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Chapter 3

They had come to the stars when space colonization was in it's infancy. Their world torn by streaks of fire from the sky, they erected new monuments to greed to replace the ones they had lost. These buildings were vast honeycombed structures that sprung up almost overnight on the planets and moons. Others were nothing more than modified satellites, orbiting in space. These shone with a steady light almost as bright as that of the stars, the lights serving as beacons for those that had a hunger for games and taking risks. Soon the people came, echoing the ghosts of the faithful that had feverishly haunted these abodes on the blue planet. The seeds of lust for money were carried in their blood, transplanted to these new worlds. They put themselves above the law, creating their own society apart from the rest of the colonies.

Once each year they returned to the battered planet, gathering in honor of that bygone time when money flowed like wine and the masses would come in hordes to pay tribute to their paper god. They would re-live all that the past had held with heady abandon, making a pilgrimage to the great cities of their craft. To these places the gamblers were invited. The two imperative rules were simple: no cheating and no weapons. Here they would be required to prove their mettle. To uphold the reputations they had gained in the casinos and prove the worth of their skills. Those that had first come to the stars would set the rules for the games.

* * *

He woke up to the smell of food and the sound of a pan scraping against the stove. Jet was cooking. Feeling the clench of hunger in his stomach, he peeled himself off of the couch and headed straight for the kitchen. His face dropped when he saw what Jet was making: an omelet with lima beans. Weren't they out of those damn things already? He decided that he was going to do the grocery shopping from now on. It was obvious Jet was hell bent on never getting anything mouth-wateringly good for them to eat.

"Mornin' Spike."

"Mornin'," the sound coming out as more of a grunt than the actual word.

He took a seat and watched Jet cook, not feeling that hungry anymore.

"Ed's working on a new bounty - 30 million."

Spike perked up when he heard the amount, jumping out of his chair.

"Why didn't you wake me up? Lets go!"

"Hold on, we don't have a name yet. Just the preliminaries."

Slight disappointment marring his features, he collapsed back onto the chair, burying his head in his hands. He looked up in surprise when something hit him on the arm. A pack of cigarettes.

"Huh? I thought we were out?"

"We were. I borrowed them from Faye. And Spike, I don't appreciate you swiping my smokes."

He gave a nervous laugh, scratching the back of his head.

"Sorry pal, I was gonna pay you back. With interest. I swear."

"Yeah. Promises, promises." Jet gave him a disbelieving grin as he put the steaming plate of food in front of Spike.

"Well, eat up buddy. There's plenty more for seconds. Then we'll see what Ed found out."

Letting out another grunt, Spike hesitantly began to dig in.

* * *

"What've you got Ed?"

"Shhhh Jet-person. Ed is in the middle of a veeery delicate operation." Her fingers danced over the keyboard for another couple of minutes before the look of concentration on her face dissolved into a big smile.

"Edward found the treasure, Captain Jet."

"Let's see what we have here." Jet leaned in over Ed's shoulder to get a better look.

"Hmm…stats….to be brought in alive or the bounty is void….wanted for unspecified crimes…seen frequenting casinos in Europa…price of bounty may rise…. There's not much here Ed. Do you know who put the bounty up?"

"It's a secret Jet-person. Tomato won't tell Ed," she finished with a sad look on her face, but suddenly brightened up again. "Tomato said bounty-man addicted to gambling. Faye-Faye will find."

"Well now. This may turn out to be our lucky day, after all. That money's in the bank already. With Faye's connections we could get this guy easy."

"No way Jet. We're not telling her. She'll say she doesn't recognize him, then turn him in herself. Then she'll spend it all on makeup and clothes and pointy shoes and whatever else crap women like to waste their money on. If she doesn't donate it to the casinos first."

"I also like to spend my money on guns and ammo and missile launchers for my ship. Maybe you'd like me to give you a demonstration of my toys."

Faye was leaning against the wall, dressed to the nines and looking flawless. She had her arms crossed across her chest and a scowl on her face.

"I should've known you'd be a snake in the grass Spike! Trying to keep a bounty from me. I thought we were all going to get informed whenever a new bounty came up. That was our deal. Isn't that right, Jet?"

Before the words could leave Jet's mouth, Spike cut in.

"You're the one who's always been the snake in the grass Faye. Don't pretend you wouldn't go after that bounty by yourself if you saw it first, and leave me'n Jet in the dust!

"Don't forget Edward and Ein Spike-person," Ed piped up while Ein yipped in agreement.

Before Faye could make her retort Jet cut in, yelling at the both of them to shut up and that they were all going to work together.

Faye and Spike were separated to different sides of the room now, each giving the other a death glare. Jet let out another sigh as he turned back to Ed's Tomato, sure they weren't going to start up again. Maybe he could take a vacation by himself with his share of the bounty money. Those two were going to give him an ulcer someday.

"Here's his description and picture. Whaddaya think Faye? Anyone you know?"

She shook her head. "I don't recognize the face, but if you give me a name then I can definitely get some info."

"Ed, see what you can dig up."

"Yes sir, Jet-officer-person!" Ed saluted him with both hands.

"Are we through here now?" Faye spoke up again. "I need to get going."

"Yeah, going to get the bounty-head for yourself."

"Don't start with me again baka! I swear I'll make you regret it."

"Bring it on Faye! Anytime, anywhere."

"Dammit!" Jet brought his fist down on the coffee table. "Can't you two go five minutes without acting like children."

"He can't!" "She can't!" They both spoke at the same time.

"Look Jet, I'm going. Leave a message on my comm when you get any word." Not looking at Spike again, Faye stalked off to the hangar.

"She's lying. She's gonna get that guy and keep the money for herself."'

"Spike, don't start that again. She was already dressed up this morning and ready to leave."

"I still don't trust her. I'm going to follow her."

Before Jet could say anything else Spike took off for the hangar, determined to beat Faye at her own game.