27: 79-02-62

_There are only four 'redeeming features' of the generic Pianure livestock transport: speed, capacity, genericness, and relative inexpensiveness. The craft's interior is so loud that even the cargo requires hearing protection.



_The Ranch Ramm. Again, the picture is rather corrupted, but not nearly as bad as the one I tried to send before. The relays are stronger here, and I am much closer to the core dataframe. the RR is one of millions of (honestly, I have seen thousands of craft) the ugliest thing you will ever see moving under its own power.

_These are not 'flying' craft, per se. They vector all of the thrust from their turbines through ducts on the bottom and (only in the case of the RR) side. Carriers handle mostly like the Force hovercraft I have plenty of experience with.

_Back to the food; schematics next time hopefully.

_I slid out of the truck and looked behind Travor. My gaze rested solely upon the RR. It was just so hideous. But still, we walked up and entered through the back hatch. In any other carrier, the stench of beefstock would be irremovable, unquenchable, and it would probably be so thick that one could taste it without trying. Here the deck was spotless and not one of the tactical clamps that were welded down had been dented. above were full cargo nets, not a loose strand anywhere. In the cockpit was one seat with control, but deck room for at least two to stand behind.

_Travor sat down and showed me how to turn it on (it needs a few minutes to warm up the engines and their ducts) then went over the basics. From there I sat down and figured it out. They were right; it is very generic.

_After the engines were ready, I easily closed the hatch and lifted off. The Ranch Ramm felt easy and trim under me as we pulled backwards and spun to face the exit gate. Whoever added the extra controls knew what they were doing, and I appreciated the ease of use on the side vectors. Clearance was granted from the boss, and Travor and Reichart clipped in.

27: 79-02-62

_Travor quickly covered the distance between me and the door; once he did he nodded to the other man and simply walked away.

_The man behind Reichart stepped in and shouted in a deep roll, "Hurry up and get one, you're obviously having too much fun in here!" I could see the two chuckle a bit, their frames heaving up and down.

_Within 3 minutes I found a good-sized buggy and wheeled the various things out from in front of it. It started clean and sound, then pulled out the doors into the cool breezes and heavy sunbeams. Reichart closed the doors and pointed to another garage. I motored over and rolled onto the automatic door pressure panels. The barn doors opened and revealed another garage just as spacious, but with areas for repair and parking and such. After leaving the buggy there, I went out. Reichart had pulled up to the access door. The other man was in the passenger seat, so I hopped in the back.

_We stopped under a shed and began walking into the building it was next to. The man offered his hand. "Mauno?" I said.

_"Yep, c'mon and set down for a few."

_The inside was a cafeteria, with kitchen doors in the back and a bar on on side, then stairs up the other. Mauno and I sat down at the end of one of the long tables, Reichart slipped over to the bar. "You were Force? So was our last pilot. But... he was retired. And so he retired out of us, too." Reichart came back with glasses and a pitcher of water. "You're a bit young for that, so what happened?"

_Reichart glanced up from his drink and cut me off with his hand, "his enlistment ran out."

_"Good money. But it leaves a hole." At least it did when I left. "That's how I ended up out here. Saw an advertisement for free land and head as soon as I got of the transport, so I got myself on the next one here. I wasn't disappointed! Even in the capital there was gunfighting in the streets and the occasional loose beastie. When I stepped off I went straight to the land office and got turf. Some of the guys came with me out here and we decided to put our lots together."

_Then the doors swung open and twenty or so dusty, sweaty, grease-covered hands came in and sat down. "'Bout time you got to Travor then, see you two at dinner." Mauno turned and began chatting with his men.

_Outside were three trucks parked next to Reichart's. We hopped in his and traced back the way they had come. Around the common house and past some empty corrals was a small airfield. The hangars between the house and the strip must've blocked out the sound of anything that was being done, because I hadn't heard anything and there were three craft still cooling down just inside them.

_We stopped in the last of 3 hangars; Travor walked up. "Bring your helmet," then he turned to Reichart, "I'll need you, too."

_"Well, I didn't come to watch."

26: 79-02-62

_MAJOR EDIT:
_-This got lost somehow in the mess that is my current life, it goes between 25 and 26. Even so, I'm sure not all of it is here...-

_It was a good half-hour- later into a bright, clear skied day. As we neared the ranch, low buildings came into view.

_Reichart picked up a radio handset, "Bronco coming in; passcode: tandem fox."

_He maneuvered along a worn trail that materialized out of nowhere until it entered a low gate through a low earthen mound-like wall. Within its boundaries were what looked like group cabins, a common hall, some large but squat garages, and farther off were more that seemed a bit taller. Everything was built in concrete, corrugated sheet metal, and steel girders. Dust covered most flat surfaces, and as we passed the wall I looked back and coolly noticed the blast-proof casings of sheathed military-grade semi-automatic defense mounts.


_ORIGINAL POST:
_(I did miss the window I mentioned a week ago, but I have reasons for that, obviously.)

_Reichart pulled up in front of a large garage. "First things first," he said as we dismounted. " You're gonna need some other way to get here every day."

_He unlocked and slid back the 15 foot high barn doors, "pick one."

_Light spewed into the oily air, displaying ATVs, motorbikes of every kind, buggies, a few covered lumps, and even a small auto-gyro. Reichart gestured towards the complex and antiquated piece, "not that one."

_Meandering through the menagerie was a treat the like of which I hadn't had before. While pondering which to use, my baggy pants brushed against one of the covered
vehicles. I spun in surprise to see the caterpillar fall off. A blinding flash shone from the uncovered quadricycle. The sleek and powerful machines had only one purpose: racing!

_My mind raced, but I couldn't help it. A glance at Reichart; he wasn't there anymore. With that assurance, I bent to take a closer look - but a voice called out, "That's mine."

_As I snapped up, a man came in out of the now blistering sun and began walking towards me. He got closer, and i picked up the caterpillar. His face wasn't angry. But his dark eyes were clamped onto the quadricycle as if mesmerized. Reichart stepped through the door slowly, there was another man behind him. When owner of the racer arrived, he hurriedly and unceremoniously flipped the canvas over his bike. My hands hung at my side, his head hung low as his closed eyes still looked at the apparently haunting vehicle.

_"You're Thalen?" His posture returned and he offered his hand.

_"Yes." I didn't think that mentioning the bike was a good idea.

_He turned and walked back, "make your choice fast, my new pilot has to learn a lot before gaining my trust."

_And that's how I first met Travor, a man I will never forget.

25: 79-02-62

_My hand-terminal's alarm woke me the next day while it was still dark. I flipped on the lights and went for a shower.

_At first light I had already had a small snack and was leaning patiently against a porch column, watching the horizon change. A door closed somewhere behind me and I turned to see Reichart mounting his truck. He pulled over and waved me on.

_"Got everything?"

_"Everything?"

_He answered with a stern glare, "Everything."

_"Everything," I reassured him by patting the various pockets and accessories to the jumpsuit and holding up the helmet.

_The dusty vehicle carried us towards a massive sunrise on the prairie.

_"I'm not the owner of the ranch."

_I had been watching the world wake up like a stage being set, and was caught off kilter, "what?"

_"The owner's name is Mauno. My job is right under him, and you will only have to answer to him, me, and one other. You are the new pilot for the Ranch Ramm; and its captain, Travor will be responsible for you while on missions."

_"What kind of music do you like?"

_The truck swerved wildly at Reichart's hands, "What?"

_"Do you talk about anything other than business? How is the local brew? How's the wife and kids? Read any good books lately?"

_He looked like he was holding his breath, and even though the truck bounced and bucked he seemed frozen...

_"After the wife and kids were murdered, I left my position as a librarian in the capital and moved out here. I fall asleep every Friday and Saturday drunk as a sponge."

_Silence ensued for the rest of the journey.

24: 79-02-62

_One day as I was under the port wing tearing out a jammed spanner, my contact walked up.

_"How is it?"

_"Crap. But crap is cheap."

He chuckled and I rolled out.

_"How badly do you need money?"

_"I'm not begging; but open to offers."

_"And you said you are a good pilot? Combat?"

_"Yes and yes."

_He looked at me for a moment. Just stared straight into my eyes... "My name is Reichart."

_A little aback at this, I answered, "Now names matter, huh. Well I'm Thalen."

_We walked to the open door of my rental hangar. There he handed me a cloth badge and pointed to a ratty trunk sitting in the back of his truck. Reichart then told me to be in front of the tavern at dawn to get picked up. We shook on it and parted ways for then.

_Back in my room that night, I opened the trunk. In it was light body armor, an old-style jumpsuit, a pair of boots just my size, and a 'rover' style helmet with surplus HUD and full optical suites. Everything was put out on my bed. I looked back into the empty box and noticed that it seemed slightly shallow. A quick check with my hands proved that there was an extra six inches between the bottom of the inside and outside.

_My fingers swept along the inner corners, then felt all the outside, until finally I found a 'nail' that pushed in.

_The inside panel detached, and I lifted it out. Contained was a survival carbine and a good-sized pistol. Also there were current editions of Force manuals - usually contraband for civilians.

_My first reaction was that I was supposed to be getting away from all this.

_My second was more like: God, I need to shoot something...

23: 79-02-62

_This keeps getting neglected.

_I ran out of money to fix up the craft with, so odd jobs and some 'special' work has gotten me just enough to get to another planet. The window is next week.

_The main problem has been the hydraulics, which are individually pressurized. This makes cables and hoses expensive. My new craft had some leaks... and tears... and missing parts... But it technically could make it anywhere with my skill.

_Explaining that is what got me those 'special' jobs.

_On Pianure there are ranches; just ranches. Livestock attracts wranglers. Sometimes when ranchers lose too much, or find out who's been stealing and where they are, vigilante justice happens. The main strategy is to take a small livestock transport with a bay in the back. In the bay you can fit 10 - 15 armed men and a mounted weapon. The pilot comes in low and fast and swings around backwards just as he gets there while opening the bay door. The men find cover and the gun begins ripping everything apart.

_I'm the pilot.

22: 79-02-62

_When I woke up today, it was fairly bright outside - indicating that I had slept a very long time. So today I am taking it easy.

_There hasn't been a day this week that ended without dreams of home. I just walk around, but all the people I talk to are blurs that I can just barely make out. Their voices are hard to distinguish. i feel like I know where I am, but I don't know anything specific at all.

_One time I talked to my sister about how school was going... but I couldn't recall anything she said. I heard it all. Nothing remained in my memory even as she sat at the table with me.

_Then my eyes tried to close... in the dream? It felt like my eyes were twitching closed, but I didn't want to let them.