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"Chapter Four: Smooth Criminal"
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The next week passed in a relatively slow fashion. Jobs came in, but sluggishly, and both Jim and Hilda were wondering how smart of a choice Heiphon had been. Oh sure, they were practically invisible with all the other people that populated the city planet, but it seemed that everyone had learned to manage their problems on their own, much to the annoyance of the crew of the Outlaw Star.
Hilda saw Harry a few times, but nothing like their first get together (she refused to call it a date - no emotional connections for an Outlaw. It was too dangerous). Today however, was an exception. She'd agreed to meet him out by the docking bays. It was an odd place to meet, but the bays had been built near a lot of unused space, so it was very pretty. Grass still grew.
So there she sat. Dressed in a short red skirt, black tank top and army boots, she was laying back on the grass, her arm folded beneath her head and her gaze fixed firmly on the smoke trail left by a departing ship. They would be departing the next day. This was going to be her good-bye to Harry.
If he ever shows up she thought, an impatient sigh escaping her lips. She sat herself up and checked her watch. He was almost a half an hour late, and Hilda wasn't what you would call the patient type.
"Hilda!"
She turned at the sound of her name and smiled despite her annoyance. Harry was running towards her, as fast as he could it seemed. When he finally reached her, he doubled over, breathing heavily. "I'm...so...sorry..." he said between gasps.
Hilda laughed. "It's all right, I haven't been here all that long anyway."
Harry lanced up at her and smiled, his violet eyes lighting with relief. "Good. I'd hate to keep you waiting." He seated himself down next to her and looked up at the smoke trail she had just been observing. "You said you had something that you wanted to talk with me about?"
Hilda took a deep breath, watching his profile. His gaze was intent on the sky. Hilda wasn't quite sure how she should tell him. Should I be soft? Maybe try to soften the blow somehow? In the end, she settled for the direct approach. "I'm leaving tomorrow. I'm not sure where we're going, but I doubt that I'll see you again."
"You're going to find the Galactic Leiline, aren't you?"
Hilda was halfway through her nod when what he had said actually hit her. And when it did, it was like a physical slap. She jumped to her feet and whirled on him, her hand going to rest on the every-present gun holster resting her hips. "How the hell do you know about the Galactic Leiline?!?"
Slowly, he turned his gaze on her, a smile crossing his features and making him look almost evil. No, not almost. He looked downright villainous. "Why, my dear Hilda, I'm the one helping my brother find it..."
"You're brother?"
"Yeah, his brother."
Hilda went rigid. She felt the hard muzzle of a gun rest against the back of her head. She recognized the voice and her blood ran cold. "Ronald McDougall."
"Nice to finally meet you in person, Ms. Starwind."
"Wish I could say the same to you," murmured Hilda, her eyes narrowing as she fixed her gaze on Harry. His face seemed to soften, and he stepped up to his brother. "Ron, do we really have to do this? I like her..." he said.
Hilda couldn't believe what she was hearing. One minute he was the ideal lover, then betrayer, then a little boy asking for his favorite toy to be spared some unspeakable fate. Her memory began to work backwards, to when she was only four or five and both of her parents were still alive...
I still remember him."
Gene turned on his heel, being careful not to jar the four year old Hilda, who sat atop his shoulders. "Remember who?" he asked, a confused expression on his face. The expression turned to pain when Young Hilda tugged on a chunk of her father's hair. "Ow! Hilda, don't do that."
"Sowwy Daddy!"
Melfina smiled and took Hilda from her father's shoulders. She placed the little girl on the floor and held her hand as the three continued walking. She turned her attention back on Gene and sighed. "Harry McDougall."
"Now why would you waste time thinking about him?"
"Yeah Mommy! Waste time!" interjected Hilda, mimicking her father.
"I just feel sorry for him. He was so damaged. And in the end there was that glimmer of goodness..."
That's right. Harry was damaged: mentally. That's why he had seemed so sincere in his actions with her -- part of him WAS sincere about it. Hilda forced herself from doing anything that would wind up getting her shot. As long as Ron McDougall had that gun to her head, he was the boss.
"All right, Ms. Starwind. Now let's go for a walk. We're gonna need the access codes for the entrance and computer of the Outlaw Star."
"I don't think so."
Hilda didn't dare turn around, but she felt a rush of air and heard a muffled cry that she assumed was Ron. She raised her weapon and fired two shots at Harry. The bullets made a metallic clang as they hit and...
...ricocheted off of him!
"That can't be..." murmured Hilda, her eyes wide and her gun still raised. On Harry's shoulder, where the bullets had grazed, the skin was shredded to reveal metal and wiring. Synthetic skin... Holy shit, he's an android! In the back of her mind, the small, humorous voice commented, Well, you know some parts that aren't metallic, eh?!?
"What are you doing? Run!" said a new voice, this one decidedly feminine. A hand grabbed Hilda's wrist and pulled her along at a brisk sprint. For a while Hilda kept her gaze trained on Harry, but she soon turned her attention to the person who was still holding her wrist. "I think I can run on my own now," she announced, and was rewarded with the release of her wrist. She increased her speed slightly and studied her rescuer. "You're a Ctral-ctral!"
The cat woman turned and smiled, but kept running. "Yep. And if you have a problem with it, we can fight over it later. The name's Aisha Clan-clan."
"Not the Aisha that fought along with Gene Starwind."
"The same. Why?"
Both women rounded the elevator building located next to the Outlaw Star and climbed into the lift. As the gate closed and the lift moved, Hilda turned to offer Aisha a hand shake. "I'm Hilda Starwind."
Aisha's eyes lit with a suspicious and somewhat excited glint. "So, Gene was a busy boy! And I'm surprised Melfina had the capabilities. How are they, by the way?"
"They died."
The gate to the lift slid open and the both ran out onto the platform leading to the Outlaw Star. "Oh geeze. I'm sorry," replied Aisha, a sincere look on her feline face.
"You'll be a lot sorrier when you're dead!" Harry jumped off the scaffolding and landed neatly in front of them.
"He climbed the damn shaft?!?" cried Aisha.
Hilda didn't give her a response. She leveled her gun at him and began firing, each bullet driving him back a bit. "Harry, if there's something you should have learned from my father, you don't fuck with a Starwind!" She ran up to him, still firing, and carefully counting her shots. The gun she was using could only carry twenty bullets, while the one in her ankle holster had only twelve.
Aisha watched her and smiled slightly. "She's my kind of girl." She sprinted behind Hilda and entered the Outlaw Star. Without hesitating, she sprinted to the cockpit. "Gilliam, Hilda's in trouble." She jumped up into her old seat, relishing the feeling of nostalgia as she swung her control board to rest in front of her.
"Aisha. It is nice to see you again after so--"
"No time for pleasantries Gilliam. When I said trouble, I mean trouble. Give me outboard cameras and laser cannons one and six need to be online."
Z
click...click...click
Outside, Hilda was horrified to see that she was out of ammo. Harry, however, wore a smug grin on his face. "Well, looky here. The little girl's all out of ammo." He stood up and suddenly his right arm (the one with the most damage) fell off, and five tentacle-like extensions whipped out. With an insane laugh, he swung the extensions and hit Hilda with a force that sent her skidding backwards along the platform. She rolled and almost fell off, but she stopped herself. Falling seventy feet down wouldn't be a good thing. She tried to push herself to her feet, but she was hit again. This time she was thrown into the grating on the lift. White pain exploded in her head, and she could feel the warm blood trickling down the back of her neck. Not good...
She pushed herself to her feet, then leaned forward a bit, dismayed to feel the blood now run over her forehead and down her face. She looked up, trying to find Harry, but her vision was blurring. She fell to her knees, shaking her head in an effort to clear her vision. but it didn't help.
As if someone had hit a light switch, Harry stopped. "Oh no. Hilda! I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't want to..." He ran to her and knelt down, sliding a hand around her shoulders. "I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you, I like you. Come on, we'll get some help."
Z
"Aisha, what's going on?"
Jim's voice through the comm link sounded far away. Aisha was too busy concentrating on the aiming mechanism of the laser. "Hilda got attacked. I would suggest that you and Suzuka haul ass and get down here. We'll be leaving soon."
"Be there in ten."
On the video screen, Aisha watched as Harry kneeled down next to Hilda. The targeting on the laser was taking so long. Finally, it locked on. "Ciao."
She fired.
Z
There was a bright flash of light, then Hilda heard Harry scream. Her vision had cleared a bit and when she looked up she saw Harry, hanging off the side of the platform.
Get up Hilda, her mind screamed. This could be your only chance to escape.
With an extreme amount of effort, she climbed to her feet and tried to run, but only managed to stumble. She pressed a few keys on the pad beside the port and fell into the Outlaw Star, relief flooding her at the sound of the door sliding closed. It was the last sound she heard before she slipped beneath the darkness that came so enfold her.
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