-Jim's P.O.V

"But Gene, you can't just up and leave me to run Starwind and Hawking on my own for the next ten days without some help!" I complained.

"Don't worry Jim, Aisha will be here to help." Gene laughed.

"Oh. Yeah, but she'll eat everything in the fridge and sleep all the time..." I further debated.

"Jim, come on, can't you do this for me? Melfina and I are going on our honeymoon, and we really need you here." Gene asked me with a pleading look.

I gave a defeated sigh, and shrugged my shoulders, "Fine, but you owe me. Where's Suzuka?"

"She's also gone somewhere, she found out about a nice bounty on some guy and couldn't pass it up." Gene answered, hauling luggage into the cab outside Starwind and Hawking.

"Okay...where's Aisha? I can't leave her running around the place by herself." I asked, handing him a bag. Gene only shrugged, indicating he either didn't know, or really didn't want to know.

Melfina came walking out carrying some of her own belongings with a smile on her face, "Oh Gene, I can't believe we're having our honeymoon on that five star resort planet you were talking about. Do we really have enough money for the trip though?"

"Of course! We're not in debt up to our eyeballs with Fred anymore, so pretty much any money we make is ours." Gene answered with a grin.

Amazing as it was, we did manage to pay all debts owed to Fred. Sure, we'd borrow money from him, and buy ammunition now and again as well, but thanks to our combined efforts, and my financing skills, we were able to pay off the initial sum of wong owed, and even earn a profit. We came back to Sentinel III and ran business in the better part of town. Our name was getting around to a few businesses, and that meant possible jobs.

"Well, that's the last of it. Jim, we'll see you in ten days." Gene said with a smack on the shoulders.

"Bye, Jim. We'll be sure to buy you guys something while we're there." Melfina said giving me a hug.

"Right, take care you two...and don't go getting in trouble with the law!" I warned Gene. He only laughed, scratching his head.

Gene and Mel had gotten married last month, it had been about five years since the Leyline. It was about time in my opinion. I was sixteen as of last week, and in the eyes of my friends, and adult. Probably because I was old enough to be taken seriously about things, and because they thought I acted way too serious for my age...which is probably why we're doing so well for our company.

The two drove off in the direction of the docking stations where the Outlaw Star was. Since they would be taking it, this left job oppurtunities to bodyguarding, bounties, and simple local deliveries, due to the absence of a ship. I went back inside and slumped into the couch. I was still always getting most of the work dumped on me, no surprise. I sighed, feeling tired.

"Hey Jimmy, what's the matter?" asked the voice of a certain female C'tarl C'tarl, which made me jump a little.

"Oh, hey Aisha...nothing, I'm just stressed out I guess." I answered.

"Awww...poor Jim. Yeah, you do way too much work for a Terran your age." she said in a motherly tone, rustling my hair.

"Yeah, and you don't do enough work for a C'tarl C'tarl your age." I teased.

"Really? Well, seeing as we'll be the only ones running the place for a few days, we might as well forget it and take a vacation. Otherwise you'll bee too stressed, and I'll just be too lazy." Aisha laughed, a fanged grin spreading across her face. Over the past two years, Aisha had become less irrate. She was still the proud C'tarl C'tarl that she had always been, but I guess she learned to soften up a bit.

"Wait, take a vacation? To where though, we don't even have our own ship." I asked.

"So, we can go enjoy the city-life, can't we? Come on." Aisha then picked me up (literally) off the couch and out the door.

We walked through town, Aisha forced me to walk arm in arm with her. She was humming to herself, an all to familiar 'I know something you don't know' grin on her face.

"Okay Aisha, what's up?" I questioned her, knowing she had something planned.

She giggled, "Aisha's not telling. It's a surprise!" That was all I got from her.

We arrived in front of a club...a questionable one, "Um...Aisha, what are we doing here? I mean, sure, there's no real enforcement of age at these places on Sentinel III, but-"

"Oh relax Jimmy, the dance club is in the back. However, for your information, I do have a job oppurtunity here." Aisha answered.

"Wait, your going to go in there and-"

"Yep!"

"Without any-"

"Uh huh!"

"Wow...um...this is only for today, right?" I don't really mind you doing this, but..."

"But what Jimmy?" Aisha asked.

"Just...be careful Aisha...I don't want to hear you ended up missing and found dead in an alley in the bad part of town. That's happened to girls who do this for a living...Gene told me so..." I said, reddening a little.

"Don't worry Jim. I'll come back to the front bar as soon as I'm done. I'm more worried about you than myself in these parts of town. After I'm done, we'll go somewhere to eat." Aisha reassured me.

"Please stay safe, okay Aisha? You're my friend, and I don't want you to get hurt." I said with concern clearly noticeable in my voice.

"As a C'tarl C'tarl, I swear that I will on my honor. There, thant make you feel better?" she asked with a wink.

"Yeah, I guess." I shrugged.

"Here, take some money and go get something to hold you over until I'm done. I'll be back in about an hour, okay?" she said, handing me some wong from her pocket.

"You're treating me like a little brother." I groaned with a smile.

"No, I'm treating you like a close friend." she corrected with a hug, then headed for the back entrance.

Much to my surprise, the bartender at the front was a C'tarl C'tarl as well. He looked a bit on the stout side as far as males go.

"Hey there kid, what'll you have?" he asked with a nod.

"I'll just have a bowl of soup and some water..."I sighed, clearly not really concerned about food at the moment.

"Sure thing...hey, you allright? You Terrans usually don't look this depressed until at least two glasses of liquor." the C'tarl C'tarl asked.

"Yeah, my friend is um...performing tonight, and she's not always careful," I replied, nodding to the back door where the club was, "The only assurance I have is that she's a C'tarl C'tarl, so she can take on most guys who try to make any moves on her."

"Oh, you mean Ms. Clan Clan, right? Yeah, she came and asked about a chance for just one night. She's a nice girl, and quite the looker," the bartender looked at me with a grin, "Are you two dating?" he asked, handing me the soup and glass of water.

"Dating? Oh! No, no, no...we're just good friends; we've know each other for a few years now." I said waving my hands in defense.

"Ha ha, too bad. You'd be a lucky Terran, especially at your age. She did say she was going to take a friend of hers out for dinner to celebrate a late birthday after her performance." the bartender laughed.

"Really?" I asked, raising my head from the soup bowl.

"Yep, she apparantly really likes this guy. Well, you go ahead and enjoy the food, it's on me. You're the first Terran customer to eat my food and not complain about it for quite some time." the C'tarl C'tarl said, then went to some other customers at the counter.

I could hear some music from the club in the back, and could only guess that Aisha was just beginning her show.

Time flew by after I finished eating. I talked to the bartender about this and that, mostly about business and problems, the usual stuff. After speaking so much with Aisha, I learned how to effectively carry on casual conversation with C'tarl C'tarl effectively. Always be polite, don't scoff at any outrageous claims they make, and be sure to not let them do all the talking...unless it was one of Aisha's rants about how C'tarl C'tarl were superior to all other forms of life.

"Hey Jimmy, I'm back! I made some good money too! Come on, I'm taking you out to eat for your birthday, even though it was last week." Aisha said as she walked in. I noticed the bartender raise an eyebrow, then quietly laughed to himself.

"O-okay...um, where should we eat?" I stammered, my face beginning to redden.

"You decide, it's your birthday." she laughed, grabbing my hand as we walked out. What was I getting myself into?

end of chap.1 Well there you go, another fic about Jim and Aisha unfolding. Truthfully, I have no clue how old Aisha is, if anyone knows how old she is in the series, please tell me. How was my story? Please read and review. I plan on getting more chapters done in the meantime.