In the Neighborhood

I wonder how long I'll keep this foreman job before they toss me out for jamming a pencil through someone's eye. I'm glad to have steady income for a change and head things up at Regina's mining facility, but frak! I've only held this job for a few months now, but it feels like it's been an eternity. I used to be a gorram space fighter, a gunslinger, a cowboy, a gorram man of action! I needed this vacation somethin' fierce. How anybody could stand this routine grind for a living is beyond me.

But still, after Bianca left to frak knows where, I can't imagine where I would've ended up if I hadn't gone back to Regina, back to the mines. Screw it, not the first time a lady has walked out on me. I reckon I'm just not meant for the life of an average joe. A home, a steady job, a wife, and a pile of kids. Or maybe I just never really wanted any of those things to begin with.

Relieved as I was to get this time off work, just as I hopped into my ship to hit the sky, I realized I had no idea where I should go. At first, I ended up hitting a few bars on Ariel. Figured I'd meet my old contact and ask him for the news, slip him a few plats and maybe make believe I was a bounty hunter again. Apparently the poor bastard was gunned down weeks ago. Hell of a way to start a vacation. Unwilling to let my time off go to waste, I tried sending a wave to Shalimar to see what she was up to nowadays, but couldn't get a hold of her. She's probably still running cargo, everyone's got work for a carrier. So outta nowhere, somethin' possessed me to touch down on Hale's. If only to find out whether or not Seana and hers still held a grudge.

The place has changed pretty drastically. A few colonies have popped up here and there and I saw a lot of unfamiliar faces. At least Fook's was still in tact and relatively unchanged. It was good seeing most of the old Blackburne crew, though not so good when I heard the old town was burned to the ground. Word sure as hell hadn't reached Regina yet. They rebuilt Firefly's just a stone's throw away- which I got no qualms with at all.

I had planned on what I would say when I saw Lily again.. 'cause I knew she'd be there. I wasn't ready for what happened though.. She barely recognized me. Only thing she knew about me was my name. The same Lily who invited me to her house the day I met her for a bath, who I ran off with after Firefly's anniversary party. The same Lily I was in love with for those great months when I first arrived on Hale's Moon. I wasn't by any means expecting a tearful reunion or somethin', but I at least thought we were on good terms, not that we had become total strangers.

She ended up showin' me around the Moon's new settlements and whatnot, and told me a little about that whackjob Mindo and little AuroraBlue. She seemed to remember a few scattered things about our past, like Otto and Aylen and Awenasa. She even remembered Sylph, of all things.. I hadn't even thought of Sylph in months.. Whenever she remembered something, her eyes sorta flashed violet for just a moment, and it was like she had all her memories again. But only for a moment, then she'd go back to her usual self. She told me something like "can't stop the signal, Ben". I don't know what any of this means, or why she's missing bits and pieces of her memory- particularly when I was involved, but I know her memories are in there somewhere, and I feel like I have to help her. The question is where do I start?

Regina and the Wastes

The feds came callin' a little sooner than I had thought. We wasn't four hours outta Paradiso when they hailed us. Askin' about a stolen Firefly loaded with medical supplies.. I got on the horn with some up tight Lieutenant and gave him the usual run around. Said I didn't know what he was talkin' about, that we was just a freelance cargo haulin' crew. He didn't seem to buy it so I gave Lily the OK to rabbit. They gave chase, but with Lily at the helm, there was no catching us. After we were sure we lost 'em, we continued to Regina.

Soon as we broke atmo, I felt my stomach start to tighten.. I hadn't been home for a good five or six years. I was surprisingly nervous, but at the same time, thrilled. I couldn't wait to see Otto and the old gang. I had Lily bring us down a good lotta miles from the town, where I knew we wouldn't be asked for permits or registration for our stolen boat. I grabbed the Pescaline D I 'borrowed' from the boat and we hopped on my motorcycle and zipped off in a storm a' dust.

Terrain-wise, Regina is pretty flat and unexciting. Nothin' but rolling desert from horizon to horizon and the biggest, bluest sky you could picture. Blasting through the desert, the wind beatin' on my face, and Lily holding on behind me, laughin' and grinnin'.. Somehow, despite my lousy memories of this place, I really felt like I was home again. A small crowd had already gathered in the town when we got there, all with hardhats and pickaxes over their shoulders, covered in dirt from the mines. They knew someone was comin' this whole time seein' the trails of dust on the horizon. Lily was quite the spectacle, she had gussied herself up like a princess to look good for Otto.. The fishnet hose she had on was what they was really lookin' at, I imagine. I know I was. My buddies weren't among the crowd, and nobody seemed to recognize me, but that didn't surprise me none. Most of my ol' gang spent their time in the mines and rarely ever came out.

Otto's broken down old shack was the same as it was twenty years ago, cramped and shoddy. He came runnin' out the door to meet us, laughin' and throwin' his arms up in excitement. Age was taking it's toll, I could tell. The couple hairs he had left were tinted white, and his face was covered in wrinkles. All the same, I was overjoyed to see him. The old codger hobbled over to me and threw his arms around me in a big hug, laughin' and fumblin' over his words. I could see Lily's eyes sparklin' while me and Otto bear hugged each other. I introduced her to Otto and they really hit it off. He took her arm in his and started ramblin' about how pretty she was and about me when I was growin' up here. Lily looked just as excited to hear it as Otto was to tell it. I just laughed and followed them into the shack.

Otto fixed us up some delicious tea he made with some quality leaves he was savin' for such a special occasion. For some reason, it felt wonderful seeing Lily and Otto together. Felt like all my family was together at last.. Otto really took to Lily, and her to him. He was so flattered that he nearly cried when Lily gave him the half-eaten chocolate she saved, or at least tried to save for him. I mostly just sat and watched them together, Lily sittin' right on Otto's lap, him tellin' her it's just like the way I used to when I was a kid.. I decided to head out and wander my old stompin' grounds and say hi to a few of the guys, leavin' Otto and Lily to their crazy stories.

I had stepped out into the cold night and headed to the only building that still had lights on, the local tavern. I knew I'd find my old pals there. Walkin' through the door, all the patrons turned their heads. Most still didn't recognize me, but when I spotted my old gang and smirked, they went berserk! They hauled me over to the bar, pattin' my back, punchin' my shoulder, orderin' me a dozen drinks, laughin', screamin' at me for being out of touch for so long. I ain't laughed and grinned like that for a long time.. I didn't realize how much I missed those old bastards.. They was all curious how my bounty hunting career was goin', so I fed 'em all my best stories. Told them about Hale's, Cap and the crew, Blackburne.. even Sylph.. Anyway, they was all jokin' about how I probably couldn't even mine proper no more, so I had to prove 'em wrong on that. So, we staggered out to the mines and they threw me a pick. Turns out mining is like ridin' a bike, ya never forget how it's done. The fellas and I caught up and swapped stories well into the mornin'.

I wish I coulda spent more time there... but right when I walked outta the bar to head to Otto's, I saw Lily runnin' my way. She was lookin' mighty nervous.. sayin' it was "almost time", and that we had to go to the Wastes right away. Bad as I wanted stay, I couldn't convince her.. I knew I couldn't let her go alone, so I just gave up and ran back to Otto's to say goodbye. He was upset to see me go so soon, but he just laughed and said he knew I had a "responsibility to my wife". I had to ask him to tell the guys for me, since Lily wasn't willing to spend another second not headin' toward the wastes. We was off world in our hijacked Firefly and en route to the Wastes in the blink of an eye. I had to catch up on sleep, so I left the flyin' to Lily, which she was fine with.. I got to my bunk and reached into my pack for smokes, and what do I find but the Pescaline I gave to Otto. That selfless, no good geezer snuck it right back into my pack.. You'll pay for that one, pops.

We miraculously didn't run into a single obstacle on our trip to the Wastes, so we was there pretty quick. Lily took me to the underground Blue Sun.. headquarters I guess? Things got a little too bizarre to describe from then on. It looked like some kinda abandoned factory, shattered glass and strange lights all over the place. Lily had me put my hand over some console thing.. which I guess took a sample of my DNA while she touched another console for hers. Then, she took me further underground and she tinkered with some weird devices.. next thing I knew, half her brain was hangin' out. If that wasn't crazy enough, she took me even further into the Blue Sun system and we saw a gigantic, gorram brain. A gigantic, gorram, talking brain. Lily was trying to take some weird consoles or boxes or somethin', despite the giant brain advising against it. I was glad when we left that place, but Lily's brain was still hangin' out.. She said it was supposed to happen, so I just pretended not to see it.

We wandered the Wastes for a spell before we found the Blue Man himself. Or itself, whatever. The whole time, I had a feelin' Lily wasn't plannin' on coming back to Hale's with me.. but she was careful to avoid my questions. She told me it was time for the mating to begin, so I just nodded my head. She left what exactly the 'mating' meant, so at the time I just went with it. Krenshar showed up outta nowhere and filled me in on what it really meant; death. But Lily was hell bent on 'mating' with the Blue Man, so it came down to me physically having to jerk her hand away from the lever that would have sealed the deal. The Blue Man said to me, "You're strong. Not who I would have chosen, but you'll do" or somethin'.. still not sure what that meant and not sure I care. I just wanted to get Lily outta there. The Blue Man kept trying to persuade Lily to mate, but Krenshar and I managed to hold her back until she fainted and the Blue Man vanished.

I hauled Lily out of the Blue Man's place, back out to the wastes. She was suddenly 99% organic apparently.. as much a human as me. I still don't know what happened, but.. I'm glad I was here with her. She was in bad shape though, so I sent a wave to Duncan for an evac. The Cap came through for me, much to my surprise. Wasn't sure what he thought about Lily and me runnin' off the way we did. I was glad to hear from him again, to say the least. Cap showed up with Belize, who was about ready to stick me with one of her syringes before fixin' up Lily. Nevertheless, we boarded Raivenn and sailed back to Hale's. Seana was there waitin' for us, and her and Belize fixed Lily up best as I imagine possible. Her brain was still hangin' out, after all.

All in all, I don't got any regrets about my little adventure with Lily. The folk on Hale's disagree, but that's somethin' I was prepared for when we took off the night of the Anniversary Ball at Firefly's. What mattered most to me was Lily becoming human..

Smooth Criminals

Can't say this was my first robbery, but it was my first with Lily beside me. That fact alone put the whole job in a different category. I've come to learn that with Lily, nothin' can be approached the usual way. Maybe that's why it was so damned easy. We was like one a' those crime couples in those old films back on Earth-that-was. One arm around the other and the other hand holdin' a pistol or a sack a' cash, grinnin' like we was madmen.

Lily wrangled us up some wild horses outside a' Paradiso. She's gotta way with animals, I gotta say. They went from wild and cautious to calm and cooperative in a matter a' minutes. We rode bareback into the town, knowin' full well what we was gonna do when we got to the bank. Lucky for us, the town was practically deserted. Not a soul out traversin' the streets and every window was either boarded up or broken. If I met eyes with one a' the locals, they'd avert their gaze and scurry into the closest house or the nearest alleyway. Gotta admit, that was good for the ego. Wonder what's got all these folks so spooked and skeptical?

Anyway, we dismounted outside the bank - if it could be called a bank. More like a damned grocery store with an overly huge safe right in plain sight. Not that I was expectin' a fully sealed and secured Fed protected vault. To our luck, the clerk was an old fellah. It was a good thing, I didn't wanna have to pop anybody for playin' hero and tryin' to save the day from us mean ol' robbers. There was also some local browsin' the aisles. Lily an' me walked in all casual like at first, then she drew her pistols and covered the customer while I went to the clerk's desk and flipped out my old Six-shot Flintlock, put it right to the old man's face. Old man tried to play it off like he wasn't scared a' nothin', like he could come face to face with a Reaver and blow smoke in his eyes. That was fine with us, we wasn't aimin' to give anyone a fright, we just wanted the contents of the vault.

Had the geezer unlock the safe and go stand with the other guy that Lily was coverin'. I went to work loadin' up the sacks we brought fulla credits, plats, everythin' that was in the vault. Well the bitter old geezer happened to recognize me an' Lily, he was apparently at Lily's mock trial back on Hale's. Of all the damned geezers in the 'verse, we got one who could pick both Lily and I out of a crowd easily. Whatever though, he started goin' off about how he knew our names and how much trouble we was gonna be in when the Feds arrived. I almost wanted to laugh. Poor guy really thought Alliance would send their officers to deal with a convenience store robbery in a piece a' go-se town like Paradiso? For a second I got a little worried, 'cause I remember way back when I got a contract to hunt down a robber for a handsome bounty. But that client was stinkin' rich, this guy was just some nobody working his day job. What the hell is he gonna pay a Bounty Hunter with?

I tossed Lily one of the sacks 'a cash and we left, hopped on our horses and took off in a storm a' dust. Nobody tried to stop us, nobody cared to. I almost felt guilty robbin' from poor folk like this, but.. like I always say.. these aren't easy times. Way I see it, everybody has two choices, you could keep tryin' to live honest lives and trust the Feds to take care of ya, or wake up and do somethin' for yourself for a change. That's just how life is in the 'verse, ain't pleasant, but it's true.

Once we was well outta Paradiso in the outskirts, me an' Lily found ourselves a gorram Firefly! Engine warmed and ready to take off, but empty. You'd have to be a damn fool to pass such an inviting opportunity up. I dunno where the ship's crew was, and I don't rightly care. If they're dumb enough to leave their engine runnin' without leavin' someone behind to hold it down, they don't deserve to fly. I asked Lily if she could fly the thing.. of course she could, why did I even ask? This is Lily we're talkin' about. Give her a cardboard box and a can of beans and she'll figure a way to break atmo with it. We checked out the med chamber and we scored solid. Drugs, syringes, gauze, bandages, and best of all, Pescaline D. Sweet, sweet, Pescaline. I didn't realize I was feelin' a little weak from withdrawal 'til I saw it in the medicine cabinet. I kept a little for myself, but the rest was goin' to Otto. He probably needs it more'n me.

So now, I got a fully operational ship, a straight trip to Otto, a ton of cash, plenty of drugs to fence, and best of all, Lily. Maybe I can convince her to ditch her plans with the Dust Devils and just sail with me. We'd pick up our own crew, do our own jobs, make our own money.. We'd live every rough and tumble nobody's dream; sailin' the stars with a small crew free of oppression. Although.. I'm fiercely feelin' homesick for Hale's.. it's the closest place I had to a home since growin' up with Otto. I'm missin' Shalimar and her damn fine coffee, Cat with her new outfit for each day, Pod with his whacked out jobs that never go right, my little lady killer apprentice, Jin.. Hell, I even miss the Cap and his tales of glory and valor.

I wonder.. when this is all done, will I still have a place to go home to?

Back Where I Belong

If the locals weren't pissed enough before, they certainly will be when they get the wave Lily sent before we ran off. I decided I'm takin' her to see Old Otto, see what he makes of her. Otto's an old fogey, but he's got wisdom 'bout stuff I never even heard of. Maybe he can even do somethin' to help Lily.

The real trouble is gettin' there without a ship since my fighter only fits one. So we decided to do things proper and old fashioned: stow away on a cargo barge. Those things are so gorram huge, you don't even gotta hide when you're on board. Hell we coulda started a fire and roasted marshmallows and still nobody woulda known we was there. The barge was headin' to Ariel, not the ideal location, but still closer to where we needed to get.

We realized a little late that we didn't have any money to get around, so I took Lily to meet my contact at the local bar. A'course.. the first thing outta Lily's mouth when I introduced her to him was "You fat mister". He was so pissed I thought he might pull a gun! Though likely that woulda ended a lot worse for him than us. Anyway, after I buttered the guy up after Lily pressed what apparently was his hot button, he finally gave me some intel on a job.

It was a trip taking Lily out for a bounty. If she wasn't so dead set on goin' to the Wastes, I'd ask her to permanently team up with me. The job was pretty in and out, but she still did a damn fine job. Hell for a moment it was like workin' with... well... it was like old times. The target was, to my surprise, a Browncoat. Turned sour, but still.. Guess after spending time with the Cap and Pod, my vision of your typical Browncoat was that of a righteous do-gooder, protectin' the weak, overly generous, all that. Well this guy was a true blue prick. He'd been swindling cargo captains all 'round the world. Apparently he ran off with the wrong guy's cargo this time, and he wanted it back. Accordin' to the contract, there'd be a shiny bonus if'n we reclaimed the stolen cargo along with the guy's head.

What would normally be a tricky job turned out to be a breeze. The target wasn't surprised that bounty hunters were after 'em, so we ended up givin' chase out of the building we found him in. He led us on a merry jog all 'round the alleyways, the little fella. He weren't a big thuggish type, but rather a tiny little guy faster'n a damned rabbit. He was too quick fer me and I started fallin' behind, but then here comes Lily zippin' right past me, laughin' like she was havin' the time of her life. Lily caught the guy and took him down easy. By the time I caught up, she had him out cold on the pavement, holdin' his suitcase, which held the client's cargo apparently, in her paw. She wanted to take a peak inside, but I told her it was better not to know. That's usually the case with these kinda situations. By the weight of it, I reckon it was some black market drugs or some such. Whatever, our work was done.

With the bonus for recovering our client's cargo, we had enough to bustle out of Ariel and sail one step closer to Otto. Lily seems pretty thrilled now that she's an official bounty hunter... I'm thrilled too.

I've had it

Since I first stepped foot on this gorram moon, every last prick here labeled me as a low and dirty scumbag looking to sleaze my way around. Everyone but Lily. She invited a total stranger like me to her home and never gave me so much as a cold stare or a skeptical glance. It tears me in half that I failed her the way I did. Maybe I got ahead of myself, maybe I saw too much of Sylph in her, I don't know. Another strike carved through my heart and whatever ridiculous fantasies I had for a happily ever after.

I reckon a lot more people will want me dead once word spreads that I hurt Hale's community child. Let them try, I say. I'm done wearing a mask and trying to earn their respect. I'm done laying my life on the line only to get scowls and glares in return. I'm through taking the bullshit they throw my way. If they don't like it, they can either do something about it or back the hell off. I'm not gonna go on a crazy killing spree like General did, but I'm not gonna meekly bow out of a conflict either.

'Side from that, nothing's gonna change. I'm gonna stay with the Cap's crew and take on jobs as they come like I did before, show up at Firefly's and drink and dance and do whatever the hell else I want. I'll march on ahead with my head held high, like I always do. And if anybody gets in my way, I'll pump them full of lead. Simple as that.

"Not again"

Sylph...

I still don't understand why you did the things you did.. Why all the love I held for you was reduced to.. well.. whatever it is we have now. I can't undo what I've done to you.. but I hope through some miracle that what I write here somehow reaches your ears. I'm so sorry for everything.. for betraying you, for putting you through what I did..

I'm sorry... for Ellie.

Since this no-name bounty hunter showed up on Hale's, I've thought about you.. I've even told a few of the folks here about what happened, but I could never tell them the rest of the story.. I'd rather them think me another coin hungry mercenary, not a downright traitor. I reckon it makes me a coward that I can't bring myself to tell them the truth about you, Ellie, and I..

I hope to see you again some day, preferably without a pistol to my heart. I just want to explain things without you storming out of my life.. Would vengeance really save you? Save us? I always wondered why you never finished me.. I've given you more opportunities than I'm proud to admit, yet you never pull that trigger. You, the hotheaded, 'guns-a-blazin' loudmouth. Now, after the end.. I guess you were better after all, eh?

I wonder, Sylph...

Do you still wear my ring too?

Back in Action

Feels good to be working again. I signed on as a tracker and hired gun with the crew of the Raivenn, an old Firefly captained by a Browncoat Vet named Duncan. The work's mostly salvage or cargo hauling, but we get to lay out a few purple bellies here and there, so I can't complain. The coin ain't bad either.

I got a wave from Shalimar last night, sayin' Pod had a job for us. So me and her met up with him at the station and he filled us in. I ain't gonna include the details here, just that the job was a success, but turned sour pretty quick. Ended up in a pretty fierce firefight in an abandoned fallout shelter on Shadow. It was just me and Pod there when five fully armed feds started lookin' for us. I figured we were humped. Luckily, I managed to get a wave to Lily and request backup. Her, Duncan, and Shal all came to save the day. It was still damn ugly though, longest firefight I been in for quite some time. I managed to go out without a scratch and still took down three of the feds.

We were plannin' to fence the goods we got and I was lookin' forward to a vacation to Ariel or some other core planet where I could spoil myself. But, of course, Pod and Duncan ended up destroyin' it! "Too dangerous if it landed in the wrong hands" they said. Now I didn't sign on with this crew to spread rainbows and sunshine through the 'verse, I did it for the coin. If things keep goin' this way, I think I'd rather be unemployed again. Damn vets with their ideals and belief in the greater good.. Ah well.. once a Browncoat, always a Browncoat.

A Bad Feeling

I haven't gotten my usual wave from Otto and I'm starting to get worried.. He's totally alone on that boat, he could have dropped dead for all I know. But that ain't the only problem. I've got about three days worth left of Pescaline and if I don't restock soon, I'm humped. I could follow through with Lily's little plan, but.. if there's one thing I don't need right now, it's Alliance attention.. Yet I can't wait for Otto forever. That gorram fogey, where the hell is he?

I learned a fair bit more about Lily after a little chat today. She's a construct, designed for espionage and information gathering I reckon. She gave me some long winded explanation of her origins, but I could barely understand half of what she said. Something about a collar? I don't know, I'm just a backwater bum. I'm still not sure what to make of her, but she says she can arrange an.. opportunity to restock on Pescaline, so I got no kinda choice but to take her word for it. She's generous enough as it is. I'll meet her tomorrow.

I also took a little trip down to Blackburne at her recommendation. Someone took a few shots at me for no gorram reason, but I got out in one piece. I think I'll fit in nicely at that dump.

Hale's Comet

I touched down at Hale's Comet this morning. Pretty junky place, but I heard they got work for my type, and I'm getting desperate. If not bounty hunting, I could at least be local enforcement or somethin'. Met a bizarre girl named Lily near the bar, talks like a child and moves like a cat. But she's a sweetheart, gave me a tour of the whole town, a meal, and even let me crash at her apartment- and allowed me a shower to boot! That's hospitality you don't see anywhere else in the 'verse.

Something seems off about her though, I'm not quite sure what. For all her child like behavior, she's a brilliant mechanic and she's packing some heavy duty guns. Hell, she's even the town deputy. She looks innocent and harmless enough, but I think I'd better stay on her good side. I reckon the girl's dealt her share of death and seen somethin' more than most.

The Bitter Reunion

It's been six weeks since that ruttin' bitch, Sylph, shot my arse down over Santo. She thought it was such a hoot to patch me up in her infirmary while she sifted through my ship's wreckage for salvage and cargo. No sooner'n I was patched up, that gorram devil-woman threw me into the desert and left me for the slavers. The final knife was her smug face when she tossed me my Pescaline D, sayin' "At least now you'll give 'em a fight before they break you.". She'd probably have me believe that was a spot of mercy. I swear I'll put a bullet in that huai dan one of these days after all she's done to me.

Fortunately, lady luck came smilin' my way for once in my life. After wandering the ruttin' desert for damn near a week and runnin' clean out of Pescaline, I got picked up by a couple settlers from a nearby colony and scored a roof, a meal, and a bed. They were good folk; old, wrinkly, and overly kind to whatever strangers they found stumblin' through the desert. I reckon I wasn't the first to swindle 'em. It's not usually my game to swindle folk like them, but I had no kinda choice. I jacked an old short range transport and somehow broke atmo. Drifted about for a spell before Otto finally picked me up in The Hog. That shitty old boat is older'n he is and feels like to crumble every time I'm on it, but it's still kicking after all these years, just like the old man.

Origins and Memories

I grew up with Otto back on Regina, so he's always loaded with Pescaline D for the Bowden's. He's got it too, though much worse than me. Poor fogey spent near his whole life in those damned mines. Ol' Otto's the only family I got left in this shit verse.. He adopted me from the orphanage when I was five or six, I don't recall, and taught me every little detail there is to know about mining.

That was my life for the next twelve years. Deep in the mines, breathin' fumes and hoping the next shipment of Pescaline D didn't get nicked before we dropped dead.

When I was around eighteen, a crew of bounty hunters rolled through town. They were a rough lot, said they were lookin' for a criminal that they tracked to Regina. They came askin' me and Old Otto about it, and it so happened that I did notice one odd fella who came by the night before all quiet and suspicious like. Turns out that sap was the one they were looking for after all. The next morning, one of the hunters came to me with a pouch full of platinum and pressed one right into my hand, sayin' it was my cut. I got to thinkin' then, bounty hunting seems an easy enough trade and with good pay to boot. Couldn't be much worse than staying in the mines and waiting for the Bowden's to kill me. That's how I got into it. Two years later, when I was twenty, I was a fair shot with a pistol. I'd been practicing with some old relic that Otto kept layin' around.

It was around then that Otto and me bailed out of that shithole planet in his Hog . Business started slow, but we made enough in bounty money to get by. We tracked thieves, criminals, murderers, anyone with a price on their head. A few of our contracts were questionable to say the least, but we needed the money. Pescaline D isn't cheap on the black market.

Some years later, Otto told me he wanted out of our business. I could understand why.. I sometimes forgot that Otto was a relic, and that life of excitement was too much for him. He didn't want to return to Regina by any means, but he was more than content to retire to a life of drifting through space. We had earned just enough money for me to buy the shittiest ship I could find, and then I was on my own.

Five years and a good amount of contracts later... I met her. It was a routine job, the target was a middle-aged fella holding out somewhere in Persephone. Murdered a merchant and nicked his wares. I sympathized with the guy, these aren't easy times. A middle-aged man with no criminal history who probably turned to thievery to feed his family. But like I said.. these aren't easy times.. It was only my third visit to the luxury of one of the core planets, so I wasn't in any kinda hurry to get out. I took it nice and slow for a while. Got some grub at one of those fancy restaurants, saw a couple street performers doing magic tricks and the like, the regular tourist things. When I decided it was time to get busy, I mosey'd on over to the local bar to start asking questions about the target. The barkeep, who was a long time friend of Otto and one of my most reliable contacts, gave me the scoop for a fistful of platinum.

"You better get your ass in gear, di di, you're not the only Hunter tracking this prey."
I nearly choked on my drink. "You already talked to someone?! Who was it!? When!? Give me back the platinum! I'm not paying for useless information."
He gave me a cold stare. "If you weren't Otto's boy, I'd break your arm. These aren't easy times, kid. I sing my birdsong to whoever throws me the seeds. You aren't too late."
I almost wanted to laugh.

He was right, I had to get my ass in gear then. I was a ruttin' fool for putting pleasure before business, I never made that mistake again. The target was holed up on the tenth floor of an apartment complex downtown. I made my way over there and bolted through the building and up the spiral stairs. I went double time up the last flight, slamming a clip into Otto's pistol and flicking the safety off. When I reached the tenth floor, I pressed my back against the wall and peeked around the corner, down the long hallway. I heard a muffled voice from an opened door and stalked closer, silently pulling back the gun's hammer. I needed this bounty, and I was prepared to kill another Hunter for it. Inches from the doorway where the voice came from, a gorram floorboard under my foot squeaked loud enough to shatter Earth-that-was all over again. Before I could even look down, a bullet exploded through the other side of the wall just across my ear. I hit the deck and scrambled back around the corner, and I could hear the other Hunter scrambling too.

"Kwai jio kai! He's mine!" The voice screamed at me. To my utter surprise, it belonged to a girl.
"Chui se!" I called back, firing a couple of blind shots for the door. I heard a gasp and a heavy thud. Thinking I may have hit her after all, I prowled back to the door, staying low as I could. This girl was slick, or maybe I was stupid. Another shot exploded through the very same wall as before, and I wasn't so lucky this time around. I felt the bullet burn through the shoulder of my gun arm. Otto's pistol went skidding a few feet away and I collapsed backward. Same stupid mistake twice. Damn was I a rookie back then. Finally, the woman stepped out of the doorway, her gun aimed at my head. Despite the agony in my shoulder and the blood seeping through my shirt, I couldn't help but notice she looked like something out of a dream. In her loosely tied pony tail, her tangled hair was a shade of red more beautiful then any I'd ever seen, her tanned skin and her dazzling emerald eyes had me captivated. Her many earrings varied in shades of silver and gold that matched the pattern on her bandana, and she wore a ragged brown tank-top with baggy camo pants that tucked into leather boots. Somethin' tells me she fancied me too, I saw her eyes widen and her mouth open ever so slightly when she looked at me. Maybe she was expecting something else.

"Planning to steal my bounty? You're pretty pathetic. And desperate by the looks of it." She flashed me the smuggest of smirks.. that fucking smugness.. I'll never forget it.
I struggled to prop myself against the wall, panting heavily. "You going to kill me or what?" I asked through raspy breaths.
"Eventually." She replied, "Who are you?"
"A Hunter."
She moved forward and pressed the still warm barrel of her pistol into my forehead. "Your name, smartass."
I tried to glare at her in defiance. "What does it matter?"
"Would you like 'some guy' carved on your tomb stone then?" She replied, grinning wickedly.
I found the strength to laugh. This girl wasn't too bright after all.
"What's so funny, chun zhu!?" She pressed the barrel harder into my forehead and clicked back the hammer."
"While you were playing tough girl with me, your bounty crawled out the window and down the fire escape." I told her.
The look on her face was priceless. She half-turned as if she didn't want to give me the satisfaction, then looked back at me, panicked and blushing."
I laughed again as she pulled the gun away and hurried out the window to chase down the bounty without another word.

A few months passed and I took on some jobs here and there, but money was tight. I couldn't help but think that bitch was snatching up all the contracts in the 'verse before me. I was feeling bitter for thinking of her so much, so I decided to go back to Persephone and meet with my contact again, see if I couldn't get some info about her. Incidentally, right when I walked through the door, I saw her sitting right there at the bar! I wasn't sure whether to reach for my gun or flat out ignore her. Before I could decide, she caught my eye and it looked like she was thinking the same thing. We stared at each other, waiting for the other to make a move. Finally, I walked to the bar and sat in the stool next to her as passively as possible. I could tell she was relieved. She turned back to her drink and pretended I didn't exist. I ordered a drink and did the same.

Without thinking, my mouth moved and asked, "So did you make the coin?"
She shot me a furious look and her cheeks flared almost as red as her hair, but gave no direct answer.
"Guess not." I replied with a chuckle.
"At least I didn't fall for the oldest trick in the book not once, but twice." She said venomously.
"I'll give you that." I said, burying the silence that followed with a long drink from my glass.
I found myself wanting an excuse to look at her again, so I faced her. "Got a name?" My eyes wandered down her body on their own, only now able to take in her slender, but fit figure. Her cheeks were flushed again, I could tell she noticed me ogling her. Anticipating a slap in the face, I instead got a name..

"Sylph."

Over the next five years.. life was a dream.. Sylph and me got closer and teamed up that same night, and earned a reputation to be proud of in the world of Bounty Hunting. The buzz from planet to planet, bar to bar, was all about 'Ben and Sylph'. We were partners in everything, fifty-fifty. When we turned in our bounties and collected our pay, she would grin at me, and I would grin right back. We were the best there was, and we knew it.

And during those long stretches of time that we sailed from planet to planet and moon to moon, job to job, we were never lonely. We had each other.

I remember our first night..the memory is so clear in my mind as I write this.

I heard her gentle tapping at my door and stood from my bunk to open it. I found her standing there, her wavy red hair hanging loose above her shoulders, gently biting the bottom of her soft lip. She wore one of my t-shirts as she usually did around the ship, hanging all the way down to her thighs. But this time there was nothing else. Her flushed face met mine, and as I gazed into those beautiful emerald eyes that I had come to adore, she pushed her lips into mine. That spark of lust that had dwelled so long in my gut since we first met ignited into a glorious, roaring flame. I put one hand on her waist while the other caressed her cheek, and kissed her lips with delicate, blissful passion. I felt her push her body into mine, her firm breasts pressing against my chest as her tongue found its way between my lips. My head was spinning and I saw stars. I wasn't sure what was going on anymore. She pulled her lips away briefly and slung her arms around my neck, nuzzling the side of her head into my chest for a few moments. I wrapped my arms around her, stroking the back of her hair affectionately. Neither of us spoke.

She looked up at me, and I at her, and she slowly moved to slide out of her shirt, revealing her lusting, naked body. She gently took my hand in hers and pressed it into her perfect breast, her erect nipple poking out between my fingers. She shut her watery green eyes and let out the quietest gasp as I caressed her. I felt myself ache for her, lust for her soft body, the powerful desire to claim her body as my own. So lost in the moment, I didn't notice the bulge that formed in my pants. But she did. I felt her hand push eagerly against my nether region and I sighed. She generously massaged me before slipping out of my embrace and easing herself onto the bunk, staring at me with those sensual green emeralds. I moved to the bed, throwing off my shirt and pants on the way to lay against her, I ran my hand up and down her smooth, beautifully curved hips, swelling for her, needing to explore every inch of her. I took one of her tight pink nipples in my mouth, feeling her gasp and shiver as I did. I brought one hand down her taut stomach, brushing a fingertip over her most forbidden region, already moist and eager and wanting..

Panting softly, Sylph flipped me over and straddled my waist, displaying her sweating, steaming body, her flushed face looking down at me. My hands slid along her thighs sensually as she slowly eased me into her. Ecstasy coursed through me as I slowly disappeared inside of her. Sylph bit her lip hard and wore a pained expression, me being her first. Whimpering quietly in that perfect blend of pain and pleasure, she wrapped her arms protectively around my neck. It wasn't the spontaneous occurrence of a lustful moment between two people, it was love; deep and passionate love. The rest of that amazing night was something straight out of my deepest and most heartfelt desires and dreams, ..just like she was.. I sometimes wonder if it was all just a dream after all. Could something so perfect truly have happened?

..But that's all ancient history now. I'm surprised I remembered it so clearly...

Sylph... If only that damned girl...