Union of Independent Worlds Faction RP thread

[Cannonshop]

"Good." Ezra took the Data, looking roughly over it. "There are two more days to provide the full report, because we will be leaving then. Communication is tight, thanks to the Terran scum, but I would message that beforehand. Melissia will have some more transports on its own, so the sooner we get there, the sooner we can be back, provided leadership approves of your processing. I think you do good work here."

He now tried a smile. "I find the prospect of hunting some of your mentioned species intriguing. Is it possible to have a look at those for me and perhaps my crew? We have dropships as our bases and some weapons of our own, so it might help you too. And yes, it is below the typical warrior's duty but I think my warriors would appreciate some hunting, especially after mean creatures. And" he chuckled very slightly "we want to help accomodate our delivery as much as we can." He looked expectantly. "We could search for them at far places where you have not been yet and stay out of your AoO. But of course that is up to you or planetary command."

"Well, if you want a first-hand look at a clearing operation, we are about to open Gordon County to settlement-you probably heard me yelling at the trucking contractor about getting a support column put together to cover the operation."  She said, "a few extra gun-hands would not be a bad idea, sattelite and airborne recon show lots of Hog-sign and the area is pretty overgrown, so we can not use helicopters.  Best, from I think your perspective, is that the advance camp has the urban area mostly secured-but the truckers lost two rigs night before last, could be gators from the river, but the report says it's a Hog pack with a big raziorback in charge-a smart one, could also be escapees from the zoo, though, so there's plenty of stuff to shoot, if you want to..."  she looked him over, "You ever use a Mauser 1250?"

[ooc: "Mauser 1250" is a 12.54mm five-shot semiautomatic rifle most often used for dangerous game.  It weighs seven kilograms, and produces a felt-recoil impulse on par with a .600 nitro express double with an ME equivalent to .50 BMG firing solids.]

[Cannonshop]

Decius, Everglades Continent Settlement zone 4, south of Gordon...

"BITCH!!" Jord Kreiler snarled, getting to his feet, the damaged truck forgotten.  

Miranda Reyes Gonzales stepped lightly back, in a sing-song she said, "You're trespassing, Cabron.  This is my land."  

"I'm a government contractor, god-dammit!" he barked at her.

"Where is your government? they gone two years, trespasser, and you're taking my property out of my barn to fix your...truck?" she racked the bolt on the TK-22 assault rifle, "You didn't even fucking knock before you and your friend broke into my home."

Kreiler was terrified now-he'd been up on the Carolina Continent, he'd been in her shoes-only those had been raiders flooding up the riverside highway...

"You don't know?" he asked.

"I know you don' belong here." she said.  "I know this is private property, that I've had to defend it from banditos like you before, I thought I taught them a lesson."

She tossed flowing, jet black hair that touched her shoulders in a way that made him think of smelling it...touching it...  and her olive skin was flawless, and revealed in the summer heat by shorts that none of the Teamsters would wear because of the pricklethorns and a tank-top that revealed perfect...Think dammit, quit looking at her like that she's going to kill you...

"Lady, I-I didn't know, the whole zone's supposed to be depopulated, scans didn't show any power sources..." he stammered.

"No power for the last year." She said, "Lines went down and the batteries, they run out, you know? what you were scrounging for, it wouldn't do you any good-there's no gas left for the generators-not even the fuel cell, I'm stuck with keeping the hot water in the solar panels and enough lights to keep the animals back-you're going to pay your life for broken machinery."

"Lady, I'm serious, there's a government now, it's in Grantsberg, they've reopened the county for settlers...they're putting things back together, you don't need to shoot me...let me call my boss, she logs your property and they'll run a new power line in and everything, just don't shoot, okay?"  He pled with her while lowering his hands.

She looked skeptical, but she didn't pull the trigger.  "Okay.  If you're telling the truth...if not, I can shoot you later."

[Marlin]

"Well, if you want a first-hand look at a clearing operation, we are about to open Gordon County to settlement-you probably heard me yelling at the trucking contractor about getting a support column put together to cover the operation."  She said, "a few extra gun-hands would not be a bad idea, sattelite and airborne recon show lots of Hog-sign and the area is pretty overgrown, so we can not use helicopters.  Best, from I think your perspective, is that the advance camp has the urban area mostly secured-but the truckers lost two rigs night before last, could be gators from the river, but the report says it's a Hog pack with a big raziorback in charge-a smart one, could also be escapees from the zoo, though, so there's plenty of stuff to shoot, if you want to..."  she looked him over, "You ever use a Mauser 1250?"

[ooc: "Mauser 1250" is a 12.54mm five-shot semiautomatic rifle most often used for dangerous game.  It weighs seven kilograms, and produces a felt-recoil impulse on par with a .600 nitro express double with an ME equivalent to .50 BMG firing solids.]

Ezra nodded in approval. "Acceptable. But will energy weapons be of use against those big Hogs? Otherwise I will ask some of my Warriors if they have their ballistics with them. A Mauser IIC might be available. If none of that is or Lasers are useless, we will accept your weapons arsenal. Now, I will call up my warriors and report back." A smile crept up. "Well bargained and done, Captain."

(OOC: Not having any material available, but he should have some pulse-laser rifles and sidearms and perhaps even some heavier stuff like the Mauser IIC, but not sure if it is comparable to yours. The rest of the weapons would be Marine and Guard stuff.)

[Cannonshop]

"Well, if you want a first-hand look at a clearing operation, we are about to open Gordon County to settlement-you probably heard me yelling at the trucking contractor about getting a support column put together to cover the operation."  She said, "a few extra gun-hands would not be a bad idea, sattelite and airborne recon show lots of Hog-sign and the area is pretty overgrown, so we can not use helicopters.  Best, from I think your perspective, is that the advance camp has the urban area mostly secured-but the truckers lost two rigs night before last, could be gators from the river, but the report says it's a Hog pack with a big raziorback in charge-a smart one, could also be escapees from the zoo, though, so there's plenty of stuff to shoot, if you want to..."  she looked him over, "You ever use a Mauser 1250?"

[ooc: "Mauser 1250" is a 12.54mm five-shot semiautomatic rifle most often used for dangerous game.  It weighs seven kilograms, and produces a felt-recoil impulse on par with a .600 nitro express double with an ME equivalent to .50 BMG firing solids.]

Ezra nodded in approval. "Acceptable. But will energy weapons be of use against those big Hogs? Otherwise I will ask some of my Warriors if they have their ballistics with them. A Mauser IIC might be available. If none of that is or Lasers are useless, we will accept your weapons arsenal. Now, I will call up my warriors and report back." A smile crept up. "Well bargained and done, Captain."

(OOC: Not having any material available, but he should have some pulse-laser rifles and sidearms and perhaps even some heavier stuff like the Mauser IIC, but not sure if it is comparable to yours. The rest of the weapons would be Marine and Guard stuff.)

"Energy weapons will work on 'em just like they work on any other big animal, Star Captain, we mainly use ballistics because energy weapons have a bad habit of burning up most of their energy on the undergrowth, bullets on the other hand, just keep-" the telephone rang. "Dammit what now?"  she reached over and picked up the phone, "What?"

"What? How-never mind...you're certain?...how many?  uh-huh...yeah it's important enough...is there room to land?  Okay, I will be out there in about twenty...twenty five minutes.  Tell him to sit tight, and don't provoke her."  she hung the phone up again and looked at Star Captain Ezra, "Want to have a look before? It seems one of our missing truck drivers just checked in-he stumbled across a survivor enclave that got missed, and apparently he's being held at gunpoint until he can prove there IS a government operating, if that sidearm's loaded we can discuss details on the way out for your hunting trip, but this is kind of a big deal-I have been trying to get the Congress to listen to me about putting Beagles to work in the interior for just this reason..."

She was taking the wool dress jacket off, and the tie, and pulled out a leather flight jacket and helmet.  "IF, that is, you do not mind riding in a Turbo Twin in the weapons position."

With the dress uniform jacket off, he could see the pilot's wings-they were small, brass, and showed a pair of birdlike wings with a three-bladed propellor in the middle-they were, in fact, the old, pre-Amaris-crisis "Fixed wing Pilot" wings, used for aviators whose mission never left atmosphere, and these looked like a genuine antique.

"KILLINGER! You are doing Liason while I am out, make sure the damn airport does not burn down while I am gone..." She looked over at the Star Captain, "Shall we, Star Captain? Get a chance to meet the residents?"

[Marlin]

Ezra was now in action mode. He called his 2nd in command via his communicator and let a point of his warriors gather for the duty as explained to him. Now he only had his ER Laser pistol, but the Captain would know what she was doing. He followed. But some of her hasty speech's contents was lost on him.

Anyway, this meant action, at least he hoped and he would have something to do. His Warriors would get some action soon. Of course only those worthy of this treat..

[Cannonshop]

She led him outside to what had once been the parking lot of a major city's air-and-space port.  It was now an impromptu airstrip, and idling on the ramp, was perhaps one of the most peculiar aircraft Ezra had ever seen.

It had the 'body' of an attack helicopter, but instead of a rotor, there were two 'booms' with propellor engines, stretching back to vertical stabilizers joined at the top by what was probably the horizontal stab.  The entire aircraft was less than fifteen meters long, and it squatted on tricycle landing gear.  A young looking soldier in green coveralls handed Ezra a helmet with a dangling cord-like the Captain's, the purpose was obvious-apparently the interior of hte aircraft was as noisy as the design was both simple, and starkly utilitarian.

She ran a visual, hands-on checklist with a speed that would have impressed a born-and-bred Technician caste, opening and visually inspecting all the working parts (and, in the process, revealing just how rock-simple and utilitarian the aircraft was-simple engines, simple, quickly repaired avionics, simple, redundant control systems.)

the final step was opening the canopy and rear deck hatch.  "Climb on in, Star Captain." she invited, snugging into the front seat, "In ten minutes we will be over Gordon County."

The instruments were an interesting mix of 'glass cockpit' modern avionics, and brute-force simple analogue gauges and other instruments.

Lacking VTOL systems, the aircraft rolled less than 250 meters on the hardball parking-lot before it cleared the jersey barriers, revealing a drop of more than 200 meters to the street below.

"The Kowloonese copied an old 20th Century design for their fire and rescue services, it turns out it is not half-bad as a COIN and Liason aircraft." she said, "We will be taking it easy on the way up to Gordon, at a cruise of two hundered and fifty five knots at fifteen thousand feet-about forty-five hundered meters, give or take.  The instruments on the panel in front of you include passive and side-looking infrared and radar, slaved to a MADION processor that is also collecting signal from chipped personnel and the beacons on equipment,  this aircraft can carry up to two tonnes of external ordinance, including machine gun pods, bombs, and rocket packs.  It can be retrofitted to carry fluid dispenser equipment instead in less than half an hour, or rigged as an ambulance or squad-level airborne insertion vehicle in the same amount of time.  Not as fancy as a 'proper' military machine, but it fills the role we need it for here about as well as anything can.  The same trip would take a chopper about five hours.  I have about eight to ten hours' linger time with a range of nearly five hundered miles on internal fuel, or fifteen hundered at max carry of external fuel on the hardpoints, and because of the damn staff-job I got saddled with, I have to have a damn emergency before they let me play with him."

The cockpit was, as the helmet he'd been given indicated, noisy, and filled with odd vibrations.  The lack of armouring was...disturbing.  Even a laser pistol could hole any point on the aircraft in one shot-the redundancy in-built had a purpose beyond easing maintenance, then-it was there because the designer expected ground fire to chop into the aircraft.

[Marlin]

Ezra was left speechless as he saw the small thing. Although he was no blabbermouth, this was just.. antique. And small. He guessed that this backwater world had not much to start with, so this was at least mobile. He got into his seat as weapons officer and hoped there would be no bandits with rifles.. or bows.

Anyway, he was ready. How nice it was to have a functioning infrastructure.. even as lower ranked warrior. He signed her that he was good to go. Time for action. And if they survived this, perhaps he would appreciate his Dropships and shuttles more.

Now he would check the radars for both of them. The weapons were to be shot only in emergency as it seemed dry on ground, so he would not be trigger-happy now. And then, they were on a diplomatic-like mission. He grimaced and they took off.

[Cannonshop]

For Laura, flying was like a junkie getting their favourite high.  she had to remind herself to keep it straight and level and avoid 'having fun' with the Star Captain in her back-seat.

"We are now crossing the boundary between the old urban area of Oxford, and open country-or in this case, crossing over the boundary between the cleared zone, and the rainforest." she said, as below, the slightly-overgrown became a dense, tall carpet of yellowed green and deep, vivid bluegreen foliage.  "Arluna is, according to the survey reports, in its equivalent of old earth's early cretaceous, the native forms are mostly amphibian or reptilian analogues-we have been human settled long enough that there are lots of mammals now, moreso since the plague.  The really big native predators are mostly extinct thanks to centuries of combined human and human-introduced competition and ecological pressures-probably the main driver for the big-damn-hogs out there, trying to fill a niche that used to be filled by big-damn-lizards.  Native plant-forms were sporific and evergreens, of course with five hundered years of humans planting shit, losing seeds, and clearance farming, we have hardwoods, earthlife evergreens, and most of the biodiversity to make resettlement kind of a pain in the ass-even with centuries of human habitation, there are still creatures nobody has ever seen cropping up-and more of them since the Plague cut our numbers down..."

The aircraft shuddered for a moment as a gust of wind-shear hit, then she stabilized it.  "I radioed back to base, your men can catch one of the Kings*, we will be on the ground half an hour before them, but it is the best bet for bringing any heavy gear you want with you-I expect you probably do not look too kindly on roughing it in a hammock during your trip-you do, after all, have a schedule to keep."


[ooc: *King Karnovs, TRO Support Vehicles, a VTOL capable conventional aircraft built as a heavy lift transport, very common throughout the inner sphere.]


After nine minutes, forty five seconds in the air, he could see a clearing, and the trace of a highway that had become overgrown, and on that highway, two trucks sat, with heat traces showing quadrupedal animals around them.  A yellow indicator lit about five kilometers off the highway, in an area with lighter woods and small clearings.  The instruments told him that whoever it was, was "Probationary Status:6 months Remaining".

"See our driver yet?" she asked.

Ezra nodded, and flicked the toggle indicated on his visor.

She banked, and circled the clearing.

There was a small structure-barely a shack, really, nestled in the trees, with a larger sheet-metal barn near the centre of the clearing.  Indicators showed barely one hundered meters of clear area.

and here is where it gets fun... she thought to herself, banking the plane hard to port, nosing up and deploying flaps to kill velocity as she reversed the pitch on her propellors to bring it down near stall-speed.

The plane dropped like a rock, nearly straight vertical with (according to the on-board instruments Ezra was monitoring) less than two meters of distance from the tail-boom to the trees, at a steep angle of descent, but nose-up.

She goosed power and reduced her flaps a bit, bringing airspeed up to 30 kph as the landing gear deployed.  "Gonna be rough..."

The first shuddering shock, and she put full reverse on her props while going back to full flaps.

The landing roll was less than fifty meters to full stop.

"Sorry about getting fancy like that." she told him, "I had hoped at least double the space in the clearing...anyway, missed the fence-cleared it on the bounce by a meter!"  She said it with an almost child-like enthusiasm, and a huge grin over her shoulder.

[Cannonshop]

The aircraft came down, bounced over the fence, and rolled to a stop.  "Okay...you still don't move." Miranda told the two truck drivers,  whom were now kneeling on earthlife grass, hands bound to feet behind their necks.

"What more do you Want, lady? we called, and they sent an aircraft!" Jordan was uncomfortable-she'd hog-tied him, and then caught and hog-tied Probie Millson (after demonstrating that she could find, sneak up on, and beat the man senseless...), his legs and hands were falling asleep, and the ground was making his knees ache.

"What do I want?  More proof than a bush-plane." Miranda told him, "and if I get it, I'll then want an explanation!"

The pilot climbed out of the plane, followed by a man in a strange uniform-a very advanced looking laspistol on his hip.

"He's kind of cute." Miranda commented,  "You two just sit tight."

she kept the weapon levelled, using the patrol-sling to keep the weapon ready for 'hip-shooting'.  What they didn't know, was that the rifle was the bluff-it looked threatening as hell, but Miranda had no shells to fire, just an empty magazine that was (thankfully) not transparent to visible light.

So far, at least with these two, the bluff worked.  The Patrol aircraft's threat-sensors might be working too-which is why she kept the two men bound, in spite of the risk that El Jefe's pack of Hogs could show up in the clearing looking for an easy lunch.

"hey, what did you do in your Oldlife?" the one called Jord asked.

Miranda sighed, "I was a social worker." she said, "I basically took care of old people."

"A...social worker?" the other guy, the one Jord called a "probie" scoffed, "I got my ass kicked by a social worker?"

She glanced down at the two men, "I also taught self-defense to single mothers in Oxford's slums." she said,  "you know, rape prevention.  What's a 'probie' anyway?"

The man looked at the ground, "I...I have a criminal record on Inarcs-petty stuff.  They sent me here."

"Ohhh...petty crook-and now you're driving for The Man?" her turn to scoff now.

"Yeah. I have two years left on my sentence, then I'm about as 'free' as you can get after being sent to a prison-colony." he told her, "I used to steal cars..."

She snorted, "I see.  A Felon.  great."

Millson bridled a little, "HEY, it doesn't mean I'm a bad guy, okay? yeah, I ran for a chop-shop, but when the Plague hit, I picked up good points for taking care of sickies and getting medicine to people who needed it!"

"Likely story." she said.

"What about you, social worker? hiding out in the back-ass of beyond?" he blustered, as the two new visitors walked up to their position, "You cut and ran out here, hid out, didn't you?"

"I came home." she said, "My family was ill, so I came home...and buried them, and after that, there really wasn't anywhere to go.  I have seen what Oxford smells like, and nobody was alive there."

Jord spoke up, "That's where you picked up the rifle, isn't it?" he said, "One of the road-blocks?"

She gave him a glare that would curdle milk, and muttered something obscene in spanish.

[Marlin]

Ezra knew now why he was enjoying his Marine life up in space. Still gripping the handle and his weapon-stick after they had stopped, he had to breathe in, breathe out several times. Not that he was not used to some Gs but this was pretty rough. Anyway, she had brought them here.. safely. Finally he let loose, checked the surrounding and there seemed to be their target. As in diplomacy. 2 guys bound, one woman guarding them. She was young. She had two bullets it seemed, but he assumed that they could get her under control if things got ugly. A Sternsnacht (I like Sternennacht better) was not really made to hunt humans. Anyway, one remark to Captain Laura was in order: "You are enjoying this, quiaff?". He did not make a sour face, but likely was still a bit pale.

As they walked slowly and peacefully towards the trio, Ezra added: "I will let you do the talking. Radar looked clear so far. He then let himself fall behind Laura. It was unlikely that the.. girl would get them in one shot. Her Rifle was no real threat to them, as the low-amperage radar sensors had shown the Mag empty. He did not feel threatened by this at all, it seemed as if he was just a visitor. And two men guarded by a quite beautiful little woman seemed nearly comical. Laura would deal with it.

Of course, despite trying to look harmless, he was on high alert, especially against additional visitors.

[Marlin]

Star Commander Roger.. formerly Roger Kollen, Lt. for the LCAF and FedCom Forces in their infantry units. Finally stationed on Melissia. Testing in to the Clan was easy enough, although lesser men would get in trouble. He knew warfare till he was an adolescent. But it seemed his best years were over for his new superiors. At least Bill had made it to the top of planetary and he cared for his buddies. Anyone with a brain would live on either as before or within the Clan. There were limits for the new people, of course and sometimes it got harder, but even then, they seemed to provide for their kin all needed to live. Those Merchants even had really some nice stuff for their own.

Now Billy had a mission for him and while many others went to hunt here on Arluna, he had to stay alert for a message of this Kelli.. The guards were on shifts around the Droppers, the delivery was already being processed good, all were being tracked now and it seemed quite good for a backwater world. Seems the secession paid off. But Melissia was too dear for Roger to leave.

When would she show up.. or at least her message, he wondered. And would they survive this adventure should those Hellions.. his Hellions get wind of this..?

[Cannonshop]

Ezra knew now why he was enjoying his Marine life up in space. Still gripping the handle and his weapon-stick after they had stopped, he had to breathe in, breathe out several times. Not that he was not used to some Gs but this was pretty rough. Anyway, she had brought them here.. safely. Finally he let loose, checked the surrounding and there seemed to be their target. As in diplomacy. 2 guys bound, one woman guarding them. She was young. She had two bullets it seemed, but he assumed that they could get her under control if things got ugly. A Sternsnacht (I like Sternennacht better) was not really made to hunt humans. Anyway, one remark to Captain Laura was in order: "You are enjoying this, quiaff?". He did not make a sour face, but likely was still a bit pale.

As they walked slowly and peacefully towards the trio, Ezra added: "I will let you do the talking. Radar looked clear so far. He then let himself fall behind Laura. It was unlikely that the.. girl would get them in one shot. Her Rifle was no real threat to them, as the low-amperage radar sensors had shown the Mag empty. He did not feel threatened by this at all, it seemed as if he was just a visitor. And two men guarded by a quite beautiful little woman seemed nearly comical. Laura would deal with it.

Of course, despite trying to look harmless, he was on high alert, especially against additional visitors.

"WELL, we thought you two were hog-chow."  Laura commented as they walked up.

"Not yet...she's still deciding."  the older of the two drivers announced, "Could you get us out of this, Pretty-Please, O' Mein Kapitain?"

Laura stopped twenty feet back, "Rifle's empty, sweetie, and I do NOT think you are fast enough on that shoulder-rig, so why not just let us all be civil, and would you mind terribly loosening the ropes before my drivers lose their ability to make a living?"  she said it in a sarcastic, sing-song tone, she jerked a thumb back at the airplane, "Cop model."

Miranda sighed disgustedly, and lowered the weapon.  "You look better than you did the last time I saw you, Sherriff." she said, "How's the hand?"

"It healed-mostly.  Star Captain Ezra, this is Miranda Reyes Ortega Gonzales, City of Oxford Ambulance service, she picked what was left of me out of the middle of a riot on the third week of the civil chaos...I thought you were gone up north for sure." Laura said with a slight ironic twist, "Seems to me you dropped me off at the aid-station, and took your leave instead of taking the Evac bird."

"Something like that, family business.  I notice you have a new uniform." Miranda said.

"Yeah-I got drafted, turns out prior service as an officer comes in handy." Laura said, "You are going to cut my men loose, aren't you doc?"

Miranda drew that big, jungle-chopper knife, and a few moments later, both drivers were rubbing wrists and ankles, and giving her dirty looks.

"I never finished Med School" Miranda said, "Not a doctor-five credits short."

"Close enough...may We come inside the house, or are we going to stand here in your yard until sundown?" Laura asked.

She sighed, rolled her eyes, "Come on in, I will see if there is enough water for tea in the filters."


They went inside.  "You stayed." Laura said, "how long?"

"I left Oxford when I could not find anyone and I could smell the bodies from the top of the Corringer building." Miranda stated, "I took an ambulance out here-crashed it about thirty days' walk south of here."

"You're a good pilot, Miranda, how did you do that?" Laura asked.

"Even the best pilot can't beat mother nature on fuel-vapour and fever-dreams." the young woman said, "I tipped the tail-rotor and augured in, does the Star Captain want some honey in his tea?" she asked.

"What did you tell those two fools out there?" Laura asked.

"I told them I was a social worker."  the girl said, "You should have seen their faces."

"I thought that was Brian?" Laura asked.

"It was-he drowned in his own vomit." Miranda said, "about two days after the Government abandoned Oxford and pulled the doctors out..."

"Did you get sick?" Laura asked.

"No." Miranda said, "Everyone around me got sick, I didn't, the riots after the pullout..."  she shook her head, "You were there for some of those."

"I was, and I saw worse up north when Grantsberg fell, then Norman and Cairo...why didn't you try to find any people?" Laura asked.

"After Oxford? please, no-thank-you.  LAST thing I wanted to see, were people." Miranda said, "I still have dreams about it."

"Everyone that survived the plague has bad dreams." Laura told her, "Without exception."

"So, the plague's under control, and now you're re-settling out here." Miranda stated, "You folks even re-opened the Boze Highway."

"Well, yeah. It is what is done after a disaster-first a mourning period, then you get back to work-and you should get back to work, Miranda. Playing Jane Tarzan just doesn't suit you."

"My life, my land, my rules, Sherriff." Miranda said, "excuse me, what is your rank, since you joined an army?"

"Captain, in case you were wondering." Laura told her, "Acting as a military governor-it's Naval Captain's rank-equivalent to a Colonel."

"Well, Captain, I would consider it a kindness if you would NOT be bringing strangers into my land." Miranda said, "I still have the deed to this property-it was my Father's land."

"your father's Hacienda was ten miles north of here-why the shack with the solar stills and cheap panels?" Laura asked.

"I burned it down last year, it smelled." Miranda said, "I only needed the Cabin anyway-upkeep on that five thousand square foot stucco castle would have eaten all my time."

"The resettlement is going to happen, Miranda." Laura said, "We have shiploads of new settlers from off-world, they are going to need the space.  YOU could be part of that."

The tea whistled, and Miranda brought out five ceramic mugs-all mismatched, and poured each about half full before answering.  "I would prefer to keep my isolation splendid, thank you." she said, "Living with the dead for over a year, I think I earned that right.  You are still an officer of the law, yes?"

"Technically I am the law out here." Laura said, "at least until I'm either promoted out, or replaced."

"I will turn the phone back on, you can bloody well call ahead next time, but keep your people off my land, if you please-the boundaries should still be in the database down at city hall." Up close, served TEA, Ezra could see the lurking horror and trauma in her dark, bottomless eyes.

"We're going after a pack of Feral Hogs, Miranda, they're a threat to the rest of the county." Laura said.

"Oh, El Jefe and his pack?" Miranda asked, "Big razorback, probably over a tonne total body-weight?"

"That would be the one, from what I've heard." Laura said, "it's going to be a military operation, and it's probably going to be going off near here."

"Best of luck. I put two twelve-mil Nitro Express into El Jefe," she gestured at a big, double-barrelled rifle, " it didn't even phase the fucker-he still trashed my barn and they camped under the tree for three days."

"Tree?" Laura asked.

Miranda pointed out the window, "See that big Blackwood out there? Hogs can't climb, and its roots go too deep for them to dig it out.  They took turns in shifts while the rest ate my horses, the sheep, and looted the root-cellar." she told them, "When I got to be too small a snack, and they had eaten everything they could find, they left-like locusts-I was not worth the effort to dig the tree up-not that the swine didn't try."

"How long ago?" Laura asked.

"About two weeks." Miranda said, "I had to use bleach to get the smell out."

[Marlin]

Ezra declined at the offer of Honey. He was no Ghost Bear. Nearly grinning stupidly at the thought, he kept his composure.

But the hogs had him interested. Seemed to be worthy prey. If he had his Dropship here, there would be no doubt how it would end. But with only a small machine and handguns..

He nodded and nipped some tea. 'Interesting.' He had tasted some IS Food of course but the new aromatics always were nice to have.

However the two here would decide, if they could find that pack in the next 30 hours, it would be his.

Those people here suffered. Despite their weapons mostly non-Warriors and so he would want to make it better for them. They would have it better within his Clan of course, but what could he do. It was not his decision.

Time to go Pack-Hunting.

[Cannonshop]

"The Star Captain wants to go after this 'El Jefe', I think." Miranda said, "That laser won't do the job-Laser pistols do their work by boiling blood to steam about six inches in-the steam explosion actually does the damage, and El Jefe's fat layer is thicker than that-you need something that does damage deep."

"What would the imminent medical doctor who hid in a tree suggest, then?" Laura chided, "Cannons?"

"Boar Spear." Miranda said, "Cannons would work, but not for a Great White Hunter-no risk, no thrill...and they might miss.  A spear with a cross behind the head, on the other hand, well, it is risky, but the Boar makes sure you do not miss...you just have to drive it into somewhere vital, and avoid being trampled as the beast dies."

"Where, in the Lord's name, would you find something like that, Miranda?" Laura asked.


"It just so happens that I am rather sore at El Jefe for eating my quarter-horse." Miranda said, "The head is in the shop, and I think I may have found a suitable shaft-not too heavy, but strong enough that the blade will bite deep.  The spear-head is made from a chunk of truck-leaf-spring, the shaft is a carbon-fibre tent-support post from the big army tent I used as a barn last year...and I have a spare, if there is a man brave enough to join me in stalking this menace?"

[Marlin]

Ezra got it. This was a challenge. And despite his yearn for some adventure, this would certainly ... be deadly.

"Miranda, tell me, how long will it take for you to track this beast down, and his Pack? Now I am visibly the .. most experienced here and my Clan's Totem is a Pack Hunter too. Not as cumbersome and slow as these hogs, but smaller and much quicker. And I would never advise to go hunting after them on foot. Or even on some bio-ride. If we can separate him from his Pack, then you might get a chance, but before that.." He shook his head, grimly.

"I admire your spirit and just to see how you go forth with this would be thrilling, but I have a schedule to meet. You have 48 hours to track the Pack down, either my Warriors start shooting and leave this Jefe for us, or you are alone again. I might be able to squeeze some more hours in, perhaps even a day or 2 if I got a shuttle, but I will have to meet the JumpShip. The Clan tolerates no extras. What say you?"

"I might add that my Warriors will bring some Laser Rifles, and perhaps a Mauser IIC, which would be enough to kill most of those beasts." He breathed out. "They might be needed elsewhere, though, that is up to Captain Laura."

This little woman really was either mad, desperate or of Warrior Material. He liked her.

"This tea is tasty.", he added dryly.