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Episode 5
"The Beast Girl Ready to Pounce"
The episode begins with a flashback of how Aisha , the catgirl
in the series (from the Ctarl-Ctarl) didn't graduate from college with
honors, and thus was stationed in space (as a punishment of sorts).
Gene, Jim, and Melfina take the "Outlaw Star" back to
Blue Heaven to get it painted, and to get it a registration number, so
they can land in legitimate ports. A funny round robot-looking thing and a
human say they'll do it for free--they owe Hilda. They ask what Gene's
favorite color is, so they can paint the ship. Gene points to his hair.
They tell Gene, Jim, and Melfina to come back later.
In a private room, Gene shaves in the bathroom while Jim and
Melfina sit on the bed. Melfina is sad, because Hilda saved her, and now
she's gone. Jim suggests that Gene isn't sad, but is just mad. Gene
replies, "Maybe" to himself.
The gang go outside into the rest of Blue Heaven, which looks
like a big mall. Gene doesn't have space phobia in the "Outlaw
Star," due to the Physical Navigation System--he just doesn't feel
cooped up.
A semi-familiar figure with a tattered cloak asks them where
Hilda is, and announces herself as Aisha Clanclan, our resident catgirl.
Gene apologizes for their previous run-in, and then tells her
that Hilda's dead, and leaves. Aisha tries to pick a fight with Gene, who
refuses on the grounds that he doesn't want to hit a girl. Jim, Gene, and
Melfina run away! Aisha kicks Gene in the face and fights him some more;
Gene punches her in the face. There's some fighting, then Aisha takes off
her cloak angrily. Jim remembers that the Ctarl-Ctarl are metamorphs--they
can turn into various animals. Aisha says she can power up with the power
of the moon, and Gene notes that Blue Heaven (an artificially constructed
space station) doesn't have a moon. They run. Gene tells Jim to
find some shells. Gene and Mel lose Aisha. Gene gets faint when he sees
the stars outside the window--he falls to the ground, sweating. Melfina
takes him to a bench.
Melfina sees artificial flowers nearby--they were made, just
like her. Gene touches her face and says he can't tell she's not human,
even when he touches her. He pinches her cheeks to demonstrate that she
can feel pain. He promises to help her find her identity, and to complete
Hilda's mission. He invites Melfina to come with them (it will make
navigation easier); she accepts.
Gene calls Jim on his walkie-talkie. Jim is having a hard time
finding shells, and Aisha catches up with Gene and Melfina. Gene slashes
the catgirl with a big knife, which breaks! Aisha tries to unleash her
full beast powers, but fails, having burned too many calories.
Cut to restaurant. Jim and Gene are stunned by how much she can
eat. Aisha is stuck at Blue Heaven with a title but no salary. She chugs a
bowl of soup meant for four people, and orders more, and chugs that.
Finally, she's full.
Gene says that since he bought dinner, they're even, but Aisha
is still angry. She says they're under arrest, and if they object--
'You'll turn into that beast again?' is the gist of Jim's
response.
Jim gives Gene a #12 shell--Gene shoots Aisha, and she gets
fried. Gene and his friends leave. Gene tells the waiter to put everything
on Aisha's tab!
The ship is now painted red, and has a registration number.
(One of the workers notes that the computer won't shut up--the computer
can also tell when it's insulted!) Our heroes find out where the Kei
Pirates' territory is. Gene has to go to "Sentinel III" to deal
with Fred Luo. Jim whines about this development, and tells Melfina she
won't have a problem with him, as she's a girl!
Meanwhile, Aisha is stuck doing dishes, and vows revenge... |
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Episode 6
"The Beautiful Assassin"
Gene is crash-landing the Outlaw Star--he hasn't piloted a ship
in six years, and his dad never showed him how to do a 'planet fall.'
Melfina offers to land, but Gene gets the ship vertical...that's a bad
thing. Melfina tells him how to land, and Gene stops the ship right at the
very edge of the circular landing pad.
"With this captain's piloting technique, I worry about my
future prospects," the ship says.
They get taken to the nearest dock. Gene waits to go see Fred
Luo, but also wonders where their car is. (The car's name is Ehefrau--which
is German for wife. ^_^; Thanks to my
roommate for pointing that out; it went over my head... ^_^;) They
take a funny blue car with a fan for an engine (not Ehefrau).
Fred has a house full of weapons--he hugs Gene enthusiastically
when they meet, and hugs Jim as well. He says he's looking forward to
seeing Jim in two or three years. Jim says he'll be somewhere far away in
two or three years. Fred says he'll follow Jim to the ends of the earth...
He greets Melfina coolly (she's a girl, remember? ^_-).
Gene and Fred talk. Fred blows into Gene's ear, and Gene jumps
up and pulls a gun on him.
The Outlaw Star has no weapons or equipment, and Gene wants
some. They can't get stuff for Grappler Ships through legitimate routes,
but Fred can get the weapons--but he has doubts as to Gene's ability to
pay.
The guard tells Gene they don't attack him when he messes with
'the young master' because Fred loves him.
Fred is in his office, with two guards. A lady wearing a red
cape and hood comes in. She uses a sword to kill both the guards
effortlessly, and takes off her hood. It's Suzuka! (We saw her in the
intro to the episode...she's basically a standard ponytailed-headbanded
Anime chick in a kimono...with a token mole on her face... ^^;). She says
she wants Fred's life, and starts a stopwatch. She says she will give him
five minutes to write his goodbyes, and if he doesn't accept that, she'll
kill him instantly. Fred realizes this is "Twilight Suzuka." He
looks at his swords. He has three minutes left.
Gene comes in. Suzuka aims a blast at him; it breaks the door.
Gene shoots, but Suzuka deflects with her 'light shield'--basically a
white glowy thing at her wrist/arm. Fred begs Gene to save him. Gene
shoots at Suzuka; they stare each other down. Suzuka deflects bullets with
her sword, and strikes at Gene, who uses a light shield of his own (seem
to be in the cuffs he wears at his wrists) to keep his arm from getting
chopped off. Gene drops his cloak and gun, picks up one of Fred's swords,
and makes some rather hilarious kung-fu noises, swinging the weapon
around. He throws the sword at Suzuka. The stopwatch alarm goes off.
Suzuka says she'll be back tomorrow, as she wants to kill Fred at sunset.
Fred convinces Gene to be his bodyguard. Gene says he only
wants 'this much' (he hands Fred a computer thing with an amount on it).
Fred says that's a bargain (no one lives if Suzuka targets him). Gene
takes the machine back and adds on some missiles to the bill.
Suzuka uses a wooden sword that wouldn't be picked up by the
sensors--it sure caused a lot of damage, though. Fred doesn't have any
caster shells for Gene (they're outdated). Gene asks if Fred will stay
where he is or move. Fred suggests they track down the person who employed
Suzuka and kill him or her. Gene says he wants to go sleep in a
hotel--Fred offers Gene the use of his room. Gene says Suzuka won't show
up for another 23 hours (those kinds of people always keep their word) and
Jim, Gene, and Melfina leave.
Suzuka confronts Gene, using a shock blast from the wooden
sword. Gene tells Melfina to go inside and Jim to back him up (the latter
refuses). Gene runs, and Suzuka chases him. Suzuka runs after him into the
street; a truck speeds near her, but instead of dodging or getting hit,
she slices it in two. Gene claps. Suzuka tells Gene to stop running; Jim
comes up with the car and has Gene get in. Of course, Suzuka follows.
Next shot, Suzuka is on a big tall rock tower. She says Gene's
worldly desires have cost him his life. Gene takes off his cloak. Suzuka
strikes, but Gene's light shields at his wrists block the sword--he
catches it between his hands. He finally takes the sword and kicks it!
Suzuka runs after the sword, but Gene catches the sash on her kimono and
holds it--she spins and the sash comes off!
Gene catches both the sash and Suzuka's sword. Suzuka's kimono
is now open; to protect her modesty, she falls to her knees and holds it
shut. Gene threatens to take the sash for his collection (it smells nice
^^;) and break the sword. Gene insists that it was either a draw, or that
Suzuka lost. Gene reveals that he's an outlaw, not Fred's bodyguard.
Suzuka says she'll keep pursuing her contract as long as she lives. Gene
says, "Well, then die!" and shoots, missing Suzuka. He says the
Twilight Suzuka just died, but she won't go along with that. Gene gives
her the sash and sword in payment for Fred's life. Gene says if she wants
Fred dead, she'll have to kill him (Gene) first. Suzuka says that goes
without saying. Gene holds her to that promise--so if she wants Fred,
she'll have to track down Gene and kill him! (That way, he doesn't have to
hang around with Fred, but is free to go exploring space...)
Fred subtracts the amount it would have cost for him to hire
Suzuka himself and charges Gene for the rest of the weapons he wanted! (He
*is* a business man, after all...) But Gene says he'll pay when he makes
it big...
Everything's all tied up happily. Gene says he couldn't kill
Suzuka; Suzuka says, "Gene Starwind, this isn't over!" And Gene
gains another lady stalker. ^_^ |
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Episode 7
"Creeping Evil"
There are four different pirate groups; the Chinese guild (more
specifically, the One-hundred and eight Suns) is after Gene's ship,
seeking to know what happened to Hilda. This group is the most brutal of
the Chinese guild; they form groups of ten or twenty, and they are led by
Hazanko. This group has the senjutsu, a special power that makes them
dangerous to deal with...
Gene is trying to lift off in the driver's seat of the Outlaw
Star, talking with the computer (Gilliam). Finally Gilliam announces that
the power's rising, to Gene's relief. Gilliam then notes that they are
about to explode! There's a countdown to destruction... Cut to shot of the
Outlaw Star on the dock. Gene failed to lift off in the simulation.
Gilliam is not pleased that Gene can't handle even small problems manually
(without his help).
The ship is still being outfitted...
Gene walks through a market and comes back home (Starwind and
Hawking Enterprises--remember episode 1?). He throws a tomato to Mel and
asks where Jim is. Mel says he's at the police station; his car was
impounded.
Jim gets his car back. "I've found her! Ehefrau, I've
found you!" he shouts gleefully, nuzzling the steering wheel. He had
been in trouble because of all the parking tickets.
Gene and Melfina return to the bar that got trashed in the
first episode to see Clyde. Iris hugs him, and Gene hugs her back (until
Jim tells Gene to get his hand off of her backside ^#^;;;). Clyde and Iris
are both amazed that Gene is still alive; it's only been two weeks since
they left. Gene introduces them to Melfina; Iris is jealous.
Gene, Jim, and Mel have drinks. Gene says they can wait for the
rest of their equipment to come, but Jim says they're broke, so they have
to figure out a good way to make money. There's the hard way (work on the
Outlaw Star themselves), the easy way (except there's no big bounties for
them to hunt), the sleazy way (Gene notes that Jim's body would sell
better than his would), or they can pay when they make it big (but not
even Clyde would give them credit).
Mel offers to help however she can, and Gene says she can cook.
They go outside--Gene notes how nice it is to be home, even if they won't
be there for long.
Back at Starwind and Hawking, Gene and Jim sleep in a bed in a
loft (Gene with strategically placed sheets and his hand...er...move your
hand, Gene... ^^;). Jim is sprawled out in little-boy fashion. Gene wakes
up and goes downstairs to see Mel, who's still awake, sitting straight up
on the couch. Mel leans on Gene and asks him to stay like that until she
falls asleep (if she's like that, she feels like she can dream too). Gene
sees her exposed legs and magically grows fangs, thinking dirty thoughts.
He reaches for her, but gets whacked by a pan wielded by Jim. Gene
protests that he just wanted to see how human Mel was. Jim curls up with
Mel and says she's just like a mother.
The next day, Gene works on the Outlaw Star; Gilliam tells him
to replace the non-regulation engine covers.
Mel reads instructions (a cookbook, probably) and tries to
cook.
Jim examines some farm equipment and says it needs all new
parts, but he promises that Starwind and Hawking can get the cheapest
parts for it.
Gene is called in to pay more dock fees. A man asks how much
longer they'll be there (they've only paid for the next three days of dock
fees but haven't applied to launch yet).
An intruder comes to the ship; Gilliam tries to stop him, then
calls Gene through the latter's earring.
Mel sees another pirate...
((Ooh, boy; *this* was tiring to take notes of... ^^; I'll keep
them in order of the shots, though--makes it more exciting, I guess.
^_-;;;))
Gene runs after the intruder and shoots the elevator that
Gilliam said the guy was in. But there's just supplies inside. The pirate
jumps at Gene from above; Gene dodges.
Melfina runs. The pirate has a giant spiky mace-like ball
attached to a long chain. He throws the mace at her, and Mel cringes, but
the ball is stopped by Suzuka! Suzuka will go after the pirates if they're
the Kei pirates--besides, she'd like an opportunity to put Gene in her
debt. She and the pirate face off.
The pirate dodges Gene's shots outside. The pirate asks where
Hilda is, and a bunch of freaky robots pop out of the ground. Gene won't
tell what happened to Hilda; he takes out one robot, and blinds more with
a bright flash.
Suzuka dodges a hit from the ball and uses her sword to make a
huge blast of wind. The pirate tries to shock her (being a master of the
senjutsu). Suzuka notes that no one has seen more than three of her secret
techniques, and says it's not sunset yet. She wonders how many the pirate
will see before he dies.
Gene loads a new cartridge and shoots. There are robots in the
field; Gene's gun is shot out of his hand by the pirate. The pirate shoots
at Gene, but Gene seems to block the shots. Gene crawls away in the crops,
but he's trailing blood....
Suzuka disappears and runs at the pirate on the chain of his
mace! The pirate chants and glows a deep purple/blue color. He and Suzuka
run at each other. They freeze after aiming hits at each other. After a
long silence, the pirate asks what it was, then falls to the ground.
Suzuka tells Melfina that it's okay, and asks Mel if she can wait for Gene
in the shop.
Mel says okay.
The pirate thinks Gene is dead, but a robot falls from behind a
tree. Gene comes out and shoots at the pirate. There's a BIG explosion,
one which takes out the tree and everything else within about thirty feet.
But the pirate's still around. He gets Gene on the ground and hits him,
asking to know his secrets. Gene replies, "My favorite color is red.
My lucky number is one."
The pirate wants to know where Hilda is, and offers Gene a
quick death in exchange for that knowledge. Gene says he'll need more than
that to talk. They hear shouts in the field. Gene shoots through his cloak
and the pirate retreats.
Jim drives by, whistling cheerily. He sees wreckage and the
front entrance to Starwind and Hawking all destroyed. He storms inside and
sees Mel and Suzuka drinking tea calmly.
It is the Kei pirates who are after Jim and Gene. Jim is
confused that Suzuka would save Melfina; Suzuka says she did so because
they were 'interesting.' ((er, I *think* that's what she said; it's hard
to write neatly in the dark ^^;))
Jim drives to the ship. Gene is inside, working. Gilliam asks
what it should do about Suzuka, as she's not a crew member; Jim tells it
to let her in for the time-being.
Gene wants to launch as soon as possible. Suzuka asks what's
up, and says she might help if they're fighting the Kei pirates. Gene says
all they can do is fight, and then falls. Jim touches Gene's back and gets
blood on his hand!
"I patched it up," says Gene in true manly-man
fashion, "but I guess I didn't do it right." |
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Episode 8
"Forced Departure"
Gene is lying in bed, shirtless and panting. Suzuka says he's
been poisoned--maybe by the enemy, to make them negotiate. "If his
blood isn't cleansed, he'll die." If they leave the ship, the pirates
will give them the antidote. Gene tells them not to do it (he knows they
won't let them go that easily)--Jim ends negotiations.
Suzuka agrees that they can't negotiate; she's not even sure
the pirates have an antidote, but she things they should steal it.
Mel takes Gene out of the ship. The enemy (one of those freaky long-armed
things) shows up. Jim gets in the pilot's seat, although the ship can't
run as well without Gene. Jim talks to the guy--he's very worried for
Gene.
Gene flashes back. "Dad, I've learned all the
controls!" Gene's ship gets whacked by a grappler; Gene's dad pushes
him into an escape pod. "I want you to live, Gene!" The pod goes
flying off.
Gene thinks, "I'm alone," but is called by Melfina,
who's naked (as is Gene). Mel says she'll heal them and holds out her
hand--Gene reluctantly offers his. They shakes hands (still naked), and
their hands glow. Mel is behind Gene; she hugs him. She says she can be of
some use to him (she can save him).
Back outside, some long-armed mecha (the pirates' mechanized
soldiers) are approaching--they are piloted by people. Beams won't go
through the mecha, and they're too close to use missiles.
Fred calls--the Kei pirates are going to Sentinel III. The
pirates mean to start a big fuss! (Fred had helped the pirates for money,
but then called to warn Gene because he likes them. ^^;)
Jim screams, wondering what to do, but Gene and Mel come back.
Gene's wounds haven't closed, but Melfina removed the poison. Gene thinks
Mel, who blushes.
The mecha are trying to get in. Gene takes the pilot seat (in
boxers), while Mel gets in her chamber. Gene uses grappler arms to pick a
mecha off and throw it. The mecha explodes. He squashes another one and
throws it, but the boss is still okay--he gets out of the way... But
Suzuka's atop a crane--she jumps at the mecha and whacks it twice with her
sword, breaking it--the boss gets out just in time.
"Show-off," says Gene.
Suzuka says it's over; the boss begs to be spared, but puts his
hand up and shoots at her with his arm. Suzuka takes him.
Gene praises Suzuka and cracks his own neck, and says they're
gonna blast off--but the ground control doesn't want to let him (there was
a disturbance). Gene wants to blast off without guidance from the control
tower...
Gene dresses (minus the cloak) and prepares to take off.
"My crew is a bunch of lunatics," says Gilliam.
Cops come and say they'll arrest Gene. Gene says, "I guess
we can't come back to Sentinel," and asks Suzuka if that's okay. She
says she'll accompany him. Gene tells the police if they stop them,
they'll get burned, and, amid protests from the control tower, prepares to
blast off.
It's 30 seconds 'til launch. Gene thinks a goodbye to Hilda.
The ship blasts off, breaking the loading docks/stairs/etc.
Flashback--Gene tells his dad when he grows up, he'll be a
pilot.
In space--they've launched! Gene hits his face and says of course
they made it--"I'm awesome whatever I do!"
"Yeah, whatever," says Jim.
But Gilliam interjects that ships are closing in on them!
They're pirate Grappler ships. Gene's never shut the Manipulators, but if
he releases the safeties, they'll arm themselves. Gene uses a nifty thing
that projects images onto his eye to see (and Jim scatters the camera pods
so Gene can see all sides). The enemy shoots missiles, and Jim shoots
anti-missiles. Gene gets out the grappler arm--with a gun! He shoots and
hits one of the ships--its control pod deploys, though. Gene has to swap
magazines (he's out of shots) and goes at the pirates hand-to-hand.
He takes out one guy, but there's still one left, and Gene's
engine two is experiencing irregularities. The other captain is mad,
because Gene killed his men. The Outlaw Star goes at the other ship. Gene
shoots at him, and the other guy shoots missiles, which the OLS dodges.
The OLS gets the last guy, who admits Gene is pretty good before
exploding. The Outlaw Star leaves combat mode. Gene says that was a good
workout and wants to hit the shower. Melfina praises Gene, who praises her
back.
Heifeng is where Gene wants to go (there's Bin (sp?) pirates
landing there, so the Kei pirates won't follow). Suzuka says maybe not;
Jim says there's big cities there, so they can get a job (it's expensive
to have a ship!). It's 20 light years away, but they set a course there. |
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House
