Aftermath

This Story is only one of many sharing the same world, and the same circumstances. Following these characters in their journey may very well give you an even clearer vision of what the world is like, and where destinies lead in a crumbling planet. This very story is the birthing of the role play forum. THIS is what started this site.

Table of Contents:

Our story begins....

Chapter One  

The thick cloud of ash and dust rolled over their bodies in one swift stroke. Covering their padded backs with the natural camouflage seemed to have generously benefited the two bodies that sunk low against some giant rocks and rubble.  They were hiding. Maybe more like stalking…well, a bit of both really.

                It had been quite some time since their last stakeout. But either way, it was work, and that meant it was time to take things a little more seriously. At least for Harper anyway.

                Aside from making bounties her business, she often spent her free time, which was adding up more and more these days, goofing off, or blowing away the hours with senseless horse play.  That, of course, made her quite a bother amongst those on the Drover.

                But despite her nature need for going off to do her own thing, and rising to the occasions of rebellious acts, and tom foolery, Harper was never alone.  No, no. Not since her childhood. And never more would she allow herself to be.

                So sure, even if she was a pain in the rear for those guys back on the hovel ship, she made it quite clear to herself that Harper would never cross that line that would lead her to total aloneness.

        “Stop with the fidgeting, Fancy Fro!” He rasped, trying to keep his unfortunate partner from giving away any sign of their existence. His focus was still mostly on the view. There really wasn’t much to see aside from the plundering rubble against the dangerous winds, and the particles of ash glitter through the green lenses.

                The emptiness was so typical, and so lonely. But Kovacs knew very well that the plainest landscape always had its secrets, and sooner or later, they would finally spot what they were looking for. Then this stupid stakeout would finally be over.

                “Sorry, Chuck Knucks,” Harper couldn’t help but grin. The scowl upon his face was crystal clear in her head. The very thought of Kovacs turning over and thrashing fury at her was enough to get her blood pumping.

                How she loved to torment that man! Every chance she got to knit pick at the redhead she took it! Despite what Max would tell her to do.

                ‘One of these days he’s going to mash you into a jellybean.’

                At her apology, the older man snickered, and rolled around his dark hazel eyes. Of course with the nicknames! It was only a matter of time….

                But suddenly none of that really mattered.

Lying there, crunched between the auburn clay mounds, James Kovacs finally felt the numbing feeling disappear.

                There it was.

That subtle, but succulent movement that he so longed for…

There it was.

Right before his eyes.

Perfect.

Obvious.

And about time!

                Harper clearly wasn’t paying attention. She had paid far too much time observing Kovacs body movements, trying to figure out what enraged expression was placed on his face all because of her. Kov, of course, finally responded.

                Thwacking her with his bare knuckles, he then gestured her to look ahead, clamping two fingers together and whirling them in a circle to represent ‘movement ahead’.

            Harper quickly looked forward, pulling her binoculars tightly against her face. Her blistered lips cracked into a smile.

                “Oooh yeeeah!” The excitement was building inside her, showing itself through her cheeky expression, and her jittering becoming much more vibrant.

                Kovacs moved his left arm from beneath him, and reached low for the Voc-com. When he grabbed the ground gismo from his pant pocket, he lifted it to his lips, clicking the switch twice before finally speaking.

                “Sandman, we’ve got visual. Clear. Picture. Out.”

                When the reply came in, Harper cringed from the loud static that interfered with it. She gripped the earwig irritably, and pulled it out just for a moment as she dug her finger in her ear and rubbed out the painful itch.

                “Positive. Visual. Correct?” The Sandman replied.

                Kovacs nodded out of habit, but double clicked the switch again and said: “Affirm. Movement lagit. Probable target.”

                With a crinkled expression etched on her face, Harper managed to pull the earwig from her ear before the second static wave emerged. She grin in satisfaction. ‘Oooh yeah! Win for me.’

                “How certain? Unsub identified?”

                Kovacs grumbled slightly. Of course. Sandman HAD to be 100% positive. Well, it made sense. Bombarding someone and taking them hostage was rather unpleasant, especially for ‘innocent’ wanderers.

                “Pretty certain,” was his reply.

                “Not good enough.” Sandman returned. Harper was the one to growl this time.

                “Oh come ON! We’ve been doing this for hours! It’s close enough!” She babbled, only receiving a skeptic glare from Kov. Truly, he much rather liked her approach right about now. Though it wasn’t the rational thing to do, he honestly didn’t care.

                “Its unlikely to be anyone else,” He added through the vo-com. But the tone in Sandmans voice upon his reply didn’t seem to thrilled about Kov’s attitude.

                “I said not good enough.”

                That was it! Harper had had it. She was tired! She was hungry! She was bored! And she had been out in the toxic top town ruins for over nine hours. It was now or never.

                Clearly she had no problem with invading personal bubbles. Lunging forward, the gunner expert nearly landed on top of Kovacs. She grabbed his vo-com and clicked it twice.

                “Well, it’s good enough for me! String out!!”

                                “Hey! Get off!” Kovacs hissed, but silenced himself instantly, and continued with a glare instead.

                “Oh carrottop,” She smiled, her eyes burning with acid, and her smile glinting with danger. “It’s play time.”

                He suppressed a grin, nodding instead.

Leaning low still, Harper pulled from her leg pouch a small iron orb. Pressing her thumb and index finger on a few circular indentations, the orb began to rumble, and a gold glowing visble through the tiny cracks.

                Giving it a quick smooch, Harper, leaned further still, cranking back her arm and then finally released it.

                It flew fast, and fell even faster. It hit the ground with a thud, and moments later, combusted into yellow flames that only licked at the fumes that emerged, sending whoever was over there, into an uncomfortable state of numbness.

                “After you,” Harper bowed low with a flick of the wrist. Kovacs just smirked and pulled on his mask.

                “Ladies first,” He mumbled.

                Harper arched a bright brow and shrugged.

                “Like I said, after you.”

                Kovacs  hissed angrily, and shoved her forward. With a gasping chuckle, Harper ventured forward, applying her own mask as she entered the yellow fog.

                “Here kitty kitty kitty,” She teased, looking around for the body they were sent to take in.

     With no other responses, Sandman sighed. Rubbing his fingers against the bridge of his nose, he tried to relieve the pressures of not being able to control his own crew, and being afraid that they would be right and would shove it in his face after this was all over.

                “Max, it’s…gonna be okay, right?” Cote asked, stepping into their ‘command center’, a mug of hot water in her hands.

                “It better be…otherwise we’ll have a lot of explaining to do to the Elders at BanGo.” Cote nodded, and sipped at the sterile water.

                “We’re gonna be in trouble, aren’t we….”

                “YUP!”

      The sand and dust blew harshly, it made its way into everything, squeezing its way under the mask and mixing with the sweat of her cheek bones. But that least concerned the girl who felt like she should be dead right about now. Her head felt like all hell broke loose as was trying to escape through her skull. A sharp pain stung her chest each time she tried to breathe too deeply. Now her vision was going. Closing her eyes for a minute to let her mind and eyes refocus when she thought she heard a chuckle over the ringing in her ears.
 

    But she didn't look or attempt to sit up. Slowly she wiped the dust from the goggles of her gas mask and laid there silently. Her black hair clung to her neck as it escaped from the knot that held her tresses high on her head.  Until she heard, "Here kitty, kitty, kitty."
  

    Her mind seemed to reboot as she reached into the pocket of her coveralls and pulled a small knife to defend herself for whatever awaited her in the dust. She shot to her feet which she immediately regretted. It was so hard to get the air back into her lungs with her infernal mask. The pain in her head came back in a flood causing her world to blur and darken and she crashed back into the dirt.

 * * *

   The yellow fog was slowly dissipating, leaving the three bodies in a circle of washed out ruins and a smoke screen to hide them from anything else.

                Kovacs neared first, leaning over the collapsed body with skepticism.

                “Well THAT was easy!” Harper said, and threw her gloved hands on her hips.

                “It’s a woman…” Kovacs added a displeasing tone in his voice.

Harper’s pierced brows jolted upward. Hadn’t she noticed the feminine qualities herself? Clearly not.

                “A girl? What?!” She leaned forward as well, placing a hand on Kov’s head, and pushing him further down.

                “How is it a girl?” She asked, glancing at the figure, trying to defy the obvious. “The hit said male. MALE!”

                “Oh shut your yap,” Kovacs interrupted her whining, and curved to the side, getting out of her reach. For a moment he only crouched lower, but finally he moved in, pulling at the mask. But he stopped. His fingers had reached for a lock of her dark hair. It was so beautiful, very soft. Definitely a woman.  

                “So you DO have a hair fetish!! I knew it!” Harper howled, clapping her hands together in amusement.

                Kov rose with a glare. Sure, it was covered by his mask, but Harper knew quite well the terrifying stare that Kov often expressed, and to her exclusively.

                “No, I do not. And it’s definitely a woman…” He said, and leaned low to tug at her mask. He wanted to remove it, but figured it might be best, on all of their accounts, to wait until they arrived back in the Drover.

                “How do you know? What if its just a really pretty guy?”

                “Harper, can it.”

                “Or like a really gay guy.”

                “HARPER!!!”

                She jumped. “Okay, okay, alright! Sheesh. It’s a chick, big deal…Looks like our sources got it wrong…”

                “Or we did.” The seriousness in his voice was all to familiar. Harper frowned.

                “Please don’t tell me we gassed an innocent…?”  Kovs shrugged.

                “We won’t know until she wakes up, but either way she can’t be left lying unconscious out here. Let’s take her back…” Harper nodded and knelt down, assisting in carrying her back to the safe zone.

                “I can’t believe you two!”

                “Well we had to do something-

                “You DELIBERATLY disobeyed an order!!”

                “So you my mom now too?!”

                “Harper, lets not even go there….POINT is, you didn’t listen, you went off to never never land and GASSED a probable innocent.”

                Kovacs shrugged, but managed to grin a bit.

                “AND A WOMAN NO LESS!”

                Harper rolled her eyes irritably as she crossed her arms tightly against her chest. “Max, chillax. You’re acting like we’ve never taken in a chick before.” Maxwell leaned forward, his angry face somehow easing into an even uglier face. Harper shrunk back a bit.

                “I’m not in the mood for games, Harper. This isn’t funny, James, this is a serious issue,” He elaborated with his arms which wildly rose to the sky. Harper bit the inside of her lip, feeling slightly guilty for making ‘Sandey’ fall into frenzy. Rarely did this happen. Obviously he was off the meds. Cote, she thought, would kill him.

                “Sorry…..” She said with a pout.

                “Sorry isn’t going to fix this mess!” He yelled, closing in on her. Kovacs chuckled, which drew Max’s attention.

                “Oooh, what is so funny now?” Kov shrugged.

                “Well, now I’m going to have to deal with Elder Jael, and explain how our mission was probably compromised by our failed attempt to OBEY so they guy they’re looking for is probably long gone, and has taken whatever ‘essential items’ into faraway land!!” He stopped to breath, and lifted his fingers to pinch the bridge of his nose once again.

                “Another headache, boss?” Harper asked, daring to reach out a hand and pat his shaggy blonde hair.

                “Yeah, no thanks to you two,” He admitted, and removed his fingers from his nose as he rushed a hand through his hair, but stopped to scratch the back of his head irritably.

                “Now we have to deal with the woman’s trauma, and accommodating her, and taking her to town, and she’ll more than likely manage to bump off a few coins with what we’ve put her through!”

                “Or,” Kovacs added, leaning against the metal walls. “She’s exactly who we were looking for.” Max rose a brow out of curiosity, but kept his mouth closed.

                “How specific were the bounty details?” He asked, starring Maxwell down.  Max frowned.

                “Very.”

                “Well,” Kov said, sighing. “Doesn’t mean they can’t be wrong. We won’t know anything til she wakes up, so send Bangle to go check on her in the infirmary room.” Max nodded. He hated it when Kovacs took charge. He was always a better leader. Always the bigger man. But never once had Kovacs ever gestured to take the lead.

There were, Infact, footsteps drawing nearer. They inched closer to the single locked cell in the infirmary, pitter patting closer and closer. The closer they got, the more he tried to silence them. He didn’t want to sound like he was spying, he just wanted…spy without anyone actually knowing.

                “Though, technically you aren’t spying ,” He told himself, aloud,  with his pale fingertips twitching in some sort of nervous chord.

                “Well peeping into a room where a woman is sleeping sort of sounds like spying…” He groaned worriedly, and let his twittering fingers rise to his head of curly light brown hair. The cold fingers snuggled between the locks, and loosely pulled free.

                “Yeah, well sometimes you have to do things you don’t like. Boss’s orders!” He cringed at his own tone.

                “Doesn’t make it right!” He added, abnormally loud for Bangle’s tone of voice. The young man jolted with horrification when he realized his clumsy loud mouth conversation probably gave him away. His shaky hands nearly suctioned to his face, leaving nice, vibrant hand prints on his chin and cheeks. He stood there for a moment, whispering to himself about how horrible he was at this, and finally stepped toward the metal door with the single peep strip. His teeth clamped down into his tongue and he inched forward, and lifting up slightly in order to gaze through the peep.

                And there she was:

 A raven mistress with the look of perplexity on her face, and a pretty decent sized cot in her grasp, ready, and able, to smother the poor boy to his death.

                He sighed heavily, and let his shoulders drop with anxiety. “…great…”

He waited a moment before he moved to the side of the wall and placed a finger on a green switch on the keypad just outside of the door. Then the vo-com vents activated.

                “Um….ma’am, please put down the mattress…..” He mumbled, swallowing slightly.

                “I repeat. Put down the mattress.”

                “Please.”

                He quieted down, and went over to the peep hole to look in on her for a reaction.

 * * *

    "I don't bite," She called out waiting for the boy to come in, she knew he wouldn't answer many questions from outside.
    "Hard." She crossed her legs. "Do I at least get a phone call?"

                The woman’s biting comment left him frozen. His eyes, now wide in surprise, couldn’t help but watch her lips. He could imagine her pearly whites snapping at his fingers. His body cringed in pain at the much thought. Bangle, however, had to man up.

                He was a few months shy of seventeen, but just because he was still technically a ‘kid’, didn’t mean he had to act like one. Even though he did….all the time….

                “Um…no, no phone calls right now!” He yelled through the door, but moved away in slight fear. All he wanted right now was to curl up in his worn out little check and fix symtac encryptions on his hard drives. He was a very productive team member! But NOT when it meant dealing with people.

                Taking in a deep breath, the young technician slowly  returned to the keypad and pressed the green button once again.

                “I’m…uh, w-well, I’m gonna open the door now. Don’t run. Don’t move. Don’t even get up.” He felt shivers run down his spine. “Please.”

   Scrunching up his nose, and continuing to bite his tongue, Bangle grabbed the turn switch and cranked it to the right, listening for the bolts to release, and the air pressure to disperse.

                When the door was unsealed, he hesitantly pushed it open, and stood in the doorway.

He wasn’t very tall, perhaps 5’7’’ at most, and was skinny and paler than the moon. His light brown hair draped around his thin face in thick curls. Around his oddly colored eyes, there were dark circles, circles that looked like they could never be erased.

                He wasn’t a terribly bad looking young man, but he certainly had a skittish paranoia about him.

                “Wh…are you thirsty?”

The woman smiled sweetly which almost looked mischievous. "A glass of water would be very splendid indeed." She remained sitting relatively unmoving.
    "You look like a smart young man. Um could you tell me...where am I exactly?" She sighed.
    "I have a terrible headache and slightly remember being attacked before waking up here." She looked around confused.
    "I also had a mask and a knife which seems to have been confiscated." She rubbed her temples as her head throbbed again. She opened one of her close tight golden eyes. "May I have that water now young man?"

 * * *

Her ‘sweet’ smile seemed pleasant, though he had to admit, he definitely smelt something fishy. Sniffling slightly from the chill, he nodded at her request for water. But before he could close the door, she had stopped him with a few well deserved questions.

                “Well, you’re in the infirmary on our ship, The Drover.” He gave a meek smile. He figured these simple questions wouldn’t be such a problem to answer, he only hoped he wasn’t breaking some sort of protocol that Maxwell managed to whip on.

                “And…we’re somewhere on the Loaw Lay land field, heading back for BanGo, I think….” He swallowed. Too much information?  He hoped not.  

                “Your items were confiscated for security purposes, but I’m sure you’ll…well you’ll get them back, you know, if you’re not a psycho killer or whatever.” He gave a grave smile. “Oh! Right, water!” He nervously chuckled, and turned quickly to grab a glass from the infirmary cabinet and poured in some of the facet water.

                He returned quickly, but stopped at the door, hesitant to enter. He did, however, and handed her the shaky glass.

                “Here….you must be really thirsty,” He observed, noticing how she, and the floor, was covered in dust. Not to mention being bombed by one of Harper’s gas gadgets really burned the body of its moisture.

                “You’re not hurt, are you?” He asked, watching her with slight concern

* * *

   She took one long swig and downed the glass of water, leaving her refreshed and her headache a little less painful. She handed the glass back to the boy and then patted herself in various places.
    "Not wounded. No, I just a killer headache." She smiled. "The Dover huh? And what do you lot want with me?" She brushed some more dirt off her sleeve. "I assume I must be a 'psycho killer or whatever' to be attacked like I was. Or do you and crew members just pick random people to play drop the bomb?" Her voice now held a bit of an harsh edge to it. But she was entitled to be angry, was she not? After all she had been bombed and kidnapped all in one day.
        That was an awful lot to cope with if you asked anyone.
    "When am I to be released or sent to speak with whoever is in charge of this vessel?"

   Bangle leaned forward slowly and grabbed the now empty glass, and held onto it tightly. He watched her more loosely now, his eyes darting to the floor. He felt a bit on edge himself now, at least with her questions, and tone of voice.

                Before he managed to say a thing though, a firm hand grasped his shoulder, and pulled him back a bit.

                “You’ll be released when we see fit,” Came a voice, far more empowering than any tone Bangle could possess.

                Standing in front of the young boy, Max moved forward, observing her closely.

                “We have some questions we need to ask you, ma’am, so if you’ll please come this way, I’ll be able to do all that I can to ensure you get out of here as soon as possible.” His smile was only half sincere. He meant what he said, but his attitude toward it was hardly equal. To be honest, Max wasn’t even quite sure what to think anymore. His priority was still trying to figure out how to calm the elders down when he explains to them how they failed to find this ‘Desert Crow’, and possibly compromised the whole ordeal. That meant money. Money meant food and fuel, and without that, it was only a matter of time before disaster and separation truly struck.

                “Now follow me,” He said, extending his hand toward the doorway in a gesture of ‘get moving’. He quickly took his eyes off of her though, and took a glance behind him at Bangle. The boy  was gazing down at the floor, whispering to himself again. Max couldn’t help but frown. More guilt! Just what Max needed.

                No, what Max NEEDED was a drink.

                But drinks would have to wait.

He had an interrogation to do, and somehow find a way to kiss up to the lady, should she start a fire. It seemed like nowadays the ‘image’ of Team Drover was all he worried about. He was starting to wonder where the sarcastic and sleepless sharp shooter really went…

                “You can go now, Kidey,” He said, and watched as the teen nodded slowly and headed out of the cell.

                “Sorry about him. He’s….eh…different.” He didn’t blame Bangle though. After what he had been through? It was shocking to know he was as sane as he currently was! But nowadays it seemed like everyone had gone just a little insane….especially the ones dealing with uplanders. A whole lot of bad happened up there.

* * *

    "Aw, he seems like a good lad a little jumpy is all." She followed the man out the door and to wherever he was leading her. But if he thought he was going to bully information out of her he'd better guess again.

    The slight fear in her movement was carefully noted. Max knew that it was probably best to take caution on this ‘case’, considering the possible mishap, and judging by her reaction, that fear he kept trying to hold down was suddenly raising.

                Did they mess up big time? Or was this woman really who they were looking for? Then that only meant the source was wrong, and that could easily mean two things. One, the source was unhelpful, and could possibly have contributed to the mishap, or Two, the sources lied.

                Either way, that thinking wasn’t going to be much help now.

 Max guided her down the rusted hallways, passing through a few corridors until they reached a single black door. It was probably made of iron, but was painted black with thick tar.

                Pulling out a key from around his neck, Max placed the tongue into the keyhole, and clicked it to the right quickly, and then released it. When a soft beep moaned from the vent above, Max sighed, and pushed open the door.

                “In…” He told her, pointing into the blackness of the room. It was cold, and smelt like melting metal.

                “Take a seat.”

                When he nudged her inside, he stepped in as well, allowing the door to shut behind. Suddenly a small light flickered on above them, illuminating the two single chairs facing each other. Both of them looked small and uncomfortable, and the fact that they were both bolted to the ground didn’t give off quite the comfortable welcoming some often deserved.

                Maxwell took his seat, watching and waiting for her to do the same.

 * * *

   The woman slowly walked over to her seat and sat down, crossing one leg over the other. She looked around and blew a fallen piece of raven hair out of her face. She chuckled.
    "You really went all out on the interrogation room. If you are trying to scare you prisoners, this room and that tough guy attitude of yours just might do the trick." She smiled her most dazzling smile and her fiery eyes twinkled.
    "So how does this work? You ask me who I am and I ask where I am and then you get angry?" She raised an eyebrow waiting for him to say something. She realized she probably shouldn't push this guy, but she was the one held captive after all and playing with this guy was relaxing her a bit.

* * *

He didn’t flinch, didn’t smirk, and didn’t glare, nothing. He just sat back in his chair, comfortably, watching her, with his blue eyes examining her attitude oozing from her expressions. He seemed emotionless, robotic, and unresponsive even.

                He acted as if her comments had gone unnoticed, but in his mind, he dealt with every comment. He would find an answer for everything. He had to. That was how he worked. Or, tried to at least. The more in control he was, the better the outcome.

                Time ticked on, slowly, irritably too. It was almost as if the only sound in the room, besides the ebony haired woman’s chatter, was the hissing of the air vents and some sort of…clock.

Tick

Tock

Tick

Tock

   Was the room getting colder? Most definitely. The temperature fell, and the vents circulation only seemed to ventilate and contribute to this room only. It didn’t pass anywhere else; it only added more and more freezing oxygen.

                But the interrogator didn’t seem to notice. His breathing was the same. His expression was the same-everything was the same.

                This continued for about five minutes. It was a strange strategy, but until he had what he wanted, he kept it plain and simple.

                This man seemed to have been use to this sort of thing. Clearly he had been in this business for quite some time. Not that he seemed greatly aged. No, he looked to be perhaps late twenties, maybe even early thirties at best. His skin was tanned, rough, scarred. His physical body had been through a lot, as did most people in this world. His blue eyes sucked in every detail, but easily blocked any reader with his skill in producing a wall.

                His squared jaw was handsomely chiseled, but was covered with thick, careless stubble. His hair was much the same. It was a dark blonde, which had grown in length to reach slightly beyond his neck. It was straight, choppy, probably groomed by him. It was a rugged look, but honestly, he didn’t look to bad.

                His wardrobe was simple. Grey pullover suit with the arms tied around his built torso and a simple white shirt, stained with dust and sweat. His boots were black and caked with clay, and a shoelace untied on his left foot. He didn’t seem to mind though. Aside from that, he wore a black band around his wrist with some sort of bird on it, and a straw-like necklace around his neck.

                Finally, after about five minutes of the silence, the tar door finally opened with a beep. In came a second figure. His hair was fire red, short, messy, but was easily able to take care of. His face was bruised, stubble, and scared. The look on his face wasn’t very pleasant either.

                He was a short man, probably reaching about 5’6’’, which made him just barely shorter than the teenage boy she had first encountered. He was very built for his size, and looked older than the interrogator. His outfit was pretty similar to Max.

                The shorter man had entered with a ream of connected paper. It looked printed, from some sort of old fashioned printer. When he handed it to Max, he took a moment to glance over at the woman. His eyes instantly focused on the hair. It was amazing at how healthy she looked. Most people Uptop were far from healthy. Something was different about her. She must have recently come from somewhere locked tight…right?

                When the man left, Maxwell finally made a sigh.

He shrugged slightly and glanced down at the papers. He glanced over the text, arching his left brow slightly as he lifted the paper upward in order to read the rest.

                Then he finally looked back at her.

                “You don’t look much like a special skill raider to me…or a raider at all, really,” He said it, insult pinching at the tongue. He was trying to get her fired up. If he was somewhere close to be correct, she was the type to get hotheaded quick, and that would lead to answers.

                “Needing to add anything to the accusation?”

The woman examined her fingernails calmly. She smiled with an eyebrow cocked amused.
    "So that is what the explosion was about? You attacked me because you thought I was a raider?" She rested her chin in her hands and stared at the younger man and glance over at the older. She smiled mischievously.
    "Well there is only one main way I can respond to this, If I was said raider why would I admit to it?" She tapped her cheek and tilted her head giving her the resemblance of an amber eyed desert cat.
    "And if I am innocent I would have no idea what you might be referring too. Therefore I can have nothing to say but, who are you people?" She sat back up and crossed her arms across her chest.

                “You worried about being here, Ma’am?” He asked, his thick voice ringing with interest. “I assure you, we won’t harm you….” He grinned, “Much.”

                Finally he folded the papers back on his knee. Throwing the ream on the floor, it hit with a loud thud, scattering some dust from beneath it.

                “You’re not a Fringe, you’re not Morkar-then what are you? Those are the only two gangs that make their profit off of Laow Lay lands. ELo has never seen you, BanGo is supposedly the first, according to the ChangKo-you been there recently too?” He eyed her, just spilling out some questions. He was looking for that fire in her eyes. She gave off a dangerous glow, despite her ‘appealing grins’.

                He shifted in his chair, and took in a deep breath.

Letting it go, he licked his lips, hydrating them and soothing the cracked skin.

                “So, are you a loner? Must be a pretty good loner to pull that off by yourself. Must be strong too,” He added, more sarcastically now.

                “Or are you part of a new gang? You guys trying to mark your territory by stealing a life support?”  He raised a brow, watching her.

                “I mean I get it. Life sucks. We all need to support ourselves, our family-people do crazy things in crazy times, and, well, lets face it it’s been pretty crazy…” He stood up, and walked toward her.

                “But you’re either working for someone or you’re being pretty stupid.”

Max walked toward her, circling her slowly, his eyes glancing around the walls. He simply just made a circle, arms pressed against his chest.

    “So who are we? Well, we’re people you won’t like if you’re a raider. And you probably won’t like us if you’re not, either.” He smiled, finally stopping in front of her.

                “We’re a multi-purpose bounty hunter corporation. We catch the guys who need catching, and we get paid. That’s our survival.”

                “I’m Maxwell Sandler,” He added, crouching down low till he met her at eye lever.

                “So tell me, who are you?”

* * *

The woman smiled deviously, watching the man's every move with her feline eyes.
    "Oh and don't those dimples just make me want to melt?" Her tone was thick with sarcasm, "Or perhaps your trying to scare me?" The woman's eyes sparkled and stared right back in to the man's blue eyes.
    "Oh course I'm not a Fringe or a Morkar, at least your not stupid. Stupid men are so bothersome." The woman flipped her hair.
    "But I am not stupid as well Mister Sandler." Her smile disappeared. "My name Mister Sandler is Jasper, Jasper Lewis. And what I might have been doing in the Laow Lands is my business." Jasper smiled sweetly,
    "So what do you want with me sir? I am still utterly confused on why you are holding me here."

   “Could have fooled me,” He said, referring to her smarts. His grin only widened. Her attitude was beyond most women. She clearly had an issue with man’s authority, or, at least that’s what he profiled. She was strong in the tongue, witty, sarcastic-very capable of leading a group, or running on her own, but stealing an air converter? By herself? He still found that unlikely.

                “Well, we are both smart people here, Miss Lewis,” He said, standing, stretching his arms even. “And this conversation can continue to be pointless with the rate we both seem to be going at,” He yawned, dropping his muscular arms to his side. “Or, we can end this game of wits and just cut to the chase. Your business in the Loaw Lays is our business. You just being there made you a potential target. So, in order to ‘clear’ your name from this ‘mixup’, we need to know why you were there, otherwise we may have no other choice but to mark you as target.” He shrugged.

                “You wanna know why we have you? Because you were in the same location as the tip we received to pick up a raider who stole a Dome city’s air converter-something essential for survival.”  He walked toward the door.

                “So you either stole it or plan to sell it, or, you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but either way, we need to know why. Or we will deal with you accordingly.”

 * * *

    "Fine! I can see I won't be released until I answer you ." She sat up strait in her chair.
    "I was in the Loaw Lays on business, as you guessed." Jasper waved her hand as if there was no rush in her story.
    "However, I wasn't supposed to be. Yes I was there to steal a certain item but I didn't still an air converter! Honestly someone would have to be insane to do such a thing, and I'm alone. Though I am stronger then I might appear to be I assure you I'm not that strong." She rolled her eyes. "So you see Maxxy boy, can I call you that? I am not your target. Perhaps your sources were wrong. Ever consider that?" She cocked a thin black eyebrow.
     "Am I off the hook?"

    "He just turned to lean against the door, his dimpled smile beaming.

“See! I knew things would work out. We just had to find our understating is all,” He chuckled slightly, and ran a hand to scratch the back of his head.

                “Honesty helps,” He said, nodded toward her, finally feeling a bit more confident about the situation.

                “So, you did steal something then?” He smiled, and the fact that she was alone was good. He hated having to track man after man just to get to the head of the gang. It was ridiculous.

                “Trust me, Miss Lewis, we’ve considered the possibility that our info might be phony, but we wouldn’t have known unless we had our little chat, right? Right.”  He stayed silent a moment.

                “So…care to share what you stole? Or is that ‘confidential’?”

 * * *

Jasper smiled
     "Now you know and there is no longer a reason for anymore chatting.” She chuckled at his interest in her loot; she knew this guy was just as annoying as he was good looking.
     "Blue eyes, now why would I go out of my way to get myself out of trouble, that you lot so greatly pinned me to, and then turn around and pin myself right back up by telling you what I stole?" She placed her chin in her hands again.
    "I thought we established that we are both smart people. Why are you wasting my time with pointless questions that you know I won't answer?" She blew another piece of hair that fell in her face; darned hair would never stay up.
    "Mr. Sandler, is there any other information that I need to render before I am released? Your lot are not law keepers, therefore as I am not your valid target I would like to be released, if that is at all convenient for you." She smiled mockingly. Jasper tapped her fingers against her slender pale cheek.
    "And the return of my property as well as an apology would be much appreciated." She new this man standing before her in the current situation would be one of the last to give an apology but she thought she throw it out there and see how long those dimples remained on that handsome face of his.

 * * *

Well, her plan was working. Those dimples of his certainly stayed and he even expressed a small chuckle too. She was pretty humorous, he thought, acting the way she did. Her intelligence impressed him, but he couldn’t help but feel amused by her guise.

                “Nah, I really don’t expect you to tell me what it is,” He said, now resting his head back against the cold black door. “I’m just buying some time is all.”

                “But you’re right. We’re not men of the law, we barely obey laws as it is…but,” He winked, “Who is now adays? Whose law is really above anyone anymore? So really, I don’t have to have a reason to hold you. I don’t have to have a reason to let you go.” He cracked his neck to the side, then adjusted his shoulders for comfort.

                “I can do whatever I want.”

Max released his arms from across his shoulders and placed his hands together, cracking his knuckles. It was more out of boredom, and seeking that comfort, rather than trying to seem threatening. He didn’t quite need to. She and he were on the same page. They both were not people of the law. They both had their jobs, had their secrets. But this particular woman meant currency, and currency meant survival. So unfortunately, he was still in need of finishing the job.

                “And I could let you go, but that doesn’t quite solve my problems…” He shrugged. “You seem like a very determined woman. You speak the language of survival, and you speak it well. So do we. But you clearly know more than you’re willing to give, and I understand.” Max finally pushed up off of the wall and stepped closer to her.

                “But I still have payment to collect.”

He calmly extended a hand and gave her a quick ‘pat’ on the head. Walking back the door, he grabbed for the handle.

                “So, I can either turn you in to the tough guys back at BanGo and collect whatever pension they’re willing to give us for this whole…issue, and THEY will sort everything out, or, you can tell us what you’re hiding, and maybe we can work something out. Lets say, we get you off the hook, we find a way to split a pension, and we all go home happy. Or drunk. Either way you’re in a state of bliss.” He winked, opening the door.

                “Need time to think about it?”

     Jasper rose slowly, he was buying time was he, for what exactly? She crossed her arms across her chest and walked closer to the taller man.
    "Honestly blue eyes, you need to work on your whole threatening thing, Or get someone else to do it for you, those baby blues just scream softy." She chuckled but she was not at all happy, she was just trying to buy some time.
    "I guess I shouldn't be angry, if our positions were switch and would most likely treat you the same." She smiled, this was a lie. Had this been her ship and him her prisoner the information would be beaten out of him already. She turned away to pace slowly.
    "You see the problem is, handsome, I haven't actually successfully stolen said item yet." She smiled wickedly as she turned back to Max. Jasper twirled a strand of hair that had fallen next to her cheek.
    "I was-" A sudden thud rocked the ship causing it to shake. Jasper was dislodged from her pacing by the impact and fell to the ground, her hair fell down completely obscuring the wicked grin on her face. Under her breath Jasper mumbled.
    "I'm stealing your ship blue eyes."

* * *

The sudden rumbling jerked the ship’s balance, setting it into uneven pulses from the redirecting of energy. Maxwell’s body jerked forward, but he held himself steady until the pulses sent a small wave, pulling him back against the cold, metal walls.

                Grumbling angrily, he refocused his cringing eyes on Jasper, his ‘dimpled smile’ gone completely.  His blue eyes were narrowed into a blackish glare, no glint or glimmer of sympathy visible in his ‘baby blues’.

                His whole posture was different, like he was a whole different person. Every line on his face, and tensing muscles portrayed fury.

                Quickly he pounded his fists into the wall, throwing himself off of the cold metal and lunging forward. When he reached Jasper, he fell to his knees and let his shaking fingers curl into her hair, pulling her closer.

                “I got news for you, sweet cheeks!” He roared, pulling her strands so that their faces met. “You ain’t takin’ my ship!” He dropped his hold on her hair, letting her fall back into her previous position.

                Standing up, though nearly tripping to his knees due to the unstable rocking, Max pulled out the round vo-com, which was a gadget much like a walky-talky. He clicked the side button twice, then called into it:

                “DISK! What’s going on?!” He roared, while his free hand reached for the rooms knob.

There was no reply at first, and that honestly worried him.

                “DISK? DISK answer me!” Still no reply. No, but more rumbling. In fact, Max was pretty sure that whatever hit the ship, had hit it again. That or the Drover was in need of serious realigning.

                “Bangle!!?”

                “SANDMAN!!” The static voice of the 16 year old finally came through. Max let out a deep breath in relief.

                “We’ve got a big problem!” Bangle added.

                “Yeah, I think I’ve noticed!” Max added, glaring back at Jasper. “The little lady’s in on it!”

                “I KNEW IT!!” came Harpers voice on the other side of the com. Max shrugged.

                “Jasper Lewis is an enemy,” Kov punched through, “Shoulda said I toldya so…”

                “Well, thanks so much for that guys,” Max hissed, and twisted the door knob until he finally pulled the door open.

                “I’m coming out of Integ now…”

                “Want me to shove a few firecrackers down her throat, boss?” Harper mused, smiling far too pleasantly.

                “Can it, Fringey,” Kov interjected.

   Jasper shrieked at Max's tug on her hair but she only smiled after being thrown back down, ignoring the fact that her headache was back. She jumped up and ran for the door knowing max would lock her in if he got the chance. Just then the ship jerked again throwing her into him with full force, the lights flickered and the interrogation room went dark. Jasper's world lit up.
    "Sorry about this," Jasper didn't wait for Max to react to her landing on him she swung her head won hard making contact with his head and hoping it would at least leave him disoriented. Jasper leapt up and rushed down the hall hoping to the dark would gain her some distance. But the light flickered back on and she picked up her speed.
    CRASH
    CRASH
    CRASH
Three large harpoons shot through the windows of the main deck and a bunch of dark figures slid down the metal cables into the main deck as well. A large back ship loomed behind them nearly twice the size of the Dover. A tall burly man pulled out two large machine guns the unused ammunition hanging down to his knees.
    "Lets play sabotage." The man's voice was deep and at his words the other men charged into the small ship eager to take control.

* * *

“Ruah!!!” Groaning, Max slapped a hand to his forehead, rubbing it feverishly. The pain was more like a burn, and it irritated him, sending that heavy sensation of pounding through his head. Lowering his shaky hand, he clamped the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, and closed his eyes as he waited for the throbbing to go away.

                Lucky for him, the adrenalin of the moment acted as a vaccine, and pumped any pain into a temporary pain.

                Opening his eyes, it took him only a second for the blurring light outside of the interrogation room to pause into focus. He leaned up, grunting a bit, and pulled himself to his knees.

                “That little…” He paused, huffing angrily as he balanced himself to his feet. When he stood straight, he felt relieved. Everything stopped moving! So he lunged for the door and thrust it open. He darted through the halls, picking up more speed the angrier he got.

                Kov and Harper placed themselves in the shadows against the corridor walls. They were about two rooms away from the central deck, but still, the sound of shattering glass and equipment rang loudly in their honed ears.

                Harper narrowed her eyes, trying her best to catch a glimpse of their intruders through the small rays of light in the passing rooms. But it wasn’t very helpful. Their black attire made it incredibly easy to blend in to their dimly lit home.

                “Harp,” Kov hissed, nudging her side fiercely. “I’m going to go find Cote, you hear me? You stay here, watch out for Bangle or Max, and if any get close enough, you know what to do.” Harper nodded. This time, however, there was no smile on her face. This was personal. Invading her home? Yeah, I don’t think so. If the Drover was going down, she was gonna go down with it!! Or, at least that’s what she kept telling herself. Nothing like good old battle speeches to keep the blood boiling!

                “Okay, but be careful!” He glanced back at her a moment, a skeptic stare etched on his face.

                “Whatever…”

                “Whatever…” she mimicked in a displeased hiss. Sure, Kovacs was bossy, sure, he even acted like he was better than her, but if she lost him right now, Oooh, it would be hell to pay. For both him AND whoever hurt him. He was family. No one hurt family.

                The constant rumbling only added to the growing panic. The giant harpoons piercing the central deck’s wall was like taking a bullet in his chest. Glass was everywhere, and no matter where he stepped, he could hear it crunching beneath his feet. Sweat slid down his pale face and rested at his chin. But Bangle didn’t dare wipe it off. He didn’t move. He didn’t speak. He couldn’t, not with those men swooping in. They were skilled…way more skilled than Bangle would have expected.

                Watching them carefully, he managed to slide a small hand to his mouth and nose, covering them lightly in hopes of muting any heavy breathing. He figured he would be alright, considering the loud howling the wind was making through the broken wall. But he didn’t want to take any chances.

                Bangle was hidden between several dark shelves built in the central desk’s corner. He was thankful for the chair’s coverage as well.

                Tossing clothing aside, and yanking drawers open and closed, Cote couldn’t believe how ridiculous this was! Of course! The moment something bad went wrong, the woman couldn’t find her vo-com. Was it even on? She hadn’t heard anything at all! All she remembered was walking into the back room to grab the medicine bottle when suddenly a large bang threw her to the floor.

                She was out for several minutes. Blood dripping from her brow. Even her tongue held the taste of blood. So she rushed for her bedside, looking everywhere for her vo-com, hoping to find out what was wrong. But there was nothing. Nothing to find. All she could hear was the constant screaming of metal against air, and the pathetic twitching of the ship, falling lower and lower to ground.

                “Where are you? COME ON!!” She yelped, feeling a bit more frightened when a loud noise came from near by.

                The young woman ran a hand through her neck length hair, pushing the dark brown strands from her matching brown eyes.

    Jasper ran down the hall as fast as she could, her heart pounding in her chest but she loved every minute, with a skip she reached down to grab a small pistol from her boot without missing a step.  She turned and yelled back at Max.
    "It’s what must be done for survival, I'm sure you'll understand your ship being used for the greater good!" She turned the corner and came to dead end with a ladder. She quickly climbed up in a blur, not really knowing where she was headed, but she had to get away from the crazed man chasing her and find her men. Turning away from the ladder she ran, she had to find the deck. She could hear her men's voices she was so close, but she could also hear a fellow captain hot on her heels.

The tall man gestured for a group of men to go for the right and the other for the left as he  and two others took the center.
  "Harris," The tall man glared at a man in the first group. "find The Crow, we want her first." A smaller man one large weapon off of his back and rushed off to fufill his mission.
    "We found one sir!" A husky man threw a bookshelf out of the way to reveal a young teen. Without thought the man took a step back, aimed at the lad's leg and shot. A feathered tranquilizer flew at the kid.

The three men stalked down the cramped hallway busting open every door attacking everything like a unit. The ship jolted again, but it was caused from a hit, Perhaps the loss of little altitude it had.

* * *

The massive body that yanked away the shelves, like friggin’ pillows, petrified the teen. His mixed eyes widened in shock and his body visibly rising and falling with every breath he took.

                He couldn't move anywhere because he simply didn't have time. Within that instant, the tranquilizer had pierced his leg, causing a loud yelp to escape his mouth before he had succumbed to seizing jolts and fell numbly forward.

                “The Greater Good can Kiss my REAR!!” Max yelled after her, pursuing her like a locked missile. His fury kept itself alive through ever step.

                When he reached the ladder and grabbed for the bars, pushing himself up quickly. When he reached the top, he frowned slightly. It was still too dark. The flickering lights kept pausing in darkness, making it difficult to navigate safely in those periods of lights out.

                Still, he knew he was hot on her tracks. He couldn't be far! So went to the left, kicking dust furiously from beneath his feet.  Max came closer and closer to the central room. He could feel the cool air licking at his arms and face and he moved forward. His temper had gotten the best of him! Without even paying attention, he kept going forward, not observing the number of men that now surrounded the central deck.

                But he knew they were there, in the back of his mind, but catching that woman was all he could think about.