At least it's over

Lily's trial is finally over. Case dropped. No victim.

Go figure.

With General resigning, Desmond took over as the prosecution. Td handled the defense, and a lot of disgruntled folk swarmed into Fook's to see the trial. Can't say I blamed them and can't say I was very happy having to play Judge in this thing, but sometimes you have to do the right thing no matter how frustrating.

Folk were none too happy having to check their weapons at the door, but there was no way I was going to have folks armed when we didn't know how it was going to fall out. Only person I let keep their steel was Imrhien, because she was the only one there I trusted that far.

Lily'd have torpedoed her own defense if her story had actually made sense. The more she said, the more I was convinced she was confusing real memories with one of those gorram old movies Gallagher would watch with her. Not that the prosecution had much of a case. Lots of evidence that something had happened, but nothing to tie Lily to a murder.

Td left folk pondering the point of Lily only being two chrono, which was something I was well aware of already, when we took a recess. I knew how I was going to sentence if they found her guilty. Make her a ward of the court until such a time as we figured she was mature enough to act in her own best interest. A lot of folk loved that crazy not-cat and it was an outcome that would serve Justice and still be within the confines of the law. Was a solution that'd probably heal some hurt feelings out on the Rim between folks who shouldn't be peeing in other folks Sun Flakes.

Except I didn't get that far. After the recess, Gallagher has to show up and declare he's still alive.

The sonofabitch was alive the whole time.

I suppose it's lucky folks were too stunned, and unarmed, to turn weapons on him before he could depart one final time. By that point, I was just too drained to care. With Lily free and the trial over, most of the folk just went their way without so much as saying good bye.

For me? Outside, I was still centered. Still focused. Still calm. Inside? I was relieved and deeply, deeply, resentful of the crap Gallagher had put two colony's worth of people through. But putting us through this because he wanted to leave and wasn't man enough to just come out and tell folks he was leaving.

The trial was over at least. Folk might still be angry with me for doing my job, and it might be weeks before things finally settled out for the folks who call Hale's Moon and Blackburne home. But it'd come. I had to believe that. The other folks hurt by this whole thing? I'd support them however I could. These were good folk. Still had a lot of healing to do though, and there was a lot of fallout that wasn't even directly related to the trial.

Right now? Right now I was wishing more than anything else in the 'Verse that 'Brina was home.

A moment's peace and quiet

With everything that's been going on lately, 'Brina and I haven't gotten to spend any real time alone together. Fortunately, things last night got quiet enough for us to sneak off and just be together. Also gave us a chance to exchange engagement jewelry.

Personally, I think they look great one each of us. It may be a while before anyone sees the little clockwork heart charm she designed for me, or even longer before anyone else sees the captive ring I had made for her, but we know they're there and what they represent.

The whole 'Verse may still be in turmoil, but at least we got a moment's peace. Sometimes that's really all it takes to give a person the strength and focus they need to go on.

For ever and ever, ra'men.

The one wherin things go from bad to worse...

It wasn't bad enough that Nack came into my office and started telling me what was acceptable or not on the colony I'd been elected to lead. I could write that off to him being over-protective of Lily and running his mouth before he actually knew what the hell was going on. I could have just let that go.

He talked about it being unacceptable. What's unacceptable is waltzing in and telling me how to run the gorram colony.

But then Lily has to go stow away on his boat (at least xOxO cleared that up, sicne the first I'd heard was he'd taken her himself) and rather than just sending a wave saying "She stowed away on my boat. You mind if she stays with us for a while?" Which would have solved the problem, he has to go and set Blackburne's defenses to target any boat inbound with a Hale's Moon ident.

What the bloody hell was that man thinking?

This has pushed the level of disrespect farther than I can just write off. It's become a matter of honor, and the worst part of it is I can't directly redress the issue without causing more harm. Honor demands I act. Acting harms those I love.

So here I am. Stuck with the only option that doesn't involve abandoning my own honor or shedding a friend's blood: staying away from Firefly's until Nack pulls his head out of his ass and apologizes.

Lovely.

Is it still called 'reconciliation' if it's the first time?

I never hated Td. Hell, I never even actually disliked him. Even though he could break my usual Zen like calm and get me genuinely angry, I didn't hate him. I couldn't hate him. How could I actually hate someone who loved her? Nack was right the other night. The Haiku was just a formal warning, not really a statement of disapproval. The sad thing is, deep in my gut, I knew all along he'd never do anything purposely to hurt her.

Just wish it hadn't taken pent up fury to bring us to reconciliation.

Assuming you could call it reconciliation the first time you make up with someone.

If I hadn't already been dealing with people peeing in my Sun Flakes all day over Lily, I might have been in a better frame of mind when Td started telling her not to talk to anyone until she got a shyster. I know he was just trying to help. Putting some time in down in the Infirmary to help Lily patch up the wounded. I know he didn't have all the background story. I know he was in the dark about what had happened and how we were handling things. I just wasn't up to having someone else, let alone him, giving me anything that even looked like grief over her.

An hour or so later he came by Wave Equation to talk. Being in a less then Zen state of mind, and wanting to hide in 'Brina's hair for a while, I can can't say the conversation was especially pleasant. It took another couple hours, replaying it in my mind after 'Brina went to sleep, to actually understand myself just what he was offering.

Unable to sleep, I snuck out of the boat for a bit of night air and found myself over at Fooks. Hadn't really expected Td to still be around, but there he was at the table by the back door. Much as I didn't want to admit it, I needed to talk to him. I had been a bit harsh earlier and he deserved to know why I'd been so cranky

I explained the situation with Lily best as we knew it and he gave me a couple of extra options in case it ever came to trial. He figured it was better we worked together then be pointing guns at one another, and he was right. Though I figure the most important part was when I said good night and admitted, sideways anyway, that I'd left the Haiku.

"Seana. If you really thought I was going to hurt her, you'd have killed me already."

Damn him. He was right. We both knew it. Fact was, if he made Imrhien happy, truly happy, they had my blessing. I wanted her to be happy, and if that meant stepping back and letting them be happy together, it wasn't my place to stand in their way.

So . . . hell. Leaves me giving him a genuine hug and heading back to bed to rejoin 'Brina. Truth be told, I'd rather have Td as an ally then an unspoken enemy. I may never think anyone is good enough for Imrhien, but she could do worse than him.

I can not hate you.
You have brought joy to her eyes.
I will have your back.

Lily, Reavers, Warbots, and a murder?

Whoever said life on the Rim was less complicated than life in the core has obviously never lived out here. Or, perhaps, it's just that Hale's Moon attracts layers of complication that people just don't expect for a little mining colony in the middle of gorram nowhere.

I thought I'd more or less seen the height of complication in a single day, but once again this little slice of heaven sent more twists and turns to complicate the lives of the people that call it home.

The morning started out mostly normal. At least until Lily came in and confessed to killing Doc Gallagher, then insisting she was guilty and we'd have to do what was lawful and lock her up. Lily claimed she'd let him burn up for killing her Daddy. Never mind we didn't have a body, or even any sign Gallagher was even dead and not just out of the world again. Lily was insistent she'd killed him and expected us to do what was right.

Being Mayor, I had a bit of flexibility so decided on house arrest while I set General, with Jackal helping, off to see if they could find enough evidence to actually pursue a case. I didn't want to prosecute her. Hell, I didn't believe she'd actually killed him, let alone done it in a way that justified a murder case. But she was insisting, and the townsfolk would expect me to at least look like I was following the law, so I had to do something. At least if the Alliance tried to stick their noses into it we'd be able to show we'd done a proper investigation.

What I hadn't expected was how fast word got around, and how many people gave me grief for putting her under house arrest. Even Nack flew over from Blackburne asking I release her to his custody so he could take her home. Said it wasn't acceptable having her locked up. To me, what wasn't acceptable was being told how to run the colony I'd been duly elected to run. In my gut, I knew he was just trying to look out for her same as me. Also know he probably had no clue that my 'house arrest' meant she was supposed to stay home in her own place, and I wasn't even insisting she lock the door.

Wasn't my fault little sister put herself in the gorram jail cell. Wasn't my idea.

Half the day continued in that vein. Folks giving me grief over Lily while I tried to make it at least look like I had a proper investigation going. By late afternoon, I was pretty cranky. Which, of course, was when things got worse.

We got the alert of a Reaver boat incoming on the navtrak. Much as I hated to admit it, the upgraded kit the Alliance donated gave us the sensitivity to identify the over-cooked reactor in the Reaver boat. Early warning meant I could get word out broadwave to the local worlds, so we'd have some reinforcements inbound by the time the Reavers hit dirt.

I got talked out of engaging myself, again, which is probably better for the town anyway. Gave me a chance to track the security feeds and try and help coordinate the defenses. What I don't think anyone expected was one of those gorram warbots blazing into town in the middle of the Reaver attack.

Warbots. On Hale's. Lovely.

Compared to the Reavers, the thing really was a nightmare. Given the situation and my hunch on just why the Alliance had been interested in this rock for so long, I shifted focus from trying to track the Reavers to trying to get as much footage as I could of the war machine. Unfortunately, the thing moved to fast to get a good bead on, and Wave Equation's sensors weren't well suited to this kind of work from the ground. All we were able to tell for sure was there'd been two of them. Someone took out the first, while the second escaped back into the Mines.

With confirmation of one of those things on the loose on Hale's, the best I could hope for was they were remnants from a previous drop. The thought of a Mother Bot buried somewhere down in the mining tunnels just wasn't something I wanted to contemplate. But given how the Replicants had acted before, and some of what I'd heard about their recent activity, I was worried that maybe that nightmare scenario was just what we were facing.

Once the dust settled, all I could do was check up on the wounded and try and bring a little calm back to the folks who'd elected me their leader.

Shiny. Just shiny.

Imrhien isn't pregnant

Firefly's lays claim to being the friendliest bar in the 'Verse. In my limited experience with bars, I'd say it's a true statement. But they can be a might daft some nights too.

Immers was dancing with General when I arrived and, after waiting a proper, polite, amount of time, I cut in on him. Still love dancing with her but I was there to tell her something important: that being Sabrina proposing. She damn near fell over when I told her too, laughing and smiling, the way I'd hoped she would. But leave it to those crazies to jump to conclusions.

Imrhien isn't pregnant.

Once one of them started, half the bar got in on it. Half expected it to come to violence before they finally settled down.

Fortunately, 'Brina made it back from her job before they closed and I let her make the announcement to the bar. She did it by asking Imrhien to be our second. Maid of Honor to both of us, seeing as how we weren't going to have a Best Man.

Folk seemed to like the idea, and I have to admit it made me feel warm inside. getting their congratulations. Best of all was Lily wishing us well. I know she's concerned, but I also know she cares about us both and I'm going to want her to be there when 'Brina and I finally get our ceremony.

Just wish these crazies we call friends would stop with the Pregnant jokes.

Some days are weirder than others.

There's these brochures you see in little shops and travel agencies all over the core. They usually have some idyllic looking solidos taken of the 'perfect spot for you dream home' on some outer frontier colony, with a shiny nice caption explaining why life out on the Rim is just where you need to be. If you're lucky, there'll be some fine print saying that 'Living on the frontier colonies may require some adaptation to local conditions.' That's the fancy marketing speak way of saying "Living on the rim can be hazardous to your health."

Living on the Rim can also be a blessing. The worlds may be rough and many of the folks living out here might lack the schooling and sophistication you'd find on some place like Sinhon or Osirus, but they're good people. In some cases, they're simply amazing people.

The day started simple enough. I gave 'Brina the little jewelry boxes, all gift wrapped, that had the jewelry I'd had made for us. One a simple captive ring, the other the clockwork heart charm she'd designed. Both were done in the same gold alloy my jewelry was done in, so they could slip by sensors without setting anything extra off. It may be tomorrow before we'll be able to exchange them for real, but it was pretty obvious she liked them both. Unfortunately, work was going to have her out of the world most of the day. Again. But at least we'd be able to meet at Firefly's later in the evening.

It was early afternoon when the day started to get a little weird. Ok, maybe calling a Reaver attack 'a little weird' is an understatement. But out here? They came in a small boat, and I don't think more than two or three of them bailed out of the lander. I was talking to Lilia, up on her horse, when they attacked. One came at us with a big chunky blade, and Lilia had her hands full keeping Athena from bolting at the sight of the raving apparition.

I don't like Reavers. Not one bit. Considering what they'd gone through to become Reavers in the first place, it seemed like a kindness to put one down. The one coming at us with that big blades probably expected us to run in terror like most folks do when they see a Reaver. I'm not most folks and, for me, a Berserker with a couple big knives isn't really a threat.

As Lilia maneuvered Athena out of the way (not going to lose a horse to one of those nutters!) I let the Reaver focus its attention on me. As it charged forward I dropped a little into what looked like a cower, letting it's momentum build. Probably figuring on an easy capture it spread its arms to try and grapple, giving me an opening to drive my knuckles full force into its windpipe.

I could feel the bones in its throat crack against the gloves reinforced knuckles, the Reaver letting out a gurgling, choked, cry as it staggered past. I ducked under its now off-balance grapple and put a boot into its leg to send it hurtling face first into the dirt. The last thing it saw as a breathing being was that same boot a moment before it impacted the side of its head, ending it for good.

At the same time, I could hear gunfire coming from town. Short lived gunfire, as the townsfolk made a corpse of the other Reaver off the boat. Not too many moments later, the shriek thump of one of the manpac ship killers lashing out into the Reaver lander, sending it into the hillside by the wind turbines with a muffled thump.

Maybe we'll get some good salvage out of it.

The day just kept getting weirder though. A couple hours before I was getting ready to hop over to Blackburne to catch an evening at Fireflys and tell Immi the news, Lily came to talk to me and explain why she'd been acting so upset.

Talking to Lily is sometimes an exercise in soul searching. For a genetic construct that's only been breathing a couple of years, she sometimes shows insight and wisdom most Elders don't get during their entire span. I don't even know if I have the words to express what she was telling me. The rational part of me could actually understand her concern: that 'Brina and I weren't together because we loved each other, but because neither of us could have Imrhien and were clinging to each other more out of mutual need than genuine love.

If I was looking at it from outside, I'd probably have the exactl same concern. It's been just over two months since I admitted to myself I was in love with Imrhien, then worked up the courage to tell her, only to let go of something I knew I couldn't have. I was the lonely ninja, and it was probably going to stay that way. And then 'Brina came into my life. First as someone to dance with, then to sleep with, then to love. I still love Imrhien. We both do. We both admit it. We love each other something fierce, too. But anyone looking in from the outside would have to question whether we were together because we were in love, or because it hurt less to be together.

Lily doesn't want us to be miserable.

We won't be, Mei Mei. I know we're moving fast, getting engaged and all, but we're not rushing headlong into it. We're both big girls. I know our hearts are talking a lot louder than our heads, but we'll know to the core of our beings that our hearts are speaking true before we take that last step.

Now, it's time to jet over to Firefly's. Need to tell Imrhien the news and hope 'Brina gets done with her repair gig before they close for the night.

I knew the answer all along

I knew it was coming. We'd talked about it as 'something we're going to do' and even talked about taking 'Brina back to Ariel to meet my family. We both knew it was coming. Just not which of us was going to ask the question.

Turns out it was her. I was showing her a dress I'd gotten just because she wanted to know what it would take to get me into one, when she asked me to be hers forever. Asking if I'd marry her.

What else could I say? Of course I accepted!

Has it really been only a month? A month to go from 'someone to spend time with because you like their company, and they make life less lonely.' to 'someone you sleep with because the sex is amazing.' to "Yes, Sabrina. I will marry you."

Yes, Sabrina. I will marry you.

I never thought I'd say those words to anyone. And now, I've gone and got myself engaged. It may be the most impulsive thing I've done since I was twelve, but it feels so right. It is right. I need to arrange that trip home. She has to meet my folks. Get grandfather's blessing.

I'm so happy I can't even think straight. Again. I've got to tell Imrhien 'Brina and I are getting married.

I wonder if we can both have her as maid of honor?

Sabrina spun the tunes, but who made Immi cry?

It's been a while since the folk who call Hale's Moon home have had a chance to have a party. Most of the time, people are too busy to think about it. They drop into Fook's pretty regularly for drinks or a bite, but the townsfolk usually don't have the time or inclination to stay there and be social.

Last night, we gave them a party. Or, rather, 'Brina did. Set up her portably music rig in Fook's and started feeding it into the bar's sound system. With Speaker off doing, well, whatever the hell it is he does when he's not on Hale's - probably Jade - Lilia set up behind the bar and got a wave out on the Cortex for anyone in the area to come on by and enjoy the impromptu show.

Fook's isn't Firefly's. Never will be. Much different atmosphere, and their claim to being the Friendliest Bar in the 'Verse is safe. They really are like the spirit of Cheers. Only with guns. Fook's caters to a different crowd. More bar and grill than bar and strip club, but it's the folk that make a place, and a lot of the folk that showed up to hear 'Brina's set were the same folk who make Firefly's what it is.

Even Nack turned up, and it's a rare sight to see him off Blackburne.

Was pretty pleased with the turnout. Brought in a little coin, and people seemed to have a lot of fun. Even Jin got out on the floor and Danced with Imrhien for a bit, and I danced with 'Brina like I always do. Even Lily got out on the floor to do a bit of dancing.

"Yes, Ben. My little sister is hot. Be nice to her."

Immi, dear Immi, spent a chunk of time trying on dresses to get our opinions for an upcoming date, and then changing frantically back into her usual clothes when Td showed up. I was pretty much ignoring them, dancing with 'Brina, when Td pulled out a ricepaper scroll with a couple staple holes in it and showed it to Immi before reading the Haiku on it aloud to the bar.

Precious perfect soul
If you ever make her cry
I will make you cry

Td figured it was someone warning him off Imrhien, while Nack figure it was more of a traditional warning than a note of disapproval. I just danced with 'Brina, not figuring it was my place to comment.

It was a fun night, though by the end, when 'Brina and I were getting ready to head off to the boat for bed (if not sleep), Td and Immi exchanged some words none of us were ken to. Few minutes later he took off, and not too long after Imrhien left Fook's in tears. I don't know what was said or done to cause it, and we couldn't do anything to try and make it better before she was gone. But it left me with one burning question.

Did you make her cry?

Is it residual gin, or just too much to process?

Note to self: Even with a biofilter implant, a body mass of 41 kilograms does not give a person much capacity for ethanol. Never mind that I don't drink and I've never had a taste for Gin. It's all in the delivery.

A bit of residual fuzziness from one of those Detox shots Speaker keeps on hand was probably contributing to the problem, bit I have so many things running through my head I can't seem to process it all. Sad for someone who spent time as an Intel officer. But then, most Intel officers never run into the marginally contained chaos that's living on Hale's Moon has turned out to be.

Not the chaos of battle you expect in a war zone. No. Hale's isn't like that. Between random Raiders, the occasional Reavers like yesterday, Loyalists like a couple days before, or those gorram weaponized mining machines I keep hoping won't show up here, it's more like one of those old machines that you dropped in a coin to make some kind of random prize drop out the hatch. Never quite know what you're going to get, but it probably won't be as nice as the little picture on the outside of the machine.

Add people into the mix, and it all just gets more chaotic. When some of those people aren't exactly Human?

Makes the mind boggle, it does.

I think life was simpler before. Not as rewarding, maybe, but not so complex. When you don't actually care about people, you don't have to feel their pain, or confusion, or any of the other emotions you can't shut out when you actually care.

I can't even assemble my thoughts clearly. The last day's been such a jumble. A couple Reavers setting down to stir up the townsfolk. Folk talking about Gallagher hurting Lily, and Lily not wanting me to act on it. That just added to the turmoil. There's days I want to end Gallagher, and Lily brings out my protective instincts to the same level as Imrhien and Sabrina, but she's asked me to let him keep breathing so I do.

Hell with it. I'll let Ginni handle the office for a while. I'm heading up to the nest to clear cob webs and get in some practice.

But Loyal to whom?

The old saying 'It never rains, but it pours' could so well apply to Hale's Moon. The fact that it really does never rain, even with the increased humidity after the rock falls and the reform, doesn't make it less appropriate. In the old saying of Earth that Was, it meant things didn't just happen a little bit. If they happened at all, it was probably going to be more than you wanted.

This was a good case of that. It'd been a while since the last raid, and I was starting to wonder when the next boot would drop. Sadly, I didn't have to wait long for that boot. The renegades from 4th Platoon, D Company, 1st Marine Raiders, decided to make their presence known once again.

Loyalists, they called themselves. Only, loyal to what?

Only wish I hadn't been down in the Spares Graveyard under the hangar when it happened. Digging for navtrak spares, to hook our old rig with the new amps the Colonel had donated, wasn't where I needed to be at that point in time.

In the past, their attacks seemed more or less aimed at causing chaos and terrorizing the townsfolk. This time was different. Hearing folk talk, and watching the security feeds (bastid's shot out two of the cameras), it seemed they were actually attacking with a purpose. They'd draw off the townsfolk from one area, then one or two guys from their unit would dash in, steal stuff, then bolt back into the desert. When one of them dropped, the others would try and draw fire so they could evac their own.

Completely different tactics than they'd used in the past. They were trying to cause chaos not just casualties. And out of the chaos, they were stealing our shit.

By the time I extricated myself from the parts bins, the shooting was over and 4D had made their escape back into the desert. Both sides had taken some casualties, but the worst on our side seemed to be the burst Imrhien took across her front. She insisted she was ok, but didn't argue too much when I sat her down and pulled the only round I could reach out of her ribs. Td, much as I still have some reservations about him, took Immi down to the Infirmary so Lily and Ash could finish what I started.

I think the hardest thing for me, personally, besides seeing the town shot up again, was that I couldn't tend both Sabrina and Imrhien at the same time. Fortunately, 'Brina hadn't taken much more than a graze. He pride was hurt more than her body, but that was something I could help with. Unfortunately, when we went to check on Immi a little while later, it seemed she'd taken some pretty serious hits to her pride too.

Deep down, I think I know what it was. Just not my place to say. Certainly not with folk like Td and General around. I had to resist the urge to the guys out and tell her it was all going to be ok. Getting shot, hate it or not, didn't make her weak. But all I could do was offer my ear if she wanted to talk, and watch as she bolted for her ride.

Hope 'Brina's up to a lot of cuddles.

Caitlin's dead

Hale's Moon doesn't even have a basic church, let alone a proper Buddhist Alter. Fortunately, an alter doesn't have to be very elaborate to serve its purpose and for me it had only one purpose.

Every year, on the anniversary of her death, I find a shrine and say prayers for Caitlin.

Hale's doesn't have one. So I made one for the occassion, setting the alter up by the fountain in the courtyard. It seemed an appropriate place, and one of the most peaceful spots in town. One advantage to being a mining colony is we had plenty of stone available and the equipment needed to work it into a simple alter.

The sense of loss, and the loneliness that followed Caitlin's death, had been a defining part of my life since the day they told me she'd been killed. A training mission. A simple training mission. A training range where there hadn't been any Independent activity in over two years, and still the Independents killed her in an ambush.

I didn't hate them for what happened. They were just the other side in a war, and a soldier does what they have to. Like me, they were soldiers doing a job. But it didn't make the loss any less. It didn't keep me from walling the rest of the 'Verse outside and becoming very, very, good at what I did.

And every year, I said prayers to her memory.

This year was different. I would never forget her. My first love. My first real loss. But now? Now I wasn't alone. The 'Verse wasn't walled off outside. I'd let the wall down and opened my heart. For the first time, my prayers weren't just to Caitlin's memory. Today I prayed to hope as well. Hope for the future. Sabrina. Imrhien. Lily. The whole 'Verse.

I knew I would repeat the ritual again next year. And prayed hope would be fulfilled.

The alter could stay. The candles would burn down. The inscriptions in the wax lost as they were every year. The alter could serve as a reminder to hope, not loss.

Words from the heart

I've never been good with words. Not really. I can be well spoken enough, I suppose. A good education, being groomed for an Executive position, and a stint in the military as an officer made sure I could speak eloquently. There were just some things I was never good at getting out. Like emotions.

It started as a normal enough night at Firefly's. As normal as any could be with the crew there. But I'd grown awful fond of the place, and 'Brina and Imhrien were both DJ's and Dancers there, so I had ulterior motives. Not really sure how to describe how it wound up though, with Immers making a batch of Dancer's Label Gin (not sure I want to describe how it's made, but it gave me reason to want to try some) and Owl showing up out of the blue.

That came as kind of a shock, as I hadn't spoken to her in four or five years. Not exactly the best of friends, but I had to admit I was happy to see she was still alive. I'd barely even thought of the bolixed Op that we'd wound up working together since I left the service. But here she was, on Blackburne, bringing me my knife back. I'd have to catch up with her later and find out what'd happened over the intervening years.

Like most nights at Firefly's, I spent most of it dancing with Sabrina. There's a world of comfort in her arms, but there were things I still needed to say. I think Imrhien was a little surprised when Sabrina and I came over and told her we needed to talk. 'Brina knew I had things to say, but not what.

Imrhien flew back with us to Hale's, talking with Sabrina back in the passenger compartment until after I set us down back on the pad. I thought by the time we got back I'd have my thoughts sorted out and be able to say what I needed to say and make it all come out right.

I almost did.

How do you tell the two women you love the most in the whole 'Verse how you feel about them? How do you explain to the woman you love, but can't have, that the pain you felt seeing her with someone else, the jealous, jealous pain, was good? That being able to feel the pain was worth it?

Imrhien told me it was never intentional, that she'd never meant to hurt me and I knew it was true. From the depths of my heart I knew it was true. She loved me too. Sabrina as well. Maybe not the desperate, unattainable love, that brought my heart back to life, but a love pure and true just the same.

And Sabrina. Oh dear gods, Sabrina. Even held between them, tears coming unchecked, I could barely find the words to express what I was feeling. Imrhien had shown me I was still alive. Could still love. And Sabrina. By dear sweet Sabrina. Giving me a reason to live. I could barely speak thorugh the tears. Emotions I'd kept locked away for so long. Tears of joy. Tears of relase. A weight lifting from my heart. I wanted that perfect moment to last for ever, tears and all. I knew it couldn't, but it would be etched in my mind in crystal clarity as long as I drew breath. The touch, the love, the comforting presense. of the two women I held most dear.

We talked together most of the night. Tears fading, the moment held.

You may never read these words in my diary. But I love you both. Imrhien, you showed me I could love. Sabrina, you showed me someone could love me back. Debts I can never repay. But as long as I draw breath, I will strive to be worthy of the gift you've given me. Strive to be worthy of your love.

Time now, to sleep.

Firestarter

When Lily told me someone had started breaking windows around town and then starting small fires, I got a little worried. Initially, I was worried that one of the local kids had gotten it into their head to raise a little trouble. But as the pattern started to emerge I started to suspect something a good deal more complex.

At first, Lily said it might be one of the kids in town, then half accused Lilia of being the culprit. That's when I figured my suspicions were right. And when Lily confessed a couple days later, I wasn't at all surprised. I'd seen it coming with all the talk of innocence and her not quite understanding about different kinds of innocence, it made sense.

People had been telling Lily the Menfolk were keeping their hands off her because she was too innocent. One of them even said touching her would make him feel too much like a Paedo, and I can understand that. Lily was so innocent at heart. Never mind the programming, or the purpose, or trying to send coords back to the Reavers. Her heart was innocent and pure. And that was the crux of the problem.

Lily was breaking windows and starting small fires because it was against the law. If you broke the law you were guilty. If you were guilty you weren't innocent. quod erat demonstrandum. Only she was confusing the guilt versus innocence of breaking the law with true innocence. Breaking a few windows to be guilty of something wouldn't change who she was inside, but I wasn't sure I could get that through to her.

Since she'd confessed to a crime, I had to punish her. Sort of. Knowing what was going on, as the nearest thing we had to a Justice of the Peace, I sentenced her to helping clean up after any of the fires or broken windows and grounded her for a week: much as I could actually ground my Deputy. It was all symbolic anyway. A way to let her feel that she was being punished for doing something bad. Completing the circle.

It's going to be a long road with Lily, but I think the whole gorram town's going to be behind her. Everyone I know, at least, is doing what they can to make her whole.

Stay with us, Mei Mei. I know it's hard, but we love you.

They came back

I was knew it was coming, since I'd gotten the wave requesting permission a couple days before. I just wish they'd given me more notice so I could have been there in some kind of official capacity when they arrived. Not that I can really complain, since I hadn't seen 'Brina dance before.

Details differed depending on who you asked, but it looked like Colonel Silvermane had made good on her promise and actually done something nice for us. She came down with Doc Lavochkin, two or three assistants (Mister Mathews said 'a whole goram platoon!' but he's like that) and crates of medical and communications supplies. No strings attached, so they tell me she said.

Hate to admit it, but we could use the supplies. I'd been hitting up the Yard's pharmacy for months to help keep us stocked, and it's nice to see the Alliance actually doing what they said the goram war was about in the first place: 'bringing civilization to the outer colonies.'

Not sure how it's all going to work out. Folks on Hale's Moon mostly despise the Alliance, even if they're being civil. Doctor Lavochkin's supposed to be staying with us for a while, and I hope the townsfolk can get past the uniform and see the Doc as a Doc. Didn't get to know her when she was here before, but the folks seemed to like her when they didn't know she was an Alliance medic. Don't see a reason they should change now.

That doesn't mean folks will always see reason. I'll have to make sure I get General and Lily to keep an eye out, and maybe ask Miss Jade and Uncle Sobi to watch out for her too. I don't trust the Alliance myself, even given my own history with them, but the Colonel stood by us when the Loyalists attacked and a qualified Doc's always a blessing. Especially one who's not apt to randomly go batshit insane, like Doc Gallagher.

Guess we'll just have to see how it all turns out.

I hate getting shot.

I know. Why'd anyone actually like getting shot? But for me it's especially galling, since most of the times I've taken a round out here on the Rim I've not even had a gun drawn. Three times on Hale's. Once on Blackburne. Gives a girl reason to pause, and then put a whole lot of faith in her armor.

I guess it serves me right though. Folk out here are probably thinking I'm more target than anything else. Still have a reputation for being hard as anyone out here, in spite of showing open affection for Imrhien and then going soft on 'Brina, it's just they don't see me fighting much since the Alliance backed off and I stopped sniping from the pad. Folk don't see me when I'm serious about killing. My targets usually don't either. At least before it's too late.

At least I was wearing armor this time.

Blackburne's got plenty of folk good with a sidearm or rifle. They normally don't need someone good at the kind of fighting I do, but this time I decided to go along anyway. Most of the folk on Hale's at the time saddled up and burned over on the short hop to Blackburne as well, so I was one of many answering the call. While everyone else was out trying to deal with another batch of those goram combat drones, I set up a first aid station in the bar.

Since the fighting was most of the way across town, I decided to take a peek outside and give Cholgosh a hand with triage. Haley, bless her fuzzy heart, stayed with me and was smart enough to not go running off. It seemed there were a fair number of the drones, heavily armed, but they weren't coming much into town. Looked like things were steady when I felt a completely unexpected impact against my ribs.

I hate getting shot.

Fortunately, the armor did its job and stopped the impact - Blessings upon whoever invented synthetic spun sapphire weave - but I don't have a lot of mass to absorb impacts and it knocked me down hard. I could vaguely perceive some of the others trying to help me out. Chol, Tillery, concern in Lily's voice, barely recognized through a fog of pain. Haley's mournful howl.

I was only down for a few minutes, and was able to make my way down into the bar where I could open up the armor and see how bad it was. Ultimately, the weave did it's job. I'd have a nasty bruise, and Cholgosh had some salve to take care of that, but not a lot more.

Unfortunately, I'm not real social when I'm hurting. Especially after getting shot reasonless. So I decided to take Haley back to Hale's and just kick back in the office. It would give the salve and the pain killers time to their job until 'Brina came home, and between her and Haley, the pain didn't seem so bad any more.

Still hate getting shot.

Magic boxes

It's been another long day, but I can't say I didn't see it coming. With commerce picking up making Hale's becoming more active as a cargo transfer point, and a surplus of supplies from the rebuilding, it was only a matter of time before someone out there decided that they wanted what we had, but didn't want to pay for it.

A bunch of folk were lounging around Fook's when I noticed the boat inbound. I hadn't even bothered to get out of my PJ's. Probably the only expanse of cloth on Hale's Moon brighter than those awful floral print shirts Uncle Sobi favored. A bunch of folks were in from some of the other colonies too, so we had quite a crowd when the boat set down.

I think I was the only one not packing, which wasn't a big deal considering how much heat we had. Sabrina'd just gotten back home from Blackburne toting that crazy Tesla rifle of hers, so our little slice of the 'verse was better equipped than usual.

Gallagher was the first one to talk to whoever got out of that boat. Some harsh words about taking things that didn't belong to other people. Didn't catch much of the exchange, as how I wasn't wearing anything more than pajamas.

Not surprising, harsh words turned to gunfire, and most of the folk in Fook's got into it with the two or three guys who'd gotten off the boat. I did what I could, dropping the blast doors (Krenshar, remind me to kiss you for installing those things when the Alliance was still making us miserable) and tending the wounded. Didn't have a lot of that, fortunately. Alison and Sabrina both took a couple rounds, and I patched them up as best I could. Gallagher's actually a real Doc, and the infirmary's well stocked, so we weren't hurting too bad.

When the shooting stopped, the raiders were gone. Still not sure how much they got, but it was mostly small man-carryable crates from the transfer pad. Though General says he saw one of them was over by the hangar on the security feed.

A few hours later, after we'd gotten things cleaned up and the townsfolk calmed down, Lily came by looking for the box I'd managed to recover from her hide out by the mines. She was a little confused on whether she wanted to open it or not, but she did and started showing us all the pictures she had in it. She called it her Love Box. Filled with all the things she loved. Pictures of a lot of folk in there, including a few even she didn't recognize or understand.

I'm not sure what the exact effects were on Lily from reviewing the images. She seemed to be remembering a lot, and it looked to my completely unqualified eye like the images were helping her anchor what really mattered out of the jumble of memories she was dealing with.

Lily was still working through everything, but at Firefly's later that night she was getting closer to her old self. Not all of the memories were back in place, or even complete, but I could feel deep in my heart that we were going to get her back. The sweet kinda crazy not-cat that we all knew and loved.

All in all, the day could have been a lot worse. The raid didn't help us any, but Lily making steps to recovering gives me a gladness. I just have to remember to change out of my PJ's if I plan to get any work done. Sabrina does like the shiny silk, but it's not exactly professional Mayoring garb.

I'm going to kill Gallagher...

Ok. Maybe not. But sitting out here on the rise overlooking the Mines, trying to remember where to find that little hiding spot Lily uses to hide stuff, I'm seriously considering it.

What the hell was he thinking when he just went ahead and put that goram collar on Lily without telling anyone he was going to do it? We needed time! Knowing Lily'd stashed away memories as some kind of backup didn't mean we were ready to run the recombination and try to recover her from them. We don't even know where they all are!

I'm hoping that I can find her stash out here. Assuming it is stashed out here. It's possible she's left us other clues scattered around. Knowing what I know now, I can't imagine the pictures she put up in her apartment were completely random. Gallagher mentioned Lily making some kind of picturechart that was supposed to be done around Yule holiday, and that fits right in with her taking pictures and trying to make a backup. Also, have to wonder, with her giving gifts to the folk she thought were important, if she maybe didn't hide something in them too. Might be worth a look.

But right now, I've got to see if I can't find that box Mindo was talking about.

Definitely going to need a bath when this is done too. Maybe Sabrina will be willing to wash my back.

Lily's home, and other things

I've come to the conclusion that things out here on the Rim happen in bursts. You can go days, or even weeks, without any excitement and then all of a sudden everything happens at once. While we're still getting sporadic reports of drone activity, we've managed to recover Lily.

Mindo, xoxo's brother, payed us a visit with more questions about Lily. I don't trust him. I don't even like him. But he was our best lead on getting her back and figuring out how to fix her if we could get her back alive. The thing that gave me a glimmer of hope was him talking about all the pictures Lily had taken, saying she was gathering momentoes of the people and places that mattered in her life. Whether Lily herself realized it or not, she'd given us the key to getting her back. The crazy adorable not-cat had given us a goram backup.

I didn't know how much the 'reset' mode on that collar would actually wipe out. Lily's brain was at least mostly organic, and brains aren't like computers. Neural pathways don't wipe clean. If we were lucky, we could use all those images and objects Lily'd gathered to restore her memory, and with it the Person she'd become.

I'd set General off to get some memories of our own to help Lily recover -Mostly just the security feed backups from town. Any of the images that had her and the townsfolk, so she could see how people cared for her here and how caring she acted with them - when General and I both got waves from Lily, coming out of some abandoned comms relay in the wastes.

General did the heavy lifting. I just flew the boat this time. He might be telling the story in Fook's some night, but that's for him to decide. All I cared about was we'd managed to recover Lily and that goram collar.

She's not fixed yet. Not hardly. But she's back. Lily's a little worse for wear maybe, but there's a fighting chance we're not going to lose her.

On a more personal note, I've found I'm falling in love with Sabrina. I don't know how or why, especially since the both of us had it something fierce for Imrhien, but it's happened. We started getting friendly at the Yule season holiday party at Fireflys, and it went from there. Friendly, to friends, to lovers - the girl knows how to raise my temperature - to love.

The other night Sabrina made our being a real item public at Firefly's. Gray's even said we make a cute couple. I'm glad he thinks so, 'cause Sabrina and I have been pretty near inseperable on Blackburne.

I haven't stopped loving Imrhien. I don't think either Sabrina or I have, but that doesn't really matter. I don't believe you need to stop loving someone in order to love someone else right along with them. Imrhien'll always have part of my heart, but Sabrina's warm and close and she makes the 'verse a lot less lonely.

The love in your heart grows to fill the need. It's something I'd forgotten a long time ago. And now? Now I find the emotions confusing, but welcome in ways I'd forgotten.

Just need to let Haley out for her morning romp and get back to bed before Sabrina wonders where I've gotten off to.

Who the hell is xOxO . . .

. . . and what does she know about our Lily?

Ok, that's not really right. I've met xOxO before. Back when I first came to Hale's she was around occasionally, but I never really talked to her. And now, coming back from the Wastes with Imrhien while Lily bolted off, nekkid, to try and find her Daddy? It's got me wondering who she is, and why she knows so goram much about my Deputy.

General was sitting around the office talking with me the other morning, as he's been doing off and on of late, when xOxO showed up and said Hi. She asked a lot of questions about things that had been going on the last few months. No real surprise considering how long she'd been off the grid. General and I filled her in on most of the mundane goings on, and some of the more major events that'd happend to the folk that call Hale's Moon home. A lot had happened over the last few months.

As we got to talking, the subject of Lily came up and that's when things god painful. xOxO seemed to be figuring Lily was probably dead, or taken by slavers out in the Wastes. Both possibilities got my temperature up. But what threw me was the revelation that xOxO's brother, Mindo, was on the Blue Sun genetic engineering team that put her together. She seemed real surprised to find out just how Human General and I thought she was. How whole a person Lily'd become. xOxO seemed downright shocked to learn that Lily showed signs of caring for folk, and how much she'd come to mean to the town.

Don't know how or why she knew, but xOxO said Lily only had a six month span before she'd need the collar - some kind of biomedical device that would stabilize her hormones. Speaker cooked up something that stabilized her for a spell, but said himself it wouldn't be permanent - or go crazy with some kind of mating frenzy that's ultimately be her undoing. Don't know how much of it was even true. Only thing I knew was xoxo seemed to know a lot about our Lily, didn't think she was in a good place, and wasn't in a position to go looking for her.

Neither General or I were especially happy about what xoxo said. Couldn't hold it against her, really, though the paranoid retired black ops side of me kept thinking it might be some kind of elaborate trap to goad us into searching for Lily. Whether it was or not, that was what we were going to do.

We wouldn't have a lot of time or resources to devote. Certainly not enough for a proper search, but General had decent ground tracking skills and I had usable sensor and EW pods I could mount on Wave Equation. If the tracks were still fresh enough where Lily took off, General might be able to follow her. Otherwise, we could hope her signature was unique enough, even in the Wastes, that the sensor pod could get a fix.

Alive or dead, I was tired of not knowing.

Complications in dynamic organic systems

When I retired, decided to check out a boat, and went to the Rim, I thought I knew why I'd done it. I thought I was running: leaving behind events that were still painful, but not falling into the life laid out for me. Wouldn't have been a bad life. It just wasn't a life I was ready for.

I didn't realize it at the time, but part of the reason I came out to the Rim was to avoid the complications of life back home. Frontier life itself was rougher than life back on the core worlds, a good deal riskier, not always pleasant, but ultimately a whole lot simpler. At least until you factor in the People that get mixed up in the equation.

When I came out to Hale's Moon, it was just a place on the chart Speaker said had a decent bar. A spot where I could set down the boat, pick up some fuel, cycle the atmo, grab a bite and then get back into the Black. I never for the life of me thought that I'd wind up calling the place home.

I never figured they'd elect me, of all people, Mayor. That I'd find folks I'd be willing to lay down my life for. People to care for. People to call family, whether they're blood kin or not - or even Organic, or alone Human. I never thought I'd find someone to love, and someone to make the Black less lonely.

Never thought it could get so complicated.

It's all shiny though. Well. Maybe not so shiny. LilyBell is still out in the wastes somewhere, and Imrhien went back out to get Sabrina another one of those damn combat drones. Hale's is still rebuilding, and there's a darkness coming I'm going to do my damndest to hold back. At least I won't be doing it alone.

Life's gotten more complicated over the last few days, but it's also gotten less lonesome.

Memories

Something about real time stress makes a person long for times when things weren't quite so stressful. The last few months leading up to End Year hadn't been easy, not that living on Hale's Moon, out on the frontier, was supposed to be easy. But add to living on the Rim all the tsway-niou the Alliance was dumping on us, and it just loads it up to fill the brief time between laying down and falling asleep with wistful excursions into my own past.

I remember it like it was yesterday.

The reasons behind the celebration didn't matter much to a 9 year old girl. Something about the Alliance taking delivery of a new KHI built capital ship. What mattered was that someone in the Alliance Ground Forces thought they would try and impress KHI's leader, Ernst Kawanishi, by adding a demonstration of the hand to hand training their elite Special Operations unit received. Martial arts traditions passed down from Earth that Was had been a part of the Kawanishi clan heritage from before the Exodus and Ernst, current clan Patriarch, was the master of those traditions.

None of that mattered to the little girl sitting beside her beloved grandfather on those grounds. The presentation was in his honor and I was there with him, basking in the reflected glory of a man I considered a minor deity.

I payed nearly as much attention to Grandfather as I did to the presentation: reading his assessment of the soldier's performance in his stoic gaze. I had studied the art under that gaze as long as I could remember and Grandfather did not appear overly impressed. He was polite, of course. He was always polite. But he was not impressed. Finally, after one of the more elaborate demonstrations, one of the soldiers - a lieutenant, though the rank meant nothing to me - approached Grandfather, giving him a barely adequate bow, and asked what he thought of the skills his team had displayed.

I was aghast. The soldier's tone, his stance, his expression, all showed arrogance and a lack of respect. Yet Grandfather only looked back at the man quietly for a moment before responding in a cool, controlled, voice. "Your soldiers are well trained for their role, but limited in their art." I looked between them as the Lieutenant took this implied criticism poorly, muttering something under his breath in Russian before giving Grandfather another barely respectful bow.

"Grandfather?!" I said softly, controlled anger obvious in my voice.

He looked down to me where I sat next to him, his own feelings well concealed on his face, but softening as he addressed me. "Yes, Mei Mei?"

I lowered my voice as much as I could, feeling several eyes upon me as I looked up, barely containing my feelings. "Grandfather, he disrespects you."

He smiled faintly, the barest uptick at the corner of his mouth. "Do you wish to challenge, Mei Mei?"

I looked between my Grandfather and the soldier, twice my height and at least four times my mass, and nodded fiercely. This soldier had besmirched my grandfather's honor, and that of my whole clan with it. Now, I'd have called my reaction cliche and immature, but at that moment every fiber of my being screamed out to defend my grandfather's honor.

Grandfather looked up at the soldier with a faint smile. "My granddaughter challenges you, Lieutenant. Do you accept?"

The man managed not to laugh, but his look was condescending, deciding to humor me. "Yes sir. I'll take her challenge."

I stood, giving Grandfather a deep bow before stripping off my shoes and some extraneous clothes and stepping onto the large mat to face the arrogant lieutenant. He gave me the same barely respectful bow he'd given Grandfather and dropped into a half serious ready stance, obviously not considering me a threat. I had been watching him during the demonstration, gaging his center of mass, his agility, speed, strength. I had already weighed my options by the time I returned a shallow but respectful bow, more respectful than he deserved, and settled into my own ready position.

"Begin" Grandfather said softly and I paused, dropping slightly to compact myself, ready to spring. I could tell by his stance the Lieutenant was expecting me to attack straight away. Even at that young age I could read his expression, his stance, and predict what he was going to do. It flashed though my mind that he might be better than I was giving him credit for. That my barely confined rage had made me underestimate this man. Or was Grandfather staging this as an elaborate lesson?

None of that mattered. In my heart, I knew my cause was just and only that mattered. I was fighting for love and honor and would bring every lesson I'd learned to bare. Without further warning, I let the coiled energy unleash and launched myself across the mat at my opponent.

He was caught off guard by the acrobatic leap as I dove into a roll to quickly close the distance. It was a flashy move, but had the intended effect. He paused in a moment's surprise, turning to face me as I rolled past and lashed a kick into the back of his leg, just above the knee, with all my strength.

The impact felt like kicking a tree stump. His legs were muscled like iron, but it was enough, barely, to buckle his knee. As he started to turn to recover I quickly rolled to his blind side and lashed a kick into his opposite ankle. He was much, much, larger and stronger than I was, but I was faster and more agile.

I was moving again before he hit the mat, springing back to my feet with an agility he couldn't physically match. I could see from his reaction that he knew he'd underestimated me, but it was already too late. Without giving him time to fully recover I attacked again, unleashing several swift kicks before he was able to reposition himself and roll back to his feet.

He settled back into a ready stance, this time well balanced and conservative, reassessing me. I knew this time I wouldn't have it so easy, but I was ready just the same. This time he started, launching into a series of strikes, a mix of punches and sweeping kicks. With his huge advantage in mass and strength I couldn't effectively block so I kept moving quickly, dodging or deflecting his powerful blows and mixing in ripostes of my own. I didn't really want to cripple this man, but given our relative strengths it was the one of the few options I had. But not the only one.

After exchanging several rounds of strikes and counter strikes, I moved in close. Inside his effective striking range, I could more easily dodge and eventually grapple, relying on speed and agility to get a solid grip on his left thumb. It was a devious hold. A full arm bar he'd have been able to simply over power me. But take the joint, and the arm would follow. At least with anyone who wasn't willing to sacrifice their own limb. As he tried to twist the thumb free, I used his weight and my body as a fulcrum to lever him over onto the mat, one knee on his back the other on the ground.

"Yield." It came out as more of an order than a question. He spent a moment trying to break my grip, but I twisted his thumb a bit more and better sense overcame him and the Lieutenant patted out before I dislocated the thumb.

With his surrender I immediately released him, quickly rising to my feet and offering him a hand. To my surprise he smiled and let me help him up before bowing to me respectfully. "You're much better than I'd believed, Miss Kawanishi. My apology. You've been taught well." His tone was far more respectful than before, and he turned to grandfather giving him a proper bow before returning to his place by the side.

Returning to Grandfather's side as the Special Ops unit prepared for their next demonstration, he looked at me with a pleased smile. "You make me proud, Mei Mei."

I just smiled outwardly, my voice soft "Thank you, Grandfather." But inside I was trying to resist the feeling of pride that was welling up inside me. The anger I'd felt before was gone, replaced by a sense of accomplishment. I'd challenged to defend the honor of Elder, Guro, and Clan and won against a worthy opponent. The only way I could feel better was if Grandfather took me out for ice cream after the demonstration.

He did. Chocolate. With sprinkles.

Home, if only briefly

So much to tell. So little time to get it into this diary. As I write this, Wave Equation is tearing through the Black on a maximum burn short time vector from the KHI shipyard over Ariel back to Hale's Moon. General's curled up on the couch with Haley, and Imrhien's asleep back in the living quarters.

So much has happened in the last few days, I'm not even sure how to process it all. Spending the annual 'Last Day' celebration at Firefly's on Blackburne was a roller coaster. A chance to dress up. A chance to spend a long, long, yet not long enough, never long enough, time dancing with Imrhien. Another long dance with Sabrina - the only woman I've danced with in a long time who I don't have to look up to see into her eyes. Watching Immi get a little too drunk, and Td hitting on her something fierce. And then, finally, a long trip back to Hale's Moon, alone, in the Black. Though, I admit, Haley seemed pretty enthusiastic to sleep on the bed when I got back.

Just didn't know Beagles snored.

Hard to believe that barely a day later Lily and Imrhien took off into the wastes for something: some kind of mission of Lily's I only knew the scantest pieces of. But Imrhien came back, injured, with xOxO in tow, and Lily still in the wastes looking for the 'cured' Reaver she calls 'Daddy.' I would be lieing if I said I wasn't worried for her. I love Lily. Not in the same 'tragic doomed romance' way I love Imrhien, but I still love her. Losing her would be like losing a sister and not something I want to contemplate.

So many revelations to digest. The truth about Immi being registered as a Companion. A band of watchers, like some mythical guardians from an Earth that Was fairy tale - though very real. A deeper relationship between her and Td than I suspected. The depths of Sabrina's natural skill. But worst - Experimental Alliance weapons systems turned loose on civilian populations and the terrible, gut wrenching, thought that, somehow, my own Kin were responsible for that weapon.

The machines that attacked Imrhien and xoxo on the way back from the wastes were some kind of combat drone. Small, but dangerous. Not entirely unlike the ones that used to plague the area out by the mines on Hale's, and evidently part of the weapon system that had supposedly attacked more than one Independent-friendly outpost. As Imrhien told us, gathered in Firefly's, about the machines and the self replicating mining machines they were based on, my heart sank.

I remembered a project, not long after the war, launched by one of my Uncle's at KHI's Research and Development lab to design and build exactly that. Self replicating mining machines. Drop a mother bot on a black rock and it would build a swarm of smaller mining drones. The drones would go out and start mining, bringing their finds back to mother who'd process then and eventually build another mother who'd move off somewhere and start the process again. The mother bots were programmed to set aside a good portion of the mined resources, then call back to someone to come pick it up. The whole idea was to help the rim worlds rebuild without having to risk people in mining operations on dangerous worlds. Just the kind of idealistic, mostly crazy, project Uncle Elsoph was known for. But also something he'd be able to make work given the resources.

It wasn't safe to wave Uncle with the kind of questions I had, so we mounted up - myself, Imrhien (I still need time to finish bandaging her wounds), General, and Haley - and burned full speed back to the yard. En route, I finished tending Immi's wounds and let her take a bath. She was bringing out a side of me I didn't know I had, but that was another matter.

Fortunately, we managed to avoid dealing with a lot of people. I'd been coming to the yard since I was little, and people still treated me as "The old man's favorite granddaughter." With my friends, it was almost embarrassing. They knew me as a friend. A small town Mayor on a frontier colony. They didn't know me as the daughter of an Industrial Giant, but I couldn't worry about impressions. Asking Uncle Elsoph directly about the old mining drone project was why we were here. That, and to give Imrhien the opportunity to get some real medical attention from the only doctor in the 'verse I trusted completely.

Uncle Elsoph confirmed my worst fears. He had designed the mining machines and gotten them to work. Actual, working, von Neumann machines. But other than the first prototypes, and a generation of 'daughters,' the project had been long abandoned. Explaining the project, the mining machines weren't even actually armed. At least not specifically. There was a lot of gear on a mining drone that was lethal to get in front of, but they were never designed for combat and were specifically designed to avoid injuring any Humans who happened to be around while they worked.

Elsoph also managed to dig out some records indicating the Alliance Bureau of Frontier Development had paid for most of the research, and then outright purchased the prototypes and the engineering data on them. What he hadn't known, because it was a deeply classified secret, was that there were several Black Ops development units hidden within the BFD bureaucracy, including at least one specializing in exotic weapons.

We were humped. Perhaps we were all humped. If someone had weaponized the von Neumann technology, things were going to get very scary out on the Rim.

Hell with it. There's nothing any of us can do about it now. I'm going to go in back and snuggle with Immers until she wakes up.