Trigun: Deep Space Planet Future Gun Action!! Vol. 1

By Yasuhiro Nightow

July in 3rd City, Stardate: 7/21/0104, long agai, Vash the Stampede, 24 approx., a pacifist, is at large for killing Count Vasquez, and capable of G-Grade destruction, so his bounty is set for $60 bil dollar bucks alive or the usu. Next a group of dudes are walking at Vash, writhing from bullet wounds, and the doc asking how he feels. Later, Vash walks in as a little boy complains his toy raygun isn't a real gun. As Vash sits to eat, the kid can be heard trying to bribe a gun by doing chores.

Then, another dude enters, and the room explodes, the group of men shooting the place up. When the dust clears, they see Vash laying face first on the ground, thinking victory. The 1 fella offers they'd fix the damage with the reward money, they being rich. Then, Vash pops up saying how happy he is for them, the big guy making to smash him down.

Vash overpowers the fools and they end up walking away in their drawers. Vash hasn't told them to strip down, but does give the boy a gun. When Millie and Meryl order drinks and cake and are made fun of, MIllie strong arms a fool. Meryl decides to skip the meal in preference to catch up with Vash, and as they ride out of town on their horses, Vash is inside and being told how the town'd voted to turn him in. Lastly, Meryl seems to feel they've gotten lost, Millie suggesting they return and ask.

7 cities are expanded from their humble town start, and built around ships, they having crash landed not too long before. After a hundred yrs, the population decline slows, and 3rd of July becomes Lost July. 1 of the 7 cities is ripped from its base overnight, and only Vash is found at the wreckage, this his origin. Next, Vash crashes through a glass window with 1 arm, as Meryl gets on her megaphone to address the town.

Meryl's trying to dissuade people from hunting Vash, but this fails. As the people are deciding what to do, a jail breaked crew interrupts, and Meryl with Millie run after a large guy as Vash is checking outside a window. A maid comes in with a gun holding him up with a bunch of women, 1 sharing how she needs help for her ill son with her cut. Vash knocks her over, and with his gun ready, states how he had to go after a fool, and doesn't want to take her down before he did, but then the building is crashed into by the vigilante jail breakers, Vash picking up the fainted maid as Millie relates to Meryl how grave a situation this is, with Nebraska gang coming after him.

Now the townspeople know Vash is up against Nebraska gang, they change opinions on who should win. Vash keeps their attention on him to draw them away from the women, which is noticed by 1 fella watching. Nebraska taunts Vash for not killing anyone yet, and he'd become a hypocrite soon enough, but as everyone watches, Vash removes his sunglasses, the chatter about whether he'd even make a dent by drawing against this monster. 2 guys bicker over how they'd be able to collect if Vash becomes unIDable for how hard NEb can punch, but they worry needlessly, since Vash takes his shot, impressing the people and pissing the gang off.

The giant fist they'd sent at Vash doesn't even hit him, and gives him time to return fire. Then, by megaphone from a window, Meryl requests the battle stop, which comes since they'd already paused. Meryl explains how Vash's reward is invalid, due to his special status of being an abnormal human. As Vash is celebrating his confirmed freedom, Millie and Meryl intro themselves and clarify they'd be keeping him survelled til their term of office expires, due to their reports being important for insurance investigations.

Sand steamer docks and as Meryl asks Vash's plans, he's already gone. Millie'd thought fast though, and spiked his salmon sammie with a tracking device. When the ladies use the tracker, Millie at first thinks Vash turned himself into a cat. They soon suspect he plans to leave by sand steamer, which'd strand them for not having enough cash due to the length of stay in town they've had already.

Vash learns where the tix are sold and of departure bieng next day, Millie then shouting at him of whether he is going. Later, Vash is being celebrated on his last night in town. When he's traveling on the train, his security is warning him of the worst gang's city they are heading to, but Vash ignores him, leaving the wariness to him. When Vash makes to take another nap, a stowaway boy, Kite bops him on the eye, he annoyed.

Kite candidly shares his woeful story and begs Vash to let him off. Kite's sure Vash isn't buying it, so is surprised when compassion showers upon him as Millie, Meryl, and the bodyguard are in the galley working. Vash snatches some food for Kite, who admits he'd been on this planet since birth, and Vash seems like the last of the nice people. Then, the Bad Lad Gang decide to make an appearance.

Millie and Meryl are first to learn of the gang's infiltration on board. Dynamite Neon is a loudly cowboy-dressed fella, who orders Kite to show him where the other passengers are round up. Then, Vash has a flashback/dream of telling Rem of a dream so dry, humans seemed not worth the trouble to keep living. Rem laughs at how dark Vash is even with dreams, and should be careful or it'll age him.

Rem advises he ask his heart for what is right before he's chasing after her, the ground breaking between them, then Vash waking. He hears a commotion as DN complains of how strapped the passengers are for cash. When DN learns of a safe which can't be opened til arrival, he game plans how to expedite the cracking, so has the sand steamer be set at a faster jaunt and course. Kite shares his acumen on the sand steamer which impresses the gang, with suspicion.

DN reveals their plan to crack a safe and have sped up the steamer, which makes Kite state they should give up. When DN manhandles him, he replies for him to consider not destroying the steamer. Next revealed is this is Kite's pop's ship, DN sticking his gun in Kite's mouth and threatening to shoot when Vash pops in. Gunfire breaks out, Kite is safe and when they reach a quiet spot, he shows Vash his copied map of his pop's for the steamer.

Kite has a moment of doubting his abilities til Vash sets him straight. When Vash goes up against armored fool and doesn't shoot to kill and gets wounded, Kite wonders why. Vash reveals it's because of Rem they all continue to live, and if he took a life, he'd make her sad. Vash battles his way through bot-looking fellas until reaching Kite and DN.

Vash shows no fear as DN shoots repeatedly at him. When he's readying to take his kill shot, Meryl interrupts dressed like a bot, along with Millie. Then, the steamer acts unstable, and Vash offers a deal to duel DN, and if he won, they'd agree to stop the steamer. Vash warns the bystanders to duck when fool shoots.

When DN shoots, Vash does more damage opening his own wounds by dodging the shots. More updates of now going so fast, stopping would crash them, and then a valve breaking. Vash asks Kite if he's sure he wants to try and fix it, he feeling responsible. There's also the plan needing to be monitored, since it controls natural electrical elements, and 1 man states of its instability, esp with the angelic-looking being inside it.

When Vash sees her, he compliments her as his sis. She looks like a human part plant, and when Vash touches the orb she's in, she stops writhing. As this occurs, poor Kite is in duress as they try to gently lower their speed. When Kite wakes, the steamer stops right at the end of the off route path.

A few hrs after, they're rescued and a couple days after reach May city. Vash is mentioned as a culprit, but isn't found. Segue to Millie writing a letter to her older sibs and parents, and cousins, Meryl calling her out, which she agrees, since the fam saw it as a monthly newsletter. Vash, Millie, and Meryl are offered to work as bodyguards for the bar, but the 2 must decline for it against policy to take part time work, so the man then offers to Vash.

The group is led to a lush oasis in the middle of the desert. The old man in town states needing the town protected til he can get the deed to town hall tmw. Millie and Meryl are hanging out when they catch a fella, Badwick lurking outside, Millie recognizing him and giving him shit for pointing a gun at his parents, according to him, the only way they'd listen. He then chats with the old man about giving up to Morgan since he'd kill them and the land they refused to sell him.

Badwick insults him by dragging the memory of the old man's son back, right before an explosion. The Nebraska fam make their intro, and head quickly by jeep to the house the OM is staying, the Ma orders they leave the greenery alone, but he rest is fair game. When the OM confronts the gang to negotiate price for the deed, Meryl shoots at the gang when a biker comes at the group, and Vash takes a shot creating another explosion. Badwick who takes the deed in the end, learns the deed is already in his name.

The pop mentions to Millie of how parents and kids live their lives differently, and it's about accepting the path chosen, being his way of explaining away Badwick's tactics.

Great start, I'm looking forward to continuing, and the b&w isn't cumbersome!