The Flight of the Bettie

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
21

[sub]InLing Tran On 12776:60987:392785: GPS 1009:37:22 MGT[/sub]

Sometimes I forget the differences in our respective Slingos so I’m transsing in High Intergal now.

Rue, you wound me, you really do. Since when have you ever failed to profit from participation in one of my ahem enterprises.

A few salient points to consider:
a) You have never, to my knowledge, turned down free kleef.
b) I have the best kleef in the three systems.
c) I still have that little OPAL class skimmer all specced up and ready to race. The one that looks like a Corvette’s dory.

So, I get the impression from your x-comm that you think I’m growing bucky balls. Bucky balls I’ve already got. I’d have bucky balls coming out of my ass if I still had an ass. Oh. I probably didn’t tell you, I had a little incident since you saw me last. More embarrassing than anything else. There’s even a little doggerel verse making the rounds of the bars about it called “I lost my body off Tau Ceti” (sung to the tune of “The Ballad of the Three-Legged Spaceman.”) Anyway, if you come out that will give me some incentive to finally climb into a ReGen and grow a new bio-corpus, with a higher alcohol tolerance, of course. If you can persuade FCM to come out with you, I’ll add something for her too. She really liked the prehensile tail I had last time.

Don’t you remember me telling you that those big domes on the surfaces of the Habs are called “buckeys”? Well, we’re gonna make a new one, two actually.
What we do is find a BIG nickel-iron asteroid and tunnel down to the center of mass. Then we fill it with comet ice and seal it back up. Then we unfurl a big solar reflector to heat it up and melt the surface, slowly, very slowly. We spin it so it heats evenly. We don’t want to heat it too fast cause we want a nice even shell of molten metal around the water so that when the water gets hot enough to turn into steam the sphere will expand evenly instead of rupture. If everything goes right, in a little while you have one big-clofted metal sphere that you can cut in half to make two buckeys.
Parts of it are interesting, but mostly it’s a bunch of Uber-Geeks and their crews of high-tech (read well-paid and well-supplied) spacers holding station around a hot rock, (just in case), with not very much to do. Can you say PARTY!?! There’ll be gambling. (Tombo is still legal here, except without the knives.) There’ll be races (remember the Opal? We can do the old “drunken spaceman wants to race” scam.) there’ll be run-n-guns. I’ve got a new anti-matter cannon on the ‘Strider’. Not much good against a phased field, [sub](I have…umm…other things for that)[/sub] but fun for rocks. There will be substances both legal and not so. The kleef and the space-gals will be flowing like water. You really should come out.
Plus, {untranslatable} would love to see you again. I gather you’re forgiven for what you tried to do last time. Well, you were pretty drunk, and pretty damn lonely, I guess.

P.S. I just parsed the message from FCM and she’s right about the uniform, forget the epaulets.

Anyway come on out.

[sub]End transmission.

InLing Tran Off 12776:60987:392785: GPS 1009:38:53 MGT[/sub]

22

Rue, you have my apologies. I completely misunderstood your situation and intentions. I see now that you’re just working up a Rim’Rod. [sub]“Paint job.” Yeah. Wink, wink.[/sub]

And Kilt-wearin’ man? I’m with ya, pal. Blast and duck, or shoot and scoot, I guess it just comes down to what you’re used to. Different approaches, same result.

I think lno might be on to something in the 'rod department here. Pick up some scrap hull metal and do a little applique job, and you’ve got that “retro” thing locked. Just a thought.

Before I go, though…

FairyChatMom? You do know that those things are short range Couriers, right? They really don’t need a crew, just a pilot. I think Rue’s “offer” might be a scam. Watch your six, if you know what I mean.

23

Oh, Rue, this is the deal-clincher! Lowered gravity?!? Have I mentioned lately the high esteem in which I hold you? Might I mention other ways I might be inclined to hold you??

What, blushing? Me?

Anyway, I’ll pass on the blaster. They chafe. But I do have a couple of new food programs that produce Regian chocolates that are positively orgasmic… and I’m not talking metaphorically here. So make me the chef, and I’ll pack my bags.

Exgineer, I know exactly what you mean, but we’re talking lowered gravity here!!!

24

OK, Bumb, I’m up to speed now. (You meant little ‘b’ buckeys.) Sorry to hear about your ass, but this way you can’t loose it (again) at the tables. And I just want to say: I only indulge in kleef to be sociable. I wouldn’t want to be thought rude. (I can say a lot of things, huh?)

Let me think: hot rocks, drunk spacers, kleef (the good stuff too, off Ristlan, right?), our best friend in three systems forgave my past… indiscretions… hmmmm… cook up a new bod, Bud, I am so there. (Although Tombo without the knives is like Crestel without the chain. What? Are we old ladies now? Oh wait… you just said it was legal without the knives, and I’ve never known you to let a Barney near anything you have cooking…)

Send me your co-ordinates, the HNeb is a big neighborhood to go poking around in. (And who was Horace Hedd, and why did he get his own nebula? Yeah, old joke, but it still tickles me.) Although if you have a gig out there, I’m sure there’ll be signs the size of solar flares.

lno’s Betty would be so cool. Yeah, it’ll be an in-system thing. But still, trés cool. Especially if you keeps one com band back for the berrrrrrr errrrrr errrrrr prop noise.

And it looks like the Bettie has a new chef! Wooo! It’s a good day to be me.
-Rue.

25

Hey Exgineer - what are you flashing around in these days? I just finished restoring an old G/A-26D with some slight mods. Got her in a pristine ASF paint scheme from her glory days right down to nose art, and she’s a dream to handle.

She’s got new engines (Miles/Montgomery J-190’s - not exactly original equipment, but I bought 'em brand new right before I sold the Sgian Dhu so no sense wasting 'em) and an upgraded core, and of course the ECM suite and defenses are current (they just look original, for nostalgia’s sake - no reason to mess up the lines on a classic!). Everything fits in the original mounts, so you’d think you were back on Cygnus Base with your grandpa’s old squadron from the looks of her. Man, they knew how to build them back then.

I might be in the neighborhood soon, I wanna take a look at
Rue’s Bettie after hearing so much about her - maybe we can all get together and stir up some trouble. Look for a cherry Sunhawk in 37th Attack Wing colors named Lucky Lucy - of course, there aren’t that many G/A-26’s left outside of museums, so I should be easy to scan anyway.

26

You have a Sunhawk?!?!
I’m getting by with a pretty badly burned out Firesnake-class scouter. My biggest problem is matching the hull film where I replaced the hull segments behind the third main spar. She’d taken a torpedo right through the power section, and the after aspects were pretty screwed up when I bought her. I’m having trouble getting an albedo match.

I found a military surplus G2-5a fusactor (heavily used), and some attitude thrusters from a bulk carrier that I managed to wedge into the hull. I know what you’re thinking, but I got 'em aligned just fine. I jumpered in a contol board from an interdiction beacon that I bought from some Delian scavengers, and I can run everything from the pilot’s position.

I’ve got two Montgomery Model 7 X-ray lasers mounted where the Garibaldi MkI’s used to be, and believe me, making that look stock was a royal pain. I also have twelve fire-and-forget low delta-v seeker missles in two pop-out box launchers, but you and I both know they aren’t worth spit. Unless the other guy sees a mass-launch flare on his screen and flinches.:smiley:

If you and Rue don’t mind, I’ll bring her by and you guys can give me some advice on trickin’ her out.

27

Ex, you have a Firesnake with a freaking torp burn and you’re worrying about matching the pretties? Rip man, chicks dig scars!

Take her out to some old rock miner garage and have a stock plate vacuum welded over the wound and have him put in extra fluff. Like it was a dirty job in field. (Of course you’ll want to be sure the skin is sound under the Hollywood. Can’t skimp on that. Especially in the neighborhood of your go box.)

Unless your really twisted on the shiney right-out-of-the-box. Seems a waste of credits when the “I ain’t dead” look is so cool. That’s just me though. (I’d throw in a couple of capacitors to give you random spikes when you’re hot. Showy, but a nice touch.) If you still have trouble matching, let me know. I’ll transmit you the co-ords of the best re-fit shop this side of Callisto.

I like the idea of the seekers. Throw flaming garbage at them and run while they figure that out. Classic scout tactics too, so you have the whole authentic angle going for you. You might take some ribbing in the dancehall from the pretty boys with there Bergens and Maacronns, but they’ll be an oldster who’ll buy you drinks just for the nod.

Kilt, Lucky Lucy on a Sunhawk with the 37th colors too. Subtle. Do you have the “death’s head” flight suit too? History pimp. (I mean that in the best way.)

I’m starting to see the fascination Screamers have with the old de-Milled hardware. But if it doesn’t serve drinks, I’ll just passenge, thanks.
-Rue.

Bettie says Lucy’s a bitch and she can take her on any Jounce Run. Ever. (I think she knows she’s lying. Why did I give her the semi-autonomous AI again?)

28

Well, I wouldn’t say I have a Sunhawk, Exgineer, it’s more like a jumble of parts of several Sunhawks all flying in close formation…I found the fuselage in an old orbital scrapyard the mil forgot about years ago…towed her out with the Sgian Dhu’s grapplers and snuck her home. She was in pretty bad shape, they’d stripped her vitals before they scrapped the hull, so there were no engines, weapons, life support… Anyway, she looked like she had taken some nasty ground fire on her last mission - I figure the pilot got her off planet and ejected, because the cockpit was gone and the hole was pretty scorched.

I took an inventory of what was missing, along with plenty of vids of her so I could match up the original paint. (yeah, I know it’s not really “paint” per se, but I’ve spent a lot of time hanging out with grease grunts to get her flying and I picked up some lingo. Besides, it was a real Sunhawk with combat time - might as well keep it authentic!). That scrapyard was a treasure trove - at least a dozen Sunhawks in various conditions - Lucy was the best of 'em, but the others had some of the original parts I needed. Everything internal got replaced with current equipment - including those beautiful engines. Rue, did you tell Bettie that Lucy’s only a Sunhawk on the outside? She might give Bettie a run for her creds.

Anyway, I stripped her to the ribs and got her fuselage rebuilt better than new, then refurbed the skin panels and all the seals. Now here’s where it gets good. You know how Sunhawks originally had a five man crew, right? Well, there’s only one of me, so I have an AI running the top, tail and belly turrets, and with no real need for a bombradier/navigator, I have the whole ship to myself. Oh, all the stations are still there, so if anyone wants a ride I can offer several nice views of stuff going by, but like Exgineer I can run everything from the pilot’s seat.

I had to seal the surface-attack weapons bay to get a flight cert, so I decided that rather than wasting that space, I’d spruce it up a bit and turned it into a small galley and my own cabin - there ain’t much head room, but there’s no grav back there so it doesn’t really matter. The original crew bunks are still up by the cockpit, but there’s no reason not to have my own space… Oh, what was that I scanned about “if it doesn’t serve drinks?” Appropriately enough, Lucy mixes a damned fine drink she calls an “Old Fashioned”. Says it was invented on Earth. I don’t know about that, but they’re tasty. The galley’s fully stocked, and I stock a galley well, if I do say so.

By the way, Rue, I told Lucy what Bettie said, and she just kinda snickered. That worries me a bit, since we both know AI’s don’t understand humor, and I’m pretty sure they aren’t supposed to snicker. I think maybe we overdid it with the personality emulation. She’s taken to downloading any doc she can get her hands on about her frame’s history, and now she insists that she can remember the war. Sure, the war stories are fun, but it’s a little creepy if you think too much about it…almost like she’s haunted or something.

As far as teeth go, I’m packing twin Garibaldi MkII’s in the tail turret (nasty surprise for some Grinder who thought he’d claim salvage rights on Lucy while I was flyin’ her out in the Crab last week…), a Burton K-5i pulse laser in the top turret (used, but sweet), and a Burton Avenger in the bottom turret - not great, but when an AI’s doing the aiming, there ain’t much to complain about. Sure, she sounds pretty heavily armed, but the turrets were there and it seemed a shame to leave 'em empty…

Not to mention those poor, lonely looking missile racks…:smiley:

Expensive you say? Damned right. Of course, having a scrapyard that nobody remembered and nobody could find helped a lot…anybody looking for antique equipment?

Rue, I’m still looking for a “Death’s Head” flight suit…all I’ve found so far are half-assed knock-offs that just look bad. I’ve got the helmet, though, with a working head-up visor display…

Exgineer - the Firesnake sounds like a nice ride - lots of potential there. I know a couple of grease grunts near here that helped a lot on Lucy. If you want, I can get you in touch with them - I’d bet they can fix that albedo problem in no time. I kinda agree with Rue though, making it look like a field patch job might be a nice touch.

29

Well, I wouldn’t say I have a Sunhawk, Exgineer, it’s more like a jumble of parts of several Sunhawks all flying in close formation…I found the fuselage in an old orbital scrapyard the mil forgot about years ago…towed her out with the Sgian Dhu’s grapplers and snuck her home. She was in pretty bad shape, they’d stripped her vitals before they scrapped the hull, so there were no engines, weapons, life support… Anyway, she looked like she had taken some nasty ground fire on her last mission - I figure the pilot got her off planet and ejected, because the cockpit was gone and the hole was pretty scorched.

I took an inventory of what was missing, along with plenty of vids of her so I could match up the original paint. (yeah, I know it’s not really “paint” per se, but I’ve spent a lot of time hanging out with grease grunts to get her flying and I picked up some lingo. Besides, it was a real Sunhawk with combat time - might as well keep it authentic!). That scrapyard was a treasure trove - at least a dozen Sunhawks in various conditions - Lucy was the best of 'em, but the others had some of the original parts I needed. Everything internal got replaced with current equipment - including those beautiful engines. Rue, did you tell Bettie that Lucy’s only a Sunhawk on the outside? She might give Bettie a run for her creds.

Anyway, I stripped her to the ribs and got her fuselage rebuilt better than new, then refurbed the skin panels and all the seals. Now here’s where it gets good. You know how Sunhawks originally had a five man crew, right? Well, there’s only one of me, so I have an AI running the top, tail and belly turrets, and with no real need for a bombradier/navigator, I have the whole ship to myself. Oh, all the stations are still there, so if anyone wants a ride I can offer several nice views of stuff going by, but like Exgineer I can run everything from the pilot’s seat.

I had to seal the surface-attack weapons bay to get a flight cert, so I decided that rather than wasting that space, I’d spruce it up a bit and turned it into a small galley and my own cabin - there ain’t much head room, but there’s no grav back there so it doesn’t really matter. The original crew bunks are still up by the cockpit, but there’s no reason not to have my own space… Oh, what was that I scanned about “if it doesn’t serve drinks?” Appropriately enough, Lucy mixes a damned fine drink she calls an “Old Fashioned”. Says it was invented on Earth. I don’t know about that, but they’re tasty. The galley’s fully stocked, and I stock a galley well, if I do say so.

By the way, Rue, I told Lucy what Bettie said, and she just kinda snickered. That worries me a bit, since we both know AI’s don’t understand humor, and I’m pretty sure they aren’t supposed to snicker. I think maybe we overdid it with the personality emulation. She’s taken to downloading any doc she can get her hands on about her frame’s history, and now she insists that she can remember the war. Sure, the war stories are fun, but it’s a little creepy if you think too much about it…almost like she’s haunted or something.

As far as teeth go, I’m packing twin Garibaldi MkII’s in the tail turret (nasty surprise for some Grinder who thought he’d claim salvage rights on Lucy while I was flyin’ her out in the Crab last week…), a Burton K-5i pulse laser in the top turret (used, but sweet), and a Burton Avenger in the bottom turret - not great, but when an AI’s doing the aiming, there ain’t much to complain about. Sure, she sounds pretty heavily armed, but the turrets were there and it seemed a shame to leave 'em empty…

Not to mention those poor, lonely looking missile racks…:smiley:

Expensive you say? Damned right. Of course, having a scrapyard that nobody remembered and nobody could find helped a lot…anybody looking for antique equipment?

Rue, I’m still looking for a “Death’s Head” flight suit…all I’ve found so far are half-assed knock-offs that just look bad. I’ve got the helmet, though, with a working head-up visor display…

Exgineer - the Firesnake sounds like a nice ride - lots of potential there. I know a couple of grease grunts near here that helped a lot on Lucy. If you want, I can get you in touch with them - I’d bet they can fix that albedo problem in no time. I kinda agree with Rue though, making it look like a field patch job might be a nice touch.

30

Geeze, I’m totally outclassed here. KWM and Rue have really sweet rebuilds, and Bumbazine is off spinning new buckeys for habit’ domes. I’ve just got this piece of junk [sub] don’t tell her I said that[/sub] that I rehabbed to cart my wide butt around the Rim.

Kilt-wearin’ Man managed to put together a cherry Sunhawk from parts, and Rue took the initiative and made himself a pleasure yacht. And he got FairyChatMom for an onboard chef. I have a beater.

And Rue? I’m not really trying to match the “paint,” I’m just trying to avoid hot-spots in case I have to make a high energy re-entry into a thick atmosphere. This thing ain’t never gonna’ look cherry, believe me.

BTW- do either of you guys know where I can get parts for a g67-42b Millhouse air-handling plant? My life-support is going a little wonky, and I don’t want to take her out unless I’m absolutely sure I won’t have to try breating hard vacuum.

31

I know someone who knows someone who has a semi-cousin that can get their hands on an Infinite Improbability Drive for the right price… but you have to take Eddie, too.

You wouldn’t get me on a IID ship again though … “weirder stuff with my breakfast cereal” indeed!

Trillian … oops… I mean Politzania.

[wrong reality? Hrmph - Thursday must’ve come early]

32

Sorry about that double - I got a ghost signal in my AE-135 that’s been duplexing everything I send and garbling the text coding. I think I have it locked down now - let me know if this signal has any problems. If any mods are still reading this, maybe they can ditch the duplicate for us.

As for your puffer, Exgineer, let me get you in touch with Guido and his boys. They have one hell of a shop set up and I’d be amazed if they couldn’t track down the parts you’re looking for and do a factory-quality install. They made Lucy the girl she is today - and they’re Kintranese, so they aren’t cred-motivated like most grease grunts. Just don’t ask what “Guido” is short for - he told me his whole name once and my ears rang for a week.

Anyone been watching the newsfeed today? Looks like there’s trouble on Leonov Station again. Word to the wise - I’d steer clear until they get those Corian grinder gangs back under control.

33

OK, Rue, I need some kind of itinerary from you so I know how to stock the galley. And little details, too, like if we’re going places where we can get potable water or decent wine. I’ve heard the inner moon at Gobamar has a primo winery. And there’s a matter of fresh fruits and veggies - you know as well as I that some systems are better than others for produce. Last idiot I cooked for had a thing for kerrik root, and even when it’s fresh, it’s vile. But you’re the boss, so let me know what you prefer and where we’re going, and I can work things out.

Oh yeah, and by “you’re the boss”, I don’t mean you’re REALLY the boss, so don’t go getting any ideas… I’ll be packed in a coupla days. Send a shuttle for my stuff.

34

[sub]InLing Tran On 12776:60987:392785: GPS 1022:45:07 MGT[/sub]

Okay Rue, here’s the easiest way to get here from there. Jump to the beacon at Zeta Orionis. From there you can scope beacon B33-72 in the Head itself, Jump at B33-72 but dump C 16.722 lights short and coast. Point your telemetry towards galactic center and listen for squawk on Y-sub-3. Home on Tamburu Hab. That’s where I’m basing. They can point you to the ‘work’ site, no problems. I’m legit-cit at Tamburu. ‘Course it helps that they’re very relaxed about legalities and all. They even let me keep my MIMI without muting her. No, not the seXXX model, one of the old ones that made Dynasys Corp’s rep, the model with the voice. Did you ever wonder how many spacers fell in love with that voice on a long reach? I swear they somehow induced a Peeper translator into making those recordings. Too bad they were banned most places. Anyway, it has a level 5 chess rating, and a philosophy HoMem! Who needs a newer model? You know, you can only plug the socket so many times, but a good argument can go on for days!

Oh and Exgineer, I don’t know about a Milhouse, but I can put you onto a Sqwelch3 if you don’t mind the smell, and maybe a couple of other bodges if you’re willing to sweat some. Drop in when you can, you too KWM, any friends of Rue’s are friends of mine. Just don’t believe any stories he tells you about our time together in the Guard. I swear I never sold him into slavery. Besides, I bought him back again [sub]after a while,[/sub] and it was a * very* high-classed bordello.
[sub]InLing Tran Off 12776:60987:392785: GPS 1009:38:15 MGT[/sub]

35

ummmmm, Bumbazine, do tell me more about Rue and the bordello… Just for intellectual curiosity, mind you. I’d never use such information for naughty purposes. Honest!

36

It was a bordello!?! I thought it was just a really expensive hotel. And if it was slavery, why did I have to pay?

Uh… forget I said anything. (Although I was very popular. All the girls would come over and we’d play cards.)

Snickers, since you asked about the kitchen arrangements, I’ll tell you. (I’d send video, but I dropped the 'corder. Actually I smashed it with my boot. I thought it was a bug.) Heck, I’ll give you the whole your, so you can pick up curtains or whatever girly thing you want.

When you come in the hatch, straight ahead is the ladder down to lower deck and then bottom. (Good system, huh?) If you turn left (in boat-talk I think that’s “to the front”) there’s the cockpit. If you turn right (“to the back”) there’s everything else. On starboard side, I took out the “little pilot’s room” and put in a pantry. Then there’s the galley. It’s got a Step 3 Xian Shu unit. Fully functional with manual cookers. (If you ever want to use them, dust them first. Just a tip.) Since I remodeled a little, I moved the whole unit up and took out the counter. That gives me more room behind the Xian for foodstuffs. (The (drinking) water tank is there.) Behind the galley there’s the lockers. Across from the galley, where the vault and the bunk were, I put in a dining table and in the vault hole is Bettie’s brain.

Downstairs in front is the main cabin. (The only cabin, so it has to be “main”.) This is where the grav lance was pulled, so you know that leaves a lot of room. I put a window (transparent aluminium, of course) under the clamshells, so I can open it up when we’re drifting for the best view of where ever we go. That’s where the sonic tub is. Behind that is the bed. (Yours of course. I can sleep in the observation bubble. wink, wink) To one side of the tub is an armoire. That’s yours. On the other side is an old suit of heavy space armour. I keep drinks in there for when I don’t feel like going all the way upstairs. The under-bed storage is mine. Unless you need more room. We’ll work something out. In trade. (wink again.)

Port side, across from the down ladder is the new, improved “little pilot’s room”. Much plusher than the standard issue one I pulled out upstairs. (Not like “hotel plush”, but pretty Jake for a ship.) Behind that is a little more storage. And the Emergency Suits, and all that other safety crap. Then the hatch to Engineering. I keep the engines in there. (Ha! I crack me up!) Plus the air plant.

Down to bottom (not a whole deck, more a “crawlspace”) I have “storage” that I’ll show you later, but won’t talk about now. The Observation bubble is there too. But there’s a better, more comfortable veiw in the cabin. The access to the Garabaldi (and the side blow wasn’t cracked, just bad calibration, all fixed now) is on the starboard. Behind that is reaction mass tanks and the “tool room”.

If you take the ladder all the way up, there’s the access to the co-axe blister.

So you can see, Bettie is rather… roundish. (Not counting Engineering.) Just don’t call her a “gumball”, even though that is a regular appellation. At least not where she can hear. She gets all huffy at that. Then she has to show off. It’s just easier if you don’t call her that.

(I’ll send you all the specs on mass and volume later. But I think you’ll find Bettie pretty roomy for short-ish trips.)

“Itinerary”… I’ve heard of that word…

Usually I just file a plan to FarAway Station (the Kiwi’s have the best names for their orbitals) then when I get out and figure where I want to go, I (usually) beam out a correction. If Kilt and Ex can co-ordinate their schedules, we can convoy out and see Bumb. That would be a hoot.
-Rue.

P.S. Kerrik root bad!
Gobamar good!

37

Hah! Yeah, a convoy sounds fun…I’m sure the four of us can stay out of trouble :smiley:

BTW - if we stop over at Korusawa Station, let’s try to keep FCM away from the LoQuii tables this time. I mean, the station’s crawling with Doshato, and we all know they cheat - it is a cultural thing with them not to be “bested” by a “soft-skin” - but they really hate it when you point the cheating out. Especially if you’re sitting on the cheater’s chest with a zapstick up his nose demanding an apology. Somewhere I have a copy of the vid from the bar’s securecam of FCM sitting on that guy’s chest…man, it still cracks me up…

Anyway, it’s probably good that we all have new ships…I hear the Doshato still have a bounty out on our old ones. Good thing we all look alike to them.

38

Hah! Yeah, a convoy sounds fun…I’m sure the four of us can stay out of trouble :smiley:

BTW - if we stop over at Korusawa Station, let’s try to keep FCM away from the LoQuii tables this time. I mean, the station’s crawling with Doshato, and we all know they cheat - it is a cultural thing with them not to be “bested” by a “soft-skin” - but they really hate it when you point the cheating out. Especially if you’re sitting on the cheater’s chest with a zapstick up his nose demanding an apology. Somewhere I have a copy of the vid from the bar’s securecam of FCM sitting on that guy’s chest…man, it still cracks me up…

Anyway, it’s probably good that we all have new ships…I hear the Doshato still have a bounty out on our old ones. Good thing we all look alike to them.

What the…Lucy! What’s going on with the transmitter?
Fault warning on the AE-135, Sir.
Can you lock it down? I’ve got an outgoing priority transmission.
Affirmative. Resetting AE-135 unit. Resetting message buffer. Transmitter active.
Are we up?
Greenlights across the board, Sir. Active message ready to transmit.
Whaddaya mean “active message?” Dammit! I told it to “save and transmit”! Run a diagnostic on this terminal, Lucy.
Yes, Sir. Diagnostic in progress. Message transmitting in three…two…o{message ends}

39

Sorry, guys, I’m having all kinds of problems…please disregard the duplicates, my online connection lately has been tenuous at best, and it tells me it couldn’t find the server when the message actually got through, which leads to the oh-so-annoying double posts.

We now return to our regularly scheduled program, in progress.

40

Crap - I thought I got all the copies of that vid…