Crossover Fan Fiction ❯ The Anime Margin: 108 Stars of Destiny ❯ Disarmament Story, part 2: Cowboy Spike ( Chapter 16 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer:
This fic uses characters, places, themes from franchises that are the property of others. I do not own these franchises.

Special Thanks to:
Charles Xavier, Fanfiction.net author: For writing an awesome crossover with anime and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Suikosource website: for providing great information that made this fic possible.

The Anime Margin: 108 Stars of Destiny
By: RB3

Disarmament Story, part 2: Cowboy Spike

On the surface of the Earth, one of many in the anime worlds, was the results of a great disaster. After the disaster took place, humanity had more than two thirds of its population wiped out. Years ago, humanity made the first of several hyperspace gates. A great accident involving the gates took place near the Earth. It cracked the moon, causing pieces of it to rain on the Earth like meteors. Now, only the poorest of the poor lived there, as they lacked the means or the will to leave this forgotten world. Those who could escape took to the stars, where they created new homes from the harsh landscape of the other planets and moons in the Solar System.

On the surface of Mars, great cities had sprung up in the craters made by the impacts of ancient meteors. The craters had been domed over by a transparent, plastic-like substance which shielded the vulnerable citizens from the ravages of the outside world. The city was bustling with activity as cars and people filled the streets for miles on end. These people didn't realize it yet, but events in other anime worlds would soon involve them as well. In the space above, the great ship known as the Blue Typhoon emerged from a doorway of chaotically swirling energy and light.

Meanwhile, a space capable fishing vessel soared through the Solar System within a hyperspace corridor. The ship was fairly old and though the salty waters had worn its hull, the ship was still in a workable condition. Its elongated front had a runway for launching ships from an internal hangar. As this ship, the Bebop, traversed hyperspace, the elongated stars and planets zoomed by like streaks of light. The Bebop ended its trip at Jupiter's water-covered moon of Ganymede. At the Bebop's lounge, a laid back bounty hunter with frizzy green hair turned on the television to the show named "Big Shot." Next to him was a gorgeous Asian woman in hot pants reclining on the back.

"Hey Spike, Faye we've got a big one here! Come see!" called a gruff male voice to the two.

The show Big Shot opened with a raucous trumpeting. A Black cowboy spoke with a forced combination of a mid-Western drawl and Mexican accent. "Hello bounty hunters! Welcome to another episode of Big Shot!"

The cowboy's cowgirl companion, a ditzy blonde wearing on open jacket, continued the show. "Our first bounty for today is a man who is wanted so badly that they are willing to pay top Woolong for his capture. Tell them, Punch."

"Sure thing, Judy," continued Punch. "Our bounty is Lord Vicontiel Dunner, who's wanted for arms running and abetting subversive groups." Big Shot displayed a photograph of a sullen, thickset Abh with a rather large bounty listed under his photo. "Yep, you saw that right. That is a 300,000,000 Woolong bounty on him."

Judy gave a high-pitched whistle just to emphasize how large the bounty truly was. "Man, he's been a bad boy. That strange appearance is because he is an alien. The ISSP has urged caution to anyone attempting to apprehend him. He is armed, dangerous, and may possibly have superhuman abilities."

"So Jet, what did you find?" asked Spike.

"Check out this new bounty," said Jet, who was seated in front of a computer. "It's on a man named Vicontiel Dunner. He's been supplying weapons to terrorist groups and insurgents in other anime worlds."

"Blue hair and pointed ears?" asked Spike.

"Yep, he's an alien, an Abh actually. Oh, and check his bounty."

"HOLY COW!" blurted Spike. "...300,000,000 Woolong for an arms runner?"

"Yep, they really want to nab him badly. My contacts tell me he's been running weapons for a terrorist group called 'Omnipotence.' That group has been launching several attacks on other anime worlds. It got so bad that the governments couldn't take it anymore, so they all joined up and put up the bounty."

"So what are we waiting for? Let's grab him and get our money!" said Faye.

"Whoa, it won’t be as easy as you say. Since he's an alien, he might have some weird psychic powers or something he can use against us," warned Jet. "We have to be ready for anything if we try to get him."

Nevertheless, Spike could not resist the temptation of a 300,000,000 Woolong bounty. He was not dissuaded from pursuing the bounty at all. "Superhuman abilities or no, I'm still going after him. If you're chickening out then..."

"Who said anything about chickening out?" asked Jet. "It's a 300,000,000 Woolong bounty. Of course I'm going to try for it!"

"Hey! Don't forget about me!" objected Faye.

Spike sighed. "You want him too?"

"Of course."

---

During the next day, the crew of the Bebop questioned their contacts for any information on the whereabouts of Vicontiel Dunner. The Abh arms runner proved to be an elusive character, constantly one step ahead of the bounty hunters on his trail. After consulting every available contact, the Bebop crew picked up Lord Dunner's trail on Mars, the red planet. They found themselves in Red Phoenix City, a metropolis with a distinctly Asian motif. The sidewalks were lined with shops from the Far East such as exotic herbal shops to more mundane Asian restaurants.

Daylight came and went, bringing about the bustle of the nightlife. Clubs, bars, and other less reputable establishments opened their doors with neon flashing lights. Down the street travelled a black van with tinted windows. Inside were three men of unscrupulous countenance. One in particular stood out from the others. He was a sullen Abh man dressed in a trench coat. On his head was a fedora that covered his hair and the tips of his pointed ears. The man scanned around with a nervous vigilance, as though fearful of being followed. In the back of his vehicle was a large cloth canvas draped over a large pile of unknown items.

The van pulled up beside the remains of an abandoned biscuit factory. The factory's interior was covered in cobwebs, having been unused by humans for over five years. The baking machines were rusted to uselessness and covered by cobwebs like the rest of the factory. Though the conveyor belt was covered with dirt, it was likely the only thing that was even marginally salvageable. As he emerged from the darkness, a second man shined a flashlight on Dunner. This unknown man was flanked by a pair of thugs. This man and his guards were dressed in blue, military-style camouflage pants, combat vests, and blue berets. Their uniforms were that of the Natural supremacist group, Blue Cosmos.

"So do you have it?" asked the Blue Cosmos leader.

"Yeah," replied Dunner, who spread out a series of schematics for the viewing of the Blue Cosmos leader.

They were schematics for new weapons being developed by Positron Weapons Inc., a prominent weapons manufacturer in Bebop. Space-faring craft in Bebop had energy-based weapons, but still lacked energy-based defences to counteract the ever increasing power of the weapons. Positron was setting out to correct that problem with the first in a line of energy-based shielding systems. Positron was having great success in their research and had successfully constructed a working prototype. The schematics in the leader's possession were for this prototype shield.

"Now, where is my money?" asked Dunner.

"Right here, old friend," said the leader, who snapped his fingers as a signal to one of his cronies.

The man placed a briefcase on the table and opened it to reveal a billion Woolongs in unmarked bills. As Dunner eyed the money greedily, he took a wad from the case and leafed through them with his thumb. "This will do," he remarked.

At that moment, a spotlight from a single man spaceship shined into the factory. "Vicontiel Dunner, we know you're in there, come out with your hands up!" demanded a voice through a microphone.

"Bounty hunters! Run for it!" cried the Blue Cosmos leader.

The two factions quickly gathered their belongings and rushed to escape. As Dunner's group burst out of the factory's front door, they were stopped by Spike Spiegel, bounty hunter extraordinaire, at gun point. Dunner's first accomplice reached for a weapon only to have it shot out of his hand. The other tried to do the same only to achieve the same result. With no more options available to them, Dunner and his men raised their arms in surrender. Spike rounded the men into the Bebop while Faye did the same with Blue Cosmos.

While in their ship, the Bebop's bounty hunters began to search the possessions of their captured quarry. Jet took a wad of money in the briefcase and leafed through it with his fingers. "Phewpheeeew..." whistled Jet. "That's a lot of moola. There has to be at least a billion Woolong in here."

In the meantime, Faye was perusing the schematics on Dunner's person. "What do we have here?"

"Judging from the picture, I'd say it was a blueprint for a weapon," remarked Spike. "Hmm... From Positron Incorporated?"

"Positron Incorporated? Do you mean that weapons maker that was bought out three months ago?" asked Faye.

"I think so," replied Spike. "Hey Ed, do you suppose you could bring up some information on Positron Inc.?"

"Sure thing, Spike!" replied a red-haired tomboy, who began to sing a silly song as she surfed the net. "La la la! Here we go!"

Jet and Spike moved closer to Ed's computer to check on the information. "Says here that they were bought out by a holding firm named Penhold Holdings. Man, they spent a frickin' fortune just to acquire them; 100 billion Woolong?" asked Spike rhetorically.

"Says here that Positron Inc. takes many contracts from the ISSG," mentioned Jet aloud. "Wait a minute..." Jet analyzed the blueprints finally realizing the truth about Dunner's exchange. "Could someone be leaking ISSG military secrets to these guys?"

"Interesting... How much do you suppose the ISSG and Positron will pay us for these guys?" asked Spike.

"I have no idea, but ooh boy, wait 'til they find out about the leak. We're gonna see a whole shit storm as they try to figure out who was responsible," replied Jet.

Indeed, the ISSG, or Inter Solar System Government, would suffer a panic attack. If the energy shield was supposed to be kept secret, which was likely, heads would roll upon this discovery. Even more telling was that these secrets were being passed to a man associated with a known terrorist group. The Bebop crew, overjoyed to have nabbed such a big bounty, sped through the crimson Martian skies to collect their reward. Just when the trip seemed to be uneventful, a trio of unidentified, unmarked ships began to tail the Bebop. On a routine check of the sensors from the bridge, Jet finally noticed them following the Bebop.

The ships swarmed the Bebop with guns blazing. The shots ricocheted off the Bebop's hull, alerting everyone within. "Jet, what's going on?" asked Spike.

"We've got three unidentified ships on our tail. Get to your ships and shoot'em down!" ordered Jet.

Faye and Spike scrambled to the Bebop's hangar where their ships waited for their pilots. Spike hopped into the cockpit of a sleek, sporty red space ship. The vehicle had a long energy gun mounted on its underside and a pair of machineguns on the tips of the wings. His ship, the Swordfish II, was lean and agile like its master. Faye's ship, on the other hand, was almost like an escape pod due to its round design. It had machineguns mounted in such a way that they seemed like arms. It also had missile launchers where the shoulders would be. Faye closed the cockpit of the Red Tail and launched her ship once Spike left the hangar.

The Bebop's automated weapons swivelled towards the mysterious attackers and let loose a barrage of bullets. Under the cover of the Bebop's fire, the two fighters sped to the aid of their mother ship. The Swordfish II suddenly banked out of the way of incoming fire and found itself in the six o'clock position of one of the enemy ships. Spike let loose an endless stream of bullets which punched countless holes into the victim. The bullets left a trail of holes which led to the engine and ignited it in flame. The pilot could not maintain control of his ship and crashed onto the Martian surface.

The Red Tail weaved through enemy fire until it suddenly dropped out of sight. The Red Tail returned to its original height once the enemy pilot overshot his target, putting itself squarely within the enemy's six o'clock position. Faye unloaded thousands of bullets which punched numerous holes into the victim's right wing. The enemy pilot began to experience difficulties with his handling, a fact which Faye exploited. The wily bounty hunter launched a pair of homing missiles which met their mark, blowing the mysterious ship to pieces.

"Good work you guys," complimented Jet. "The other one fled once you took out his buddies. It's safe to return home."

Faye and Spike returned to their mother ship, where the mysterious enemy became the subject of a heated discussion. "Who were those guys?" asked Spike.

"I'm not too sure, but my gut instinct is telling me that it has something to do with our bounty heads," admitted Jet.

"Why do you think that?" asked Faye.

"The schematics," replied Jet simply. "They looked like top-secret government stuff. I'm beginning to think the leakier is someone very high up on the totem pole, if you know what I mean. It's clear he knows we have Dunner and his men. Those ships were assassins sent to kill us and cover everything up."

"So guess this means we won't be getting our reward..." Faye sighed.

"Maybe, but then again, maybe not," said Jet enigmatically. "If we could somehow make contact with the ones who placed the bounty, maybe we could still get paid."

"Easier said than done," said Spike. "We have a big bull’s-eye painted on us. We need to lie low somewhere."

"Guess this means more takeout tonight." Faye sighed with ennui.

"Yeah, I don't like it either, but we can't risk cashing in the bounty at this point," affirmed Jet.

Instead of going to the ISSP headquarters in Blue Dragon City, the Bebop made its way to Ganymede, one of the moons of Jupiter. This moon was also the former home of Jet, who once worked as an ISSP officer there. The once barren moon had been terraformed by human machines into a watery paradise. There was crystal clear blue water everywhere as far as the eye could see. In the sky was Jupiter, which appeared as a circle of various shades of brown, like coffee mixed with cream. The Bebop landed on one of the cities of Ganymede, which floated atop a barge-like structure over the water.

Faye took this rare opportunity to sunbathe on the deck of the Bebop in a revealing bikini. Inside, the owner of the Bebop set out to do some research of his own into Positron, Penhold, Vicontiel Dunner, and the bounty. "Hello, could you put Donnelly on the line?" asked Jet.

The operator eventually put a grizzled old police officer on the line. His picture appeared on the computer screen. "Oh Jet! It's been such a long time. How have ya been?"

"Oh the usual, catch a bounty here, cash in a bounty there, the usual," replied Jet. "I came across the bounty for Vicontiel Dunner and I was wondering if you had any information on who placed the bounty on his head?"

"The Dunner bounty? Oh man, that one's a doozy. As for who placed it, they went by the name of 'Valiance.' Come to think of it, I did remember seeing a strange group at the station when the bounty was placed," replied Donnelly.

"You did? Can describe them?" asked Jet.

"Sorry, I didn't get a good look at their faces but...

"But what?"

"...But I do remember that one of them looked like a little kid dressed in a fox costume."

"...A kid in a fox costume?" asked Jet incredulously.

"Yep, you heard that right," replied Donnelly. "Seems he's the captain of one of their ships. That's all I know. Sorry I couldn't be of any more help."

"No, that's fine. Keep this between you and me, but we've caught Dunner already," said Jet.

"You did?" asked Donnelly.

"Keep it down!" said Jet in a hushed whisper. "Yeah, we have him on my ship, but we can't hand him in yet. Some people are trying to get us so we're hiding out until the coast is clear. We think they're assassins."

"Assassins? Why would anyone want to go after you?" asked Donnelly.

"When we caught Dunner, he had top-secret military schematics from Positron Inc. on him. We think that someone really high up is leaking the information to him. We suspect that our leaker is from Positron or the ISSG."

"I see. This is very serious," commented Donnelly. "Actually, after telling me that story, I think I might have an idea as to who your leaker is."

"Who?"

"Maxwell Smith," replied Donnelly succinctly. "It is your typical sordid tale of government corruption. Did you know that last July, Positron was bought out by this other company?"

"Yeah," replied Jet.

"Smith was the president of Positron before the buyout. Hell, he was the one who arranged it in the first place. He was one of the biggest supporters of the President's campaign and got named as the new defence minister. As the defence minister, he would have access to military secrets and have the means to hire assassins to kill you."

Suddenly, an alarm sounded from the bridge of the Bebop. "Damn... Thanks a lot. I have to be going now, take care."

"You too," said Donnelly.

Jet abruptly terminated the line and rushed to check out the problem. On his way up, he heard a clanging before he was finally able to access his ship's radar. There were five bogeys making attack runs against the Bebop. He started the Bebop's engines and activated its defence systems. The Bebop's weapons lit the sky with orange tracers as they spewed bullets at the attacking ships. Spike scrambled to his fighter ship, launching his craft once the Bebop's hangar door creaked open. Faye hastily put on her clothes before jumping into her craft and launching it into the fray.

As the two cowboys fought off the enemy, Jet pulled the Bebop upwards. The thrusters started with the roar of air and flame gushing out of the exhaust. The Bebop slowly but steadily lifted off of the water with guns blazing. An assassin locked onto the Bebop and launched a salvo of missiles. The Bebop shuddered as the missiles exploded on its hull. Fortunately, the Bebop had thick armour and polarization-based defence systems to weather this attack. The Bebop's bullets tore into the body of an assassin, causing it to fall to the waters of Ganymede below.

The Swordfish II positioned itself in an assassin's rear and pelted the unmarked, sporty grey ship with a storm of bullets. The machineguns clacked with each bullet expelled through the muzzle. Each on target shot clanged as it tore through the hard titanium chassis. The bullets eventually hit a critical wire in the craft, causing a fire to billow smoke into the air. The assassin bailed out of his craft just before it nose-dived towards the waters below. Spike noticed a second assassin firing on him from above, scoring minor hits onto his left wing.

The Swordfish II banked out of the way and put itself underneath a third assassin. Spike tilted his craft upward and fired his plasma cannon into the victim. The searing hot beam of blue melted its way through the body, causing the engine to smoke and the pilot to lose control. A missile locked on and slammed into it, turning the craft into a blazing mid-air fireball. The Red Tail banked away from incoming enemy fire from the first assassin. Faye looked upward and saw the tracers fly past her ship above her head. The cunning cowboy manoeuvred her ship right into the rear of a second assassin.

Faye spewed bullets at the enemy ship even though it bobbed and weaved randomly to evade the shots. The ship kept moving forward so far that Faye could no longer chase it unless she left the range of the Bebop's defences. The ship vanished over the horizon a few seconds later. Spike tailed the last remained ship much as Faye did to the first. Like the first, this ship sped away at top speed until it was safely out of the range of any weapons. With the Bebop now safe from enemy attack, the Red Tail and the Swordfish II landed within the hangar of their mother ship.

Jet took the Bebop towards the nearest hyperspace gateway bound for the asteroid Tijuana. The gate started up with a cloud of azure energy and stabilized into a corridor of hyperspace. The planets and stars zipped by like streaks of light as the Bebop traversed the Solar System faster than the speed of light. The trip took up only an hour before the Bebop burst out of second gate near a space station constructed within a pear shaped asteroid. However, the station wasn't the only thing waiting for them. For as far as the eye could see were patrol vessels marked by the letters "ISSP."

"Bebop, this is the ISSP," began a message from one of the ships transmitted on all channels. "You are under arrest for abetting the escape of a known fugitive. Surrender your vessel and prepare to be boarded!"

"Oh great, now what are we going to do?" asked Spike.

Before the Bebop crew could decide how to react, a new ship dropped out of hyperspace above the Bebop. Unlike Bebop world's ships, this ship seemed capable of creating hyperspace gates wherever and whenever it wanted. The ship was huge compared to the relatively tiny patrol ships and the larger Bebop. It had palm trees along the length of a runway on its surface. The ship had a bullet-like chassis and fins with blue and white highlights. The enormous number of cannons around its chassis clearly indicated that it was a warship, one that was far more advanced than anything in the Bebop world.

"Attention all ISSP vessels," addressed a child-like voice. "This is the Blue Typhoon. The Bebop crew has requested asylum with us. We are taking custody of their ship. Power down your weapons or we will open fire!"

"We requested asylum with them?" asked Faye incredulously.

The Blue Typhoon aimed a blue ray of energy, a tractor beam, at the Bebop. The space capable fishing ship shuddered as the beam locked onto the hull. "They're towing us into their ship!" cried Jet over the rumbling of his ship. "Ed, can you hack their ship and shut off that thing?"

"One beam shut off coming right up!" said Ed as she typed away at her keyboard.

On the Blue Typhoon's bridge, this act did not go unnoticed. "Tails," addressed Cream. "Someone is trying to access our computer systems."

"Izzy, kick out whoever is trying get in!" ordered Tails.

Izzy typed on his keyboard frantically to repel the hostile intrusion. On the Bebop, Ed countered Izzy's moves using every trick she knew. "Ed, what's taking so long?" asked Spike.

"Looks like Ed's got a little rival here," replied Ed. "...But never fear because Ed is here!"

On the ISSP side, the officer in charge of the operation was receiving orders from higher up. "...But sir, that is a warship we're dealing with! There's no way our patrol ships can take on that thing!"

"I don't care what you have to do, stop that ship!" cried the officer's superiors. "Do NOT let the Bebop get away!"

The officer sighed. "Okay men, take down the Blue Typhoon!"

The ISSP ships swarmed the Blue Typhoon firing machineguns and missiles as they made attack runs on the warship. Having failed to listen to his warnings, Tails immediately ordered retaliation. From the hangar burst forth a squadron of M1 Astrays, the standard mobile suits of Orb and the Clyne Faction. The Astrays zipped about the battlefield, blasting ISSP patrol craft with ease. Those missed by the Astrays swooped in for bombing runs on the Blue Typhoon. However, even they were wiped by the Blue Typhoon's energy shots.

On the Bebop, Tentomon appeared on the screen of Ed's monitor to her puzzlement. "Connection terminated," was all he said.

Ed's computer went dead at that moment, having had its power shut off by the Digimon. Ed frantically rushed to reboot her computer only to find yet another problem. "Hey no fair! He wiped out my keyboard driver!" complained Ed.

"Well, get it reinstalled!" cried Spike as he watched the Blue Typhoon move further away from the battle area. The Bebop shuddered every inch the Blue Typhoon towed it. "I don't want to know where they plan on taking us."

The Blue Typhoon opened a rift between worlds which appeared as a swirl of energy and light. Within the centre was a section of space Spike had never seen before. The Bebop continued to shudder as Tails' ship towed the Bebop through this rift between worlds. The Astrays immediately returned to the hangar of their mother ship in preparation for the journey back to Valiance space. The gate closed behind the Blue Typhoon, leaving the ISSP locked out on the other side. Valiance's ship continued its flight back to the space station in orbit around the home world.

The space station was a wheel-like object made entirely out of metal with a highly modular design. On the circumference of the circle was a walkway with twenty spherical bays for docking ships. The ring like walkway was connected to a central spherical command centre by several hallways that resembled spokes on a bicycle wheel. On strategic points on the spheres and the outer ring were numerous cannons and missile launchers. Several small utility shuttles milled about the area along with mobile suit security guards.

The Blue Typhoon guided the Bebop towards one of the station's docking bays. The Blue Typhoon released its tractor beam as the station locked one of its own on the Bebop to tow it the rest of the way in. The forceful docking of Jet's vessel bumped the crew around, making it impossible for them to do anything worthwhile. A squad of troops waiting at the docking area stormed the Bebop. The armed Zaibach troops captured the Bebop's hangar area and continued inward, eventually reaching the lounge. Spike and the others there found themselves surrounded by men armed with portable Chlima launchers.

The Bebop crew wisely decided to surrender to the Valiance-Zaibach soldiers. As they were led out with hands raised, other soldiers directed Jet towards a different area. The soldiers secured Vicontiel Dunner, his men, and the Blue Cosmos terrorists as well. The soldiers led the crew and Dunner's associates to prison cells while Dunner himself was taken to an interrogation room. At the far end of the sterile room was a table with Ross and Folken seated behind. The guards rudely shoved Dunner onto the chair.

"Okay Lord Dunner, let's make this as quick and painless as possible," began Ross. "We know you work with the Omnipotence terrorist group. We represent several countries and worlds where you are wanted for arms running. You are looking at a very lengthy prison term. Tell us where the weapons came from and the judge might be more lenient."

Though Dunner was unwilling to talk at first, he eventually did cave in after the Bebop crew and his associates received interrogations. "So you want to know what my job is?" asked Dunner. "All I am is an errand boy. When my boss tell me to do something, I do it."

"When we captured the Bebop, we found schematics for a new defence system by the ISSG. The Bebop crew says you were selling these secrets to Blue Cosmos for money. Who was the one who provided you with these blueprints?" asked Folken.

"He's the big shot head of a corporation. His name is Maxwell Smith," replied Dunner.

"Maxwell Smith? You mean the current ISSG Minister of Defence?" asked Ross. Dunner replied in the positive. "Earlier, you said that you worked for your boss. Tell me who you have worked for."

"Lots of different people," replied Dunner. "I am an agent for the Abh Empire. I've worked for Lord Chimera, doing the things his people can't get their hands dirty doing. I've also worked for this Saiyan who calls herself Leguma."

"Anyone else?" asked Ross.

"I've also worked for another corporate big shot. Her name is Geraldine Banks."

"Tell me more about Geraldine Banks," requested Ross.

"She's the Vice President of Penhold," replied Dunner.

"Penhold... As in Penhold holdings?" asked Folken, to which Dunner answered by saying "yes." "Very well, thank you for your information. Guards, please escort Lord Dunner back to his cell."

As Valiance agents set out to investigate Penhold, the Bebop crew awaited their fate in their cells. After an indeterminate time, the guards returned Jet back to his cell, which he shared with Spike. "So, they made you talk?"

"Yeah," replied Jet.

"What did they ask you?" asked Faye from the neighbouring cell.

"Just the usual things," replied Jet. "They wanted to know who we were and what we were doing with our bounties."

A series of footsteps approached the Bebop crew's holding cell. They belonged to a pair of Centarumon guards. The guards opened to the men's cell door and brought them to Eddie's office. Seated on his desk was Tails who was motionless. "Hello guys, I hope the accommodations weren't too inconveniencing," introduced Eddie.

"If you've come to gloat, then please spare me the ridicule," said Spike, who then noticed Tails on Eddie's desk. "Aren't you a little old to be playing with dolls?"

"He's my good luck charm. Let's me set the record straight. I'm not here to make fun of you guys. I'm here to talk about you. You're Jet Black and Spike Spiegel, cowboys, I presume."

"Yeah," replied Jet and Spike.

"Hmm... You guys don't seem too happy to see me. Maybe you will be after hearing what I have to say," remarked Eddie. "I'm here to talk about Vicontiel Dunner's bounty."

"So what about it?" asked Spike.

"Do you know who actually placed the bounty on his head?" asked Eddie.

"Well, I heard he was some kid in a fox's costume," replied Jet.

"You mean like me?" asked Tails impishly as he became animate.

Jet and Spike nearly jumped out of their seats. Eddie couldn't stop his laughing. "You're alive?" asked Spike.

"Of course,"

"Wait a minute. Were you one of the people who put the bounty on Dunner?" asked Jet.

"Red hot, boiling hot!" replied Tails humorously.

"So, you guys must be Valiance!" concluded Jet.

"That's right, I'm Eddie Valiant, leader of Valiance. Pleased to meet you boys," introduced Eddie, who then shook the hands of Spike and Jet.

"So, what about the bounty?" asked Spike. "We had him until you guys captured our ship."

"I was getting there. After we found Dunner on your ship, we withdrew the bounty. We are giving it to you as reward. You caught our man fair and square, so you deserve it. If you want to seek more employment with us, you're welcome to stay. If not, we'll drop you off at a place of your choosing. Just a warning, but I wouldn't go back to Bebop world if I were you. You're still wanted by the ISSP. In the meantime, take some time to think about it. The Centarumon will escort you to your reward."

The Centarumon released the female cowboys and brought the entire Bebop crew to Dolores. Eddie's wife opened a small briefcase containing three small cylindrical devices. Spike, Jet, and Faye each checked out one of the devices, which held a third of the 300 billion Woolong reward for Dunner's capture in electronic money. "Thanks Dolores, I'd like to check out my ship now, if it's alright?" asked Jet.

"Sure, it's in docking bay nine, right where we left it," said Dolores.

The Bebop crew returned to their ship, which had been largely left intact by Valiance's search crews. "Well, everything seems in order," remarked Spike.

"They even threw in a free repair job on our hull," remarked Jet. "Well then, what's our next move?"

"We can't go back to Bebop world, that's for sure. We're still wanted by the ISSP, remember?" said Faye.

Spike sighed. "Yeah, don't remind me..."

Jet watched as Ed began playing ball with Ein the dog. "Hmm, you know, I'm mighty tempted to take up Eddie on his offer. There's nowhere else for us to go if we're wanted by the ISSP. We don't know any place other than Bebop world."

"What about the bounty? We're rich!" said Spike.

"Our current funds can last us a long time if we conserve it, but it will run out eventually," assured Jet. "It wouldn't hurt to build up more funds to while we wait for things to blow over."

"Eh, works for me," replied Spike, not really caring either way.

"Sure, if I can make more dough off these guys, I'm not complaining," replied Faye.

"Well then, it's settled. We're working for Valiance now," said Jet.

END OF CHAPTER

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New Stars of Earth/Earthly Warriors:
#68 Chisin, The Forward Star: Jet Black (Cowboy Bebop)
#99 Chisyu, The Ugly Star: Faye Valentine (Cowboy Bebop)

Spotlight: Cowboy Bebop

In the year 2021, a hyperspace gate accident annihilated the population of Earth. The survivors who could escape fled their planet to colonize the rest of their Solar System while Earth remained the home of the poor or those who couldn't or wouldn't leave. Crime levels increased rapidly, forcing authorities to institute a bounty system like that of the Wild West. Bounty hunters, also known as cowboys, would capture criminals alive in return for monetary rewards. Cowboy Bebop follows the adventures of the group of cowboys who operate from the titular space-capable ship.

Origin:
Jet Black, Faye Valentine, and Spike Spiegel are three such cowboys. All three are very familiar with the skills necessary to be a bounty hunter from piloting space-capable craft to firearm usage. They all either learned their skills on the job or through formal training, particularly in Jet's case since he was once a police officer in the ISSP.

Powers:
Cowboy Bebop is a world entrenched in scientific law. The people of Bebop have taken their first steps into outer space. They have colonized their Solar System through the help of a network of hyperspace gates which allow faster than light travel. They have yet to create ship-mounted, faster than light engines, but do have ships capable of making escape velocity. Cybernetics is fairly advanced in this world as well. Jet has a cybernetic left arm while Spike has a cybernetic right eye. Weapons are mostly bullet or missile firing but energy weapons like the one on Spike's fighter ship are not unknown.