Disclaimer: Here's a little something for you trivia buffs! Did you know that debt is an asset? Did you know that it's one of MY assets? However, Outlaw Star is NOT one of my assets. Go figure. That's all Sunrise, baby. Also, while I'm on the topic of stuff that isn't mine or I can't take credit for, I'm pretty sure that the Seburo line of firearms is the brainchild of Masamune Shirow. Just thought I'd throw them in there because the specs look pretty cool and futuristic (as do the dames clutching them in Shirow's artwork) and firearms are still being used in the Outlaw Star universe. Believe me, this isn't an attempt at an Outlaw Star/Ghost in the Shell or Outlaw Star/Appleseed crossover on my part.

Unbeknownst to them, Gene and Hilda were being watched through the magnified crosshairs of an SVD sniper rifle the instant they approached Craven and his men. Through the green tint of the rifle's night vision scope, a tiny red dot was fixed on the back of Gene's head. This was how Craven had planned on dealing with any unexpected company Hilda might have with her. From his perch on the suspension bridge's tower, all the sniper had to do was wait for the green light from the Craven's security detail to pick off Hilda's unwelcome companion and his job for the evening would be done. For the time being, nothing more than harsh words were being exchanged between Craven, the Ctarl Ctarl and the two Outlaws. Still, judging from her reputation, the gunman figured this sort of behavior was unusually sloppy for Hilda.

As he pondered this and waited for the signal to take the shot, he heard a slight scraping sound coming from behind him. He turned his head to see a Ctarl Ctarl standing over him. It was a female, but it couldn't have been the one his boss hired. He had just seen the Tracker-Killer a second ago in the periphery of the rifle's optics. If possible, this one looked even more pissed off.

The gunman attempted to squeeze off a shot as he tried standing up, but wasn't quite on his feet when Aisha grabbed the rifle by the barrel and firmly pushed it away from her face. A single 7.62mm bullet shot out of the barrel of the gun and tore through the night sky, landing harmlessly somewhere in Heiphong Bay instead of piercing the cranium of any of the Outlaws. As Aisha none-too-gently ripped the rifle from the sniper's hands, she saw him unsheathe a hunting knife along his belt. His first and only slash missed. Even if it did connect, it really wouldn't have done much damage to Aisha.


**I don't have time for this!** she thought as she stepped forward and harshly elbowed Craven's sniper. He staggered a few steps backwards, seeing stars before he realized that he was completely out of surface and stumbled off the edge, plunging into the bay. It didn't occur to him to scream until he was well out of earshot of everyone.

Aisha looked thoughtfully at the weapon she was holding onto by the barrel for a moment before she casually tossed it away.

**

The sniper's rifle fell to one side of the tower while the gunman himself plummeted into the distant waters below. The streetlight along the road picked up the rifle falling to the bridge's surface, the impact jarring the barrel and night scope loose from the frame.

This significance of this wasn't lost on Takana.

"Crow's nest, come in! I repeat, crow's nest....." Craven's head of security began to yell through a headset.

"Save your breath!" she said to the businessman's underling. Takana turned to their employer "Looks like your man on the tower is dead. Would you like me to take care of this?" she sweetly cooed to Craven.

"Yes! Go make yourself useful!" Craven barked at the Tracker-Killer.

"It'll cost you....." Takana playfully cautioned in a gleeful, sing-song voice.

"I don't care! Do it!"

"I'm thinking 10 million Wong, some additional real estate holdings on Planet Tenrei and a supply of raw ingredients for me direct from the Empire....." she said as she casually backed away from Craven, Melfina and Ms. Nguyen, a twisted smile on her face. Hilda and Gene could see that the beast-girl was now having a tremendous amount of fun at her employer's expense.

There was a tense silence as Takana departed. Craven's men weren't sure what to make of this latest development, which gave the Outlawsa slight, temporary advantage.

"Now, if you don't mind...." Hilda said, gesturing towards where Melfina was standing. The dark-haired outlaw looked to her right. No sooner had she said that then Mel was now wrapped up protectively in Gene's arms.

**

Aisha didn't descend from the tower right away, since she preferred the vantage point that position offered. The ex-ambassador was still a little winded from her sprint out to the center of the bridge and hasty climb up the tower. As she caught her breath, Aisha decided that she should begin climbing down once Suzuka made her presence known. The cat-girl rested on her haunches as she quietly assessed the situation beneath her. For the moment, it didn't appear as though Gene or Hilda were in any imminent danger, and she couldn't detect any more of Craven's snipers in hiding. Not to mention, there didn't appear to be any more locations to position the snipers. Beneath her, standing opposite from Gene and Hilda had to be the executive Craven, accompanied by a petite woman and several men in suits. It dawned on Aisha she that the C'tarl C'tarl with the pariah's marking was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she found Aisha. From her perch, Aisha heard a voice coming from behind her.


"I thought that uniform looked familiar." Takana sneered at Aisha with unmatched contempt. "You're just another self‑righteous little sycophant for the Empire. I've come across enough like you."

Aisha was genuinely startled. "How did you get up here?" she snarled.

The tracker‑killer lightly ran her finger over the grey warpaint applied to her face. "A little something I prepared to mask my scent." she locked Aisha in her gaze. "This? It's an old family recipe. I wanted you to see the face of your executioner. I think it's only fair I return the favor‑ after all, you Nobles have been exploiting my clan for generations."

The ex‑ambassador was no longer paying any mind to the events unfolding a hundred feet below her. Takana Jaci‑Jaci now had her undivided attention as Aisha got to her feet. "Big talk from somebody who's been hiding behind a hostage. That's not very creative...."

"I'll admit that tactic is entirely too passive for my tastes, yet you can't question its effectiveness. After all, Hilda's here- and that was what I was paid to do. What's more, you're here." Takana said. "However I see no reason why I should explain myself to the likes of you. If the noise of the sea and the wind can conceal my approach, perhaps you don't deserve the title of immortal C'tarl C'tarl."

Aisha was concerned. She was aware that there was little room to maneuver on top of the tower, so any misstep on her part could have dire consequences. The Tracker-Killer was clearly doing her best to bait her. To get back down, she also knew that she had to go through Takana. It wasn't impossible, but the Tracker-Killer certainly wouldn't make it easy for her. And as long as she was occupied with Takana up there Aisha would be of no use to Gene, Mel, Suzu or Hilda. She suspected that was the reason behind Takana climbing up to confront her.

"I'm sure the swordswoman will show herself soon. I might as well let her have a little fun with the Terran's thugs before I deal with her. As for you.." Takana continued "....I won't be holding back this time, little girl."

"Hmmph! Me neither." Aisha shot back without hesitation.

**

Jim woke up on the sofa and found a blanket draped over him. One second, he was being held by Aisha and the next thing he remembered was....well....waking up on the sofa with a sore throbbing neck. He grimaced as he ran his hand over the sore spot. It slowly dawned on him that Aisha did this.

Not only did Aisha do this, but the Ehefrau was now gone along with some of his optical equipment. It was entirely too quiet‑ he realized he had the place all to himself. The others must have left without him. Still, there had to be some way to catch up to them.

"Assault and grand theft auto." he grumbled to nobody in particular. "You're *really* pushing your luck, Aisha."

As he was about to leave, he noticed a manila envelope with STARWIND & HAWKING written in big block letters on the table. The boy opened the top and carefully slid out the envelope's contents onto the table. Inside was a sheet of handwritten paper with the same block script as the envelope along with the plastic key-card Hilda got from the old satellite along the racecourse.


Jim's heart sank as he hurriedly read through the handwritten letter signed by Hilda. It amounted to a suicide note. This was Farfallas all over again, and there was nothing he could do to prevent it.

**

 The sniper was taken care of, although Hilda wasn't sure if it Aisha or Suzuka who had done that. The outlaw failed to notice the sniper on her arrival, but wasn't the least bit surprised that Craven had employed one. Fortunately somebody else was able to notice before he could pull the trigger. Having Aisha and Suzuka as an extra pair of eyes and ears was already paying dividends.

As for her so-called 'plan', the outlaw still had her doubts. But if there was a good time to set it in motion, this would be it. Nobody else- least of all Gene- knew what exactly she had in mind once she and Gene arrived up at the bridge. Hilda hoped what she was about to do wouldn't go to Gene's head. She steeled herself- she wasn't going to enjoy this…

Hilda approached Mel, who was still clad in her white blouse and black skirt. Mel looked at her with a great deal of uncertainty in her eyes.

"YOU LITTLE BITCH! YOU'VE RUINED EVERYTHING!! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW…?" Hilda suddenly yelled at Melfina.

The bio-android cringed slightly, not expecting such an outburst from one of her rescuers.

"Hilda…I'm sorry…." The bio-android began to say. Her words were cut off by a loud *crack* as Hilda delivered a harsh, open-handed slap to Mel. Some of Craven's men seemed amused by this exchange. Gene, however, looked confused and then furious.

Before Mel could even rub the red welt on her cheek, Hilda grabbed her by the shoulders and roughly shoved her backwards. The bio-android took a few steps backwards before she stumbled and fell. Hilda did her best to ignore the hurt expression on Mel's face.

"What the hell are you doing, Hilda?" Gene asked angrily.

"Oh Gene!" she suddenly cried out as she threw her arms around him before he could take another step closer to Mel. "This can't be happening- I don't want to die! Don't do this to me...."

"What!?" the red-haired outlaw was pretty sure his jaw was slack.

"Can't we just leave Melfina behind? She's nothing! Just you and me....I can make you forget her.....I promise you." she said as her lips moved in closer to his. "You know you want to...". Right in full view of Melfina, Hilda began to passionately kiss Gene.

"What are you....?" he began to ask as he tried to break away. However, the words were cut off as Hilda's lips once again found his.

To call Gene's situation awkward would be something of a gross understatement. Hilda's free hand began gingerly roving along his waistline until she found what she was looking for. Gene couldn't help but tense a little as the dark‑haired Outlaw's hand cautiously wrapped around something firm and solid‑ the foregrip of Gene's Caster.

"Hold....very...still....Cherry....." Hilda said softly as her finger tensed around the weapon's trigger. "And get ready to get Melfina out of here."

There was an audible *click* as Hilda pulled the Caster's trigger. For an instant, there was a bright blue glow surrounding them, almost like the light from a welder's torch. Unfortunately for the two outlaws, one of Craven's guards was alert enough to spot this and had some idea what it meant. Time seemed to stand still as the back of Gene's cloak nearly exploded. A luminous blue sphere emerged and streaked towards Craven, his guards and his petite assistant. The #19 shell from Gene's caster hit the engine block of one of Craven's sedans. Ms. Nguyen was alert enough to activate her light-shield, protecting herself and her boss from the resulting explosion. Hilda didn't get a good look, but it also appeared that most of Craven's bodyguards were able to take cover or activate light shields in time.

The recoil from the Caster was considerable and the two outlaws were caught off guard, landing in a heap with Gene squarely on top of Hilda before the gust of air from the blast passed over them. While on the ground, it suddenly occurred to Gene that Hilda had roughly shoved Mel like that to put her even further away from the blast site.

"Gene‑ I'm flattered. I thought you were spoken for, but maybe if Mel is into threesomes....." Hilda grinned wryly.

"Let me guess: Not now, you have a headache." Gene took in his surroundings, somewhat surprised he was still alive. "Is this all part of your brilliant plan?"

"You mean using you as a human shield? Not much of a plan, but at least I got Craven and his boys in one spot....." she admitted.

"What would you have done if it was a dud?"


"Guess we wouldn't be having this conversation‑ now take Mel and get the hell out of here."

"What about….?" He started to ask.

"Do it!" the levity from a moment ago was gone from Hilda's voice.

He needed no further prompting. Gene was on his feet and sprinting towards Mel like an Olympic track star.

**

Ionah.

There was no literal translation for this Ctarl Ctarl word to any of the Terran languages. The word originally meant something to the effect of "borderline feral" but over time was also applied to the various criminals, swindlers, thieves, poachers, murderers and those who fell out of favor for the empire for whatever reason.

The tracker-killer Takana Jaci Jaci was an ionah from the day she was born, a result of the adulterous union between her mother and father. She, along with other countless Ctarl Ctarl guilty of transgressions real or perceived were exiled to a remote colony. In her 17th year, a devastating epidemic called the Crimson Plague wiped out much of the colony's population, including her father. This left the young Ionah woman without any family, forcing her to leave her home in the wilderness for the first time ever. Shortly after her arrival, she took shelter in an abandoned mill with a young beggar she met in the city.

Yet, Takana couldn't get to sleep that night. She was weary, but she lay wide awake pondering her uncertain future. Next to her, the child Sarris was in for a fitful sleep. She felt that he was her responsibility now, but she was unsure what she could do for him.

The weary cat-girl decided that if she couldn't sleep, she should at least get up and stretch her legs.  As she stood and was about to leave, a small hand reached out and tugged at the hem of her dress.

            "MOTHER!? PLEASE! DON'T LEAVE ME......" Sarris pleaded. Takana froze in her tracks. It took her a moment to understand that the boy was having a nightmare, but his words cut her to the bone. Had she cried out in her sleep for her Poppa like that while she journeyed alone to the city?

            "Mother....please....just keep breathing. Father and Itami are gone now...I can't lose you now. Please stay a little longer......"

            It was clear that her young host was having a bad dream. She gently took his hand in her own. The poor child; even in his dreams all he can see is death and suffering the Tracker-Killer pondered as she sat down next to him.

            He suddenly sat upright, wide awake and his breathing ragged.

            "I woke you up, didn't I?" the child said apologetically.

            "It's all right…." Takana reassured him. She was still gently clasping his hand with her own.

"You have a good heart, Takana."

The Tracker‑Killer blinked in surprise. "Really?" she asked. "Why do you say that?"

"Earlier, I thought I was dead. Anybody else would've walked away. There's been so many dead already, what's one less mouth to feed?" the young boy sounded bitter. "I don't blame them. I might've done the same thing if I was in their position. But you intervened and asked for nothing in return. You put yourself in harm's way for a starving rodent."

"Hush....don't talk like that. You're not a rodent." she said a little sternly "You are Sarris Taarn Taarn."

            Perhaps Takana's suddenly authoritarian tone reminded the boy of his mother or sister. The boy looked up at her with a perplexed expression on his face.

"I'm nearly twice your age, yet I didn't know my namesake was an arch‑seraphim from the Text of Ctarl until you told me. No mere rodent could enlighten me like that."

"I'm glad I was able to do that, but how will that help either one of us eat?" he asked.

"You can worry about that when you get healthy."

"But...." the boy said, painfully aware of his condition.

"Shhhh..." she interrupted "I want you to promise me something."

"What's that?"


"Once your health returns, promise me that you won't steal anymore. I enjoy your company, Sarris, but you make for a terrible thief". She wasn't so much concerned about the boy spending his effort plying a dishonest trade as she was the consequences behind him getting caught.

"I promise, Takana."

"Good, now try and get some sleep. You need your rest."

"OK…"

She gently squeezed his hand. "Pleasant dreams…"

The boy rolled over. Takana was feeling restless and was still having a difficult time getting to sleep herself. Above them was one full and one crescent moon. A wide beam of platinum light spilled through the window.

She looked up at the dual moons. "Oh poppa.....was I this difficult?" she asked softly. At the sound of her voice, Sarris stirred slightly. Takana gently stroked the boy's ear as he continued his listless slumber. She didn't understand why, but the helplessness, despair and seething rage that nearly consumed her each day of aimless wandering since Aryo's death somehow abated in the presence of the dark‑haired child next to her. As Aryo's only daughter, she was unfamiliar with the trials and tribulations of a younger sibling. Yet, she felt her father was somehow able to manipulate circumstance from the Land of the Dead, arranging it

so that she would meet somebody who needed her.

On the one hand, it felt so very awkward. Takana knew that she wasn't that far removed from childhood herself and was filled with uncertainty about what she should do next. But there was something undeniably gratifying about the look of absolute joy on Sarris' face and the way he looked up at her. She remembered one of the officers sneering "The two of them belong together." to her earlier that day. It was meant to be an insult. Yet the more Takana contemplated it, the more it sounded like high praise.

"Was I this rewarding?" she murmured as she finally drifted off to sleep herself. Through the night, a bright shaft of silvery light shone through the window and onto the two orphaned Ctarl Ctarl.

The following morning, Takana rose early, hoping she wouldn't disturb Sarris. The boy had shown her a place to sleep free of charge and Takana figured the least she could do for him was find some work so she could bring back some food for the two of them. That morning, she headed down to the spaceport, figuring there would be some vessels there looking for work. However, there was a slight problem. There certainly wasn't any shortage of available workers in the local labor pool, so the number of available jobs was quite limited. As if to prove this point, there was a long line of Ctarl men lined up alongside one ship in the spaceport. They were hoping to get wages as day-laborers, loading or unloading the Terran vessel berthed there.

The young woman was a little curious. She had never seen a Terran in person before. But she also figured that her job prospects weren't too good if this was the only vessel in the spaceport that was looking for workers. Takana was about ready to take her leave when she overheard a heated exchange.

"Where's Collins?" the Terran ship captain asked.

"It appears he jumped ship, sir...." the Terran's first officer reported.

"God damn him!!!" The captain grunted.

"We don't need him‑ we have sufficient manpower to‑"

"I DON'T CARE!" the Human captain bellowed. "An example needs to be made. If we let Collins get away with deserting, then what's to stop the others from leaving at the next port we pull into? Find him!"

"But sir...." the first officer meekly started to say.


"FIND HIM!"

Takana smiled as she listened to this exchange. These Terrans certainly were odd creatures, she thought to herself. They appeared to be roughly the same size and build as most C'tarl C'tarl, but they looked like hairless monkeys. Against her better judgment, she approached the captain and first officer.

            "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation." she said unapologetically as she walked up to the two and her ears twitched. Truth be told, the way the captain was carrying on, odds were pretty good that the whole spaceport could hear the conversation. The two humans looked at the young Ctarl Ctarl woman as she approached, not quite sure what to make of her. "I believe I can find you this Collins, for a price."

"I'm not sure that's such a good....." the first officer started to say.

"Deal!" the captain said without much hesitation "we'll discuss payment after you bring him to me."

"Very well‑ however I'll need something with his scent and some idea of how long he's been missing." Takana declared.

"Malone, bring this young lady something from Collins' foot‑locker." the captain said to his first officer, pleased that the young woman wasn't asking him for a down payment.

"Aye, sir." the first officer said as he scampered off.

"He was present for this afternoon's head‑count, but we didn't notice he was missing until our pre-departure roll call, so it couldn't have been more than four hours." The captain produced a small PDA with a digital image of the missing crewman. "This is from his personnel file." He explained.

Takana nodded. "Is there any reason he jumped ship here?"

"Women. From what I heard, Collins couldn't go five minutes without going on about how wonderful the Ctarl Ctarl girls are, although I imagine he could only rent them by the hour."

The tracker‑killer glared at the captain as the last statement sunk in. She didn't like what he was implying, but would let that remark slide until after she was paid. Nor did she let on that the captain had just narrowed her search considerably with that comment. After a few moments, Malone returned with an old shirt belonging to Collins. After one whiff of the Terran garment, Takana understood the captain's comment about renting women by the hour. This Terran had a rather unpleasant scent to begin with and the shirt reeked of sweat and chemicals. Nobody in their right mind would get close to such an odd‑smelling creature unless they were offered some sort of financial incentive.

Once the Crimson Plague abated, this remote portion of C'tarl C'tarl space started to gain popularity with philandering nobles from the Empire's homeworld who sought multiple, young submissive concubines. It seemed the plague had spared considerably more women than men. This wasn't lost on many of the Terran ship crew who were transiting through this corner of the empire.  Taking advantage of the sudden population imbalance, places like the Emerald Den sprang up and began doing a brisk trade. Apparently, the way the Emerald Den worked was customers would pay a flat fee to enter and have their choice of multiple girls for a certain amount of time. And for that duration, the girls were obligated to do anything the customer desired, no matter how perverse or humiliating. The Emerald Den's management saw to that.


The Emerald Den was an off-world enterprise from the Empire's homeworld that would recruit the destitute and newly-widowed or orphaned women of the 38th Ctarl Colony by offering them some sort of high-paying clerical or administrative position. They never concealed the fact that they were a brothel, but reassured the new applicants that they wouldn't be doing that kind of work. Most of the girls were glad to be getting some sort of work to feed themselves or surviving members of their clan. But shortly after they'd collect their first week's wages, they would be informed that they were being let go for some reason or another. Sometimes she was told that a more eager applicant was willing to take the same job for a lower salary. In many instances, money would be planted on the hapless girl and she'd be accused of stealing from her employers. Yet… she could keep her job if she was willing to do those things with the esteemed clientele she was told she wouldn't have to do when she was first hired. And it was in front of the Emerald Den that Takana was able to pick up a residual scent of the Terran who jumped ship.

She walked past a somewhat portly and rather bored-looking watchman before she stood in front of a mahogany desk.

"Welcome to the Emerald Den. I'm Niyaa and I will be pleased to serve......you...." the hostess began to trail off once she looked up and saw that she was talking to another C'tarl C'tarl woman. The look on Niyaa's face seemed to say Get out while you have the chance!

"We have no job vacancies now. I'll have to ask you to leave." the watchman said as he got up and firmly placed his hand on Takana's shoulder. She figured she would give him five seconds to remove his hand from her. However, he didn't oblige…

"Did you hear me, girl?" the watchman said as he tried spinning Takana around to face him. However, she simply grabbed his arm and began twisting as she turned around on her own accord. His five seconds were up. The watchman was caught off guard by this and yelled out in pain.

"What are you doing!?" he grimaced as he tried in vain to break free. "I demand that you…" he never had a chance to finish his sentence as Takana slammed the heel of her palm into the watchman's nose.

He cried out as he staggered backwards and fell over. The young tracker-killer contemptuously eyed him. Although he was still conscious, it was apparent that he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

She turned around to face the attendant and produced a printout of Collins' picture the Terran ship captain provided her with. After seeing what happened to the watchman, Niyaa decided it was best to cooperate with this visitor before her.

"I'm looking for this person…" Takana said calmly to the attendant.

"He….he….he's in room 303." The attendant stammered.

The tracker-killer simply nodded before climbing the stairs. There was no absolutely no way for Takana to brace herself for what she was about to see when she walked into the room Collins was occupying.

She slowly, cautiously opened the door. Naked and on all fours was a C'tarl girl with reddish hair a few years younger than Takana. A pair of boots was resting squarely on the small of her back. She was being used as a piece of furniture by the Terran Collins, and with one look at her face it was clear the girl she was using every ounce of her self-control to choke back tears of profound fear and humiliation.

There were two more C'tarl women in the room. One of them had almost white hair and appeared to be twice Takana's age, although time had been fairly kind to her. Next to her was a slightly shorter, younger C'tarl woman with blonde hair who was pouring the Terran some sort of amber drink. Both of them were wearing nothing but small white aprons.

"You spilled some of my beer. Be a dear and clean it up." The Terran spoke.

Without a word, the golden-haired one produced a small towel from the apron. As she was about to start wiping it up, her client spoke up again.

"Uh-uh! Use your tongue this time, darlin'."

"Y-yes sir...." she began to say. As she put the towel back in her apron, the Golden haired C'tarl C'tarl reluctantly knelt down on the floor and began lapping up the spilled ale. Mercifully, a veil of her cornsilk hair obscured her activity from Takana's position. "And as for you…." He said as he roughly pulled the tallest one onto his lap.

**Do your job well, or you'll be joining these three** she thought in a moment of unnatural clarity. It hit her like a bolt out of the clear blue that if she failed in any capacity, this would be her future. Takana had seen enough.

"You're coming with me!" Takana said to the Human who was clearly enjoying himself at the expense of the three C'tarl women in the room with him.

"Aren't you a fiesty one?" the Terran said as he looked up at his unexpected visitor. "I wonder what the going rate for somebody like you is."

"I'm not a plaything for your amusement. Your captain sent me, and you're coming back to the ship. One way or another....."

"You're joking, right? There's no way I'm going back…I'm having too much fun! You're welcome to join me, sweetie. I still have another two hours on my tab." the human retorted.

"Your captain didn't specify whether or not I had to bring you alive…." Takana scowled.

Upon hearing the young tracker-killer's veiled threat, there was a commotion as Collins shoved the tallest whore off of his lap and stood up to challenge the girl in front of him.

"Just you try it!" he snarled defiantly as he leveled a .455 S&W revolver at Takana. "I hope you like to play rough…".

The young tracker-killer had no idea what he was talking about until Collins pulled the trigger a split-second later. Everything seemed to happen all at once- she was immediately knocked down by the first two rounds as the smell of cordite filled her nostrils. As she lay sprawled on the floor, Takana's ears were ringing from the gunshots in an enclosed area, and there was a throbbing ache in her ribs from the bullets impact. Bullets continued to fly past her head as she collapsed. She had never seen any kind of firearm before. It took her a moment to realize that she was unharmed, save for a few bruises where the rounds struck.

"Shit!" she heard the human mutter. "What the fuck was her problem?"

The Tracker-killer slowly pulled herself up and gingerly got to her feet.

"You're still alive?" the Terran asked.

Takana briefly looked herself over. **That was meant to kill me?**

"Unfortunately for you, yes."

"But…this can't be. I shot you…..point blank….."

"Your weapon? It makes a lot of noise, but can't harm me….much like you." Takana said as she nonchalantly unfastened her bolo.

"We'll see about that." Collins snapped as he opened up the revolver's chamber and dumped out the empty cartridges. Before he could continue reloading, the weapon was knocked away from him and went flying across the room. He turned and saw something crash into the wall behind him. It was the bolo belonging to his unwelcome visitor. 

As he went to retrieve his gun, Collin's noticed something was amiss. There was something wrapped around the handle of his revolver. He felt a warm trickling before he glanced at his right hand.


"Oh God......" Collins gasped helplessly as he looked at the stub of his arm. Several feet away from him was his hand, still clutching the empty revolver. He turned around and was now face‑to‑face with Takana. Her bolo had cleanly sheared off his wrist.

"He can't help you either." she smiled down at him before slashing open his throat with her talons. His flesh was unexpectedly soft. This made her job so much easier.

Takana held onto him as he began to spasm and went limp. It was only when he was perfectly still did she notice the others in the room. They clearly were frightened of her. She took two steps to retrieve her bolo.

"Please....don't hurt me...." the eldest whore suddenly cried. "I have a daughter....."

"How can you stand to look at her? Does she even know what her mother does....?" Takana asked. The shock of seeing these women allowing themselves to be used as playthings was still setting in.

"How can I stand to look at her when her belly is empty and her body is sickly with disease? How can I stand doing nothing for her!?" the whore cried back without hesitation. "You don't know what it's like! My little girl is all I have left in this world! I'll do ANYTHING..........suffer any humiliation, so that she has a future...." she wailed.

For a moment, Takana thought of the young child that was waiting for her back at the abandoned mill.

"Is this the future you want for your girl!?" Takana pointed to the cringing young girl who was being used as a footstool by Collins. Upon hearing the sound of gunfire, she curled up into the fetal position in a corner of the room.

"Do you think we enjoy this?" the Golden haired one asked Takana. "I wouldn't wish this life on anyone!"

Takana did her best to pay her no mind as she scooped up Collins' body and slung it over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Even though they seemed intimidated by Takana's presence, the young Ionah felt very uneasy. It was as though her willingness to bring this corpse back to the Terran's vessel was the only thing that was preventing Takana from joining the whores; her absolute last chance.

**

The Ionah and the daughter of Nobility continued glaring at each other on the bridge's tower, each one daring the other to make the first move.

Both Takana's and Aisha's ears twitched as the explosion echoed from down below. Aisha looked behind and beneath her in time to see one of Craven's automobiles enveloped in flames. The tracker‑killer saw her window of opportunity against the smaller, more powerful Ctarl Ctarl, running forward and kicking Aisha in the ribs as she was looking away, followed by a right hook.

They weren't particularly hard blows, and Aisha was able to partially block them. However, she was close enough to the edge so that they knocked Aisha off balance and the momentum sent her tumbling off of the abutment and plunging towards the road below. Takana watched disapprovingly as the ex‑ambassador managed to reach out and grab onto one of the intact cables and came to a stop about two‑thirds of the way down. She was hoping that Aisha would fall towards the water instead of the road's surface‑ Ctarl Ctarl's weren't famous for their ability to swim in deep water. Instead, she threw the smaller, stronger Ctarl Ctarl into the fray more quickly than she wanted to.

Almost reluctantly, the bounty huntress unfastened her bolo and began spinning it over her head before releasing it out over the bay. It appeared as though the tracker-killer was simply discarding her weapon as it dipped towards the inky black waters. However, her weapon began arcing back towards the bridge. The bolo sliced through four of the vertical cables, including the one that Aisha was holding onto. Throwing it from the bridge's tower was a calculated risk on Takana's part. Even if she hit her target, there was still the chance it would fall into the water far below and she'd lose the precious heirloom forever. There was always that risk when she used it on a distant target. However, she was a little relieved to see it still had enough momentum to start returning towards her. When thrown properly, the bolo could return to her almost like a boomerang. She wouldn't have used it in such a manner if she thought there was absolutely no chance that it would return or she could retrieve it. And sure enough, she held out her arm as it headed back towards her. The tracker-killer was careful to grab it by the metallic ring instead of the sharp, durable, finely serrated wires.

Takana also noticed that Aisha was able to grab onto one of the intact cables and slide down a little further before losing her grip once again falling the last dozen or so feet to the surface of the roadway. Gravity wouldn't do the job for her- that would've been too convenient. Takana should have known better. She'd have to finish this herself. This was going to be a little harder than she anticipated, but Takana was still confident.

**

Craven and his security detail were beginning to pick themselves up after the explosion. One bodyguard was standing upright and leveled his submachine gun at Gene and Mel as they fled. Before he could squeeze the trigger, her felt something knock the weapon out of his hands, nearly slicing it in half in the process, and caught a fleeting glimpse of crimson and white before the dull end of Suzuka's bokuto impacted with his temple, fracturing his skull. The beautiful assassin was being somewhat generous tonight.

While Craven, his men and Takana all had their attention focused on Gene and Hilda, Aisha and Suzuka had begun making their way to the middle of the bridge courtesy of a maintenance walkway that started out on the same level as the roadway across the bridge, but gradually sank beneath the road's surface as the roadway rose and stretched out over the bay. The assassin and Ctarl Ctarl did so with haste. Short, metallic ladder rungs were embedded along the maintenance walkway at intervals of roughly 50 feet to access the roadway. While sprinting out towards the center of the bridge were Hilda, Gene and Mel were gathered, Aisha agreed to climb the tower they had spotted the sniper on while Suzuka would go beyond what they estimated to be the halfway point and come at Craven and his men from behind when she got to the roadway.


As Gene and Melfina began making a break for it, Hilda took a calculated risk in order to buy them some precious time. Without even activating her light shield, she stepped directly in front of three of Craven's men as they lined up to open fire on the fleeing bio-android and Outlaw. Hilda nearly forgot she had a light shield.

"Hold your fire!" the head of Craven's security detail barked out to his subordinates. He knew how badly his boss wanted the Outlaw Hilda alive.

As he pondered this, the three men immediately behind him suddenly collapsed, having made acquaintance with the dull end of Suzuka's bokuto. His only indication of Suzuka's approach was a glimpse of a whitish blur. Unbeknownst to them, the assassin's decision to spare them was based on their decision whether or not to open fire on Gene, Hilda or Mel. For the beautiful assassin, this was only slightly more difficult than going up against Fred Luo's bodyguards, only because of their increased numbers.

"That's one of the better suggestions I've heard this evening". The demure assassin said as she abruptly used her wooden sword to knock the submachine gun out of his hands from behind. The weapon almost obligingly landed in front of Hilda undamaged, save for a few barely noticeable scuff marks to the matte finish.

"Seburo 10mm MN23 Submachine gun..." the Outlaw said as she examined the weapon. "How thoughtful. You shouldn't have..."

"We had a deal, Hilda!"

"Really? I made a deal with your cat-girl. I don't recall making any deals with you, you worthless prick." she said as she casually inspected the weapon before slinging it over her shoulder. Suzuka was now standing next to her.

Craven looked at the assassin and then Hilda. The two of them were ready to take their leave.

"GIVE ME THE KEY, HILDA!" Craven shouted.

There was a series of audible clacks as Craven's remaining bodyguards as well as Ms. Nguyen pulled back the bolts on their machine pistols.

 "I suggest you do as he says." Ms. Nguyen said as she lined up Hilda's head in her weapon's iron sight. "One way or another, we'll be taking that key card, Hilda."

Hilda glared at the executive and his assistant. But she also needed to buy some more time for Gene, Mel and herself to get away.

"Well now- since you put it that way….." Hilda said.

**

Aisha wasn't expecting the cable she was sliding down to be severed. It wasn't a very long fall, but she landed awkwardly. Looking up in time, she saw a small shower of sparks and a figure sliding down one of the intact cables. It didn't register that this was her assailant using her metallic bolo to slide down until she saw the figure push off of the cable and close in with an impossible quickness. Aisha rolled out of the way as Takana's feet impacted with the pavement. A small spider-web of cracks appeared in the road's surface beneath the Tracker-Killer's feet. Takana couldn't help but chuckle as she saw that Aisha was now on her feet and standing before her.

 "Stubborn little girl…." Takana hissed.

With a great deal of satisfaction, she closed in and swiftly dealt Aisha another sweeping kick that the younger ex-ambassador tried blocking. The blow sent her staggering backwards and Takana could see that Aisha was favoring her right leg.

Taking advantage of this, Takana once again found herself unscrewing the pendant around her neck and helping herself to another hit of iaru root.

Aisha struggled to get back onto her feet and lunged at Takana. Even if by only a fraction of a second, Aisha's injury had indeed slowed her down. This allowed the tracker-killer to more easily anticipate the younger C'tarl C'tarl's next move. Takana failed to block a high, sweeping kick from Aisha's good leg that landed solidly above her ribcage and below her shoulder joint. She was fortunate nothing was broken, yet she hardly felt anything because of the root she just ingested.

The ex-ambassador took another swing at the Tracker-Killer. She effortlessly dodged Aisha's blow, and blocked another one before kicking her soundly in the abdomen. The wind was sucked out of her body as Aisha doubled over and nearly collapsed.

As the ex-officer was struggling to breathe, she was aware that the tracker-killer was approaching from behind. Aisha felt her head violently jerk back as Takana grabbed her lengthy braid. "Such frivolous ornaments will be the death of you, little girl". The tracker-killer roughly yanked Aisha's braid, pulling Aisha towards her before releasing and striking the former Ambassador in the kidneys. Aisha went down and Takana could see that she was not getting up.

To her surprise, the younger, obstinate cat-girl remained almost perfectly still. She could see that Aisha was still breathing sharply, but remained cautious. This could very well be a ruse similar to what she used the other night in the alley. The tracker-killer knew she should use this opportunity to dispose of the Officer. Yet, she hesitated……          

The tracker-killer's ears twitched as she heard footfalls approaching her location on the bridge's surface. Takana suddenly realized the younger C'tarl C'tarl laying before her would have to wait when she detected the scent of jasmine mixed in with gun oil approaching. It was Captain Gene and the Machine Girl. The two of them did not seem to notice her right away. In fact, each of them had their back to her. Takana knew that she should finish off the Officer first and break her neck or throw her into the bay before moving on to the others, but she didn't anticipate that the others would be this careless.

**

Gene had roughly grabbed Mel's hand and the two of them began sprinting.


"Gene....we can't just leave Hilda behind." Melfina began to protest.

"I know, but we've got to get you out of here." the redhead replied. As he turned to face Melfina, he saw that he had a distant but clear shot at Craven. There was no time to re‑load the Caster. Instead, Gene used his regular pistol. He lined Craven up in his sights and was about to pull the trigger when he felt someone knock it out of his hands. The pistol clattered to the ground and spun away from him. As he turned around, he saw the beast-girl slash at his face with one of her knives. The outlaw was barely able to duck away from the tracker-killer's blade and from what seemed like a million miles away, Gene thought he heard Melfina call out his name. The tracker-killer was trying to slash his eyes.

"NO! YOU DON'T TOUCH HIM UNTIL TAKANA'S PAYDAY!!" the furious Ctarl Ctarl shrieked at him.

Gene was able to block her arm as she tried bringing the blade back for another stab at his eyes. Before she could bring the talons on her free hand up to claw the red-haired outlaw, Gene punched her in the face.

The C'tarl C'tarl let out a surprised cry as she stepped backwards. However, Gene wasn't finished. With Mel's abduction fresh in his mind, the Outlaw struck the Tracker-Killer four more times; Takana staggering backwards as each blow connected. She held her arms protectively in front of her face as Gene delivered a swift upper-cut.

For just a moment, Gene thought it was over. A small stream of blood trickled from the beast-woman's lower lip as she brought her arms down.

"My turn…" she seethed quietly, seemingly unfazed by Gene's attack.

 Gene glanced towards where the gun had landed. Before he could take two steps to recover his weapon, Takana tackled Gene and was on top of him.

"You had your chance."

To emphasize her point, she started slashing and clawing his back as Gene landed on his stomach and struggled to get out from underneath her. Beneath his cloak, he was wearing a kevlar vest to stop any bullets fired center‑mass by Craven's men should his light shield fail. However, the Ctarl Ctarl bounty‑huntress' claws were starting to tear through the vest as thought it were cardboard.

"How obliging of you to just stand there with your back turned, you stupid Terran...." Takana mocked. "This makes my work considerably easier!"

Gene was too shocked to cry out as Takana began mauling him. He could feel something warm tricking, then gushing down his back. It certainly did hurt, but a soft and almost welcoming darkness was beginning to slip over him. It wasn't an entirely unfamiliar sensation‑ not unlike the one that came over him after being poisoned by the pirate's darts before leaving Sentinel. He did his best to fight if off, but with each slash of Takana's talons it became more difficult. Melfina was what had prevented that darkness from overcoming him then, but now he had lost sight of her.....

There was a loud, sharp crack. Takana felt something whistle past her ear and ricochet off the guard‑rail of the bridge in a small but brief flurry of sparks. It was a gunshot. The tracker‑killer turned to see Melfina with two rather unsteady hands holding onto the Outlaw's pistol, a tendril of smoke drifting from the barrel.

"STOP IT!"

"Aren't you the brave one?" Takana smiled as she looked at the bio‑android. She looked back to the bleeding Outlaw beneath her before getting up. "You're so very scared, yet you'd kill for him, wouldn't you? That's an admirable trait. I didn't think machines such as yourself had the capacity to kill."

"Stay away!" Melfina yelled. It meant to sound like a command, but it sounded more like pleading on her part. This was the first time she had raised a weapon against another living creature. She had the means to defend herself, but not the experience. It wasn't the quivering in her voice that gave Melfina away. Takana could once again smell her fear and she found herself drawn to it.

"Have you ever killed before? There's nothing quite like your first time. Show me how capable you are without that toy." she said as she stood up and turned her attention away from the bleeding Outlaw. Melfina closed her eyes and flinched as she pulled the trigger two more times. Gunshots echoed in the dark night, and then she felt an iron grip around her wrist. She reluctantly opened her eyes and saw Takana's face, inches away from her own. The tracker‑killer was baring her fangs in a malicious grin and the gun was pointing almost straight up in the air.


"No! I....." Melfina started to say. She was going to tell Takana **I don't want to die..** but one look at the gleam in her eye and Mel realized that was of no importance to her. Her life was of no consequence to the tracker‑killer anymore. She had outlived her usefulness to Takana.

"I had every intention of letting you walk away and THIS is how you choose to repay me?" she squeezed Melfina's hand and the gun clattered to the pavement. "You're nobody's daughter, just a machine. Maybe I should let you live long enough to tell him...." Takana whispered softly into Mel's ear "....but now I see you don't care if that happens. Should I kill you in front of him or would you rather watch him die first?"

Melfina tried her best to break free from the tracker‑killer's grip. It looked as though Takana was truly enjoying herself‑ this artificial Terran female was so easily intimidated and her fear produced such a sweet‑smelling pherome that the tracker‑killer found irresistible.

"If I couldn't leave without Gene, I'm not sure I want to leave. I.....don't want to die....I don't want to kill, either.....I'm not like you.......you know that." Melfina said quietly, yet with clarity and conviction.

Takana froze as she gazed into Melfina's eyes for the first time. She couldn't believe it. Somehow, those last five words had almost completely sapped Takana of her will to fight. She was sure that she had heard them before. This was so much different than hunting prey on her homeworld. The creatures in the forest couldn't tell her about their past or a future she was ready to deprive them of. Takana momentarily wondered if her mother had to endure anything like this when she was in her womb.

"Why didn't you leave? You had your chance......I would've let you....." the Tracker Killer asked before trailing off.

"You don't want to do this either, do you?"

"SHUT UP!" Takana screeched, resolve creeping back into her. "Who are you to tell me what I want!? I should kill you and your child right here and now!!" she spat furiously. "Don't concern yourself about your mate; he can't protect you, so he'll be joining you soon eno‑*"

Takana's words were cut off and her grip on the bio‑android loosened. Mel saw a pair of arms deftly slide around Takana's torso and interlock in a vice‑grip behind the tracker‑killer's head.

"Why don't *you* shut up for a change?!" a familiar voice hissed. It was Aisha; she was up on her feet and now had the taller Ctarl Ctarl in a chokehold. "What did I tell you!?"

"Wh‑what are you doing? Let me go!" Takana protested as she struggled in vain to break free. Aisha's performance after she fell off of the tower wasn't entirely a ruse. She didn't expect the Tracker-Killer to use her lengthy braid against her, and Aisha was still aching from getting kidney-punched. It really did hurt, but it also made her even angrier.

"I told you that if you dared to strike me, you better not turn your back on me." Aisha reminded her "It's time you got another lesson in humility!". Aisha tightened her grip and dragged the Tracker-Killer around 180 degrees. The tracker‑killer was now facing the Outlaw Gene Starwind. Despite the beating and slashing she had inflicted on him a few moments ago, he was now on one knee and fumbling for the Caster. In his hand was a #11 shell that he plucked from his belt.


As Takana continued struggling, Aisha turned around and glanced at Mel. The look in her eyes said it all; there were a number of reasons the bio‑android should make herself scarce; Takana could still break free and kill Mel, both Aisha and Takana might wind up in their beast forms and run amok, Craven might send in some reinforcements to cut off their retreat. Mel got the hint and reluctantly started to back away. Aisha turned back and devoted her energy to keeping the thrashing Ctarl Ctarl under control.

"Hurry up Gene! I don't have all night!" Aisha yelled at him, largely unaware of the condition he was in thanks to Takana.

The red‑haired outlaw finally held the loaded Caster before painstakingly raising it and pulling the trigger. There was a blue glow emanating from the barrel as the rivets began to rotate and a sphere of light shot out from the muzzle. Time seemed to stand still as Takana could only watch the round close in on her. Out of desperation, Takana tried twisting out of Aisha's grip. But instead of breaking free, the two of them were now facing sideways when the Caster round impacted. This did not spare Takana from its effect, although it meant that Aisha would also feel its effects. It felt as though she was being run over by a truck and electrocuted at the same time. The two beast‑women flew backwards in an explosion of bluish light.

**

"OK then…..you win." Hilda chuckled.

Craven, Ms. Nguyen and the remaining bodyguards looked at the outlaw in disbelief. A slightly incredulous expression was on Suzuka's face as well.

With both hands raised, Hilda stepped towards the executive and his men.

That's right….just a little closer she said to herself as she continued forward.

Using her index and middle finger, Hilda deftly threw the plastic key‑card past Craven's bodyguards. It landed perfectly on top of the hood of the burning car that Hilda had shot with Gene's Caster. They looked at her and then the car.

"Well boys‑ what's it going to be? Me? Or the card? It's plastic, so you don't have all night to make up your mind."

A look of anguish came across Craven's face. Had Hilda resorted to scorched earth tactics? Was she going to arrange it so that there would be nothing of value left behind? He was so close to getting back what she had taken from him, now it was literally going up in smoke.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE! GET IT!"  he yelled to his men.

Two or three of Craven's men cautiously made their way to the burning car, sensing it was some sort of trick on the Outlaw's part. They were right. Hilda was already retreating as the surface of the bridge shook from a tremendous explosion coming from the already burning car. It wasn't the fuel tank, either. Ever since returning from Sandoval's place, the dark‑haired outlaw had been carefully working on creating a duplicate key made from a very thin and malleable plastic explosive. The only thing it lacked was an appropriate detonator. Hilda figured that using the Caster to blow up one of Craven's vehicles served more than one purpose- the first would be to serve as a trigger to set off the duplicate key-card, and the resulting explosions should distract the C'tarl Bounty huntress and Craven's security detail from Aisha and Suzuka's approach- or Gene and Mel's retreat depending on the timing. Still, she figured the less people on her side around for the blast, the better.

As she pondered this, Suzuka stepped protectively in front of her. From about 20 feet away, Ms Nguyen was on the ground and squeezed off a burst from her Seburo towards Hilda. Instead of striking down the dark-haired outlaw or the beautiful assassin, there was a shimmering white light as the bullets were deflected by Suzuka's the light shield on Suzuka's wrist.

"You're getting careless…" the assassin admonished Hilda.

"I guess so." Hilda said rather sheepishly before she flicked off the safety on the MN23. she fired a burst towards Craven and Ms. Nguyen's location before picking off  two of the remaining members of Craven's security detail as the emerged from cover to help their boss.

Hilda briefly assessed their situation. Although she and Suzuka were still armed, there was no cover for them to use, leaving them exposed. Also, despite the explosives, she was pretty sure that Craven still had the advantage in numbers. As badly as she wanted to see Craven dead, Hilda had realized that they had gotten what they had came here for.

"We might as well get the hell out of here…" she said to the assassin.

Suzuka didn't object.

**

Aisha tried lifting her arms, but they felt as though they were made out of lead. Her head was throbbing and she could smell singed flesh and hair. Some of that is probably mine she mused. In her daze, she thought for a moment that she was in the Chinese restaurant on Blue Heaven where she was on the receiving end of a Caster for the first time. A coolly breeze of salt air brought her back to the here and now. Aisha realized that both the Ionah and herself had been shot with one of Gene's Caster rounds.

Next to her, she was aware of some movement. It was the Tracker-Killer. She was already up and on her feet, although she seemed to be moving very cautiously and was using the guardrail for support. How is that possible? Aisha wondered. At the very least, she should be immobilized. As Aisha continued trying to pick herself up off of the ground, she thought she heard Gene Starwind ponder the same question out loud.

"How.......?" Gene started to ask as he glimpsed Takana moving around on her own. He seemed to be getting woozier with each passing second. There was a smoking softball‑sized hole in the right side of Takana's dress and some singed flesh, but otherwise the tracker‑killer seemed just fine.


A confident grin was on Takana's face as she over heard the Outlaw's query. "I could very well ask you the same thing, Captain Gene. I'm impressed. What is it that keeps you going? Rage? Pride? Vengeance? Adrenaline, perhaps? Or maybe the thought of waking up next to the Machine Girl again? I thought for certain I severed your spinal column....yet here you are, standing in front of me." she walked closer to Gene, slowly, but no longer using the railing for support. "It seems I underestimated you. But I'll ask you this‑ are you ready to finish what you started?"

Gene held his ground. "Outlaws never go down easy...." he heard himself say.

Author's Note: Where does the time go? The Patriots are in the Super Bowl once again and my beloved Red Sox will be poised for another run at futility……er...I mean…greatness in roughly 2 months. I estimated the next update would take 6 months, and 6 months (and some change) later, here I am.

 To those of you who have read this far, I'd like to thank you for indulging me in my flashbacks of Takana; think of it as a sort of a fic within a fic. There are a couple reasons behind my doing this. One of the big ones would be to better differentiate her from Aisha; same species, but completely different backgrounds, skills, specialties, tactics, mindsets and so on. And let's face it; how many of you would be willing to read a fic with nothing but OCs set in some obscure part of the OLS universe? I would also like to consider this good practice for writing a fairly detailed background to a certain Outlaw Star character who's past I felt was somewhat vague for an integral part of an upcoming fic (I'll let you guess who).