Polaris

Chasing Shadows

It had been a false lead...

Raven profusely apologized and even went as far as to show her work, which had shown exactly that. Everything pointed at the damned planet. Earth. Which only put a sour taste in my mouth at the thought of the planet at times. Maybe what I had been hearing up to this point was true - nothing good comes from the Earth. There was a mutual agreement between Raven and myself that as long as she kept me updated on information on Manic, I would keep her updated on the BeBop

Which, although tense, was swimming smoothly.

Faye was a touch disgruntled that she had not been consulted to letting a, "murdering sociopath," onto the ship. Which earned nothing but a quip from Spike, commenting how he didn't like a, "wanted criminal coming and going as she pleased."

Somehow, with a shit ton of luck, the crew was ... functional.

Jet was definitely the brains of this whole thing, keeping everyone - mostly Spike and Faye - in line. Organizing bounties and allocating resources where they were needed. One could even argue this was the captain of the ship! But, finally being aboard, I was allowed to meet Edward.

Well, not really allowed. I was nearly tackled by the kid.

A skinny, copper-colored teen with bright red, wild hair. Which was the last thing I expected of a hacker. I expected some dude in a hoodie rarely seen on the BeBop. Someone who hadn't seen the sun in the past 5 years. But, Edward was far from that. With how they dressed and behaved, I could never tell the gender of the kid, and neither did the rest of the crew seem to care. Speaking of their behavior, the kid was unpredictable. Eccentric, resourceful, giggly, and happy-go-lucky. Was it pure genius being wild? Or was it simply how Edward was raised?

Said while they live on a ship full of Bounty Hunters.

Kid definitely would talk to themselves, and at times, I would hear them sing nursery rhymes, or quote children's literature. But, that's simply the kid's behavior. The way the kid spoke always threw me for a loop.

Often they'd repeat the last words of people who had spoken to them, and answered questions with meaningless phrases and nonsense. I would always hear them refer to themselves in the third person, so often I would catch myself doing it too. Especially when referring to them.

The crew seemed to put up Ed simply because the rest weren't as talented with computers, whereas Edward was a skilled hacker. But, it wasn't a deal of necessity to my understanding. Like Faye, Edward was allowed to come and go however they pleased. It just didn't seem as such with Ed lacking a personal zipcraft like the rest of us.

As long as they were happy, healthy, and safe was all that seemed to matter to the rest of the crew.

Even the kid's attire or hobbies gave anything away about their gender. Sporting a loose, sleeveless white crop top, and black compression shorts. No shoes. They seemed to have something against them. Why? I really didn't question it, you don't need them when you're on the ship all the damned time.

I kept my dead down, staying out of everyone's way, and only helping when it was specifically asked of me. I'd offer Black Moon information only when it was asked for, or if it felt necessary. Especially on names that had been dropped... Ones that even Black Moon had been warned of. Jet was by far the most understanding of my, "allergy." Often waking me up from naps if the planet we had landed on was the appropriate time. Which, I thanked him countless times. I always wanted to repay him for such a small act of kindness, only to be told I would go crazy if I was stuck on the BeBop for that long. Which wasn't all that wrong of a statement either. Plus, it gave me an excuse to go and take care of a couple hits. Although by the time I was getting back, it would be nearly one in the morning. Typically, I'd be greeted by an incredibly tired Spike, the poor guy had to be an insomniac or something. Some nights I wondered if I could walk up and poke him in the chest, and he'd simply fall over.