A/N: Please don't kill me. I know it's been more than a year since I updated this fic. However, I just bought the Outlaw Star anime, and have just finished watching it. (I love the intro.) Anyway, having not updated it for so long, I've become a better writer, and I have plenty of ideas. I hope to be updating this fic regularly, at least once or twice a month. (I hope.)

Disclaimer: Strife, and this time-frame, belong to AlphaBlades.

She sighed and laid back in the chair. Damn Strife, never knew when to check his messages. There had been no communication between her and the Outlaw Star in over three months. Personally, she assumed Strife had his head up his ass, or was dead. Either way, he was not replying to her. Though, that did not explain why the other crew members of the Outlaw Star were ignoring her messages.

The first message she had sent him had merely been a quick how-do-you-do and info about his new coat. However, after there was no response to that message, she sent the Outlaw Star a message every week to find out about them and their whereabouts...And nothing had come back to her.

"Incoming message." The chair creaked as she whipped up, her heart pounding in anticipation. Was it the Outlaw Star?

"Patch it through." Not the Outlaw Star, then. It was a merchant vessel. Her heart sank.

"Captain of the Venus Eclipse, I hate to sound imposing, but my ship is experiencing engine failure, and I was wondering if it would be at all possible to tow us to a station nearby." And the man quickly added: "For payment, of course."

"The security at Migong Station already informed of your situation. Unfortunately, I'm contracted out to them, so I'm afraid your payment to them will probably be steeper than if I had just happened by. My apologies." This was boring. Sure, she had had plenty of money left in her savings accounts, until The Venus Eclipse's hull plating suddenly decided to crack upon entry into Misong. Apparently thirty years in sub-zero conditions had weakened the hull plating, and with multiple entries and lift-offs, the plating couldn't handle it anymore. Unfortunately, the cost of replacing every bit of external metal had used up most of her savings, so now she had to work. It wasn't much different than a few months ago, accept that at that time she had no access to her accounts. "Please prepare for guidance wire impact in three, two, one, impact."

Migong Station easily held the Venus Eclipse and the merchant vessel, in one dock. The merchant vessel, however, was taken away to a separate dock for repairs. Once she stepped outside the main hatch, a man in uniform showed her the transfer of the 1500 wong into her account and was then on his way. There was no reason for her to stay in the station, now that she had sufficient wong for the fuel to and the docking expenses at Heiphon City.

"I just received launch clearance from the flight room. Are we leaving now?" Vena asked as Maki sat down in the flight chair. No matter how long Vena had been dormant, she still managed to sound almost more than an AI.

The chair was still as uncomfortable as ever, with no cushions to speak of. "Yes, we are. Prepare engines and the ether drives."

"And our destination?"

"Heiphon City."

As far as cities were concerned, Heiphon City was one of the largest and noisiest ones she had ever been to. It was not her first time here, but it certainly had been a long while. The last time she had been here was because of the Fourteenth Heiphon Space Race; she wondered if they were still carrying on that tradition. No matter, it was the wrong time of year for it anyway. She had business to attend to.

The Lowe's office building had hardly changed over the years, except maybe for being a bit pinker than she remembered. Fred Lowe had been a man she had only met once, but he seemed honorable enough. Besides, he was too young back then to have died on her in thirty years, she hoped.

When she walked in all the shiny metal made her dizzy. That was something new to her. Sure, weapons changed all the time, but for most it was a gradual change; she had not been into a large weapons store since coming out of cryostasis. She grabbed her bearings and made them stick as she walked across the display room.

"Do you have an appointment?" Two guards in black suits were positioned on either side of the doorway at the end of the display room.

"Yes, as 1300 hours for Ms. Zouw." The guards checked the name and the time in a handheld computer and then directed her to a chair to the side of the door since she was early.

Not long after the door opened to let out a few men and the guards directed her inside. "Ah, good day, Ms...Zouw? That's an odd name? Is it real?" Fred Lowe, no, someone too young to be Fred, sat behind the desk and held out his arm towards the chair in front of him.

"It's German," she said nonchalantly as she sat down in the chair. Was it just the oddness of her name that made him ask, or did she still have a reputation to deal with? Fifty-million wong was a big motivator to take up bounty hunting. "You are not Fred Lowe. Are you acquainted with him?"

"He's my father. Now, Ms. Zouw, what is it that you are looking for? You did not specify when you made the appointment." He did not look like Fred, but then again he was probably adopted. She at least knew that Fred had had an interest in Gene Starwind, and was probably full-on gay. Therefore, the only was for his family to not disown him would be to adopt a son...it made sense.

"I am not looking for weapons. Actually, I had hoped to speak with your father. You see, he has connections to people that I wish to contact, and I wanted to know if he had heard from them."

The man sat back in his chair, his hand on his chin. "Ms. Zouw, would you give me the name of the party you are interested in? Perhaps I can be of some help."

"The crew of the Outlaw Star." His manner changes drastically, his body becoming defensive, protective.

"I am sorry, but I cannot tell you anything about them. If you have no other business, I bid you a good afternoon."

He knew something, she thought as she walked out the office. He knew something but was not about to tell her. Something had happened to the Outlaw Star and/or her crew, and she had to find out what.

A/N: For those of you who have read this, kudos. That probably means you're actually happy for another chapter to have been put up...Or you want to yell at me for taking so long. I hope you enjoyed it.