Editing Episode 601: Triumph, Part Three

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[[Episode 601: Triumph|Part 1]]<br>
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[[Episode 601: Triumph, Part Four|Part 4]]<br>
[[Episode 601: Triumph, Special Features]]<br> <br> <br>




'''Friday, 10 Oct 2522'''<br>
'''Durance class, ''Equinox'''''<br>
'''En Route to Triumph'''<br><br>

Fifteen days out from Beaumonde, we get an automated wave. It’s from the Alliance Navay. It says:<br><br>

'''Wave:''' You are entering a restricted fly zone. State your destination. Prepare to receive directions.<br><br>

Crap. We were supposed to avoid the Navy and the Alliance. If we answer, they’ll know we’re here. If we don’t, we might be able to sneak past them.  But if they’ve already painted us on their beefier scanners and we don’t respond, they’ll know something’s up. And if we do respond, we’re not actually going to tell them where we’re really going, are we?<br><br>

'''Joshua:''' Your call, Captain.<br>
'''Nika:''' Yeah, I’ll lie.<br>
'''Joshua:''' How far are you lying?<br>
'''Nika:''' Paquin’s furthest away, right?<br><br>

Of the neighboring planets around Heinlein? From our position? At the moment, it’s actually Silverhold. Silverhold, with an entire Army division on the ground and the Navy flying support vessels in orbit. And then there’s the small matter of our flag. i.e. Not having one.<br><br>

'''Nika:''' All I want them to know is yes, I’m coming into Heinlein system. I don’t really want them to know where I’m going.<br> 
'''Arden:''' (joining in) If they ask us why we’re not flagged, I suggest we tell them something like we deal with clients who don’t deal with people who are flagged.<br>
'''Nika:''' I wasn’t going to tell them anything.<br>
'''Arden:''' You are going to have to tell them something when they press.<br>
'''Nika:''' There are plenty of people flying back and forth who are not flagged. They just get hassled a lot more.<br>
'''Arden:''' Let me try this again. I suggest that when they ask why you are not flagged, that you say you deal with clients who won’t deal with someone who are flagged.  And leave it at that. <br>
'''Kiera:''' (to Arden) But ... that’s not good.<br>
'''Nika:''' And if I tell them that, that’s implying I’m flying for people who are flying illegal stuff.<br>
'''Kiera:''' Yes.<br><br>

Which means we’re going to get ''inspected''.<br><br> 

'''Arden:''' Never mind. <br>
'''Rina:''' ''Yeah''.<br>
'''Nika:''' Cuz that’s basically saying that the people who don’t want to deal with flags are people, you know ...<br>
'''Rina:''' Who have something to hide.<br>
'''Nika:''' Yeah, that.<br>
'''Arden:''' What can I say then?<br><br>

Wait. Did he just win the argument?<br><br>

'''Kiera:''' You know, this is why you don’t get to do the talking.<br>
'''Joshua:''' (intoning) “You know the Commander of the Second Fleet? You know that woman he was seen with? We transported her. Yeahhhh.”<br>
'''Nika:''' What?<br>
'''Joshua:''' That’s why we don’t fly the flag.  We’re flying prostitutes all over the place. <br><br>

Everyone laughs at that one. God, we did, didn’t we? On both counts. Lord knows what our reputation is on the other side as a result.  Operation Petticoat, anyone? Maybe we should paint our ship pink. More laughter and everyone sobers again. We still have to answer that Fed hail. Nika announces her intention to fly to not-our-true-destination in Heinlein and duty done, flies on.<br><br>

So of course, when our plot takes near Silverhold, we run into trouble. We get an automated wave informing us we’re off our stated course. Nika ignores it.  We pick up a couple of ships on our tail as a result. Patrol boats from Silverhold. They’re smaller and faster and more maneuverable than we are. But we have something they don’t have. We have Nika for our pilot. Nika pulls up her ace card—she’s going to slingshot us around Heinlein, using its gravity well to lend us speed to evade our pursuers.  Joshua gets on the PA.<br><br>

'''Joshua:''' Attention all crew and passengers. We will be approaching very close to the sun. If you do not want sunburn, please do not stand anywhere near the windows or in fact anywhere outside of a lead container.<br>
'''Arden:''' (over comms) What? We’re flying near the sun?<br>
'''Joshua:''' If we don’t fly right, we’ll be flying through the sun. That’ll be the fun part.<br><br>

Kiera gets our passenger secured and gets herself ready for trouble. Rina and Beglan take that as their cue to hustle to Engineering.  Arden preps medbay for the inevitable injuries this wild-assed maneuver is going to inflict on us.  Up on the bridge, Nika steers us for the star.  Well, it’s a protostar. Not quite like a full-blown sun ... but it’s on fire. It’s burning away and it has what we need—gravity and a big damn heat source to scramble the Fed scanners.<br><br>

She flies for Heinlein, looking for all the world like a ship on a suicide dive toward oblivion. It takes an intricate mix of power, steering and good old fashioned instinct to pull up in time. But somehow Nika pulls it off. When we level out, our ship is skimming the fiery surface of Heinlein. She and Joshua watch the flames lick and crawl across the windows of the bridge. They are solid and ephemeral at once—lava and smoke—and it takes nerves of steel to stare at it head on and not think the flames are eating through the glass. Or melting through our hull. <br><br>

The heat and the speed and the strain exact their toll, however. We take damage.  We also haven’t lost our pursuers.  They’re still out there, sensibly staying out of the fire and tracking us from above.  Time to go to Plan B.  Nika takes us lower into Heinlein, sinking us JUST below the surface of the protostar.<br><br>

Now things are really heating up on our hull, the fire painting our bridge windows side to side in orange and white, eyestabbing bright even with our shielding. It also plays merry hob with our sensors. We have no way of telling if the Feds are still on our tail.  We can only hope that to the Feds above, we look like we’ve succumbed to the forces of nature and got eaten alive by the star.  All hands lost. No flotsam to recover. No bodies to send home.<br><br>

Gone. <br><br>

To lend some reality to that illusion, Nika keeps us under the surface a little longer, adjusting her course for Triumph, targeting a spot a little further on Heinlein as her exit point. The gauges on everything important start climbing toward the red and staying there. Nika nudges the stick for more speed from the engine and tries to maneuver for that exit point—she misgauges the maneuver and we get slammed by the solar currents raging outside our ship. Everyone not physically strapped down—and that would be nearly everyone not on the bridge—gets thrown about. Looks like Arden was right about the scrapes and bruises. He’s also anticipated a bumpy ride and unlike the others, had secured himself to an anchored chair in med bay. <br><br> 

Smart man.<br><br>

The rest of the crew and our passenger scrape themselves off the deck and carry on—Kiera in taking care of Bradley Sims, and Rina and Beglan take care of our engines. Nika takes control of the ship and we spin out and exit the star’s surface.  Nika immediately powers down to avoid leaving a tell-tale signature and Kiera immediately hustles Arden to render first aid. On the bridge, Joshua keeps an eye on the passive sensors while Nika skims us along. Our passive readings show no one is on our tail.<br><br>

Whew.<br><br>

Rina gets away from Arden’s ministrations as fast as she can and starts on the repairs.  She and Beglan reduce the damage by a goodly amount.  The Feds are still not showing on our scopes and we fly on for Triumph. <br><br>


'''Sunday, 11 Oct 2522'''<br>
'''Somewhere on Triumph'''<br>
'''Red Sun (Zhu Que) system'''<br>
'''Full Dark'''<br><br>

We achieve orbit around Triumph at 1400hrs local but Nika holds off kissing dirt until it’s full dark where we’re going. No point in letting us get caught red-handed in the daylight with that cargo of ours.  She sets us down at the pre-arranged rendezvous and as the dust settles, Rina and Beglan make ready to inspect the cooling hull of our ship. They’ve repaired the internal damage—now for a look at the paint job. While they’re crawling over the hull, Arden and the others put our ramp down and unroll our welcome mat ... and wait for our contact to show.<br><br>

Which does not happen.<br><br>

We wait a little longer.  And still with the not-happening.  At which point some of us go to do a little recon. Arden finds evidence of a camp—dusty and torn up, apparently attacked at some point and just as apparently well before we got here.  There’s proof of shuttle landings near it too, judging by the scorched vegetation and dirt.  Arden and Nika and Joshua poke around some more but find nothing conclusive as to the ownership of the ruined camp. We can’t tell if it was Franz Maddow’s bivouac or not. All we can tell for certain that someone or several someones were here, and now they’re not.  They may or may not have left under duress and they may or may not have done so on whatever made those scorch marks.  Our recon team return to our ship disheartened and worried.<br><br>

We set watches.  We take it in turn. Nika and Arden take first watch. Arden mans the sensors on the bridge. Nika sits on the open ramp with just our emergency lighting glowing behind her. She sits and waits for Maddow and nothing happens. Our contact doesn’t show.  Rina and Joshua stand second watch. And after a quick kiss-and-cuddle, Rina takes to the cargo hold and Joshua hits the sensors. Nothing is happening outside, but around two in the morning Joshua hears a noise aft of the bridge and leaves it to check it out. He goes through the conference room and finds it empty. Stepping into the auxiliary cargo bay next, Joshua sees Bradley Sims walking toward the bay from hydroponics. They startle each other.<br><br> 

'''Sims:''' Uh ... Hi.<br>
'''Joshua:''' Up awful late.<br>

And without hesitation, Joshua Reads Sims. ''::'''Image:''' Sims is in one of the storage areas where we keep our vac suits. He’s searching the area.::'' <br><br>

'''Sims:''' I just got turned around. Sorry, I was just trying to—<br>
'''Joshua:''' (not buying it) Let’s step back for a second and give you a second chance to tell me what you were doing. You weren’t just turned around. I’ll give you a clear one, free of charge. You can tell me what you were doing. (a beat) Because if it isn’t the right answer this time, you’re going to be off on Triumph and out in the middle of nowhere. Without a ride to Persephone or for that matter, civilization. So start with what you were doing.<br><br>

Silence.<br><br>

'''Sims:''' Well, I was ... trying to get a look into your—what you got. See what sort of equipment you got over here.<br>
'''Joshua:''' And why is that? Cuz you seemed awful suspicious about it. Botany Bay is not off limits. Is there a reason why?<br>
'''Sims:''' I wasn’t in Botany Bay, I was ... (a beat) ... I was trying to find a weapon. Sometimes people store them in unusual spots, so I was checking closets where you might have them.<br>
'''Joshua:''' Okay. Why?<br>
'''Sims:''' Um ... You guys had weapons. I wanted to have a weapon.<br>
'''Joshua:''' We’ve had a few bad experiences with armed passengers before so you can understand why we generally don’t arm the passengers when there might be a chance that something might happen at some point. Maybe. Are you really ''that'' worried? Or did you have something else in mind? <br><br>

Sims’s voice is very quiet when he replies.<br><br>

'''Sims:''' Everyone on my last ship was killed.<br>
'''Joshua:''' (firmly) What happened?<br>
'''Sims:''' Well ... (a beat) ... We were ... hauling illegal cargo through the Halo to avoid detection.<br> 
'''Joshua:''' Yeah.<br>
'''Sims:''' We left Persephone and were headed for Rock Haven. We were supposed to be meeting up with a buyer for the goods. And the buyer turned out he didn’t want to buy them. He thought he would just kill everybody on the crew.<br>
'''Joshua:''' Yep.<br>
'''Sims:''' And ... while they were ... I hid and while they were ransacking the ship, I was able to sneak aboard their ship. And they dropped me off at Rock Haven.<br>
'''Joshua:''' That’s a rough situation.<br>
'''Sims:''' What they didn’t know is that we left ... we suspected something might go wrong—or at least the Captain did—so we left most of our goods on Persephone.<br>  
'''Joshua:''' Which is?<br>
'''Sims:''' Which is what I was going to get to pay you. (A beat) But if something like that was going to happen again, I just want to be able to ...<br><br> 

Sims trails off. Joshua Reads him again. Is he telling the truth? ''::There is more to this story than he’s telling and he might be more than a deck hand. But he’s not making stuff up.  '''Images:''' people storming through the ship; Sims peering through a closet, then slipping into another ship ... ::''<br><br>

Joshua stops. Thinks. Decides.<br><br>

'''Joshua:''' All right, Bradley. If you’re willing to give me your word that if I give you a pistol, you won’t use it against me and mine?<br>
'''Sims:''' Unless you ... try to use something against me.<br>
'''Joshua:''' Fair enough. Shake on it?<br><br>

Joshua holds out his hand. Sims hesitates then shakes.<br><br>

'''Sims:''' Does a handshake mean a lot to you?<br>
'''Joshua:''' (firm) It does to me. I know it doesn’t to a lot of people, but it does to me.<br>
'''Sims:''' Well ... a lot of people have ... abused trust. I’ve been in a lot of situations where I’ve ... uhm.<br>
'''Joshua:''' (nods) I’ve been in a few of those myself. It’s on my bond and word that you’ve got the gun. I’ll catch the Captain when she comes off her sleep.<br><br>

Joshua goes right to the weapons locker and pulling out a pistol for Sims. He puts it in the man’s hands and steps back as Sims stuffs the gun into his waistband.<br><br>

'''Joshua:''' I don’t think we’re going to run into any trouble. All right.<br>
'''Sims:''' You’re not going to share this with everybody, are you?<br>
'''Joshua:''' I’ll let the Captain know. Because I gotta. What are you worried about?<br>
'''Sims:''' I don’t want her to come in and throw me off the ship because she’s worried about it.<br>
'''Joshua:''' Nope. That won’t happen. <br><br>

The implication is clear—Joshua’s willing to take the heat for it if the Captain objects.<br><br>  

'''Joshua:''' You should sleep.<br>
'''Sims:''' All right.<br><br>

Sims goes below to the passenger deck, possessor of one pistol from our stores. Joshua returns to the bridge to man the sensors again. The rest of the watch passes uneventfully.  Kiera and Beglan take third watch. Nothing happens.  Morning arrives. We’re still alive. And we still don’t know who is going to get our cargo, or when.<br><br>


'''Monday, 12 Oct 2522'''<br><br>
 
When Nika wakes up, she checks the perimeter of our landing zone and the camp.  There’s nothing to suggest that anyone came by or lingered during the night. She widens her search, going farther afield. She doesn’t see evidence of vehicles or horses. She returns to ''Equinox'' and Joshua takes her aside and tells her about what happened during his watch. Not only that, he tells her why he thought it was important to arm Sims, why he made that decision.<br><br>

'''Joshua:''' The story rings true as he tells it. I think there’s a little more going on underneath it than what he’s saying, but his reasons for being armed—or wanting to be armed—I think is true. And I think I’m okay with it. If  you are not, I understand, but—<br>
'''Nika:''' (calmly) No. I have faith in your judgment.<br>
'''Joshua:''' All right. I mean, I just ... I sympathize.<br>
'''Nika:''' Keep a closer eye on him. Just in case.<br>
'''Joshua:''' I will.<br><br>

Beglan sits on the cargo ramp on watch. Kiera brings him breakfast on a tray, then returns to the rest of the crew and our lone passenger as they scarf down a quick meal. We discuss what we’re going to do with our cargo.<br><br>

We have a couple of options. We can hole up here for a couple of days and see if our contact shows up. We can make the attempt to sensor-ping the area, though that will alert someone that we’re here, which we may or may not want.  If they’re here. <br><br>

Maybe. Their camp is here. But ...<br><br>

'''Nika:''' Here’s the thing. They sent us out here with a cargo that I presume is pretty important to whatever it is they’re doing. They’re not just gonna to leave the cargo here. Somebody’s eventually going to show up for it. Assuming they’re not all dead or in jail. <br>
'''Sims:''' What if the people who possibly killed them come back?<br><br>

Nika didn’t see any signs of blood or bodies or violence anywhere. But she does admit if the bodies were removed, there would be no signs of them on the scene and any trace evidence—scuffle marks or blood—would have been nicely hidden under the dust raised by our landing.<br><br> 

'''Nika:''' Ultimately ... ? I don’t know how well armed the camp was. I don’t know how many personnel strong they were.<br>
'''Kiera:''' Captain, do you want to take the shuttle and do a wider search to see if they moved the camp?<br>
'''Nika:''' Definitely want to do that.<br><br>

She checks out the landscape in the area. There are no sheltering canyons they could hide in. It’s hilly, though, and Triumph is rotten with ruins suitable for hiding in. If the men left, they left in a hurry—they didn’t have time to strike camp and take it with them. So wherever the men went, it would have to offer decent shelter, allow them to hole up, and be defensible.<br><br>

'''Nika:''' We’ll take the shuttle, do a quick recon. Maybe give it another day. And then if they do not show up from there, we’ll take the shuttle to port and send a wave back.<br>
'''Kiera:''' And tell them ...?<br>
'''Nika:''' And tell them his meet is not here.<br>
'''Arden:''' Sounds like a plan.<br>
'''Nika:''' All right. Let’s do that then.<br>
'''Joshua:''' Awesome. (to Rina) Would you check the electronics? Make sure they weren’t fried by the sun?<br><br>

Rina checks. Our ship is shielded for solar radiation and flares and our sensors still work—testimony to the fact any electromagnetic hijinks from our passage through Heinlein didn’t scramble anything important—but we '''did''' get jostled around a bit during the ride. The cargo is still tied down and the contents of the containers intact. For once, Joshua was more paranoid than Rina.<br><br>

Looking at the maps, Bearclaw is the nearest town. It doesn’t have a port but it does have a comm station we can use. Kiera suggests we fly the shuttle into town and ask around if anybody’s seen anything. Rina opts to stay behind with ''Equinox'' to finish up repairs.<br><br>

'''Nika:''' Lock her up, just in case.<br>
'''Rina:''' Absolutely. Take the comms. If the people show up, I can call ''Lagniappe''. <br>
'''Nika:''' Absolutely.<br><br>

Precautions taken, the rest of the crew and Sims load up in ''Lagniappe'' and fly to Bearclaw.<br><br>


The Town of Bearclaw<br><br>

It’s a typical frontier town. Dusty. Clapboard construction. Down on its luck and hanging on through sheer stubbornness.  And it has a general store-plus-bar where the townsfolk tend to gather.  Our crew lands the shuttle on the outskirts and walks the rest of the way in. Since the place doesn’t get much in the way of visitors, they all know we’re coming. They aren’t shocked but they are curious and by the time we belly up to the bar and order beer, eyes are on us. <br><br>

'''Bartender:''' You came on a shuttle. That’s a bit unusual.<br>
'''Nika:''' What would be the usual?<br>
'''Bartender:''' Horse. Sometimes we get a skiff come in. Occasional transport ship.<br>
'''Joshua:''' We’re all out of horses.<br>
'''Arden:''' We’ve always been unusual. And we’re out of horses.<br>
'''Bartender:''' I can put you onto some horses, if you all are looking.<br>
'''Kiera:''' (brightens) I want a horse.<br>
'''Arden:''' How many horses could we get for a shuttle?<br>
'''Nika:''' Actually we came in on a transport vessel that’s supposed be supplying a camp of some kind. It looks like they up and took off.<br>
'''Arden:''' L.L.S.S.<br><br>

Nika’s head whips around.<br><br>

'''Nika:''' What?<br>
'''Arden:''' L.L.S.S.<br> 
'''Nika:''' What the hell’s that?<br>
'''Arden:''' Loose Lips Sink Ships. Shush.<br>
'''Joshua:''' But that’s why we’re here.<br><br>

The bartender cleans a glass and thinks on it.<br><br>

'''Bartender:''' You say a camp?<br>
'''Nika:''' Yeah.<br>
'''Bartender:''' Well, there’s a lotta huntin’ camps out and about. Unusual to have a ship flyin’ out directly. Usually they have ships flyin’ stuff to the store.  But I guess maybe some Core folk or somethin’ like that came in? Doin’ a little sight-seein’ or somethin’?<br>
'''Nika:''' Probably. I dunno. They just paid me to come drop off their stuff.<br>
'''Bartender:''' Hm. I dunno ... (to the bar patrons) ... Nobody here’s heard about a camp expectin’ any shipment, eh?<br><br>

The crew gets the feeling that the people here aren’t being 100% honest about things. One woman way off to the side, though, looks up and looks interested.  She’s smallish, with a wild mane of frizzy blowaway hair flowing over her shoulders.  She’s dressed in a motley of clothes both old and older, and sports a most unusual bit of headgear.  It’s a set of goggle-like glasses, with multiple lenses that flip up and down. She’s got two large open bags at her feet, filled with various wares of some kind and she’s picking through them. Her voice rises in the general silence.<br><br>

'''Woman:''' What about the—<br>
'''The Bar Patrons:''' SHHH!<br>
'''Woman:''' (puzzled) What?<br>
'''Bartender:''' (pointedly) No one has seen anyone. You can’t see anything if you tried with that crazy contraption on your head.<br>
'''Woman:''' (unfazed) They help me see better.<br>
'''Joshua:''' What are they? I’ve got to report back to my wife about this one. If somebody has a crazy contraption and I haven’t figured out what it was and I told her about it, I’m gonna get a whuppin’.<br><br>

The woman smiles and touches the headgear proudly.<br><br>

'''Woman:''' Various lenses. Let me see either objects being larger or different spectrum of light, different kinds stuff.<br>
'''Joshua:''' Wow.<br>
'''Woman:''' I mostly use them for my mineral analysis.<br>
'''Joshua:''' What kind of minerals are you analyzing?<br>
'''Woman:''' (grins) Oh. Well. Maybe you should come to my shop. (grins some more) I’m the apothecary here. Macadam’s the name.<br>
'''Joshua:''' (wow!) An apothecary? ''Fan''-tastic.<br>
'''Nika:''' What does that mean?<br>
'''Joshua:''' I don’t know but it’s fantastic.<br>
'''Kiera:''' Chemist. She concocts things.<br>
'''Nika:''' (getting it) Oh, great.<br>
'''Kiera:''' Drugs. <br>
'''Nika:''' How fun. <br>
'''Kiera:''' Herbal medicines. Potions. Powders.<br>
'''Joshua:''' All right, let’s go to your shop.<br><br>

Joshua and Kiera gather themselves to do just that and Nika says from the bar:<br><br>

'''Nika:''' You all better hurry up cuz we’re only going to be a couple’a hours and if whoever it is doesn’t show up for their cargo, we’re gonna take back off.<br><br>

The bartender doesn’t seem pleased over this. He gives Macadam a long suffering look.<br><br>

'''Bartender:''' Shere.  Do you really have to?<br>
'''Shere Macadam:''' (happily) Oh you be quiet. I don’t steal your customers. (waves at crew) They’re leaving.<br>
'''Nika:''' (to the bartender) They’ll come back. ’Sides, I ain’t finished with my beer.<br><br>

Nika and Arden stay put while Shere Macadam takes Joshua and Kiera off to the apothecary shop. It’s a hut a little off to the side, dimly lit and seeming to go on forever once you step across the threshold. There’s bunches of herbs and macramé netting heavy with bundles hanging from the rafters. Shelves and counters are overflowing with rocks and veritable forests of glass bottles and jars, tinctures and vials. Not all the vessels allow you to see what’s inside. Everything’s a little dusty.  Everything’s a little mysterious. Joshua’s a lot excited and stage-whispers to Kiera.<br><br>

'''Joshua:''' It’s Baba Yaga! I’ve always wanted to meet Baba Yaga.<br><br>

Macadam leads them further on back and then turns to them cheerfully.<br><br>

'''Macadam:''' Okay. So ... what’s ailin’ ya? What can I help you with? Everything comes through me. I’m the only one who can get any kind of healing herbs and medicines of that kind.<br>
'''Kiera:''' Is there a lot of healing herbs here?<br>
'''Macadam:''' Yeah. Anything you need.<br>
'''Joshua:''' Have you dealt out any healing herbs to anybody recently?<br>
'''Macadam:''' Of course. I can heal anything you want.<br>
'''Joshua:''' Back there you were sayin’ something when you were so rudely interrupted by the bartender. <br>
'''Macadam:''' Oh, you mean about the campers?<br>
'''Joshua:''' Yeah ... This is cool ....<br><br>
 
Joshua’s still looking at all the stuff around him as he talks.  If the man doesn’t watch out, he’ll twist his head right off his neck.  But Shere Macadam’s shop deserves a good long look. Kiera does one better and actually wanders off to look a little closer at the rocks and the wares, leaving Joshua to handle the interview. Macadam calls out a cheerful warning.<br><br>

'''Macadam:''' Be careful back there. Some of this stuff can be potent.<br>
'''Kiera:''' Ohh... batwings.  Cool.<br>
'''Joshua:''' (focusing) So the campers. Yeah.<br>
'''Macadam:''' Well, actually, a couple of their drivers were fond of greenleaf. So I supplied them with that. It’s not exactly medical, but you get what you can out here.<br>
'''Joshua:''' Right.<br>
'''Macadam:''' My stuff came from Greenleaf.<br>
'''Joshua:''' (smiles) Ah. We’ve had some contact with that.<br>
'''Macadam:''' Well, if you’re lookin’ ....<br>
'''Joshua:''' Nahhh, just got off the drugs, thanks.<br>
'''Macadam:''' (intrigued) Oh yeah? I got some real stuff from the Core if you’re interested. Flomoxipan ... ?<br>
'''Joshua:''' Yeah. That’s what I’m just off of. ''Anyway''. The campers? You said you sold them some?<br>
'''Macadam:''' Just the drivers. Just to relax. Yeah. That guy was a bit of a ... he was like an old friend of the people in town. So I probably shouldn’t say anything about him.<br>
'''Joshua:''' It’s not like I’m going to talk to anybody.<br><br>

Shere Macadam leans in conspiratorially.  Joshua leans in to listen.<br><br>

'''Macadam:''' Well ... he got taken. Lights in the sky.<br><br>

Kiera’s voice floats up from the merchandise.<br><br>

'''Kiera:''' OOH! Aliens. Awesome.<br>
'''Joshua:''' Really?<br>
'''Macadam:''' I reckon it was Feds.<br>
'''Joshua:''' What?<br>
'''Macadam:''' The Feds.<br>
'''Kiera:''' Ohhh. Well, that’s no fun.<br>
'''Macadam:''' We’re thinkin’ he may have been a Browncoat.<br>
'''Joshua:''' Yeah, they tend to pop up every time you turn around.<br>
'''Macadam:''' Whaddya think’a them? The Browncoats?  Awful ’dacious. Right here in Alliance territory.<br>
'''Joshua:''' Well, yeah. I like audacious. <br>
'''Macadam:''' You do?<br>
'''Joshua:''' (quietly) Yeah.<br>
'''Kiera:''' Ooooh, sassafrass!<br><br>

Kiera wanders deeper into the shop, letting Joshua draw the woman out.<br><br>

'''Macadam:''' So, ah ... You say you were making a delivery to him? <br>
'''Joshua:''' Yeah. <br>
'''Macadam:''' Is that on account’a ''you'' being a bit audacious yourself?<br>
'''Joshua:''' Might’a been several members of our crew that favor the brown.<br>
'''Macadam:''' (warmly) All right. Well, I ... occasionally do that myself. You know, between selling herbs and stuff. To be quite honest, sellin’ herbs ain’t exactly smiled upon by the powers that be. So ... often pays to be outside the powers that be.<br>
'''Joshua:''' Yeah.<br>
'''Macadam:''' I don’t much like telling a bunch’a... The Doctors from Osiris or Ariel tellin’ me what medicines I can or cannot prescribe. You know what I mean, right?<br>
'''Joshua:''' (cheerfully waves in Kiera’s direction) She absolutely 100% does.<br>
'''Kiera:''' Now you gone done put words in my mouth.<br>
'''Macadam:''' Yeah. ACDC sayin’ you’re-gonna-grow-some-kinda-mold-inside’a-your-lungs crazy talk.<br>
'''Kiera:''' It ''is'' crazy talk.<br>
'''Macadam:''' Hell, half my people won’t live long enough to grow mold in their lungs.<br>
'''Kiera:''' Mole’s tails. You do have some interesting things.<br>
'''Macadam:''' Well, yeah.<br><br>

Actually, during her casual inspection Kiera saw less bat tails and eye of newt and more drugs. Actual drugs. She even found rufies in a handmade stone jar. While Macadam has all the trappings of a backwoods apothecary, she also isn’t lying when she says she’s got the drugs. <br><br>

'''Joshua:'''  It’s a shame about the Feds. I mean, about the lights and all.<br> 
'''Macadam:''' Yeah, well ...<br>
'''Kiera:''' How are we gonna direct our cargo off to the right people if they all done gone?<br>
'''Joshua:''' Yeah. That’s a shame.<br>
'''Kiera:''' Oh, that’s some pretty pink pills... What do those do?<br>
'''Macadam:''' They make happy colors. (to Joshua) I might ''know'' some people that’re interested. If you want to meet with them.<br>
'''Joshua:''' I think that’d be good.<br>
'''Macadam:''' Cuz he wasn’t alone.<br>
'''Joshua:''' That’s good to hear.<br>
'''Macadam:''' But I’m going to have ... ''know'' you a little bit better.<br>
'''Joshua:''' Understood.<br>
'''Kiera:''' Would you ''know'' us if we ''bought'' something? Or would you just know us? (nods to Joshua) Well, you can know him all you want.<br>
'''Macadam:''' (gently) No, it’s not about ''that'', sweetie. It’s about where do you stand.<br><br>





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[[Episode 601: Triumph|Part 1]]<br>
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[[Episode 601: Triumph, Special Features]]<br> <br> <br>

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