When Roark arrived he didn’t come in the mule. “Something wrong with the stabilizer, Swei. I bet when we plopped down, something snapped. I brought a grav-cart. Will that do? What are we haulin?”
“Um, well –”
“We’re hauling Brigid, actually. The grav-cart will do.” The Doc nodded curtly.

They scrambled up on to the cart, the Doc, Prudence and Miss V. I waved at them from the ground. “I’m good. I’m good here on the ground. Besides, we’re going the long way. Lu here promised to show me the new jail. She says its real pretty. Y’all go on.”

I waved them on and Roark slowly got the cart moving. Those things are designed off an Earth That Was tool called a wheelbarrow. Clever design, but maybe not the best for haulin’ livestock, as they say. I heard later from Prudence that they hadn’t gotten far when Miss V just plum fell oft the back of the cart. Landed flat on her back in the dust.Roark was moving at a right good clip and he was a good 300 meters past by the time he slowed the cart down!

They finally made it to the hardware store, to Bailey Sacketts, but we were just a few minutes behind ‘em and we took our time! I was right pleased with what I got at the store. Lots of fine, barely used parts for D-VA. 

Lu helped me bring it back with a borrowed grav. Along the way I asked her about her immediate and future plans. “Space life ain’t bad, you know. I could use me a good assistant. Big strong girl like you, shame to leave you to dry rot on this rock.”

“Well,” she said, “when I woke up this morning, I didn’t know rightly what I was gonna do. I got about three credits to my name and I thought ‘Lu, the Lord will provide. He will guide your steps this day.’ He guides my steps every day, mind, but today felt different. Special, like.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I was called to the port. I thought it was cause I could maybe minister to the miners. That Mister McKlaren there — him that was supposed to be landin’ only it was you folk — would maybe give me a job as camp minister.” She paused. “I think though, that the Lord’s called me to work with you fine folk.”
“Is that a yes, then? I like you Lu. We’re gonna get along just fine!”

Mr. Sackett came at dusk to get the ice. Me and Lu’d done a good job of getting the D-VA back on line so we didn’t lose too much ice to meltage, as they say.

He said he’d be back in the morning with our pay chitty. That made me nervous, but Miss V (looking very pretty in a new frock — she’d washed up after her tumble in the dust) allowed it. Saying, “This cargo is going to melt. Better to get it where it’s going and we’ll worry about the pay later.” Bailey winked at her. “I like doin’ bizness with a smart lady!” He finished securing the last barrel.
“Say, you wouldn’t want to help a man out, would you?”
“I’m not a companion, Mr. Sackett. Many people make that mistake; it’s my –”
“I need help with the horse carriage tomorrow and –” They both stopped and stared at the other.
“You were saying?……” Miss V’s eyes got all steely like they do sometimes and Sackett was no fool. “Yes ‘em. If your man (he motioned to Roark) has a mind, I could use a hand with the ceremonial carriage tomorrow.”
The Doc stepped forward. “I can drive a team. I’m happy to help.”
Sackett looked at her face and said “Well, um, young lady, I do appreciate it. All of Regina appreciates it. Yes sir, Bob. And the parade starts right near here, so I’ll come collect you in the morning and bring your payday.”

It wasn’t until we started playing Serenity that the Legos really got their place in our gaming. Before then Michelle would often use Legos to make props our to denote NPCs, but of course the scale was all wrong for our D&D miniatures. That made the pictures look funny sometimes as Indira or Sadi would be going up against a giant who wasn’t supposed to be a giant. And a yellow giant at that! Visit the World’s Biggest LEGO Shop!

LEGO Castle Trolls’ Mountain Fortress (7097) $124.95 Includes the Good King himself,  3 knights, 2 giant trolls, the Troll King himself, a troll sorceress, 2 troll warriors and a horse. Oh and an AWESOME castle.	LEGO Castle King’s Battle Chariot (7078) $22.95 This battle chariot comes equipped with cross bow, spears and banners flying high, or it will, after you put it together. Sigh. I miss D&D.
LEGO Brickmaster: Castle (Lego Castle) $15.29 Comes with a hardcover book. Full color photos and easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions on how to build the castle. Even I can make a great castle with these instructions.	LEGO Star Wars Rebel Trooper Battle Pack (8083) $7.99 Perfect to adapt these pieces to our Serenity campaign. The ice cutter has 2 flick fire missiles, a rotating gun and a cargo box. Perfect for smugglers like us. Er, business people looking for exciting and unusual opportunities… That’s us.
LEGO Star Wars Echo Base (7749) $19.99 If you can find this set, it is so cool! Includes 5 figures — 2 snow troopers, 2 Rebel troopers and Han Solo in winter gear. I wish I could find a way to introduce Tauntaun to the Serenity universe…..	LEGO Indiana Jones Temple Escape $109.99 Indiana Jones Legos convert to Serenity pretty well. That dusty, dirty barroom brawl vibe translates very well. You can play around with the plane design and get a passable space ship.
LEGO Indiana Jones Jungle Cutter Set $38.99 There are some fun jungle pieces in this set. The cutter is fun and like the plane in the previous item, the cutter can become something more Serenity-like with a few changes. I love the ivy and greenery.

These are a few of the Legos I am saving up for, have bought or borrowed since we started playing D&D and Serenity. The possibilities are endless and I love just messing around with the standard designs. I hope you might find a Lego set to get your imagination fired up, too!

My folk had moved off to the right, keeping low and out of the way. I saw a man step out from a shed on the right, with his hands in the air. “I’m Hawks” he said. “Who wants to know?”
I just couldn’t help it. I saw red all over again and grabbed a ‘stick and punched a button. One of the mules began to move. I suppressed a giggle. I aimed it right at Hawks.

When he saw it coming, he let out a yell. The man behind him looked around wildly. “Teach you to leave me! Huh, Hawks? Not so tough now, are you Sarge?” I stopped the mule about a foot from him. All eyes swung towards me.
The man in the top hat squinted. “Who the hell are you?” His voice was bewildered.

“Swei, for goodness sake! Stop playing and come here!” Miss V’s voice cut through the tension. I hopped down from the control pad and walked slowly to where Miss V and the Doc were standing. She put her hands on her hips and said loudly, “Now. Who is going to explain this?” She looked at Hawks and at the man with the top hat. “Hmm? I’m waiting.”

The two men looked at each other. The man in the top hat smiled real big. “Well, Missy, I am the mayor of Regina and this here man is wanted fer, fer questioning.”
“Now you want a gorram minute. This is my mine and I want to know who the hell all y’all are.” Hawks swept his arm around and I realized he had a black glove on his left hand.
“Aw, did you hurt your paw when you left me on Hera?”
One of the men with the mayor moved towards me. “You need to step off, alright?”
“Where were you when I was fighting for your freedoms? Huh, you sonuvabitch!”

Hawks’ head snapped around. “What’s yer name, soldier?”
“Why don’t we talk and work, OK?” Brigid walked over the the mayor. She held out her hand. “Brigid Von Schindler at your service.”
Josiah Fox, mayor-elect, at yours little lady.”  Miss V took his arm and pulled him away a little bit. “It seems that our interests intersect. Would you agree? We’re here to get ice for Regina and you, being the mayor-elect, would wish us success in this, yes?”

In a few minutes we were working like bees in a hive. Prudence was operating one of the rigs and Roark was driving the tag-along like he was born to it.

I was, as they say, In my element. Anytime a machine threatened to conk out, I was there fixin’ her up.

I was bent over one of the compressors, checking for leaks when I heard a voice behind me. “I remember you. You were the mechanic. You hung around the fat guy. What was his name?”
I put my hammer down. “His name was Rich and he died waiting for the Amnesty release paperwork to come through. Ever been in prison, Hawks? It can get a might damp and a feller can get croupy in there.”

He was silent a moment. “We were gonna come back. We were. It’s just…..” His voice trailed off.
“Forget it,” I said. “Pfft. Just forget it. Old news and no one cares any more. Lest of all me.” And I walked away.
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But one day, I think it was day 4 of our 2 weeks of R&R, I woke to the sound of gun fire. Hot damn! I thought. We got us a situation! But it was just Roark taking potshots at the crows. I went out to cheer him on. Those damned crows were cawwing to beat the band. It was like a, like a gorram crow convention! When we came in about 20 minutes later there was talk of a comet.

“I know about comets!” I said. “Are we going to one? Going soon? I hate to say it, but I’m a mite bored.”
Maggie swiveled the screen my way. “There’s a job we could do. Fetchin ice from a comet and takin it to Regina. Gotta go soon though. What ya call time sensitive.” I slapped my thighs as I stood up. “I’ll get my gear.”

Roark rubbed his chin. “Seems fittin somehow.” Prudence looked at him. “How you figure?” He smiled. “Ice to ice, pretty lady! Get it? Ice — diamonds– to ice.”
“Maggie, how far is this Regeena?” The Doc walked in just then. “Oh, are you talking about Regina? Are we going there? It’s pronounced Ra-jai-na, Swei.”
“What? What? Like vagina? That’s just wrong. Who’d live there knowing that?”
“Regina is named after an Earth That Was city in the north. It means queen in Latin. You know Elizabeth Regina…?” The Doc looked at me expectantly.
I shook my head. “I ain’t smart like that, Doc.”

We were out of the lake house in less than an hour. I guess I wasn’t the only one going crazy with the quiet. I heard Miss V talking to the Doc. “It’s not that I don’t enjoy relaxing, Imago. For goodness sake! But think of the people of Regina. They need that ice or things will get grim. We can help our fellow men and shore up our accounts. I won’t deny that this little windfall from the wine delivery is nice, but I’m always putting by for a rainy day.”

With that Maggie at the wheel, we made great time out towards the comet. It’s the Angel Hair comet for the way the tail streams out. It looks lovely and still out the window. I was in the engine room gettin the old girl a cool drink a coolant and I heard Maggie on the comm. “We got company!”

Turns out that a little gal named Mary Celestia was in our little patch of the Black. Well, ain’t that interestin, I muttered. “You need juice, you just say the word there, Maggie.” Next thing I knew, we were zoomin and D-VA was chugging like a race horse smelling victory. I could feel the hull shift beneath my feet as Maggie performed some whatcha call aerobatics. I hit the comm. “Maggie, are you gonna keep this up much longer? I can do some things to ease off the heat build up in the lift mechs, but you got maybe 10 minutes of –” My voice was cut off by Prudence. “Score! Hoo-hoo! They hit an asteroid!” Sure enough out the window I saw the ship.  And the comet hove into view. Miss V’s voice rang through the ship: “We’re landing in a minute, crew. Let’s suit up.”

…..to be continued.

The guards barely glanced at our invites and we were inside. The great hall was huge. We coulda parked D-VA in here. Off to the left was a riot of green. I grabbed Roark’s arm. “Let’s go this way!”

The atrium was lovely. The hub-bub of the party died away as we entered the space. I lifted my face and smiled. “Smells like home.” Roark snorted. “Smells like money. When we get our share, I just might set myself up with something like this. Little piece a dirt to call my own. Strawberries, maybe. Girls like strawberries.”
“You gonna do all this in yer bunk? How much money are you plannin’ on? That little lakeside cabin would cost all the diam–” Roark cut me off. “Not here! Gol bless it, Swei! Not here. Not now. Not the D-word. Alright?”

We turned a corner and saw Miss V in the distance. She was mingling as best she could with the Doc hugging at her elbow like a Great Dane or somethin’. They hadn’t seen us. I wanted to explore the house more. When would I ever be in a place like this again? “Roark, buddy?” Silence. “Roark?” I turned around and he was off a distance chatting with an older lady all in green. Green from her hair down to her feet, with green jewels to match. Hmmm, I can guess why he’s over there insteada over here. As I got closer, I heard him say, “Oh, I’m with the band. I’m head of security for Charlie and the Riders.” I rolled my eyes and turned away.

I saw Maggie in a room with all these contraptions. More my style, these were like some kinds parts off a ship they ain’t invented yet.

She was idly touching one of the pieces as I walked up. “Is this like the Baron’s workshop? Kinda fancy and where are the tools?”
She turned, startled. “Oh, hey Swei. Tools? No, this here is sculpture.” At my blank look she continued. “Art. Right? Like, like make believe but with real stuff.”
I looked around. “Any money in this? I could whip out a few of these in an afternoon. That there is nothing but a capacitor half melted on to a barge cable liner. It looks real nice the way the oils drips and all. Real pretty.” I paused. “I could do that. Hell, anyone could.”

Through the archway I could see the Baron. Had to be him. Who else would be all fancied up with those shoulder frills? And there was a camera crew following around in his wake. Had to be him. He was smiling vaguely watching the people watch the monkey that had escaped from the atrium.

Suddenly Miss V hove into view. She strode right up to the Baron and pumped his hand. That woman ain’t afraid of nothin! I bet if I was close enough to hear, she’d be bending his ear with talk about the children. Blah blah blah blah, children. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for children. Once was one myself, but Lordy can that woman go on about the children.

I sidled up to listen. The Baron roared with laughter. “Yes, I haven’t seen Gordon in a few years, but indeed he does owe me a bottle of scotch! Does your father still get on the links? I’m not quite as active as I once was…” Miss V answered him; I couldn’t quite make it out. The Baron’s big booming voice came through loud and clear. “Oh! The wine! You brought it? You are a fascinating creature, to be sure. A socialite ship captain. Delightful! You know, I own a few production companies. Perhaps a reality show about your travels. Think of the publicity for your worthy cause. You are… quite photogenic. Don’t you think, Dante?” He turned to the camera man. “Don’t you think the camera just loves Brigid?” He grabbed her hand. “Are you on planet long? We should lunch and discuss this. Now. Where’s my wine?”

Miss V smiled. “It’s in the kitchen. It made the trip just fine and I’m sure it is good as gold.” That was the code phrase for the old Alliance to move in. They were right by the kitchen and Miss V motioned for the Baron to come look at the wine. It was a perfect set up.

As the Baron stepped into the kitchen, all hell broke loose. Several of the waitstaff squared off. They all looked alike to me, but Maggie laid a hand on my arm. “Tong.” She whispered. “And Alliance. We don’t have to do nothin’. This ain’t our fight.”
“But Miss V….” About then, Prudence stumbled into sight. She had a woman in a headlock. “All right! Now we got us a brawl!” I ran over to help Prudence. The Doc jumped in front of Miss V with her arms out. “We can leave now, Brigid!”

Miss V nodded. She called over to the Baron. “I’ll be sending you that scotch, Julius!”
And that’s just what she did. We wrapped up a fine bottle of 30-year old McCutheon’s with the diamonds down in the bottom. I sent it to a friend, who sent it to a friend, who sent it to a friend, who sent it to the Baron.

Miss V heard back from the Baron just yesterday. His note said “The scotch was worth the wait. Give your Dad my best and we shall keep in touch, my dear.”

Now we got us friends all over the place. High, low and everywhere in between!