Ha! Look at this-- an update that didn't take a month! I love dead week... Anyway, a lot of you are asking if I'm eventually going to make this an Aisha/Gene story. That's a good question-- and not one that I'm going to answer. Sorry! I will tell you that I haven't planned on it, but anything's possible. But Aisha's got to have some action (plot-wise) before she gets some action (booty-wise). For character development and all that. Stick with me!

For the second time that day, Aisha woke up groaning. She could smell-- smoke? Ew. The acrid scent of burning metal and flesh assaulted her sensitive Ctarl-ctarl senses. She wrinkled up her nose without opening her eyes. Someone was tentatively shaking her shoulder. "Hey. Hey!"

Aisha groaned again and slowly cracked open a blue eye. Above her she could make out the hazy outline of person. She jerked and her other eye flew open. It took a moment for her eyes to uncross, but when they did she saw that it wasn't, as she'd thought, McDougal. Or worse, a cop.

A young woman with bright violet eyes and skin a shade darker than Aisha's leaned over her, looking worried. "You have to get up," she whispered urgently.

"Huh?"

"The cops are coming! If you don't wanna get blamed for this, you have to get out of here!"

"Oh, no!" Aisha quickly sat up, and instantly regretted it. The floor tilted back up to meet her. She slumped back down. The concrete was cool against her cheek, and she just wanted to go back to sleep...

The other woman yanked at her arm and managed to pull Aisha to her feet with an almost inhuman strength. She threw Aisha's arm around her shoulder and began to haul her away. Aisha, limp as a wet noodle, simply let herself be dragged.

The burning smell was still assaulting her nose. Aisha sniffed a couple of times before she realized that it was coming from herself. She looked down to see a huge charred starburst on her front. While Ctarl-ctarl skin was easily thick enough to repel a Castor blast, the clothing, though durable, was not as resilient. Aisha's outfit was basically ruined. Damn that McDougal!

"McDoug--" Aisha started to screech, but the other girl clapped a hand over her mouth. "Shh! If anybody sees us around here, we're both toast!"

Aisha's legs were tingling now, beginning to get the feeling back in them after the numbing effects of the Castor attack. She took a few wobbly steps, still leaning heavily on the girl. She finally took a good look at her. She was dressed in a mechanic's uniform, a drab dark grey coverall with a matching hat and a faded nametag. The hat was pulled down strangely far on her head, though a few orange curls escaped out from underneath it. She looked a bit younger than Aisha, and indeed she was also shorter. However, none of that seemed to affect her strength. She'd picked the Ctarl up as though she were a rag doll.

"Daja," Aisha said, reading the name off the tag, "why are you helping me?"

"I know what it's like to get blamed for something just because of what you are," Daja answered. She reached up and lifted her hat off of her head. Now Aisha could clearly see the mop of wild coppery hair. Daja shook her head and her ears, which had been flattened against the side of her head, snapped out like wings. They were long, pointy, and covered with fur. "I'm half Ctarl."

Aisha almost fell over from shock. "Is that possible?" she asked.

"I'm standing here, aren't I?" Daja replied jokingly, stuffing her hat into her deep back pocket.

The half-Ctarl, half human girl led Aisha into a small lobby area. By now Aisha could walk, but she sank gratefully into an uncomfortable looking plastic chair and sighed. Daja bustled away and came back with a jug of water and a large crate. She set them down on a low table in front of Aisha, opened the box and begin digging around in it. Aisha pricked up her ears as Daja took out a large hero sandwich, then a bunch of bananas, then a large ham. The Ctarl's stomach gave a loud, insistent rumble. She hadn't seen food like that since before she'd left the Outlaw Star.

"Here," Daja said, still unloading more food. "Here's most of my lunch. It should be enough to get you back on your feet."

Aisha gave her an insanely thankful look and attacked the food with relish. Small and cramped as the room was, she felt more comfortable here than she had been in days. There was another door opposite from the one they had entered from, with a small window above it. Luckily it was the only window in the room. A bit of bluish-green sky was visible through the glass. Aisha took this all in within a matter of seconds, far too concerned with eating than paying too much attention to her surroundings. She gnawed through a large Ctarl-style beef brisket, disregarding the bones.

Daja watched her with interest. "Somebody who eats more than me, finally. There aren't too many Ctarl-ctarl's out this far," she said, as Aisha stuffed two bananas into her mouth without peeling them first. After a moment she spat the peels onto the table. They landed with a wet thump. "The humans don't trust us much. If any of the bosses around here saw you anywhere near that mess, you'd be in jail in a blink, no questions asked. Are you an outlaw?"

"Gllmmph," Aisha tried to speak around a mouthful of bread and finally just nodded. She'd never thought that a plain Terran food like a sandwich could taste so good!

"You're lucky," Daja continued, picking up a scaly fish head to give it an experimental lick. "Outlaws can do whatever they want, when they want. I'd kill to be free like that." The girl swallowed the fish head whole, without bothering to chew.

The Ctarl-ctarl paused with a huge Thermos of soup halfway to her mouth. "It's really not that great." With three gulps she downed the hot soup and wiped her mouth off with her arm. "Aaahh! This is the first decent food I've had in two days!"

"You're kiddin' me," Daja said, leaning forward eagerly.

Aisha shook her head, patting her stomach. That had been a decent snack-- for now. She leaned back into the chair and answered, "No kidding. I don't have any money, so if I don't catch bounties, I don't eat. I don't even have my own ship! If I did, I'd be chasing McDougal right now for butting in on my bounty." She sighed. "There goes my meal ticket."

Daja took out her hat and spun it around on her finger. "Well, those guys you were after didn't get into a ship."

"Did he have a car? A big red one?"

"Nope!" Daja said. "The guy in red was on foot, dragging the big guy with him. But I heard the red guy tell the other not to piss him off before they got back to the ship, or he'd sterilize him."

"What?!" Aisha leaped up from her chair, upsetting the box. Luckily it only had a few stray fish heads in it anyway. Daja looked up at the Ctarl with surprise.

"He's taking him back to his ship? Then maybe," Aisha's eyes lit up, "I can still catch him and get my bounty back!" She shrugged on her cloak over her charred clothes and rushed for the door. "Thanks for the food, Daja, but I have to go!" In her excitement she nearly ripped the door off of its hinges as she threw it open.

Daja ran up behind her. "Take a left," she advised. "Nobody's ever out back. All you have to do is hop the fence and you're home free."

Aisha gave her another grateful look and sped away.

"Hey! If you ever get a ship, come find me! I'm a great mechanic!" Daja called. Aisha half turned as she ran and flashed the girl a victory sign.

***************************

Aisha didn't waste any time. She vaulted over the fence with ease and sped down the street. The lunchtime crowds parted like the Red Sea to let the Ctarl race through. In her haste she nearly bowled over an old lady who couldn't get out of the way fast enough. At the last possible second, she leaped over the stooped back of the old woman, calling out, " 'Scuze me! Gomen!" The lady craned her neck and peered upwards, but by that time, Aisha was already far down the street. She moved with the confidence of a woman on a mission. She'd had an idea.

Three minutes later she burst through the service door at the back of the casino into the tiny break room. It was occupied by three waitresses lounging around on the old moth-eaten couches. "Hey, Aish!" one of the girls called out, looking up from her romance manga. "You're here early. I thought your shift didn't start until night."

"You know they don't pay overtime here," another girl said, giving Aisha an odd look. Aisha skittered to a stop as she realized how crazy she must look running around with half her clothes burned off. She veered left into a storage closet and yanked out one of the skimpy green tube tops the casino girls had to wear. She jerked the charred top off and pulled it on as she ran back out into the break room, racing past the others.

"I'm just here to check something," Aisha called over her shoulder, and shot through another doorway into a silent hallway. Now, where was that control room? Oh right... upstairs and to the left.

She stopped in front of the control room door to catch her breath. I really don't wanna do this, she groaned to herself as she patted her hair down and adjusted her clothes. But it's not just a bounty anymore. Now it's personal-- I'm gonna get McDougal back! With new resolve, she tossed off her cape and threw her shoulders back. I don't have any choice-- I need information!

She started to just go in without knocking, but thought better of it. Who knew what that little pervert was doing in there? Aisha raised a fist and tapped lightly on the control room door.

"Uh-- j-just a minute! Hold on!"

Aisha rolled her eyes to the ceiling. Why does he even bother? Everybody knows he's in there downloading porn! After a minute the voice called out, "Okay! You can come in now!"

Saying a silent prayer to the Ctarl gods that she wouldn't puke, Aisha pulled the door open and slid into the large control room. "Hiya, Brian," she purred.

Sitting in front of a large computer terminal, the skinny young man almost fell out of his chair when he saw Aisha standing there grinning at him coyly. "Um, uh-- h-h-hello, A-Aisha," he stuttered, swiveling around to face her.

"Jeez Bri," Aisha said, slinking towards him with plenty of wiggle in her hips. "Look at all the computers in here! And you control them all. That's so impressive." She stopped in front of him. "You know, I find a man with brains very attractive."

Brian raised a sweaty hand and pushed his glasses up on his nose. "Heh," he tried to chuckle, but it only came out as a nervous croak. "Y-you do?"

"Yeah," said Aisha, inwardly grimacing. She couldn't believe she was doing this! I don't have time to stand around and-- blech-- flirt! she decided. I need to get right to the point. "There aren't enough of you guys around here." Psshh! Whatever! "You know what else there aren't enough of?" Aisha cocked her hip and put her hand on it.

"Whuh-what's that?"

"Nice guys," she crooned. "Are you a nice guy, Brian?"

The poor guy didn't have a chance. He let out a high pitched giggle. "S-sure I'm a nice guy."

"Then will you do me a favor, Bri?" Aisha leaned towards him.

"Favor?" His face was turning red. "What kind of favor?

"I need a little information."

Now his eyebrows started to furrow. "Wait, what are you talking about? You're not trying to get me to cheat the casino, are you?" He looked at her suspiciously.

"Of course not! This has nothing to do with the casino! I just need you to find a ship for me."

The suspicious look on Brian's face developed some slyness. "Really?"

Oh for crying out loud-- I don't have time for this! "Listen Brian. I'm in a hurry, okay?" She let a dangerous edge creep into her voice and roughly swiveled his chair back around so that he faced the computer. "I know you're a hacker. That's why your uncle gave you this job. So just get on the computer and work your magic! Find the damn El Dorado!"

"But I--"

Aisha sucked in a deep breath, trying not to think about what she was going to do next. "Do you mind if I sit down?" She moved around and perched herself on Brian's knees, making sure he got an eyeful of her chest in the process. He gawked at her. "Well?" she asked.

Brian gulped. He reached his arms around her and poised his fingers over the keyboard. "Th-the El D-dorado?"

"Or the Shangri-La. And if you can't find anything there, try the name McDougal." She thought for a second. "No, wait. He's not dumb enough to use his own name. Try Harry--" what was that name he was using at the space race? "Harry William!"

"Gotcha," Brian said, and he was all confidence now. Within minutes he had broken into the records of 5 of the 7 Tesla hangars. Aisha watched him with newfound respect. People like that just amazed her. She'd always been intrigued every time Jimmy hacked into some high security connection or created a virus to disable another ship. She started to smile, but thoughts of Jimmy inevitably led to thoughts of Gene. Aisha mentally slapped herself. Come on back to the present where you belong, Aisha! She glanced over at Brian. Maybe it had been sort of cruel to manipulate him like this, but he wouldn't have done it otherwise. "Hey, Brian--"

"Almost there," he hissed through his teeth, totally absorbed in his hacking. "Almost, almost-- ahh, there!" He poked at an entry triumphantly. "Level 3, dock 19, under the name Harry William. And you're in luck. It's nearby--Sector E, 21st Street Garage."

"Nya!" Aisha shrieked joyously. "Brian, you're the best! I could kiss you--"

Brian instantly lost interest in the screen. "Really?!"

"But not right now!" Aisha bounced off his lap and out the door before he could get another word out.

**************************

Level 3, dock 19, Aisha repeated to herself for the 50th time. Level 3, dock 19. Stealthily she climbed up another set of steps. Now she was on level 3, so her mantra simply became dock 19, dock 19. This garage was much like the last, except smaller. The parking spaces were a bit more cramped. She passed dock 14, then 15. Please be there, she prayed to the most Supreme Ctarl god. She slowed as she came to docks 17 and 18. Please, just let that stupid, ugly ship be there.

Wonder of wonders; when she peered into the space of dock 19, she saw the wickedly pointed nose of the McDougals' ship. She would have let out one of her triumphantly delighted shrieks, except she saw a tell-tale flash of red. Aisha backpedaled and concealed herself the shadows beside the bulk of the ship in dock 18. For one tense moment, she wasn't quite sure if Ron was getting off or getting onto the ship. He stood before the door, typing in a key code. She watched, mentally memorizing the numbers. If he was getting on, then she was getting on too, dammit! There was no way she was going to loose this bounty now!

Ron stepped away from the door and hopped down to the ground. Is he leaving? But no, he seemed content to stay where he was, leaning casually against the side of the El Dorado and smoking a cigarette. Aisha glared at him. No doubt he had Danvers locked up somewhere in the ship already, all packaged and ready to turn in to-- wait a minute. Why hadn't he gone straight to the space police station as soon as he had Danvers? Why did he need to bring him back to his ship?

Before she could ponder that issue too far, McDougal straightened and moved around to the back of the ship. Aisha took a huge gamble and skittered out from underneath ship 18. She dove underneath the front of the El Dorado and melted into the shadows there. All the ships were, of course, suspended slightly in the air, so Aisha had no problem in wriggling further underneath. She planned on taking Ron by surprise with a sneak attack from behind. If he was out of the picture then his pansy-assed brother would pose no threat. Aisha slithered all the way to the back of the ship and was just reaching for Ron's ankles when he spoke.

"I don't think so."

Aisha froze before she realized, with a great rush of relief, that he wasn't talking to her. She peered up at him from her uncomfortable position. McDougal had a two-way in his hand, quietly conversing with someone on the receiving end. "No, I don't think he knows. I don't wanna get his hopes up, since we've been having some bad luck lately."

Aisha pulled her hands back. Damn! He could be talking to anybody, including someone nearby who could cause her trouble if she attacked right now. But eavesdropping proved to be rather interesting.

"If all goes well, this should be it. This Danvers guy is worth way more than those idiotic space police are offering if you know the right people. Turns out he's got a lot of secrets in his head that some of the bosses on his home planet are just dyin' to get their hands on." He paused to listen, then chuckled. "No, it's not gonna be pretty once they get hold of him. If he's lucky they'll kill him quick after they find out what they want, and the Delrians never do that. They don't joke around." Ron said this as simply as though he was talking about the weather. The other person spoke, but Aisha couldn't hear what he was saying. "Yeah, well, we won't worry about that right now, Leo," Ron replied. "Just make sure you're at the rendezvous point next week." Another pause. "Right. I'm going to go get it now. See ya then."

No! Aisha thought angrily. Don't cut off! What are you gonna get? Where? It was too late. Ron cut off the link and flicked his cigarette away. Aisha scooted backwards and pressed herself to the ground as he walked to the front of the ship and out of the dock. Ron was out of sight within seconds.
Aisha came slowly out from under the ship and debated whether she should follow him or not. It was obvious that he had something else up his sleeve but there was no telling whether it would be more lucrative or not. After a moment she decided to stick with the original plan-- get Danvers and get the money. Besides, Harry would probably be a lot easier to deal with. As far as Aisha remembered, he was skinny and never fought for himself. She grinned and cracked her knuckles as she turned back to the ship.

'K, that may have seemed anti-climatic, but it all comes into play later. I've got grand designs for this story! Read and Review, tell me what you think. All questions, comments, criticisms, etc. are welcome!