having gotten some rather good deals she headed back to the condo.  There she packed their things to be loaded on transport back to Hermes.  That done she'd place them for pick up and then head back to the beach.

===> back to beach

  Val smiled  as they walked out,..I don't think i need anyhting esle/// this   was very nice...  she  kisses  him in the doorway of the shop  before they walk out.

  Can is  sitting by a  try with Mila next to him, looking around  at some of the people  walking around.

...............

The Guards   smile  at  Slick,Thanks, it saves  alot  of  time runnign around trying to get  our  number of carts!

 The  Cabbie  grins   as he closes  the door, heading  for the   Food  truck...

"Hello Can, hope you didn't get too bored. One day you'll be picking out a ring for your beloved... Come on. I could do with some clothes. Do you want some? Pants, a few shirts, a jersey, stuff like that?"

Henry bent down to make a fuss of Mila, who had come scampering over when he came into sight.

The rest of the day was spent getting some clothes for Henry (and Can if he wants): Henry goes for casual sturdy stuff and found the kind of outdoors store that has cargo pants, warm sweaters, workshirts, and the like. If Can wants something smarter, that can be done too.

Then they went for an early dinner in a steakhouse before returning to the Hermes.

   Can shrugged about  Clothes as he followed Henry and Val in.

  Val approved  of most of the things  Henry  purchased, but tried to  talk him into, some athletic wear shirt  like  Underarmor   and Fuji Garb.

   She talked   Can into a pair of jeans  and a part of shorts   with a couple pull over  t-shirts to go with them  and another pair of sneakers.

  as the  sat in the  Steahouse ( after  a bit of  browbeating to the onwer about Mila  being there).. Mila  had  to  sit under the  table with her  food while the others  sat at the table.

  Can didn't know what to order, since  the only meat he was used to getting was   old  hot  dogs or burgers,

  Val  suggested  a  small  cut of steak, and a  side of  mashed potatoes  and  Mac&Chesse.

  Can looked at the steak Knife   and    the bit of meat, and  had no idea how tp proceed.

Slick waves over his shoulder at the guards with a 'your welcome'.


  Onward and upward, let's eat.

  The Cabbie pulled   into the lot ( only  about  300 yards away from the  Gate they used, but  about a half mile  from the maid Gates  where dozens of   food trucks were set up.

   She Grins  at him,..This is the ebst one in  the whole station... the others part  down there to get more  workers from the  Hanger decs who are  going in and out?... this one  gets his fair  share of  customers...but  he is...um....differant...

 Apporachign the  trung, they  saw a  Blonde furred  Mull with a   cooking hat  and apron on, behind  him  was a very  good lookign woman  who was  handing   some wrapped  dogs to  a pair of   Hanger Dec fols  and scanned thier  wrists,,, the   man of the two  gave her   some paper Creds  for a time  , and they went off with thier drink and thier dogs.

 Kaxie!..  I havn't seen you in a week!  Who's the Humie...

  Kaxie smiled,..he is a good sort of Humie... he offered to buy me   eats since  i was takign him around... so..I came here...

 The Woman  put  her   arm around the Mull,...forgive my husband..he  judges people by race  until he gets to know them..

Listening to the cabbie and the vendor talk, and then the wife explaining her husband's actions, Slick tells her, No worries, It's all good till the weapons come out, he brings his hands up, palms forward in a non threatening gesture, and there are no weapons here, unless our food doesn't agree with me. :chuckles: He let's them see there is no reason for anger on his part.
  She said your food is good and I told here whatever she wanted, so.... help yourself. He motions for her to order.

  Kaxie , asked  for a  Chillie Dog and Cheese  dog and   one with saurkraut...she also got a  soda to go with it.

  The  Mull befgan to     put her order together  adn Jane  asked  Slick what he wanted.
This message was last updated by the GM at 20:12, Mon 07 Dec 2020.

  Billie and Mitch go around  to the back of the Hotel.. the scene is much differant then the yesterday.. Just the  pool, and the  marble   benches,  The   flowers  are there, like people   on shift work. Day flowers  starting to close..night flowers   starting to open, all of thier scents  waft in the   'breeze' of the station.


.......

  Some of the Pilots  said Good  bye  to dates  or 'pickups' from other ships  or the station itself. Then began to  head  towards  the condo or rooms to gather thier  goods. Though they might not be in a hurry, it was  better to go home early, then be crammed into last minute  shuttles.

 Talk about the  News  vids  were goign around, the first  'real' vid  of  an Op  in action  with the Iron Guard   taking down  a Ring of EDT loyalists   and  a few of the  hermes    crew helping out.

 As shocking   as it was, the death of   Lady V's Niece was pumped through the   News  feeds, with  a split screen with   the  leader of the EDT's  reaction...Some were squeamish ... some  cheered.. some were appalled , but all  now understood, how very  real 'total war' was..

 Debates  would  arise on talk shows, with  some people shocked  out such behavior... while others  ones pointed to the kids on platters  and   on meathooks. as more then enough reason  to strike back  as hard   as one is hit..

He tells them he would gladly have whatever the cabbie ordered, and then told them to make a specialty of thiers for all to try. Never hurts to try something new..

"I am glad we got to share this day together...even if it was just being completely lazy," she chuckled, her hand trailing down his arm to intertwine their fingers together.

Henry calmly showed Can how to hold and operate a knife and fork.

"It will come with practice," he reassured the boy.

He'd also picked up a duffle bag for Can to carry his new belongings. At least he'd be presentable when he got to wherever he was going.

  Arnie  smiles    as they sat  and looked up at the  glass 'sky'.. barley 1/3 of the    Lower's  dome, but   still  showed The Balck  , and now, as the sun  moved  out of the  scene... Ships  and shuttles  in the Black.

  need  more   leaves like this.... he leans his head on hers,..might not  be so lucky next leave... people will be sued to the EMH  winner, and   may now be as welcoming...but? merchants  are always glad  when the Fleet comes in.... Ship stores    load up on merchandise ...  The  Fleet gathers supplies... lots of creds being made.

 ..you got your foot in the door now?... You'll have to see if you want to  keep  turning off lights, or  step back away...

...............

  Roll was trying to be tough, but he broke  down and Hugged   Nikki.. his body shook with the crying he tried to hide inside.

 Mitch   frowned  as he  knelt  down beside them, not  knowing   what to say...just  rubbing the  little guy's back.
............

  Jax, Nifty and Sneak were  near the BU, getting kids on board, talkign  with 'stem slang' to make some of the kids  feel at ease... Jax, making sure   the 'older' kids  understood  about following rules, and they had to  be  the  Pack  Leaders  as  they went to  Bura.

.........

 Can   worked on using the knife, he  got a bit of steak and  chewed it,..this is good... and the  water potatoes  are good.. we only ever  ate fried  ones from the cans , 'cause  they didn't have   as much bugs on them...

..........

 Kaxie   ate the  first of her Hotdogs, her  eyes  closed  as the cheese   squeezed  from the  bun and she licked her lips,.. you can have them fancy  dinners?..  this is  life.. right here  in these buns....

 BUs    kept  coming and Going, even more shuttles , taking off in groups of three or four, and landing the same way...winding  down   Sailor..... you'll be going to fight again soon.

——> Beach

Once they were in the condo and safely within the privacy of their room, the pair of them would get changed, with Izzy taking great delight in watching Lizzy removing the tiny bikini, before packing their bags in preparation to leave. Dressed in her uniform and a pair of boots that made her look extremely small, however much of her youthful appearance seemed to have disappeared perhaps as a result of the scarring on her cheek ”So is there anything in particular you’re looking for or are we just going to see what’s on offer?” Izzy asked as she waited for Lizzy. They had done some shopping earlier in the weekend but they hadn’t been to the shops near the condo ”Perhaps we could grab a coffee for the road whilst we’re out” she suggested figuring that there must be a cafe nearby. As soon as Lizzy was ready to go she would take her hand and head outside.

----->>>> From Beach

 Lizzy followed Izzy to their condo holding her hand as they got to the Condo and their room. Lizzy changed into her duty uniform with her blue max, and got all her stuff together for shipping to the Hermes. Lizzy smiled and replied," I am still looking for green earrings that match my eyes, but lets go see what they have shall we."  Lizzy was ready when Izzy said they should get a coffee as well. Lizzy smiled at said," Oh yes that sounds great Izzy." Lizzy took Izzy's hand and headed for the shops.

At the mention of the Emerald earrings Lizzy wanted to find, Izzy would nod her head, knowing that they were something she'd been trying to find the last time they'd gone shopping. She did think it would be kind of nice if she could buy a pair for her, but with her not really knowing what it was that Lizzy was looking for Izzy figured it would be safer to leave her to it "Sure, let's see what they have to offer, Nikki seemed to think they had some deals on" she said as they left their room.

After leaving their bags with the others to be transported to the Hermes they would leave the condo and take a walk down the street to the nearby shops which seemed to sell a variety of items. There was a place selling a variety of different soaps and perfumes, along with other beauty products, which was no doubt the place Nikki had mentioned, that Izzy would pause to look through the window, next to which was a small military surplus store and a shop specialising in intricately decorated china cups and plates. All the while they were passing these Izzy would keep an eye out for a jewellery store that might have what Lizzy was searching for.

 Henry gets a COM.... Doc?  This  is Stefi.. in about   20 minutes or so, the  BU is taking the kids   to  link up with thier  Burian  transport.... If Can Misses the   lift off, you'll have to  find your own way to get him there.

 Val was  enjoying her steak, maybe gettign  just a 'little' kick out of the  starign  at them in thier beachwear, while every one else was casual .

 Can,  smiled in triumph  as he  cut a bit of  steak  and   popped in his   mouth from his fork.

 Shadow waved to the Kids in the  BU, got a few hugs  from  some  of them who were used to him..Shade got more hugs, after hanging out with them on the beach.

 Roy  had  a few  hug him as well between the Condo and the  Stem, and those  who they brought out of the tunnels

  Walking down the ramp , Shadow  sopped   after he  steeped off to   wait for it to close.

After enjoying the vendor's food (he tried several different things), he spent some time chating with the cabbie and her friends, before realizing the time, Well, It's been a pleasure, but i think it's time for me head out. gotta catch the launch back to the ship or i am gonna catch grief. nice to have spent time with you, but ..... what's the tab?  he extends his arm to be scanned.

   Kaxiem smile d and looked at the Meter, then she said.. it  say 70 creds?  we'll may it  50...

 after she scans him  she says,next time you  come back..this is   my Cab number. Punch it into a  Taxi-pad  and i'll be there...

In reply to SLIC (msg # 461):

Kaxiem, I absolutely appreciate that, and will remember you and your wares. Great tasting food and great company is always the best way to enjoy time off. it's usually pretty hard for me to disconnect from work, but this afternoon was the closest i have ever come. thanks very much, and I hope to return soon. he gathers his stuff and exits the cab, and tells her he will call on her the next time he comes.
 As he gets out of the cab and gives her a heartfelt wave and thank you.
>>>>> ship back to hermes>>>>>>

Jug and the other gava straggled in to the condo.  Each were extremely happy....and at least 3 were still rather drunk.  Both Jug and Bog sported assorted bruises and a few cuts.  They were slur chanting a version of a gavan fight song.  They each had at least 1 bag of goodies as they wandered and straggled (one might even say ..crawled) into the condo. It was obvious they were in some sort of a tussle at some point after leaving.  Each helped each other get to the elevator and up to their room.

Billie smiled softly as she looked up to the ‘sky’ as well, that fluttery feeling in the pit of her stomach as he leaned his head against hers. “I might be very...unsure on a lot of things going on in my life...but...I think I will continue to help turning the lights off. At least, outside of being a pilot and a...football jock...I can do something really good in this world.” There was a self-deprecating chuckle as she held his hand, sighing a bit as she enjoyed their time. After several moments, she looked at him. “So...I am thinking about asking the Sergeant Major to help train me in hand to hand...I figure with his and Shadow’s training...I could be more...useful. Hey, who knows...maybe my ability to see in the dark can come in handy.”

   Arnie nods his head   as it rests on hers,any  extra training, is good training. The SM, Shadow  and some of the SEC who have been around a while? Thier  night training  is good... I would  put   any  of them up  against  an iron Guard Trooper, I don't know about that General or any of his captains..be a fight to see though.

 its a good thing, to work on. especially if you crash land   or Pod  out... not all the pilots  die in the air.

.............

   Frans, Eckles, Mara, and a few of the  newer pilot s   came off the elevator in a gaggle carrying   duffles  and a few shopping bags

 some of the SEC  came off the elevator  together , doing much of the same

 Shuttles  were already   coming and going from the  entrance to the  docking  arms.

Henry checked his comm, then looked rather sadly at Can.

"Stefi has just said that we have 20 minutes to get you to the pick up point from where you'll be taken to link up with your transport to Buria with the rest of the youngsters from the stem. So eat up! You're doing great with the knife and fork, by the way. I, we, are going to miss you - but you'll have loads of opportunities. Make the most of them."

It might be a rush, but they'd get there.