**A.N. Gomen! Sorry this chapter took so long, but I've had a lot on my plate for the past month and a half. Hopefully this will be worth the wait!**

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**Gene had just finished checking into the hotel on Blue Heaven when Hilda slipped away for a few moments. In an alley less than a block away from the strip-joint she and Gene had just left stood a solitary figure with his back to her. At least it looked solitary from where she stood. It was another person she was supposed to meet at Blue Heaven, a courier-for-hire called Sandoval. Hilda had done business with him on more than one occasion in the past and felt he was one of the few people she could trust, although not unconditionally. Almost as if to illustrate this, she saw that somebody else was in the alley with him. Sandoval was flirting with a light-haired Ctarl Ctarl- one of the dancers from the club. The courier looked as though he was having some success, too. Hilda thought she'd have some fun with this.

"Honey?" she asked, doing her best to sound like a doting wife as she stepped into the mouth of the alley. "What are you doing here? We're supposed to be on our honeymoon..." Hilda pouted.

The Ctarl Ctarl dancer's expression changed. She glared at Sandoval before opening the back door to the club and angrily storming back inside. The din of music from inside was cut off as the door slammed shut.

"Damn it, Hilda! What are you doing?" Sandoval said. "She had a thing for humans, you know!"

"I'm sure she's not the only one. You'll live.... I want your undivided attention for this."

The expression on his face was now more somber. "You're really going to go through with it?"

"Damn straight."

She handed Sandoval two envelopes. One was his payment and instructions. The second envelope contained what could only be described as a longshot. And Sandoval was the only one who remembered that relatively brief encounter in the alley.

"Tell me you've got your hands on that sweet new ship by now...."

The one-eyed Outlaw shook her head. "Not yet, but I have the key component. Getting the ship from here should be a cakewalk."

"You don't really think this will work, do you?" Sandoval asked her after a lengthy pause.

"What should it matter to you? You're getting paid no matter what, so quit complaining." she looked at her watch and realized that she should get back to Gene. Sandoval continued to stare blankly at the envelopes in each hand until he felt Hilda none-too-gently smack him in the ass. That got his attention.

"Get a move on, boy! Chop-chop!" Hilda almost chuckled.

Well over a year later, Sergei Sandoval was the only one who could remember the encounter. It stayed with him because it was the last time he had seen her alive. After nearly two years, he still found himself wondering what had ever become of Hot Ice Hilda.**

**

"Jim?" Hilda asked the boy. She saw that he was doting over Aisha, making sure she was comfortable. Jim was doing it because he felt that Aisha would do the same for him if he should become injured or ill. And since she had proven to be far less vulnerable to sickness and injuries than Humans, Jim thought this would be his only opportunity to help her out for quite awhile. Truth be told, the Ctarl Ctarl was enjoying every moment of it.

"Hmm?"

"I was wondering if you could do a net directory search for somebody by the name of Sergei Sandoval and a ship called Bela Akula..." she paused and caught a glimpse of Aisha, who looked like she was rather enjoying the attention. "When you have a moment." she added.

"Who's that?" a voice spoke up behind her. Hilda turned around to see Gene, Mel and Suzuka. The serious expression on Suzuka's face silently warned of dire consequences if she sensed Hilda wasn't forthcoming with any answers.

"Somebody I was supposed to meet on Blue Heaven when I showed up with you three." she pointed to Gene and Melfina. "The thing is, I can't even remember *if* I met him there, let alone remember why."

"Does this individual have anything to do with that key-card?"

"I'm not sure...." Hilda began to say.

"Well, what can you tell us about the key-card?" Gene asked impatiently.

Hilda smiled. "There's no edited version, but it's something I can remember pretty well."

Taking a hint, the others sat down.

"A few months before I'd even heard of Melfina or the XGP, Horus and I got into a dogfight with some vessels from the Ban Guild. One of the vessels they abandoned had some goodies on board, so I helped myself to that."

"What kind of goodies?" Gene asked.

"Cash, jewelry, dragonite.....but there was something a little unusual that caught my attention, too." Hilda continued. "It was a platinum rod with dragonite chips on the top and intricate carvings of what looked like tigers all over it....."

Aisha's ears enthusiastically twitched and she sat bolt-upright on the sofa. "The Scepter of Orubuu-Ria?!" she yelled out before wincing a little and clutching her side.

Hilda nodded. "I figured it was valuable and held onto it, but I wasn't sure what to do with it for awhile until I was approached by somebody from out of the blue who expressed an interest. They claimed to represent Ewan Craven."

"That name sounds familiar...." Jim started to say as he looked up from the computer.

"Some of the grappler weapons on the Outlaw Star were made by his company. I think I heard Fred mention his name a few times, too. Something about price-gouging and making his life miserable- at least until he married Reiko. That was just a drop in the bucket in comparison." Gene paused and looked at Suzuka "He wasn't the one who....?"

"The person who hired me to kill Fred had since gone bankrupt." she said somewhat defensively. "I know about the reputation of Craven Industries to understand that particular company is financially sound enough to successfully pursue other ventures like ship-building, steel-making and construction."

"What about the Scepter!?" Aisha impatiently asked.

"It turns out that Mr. Craven is a rather enthusiastic collector of interstellar relics and wanted to add the Scepter to his collection...." Hilda said.

"Nnggyaa?! You gave the single most important artifact in the history of the Ctarl Ctarl Empire to a TERRAN?!" the Ctarl Ctarl angrily snapped, forgetting about her injured ribs for the time-being.

"I didn't exactly *give* it to him. He got the scepter from me in exchange for adding some new weapons onto Horus. Craven was quite proud of his collection, too. He showed me some relics from Corbono, the Silgry homeworld, the Tenpa empire and even Old Earth- all of it was stolen, looted or had to have come from the black market. It was how the pirates paid for their weapons. The common thread was that every artifact was a prized possession of the most powerful and influential dynastic rulers on each homeworld." Hilda didn't know this for a fact, it was mostly an educated guess based on some information she was able to dredge up from the net. Aisha quietly nodded, confirming that statement was at least true of the Scepter. According to lore, the scepter in question belonged to Emperor Ria-Ria, under whose reign the Empire entered an unparalleled era of prosperity. As for the Scepter itself, legend had it that a shaman of the Imperial court gave the Emperor a platinum scepter with incredibly detailed and accurate carvings of his numerous descendants several decades before they were even born. That was many generations ago, but the legend was something every Ctarl Ctarl schoolchild knew.

"Sounds like a sweet deal, but I'm guessing he wasn't 100% satisfied if you think he's the one after you." Jim said.

"Actually, I was the unsatisfied party. It was around that time I had heard that the Kei Pirates and Space forces were close to perfecting the XGP. I realized that the weapons Craven outfitted my ship with were all laser guided and could easily be countered with Tao spells. They were worthless if I was going up against the Kei Pirates. I tried re-negotiating my deal with Craven, but he wouldn't have anything to do with it."

"So what did you do?" Gene asked. Melfina had emerged from the kitchen with a tray full of coffee and tea. Hilda helped herself to a cup of Java.

"I stole his precious collection- every last trinket...."

"Including the Scepter?" Aisha asked.

"You'd think somebody like that would take great pains to secure such items." Suzuka mused.

Hilda nodded. "Hindsight is 20-20. The best he could do was hide it in plain sight. He kept the bulk of his collection in his office building, and it was protected with some pretty basic alarms and encryption. It wasn't like he could go to the authorities afterwards, since his collection was made up of stolen artefacts. Then I went to one of his business rivals and had them tear out the weapons he'd installed while I made sure the collection was somewhere safe and sound."

"Like....?" Jim asked.

"A safety-deposit box here on Heiphong." Hilda said.

"So this missing collection has been under this guy's nose all along?" Gene asked.

"Mmm-hmm. The only thing is that the key I took out for it was a bearer's key. Craven's people knew most of my aliases, and it was the only way I could arrange for a deposit box without being asked for a name."

"And that's what you had to get from that old satellite?" Jim asked.

"Right."

"What's a bearer's key?" Aisha asked, a little bewildered.

"Whoever presents the key to the bank where the box is kept is entitled to the box's contents." Jim explained to her. "Very popular with black marketeers..."

"But why didn't you simply ask us to help you?" Melfina asked the Outlaw.

"I thought about it, but you had such a hard time believing who I am. And I didn't stay alive this long by asking for things politely, Melfina." Hilda pointed out. "I couldn't chance being told 'no', otherwise I'd be all out of options."

"So if Craven hopes to start interstellar trade with other species, then the last thing he would want is word to get around that he was in possession of priceless artefacts that were stolen from his would-be trading partners." the demure assassin observed as she sipped some green tea. "Do you think he secured the services of that Ctarl Ctarl to silence you or to get you to disclose the whereabouts of his collection?"

"For now, I think I'm worth more alive than dead" Hilda said, remembering what Takana told her in the alley. "Guess I should savor it while it lasts."

**

**Searing pain. She could feel nothing else as she opened her eyes and tried to figure out here she was. A single blue flame flickered from the lantern across the room as the wind howled outside. The Ctarl Ctarl girl lying on a flimsy cot could make out the outline of a figure watching over her. It was her poppa. An adolescent Takana realized she was alone in the cabin with her father.

"Poppa? Wh-what happened?" she asked meekly as she tried to get out of her bed. Before her right leg even touched the ground, white hot pain shot through her body. It seemed to be everywhere within her. Takana Jaci-Jaci could only cry out in agony as her father rushed to her side. The large Ctarl Ctarl man caught her before she could collapse to the floor.

"Be still, Taki." her father said reassuringly as he gently helped her back onto the cot. "You've hurt yourself. You were late with our supplies, so I followed the path towards the village."

The young Ctarl Ctarl looked at her father with wide, expectant eyes. He continued: "I found you down an embankment. You must've slipped and fallen."

Tears were starting to form in Takana's eyes. She remembered everything now- she was carrying a weeks worth of nectar, well-water and ceremonial incense bartered with some of the village merchants in exchange for the meat from the prey that she and her father caught. The young Ctarl Ctarl had been up and down the long mountain path leading to the village so many times before, but today she was daydreaming about one of the older boys she had seen in the village square that day, certain that she was being admired from a distance. The next thing she knew, she stumbled off of a narrow portion of the path along one of the hills and then blackness. How? How could she be so careless?

"What is it Taki?" her father asked upon seeing the girl's tears.

Her tears were borne from much more than embarrassment. She knew how hard both her father and herself had worked to catch enough prey to bring into the village market. "...the supplies?" she reluctantly asked, already sure of the answer.

"The containers for both the nectar and water shattered." he said calmly. "I couldn't find the incense."

"Oh, poppa...." the young girl said as she hung her head in shame. Tears were now streaming down her cheeks. "I'm sorry" she said in all sincerity.

"Listen to me, Taki." the man said as he placed a finger under her chin and firmly but gently lifted it up. "All of those things can be replaced. You and you alone are what's most important to me, and you cannot be replaced." he kissed the girl's forehead.

Takana could not believe it. She had just destroyed the fruits of several weeks worth of labor and burdened her only living relative by injuring herself. Instead of raising his voice or striking her, as she thought he was more than entitled to do, the man sitting on the edge of the cot told her that all of those things she destroyed were worthless if he didn't have a daughter to share them with. So many emotions overwhelmed her and she wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around her father. However, as she reached out, white-hot pain came flooding back into her body as she clutched her side and cried out.

"What is it?" Aryo Jaci-Jaci asked his daughter.

"It's nothing...." she said quite unconvincingly as the pain shot through her ribs. Something must have been fractured, and her right ankle wasn't in much better shape.

The elder Ctarl-Ctarl smiled warmly. "The boys from the village aren't here, so there's no need for you to impress them."

"Daddy!" she blushed, momentarily forgetting about her battered body.

"Where does it hurt?" he asked her.

"My head, my ankle, my ribs, my arm...." she said.

The jovial expression on her father's face suddenly changed to a very stern and serious one. Takana sensed this. "What is it....?" she asked softly.

"I knew that nothing was broken, but I didn't think it would be this bad. I'm going to give you something...." he said as he reached into a pouch along is belt. "You're a little young for it, but it's the only medicine I can give you right now."

Before the girl could even protest, her father's left hand firmly held onto her jaw while the other hand pulled a pinch of what looked like dried grass from the pouch and placed it inside her mouth. Takana was almost immediately revolted by the bitter tasting pinch of iaru root, but her father's firm grip on her jaw prevented her from spitting it out.

"Keep it under your tongue..." he instructed her.

She did so and found that the root had an almost minty aftertaste to it. As she noticed this, her body was racked by a series of small, involuntary convulsions. For a moment, she feared that this would aggravate her injuries, but the pain was now leaving her body. This was followed by a warm, numb tingling sensation in her extremities.

"Taki....." the man said as he still held onto her jaw. His voice sounded slower and distorted to the girl. "It's very important you understand that this is to be used as medicine, NOT for recreation."

"Yes daddy..." the girl said absently as the warm sensations continued to overcome her. This was to be her first hit of her beloved root, and it was love at first high...**

The fluttering of wings roused Takana from her sleep and brought her back to her present reality. She opened her eyes and was blinded by the early morning sun. As she squinted her eyes, she could make out some pigeons cooing and pacing on the ledge above her. The tracker-killer held her forearm in front of her face, shielding her eyes as she took in her surroundings. Her sides ached as she inhaled- for a moment she thought it was from falling down the embankment near the cabin on her homeworld. Takana's heart sank as she realized she was on a strange and alien world in the Terran sector called Heiphong and that her father could not help her this time. Her father, her work and the root were the only things in life that Takana Jaci-Jaci could take comfort in. Without one, she had now fully devoted herself to the remaining two, but it seemed that each time she closed her eyes, Takana's mind would inevitably wander back to the better days of her youth and time spent with her father. She did this because it was the only time she felt that she was unconditionally loved.

Without even looking, she reached onto the ledge above her, grabbed one of the cooing pigeons and swiftly decapitated it with her thumb and forefinger. The other birds immediately took flight after witnessing what happened to the one Takana grabbed. Breakfast was now ready for the tracker-killer and she was more than anxious to resume the hunt.

**

"What were you able to come up with Jim?" Hilda asked as she descended the staircase that morning. Takana wasn't the only one who had an anxious, fitful night of sleep. The outlaw saw that the boy genius was up early and busily tapping away at the computer. Aisha was still asleep on the sofa, curled up and snoring lightly. Hilda was quite happy to see that the night had apparently passed without another visit from the psychotic cat-girl.

"I found only one ship registered under the name Bela Akula right here on Heiphong, but.."

"But what? She queried the boy.

"It's been in dry-dock for the past year or so..."

"Really?"

"I can't find a name to go with it, but it looks like it was put in hoc in exchange for some property here on Heiphong." Jim informed her. Despite all the changes that had taken place during her absent, it was apparent that Jim was still very much the brains of the outfit. "Good work. Do you have a name or address?"

"Right now, all I can tell you is that it's commercial and not residential. Give me a few minutes and I'll have something."

Aisha suddenly sat up on the sofa, stretched her arms in the air let out and a hearty yawn. She groggily eyed Hilda and then Jim.

"Morning Jim..." she said wearily to the boy genius. She looked back at Hilda as the bio-android emerged from the hallway and walked up behind the two-eyed outlaw.

"Anybody care for breakfast?" Melfina asked as she headed down the stairs.

Aisha nodded vigorously as Melfina made her way into the kitchen. Suzuka was now up as well.

"Got it! The signatory is an S. Sandoval and it's a resturant called the Wandering Star on the other side of Heiphong City." Jim said to Hilda triumphantly.

The female outlaw furrowed a brow at this. "Appreciate the offer, Mel." She said to the bio-android as she slipped into her jacket "But it looks like I'll have to take a rain check."

"How can you be certain this isn't some sort of trap?" the assassin asked Hilda.

That thought gave Hilda pause. She turned to Jim.

"Jim, how long did it take for you to find out about the on the Bela Akula and Wandering Star? This information wasn't conveniently dropped into your lap, was it?"

"It wasn't much more difficult to track than most run-of-the-mill transactions. I can't smell anything wrong from this end." he said.

That made up Hilda's mind for her. "Can you get me a printout with the address?" she asked Jim.

The boy obliged.

"You're not thinking of going by yourself after what happened yesterday?" Suzuka asked Hilda.

A small grin was on the corner of Hilda's mouth. "Didn't know you cared so much. You're welcome to come with me if you'd like."

"This is a resturant you're going to?" Aisha asked suddenly.

Jim nodded.

"Then I'm going, too!" the cat-girl declared as she licked her chops.

"If you're taking the Ehefrau, then I'm driving." Jim insisted.

Melfina looked bewildered as the others were getting ready to take their leave. She had already kettle boiling for Suzuka and her green tea.

"Mel? Think you and Gene will be OK by yourselves for awhile?" Hilda asked the bio-android.

She nodded absently. "How long do you think you'll be gone?"

"That depends on what Mr. Sandoval tells us." Hilda said.

**

Hilda, Suzuka, Aisha and Jim made their way to the address Jim was able to get from the net directory. Along the way, the Outlaw, assassin and Ctarl Ctarl officer casually checked the reflection of the shop windows and scanned rooftops to ensure that they weren't being followed.

Inside the diner was a cook and two rather attractive waitresses- one a tall, light-haired Ctarl Ctarl and the other a petite redheaded Terran. The fact that there were no customers wasn't neccecarily a commentary on the food, but simply another reminder of the boom-bust economic cycles planets like Heiphong went through. Those who could afford to eat out in the bust part of the cycle were usually content to spend their money in a far more upscale venue. The Wandering Star almost like the classic greasy spoon diners of Old Earth.

"Jim; stay behind me. I'm going in through the front- you two come in through the back." Hilda said to the assassin and ex Ctarl Ctarl ambassador.

"Sounds like you have a somewhat less than rosy past with this individual." Suzuka said.

"At this point, I have no idea." Hilda shook her head "But I'll err on the side of caution". She waited for a moment as the assassin and Ctarl Ctarl made their way into the alley adjacent to the Wandering Star. Then she rather unceremoniously burst into the front of the resturant, Jim reluctantly following a few paces behind her.

**

Running a resturant turned out to be a bit more tedious than Sergei Sandoval had expected. He knew that long hours would be involved, but the most unappealing aspect was bookkeeping. Not only was it was an incredible bore, but it was now showing him how much money he was losing. The cook/owner looked up as he heard the front door crash open, thinking for a moment that it could be a customer.

The woman looked familiar to him somehow. Almost immediately, he recognized her.

"Hilda?" Sandoval asked. However, he turned pale as a sheet as he got a closer look at her. The cook quickly retreated into the kitchen, not saying a word. Hilda- with two eyes. That could only mean one thing. He was ready to bolt out of the back door but found a Ctarl Ctarl in an officer's uniform and kimono-clad woman blocking the exit. Something told him that they were with Hilda and the boy. He backed away from them, realizing he was now cornered. The kitchen door slammed open and Hilda stormed angrily through, followed closely Gwen and Palu on her heels

"What's going on?" Palu asked more than a little bewildered.

"HEY! You just can't come in here and-" Gwen started to say. She stopped in mid-sentence when she saw Hilda pulling back the slide on her pistol and walking up to Sandoval. Gwen was about to run up front and call the cops when she felt something press into her throat. She gingerly turned her head to see Suzuka holding the bokken up to her neck. Palu could only watch events unfold in disbelief.

"We are not here to harm anybody, we are only interested in some information your employer may have." Suzuka quietly said to the waitresses. Almost immediately, Hilda made her a liar as she grabbed Sandoval's hair and held the gun to his temple while bringing his face an inch or so away from the burning grill.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU TELL ME EVERYTHING!" She yelled.

"Let me go Hilda! OW! Christ! Let me go and I'll tell you everything...." Sandoval pleaded.

"No!" Palu yelled out as she took two steps forward. Suzuka pressed the bokken slightly harder into Gwen's neck, making sure that Palu saw that. The Ctarl Ctarl waitress stopped in her tracks.

"Why did you try and run......?" she seethed. The gun was still against his temple, but she relaxed her grip on Sandoval's hair.

"I said I'll tell you everything, Hilda....but you're not going to like it." he warned. Understandably, the further his face got from the grill, the calmer he became.

**

After a running head start, Takana jumped onto the roof of the Starwind and Hawking building. She cautiously sniffed the air and scanned the rooftop for any alarms or booby-traps. Sensing nothing out of the ordinary, she stealthily made her way to the hole in the roof that Suzuka had made earlier. Her ears twitched as they picked up a faint murmuring below and she could make out a conversation from inside. There was no fresh scent from Hilda, the assassin or the platinum-haired Ctarl Ctarl. Takana could only assume that they had taken their leave. However, the two remaining occupants of the building were talking about Hilda and somebody else. This was followed by momentary silence. As Takana crept closer to the edge of the hole in the roof, a small chunk of plaster came loose and fell from the ceiling, landing in front of what looked like a pink soda can of the coffee table. Only the small can seemed to turn around and look up at her.

**.

"Do you really think that man they're looking for will know why Hilda is still alive?" Melfina asked Gene as she turned on one of the stove's burners.

"I don't know, Mel. If he does, he may be the only one." Gene said. On one hand, he was a little disappointed that he didn't come along with the others. On the other hand, this was the first time since Hilda had returned that he and Mel had some time alone. He smiled as he slid his arms around Melfina's waist from behind and pulled her close. **Hilda or Jim will have to tell me all about it later** he said as he gently began kissing Melfina's neck **......much much MUCH later. God, she's so beautiful....**

He had done this often enough to know that Mel would virtually melt in his arms, at least one of her hands gently guiding his head and Mel tilting her own head to one side so that there would be more neck for Gene to move his lips over. For both of them, it was familiar, but never tedious.

However, Mel simply stiffened and her hands remained at her side. Gene had made his way to her shoulder by the time he sensed something was amiss.

"What's wrong?" the Outlaw asked.

"Gene....I...." she paused. This was something she wanted to tell him since before Hilda re-appeared, the Ctarl Ctarl bounty huntress appeared on their doorstep or even the Space-Race. But she was so uncertain about how Gene would react to what she had to say. Joy? Disappointment? Indifference? She loved him, but was also a little intimidated by him at the same time. As she drew a breath and steeled herself for Gene's reaction to what she had to say. Gillium suddenly spoke up from the next room.

"WARNING! INTRUDER ON PREMISES! WARNING! INTRUDER-"

There was the sound of metal on metal, then Gillium fell silent.

**

"You dumb son of bitch- you mortgaged your ship for this dump?" Hilda asked the proprietor.

"I put a lot of effort into this "dump", as you call it." Sandoval said a little defensively as he brought out platefuls of food for him, his staff and his unexpected guests. All of it looked pretty basic, but still appetizing "besides, they haven't foreclosed on the ship yet."

"What the hell have you been up to since I saw you last?" she asked him.

"Well, there's this......" he outstretched his palm to indicate the diner "and I'm now a married man."

"You're joking....who's the victim?" Hilda asked.

Almost as if to answer Hilda's question, the Ctarl Ctarl waitress, Palu, let out a surprised little yelp as Sandoval none-too-gently pinched her backside. "I found a woman who truly appreciates my culinary talents." he chuckled. "Of course, I could serve her a plateful of enriched uranium and she'd ask for seconds."

Palu furrowed her brow at her husband as he continued to address Hilda.

"I'm not quite sure how to put this delicately, Hilda, but you're not really Hilda." Sandoval wasn't exactly looking forward to breaking the news to her, but her calling his pride and joy a dump made it a little bit easier for him. "More like a construct built using Hilda's genetic material and given most of her memories. A purpose-made clone, if you will."

"What?" Hilda asked. Sandoval realized the jam he was in when he first saw Hilda show up. In an attempt to play peacemaker, he had cooked everybody a big lunch. That way, if Hilda was displeased enough with the answers to her questions to kill him, he'd at least have a decent last meal. The only problem was that he also had to provide food for his potential executioners.

"Don't kill the messenger!" Sandoval said. "Your body was cloned from a DNA sample of Hilda's. Sometime last year, we met at Blue Heaven and you paid me to courier the sample to a scientist. This was meant to confuse the pirates and buy some time once that new ship was secured. At least that's what you told me."

Instead of killing him outright, a wry grin came across the Outlaw's face.

"DNA sample? You mean, like, bodily fluids?" she coyly asked him.

Sandoval smiled and shook his head. "That's what I liked about you- your mind never strayed too far from the gutter. Actually, it was a lock of hair." He pointed at his scalp to avoid the follow-up question that Hilda- real or clone- would've inevitably asked.

At first, Hilda seemed to take the news in stride, but it was clear with each passing moment that it took the wind out of her sails. "So why is it I can remember outfitting Horus, taking Melfina from the pirates and hiding out on Sentinel, but not.....?"

"Package deal- Hilda's DNA comes with her memories, too. I think the instructions also included some sort of cerebral implant or filter that would block out any knowledge about the cloning process. You have Hilda's memories, but I imagine you wouldn't remember anything from after cutting off the lock of hair. This really isn't my field of expertise, though."

"What about these?" Hilda asked, tapping her supposedly prosthetic arm and no-longer-missing eye.

"By-product of the cloning process, I imagine. Frankly, it's the only way I could tell you apart from the original." Sandoval said.

"That would make sense. If a woman lost her leg in an accident and then becomes pregnant, it doesn't neccecarily mean that the baby will have one leg." Jim pointed out.

"What a smart kid!" Palu affectionately gushed before helping herself to another fork full of mutton. She had never seen a child- Ctarl Ctarl or Terran- discussing genetic theory with people twice his age. As for Jim, this was the first time he had seen any sort of union between a human and a Ctarl Ctarl. He was starting to blush and stammer, thinking about the bouncy and energetic platinum-haired cat-girl sitting next to him when he felt a familiar had tousle his hair. The look on Aisha's face told the Ctarl Ctarl waitress that she was preaching to the choir.

"That's our Jim." Aisha beamed proudly.

"So who did the procedure?" Hilda asked her host.

"Some old scientist on Alpine-23- you recommended him. He charged me a pretty penny, too."

"And where is he now?"

"Dead." Sandoval informed her. Hilda looked at him suspiciously. "Hey- He was old. I'm surprised he didn't keel over when I was there. People can still die natural deaths these days, you know?"

**

The Outlaw looked at Melfina. "Go..." he almost implored her. "It's not gonna be safe here".

Gene rounded the corner in time to see Takana drop down from the large hole in the ceiling and begin to pull a knife from the pink Gillium-can, which was impaled and pinned to the table by a blade stronger than most Terran alloys. As the tracker-killer saw Gene, she reached around her waist to unfasten the metallic bolo.

All Gene had on him was his pistol. Understandably, he had his doubts about the pistol's effectiveness against a Ctarl Ctarl. The Caster, grenades and light-shield were kept on the other side of the offices, meaning that he'd have to go through the intruder to get to them. Gene raised the pistol but all he was able to line up in his sights was a black-brown streak. He squeezed off two shots, which missed the Ctarl Ctarl and buried themselves into the wall. Takana feinted left before dodging to her right- Gene pulled the trigger three more times, missing again. She had danced this dance so many times before and almost always came out on top.

There was a dry clicking as Gene continued to pull the trigger of the empty gun. With incredible speed, Takana raced forward and ripped the pistol out of Gene's hand while still keeping his hand in a tight grip.

"Captain Gene Starwind, I presume." she grinned. "Is that the best you can do?" the intruder asked. She was close enough for the Outlaw to catch the almost minty scent of her breath as she spoke. The tracker killer was pondering wether she should simply break his arm or tear open his jugular. Just as she reached the conclusion that she had absolutely no reason to keep him alive, the Outlaw roughly slammed his forehead into the tracker killer's face. It wasn't nearly a hard enough blow to knock Takana out, but it was enough for her to loosen her grip on the Outlaw's hand. That was all Gene needed.

Takana recovered quickly and had unfastened the bolo, only now she was a little too close to release it effectively. Instead, she held onto the center ring and began swinging each of the weighted ends like a mace. Gene ducked out of the way as one of the weights came crashing down into the coffee table in front of him, reducing it to expensive kindling. Gene picked up a small folding chair and pitched it at the intruder, who simply knocked it down with the bolo. The outlaw picked up another chair and feigned throwing it at her, but kept it between him and Takana. **This one is going to be difficult as well** Takana thought as she ducked and slipped her remaining bracelet off. Almost like a butterfly knife, she flicked a small lever and flipped the bracelet-knife open. Even though the blade was relatively short, she kept it coated with something very special.

"I'm just getting started...." Gene bluffed as he cautiously backed towards the chest that held the Caster, light shield and grenades. The toy on the floor in front of him was worthless. He knew it and chances were that Takana knew it as well. But if she thought he had something else up his sleeve, that might buy him some time to get to his heavy artillery.

**

Hilda was becoming more and more detached to the conversation that was centering around her. In the back of her mind, she could hear that Jim was explaining to Sandoval how the original Hilda had died at Farfallas and their current predicament with Craven and the Ctarl Ctarl bounty huntress he hired. If what Sandoval said was true, that meant she was younger than Melfina. She was a clone? Or was it a purpose-built construct? Did Craven know? Would it matter if he knew?

"In theory, those baubles you took off of Craven could be worth a fortune." Sandoval said as he suddenly turned to Hilda. "The flip side of that is they could also be worth some heavy-duty prison time or even a death sentence if you're caught with those by the wrong people. They're only worth money as long as you have a buyer lined up, and from what I understand, it's a buyer's market."

Hilda, or the Hilda-construct, was still lost in thought. It was all still sinking in for her.

"Hilda?" Sandoval asked solemnly. "I'm sorry Hilda, but that's the truth. That's what you said you wanted from me...."

"So I'm not really Hilda, just a carbon copy" she looked at Sandoval and then turned to Jim. "She died at Farfallas after all, but I've inherited all of her problems". The boy genius looked back up at her with his blue eyes, not quite able to suspend disbelief. **Problems I turned around and dropped into your lap Gene, Jim.....**

"Jim...." Gillium's voice spoke up quietly over the radio.

"What is it Gil?" he asked.

"My sensors detected an intruder on the roof of the offices building before suddenly going offline a moment ago." the computer said, referring to the pink can that Takana skewered with her blade. Jim was being contacted directly by the ship's computer.

"What is it Jim?" the assassin asked the boy, noticing the expression on his face change.

"It's Gene and Mel- I think they're in trouble...." he said.

**

It was the moment she waited for. Gene popped up from behind the desk like a jack-in-the-box, Caster aloft and looking straight ahead. However, the tracker-killer was a split-second faster and was to his right. He didn't see Takana right away, only movement in the right corner of his eye. Almost as if it were moving on it's own volition, a knife whistled through the air and struck Gene in the side, partway between his chest and right armpit. The blade wasn't very long, yet it hurt like hell. The outlaw dropped his gun as he tried pulling the knife from his side. As he did this, Takana leapt over the sofa and knocked Gene to the ground with one swift kick to the ribs. Gene was on his back but facing sideways when he saw the intruder kick the Caster well out of his reach. Almost right away, he noticed that he couldn't move his right arm.

"How are you feeling now, Captain Gene?" Takana asked.

Gene got a good look at the intruder. Although Takana's beauty didn't entirely escape his attention, the thing Gene noticed most about her was the malice in her voice. It left him with the impression that not only would she kill him, but she was going to enjoy every second of doing so. Almost as if to confirm this, Takana spoke again.

"Look at that..." she scolded "You got my good knife dirty". The knife was still in his side, and Takana's left foot was now firmly on top of the hilt, driving the blade in a little further. Then she began rotating her foot, aggravating the wound even more. Gene could only clench his teeth in agony as he writhed in a slowly spreading crimson pool.

He was nearly oblivious to Takana reaching down and finally pulling the knife out from his side. A thought entered his mind which eased the pain somewhat. The longer Takana remained here and tormented him, the more time Melfina would have to get away from her. He looked up at the Ctarl Ctarl while she was licking his blood off of her fingers as though it was barbecue sauce. He slowly managed to pull himself far enough along so that his back was leaning up against the wall.

"Not bad, but I've had better..." she commented.

"Does this mean.....I don't......get....the blue ribbon?" he struggled to say through the coppery taste of blood in his mouth.

The tracker-killer looked bewildered at his comment. Was he mocking her? Or perhaps trying to avoid answering any questions she was sure to ask about Hilda? She looked thoughtfully down at him. He was stalling, that much was clear. It may not have anything to do with Hilda, but Captain Gene was trying to buy time for some reason- she could almost smell it.

That's when her ears twitched. They picked up a slight noise from the kitchen, but Takana picked up a scent that she thought at first was residual- It wasn't. It was deceptively fresh. Somebody else was with them. It wasn't Hilda, but somebody very afraid. The tracker-killer knew this for a fact because fear was her favorite scent.

. She knelt down next to Gene and leaned in close. He was eye to eye with the cat-girl.

"You may not have noticed this by now, but you can't move at all, can you?"

There was nothing but stony silence from the Outlaw. Gene realized that she was right, he noticed it first with his right arm, but now that she had mentioned it he realized he was unable to move his other arms and legs. At first, he was afraid that Takana's knife may have severed a tendon or nerve, but now he realized it had spread to his other limbs. Her pouting lips were now next to Gene's right ear.

"Tell me. Who else is here with us?" she whispered softly in his ear.

"Nobody."

"So it's just you and me then?" she quietly, almost flirtatiously asked.

Gene nodded.

"Is that a fact?" the tracker-killer paused. "Scream for me, Captain Gene."

She very suddenly and violently raked her talons over Gene's fresh wound. Just as Gene felt that the pain from the gash in his side was starting to leave, it suddenly came back tenfold. Against his will, he found himself honoring Takana's request.

"NO! GENE!!!!" the bio-android yelled, running from the kitchen. Melfina was reluctant to leave, wanting to see how Gene would fare against this intruder. Now that things had taken a turn for the worse she couldn't bring herself to leave Gene at the mercy of the sadistic cat-girl. With her as the only weapon she had at her disposal, a kettle of boiling water that was supposed to be Suzuka's tea

A look of despair came across Gene's face. She was supposed to flee while she had the chance. Why didn't she listen?

"Mel! Get out-" Gene started to warn her. His warning was cut short by a vicious kick to the face from Takana. Without any further hesitation, the bounty huntress approached the bio-android.

Melfina held her ground with the kettle of water. As Takana came closer, Mel threw the kettle's contents onto the Ctarl Ctarl. The bounty-huntress stopped dead in her tracks and looked over herself, a quizzical look on her face, but not a hint of pain. This was not the desired reaction Melfina had in mind. She remembered too late that bullets and blades could barely harm Aisha, so it was a stretch to think that boiling water would stop another Ctarl Ctarl dead in her tracks. Takana wiped some of the piping hot water away from her face and glared at the bio-android. Mel started to back away, but Takana roughly grabbed Mel's hair by the scalp and slammed the back of her head into the wall behind her. Mel tried in vain to pull away.

"What sort of value do you think Hilda places on your life?" she hissed at the bio-android.

"I.....I......don't know." Mel stammered.

"We're going to find out very shortly." Takana was going to ask her where Hilda went, but chances were that Hilda didn't go very far. For a moment, Takana was worried that her quarry might be leaving the planet. Takana began sniffing Melfina- her fear was like a sweet perfume so pure and undiluted, unlike all of her other prey. Each breath was a feast for her senses. She was too scared to lie to Takana and the tracker-killer knew this. But Takana sensed something else coming from the bio-android, something rather curious. It was almost like another person, only it was coming from within. Not quite a vibration, not quite a sound. After concentrating for a moment, she could hear Mel breathing and.....something else. It dawned on her what it was. She could hear a faint second heartbeat.

"You are.....with child?" Takana suddenly asked Mel.

Mel collapsed into tears as the bounty huntress relaxed her grip on her hair. She nodded absently and buried her face into her hands as she sank to the floor in despair and helpless rage. Melfina was a few weeks pregnant with Gene's baby. She had gone to a doctor a few days prior to Hilda's re-appearance to confirm this. This was supposed to be a joyous occasion, and she was bracing herself to tell Gene the news, trying to find the right occasion. But now the first one to find out was this intruder, who undoubtedly wanted to kill the father of her child as well as Hilda. She looked up into Takana's flickering emerald eyes as the beast-girl wiped the blade of her knife clean and started sprinkling an off-white powder on the blade. Now Mel was certain Gene wouldn't live to hear the good news, let alone see the birth of her first child.

Takana's ears twitched. On the other side of the steel door, somebody was approaching. It had to be Hilda and the others. The gentle bio-android gasped slightly as Takana sliced her palm almost delicately with the knife. The wound was no bigger than a paper-cut, but that was all the tracker-killer needed since the blade was once again coated with the same semi-toxic spore that induced paralysis on Gene. Mel clutched at her wound and could almost immediately feel it taking effect. In less than thirty seconds, she could feel both arms going limp. The bio-android couldn't do or say anything to resist as the intruder scooped her up and carried her away like a sleeping child. She had what she came for. Takana Jaci-Jaci was now in possession of two very precious bargaining chips.