All in the Name of Love Chapter 8: Part 1, an outlaw star fanfic

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Outlaw Star: All in the Name of Love

Chapter 8: Part 1

At Cielo Rojo's one and only spaceport, Aisha Clan Clan and five deputies were inspecting the latest cargo ship to dock. After the incident with Laslo Krio, few criminals dared to try anything so bold again. Those that did try didn't live long enough to regret it. But what they did start to do was smuggle themselves onto the planet by hiding in cargo containers and making a run for the mountains or desert. Of the ten criminals that had tried this technique, only one remained at large. Aisha was confident she could track down his scent in no time, but the marshal was more concerned with stopping any more criminals from sneaking onto the planet rather than tracking down one lone felon held up in the mountains.

Kumaro was a regular to Cielo Rojo. His travels brought him to the planet at least five times a year, usually more. He would drop off a variety of goods and load up with tequila before leaving. On this hot summer day, Kumaro was sweating like there was no tomorrow.

"So what are you bringing us this time?" Deputy Turner asked as Aisha walked around looking at the containers, checking for any signs of tampering. Occasionally she glanced at the cargo ship's pilot to see his body language as he answered the deputy's questions. "Furniture mostly, cedar chests, chest of drawers, along with some cedar paneling. Folks like using it for their closets and stuff," he answered, sweat rolling off him from every pore of his body.

Aisha's keen sense of smell confirmed the pilot's statement. Through the electronically sealed crates the smell of cedar reached her olfactory senses, but there was something else as well, another odor, not strong, but noticeable. 'I've smelled that scent before, but where?'

She walked over beside Deputy Turner and watched Kumaro intently as he answered a few more of the deputy's questions.

"Have you been asked by anyone to transport anything or anyone that is not on your manifest?" the deputy asked.

"Uuh... N... no... no. I haven't... been approached by anyone," Kumaro replied.

Aisha grabbed the deputy's arm and turned him around, walking a few paces away from the pilot.

"What is it, Miss Aisha?" a surprised deputy asked.

"He's lying. There's something here. Something very dangerous," she stated firmly, glancing back at Kumaro before returning her attention back the Deputy Turner.

The deputy looked back over at the cargo pilot, watching him shuffle from one foot to the other, then back to the Ctarl Ctarl. "You must be mistaken. I've known Kumaro for going on six years now. He'd never do anything illegal. His wife would beat the crap out of him."

"I don't think he's doing it voluntarily. In fact, I think he's being forced to do it. Look at how he's sweating." Aisha gestured back over at the pilot with her eyes.

Again, Turner glanced back at Kumaro, but also took a moment to look around at everyone else. "It's the middle of summer, everyone's sweating... everyone except you," he observed, turning back towards her.

She shook her head. "No, he's not sweating because he's hot. He's sweating because he's afraid." She looked down at the deputy's notepad.

"Afraid? Afraid of what?"

The Ctarl Ctarl reached down and grabbed the notepad from the deputy. "That's what I'm going to find out." She walked back over to the pilot.

"Have you at anytime been approached by any one of these people?" She punched some commands into the notepad and a picture appeared. She held it up for the pilot to see.

"Auu, no, ma'am."

She turned it around to herself and entered some additional commands, then turned it to show the pilot again. "How about this one?"

"No, ma'am."

"This one?"

"No, ma'am."

"How about this one?"

While the pilot's answer remained unchanged, Aisha noticed his pupils dilate slightly as well as the scent of his sweat change. She looked at the notepad. 'Renik Drago, Saurian, height: 228 centimeters, weight: 172 kilos. Former general in the Saurian Army. Exiled after a failed coup attempt. Wanted for twelve counts of murder, destruction of public property and kidnapping. Escaped Landover Penal Colony seven months ago, bounty set at 25,000 wong, dead or alive. Hmm, 25,000 wong, mustn't have killed anyone important.'

"Okay people, listen up!" Aisha yelled to get the deputies attention. "In one of these crates or still on the ship is the fugitive Renik Drago, a Saurian. If you've never seen a Saurian before, think of them as a two legged, talking dinosaur or a lizard that's well over two meters tall and 170 kilos. Armed or not, this guy is very dangerous, so no heroics. Identify the crate, then back away and call me. Got it?" She tossed the notepad back to Deputy Turner and cracked her knuckles. 'I've wanted to take on one of you Saurians ever since our run in with that Angel Links group. Now is my chance.' She headed over to the three crates she thought were the best candidates since that was where she noticed the familiar scent. Turning to the pilot, she yelled, "What's the access code?"

"I... I can't tell you that," he responded.

"You can either give me the access code, or I can rip these crates open with my bare hands, your choice." She gave him an evil smirk.

"Huh!" he gasped, shock written over his face.

"I'd give her the code if I were you, Kumaro. She's just the Ctarl Ctarl that could tear open one of those things." Turner gestured to the magnetically sealed, titanium crates. "Then you'll have fun getting what's left of your merchandize to your customers, not to mention loading up on tequila."

With great fear and hesitation, Kumaro whispered, "33769"

As Aisha and the deputies used that access code to open the crates, the truck driver who was waiting to load the crates onto his rig yelled, "Come on! What's the hold up? I ain't got all day!"

Deputy Turner yelled back, "If you still want to have your trucker's license tomorrow, I suggest you keep your mouth shut and wait patiently!"

The trucker slammed the door to his truck closed and grumbled incoherently.

Aisha prepared herself as she opened the first container. She glanced around quickly but thoroughly. "Furniture, nothing but furniture." She closed the container and proceeded to the next one. She punched in the code and the container began to open, but before it opened more then a few centimeters the front of the container exploded into a hail of flying metal shards.

"GRRR!" Aisha gritted her teeth and shut her eyes as her arms flew up to protect her face, the only vulnerable part of a Ctarl Ctarl's body, from the shower of flying metal. With her eyes shut and her arms crossed in front of her face, she was unprepared to handle what happened next.

The Saurian sprang out of the container, charging forward on all fours. Letting out a hellish yell, Renik plowed into Aisha's midsection with his armor plated head and tossed the Ctarl Ctarl officer more then 30 meters into the air. Aisha let out a scream of surprise as she found herself sailing high into the air.

The Saurian quickly scanned the area for a way to escape. Spotting the truck, he headed right for it, ripped off the driver side door, and threw the frightened driver out.

Taken by surprise by the Saurian's assault, Aisha recovered in time to ensure a soft landing on her feet, about 15 meters from where she was attacked. She sprang upright, ready for another attack, which did not come.

The sounds of a truck starting up and gun fire spun Aisha around in time to see her prey pulling away from the spaceport in the cargo truck. She ran to one of the marshal's ATVs, calling out to Turner, who was still firing at the retreating vehicle. "Come on!"

The deputy holstered his gun and ran after her. "Where are we going?" he yelled.

"After him, of course!" She jumped into the passenger seat, standing on the seat, holding on to the roll bar above the windshield. "Come on! Come on! He's getting away!" She jumped up and down.

Turner jumped into the driver's seat and started the ATV. "Not if I can help it!" He shifted into gear and sped off after the Saurian.

"Agghh!" Aisha yelled, tightening her grip.

Turner managed to close the gap on Renik as they tore through the streets of New Berlin. People screamed as they ran out of the way of the speeding cars. Renik clipped every car, trashcan and light pole he could find to send debris flying at his pursuers. But Turner proved to be more than a match, avoiding each obstacle while continually closing the gap.

"Get right behind him!" Aisha yelled. "I'm going to jump onto the truck!"

The deputy shook his head. "That's too dangerous!"

"Just do it!" she screamed as she hopped over the windshield onto the hood and readied herself.

Turner gritted his teeth and slammed on the gas. With the ATV less than two meters behind the truck, the feline sprang off the hood onto the back of the truck. She dug her claws into the roof to hold her balance as the truck swerved left then right. She then made her way over to the cab and jumped down onto it. Shifting her position, she clamped her claws down just above where the driver side door used to be, then, crouching down tightly like a spring, she shot her legs out then into the cabin, smashing her feet into the Saurian's side, sending him flying into the passenger side with a loud grunt.

Once inside the cab, Aisha had five simple words for her prey. "Alive or dead, your choice!"

The Saurian didn't hesitate. He let out a loud roar and lunged at the Ctarl Ctarl. The feline dug her feet into the seat cushion and lunged forward as well, but the Saurian managed to grab hold of her shoulders, while the furthest she could reach were his biceps. Taking advantage of the hold he had on her, Renik flung Aisha into the windshield. The glass shattered from the force, but did not break as splinters of glass shot out onto the hood. She gritted her teeth but refused to scream in pain as she struggled to break free from Renik's grasp. The Saurian drew her back to him then smashed her into the windshield again. More shards went flying out. When he drew her close a second time, Aisha released his arms and grabbed hold of his armor plated head, and when he threw her into the windshield a third time, Aisha slammed his face into the dashboard. The Saurian hit with such force that the dashboard cracked in three places. The shock of the impact was enough to cause him to lose his grip on Aisha. She quickly broke free, jumped behind him, braced her back against the seat rest, and slammed her feet into his back, forcing his whole body into the dashboard.

Renik grunted as the air was forced out of his lungs. He tried to brace himself on the dashboard and turn around, but the dash was falling apart at every place he grabbed, and with Aisha continually smashing him into what was left of it, he had no opportunity to move. With her fifth thrust, Renik's face finished smashing out a hole in the windshield. Shutting his eyes momentarily, he shook the pieces of broken glass from his face. When he opened his eyes, he let out a hellish scream.

Distracted from her efforts to shove the Saurian into the engine block, the Ctarl Ctarl peered over his shoulder and screamed even louder

By some miracle, they managed to get on the main rode out of town towards the mountains during their battle, but once out of town they veered towards the region's largest energy plant. They managed to break through the parameter fence without noticing and were heading straight for a giant tank of liquid nitrogen. As powerful as a Ctarl Ctarl is, Aisha knew she wouldn't survive a bath in liquid nitrogen, and from the Saurian's reaction, she figured neither would he.

Forgetting about their battle that instant, they both lunged for the steering wheel and turned it hard left. The truck veered sharply as the left tires lifted off the ground momentarily. Avoiding the tank, the worst was still ahead of them. Before them was a network of pipes coming from the tank. In desperation they swerved left and right, right then left, all in a frantic attempt to avoid the pipes.

Out of the corner of her eye, Aisha spotted a point in the parameter fence that was angled closer to their position. "There!" she yelled, pointing to the fence. Together they turned the truck for the fence. Within seconds they crashed through it and were on their way back to the road and the mountains.

An expression of total relief spread across both their faces. Aisha looked over at Renik and began to laugh. Renik joined in making the cabin rumble with his deep guttural laughter.

Aisha continued to laugh uncontrollably. Once again she had faced death and come out on top. She didn't notice that Renik had stopped laughing. Without drawing his fist back, he punched her square in the face. The blow sent Aisha tumbling backwards out the truck door. She flipped head over heals, managing to grab onto the top step of the cab's access ladder, her feet dangling just centimeters from the ground.

"Oh My God!!" yelled Turner from about 12 meters behind the truck. He decided it was best to continue to follow Renik in case Aisha needed any backup, or minimally, a ride back into town. Seeing the Ctarl Ctarl dangling from the side of the truck was just the latest thing that threatened to give the young deputy a heart attack. Seeing the truck tear through the city streets, crash into everything imaginable, and still go almost gave him a heart attack. Then, watching the truck head straight for the tank of liquid nitrogen gave him a heart attack, he was sure of it. Now seeing the woman he'd been assisting since she accepted the assignment of temporary guardian of Cielo Rojo was going to cause his death, he just knew it. Thinking quickly, Turner accelerated, hoping to pull up next to the truck so Aisha could jump over to the ATV.

Aisha fought a desperate battle to pull herself up and back into the cab as Renik frantically tried to force her off the truck. He leaned out the door and stepped on her hands repeatedly. At the same time, Aisha tried to reach up with one hand and grab hold of his leg to use him as a ladder back up into the truck. A few times she got a hold of him, but he shook his leg so violently that his pants ripped loose and all Aisha had in her hand were fragments of material. While she continued to try to grab hold of him, she failed to notice that the step she was holding onto was beginning to bend and crack.

Finally, tired of having her hand stepped on and only succeeding at tearing the Saurian's pant leg off, Aisha decided to punch a hole into the side of the cab and climb up from behind. As she drew back her fist, Renik stamped down on her other hand again, causing the step to break. She let out a yell as she fell, hit the ground hard, bounced up, then slammed into the front of the ATV that had started to pull up next to the truck. She rolled over onto the hood and smashed into the windshield, bounced upward and over it and would have sailed right over the rest of the vehicle if Turner hadn't reached up and grabbed hold of her ankle, stopping her momentum and causing her to fall, not so gracefully, into the back seat.

"ARE YOU ALL RIGHT, MISS AISHA?!?!?!" the deputy yelled.

She picked herself up and, standing on the back seat, replied, "I will be once I kill that son of a bitch!"

Aisha and Deputy Turner pursued Renik up into the mountains and while there was no foliage to conceal his way, the mountains were filled with huge boulders and rock formations that aided Renik in his attempt to elude capture. On more than one occasion Turner almost rolled the ATV, which forced him to decelerate, allowing the Saurian to get further and further away.

"You're losing him! You're losing him!!" the Ctarl Ctarl screamed, jumping up into the front passenger seat.

"Don't worry, Miss Aisha, he's boxed himself into a corner!" the deputy replied.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, this path leads to the Twin Fall Cliffs, a sheer 200-meter drop onto jagged rocks. There's no way in or out except this road," he assured her.

As they rounded the bend, they came upon an open plain. In the distance, they could see the truck resting on its side near the edge of the cliff, and Renik climbing out of the cab.

While still more than a hundred meters away, Aisha commanded, "Stop!"

Turner hit the brakes hard, causing the vehicle to disappear behind a cloud of dust and debris. The Ctarl Ctarl turned towards the deputy. "Pull back to a safe distance." She jumped out of the vehicle, then added, "If... if by chance... Renik gets out of this field alive, go back to the marshal and get every available man you have with all the fire power you've got..."

"But..."

"Don't worry about being able to track him. Just follow the trail of blood." She smirked.

"But, Miss Aisha..."

"If it comes to it... contact Gene Starwind on Heifong to come and retrieve my remains."

"Miss Aisha..." The deputy's face was etched in fear and sadness.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I don't plan to let it come to that." She gave him a big grin, slapped the hood, and yelled, "Now go!"

Still staring at the beautiful feline, Turner put the ATV in gear and sped off. Aisha watched the vehicle drive away, waiting till she was sure he was a safe distance away before turning to face her adversary. With slow, determined steps, she made her way towards the Saurian, removing one article of clothing at a time.

Renik turned to face his opponent with a sly grin on his face.

"What are YOU smiling at Lizard-Face?!" she snapped, removing her chest armor.

"I just realized that of all the creatures I've killed in my time, you'll be the first pussycat," the Saurian laughed.

"Well, for your information, I've killed hundreds of reptilian monsters just like you. And you're all the same: slow, dumb and ugly." She went down on one knee to remove her boot, then the other.

"And what are you doing? Trying to scare me to death by taking off your clothes?" he roared back.

"Shut up!" yelled Aisha. "You obviously don't know the first thing about the Ctarl Ctarl. We Ctarl Ctarl are metamophs with the power to transform into our all powerful beast form. The phase of the planet's moon greatly enhances this power. Cielo Rojo is especially useful for this since it has four moons. I'm removing my cloths because this just so happens to be my favorite uniform. So I don't want to shred it when I transform." She slipped out of her thong. "Renik Drago, by the authority granted me by the government of Cielo Rojo and the Federation Space Forces District Marshal, I am hereby placing you under arrest. Come peacefully or suffer the consequences," Aisha commanded, standing as tall and forceful as she could, not allowing her present state of undress to inhibit her at all.

From the neighboring cliff, Turner pulled out his field binoculars to see what the two warriors were doing. "My God! Miss Aisha! Oh My God!" he sputtered as the nude form of the Ctarl Ctarl barked commands at the Saurian.

"So what's it going to be, Renik? Coming peacefully, or do I have to kill you?"

"I don't think I can accept either of your proposals. I've got a third option. How about I kill you, then head up to the mountains and live there for the next 100 years. Of course, I might need to come down to the local villages once in a while to TAKE what I need. But a couple dozen lives over a hundred years isn't that many," the Saurian laughed.

"Enough talk! Prepare to die!" Aisha roared as her blood coursed through her veins at twice its normal rate. Her muscles expanded and in an instant, she transformed from a 160 centimeter, 52 kilogram humanoid with long silver hair, blue-green eyes, and olive colored skin to an 244 centimeter, 200 kilogram tigress with black and white striped fur and fiery red eyes. Without hesitation, she sprang at her prey.

Startled by his adversary's sudden transformation, Renik barely had enough time to raise his arms to block the Ctarl Ctarl's powerful jaws from clamping down on his throat. Thrown backwards by the feline's charge, the Saurian crashed to the ground.

"She's got him now," Turner exclaimed. "That wasn't so bad, Miss Aisha."

The force of over 370 kilograms crashing to the ground caused a cloud of dust and small rocks to engulf the combatants. Her enhanced feline senses were badly irritated by the cloud, as Aisha thrashed her head side to side to clear her eyes and nose. Renik seized the opportunity and planted his feet under her belly, flinging the tigress into the air. She landed gracefully on her feet, three meters away, ready to pounce once more, but this time Renik had time to draw his dagger from behind and lung at the tigress.

Just as she was about to clamp down on his throat, a sharp burning pain radiated from her shoulder, causing her to turn suddenly and only causing a superficial wound to the Saurian's collar.

Withdrawing momentarily, Aisha stepped from side to side, glancing back at the blood dripping down her left front leg while still keeping a wary eye on her prey.

The Saurian laughed. "You weren't expecting that, were you? You were wrong, I have heard of you Ctarl Ctarl. I've heard the skin of a Ctarl Ctarl is stronger than even the strongest metal, but this blade isn't made of metal." He held up his shiny dagger. "This thing is made from the purist dragonite known in the universe. This thing can cut through a block of the strongest re-enforced titanium alloy like it was butter, as well as the skin and bone of a Ctarl Ctarl. Wahahahahahahah...."

Aisha growled fiercely but refrained from charging at her prey again. She was lucky he hadn't hit any vital organs and she knew it.

The Saurian's expression showed an arrogant confidence that concealed his true emotions. He knew she came dangerously close to tearing open his throat, and while the wound on his collar was nothing serious, the blood and the pain he felt were very real.

The two advisories slowly circled each other looking for an opening. When one would advance, the other would retreat until an opening was spotted, then the scenario would reverse itself. This went on for nearly a half hour.

"Careful, Miss Aisha! Careful!" Turner moaned. "This is driving me crazy. I can't take it much longer. Augh!"

Renik lunged forward with the dagger, coming close enough to slice several hairs from the tigress' chest. As he withdrew, she reached out and dug her claws into either side of his forearm, ripping open his flesh from his elbow to his wrist.

"Aaah!" The Saurian recoiled in pain but swiftly shifted the dagger to his other hand, holding his bleeding arm close to his side; he continued their dance around each other. He tried to flex his hand to make sure there was no serious damage, but only his four fingers moved. His thumb remained unresponsive.

Seeing her prey's blood and the way he held his arm close to his side, Aisha took the offensive, aggressively lunging and clawing at him, trying to force him into making a mistake and leaving himself open to an attack. But it was Aisha who got too close as the Saurian swiped the dagger from left to right and sliced Aisha across the face. The tigress retreated several steps, shaking her head and blinking vigorously to get the blood out of her eyes.

"Augh!" Turner yelled. "No, Miss Aisha!" He lowered his binoculars and squeezed his eyes shut. "I can't take this anymore. If only I could do something to help..." Suddenly, an idea flashed in his brain. "Shit! Why didn't I think of it before?"

He ran to the ATV and opened the side compartment over the rear wheel. "Yes!" He pulled out a long rectangular case. Carrying it to the edge of the cliff, he set it down and opened it. Inside was a long-range, high-energy plasma rifle. It had been on order since the Space Forces were originally assigned the Cielo Rojo six years ago, but it only arrived a week ago. He pulled out the tripod stand and mounted the rifle on it. Then he pulled out the manual and quickly started flipping through the pages. "Hang in there, Miss Aisha, help is coming."

The Saurian taunted the tigress with his injured arm, waving it in her face and using it as a club when she got too close. He knew it was otherwise useless to him, but if he could get her to clamp down on it, it would give him the opening he needed to strike with his dagger. To his disappointment, Aisha was too smart to fall for the tactic, though getting bopped on the head repeatedly made it very tempting. Instead, she concentrated on attacking his vital points while avoiding the dragonite dagger. The wound on her shoulder had stopped bleeding and the pain was all but gone, at least during this heightened time of anxiety.

As she continued to circle him to his right, to avoid the blade of the dagger, she responded instantly when Renik stumbled on a small patch of rocks. Lunging forward, she bit down on his right side of his torso, shaking her head vigorously to tear as much flesh as possible, and just as quickly releasing and leaping away the instant she felt the tip of the blade slice the hairs on the back of her neck. But as swift as she was, Aisha was unable to avoid injury as blood trickled down to her chest from the back of her neck. Taking a few extra steps away from her prey, she shook her head from side to side and up and down, testing the muscles along her neck to evaluate the seriousness of her wound. Satisfied that it was nothing serious, she advanced on her adversary with a new resolve, wanting to end this quickly.

Turner connected the cables from the system controller to the rifle and flipped the switch that powered up the plasma energy emitter. Scanning the manual once more, he grabbed a cartridge and inserted it into the rifle. Taking a quick look through his binoculars, the deputy could see Aisha and Renik still engaged in mortal combat. Quickly, he enabled the targeting system and the monitor above the controller came to life. Following the manual's instructions, Turner calibrated the targeting system. "Just a little bit longer, Miss Aisha. Just a little bit longer."

Aisha withdrew again, her upper chest and neck were covered in blood, some hers, some not. Blood dripped from her mouth as she panted for air. The Saurian's face, shoulders and torso were also covered in blood. Gasping for air as well, Renik spoke.

"I must say, of all the creatures I've fought and killed over the years, you are truly my finest opponent. I don't know if you can understand me in your current form but I salute you. If I do die today, at least I know it was by the hands of a worthy adversary."

Both warriors, bleeding and tired, knew the end was near for one of them at least, if not for both. Their patience gone, their strength not far behind, they charged each other for one final assault. Aisha reared up on her hind legs, aiming her lethal jaws at Renik's throat, but the Saurian raised his injured arm and blocked her attack. He then raised the dagger high and thrust it towards the Ctarl Ctarl's side, but she blocked it with her paw. The two combatants struggled to take the advantage and topple the other. With her extra height and weight, Aisha started pushing Renik back, but a false step on some loose gravel caused her to stumble. At that instant, the Saurian immediately took the advantage, driving the feline into the ground. Quickly, he raised his weapon and drove it down, aiming for the feline's throat. The tigress responded just as quickly by sending her jaws up to meet his wrist.

"It's now or never!" Turner yelled. Having set his target, he pressed the firing button. A bright flash of light shot out of the rifle in the direction of the two warriors. In almost the same instant, an electro-magnetic pulse engulfed the entire ridge where the deputy was set up.

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AN: Sorry for the cliffhanger ending to part 1. Didn't want to end it like this but I really wanted to post something already and it would have taken too long to write the rest. I hope you've enjoyed this much so far. I'll try and get part 2 out as soon as I can.

Part of the delay in getting this portion out was Anime Reactor. Yes, the second anime con in the Chicagoland area was just this past weekend. While it's much smaller than Anime Central, it was still lots of fun, especially since I got to spend plenty of time with my wonderful beta-reader, Janice, who by the way did another fantastic job for me cleaning up this chapter. Thanks Janice, you're the best. Hugs and Kisses

I bought plenty of anime at the con, Bubblegum Crisis 2040, Record of Lodoss War (OVA), Puni Puni Poemy, Tenchi Forever (the 3rd movie), and the second boxset of Nadia. I'll be getting the Escaflowne Perfect Collection this weekend. I can't wait!

If you have a chance to go to an anime convention, by all means go. You won't regret it.

Oh, by the way, when Aisha makes the comment that she's killed hundreds of reptilian life forms before, that is a reference to my other OLS fic, "The Rise before the Fall". If you want to know what she's talking about, go take a look at that fic. And be sure to leave a review.

A. Amishi