"What the hell are you doing, Hilda?" Jim asked, clearly agitated. "We're so close- why did you tell the marshall that we're withdrawing!?"

" Think of it as a very worthwhile pit-stop. I know it's hard, but you're going to have to trust me on this." Hilda said.

"Trust you?" Aisha screeched "You've done NOTHING to earn our trust!"

She ignored Aisha as best she could and looked at Jim. "What's the award for finishing in the money here? One hundred thousand Wong?"

"Yeah, first place is....."

"Forget it. The prize money's chump change compared to what I'm after. Trust me Jim; pull this off and all of us will be rich."

"What are you talking about Hilda?" Gene asked impatiently as he got into his space-suit. "You'll see....I'm not exactly the sharing type, but if all goes well there's gonna be more than enough to go around." She turned to face Aisha. "Consider this a mutually beneficial arrangement. It's something that can even get you back into the good graces of the Empire."

That little comment had the Ctarl Ctarl's undivided attention. Aisha had every reason to doubt what Hilda had said since she re-emerged from hiding, especially now. But after hearing those words she found herself **wanting** to believe the Outlaw, even though she hadn't done anything to earn her trust.

**

"I'm afraid you've wasted your time. Hilda isn't......"

"YOU LIE!" Takana screeched at the assassin. "I can tell. Her stink is all over this place. She's been sleeping there for the past few days." she pointed to the sofa that Hilda had slept on for the previous two nights.

"Hilda isn't here at the moment." Suzuka said, sounding not unlike a schoolteacher annoyed at the unruly student who keeps interrupting her lesson. Her hand was resting firmly on her bokken's grip.

"Then where is she?" Takana challenged.

"I suggest you turn on the television and find out."

The tracker-killer looked bewildered as she stepped out into the light and descended the stairs. She had been there long enough to shed her black cloak and was wearing a two-tone grey dress not unlike Aisha's. Suzuka eyed the intruder as she walked down the stairway and saw that the intruder was noticeably taller than Aisha. Her hair was darker and only came down to her shoulders. Instead of a bell, she wore a necklace with a golden claw-shaped pendant affixed. On each wrist was a bracelet and she had a metallic belt with a large oval-shaped ring above over belly.

The TV screen flickered to life and after a few moments, Takana saw exactly what the kimono-clad Terran was talking about. Even though there was no audio from the TV, the newscast showed periodic footage of the Outlaw Star among the other ships that had withdrawn from the race. Takana recognized the red vessel from the Blue Heaven's registry database.

"You mean to tell me she's up there right now?" Takana asked Suzuka.

"Mmm-Hmm." there was a small grin creeping across the assassin's face.

The tracker-killer growled in frustration as she suddenly leapt through the air towards Suzuka. As she did so, a potentially lethal gust of wind flew directly beneath her and slammed into the kitchen table, sending it and some of the chairs crashing through the wall on the far end of the offices. Suzuka had missed the intruder by mere inches, but remained in her fighting stance and had the intruder's undivided attention. Again, the assassin and Ctarl Ctarl glared at each other from across the room.

"That bears a resemblance to the ancient Opal Claw fighting technique." the Ctarl Ctarl chuckled, openly admiring her adversary's fighting style. "I didn't think that was known outside the Empire". Before Suzuka could respond or use another of her secret techniques, Takana suddenly performed a series of well-executed backflips, moving away from Suzuka and up the stairs before pausing for a moment. This individual didn't strike Suzuka as the type to run away after a demonstration of her skill- Suzuka could only wonder what she was up to. After getting a two-step head start, the Ctarl Ctarl leapt onto the railing and from there leapt further up and was now clinging to one of the spindly rafters on the ceiling with one leg and one hand. Takana used her free hand to unfasten her belt and held onto it by the ring in the center. Suzuka saw that it wasn't a belt at all, but some sort of metallic bolo that had weights on each end. The air started to whistle softly as the tracker-killer spun it around by the metallic ring.

Suzuka feinted left and Takana maneuvered the bolo accordingly. As she moved back to her right, Takana released the spinning bolo. The kimono-clad assassin felt it whistle past her head by less than an inch as she ducked down and there was a very loud metallic crashing behind her. She turned around to see one of the free-standing metal lamps by the sofa was shorn cleanly in half by Takana's bolo.

It was a diversion- Suzuka swore at herself for not recognizing it sooner. Takana sprang down from the ceiling, Suzuka tried countering with a Hi'an variant. Another focused whirlwind blew past, barely missing Takana and knocking a sizeable hole on the ceiling. Chunks of plaster rained down, but before the tracker-killer could close the distance with Suzuka, she practically flew past Takana, landed on the upstairs railing and then leapt onto the ceiling rafters, next to the hole she had created. As Suzuka deftly climbed through it, the Ctarl Ctarl looked on in quiet admiration as she scooped up her cloak and bolo-scythe. Just as Suzuka realized throwing the bolo at her was merely a diversion, Takana understood that Suzuka's putting a hole in the roof was in part an invitation to fight her on a setting slightly more advantageous to her as she followed the Terran assassin onto the roof of Starwind and Hawking.

**

"Depressurization complete." Gillium announced as the Outlaw Star's airlock slid open. Gene looked past Hilda. Outside, beyond her, was infinity. Already he was starting to feel dizzy as he braced himself against the door.

"You OK Gene?" Hilda asked.

"I'm fine." he said, even though it was far from the truth. Inside the space suit it was very claustrophobic and almost suffocating, yet it was the only thing separating him from an endless and unforgiving vacuum. The same one that had swallowed up his father.

"Good, then let's get going. Nothing like a tandem space-walk for rest and relaxation." she said as she gingerly swatted his backside through the suit. That was just enough to send him floating out of the air-lock. Hilda followed after him. There were two lines to keep them tethered to the ship and serve as a backup oxygen supply should something go wrong with the one on the suits. Gene remembered the steel cable that was coiled around the Outlaw Star's arm and serving as Hilda's lifeline. These lines were much flimsier.

"Vital signs, Mel?" Hilda asked as they floated along.

"You're reading normal so far....." the bio-android said over the earpiece inside Hilda's suit.

"Not me....the cherry. Gene looks like he's about ready to shit his pants."

"I am not!" he said defensively.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. How are you feeling, Gene?"

"So far so good, all things considered." Gene turned to Hilda. "So why do you need me out here?" he asked the Outlaw as they made their way to a derelict communications satellite, pockmarked with dents after colliding with all sorts of small meteors.

"Insurance. Jim's a smart kid, and I'm sure he and Mel can figure out something to take back control of the ship. But they're less likely to leave me stranded here if you're with me." she said as she made her way around the satellite, gently tapping the side of it.

"Care to tell me what it is you're after that's costing us the race? It doesn't have anything to do with the Leiline, does it?"

Hilda shook her head no. "Not really."

"Then what is it?" Gene asked impatiently.

"You'll see soon enough." she knew that she was speaking over an open channel which Aisha, Jim and Melfina could hear as well. "All of you."

**

Hilda's voice was tinny and distant inside the ship. Yet Aisha, Jim and Mel were hanging on every word the Outlaws had to say.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Jim ask Gillium.

"I'm sorry, but Hilda has overridden the command programming." The computer said apologetically. After a brief pause he continued "However, she has only given me a limited number of instructions...."

"Such as?"

"Maintain our present position and blow open the air-locks should her biological functions be terminated for any reason. Yet I would not be obligated to report to her any attempt to bypass whatever limited command protocols she has already established so far."

Mel and Jim were beginning to catch onto what the computer was trying to tell them. On the other hand, Aisha looked positively confused. The boy genius slid out of his seat and made his way to the toolkit he kept in his quarters, promptly returning with a screwdriver and some pliers.

"I'll bring up a diagram of the command circuitry panel...." Melfina offered from inside the tube.

"Good idea, Mel. Aisha? Could you hold onto these panels?"

"How are we going to know if this works?" Aisha asked the boy genius.

"Well, if we suddenly get sucked out into space, it's a pretty safe bet that we screwed up somewhere along the line." Jim countered.

**

It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight as she crawled through the hole, but Takana could make out a shape closing in on her from above. It had the be the Terran, exploiting that moment of weakness. Instinctively, Takana rolled out of the way a fraction of a second before the bokuto blade sliced through the roof of the building. As soon as her eyes adjusted and she caught sight of the assassin, Takana began furiously spinning the bolo again. Suzuka caught this as she was recovering from her attack moments ago and dodged the bolo-scythe once again. It whistled past Suzuka and sliced through the air-conditioning unit behind her. A cloud of dust shot forward from the ground in front of the Kimono-clad assassin as Takana somersaulted over the assassin and landed next to the ruined air-conditioning unit to retrieve her weapon. Immediately, she recovered her bolo and once again began spinning it. Suzuka was ready. As Takana was ready to release it, the assassin held her ground- she would only have one shot at this.

As far as the tracker-killer was concerned, there would be no missing this time. She looked at Suzuka as she released the bolo. As the bolo closed in, it began to slow down. Suzuka was now in a fighting posture. The bolo was caught up in a dark whirlwind and began to meander aimlessly like driftwood in a fast-moving current. Takana realized too late that the whirlwind was closing in on her. It felt like a giant was dragging her from behind as she slammed into the concrete wall of the little enclosure that led to the rooftop from inside. The bolo clattered harmlessly to the ground in front of the semi-conscious Ctarl Ctarl while her cloak fluttered down like a feather from a crow that had taken flight.

It was a slight variation of one of her secret Crimson techniques- strong enough to kill an unsuspecting person. The kimono-clad assassin hoped that it would be enough to at least incapacitate a Ctarl Ctarl. Suzuka saw that the intruder remained perfectly still. She didn't like what was going on since Hilda showed up. First the unwelcome intrusion onto the ship, then the Outlaw Star drops out of the much anticipated race due to causes unknown with her on board, and now a very dangerous individual had shown up on their doorstep looking for Hilda. Suzuka's intuition told her that this unwelcome guest was a professional, but she also knew that something happened to Takana that made it personal.

Suzuka turned her attention back to the Ctarl Ctarl. She was dismayed to see that Takana was wincing in pain and gingerly unscrewing the pendant around her neck while extracting something from it. Suzuka didn't expect that maneuver to kill her but she shouldn't have been moving again so soon, either. Two fingers went from the pendant to the tracker-killer's mouth. The beast-girl exhaled sharply and Suzuka saw that her whole body was shuddering for a moment.

Takana got to her feet and rotated her neck clockwise before she dusted herself off. She looked at Suzuka and smiled.

"That was quite a workout. I have to say, you're good!"

"Is that a fact? In all honesty, I find you to be a rather tedious and predictable opponent. Using any of my secret techniques on you would simply be a waste of time." Suzuka said calmly. It was a bluff on Suzuka's part. She was hoping the tracker-killer would lose her temper and become careless. However, Takana didn't take the bait. Not only could her already quick and formidable reflexes go unmatched while under the influence of the root, but she found it shielded her from pain and she also became more calm and collected. It soothed her more than a lover's caress.

"It's a shame you feel that way. I didn't think you Terrans could put up such a spirited fight." she walked towards the beautiful assassin, composed and unafraid. For the first time in a long time, Suzuka had no idea what to do. Usually, her victims opponents would either attempt to run away, plead for their lives or try and rush her. For those that tried to rush her, survival instinct dictated her actions. There was no time to question wether or not she should react in such a manner. This was so very different. None of them- not even Gene- came to her so confident and willingly. The assassin remembered a saying from Old Earth that was very relevant in this situation. **Not one step backwards**

The assassin and tracker-killer were mere inches apart. Takana looked over her opponent.

"So tell me, Terran: Will you put up such a fight when I return for Hilda?"

"There's only one way to find out, isn't there?" Suzuka said. Truth be told, the assassin was thinking that unless the Outlaw came up with some straight answers, Hilda could very well be the next person to feel her blade.

Much to the assassin's surprise, Takana walked right past her and picked up her black cloak and metallic bolo-scythe from the roof. She draped them both casually over her shoulder as she headed towards the edge of the building. She turned around to face the assassin again.

"I'm looking forward to it." Takana smiled before she leapt across onto an adjacent roof.

**

Hilda floated around the satellite cautiously, making sure that her line didn't get tangled up with either the satellite or Gene's auxiliary line. She was gently rapping on the side of the derelict machine. It was becoming clear to Gene that she was operating on feel. She must have been close, because she pulled out a little handheld scanner from the space-suit and attached a small metal disc with wires to it. After running the disk over the surface of the satellite, she was looking at the readout from the scanner.

"Bingo..."

"What is it?" Gene asked.

"A little something left behind for safe-keeping." Hilda worked on putting the scanner away and produced a multi-purpose tool before unscrewing a panel on the old satellite.

"You want me to get that?" the red-haired Outlaw offered.

"Nope-" Hilda said as a four-foot section of the panel was now loose. She brought out the wire-cutters from the tool. Immediately inside the panel were a series of taut plastic wires- apparently a booby trap. Hilda cautiously began cutting select wires while being cautious enough to avoid others. After a tense few minutes, there was enough room for her to reach in and move her hand around freely. Almost gingerly, she reached in and gingerly pulled out a little tan plastic card. It was a little bigger than the credit cards of Old Earth, but it was divided into two parts. There were a series of small holes on each half of the card, almost like a domino. In addition to the holes, there was a series of almost microscopic circuitry panels on one end. To Hilda, it was the most beautiful thing she had seen since re-awakening.

"Is that what you came for?" Gene asked. "What is it?"

"Something very valuable- come on..." she motioned back to the ship. After proceeding a few meters, Hilda stopped and scooped up a floating meteor the size of a large pebble. Gene looked on with curiosity as the Outlaw pitched it towards the panel that she opened up. The little meteor hit one of the wires Hilda didn't disconnect and there was a small explosion. It wasn't very dangerous at their range, but had it gone off while the two of them were next to the panel, it would've been strong enough to puncture both of their space-suits. Hilda looked at Gene to let him know that was why she decined any assistance from him. The two Outlaws made their way back to the ship.

As soon as the airlock was pressurized, Hilda and Gene began working their way out of their space-suits. However, Hilda was in for a very nasty surprise. The second she emerged from the airlock, a pair of hands grabbed her and threw her against the wall. She saw stars for a few seconds, but when they cleared she was face to face with Aisha.

"We want answers and we want them NOW-" Aisha snarled

"Gillium-" almost as soon as she said that, Aisha's hand clamped over the Outlaw's mouth.

"He's not taking orders from you anymore, understand?"

Hot Ice Hilda reluctantly nodded. She wasn't surprised that Jim and the others had found a way to bypass her override code, but she didn't count on them doing it so quickly. Gene had now emerged from the airlock and made no effort to intervene. Aisha slowly lowered her hand from Hilda's mouth. However, owing to prior experience, Hilda was very uncomfortable being in such close proximity to any Ctarl Ctarl.

Aisha looked at Gene and was about to say something when Hilda rammed her forehead into the Ctarl Ctarl's face. It phased Aisha just enough that she loosened her grip and Hilda broke free. But only for a moment. The only course of action Hilda could come up with was to barricade herself in one of the rooms and try to regain control of the ship from one of the circutry panels in their. It was a flimsy plan and she knew it wouldn't buy her that much time, but then again, coming out here was a rather flimsy plan in itself. Aisha solved the problem for her by tackling her and keeping her in a chokehold. The Outlaw was hopelessly outnumbered and outmatched by some of her former allies, but she still had one trump-card to play. Hopefully it would buy her enough time to return to Heiphong.

"That wasn't very smart. You made me angry...." the Ctarl Ctarl said as she tightened her grip.

"The Scepter of Orubuu-Ria...." Hilda said before the air was entirely cut off. Much to her surprise, the Ctarl Ctarl suddenly released her

"What do you know about the Scepter?" Aisha challenged. "That's been missing ever since Terrans looted site of the ruins...."

Hilda backed away from Aisha and towards the bridge, a satisfied grin on her face. "Platinum scepter adorned with zoomorphic carvings and crushed dragonite chips. One of the few surviving relics of the Empire's Ria Ria Dynasty. It's priceless and I'm the only one who knows where it is. Kill me and it'll never be returned to the Empire." the Outlaw told the ex-Ambassador Plenipotentiary. "But once we get someplace a little less awkward- like back at the offices- I'll tell you everything you want to know."

**

On the mute TV, they were showing the post-race celebrations. Not surprisingly, the Outlaw Star and its crew was nowhere to be seen. There was a long wait for the assassin for Hilda to return- waiting for the dark-haired Ctarl Ctarl to possibly reappear and uncertain wether or not Gene and the others would be with her. Suzuka was snapped out of her reverie by some noises outside. The tracker-killer would've been far quieter if she was returning.

The metallic door swung open and Suzuka approached Hilda almost as soon as the Outlaw walked through the door. She unsheathed her sword and pressed it to Hilda's throat, walking forward as the Outlaw began to stumble back. If Hilda continued forward or even held still, she would've received a free tracheotomy from Suzuka and she couldn't move her head out of the way due to the angle the blade was being held at. Hot Ice was aware of something moist trickling down the front of her throat and realized it was her own blood. The assassin was applying just enough pressure to draw blood, but the look in her eyes made it clear that was as gentle as she was going to be. Hilda felt herself being locked in the assassin's icy gaze.

"There has been an interesting series of events since your appearance here, I cannot deny that." Suzuka said as she calmly applied a tiny bit more of pressure on the bokuto. "Perhaps you can enlighten me on a few matters, such as why a ship that had several weeks of hard labor devoted to it's upkeep inexplicably dropped out of the space-race once you were on board. Or would you prefer to tell me about a visitor that came by this afternoon?"

"Visitor?"

More pressure. Hilda had difficulty breathing now, let alone speaking.

"A Ctarl Ctarl woman. Dark hair. She asked for you by name."

After a moment, Suzuka pulled the sword away from Hilda's neck. For a moment- and just a moment- Hilda looked terrified and dismayed, and Suzuka sensed it had nothing to do with the interrogation she was subjecting her to.

"I wish I could tell you more about our visitor..." she said in all honesty. Hilda pulled up her shirt a little and removed a patch of blood-stained gauze taped to her abdomen. "We've only met once before. All I can tell you is that she did this to me when we met". Suzuka saw a wound that looked like three very nasty slashes, all running parallel to each other. Like claw-marks.

"And the ship....?" Suzuka asked.

"Oh, that. Well, I had everything to do with that." the Outlaw said unapologeticaly. "I needed to stop and get this". She produced the security key-card.

"What exactly is that?"

"With any kind of luck, it'll be able to solve all of our problems."

"So you used Gene and the others?". Whatever respect the Outlaw had earned with the assassin for surviving the pirates, her own self-detonation and an ambush by a skilled Ctarl Ctarl killer had simply evaporated right then and there.

**Will you put up such a fight when I return for Hilda?** Suzuka heard Takana ask her.

Hilda was silent. She was hoping the assassin wouldn't lose interest in the key-card. However, Suzuka made it clear that she was VERY displeased with her. The tip of the sword was pressing into Hilda's throat again.

"Gene held you in such high esteem. He told me about your encounter with some of the pirates and how he wouldn't even be able to go out into space if it weren't for you. The ship is named in honor of you...." Suzuka said calmly. "And this is how you've decided to re-pay him? How much of what you told us is true and how much is a lie...?"

Hilda had enough. The Outlaw swatted the bokuto away from her throat and made it clear to Suzuka that she wasn't easily intimidated. At this point, Aisha walked in through the steel door virtually unnoticed by the two.

"I didn't ask to be anybody's hero. I'm not lying and keep in mind that I'm the one who provided the funds for them to enter the race in the first place.....:

"So you could use them?"

"Don't you dare lecture me! I don't need any shit from the likes of you! Right now, I'm just looking to survive, and this...." she held up the key-card "....is the only thing I have going for me."

"I don't take betrayal very lightly." The assassin raised her sword and was going to make it clear that Takana's earlier visit should be the least of Hilda's worries. She felt somebody holding her back and turned to see Aisha, her arm firmly wrapped around the assassin's wrist.

"Don't do it...." she said through clenched teeth to Suzuka. The God of Ctarl knew it was tempting. In the back of her mind, Aisha realized with more than a hint of irony that when Hilda first showed up, she thought it would be Suzuka of all people preventing her from tearing into the Outlaw.

"You don't have to worry about Gene." Hilda spoke up as she walked away. "He's a big boy and I'm sure he can take care of himself. After a few beers, he'll forget his problems. Besides, he's got his little bio-plaything waiting in his bed when he gets back". Neither Hilda or Aisha noticed the genuinely hurt look on Suzuka's face. Just as she said that, Gene, Jim and Melfina walked through the front door. They didn't catch her last comment.

"Don't bother waiting up. I'm going out." she announced as she brusquely walked past the trio.

**

The beautiful assassin known as Twilight Suzuka wasn't the only one waiting for Hilda to return. Takana Jaci-Jaci didn't go very far after her encounter with Suzuka. She was watching the front door of Starwind and Hawking from a rooftop less than two blocks away. The tracker-killer paid close attention as she saw the car pull up. Five people emerged from the car- the chestnut-haired Ctarl Ctarl tensed as she recognized Hilda. She wasn't that surprised to see that Hilda was in the company of another Ctarl Ctarl, since she had picked up a residual scent from Aisha while she was in the Starwind & Hawking offices. A tall man with bright red hair and a tan cloak lingered around the car along with a smaller dark-haired woman and a small light-haired child. She surmised the man was captain Gene Starwind, although she had no idea who the boy and the other woman were. They spent a few minutes unloading items from the car while Hilda was inside.

As soon as the woman, boy and red-haired man headed inside, a figure hurriedly emerged from the front door of the Starwind and Hawking building, clad in a burgundy suit and walking at a very brisk pace. It was Takana's quarry. Hilda said something to them and headed down the alley. Even from a distance, Takana sensed all was not well within the walls of Starwind and Hawking. She licked her chops as the Outlaw distanced herself from the building.

"Alone at last..." Takana whispered to herself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**A.N.: OH YEAH! PATRIOTS ARE #1!!!! A message for all you bitchy little Choke-land Raiders fans who keep crying "It's not fair!"- It was old 2 weeks ago, and it goes beyond antique now. SO SHUT YER BLACK HOLES AND GET OVER IT!**