Outlaw Star Fan Fiction ❯ Of Autumn Stars and Electric Dreams ❯ Time for Work ( Chapter 3 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Chapter 3: Time For Work

Ron boarded the Shangri La after picking up a few supplies for the trip to Oracion.
"Hey, Dee. Get your butt over here and carry some of this stuff. It is mostly presents for you anyway."
"What did you get for me!"
"Clothes, what else? I also got perfume and makeup. Only the best for my baby sister!" Ron kissed Dee on the forehead and smiled.
Dee bounced around as she carried the shopping bags into her room. She stared in awe as she pulled out the expensive clothing. She carefully lay out the outfit that she liked best and put the rest in the closet.
"Hey, Dee, are you decent? I have another surprise for you!"
"Almost ready. I am putting on one of my new outfits. Okay. I am dressed."
The door opened. Instead of Ron, Harry stepped in slowly. "Hey, baby sister!"
"Harry!" Dee flew into Harry's arms. He swung her around and laughed with her. "I thought it was going to be another week before your shell was ready!" He led Dee into the living room of the ship.
"Nope. They were trying to con us into giving them more money. Apparently, word had gotten out that we might know where the Black Blade is located. Leon Lau is dead. Some looser hacked into Lau's files and found the connection between him and Kyle MacDougall, dad. The ass paid the lab to hold my shell for hostage. Too bad. We now have all of the money my abductor had in his accounts." Harry kicked up his feet, put his hands behind his head and lounged on the couch.
"Damn! I wish I had been there to see Ron take him out!"
"Surprise!" Ron said. "Whoa! and surprise for me too. Damn, Dee. You look good enough to eat! Which, by the way, helps out in the job on Oracion four. Apparently the guy is a real leach. He likes to kidnap sweet little teenage girls, like you. You think you are up for it, Dee?"
"I'm there."
"I hope you like the fact that I had the lab age your shell a little, Harry. It has been a year and a half since the leyline. Now you look twenty."
"It is fine with me. So, Ron, how old does that make Deirdre?"
"She's sweet sixteen, of course."
"So, are we gonna go do the job on this pervert or what? I am sick of being on the ship!"
"Okay, okay Dee. Lets all go to the cockpit and get ready for takeoff."

**********

Oracion Four was famous for it's unique shores and beaches. The park where the pigeon was kidnapping girls lie near a small beach flanked by a lush park. With trees and statuary, Ron had no question of why their hit had often chosen this place to abduct his victims.
Dee wore a pair of cut off jeans, a red bikini top, and a thin, sheer open fronted shirt. Anything to make her assets look better to the leach was to her advantage.
"Now Dee, this guy's name is Omura. Make sure you got the right guy before you jab him with one of your needles."
"I am quite capable, Ron." Dee fumbled with the cheap looking rings on her fingers before she sauntered saucily into the surf.
She sat in the sand as the warm water lapped against her legs. She traced circles in the sand with her fingers as she waited for the pigeon to arrive.
Ron his himself among the shrubbery and statues just off the footpath next to the beach.
Several people walked by and looked at Dee questionably, but none stopped.
Ron was glad that he had not told Harry his suspicions about their target. If he had, Harry would have tried to call the job off. that was one thing he hated the leyline doing to Harry, it gave the boy too much of a conscience.
After an hour of playing in the surf, Dee started enjoying herself enough not to notice the man dressed in an expensive casual shirt and pants sit on the bench across the footpath from where she was.
The dark haired, muscular, man took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his brow. He looked at Dee with a dazed expression. He reached down and adjusted himself as he licked his lips.
From the shadow of a tall statue, Ron looked at Dee with disgust. "If she doesn't get her head out of the clouds, she could screw this up. I hope to hell she remembers to use that auto syringe in her pocket."
The man got up from the bench and walked up to Dee.
"Alright, baby sister, time to earn your keep."
"Excuse me miss. Don't you know it is dangerous to play in these waters by yourself? This shore drops off quickly and had a ghastly undertow. That is why there are so few on this beach."
"But sir, I'm not doing any swimming. I am just playing here in the sand" Dee stood to face the man. Her pert breasts stood erect as a cool wind blew past her.
"I know, um, sweetie, but the waves can be rough. One could overtake you and drag you out before you knew it. You should always have a lookout when you play here."
"But I was just waiting for my brother. He went to go get some food for a picnic."
"I know, why don't you come with me and we can look for your brother together? I am sure he is just waiting for the food at the restaurant at the other side of those trees. The place has wonderful takeout, and picnic baskets for sale."
"I'm not so sure.."
"C'mon. I am sure you don't want to sit on this boring old beach while there are so many other things to do on in the square not far from here. I'm Omura. What is your name?" He held out his hand for Dee to shake.
"Deirdre."
"That is such a sweet name."
As soon as Dee clasped the man's hand, his grip tightened and he swung her arm behind her back.
"Ouch! Let me go!"
"Now be a good little girl and come with me. We are going to have loads of fun, then you are going to help me pay may gambling debt."
Dee kicked her feet, trying to make Omura think she was trying to escape. With her free hand she slipped the syringe from her pocket and plunged it into his leg.
Omura did not notice. He kept pushing her towards the trees.
"Damn it! The poison is not working fast enough!"
Dee started screaming for help and struggling in earnest. She raked her hand across Omura's arm. The blood from the cut her fingernails made had a silvery metallic tinge to it.
"Damn! He's a Cyborg!"
"Brother! Where are you! Help me!"
Ron held back a moment and pulled his pistol. He fired two shots into Omura's legs. Omura let out a grunt. He grabbed Dee around the waist and continued to try and abduct her.
"Shut up bitch before I have to get rid of you real quick. I don't know which knight in shining armor is trying to stop me this time, but it won't work."
Dee screamed again. She looked over to see a man with red hair and a Ctarl-Ctarl girl rush Omura.
"Get your hands off that girl before I have to teach you a lesson!"
"Yeah!"
The Ctarl girl rushed Omura's legs. She knocked him off balance as the red-haired, heavily scarred man loosened Dee from Omura's grip.
"Get off of me. This is none of your business!"
"I don't like guys who try to take advantage of frightened little girls." The Ctarl sat in Omura's hips as the red-haired man punched Omura in the face.
"Gene!" A younger boy yelled from nearby. "Cyborg, type 34528-A, hit him in the neck!"
Before Gene was able to heed the boy's advice, Omura threw the Ctarl off of him and ran into the trees.
"Damn, of all the time for Starwind to show up." Ron ran after Omura, satisfied with the information Hawking shouted that he could take the cyborg out. He worried about Dee, but knew that she was more likely to get arrested than get hurt with Gene Starwind and his bunch.
Aisha ran after the cyborg as Gene looked Dee over.
Dee continued to blubber and cry as Melfina helped her over to a bench.
"Are you hurt?"
"No, I don't think so."
"Man, that cyborg roughed up your arm and gave you a good bruise across the chest. Let me check you for broken bones. " Gene gave a sly smile as his hands started for Dee's breasts.
Dee let out a yelp and backed slightly away.
"Uh, Gene, maybe I should check for injuries. Jeez you are scaring her half to death. Hi, I'm Jim Hawking. That is Gene Starwind and this is Melfina Star. The girl who ran after the leach is Aisha Clan-Clan."
Dee shook as Jim carefully ran his hands along Dee's sides. "Nope, just some bruises. You'll live. So, what's your name?"
Dee shuddered a bit more. "Deirdre MacDougall, or Dee for short."
Gene's eyes grew wide and he gave a loud snort. "C'mon Jim. We should have left her. Hell that guy was probably an undercover cop."
"Gene, just because she has the same last name doesn't mean she's related to them."
"Well that is not a common name." Gene stormed off with Jim close on his heels.
"Related to who? Melfina? Who are they talking about?"
"Nobody, Dee. Why are you on Oracion?"
"My brother took me out of school for my other brother's funeral. To help get me over the gloominess, he is taking me on an extended vacation. I normally would have been back at Cordelia's boarding school for girls."
"Oh, I am so sorry about your brother, the one who died. Were you close?"
Dee, continued to lie convincingly. "Yes. My oldest brother, Ron, really didn't pay much attention to me at all. I used to think he thought of me as a drain on his finances, but a good one if he could keep me out of his way. Harry, well, Harry was so sweet. He always visited whenever he had a chance. He would send me flowers whenever he heard I was sick or just feeling blue. He never forgot my birthday and he always got me something for Christmas. Oh Harry! I miss him so much Ron is trying to make up for all the years he ignored... Melfina? What is the matter?"
Tears started streaming down Melfina's face. "Gene was right. You are their sister. Harry died saving my life. Oh forgive me! It is all my fault your brother is not with you! Oh Harry!"
Dee started sniffling to force herself to cry. She pulled Melfina towards her. Her right hand went to the back of Melfina's neck. Dee's rings started to glow.
Melfina gasped. "What are you doing?'
"Just copying a few redundant files. I promise I will not erase anything and I won't hurt you."
"You are a bioandriod. You were hidden"
"Uh, Uh, Uh. Don't go digging around in me. I am laced with so much Black Ice I could fry you in less than a second. "
"Why?"
"Because I need it to find something that belongs to me. Unfortunately, you may be the only one who actually knows. Harry would also like to know how he died."
"Harry?"
"Shh now. Listen close. Nothing was copied from your matrix. Harry is dead. Dee is not a bioandroid We are simply sharing our grief." Dee erased the memory of the data copy. Her rings ceased to glow.
"Melfina! C'mon. Leave her. We need to find Aisha."
"Oh Dee, I am so sorry about Harry. You are right, he was such a sweet young man!"
"Goodbye."

**********

Dee found Ron slumped behind a hedge.
Ron pulled his pistol and pointed it at her chest.
Dee put her hands on her hips. "Humph. So Ron, did out bird get away?"
"Damn it Dee! Don't scare me like that! That Ctarl-Ctarl was fishing around after I pegged Omura. I got the goods, then she started chasing me." Ron put his gun back in his pocket.
"Well Starwind called off his pet attack cat. You're clear. And I got a little something extra because of our encounter." She waved her ringed fingers in front of him.
"More cheap rings?"
"Jeez, Ron. You should be more careful with what you throw into the storage bay. You didn't even know you had these, did you?"
"Cheap, cheesy rings?"
"I give up. I'm going back to the ship. I have some hacking to do."
"Where this time?"
"Lau Travel, of course. I think I have the pass codes for all of the back doors to their system. Codes only knew by Leon Lau himself."
"Where did you get those!"
"I got them using some cheap cheesy rings."

**********

Dee sat nonchalantly on the couch as she used her internal link to melt through the coded and guarded files of Lau Travel.
She was surprised. Although the company had changed hands many months before, the new owners failed to change the codes, protection viruses, or even the name.
"Need some help? I hear the black ice Lau used was state of the art. Word is that he used some unstoppable technology he stole from an archeological dig. The stuff's hard to detect and impossible to duplicate." Harry said as he quietly walked through the door carrying a couple mugs of coffee and some donuts.
"Nah. I got it covered. The idiot the Kei pirates hired to make another bioandroid copied the data I needed to get though all of the ice. "
"You mean Gwen Khan?"
"If that is the joker who made Melfina, then yeah.”
“Yeah. Wait, did you just say something about Melfina?”
“Shut up Harry, I am in a delicate area.” Dee shifted on the couch so she could munch on a donut. “Yeah, she and that Starwind creep nearly botched our job. “
“I hate him” Harry sat next to Dee and clenched his fists. “She loved me, I know she did. And he had to ruin everything.”
“Settle down Harry. We can talk about this all you like when I am finished. Oh, by the way, here.” Dee handed Harry one of the rings off her right hand.
“Where in the hell did you get this?”
“I found a bunch of them in that pile of junk in storage bay three. Ron thought they were just junk jewelry.”
“Damn, I wish I had looked through Ron’s private stash. You know he will give you a pounding when he finds out you rummaged through his junk pile.”
“He knows. Besides, I didn’t think Ron was the kind to tinker around with junk.”
“Hey, even Ron gets bored. And he did spend the most time with dad before dad died.”
“Shh, I am almost where I want to be.” Dee said as she quickly gulped a cup of coffee. “Ah ha! Paydirt! Damn, interesting.”
“What? Tell me Dee.”
“Here, link in to me.” Dee said as she handed Harry a networking wire. “This is some damn interesting dirt.”
“Whoa!” Harry exclaimed as he read the data that was coming through Dee’s link. “I knew Goryu Heung was a pirate, but hell, The Marmin?”
“Yeah, the huge pirate organization that even the Kei once feared. The Marmin are why the Kei built themselves up and bought an entire area of space. They wanted to keep the Marmin from destroying them. Looks like the Marmin once owned this entire system, and had holdings in a couple more. Jeez, the Marmin are still collecting tolls, even though their organization is now defunct.”
“Somehow, with all of the data you are collecting Dee, I doubt they are entirely defunct.”
“Use your link to copy the data into a redundant area of the ship‘s computer. There is way too much of it for me to hold at the moment.”
“Gotcha. Ron will definitely want to see this. If I’m right, and I know I am, Dee. The Marmin are far from out of commission. They are just out of plain sight. I am going to download the info into a databox first. I trust you , sis, but like hell if I trust anything to do with the Marmin.”
“Me neither if they are resorting to subterfuge tactics.”

**********

Ron stormed onto the ship in a rage.
Even though he and Dee had gotten the goods on Omura, the client had tried to renegotiate the terms of the contract.
Ron ended up having to nearly kill the client in order to get the determined payment. He hated having to do that. He hoped that soon a contract on the former client would come up.
Ron was annoyed at the sight of Harry prancing around the ship like a total idiot.
“What the hell is the matter with you? Did those boneheads at the bioandroid facility mess something up with your shell?”
“No, Ron. Not at all. She loves me! She really loves me. She still has an attraction to that asshole, but she loves me nonetheless!”
“What in the hell are you talking about?”
“Melfina! The information Dee downloaded from her using this data ring proves it!”
“You mean one of those cheap rings she was wearing this afternoon?”
“Jeez Ron, I am surprised you did not know you had data rings in your junkpile. There is a microscopic data chip in these things. They are exclusively for hacking data from computers, and bioandroids. I know how I died, everything. I also know that Melfina loves me.”
“Well I am happy for you. Now where is your sister? I have to speak to the both of you about a few things.”
“She is analyzing the data she hacked from Lau Travel.” Harry stopped his merriment for a moment. “I think she has gotten us in a load of trouble.”
“More than we had at the Leyline?”
“I don’t know about that. The trouble might be well worth the prize though.”
“Great! Ron, you are finally back.” Dee strolled onto the bridge. Her hips swayed and her chin was upturned in a confident manner. Her face was upturned in a haughty, smirkish pout.
“And what is the matter with you?”
“I found it Ron. I know where the XGP15A-1, The Black Blade, is. I also know why the Kei pirates did not salvage it instead of creating an entirely new ship.”
“Do tell.”
“Lets go to the mess and have something to eat first. some of the stuff will take some visual explanation. It is best not to digest the information on an empty stomach, and I am hungry.”
Ron tilted his head back and laughed loudly. “That is a teenager for you, always thinking with your stomach.”
“Or my sex organs. At least that is how that saying goes.”
“Well, lets get something to eat. I have some information to share as well. I hope it does not give us any more trouble than what you found.”

***********

“Gene Starwind is working with Angel Links! Damn it Ron, that could mean a whole lot of problems!”
“I didn’t say he was working with Angel Links, I said he had a girlfriend who works for Angel Links.”
“Come on guys, that should not be a problem now since Meifon Li is dead and has willed the company to her first in command, so it should not be a problem. I hear he is a playboy, worse than Gene Starwind, and a little out of it in the head.”
“How will that work to our advantage?”
“Come into the living room and have a seat, guys. I will show you.”
Dee lead the way into the room and opened up the view screen to show the data she came up with.
“As you can see, only part of the technology to build the XGP’s and the bioandroids to run them was taken from the Dragon’s Graveyard. The survey team on the Dragon’s Graveyard site noticed a huge area of the floor of one of the temples having a depression showing that something once rested there. “
“So what, Dee. We all of this already, get to the stuff we don’t know already.”
“Okay, okay. Well, the item was not there because the Marmin pirates had found the ruins years before the survey team. One of their high ranking members, Elias Campbell, was obsessed with the tales of King Arthur. He believed that the Mithrean and Celtic rituals encased in the stories lead to a treasure, the holy grail. Although, he believed the grail to be older than Christ and the Christian story associated with it.”
“I don’t need a history lesson Dee.” Harry sighed with a bored expression.
“I am getting to it, I really am!”
“Then do so. I hope we don’t have to hightail it out of here if Starwind decides to sick his girlfriend on our tails.”
“Anyway, Campbell found an ancient text on the grail and the swords associated with it.”
“There is only one sword, Excalibur.”
“No, Harry, there were more than one. Excalibur, the defender, and Melcalibur, the destructor. Although neither sword was considered good or evil. They were made to protect the treasure. Excalibur was the white blade, Melcalibur was the black blade, and the grail, or in some cases, Grailcalibur, was the red blade or the red cup, depending on which version you read. According to the legend, when all three blades rest in the same altar, the path to heaven and all its delights is opened.”
“Sounds like more crap about the leyline.”
“Not really. The leyline was the library of sorts, according to the data I uncovered. What Campbell was looking for is called Morordannan, an entirely different dimension of time and space. On earth, it was known as the kingdom of the fae.”
Ron doubled over laughing. “So we are chasing a bunch of fairies? Is that what you are saying?”
“No!” Dee stomped her foot in fury, “We are looking for the doorway to dimensional time and space. Harry, wouldn’t you like to find Melfina before Hot Ice Hilda?”
Harry blinked a couple of times and nodded.
“Campbell grew old before he was able to realize his dream of finding Morordannan. By that time, he and his associates had built the Marmin pirates into a large force. His great-grandson, Goryu Heung eventually became second in command of the Marmin empire, under Chenho Li. Goryu wanted to continue looking for Morordannan, but Chenho believed the venture to be to costly. Besides, Chenho had other ideas for the technology from the Dragon Graveyard. He found compatible technology in ruins on an asteroid in the Mystel belt. Chenho wanted to develop weapons, not chase dreams. That is where Angel Links got that Cherubim Cannon, among other things.”
Ron sat on the couch silently. His hand stroked the scar on his face as he thought . “I don’t like having to deal with the Marmin pirates.”
“Neither do I. Anyway, Goryu was married to Chenho’s daughter, Lifon. When Goryu defied Chenho’s orders, Goryu’s marriage was annulled, most of his holdings were seized, and a contract was put out on his life. Goryu retaliated by nearly destroying the Marmin pirates from the inside out. Goryu, or rather his consciousness, now has total control over the Marmin network. He is ready to have them come back out in the open.”
“What does all of this have to do with the ship we are looking for?” Harry yawned.
“It is one of the three ships Goryu was creating. Unlike the Outlaw Star, the White Blade and the Black Blade were made to be entirely run by bioandroids. The White Blade made off first, with the consciousness of Lifon in a bioandroid within. It has not been seen since its departure.”
“That is the action that got Chenho all pissed off, wasn’t it? He, not his daughter’s consciousness was supposed to be on that ship.”
“Now you are getting it, Ron. The second ship is still hidden on an asteroid in the Mystel belt. On it, a bioandroid waits for Goryu, or rather, Leon Lau’s consciousness to be loaded in. Which comes to the third ship.”
“The Outlaw Star.”
“Yep, or according to Goryu, the Red Blade. Ironic Starwind actually chose the right color to paint the damn thing. Somewhere on the Outlaw Star, there is a redundant data pod, black iced and hidden do not even Melfina can find it. It contains the consciousness of a third person. The data I found on who was in the hidden pod was severely damaged. The damage was the result of the new owner of Lau Travel trying to access those files. Although, I did find out that Goryu had a younger half-sister. No name was listed.”
Harry stood and grabbed Dee roughly by the shoulders. “Do you think that Melfina is her, I mean, his half sister?”
“Harry, you are babbling again, but yes, it is possible.”
“So when, sister, are you going to be ready to get underway?”
“Anytime you two are. This adventure is going to be worth a fortune.”

**********

Black Ice- A computer term for multilayered protection programs.

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