Antioch Forever

"Felt damn good to sleep in for once. If I find that dog tonight though, I'm gonna turn him in to Port Authority for disturbin' my peace. Stupid mutt.

"My pack is recharged and Kai just showed up outside on a piece-o'-crap Vulture that has Quatto's name all over it. Guess he got sick of playin' Good Will Ambassador to those highlanders and wants to tag along on my run. I swear if that thing breaks down on the way there I'm gonna shove the exhaust pipe up that cybernetic slimebag's nose. I can't believe Kai would buy that junker from — waitjustadamnminute.... YOU CAN'T AFFORD THAT DAMN THING!"

[recorder deactivated for 6 mins 08 secs]

"I guess playin' hero can pay off... sorta. Kai says those villagers gave him the bike, which IS from Quatto's junkshop by the way, and they also gave him a hunk of crystal big enough to choke an Ursadon. S'why he skipped his prospectin' run. He says he'll split it with me seventy-thirty. He's all heart, eh?"

"Kai and I are pinned down in a firefight with some pirates. The whole run has gone sour. I'm radioing Ro'taann and requesting evac. Damn him, this was his run and I'll bet he ends up charging me for the rescue. If I find out he knew this was gonna happen—"

"QUIT YAKKIN' IN THAT THING AND GIVE ME A HAND HERE!"

"AH JEEZ, MAN! GIMME A MINUTE, WILL YA? Hang on, be right back..."

[recorder deactivated 14 mins 23 secs]

"Well, we did it but Kai's bike is a steaming pile of slag. I guess a bullet in the repulse modulator'll do that though. At least it gave us some breathin' room. He's forgiven me though cuz the pirates were kind enough to lend us a pair of decked out hogs. Ro's evac never showed up so we're on our way over there to set him straight."

"Ro's boys just escorted us out the hard way — without pay. As I figured, Ro'taann blamed the whole thing on me and Kai and is scheduling me a make-up run. He was chit-chatting with Broker on comm again when we got there, which makes me think he was involved in this screw-up. Speaking of Broker, I better ship that DNA sample to the Temujin before he sends some of his goons to get it from me.

"Kai and I are heading to the pub to cleanse away our frustrations and try and figure out some angle on whatever's been going on here lately."

"Ohhhhhhhhh God.... blaaaaaaagh...."

"I toldja to stay away from that radioactive swill. Always gotta prove somethin don'tcha?"

"I left Kai over at his place. You'd think a Mutie could hold his booze. He's gotta be the first one who can't outdrinkme.

"I got a tip that a couple of boys from Jorgensen's office just showed up in Customs lookin' for me. Seems they want me to do some work for 'em. They should be here any — ah, here they come now.

"Hey! Don't touch that, ya gearface!"

[rest of log deleted]

"Well, I can't talk about what I just did for the Protectorate, not even on recorder, so let's just say my wallet is nice and fat for the first time in a long while.

"I've been thinkin about this whole Korhal / Bora Dalis situation and I figure that Ro's been watching that wasteland for a reason, and whatever that reason is, its gotta be somethin' big. Broker is involved in this too, I'm pretty sure but I don't know how. I hate not knowing who's siding with who cuz shooting the wrong person can limit your options in haggling with them later, when you need 'em. Those pirates gotta be a part of this too so I'm following a couple of 'em right now. Let's just hope this pays off.

"I'll be damned. There's that Golgie and the Firebat again. Crap, if only his visor were up I might be able to scan his face and get an I.D. Ah, Borno... that's it. Probably an alias though. I'll need to check wi — ah, hell they're splittin' up.

"Eenie meenie miney — oh the hell with it, maybe these two characters are important. They sure as hell seem to get around this place. Besides, that pirate is long gone already.

"Damn my luck to hell, they're leaving planetside! I shoulda stayed with the pirate!

"Hmm... that guy in the Golgie... before that Firebat showed up he was talkin to Redbeard back there and mentioned something about a warhead. Now THAT sounds lucrative... and that means the first person on my list should be Quatto. Time to pay that tin-head a visit..."