Sage winced as he applied salve to his busted lip, trying to heal the cut that had reopened for the fifth time today.
He and his crew hadn't signed up to be in bar fights, but that's exactly what happened. Poor Sobal was sitting in a hospital room with a concussion. Keal and some of the other guys were there with him, but Sage had to stay behind because he was the sixth most wanted pirate in the universe right now.
All because Lyssa was too stubborn to listen to him and walked right into yet another trap. She ignored Sage's warnings and marched headfirst into a bar where Linro Lee and Relleck and about fifteen other guys were waiting for her.
And then - the moron goaded Relleck into running after her. Sage kept refreshing the pirate intraweb to see if either one showed up as captured, but so far…nothing. It made him even more nervous.
Ganon walked onto the bridge, an ice pack pressed against his swollen eye. He'd received two stitches for the busted lip, as well - but he'd gotten off easy compared to the rest of them.
"Well, boss man," he said, in a tone of voice which meant he was about to lay into Sage. "Looks like your crew is out of commission for a good couple of weeks or so."
Sage grunted.
"I ask again," Ganon said. "Is she worth it?"
"No, she's not," Sage said, rubbing his face. "We are never doing that again."
"Liar."
"Seriously, I'm done saving her ass," Sage grumbled. But just as the words left his mouth, his mini-computer lit up with Vel's number. Ganon saw who it was and rolled his eyes.
"See? Liar."
"Get sucked, Ganon," Sage grumbled as he stormed off the bridge to have a private conversation.
"What?"
"Sage, Lyssa's gone missing," Vel said, nervously.
"Serves her right!" Sage barked into the mini-computer. "Dragging me and my crew into a bar fight just so she could make a point! I'm glad Relleck captured her-"
"Relleck didn't capture her," Vel said, curiously. "She let him go, because-"
But Sage didn't hear why Lyssa let him go, or anything else that Vel said after that.
"She let him go?"
All he could think about was Lyssa and Relleck, and the only reason his achy head could come up with why they would suddenly have a mutual change of heart. The idea made him sick.
"THAT'S IT!" Sage bellowed, nearly smashing his mini-computer in frustration. "You know what, I am DONE."
"Sage-"
"I just got the shit beat out of me because she's a pig-headed idiot! And all of that - ALL OF THAT - and she let him go?!"
"Sage-"
"Half of my crew is in the hospital thanks to her, I probably need to go to the hospital as well, but I can't, because I'm the sixth wanted person in the universe, because, yet again, I was trying to protect her from someone else-"
"Sage-"
"I have busted my ass these past few weeks to keep her out of trouble, do you know?" Sage ranted. "Literally, my ass is busted because of her. And do I ever get a thank you? Do I ever get one shred of appreciation from her?"
"Sage, I-"
"No, I never do, and now she's off with Relleck," Sage ranted, barely remembering to breathe. "She doesn't even notice. Well, let's see if she notices when I'm not there! See if Relleck is as good at saving her ass as I am!"
"Sage-"
"She'll get captured, get tossed out of the web," Sage grumbled. "Then she'll probably go begging Relleck to save her-"
"SAGE!" Vel screamed.
"WHAT?" he screamed back.
"Look, I don't know what you're talking about," Vel said, finally able to get a word in. "But Lyssa and Relleck…what you think happened isn't what actually happened…but I really need your help now to find her."
"I told you," Sage grumbled. "I'm done."
"You told me you can always find her," Vel pleaded. "Please…just one more time, as a favor to me?"
Sage sighed dramatically and walked back onto the bridge of the ship, and purposefully ignoring the look Ganon gave him. He sat at his computer and began typing, checking both Lyssa Peate and Razia's bank accounts, which predictably came up empty.
So he switched to a new database, the central data repository for the Planetary and System Science Academy. He typed in the number D-9448639 to locate her license information, to include all of the planet she had either requested or sold. It was a short list, and most planets were listed as "sold." The very latest, however, was marked, "In excavation."
"She's out on one of her stupid planet things," Sage said, flipping his mini-computer around to show the results to Vel.
"Oh thank Leveman's," Vel sighed. "Okay, if I leave now, I should be able to make it there before she leaves again. I hope."
"You know, I think I might join you there," Sage said, staring at the screen in front of him with his blood beginning to boil again. "I need to have a little chat with the dear doctor…."
Vel was helpless as Sage set to creating himself a brand new alias as a doctor of Deep Space Exploration, muttering about thankless bounty hunters and how he was never ever going to save her ever again.
"Liar…" Ganon muttered.