The rest of the trip to new tokyo was very long and Samantha couldn't help but fall asleep quite often on the way there. When they made it to Honshu though, she sat up wide awake and was very excited to be so close to new tokyo. She had never been there before and aside from being eager to see it, she was also eager to get out of the confined area she had been forced to exist in during the time between. She watched as the ship's nose entered the jump hole and was pulled at an incredible speed towards new tokyo. It only lasted a second before in her view the fair system itself. She loved the blue hues that were thrown across the sytem like a child would throw blue on a paint canvas. The nothingness of space seemed to be covered with some sort of blueish hue similiar to the sigma 13 system only in a much thinner fashion. She purred to herself as they headed for the first trade lane and leaned forward as if it was her first time entering one.
"First time in new tokyo I assume?" Jason looked down at her as he grabbed onto the railing nearby. The ship momentarily entered the trade lane a few seconds later.
"Of course. It's a very beautiful place." She played with her bandage as the ship exited the trade lane. Her tail began to swing back and forth as they entered the next trade lane heading for the planet New Tokyo."Is New Tokyo as beautifull as Manhatten?"
"I've never been outside the spaceport on Manhatten or New Tokyo but a few times, so I have no clue." Jason looked down at her and then he looked forward as they exited the trade lane, a moment later the authorities indiginous to the region began making requests for hull scans which of course they cooperated. Samantha noticed that the biggest ship was an Osiris and of course she assumed it was the admiral's vessel, but she didn't understand why it was a Kusari ship. She was more concerned with swooning over the shape and power of the ship itself however and put less thought into the staff and personnel of the ship. She smiled as they made their approach to the mooring fixture, followed by a slow descent toward the planet.
Samantha was very displeased when she reached the surface. For all the beauty that had been seen in the system, none of it was on the surface of the planet. It was cold and industrious and very very busy. While the leader of PK and the Marine were discussing trade terms to one of the traders, Samantha had to sit impatiently on the cold street. Although she only had her short sleeved shirt, the cold didn't really bother her much, it was the smell of the city that bugged her. They'd be staying for a little bit before returning to dresden and she really didn't want to spend her time in the ugly city.
"Alright, lets go to our hotel, I hear it's got a great view." Samantha followed behind him with her ears hanging low. All the excitement she had was now gone and it would be ended in a cruddy day in a hotel with a view of what she guessed to be of something artificial and cold as well. They called for a taxi and were taken across the city to a rather large building where their hotel was. She walked through the boring lobby up the slow elevator to the near top of the building. Most of the walk was very hazy and of course, boring. They stepped into a room that was at least well lit, however it was also very artificial. Even the plants were fake.
"Here we go, two bedroom apartment." He looked back towards Jason who of course shrugged and stood outside the doorway."Let us know if anyone's here for us." He looked down at Samantha who of course didnt' look too happy."Whats wrong?"
It took her a moment to realize she was being spoken to before she looked up at him."Oh, sorry, it's just that I was so hoping Tokyo wouldn't be so....cold and boring." She walked in further and sat down on the middle of one of the beds."I guess i'll just sleep the rest of the day away." She nestled herself into one of the pillows but before she could daze off she was pulled off the bed and into a standing position.
"Ah, well, comon, im sure we could at least....go shopping? You like shopping dont ya?" He held out his hand expressively.
"Um," She looked up at him and saw that he was just trying to be nice, but how could she be nice when what she really wanted was to bathe herself in some beautifull dreams."Sure, I guess I could use a new outfit or two." He smiled down at her and she smiled back with a slight blush trying to make him feel more comfortable.
"Nope, it would fit with my bandage here." Samantha put her left hand up and pushed the dress backwards toward Angel Eyes.
"Well, I guess there's nothing else really here. None of it either matches your hair your black bandage or won't fit with the bandage or your style." He scratched his head and looked around the large well lit store.
"It's fine, I know where they sell larger sizes of this outfit." She smiled up at him.
"Well, doesn't look like you're going to be growing anytime soon." With this Samantha kicked his shin instinctively and blushed.
"Jerk!" She crossed her arms above her chest and watched him hold his shin for a moment.
"Don't take it like that, I was just trying...."
"No excuses, I'm not having any fun." She interupted him and then turned her head away from him.
"Ah well, I tried." He let go of his shin and then looked at the window to the outside noting the resturant across the street."How about we go to dinner? I hear they have some pretty fancy resturant around here."Samantha shook her head. "Yes, we're going to go eat and you're going to wear this!" He shoved the dress back into her and she lost her balance and fell to the floor.
"No way! Just because it's black and white doesn't make it match black and white...and besides, I said it won't fit over my bandage." She looked at him for a moment and he looked at her back.
"Ah well, too bad....I also hear that they sell fish there...."Samantha's ears perked up.
"Maybe....they sell milk too?" She smiled and then looked at the dress."Alright, you got me. I'll wear it, but only because I haven't had good food in a long time. Cereal isn't that great."
"Perfect." He smiled and took it to the counter to buy it. After they had finished up in the store, Samantha headed back to the hotel to put on the new dress. She was never comfortable wearing girly clothes as long as she could remember. Of course, she would do anything for a good meal at the moment. The little frills and bows on the dress reminded her of her mother as she was a very beautifull woman. At least, Samantha thought she was. One day she'd have to look for her mother to see if she still lived and maybe she'd find out why her parents were no longer together. Either way, she hoped that she'd at least have some fun at the resturant since the rest of the place was so gloomy.
----------
"Geeze, getting all dressed up for a reason?" Jason looked over his shoulder at Angel eyes.
"Well yes actually, I found some really interesting things out about our little Samantha and I intend to inquire about them."
"So you're taking her out to dinner? Lame excuse." Jason threw his hands up and laughed lightly.
"I want her to be comfortable as they are highly sensitive issues...for example, did you know she's the daughter of an infamous female pilot?" Angel eyes finished putting on his shoes and looked back towards the hotel where Samantha was approaching in her new dress.
"What? You're kidding right?" Jason looked at her and then back at him.
"No, we'll discuss it later. I'm not even sure she knows it." He smiled as she approached him. "Ready to go?"
Samantha smiled excitedly at the table with Angel eyes in front of her. Jason was standing very far off in the corner next to an assortment of other marines and they were drinking and laughing. Aparently multiple people had escorts as well. Also very apparently diamonds sold very well for a reason. She looked around the room at all the glistening diamonds on people's fingers, in the ceiling fixtures, in boxes in the pockets of men for their loving wives. Samantha had seen enough of them and found it very sickening that people would pay so much for something that cost so little in dresden. However, she tried not too look at it and found the silent ruckus of the marines to be far more comforting even though noise cancelling technology made it impossible for her to hear anything other than what angel eyes said, she could still imagine the many laughs they were having judging by their movements.
"Are you enjoying the food Samantha?" Samantha shook her head and looked over towards him and nodded.
"Yes, it's very good." She smiled and pushed the empty plate forward next to her empty cup of milk. "How can you afford such a fancy resturant?"
"Fancy? Oh....yes well we make a very large amount of money and this is very little in comparsion." He leaned on his hands and looked at her."But there is another reason why we're here."
Samantha had begun to gaze back at the marines but quickly focused back on him."What do you mean?"
"Well, I've been looking up some things and I found some stuff out about you."He leaned forward as if someone might hear him. Samantha felt her heart skip a beat, what was it?"Do you remember your mother?"
"Yes....well, no I don't remember her. I can only remember her saying some nice things to me, but the rest is faded."
"Well, your mother used to pilot a cruiser around 14 years back." He put a data pad on the table and pressed it forward into her hands."One day, she was fighting in the new york system against a pair of incredibly skilled pilots. Apparently she had something that they wanted."
"My mother, used to fight? That must be how she met my father and why he won't speak about her." She felt very nervous and feared to look at the data pad."Where is she now?"
"Well, take a look at the data pad and find out for yourself. This information comes directly from a science team investigating that Hugenot crashed in the sea of manhatten."
"Ya mean, my mother and father fought aloneside one another?" She felt very confused, why wasn't she with them today then?
"Please, Take a look at the data pad Samantha, it should clear everything up for you, then I have quite a few questions for you." He expressed the importance of examining the data pad with his hand. Just as she was about to look at it, the door opened to the resturant behind her. A man with short fiery red hair stepped through the doorway, his black cat like ears stood firm on his head and the outfit he wore was incredibly familiar as well as the yellowish eyes that were surprisingly docile. She knew him, but from where? The only thing she knew 100% was that his outfit reminded her of a slave trader from far away. The bald man and short hair woman from before were standing behind him, dwarfed by his height.
The man spoke and even with the noise cancelling she could tell what he was saying. "Samantha, I've finnally found you. Come home, come where you belong." Around the man's belt there was a number of items and among them was a long taser and an all too familiar crest, a crest that looked familiar as well. It looked like the apocathery symbol and it was blazing hot as if ready to be used.
"Oh here already. I'm sure you'll be able to recover your memories from him." Angel eyes smiled as Jason stood over her rather suddenly and his hands reached down to grab her at which point she darted under the table. She had no idea who any of them were anymore as she rammed the chair that the leader of PK was sitting at and didn't turn around when it fell over with him in it. She headed for the exit of the resturant as Jason literally strode across the origional table to get at her.
"Samantha y..." His voice cut out as she passed under the noise canceler of another table, she didn't have time to apologize to the couple at the table as she crawled under it and out. Jason's voice came to her ears again, this time slightly further away."...hide and seek! They're here to take y..."She ducked under a group of tables, the complicated noise of love you's and crashing tables mixed with screams didn't matter to her. She saw the red haired man as he stared at her and began to approach her, his hand hand out in the stop sign motion, speaking words she could not hear or understand. No way out but the window to which she eagerly smashed through. Glass filled her shoulders and back as well as the dress which she quickly tore off revealing her old outfit. How could she have trusted any of them. She might be able to still use the train though. Maybe the crew hadn't heard from their leader yet. After she was satisfied she was far enough away she ducked into an alley way to catch her breath. She held within her hands the data pad from earlier. She took a moment and then looked at it reading the information that was held. The data must have become corrupt because she couldn't read any of it. Perhaps it was just in a different langauge, she'd have to ask someone later as for now she had to get off the planet. She didn't waste anymore time and headed for the spaceport.
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"I'm very sorry Mr. Itana. I had no clue she'd run off like that." Angel eyes apologized to him as everyone around him looked on very angrily. The manager of the resturant tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to a bill that had been....updated. The red headed man placed a card in the manager's pocket and pointed away from the two of them.
"I'll pay for that, such a little bill." The man looked around for a moment as the bald haired man and woman returned to the resturant without the girl."Lets not worry about it. Here's your payment." He handed angel eyes a card as well and then turned and walked to the door, stopping momentarily."I think I know where she'll head." His eyes seemed to spark to life and began to glow with a great intensity."It's been a long time....how she even survived I dont' know. My son will be very glad to have a friend to play with aside from that troublesome girl." He made a motion with his hands and the two subordinates made their exit.
"If you want, I could look for her too." The leader of PK offered his hand.
The red headed man turned toward him and looked at his hand before shaking it."It's been a while...my eyes might fail me. You have my number, don't dissapoint me." The man turned and exited just as quickly as he had come. Jason stood up behind him and smiled.
"How much we get paid for that?"
"30 million. She must be really important for just the information on her." He turned around and looked at Jason who suddenly walked back over to the bar and pointed to a few drinks which were quickly handed to him."And what may I ask are you doing?"
"Hey, the guy seems rich, geeze, I just said put em on his tab. Who is the guy anyhow?" Jason laughed and waved bye to the marines who were leaving with their VIPs.
"A slave trader. I will have to look more up on him as well, but I do know that something about his family and their last and middle names and yadda yadda, I'm sure his last name is Itana though but his first is a mystery.
"So why does he want Samantha?"
"No clue, but I never intended to get her hurt. I thought maybe it was her father or something." He shrugged and grabbed one of the bottles out of his hand."Wow, what year is this?"
Samantha stepped on board of the ship and looked around. She wondered if she could get away with stealing the ship so to say. She made her way quickly to the bridge of the train and ordered an immediate take off. She was in luck as the crew started the ship up and began the procedure to take off and get into orbit. It took a moment and she relaxed in the captains chair. She sighed heavily and needed sleep which she couldn't resist. She knew it would take them a while to get to her in space and she had to think of a place to go so she parked the ship directly out in front of the dock. She began to look over the star map for the best place to hide. She could always head to the omicron system? No, that place was too dangerous and full of nomads for a train to go to. Perhaps she should head to New york? No, they'd be expecting that.
Before she could choose the place to head to, the ship was rocked by a small amount of gunfire. She was so absorbed in the nav map she hadn't noticed the ships attacking a lone ship. She could hear over her comm channel a voice come through insulting her.
"You shouldn't be falling asleep at the wheel."
"You meanie!" She whined and quickly ordered her crew to turn on the cruise thrusters. The ship quickly destroyed the shields on the train and began to wear at the hull. The ship hit cruise just in the nick of time and they were on their way toward the tau system. Samantha sighed and then smiled a moment later. She looked on the nav map and noted the New Castle system. She then remembered the Mollys and how they had engaged them earlier and suddenly became curious. Maybe they knew about her mother and father or even could read the data.
Samantha yawned again and leaned back in her chair but refused to drift off to sleep. She had to be very carefull that no one knew that she was stealing the ship. She had covered up the reason to go to new castle as a new trading route, although she was unsure as what she would pick up there. She was hoping to find another ship or something that she could escape in, maybe she could use the money she had now to purchase another when she got there. As the train came out of the jump hole she looked upon the dark looking system of new castle. Very few stars dotted the backround of the blackness and off in the distance she noticed the blue hued foggy looking ice field. It seemed very familiar to her and she continued to stare until they entered the first tradelane.
"Where should we dock?"The main navigator asked as they approached the planet. Before she could answer the sensory alarm went off with contacts all around her made up of mercenary ships and bounty hunters. Among the ships she could see she recognized Angel eyes ship next to a cruiser and a heavy bomber. She did not recognize the many other ships that cluttered the system but the bounty hunters looked more like head hunters. More private and more professional than the normal bounty hunters. All the ships seemed insignificant compared to the large Osiris class Battleship at the center of the viewport it's guns pointed directly at her. Many voices came over the comm line that all said for her to let down her arms and come quietly, she could hear Angel eyes among them. A moment later another voice came in so clear that it almost seemed as though it was in her head.
"Come with me Samantha, I don't want to have to lower your shields and board that ship. If I have to do it personnally I...." His transmisson was interrupted as a large group of Pirate ships came and sprayed the train with gunfire. The shields fell down to half, another run and they'd be gone. Suddenly the communications line became frantic as the Head hunters opened fire on the pirate vessels. The mercenary ships moved to either engage as well or protect their designated targets. She watched as Angel eyes ship made it's way toward hers, the cruiser with it's insignia Eyes of the Storm made it's way to protect the Battleship and the Heavy bomber began to engage a new wave of pirates in hugenot cruisers.
The ship came under fire again and the shields dissapeared, her hands gripped the railing as the impacts made it hard to sit any longer. The communications line went silent and then static burst through the speakers followed by a man's voice. "Did you actually think the liberty police could hold me? Now, it's time for you to spend some time in our jail cells. This time, we won't just leave marks." Samantha felt another impact, this time it was somthing attaching to the ship. Again the speakers were filled with frantic messages flying back and forth, among them she could hear the Red haired man's voice shouting to stop them. She didn't know what was going on or what to tell her crew as the door behind her opened and on stepped a pair of men armed with rifles. One of the crew members reached for a gun but never had a chance as the rifles went off and splattered his brains on the console behind him. The rest of the crew didnt' stand a chance and put their hands up or were on their knees begging for mercy.
Samantha could not bear the sight of the man who had attempted to resist and turned away about to vomit. Someone grabbed her head from behind and forced her to turn toward the other crew members as the pirates executed them as well. "You shouldn've never escaped us. Now you've killed your whole crew." Her father's words rang out in her head.
"Your hesitation will get your crew killed." She felt the words slip from her lips as she passed out.
Samantha awoke in a dark and cold room that she did not recognize. She could barely remember anything that had gone on recently and looked around the room that she was in. There was literally nothing but dust and shackles on the wall. It seemed as though she was in a room for a crazy person only lacking the padded walls and straight jacket. She stood up and heard chains hit the floor noting that her hands had been shackled to her feet and although she could move freely it appeared to be more for something else rather than holding her. Behind her was the door where a very small amount of light fell down in upon her face. She was just a foot too short to look out of the small peephole with bars covering it. She didn't see any way of escape and she sat down in the furthest corner from the door.
Memories flashed back in her mind of the battle that had just taken place and of the ship's loss of shields followed by her imminent capture. She remembered the man who had tried to resist and felt her stomach spin feeling as though she would puke fromt he thought. Fortunately she could hear a voice in the backround seeming as though it was to her.
"Oh I see that you didn't get away huh?" She leaned closer to the wall and put her hand on it, feeling a crevice that led to a small hole in the wall. She looked through it and spotted what appeared to be a figure in the darkness.
"Who are you?"
"What? Hmmm....that you Ms. Grey?" She saw what appeared to be a pair of dark almost invisible eyes come to the hole. She watched as one of them dissapeared, the figure obviously trying to get a better look. "Yeah, it's you. I'd notice those eyes anywhere. Yep, well hey, they finnally decided to kill me, tonight."
"How do you know me?"She leaned forward toward the wall pressing her hands onto it.
"You don't remember? Well I suppose you're young, but it wasn't too long ago." The eye dissapeared and the figure went back to it's origional position.
"No, you still haven't answered my question."
"Ah, I see you don't remember. Who I am doesn't matter. Said the same thing to you about a year ago. How do I know you, met you right here in this cell."
Samantha felt her heart skip a beat. What did he mean?"I don't recall ever being here. My father must be the one you're thinking of."
"Your father? Yeah, I remember, you talked about how he'd save you one day and then one day I heard some screams and stuff and I asked what was going on and yeah, you were gone." The figure moved back over to the hole and looked through. "Did your father come to save you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Samantha never remembered any of what he said.
"Well, I do remember you saying you'd leave your mark on this station. You etched something into one of these walls saying that they'd remember you because of it. Here, you'll need this more than me now." Something was forced through the hole that landed in front of her. Again the figure returned to it's origional position. "Put your shackles into the light and search the room for it."
Samantha felt her heart beating in her fingertips. She stood and walked over to the light putting her shackles into it. She focused the light to the left where the hole was and saw a bottle of what appeared to be alcohol. She looked to the right and spotted long marks on the wall but they were nothing out of the ordinary. She focused the light directly ahead and couldn't believe what she saw. The symbol of the apocathery with dried blood still on it.
---------------
He looked up into the dark cell and felt his body being thrown in, the sound of his body hitting the ground echoed throughout it. He rolled over onto his back and sat up watching as the four men laughed loudly and shut the door. His wounds bled freely and they had chosen his chest and back as a canvas. He had no idea what they had written but it had hurt terribly. He knew he didn't want to suffer from disease as well as torture and had managed to sneak a bottle of alchohol in when they were halling him in. He remembered them believing his right arm was broken and so when he lifted it to smack them, they didn't watch his left hand grab the bottle. He also remembed playing as though the'd knocked him unconscous and apparently they didn't realize he was holding the bottle.
"God damn, this always ****ing hurts." He scooted over to the wall, the energy drained from his body from bleeding so much. He reached over to a crevice in the wall and pulled out the bottle. He took a moment to soak one of the many bandages that hung from his body and apply it to his bloody cuts. So many times had he done it that he was used to the pain. After a moment he looked down toward the ground wishing they would just kill him already. Stealing a ship of their seemed to be one of the worst things you could do and now he'd pay for it. He felt the bandages on his face as he held his head up with his hand.
His hearing wasn't too good so when he though he heard crying he wasn't sure it was real. It took a moment of scooting to the near wall and pressing his ear up against it to hear. He looked down and saw a small hole in the wall about the size of his hand. He knelt down to look through the hole and saw someone in the cell."Hey, you ok?" Dumb question since obviously anyone in a cell was propably going to die one day. There wasn't a response. "Hey, come here and talk to me. Comon should at least talk to someone if you can."
There was a small rustling followed by a small voice of a young girl."They.....they hurt me..."
"Woah! Holy **** are you a little kid?" He tried as best he could to see her and could only see a dull yellowish eye.
"I...I don't know. I can't remember.....The blood, there's so much of it."
"Hey hey, where'd they cut you?" He didn't want the girl to die, she was his only company.
"My arm...."
"Well, ****, try and put your arm through this hole and i'll make the blood stop. It's gonna hurt just so you know."
"It...can't be worse....than what they did....."
"Did they just cut you?" He could hear her pressing her arm through the hole. Her arm was very small and fit all the way through.
"No....they also...took someone...away....from me..." Her voice shook oddly, like she was about to crack or something and just start screaming and crying in pain. He wondered how old she was as he gripped her wrist tightly and carefull started to clean her wounds. He didn't like listening to the whimpering and crying, but it was for her own good. He removed the grey bandage from his head and carefully wrapped it around her arm. He could feel his hideous face touching the darkness but he didn't care. She couldn't see him.
"There, all better. Take off the bandage when you hear them coming and put it in this hole. I'll put more alcohol on your arm if you need it." He listned to the whimpering as the arm went back through the hole and he stood, the blood remaining in his body rushing to his head forcing him to breathe carefully. After a moment he replaced the alcohol and then sat back down next to the hole."So, whats your name kid?"
"Samantha....Grey...I....." She sounded as if she was going to say more but she didnt'.
"Ah well, look. I know this sucks and stuff, but you should try to be as doscile as you can. I heard that if you do, they get bored of hurting you and move you up to a slave or something."
"Q..Quiet?"
"Yeah, just be as quiet as possible. Heh, or you could just wait till they walk in and try to kill em and take their keys, but even I haven't been able to get out after doing that." His hand felt the decay on his face, remembering how he'd lured one of the gaurds who liked him in. Of course he was not really interested in sex with another man, but the other man found him to be attractive and soon found that bandages were stronger than they looked around someones kneck. He had tried to escaped by taking one of their ships and of course didnt' make it to the trade lane. When he had gotten back, they dipped his face in a barrel of acid and ever since then no one had come onto him.
"My father.....he...will come....." The words seemed kind of odd, but if she was an important person then hell yeah they'd come and they might even rescue him especially if she liked him then she'd want him to come too. For a moment he had hope again of escaping.
"Yeah? Is your father like, king or president or something?" He sat back and prayed.
"No....My father.....my father will come." He sighed but still it was a possibility.
"Yeah, he'll come for sure. Don't you lose hope." He breathed in deeply and looked at his hands where her blood was. "Who is he anyway?"
"I....don't...remember." The sentence confused him.
"What do you mean? How did you get here anyhow?"
"They said....they found me in a lifepod.....recognized me with somone....tortured me....said something about the lifepod being experimental.....then they said they didn't like the results.....said alot of other stuff I didn't understand then....."
"Ah well, probably the reason you can't remember. Some of those lifepods can last like twenty years or so with some sort of new stasis technology." he sat back and scratched his head. "Well damn, you sound really young so you couldn't have been in one that long."
"I don't....remember...."
"Ah it's ok." He decided it was enough questions for the day. He wanted to brighten her day and try to keep up her hope and maybe one day she'd be able to try and escape. Try the same way he did maybe only this time he'd be with her and be able to help."So, you ever been to Manhatten?"
First there was a low thump and then it was followed by a thud and a few splatter sounds. The low thump came again and then footsteps away from the area. He sighed and crawled over to the hole again where he waited. He could've never imagined how horrible it would be each time they returned his neighbor. The sounds were enough to make him sick. Then again if it was an older man he wouldn't have felt the same way. This time it was taking longer than usual for her to reach her arm through the little hole and he feared that this time she might not be able to make it. "You ok over there?"
"No....i'm never ok...."He listened to her slide across the floor toward the hole before the bandage and her arm passed through. He still couldn't see what had been done to her arm but he never asked. He took part of his rags and carefully doused it with alcohol before applying it to her wounds.
"Don't worry, your father will come." He hadn't heard her speak of him in a very long time so he tried to cheer her up. He listened to her whimper and then begin to cry. She didn't usually cry anymore so something he had said probably upset her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to."
"He's never coming....is he?"
"Sure he will. You can't give up hope ever otherwise you'll end up like me."
"No....he's not...."
He could almost feel her tears running down his face when he realized that he was crying himself. He had felt so bad for her and now it was finnally showing. He had to cheer her up he couldn't let her be like this."Yes he is! I bet he's on his way here right now! Or, maybe he got captured on purpose and it's just taken him this long to plan his escape!" He wrapped her wounded arm up and released it.
"No...no...."She didn't speak for a moment as he could hear scratching sounds.
"What are you doing?"
"Making sure....that i'm not forgotten." The sounds continued for a moment before they stopped. He didn't know what to say to her, she seemed as though she had lost all her hope. "My father will never come....never....never.....he's not coming...."
"Don't say that! He has to come, you're his daughter! He loves you doesn't he?"
"This has to be punishment....I never did impress him.....he's not coming.....not coming..." She continued to talk in circles. He couldn't do much of anything and he sat against the back wall. He'd been here for almost a year or so and she'd only been there almost two weeks. He listened as she finnally stopped talking and closed his eyes. He couldn't do anything for her.
After a time which he could not tell, he heard footsteps and assumed it was his turn. He heard the gaurd outside his door and stood up ready to be taken for his punishment. Suddenly he heard Samantha screaming at the top of her lungs.
"Father! Please Father don't leave me here!" He could hear her crying and he heard the footsteps start to move away from his door to hers.
"Don't! Be quiet! They'll come and get you!" He quickly ran over to the hole and looked through it.
He watched as the light spilled into the room. He thought for a moment that he heard another pair of footsteps as he watched a man quickly smash into the wall. He could not see anymore of what was going on but he could hear it.
"Father? Is that you?" He could hear the girl's voice and he could hear footsteps. "It is you! Oh father, what did they do to you......" He heard what sounded like stumbling and assumed that she had passed out. A moment later he could hear footsteps running away. He quickly thought for a moment to yell out to them but another group of footsteps and shadows passing in front of him halted his voice. Well he thought, at least she would escape. His thoughts returned to that of a quick death to which he might get if he could just get them to shoot him.
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He could hear whimpering in the cell next to him. His limbs felt weak and he could barely move to the hole to look through. What had she etched into the wall that made her collapse like that? He shrugged and looked forward as he heard footsteps. Finnally he'd get to die. He felt sorry for the girl but hopefully the remaining alcohol would make it more bearable. He sighed and was finnally relieved as the gaurd jingled his keys like he had so many years before and he heard him say something aloud to his cell neighbor.
"Where's your father now? You won't be doing what you did last time, i'll make sure of that."
As if responding to what he said, he heard Samantha's voice. What she was saying was too low for him to hear. Suddenly her figure was gone and he could hear her at the doorway. Apparently the gaurd had heard her and went to investigate. So familiar, so odd he thought and so he tried his hardest to stand and make his way to the door and look out. Just in time too.
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Samantha heard the gaurd just outside her cell neighbor's door. She didn't want him to die and she recalled from last time. She stood and walked to the door and looked out and over toward the gaurd who eagerly came to the door.
"What was that little girl?"
"What was what?"Samantha watched as the gaurd suddenly came forward into the bars at incredible speed. She noted the sign of the apocathery on his forehead, imbedded forever from some brutal force. A moment later the man staggered back slightly and then came forward again, this time the door caved halfway in before it started to lean toward her. She backed off and looked out to the gaurd. On his face was horror and she watched as her father came up from behind him, his eyes completely red, a slight haze emitting from them. She watched as her father's hand went through his stomach and blood splattered Samantha's body. She stared as her father tossed the dead corpse to the side and walked in. His eyes settled to a bright yellow as he put his arms around her just as she started to pass out.
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Again he listened as a single pair of footsteps ran off but this time he yelled after them. "HEY! What about me!?" He didn't get a response, but the station did shake as though detesting the shout. He heard a group of footsteps but this time it was not gaurds, instead it was a group of marines and among them there stood a man with a nametag that stated 'Angel Eyes'. They stopped at his door and told him to stand back which he did. A moment later a low thump sounded as the door popped out of place and then fell inward. He stepped out of the doorway and looked at the men who had saved him."You have no clue....how long i've been in here....." He was glad that the pirates were happy to replace the bandages on his face, as he didn't want the marines freaking out at the site of his face. However they did place a towel around him.
"Have you seen a short catgirl. Albino in appearance with yellow eyes?"
"You mean Ms. Grey?" He looked over toward the blood stain on the wall outside of the cell. "Her father just rescued her a moment ago. Rather dramatically I might add."
"What? That's impossible. We were the first ones here and we really don't have time for misinformation. Did you see the man who took her?"
"No, shoot, could only see the blood splatter and hear what happened. Lots of thuds."
"We can't just leave without her, we'll have to progress. I think you should accompany this man back to the ship for questioning Angel Eyes." The tallest of the marines stepped over the blood and the other marines followed him.
"Right, it's not safe here, lets go. Lots of mercenaries will risk their lives for this big of bucks but that doesn't mean they'll last forever. I should know." He pointed to himself and then headed toward the direction they had come. For a moment he started to follow but he looked back toward the blood and spotted something out of the ordinary. The bottle of alcohol and the bandages he had given her so many years ago lay directly in the doorway. He shrugged and decided living was more important as he quickly put foot after foot as fast as his brittle legs would carry him.
Something was glowing in front of her. A pair of eyes that appeared to materialize out of nowhere. She turned around and started to run away from them as fast as she possibly could but then they suddenly appeared in front of her. She turned a corner with speed and agility, down the hallway, through crowds of faceless, motionless people. She could feel the eyes upon her even now as she turned around and did not see them. For a moment she thought she might have lost them for she did not see them. How come she still had the feeling they were watching her then? She heard a growl and slowly looked up as her eyes met the bright pinkish red pair. They made a leap for her and that's when she closed her eyes and crouched down in fear letting out a yelp.
Samantha woke up in a cold sweat looking around the room she was in. It reminded her of the captains room on the hugenot she had ridden earlier. She stood, holding her pillow in her arms and walked out of the room. She looked to the left and walked down the familiar hallway to an already open door. She stepped inside and saw the bridge which was completely empty and dark all except for a few lights of navigation. She walked into the room and approached the console where the navigation tech would normally sit and looked at the panel to see where they were headed.
"What are you doing in here?" She was startled by her father's voice and she looked up at the doorway that had her father in it now.
"Oh nothing father. I was only looking for you." She was curious as to where they were going but she would much rather be near her father. He was the only real comfort she had at the moment now that Angel Eyes had become her enemy. She walked over to her father and clung to his waist."Father, how can you operate this ship all alone?"
"I'm only operating the navigations controls." He looked directly forward and for a moment she felt cold from his lack of compassion, but then his hand gently scratched behind her ear.
"Where are we headed father?" Her tail waved lightly back and forth as she purred.
"To get you a new bandage." He gripped her arm and pulled it up showing that he had put what appeared to be an arm warmer on in place of it. He showed balance since he had also put one on the other arm and of course, less people would suspect her without the bandage.
"Thank you father." She smiled and hugged him more. "To manhatten then?" She released him and stood back a small distance.
"Smart girl." He walked forward to the railing in front of the captain's chair and watched as they passed several trains and ships in the California system. "When we get there, you must promise me somthing."
"Yes father, anything." She felt eager to be of use to her father.
"Stay, away from the old wreckage." He watched the jump gate open to accept them.
"Why is that father?" She could not see the reason.
He stood up and held his shaky weak left arm up to his forehead."No matter what anyone tells you, you must stay away from there."
"Yes father, but why?" She pushed the question. He stared at her for a moment.
"When it comes time, you'll visit that place, but not now." The ship jumped suddenly into the jump hole causing her to almost lose her balance. A moment later and they came out of the jump hole.
"Yes father." Samantha nodded obediently.
"We'll be landing shortly, in the meantime don't forget your Id and medical card. They won't be happy you lost your bandage." He stood and walked up to the navigation panel, sending them through the nearest tradelane. She smiled and quickly made her way back down the hallway and into her room. The ship was eerily silent and gave her the chills, but when she turned on the light in her room she felt much better. She looked over her items and quickly gathered them up into her small backpack, a bit hastily though. She pulled it over her shoulders and waited for the ship to land.
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"Well geeze if I would've known she was worth 100 million I probably would've done the same thing. It wasn't like I had a choice." His voice was slightly distorted by the bandages that covered his face. In fact, his whole body was covered in bandages, but he didnt' seem to mind as he took another bite of the sandwich that he'd been given and looked up at the short haired man.
"Is there anything usefull you can tell us? You said you had seen her there twice, when was the first time?" Angel Eyes was very frustrated that he hadn't gotten much out of the man. A very large number of bounty hunters and head hunters were all huddled around the table. Most of them were scattered and speaking with mercenaries or taking smoke breaks, but the gathering was getting alot of news and media which had been taken care of by the man known as Itana. Seemed he was quite popular, however Angel Eyes was unsure of whether it was hatred or love that fueled the media. He had heard he was a slave trader after all.
"Well, the first time was nearly a year back. I'm not exactly sure how she got there, but it seemed like she had been subjected to so much torture that she didn't remember anything." The first good food that he had had in a long time was now gone, but of course he gave the man a look which of course warrented him another of the sandwiches. "Believe me, a girl her age experiencing stuff like that to her left arm had to of been painfull. Seems her and her father have similiar injuries to their arms or something like that. It would explain why they would do such a thing to her." His hand gripped the table for a moment feeling sorry for the girl. "So, does she have some family that pissed them off or something?"
Angel Eyes seemed very displeased by what he had said. "Yes, her mother a long time ago was a big fan of killing pirates and anything she was allowed to. She had quite a lot of hate. She died fighting against a pair of unknown ships that coaxed hers into the atmosphere." He leaned forward again and looked the bandaged man directly in the eye. "But that was over 12 years ago and her father is not the man she's with now." The bandaged man suddenly lost his appetite and he looked back just as hard.
"So.....who is it?"
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Samantha purred lightly as she looked at the new bandage on her arm. She had to be sedated like usual but she didnt' care. The new bandage was grey like the old one only it reached up to her shoulder so it would be much harder to lose. She looked around the pier and then she looked directly out toward the ocean where the ship was poking out of the water. She was quite curious but she did not ask questions. She turned to walk away from the pier and accidentally bumped into someone. She almost thought they'd know her since she was bumping into alot of people who were familiar with her lately.
"Oh sorry about that. You're short and I didn't see you there." A young and quite odd looking boy looked down at her and pressed his hands on her forehead, hoping to reduce the impact.
"It's fine, it was my fault." She smiled back up and watched his incredibly long blue hair wave in the wind. She wondered to herself how someone got hair both that long and dyed it all that color or why they'd want to. Considering this, she decided to ask."Um, why is your hair...blue?"
The question seemed to take him off gaurd and he scratched his own black cat like ears and looked off in the distance with his pale yellow eyes. "Well.....I dye it?" The boy was semi short seeming and very slender with a womanish figure to him. The light blue t-shirt he wore said woot on it and his mismatched black and grey shorts screamed out at her like a thousand knives.
"Well, yes, but why not just let your hair stay it's natural color?" She tugged one of the two long strands of hair that fell in front of his face.
"Some of us are born without pigmentation in our hair and sometimes it's very embarrassing for a little girl to ask why." He looked down at her as if she should know better. "My hair's naturally white like yours but I love blue and....well....nothing nevermind. You're too young to understand."
"You think you're weird with white hair. I think you'd look much better if you cut it all off and dyed it black if you really wanted to look normal." She crossed her arms and stuck her nose up at him.
The boy just laughed at her and smiled. "Think I care what other people think?" He shrugged and then looked a bit closely at her."Hey, i'm looking for someone and all, but i'm horrible at finding people, maybe you could help me."
"Um, I don't know how I could be of help, but sure." She ignored the laugh and still found the boy to be detesteble.
"Well, all you got to do is tell me if you've seen them." Samantha nodded as he put his hands on his hips, his tail standing stiff for a moment. "See, it's a girl i'm looking for. She's....um...well hey, here, take a look at this list of things that match her appearance and tell me if it rings a bell. I've never actually seen her before." He removed a folded up piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to her. Samantha unfolded it and read it off in her head.
-Defining traits
-Albino with yellow instead of pink eyes.
-Semi long white hair.
-Usually wears black and white with a black ribbon in her hair.
-Black ears and matching tail.
Yeah and one more note for ya bro. Bounty hunters keep saying NOT to call her by either of her names or she'll run from ya. Just remember not to go around hugging every little cat girl ya see like I know you like to do. You know Luna would kill you anyhow. If ya do manage to hug her, then ask her if she's Samantha Grey...um...forgot your last name. You'll have to tell me when you get home Frozen boy.
-Your pal,
Jake.
Samantha took a moment to finish reading the not to find the best way to go about the situation. She carefully handed him back the noted and smiled."Well actually I've never even seen someone who looks similiar to that description."
He looked dissapointed,"Damn. Seeing you I thought you were like pals or something or another ya know, the whole black and white scene, woot or something." He scratched his head nervously and then looked back down at her.
Samantha couldn't help but feel as though the boy was a complete moron. "Well no sorry, i'm actually not from around here....anyhow, um i'll be going now, you have yourself a nice day ok." She turned around and started to head for the spaceport a moment later she broke out in a run. She most certainly didn't want the boy to catch her if he did realize who she was.
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"Hm....could've sworn She'd know."The girl scurried away from him as he scratched his head and looked at the note. Suddenly he felt a hard thud against the back of his head.
"Where's she going?!" A girl had come up from behind him and hit him sqaure on the noggin. "How do you expect to catch your little lost half sister if you let her get away?!" The girl's long brown hair fell over her face for a moment but her hand pulled it back away from her sparkling emerald eyes. Of course it was only his imagination that made them look like emeralds, but he was in love so what could he say.
"I thought she'd be taller ya know...and bustier....with like...a full sexy body or something." He crouched directly after saying this and covered his head for fear of the imminent blow that would come after saying such a thing, both about looking at another woman the wrong way and about his half sister in such a way.
"You son of a....." She held her hand up above her head and clenched her fist for a moment but then sighed and let her hand down at her side."Look, that was her ok?" She tried her best to relax and put her hands in her jean pockets like she always did when she felt the need to hit him. It helped her but it was just a nervous habit. Seeing he wasn't going to be punished, he stood up and smiled before pinching her brown cat like ear.
"You know you love me."
"You're making this really hard for me." This lead the boy to stare at her chest for a long moment. He roused from the moment and looked at her.
"I'm sorry, were you saying something?" Of course this led to another beating but it was followed up by the girl turning her back on him.
"I won't help you find her if all you're going to do is oggle me and other women." She crossed her arms and closed her eyes. She felt his arms wrap around her waist and she felt his nose brush across her cheek.
"We've been through this a million times and you know how it always ends up." The girl gritted her teeth and felt revulsed by his touch.
"That's what happens when I push your angry buttons, not when you push mine." She felt her hands gripping even tighter as though she might literally start blowing steam out of her ears. She felt his lips on hers and although it had taken a few minutes to build up her anger, the kiss had drained it all away. She opened her eyes and after he broke it off she sighed very deeply and blushed.
"No more hitting me and getting angry or I might get angry and it'll lead to the three letter word." She purred a bit for a moment.
"Maybe I want that." The boy put his hand on his forehead.
"Later maybe, I gotta catch up to my half sissy." He hugged the girl and grabbed her hand."How come she doesn't look older anyhow?"
Samantha was again running through the spaceport as fast as she could. She had no idea whether the boy was on her tail or not but she had to get back on the ship where it was safe. She ran up the escalator and stopped when she stepped up the last step. She looked to the small river flowing between her and the other side for those who were coming back in and she spotted someone very familiar to her. He was bald and had a goatee, and of course, staring directly at her.
"Ms. Grey, please stop!" The man stood on the edge of the other side and leaned forward slightly. Samantha wasn't afraid at the moment, after all the man would have to get terribly wet if he wanted to reach her in time. Samantha smiled and stuck her tongue out at him.
"No, I don't trust any of you. My father says to stay away from you so that's just what i'll do." She decided that it would be best if she left now. If there was the bald man, there would be the woman and the other man. She could hear him calling out to her and of course, she heard a splash which indicated he did decide to go through the middle. She made her way down the long hallway and stopped at the big detector that was just before the long moving floor. She looked out of the window at her ship and felt her heart sink. There in front of her ship were a very large number of people who didn't look like they were admiring the paint job. She had no place to run but back out into the streets of Manhatten. That's exactly what she did. She watched as the bald man got out of the water, on the other side of the river and stopped to taunt him. He threw his hands up in the air in a very frustrated manner and decided to be a little bit smarter attempting to go down an upwards escalator.
Samantha raced to the bottom of the escalator and jumped down to the bottom. She looked up in time to see a girl with brown hair reach out and grab her arm.
"Gotcha. Hey, over here." Samantha looked toward the upwards escalator and saw the boy from earlier helping the bald man off the escalator. The girl didn't seem to have too tight a hold on her and she struggled with her. The girl did not let go of Samantha's arm. Samantha opened her mouth wide and bit deep into the girl's hand, this however did not make her let go, instead the girl bit her lip and closed one of her eyes as well as tightened her grip.
"Let go of me! Father!" Samantha called out loudly and as if responding to her call, her father appeared behind the girl. Her father's eyes blazed red as the girl looked down at Samantha.
"I'll take you to your father. Hey, stop looking at me like that." Samantha's father placed his hand on the girl's arm that was holding Samantha and gripped very tightly.This caused the girl to wince and let out a low cry of pain. The girl instantly released Samantha and fell to her knees holding the wounded area. Samantha didn't have a moment to think as her father took her into his arms and raced toward the exit of the spaceport. Samantha looked out behind them and watched as the boy started to run after them, but a moment later and he appeared to dissapear among the crowd. Seemed she got lucky with large crowds of people.
"Stop right there! Via the bounty i'm to take you in!" Samantha turned forward and saw two men. One of the men was Angel Eyes, while the second was just another bounty hunter.
"Look, I don't want to hurt you." Angel eyes lifted a gun in one hand and aimed it at them. Samantha covered her eyes and could only hear the sound of two gunshots going off as well as feel the splatter of blood on her face. For a moment she thought her father might have been hit but when she reopened her eyes she had to close them again instantly. Her father had impaled the bounty hunter with his hand in much the same way he had done the gaurd on the station. She listened as the man groaned and fell over on the floor and assumed that Angel Eyes would be too busy helping him to follow. A moment later she felt the wind of the ocean in her hair and opened her eyes. She looked out to the ocean and then in toward the harbor where they were headed spotting what appeared to be a low flying starflier. The pilot perhaps was running laps to get their liscense, but to Samantha they sure didn't know how to fly. They passed the pier where they had always stood when visiting Manhatten. Her father must have been looking for her here and when she wasn't there came looking for her. Finnally home free of the nightmare of being captured. She wished she could be as strong as her father, she could feel herself drifting off to sleep, but she never fell into dreamland, the sound of sirens went off all around her.
Samantha felt her feet touch the ground and she quickly scurried behind her father holding onto his waist. She looked forward toward the force arrayed in front of her. The force around her ship was small in comparison and must have been there to seal her exit. The amount of bounty hunters and mercenaries was baffling, at the front of the pack was Jason and the man from new tokyo. Behind her there was approaching the boy from earlier and the bald man as well as a small group of bounty hunters. He never quit and must have found Samantha to be very important for some reason or another."There's no escape. What will we do?"
"I regret not teaching you how to see with your eyes. I will not let you die now." Samantha wrapped her arms around her father's neck, not completely understanding what he had meant by that.
"Samantha, you belong to me! What don't you understand about that? Stop resisting and come here right now before I get angry!" The red haired man's eyes flared up as he gripped his hands tightly. Jason leveled his gun with at her father and pulled the trigger almost to the point of firing. A sound filled Samantha's ears, one of an engine."Just give up now and the punishment will be only half as severe."
"With my eyes, I can see what you cannot." Her father crouched down and was almost touching the ground."Hold on tight." Samantha did as she was told and felt her father jump into the air just as a starflier passed by, his hand caught the wing of it and of course sent the pilot straight toward the water.Samantha closed her eyes and held on for her life. There was a quick splash followed by the inability to breathe for quite a time before finnally she took in a deep breathe and opened her eyes. Her father was crawling into a patrol boat that had just docked moments ago with some of the bounty hunter passengers. Samantha released her father and stood at the back of the boat, watching as the people rushed to get to them. It only took a moment for her father to get the boat moving away from the dock. Samantha felt great relief as the people began to board their own ships, but they were too far behind to catch up.
"I see with the eyes of the hunter, no one can escape." Samantha turned forward and felt her heart drop as she spotted the boy from earlier. He didn't look like much of a match for her father though and suddenly she felt relieved again, standing behind her father, watching as the boy approached them. "Comon my half sissy, quit this nonsense."
"I'm not your sister! Father, do I have a brother?"Before her father could respond the boy filled in for him.
"I said, half sissy. You should be glad i'm out here trying to help you and all, but instead noooooo.....you gotta go causing all this trouble for me. How do you think my girlfriend feels about the whole arm thing? She was pissed!" His eyes remained their pale yellow color.
"She shouldn't have tried to take me from my father."The boy didn't look confused intead he laughed slightly.
"Geeze, now I know why you don't look older. Must have been the materials in that escape pod."Samantha didn't trust him one bit, but was quite curious what he meant.
"Older? I'm only seven."
"Maybe you're seven physically. I went through the same thing. Some say that people who've been in cryo life pods are prime for being possessed and such. Believe me, that's completely true." He put his hands on his hips and looked at her with a forcefull gaze.
"Are you suggesting i'm possessed? I'm quite sure that i'm not."
"No no no....." He shook his head and laughed again, the sun behind him was begginning to go down. "Just imagine drifting for years on end, staring into the void of space, with nothing to do and no one to comfort you. Kind of...gets to your mind...makes you forget things.....your father is back waiting for you at the dock." He gave her the come here motion."Come on, we'll fix up that torn mind of yours when we get back."
Samantha felt very confused by what he was saying, but more so enraged by his insulting her father who was standing right in front of him. "Do you not see my father right here!? I only remember him being there for me! There was no one else and my mother is long gone as far as I know she could be dead!"
Now he was shocked."What?" He scratched his head and thought for a moment."Wait, you still have that information on the wreckage out there?"
"Yeah, so, I can't read it."
"Look again."
She did as she was told and looked at the data pad. Suddenly she could read it and she did not like what it said.
"No! I won't believe it! It's not true!" Samantha fell to her knees and let the data pad fall down to the deck."You're a liar! I hate you!" She could feel tears slipping from her eyes and dropping down to the floor, she looked up feeling a large mixture of emotions. "I don't want to see you anymore! Make him go away father!" Samantha gripped her hands tightly together and watched as her father looked forward toward the confused looking boy.
"What the hell are you talking about?" The boy asked as he looked forward toward the man.
"I want you gone! Leave me and my father in peace!" She watched as he pulled his arm back and readied the fatal move that had killed the previous oppressors. The boy didn't appear ready, but when he lunged at him, the boy stopped his hand just inches above his stomach.
"What the hell are you doing? I'm your half brother for gods sake!" The boy forced her father's hand down and quickly dodged around behind him, his arms quickly wrapping up around his shoulders trying to restrain him. The boys eyes quickly lit up bright yellow as he pressed his hands behing her father's head. The boy struggled to hold his grip but soon his hands slid down her father's face and a moment later her father was out of the restraint and standing a short distance away. The boy gritted his teeth and stood bent slightly over in what appeared to be a semi sort of stance he had either been taught or learned. Her father didn't wait for more than a second before testing it with an attempt on his jaw. The shot was quickly stopped with both hands, one not being enough to resist the sheer force which left him quite open for the hard knee to his stomach. The boy released her father's fist to hold his stomach and could only watch as another shot to the face sent him tumbling back into the small cabin.
Samantha could hear coughing for a moment before the boy reappeared at the doorway."That's it! No one hits my face!" His eyes started to glow a similiar color to her father's, much lighter however. The boy wiped his lower lip of blood and walked carefully toward her father who stood waiting. The boy leaned back slightly to get a bit of momentum for a punch, but he never got it off. Her father was far too quick and before he could even attempt to punch, he had grabbed that very hand and pulled it hard enough to send the boy overboard. Samantha smiled and noted she was nervously gripping her hands together.
"Thank you so much father." Her father turned around to face her and the moment he did the boy jumped up onto his back and began to choke him. "Father no!" Samantha felt her throat tighten up and almost felt as though she could not breathe as well. Her father obviously wasn't happy about this and broke the hold easily, flipping the boy over his shoulder and laying him flat out on the deck. Her father didn't stop there however, while the boy was still dazed he quickly grabbed his right arm and twisted it until it was backwards before kicking it hard enough for it to pop out of the joint and cause the boy to cry out in pain. He rolled over on his side and whined lightly his ears going limp as well."You could have just left us alone, now you're going to die." Her father lifted him up onto his feet and gripped his shirt in the front. He leaned back preparing to kill the boy with the same method again.
"All I wanted to do, was save you and now, I have to hurt you." In the blink of an eye, the boy slipped out of his shirt and gripped the floor, his feet connecting with her father's helmet, sending him flying toward Samantha. She didn't have time to move as she watched her father's white hair spill out and could see a reflection of herself in his eyes. The impact of her father's body knocked her out cold.
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Samantha felt as thought she was half asleep and everything around her looked blue and distorted. The halls were long and familiar like the cruiser she had been in before but something about this one seemed far more familiar. She looked around her as she was carried by someone who she couldn't see completely. The hallways appeared as though they had been burned badly and on the floor near the doorway they were about to enter she spotted a familiar shape. It was unrecognizeable since it had been toasted to a crisp, but somehow she knew it was her old teddy bear. Samantha felt her vision return completely and she noticed that they were on a slight slant, the light she felt on her face was coming from the ship itself where a few people must have restored some of it so that it might be viewable by others.
She started to feel the pain of her throbbing chin and tasted a bit of her own blood which dripped from her mouth and landed on the boy from earlier's arm. She was shocked to see the color of her blood was a light blueish with small bits of purple in it that were gradually turning red. She looked away from it and up at the boy who's eyes had stopped glowing and his face looked just fine as well as his arm which was being used to carry her. The boy noticed she was scared of him and quickly began to speak.
"Hey, just relax ok, you're fine, I didn't hit you too hard." He continued to carry her onto the deck of the ship where he let her down.
"Where's my father? You killed him didn't you!" Samantha backed away from him, very frightened.
"Hey look, I think I finally understand what's going on here. Took me a moment, but when I kicked you back there and saw the blood I realized exactly what is wrong with you." The boy walked over to the charred command console and knelt down next to it. He cracked it open and pulled out a moderately sized box made from the material that recorded what happened when a ship went down.
"No, STOP! No more of your lies!" Samantha hissed at him and backed up toward the main viewport.
"Thank goodness they replaced the viewscreen." The boy let the box down on the ground, it's obvious weight registering with a thud. The boy began to play with wires until suddenly the viewport came on. Samantha was startled and backed away from it before staring at it. "I guess you won't believe text so lets hope video will work."
On the screen she watched as her father appeared before her with a reflection of the bridge in it. The place was lit by red lights and the sound took a good moment to stop. She watched as her stood for a good solid second and than began to speak. Samantha did not hear her father's voice however.
"Samantha, I know one day you'll grow up and become a great captain. I know one day you'll have the eyes of the hunter and you'll want to go out and destroy everything that causes you pain. Soldiers are not weak though Samantha and you should consider your options before you take this route." Samantha could hear a woman's voice coming from the speakers and she did not see the same shakiness in their left arm as they brought it up to remove the helmet. It only took a moment for the helmet to come off and reveal the face of her mother. Short magenta colored hair with thin eyebrows, a smooth beautifull face with yellow eyes.
Samantha could not believe her eyes and could feel her memories flushing back into her head like a thousand knives, it was a brief moment of pain, one that she beared before she looked up again at her mother."Mother...."
The woman did not respond, instead she continued to speak."I hope your father finds you before they do and i'm very sorry that I did not eject as well." The woman looked as though she had just heard her whole family had died. "I'm so sorry Samantha. I couldn't let those bastards get ahold of me or you. I never knew you'd carry my ill blood, but someone will tell you how to rid yourself of it i'm sure of it. Samantha, I love you so much, that i'm going to die for your safety." The woman began to cry, but she didn't whine, she kept her eyes straight forward. A small announcement stated they were entering the atmosphere sounded and the woman put her hand over her face. She could not contain her feelings anymore and began to weep. "Don't let them take you. Don't let anyone who knows your full name touch you, unless they know your last name, little ms Itana. I'll take your father's name to my grave even if it was an accident." The screen shook slightly but the woman stood firm even as a small object flew across the room and landed at the doorway of the bridge. It appeared as thought the woman was saying something else, but it was cut off for a moment. "....and you must get rid of your blood. Goodbye Samantha. I love you sweetheart." The woman pressed a button and the image dissapeared.
Samantha didn't stop staring at the image even when it was gone. She couldn't think straight and she felt light headed. She staggered a few steps back and collided with the boy who looked down at her.
"Everything will be ok Samantha Grey Itana. Only half my blood but I still love you." He lifted her up into his arms as she felt herself burst out in tears, crying like she had never done before. Her teeth sank deep into the boy's shoulder, unable to find any other place for her feelings. She felt her thoughts racing as she recalled everything that had happened, feeling so terrible remembering how she had tried to kill the boy on the ship. How she had tried to kill the bounty hunter, how she had grabbed his girlfriend's arm after she had grabbed hers. Samantha couldn't stop the memories, remembering her escape from the pirate station, her own hand having been placed through him. She remembered when she believed her father had left when she had ditched the ship to lose the pirate tail. She remembered commanding the cruiser herself without her father and speaking directly to Angel Eyes. She remembered the fake punishment she had given herself and she remembered dumping her own ice cream cone. She remembered being trapped in the station for the longest time, the torture they had incured on her. She remembered them thawing her out of the life pod and cutting her arm for the fun of watching her bleed the odd colored blood. She watched as years of drifting through space flew past her eyes, all the way back to the day her mother had ejected her into space and the warning she gave of what the pod contained.
She felt her tears finnally stop and she released the boy's shoulder and felt his nose nuzzle her cheek. "lets go home ok? I'm pretty sure that they won't find you where we're going and I know a doctor who gives blood transfusions. He did mine after all." Samantha felt weak and could barely hold onto the boy. She watched as they left the ship and she spotted the writing on the side of the ship. She couldn't quite read the beggining, but the rest was legible. "Cool The Legend....Wonder why my mother would choose a ship name like that...."