Hilda



Hilda and Outlaw Star are Property of mangaka Takehiko Ito and Sunrise Studios, all rights reserved.

A Space Pirate who has come to be an ally of Zev Raregroove, "Hot Ice" Hilda is a focused, grim sort of character who doesn't take to jokes. Despite this, she appears to be an old friend of Ryoko and Aisha Clanclan. A talented markswoman, Hilda does not seem to have any unique abilities other than that of a trained human.

Personality
Quiet and serious, Hilda is not one to tell jokes or fool around. A woman of few words, she doesn't take rudeness lying down, no matter what the situation. She also simply doesn't respond to such trifles as jokes in the middle of a large-scale battle.

Unlike her ally Aisha Clanclan, Hilda treats battle and killing as just another job to get done, and derives no pleasure from slaying enemies. Even around her allies, Hilda is very cold, professional, and doesn't engage in much conversation at all.

History
Contacted by Fenrich regarding Zev Raregroove, Namah, and Yoruichi Shihouin's predicament, Hilda followed coordinates provided to pick up Aisha Clanclan and Ryoko before heading with the group to help. After defeating Serrator's forces, Fenrich brought the group through a portal, where they were scattered throughout an unknown area. Having defeated a number of slimes, Hilda and Yoruichi began looking for a way out of the caverns they'd found themselves in.

During a brief encounter with Professor Nguyen Khan, it was revealed that he was the man who made Hilda's mechanical arm, blaster, and ship. Together with Yoruichi, the two made it back to the main fortress of Zev Raregroove's domain. Following the battle with Desco, the crew was reunited with Hilda's ship - The Desperado - On the Space Station Blue Heaven, where it was refurbished by the Corbanite Gurruno. Once this was finished, she piloted the ship back to finish the battle against Blackout's Omega Supreme Moon-Ship.

Towards the battle's end, Hilda and the rest of the Desperado's crew opted to leave while a number of fellow Space Pirate crews helped in the battle. They would head to a dusty planet in the Milky Way Galaxy, similar in climate to Mars. There, Hilda met with an old contact named Darros in a tavern. Seemingly dodging a spy of unknown allegiance, the two agreed to meet at a presently unknown restaurant to discuss the matter of exchanging Hilda's assistance in recovering a "treasure" for information on a Professor; most likely Nguyen Khan.

It would turn out that this restaurant was where Aisha had taken up employment to pay off her share of the crew's needs. There, Hilda sat by as Darros explained to Zev, Namah, and Melfina that he would share what he knew of their target in exchange for assistance in retrieving a lost vessel containing great riches from the Ocean Planet of Hei Fon 5. However, their meal was interrupted by a number of gun-toting thugs who broke into the restaurant and demanded that Darros be turned over to them.

Although Hilda was quick to act - Using the table as a shield - Not only did Darros slip outside safely, but Aisha's tendency to go berserk and use the bestial power of her Ctarl-Ctarl heritage arose in a more convenient fashion than usual. The thugs stood no chance against her, and after Hilda and Namah helped her back inside for a well-deserved meal, Hilda sent the latter off with Zev and Melfina to buy more caster shells.

When the group took longer than usual to return to the Desperado, Hilda and Darros realized that a member of the "Anten Seven" was on the planet. It is unknown what Hilda did in immediate response, but it is known that Yoruichi Shihouin was sent out to assist the trio in the guaranteed skirmish. After the group returned safely, they all headed to Hei Fon 5, where Darros's past was revealed.

An outlaw with a bounty on his head of 500,000 wong, it was originally Darros and his old gang that shot down the cargo ship, which had been hijacked by the Fon Pirates at the time. Only later did they discover what the ship's actual cargo consisted of: roughly five cubic tons of Draconite ore. After the group shared their reactions, the Desperado dove to begin the salvage operation.

Later, after the group acquired their reward for the Draconite (half of which had been rendered useless by its open exposure to sea water), they headed to Hei Fon 4 to set up some kind of shop in a warehouse bought for them by Fred Luo. Hilda promptly took Zev, Namah, and Melfina to see Fred at his mansion and core compound of his military and security conglomerate. There, Fred agreed to pay the docking fees for their ship, so long as they agreed to act as bodyguards due to a bounty being placed on his head.

However, it would turn out that the assassin sent to claim Fred's life was none other than "Twilight" Suzuka, not only hired by the Fon Pirates to kill him, but hired by the very same group to murder Zev. The ensuing battle trashed the complex's main lounge, and it was only Suzuka's self-imposed condition of abandoing the battle at noon that prevented further escalation of the battle.

Soon after, when Zev was attacked by Suzuka while out having drinks with Fred to calm his old friend down, Hilda drove to his rescue by hovercar with Namah in tow. On Zev's instruction, she took the trio to an abandoned quarry and reluctantly agreed to not, under any circumstances, shoot to kill Suzuka. Leaving Zev to fight his battle, Hilda drove herself and Namah to a safe distance away.

Weapon(s)
Hilda primarily wields a black, lackluster blaster of medium size, with a fairly broad, short barrel. Unlike most blasters, this weapon must have its separate bullet-like shells loaded, fired, and ejected, with the process repeated for every single shot in mid-battle. However, in exchange for this drawback, it has a wide variety of ammunition that can be fired and a significant potential for destruction.

Additionally, when a lever is pulled on the side, the barrel extends slightly to reveal a turbine encircling part of it; this turbine lights up and rotates with growing speed for the time it is exposed without the outer barrel covering it. This function causes the loaded shell to be fired in a specialized manner; for instance, some shells become fired as a volley of homing energy missiles.

Among the munitions that can be fired from the blaster are caster shells, which seem to contain magical spells within bullets used by the weapon. Like regular shells, they can be fired with a special effect while the turbine is exposed and rotating.

Other weapons Hilda has been seen using include grenades of unspecified qualities.

Abilities/Skills
Despite her eyepatch, Hilda is a very able markswoman, possessed of distinct accuracy. In her hands, the unnamed blaster she has acquired becomes a veritable engine of utter destruction. Hilda is also trained in hand-to-hand combat, which enables her to defend herself in the time she has to re-load her weapon before every shot.

Trivia

 * Hilda was the one Fenrich contacted when Zev and his allies were under attack by Serrator's demon forces.
 * A conversation with Yoruichi Shihouin revealed Hilda's epithet: "Hot Ice".
 * Hilda's right arm is mechanical.