Legends of the Halcyon Era

Episode 2 - The Xenos Geist Travelling Restaurant Company

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It took a while, but the noises from Fenix's bedroom finally subsided, and Nytetrayn was able to drift off to sleep. After having the night of his life, Fenix himself was also sawing lumber.

As for Janine, she was enjoying her first decent night's sleep in quite some time. Sure, she'd been in some sort of suspended animation, but it just wasn't quite the same, wasn't quite as good as this.

Several weeks passed. Things were business as usual for the Diggers, as they'd periodically check out another of the island's ruins, with Janine tagging along for her own amusement. Occasionally, they'd run into trouble, and she'd lend a hand, displaying an almost childlike enjoyment at the sights and sounds of Reaverbots going boom.

Nytetrayn would also notice that when rent came due, they didn't seem to be out quite as much zenny as they used to be. This struck him as a little odd, as their takes from the ruins hadn't improved significantly, especially as they were now splitting it three ways. Though he was curious, Nyte decided not to question their good fortune.

This became the new normal for the three. That is, until early one morning, when a quiet rumbling sound reverberated throughout the entire building.

"Zzzz.... grnf... no... not the guacamole..." Fenix muttered as he dozed.

Rustled from his own sleep by the noise, Nytetrayn cracked open his door and yelled across the apartment, "...hey, Fenix, didja close the window last night???"

With a shout, Fenix rolled off the side of his bed and hit the ground with a loud thud. Janine opened one eye, looked around, and tried to return to sleep.

Opening his own door slightly, Fenix loudly replied, "...it was hot, I figured we could use some fresh air," before crawling back into bed and resuming his Mexican food nightmare.

Nytetrayn just grumbled and put his head back underneath his pillow. Despite the time of day, no light was penetrating the apartment's windows. "Thanks for pulling the shade down," he called back. Meanwhile, Janine reminded herself that killing her roommates would be very rude.

A crash was heard, followed by a voice ringing out. "#9!!!"

"Did you set mousetraps?" Fenix shouted over to Nyte.

"No... I just set bits of your laundry out instead. Seems to keep them away better."

"That reminds me, I need to reset the traps in your underwear drawer..."

"I'll still get you for that..."

"Sure you will..."

"Trust me... I've already got it all planned out..."

At this point, a soft trotting sound came from Nyte's window.

"Guys, I hate to complain," said Janine, "but I've spent the past century dealing with a kangaroo Reaverbot's constant thumping, so I could really use some more shuteye."

Nytetrayn kept his head under his pillow, still hoping to drown out the noises. That is, until the sound of running water was heard throughout the apartment.

"I am so going to kill that plumber..." Nyte muttered to himself as he groggily stepped into the doorway of his small sanctuary. He was still wearing his armor from their latest outing, having fallen asleep in it, his hair a mess.

At the same time, Fenix stepped out of his room, clad in pajama pants and his helmet, and scanned around the apartment with its visor. "You can't do that, we already have the lawsuit pending from the time I beat him... up... what the...?" he said as he noticed a small humanoid figure seemed to be occupying their bathroom. With that, he activated his Gatling arm and walked towards the water closet.

"...what...?" Nyte began to ask as he saw Fenix in hunting mode.

"We're being invaded by munchkins. I told you to set the traps..."

"What, did you wash your clothes? Is it June already?" Nyte asked just before a little robot man walked out of the bathroom, carrying a bucket. "Domo arigato gozaimashita!" it said cheerfully to the stupefied and the speechless, respectively. It went past Fenix and Nyte, into the latter's room, then handed the bucket off through the window before climbing out itself.

Nyte decided to follow the little robot, while also trying to peer into the bucket it carried. Just water, from what he could tell.

Janine soon emerged from Fenix's room, too. "Can I kill it?"

"Well, let's not be hasty," Fenix said. "It may just want water."

"It woke me up, and I'm still sore. I want to kill it."

"Hm, they could at least knock first," Nyte said.

Looking through his window, the three apartment tenants saw a kitchen, with dozens of similar little robots busily moving about through it.

"Nyte... did you contract a new addition?" asked Fenix.

"I thought maybe you did."

One of the robots turns to look at Nyte, prompting him to ask, "What are you guys doing here?"

"Fixing breakfast!" it cheerfully replied.

"Hmm, breakfast would be nice..."

At this point, Janine has decided to head for the bathroom herself, muttering something about the world being insane.

Another robot shouted to Nyte and Fenix, "Come in! Make yourselves at home!"

At that, the two looked at each other, shrugged, and climbed through the window into the kitchen. Nyte pulled up a chair at the first table he spotted. Janine, who saw them doing this as she exited the bathroom, simply watched, blinked a couple of times to make sure she was seeing this, and then did the same. All the while, the little robots continued to run about, with some setting places at the table for their new guests, and others busily continuing to cook their culinary creations.

"So, what are we having?" Nyte asked to no one robot in particular. However, one did respond by stopping at the table to address them.

"What would you like?"

"Ooh, our choice? Um, do we look at menus, or...?" Nyte asked, clearly unsure how this whole operation was supposed to work. Janine sat down next to Nyte and looked over the room.

"Oh, just anything you'd like! Anything at all!" the robot replied exuberantly.

That was all Nyte needed to hear.

"Alright! Then I'll have a stack of pancakes! With eggs! Scrambled! Oh, and a glass of orange juice! But no pulp; it gets stuck in my teeth." Looking to Fenix, he asked "What are you having?" as he sat back and stretched.

The robot, distinguished from its brethren by the big "1" on its forehead, listened on as they each gave their orders.

Fenix stood there, one of his cybernetic eyes clearly glowing visibly larger than the other, still trying to take this all in. Finally, he said, "Pancakes are good."

Janine gestured to Nyte. "I'll have what he's having."

"Right!" the one seemingly designated as "#1" said. "Three orders of pancakes and orange juice!"

"...and eggs," Nyte reminded it.

The others shouted out in unison, "Yes, sir!"

With that, Nyte excused himself for a moment to quickly go clean himself up, climbing back through the window. Fenix finally sat down, his facial expression remaining firmly in place. Nyte soon returned with dampened hair, now covered by his hat.

"Much better," he said as he took his seat. After a few moments of awkward silence and watching the robots run around the various stations of the kitchen, Nyte decided to finally address something that had been going on since Janine came to stay at their place. Turning a curious eye towards his compatriots, he asked, "So... what have you two been doing at night, anyway?"

"Doing?" Janine responded, confused.

"Yeah, it's been a bit loud over on your side of the apartment."

"We had a long talk about --"

"...battle tactics," Fenix said, cutting her off.

A tall, less-robotic figure charged down some nearby stairs, and shouted, "#6! I told you! Wake me up before you la--" With frazzled brown hair, pince-nez glasses, and a robe, he stared slack-jawed at the three guests occupying his kitchen. "--nd."

"This woman is a fighting genius," Fenix continued before taking notice of the newcomer. "Um, hello."

"Hi," Nyte said, while Janine waved cheerfully as the tall figure's lower-right eyelid began to twitch slightly. Kicking another chair out from under the table, Nyte invited him to join them.

"#1," the figure said as he turned to the robot who bore that number. "Why... are there people... in my kitchen?"

Whispering to Fenix, Nyte said, "Hey, it looks like he has an eye twitch like yours."

"They were hungry!" #1 said as a big, very pleased smile spread across its face.

"I wonder why..." Fenix replied.

Addressing the stranger's conundrum, Nyte spoke up. "Well, we were just wondering what was up after you guys came in for water. Being hungry helped, though."

"They.... were... what!?" the tall man sputtered. "We're not a...!! Oh, never mind..."

"Sor-ry," the one with a "9" on its head sang out. "Our reserves were running low."

"These your guys?" Nyte asked the stranger. "They're nice."

"Yes, very polite," Fenix added.

"Kind of cute, too..." Janine chimed in.

"You don't see many travelling restaurants of this quality around," Nyte noted.

"Yeah," the stranger admitted. "They're my Helpbots. I'm working on topping the Bon-- traveling restaurant!?"

"Restaurant?" said #1, the big, pleasant smile still spread across its face. "Oh, dear me, no! Breakfast is free of charge!"

That was music to Nyte's ears. "Cool!"

"Dude, you're drooling," Fenix said.

"...that's the aroma from the kitchen," Nyte quickly countered.

The stranger stood there, jaw dropped open in shock as tears streamed down his face. "#3... please... notify me... before inviting... 'guests'..." He then walked awkwardly past the table and back upstairs, as Janine looked on with curiosity.

"Here's your order!" chirped #13, who set Nyte's breakfast before him, along with a choice of maple or corn syrup, and different types of butter.

"Ooh, yummy!" Nyte said before he began digging in.

"So, 'Helpbot,'" Fenix asked, "if this place isn't a restaurant, then what IS it?"

Ignoring the question, #13 asked the other two how they wanted their eggs.

"Uh, fried," Fenix said.

"Deviled," Janine said with a mischievous grin.

"Roger!" #13 sang.

"This is good!" Nyte observed as he stuffed his face. "So, battle strategy, huh?" he added between mouthfuls, enjoying every bite.

Catching Fenix's look, Janine said, "Um, yeah, Fenix is a demon for... battle strategy."

"Really?" Nyte said, looking at his Digging colleague with some small level of amazement. "Since when?"

"Haven't I always been?"

Before Nyte could answer, the stranger, now decked out in a suit of fancy armor, returned. He pulled out a chair as the eggs were being served, and set a sword on the table with a resounding thud before taking his seat. Janine started to eat while watching the goings-on.

"...hello again," said Nyte. "Nice sword."

"Thank you."

"I prefer a saber arm, myself. But swords is cool."

Another tic came from the stranger's eye, before he replied, "It's decorative."

"Ah, I hear ya'. Fenix over there is all into that kind of thing."

"Interesting... you don't see a metal sword very often in this day and age," Fenix observed as he looked the blade over. "What fighting style do you prefer?"

"I suppose some introductions are in order now," the stranger said, paying no heed to Fenix's question.

"Ah, of course! I'm Nytetrayn, and this is Janine and Fenix," Nyte said as he gestured to each of his friends in turn. Janine smiled and waved, while Fenix offered a salute.

The stranger nodded and said, "And I am Xenos Maximillian Amadeus Wolfgang Stein Geist the Sixth..."

Janine choked on her eggs. "You okay?" Nyte asked her. She simply nodded and swallowed.

"Nice to meet you all..." Xenos continued, another twitch coming forth from his eye.

"You okay with that, Xen?" Nyte asked. "Can I call you Xen?"

"Sure... 'Xen' is fine..."

"Cool," Nyte said, before resuming eating. "Your robots make great food, Xen!" he added with a satisfied smile.

"They're quite skilled," Janine said.

"Thanks..." Xenos replied, before trying to compose himself. "Now, why are you on my ship?"

"Oh, well, it's like this," Nyte began to explain. "They were in our place, getting water. We looked out the window, they invited us in, and here we are!"

Another eye tic occurred as Xenos processed this. "I thought so. #1..."

The Helpbot bearing that designation zipped up to its boss. "Yessir?" it asked, still wearing that same smile. Janine tried not to smile at the sight. Meanwhile, Nyte and Fenix finished their meals.

"Ah, that was good," Nyte said, as he slipped back in his seat a bit.

"First," Xenos said, "why are we parked right next to their building?"

"Hmm, now that I think about it, I hope the landlord doesn't get upset," Nyte said.

"Oh, he will be," Xenos responded.

"Dude, that guy's gonna have a friggin' heart attack," Fenix added.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Nyte said, a little deflated, before hitting upon an idea. "...you don't suppose we could get a breakfast to go for 'im, eh?"

#1 spoke up. "#6 was getting impatient, and decided this looked like a good place to set down."

"Right," Xenos continued. "I'll deal with him later..."

"But sir!" #6 said.

"I said later." Xenos recomposed himself. "Now, tell me... Is it proper behaviour for a band of pirates to invite Diggers into their ship for dinner!?"

"...yes?" #1 said meekly. #6 added "But they're having breakfast..." before Xenos shot him a silencing glare.

"...pirates?" Nyte asked.

Fenix fell out of his chair laughing, while Janine looked nonplussed.

"Aw, nuts," Nyte added as the situation started to become clear, before a thought crossed his mind.

Xenos just sighed and buried his face in his hand.

"Hey," Nyte continued. "Do you know any, like, famous pirates? Like those ones I saw on TV? The Bones, or something?"

"Um, not personally. We've had some friendly shoot outs, but..."

"Ah," Nytetrayn replied, a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"Friendly shootouts?" Janine asked.

"Like sparring, but with guns. Fenix and I have done that on occasion."

Xenox turned to face Janine, and only now seemed to truly notice her for the first time, his face freezing.

"Ahhh," Janine nodded, sort of understanding, but not really. "I didn't know that was possi--" She stopped short, as she took notice of Xenos' frozen expression. "Um, can I help you?"

"Keeps the reflexes sharp," Nyte continued, unaware. "Ain't that right, Fenix?"

"Indeed, and yours need plenty of work."

"Bite me."

"I would, if I wasn't wearing this mask."

"Eat cheese and die," Nyte said, passing a warm bowl of cheese to Fenix. After a moment of hesitation, Fenix obliged, at least for the eating part.

"Um," Xenos said. "She's naked..."

Blinking, Janine replied, "Yeah? So?"

Slightly weirded out, Xenos just said "...why?"

"We've gotten used to that," Fenix said. "She's actually a Reaverbot, so the concept of clothing is still kinda alien to her."

Adjusting his pince-nez glasses, Xenos asked in disbelief. "A Reaverbot? With..." He just sort of stopped talking as he gestured his hands up and down in Janine's direction, as if to say "that?"

Eyebrow raised, Janine responded, "Well, not exactly a Reaverbot... I'm a bureaucratic model, and... hey!" Her eyes began to light up with an orange glow.

"...sorry," Xenos said meekly, as he looked down at the table.

Fenix patted Janine on the shoulder. "Calm down, girl. It was more of a compliment than anything."

Janine still looked dubious, but powered down anyway.

"I've got to figure out how they made one like her," Xenos muttered quietly to himself as he continued to stare at the table. Janine just pretended she didn't hear that.

Xenos slapped himself, and regained his composure. "I'm sorry, Janine, it's not often I have a naked lady sitting at my breakfast table."

"That's alright," Janine said, blinking. "I didn't realize it was that unusual."

"Most women are generally wearing clothes."

"Aha... well then, I suppose I had better rectify that." And with that, she headed back through the window, with Fenix and Xenos staring after her for a moment, the latter slapping himself again.

"Whoever designed her was an artist," Fenix said. "A total perv, but an absolute artist."

"So... 'Xen,'" he said, looking to change the subject. "You say you're a pirate?"

"Yes, I am a pirate. But I suggest we hold off on trying to kill one another until after we're done here," Xenos said as he took a long sip of his coffee.

"Wait," Nyte said. "Why are we trying to kill one another? The only thing that's happened is you guys breaking in to take water to serve us breakfast. Seems like a fair enough trade to me."

"Um..." Xenos said, as he didn't expect that counterpoint. "Yeah, you're... you're right..."

Several moments later, Janine returned, now wearing something dress-like, but flattering to her figure. "Here we are," she said.

"Oh, my goddess..." Fenix said in a hushed whisper.

"Nice," Nyte said, before realizing something. "Wait, where did that come from? We haven't had any hauls lately that are good enough to buy something like that."

"I found it in one of Fenix's dresser drawers," she replied. Fenix's eyes instantly grew wide upon hearing the statement, with Nyte and Xenos both giving him a curious look, Janine unaware as she looked herself over. "Seems he has lots of stuff like this hidden away in there," she added.

Had they been able to see his face through the visor of his helmet, the others wouldn't have been able to tell Fenix's crimson red eyes from the rest of his face. Soon, he composed himself and said defensively, "What? Like you don't keep nice cosplay outfits stashed away for any hot girls you come across?" With that, he crossed his arms and nodded before he tilted his head back, as if to rest his case.

Nyte and Xenos looked at each other and back to Fenix, about to respond, but decided to just leave it. Whether it was the truth or not, it was really difficult to argue with the results.

"Does this make everyone more comfortable?" she asked.

"Not really," Fenix said as Xenos resumed staring. "But it does look good on you."

"Yup," the pirate added. "Nice taste."

Janine smiled sweetly as she sat back down. "Now, where were we?"

"Discussing our afternoon plans, I think," Nytetrayn said.

"Dandy."

"So, Xen," Fenix said, "what brings you to our fair town?"

"Well," Xenos replied a little awkwardly, though he tried to keep a cool facade. "You know... pirate stuff..."

"Ahhh... attacking from above, widespread panic, robbing the city blind, that sort of thing?"

"It's a dishonest living," Xenos said with a shrug.

"Considering I rob graves, I can't really say much," Fenix admitted.

"Indeed," Nyte agreed, before pausing and quietly pondering to himself. "Wait, are those graves...?" he thought, noting that they don't often tend to come across any bodies or anything.

Xenos let out a hearty chuckle. "Most Diggers consider themselves superior," he said. "I like you."

"We just get by," Nyte replied, shaking his head as he snapped back to reality.

"Well," Janine chimed in, "technically you weren't robbing a grave, you were rescuing my cute little butt from the big mean kangaroos."

"Yes, we occasionally rescue damsels in distress as well," Fenix said while he acted as though this was the norm, before adding "but I'm sure Xenos has his share of that."

"Hmm," Xenos thought. "Well, yeah, actually," he boasted nonchalantly.

"We just do what comes naturally," Nyte said, before thinking on the matter again. "Actually, we've never taken anything from anyone alive, have we?"

"No, why?" Fenix asked.

"Just wondering."

"Well, that's the difference between us, I guess," said Xenos.

"How do they usually react?" Nyte asked.

"Huh? Who?"

"The people you steal from. Or do you usually do something in return, like the breakfast thing?"

"No, not generally," Xenos confessed. "My Helpbots are just too polite," he added, muttering something about sticking too close to someone else's model. "I just want to build better robots..."

"I hear that," Nyte said with a reassuring nod.

#10 came up to the table. "Um, I've got bussing duty. Excuse me..." he said as he pushed through to collect the dishes from Nyte.

"Thank you!" said Nyte, while the others handed over their respective dishes. "So," he continued, "what are we doing later?"

"I was gonna tinker with my large collection of big, phallic guns," Fenix said.

"Please, the--" Xenos said, before cutting himself off. "...phallic guns?"

"Yes, they're big and long and thick."

Janine looked a little weirded out by that.

"Such is the nature of big guns," Xenos noted.

"Always with the compensation," Nyte added.

"Yeah," Xenos trailed off as he rolled his eyes.

"Says the guy who carts around an energy cannon," Fenix snarked at Nytetrayn.

"At least I'm modernized," Nyte shot back, before adding in a "dumb" voice, "Ooh, my guns are big and thick, wanna score? Huh huh huh..."

"You forgot 'long,' Fenix added, before he fired back. "At least I'm all-natural."

"Erm... I use big guns cuz' they make stuff go boom, myself," Xenos chimed in, looking a little embarrassed.

Meanwhile, Nyte tapped Fenix on his mechanical arm. "Care to repeat that?"

"I'm real where it counts."

"You're just unreal. All over."

"So," Fenix said. "Turning the conversation away from body parts... Xenos! This is a nice ship you've got here."

"Yes, very," Nyte added.

"Thanks! I built it myself," Xenos replied. "I helped!" #1 added, earning a pat on the head from Janine, which prompted a big smile across its face.

"A custom job, eh?" Fenix said. "Doubly nice."

"Indeedy-do," Nyte said. "We hope to have a ship of our own someday."

"Yes," Fenix continued. "A homey little ship, painted blue, with lacy curtains..."

Nyte and Xenos just stared at Fenix.

"...jeez, can't you guys take a joke?"

"I'd go with yellow shutters on that, really bring out the colors," Janine offered.

"Hmmm, not a bad idea... red wings, do you think?"

Nyte just coughed.

"Green," Janine countered, "the red and blue thing is so done... huh?"

"Um..." Nyte began.

"Well," Xenos said, "I was thinking we could travel together if you guys don't mind a little pillage here and there... but, uh... if you're going to repaint my ship..."

"Nah, we're just messin' around," Fenix assured Xenos, while also closely examining the tablecloth.

"Hmm," Nyte began again. "Wasn't in my plans, but then again, I haven't seen the outside."

"Pillaging might be fun," Janine chimed in.

"I'd be against robbing people myself," Fenix said, "but I'm sure we could convince our dear friend Xenos here to do a spot of digging..."

"'Course," Xenos replied.

"Sounds like a fair trade, I guess," said Nyte, who'd been thinking on the idea.

"Could be fun," Fenix added.

"Yes," said Janine. "With three guys around, that kangaroo would never dare come after me."

Fenix and Xenos looked at her with perplexed expressions.

"And she says we bring it up too much," Nyte said, before realization struck. "Waitaminute, come after you?!"

"Well, you killed the big one," Janine stated. "But the others are still there, and since you flooded their home, they've probably moved on."

"Wouldn't they have drowned or something?" asked a confused Fenix.

"They're robots. Besides, kangaroos can swim."

"I did not know that," Xenos said.

Turning back to the matter at hand, Fenix asked, "So, where were you planning on going next, Xen?"

"Yeah, where to?" Nyte asked with an eager curiosity.

"Uh, here," Xenos said awkwardly. "And I was basically planning to rob the people... yeah..."

Nyte looked to Fenix, who said, "Well, it's a good thing your Helpbots are so polite, because in that instance, we would have been obliged to shoot you."

"Yeah," Nyte added. "This is hitting a little close to home, so to speak, y'know?"

"Shoot, blow up, dismember, behead," Janine said, ticking each item off on her fingers.

"Right..." Xenos replied, a little nervous now.

"Don't suppose we could just move on to the next town, could we?" Nyte asked.

"So basically, we should all be grateful we met under much more pleasant circumstances," Fenix observed.

"So!" Xenos said, standing and gesturing as though to make a grand proclamation. "In honor of our newfound friendship, this town is now off my raid list!" With a bit of embarrassment in his voice, he added, "I was asleep when we landed."

"So were we," Janine grumbled.

"Funny how things work out," Nyte added.

"Right," Xenos said with a cough. "#1! Set up a room for the lady!"

"Ryokai!" it responded, going to set up a nice room for Janine.

With a startled expression at the sudden show of courtesy, she responded "That's very kind of you."

"Well," Xenos said, as he rubbed the back of his head. "I imagine you didn't get much rest if a mob of kangaroo Reaverbots was keeping you up. And here I interrupted your sleep, so..."

"Eh, I got a few hours last night," she said. "I'll be okay until tonight, but thank you anyway," she added with a smile before she gave Xenos a peck on the cheek, which made him blush. Having been on an airship for so long without any women around, he was still a bit nervous in Janine's statuesque presence.

"Wow. So, are we moving in?" Nyte asked.

"Well, you guys need a ship, right?"

"I guess so," Nyte replied, hardly able to believe this was happening.

"Sounds good to me," Fenix added.

"I guess this works 'til we can afford our own," Nyte added. "That is, unless we become too accustomed..."

Looking back and forth between the smiling Janine and the blushing Xenos, Fenix said "I don't think that'll be a problem."

"There a hangar or workshop around this thing?" Nyte asked.

"Of course!" Xenos said. "Now's the time to make the decisions..."

"Well," Janine cut him off. "Before we move the ship, you guys should probably get your stuff."

"...yeah."

"Good thing we don't have too much to move," Nyte mused. "Hmm, should we leave the landlord notice?"

"I say we bonk him on the head," said Fenix.

"Whatever works for you," Xenos said. It wasn't any of his business, after all. Well, maybe parking flush against the building was, but that wouldn't be an issue for much longer.

As Fenix journeyed out to fetch his clothes and collection of large guns, Nyte asked as he started to head out through the window. "Hey, I need to move the mech to the workshop. Where do I take it?"

"#9 will show you the way."

"Cool. C'mon, little guy," Nyte said before heading around back and bringing out the partially-working armored ride. Lead the way!" he called out from its open cockpit.

"Yessir!" said the Helpbot, as it showed him the way to the hangar.

Looking around at the workshop, Nyte was suitably impressed. "Wow, I bet I can finish this in no time here!" Turning to the Helpbot, he said "Thanks!" before going back to collect the rest of his stuff.

Meanwhile, Fenix re-entered through the window, now fully clad in his Digger armor, a large satchel bursting with weaponry thrown over each shoulder. "Lessee, I can just shack up in Janine's room, I think. Fair being fair, and all that."

Upon hearing this, Xenos just looked back at Fenix with an awkward, silent expression.

"...what?" asked the helmeted Digger.

Clearing his throat, Xenos said, "I have room for everyone to have their own quarters. That is, unless you have a particular reason..."

"Nah," Fenix said. "I'd probably bleed to death watching her get up every morning, anyway."

Elsewhere, Nytetrayn took stock of the rest of his worldly possessions. "Digging magazines, check. Parts for Digging weaponry and gear, check. Miscellaneous dig finds, check. Largely unvaried quantities of black casual clothing, check and mate!" With that, Nyte brought two bags, plus his digging knapsack on board the ship, going through the window just after Janine pulled her large garment bag through. Rather than ask where she even got that, Nyte looked to their host and asked which way to go.

"#9? Would you please show them all to their rooms?"

"With pleasure, sir!" the Helpbot responded, and the group followed the little one's lead.

"Once you've all settled into your new quarters, we can take off," Xenos called out behind them.

"Should we say good-bye to everyone?" Nyte asked Fenix.

"...who do we have to say 'good-bye' to?"

"Oh, you know... the guy at the junk shop, the people at the bar..."

"They don't see us all that often, anyway."

"...then again, we'll probably pass through again," Nyte reasoned.

With final preparations made, Xenos takes his place on the bridge of the ship, and starts calling out orders to the various Helpbots running around as Nyte, Janine, and Fenix celebrate the start to their new life.

"Batten down the hatches! Man the bowsprit! Stow the mizzenmast! Gibe the jib boom! Hoist the mainsail and lower the tattersail! Look sharp, man! Point the starboard hatch to leeward, swabs. Trim the scuppers on the port poop deck!"

Panting, he added, "...I need a beer," as he collapsed into his captain's chair.

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