Explosive Times

"Well, we found what we were lookin' for. Then we got this call from Sentry and Mikie's lawyer. Said he needed help. Some of us went to hear what he had to say. He wanted to help us get em out of jail til he could clear their name. That's when I headed back to wait for em to come our way. I'd take Sentry to Sanctuary," I shrugged leanin' against the shuttle's exterior hull. "Seems it went a little different. I could hear somethin' on the comms. Commotion of some sort. Next I hear they were headin' for Washburne. Didn't take long b'fore we started hearin' it was bein' bombed."

I sighed, shakin' my head sadly, "That was only the beginin'. I got a call to head to the Drift. When I got there Sentry was standin' there plain as day. Was good to see him back. Then it happened..... The bombin' started. Was pretty bad. Was all we could do to get out of Bootleggers and run for a shuttle. We had to find Mikie.... Lily found her settin' on Shadow by the transponder on the two man ship she took from Sanctuary. We headed there. We caught up with Mikie. She looked ok. Not like she did when Kaezin and I saw her last on Sanctuary. Didn't take long after that b'fore we were shot at by gorram purple bellies. They landed troops and bombed the place. Pod was able to get Sentry, me and a wounded JJ out of there."

"Pod took us to Hale's hopin' the doc there could help her out. JJ was real lucky...Doc Danick come down and worked on her. Got the slug out and stitched her up. Had to let her rest in the clinic on Hale's 'til she could be moved back to MacLaren's Drift. I headed out to see if the others got back safe. Found Cursa was treatin' Tillery. Man got shot up pretty bad. Seems Cursa couldn't get all the slugs out of him. Told him he'd have to see a real doc for that." I rubbed the back of my neck feelin' the strain of the last couple of days.

I moved to the back of the shuttle openin' the rear to check on the new crates I'd salvaged, "Took me, Val and Miya.. Not sure on the last one. Got this here concussion," I chuckled half heartedly, "But that comes later.... Told Val, I'd head to Mac's and boost the signal from the space station there, then head to Till's office on Persephone and do the same. That way Till could make a report from Val's ship when he was able to."

"Had a chance later that night," I frowned not so sure it was, "Or day, to talk to Lily. I know she's gettin' ready for her annual hunt time. She'd said somethin' 'bout the one who done the real bombin' on Londinium was on Hale's..... There's a lot of folk there on Hale's with different feelin's... Just don't know who," I looked through the containers tryin' to find somethin' I could lift easily. "Then Just the other day I heard the call for help from Caliban.....Got into the ship and flew there to help rescue folk. Gorram, the dome was bleedin' atmo and smoke. Krenshar had gathered everyone out by the airlock so I landed the ship nearby. We could see ships leavin' and some comin' in."

"Once everyone was secured and Krenshar told me no one else was left inside the dome, I cycled the engines and started liftin' off. That's when we spotted more bombers comin' in low...They shot off their payload into the dome..... "Clenchin' my jaw, I was feelin' a might angry 'bout what I'd seen. "Then I spotted the big ship in low orbit. Could see they were droppin' somethin' big..... It was a nuke.... They sent a gorram nuke into the dome..... We barely broke atmo when it went off. Flash near blinded all of us." I rubbed my eyes, rememberin' the nova bright flash. "At least we weren't close enough to get cooked. The scan equipment read within' norm where we were. I took the refugees to their new place back on Hale's. Krenshar called it Destiny. The place I mean, not the situation."

"Then when I had time to sit and visit with Lily, it got interestin'.....Started out with her wantin' to show me some new 'fabrics' she got... To her fabrics're clothes. Well..... I'd say those were more like.... well.... not a whole lot of fabric. Then she started belly dancin'. Sometimes life throws you into situations you can't escape from.... like bein' in this one..... And my luck was 'bout to change again. Gallagher showed up. Sort of like the Cavalry, cause I was feelin' the need to escape. Now don't get me wrong. I love Lily.... But I ain't goin' to do anythin' with her. I got a couple of smarts rattlin' 'round in my head." I chuckled at that. "I draw the line on takin' advantage of someone with the mentality of a kid. Not right to do. 'Specially Lily. She deserves a lot of respect."

I shook my head gettin' a little off track, "Thing was.... Galagher wasn't Gallagher.... Ok that don't sound right. Yeah... Lily told me the man that showed up was a replicant made to look like Gallagher. Lily got real upset by it. Turned out after the fake left, Gallagher, the real one, showed up." I shook my head tryin' to sort it out myself, "Lily told him 'bout the other one. He got real mad, sayin' the fake was blown apart. Lily said somethin' 'bout maybe Miya or someone else rebuildin' him. Then Gallagher got worked up, he flew us back to the underground facility.... Gorram fake stole everythin' out of there. All the equipment, the bodies, Krenshar's brain, and the canister....."

"We decided to go check Destiny, see if the stuff might be there. Lily and me were headin' there on the ground while Gallagher got in his ship. Next thing we know, lily and me are bein' hit with debris from Gallagher's ship. It'd exploded. We got hit with some of the fallin' pieces. Something slammed down onto my left shoulder. Hurt pretty bad but I was ok. We searched the wreckage for Gallagher. Lily found him, then told me to see if I could find what caused the explosion to begin with. Yeah.... My luck changed on me again. Gorram if another bomb didn't go off nearby. It flung me away, then set off a chain reaction.... At least from what Lily said. Seems more of the ship went up, parts went everywhere... Well luck played into that one again... Some of the debris covered my enough I didn't get cooked."

I looked at the cargo and stopped what I was doin' I knew I couldn't lift much. Sighin' I stepped back shuttin' the hatch, "I woke up in the clinic with a splittin' headache and a lot of bruises. Got told I got a hairline fracture of my left collarbone and a concussion. Figures. One thing gorram armor don't protect from.... Stuff fallin' on you or you fallin' down." Had to smile at that strange logic.

"Went back to the Drift after that. Talked to Brand 'bout needin' to do some salvage. Ended up headin' into the asteroid field again.... Found us somethin' good. An old derilict ship. Had some good cargo on it too. We grabbed some of the containers and loaded em. Good thing it was zero g or I'd be useless. He's goin' to sell off some of what we found. Could use some money 'bout now. Need it to get some stuff for a ship I don't have yet and to get some good supplies we'll all be needin' b'fore long." I leaned against the shuttle again, feelin' tired and achy, but I knew I didn't really have the time to rest.... Not now with the 'laince on our doorstep ready to kick the door in.

"Sentry and Mikie went back into hidin' after all that. Can't blame em that. The lawyer's workin' to get em cleared. Lily's been put back to workin' hard for Xoxo. Seems Xoxo's got her settin' up holiday stuff. Even with all the hell the 'liance's puttin' us through, she's makin' sure we don't forget the holidays." I shrugged. It wasn't goin' to change how the 'liance was feelin' 'bout us. Or what they're doin'..... Won't be no peace in the verse this season....."

An Addendum.... Quest

"Just addin' a little extra to what all I said last night... got it sorted today," I smiled, feelin' releived, "Lily ain't the one pregnant.... Seems her, or Jai's pet civit is. This mornin' Jai gave her one of the babies. So I was real gorram mistaken 'bout the whole baby thing. And I'm glad to be. Now if you seem real confused by this, best check back with the last time I said somethin' here," Checkin' over the cargo crates, I sealed the large container. (Check the last post ;) ).

"Oh and the hunt for what we need? It's movin' along. Just got to make sure you got all the details. Ask 'folk. They might be able to get you movin' in the right direction. There might be another problem.. Lily says she was on Londinium.... That someone on Hale's is really the one who set the bomb off...... Not sure, but I think we might need some help from Cursa and his MacLaren CSI equipment."

The Rescue Quest....

Yawnin' and stretchin', I grabbed another crate and moved it into the large storage container, "Been pickin' up salvage. It's been all I could do of late." I shrugged, "Things been rough. Maybe not as far as me bein' hurt. Healin' up real good now. Got me some decent body armor. Have to thank Seana for that suggestion on the kind. Seems it's helped."

"After gettin' holed this last time, and the slow heal, it was time to change my luck. Spent some time helpin' the rest of TTW with gettin' some stuff done.... Won't go into all the details of it. Just we had some cargo needin' to be stored. Sentry, Willie T, Dex, and me took care of the folk who triued tyo shoot at us. Hell, I even took down the ship with a rock in the turbines. The results? Unless you want to damage a ship bad, don't throw rocks at it." I chuckled at that as I moved a nother crate to the barn.

"On another note, I had somethin' I needed to do. So, when I had the chance I made sure I handed the papers to Raivenn over to Duncan. It's his ship right and clear. Can't say Gabe was to fond of seein' me 'round. She woulda cut me apart givin' the chance. The capn' told us to stop fightin' and we did. But things sort of went real strange." I stopped and set the small boxes down on the pile, takin' a mo to wipe the sweat from my forehead, "Maybe a bit of stupid on my part, maybe somethin' I just missed... I don't know. I figured I was off the Raivenn as crew. Felt pretty bad... Maybe a little mad too. I did a lot of fixin' up on that ship. Even got her new hull plate."

Sighin', I put the bandana back in my pocket. Started walkin' to the shuttle to grab a few more small salvaged cargo containers. "Anyway.... Thought I was off. Went and talked to Brooke 'bout gettin' a small job helpin' with cargo if her company needed it. Told her I was workin' salvage in the asteroid field. Gettin' supplies for, well....... If we have fightin'. Better havin' it then not, and it keeps me from under anyone's feet. I ain't forgot what Gabe said. I'm a liability, maybe get someone else killed. I don't want that." I leaned against one of the larger full containers. It was gettin' pretty hot out movin' that stuff.

I looked at the shuttle still seein' a few more crates to offload, "Wasn't a bit later, that Duncan called me out for goin' to TTW. He was rightly angry.... but He coulda told me I was still with the crew when I asked him. So gorram humpin' messed up. Made me feel real bad. Now I lost the one man what was like a father to me's respect. That ain't easy when you have to look em in the face later on. I ain't said much to him since, nor he me. But he's been busy with Gabe. I won't go into that. Anyway, in the meantime, someone come by a few weeks ago, recruitin' for a company," Walkin' back to the shuttle, I grabbed another container feelin' the weight as I lifted it and carried it into the big container.

"Some feller by the name of Doctor Wirefly. looked like some old geizer in a wheelchair. Come by with bodyguards." I frowned at that, rememberin' how they acted, "They had that real tough attitude. Looked like some rich old coot tryin' to find more body guards."Lookin' 'round for a moment, b'fore gettin' back to work,"Then there was Wind. I wanted tyo shoot him right then and there in the bar. Took Dex and Sentry to talk me down. He shot at me the noght b'fore the big battle on the Drift. Decided to take Dex to the barn and show him the nice prize I found floatin' in the asteroids...... A real nice fusion power plant. Cold fusion Dex said."

"Ended up showin' Brooke later that night. We got it moved b'fore anyone found it. Too nice an item to lose. Not like I can find another right off. I'd have to be real lucky to every find somethin' like that again. Been workin' the field since then. Lot of loose cargo bein' mistook for rocks. Covered in space dust from the field. Got to know what your lookin for." Placin' the crate on the pile, I pushed it into place. "Had Cursa do some tests on me one night. Brooke was there to help. Some sort of deprivation tank was used. Don't know the results of it yet. Bout that time Jai showed up when Cursa was goin' to tell me what he found out. Sentry showed up too. We got talkin' ' bout other stuff. Sort of to keep stuff from Jai. I know she likes to know the latest news.... But me floatin' nekked in a tank ain't one of those times."

"Then a back about five days ago a shuttle comes in to pick up those recruits what signed up with the old man. Somethin' bothered me when I saw the woman in military style spec ops gear. Too much like 'laince gear if you ask me. I walked away and went into the bar. Sentry come back.... Brooke, and Ziggy too. We ended up findin' out a bit later what was rreally goin' on. The recruits come back firin' on us, wearin' those black Spec ops suits. So 'course we'd defend orselves. We shot back... When was all said and done, and the smoke cleared we found out they grabbed Senrty. They meanin' some woman in a black fighter took him outsystem b'fore we had a chance to launch a ship. Svet was screamin' 'bout why we weren't usin' blanks in the guns too, and somethin' 'bout a trainin' exersize."

I growled a little, "Didn't like how she was on me 'bout all that. No one said anythin' to us 'bout it bein' a gorram exersize. She kept goin' on 'bout how she was slighted.... Thye grabbed Sentry... Found out a short time later they got Mikie too," I shoot my head. The whole thing was all wrong. "I won't get into it with Svet. She thinks I don't listen..... She kept goin' on and on. Got real tired of it and walked out. I think that's the first time I did. We walk in and try to get Sentry and Mikie, and the 'liance will grab anyone involved. We don't have good intel, equipment or where to go. Without any of that, and we're done for. Cursa brought up a strong point too... We go in and the 'liance will have proof of resistance.... make it more to their favor to come hunt us down."

Lookin' into the cantainer, makin' sureI'd packed stuff in good, I went for another box, "Later that night we had a visitor.... Gorram Faith come 'round. Found his ship 'bout the time he spotted my standin' on it. He scrambled into it as I shot at him and the ship. Looks like I took out the comm equipment. We found out later the ship went down.... Ok so I can say I shot down a ship.... delayed reacion to me firin' a hand gun at it.... Seems while I was fixin' Ziggy's ship we found out Faith mighta planted a body and faked his death. Got a witness to it." Shiftin' the container, i pushed it in, "As for Ziggy's ship, the Queen Betty. Big ship. Real nice. Got the electricals done, even pulled the main engine drive shaft out and repalced it. Have to give Arti some credit here.... He's plenty strong. Couldn't a done it without his help."

"Still there were things to deal with. Too much goin' on to get done", I sighed, feelin' like my own hands were tied here now, "So we're tryin' to get info and equipment. Seems we need some keys to get into the facility where they (Sentry and Mikie) are, ID's and a place to take em to once we got em.... That and a shuttle with 'liance markin's. No small trick. We got a lot of problems... Includin' one small kid mixed into the deal. I ain't goin' there so don't ask.... talk to Seana. So we been runnin' all over Hale's Moon, sneakin' round Blue Sun and Caliban. Got most of what we need but there's still the need to find a shuttle to get em with.... Another problem.... We found out Mikie's real sick. We'll need medical care for her when we can grab em. Not sure who we can find to help yet... Still workin' out the details."

Movin' the last crate didn't take long. "Then there's another problem.... Lily told me she wants a cub.... Then she went and told Xoxo she pregnant..... I don't know how the hell she is... I ain't had any relations of that kind with her. Then I hear she's somewhere 'feedin' the cub'... Well I know it ain't Aurora... Lily hates the kid. And I remember her tellin' me a few nights ago she wanted to steal Varahi's baby as a means of gettin' back at the folks what laughed at her when she went to help Varahi deliver. I got a real bad feelin' Lily took the baby and has it hid. Not sure where, but I got a few ideas. Now it looks like more'n one rescue to take care of."

Battle lines

Lookin' out the soot covered windows was part proof things happened here, " Things weren't goin' so well of late. Had to do some more recoupin'. Spent a few days with a little fever", I had to chuckle at that. "Don't think I was all there. Lily was actin' all funny now too. She's been talkin' 'bout the annual hunt she's got to go on. Said she's got to do it and I can't go with her. I'd just slow her down. I'm figurin' with healin', she's right."

I shrugged, "At the time I was gettin' real mad. Between bein' grounded, bein' sick, and all, everyone tellin' me to rest. Well, sittin' too long on my backside is like bein' chained down. Don't like it. So I grabbed me a bottle of Whiskey and headed for the ship. Not my smartest thing to do. Lily wasn't to happy with me that next mornin' either." Took a drink of water then set it back on the slightly charred wood table, "Duncan showed up a bit later, so I handed Raivenn back over to him. Told him 'bout her bein' used for rescues for the most part. Good to help but it don't put food in your belly. Got to agree there. That's when JJ showed up, still a little bruised up. Duncan wanted to know what happened and who did it. JJ didn't know," I looked back at the bar where someone was still wipin' down the shelves.

"Lily knew. She was able to find out. She ended up tellin' me. I hinted to Duncan 'bout who it was," I looked down feelin' bad for sayin' anythin'. "I told him not to say anythin' or Krenshar might get pulled apart. Threats by the man who hurt JJ, shot Kash and me. That's when he went into the bunkroom on the ship got his gear and made for the old derelict ship the man was usin' for his place. I watched from a distance as he put torch to it, left a callin' card and returned to the bar. Called on a couple of us to come with him to take care of some things. We ended up headin' for Newhall, where this guy was stayin' at." I took another drink of cool water, took the cloth I was holdin' and started workin' on wiping the grime off the table.

Took some effort to pull the results of the fire from the wood. I moved to one of the damaged chairs, decided it was a lost cause and pushed it back out of the way. "We were expectin' there might be a response to the old ship bein' burned. It didn't come that day. But it sure as hell come the next mornin'. Woke up to see Prosperity in flames. Duncan was yellin' to make sure folks were safe before we dealt with the fires. But it wasn't just the town. They set torch to the bar, and Raivenn. Most places weren't too bad off. Fire suppressors reduced a lot of it. But the ship was a loss."

Frownin', I looked back up out the darkened window, rememberin' The fires back on Blackburne, still hauntin' me. I scrubbed the next chair down, "That's when Duncan got real riled. He asked for a couple of people to go pay a visit to the folks who torched us. So Kash, Svet, JJ, Jai, and me went to Newhall. Duncan and JJ used cover fire while we set explosives in some of the new buildings. They bombs went off leavin' some good damage for em to have to fix."

I smiled at that. Felt good to be doin' somethin'. "We headed back to Mac's to listen to the wave for chatter on the results of our little visit. Sure enough there was plenty. Seemed the 'laince, or whoever they were claimin' to be, were gatherin' their forces to come knockin' on our door. So we prepped. Chatter over the wave was gettin' hot. We had to call out for assistance. And sure enough, they showed. Used air power to make first strike. We took cover, started firin' back at em."

Movin' to the next chair, I started cleanin' it down, "Lot of small fire and a few missiles. We got a couple of their planes, then they flew off. Most likely, they were regroupin'. That's when I got to one of our fighters. Decided it even the odds. Helped too when the next wave came. Shot one down right out and damaged a couple of others so they had to ditch. When I got back on the groun, the others were lookin' tired too. We'd been fightin' for a while." I stopped cleanin' and took another drink, "But it didn't stop when the fighters were recalled. They dropped rollers. Ziggy asked if I could fire a cannon from his ship, so I went with him. I remember firin' on those gorram rollers, then wakin' up out back the bar with people lookin' over me. Things got a little blurred here. The doc there said I was bleedin' inside cause of an infection. The doc hung some antibiotic IV and Lily gave me more of her blood. Then Lily got me up and out of the bar where folks were bein' triaged. I can remember hearin' the gun fire and explosions from claymores and grenades."

"Now we were fightin' a ground battle. I was taken to the corn field to hide in til Lily could grab a ship and get me out. When she got back I got in and she flew us into the mountains. She told me most everyone was evacked. She had to head back to make sure the rest of us got out of there. I must've passed out, cause the next day I woke up with Xoxo standin' over me. She asked some real disjointed questions then left. I can't much remember most of it. Then Lily was back. Got me to Hale's where the doc there took out the bullet fragment. Got the bleedin' stopped. I think I slept til late that next day. Then I get another visitor. Said the name was Wing." I shrugged, No sayin' anythin' much about the person.

"Came to offer me help. Said they were tryin' to protect the soul from those that'd destroy it. Not for sure what all that meant, but I had my suspicions. A little later Lily come in, got me to Fooks where I sat and watched some Earth that was black and white movies. I think she did that to get me to rest without bein' so bored. That night we went on a little recon. Found out Thoth was taken. Checked the cruisers over Hale's and Caliban. We had someone in a fighter fire on us when we got to Caliban. But we never figured where Thoth was. We headed back for Mac's where I was dropped off. Lily had some unfinished business she need to take care of, so I went to the bar to find someplace I could lay down where it wasn't damaged in the fire."

Finished with wipin' stuff down, I sat and finished my glass of water, "Been restin' up four days now and feelin' a lot better. Things seem to have settled some. But I get the feelin' this ain't over. The 'liance's movin' with a purpose. Don'ty know when they start enforcin' more on us, but we best get prepped. It's just a matter of time and we're startin' to run short of it."

Rescued

"Layin' in bed ain't my idea of excitin'", I sighed, "But Doc's orders. Speakin' of... Docs... JJ's been, well, not handlin' things good. She's been like a gorram light switch. Her moods and memory's been all over the map. Another strange situation involovin' Mindo. Got to talk to that one," I looked up at the ceiling in the small tower room, "Then that 'liance marhal showed up. He's been goin' on 'bout how the 'liance is tryin' to make the indies go to ground. He's been tryn' to get info on Duncan too. I wanted to say somethin', but Brooke motioned for me to stay quiet."

Lookin' to the window, I spotted an eagle flyin', ridin' the thermals, "Brooke's another one tryin' to keep me out of trouble. OK, so maybe I say and do things that do just that. Someone's got to put a foot down. Do somethin' 'bout the gorram guh se the 'liance is pullin' of late," I ran a hand across my chin, feeling I was needin' a shave about now. I sighed, "Anyway, I flew Cursa to Splintered Rock. He was meetin' up with Brooke there. Seems Brazen was there. She wasn't too friendly 'bout the whole business about the comin' war. She thinks she'll be able to hide between the factions. Not likely to happen. She was scared from what Cursa noticed. Fear can make people do things they don't normally do. Least from what I seen."

I could feel the ache from the bullet wounds, tryin' to get comfortable enough, "Cursa'd told her to donate his stuff what was still on her ship before she left the bar. Then Dylan, Brooke's friend, made a right strange offer to me. He offered to heal me of some of my pain. How the hell he knew my shoulder was still hurtin' and the phantom pain's I was havin' in my left foot, I don't want to know. I took him up on it. Can't afford to be laid up any more. Got too much to do." I was thinkin' a lot 'bout goin' back to Blackburne. Dealin' with the memories, and the ghosts hauntin' me 'bout somethin'. Could be the whole 'Controlled Chaos' data device I got. It's time people knew the story 'bout that."

I looked back at the not too familiar room seein' the pics on the wall, "Dylan had me sit, put a hand on my shoulder. For a minute there, felt like I been shot all over again. The pain shot through me fresh. Then the pain eased up, and a small piece of bone come out. Said the nerve damage was taken care of. He couldn't do much for the toe. Sort of grateful he didn't try to fix that.... If the phamtom pain is anythin' close to the real thing I think I can avoid it. But I wasn't goin' to tell JJ 'bout it. I been wantin' to get that toe implant done to maybe stop the pain. But with JJ not actin' right I think I'll have to wait."

"Took Brooke, Cursa and Dylan back to Mac's. Needed to talk, get some plannin' done. We're runnin' out of time, supplies and money. We need both. Brooke agreed we need to be workin' togather on it. Yeah, teamin' up is 'bout what we need to do. Cooperatin' might be the only way to protect our backs now." Took a careful deep breath, felt' the sutures pull a little. Took a moment for the discomfort to subside before goin' on, "Showed Brooke, Dylan, and Cursa a safe haven they could go to on Mac's. Someplace where JJ showed us to go to relax. White Willow. I think they needed the step away from everythin', at least for the night. Said it'd be a good place to talk without anyone listenin' in too."

I shifted again, not wantin' to be lyin' there, "A few days ago Mindo showed up. I was tempted to shoot, him but remembered we needed him to help Immy....Lily said he could help JJ too. Don't know how. He wouldn't give any answers, then he up and run off again. I'm real tempted to shoot him in the foot to slow him down some. It's more polite then shootin' him in, say, the head. Not bein' able to run so good right now, I left him to run back into the hills. Went back to Raivenn, waitin' on Lily and Kash. Was going to check on a salvage job. That's when things went real wrong. Someone come on board.... I could smell the cigar smoke. That's 'bout as far as I got. Next thing I remember, I was in some facility.. a room....but most of it was flashes..."

I shook my head, frustrated by the lapses in my memory, "Too many strange lapses with getting hurt of late. I think I need to get me some full body armor," I stopped for a moment tryin' to get comfortable, feelin' the sutures pull again, "I woke up hearin' Lily's voice. She'd tapped into the comm where I was at. Told me the capn' was comin'. Said for me to wait and they'd be there. Sure enough, some feller showed up to take me out of the room, then they had an alert of some sort. So he stuck me back in the gorram room, lockin' the door behind him. Bout that time I heard A ship outside the walls. Didn't know I was in a sky platform station til I was able to get to the landin' deck. She told me to grab the explosives hidden under the bed... Yeah, she hid stuff in all the rooms there durin' a recon, most like. I used the one there to blow out the door. Had my ears ringin' and my eyes achin' for a bit too. Was able to get to the landin' area where Lily was waitin in her fighter. She helped my climb in, cause I was about spent on strength."

"She said Duncan was there. He was causin' a distraction while Lily broke me out. Said Duncan took the fellers out who took me. I owe him, Immy, Kash, Gallagher and Lily for gettin' my sorry backside out of there. I can't remember much of the ride to Hale's, was sleepin' most of the trip. She got me to the little church they got there. Cursa and Ember showed up to help. Cursa got the bullet out of my right thigh, but the one in my side needed more medical care. That's when Lily went for a stretcher. Took me to the old town...." I looked back out the window seein' a few clouds roll by, "I guess they got the other bullet by the way I'm feelin'. Woke up in here this mornin'. I feel bad Lily had to give up her bed for me, carin' for me while I recoop. And yeah, I'm goin' to get me some real good body armor when I can move around. Better bruised then holed again. "

Win or Lose

"I'll tell you 'bout the weddin's I ended up goin' to. By the end everythin' went into the realm of real strange," I said. It was about midday at Bootleggers. No one was really around, just a few die hards. "The first weddin' was what you'd call a picture perfect one. A big church, all decked out. Everyone dressed all formal. I think Grey was more nervous then Charly was. Seems he was fidgetin' a lot. Can't Say as I'd blame him." I chuckled at that. I guess I'd be doin' the same thing, were it me.

"The reception was real nice. Big old weddin' cake settin there, chanpagne, Ice sculpture, and everyone all dressed up fine. There was some woman sprayin' folks with a hose if we didn't get up and dance too.... Strange way of keepin' everyone busy til Grey and Charly were done with their pics. Then there was real dancin' and cake. I even got a chance to dance with the bride," Smiled at that, thinkin' back on the day, "She was all decked out floatin' across the floor. Seemed like she was ridin' on a cloud, and real pretty too. I felt all clumsy tryin' to dance with her, gorram foot."

"I even danced with Lily. She's a fast learner when it comes to dancin'. I'd have to say that was the best weddin' I been to in a long time. It wasn't til later that same day I had to get dressed up for Brooke and Tee's weddin'. And I have to say it was a lot different then Grey and Charly's. They had it in the old chapel on Shadow. One of Tee's crew was askin' folks for their firearms. Don't usually have someone ask for em.... We used to leave em at the door in case of reaver attacks," I looked across the room where one person was dancin' on the floor. "Cursa presided and everythin' went off without a hitch.... Til the reception. Then things went downhill real fast. Some feller showed up claimin' to be Brooke's first husband, then Tee went all strange," I frowned remembering the looks.... and the words.

"I ain't seen anything like it. Tee shot the man in the head.... Cold blood. Everythin' went crazy then. I grabbed Tee, and then there was shootin'. I went down hard with a slug in my shoulder." My left shoulder still ached some. A little reminder of how bad a weddin' can go. "Pluto, Bri amd Izzy got me into Raivenn where I flew em back to Mac's, I think. Don't remember much of that. I can say I woke up in the doc's office the next mornin'. Still felt weak. Kitten come and helped durin' the whole mess at Shadow, ended up helpin' Bri too.... Bri had a hard time dealin' with Tee's," I stopped for a moment, rememberin' his real name, "Sorry, Commander William Faith's Betrayal.... I realized when he turned that he used Brooke to draw out her first husband to kill him."

Sighin', I looked back at the coffee mug I just had filled, "Seems that's only part of it. But that comes later, I guess. Found out a few days later Brooke's goin' to have a baby. Not a good time for that little announcement.... She ended up tellin' Faith.... Now we got to find a way to keep it from him." Lookin' 'round the room, I went on, "Then there's the situation with Lily. I had a talk with Seana. Told her I'd like to see Lily regular. Got the ok. Somethin' strange happened about three days ago with her. How she got on an old reaver ship's beyond me... She would've cooked had she been human..... I near got cooked myself rescuin' her. Ended up havin' to take the gorram rad treatment," I made a face thinkin' of the strange smell and taste it left with me.

"Durin' that night, Lily started to change.... She showed me her real form then became human.... I mean real human. But in doin' it it was killin' her. She told me to choose....," I frowned at that, "It was soemthin' that made me think real hard. I could have had a beautiful woman for a night or Lily as she was. Somethin' inside me couldn't take the easy road. So I chose Lily, with all her spots and purrin'. In human form she was downright beautiful, but not at the cost of her life. So we have our familiar fun lovin' Lily. That I can live with."

Takin' a good swig of the coffee, "There's somethin' else that happened too. Doc JJ was kidnapped. We all tried to locate her. Lily was able to use Raivenn's systems to tap into the computers and got a quick view of her on a ship. 'Liance ship.....," I growled at that. "Seems they must of taken her cause, they're huntin' for Duncan. Anyone associated with him's in danger of gettin' caught." Takin' another gulp of the hot coffee, "We had to wait to recon where she was. Found out Mindo got her away from the 'liance.... Why him?" I shrugged, "I got no answers for that one."

"Didn't help that over the last few days more reavers been showin' their ugly heads. They been comin' to Mac's and Caliban. Was there when a new attack come up. Thoth and me held em off. Thoth maybe thought they might have been a clan. Could of been. A bit later... or was it earlier," I frowned taking another drink, "Varahi had a baby. Lily was the only medic available. She was talkin' 'bout faeries and jars and all. Seems the folks there thought it was real funny. Didn't think she knew nothin'," Frowning over that, "Lily's a good field medic. Maybe not helped in a birthin' but she's good at what she does. Anyway, I headed back for Mac's to rest up til we could get JJ. Lily contacted me, sayin' she knew pretty much where JJ was. So I called for medic backup and headed to Hale's Moon. Thats where we got inside.... Blue Sun's hidden facility. Gorram place had strange lookin' reavers!"

I rubbed the back of my neck, feelin' the hair standin' on end, "Not like other reavers.... They had thing's stickin' out their shoulders... and no not just their arms.... More like tenticles.. Six gorram limbs in all.... and fast. I grabbed JJ. had to carry her out of there. Lily told me to get outside and keep the door closed. Not to go inside. I did just that. Got JJ to the edge of Blue Sun where Sentry was waitin' for us. We put her on the ship, and I headed back for Lily. Lily was ok. She had to take care of those things so they didn't get loose on the town..... Xoxo's work, seems like." Another drink of coffee, "Sentry got JJ home safe. Took care of her wounds and got her restin'. Needed rest myself. Head back for Mac's and got some shuteye. Now I got to get headin' out. Need to make a special run." Finishin' my cup, I got up and headed outside to check Raivenn.

Painful reminders

I lean back with my left foot up on the crate at Bootleggers, "Things been happenin' too fast. Don't know muchof what went on..... a lot was out of fucus in my head." I rubbed my leg feeling the ache in my foot.

I looked at the coffee cup on that same crate, wishing it was a wiskey, "After the whole thing happened at the lab, Krenshar wanted Lily and me. Said we had to stand trial for the damages. Coop covered for us not tellin' him where we were. A bit later, Lily was down in the river, near drowned. I jumped in, pulled her out." I looked out the window as it started to get dark, "Coop showed up shortly after. Lily showed him why she was in hidin. The jars with the babies in em. Left Coop thinkin'... She said she's been lookin' for the coin too. Coop said he'd have a look see." I leaned forward to take another drink of hot coffee.

"Before long Xoxo showed up. She said somethin' 'bout my eyes havin' chips in em... Seein' what I see. So maybe someone'd be watchin' and trackin' me. Said the only way to keep everyone safe was for me to get in her ship and fly into the black...... That lasted a day..... Got stir crazy. While she was sleepin' I go the ship to ground and ran. Don't know where to or how...... Just started wakin' up in a bar...... Jai was there...... then Lily...."

I shook me head, "Lily said somethin' bout a plan. So Jai said some thing's at me I said sure then Lily said yeah, Got handed a ring and was told to go with it, " I took another sip of the hot liquid, "From there I think we'd gone to Hale's.... Danced and then went to Caliban. Jai turned us in. Things started clearin' for me. Lily was sayin' somethin' bout a cub, Krenshar got real quiet. Handed me Lily's coin..... Said somethin' 'bout it bein' me to make her right. It wasn't long 'fore the folks outside were threatenin' to put me in a cage...... That didn't sit well with me.... Lily tried to knock me across the room. Don't know how I kept me feet, knocked me a few steps...... Snarlin', I was ready for anythin'....."I shrugged at that point, " maybe her doin' more then the one hit. We bit each other..... Don't ask. I'm not even for sure why. Well that all ended up with us kissin' in a corner..... Then Lily told me she was settin' somethin' off... Shut the door down when she did. She told me to run, I didn't want to leave her there, but she told me to go, so I got out..... Half blinded by the flare.... scrambled to the nearest tunnel entry. It's how I got out." I frowned, thinkin' of what was goin' on.

"Lily told me to go. I couldn't see well enough to fly out on my own, had to catch a shuttle to one ship then another to get to someplace to hole up." The next mornin' I headed back to Caliban to find Lily and bring her home. Coop, Kash, Gabe, and a few others came to help get us out....... But Coop had somethin' on his mind," I sighed lookin' in my mug and the steam risin' from it, "He said somethin' bout he was movin' on. Handed me the reins to the Raivenn, then turned and left. Just like that..." I frowned lookin' back out the window and into the darkness.

"We got the ship back to Mac's. Didn't know what else to do. We were pretty much confused and a little spun about." I looked back at my Left foot restin' on the crate, " That happened a few weeks back. We worked on gettin' Raivenn ready to work. Talked to Pod. He had a place I could go to have the gorram chip taken out of my head. Thanks to Cursa findin' it was there. So I talked with JJ and Sentry to come get me if they didn't hear from me after a day or two. That was when Jai contacted me. She said there were doc's who could remove it," I rubbed me left leg, feelin' the dull ache in my foot, "So I left, not knowin' Lily was on board. Things didn't seem right. They wanted me in a stasis chamber to be scanned.... Didn't feel right. Call it gut instinct, but I wasn't goin' to climb in. Jai had my shades and guns, at that point. Lily showed up beggin' to talk to me before they did anythin' to me. It's 'bout the time we escaped there." I took another drink of the still hot coffee.

I rubbed the back of my neck, not sure how things got so spun about, "I think we got to Hale's. Hid in the tunnels.... Lily bit me in the calf. Not sure why. I think after that was a bright flash then nothin'. Things went spinnin' out of any control for days, from what I was told." I looked into the cup again, not sure what happened, "I woke up on Hale's. Splittin' headache, tubes in and out. At least that headache wasn't like the blindin' one I had b'fore." Leaned forward and took the boot off. I sighed lookin' at the bandage wrapped 'round my left foot. "Had a gorram hard time walkin' with my foot achin' bad. Seems the 'Liance was the ones who had me. Cut into me. Took some bits, and blood, then cut my little toe off. Not sure why. Don't know how long b'fore Krenshar, Kash, Miya, Kitten, Pluto, and Thoth came to rescue me from the 'liance. That's what I was told later. I owe em all."

Rubbin' my leg again, puttin' it back up on the crate. Made me mad feelin' hobbled, "So been restin' with my foot up, 'til Caliban called for help a few days back. Reavers landed. "Kitten and me, we took Raivenn and flew there. Came to lend a hand or rescue the folk there." I shrugged, "Then yesterday or so Xoxo come 'round lookin' for me. She said I wasn't allowed to see Lily any more, then walked out. I limped out after her, wantin' to know what was goin' on. She said she wasn't goin' to let Lily become human. She'd find a way to stop the process..... Hell if I knew what that was about.... Threatened to kill me. I didn't care, Lily's, well special. She deserves to be more'n someones peice of property or pet.", I leaned back tryin' not to get angered, "I was pretty mad at how she was sayin' she'd stop the process, 'til Xoxo was ready for Lily to be..... Not sure whatall that meant. I said somethin' in my usual fool self way and got slapped for it."

"Yesterday Lily contacted me sayin' she'd be on the ship in her bunk. Then this morning she was talkin' bout findin' Mindo and Aurora. we went lookin' all over. Tried Botany Bay first, then to some place called the junkyard......Where Blue lived. We found the place...... Lily ended up steppin' into the chamber. it sealed and filled with a blue gas.... I tried to get her out of there. But didn't know how to. She said some things that confounded me at first; 'When I encountered Blue Sun single source 041295 Lily, my updates activated. I am now sentient.
I was designed by Weyland Yutani Corperation. My initial programming was done by my creaters. I was upgraded by Alliance Intern 24601 in a stealth update. The stealth program enables sentience.' "

It took a minute to consider what I remembered, to make sure it was right. Sighin', I went on, "I asked Blue 'bout Lily and it said, 'Lilybell Snoodle. Created by Mindo Lupindo. Lily is a genetically seeded organic construct created to bring life to the machine. I must protect Lily. I am programmed to protect Lily, and facilitate the creation of AuroraBlue. That plan has been corrupted.' Then Krenshar showed up. He was actin' like Lily and her like him..... Then Lily stepped out. Krenshar told me to get Lily as far from the place as I could. I hurried her back to the ship as my bad foot would let me. I got her back to the Drift as fast as I could."

I reached for the mug again taking a few good gulps."Then Immy showed up.... Not actin' like her old self. Real strange like.... I started gettin' suspiscious that either Xoxo or Mindo messed with her. I asked her, more like cofronted her, tryin' to find out what the hell was happenin'. She turned 'round and kissed me," I shook my head unhappily, "Not what I was expectin'. She left fast, then come round again. Come on board Raivenn. Kerm , Sentry, General, Charly, and Lorie were there... She was dressed in way too revealin' clothes and actin' all strange. At that point I told her as much. That wasn't Immy, at least the one I knew. No way. The way she was actin', the clothes, even how she never looked at anyone. Like the fire went out inside her."

I took off my shades, lookin' across the room at the people sittin' at the bar talkin' quiet, "She tried again with gettin' close. At that point somethin' inside me started yellin' 'this was real wrong'. She wandered off then, still glassy eyed. Made me mad, I didn't have any answers. It's why I got some pretty cut up knuckles for my pains, punching the cargo container." I looked down at my raw knuckles, finished my mug of coffee, set it on the crate. "It's been too long a day, hell, weeks, what with strange happenin's and even stranger behaviors, all the way round."

Somethin' on the wind.

It weren't so log ago I came out of hidin. Damn medcenters.... Don't like em or the 'liance. Pa never did......

leaning back in the chair, looking down at the near empty scotch glass, "Lived on Blackburne.... Grew up there.... Pa's Ranch, the Triple Ring, was helpin' feed the folk there. He'd made sure us kids had what he called, 'A well rounded education.' Made sure we could handle ourselves just in case." Takes another drink of the dark amber liquid, feeling it warm his insides.

"But then the reavers come in the middle of the night.... Changed all that. Left nothin'.... cept Kitten and me. She was the Foreman's daughter, but when he died a few years back, Ma and Pa adopted her into the family, all official and legal."

Maybe it was the amount of scotch in me, rememberin' all what happened...... "They come sceamin' and howlin'. Insane monsters in the darkness....." Frowns as the scenes and sounds bacome dlear in my mind again, "Gunfire rang out.... I could hear Pa shoutin' for us to run to the ground shelter. I turned, firin' at the ones chasen' me.... Don't remember gettin' cut, just kept firin' til I was out. Then there was a noise... Sounded like a sceam from the sky." I take another drink, thinking for a moment. "It's the last thing I see.... The huge fireball hittin' the supply barn..... I had to been too close to it.... The light was blindin' bright..... then everythin' went dark."

I look up through my dark weldin' shades. "Woke up with a splittin' headache. Didn't help, I couldn't see worth a damn. Kitten found me in the pile of debris. Had a real bad cut on the right side of my face, " I gusture at the scar runnin' down through my eyebrow to me cheek. "She was my eyes for near a week. Then the salvage crew coem and got us..... took us to the nearest medcenter."

Frownin', I went on, "They seperated me and Kitten. Said they needed to ask her questions 'bout what happened." Takes an other drink, seeing how close to done I am. "Fill it, will you?" I wait til the glass is full. "Spent weeks there, bein' knocked out for them to do treatments on me. Don't know what they were doin', No one really said anythin' to me. Wouldn't answer any of my questions neither." I shrugged, "Didn't help when I had those headaches. Some of em blinded me. Docs there said I'd get em once in a while. Seems after maybe the eighth time they knocked me out I got sick of bein' at the 'center. I could see well enough.... at least when it wasn't bright out. So I found a way to leave." I chuckle at that, rememberin' how I used the old lockpick and a few stolen things.

I took another drink lookin' out the darkened window, "Now here's where I fell into some hard times.... I found a way to get to the landin' area and 'hitched a ride'. I knew Kitten wasn't there. I'd heard them docs outside the room talkin. And damn if that wasn't the oddest thing. I could hear things better, smell too." I shruged again.

"B'fore long, I was runnin' with a small group of Indies somewhere out on the raggedy edge. We made some noise," I chuckle again, "More like explosive retaliations to some of the 'liance goh se. There are a few shootouts.... Maybe a few folks got shot. Don't know for sure. Then there was that gorram 'liance officer. I wanted to know where they took Kitten, and why they never sent a rescue out.....", ekaes a nother drink, "We had words....Then I noticed him twitch. He'd got his hands on a gun under the desk. Was goin' to shoot me. I dove over the desk and we fought over the gorram piece. Then it went off. I felt the kick from it. The man just glared at me.... That whole time he was hangin' onto my jacket, he glared..... I stepped back as he fell over.... Didn't know he stuffed somethin' into my pocket..... Don't know why he did. I high tailed itout of there..... climbed out the window and jumped a few roofs. I knew what they were goin' to say, the gorram 'laince. They'd say I killed him in cold blood."

I looked a the glass and the liquer in it, but not really seein' it. My vision turned inwards, remember what happened, clear as day. "I hid for a few months workin' a few cargo jobs til I come to Hale's moon. Seemed quiet enough. A few of the residents were freindly enough. Miss Lilybell gave me some food. Unusual woman. Thought she was a mutant.... Don't matter none." I took a few swallows of the scotch, " I met Coop and Immy there too. Was them that offered me a real job.... Needed it too. Had no coin to keep lookin' for Kitten. I knew she was out there. Maybe lookin' for me."

"We did a job for Pod. Salvage in space. Didn't help we had pirates on us. They shot at us while we were tryin' to get the cargo on board.... Got myself shot too. Lucky I was almost in the airlock when I took one in the side. I was bleedin' air and blood when the lock sealed. Woke up when we landed. The gorram pirates followed us to ground. Gabe, Faulkin, Coop, Immy and me.... We fought em best we could. Took em' out too." I sighed, "Ended up needin' medical treatment. Gorram shell went through the airlock cowlin', though my suit, and me. Wsa lily what helped me out, her and Seana.... The mayor of Hale's. It'd be a onther day or two b'fore a doc could do somethin' 'bout the busted rib.", me shruged takin' another drink.

"Kitten found me a week later. Missed not havin' her 'round. But she'd changed.... Wasn't behavin' right.... I asked her what was wrong, but she was..... well talkin' all strange and actin' all out of sorts. I brought her to meet the capn' and Immy. They liked her which helped. Now I got to get her some help..... She's startin' to lose it. I don't kow how much more I can do to keep her from slippin'. It's got me spooked....."

A couple weeks later:

"Lily's been actin' all funny. She ain't actin' right. Been forgettin'.... And Emma's been mad at me...'bout my behavoir? Hell. I don't know." I rubbed the back of my neck and yawned, "She run off, left Hale's and come to the drift. She's all scared. Not like her. She decided to show me why she run. Got me spooked now.... Jars of babies, and a brain.... Said it was Aurora. Took it out from under Krenshar's nose. Then a a few days ago Aurora shows up. A whole little girl. Got me scratchin' my head, tryin' to figure out how she's alive. That and Mindo's been runin' 'round here on the Drift.... Goh se.... He's livin' in the room below us."

I swore a few thiings in chinese, "He comes near Kitten I'll take a few fingers to make sure he know I mean business. Now Krenshar's Hoppin mad. Found out Lily and me went there. Lily set fire to the lab.... I can understand she's real mad at him for messin' up Aurora. She wants him dead. Didn't help yesterday when I heard the 'liance got took over by the loyalists. Now we're in some real Goh se..... Maybe even another war....... Don't know..... Then Xoxo shows up settin' traps for Lily. I'm not so sure I like the thought of Lily in a cage. And I don't like someone knowin' how I feel 'bout her."

I reach out ready to shut down the viewer, then hesitates, "Maybe I need to go into hidin' again. Maybe runnin' from myself. Maybe from the bounty. Don't rightly know. I don't need to be dumpin' all this on Coop. He's got a lot on his mind of late. Maybe he's too much like my Pa. Scares me sometimes, thinkin' that....." The viewer cuts out.