Nothing In The 'Verse
Episode 43: Wanted Dead Or Alive

New Omaha, second moon of Deadwood. Blue Sun system.

"C'mon, Jess, you c'n do this in yer sleep," Dani huffed as she jogged along the ridge. She kept glancing over her shoulder, both to make sure Jess was keeping up and checking for signs of pursuit.

Jess didn't answer, just kept shambling forward in a stumbling sort of run, her injured leg obviously paining her. Just a little further, make it into the forest, we c'n slip away...

And then disaster struck as Jess's leg gave out. She slipped, sliding off the ridge and towards the freezing river flowing below.

"Cao (fuck)!" the woman yelled as she scrambled for a handhold. Dani turned and lunged for her, but her fingertips just barely brushed Jess's as she slid back and over the edge, tumbling into the churning waters ten meters below.

"Jess!" Dani screamed.

Six hours earlier. Inbound to New Omaha.

The planet Deadwood and it's two moons, the large Haven and the much smaller New Omaha, were fairly dry and cool. They were on the furthest orbit from Blue Sun, though it came close to the protostar Burnham every fifty years or so, causing massive storms and floods. That was still a good five years off, though.

All three celestial bodies were mining communities, somewhat poor and rough. Haven was known for its independent consortium of mining companies, while Deadwood was mostly run by the Blue Sun Mining Corporation.

New Omaha, however, could be best described as a collection of robber barons.

"I have a bad feelin' about this," Lori murmured from behind Dani.

The lanky captain leaned back and extended her hand to clasp her wife's. "I know, wo de ai (my love)," she replied. "I'm not happy that y'all have the more dangerous assignment, neither."

"We're taking as many precautions as possible," Keith rumbled from the nav seat. "Both parties will be armed, we're only responsible for the shipment of medicine."

"Right, but yours goes into a town right next to this Douglas bandit chief," Dani protested. "An' we're not allowed our long guns! How's our sniper gonna support ya without a sniper rifle?"

Lori gave a soft snort. "Reckon I c'n flash some leg an' distract the bad guys or somethin'."

Dani chuckled, squeezing her freckled lover's hand. "Stop that, yer distractin' my outrage."

"Look, ladies," Keith began earnestly. "The governor is putting on a show of force. We're going to be surrounded by soldiers, and have a representative from the governor's office with each group. We go in, deliver the medicine, and get back out while the political guys make nice."

"Why is it you can't take yer big guns?" Rain asked curiously from her pilot's seat.

"This governor, he's tryin' to crack down on crime and banditry," Dani explained with disgust. "So instead of disarmin' the bandits, he's not allowin' folk on-planet with anythin' bigger'n a pistol. Bendan (idiot)."

"Well, he is a politician," Lori commented.

"Yeah, s'pose the shen jing bing (insanity) goes with the job," Dani smirked.

"So how are they enforcin' it?" Rain asked, still confused. "I mean, yeah we're settin' down at the government compound an' all, but there's no other landin' tower, ships could land wherever they wanna, an' bring along whatever they wan', or give guns to these bandits."

"An' right there, nu'er (daughter)," Dani laughed, "ya just proved yer a whole mess smarter'n the politicians."

Governor's Compound. New Omaha.

"So what's the name of the town we're headin' towards?" Dani asked the Alliance soldier standing guard over the military ground truck they were loading the crates into.

"Chalco," he responded tersely, scanning the distance for threats.

Dani just grunted as she slung the last crate in and walked over to where the others were waiting for orders to move out.

"Lian ren (sweetheart), my bad feelin's gettin' worse," Lori said as she approached.

"I'm with ya love, this is a sou zhu yi (rotten idea)," Dani complained as she took Lori's hand. "Didi, didya see how the soldiers are fidgety as diyu (hell)? An' this is their center of power!"

"Yeah, I see it jiejie," Keith sighed. "We'll just keep our eyes open. You too, alright? Check in every hour. Everyone got their survival packs?" He question was greeted by a chorus of affirmative responses. "Right then. Let's move, they're signaling it's time."

"Roger that, One," Dani sighed, straightening her shoulders. He's right, we gots a job to do, no use complainin' any further.

Dani gave Lori and Sara a tight squeeze, and even Keith, though he protested it. She cautioned each to watch their pigu (ass), and Jess did the same.

Then they were off down the road in separate directions.

"Home, this is Two, you readin' me?" Dani asked as she bounced on her seat inside the truck next to Jess.

"Go ahead, Two," Rain answered immediately.

"Make sure yer all locked up tight, alright?" she said, worry filling her voice.

"Don' worry 'bout us none, Kaasan. Uncle Mike's standin' guard at the door with his da pigu (bigass) rifle. Figgured if'n he can't take it off the ship, he c'n guard from the inside. Door's locked good an' snug."

"Alright, baobei (treasured one). I'll see you again soon. Love you," Dani murmured.

"Love you too, Kaasan."

Chalco. New Omaha.

They pulled up into the town center, and the soldiers filed out nervously. There were only four of them, plus the driver, but this town was in the center of what should be a safe zone. The landowner of this valley was a supporter of the governor, and as such received gifts and the like, including the medicine they were dropping off.

The governor's representative, a man who hadn't even introduced himself to either Dani or Jess much less said any other word to them, climbed out of the front cab and stood in the middle of the street, hands on hips. "Where are they?" he asked imperiously.

"Uh oh," Jess murmured as she set her crate down outside the truck.

"Yeah, this could be bad," Dani murmured back, setting her own on top of Jess's. "One, how do you read?"

"We're almost... the town, Two," Keith replied. The distance caused their connection to be staticy but more or less audible. "How... going there?"

"Bad feelin's now gettin' to us as well," Dani commented.

"...again, Two?" Keith's voice was getting more distant.

"Ta ma de (fuck me blind)," Dani growled as her connection faded to a static hiss. "One? You copy?"

"Um, Two?" Jess said nervously.

Dani looked up to see that just about every window lining the center of town had opened and an armed man was poking a rifle out of each one, aimed at their group.

"W'rin bu lai (things never go smooth)," Dani sighed, raising her hands high as Jess did the same.

A group of four men strode down the street towards them. The one in the lead, a lean man with a pockmarked face and wearing worn paramilitary fatigues, stopped with his arms crossed. "All yer guns, on the ground, now," he ordered.

The soldiers complied immediately. Rolling their eyes, the two Favour crew members did so as well. The four bandits moved in, scooping up weapons.

"Oh, these're nice," the pockmarked man smirked as he picked up Dani's beloved Ares pistol and Jess's little Beretta. "Not the usual soldier fare. Spacers?"

Dani nodded. "C'n we get a receipt for those?"

The man laughed uproariously. "I like yer sense of humor, girl. Might jus' let the two of ya live for a spell. I see you've got comms as well, hand them over." He was still chuckling after the women obeyed and as he moved around the truck towards the governor's representative.

"Dani?" Jess whispered urgently.

"Get ready to bolt, alleyway right next to ya," Dani whispered back. "When I say go, you run like diyu (hell), y'hear?" Jess nodded slightly, her body tense.

"Do you know who I am?" the politician was saying.

The pockmarked man held out Dani's gun and shot the representative through the head. "Dead," he answered.

"Go!" Dani yelled, and the two women took off in a sprint.

Fortunately the soldiers thought escape was a good idea as well, so the bandits concentrated on them first, gunning them down before they could leave the square. A few shots pinged off the pavement and the surrounding buildings as Dani and Jess headed for safety. Dani used her longer legs to keep up with her sister-in-law, who was a dozen years younger than her and in much better shape, fear lending them speed. But, just before reaching the end of the alleyway, a shot hit Jess in the lower leg, passing through and leaving a spurt of blood across the ground.

"Ta ma de (fuck me blind)!" Jess screamed, tumbling to the ground. Dani hardly paused at all in grabbing her by the back of her light jacket and hauling her to her feet.

"Don' stop Jess, we gotta keep movin'! Get yer pigu (ass) up!"

Jess panted in pain as she hobbled along, the distant shouts of bandits getting closer. Looking down Dani could tell they were leaving an easily-tracked blood trail. Gotta get her bandaged, fast.

"Move it, girl! Ya gonna let me beat ya? I'm never gonna let ya live it down!" Dani goaded as she slipped an arm around Jess's waist.

"Ni ta ma de (fuck you)," Jess hissed painfully. "Not going to happen."

"Then move!"

They jogged unsteadily together to the edge of town. The cooler temperature outside the heated truck was slightly uncomfortable before, but was getting worse as they moved away from the buildings and concrete which had trapped the day's heat from the sun.

"C'mon girl, you c'n do this, almost there..."

And then they were hobbling across a short expanse of grass and into the woods. Dani paused and looked behind them. No bandits had shown up yet, but it was only a matter of time. She seriously doubted they'd let the two women live after witnessing the murder of a governmental official.

She pulled Jess along until they got to a fallen tree, and then let her collapse to the ground while she pulled out her emergency kit. Each member of the Favour's ground crew carried one when they went into rural areas now per Keith's orders. It contained several items of use in a very compact form, including an emergency blanket, a firestarter, a mini flare, a pocket multitool, and, most importantly, a small first aid kit, among other things.

Dani ripped the latter out of her pouch and rummaged for the large compression bandage. Taking out her combat knife she quickly sliced open Jess's pant leg to expose the wound in her calf.

"Oh, hon, that's not hardly a bug bite there, is it?" Dani murmured with concern. "I got's nothin' to clean it with, a wound that size, so I'm jus' gonna hafta stop the bleedin'."

"Do it," Jess groaned as she dug into her own pouch. She pulled out some pain pills and popped a couple into her mouth.

"Should be another pill in there, kinda'n adrenaline pill," Dani commented as she wound the bandage around her leg. "Might be red or orange."

"Yeah I see it, clear little package," Jess murmured. She popped that one in her mouth too and dry-swallowed the lot. "You looked in the kit before?"

"Nope," the lanky spacer grinned as she tied the bandage off. "Survival trainin' from the war. Standard flight kit, I recommended them to yer husband. Smaller and lighter than the big ones he wanted fer field use."

"Right," Jess replied. She stood to her feet and tested her weight. "Gorram if it isn't working already. I can move."

Dani glanced around the tree and saw some bandits cautiously emerging from the town, searching. "Well, hope ya c'n at least jog, 'cause we gotta go fast again."

The two women set off at a slow and easy lope, Jess's a bit more awkward as her gait was off-kilter. "Dunno why they're bein' so careful lookin' for us," Dani mused as they ran. "They took our guns. Mebbe they think we got some backups?"

"Who knows," Jess panted. "I'll take any help we can get."

Dani really wished they still had their comms, even if they couldn't reach Keith's team they might still have been in range of the Favour. As it was, things happened so fast nobody even knew yet what befell their party, and wouldn't until they failed to return.

They broke out of the woods then and came across a raging river that wound its way down towards the foothills. The immediate area was fairly open though another more dense patch of forest lay ahead.

"C'mon, Jess, you c'n do this in yer sleep," Dani huffed as she jogged along the ridge bordering the river, heading for the forest. She kept glancing over her shoulder, both to make sure Jess was keeping up and checking for signs of pursuit.

And then Jess took her tumble into the water below.

"No, no, no," Dani moaned, searching frantically for the slim woman. The air was more frigid now that she had stopped moving, and she was sure the temperature of the river was far worse, having come from the mountains.

Finally she spied some rocks downriver where a number of fallen trees had come up against them, forming a breakwater of sorts. She took off in a dash, racing down to where she could climb towards the site.

"Jess!" she screamed frantically as she reached the logs. She carefully stepped out onto the slippery branches, testing her steps. "Jess!"

She almost slipped right off when a hand reached out and grabbed her leg. "Oh, thank Buddha!" she exclaimed as she grabbed Jess's frozen hand. She hauled her out of the water and practically carried the soaked woman to the shoreline. Her own boots got wet, but fortunately not much got inside, and she kept her footing the rest of the way.

Once there, she turned the chattering raven-haired girl around so she could carry her on her back. "Jess, grab on sweetie, I'll get us back up."

Her sister-in-law couldn't answer her, she was shaking so badly. She's only got a few minutes before hypothermia sets in, gotta get her to warmth, fast.

As she climbed up the bank, one hand keeping Jess's weak grasp around her neck secure, she felt a breeze against her cheek. As she reached the top, she turned to see dark storm clouds approaching.

"Hao yun bu lai, huai yun bu jwo (good luck don't come, back luck don't leave)," she groaned.

It was a race now, not just between her and the onset of hypothermia, but against the oncoming storm. Unfortunately the latter was moving quickly, and Dani saw a few flakes of snow drifting down in front of her face.

Then they were into the woods and the light dimmed immediately. The storm started in now, more snow blowing past her face. She kept peering around, looking for anything that would help. There were several rock outcroppings but nothing that would shelter them...

And then she saw it, just off to the right. An opening in the side of a rocky hill, hopefully a cave. She made a beeline for it just as the snow began in earnest.

Entering the gap she saw it was indeed a cave, deep enough to enclose them and leave room for a fire. "Niubi (fucking awesome)," she breathed as she set Jess down.

She bent over to hold the pale woman's trembling head in her hands, focusing her attention. "Jess, I need ya to strip down, okay? Get these clothes off. I'm gonna get firewood, cover us up, and start a fire. Alright?"

Jess gave a rapid nod, teeth still chattering, and fumbled at her clothes. Dani raced back out to scoop up some fallen branches. Fortunately they were plentiful in the forest, and plenty dry still. The snow was starting to come down even harder now, but she managed to get the firewood inside and pull over some larger branches with foliage attached to conceal their refuge.

Turning back into the cave, she saw that Jess had only managed to get her boots, tunic, and bodyarmor off. She was fumbling with her trousers still, unable to work the clasp with her numb fingers. Dani noticed with concern that her skin was a pasty white, at odds with her usual Asian heritage complexion, and her lips were turning blue.

"Okay sweetie, lemme help," she said gently, moving the frozen woman's fingers away. She stripped Jess's pants off, then her socks and underwear, leaving her huddled on the floor shivering as she pulled the thermal emergency blanket out. She unfolded the silvery material quickly and wrapped Jess up in it as best she could. Fortunately the floor of the cave was soft dirt and would be somewhat comfortable.

Once her sister-in-law was settled, she got the fire started. It was a tenuous thing, but at least it was warmth that Jess badly needed. Then she got the blanket out of Jess's kit and strung it up across the entryway, securing it with bits of adhesive and leaving a small space at the top for the smoke to escape. Hopefully nobody'll be lookin' for us in this weather, but at least that'll trap the heat inside.

Then she stripped her own clothes and bodyarmor off until she was stark naked and crawled into the makeshift sleeping bag with Jess.

"What... are... you... doing?" Jess chattered.

'Gettin' you warm," Dani murmured as she enveloped Jess in her limbs. She tried to get as much body contact as possible to warm the shivering woman and get her core temperature back up. She had Jess's back to the fire, and snuggled her head into her chest.

"Just... want... me... naked," the freezing girl joked weakly.

Dani laughed softly. "Don' flatter yerself none. Yeah yer hot an' all, but yer my brother's wife. More like a sister to me. Anyways, not my type."

"Lori?" she asked succinctly.

"Yep, my type exactly," she sighed, figuring on keeping a conversation going to put the shivering woman at ease after their perilous escape. "Soft in all the right places, an' hard in all the other right ones. Acres an' acres of freckles, red hair, curvy..."

"Now... getting... me... excited," Jess laughed shakily.

Dani giggled. "Sorry. I tend to go on an' on when she's concerned."

"Hey... Dani?"

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"Really... happy... you... found... her."

Dani smiled, stroking Jess's wet hair which seemed to be finally drying out some. "Me too, meimei. Me too." She shifted her body a little, noting that Jess was starting to warm up some, but her extremities were still icy. "Here, move yer arms down in 'tween us... Oh! No, not there hon, little to the side, I know ya can't feel 'em none, but yer hands're not somewhere ya want them..."

Forest cave. New Omaha.

Dani woke the next morning, sleepily taking note of her surroundings. She was warm and snuggled into a blanket in a cozy little cave, and her arms were wrapped around...

Not Lori. Actually, it was Jess. And she was spooning her sister-in-law, with her hands wrapped around her front, and holding on to her much smaller breasts like she usually did when waking up in bed with Lori.

Her sudden intake of breath did not go unnoticed. "It's okay, sweetie," Jess murmured. "I figured this was just how you would normally be with Lori."

"Um, yeah, 'xactly," Dani blushed as she withdrew her hands gently. "Sorry anyways. Dunno why it didn' register, yer a lot smaller, even more than me. Er, sorry 'gain."

"No worries, hon," Jess giggled. "I'm local chapter president of the itty-bitty titty committee."

Dani choked back a laugh. "They're not all that bad. I'm like a B cup, what're you, A?"

"Mmmhmm," Jess murmured sleepily. "Like Keith always says, 'more than a mouthful is too much.'"

"Oh God, I didn' need that image in my head!" Dani groaned.

She noted though that Jess's color had improved dramatically. As Jess turned her head, she also saw that her lips had returned to their normal color as well.

"How's yer limbs? C'n ya feel all of 'em?"

"Yes, seems like it. No fingers or toes lost," Jess giggled again, wiggling back into Dani. "I can kind of see the attraction here. Women are much softer than men."

Dani laughed and pushed the other woman away. "None of that, now, meimei. Not my type, 'member?"

"Oh, I'm just teasing you," Jess grinned as she sat up, clutching the blanket to her chest. "My clothes are dry enough, I think. Thanks for spreading them out."

"All that survival trainin' paid off. Funny how some things stick with ya, 'specially the body-warmin' part."

"How so?" Jess asked as she pulled her clothes over towards her.

"Well, most of the other crew I flew with were all men. So's I always hadda think 'bout if'n this ever happened, I'd be snugglin' up with a guy." Dani wrinkled her nose. "Not at all appealin'."

Jess laughed while pulling on her underwear and pants. "So you've never been with a guy?"

"Nope, never," Dani replied, pulling her own pants on and pushing back down the bad memories of her ordeal on Silverhold with less effort than it used to take. "An' you never been with a girl?"

"Nope, never," Jess smiled. "I'm still going to take you up on your idea, though, about the Companion. You really think Keith would go for it?"

Dani let out a peal of laughter. "Oh, meimei, you know how guys are. It'd be a fantasy come true."

"I like how you're calling me meimei now," Jess smiled after she pulled her shirt on.

Dani grinned. "Well, it's either that or bang jiar (lover), since we shared a bed."

Jess laughed. "Okay jiejie, I'll settle for that then."

They pulled their boots over to put on, but Jess wrinkled her nose up. "Ugh, mine are still a little wet."

"Hmm," Dani mused. "There's some salve in our kits. 'Tween the two of us should have enough for both feet. Insulate 'em, keep 'em from crackin'."

"Okaaayy," Jess drawled. "Worth a shot."

Dani had both tubes of salve out and was rubbing them onto Jess's feet before pulling her socks on. In the back of her mind she realized this was a little more intimate than she was used to with another woman other than her wife, so she tried to keep the conversation going to stem off her embarrassment.

"So, Keith, that's your type of guy, huh?"

"Oh, diyu (hell) no," Jess laughed. "Not at all."

"Ni zai jiang shen me pi hua (what the fuck are you saying)?" Dani asked incredulously.

Jess laughed again. "No, in University I liked them cute and dumb. Smart guys usually felt intimidated by my own greater intellect," she said modestly.

"So what happened with Keith?" Dani asked curiously as she pulled Jess's socks on over the balm. She thought it strange they'd never had this conversation before.

"Finally found someone who could keep up with me," Jess grinned. "And the full package didn't hurt. If you know what I mean."

"I so do not need ta hear 'bout my brother's package, neither," Dani groaned, tossing Jess's boots towards her. "Here, let's look at yer bandage 'fore we head out."

Dani pulled the tattered pants leg aside to see what remained of the bandage. It was pretty ragged as well, so she carefully pulled it off. Jess gave a hiss of pain as she did so, revealing a nasty-looking puckered hole still oozing blood.

"Well, good news is the dip in the river likely cleaned it out," Dani commented, pulling a fresh bandage out of Jess's pack along with some antibiotic. "We'll see how well ya c'n walk on it today."

"I can walk," Jess winced. "Don't think I can run, though." She looked thoughtfully at the ceiling of the cave. "Unless I'm being chased by folks with guns. I think I could manage a run then."

"Good ta know," Dani laughed as she tied the bandage off. "Right, let's gather stuff up and head on out."

The thermal blankets couldn't really fold up again into as small a package as before, but they were small enough to stuff into their pockets, so they brought them along just in case. Jess took her last pair of pain pills out of her kit and popped them in her mouth, dry-swallowing with some difficulty. Dani was wishing she'd thought to gather some snow last night for water.

Exiting the cave, they were astonished to see that most of the snow had already melted away in the sunlight of the new day. "Muddy, but not too bad," Dani murmured. "Less tracks than in snow, anyways."

"True enough," Jess commented as they headed out. "So, this general way?"

"Good as any," Dani smiled.

Unknown village. New Omaha.

They crouched at the edge of the woods, carefully examining the village in the distance.

"So, did Keith's extra-special survival kit include binoculars?" Jess asked casually through chapped lips. All their balm had been used on her feet.

Dani sighed. "Yeah, I think they did."

"That would have been nice."

"Oh, bi zui (shut up)," Dani grinned, then winced in pain as her lips cracked. "C'mon, might as well get a lil' closer. Don' seem like all that many folk are up an' about."

Dani had to support Jess as her pain pills had worn off by now. They only had the four in Dani's kit left and wanted to conserve them in case they needed them later. Seeing children outside in the village ahead, they remained hopeful this wasn't one of those times.

They limped together across the field and towards the outer houses. The village seemed to be a little run-down, but there was little debris or ruins to be seen, so hopefully there hadn't been much fighting here. A group of children playing outside a house spied their arrival and fled inside.

"Well, guess we'll see what kind of a reception we can get now," Jess murmured, wincing in pain.

Before Dani could reply, two women and a man came out of the same house, carrying rifles. They did not immediately point them at the pair of women, however.

"That's a lil' encouragin'," Dani whispered as they continued to hobble closer.

"Who are you?" One of the women barked out when they were within speaking range.

They halted their progress, Jess leaning heavily against her. "I'm Dani. We're spacers, our convoy was ambushed by bandits," Dani explained. "My sister-in-law here, Jess, is wounded. C'n y'all help us?"

The woman, gaunt-faced and lean with stringy blond hair, squinted at them. "Where were ya ambushed?"

Dani and Jess shared a glance. "Chalco," the lanky captain finally answered. "We were deliverin' medical supplies for the governor. Had soldiers with us, but they all got offed."

The three villagers bent towards each other in discussion for a minute. It didn't seem to be an argument, so the women waited as patiently as possible, out of other options at the moment.

Then the first woman turned back to them. "The leader of these bandits, c'n ya describe 'im?"

Dani nodded. "Lean fella, pockmarked, wore an old military-style outfit."

"Abrams," the woman spat out as if the word had left a foul taste in her mouth. "Y'all come with us, we'll get ya fixed up proper."

Within an hour they had been hydrated, cleaned, and freshly clothed to hide their spacer origins. They were sitting at a small wooden table, devouring bowls of some sort of vegetable soup, while Jess had her leg up on another chair with the pants rolled up to the knee. The village doctor was examining it before she rebandaged the wound, and Jess winced as it was cleaned out again.

"Yer very lucky," the doctor commented dryly. "It's not infected none. I'll leave ya with a bottle of pills, keep ya on yer feet."

"Much obliged, doc," Dani smiled. Jess nodded gratefully in agreement.

The woman, who had introduced herself as Pearl, was leaning up against the wall in her kitchen. "We c'n give ya some supplies, weapons an' such, but we don' have much. We've been fightin' that warlord Douglas an' his dog Abrams for a spell now. This is our refuge. Don' wan' no trouble comin' down on our heads."

"An' we don' wanna bring it down on ya, neither," Dani reassured her. "We're grateful as diyu (hell) for what ye've done fer us, but we'll be pushin' on as soon as we c'n. D'ya know of a place where we c'n get to a Cortex unit?"

Pearl sighed as she pushed herself off from the wall. "Closest real town is La Vista. Gotta warn ya, though, Douglas controls it, keeps a whole mess of his bully-boys there. We gots some contacts inside, though. Rebels, as it were."

"Again, we're much obliged," Dani smiled.

Jess nodded again, swallowing her mouthful of soup. "Truly we are. I don't know how we'd have survived much longer if you hadn't taken us in."

"Well, jus' make sure ya keep yer pretty lil' mouth shut," Pearl snorted in response. "Core accent like that's a dead giveaway here 'bouts."

"S'alright, I c'n do enuff talkin' fer the two of us," Dani mumbled around her spoon.

Just then the front door to the house banged open and a disheveled young man rushed in. "They're here!" he hissed urgently.

"Abrams?" Pearl asked, brow furrowed.

The boy nodded frantically. Dani jumped up to help Jess to her feet. "We'll head out the back, into the woods..."

"No," Pearl said firmly. "Ya won' make it even half a klick. We'll take care of this piyan (asshole) once an' fer all. This's the first time he's shown 'is ugly face in our town, now we gots the advantage. Stay put."

She strode towards the door, whispering instructions to the boy, who nodded and ran off again as she exited the house.

"What do we do, jiejie?" Jess asked, eyes wide.

"You stay put, like the woman said," the doctor replied before Dani could. She was tying the bandage off with deft hands. "Trust in these folk."

"But-" Dani started. Her response was cut off by a bellowing voice. She recognized it as being from the pockmarked man, and even though the door was closed she could make out his voice, but not the words.

"What's he sayin'?" Dani asked, straining her ears.

"If'n it's like the other villages they like ta bully, he's tryin' to take hostages and threatenin' to burn the place down if'n he don' get his way." The doctor stood up nonchalantly and gathered up her supplies. "I'll need to leave ya soon, I'm sure there'll be some bullets holes that need closed after this."

Dani and Jess shared a helpless look. And then shots rang out, a flurry at first, and then sporadic gunfire until it trickled off to an eerie silence again.

"Right, I'm off," the nameless doctor informed them. "Y'all stay put now, right? I mean it."

"Will do," Dani replied. She sat back down, feeling as if she could wring her hands with worry. What if we got folk killed over us?

Within a few seconds of the doctor leaving, Pearl returned. Dani leapt to her feet again. "Is everyone alright? Nobody got hurt, did they?"

"It's alright, girl," Pearl laughed. "Taken care of, only a couple'a injuries, an' we got them all kilt, includin' Abrams, thank Buddha. Hope his black soul rots in Diyu (hell), the hun dan (bastard)."

The two crew from the Favour shared a relieved sigh.

"Alright then, let's get y'all ready to head out," Pearl said firmly.

Both girls were delighted to find that Abrams and his thugs still had their sidearms on them. However, their comms were missing. The villagers provided them with enough food and water to make it to the next town, as well as warmer coats and wooly hats that would help them blend in, not to mention keep them much warmer.

"I can' thank y'all enough," Dani murmured as she enveloped Pearl in a hug as they went to leave.

"It's our pleasure, hon," Pearl laughed gently. "Y'all just make sure ta get back to yer ship now, hear?"

"We will," Jess promised as she took her turn with a hug. "And we'll never forget your kindness."

They waved their goodbyes and set off down the road towards the town, address for an underground arms dealer in hand.

La Vista. New Omaha.

Many hours later they crested a rise and saw the town ahead. In reality, it was more like a small city for this moon. La Vista had several tall buildings, some as high as ten stories, and it spread out for a couple of kilometers. The forest came right up to the edge of the town, where smaller residences lay.

"Alright, I think we should get off the road now before we come across some of Douglas's men," Jess stated nervously. She took another two pain pills with a swallow of water from her bottle. Dani noted worriedly that it had only been two hours since her last dose.

"Leg botherin' ya more?" she asked gently as they headed into the woods.

"A bit," Jess replied. "I want to make sure I'm able to move fast if we need to."

"Least we're not defenseless now," Dani smiled, patting her beloved Ares pistol in it's holster, for maybe the hundredth time since they started out.

They crept cautiously around the perimeter of the town until they found a larger building, perhaps a warehouse, that looked to be abandoned. Dani motioned to Jess, and they silently walked forward, keeping their eyes open for any movement. It was near evening, dinnertime for most folk, and they encountered no obstacles as they entered the unlocked back door of the cavernous structure. As Dani suspected, it looked like an old storage building.

"Let's head to the front, mebbe we c'n find a window to see outta," Dani whispered.

The two women snuck forward, but were soon startled by a querulous voice. "Whatddya doin' in my home?"

Jess stifled a squeak as Dani spun, her hand on her gun. A man dressed in rags was huddled against the remains of a busted wooden crate, surrounded by debris. "Sorry, pengyou (friend), we're jus' passin' through." She paused. "Hey, we're lookin' for an old huoban (buddy), c'n ya point us in the right direction?"

The scruffy man peered up at her blearily. "Whaddya give me fer helpin' ya?"

Dani rummaged around in her rucksack that Pearl had given her. "Got a handful of Fruity Oaty bars," she offered tentatively.

The man's eyes lit up in glee. "Ta ma de (fuck me blind), thas' better'n booze, ni zi (little girl)! Hand 'em over, I'll point 'im out fer ya."

Shortly thereafter the women were heading down the street towards the other side of town. They tensed up with every person that passed them, but noticed the townspeople did the same. "Are we sticking out as strangers, or are they just suspicious of everyone?" Jess whispered.

"I think the latter. An' keep quiet meimei, no talkin' til we get to this Whistler fella, alright?"

Jess nodded wordlessly and kept her arms wrapped tightly around her middle as she walked.

After another hour the sky was beginning to darken somewhat but they had arrived at their destination. It was a door next to a pawn shop which was already closed. There was an intercom next to it, dingy and beat up but still serviceable.

Dani pressed the button, and after a few beats a gravelly voice answered. "Yeah?"

"Lookin' for a man named Whistler," Dani answered quietly. "Pearl sent us."

There was another pause. The women glanced at each other, wondering if this was a dead end. But then the door buzzed and unlocked, while the voice came back. "C'mon up."

They climbed the narrow, rickety steps to the second floor where they found a heavily-reinforced door already cracked open. Dani eased her way through, looking around cautiously, and Jess entered behind her.

The room was cluttered with workbenches and tables, shelves and boxes. It seemed to be part storage area, part workshop. It was dimly lit, but Dani could see a lit cigarette trailing smoke from the ashtray on a desk at the far end.

The door closed behind them, and the girls whirled around to see a man holding a shotgun pointed in Dani's midriff. He was grizzled, with long grey hair and matching stubble. The man had a squint that said he'd seen more than his share of horrors, and that little would faze him anymore. He gave them a sardonic smile, nodding towards them. "Guns on the floor, if'n ya don' mind."

Dani and Jess slowly withdrew their firearms and laid them on the floor, standing back up just as slowly with their arms raised.

"No need fer that," the man answered with a gravelly chuckle. "Jus' wanna check yer bonafides. Ya say Pearl sent ya? From which town?"

"We never did rightly learn the name," Dani replied. "They helped us out. Saved our skins. Said ya might be able ta help us the rest of the way. Are you Whistler?"

"I am," he grunted. "Rest of the way, where?"

"To our ship," Jess responded earnestly. "Please, can you help us contact them?"

Whistler gave another grunt, shaggy eyebrows raised. He lifted the shotgun up and rested it against his shoulder. "Right, accent like that yer sure not one o' Douglas's folk. Pick yer guns up, an' c'mon."

The two crew members complied while Whistler lurched towards the desk. Dani noticed that he had some sort of leg brace on that hindered his movement.

As he sat down, he noticed Dani's curious look. "Took a round to the knee some years back, me an' my brother got ambushed while sellin' our wares to a town nearby. I made it out. He didn'. S'why I do everythin' in my power to get back at that wang ba (son of a bitch) Douglas. If'n he's after ya, I'll help ya."

Dani nodded as she sat in a stool that Whistler indicated. "Fella by the name of Abrams ambushed us, part of a government convoy deliverin' meds. Tracked us when we escaped, but Pearl and her folk put an end to 'im."

Whistler barked a laugh as he took a drag off his cigarette. "Best news I heard all month. Now, what kin I do fer y'all?"

"Two things," Jess answered, as Dani was having difficulty breathing over Whistler's smoke. He quickly apologized and put it out, waving away the fumes. "First, we need some ammunition and extra magazines for our sidearms, if you have them. And secondly, we need to contact our ship for pickup."

Whistler peered at their sidearms as they held them out. "Sure, I c'n help with that. Got a few boxes o' both forty cal fer the Ares, an' nine mil for the Beretta. An' I c'n do ya one better."

Grinning, he lurched to his feet again and took a few steps towards the storage lockers along the near wall. He opened a few up, rummaging around. He pulled out a pair of boxes of ammo, one of each caliber, and then another handgun. It was an exact copy of Jess's.

"The 101-T model was real popular fer the ladies," he answered Jess's incredulous look with a chuckle. "I got a box of 'em in awhile back, this's the last one I got left. Only gots two extra mags, though, but that should give ya one reload fer each gun."

"C'n ya use two guns at the once?" Dani asked her sister-in-law curiously.

Jess nodded slowly, brow furrowed. "I think so. Keith made me do offhand drills, so I can shoot almost as well with my left hand. Never tried dual-wielding before, though."

"Jus' shoot one gun atta time," Whistler advised as he handed her the gun. "Let's ya cover more area, too, but don' jus' fire 'em off willy-nilly, yeah? Still gotta make each shot count."

He found an extra three magazines for Dani's pistol, and while the girls set to reloading their guns with the ammunition Whistler provided, he took Jess's shoulder holster harness over to his workbench. He had another shoulder holster, this one for lefties, that was a close enough match, and stitched the two together.

Jess had her coat off and slipped the harness over her shoulders, buckling them down onto her belt, and slipped both guns in. "You are ruttin' huaidan (badass)," Dani grinned.

"That y'are, girl," Whistler nodded. "Now, fer the second thing y'all wanted. I got a unit, but it's text-only, and jus' transmits, no receive. I use it ta report on troop movements an' such. There's an organization herebouts, keeps us fightin' Douglas, but I'm not gonna give ya any more details on it, if'n ya don' mind."

"No worries," Dani reassured him. "We understan' completely."

Soon thereafter they had a message sent to the Favour. It indicated the town they were at, and that they were going to be at the top of the tallest building they could find within a half hour with a flare from their survival kits lit.

The girls gave Whistler their sincere thanks, and headed off back downtown.

They made it nearly three blocks before they came across a group of bandits.

"There they are!" one of them shouted as they hauled out their rifles.

"Well, cao (fuck)," Dani said sardonically as she whipped out her sidearm and dropped the first pair of goons. "That didn' take long."

Jess had both of her guns out and was alternating them, sending bullets with a fair degree of accuracy into the group, sending them diving for cover. "Think the homeless pop turned us in?"

"Could be," Dani grunted, sending another bullet into the eye of a bandit who was slow in scrambling away. "Let's go, alleyway here. That's gonna bring 'em all down on our heads."

The two women charged down the trash-strewn passageway, dodging refuse and splashing through puddles of water and other liquids that were best not examined closely.

"Closest tall building?" Jess panted, looking upwards.

"Yeah, at this point not gonna be picky," Dani huffed back. They ran out into the street and almost bowled over another pair of bandits who were charging forward.

Dani sent the female sprawling, and then shot her in the head as she started to rise. Jess just pushed the man away with one hand while shooting him twice in the gut with the other.

They hurdled the fallen bodies to head into what looked to be an apartment building, maybe seven stories high. It had no sign outside it, but fortunately the doors were unlocked.

A few steps inside the building they found out why it was unlocked. There were several armed bandits lounging around the lobby, rifles stacked casually against the wall as they drank and smoked. Every head turned at their entrance.

"Um," Dani said intelligently. "Hi?"

One of the bandits recovered and started barking orders. Dani shot him in the face without hesitation and ran towards the stairwell, Jess on her heels.

"Did we just run into some sort of barracks for these hun dans (bastards)?" Jess shouted as she pounded up the steps behind Dani.

"Looks like it!" Dani yelled back, scanning ahead for targets.

"Nice choice, jiejie! Well done!" Jess laughed sarcastically.

"Qu nide (fuck off) meimei!" Dani laughed back with a trace of hysteria.

They made it three flights up before the door above them banged open and some more thugs spilled out. The stairway below them was beginning to fill with shouting men and women, all very armed and very angry.

Dani kept running, shooting as she went, dropping bandits with abandon. The others at the doorway let out a yelp and dived back.

"Reloading!" Dani yelled as she veered off to the wall and slowed. Jess scampered past her, sending bullets into the doorway that had been blocked open by bodies.

They continued on up, trying very hard not to slip on the bloody steps, and got to the fifth floor before they heard the top door open up. Several men filed out, all carrying modern and deadly automatic rifles.

"Oh, ta ma de yuangu (for fucks sake)," Dani yelled, shouldering the next door open and rolling inside the hallway. Jess tumbled right over her as they both avoided the chattering hail of bullets. Screams and complaints from below told them that the men above them weren't being too careful of their targets.

"Must have an elevator," Jess panted as she stumbled to her feet. Her leg was beginning to show a small stain as her wound reopened and seeped through the bandage.

Dani drew her lips back in a snarl at the sight. "Hang on, meimei, we're almost there. Jus' gotta find another stairwell."

Jess limped along behind her, training her guns both behind and then to the side as they crossed passageways. At the end of the hall was another door marked 'exit'. Before they could reach it, however, it was thrown open and a pair of women ran out, rifles blazing.

Dani leaned against the right wall, stretching her gun out and killing both bandits. Behind her, Jess gave a shout as she started opening fire as well. The lanky captain looked back to see several other bandits filling the hallway from where they had originally entered. Behind them was a door marked 'maintenance'. Dani tried the handle but it was locked.

"Keep their heads down!" she yelled as she stood back and kicked in the door. Fortunately it was fairly flimsy and gave way quickly. "Inside!" Dani barked, and Jess rolled backwards. As she went to follow, the stairwell door closest to them banged open again and another bandit jumped out, firing rapidly. Dani felt a sting in her left shoulder and then her arm on the same side as she jumped into the room.

"Ching-wah tsao duh liou mahng (frog-humping son of a bitch)!" she gritted out painfully from the floor, holstering her pistol and clutching her arm where it was bleeding.

Jess leapt back up and slammed the door shut, looking around the room wildly. There were heavy lockers next to the door, and she darted to the side, straining to pull them over and across the door.

Dani stumbled to her feet to lend what help she could, and between the two of them managed to topple it over. They collapsed back against the second locker, taking shelter as bullet holes started to appear in the walls and door.

"Well, it was a good run, jiejie," Jess sighed as she rummaged for bandages and Dani pulled her bleeding arm out of her coat. Fortunately they had picked up a decent first-aid kit from the village, and she quickly had Dani's arm patched and a bandage wound tightly to stop the bleeding. Her shoulder wound seemed less severe, just a graze, and Jess concentrated on getting it sealed up and covered.

"Not done yet, meimei," Dani groaned against the pain. Her eyes roamed around the room. There was a window, but they were too high up and too far from the roof, there was no fire escape...

And then her gaze turned upwards to the ceiling to the ventilation grate.

"There," she breathed.

Jess looked up incredulously. "Can we fit?"

Dani crawled over, testing the strength of the shelving unit underneath. "With yer A's an' my B's, we'll make it happen. Soon as the fire lets off, climb on up and get it open, 'k?" She shrugged off her rucksack to the floor.

No sooner had she spoken than the gunfire cut off suddenly. "Y'all surrender now," a rough voice called out, "an' we'll make sure yer injuries get taken care of, alright?"

Dani nodded to Jess, and she scrambled upwards after discarding her own rucksack and coat, quickly popping open the grate and shimmying upwards.

As she stood to follow, Dani called back. "How d'we know ya jus' won' shoot us when we come out?"

She jumped upwards then after shucking off her bulky coat the rest of the way, ignoring the searing pain in her arm as effectively as she ignored the false platitudes that the bandit was giving them. The duct was a tight fit, but angled upwards until they came to a junction from what Jess reported.

"Which way?" she hissed over her shoulder.

Dani tried to picture the building layout. They had started out heading towards the center, so the edge of the building should be... "Right!" she hissed back.

Jess wiggled forward as best she could. They almost missed the shaft leading upwards, but Dani called her back when she noticed it above Jess's legs. Wiggling backwards was much harder than forwards, but they managed, and started to climb up just in time. The bandits must have realized they were in the ducts finally and started to fill the ceiling with holes. Fortunately by this point they were in a wall space and none of the gunfire reached them.

Another two stories up and they had reached the top floor. There was heat radiating from the left branch as they reached the top, and both girls were sweating. "Heat source?" Jess asked over her shoulder. "Might be furnace room."

"Usually on the bottom floor," Dani groaned with the effort at holding her self up. "But yeah, try it."

Jess wiggled forward like a snake until she got to the next grate. "Ow!" she exclaimed. "It's way too hot to open! Can we turn around so I can kick it?"

"Here," Dani answered, pulling her hat off with her right hand and extending it forward. "Use our hats like mittens."

Jess reached backwards, fumbling around until she had hold of the proffered wooly headgear. It took her a few short seconds to bang the grate open, and then they were inside a sweltering central airway.

"Looks like the hot air gets pumped up here," Dani panted as she pulled herself inside and slumped wearily to the floor.

"Odd design, but whatever," Jess commented. "There's a maintenance hatch over here, you stay and I'll try it."

"Be careful, meimei," Dani murmured.

Jess worked the handle quietly as possible. Fortunately it was well-oiled and opened without a squeak.

"Wo kao (well fuck me / holy shit), finally something goes right for us!" Jess exclaimed. "Doorway to the roof access is right here!"

Dani rolled to her feet with a moan. "Alright," she panted, head hanging down. "Lemme take some pain pills first. How long has it been?"

"Since we sent the message?" Jess asked as she handed the pills and her water bottle over. "One hour."

"Jingcai (brilliant)," Dani mumbled sarcastically around the bottle. She swallowed her pills and shook her head determinedly to clear her head. "Well, here's hopin' they can still see us from somewhere. Let's do this."

They exited the sweltering room and into a barren hallway. Sure enough the door directly across was labeled for roof access, and it was unlocked. They cautiously opened it and peeked out together, guns at the ready.

"Looks like we got here first," Jess murmured.

They exited the building, closing the door gently behind them. Just as it was about to shut, Dani heard another door bang open somewhere down the hall. "Nao huo cuo huai dans (annoying little bastards) are startin' ta qi si wole (piss me off)," she growled, holding onto the handle. It seemed to be of a heavier metal than most of the doors they had encountered, so she hoped it might hold up under some gunfire. "Jess," she yelled, "light the flare!"

Jess pulled her flare out and lit it. The sky was completely black now, and it illuminated the rooftop in an eerie red glow.

"C'mon guys, be there, be out there somewhere," Dani pleaded quietly. The door she was holding shut shuddered as the bandits arrived and tried to break it down, evidently not realizing she was merely holding it closed and that it wasn't locked.

"Have we gots anythin' to barricade it?"

"Nothing!" Jess answered, frantically searching around. "I can't move any of this stuff, it's bolted down!"

Just then Dani could hear, over the muted thuds of the bandits, a very welcome whine of a very familiar engine.

"Well, look at me listenin' to that beautiful sound," Dani crowed.

And then the Favour was soaring overhead, ramp down and with both Keith and Lori standing ready with their rifles. Sara was crouched in between them, her little gun held upwards. "C'mon!" she screamed at them.

Dani nodded at Lori and let go of the door handle. They both dashed towards safety.

She heard the door slam open behind her but Dani didn't hesitate. She tucked her head down and kept running forward as Keith and Lori opened fire, their accurate shots discouraging any pursuit.

Halfway there Keith barked, "Down!" and the two women hit the deck, covering each other up in a tight hug. They heard the muffled whump of a flash grenade behind them, and then they were scrambling to their feet again, helping each other up to continue their sprint.

As she reached the ramp Dani slipped. Her left arm shot out without thinking to catch herself, but it collapsed, unable to support her. She felt a tug on the back of her shirt as Jess picked her up and hauled the both of them into the bay to collapse on the deck, panting hard.

Their labored breathing turned into a giggling fit as they stared at each other and clasped hands. They were absolutely filthy from their duct crawling, hair disheveled, and sweat streaks making their faces look like they were striped. Both were bleeding somewhat profusely.

But they were alive. And they made it home.

And then their spouses were there enveloping them in hugs as they set their rifles aside. Sara closed the door up as the ship headed up into orbit, and then she joined in on the tackling.

"Oof! Hey, bleedin' here!" Dani complained, laughing.

Their respective spouses ignored their pleas and kept hugging them desperately. Smiling, Dani looked over at Jess, still clasping her hand.

"We did it, meimei."

"That we did, jiejie," Jess replied affectionately.


NOTES: Title track is, as you might have guessed, from Bon Jovi. I refuse to bow to criticism. I grew up listening to Jon Bon Jovi. He is the man.

Easter egg note: Might recognize Whistler from the Blade series.

I actually inserted this episode in before the mega-epic one I was working on due to personal reasons. Came to me as I was napping on my commuter train. Though it turned out to be of a more epic length than I anticipated. Next one, though, is gonna be pretty gorram epic in length and story, so it's definitely a two-parter. Consider "Part I" like a season finale. (I like the word 'epic', can ya tell?)

Oh, well. Hope y'all enjoyed, and please review. Another shout-out to theradvlad and Aww potatoes, love to hear from ya & your reviews always make my day!