A Briar Patch Tale

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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Marvelous work that you put in with this chapter! I majorly enjoyed reading it!
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

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TWENTY-FOUR

Patcha Karl winced as she pulled on the jacket she’d bought from the ship’s shop. It fitted but it wasn’t exactly her favourite thing, being Denim rather than leather. There was no emotional link to what had provided the apparel but it seemed a little hardy and her own jacket was pretty much destroyed at the moment so this would have to do. At least she’d thought to bring spare trousers and shirts. The thought of being placed in one of Postains’ crew uniforms wasn’t something she appreciated. Seven hours had passed since she’d checked out of the sickbay and she’d put it to some use, catching up with the investigation so far and running down who might have had the chance to sabotage the shuttle. Had Dayne known there was someone else on board with him? Had the foul little scab on the face of the universe known his scrawny neck was on the chopping block? Appleby had, apparently, been running down his links with other personnel on the ship. Who he was friends with. Who he avoided for no particular reason. Who didn’t like him. Somewhere in the piles of information lay something. A clue or the answer. She’d already decided that she wanted a word with this ‘Doctor Jul’ at some point. He had the office right next to the shuttle bay. He probably knew something. Now, though, they were closing in on Kuvak and she had to go run some errands.

The Space station here was on what might be termed a sideline but it still had more facilities than the first station and Xarra had to keep Karl on track as she decided to look in the station store for a ‘real’ jacket. They had business. “Later, Agent,” she told her.
“The name’s Karl, ‘second officer’,” Karl sniped as Xarra examined a bottle of Rye whisky. “Unless you want to keep telling the people around exactly who I am?”
“I’m easy, Karl,” Xarra admitted, putting the bottle back. “Duty first. THEN Duty free.”
Karl grunted. She supposed the Mican had a point. She checked the picture of the Doctor again. She’d know him by sight. Which she thought was useful. Her nose obviously wasn’t quite back to normal yet. She’d thought she’d picked up the remnant of a familiar scent earlier. As though someone she knew had passed this way recently. But that wasn’t likely.

The office of the Mican supervisor – which, Karl supposed, was why Xarra was accompanying her – was a well worn one, with cork and carpet flooring and wooden furniture talking of a warm, friendly, atmosphere. The replication machine in the wall was a model from two years back. There was money here, Karl reckoned. Which was a bit odd as the colony was quite a deprived one. “Spent money on this station,” she grumbled.
“Hmm,” Xarra mused. “Putting their best face forward, possibly,” she said, checking out the artwork print of a Rydran original. “A bit of a lesser work,” she opined.
“It came free with a shipment of cloves,” the manager said, striding in as though he wasn’t late. “I’m quite good at getting deals.”
“Helps when you’re in charge of the main trade port,” Karl griped, showing her identity card.
The manager pointed. “Your card has holes in it,” he said. “And, come to that, it also has blood on it.”
“Something exploded on it a couple of days back,” Karl said, flipping the card shut and shoving it back into her pocket.
Xarra brought forward the padd with the information on it. “We’re looking for information on this vessel,” she said eloquently.

Hadrian Jak wanted to get back to work. He loved his wife Simone dearly but he’d never want to think of himself as useless and just lie there, hearing her harangue him over the dangerous occupation he’d taken up with when he could have had so much more fun in botany or forensics. She was probably right but… he was a people person. He liked dealing with people. Even sour faced Wolves. When they weren’t trying to be terrifying, of course. She was making his lunch at the moment as Yarkin sat on the sofa, telling him he could come back to work tomorrow if he wanted.
“That’s too soon, surely,” Simone declared, stepping back in with his plate and drink. “He needs time!”
“I get that,” Yarkin conceded, “but we’re all hands on deck right now. He’l be working from a safe office…”
“It was the office that got blown up,” Simone interrupted.
“Simone,” Jak said, a hint of exasperation in his tone. “It’s fine, sweetheart. You know I need to be useful.”
Simone rolled her eyes. “I suppose that’s true. But nothing strenuous,” she advised. “Your hand’s still damaged.”
“Goes with the leg, doesn’t it?”
“No jokes, Hadrian!”
“Who’s joking? Look, Simone, I need to do this. I love what I do and I want to do it!”
Simone sighed. Outgunned. “All right,” she conceded. “All right. Bear in mind,” she told Yarkin, “he gets hurt again, I hold you responsible.”
Yarkin nodded. “So noted. So,” she added mischievously as she turned back to Jak, , “what’s all this I hear about you arranging to wrestle Doctor Flakk?”

Xarra piloted the shuttle back towards the Rodomont as Karl kept hold of the whisky the Mican had bought at the shop. “He’ll be happy with that,” the Lieutenant Commander told her.
“It’s a step forward,” Karl agreed, wondering how she’d come to be carrying the trio of bottles. “We know he came through here." She growled. “AND we know where he went...”
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

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Welsh Halfwit wrote: Fri May 28, 2021 7:24 am
“Hmm,” Xarra mused. “Putting their best face forward, possibly,” she said, checking out the artwork print of a Rydran original. “A bit of a lesser work,” she opined.
Wink wink! ;)
Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.” But [The LORD] said, “Yes, you did laugh.” - Genesis 18:15 (NIV).
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

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Indeed it is.
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Anyway once again you did a really great job! This is awesome!

Now I know which museum that Hawle can take Elena to on one of their dates. ;)
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

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Good to see our Wolf and Deer team back on the scene, one question, I didn't quite get what this passage was referring to in the previous chapter:

that IS good news about the, uh, ship.” Had the President just done a slight impression of Rhonkar to indicate she’d guessed what Rhonkar was really saying? Only the President was actually sure. “What is it you’re looking for from me?”
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

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Rhonkar is definitely NOT stressing that Postain is fine. After all, would a President want to know that about a Captain? Nudge, nudge... And Chichester is definitely NOT impersonating Rhonkar to let her know she knows...
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

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Welsh Halfwit wrote: Sat May 29, 2021 8:10 am Rhonkar is definitely NOT stressing that Postain is fine. After all, would a President want to know that about a Captain? Nudge, nudge... And Chichester is definitely NOT impersonating Rhonkar to let her know she knows...
Ah..., now I get it ;)
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

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Waiting patiently for the next chapter to be put up!
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

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TWENTY-FIVE

Postain himself took the third location, largely because he knew it was where the quarry had ended up. The discovery on Kuvak had been that ‘Doctor Daccora’, under the guise of ‘Kevlik Destan’, had booked passage to the colony world of Pasaderra, possibly in regards to further disappearing. It might also be something else. What he really needed to know was if he’d gone on or if he was still here. Cash had gone into Pasaderra over the years and it had been half developed. Some areas of the colony were high tech and some undeveloped. There were plenty of places for someone to hide. So they had to make sure he was here, somewhere, and not just using the place as a waypoint. Chief Yarkin was with him on this one as the IOC agents checked out the financial institutions on the planet’s surface. This was, after all, where the bank was with Raston’s account. If there wasn’t something here, there might be something there.

He’d gone past the shops on the station as though they held even less interest to him than they actually did. He had no time for purchasing, unlike Dox, who he spotted amongst the pregnancy clothes area. That had surprised him. Why would a space station have pregnancy clothes for sale? He might ask later. When it was relevant. “Yarkin,” he said sharply, “you did clear this appointment with the Station Commander, yes?”
Yarkin sighed inwardly. “Yes, sir,” she said. “It’s the standard way of showing their command of the station. Keeping visitors waiting a few minutes.”
“Figures,” Postain remarked. “What are the chances this **** is still here?”
“Fifty/Fifty, sir. We’ll need to get the computers to scan through all the incoming and out-going transits with that image pattern recognition program as he may well have altered his fur patterns and bulked up a bit or slimmed down or…”
Postain waved a hand. “I get the idea. It’s a bit of a long shot.” He took to pacing again.

Appleby was driving. Karl had insisted as she’d never felt the need to take her test – or take official lessons. Adriette had shown her the basics in case she ever needed to take over and Karl was fairly sure she could handle driving at speed – at least when there weren’t any other cars around – and parking was no trouble so long as your car was tougher than theirs but, generally, she preferred others driving for her. They crashed less and she had more freedom to fight and shoot things. The local Judicial department had sorted out their warrant in a half hour flat and Appleby had thanked them for their work. Karl had reminded them that only the people in the Judicial Office knew what they wanted the warrant for and, if anyone called to warn the target, they’d be back to deal with the people who’d leaked the information immediately. At which point Appleby had escorted her out of the office before she REALLY insulted the judge. “Just letting them know where they stand,” Karl had protested as Appleby asked her to get into the car.
“There are ways to do it that don’t annoy the people trying to help us more than needed, Patcha,” the Erminian agent replied.
“We’re federal agents, <i>Harmony</i>,” Karl sneered back, “the locals are ALWAYS annoyed to see us! It means their perfect world isn’t perfect.”
“We still need them on our side. Even if they’re only playing at it.” She stopped at a red light, then turned right after the light went green.
Karl assumed it was following the general Mican Colony driving rules.
“Quite temperate,” Appleby said, “I’m a little bit surprised we’ve not seen many Humans about here. They tend to like temperate planets.”
“Warmth and freezing cold doesn’t suit them,” Karl agreed. “They over dress in the cold and they leak in hot weather like those pig things. Well, except Feldar. He’s cool that way.”
Appleby glanced at her in surprise. “Was that a joke,” she asked.
“Tell me about this Doctor Jul,” Karl asked, not bothering to acknowledge Appleby’s question. Any punning had been unintentional.
“Martin Jul,” Appleby said, turning off for the Bank central Office as the satnav instructed. “The Rodomonts’ local Lothario. Thinks he’s some God’s gift to the female species and likes to spread it around. Competent Doctor but classed as unreliable due to his loins. Why?”
“His sickbay is right next to the shuttlebay where the shuttle was primed to blow,” Karl replied. “Effectively they’d have to get past him to get to the bay and they probably did that when you lot were on Cora II. So he might have seen someone. Or they knew when he wasn’t at his station.”
Appleby nodded. “That last is a possible,” she agreed. “We’ll need a list of all his ‘dalliances’ when we get back.”
“There’s better on your ship, Appleby,” Karl said, seemingly curious. “Why the heck would females want to sleep with him?”
Appleby shrugged and parked up. “Beats me. Perhaps some people just appreciate the no commitments evenings.”
“Cheapens them,” Karl groused, releasing her belt and getting out of her side. She looked up at the colony central bank. Six storeys of files and frauds. Bankers and wa…
Appleby shut her door loudly, interrupting Karl’s thoughts. “Shall we go and serve this,” she asked, waving the warrant pack in the air.
Karl sniffed the air. There was that scent again. Her nose was really screwed up. “Yeah,” she said glumly. She’d have to get someone to check her nasal spaces for damage. Or her brain. And, with all respect to Cobalt, only a Wolf really understood what losing the scent sense meant to a Wolf. She shuddered. It would have to be… Him. She followed Appleby into reception.
Ten minutes later, the CEO and his lawyers were in front of them, having escorted the pair of them up to the boardroom. They’d protested their innocence, of course, but weren’t trying to stand in the way of justice as they had no reason to. In fact, the CEO confided as the Lawyer read over the warrant that allowed the IOC operatives full access to all banking records held by Raston and any others Appleby would happen to mention, they’d just started negotiations with a representative of the Veridian III colony to take care of the entire colony account. Karl shook her head, trying to get that smell out of her nostrils.
“Are you all right,” the Lappinean asked.
Karl waved a hand. “Yeah, I’m…” She paused. “Did you say Veridian III?”
“Yes, their representative is still here somewhere. They’re looking for someone to manage their accounts and give them a better rate of…”
“I just need to get something,” Karl said tersely. “I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll have someone escort you…”
“No, you won’t,” Karl called back from the corridor, not bothering to look back at him.
“That Agent,” he said to Appleby, “is exceedingly rude and unprofessional.”
“Yup,” Appleby replied, “but she was blown up a couple of days back.”

Karl sniffed the air. Yep, she thought, knew it. She stalked through the corridors of the building until she got close to the washrooms. Yeah, she thought. She listened and heard voices from beyond the door so she opened the Male door and stormed in. “YOU,” she growled, startling the occupants, a Celican and a Mican. “Waiting for me to leave, were you,” she growled, picking the Mican up.
“Well, I did figure you’d blow my cover, Patcha,” Harvest said, gesturing to Dakrin to secure the door before giving the Wolf a hug. “Good job I wasn’t actually relieving myself, eh?”
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Fun chapter that you have written! Keep it up!
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by Harry Johnathan »

You just enjoy playing with the PG rating, don't you Welsh? :lol:
Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.” But [The LORD] said, “Yes, you did laugh.” - Genesis 18:15 (NIV).
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by Welsh Halfwit »

Rydr Warklub wrote: Mon May 31, 2021 4:09 am You just enjoy playing with the PG rating, don't you Welsh? :lol:
I sometimes like to surprise. I even surprise myself sometimes. Just written a battle episode. Featuring a rather sweet scene between two of the backing characters.

TWENTY-SIX

Passadera.

As jewels in the ether go, it’s more of a Citrine than a Ruby. It’s a world that has a lot of airs and graces that it doesn’t really qualify for, coming from a time when it was considered gauche to invest money in Pandera as that was what everyone else was doing. So the new new money started trying to put money elsewhere, with less stringent restrictions involved in the financing. Thus Passadera. And the name’s no co-incidence either. It’s close enough to Pandera to allude to connections to that world, the real ‘jewel’ in the Briar patch. That world has the major financial institutions. This world has the less major ones that don’t get investigated so much. It’s known for it in the Bounty Hunter circles. There’s even pages on the H/K (Hunter Killer, that’s the name for the Bounty Hunter organisation) isolated galnet site. In case you’re wondering, I was a member of that organisation some years back. I keep up the subscription as it often tells if wanted people are on their way to Caldera.

But that wasn’t the question, was it? No, the question was ‘what am I doing here’, being hugged up against a wall by a peeved Wolf.

I could start some years back, when she came to Caldera on a case which we worked together. I saved her once. She saved me about four times. We kinda bonded over a freed girl and a lot of dead killers and I don’t mean like that. She’s just a friend who’s kinda crushing my ribs. Which is remarkable considering I was told she was badly wounded in a bomb blast three days or so back. Ruddy Postlethwaite…

He’d called to tell me he needed my expertise with a situation he’d been informed about that could be dangerous and had already put Patcha in the intensive care ward. I didn’t know what he was ‘selling’ but, with the information that a possibly psychotic friend of mine had been hurt, he had me and he probably knew it. So I’d set about organising a pair of tickets to Talvary as, apparently, he didn’t feel safe discussing things over the comm and I’d grabbed my reluctant assistant Dakrin from his lunch and set about the case.

When we’d got home from the cafe we’d found our bags already packed, with upgrades to premium economy and directions to someone salubrious on Passaderra on a piece of paper. That, of course, made no sense as we weren’t going there… I mean here… at the time. We had no reason to. So I put it in my pocket and wondered exactly how our ‘landlady’ had found out. I probably didn’t want to know. I’d decided to cut Dakrin a little slack and let him drive to the spaceport whilst I slept on the back seat and didn’t keep telling him to ‘slow down’ or ‘speed up’ or ‘watch that red light’ as he went. We checked in the luggage and I showed my battered to within the automobile H/K card to prove I have a right to the weapons in the bags and I was storing them in baggage as I wasn’t planning to use them on the flight. They always love when I say that. Of course I kept my credit five shot on me. A micro gun with five shot capacity that’s almost exactly like a credit card in shape and size. It’s the first thing they take off me at Talvary. Apparently it’s kind of illegal on the station. Oh, like I knew that? I should be whistling here, of course. It’s why they escort the pair of us to the office, ignoring Dakrin’s pleas to be allowed to clothes shop. He’s heard this place is cheaper than Caldera and he wants some jeans and a jacket. Weird. He’s a Celican. Any more than a tee-shirt and shorts and they usually go into palpitations. Oh, well. I tell him he can shop after the meeting. I might even give him some credits.

Henry lays it all out. He doesn’t need to mention he’s the one who set me up in the P.I. business after our run-in on the now destroyed Cabbary station so he doesn’t. He does, of course tell me all about the situation on the Rodomont and what led to it. I need to invest in Fawren Spaceways. One of the companies working with Monta. Once word gets out they’re working with them, the price will sky-rocket. Once the other news about Monta breaks and Fawren throws them to the – heh - Wolves and cuts off all connections? It’ll rise even higher. A good way to cash in, I suppose. Anyway, apparently the other IOC agent on the ship got his account numbers somehow – Henry won’t say how but advises me not to play poker against this agent. Or Dominos. Or snap – and he wants me to find out who paid a significant sum into his account recently. I say I can do that. I ask where the Bank’s head office is. He tells me and I hate my landlady even more. She knew. I don’t want to know how. I want to scream and throttle her and I want to hug her too. I don’t have any contacts on Passaderra. Now, if I need to leg it in a hurry, I do. Henry asks how I’m planning to get into their head office to plant the drone that’ll allow me remote access to their servers and I don’t ask how he knows about that. I just ask him if he thinks I’d ever do something illegal like that. I tell him I can get invited in so I can look around their systems. (And plant a drone to allow me remote access to their systems although I don’t tell him that.) I just need him to talk with my sister via my commlink…

As I said, my sister and I don’t speak much, although it’s better than it was. When I was in the Bounty Hunting business full time she regarded me as a drag on the family. She’d made her way into the colonial government on Veridian III and was the minister of finance by the time I’d been setting up as a Private Investigator on Caldera. She was a high flier, I was a gutter runner. Then she started to notice me as a few cases went my way and ties with IOC were definitely NOT established. I believe there’s a flyer with my name on it for who to contact if you’re on a planet without IOC coverage and she’s begun to see the benefits of having a P.I. in the family. A couple of Veridians have used my services and she invited me to a party I couldn’t possibly attend. But the invite was there. She even sent me a 50 credit E-Token for Sanctamas last year. Anyhow, after I put Henry on, she agrees to write a letter of recommendation that I can print out at one of the booths on the station and ‘view only’ access to the accounts on gal-net. She wishes me luck – or, as she put it, hopes I didn’t get killed – and hangs up. I get Henry to grant me four hundred and one credits advance for clothes and the printing costs and got myself and Dakrin clothes more appropriate for financial prospectors as Henry sorted out our flights. We couldn’t go direct, apparently. There was only one direct flight a day and we’d missed it. We had to go via a connecting space station and we’d both slept in our seats on the way there.

Once we’d gotten here, Dakrin hired a decent car and we’d headed straight for the offices after picking up the drone from that contact I hadn’t had before. As a government stoo… uh, operative, we’d been taken up for a business meeting where I put my basic financial knowledge to use and Dakrin destroyed the sandwiches before taking a short tour of the facilities and using my tail to plant a drone on their main servers. Then, after saying that I needed to consult with my government and beginning to head out directly after the floor managers tour, I spied a healthy, annoyed, friend in the CEO’s office and decided both Dakrin and I needed a comfort break before we broke for it.

And Patcha caught us.
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

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Just finished 25
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Once again this chapter is really nice! Awesome job!
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

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Twenty-Seven

Karl left the washroom and stalked back to the CEO’s office as Appleby sat behind his computer and ran through the files “Found what I was looking for,” she claimed, holding up a card that Appleby was certain had been in that pocket all along as it was the tag of the jacket’s manufacturer. The senior agent sniffed slightly as Karl stood beside her and watched her accessing the account records she’d required access to. She waited as Appleby scrolled up the listings of ins and outs until she got to the transaction she was looking for. She paused and turned to the CEO. “The paying account,” she said, “it seems to be from one of your branches.” She pointed to the sort code. “That is one of yours, isn’t it?”
He peered at it over her shoulder. “Ah,” he said, “well, sort of. It’s our sector clearing house. With payments coming from… everywhere in the universe, it makes sense to have them sent through a clearing house to make sure they get to the correct destination. The clearing house then transposes their sorting code and account number…”
“Which means there’s no direct way to trace the sending account from here,” Appleby concluded. “We’d have to deal with the clearing house directly…”
“...which would need a different E-Warrant,” Appleby sighed. She knew they’d have to get onto legal again to access the servers which the bank could probably do right from here but, as the clearing house wasn’t, technically, part of the banking side of the company… More and more Banks were pulling this trick to confound searches and it annoyed her. Only slightly less annoying to her was the fact that she was more annoyed about this than the perpetually annoyed Wolf standing to her left. And there was the fact that, despite the emotions coming off her, Karl was controlling her thoughts, keeping a partial block up using techniques taught to IOC agents. What was the Wolf up to?

“Left here,” Karl insisted as they drove towards the magistrates court.
Appleby glanced over at her and saw her leafing through the paper A-Z that had been left in the glove compartment. “We carry straight on for the courts,” she corrected.
“If we were going there, yes,” Karl replied, not bothering to look up. “We’re going to the Hotel on Freep Street. So it’s left h… Next left, then left, then right,” she corrected as they passed the turning.
“Out with it,” Appleby said, sliding the car to a parking position and stopping by the pavement. “What’s going on?”
“Friend of mine’s here,” Karl said. “We have a card in play. He’s at the Diamond Hotel on Fleer.” She looked at the surprised expression on the ermine’s face. “Yes, I DO have a friend. Or two,” she added quietly. Appleby wondered why she suddenly had an impression of a leg brace flash into her mind.
“Good for you,” she replied, deciding it wouldn’t take that long.

Kerri gulped as she looked into the conduit. She had Senny on one side of her and Garvin, the chief engineer, on the other side. “Are… are you sure..,” she asked hesitantly, considering the job ahead.
“I wouldn’t let him ask twice if I wasn’t, Kerri,” Senny told her straight. “He says he needs some work done in there and you’re the best he’s got that can fit easily.”
Her friend looked up at her and a water thin smile appeared. “That… That doesn’t s...say much,” she admitted.
“She’s right, though,” Garvin admitted. “Some of my lot, myself included, can’t get into these conduits easily. It makes the work harder. You’ll need to get back into them sooner or later.” he put a hand on her shoulder and she flinched. “I could always get trainee Jesmond to go in with you? Keep you company?”
“C...couldn’t you get her to do the repairs?”
“She’s a trainee,” Senny replied, just in case Garval had been thinking of saying ‘yes’. “Just got out of the ship school, probably. Means she’s not qualified, Kerri. She needs a full engineer in there with her.” She knelt to look her friend in the eye. “I wouldn’t let them do this to you if I didn’t think you could take it, you know that. You’ve got courage. You can do this.” She stood up again as Garval commed Jesmond to attend.
To her credit, the Musculine* Female took a few minutes to arrive, hopefully selling the lie that she’d not been just a few rooms away, waiting on the call. She twitched her nose and offered Kerri a hand. “Hello,” she said, “I’m trainee Rachel Jesmond.”
“H..hi,” Kerri said, taking the hand with all the placidity of a small earthquake, “I’m, um, Kerri Yale. I...I think we’re, um, w...working together?”
A few minutes later, Senny helped her into the conduit.

The Diamond hotel was an optimistically named dump with wi-fi and Appleby decided to keep her hands in her pockets to make sure she didn’t, inadvertently, touch anything. The pair checked with reception and followed a line of dropped pocket contents through the main corridors of the hotel and knocked on door 109, first floor. A Celican youth opened the door and Karl put her foot in it. He looked down at the foot. “Try it,” Karl challenged.
“Boss,” Dakrin called, “Psycho Wolf’s here with an Erminean!”
“Then let them in!”

The room was nondescript, two beds, a table, a vid that didn’t work and coffee and tea making facilities that had whitener instead of milk. The only thing high end in the place was the computer Harvest was working on, a luxury for him as his normal PC was possibly only a little younger than him but had plenty of hiding spaces for weapons. This one was a loaner from Thurso’s contact and probably had super secret equipment on it to monitor everything he did. He was even wearing disposable gloves. He paused and stood up. “Nice to see you again, Patcha.”
“You too, Harvest. This is…”
He waited for a second until he knew Karl was letting him interrupt. “Agent Harmony Appleby,” he said, stepping forward to shake her hand. “Agent aboard the Rodomont and licenced telepath. I’m meeting a lot of Harmony’s recently. I’m Harvest Moon…”
“Private Investigator from Caldera,” Appleby finished. “Never heard of you.” She grinned. “Kidding. Good work on that kidnapping thing. Why are you here?”
He sighed. “Not going through all that verbally again. You have permission to scan my memories of the conversation in the wash room.”

“You realise we shouldn’t know about any of this,” Appleby said rhetorically as Harvest used the drone to access the sector clearing house, utilising the Chief Financial Officer’s access codes whilst Dak made Coffee for everyone and Karl watched the street from the window.
“Then don’t tell yourself,” Harvest replied as the drone found the outgoing transaction in their files and started backtracing the incoming. “Hopefully they’ll not notice until we’re finished and here it is and me and my big mouth there’s a tracing machine on our tail. He sped around the keyboard, hit ‘PrtSc’ and saved the file before turning the computer off as the printer buzzed into life. “It was a good tracer,” he said, grabbing the piece of hardcopy and sticking it in an inside pocket before removing the data stick from the PC and giving it to Appleby. “We should get out of here before…”
“People in big cars turn up,” Patcha finished.
Harvest shrugged. “Yeah, that.”







* Musculine. Mus musculus. (House Mouse)
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Everything in this chapter has come out nice! Wonderful writing Welsh!
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by DDeer »

Finished 26, so karl and Moon have history then.
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by Welsh Halfwit »

Yup. A tale I wrote years ago. Just the one but it more or less went as he said.

Sometimes the simple ways are the best...

TWENTY-EIGHT

Darren Levan was daydreaming. He had the time. He’d been working diligently at his job, running scans and analysing results for eight hours straight, working out what chemicals and compounds wee in the explosion and now the running was all the computers. He’d found the chemical compounds in the debris that shouldn’t have been in there. He’d done the same with the stuff sent up covered in Raston’s blood where Doctor Flakk had removed it from the corpse or the lead forensic scientist had taken it from the wall. Things changed when they went through the flesh. They scorched their way through and took on a little of the comparative coolness of the body. It meant you could find different things on it. It had been diverting for the first few hours, as he’d been doing things but now he was waiting on the latest results back from the cargo bays and he had nothing to do. There was an hour until his next official break and the head of department was floating about so having a nap was right out. He’d started running tests that, really speaking, should be being done by other departments – and, possibly, were being – but the Computer was handling all of that so he was sitting back in his chair, hands behind his head, trying to stay awake. It wasn’t easy. Hence the day dreaming.

In his overly fertile imagination he was getting a reward from the Captain after providing the vital information that saved the ship from these dastardly terrorists who looked convincingly like some of the people he hated on board ship. He’d rescued their captive, the sexy Vixen Mirabella from the catering department and he wondered when they’d had the time to clean the blood up from how badly he’d killed three of the bad guys. And when Mirabella had had his Cubs as three of them seemed to be escorting him back to the table where the Fowls were waiting to be devoured and… OK, that was too much. His Human mother was eating like a Celican. Not even in fantasy was that going to happen. He shifted in his seat and forced himself to pay attention as the computer ran a scan of the main subroutines.

“Ideas,” Harvest asked as the cars below unloaded offensive minded people.
“Kill them all,” Karl replied.
“Useful ideas? Seeing as how they control the exit points and have more guns than us?”
Behind them, Davrin spoke to his commline. “Uh, yeah,” he said, “Diamond hotel on Freep street. A lot of people just turned up with guns. Figured you should know. Yes, I’m er, calling from the Grill house.” He hung up, knowing they’d have his number recorded.
Harvest nodded his appreciation. “Smarter than you look,” he said. “Alright,” he continued as Dakrin tried to figure out if that was a compliment,” I suggest we head up to the roof.”
“More open,” Appleby agreed, “easier to defend.”
“And it’ll take them longer to find us,” Harvest added, grabbing the computer and heading for the door. “If plan A is the sheriff, we need to buy time for them to get here – and leg it down a fire escape if there is one.” He led the way to the lift and pressed the button.
“What’s plan B,” Karl asked, wondering why plan A was ‘run away’.
Harvest looked to her. “You arrest us,” he said, smiling slightly. “Then anything we found goes into federal holding and gets sorted out later.” He stopped as the lift arrived and the four got in. “Up we go,” he said, pressing the button.

“Can someone explain something to me,” Hadrian Jak said, leaning on the frame of Levan’s office door. He tapped a padd he was holding as Levan turned towards him in surprise. “First time I’ve scared a Celican,” Jak mused as Levan fell from his chair.
“Don’t DO that,” Levan called out, scrabbling back to his feet as though nothing had happened. “Tell you what,” he asked.
Jak ducked to enter, even though his antlers were currently at their minimum height, making the move redundant. “Can someone tell me why computer sciences are complaining why someone else appears to be doing their job?”
“Oh, um, I was just, er, checking,” Levan replied, smiling a little sheepishly.
“Probably shouldn’t be,” Jak warned, taking a quick look at the screen. “Although, in the current climate, it might be smart. Unless you’re the second saboteur, of course. You DID dob the first guy in, after all.”
Levan felt a thrill of fear. “Hey, now,” he said, backing up a bit, “I was just trying to help…”
Jak chuckled. “Yeah, I know, Darren. Winding you up is all. Find anything?
“A few odd sub-routines is all.”
“Well,” Jak advised, “mark them down and send in the reports to security and the Computer sciences chief separately. Make sure you note everything odd you see, right? I’ll clear it with the Computer chief. Fresh eyes and all that. You should stop showing up on their system as ‘potential hazard’ then. You doing the Poker tonight?”
“Can’t,” Levan replied, “got no credits left.”
Jak patted him on the shoulder. “Got no Poker tail either.” He headed out to call in on the Computer section. He hardly felt the leg brace now. He thought about taking it off but he was sure his insurance would clobber him – and, if they didn’t, Flakk would - so he kept it on rather than risk the wrath.

Dakrin put his shoulder to the rooftop door and fell through as it gave way without any resistance. The others stepped over his prone form onto the roof and looked around. Karl swept to the corner to look down to the ground. “Yep,” she said, “they’ve left someone watching down there.”
“Can you deal with him,” Harvest asked, looking to see if they could jump to any other rooftop without breaking any bones.
“I’m not qualified to jump six storeys, Harv. Anyone see a fire escape?”
“It’s over here,” Dakrin said. “It’s broken clean through halfway down.”
“So that’s a three storey drop rather than a six storey,” Harvest grimaced and got his slimline blaster out, ready for use. “We can report that to the authorities. Do you have any weapons,” he asked Appleby.
She sighed and walked to the middle of the roof. “I have the regulation fire arm,” she assented, “but I have a much better weapon.” She gestured. “I’ll show you all if you come here.”
The group assembled around her. “I have common sense,” she concluded, activating her comm. “Appleby to Rodomont, beam us up Scottie.”
<”What,”> Maldak replied from the bridge of the ship in high orbit <”Sorry, I mean ‘repeat that, Harmony’?”>
“Just something I’ve always wanted to say. Get us up there, would you, please?”>
They fizzled out as Dakrin grimaced, hating the idea.
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Once again a totally brilliant chapter! Keep up the good work!
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by Welsh Halfwit »

I've realised I've put in a running joke. Nearly every time we see Dakrin, he's either considering food or actively eating something...

TWENTY-NINE

Lieutenant Palmer let out a breath as she worked on the files that Appleby and ‘friends’ had brought back up from Passaderra. It wasn’t the intelligence grade encryption that the computer had on it that was frustrating the Human on this particular occasion but the fact that she had a Mican peering under her shoulder. She was pulling up all the files connected to the account that had paid in the money now and running down any other accounts it may have paid into. “You could go for a walk, you know,” she told the Mican and his ‘bodyguard’. “This is going to take a little time.”
“Love to,” Harvest replied glibly, “but I don’t think Mr Security guard over there is going to let me wander.”
The guard by the door, a Feline in blue with trousers that were half an inch too long for his legs, grunted his approval of Harvest’s comment. “Got that right,” he remarked. “And, with things as they currently are…”
Palmer held up her hands. “I know, I know, no-one to work unobserved.”
“Sounds smart to me,” Dakrin said, sitting up on a table and dunking a custard cream biscuit in a cup of Panderan tea. “No-one knows who to trust.”
“Where’d you get that,” Harvest asked, pointing to the confection.
“R’pl’c’tor,” Dakrin said, eating the small biscuit.
Harvest gave Palmer a look. “Your replication machines can do cookies?”
“We call them biscuits,” Palmer explained. “And yes. If programmed.” She thumbed the one in the corner of the room. “That’un can do anything but Garibaldi.” She shook her head slightly. “Hate Garibaldis.”

Doctor Jul did his best not to look intimidated as Patcha Karl walked calmly around the table she had him sat on. She put her finger to the end of her muzzle as though in thought as she moved around his sickbay.
“It’s really simple, Martin,” Appleby said from her chair, which was usually his. “We know that the second saboteur had to gain access to the secondary shuttle bay and they needed to know when you weren’t here so they could be sure of not being seen.” She put her hands on her knees. “Now eating times vary, as do toilet breaks. We can’t rule out night time visits I suppose but the best time for them to know you weren’t here…”
“...Is when you’re busy bonking any female that moves,” Karl grouched.
Jul gaped. “You want me to give you a list of the ladies I’ve dallied with and the times,” he protested. “I’m not sure I can recall all…”
“You’re a Narcissist,” Karl snapped, stopping and grabbing his lapels. “I am patently aware that you would have knowledge of every detail like that. Probably in a ‘little black book’ or summat!”
Appleby smirked. “It’s called his mind, Agent Karl. I’m pretty sure he could lay it out straight… the information, that is, nothing more… so I could take it painlessly.”
Jul pointed a finger. “You intend to violate my mind? Aren’t… aren’t there rights about that?”
Appleby shrugged. “Of course. I have to have your permission. But, if you refused, I’d have to tell the Captain and he’d wonder why you didn’t want to help us.” She wondered at the sudden feeling of gut clenching she was getting from the Mican.
“To be clear,” Karl said, making him focus on her. “We don’t care who you’re diddling, snackbite. We’re pretty sure you had nothing to do with this. But we can’t say the same for the others and nor can you. So we need to know them and run our checks before someone blows up the ship again.” She put her hands to the table and her face a few inches from his so he could see the remaining scars. “Perhaps the part with YOU in it this time?”
“I’m not…” Jul gulped. “I’m not protesting,” he admitted. “It’s not going to hurt, is it?”
“Not unless you show me things I don’t want to see,” Appleby remarked, staring straight at Jul.
“How… how will that hurt me,” he asked.
“If you do that,” she counselled, “I’ll kick you in the crotch.”

Yarkin sat back down at her current desk and called Jak up on the screen. She had his reports on current security deployment on the padd that she’d been reading ever since she’d gotten back on board the shuttle at Passaderra station and just wanted to check a few things with him. His deployment of staff had been almost up to her standard and she thought of making him Deputy Chief but, frankly, that post didn’t exist officially. There were a few things she wanted to check, though. Now was a good time as he was at home and his wife was still scheduled on duty. After a few seconds ringing, he answered.
“<Yes, boss,”> he said, seeing her on his monitor.
“Nothing much, Hadrian,” Yarkin said lightly. “Just wanted to check on why you’re permitting Darren Levan to check the computer records is all?”
<”Ah. I figured someone double checking the work couldn’t hurt is all,”> Jak replied. <”Someone from outside their department who agreed to keep them and us in on anything odd he found. Has, uh, Lieutenant Palmer complained?”>
Yarkin nodded. “Ye-es. It’s a guarded acceptance in wording but it’s definitely a complaint in tone. Something about not trusting her team to do their jobs and stay loyal to the ship. And I’ve got a guard watching her and the civilians…”
<”Civilians,”> Jak asked, his brow creased.
“Oh, yes,” Yarkin glibbed, “didn’t you know? Appleby and Karl came back from the planet with two civilians in tow. One of them’s even wearing a security tag! Like we didn’t have enough to bother with!”

Harvest dunked a replicated Ginger nut in his replicated tea and stayed back from the computer as Porter got in. She told them she was into the sealed files and had a list of all the accounts the one account they were tracking had paid out to. She ran a list of over a hundred accounts across the screen. Accounts that had, generally on a one time basis, been paid hundreds of credits. “Now we need to find out where these accounts are,” she said.
“That one’s on Caldera,” Dakrin cut in, pointing out one where the account was paid one thousand four hundred and thirty seven credits. “It’s my sorting code,” he explained.
“A few others there I recognise,” Harvest agreed, his hat casting shade over the keyboard as it got between it and the light. “All for roughly the same sort of credits.” A smile. “And all featuring four hundred and thirty seven credits too.”
“What does that mean,” Palmer asked.
“Well, take the main amount as the inducement and put the four hundred and thirty seven to one side. What’s that for?”
The Human thought on it. Then rolled her eyes. “Travel expenses.”
Harvest nodded. “We may not know quite where but we know how much. The other odd amounts on the end may also be that. Find out where you get to for 437 credits from Caldera and you get part of a map. Fill in some of the other start points and where they can get from there…”
“...and the map gets more detailed. Follow the money trail. You’re smarter than you look.”
“Smart enough for a drink later?”
“Don’t spoil the moment, Rodent.”
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Great chapter as always and I thought it was wonderful! Though I think you should put Dakrin and Hawle close together with some desserts so we can see what happens. xP
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by Welsh Halfwit »

And time for the less serious people...

THIRTY

Commander Aldair Hawle sat in Postlethwaite’s waiting room and waited on the elderly Mican’s presence. He had a feeling he knew what was holding Henry up so he made comment on last nights sports entertainment with Raven, who was sat beside him.
“Hmmph,” she replied drily, keeping her arms crossed.
“Just because your team didn’t win,” Hawle commented, a wry grin on his face.
“It was never a penalty.”
“Oh, that’s always your excuse, Sarina. Any idea how things are going on the deck?”
Raven nodded. “Jarra told me he’s pretty sure where to look. After that, we can talk to Maze about things.”
“What’s this ‘we’? I thought you were planning on hitting the bar?”
“Ah, I’d never make you confront her like this on your own.” The Burman flexed her fingers and popped her claws for a moment. She looked at the Keratin blades before shucking them back into their hiding place. “And I’ll have to relieve Stikka at some point.”
Hawle shrugged. “He’s probably downloading films again. Better he does it when on duty. Then we can claim it’s official duties and covered by security protocols.”
“Plus we can watch them later,” Raven remarked.
Hawle looked at her askance. “How could you suggest I do something illegal like that, Sarina?”
Raven put on an ‘innocent’ face. “Just for research purposes, sir.”
“Of course.” He waited a few seconds. “You asked him to get the latest Felis Prime thriller, didn’t you?”
Raven had the grace to look affronted. She crossed her legs and put her hands on the arm rests. “I couldn’t possibly say.”
She stopped saying it as the door opened.

Henry stepped into his office and apologised for his lateness. “I’m sorry,” he said, putting his papers on the table and taking up his seat. He noted neither Hawle or Raven stood as he came in. Never mind. “I got caught by Elena Davees. She wanted to bring a few concerns from the group on Cora II direct to…” He looked up. “Why am I telling you this? It’s not like she didn’t… Why DID you bring her, anyway?”
Hawle wisely decided to lie just a little and keep the main reason he’d agreed to his girlfriend’s presence on the trip to himself, relying entirely on the official reason. “She, uh, thought it was better to have a face-to-face meeting with the power that is, uhm, sir. We told her that there was a reason we were doing this and that there was the possibility of danger but she insisted.”
Raven nodded. “She told us that, as she’d not been scared of the Varkonians, she wasn’t going to be intimidated by a little Shih tsu with a bomb.”
“Shih tsu,” Henry repeated.
Raven nodded. “I’m pretty sure that’s what she said.”
Henry shook his head. “What a load of codswhallop,” he said, talking more to his desk than the others. He looked up. “Right. Have you gotten anything more out of your prisoner as regards this Professor Calavix?”
“Somewhat,” Hawle said. “Jaqui’s worked out the people she met on Cora II and the sheriff there’s got them under surveillance. This is going to require some co-ordination.”
“Hmm,” Henry mused. “I’ve heard that a lot of criminals have walked away from their lives recently.” he put his head on top of his hands. “Imagine if someone was establishing them on other colonies? Where they’re not known?”
Hawle sighed. “A network? Or a web?”
“And the only way we could combat it is to increase control and restrictions.”
“Which’ll go over about as well as a turd in a picnic hamper,” Raven said bitterly.
Hawle frowned at her. “That’s a horrible simile!”
Henry shrugged. “Disgusting but probably apt,” he allowed.

Maze Hardy was getting annoyed. The Flight leader on the Loper, she was getting quite used to being involved in discussions and plannings on the small ship but, just these last few days, she was sure she was being kept out of things. People had been moving about their business a little faster and keeping to themselves. She’d spent time in her room and in the cartography section but now she’d decided to head down to the flight deck to check on her fighter. She stopped as she entered the bay. What the..? he stomped across to where the old feline deck chief, Jarra, had his head in the opened nose cone of her fighter. One of the other engineers, noting her approach, called out so he knew she was coming. He pulled his head out just before she got over there, so he was ready for the Raitchian. “What the **** are you doing, chief,” she exploded.
“Following orders, Hardy,” he replied. “The Commander wants any outgoing transmissions to Monta stopped immediately for some reason so I’m making sure you’re not transmitting.”
Hardy fumed, took two steps back, punched her hand, stepped back over to the engineer. “It’s just behind the wing manifold, Chief. What’s this all about?”
He shrugged. “I think trust in Monta Weapontech is running at an all time low. I suspect it’s got to do with that super secret Clipper ship that no-one here knows anything about.”
Hardy mulled that over. Even she’d heard the rumours about that thing and potential leaks at her other, official, place of work. She’d known they had other projects going on but, the less you knew, the less reason they had to keep you confined to station forever so she’d not really nosed into those. Perhaps she should have? “That’s the only transmitter I know of, anyhow, Chief.” She resolved that she’d better go and have a word with Hawle about this. Clear the air and, hopefully, her name.

She met him in the station cafe, calling him and Raven over as they walked back towards the Loper. “Are you having Coffee, Commander, Lieutenant Commander?”
Hawle accepted the offer and Raven chose to have some Rakkabrag Juice instead as she could never get a good copy from the replication machines and the Cafe had fresh. She got straight to the point. “I told Jarra where to find the transmitter,” she said. “I don’t like that you’re questioning my loyalty.”
“I’m not questioning yours, Maze,” Hawle said, taking a sip from his mug as they talked in a secluded spot, “I’m questioning their trustworthiness. IOC is investigating Monta for several reasons. Add in this clipper debacle and certain things that have been going on over the last few days and… Well, not to put too fine a point on it but we may have problems with security against a new, rising, threat on the colonies and it’s just possible Monta is involved in this threat.”
Hardy nodded. “Which means I’m a security risk.”
“That’s what they think,” Raven assented as Elena made her way over.
“Up to you to prove them wrong,” Hawle said, getting up to welcome his love.
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Yay we are now back to Hawle and Elena! This is awesome! I will write up her dialogue when I get the chance. Of course we might have to go back and forth a bit in order to have the conversation. Great chapter though!
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

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THIRTY-ONE

Commander Rhew slowly forced himself back up into the land of the awake ten minutes before the computer made to wake him and sniffed the familiar scent he was holding. He gave the back of her neck a gentle kiss as they spooned. The temperature of the room was nominally warmer than he was truly comfortable with but he was perfectly willing to put up with it for the woman he was currently holding. His arm came up under hers and ran his hand down from the top of her chest to the womb that was enlarging with the promise of the future. He left his hand there for a moment and felt Jasmine’s tail move happily between his legs. He kissed her neck again as her hand circled around above his head and scritched the back of his neck. “Good morning,” he said seductively.
“Good morning, my Commander,” she replied sleepily. “Or it will be in ten, eh?”
He chuckled slightly as she shifted around to put herself face to face with him and gently press her womb to his stomach. “What’s the plan for today, my love,” Jasmine asked.
“We wait to see if they can map out where we need to go next,” Rhew replied, stroking her side. “Then we go and hit it.”
“If that’s good news,” she said, “tell your face. You look like you’ve swallowed a wasp.” She ran her hand over his cheek and jaw. He took the chance to catch it with his own hand and kiss it, taking a deep breath of her scent as he did so. “Come on,” she prompted, “out with it.”
He tried to laugh slightly but failed. “Jasmine,” he said politely, “we could end up going into battle and…”
“..You don’t want me here?”
“It’s not like it would be safe,” he protested. “You could stop off at one of the transit stations…”
She tapped his nose. “I would get off only if the school and everyone else gets off.” She gave him a swift kiss. “And how do you know they wouldn’t attack the station and leave the ship alone? Criminals, not warriors you said last night. They might not want to…”
“...It still wouldn’t be safe.”
“And leaving me on a space station would be?” She grinned. “Remember what happened to Cabbary station,” she asked, referring to the station that had orbited Pandera until it was destroyed in war almost a decade back. “There’s no place in the universe that’s totally safe, Mikkel. The only thing we can do is find safety where we are and I’ve never felt as safe as I do with you.”
Despite his fears, Mikkel smiled. “That’s still a strange thing for a Lappinean to say to a Celican.”
She shrugged, moving the pillow below her slightly. “You know,” she admitted, “thinking of it? If you want to you can always make me a Celican.” Her face shifted to give him a coy look. “On paper, at least?”
He nodded, then his eyes widened as he realised she was saying ‘yes’ to the question he’d been considering before he’d asked it. “We’ll have to arrange it,” he said, “Mrs Rhew.” He kissed her and held on as he worked out how to spend the next few minutes.

To Postain’s surprise there was a civilian on the bridge as he arrived for his duty shift. Perhaps the Mican had played the ‘Micans’ card with Xarra and she’d allowed him to wander around all the stations, taking in whatever information he could but the Rottian wasn’t going to be so considerate. “There are rules about civilians on the bridge, Mr Moon,” he intoned before relieving Xarra of duty.
Harvest looked up at him from under that ridiculous hat he wore. “Does a federal Bounty Hunter count as a civilian,” he asked.
“You sure as sod don’t count as bridge personnel, Moon.” Postain growled. “Sling your hook.”
Harvest bustled over towards the three chairs in the middle of the bridge but decided not to try one out as it would have put him quite close to Postain and the waves of intimidation were flowing from him. “Love to,” he said, “but you’re keeping me aboard and unable to communicate with anyone off the ship until you’re ready to attack. The cabin is so boring.”
“So? Get back to it. And take that criminal of yours with you.” Postain looked around as Rhew arrived. “Where IS that scum of yours anyhow?”
Harvest shrugged. “Haven’t a clue. Last I saw he was heading towards your office but…”
Postain left Rhew the bridge for the moment and charged to his office. Harvest simply walked past it to the corridor and pulled Dakrin, complete with Farl sandwich, out of the break room.

“Sooner that bloody Mican’s off this ship the better,” Postain growled, re-taking his seat. Rhew thought about asking if he meant Moon or Xarra but opted to stay out of it. “We should be looking to put as many of the non essential off at a starbase or station,” he advised. “We don’t know their capabilities and…”
“Don’t try the soft sell, Rhew,” Postain interrupted. “She’s refusing to get off, isn’t she?”
Rhew nodded. “Yes, sir. She says she’ll only go if a lot of others do.”
“It’s the reason relationships on a starship suck, Rhew. You have to make decisions immaterial of your own personal feelings and you can’t do that if there’s someone you love could get hurt or die. You are going to have to figure out if you can cope with that responsibility or if you want to transfer to a safer location. No-one said it’d be easy.” He mused. “If we let a lot off, they’ll know we’re moving to attack. We can’t dock anywhere unexpectedly and we’re still running silent.”
“What about transferring them,” Rhew said after a moment. “I mean we still know the transit routes of the other Council ships and their times. Might we not be able to rendezvous with one of the clippers and transfer off a load that way?”
“Might be possible,” Postain conceded. “Clipper would be pushed to the limit though. Maldak, start running the details through the computer. Just in case.”
The Quokkan complied.

Harmony Appleby looked at the three dimensional rendering Jasmine Dox had up in front of her and tried to concentrate on that and not the embryonic thought patterns that she was beginning to feel from her colleagues ‘passenger’. She’d laid in all the information and theoretical data from the banking records and I displayed like a chaotic mass of tendrils but Dox closed in on the console until just two planets were left. “The trails lead to these two planets,” she announced. “Caval and Restikkar. Whoever this Calavix is – Mikkel talks to me, Agent Appleby, we’re mates. Like you and Senny. Whoever this person is, he’s probably on one of these two worlds.”
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Can't believe that you got to the 31st chapter already! Nice job on writing this!
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by Welsh Halfwit »

Suspects. Suspects everywhere.

THIRTY-TWO

Darren Levan wondered what was going on in Tervy Lasca’s room and it was making him concerned. It was making him pace in his room as the action proceeded apace where he couldn’t see it. Money was changing hands and he’d been responsible for putting an X factor into the mix. Something was more volatile than he’d been thinking he might be responsible for. He thought he should have considered the mysterious civilians more when they’d asked their questions but he hadn’t. He’d just served as the introduction for them to people who kept their betting habits on a tighter ‘secrecy’ line than those Jak knew of. The kind he’d played with once and resolved never to do it with again. But they’d kept asking and, now, he’d introduced someone and he wondered if they were up to it despite the accounts they’d showed him and…
“Give it a rest, Darren,” Jak said, his feet up on his sofa. “It’ll be sorted soon.”
“Mostly for them,” the Celican replied, wringing his hands. “but I’m still going to be in trouble…”
“No, you’re not,” Jak remarked, swinging his feet to the floor. “The Captain’s promised anonymity. You flaming idiot. What were you thinking, gambling in secret games? Did you think they were playing for French Fries?
“What?”
“Um… Fried potato sticks? You’re the one with a Human mother! How can you not know French Fries?”
“Never been bothered to try them,” he claimed. “How do YOU know them?”
Jak shrugged. “Security seminar.”
“Right. So what’s going on here, anyway?”
Jak thought about not telling his friend but decided there was a ‘what the heck’ approach to this. “You know,” he said, feeling his antlers grow a little as he sat up properly, “you are the least Celican Celican I’ve ever met?” He put a hand up. “Not that that’s a bad thing, Darren. It means you’re not enslaved to their hunting tactics and their discipline code…”
Levan raised an eye ridge as he crossed his arms. “And this isn’t a BAD thing because..?”
“Because it means you’re the best you I’ve ever met,” Jak consoled. “You have a clearer sense of everyone else’s ethical good and morals to match. So I can tell you because I see you clearly, bud.” He gestured for the Celican to sit and, despite himself, Levan did so. “We’re looking for an enemy agent,” Jak started. He paused to allow Levan to interrupt as he could see his friend wanted to but, to his surprise, he found Levan waited for him to continue. “Security’s checking everything on the ship, of course, but the other thing we need to check on is who’s spending money and who owes it. Financial inducements are an easy way in for criminals.”
“So,” Levan said, deciding now was a good time to pick up the thread, “what you’re looking for is someone who likes to bet big or is ‘splashing the cash’ in quite an unexpected manner?”
“About sums it up,” Jak admitted. “Of course, with THIS lot we’ll have to prosecute them all after anyhow. Games are permitted because we know about them. Little is lost. Unregulated games…”
“Maizey Rayne.”
Jak sat up. “The Flight Engineer? What about her?” He looked through his lists. “There’s no hints as to her being a regular gambler here?”
Levan shrugged. “There wouldn’t be. No-one wanted her in the games. Not even the deck hand games. She owed too much. But I hear she’s been allowed back into games over the last week or so. Figure she’s paid off the debt somehow. Might be nothing.”
“Might be a lot.” Jak added her name to the lists for Yarkin and copied her in. He put the padd aside. “Fancy a game?”
Levan looked up at the antlers. “You got them under control yet?”
Jak shook his head. “Nope.”
Levan looked him in the eye and tried to figure out if he was bluffing.

The flight deck was its usual state of controlled chaos as Karl and Yarkin made their way across to the feline Engineer as she worked on the alignment for a Star lancer fighter with a couple of officers amongst their retinue. “Need a word with you Rayne,” Yarkin announced.
The Engineer glanced at them and started trying to make for the door opposite, knocking the fighter she was working on off the hydraulic platform with a blow on the control from her elbow and running as Karl dodged and took up the chase. She jumped barrels with as much professionalism as she had hurdles on Cora II and it was only Karl’s refusal to accept defeat that kept the Wolven agent up with her and she tackled her hard into a bulkhead, splitting a tooth and causing a nosebleed. Before Karl spun her around. Her arm flailed towards the agent and opened cuts along her cheek before Karl gripped it and thrust the arm to impact on the door frame, making her call out as something broke. Karl put her fist up under the ribcage to wind the feline and ended the squabble. “We just wanted a word, Rayne,” Karl told her. “Now it’s assaulting a federal Officer.”
“After medical treatment, Agent Karl,” Yarkin said, catching up.

“Run me through that again,” Postain said, looking at the pair across the conference table. “Especially the part where she accidentally ruined one of my fighters because she got spooked.”
“Well,” Yarkin repeated, standing next to the seated Karl, “she apparently turned too sharply towards us because she was scared of why we’d come to speak to her.”
“Because of the money she won on Cora II, correct?” The Rottian smiled unpleasantly.
“The money she won by betting on herself,” Karl put in, the effect of speaking moving the shining skin plasters that were dealing with the scrams. “She ran at less than her best in the qualifiers and got herself better odds on the final.”
“Which she won. 400 Metans hurdles.”
Karl nodded. “It’s still totally illegal.”
Postain sighed. “I know it is.” He put his face in his hands for a moment before pulling it back out. “As soon as the current operation is concluded, the only poker games allowed on this ship are to be the ones we know about, Yarkin. I want a purge of all illegal games AND the people who play them! It seems I’ve been too lax in places and that stops here. And you.” He pointed at Karl. “Start trying to take people in in one piece.”
“If they let me.”

Half an hour laer, Harvest and Dak returned with micro-vid from a camera hidden in Harvest’s hat and three more suspects.
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Wonderful work here just like the other previous chapters! This story continues to get better and better now!
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by DDeer »

Up to chapter 30, good to see Hadrian make an appearance, yes that extra head clearance required can be a real pain in the neck, still getting used to the new headgear I see, looks like he's making a good recovery.
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by Welsh Halfwit »

Yet another 'Star Trek' gag appears. The Picard manoeuvre...

THIRTY-THREE

“So you think you’ve got them this time,” Postain yawned; still wearing his off duty clothes and pondering the pancakes he’d ordered from his quarters replication machine as Appleby gave him an update on the things that had happened overnight.
After Harvest and Dakrin had returned from the off-books game (with a modest profit that Postain wanted back in his operating funds as he’d fronted them the credits in the first place) Yarkin and Appleby had gone through the footage to identify the individuals and check out the bank details of each of them. They couldn’t actually access those accounts, of course, but they could check the amounts against payroll and stored financial records. Then they’d pulled in a Celican, a Lappinean, two Felines and a Raitchian for full blown questioning. It had been rather easier than they’d anticipated as most of them had been worrying about their careers now the secret had been revealed but Pikka Yan, one of the Felines, had been more worried about them finding out where the money had come from. So they’d concentrated on her.
“Eventually she confessed,” Appleby said. “It’s not totally great news, though.”
“Why so,” Postain prompted.
“Well, it seems she was paid big money to be a distraction.” Appleby sighed and hoped Postain would invite her to take a seat as she’d been working all night but the invite wasn’t forthcoming. “They wanted to slip someone from Cora II into the secondary shuttle bay when, uh, the cameras were off for maintenance. Then they’d just have to get past Jul’s sickbay and…”
Postain rolled his eyes. “They wanted him out of the way so she agreed to bed him for cash.”
Appleby shrugged as Postain started on his breakfast. “Seems to be about the mark.”
Postain rubbed his eyes. He didn’t need this at this time in the morning. “She doesn’t know the people who paid her, I take it?”
Appleby shook her head.
“Right,” Postain stated. “She goes down on an assisting charge. Seize her assets. Tell her the JAG will give her a better deal the more she tells us. Get Jul to see a picture of her and tell him I want him to take a good look at it and tell him how his stupidity endangered this ship! I want to know when the ‘dalliance’ happened as that will tell us of all the locals on board at the time. Maintenance, visitors, crew families, the lot. Then get the details out. I’ll authorise it with Maldak. Postlethwaite can send it on as required.”
“Seems we have a lot of work to do.”
Postain looked up from where he’d been about to take a bite. “Then what are you still standing here for?”
She took the hint.

“So, now they’ve got the guy… you know what I mean… What next,” Rhew asked, standing in front of Postain’s desk in his office.
An hour had passed and the Captain had a mug of coffee in front of his nose but he could still smell Jasmine Dox on his first Officer and decided that it meant he hadn’t showered alone today. He put the mug down. “It means things are moving, Rhew. It means that we shift to the next part of what we were planning on doing. Getting the non essentials off the ship.”
“Including my wife-to-be,” Rhew commented, wondering if Postain would catch the term.
“Yes,” he assented. “We can’t do this all the time, Mikkel. We don’t get that luxury.”
Rhew nodded. “I do understand that, sir…”
Postain looked up. “No you don’t. The time for your choice is coming, Rhew. Stay or go, the choice is yours. And hers. I could stand losing you,” he continued, “but I wouldn’t enjoy it.”
Rhew thought that was close to being a compliment. Of sorts.
“We stay here for an hour, according to these schedules.” the Captain continued, gesturing to his screen in a way that slopped coffee on it. “Drat. An hour,” he repeated, finding some wipes to clean the screen. “Then the Medical clipper ‘Jenner’ should be nearby. We get her to take as many off as she can. Including the prisoner and Dox. Get it arranged. And wipe that grin off your face. You’re not the first person to get married.”
Postain watched him leave and wondered how long until he DID leave? He’d have to start thinking about new Officers. Of course, he told himself, he had to think of the two choices Rhew had to make. Not just to stay or go but if he wanted Postain to conduct the ceremony. He could, if needed. If Rhew or Dox wanted someone else, though, Postain would almost certainly be invited by Rhew as a ‘friend of the groom’. Which he wasn’t. And that could taint the whole thing. Ah, well. He could think of worse ways to lose a first Officer. Ways he’d lost them once or twice before.

He finished his Coffee and stalked out onto the bridge to see what he could see. “Anything happening out there, Rhew,” he asked.
“Nothing really, sir,” Rhew replied. “I do get an odd feeling, though,” he admitted.
“What sort of feeling?”
Rhew put a hand to the back of his neck. “Almost… like we’re being hunted.”
“Anything on scanners?”
“Nothing, sir. I’m probably just being paranoid.”
“Probably,” Postain allowed, taking his seat and pulling his shirt down slightly. “Sound ‘stations’ anyhow. Been a while since we’ve done it so the crew might need to remember the sound.”
Rhew put out the call, which had the computer make a ‘booping’ sound throughout the ship for a minute and blue wall panels flashed into use on every deck. It was a lesser used one of the alarm codes, signalling that there was no imminent danger but actions still needed taking as the potential existed. The school teachers, for example, would be prepared to escort their charges to the nearest ‘safe’ zone of the ship, an area with greater protections and sealable doors. Actual Council Officers and Engineers should make their presence known to their department heads in case they were wanted. Security could choose their battle points in case of boarding.

And Appleby could find her way up to the bridge before Maxim. The Mican pushed past the Erminean to take up her chair to the left of Postain and leave the tired agent without a chair.
“What’s on,” Appleby asked.
“Just a feeling,” Postain explained as the booping stopped. “Rhew here feels we’re being watched.”
Appleby looked out of the viewscreen. “He could be right,” she mused.
Postain chuckled. “Picking up minds, Appleby?”
She shook her head. “No. Not at this range. But I just had a disturbing thought.”
“What?”
“Everything’s pointing to Monta, isn’t it? But, just recently, they’ve been working with other companies. Fawren and Raicarra. Mostly Raicarra. And they make…”
“Stealth ships,” Postain concluded. “They specialise in reflective obsidian armour. Sensors have trouble picking them out.”
“And there could be one of them watching us right now...”
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Love the way this came out! You are a really powerful storyteller!
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by Welsh Halfwit »

THIRTY-FOUR

Postain, Rhew and Xarra sat on the edge of their seats. If the schedules were correct there were about twenty minutes before the Jenner arrived on their sensors. They’d be able to communicate with the clipper ship at that point but, if there was a Raitchian stealth ship nearby, she’d also know about it. They’d be able to strike when the ships were at their weakest. If they were out there. Postain knew they had to be sure. Moments counted down slowly, almost as slowly as they been fast when the three had brainstormed plans just half an hour ago. Plans were underway and just about ready as they hung there. Photon burst sensors from science department had been taken and applied to the rarely used torpedoes the ship had as a relic of its age. Energy Cannons were more efficient and accurate but accuracy wasn’t exactly needed here. Their burst payload was. They were generally used to light up the darkest areas of space and, if the Raitchian stealth system had one weakness, it was the fact that it reflected a certain amount of light and the Rodomont sensors could detect that after adjustment. The fighter squadron was ready to launch and weapons were ready to power up. The Rodomont was doing her best to look like she was doing nothing.

Doctors Flakk and Cobalt moved quietly and quickly around their medical bay, making sure things were working and assigning nurses to stations. Three of the crew family members were accredited with first aid certificates so Flakk had assigned them to be ready to support wherever simple tasks were needed and he’d dispatched two male nurses down to assist Jul in the secondary bay. “Was going to ask,” Cobalt said as they got a moment free, “how that training with Jak went.”
Flakk summed it up. “He’s still alive.”
“You went easy on him?”
“There is no point killing someone whilst trying to train them to fight! It defeats the object of the training!”
Cobalt held up her hands. “All right, all right. Didn’t mean to insult your training methods, sir. Important thing is, did he learn anything?”
“Yes,” he replied, “he learned that, despite having more strength, he can’t outfight a Wolf.” The spectacled Doctor grinned a toothy grin. “He learned quickly.”
“What does that mean?”
“He ended with trying to hit me with the Shokprod. Failed but I showed him where he should stick it.”
Cobalt boggled as she finished her preparations. “What does that mean?”
“Oh, underarm thrusts up towards the ribs.” He gave a mirthless chuckle. “None of what you were thinking.”
“Wasn’t thinking anything,” Cobalt lied.

Levan coughed and pulled his head out of a torpedo, where he’d been assisting Kerri with the adjustments to a torpedo from stores. “You think that’s all sorted,” he asked the Chipmunk.
“WellIhopesoorit’llgooffbangwhenwelaunch,” she replied in haste, forgetting to slow down as she sometimes did so others could make out what she was saying.
“Pardon,” Levan replied.
Kerri smiled with embarrassment. “Sorry, Darren,” she said, swallowing to compose herself. “Iwas saying I hopedso.”
Levan raised an eyeridge and tilted his head towards her. “I thought I heard something about ‘bang’?”
Kerri looked offended. Or, at least, mock offended. “Nothing I’ve ever made has exploded on me! If, um, this blows up on me it’s something you did, Scientist.” She cast a lightning fast glance over to her intern who was watching in overwatch as she tapped Levan on the nose with a hyper-wrench. She was still nervous about being back at work with a male partner but she reckoned she could get over it. Levan was probably the best one to work with on that. He was amongst the most inoffensive people on the ship. Weird for a Celican.
“I’ve never died in a self inflicted explosion either, Kerri,” Levan protested, wondering if there was something here he could tap her nose with.
Kerri showed her teeth as a pleasantry. “So neither of us have been killed by an explosion?” A chuckle. “Shall we try to keep it that way, yeah?”
Levan chuckled back. “Sounds fine to me.” He poked his head back into the casing. “Looks ready to rock, as they say?”
“Whatdoes thatmean?”
Levan shrugged and bonked his head on the casing. “Ow. Not a clue. Something mom says.” Inspection completed, he pulled back out and closed the casing for it to be taken to a launch station. “Fancy Coffee later or something?”
Kerri looked away so he couldn’t see how worried she was at the idea. It was nothing. It was just coffee. It was sitting with a male for the first time since the assault. She didn’t know if she could… If she could…
“I could take it at the commissary by the Engineering section,” Levan added, not knowing of her recent history. “And it’s just coffee?”
She smiled and grimaced at the same time. She balled her fists and screwed her eyes shut as she thought hard for a few seconds. Then she managed to get out an “Okay!” and felt somewhat better. And terrified. “Um, when,” she said, relaxing her posture and turning back around.
“Not sure,” Levan mused. “I’ll have to find out and call you.”
Kerri decided she’d need to make sure Senny was available as a chaperone.

Time counted down to zero moment across the ship and torpedoes launched fore and aft on pre-programmed courses, spinning out to cover as much of the area as possible. “Screens off,” Postain ordered and the main screen went blank, cut off from the feeds and sensors that transmitted from the front of the ship to the bridge, three floors down from the top deck and thirty metres back from the hull. He waited impatiently as the Jenner appeared on long range sensors a few seconds before the torpedoes detonated in a mighty display of light energy that dissipated almost immediately in the vacuum. Just for that second, though…
“Reflection at 260,150,040,” The Raitchian at the sciences station reported quickly.
“Target and fire,” Postain remarked. “Screens on.”
The weapons officer controlling the guns pointing in mostly that direction complied, firing off several shots that hit close to that location. Most passed harmlessly but two impacted something, shearing grooves into the hull before the shields went up.
“Now that we CAN see,” Postain growled. “Launch the fighters and prepare to engage!”
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Everything in this chapter has been really nicely put together! Keep it up!
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

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THIRTY-FIVE

Senny wasn’t walking the corridors right now, she was running. Like the others, the pirate had a place to be and she’d left too little time to get there. She pushed her limbs to the maximum to get to the holographic recreation deck. It was one of the few leisure facilities on board and had been set up for her use in the last few months and she just hoped the last person to use it had enabled the ‘wash-down’ facility. This time. The last time the smell had been distracting and she’d put in a request to have the cleaning made automated. It was probably still going through the channels.

She pushed around the corner as the main alert siren sounded and activated program Senny-01. The door opened and she stepped into an aerated void. It was an interpretation of close space around the ship, provided by the cameras and computers. A seat and table appeared in the middle of the room as the door closed and she sat, putting a headset on as she did so. Above her, the launched fighters came into play, names and idents flashing in boxes on the hulls. The computer screen showed the names as well as she turned in the chair. “O.K., pilots,” she said heavily, “Armchair is in quarterback. Target has a limited visual silhouette indicating Raitchian tech. Main weapons to the fore. Topside usually well defended. Rear weapons are usually minimal because the engines are oversized to power the reflective screens. Shields are stronger there to compensate but ignore that. Alpha squad attack the rear. Beta and Gamma, protect Alpha. Keep any fighter cover off them. Let the barn deal with the forward cannons.”
She heard one or two chuckles at reference to the Rodomont as a ‘barn’ and one or two acknowledging the skills of the Pirate. Each flight had a flight leader but the presence of Senny meant that Postain hadn’t had to replace the Wing Commander he’d lost last year. He would have but no-one adequately qualified had become available – except one and ‘someone else’ had got her. So he’d put Senny to work. He couldn’t put her in a cockpit but he’d found this way to use her. She set the computer relay to follow Beta 5 and almost imagined being in the cockpit as it swept towards the unknown ship.

“Senny’s in position,” Maldak reported as Postain watched the enemy ship.
“Good,” he said. “Any response to the hail?”
“No, sir,” Maldak replied, wondering if the Captain really thought she wouldn’t tell him if they had.
The screen flashed as incoming fire lashed onto the energy screens. “I think that’s their reply, sir,” Rhew said bitterly. He’d still been holding out a faint hope that the ship was actually a Raitchian navy ship but this seemed to confirm otherwise. He was as ready as possible for the fight and hoped the Jenner would get here quickly. It would have helped, of course, if the Jenner had known they’d be here but comm silence had had to be maintained. The Raitchian had to have followed them from Passaderra. It was the only thing he could think of. Did that mean the enemy was there? Or had they just figured out the Rodomont was hunting them? The mental conversation ended with the revelation that it was irrelevant on the next strike to the Rodomont’s shields.

The battleship fired back, the manually targetted shots scramming the barely visible ships shields, creating an infinitely brief chain of lights in space as the Raitchian launched her flight of fighters. “All right,” Senny advised, “they’ve woken up late, and let us get too close. Let’s make them regret it, yes?” She tapped keys on the console, sending attack patterns directly through to the flight computers for the pilots to implement. They had the right to overrule but she hoped they didn’t without good reason. This was always the moment that made her shock collar itch. At least it was better than her bomb collar… She flinched as incoming fire from a grey coloured fighter swept just above the cockpit of her borrowed ‘ride’ and tried not to reflexly press the firing stud that wasn’t under her hand as Beta 5 fired back, forcing the Raicarra V5 fighter to twist away, engaging it’s main engines to power away from the fire. “O.K.,” she added, “they’re in V5’s. We’ve trained on this. They can match speed and bank better than you but the stabilizer’s behind the left wing are definitely a weak point. Take those out of action and the pilot’s a squidge on the canopy. Horrible I know but it’s you or them. Beta’s six through 9, close on alpha wing! Get those attackers off them!” She cursed as Alpha 7’s feed died. Alpha leader had seen the danger a little too late, ordering two of his fighters to peel off to protect their rear. She noted Gamma flight’s leader was hanging to the rear of the conflict, directing his pilots in to assist where needed, boosting both the other flights as needed. She’d think about commending him, Flight leader Tivvil, after this – if he lived through it. The Mican had a good strategic brain and, quite frankly, was the reason she rarely had to give direct orders to his pilots.

Jasmine Dox sat in the middle of the safe zone nearest to stellar cartography and worried as the door was sealed. One security guard inside with thirty non essential officers and family members. There weren’t enough chairs for everyone but a Raitchian boy, who’d made her wonder why he wasn’t in school, had looked at her and gotten up so she could sit. He went over to the emergency food replication system and used up a small portion of it’s charge to get himself a Livvan Soda and her a vegetable smoothie that he brough back over. “Thank you,” she said, looking around as the room shook. She took the drink. “It’s Enzo Carvallo, isn’t it,” she asked. “Your mum works in the Hydroponic section?”
The youngster, looking slightly scared at all the banging, turned the look to surprise as Jasmine got his name right. “Yes, Miss Dox,” he said, a little open mouthed, “how did you know?”
She smiled gently. “Seen your mom a few times at lunch. And I don’t need to know how you know MY name, do I,” she asked, tilting her head towards him. “I’m the Commanders’ girlfriend. Or am I called something else right now?” She saw the awkward expression on his face and knew she was distracting him as much as he was her. “Come on,” she prompted, “you can tell me…”
“I don’t know…” he started, then decided not to lie. He spoke in a low, embarrassed, tone. “The Commander’s cotton tail,” he said quietly. “But I never…”
She cut him off with a chuckle. “I’ve been called much worse, Enzo.” She lowered her face towards his. “And that’s before I was pregnant!” She enjoyed watching the smile come out on his face and was somewhat dismayed when it vanished with the next volley of shots.
“Are… are we gonna be OK,” he asked hopefully.
“Well, Mikkel and Marius know what they’re doing, Enzo, so I’d say so.” She saw the confused look on his face. “Commander Rhew and Captain Postain.”
“Oh,” he said uncertainly.
She finished her drink and put it down. “Can you do something for me, Enzo,” she asked.
The boy nodded shakily.
“Well, I’m told Raitchian hearing is almost as good as Lappinean?”
“Better,” the boy boasted.
Jasmine smiled inwardly. She had him. “Well, could you do a quick check on my baby,” she asked, pulling up her top to expose the womb. “I don’t feel anything’s wrong but I’d like someone to check the heartbeat?” He looked unsure so she gently moved his head until one ear was against the womb and he put a hand up to her side to steady himself. As he listened she could feel his shakiness subside until it was nearly gone, despite the shaking of the ship.
“I, um, think it’s fine, Miss Dox.”
“Jasmine, Enzo,” she corrected as she pulled the top back down. “Now, I’m not big enough – yet – to take up all this seat so, if you want..?”
He climbed up onto her lap. Just for a moment. It wasn’t that he wanted to feel safe, oh no. It was just that… his feet hurt from walking. Yeah. That’s what he told himself.

And the fight outside continued.
Commander Hawle. U.S.C. Loper. By the talented DDeer.
Kilo - 2-8-3-9-10-2-5
Kilo
Leslie – 4-6-4-5-6-9-7
Leslie
David Campbell - 7 – 8 – 9 – 5 – 4 – 4 – 6
Corp Davidstow 6 - 6 - 7 - 3 - 6 - 6 - 5 (reactions 7 Combat 9)
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Delightful as always Welsh! Really do like what you have written!
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DDeer
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by DDeer »

Up to 34, trying to guess someone's hand at Poker by Antler positioning would take some practice I would imagine, like the concept though and the idea of emotions affecting them :) Seems the crew like a flutter on this ship.
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Welsh Halfwit
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by Welsh Halfwit »

DDeer wrote: Sun Jun 13, 2021 8:42 am Up to 34, trying to guess someone's hand at Poker by Antler positioning would take some practice I would imagine, like the concept though and the idea of emotions affecting them :) Seems the crew like a flutter on this ship.
Well, you know what happens with the roboantlers if he gets, um, excited...
Commander Hawle. U.S.C. Loper. By the talented DDeer.
Kilo - 2-8-3-9-10-2-5
Kilo
Leslie – 4-6-4-5-6-9-7
Leslie
David Campbell - 7 – 8 – 9 – 5 – 4 – 4 – 6
Corp Davidstow 6 - 6 - 7 - 3 - 6 - 6 - 5 (reactions 7 Combat 9)
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

That's what he said!
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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by DDeer »

Welsh Halfwit wrote: Sun Jun 13, 2021 1:31 pm
DDeer wrote: Sun Jun 13, 2021 8:42 am Up to 34, trying to guess someone's hand at Poker by Antler positioning would take some practice I would imagine, like the concept though and the idea of emotions affecting them :) Seems the crew like a flutter on this ship.
Well, you know what happens with the roboantlers if he gets, um, excited...
:oops: I can guess...

Finally back up to speed, can't beat a good space battle (these always remind me of sea battles), touching moment with "cotton tail". I wonder how Jak is after his Sparring practice, sounded pretty full-on, I would guess Roboantlers would make for good blocks when you can get your head in the right position fast enough (inertia is a pain in the neck ;) )

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Re: A Briar Patch Tale

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Though I'm not sure why anybody would want their roboantlers to be attacked as I thought that was a very sensitive area.
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