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."