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."