Warning: I am marking this series as 17+, because I do plan sexual explicit scenes. I don't mean like in my other novels either. This should be considered a romantic sci-fi action/adventure. There will be blood, sex, and gore. That's what I plan anyway.

       Standing at the ramp, Evan waited for the rest of his clients to arrive. It was the only way he could afford to pay for both his own food and that of his crew, while he paid off his and their debt to Sahale. He was the crime lord that had brought together the crew to begin with. Each owed an over whelming debt and would spend a good decade paying him off. Everyone had a different story of how they came to be indebt to Sahale, but they were all forced to be his lackeys. Being the only ship that traveled to the outer edges of the Autarchic Regime they found at least a dozen or more people to ship. Their prices were cheaper then that of the government ships, and no stops were made that weren’t necessary. Of course, it was still dangerous as they had to ship drugs and illegal weapons into the larger planets from the moon that Sahale ran.
       They were stationed in the docking bay, the medium cargo ship sitting in the middle of the circular landing pad. Several docking bay workers were walking around, cleaning up after other ships. The landing pad could hold up to three ships, the size of Evan’s spacecraft. On most planets there were several places to land, but Minagog was a tiny planet. He dropped off his load to be shipped to suppliers in the larger planets. Having the biggest shipment was also the most dangerous. The small amount of supplies that a merchant would receive would be a slap on the wrist, compared to the penalty he and his crew would get.
       Looking into the shiny frame of the ship, he checked his hair and made sure his false uniform was on correctly. His black hair was parted, and he smiled to check his teeth. The years hadn’t been good to him, but he still thought of himself as a handsome man. He looked over his blue uniform once more to make sure there weren’t any grease marks. Most people wouldn’t fly with them if they knew they were not a legitimate business. He counted thirteen people that had entered the carrier craft and knew that there was still one more.
       “All unloaded.” Dill, his co-pilot, said as he came to stand next to him. He meant that the weapons, they were to deliver to the small planet, were finally out of their hands.
       Dill stood slightly taller then Evan, but they had often been asked if they were brothers. Both had the same black hair, sharp facial features, and thin but muscular builds.
       Evan nodded and looked at the entry way. “Waiting on one more.”
       “We almost ready? The passengers are getting restless.” Sparks came out from the ship.
       She was their mechanic and a damn good one. Her cherry brown hair was always pulled into a pony tail and her uniform was frequently covered in grease. Evan didn’t remember a time when he hadn’t seen her with some type of dirt on her babyish face.
       “Still got one more coming.” He told her, as Mitch, or Doc as he was nicknamed, walked out of the ship and stood next to his sister. He looked like a masculine version of Sparks, right down to the pony tail. Except Mitch was much cleaner and of course the doctor of the ship. The two of them didn’t really give any information about how they had come into Sahale’s grasp, but no one was forced to speak on it.
       They were a secretive bunch with each other just as much as they were with strangers. All of them had been together for two years, but little was known. When they did find out something it was normally an overly chatty bounty hunter that had come to collect one of them. The bounties were why they started to use nicknames when passengers were around.
       “Please tell me that’s your last passenger.” Dill said in a begging voice.
       Evan looked over at the door as the blonde haired woman entered. She was dressed in a black skin tight uniform with a utility belt resting on her hip. Her hair was pulled into a braid that ran down to her mid-back. Her beautiful face carried a dangerous but seductive grin as she approached the ship.
       Evan immediately looked at the blasters on her utility belt, as she offered out her ticket. They didn’t find their passengers instead had friends of Sahale locate potential clients for them and give them the yellow data chip. Taking the chip, he put it into his data pad and it came out positive for payment.
       “I don’t feel comfortable with you walking around with those blasters.” Evan told her.
       She looked down at her utility belt and then back up to him, “Then they are doing their job.”
       “I’m Dill, this here is Capt’n.” Dill began and then pointed at the two across from them. “Doc and Sparks.”
       “Guess that makes me Bubbles.” She glared at him and began up the ramp.
       “Don’t hesitate to ask me for anything on your stay aboard.” Dill told her as she disappeared into the ship.
       “Oh geeze, Dill, are you going to do that every time we get a half way decent looking passenger?” Sparks snapped.
       He gave a nod, “Not like we ever have time to make any stops, if you know what I mean.”
       “No, I don’t.”
       Evan walked towards the ramp, “Ok, that’s all. Let’s get going.”

       Four days past and all was going well, they had dropped off seven of their passengers and were heading towards one of their last planets. All other stops would be space stations or moons, which always gave Evan time to breathe. It would be less likely for anyone to identify them once they were out of main space.
       Walking into the community room, he looked at the Galactic Hologram Mapping System or GHMS that was displaying their current position in the center of the room. Surrounding the map was a large table with several stools welded to the floor around it. At the back of the room were two hall ways one leading left and the other right, following both straight would lead to the quarters. The doorway ahead of him lead down to the engine room, storage, and of course the exit ramp. Before going down the ladder there was Doc’s office complete with two medical beds.
       The community room and the quarters were kept nice for the passengers. Plants grew from pots that were welded to the wall as well as friendly paintings. They even had several pictures taken of the crew looking professional and pleased. The crew only used the community room when it was not in use by the passengers, limiting their food consumption until everyone was asleep. Evan didn’t remember the last time that he had seen his entire crew together in the same room. At the docking bay, he had seen four of them, but there was still Main Frame and Dirk. Main Frame normally helped Sparks out in the engine room, but he was more then useful when it came to computer related problems. Dirk did most of the haul work, but was really not meant for anything but brute force in a battle.
       Evan looked around the community room, there was some trash on the ground which he picked up and placed in the disposal. To the right of the table was the food and bowl dispenser, which was the only form of food they ate. It was nothing more then the needed proteins and nutrients mixed into a disgusting vomit looking mush. The worst was that it came in three flavors, pork, berry, or unflavored. Neither of them tasted like they were named and only seemed to be colored to their namesake.
       They couldn’t complain, it wasn’t like the broken down spacecraft could contain anything that could spoil. The community room and the quarters were the only rooms with climate control, and therefore he and the rest of his crew spent time sweating or freezing at their designated work areas, depending on how much heat the old engine was giving off that day.
       Pressing the metallic button a silver-ish bowl dropped down for him. Turning to the food dispenser, he read the sign above it. ‘Help yourself.‘ it read with several smiling faces eating the mush, Sparks had made it for them. A lot of times the passengers brought their own food, but were welcome to eat their mush.
       “Unflavored.” He mumbled to himself as he pressed the dispenser button, and placed his bowl underneath the nozzle. A gray like slime drizzled into the bowl, every so often the spout would make a moist noise as chunk would be spit out.
       Placing the bowl on the table, he looked towards the hallway when he heard Dill’s voice. He often got frustrated with the controls, especially when Evan was not with him. It took two men to fly the ship, which made it difficult for them. Each man had to sleep and were given six hours to do so, while the other cussed at the ship. They didn’t trust the ship’s auto-pilot, and with good reason. It had failed them within the first few weeks and had taken them directly into an asteroid field, where they were all certain they would die. They had made it though, just like they had made it through much worse. Sitting down, he began to suck down his gray slime. It tasted worse then it looked, but the other flavors were never any better.
       He could hear one of the passengers snoring rather loudly, which always made Evan chuckle. Several passengers had already complained about how it was disturbing their sleep, but there was really nothing that could be done. It was always a problem for them whenever they were transporting. If they had enough beds, Dirk would sleep in the quarters where he would cause the annoyance.
       Looking up, he thought he heard a beep. It wasn’t one that his ship made, standing up he turned around and walked towards the hall to the left. Underneath the glowing red light was the woman who had called herself Bubbles. In her hand was a data pad, which she sat on the floor with her legs crossed reading. She had unzipped her black jumper slightly, but still wore her utility belt. Evan noticed a utility band on her wrist that hadn’t been there before. He guessed she had gotten it out of her luggage which was delivered before she had arrived.
       There was another beep as her thumb tapped the data pad, changing it to the next screen. She bit her lower lip as she continued to read.
       Something about this woman made him uneasy. He couldn’t put his finger on exactly why that was, but he had been thinking about her since she boarded. It was the first time that he had seen her since they had left Minagog.
       “Hey, Bubbles, what are you doing?” Evan asked.
       “Bubbles?” Her eyes shot up.
       “Hey, you are the one who said that was your name.” He tried to sound like he was teasing, but was in fact quite serious about his defense of the name.
       She gave a deep sigh then rolled her eyes and looked back down at her data pad.
       “So?” Evan asked, and she looked up questioningly. “What are you doing?”
       Holding up her data pad, she waved it at him.
       “I meant, why are you out in the hall?”
       “The others are sleeping and I want to read.” She said it in a matter-of-fact voice.
       Clearing his throat, he crossed his arms. “It’s rather late, shouldn’t you be sleeping with them?”
       Her cold stormy gray eyes pierced through his skin, suddenly sending a chill down his spine. “I have already slept.” With that, she turned her eyes back to her data pad.
       Evan’s eyes followed her slender arms down to her waist, and then the black cloth that covered her shapely legs. Again he cleared his throat, “What are you reading?”
       Sighing, she dropped the data pad into her lap. Her eyes turned back to him, “Is there a reason you are bothering me?”
       “I still don’t trust those blasters is all, and I think it‘s a little strange that you are sitting in the hall reading.”
       “Have I not been a prime example of a passenger? No trouble, I leave you to your flying, and don’t bother the other passengers.”
       Evan nodded, “Yeah, but I looked at the manifest, you are our last drop and it’s in neutral space. You are going to be alone with my crew for a few days.”
       “I’m sure your crew can handle me if I get out of hand.”
       “Yes, we can and we won’t hesitate either just because you are a woman.”
       She grinned, “I wouldn’t of paid you to transport me if I thought you would.” She returned her attention to her data pad, tapping it quickly to turn to the next screen, another beep rang out.
       Evan turned his back on her and walked towards his food, taking a seat, he noticed a movement coming from the right tunnel. Dirk stood leaning against the wall, his dark blonde hair was a mess. He crossed his massive arms, and stared down the left hall. Even leaning against the wall, he was still far taller then Evan or Dill.
       “I didn’t know you were sleeping in the quarters.” Evan said to him, when he realized the snoring had stopped.
       “Yeah, there are beds now.”
       “Thought they were more free beds in the left quarters?”
       Dirk gave a nod, “Yeah, but that woman sleeps in there. I traded a bed there for one in here.”
       “What bothers you about her?”
       “She sleeps with her eyes open and only then for about three hours, and then she’s up in that hall for the rest of the night.” He pointed to the hall, “She’s there now, isn’t she?”
       Evan gave a nod as he sucked down some of the gray slime.
       “Something unwholesome about that. I don’t trust her.”
       “She isn’t bothering anyone, so let it go.” Evan picked up his bowl. Turning around he pulled down the latch that opened the door to the dish steam cleaner. Placing his bowl into the machine, he closed the door and turned back to Dirk.
       “All I can say is as soon as that woman is off the ship and we have space between us, the better I will feel. She’s got some cold eyes, and I don’t like that she won’t give up those blasters. She also…” Dirk stopped talking when she walked into the room.
       Walking to the stool that Evan previously occupied, she placed a small bag on the table, then sat down. Opening the bag, she pulled out a circular plate with a metal cover. It took her a moment to unlock it, but when she did, both Evan and Dirk started to drool. Maybe it wasn’t the best food in the world, but it looked better then the gruel they were eating. Evan had remember seeing serving dishes like those she was using before. High class and expensive, the food was kept cold, warm, or hot depending on the settings. They also kept the food edible for two weeks.
       “You eat well too, I see.” Dirk mumbled and glared up at Evan.
       Grabbing a bowl from the dispenser, he began to serve himself some of the mush. Picking the berry flavor, the slime came out with a pink hue and red chunks. He sat down across from her, glaring as he fed on his mush.
       “How can you afford to eat like that and not have your own form of transportation? I mean those plates costs about as much as a my ship.” Evan asked.
       “Hell, you could afford a luxury flight.” Dirk added. Looking up she grinned, “Who is to say I could fly a ship if I had one? And perhaps I would rather be transported in a ship that bypasses security checks.”
       “Wha…what?” Evan stuttered, “We don’t bypass security checks.”
       Chuckling, she continued to eat, ignoring anything else that was said between Dirk and Evan. He made his way back into the control pit, and took his seat. “I can’t wait to get rid of that woman.” Evan told Dill.
       “Which one? The one with the three kids, they litter up that damn room. I swear every time I go in there…”
       “No, the one who wears black. I don’t trust her. I knew I should of picked my own passengers, this always happens. We get a shady character coming through and then a bounty hunter comes or something ends up missing that keeps us grounded for three weeks.” He sighed, “Then Sahale thinks we are doing it on purpose, and adds his ‘loss’ to our debt.”
       “I don’t know, she doesn’t seem that bad to me.” Dill leaned back in his seat, then immediately back up when he heard it begin to crack.
       Evan ignored the chair’s announcement of it’s impending rupture, “Doesn’t seem that bad? Have you talked to her?”
       After inspecting his chair for a moment, Dill looked back up to him. “She’s almost always out there when I get dinner. Real nice, sometimes she shares her leftovers with me.”
       “You’ve been eating her food and talking to her without telling me about it?” Evan frowned and clasp the ships controls tighter.
       “I didn’t think what I did in my personal time was any of your business. Besides, what does it matter to you? She’s a great passenger, no one complains about her. She even helped Sparks with an engine problem yesterday, I think you should let her alone.”
       He glared at his co-pilot for sometime, before turning his eyes ahead of him. “I would give her too much trust, Dill. We both know that you and the rest of the crew have been fooled before… by your hormones.”
       Dill chuckled, “Oh yes, sometimes I forget that you are dead inside.”

       Evan walked out into the community room, afraid that he would meet with their mysterious passenger. She was the only one left now, and though she kept well to herself, he did bump into her on occasion. It would only be three more hours, and then they wouldn’t have to worry about her anymore. He was surprised to see most of his crew gathered around the GHMS, it wasn’t that they were together, but more to the fact that they were eating out of the strange containers. Their passenger was sitting around the table with them as they all ate her food.
       “So, then…” Sparks said, she was laughing so hard she could barely talk. Doc looked embarrassed, but was still laughing. “Doc grabs the gun and fires it, and… and… it isn’t charged!”
       Bubbles laughed, “If I had a cap for every time that has happened to me, I could retire.”
       Sparks continued to laughed, “Yeah, same here. Now Doc never touches the recharging canisters.”
       “Well, you guys seem to of made it out alright. How’d you manage to get rid of that bounty hunter?” Bubbles asked as she filled her mouth with some mashed potatoes.
       “Dirk saved our asses as usual.” Sparks laughed, and looked over at Dirk.
       “That’s my job.” He said with a grin, before taking his own bite of food.
       Evan shook his head, “That traitor.” He thought to himself, realizing that Dirk was just being nice so he could have a decent meal. Dirk had been the only one to agree with his suspicions of their passenger. She had gotten to most, helping them out with issues that had arisen, causing them to have instant devotion to her. Even after all they had gone through together, Evan had been left alone in the matter. “What is going on in here?” He snapped, as the thoughts of their disloyalty began to burn into his skin.
       “Hey, Capt’n!” Sparks chirped, “She’s sharing the wealth!”
       Bubbles turned her head to him and smiled, “Got three more left, you and your co-pilot can have them.”
       “You said I could have one more.” Dirk said with a mouth full of food.
       She smiled when she looked back at him, “Do you want the fish, chicken, or steak?”
       “Steak.” He said, with a large wad of steak in his cheek already.
       Reaching into her black bag, she pulled out one of the containers and handed it to him, then turned her eyes back to Evan. “You two can decide between the fish and chicken.” She held out her bag.
       “Is it poisoned?” Evan questioned.
       She raised an eyebrow.
       “Damn, Capt’n! That is so rude!” Sparks snapped. “We’ve eaten it and we are just fine.”
       “Why are you giving it to us then?”
       Bubbles shrugged, “I won’t need them were I am going, and I don’t want them to go to waste. They were packed for me, and it took me a lot less time then was expected to do my job.”
       “Oh, and what is your job?” Evan snapped, as Dill walked out into the community room. He immediately turned his attention to Dill, “Who the hell is piloting?”
       “Main Frame.” Dill responded.
       “He can’t pilot!”
       “Oh, don’t worry. We are on course, he can handle it for ten minutes.” He looked at Bubbles who was offering out her bag to them, “I wanted to make sure that we are stopping by the Antronia Space Station before we head to Nagolia.”
       “Yeah.” Evan responded.
       They always stopped at the space station, they didn’t know why Dill always had to go there. It had something to do with Sahale, and they always figured he was given an extra job to do.
       “Fish or chicken?” Bubbles asked Dill.
       “Fish.” He answered, and watched Bubbles pull out the container and offer it to him.
       “Make sure you get the container back to me.” She said with a smile, then took the last one out. “Here you go… Capt’n.”
       He frowned, then turned his back on her. Walking over to the dispenser, he got himself a bowl and began to pour himself some mush.
       “I’ll take that.” Dill said before Dirk could clear his mouth enough to talk.
       Bubbles handed it to him, and then spun back around to face Doc and Sparks. “He’s stubborn.” Sparks whispered to her, as Evan sat down between Doc and Dirk, he glared across the GHMS at her.
       “I noticed.” Bubbles responded.
       He snorted, “It’s won’t be my fault if you all die from poisoning.”
       “You want me to taste your food to prove it to you?” Bubbles asked him, and he glared down at his mush.
       “No, you are probably immune.” He mumbled, then went back to eating the pink slime.
       She looked at Sparks and threw her hands in the air, “I tried.”
       Evan glared up at her, his spoon dangled from his hand. The woman sat across from him, speaking with Sparks. Though she told the woman stories, it seemed that Bubbles had no intention of sharing any tales of her own. She was a strange woman, but had they met at a cantina, she would have been the first woman he would of drank up enough courage to speak to. Her eyes were cat like and deep green, though he distinctly remembered them being gray when he had spoken to her in the hall days before. She had a wide smile that he normally found unattractive. He would never of admitted it, had Dill not spoken non-stop about how good-looking she was.
       Her looks alone didn’t blind him to her odd behavior though. There was something about this woman that didn’t sit right with him. If she had poisoned the food, she didn’t look at all disappointed that he hadn’t accepted it. Which made him wonder if he was her target to begin with. Sparks and Doc were normally the ones that the bounty hunters came after. They had a joined bounty of over two hundred and fifty thousand capitals, but only if they were both brought in alive.
       They never asked the two what they had done to of brought such a large bounty on their heads, and they appreciated everyone keeping to themselves. It wasn’t their choice to stay together anyway, the entire crew had to do business in order to pay back Sahale. None of that was important now, he needed to know about this woman in front of him, and what she wanted.
       “So, Bubbles…” Evan began and the woman looked at him, “I asked you what you did for a living, and you never answered me.”
       With a grin she leaned forward, “If I told you, I would have to kill you.” A grin flashed across her face, while Sparks and Doc began to laugh.
       Even though she said it light heartedly, Evan saw the seriousness in her eyes.

       Sitting back in his chair, Evan waited for Dill to finish his business on the space station. He wanted to get to Nagolia which was one of the three moons of Gratorn. There were three planets that were in neutral space between the Regime and Sedition space, Gratorn being one of them. It was a buffer zone for anyone who may accidentally exit their own space.
       Twenty six years ago, a group of militants formed the Sedition and gained control of several planets from the Regime. Most of the planets that were seized were important mineral and farming planets, which brought prices up as well as an increase in starvation for the Regime. After a ten year war between them, the other four governments of the known solar systems stepped in. They ordered all assaults to be halted and swore to join the side that was next attacked.
       The Sedition and the Autarchic Regime were in a cold war, and any ship marked as a ship of the opposite side was destroyed when it entered the wrong space. Neutral space had been created twelve years before as the ten year war was coming to an end, with several satellites placed around the area offering warning to those who ventured through. There were very few ships that were marked as neutral most belonging to the Bounty Hunter’s Guild, that both sides hired.
       Though it could never be proven to the other governments, the Sedition were terrorist and would often attack planets on the Regime’s side. What was worst yet, was that three of the governments called the Co three were sympathizers of the Sedition. The Co Three were a strong alliance nicknamed because of their actual names, the Commonwealth, the Coalition, and the Coadunation. Only the Organian Republic seemed to want to offer any help to the Regime. They often sent food to starving planets, and helped with many of the government’s problems. All of this occurred because the Sedition stole key planets away from the Regime’s people.
       “Alright, let’s go.” Dill said as he stepped into the cockpit, and took his seat.
       Evan prepared the ship for separation from the space station’s clamp tube.
       “See you next month, Adumbrate.” The feminine voice said through their comlink.
       “Take care, Antronia, don’t blow up until we get back.” Dill jested.
       Evan sighed, “Don’t say those kind of things. What if they really blow up? They would think we have something to do with it.”
       “Oh, lighten up, Evan. The space station is old, and it’s a joke that it’s going to blow itself up in an attempt to commit suicide.” Dill told him, and leaned back once they were on course, “Where are we dropping off Bubbles at?”
       “Faluga.”
       “Faluga? Why the hell would anyone want to go there?”
       Evan shrugged. Faluga was another moon of Gratorn, and the only one with no life forms. Though the moon was habitable mostly because it had the oxygen needed, it changed seasons dramatically within short periods of time. Plants could not be grown in open area, and it was mostly dry red dirt hills. There were very few places to land, and if any of their pods had automatic return, he would of forced the woman to fly down there herself.
       After thirty minutes, they entered neutral space and were immediately bombarded with messages that they had done so. Main Frame was working on a program that would ignore the satellites signals, but had trouble finding the communication codes. Dill continued to turn them off, whenever they began to play over the comlink.
       “I hate that.” Evan mumbled. In the distance he could see the tan planet of Gratorn.
       “What…” Dill said looking out at the planet, “Look at all that traffic, what is…”
       “Shit, it’s bounty hunter ships.” Evan snapped, recognizing the guild’s seal on several of the old battered ships.
       “They are trying to open a com channel with us, should I respond?” Dill asked, and when Evan gave a nod, he opened it.
       A man appeared on the screen. The left side of his face from his cheek up was a metal sheet, and his eye was mechanical. He was dressed in the familiar tan spacesuit of the bounty hunters.
       “Greetings Adumbrate.” His deep booming voice spoke, “I am Osrin Gortol. My business is not with you, but a passenger that you have aboard. Surrender the Sedition spy, and you will not be harmed.”
       Evan wanted to slam his fist into the control panel, he knew that woman was no good the moment he laid eyes on her. “We will gladly hand over the spy.” He replied. “Where should we rendezvous?”
       “My ship will open a clamp tube, ready yourself for connection. You will be boarded, please prepare the prisoner.” With that the comlink was shut down.
       Evan stood up and pulled the blasters from his belt. He made his way out to the community area, where Bubbles was still talking to Sparks. Everyone jumped from their seat when he pointed his weapon at her.
       “Stand up!” Evan ordered.
       She did as she was told, and placed her hands in the air above her.
       “What the hell are you doing, Evan?” Doc yelled.
       “She is a Sedition spy. Gratorn is surrounded by hunter ships, they want her or they’ll shoot us down.” He looked towards Dirk, “Tie her up.”
       Dirk gave a nod, and ran to the cargo hold to find some rope.
       Bubbles started to chuckle, “You actually think that he is just going to let you go?”
       “Yeah, I do. He doesn’t have any reason…”
       “All of you have bounties on your heads, he knows this. Letting you go would be against policy. You are all just as fucked as me.”
       Dirk returned and pulled her hands behind her, as Main Frame ran out from the computer room. He wore thick black goggles and black jumper suit. Bubbles hadn’t met him yet, strangely enough.
       “What’s going on?” Main Frame asked.
       “Listen to her, Evan. She’s right.” Doc snapped. “I’ve dealt with them hundreds of times, we’ve dealt with them before. They don’t keep their promises.”
       “How do you know there are bounties on us?” Evan asked her.
       All she did was grin back at him, as Dirk stepped back from binding her hands.
       “Who the hell are you? Answer me!” Evan ordered, shoving the gun into her face.
       “I’m a member of the Liberation Military. I was sent into Regime space to collect information on a weapon that the Regime was designing.”
       “Liberation? You mean the Sedition?” Evan said it more then asked and didn’t expect an answer, “So, you are a spy.”
       “More of a thief then a spy.” The ship shook as the clamp began to connect with them. She looked back at him with a grin, “I can get us out of this, but you have to untie me and do what I say.”
       “Fuck you!” Evan barked.
       She shrugged, “Fine, then I guess we all get to die together.”
       “Come on, Evan.” Sparks begged. “You know they aren’t going to let us go.”
       Dirk looked back and forth between her and Evan, “I agree with Sparks, we shouldn’t just give our selves up.”
       Evan shook his head, “He said he would let us go.”
       “Don’t be a fool! Since when have those bastards been honest with us!” Main Frame yelled.
       “Looks like you are out numbered there, Capt’n.” Bubbles told him, and she felt Dirk begin to untie her.
       “Don’t release her, Dirk! I swear I’ll shoot you too!” Evan ordered, and watched as Dirk ignored him.
       When she was untied, she reached out and grabbed the blaster from Evan. With a quick twist, she delivered a swift kick to his chest, sending him backwards into the ground.
       “I need access to the control pit.” Bubbles told them, and ran down the hall. The doors opened and Dill stood up. “Hail them, and keep them talking while I shut down their power and unhook us from his ship.” She ordered Dill.
       “What?” He asked, looking around her at Main Frame and Dirk who were standing in the doorway.
       “Do it, Dill!” Dirk growled.
       Dill ran over to the pilot’s seat, while Bubbles shoved herself under the control panel of the copilot’s seat. Clicking her finger on her right temple, a section opened up revealing several wires. She pulled one out and began to plug herself into the comlink.
       “What do I say?” Dill asked, while he was hailing them.
       “What ever it takes to get me in.” She snapped.
       “Cybernetic brain.” Main Frame mumbled to Dirk.
       Bubbles shut her eyes, as Dill began to talk over the comlink.
       “We seem to be having a problem with the prisoner.” Dill said.
       “What’s the problem?”
       “She is resisting arrest, and has locked herself into the cargo hold. It will take us a couple minutes to crack into it.” He swallowed, and felt like he was sweating bullets. He wanted to know where Evan was, and exactly what he was thinking to let the woman into the control pit. “We will inform you on more when we have her out of the… room.”
       “If you don’t open the clamp in the next five minutes we will open fire on your craft.” Osrin told him, and Dill saw that he was about to turn off the comlink.
       Looking over to Bubbles, her eyes were still closed and he tried to think fast on what else to say. “What are the crimes that she is charged with?”
       “You don’t need to….” Suddenly, the comlink went black.
       Dill watched as all the ships in the area began to float like dead weights in space. Bubbles popped her eyes open, and unplugged from the panel. “We don’t have much time, it won’t take them very long to get their systems back up. You need to head towards Liberation space.”
       “We are a Regime ship, if we enter Sedition space, we will be shot down.” Dill told her.
       “Don’t worry, they will hail us first. I will speak with them. Listen we don’t have time, just…” She looked out towards the ships, “Shit, they are powering up. Move now!”
       Dill jumped into the pilot’s seat, and turned on the booster engines. They barely got a thousand feet away from Osrin’s ship, before they were hit. Several more ships fired, and Dill knew they weren’t going to make it to Sedition space. “I’m going to have to aim for Nagolia and hope we crash there.”
       “No, aim for Faluga!” Bubbles ordered as another hit threw her to the floor.
       “Shields at fifty six percent.” The computer warned.
       “Faluga is too far!”
       “Aim for it, your crime lord can do nothing for us on Nagolia!” Bubbles yelled as she was slammed into the back of the copilot’s chair. Dirk had wedged himself into the doorway, and Main Frame had a hold of his leg.
       With each hit, the ship was thrown around in space as Dill tried to hold a course for the moon Faluga.
       “Shields at thirty four percent. Hauls have absorbed critical damage.” The computerized voice spoke calmly.
       “Prepare for crash landing.” Dill said through the ship’s speaker system, when he realized they were entering the moon’s orbit.
       Bubbles climbed up into the copilot seat to try and help him steady the ship.
       “Thought you said you couldn’t fly?” He remembered Evan had told them of their previous conversation.
       “I said who is to say I can fly!” Bubbles yelled as she strapped herself in, and turned to look at Dirk and Main Frame, “You guys better find a place to fasten yourself too! This thing is going to land hard!”
       They both nodded, and tried to make their way to computer room that was just a small room to the right of the cockpit doors. Doc and Sparks had pulled down the emergency seats in the community room, and strapped themselves in. Evan had been cussing the entire time because the two siblings had been holding him down. Finally, he gave in and fastened himself into one of the emergency seats. He hated not knowing what was going on in the cockpit, but they wouldn’t allow him to get up. When Dill announced they were crashing, they abandoned him on the floor.
       The ship jerked as they entered the moon’s atmosphere. And were given a report of more haul damage, before it completely shut itself down.
       “We have no power!” Dill informed Bubbles.
       She pounded the control panel with her fist, “We will have to find a place to land and try to glide into it.”
       “Glide? You want me to glide a fifty ton spaceship?”
       “Do you have any better ideas?” She snapped, “Look!” She pointed to an open area, “Crash there.”
       “Crashing, that I can do.” Those were the last words spoken before the entire front of the spacecraft was covered in red dirt.

       The lights in the ship were flashing on and off, and Evan thought it was just their luck for the power to work after the crash. Taking off his belts that tied him to the seat, he stood up to see if Sparks and Doc were alright. She had hit her head rather hard on the metal wall, but other then that the two were fine. Main Frame and Dirk exited the computer room and asked how everyone was doing.
       Evan made his way to the cockpit, but the doors refused to budge open. With a loud yell that ordered Dirk to come to him, the large man appeared in the narrow hallway with him.
       “See if you can get the door open.”
       Dirk slid his fingers into the crack at the edge of the door and pushed until it opened with a loud mechanical scream.
       Dill was trying to get his balance back, even though he was still strapped into the chair. Dirk walked over to him and began to unbuckle the belts for him. Bubbles on the other hand was bleeding over the control panel, her head had crashed into it, leaving a large hole in the panel. Evan knew immediately that they would have to replace at least the control panel before the ship was flyable again.
       “Is she alright?” Dirk asked, referring to the unconscious woman.
       Evan walked over to the copilot’s seat and shook her shoulder rather roughly. “Hey, wake up, we’re here.”
       “Good grief, Evan, show some compassion.” Sparks snapped as she ran over to Bubbles. “Hey, Bubbles, are you alright?” She checked her pulse.
       “She still alive?” Evan asked from the hallway, looking into the overly crowded cockpit. It was a uncomfortable fit with just him and Dill in it, let alone three others.
       “Yeah.” Sparks looked out the front pane but all she could see was red dirt. The ship was angled at four five degrees, and the front part of the ship was embedded into the dirt. “You think they are going to land here and look for us?”
       “Shit!” Evan barked, “I forgot about that, we need to find some place to hide.”
       “What about her?” Sparks asked, pointing to the unconscious woman.
       “Forget about her, we aren’t about to die for a stranger.” Evan snapped.
       “She told me to land here for a reason.” Dill finally managed a comprehensible sentence, after mumbling to Dirk for a while.
       “What reason?” Evan asked, as Dirk helped Dill to his feet.
       “I don’t know.”
       There was a loud moan that escaped Bubbles lips, as her hands ran up the control panel. She pulled her self up with her hands, and looked down at the head shaped hole in the panel. Sparks noticed that some of the skin had peeled away on her face, and showed metal near her eye.
       Rubbing the blood from her lips, she pulled off her belts, before standing up. Sparks helped her to her feet, even after she told her that she was fine.
       “What the hell are you?” Evan asked, when he saw the metal.
       “Partial cyborg.” She mumbled, “Let’s get to my ship before they find us.”
       “Are you alright?” Sparks asked her, “Maybe Doc should look at you first?”
       “No, we don’t have time.” Bubbles snapped, before running into the community room. She went to the cargo hold and grabbed her black bags.
       When she walked out, she had two bags on each shoulder, and one in her left hand. Without another word she went to the exit ramp, which they had to force open and jump down from. Dirk had to catch both Sparks and Dill, as neither wanted to land in the dirt below. The heat on the moon hit them as soon as the door had opened. Evan felt the sweat accumulate on his forehead before he even stepped out of the ship.
       Bubbles held out the bag in her hand to Sparks, when her feet began to dig into the soft red dirt. She then offered two of her other bags to Dirk and Doc, who took them without question. Main Frame took another from her shoulder without even being asked, but Evan refused to carry the woman’s luggage. Opening the case of her utility band, she checked the map to get direction of where her ship was.
       “This way.” She finally said and headed towards the west.
       “What about my ship?” Evan asked running up beside her.
       She didn’t even bother to look at him, just continued to walk forward. “It’s junk now. And if we don’t get out of here before they find us, then we won’t be much better off either.”
       “When we do get out of here, I have some questions for you.” He barked, as they began up a hill.
       “I’m sure you do.” She mumbled.
       Whenever they got to the top of a hill, she would check her utility band again to make sure they were headed in the right direction. Just as everyone was certain they would die of thirst, the weather changed to a freezing temperature, even though the sun still shined down on them. Evan checked his data pad several times throughout their exploration to find they had been walking for at least four hours. There was no signs of anyone landing a spacecraft near their crash sight, not that they were close enough to see it anymore.
       Reaching the top of the next hill, Bubbles let out a loud sigh. “There she is.”
       Everyone stopped to look at the medium battle ship. Evan nearly dropped his jaw, when he saw the brand new spacecraft. The outer haul still shiny, and only slightly covered with dirt from recent dust storms.
       “What’s that?” Doc pointed to the north of the ship, there was a small pod that had crashed near the spacecraft.
       Bubbles followed his finger, “Julka.” She mumbled, before running down the hill.
       When she reached the pod, she dropped her bag and climbed atop of the pod. With all her might, she pried the door open. “Julka?” She said, as the others ran up behind her.
       The pod was empty, but there was blood on the seat and panel. Standing up, she looked around the area to see if Julka had past out near the pod.
       “She’s not here.” A deep voice said.
       Bubbles turned around and looked at Osrin, who was holding up his blasters to the others. Jumping off the pod, she walked over to him to stand in front of the group.
       “Well, well, Osrin. I thought that was your voice on the comlink.”
       “Still clever, I see. I should of anticipated that old trick. That’s one that you never get tired of performing.”
       “And one that you never tire of falling for.” She grinned seductively, “So, what are they paying you to catch me? Fifty thousand?”
       “Half a million.”
       “Alive though right?” She grinned.
       Osrin frowned.
       “Why don’t you cover up your face with artificial skin? That has to scare children.”
       “Unlike you, I am not ashamed of what I have become, Nyree.” He kept his blaster aimed at her. “I have your back against the wall. The moon is surrounded, there is no where for you to go.”
       “Where is Julka?” Nyree asked, as the others stood firmly behind her. Dirk had grabbed her other bag.
       “Sent her to a base to have her brain analyzed.”
       “You know that we can self destruct on will, don’t you?”
       Osrin laughed, “That doesn’t get activated until a person has excellent control over their cybernetic brain, we both know that. Seems to me Julka was a new build.”
       “It’ll still self destruct if you tamper with it too much. Need to know the proper codes.” The friendly look on her face faded, “Now, I think we both know that. We also both know that I wouldn’t hesitate to self destruct. So, why don’t you go climb into your little pod, and go inform your superiors that you failed to capture me...yet, again”
       Holding out his blaster, he aimed it at Sparks. “How about I kill your friends one at a time, until you come with me willingly. We will take them along as insurance in case you decide to destroy the information once we get to the ship.”
       Nyree shrugged her shoulders, “Go ahead, they’ve out lived their usefulness. I have to get these plans back to my base.” She walked around him and headed towards the ship.
       Osrin dropped his gun, and turned to watch her walk away. He knew there was nothing that could be done. “I’m going to capture you eventually, Nyree. You and I both know its only a matter of time.”
       “We’ll see about that.” She yelled still walking towards the ship.
       He glared at the others out of the corner of his eye, “Don’t think I don’t know about your bounties. I just have more important business to deal with.” With nothing else said, Osrin walked towards the south to find his pod.
       After the bounty hunter disappeared over the nearest hill, they looked towards the spacecraft that Bubbles or rather the woman formally known as Bubbles was entering.
       “She was going to let him kill us!” Evan barked.
       “He didn’t, just drop it, Evan. We need to get off this rock.” Dill ordered.