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.