Misplaced Emotions - By Greg "sgoast" Reynolds


|------------------------------------------------|
| Disclaimer:					 |
| I have absolutely no connection to Bandai or   |
| any of the people that make "Outlaw Star"      |
| therefore I would be quite pleased if I wasn't |
| sued. Yes, that'd be nice. "Outlaw" and all of |
| its characters are trademarked and so don't go |
| talking smack about 'em or else! Hehe ^_^      |
|------------------------------------------------|


Melfina laughed at Gene as he began to flirt with her. She had gotten used to it 
and had actually began to enjoy it. Gene was teaching her alot about human nature 
and such, even though Jim quickly corrected every "altered" part. Jim was like a 
little brother to her, protecting her at every turn from a boyfriend with one thing 
on his mind.
"Well Jim," Gene said "How long 'till we get out of this place?"
"It's going to be a while, Gene. That astral storm nearly destroyed our left engines. 
I'm surprised we got out of that baby alive." Jim knew they we're going to be ok, 
though. Not because of Gene's "expert" captain skills but because of Melfina. She 
was the brain of the ship. The heart of the ship. The soul of the ship. He trusted 
her like he would trust himself. It was that feeling that kept him attached to the 
Outlaw Star and its crew. If Mel weren't there, he would have probably left to do 
small jobs without having to support a full-grown man and two ladies. He would have 
been free, but certainly not very happy. Jim then looked across the room to see Gene 
yet again rubbing up against Melfina. Quickly, Jim shoved himself between the two. 
"Hey you two! There's plenty of work that needs to be done and Gilliam and I can't do 
it all!" Gene quickly ran off, cursing all the way. Melfina hadn't moved yet but was 
foreseeing the job ahead of her. Jim knew why Gene loved to touch Mel. For a machine 
she seemed so soft, gentle... like a real girl. For a moment Jim stood there side by 
side with Mel as if they were an item.
"Jim! What am I supposed to do!" Gene cried. "There's alot here and... (Bam!) 
...Uh, oh. JIM!" Jim sighed and walked away leaving Melfina alone.
"What she sees in him I'll never know..."

Two days later, the repairs were done and they were ready to go. Jim had spent the 
last 34 hours awake and, odds are, would spend another 34 awake again to make sure 
that nothing bad would happen mid flight. As the trusty crew wandered aboard the ship, 
Aisha noticed the loose wiring on the floor.
"Hey, Kid! You left a bunch of wires out of the ship! Don't these need to go somewhere?"
"Actually, I trashed those while going through the main conductors." Jim squeaked with 
a bright smile. "Efficiency will be up 200% by my calculations!"
"Excuse me?" The voice rang through the ship.
"Oh yeah... Gilliam helped a little." Jim rattled. "Anyway, where are Gene and Melfina? 
I told them I should be done by now." All of a sudden Gene rushed in to the hastily 
quieted garage.
"Wait up Jim. We got held up in something. Mel should be here in a second." Gene said 
gasping for air.
"You didn't wait for her? What kind of person are you?" Jim barked.
"Damn, what's wrong with you? As of lately, you've been yelling at me every chance you get!"
"Well, as of lately, you've been a real moron!"
"You little insubordinate..."
Just then, Melfina rushed down the garage corridor.
"Hey Guys! I'm here! Don't... AGH!" Melfina tripped over the wire exposed on the floor. 
Jim acted on impulse and ran forward, catching Mel in his arms "Jim! Thanks."
Jim blushed " Ehem. No problem." Gene watched this and growled at Jim. Of course he didn't 
want Mel to be hurt, but something had changed about Jim and he didn't trust this new boy 
impersonating the loyal second mate he once knew.

Suzuka walked into the kitchen for her regular tea break of the day. A week had passed since 
the tripping incident and she hadn't given it much thought. In her opinion, Gene could bloody 
well go jump in a lake. He basically slapped her in the face when he told her that Mel and he 
"cared" about each other, and since then she had given up on Gene and love itself. It didn't 
matter to her anyway. Why would a cold-hearted assassin have her heart melted by a dirty 
outlaw anyway?
"I should have killed Fred Luo when I had the chance." she mumbled to herself.
"Now that's one thing I agree with." Jim had been standing there watching Suzuka's silent 
emotional breakdown.
"How long have you been standing there?" Suzuka quietly moaned.
"2 hours and 13 minutes, just as long as you've been standing there. Oh yeah, by the way, 
your tea's gone cold." Suzuka looked down at the now ice cold tea. It didn't matter to her. 
She hadn't drunk a sip. A single teardrop glided down her face and dropped into the neglected 
drink. "There's something wrong, isn't there?"
"You wouldn't understand Jim."
"Don't say that so quickly. I may be young but I've gone through a hell of alot. Just tell me."
"Gene."
"Gene? Did he take something from you? I'll just go over there and..."
"He did take something from me, my reason to live."
"Wha..."
"Jim, what I tell you now you can never be told to Gene."
"Of course." Jim said confidently
"...And you know what I can do if you do tell..."
"...Uh… yeah." He voice wavered a little.
"Ok. I..." Suzuka paused. Was she ready to tell her deepest secret? Looking back, she only told 
one person about what her heart said instead of her sword said and his rotting carcass is still 
in the galactic layline somewhere deep in the recesses of space. "I... can't tell you now. Maybe 
someday, but not now." Jim looked puzzled but accepted the fact that Suzuka was going through 
alot of emotional turmoil. As he walked out Suzuka grabbed his shoulder. "Jim... I love Gene. It 
hurts me to say this to anyone but it's true. He's a great fighter, he's a great friend, and he's 
just become more for me."
"Suzuka… This doesn't make any sense. A few months ago you were trying to kill him, and now your 
pray has become your love? It's just... I don't know right now."
"Neither do I." She said as she walked out of the dimly lit room "Neither do I..." She left Jim 
in the kitchen alone. He picked up a towel and dried off the tears laying idle on the counter.

Later that day, Aisha left to her regular rounds at local pubs. She found comfort at the bottom 
of a bottle these days. Her friends were changing and her past was getting harder to deal with each 
day. But things happen, as she usually said to herself, but tonight was going to be different. Tonight 
Melfina came along.
"So I said 'Ey! Put down the trout and look at my soul!'" Aisha belched out in her drunken stupor. 
All Melfina could do was laugh weakly and attempt to smile "So Melly! Why'd you really ask to come 
drinkin' with me. I know it when someone's got something on their *hiccup* mind." She was dead right. 
Melfina needed someone to talk to about Gene and Jim. Suzuka only gave her angry stares and she surely 
wasn't going to go to Fred Luo.
 "Well, I've been having these problems with Gene and Jim."
"AHA! Man troubles! Lay 'em on me sister!"
"Oook, Anyway, Gene has been acting strangely toward Jim recently. Ever since we left the station, the 
two of them have been trying to out-do each other in everything. Jim gets a paper I dropped, Gene gets 
me a new notebook. Then Jim gets me personalized stationary. Then Gene gets me a brand new desk."
"So that explains all the new furniture..."
 "It was nice at first, but now it's getting scary. I'm afraid I might actually have to choose one of 
them."
"Choose!" Aisha exclaimed. "What do you mean choose? You're not saying you also love Jim, are you?" 
Melfina blushed a little.
"Of course not!" She yelled defensively "He's like a little brother to me, but..."
"'But'?" Aisha asked with a grin.
"...I think he might love me." Just then Aisha burst out into laughter, throwing bottles randomly 
around. Right after she nearly took out the bartender, she cried,
"Oh Mel! This is great! You got a textbook case of a love triangle here!" Melfina immediately jumped 
out of her chair.
"Love triangle!?! What do you mean!?!"
"Oh this is just so perfect! Two guys meet a naked chick in a box and they both fall in love with her! 
THIS COULDN'T HAVE BEEN SCRIPTED BETTER!!!"
"AISHA! THIS ISN'T FUNNY! This is love. I don't want to hurt anyone!"
"You're gonna have to, Melly Babe. That's the bad part about love triangles. Somebody's gotta lose." 
Just then Melfina ran out the door.
"This is going to end right now!" She said. Aisha quickly jumped up too.
"Hold on! You said you were going to cover half the tab! Aww, dammit..."

The door slammed open as Melfina stomped through
"JIM! GENE! GET OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!" She yelled. The two quickly put aside their respective projects 
and ran to her.
"Yes Melfina?" the two said simultaneously. "What do you..." They noticed each other. "What are you 
doing here? I didn't hear her call you!"
"BE QUIET!!! *sigh* Ok. Now listen here! For the past few weeks you've been bickering like five year 
olds over me, and I've gotten sick of it! You have been making me feel like such a piece of trash. Am 
I supposed to be some sort of machine that can be passed around? I can't believe you two." She looked 
at Jim. "I thought we were friends." She then turned her attention to Gene. "...And I thought you loved 
me."
"That's what I thought too." Said a quiet voice in the darkness. This voice was like a hurt little girl. 
One whose dreams had been crushed by reality's cruel fist. She gradually shuffled into the light, 
revealing herself to be Suzuka. "Gene Starwind, I cannot understand you. No matter how many times I've 
needed you, you've been there and haven't at the same time. I love you and hate you. I thought that I 
could experience the love I had missed by being around you, but it hasn't worked. I've become bitter 
and cold. Gene. Why?" Gene stared at the shell he once knew as Suzuka.
"Suzuka, I...I never knew. I'm sorry but I can't do anything about it" Gene said eyeing her 
compassionately. Suzuka walked over to him, kneeled down in front of the chair he was sitting in, and 
looked him straight in the eyes.
"Yes you can." She then held his face lovingly and kissed him lightly on the lips. Melfina immediately 
grabbed Suzuka and pulled her back to a standing position.
"What's wrong with you! Don't you realize we love each other?"
"Well from the way you've been treating him the last few minutes, that's sort of doubtful."
"It's not like I'm trying to kill him like you were!" That was the last straw. Suzuka jumped back and 
drew her sword.
"You're so full of big comments," Suzuka said as she cried. "aren't you. AREN'T YOU!!! You have no idea 
what abandonment feels like! You just wake up, fully grown. No parents to forget who you are. No body to 
point out your every flaw!" Just then she fell in upon herself and began bawling her eyes out. "Look at me! 
I used to be the universe's most feared assassin! Now I'm just a sidekick to a perverted outlaw, a robot, 
a cat, and a kid. What have I become!" She began to draw her sword again, but this time she didn't point the 
blade towards Melfina. She pointed it towards herself.
"SUZUKA! NO!" Jim yelled, running to her and smacking the blade out of her hand. She fell into Jim's open 
arms and rubbed her neck against his.
"Jim... Don't... Let go..." She whispered into his ear "Jim... Please don't leave me now."
"I won't. I never will." The two remained there in each other's arms for the next hour or so. Gene and 
Melfina walked away after around 5 minutes and when Aisha got home she was thoroughly confused but it 
didn't matter to them. They could stay in that moment forever.

"So Suzu and you are a couple now?" Aisha said, trying to soak up as much information as possible from Jim.
"Mmmhmm." He nodded "It was a case of transferred sexual frustration. The truth is all along she and I have 
always wanted to be more than friends. Unfortunately, it would have been way too awkward to go out and say 
it straight to each other and you guys. I guess it took a enormous shock to get it out of each of us."
"Wow..." Aisha said with a glimmer in her eyes. "I have no idea what you just said." Just then Melfina and 
Gene walked in. They were happier and a lot more relaxed now that everything had worked out the way it did.
"Hey Jim! We're headed to a movie. You and Suzuka want to come along?" Gene said.
"It could be a double date!" Melfina exclaimed in joy.
"Nah," Jim declined "she and I are kinda busy. We came to an agreement."
"Agreement?" Aisha inquired.
"Yep, I saw all those fancy sword moves and I asked her if she could teach me some. She said yes but under 
one condition."
"What kind of condition?" Gene asked. They were suddenly interrupted by a loud bang coming from the garage. 
Suzuka walked out of the room wearing matching overalls to Jim's covered with oil.
"Well, that alternator was clogged but with a little bit of elbow grease, I was able to fix it just like 
you showed me, Jimmy." The three others sighed and smiled at the same time. Finally, everyone was happy and 
had someone to love... except for Aisha that is.

"Awww... Dammit!"

(The End)

(Author's Notes: Ahhhh... It's done. My first serious fic... ok, semi-serious... and I think I did ok. 
If you liked it, go ahead and e-mail me at sgoast@hotmail.com. This also is the first fic I've every done 
on my new portable. ^_^ For this project, I had a bunch of influences. Everything from the WWF's recent Hardy 
Boyz feud to personal experiences. I put alot of heart into this project and I hope you enjoyed it as much as 
I did spending all day making it. Awww... Now I feel all happy and fuzzy! - sgoast)