On the move....

((Hey folks This is Cody's typist. Just hoppin' out of character to let you know, I made a new blog spot where I'll be postin' my adventures. Hopin' you head on over and follow it as you did here. I put the blogsite up so you can go there and read the next blog. The next adventure is already up for you to read.. http://cody-winterwolf.blogspot.com/))

Radioactive .....

     "Seems we're not much of a colony now.... More like a town.... And a big one at that.... Not much wilderness where we're at.... And now we got troubles with radioactives leakin' into the water to the North.. Gorram mines. Wonder what the previous folks left down there to ruin the land....Ok, so maybe I like seein' the wildlife roamin' the land. Like to see the skies all clear...." Gorram decontaminatin' the interior of the Shadow. Lily.... had to go on out and run 'round in the fallout durin' the Washtown disaster.....

     "Hell, now we got us a factory on our back door step. A BlueSun factory.... Figures.. 'nother thing to kill the area and the water... Been seein' Miss Marrah drivin' Xoxo out daily to that place. Most like makin' sure her place is runnin' smooth. Soon as they had most of the stuff in the place they were churnin' out cargo for shippin'." Rory come out and was helpin' with the decon. Need the help. Shadow's gotta be ready for cargo deliveries this week.

     "Speakin' of cargo.... We got a couple of hauls to do too. Svet come in and made a delivery then headed for her next drop. The little one called Medusa went with Seana, and Ketterley in the big Firefly. Some of the miners what did work on Hale's are gettin' antsy to go out and do some diggin'. Well, since the stuff comin' in to us from the mine cleanin' are pretty big hauls... Radioactives. No one's lettin' em into the mines. Guards in heavy suits outside the area keep turnin' em back.. or threatenin' to shoot em.... At least we got space to put the stuff whats been mined already. Got plenty of space for it since the new heavy load shelvin' come in."

     Rory was 'bout done with one side of the cargo hold. I was startin' on the ceilin'. "Then the other day was hearin' chatter over the wave 'bout somethin' happenin' in Washtown. Decided to take the Shadow out that way. Probably the best choice to make. Small stealth ship with good sheildin' for what I was gonna run into when I got there......" We were pretty close to done with the ship now. Rory had to get back to the office and I needed to get up to the tower for my turn at the systems.... Been doin' a lot of tower work of late....."Gettin' closer to Washtown I heard somethin' 'bout the reactor there ready to go critical..... Dropped Shadow down to help with rescuin' folks. Had Lily sittin' by the rear hatch to help with folks what needed some help."

     "Landin' was easy 'nough. Spotted a small shuttle gettin' ready to lift. Heard the hatch lower and figured Lily was helpin' folks in. After the shuttle lifted We could heard a rumblin' sound..... Somethin' had me itchin' to lift.... That's when I spotted the shock wave... It almost seemed to move in slow mo.... The ship was up in the air almost b'fore my mind registered.... The hatch closed just b'fore the blast wave hit us. Was able to get the ship up through the chop.... Had to fly on instruments cause the glass tintin' wasn't changin' back.. Musta been cause of the flash... Saved my eyes for sure.... Once we were in orbit, spotted the shuttle. Renee was flyin' it. had a few survivors with her. Her shuttle had to've been caught at the edge of the blast wave. Could see some minor damage to the hull. Not bad. She;' be able to land ok."

     "Rondez voused at Colchester. That's where the nearest clinic was at. Had a few folks that needed attention. Looked like Cobb got hurt. Feller was blinded..... The doc was talkin' 'bout regennin' his eyes..... Think that's the last thing I remembered..... Gorram Doc's and messin' with folks like that..... 'Cept the nightmares were back..... Don't much like not gettin' the sleep." Had to yawn thinkin' of how little sleep I got 'gain. "At least we didn't lose anyone.... Though if anyone's got to worry 'bout stayin' alive.... it Wally."

     "From what I hear tell, he was the feller what sold the bad reactor pump to the folks at Washtown. Now they're out for blood..... If he survived the blast.... Might be he knew it was bad and left in a big hurry. Who knows... But glad I ain't him. Nope.... Wally's on the number one list for most wanted right 'bout now."



Kids.....

Had to take down a bunch of the stuff from the show. The lightin' had to be done with the wirin' so they could be put back up later. "So far Lily's been not so crazy... Well ain' t been settin' fires this week... Could change at any time. Then there's AuroraBlue. She decided to come on out pf hidin' to spend some time with me. Wandered 'round for a spell and sorta talked. Was happy she was back. lily wasn't though. She's been say AuroraBlue's bad. That the cub's been causin' the vandalism. Hell.. Caught Lily in the act once.  "

"Thing is.. Thought she caused a bunch of animals from Ketterly's ranch to drop dead. Turned out is was somethin' in the area. The water's most likely the cause. Don't help that the fish're dead in the area. Over the last couple days, been haulin' the carcasses out to be burned. No sense in leavin' the bodies out for the wildlife to get sick on." Rolled 'nother long cable to be stored. One more and then it's down the power box to be disconnected and moved.

"Have to admit, I didn't b'leive Lily on seein' G 'til he showed up in the office..... Was a mite weird to be honest.... All glowin' and all. At first thougth it was the spice, but no. He said it was a transmitted signal to a holoprojection of him. Said he was dead but the 'bot body he was in was still somewhere in the floatin' rocks of what was left of Hale's Moon. That got me thinkin'.... Time to go do some salvage of a strange kind. Body recovery.... G's body. Desmond might be able to do soemthin' with the DNA thats still settin' the brain case. Maybe....."

Climbin' down the scaffoldin' was fair easy 'nough. Grabbin' the heavy gloves and the tools I needed to pull  the power box, my next job was set. "Then a few days back Svet showed up with one of her crew. Ayumi. They were talkin' 'bout takin' some trade to Colchester. Had some medical supplies for us too. Sheems she come with a brood too. Three little ones. One bein' an orphan named Medusa. The kid was feelin' lonely for a family. Lily took her on over to see Seana....."

".....After she and AuroraBlue played. Lily was sayin' the cub was bad to Medusa. Figures. A chance for the kids to be friends and Lily wanted to ruin it. But then Lily's not been her own self for a while. And after that talk with Xoxo 'bout her... No wonder. If she's re-writin' her own self.... What all's gonna be left of who she was to folks. Won't be the same." With the power off, removin' the box and coverin' the ends of the mains were pretty gorram easy. Took 'nother look 'roun dot be sure Lily wasn't 'round to hit the main power.... Didn't want to get cooked.



"Found out later that Seana was gonna care for Medusa. Good choice. I might have trouble with Seana on some stuff, but she's a good one for bein' a good parent to the kid. Now to work on AuroraBlue.. Needs a bath and a lesson on not stealin'.."

Not Cat's in Trouble.....

"Y'all think that Dragon's Egg's nice and quiet..... Its anythin' but these days. Been dealin' with fires and vandalized stuff. At first, thought it was some of the citizen's kids causin' trouble. Far from it..... After the Christmas tree fire, thought someone was makin' a statement on somethin'.... Wasn't it. Then there was stuff bein' tossed 'round, or broke. And then there was Lily.... She's gettin' worse. Not her own self of late. Maybe its the kid... Maybe it that Krakken feller.... Yeah.... Could be. But then I was catchin' a lot Lily's scent 'round... 'round th places we had toruble." The last of the acrgo was on board the ship outbound for Sanctuary and Colchester. Some fresh supplies.

 "Then there was a fuel fire.... Way too close to a ship... and a fuelin' station. Its gettin' outa hand. If that went up.... a lota folk's be dead with that fuel explosion. Only happened a week back.... Looks like Lily's goin' a mite off the deep end. Just not sure how to deal with it. She's been back to bitin' and snarlin' at me. Didn't help when she come up to me while I was talkin' to Stacy. She come with cargo for us... And up come Lily takin' a bite outa my leg. Aiya! She's gettin' bad. Stacy fetched me a first aid kit so I could try to patch my own self up." Jai said she had some cargo goin' on this haul. Just waitin' for her to show.

 

Headed to the sushi shop to get somethin' to eat til she gets here...."We were in the cargo area when we smelled somethin' burnin'. Sure 'nough.... Lily set fire to the cargo. Stacy and me we hard pressed to save the whole thing. Can't trust Lily no more. Not a lick. She's too outa control. Stacy was a mite worried her own self after Lily bit me. Can't blame her over much. But then there're a few times when Lily seems all fine and friendly. When she's got her kid. She calls him K2. As for the pa? He ain't been 'round. Seems like he don't care whats goin' on with Lily. Feller needs a good swift punch in the face.

Then last week or so, Lily shows up with papers.... Devorce papers. Wanted me to sign em. Hell, why not. I'll play 'long with it. Anythin' to keep her away from that feller. So the papers got signed. Then Lily took em back. Not sure what all happened with em til last night..... Xoxo says now that Lily sent em on to the 'liance ship.... The marrage was bindin'... Real... Lily's got her own self into a hot pot now. And she just mighta drug the rest of the 'Verse in with her." Had a few pieces of sushi and some hot tea to wash it down with. "Then Zeno came in for a visit. Showed her the new CATZ office and all. Got to talkin' with her 'bout stuff. Zeno said she knew Krakken. No doubt. She's been to Al Raqis and I know he was there. Had a place there. It's where all Lily was stayin'."


"She asked me stuff 'bout Lily and the kid. When I said who the pa was she was surprized. Aughta be interestin' where that story goes..... But then there's all this stuff that Xoxo said.... Might have to worry 'bout gettin' ready for a war. One Lily's settin' in motion... And I got a feelin' she knows too. Wasn't gonna talk to Xoxo, but then I ran into her personal asistant Kia, outside the lab yesterday when I was delivirin' the new furniture. Took to checkin' the stuff out b'fore it went in there. Didn't want to be accused of causin' her harm. 'Specially after the bomb incident. Xoxo and her assistant got to talkin' on lawyer stuff and what they got planned. And makin' sure I'm watchin' the kid while they do this precedin' stuff. Figures...."

In a Blaze of Glory

"Seems like time sorta stood still over the holidays. The weather was good and no attacks. But then you never know what all's gonna happen next..... Xoxo's been askin' for wood for her fireplace. That and groceries. Her assistant brung me the list of stuff to get and said to bring it to the door." Had to get the ship prepped. Had a cargo to ship to one of the local worlds. "Xoxo's been holed up of late. Get the feelin' she ain't all healed from getting injured."

"But then there's the fishin' tourny Ali had. Folks down at the river droppin' lines to see who could catch the biggest fish. The huntin's been good too.... Had a few good deals for venison. At least it keeps the rest of the folks workin' for AT&S paid. Some of em I sent out to do a salvage haul way out in orbit around one of the planets. The government there offered good pay to clean up a recent collision. Not bad." The ship was green for lift.

"Then there was all the stuff goin' on for Christmas and all. Gift exchange, big old meal, Visitors comin' to wish folks a good New Year...... Then somethin' happened just after the big day...... Was wanderin' the mall and saw one of the angel decorations torn up. Wings pulled off and shredded fabric. But that was only the start of it......" Called the tower for clearance and left for the cargo delivery..... Easy 'nough......"A few days later found a couple of the trees what were on the roof of the mall tossed to the ground.... Decorations and all. Seems someone was takin' down stuff without carin' how it's done....."

The flight'd take a few days. No worries there. An easy haul then back to the office....."Then I get a call from a resident sayin' they could see a fire near the mall...... When I got there, the great big tree what was set up was on fire. But not just that one.. The last of the trees that were decrated were too. Everythin' was goin' up in a blaze of glory..... Nothin' was left by the time me and some of the others got the fires out. Inside the mall it was pretty bad too. All the decorations were destroyed..... The stuff in the chapel were torn down... the alter was overturned..... Some of the homes what had decorations got vandalized too.... Who'd do somethin' like that?"


"Still tryin' to find out who all did it..... Then I get a morse code message from AuroraBlue.... Part of why all I'm out doin' this run.... Gonna take a side trip to meet up with her. Find out the details of what she needs..." Some of the ships systems weren't doin' so well.... Time to get stuff to fix it... Just shiny..... More stuff to fix to keep the ships up and running.... "Have to find the person who ruined decorations and such.... Why all can't Bram do it..... But then he's been busy with another case... And Nick ain't been 'round.... Our newest lawman.... It's like all hell broke loose..... One fire after 'nother to put out.... If it ain't a physical one.... its someone havin' their personal problems spill over..... Yep....was right 'bout stuff goin' up in a blaze of glory.... Looks pretty to watch.. but it's hell to clean up."

Who's in Charge?

"Never know whats gonna happen next...... Got a call from Lily outa the blue. She was in trouble.... again. Gave me a list of stuff to bring to a planet on the far edge of the verse. From what all Lily was tellin' me to get sounded more like a ransom. Stuff like candy and supplies, to axes and gold. Most of the stuff was easy to grab. The gold? That was somethin' else all together...... So.... took it from the BlusSun warehouse at Washtown. Hell if it got Lily outa trouble, seein' how Xoxo needs her right now..... I think Xoxo'd understand. 'Sides.... later we can take it back. The colony there was livin' in the mid ages.... No guns or cannons there." Wasn't gonna be an easy day.... Lots of Small loads of cargo goin' out for the holidays...."Flyin' in and landin' the ship was the easy part. Grounded it on an island not far from the village where Lily said she was at. Getting the stuff there was a little harder. Had to get the big pontoon out and inflated, then loaded."



"Easy 'nough to get to the village.... bein' on the water and all. Tied the pontoon out to the Pier and waited for someone to show. Waited a spell, then Lily showed up and showed me where all to put the stuff. Ended up with it in one of the cabins..... Good thing too. Some crazy woman come and attacked us. Never said a word.... Just targeted me while Lily went after her. Had no weapons on me at the time..... Til I found the bow and arrows. Then it was my turn to return the favor...." Got the last of the small boxes and such on the ship. Some of it was bound for Greenleaf, and Paquin. The other stuff was for a few locations not far from em.... That was the good part of this trip....

"It took a while to fend the woman off.. then she set fire to the cabin Lily and I holed up in..... Tryin' to flush us out.... We just put the fires out where all they started. We got out of the buildin' while the attacker was tryin' to find more arrows. Managed to find a hidden cove to wait it out in." Gettin' clearance took almost 40 minutes..... Gorram 'liance at it again.... Wantin' to have details of where all I was headed.

"We waited it out til Lily's friends come... She left and talked to em on the attacker then she came back to get me.... She told me this was a village of all women and to not speak lessin' I was spoken too.... Somethin' 'bout em bein' like amazons... They were in charge. Once we talked to em, I took the pontoon back by my own self. Lily stayed for a while the met me at the ship. Wasn't my idea of a good day....." Looked like there was some salvage... After the last reaver attack. "Lily said she'd take care of gettin' the stuff back form the 'amazons'. That's fine with me... I flew back to Dragon's Egg to deal with the other stuff What needed to be done."

"When I got back, it was business as usual.... Cobb showed up and wanted to know what all was up. Wasn't much to tell.... Least not 'bout any gold...... Lily made sure to give me a little somethin' for my troubles in the meantime...." Grabbed a cup of spiced tea.... Got used to havin' it b'fore I left on a trip... Sometimes durin' the flight. "A few other folks dropped in with cargo later that day....'bout the same time the 'liance started puttin' lockdowns on ships.... They're makin' it bad for folks here of late. Crackin' down."

"Folks don't like it much. Hell, don't like it over much when one of em comes in and goes through folks's cargo. They popped the seals and went rummagin' through it like it was their own stuff. Then the soldier started askin' questions 'bout AuroraBlue.... Ain't none of her business. Wasn't gonna say nothin' no how anyway." The ride outbound was clear.... Good. No 'liance, nor reavers to worry on. "A few days back Xoxo got back after bein' cared for, for all those burns.... She wasn't quite her own self. Had some new lady with her... Had white hair and seemed all business. The woman took her to her tower house. Xoxo still looked rough. Tended to lean heavy on her new assistant.... Least I think it was an assistant... or one of her body guards. Who knows with Xoxo."

"Can see why Xoxo has a new person to deal with stuff. They come and go... Don't know if Xoxo knows 'bout her ship bein' locked up. If she don't.. I got my own plans to help her out.... 'Liance can't take what all ain't there. A little sticky here and there and the yokes' be off. Then I can fly the ship anywhere she wants it hid. Yeah.. She's bad news.. But deep down, she just as vulnerable as the rest of us in the verse."

Spice Dreams....

     "Callin' in favors and huntin' down stuff for a ransom ain't what I was plannin'.....But then nothin' ever is...." Had to get the rest of the gold loaded into the cargo container. Mule was runnin' slower then I wanted. "Seein' as I was 'round when Lily called.....She gave me a list of what all these folks want to get her back. Gold, wine, metals, and candy.. Candy.. Sounds like Lily wants it. Not sure it's gonna help any. More like they're gonna grab the stuff and take me too. Ain't sure anymore with Lily.... She's been a mite off of late. Like she's gone loco. Maybe she has. Figures....."

     "Was gonna head back to Al Raqis. Needed to find AuroraBlue and warn her on Lily's not actin' right. Been noticin' the rift splittin' her and Lily apart.... I know AuroraBlue knows...She's been watchin' for a while. Can see her in my dreams..... Waitin'....." Speakin' of... Need to watch on how I cut that spice Jai gave me. "I can close my eyes and see.... Lots of stuff.... Like the herd migrations... Been too easy. Mind's been wanderin' a lot. Sorta like what all happened when Xoxo had that accident. Just sorta knew..... The next deer went down easy." The container rang as the pallet full of gold ingots dropped the last few centimeters to the floor.

     "Spice.... Its addictive. Was told that. Know it now. Its been doni' stuff to me.... Like makin' my eyes change.... Don't like lookin' in the mirror no more. Not sure I can change what all's happenin' to me... Like my mind.... Whispers and vivid dreams.... Sorta real... Too real...." pulled the mule out of the cargo container then jumped out and sealed the door. Made sure to lock it up b'fore doin' anything else with it. "Lily was s'posed to get me some good spice. She ain't been r'memberin' nothin'....... So asked Jai... Made a deal.... Spice for power cells. Good ones."

     "She gave me a small canister.One with the purest spice there is... Gorram expensive too. Need it.... Lily was gonna give me some way back when. Sayin' I won't grow old. Can see why. It does stuff to you. Can't rightly explain it all. The scents on the wind are sorta... Well intoxicatin'.... Like the taste of fresh meat. Hearin' the wind's like a choir... Hell... The stuff goin' on in my mind. If I could get it all out, there'd be volumes of data files....". Lowered the crane arm to hook it up so it could be loaded into the stolen ship..... Yeah, yeah... Theft to add to the stolen gold and such.... "Nick showed up while Lily was still 'round.... Said she was gonna go on some mission. To rescue Krakken. Seems he got his own self into trouble. And Lily hates the feller. She's inprinted on him..... AuroraBlue and I are imprinted.... Like gravity. And I can see the gravity... 'round the planets and suns, to the whole 'verse, and then some....." The container locked down onto the loadin' track and fed into the cargo bay. Last one in.

     "Only reason I'm goin' to save Lily is I owe her for the times she hauled my backside outa trouble. Of late she ain't been to friendly- like to me. Even started tryin' to drug me. Gorram. Don't like no one messin' with me like that." Sealed the bay doors and headed for the cockpit to start the ship up. "Once this job's done, headin' for Al Raqis to find AuroraBlue, then back to Dragon's Egg Moon to hunt for more meat. Got a quota for a buyer who likes exotic meat...."

     "Saved the hides to trade to Elix. That and the antlers. Sure they'll fetch a decent price too. Need the coin to pay the bills and the other pilots for the hauls they're doin'. Wonder what all dreams I'll have while in the black. Quiet, dark, weightless. The spice'll show me. Its been doin' it of late... Never know...."