad off as her, he had only one thing set on his mind. Jack gasped, and tried to get up again. "Damn." he said. "She needs my help." Jack looked himself over to see if anything had happened to him. He noticed that the control panel he was operating at had fallen on his leg. He couldn't move. He hadn't felt it, due to the fact that his legs were numb already. He couldn't get it off himself. Gene and Chris were the closest people next to him, ranging about 2 or 3 meters away. Jack spotted a piece of metal that had been burnt off of a steel beam. He grabbed it and threw it at Gene's head. Gene only rolled over and moaned. Jack then reached for another piece and threw it at Chris, hitting him in the chest. Chris rolled over and opened his eyes. He sat up slowly afterwards, surveying the scene and wondering what hit him. He looked to his left to see Jack waving at him to get over there. Chris slowly got up to his feet, and rubbed the back of his neck. He had gotten banged around a lot, and staggered over to where Jack lay. "Chris, help me get this thing off!" Jack complained. "Hold on." Chris said, and lifted the control panel off of Jack's leg easily. Jack was able to stand up and hobble to a chair. He sat down, exhausted. "Hey Chris, look at Mel." Jack said pointing. He turned his head with a dramatic sway, and saw that her side looked as if it had been stabbed by a large knife. "Good god. How are we going to." Chris stuttered. "Bring her over here. I think I can get it out." Jack reassured him. She lay sprawled on the cold, metal floor, breathing normally, but looking pale. Jack didn't like the scene. Chris lifted her by her arms and drug her to where Jack sat. "Ok, sit her up Chris." Jack ordered, and Chris gave him a sour look, and propped her up against Jack's legs. Jack grabbed under her arms and picked her up to rest on his lap. "What are you gonna do?" Chris asked. "I think I can edge it out. I am going to need your help." Jack replied with a bit of concern spread all over his face. "Oh." Chris said. He stepped back. "Chris, try and find a cloth somewhere around here. I need to stop the bleeding." Jack said, and concentrated himself on Melfina. He felt for how far the glass went down. Not too far, but enough to where you couldn't just pull it out. Jack had to find some different way to get it out. When Chris returned with the rag that Jim was using earlier, only Chris had cleaned it off, Jack dampened it up, and wiped the blood that was already coming from the cut. Jack would have to inch the glass blade out of her little bit at a time. He couldn't yank it out. He put the towel on the glass and his other hand on the cut area. Jack was sweating. He was nervous about what might happen if it didn't work. He started pulling it out slowly, little at a time, but still a lot more to go. When he had gotten three quarters of the way done, Melfina was starting to wake up. She tossed her head and moaned in pain. When she halfway opened her eyes, Jack was looking at her side deeply. "Jack." Melfina whispered. "Mel, whatever you do, don't move." Jack said. "What's going on?" she said softly. "Just don't move." Jack said. Chris stood watching the whole thing unravel. When Jack was almost done, he took his hand and placed it on the end of the glass. "Clench everything Mel." Jack said to her. "What--ah!" Melfina yelled as Jack yanked what was left out of her and dropped it to the ground. Melfina was breathing heavily now, and looking around. "Chris, give me that cloth!" Jack said, and Chris bent down and grabbed the rag and tossed it to Jack. Jack held it to Melfina's side as the rag turned red. "Chris, have you seen any bandages around here?" Jack asked. "Sorry." Chris said. "I was lucky to find that rag you got there." "Damn." Jack said, and looked around. "Chris, hurry and run to my room and get my large white T-Shirt out of the closet! Hurry!" Jack yelled. Chris jumped and ran as fast as he could out the door. Melfina's eyes were closing slowly, and her hands that were holding Jack's were loosing their grip. "Mel, hold on. Hold on. Chris, hurry up." Jack said. In about 15 seconds Chris was back with the requested T-Shirt. Jack quickly lifted Melfina up and wrapped the T-Shirt between her chest and thighs. Melfina felt her side. When she pressed her hand against the cut, it hurt badly. Her hands returned to resting on her stomach. "Chris, I need you to watch Melfina while I scout the ship." Jack said. "Hey, I don't think you're in the right condition for that." Chris protested. "Cmon, you know me." Jack winked. "Wake the others as well. I need to assess the damage." Jack said, and set out. "But why cant I?" Chris asked. "I can't look at what is going on here." Jack said, waving his hands back, and pushing the door open. There wasn't too much structural damage. Some beams had fallen down, and some of the doors wouldn't open, and the floor was pretty torn up, with some things scattered all over it. Jack found that the engine room was littered with tools and parts of the beams supporting the roof. It was stable, but it wouldn't last forever. Next he had come back from the engine room and was now checking the weapons locker room. He hoped his Plasma Rifle had survived the crash. When he saw everything was in one piece, he headed inside. He checked the lockers. When he saw that they were all pretty much ok, he opened #19 up and took out the handgun resting inside. "You can never be too careful when you're here." Jack said to himself, and continued to check the other rooms for damage. What wasn't destroyed was either burnt or had lots of things stuffed next to it. "Hm." Jack said. He put his crutch down and bent down to see some nuts and bolts and a little bit of scrap that didn't come from the ship. "What the." Jack said to himself. It didn't match his surrounding at all, and some of the metal appeared to be armor, and had an insignia on it. It was a strange symbol that he didn't recognize. "Ah" Jack said, shaking his head and getting up to look around some more. But he couldn't get that thought out of his head. "This is really weird." he said to himself as he looked around. Jack checked most of the other parts of the ship. Most of them had only things scattered around on the floor or the beds and furniture were overturned. Jack decided to head back and check on the rest of crew. Especially Melfina. When Jack got back, Chris had awakened everyone, and Melfina was still hurt and not very active. "So, what happened?" Gene asked, sitting up at Jack's sudden arrival. "Most of the ship is all right except for some debris and some fallen beams." Jack said, and then diverted his attention to Melfina. "How is she?" Jack asked Gene. "She's, well, ok. I don't think she'll die, but she's really tired. She needs a place to sleep man. Hey, lucky you saved her when you did. I wouldn't have known what to do." Jack nodded in agreement and picked her up. "Need any help?" Gene asked. "No. No thanks." Jack said, and continued to Melfina's room. When he had gotten there, the only things that needed to be fixed were her overturned bed and a lot of things lying around. Jack set her against the wall, and began working on her room. He managed to flip the bed over and push it back against the wall, and then put some things back, and left the stuff that he didn't know where to put against the wall. Melfina had woken up, and her eyes were open just enough to see. "What happened to me?" she asked intently to Jack. "A piece of glass was caught in your side. I had to get it out or it would have become more serious." Jack said looking over his shoulder. "Thanks." Melfina said smiling. "No problem. I've did things for you bigger than that." Jack explained. "I suppose." Melfina smiled. When Jack had finished straitening everything up, he turned around. "Can you stand up?" he asked. "I'm sure I can manage." She said, and pressed against the wall and pushed her way to her feet. "How about walking wise?" Jack asked. "I'm sure we're both in the same situation." She said. But she could walk nonetheless. She walked across the room slowly and sat down on her bed, tired enough to just collapse. "Do you want to get dressed?" Jack asked. Melfina was so tired she hadn't noticed she was still naked. "Oh.um, not now. I think I'll just lie down." So she pulled the covers out and tucked herself under them. Jack sat down next to the bed. "Aren't you going back to the bridge?" she asked. "No. I'm staying here to keep an eye on you." Jack replied. "You really don't." Melfina said. "I want to." Jack said. He got up and sat on her bed. "If you know me then you know that is something I would do." Jack said, brushing his hand against her cheek. She took his hand and held it. "Thanks again." She said, and turned back to face the wall again. Jack laid down next to her and wrapped his arm around her waist. She moved a little bit to adjust, and then brushed up next to him. "Hey, um..." He remarked with a bit of a quiver. "I know." Melfina responded, and fell asleep. "Do you think Jack will come back?" Jim asked. "I don't think so. If I know him, he'll stay with Melfina." Chris responded, and sat down in a broken chair. "Well ok then. So now what do we do, seeing how the ship's trashed and we have no means of repairing it in this condition?" Gene asked, leaning against the almost snapped-off console. "We look around." Jim commented. "This planet is clearly breathable." "I dunno, doesn't it look a little, well, hostile?" Chris asked. Jim shook his head in disagreement firmly. "Well why not?" Chris asked. "Well why so?" Jim replied. "Never mind." Chris said. Gene Chris and Jim had run to the end of the almost destroyed ship, looking for a means to get outside and deal with any intrusions. "Is the locker room still in one piece?" Gene asked, sticking his head through the crack Jim was able to squeeze through. "Barely." Jim said, and came back to the crack. "Head to the door. I should be able to boost some power to it and open it up." Gene and Chris walked to the door half bent and torn. But there was something on the wall next to the door that caught Gene's attention. "Look." Gene said, pointing to the wall. "What?" Chris asked, turning around, and saw that there were some specs of blood and a few bolts in that certain spot. Gene got on his knees and looked at it closely. "Looks like something, or someone else was here already." Gene said, picking up some of the bit of blood and rubbing it between his fingers. Jim opened the door and Gene stood up. "What?" Jim asked, looking at Gene's concerned look. "Look at this." Gene told him. Jim squatted down, and surveyed the splotch of blood. "What." Jim said to himself. "I can't tell what it is, or what it is, but I have a feeling it's Kei." Gene said. "How do you figure?" Chris asked, looking at him. "Check the mechanical parts laying next to it." Gene said, pointing at half of a scrap heap, lying next to it. "That could be anything though." Chris said. "No it can't. Do you see any black or anything that looks like this around here?" Jim asked him. Chris looked around. "I'm guessing that when our ship was shaking, he hit the wall hard, and it knocked the stuffing out of him. His blood where he hit, and the parts that fell off when he stood up." Jim said. "Hm." Gene said, and turned into the room. Gene opened the locker door. "Good. The weapons weren't damaged in the process." Gene said, taking out his pistol and snapping a clip into it. "Hm. Are you sure that this place looks real dangerous?" Jim asked Chris. "There's no grounds suggesting that." "Well it was just a guess." Chris said. "Because everywhere we have landed we have gotten captured or shot at." Chris responded. After they had made sure they were full up on ammunition and gear, they scavenged the ship. "Looks pretty bad." Jim said. "You said it. It may take months to repair all of this." Gene exclaimed. "Hey guys! Come check this out." Chris yelled from a distance. When Gene and Jim got to the spot, Chris pointed out a large hole that had been made in the wall. "What happened here?" Gene asked. Jim walked up, and noticed the burnt and smoldered edges of the wall. "It was either blasted or burnt through." "Outside?" Gene asked. "No. Inside." Jim said. "What the hell is going on here?" Gene asked. "I don't know, but I suggest we check the outside and head for the nearest city." Jim said. "Nearest city? They'll kill us!" Chris said. "We can sneak around or get some of their clothes." Jim said. "All right." Chris said. He looked to Gene. "Sounds like a plan." He said. "But are you sure we should leave Jack and Melfina here?" Gene asked. "Jack can handle himself. Right now we need to get into town." Jim said, and they jumped out from the hole and continued on. Jack had woken up a little after 2 hours of sleep. He sat up, and then stood up. When he realized he could stand, he tried walking around a bit. When he realized the drugs had worn off completely, he started stretching his legs out because they were so sore from not being used enough. He was about to lie down again when he heard someone clanking through the halls. He sat back up and walked slowly to the door. He stood next to it. "If I know Gene he wouldn't be back yet." Jack said. He then opened the door. Jack peeked his head out from the door and walked slowly to a pile of crates in the hall and peeked out. He saw a shadowy figure coming from down the halls. But it wasn't from the direction of the bridge. He looked closer and saw it wasn't anyone he knew, but he couldn't tell who or what it was at all. Jack drew the 9mm from his pocket that he had picked up earlier. The person was getting closer. Jack saw that he was approaching the light. He was going to enter its glare range soon. When the figure finally entered the edge of the brightness of the light bulb, Jack jumped out from behind the stack of boxes and pointed his gun in the direction of the figure. "Freeze!" Jack said, holding the gun to the person who was less than 4 yards away. The person stopped dead in his tracks. "Hands over your head, now." Jack said. The figure lifted his hands above his head and surrendered. "Step into the light so I can see you." Jack ordered. The figure then pulled something from his back pocket and rolled it onto the floor into the light. Jack looked curiously at it. Then, a blinding flash emitted and the room went completely white. Jack shielded his eyes and jumped back behind the crate. Jack leaped back out when the flash had disappeared. He pointed his gun in all directions, looking for the stranger that had entered the ship. Jack's thoughts were soon interrupted by an exploding box to his left. The figure had begun shooting at him from behind his own cover; a metal chunk that had fallen from the wall was now obscuring the character from Jack's line of sight. Jack quickly jumped back behind the boxes and continuous gunfire pelted the walls and crates. The person then jumped out into the light and looked around. Jack did the same and jumped from atop of a nearby piece of metal and leaped out, holding the gun with both hands directly in front of the character's face. The stranger was doing likewise, one hand on the weapon and then other going for another clip. The person was masked. He had a black headpiece on and holes in it so he could see. Jack gasped as he slowly lifted his free hand onto the person's mask, and lifted it off his head, only to see Trowa was the gun-wielding intruder. Trowa clicked the trigger and Jack flinched as the barrel jutted out notifying him it was empty. Jack stood up with the gun still pointed at his head. Trowa raised his hands and stood up himself. "I know who you are." Jack said. Trowa's expression didn't change. Jack stepped back a couple of time more, and kicked down some of the boxes so they couldn't be used again. "Get against the wall.Trowa." Jack said slyly. Trowa's expression changed when he said his name. He shifted nervously. "Do it." Jack said, raising his gun again. He silently stood with the front of his body against the wall. Jack came around and looked at him to see if there was a lump in case he had any concealed weapons in his pockets. He wasn't about to frisk him. "Ok." Jack said. He backed away again. Trowa came out of his position, and stood in almost the exact same spot, hands raised. Jack looked at his gun, and then back at Trowa. "I'm going to trust you with this, because I trust you'll make the right decision. And also because I know who you are." He said, and bent down and rolled the gun over the floor to Trowa's feet. Trowa looked down and with his eyes still fixed on Jack, picked up the weapon, and placed it in the holster on his waist. 'He isn't going to trust anyone.' Jack thought to himself. "I now have no weapon. You can trust me too. I hope you will." Jack said. "Now lets try answering some questions." "Why are you here?" Jack asked. "I came to investigate." Trowa said slowly. "Investigate what?" Jack asked. "That's confidential." Trowa replied. "I thought so." Jack said, shifting uneasily at the thought of not having a gun. "And since you are a witness to my mission, I'm afraid I can't let you live any longer." Trowa said, pulling the gun back out. "But I thought." Jack yelped. "You thought wrong kid. You can't trust anyone around here." Trowa said firmly. Jack hesitated, and when Trowa was just about to shoot him, Jack closed his eyes and heard a crash and looked up. Melfina was holding a broken wine bottle in her hands and had a look of despise on her face. She looked at Jack, and lightened up. "Melfina! You saved my life!" Jack yelled. She looked back at him and smiled widely. Jack ran up to her and she dropped the bottle. Jack tightened his arms around her and she did the same. "My god. How did you find me? I thought you were still asleep." Jack said. "I woke up at the sound of some shots, and when I peeked out the door, I saw you holding a gun. So kind of went around and when he was about to shoot you, I, you know, found a bottle and, well, hit him on the head." Melfina looked kind of sheepish. "Hey, no one saw us and I ain't saying anything. Anyway, help me get him tied up." Jack asked. "Hey how is your side? Does it hurt at all?" Jack commented. "A little, but not enough so that I notice it." Melfina responded. "Ok. Oh, and, do me a favor and get some clothes on." Jack said. She looked at herself and went back into her room. By the time Trowa was strung up and still unconscious, Gene, Jim, and Chris had made it to the city. Gene peeked around the corner of the nearest building. "They don't look armed." he said. "Wouldn't think so." Jim said slouching. "I could have been wrong." Chris admitted. "Come on. I think it would be safer if we found a clothes shop and blended in." Gene whispered. The city was a rather large place. There were more trees then there needed to be, and the streets had pedestrians walking back and forth, stopping occasionally to shop or chat. The sky was ominously dark, but not threatening. A tall infrastructure stood in the middle of the metropolis. Probably the town center, a court, or the center of the high council of the city. It's existence was undetermined by even the citizens of the city itself. No one was seen going in or out.
When the three of them had managed to sneak into the nearest clothes store, they weren't very surprised to see that the clothes they already had were just about the same as what they were selling there. "Find something you like that's no to pricey." Gene said, and they split up. Chris found a red shirt and blue jacket with a pair of jeans his size. Jim found just about the same thing, only he found a green shirt with a black, light see-through jacket. Gene found a black shirt and black jeans with a dark blue trench coat. When they all met at the checkout counter, they looked each other over. "Ok whatever." Gene said. The total amount came to $47.89. Gene laid down some of the wrong currency. "Excuse me sir, what is this?" the clerk looked surprised. "It's cash man. What else does it look like?" Gene retorted. "Oh. You must not be from around here." the clerk said with relief. Gene hesitated. "There's a cash exchangement machine out front. Place you're money in there and it will determine how much your money is worth." Gene sighed with relief, and looked at Jim. But he thought to himself, 'Why the hell do they need cash exchangement? This is the weirdest thing since what happened to the ship when that large explosion went off.' "Hey Jim, go put this in that machine outside and bring in $47.89 back with you. Nothing less." Jim grabbed Gene's wallet and ran outside. "Hope this works. 'Place Here.' Simple enough." Jim said. He slipped a bill in, and the machine spit it back out saying, 'Currency does not register. Please try again.' "What the hell? Jim said to himself. He walked back into the store and tapped Gene's shoulder. "Uh, Gene? We have a problem." Gene looked surprised. "It doesn't have our money in its memory banks." The clerk cocked an eyebrow. "I suppose I could let this slip..." the clerk said unwarily. "All right then..." Gene said smiling. As soon as the transaction was complete, Gene, Jim, and Chris walked out of the store and proceeded on ward to see what they could discover about the city and it's mysterious background. "Hey Jack, do you know where everyone went?" Melfina asked. "Probably to look around." Jack answered, and continued to walk back from the bridge where they left Trowa. Jack went back into the weapons locker room and opened the crooked door. "Let's see. Locker 12, 13, 14, 15, ah, 16." Jack counted the numbers until he found his dear Plasma weapon. He took the strap and slung it around his shoulder. Then he selected another handgun and placed it in his pocket, and took another out. "Jack, come here quick!" Melfina yelled from the bridge. Jack jumped over the debris and ran down the hallway. He stopped dead in his tracks when he arrived. "What's wrong?" he asked hesitantly. "Listen." she said. Jack listened around, and then he heard the sound of a radio attached to Trowa's side. "Trowa, come in. Can you hear me? Trowa, respond. He's not answering." the voice sounded awkwardly familiar. "Fine. I'll head down there then." Another familiar voice on the radio. "Shit." Jack said to himself. "What?" Melfina said, turning her head to look at him. "Mel, is there any other opening then the one that was cut through on the far end of the ship?" Jack asked worriedly. "Not that I know of." she said. "Come on." Jack said. "What is it?" she asked. "I think someone else is coming." Jack said, and walked down the hall with his gun ready to be pulled out any second.