03/02/01

"And the wind shall say, Here were decent, godless people
their only monument the asphalt road
and a thousand lost golf balls."-- T.S. Eliot

116-1121.

Up at Eagles' Nest. The consensus is to go back to the ship, at least to start. Everyone would rather just go away, but now that Mitchell has made a deal with the Ephor, that's not really an option. Thanks to the grav-vehicle the staff moved up, it's a matter of packing up (not much), and a fairly quick trip down. Trevor is skilled enough in the operation of grav-vehicles to evade, but he thinks "everyone who's after us has already found us". He drives any way.

The ship is found, eventually. It's a big flipping docking area, but the ship is there, and intact. Now Mitchell has a deck on which to pace. He goes up to the bridge, locks himself in, sits down, and at least pretends he's in charge of his life. Dr. Neil orders a few things, and feels that he'll be fine there. He can stay on the ship and keep a low profile quite happily. Trevor and Malcolm decide to go out shopping for more local clothing than they have. Gabrielle has conservative, sensible, stylish things (thanks to Dr. Neil), and a few sundresses. The really local thing is jeans, vests with no shirts (for the men), BDUs, that sort of thing.

Mitchell emerges from the bridge to ask Dr. Neil if he can charge some clothing purchases to the ship, as he has no money, and few clothes. Dr. Neil: "Oh of course. Whatever you need. Within reason, of course." Dr. Neil has to go to the airlock to sign for a few things, like a Queen Anne writing desk. Just the necessities.

Mitchell asks Megan to join him on the bridge. He wants to preprogram an escape jump. Megan explains that they can only do the barest beginnings of the plot, as it depends not only on where you're going, but also exactly from where you're starting. It's another one of those security issues for Mitchell, so they do as much as they can.

The group purchases clothing. Nothing unusual. Oh, and there are gunshops everywhere here. You can buy pretty much anything you can pay for - nothing is illegal except for poison gas. An interesting mix of TL E, and very low tech traditional stuff. Amazingly enough, many of the weapons are being sold to people leaving Sequoyah. What they do with it is their problem.

The town that Running Dog is known to frequent is Abilene. He's a local figure there. Abilene is about 800 clicks away from DownPort, and with 50,000 residents, it's considered very small compared to the actual cities, which are huge arcologies (with lots of green spaces). Sequoyah has a lot of blending of the very high tech industrial with low tech nature. Much of the urban area is very park like, only the locals shoot the squirrels. Mind you, the squirrels here are no pushovers either.

Dr. Neil is all settled in. Gabrielle: "Now what?" Malcolm: "Do we want to go to Abilene and check things out?" Trevor: "That would be a good idea. Dr. Neil can stay here." Malcolm: "With Megan." Dr. Neil: "Oh, you want me to baby-sit?" Megan can come along with the group, but Trevor points out that "if we need to make a call from Abilene for some one to come pull out the jail bars with the ship and rescue us, there better be a pilot in the ship." Point taken. Megan will remain on board the ship in case the party falls into the clutches of the bad guys. This makes Dr. Neil the good guy?

Mitchell: "Now where are we going, and why?" Trevor: "To Abilene, because it's the nearest city to Running Dog's place." Malcolm: "And do we want to go as a group?" Trevor: "Well she <Gabrielle> and I should go together at least, to provide a background connection if I'm going to take offense." Malcolm: "Especially for a 'fair' fight." The quotes around "fair" are audible. Trevor: "What do you mean 'fair' fight? I'm not setting him up for you to snipe him from the hillside. Do you know what happened the last fight I was in? The guy beat the crap out of me, and then took me to the hospital." Besides, it's not like this would be the first duel for Running Dog, and there's no guarantee he won't be the winner!

Running Dog will be making a speech at the discussion of the trade treaty when it comes up for a vote in about a week. The big issue is more centralized control and regulation of trade in the area. And expansion of SolSec's powers, to help fend off the Imperial threat. Ah. Well, that would certainly help explain the Ephor's time concern.

Malcolm looks up the game in season around Abilene, and it's quite varied. Among other things, he could go hunting for b'ar. Like that big, multi-legged polar bear-like creature up in Eagles' Nest. Off to Abilene on the underground mag-lev train. Many people, very interesting conversations. Passengers reading local papers that have large, screaming, tabloid-sized headlines. And people playing a number of games of chance. Malcolm and Mitchell look up local regulations about hunting and fishing, but there isn't much in the way of actual laws, more tradition and sportsmanship. Break a law and you might be fined; break with traditions of sportsmanship and the locals might just shoot your ass. Mitchell gets a hard copy of the local traditions about fishing, maps that show which areas are public lands, versus private, and info on where to purchase fishing equipment in Abilene. The trip takes about three quarters of an hour. There are other tourists on board the train, mostly with guns (they fuss with their guns a lot and look at their reflections - and they say Howdy a lot.). One thing about Sequoyah, there is more personal space here.

In spite of the annoyingly friendly tourists, the group manages to stay out of trouble. Beautiful sunny day in Abilene; blue sky, and about 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Abilene is nearer the equator, in a valley, and only 100 feet above sea level. Thank God for the acclimation pills. Inside the town the climate is controlled, and a lot of it is below ground, which is better for the environment, and preserves the Adobe style look above ground. Passengers have to walk out in the open heat to get to town - part of the ambiance. Mitchell notices something that warms his heart - a beautiful green golf course. Yes! There are several golf courses in the area. Mitchell heads straight for the nearest pro shop to rent some clubs. Malcolm: "Oh no, the evil Scottish game has claimed another victim!" Trevor: "He was like that before he met us."

There are hotels and outfitters right near the train station. Trevor: "We'll need to get rooms." Malcolm: "We're down to one female now." Gabrielle: "I suggest a hotel further away from the station." Rooms are acquired, and Trevor hits the terminal to look up Running Dog in the local listings. The Bar S ranch is about 60 k away from town, and there are several pictures of Running Dog in a particular saloon - Rosa's Cantina. He's knocking back Tequila with limes. Seems Tequila is a local product, and there are pictures of the Agave plants. Trevor: "So does the Navy still do a lot of drinking? We may need bio-engineered livers." Mitchell is off to play a round of golf while the others take siestas.

Mitchell has a good time on the course, but he realizes too late that he forgot something. Sunblock. Ouch! His tender, pale Navy skin requires medication (which is readily available, even though it's accompanied by the "stupid off-worlder" snickers). He returns more relaxed, if not as well-rested as the others. Mitchell has been given Melanin pills and other medications to make his life easier. Trevor: <looking at Mitchell> "They said that the sunsets were spectacular here, but I didn't think they came indoors!" Very funny. If anyone gets cold, they can warm themselves near Mitchell. Trevor: "We should go to Rosa's and at least hang out. We don't have a lot of time." He asks at the front desk about the saloon. Clerk: "Are you sure you want to go there?" Trevor: "Why?" Clerk: "It's more for locals. It's a bit on the rough side. What planet are you from?" Trevor: "Jaeger. Law level 5." He'll probably be all right. Trevor returns to the group to update them. Trevor: "This is a rough bar we're going to." Mitchell: "Yeah, yeah." Trevor: "Well, you already don't look like one of the locals with your burn." Actually, Mitchell is browning really well with the Melanin pills - apparently his body loves Melanin, having none of its own. By the time the group gets to Rosa's, Mitchell's got a real Mediterranean look going.

Rosa's lives up to its rep. Loud, raucous music, and the sound of breaking glass and furniture being hurled through the air. In fact, a man comes flying out through the swinging doors as the party arrives. He gets up, shakes his head and leaves. The group goes in as people are replacing chairs and sitting down in one section. There's a huge wooden bar, and a well-muscled, mostly bald bartender with a magnificent mustache - enough for several men. It's a very old-fashioned sort of frontier bar. Bottles behind the bar, big mirror, lots of wood everywhere, heavy tables, huge metal barrels full of ice and bottled beer.

The party approaches the bar to start with. A local man walks up at the same time, asking for a "Shot o' Rye." He tosses a few coins onto the bar. Trevor: <to Gabrielle> "What would the lady like?" She looks at the bar - doesn't look good. Bartender: "What can I get you?" Trevor: "Beer." Bartender: "Local or import?" Trevor points at the barrels, and he ends up with a long neck bottle of "Old Horny Toad" beer. It's cold, and has a touch of chili to give it a bite. Some one sidles up to Gabrielle at the bar. "Hey, can I buy you a drink?" It's a large gentleman, about 6', long hair, braided. Sort of resembles Running Dog, but it's not him. Gabrielle: "Something cold." Bartender: "How about a white wine spritzer?" Gabrielle: "That would be fine, thank you." The bartender has to reach way under the bar, but he does produce the promised beverage. Malcolm gets a "Horny Toad" and a shot of Tequila. Mitchell gets a bottle of "Rattlesnake" beer - no chili. Man: "So you're new in town, huh?" Gabrielle: "Yes." Trevor invites him to join the party at a table, which he does. Trevor: "So do you live around here?" Man: "Near by. Name's Running Dog. Bob Running Dog." Ah. That would be Ben's brother Bob. Bob: "You must be tourist - visitors. Sorry, no offense." Trevor: "No problem." Bob: "You picked an interesting place to come to tonight." In fact there's a friendly fight going on right now. Political discussion among friends. Bob: "What brings you to Abilene?" Malcolm: "There are no big, glass enclosed buildings." Bob: "That's quite an accent. Where are you from?" Malcolm: "Regina." Bob: "Don't know it." Malcolm: "It's near Jenghe." Bob: "Oh, Jenghe Rescue. Do you know....?" Malcolm: "If I knew her, would I be here?" Bob: "So what brings you all the way out here?" Malcolm: "Looking for some hunting. What do you have around here?" Bob: "Quite a bit. Deer, buffalo, depends on what you're after. Even b'ar." Mitchell asks about the fishing, and he and Bob get into a fly fishing conversation. Bob: "The fishing isn't great down here, you have to get up into the mountains, and into the colder water. Well look, you're going to be around for a while, why don't you come up to my place tomorrow and I'll fix you up!" Mitchell: "Great. Can my friends come along?" Bob: "Sure thing. I'll take you up to one of the holes myself." Trevor: "What's the name of your place?" Bob: "The Double X." He gives the general direction, and it's apparently next door (relatively speaking) to his brother's spread.

Trevor asks Bob about the "b'ar" hunting. Trevor: "Just how big do they get?" Bob: "Kind of medium sized. You don't get the big ones down here. Maybe a 20 footer." Trevor: "Are you sure you're not talking about a truck?" Malcolm: "What do you use to hunt b'ar?" Bob: "Oh I don't any more, not since my accident, but I used to use .510 double rifle." Trevor: "What does your brother use?" Bob: "Oh he favors an old .750 falling block."

The locals are certainly not shy about expressing their opinions, especially in Rosa's. There's a discussion by a very drunken man about tariffs, and he challenges the party members with "Am I right or am I right?" Everyone agrees, to calm him down, then an opposing drunk with a more Marxist opinion takes exception to this and staggers over. He splashes Trevor with Horny Toad, which really stings when it gets in his eyes. Trevor stands up. The first drunk steps back and says "Oh, you've done it now, Billy. He's gonna whip your ass." Billy: "The person who can asswhip me hasn't been born yet. You better sit down, son, I wouldn't want to mess up those pretty features. Besides, I don't pick on kids." Trevor hits him in the hip, and Billy goes down. Local: "Hey, them tourists are beating up on ol' Billy!" The one leading the local contingent has a pool cue in one hand, and is flashing a gold tooth - apparently his names Chester. Chester: "That true? You picking on old Billy?" Trevor: <nodding to the party> "They're not in the fight, I'm in the fight!" Now they've done it - Trevor's gone off. Trevor gets in a nasty shin rake, then Chester hits Trevor in the torso (but not with the cue, since Trevor's unarmed; Chester was holding the cue because he was playing pool), sending him back against a chair. Mitchell catches some one swinging at him from the corner of his eye and swings the half full bottle of Rattlesnake. Right up the side of the head. Doesn't take him down though. Oh, this is going to hurt. The man hits Mitchell right in the nose.

Trevor continues to trade blows with Chester. Good thing Trevor has been hanging out with the guys from the Hephaestus Club. Chester: "Good one." Then Chester hits Trevor in the nose with a quick jab. Trevor really must remember to get the cartilage in his nose replaced with MemoryPlast. A lean and leathery looking person looks at Malcolm, smiles and waves him to him in the "Let's go" motion. Mitchell is still trying to beat his opponent with the beer bottle, and doing not too badly - must be all those Navy bar fights. Mitchell gets in a good blow to the back, staggering the man back (he's too drunk to feel the pain). Malcolm stands and steps into the fray. The lean man is fast, and Malcolm gets one in the nose too (not a very solid blow though). Malcolm responds with a blow to the center of mass.

Back to Chester and Trevor. Trevor has been practicing his blocking, and gets Chester in the elbow as he swings. Chester misses. Mitchell on the other hand, leads with his face and gets hit in the mouth. Mitchell hits back, to the hip. Malcolm hits in the lean man in the knee, trying to slow him down. The man stumbles into Bob, spilling his beer. The lean man gets the oh-oh look on his face as Bob slowly rises from the table, but he throws a couple of punches at Bob before Bob punches him real hard in the forehead. Thump. Bob goes to the bar to get ice for his hand.

Chester doesn't respond to Trevor's offer of a beer, and trips on the unconscious man as he backs up. Trevor goes to the bar for a bucket of beer and ice. On the other hand, Mitchell's new friend hits him in the eye as Trevor returns to the table. Trevor: "I'm gonna sit down there, now don't you go spillin' my beer." Mitchell has had enough, apparently, and whacks the man in the bollocks, very hard, with the beer bottle. That fight's over. Several people in the bar give Mitchell dirty looks. Trevor shares his ice with the unhappy man on the floor. Mitchell buys him a beer and sets it near him. Trevor tries the Old Skunk Whiz beer in the bucket, and it's really good.

Trevor: "Good stuff. You guys really know your beer." Bob: "Damn straight." Mitchell: "Does anyone know the way back to the hotel?" Gabrielle: "Yes." Bob: "You look like you need a drink." Mitchell: "No, I need to go to my hotel." Bob: "Trust me. You need a drink." Bob sends for a bottle of Old #7, which is poured into water glasses. Mitchell: <hopefully> "This will kill me, right?" Bob: "Only if you're heart isn't pure." Mitchell: "I'm done for." Trevor takes a drink and it is sooo incredibly smooth... But it does have a kick to it. They'll be carrying Mitchell back to the hotel, before the Old #7 takes out both Mitchell and Malcolm. Gabrielle on the other hand has only had two wine spritzers and didn't get into any fistfights. Must be a testosterone thing.

The party staggers (mostly) back to their hotel. Clerk: "Did you have a good night?" Trevor: "Absolutely." Upstairs to the rooms. There's a knock on everyone's door a few minutes after they go in - it's a staff member with a high tech hangover cure. And ice can be sent for via the tube. Mitchell is offered a doctor, which he accepts. The doctor arrives, looks at Mitchell, and promptly hits him with an auto-injector. Instantly, the effects of the alcohol are gone. Evil doctor! He lectures Mitchell and then treats him. Very, very evil doctor! By the time the doc leaves, it's about midnight. That means Mitchell and Malcolm will get about three and a half hours sleep before going to see Bob.

117-1121.

Nice try boys. They wake up at about 10 in the morning with no hangover. The automated wake up calls have left quite a few messages, but to no avail. On the other hand, Mitchell doesn't have to worry about sunburn any more! Malcolm has woken up around the same time, and goes to Mitchell's room. Malcolm: <startled> "Did you always have the desire to play the lead in Othello?" Mitchell: "You know, I'm sure Capeletti can find another token Imperial to run the bar. We're late. Let's go." They pack up and take off.

Gabrielle gets up at about 8 in the morning and goes downstairs for breakfast. She figures Mitchell and Malcolm have gone fishing, and she's not going to wake Trevor up early. Trevor wakes up eventually, and is more sore than anything else - nothing broken. Trevor goes back to Rosa's later, and asks about b'ar hunting since Bob had mentioned his brother going on a hunt. Much b'ar hunting knowledge is traded, along with claims of being great b'ar hunting guides, since Trevor expresses an interest. Of course the response to claims of guiding prowess is "Oh yeah? What about the time..." This goes back and forth for some time, escalating up to "And what about the time your sister had to come pull you out of the ditch in her pink jeep?" Trevor leaves before the fight erupts.

Mitchell and Malcolm eventually arrive at a small farm, sending feathered creatures scurrying. Bob is on the front porch whittlin' and spittin'. On the far side of the valley is another house. Benjamin's? Mitchell: "Good afternoon." Bob: "You boys have a little trouble wakin' up this morning?" Mitchell & Malcolm: "Oh yeah." Bob: "Bit late for fishing. C'mon in the house and I'll fix you something." They go inside and Bob breaks out the enamel mugs and the real enamel jugs. Scrumble? Home brew, probably. Mitchell: "Great view." Bob: "God's own country." Mitchell: "Who's house is that over there?" Bob: "My brother's." Mitchell: "Your brother?" Bob: "Ben. I was going to fix myself some lunch, you boys hungry?" Oh yeah. Malcolm: "Is there a Mrs. Running Dog?" Bob: "There was. Didn't work out." Malcolm: "I understand." A hot, manly meal is fixed, as well as coffee. Mitchell loves the coffee. There are some paintings on the wall - amateurish, but not bad; mostly landscapes. After lunch it's a trip to the fishing shed out back to drool over Bob's fishing gear, and some practice casting for the extremely rusty Mitchell. Bob isn't very talkative, but he's helpful. Mitchell: "So what does your brother do?" Bob: "Whatever he wants. He's retired. Man doesn't need much more than a strong back out here, the land provides all you'd need." Bob does have a Sub-Zero refrigerator, but no tri-dee, and the book reader is an older model. There are some carvings around the place too; sort of totem-like in style. Bears, bunny rabbits, squirrels. Bob: "Well. Getting somewhat late. If you're going to head back to town, you'd better get going. You can bunk here if you like, but I wouldn't want you out driving these roads in the dark." It's decided that Mitchell and Malcolm will return to town, since Bob doesn't have a phone and Trevor and Gabrielle are expecting them back.

At the first opportunity on the road back to Abilene, Mitchell calls the ship to check on things. Megan: "Hang on a second sir, I'm having a problem with my monitor, it's a little dark." Mitchell: "No it's not." Megan: "No, really sir. It's too dark." Mitchell: "No, it's sunburn treatment." Megan: "Oh." Mitchell: "Is everything okay there?" Megan: "Yes....Everything's all right. Dr. Neil pretty much stays in his room and listens to music, but I'm going to have to get out of here or I'll gain 20 pounds." Dr. Neil has been cooking. Mitchell: "I didn't intend to lock you up in the ship - go ahead and go out for a while, just remember to take a commo unit with you."

While the boys are off being boys, Gabrielle goes shopping. Lots of places to see. Several of the local magazines have Queen Marie on the covers; Gabrielle decides to skip the newsstands for now. She ends up away from the touristy shops, in the more Bohemian shopping areas. It's very nice until she feels a sting on her hip. Turning, she sees several people walking back and forth in the hall, but no one nearby before the lights go out.

Gabrielle wakes up, in the same area of town, maybe 20 metres from where she fell. It's getting dark out, so maybe she crawled the distance in the 5 hours she's missing. She checks her belongings and oddly enough, nothing's missing. What the ? She feels a bit woozy when she stands up, but that passes quickly, and she is able to get back to her hotel room without any trouble. Once in her room Gabrielle decides to take a shower to freshen up. There isn't any sort of mark at all where she felt the sting, and she's not sure about it now. She has a couple of spots that feel a bit 'tacky' - on her eyelid, her chest, a couple of other places. Almost like athletic tape residue. She must have fallen in something sticky when she fainted, or got something on her hands. (Okay, so denial is not just a river on Terra.) She leaves messages for the others that she's gone upstairs for dinner.

Malcolm and Mitchell return to the hotel and hit the freshers. It was a VERY dusty trip back!! Gabrielle has gone up to the nice restaurant upstairs. There is a 20 minute wait, so she passes the time in the lounge with a glass of wine. The weather is gorgeous, and it's cooled down very quickly so they've opened up the roof to the stars. Malcolm & Mitchell show up just as Gabrielle is about to order. Waiter: "Perhaps you would like a few more minutes?" Gabrielle: "Yes, thank you." Mitchell and Malcolm sit down. Gabrielle: "Did you have a good time fishing?" Mitchell: "We didn't make it in time to go fishing. We did get to see Bob's place. It was rather relaxing actually, peaceful. No one was shooting at us, no one was bashing us over the head." Malcolm: "How was your day?" Gabrielle: "Mostly uneventful. I'm not sure where Trevor is. He was going to Rosa's" Malcolm: "Mostly?" Gabrielle: "No one was shooting at me, and I haven't been bashed over the head." The waiter goes over the specials. To die for. Definitely a four star restaurant. A very fine meal is ordered. Local food prepared in an interesting way. It's a beautiful night - even a shooting star. [No, it's not merving.] Gabrielle does not mention her 'fainting' episode - not during dinner! Malcolm: "So no one's seen Trevor?" Gabrielle: "As I said, he was going to Rosa's. I believe he was going to ask about...b'ar hunting."