It had been a week since Jet learned of his partner's death and it felt like an eternity to him. The days just seemed to drag by on the giant ship that was only occupied by Jet since Faye had left only a few hours before Jet learned of Spike's fate. Ed had disappeared as did Ein, Faye was gone and no one knew if she'd return, and Spike had been killed by Vicious which left only Jet. He considered selling the ship and giving up bounty hunting, but he figured it was a good way to make money so he kept the ship. He found it much easier without Faye and Spike wandering around looking for food of free repairs to their ships, and a lot lonelier. Many attempts at blind internet dating and clubbing had proved a failure time after time.
"Cheer up Jet!" his friends told him time after time. Jet decided to give up on the dating scene and just find someone to share the ship with after a food fight broke out in an expensive restaurant. He went from planet to planet and searched for anyone who could actually be a possibility as a shipmate. People came to the ship and some of them he just couldn't stand, some couldn't stand him until one cool night at a seaside port on earth.
"Damn it, I'm sick and tired of having such a huge ship. I'm trading that damned thing in for something smaller and more fuel efficient!" he said as he made his way into a marketplace. He grumbled to himself as he pushed his way through to get food and supplies for him and his ship when he heard a beautiful melody. He'd never heard anything like it before, not even the type of instrument. Before he knew it, it had stopped and he was being pushed around the market again. "What was that? Where was it coming from, it was beautiful!" he wondered as he continued through the market in a better mood than he had arrived. By the time he had left, he had the tune playing repeatedly in his head and was even humming to the parts he could remember. He walked through the dark and empty streets to the docks and as he came closer to the docks, he began to hear the melody again. The sweet and soft twangs echoed through the deserted streets and only made it sound more haunting and beautiful. He continued through the streets hoping to find the source of the harmonic sound. He found that as he came closer to the docks, the sound grew only louder. He continued walking as if he was heading back to the ship and the sound grew louder still. Jet emerged to the fairly empty area to see a lone silhouette sitting on the edge of one of the piers with their feet dangling over the edge, dipping in the water with every passing wave. A pair of boots sat nearby on the weathered wooden planks as the figure's hair flowed gracefully in the cool breeze. It seemed to be a female that sat there looking up at the moon as she strummed on her instrument. The sound of many dull twangs produced a warm and comforting sound, but as quickly as it was played, it was played again in a cold and sad sound. It went back to being bright and warm when the voice began to sing.
"The moon is full, and my arms are empty. All night long I pleaded and cried. You always said, the day that you would leave me would be a cold day in July." She sang sadly. The instrument sounded so bright and cheerful, yet the singer sounded so sad. Jet stood and listened, holding his bags of supplies and food, listening to the girl sing her song. He stood there a good 5 minutes as she finished her song. As she ended, Jet placed his bags on the ground and applauded as the instrument fell silent. A face turned and looked at him. She looked so sad and scared, but maybe it was just the surprise of the sound of applause.
"That was amazing! How did you do that?" Jet asked as he picked up his bags and walked toward her. She didn't know what to do so she removed the strap of the instrument and placed it on the pier beside her. As Jet drew closer, he could see her more clearly. She was a young girl, maybe 18 or so with long, straight, coppery-red hair and blue eyes. Steel blue, almost silver. Her face was dirtied and her clothes were tattered and worn. She looked very thin and pale.
"It's a family heirloom. It's been in the family since the 1900's." she said timidly as if she didn't know whether he was going to steal it or hurt her. She was very apprehensive as if she was in danger while she was talking to Jet.
"Oh, don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you or anything, I just heard the sound of that thing and I had to find out where it was coming from. It was just so beautiful and soothing, I had to find what was making it." he said as he sat down beside her. She didn't know what to do.
"Uh, thanks. It's an instrument called a guitar." She explained becoming a little more social and open. "It makes noise by the vibration of the wire wound strings in the body of the instrument and changing the length of the piece of the string that's allowed to vibrate." she held it in her lap and played several different notes as she moved her fingers up and down the neck of the instrument.
"That's amazing! And you say its been passed down in your family since the 1900's?" Jet asked as he became entranced by the sound again. The girl nodded.
"I believe since 1952. It's all I have left of anything."
"What do you mean?
"I lost both of my parents when I was young. All I had then was this guitar and a few clothes when I was sent to an orphanage. I hated it there and ran away from it when I was 16 with the clothes on my back and the guitar. I've played for the money for food and an occasional piece of clothing, but mostly the clothing is stolen." She said sadly as she told her story.
"That's a shame. You have nowhere to live?"
"No, I sleep in the parks with my guitar or on rooftops. It depends on the weather."
"Well, I understand that because of your past however many years living in the streets that you aren't the type to jump at the chance I'm about to offer, but do you see that large ship over there?" Jet asked as he pointed to his huge ship. The girl nodded. "That's my ship. I'm the only one aboard it and I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me on it. I don't go anywhere in particular; I wander the system looking for bounty…work and jobs…" he said as he caught himself before he said he was a bounty hunter.
"I'm not that kind of girl. I don't do sexual favors." She said disgustedly as she went to get up.
"No! No, I don't mean that at all. It's just that, my partner just died and I have no one else on that huge ship and it gets really lonely. I'll provide you with food, clothing, and shelter, almost like a big brother or something. Please consider coming aboard and living with me?" he practically begged. She looked at him. He didn't look like a bad guy the way he was pleading and asking her to join him.
"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt to go out and see the other places in the universe. Alright, but as soon as I feel unsafe, I'm gone." She said.
"No problem! I'll cook and stuff, you just be a good guest and keep me company. That and play that guitar thing you have, it makes such a beautiful sound." Jet said agreeing. He helped her to her feet as she grabbed her guitar. It wasn't until Jet saw her standing that he realized how tall she was. She had the most graceful and long legs. They weren't too thin or obnoxiously thick or muscular, they were very fitting for her body. She had definitely not been eating much, she was very thin and was pale in the light of the overhead street lamp. "Well, I suppose if we're to be living together, I'd need to know your name." Jet asked. She looked up at him.
"My name? It's been so long since I've ever had to answer that question, it's Alexis. What's yours?" She asked. Jet only smiled.
"Name's Jet, Jet Black and this ship here is 'The Bebop' and I've had it for quite some time. By the way, how old are you?"
"I'm 19, 20 in only 3 weeks." She said happily. "And your age? Or am I not allowed to know that too?" she asked trying to get information about this man that decided to so kindly take her in.
"I'm in my 40's and what do you mean not allowed to know that to? What did I not tell you?" He asked her wondering what she was talking about.
"Wandering around for work and jobs and you have a ship like that? Only one kind of person can have that much money. You're a bounty hunter aren't you?" she asked with a smile. How could she have known? Well, it was useless now.
"You got me, I'm a bounty hunter and my partners were too; the infamous Faye Valentine and Spike Siegel. We wandered around together collecting bounty heads and cashing them in."
"I don't know who they are but at least now I know the truth about you, Jet." She said as he walked her through the corridors being led by the tall and balding man.
"What do you mean at least you know the truth about me?" he asked her curiously.
"I don't like people keeping secrets from me and I actually find out sometimes." She said as they came upon an open area. It looked like a little living area and had 6 doors.
"Well, this is the living area. The computer, T.V., and radio are yours to use freely, just don't steal them for yourself." He said. He pointed to each of the doors. "The first door is the bathroom. It has the necessities but isn't a luxury bathroom. The second door is my bedroom but is seldom used since I'm always piloting the ship. The next two are Spike and Faye's bedrooms and I recommend staying far from them. Faye occasionally returns looking for food or free repairs and Spike's gone for good but don't go in his room anyway. The middle one there is Ed's but she left and took my dog so you can either have her room or the last one. The last one is usually used for storage but it's probably the largest of the rooms." He explained.
"Well, I don't like the idea of taking someone else's room, even if they have left and aren't coming back, so I'll take the last one. I'll move all the stuff so you don't have to worry about me being a bother and having you move stuff." She said as she went to open the door to the last room.
"Oh, no that's alright. I'll do it; you look like you could use a nice, warm shower though. I'll get you some of Faye's clothes to wear until we can go and cash another bounty head and buy you some good clothes." He said as he sat her down on the faded yellow couch. He opened the door to Faye's room and returned a few moments later with a pair of tight, dark blue shorts. He ducked into Spike's room and returned with a large, hooded, gray sweatshirt.
"Thank you so much Jet, its truly kind of you to do this for me." she said with a humble smile.
"It's no problem! And if you need the unmentionables, go into Faye's room and look for them because I figured that's out of bounds for me." he said scratching his head. "Now go shower so I can get the stuff from your room into Ed's old room." He shooed her off to the bathroom. She got into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Jet watched as she shut the door with a smile and started the shower. He immediately got to work setting up her room.
"Cheer up Jet!" his friends told him time after time. Jet decided to give up on the dating scene and just find someone to share the ship with after a food fight broke out in an expensive restaurant. He went from planet to planet and searched for anyone who could actually be a possibility as a shipmate. People came to the ship and some of them he just couldn't stand, some couldn't stand him until one cool night at a seaside port on earth.
"Damn it, I'm sick and tired of having such a huge ship. I'm trading that damned thing in for something smaller and more fuel efficient!" he said as he made his way into a marketplace. He grumbled to himself as he pushed his way through to get food and supplies for him and his ship when he heard a beautiful melody. He'd never heard anything like it before, not even the type of instrument. Before he knew it, it had stopped and he was being pushed around the market again. "What was that? Where was it coming from, it was beautiful!" he wondered as he continued through the market in a better mood than he had arrived. By the time he had left, he had the tune playing repeatedly in his head and was even humming to the parts he could remember. He walked through the dark and empty streets to the docks and as he came closer to the docks, he began to hear the melody again. The sweet and soft twangs echoed through the deserted streets and only made it sound more haunting and beautiful. He continued through the streets hoping to find the source of the harmonic sound. He found that as he came closer to the docks, the sound grew only louder. He continued walking as if he was heading back to the ship and the sound grew louder still. Jet emerged to the fairly empty area to see a lone silhouette sitting on the edge of one of the piers with their feet dangling over the edge, dipping in the water with every passing wave. A pair of boots sat nearby on the weathered wooden planks as the figure's hair flowed gracefully in the cool breeze. It seemed to be a female that sat there looking up at the moon as she strummed on her instrument. The sound of many dull twangs produced a warm and comforting sound, but as quickly as it was played, it was played again in a cold and sad sound. It went back to being bright and warm when the voice began to sing.
"The moon is full, and my arms are empty. All night long I pleaded and cried. You always said, the day that you would leave me would be a cold day in July." She sang sadly. The instrument sounded so bright and cheerful, yet the singer sounded so sad. Jet stood and listened, holding his bags of supplies and food, listening to the girl sing her song. He stood there a good 5 minutes as she finished her song. As she ended, Jet placed his bags on the ground and applauded as the instrument fell silent. A face turned and looked at him. She looked so sad and scared, but maybe it was just the surprise of the sound of applause.
"That was amazing! How did you do that?" Jet asked as he picked up his bags and walked toward her. She didn't know what to do so she removed the strap of the instrument and placed it on the pier beside her. As Jet drew closer, he could see her more clearly. She was a young girl, maybe 18 or so with long, straight, coppery-red hair and blue eyes. Steel blue, almost silver. Her face was dirtied and her clothes were tattered and worn. She looked very thin and pale.
"It's a family heirloom. It's been in the family since the 1900's." she said timidly as if she didn't know whether he was going to steal it or hurt her. She was very apprehensive as if she was in danger while she was talking to Jet.
"Oh, don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you or anything, I just heard the sound of that thing and I had to find out where it was coming from. It was just so beautiful and soothing, I had to find what was making it." he said as he sat down beside her. She didn't know what to do.
"Uh, thanks. It's an instrument called a guitar." She explained becoming a little more social and open. "It makes noise by the vibration of the wire wound strings in the body of the instrument and changing the length of the piece of the string that's allowed to vibrate." she held it in her lap and played several different notes as she moved her fingers up and down the neck of the instrument.
"That's amazing! And you say its been passed down in your family since the 1900's?" Jet asked as he became entranced by the sound again. The girl nodded.
"I believe since 1952. It's all I have left of anything."
"What do you mean?
"I lost both of my parents when I was young. All I had then was this guitar and a few clothes when I was sent to an orphanage. I hated it there and ran away from it when I was 16 with the clothes on my back and the guitar. I've played for the money for food and an occasional piece of clothing, but mostly the clothing is stolen." She said sadly as she told her story.
"That's a shame. You have nowhere to live?"
"No, I sleep in the parks with my guitar or on rooftops. It depends on the weather."
"Well, I understand that because of your past however many years living in the streets that you aren't the type to jump at the chance I'm about to offer, but do you see that large ship over there?" Jet asked as he pointed to his huge ship. The girl nodded. "That's my ship. I'm the only one aboard it and I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me on it. I don't go anywhere in particular; I wander the system looking for bounty…work and jobs…" he said as he caught himself before he said he was a bounty hunter.
"I'm not that kind of girl. I don't do sexual favors." She said disgustedly as she went to get up.
"No! No, I don't mean that at all. It's just that, my partner just died and I have no one else on that huge ship and it gets really lonely. I'll provide you with food, clothing, and shelter, almost like a big brother or something. Please consider coming aboard and living with me?" he practically begged. She looked at him. He didn't look like a bad guy the way he was pleading and asking her to join him.
"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt to go out and see the other places in the universe. Alright, but as soon as I feel unsafe, I'm gone." She said.
"No problem! I'll cook and stuff, you just be a good guest and keep me company. That and play that guitar thing you have, it makes such a beautiful sound." Jet said agreeing. He helped her to her feet as she grabbed her guitar. It wasn't until Jet saw her standing that he realized how tall she was. She had the most graceful and long legs. They weren't too thin or obnoxiously thick or muscular, they were very fitting for her body. She had definitely not been eating much, she was very thin and was pale in the light of the overhead street lamp. "Well, I suppose if we're to be living together, I'd need to know your name." Jet asked. She looked up at him.
"My name? It's been so long since I've ever had to answer that question, it's Alexis. What's yours?" She asked. Jet only smiled.
"Name's Jet, Jet Black and this ship here is 'The Bebop' and I've had it for quite some time. By the way, how old are you?"
"I'm 19, 20 in only 3 weeks." She said happily. "And your age? Or am I not allowed to know that too?" she asked trying to get information about this man that decided to so kindly take her in.
"I'm in my 40's and what do you mean not allowed to know that to? What did I not tell you?" He asked her wondering what she was talking about.
"Wandering around for work and jobs and you have a ship like that? Only one kind of person can have that much money. You're a bounty hunter aren't you?" she asked with a smile. How could she have known? Well, it was useless now.
"You got me, I'm a bounty hunter and my partners were too; the infamous Faye Valentine and Spike Siegel. We wandered around together collecting bounty heads and cashing them in."
"I don't know who they are but at least now I know the truth about you, Jet." She said as he walked her through the corridors being led by the tall and balding man.
"What do you mean at least you know the truth about me?" he asked her curiously.
"I don't like people keeping secrets from me and I actually find out sometimes." She said as they came upon an open area. It looked like a little living area and had 6 doors.
"Well, this is the living area. The computer, T.V., and radio are yours to use freely, just don't steal them for yourself." He said. He pointed to each of the doors. "The first door is the bathroom. It has the necessities but isn't a luxury bathroom. The second door is my bedroom but is seldom used since I'm always piloting the ship. The next two are Spike and Faye's bedrooms and I recommend staying far from them. Faye occasionally returns looking for food or free repairs and Spike's gone for good but don't go in his room anyway. The middle one there is Ed's but she left and took my dog so you can either have her room or the last one. The last one is usually used for storage but it's probably the largest of the rooms." He explained.
"Well, I don't like the idea of taking someone else's room, even if they have left and aren't coming back, so I'll take the last one. I'll move all the stuff so you don't have to worry about me being a bother and having you move stuff." She said as she went to open the door to the last room.
"Oh, no that's alright. I'll do it; you look like you could use a nice, warm shower though. I'll get you some of Faye's clothes to wear until we can go and cash another bounty head and buy you some good clothes." He said as he sat her down on the faded yellow couch. He opened the door to Faye's room and returned a few moments later with a pair of tight, dark blue shorts. He ducked into Spike's room and returned with a large, hooded, gray sweatshirt.
"Thank you so much Jet, its truly kind of you to do this for me." she said with a humble smile.
"It's no problem! And if you need the unmentionables, go into Faye's room and look for them because I figured that's out of bounds for me." he said scratching his head. "Now go shower so I can get the stuff from your room into Ed's old room." He shooed her off to the bathroom. She got into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Jet watched as she shut the door with a smile and started the shower. He immediately got to work setting up her room.