A/N Yay! I can finally update. My stupid computer wouldn't let me update
for about three months. It sucked. But now I can update.
Disclaimer: I do not own Galactica or Strife. Both belong to AlphaBlades.
~*~*~*~*
Maki couldn't believe how difficult it was to find a job. Although, she did not have very many positive qualities for an employee, but she could change that. She just had to keep her temper in check and seem like she knew what she was doing. And that was another problem. She had barely any skills except for combat and mechanic skills. And Galactica seemed to need neither.
She moved the cartridges in her left pocket around, wondering what to do with them. Strife had been so kind to 'lend' her his trench coat and then forget about it. However, the cartridges were .9mm and shotgun shells, and she possessed neither type of gun. Well, perhaps she could sell them for a decent amount of wong. Though, it didn't seem likely that she would be able to sell them here, so she still needed to find a job.
Her boots clicked on the smooth pavement and the black trench coat dragged a bit on the ground. Damn, Strife was tall. Well, she was more short than he was tall, but the trench coat was still much too long on her. However, she had not the skills nor the time to hem up the edges. She would just have to deal with it until she had enough excess cash to buy new clothes. Unfortunately, all of her old clothes on the Venus Eclipse had been ruined by mold and dust.
A large white sign caught her attention. In large red letters it read: HELP WANTED. NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY. She immediately bolted into the store. It was a pizzeria. Well, she wasn't the worst cook, so maybe this could work out.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
She hung the trench coat on the coat rack, leaving her caster inside a large pocket. If trouble presented itself, at least she wouldn't be completely defenseless. The manager seemed to take pity on her and gave her a position taking orders at the counter. And, he did not mind her absence of a shirt. In fact, he was quite open to the fact. She figured it was a good way to attract customers, or at least a good way to keep the boss happy. Whichever way worked to her advantage. Though, if he laid a hand on her the wrong way, it would be gone in less than a second.
Today was a busy day for the pizzeria. All six registers were in use, and even then the lines were nearly out the door. Maki replaced one of the people at the registers and began taking orders. On one of her five minute breaks, the boss stopped her.
"Maki, could you manage to smile even a little? You look like you're in prison."
Maki did not like to smile, or at least not when she wasn't very happy. "Sorry about that. I'll try."
"I'll be watching you. Now, get back to work."
"Yes sir." She wanted to hit him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
She managed to endure an hour of slight smiling and then she took her lunch break. The other employees taking their lunch breaks talked a little with her, but stopped after she ignored them. She was still not in a talkative mood. She was still getting adjusted to the fact that she had been in cryostasis for thirty years and her best friend was dead. Besides, there was no point in befriending people who would have little to do with her life after she made enough money to get the Venus Eclipse repaired.
"Maki, Maki, Maki! Someone's messing with your jacket. Seems like they found something in one of the pockets," one of the employees said.
Maki jumped up immediately and raced to the back, where the coats and belongings of employees were placed. A young, slender man pulled her caster out of one of the trench coat's pockets and ran out the door. Shit, she thought. Seems her caster is still valuable thirty years into the future.
She thought as she ran after the man. That caster was priceless to her and no one would steal it and get away with it. She could care less about her job right now. Memories from her past were far and few between, and the caster was one of those rare memories. The first man she had ever loved, Tuno Fardrect, had given it to her. In fact, it was the only thing he had ever given her, except for her life of course.
The man was a fast little bastard and agile too. He weaved in and out of buildings and his legs did not give up on him, even when he was on the outskirts of town. But, neither did Maki's. She hunted him down and finally caught up with him at the edge of a cliff. Why he would have chosen to run to a cliff, she had no idea, but he was hers now.
She extended her hand towards the man and flicked her wrist. "Give the caster back to me now, give me a damn good explanation why you stole it, and perhaps I won't injure, severely."
The man edged back. "I can't give it back. I need the money to help my family." His eyes were solid and betrayed him. Maki laughed.
"You truly expect me to believe that? That is the most pathetic attempt of a lie I have ever witnessed. At least look like you're sad and have a weak voice. You just said it so damn plain, it made me laugh. Now, give the caster back to me, or I shall snap your collarbone." It was his turn to laugh.
"A woman like you, break my collarbone? Please. Now that's a pathetic lie."
"It would only be pathetic if it weren't true, but it is. Now, give it back."
He stepped to the edge of the cliff. "Sorry. No can do." He slipped off the edge. Maki rushed over, but she saw nothing. She checked the area but didn't see him. He was going to be down there, though. She quickly ran off to find a safe route down to the base of the cliff.
The man snickered from under the ledge. What an idiot, he though. He repelled down the cliff face, heading down to the space docks below.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The man made his way to a large black ship and went the elevator that would take him up to it. He was about to punch in the code when the woman whose caster he stole knocked him aside. "Do you honestly think I'm that dumb?"
"Yes. RIFT!" he yelled. From the black ship emerged a well-built man who was at least half a foot taller than she was. He scaled the elevator framework and landed in front of the other man. "Babe, you should get out of here. My big brother Rift will kick your ass."
Did he just call her 'babe'? Oh, that was not a wise decision. And Rift seemed to notice. "Davis, you should never call a pissed off woman 'babe'. She'll kill you." Rift seemed the complete opposite of his younger brother Davis. For one thing, he was muscular and had black hair, while Davis lacked muscles and had blond hair. As well, Rift seemed to know how to deal with women better.
"You really think that puny teenager could kill me? I doubt it."
"Well I don't. Now shut up." He turned to Maki, who really wanted to kick someone's ass. "What did Davis do to you?"
"He stole my caster and I want it back. And believe me, I have enough energy to take it with full force if I have to, though you probably don't want to deal with me then, now do you?"
Rift smiled and laughed quietly. "I suppose not. Although, I don't know why he would want to steal a caster. They are all at least thirty to forty years old and most likely in poor shape. As well, the shells are very expensive and hard to find. Are you quite sure he stole a caster from you?"
"Yes, I'm quite sure. It's a Shockwave caster, and it's in near perfect condition." She clenched her fists. Rift noticed.
"I see why he would steal it. Shockwave casters in mint condition are worth a good one billion wong. Which begs the question: why didn't you sell it yourself?" He stopped her before she could answer. "The answer is that it holds sentimental value to you, am I correct?"
"Yes, you are. Now give it back!" She was ready to attack him
"I see you are willing to fight for it. Well then, if you can defeat me, you can have your caster back, but if I defeat you, we get to keep the caster. Deal?"
She shook her head. "If I win, you give me back my caster and you pay for the repairs to my ship. If I lose, you may keep the caster and whatever interests you on my ship. Deal?" Rift nodded.
"Well then, shall we begin?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N Okay, so not much happening through most of this chapter. Sorry about that, but the soon the chapters will get really interesting. This is what happens when your computer won't let you log in. Well, I'll try to update soon, if anybody still cares.
Disclaimer: I do not own Galactica or Strife. Both belong to AlphaBlades.
~*~*~*~*
Maki couldn't believe how difficult it was to find a job. Although, she did not have very many positive qualities for an employee, but she could change that. She just had to keep her temper in check and seem like she knew what she was doing. And that was another problem. She had barely any skills except for combat and mechanic skills. And Galactica seemed to need neither.
She moved the cartridges in her left pocket around, wondering what to do with them. Strife had been so kind to 'lend' her his trench coat and then forget about it. However, the cartridges were .9mm and shotgun shells, and she possessed neither type of gun. Well, perhaps she could sell them for a decent amount of wong. Though, it didn't seem likely that she would be able to sell them here, so she still needed to find a job.
Her boots clicked on the smooth pavement and the black trench coat dragged a bit on the ground. Damn, Strife was tall. Well, she was more short than he was tall, but the trench coat was still much too long on her. However, she had not the skills nor the time to hem up the edges. She would just have to deal with it until she had enough excess cash to buy new clothes. Unfortunately, all of her old clothes on the Venus Eclipse had been ruined by mold and dust.
A large white sign caught her attention. In large red letters it read: HELP WANTED. NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY. She immediately bolted into the store. It was a pizzeria. Well, she wasn't the worst cook, so maybe this could work out.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
She hung the trench coat on the coat rack, leaving her caster inside a large pocket. If trouble presented itself, at least she wouldn't be completely defenseless. The manager seemed to take pity on her and gave her a position taking orders at the counter. And, he did not mind her absence of a shirt. In fact, he was quite open to the fact. She figured it was a good way to attract customers, or at least a good way to keep the boss happy. Whichever way worked to her advantage. Though, if he laid a hand on her the wrong way, it would be gone in less than a second.
Today was a busy day for the pizzeria. All six registers were in use, and even then the lines were nearly out the door. Maki replaced one of the people at the registers and began taking orders. On one of her five minute breaks, the boss stopped her.
"Maki, could you manage to smile even a little? You look like you're in prison."
Maki did not like to smile, or at least not when she wasn't very happy. "Sorry about that. I'll try."
"I'll be watching you. Now, get back to work."
"Yes sir." She wanted to hit him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
She managed to endure an hour of slight smiling and then she took her lunch break. The other employees taking their lunch breaks talked a little with her, but stopped after she ignored them. She was still not in a talkative mood. She was still getting adjusted to the fact that she had been in cryostasis for thirty years and her best friend was dead. Besides, there was no point in befriending people who would have little to do with her life after she made enough money to get the Venus Eclipse repaired.
"Maki, Maki, Maki! Someone's messing with your jacket. Seems like they found something in one of the pockets," one of the employees said.
Maki jumped up immediately and raced to the back, where the coats and belongings of employees were placed. A young, slender man pulled her caster out of one of the trench coat's pockets and ran out the door. Shit, she thought. Seems her caster is still valuable thirty years into the future.
She thought as she ran after the man. That caster was priceless to her and no one would steal it and get away with it. She could care less about her job right now. Memories from her past were far and few between, and the caster was one of those rare memories. The first man she had ever loved, Tuno Fardrect, had given it to her. In fact, it was the only thing he had ever given her, except for her life of course.
The man was a fast little bastard and agile too. He weaved in and out of buildings and his legs did not give up on him, even when he was on the outskirts of town. But, neither did Maki's. She hunted him down and finally caught up with him at the edge of a cliff. Why he would have chosen to run to a cliff, she had no idea, but he was hers now.
She extended her hand towards the man and flicked her wrist. "Give the caster back to me now, give me a damn good explanation why you stole it, and perhaps I won't injure, severely."
The man edged back. "I can't give it back. I need the money to help my family." His eyes were solid and betrayed him. Maki laughed.
"You truly expect me to believe that? That is the most pathetic attempt of a lie I have ever witnessed. At least look like you're sad and have a weak voice. You just said it so damn plain, it made me laugh. Now, give the caster back to me, or I shall snap your collarbone." It was his turn to laugh.
"A woman like you, break my collarbone? Please. Now that's a pathetic lie."
"It would only be pathetic if it weren't true, but it is. Now, give it back."
He stepped to the edge of the cliff. "Sorry. No can do." He slipped off the edge. Maki rushed over, but she saw nothing. She checked the area but didn't see him. He was going to be down there, though. She quickly ran off to find a safe route down to the base of the cliff.
The man snickered from under the ledge. What an idiot, he though. He repelled down the cliff face, heading down to the space docks below.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The man made his way to a large black ship and went the elevator that would take him up to it. He was about to punch in the code when the woman whose caster he stole knocked him aside. "Do you honestly think I'm that dumb?"
"Yes. RIFT!" he yelled. From the black ship emerged a well-built man who was at least half a foot taller than she was. He scaled the elevator framework and landed in front of the other man. "Babe, you should get out of here. My big brother Rift will kick your ass."
Did he just call her 'babe'? Oh, that was not a wise decision. And Rift seemed to notice. "Davis, you should never call a pissed off woman 'babe'. She'll kill you." Rift seemed the complete opposite of his younger brother Davis. For one thing, he was muscular and had black hair, while Davis lacked muscles and had blond hair. As well, Rift seemed to know how to deal with women better.
"You really think that puny teenager could kill me? I doubt it."
"Well I don't. Now shut up." He turned to Maki, who really wanted to kick someone's ass. "What did Davis do to you?"
"He stole my caster and I want it back. And believe me, I have enough energy to take it with full force if I have to, though you probably don't want to deal with me then, now do you?"
Rift smiled and laughed quietly. "I suppose not. Although, I don't know why he would want to steal a caster. They are all at least thirty to forty years old and most likely in poor shape. As well, the shells are very expensive and hard to find. Are you quite sure he stole a caster from you?"
"Yes, I'm quite sure. It's a Shockwave caster, and it's in near perfect condition." She clenched her fists. Rift noticed.
"I see why he would steal it. Shockwave casters in mint condition are worth a good one billion wong. Which begs the question: why didn't you sell it yourself?" He stopped her before she could answer. "The answer is that it holds sentimental value to you, am I correct?"
"Yes, you are. Now give it back!" She was ready to attack him
"I see you are willing to fight for it. Well then, if you can defeat me, you can have your caster back, but if I defeat you, we get to keep the caster. Deal?"
She shook her head. "If I win, you give me back my caster and you pay for the repairs to my ship. If I lose, you may keep the caster and whatever interests you on my ship. Deal?" Rift nodded.
"Well then, shall we begin?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N Okay, so not much happening through most of this chapter. Sorry about that, but the soon the chapters will get really interesting. This is what happens when your computer won't let you log in. Well, I'll try to update soon, if anybody still cares.