Catching Up



      "Not easy to pull down the carnival and help pack it up. Xoxo was a mite angered we weren't movin' fast 'nough. Was a lot like all the other buildin' what was goin' on with BlueSun of late..." Grabbed up the last of the big bolts that was holdin' the ferris wheel seats and stuck em on the crate what held the rest of the small parts. "Yep... Nothin' like a long day in the heat to do this work.... Hell a bunch of us fellers were out settin' up the new ore refinery a couple months back.... After we opened the mine tunnels what were hid underground. Gettin' rid of the critters what were livin' down there. Most of the others were too scared to go in there cause of the dark. Was nothin' for me. With eyes like mine it was a nice get away from all the bright sun topside."

      "Don't know how Xoxo does it. She orders folks 'round and they're too gorram scared to warn her of the dangers.... Like possible cave ins and rock slides... Like one that could take down her fancy house, if the refinery got blown up." Sealin' the cargo box, one of the carny folks came over with a lifter and moved it to the ship. Took a mo to wipe the sweat off my forehead with the back of my sleeve. Woulda been better if it was dark out...

      "After all the work settin' up businesses, the factory, openin' the mines, and gettin' rest of the station dismantled.... We had a fire. of all things.. at the glass factory. Had a good idea who it was with her usual fire bombs from a ship deal..... Had to get folks evacuated from the buildin', so I called for help. A few folks showed up to help.... Hell, even Yanto came in to help out.

      Gettin' back to work, pullin' the framework down from the Ferris wheel while someone on the crane moved the wheel and laid it down on it's side to be broken down. "Good thing Yanto came with his crew... One of the feller what was helpin' went catatonic on us. took him on board and had Yanto check the feller out." One of the carny folk handed out some lemonade. Took some time to drink it on down. Helped a lot and tasted pretty good. "Finally the feller come outa his brain lock and left. Fire was finally put out and Xoxo her own self come to access the damages. She wanted to know what happened... So I told her. And who done it too. She wasn't happy one bit."

      "Was long after that my dreams went a mite off.... Like I was in a weird place... Huge and full of levels. I could sworn I seen Lily... And could hear Blue somewhere. Mighta been the long work hours or maybe somethin' I ate... Not sure. Singularity.. Now that was somethin' that kept creepin' into my dreams.... That one word." Had to watch my head as the crane swung overhead to lift the upper half of the wheel so it could be taken apart.

      "Had to pull apart a 'fly engine for an overhaul. That was a week later.. after the weird dreams. We even had some folks come to do some barterin' for supplies. One of em. Name of September, was her name... wanted to get a look see at the engine while they were there. Sorta an odd crew.. Get the feelin' they mighta been ex-'liance by the way they were talkin' ranks. Not my worry when it comes to trade deals. Coin's coin. You get it when you can. They're wantin' to do more business here, so I told em they were welcome any time."

   A couple of the carnys needed help so I got up and lifted one of the struts so they could free a few mountin' pins. pretty big pins at that. Big 'round as my wrist. "Not too long back... maybe a couple weeks, Lily shows up with weird stuff stickin' outa her... Organs by the look... Asked what all she was doin', but she wasn't gonna say. Just acted all strange. I could smell the change in her scent. More human like. Not her usual old self. But then when don't she act weird... Then a couple days back she comes up missin'. Not like her to be gone.. Not like at least leavin' someone to know where all she was goin'. Even brought it up at the town meetin'. For that matter, Rabi's been gone a few days. Her roommate said she was down in the mine the night of that party Xoxo held in one of the caverns."

      "Wasn't good that we had folks missin'. Down in the mines wasn't so safe to wander in. But then there's a couple of die hard miners what're livin' down there. Decided to go see if I could track Rabi down and see if she was safe or not. Wasn't gonna trust some gorram fool what never been down there to go lookin'. Knew there were more crevasses one could fall into or pits you could end up in." Liftin' the one frame onto the other was a little easier usin' the crane once it was freed up. "Took a while to search the places that were open, then decided to head off to the more open areas... That's where I found her. Pinned under a bent wood brace. She was alive but hurt. Had to lift the brace and shift it away from her so I could carry her back to town. The doc was waitin' for us. She made Ketterley and I wait outside while she worked on Rabi."

      "Got real worried for her. She's a nice woman, pretty and friendly. Not like the other 'liance soldiers. Guess I'm sorta drawn to the folks what're out of the ordinary. Doc worked on her then called for a medical assist to transport Rabi to someplace else for care. Didn't sound good. The doc said she was in good hands. That got me spooked.... BlueSun says that in their stupid ads. But then the doc isn't workin' for em. She's been for the colony no matter what."

      With the parts separated it was easy to stack everythin' and tie it all down to the pallets for transport. "Trust the doc a hell of a lot more'n I trust Xoxo. The a few days back Was on Al Raqis.... Had to go. AuroraBlue was in some kinda trouble. I could 'feel' it. Headed to Wadi Emit. That's where she was. Someone was holdin' her there at Reiko's place. Turned out to be Abraham and his bunch. I told em to let her go. Some woman called Blue said not til she gave over the key and the ship AuroraBlue stole from em. Told em I'd get the info from the little one without anyone gettin' hurt. Didn't take long b'fore they had what they wanted.... 'Bout the time the myrmidon's showed up... Now the pot was startin' to boil over. They wanted to take AuroraBlue with em.... She was so sad when she come up to me. I damn near wasn't gonna let her go... but then that'd be breakin' a near fragile peace as was with the myrmidons." Tore me up inside to let go of her.... Could only hope I could get her back.. or she could get away."

      "Was all I could do to walk away while my little one was bein' taken away. Was real painful inside. By nightfall she was on Dragon's Egg. Figures she grabbed a ship and got home. Was glad of that. Real glad to have her home. Xoxo was sayin' all this stuff 'bot why AuroraBlue can't get wet. Had to laugh at that... Had pics of her when she was growin'... Swimmin' and playin' in a pool. But then Xoxo ain't been 'round much when the little one was smaller. Then there was Lily.... Who was missin'.... But where...."

((OOC: Have been working on the mines and setting up housing. Finishing builds so everything'd be ready for players :). Dragon's Egg has more to do now and places to RP in! Now it's back to RP! Hopin' I haven't missed anything, heheheheh.))

Landsraat and Ardra....

"Wasn't an easy time this last few weeks..... First there was AuroraBlue got me into trouble.... Then I took the blame for her. Got mighty mad at her while she hid with Seana. A few days later she's off ridin' 'round out in the valley. I know where all she got that from." Workin' hard to get the tarp over the new ship I had. Had to keep it hid for now....


"A few come through that needed stuff shipped out. Rory gave me the orders, so I took the shipments out. Not much happened... Did see a few ships way out... Kept my own distance from em.... In case it was reavers. When I got back, Lily was all worked up 'bout her friend Ardra. Hadn't head that name in a while. Last time I did.... it was with one of her drones. Was in a bad way when it got to Hale's Moon. Then there was Lily with the Ardra program stored inside her.... Wasn't good."Checked the darkenin' sky for anyone who might be watchin'.

"A couple days back Xoxo needed me to fly her to Al Raqis for the Landsraat meetin'. Next thing I know.... Xoxo's settin' on the council.. or whatever you call it. They Were talkin' 'bout a lot of stuff... Includin' the missin' Ardra.... But then I knew from what all Lily said... 'bout Ardra going into the wormhole.... Singularity... Lily was in hurry cause Ardra was gonna be gone if she didn't get to her fast..... Ended up givin' her some parts what come in from an old dealer......" shook m head to think back to the meetin'..... "So Xoxo was on that Landsraat. Figures she'd get on there.... But then BlueSun reaches out 'cross the Verse...."

"While we were settin' listenin' to all the stuff gpin' on 'bout Ardra, a real life navagator come in.. Aiya! It was gorram ugly..... and givin' off the scent of spice in the cloud the surrounded it.....Most folks got scares of the cloud... Put on masks..... When the scent hit me.... It was like a bunch of weird little wormholes filled the room... All goin' to different places.... Saw one that opened up through Xoxo's head. Almost laughed, 'cept I think I woulda been thrown out of the buildin' if I did." Spice was startin' to scare me a mite.... Didn't wanta be like that navagator.....

"At one point we all had to leasve the buildin' while the big shots decided on what to do with Lily.... Ended up tellin' em 'bout Lily and her rush to get to Ardra....Didin't give much detail though....The landsraat decided on a warrent for Lily. She knew where Ardra was. Pretty sure of that. Folks went runnin' to find her. Even one of the myrmiddon's come and asked me to get her and take her off world. Went to find her but didn't locate her. She was already off in hidin'."

Afer the landsraat, Xoxo asked me to escort her back to her office... Was almost across from the Zenobian embassy. We went inside then down to the lower level... Where she had a nice little fighter. It was mine. Xoxo gave it to me.... Part of the deal.... but she'd said somethin' 'bout it too..... That when things happened, I needed to escape. To use the ship and run. Gotta admit... it was fast, real manouverable, and full of weapons. Took it for a flight then went out over the Wadi to test the speeds."


"Finally landed the ship to check on whether Lily was 'round by her stash.... Maybe could warn her of the warrent and the folks searchin' for her. While I was off checkin' the other places for her, she near landed her ship...... almost on top of my new ship. By the time I got back there, she'd cleared out. The ship had parts she pulled from it......" with the ship back in its hangar and the cover over it.... sorta looked like cargo. Good.

"Went back a few days later where Lily's ship was and met up with Lady Rashad. Lily was installin' new parts gettin' it ready to go. Acused me of gettin' her bad parts.. Wasn't my fault. Had no idea they were no good. Never got a chance to check through em when I got em. So we stood back while she worked. I think Lady Rashad was watchin' out for her now. Seemed concerned on what Lily was plannin'. Seein' as Lily's part of her house now...."

Dealin' in Sand

"Been visitin' the DE Embassy on Al Raqis. Sorta have to. Waitin' on that big deal Xoxo's tryin' to make with a few folks there. She's interested in buyin' sand. Said it was for makin' high quality glass stuff." The tower was slow today, so decided to head down to the hang out area on the lower level of town. Had the ear set so I could still talk to the ships comin' in. "When I got there the last time, Lily had out all this hand carved stuff made from real jade. She wanted me to buy somethin'. Not sure what all to get. I think if I got anythin' for AurorBlue she'd break it cause it was made by Lily."

"Not sure what all the jade stuff's 'bout. I know it was somethin' to do 'bout that death of the albino girl. Tryin' to figure what all the rabbits got to do with it." The sun was hot today while walkin' 'cross the tarmac. "Lily's got her own self caught up in somethin' 'gain. Can't help her this time. She's been actin' real strange these days. Not sure what all to make of it."

"In the meantime, Her kid started standin' up. Means that kid'll be runnin' 'round real soon. It'll keep her busy chasin' him all over. Might be good for her." the latest ship was settin' on the tarmac. Small cargo ship with some supplies bein' dropped off.


"More shipments comin' in. Even more goin' out. Lots of ore and such. Even sold some fresh venison. Folks been likin' that. Hell, it's better then the dry rations on a ship any day. Rory told me that we had a couple of small shipments. That's good. Keeps us in business. Gonna get a salvage trip prepped up soon. Need to make a few stops to see if its all good, or just a fools mission. Territory out there's gettin' a mite dangerous. Last time, spotted a ship..... Not reavers, not 'liance or salvage crews...... Weird sorta ships. Small, like scout ships. Looked real strange." Someone'd lit the little fireplace chimney not long ago. Was still givin' off heat.

"Had to get the horses ready for ridin'. Seems a lot of folks like to use em instead of the ATVs. Most likely cause it don't scare of the wildlife and don't tear up the ground. 'Sides, you can go at your own pace. Don't wanta rush? Just walk the horse. In a hurry? Gallop 'cross the fields. Easy as that." Sat down away from the heat. Just watched the glow of the coals... Sorta looked like spice glowin' in the sands. "AuroraBlue went ridin' one day. She's been gettin' to be a handful. Even told her as much. Sorta got a mite angered. I figure she understood that. Ran off to Seana thinkin' Seana wasn't gonna do nothin'."

"With all the stuff whats been goin' on, it's gettin' harder to keep track of everythin'. Embassy's got to be finished b'fore folks move in. Xoxo needs her sand for her glass. I got the feelin' there's a lot more to it. But her and that assistant ain't sayin' nothin' on it. Bringin' the horses in from the range and gettin' em ready for riders, Doin' tower work so ships don't get into a bender comin' in or leavin'...... Been way busy. Hard to take a seat and just relax.... Or drinkin' some spice tea. Seems I can drink that and not have to think on stuff. Its like stuff happens on it's own... almost. Yeah.. The spice can change you. Heard that on Al Raqis. But then, been already messed with a couple years back."

"The lab rat.... Been through some gorram strange stuff. Everythin' from gettin' stuck in a data stream on Necronom, to gettin' stuck in a power system on Hale's Moon tryin' to save Lily. I hear Blue sometimes. And he's a gorram artificial intelligence. So how can I hear him. Hell if I know. Then there's the faster healin' since Lily's nanites.... Might not be the brightest beacon out there, but I know somethin's different 'bout me. Been that way for a while. Since the 'liance messed with me. Maybe b'fore.... Blackburne was sorta different... Strange things happened there.

Big Deals...

"Ok... so there I was.... Wait.... no. Wasn't there for when Lily flipped her dune buggy. But was when I had to flip the thing off her. Wasn't good. She was out. Fluid comin' out her nose... And not snot neither. Called for help and a few folks came. One of the ladies was a medic. The other was from Jet's crew. Then for the first time a long while I heard a familiar voice..... Blue. He told me to get her to K2 fast. Not sure why all I needed to when a medical place would be better.. Didn't question Blue. Just did it. Took Xoxo's ship and flew to where I was guided."

Checkin' the avacados, fresh from freeze, are pretty gorram good. Sent a few to the local produce shop. "Ended up stealin' Xoxo's ship and usin' her access to get Lily to the destination. She woke after a short while. Groggy but awake. Had to leave quick though. Needed to get the ship back Or have Xoxo callin' in the 'laince to find me... And her ship. Either that or her sendin' out her personal secretary. Woman is dangerous.... Somethin' 'bout her that's cold. Not sure why all that is."

"Headed out to Al Raqis. Needed to pick some stuff up and drop some small crates to the local market from BlueSun. Found out we got a new embassy for Dragon's Egg. Its pretty close to where the landsraat is. Speakin' of... One was in session. And sure 'nough Lily was in the center of it... Was talkin' more like a rep speaker then her own self. She was goin' on 'bout dishonor of the myrmidons and her mate. Reiko stood up for her. Said she'd side with the mirydons too." Prepped the rest of the shipment of avacados for transport to paquin to see if they'd like some.

 

"What got me riled was not just how the rest of the 'starborn' were treatin' the natives here, but one even made a pretty gorram low comment of Lily. Damn near jumped the rail to punch in his pinched face. Feller was from that Starfleet. Rude was all I could think. He disappearred in some strange teleportation light, b'fore I could get to him after the meetin' was done. Even stood up and made my say on how the 'starborn' didn't give a damn 'bout the natives. Was like the stories I was told as a kid. Then ArouraBlue showed up. Lily was gorram mad at seein' her and pushed her down just as the meetin' was finishin'. Wasn't good AuroraBlue pretty much 'told' me she was headin' to find K2. That meant trouble there too. Nothin' was gonna stop her. Not even me....."

Sealed the cargo container then started the loading onto the Monster so I could get it to Paquin. "After the meetin', went to the embassy to see what they needed me to ship over so they could fancy up the place.When I got my own self back to Dragon's Egg, had some stuff waitin' for me and a few messages.One was for a shipment comin' from Al Raqis for two metric tons of sand. Took me a mo to figure it was for Lily.... Her kid K2. In the meantime, had an 'liance soldier stop me. Figured she was gonna haul my gorram backside to jail for somethin'. It had to do with out of date papers. Needed new passports and such.... One thin' stood out with her... She wasn't a human type person. Not sure why, but found my own self stammerrin' 'round her..."

"She talked to me 'bout paperwork and the 'liance... Was worried they weren't gonna let her stay on cause of her not bein' able to breathe our air. Didn't know folks what had those problems. Maybe it was allergies or somethin'. So she changed into a suit that helped her out. Ended up soundin' like a school boy datin' for the first time. Least no one else was 'round to hear me makin' a gorram fool of my own self." Once the container was in, securin' it to the floor was easy.

"When I got home, went to talk to the doc 'bout stuff. Stuff like Lily changin', my weird nightmares. Seems they been real vivid... Either that or I'm startin' to sleepwalk. Found myself outside the tower office. Doc thinks its stress and such. I s'pose so. The shipment of sand come in... Ra showed up... Ra's the 'liance soldier who has that breathin' problem. She was there to check the cargo. All legit. After that the crew left. As I went down to the lower level, spotted Xoxo comin' She wanted to know if her shipment came in from some mill. Told her it was in, but she went on up to wait for it. She was a mite rushed for it to come in."

"Wasn't gonna surprise me if she don't go snoopin' into the sand boxes., had to chuckle at that. "Lily's sand boxes. Wasn't gonna tell Xoxo who it was for. None of her gorram business. But then Xoxo ain't b'yond findin' deals in anythin'. Even sand. Sand from Al Raqis...."