Belle Starr, Confessions of an Ark Hunter: Episode Eleven – Christmas in Paradise!

Belle Starr, Confessions of an Ark Hunter: Episode Eleven – Christmas in Paradise!

Cass Ducar lanquished with folded arms against the hood of her Shetarru, enjoying the cool evening air as she watched with wide amber eyes the patrons come in and out of The Crater. The bar was busy as it usually was this time of night, and the attractive and scantily clad Irathian had a clear view of the entrance from where her car was parked next to her trailer in the small trailer park in back of The Crater. No matter how cold it got in the Bay Area, which was never much below sixty five degrees Fahrenheit, Cass never felt chilled, but did find it invigorating. She enjoyed watching the people coming and going, never knowing when she might spot a potential future employer for her very special talents.

Cass was distracted from her people watching when she noticed a red, white, and blue blur running back and forth and all around the trailer park. Cass was not surprised for she knew it was her friend and neighbor, Belle Starr, who habitually wore the colorful Liberty trooper armor and was well known to have an EGO implant, one of the powers granted to her being the super-speed power, and the inclination to use those powers often, however she was puzzled as to what Belle was doing racing all over the trailer park. Belle would blur to one of the many small fir trees, speed around it then stop suddenly, tilt her blond tousled head, bite her lower lip, look the tree up and down with big blue eyes, than a pout would form on her rose petal lips as she slowly shook her head back and forth before racing to the next fir tree. Finally Belle stopped in front of a ten foot tall fir tree in back of her own little blue trailer, a wide smile spreading across her pale freckled face.

“What the hell,” muttered Cass as she stood up unfolding her muscular brown arms, thinking maybe Belle found the cool evening air invigorating too, but knowing that was too simple an explanation, especially when Belle was involved in a situation.

Belle Starr was a bit of a celebrity around the Bay Area not only because she looked like a cross between a runway model and the girl next door, or so the human males had told Cass, nor because she had a book of short stories about her published on the East Coast which got her a gig as a special correspondent for Frontier Corporation News, but because she was the self-appointed hero of Paradise, patrolling the highways and byways making them safe for the ranchers and miners in Paradise. Everybody knew and liked Belle, from the noble Ara Shondu to the hedonistic Varus Soleptor, knowing if Belle took a mission for them she would do it effectively and efficiently, but also knew she would bend over backwards to protect those she thought of as innocents and complications would sometimes ensue because of it.

Unfortunately thought Cass, Belle was also still too damn naïve considering she is twenty one years old with the last year and a half spent in the frontiers of Paradise, and was way too willing to consider someone an innocent until that someone proved her wrong. Silly human girl even still thinks of me as an innocent and Belle’s known me since I found her in the wreckage of the ERS New Freedom, Cass mentally chuckled to herself as she walked over to Belle with a big smile, I may be many things but innocent isn’t one of them! Despite Belle’s shortcomings, or maybe because of them, Cass considered Belle a close friend and would do anything to help her, as she also knew Belle would do for her.

“Okay Babe, what are you up to this time,” Began Cass.

Belle’s face visibly brightened and a happy glint appeared in her diamond blue eyes as she exclaimed, “Hey BFF! I just found the perfect tree for my Christmas celebration!”

Cass was never sure what “BFF” meant, but assumed it wasn’t a human insult because Belle was always smiling when she said it and Belle had a terrible Poker face, that fact gaining Cass much scrip, so she went on and asked, “Perfect for what and what is Christmas?”

“Well, this time of year many humans celebrate the birth of our savior Jesus Christ,” Belle began talking slowly enunciating every syllable as if speaking to a small child, which irritated Cass to no end.

Having spoken to Belle about this before, Cass just sternly stared with narrowed gold eyes at Belle until Belle looked down in embarrassment realizing what she had done, a red blush spreading up Belle’s thin neck to her freckled cheeks, then Belle mumbled an apology, “Um… sorry!” Then looked up smiling, “Anyway, we get a nice tree like this one and decorate it, and give each other presents, and have a big turkey dinner, which we say a prayer to God before eating it, and celebrate the Baby Jesus’ birth!”

Cass had wondered where the turkey that had been hanging around the Soleptor vendor had disappeared to, but now she thought she knew, so she gestured with a wave for Belle to continue.

“So I’ve already got Varus to agree to rent me the lights strung around The Crater to string on the tree and Rosa at Topnotch made me a star from some ark tech I found to put on the top of the tree. Usually, we’d cut the tree down and put it in the house, but my little blue trailer is way too small for that, so I’ll decorate it out here. Back home, we also would usually put the gifts under the tree,” Belle then giggled before she added, “But around here they wouldn’t be around long, so I’ll keep those in my trailer!”

“Before Paradise, wasn’t home for you on the east coast somewhere?” Asked Cass.

“Yeah,” Belle’s voice suddenly took on a sad tone, “My last living relative, Uncle Greenstreet, had a brownstone in Brooklyn that I lived in before coming out here, but… that was before the terra-forming disaster a couple of months back. I haven’t heard from him or any of the friends I had back there since…”

Belle stared past Cass as her voice trailed off, so Cass decided to change the subject fast, “So who is this Baby Jesus and what did he save you from?”

Belle’s blue eyes took on a glint of happiness again as her rose petal lips formed a smile as she began, “Well as a lapsed Catholic I’ll try to explain!”

Cass sardonically wondered if that was like a lapsed virgin but consciously chose not to comment as Belle’s brow furrowed in concentration before she went on, “Once upon a time, a long time ago, Joseph and Mary went to a town called Bethlehem, way smaller than hereabouts, that was doing some big celebration, kind of like the Armistice Celebration but without the lanterns, but way before the Pale Wars happened, even before y’all arrived and even I was born. Mary was pregnant with Jesus, and was about to pop him out, but the only place to stay was in a barn cause all the rooms were rented by people for the big party or something like that!”

Cass raised an eye brow as she refolded her arms, not sure of the veracity of Belle’s telling of the story but unwilling to interrupt, so Belle excitedly continued with a wide stretching of her arms above her head, “But get this! Jesus was immaculately conceived in Mary by God! Joseph was Mary’s husband but not Jesus’ father cause, you know, God was! Kind of like a test tube baby without the test tube or the science or anything like that! It was a miracle! So Jesus was born and had no bed or crib or anything, so they put him in a manger! Not sure what a manger is, but it has something to do with the barn! And shepherds and kings and even angels visited Baby Jesus asleep in the manger, bringing him expensive gifts, except for a small drummer boy who brought him an original tune, but that was nice too and…!”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Cass stopped Belle with a wave of her hand, “Ignoring the facts that nobody, not even a human male, would believe that their wife was just suddenly pregnant or the fact that Jesus’ parents didn’t immediately take the presents and barter for a better place to stay, why is the birth celebrated? Who is the Jesus to you Belle?”

Belle’s blue eyes grew wide as she stated as a matter-of-fact, “Because Jesus, the son of God, would later be nailed to a cross, dying for all our sins,” Belle quickly took out an antique silver rosary from a secret pocket in her armor, showing the worn crucifix to Cass, but seeing Cass was still not understanding, sighed, and said, “It’s a matter of faith, Cass! A belief in something greater than ourselves, in a hope that we can be worthy of Jesus’ sacrifice for us!”

“Ah, faith!” Cass smiled for she understood faith as her people were deeply spiritual, although she herself was more materialistic. Still, the Iratinians’ faith in their gods had helped them survive the long trip across the expanse of space to a new and often unfriendly world. Faith could be a great comfort in terrible times, such as the time her friend Belle Starr must be suffering with all she knew before coming to the Bay Area destroyed by the recent terra-forming disaster in New York.

“Anyway, I’ve invited a few people to come over for a Christmas eve party, and I hope ya’ll come to celebrate with me,” Belle bit her lower lip as she hesitantly asked.

Cass’ smile grew even wider as she answered, “Of course I will Babe!”

Belle positively beamed as she replied “That’s great! Hey you’re Irathian and so is my boyfriend! I got this for him as a Christmas gift! Do you think Vo will like it!”

Belle took out from another hidden pocket in her armor a small roundish object wrapped in a brown cloth. She unwrapped it carefully to reveal a globe, in which was a garishly red dressed fat white bearded human with a sack who stood next to a large sled pulled by some type of antlered animals situated on the top of a building. When Belle shook the globe, little white flakes suspended in some kind of liquid in the globe rose to the top, than slowly floated downwards.

What the hell? Thought Cass to herself, but said out loud, “Vo will love it Belle!”

It was common knowledge that the lanky Irathian mechanic who worked at the Bug N’ Chug was head over heels in love with Belle, and she could give him a black rock as a present and he would love it but that was beside the point. What Cass really wondered was what the fat man in the snow globe, the decorated tree, and the turkey had to do with the birth of Jesus, but knew if she asked Belle, she would only be more confused about Christmas!

Happy Holidays Y'all from Belle Starr!